Dangers to True Fellowship, Pt. 1

Ronald Weinland

June 5, 2021

We have been living through a difficult year when it comes to being able to have healthy fellowship with others in God’s Church. By healthy I mean good and we’re living as we need to be. But good fellowship like that is awesome when we’re able to have it, just like before services here today, and this is the first time we’ve had the group together in a really big way since August of last year I think, this many coming together at one time. So, that’s great!

Some areas haven’t even been able to get together for a long time, so it’s been really good for them and good to get that ball rolling once again. We’re trying to, as much as we can everywhere.

Anyway, this matter of Covid-19 has taken a toll on the Church, to be candid about it. The virus, candidly, again, has not been the cause of the toll but how it has stimulated or ignited, if you will, wrong responses to it is the danger.

So, everything we go through in life is a learning experience, and some of the things we’re going to go through in this series I’ve touched upon in other sermons, but we’re going to focus a lot more upon it today. Again, thinking about this process of what we’ve been going through, to understand that there are things at times in the world that God has been a part of in order to help us to be tried and tested as to what our responses are going to be to various things that take place. Or within the Church, as an example, with the Apostasy and other times when there has been a change perhaps in doctrine.

Some of those things have been specifically planned for the purpose of trying and testing God’s people to where we’re forced to look at various things or address things to see how our response is going to be to it. Because we don’t know until that moment and so God has given us those moments in time so that it will bring them to the surface like dross, the things when silver is melted, gold is melted, especially silver and you get rid of the impurities then by heating it up.

So again, we have those analogies of being heated up and the trials we go through being similar to akin to that example in the sense of silver and dross, being able to separate the two. Because it’s not until it’s heated up (we go through the trial), that some of those things can be brought to the surface and we can learn things about ourselves or see things in ourselves through some of those experiences that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to as well.

Sometimes we think we know what we would do under certain circumstances in life, but when it comes right down to it there are so many times we really don’t know until we’re actually in it. Then it’s manifested, and we’re forced into, in that respect, making a choice, making a decision, what am I going to do? Sometimes good and sometimes bad depending on where we are in our relationship with God at the time and so forth.

So again, I want to mention that this virus has not been the cause of a toll that’s taking place in the Church – and there has been one, and it’s really kind of scary to me, in that respect, of what I see taking place, and yet this is the very thing that has stimulated or ignited some wrong responses to this danger, candidly, of fellowship, to the Church and so forth.

So again, we’re going to touch upon a few things but more squarely zero in on this particular subject because there are dangers that have surfaced which reflect weaknesses that exist in the Body of Christ, in the Church of God. A lot of this has been stimulated by, stirred up by Covid, our response to it, how do we live, what do we do, and on and on it goes. We’re learning things through this process and some things are being shown to us that we need to learn from, to strive to understand.

Anyway, the kind of varied situations that have created difficult battles, difficult adjustments, if you will, trials perhaps, again, as a result of Covid, the Covid virus, have either worked to strengthen people or to weaken in some cases. To be weakened, this is not a good time for that. We’re at a time where this is a time you just don’t really want that happening in your life. But it can be looked up as well as an opportunity to see things in oneself or to learn something that otherwise might not be able to be learned so that we can become more refined and go on to that next level of growth. And hopefully, everyone will receive it in that light. But not all will.

So, we need to look at some of these matters so that we can become a stronger knit body, again, a stronger knit people in God’s Church.

This sermon today is entitled, Dangers To True Fellowship.

Now, last Sabbath, again, some of this was barely touched upon in that particular sermon. There is a need to go much deeper into this. And candidly, I had a different series I was working on and going to give but this one here is being worked in right away because the other one can wait and this one here can’t. This needs to be addressed. So, we’re going to expand on this with examples, matters of balance, and a much sharper focus that we need to have.

It would be best to first begin by looking at part of the title of the sermon - Dangers to True Fellowship. Fellowship is an awesome thing in God’s Church, and just as what we were experiencing here before services is always exciting to me when I hear the level of conversation that’s taking place, where the room is a buzz. That’s always inspiring and exciting because it’s healthy, it’s good, and it’s very enjoyable, in that respect. It stirs us up. It strengthens us. Hopefully, we are learning that in a magnified way because of what we’ve gone through. That’s the type of thing that can strengthen us.

So again, fellowship must first be based upon what is true because that’s where unity and oneness comes in. We need that with God, obviously, and Christ first and foremost if we’re able to or going to truly have it with one another to the level, to the degree that God wants us to.

So again, fellowship must be based on what is true, and that’s just not a matter of knowing the truths that God has revealed to the Church. There is much more involved to truth that we are to live in our lives that we receive Sabbath by Sabbath, Holy Day to Holy Day, that isn’t just focused upon those truths. But it’s about (so much of it) the breaking down of these things in a very fine way just as we’re to break down our prayers before God.

They’re not just to be general overall prayers that we say all the time like so often is done in the world when it comes to sitting down at a meal and just the same old thing three times a day being said. After a while it just doesn’t bear meaning and doesn’t stir an individual, doesn’t help us focus as we need to.

So again, this is a unique thing that we’re able to have when it comes to fellowship, and again, that which is true that God stirs up within us in a very powerful way, and to understand that there are many truths that we’re able to have in our life, that we’ll just focus on that as we go through some of this very quickly on here.

Let’s turn over to Ephesians 4 because this is a great way to begin, a great area to begin. It reveals so much to us from God about what He desires for us, what He wants us to see as far as our calling is concerned, and to get to the heart and core of it very quickly on. This is a chapter that does that.

Ephesians 4:1—I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. Now, this obviously can be taken in two different ways, but Paul had a unique situation in which he was dealing with in his life, regardless of when it comes to this, a literal prisoner and also that which it can picture in our life, that our lives belong to God. But in a positive light in that respect. And this was his life. He was locked into it. It was what he desired. He was bound to it if you will. But again, in a different light than what the world would look at something like this as being.

So, he said, “I beseech you to walk worthy,” and we know we’re not worthy but we’re to work at it, we’re to fight this, we’re to strive to live in a worthy manner. “Walk worthy of the calling where with you are called.” That’s what these words are. You might have different words in your scriptures there. I think the one says “vocation” or whatever, but it’s the word for “calling.” That’s how we should see it.

“To walk worthy of the calling.” God has given us a calling and by which we’re called we see that God has done it, we have this opportunity, and so he’s saying, “walk in a worthy manner according to what you’ve been given.”

…with all humility. That’s where it begins because this walk must be in humility. We must be able to be of that kind of a spirit. Not filled with pride, because if we have pride there are going to be things we hold on to, and wherever we hold on to things that don’t agree and aren’t in unity with God those are the things that have to be conquered, those are the things that have to be overcome. It requires that we have a spirit of humility to be wiling to see things in our self and to acknowledge them, to admit them.

That’s where repentance comes from in the first place; going before God and repenting of sin requires humility because it’s an acknowledgement, “I am wrong. God is right and I want forgiveness of my sin.”

…with all humility and gentleness. So again, an attitude, a spirit. Because pride is just the opposite, and it isn’t gentle, as a whole, in that respect when you look at stubbornness that we can have as human beings and the willingness to uphold what we believe, what “I” believe that isn’t right. We can be so blockheaded sometimes in these things. And so, quite the opposite of being gentle.

…with patience. So, especially in this way of life we have to be patient. Things don’t happen overnight. In writing in this book right now and going through and thinking about some of those things, I still marvel, and part of the focus in this first chapter is very much upon what God gave through Herbert Armstrong concerning Europe, the four things He gave. Very powerful, and they took a long time to come to pass. Took a long time, long after his death. Two of the major ones there didn’t happen until long after his death. One in 1999, I believe it was, and one in 2018. You think, how incredible is that, so long after his death. They still came to pass, but it took a long time.

This can affect people in a very powerful way, and even people in God’s Church that lived during the period of Philadelphia, because they didn’t see these things come to pass that he said were going to happen. But they still happened.

So, “with patience.” We recognize that when we begin this it’s going to be a long race. It’s a marathon. It isn’t a dash. But you need to run it like it might be a dash at times, keep running and keep putting your entire might into it. But again, it’s your life, your whole life, whatever that’s going to be that’s what we must run in, that entire period of time, and have patience doing it.

…bearing with. This is a word I really love. It’s a word that is not used well in the English language when people think in this context, of forbearing others. It really means more of an exercising a right kind of tolerance towards others. Not tolerating. That’s a wrong perception as well. But it’s that thing of seeing differences in one another and appreciating them. “Viva la difference!” Thank God we’re not all the same, you know. What would it be like if we were all thinking the same thing all the time and we look the same way and we spoke the same things? It’s like, get me out of this room. This is a nightmare.

Thankfully, we have the differences we do. It’s like anything in creation. You look at the things out here and the many ways things can be utilized and serve and making life better – food, whatever it might be, that’s great, and if we can see people like that, what a beautiful thing.

Walking through the mall over here, some of those who don’t know it, here this is the largest mall in the United States for sure. It definitely claims here to be the largest mall in… I think in the world, probably, isn’t it? At least in North America. Well, again, Canadians can have a little bit of a task with that because there is one up in is it north of Calgary, Edmonton, Edmonton area that’s another one there. They go back and forth as to why one is actually the largest. But anyway, this is very large.

And seeing all the varieties of people that live in this particular area and thinking you look at little children, older people, and everything in between, and all kinds of things that have come from different nationalities, and some good and some bad, but nevertheless, the ability to appreciate the fact that there are differences and looking forward to the day that they can all know the truth and still keep an individuality about them that is unique to their culture, to their background, whether it be in foods and dress. Everybody doesn’t have to be the same in the world around the world as far as dress and various things in culture and music. The variety is beautiful.

Music alone in different countries, it’s beautiful when you see how it affects the culture. Foods, the same sort of thing. Dress.

Again, we have so many prejudices in life in this world that people are so hard on others because they’re not the same and what a beautiful thing when finally people can see each other in a different light. I eagerly look forward to that, I really do. That’s a big thing for me because it just doesn’t exist today. Not even close. People look down upon each other, they treat each other exceedingly poorly at times because of these ideas of superiority, generally, better than someone else.

So, within the Church even more so bearing with, having this excitement, this desire to see the differences, and striving to learn to appreciate the differences, the uniqueness of individuals.

…with one another in love. Because that’s what it requires in order to accomplish this. Because you can’t do it with human love. This is godly love. The source, in other words, is God, agape. Again, the source is God, it comes through the power of God’s spirit, and we can grow in that, we can have it become a part of our thinking.

The ability for me to walk through the mall and see people in that light is from God. It’s not of myself. It’s through change that has taken place, a transformation that’s been taking place over time and being blessed to have a different thinking and seeing people in that light in a true way.

…endeavoring. Which means, giving diligence. You have to work hard at it. Giving diligence. These things don’t just happen, these changes in life we need to have. …giving diligence to keep… A word that means “to watch” or “to be on guard,” to keep the unity of the spirit. What an awesome thing that God wants us to put incredible effort into in order to guard, to be watchful of the spirit of unity we need to have in the Church.

Because unity in God’s Church doesn’t just happen, and it starts here individually as to what we’re learning, as to a desire we have to be at one with God. Atonement teaches that in a very powerful way, striving to be at one with God, to be of the same mind of God. “Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Joshua.” Beautiful verses because that’s the way we should want to be, and have our minds become the same in that sense, unified, at one.  That means nothing where we think differently in the sense of ideas that we might have that differ from what God says this is right, this is what you should strive for.

So, wherever we’re not in unity with that those are the things we need to address. Those are the things we need to conquer because they’re not right, they’re not unified. It takes work to keep, to be on guard, to be watchful of the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. Peace is a beautiful thing. Peace in the Church is a beautiful thing.

So, there is a unity of spirit that’s required to have that, and this bond as well, this unity that’s like a binding glue that can bind us together. It’s a beautiful thing.

Verse 4. So, the context continues from the previous verses and still, therefore, speaking, if you will, of keeping the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. That’s what this is about. This is why this is organized in this fashion that God has.

That’s why we organize in the way we are in PKG, that God is not going to allow to happen in the remnant Church what happened during Philadelphia, let alone Laodicea that followed that where it became manifest what it does. Where there are ministers all over the world who rarely are able to be brought into headquarters, who rarely are able to have visitors of those who are over them in the sense of regional pastors and so forth to see what they’re doing.

And if they do come and visit you don’t really see what’s happening week by week by week. You don’t know what’s really being taught because back then tapes, obviously, weren’t being sent it. They didn’t have any group that could listen to or whatever, see, monitor what might be said in an area. It was just done on trust and faithfulness. “This is entrusted to you to go out here and faithfully preach and teach what you learned through Herbert Armstrong at Ambassador College.”

Now, there are some dangers in that we found out because there were ministers, there were evangelists, there were people who were instructors at Ambassador College that taught heresy, that taught lies, that twisted and distorted things just a little bit here and there that by the time students finished a class they were screwed up in their minds if they listened to it and brought it into here, inside the mind and the heart in a sense of conversion, in the sense of the truth of what God had given to them.

Hence, well, Dr. Hoeh, I’ll just say it, who taught 14/15th Passover at Ambassador College. He taught it to a lot of students who went out as ministers. They had to be careful how they did this, so they did it in conniving ways at times where you weren’t really sure when you heard a sermon. “What did he say? Is he saying 14/15?” Because that’s what so many of them believed. The first organization after the Apostasy that we became affiliated with, United, a kind of survey was done, a kind of going through the process there of visiting with different ones and so forth and came up to a guesstimation of nearly half the ministry believed in a 14/15 Passover.

Well, something’s got to change. You’ve got to address it. So, that was addressed to the council, to different ones on there that this needs to be addressed. They wouldn’t address it. Why? Don’t want to lose half your ministry, do you? What would that do to the Church? Because a lot of the people who came along, you know what? They followed the minister in that area. So, you don’t want to lose them.

Sad that those kinds of things would happen in God’s Church, but they happened. Sick! Perverted! So, a spin off of things of Laodicea still crept into the Church even after the Apostasy, or in the environs of the Church, if you will.

So again, this keeping the spirit of unity in a bond of peace, it takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of battles, a lot of fighting. Again, going back in time and looking at some of these things, bringing us up to the present and considering, again, PKG. God has blessed us so that we have primarily one voice and then others from time to time. But we all hear. We’re all in unity. That’s a beautiful thing to have. The ones who speak from time to time in addition, it’s all in unity and oneness and we all hear the same thing.

I think back, I have to take you back a little bit to a point in time where we had some others in the beginning with PKG who spoke various things, and there are a few times I had to get up and correct him right afterwards because it couldn’t be allowed in the Church.

I think of one individual one time and gave a sermon right after a movie had come out. I’m not sure, was it called The Passion of Christ? Okay, The Passion of Christ. Sick, sick, sick perverted movie. Because it doesn’t portray Christ in truth, and it was distorted. It’s like all these Protestant feely good things inside, of how human beings can tend to think. It wasn’t sound. It wasn’t balanced. It didn’t portray, it didn’t honor him, and it wasn’t something that needed to be brought out in a sermon in any fashion or form, that anyone should be encouraged to go see (what I’d like to say about the film) the film, because it can hurt the mind. So, be far rather to go off and watch some horrid… I won’t say that either.

There are things when it comes to God and the Church and truth that you can pollute your mind with, that can cause tremendous damage. Whereas things in the world, we can wade through them and see things that are wrong and stupid and distorted and unbalanced and we can go through that quagmire and that mess, and it doesn’t hurt us because we know God’s way and what the truth is and so forth. But something like that, you have to be careful because it can come in in a way that seems to be okay because it’s talking about things of God and of Christ and so forth. There’s nothing good that comes out of the world of traditional Christianity. It twists and distorts. That’s why we’ve been made free of those things, even the name for Joshua, that it’s Joshua.

So, God has blessed us. I hope you understand that. We have been blessed in PKG to have a kind of unity that is unique, and we are to learn that lesson, that human beings (human beings), if it becomes large it cannot be controlled, the Church cannot be controlled.

Now, God can intervene and control every situation and shut every mouth if He wanted to, but He wanted us to learn that if it’s being administered through human beings, which God has allowed and purposed as we’re going to see here, that there are things to learn from that process. This is one of the greatest lessons ever learned by God’s Church. And why is that so important? Because it’s to learn and understand what happened to the angelic realm when Lucifer did what he did. The same sort of thing on a magnified scale, and more atrocious, candidly, is when people have the impregnation of God’s holy spirit.

Lucifer never had that. He had knowledge. He had access to truth that was given to him by knowledge, but it wasn’t dwelling in him through the power of God’s holy spirit. He was composed of spirit, a spirit essence but it wasn’t in his being, in his mind in the sense of what we are able to have after baptism.

We’re able to have things given to us in communication to dwell within us of God’s power in the mind—that’s an awesome thing to grasp—until the day that it’s finally in us permanently when we’re spirit. The angelic realm was never offered that. It’s not their purpose. They’re angels. They’re not to be in the God Family. So, they’re different.

And so, to think what we have to go through to learn some of these things? Yet that’s why this is going to be one of the greatest lessons that makes, well, it brings it to a level of understanding that human beings with God’s spirit can turn against God. And if they do, they’re not going to be in God’s Kingdom. It’s the quick and short of it, if you will. It’s over. That’s it. Handled in a different manner in a different way.

We had to learn that in God’s Church because we had a lot of ministers that began to teach their own thing. I remember one minister after I’d left ambassador College, went back out to a particular area where I had basically grown up in, gone to college in, and was there for a while after we got married, for a short while, for one year. Anyway, we were up there for about a year. But being the only Ambassador graduate in that particular area there at that time, as a whole, serving, helping out at times, of being called upon to do so, he would share some things with me from time to time.

I remember one time he took Herbert Armstrong’s Pastor General’s Report which was sent to the ministry, and Herbert Armstrong would give encouragement that was various guidance and direction to the ministry on a regular basis. I don’t remember how often it came out, once a month at least, maybe even more often but at least once a month (been so long ago). That would come out and sometimes the ministry would read part of those things to the Church and sometimes Herbert Armstrong would include that in some of his other writings to co-workers and so forth, but not on the same plane.

So, I remember him going through (this minister) and changing the wording of some of the things that he had said because he wanted to read it that day because he was having what he considered to be a problem with some of the brethren in the congregation with a certain problem. So, he wanted to insert some things in there that would hit them personally that Herbert Armstrong never said. Now, that was quite an eye opener, in one respect, knowing immediately this is not right. This is wrong to take his words and twist and distort and add to. You don’t do that.

So, things like this, of ministers going off and doing their own thing, was not uncommon. It became over time it just happened. It was inevitable that people would begin to go off in their own tangents, in their own teaching of adding to various things. It’s one thing to build upon something that’s said and stick to the heart and core and spirit of a matter—but you have to have God’s spirit working in you to do that—it’s another thing to deviate to the right or to the left with that. That’s what was taking place.

How blessed are we to have the unity that God has given to us, and ensured unity, if you will, that we are all speaking the same thing? Awesome! Beautiful! Blessed. Blessed, blessed, blessed. Because those things of times past, it was a process whereby people were tried and tested, and a lot of people (just because God allowed it to happen to learn what we needed to learn), went by the wayside. Thousands and thousands and thousands and tens of thousands of people.

…unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. One body… So, we have one body, one spirit. That’s why you can’t have different organizations out here who were a part of something that was scattered, and they’ve reorganized in different organizations (bodies if you will), teaching different things, definitely opposing each other, not in agreement. Because if they were in agreement, they could all join together in the one. But they can’t because they have different ideas how to govern, different ideas of things that should be taught and shouldn’t be taught, different ideas of things they should do in the world and shouldn’t do in the world. There you go, confusion. There is no unity in that, no oneness.

Well, there are certain ones that believe this, that there are certain of those groups that “God is just working with us in different ways to bring us all to the same point. He’ll get us there, but not yet.”

One body, One spirit. Beautiful. “One spirit” just in itself says we’re of the same mind, we’re working in the same mind, in the same direction.

…just as you are called in one hope. This is all based on one truth. What’s our hope based upon? The truth that God gives us, those things that we understand that are going to come to pass in this world, the things we understand are going to come to pass when Christ returns with 144,000 and establishes the Kingdom of God ruling on the earth.

…in one hope of your calling, and to know there’s coming that time where we’re going to have opportunity, whenever that might be, to be changed to become a part of that family, the God Family.

One Lord, one faith… This one here says it all because faith has to do with what we believe. What we believe has to do with the truth that God gives us, and then we have to make choices as to whether or not we’re going to live it. We believe it and so we start to live it, and that’s what faith if all about. Because we believe it. What else would you do if you believe something except live by it? That’s what we do as human beings.

One God, one Father of all. So, everything is organized in this fashion, one, one, one, one mind, one unity of spirit. …who is above all, through all, and in you all. For He’s either in us all or He’s not fully in all. That’s what God brings to the surface.

And it’s still going on. Another person disfellowshipped this week. Okay? This isn’t over with. This isn’t over with. This is what’s scary, my giving of this sermon, because I know there is more to come and maybe not just a little more and that’s what scares me. That’s why I’m crying out to the degree I am in God’s Church right now. Because I don’t like going through things like this. And yet if we’re whittled down to a very small size so be it if it’s a matter of all being in unity. So, not to be taken lightly by us wherever we are in God’s Church around the world, wherever you are, that we should strive to be of that same mind and unity with the Church.

But please understand as you’re listening to me, we’re not all in unity, and God is bringing this to the surface more rapidly right now and uniquely so because of the timing of where we are. I know what’s going on and we should be sobered to the core of our toenails and up to here – all the way through, sobered beyond belief! Because if you have opportunity to repent of certain things, to change in order to come into unity, God’s crying out, giving you that opportunity through what He’s giving to us in the Church.

Because He desires that we all make right choices. He desires that we all want Him. But He can’t make us. He doesn’t force us. That’s against His spirit. He gives us choices, opportunity to make choices as to what we want, and that’s what it all comes down to. Because He doesn’t owe it to us. He’s not going to just give it to us because we went to services and paid tithes, you know, and give us His way of life and give us protection in a time to come. No. Especially now, see.

We need to be sobered and look at ourselves, to be watchful, to be on guard, to be alert, to be spiritually alert and crying out to God for soundness of mind, for balance and a spirit of unity.

Again here, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all. That’s a beautiful thing for all through whom God is in. Those He’s not working through and not in because they’ve been cut off…? Because we have others out there that I know are cut off that haven’t been disfellowshipped yet. Sad. But I know there are some of you that are already cut off and you don’t even know it, you don’t even see it. It’s not my job to come out and tell you that.

So, all these things just said to understand He gave then a ministry to lead in peace and faith and to prevent the wandering away from the truth that has been the history of God’s Church. People who still wander away, who go off track because of other choices in thinking that’s in the mind.

It says, verse 11—And He gave some apostles, and some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. So, there is this structure and organization within the body, within the Church, and it’s existed in different ways at different times, in that respect. …and some pastors and teachers, unto the equipping of the saints. In other words, to lead us, to guide us, to direct us. That’s the process whereby God has given us to equip us with the things we need in order to grow, knowledge, understanding, insight, soundness, balance, unity of spirit.

…for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. So again, for the teaching of the Church, equipping the Church, for the work of the ministry that involves other things as well, the building up of the Body of Christ. That’s what He’s given it. It’s the function. He doesn’t send Christ to come and do it personally. Where He could, He could have done it that way, but we’re to learn this way because this is the way that works in an ultimate way to give us the freedom to make choices in a carnal world with this carnal mind that we have to fight and to take things as a matter of faith, to live by faith.

That’s where real change and conversion comes from. Not because they’re right there telling you like some used to think that somebody is going to come up as soon as you start to sin and tap you on the shoulder and say, “Oh, no, no, no, no, no, this is the way, walk you in it.” It’s very childish, immature. But that’s the kind of thinking we were at that point in time. We were children at one time in our calling as far as the Church was concerned and so we had to learn and go through those things.

But how do we learn them? By experiencing different things, having to make choices, and then God’s spirit leads and guides and directs us to help us to become balanced. Beautiful!

…until we all come into the unity of the faith. That’s what it’s about, that we all be unified in what we’re living of the truth, which isn’t just being able to say I agree with whatever number of truths there are.

…and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, in other words, maturing in perfection, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. To be of one mind. To be so convicted that God can look down and say, “Now I know you.” Whatever comes your way God knows what choices we’re going to make through the conditions we have, whatever is around us.

…that we should no longer be like children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of instruction, as the word is, doctrine. Sometimes we think of just maybe the truths or a certain aspect of the truth that are a matter of doctrine. It’s a word that can give a wrong thinking as well. It’s instruction because it’s more than just knowing certain doctrine. Like 14/15 Passover, on and on it goes, to understand that that’s not true. It’s the doctrine, the teaching of God’s Church is that everything happened in the 14th, on the 14th and no other time period when it comes to the fulfillment of Passover, and on and on it goes. We just keep building upon things that God has given to us.

“Not carried about with every wind of instruction that comes along.” So, what would that warning be about? Would it be just anything within the Church or can it be things of instruction of things that people believe in the world and we think they’re right and we make choices and decisions, and we find that sometimes in making some of those choices and decisions that people think a certain way out here. And indeed, the reason they say the things they do, the reason they write the things they do is because they’re in a part instructing others what they should think and believe and do. That’s just the way that these things work.

News agencies do the same thing now. They want you to lean in a certain direction. Not over there because that’s… But over here. And you should listen to us and because we’re right so this is instruction that we’re giving. And so, on and on it goes. It’s endless out there. It’s so sick in the world today.

So, if we’re not careful we can pick up some of those things where we’re given guidelines in the Church of how to live, how to conduct ourselves in everyday life, in various aspects of everyday life. Those things, we need to grasp, though it not be a verse I’m turning to or has been turned to in times past that Herbert Armstrong taught or whatever it might be, that because it’s not a specific doctrine or a specific one of the truths that it isn’t something that isn’t given by guidance and direction through God’s Church. Because I’ve said a lot of things, Herbert Armstrong said a lot of things that were not just a matter of a specific verse, a specific truth and so forth. They build upon those things and candidly, fit in, but that’s another matter which doesn’t get back to doctrine eventually.

Doctrine is what I’m teaching here about Ephesians 4. It’s doctrine. It’s writing given by Paul to the Church from God to all of us through time as to how the Church should be organized, as to how we should see things in the sense of being able to have unity and oneness in the Church, one faith, one body, and so forth.

So again, God doesn’t want us to be tossed around by different ideas that come along but to, you know, our thinking should be what should we be doing, how should we do this, and not just living life frivolously any old way we really want to, adopting certain things that are in the world that aren’t healthy for us.

Sometimes various warnings are given to help us to find a balance, to know balance, to know what that soundness, what soundness of mind is. Not to take sides in elections. Not to take sides in leaders, one leader to another, that they’re right and they’re wrong, and on and on it goes, that does exist and has happened just in the last year. These things continue on because we’re human beings.

If we’re not careful we get sucked into the instruction of the world and we begin to take sides when that isn’t what we’re supposed to be doing. That’s instruction and guidance and direction, truth given by God’s Church not to do those things and not to talk to other brethren about those things, trying to have them choose a same side, of why you’re right in what you have seen in the news that you know is right, therefore, “This is right, and you should think the same way because if you don’t…”

The ministry may not think the same way, may not have given the same kind of guidance, and if it’s in conflict with that, somebody is in trouble with God. That’s what it comes down to. Simple.

So again, I’ve given that kind of guidance for a long time – do not choose sides, don’t bring along things that others have said and begin to point out why they’re right in the things they are saying. Because it’s of no value.

Now, can we learn from different things that people do? Most of my training for the ministry is the same as I’m receiving in the world, what not to do, what isn’t right. And if you look out there it’s not hard to find what isn’t right. They’re not right. None of them are right. They’re all off the mark. Yet constantly I hear little things of people passing things along and you don’t realize what you’re doing. It’s dangerous.

…that we should no longer be like children, tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of instruction. It’s like every idea that comes along out there or every kind of thing that’s splattered out there on TV or whatever it might be or on the internet or… we start choosing and picking and choosing.

Now, there are some things you have to learn from. You have to wade through and grow in how to do the wade, wade through the mud and find whatever balance in this world, in this life that you can because it’s based on things that are right. Not because someone else said that everything was right in a particular matter but wading through it all and then striving to make sound decisions based on things that God gives to us and soundness of mind.

It says here, and every wind of instruction by the sleight of people. Now, I love the word, where this comes from. It comes from throwing of dice, the sleight of men, the sleight of people, if you will. It’s a process of how people think, and as it goes on to talk about here, they throw it out there and some people are going to pick up various things and agree with it and be in unity with something that’s said.

And so, here it’s showing here it’s like a crap game or whatever and it goes on to say (that’s a gambling game, okay), in craftiness of deceit, as some have translated it, or plotting. I love the word as what it is in the Greek language. It says, in craftiness by wandering. It’s a word that has to do with wandering. Wandering? What do you mean wandering? Well, wandering toward something you shouldn’t wander into because you’re playing games with it and you have this sleight of people, this trickery of people and how they may roll the dice and some of the things they do, and especially when they have loaded dice and there is a trickery that sometimes goes on into how they’re held in the hand, and they’ve tossed it so many times they know where to hold it in order to generally come up with a certain distance that they can have certain parts come up a certain way by odds.

People can buy into that sometimes. Not a good thing to do. And so, it’s talking about this deceit. It’s what it’s all about. It’s about deception and about deceit and about a wandering away from things that are true.

…craftiness by wandering, as it says here. In other words, beginning to listen to or take in something that is not being taught through the Church and messing around with something else out here and wandering away from soundness of mind and from balance and from truth and guidance and direction that God gives. Truth has to do so much with the balance and the soundness of mind and being able to perceive the things that are right and good and proper in life.

Going on, verse 15—but speaking the truth in love (agape). Again, God has to be in this. We have to be close to God to have spiritual soundness of mind. Something that’s so rare in the world anymore, any kind of soundness of all, balance. It’s just not existing like it used to in the sense of common sense.

…but speaking the truth in agape, may grow up in all things into him who is the head—Christ. So, it’s this ability to grow, to become of that same mind, unity of mind, of that same stature as we were told earlier, of the stature of Christ.

…from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies. So again, we need each other. Fellowship is a powerful tool and process of relationship that God has given within the Church with Him, with Christ, first and foremost, and then if that’s right then we can have more of that within the body. The more each one of us yields to that same process the more we’re going to have that unity and agreement and fellowship just becomes richer. It’s hard to explain. You really have to experience it.

It’s like someone who’s new comes into the Church and you start telling them about the Feast of Tabernacles and everybody that comes together and how awesome that is, everybody comes together in one location. They hear that excitement, but they don’t understand it until they’ve experienced it. They just really can’t grasp it all until they’ve experienced.

This is a similar sort of thing. There are just those things of life we have to experience. And until we do, but when we do, what a beautiful thing this unity and oneness that we’re able to have within the Body, to speak the same thing in our conversations. That so often there are situations come up where I’m hearing something or someone even has the boldness to tell me something of what they are thinking or what they heard out there, that you can tell by how they’re saying it that they agree with it. And you think, that’s not sound. That’s not balanced. You try to lead and guide and direct away from some of that. Sometimes you can and sometimes you can’t, and you have to wade through some of those things to determine what to do and how to do it.

That we may grow up to him in all the things, who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body is joined and fit together by what every joint supplies. So, it’s so important what each one of us supplies. That’s the point of all this. If we’re supplying, if we’re doing things, speaking things, that what comes out of us reflects that there’s a unity, there’s agreement with the Church by whatever is said, then that’s awesome and that can help and encourage others. But if it’s disagreement, man, that’s tough to deal with.

Dealt with something this morning that’s along those lines. Something was done that shouldn’t have been done. Something was said that shouldn’t have been said, passed along that shouldn’t have been passed along. Because the Church teaches we shouldn’t be doing that. Then someone having something against someone else—in this case, me—but won’t come and tell me, won’t come and discuss it with me that you’re having a battle.

As much as I’ve said to the Church, striving to be open, stiving to be able to be approached, striving to let everyone know I love you, thankful that you are called, open to anyone wanting to discuss something, and if there is something wrong in that, in the sense of what is said, then I have a responsibility as well to perhaps correct it. But it’s in love.

So again here, it’s so important that when we speak to one another within the Body that we’re speaking things that are true. True – hence, true fellowship. Because if we say something different it’s not true fellowship, it’s divisive, it’s harmful, it’s horrible.

…according to the effective working by which every part does its share. That’s a challenge for each one of us, to be of one mind, to be on guard against what comes out of this, what we say. Because that’s where we trip up the most often. It’s what comes out of our mouths. So, we have to be very careful as to what we say.

So again here, this, going through some of this, I want to pick this up again where it says here each joint, effective working by which each part does its share, it causes growth of the body for the building up of itself in love (agape). So again, beautiful thing here. God says that if we do things the right way and we share things in the way God says to, in the sense of our communication, in the sense of our fellowship.

Because this is about fellowship. It’s about what we say to one another. It’s about how we respond to one another, and if we’re doing that in a good way it’s going to build up the Body. But boy, does it hurt the Body at different times when somebody does something that’s divisive, when they say something that someone else knows is divisive, because then it just causes stress and strain in that person’s life that heard it because then they’ve got to decide how do I deal with this, what’s my responsibility here, and on and on it goes.

It becomes something that’s quite difficult and then sometimes someone may not pick up on something that someone else has said that isn’t really in unity, of oneness of mind, and begin to be swayed by the same thinking. That oftentimes happens where people can begin to take sides, like in the world or different things that are going on out here, and they want to share those things because they believe a certain thing that is unique to them that they hold fast and they want to share that with someone else and someone else picks it up and starts running with it and maybe then, maybe spreading it themselves. This is the old thing that’s happened in time past. It happened a lot in Laodicea. It was not healthy. It’s not good.

Verse 17—Therefore, I am telling you this, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as other gentiles walk. Now, he was talking to the Ephesians. And so, he wasn’t sent to the Jewish people, Paul was sent to the gentile world. He’s just basically saying here you’re a gentile, don’t walk as the other gentiles. Don’t live like they’re living. Don’t act like they act.

…no longer walk as other gentiles walk in the vanity, you know, this word that has to do with being vain, a futility, futileness, if you will, an emptiness in things that are said that have no value. They can actually take away and empty rather than fill up and strengthen.

…as other gentiles do in the vanity of their mind. Because this is what so often happens. To go against something that has been given, to say something different is a matter of a pride that has to be dealt with in the mind. And vanity of the mind, but really, it’s empty, it’s not right, it doesn’t agree with God.

…with their understanding darkened. The worst thing you want to happen within the Body, anyone moving away from soundness and balance and so forth. God teaches those things, mercifully so.

…in being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them. So again, you don’t want to be as the gentiles, other gentiles, and let these things happen to you that they get caught up in. You don’t want to get caught up in it because why? Because God has shown you truth, soundness, things that are pure and good and right in life and how to live life.

So again here, “being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them.” We don’t want, especially us because we have access to God’s spirit, and we don’t want to be alienated from that, and yet it’s still going on in the Church, still happening.

And in the subject matter I’m covering here, there are those who are alienating themselves, willingly so, and just don’t grasp the danger of what they’re doing. They’re on exceedingly dangerous ground because of that. I hate to see that happen because I know where it’s leading.

…because of the “blindness” is the word that’s used here, but it’s a word that means “to petrify.” Hardness, hardened, hardness of heart, petrify, to petrify. …because of the petrifying, the hardening, the hardness of the heart. Isn’t that amazing? We’ve just gone through that just recently now talking about this hardness of heart and the way the world is right now. This is the very thing that we’re receiving instruction from through Paul, if you will, from God to the Church, of things we need to be focused upon and realize this can happen to members of the Body of Christ because of this thinking, of this wrong thinking.

Who, being past feeling—being past caring. Going in this direction can hurt the very way we think in the sense of the kind of care we really need to have for one another, toward one another. It’s the very thing that works against agape.

…past feeling, in other words, past caring, have given themselves over to licentiousness, lasciviousness as some translate it, “lasciviousness.” “Licentiousness.” It’s just about immorality, how we live life to work or “to practice to live” is what this word means, all uncleanness with greed. What does that mean? Well, it means you’re going to do what you want to do. It’s what “I want to do.” That’s what this matter of greed is when it comes to doing something different than what God has given to us. We insist upon it, and because we insist upon it, we’re going to do it come, as what they say, the water ever and the high water type of thing. So again, this mindset, we have to conquer it, “what I want.” It’s so dangerous.

But you have not learned this of Christ, in any fashion or form this isn’t what we’ve learned and what has been taught to us as a Body, as a Church, how we’re to live. …but you have not learned this of Christ if indeed you have heard him. So again, I love the way this is stated because it’s a matter of if we have heard him meaning because it’s a matter of God’s spirit. Our ability to really hear what is given to us is a matter of God’s spirit. The ability to hear this sermon by everyone out there is going to be determined by their relationship with God and God’s spirit that’s working in their lives or not working in their lives. That’s what’s going to happen.

Because there are going to be some changes and some repentance taking place or others are going to be gone before the Feast of Tabernacles. It’s just how dangerous it really is. It’ll hit you before you even know what happened and you can become weak and not even realize what’s going on and by the time you become so weak you can’t deal with something bigger that comes along. You can’t help it. You’ll succumb to it. That’s what happens. A little bit here, a little bit there, and after a while so weak that you can’t deal with certain battles that come along later and people are gone.

…if indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him. So, there is always that question mark. Have we heard? Are we being taught? Are we listening? Are we hearing? Are we taking it in? …as the truth is in Joshua. It comes from God, been given to Christ to give to the Church because he is the head of the Church. That’s how it works. He leads and guides his ministry. It’s how it works.

So, how to live life, that’s the kind of truth as well, not just doctrine. It’s about living life and having the soundness of mind and balance and unity with the Church, with what God has given, what Christ has given to the Church.

That you put off, concerning former… It’s translated as “conversation” but it’s about conduct, first and foremost, and conversation is a spin off of that because so often it’s going to come out of our mouths, basically, what we think and how we think and so forth, and our conduct will be reflected by things we say as well. But then the actions, it’s even so much more even settles it when it comes to that.

That you put off concerning the former conduct, the old person, the way we were, and that doesn’t mean just in times past before we were baptized, before we were impregnated. It also means of things we weren’t doing correctly earlier on in our calling that we have addressed and conquered. It’s not that difficult for human beings to go back to some of those things if they become weak, begin to become weak of the spirit.

That means that there are things of the old person that still are in us. We all have things of the old person still inside of us. Isn’t that our battle? That’s what we want to conquer because we are still what we are. We are what we grew up with in life and what molded and fashioned this thinking and this mind. But we’re to conquer and overcome those things and grow in God’s mind and have that mind in us that was in Christ and be in unity and oneness.

…which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. So again, that’s the part  of us that we don’t readily see, the part of deception, that sometimes things can be happening to us, and even within the subject that I’m speaking today (I’m going to mention some things later), that I know some don’t see and it’s easy to become deceived by certain things that are out there in this world and to get caught up in things of this world that we hear on a regular basis.

I can’t wait until you get the first chapter, because this is addressed, to me, powerfully so. We find ourselves making choices, choosing sides. Dangerous thing to do. We don’t even realize what’s happening in the mind. We have to be on guard against that.

“Which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” Because there is just a way with human nature that is easy to decide certain things a certain way because this is just our inclination, to agree with something or not to agree with it when we hear it and because we kind of tend to be that way.

It’s kind of like conservative or liberal. Neither are correct in politics. Neither are correct of and by themselves in the world. I hope you understand that. If you’re conservative by nature or if you’re liberal by nature, if that’s your thinking in the sense of what you kind of gravitate to because of your upbringing of maybe in the times past or you’re just the way you are. Because a lot of things are just passed down through the genes and we are what we are because of our nationalities and different things in us of our past, our parents and things, whatever. But we have to make choices then based on what is true.

Just because something is conservative doesn’t make it true or right. Just because someone is liberal in their thinking doesn’t mean that should be allowed, different things should be allowed when they tend over in this direction. I hope you understand what I’m saying because we can tend to be that way. What is sound and right on base and true, hmm, said it right there, it’s because it comes from God, true, because it’s of the kind of mind of God, of how He wants us to be living our lives day by day. God is first and everything we do to be based upon is this right, is this wrong, is this good, is this bad?

You have to make judgements and decisions constantly in your life about those things. But depending on what we’re hearing, if we’re not careful, we’ll get caught off guard. So, there is that warning.

That you put off concerning the former conduct of the old person, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts, and be (become) renewed in the spirit of your mind. That’s what transformation is about, the mind being transformed. It’s being renewed in things that are true, new to us in life, in thinking, because we’re able to see something, conquer something, and that’s new and that’s good because it comes from God.

We’re always growing in that within the Church, what is new, something new to us we couldn’t see before. If we knew everything, we wouldn’t need anyone up here talking. We’d just know it all, you know, we wouldn’t have need for God guiding and directing, leading us through the process He’s chosen.

…renewed in the spirit of your mind. Reflecting again here, the spirit in us but also that reliance upon God’s spirit to receive what is sound and right. …even as you put on the new, the new that’s created after righteousness, created after what is true that is reflected in everything of Christ, the life he lived. …and put on the new person, which after God, it says it, is created in righteousness and holiness… Now, it says “true holiness” but that’s not how the word should be looked at. It’s mistranslated there.

It’s saying here, which after God is created in righteousness and holiness of truth. That’s what the word is, “the holiness of truth.” Truth, there’s only one source for it. It comes from God. It comes through Christ, given to him to give to the Church. He’s been given that responsibility as our High Priest. He’s been doing it from get go since the Church began, and it’s holy because it’s the word of God set apart for holy use and purpose for our lives, the truth, how we live. It’s beautiful.

Therefore, putting away… It says “lying” here, but literally, it’s just untruth or lies… Well, where are the lies. Well, they’re all over out there. They’re all over in this world – lies, lies, lies, lies, and if we start adopting some of these lies and adhering to them and being pulled away from certain things that God wants us to have that are right and good and we start making decisions based on things that aren’t healthy for us spiritually, it’s a lie. There are things that are lies that can pull us away from what is true. What a horrible thing.

God gives us guidance and direction and truth to be able to spot those kinds of things in our life like someone, some leader. What a horrible thing if people in the Church begin to think, “Well, that leader, that was the one we have always needed. He was the one. He spoke his mind! That’s what this country needed!” Be careful. Yeah, there are things that came out that the world needed to hear, that the world should have looked at a long time ago. But they sure don’t want, and hate us even more because of it, but there are certain things that were needed to be addressed a long time ago if you want to look at how a nation should be dealt with and worked with and how other relations with other nations should be.

But to take sides in those things and to think that this is the right way of doing it or this was the right thing to have been said at a moment in time? No. And take sides? Absolutely not. To think that this is the one? No, I’m looking for the one to come who is going to establish God’s government on earth, not what we have, because what we have has caused nothing but torment. The kind that we have right now is very oppressive to others. It tries to control.

It’s like a person who just can’t help themselves in human life, that tries to control other people’s lives. Now, is anyone ever guilty of doing anything like that? Have you ever done anything that you try to insert yourself into someone else’s life because you think they should be doing something a certain way and so there are certain things that may be said or done to try to add a little bit of control? Because you know what they should be doing! They just don’t know it yet. So, I’m going to insert myself in that one there and say a few things and get them on the right track!

By nature, we all tend to do that and I hope you understand that. That is our nature, okay? Because we’re right. Should you question that? See, that’s the way we are. And if we’re not careful we see something that someone is doing wrong or whatever and here we are giving advice, unsolicited advice, but we’re giving it because we know what they need to be doing right now. We know what they need to see so we’re letting them know, because if they would just do that, they’re going to be a whole lot better off. They really are.

Human nature is a funny thing. Well, it’s not really so funny. That’s why I think about God saying He laughs at our calamity. We get ourselves into the deepest stuff and think, “I told you. You’re still doing it. Why are you doing that?” Some of our situations we get into in life sometimes are comical and sometimes they’re not, because they’re just horrible. But anyway.

So again, Therefore, putting away lies. That’s a lifelong process. Everyone is to speak truth with, as it says, his neighbor, but who is our neighbor? So, how many of you are going out here and speaking truth, going door to door, you know, “Got to speak truth to my neighbor.” No, that’s not what this is about. It’s a word that means those nearest you, who are the ones in this environment nearest to us. This is a fellowship. It’s about God’s Church.

All of Ephesians 4 is about fellowship in God’s Church and the calling God has given us to be a part of this fellowship and how we are to conduct ourselves “at every joint supplies,” what it needs to all the others. If we’re all doing our part we’re adding to the supply and it’s a beautiful thing.

Like what I heard before services – beautiful! Supplying what is needed. We need this! We need to be able to get together in God’s Church. Some of you are doing some things that you’re prohibiting yourselves from coming together because you don’t grasp the greater need. The need is fellowship! The need is to be together as God’s people regardless of what you’ve got to do. Okay? Said it. Regardless of what you should do in order to be together as God’s people, to take away any fear of any problem that might otherwise emerge.

So, where is our faith? Is it in the faith that, “Oh, this isn’t good for my human body because I know I shouldn’t do various things to my human body,” you know, “I shouldn’t do that to my body because this isn’t good and this isn’t right.” But we forget the Body of Christ! Which is more important? Your human body or the Body of Christ? I hope you understand the big difference, okay? There’s a big difference in that. Okay?

Jab, vaccination, whatever you want to call it. I got it for one reason. So that we can travel to Europe or keep travelling within the United States if it comes up to the fact that we need it. I’ve seen in that process, too, the more that this is taking place the more God’s people are able to be together in comfort and in safety. Let me read some of this. I’ll tell you what, some of this stuff is absolutely nuts. Some of these get passed around in God’s Church, too.

Now, there is a guy up in the northwest that gets a lot of flak for some things, and he probably deserves a lot of flak. His name is Bill. Anyway… (Bill Gates). One tweet that went out one time says (it had more than 45,000 tweets and likes), falsely suggested that Mr. Gates admits that the vaccine will no doubt kill 700,000 people.

So, people get a hold of that, and they debate, well, who’s right and who’s wrong, and did he say that? Who cares what he said. You know, he doesn’t affect my life. What he says, I don’t listen to. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard him. I probably heard him in something on TV at one time, but I don’t remember. But I sure don’t look him up to see what he’s saying because I really don’t care. I really don’t care. He could be the wealthiest, he could be far beyond that. He could be a pretty great guy as far as the world is concerned, you know, I really don’t know, and my life doesn’t revolve around that so it’s like water off a duck’s back. I don’t care. But people do care, and they get caught up in some of this stupidity. That’s all I can call it.

Another one concerning him: “In some places, people do not believe that Covid-19 exists, of its existence.” That’s been in God’s Church—don’t laugh—that it doesn’t exist. Boy, tell that to someone who is suffering right now, that can barely breathe and barely talk in God’s Church with Covid. Tell that to another one… Well, you can’t, because he’s dead. “Well, it wasn’t Covid that killed him. It was something else. Had to be something else because there is no such thing as Covid.”

Scientifically, they can actually take it and see it under a magnification. They can see its characteristics. It exists. It’s in people’s blood. They can actually see it, the evidence. It exists! I’m sorry, but some of these things sometimes, to get caught up in some of this is just mind boggling, how we could allow any of this to come within the Church or to tell someone. I would be scared to tell someone else in the Church something like this or something else I’m going to read in a moment here.

Anyway, I want to read this: “In some places, people do not believe in Covid-19’s existence. The virus is intangible and not very concrete, and for some individuals it’s really hard to accept that a flu like illness could be life threatening. Some believe that Covid-19 is a business for healthcare workers and doctors are diagnosing every fever…” Now, we know that there have been a lot of things done by hospitals for more money coming in and writing off things, and some have been instructed to write it off as Covid and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But there are people who have died by the droves who had it as well.

So, some have believed in these things. “Ironically, in some places people attacked healthcare workers and the hospitals for not handing over the dead body immediately to a family,” on and on it goes. “The claim that Covid-19 is a preplanned project to cover the Bill Gates trackable microchip conspiracy was also raised.”

Have you heard that one? You get the shot and they’re injecting a microchip into your body! It’s the sign of the beast, the mark of the beast. Oh, whew! I’m sorry, but I just have to make fun of what deserves to be made fun of because stuff like that is so idiotic, so far out, so insane, and yet it’s amazing what we as human beings do.

I think of some people that think they’re religious in the world, who take things about the mark of the beast, and they think you’re going to have to have this number. It’s going to have to be tattooed in you or whatever, your right hand and your forehead and different things. Because they’re so physical and so caught up in this on a physical plane and interpretations of things that are so wacky and so far out that it’s just absolute insanity.

But I’ve known some people in the Church in times past who have some questions about some of these things. You think, soundness of mind? What do we teach? Hands represent work. When we do work and when we don’t work, and when it revolves around God’s way. What does that have to do with? The Sabbath and the Holy Days, you know, in obedience to God. And what’s in the forehead? It’s the mind and the thinking that it’s talking about in Revelation. But we understand the meaning of those things, but the world doesn’t and “religious” people in the world don’t know what those things are, what it’s about.

Anyway, going on here. Here is one: Microchips. [1]“The Covid-19 vaccine microchip conspiracy theories began emerging last year even before the vaccines became available. The theories maintain that vaccination was just an excuse to inject some type of microchip into you that could then allow someone to track you and your behaviors.” Even if they did, I really don’t care. They’re tracking you already. There are things out here, whatever you’ve ever searched for on the internet, it’s all known, it’s all out there. Anything on a phone, there are companies that make money through tracking people’s habits and practices and so forth and marketing things that take place and on and on it goes. How far some governments go in it, we don’t know, but still, when they need to, they know what to do, too.

“For example, such claims appear in the conspiracy-loaded ‘Planet Lockdown’ video,” says, “which was previously covered for Forbes and is described by the Associated Press. This individual,” it says, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, “I had posted a video on Facebook in which he spoke of the chip that they are planning on putting in the vaccine to control you. It’s the mark of the beast. Of course, it’s ironic that he posted the video on Facebook, one thing that is definitely tracking you.”

So, some things you kind of have to laugh at because truth in a little bit of both there in the sense of some of the foolishness of human beings and what they get caught up in.

But there is another one, and because it’s been mentioned in the Church I, too, must mention it, and it’s this idea of what’s called “shedding.” It’s about the idea that if someone has the injection that it can be passed on to someone else. It’s like Polio. There was a live polio vaccine—it was live—that was given to people in the very beginning. Now, later on, I believe, that was one of them they changed, wasn’t it? That has to do with some other kinds of things that have been taken in times past as well. What was the other one that was alive? Chicken Pox, measles, maybe it was measles, I don’t know which one it was, but one of it was a live vaccine that was given, meaning that someone could possibly get it from someone else.

My wife knew of someone where she grew up that was in the Church that their child had received the Polio vaccine and themselves caught it because it came through the feces, and because it was a live vaccine, they did catch it and died from it. Freak things like that have happened in times past and that’s been some of the concern about this vaccination here, that someone may get it just because there was someone else around someone else who’s had the vaccine. Does that make sense? That’s my understanding of what this is all about.

Anyway, I’ll read it. Question was asked in one of these, “Can Covid-19 vaccines cause shedding?” “While there is an extremely low risk…”

Now, I’m not hitting this one in the manner like I was the chip and so forth. We can look at that and think that’s goofy and laugh at that. Some of these things aren’t. Some of these things would be a legitimate question, in that respect. But we need to know what the answer is as well so that we can have unity and understanding of things that are stated here.

“While there is an extremely low risk of viral shedding from some vaccinations causing harm to others…” So, there is some potential, like the one I gave about Polio. There is that potential because it’s a live vaccine, and so have been some of the others in times past. Now, they have changed some of those to where they’re not live and they’re able to give them in a different way. As time went on, they were able to come up with other ways that it wasn’t live any longer. It was another type that still would help the body to gain resistance to Polio or whatever the other one was. It’s not coming to me for sure right now.

So, this is what it’s addressing. “While there is an extremely low risk of viral shedding from some vaccines, causing harm to others, there is absolutely no danger when it comes to the Covid-19 vaccines. That’s because none of the Covid-19 vaccines used anywhere in the world contains the live virus.”

Sometimes we get misconceptions of things and think that’s what they’re using to help the body become immune to it. That’s not the sciences being used in these things. It’s not that. They derive some of these things and how they work with it and the science that goes into it through labs and so forth, of altering various things. It’s a process whereby we’ve had these.

But anyway, I’ll go ahead and read this: [2]“According to anti-vax conspiracy theorists vaccinated people can shed the Covid-19 virus (specifically, one of it’s proteins) simply by breathing. But all the Covid vaccines are mRNA-based vaccines meaning that they work by instructing your immune cells to create proteins that help your body recognize the virus and create immune response.” It’s not because of a live thing that helps your body to become immune to it.

“In other words, when you’ve been jabbed you aren’t infected with the live virus the way you are when you receive, say, the flu shot. The flu shot is a live virus. That reacts differently.” And so, that’s why they were saying at the beginning there is a remote possibility there is some evidence of times past of some live things being given to people that have been passed along to someone else. But they’re extremely rare. That’s what the point was they were making.

Another one: “It is possible to have viral shedding after a vaccine, but what that requires is a weakened virus to be used as the basis of the vaccine.” So, this is, again, another article that goes into this. “That’s not the basis or science behind any of the vaccines we’re currently using for Covid-19. While there is an extremely low risk of viral shedding from some vaccines, causing harm to others, there is absolutely no danger when it comes to Covid-19 vaccines.” Again, “That’s because none of the Covid-19 vaccines used anywhere in the world contains the live virus.” So, it’s saying some of the same things out there.

“There are other vaccines that have been investigated that could lead to this. For example, there was a Polio vaccine…” So, it’s just explaining some of that that I’ve already explained.

So anyway, the reason I’m mentioning this is because there has been some concern because sometimes things are shared with others, in this case about shedding, and perhaps not even then because of that fear or concern, whatever it might be, of not being at the Feast of Tabernacles together with others and that being the basis of the decision is false. It’s a wrong choice.

The coming together at the Feast of Tabernacles is one of the most important things anyone can do every year when it come to God’s Holy Days. Truly is. It gives an invigorating kind of fellowship that can be had in absolutely no other way. There is absolutely no other way to receive what you can receive from fellowship at a Feast of Tabernacles any other time of the year. It is unique in itself.

So again here, we have to be wise in what we do and how we do it, and I know this is going to stir up others, “Well, I want to go to the Feast again this year.” I have to go back to the thing, there are some that shouldn’t because of age, difficulty getting around, mobility, things that become a burden or extreme hardship for themselves. At least you have that ability, that blessing to be able to hear at home.

We’re very blessed to be able to have the system we have (that isn’t working today). But most of the times it’s working, and during the Feast time, as a whole, it’s working because it’s put on the system. We can do it from Europe so it’s already on the system, so you don’t have to worry about a live streaming like we do here on YouTube. So, it’s already there. That’s the advantage of doing it over there, it can be on ahead of time, edited, and ready to go and everybody can download it or whatever at that point in time. It makes it much easier for the Feast of Tabernacles.

We’re very blessed in the Church of God to be able to have that ability and that’s an awesome thing, truly is, a great blessing. For those who in some cases I’ve advised not to go this year you can have that opportunity. And perhaps in some areas because some have been advised not to or because they fit into the category of things I’ve discussed in times past, two or three or four can get together in an area, that’s a great thing. But I would also warn against individuals deciding they’re going to get together because they just don’t want to go to one of the other places so they’re going to do it on their own to get together with someone that hasn’t been approved or whatever.

So again, we have to be very careful how we do things in God’s Church, just like what we talked about in last year’s Feast, and then the right way afterwards, to learn there’s a right way of properly doing it. And so, hopefully, we’ve learned through a lot of those things.

But again here, I’m just addressing part of this because in no fashion or form am I telling people they have to get a shot. I would be totally leery and advise against the wisdom of giving it to any children whatsoever in any fashion or form. Adults, another matter. I see no problem with it.  That’s your choice. Still your choice. But if you use that as an excuse or a reason not to be together with others in God’s Church, you’re wrong.

To be together in God’s Church is the greater thing, and there are ways that we should be learning this in the first place and being moved by that. I’ll just say first and foremost one of them is that I took it, and my wife took it. That should scream volumes to God’s Church. If you don’t know us by now, if you don’t know me by now, if you don’t know how God is working by now in God’s Church, that something of that kind of an example doesn’t scream volumes then… I’m just saying that for the matter of fact that it is. That’s the way it is.

It reminds me of some things that happened in times past where people in God’s Church should have learned from it, where we had ministers, evangelists even teaching things about healing. There have been things about people feeling about it’s a lack of faith if you trust in doctors, if you look to a doctor, if you have certain procedures done, if you take medicine or whatever it might be. We went through that during Philadelphia and even into and through Laodicea there were people who still held fast to that kind of thing.

The reality is, if they would have just looked at God’s apostle and what he did in his life, how he conducted his life, they would have learned the balance and the soundness of mind in those things. Because he did them in soundness and balance. Took his son after he’d been in a car wreck, the verge of death, which he did finally die of it. How long did it take? A week before he finally died. But as any father would do, and at that time there because of the kind of technology that was available, and candidly, not available in a lot of areas, had to take him, have him taken quite a distance to get to a particular area where they could deal with the kind of injuries that he had. Still succumbed to them and died.

But he used the best he could find, the best he could find of those kinds of doctors who were known to be able to deal with the kinds of injuries that he had. So, just to say that you have something happen to you by accident or by health in time, that you shouldn’t do something? I mean, some of these things just went nuts, wacky, and I know there may still be some of those feelings in some of times past that sometimes people just think that way anyway. Like I talked about earlier, this kind of thinking that’s extreme conservative or whatever. But soundness and balance come from God.

And so, people afraid to take an aspirin. I take baby aspirins. Not as often as my doctor said I probably should (which I don’t know if my wife even knows), 81 mg every day. I take one every other day or every three days because I don’t feel I really need it that bad. I’ve got my cholesterol down on levels that I’ve never known could have possibly exist now. That’s because of a new medication they have out there on the market that thankfully my insurance pays the vast majority, or what is it, the government, something? Somebody is paying for it. Because it’s expensive stuff and they don’t even like to get people on it in a lot of cases. So anyway, it’s brought it way, way, way, way, way, way, way down and I am happy about that. Because if these clog up again you’re going to have a tough time in the Church. But God’s not going to allow that at this time. That doesn’t mean I won’t have to have some drilling done. Learned a long time ago, be careful. But if I’m to be here, I will be here. Doesn’t mean you don’t go through struggles and difficulties in life.

But again, what a horrible thing. If the Church could have just looked at what he did. When he had to go to other countries and be vaccinated because he was going to be visiting in those countries do you know what he did? He got vaccinated in order that the gospel could go to other parts of the world. That’s what he did. Because what’s more important? This concept of thinking, well, it’s not faith if I get injected and if I don’t just die of natural cause. That’s not faith. If I do anything to interfere with this natural cause in life I’m interfering with God’s will. Bull!

You think, why don’t you still walk or get on a mule or something because where did this thing out here with this engine in it come from? You really should be inside that thing? Because, oh, 40,000 people a year die in that. Are you living by faith to go get in that? I’m sorry, but that’s the kind of reasoning sometimes that we use as human beings and we don’t even know it, what we’re doing, how we’re thinking.

So, my purpose in giving all this is just to straighten something else out within the Church that’s happened in some areas, that’s moved from different areas, and different ideas and thoughts that need to be corrected because we need to have soundness of mind and balance in this within the Church and to weigh things out properly. Because it always goes back to, for the Church, God, Christ, His desire for us, and fellowship. The Church outweighs all the other things. It’s one of the most precious things God has given us in life, the Church, the Body. We are so blessed.

Thank God it isn’t like the time of Abraham, where he was the only one (and his wife). The only one being worked with. Then after she died, he was the only one that’s recorded being worked with, except for the children that came from him and they were no longer in the area. Different ones moved along and did different things as time went along and they split up as families and had their migrations of things they did too.

It’s incredible the things that have taken place. We’re so blessed to have what we have in this age, video, sound, go all over the world—Incredible—so we can have this kind of unity and oneness and peace within God’s Church. Peace, unity, it’s a beautiful thing.

So anyway, I don’t mean to hurt anyone or offend anyone by things said. Not the purpose of the sermon. But to correct? Yes. To guide and lead, direct, yes. To bring us together in unity of spirit? Yes. So that none of these things in our lives spread anywhere else and that we’re able to pull together and learn from this process, that it’s easy to fall into various traps. You’re all confronted with that at different times in your life and there are so many things out there we’re being bombarded by. You just have to, as it is told about there, be on guard, be alert to because there are things that can easily trip us up, they really do. We don’t even know we’re taking certain things in sometimes that can be affecting our thinking.

So, especially when it comes to the Church and anything that might interfere with the relationship with God. Because interfering with fellowship interferes with our relationship with God. This is the arena He’s given us in which to grow.

Now, some people can’t have that arena. They are by themselves. They’re in remote areas. They’re of an age where they can’t travel to another place and I’ve mentioned some of this as well, about certain things that people might do in not being together in fellowship. We’re going to go into that in the next section here, Part 2, but again, there is balance in all of this in what is being said.

That doesn’t mean that if somebody is out there remotely like that and you don’t have the ability to do that that you should take this personally, because sometimes those are the ones that take it personally themselves. “Well, then I’ve got to do this.” No, you don’t because you know your situation. You’re different than someone else who has the ability. Someone who has the ability, what is the reason for not being together in God’s Church?

So, anyway, just to throw a little more balance on part of that. With that we’ll continue with this subject next Sabbath.

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2021/05/09/as-covid-19-vaccine-microchip-conspiracy-theories-spread-here-are-some-responses/

[2] https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/no-covid-vaccine-shedding-not-152707479.html