Our Calling

Beth Bucheit

October 1, 2023

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon

Some of you may notice that I have the same dress on as I did at my Feast of Trumpets sermon, and the reason for that is I am doing back-to-back taping. So, it’s not a mistake.

Here we are at another Feast of Tabernacles. I do not know about you, but I am feeling very blessed and encouraged. We have been through a lot of things this past year and God has been there every step of the way with us, and now we have the privilege to sit here and hear more about God’s plan. Just like mentioned last year, 1 in 14 million, give a number or two.

It has been a whole year since God blessed us with the understanding that a woman could get up in His presence and in the presence of His people and give a sermon. We have come a long way since then and learned a lot of exciting things. We have learned in most recent times that God is continuing to fine-tune us. He continues to cleanse the Church and we get one step closer to the return of our elder brother, Joshua.

Brethren, we have been given incredible knowledge. There is only one way we can understand and know what we know. That is because God called us and gave us His holy spirit. We have a calling that is unique to the Church and unique to each one of us individually because God is molding and fashioning us for the Temple, to be a part of Elohim, to dwell with Him for eternity.

The title of today’s sermon is Our Calling.

I want to start off the sermon today by turning to a scripture that we are familiar with. If you attended Worldwide you will remember Mr. Armstrong using this scripture. Let’s turn over to Proverbs 29:18. I am going to read a couple of different translations of this scripture as we proceed, but I’m going to start with the King James Version.

Proverbs 29:18—Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. One definition of vision is the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom. We can plan the future with certainty and with wisdom because we have God’s holy spirit. There is no reason for us to perish except we make bad choices.

And remember, great peace have they that obey the law. Peace means you are happy.

Now I am going to read the same scripture with the New King James Version: Proverbs 29:18—Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law. Without God revealing Himself to us we have no boundaries. This world is a good example of people casting off restraint. Again, we see we are happy when obeying.

Now, let’s read the New International Version: Proverbs 29:18—Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. The New International Version has the latter part a little different. I like how it is stated because God’s law is God’s wisdom and it is giving us instructions on how to live and remembering that choosing God’s way brings blessings and life, and the opposite brings curses and death.

Now, one more, the New Living Translation: Proverbs 29:18—When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful. Again, another great description of the world today. The world does not know God and they are the result of it. The people run wild, and they have no common sense. It is a completely chaotic world. And again, obeying the law brings much joy and happiness.

I was thinking about this scripture in planning this sermon and I think of how many people from history had what we call vision. It is those who have vision that are the ones who step out and they live life to its fullest. They see a plan; they see future and they go for it.

Now, while I was thinking about this my mind went to May 27, 2012. I asked myself, isn’t that what we had then? Didn’t we have a vision? A vision of what life would be like after Joshua returned. Did we not live our lives with a plan, one that included living in a world that we would not have to put up with man’s government anymore on May 28, 2012? And why were we so convicted by our vision? Because we were called by God and believed what He put in our minds. Without knowing or being called into God’s truth, God’s Church, we would not have had the vision, the conviction we had.

We have a calling. Here is a definition for that: “A strong urge toward a particular way of life.” I think it is fair to say that if we use the definition of vision as “the ability to think or plan the future with imagination or wisdom,” we can see how close this is to a calling when stating “it is a strong urge towards a particular way of life.” Of course, our calling is very specific and the strong urge toward a particular way of life is to be born into Elohim, to be a part of God’s Family for eternity. So again, we have vision because we have a calling.

So exactly what is our calling? We’ll talk about that today. Isn’t during the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day a perfect time to remind ourselves we only know these Holy Days and why we are here because God called us?

Today we will look at a few from the Bible that had a calling and see that God had a purpose for them and it was fulfilled. Their purpose in fulfilling faithfully what God intended has given us examples to follow. Without them and their examples where would we be? Some scriptures we look at today will talk about our calling that was first given to others, but we realize it is our calling too.

So, to get started today, brethren, let’s turn over to Hebrews. I want to talk about Moses first. So, let’s go to Hebrews 11:24—By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

The reward, his calling – what he knew God wanted of him. Money meant nothing to Moses in comparison to what God was offering him. He put God first in his life.

Verse 27—By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest He who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. Moses did not fear man or man’s government. God gave him instructions and he did exactly what he was told to do. He believed in God completely.

Verse 29—By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned. God blessed Moses and the Israelites time and time again. Here is an example of how God put down the enemy once and for all. Moses gives us such a great example of trusting and believing in God. He trusted and believed in his calling.

We’ll now talk about Abraham so let’s go back up to Hebrews 11:8—By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. Abraham did not question God. He literally picked up everything he owned and went out to a place he did not know. There was no fear or apprehension, just complete trust in the calling of God.

Verse 9—By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Abraham knew that what he and his family would receive was worth every sacrifice he was asked to do. He understood that God is the master potter and the city He builds is for eternity. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are part of the foundation of that city.

Dropping down to verse 17—By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, In Isaac your seed shall be called. We are that seed.

Verse 19—concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. This is, again, another example of complete faith, the same type of faith that we must have. No wavering. God allows things to come into our lives to test us because He has to know our hearts. Where do we put our trust? It can never be in man.

Let’s turn over to Acts 13:21—And afterward, they desired a king. And God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when He had removed him, He raised unto them David to be their king; to whom He also gave their testimony, and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, A man after My own heart, which shall fulfill My will.

King David, a man after God’s heart, a man who was willing to learn. The book of Psalms is filled with example after example of his broken and contrite heart, someone who can be worked with. If we hope to be in God’s Family, Elohim, we must have a heart like David, a man who embraced his calling and faithfully served God until he died. Not perfect but always repentant.

Let’s turn over to Galatians 1:11-16—I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preach is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Joshua the Christ. Saul, who became Paul, knew what he knew because Joshua gave it to him, and it came from God. He was able to teach with conviction and strength because of this.

Verse 13—For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the Church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. People were very aware that he was responsible for Steven being put to death. He is the one that gave the “Okay” for Stephen to be stoned.

Verse 15—But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach him among the gentiles. Paul understood that God had a specific purpose for him and understood it was by God’s grace that God revealed the truth about Joshua and allowed him to go out to the gentiles and teach them so that they too might learn who Joshua was.

Once God opened his eyes and called him, Paul gave everything he had. He had to live with knowing what he had done in the past. Because of that, he understood God’s mercy better than most. His example of being able to overcome self and push forward is a great example for us. No matter what our selfish human nature leads us to do, once we see it and cry out to God to forgive us, He does. He shows us mercy and then we too can come forward in God’s service. The best service we can give God is a life worthy of our calling.

I want to move on to modern times. While my next couple of examples are not found in the pages of the Bible, some of us have witnessed them firsthand. One of the great examples of someone with vision, someone who embraced their calling, is one of God’s end-time apostles, Herbert W. Armstrong.

Let’s turn over to Psalms 133:1—How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, and down on the collar of his robe.

This was one of Mr. Armstrong's favorite scriptures. For those who attended Worldwide, I want you to remember back when he would speak at the Feast. How exciting it was when we all were able to hear via satellite while Mr. Armstrong spoke to all the Church at one time. We were living in unity at that moment, and he was pleased. I can remember when the lights went down struggling to capture what he was saying and giving to us, trying to write notes in the dark. What I felt at that moment was how blessed we were that he believed in his calling as he did, and he shared God’s truth with us.

God revealed 18 Truths to Mr. Armstrong during the Philadelphia era of His Church. These truths are what God has used for our calling, to show us more of His mind and what He is about. Mr. Armstrong and Loma Armstrong gave their lives for God’s people. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong now await the resurrection and at that time he will go out and preach God’s word again.

We can’t move on just yet. We need to reflect on present day and the example we have of God’s apostle and prophet, Ron Weinland. God revealed to him 36 more truths to give to His Church. One of which was that women could be part of the ministry, and God inspired him to ordain his wife, Laura Weinland, to a prophet. Do you know how blessed we are to see the example of them living faithfully their calling? God has given us two individuals who would die for us. Their whole lives are what is best for us.

God started working with both at young ages and molded them and fashioned them to be exactly what He needs to fulfill His purpose. As Johnny states it, we have a front-row seat to see God give to them and then they give to us. All we have to do is pay attention. God has used both in very unique ways and they work tirelessly for God’s people.

And of course, we have been blessed that God inspired an additional prophet to be ordained, Audra Weinland. She too has embraced her calling and dedicates her life to God’s Church as well, yielding to God’s molding and fashioning to fulfill His purpose in her.

We have no idea what the future holds for us, but I for one, can move confidently forward knowing God is guiding the leadership in His end-time Church, Church of God-PKG, and whatever will be will be and they will be there helping to the end.

Now let’s look at our calling. How does it work? Let’s start with John 6:44. I guaranteed you, you don’t even have to look at it, you know exactly this verse. So, John 6:44—No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up that last day.

It starts with God choosing us. He does the calling. This was enforced so much by Mr. Armstrong. We know that it means sometimes we come kicking and dragging and screaming, and it is only possible because God has a plan. Thank God that you are part of that plan.

I’m going to read to you Truth #6 now:

6 (3) God’s purpose for mankind. God is reproducing Himself and no other church knows or preaches this truth. We are to be born of God and become God—in the God Family: Elohim.

This is what our calling is all about. We are to become Elohim. God is creating a family and we have been blessed enough to be called to be a part of that Family at this time. The world is ignorant of God and God’s plan; they have no hope. We have a calling; we have hope.

Now I’m going to read Truth #12:

12 (9) Only those whom God the Father calls and draws to Him can be converted. Only those God chooses and calls now can come into the Church of God. Satan has deceived the whole world, and the Church is called out of that world. (John 6:44)

We read that scripture, John 6:44. This is one of the truths God revealed to Mr. Armstrong and this is why it was spoken about so much during the Philadelphia era of God’s Church. I remember during Laodicea they stopped talking about the Family of God and it made me sad. I remember my first Feast out of Worldwide and a minister referred to the Family of God and I teared up out of joy.

Notice how it is worded. “The whole world is deceived but not us.” Because of our calling we know who Satan is and we know how he works.

I’m going to read a part of Truth #33, a truth that God gave to His end-time apostle, Ronald Weinland.

33 (12) There is no literal physical place of safety for the Church during the time of great tribulation, but there is a spiritual one. The wings referred to in Revelation 12:14 are symbolic of protection, as are the skirts … in Ezekiel 5:3. This is in reference to a specific time period of protection for a few whom God first began awakening and calling to be part of a remnant of the entire scattered Church. This period of time that lasted for three and one-half years has already come and gone.

Some of us were blessed to be awakened to understand our calling again after God had vomited us out of His mouth, and some were called for the first time. While some of us fell asleep, God had a plan and He awakened some to understand their calling again and we should always be thankful for that.

For those of us in the Cincinnati area, we were around 1,500 to 1,700 on a Holy Day when we would gather. Think of how few of us meet weekly in Cincinnati now. Some whom God tried to awaken with us turned their back on this and refused God after all they had been blessed to know.

I’m going to read now part of Truth #45:

45 (24) Not all baptized members, including many in the remnant, will be part of the 144,000. Over the past 6,000 years, God has been calling and then choosing those who are to be sealed as part of the 144,000. Those sealed will be resurrected to come with Christ to reign over the nations of this earth. There remain some who are yet to be chosen and sealed as part of that 144,000. Being called and then baptized in this final period of the countdown to Christ’s coming does not mean that one has been chosen to be part of that count.

Remember, choices can change this. Our calling is to be one of the 144,000 or to live into the millennium IF we do our part. It is not a guarantee, but an opportunity we have. If we fail, it is on us, and we have no one else to blame.

I think Paul talked a lot about a calling because he understood it so well and its importance. Once called your whole life changes because your way of thinking changes. As we learned earlier in the sermon, Paul is one of the best examples of that. In scriptures we see how many Paul talked to about a calling. He told the Corinthians about their calling which is also our calling too.

So, let’s turn over to 1 Corinthians 1:1—I, Paul, called to be an apostle of Joshua the Christ by the will of God, and our brother … To the Church of God in Corinth.

Dropping down to verse 22—For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness. Christ was a stumbling block to the Jews because they would not believe he was the Son of God. He saw their hypocrisy and convicted them.

Verse 24—but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Regardless of who you are, if called of God you understand who Joshua the Christ is.

Verse 25—Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. If we have been called then we have access to God’s wisdom. We have access to God’s strength. We have access to the Most High through His holy spirit that the world does not. Our calling has power in it.

Verse 26—For you see your calling, brethren… The Corinthians saw their calling, and so do we if we are sitting here. If you were raised in the church and lived during Laodicea, we could say this another way too, “For you see your calling again.”

Going on: …that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. Think of the beauty of that statement. God chose us, called us to transform our minds to become Him.

We are nothing. We have nothing really to offer up in a physical state. Without God, we would stay flat on our faces with no direction. Once transformed and part of Elohim all will know all glory goes to God. I think of those in the world who know me. They will certainly know it was of God because my examples fall short too many times.

Paul also talked to the Ephesians about their calling and ours, so let’s turn over to Ephesians 1:1—Paul, an apostle of Joshua the Christ by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus.

Dropping down to verse 15—For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in Joshua and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of Joshua the Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.

I love how Paul is telling the Ephesians he is thankful that they believe, and he mentions them in prayer to God. How awesome is that? Because of God’s calling the Ephesians understood and had faith only one way, God gave it to them. They did not know anything on their own. Paul asked God personally to give the Ephesians more so they could in turn know God better just like Paul did.

Verse 18—I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people. “Freed from ignorance and misinformation” is another way to say this.

Our understanding does not have to be like the world. The world is filled with ignorance. We see it every day, and it is not their fault. You have a calling, they do not. With our calling we have hope, they do not. We understand what it means to have inheritance with Christ, to be given the promise of being part of the God Family, Elohim.

Let’s now turn over to Ephesians 4:1—As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Paul is reminding the Ephesians to walk worthy of their calling. In other words, do not take it for granted but understand how precious it is. We walk worthy when we are fighting our selfish human nature. When we are pointing the finger at self, and not others.

Verse 2—Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. We are to have a humble attitude toward each other. Our calling demands this. We are to be gentle and patient. We are not always perfect. Okay, we are never perfect. None of us. So remember that and cut each other some slack and don’t be so quick to judge each other. And all of this should be because we have God’s holy spirit and should be growing in the fruit of agape, God’s love. The result of this will be we are in unity in our calling, and where there is unity there is peace.

Verse 4—There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all. Again we see that our calling is one spirit, and it is of God.

Once called we have hope because we get it, we understand it. God gives us the knowledge that there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. We understand that there is one Church, not a bunch that believes several different things. Because of our calling, we know there is one God, God Almighty who is in charge of all things.

Paul talked to the Galatians about their calling and ours. So, now let’s turn over to Galatians 1:1—Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by men, but by Joshua the Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia.

Now, we’re going over to Galatians 5:13—You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh: rather, serve one another humbly in love.

Other translations say “liberty,” and we know that liberty is freedom. We have been called to freedom from the oppression of man’s ways, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” We cannot turn our back on this once we are called from it. We must love each other and serve each other with sincerity and truth.

Paul also talked to the Thessalonians about their calling so let’s turn over to 2 Thessalonians 1:1—Paul, Silas, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and Joshua the Christ.

Dropping down to verse 11—With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We must live a life that reflects God’s calling – one of giving. When someone looks at us they should be seeing God’s nature. This is our challenge. This is what we must fight. Self. It can be so ugly.

Let’s turn over now to 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14—But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Joshua the Christ.

Let’s turn over to 2 Timothy 1:1—Paul, an apostle of Joshua the Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life, which is in Christ Joshua, to Timothy, a beloved son, Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Joshua the Christ, our Lord. Paul was an apostle because it was the will of God. Paul is addressing Timothy directly.

Verse 3—I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day. Paul had a pure conscience because he did what he should, what God wanted him to do. And if he sinned, he repented immediately. And how do we know this? Because he was in God’s service until he died.

The forefathers are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, king David, and others. Paul, who serves God, is telling Timothy that he prays continually for him. If someone is praying for you day and night there must be a good reason for this. Paul recognizes that Timothy needs God’s help. And so do we. God had a job for Timothy to do.

Dropping down to verse 4—greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded in you also.

Here is an example of how God works with family. Paul acknowledges Timothy’s grandmother and mother. This makes Timothy the third generation here serving God faithfully. I am sure there were more, but for sure there are three mentioned here.

Verse 6—Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. We know that the gift of God’s holy spirit is only possible and only received by the laying on of hands of a minister. In this example, Paul.

Verse 7—For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. What an incredible description of our calling, not given a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of sound mind.

We too cannot fear. We must be confident in the power of God dwelling in us. We have the ability to grow in agape. What an incredible blessing in a world of insanity we can have a sound mind.

Verse 8—Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God. Brethren, we can never be ashamed, and if we suffer because of the world, who cares? We must always stand for God.

Verse 9—who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Joshua before time began.

This is the same for us. God saved us and called us. We did nothing to obtain it. God has a plan, and it is all for His purpose. Do not let that escape you. God called us, but if we do not do our part for our calling that can be taken away and given to someone else. We have already seen this happen.

Let’s now turn to 1 Timothy 6:12—Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Paul tells Timothy to continue to fight the good fight. And what is he working towards? Eternal life – to which he was called and so are we. We are to fight for this way of life. We would not be here right now if we were not fighting. We can never stop.

Let’s turn over to Hebrews 3:1—Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Joshua the Christ, who was faithful to Him who appointed him, as Moses also was faithful in all his house. Our calling comes from heaven, from God. Joshua gave us the example of being faithful by how he lived in his life before God.

Let’s turn over to Romans 12. Once called this is what we should be doing. So, let’s go to Romans 12:1—I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable, perfect will of God.

Every day we should live our calling, and that should be sacrificing self, our selfish human nature, removing Satan’s nature and replacing it with the fruits of the holy spirit, God’s nature. This is what God asks of us. Not to be like the world, but everyday life renewing, changing the way we are. Think about that, please.

God calls us, reveals Himself to us, shows us His truth, tells us that we can become Elohim, and all He is asking is that we change. Change the way of selfishness that brings pain and sorrow and replace it with the way of give that brings joy and peace. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Let’s turn over to 2 Peter 1:3—His divine power has given us everything we need for a Godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. God has given us all the tools necessary to ensure once called we will not fail. If we fail it is our fault, not God’s. All glory goes to God.

Let’s turn over to Philippians 3:13—Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ.

We understand we have a calling from God, but do we think about what we have because of a calling from God? It is easy to just say the words, but do we see the magnitude of this? I want to cover a few things that we have because we do have a calling, and we only know these things because God called us and opened our minds.

We know the God of this universe. We have access to God via the Holy of Holies. God has opened our minds to understand Him. Just think about that. There are so few of us that know God, really know God. That alone is something to celebrate at this Feast. When you pray, remember to thank God for your calling and all you know.

Now, here are a few other things that we have because of a calling:

We have God’s truths, 57 Truths. We could cover them, but for the sake of time today we cannot. But I would tell you to go back from time to time, review them, look at them, and thank God for them.

We understand the Government of God and the order of leadership, and it includes women. We understand that God is in charge, and He gives all to Christ who in turn gives it to His apostle to teach it to His Church. God has revealed that women can have leadership roles in His ministry and teach His people. Men and women both should be thankful of that.

We understand that God has given us a helper, His holy spirit, to guide us in all understanding.

We understand that some alive today will be one of the 144,000 or they will live into the Millennium, what we are here celebrating this week.

We understand that because of our calling, we can become at one with God, that once born into Elohim God will live in and through us as spirit beings.

We understand God’s Sabbath and the plan of God as outlined in the Holy Days. The Sabbath Day gives us opportunity to rest from this crazy world every seven days. We are able to not work and spend more time with God in prayer and study.

We understand what it means to be in a holy convocation. This is when we are blessed to be given a sermon every week to help us to see and remove the dross from our lives and transform more to what God wants, to work toward our ultimate goal of being born into Elohim. Some of us are even more blessed to be close enough with others of like mind and fellowship with each other. I cannot think of any place I would rather be on the Sabbath than with those of like mind.

Passover, while not a Holy Day, is very important to the plan of God. It is through the Passover we are able to move forward with access to God Almighty going directly to the Holy of Holies. Use that as much time as you can during the Feast.

The Days of Unleavened Bread. We are able to come out of sin. If we sin we can ask for forgiveness because of the Passover. We then are forgiven, and we have God’s holy spirit flowing through us again and we can move forward in truth, validating our calling.

Pentecost and understanding that Joshua and the 144,000 are returning on this day and in the near future determined by God’s perfect planning for what is best for us.

Feast of Trumpets. We understand the Trumpet has been sounded that announced the return of Joshua and the 144,000. We now patiently wait for that Pentecost.

Day of Atonement. My favorite Holy Day. Being at one with God for eternity, and knowing Satan has an end. We can celebrate that earnestly.

Feast of Tabernacles. It is why we are here today. Separating ourselves from the world and learning more about God and His calling for eight days. Knowing those living into the Millennium or born in the Millennium will have opportunity to learn about God without Satan for a thousand years.

The Last Great Day when all mankind will learn about God and choose life or choose death.

I want you to reflect back again in regards to May 27, 2012. If you are sitting here today it is because you were blessed to be called to live that, and I do mean blessed. I remember the conviction I had that day and I believed Christ was returning that day until I was told he was not. What I felt that day is why I'm here today, and so are you.

God wanted us to know what was inside of us, that we know His Son, our brother is returning. And brethren, those who were with us then and not now snubbed their noses at God’s calling. It is precious and we can never forget that.

In saying that, do we recognize our calling is precious and so few are given this opportunity? Our calling was stopped during Laodicea. We lost our vision; we lost our sight of our calling. During Laodicea, Proverbs 29:8 was fulfilled. The people lost their vision and they perished.

I want to quote a few things from Part 6 of Exercising God’s Love. This was a powerful series God gave us this past year. In that sermon, God’s apostle said:

“I was amazed by the end of Laodicea that a calling wasn’t even being taught anymore. The Church eras were not taught anymore. They weren’t even believed as a whole anymore. What happened? Well, that’s what happens when you start falling asleep and you start losing these things.”

Also…

“‘And do the first works.’ So, hopefully, we all see things that we did even in the beginning of our calling, each one of us, as God opened our minds and that excitement of something that was so profound compared to what you had always believed throughout your life and now to be able to see the truth, the Sabbath, the Holy Days, the Passover, and on and on it goes, to see things that you maybe tried to share with family or different ones.”

And…

“We learn you can’t give it to anyone. It is between us and God. God gave us the ability to see something that they just don’t have the ability to see. And so, what does that mean? It means that you better do with and make sure you use what you’ve been given the ability for. A lot required there, a lot of responsibility.”

And then lastly…

“God’s given us an incredible calling. By God! That should so humble us, so move our thinking toward the love God has to us, to give us such opportunity. The fact that we share this with one another, to share that in our minds we are together in this. We are family and we better straighten up how we think about each other. And if there are conflicts, man, don’t let it happen.”

We were told that several times during this series, that we have no right to hold anything against anyone in God’s Church. We were told several times this happens year after year at the Feast.

In preparing and taping this sermon, I am not sure when it will be played, but I challenge all that if this has already happened go and make it right, and don’t let it happen again. And if it hasn’t happened yet, don’t let it. As a whole, let each one of us go home from the Feast this year with no issues, nothing against anyone. Let us go home having lived the scripture John 13:34—A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, and that you also love one another.

I do not need to expound on this. We were given great instruction by God’s apostle this past year exactly what this means. But if we are doing this we are walking worthy of our calling.

I want to turn over to 2 Peter 1:10—Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. Brethren, this is up to us. We have to be the ones putting the effort in to make sure our calling is not in vain and fall by the wayside like so many others have.

Going on: For if you do these things you will never stumble. You will never fall flat on your face.

Verse 11—and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Joshua the Christ. We will inherit with Christ and be born into Elohim.

So, what are the things that if we do we will never stumble? Let's back up to verses 5-9—For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; to godliness, mutual affection; to mutual affection, love.

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Joshua the Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

I love verse 8, the qualities, “they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive.” We are to live these qualities. We are to grow in these qualities. We are not to be ineffective and unproductive. This is a very simple task to do if we just keep fighting our human nature.

I want to read Proverbs 29:18 again—Where there is no vision, the people perish. But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Let us go home from the Feast with more knowledge and truth and knowing we have a calling. We have a vision and are blessed because of it. Know we please our Father in heaven, the Great God Almighty when we walk worthy of our calling.

Let us go home more determined not to take our calling for granted.

Let us go home knowing we have pleased God and that He sees a Family that loves one another and not with our selfish human nature kind of love, but with His love, with agape.

Let us go home thanking our Great God and obeying His law and being happy.

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