Rejoice and Be Thankful

Johnny Harrell

October 3, 2020

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon

This is a very special time of year for God’s people, a time when God’s people will be fed for eight straight days. It is a time for God’s people to be thankful, and it is a time for rejoicing for God’s people. That’s what God instructs you and me to do at this Feast of Tabernacles, to rejoice, be thankful, and consider what God has instructed for His Church.

Let’s turn over to Deuteronomy 16 quickly and let’s look at verse 11. We know these scriptures by heart, but this is the time and season we are to reflect upon.

Deuteronomy 16:11 says, You shall rejoice before the Eternal Your God, you, your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, and the Levite that is within your gates, and the stranger, the fatherless, the widow that are among you, in the place which the Eternal your God has chosen to place His name.

So, this is a very unique Feast of Tabernacles for God’s people. It’s the first time in my lifetime that the Feast will be kept in this manner. But God is very merciful to you and me, and we should rejoice that we have the ability, and we should be thankful that we have the ability and the technology that we have today so that God’s people can keep His Feast wherever they may be. God has made that possible. So, that is something that God’s people should rejoice in and be thankful for.

Let’s notice verse 12. It says, You shall remember that you were a bondsman in Egypt, a slave to sins, for you and me, brethren, prior to our calling. That’s what you and me were; we were slaves to this world, Satan’s world.

Let’s notice the rest, You shall observe and do these statutes. You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, after you have gathered in your corn and your wine. That’s what we’re doing. We are here to observe the Feast of Tabernacles for eight days, and we are to be thankful and rejoice in that ability as verse 14 tells us the rest of it. You shall rejoice in your Feast. Over and over again God tells us through what He has written in this book that we are to rejoice.

We are to rejoice in your Feast; you, your son, your manservant, your daughter, your maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow that are within your gates.

Verse 15—Seven days you shall keep a solemn Feast unto the Eternal your God in the place which the Eternal shall choose. It is being done differently this year, and it says, Because the Eternal your God will bless you in all your increase, and in all the works of your hands, therefore, you shall truly rejoice.

It is a blessing that we are able to keep this Feast of Tabernacles this year. We are blessed to be able to hear sermons through the technology that God has provided for us, His people. We are to be led and taught by our God during this Feast of Tabernacles.

We can see what God says about rejoicing at this Feast of Tabernacles, and in these verses that we just read we cannot get through these verses without being reminded of what we are to do, and that is to be thankful and rejoice at this Feast.

That is the title of the sermon today Rejoice and Be Thankful.

God makes it clear that that is what we are to do, and that will be a blessing from the Great God of this universe and His Son. We are to consider our calling and how blessed we are to have that calling. We are to rejoice and be thankful for that calling that God has afforded to you and me.

God chose you and me to work with, to mold and to fashion us. He has put His spirit in us so that He could abide in, so that He could dwell in you and me. He called us to a different way of life according to His purpose and His plan, and we are to rejoice in that calling, and we are to be thankful for that calling that He has given to each and every one of us.

So, hopefully, everyone is thankful for the opportunity that God has given to each and every one of us, especially at this Feast of Tabernacles, even though this Feast is being done differently.

And if God had not called us, we would not be here, brethren. God called us so that He could abide in, so that He could dwell in us. It’s only by that calling, by being called by the Great God of this universe, that we are able to come before Him and His Son and understand the plan that He has for mankind.

That’s what this Feast of Tabernacles is about. It pictures a thousand-year reign when the Kingdom of God will be here, and the government of God will be set up upon this earth for mankind, to rule mankind. It will do so for one thousand plus one hundred years. That in itself gives us something to be thankful for and to rejoice over, the understanding that we have about God’s plan, the understanding that we have about the purpose of that plan. We should rejoice that God is building His family, Elohim, and be thankful for that family that He is building.

Brethren, when we look at this world scene that is before us and what is taking place in this world we should understand that we are on God’s time and that it is the Great God of this universe that is leading His Church, you and me. We see a world that is struggling. We can see that perilous times are coming upon this world, and that’s what this world is facing.

This virus has the whole world upset at this time, but this virus is nothing to what is in our future. This virus can be deadly and so God’s Church takes precautions, but we also know that there are weapons more deadly than this virus, and those weapons can destroy every living thing upon this earth many times over. That’s how powerful they are.

But God is bringing His plan forth and He’s bringing the whole world (so to speak), out of Egypt. It’s an awesome blessing just to be part of what God is doing. The good news for you and me, God’s Church, is deliverance is coming, coming for God’s people, and also coming for the people of this earth.

Of all the things that God has given to you and me and of all the doors that He has opened to us, His Church, we can look back at all those things that are taking place, all the horrors that are in front of the people of this earth. We know that on the other side of all those horrors deliverance will be there. That is what God is getting ready to give to this whole world – deliverance.

God is about to give this earth a new world, a new age, and we have so much to be thankful for, that knowledge, and we have so much to rejoice over for that knowledge that God has given to you and me, to know what God’s plan is for mankind.

We should we thankful for what we know and the understanding that God has let us have. All of us should have a desire to be fed from our God during this Feast. God says through this book that we are to bring every thought into subjection. We understand that Paul wrote a lot about the mind and it was through his mind that he served his God. It’s how you and me do the same thing.

We know that this flesh is so weak, and we’ve seen God’s people succumb to the mind, to the pulls of this flesh. But Paul knew about this flesh and how weak it was, and Paul wrote much about this flesh. He wrote about the nature that each and every one of us have, this human nature. We understand that this nature is hard to conquer. We know that most everyone through their carnal mind knows that their way is best, what they think. It’s just how the human mind works.

But when it comes to obeying God what one thinks with this carnal mind is not relative. It does not matter what anyone may think with their mind. It’s about what God says how we are to live our lives that matters. That’s what really matters. There is only one way to follow God in His Church, only one way, and that is to follow the Great God of this universe and His Son Joshua Christ. It’s the only way.

You and I understand that we are to follow God wherever He leads, and that is just part of the process. It’s what we do. We follow God. It’s a matter of growing close to God and asking for help so that we can see the things that we do to ourselves and to others, so that we can be free, free from Egypt, free from being free to sin. That’s what it’s about.

When we look at God’s way of life, God has a way of life for you and me to live. All of us strive to keep all the commandments of our God. All of us strive to do that in God’s Church. We strive to keep sin out of our lives. God wants us to become at one with Him, with His mind. That’s what God says.

We can see that God is leading us to a point in time in His plan where He will free this world. We can see it more and more as we go through God’s plan. That is what God is teaching you and me, and it’s much about this Feast of Tabernacles that we are here celebrating. He’s teaching us the way. He’s teaching us the way to peace and He has given us the way to peace. It’s by obedience and by following Him. He tells us how.

That’s what the word “Jerusalem” really means. It’s what the city is about, the city of Jerusalem. It’s about where God is leading His Church, to a spiritual rest.

Sometimes we just have to think about what the meaning of these words are, like “Jerusalem,” but we know that it is God that has to show us and teach us those meanings. We understand that God gives to you and me, His Church, the present truth. We understand that that truth has been progressive down through time. But God has revealed more and more through time. Now you and I find our self at the end of an age where we have so much understanding. Look how much we know since the Apostasy that took place in God’s Church.

We are now facing the most destructive times in man’s history. There has never been a time like this is man’s history. God says there will never be a time like it, never been a time when every living being upon the face of this earth could be destroyed.

And our lives can so change in one hour, and it will one day, and our minds will not be able to comprehend that change when it takes place. Destruction can take place at the blink of an eye any time, brethren. That’s how quick it could take place.

Everyone thinks this virus is devastating, but there is more to come. There are things that are written in this book, scriptures, but it’s only God that can give you understanding of what they mean. There’s a being that would like to know those meanings, but God’s not going to give him those meanings because God cannot let that being understand what His next moves will be.

We can see it all through time, the children of Israel, when God was leading them. They knew that they were being freed from Egypt, but they did not know where they were going. All the disciples that walked with Joshua Christ when he was upon the face of this earth did not understand where they were in time. It’s only God that can give that understanding.

We know how God through Joshua Christ gave them the understanding when it was time. Not before it was time, but when it was time for them to understand it was given. It is no different in our time. God gives it when it is time. God will reveal it when that time comes.

So, when we look at what Daniel wrote in God’s book, we know that Satan didn’t know what all that was written meant. We know what His fate is. That is something that has been given to God’s Church. We understand that there is a spiritual war going on and this being is part of that war. We understand that there are awesome things that are going to take place on this earth in just a very short while.

God will let us know more about this being when Joshua Christ returns to set up the Kingdom of God upon this earth. The oppression of mankind will begin to be removed. Understanding will be given about God’s Family and understanding about the way to live life for mankind, the importance of the 10 Commandments that show us the way to live, the Sabbath, the Holy Days and the meaning of all those things that God has revealed to you. It will be taught to mankind.

So, when you look around at Satan’s world, the world that has been created by that being, we can see that there is no respect left in this world, and when we look at what is taking place here in the United States, the riots, the violence, we can see how sick this world is. We can see the politics of man’s world and how sick those politics are. We can see that there is no respect shown anymore.

But that will begin to be restored in God’s world. Once people begin to live God’s way of life, they will begin to have a mutual respect for each other because of the way of life that will begin to be lived. So, can we see what just this one thing would do when God’s government is here upon this earth? A just government to teach the correct way to live life, a way that teaches respect, a way that teaches about the way to have peace with one another, that teaches that those that accept what God is offering them can have peace for an eternity. They can have that respect for an eternity.

The Millennium will be a different time for mankind. We know that human nature will be here, and we understand that many will not overcome their nature. But we know the end result for them. Human emotions are a powerful thing, and sometimes most people judge off of those human emotions not off of what God says, the way that God says to live. We’ve even seen this happen in God’s Church.

But like I said, human emotions are hard to conquer. Most rule by those human emotions. Most don’t rule by what’s right or wrong. That never enters the picture, about what God says how to do it, how to live their lives. The human mind thinks it knows the best way. That’s the way that the mind thinks. But God is leading us into a new age, into a world where all of a sudden knowledge will begin to flood this earth, knowledge of a correct and a right way to live life.

This world today is in darkness. That’s what God says. That’s how He explains it. But there is freedom coming to mankind and there is deliverance coming to mankind. And this is where you and I find our self in time. We are on the verge of a new world, brethren, a new age. We see that God is leading us into that new age, a new world where all of a sudden God’s spirit will be upon mankind. Minds will be opened. Many will begin to obey their God.

We know how that comes about. It comes about through repentance. When mankind, when some of mankind, can see what they have done, and then they can really, some can really see what they really are before their God, and then they begin the process of repentance. Then they can change their lives and they begin to live a better life, to live God’s way of life.

That’s, actually, what God’s desire is for man so that man can have peace.

We understand that the more that we obey God, and the more that we live this way of life that God has shown us, the more that we can get rid of sin in our lives, and the more that we change our thinking and think the way that God says we are to think, we come to realize that it’s about the mind. When we’re able to repent and we begin to have the right attitudes, we begin to work and share with others in a better light, and the way that we treat others begins to change.

Let’s turn over to Isaiah 58. It’s where Isaiah tells us about this, about the changes of the mind. Isaiah wrote in verse 7—is it not to share your bread with the hungry? So, we’ll break this down a little bit and see what Isaiah was really saying and what it was really about. Because it’s man’s biggest downfall. When we understand we will deal our bread to others and what it’s speaking about it puts a new meaning upon it, and when you look at it the way that Isaiah explains it.

The more that we obey God and the more that we live this way of life, and the more that we look at ourselves and see what we really are in this flesh, and the more that we rid ourselves of sin, sins that bind us and burden us down. We bear burdens on others, brethren, as well, by our wrong thinking.

But when we repent of doing what it says in verse 7, to have what Isaiah is speaking about, to share with others, to share this way of life, God’s way, do it God’s way, we can see that this virus has brought some of mankind a little closer—not a lot, but just a smidgen I guess, as we say in Georgia. We can see the food lines that have resulted, some people helping other people.

That’s what Isaiah is speaking about, how we treat each other and what will take place. We have to understand this when we begin dealing our bread to others, as Isaiah has his way of explaining it, because of what God has given to you and me, of what is ahead of us, the Millennium where this will really begin, where we will deal our bread with others.

Right now, it’s only in God’s Church that we can really share what is really important. We know what that is. The truth and the way to live life. But the Millennium is on the horizon when we can do what Isaiah is speaking about. So, we can see through Isaiah what mankind is about to receive from God and His Son, and it paints you and me a beautiful, beautiful picture of what is about to take place upon this earth for mankind.

But mankind has no clue at this time, and we understand that and we understand why. But this is what God lets you and me know through the writings of Isaiah, and that is what God is sharing with you and me at this time, what is told through God’s book through Isaiah, through the writings of Isaiah.

Isaiah is telling us a way that we should think and deal with others, and it’s so that we can see the purpose of drawing closer to our God. We should be able to see what that will do, and we should be able to see how that will be magnified in the world that is about to come, when God starts to deliver this whole world.

It’s a beautiful picture that is painted for you and me. To open minds and offer the people of this earth God’s way of life. It’s a beautiful picture when you understand what that entails.

When God called you and me, He lets you and me see ourselves. It’s good to see ourselves, to see what we really are as human beings, what our nature really is in this flesh. We understand that’s why we have the problems that we do in this world, this nature. We understand we’re all selfish by nature. We understand that all human beings are prideful through that nature. God gave us this human nature for a reason, but I look to the time when I will not be in this flesh anymore, brethren, and this nature in me can be done away with, this nature that I have, that I loathe.

All of us have family and friends that we want to see enter this Millennial reign of Joshua Christ upon this earth, to learn about this way of life that you and me experience now. We are at a moment in time when we are just about there. We are on the threshold of a new age, brethren. The Millennium is just on the horizon. I am so thankful to rejoice in that knowledge. I know you are too.

When my wife and I were first called God let us see the Sabbath, just like He did you. He let us see the Holy Days. I remember the first book that I read, The U.S. and Britain in Prophecy, and I believed what I read in that book. We didn’t go to church anywhere, but I do remember Mr. Armstrong late at night when I was going to school in Atlanta, Georgia, and my wife and I would come home on the weekends and we would hear Mr. Armstrong on an old AM radio.

We didn’t have radios like we have today, and you would have to run down the hills and back to the top of the hills. There were no interstates in those days. We didn’t even know what FM meant in those days. Those radios would fade out. There were no computers, no iPads, no phones in those days, not in your vehicles anyway. We did have phones at home. Some did.

When we read that book my wife and I couldn’t actually prove it to anyone else, but we knew that book was true, both of us. You know, in a little while, we won’t have to prove anything. God will prove it by what’s coming. We will not have to do anything. God will do it all. He will prove that that book was true.

We are in a time when it will be exciting, when this is all over, when this mind, this attitude will be changed. We do want to share in that excitement of that new age when it comes upon mankind. Can we comprehend God’s government being established upon this earth? One Church. One government. No Satan for a thousand years. Think about being thankful for that one. Think about rejoicing for that one. No Satan for a thousand years. Can you not know that God has to be excited about what is about to take place for man?

This world is hurting. Those in God’s Church can see that this world is dying. It’s a dying world. We can see that this world is in pain. Man does not know the way to peace, and we can see it. God is about to bring this earth into what we know as birth pains. He likens it to the birth pains of a child being born. We can see that we are at the end when this will take place. I hope everyone understand how blessed you are to be a part of what is about to take place, to help those that will be afflicted, to give people answers to what is happening upon this earth. How blessed you are to have been called at this time to live into a new age, to share in that new age, to help those that have been called to live in that age. I know this mind cannot grasp such a thing.

But after all the horrors have passed away and we begin to focus on what God is doing fully, we are blessed to have knowledge of this. That’s what we are here celebrating, the Feast of Tabernacles, and it should bring you to your knees to understand what you understand, what God has given you, because you have more understanding than any of God’s people down through time.

Isaiah 58:12, let’s notice. This is where it tells us: And those from among you… We know that there will be 144,000. We understand this. We understand this about God’s plan. Then there will be those that come into the Millennium, those that are brought in and will begin to have a part of what Isaiah is speaking about. How blessed you are to have been called and given the opportunity to share in what Isaiah is speaking about, to live into that new age?

And they of you shall build the old waste places—let’s notice what’s being said—and will raise up the foundation of many generations. There will be 144,000 upon this earth as spirit beings. There will be those that live into this new age. It says, “You will build the old waste places.” We get to be a part of it regardless of whether you are part of the 144,000 or whether you live into this new age. We all will have a part. This should be exciting to understand.

It says and will raise up the foundation of many generations. And you will be called—let’s notice—the repairer of the breach. We know that this is referring to the wall at that time, but you and I will be blessed to be a part of the strengthening of this wall that is coming in the future.

The examples that were given about repairing that wall at that time, that was written in God’s book a long, long time ago through Isaiah, and they were allowed to repair those walls. That’s what it’s speaking about, and it’s referring back to those walls in that time when they were being restored.

A “breach in the wall” means that there is part of the wall that’s been torn down where the enemy could come through in those days. Those that will be there will be blessed to be a part of strengthening the wall. That’s what it’s speaking about. So that the world can be strong in God’s way of life, so that God’s way of life can now be made stronger and stronger through the Millennium.

We’re almost there, and it’s on our horizon when it will begin. You and me can see the finish line of this age. We understand about the markers that Ron speaks about. We can see that marker of that finish line. When we see that finish line, we know another marker is there. Satan will be chained and put in his prison. This paints us a beautiful, beautiful picture.

…to raise up the foundation of many generations—and let’s notice—and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths. Let’s notice what’s being said, “the paths”; that’s what it’s speaking about. The way to walk in, speaking about God’s way of life, the way to live life, to dwell in, to abide in that way of life.

So, deliverance is coming for those that will accept what God will offer them, to have peace forever, brethren. It’s just like Christ told us on Passover night, and it’s a beautiful, beautiful picture when we see it and we understand what was being said. We are blessed to be a part of this, to share with others a way of life that is to be lived. You will be at the very beginning of a new age, of a new world, to raise up those foundations of many generations. And you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of those paths to dwell in.

It’s a beautiful, beautiful picture, brethren, that was painted for you and me and just understanding the moment of time that you and me find our self in, and to understand what God has given us through all the truths at this moment at time is an awesome blessing in itself, to be given that understanding.

I hope you are thankful for that understanding and you are rejoicing in that understanding at this Feast of Tabernacles.

Let’s turn over to Colossians 2. You and I should have a focus in our minds and we should strive to hold on to that focus. You and I are to focus upon the many blessings that God has poured out on each one of us since we have been called.

Sometimes we understand that we had many things to deal with. We know it was not easy to come into this way of life and there were choices that had to be made to obey God in the very beginning, some hard choice for some. We had to make those choices because we were being given understanding, our minds were being opened, and we began to understand the Sabbath, the Holy Days, and we had to deal with marriages (some of us did), some of us had to deal with jobs.

But there have been many blessings that came through obedience and we learned that as we made those choices in our lives. And thankfully, we’re at the end of this age and those things will become easier for those in the Millennium. Those choices will be easier because Satan will be chained, and a new world order will be established upon this earth. That in itself will make choices easier for mankind.

Colossians 2:1. It’s where Paul was speaking and he said, For I would that you knew what great conflict I have for you and for them in Laodicea, for as many as you have not seen my face in the flesh. So, Paul is speaking. He did a lot of traveling, as we know, and traveling was not like it was today. It was a slow process. Many had not seen Paul. He had not been able to visit them in person. Some had never actually met him personally.

Verse 2—That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, upon all riches a full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God.

Paul is using this term “mystery of God” and Paul used this term over and over to discuss things that were hidden from Satan’s world. We understand that they were hidden, things that you and I cannot share at this time with others. They can’t understand it because it is a mystery to mankind. We cannot share this with the world like Isaiah was speaking about until they’re called. Then we can share what we have today that we’re able to share with each other.

But we can’t do that until they’re being drawn by God. So, as a whole it’s only those of us in the Church of God. That’s what draws you and me together. Knowledge. Knowledge of this mystery that Paul speaks about. We understand it is because of the spirit that was given to each one of us that we can understand and we can talk about certain things among ourselves, and we’re of the same mind.

But let’s notice what Paul was saying, the mystery of God, and of the Father and of Christ, and it is a mystery, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. God is the one who gave the truth to you and me and we understand that it was the Great God of this universe that drew you and me to Him.

And this I say lest any may should beguile you… So, this means “falsely reason.” And in this I say lest any person should beguile you (better said, “falsely reason with you), with enticing words. So, what Paul is telling them is to be careful. That’s what he’s telling them. Because Paul knew that Satan was like a roaring lion, and who else but the Church of God does Satan want? It’s Satan that wants to get to you and me, and what Paul knew is Satan was a master of deception and Satan does not like God’s plan for mankind.

So, you and I need to realize that there is a demonic world that is very powerful, a spirit world that you and I are no match for. Paul is telling them to be careful in that it’s a dangerous world.

So, we can bring it down to our time now. It’s Satan’s world at this time and he’s still a powerful being so you and I need to be careful and understand that that being is there like a roaring lion and he’s already captured many out of God’s true Church, that remnant Church at the end.

Verse 5, Paul tells them, For though I be absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, joying and beholding your order in the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

So, brethren, it’s a wonderful thing to obey God and to be steadfast in the faith. It’s a wonderful thing. It is faith that God has given to each one of you, that measure of faith so that we can believe the Great God of this universe, so that we can believe His truth, and it’s just like when I read The U.S. and Britain in Prophecy, I knew it was true, and some of you have read a book and you also knew it was true. I know at that time I did not know much about this Bible, but I knew what I had read was true. Then I realized I had a choice to make. I had to start living by what I was learning about our God and His Son.

We make choices, and it is our choice when it’s all said and done. What we’re living through right now is a very incredible thing, brethren, and at the time of this sermon my wife and I have been pretty much quarantined to our home. We always wear a mask when we go outside our homes to buy some groceries and the things that we need, and we’re at the end of an age, and you and I were called at a unique time in history. I hope you understand everything that you have been given, and I hope you understand how blessed you are to live at this time.

Let’s notice what else was being said: and that you’re able to do—let’s notice how—with the steadfastness of your faith. In other words, we just believe. “Steadfastness of your faith,” that’s what it is, and you just keep obeying. That’s what we do. We just keep going forward. As God says, we follow God. That’s something only God can give to you and me, the way to follow Him, the way to go forward and not to go back into Satan’s world.

We always go forward, brethren, and it’s just like when God gave the Sabbath to you and me, then He gave you the Holy Days, and move forward. Then it’s in our minds and we continue to move forward in the truth, the present truth. Whatever time that might have been, it’s always the present truth. It’s how God leads His Church. It’s how God leads His people. We continue to watch as we move forward through God’s plan, through the events that are unfolding all around us. You have a front-row seat, brethren, to see those events unfold. It’s perilous times. Don’t give up your seat.

I don’t see how anyone could deny that our time is short before a new world will begin. We watch the world scene of a dying world. We see it on the news. It’s dying right before our eyes. I hope you see it. I hope you know that deliverance is coming from the Great God of this universe, and eventually for the rest that will accept what God will offer them. I hope you are thankful for that knowledge and you are rejoicing in that knowledge.

Verse 6—As you have, therefore, received Christ Joshua the Lord, so walk in him. So just do it, brethren. That’s what’s being said. Just do it. Walk in this way of life. It is so simple. It’s not complicated. Just listen to the present truth and follow God and understand how blessed you are to have those truths that God has revealed to your mind.

It’s exciting when we look at all those truths since the Apostasy. For those that live through those times we understand how exciting it is to be part of God’s Church, to be a part of the plan of God.

I remember a Feast of Tabernacles back in 1997 when it was hard to rejoice at the Feast of Tabernacles. So, when I say rejoice at God’s Feast of Tabernacles and be thankful, those words really ring true to me and my wife. I remember a Feast of Tabernacles that it was hard to rejoice. But God says that’s what you and I are to rejoice. It’s a wonderful thing to hear the truths of God once again, to be able to rejoice and be thankful for those truths, and to walk in this way of life and get God do the leading. It’s a wonderful thing, brethren. We don’t have to figure it all out. God teaches us. I hope we are thankful for those teachings.

So, be thankful for what you do understand. Understand what we’ve been given, the present truth, because we’ve been given more than any down through time, brethren. So, you and I should be thankful and rejoice, and to think about the different things that we have been given, what we have.

God is building a family. He is building His family, Elohim, a family that will eventually have no sin. It’s a hard thing to comprehend, what God is building, a family without sin. But that’s an awesome thing when you understand it, a family that has no sin. So, we can rejoice and be thankful forever, so that we can have peace forever. This human mind cannot comprehend such a thing.

But try to think about it. What does it mean? Where there is unity with the Great God of this universe and His Son, when there is unity with everyone around you. There is nothing but peace, at-one-ment with the Great God of this universe. Just think about that, at-one-ment with God. It’s a hard thing to comprehend.

But all of us are seeking to be at one with our God, to keep sin out of our lives, to be in that family where sin will be not part of that family, to become like our God, to strive for the mind of God.

Let’s turn over to Philippians 4 and let’s see what was written. Because this is what God says for you and me to do. Philippians 4:4—Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, Rejoice! In other words, rejoice in God’s way of life. Rejoice at this Feast of Tabernacles which pictures God’s way of life.

So, all of this is connected to being thankful for what you know, and when we are thankful, it makes rejoicing very easy.

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Let’s notice—Be careful. The New King James says “anxious.” It says it better. The word means “overanxious.” That’s what we do as human beings in this flesh, we can become overanxious. But one thing, brethren, God did not call you and me to fail. He called you and me to succeed. That’s why He has His Church, God’s Church, and He has a plan to bring it about through that Church.

You and I know the end of this book. We know the end of it all. We know who wins in the end, and if we continue to follow God in that present truth and let Him have all these worries about how to bring it about, and let Him tell us, let God tell us, and God says for you and me not to be anxious.

When this virus that is affecting the world, many are anxious. But we know the truth and we know that this world will come crashing down. We know that a new age is coming and even if we die, if we have God’s spirit there is nothing to be anxious about. We know that deliverance is coming for everyone that wants what God is offering them, and if we just continue to repent and to follow God, it’s a guarantee, brethren. God says He guarantees it.

It’s very simple. All you have to do is repent and follow God. It’s a simple process to be so hard. God says for you and me to be anxious for nothing, but in everything—let’s notice—by and through prayer, and supplication, with thanksgiving. Just what we’re speaking about, being thankful, not being anxious for anything, and rejoicing in what God has revealed to you.

So, it’s a matter of understanding that was given to you and me, God’s Church. God says, “through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.” Let’s notice, let your request be known to God. So, it’s how we think. Do we turn to God? That should be our responses. It should be how we think. So much of everything is just understanding that God has given you, to use that understanding that you have.

And the peace of God—let’s notice, that’s something that we receive from God once we’re baptized and receive His holy spirit. That peace will get greater and greater until it is peace forever, brethren.

When we look at what Isaiah wrote about the weights, the burdens that we have in this flesh, the things that hold us back, Joshua Christ said that his burden was light. I have found that to be so true.

It says, And the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds through Joshua Christ. If we continue to follow God wherever He leads us and our strength is in Joshua Christ. That’s where it is. Our strength is in the Body of Christ and our strength is in drawing closer and closer to our God. That’s where our strength comes from.

We live in a world that if God does not intervene no flesh will be saved alive upon this earth. That’s where we are. We look so forward for the Millennium when Joshua Christ will come and set up the Kingdom of God upon this earth and set up the government of God upon this earth. He will put a chain upon Satan, and after all that destruction, many will want to know why everything took place, why it all happened.

You and I understand God’s plan. We understand the secrets of events in this plan. We understand what God is creating. He is creating His family, Elohim, that will have no sin, that will have peace forever. God and Joshua Christ have to be very excited about where we are in time, that we are on that horizon of a new age.

God has painted you and me a picture through His book. We understand when it says we are to be coming out of Egypt. We understand what that terminology means. We’ve been taught these things in God’s Church, about coming out of Egypt symbolically, year by year. Ever since I have been in God’s Church that’s what we’ve been taught.

We understand the symbolism when God brought a nation out of captivity and brought them out to deliver them. We can learn what God is doing for mankind. We refer to these things of Egypt during the Days of Unleavened Bread, and we understand the symbolism and what that pictures of coming out of sin, of coming out of spiritual Egypt. It’s a process that God has taken those that want His way of life out of sin for an eternity.

The Days of Unleavened Bread pictures coming out of sin, and because of what Joshua Christ did as our Passover, that’s why it starts with the Passover. We understand that process and all will have to go through that process.

But now, more than ever, everything that all of this pictures, we’re at a moment in time when God will take the whole earth out of spiritual Egypt, and the Millennium will be the beginning of that process. All of mankind will have the opportunity to know the Great God of this universe and that has not been the case down through time. Mankind has been able to rule this earth for 6,000 years, but God and His Son are about to project us into the Millennium, a wonderful time upon this earth. He’s letting you and me know about His plan. He’s letting us share in this knowledge, and it should be exciting to know where we are in time, to be thankful and to rejoice because of this knowledge that God lets us have.

We should thank God that He’s blessing us just to be able to share in what He is doing, that plan. So, we should humble ourselves before God at this Feast and be so thankful for what He has given us and let us share in. We are a blessed people. Of all upon the face of this earth we are the most blessed.

Mankind has had 6,000 years for His own governments, to create them, and now it should be exciting for you and me because we are close to that moment in time in the Church of God. We are on that threshold of a new age, a new world. I hope you understand where you are in time and what you have been offered.

I don’t think we fully grasp, but we can try to appreciate what God has let us see and I hope we understand those blessings that God has given us. I hope we can see what this Kingdom of God will do for mankind, and the government of God will do for mankind, when God sends His Son to this earth to set all those things up.

We look at the world. We look at what’s taken place. Of all the things that God has given to you and me we can look at all those things and think about deliverance that God will give you and me. He’s going to give it to those that want this way of life, deliverance, with peace forever. We have so much to be thankful for. We have so much to rejoice over, brethren.

We can look around at this world and see why they are in captivity. We understand why they don’t understand these things. Because it’s not been given. They don’t know anything about the Sabbath, the Holy Days. They don’t know anything about obeying God. They think it doesn’t matter. They use their own mind to decide what is the correct way to keep, to live their lives. They don’t understand the purpose. They don’t even understand God has a plan. They certainly don’t understand what God is doing. They certainly don’t understand how they should be living their lives. They certainly don’t think the 10 Commandments are in force. They don’t understand the spirit of those commandments and what they mean, so they find themselves in captivity.

But God has a plan. He has a plan to open man’s mind. He has a plan to call many through His plan. But those of us that God has called at this time, we understand we are not out of it until we are changed, when we shed this flesh. Those of us that God has called, our whole lives have been about coming out of Egypt, coming out of sin, and we understand we’re not out of it until the process has ended.

Isaiah 58. Let’s turn over to Isaiah 58:6 and let’s see what else Isaiah wrote. Isaiah 58:6 …to loose the bounds, whatever it is that is holding us captivity, the shackles of wickedness, the way God had it written. So, it’s wickedness is about sin, to remove that sin, those burdens that are holding you back, that are burdening us down.

One of the hardest things for human beings to see is that they are sinning and to see why they sin. All of us have wondered at some times, “Why did I do this? Why was I so blindsided by this sin?” What was in our minds that made us do it? I can tell you what was in your mind. The “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” God put those things in mankind for a reason, so that He could create His family, Elohim.

But how could we possibly have thought that way? I know we thought, “That was not my intentions, but I got caught up in it.” It’s just like Paul wrote. We understand what needs to be changed because sin has to be repented of. Our sins are forgiven, but we always have to repent over and over. There is a spirit world that is broadcasting mightily and it’s something that you and I need to understand about this mind.

It’s the way that we think that needs to surface, and if we can spot these things in our mind and nip it in the bud before it takes place, then we can conquer it and not be caught up in sin.

God says through this book to bring every thought into captivity. That’s what it’s speaking about. So that we will not sin. That’s what Paul meant when he said, “By the mind,” or through the mind, through his mind, “he served his God, but with the flesh,” Paul understood about this flesh and that it was weak.

So, thankfully, God lets you and me see ourselves, and thankfully, God made a way that you and me can repent, repent from our sins. Every now and then it’s good just to look at ourselves and see what we are really like as human beings.

We understand that when Satan came upon the scene to Adam and Eve, we know what took place and we know that there has been darkness upon this earth ever since except for those that God has called down through time out of that darkness. It should bring you to your knees to understand what you understand, what God has afforded you to understand. You have more understanding than any down through time, brethren, and I hope you rejoice in that and I hope you are thankful for that understanding.

Christ gave an example in God’s book, and he spoke about a woman when she was in labor. You talk about that sorrow that she has and they’re good examples that Christ gave. But as soon as she gave birth to the child, she no longer remembered the pain. He said, “Now, for you now have sorrow,” and we do, but let’s notice he told them something, “but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice.” And it will for all of us.

We look so forward to the day when Joshua Christ will return to this earth and set up the Kingdom of God upon this earth with a just government upon this earth, and he said, “And your joy will not be taken away from you. Never again.” None of us will ever be persecuted again for the truths that God revealed to you and me once God sends His Son back to this earth.

If we believe these things that God has revealed to you and me, it’s accounted to you and me as righteousness just like it was Abraham. It’s an awesome thing to have that understanding. All these things in this book was written so that we could learn, so we can be taught and understand that God has given to everyone He has called a measure of faith so that we can believe, so that we can understand God’s plan.

We believe what is written in this book. Who will listen as Satan’s world comes to a close? Who will believe the Great God of this universe and His Son as Satan’s age comes to an end and God’s age begins? We know what is written at the end, that there will be so many that they will encompass the earth as the sands of the sea – so many that will not want what God will offer them.

Christ said in this world we will have tribulation. But he also said, “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world,” Satan’s world. He will be here in a little while to take over all the governments of this world. He will establish the government of God upon this earth to bring peace to man, to begin that peace for an eternity, peace that has so eluded all of mankind. But now peace will be here in a short while.

We are on the horizon of that peace beginning and this world will not be in pain anymore when God delivers all that want to have what He is offering – eternal life in the God Family, to become Elohim.

I hope you rejoice and are thankful for all that God has revealed to you, brethren, and I hope you have an enjoyable Feast of Tabernacles and you are so thankful and rejoice in all that God has done for you.