Two Different Worlds

Transcript

Well, good afternoon to all of you.  This is the largest group that my wife and I have been with for the month, and enjoy being here and back home in Texas and back in Dallas.  

As well, I want to welcome all of the FI students who have come from hither and yon.  You didn't know you were going to have to stand up in church today.  Probably some of you wouldn't have come if you would have known that.  That's why Mr. Burnett doesn't tell you ahead of time.  But we really are glad that all of you are here.  I think there are a few yet, as Mr. Jones calls them stragglers; I don't know if they are straggling or not but I know that are going to plan to be here in town by early tomorrow.

You know I mentioned this is the largest group my wife and I have been with for the last month for Sabbath services.  You know when you travel you tend to forget things and, of course, if you forget things when you travel it's kind of tough because you can't really go home and pick it up, especially if you are on the other side of the world.  The few times that we traveled overseas we kind of triple-checked our bags and stuff before we went to be sure we had everything we wanted and needed.  Of course we don't tend to be that detailed when we come to services on the Sabbath day.   Most ministers here in the room probably will recall things that they've forgotten on a particular Sabbath.  In the last 35-40 years I have forgotten a number of things on the Sabbath where I have spoken.  I have forgotten my notes.  That's always a nice challenge, you know, when you kind of have to scribble them out during the sermonette based on what you remember.  You forget your Bible.  Now that really is one you can solve pretty easily because there is usually, depending on the size of the group, maybe dozens if not hundreds of Bibles in the audience.  Although if you admit that you forgot it, that doesn't shed real good light on yourself.   Of course the more embarrassing one is when you forget your black socks. I was traveling once, and I forgot where it was, but it was 10-12 years ago and I had a black suit and I had a suitcase, and it was just before church and I was in a hotel room and I realized I had my white socks.  And now maybe there might be a white socks guy here in the audience.  Most congregations have one or two that like to wear white socks with – but I'm not one of those and I remember when I try to pull my pants down to cover the white socks, that's bad enough, but today actually we got to the parking lot and I got out of the car and I said, “Tonya, I forgot my suit coat.”, and she wasn't too concerned because she didn't forget her clothing.  She had everything there but when you are speaking, it becomes a bit of a problem.  So I began thinking, who in the congregation here is about my size, so on my first try I actually scored.  This is Mark Morris' suit coat by the way.  It fits quite well.  I told Mark he's going to have to tackle me after church to get it back.  

It was just over three weeks ago Tonya and I left on a trip that would take us to Zambia, Zimbabwe and The Republic of South Africa.  I will show you a few pictures today.  I'll be able to share more pictures and some video when recording the In Accord update this week so you can tune in to that if you're interested.  The purpose of this trip was actually twofold.  One was to accompany and to assist the four volunteers who were serving on behalf of the Foundation Outreach International in Zambia and Zimbabwe in the English project we have there and also to conduct the Ministerial Leadership Meetings in Zambia, Zimbabwe and a Ministerial Conference in South Africa.  

In Zambia, which is where we went first, these two young ladies, Erica Bennett (Mike and Becky Bennett's daughter) and Courtney Tobin were the ones who actually were the instructors there.  Erica and Courtney worked very hard for the better part of a week building the confidence of the members in Zambia who have been involved in these English classes for some years.  They did a wonderful job.  As you can tell from this photo, they got along well with the kids.  In both Zambia and Zimbabwe there are a few parents who bring their small children along with them and, while they are not in the classes themselves, they hone their football skills, otherwise known as soccer skills, during the week, and the girls have a chance to spend some time with them.  Not only were they teaching English, but also building relationships with many of the members that they were able to teach.  Most of the members that they were teaching were from the rural areas of Nalubanda, Mapoko and Kasumpa.  These are members, of course, as I mentioned before, who had taken English in their younger years when they were growing up, but they didn't use it during their teen and adult years.  Living in rural areas, they used their native language and they really don't use English.  They basically forget it or it kind of goes into remission.  These ladies were able to help them and they did a wonderful job.  And during that period of time they built some friendships.  That's always one of the great side benefits of serving brethren, being able to build relationships with others as well.  

During that time we also had meetings with deacons and elders in the area.  As many of you know, the pastor in Zambia is Mr. Kambani Banda.  He and his wife were kind of the hosts of what we did.  We actually met on the same property where we had the English classes.  During the week days that we were there we all camped.  We were all in tents during that week.  The ministers were, the deacons, the members who were students and the volunteers, so that was kind of an added plus.  When people know that when you are going camping in Africa, they immediately think it's going to be 110 degrees, the blowing sands, or you're going to be in some incredibly hot and humid jungle, but in fact, where we were was quite nice.  As I've mentioned before, because it's south of the equator this is the latter part of their winter month.  It was very, very pleasant while we were there.  In this picture, you can pick Tonya out pretty easy, but the others are either elders or deacons and their wives, basically from Zambia, and the shorter gentleman in the front row and the person to his right, Elifazi Salawila and Tilmans Cherwa, are both from Malawi, which is next door to Zambia.

After that we actually went to Zimbabwe which borders Zambia south of the Zambezi River.   The two girls who taught English there are Vivian Waddle and our own Amanda Harring.  Vivian and Amanda arrived safely in Zimbabwe.  Zimbabwe is a little bit different than Zambia inasmuch as the government and the leadership in those two countries is somewhat different.  And while it's safe there, when you are having individuals coming over for the first time in that part of the world, they are flying together and you are not with them, you always tend to worry and want to see them getting off the plane.  So Tonya and I arrived in Zimbabwe a day early and we met up with Steven Tshabalala and his wife.  The next day we were able to greet the girls as they deplaned in Bulawayo.  They got settled in the hotel for a couple of days and went out to the property we were at outside of Bulawayo.  Amanda and Vivian both did a wonderful job.  They had 19, if I'm not mistaken, 18 or 19 students, most of who were ladies from the rural area of Gokwe.  It's an area of Zimbabwe that is basically made up of subsistence farmers.   And most of the members who attend those two small congregations out in Gokwe are just that, and many of the ladies' husbands are not members of the church.  When you layer on top of that the culture that exists in that area where the men tend to do the speaking for the family in all cases, and the wives really don't get a chance to use English, the need and the desire for them to learn English and to have that strengthened in terms of their ability to communicate was really greater.  They really are a motivated group of ladies who really wanted to learn.  It was really exciting to see that.  I think the motivation of the young ladies that we had there teaching them was extremely helpful as well.  This is a picture of both Amanda and Vivian with the students that they had.  As you can see, most of these are ladies.  I am sure that in some cases they were able to share email.  A lot of the members in those rural areas do not have email but somebody in the family has a cell phone and, of course, the way cell phones are you can actually email people, so they were able to swap emails in some cases as well.  

Now in the case of Zimbabwe, the group of leaders who are there is a smaller group as you can see by the picture.  Tonya and I are with two other couples; the one couple just next to me is Steven Tshabalala – he's the elder in Buleweao – and his wife Vetina.  Then next to them are Mr. and Mrs. Gorondo.  He's a deacon.  Another elder, Harris Hlazo and his wife Lizzie were not able to make it.  Some of you may recall that we have asked for prayers on behalf of Lizzie over the last many months.  She found out last year that she had cancer.  She's doing somewhat better but she's also diabetic and had to be hospitalized just prior to our conference so Harris stayed back in Harara where they live and wasn't able to attend.    (Since this sermon was given, both Mr. Gorondo and Lizzie Hlazo have died.)

At the end of that week we went on to Johannesburg where we were able to meet up with the Meekers.  Three weeks is a long time to be gone, and a long time to be in Africa, but that is nothing compared to the Meekers' trip.  Joel and Marjolaine were gone for upwards of two months, and that's another story that he'll bring to you in the near future.  But we were very happy to get a chance to meet up with them as well as all the ministers in South Africa last weekend and up through midday on Tuesday, conducting the ministerial conference with them.  Now in each case, with these groups in Zambia and Zimbabwe and then when we were in South Africa – here's a picture of all of us together in Johannesburg where we met for three days.  In each case we actually brought some of the video presentations from the ministerial conference that we had in the U.S. in May, June and into early July, so we were able to bring presentations from Mr. Franks, Mr. Kilough, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Britt Taylor, also from Dick Thompson, so we were able to have a combination of video presentations along with some presentations that I was able to make, and have discussions in both Zambia and Zimbabwe.  Then with Mr. Meeker being along, he and I shared some of the responsibilities of having some of the presentations with the ministry in South Africa.  We had a wonderful time, and I could talk for quite a while about the enjoyment it was to spend time with brethren in all three of those countries.  It seems like for all of the topics that you discuss and topics that are presented, it seems as the fellowship and just talking personally and spending time personally is one of the most valuable aspects to it.  I heard from a number of the ministers that we met up with during the last three weeks over the last couple of days, and they said the same thing.  They appreciated the opportunity to be together as brethren and to learn and to discuss matters, but almost as much as that was just the fellowship, the Christian fellowship that they were to have.  We think of ourselves of not having contact with a lot of people in the church as we may have 20, 30 or 40 years ago, but some of these people are attending congregations that don't get a chance to see a neighboring congregation until the Feast of Tabernacles.  So it really was a wonderful period of time and it really was a great three weeks.  

It was time well spent, at least from our point of view, but we did enjoy getting back home. Always do, despite the troubles we have in our country.  And indeed we do have those, which we'll comment on a little bit today.  It's a great place to be from and to return home to after such a trip.  The brethren in the countries that we were in all asked to pass their love and greetings on to all of you.  They have not met most of you and hope one day that they can, and I presume that they will as well.   

Today, brethren, what I want to do, and I'm going to have another slide or two – I'll just advance those in a minute – but I'd like you to turn to Proverbs 29 because I want to start with this one scripture that we've read quite often over the years.  I've heard sermonettes and sermons given from this particular verse and all of which have been very helpful, I may add.   But it's a scripture that's familiar to all of us in this room, Proverbs 29 and verse 18.  I'll read this from the King James Version.

Proverbs 29:18
(IT STATES:)
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth (KEEPS) the law, happy is he.
KJV

“Where there is no vision, the people perish”.  An interesting verse and, as we normally do, we sometimes will read such a verse thru a different translation.  Taking a look at maybe a different way that it might be framed, considering the way the words could be translated. But it's a very interesting verse, one that seems to carry with it somewhat of a warning, a serious caution associated with it.   How important is a phrase that God inspired to be recorded here in Proverbs 29 and verse 18?  How important is that to all of us?  

What I want to do today is discuss one aspect of this caution, of this warning, regarding our vision.  So I want to ask all of you a question.  What is your vision or view of the world that we live in?  Or, what is your world view?  Now that terminology probably rings a bell with some people because the term 'world view' is one that we've probably heard now and then.  I want to talk about a world view just for a few moments to at least have a context within which to think about what I'd like to share with all of you today.  Many of you have probably heard this term 'world view' and in many different contexts over recent years, but a world view is defined as the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world, a collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.  It's basically the way that people view of the world that we live in and the life that's on it.  You could go on and have a lot of subsets of describing it but I think you get the point, and everybody has one.  As I've kidded with the FI students, a world view is kind of like a diet.  You know, if somebody comes up to you and says, “Are you on a diet?”, of course sometimes you don't know how to take such a statement if they come and ask us, but the fact of the matter is we are all on a diet.  Right?  We all eat something.  And we are all on a diet.  Now we don't think of it in those terms.  We usually think when we are on a diet there is some specified amount of food and types of food that we are on for health reasons or for whatever other reason.  But, in fact, everybody that's alive is on a diet; they just don't all focus on the fact that they're on a diet.  Some people do.  'World view' is the same way; everybody has one.  They may vary greatly and some of them may be incredibly shallow, but everybody has one.  Everybody has a view of life and the world they live in.  It may be a very narrow one, maybe something you don't think about very often at all.  And as Christians, our world view, the way that we view life in this world, really will prove to be very important to our spiritual lives as we consider this topic.

You know, during the last three weeks, my wife and I were in countries in some cases where the average income in some areas of those countries was equivalent to $50.00 a month, countries where the average person lives without running water, lives without electricity and without flush toilets, where corruption is the rule of the day, where police officers claim to be in place to keep the peace but often will extort money from drivers by for any reason almost at any time, where eighty-plus percent of the economy is based on street vendors selling their wares as you in a car or taxi weave through a sea of people in the cities, but also where most church members have a stronger appreciation for the need and desire for the Kingdom of God, because of not having the cluttered distractions of wealth and prosperity that we have to struggle with in this part of the world.  The point is that you realize, or you are reminded once again, that you live in a different world in one respect than the members you are there to visit live in.  

It's a different world.  We will often use that terminology.  This whole idea of living in different worlds, although we are on the same planet, is kind of an interesting concept.  Many of you older people in the audience may remember a song that was released in the early 1950's by an unknown guy by the name of Don Rondo, and was later re-released by Jerry Vale, called Two Different Worlds.  I'm not going to play it so don't worry; don't get too moody on me here, but it was a song about two individuals with tremendously different backgrounds but they're going to make it.  Their love's going to work out and they will stay together.  But it really introduces this concept of having two parallel worlds that people live in, and that gets revisited often when we, as Christians, may find ourselves visiting people in another part of the world and recognizing that the life that they live, the view of life that they have, is significantly different than what we experience back home.   

You know, when you are considering your view of the world, we often consider the world in terms of economics.  Economics drives a lot of other things.  Economics tends to drive what you eat; it drives the kind of housing that you have, whether or not you own anything for transportation.  It drives a lot of things about life.  It's not just about money.  Economics drive a lot of things, and this particular slide actually shows the world income distribution as of at least a few years ago.  You know, over the last ten years that really hasn't changed much; the amounts may have changed slightly, but the way that the world looks hasn't changed a whole lot in terms of the haves and the have nots.  Now when you look at this slide of the world, you see blue, and then you see the rest of the world.  Now those in the developed world are basically referred to as those with income of $12,275 or more annually, which seems like a pittance to some people.  And the rest of the world, of course, is significantly less than that.  So the developed world for at least the sake of our consideration are those nations that are in blue, and the developing world, you know, their political correctness took over here some years ago and this third world reference is something a lot of people don't use, but the fact of the matter is the economists will actually define the world not just by developed and undeveloped worlds, but actually three different tiers.  But the fact of the matter is the developed world is what most of us are used to.  And the developing world, the red and orange, etc., that's on the map significantly different.  Some of the economic disparities among nations can better be better appreciated when you consider just some statements that the World Bank put out not too long ago regarding the wealth in America vs. that overseas.  An American having the average income of the bottom ten percent in the United States is better off than two-thirds of the world's population.  The top ten percent of U.S. population has an aggregate income equal to the income of the poorest forty-three percent of the world.  The richest one percent of people in the world receive as much as the bottom fifty-seven percent do; in other words, they make as much, when you think about that.  Now these are statistics that are not new to anybody here in the sense that we may not have quoted these exactly, but all of us here pretty much understand the fact that the part of the world that we live in is significantly different than the rest of the world.  This is an interesting tidbit.  The three richest people possess more financial assets than the poorest ten percent of the world's population, or the poorest 700 million.  Now I don't expect you to remember those facts, but I did want to share them with you to make one fundamental point, and that is that we live in a world that has a tremendous amount of disparity in the way people view it, the way that they view life.  Yet to this day, despite the fact the world has shrunk, many people in the western world think the life they live is pretty much the norm.  It defines what's normal for people.  Our life, our economy, our wealth and the culture is the norm for a lot of people.  You can go on in assuming that there's a solution to many of the problems mankind faces.

Now while we were gone the Ebola outbreak kind of ramped up quite a bit, and because we were in the Continent of Africa, which is a huge continent, and I know the Meekers were there; they were actually in West Africa for a period of time many, many weeks ago, any friends and family we had were a bit concerned about the fact that 'well, you're in this continent and we were kind of worried about you'.  And I appreciate that.  I mean that's not to say that we weren't concerned about matters of health and security and safety while we were gone.  We were, and you try to take the precautions you can and it all seems to work out okay.  We surely looked to God for His protection and His blessing as well, but what I am saying is that we see these things in the news over here, including myself, and we probably don't have a real grasp of just how difficult most people in this planet really do have it.  You layer on top that our realization that we have members that live in many of these developing countries of the world, and it does cause me sometimes to ask myself the question, “How do they view the world, and how do we view this world” (those of us in the west vs. those in the developing countries).  You know, what many people believe about this world is really an illusion and I know that because of the global economy and technology, there are probably more people in western countries that have a bit more of a grasp and a reality of what life is like in the rest of the world than they did 20 – 30 years ago.  But still, most people tend to default back to an illusion about life on earth that really isn't accurate and really isn't true.  I'm not even talking about the point of view of religion and prophecy and end-time events, just strictly looking at the world itself.  

You know, the message of the prophets of God 2,700 plus years ago were meant to shape our world view.  There are many ways you can look at the messages of God's prophets, the minor and the major prophets combined, but when you think about it, it was meant to, at least for its impact upon those of the 20th and 21st century, it was meant to shape our world view as God's people.  I'll give you an example.  The prophet Jeremiah, I think most of us know, had a very tough task, a very difficult one.  I don't know that any of the prophets of God had an easy task.  From what I read it seems that many of them had a very difficult one.  But Jeremiah was no exception.  The people did not really want to hear the messages that Jeremiah had. He was given an unsavory job of prophesying against Judah and Israel during his ministry and yet living amongst these people and their leadership.  He, like others of the prophets of God, actually had his life threatened as a result of it.  You know, much of what he prophesied was against Jacob and Israel and we know that Jacob and Israel was probably referring to the northern tribes of Israel.  We know that Jeremiah, being where he was with Judah, and knowing that the northern tribes had been taken captive some hundred years prior, we know that much of what he had to say about the time of Jacob's trouble could not have been directly referring to the difficulties that Israel had when they were taken captive by the Assyrian empire.  So what we read in Jeremiah
often can refer to none other than the descendants of the lost tribes of Israel, otherwise known as the American, British and Western peoples.  When you look at the map that's up there, we begin to immediately target who we are talking about and what we are talking about.  

Notice in Jeremiah Chapter 6, we begin to see an understanding that God's prophets had about not only the people they lived amongst, but those they were prophesying to or about.

Jeremiah 6:13
For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth (deals) falsely.
KJV

This is one of a number of occasions within the writings of Jeremiah where he talked about the society of Israel and of Jacob.

Verse 14
(AND)... have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
KJV
 
Now this phrase of “Peace, peace; when there is no peace” is one we know quite well.  God talks of a time here that is a time of trouble, a time when modern Israel has an unrealistic view of the world they live in.  I initially started by quoting from Proverbs Chapter 29 where it states that without vision the people will actually die or they'll cast off restraint; the people will perish.  We find here in the words of Jeremiah that there will be a time in the future when mankind will think that we have a solution to some of the difficulties that we face as a people, where in reality there will not be peace, even though there is the illusion of such.  

Again, I look back over again the last three weeks, when you consider what's taking place in Israel, what's taking place in Iraq, and I don't think there are too many people who have the illusion that we're living on a peaceful planet right now.  And yet I've heard, like many of you, of some of the ceasefires, there's been 2 or 3 of them that have been attempted, between Israel and Hamas over the last month or so, and people get their hopes up about things improving.  Of course we would love to see that happen and yet we see that, generally speaking, that God says that our peoples are going to live in a time when we're going to have an unrealistic view of the world that we live in.  Now that may be hard for us to wrap our brains around in 2014 in America when we have so many individuals outside of the church who seem to understand that we live in a troubled world, and in a divided country.  Much of that falls back on the subject of politics for sure, and that's an unfortunate thing, even though politics gets mixed in with morality and religion sometimes, but in fact there are a lot of people who recognize something's wrong, something's terribly wrong in the world that we live in and in the country that we live in.  And yet we see here that our peoples aren't going to fully grasp the level of severity of the problems that we suffer with and are facing.

Notice in Jeremiah Chapter 30 and beginning in verse 3.

Jeremiah 30:3
For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring (ONCE) again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
KJV

Now we know that didn't happen with Israel.  Sure, Judah eventually returned after the Babylonian captivity, but it says here that they will bring them again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah.  We know that it’s going to happen once again.  We look at the history of the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel and know that within 100-150 years of each other both of those representatives of God's people were taken captive either by the Assyrian Empire or by the Babylonian/Chaldean Empire, and only many of the Jews finally did return to Jerusalem.  But we know that those are really a type of what is going to happen in the future.  

Notice in verses 4 through 6:

Jeremiah 30:4-6
And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.
For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.
Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
KJV

Now what it describes here is a pretty penetrating description of somebody that's in shock and bewildered.  And we find as we continue on in verse 7:

Verse 7
Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
KJV

Now the phrase “ the time of Jacob's trouble” is a phrase that we've often referred to as it relates to the difficult challenges that our people (I'm talking about the United States and British peoples and English-speaking peoples and even some of Western Europe, as well) will face.  I recall very distinctly in 2001 after the attack on the World Trade Center, we as a church, and the church referred to this scripture here in Jeremiah more than once, recognizing that we were living through a time that was quite unsettling.  

Many of you in the congregation will remember the day of September 11, 2001, where you were.  I remember getting phone calls from a number of you in the congregation, understandably.  I made a few phone calls myself that day, at least as long as the phones worked.  For a period of time our view in the church, and even in the country, about the world we live in, changed.  It changed dramatically; it changed overnight.  Now here we are some 13 years removed from that occasion and a lot has taken place in those 13 years – in your personal lives, in my personal life, yes, within the church – but in this country, a lot has.  But when I think back on the emotions that I went through and I think that many others in this room went through on that day and the few days that followed we could relate to the words that Jeremiah uses here in Chapter 30, leading up to the statement in Verse 7 about the time of Jacob's trouble.  

Because people were quite concerned, and many of us in the church, because of what we understood about prophecy, what we understood about the future of this country had our view changed.  I think all of us wanted to see a time when we could go to the bank again, that you could fly – I remember the first plane that flew over our house in Allen in the days that followed 9-11.  Some of you may remember the first plane you saw in the air in the days that followed because so many of our airports were shut down.  But how quickly our view on life changed both in a sobering way on that day and in the months that followed how it slowly changed back almost to what it was.  

Obviously, the world changed in many ways after that date.  Some of you probably don't even remember what it was like when you could go to the airport and not have any security.  That was a different world.  Things have changed, and if you have only flown in the United States, you realize that while, depending on what airport you may go through in the U.S., some of them are pretty strict; but if you fly internationally, almost anything can happen.  Sometimes you can kind of breeze through and other times you can find someone will go through every nook and cranny in your backpack, like I had happen to me.  I've come to learn that if you have too many wires on you, even though they may be just audio wires for a camera or whatever, if you have too many of them and they are all kind of balled up, well immediately, you know, you're have to take everything out and show them what you have, which is fine.  

My point though is that we read through what we do here in Jeremiah, and he's really talking about a time when people, our peoples, – I'm talking about our ethnic peoples in this country – are going to be blinded to difficulties and troubles that they're going to face.  The troubles initially are going to be felt by the developed world as you look up there – the blue nations, who they are fundamentally on that map – with the exception of South Korea and Japan – as I think they are basically the U.S. and British Commonwealth countries and Western Europe.  From what we read in scripture, from what we read in prophecy, the troubles are going to happen to those people first initially or at least in a very unique way.  

I know I've shared this before and it actually came up again while we were on this trip, so often if you ask people what they'd like to have, if they could do something or go somewhere, especially if you're visiting with some members in that part of the world, whether they are young or old they would love to come to America.  Most of them never have, and to them it really would be like coming to a totally different world.  And I understand that.  We can't be dismissive of a person's desire to experience a level of relative prosperity and peace, and having access to things that we do.  You have to understand why a person would want to be able to experience that.  And I can appreciate that very much.  A few of them may end up getting to this part of the world before the end of the age comes.  However, most of them won't.  I'm convinced most won't.  I've tried to help them understand the reciprocal of what I'm talking about today and that is there's coming a time in the future when the people who live in these developed countries, because of who they represent prophetically, are going to face a level of difficulty and challenge that they (the people I have visited) have already faced.  Now it's not to suggest that the tribulation isn't going to happen to the whole world; I know that it will.  But we do know what we read in scripture indicates that the time of Jacob's trouble is one that's really focused.  And it affects the way the descendants of Jacob view the world.  

You know, I asked all of you what your world view was several minutes ago and I mentioned the fact that everyone has one.  As I said, it's kind of like a diet; everyone is on a diet, whether they're prescribing it or not, they're eating something; and everyone has a world view.  The indication is from scripture there are people who have a world view that's very narrow, that's very shallow, and that’s unrealistic.  I'm talking about in our western countries that we live in.

In Jeremiah 16 we read of a time in the future as well where the Gentile nations will learn as a result of what Israel will eventually come to learn about its mistakes.  

Jeremiah 16:19-21
O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee (you) from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.  Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?  Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord.
KJV

We know that many of the Gentile nations are going to learn as a result of a restored Israel after the return of Jesus Christ when it begins living God's way of life again.  That's not where we are today. Where we are today is living at the time of the end, at a time when many of these Gentile nations, and I think it very aptly describes here in verses 19 and 20, that they have practices that have left them in darkness in many respects.  

You know, I would say a lot of people have taken a new level of interest in historical colonialism.  I'm talking about the colonialism of many of the Western European nations, Great Britain, to be sure; and when you go to Africa, of course, there is a tremendous amount of history.   We were in one country, Zimbabwe, which has a very interesting history to it; Zimbabwe, which was formerly Rhodesia, was at one time many years ago somewhat of a breadbasket of Southern Africa.  

The first place that I ever had the privilege of visiting in Africa was in Ghana 15 years ago.  Mr. Franks and I were able to accompany Mr. Meeker who had been there already (to Ghana).  Actually I was looking at some pictures; we all look a whole lot younger in those pictures, Joel, which I was looking at the other day.  

But even there because the British, amongst others, had been there and had their footprints 150 – 200 years ago in Ghana.  You see a lot of the remnants of that in the architecture of buildings that are kind of broken down in some of the cities themselves – Kumasi and Accra.  And while they didn't do everything perfectly in those countries, that's understood; that's true in South Africa as well, and of any of the European Countries, what the British brought to those countries many of the indigenous people still recognize and understand, and many of our church members do.  We're not talking about spiritually what's been brought. I know that many of those countries were initially occupied by individuals from Western Europe because of missionaries trying to convert many of these Gentile people hundreds of years ago.  They did bring some good to them; there's no question about that.  And yet, we read about a time in the future here in Jeremiah when it's going to happen for real, when Israel, as a people, our peoples – not today, but after the return of Christ, after they have to learn their lesson, that's the whole point – are going to be able to work with and to be an example to many of these other nations; and they'll recognize that.  Some of them actually recognize it today.

You know, from the mid-1960's on there have been a number of countries in Africa that have sought and achieved their independence.  A few of them have done okay; a lot of them have struggled, and even in Zimbabwe where we were, it's really kind of sad.  It's a beautiful country in many ways, and I surely don't pretend to have a good grasp of all of its history, but because  it’s been led by one particular leader over the last 30 plus years, Robert Mugabe, even the members don't want to talk in any public setting about politics or government at all.  Now when you get in private and they want to talk about it, and as a matter of fact, Steven Tshabalala (the elder) wrote to me before our trip because I asked him if there are any topics you'd like to discuss while we're having our meetings for three days (over and above what we were going to be bringing to them that we had for the ministerial conferences) and he said there were a couple of them.  One of them had to do with the spirit world and its impact upon the members and dealing with certain issues, which is an interesting topic to be sure, but also the issue of government and politics.  He knew that we would be at a place where he didn't have to worry; he works actually for the city government in Buleweao and gets paid occasionally.  

Zimbabwe is pretty safe compared to a lot of countries; I'm not suggesting that it's not safe, but their government is run in an autocratic way and their economy really was trashed over a period of years to the extent they don't have their own money anymore.  I think I showed all of you a twenty trillion or a two hundred trillion dollar bill, that I got several years ago, which are really not used at all.  The only thing you find in Zimbabwe these days are U.S. dollars, and everything is priced in U.S. dollars.  Occasionally you'll get your change back if you buy something in U.S. dollars.  I went into a couple of stores to buy water, to buy other things, and you pull out your U.S. dollars like you would here, and you get your change back; if it's paper, it will be dollars and if it's coin, it will be South African Rand; you get it back in two different denominations.  But that's because their economy totally collapsed and the government's really not too concerned about it.  You realize these people, even though they have their independence, they have often suffered under the autocratic and selfish leadership of individuals who are far more concerned about maintaining power as opposed to bringing peace and some level of prosperity to their people.  I think that illustrative of human nature all over the world; it's not just in those countries.

But when you look at it in terms of prophecy and recognize there is a time in the future when our people in modern Israel are going to be an example, but that's not true today, brethren.  It's just not true today at all.  Notice in verse 1 of Isaiah, Chapter 60.

These are some very encouraging scriptures that speak to a time in the future when the darkness that is over many of the nations of this world will be lifted and people will understand and have an appreciation for living life the way it was meant to be lived.  

Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise, shine; for thy (your) light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee (YOU).  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.  And the Gentiles shall come to thy (your) light, and kings to the brightness of thy (your) rising.
KJV

It's speaking about a time in the future when those peoples who are alive on this planet during the beginning of the millennium are going to follow the lead of individuals who are there to serve them, and to live a way of life that works, finally.  Now, that's true with our country as well.  Just because we have a level of prosperity and a level of peace in our country, and we should be thankful for that, doesn't mean that we don't have just as much of a need to understand a right way of life and God's way of life the rest of the world does.  Indeed, we do.  It just has been masked with prosperity and relative peace.  But what we read here really underscores the fact that after having seen the captivity and destruction of modern Israel, when Israel is again restored, the Gentile nations will then come and see the blessings that God is giving to the descendants of Jacob as a result of living God's way of life, but only after modern Israel has learned God's way.  

We're covering, in a sense, a lot of ground here in terms of what's going to happen to modern Israel because we're actually coming to the point here in a few of the verses we are reading showing that there's a time when our people won't be blind as they are today, and they will, after having gone through this time of Jacob's trouble, those of who are left, many of them will recognize the error of their way and repent.  Notice in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5.  There are many places we could turn to, of course, and reading through the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea and others, and we know that these prophets prophesied many times to people who were no longer there, as was true with Ezekiel and was true with Jeremiah as well.  We know that many of their prophecies were speaking about modern Israel in our day and our time.  Then we come up to the New Testament church in 1 Thessalonians, and here we find in the writings of the Apostle Paul that Paul had an understanding about some of the things we read about in Jeremiah, about the blindness of people and how they would not have a realistic sense of the world that they live in.  That's really what we are talking about today.  Notice 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 1.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-2
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh (comes) as a thief in the night.
KJV

Here we find not in the words of Isaiah, not in the words of Jeremiah or Amos, but in the words of the Apostle Paul writing to a church congregation.  He's writing to them and he says, “You really don't have any need that I write to you about the times and seasons, but a general understanding of the framework of prophecy.  But you know perfectly well (he said in Verse 2) that the day of the Lord is going to come as a thief in the night.” Which means it's going to surprise people.  

Verse 3
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh (comes) upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
KJV

Once again he brings up the fact that there will be a time when things will look relatively peaceful; things are going to be okay, and then, as it says here, “sudden destruction comes upon them as travail upon a woman with child”.  Notice the same description that is used by Paul here that we read back in Jeremiah 30, leading up to the description of the time of Jacob's trouble.  

I think it's important for us as a church, even in the times we are going through in 2014, to recognize what God tells us about our people, about our country, about the swiftness with which some of these things are going to take place in the near future, coupled with the rhetorical question we should ask ourselves about whether or not we see the world for what it really is, and ask ourselves what our view of the world really is.  Today many people in our country and in Western Europe view the world through the eyes of prosperity and, to some degree, excess.  I think that's true of everyone, and I'm not suggesting there's not some sense that something is wrong in the world we live in.  There are people who recognize that, but they don't know what and they don't know always why.  As Mr. Jones was bringing up earlier, the majority of the world still believes that war is the solution to conflict or problems in the world, and that good must prevail over evil.  Now we know that from a spiritual point of view that's absolutely true, and yet we recognize that from a human perspective it will lead to man's self-destruction if people don't have a clear understanding of the world they live in.  You know, even those of us in the church sometimes can be blinded to a degree to the world that we live in, to the country that we live in.  Notice in Luke, Chapter 21.  Here we find Jesus Christ speaking to His disciples in the Olivet Prophecy about the days leading up to the return of Jesus Christ, and He makes a statement here in verse 34.

LUKE 21:34
(he says) And take heed to yourselves, (he's speaking to the church here) take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged (or overwhelmed) with (as it's translated here) surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that (the) day come upon you unawares.  (In other words, that it takes you by surprise.)
KJV

You notice the constant theme here from the words of Jeremiah, to the writings of the Apostle Paul, to Jesus Christ warning His disciples in the Olivet Prophecy, of a level of ignorance or blindness that people can have, even those of us in the church if we are not watching and aware of the world that we live in.  

Luke 21:35-36
(he said) For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
(he said) Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye (you) may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
KJV

You see, brethren, God wants our level of awareness of the world that we live in to be accurate, and where we fit into the equation be fully grasped and understood by us.  He wants us to understand that.  Now He doesn't expect us to have a steady diet of being reminded of this every week in life.  You know, the plan of God is an amazingly hopeful plan, and I'm reminded, not that I necessarily forget, although I probably do, I'm reminded, when with people who have an appreciation for the need of the return of Jesus Christ, just how much it's needed in their life now, when visiting with brethren who understand, who have the same Spirit we have, and have the same understanding of God's plan that we do.  But God wants our level of awareness of the world we live in to be accurate, and how we fit into the equation to be fully grasped and understood, both from the point of view of the world that we live in and the incredibly hopeful future that this world has ahead of it.  

You know, when we look at the messages of many of the prophets of God we see a pattern of blindness and a lack of realistic vision of the world that ancient Israel lived in and that modern Israel lived in, a pattern that would be repeated once again in our day.  You know. The prophet Amos prophesied against the people, against Israel, and, of course, that was some years earlier than Jeremiah, and he prophesied about a nation that was blinded by its affluence and incredible prosperity.  You read through the book of Amos and you realize that much of what he saw and much of what he talked about, relative to the northern tribes of Israel, had to do with the subject of affluence and prosperity, and that distracting people from the reality of the world that they lived in.  Now we know that some decades after he prophesied, both Shalmanezer and Sargon, Kings of Assyria, came in on more than one occasion and took many of the northern tribes of Israel captive.  Notice in Amos Chapter 3, verse 2.

Amos 3:2-7
You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.  Can two walk together, except they be agreed?  Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath (has) no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have (has) taken nothing?  Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath (has) not done it? (notice in verse 7) Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth (reveals) his secret unto his servants the prophets.  The lion hath (has) roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
KJV

You read through Chapters 3, 4 and 5 in Amos, and you see that God punished them in their blindness and in their prosperity, which he likened, of all things, to Sodom and Gomorrah, but they didn't see.  They didn't see.  

You know, much of what I have been talking about today has to do with our country, our people, I'm talking about many of the countries of Western Europe and the Western World as well can view it, but I am also asking us to take a look at our view of the world as well.  There's so much going on and we get bombarded with so much in the news, in the media, that it can be overwhelming.  And if we are not ready to feel the understanding that comes at us and to let it have the proper impact, it can go right over our heads.  It's kind of like what most of the FI's do that they're going to face in the next nine months.  We'll talk about that tomorrow.  It's going to be a great experience, but you have to be prepared for it.  

In a bigger sense, God wants us, as His people, to be prepared for what's ahead, not just putting our seatbelts on and waiting for the tribulation or the Day of the Lord.  God wants us to appreciate the things that we have as His people.  He does, but He also wants us to recognize that the world that we live in is a very troubled world, and we can get easily distracted from the reality of it.  But where does this leave all of us.  Whose view of the world is more realistic,   your brothers and sisters who are on the other side of the planet in a small, remote village, the developing world, or those of us who live here in Dallas, Texas.  I don't know that anybody could actually respond to that with any amount of accuracy because, really, it doesn't have to be dictated by where you live, necessarily.  

The Apostle Paul experienced both the “have” and “have not” times in his own life.  He made a comment in Philippians Chapter 4, if you will turn there.  In recognizing the fact that Paul actually lived two different lives, I mean most people do when they are converted.  You have your pre-conversion life and your post-conversion life as well.  From what I can see, Paul's was a stark change in what took place in the direction of his life and how he viewed himself in his life.  When Paul suffered as a result of his effort to do the will of God and to preach the gospel and to care for the church and to fulfill the responsibility that Christ had given to him, he didn't make any excuses for himself, and he surely didn't seem to complain very much about the difficult challenges he occasionally faced.  Notice what it says in Philippians 4, Verse 4.

Philippians 4:4
(It says) Rejoice in the Lord alway(s): and (he said) again I say, Rejoice.
KJV

And that's something that God wants us to do.  Brethren, we shouldn't feel guilty because we were born in this country or born in a part of the world where there's more affluence and more opportunity, even though it may be waning now, I understand that.  God wants us to be thankful for what we have, whatever it is.  If it's good, He wants us to be thankful for it.  On the other hand, He wants us to have a mindset where we can both do that and have a realistic approach to the future.  Notice what Paul said here.  Verse 11.

Philippians 4:11
(he said) Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned (Paul said), in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
KJV
 
Now, I've read that many times, and I've asked myself whether or not that's true of me, and I don't know that it is.  I mean, there are times in my life when I'm far more content than others, as it relates to the “have” and “have not” part of life, as he states here:

Verses 11-13
...(that he's learned), in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ which (who) strengtheneth (strengthens) me.
KJV

Now Paul learned some valuable lessons in his life, a very unique individual, but I think what we read here in Philippians 4 speaks to the fact that we, in the church, we have those that have a relative bit of prosperity and abundance, and there are times when those same people may face bigger challenges.  But within the church we have other individuals who are subsistence farmers and don't know the reality of life that we've come to expect in the Western World.

Paul was not suggesting that one has to feel guilty, even though they may be very generous in their outlook on life and to others just because they live in a part of the world that was blessed as a result of the very promises that God gave to Abraham, but I really think it's important, and I think it's instructive, when we read what Paul had to say about being able to think and understand and accept the fact that while we may have, and we do, and we help to underwrite through the blessings God grants to us, in this country and in the church, help to underwrite and to fund much of what the brethren are able to do in terms of the Feast, and even having a church hall, in many of these countries.  And they appreciate that. They do.  So when Mr. Meeker and others return from their travels and pass on their love and greetings from others because those members recognize it's because of where we live and the blessings we're able to enjoy, and, you know, the challenges we have to face as well.  But nonetheless, they are very appreciative of that because they know it's one of the ways that enables the church to function the way that it does around the world.

It's not that God wants us all to suffer need at any point in time, but we need to think in terms of
being willing to do so.  God would want us to be fully appreciative of what we now have and to utilize the blessings that He not only grants to our peoples, but, more importantly, to us within the church, in a manner that is going to serve His work.  And I think the brethren in the church have done an incredibly, wonderful job, and I say that to all of you, in being able to share the blessings that God has granted you in your life in an effort to serve God's people around the world.  And that's a wonderful example, and one that we should feel good about the opportunity of being able to do, even though all of you have been thanked many times in many ways by a lot of different people.

The day is approaching, the time is coming in the future, and maybe years yet away; we just don't know when some of what we experience in this country in terms of relative peace and wealth and prosperity is going to come to an end.

The concept of two different worlds we talked about in the beginning does apply, but not in the way that maybe some people would view it because today, brethren, contrary to some views, there's really only one real world.  There's not two or three; there's one.  And it's one that Satan is ruler over.  And it's one that God is going to replace – a world of relative wealth and excess for some in this world, but a world of poverty and suffering for millions.  The world of conflict and war is a world of corruption and greed; a world of incredible technological advances, and yet a world of suffering and violence God wants our view of this world to be clear and real.  He wants us to have an accurate view of the world we live in.  And of all peoples on the planet, we as God's church should, and do.  

But there's another world, a different world that's in the near future, and that's the world that we're preparing for, and it is a world of different values, it's a world of happiness and peace, of joy, of goodness, of fairness.  It's a world without pain and suffering and death and tears, as the scripture tells us; it's a world that is the way that the Creator wanted it to be.  But that world is the world is the world we live in today, brethren; it's the world that we are looking forward to tomorrow.

You know, after healing the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, we find Peter preaching to a group of followers that followed him as the result of that amazing miracle that took place.  Because he preached to a multitude of people, we find recorded in Acts 3 that were amazed by the fact that this man who had been lame and had been at this gate for so long, and was a personality that individuals knew would be maimed for life and yet he was healed.  And, of course, they looked on the immediate miracle, which is well they could and should in some respects, and yet what did Peter do?  When you read through Acts Chapter 3, you find that Peter wanted those individuals who were marveling at what took place to get a broader view of what really this is all about.  It's not about healing one person at a gate who had been laying there for years and collecting alms and spare change of people that walked by.  It has to do with an individual who was the Son of God and that some of them had ignored and had been indirectly responsible for putting to death, who was the cornerstone of a plan for a world that was far different than the world that they lived in.  And he referred to the prophets.

You know, when you look at what Peter had to say to those people, or the multitude that followed him to the temple, and to see Peter's desire to connect it with a broader understanding of reality, it's quite instructive.  It really is.  Notice what he said.  Now we tend to, what we'll often quote – as I've done many times myself – in Acts Chapter 3 and verses 20 and 21.  But this is kind of the conclusion of the matter.  All of this stems from people being amazed by a lame man, which had to be a stunning thing to witness, being healed.  Really healed.  Not as I was queried when I was in Zimbabwe with the elders and deacons there, about the individuals not in the church but have been healed by medicine men in their local communities.  Steven Tshabalala talked about a practice that takes place out in Gokwe.  Black mambas are a bad deal in Africa.  It's a snake that you don't want to get bit by.  And we found out when we were in Zimbabwe, at the place where we actually had the classes, which was a beautiful setting by the way, it really was, that there were black mambas there.  When I say they are all over, it makes it sound like they are crawling all over; no, they're out there, just like there are rattlesnakes in Texas.  But how many of you have seen one in the last week, probably none.  I mean maybe somebody has but...  But the way that it worked was that members grew up with this before they came into the church, but if you get bit by a snake that's going to take your life, you send a proxy to the medicine man.  He'll do his thing with you; he'll give you something to drink, and that person 50 miles away will be healed because you're being dealt with that way.  

There's a whole lot more detail that I won't go into in a public setting about what took place and the circumstance; but all of it was meant to convince people that they were actually being healed,  
when we know