0:00:00 - 0:00:24 So we welcome back to part two of this talk. It's all one talk. Um This morning, I, I won't bother to recap but I will reintroduce the introduction. We talked a little bit about Rosh Hashanah and the blowing of the trumpet. Well, the second talk is the second blast and we'll start it by introducing another 0:00:23 - 0:00:49 aspect of that celebration. So we talked a little bit this morning about the blast of the trumpet as a military signal, mustering troops. I guess I am going to review it a little. Um This aspect is a little different. Uh I mentioned how it's one of several days considered to be the new year. OK. It's 0:00:48 - 0:01:11 the beginning of a 10 day period that ends with the day of atonement. And so um sometimes this is called the 10 days of repentance. 10 is an important symbol in the gospel. It's a, it's one of several numbers that's sort of a sermon in and of itself. And when you think of things like the 10 commandments 0:01:10 - 0:01:33 , what it ends up being is a lesser blessing given through mercy. That's another chance you got all that. And so just with that tidbit. If you go off on your own and you look up tens in the scriptures, you'll see this again and again while the 10 days of repentance, that's one of these because if the 0:01:33 - 0:01:54 clock stopped today, there'd be a different story. But having 10 more days until the day of atonement, which is a day of judgment. Yom Kippur, it's a, it's a day of judgment, right? And so that's when things are sealed up and it's too late after that. So that's a good thing. That's a good thing. So um 0:01:53 - 0:02:21 one of the things that that is commemorated, whether it happened on this day or not, one of the things that's commemorated on Rosh Hashanah is the creation of man. OK. And so today's or this session's invitation is to turn over a new leaf and life to start a new beginning. So we'll start this by talking 0:02:20 - 0:02:45 about responding to a trumpet call from heaven. Usually, when we talk about blasting these trumpets, it's a person blasting the trumpet. But you know angels can blow trumpets too. God himself can blow trumpets. So we're going to talk about responding to a trumpet call from heaven. The question is, how 0:02:45 - 0:03:07 do you enter into the kingdom of God? What's the first step and whatever you might think the answer is, the real answer is you get an invitation. That's not a common answer. It's probably not what you were thinking. If we did a poll, it would probably be the answer of very few of you. You enter the kingdom 0:03:07 - 0:03:39 by responding when it comes down from heaven. So Jesus showed how this happens in John 10 4. He says, and when he put forth his own sheep, he goeth before them and the sheep follow him for, they know his voice. He also said in John 633 for the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth 0:03:38 - 0:04:07 life to the world? Do you see the order with this? You cannot summon the Kingdom of God. You can only react to it. In Luke 1720 it says, and when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the Kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, the Kingdom of God cometh not with observation. So let me 0:04:07 - 0:04:30 ask you, when will Zion come and why? Oh, so that scripture you just said comes not with observation, but then it ends with but it is within you. Yes, there's a lot of dispute on whether that was in the original manuscript or not. And then you, yeah, I was thinking of Alma 32 is the how the Kingdom of 0:04:30 - 0:04:51 God grows in us? That seed? Yes. Tree of life. Yes. Does a seed grow when you kill it? Some of you, there's a green thumb and there's a black thumb, right? The seed doesn't necessarily grow on its own. I mean, it has everything it needs to. But you can kill it too, right? But this is actually a wonderful 0:04:50 - 0:05:17 uh segue right into the next scripture um about when does Zion come? So suppose that that's good. But that, that the part you quoted is in the original um that the kingdom is within you can you kill it and, and, and can you cause it to thrive? You? Sure can. How? Well you mentioned you plant the seed 0:05:16 - 0:05:40 , you nourish the seed. That's how right? When will a king or when will Zion come? And do we have the seed? When will Zion come? So we're in a place that has temples, you throw a rock, you'll hit one and then you'll go to jail, right? But if you ask someone who goes to that temple, when will Zion come 0:05:39 - 0:05:57 ? And how uh I don't know, I guess we're just gonna keep building these and one day it'll just magically turn into Zion. The L Ds church had some amount of money that there's a lot of speculation about how much. And it's interesting, you look way, way back in time and they kept getting kicked out of 0:05:57 - 0:06:14 all these different places. Now, they have enough money to buy their own island and invite everybody to come. If they wanted to. They could, what would the problem be? Who would go? A very few people, very few of the people here would leave what they have to go and have nothing in spite of allegedly 0:06:13 - 0:06:35 making covenants promising that they're willing to do that. That's problem. Number one, problem. Number two are the people who do go. It would be just like here, which is not a good thing. I'm sorry. Ok, sorry, not sorry. Here's the Joseph Smith translation of Genesis nine. And it's got the answer play 0:06:35 - 0:07:01 in his day. When will Zain come away? Starting in verse 21 and the bow shall be in the cloud and I will look upon it that I may remember the everlasting covenant which I made unto thy father Enoch. I'll just pause. There is a promise made to us. No, it's made to Enoch. He's the one that made it so that 0:07:01 - 0:07:28 we have access to it right without him. We wouldn't have it continuing that I'm just so just make it perfectly clear. I'm reinforcing the idea. It doesn't come from us. It comes from heaven that when men should keep all my commandments cannot be any clearer. Zion should again come on the earth, the city 0:07:28 - 0:07:52 of Enoch, which I've caught up unto myself. Where does it come from? Heaven? Why does it come? When does it come when we keep all the commandments? If you look back at what we talked about this morning, when you live up to what you already have? Now, it turns out there's more that you'll get that Jesus 0:07:51 - 0:08:15 actually already showed us, but it's not commonly known, but in essence, there's a bucket of stuff that we have to live up to that. We already have access to. And when we do that, that's nourishing the seed, the seed, that's the kingdom of God is already within you. Then more will come. We don't get 0:08:15 - 0:08:41 a rehash of what's already been given. That's not part of the plan. That's not what has to come from heaven per se. Jesus already came down and gave it. Now we have to live up so that when he comes again, he can pick up where he left off. That's it in a nutshell. Ok. And this is my everlasting covenant 0:08:40 - 0:09:06 that when thy posterity, us shall embrace the truth and look downward to their side upward and look upward, then shall Zion look downward and all the heaven shall shake with gladness and the earth shall tremble with joy. And the general assembly of the Church of the Firstborn shall come down out of heaven 0:09:05 - 0:09:30 and possess the earth and shall have place until the end come. And this is my everlasting covenant which I made with thy father. A do we need a new covenant? We have a covenant. What's it called? It's called Christ. He already gave it to us. We're not living it. That's the problem. You want something 0:09:29 - 0:09:56 different, you're gonna get something less, something less is not what I just read, right? Does that make sense? It's pretty clear, it's pretty clear. No amount. And here's the problem. No amount of sacrifice can make up for ignoring the commandments of God that we've already received. This is slightly 0:09:56 - 0:10:13 long, so bear with me. This is from Isaiah one. It's familiar to many of you. I'll start in verse 11. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me. Saith the Lord. I'm full of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts and I delight not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs or 0:10:13 - 0:10:34 of he goats. When you come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand to tread my courts, bring no more vain oblations, incenses and abomination unto me. The new moons and the Sabbaths. The calling of assemblies. I cannot away with it is iniquity. Even the solemn meeting, your new moons 0:10:34 - 0:10:53 and your appointed feasts, my soul hate. They are trouble unto me. I am weary to bear them. And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you. Yeah. When you make many prayers, I will not hear your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings 0:10:53 - 0:11:24 from before mine eyes cease to do evil. Learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless plead for the widow. We have directions, we have to live them. There is no other way. We need messengers to be sent, but it's not to give us new things. Not yet. It's to help us see and 0:11:24 - 0:11:47 apply what we're missing from the old things. So what will they do? Well, the messengers will remind us of what we already have and it might seem like new revelation because that's how far off we are on some of these things, but we already have it. We just don't understand it or obey it. That's the problem 0:11:47 - 0:12:07 . So now with that in mind, I'll read to you Malachi 31 through three. Behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me and the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple. Even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight and behold, he shall come saith the Lord of host 0:12:07 - 0:12:27 , but who may abide the day of his coming and who shall stand when he appear for? He is like a refiner's fire and like fuller soap. And he shall sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver and he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as a gold and silver that they may offer unto the Lord an offering 0:12:26 - 0:12:48 in righteousness. Now without diving into the particulars and let's get forensic level analysis on who the characters are in this passage. Let's just talk about the pattern because that's safe and easy and powerful, right? The pattern is we have to prepare ourselves. We have to sanctify ourselves by 0:12:48 - 0:13:08 living up to what we've already been given. We should expect that messengers from heaven will help us in that, but not that they'll give some new amazing Whizz Bang replacement. That's easier than the thing that no one wants to do. Right. The point is, is that they'll help you get closer to the hard 0:13:08 - 0:13:33 thing that no one wants to do. There's no, there's no alternative. Right. So, how do we receive that? Well, it's interesting. The best thing you can do to prepare for someone to come and help you live up to what's been given is to live up to what is given has been given. Right? It's a, it's like the 0:13:33 - 0:13:54 least surprising thing ever. Why? Because our ability to assess goodness, it's all locked into the same collection of things as you live up to what you've been given. You gain a more accurate understanding of what's valuable and by how much and what's not valuable, it's all locked up. It's the same stuff 0:13:54 - 0:14:18 . So do everything you can and that will best prepare you for the people that come to help you do everything you can, right? The second thing to do is to watch for examples of more about him than you currently know. Our typical reaction to that is actually just to get very offended. You know, how dare 0:14:18 - 0:14:36 you show me something that's better, what you think you're better than me. Right. There's an old, I shouldn't quote it, but I'm going to, you know, sometimes cracking jokes during serious things is a, is actually a piece of holiness, you might not guess that. But, you know, if you're in a really terrible 0:14:36 - 0:14:56 situation and there's, there's a lot of suffering and maybe some blood or sickness or something. If someone can crack a joke in that situation, that's actually a really good thing, isn't it? Because it cuts right through all the, the physical pain and suffering and you just say we're all human and that's 0:14:56 - 0:15:18 kind of funny, like it can be quite a blessing for someone to crack a joke. So don't take it too far. But I hope that I've just excused myself in the joke that, um, that I was gonna say and now I can't even remember what it was. So I saved myself. That's great. Ok. Um, 00, yeah. Yeah. No, it's an old 0:15:17 - 0:15:36 movie called The Party with Peter Sellers, I think. Is he the one in it? Uh, anyway, it could never be made today because it's, it's a, it's a guy who's not Indian playing an Indian person. So, but, but back in the day that, that, you know, they still made movies like that, but he gets asked at this 0:15:36 - 0:15:53 party and he's, he's quite, he doesn't belong there. It's very clear, but he's, he's having a good old time and that's great. But someone said, who do you think you are? And he said we Indians don't think who we are. We know who we are. And it's a wonderful line to remember if if someone says, you know 0:15:53 - 0:16:14 , do you think you're better than me? Say, I'm not thinking, I know. Right. Don't say that you'll get in trouble. Ok. Um, anyway, uh, but of course, if you're giving someone advice, of course you believe that whatever you're talking about is better, you wouldn't say it otherwise. And humility is not 0:16:14 - 0:16:29 biting your tongue when you have a reason to believe that that's the case. Humility is being open to being wrong about it and being happy when you are is the best thing that could happen. Uh You know, I think these shoes that I have are the best shoes and someone says, hey, you know what's even better 0:16:28 - 0:00:00 ? These shoes, guess what? You just won, right? It's a game you can't lose because either you help the other person or they help you. It's a totally different way of looking at it. But it is the attitude of the people that, that end up having the most to give. Who loves truth more than Jesus, right? 0:00:00 - 0:17:11 And so how do you acquire the greatest amount? You just love it more than whatever you have and then you have the most to give even though that's not your, your motive, right? Do, do you remember that game? Hungry, hungry hippos, you just smash that thing as fast as you can. He's like get all the marbles 0:17:10 - 0:17:31 . Get all the truth, right? Boom, boom, boom. Anyway. And then the third part of it So I I'll re rehash because I'm like way off into, into board games. Live up to what you already know about Jesus. Watch for examples of more about him than you already know. The third part is react by implementing the 0:17:31 - 0:17:54 examples you are given when they come. This is pretty simple, right? It's not easy, but this is pretty simple. At least in writing the list in practice, not so much. So let's dive deeper. So first thing was live up to what you already know about Jesus. Here's a line that should be pregnant with meaning 0:17:54 - 0:18:20 here, having been true and faithful in all things. Have you ever stopped to actually think about what maybe that means. I mean, it literally means what it says. Now, can you say that or watch that or believe that and then say things like, well, nobody's perfect. We're all just trying. OK? Put those together 0:18:19 - 0:18:43 . What does it mean means? You haven't been true and faithful in all things and then you can't have what comes right? Which is better things. I'm gonna read this to you D and C 3512. And there are none that doeth good except those who are ready to receive the fullness of my gospel which I have sent forth 0:18:43 - 0:00:00 unto this generation. Let me read it again and there are none that doeth good except those who are ready to receive the fullness of my gospel which I have sent forth unto this generation. Someone asked me recently. Uh, in fact, I know who it was. He's not here right now. He'll listen to this though. 0:00:00 - 0:19:36 He's meticulous. He said, how do you identify people who are listening to what you say? That's, how do they do good? What a concise measure do you do the best? You know, in all things? Because those are the only people who are ready to receive more. Is that a high bar? You should hear some rattling of 0:19:36 - 0:19:59 up and down, rattling. OK. Rattle. Rattle. OK. But do you live? What, what's been already sent? Do you do all the good that you know Ether four? I'm starting in verse 12. And whatsoever thing persuade men to do good is of me for good. Cometh of none. Save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth all men 0:19:58 - 0:20:19 to all good. I'm gonna repeat that cause sometimes we do the wall of text thing and they're all familiar words and we're like, yeah, yeah. Well, and we can't see, oh, here's all the ways that my actions, my thoughts, my feelings might actually be different than what's being described. I am the same that 0:20:18 - 0:20:46 leadeth men to all good and, and I'm not even close to done here. But um people say, well, the things you're saying, it kind of sounds like self help, not the gospel. If by self help, you mean improvement. They are the same. And actually this is a this is a grand key because we might have very different 0:20:45 - 0:21:10 ideas about Jesus. Right? But you can pluck out any single human being on the face of this planet and talk to them about what they see as good and why and guess what? They already have ideas about him and how would, you know, if they're ready for more? They're doing what they think is good already. That's 0:21:10 - 0:21:27 when they're ready for more. And if you want to be a ministering angel to people, you use that and then you flip that around and say what if they're not ready for it, how would, you know? Well, they're not doing what they believe is good and that's a very different approach because what they lack is 0:21:27 - 0:21:51 not more, it's a reminder or maybe better reasons for what they already know. It's to totally valid. It's a completely different approach. People who need more versus people who need to be reminded. Right? God. Absolutely. Does this with us? Uh, where did I leave off? He, that will not believe my words 0:21:51 - 0:22:09 will not believe me. Let's pause there. His words. Boy, that's a deep topic. But let me just say something that we can take as independent or if you'd like, you can take it as a rephrasing of what's there, whether it be partial or whole, it doesn't matter. Instead of saying He, that will not believe 0:22:09 - 0:22:36 my words will not believe me. We can say he who is not doing all the good they know will not accept more or better. That is an absolutely true principle. You come to what is better to what you presently believe is best you come to what is better through what you present believe presently believe is best 0:22:35 - 0:23:10 . It's a gate you have to go through to get the better things. Doesn't matter what we're talking about will not believe me that I am ok. Sorry that I'm punctuating this so shortly that I am does not just mean that I exist. I am is God's name and it's God's unique name. In other words, they will not believe 0:23:10 - 0:23:36 more about me, the stuff. They don't know the reasons we have to call him. I am instead of describing what makes that up and he that will not believe me, will not believe the father who sent me because we know him through the sun for behold, I am the father. I am the light and the life and the truth 0:23:35 - 0:23:55 of the world verse thir 13, come unto me. O you gentiles and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hit up because of unbelief. Another way of putting this is come unto me, all you gentiles and do the good that you already see that you leave undone and I will show you more. But 0:23:54 - 0:24:14 I can't right now because you haven't believed or done what you already say. You believe come unto me o ye house of Israel and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the father hath laid up for you from the foundation of the world and it hath not come unto you because of unbelief, behold 0:24:13 - 0:24:30 . When ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness and hardness of heart and blindness of mind. Then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you? Yeah, when ye shall call upon the father 0:24:30 - 0:24:50 in my name with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers o House of Israel. When we say phrases like this, we go into church mode, right? What this is saying is that the biggest blessings you can imagine in the 0:24:50 - 0:25:12 gospel, the reason you don't have them. It's not because you lack some big thing. It's because of the little things. It's because you're not living up to the things you already believe are good. It's not even necessarily churchy things. In fact, it's probably not. It's just when you look up at your day 0:25:11 - 0:25:33 to day life or in longer time frames, you're not oriented to the best that you know, you don't live that out and it turns out that there are huge consequences for that, right? And he's told us that the big, the little things lead to the big things, right? The little things are the big things. You have 0:25:33 - 0:25:54 to align your whole life to God's purpose. So, here's another gospel phrase. Fruits meet for repentance. You ever thought about what that really means? How fruits meet for repentance? How would you say that in plain English? What's the word? Meet mean? Well, the word we can get deep into this but the 0:25:54 - 0:26:21 word qualify. I like it. Yeah. Worthy, worthy. Yeah. Equal to deserving of. So their fruits of what's happening in their life is matching their repentance. I like that. I'll take it. Yeah. What's happening in their life is matching repentance? OK. How about changes that measure up to what's been given 0:26:20 - 0:26:49 ? Same thing. Just different phrasing. Changes that measure up to what's been given. OK? If you've never heard of Jesus before and someone tells you about him, your life cannot be the same after that. If you want to live up to that, it can't be the same after that. So here's the challenge. Die to your 0:26:49 - 0:27:15 prior purpose and be reborn into the Lord's purpose. Take up his cross, crucify the flesh, lose yourself to find yourself, seek ye first the kingdom and we could go through this all day long. There's so many variants of this, but they're all the same idea. But the Lord quickens you like makes you alive 0:27:15 - 0:27:46 or dead until you're made alive. Yeah. So you're, you're good at saying things that um could be taken like 100 levels deep in meaning and that's really good. Um It makes my brain spin up at like 40,000 R PM. So what is eternal life? It's to live in the same path as Jesus to be quickened means a lot of 0:27:46 - 0:28:14 things, it means to be better, but it's, it's um it's not just a question of the change in you, it's the source of the change as well and the destination of the change and, and to be more like Jesus in any way is all the things that, that you were talking about, you know, it's deep. So when you replace 0:28:13 - 0:28:35 parts of yourself with him, that's always an improvement and that can help you find what it is cause you search for improvement. But it also describes what it's like because when you have better parts, you can do more and better, right? So the second thing I mentioned was watch for examples that show 0:28:35 - 0:28:58 more of him than you already knew. I'll read this passage from Luke 12 starting in verse 33. Sell that ye have and give alms provide yourselves bags which wax not old. A treasure in the heavens that faile not where no thief approach it. Neither moth corrupt for where your treasure is there. Will your 0:28:58 - 0:29:26 heart be also let your loins be girded about and your lights burning. So all of this so far it's describing what you do with what you have and with what you want. Right? And now that there's a transition and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord when he will return from the wedding, that 0:29:26 - 0:29:52 when he cometh and knock, they may open unto him immediately. Now I'll keep reading here. But when we read things like this, we think about the second coming. Are there applications to these passages that for the day to day life? Absolutely. And they're the more important ones, but no one ever talks 0:29:52 - 0:30:16 about those. They probably haven't thought about it that they may open unto him immediately, maybe in addition to his second coming. What's the application of this when you get the idea of something that you could do that would be better than you were doing before? Or you see something that someone else 0:30:16 - 0:30:38 is doing that could be better than what they were doing before. It's the same and it's the most more important of the two applications. Why? Because it's how you prepare for his second coming because that's how you become more like him. The more like him you are when he comes the better off. It is. Yeah 0:30:37 - 0:31:00 . Right. It's uh you that overcome the short term life. It's part of that like overcoming, getting better, uh getting stronger. So that attitude, I I'm gonna figure this out. So I mentioned uh three times in revelation twice in Dr J. So it's got to be important. It's very important. Um There will be 0:31:00 - 0:31:27 a whole book on that actually. Blessed are those servants. Well, well, let me before I go on and that when he cometh and knock it, you open unto him immediately use the phrase uh something like I'm gonna figure it out. But what I'm saying is you respond to the invitation from heaven. Those invitations 0:31:26 - 0:31:48 are littered throughout your life. They hit you every day and you don't even see them right now. You will. Now, after this talk, you'll see them when you think I should put my cell phone in my left hand because I'm doing this one thing where I might drop it if I don't. Is that revelation? Is it better 0:31:47 - 0:32:08 ? If the answer is no, the answer is no. If the answer is yes, the answer is yes. Because where does all good come from? If God works at that scale, which he does, you should check out these things called atoms. They're awesome, right? He works at the minute scale for sure. If he works at that scale 0:32:08 - 0:32:30 , what's between there and the second coming? You see how everything is sucked into this. It should blow your understanding of this wide open. He can come at any moment and tell you something better and you can respond. It's not us figuring it out. It's us figuring out to listen when he knocks cos he 0:32:30 - 0:32:54 can do it any time and with anything and but till now you have closed off. If you look at a pie chart, you had this little sliver of where you're willing to listen to his voice and now it's gonna be one color. Yeah. So blessed. Are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching? Yes 0:32:54 - 0:00:00 , I will put my cell phone in my other hand. Verily, I say unto you that he shall gird himself and make them to sit down to meet and will come forth and serve them. Wouldn't that be nice? And if he shall come in the second watch or come in the third watch and find them so blessed are those servants. 0:00:00 - 0:33:32 And this know that if the good man of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also for the son of man cometh in an hour when you think not when you least expect it, but I pray and pray to have 0:33:32 - 0:33:58 a closer relationship to God. And I don't feel anything changing. It doesn't seem any different. Well, have you been watching? Have you been responding? It's impossible to ask God for a closer relationship without his response. It's never going to happen. If you don't feel the progress, rest assured 0:33:58 - 0:34:24 you're not seeing the invitation because it will come. It's like asking God what, how can I be better? Lord. It's the fastest answer prayer, right? Co instantly things come into your head. It's going to be a call to improve almost always. And if it's not for you, it will be for someone else, almost always 0:34:23 - 0:34:51 . Ether four starting in verse 12. And whatsoever thing persuade men to do good is of me, there's no condition on that sentence for good. Cometh of none. Save it, be of me. I am the same that leadeth all men men to all good. OK? Whatever you read that and then we can even go to Maroni seven. Sorry. In 0:34:51 - 0:35:10 verse 12, wherefore all things which are good cometh of God. It's like when you start piecing together these scriptures, you feel like you've missed a pretty big boat. The Titanic has sailed in front of your face, your whole life and there it is, right? And you can read the rest of that passage. I'll 0:35:10 - 0:35:34 skip around here that which is of God, invite and entice to do good continually wherefore everything which entice invite and entice to do good and to love God and to serve him is inspired of God. Ok? And we're warned, don't call evil, good or good evil. Why? Because it's easy to do that because when 0:35:34 - 0:35:54 we use different definitions for the word like, well, I want to feel good right now. That's not what good means, right? It's usually the opposite of what good means, but not always recognizing what is good. It, it's a really big topic and I, I'm gonna write a whole book about it. I have most of it actually 0:35:54 - 0:36:20 already written. Um And so God willing you'll get that eventually. But um here's just a little tidbit to, to keep you busy until then cause you don't have enough to do right now. Right? You're OK. Do you objectively weigh consequences according to their intensity and duration? And I'm sorry if this sounds 0:36:20 - 0:36:38 wordy, but just think about what they mean. I'm not sure how to say it more simply do objectively weigh consequences according to their intensity and duration or just how soon they begin. Do you get what I'm saying by that? It's like, well, this is good cause it's right now. It's the whole like if you 0:36:38 - 0:37:07 , if you offer a kid, do you want a cookie now or $10 million in three years, right? Give me the cookie, right? That's what people say, not just kids, people say it too. It turns out that increasingly increasingly the right response will require you to choose what is worse in the short term for what 0:37:06 - 0:37:28 . And instead of what, what did I just say? Strike that from the record. Let me try again. It will require you to, to Yes, that was right to choose what is worse in the short term in order to have what is greatest in the long term. And one thing we could talk a lot about this. One thing modern technology 0:37:27 - 0:38:03 has done in in modern prosperity is it's trained us to think that that is never necessary. You can have it all and it's good now. It's just gonna be better later. That's in Isaiah, isn't it? Today will be like tomorrow only far better. Right. Real good. Almost never works like that. And so we have to 0:38:03 - 0:38:29 get much better at recognizing those things that are not pleasant right now. But what will be very important as the future wears on? Like maybe you don't wanna have a fight with a uh uh I don't know what age 15 year old child about their cell phone and you try to avoid that. But it turns out there are 0:38:28 - 0:38:53 huge ramifications about having that fight. That's just a really practical example. But there are things like moving that are huge and they're not fun short term. But there are the, the these things increasingly, there are more and more of them that are just vital. Another aspect of, of identifying what 0:38:53 - 0:39:17 is good is learning what the Lord was talking about with old wine in new bottles and not identifying uh avoiding the, the the tendency to try to identify what is good based on what matches what you currently think is good. Do you get that so good? Doesn't mean what matches what I currently think is good 0:39:16 - 0:39:39 . You're looking for better and better has to be different. So that can't be the criteria of, well, this matches what I already have. Therefore, it's good. You're looking for what is different. And so you can't say, uh, I have this list of things or people or places or ideas that if anything touches 0:39:39 - 0:40:11 anything close to this, it's bad. And here's another list and if anything's right along with that, that's good. That's not the way to do it. You have to have a better way. I'm pretty sure I just skipped a page. No, let me up. So, what does this have to do with living up to the good that you already have 0:40:11 - 0:40:34 ? Well, if there are additional increments that are right around you that you're either not noticing or not walking in because they don't match your current idea of what's good then that's fertile ground that you haven't used. Right. And you can use those things because you have to use what you've got 0:40:34 - 0:41:06 before you get more and what better place to look for more than what's right around you. We always think of some big far off thing. We don't realize that with God, all paths are continuous, the next step is probably a lot closer than you imagine. It might be tall. It might be a big step, but it's probably 0:41:06 - 0:41:31 real close and so exhaust what's around you before you go asking for more because uh that's probably where it is and on that note. All right, hopefully it's obvious, but maybe it needs to be said that when we talk about better things, we're not just talking about, I don't know, material things, right 0:41:30 - 0:41:54 ? Or even ideas. We're also talking about people and pay attention to the people around you. We should be scanning all the time for examples of, of character qualities that are better than what we have because we're blessed with so much variation in humanity and these people are all around us all the 0:41:54 - 0:42:19 time. Uh It's not usually obvious, it's not usually terribly obvious. Uh When drastically better qualities are demonstrated right in front of our eyes, the, the natural reaction is to be offended or to not notice that we like to squish people down into this box where everyone's really similar, but that's 0:42:19 - 0:42:40 not very accurate. And then when things are different, uh, the natural reaction to something that is better is to see it as anything but, and that's not to say the things that don't seem good are, but things that are good will almost always seem bad. Yeah, if I could share it when I hear a person to 0:42:40 - 0:42:53 show you your truth bothers the hell out of me because I know I wouldn't want to have to act up a part of my natural man. I still wasn't playing in another world, but the truth is being shared is from another realm and I have to act upon that to get to where I need to be. That's right. So we talk about 0:42:53 - 0:43:16 being strangers in a strange land. Well, truth is a foreign concept. Ok, so expect it to be weird or at least seem that way at first does it mean that what's weird is good? But what is good will be weird more often than not? Ok, here's a scripture for you. What does this mean for? Wheresoever the carcass 0:43:16 - 0:43:45 is there, will the eagles be gathered together? That's fun. So, eagles circle the carcass. So what thing is of greatest value? It's the carcass because it attracts the eagles. But you don't see the carcass, you see the eagles and then you know where to find the carcass. This is an extraordinarily deep 0:43:45 - 0:44:16 metaphor and uh we can't get through it totally here. But the value of the eagles is what they mark, right? It's not the eagles themselves. So if you were some kind of scavenger and you were dying of hunger and you saw a bunch of eagles and you're headed that way, would it be because you want to eat 0:44:16 - 0:44:33 an eagle? This is a kind of a gross example. Maybe it's not best after lunch, right? But if you're dying, if you're desperate, right? That's a way to survive. But no one could accuse you of worshiping eagles. You're just trying to get something to eat and you're not even gonna eat the eagles and you 0:44:33 - 0:00:00 know that, right? So the value of the eagles is in their living example that points to something even more valuable. And the eagles are symbolic of angels. What's the carcass who is a carcass. Zion. Zion. Fair enough. I won't dispute that. Yeah. So they were considered, it's Jesus. Yeah, it's Jesus. 0:00:00 - 0:45:33 Right. So, if you, uh, if you have a swirl of angels around you, I wouldn't wanna be you. Like, that's a different kind of, they're probably about to, to do some damage in your life. Uh, the one angels e, enough you get a co, a bunch. Like, uh, I don't know what they're gonna do with you. I don't envy 0:45:33 - 0:45:59 you though. OK? But they're trying to get closer to what nourishes them and we're trying to get closer to what nourishes us. And so you can see them from afar off, they're more visible. You can't see the carcass until you're right there. OK? So, um you don't want to judge. So what we're talking about 0:45:59 - 0:46:23 to remind you if it's, if I'm not doing a terribly good job making this obvious, this is the second point which is watch for examples that show you more of him than you saw before. So it's really important to not compare potential messengers to what you already believe and say this is different. Therefore 0:46:23 - 0:46:50 , it's not good, that's not the token and sign that you're looking for. So what is because you're looking for people who are better than you actually. So what you're looking for is eagles are higher than you that they can see the carcass. You can't, right? So the sign is one that they're different. That's 0:46:50 - 0:47:09 actually a feature. Not a bug. If they were the same, they'd have nothing to offer you. We're all in this together. Thanks for nothing. We're all gonna starve together cause you don't see a carcass, right? You want them to be different? And we already talked about how that difference is very unlikely 0:47:08 - 0:47:36 to correctly be measured as good or bad. That's hard. Right? One sign is that they have sufficient reasons, They have sufficient reasons. You say why they have an answer, you say what they have reasons to describe. It's not just pulling things out of thin air. There's evidence too. It's they don't try 0:47:36 - 0:48:02 to share with you their conclusions only they share with you their reasons and why this is wonderful. It's because maybe some of the reasons are terrible, maybe their conclusion is terrible. It's atomic. You can pluck out those things and run with the good and leave behind the bad and go find something 0:48:01 - 0:48:40 better that they don't know about yet. See how that works. It's a beautiful thing here is an extraordinarily valuable key to prevent you from judging potential messengers as bad when they're actually good. Look for people who live up to the commandments that you believe, but don't live. What do we do 0:48:40 - 0:49:09 ? Instead we look for people who live the way we do very different. There are going to be mismatches because they will be different, right? But what you're looking for, this is the token and sign. Find people who succeed where you fail. You say, well, I believe this and I don't do it. They do it. They 0:49:09 - 0:49:35 also believe in, right. Those are the common beliefs that matter because they're showing you they have something you don't that you'd care about because it's your belief that you're measuring it by. I garbled this pretty badly. But I think the point got across people, look at other folks and they say 0:49:35 - 0:50:02 this property is not like God. I don't like you flip it around. Find people who have qualities that you recognize as being similar to God that you don't have. That's a sign when you can, you can back test this to Jesus during his mortal ministry. And you'll see that this strategy would have been successful 0:50:01 - 0:50:27 where everything else fails. Look for people who succeed, where you fail, who are strong, where you are weak, who have knowledge where you're ignorant. If you have a question that you've prayed and fasted for 10 years to get the answer to and you ask some person and they say, oh yeah, it's like this 0:50:27 - 0:51:02 and you know, it's right. What were you just given a sign? God just set up a neon sign that says, hey, you know the light and truth you've been asking me about here you go. The buffet is open. How about it? So you wanna use the demonstrated value in the things that you value, but you're missing to attest 0:51:01 - 0:51:28 to the value of the things that don't seem valuable to you. I get $5 every time I say the word value. Just kidding. Uh Does that make sense? OK. It's, it's how you're being shown what might have great value and they might there cause it's not a surefire thing. You're still risking all of this, but you 0:51:28 - 0:51:53 just keep going in the same tools and you just stack this OK 0.3 react by implementing the examples you're given when they come. Here's another pair of verses that you probably never read this way before. This is Matthew 24 40 41. Then two shall be in the fields. The one shall be received and the other 0:51:52 - 0:52:19 shall be refused. Two women shall be grinding at the mill, one shall be the one shall be received and the other shall be refused. Why? Because they differ in response to the same invitations. People use these kinds of verses to Len Credence. The idea of a rapture in a way they're right, the righteous 0:52:19 - 0:52:42 are taken. The wicked don't even notice because the wicked aren't watching. They don't think they're going to get invitations through daily life. But we do and some people will respond to them and they'll end up in different places literally geographically, but also character wise, they'll end up in 0:52:42 - 0:53:01 very different places. Think of your entire life right now and think of all the common experiences you've had with other people and yet you're a very different person than they are. All the people you've shared these common experiences with why? Because you responded differently, maybe better, hopefully 0:53:00 - 0:53:34 , maybe worse, right? But differently, your reaction to whatever opportunities come your way, opportunities for improvement or information or however you wanna slice this, you're showing the Lord how you feel about the kingdom to come. It's the same, I've spoken about this particular thing before. It's 0:53:34 - 0:54:00 the same with the Sabbath. The Sabbath shows God what you would do if you didn't have to work for a living and judging by how you use it, I'm not like pointing to anyone with this, but you might get the answer to the question of why you have to work for a living, right? Or why can't we have nice things 0:53:59 - 0:54:23 , right? Because that's what we'll use them for. It's the same thing with the information being revealed. You show if you're ready for something greater because if we don't respond correctly to the little things, we will not respond correctly to the big things. So given what you've been shown, what do 0:54:23 - 0:55:01 you believe? Given what you believe? What do you do and what do you not do? And why, how intense fast and enduring is your response until those are maxed out. You're offering God a more narrow window than He needs to give you a fullness of what he would like to give you the NC 84 starting in verse 44 0:55:01 - 0:55:25 for you shall live by every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God. Does that require someone to say thus? Sayeth the Lord, does it require someone who calls themselves a prophet? Does it even require coming to a place like this in hearing someone speak? No. Does he even require opening your 0:55:24 - 0:55:48 scriptures? These are all great things, but the channel's on 24 7. This might not listen to it, but it's there. It's on for the word of the Lord is truth and whatsoever is truth, is light and whatsoever is light is spirit. Even the spirit of Jesus Christ and the spirit giveth light to every man that 0:55:48 - 0:56:14 cometh into the world in the spirit, enlighten neth every man through the world that hearken to the voice of the spirit and everyone that hearken to the voice of the spirit cometh unto God. Even the Father, the chain from where you are to the presence of the Father. Every link is just these little things 0:56:14 - 0:56:42 and the father keepeth him of the covenant which he has renewed and confirmed upon you, which is confirmed upon you for your sakes. Uh I'm gonna skip a bit ahead and the whole world lieth in sin and growth under darkness and under the bondage of sin. Is that sin limited to the big ugly things that we 0:56:42 - 0:57:09 enumerate when we're talking about are thinking about sin is the whole world struggling with these big ugly things. No. Are we innocent? Because we're not? No, it's not what it's talking about. It's much bigger than that. We could rephrase it in a way that's less offensive. Almost the entire world is 0:57:09 - 0:57:42 disconnected from the Lord because they can't recognize his voice in most of the ways that he would reveal it. And what does it look like to groan in sin? We believe in an almighty God whose sole purpose is to bless us. Why are there so many struggles? Because we don't listen. And we've taken his toolbox 0:57:42 - 0:58:08 that consists of all creation and we've narrowed it down to these little pools of slime essentially. And we said, we say, well, this is where the solution has to come from. We blinded ourselves to everything else, cut ourselves off from everything else. And by this, you may know that they are under the 0:58:08 - 0:58:32 bondage of sin because they come not unto me. What does that look like? None are prepared for the fullness except those that do good for whoso cometh. Not unto me is under the bondage of sin and whoo receive. Not my voice is not acquainted with. My voice is right here. He's trying to tell us you're not 0:58:32 - 0:58:59 acquainted with his voice. It's a voice of improvement. It's everywhere, right? The whole of creation trains you on how to be better. The gospel of being that is the gospel. There's a great scripture in Gene C 1 30 2021. There's a law of the decree for the foundations of this world and any blood is just 0:58:58 - 0:59:17 being obedient to that law, which tells you the Lord is telling you, listen, there's laws to everything. You just figure out the laws and implement them. You too will have success and be happy and you obtain whatever you're looking for. If you're a baseball player and you're trying to hit over 300. Well 0:59:16 - 0:59:36 , there's laws they hit into baseball and so that, so he's telling me everything you said, plus that scripture plus the four perfect as your father now is perfect. He is trying to tell you this is the gospel of being happy and better and fullness of life. And he gives you tons of examples of what happens 0:59:36 - 0:59:59 to those who do that and those who don't. Yep. Yep. And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked and that the whole world growth under sin and darkness even now and your minds in, in times past have been darkened because of unbelief and because you've treated lightly, the things that you have 0:59:59 - 1:00:20 received. It's spelled out right here. You aren't aqua acquainted with the voi voice. You've taken it lightly, right? I'm not saying you like you saying, this is what humans do, which vanity and unbelief have, have brought the whole church under condemnation and this condemnation rested upon the Children 1:00:20 - 1:00:41 of Zion even all. How do we get Zion? We s we see and live up to what's already been given, right? And it's gonna take the form of things just like it has in this talk where some of these things are surprises. I never thought of it that way. Which thing I never would have supposed? That's a good sign 1:00:41 - 1:01:03 . Ok? And they're gonna be things that are all over your daily life, your normal weekly, monthly, yearly life, but they won't actually be new. They will be the same thing John. That is why John the beloved said I give unto you a new commandment, but it's not a new commandment. It's the same commandment 1:01:03 - 1:01:39 we've always had, right? So we have to stop taking invitations for improvement lightly. That is the currency of the realm. We have to stop ignoring or delaying our responses to sufficiently strong arguments. We have to make the improvements that we've been invited to make that have sufficient reasoning 1:01:38 - 1:02:02 . There's a quote by Machiavelli, which is probably like the last thing you expect to hear in a gospel talk. But truth is found everywhere. And I'm paraphrasing this the difference between a wise person and a fool. One of the main ones is the reaction time. The wise man immediately does what the fool 1:02:01 - 1:02:32 takes a long time to do. And here's the key to figure out just how much of God's wrath you're calling down on the delays. What are you using the time for? If you have somebody who wants, I'm just pulling this out of thin air who really believes that God wants them to quit smoking sins and they smoke 1:02:31 - 1:02:50 a pack a day. Do you know the difference in heaven between someone who still smokes a pack a day? Five years later and a person who's cutting the slightest bit off of what they smoke every single day or once a week or even once a month, that's progress. But if you're exactly where you were five years 1:02:50 - 1:03:15 ago, that is very, very, very bad. You get it. So let's act now according to that future value and start today, turn over new leaf and start in a new path in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.