We Are to Work

Beth Bucheit

March 23, 2024

I want to start off today by quoting from a sermon that was given in 2016. It’s from part of the

series called, Herbert W. Armstrong. In fact, I will be quoting a lot from this series today because it has so much to do with the subject that we’re going to be talking about. What I am about to

read right now is from Part 4 of that series.

“So you've been called to work on God's House. Now, that first starts in your own life, in self. But it's a work that goes on and continues on and has a lot to do with things that God reveals as far as truth and as far as whatever the Church is doing and wherever we're headed and guided at any particular point in time.”

So, I will interject here and say, “the present truth.” Going on:

“So to work as a part of a remnant, or to work with part of the remnant is what we've been called to; in that respect, to rebuild on the spiritual Temple. We need to understand that. And the bottom line is we are to work! We are to work! We should be productive in our lives! Not just in the spiritual things in our life and a desire to draw closer to God, but as a whole, if we're able, we are to work. We are to be productive. We are to work to that end and to fight against any obstacles that might be in the way of accomplishing that. So again, we are to work hard at that building process, of supporting God's Church.”

So, let’s ask the question, “What does it mean to work?” It means that you are to be engaged mentally and physically and involved in achieving something; to achieve a purpose and to see results. Work can be applied in so many areas of our life. Most of us go to a job and work to make money to support the family. We work on ourselves in many ways – diet, exercise, attitudes, parenting, cooking, hobbies, etc.

When we talk about work in the Church it can take on different meanings. There is God’s work and God working with us. There is a work that Christ is in charge of because His Father gave it to him to do. There are examples in the Bible of those that worked on themselves because they had a work to do.

Those of us living in the end-time are to work physically, and we are to work spiritually. Both types of work are to support a work and be part of a work. Sometimes in the Church, we might use the word “commission.” We are going to look at some of these examples today.

The title of today’s sermon is We Are To Work.

We are to be productive. We are not to be lazy and just let life pass us by and think we’re in the temple when we may not even be in the courtyard. God is about doing something.

I want to start off by looking at God’s work. God is perfect and His example is perfect. John 5:17 states, My Father has been working, and I have been working. Of course, this is Joshua speaking. Clearly, we are given an example here to follow. God works, and Joshua works. They both work today. God is working with us every day, molding and fashioning us for our place in the temple, and that is if—and a big “IF”—if we’re doing our part, our working.

Let’s start today by turning over to Genesis 2:1. We covered this in a past sermon I gave but I want to read it today with the perspective of God working. So, starting in Genesis 2:1—Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day, God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

God ended His work – His working being in that He created the earth and all that we know. So, keeping in mind what I just said about “to work is to achieve a purpose and to see results,” God just worked and created the earth and all that is on it, and the heavens and all that are in them. He created the earth where mankind was to live and to be molded and fashioned, so he someday would have the ability to be born into the God Family, Elohim.

Verse 3—Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. God not only worked for six days but then He gave us an example of resting or ceasing from work, and this was by creating the Sabbath. He made the seventh day special; He made it holy.

So, in following the example of God we are to work six days and then rest. That does not mean that you have to be on a job for six days, but we need to be productive and work toward results physically and spiritually. Then we have a day set aside so we can work even more so spiritually than the other six days so that we can see more spiritual results, results that we are to build upon each and every day of our lives.

In Part 5 of the Herbert W. Armstrong series, it was stated:

“And we don't turn our back on what God is doing if we want to share in a purpose and a work that He is involved in and doing at the end of an age. What else is there? What else would [you] want? What else would [you] want to do, except to share with Almighty God and what He is doing and what He is focusing upon?”

Part of that is what we just said. He created the earth and the heavens, and He placed mankind on it giving them the opportunity to become a part of His Family, Elohim.

I think we can answer the question, “What else is there?” Absolutely nothing. Nothing that matters. Answering the question, “What else would you want?” Absolutely nothing. Could there be anything that would come before wanting to be born into the Family of God? Not if your focus is sound and right.

Being given the chance to share with God and what He is doing is the real purpose of life. In fact, it is the only purpose in life. Whatever God is focused on and doing, if we are putting God first in our lives it will be what we want to be focused on and doing, being supportive of the present truth.

Going on in that same sermon:

“Incredible! Because God's bringing it to pass. God's bringing it all to pass! God's in control! Lucifer is not in control, but He allows him to do certain things (Satan). He's allowing him to do certain things one more time for a great purpose. You know what that purpose is? It's GOD'S purpose! It's not Satan's purpose, it's God's!”

If Satan does anything, anything at all, it is only because God Almighty lets him. We all know that this is for the molding and fashioning of the 144,000 which is part of God’s work. Satan has no real power; He only has what God lets him have. And remember, we have nothing to fear. “Greater is he that is in us than is he who is in the world.” You need to live your life every day with that confidence. It can be a life changer.

Part 3 of the Herbert W. Armstrong series:

“And that's the way we need to think toward God, toward Christ, and to realize the opportunity we have and what has been placed before us.”

I think sometimes we do not take this as we should. Because we are one in fourteen million, give or take a few, it’s hard to put our minds around this, and because this opportunity is spiritual in nature and we are so human, so stinking human, we have even a bigger time getting it.

But regardless, we have to make ourselves think about it and understand that this is the biggest pearl ever. It's like we’ve heard in previous sermons, going out into your yard and digging up a huge diamond. We need to pray and ask God to help us to see it clear and be zealous for it.

Going on in that Part 3 of the series:

“Not to worry, this is God's work. It's God's work. And if you realize you're a part of God's work and what God is doing in your life and what you're a part of, He's there to help, He's there to intervene.”

I love that! It is God’s work! He put it into motion. He is the one who planned it and then called us to be a part of it. He is the one who works with us individually and intricately to mold and fashion us every step of the way, helping us if we ask. He is there intervening and making sure what we need to know to remove some of the chunks, to help us to get the dross off the top.

Continuing in the same series:

“But we've got to cry out and seek it, seek to get away from the distractions, the concerns of physical human life, of the roof over our head, when God's concerned about the building of His Church first.”

Crying out is part of our work. We are to work on seeking it, what God wants of us, to obey Him, and follow His way of life. We have to work on getting a hold on our own personal distractions and concerns of the physical life. These personal distractions are our #1, our #2, our #3, and more if we have them. We have to cry out to God for help to overcome anything… and I mean anything that would take our minds off of God and His work. We have to put God’s Church first. We have to put God’s Family first.

Going on:

“The other will come. The other you'll be given. It's not owed to [us] right now. It's not owed to me. Which one's more important? Which one's the most important to focus upon? See? What are we willing to go through? What are we willing to do to keep going forward and to put God first?”

We already know that nothing is owed to us. We have a work to do on self and we have to do it so we can have the chance to be born into the Family of God.

We understand that God’s Church is the most important. The building of the Temple is the most important. Our lives apart from God are nothing. At the snap of a finger, we can stop to be. We exist only because God has a plan. We need to never forget that. If we turn away, we are done.

The question asked was, “What are we willing to go through?” “What are we willing to do to keep going forward and to put God first?” Our answer better be, “Everything!”

Reflect on your life. Is there something you’re putting before God? Are we allowing the distractions of this world to get us off focus? Are we working to keep God first, to stay focused? Our answers better be, “Yes!” Because if you do not answer these two questions with “Everything,” and “Yes,” you’re in big trouble.

I want to turn over now to John 14:10. I want to talk about Joshua. Joshua had a work to do while he was here on earth. Joshua very clearly from the beginning understood why he was born. He never questioned it; he did as the Father wanted.

John 14:10—Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does the works. Joshua knew that he and the Father were one because God’s spirit flowed through him without measure. Joshua saw things clearly and understood everything as though it had always been. He was the revelatory word of God.

I want to turn over a few pages now to John 18:37. Here Joshua gave an answer to a question from Pilate and revealed part of his work. John 18:37—Pilate therefore said to him, Are you a king then? And Joshua answered, You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause, I was born, and for this cause, I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.

Joshua was born to be a King. We understand that that means King of kings because the Father gave him that title. Being a king means leadership and having authority. Joshua was born to have complete authority over everything under God. He came to share the gospel, the good news of God’s coming Kingdom on this earth. This was part of his work.

Let’s turn over to Matthew 4:23—And Joshua went out about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Joshua preached the gospel of the Kingdom. He preached to all about the Kingdom of God. He preached about a future for all of mankind. Joshua was the first of the firstfruits. The firstfruits will govern under Christ in the Kingdom of God in rulership with Christ who has authority and final say, doing His Father’s will.

Let’s turn over now to Mark 1:14 and we’ll look at another scripture that talks about this. Mark 1:14—Now after John was put in prison Joshua came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. Joshua started to explain what was needed in order to be a part of the Kingdom of God. We are to repent of our sins and believe all that God tells us.

Joshua said, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand.” How was it fulfilled and why was the Kingdom of God at hand? Because something had to happen for this to be, and that was the birth of Joshua.

Turning over now to 1 Corinthians 5:7—Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. We are to get rid of sin in our lives and become new. We are to transform our thinking, our way of selfishness to God’s way, a way of love, agape. And it is only possible because Joshua the Christ gave his life for us and was sacrificed and hung on a pole and died for us that we could be forgiven of our sins.

This is the only way that we can receive God’s holy spirit. His work was one of putting us first, putting all of mankind first so that those who are willing, once called of God, can become a part of Elohim, to become Christ’s brother or sister. Christ completed that work, that part of his work, and we should be thankful for that every day. Because he completed his work we now have a work to do.

Joshua, the only Son of God, was born to fulfill his work as Passover for all mankind and to restore the Kingdom of God when he returns.

[Truth] 5 (2) The Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel of the Kingdom of God has been restored after 1,900 years. It is the “good news” of the government of God, which is to be restored at Christ’s return.

I would like to look at a few others who had a work to do. We are here today because they worked before us and they completed their work and worked until their deaths, completing what God had given them to do. Let’s start today by turning over to Ephesians 3, and we’re going to talk about the apostle, Paul.

I want to start off with the apostle, Paul. We all know that Paul had a work, and part of that was to take the gospel to the gentiles. God called Paul and gave this charge to him.

So, Ephesians 3:1—For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Joshua the Christ for you gentiles. Paul refers to himself as a prisoner. He was a prisoner in that he served God and Joshua in whatever service they would have him to do. He did not question it once it was revealed to him. He was their servant until the day he died. Thankfully, for the gentiles and for us today, he was not afraid to stand up for the truth even though that meant he was imprisoned and put to death. This is an attitude that we also should have.

Continuing in verse 2—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation he made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: and that the gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same Body, and partakers of the promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

What a beautiful message! By the grace of God Paul is telling the gentiles they too now can be heirs to the same Body, the Body of Christ, the Church of God, and could be partakers of the promise, the promise we have, Elohim.

Verse 8—To me, who am less than the least of all saints this grace was given, that I should preach among the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Paul saw being able to go to the gentiles and preach the truth to be a gift given by God. The truth is a gift and being able to share it with others makes it an even bigger gift.

I’d like to turn over now to 2 Timothy 1:8. In this section of scripture Paul is talking to Timothy. He has just reminded Timothy that he is to stir up the gift that he has received from God, God’s holy spirit. Timothy had a job, a work to do, and this would not be accomplished with fear but with the power, with love, with a sound mind; and you can only receive this by the power of God’s holy spirit.

So again, 2 Timothy 1:8—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, 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 Joshua the Christ before time began, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Joshua the Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the gentiles.

For this reason, I also suffer these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day.

Brethren, when you read that you can feel the energy Paul had. He again refers to himself as a prisoner. He dedicated his life to the work God gave him. He knew that it was only possible because Christ finished his work, and that so that all of mankind, including the gentiles, could partake in this blessing. He was a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher to the gentiles. Paul was so dedicated to his work that he was willing to suffer. Paul did not fear because he served God.

Let’s turn over now to the book of Revelation. I want to look at one more example in the Bible of another apostle that had a work to do, the apostle, John. One of the things that God gave to John was the writing of the book of Revelation while on the Isle of Patmos.

So, starting in Revelation 1:1—The revelation of Joshua the Christ, which God gave him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. What John is about to reveal in the book of Revelation he acknowledges came from Joshua, which God gave to him to show His servant John, things that must take place. We see here Joshua and God working and giving to John.

Going on: And he sent and signified it by his angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Joshua the Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and hears the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. God gave to Christ, who gave to an angel to take and give to John. And what did the angel bring to John? A lot. The book of Revelation is full of prophecies for the end-time, the time we live in now. And the only way that you can understand that is because God called you and gave you a work to do.

We know that the book of Revelation has so much, so here is just a few more things that God gave to John. We learn of the weaknesses and promises given to the seven Church eras of God. We learn of the Seven Seals. We learn of the Seven Trumpets. We learn of the Seven Thunders. We learn of the Two Witnesses. We learn of many end-time events. We learn more about the 144,000. We learn of the fall of Babylon. We learn that Satan will be bound and chained.

This is not even scratching the surface. And remember, God gave this to John, and he faithfully recorded it but did not know what it meant. Let’s read what John says at the very end of the book of Revelation, so let’s drop to Revelation 22:16.

Revelation 22:16—I, Joshua, have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the Churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star. And the spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

The only way that we are able to partake is if we are doing our part, our work. John was faithful to the work that God gave to him, and he wrote down every word that was inspired. I do want to interject that there are so many in the Bible that had a work to do, and I only shared a couple of things. I don’t have time today to go into all of it.

So, even Paul and John, they had even so much more to give than what I mentioned today. I would encourage everyone to take some time later and go back and look. My purpose is to show that there is a work that has been done and there is work to do.

I want to move forward now to modern times and look at one of God’s end-time apostles, Mr. Armstrong. Mr. Armstrong had a work. Mr. Armstrong had a commission, a specific work under Christ. We all know that was Matthew 24:14, and I want to remind us of that scripture so let’s turn over to it.

So, that’s Matthew 24:14. Let’s read Mr. Armstrong’s commission: And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.

[Truth] 40 (19) Matthew 24:14 was completely fulfilled through Herbert W. Armstrong alone. Many of the organizations in the Church that was scattered have rejected this truth, as many of them believe they themselves are to continue preaching the gospel into all the world. They do not acknowledge that Herbert W. Armstrong fulfilled this prophecy that is about the Church.

Some of us sitting here today and are listening today lived that. We experienced Mr. Armstrong taking the gospel of the Kingdom of God to all the world as a witness. We watched Mr. Armstrong sit down with dignitaries from all nations and talk to them about a way of God, this very simple explanation of a way of give and get, a simple explanation that explained the sickness of the world in which we lived then, and even more so today.

I want to now quote again from the Herbert W. Armstrong series, and this will be coming from Part 4. This is talking about Pasadena and Ambassador College and the dignitaries that visited.

“So many people don’t get it. They don’t understand why God did what He did and the way that He did it through Mr. Armstrong even in that area alone. It was important because of a work that was being done.”

It was an end-time work. Mr. Armstrong was building on the foundation God had already started. God drew Mr. Armstrong out of the era of Sardis where things were dying. Mr. Armstrong left that era with only three truths of God remaining, and then by the time of his death God had restored a total of 18 Truths to Mr. Armstrong and made His (God’s) foundation even stronger.

Continuing in that same part:

“It was important because of a work that was being done and because of what he would be doing then because of what responses they would have then to him, to someone different in how he spoke to others around them that they saw, to the college, to the students, to whatever it might be, to things that they would thumb through and read and look at and be impressed by. Even the quality of the thing itself, The Envoy itself, at that time period. Very impressive to a carnal, physical mind, of somebody who is a leader in the world.

And those things were tools. They were strong tools that God used to stir up individuals to have a desire to see Mr. Armstrong, to do things, to accomplish things that are mind-boggling, of the favor that was shown. To be the only one of his kind that’s even happened in that respect, to speak in the Great Hall of China before world leaders that were gathered there from all over the world. Awesome! It had never been done by anybody else like that. I don’t think it’s even happened to any president, but it happened to him.”

All of this is part of taking the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the world. Mr. Armstrong was unique. He took to the world leaders God’s simplicity in that there are two ways, the way of give, and the way of get. Mr. Armstrong taught world leaders that God is the way of give and the world is the way of get. He taught world leaders God without them even knowing what he was doing.

Mr. Armstrong worked harder than any of us could ever hope to work. He was working up to his death. He set an example that we should follow.

We are blessed to have another end-time apostle working today who also works tirelessly for God. As Paul referred to it, he was a prisoner, and John called himself a servant. Well, there is no argument Ron Weinland, who has a work to do, is the same. God has given Ron Weinland lots to do, lots of work, and we are so very blessed to be a part of that. We are God’s end-time Church, Church of God—PKG, Preparing for the Kingdom of God.

Again, I do not have time to cover all that God has given Ron Weinland to do, but one of the most important things God gave or inspired Ron Weinland to do was finish God’s truths. By God’s inspiration, we now have a total of 57 Truths, truths that reveal to us God Himself.

Something else that God gave to Ron Weinland to do, and that was the establishment of His end-time Church, God’s Church, Church of God—PKG that followed the Apostasy. I want to read a few things that is stated on the website under the “About”[1] tab. And remember, we are part of this work too.

“Ronald Weinland is the pastor and last apostle to God's Church, the Church of God – PKG. His commission has been to give the final warnings of this end-time to God’s own Church that is now a remnant of what remains after the Apostasy in December 1994 that occurred in the Worldwide Church of God. Although they have not listened, these warnings have also been directed to the world and the Church that was scattered into over 600 different organizations after that Apostasy.”

Then dropping to the last paragraph in that tab:

“We are at the doorstep for the beginning of mankind’s final war. Following that will be the time for God’s direct intervention to end that war. That war will finally end with Christ’s return, along with the firstfruits of God who will come with him. Rather than coming as a Lamb to be the Passover for mankind, this time Christ is coming as the Lion of God to take control of the reins to govern this world.”

We are a part of that, brethren. Some of us will help Christ take control of the reins to govern this world.

Now, let’s look at what work we are to be doing besides “Get behind this thing!” God is working with us.

Let’s turn over to 1 Corinthians 3:9—For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field; you are God’s building. We know the only way that we are fellow workers is we have God’s holy spirit. He works with us through His holy spirit. This is the only way that we may continue to grow. We know that we must repent quickly of our sins, so we are not cut off from the flow of God’s holy spirit. For on the day that we are cut off God is no longer working with us, we are then no longer a part of God’s work.

Quoting again from Part 4 of the Herbert W. Armstrong series:

“But we can only “see” what God gives us to see at a moment in time.”

The only way you “see” is because God called you and you repented of your sins and were baptized and received the holy spirit.

So, I’m going to start with that sentence again:

“But we can only “see” what God gives us to see at a moment in time. Just as with this book, there’ll be things in that book and the book before that, that in time God will let us “see” it, that we will be dumbfounded. “Oh! It was there all the time!” God gave it to us all the time, but we couldn’t “see” it. That’s the way it works. And that’s awesome! And that’s inspiring if we understand how God works in our lives. And we should know by now.”

God is working in our lives, and because of that we have a work to do, a spiritual work, a work on self. But we also have a work to support. We are to be productive. We quoted at the beginning of the sermon from Part 4 of the Herbert W. Armstrong series and I’m going to repeat just a small part of that again.

“We are to be productive. We are to work to that end, and to fight against any obstacles that might be in the way of accomplishing that. So again, we are to work hard at that building process of supporting God’s Church.”

Quoting a few things more now from Part 4:

[Haggai 1:14] “—The Eternal stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel…and the spirit of Joshua…the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did the work on the house of the Eternal of hosts, their God. Look at what God did. He stirred up the spirit. He moved them, motivated them.

Why are you here? How are you here? What's God done with you that's different from all the others out here? He stirred up His spirit in you. He gave you His holy spirit. He stirred something up in you that's different from others. That's how you're able to think differently. That's how you're able to see and believe differently than others who can't see and believe the same thing you do. It's incredible what God's given to us. It's awesome! Truly is! And so God does these things in a very powerful way with whomever He chooses and for whatever purpose.”

We are told to thank God continually. Well, I just gave you a reminder what you should be thanking God for – His holy spirit and that He stirred it up in you and you are different. You understand the truth. You understand that God is working with you, and you understand you have a work to do.

Continuing in Part 4:

“But we have to do things like we're doing it with all our might and doing it ourselves knowing full well that it's God Almighty working with us and in us and through us to accomplish the things that we accomplish. But we have to be a part of it, and we have to share in it.”

One part that we can share in is through tithes and offerings. Unfortunately, we hear too often that some steal from God or do not give offerings. We are commanded to tithe if we work, and we are commanded to give Holy Day offerings. Both are clearly in the scriptures. So, if you are not tithing or giving Holy Day offerings you are not part of God’s work and you’re not working on self. I think it’s pretty clear.

Now, quoting from Part 2:

“I'm sorry, brethren, but I'll tell you what, God is letting me see some things that we need stirred up in spirit and power, because what Mr. Armstrong gave in 1978 is for the Church of God right now! Very powerfully so! That we need to fight for this way of life, that you need to work hard for it, and that there is no coasting spiritually in your life.”

It was important for God to tell the Church in 1978 they needed stirred up in the spirit and the power of God. It was so important that God again in 2016 told the Church through the reading of that bible study, and then God inspiring it again today in 2024. We need to be stirred up. This is important to God!

Quoting from Part 4:

[Haggai 2:4] "Yet now be strong, oh Zerubbabel, says the Eternal; and be strong, oh Joshua...and be strong, all you people of the land, says the Eternal, and WORK," and WORK, "for I am with you." I hope those words ring in our being. That's what He's called us to do, "and work, for I am with you.”

Why? Because there's a work God was doing in a rebuilding of the temple and the things that were to take place, and of a preparation of things that were to take place in the future from that point forward that would lead on up to the time of His Son's first coming and the things that would take place in the temple, that had to be done because there was still an existing temple until a spiritual Temple came on the scene after Christ's death and the Church of God.”

And then quoting from Part 5:

“But again, there is a work to be done. And we understand that. We understand that we have a lot of work to do, but it's a lifelong process. It's not something that happens in a week, in a month, or a year or two years or five years. When you're called you have to work all your life to fight against your nature. It is what it is; that is what it is. It's a fight! It's a battle! Because our human nature fights against God. It resists God. And that's because our nature is selfish by nature.”

We fight the pride of life our whole life. We also seek out the easiest way to do anything. It’s in our nature because it’s the same nature as Satan. We want something for nothing just as he did. But we cannot give in to that. We must fight. We must work.

In that same series [Part 5], it says:

“We love self. And that's hard for people to grasp. That's a difficult one, sometimes, for people to grasp. But that isn't the way God's family is. God's family is not inward. It isn't selfish. God is not selfish. It's about giving. And so much so that God has shown us that it takes sacrifice to live His kind of love. And that's something we can't even do without the help of His holy spirit. We have to have His help to even do it, for it to be true in our minds.

So again, we have work to do from the moment we're called to the moment we're changed, resurrected, whatever the process is.”

I think what I love most about that statement is we have to have God’s help. And part of that is, again, God’s holy spirit that flows through us as long as we’re repenting of our sin. This statement shows a side of God that we know we have a work to do with His help, but we know we can never stop working because God never stops working. We will not just work while physical, but we will work even once we are made spirit. We have a vast universe waiting.

I went back to the posts, and I’m planning on reading from the series A Heightened Dedication that we started at the end of 2014 through the beginning of 2015 while God’s end-time apostle was falsely imprisoned. I had forgotten that in July of 2015, there was a post done after A Heightened Dedication called God’s Work[2]. Of course, I couldn’t just let that go so I went through it, and I wrote down a few things. And I want to go over that before I moved on to A Heightened Dedication.

God’s apostle stated:

“…it is always important to remember that this is God’s Work – we are God’s work.”

And emphasis was put on the word “we” as it was bolded. Remember we are God’s work, and He finishes all of His works. What that finished work is, is up to us, how we respond.

In speaking of the heart attack that Ron Weinland had just had he said:

“It was a small thing for God to do for me then and it is a small thing for Him to give me strength now. He did it before and He is now. He could have stopped what I went through, but that would not have produced the amazing results that are now taking place. Again, I will be able to share all this at a later time – at a time of God’s choosing. This IS God’s work.”

The word “is” – capitalized and bolded. We have complete faith in this thing, this work if it’s God's work and He is in charge.

This statement was made a couple of paragraphs later, again in reference to the heart attack:

“…I mentioned to a Church group by phone about how I could have died, or I could yet die and that would change nothing concerning God’s plan being fulfilled and this being God’s Church. This is God’s work!”

Again, God’s apostle was telling the Church this is God’s Church, that it’s God’s work and He is in charge.

A few more things that were mentioned in that post:

“…this is God’s work. We cannot limit God. Yet that is often what we tend to do.”

“That is why we must always be patient when something isn’t fulfilled in the exact manner we believe that it should be. This is God’s work, and if we are His people, then we should understand that He will reveal to us what we must know. It has always been that way, and we are His people.”

“God works in a very specific way within His Church. It is a matter of His spirit and that of His Son working in a manner that we have witnessed in a strong way for a long time now. God has revealed much truth and much new truth to His Church. If we believe this is God’s Church and this is God’s work, then we will strive to be at-one with what God has given.”

Now we’re going to move on to the post titled A Heightened Dedication[3]. As we go through this part of the sermon I want us to remember that this is God’s work, and He is working with us. We are to respond to that and work. For those with children, part of that is raising them with God in the forefront every step of the way.

In Part 1[4] written November 13, 2014, we read in the section titled The Removal of the Curse: The Beginning of an Enhanced Transformation:

“Within the Church over the past few years, God has begun to reveal the rightful place of women in the family, society, and in the Church. God is beginning to reverse this curse that has plagued the world for nearly 6,000 years. This requires a complete “change” in thinking regarding such matters. True “change” that is genuine and lasting is one that can only come about on a spiritual plane as a result of repentance and transformation of the mind itself. The Church is now simply scratching the surface, as it is only in the beginning stages of making this specific transformation regarding a right mindset toward women. There is more “work” that must be done in this area, much more!”

Brethren, in 2014 we had no idea what God was inspiring to be written would have such impact on us today in 2024. He knew that there was a lot of work to be done and He wanted it completed before His Son returned. But even saying that, did we ever think, ever imagine that it would include a woman being ordained in His Church to teach His people? I, being a woman, did not.

When you live your life as most women do, in subjection, you really do not think that you will ever be considered an equal or be given such opportunities as men. What a blessing for the family that God decided it was time to happen, that it was time for God’s Church to truly understand that differences can be equal.

We still have a lot of work to do on both sides. Both sides have prejudices we need to get rid of. And we will. And we’ll do that work because it’s God’s work and it’s what God wants. And if we’re sitting here that’s what we want too.

Part of raising a family, having a balanced, safe home, the only way that you can have that is for God to have revealed that women are equal. We have just started to scratch the surface and we don’t even know what that means because God has not revealed all to us yet. All we can do is take our front-row seat and wait for the blessing and understanding and move forward. Because remember, the Church is the example to the world and will become very important as we begin the Millennium.

From this God’s apostle then started talking about Genesis 2:15, so let’s turn over to Genesis 2:15. Genesis 2:15—And the Eternal God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress and keep it. God’s apostle said in Part 1 of Heightened Dedication:

“During this “Year of Dedication,” we are to seek a heightened dedication to accept and more fully exercise personal responsibility to “dress and keep” what God has placed before us.”

We remember that taking personal responsibility during that time was to fast once a month. God wanted us to take this seriously. Part of being God’s work and yielding to God working in us is exactly that, taking personal responsibility and working and using the tools that God gives us. And one of them is fasting.

He ended Part 1 with:

“Concerning the previous reference in this post, about how previously we had only slightly touched upon some of the meaning of Genesis 2:15, some simple, physical examples had been used to touch upon part of what was meant by God’s instruction to “dress and keep it.”

One reference was in the simple example of the upkeep and grooming of one’s own yard. How do we take care of what God has given us? How do we care for, enhance, and/or build upon what God gives to us, which is under our own personal control? What are those things that actually come under what should be seen as our own “personal responsibility” in life?”

We know how much God uses the physical to point to the spiritual. Early in Part 1 examples of leavening was compared to sin. We can understand being physical because we are physical. We can understand clearly taking a yard, “dressing and keeping” it. But as we move forward, remember the question was asked, “How do we take care of what God has given us?”

In Part 2 of A Heightened Dedication[5] God shows us where to start:

“God gave “personal responsibility” to mankind for what He had created, and for what He had given to them, and He placed it within their own personal control.”

So, we see God gave mankind, all of us—male and female—personal responsibility to take care of what He gave to us. We cannot blame anyone else for things that are under our own personal control. And your calling is under your own personal control, and you cannot blame anyone if you lose it. You cannot blame another circumstance if you lose it.

Going on in that Part 2:

“They were to “dress and keep” everything in God’s garden, with one exception. They were first instructed to have nothing to do with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They had been told to reject the “way of Satan” and to eat of the “way of God” only. This is the true purpose and meaning contained in the instruction about the two trees in the midst of this garden. A physical reality was given to teach a spiritual reality.”

God used physical to show spiritual with the two trees. Our personal responsibility is to choose the way of God, the way of give, and reject Satan, the way of take, the way of being selfish. So, we are to start and to dress and keep by rejecting Satan and his ways and choosing God’s ways. That’s not always easy, is it? We are reminded we have human nature. I just said you can’t blame anything else. You have the choice.

Let’s look at a couple of things in Part 2 about “keep it” and “dress it” under the heading, Keep It.

“There is another verse that carries great importance concerning true acceptance of personal responsibility and of God’s purpose for what we are to “keep.” In this case, the word is again translated as “observe.” It reveals the kind of responsibility and desire that all parents should have and then exercise toward their children, who belong to God, but who are in a parent’s direct care from the time of birth until they begin entering adulthood.”

It was then quoted from Deuteronomy 23:46:

“And he said unto them, set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which you shall command your children to observe to do all the records of this law” (Deut. 32:46). A child does not receive God’s ways through osmosis or at some sudden moment in time once they begin entering adulthood. For those in God’s Church to learn God’s way of life, children must be guided, led, given a right example to follow, corrected, and trained in God’s way of life. Then in time, it will become a matter of their own choice to live it or not.”

Part of a parent’s work is to help mold and fashion their children in the way of God. It is part of our work. God is our Father and He works with us. He molds and fashions us. He is faithful to us. If you have children, you are to work with them. What an incredible blessing to be given the opportunity to do this, to teach a child the ways of God in their daily lives. We are to protect what God has given us. He has given us children.

Continuing in Part 2:

“So when God gives instruction concerning His garden and what He has placed within it, it should be clear that this is about a lot more than just tending to some physical plants on a small plot of land. It certainly applies to physical matters, as will be covered later in this series, but its true context and instruction is far more about how we live life in the decisions and judgments we make, which are to be based fully on God’s ways and not on our own way or the way of others.”

And that is exactly what we should be teaching our children – God’s ways and not our own. We are to work on this. It’s not always easy, trust me. We’re not perfect in it. But it doesn’t mean we do not have to do it. Not if we love God and we want to work and we want to “dress and keep.”

I can remember when my girls were young, and I worked a full-time job. There were times I did not want to “dress and keep.” But I would pray, and God would give me the strength to do it. You have to find the time to make sure your children are taught.

I remember back when the girls were young, and we did what we called Y.E.S. Lessons. It would cover a specific subject and there was a memorization that went with it. It might be a scripture. And I remember at one time we were to teach them the books of the Bible. We would do this on our ride to school and work every morning. It would have been easy not to do, but it was my desire for my children to know God. And that was the tools that we had at the time, and we used it. There are tools on God’s Church website today. For example, the Children’s Bible Stories.

There are lots of things that we can use to teach our children. Our example is a great place to start.

I want to quote a few more things from A Heightened Dedication in regard to our responsibility to our children. Even if you do not have children or they are grown you can apply this. In Part 4 under the heading Children Focused on God:

“From the beginning, mankind has failed to grasp God’s command to “dress and keep” what He gave to them. The greatest and most miraculous experience that mankind can witness in all of God’s creation is that of the birth of a child. For a parent, that God-given area of personal responsibility is far greater than they can comprehend simply through their own ability. Only within the Church are many now beginning to grasp this in a far deeper way, but there is much more to be built upon in all this. Now is the time to strive to incorporate and improve upon the exercise of personal responsibility toward one’s own children, especially in this year of a heightened dedication to God.”

So, we are past the year of dedication, so I want to read the end of that again just a little bit differently bringing it to the current day. “Now is the time to strive to incorporate and improve upon the exercise of personal responsibility toward one’s own children, especially at this time just before the return of Joshua the Christ.”

Brethren, we are about to move into the Millennium. We are blessed with families with children that are going to be moving forward. We need to make sure we are “dressing and keeping” our children. In that same section, it says:

“Once a child leaves the womb, breathes air, and has life, that is the moment a potential future member of the God Family is born. Aside from themselves, there is no greater responsibility in life given to a parent to “dress and keep” than to raise a child in the ways of God.”

When I was going back over my notes while reading this, in 2015 I noted this next to that section, “I am sorry I failed you.” I wrote that because I did not seriously take my responsibility as a parent raising two children in God’s Church. I failed God and I failed my daughters.

I just was going to interject here because I just mentioned the Y.E.S. lessons and now I’m talking about this. During the Y.E.S. lessons, it would have been in the ’80s. We still had Mr. Armstrong. We were still getting sermons filled with so much. He was reminding us to stay on track. I was able to call upon God because I was being told to.

Then we move into the ‘90s and Mr. Armstrong is gone. My children are moving into their teenage years, and I am asleep, and I failed. So, just want to clarify that.

So, going on: Unfortunately, it was during a time where we sinned against God, and we were vomited out of His mouth and cut off. A parent raising a child without God’s spirit, who once had access to it, is a sad excuse of a parent. Thankfully, for my family, God had a purpose and we yielded to it, and we were given an opportunity to be a part of His end-time Church, preparing for the return of Joshua.

If you are a parent in God’s end-time Church you are without excuse if you’re not doing the best you can to raise your child to know their God, the Great God of this universe, the Living God. You have opportunity to “dress and keep” what God has given you. Do not take that for granted.

Continuing in the same section:

“Once called, it is indeed a parent’s responsibility to actively work to mold their child (or children) in God’s ways and for teaching them that God and His ways are to be first in their thinking. It has already been pointed out how to begin this process of working with a child at a very young age to help develop right godly qualities in their thinking. However, when it comes to teaching them the importance of putting God first in their life, a parent needs to recognize that the most powerful means they have to do so is within the environment of God’s Church.

Even if a parent were able to masterfully teach a child personal responsibility in “dressing and keeping” their environment, and they were able to have instilled in them such right patterns and qualities of thinking, that would all be for naught if a child is not taught and disciplined in keeping God first, especially within the environs of God’s Church. Indeed, the church environment is one of the most important areas where a child can be worked with to begin thinking in a manner that places God first.”

There is so much more in this post that I could cover. If you have children I encourage you to go back and read the entire six parts. If you don’t have children I encourage you to go back and read the entire six parts. I could have just given a sermon on that.

As we end today’s sermon I am going to quote again from the Herbert W. Armstrong series. I thought while preparing this sermon how incredible it is that today’s apostle, Ron Weinland, quoted and expounded on things the previous apostle, Herbert W. Armstrong said. And frankly, when using the quotes from the series I’m not sure who said what. Was it Mr. Armstrong or was it Ron Weinland who quoted it? But then I thought, it doesn’t matter, both are God’s apostles, both speak the truth, both are faithful to God Almighty, and both give us exactly what God wants us to have.

What was written so long ago is still so pertinent to God’s Church today, and God’s apostle, Ron Weinland, showed us how. God is always about growth. God is always about working. With God’s spirit, you cannot stagnate.

God showed that to us in 2016 when we received the sermon series Herbert W. Armstrong, and God is showing us today how we can learn even more from the original bible study given in 1978 and the series in 2016, and it is by building on both. I think that is just crazy awesome!

So, quoting from Part 7:

“Those who dabble in other ideas, those who are not totally convicted this is where it is, this is where the truth is, this is where there are 57 Truths that God has established in the Church.”

If you are sitting here right now, how on earth could you not be convicted? I mean, seriously, think about it. You know that this is where God is. That is why you are convicted.

Going on:

“Either we believe it, or we don't. And we still have some who don't believe it, some who are not convicted of it. I'll tell you what, God will work it out because we're headed toward a time of the return of Joshua the Christ, and we [will] be made ready.”

We are so close! As I was preparing this sermon I thought, “This may never be given in our lifetime.” And I said to myself I’m okay with that. I want Joshua to return now more than anything, just like those of you who believe like me. But I am here until that return or my death. I do not see how the world could continue to go on, but it’s not my plan, it’s God’s plan, and I belong to God so whatever it is, I am here.

Going on:

“Our name, ‘Preparing for the Kingdom of God.’ This is truer now for us in our lives than it ever has been. And it doesn't matter how small we are. [It] doesn't matter how small we are, that's what God's going to do. And that's why I made comment here we need to throw ourselves into what God is doing, like Mr. Armstrong said. The words that he spoke are for us. The words that he spoke weren't for him and his period. They were, in one respect, almost as it were, prophetic for us today.

And that's why we've been going through that bible study and discussing some of these things, because it's for us! It's where we are now, where the Church kind of felt it was at that time, where God's apostle thought that it might be at that moment in time. But now we're there. This is where we are. It means more to us now. And so that's why I have repeated what he said when he said, "Get behind this thing!"”

In 2016 when this was quoted to us in the series for the first time it stirred me. For those of us who were part of Worldwide, we knew what that meant. We knew what it meant then and we know what it means now. We are to be behind God’s end-time work. We were part of the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14, a scripture we all know by heart. And I’m going to read it again.

Matthew 24:14—And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.

Now some of us have the blessing of “getting behind this thing” a second time, and that thing is “preparing for the Kingdom of God,” to be the remnant God is working with just before the return of His Son, our elder brother, Joshua. We have been blessed to “get behind this thing” twice. That stirs me. It should stir you.

Continuing in the series:

“Because this is where we are! Either in it, we're convicted of it, we're behind it, and if we're not, don't let the door hit you on the way out.”

Every time I hear that in a sermon it shows just how deceived some can be. After all, why would you stay if you’re not convicted? It truly baffles me sometimes.

Continuing:

“And some may think I'm feeling a little sensitive about this and too hard on people. That's coming from God Almighty, that we're going to be at one in the Body more than ever before or we're going to be out. God doesn't tolerate those things, especially now more than ever before, brethren. And so if there, which I believe there are only a few, but those few, examine yourself, look more deeply in yourself and repent and get with it or get out of here. I don't apologize for that … because I have a job to do!”

We all have a job to do. We all have a work to do. God has given us the tools and He expects us to work, work diligently at changing, becoming a new man/woman, one with a broken and contrite heart, one that is “behind this thing.”

Quoting from Part 5:

“He [being God] says work, be a part of it [being the work] share in it, reap the blessings and the excitement of what He's doing. That's what He's letting us do, to share in the excitement.”

Remember when Mr. Armstrong said we need to “get behind this thing,” the thing is God’s work, all of God’s work.

On March 6, 2021, in the sermon, Our Journey of Perseverance, Part 1, God’s apostle said this:

“Before continuing on I thought it would be good just to go through some of the definitions [And the definitions are referring to that of perseverance.] and think about our spiritual lives then and that work and the effort we put into it. Because you have to work [at] this. It isn’t just given. It doesn’t just happen.

And yet sometimes if we’re not careful we can live, people live, many people have lived just going from one point to another and kind of floating through it all and not doing much, and after a time become so weak, and after a time God judging there is nothing in you, you don’t desire this, you don’t want this, you’re not willing to sacrifice and fight for it. He’s not going to just give it. It doesn’t work that way.”

So again, we are to work for it. We have to be a part of a work. We have to be the work.

In Part 2 of the same series it’s stated:

“If you look at your life and understand things you’ve gone through in your life, you need to understand that God is leading you, guiding you, molding and fashioning you because He does this work, Him and His Son, of working with His people. Because we all go through different things and God molds and fashions us all for a different purpose, a different place. That’s why we’re not to all be alike, like yellow pencils. We’re to be different. We’re to be unique, in that respect.”

So, part of the work is God molds and fashions us. We discussed that earlier in the sermon. We each have a place in the Temple, and not one place is the same. Every stone is unique, and that is why we are not alike. Thankfully, that is why we are not all alike.

Continuing. So, brethren, what does that mean? What does it mean being the work, to share in it, and reap the blessing and the excitement of what He, God, is doing? What is God Almighty doing? I’m going to answer that question by ending and reading Truth #6.

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.

God’s work is about His Family. Brethren, give it all you have! Work, work, and then do some more work, and let us become Elohim.

[1] https://www.cog-pkg.org/about/

[2] https://www.ronaldweinland.com/2015/07/17/gods-work/

[3] https://www.ronaldweinland.com/2014/11/13/heightened-dedication-pt-1/

[4] https://www.ronaldweinland.com/2014/11/13/heightened-dedication-pt-1/

[5] https://www.ronaldweinland.com/2014/11/26/heightened-dedication-pt-2/

1. Chapter 1