Atonement Resumed

well brethren we don't have uh many announcements uh of course this is the last holy day before the feast of tabernacles and uh it's going to be exciting to head down to torquay once again we didn't expect to be there we did everything we could not to be there in one sense we were looking at places all over the place and in the end uh seemingly what you could call a mistake turned out to be the way it would be in the end because in the i think it was may june issue of uh one accord magazine um it was put in there that we would be at torquay this year so someone was a prophet over there but it wasn't for a lack of trying and of course what we did do also is we prayed and of course he's the one that knows what's down the line without as as was required so i i wonder if we would have been able to have the feast last year in the way that we did uh if it had not been to work out that way so frankly who knows what's going to happen now but we're praying obviously that god will intervene and that everything will go well not just for our you know feast of tabernacles and last great day but we know that in the states where many members exist and of course those in france and in other areas it's becoming more and more difficult and we need been able to assemble the feast speaking list and song leading and so on possible a few changes in people so at times what we do is we have the song leader uh ask people to bow their head and then the song leader finishes and gives their uh opening prayer and then of course in the closing prayer uh if we have a recorded opening prayer then the song leader might give the closing prayer as well so although i've incorporated it in this particular service schedule it may not work out that way we also have a guest speaker for the first day besides four recorded headquarters sermons which is excellent they are always of such high quality and the one the one who is coming um who may be there also during she he has a a relative who is particularly sick at the moment that is mr david witt i believe his relatives are on the in essex somewhere there so he is has agreed and will be taking the first day holy day sermon meaning of the day so that's something we can certainly look forward to i would also like to mention too that we have um the brochure has is being printed and we will have it available uh it's it's relatively light in content telling you basically where you can find things rather than uh us organizing things as we have done in the past when we have a lot of people because many people have different tastes and ideas but because of that what we will also do is at the inf with others who are going and who may have a car as well for those who don't but we'll try to assemble how we can do that i know that some of you will be getting invitations before the feast for meals and for going out and doing this and that because we want to make sure that you you all enjoy the feast as well it's fine having family with us but we like to bring others along as well so uh in doubt if you haven't or if you have the opportunity or would like to go to a particular place maybe it's the zoo you've never been to the zoo in in torquay the very nice or is it paint and i think they call it paint and zoo um but it's a very nice place uh thousands of animals and it's you walk around so try to choose a good day otherwise take an umbrella but it's uh there are you know giraffe and elephants and i think there are lions and tigers uh so and they're in the outdoors which is very nice so um you know obviously if you're interested in that let's just make it known and have your telephone number available at the front desk so that we can give you a call if one of us is going along to the zoo or families going along to the zoo and we've got some space i would certainly be happy to have you with us and of course eating out too is another opportunity that we have to get to know each other now we do also have as we did last year i hate talking about food on a day like this but just to let you know that we have booked two slots at the hole in the wall which is open and they're happy to have us but they would appreciate us choosing the menu we would like what i'm saying is they're not going to change the menu just for us choosing from their menu and you will find there are some things on it that you will most likely not choose i don't know any church of god member who has recently had shrimp cocktail for example but there are plenty of other things there that we can eat and uh i will send an email to you and ask if you could respond uh then we can let them know ahead of time and they can go to the market or whatever because they like to have fresh food uh to cook so that will be on the tuesday night which is after the holy day is finished there's only one service three o'clock till five o'clock there and then i think the um if you want to go from there the hole in the wall is within easy walking distance or we can take you if you have difficulty with legs and it starts at 6 30 and of course we can make arrangements to make sure you get back to your place but it's really enjoyable having a meal together the final one is on the uh on the saturday during the feast and it's a lunchtime one so we'll have the service quite possibly uh where uh the gordon's and hawkins are staying it's just a little bit out from the uh the hotel but we've got to just make sure there's enough time that the hotel has had a uh i'm talking about the imperial hotel where we normally have services has had a wedding book there for a year or more they've been waiting for the time so we do not have it on that sunday so we're going to oh sorry hang on i've got it wrong haven't i you're going to be coming to our our place on saturday for the saturday or sunday i'll get back to you on that one uh i think there are a few kilojoules missing from my um brain at the moment but uh we will send you the details uh on an email fairly shortly before the feast well before the feast sorry sunday what sunday we don't have the hall okay then i think it's yes it's sunday when we're going to eat afterwards because it's a roast roast meal options so you don't have to go to both you don't have to go to any you might choose to go to one and not to the other no problem at all it's just an opportunity for those who would like to get there right um i don't think there's anything more i'd yes i should mention that uh mr horchak sent through a document which i will send at the same time to you which gives you the opportunity of uh listening in to any of the services in the states in other words it's how you can listen if you maybe you're sitting at home maybe it's the friday night or the saturday or the holiday night or something like that and you want to listen to one of the services taking place or that has finished taking place because they will be up there for a day from the states maybe you've got some friends who are going to be there at one of the services over in the states but it will be the details of how you can log in with your smartphone your laptop or whatever and listen to one of those services if you like so that gives you extra opportunity to be spiritually fed i think that's all uh for the moment uh services will be webcast during the feast so if you don't feel well one day and you are you do have internet then rather stay home make sure you get better quickly and you can listen to the service online right that's where i must get my stopwatch going again i was told after service on trumpets that because we had two split sermons that were both longer that we were two and a half hours good day to those on the webcast i hope you're well and uh if i've said that already it's because my brain is looping looping backwards it's got a negative feedback loop or whatever you call it but i want to make sure that you know we're thinking of you those of you who are miles away and some of you in very hot weather at this time maybe some of you are in very cold weather too but the point that i'm going to bring about is something i've already said today the world is in pain and anyone who doesn't see the dangers and the problems uh as to what's going on in this world right now is like an ostrich although i really don't know if ostriches really do bury their head in the sand i think that might be a myth but nevertheless the problems that we see in this world are even more severe than we actually know because we get shown only what the media feels we can take or what they want to propel into our minds there are a lot of things i notice for example if there's an earthquake in haiti as there was fairly recently seven on the richter scale and it was two days before i saw anything of uh value on the on the news after they made way from all the other stuff that they're concentrating on and this world uh believe it or not is it's got many droughts going on in ethiopia and sudan uh i think they said that there are about 1.5 million people that are on death's door in sudan at the moment south sudan uh we could take uh almost any of the continents and there is change taking place yes climate change is true but the reason for it is a different matter there are many other things taking place which uh you know it's very convenient to look at man's involvement and certainly there is a lot of pollution there's a lot of things that we are doing but it is being used as a political pawn rather than acknowledging the fact that the sun is in a a cycle has a level an 11-year cycle and because it's not very strong at the moment the sun as a result the ionosphere is weak and more of the plasma gets through and causes this warming i'm not going to go into the science of it if you want to you can look it up there are various sites which give you the explanation of those things but the point is humanity is not enjoying life as a whole and we talk about the one percent the one percent who are rolling in money and everything else and so on but even some of those one percent they're not happy uh who was it um john paul getty j paul getty he used to say i would give away all of my millions for one happy marriage and you know frankly uh the the simpler things the things in life that are free uh are better when you're able to do as the apostle paul said to be content with whatever situation you're in and frankly uh some of the people who went through terrible situations in concentration camps in world war ii the only reason they got through it was an ability to manage the situation and circumstance mentally spiritually trying to do things for others maintaining a positive approach and attitude now in this world that's more and more difficult to do the lives of people we care about have been affected by early deaths they've been affected by loss of jobs we now have people being with their jobs being threatened because of a circumstance that has never been there before but they are having to give it up if they will not follow the general what you might call um uh the general narrative that is being uh produced so mankind is not enjoying suffering no one enjoys suffering but there's a reason for suffering and sometimes that reason is not just sin and we'll have a look and see why and there is a way to fix all of suffering the current suffering that's plaguing our world anyway we're going to uh appreciate that mankind has ways of looking at things which do god and they tend to relax and rely on this idea of choosing what is right mankind choosing the values there was a greek philosopher who i'm sure mr dimitri machidis could tell me the name but from the third and fourth centuries bc and he said is god willing to prevent evil but not able then he is not omnipotent is he able but not willing then he is malevolent is he both able and willing then from where comes evil is he neither able nor willing then why call him god this is the attitude and approach of some philosophers and in these lines is one of the biggest hurdles to believing in god today people will say why is there suffering in the world why doesn't god intervene if he's all-powerful if he's all loving why doesn't he intervene well there's a reason and it will come to a scripture right now which describes that but there was a question that the philosopher failed to ask and it's certainly a question we must ask because we're looking at a plan of this great being who is involving us and most quest people fail to ask this question because it doesn't make sense to them as human beings and if we had unlimited power and a kind heart wouldn't our own immediate response to suffering be to end evil probably so if we want to unravel the puzzle we have to start by acknowledging that isaiah 55 9 brings in god's purpose isaiah 55. let's start with verse six of course speaking to us as people who understand his word people who uh honor him verse 6 seek the lord while he may be found call upon him while he is near we have that opportunity and of course those that god is calling at this time have that opportunity right now let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts let him return to the lord and he will have mercy on him and to our god for he will abundantly pardon that is the mercy of god that is how god deals with sin along with the sacrifice of jesus christ but verse eight for my thoughts are not your thoughts nor are my ways your ways my ways said the lord for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts so when it comes to these things that god decides to do or not to do we often judge with the idea of what would we do in that circumstance but that's a problem that causes an error because we're talking about actions of the god who created the universe created spirit beings and created mankind for a purpose and we cannot second guess why god is allowing this we have to let god tell us god is not bound by space or time we often judge in space and time we are physical and we suffer god does not suffer physically as god but in order to to relate to us one of the god family came down as flesh became flesh and he experienced life as we do and he definitely suffered but it wasn't for sin when i say that it wasn't because of his sin that he suffered so let's have a quick look and turn to matthew chapter four actually luke chapter four because i think that has something which uh i'd like to make sure we see there we go luke chapter four beginning verse one then jesus being filled with the holy spirit returned from the jordan this is just after he was baptized and received god's approval the father's approval was led by the spirit into the wilderness being tempted for forty days by the devil so this is tempting and testing by satan and in those days he ate nothing and afterward when they had ended he was hungry and the devil said to him if you are the son of god command this stone to become bread this was a challenge a challenge to jesus christ that if you made one mistake after the other now the second adam as described in romans jesus christ he says in reply to satan it is written man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of god so instead of choosing the physical answer to his suffering and believe me he was suffering after 40 days and 40 nights he did not choose that physical bread but made sure that satan knew where his mind was that it was on the word of god and that's what he would listen to verse 5 then the devil taking him high on on a mountain showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time the devil said to him all this authority i will give you and their glory for this has been delivered to me and i give it to whomever i wish that tells you where people in the world receive their appointments now obviously sometimes god intervenes and provides people like cyrus and others that he had predicted but satan's in control of what's going on in the echelons of power you might say therefore if you will worship before me all will be yours and what did jesus christ really want to do he wanted to save mankind to give mankind a wonderful life but again what satan was doing was providing an alternative to this terrible death that he was going to experience on that state now we know that he knew that because he'd prophesied of it in isaiah 53 the lord jesus christ emphasized and prophesied that in isaiah 53 so he knew it was going to happen that he was going to be disfigured more than any other man verse 8 jesus answered and said to him get behind me satan for it is written you shall worship the lord your god and him only shall you serve so once again this idea what that satan tried to put in adam and eve's mind and did succeed to a certain degree because god is not not lying god does not change you can rely on god can you rely on satan if he is now saying he's going to provide you with all of this all you have to do is bow down before me can you even believe satan when we read in genesis 3 what he said to adam and eve verse 9 then he brought him to jerusalem set him on the pinnacle of the temple a very high area and said to him if you're the son of god throw yourself down from here for it is written you see i found a scripture i found a scripture which tells me what you must do in uh he shall give his angels charge over you to keep you and there's a second scripture in their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against the stone so we know this is god's will don't we and jesus answered and said to him it has been said you shall not tempt or test the lord your god now when the devil had ended every temptation or test he departed from him until an opportune time in other words this wasn't the end of it and we know from throughout the life of jesus christ as a physical human being that several times what satan did was he put ideas into the minds of the pharisees and the sadducees and wanted to challenge jesus christ the lawyer who wanted to trip christ up over the question which is the greatest command ah which is my neighbor no this was just the beginning of that formal set of temptations as god's people will suffer because of wrong accusations because of uh all kinds of things that may occur to us think of daniel how many times was he uh accused of doing things which he was doing and they were correct and they were right that he was bowing down to his god the true god three times daily the others shadrach meshach and abednego israeli names hebrew names but ananiah mishael and azariah that's it they were not going to idol worship they weren't going to bow down before this gigantic statue but they were punished weren't they they were punished by putting in a very hot oven that didn't even singe a hair on their head and they had a chance to meet up with the one who looked like the son of man the son of god brethren we're going to have a quick look and realize that as it says in first corinthians chapter 1 verse 25 the foolishness of god is wiser than men the weakness of god is stronger than men the reason is because we still are stuck in the mode of choosing what is right according to our own minds our own ideas our own thoughts and sometimes the uh choices that we are faced with are not easy sometimes you have to ask god for clarity you have to ask god for patience to see which one of the choices is the right one for you at this time or that time and i many i know many of us in here have had these different choices to make and i think of um when when we had situations where things were developing in the church and god moved within the church and it resulted in more than one group and it brought out an aspect of character so we're going to find a god who doesn't make any sense to us at times until we try to step back and see things from god's point of view to realize what he's doing with us why would an all-loving all-powerful god why would he choose to give us evil circumstances so let's ask a few more questions what causes suffering how do we define evil what would god have to do and act to actually end evil why do we make bad decisions what do we stand to gain from suffering and what does god ultimately intend to do about all evil they are important these questions are part of the journeys that are on the website the church's website very worthwhile going through but i'd like to first of all ask how much we remember about cause and effect because a long time ago 20 years 30 years ago maybe 40 years ago we used to talk about how important it is to think of cause and effect we can't plaster over the results of something without going to the cause of it and sorting out the cause for example i don't say this against her it was just a problem that occurred my the first sister of mine that died age 31 she had certain problems her meal basically consisted of ice cream and chocolate sorry i should say her me that's a cause and the result was she was very sickly at different times now there are other things that we do it's not just what we eat can affect how our body responds because we also have genes within us that affect us in certain ways but there are other things too aren't there if we over spend we are going to end up in debt it's a basic law of finances um and if we gamble once or twice we could catch the gambling uh bug if i can put it that way there are various things which are causes which end up in certain results but there are also causes for good things too we've already talked about today the fact that jesus christ said uh you know if you do good to others you will receive it back double fold and that law of um we even call it the the royal law don't we the it's a very important one that we can put into practice in our lives we know for example that if you run into a wall you will find the wall will push back you know that if you take care and get enough greens and veg and all the things that we don't naturally like or that men don't naturally like you know meat yes potatoes yes but uh if we eat those things that are good for us then chances are our body will have stronger resistance and immunity to colds and flu when the winter comes along if we're always and constantly eating sugary sweets and desserts especially between meals uh then it's very easy for us and i know to put on weight uh so you know that there are still we're still talking about causes and effects suffering can sometimes be a result the cause can be perhaps the way we behave towards other people but suffering does not exist on itself on its own suffering is caused and if we want to understand why god allows that suffering to happen then we need to understand the cause and effect relationship for suffering so uh we already looked at adam and eve from that perspective uh they basically ruined a wonderful time in a garden that they could enjoy together as husband and wife they had food safety had a close relationship with god who if they believed could have told them how they could have enjoyed life even further with his holy spirit but after god commanded something and they didn't listen that one tree in the garden eating from that one tree represented a choice that man has passed on from generation to generation now by disobeying god adam and eve decided that it was within their power to define good and evil remember satan did that first of all satan decided that he had the wisdom the beauty the honor to choose the right way for him and for others who would follow him remember it was a team effort once he's got his team together so after that we find in genesis 3 verse 19 it says that the ground would be less willing to provide a decent crop for the farmers there would be thorns and thistles that they'd have to contend with i hate holly bushes have you ever tried to prune a hedge and there's holly in it but holly has some of those i shouldn't say i hate them i just feel they should be somewhere else childbirth would be painful a painful ordeal for women of course god also says the positive side once the child is born you forget all of that because there's so much joy that a a youngster being born and also we find that marriage would become a battle of wills and unless we follow the example that god has given us of the kind of marriage that he wants us wants to see in us then there is a battle that uh occurs and yet god has shown us the kind of relationship that we should have not uh foot on doormat or anything like that but it's a partnership that goes together very well when the god of the spirit of god is there and of course god said that they would die dying they will die wonder why the expression is said there dying he will die or dying you will die could it be that the body was dying yes the cells only had a certain number of uh t cells with the little things on the end the counters that drop off after the cell is uh renewed every time it's not the right it's telomeres telomeres that as they sort of drop off and your body comes towards the end was it that dying you shall die meant that yes you're going to go in the grave now if he had not if they had not taken of it would it be dying i will give you life changed to spirit being at that time we don't know but it does say dying you will die and they did die but not before they'd seen their firstborn kill their second born kane killed abel generations came and went and things got worse and worse and remember that adam lived to 960 something i think i know methuselah was older than adam was but he saw all of the terrible degeneration that was taking place okay he was still say uh 600 years less than when the flood came the flood came after about 1656 years from the creation of adam but adam would have seen a lot of the wickedness taking place and eventually of course we know that god decided to uh to to stop that world because as it says in genesis 6 verses 11 and 12 all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth now remember we had god's way to start with and then we had adam and eve taking from the tree which was a tree of knowledge of good and evil and now we've got to the point where there doesn't seem to be much good either because all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth they were now violent as it says in another of the verses i think it's genesis 6 7. they'd become so violent and god worked with that he put them under the ocean in the ground but once again we see that the cause of suffering is mankind it's what we bring that it's not very often that you get a pack of wolves coming in and attacking say a canadian outpost or something like that wolves and other animals are perfectly happy to get on with their lives and the balance that god has given them if mankind hasn't destroyed their environment and caused them to be packed into one small area so suffering comes because of what mankind has done to this beautiful place and remember that scripture in book of revelation until god puts everything right he says god is going to destroy those that destroy the earth because that is the general idea and as it was in the days of noah so it will be in the days just before jesus christ returns that's what christ himself said let's turn to james chapter four james chapter four i will read from verse 1 james 4 verse 1 says where do wars and fights come from among you do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members you lust and do not have you murder and covet and cannot obtain you fight and war he's describing that the progression of things that has taken place all the way up to now when we can wipe out human life with the weapons that we have you ask and do not receive because you ask a miss that you may spend it on your pleasures pleasure seekers those countries that do have the wealth or those percentage of people that have almost everything what do they spend it on well i think the world shows us where we are now in terms of the return of our savior because it's just as getting as bad as it was in the time of noah suffering comes when we or people around us pursue evil knowingly or unknowingly some pursue it for their own financial benefit and as a result many people suffer you remember the uh well there's a series of advertisements that were put out first of all let's take the smoking one there was a smoking advertisement when it showed a doctor with his cigarette and saying your doctors smoke whatever it was this was in the 19 15 19 or maybe it was a little bit later than that but trying to promote smoking and there was another one a woman at home she was brushing at the floor she had a cigarette in her mouth and saying at the end of the day when you need to relax the cigarettes are there for you and of course they said there was no harm no nothing caused by it then there were other things you remember this great invention that would get rid of all mosquitoes so we would no longer have problems with um malaria ddt dichlorodiphenyl trichlorethane the rotten stuff and they showed children in this advertisement running through clouds of ddt coming from the tractors playing in it uh i'm sorry but to my mind that kind of thing if it wasn't done deliberately it's satanic because they wanted to promote their products so we need to also ask the question if the primary cause is people committing evil knowingly or unknowingly then we need to ask what makes up evil i'd like to start with colossians chapter 3 colossians chapter 3 there let's uh go to verse 23 colossians 3 and verse 23 whatever you do do it heartily as to the lord and not to men so that's where the focus is that we're trying to please god knowing that from the lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the lord christ verse 25 but he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done and there is no partiality some may deliberately be causing you difficulty or trouble as uh scripture in romans says we don't take vengeance we let leave that in god's hand that's certainly true uh what will happen and there's a other scriptures i'll quote galatians chapter 6 verses 7 to 10 talks about what you sow you will reap and again contrasts the difference between sowing a good thing and reaping good things and reaping evil back in the book of james chapter one this time let's go back to james chapter one we'll read from verse 12. this is talking about trials the word temptation is very often switched between temptation and trials blessed is the man who endures temptation for when he has been approved he will receive the crown of life this is interesting isn't it because what it says here is that just like abraham when god was able to say to abraham now i know that you obey me and will follow me he had confidence utter confidence that abraham was fully behind that plan that he had and it shows here in this section that if we endure temptation trials obviously do what we can to avoid um causing others problems through it but when we have been approved when we have been when god has seen yes he can handle this he trusts me he will look to me or she then god makes it possible for us to go on to move on with our lives let's see i'll read on let no one say when he is tempted i'm tempted by god i i missed out a section there i think it's important to read i'll read again from verse 12 blessed is the man who endures temptation for when he has been approved he will receive the crown of life that's what we're looking for which the lord has promised to those who love him let no one say when he is tempted i am tempted by god for god cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt or test anyone but each one is tested when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed now the greek here is a little bit different from what the english has because it it literally said god does not tempt people he doesn't put temptation in people's ways and what we see here is that there is something that tempts us or tests us each one is tested or tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed then when desires conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full grown brings forth death so the alternative to suffering through that temptation and testing and being approved is not going through it is following our own uh ideas and thoughts the things that seem right to a man and then we are drawn away by our own desires verse 15 then when desire is conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it's full groan brings forth death do not be deceived my brethren verse 17 every good gift every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures see the moment that god began working with us in his plan to eventually bring all of humanity into his family the moment he did that he began working with us as individuals looking at us seeing maybe areas that we need to uh be need some shining up i i always used to my f uh used to talking about my father-in-law son's dad as being a rough diamond and you know to for a diamond to really shine you need to have those facets polished and uh and shaved off sometimes and for us as human beings we have a history don't we we have a history because we didn't get to the church from coming into it by being a baby now we've got some youngsters that have grown up in the church and that's a tremendous blessing to them if they take the offer that there is but the point is that when we came into the church we had already established certain patterns and habits we've grown up in certain environment and god finds ways to help us change that so that we are able to get on with each other within the family of god imagine that you could know precisely what every individual was thinking and feeling when he or she made any given decision seeing the detail everything that was going on and how these decisions would pan out in the long term or the end result you begin to notice some patterns and you'd probably notice that certain decisions produce certain good results and others don't some seem like good ideas at times but over a period they prove themselves to be disastrous some decisions hurt the decision maker while some hurt the people nearby and let's say you watched this amongst various people and some of the decisions would be resolved immediately a quick thing that needed to be sorted out but others linger for generations in fact in the scriptures it talks about to the third and fourth generation being affected by certain things well some behavior is good and passing it on is a very good thing and after a while now i think god is far greater than us as human beings obviously but if you were able to do that you would begin set writing down a set of instructions or guidance to help generations that come after you well after at the end of his life after 40 years of leading god's people moses walked through or walked the nation of israel through god's commandments one last time let's go to deuteronomy chapter 30. deuteronomy chapter 30 we'll read from verse 15. moses says to israel after they've been on this long journey and the initial rebellious ones had all died in the wilderness so see i've set before you today life and good death and evil in that i command you today to love the eternal your god to walk in his ways to keep his commandments his statutes and his judgments that you may live and multiply and the lord your god will bless you in the land which you go to possess almost like an introduction into the garden of eden again isn't it you can have all these great blessings verse 17 but if your heart turns away so that you do not hear which of course is what happened with adam and eve and are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them i announce to you today that you shall surely perish you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the jordan to go in and possess now what we read in the first couple of verses there was the key in summarizing god's ten commandments moses explained that the decision to obey or disobey god is a choice between life and good or death and evil and he wanted the the people that he had led for these years to choose life chapter 30 verse 19 says i call heaven and earth witnessed today against you that i've set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live now moses wasn't the one that had observed all of these things and knew they were spiritual laws he wasn't the one who summarized them god did god provided the details for him and he told them and he wanted them just like god wants us to obey and to follow anytime someone goes against those decisions it's called sin the laws established by god are far from being just oh i'll pick this and i'll pick that and oh yeah i might as well put something about stealing in there yeah i don't like people stealing even though that might be a thought that a society might come to and say well i don't think it's good to steal you know you you need your own property they might write that into their laws well god had it sorted out a lot before then and paul himself said that the law is holy just and good he said that it is the law that of god that defines sin it helped him to understand what the commandments were how he was to live but the idea generally held in the world is that the sacrifice of jesus christ did away with the law and that you don't really have to obey it anymore he did it for you well that wouldn't make any sense would it because it's like going along some of the cliffs maybe walked along near eastbourne beachy head or some of the other cliffs dover or even near torquay and now this path goes along the edge and there's no rail to protect you there's nothing there to give you a guidance now it's getting dark you need that we need that rail to hold on to to know where to go to when we disobey god's laws we hurt ourselves and those around us and christ was very emphatic he said do not think that i came to destroy the law and the prophets so there's no opinion or majority vote just because a um one of the what would you call them legal institutions in the states might say that this is okay now or this is not okay now doesn't make it so only god's law defines these things and there will come a time where the whole of mankind is going to benefit from the fact that as we will see soon the one that tries to get us to go against god's law is the one who is going to be removed turn with me to psalm 19 if you would psalm 19. verse 7 says the law of the lord is perfect converting the soul helping us to change our lives the testimony of the lord is sure making wise the simple this is psalm 19 now verse 8. incidentally this must be a a jab in the side for satan the testimony of the lord is sure making wise the simple satan was the one that thought he was so full of wisdom but now as david is writing here it's the law of god that makes the simple us you know the ones the world looks down on as saying you know who are they but we're the ones god is working with and we are being made wise because of god's testimony the statutes of the lord are right rejoicing the heart the commandment of the lord is pure enlightening the eyes you can't get this from anywhere else the fear of the lord is clear clean enduring forever the judgments of the lord are true and righteous altogether more to be desired are they than gold yes than much fine gold sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb moreover by them your servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward what an incredible difference this is for us so because of listening to god's law and god's word we are restrained from committing sin it doesn't stop us from committing sin but we are restrained and we're if ever you've thought of doing something and that little voice i'm sure it's an educated conscience inside where god's spirit is helping us saying don't do that i don't think that's the right word to use or no you better not do that you know god educates us and teaches us through his law and as a result god is able to in a sense rewrite the character of every one of us not that every aspect of our character before being called was bad but we are called to have the character of jesus christ in us that's the main and vital important thing that's what's being rewritten in us now that is voluntarily but god could try to get rid of evil if he wanted to by just putting an end to the entire human race no more humanity to cause suffering he could make robots couldn't he people who only did what was right even the angels it seems god gave choice right at the beginning of which satan turned out to be part of that trial and test for them but god is entirely capable of choosing any of these ways to end evil but he does not want to put the cost of turning us all into mindless robots it would be also a matter of blotting his creation out forever which he has had a plan from the beginning and he's working to that plan first timothy chapter two verse four let's just remind ourselves of this first timothy chapter 2 verse 4. for this is good and acceptable in the sight of god our savior verse 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth there's no one that he won't give an opportunity to now i don't know to what level various historical figures have gone or future figures will go to to the point where they no longer have any conscience at all ever but god shows that he's willing to work with anyone who is happy to work with him god is growing his family there's no doubt about that all of the feast days point out to that and god in the family will always operate in unison in harmony there will never be a time where god will allow someone to be in the family working as a member of the family of god who will sin or turn to become like satan the penalty for sin is death and that death once a person has had the opportunity and chance is forever it's not conscious in an ever-burning hell how do we go about changing our lives well thankfully as we know the solution is having god's spirit in us we know the matter of all having sinned and become short of the glory of god we've come to acknowledge that except when we're baptized when we realize that our lives have to be changed from now but why do human beings consistently choose sin as a way of life over gods the answer is because we are short-sighted as a as a community as a worldwide community we see life in different ways you can go to india ask what life's all about they'll tell you it's all about becoming part of nirvana at least that's one of the things that as a weird teenager i looked into and read books about and i realized no i don't want that becoming part of a nothingness and not knowing anything that was going on when we have the possession of all the facts the limit but limited perceptions that man has of life and of god become much clearer sometimes man will act out of generosity self-preservation selfishness or selflessness but we're going to help them to pick a course of action that makes the most sense for eternal life this is what we have been chosen for to be in the family of god in the millennium as it comes up and we're going to learn more about that at the feast obviously but that way that seems right to a man will not continue to exist in the family of god the carnal mind we're told in romans 8 verse 7 is at enmity or an enemy of god that carnal or fleshly mind that's all carnal means it means fleshly it's what we develop as human beings from choosing our own way but we desperately need that helper the spirit of god to help us change and of course something that we learn is that the suffering that we experience is because god is teaching us that his way is the best and sometimes we suffer for it matthew chapter 6 verse 17 matthew 6 and verse 17 but when you fast anoint your head and wash your face so that you do not appear to men to be fasting but to your father who is in a secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly see the father knows our hearts the father knows what's going on in our minds the father knows the trials and tribulations that we have and he's there to help us the open reward we receive may be a surprise to people around us not understanding or realizing what was going on in our lives but god sees in secret and frankly a day without food and water that we have experienced or are experiencing right now is something which we may not understand why we would gain something from it but it does show us that we need much more than food much more than air to continue existing the being who runs this world at the present time wants you and me dead not just dead in the grave he wants us dead to never be resurrected that malevolent spirit and force is satan the deceiver who has had thousands of years of practice on billions of people but his focus specifically is on us now we should not be afraid because not only is he a liar but he uh tries to make out that he is stronger than we are and i'd like to finish on two scriptures to encourage us first peter chapter five verse five first peter chapter 5 and verse 5. likewise younger people submit yourselves to your elders yes all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility for god resists the proud but gives grace to the humble therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of god and of course that's not only when we're fasting but in our lives in general that he may exalt you in due time casting all your care upon him for he cares for you be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour now he tried to devour jesus christ he tried to put all of his most tactical weapons into activity when he spoke to jesus christ he did not succeed he need not succeed with us that's why we cast our care upon our father because he cares for us but satan still walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour so resist him steadfast in the faith knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world yes we suffer along with them some are suffering with the results of this latest pandemic suffering terribly only just got out of hospital the minister and his wife and others have died from the church of god they suffered just as many in the world have but may the god of all grace who called us to eternal glory by jesus christ or christ jesus after you have suffered a while perfect establish strengthen and settle you to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever amen that's an incredibly encouraging scripture that talks about going into the power and strength of god of jesus christ who was whether on the earth before and facing satan with irresistible force he cannot resist the force of god let's recap suffering is caused when humans step outside the boundaries of god's law god can cannot directly stop that from happening without stripping away our free will and he won't do that because he is a loving god who wants family members who are part of it and they have decided by their own will by the same token he will not allow sin or sinful mind sets into the family which disqualifies all of us from joining it so we're in a world shaped by thousands of years of poor decision making god has now given us access to the mind of christ which just as he did as recorded in matthew 4 luke 4 resists the evil one and he flees from us have a wonderful feast of tabernacles see you in talking thank you mr hawkins so please the final song will be on page number 86 please if you find stan after that we have a closing prayer from mr mike murdock page number 86 just fine [Music] is is is is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] thank you please bar ahead for closing prayer for mr mike murder father and heavenly thank you very much for allowing us to be here today to celebrate the day of atonement we know today has a very important part in your plan that you've revealed to us and we thank you for sharing that plan with us father we desperately look forward to the return of christ and putting away of setting the devil and it's only these things that will help the world to go over its current pain and turmoil father we ask now for your blessing on our dismissal please protect us as we drive home from services and please protect us always we drive down to the feast site in torquay we thank you again in jesus christ's name amen you

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Published: Thu Sep 16 2021