UCG Orlando Live Sabbath Webcast

[Music] sabbath day we do want to welcome any visitors that are here with us as well as those who have joined us on the webcast we're glad you're with us as well so brother let's uh begin services by picking up our hymnals and rising and let's turn to page 96 and we'll sing the mountain of the lord once again hymn number 96 the mountain of the lord in the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the lord [Music] and the nations will come and say oh let us go up to the mountain of the lord to the house of jacob's god he will teach us his ways we will walk in his path let us go to the mountain of the lord shall the forth from jerusalem the word of the lord he will judge the nations of the earth and rebuke strong and distant land oh let us go up to the mountain of the lord to the house of jacob's god he will teach us his ways we will walk in his path let us go to the mountain of the lord's grace into pruning hooks there shall be made they shall not lift up their sword again they will learn the [Music] the ways of the lord to the house of jacob's god he will teach us his ways we will walk in his path let [Music] of the us underneath every man shall sit in peace unafraid for the lord and forever we will walk in his name oh let us go up to the mountain of the lord to the house of jacob's god he will teach us his ways we will walk in his past let us go to the mountain of the lord excellent brethren for the second hymn please turn over to hymn number 151 and we'll sing all glory lord and honor once again hymn 151 all glory lord and honor [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] thou art [Music] the king and blessed one [Music] and all things created [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] they sing their gifts of praise [Music] accept their praises they accept the praise [Music] [Applause] [Music] excellent brethren for the third hymn please turn back to hymn number 119 we will sing teach me thy way o lord after that will be led the opening prayer by mr fred ale but once again before that hymn number 119 teach me thy way o lord [Music] teach me thy way my guiding grace [Music] lead me with thy true light teach me thy way [Music] teach me thy way [Music] teach me [Music] teach me thy way where my [Music] make thou my pathway teach me thy way long as my life shall last teach me thy way where am [Music] is [Music] brethren please remain standing for the opening prayer our heavenly and gracious father you have blessed us with the sabbath day today you have gathered us here as one to learn of your ways father so we ask for your presence here to inspire the speakers and inspire them listeners here so we can take the lessons that you want us to learn and help prepare us for the coming kingdom so father watch over us keep us safe keep us safe when we travel and continue to travel onto your feast coming up next week so we thank you father and we pray and ask us all in jesus name amen brethren please be seated we do have the privilege of having two guest speakers with us this afternoon uh for split sermons and so for the first split here is a pastor of milwaukee oshkosh in wisconsin dale's churches also a member of the council of elders mr dan dao thank you very much good afternoon everyone i asked to go first because that gives me more time no i'll actually leave him about five minutes it's nice to be back it's been a while since my wife and i have been back down to florida uh it was nice of mr shaby to offer to have us speak uh mr austin i mr austin i her friend good friends i give him grief he gives me grief so it's nice to be together and everyone headed off to the feast is joyous time it's interesting to ponder god's holy days of course we're in that season of the year to be reminded of the plan of salvation that he has in store not only for us but for all of mankind we've just recently of course kept the observance of the feast of trumpets and then just a few days ago the day of atonement and it's always worth remembering what it is that god is accomplishing and through these holy days the primary thing that he is seeking to accomplish of course is to bring mankind into his family the disconnect we have currently is that mankind doesn't understand this not only does he not understand this we see a world that is so opposed to so many things of what god is teaching us and what he will have in place in his kingdom it's interesting to ponder as we look back at the feast trumpets all the events that will lead up to that day and how ironic it will be that mankind will actually fight against a savior that is coming to save them not only physically but especially spiritually and to bring them into god's family it's interesting then to ponder this topic of government we of course as was even mentioned in the opening prayer look forward to the establishment of god's kingdom and that rulership that we will be a part of but what does that rulership look like what will you and i be doing as rulers well as we ponder that question let's begin in proverbs 14 today in verse 12. we have a statement here that brings to light gives us understanding if you will of why mankind has failed consistently through his history in terms of governing himself every government that's been tried every ruler that has ruled over people has failed at some point and proverbs 14 12 gives us an answer as to why it says here simply there is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death men rule the way they think is right and so they try all different forms all different types of laws all kinds of different structures we have socialism and communism and fascism and capitalism we have monarchies we have representative monarchies we have dictatorships empires communes patriarchs tribes and many other different forms but before we come back and answer a question about why those never work the interesting thing to consider is that all of them could work but they're missing a huge essential element the title of my sermon today is simply what god's government looks like and as i mentioned as we ponder this topic of rulership it's interesting and worth noting what it is that we're training for even now we pictured again going back to the feast of trumpets the beginning of the end of satan's rule over mankind that satan is not going to go easily willingly he's going to go down fighting if you will but the ironic thing is that the conclusion is foregone isn't it he has no chance of success but yet the world is going to look at what's happening and they're going to lament the change let's look at revelation 18 next we have here in this chapter a summation of the fall of babylon and while we can look at that as a specific end-time government structure which is going to be it really represents man's kind rulership influenced by satan since the garden of eden and how it's always been problematic revelation 18 verse 9 says here the kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her the rulers of the world are not going to want to see the systems they've established go away because they have a vested interest don't they they benefit from this rulership it says when they see the smoke of her burning standing at a distance for fear of her torment saying alas alas that great city babylon that mighty city from one hour judgment has come and the emergence of the earth will weep they're not going to be glad they're going to be very sad this is going away they're going to see its destruction and they're going to weep it says here and mourn over her for no one buys their merchandise anymore it's a system built on a wrong approach and yet they lament its passing here this context again in revelation is leading up to the fulfillment of the last seven plagues before the return of jesus christ but there's another event then that happens in chapter 19. let's look at verse 1. revelation 19 verse 1 says after these things i heard a loud voice the voice of a great multitude in heaven saying hallelujah salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the lord our god for he for true and righteous are his judgments god does not rule like mankind does doesn't depend on the way they think god rules here it says in truth and righteousness because he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication he has avenged on her the blood of his servants by her and so we can see why when we go back and consider the history of mankind it's a history filled with violence isn't it corruption on a moral level of of tyrants and capriciousness and all these shortcomings that have led to the collapse of it and yet there's something that's coming that's going to replace it verse 3 again they say hallelujah her smoke rises forever and ever the 24 elders and the four living creatures that is at the throne of god fell down and worshiped god who sat on the throne say amen hallelujah then a voice came from the throne saying praise our god all you servants and those who fear him both small and great and i heard it were the voice of a great multitude and the sound of many waters and the sound of mighty thundering saying alleluia for the lord god omnipotent reigns god establishes once again his kingdom rulership on the face of this earth to lead mankind in the right way verse 7 then john records as the angel says to him let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory for the marriage of the lamb has come his wife has made herself ready which again we picture in the day of trumpets don't we when christ returns those first fruits that will be given eternal life those dead in the grave that will be raised because of their faithfulness their obedience to god's way of life and us that follow them in this and so verse 8 it was granted to her to be arrayed in fine linen clean and bright no spot no wrinkle no blemish for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints and then he said to me right blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the lamb and he said to me these are the true saints of god this marriage supper then begins the fulfillment of the next week that we're looking forward to the feast of tabernacles when christ will be established in a thousand year reign to show mankind what is possible not only was satan removed but more specifically with christ leading mankind and so in verse 11 it says i saw heaven open behold a white horse this is the fifth horse of revelation we don't often times put it in that context but back earlier in the book john recorded the first four and the first horse of course is white as well isn't it but it's a false religion it's a corrupt system this is the true religion a white horse he who sat on him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he judges and makes wars his eyes were like a flame of fire and his head were on many crowns symbols of government christ ruling over all he had a name written that no one knew except himself and he was clothed with a robe dipped in blood that is he paid for mankind all of the sins that have been committed to be blotted out that we could then have opportunity to be in god's family his name is called the word of god and the armies in heaven clothed in fine linen and white and clean followed him on white horses now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that's the the word the scriptures that we have it cuts to the defining of what truth is and what truth is not we live probably for the first time in history in a time where questioning truth is so extent that we don't really know what truth is anymore pilate asked that question didn't he to christ what is truth i don't think that was a snarky comment i think it was a genuinely sincere question can you know what truth is it was questionable even in the roman times but it's especially so now isn't it we're going to know what truth is by god's word here that he should strike the nations and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron we'll come back to that thought here a moment of course then we see in prophecy all these events play out through armageddon through the rebellion of the kingdoms at the end the putting down of satan the removal of him and all that will follow through that then but what type of rulership are we going to have i've been a part of god's church long enough that i've heard this verse as it says here in verse 15 that he will rule with a rod of iron and people have said yes i'm going to rule that way i'm going to rule with an iron fist right it's going to be my way god's way or the highway and i don't think that's the way we're going to be ruling because that's a harsh rulership isn't it what is our rulership going to look like in order to answer this question let's back up and look at a few things let's go back to first john 4 and verse 8 we have here in this verse a very clear simple explanation of who and what god is first john 4 and verse 8 simply says for he who does not love does not know god for god is love now the question is do we believe this we should because this is how god relates to us isn't it he relates to us constantly in love is he looking for the exact payment for the price of our sins he could obligate that from us but how would we do that we could pay for our own sins with our own blood and then we're dead he does it through love doesn't he provided his son as a payment he's merciful to us he's patient with us he allows for our humanity if you will because he created us that way but he's leading us through a process we don't see this kind of rulership in the world do we let's continue by backing up to verse 7 and then we'll move forward from there first john 4 and verse 7 beloved let us love one another for love is of god and everyone who loves is born of god and knows god this is at the heart of what our calling should be in terms of what it looks like then verse 8 he who does not love does not know god for god is love and this the love of god has manifested towards us that god sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him in this is love not that we loved god but that he loved us that is we didn't go to god first god came to us god provided the means for our the payment of our sins first he was patient and merciful even in our sins before we were called he sent his son to be the propitiation of our sins the payment in our place beloved if god so loved us we also ought to love one another this is how christ will rule and so consequently this is how we will rule under his direction every government as i mentioned that has been established every government mankind has tried every failed attempt at ruling themselves every corrupt system that has been devised has failed because they didn't have this at the core of who and what they were and so then we're reminded in places like proverbs 25 verse 8 that in order to rule mankind has to first rule over his own spirit that's what we're about now isn't it so what we're supposed to be practicing week in and week out not just on the holy days to be reminded of those things and so let's go forward first john 5 and verse 3. first john 5 verse 3 simply says for this is the love of god that we keep his commandments the love that we see in scripture is not this ephemeral emotionally driven love that the world can get caught up in times because that love is temporary isn't it god's love is based on structure and we find that structure in his commandments in his instruction this is the love of god that we keep his commandments notice then and his commandments are not burdensome they're not onerous they're not restrictive it's actually freeing to know what not to do isn't it i don't have to go down that path i already know where it's going to end i don't have to waste the time i don't have to be hurt i don't have to try to undo things god leads us through that and so then we also find in places like romans 13 10 that love is the fulfillment of the law that we live the law and in living the law then we become like christ don't we let's look at how that's exercised in galatians 5 or 3 excuse me galatians 5 13 what that love looks like in practice because it's one thing to talk about it one thing to say this is what we're to be like that we're to become but what does it look like how do we practice that rulership now galatians 5 and verse 13. for you brethren have been called to liberty that is we know again what works and what doesn't work that frees us from so many hurtful things but he says but don't do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh don't be selfish don't think it's only about you he says here but through love notice serve one another where he briefly looked at first john to know what love is so then we're to take that love god gives us the love that he shows us through his instruction and then we're to use that love to serve one another i don't know if you've ever pondered this before but that is training to lead in god's kingdom and so then we have christ's instruction in matthew 22 that tells us to love our neighbor the question was asked who is my neighbor he wasn't asking to make sure he was doing it the lawyer was asking to make sure he knew what he didn't need to do that's that's not the right approach isn't it and of course then we read first john 4 8 that shows us that god is love let's go to hosea 2 next we don't often turn to some of these minor prophets i'll give you a little bit of time to get there i say that so i can find it too isaiah 2 and in verse 19. christ i'm sorry god here is talking and hosea is recording he says i will betroth you to me forever yes i betroth you to me in righteousness and justice in loving kindness and mercy and as i mentioned earlier this is how god deals with us now those he has called those that are now part of his church the bride that he is preparing for christ he's betrothed us in loving kindness and we read revelation 19 earlier that talked about that marriage supper that we're going to be a part of it's going to be a very joyous occasion isn't it not only for us knowing that we'll be there but to see all those that we have known that have died in faith and weighed in the grave we see then played in out in this the fulfillment of what paul talks about in ephesians 5 and what marriage is to represent and how christ loved the church and gave himself for her and so then we also find in scripture how god is family one of the the sad things that satan has had so much success in destroying in the world around us is not only what marriage is about look at how the definition of marriage has changed in the last handful of years but more importantly what family is about because marriage is all about family and it's not my point today to try to go into the truth of god in his word that shows how he is developing that family that's a much bigger conversation but we are to see in how we rule how we're to rule as a family as well but let's look at galatians 3 next and consider this matter of being family a little bit more and how it impacts how we rule i'm sorry i'm not used to mike being so close to me so i'll back up a little bit galatians 3 and verse 16 paul here writes he says now to abraham and his seed were the promises made but he does not say to seeds as of many but as of one that a family we see this in scripture the two are to become one aren't they they're no longer separated as individuals a man and a woman there to be one flesh that unifies them in purpose and in mind intent what they can accomplish so we're to be one seed as it says here even as it is in christ and this i say that the law which was 430 years later cannot in all the covenant that was confirmed by god in christ that it should make the promise of no effect i mean god led us through this so then let's move to verse six of chapter four then in this process of becoming family one of the natural outcomes typically is that we have children so galatians 4 and verse 6 because you are sons now this is an inclusive term it's not leaving out women but what i want to focus on here is it says because you are does not say because you will be because you are we are already part of god's family it's just a matter of the rest of it playing out we're already in that family we are already sons and daughters because of that god has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts who is god what is god he's love he has sent his son so that we can have that in our innermost being so we cry out abba father therefore you are no longer a slave but a son and as a son then heir we stand to inherit all that god has created all that he is offering i don't know that we completely comprehend that but nonetheless we are families now we're part of a family we're part of god's family in that love that he is and so we're learning how to function and rule even now in our own families in our own congregations in our own marriages even in everything else that we do how we interact with the world how we do our jobs all of that should be done in love because that's how we're going to rule we're not learning to be bureaucrats we're not learning to earn a top spot in that coming government so that we can have others do everything we don't want to do that's how the world rules we're learning how to rule in godly love and so that in that we see that god's government is family based and it will function as a family so doesn't it stand a reason then that if god is family and if god is love then we as god's called out ones are to be learning to become family as he is family and to love one another and lead in that love as he does with us these holy days that we're going through picture a time that will literally change everything that mankind has come to know christ will return on the day of trumpets the first fruits will be resurrected to eternal life we'll go through that marriage supper we will see satan removed from influencing mankind for a thousand years and how the world will blossom under god's leadership through christ and how we will serve with him let's consider some few more verses here before i wrap up proverbs 23 the fulfillment of these holy days is not really some distant event we can look at the course of a year and we can ponder things as we are even now at the cusp of the feast of tabernacles we'll think well the next one's a whole another year away and yet it'll be here in a blank won't it here we are again a year ago saying look how far away that is and yet it's always very quickly once again upon us but we have to ponder these things on a daily basis not just when these holy days roll around these time of year these seasons to consider how we think so in proverbs 23 and verse 7 i want to focus on just the beginning part of this verse for as a man thinks in his heart so is he will we be able to rule in love if we don't think it in our heart if it doesn't become a part of who we are and what we do because christ is talking about rulership and that's not something he's just going to hand out because he thinks he should he wants to know how we're going to rule that's part of what we're going through now so let's look next at ezekiel 20. ezekiel 20 and verse 33. ezekiel records god's word here he says as i live says the eternal god surely with a mighty hand with an outstretched arm and with fury poured out i will rule over you and so some read verses such as this and say well look how god is going to rule it says he's going to rule with fury but is that what he's talking about what we might naturally think in this respect it's easy for us to consider furious anger but we have to remember that god always corrects in love i'm always reminded of comments like this when we look back to the time of when god made his covenant with abraham that he said that it will be a long time before this begins to fulfill be fulfilled excuse me it was 400 years he says it's going to be a while before i have to deal with the amalekites but he gave them 400 years to repent we know they didn't but that's a very patient god isn't it a very loving god and so when he's talking about fury here he's talking about the passion that he's going to have behind it he also has a fury if you will to restore doesn't he that even when we see god correct or even destroy nations that we know that he's going to restore them to life so they can learn to be like him what we're learning now because the overall theme one of the overall themes i should say of all of god's holy days is a desire to restore us and all of mankind by extension to the relationship with him that was rejected in the garden of eden he wants us all to have that opportunity and so let's conclude in scripture with second timothy chapter 1. ii timothy 1 verse 7 this is a point worth considering on so many different levels of life but also in terms of what we ponder here today second timothy 1 verse 7 simply says for god has not given us a spirit of fear there really is nothing that we need to fear in life that's easy to say spiritually hard at times to do humanly isn't it we have a job and a boss threatens us if you go away this week that you're going to do that i don't understand don't expect a job when you come back i've been there or to fear illnesses that go through the country like we're dealing with at times here or to fear governments imposing restrictions on various liberties that we have or any kind of fear that we might have we don't have to live in that fear that's not the spirit god gives us but notice what he does give us rather than fear he gives us power and love and a sound mind there can be different trainings in life different skills and aptitudes different abilities that we can all have and so when i talk about learning how to rule in love i'm not talking that we all are the same thing because in families we're not the same thing are we i just happen to be the smartest and most handsome of all my brothers but we're not all the same are we i have five well they're five boys i have four brothers and we're all different there are a lot of similarities my brother and i and our families my our wives and children were together years ago out west after camp high sierra and my wife made a comment both of them actually made the comment how similarly my brother and i walked how we sat when we were around the campfire our humor and so many things that are familiar in that regard we reflect each other in a family but we're still different aren't we good thinking is good thinking god is leading us through trials individually and sometimes collectively to teach us how to rule in this love how to be patient how to be kind how to be merciful how to be gracious but it's still imperative for us to learn and apply ourselves too isn't it to learn how to think sound that's what first timothy 1 7 here is talking about you can have power without love and without a sound mind what do you have you have brutal rulership you can have power and love but if you don't have a sound mind what do you have a capricious mindset you never know where they're going to go next it has to be a package and so god leads us through these things collectively individually our education our skills are important and with those skills then god can add what we don't have when we have the desire to rule and love because we can figure that out with his mind we see also in families that good leaders don't make unilateral decisions do they to consult the family to include them in decisions and we know ultimately someone has to make the decision but to do it as a family is much more cohesive isn't it bears much better fruit than simply one person deciding and dictating how the rest should behave or do and so in a family it's important to have people around you with a broad range of experiences because they cover our blind spots they fill in our weak areas even god said that back in genesis i'll give you a helper he said to adam compatible to you because adam wasn't whole in that regard on his own but god was also showing them what family needed to be like because he is family we find in these holy days again a reminder that when christ returns everything will change but what will not change is how we're to rule that we're to rule with love we're to rule in service and we're to rule with patience we're learning now how to do that over top of the human nature that we currently have learning to overcome that carnal nature and learning with god's spirit how it can be different now may god speed the day of his son's return the fulfillment of the rest of the plan of salvation god has for all of mankind okay brethren for the next time please stand up and pick up your hymnals and open them and we'll turn to him number 29 and seeing mount zion stands most beautiful once again him 29 mount zion stands most beautiful the lord eternal [Music] to is [Music] [Applause] [Music] praised beautiful [Music] [Music] this [Music] our god is foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] away as we have heard we saw within the city of our god the city which the lord of hosts has established ever more we of thy loving thoughts in my most holy place oh god according to thy name thy praise fills all the earth excellent brethren please be seated and now to bring us the announcements and take charge of the rest of the service here's our pastor mr rick shaby well good afternoon everyone good to see uh good to see all of you here today and i want to welcome those on the web looking through the congregation i think we have more visitors than uh regular attendees here so good to have all of you with us i know many of you are on your way to daytona beach some to panama city some to brazil i even heard this morning so good to have all of you with us and um let me welcome as i said those on the web those uh here in the local congregation we have had a few ill instances of illness here in the last few days so i think those are rightly home today recovering from what they have and others are being cautious as well with any symptoms so we wish them all well and and pray for all of them that everything will be well and they will be ready to uh to attend the feast so keep all of those in your keep all of them in your prayers please toward that end we have a number of get well cards on the back information table out in the lobby there so if you will take some time after services i know that the people who receive those cards would very much very much appreciate very much appreciate those looking around i know we have a number of ministers with us here today too so i won't name them all out but it's good to have you all with us it almost feels like a feast of tabernacles uh service here today with everyone everyone here with us so it's a very very nice day i know we are all headed to the feast and i don't have many local announcements here since we'll be at the feast here for the next week not have any services here locally for those who may be visiting us uh that are our news no services in orlando next week we'll be at the feast in daytona beach during that time but let me give you for those are going to daytona beach a reminder of the protocols that the center has sent for has set for us over there i was over there this week and i i reiterated with them again and had them repeat what they wanted us to do so we're going to follow exactly what they had to say what they said is that they would like everyone to wear a mask into the center but as soon as you're in the center you can take it off and i double checked that with them but they said that's what they would like to have happen so let's comply with their request and as we park in the parking lot walk into the center with a mask but once we're in the center they said they have no problem if the masks are off so let's uh but of course you're free to keep them on if you want to now remember in daytona we do have a mask room set up so that is going to be the people that are sitting in the mask room it's going to be meeting room 102. it is a mask only area and if anyone wants to visit that area we are going to ask them to don masks as well for those who prefer to have that there's a separate entrance right along auditorium boulevard once you get there you'll understand what i'm talking about for the people who will be sitting in the mask room the rest of us will be we'll all be parking in the west lot and there's a direct entry into the main hall from the west lot the exhibition hall that we're in is absolutely absolutely huge and massive so um anyway we have plenty of room to we have plenty of room to spread out while we're there wherever you're going for the feast uh panama city daytona beach i don't know about brazil but uh opening night services you know are 7 30. that's when the feast of tabernacles begins at at sunset so i hope everyone will be there for opening night services it goes right through the last great day on the 28th with two services on on tuesday september 28th first day opening day services though are at 7 30 p.m first holy day services there's one service on tuesday at 2 30 2 30 p.m um oh parking passes yeah i know some of them some people have asked on atonement about parking passes i do have some extra copies of that i'm going to lay those out on the back table there where the well put them back out there on the information table out in the lobby so if you need a parking pass there will be one there if you if we run out if you don't have one don't worry about it on opening night i'm going to let them know that they can let anyone in that says they're with the feast of tabernacles so we won't have any congestion there they would like to have those parking passes later on in the week visible on your dashboard though just because we rented out as part of our agreement they have an attendant that is going to be watching over the parking lot the entire time that we have it rented and they would like to feel the comfort of knowing that the only people that are parking there are people who are at the feast of tabernacles so if we can work with them on that i know they would very much um appreciate that i think that's i think that's it for for um announcements here so without further ado i'm going to introduce our second uh split sermon for the day we're glad to have with us a long time minister in the church i think you all know him uh mr gerald aust thank you very much mr shaby is it okay if i touch this what does this mean kidding supposed to be a joke i did i died didn't i jerry aust is my name and it's a pleasure to be here my wife and i uh live in mobile alabama where we helped locally i retired or was retired uh not too long ago about a year ago and we are enjoying it uh so we had the opportunity to come to daytona last year that would be beach and also this year so we're really happy see a lot of uh ministers that we've seen over the years and a lot of you brethren really appreciate you our being here with you today i got my little mp3 i'm going to start it is your name written in the book of life that's also referred to as the book of remembrance i want you to think about that for a minute very good uh split sermon which he didn't take a lot of time i don't know if that that may be a setup for me i'm not sure so we'll figure that a little bit later very fine message thank you very much i'm just going to come up here and say okay folks bow your heads and uh we'll end the service today excellent good friend mr dan dowd really appreciate him a lot is your name written in the book of life or remembrance if you have god's spirit it is it is the book of remembrance in malachi chapter 3 we'll get to that here in a little bit refers to the book of life the book of life proves that god remembers us by name he knows every hair on our heads i think he probably remembers your name and my name if he can check all hairs on our heads moses you remember moses numbered israelites in numbers the book of numbers love the name of that book it's part of the torah torah's hebrew pentateuch greek same five books and in there in numbers god believes in counting census checking things out making sure that he has every eye dotted and every t cross so he's very merciful and i'm not making light on that he numbered the israelites moses did in numbers twice first about a year out of on the exodus uh numbered those who could go to war second time uh in moab so but we're not going to go through that just want to bring that to as another reference so god numbers his saints revelation 20 and verse 12 you're i'm sure if you've been in the church any time at all you well remember this that would be revelation chapter 20 and verse 12. and i saw the dead this has to do with the great white throne judgment that's the eighth day that we keep we have lovingly called that the last great day no proof that it isn't but it's certainly the last day of salvation it's to be a great day and it'll be the last one and it'll be a short shorter period of time otherwise he wouldn't use day and i saw the dead small and great stand before god there's going to be a great resurrection and the books were open so we don't know right then which books he's talking about but you know by the next one the books were open and another book was opened which is the book of life now over the years i've been doing this for almost 60 years i can tell you that that word life should have a qualifier ahead of it and i write parenthetically whenever i see that eternal book of eternal life not just any life eternal life and that's what where we are headed and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books the same bible that you and i have today according to their works same process that we go through salvific process we go through i want to go back to psalm 56 before i touch on my thesis psalm chapter 56 i had a little while ago i think psalms has not left they've not left me so i still can find them i'm hoping uh let's go to psalm chapter 56 of scripture that i don't use often but i sure love it psalm chapter 56 if you're flipping through the pages of your bible and look down if you would well i am at least in my old king james translation verse 8. this uh individual is talking to god he says you tell my wanderings you know where i'm going you know where i've been you know where i'm going uh put you my tears in your bottle well what a close relationship is going on here are they not in your book what book any book not a biology textbook has to be the book of what i say parenthetically eternal life psalmist knew that moses numbering in the book of numbers having taken record of the israelites is a type it's typical of it is a type of the book of life so my question today is why does god have a book of life or if you want to call it the book of remembrance and how can we get our names in there i've got only two points why does god have a book of life and how are we going to get our names under it those are the two points today first of all why does god have a book of life or remembrance i've already alluded to it because god is a jealous god just a few minutes ago mr dowd was talking about the fury of god that always reminds me back in in exodus when god talks about being jealous if you look that word up in exodus i don't have the scripture with me right now if you look it up there you will find that that isn't just any type of jealousy he equates it to a flame of fire not the yellow part of the fire the white part of the flower which is the hottest part of the flame so when i have given scriptures or rather uh sermons in in times past i said god is white hot for us the hottest part of a fire that's the jealousy of god for you and me i hope you feel that relationship with god i'm not getting pentecostal on you here i just hope you feel it i hope you know it logically and i certainly hope that you feel it emotionally and put those things together which is what king david did because he is a jealous god that's well i have the scripture exodus 34 14 if you want to look it up i'm not going to go there now and he god is keeping keeping track of you not in a bad way we'll see another scripture that shows that god keeps a record of the righteous so i'm going to go back to malachi chapter 3 this is point number one only two points first one why does god have a book of life or remembrance we're going back brethren to malachi chapter 3. malachi 3 and let's begin in verse 16. now i love the previous verses because it talks about paying tithes which god demands of us to do god owns everything so we're giving him back a tenth of what he already owns right and offerings and what he's going to do he's going to bless us greatly he's going to keep the destroyer away from us so god is very positive he wants you and me to have a really intimate loving relationship with him verse 16 then they that feared the lord spake often one to another i have uh coordinated feasts and i'm not competing with anyone 15 times and some of them were 12 000 13 000 and the biggest difficulty i found was that if you want to get services started or if you're bet if you are taking a break the brethren go into the middle aisles boy do they talk i love it i bet you love it you probably participated in visiting with people people you didn't know before you're learning about who they are where they came from what their past was like and enjoyed that a great deal that's what we got here in verse 16 malachi 3. then they that feared the lord spoke often one to another we do that and the lord hearkened ears perked up he heard it and a book of remembrance was written before him that feared the lord and that thought upon his name one of the biggest things i have discovered in my life is my relationship with god i know that really sounds kind of puny doesn't it but my relationship with god i want to be able to say anything i can to him that i possibly know about what i have need of what i praise him for thank him for am grateful for i want to have a deep relationship with god i'm not perfect with it i know that beyond a doubt that's why i keep praying to it because i am imperfect and they thought upon his name his office what he has done we have to study the bible from genesis to revelation to be able to find out what god has done and what he's going to do and they shall be mine saith the lord of hosts which means armies in that day when i make up my jewels or my special treasure do you look at yourself as being a special treasure of god he does you now you and i right now we gotta close on women you got your dresses on suits whatever man you've got your suits on right but when you are god you're not gonna need dillards nordstroms whoever else you wherever else you shop you're not going to need any of that you're going to have that white robe that we heard about just a bit earlier but that right robe although you'd be able to see it spiritually because you'll be divine is going to shine so bright according to daniel chapter 12 verse 3 that will shine brighter than the stars in the firmament if you were right next to the largest star that we know about in the universe you'll be brighter than that no wonder he calls us his jewels sparkling if you go back and find out what god's throne is all about in revelation four and five and then you go further in chapter 21 and 22 and see what god is doing what he's going to do where he lives how bright it is astonishingly bright and that is what you are going to look like so we are special jewels and i'm going to spare them as a man that spares his own son that serves him why would he say that does that mean that everyone that comes along he's sparing yeah in a sense it is i think that's also prophetic i think it also fits with math excuse me revelation chapter 3 and verse 10 where those with the philadelphia attitude are going to be spared from the great tribulation the tribulation's going to cover the entire earth to me that represents that this this is a prophecy then you shall return that's another reason because of the close proximity of the latter part of that verse in 17 with the beginning of verse 18. then shall you return who well israelites to be sure but those people are going to be changed because you see the context here and discern between the righteous and the wicked between him that serves god and him that doesn't serve god that's really important for us we're in class today as god's people as a church as his assembly you think i might be making up something here if you look in the bible it's not just one-on-one god in you and you and god god is really interested in everybody together god has that great assembly he talks about in hebrews chapter 12 so god is looking forward to billions billions upon billions of people who are going to be turned into sons of god are going to shine brighter than the brightest star in the firmament above so we are going to be there and we are going to be able to judge at that time that's why he writes our name down in the book of life or has somebody else do that for him he wants to save all humans you're aware of that i'm sure in first timothy chapter 2 verse 4. got to make sure of that scripture it might be second timothy don't lead you astray no it is first timothy i got that one right i think yeah first timothy chapter 2 and verse who will have all men to be saved and to come into his knowledge of the truth god wants every human being who has ever drawn the breath of life at least that maybe more we don't know depends on how god looks on the heartbeat and the child that's born yet in the womb or still in the womb not yet born however god works and he wants every single human being to be saved have any people that might you might consider to be an enemy today or somebody you don't like to be around okay pull back on your reins a little bit that person's probably going to be saved i have somebody cut me off in traffic and i don't want to say i love you i might say whatever he is however i have learned to say there goes a future god that helps me there goes he's in a hurry but there it goes hey that guy that cut me off there goes a future god that helps me a little bit god thinks differently from the way jerry os thinks and i know that now under this first heading why does god have a book of life or remembrance because he loves us so much he was doesn't want any mistakes to be made about your name my name being in his book of eternal life i got to mention this the lake of fire shows the very fact that god is going to have a lake of fire where he's going to inflame the whole earth and there's going to be a firestorm that won't quit i know the elements from beneath might come up and add to it but certainly the lake of fire pictures uh conflagration that won't quit and there's going to be a great fire that engulfs this entire earth it shows that not everyone will desire to be saved now i underscore the word desire they don't want it just don't want it i've talked with people who have left in times past and not a lot of them but a few and they said well i'm finally free i left the church i said wait a minute let's see let me get this right so before you came into the church before you were liberated from the ways of the world and the clutches of satan the devil you were free that's freedom and the guy didn't like it and he may have even cursed but not everyone wants to be saved i wish everyone wanted to be saved and so do you god in his mercy won't permit incorrigible humans we're going to address this a little bit with the lake of fire sometimes it's easily misunderstood god in his mercy we used to call it the coup de grace when i went to the ambassador in the 60s will not permit incorrigible humans to suffer forever that is a coup de grace that god is merciful he will not let a human being not going to make him into a spirit being and then let him be insufferable with himself for eternity like satan and the demons not going to do that god is very merciful if he makes up his mind this gentleman the person who says no i've had enough of it don't want to hear from god and he blasphemes not just against human beings god can forgive that even against god and against christ but if he blasphemes against the holy spirit that means he rejects the holy spirit rejects it wants no part of it how are babies fed in the womb of a mother do you know do they have any feeding tube going on there yeah they do how do you think god works with you and me what connection does he have it's kind of like an umbilical cord isn't it i'm not going to reduce god to physical terms and in my little puny mind but i think you get a little bit of imagery there a little picture that the holy spirit's very important for you and me and i'm not putting boundaries around the holy spirit as well but it it does feed us it does help us it walks with us it's the comforter he won't permit encourageable humans to suffer forever like satan the demons i want to touch on that for a moment in matthew chapter 8 matthew chapter 8 please now this particular place where this situation where this circumstance took place my wife and i were at that very spot in israel when we were touring israel back in 19 i believe it was 89 if i'm not mistaken i couldn't believe it i looked up the little mountain side and the the swine we're going to see that here in a moment went down into the sea of galilee let's take a look in verse 29 brethren and behold they cry out these now are apparently demons not satan himself they cried out saying they were occupying this one in person what have we to do with you why are you around here why are you talking to us why are you judging us jesus you son of god are you come to this place are you come hither throwing a little uh language thing thing here from the old king james language hither to torment us before the time how do they know that how do they know that before the time torment us so already they still think it's god in christ who are tormenting them it's not self-inflicted they brought it on themselves when they listened to lucifer became satan and went with him one third of the angels so they know about that they know what's going to come down the line conversely those who love god and human humanity endure to the end can become god well you can find that in matthew chapter 25 40. i'm not going to read that it's an important scripture he also repeats it i think again in 46 but in matthew 25 40 these individuals were saying when did we ever serve you when did we ever go to prisons why did we didn't do all of these things uh when did we do that for you and he says if you've done it to the least of all of these hold on you have i'm adding parenthetically already done it to me that's how god looks isn't that beautiful so we have a really direct connection with christ and god the father of course by the way we treat and serve and help and encourage one another as we treat others so god says in matthew 25 40 jesus did that's how you treat me so god knows his saints we're still on numbering we're still on recording it's still on this whole thing is about remembering let's go to ii timothy 2 19. look at my time here whoops i'm running out of time and you gave me some time but i'm not going to cheat because i see mr shaby back there what does this mean mr shaby when you do that i don't know or this or this that's a little scary sir okay i'm kidding love mr shaby okay ii timothy chapter 2 and verse 19. stumbled onto this one it's always there i jerry stumbled onto this one day i thought whoa i got to figure this thing out i got to compare spiritual things with spiritual as paul writes in 1st corinthians chapter 2. i better check this thing out take a look verse 19. neverlace nevertheless the foundation of god stands sure now the reason he says that is because he mentions the names of two men hymenius or hymenius and philetus who said that the resurrection was ready over don't worry about it well they may have been around when those 500 or so were were brought out of the grave at the death and resurrection of jesus christ that might have been but they had they had ruined the lives of a number of people they have heard erd means sin it's not an error e-r-r-o-r means missing the mark saying the resurrection is passed already and they overthrow the faith of some of some nevertheless paul writing to timothy christ telling us today nevertheless the foundation of god stands sure having this seal the lord knows them that are his how how about the holy spirit that you have i think he might have some connection with us he might remember those who have his holy spirit who have stirred up the gift of the holy spirit and have drawn closer and stayed closer to god that so they have this seal and if you go back in a number of different places new testament the seal has to do with the holy spirit lord knows them that are his and let everyone that names the name of christ depart from iniquity now why does malachi 3 refer to god's book of life as as one of remembrance okay i'll give you a couple of little ideas a little a here because we we remember and honor him you remember back in uh first samuel you may not remember that may not have studied it this morning you've probably gone across it first samuel 2 30 and the latter part of that verse god honors those who honor him god honors those who honor him he honors us and remembers us by writing our names in his eternal or book of life or eternal life a little letter b because we are special treasure to god malachi 3 17 we've already addressed that and little c because we've judged ourselves before we start to judge others and we know that mercy rejoices against judgment got to make sure that i stop here on time here because nuts no problem oh mr shabby says let's keep it going okay i'll do it love that man are we brothers yeah i guess we are mr shavey okay good we judge ourselves before we judge those these are some of the reasons why they're more that god writes our names in his book of life to remember you and me incidentally you let's think about this you people who are parents and have children remember when they were little and they were in maybe a group with a group of children and the kids were laughing and maybe crying and maybe yelling and squawking and they're doing this and you knew when you heard a particular outcry that that was your child isn't that amazing so even we in type are able to do what god sees us in reality and fulfillment through god's holy spirit and actually through the attitude that mr dodd was talking about having that attitude god is so merciful to us so loving so we must judge ourselves before we can judge others is that what we do well it's not easy to do but we must do it and we do it on an ongoing basis and we also know while i hate to just use the word judging without using mercy because god says that mercy rejoices against judgment he personifies mercy it rejoices against judgment i think you find that in james 2 13 if you're of a mind to go back there sometime and look it up in first corinthians 11 31 and 32 and take a quick look at this we use first corinthians chapter 11 during the passover service i like to go further down in chapter 11 because he talks about judgment and he says to us through paul through the gift of the holy spirit in verse 31. now he brings this up because he said some of you some of your brethren have died because you didn't take the passover seriously you didn't take god seriously for verse 31 if we would judge ourselves we should not be judged no one could do that perfectly when i was in the navy and i was called by god back in 1998 i thought that i could overcome all my sins you ready is this dumb or what give me the duns gab in one week you guys have your laugh and then i thought well a week went by and i wasn't able to rid myself my sins so let's cut a little slack for old jerry because you just come in this brand new to this give this guy two weeks so i went two weeks still there oh okay i got it one month i got a lock on this baby one month went by and i was so discouraged six months went by and i found out i still had human nature a year went by and i still found it then 50 some years ago i'm still finding that out do you now listen if you don't have that and god doesn't have to judge you for anything i want to shake your hand because i want to remember you every human being runs into this because we're human but when we are judged verse 32 continuing we are chastened in a loving way of the lord why so that we should not be condemned with the world he wants to save us he wants to save you he loves you cares for you wants to be with him forever i used to pray to god one of the things i said was god i want to live with you forever then it dawned on me one day i think god helped me in this now i say god i want to serve with you forever there's a little difference there if i'm serving with god i'm also living with god what's god about service he came to serve he didn't come to be served there might be a lesson there for oh jerry asked so that's now how i pray point number two first one why does god have a book of life or remembrance remembrance how or for what reasons are our names entered in the book of life i'm going to touch on three and you find them back here of all places in revelation chapter 17. i thought wow jesus christ the revelator and yes i'm aware that god the father gave it to jesus christ to reveal through john it was described i understand all of that but let's go to revelation chapter 17. i came across this scripture because i love the book of revelation i taught it at ambassador bible college three years and that's when you learn something about a book when you teach it because you're going to have people question you and those kids came out and they said what about this mr ross i said hold on a second what was your question well what about this one mr i said that you both hold those for a moment i didn't know the answer so then finally i said i don't know the answer but i'll get it for you didn't happen often but it did happen rude awakening for ojwa in revelation 17 right in the middle of these uh seven kings five are fallen one is the other not yet come the beast was the eighth the ten horns are going to be the ten government heads over ten kingdoms that make up the beast's power they have one mind i'm going now to verse 13. they're going to give their power and strength unto the beast because he won't have any of his own unless they give it to him notice verse 14 jesus christ who loves us so much then these shall make war with the lamb that of course is christ jesus coming through the clouds and the lamb shall overcome them he he presents himself as a passover lamb that's absolutely incredible of course we see that in revelation chapter 19 as well for he is lord of lords he's master and he is king of kings and they that are with him three things called first you're called then finally after you're called you make up your mind someday and you say hey mr shaby hey mr dowd hey mr dr phillipos to whoever the minister is i think i want to be baptized now you're getting right up next to being chosen why am i saying that because you have made yourself available to god you've surrendered yourself to god enough that you want god's spirit in you and to do that you have to have a certain amount of faith to believe that you're going to receive the gift of the holy spirit after you have your sins washed away so the minister talks with you describes explains what's going to happen and then he says well put a hand up here i'll grab it behind your head put you down under and bring you back up reminds me of a gentleman in texas when i was pastoring longview and lufkin uh many years ago and he said i sure want to be baptized mr ross i said i sure want to baptize you mister i won't mention his name super nice guy and he said well where will his baptism take place if it takes place i said on the big sandy campus they have a baptismal area there and i'll meet you there on certain day if that's okay with you you let me know if you want to change your mind you let me know other than that i'm going to meet you on that day at this particular time he showed up now remember what i told you about putting you underwater and bringing you back up so he got into this big baptist tank and i'm not six feet four i'm five feet and yeah as they say in texas five foot nothing but i'm a little taller now but here he was sitting there i said uh mr i'll call him jones mr jones are you ready he says i sure am mr host i said very good i said okay here we go start to put him under and he fights like everything in his feet and toes and his fingers and his head popping out of that water i couldn't i mean they were splashing i thought i was a dolphin it there was so much water outside and i said hey we got to do something about this he said i forgot to tell you i'm scared of water i said you wish you told me earlier so i said okay so we're talking and and i'm talking with him and i said it's a wonderful thing that you hear blah blah blah blah blah blah stuck him under before he had a chance to get he kicked but he was underwater i watched see if that toe's wiggling up there no toast sticking up no finger gotcha baby under he went up he came and i said you're baptized and go spitting water out and everything like thank you and it was a it was a tough time but we got him under okay we're getting to this point of chosen so once you go under that water it's like the blood of christ that cleanses you water cleanses the blood of christ cleanses this farm and said you bring them out and then you're going to lay hands on them after obviously when they get out dry off and you uh lay your hands on this individual and ask god not that i give his spirit no minister can but that god would give his spirit to this gentleman or lady whomever it might be that's when you're chosen and i ask in that prayer you don't follow my example if you don't want but i always ask in that prayer please write this man or this woman's name down in your book of life which you promised to do because they are now chosen by you through this act this of water baptism and the reception of the holy spirit those are pretty pretty important here you see they that are with him are called and chosen i've had people who said they were called and thought they were chosen they weren't chosen yet you are chosen after the uh process of water baptism that laying on of hands and faithful wait a minute it's not just static and it stops right there it goes all the way to the end as long as you live and you endure to the end you must and i must be faithful to god you know that those three three reasons i think they're very good reasons are why god can place us our names in his book of life your name's there you might not think it's there it's there it was written in the in the book of life and he remembers you and me one thing i want to mention before i conclude here is the fact that god guarantees us i don't want you to miss this one eternal life let me say that again let's underscore it in our minds god guarantees your eternal life and mine because we have the holy spirit of god did you know that literally what it says in second corinthians chapter 5 verse 5. now in my old king james bible it talks earnest if you go to another translation it talks about guaranteeing that holy spirit in you guarantees you eternal life how many people over the years have said to me i think i've committed the unpardonable sin you i said you wouldn't be talking to me if you committed the unpardonable sin forget that yeah but will i be there i said you have god's spirit i know that so that guarantees that you are going to be raised as a divine son of god that is so beautiful so wonderful and god doesn't hide that it's right up front on it so the old testament book of numbers is a type is a type i could not believe it when i began thinking about this a type of the book of life where we are numbered god's not against numbering he's got to be the one that doesn't he's got to be the one that commissions it you remember david i know you probably wear that in samuel chronicles two different uh places where this is located and david was told joab hey you need to go out and number all of our people i think they came up with 1 million 100 000. yeah i do mean that and so there was 600 000 of judah or whatever and the rest i've forgotten and i think somebody slipped in and pulled the levites in there they were supposed to do it but he went ahead and did that and joab said don't do this do not count them god is the one that saves us so what happened god sent the prophet to david and said you have three choices take your choice here's what's going to happen because you didn't listen to me i am your god i am your commander-in-chief i am the one that can save you you don't have to find out how strong your army is and how many there are because you're going to be concerned about whether this army over here has as many as you do here don't worry about that jonathan you remember prince jonathan and king saul when the midianites came in and king saul was up on the mountainside ringing his hands and he said now what are we going to do prince jonathan was down in a ravine and he had an armor bearer you may remember the story and the philistines did i say many a nights well wash my mouth out with light soap i mean philistines scratch the midianites i'm getting them mixed up here but the philistines because jonathan said to his armor bearer he knew what his dad was doing up on the hill and he said to his armor bearer i'm going to stick my head above the ravine i'm going to tell them that i'm here if they invite us up we're going just two of us if they don't invite us up we're getting out of here uh all you're gonna see is dust and elbows heading over the hill we're leaving so he stuck his head up and he said something the philistines they were strong men of war they'd been around a while and jonathan's uh asked him the uh certain questions and they said hey why don't you come up here we'll teach you a thing or two jonathan look back at his armor bear i love that armor bear i want to meet him in the kingdom because the armor bearer said i don't care what you do i'm with you even to the death he didn't care jonathan said in effect with one you are a majority god doesn't need a lot of people to overcome just one that's god you got god you got everything you ever been in a tight in your life i bet you have maybe a number of times and called upon god so numbers it's beautiful books type of the book of life where we're numbered god even engraves our names in the palms of his hands i spoke an atonement in mobile there was a gentleman there from another group came and visited nice guy and he says you talked about revelation 20 i didn't know about that and i'm trying to figure this thing out so would you mind going over that quickly so i did guess what he did took a pen out wrote in the palm of his hand i thought wow i said that's going to disappear he said no it'll be fine i'll transfer it to a notebook but he wrote it all down in his palm of his hand the the key things i was telling him about in the process step wise progression in revelation chapter 20 he says i just i never knew that he says i want to know god writes your name you ready he's got a big hand huh and his palm engraves it in the palm of his hand does he love you or the second question is does he love you kind of silly isn't it i think he loves you and me god zealous saints like david in acts 13 22 who are written in god's book of life will be spared you know there's a scripture two scriptures i've mentioned one revelation 3 10 but there's one in daniel 12 1 that fits very tightly with revelation 3 10. in the end time michael is going to spare those because of god uh the great tribulation so god will hear us fellowship about him and our fellow saints during the feast of tabernacles to be sure we just heard it starts on monday evening so may you and yours enjoy god's feast of peace and prosperity because we'll bring it to real time god has got your back in his book okay brethren for the final hymn now this afternoon please pick up your hymnals in rise and let's turn to him number 156 we'll seeing the one whom the father sends as you're doing that we'd like to thank both of our guest speakers uh mr dowd and mr ost for being here and speaking to us today and let's sing him 156 the one whom the father sends and after that would be led in the closing prayer by the pastor of the atlanta and beaufort georgia congregations dr philip aust but once again before that hymn 156 the one whom the father sends [Music] foreign [Music] every eye will see that his kingdom shall contain none that will open for our lord messiah reigns the one whom the father says [Music] [Applause] there the world bow down to bring god's earth its peace and his kingdom shall contain [Music] messiah reigns the one whom the father stands [Music] is his word which makes them free drawn by christ the door through which they'll come to see that his kingdom shall contain none that will offend for our lord messiah reigns the one whom the father says nations will then come near and seek the light alone drawn on the waters [Music] [Applause] [Music] see what his word has done in a land of peace [Music] sing it loud brethren and his kingdom shall contain none that will offend [Music] great god almighty we come before your throne once more at the close of this service deeply appreciative of what you've done today in terms of providing your spirit here pouring it out upon us being able to hear your word through two messages we pray again that you'll guide us lead us direct us help us to reflect on what you've provided so that we can grow in grace and knowledge as you desire we thank you for the opportunity to come together each sabbath hear this sabbath in the midst of your holy days your fall feasts we thank you for the opportunity to have these feasts knowledge of these feasts we thank you for the opportunity to fellowship about the messages and about these feasts and what they mean so we pray for guidance and direction on all we all that's taken place here we certainly pray for all those who were unable to be here pray that you'll heal and direct and guide them and pray that you'll help us to go from here protected through the remainder of this sabbath and even as we travel to the fall feast of tabernacles here upcoming please protect us wherever we may be going however we may be traveling we certainly rely on you for that and for all things we love you and thank you for all you do for us and for your son jesus christ who gave his life for us and we ask this now in his name in jesus christ's name amen you

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Published: Sat Sep 18 2021