[Ken Martin]: Good afternoon, everyone. Pleasant greetings to you, and wonderful job with our special music. I really do appreciate it. Again, as was mentioned by our festival coordinator, Mr. Aust, it’s always an exciting and wonderful privilege to be together as God’s people. And here we are given an opportunity, what I call a chance of a lifetime to get in on the ground floor of the greatest compact that was designed by the two beings that inhabited eternity. One, the Father as we know Him now, and the other, the Son, Jesus Christ the Word who came to us to become our Savior.

You and I are living in some of the most exciting and wonderful times of human history, but they’re dangerous times as well. And we have a lot to look forward to as we celebrate this wonderful Feast of Tabernacles, and that is a reason why we’re here as we heard yesterday. And a very important period of time in our life because the sand in the hourglass is running thin, and all of us realize we’re moving through the cycle of life. And, every year, we’re just all a little bit older, but one year closer to the Kingdom of God.

But I wonder if you stopped to think. Before I get into the main topic, I just wanted to just, kind to, review a few basic things. You know, this is not our festival really. Our Feast is in the spring when we were called His firstfruits into the plan of God. It is our training time in which we live, and learn, and understand the things of God at this time in our life so that we’ll be prepared by the grace of God with His spirit. And granted this wonderful opportunity, as Jesus says, “I go to prepare a place for you.” Every one of us in this room are very special to God. The Son of God died for each and every one of us. Not one of us deserved the mercy that we receive. But we should humbly thank God for the privilege to be here to hear His words spoken because, as John 6:63 tells us that Jesus said, “The words I speak are spirit, and they are life.”

And you and I are alive only because we live in a miraculous creation, and you are part of that miraculous creation contrary to what people might say, “Well, it all just happened, poof, by accident.” Well, you and I don’t believe that. Everything tells us loud and clear that we are fearfully and wondrously made. And we are the apex and the focal point of God’s creation. He didn’t die for snakes, He didn’t die for bears and raccoons. He died for us as human beings made in His image. And He wants us to understand that, and never forget it. And to walk humbly. And as it says in the prophet Micah, “We are to live our lives doing justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.” We have not always done that in our lives, and that’s why we need the forgiveness of God each and every day. And so, we’re here again to remember that this marvelous festival of the season we call the fall season Holy Days is where we are destined to serve with Jesus Christ in a marvelous restoration of mankind’s world.

And that brings me now to what I want to talk about and share with you today. Whether on a battlefield, a military battlefield, or at the bedside of a sick loved one, no words in the English language are more devastating to be told, “I’m sorry, there is no hope.” To be told that, it’s like the world collapses. Your life just... what’s it all about? To have no hope, no answer, no solution to the problem one is facing is a devastating thing to have to deal with. I just received a request from an individual not associated with the church, but familiar with the church. This individual is having a terrifying time going through all kinds of problems and difficulties crying out for help. But I don’t know whether or not any help can be administered, because it is so much sowing to the wind and reaping the whirlwind that this person is experiencing.

It’s a terrible thing to think about. It brings me back to an interesting thing of the past. Years ago, an Italian poet, his name was Dante Alighieri. He wrote an epic poem as it’s referred to. It’s called the “Divine Comedy.” And in those various sections of that comedy, there was one called “The Inferno.” It was his representation of what it would be like to go to hell. You know, people tell other people, “Go to hell,” and they don’t even understand what that means. I was told years ago when I was first learning the truth... a gentleman came in and he was trying to save my soul. And so, he told me, he says, “You don’t want to go to hell.” And, of course, what he meant was the infernal regions, the fiery regions, the flaming regions. That was his concept. Another friend came in and told me, he says, “Leave Ken alone. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Hell is just the grave.” And he was right. I heard that, and I did some research in it and found out how interesting. There’s much to be learned when we study the precious Word of God.

Well, getting back to this particular divine comedy, there’s one section in it where there’s a sign pictured over the gate. And the gate that leads to this fictitious hell reads as follows, “Abandon all hope, you who enter herein.” Well, today we find ourselves living, as I mentioned earlier, in a very dangerous world. I think we hear this on the news constantly. It’s very discouraging. It’s not like what we saw just 15, 20 years ago. The whole world seems to be melting down and collapsing, which, to us, is a very important sign because we were told that we would see the birth pangs just prior to the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. So, today, we are seeing some very terrible, terrible, and painful things happening. When we see the terrible wars of humanity and how human beings have slaughtered each other on the battlefields from time immemorial. And then, we read, “At this future time, we’re going to help to teach people, neither shall they learn war anymore.” What a wonderful thing when war will be abolished. And we’ll have a part in that. So where do we go with this?

Well, the title of this message I wanted to share with you today is the following, “Where Do You Find ‘Real Hope’ In Our Chaotic World Today?” Where do you find that real hope? Everybody hopes for better things to come your way, but sometimes it just seems hopeless in the lives of many individuals. Is there a place that we can find real hope that will give us as the Scripture says? And the Scripture is the priceless book that God has preserved for your learning, my learning, so that we might walk with that peace of mind that passes all understanding in Christ Jesus. Because you can’t find it any other place. It’s in this book. These are Biblical times you and I are living in, and it’s all written in this book. And we’ll see some scriptures that will deal with it. Many of the scriptures that I’m going to go inside... I’m not going to go through all of them. I’ll just give them to you. You can jot them down if you choose to do so. We’ll cover others more specifically. But as we look around in this world and we can’t find hope. People have put their hope in this, they’ve put their hope in that, and then it falls and collapses. So where do you find real lasting hope? There is an answer to that question.

First of all, let’s begin in Acts 3 in the Word of God. Acts 3. After the events of the Messiah and the disciples, in Acts 3, we find things leading up to the day of Pentecost. In Acts 3, and beginning in verse 19, the message that was given, and what you and I have had to learn, and what the world has not yet learned, “If only they knew... If only they knew what you and I have been blessed to see and understand, and what the future holds for all mankind.” You see, that was the spring Feast. That’s our day of salvation now. This is why we can’t afford to waste time. We have to redeem the time for the days, they’re evil. But when trumpets become a reality, when the Fall Festivals of Atonement, and Satan is put away eventually as the scripture says, and all things begin to move forward into the millennium, and then onto the Eighth Day. The world will change dramatically, and it’ll be one of the most fantastic changes ever. But the world, their day of salvation will be when Christ returns and the fall Holy Days begin. And through the millennium, and right through the Eighth Day, the world will come to learn that they too must do what it says right here, “Repent you, therefore, and be converted.”

You and I have had to change the way we’ve lived. Some of us in this room have not yet changed the way we have lived, we’re playing two sides against the middle. We have to be 100% committed to the way of God. God is not going to allow anybody to slip through the cracks. He reads our minds, He knows our hearts, He knows where we are coming and going. When we rise, when we sit, He doesn’t miss a trick. So, “Repent, therefore, and be converted.” The world has got to learn this, “That your sins may be blotted out.” They don’t even realize what sin is because they’ve done away with God’s law. And, when you do away with God’s law, what are you to repent of? If it’s done away, then you haven’t done anything wrong. And the world is condemned, because the law of God says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

And so, for them to have their sins blotted out like you and I have had to have our sins blotted out. It says, “When the time of refreshing will come.” And during that time of refreshing, from the presence of the Lord, He will send who? Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He will return. It was stated when the disciples looked and saw Jesus going up into a cloud and probably couldn’t believe their eyes, “Where is He going?” And the angel said, “This same Jesus that you saw is coming again.” And we read that in the Book of Revelation. So, all these things are written in the Scriptures and when we don’t read the Scriptures, we don’t know what we don’t know. The more we study, the more we read, the more we listen. Take heed how you hear when God speaks through His Word, the greater you begin to understand the great plan of God. “He’ll send Jesus Christ, which was preached unto you whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things when God has spoken through the mouth of all His prophets since the world began.” So, a time of great change is coming.

Titus... or, excuse me, 1 Timothy. Join me in 1 Timothy 1. And, here we see in 1 Timothy 1:1, we’re told by the apostle Paul right up front where that real hope exists and lies, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope.” And there you have it. Jesus Christ, the true Son of God. The Bible affirms loud and clear that He is our hope. If He does not exist, if He never came out of that grave and is at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Savior, then you and I don’t have any hope of a future. If you don’t want to believe that, what is the alternative? Well, we’ve already heard that. It’s been mentioned in prior message. Destruction. Destruction. Who in their right mind wants to face destruction? You want to live forever because God has placed eternity in your heart and my heart. The thing of it is, how do you get from here to there? Only through the help of Jesus Christ the Son of God. And we’re going to talk about this hope more specifically.

He is our hope. “Hope defined is a desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment,” That’s from “Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary.” And according to the scripture, hope is an integral part of one’s faith. In Hebrews 11:1, “That without faith, it’s impossible to please God.” If you don’t believe He exists, then you have what you have. It’s important, what you believe. It’s important, what I believe. It’s important, what all of us believe. And that we believe God because He is the only hope anyone really has. The Moffatt translation puts it this way in Hebrews 11:1, “Now, faith means that we are confident.” Notice, we’re not wishy-washy, we’re confident. “The Lord shall be our confidence and keep our foot from being taken.” You find that in the book of Proverbs 3. And, it goes on to say, “We are confident of what we hope for, and convinced of what we do not see.” We don’t see this yet in fulfillment. But once it becomes reality, we don’t hope for it anymore because now it’s reality. And that’s what we want to be a part of, the reality of the Kingdom of God when it comes to full-blown expectation, as outlined in the scripture.

Hope is linked with faith because faith is the ground upon which hope is the object of our faith. 1 Corinthians 13, if you’ll join me there. 1 Corinthians 13. And please notice verse 13. The apostle Paul has given us this marvelous love chapter explaining how love has made manifest, how we are to treat each other, and to love one another. First, God, and then our fellow human beings. But he says in verse 13, “And now abides faith,” that’s so critical, “and hope, and love, these three. But the greatest of these is love.” The love of God shed abroad in our hearts teaching us how to properly react to one another.

What a sad world we live in when we see all the false, misleading representations. In fact, this is the month of October, so we’re going to get blitzed right now by somebody who is desperately wanting to destroy everyone in this room, every one of us. Don’t think you’re not in the crosshairs of the enemy. He knows who you are, he knows that God has called you. He knows that God wants you in the Kingdom of God. But he does not want you in the Kingdom of God. He wants you to believe in him, and to fall down and worship him. That’s what he challenged our Lord and Savior in Matthew 4. Do you remember that? He said, “If you’re hungry, turn the stones into bread. You’re hungry.” What did Jesus do? Well, He demonstrated exactly what we should all be doing. He pushed back at the devil’s charge. He pushed back and He said, “Man shall not eat by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Then the challenge, the next.

And then, the final one was what, “I’ll give you everything You want, all of desires of Your heart if You will fall down and worship me.” Fall down means to violate that second commandment and to bow your knees to a false God. And the world has been doing it so successfully. That’s why Revelation 12:9, “Satan has deceived the whole world.” People do. If only they knew what they were doing when they bow down to the elements that are of this world. See, that’s why you and I have been called out of this world. See, that’s why we had to leave and come down here. And all the other brethren, wherever they are around the world. And my heart goes out to all our brethren in the southern hemisphere because, you know, they really had to demonstrate faith. Because the seasons are just reversed down there. I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it that way. We understand the fall season here, but down there it’s spring. And yet, they to believe the word of God that says, “This is the Fall season,” and its springtime. How can that be? Answer. God’s Spirit has convicted their heart. And they realize from the Word of God, the plan of God is the plan of salvation.

Well, these are things, brethren, that we sometimes forget. But hope is linked with faith. And the reason why is, when Jesus comes back, He says, “Will He find faith on the earth?” Will people really believe and trust in God? And will they have hope that Jesus Christ will solve the problems of this world? God’s message to this world is in real-hope fashion, that He is going to bring peace to this chaotic world. And I want to cover, just very quickly, some of the wonderful blessings that God’s word gives to each and every one of us. And, ultimately, the world will come to see this in the process of time. See that’s our hope. That’s the joy. Many of us have loved ones, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters. People who have not been called to the knowledge of the truth and we’re concerned about them. Where are they going to go? They’re going to be saved by the grace of God if they follow the plan of God as outlined for them. Just like you and I will be saved if we follow the course and endure to the end. Otherwise, show me where else to go.

Peter said it all when he looked at Jesus and he says, “Lord, where can we go? You only have the words of eternal life.” There is no other answer. You can’t find it. All you can do is live for the moment, die, and be gone. That doesn’t make any sense. Not to God, it doesn’t. That’s why, “He gave His only begotten Son,” as we heard John 3:16. “That whosoever believes in Him,” that He was alive, He was real, He died for us, He came out of that grave by the grace of God. He was raised to the heavens above, and you and I have a hope that is real and tangible and nobody can take that away from you unless you surrender it. And, that, you don’t want to do.

Now, the God of this world. I was talking with one of our church members, and he mentioned this. He was the one that brought this to my mind and I said, “I’m going to talk about this at the Feast.” Because he says, “You know,” he says, “Pastor,” he says, “what Satan really wants to do, he wants to destroy our hope because he doesn’t want to see the Kingdom of God come to this earth.” He wants to reign on this earth. This is how he tried to bait Jesus. And Jesus said, “Forget it. You should worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” These are critical comments that the scripture addresses. And now an area of real hope that we will be teaching, God willing prepared, and teaching in the world to come.

Join me in a very important scripture. And mark it in your Bibles if you would, please, because it is something you can’t repeat to yourself enough. It answers so much. Romans 15:4. It says, “Whatsoever things were written.” What things? All the things that are written and contained in the Hebrew Scriptures that you and I read. The stories of people just like ourselves. Stories of kings, stories of just common people. But people who have done what? Lived life and experienced all kinds of ups and downs like we do. Different time, but yet human nature is still the same. “These things were written afore time. And they were written for what? For our learning.” Life is a learning process. Every one of us must learn. We learn how to be husbands, we learn how to be wives. We learn how to be parents, we learn how to learn on our jobs. You want to be a mechanic? You’ve got to learn. You want to be a pilot? You’ve got to learn. You’ve got to be trained. You and I are being trained in that preparation state before these days become a reality. We’re here to celebrate these days because it will be so wonderful to work in harmony with people to see their lives change just like ours were changed. And they will be happy to be with one another instead of trying to kill one another like they do in this world.

We see the terrible things that are reported on the news every night, and we see people going berserk. Why is that? They’re trying to put something in a test tube and trying to figure it out. They can’t figure it out. This stuff is spirit-driven by the god of this world, and he is out to destroy mankind. Scripture makes that [plain]. You know, right up front it says, “If God didn’t intervene.” Because of these madmen wanting to rush with weapons of mass destruction. What are they going to do? They’re going to destroy this world. If they can’t have their way, you’re not going to have it either, “I’ll blow it all up.” And God says, “No, uh-uh. This is My world. I’m going to spare those people. And if I didn’t, no flesh would be saved alive.”

Well, brethren, it’s important. Here are some things that God’s wonderful calling has brought to our attention. This is what the world is yet to learn. Do you know it? How good is the hope that lies within you? We’re told to be able to give an answer for the hope that lies within us. Can you do it? When somebody comes up to you, can you answer their questions? They’re not necessarily going to believe it. But you believe it, and you know what it is, and you know what is real. Or are you just going to, “Well, well, I’m not sure. I’m not sure just what it is that I believe anymore.” People today are confused. God is not the author of confusion, He is the author of truth. And the light that we’ve already heard discussed. And you are all children of light. You are walking in the light. And aren’t we glad that this great God has had mercy on you? He said, “I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy.” Many are called, but few are chosen. So far, you’re still in the race. How many of us have seen others that have started, but not with us anymore because they’ve chosen to go a different route? Following the ways of men, rather than the ways of God. Well, the Scripture gives us many different things to look forward to.

Now, here, I’m going to give you a very rapid... because, for sake of time, I want to keep moving. Here are some of the things that real hope generates for all of us. We have a hope that is called eternal life. That’s wonderful. To be able to live forever. You know, sometimes, as we get older in life, people get very, very saddened because they say, “Well, it looks like it’s all she wrote.” But I remember a gentleman once in one of our spokesman clubs got up and he gave a speech I’ll never forget. He says, “Don’t you ever say to yourself, as you get older in life, that it’s just about all over,” he says, “because you’ve got eternity in front of you.” And that is so true. You’ve got all eternity in front of you according to the Word of God. This is just a short little reprieve, a testing area to see, do you want to be part of that dynamic team? Do you want to live forever, or would you rather just go for the present?

You know, Satan is getting ready. He’s going to blitz us after these Holy Days. You’re going to see it on TV, you’re going to see it in the movies. They’re going to be, “Ugh.” And everything to try to scare the daylights out of you. God is not a God who is trying to scare the daylights out. He is a God to be feared and revered. Feared and revered. That is critical. If you don’t have the fear of God... Remember Jesus even said it. He says, “Don’t fear men.” He says, “But you better fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna.” He can cancel a person out, but He doesn’t want to. He wants all to be saved. But He knows not everyone is going to be, and it’s going to be a sadness for those who will not make it into the Kingdom of God. They will have lost out on the greatest opportunity ever.

So, we have eternal life set before us in the promise of God. That’s found Titus 1:2. I won’t turn there, like I said, but I’ll give you the scriptures so you’ll have that reference point, “In hope of eternal life, God who cannot lie.” See human beings lie. They distort the truth. Even when they tell the truth, they tell half-truths, you know? Little white lies. God says, “It’s all black, it’s never white.” So, it’s very important to realize, the Word of God tells us we have the hope of salvation, to be saved from our terrible state of affairs in this world. And that’s found in 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9. And, we find that this calling that we’ve been given is preserved in heaven. Colossians 1:5, that God has guaranteed that it’s there. Our passport is right there waiting to be applied to each and every one of us. We have the hope of the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6). We have the hope of the gospel (Colossians 1:23).

That is the fulfillment of everything that God... you know, God... that’s one thing you read in the Old Testament. Everything God promised ancient Israel on a physical level, not one promise did He ever fail. He came through on everything. It was Israel, stubborn hardheaded ancestors of ours, which means we can be pretty stubborn and hardheaded too if we’re not careful. And we need to repent of that because it’s all written for our learning as the end-time descendants of the house of Israel. And when you know who you are and where you came from, it really makes a big difference. And we have the hope of our calling. Notice Ephesians 1:18. It says, “The eyes of your understanding be enlightened.” You see, you cannot see what God does not allow you to see. You have to ask God to take away the blindness from your eyes that when you read the scriptures, you’ll be able to see what He really wants you to see. “And that you may know,” notice, “the hope of your calling.” This tremendous hope that is outlined for you, “And the riches of the glory and of His inheritance in the saints.” My fellow saints, that’s our wonderful gift from God. A desire that He wants to place us in His Kingdom, and He wants to give us this hope of our calling.

And so, there are many other things here. I look down again, and I found other scriptures. I’ll just say this for sake of time. The hope of our calling is good. It is spoken of as being blessed. It is spoken of as being a living calling, a glorious calling, and an anchor to our soul. Let’s go to Hebrew 6:19, verse 18 says, “By two immutable things of which it is impossible for God to lie.” So, when we hear what God says, are we going to call Him a liar, or are we going to humble ourselves and say, “Yeah, Lord, you are correct, forgive me, for I am a sinful creature?” And that’s what we all are. But we have this, “It’s impossible for God to lie that we might have a strong consolation.” Be very encouraged by this, “Who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” A hope that is set before us. “Which hope,” notice verse 19, “we have as an anchor of the soul.” You know what an anchor is, don’t you? If you’re on a ship, and the water starts doing this. If you don’t drop the anchor, you start shifting all over the place. It’s designed to hold you solid. It’s designed to hold you where you need to be. The Word of God keeps us solid and keeps us from being tossed to and from in all these different directions. It keeps us mindful of what our calling is.

And why do we have this hope? As I mentioned, because God cannot lie, and because He has done something. Notice in 2 Peter 1, and notice in verse 2, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. According as His divine power, hath He given to us all things that pertain unto life and to godliness through the knowledge of Him that has called us.” Called us to what? What have we been called to? Notice, “To glory, to share in the glory of God Almighty, and virtue. Perfecting godliness in each and every one of us, and holiness because our God is holy.” And notice verse 4. This was something I had never been told years ago when I was growing up. I had heard other ministers talk and say things, but I had never heard anybody tell this, “Where are given unto us exceedingly great and precious promises that by these.” These what? “These promises, you might be partakers of the divine nature.” Well, you and I have human nature. And it’s got to go because it won’t survive in the kingdom of God. Human nature is not trustworthy. Only the nature of God is trustworthy. And God is perfecting His nature in us through Jesus Christ living His life in us. And it says, “Having escaped the corruption that is in this world through lust.” And that means inordinate desires. Chasing after things we shouldn’t be chasing after. And, boy, we’ve got a lot of that out there. A lot of those distractions as we heard.

So, when the kingdom of God becomes a reality, and this Festival becomes here and now, we’re here celebrating this joyous occasion to watch mothers keeping their children at home safe. Never having to, at 18, sign up for the draft to be ready to go to war. And remember, you’ve to learn. Remember we’re here for our learning, “Neither shall they learn war anymore.” Mankind has learned how to do terrible things to his fellow human beings. We’re going to teach mankind, by the grace of God, how to love our fellow human beings. And I don’t see anyone in this room that does not want to be loved. You want to be loved, I want to be loved. You don’t want anybody to hate you, you don’t want anybody to harm you. You want to be able to live your life just exactly as God intended. Joyfully, happy, rejoicing. And that’s why we’re here to learn those things to rejoice now. God, speed Your Kingdom. That’s what our heart and our desire is.

So, who is eligible for this? See, the world does not yet know this, and so they’re going to have to learn. Well, is this going to help me anyway? Yeah. We have to teach them that this is a living hope, and you’re eligible for it. But what do you have to do? You’re going to have to repent like the rest of us. You’re going to have to change your ways like the rest of us. And what we have been blessed to receive, you can have it as well. For God is no respecter of persons, and He loves each and every one of you made in His image. That is a wonderful thing. You know, when people today look in a mirror, and they hate themselves and they have low self-esteem, it’s terrible to watch human beings with precious gift of life disintegrate before your very eyes because they have no hope, no real hope. They don’t understand that this great God who placed us in His Goldilocks Zone, they call it, our scientists. And, boy, it is a Goldilocks Zone all right. We’re just in the right place, and the right... everything is just right.

You know, it started out in a garden called the Garden of Eden. And when you read the stories from the Garden of Eden all through the Bible and you finally come to the Book of Revelation, and guess what? There we are again in God’s garden. God loves gardens. He is a gardener. We forget that. And it talks about wonderful trees, and the paradise of God, and the fruits that people are going to be able to partake of in the Kingdom of God. And you’ll notice something. At that time, there are no cherubim with flaming swords to stop you from having access to the tree of life. Back there in the Garden of Eden, anybody who tried to touch that tree of life, termination. Because the Son of God had not yet died. Somebody had to die to make eternal life available.

So, you and I have a wonderful Elder Brother who gave up His life. And they’re going to have to learn that Christ will have to be in them. They’re going to have to learn how to be like Jesus Christ. When one is baptized into Christ, they put on Christ as it says in Galatians 3:27. Just like we dress up, so we dress up spiritually in Jesus Christ in character. Those who have been begotten by God’s spirit, 1 Peter 1:3, they’re going to go through the same process of conversion that all of us are having to go through. And it’s a struggle, brethren, we just don’t change overnight. Many of us have a lot of handicaps, and a lot of problems, and issues, and difficulties.

But you know, the thing that really makes the difference. When you pray and when you ask God to intervene, to help those when we have prayer requests. Don’t forget to add one very special thing in your prayers, “Lord God, please remember the needs of Your people that You may be glorified in the eyes of Your people.” God does it that He may be glorified, not us. We’re not the key individual players here, God is. And the more we ask God to intervene that He may be glorified, that we may reverence Him. I think you’re going to find we’re going to see a big turnaround in a lot of areas. God is just waiting for us to ask, to seek, and we will find what it is that we’re seeking.

Those who have been begotten, and are converted throughout the millennium, and then on into the Eighth Day. It’s going to be a marvelous and wonderful time. We’re told in Titus 3:7 that they’re going to have to be justified. But they’re going to have to learn about Jesus and that great sacrifice that He gave on behalf of all mankind. If only they knew what you and I are blessed at this time. We’re here, they’re out there. Why aren’t they in here with us? Because they have not yet been called to this. You and I have been called to it. You and I have been given this understanding. “To whom much is given, much is required,” how are we doing?

A friend of mine mentioned this, and I thought it was a good comparison. He said, “If you want to see how you’re progressing spiritually, it’s like the stock market.” You know, they show you a graph of how the stocks rise up and they go down. Well, that’s how our life is. Our life goes up a little, it comes down. It goes up and down. And I thought his point was well taken. What God wants to see is that our life, that the ups are more than the downs. He wants to work mightily in us to accomplish His will. The blood of Christ is the key that makes the difference. Those who have real hope, that’s you and I at this time.

I’d like to wrap this up by giving you some very important things where we’re going to focus on here. Those who have the real hope that the Bible talks about must do the following. Let’s test ourselves and see how we’re doing. It’s part of the conversion process. Number one, 1 John 3, beginning in verse 1, they are going to discover... the world will discover what you and I have now been blessed to discover, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons,” as well as daughters. We haven’t forgotten you ladies either. God has got wonderful plans for His sons and daughters. “Therefore, the world knows us not.”

Isn’t it interesting that Colossians 3, if you read down in that first chapter, it tells us that our lives, what you and I are involved in right now, it says our lives are hid, H-I-D. They’re “hid in Christ.” It means the world doesn’t know what we’re doing here. You go to something called a Feast of Tabernacles? And your friends ask, they say, “I didn’t know you were a Jew.” Well, we are spiritual Jews, but we’re not literal Jews. But they find it strange. And you go and, “For a whole week? Wow, that’s great. Sounds interesting.” But they don’t understand what it’s all about because our lives are hid.

But when these fall festivals that we’re celebrating now become reality, guess what? When Jesus Christ comes back with all power and glory in heaven and all the holy angels, and we hope and pray to God that we’re going to be there, part of the saints, guess what? They’re going to know there’s a God, and our lives will no longer be hid in Christ. Our jobs will now be to take up our responsibilities where God has been working in each of our lives. And He is going to put some of us in this position, some in that position. He says, “I go to prepare a place for you.” And guess what? We’ll have the opportunity to share a love and joy with them, to teach them the way of God. And as we teach them the way of God, what will be given? “A peace of mind that passes all understanding,” where they’re not looking over their shoulder wondering, who is going to attack, who is going to get hurt? “They shall not hurt or harm in all My holy mountain.” What wonderful things God has, and we’re here to celebrate that because that is more real than this world that we live in, which is really in the process of melting down and dying before our very eyes.

But the world doesn’t see that yet. They still think they can work it out. But the way of peace, they don’t know. And so, it goes on, “What manner of love God has shown us. Therefore, the world knows us not because it didn’t know Jesus,” didn’t understand the mission for which He came. His own people didn’t even understand it. So, God has called out those to become part of His church. And spiritually, what does it go on to say? “Beloved, now we know that we are the sons of God. And it does not yet appear what we shall be,” but we know. How do we know? Because our faith and trust is in a God who cannot lie. If He lies to us, then there’s no hope for anybody. So, He has given us an immutable oath saying, “This is it, and I will never lie to you.”

Isn’t it nice to know that you have a God that you can talk to, and love, and share life with as a man and a woman made in the image of this great God, and to know that He loves you? And He does what? He says, “We know that when He appears, that we shall be like Him.” We’ll see Him as He is. Now, here in verse 3, “And every man, every woman that has this hope,” what are we supposed to be doing? Purifying ourselves. Getting rid of all the garbage and the stuff that has been... issues in our lives that’ll pull us. Look at the people who are tied up in drugs, alcohol, and all the other wretched stuff they get involved in called the depths of Satan. Why do they do that? Do you understand why they do that? They’re hurting. They have no hope. They’re trying to burn that stuff out. I don’t want to think about it. So, give me another shot so I can just be drunk and forget about everything. Take another shot of drugs. That’s why they do these crazy things. They’re hurting mentally, emotionally, physically. And many of us know that very, very well because we have loved ones that are affected by these very things.

So, it goes on, “Every man that has this hope, every woman purifies himself even as He is pure.” So, we are busy purifying ourselves each and every day. We’ve already heard in the sermon given yesterday by Mr. Len Martin. And, he said, “We’re here to rejoice. Rejoice in God’s hope.” Romans 12:12, “We’re to remain steadfast.” Hebrews 6. Hebrews 6:18-19. That’s that anchor to your soul being tied tight. And Galatians 5:5 says, “We must wait and be patient.” Now, that’s the hard part because you and I are impatient. God is a God of patience. He doesn’t do things fast and quick because He knows that’s how things... People get in trouble when they do things fast and quick. When the world begins to explode around us, the admonition of God according to the Scripture and the gospels is to, “In your patience, possess you your soul.” The more we strive to be patient with one another instead of impatient.

And I don’t know if this world is helping us at all. You know, we have the internet. And we’ve been on 4G, and now we’re getting ready to go to 5G. You ever notice when you sit in front of an internet and that thing doesn’t move and give you what you want fast and quick, you get upset with it? It teaches us impatience. You get upset, “Why is this thing taking so long?” Remember the old DSL days? The early days of dial-up, “Is this thing ever going to come? This download, what’s taking it so long? So, mankind wants it faster, and faster, and faster.

God is not that way. God is slow and steady, but He’s determined to bring it to its final course. You and I, in 1 Peter 3:15, we are told, “Be ready always to give an answer.” This is the answer we are supposed to be able to give. What’s in this book. Not what men teach us about God called the traditions of men. And we have to be able to discern the difference. And it takes a lifetime of learning, you don’t learn this overnight. You have to ask God each and every day to help you to walk this way. We stumble all over ourselves. I think the wonderful admonition that King Solomon gave when he was first placed in a responsible position as king. And God came to him, and He says, “Solomon, ask what you would have that I might give it to you.” And he paused, and then he said, “Grant me a wise and understanding heart.” And that’s what all of us need, a wise and understanding heart. To be able to put ourselves like the old saying, “Walk in the other person’s moccasins.” Get a feel and a pulse for where they’re coming from. Don’t be so interested in yourself. Be concerned about others, and God will take care of the self. He’ll help you to remove the self as you get more of Jesus Christ in your mind and in your heart because you’ll be able to give an answer for the hope that lies within you.

God offers this dangerous and chaotic world a real hope. If only they knew. Well, dear brethren, you are the ground forces, the elite of God. The ones that God is working with right now. And if you keep your shoulder to the plow, and you remember, don’t look back, because you’re not worthy for the Kingdom if you look back. Keep going forward. We have a day of destiny. We are told that we must be faithful in Christ Jesus and keep the commandments. Luke 6:46 where Jesus said, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things I say?” We’ve already heard the term. We don’t want to be guilty of lip service. Because, again, I’ll tell you, dear brethren. We can sit, and we can go through form and ceremony. We can get up there and say how great we are, and all this. This is wonderful to be God’s people and all this stuff. Be careful. Be careful. Remember our calling is to love mercy, do to justly, and to walk humbly with God.

One day, we will have the opportunity to embrace the Son of God and put our arms around Him as He puts His arms around us. He is living in us now through the power of His Holy Spirit. I think of this a lot, what will be our destiny in the years ahead? People play church today because that’s all they know. And that’s how they’ve been led astray. They have a form in ceremony of Godliness, but they deny the power of God. They don’t fear God, they don’t keep His commandments. And until they learn that lesson, they will never have real peace, and they’ll never have real hope. Because, as we saw it in the beginning, Jesus Christ is our hope. And when He returns, all these marvelous promises and things like that will begin to explode like fireworks on the 4th of July. It will be the most awesome time of human history. Mankind will think they’re being invaded by aliens from outer space because that’s what they’re telling us. If you watch the TV series called “Ancient Aliens,” they’re preparing everyone. The aliens are going to return. And they’re going to turn and fight against the Son of God when He returns, but God will gain the ultimate victory.

And so, it will be with us. What will be our destiny? Deuteronomy 30:19, in essence says, “The choice is yours, each and every one of us, and it will finally be as You will.” So, is this the hope, the real hope that lies within you, within me, within all of us? God grant that it be so.