Meeting Transcripts

‍Opening Remarks

Introduction

Before I read my prepared remarks, I want to greet all of you and thank you for attending. Good afternoon to the West Coast audience and good evening to those elsewhere in North America. Also, greetings to the many who, as I have learned, are joining us from across the seas in the middle of the night. I should have anticipated this and perhaps chose a different time, but we appreciate you joining us. This is indeed a global meeting, and we are thankful for each one who has tuned in.

This is not the same as our usual camp meeting gathering. If it was, we would be serving breakfast or a continental breakfast before or afterward, but God has chosen that we operate distanced for a season, so we yield to that.

Agenda

The purpose of this meeting is to enjoy a measure of fellowship, and perhaps provide a springboard for future similar meetings, whether they take place with all of us together in one accord in one place, or whether we meet remotely while scattered around the world.

Unshakeable

“For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:6-7).

This Generation

Tis generation lives in globally unprecedented times. COVID-19, economic, political, and cultural disruptions have landed forcefully upon us all at once. Looking back to 9/11, it was traumatic and sobering, but in some ways uniting—at least in the short term. This year has been different in the “uniting” aspect especially, not only in the United States, but also globally.

We want to remember that while 2020 is indeed extraordinary for this generation, it is not unparalleled. I came of age during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. During my teen years, a cloud of uncertainty hung over the nation. The USA experienced assassinations, the Vietnam War, violent protests, drug experiments with resulting overdoses, a sexual revolution, the legalization of abortion, and the resignation of a president among other things. However, during those times we also put men on the moon and brought them back safely, so it was not all bad.

Older generations experienced the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, and other unsettling events. I say all of this to point out that at some level, every generation is shaken, and must come to grips with the reality that we live in a broken and divided world. More than one person has said lately, “It could be that God is speaking.” It could be? He is! The real question is, “Is the human race listening?”

That Which is Unshakeable

God spoke through Haggai. In chapter 2, verses 6 and 7 we read these words, “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.”

Through aged Haggai and a younger Zechariah who also prophesied during that time, the Lord spoke to the restored Jews and charged them to resume building the Temple, which they did to completion. The prophet Haggai brings to mind an illustration, unsourced, that was sent to me by one of my sisters who lives in Arizona, which is desert country. It goes something like this:

If you go to the southwest desert and catch one hundred red fire ants and one hundred large carpenter ants and put them in a jar together, at first, nothing will happen. However, if you violently shake the jar and dump them back on the ground, the ants will fight until they eventually kill each other.

They fight each other because the red ants think the carpenter ants are the enemy and vice versa. In reality, the actual enemy is the one who shakes the jar.

That is exactly what’s happening in society today. We have liberal versus conservative; socialist versus capitalist; Democrat versus Republican; pro-mask versus anti-mask; and class warfare pitting one ethic group against another ethnic group.

The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Who is shaking the jar and why?”

Applying this illustration to the spiritual realm, we know who shakes the jar. It is Satan. Why? To destroy.

In Hebrews 12, the writer looked back to Haggai’s reference, noting God’s thundering on Mount Sinai and said, “Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain” (verses 26-27).

So, what can be shaken will be shaken, but there is that which is unshakeable. Perhaps our day is that “once more,” revealing the contrasts between two truths. There is the tenuous and temporal nature of what can be shaken—aspects that relate to the order of this world. There is also the enduring and eternal nature of those things which cannot be shaken and will therefore remain—attributes that relate to the order of Heaven, such as charity and heart purity.

Competing Voices

May God help us to distinguish between the competing voices of our day that we might hear God! The chattering of twenty-four-hour cable television pundits, talk radio, and internet venues contribute to our 2020 uncertainty and instability. To be captivated by those venues is to be held hostage by the enemy at his will, and often not even know it. Those voices have proven to be terribly flawed. They promote contrived narratives and redefine words and phrases, and they rewrite history. The consequences of all of that are anything but edifying. Whether it is those voices or others, the ones who speak the loudest and most frequently may not be the best ones to listen to. The silent and content often have more to offer, even if they scarcely speak. Hebrews 12:28 says, “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

When it comes to voices, Satan often roars. We read in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” I’ve heard it said that one need not run faster than the lion, just faster than the slowest one in the group. Well, we cannot outrun, outtalk, or outwit the devil. He is an adversary from another world, even if he is mostly limited to using the weapons of this world. Ephesians 6:12 tells us, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” If our conflict were against flesh and blood, our ingenuity, intellect, or strength might suffice. Those qualities are among the best our enlightened culture views itself to possess. Well, look around, and you tell me: Are the weapons employed by this world working? When virtue and morality are defined by a fallen human race rather than by Scripture, we have a lament like the one we read in Isaiah, chapter 5, verses 20 to 21, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” The depraved human condition indicted by the Bible is accepted and even promoted by our culture. More and more, those who teach the Bible are openly condemned for being intolerant and for fomenting hate.

In our church community it helps to be reminded of the devil’s methods. We read in part in 2 Corinthians 2:11, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” We could also read that verse this way: “We are not ignorant of his purpose.” His purpose is to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. If God speaks, and He does, so does the devil. He accuses the brethren for one thing. Sometime back I received an apology from one who described in detail how they distracted me during a church service as evidenced by the look that I gave them. The apology was very gracious and there was a promise not to distract me again, but there was one problem: They did not distract me, and I gave them no look. I didn’t even know they were present! That incident reminds us of two lessons: First, Satan is an accusing liar. Secondly, it does not pay to assume what somebody else might be thinking. We might be disappointed by how little they are thinking about us.

The Christian Response

The Christian response to 2020 events stands in contrast to the response of the world. But then, the Christian response is distinguished from the world’s response every year. We see the contrast in Ephesians 4, verses 31 and 32: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”

The world’s response is to debate and call it “having a conversation.” Also, the world often demands retribution, and damages not only property, but relationships too. The Christian response is patient, and full of grace and forbearance. One response is destructive and tears down, and the other response is productive and builds up. These are character-proving and character-developing days. The difficulties of this year are not the cause of the best and worst we see in others or even in ourselves; 2020 simply reveals what already existed.

Our 2020 response to challenges is different from the world’s because our goal is different than the world’s. Colossians 3:1-2 tells us, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Our affection cannot be divided successfully. The more we focus on Heaven, the less interest we will have in matters that pertain to earth. In light of eternity, it is futile to be preoccupied with making the world a more comfortable place for sinners to live while they are on their journey to Hell. Instead, we want to be occupied with inspiring others to focus on things Above rather than devoting so much energy to things below. Like Abraham of old, we look for a City that hath foundations whose builder and maker is God.

The Christian response is different than that of the world because we recognize the real adversary cannot be overcome using their strategies—the strategies of the world. It is stated in 2 Corinthians 10:3, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.” To walk in the flesh is to admit our humanity. It is to acknowledge the limits of not only our physical, but also our mental capacity. We won’t always get everything just perfect.

With regard to our limitations, grace is our friend and a valuable weapon in this spiritual warfare. We are thankful when we are the recipients of grace, whether from God or from others. I am thankful to be the recipient of grace extended my way when I say things imperfectly. However, Satan not only wreaks havoc on sinners who sin, but he attempts to do so when well-meaning Christians fall short of God-like perfection. Either way, we want to be quick to extend love, grace, and forgiveness even when those attributes are not reciprocated. They are mighty weapons of the Spirit that are productive.

Spiritual Resources Overcome Spiritual Forces

We are reminded by 2 Corinthians 10, verses 4 and 5, “(for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Spiritual forces can only be overcome effectively by spiritual resources. The might in our arsenal includes the sword of the Spirit, which is why Paul in his final charge to Timothy admonished him, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2).

In our church services, we are to be urgent with the Gospel message every time, all the time. If the sermon fails to convey a Biblical truth, it’s merely a speech. We want sermons rather than speeches; we want preachers rather than speakers. Stick to declaring God’s Word rather than advocating for social agendas in the church. Current narratives are subjective and therefore divisive. The Word of God is what unites us, our various personal viewpoints notwithstanding. Our messages in our church services should not be driven by toxic rhetoric offered by political and media talking heads. Where do those debates leave the audience? You know they leave the audience frustrated at best, and angry or more at worst.

Speaking of being angry, I am reminded of spending a Friday night in Bethlehem during a 2016 Holy Land trip. We were advised not to leave the hotel after dark because there was a mosque nearby. We were told that the attendees of that particular house of worship would leave the prayer meeting agitated. Later, that came to pass; we witnessed a protest and a dumpster fire in the middle of the street nearby. That is not to judge all mosques by that one, but it is to say that they successfully left their congregants agitated and angry. We want our church attendees to leave our services thankful to God rather than angry at the world. Anger does not change any but the one who has it in his heart. We will succeed if we elevate God’s Word rather than current events. Our people know about the current events, they are bombarded with them 24/7 away from church. When they come to the house of God, let’s faithfully deliver God’s Word.

Hebrews 4:12-13 says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

We know that God’s Word is alive, active, searching, revealing, and it has the power to operate on and change the human heart. So rather than being driven by the current news cycle, our services and our messages are to be inspired by the living Word of God and led by the Holy Spirit. The news cycle approach shifts attention away from God’s Word and away from our mission. It is a distraction that undermines effectiveness not only as a minister, but also as a church.

Our Mission is Clear

I am thankful that our mission—even if challenging—is simple and clear. It’s the Great Commission. We see it demonstrated in the Acts of the Apostles from start to finish. The title of the Book suggests activism, but modeled differently than what apparently is happening in many churches today. Near the beginning of the Book, Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The Book concludes with these words in Acts 28:30-31: “And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” These two passages not only describe the Apostles’ activities at the beginning and end of the Book, but also what they did in between the first chapter and the twenty-eighth.

We learn of the cultural condition of the Roman Empire from religious and secular history more than from Paul or the Bible. Paul’s mission was not to reform Rome. A few have wanted me to wholeheartedly endorse some aspects of our current social environment while many, representing all districts of our work, have asked me just as fiercely to indict the same aspects of our current social environment. Paul did neither in his day. Rather than exhort Christians to reform Rome, he taught them how to be light and salt in Rome. He primarily targeted the underlying carnal condition of the human race rather than emphasizing the symptoms of his culture’s dysfunction. When he did note the symptoms, it was to illustrate the condition in order to point his readers or listeners to the remedy. If we confront the problems of our society using the tools offered by our society, we are doomed for defeat, as evidenced by what we see in our society.

George Hughes wrote this description of the Apostolic Faith approach, and I am quoting excerpts, “The great aim of our work . . . is the salvation of souls. For this reason, it is vitally essential that every service we hold is completely successful from start to finish. The songs, selection of music, testimonies, and above all, the sermon, should be so inspiring and inspired that every unbeliever will receive the impetus needed to start him on his way to God.” The aim of every facet of our church service is the prayer meeting, and that is true even when we are conducting services remotely. Hopefully, we leave those who are participating and watching inspired to go to prayer afterward. Pastors of goodwill and with good intentions can become misdirected. It’s important that we conduct our services in a uniform manner globally, in line doctrinally and according to the same pattern of worship. If your approach is different from every other Apostolic Faith Church in the world, you need to employ corrective measures rather than expect the rest of us to conform to what you are doing.

The principle that Brother George applied to a church service also applies to everyday living. We could insert our lives and then quote “should be so inspiring and inspired that every unbeliever will receive the impetus needed to start him on his way to God,” and we could add, “and continue in the way to God.” That philosophy should give pause to those whose social media comments are counterproductive, attracting attention to the writer rather than to the Savior.

We are active in advocating for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Rather than preach against the sins of the world, preach Jesus! My 2010 trip to India with Debbie was instructive along those lines. There were idols everywhere. I had never seen idolatry of objects practiced so extensively. But rather than preach against idols and idolatry, I was encouraged to preach for Jesus Christ. We don’t need to pound the pulpit against the evils of our generation. Our people already know those evils are wrong and that we are against them. When people attend our services or tune in, we want to present something different than what they are bombarded with while they are away from church. Let’s present to them Jesus the Light of the world.

Upcoming Training Sessions

It is Never too Late to Learn

With regard to some upcoming training sessions, it is never too late to learn. When I was in high school, college, and even in the business world, I was always happy when I finished my schooling or training. However, it soon became evident that schooling continues—it never stops. When I became employed, I was first engaged in applying tax law. It was enjoyable work except that the laws changed every time Congress convened, and that required more homework. With the advent of personal computers, I learned to successfully navigate MS-DOS, Microsoft’s disk operating system, but then came upgrades and more learning. When I bought my first PC in the 1980s, I was told that my twenty-megabyte hard drive would be all I would ever need, and it was all I needed . . . for about two years! Throughout life, the learning process continues. Even the grocery store Safeway moved the coffee beans from aisle three where they have always been to a new location that had to be learned.

Possible Topics

We have been working on training session possibilities in the subject area of “Greater Understanding.” We want to have a better understanding of each other’s experiences so we won’t unwittingly speak or act offensively. Conversely, when someone unintentionally or ignorantly speaks or acts towards us in a manner that we deem offensive, we want to know how to extend forbearance. This sword has two edges, but each edge can be covered with love and grace. The emphasis of such training is to educate. The goal is to leave us better equipped to support one another in the church, and extend understanding to those outside the church.

One session may speak to family-related matters, including challenges faced by parents of adopted and foster children, those in single-parent homes, and those dealing with other matters, such as infertility. We could also touch on topics unique to families that have been impacted by suicide, have members engaged in the LGBTQ community, or have members involved in criminal activity. Remember that rather than preach against the sinner, we preach for Jesus. That is not to say that we condone sinning; we condemn it, but we do so in a manner that does not demean or devalue the sinner. We want them to be drawn to God’s love.

Another session may address health-related matters. This could include how to accommodate individuals with chronic illness or physical disabilities, such as hearing or sight impairment. A better understanding of sight impairment may lead us to change the way we describe “blind Bartimaeus” when we preach about him. Other health-related topics to consider could be mental health disorders, PTSD suffered by war veterans and others, clinical depression, and the consequences of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. A third session may focus on ethnic and cultural matters. This session could include the opportunity to hear experiences of different ethnicities. It would leave us better informed of challenges faced by minorities.

All three sessions may include some personal testimonials of individuals willing to share their first-hand experiences that some of us without those experiences can hardly relate to. We hope to learn what is helpful to those facing such challenges as well as what is not helpful to them.

An Example

I’ll give you an example from my recent reading of a Book titled “Unified” by two men, Tim Scott and Trey Gowdy. Tim Scott is a current US Senator from South Carolina. He is a former businessman, insurance agent, and financial advisor who went into politics over a decade ago. Trey Gowdy is also from the state of South Carolina. He was a prosecutor before going into politics. He served eight years in the US House of Representatives before leaving political office a couple of years ago. Scott and Gowdy were strangers to each other when they first arrived to serve in Washington, having come from different areas of South Carolina. Once there, they met and quickly became very best friends. In the book, they share how they view the topic of law enforcement from two different perspectives, and it is very enlightening. From them, I learned the acronym DWB—Driving While Black. I didn’t mention that Tim Scott is black and Trey Gowdy is white. Some of us have heard of such things, but others have experienced such things. I watched a YouTube clip of Trey Gowdy telling how Tim Scott was stopped seven times while driving in a period of roughly a year. Then he exclaimed, “I wasn’t stopped once!” Gowdy, a former prosecutor, is the product of a middle-class, nuclear, suburban family, and sees law enforcement through a different lens than Tim Scott. Growing up, Gowdy’s father demanded such respect for authority that he would not allow his son to refer to police officers as “cops.” As a prosecutor, he sees the blindfolded Lady Justice as holding balance scales in one hand and a sword in the other. Lady Justice hears the case, applies the law without impartiality, and rules accordingly—Gowdy sees law and order when he thinks of law enforcement. On the other hand, Tim Scott is the product of a single-parent home. He grew up in poverty, with a mother who worked two jobs, while living in the projects. To him, law enforcement conjures up images Trey Gowdy has not experienced. Law enforcement causes him to visualize policemen with billy clubs, dogs, and fire hoses.

These best friends come from different planets of the universe (figuratively speaking), though they are from the same state. Both want the same thing. We all do! We want protection from harm. Once Scott and Gowdy learned of one another’s wildly differing perspectives, they could understand each other better and thereby be unified in their legislative work together.

Learning from their dissimilar backgrounds and perspectives helps us understand that it is impossible for a white person who has never been bullied, degraded, or treated as unworthy of human dignity solely due to skin tone, to properly relate to the emotions of a person of color who has experienced all of those things and more. Some of us hear about it, others experience it with some frequency.

These two men were called upon to seek political solutions. We value and we do pray for devout leaders seeking to do so. But even they acknowledge that righteousness cannot be legislated. A change of heart cannot be successfully mandated by an act of Congress or an executive order. So we leave the political activism to those in political office. Political activism has never been our approach in Apostolic Faith church services. Those arguments are subjective in that Christians of good conscience can have polar opposite views on how to address what both agree are clearly Biblical issues of morality. Since it is subjective, activism is a divisive distraction that undermines our efforts to emphasize the remedy offered through the Blood of Jesus. I’m not declaring that civic engagement is always inappropriate. I am saying that it should not be part of our church services. It is counterproductive. It does more harm than good. It detracts from our mission and from our message.

The proposed training sessions will not be church services, by the way. They will be learning sessions, understanding sessions; they are not intended to fix the world. Our goal is to educate ourselves and gain a better understanding of the challenges encountered by those we fellowship with. We want to be better equipped to support one another. We want to avoid unwittingly making someone’s challenge yet more challenging. Since our training must be rooted in Biblical precepts—not must be, we want it to be rooted in Biblical precepts—it may run counter to the common contemporary approach.

Unity is Not Uniformity

A better understanding of one another will enhance our unity. In Ephesians 4, Paul speaks of the unity of the church. Verses 1-3 are a plea for unity where he says, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

In the next three verses, we see seven components of unity. Paul said, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

Verses 11-13 speak of diversity in unity and also of the purpose and the outcome of unity. The diversity is that, “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” The purpose is, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” And the outcome is, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”

In 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 we see, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” There is one body, but many members.

Within the body, we have very noticeable differences (and some unnoticeable): we are different physically, and we have different personalities and genders. We are diverse culturally, even sometimes within the same ethnicity. We have different creativity levels as well, and have seen wonderful creativity during the last eight months by our churches all over the world. Debbie and I are different creatively. She has beautiful penmanship and is quite artistic. My penmanship is horrible, and I can hardly draw stick figures. On the other hand, she claims to be very weak in math where she thinks I am strong—but actually she is modest there because she is a seamstress, and that requires arithmetic. She also makes quilts, and that requires geometry, so she may be stronger in math than I am. In any case, we have differences!

On vacation years ago, Debbie and I rented a bicycle built for two. I spoke of this several years ago in a meeting. The bicycle had two seats, two sets of pedals, and two handlebars. The front handlebars steered the bicycle, and the back handlebars were just for someone to hold on to. They were attached to my seat, and my seat was loose. As we rounded our first corner, I leaned into it, steering that direction, but Debbie who was seated behind me, leaned and steered the other way. This twisted my seat, so you can visualize what position that put me in. That was not unity! However, we finally figured it out and enjoyed our unified bicycle ride.

I am reminded of Brother Steve Mixer’s sermon on Sunday evening, October 11, where he said, “Unity is not uniformity.” He didn’t invent that saying, but I took it from him, so I will give him credit for it right now. Anyway, unity is not being exactly like one another. He reminded us that vocal ensembles are not in unity because they sing in unison. They are in unity because they have perfect harmony while singing different parts.

In a Century camp meeting fifteen years ago, Debbie and our daughter Alicia, and her husband Rob, were asked to sing a trio. What transpired was a very timid, cautious, White trio singing before an enthusiastic Southern Black congregation. The song was about Heaven; I asked Rob what they sang and he remembers it as “We’ll Understand It Better By and By.” The congregation obviously recognized it, and part way through, they began to spontaneously join in. As the song continued by the vocal trio on the platform, the momentum of the congregation picked up, and by the end of that special, it was amazing; we couldn’t hear the trio anymore! I think they walked away wondering what happened. This is an illustration of unity—both in the vocal trio who harmonized beautifully, but also in that entire body of believers joining to sing with them.

The source of division is carnality and its outcome is destructive. The source of unity is Christ and its outcome is productive. It is what we find described in the 133^rd Psalm, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

We may be geographically and even culturally distanced one from another, but through the Gospel, we are perfectly blended in beautiful harmony. The Word of God and the sanctifying power of the Blood of Jesus have brought us together in the same sweet spirit of fellowship.

Concluding Thoughts

A Better Day in View

Lord willing, we will meet again, perhaps at a different time to accommodate the global audience a bit better, and we will give plenty of notice as to when we will do that. We look to the Lord to guide regarding the subject matter as we go forward.

I will end where I began, with the passage from Haggai where God is speaking. We want to be among those who hear Him. Haggai 2:6-7 says, “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations,” and we will conclude with this thought: “and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house (speaking of the Temple) with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.” Like the prophet, we also have a better day in view! We look forward to meeting together again, where the glory of God inhabits the praises of His people. 

Between now and then, unless the Trumpet sounds first, God bless you for the work you continue to do all around the world, and let the Name of Jesus be exalted. Keep your focus. Let God’s Name be glorified, and we know that souls will be saved as we are in these last days of this great harvest.

Thanks so much for joining us today and may God bless you as you go your different ways. We will conclude with a closing prayer. Brother Bob Downey will please come up and dismiss us and then we will sign off. Thanks again.

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