The Word of Life

Ron Weinland

October 24, 2005

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon

Tomorrow is the Last Great Day, an annual Sabbath, and we'll have two sermons. Sometimes when people are new and they hear different comments and the prayers or whatever, that this is the last day of the Feast, it is the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, but there's one more day. And of course we'll have two sermons tomorrow on the High Day, the last day, the annual Sabbath, the last annual Sabbath of the season.

But this sermon on this last day of the Feast of Tabernacles is one that will help bring more fullness to those things we have covered here and have been covering at the Feast as God's word comes alive more and more for us. And again, understanding that as time goes on we'll be able to digest more that was given here and we'll continue to build upon those things.

Thought I'd mention just in passing here that if any individuals, if there is anything here that wasn't covered at the Feast (because there's a lot in there), anything comes to mind, just go ahead and email me and say that you'd be interested in hearing the explanation of "this," or send me a letter or whatever. And in time we’ll certainly try to get to every question that's out there or every thought in some of those cases.

God Almighty, the Eternal Living God, Yahweh Elohim has given us a great Feast indeed, brethren. He truly has. The physical is good, but the spiritual was and is for us a mighty feast this year. We have had spiritual waters poured out upon us, as with all, what I believe, brethren, in every way, as in no other time in human history, because this is the time that God is beginning to reveal Himself more and more, getting ready to reveal Himself in ways He never has in all of human history to the earth.

God has been far more fully revealing His Kingdom, which I marvel, because that's what these days picture, the coming, the first phase, if you will, of His Kingdom as it comes to this earth. Because its only the first phase, in that respect, when the firstfruits are resurrected to return with Jesus Christ when he returns to establish, to set up the Kingdom of God on the earth to rule over those who are living on the earth – all physical human beings that live through the great tribulation and on into a new world.

And then there will be a thousand years where God and the 144,000 rule and reign on the earth. It's an awesome thing. And more and more the Kingdom becomes greater and greater, as a thousand years go on. And finally, the Last Great Day we'll hear about tomorrow. God's plan, if you look at the scheme of things, beginning to come together far more rapidly.

Just like the seven-day week; when you start out on Sunday you know you're going to be going to work Monday. And maybe if you go to work Sunday you're getting thrown right out there in the world and it takes a little while to get to the Sabbath. But finally, when the Sabbath is there it goes by quickly.

And that's where we are. What's ahead of us in time, it will seem an awesome thing. It will go by quickly. And finally we'll all be at one with the Great God of the universe. One mind, one word, one way of life, but so many with differences in the way we are, personalities and everything else, a part of the Kingdom of God.

He has been giving us much more of the word of life. And that's the title of the sermon today, The Word Of Life.

That which God gives to us that we begin to live and put into practice, to put to work in life the Sabbath, our yielding to the Sabbath, the Holy Days. He begins to reveal things to us and as a Part 2 to a sub-part yesterday.... Just kidding! Someone came up afterwards and told me why I was talking about the combine and the tractors. We were talking about oxen, and proving the oxen, the excitement people can have when they see something new and they are anxious to go out and try something new that's able to do a better job for them, a greater job, and they have that anxiousness about going out and putting it to the test and trying it.

Whether it was oxen or whether it be a combine or tractor or anything else that you might use in your business that enhances what you're doing. Consider the way of God when He tells us to "prove" His way. That word has to do with "putting it to the test, living it."

It's not a matter that we have to go prove it in scripture, and if we find the scriptures then we'll agree with Him. He's the one that has to put it into our minds and then we can choose. After that. He puts it into our minds and then basically, we're to go out and live it and learn from it…and learn from it. And more and more as we live this way of life to prove it more deeply, become more deeply convicted of God's way, of God's only true way.

Let's quickly review in a condensed form what God has poured out upon us. He has made it clear that there is only one God. And I hope He's made it clear. But that can depend upon us sometimes as human beings or maybe the ability we have at a particular time and something that's in our mind that's just a tough thing. And that's understandable. He is patient with us. He'll work with us. And then all of a sudden, you know, everything will fit into place for us. We continue to yield to Him and pray to Him and ask for His guidance and direction in our life.

So again, He has made it clear that there is only one God who has eternally existed as a single being for all eternity. One. One. One. It is foundational to everything. It is the pinnacle of everything. It's the basis of everything. Everything else was either created (as in the angelic realm) or born (as with mankind) through time.

God made it possible, obviously, through that which is able to be born—speaking of the human family—of that which has gone on, continued on as part as a continuing program, process that God has given in His creation. Primarily, again, then, for His family.

Jesus Christ was born as human but with the very being of God. "The Word of God made flesh." There are things that came into the mind of Christ that became his being that was fully from the Father in ways that we can only grow in a little bit at a time and come to appreciate a little bit more as God gives it to us. To understand that awesome difference, that uniqueness from birth – the very mind of God. There are things that…

I was asked a question this morning, and we'll maybe address that later on in another sermon or something as an aside in the context of other things. But there are things that came into the being of Jesus Christ that was as though he was there. Things that God had done. Things that God had purposed and planned that came about. And that was so powerful in his mind it was though… and he did see it spiritually. It was as though he were there, the spirit, brethren, and the power of it that lived within him. Things that we can’t fully grasp, nor comprehend.

There are things we learn, but we're very limited on the scale that we are as human beings, imbibing of the spirit of God, drinking in of the spirit of God, and there are things we begin to see more and more. We read things. I marvel at that, too. I marvel at how we read things like the book of Acts and the history of the Church and we believe it all because it's from God. And God shows us these things took place. We weren't there but we believe them. It's a conviction we have.

We believe what it says in the book of Acts about Pentecost. We believe the stories of those things that took place. Stephen, when he died and when he was filled with God's spirit in a very powerful way and continued to speak the truth and began to be stoned until he died. You know, those are awesome stories!

Ananias and Sapphira, who thought they could lie to God or to God's servants, and they did not grasp you cannot lie to God and get by with it. God knows. Now, what God does is another matter, but this struck fear in the Church. You can't lie to the holy spirit because God knows everything in our minds, and if we lie He knows it. If we do not tell the truth, He knows it and we're judged accordingly as to what He will give to us or not give to us, how He'll work with us or not work with us. We are the restriction, not God. When God draws us and calls us He has a purpose for us, and it's up to us the choices we make along the way. Awesome stories, and we believe them.

I think of people today, when they read some of the literature, or the book, and all of a sudden they are reading it as though we would read the book of Acts. It happened! Mr. Armstrong was the Elijah to come. It's just the way it is. They believe it. They see it. God gives His spirit for those who are able to see those things, for those who can come to the.... And it just happened. That's the way it was. Just as much as for us when we read the book of Acts.

With Jesus Christ, it was much more powerful, much greater.

So again here, he was a separate, individual entity, with his own life of free choice, yet he had the very mind of God from birth. And whereas when we're begotten, again, we're only able to partake of that mind and that word and we grow in it. He was the Word made flesh. It's powerful, powerful, powerful, brethren, and God will help us in the following year to come to a deeper appreciation of that very statement alone.

Jesus Christ had this mind in him, again, from the beginning, and all that his Father gave him he knew. He was uniquely at one with the Father in every way. With so much of what God had lived and given, was now being filled in the very mind of Christ as he grew and as he read scriptures, as he saw things, as God began to reveal things to him in the spirit, in the mind. And in so many respects, it was very much as though Jesus Christ was "with God," again, from the beginning of time, in so many ways, brethren, and yet he wasn't. Because there's such tremendous power that was there, of the Word, the mind, the being of God that was in Jesus Christ.

The experience of creation, of the words spoken to Adam and Eve, to Noah, Abraham and Sarah, to Moses, to David, to the prophets; so very much of this mind, brethren, was able to come into the mind of Christ. He was the Word of God made flesh.

We only partake of it a little bit at a time, and we grow and we conquer and we overcome. This is a hard thing to understand because we're very limited with our physical minds, even with God pouring out His spirit upon us.

So indeed, Jesus Christ is uniquely the Son of God as no other will ever be. He is the first of the firstfruits. He is the first resurrected from the dead. He is the first to enter into the Kingdom of God. And all others must follow through him. That was God's plan before anything was made. Because it's all about Elohim, God's plan and purpose for His Kingdom.

And how many times have we heard that at Feasts of Tabernacles? God's desire from the very beginning was focused always on Elohim, the Kingdom of God, the good news of God's Kingdom coming, of the ability of what God was creating and through time and those who would be able to enter into the Kingdom of God. The good news, over and over and over again. And God lets us from time to time come to a deeper appreciation and understanding of all that.

I want to begin today by looking at a verse back in Isaiah 9 that we need to understand so that we don't draw any wrong conclusions, and so that we can instead have a deeper appreciation of what God is performing in and through His Son, Jesus Christ. And God will continue to reveal more about what He's doing in and through His Son, Jesus Christ, as time goes forward. But here is something that was stated so long ago written by the prophet Isaiah, something that was brought to mind to different ones when they were told later on when Jesus Christ was born, and before his birth, and after his birth.

Isaiah 9:6—For unto us a child is born. It's "unto us," for us. God's purpose and plan that one should be born that would be totally human but from God. God would be the father. In his very mind, his very being, the revelatory thought, that power, the mind, the wisdom, the way, the truth of God would be placed in him from birth and he would grow and he would learn in life and mature more and more and more in ways that are so difficult, brethren, for us to even begin to grasp and comprehend. For unto us a child is born. It's for us. He's for us. He is here for the purpose of salvation. His name was Savior; one of his names. He had many names that God gave to him, that he has, that describe him, that tell what he is, who he is, what God is doing through him. Emmanuel – "God with us." And we're able to be with God through him, in God through him and He in us.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And he was given to mankind. It was God's Passover given to mankind, and then so much more beyond that. Given to mankind. Gift of God so that we could one day become a part of the God Family, the Kingdom of God. God's gift. God's giving. …and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Beautiful verse. But if we have different definitions in our mind and in our being we'll read different things into it. It doesn't say he was the Almighty God. It says "The mighty God."

It begins, by context, telling us, again, that a child is born and a son is given. Again, this is about Jesus Christ, his birth as the Son of God, given to mankind, and this is where this verse begins. There's more to it, but let's notice. You know, in Hebrew, brethren, I marvel sometimes when I go through various scriptures and see various things. And I feel sorry for them, and I think about how difficult it is for people when they're studying, because they have something pre-conceived in their mind. Unless God gives – and He had to give it, reveal Himself to the mind – people are always going to come up with the wrong conclusions. And I marvel at all the translations that are out there. Sometimes people pick up on the intent. They see something in an intent by a definition, by how it's used, perhaps in other things written around the same period of time. They see how a word is used by other people, not having anything to do with the Bible, and they search out what is being said here. And sometimes, they are able to put that into part of a context, but never understanding the purpose and the plan of God, never getting the big picture, never seeing it.

Was talking to someone yesterday about different translations and how that so many translations, obviously, that come from a Protestant world, they have their bent and their twist in the New Testament. And things are translated in a vein because of what they believe. And that's all they can do. That's all they can do because they have certain beliefs and the New Testament has to fit into those beliefs. So the words that they work with, you know, they take away from the intent, the true intent that's there. And sometimes some of those same ones will translate things in the Old Testament, especially the Psalms and the Proverbs, sometimes can be far more beautiful, you know if they don't have a religious bend in that, with today's English, modern English, more modern English than King James English. Sometimes King James English is... You know, words change! Is it etymology, how they change? Took it in college one time and don't even remember it. But anyway, it's a study of words and how they change. And there are different things that that the whole meaning changes through time. And especially when you look four hundred, five hundred, four hundred years or whatever, because of the world. Look at the world today and constant changing of words and what they mean. I could give you some examples, but the ones coming into my mind right now, I don't want to use. And so it is, sometimes it's difficult, but it depends on people bent and what they're trying to prove. But if we strive to receive exactly what is given, in the order it's given, without a bent, brethren, it's awesome what sometimes we can learn.

And this is translated in Hebrew, if you find in many cases they don't try to give the meaning. In one case here in particular, a translation from Jewish people in Hebrew, they just give the one long name with a dash in between each one and they don't try to give any more than that. It's like... Well I don't know, anyway, they just give the Hebrew words without trying to give a definition. And it describes and it is, it describes an entire meaning of the purpose, if we understand it, for a child being born. That's what is happening here. This is showing a purpose. It's showing what God is doing. "A child is born, a son is given," and it's revealing here some of the purpose prophetically. This is prophecy. It's in Isaiah. It's showing what's going to come to pass.

Well, let's break it down. The word "Wonderful" in Hebrew – it means "a wonder, a marvel," as it's used in Hebrew, "extraordinary, hard to understand," and some translate it well as "wisdom" as "a kind of wisdom."  "Something that's wise." Because everybody doesn't just have wisdom automatically. It's something that has to be learned. And sometimes, as we see things, the greater of the wisdom we see the more in awe we are. I think of Solomon, when he offered to split the child in two. It caused awe! "Wow! Look at what God inspired." So that the true mother would say, "No! No! Don't take his life." Awesome. And so we're in awe of something like that. So when we have that opportunity, when we have to judge such a situation – obviously not, okay. Boy, is it that…? Is it? Anyway, you're taking far too seriously here today, folks. I'm just not… I get a kick out of it, a charge out of it. Maybe you don't. My own private humor. But anyway, "wise," you know, "wisdom, a marvel, a wonder, extraordinary, hard to understand." It's not something that just comes in the mind of someone so they can learn what someone else has gone through and they can enjoy that and be in awe of that. How much more God? How much more the mind and the being of God?

"Counsellor." A word that means, obviously, "to give counsel, to advise, one who guides, to guide along the way," whatever it is they're going through. If it be in a trial, which sometimes the word is used in that kind of a case, it's one who guides and leads and advises throughout the trial, along the way as developments unfold. The word is akin to exactly what is given about Jesus Christ in 1 John 2. Turn there if you want to.

1 John 2:1. It says, My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. If any man sin, "If any man sin," and that word as is used in the Old Testament, especially if we understand "counsellor, court of law, judgment." Here's one that is sent, brethren, to help us, to aid us, to give us help in the time of such need. In our whole lives we have such need of coming out of sin. We're talking about a strong judgment upon us as human beings because of sin, and yet he guides us all along the way, advises us by the power of his spirit, what we must do, how we must change. We're taught it Sabbath by Sabbath by Sabbath, God's way of life. If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father. It's the word "paraclete." It's found back there in John 14, when it talks about the holy spirit, the helper, the aid that would be sent to mankind. Because it's by the power of the holy spirit it's accomplished. But Jesus Christ has this as his title, of the one that is doing these things, the purpose of his coming to this earth, for mankind, to save mankind, "God with us," to help us, to aid us along the journey, along the way of coming out of Egypt. Of revealing the way we must go in order to get where God said we can go. And he works with us all along the way. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the only one that God has given – the righteous one. It's amazing some of the words of righteousness that are used concerning Christ prophetically and later on as well. So again, "advocate" here is, "one who assists, helps, aids, guides along the way," meaning really the same thing as what we're reading back here about "a counsellor" in the Old Testament.

The next one: "The mighty God." This is not translated well, and if we're not careful we'll read the wrong thing into it depending on our belief. And is most often translated by meaning from Hebrew as simply "strong God." "Strong God" or "mighty God." But it doesn't mean he is the Almighty God of all time, of all eternity. He is "mighty God," "strong God"; the one who has great strength that God Almighty, Elohim, Yahweh Elohim gave to him. He is not the Mighty God explicitly, but he's "mighty God," "strong God." That's what the words mean.

"The Everlasting Father." Again, this is very inaccurate, brethren, in what is said here as far as most English Bibles are concerned. But not all of them translate it this way. It is most accurately translated by others strong in understanding of Hebrew as, "Father forever." "Father forever." And this doesn't mean the Eternal Father. Brethren, you have to use other scriptures we're going to do in a moment. Let God explain those things. We already know, but sometimes we have to look to them directly to understand what God is saying. We know. We should know, unless we have a difficulty with some of it, then, maybe, we don't know because we're still reading something into it that doesn't exist. And the word "father" here in Hebrew, basically, it has only two meanings basically and that's just it. It can be, depending on the context, and you'll know by the context, as a whole, or can know. 1. "The father of an individual or of individuals, literal father."  And another, widely, powerfully used, "The head or founder of a household." Not literal physical father, in the sense of lineage, in the sense of genealogy, in the sense of that which is born from someone else, but very powerfully used in scripture as well. The meaning, "The head or founder of a household." That's Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is indeed "the father" with that understanding of the Hebrew word. But most often, it's like the world, we see the word "hell," and we understand there are three different ones in the New Testament, different words in the Greek that it's translated "hell" – and drastic differences in meanings.

Having a conversation before services here about the word "love." There are different words in the Greek language, and if you don't know which is which, the difference between philia and agape as an example when they're there, I think there are four different words that can describe, that all translate it as one word. And so if our understanding isn't right of the original word, of what's used in Greek or what's used in Hebrew, brethren, we can so easily come up with the wrong conclusion. And what do we as physical human beings, when we heard the word "father" think? What normally comes into our mind because of our usage of the word "father" in modern day English obviously. And we don't generally think of it as how it is in Hebrew, "The head or founder of a household." Which doesn't always have to be "father" because of begettal.

1 Corinthians 11:3. Several verses here. You just jot them down if you want because I'm going to go through them rather rapidly. But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. That's the way it always is. That's the way God established it from the very beginning of time, the way it would be.

Ephesians 4:15—But speaking the truth in love (agape), may grow up unto him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. Oh, brethren, he is the head of the household. God has made it that way, hasn't He? It's not talking about him being our Eternal Father spiritually, in what God is doing in His Family.

Ephesians 5:23.  You can just jot it down. I'll read it to you. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church: and he is the Savior of the Body. For God has made it thus, brethren. That's the way God has ordained it to be.

Let's go back here and read it again, Isaiah 9. Again, I marvel at this time and some of the things we are addressing, how we can latch on to an example that's been given several times during the Feast, about a translation of something into Dutch, a book into Dutch. And to learn from that, brethren, that you can't go word by word so often. It is a matter of having to know the intent, the purpose, the thought of what's being said to be conveyed. And that's exactly what God does with His Word. It's the revelatory thought, as we talked about yesterday. It's something that God has to reveal, what the true intent is, otherwise we cannot know. And by God continually revealing Himself to us and it giving understanding, we see a clearer and clearer picture. It just gets greater and clearer all the time. But in the scheme of things we still realise how little light we really see at this point in time. But we see light and we grow in that. And the world is in total darkness.

Isaiah 9:6, again, For unto us a child is born, a son is given. And the government (governments) shall be upon his shoulder. There's some other translations that really give even a better rendering of that – talking about a growing government. That's what it means in Hebrew. It's really like a growing government; a government that grows, becomes greater and greater. What happens to the Kingdom of God? It's grows and it becomes greater and greater. And that's really the thrust of what is being said here. It becomes greater and greater.

And his name shall be called, Wonderful Counsellor. Wonderful Counsellor. I like how one translation has it: "the wise guide." "A wise guide." If we understand what the wisdom is. Because for mankind, as the word is used, it's something that is hard to understand. It's something, in essence, to be in awe of if we grasp the word. "A marvel." We marvel at it. We're in awe of it. And we should be, that which comes from God and that which comes from Christ.

Sometimes solutions to our problems as human beings when God reveals to us what we should do and we think, "Why didn't I see that?" You know, "Why didn't I see it quicker?" We're constantly growing and overcoming and learning how to deal with things and learning why God says to do things a certain way. One that's beautiful to me is one that's so hard for human beings to do – is a simple example of Matthew 18,  where it says, "to go to your brother alone." But we, as a people, find that very difficult. That's one of the greatest errors that caused some of the greatest problems in the Church because it wouldn't be applied back through the 70's and the 80's. And when it was lived so often it was done in pride and haughtiness, looking down on someone else like, "Now's my chance to tell you what you need to be doing!" And they're just as bad, or worse off, than the individual who might have done something. And sometimes they didn't even do anything. You understand what I'm saying? Go to your brother alone out of love.

As it talks about in Galatians, it better be in the right spirit and the right mind, in humility and meekness, willingness – and "meekness" means "willingness to learn." That maybe you didn't see everything right, maybe you didn't hear everything right and you need to make sure you hear it out right in the beginning, know what you're judging and how you're judging it. Because we judge things, brethren, day in and day out and we must. And God holds us accountable with how we do it. That it must be in agreement with the Word, the law, this way of life, over and over again. So the Church never lived that. You know why, as a whole? Because without agape, it isn't lived so often because we fear. Because we're human beings we're fearful of what they are going to say to us, do to us; that they might not be a friend anymore. We're more concerned about ourselves than we are them. Therein is the problem. We're more concerned about a response, maybe, from someone else, that they'll get mad at us, upset at us, or "This isn't going to be easy. This is a hard thing to do." Oh, it is a hard thing to do. That's why God says to do it. It's hard for human beings because it goes against everything we are as human beings. We don't want to do it that way. When someone begins to dabble in and fool around with something that isn't healthy spiritually, and out of love and care and concern say and talk to them and plead with them and say, "Don't you know where this is heading and how much is this going to hurt you if you keep going this way? But look what's coming out of it already. Look at the division it's causing in the body." You know, "I love you and I want us to continue to walk to God's house side-by-side with counsel blended sweet." See?

Mighty God. Strong God, the first of the firstfruits, the first to be resurrected from the dead, the first to become Elohim from the human family.

Father forevermore. That's what it means. It's right to have it at the beginning here, brethren, if we understand "the head of the household forevermore." Jesus Christ was placed there as the Head of the Church, the Head of the Body; the way God has organised it all.

The Prince of Peace. How many? How many places? That's an easy one for us, the Prince of Peace, the peace that can come to mankind through Jesus Christ because, "A child was born, a son was given." All these things, brethren, reflecting things that are done in and through Jesus Christ. And there's so much more. But this, is just one prophecy of many.

The rest of the verse– of the increase of his government. This is where it means the government continues to grow. The increase of his government, and peace there shall be no end. In essence, it just grows and grows and grows. In other words, until when? You know, it's like some who, you know, if they're not careful can read about "eternal fire" and various things. Or you know, in the example that's given to us, you know when a fire consumes everything that's there, you know what? It's over with. There's nothing else to burn and it goes out. It's not eternal. And on and on it goes. And the same thing is true here. Until the Family is complete, until Elohim is accomplished there will be no ending of what is taking place – that's what we're being told here – until it's fulfilled. So many things, brethren, if we understand it has to be fulfilled, and not until it's fulfilled. It just continues to go on.

So, Of the increase of his government: the growth, the growing. A government that continues to grow, will continue to do so until when? Until that government is complete, the Kingdom of God is complete.

And peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, upon his kingdom, to order it. It's a process that God is going through to bring peace to the earth, to save mankind. That's why it's used about here, about David. Because Jesus Christ, that's the throne that's given to him, and greater.  And upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever.  And it literally means "from now and forever." Just continues to go on, the Kingdom of God. From when?  From now. From when "a child is born and a son is given." From now and forever. It's the prophecy.

And it says, The zeal of the Eternal (of Yahweh) of hosts will perform this. God is always first, brethren. God is always first. Over all. Everything that's being done, everything that will be accomplished to bring all into His Family is first and foremost accomplished by God the Father, from Him through His Son to us all. It's a powerful thing to understand.

Lets notice one other thing here, just to drive a point home here, in John 20 concerning what the scripture says about the Father. We should know. We should understand what it means, "the head of the household." We should understand the way God has organised and structured everything concerning the Father, the Everlasting, the Eternal Father, in the definition truly of a Father.

John 20:17—And Jesus said unto her, Touch me not; for I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God, and your God. The One True God of all eternity, that's where he was going. He says, He is "my God and He is your God." "He is my Father and He is your Father." Is there any doubt about the Father? So there shouldn't be confusion about Isaiah 9. These are things that describe, as so many other things do, a relationship that God has given us in and through Jesus Christ, and He's going to give to mankind, continue to give to mankind. And the names that are there are powerful and mighty as to how God does it. And we come in greater awe! As we grow, do we not come into greater awe of the wisdom, the mind, the being, the way of God and how He works with us and what's He's doing? Every year, brethren, concerning the holy days, as we grow. I think of things we've gone through. I come in greater awe of the excitement of Passover to the Last Great Day. It just... How do you describe it except it just lives more and more in you. There's more life in it. The excitement of it. The reality of it. The reality of the believing of the knowing of it gets greater and greater until you're just bursting at the seams, brethren, waiting for your change…waiting for your change. That's what's next, in a big way; there's more we have to learn yet, obviously. But that's the thing we look forward to, the excitement and joy and the fullness of those things we desire.

That's why we heard in the first sermon of the Feast here, Mr. Wrozek telling us about some of the things of rejoicing at the Feast; why God tells us to do that, the purpose behind all that. It's so we can carry it farther and learn from all that, brethren. God wants us to do that here and now. Why? Because of what we picture, as we heard. By what we picture, because we're looking forward to a time when there'll be so much joy, so much rejoicing before God for what the earth has been given. And that isn't enough because that isn't the full answer, yet. But that's an incredible jump forward, a leap forward. But the ultimate answer of all of it is, to be in His Family. To be fully in His family, in the Kingdom of God. To be born into His family and the rejoicing and the fullness of all that, brethren, and the excitement God has in rejoicing as we approach that time more and more. I hope you feel that more and more, a rejoicing, a joy of what God is doing, an excitement about what God is doing the closer and closer we get.

Let's go over the Philippians 2. Let's just build upon all those things we have received thus far, even more so, brethren, recognising that there are many things that God is doing in and through His Son, Jesus Christ and why he was given the purpose, the focal point, the head. That's what he is. The pinnacle of it all, of God's purpose and plan and creation and what it's leading to, what the fulfilment of it all is all about. So again, let's take a look at the way God Almighty, how the Eternal Yahweh will perform the fulfilment of this long name in Isaiah and much, much, more concerning His Son.

Philippians 2:1—If there be, therefore, any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love (agape); that's where the real comfort is. That's what we should desire to have more and more of; meaning we want more and more of God's spirit living within us, meaning more and more. We want to practice to live His way toward others. We want to become less selfish. We want to become more outgoing and more giving and a willingness to let self be sacrificed meaning that we have to give up our pride and our selfishness and what we might want in various circumstances and situations in order to give to someone else to make their life better, in order to make their life a little fuller, a little richer, a little more enjoyable.

And then we begin to experience the kind of love that God has. Because the real joy and the real agape of God, it comes back to you. Because the love and the fulfillment of it, God's way, is in what it does – the joy in the giving, the truest joy of all, brethren, the greatest joy that we can experience and live. It's what comes from us, if we can give that to someone else, a joy and a fullness of life, and the joy for us is that it was given, freely given, nothing held back. Just the joy of sharing, the joy of giving. It's an awesome thing.

So again, If there is any comfort of agape, if any fellowship of the spirit. I love that. We just love God's way, God's word. It is so awesome so we should be in such awe of it, the wisdom, the mind, the being of God and what He lets us see.

Any fellowship of the spirit. That's why very early on when we were going through some of the troubles we were – we have experienced trouble after trouble after trouble after trouble so that we could learn and grow and become more deeply convicted of what's wrong and what's hurtful and what's painful in the Body of Christ, so we can become more deeply convicted of what is good and right and to hold onto it with all of our being, and a willingness to stand up to protect it, to protect the little ones or protect others when they have slipped and fallen. To be there at their defense, to be there to help, to give aid and to stand our ground firm and not allow, seek to not allow anyone of God's children to ever be hurt. See? We become stronger in that, much stronger.

That is why God is not allowing certain things to exist and be in His Body. Because He's refining us and cleansing us more and more and more, and He's going to do it a whole lot more to bring us at one with Him, of the same mind, of the same purpose.

So "the fellowship of the spirit." I think of the one example, "building bridges." I got to where I loathed that expression, like I loathe the word "politics." I didn't loathe it as much before in the world. I didn't loathe it very much at all because I didn't grasp it all, politics in the world, you know, the system they have. And I came to a much deeper understanding of how ugly it is, of the way that it is, of what it creates and what it makes. It makes liars and lying. You can't have it without lying and being a liar.  You can't live in it, exercise it without being a liar and lying – your spirit.

And people don't recognise that and don't understand that and so there are people who wanted to build bridges because they missed something. Most of the time, "the building of bridges" expression that was in the Church – some of you who are new are wondering, "What are you talking about? Building bridges?" They're probably thinking about construction on the highway or something.

We're talking about building bridges between different groups who were one time in one fellowship in the Worldwide Church of God, one organisation. And then all the splinters began to take place, and with the splinters, different minds. And so even there, how can there be different beliefs? Definitely cannot be one anymore. That's contradictory to the Word, the mind, the unity, the one way of God. There aren't a lot of different ways.

And so, all these different ideas that people begin to come up with - 14th/15th Passover – just a plain, flat, old 15th Passover. Or Pentecost at different times and the things that were kept there, and how to count it.

And some of these individuals, because they missed the larger congregations, the larger fellowship that we used to have. It was a hard thing, was it not, to be whittled down to size? In some regions, like I believe Cincinnati, was it around 1,500? Somewhere in there, in the churches that were there. You bring them all together, and that many for a Holy Day, and to be whittled down in size like that in certain Church areas?

You know, a handful that came out of two congregations I was with in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Franklin. I've talked about that experience and some of the things we went through. Out of what, the 350 that were there at one time? Handful. You know. Incredible things we've gone through. I think of Erie. I think of Detroit. I mean of Toledo and Finley, and then the Detroit area, and the whittling down to size.

And so, this was hurting people because some groups became very, very small. And the smaller, the harder it was sometimes, the lonelier it was, in one respect, because we missed what we used to have. And so, a part of a solution for some of that was, "Let's get more together." And the more they got together… It might only have been a dozen, but that was a lot better than being by yourself. But compromise came with it in order to do it. It was called "building bridges." “You bring along your belief, and I'll bring along my belief, and we'll meet in the middle and we'll have great fellowship.”

And I think of some in the northeast and there were two doctrines; and they wanted to have building of bridges in a fellowship. One doctrine was a matter of those things that were distorted about 14/15 Passover. Another one had it concerning Pentecost. And the attitude of mind was each party is going to convince the other that they're right, you know, eventually. Pollution. We're just going to have a greater pollution is what it amounts to.

And God shows us that there is a fellowship of the spirit, and it's always at one, brethren, at one with God. That's why we were told very early on, "You know, if your mind's been opened up, do you see something that's true? Your fellowship will be with someone else that God has opened up their mind to see the same thing, where you're in agreement, at one with God." You'll automatically begin to have a fellowship with others of the exact same mind. It's not something you can create in a false way. You have to do it God's way, a fellowship of the spirit. No lies in God's spirit.

If any bowels and mercies, fulfil you my joy, that you be like-minded. Powerful! You can't have different ideas and different doctrines and different beliefs. You can't have different things that can cause division. It can't be. And so, more and more God has blessed us with becoming purer and cleaner and more at one. And it must be that way, especially for now and what we're getting ready to go through if we're going to be able to serve God in any true fashion or form.

Verse 2—Fulfil you my joy, that you may be like-minded, having the same agape, being of one accord. One accord! Not two different accords. Not twenty different accords. Not a hundred, five hundred! Somewhere in the midst of all that there has to be lies, not a unity of the spirit, not a oneness of the spirit, not a true fellowship of the spirit. God, in time, has brought us to that. God did it all. We couldn't do it.

…being of one accord, of one mind. And what mind is that? The word, the truth, the way, the being of God Almighty.

Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory. Strife and vain glory, where most contentions come from. You know, something is done, something and someone is offended, someone raises their voice, someone does something else and someone else get offended, and after a while, you have strife. And maybe it's over doctrine, and maybe it isn't. Maybe it's just personalities or vain glory because we're lifted up with the glory that can be received through pride of being seen, you know, of what we think of ourselves and how we see ourselves. It's not about those things. God can't use that.

…but in lowliness of mind. That we're able to see ourselves and recognize the greatness in mind of Almighty God, and that's what we want. We don't want what this is – self. "Lowliness of mind." Seeing ourselves for what we are, knowing what we are, and being thankful that we can have something so much greater that is so far beyond human understanding that we're able to imbibe and drink in of that comes from God.

That's what we're being told here. Lowliness of mind, humility of spirit, seeing ourselves for what we are. And the more we see ourselves for what we are, we don't beat ourselves up. There's no value in that. It's just to accept what God says and realise we can be forgiven of it and we can go forward. We can go forward, thank God, but we know what we are, "O wretched man that I am." I loathe self. We should loathe the self and be thankful for how we're being saved. That's what Paul was talking about in Chapters 7 and 8 of Romans.

In lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. This isn't something fake. And it's easy to read something of Protestantism in here. It doesn't mean that, you know, we go around with this false humility and, "Oh, everybody's better than me," and kind of pious and kind of like some monks or something you know, or whatever. That's not the way it is.

It has to do with a desire to give, esteeming others, the way... other's desires. It has nothing to do with sin. Esteeming others better than self; not just wanting our own way. That's what this is talking about. Not trying to get our way in different matters, but giving audience to others, listening to others, having a desire to respond to, and when opportunity arises to give aid, to give help to others. It's not about ourselves.

Look not every man on his own things. That's exactly what it's talking about. This is the definition of what we've just read. “Look not every man on his own things.” Because why? Because that's just normal, carnal human nature, protection of self, looking on our own things. "How do I feel when I leave and where do I want to go and eat?" Someone else may be tired of where you're going to eat but you're not and you're just not going to be happy if you don't get to eat there. You know, human nature. "This is where I want to go," you know. "I'm dying for a Big Mac." Well, you eat it and you're going to be, you know. Eat a lot of them, you keep going there and you're dying alright. You got that right, you know. So there's wisdom in life that we need to exercise, brethren.

Look not every man on his own things, but every man on the things of others. In other words, you begin to esteem the desires of others. You begin to esteem the feelings of others. We're not talking about things that are wrong. We're not talking about compromise with sin. We're talking about things that have liberty within the law and getting away from the selfish part in order to share more with others. To do something, do things that are uncomfortable maybe, in order to give to someone else. And I have enjoyed seeing people give more at the Feast. I see it out here in the mornings. I see it out here in the evenings, over and over and over again.

Let this mind… What mind? Well it's the mind of God, the mind of the Father that He's had a desire for His family for so long, that came into Jesus Christ. And He wants us to have that mind because there is the manifestation of the mind of God, the Word of God in human beings, in a human being. And others can begin to imbibe of the same mind through him. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

Verse 6—Who being in the form, the likeness, the appearance, of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. And so, if you have something in your mind, a pre-conceived idea, you're going to read something specific into this verse rather than understanding exactly what it says for what it says and why it says it.

But made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. Those who translated this did have. You know, people have different ideas and different things that they see, and not grasping, brethren, some things that take place in life as well. They don't know. They don't understand. And it's very easy for us to get tripped up because of another idea or belief.

And was found in the fashion of a man. It says, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. So, those of you who have had certain things in the back of your mind, others of you that are new and grown up in the Church in recent time, you don't even know. Well, you know now, maybe, because of what I've said at the beginning of the Feast and some of the things we've gone through, how this could be maybe misconstrued.

Let's notice. Who being in the form… It's a word, again, that has to do with likeness or appearance. But the first part here to understand, brethren, to understand because we understand God's plan. There is so much that is given to us because we understand God's plan. There are things we can understand about Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. There are things we have learned about coming out of Egypt because of the Holy Days.

Mr. Armstrong kept them (and his wife), for seven years as a whole by themselves. And as they grew and as they kept obeying God, God began to give them more understanding of what it was all about. He began to understand about Passover and what happened in the Old Testament in Exodus. And then he began to understand the analogies, the symbolism of things, of coming out of Egypt, and Pharaoh, and Satan and Egypt and sin, and what it meant to be able to come out of and receive deliverance because of the Passover, out of Egypt. And it began to be so exciting.

He began to learn because it was all in the context of God's plan. And there are things here we should understand so clearly because of a context of God's plan and what He is doing, and why "What is man that You are mindful of him?" Awesome!

And so, this likeness and appearance, on a spiritual plane, if we can grasp it, not of the… not spiritual in the sense of being spirit, composed of spirit, but that which Jesus Christ was on this earth, that which he had, that which he could have done, he had the right to, but it wasn't God's intent. This is God's intent for His Son and this is what His Son yielded himself to.

"Who being in the form of God," as no other human being, brethren, received, the Word was made flesh. His Father, he knew. At 12 years old he was very, very, very clear about that. He stayed behind during the Feast. I don't remember if it was Unleavened Bread or the Feast of Tabernacles, but he stayed back in Jerusalem there. The story skips my mind a little bit here. Someone says, "Well..." I won't get into that.

But someone said that sometimes it takes six months or a year to get off the stuff that you were given when you go through these operations and stuff. Well, I appreciate the help there, but I think it's just me and the heat and getting older.

But incredible, brethren. Incredible what God is showing here. A likeness in appearance, the word that was made flesh. The mind, the being of God in a human being. And one who could call down legions of angels, but he didn't because it wasn't the will of God, and he knew it.

And he, again, at age 12 knew who his Father was. And when Mary came back, and they were distressed after so long a time there – they'd been travelling for a day and "Where is he?" He's 12 years old. What do 12-year-olds do? They play or they're with other kids, children their age, young people their age (I should say), and visiting with other ones or whatever it is at that age, whatever they're doing. Some people probably don't think he ever played and did things as a child.

Here he is, not like other children fully, obviously, but as he was younger that's what they expected, because those are things they'd experienced with him. And all of a sudden, he's not with other family members, and so they go back to look for him. Can you imagine the distress you'd be under as a parent? Travelling so far away? You know, if you're in a car you know how far you're going to get in a day? Well they, if you're on foot, the feeling is still the same. If it takes a whole day to get some place and it takes a whole day to get back and you start looking because you are so worried…

…and found him in the temple, found him in a place where, you know, they were discussing the law, and the teachers that were there, the teachers of the law. And she asked him, "Don't you know what we've gone through?" in essence. And he said, "I've been about my Father's business." "I'm about my Father's business." Awesome! 12 years old. He knows His Father. She didn't understand all that. It says she held it in her heart, all the things that were told to her even before he was born. And she didn't grasp it all yet. Powerful, brethren. At 12 years old, knowing. There's just that which he knew, and he confounded those that were around him.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form, the likeness, the appearance, of God. This was something, again, brethren, on more of a spiritual plane. I'm sorry. I'm clear down here explaining this.

…who being in the form of God, again on a spiritual plane, of God. It's interesting here to note that this (I just want to mention this before we go on), the word "form" here is used only three times in scripture here in the New Testament. It's a specific Greek word. And two times right here. Once in this verse and once in the next verse.

And the reason it's doing that here in these two verses is because it's making a contrast of something that Jesus Christ did and something that was chosen, and all in agreement with God the Father. But, you know what? He was of the same mind. He was in total agreement with his Father. He still had battles in the human flesh as a human being, but this mind he had, the mind of his Father, the mind that was fully in him. Oh, brethren, we can only learn more and more through time.

Again, who being in the form (the likeness, the appearance) of God, thought it not robbery. This word here means, "the act of seizing, retaining, grasping," as it says here, to be equal with God. Very, very bad in the way the wording.... You know, sometimes, even with different languages, depending on the structure of various things and how what conclusion you come to, has to do with the order of the words and where you put the words. You know, in some languages....

That's why I never did well with other languages and really didn't do that well with English. But you know, other languages and so forth, the structure of where the words are in a sentence, it seems funny to me sometimes having a verb in a certain place and a noun in a certain place, an adjective or whatever, and yet there's a different way that those things are structured. And it makes translation a very hard thing sometimes, or understanding it, how to speak. Had trouble with two different languages that way. Did very poorly.

The order of the words in English, again, is not in the correct sense of the Greek, brethren, and other translations render it more correctly in the variance of these words and how it is in the sentence. And it literally is saying, in essence, And did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. What it's saying, in essence, was this isn't why he came to the earth, to show the greater glory and the greatness of God and the things he could have done because of who he was. That wasn't God's intent and God's purpose. And it wasn't Christ's intent and purpose because he was in agreement with his Father.

He understood what he was doing. He understood the purpose of his being, of why he was there. And it's not a matter that he existed and he emptied himself to become a man. This is not what it's talking about. It's making a contrast here of who he was and what power he had and the mind that was in him and what God's purpose was for him. It was to be in appearance in life fully a man and not to exercise the power and the might of God that he was really capable of doing. Instead, he approached life in a different way, in a totally different way because it was God's will.

Brethren, Who though he was in the form of God did not count an equality with God a thing to be seized upon. That's what we're being told. That wasn't his motive. That wasn't his direction. That wasn't God's purpose, and it wasn't his.

Verse 7. This is the purpose and the intent of what God was accomplishing, of what Jesus Christ understood that he had to do, that was for him to accomplish. But made himself of no reputation. Interesting, the word "made" here is the word "emptied." The word "of no reputation" is the exact same word. And it's beautiful if we understand what happened.

But emptied himself empty. Emptied himself! Humble of spirit and mind, living in a human body to accomplish what he must accomplish until it was over with. Because of who he was, and so forth, could have called down legions and destroyed the Roman army, but that wasn't God's will and he wouldn't do it because he had a purpose to accomplish in dying – in living a physical human life and dying and being beaten to where no one could even recognise him for who he was.

And so, He emptied himself empty, and took (laid hold) upon him the form (likeness), brethren, physically. Physical in nature, of a servant. Of a servant! To serve! There has been no greater serving in all of human history than what he did. Gave himself, very powerfully so. The Son of God, having lived a perfect righteous life in order to be and fulfill the role of the Lamb of God, the Passover, the sacrifice for all of mankind whereby we could be saved; by his blood being spilt to the earth, so we could be forgiven of our sins.

But instead of verse 6, this is what it's saying he is doing, the form of a servant. And was made; it means "to be, to become," in the likeness of men. Again, this shows what Jesus Christ did in the greatest of humility by himself emptying himself of that which would appear in likeness, or appearance that came from God. He didn't rest upon that that he had within him but made himself totally to be a servant, a servant to all mankind, to serve unto death. Awesome, because it shows God's purpose in what He was doing.

Philippians 2:9—Wherefore God also has highly exalted him. It's all a part of God's plan. Jesus Christ knew these things. So many of the things that were said, so many of the things that were done, you know what, they were for our learning and for our understanding. That's why they're there.

Wherefore God also has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. And the name he carries, of all the things that describe him, that are about him, that tell what he did, it's a long name and it's more than what's in Isaiah.

…that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth (verse 11), and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Always goes back to God, doesn't it? It's to God's glory; the magnificence of what God Almighty is doing and His purpose for mankind and His purpose for His Son.

And that every tongue shall confess (acknowledge). You know, that's what these things are about. Live this way of life in and through Jesus Christ, and if they don't, well, they won't be around.

Verse 12—Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. We're getting ready to enter a period of time for the Church when we'll have to apply this more deeply ourselves; when we won't have Sabbath sermons anymore, where you won't be able to go to the Feast of Tabernacles any longer, where you will strive to be able to keep the Passover, if you can, on your own. For you may not have at your fingertips, wine or unleavened bread. You will be doing what you can do in the best way that you can towards your God, and you'll be working out your own salvation. But you will have something that these individuals didn't have, and that's a great prod, an encouragement to make sure you do so. Because as you see what's unfolding in the world around you, you know what it's all about. You know what it is.

For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Everything that has happened through time as God has worked with mankind, it's to lead up to the fulfilment of God's good pleasure. And sadly, because of human beings, we must go through a time to work more and more towards what God's good pleasure is for all of humanity. And a part of that is bringing mankind to absolute humility, to where he does not have haughtiness, where haughtiness is just squeezed out of him. Where he will not refuse his God. Where he will cry out for mercy and for help and for life and for deliverance from death. And some will be able to go through it and God will allow some to die, speaking of the things that happen in this world. Not some, but the most will.

1 Thessalonians 2:13—For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when you receive the word of God, which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men. Isn't that amazing? The respect, the awe toward God for how He works with us in life, and the thankfulness and gratitude we have of how He molds and fashions us Sabbath by Sabbath, Holy Day to Holy Day. And so, things we hear, and as we grow, the greater conviction we have of God and how God works in our life, truly, brethren, the more in awe we'll be of what He gives us, the greater respect we'll have to what He gives us, and the more fearful we will be to go against what He gives us.

Because when you receive the word of God which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men. In other words, the source being men, but of God. It's something that God gives spiritually for us to understand. …but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually works also in you that believe. Amazing how God works with us and the power that lives in us, that dwells in us, that gives us the ability to see certain things and for us to be able to learn by what we hear. You don't even have to have your Bibles in your laps. You really wouldn't have to have them in your laps to believe. It's through the hearing and God communicating it to your mind then to give you the understanding of it all, to give you the sense of it all. Incredible, how God works with us.

I think it's in Nehemiah. I think it's in Chapter 8. I'm not real sure here. But when it talks about when they all came together and it says that the priests, the different ones that were teaching out of the law, out of the, you know. It says, "and they were meeting on a Holy Day." And it says, "They gave them the 'sense'," in essence, "of what it was all about." The purpose of what it was all about, of what it meant.

It's Nehemiah 8. You don't need to turn there. But it was the first day of the seventh month which was Trumpets, and they all came together, and it says in verse 8—it talks about the different ones—So they read in the book of the law distinctly, and gave the sense… And if we understand it, it is very specific of what they gave the sense of, the understanding of, the purpose of.  …and caused them to understand the reading.

You know what that word "reading" is? It's the Hebrew word for "convocation." So "holy convocation." …and gave them the sense. They understood. They were given understanding and meaning of what the Feast of Trumpets was about. Incredible. And it's God's spirit that does it.

Now they didn't see what you see. They didn't grasp the depth and the magnitude of the things that you have. They didn't know about Jesus Christ as we know about him today. They didn't have those things that hadn't come to pass yet, that hadn't been revealed to mankind yet. And they were doing this very much on a physical plane, but God was blessing them with help and understanding of various things on, to the degree, to that plane that He gave to them at that time. But it's an awesome thing of how God's word works in our minds, which effectually works in you that believe.

John 6. It is such an awesome, inspiring thing of how God communicates to our mind, to the spirit in man through His holy spirit. We're coming to a deeper conviction as we grow. And we have been for some time, brethren, in the Church, of how God works with us and molds and fashions us in the communication through His spirit that He does in the mind. That's how He does it.

It doesn't have to be through a vision or an angel or whatever else, or Jesus Christ having to be made manifest to tell us. God the Father through Jesus Christ by the power of the holy spirit puts it in our mind if...if we indeed are forgiven of our sins and repent of our sins and have that life dwelling within us and repent quickly when sin is there so that He will continue to come into our lives—live in and through us and abide in us on a continual basis. Then He'll give us a continuing revelation about Himself and His plan and His purpose. That's how it works.

John 6:56—He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him. Blew some minds that day, because this was physical, and the Jews, so many of the Jews that heard this, it blew their minds. You know, they wouldn't eat unclean things, told not to drink blood. You don't eat flesh and you sure don't eat human flesh you know. Blew their minds! Why? Because they could only see physically. And so, by what they believed, they had to reject him as being from God.

As the living Father has sent me… So why was he there? God sent him to do a job. He knew why he was born. He knew his Father. He knew what his Father's work was.

…and I live by the Father. So that he that eats me, even he shall live by me/through me. They couldn't even begin to grasp this! No wonder they latched on to only what was physical and thought this was only physical in nature, as a whole.

This is the bread which came down from heaven, or this is that bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. This is a greater bread, he's saying, a greater bread. And they couldn't get it. But we get it. We understand it.

He that eats of this bread shall live forever. Awesome! And what is that bread? The unleavened bread of life, the word of God, the way of God, the bread that has been made available to us, that we can eat and partake of on a regular basis. Unleavened because it's the law, the way of God without sin, without error. And we're able to eat of that way.

This is what this pictures in a far greater way, brethren. That's why he says, "Your fathers ate manna and that's how they lived. You are to eat a different bread, and you will have the ability," in other words, when the process is complete, "to live for eternity." Incredible! But it blew their minds. But those who really were drawn and sensed that there was something greater here, although they didn't understand it, continued to follow. Amazing. Because God had a purpose and God worked with them.

So again "The Word of Life." The Word of Life (that's the title of the sermon today), that lives through Jesus Christ to us, the true unleavened bread of life.  He is the true unleavened bread of life.

Verse 63—It is the spirit that quickens, makes alive; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. It's an incredible thing to understand. Without God's spirit these are, in the strictest definition, just words, and don't profit people save to the degree that maybe they are convicted, or they’re moved to obey certain things in life, laws that they see, the Ten Commandments, if they see them. Their lives are made better because of those things because they are laws and breaking of them does have penalty.

But when God's spirit comes along and God gives that into the mind, these words in this book begin to unfold in our mind. We begin to see something we couldn't see before. An awesome thing, the might of God. That's why the holy spirit, because it's the power that's given in and through Jesus Christ to come to us, is also referred to, that word that's used in John 14 as "the comforter." I may be pronouncing this wrong but "paracletes"; that word we read in 1 John 2, our guide, our advisor, our helper all along the way. Incredible.

John 14:6. My favourite chapter in all the Bible, brethren. Most of you know that by now. To me it's the most awesome thing ever revealed to mankind, the most awesome thing that could be revealed to mankind, brethren, when in a certain point in time in a certain point in history God gave to John things to write that Jesus Christ said that are different in the way.... Because this was something that is very powerful that God chose to work through John.

Because, you see, God had a job for John, and it was a little bit different from some of the others and the other writings. There are things we learn that are unique to Paul, to Peter, to James, and to others. But what was given to John was very unique. And this begins to set the pace for it all, of those things that Jesus Christ gave on the night of the Passover, of the night after he had partaken of the Passover with his disciples, and before he was taken, and before he was mis-judged and before he was put to death, see, he taught these things. And John wrote them. Because there was a beginning of something here working in John so that when time would come later on and God revealed more….

Time went by, some of the apostles had died, apostles were dying, the Church was getting older, for the beginning of it anyway. And God was working with this individual to teach some awesome things to us and to the Church; to give more, to give so much more. And these are some of the greatest things, brethren, ever given to man. Incredible. Some of the greatest things when God's spirit works with us to help us to grasp and understand what is being said.

John 14:6. Some of you are new and it doesn't hurt for a review. Let's go back up to the beginning. Jesus Christ said, [John 14:1]—Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God. It was no mystery. They understood exactly what he was saying. "You believe in Yahweh Elohim, El Shaddai." There is no other. There's just one God of all eternity.

It says, you believe in God, believe also in me. Something great was getting ready to take place here. He was about to fulfill the beginning of God's plan – Passover. He was about to be put to death and give the only sign that he'd give that he was the Christ, the Messiah that was sent to all of mankind, the Savior that was given to mankind. And he was about to be resurrected to be the first born into the Kingdom of God, the Family of God. And everyone else would go through him to be in that same family.

…believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. Something else that was not given to see. You know, when you come out of darkness there are certain things that aren't given and the protestant world that has such a powerful hold. Because this is something that they believe. They talk about "the mansions up in heaven, beautiful mansions up in heaven. We look forward to being in those mansions." And songs have been written that make you want to barf.

In my Father's house… And we know what His house is – the household of God, the temple of God, that which He is building. In my Father's house are many, and this word is used twice, all of you who've been around for some time, know that it's used twice. And I hope you know exactly where it's used next because you need to know and you need to believe what you're God is doing with you and being moved to the deepest core of your being, is what God is doing.

In my Father's house are many – in the Greek – places of abode. Places of abode. Places of dwelling. It's about what he's getting ready to reveal, of how God chose to work in the Church, to work with more people on a greater scale; of how God is going to multiply that many times over now in a Millennium when it comes.

"In my Father's house" – "In the temple of God and what God is building, are many places of abiding." And it's God that will do the abiding. It's Jesus Christ that will do the abiding, dwelling in, abiding in, living in through the power of the holy spirit. "In my Father's house are many places of dwelling.” And it's God's desire not to dwell in a physical temple, but a spiritual one! And all of us who have the impregnation of God's spirit, that's what it's saying to us. Many. But there are many more, there have been many more through time.

Matter of fact, there are just a few more than 144,000. There are a few more than 144,000, because 144,000 God has dwelt in by the power of the holy spirit to lead, and guide, and direct them. And there are those that God is dwelling in that will live on into the Millennium and continue as the Church. But in the scheme of things, not very many. But all of a sudden now, when Jesus Christ returns, millions on the earth will have the opportunity. "In my Father's house are many places to abide,” to dwell. And God will dwell in them. And how that's all accomplished, in and through Jesus Christ I don't understand yet, and neither do you, but we'll understand it more (and probably when we are changed). And probably not before because we probably can't grasp it or see it.

In my Father house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. Leviticus 16, the Day of Atonement, the High Priest. He went in to atone for his household. And then when it was all done he came back out from the Holiest of Holies. Jesus Christ returns after 2,000 years of doing a great work, of preparing the Body.

And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again. I marvel at this.  As a whole, the Church is blind to it, or the Church that was scattered. “I will come again.” He's not talking about a future return to this earth. He's not talking about coming again when he returns as King of kings and Lord of lords. He's not talking about that at all. It has nothing to do with that. Yes, we know that's true. Yes we know he is. He gives it to us, he tells us. But this is a word that means "I," in essence, "am coming," "will come," but on a continuing basis. It's present-progressive. It's not a future tense word.

So, when he begins coming, dwelling in… Dwelling in? "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places." When he begins to come to dwell into our lives on a continuing basis because it's present tense and it's progressive; it just keeps coming into our life if we don't sin and cut off that power He will continue to abide and dwell within us. And we want that, the power of the holy spirit which continues to come into our life. The life of Christ, the life of God the Father – it's what it's talking about, continually coming.

And receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also. Protestant world, we know how they take that. "Oh, he's up there in heaven. We get to go there." No you don't. It's not about that. "So that where he is," and we've talked about that here at the Feast. He's here. As far as what he's giving, he is nowhere else today. That's an awesome thing to understand. No apology. No haughtiness. It's a reality of life, brethren. It is what it is.

And where I go you know, and the way you know. Incredible, "And where I go you know, and the way you know," and he didn't get it. And notice Thomas, Lord, we don't know where you are going and how can we know the way? "You haven't told us. What is this? What does this mean?"

Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. He is the Word of God – powerful purpose that God has in him, to work in and through him. He says, "No man comes to the Father, but through me." But he also told us that "no one can come to him except God the Father draw him," call him and give him to Christ. But our ability to go to the Father on a continuing basis is through Jesus Christ. That's why when there's sin, we get cut off, and we can't continue to dwell, and he won't continue to come into human flesh. He will stop until we repent, because it's through the forgiveness of sin that we can have audience with God the Father. There is no other way. There is no other way into the Holiest of Holies, save through the blood of Christ. Powerful, powerful things that we're being told here, brethren.

If you had known me, you should have known my Father also, should have known Yahweh, El Shaddai, and from henceforth, you know Him and have seen Him.” Whew! Again. You know, when we're physical we just see physical things. And they didn't get it because they had seen Jesus Christ. Because all they could think of was what they could see through the eye, but they'd never seen his Father.

And Philip said unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and that will satisfy us. Because, "We really haven't seen Him yet, so what are you talking about? What do you mean here?" And Jesus said unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known me Philip?

He was in absolute harmony, unity, oneness; he was the Word of God in total agreement. That mind that was always from the Father but now dwelt in him as a separate entity, a separate being. It was his life, as we are all different and have our lives, but him uniquely so because of his Father. We've all had physical fathers. That's why we're here.

“He that has seen me has seen the Father.” Because he was beginning to reveal something here on a spiritual plane that they couldn't quite receive yet, and nor understand. And so he is telling them, "If you have seen me, you've seen the Father."

…and how do you say then, Show us the Father? Believe you not… It has to do with what you believe. It has to do with the faith you're able to live by. For your actions and how you live will depend upon this. He's saying, in essence, Believe you not that I am in the Father? It's a spiritual matter. "I dwell in the Father and the Father dwells in me." That's what he's saying, "He's in me."

The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself. He didn't have some different kinds of words. He was just in total agreement with the Father. He had different experiences. He lived his own unique life, as we live our own unique life, but uniquely so he was in agreement with his Father from the get-go because it was the Father's mind that was given to him; the word, the wisdom, the way, the being of God. Brethren, that's so hard for us to grasp. Even if we do begin to understand these things more deeply we can appreciate them far more deeply and be in greater awe.

But the Father that dwells (abides, lives in) – it's translated in different ways, same Greek word. "That dwells in, abides in, lives in, continues in." Different translation. "That continues in me," that dwells in me, He does the works. He didn't take it upon himself. He says it's the Father that does it.

That's why everything that's said in scripture, it all goes back to God, and He does it. Yahweh Elohim, El Shaddai; that which has been is now, for us, where we are in time. That which has been, was given a long time ago will be and God will do it. Powerful. Powerful. Powerful.

Believe me, that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works' sake. It's incredible, brethren; beautiful, beautiful, incredible story.

Let's go on here and read a little bit more. It talks about in verse 16 the process through how some of this would work, because God accomplishes it through the power of the holy spirit. Something now that can begin to abide in them. That which was abiding in Christ, that which lived in him was through the power of the holy spirit that came forth from the Father, that dwelt in him to convey. It's God's spirit that conveys to us His mind in our minds, in our being. This worked powerfully, brethren, mightily in ways we cannot grasp fully in Christ Jesus.

In verse 16 it says, And I will pray the Father and He will give you another comforter; that word we talked about, "paracletes" back in 1 John 2. And, That he, speaking of "it," talking about the holy spirit in English. It's not a being of itself. That it may abide with you forever. That was God's desire, that now God in a body, in the Church of God, in the Body of Christ in a greater way on the earth in the next 2,000 years would be able to abide in more in a great way – a Church, a body, organised, is the Body of Christ, the Church of God. And the holy spirit that would be able to live and dwell in each one of us. And God was showing the way. Jesus Christ was showing the way of how that was going to be accomplished.

Even the spirit of truth… Why? That's the word. And when it comes into your mind, it's the spirit of truth. It's the truth that comes into your mind. It's the Word of God.

It's says, which the world cannot receive. The world can't receive it. It comes through, whatever, how it does on a spiritual plane, and it doesn't land on anybody else except those that God wants it to, and it goes right to their mind. Almighty, All-Powerful God.

…because it sees it not, neither knows it. It's a spiritual thing. But you know it, for it dwells with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless. I am coming to you. Present progressive. It's going to continue to happen.

Yet a little while, and the world sees me no more; but you see me. "The world's not going to see me anymore, but you'll be able to." It blew their minds again!

Because I live, you shall live also. At that day you shall know that… At what day? For them, for those that it happened to, it was on the day of Pentecost. That was their day. For us, the day it begins, just like for eight today, it began after you were baptised, and hands were layed upon you to receive the impregnation of the holy spirit. Know this, understand this. This is where it all begins. Before that you're drawn by the spirit but it doesn't dwell in you in the way that it does in those who have the begettal of God's spirit.

At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. That's how it's done. That's where it all begins. You can know this. This is how it takes place. That's what he's saying.

He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him (reveal, show), not physically, spiritually. We'll see more and more and more of the Word, the mind, the being, the way, the purpose, the will. We'll see God.

And Judas said to him, not Iscariot, Lord how is it that you will manifest yourself unto us, and not the world? "How is it we're going to see you and they're not?" It's spiritual. That's why.

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words (logos). "He will keep my words." He is Logos. He was made Logos in the flesh; that which has lived for eternity, been for eternity – that which is God.

And my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our, same word as "mansions." The only two places it's used in scripture. We will make our abode with him. That's where God desires to dwell. Not in a physical mansion. Not in a physical temple. Not in a physical place, but a spiritual one. The house that He is building, the temple that He is building. "In my Father's house…" "In my Father's mansion..." "In my Father's house…" In my Father's temple," or whatever words you want to use, "are many places to dwell." Well, more.

He that loves me not keeps not my logos, you know, sayings, and the logos which you hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. Beautiful! It all comes from the Great, the Almighty God of the universe.

But let's go on to 1st John 1. Just a deeper and deeper appreciation of continual growing and understanding, a unity and a harmony with God, recognizing that everything we have, it comes from God. Anything that's good, anything that's right, it's not because we're good. It's not because of us, it's not because of our intellect. That's only pride. It's of God, God the Father and of Jesus Christ.

1 John 1. We'll conclude, by going through a few verses here, for today. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life. Of the Word of life. You know, "The Logos that became human flesh," that they were able to look upon, the life of Christ, but much more than that that they could see. Different words and what they're meaning here.

They saw something, spiritually, the Word of life, the mind, the being, the way, the purpose, the will of God Almighty.

(For the life was manifested) the Word was made flesh, (and we have seen it, and bear witness)—it's more than physical, notice—(and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us). Who was it with? God. El Shaddai. Yahweh Elohim; the only one. He says, "That's who I am and there is no other." So again, "The Word was made flesh; we beheld his glory.  The glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth," as we read back there in John 1:14.

Verse 3—That which we have seen and heard… What did they see and hear? The logos, the word, the truth, the way of God, the will, the purpose of God, the plan of God.

That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us. How do we have fellowship? The fellowship of the spirit? Because of the truth, the word, the way of God that comes into our being and brings us into a unity, into a fellowship of agreement with God Almighty. A oneness with God that is so powerful, that is so awesome we should be in greater awe as we grow, of the Great God and what He's performing and what He's doing in our lives. Because it is an awesome thing. We stand in awe of God Almighty and the wisdom, through our Savior, Jesus Christ, our helper, our guide our...that Wise Counsellor. To truly be in awe of God and of His Son, Jesus Christ.

And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Because it's on a spiritual plane. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

We need to take with us from this Feast of Tabernacles a great lesson that we heard on the first day; of the reason why we were told that God wants us to come together on His Holy Days like this and to rejoice mightily before Him. To rejoice: it's a command! It's a time to rejoice, and God wants us to learn how to rejoice. And that is on a spiritual plane. It's not just a physical thing. We're to strive to do that physically, but all the more so, asking for God to pour out His spirit upon us so that we can joy and rejoice in His way.

Isn't it a beautiful thing, the harmony, the oneness, the unity that God gives by the power of His holy spirit? To see the excitement and to see the joy and to share in that? To see people get together and visit and share? To see the excitement they have to enjoy life together? And we have that common bond through it all, the power, the mind, the way, the will of God, and that we are in agreement spiritually?

And that as we've grown over the years, that more and more, those who don't believe the same way, those who disagree, those who are not in unity and oneness with that God has moved away from us in His way and in His time, to cleanse the Body more and more? For the richness is in the unity of the mind. And that which destroys and hurts and murmurs and complains and pulls down, on and on it goes, no place for it in the Kingdom of God. And thankfully, really no place for it in the Church of God, which is the Kingdom of God in embryo.

I am so thankful to God that He continues to cleanse us and purify us, and we have the choice to yield ourselves to that process, brethren, which is an awesome process, a great and a wonderful and a marvellous thing that God does in us.

And that's the joy, the beauty, the oneness of mind, the unity of spirit that is so rich and so powerful that God offers to us that we can take from the Feast and continue to grow in, to understand what these days picture, a time when that joy will be so many times greater than what it even is now, brethren.