Dangers To True Fellowship, Pt. 4

Ronald Weinland

June 26, 2021

We are continuing in the series entitled Dangers To True Fellowship, and this is Part 4.

I was going to stop at Part 3 but, well, because I was going to include a few things later on in the Feast, but I decided not to. I’m going to complete this particular series, hopefully, today, and to discuss some of those things that are a matter of fellowship that we have recognized, I think more deeply than in times past, because of what we went through for nearly a year with some of the Covid restrictions we’ve had state-by-state, and the like.

Some areas are still having a lot of difficulty with it. In Australia I know that they keep having back and forth lockdowns between the states and some regions within the states. And so, even over there we’re not absolutely certain as to who is going to be able to get together for a Feast. Same thing is true right now in the UK. We don’t know what they’re going to be able to do, whether they’re going to be able to come on over to the continent of Europe for the Feast. They may not be able to because of the new strain, one of the strains. I think they’re calling it the Delta strain, whatever, Indian, out of India, a strain that has been over there.

Anyway, this stuff just keeps going on and on and on and on and mutating and going into different things that it’s just like “Eveready battery,” just keeps going right now. Throughout all central America, South America right now it’s just mutates, goes on in some other form or whatever and it’s really hitting that part of the world right now very hard. It was hitting India extremely hard; now it’s moved in more to South America.

But again, that’s in the context of fellowship and it brings out some things about how we function as a Church that we’re going into, and I’ll bring some more of that in toward the end of the sermon here today. But anyway, the desire for God’s people, obviously, is to be able to have the opportunity. I think we treasure it more when we don’t have it.

It’s like when we had the Apostasy and people had, you know, the Holy Days, the Sabbath, what do we do, how are we going to be able to continue on? Where is the Church? Where is the organization of the Church? Where is the government of the Church? Because with the scattering, so went the government of the Church in the sense of how it was structured and who is it working through, what is taking place?

So, we’ve had to go through a lot. But once we started through that process, and so much of the Church just quit, so much of the Church before, around the Apostasy there, scattered all over the place. You know, horrible what we went through, experiencing some of that, but having gone through something like that the desire to be able to be together on the Sabbath, the Holy Days, it was deeper inside of us in the sense of not taking it in any fashion or form for granted. It was valued more.

Sometimes we have to go through various experiences to come to understand, to come to grasp God’s desire for us and what He is leading us in. The same thing is true here when it comes to matters of fellowship, as a whole, and the importance God has established it within the Church. The greatest thing of all is to understand we’re a family, to understand this is a spiritual family. A spiritual family has to have interaction within it. The more that can be, the more that can exist, the stronger we can become when done God’s way.

So, in this particular series we’ve been going through and talking about various things that, especially when it comes to truth, it’s more than just a matter of recognizing the truths within the Church or specific doctrines within the Church. It’s about what God gives to us Sabbath by Sabbath especially, of how we’re to live our lives, how we interact with one another—fellowship—how we interact with God, and then on and on it goes within the Church, things we are taught on a regular basis. That is a matter of being in unity, a matter of fellowship, and the value of those things.

Anyway, let’s pick it up in 1 John 2 today because we’ve been talking about striving to hold on to truth understanding it’s a matter of recognizing truths that God give us to live by, not just the truths. Sometimes we can read scriptures and read things into them. We have to be careful of that.

God gives us things within the Church to help us become more balanced, to grow in soundness of mind, and in that process we come into a greater unity. As we mature and as we grow and we find things that we aren’t as sound in, we aren’t as balanced in, God will help us to refine those things so that we can become sound and balanced. There is always that need within the Church as the Church matures. We need that individually in our lives, but we need that as a body as well. So, we’re learning those things.

1 John 2. So indeed, the way we live our lives and our relationship toward one another, toward God and Christ, has everything to do with what true fellowship is all about.

Before I hit this verse I think of prayer itself and how long it takes sometimes in people’s lives, in our lives if we’re not careful, to understand the importance of prayer being a part of our everyday life. How can we grow spiritually if we don’t have first and foremost putting God first, that we pray, that we pray to Him, that we have this relationship with Him? It’s not a matter of having to be a set amount of time. One day it may be long, longer than normal, then another day it may be very short. But it’s that thinking every day God is first and you want to include God in that day with you. You want His holy spirit to live and dwell within you, you recognize the need. On and on it goes, the need to repent.

So much of even what we’re going to go through here today and what we go through Sabbath by Sabbath is a matter of coming to understand we have things to repent of on a constant basis. This carnality we have. I don’t know about you, but the more I grow, the more we should be growing, in that respect, the more we come to hate selfishness because we see it in ourselves, we see a way of thinking that we’re battling, and selfishness is…it really is sick. The natural way we think as human beings is not good. It’s not of God. It’s not godly. It really isn’t.

This is why we are called, and this battle begins, and we have to engage in that battle to fight against self, to fight against selfishness, to recognize that selfishness is against God. It’s against God’s spirit and the flow of God’s spirit. So, we’re always battling, and it’s a beautiful thing to understand that because we don’t have a long time in the scheme of things to engage in that battle. Twenty years? Thirty years? I’ve been at it about fifty now. But the point being is that’s small in order to receive and have the very purpose and reason why God created us, to be in His Family, which will be forever. Forever is a long, long time. But we’re carnal and we think that fifty years, forty years, thirty years is a long time to fight in a battle, to be persistent, to persevere, to continually face the things we face.

But within the Church people get tired of fighting. I think of people who have left eventually after they begin to talk about or think, “You know, I’m just getting tired of being told week by week how bad I am.” Well, if you want to change, if you want to become a part of the God Family, you have to grasp how bad you are, you have to grasp the minds that we have as human beings apart from God. Because they’re demonic by nature; they’re satanic by nature.

He is selfish. That’s why he did the things he did. That’s why he turned against God because of that selfishness. So, we have choice to either fight against that and receive what God has for us that is totally unselfish or not. Those are choices He gives us. Awesome! The creation is a marvelous thing, of human life. Truly is.

1 John 2:15—Love not the world, neither the things in the world. You have to be careful what you read, how you read things. It’s in a context of much that’s given here by God. To me, John, what God gave John, are some of the most powerful revelations ever given to mankind. Started in John 14 back there when it talks about God the Father and Christ dwelling in us and we have the ability to dwell in them. Then John builds upon these things here in a very powerful way because of what God gave to him even after a time beyond that, to grasp and see things on a spiritual plane that are, if you want to say, some of the deepest things in the sense of what is spiritual that we have. This is it.

“Love not the world, neither the things in the world.” So, where is the balance there? It’s about a focus. It’s about what we place first. It’s about whether or not it’s the world and the system of the world that we look to and uphold or whether we uphold God’s way of life. Basically, it’s telling us if we want something that comes out of mankind, out of the world, established by the world, and we uphold that more than what we uphold is true from God, we’ve got a problem. That’s what this is the context of.

“Love not the world, neither the things in the world.” Because, candidly, I love my house. I love our yard. I love the car. I love the things that God has given to us to be able to have and to experience. I love the food we eat. That’s of the world. We go out and plan it. People, they sell it, we go and buy it and it’s great! Meals, wine, a good glass of wine with your meal. I love it!

Is that what it’s talking about? No. It’s talking about that which is worldly, that which is a contradiction with God’s way of life.

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them. Powerful! Just not there. Something is wrong. It means we’re upholding something that we shouldn’t be upholding contrary to what God tells us. And if we do that… It’s talking about sin. I hope we grasp that. Because the only reason that God the Father won’t dwell in us is because of sin, unrepented of sin. So, if we’re repenting of sin, we’re striving for God’s way of life, we’re striving to have this unity and oneness within the Body, within the Church, with one another, with God, and we’re striving to live the way He has given us and the balance and the soundness of mind that He’s given to us, awesome! He’ll bless us and He’ll dwell in us.

But if we love something else that’s contrary to that, He’ll let us have it, because that’s our choice. He’ll let us have it, but He won’t dwell in us. That’s what this is saying. This is straight forward language, not to beat around the bush, so to speak. That’s why in some of the speaking that I’m doing in this time period, I know that I’m supposed to be doing more of that in that regard, is because time is closing in, because things are getting closer.

Because if we can’t see the world and see that things are pressing in more and more, things that are going on in China, things that are going on with Russia, things that are just going on between nations, period, all the insanity that’s out there. We’re rushing toward a period of time we’ve been looking forward to for a long, long time. Awesome!

With that goes a greater unity within the Body of Christ. This Church, God’s Church is going to be cleansed from top to bottom. The process started in earnest even more so back in 2012 through 2013, and it’s been continuing on, a refining process that’s been taking place. A growing process has been taking place. But I know because of things that are happening, it’s been stepped up right now again. Okay? More and more continue to go by the wayside because they’re not persevering, because they’re not putting God first, because other things are distracting them and it’s leading them astray.

I had the unpleasant thing of asking another person this past week, telling them, having them told anyway, “You’re no longer in fellowship because of what you’re doing. You’re disobeying God and you’ve been disobeying God for a long time, and you haven’t been repenting. You haven’t even been together with people when you had the opportunity, let alone being faithful to God. You’ve been robbing God!” How can anyone do that? I don’t grasp that kind of thinking. How can we be in the environment of God’s Church, having been around for a period of time, a long period of time, and not grasp and comprehend something that we’ll be going into in a series pretty soon here about tithing and offerings. They should be simple things to understand.

To rob God? I would think, if someone isn’t fearful of doing that, that blows my mind. Not fearful of doing such a thing? That blows my mind!

For all that is in the world—the lust, the desires that are about self, about what we want, of the flesh… I love this verse, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—are not of the Father. It’s of the world. So, if we’re giving into something that is leading us astray, we want something more because of our nature. That’s our nature, “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”

Pride. That defines Satan. Just filled with pride. Absolutely everything against God. The moment we uphold something that’s contrary to what God shows us, leads us in, guides us in, and we decide that, we lift ourselves up above God. That’s nothing but pride. Think, what a horrible thing that we can be that way as human beings in God’s Church.

The vast majority of people who have ever been baptized have turned against God. Mind-boggling! The vast majority of people who have ever been baptized into God’s Church have turned against God – either left voluntarily because of being pulled away by various things or told, “You’ve already separated yourself from God. You’re not a part.” Choices. Choices. Choices.

Verse 17—Even the world passes away, and the lust thereof. So, it’s showing here that, you know, God has a plan. In writing this book, again, you focus on certain things and it’s coming together in a little bit different way than in times past. I’m excited about it as I’ve always been by every one of them, but anyway, this one far more so than any of them, candidly, and these things just ring home so powerful, in such a powerful way, so powerfully. Understanding time and God’s overall plan and we don’t have a lot of time once God calls us to change, to grow, and we’re so close to all of it being over with.

1,100 years is going to go by fairly quickly, it really is, in the scheme of things. Those who are resurrected to be a part of that, it’s going to go by rather rapidly. Your concept of time begins to change. Your vision of things, your understanding of things begins to change.

So, the world passes away. In other words, the ways of the world. Starting with the Millennium there’s going to be one government, one Church. The ways of the world, they’re not going to be allowed. Now, people are going to try to resurrect certain things. They’re going to try to do various things, but they’re not going to be allowed very long. They’re going to be dealt with. Even if it means they have to lose their lives. That’s how they’re going to be separated from the Church.

It’s pretty powerful what God has to say the Millennium is going to be like. There are certain things that just aren’t going to be tolerated by communities and by people. If they want to live something different it’s just not going to be allowed. Incredible, to understand that. Because it’s God’s judicial system. It’s God’s government that’s going to reign, and it’s going to be enforced.

You know, when it says Christ is going to rule with a rod of iron, you know there are people who don’t like that. We were talking, some of us, last night about how some in a particular area said, basically, that I was a sheriff. Okay. I found in that particular area especially, as I began the ministry before the Apostasy, that anytime you strive to enforce God’s way of life within the Church, if individuals are doing things that are wrong, I mean heinous acts in some cases, and they’re put out of the Church, you’re a sheriff, you’re hard, you’re harsh, whatever it might be. Think, give me a break! Either we want God’s way of life, or we don’t.

Anyway, so here it is Christ is going to rule with a rod of iron. If various things are enforced as far as God’s way of life, if people want to do things that are very much against what God is saying, as far as a community of people or a nation of people, or whatever it might be, if someone wants to do something that’s evil, it’s just not going to be allowed. There are going to be some things corrected very swiftly.

You know, people aren’t going to go to court and have trials that go on for years and years and years. They’re not going to have all kinds of lawyers get involved and argue different sides, or people sit on a jury to decide what they think is right or wrong by some persuasion that’s been given to them. Because the God Family knows exactly what happened in every case of anything that anyone does, and judgment will be meted out accordingly.

Some think that’s going to be hard. I think of the world, how hard that’s going to be for some to take. When you’re told that you are not to commit adultery, that adultery is evil in life in families, in marriages? I think of the world of what’s even called the Bible belt. I get sickened sometimes when I think of some of those things because a lot of their lifestyle and a lot of their churches and so forth are very much wrapped around that kind of environment, of people cheating on one another, of having things in functions where they have so many come together, and then in time under the auspices of something that’s supposed to be good as far as worship or as far as various other activities within their organization and after a while they’re teaming up together off to the side somewhere with one another. From top to bottom within the structure of the organization.

I don’t know about you, but those things sicken me, of how the world can be. They cheat and they lie. How can you be in a so-called church organization and involved in the activities of it? Because these things happen. They have happened in Worldwide. And if you want to look at an organization that, as a whole, strived, has been striving over the decades to live what is right, you’re not going to find another body of people that’s reflected that more.

Now, within the environment of God’s Church there are things that have emerged at times. Does that mean that’s the entirety of the Church? No, that’s not the way the Church is at all. It fights against those things. It teaches against those things. But within that environment it’s very difficult to be able to be totally pure or cleansed. And so, people in the world, and the larger the organization, the more those things come into the organization.

I hope you understand that. People get together and after a while you have a man and a woman and they’re sharing something with each other and it’s like, “Well, I can’t talk with my husband that way,” or, “I can’t talk with my wife that way,” and this little friendship starts. That’s where adultery comes from! People start sharing these life experiences and all of a sudden there is this attraction, and all of a sudden they’re committing adultery. That’s why there is so much divorce in this country. But even in what’s called the religious world. Sick. Sick. Sick.

So, is it a hard thing then when someone comes along and says, “You’ve committed adultery! You’re out of God’s Church!” What do you think? You think you’re going to be able to stay in God’s Church if you’ve done something of that nature? Should that be allowed? Absolutely not!

So, it depends on the sins, of what people have done and so forth. There are situations where people are told, “You’re not a part. You’ve cut yourself off a long time ago to have done something like this.” The various kinds of sins that exist, that can be, that are out there in life, they are things that can happen within the Church as well.

And so, is the individual, is Christ harsh because he’s going to rule with a rod of iron? In other words, that kind of you-know-what is not going to be tolerated. There is not going to be a large area of lawyers out here who are trying to decide how to divide up things in a family because two people decide they’re not going to live together anymore and they really have someone else out here that they really want to be together with, so we got to figure this out, how are we going to do this equitably? How do you do that, you know? Screwed up your whole life, screwed up your whole family’s life, and on and on it goes. I hope those things sicken you because this world is evil in that area, it really is.

So again, I guess because I was writing about some of that, he’s going to return and rule with a rod of iron, it means something special to me. I look forward to that. Not because it’s harsh, but because of people who don’t want to live that way it’s harsh on them. It’s strict on them and they don’t want that kind of strictness. “He’s too hard! God is too hard.” That’s how God in the Old Testament is viewed because of things that He said at different times. “And Christ came along, and he speaks better things, and you can, you know, he’s nicer, he’s more merciful.” You think, “Give me a break!” Anyway, they don’t understand.

Little children, it is the last time; as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists. He’s not talking about the world! He’s talking about the Church of God. He’s talking about people who have been baptized into God’s Church. This is the old story, these things that came from John. This is why when Paul talks about it, about an apostasy that’s going to come and the man of sin and the son of perdition, the warning that went out, and talking about those as he’s going to do here as well, come from some of the teachings of things that were shown a long time ago, that antichrist was going to come.

Well, what is that? You talk about an antichrist. But that’s why he’s saying here already there are many antichrists already. You’ve heard that there’d be antichrists. There are already many antichrists in God’s church, meaning that people are not living the way they’re supposed to live, and so, they’re not a part of the Church. They’re not a part of God’s way of life. Because either we’re striving to live this way of life and repenting of sin or we’re not. You can’t drag the world into that. You can’t live the way of the world. You’ve got to strive to live your life right before God in everything you do, in all your practices.

If you have a business, you’re not to cheat people. Whatever you do, you’re to do it right in God’s eyes before God because it’s right.

Little children, it is the last time; and as you have heard that antichrists shall come, even now are there many antichrist’s, whereby we know it’s the last time. Their focus was what ours is, it’s just we know we’re there now at that time when the end-time events are starting to take place. They have been for some time. We’ve already had the Apostasy, one of the major things prophesied to take place for the end-time. We recognize they were about the Church and things that are happening in the world. It’s unique because they wanted it, they were looking for it. They’ve all looked for Christ’s return since he left. It’s one of the things they wanted to know as soon as he’s back there talking to them in that forty days. It’s going to be a while. He didn’t say how long, but “It’s not going to happen right now,” you know, “This isn’t the time.”

Their desire, as it has been everyone’s desire within the Church, the end-time. That’s a desire, of looking toward Christ’s coming.

So again, verse 19 it says, They went out from us, but they were not of us. In other words, here we’re talking about the environment of the Church. Some left; they went out. Maybe put out, but they went out, or in the context here of what’s being spoken of, is antichrist. It just means people who are working against Christ. What does that mean? Well, for one thing, individuals are not repenting. That’s working against the purpose of Christ having died. The reason he died is so we could be forgiven of sin so that God the Father and Christ could dwell in us. What an awesome and beautiful thing.

They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. Again, last night we were discussing some things going back to the time of the Apostasy especially, and even before that, of all the people. But especially since the Apostasy and even PKG being started – hundreds and hundreds and hundreds, a few thousand people have gone through and gone out even after the Apostasy. Incredible! Mind-boggling!

That’s why I’ve made comment it doesn’t matter what size we will be, we will be a purified Body, a cleansed Body.

They went out from us, but they were not all of us, for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that they were not all of us.

Now, you know, that’s a difficult thing to live through. I hate it when it comes to that point in time where a decision has to be made administratively within the Church, within the ministry. If people just go off and do their own thing and say they’re not coming back… That happened too, didn’t it? Just happened. So, is that two this last week? Okay. So, another one that’s not returning now, not coming back. Okay. It’s a choice.

So, it happens in different ways but it’s the same result here. And so, it’s made manifest. Now, that can be a healthy thing spiritually because you recognize that if certain behavior exists and you’re able to look at it and say, “Well, they’re not with us anymore. Now I can see and learn from the fact that these things were happening, and that’s not healthy spiritually, and if it’s not changed this can be the result.” That can stir individuals to repentance, to make sure to strive, to fight against that, that “I don’t want that happening in my life!”

There is a positive aspect of it though it’s painful. Because I don’t know about you, but we should all desire anyone we’ve ever known, that we’d all be able to stay together. I hate what I’ve seen over the years in God’s Church. I’ve never known a year in God’s Church without people leaving. That’s horrible to live like that, to have those experiences. Because you get to know people, like that one song, “We walked to God’s house side by side, and counsel blended sweet.” Sometimes there is horrible betrayal that goes with that. It’s gut wrenching because inside, if you’re convicted and converted in God’s way of life and God’s spirit lives within you, you’re going to hurt for those individuals, that they’re not there any longer. But you can’t do this for anyone. You can’t make their choices and decisions for them.

But they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But you have an unction… That means, “an anointing” which is of God’s spirit, from the Holy One. That’s what it’s talking about, speaking of God’s spirit. Because it’s God’s spirit, that’s what He’s given to us, to have the ability to see, to know things on a spiritual level, to perceive and understand things of our own mind and thinking. He gives us that help to change, to be transformed. What a horrible thing when that isn’t there any longer. Because that’s what happens when we start sinning and not repenting. We get cut off from the flow of God’s spirit and you have no power against that. It takes you aside.

But you have an unction (an anointing), from the Holy One, and you know all things. Well, what does that mean? I don’t know all things. None of us do. That’s not what it’s talking about. In the context of what’s being discussed here about God’s way of life, about what we grasp and comprehend of truth that God gives to us, we’ve been taught. He’s given us those things that are necessary for us for salvation.

We know the things we need to do to be in the Body of Christ – to put God first, to not have these other things happen. We understand that there are things that are going to pass away and what will continue is God and God’s way of life and the Kingdom of God and God’s spirit. As it talks about up here, it’s going to be forever. God’s going to dwell in us forever when it’s all said and done because that’s the only way to have the God Family.

I have not written unto you because you do not know the truth. That’s what this is about. That’s what you know. You know the truth; what has been given to you to this point in time, you’ve been taught it. You know what it is. We know that we’re to tithe. We know that we’re to give Holy Day offerings. We know those basic things. We know that we’re to keep the weekly Sabbath. We know that we’re to observe the annual Holy Days. We know! We understand those things that are necessary for salvation.

So, it says here, and you know all things. I have not written unto you because you don’t know the truth, but because you know it. So, what an awesome thing to know the truth. There aren’t many in the world who know.

Writing through this book again, it just drives it home even more so. The world can’t see. What they see is basically nothing as far as truth is concerned. We have truths, we have things we grasp about God’s plan and God’s purpose, and then on top of that we learn how to live life toward each other, how we’re supposed to be living husband toward wife, wife toward husband, toward children, children toward parents, toward one another, fellowship, things that we’re able to have as a body in a relationship with one another that’s precious, that’s awesome and we’re to build upon that and make that better.

…because you know the truth, and no lie is of the truth. So, we strive to live what is true. We strive to live what we know, and we even have a particular phrase we use that I’ve come to appreciate, “the present truth.” Because we grow with that.

Which brings me to a point that I wanted to bring into the sermon. Last Sabbath I was in error in what I said concerning Herbert Armstrong and what the Church taught about interracial marriage. I appreciate the individual that brought my attention to a sermon on that subject back in ’82, I believe it was. Then I began to remember the title of the sermon. It started coming back to me, but I still didn’t know what he’d said fully by any measure and what was stated.

Now, there are people who go way too far with that because of what he stated, saying he was racial. He wasn’t racial but what he dealt with with the present truth, with what we had at that time was striving to deal with matters in the world and in the Church, to have a soundness or a balance, and that was a struggle. It was a struggle when they had the campus in Big Sandy. It was a struggle when they had Holy Days and people came in from different areas. Because the community there is different; at that time was much different than the community farther north because that’s the way the society was, the world was. We have to work with those things and that pressure that the choices and decisions, it wasn’t an easy thing.

But anyway, it took me back to that and what I had focused on was what I knew as far as a minister, in this particular case, was married with approval from Herbert Armstrong. Knew about that and knew the minister, him and his wife. Anyway, this was brought back to my attention then which I very much appreciate because if something isn’t right, isn’t what it should be, it needs to be corrected. So, that’s what I’m doing right now.

At that particular time it was stated that other races and so forth weren’t to marry one another. Which I’m not going to go into all the reasons of some of those things at that time, but it was with the present truth that they had at that time. But I’m just going to say (because I may come back to this at another time), I’ve already addressed this in times past I just, what I’m getting ready to say, within the Church of God today there is not that prohibition of not marrying other people. I don’t care what the race is. Okay? That’s the teaching of God’s Church today. In other words, it doesn’t matter what your race is. Okay?

So, either we’re in unity with that or we’re not. That’s the present teaching of the Church. There were things at that particular time, if you go back and listen to some of those things, that’s where the Church was at that time. Anyone who listens to anything in any particular time, if you can’t see changes and growth within the Church, even within things of this nature as to soundness of mind and balance with scripture and everything else, because God continues to reveal more to us as we grow along, a greater maturity. The Church wasn’t where it needed to be at that point in time. It was a struggle of learning just as it has been for us and the things we’ve gone through. When a change comes along and God begins to reveal something you go through a struggle, but you can’t get to a certain point unless other things have been addressed along the way.

That’s the way we grow individually in our lives. We see things as we grow, that God shows us in ourselves. There are things in every one of you that you don’t even see yet. There are things that are wrong inside of you that you can’t even see yet in your thinking, in things that happen inside. But God doesn’t show us everything because we can’t deal with everything all at once. He does it the only way that is right, and that’s by growth, a growing process. Just like a little child; you can’t be an adult until you’re an adult. You’ve got to go through the various stages of learning.

And what does that mean? Experience. You grow through experience, and so God gives us experience within a unique environment of the truth, of the Church, and we mature individually. The Church goes through the exact same process. We’re coming out of a world that takes time to come out of it. And so, society, God is bringing us closer and closer to the way it’s supposed to be. I hope we grasp that. God is taking us closer and closer to the way it’s going to be when the Kingdom of God is finally established on this earth, of the way we’re supposed to be.

Our society in this world has a lot of problems and people aren’t able to work through those problems because there are all kinds of prejudices, and especially in race there exists many prejudices that are wrong, that are unfounded. Things are read out of scripture that aren’t true in the sense of what is said because some of the things were taken very physically because that’s where we were as a Church at that point.

You can’t see certain language that is spiritual in nature. Just like the disciples, it took them time. Even as change came along it took them time to make changes even when the truth was given to them. Look at the gentiles and how Peter was. Peter couldn’t see what Paul saw. He couldn’t see it. He had some real battles when it came to the truth going to the gentiles, non-Jewish people, or people who had nothing, no past in Judaism. Peter had a problem there. It was a fault. He was God’s apostle, but he had to grow to learn that. He had to grow through various experiences to come to understand how God was working and what His purpose was for all of mankind, not any special people.

Even within God’s Church we’ve had to grow in that from a period of time to understand the Israelites aren’t above anybody else. I mean, that was addressed between Peter and Paul a long time ago, but we’ve had that growth problem within the Church, that there was this thought that Jews, even Jews were ahead of other Israelites and that Israelites, at least if you were an Israelite you were ahead of others in the world. What a bunch of garbage. Not sound, not balanced.

I knew I wasn’t an Israelite. I wasn’t sure what I was. Still not real sure. Well, I am, too. I know my traits. But you think, God’s way of life is for all mankind – all. His purpose and desire is that all will come into His family knowing full well that all won’t. And candidly, the farther we go along the fewer there are going to be. God’s showing more and more.

If people with God’s holy spirit can so easily turn against God how many when it’s all said and done will really want God’s way of life when it’s all said and done. Because either you love this way of life, you love the truths that God gives, and you see the value of those for relationships, for family, for life, or you don’t, and it always comes down to that.

That’s why God is showing more and more that through the Millennium, it’s not going to be a picnic. That’s why He tells what’s going to happen to some peoples who won’t keep the Feast of Tabernacles. He corrects them, and not in a fully physical way as the example of what’s given there is written. Because it’s taken only physically by most people, as we tend to do. There’s a lot more to the story. But it’s a rejection of something.

You’d think that after seeing the kind of decimation that’s going to take place of all the armies on this earth, this is something that God is really, really showing in a very powerful way about. He’s really clear about when the Sixth Trumpet takes place, there is a third of mankind in that Trumpet alone is destroyed. A third of all living things on earth, they’re going to be destroyed. It’s pure, it’s simple language. You can’t get any simpler.

That doesn’t even take into account what happens during the first four Trumpets in this country and the Fifth Trumpet that takes place in this country and the millions in this country. It’s after that that it says because of what they do that a third of mankind is going to be destroyed. That’s horrifying!

But even with the Woes, each one gets worse, and when Christ returns (I’m giving you the next chapter, Chapter 3), but when the Third Woe comes that’s initiated by God Almighty, by Christ and his army of 144,000. Because their objective as soon as he returns is to come back as an army very powerfully so to destroy those who are destroying the earth. It makes it very clear that each Woe becomes worse than the one before.

How many people is that? I’ll guarantee you it’s way above a third. Because the world is going to resist God’s government coming. The armies of this world, the nations of this world don’t want to lose what they think they can salvage, what they think they can do. Insanity. So be it. They’ll just be destroyed. Because they’re not going to be worked with in a new age. But you would think that after someone has witnessed all those things taking place in the world and know, they have the knowledge, they have the ability to see what’s happened in their own, wherever they live in the world, and they see the destruction that was caused, they see, they know that there is a powerful being they might not know much about, but they’re learning his name and those who are with him and the power they have.

Because they don’t have to use nuclear weapons and they don’t have to destroy buildings, and they don’t have to destroy plant life, and they don’t have to destroy animal life. They just destroy the human beings right where they stand. Incredible. Millions, hundreds of millions, billions. Awesome, to understand what God’s going to do. Christ is coming back to rule with a rod of iron and he uses that very powerfully so at the very beginning. Then the Kingdom of God is able to be established. Then one government. Then one Church is going to be established.

And to think that people would refuse to listen after all that? To realize they’re not messing around? Look at what he did when he took back a reign that belongs to God in the first place. Man isn’t going to be allowed to have his own way anymore. That’s not “Boo-hoo.” It’s either it’s accepted and received and embraced or what happens? God tells what will happen. First of all, they’re going to be corrected. And if they still won’t come up, what does He say? They die. Death. They don’t want it; it’s not owed to them. You can’t give this way of life to anyone. After all that, if someone doesn’t want it, so be it. Because the world will remain and can be worked with, that’s what it’s all about.

The same thing with God’s Church. I hate it when I have to go through and deal with matters of disfellowshipment within the Church. And yet I have seen that pattern ever since I’ve been in the Church. Every time that something is cleaned up, especially if it’s in the top, like what happened in 2012 and 2013, if there is lying and deception going on within God’s ministry you know what God will do? He’ll bring it out in the open very powerfully so. And He did, thank God. And you know what? It hurt, but I was so thankful for it because the damage that causes and the ability to spread like a cancer is horrendous.

I saw it going back to the time of Herbert Armstrong in the 80’s. Over and over and over again, ministers who would rise up to fight against, to go against what was being given to the Church. District Superintendents, as they were called at that time, and different ones who would begin to have their little ring of ministers around them. They had these plans of things that they were doing. Then, finally, when it came to Herbert Armstrong getting sick and then the evangelists started parting sides, who is going to be with who, which evangelists are going to go with an evangelist that they feel is going to take control, be in charge. Most of them at that time picking Garner Ted Armstrong. Others picking a couple of the other evangelists and then making, going off on sides.

The State of California, when it tried to come in, there was one evangelist who was primarily in cahoots with all of that garbage that went on, another one. And so, people take sides because what? They were thinking carnally, physically. They wanted control of the Church. They wanted to be in charge of the Church.

The greatest blessing for the Church at that time was that they were removed, that they were gotten rid of, “Get out of God’s Church! You’re causing such incredible damage!” Because thousands of people went with them. Thousands of God’s people made the same stupid choice to go against what God had given to them in the truth through an apostle that was over them.

You think, how can such basic scriptures ever be ignored? (I’ll never get through this sermon today. There will probably be another part.) But you think how can the inability to grasp some of the most basic scriptures when we’re told never to forget from whom you learned this, through whom you learned it? God was giving truth to him, not to them. Not a one of them brought truth into God’s Church. Not a one of them brought truth into God’s Church. But the truth that was there was given because God gave it through one man. Awesome, beautiful!

And yet because people wanted something else…? “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” That’s of the world. Politics, choosing sides, fighting against structure, organization, government in God’s Church. That’s not of God. That’s of the world. That’s the way of the world. Politics.

Because that’s what was happening in God’s Church, and it happened for a long time. Politics. Even in local congregations. I think of one not too far from here that I was familiar with. The structure of those working with the minister at that point in time, it was a matter of politics. Acting a certain way around them, doing certain things because you thought that’s what you should do in order to get ahead, in order to be recognized, perhaps to be ordained. What a stupid thing for people to do things so that they could become ordained. Well, what is that about? I’m sorry, you’d think we’d learned all of our lessons by now, but we haven’t. We still go through that process.

Because there are people to this day, even of last week, who made certain choices that they don’t recognize God’s apostle. So be it. It’s not about me, it’s about God. And where the truth comes from, it comes from God.

Anyway, concerning what was taught, interracial marriage, that is not a teaching of the Church, that it’s wrong. Okay?

Verse 22—Who is a liar but anyone who denies Joshua is the Christ? What does that mean? “Who is a liar?” Now, what a horrible thing that someone could be labelled as a liar. Well, within the Church, here’s how. “Who is a liar but anyone who denies Joshua is the Christ?” What does that mean? Because you see with the world, even traditional Christianity would look at that physically and say, “Oh no…” Well, they wouldn’t say “Joshua.” But they would say, “Oh no, we don’t deny him, as he was the Christ. Little baby Jesus…” whatever type of thing and all the stuff that goes with that. So, they would say, “Oh, no, we don’t deny that. We believe that.” That’s not what it’s talking about.

It’s talking about what you live once you receive God’s holy spirit and God begins to dwell in you and Christ begins to dwell in you because you’ve been called into God’s Church. Then if we begin living something different, if we start disobeying God we begin to be cut off from the flow of that spirit and we begin to deny the very purpose for why Christ came, to be our Passover, to die for us so that we could have repentance in our life every day. We can go before God every day and ask for forgiveness of our sins and of this selfish human nature.

The more I grow, the more I see selfishness, and I loathe it. I have to be careful then because I see it so well in human nature around me, and that makes it difficult. Even when I’m driving. That’s one of my pet peeves. You’ve probably learned that well by now. But anyway, it’s everywhere you go, everywhere you go where there are a lot of people there is so much selfishness and people don’t care about anybody else. But we should. We go through these things where we begin to see what we’re like, and it’s not pretty.

I was walking through the subdivision the other day just talking to God about some of this, praying to God about some of this. I hate, I loathe my human nature. I hate and loathe what I can see. Now, I see the other as well, as Paul talks about, thankful that there is this part in us that we recognize this battle that’s going on. But we have to be able to see it. But the more you can see that, that’s a good thing, because the more you hate it and any facet of it that raises up it’s ugly head and you ask for forgiveness then. What a blessing to be forgiven.

But if we don’t utilize that process of repentance, if we aren’t looking at our lives and examining our lives in order to be on guard and seeing how we can grow and become stronger spiritually, we’re missing the mark and we’re not watching and observing and looking like we should. Because it’s something we should be on top of, any wrong thought, any wrong thinking, any wrong expression, any wrong words toward anyone else or about anyone else.

Who is a liar but anyone who denies Joshua is the Christ? The worst of it all is to deny the very purpose he did die. Yes, to be forgiven of sin but so that he and his Father can dwell in us. To deny that it’s spiritual suicide. That’s what it is. Many have gone the way of spiritual suicide in their lives because they don’t care. It’s a horrible thing.

They are antichrist who deny the Father and the Son. We should want with all of our being God the Father and Christ to dwell in us, because that’s the only way this mind can be transformed.

Whoever denies the Son the same does not have the Father. It’s obvious. If we don’t have the Son living in us, if we’re working against the very purpose of why he died, then obviously, we don’t have the Father.

Then the rest of those words aren’t even a part of the sentence.

Verse 24—Let that, therefore, abide in you which you have heard from the beginning. The truth, knowledge of God’s spirit, knowing our need for it, that without it we can’t change, without it we can’t grow. If that which you have heard from the beginning shall remain (continue, abide in, dwell in; it’s that same Greek word) in you, you also shall continue (abide in/dwell in) in the Son and in the Father. Even this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

We’re able to experience things of eternal life right now because of God’s spirit in us. Awesome! To know then that through all the struggle we go through, the hardship of this, the fight and the battle, that it leads to something that when it’s done, when we are in spirit, when we are spirit and that life in us, we no longer have “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” That battle doesn’t exist anymore. We’ve come through it, and we can be, then, in the Family of God. It’s an awesome thing, to be in God’s Family for all time, to live life toward one another in a family that is pure. It’s really kind of even hard to imagine sometimes and grasp. Never jealousy, never envy, never a cross word, never a wrong attitude, never… Awesome!

Because in this, I experience it. Have it pop up. Just put me on the highway and it pops up. I can’t help it. I have to fight a fight because I see this out there and then I get upset at what I see out there. I have to be careful of that because we have to understand what’s out there. They can’t help what they do, but I can help what I do. But it’s pretty tough to watch all the time.

That’s just a small part of our life everyday. It’s just that that’s something we can all relate to pretty quickly I think.

Verse 26—These things I have written unto you concerning those who seduce you. I love the expression here of what this really means. It’s a Greek word that means “causes to wander.” Yes, “causes you to wander.” So, the word “seduce,” yes, it’s a part of that because you’re drawn to it, but it’s about wandering away. It’s wandering away from what is true, from those who have influence in our life that would cause us to wander from what God has given to us. It’s a beautiful expression in that regard.

I think of all those ministers in times past who have by their bad examples, or people in times past, whoever it might be, that begin to say and speak things that are different from what the Church is teaching and because of that, just like it might be about marriage and condemning or whatever someone because of what they think should be a certain way.

My wife and I were talking about this last week and I think of times when God finally began to reveal to us, help us to understand… Because we have been so physical as God’s people, the things we’ve gone through, and I think of clean and unclean meats and how we have thought about certain things and how people went to extremes when it came to what things were cooked in. “What is it cooked in?” You’re out at a restaurant and “What kind of oils did you use here? Was there any pork in any of that? How did you fry your food?” You think, we lose soundness of mind and balance of life. I hope we see those things.

It’s like people, and maybe there are some who still feel that way, that Jell-O, you can’t eat Jell-O. You can’t have Jell-O because it comes from the pig! It’s extracted from a pig so you can’t eat it, because then you’re eating a pig. No, when I eat Jell-O I’m not eating a pig. There are people who have trouble going through that and understanding that because we’re so physically oriented in our thinking.

It’s like, if you’ve ever taken chemistry you should be able to (in school) you should be able to understand there are chemicals, there are things that are extracted out of life or things that are dead, whatever it might be, and able to be used. Gel, gelatin, whatever, and you’re not eating the structure of what was created that’s like a little piggy. God said don’t eat the pig, don’t eat, you’re not to eat the ham. You’re not to have your ham sandwich. You’re not to have pork rinds. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But you can have Jell-O.

That’s a teaching of God’s Church, and I know some people who have trouble with that. Well, that’s your problem, not mine. So, either this is God’s Church, and we understand that there is a present truth, and maybe we don’t understand it, but in time hopefully we will. Because I can tell you, that’s a matter of growth, that’s a matter of understanding.

There are people who won’t take capsules of things that have liquid inside them because the capsule itself has this same kind of gel. Well, fine. That’s your choice. But there is nothing wrong with it if people take it. You didn’t go out here and order a pork sandwich. If you can’t understand the difference in that I can’t help you. I can tell you what the truth is and what the teaching of the Church is.

But I will tell you one other thing, if you’re against that and you tell others that, you’re a liar. You’re lying against the truth that God has given within the Church, the present truth of what we have, of what’s been administered through His Church. That’s pretty strong, what I’m saying, but I know it’s true.

The reason I’m saying someone is lying or they’re a liar is because of what it said up here. It said the exact same thing. “Who is a liar?” Because what happens as soon as we make choices that are different from what we’re told and we think we have the right to say something different to one another within the Body of Christ, to prevent the Body of Christ from having absolute unity? If I’m wrong, God will take care of me. Okay? He will correct me. He will hold me responsible. He will hold you responsible if you don’t follow the order and the government that God has established in the Church. He can take care of me very easily. Just one little heart attack away, it’s all over with. That’s how God can do it. …or other means.

We should want to be in unity and oneness and grasp the importance of that. What is more important? What is the weightier matter here? Hmm. Awesome, if we could just grasp and see these things more clearly.

Let that, therefore, abide in you which you have heard from the beginning. On down to verse 26—These things I have written to you concerning those who cause you to wander.  A wander away from the truth. So, we’ve had those situations in God’s Church and every once in a while I hear a rumbling.

I hear of another rumbling going on right now – holistic medicines. Woo-hoo. Holistic medicines. We’ve got people out here that are pushing holistic medicines, ideas. You need to back off of it a little bit. If you understand what “holistic” means and the definition of it, and you look it up, what it says, it says that you must have the ability to deal with people on a spiritual plane. You don’t! In God’s Church, no one gave you that authority! …or mental situations. Because it’s all a part of holistic. Mental, spiritual, physical. Doctors treat the physical with drugs and so forth, or operations or whatever it might be. But who among us has the ability to deal with that which is mental? Who is going to give that kind of advice to someone else, of what you need to do to change the structure of your life?

Or are you just talking about herbs, herbal medicine? Are you just talking about maybe taking natural things? Do you know what you’re talking about when you say “holistic?” Because I know what the definition is, and it is not a teaching in God’s Church as someone else out there is saying that it’s okay in God’s Church. I’m telling you, no, it isn’t. I’m sick and tired of it going through God’s Church because it hurts people, because people give medical advice in God’s Church, and they hurt people! I would be afraid to do that.

Who of us has that right to do that? Who of us has that training? You can say, “Well, I had this training. I got this off the internet and had this training and I went through this school and I…” Give me a break! Because if you’re following the definition of “holistic,” you’ve got to do all three. I don’t know anybody out there who has that ability. When it comes to life and death situations and you’re giving holistic advice? That’s ending right now! Absolutely ending right now. Because if I ever hear of it again I know what I’m going to do, and my voice should reflect that. It’s not going to be tolerated in God’s Church because it’s against the teaching of God’s Church. How clear can I get?

Now, if you want to try to do things better for your life, which I try to do, there are some things I take. I see something advertised, think, “Well, maybe that will help me here. I’m going to try it out. I’m want to give them a few bucks to see.” And generally come up, you know, sure wasted that money. Didn’t change diddly squat. But I strive to live healthier, we strive to eat better. It even costs money to try to eat healthier, it really does. But to get away from the chips and the soda and all those things, you know, it’s a healthy thing. We should strive to do things that are healthier for us or to start minimizing some of those things in our life because we’re going to be healthier for it.

So anyway, we have to make choices. I’ve had to make choices as I’ve talked about. I know we still have people in God’s Church who have problems with doctors or taking medications. Okay. As long as you’re not teaching something contrary to what has been stated up here. That’s your prerogative, your choice. You have to make your own choices for your own life. Your life is yours to a point, as we’re going to find out as we continue on here.

But anyway, just like what I’m taking for my cholesterol. I’ve made comment about that. Finally, taking a shot every two weeks and it’s got it down. I don’t have the problems physically that I had with statin drugs. I have trouble with statin drugs, a lot of people do, so I finally have this thing now that has got it way, way down. My doctor says I’m going to live forever. That’s my plan. But he doesn’t know that it’s not going to be because of that, you know.

We all have to make choices like that. There are other things I won’t take. There are some things out there, that’s my personal choice, but I’m not going to tell others in the Church about some of that. Those are your choices. Now, if it becomes a Church issue we might discuss it, like I’m going to in the sermon today.

I’m going to jump ahead. I could spend more time here in what it talks about in John because these, to me, are some of the most awesome scriptures God has ever given us about that which is spiritual and what it means to have a oneness with God and not to be antichrist but to be of Christ and living this way of life fully, richly, and loving it, and because it goes on, it’s about family, it’s about God’s love, it’s about how we love one another.

These things are brought out very powerfully by John, how we think toward each other. Get rid of the prejudices. Because we’ve all grown up with various things that have affected our thinking one way or another when it comes to prejudice. Wherever you see it you’ve got to so loathe it and hate it that it’ll never be a part of you. You want to be free of those things.

Hebrews 10. I’m going to pick up a few of the things that were covered and then continue on. In a sermon, Our Journey of Perseverance, we went through some of this, at that point in time.

Hebrews 10:19—Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest through the blood of Joshua by a new… That boldness means liberty. It’s the word for liberty. Once we’re called, to think we have such liberty? I mean, how awesome is that, that any time you pray, anywhere you pray God is there, He is listening to you. He loves you. He loves us with a love we can’t even begin to grasp. We can’t grasp that kind of love. It’s incredible. He wants us to succeed. But He wants us to understand that to succeed we have to live a certain way of life in unity and harmony with what He gives to us.

Therefore, brethren, having boldness (liberty) to enter in the Holiest through the blood of Joshua by a new and a living way… Over and over again it talks about through the blood. Because why does it say this all the time on a regular basis? To remind us of that sacrifice and what we have because of it, the ability to repent of sin—That’s incredible!—and then for them to live in us.

…by a new and a living way. It’s alive. What an incredible thing to understand that God’s way of life is one that is alive in us. That’s why I love when it talks about His word even comes alive when we go through sermons or whatever. There are things we see in there that just come alive, that we see beyond that which is just physical as the world reads it and then they have physical interpretation. We see things that are spiritual as far as God’s purpose and God’s plan and where it’s going.

…by a new and living way which he consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God. Christ is over the Church of God. There is order in that, as it talks about in Ephesians 4 that we went through earlier in this series.

…let us draw near with a true heart. It’s got to be true. If we’re lying to God, that’s not true, He’s not going to listen to us. Why waste our time? And most people in that situation don’t pray anyway. By the time they’ve been stealing from God, lying to God, not being with God’s people, ignoring God’s people, separating themselves from God’s people, after a time not loving God’s people, something is going to happen. It’s not going to be a true heart.

What is the genuineness then? What do we love? Do we love one another? Do we treasure one another? I mean, seriously, the relationships we have and recognize how much God loves us and that if we don’t love each other and want the best for each other what we’re missing out on?

…a true heart in full assurance of faith. Now, this is boldness that we’re to have. This is liberty we have. But it is a boldness as well because it’s a matter of recognizing if you’re right before God, you know you’re right before God. You can have a confidence in that. If you’re repenting of your sin, that’s what it’s about to be right before God. But if we’re not repenting, if we have some secret sins on the side here of things that are going on, whatever that might be, maybe on the internet, maybe secretly we think on the internet we’re getting by with certain things, we’re kind of going through the internet looking at things and going into things, maybe having relationships even out there in the mind with people out there on the internet.

I know that some of this to this day is still happening in God’s Church to one level or another. And you’re lying to God. You’re a liar. You’re denying. You’re antichrist. You’re denying God’s holy spirit to live and dwell. You’re denying the reason Christ died for you in the first place.

You just wish everyone could be on board heading the same direction with unity and oneness, never speaking anything diverse, never hurting others by being diverse, and striving to live what is right because God’s way of life is living in us, and because of that then fellowship is pure, more valuable, richer.

That’s why we need one another. I’ll tell you what, if one part of the Body drags it hurts the whole Body. If it’s in a Church area and someone just isn’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing, you know what? It hurts people. It hurts your fellowship.

…having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. What a beautiful thing, what we can have.

Let us hold fast the confession, and the word means “agreement.” We made an agreement at baptism. Our life isn’t ours. We gave it to God willingly so. That’s what we want. We want our life in God’s hands. We want that relationship.

Let us hold fast the agreement of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. What an awesome thing. God is faithful. We can trust that. We can rely on that. I do. It’s a beautiful thing. We should.

So, let us consider one another. It means “take note of; think about one another.” We should do that often, think about one another, pray about different ones and situations we’re aware of, whatever it might be, in order to stir up (“stimulate,” as the word means) love, agape, God’s love. So, it’s a process. The context is here fighting against sin, repent of sin, desiring God’s spirit to live more fully in us. As it does, our lives are going to be richer, better within the Body.

…not forsaking assembling of ourselves in assembly—it’s how the words are, in or by gathering together. So, in other words, we look forward to those opportunities we have.

Now, first and foremost this used to be as a matter of something that people would use to prove, or this is a matter of the Sabbath. No, it is a part of the Sabbath in its observance, in its understanding, that we are to understand this is one of our main times to be together, is on the Sabbath, obviously. And candidly, it’s more about fellowship because even there, if we even grasp it, if we’re not together on the Sabbath, if we’re not together with, coming together with God on the Sabbath and being taught by God, if we’re not together wherever we can be with others who are obeying the Sabbath then we’re not obeying the Sabbath.

I hope you understand what I’m saying. It’s a matter of whether or not we’re keeping the Sabbath. I know one last week that was put out, there was no way on earth they could be keeping the Sabbath. It can’t be!

“Not forsaking assembling of ourselves in assembly.” In other words, whenever it is, the Sabbath, the Holy Days. Absolutely. Those are a given. But even on other occasions if we’re able to, if something is done within the Church, we do something, we can be together. This has to do with the mind, thinking of not wanting to be together with others in God’s Church. Who would have that kind of a mind to not want to be together around others in God’s Church?

It’s like going to the Feast and certain things might be planned and we don’t go to any of them because don’t really want to. Or maybe someone asks someone to participate in something. Well, you don’t really care for them. Think, what a condemnation! “I don’t really want to spend that time with them. I’d rather do something else…watch TV.” That thinking exists. And you can’t have that. If you’re striving to live God’s way of life we should, where there are opportunities, something is organized or we have opportunity that’s presented, someone else invites us, do we do it where we can? Now, some occasions because we’re so spread apart it makes it difficult. But do we strive to where we can?

The point being is if we don’t because of the wrong reasons, because of our thinking toward our brother, that’s where the problem is – not being together, not wanting to be together with others of God’s Church. We should want that with everyone in God’s Church.

…as the manner of some is, but exhorting (encouraging). Well, how do you do that? Just by being in assembly together. To me, there’s nothing more beautiful when I see people come together, especially because of what we’ve gone through with Covid, and this week, the week before, every time we go someplace right now especially, it’s like a mini-Feast in what you hear because the sound level is so high because people are talking a lot and very vocal about it. There is just, as a whole, people aren’t being too quiet. That’s a beautiful thing.

And what can be more beautiful than God’s people getting together, having opportunity when they do, and having that excitement that’s there. That’s what this is talking about, in essence, it’s this encouragement. I don’t know about you but that encourages me. I mentioned that recently here. Just seeing someone sacrifice what they did to travel as far as they did with two young children in a vehicle as far as they went, and to realize, you know, that really encouraged me that they were willing to sacrifice to do that, to be there, to make the whole environment of that group coming together better.

Just like today, look at this. Far and wide having come together so we could have special fellowship today. Beautiful. Now, different ones could have stayed away, and we could just have a very small gathering here of just this local area here, and that would be fine, that would be great. But isn’t it better when others are able to have the opportunity to come in like this and sacrifice to do it? Isn’t that special? It is to me. I love it. I look around the room, I see different ones, I think, “That’s beautiful.” It really is. It encourages me as God’s servant. It should encourage every one of us. How can you express such a thing in your heart, in your being?

So, it goes through this context talking about some of this. I’m going to skip over a bunch. But it goes on, and it’s about sin and about separating us from the Body. We’re not going to be able to help one another, encourage one another if we’re sinning within the Body.

So, it goes on to say (verse 26), For if we sin willfully, no longer persevering, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, whatever that might be, whatever God has given to us, whatever we hold on to, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment. You would think that individuals who are not living this way of life, who are casting this life aside…? Because any time people do that, you know what, “forsaking the assembling together.” “There is something else I’d rather be doing.”

So, being cut off from the Body, what does that mean? Forsaking the assembling, whatever opportunities we have for that with God’s people. Because it not only cuts us off from God, it cuts us off from the entire Family of God. That’s what this is talking about.

There should be this understanding that everyone that falls into this situation, judgment is strong. We have in times past had some concepts similar to traditional Christianity that need to be gotten rid of. God’s very merciful and forgives us when we repent. But so often when the truth is there people aren’t repenting. That’s why they go by the wayside. They want something different than what God is offering to them. They want their own way. They want the church, they want the fellowship, the friendships in the church, but they want their own way in that, which means there are certain sins they want to bring into their life and still have that, too, if it’s convenient. And if it’s not, okay.

I’ve seen that so much it’s just makes me sick when I see it. You would think there would be this …but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. People think they’re going to escape that, too? Boy, once we’ve been given the truth? I think of all those in times past, and even within the Church of recent time, and to turn against God knowing what you’re doing?

Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Pretty strong. That’s why people have felt, who read the Old Testament, “God was a harsh God. He was hard on people. He had some really strict laws. When they didn’t do what they were supposed to they took them out and killed them. That’s pretty strict.” Well, that’s the penalty for sin. We don’t get our own way. We don’t get to do our own thing. We don’t get to live any kind of way of life. We either want God’s way of life, love God’s way of life, embrace it with all of our being, or we don’t. That’s the choice.

If we don’t like that choice tough cookie. Nothing is offered. Nothing is owed to us. We don’t deserve anything. You don’t want eternal life? Fine. That’s your choice. There are many who have been around God’s Church that that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Sad. Pathetic. Horrible.

…they died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment do you suppose will be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, and counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing? Just ordinary, nothing of importance. That’s what it’s talking about. You think, how sick! But that’s what happens with everyone who becomes disfellowshipped, who leaves God’s Church. That’s what they’ve done. Trampled. Trampled. That’s what God says. What do they deserve? Not a thing. They don’t deserve God’s Family. They don’t deserve fellowship.

…sanctified a common thing and insulted or brought insult to the spirit of grace? Spitting upon what God is offering. That’s what it’s about. For we know Him who said, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. No one gets by with anything. We either choose His way of life, learn to love, want his way of life, fight for it… We don’t just choose it and want it; we fight for it. We are willing to suffer in order to gain that.

Because you have to suffer to gain it. You have to fight against Satan — self. Selfishness is of that being. Pride, “lust of the flesh,” he didn’t have flesh, “lust of the eyes,” yes, “pride of life,” wanting something that is not his, yes, you know, being jealous, envious, yes. Pride, lifted up above, thinking you can do things other than what God gives? That’s what it is. That’s what selfishness is, human nature.

The Eternal will judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Because God will take care of it. That’s why I know nothing will escape God as we approach the Kingdom coming to be established. I know that within the Church of God it’s going to be a cleansed Body. I know that there will be no secret sins left that aren’t being repented of. We are repenting. We are either repenting and fighting this fight against sin, each one of us, and fighting with all of our being and crying out to God for help to keep fighting, to keep persevering, or not. There is nothing in between. And if we’re doing that, we can have great boldness in coming before God. That’s what it’s talking about here, great boldness.

We should all have great boldness because we’re repenting of sin because we want this way of life. We want what He’s offering to us. It’s beautiful. Who would want anything else? That’s what this is about.

So, that brings us to another thing that I’m going to make a judgment on today, that I’m passing along to the Church that has to do with observance of the Feast of Tabernacles.

We started this series talking about Covid-19 and things we’ve gone through in the Church because of that, and learned about fellowship, hopefully, and learned to treasure it and cherish it more than ever before because of that. We experience things in life that hopefully we can carry with us in having greater conviction toward fellowship, wanting it, desiring it, willing to sacrifice for it more than ever before because we recognize how valuable it is because we’ve been without it for a long time. So, these points have been driven home.

So, I know that I’ve come to this point where I have to make a decision and a choice about the Feast of Tabernacles. Because the last thing we can have at the Feast of Tabernacles is someone coming along who is exposed to Covid or brings Covid into the Feast and everybody, everybody because of meeting together becomes quarantined. What a horrible thing if that happened! It’s not going to happen in God’s Church at God’s Feast of Tabernacles.

And so, by that same authority that God has given to me as an apostle I’m telling everyone who is of an adult age you either have the Covid vaccine or you stay at home. Vaccine, not the Covid. You don’t want the Covid.

That’s going to try some people and take some people probably out of God’s Church because you’re not going to do it because you’re going to fight against it. The only exception on all of that might be someone who has severe allergies and has a medical concern. That, you need to work with your doctor. I’m not telling everyone you have to go out and get a Covid vaccine. You have to judge that. If there is a medical situation, you have to go to your doctor. Because there are some people in here who have some of those kinds of things that they have to be concerned about. They can’t chance that. Okay?

If that’s the case, I have to say for the Feast of Tabernacles, if you can’t do it, if you can’t have it, you can’t be at the Feast of Tabernacles. Sabbath services in local areas, that’s another matter. We can work through that. We take those chances and the different things of quarantine or whatever it might be. If it happens, it happens. Those of us who have the vaccine don’t have to worry about being quarantined. But others may have to worry about some of that.

So, that’s a choice, you’re all going to have to decide what you’re going to make and why you’re going make it. And some might think, “That’s very harsh. That’s very cruel. Who do you think you are?” I know who I am. I hope you know who you are in the Body, in the Church of God.

I can’t take a chance and a responsibility that I have as God’s servant serving in the capacity that I am, to have something like this happen at a Feast of Tabernacles where the entire Feast has something like that take place because we didn’t love our brother enough.

So, what chances am I willing to take in my life for my brother? Absolutely, that’s me, that’s my mind. I will do it for my brother because my life belongs to God and to one another in the Body of Christ. It’s not my life in that regards. Sacrifice, whatever, what do we have to sacrifice? Do we have to make sacrifices at times in our life?

“Well, what if I get sick?” That’s my choice. I prefer to get sick if it’s a matter of learning to love and have love toward one another in the Body of Christ. I hope you understand what I’m saying. It’s a matter of love. That’s why we were going through 1 John there, because we were talking about love toward one another and love, God’s kind of love, requires sacrifice. And so, if we hold up an idea that “I don’t like that which is medical,” “I don’t like that which is of a shot and I’m not going to take a chance,” well, I’m not going to take a chance as God’s pastor, God’s servant over the Church on this earth by seeing the Feast of Tabernacles become marred because someone ends up having Covid and everyone gets quarantined.

What a horrible place for that to take place, God’s Feast of Tabernacles. So, someone has to make a choice and a decision in what we’re going to do in a unified manner within the Body of Christ, within the Church of God, to have unity and oneness to protect the best way we can everyone that we can.

Do I like getting it? Did I like going to get it? I wasn’t jumping up and down. But you know what, because it was based on the principle of love—which it was—I knew that God would take care of me. That’s a choice. Some people equate some of these things with obeying God. Well, here’s our chance.

Anyway, with that I hope we understand more deeply than ever before the real dangers to true fellowship.