A Creating God

Johnny Harrell

May 24, 2014

I would like to say, "Welcome," to everyone today on God's Sabbath. We're in the Birmingham, Alabama area today.

Brethren, we have just finished celebrating Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. And the Passover, as we know, shows us the beginning of God's plan for His Family, Elohim, that He is creating. And on this Sabbath, we will focus on the one who has made all this possible, our Father in heaven, God, who is our Creator. And we are so blessed as the Church of God to know what we know and understand, and God has blessed us to "see" His purpose, His way of life, and His purpose for our lives and for His Family that He is creating. And if Yahweh hadn't drawn us, hadn't begun to call us, we wouldn't be able to "see" God, we wouldn't be able to "see" His plan, and we wouldn't be able to "see" His purpose. And we understand that God is the Master Creator, a creating God... and this will be your title today, A Creating God, who is creating Elohim. And we're going to discuss some of the things that He, Yahweh, God Almighty, has blessed you and me to see over the past few years.

God tells us in His book, this Bible, that He is love. God is love. And we understand that the word that is used is "agape," and that is a love that comes from our God. And God's book tells you and me that it's a sacrificing love and it's a giving kind of love that was manifested in the life of Jesus Christ, the kind of love that is giving to the point of self-sacrifice.

God has loved us from the beginning, before we even existed. So let's look at His (Yahweh's) purpose from the beginning, and as the next step in God's plan is the Day of Pentecost, we will take a look today from the beginning and see how God's plan has been revealed to you and me.

Let's turn over to Isaiah 45, and let's focus on God as a creating God. And we should have a spirit of gratitude to our God. We should be thankful to what He has given to you and me, the understanding. And we should be thankful for what He's made possible for each and every one of us.

Isaiah 45:5, we find it says—I am the Eternal, and as we've gone through in past sermons, when we see the capital letters we know what it's talking about, and it's the word for "Yahweh." And Mr. Armstrong always used the word "the Eternal," and that's the way most of us that have come through Worldwide recognize this, as the Eternal God. And God says, I am the Eternal, because that's exactly what it means. "Yahweh" means "the Self-Existing One," "the Eternal." And He said, there is none else, there is no one else, there is no God... and the word that is used here is "Elohim." It's a uniplural word and the translators, as we know, this is written in awkward English, and they didn't understand the plan of God, and this has not been translated very well. He says, there is none else, "there is no one else," there is no God, "there is no Elohim," and it means "there is no God-family" (better said). That's what it means. And there is no family of God but Me. That's what He was saying at this time.

And in the beginning, and through time, there's only been one that's been in the God Family—Yahweh—and that's what this is telling you and me, that there is no one else in Elohim, "there is no God (Elohim) beside Me." And He says, I girded you, it says, although you have not known Me, that they may know –let's notice – from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none besides Me. And in 2005 at the Feast of Tabernacles, God brought us to a point in time to understand this about our God. And we understand that we cannot understand it until God reveals it. We know that from our past. And we know when these scriptures come alive, and that's when God is revealing it.

And I said at that time that it drew a line in the sand, so to speak. That's what it did because it separated a remnant Church for the end of an age. And it separated us from the rest of the scattered Churches at that time. And so God is revealing here through time that there was no one else besides Him; there was only Yahweh Elohim. And He said, I am the Eternal, and there is none else, "there is no one else."

Verse 18. Here we see that God is a creating God. For thus says the Eternal – let's notice – who created the heavens… So we can see that Yahweh created the heavens, God Almighty, God himself. And it says it's Elohim himself (better said), because there's only one in the family and He's the one that did it, who formed the earth and made it; He has established it, He created it not in vain, and we know that the words that are used are "tohu and bohu," and He created it not in confusion and without form. And God, from the very beginning created the earth not in confusion and not without form. We understand what took place, that a great war took place, and Satan through that war caused much destruction and the earth became in chaos. And so much destruction had taken place that no light could reach the earth, and then God began to undo the destruction that Satan had caused so that life could be put upon this earth. God, in the beginning, didn't create this earth this way. It wasn't created in "tohu." God formed the earth to be inhabited.

Isaiah 40:28, and it says... Have you not known? Have you not heard that the Everlasting God, the Eternal, and sometimes we just read through scriptures and we don't grasp what is being said. Let's notice what it's saying... the Creator of the ends of the earth faints not, neither is weary. There is no searching of His understanding. And there is no way that we could search the understanding of our God, to know the ways of God. We only know what He lets us know and see. And there is no way for you and me to know the mind of our God unless God reveals it to you and me, just as He did in 2005.

And after the God family has been established, the Family of God is going to continue learning throughout all eternity, and we cannot grasp the vastness of our God to do such a thing. God is so vast that we're going to continue learning. And our minds can't comprehend that one. But when we just look through that Hubble Telescope at the vastness and what is there just in a physical sense, not to even focus on the spiritual aspects of what God is doing, our mind can't comprehend light years, brethren. No way can we comprehend such a thing. And you and I need to thank God every day for these things that He's revealed to us, and if we're not careful we begin to take things (our understanding) for granted. And it's very easy to do these things, to take God for granted with this human mind.

We always need to see the importance and always be thankful to our God, and we always need to recognize what God has given to us, His Church.

Let's go over to the book of Genesis (Genesis 1), and let's take a look at what God has let us understand about what took place in Genesis. Genesis 1:1—In a beginning, (better said)... It's not "the beginning," it's "a beginning." And In a beginning God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth. So it's talking about a specific time, a specific beginning, and it tells us that God created it all (is what it's telling us).

Verse 2, it tells us—And the earth was without form, and void, and we just read in Isaiah that it was not created this way. And the word in Hebrew is "tohu and bohu," is what it says. And it says in Isaiah that God did not create it that way, that He created it to be inhabited. So God is letting us know through His word (His book) that something had happened to this earth and a great war had taken place. One of the beings that God had created had caused great destruction, and because of what God has revealed to you and me, we can understand the timeframe and we can understand what took place at that time. We understand that the sun was still there and we understand that we don't know how long the sun has been there – millions, billions, trillions – we just don't know, but we know it was there at this time. And something had happened that light could not reach the earth and there was no life upon this earth anymore. So great destruction had taken place. And it was such massive.... and there was so much debris in the atmosphere that light from the sun could not get through to this earth.

So let's continue on. God tells us: The earth was without form, and void, (better said) "became without form and void" (better said), and darkness was upon the face of the deep, just like what we were talking about, and the spirit of Elohim (of God) moved upon the face of the waters. And we know through the scriptures that there was just God at this time, because of what God has revealed to us that there was only one God. ...and the spirit of Elohim moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. So we know where, because of what had taken place – a being, Lucifer (who became Satan), had rebelled and caused much destruction upon this earth. And we know that the light was there, but it just couldn't reach this earth. And from the destruction that had taken place (like I said), there was so much debris that light could not come through to this earth. God had to clean it all up.

Verse 4, let's notice how and what is being said: God saw the light; it doesn't say that He created the light at this time. God saw the light, that it was good – and let's notice – God divided the light from the darkness and God called the light, day, and darkness, He called night – and the evening and the morning were the first day.

Verse 14—God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the light, the day from the night, and let's see why God did it, let them be for signs... Let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years. And the word for "seasons" is the word "appointed times" that's used in Leviticus where God shows about the Sabbath and about the Holy Days, the annual Sabbaths and the counting of time that God had set in motion so His people would always know when they are to come before Him in holy convocations, when they were to come before God and have fellowship with God. Just like today.

God says there are times that are set apart as appointed. They're appointments that we're to keep with our God. We know when the Sabbath is because of this. We know when the Holy Days are because of...because of this. It's how you know. We know when the Passover is. We know when the Feast of Unleavened Bread is. And we know when Pentecost is. We know when Atonement is. And we know when the Feast of Tabernacles starts and ends. We know when the Last Great Day is and what it represents and what it's talking about. We know so much, brethren. And that's why God established things the way He did from the very beginning, so that we could have these appointed times where He could come... where we could come before Him and be taught about His great plan.

And our next appointed time is Pentecost. And let's go over to Leviticus 23:1—And the Eternal spoke unto Moses, saying, (that's Leviticus 23:1) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say to them, Concerning the feasts... and the word is not "feasts." And because people don't understand, when they translated these words they didn't understand about God's Feasts, but this word is not the word for "feast" as we know. And because man doesn't grasp these things and what God's plan is all about, he translated it the best that he could, but this word is "appointed times" is what it means. And when you talk about feasting and the Feast there is a specific word that's used in the Hebrew language. But this word here means "appointed times" and it's also used as "an assembly" in the context of coming together in a location for God's people. It's also used in that way. And it's all about the "appointed times" that God set in place a long, long time ago.

Concerning the feasts (the appointed times) of the Eternal (continuing on...) these are God's appointed times so that's what God is saying, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My, and it's not the word "feast," it's appointed times, as we know. God says, "These are My times that I've given to you." And that's exactly what it's saying back in Genesis. And He said everything in the heavens would be so that we would have these appointments with the Great God of this universe, times that we are to come before Him and learn about His great plan. And He said, "Let them be for signs, and let them be for seasons (appointed times) and for the days and the years," as we read in Genesis.

And it goes on to say here in verse 3—Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no servile work therein. It is a Sabbath of the Eternal in all your dwellings. These are appointed times. These are the appointed times of the Eternal God of this universe, commanded assemblies that we are to come before our God. And if we have a congregation close by, we should come and receive the fellowship if possible, if it's within our power, because there is an extra blessing that comes with coming before God's people, as you experience in this room here today. It's a blessing from God.

And it says, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their seasons. So we can see it's the same word and it means "appointed times." So better said, "which you shall proclaim in their appointed times." And we always hear sermons that apply to these days, these appointed times, the Holy Days. And just as we heard sermons about Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread in the last few weeks, and they pertained to those days that we were celebrating. Sermons always apply to the days that we are to keep, and that's what God tells you and me to do, to come before Him and hear what He has for those of His Church on those days, to learn more about our God. And we always expound on the words of God on those days, the plan of God, the purpose of God, and what God is doing. And it gives inspiration to all of us when we hear. We never get tired of hearing about the Passover. We hear about it every year and it's always an inspiring, and we always learn more about our God, every year.

And it says, In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S Passover, and as we know, this is not a High Day but it is an appointed time to come before our God. And we understand that everything begins with the Passover, everything begins with Jesus Christ in what God is building, and that it's a beginning for what God is building. And we cannot enter into the plan of God without the Passover, without Jesus Christ. It's not possible. And we've just had the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which pictures what you and I should be doing – coming out of sin – and this is where it starts, at Passover and the Unleavened Bread. And one cannot receive God's spirit without the Passover. And we can't receive the Law. We can't receive the understanding of Pentecost (which is the next appointed time for you and me, the Day of Pentecost), and it has great meaning for God's Church. But it all starts with Passover. That's where it starts.

Verse 6—And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast... So now we have the word "feast." This is not "appointed times." And it's God that revealed this to you and me through His minster, through this Church, the Church of God. And it gives us the ability to see things that others don't see through God's spirit, by having God's spirit. And that's why we always need to be thankful to God because of what He allows you to "see." He tells us it's like "looking through a dark glass," but we can always "see" the outline of God's plan before us, and we understand that He is our God and He is our Father and He wants us to understand the relationship that He is building so that we can have a relationship with Him.

God created man in His own image; in the image of God, created He him. Male and female created He them. And God wants you and me to understand that He is our Father, that He is our creator, and that all life comes from Him. And we need to understand that – all life comes from God.

Genesis 2:4, and let's notice what's being said. These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Eternal God made the heavens and the earth. So this makes it very clear, Yahweh Elohim made the heavens and the earth. Only one being did this.

Verse 7—And the Eternal God formed man, and He said, "let us make man," and these are not two beings talking as some have believed. It's just Yahweh Elohim talking about that which is going to exist as a family, and it's talking about things that are not as though they are, but it's talking about "as that which is going to come to pass," (better said). And He uses the word "Elohim" from the beginning to reveal to you and me what His plan and purpose is for mankind, why the creation. And it's about Elohim, what God is creating, and that's why this word was used.

And it's just as Isaiah said, "There is no God," Elohim, "beside Me." He said, "I girded you," and it says, "though you have not known Me." And it says, "that they may know from the rising of the sun from the west," and "there is none besides Me."

Genesis 2:7—And the Eternal God (Yahweh Elohim) formed man of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

Let's go back to Genesis 2:1—Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and the host of them. And when it uses the word "heaven" it's not talking about the universe out here that we see past our atmosphere. And we don't know how long that's been there, and there is no way to know without God revealing it. But here God is talking about the earth and talking about the heavens of the earth. That is what is being said. We know that there are three heavens described in God's book, in scripture. We know that there is the atmosphere that is around this earth, and then we know that there is that beyond that, that is out where the stars and the planets...what we call "space." It's a unique name we have for it, "space," because we don't know how far it goes. And then there is God's heaven that is described, the heaven where God's throne is.

And it says, Thus the heavens and the earth were made, so we understand what is being said here, that it's talking about the heavens around the earth.

Genesis 2:4—These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, and in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. So we can see conditions existed that do not exist today at this time.

Verse 2, let's go back—and on the seventh day Elohim ended His work which He had made, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made—and let's notice—God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, set it aside for a purpose, set it apart from the very beginning of time. And we've had a sermon recently on this, What is Holy, that goes into more detail. But we can see that God set apart as holy from the beginning. He appointed times where man was to come before Him and learn about Him. And it says God blessed this day, set it apart for holy use and purpose. And that's what "sanctified" means, "set apart for holy use and purpose," and that's what this Sabbath day is all about, holy use and purpose, for you at this time.

Verse 4—These are the generations of the heaven and the earth when they were created, and this does not mean they were "brought into existence." He's just referring to what He said on the sixth day and the seventh. ...in the day that Yahweh (Elohim), that the Eternal God made the earth and the heavens. So it's talking about just the heavens around the earth and it's talking about separating it and letting that light come back through once more. And it's about God removing the debris that had occurred from the destruction that a being had caused, and that's why light was not getting to this earth (when we understand what took place).

Verse 7—And the Eternal God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Eternal planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put man, whom He had formed. And out of the ground made the Eternal God to grow every tree that was pleasant to the sight, and good for food; and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Verse 15—And the Eternal God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And we know the story of what took place from there.

Let's go over to Exodus 20:1. We know that God brought the children of Israel into the wilderness after taking them out of Egypt, to give them His laws, to give them His way of life. And this is the picture that God is painting for you and me. And it says, Exodus 20:1—And God, this is the word for "Elohim," God spoke all these words, saying, I am Yahweh your Elohim, "I am the Eternal, the Self-Existing One, Your Elohim," who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so out of the house of bondage, which it pictures for you and me every year at Passover time. And God is telling you and me that He is the one that did it. He's the one that brought it all about. And He said, You shall have no other elohim, in other words, "gods." ...You shall have no other elohims before you. "You shall have no other gods," is what it's saying, "And you shall have no other god family," is what He's saying, "before you."

And if we know what their minds were polluted with back in what they had just come out, if you know anything about the Egyptian history and the Pharaoh's of those days, there were many, many gods, and Satan had really done a number on those people that were being brought out. And it was a challenge for them, but God is letting them know He was the one who brought them out, He was the one who brought them out of the house of bondage at that time, and He said, "You shall have no other elohim before Me." No other gods, because they had came out of Egypt, which worshipped many, many gods. And if you go back to the plagues, you can pick up on a lot of that was in response to those gods.

Verse 4—You shall not make unto yourself any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that's in the earth beneath, and in the water under the earth. And what does man do? You see it everywhere! And He says, You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them. And we don't do those things in God's Church. We don't have pictures hanging on the wall of a long haired Jesus. We don't have those pictures because we know that Christ didn't have long hair, to begin with, so we know that's false right off, right out of the premise.

And God says, I am your, and the word here is "El," I am your God. Making it clear that, I am your God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers unto the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me, and showing mercy to thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of the Eternal, your God, in vain. For the Eternal will not hold Him guiltless who takes His name in vain. So when we were baptized and we had our sins forgiven and we had hands layed upon us, and we were given the impregnation of God's holy spirit, and then a life began to grow in you and me, when we had that done. That is from the Great God of this universe and His Son. And we bear the name of God from that point forward. And there is a responsibility that comes with that. You are a part of the Church of God, Church of God—Preparing for the Kingdom of God that is coming to this earth, and you bear God's name. And God says we are not to take His name in vain. We are to reflect that we are a part of the Body of Christ. And in God's Church we strive to love everyone, our neighbours, and especially the ones in the Church of God. And we strive to live God's way of life and we put God's... God first. God is always first with you and me. We understand what God is creating.

Verse 12—Honor your father and mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Eternal your God gives you. And we know this is talking about physically and it says, "Honor your father and your mother," but God also shows you and me a deeper meaning when we come into the Church of God, and we learn that we are to honor our Father and our mother, our God first and foremost and then our "mother," the Church, the "mother" of you and me. And we are to honor that and we are to live a certain way of life, brethren, to reflect this. And the greatest honor that anyone could ever give their physical parents is to obey God first, because of living a right and moral way of life, first and foremost. A right way of life, a way that God says to live, and that includes obeying your physical father and mother if possible, if it's within your power.

Let's go to 1 Peter 1. God continuously teaches us through His word and He tells you and me how to conduct ourselves. 1 Peter 1:15, it says—But as He who has called you is holy, so be you holy in all manner of conversation, and this is a word for "conduct," also. So we could say, "in all manner of conduct," as some translations say, and it's by the way we act, by the way we put our self forward, by what comes out of our mouth. And our conduct should always be right before our God.

It says, Be you holy, for I am holy. Because, we're to become like God, when we understand God's plan. We're to become a part of His Family. And we're to become at-one with God. We're to come into unity and harmony with Him, with our Father, and we're to become more like Him as we grow. And this is why it's called "the mother," because it nourishes you so that you can grow. It's what the Day of Atonement is all about. And I love that day because of what it pictures. It pictures becoming, eventually, at-one with the Great God of this universe. And we cannot comprehend that at this time! But we have to resist things that fight against God (better said, that reject God). And that's why I love what Paul had to say, that it's through our minds that we choose to serve God and that we want to live God's way of life. And that's what you and I try to do, to live this way of life. But we find as Paul said, we find a war that's going on in our members, in our minds (better said), But we have choice. We have a choice to fight, to fight this battle for our mind that ensues. And it's between these two ears that it takes place. And some fell in that fight. We sin. And usually there is always sin involved when we see that. And it's when we fail to repent when we're drawn away. As God tells us, we're carnal, we're selfish by nature, and we constantly have to repent to make things right when we sin, and fight against this nature that is in each and every one of us.

Verse 17—God tells us, If you call on the Father, He tells us how to pray, and let's notice how it's written, "Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be Your name." Our Father. And He says, If you call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear, because of what you can do even with God's spirit. And we always have to focus on where God is leading us, on His plan and where the truth comes from Sabbath by Sabbath, Holy Day by Holy Day, and how God leads us through that "present truth."

For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold; that's not how you were "purchased," brethren. You were "purchased" with an awesome price. And we just had Passover and we know how we were "purchased," and we focused on those things, those things that Jesus Christ paid with a heavy price, His life, with a lot of suffering that we cannot comprehend.

Verse 19—But with the precious blood of Christ; that's how we are redeemed, that's how we're "purchased," through that blood that He spilled upon that ground. And He was willing to do that for you and me and for all of the rest that will be there, when we understand. Jesus Christ knew from the very beginning and from a very early age what His purpose was upon this earth. He understood that His Father was God, the Great God of this Universe, the Creator God. And that's what set Satan off, when God revealed His plan for His family that He would build. As we know, Satan was one of three archangels at that time; Michael and Gabriel were the other two. And his name was Lucifer, and he became Satan, (as we know) because of the rebellion that took place. And when he heard the plan for God's family, he rebelled and tried to take over the very throne of God, and war broke out.

And we just read about the destruction that took place and how God had to clean this earth up to make ready for His creation at that time, the creation of man at that time. God had a plan from the beginning, as we know, and God knew that He would have a Son that would have to become a Passover, that would have to pay a price by shedding His blood for all of mankind.

And let's notice, we were "purchased" with that blood of Jesus Christ. And from the very beginning of time He knew what His purpose was. We know Satan hated God's plan and he became jealous. And there are lessons that you and me can learn from these events that took place. Rebellion is a dangerous thing, brethren, and you can see how dangerous it gets by reflecting back on what Satan did. It causes nothing but destruction. That's what it causes, so that everything could be utterly destroyed. And we know that if God didn't intervene upon this earth, it would become destruction once again and there would not be any life left here again without this plan. Lucifer could have been a part of this plan that God has put forth for you and me, the plan of God to bring about Elohim.

And when somebody becomes jealous or envious of someone else, it's exactly what happened to Satan, and pride enters in. And it will destroy you if you ever let it happen. We are a family, and there is not anyone who should be jealous of other members of the family. God is our Father. This is the Body of Christ, the Church of God, and nobody should be envious or jealous. We're all in the same boat. We're headed to the same shore (so to speak).

Verse 20—Who verily was foreordained, talking about Jesus Christ, and that means "predetermined" a long time ago, as we know, before the foundation of the ages (the world), but was manifest in these last times –let's notice—for you. It's not talking to the world, it's talking to you, so that it will give you understanding of what is taking place. God is saying here that His own Son was made manifest, predetermined a long time ago, and God has given you and me that understanding, and that it was determined before the angelic realm was ever created. It's an awesome thing to understand, what took place. And He said that there would have to be a Son, and His Son would have to be born of Him (of a physical woman), who would become our High Priest, who would become the Head of the Church, the Church of God upon this earth, and that all life would be saved in and through Him. That's how it has to take place. Those that would want to live this way of life, God's way of life.

Who said (better said) who through Him do believe in God that raised Him from the dead. We know that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. We understand that He was dead. He was dead for three days and three nights, and He lay there in that tomb for that length of time, as we know, and it was the Great God of this universe, His Father, that raised Him from the dead. And it says, that your faith and hope might be in God.

Verse 22—Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit. So that's the way that we can obey God (and it's the only way), and it's through the spirit. We cannot do it alone. It's through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren. Let's notice what's being said – seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren. See that you love one another with a pure heart fervently. So we can "see" it's a beautiful picture when we do it God's way, when we live the way that God says to do it, and God gives you and me understanding, and He gives it through the mind. And that's how these scriptures come alive. And you know it when it does, when they come alive through God's word.

We're begotten by the Word (the Logos), as God tells us, not of corruptible seed, but by the Word of God which lives and abides forever. God tells us, All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls off (falls away). So, we know that we're here and we're gone. I've got my three score and ten made, so I'm on borrowed time, and I feel sometimes like I'm fading away. But that's God's plan in this physical life, and He says we're here for a short time and we're gone. And in the space of time that we can see, that we've just been looking at, you can put mine and your lives on the head of a pin, brethren, when you understand God's plan....just on the head of a pin. God says it's "like dust on the scales." Just, "pfft," gone. So you and I have to receive what God gives to us while we're here, while we have His spirit upon this earth, to live a certain way. And we have to understand that it is God our Father, and there is a relationship that He wants you and me to have with Him as that Father. And it paints you and me a beautiful picture for His Church, for His people.

Let's turn over to Ephesians 1:3—Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings, in heavenly, in Christ – that's the way this is written, but it's talking about "the  blessings we have from God" (better said) "in Christ," "through Jesus Christ." It's a better way of saying it. According as He has chosen us in Him (in Jesus Christ). God chose us. God had a plan for His Family before the foundation of the world, predetermined before time. And it tells you and me that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. And the word here is "agape." So God determined, predetermined before time how we could begin to have that kind of mind in us where this is talking about this "agape," where it could actually come into our very being and that we could begin to live it toward one another. And it's not talking about just human love, it's talking about beyond that, to have God's love be a part of you and me, where God's spirit could actually dwell in a human being in the mind. That's what it is... better said.

And when we understand, that's why Jesus Christ died, that's why He gave His life. And it's a wonderful thing to understand, the reason that Jesus Christ died – so that we could be forgiven of sin, so that God the Father and Jesus Christ could spiritually dwell within our mind, dwell in human flesh. We know that these human bodies are temporary; they're temporary dwellings. It paints us a beautiful picture, to bring us into His Family, the God Family. And so we understand that Jesus died so God the Father and He could dwell in you  and me. And we had to have the means where we could be forgiven of sin because we understand that God the Father cannot dwell with sin. It's not possible.

And He said, having predetermined beforehand (better said) us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ (better said). So we can see that all these things were determined before time. God had it all planned out, how we're going to be brought into His Family, Elohim. So that's what is being said here, and that in time we could be brought in through the forgiveness of sin, through God dwelling in you and me. ...as children through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

Verse 6—To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the beloved...enter through the beloved, through Jesus Christ. That's how God makes you and me acceptable. ...in whom we have redemption—let's notice—through His blood, that was shed, and the forgiveness of sin according to the riches of His grace, wherein He has abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence; having made unto us the mystery of His will. And we understand what God is creating – Elohim.

We're at the end of 6,000 years of human history. We know that Jesus Christ will return to this earth; that's what we believe. That is our faith. And faith is believing what God says. It's believing that God is working, leading, guiding, and directing you and me in His Church. And we understand that God desires that we live by His laws, and it's not just the physical laws—something that takes place in the mind of how we think, that Paul talks about—and so we enter into this war, this spiritual battle, this spiritual war. And our whole life, we find, is one of constant battle, just about, battling against this human nature that we have, battling against a demon world that is out here after you. God says, "He's like a roaring lion, seeking who he can devour," someone that he can find in sin. And these battles are constantly there for you and me. We know the truth. We "see" the truth. We understand the source of these battles. And we understand these things that come from within. We also "see" God's desire in His plan, for this mind to change, to think differently, to come out of sin, for this mind to be transformed and to become in unity and oneness with Him eventually through this plan.

And so you and I live by faith. We live by wherever God leads us. And we make changes when we're shown, because one of the things that we have come to understand is that God's truth is progressive. And when we look back through time, we see that not many in the first 4,000 years were called to be part of the Temple that God is building. There were not many. But God is creating and He is going to establish the foundations through those of the past, those first 4,000 years. And He established the pillars to establish the Government that would reign and rule with Jesus Christ when He returns to this earth as King of kings to set up the Kingdom of God upon this earth. And there were many that have gone before us during that 4,000 years.

And then we come to the time of Jesus Christ, after those 4,000 years, and after they had passed, and after Jesus had come to this earth, and after He had died as our Passover. He gave something to you and me while He was upon this earth, through His words that He had recorded, and it's the spirit of the law. And Jesus let us know that it begins in the mind and He began to reveal those things. And then the Church was established.

And we go through time through the different eras and we go to Hebrews 11 (if you want to be turning there), and we read about the things that Noah had to do in his life, and how by faith that he built a boat. To live by faith. To believe what we believe, that we have the truth. We believe that God is working with us. We believe this is the Church of God that God is working through. That's what we believe, and that is our faith. That's how we live by that faith. And we watch the news to see things that are happening, to see things that are being fulfilled, and we live by faith and we live by it until it's fulfilled (when we understand).

Hebrews 11:1—Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So it's the foundation, it's the confidence of things hoped for, of things that you and I look forward to. We look forward to the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. We look forward to a new age, a new world. We see this world. God has blessed you and me to "see" how evil this world really is through His spirit. And we see the tragedy and the trauma of Satan's world. We see it on the news. We see it all around us in our lives. We see the wars. We see the killings that take place. We see the fighting. We see the destroying of lives. We see all the drugs. We "see" all the things that destroy life, the way God says to live it. We see the injustices of this world, Satan's world. We see where man judges things and establishes man's laws that conflict with God's laws when it comes down to it. And it conflicts with God's way of life, God's truth. But God's way of life is coming to this earth, to establish things in righteousness, to set up a just government upon this earth using God's laws. God's word says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," because once they are seen, it's no longer faith. It's there.

And we live at one of the most awesome times in man's history, the time that you're living in, the end of an age. And I hope you understand this will be written for all that will follow, what is taking place at the end of this age. And you and I are blessed to "see" more and more because it's part of God's progressive revelation. We "see" it through the posts. We "see" God's spirit at work. And because we're getting ready for the Millennium to be established upon this earth, when God can begin a massive education upon this earth to re-educate man once Jesus Christ is upon this earth, and God is preparing you for this return, when you understand.

We can "see" what's going on in the mind of man, and we can see that something will spark a war. When we look on the horizon of what is taking place around this earth, everything is in place for this period of time that you live in, the end of this age. We can see all the troubles in the Middle East that have taken place and are taking place. We saw what took place in Syria and what is still taking place. Israel, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, China, Russia...need I go on? We can see the storm clouds building, brethren. We can see it coming to a crescendo. We can see Russia flexing its muscles. And we can see the alliances that have already been made upon this earth. And it's a powder keg – that's what it is – ready to explode at any time, the things that are building up to this "great war." And it's going to happen. We realize that we are on God's time. That's where we're at. But we know what is written in this book, God's book.

We know some of the greatest news associated with the coming of the Messiah is that Satan would be removed from the presence of mankind, no longer able to broadcast to this mind, to the mind of mankind. No longer able to deceive the minds of people, and that's what we look forward to, to this time. We realize that we're on God's time and we understand that it is God that will produce the time when the walls of Babylon will fall (so to speak), when He says it's time.

And so we live by faith. We walk by faith. We believe; we believe this. We deal with a human mind, as Paul said, and we're ever battling this sin that Paul talks about, in this mind, that we serve God. "But we rejoice in the inner man," as He said, and the truth that God has given to you and me through this same mind that we battle. And we find that the weaknesses are there, as Paul said they were, and that's what we battle, are these weaknesses. God tells us that we are "to bring this mind into subjection," to a way of life, to His laws, to the way that He says to live. And we have to fight this war that takes place, just like Paul said a long time ago, and he said, "With the mind I, therefore, serve," his God. It's what he said.

Let's go back to Isaiah 64:1. But when we look on this world scene, at the clouds that are gathering, we "see" what God says in Isaiah 64:1, and this is our hope, that this would take place very soon...as soon as possible. And it cannot come soon enough for you and me, to be in God's Family, to be in what God is creating, to be in God's plan for the Millennium that will take place, and then God's plan for the Great White Throne and those things that are being said in God's word.

Isaiah 64:1—I love the way this is said, because that's what I wish would take place...Oh that You would tear through the heavens, that You would come down, that the mountains might flow down in Your presence. How many times we think about this! "If it would just go ahead and happen! Somebody just push the button," as we were talking about this morning. If God would just go ahead and let it all take place and let His Son return to set up His Kingdom upon this earth...and just get us through all of it.

Verse 2—And when the melting fire burns, the fire causes the waters to boil, to make Your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence. And the Day of Pentecost pictures these things. To see nations tremble, to see things happen in such a way that mankind is brought to a point of humility, and that he would then be able to begin "seeing," to "seeing" God, the Great God of this universe and what is taking place.

Verse 3—And when You did mighty things which we've not looked for, things which God did intervene at times and it was not being looked for, but it was part of God's plan. And it says, You came down, the mountains flowed down at Your presence. In other words, whenever God does something and whenever God has done something in the past, and whenever He does it in the future, He does it with great power, because it always comes to pass, what He says. And anything that's in front of that, that would hold it back, (better said) "it's like being melted out of the way," as God says here in His book. It just vanishes. There is no obstacle that you could put in front of the Great God of this universe that would stop His plan from taking place. I think it says, what? "Even the rocks would cry out, if need be," to bring His plan forward, to bring it to pass.

Verse 4—For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, not perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen… Man just does not acknowledge God, and that's the way it's been through time. And it says, O God, as it goes on to say, neither has the eye seen, O God, besides You, in other words, God gives it to "see." That which comes from God, it's how you "see." It's the only way you can "see" what you "see." And the world cannot "see" it, brethren, because it's not their time. And man cannot "see" what God is doing, but you can. You have been given the mysteries to the Kingdom of God. But mankind, at this time, cannot grasp what God is building. And it says, You meet him who rejoices and works righteousness, in other words (better said), "God will listen to and work with human beings when people rejoice in the truth, in God's way of life." It means something is happening in their life through that spirit that is there, those that seek to live a right way of life, to work righteousness. That's what it's saying. And we realize, we come to realize, that we cannot do this on our own unless God calls us and gives us His spirit.

But behold, You are angered; for we have sinned—let's notice what's being said—and continue to do so, yet we shall be saved. And it's just like Paul talked about, we all have sin. We have those things to fight. And when we do those things and we're able to repent, and especially when we've been called and we will be saved, as we know, but for Israel...  and the things that are written here are very much about Israel. And it's like I said earlier, it's not their time. Their time of salvation is coming in just a short while. After the Day of Pentecost takes place they're going to be able to be saved (better said). And we understand that there is a time for the rest in God's plan. And it paints you and me a beautiful picture down through time. And we know when this is, what God is talking about.

Verse 6, God tells us, We're all as an unclean thing, unclean, talking about you and me, the way that we are. God has to save us – I like the way Wayne says it – from ourselves, and that's well said, because it is God that has to save us from ourselves. And when the time comes we are no longer having these battles, being saved from what we are, being saved from "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life," pictures a wonderful time. Paul said, "Oh wretched man that I am," and that's what we are without God. We are wretched! And "our righteousness is," as God says, "as filthy rags." As man lives... because we do everything from selfish motivation. That's just our nature. And we always battle to live right in our lives and it's a never ending battle. But you and I have a Passover and that's how you and I can be forgiven of our sins, and that's in God's plan. And we do "fade as a leaf," as I said earlier, "we're here and we're gone," and it's just a short while. And just like God says, "It's like the wind just comes through."

And we all have so much sin that we have to repent of over and over. And sometimes it's just the same sin. But God made a way and we repent and He forgives our sins. God says, There is none who calls upon Your name, in other words, who stirs himself up to take hold of You. So by ourselves as human beings with our human nature, the only reason you know is because God drew you and He put His spirit in you so that you could understand. And then we understand that everything is done and accomplished through the Great God of this universe and His plan, and through His plan, and it's not by anything that we do. And there is none, as it says, who calls upon Your name, who stirs himself to take hold of You, talking about taking hold of God. You have hid Your face from us and have consumed us because of our iniquities.

So we know it's talking about Israel and the way that we are in this human flesh. And until God calls us and we realize spiritually that when we sin that God does hide His face from us, because He cannot be there until we repent of that sin. And that's a mistake that so many make in their lives. We've seen it over and over, even in the Church of God, even with God's spirit... and they fail to understand the importance of repenting of sin, unrepentant sin. And it will take you out, unrepentant sin.

And it says, verse 8—But now, O Eternal, you are our Father, so this is, we can "see" that God is our Father, we are the clay – it's the way God is explaining it – and He is the Potter, and the work of His hand. God works with us from the moment we're called, and then He brings us into His Family to think differently and gives us His spirit to do so. And as long as we yield to that process, as long as we continue to repent from our sins, and as long as we understand that God is the Master Potter, He is the one that is molding and fashioning Elohim. We are the clay and we are blessed to yield our self to a process when we're in His hands. And I've said it before, where else would you want to be in this world except in God's Church? There is no other place to be. And God says He is the Potter and we are the work of His hands, of what He is building.

Verse 9—So do not be angry with us, O Eternal, neither remember the iniquity forever, and God does not. It reveals God's plan and His purpose for salvation… behold, see, we beseech You, we are all Your people. Your holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. And we can look around us, especially those that have been around since the Apostasy. And those that were a part of the Worldwide Church of God, we can relate to these scriptures. But we understand that we're almost to the end of this now. But we've been able to live through a period of time at the end of an age, to learn, and it's through these experiences that we learn. And I think of what I experienced during the Apostasy: things about Jerusalem, things about Zion, things that have taken place in the Church of God. And there's a lot, brethren. God tells us there is a remnant at the end of an age that would be there.

And to come and realize what is needed in the Millennium that is coming to put God's Government in place, to exercise it towards others, to understand that that's what you're being molded and fashioned for now, to live into the Millennium or be a part of the 144,000 – doesn't matter, doesn't make any difference –but you're being trained now for what will take place in just a short while.

Verse 11—Our holy and our beautiful house, where our father's praised You, is burned up with fire, and I always think back, what happened to the Church of God. And here it talks about how we're saved, and if we yield our self to it we will be saved and we will come through it no matter what we experience in this life, no matter what we go through in this life. And it's talking about being burned with fire and all of our valuable things are laid waste. And I know this is talking about physical Israel, but for you and me when the Apostasy took place, it was about the truth of God. And I'll never forget when we walked out of Atlanta, Georgia, and we realized that everything that we had, brethren, everything, the Sabbath, the Holy Days, the things that we valued, had been destroyed. It was no more. But we wanted to hold on to what we knew and God had great mercy upon those that lived through those times, and He will have mercy on those in the future that come through it.

Let's go to Isaiah 65:17, and we can "see" that certain things here about spiritual Israel, about what God is doing in His plan. And He says, For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. So we know this is spiritual. It's about a spiritual place, "a new heaven and a new earth," and it's the way God explains it in His book, about what God is going to bring to all of mankind, about what God is bringing to mankind, and it's about His Family, Elohim. ...and the former shall not be remembered, nor come to mind, all the hard things that we faced, all the things that we live through in this human life. Once they're past and once we've been molded and fashioned, they don't come to remembrance anymore. They're behind us. The suffering is gone. But we have to experience these things in this physical life to learn, to be molded, to be fashioned, and that's why you have the trials that you have.

God is creating a new heaven and a new earth; that's what's taking place. That's where you are in time. God says, be glad and rejoice forever—let's notice how it's said—be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create, in other words, what God is doing in each one of us eventually, to be glad. And there's going to be a lot of rejoicing when some of mankind around the world understand that they are being freed from bondage, being freed from slavery, just like the children of Israel. God says ...I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, time when we can rejoice and we will no longer be attacked by the demon world, no longer having to live in Satan's world. And it goes on to say... I will rejoice in Jerusalem, in what He is building, because He's bringing us to a point in time where we can rejoice, and it's going to begin in just a short while, brethren, on the Day of Pentecost.

And it says, I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in My people; and the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

Isaiah 66:1—Thus says the Eternal, heaven is My throne, earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build unto Me? And where is the place of My rest? We are the place of God's rest, and as we come out of sin and God rests in us, when God dwells in us and He lives in us, to bring us to that time of rest, to a time when Jerusalem will be here and it will all be said and done, brethren. And God says, "Where is the place of His rest?" For all these things My hand has made, and all these things have been, says the Eternal. But to this person I will look, even to the person who is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembles at My word.

Let's go back to Leviticus 23 and we'll finish up. We'll start in verse 15. Leviticus 23:15. God is still creating, brethren, and this was written a long, long time ago about the next phase of God's plan. And it was recorded so that God could give His Church understanding about His plan. We understand that the wave offering during the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictured Jesus Christ. But here we see another event that takes place that shows God's Church about the next phase which will take place on a Pentecost.

Leviticus 23:15—And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete.

Verse 16—Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall you number fifty days; and you shall offer a new meat offering unto the Eternal. And you shall bring out of your habitation—let's notice—two wave loaves of two-tenths deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven—and let's notice what and how this is said—they are the firstfruits unto the Eternal.

So we understand that our God is a creating God and this is the next phase. Pentecost is just a few weeks away and we know that Jesus Christ will return on a Pentecost. We also know that we are along for the ride (so to speak) and we are on God's time, and we have a front-row seat to see the most awesome events that will ever take place upon this earth. We know that God's word is true and that His Son will return to set up the Kingdom of God upon this earth, to set up the Government of God upon this earth in a place where God can dwell in His Family that He has created, so that mankind can learn the true way of peace. And when the City of Peace is here upon this earth, then the rest of mankind can begin to learn about the Great God of this universe and His Son, and it will be their time then. And then they can be offered the way of life that you have been offered now, the way of life that brings about peace and happiness.

We know that on a Pentecost God will send His Son back to this earth with the 144,000, the next phase of God's plan. And we have looked today at how God's plan has progressed down through time from the destruction that Satan had caused to the time when God will bring about the next phase of His plan, the firstfruits, the 144,000, to get ready for the final phase of His plan, to bring the rest into His Family that want to live this way of life, the way that you are learning to live now, and to bring those that want to be, into God's Family, Elohim.□