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Transcript

Well, welcome, brethren. As I said, it’s wonderful to see everybody. Everybody is having that wonderful time, and as we heard in the sermonette, are enjoying some laughter and some humor, and some joy. So let’s get started. Let me ask, what does your heart good? What does your heart good? Well, what does my heart good is to see the brethren participating in one of my greatest joys, an activity that I take part in whenever possible, every opportunity. When I witness this activity, my heart leaps, and there’s a sense of excitement and wonder that honestly floods over me.

I kind of get a chill that just pops out. Now, I’ve witnessed this leading up to the Feast. I’ve witnessed this Day One, Two, now, Day Three of the Feast, and I am truly overwhelmed. And again, my heart is and continues to swell and leap once I, and when I see this activity. What am I talking about? What am I talking about? I’m talking about building, construction, creating something, but what? What am I talking about... I mean, that’s a big, broad subject right there. So please open up your Bible to Acts chapter two. Let’s begin narrowing what this is, down to a finer point.

Acts chapter two, we will begin, for a little bit of context, I guess, in verse thirty-eight. Verse thirty-eight. It says, all right, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Then we jump on down to, that sets up the context. So, let’s jump down to verse forty-two. We’re going to get that finer point now, “... and they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

Did y’all see the blueprints of the building project in those scriptures? It’s fellowship, but I recently heard a Bible study at a visit that I was blessed to be a part of, where I found out something I didn’t know, and you may not know this as well, the definition of fellowship in that scripture. Literally, there’s four different times, I believe it’s four times in the New Testament where the word fellowship is used, and they’re all derived from this main definition. Fellowship means partnership. Think about that. If you’re going to fellowship, well, let’s fellowship.

You could just as easily say, “Well, let’s partner, let’s create a partnership.” Now, the words that the other definitions that kind of come up with, they’re all tied to that. They are, being a sharer, being, you know, associate, and participation. They’re all tied to being a partner. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today, brethren. Now, I talked about, you know, building, you know, we’re not building airplanes. Mine wouldn’t fly very far, but we’re not just building partnerships either. Wait a minute, I thought you said we’re building partnerships.

No, brethren, we’re building eternal partnerships. That’s what we’re here today, that’s why we’re here at the Feast to learn how to build eternal partnerships. Now we’re going to look at a variety of ways, different means. We start off with a few qualities of partners, of good partners. You can put this in front of... You can put good partners kind of in front of these words. I marked out a few here. It’s a good partner lives the give way. Well, that’s also being a sharer, which is one of the words coming off of one of the definitions of fellowship. So, good partner, good partners live the give way.

Good partners inspire, they motivate, they support, they serve, they teach, and are teachable. If you have a partner, and they’re only wanting to teach the other partner, that’s not really a partnership. That’s a one-way street. Partnerships go both ways, you know. So good partners are able to teach and able to be taught. Partners have common goals, common hopes. They believe in each other. They have that trust, they stick together, have the same direction. They’re close, have a common bond, they have that trust, and go on and on and on.

Create your own list. What do you look for in partners? What do you look for in something that makes you want to fellowship again, partner with each other, with your own family members, with God, with Jesus Christ? Well, brethren, let’s get a little bit... This will be a point that we can tie into later. Turn to Colossians chapter one, please. Colossians one, verse seventeen. I’m going to give a... Here’s a tool that will help, that helps in our partnership. Colossians one, seventeen, it says, “He...” about God “…and He is before all things and by Him, all things consist.”

I don’t know if you’ve ever looked at that scripture, and, you know, what that’s talking about. All things consist because of God. That means there wouldn’t be anything made up of two pieces of anything if God wasn’t holding those two pieces together. And this goes from the universe to the smallest atomic structure. Now, what holds those two and multiple pieces together, it’s the Spirit of God. God is Spirit. It’s the power of God. It’s God’s Holy Spirit holding, binding everything together. The same thing that holds partnerships together is God’s Spirit.

Brethren, we are living stone built together, let’s say partnered together with Christ as that chief cornerstone held together by the power of God, God’s Spirit. Without God’s Spirit, we couldn’t have any partnership that’s with God, with Jesus Christ, with us, with anything because all things consist, are held together by the power of God. That’s something, you know, take that in. We’ve learned so much here recently over the last several weeks, of the mystery of God. Well, this is something that hopefully will... How big God is, how powerful God is.

Brethren, for these partnerships to be built, maintained, and grown, once again, God’s Spirit must be present as that power binding and holding each and every stone together. So some natural questions kind of arose, at least in my mind. So, we’re going to... I’m going to read these three questions, and then we’re going to flesh them out. First one, with whom do we partner? You might be surprised, at least on one. Number two, how do we build/maintain partnerships? And number three, why? Why do we build these eternal partnerships? Why?

Why are we doing this? All right. Let’s start to flesh out that first question. With whom do we partner? Well, I think you could guess the first one we’re going to start with, it’s God the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ. That’s who we say, let’s begin our partnerships with. But, brethren, when did that partnership begin? Did we begin it? Please open your Bibles and turn to Ephesians chapter one. We’re going to see when that partnership began and who began it. Ephesians chapter one, we begin in verse three, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as he has chosen us...” uh-oh, He’s choosing us to do something here “... He’s chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption, the sonship of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of His will.”

God chose us before the foundation of the world to be partnered with Him as children, as His sons, as His daughters. Now, I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t around before the foundation of the earth was laid. Raise of hand, who was? Good. I was going to say, if not, we’re going to call Guinness Book of World Records and get some names and get some photos taken. So we had nothing to do with that, right? We didn’t, I didn’t. I had nothing to do with God choosing me. You had nothing to do with God choosing you. But guess what? He did.

He chose us for an eternal partnership with Him, with His Son before anything. Before anything. So let’s keep looking at this. Turn to John, please, seventeen. John chapter seventeen, we’ll pick it up in verse twenty-one. John seventeen verse twenty-one. “That they all may be one as you Father are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us. That the world may believe that you have sent me and the glory which you gave me I have given them. That they may be one even as we are one, I in them, you in me, that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.”

I just thought about it. I didn’t think about canning all the time that Christ said one, to be one. Think back to some of the qualities that I mentioned earlier about, you know, qualities of, you know, partnerships. Good partners, partners are together. They’re bonded, they’re close. I don’t know about you, but you can’t get any closer than one. Two people becoming one, you can’t get any closer than that. And that’s what God wants. Just as the Father is one with His Son right now in heaven, He’s chosen us before the foundation of the world to be the very same.

And we’re here to learn to do that. We’re here to be... get excited about that. As I mentioned, when I see people building these partnerships, sends a chill through me. Sometimes I just like to sit back and watch. But it’s great, so thank you. You brought me a lot of joy. As we heard also, that’s part of coming closer together. We heard that in the sermonette. That joy, that happiness. So with this the... as we’ve talked about, the foundation of this partnership between us and the Father and Jesus Christ began before anything. We had no part in its building.

In that initial building of that foundation. Here’s kind of that step. Then God, and He said He predestined us. He chose, all right, this person is going to come about at this era, and this era. Brethren, God predestined us to be in that last era. To be in that little flock, to be the ones who can go first. Get excited about that. That’s you, that’s me, that’s us. No other era was ever given that opportunity, that partnership in time. Us. Get excited. Next stage is when God calls us. That’s our first opportunity to say, “Hey, I can be a part of this and build this partnership.”

Before that, we didn’t know. Think back before you were called. I know when I was call... I knew nothing. Can’t say, I hope I know a little bit more now, but I... then I knew nothing. But until God begins to open our hearts and minds, said, “Hey, I want to partner with you,” we don’t know what’s going on. The next step is we’re justified. Guess what’s added then? That bonding agent, God’s spirit. That’s at baptism. That’s when God gives us His Spirit. That’s when we have that power of God within us, binding us to Him and His Son and to His other partners at that point in time.

Now there’s one more step. We’re not there yet. We didn’t have to see it afar off. We see it right around the corner. And that’s to be glorified. That’s when we truly enter that eternal partnership as eternal beings. Brethren, this, those are the different steps that God has started and is continuing with his partners today. Please now turn to Second Peter three eighteen. I’m going to look at still tying into this same point with that... Now this partnership with God and Jesus Christ, it’s a two-part step. Let’s call it a two-part process. We know God starts it.

There’s a point where we have to jump in to continue. Second Peter three eighteen. I... Hopefully, I said the correct scriptures before. It says, “But growing grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to him be glory now and forever. Amen.” Grace. That’s another word that I never truly knew the meaning of until I looked it up. Now, let’s touch on the definition. It starts off, it means graciousness of manner or act. Okay, that’s wonderful. Part of the definition. Doesn’t really put a fine point on it. If you keep reading, the next word says, “Especially...” Uh-oh, that ought to perk your ears up in a definition on a meaning, “Especially the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life.”

There are two divine beings, the Father and Jesus Christ. Look at grace as His divine influence upon our heart that choosing us to be a partner, and then our part is we have to reflect that in our life. That two-part system. If we’re not willing to do our part, well, that kind of puts a gap. There isn’t a oneness then, we have to reflect. In this case, it talks about Jesus Christ. Well, guess who Jesus Christ reflects, is a reflection of. The Father. Reflection of the Father. Well, let’s make sure that’s correct. Please turn to John chapter fourteen. John chapter fourteen we’ll begin in verse eight.

The account with Philip. “Philip said unto Him, Lord, show us the Father and it suffice us. Jesus said unto him, Have I been so long time with you and yet have you not known me, Philip? He that has seen me has seen the Father. And how say you then, Show us the Father?” Jesus Christ is that divine reflection of the other divine being. Well, we’re supposed to reflect Jesus Christ, and when we reflect Jesus Christ guess who we are reflecting, meaning, become a reflection of, a mirror image of? It’s the Father. That ties us to that oneness that Christ was talking to the Father. “They are one as we are one.”

Well, if you’re one you kind of look like the other person. Now, granted we all look a little different, but it’s about our heart, it’s about our goal, it’s about the love that we have. That’s that oneness brethren. That’s that oneness, and we must do our part. Christianity is an action word. We can’t sit back and let it happen. We have to participate. We know about the hearers and the doers. We need to be both. We’re commanded to be both. All right? So let’s keep going here. So let’s see another way where we have that partnership with the Father and the Son.

Turn... Stay in John, turn back to chapter ten. Back to chapter ten. I almost overshot it there. chapter ten, we’ll begin in verse twenty-seven. Twenty-seven. John ten, verse twenty-seven. It says, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” Realize, brethren, one of our feet right now, his partners, is in the hand of Jesus Christ and the other one of our feet are in the hand of the Father.

Could we be in better hands? What’s that insurance company with the hands? No. This is a better insurance group right here, the Father and the Son. Now, and throughout this, Christ talks about eternal life. That’s an eternal partnership. He ends with being one again, with how he and the Father are one. They’re not separate. There is no gap. There is no schism. They’re one. They are one. So that’s another way of, think about our feet in the hands of the Father and the Son. I think my... I don’t think I’m going to slip. If we fall out of that, well, they’re not... the only way we can leave His hands is if we jump.

Don’t jump. Stay in their hand. All right? Another way is walking with God. Please turn to Second Corinthians chapter six. Second Corinthians chapter six, verse sixteen. Verse sixteen. “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be mine.” How comforting is that to know that God is within us, walking within us? You cannot say walking with us. He’s in us, and we’re walking. Guess who’s walking with us?

It’s the Father, and calling us, we are His temple. And He lives within His temple. We are that temple, brethren, you know, and if anyone shares a home with anybody, an apartment, if you’re sharing a room, many people are sharing rooms, you know, it takes, going back to those descriptions that I use, it takes a little sacrifice. It takes some service. It takes a partnership even to dwell temporarily with anybody else. Well, God is dwelling with us ever since he put His Spirit within us, and we have to do our part. We have to do our work to make sure that that partnership grows and is stronger because God is not going to cut it off.

That’s only if we choose. Don’t choose that. You’re in a wonderful place. We’re all in a wonderful place. Remember that. We’ve got another one here. Turn to Leviticus chapter twenty-six. Leviticus chapter twenty-six, still talking about, you know, walking with God. Verse twelve, twenty-six, twelve. Leviticus says, “And I will walk among you and will be your God and you shall be my people.” We know that’s a scene that’s coming very, very soon. We know God is going to walk among his people. We are his people. He’s going to walk among us.

But brethren, the whole world is going to have that opportunity too. The whole world will. And God promises, tells us right there, and this is that blessing and cursings chapter. So this is one of the blessings here that God promises. As long as we don’t jump out of the hands holding us, we’re going to be able to walk with the Father and walk with Jesus Christ as partners, as eternal partners, as sons, as daughters, as his children eternally. All right, let’s look at a different aspect. Shepherd and the sheep. Here’s one I noticed a long time ago. This is probably, as far as the Old Testament goes, probably the most quoted scripture, Psalm twenty-three, one.

Turn there if you want, and probably know it by heart. One word in there. I’d never really looked up until a couple of years ago, and it changed it for me. Psalm twenty-three, one said, “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.” Well, that word want doesn’t mean want if you look it up because, all right, I might want a yacht. I might want three new cars and a helicopter. Well, I’m not going to get all that. I don’t need that. Want means lack. You don’t lack for wants you lack for needs. So what this is... If you read what this scripture is saying, if we don’t want to lack for any need, we need to make God our Shepherd.

We make God our Shepherd, there won’t be a need that He will not fill, promise to God... promise from God. We need to be His sheep. We know that both the Father and Jesus Christ are both Shepherds. So we need to make sure that they’re both our Shepherd. We do that, and there’s nothing that we need. We may not realize you don’t need that, but God knows what we need. We won’t lack. We won’t lack. All right, let’s go to John again, chapter ten. Still looking at the aspect of that partnership with the Father and the Son. chapter ten, we’ll pick it up in verse one.

Chapter ten verse one. It says, “Truly, truly, I say unto you, he that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber, but he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him, the porter opens and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them and the sheep follow him. For they know his voice, and a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers.”

Jump down to verse seven real quick. “Then said Jesus unto them, again, truly, truly, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.” Brethren, we are the sheep. Jesus Christ in this passage, he is that shepherd. He says he’s going to stay with us. He won’t leave us without a shepherd. Now, there are those errant sheep that go off by themselves. We’ll touch on that. He says he will go before us, in front of us, paving the way, taking care of any dangers in front of us, providing us all our needs that we don’t lack for anything because he is the shepherd of his sheep.

Brethren, I see a chair full of sheep that are able to sit, or room full of sheep, able to sit in chairs right now. It’s amazing. And we ought to call Guinness Book of World Records for that too. It’s pretty, it’s a wonderful site, I will say that. So shepherd and the sheep aspect. It’s another way that we partner and God has chosen us to partner and promises to with Him and his son. Okay, come back to that. So here’s another thing just to think about. We’ve all heard of the Book of Remembrance. Well, brethren, think of every name and every name in the book of remembrance.

That’s a book of current and potential eternal partners with God. That’s what it is. Everybody, every name is in there. Only, those that leave are the ones that leave on their own accord. So every name in there is a potential future, eternal partner of God. Your names are in there. My name is in there. Leave it in there. Don’t erase it. Leave it in there because that’s what the reason God chose us, predestined us, called us, and justified us. He’s waiting to glorify us just around the corner. All right. Now touch on a few brief things here on how important is our partnership with God to God.

Okay. I’d mentioned this just a minute ago. It’s, you know, we’ll turn there real quick. Go to Matthew chapter eighteen. I’m just going to give you the account. Everybody has heard the account. I referenced it just a second ago, but let’s read it anyway. Matthew eighteen and beginning verse twelve. Okay. Hopefully, I got this correct, “How think you, if a man has a hundred sheep and one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go into the mountain and seek that which has gone astray? And if so be that he find it, truly I say unto you he rejoices more of that sheep than of the ninety-nine, which went not astray. Even so, it is not the will of your Father, which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”

God, that partnership with Him is so important, He’s not willing to let one, it says out of a hundred, let’s say out of a hundred billion. He’s not willing to just let one leave without trying to get it back, trying to recover it, trying to restore it, trying to say, “Hey, be a part of this partnership for eternity. Let that sink in as a picture of how important our partnership is with God to God. All right? Another account. First Timothy chapter two and verse four. Real quick, two and four, which he says, “... who will have all men to be saved and to come into the knowledge of the truth.”

Ties right into the ninety-nine and one. God wants all to be saved. He’s not willing to say, “Well, all right, yes, I don’t want to walk over there. That’s too far to walk. I’m going to let that one go.” Huh-huh, He’s not going to do that. Wouldn’t do that. Promises us He won’t do that because that’s how important you, you, we are to God. He’s invested in us. You ever invested in something, and then just, ah, let it go? No, no, no, I’ve got time. I’ve got effort. Okay. Says, “I’ve got finances, investments, and I’m going to give it my all.” God is the same way.

He’s got more invested. He’s got future potential God beings, His family that’s on the line. He’s going to do everything He can, but we have to do everything that we can do too. We have our part. Another little point here, Romans eight, nine. You don’t have to turn there. It says, “But you are not in the flesh but in the spirit. If so be that the spirit of God dwell in you, now, if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none his.” Tie that back to that bonding agent. If we don’t have God’s spirit, it says we’re not His. We can’t partner with Him until He has given us His Spirit.

Truly partnered with Him. We can begin that process when He calls us because He’s working with us, but we don’t have His Spirit yet. When we do and you do, you’re His. You’re one of those sheep. He’s not letting you go. He’s going to put up a fight, a tough fight to keep you in your seat where you are till the kingdom come. One last one. Look at... Been in John ten all kinds of time, but it’s John ten again, verse eleven. I’ll just read it. It says, “I am the good shepherd. And the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.” Gives his life. That’s how important our partnership is to God, the God family.

In this case, it was Jesus Christ to Jesus Christ. He’s willing to give his life. You go to the other scripture, you know, John three sixteen, we know how important it is to God. God gave His only begotten son’s life so partners eternal can join him in the kingdom of God. You think partnerships are important to God, basically, with those that are His within whom He is dwelling, living, walking with? Yes, easy answer. Yes. All right. That was just the first group, individuals, beings who we partnered with. The next is the Church. Another three questions.

With whom do we partner? Number two on that first question is the Church, you, us because We are those living stone that the Father gave to His son, that the son has kept by the power of God, binding us together in the Father’s name, the Church of God. Okay? That’s to start out about with whom we partner. We’ve already seen who Jesus Christ and the Father have chosen to partner with, you know, and our part of grace is to reflect them. So maybe we ought to choose to partner with the same individuals that they’ve chosen to partner with.

Something to think about. Shouldn’t have to think about it long. Again, easy answer, yes. Just as we had no part in God choosing us, brethren, we had no part in God choosing the person sitting next to you, behind you, in front of you, standing up here. That was God’s choice. Don’t deny God’s choice, who He’s put next to you. Get to know them. Build that partnership with them. Build that partnership with them. Here’s a picture, and I’ll paint a little picture. God gives Christ a stone. Then Christ sets that stone where he chooses. The process is repeated over and over again.

With each stone, a bonding agent is applied to hold the stones together, the spirit of God. Neither the Father nor the Son ever intended there to be gaps, spaces between those stones. If you ever built anything and stacked anything, the tighter you get it, the stronger it is. For example, think of the, I think it’s the Western Wall that’s still standing in, I think, Jerusalem, some of those massive stones. You think, “Well, a massive stone could have a gap between.” It’s not... Well, there’s no gap between those. That’s how tight those are. That was a physical temple.

We are the spiritual temple, so guess how much more tighter our bonds should be, must be, are? A lot tighter than those stones are in that physical temple. So let’s turn to Ephesians chapter four, please. Ephesians chapter four. Pick it up in verse sixteen. “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” Every part, every stone is fitly joined, compacted together. We don’t have the room, even if we had the desire to turn and run because we’re so just right there.

We wouldn’t turn and run anyway. But that’s how God is building this spiritual temple. That’s how tight Christ is setting us, how tight we should remain, and even grow tighter. Even grow tighter. First Corinthians chapter twelve, please. First Corinthians chapter twelve and verse twenty-five. First Corinthians twelve, verse twenty-five. “That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honored and all the members rejoice with it.”

No schism, that’s no gap. That’s no space. Think of, you know, if you got solid objects, and you tap on one side, you can feel it on the other side. That’s that when one of those blocks, one of those stones feel something, they all feel it all the way to the other end. If it’s a good feeling, we feel good. If it’s a sad feeling, we all feel sad. That’s that oneness. If there’s a gap in it, it breaks. And those on the other side of that gap, don’t feel, can’t feel. God doesn’t want any air gap between us as the living stone. As the living stone. You know, because of this tight fit, Christ promised, not even the gates of the grave can destroy this building, this partnership.

Can’t do it because it’s close-knit, tight-jointed, fit, close together, and growing closer, growing tighter, growing stronger as we add more of that bonding agent, the spirit of God. Now, threw this in there. There’ve been several of these here recently in the Church, so I’m going to bring it up. Another partnership between the brethren, marriage. Been several marriages in the Church here recently. Wonderful. So, we’ll go quick. Matthew nineteen, pick it up in verse four. This is a partnership. Make no mistake. “And he answered and said unto them, Have you not read that He, which has made them at the beginning...” again, before the foundation of the world, “... made them male and female and said, For this cause, shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave...” shall partner, shall join tightly together, “...to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh there. Wherefore, they are no more two but one flesh. What, therefore, God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”

These are... Those are two stones that God set together. Said, “You stay close together, no man can take you apart. No man can do it.” That’s another form of partnership between the brethren. Now, I go through a couple examples of some partners between brethren. And I’ll just use some from the Old Testament. Think of David and Jonathan. I’ll just read the scripture. You don’t have to turn there. David and Jonathan, it’s in, write it down, First Samuel chapter eighteen, verses one through three. Pick it up in verse one. It says, “And it came to pass when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would let him go no more home to his father’s house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul.”

They made a promise together. They were going to be one. That’s how tight, and the love that they had for each other, that partnership, Jonathan and David. Another account, same Jonathan and David, in Second Samuel chapter nine verse one. I’ll read the short one here. It says, “And David said, Is there any that is left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” That bond between David and Jonathan was so tight and so strong that it was expanding out beyond those two. David was wanting to show kindness, bless those just in Saul’s family because of that partnership he had with Jonathan.

That’s what a partnership between brethren can do. It can fan out. It can bring in others. It grows. That’s one account. The other account was one of my favorite stories growing up when I was a kid, from the Bible. It’s in Daniel. Go ahead and turn there. It’s Daniel three verse sixteen. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I love those names only because I’ve learned to pronounce them when I was a little kid. So I thought that was kind of neat. Daniel three verse sixteen, where we’ll pick it up. It says, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, then He will deliver us out of the hand of God, O king... Out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto you, O king, that we will not serve your God nor worship the golden image which you have set up.”

Which one of them was speaking? Doesn’t say. Could you imagine one of, “Whoa, whoa, he’s not speaking for me, whoa, wait a minute.”? No, they were speaking as one. All the time I emphasize it, the we, the our, the us. They were one, willing to, knowing where they’re going. They’re going into a fiery furnace. Put us in there. We are not going to budge. We are going keep our partnership with our God. That’s a combination of examples of partnerships between God’s partners and God partners with God. Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego. I had to get those names in one more time.

Now, here is that third group with whom we partnership, you may not realize this, the world. Whoa, wait a minute, what are you talking about? The world? Okay, doesn’t it say we are to come out of this evil perverse world? Yes, well, let’s see kind of where it says all that. Then let’s go to some other places. First John chapter two. First John chapter two, pick it up in verse fifteen, says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” That’s pretty cut and dry right there.

I agree. Brethren, we must not have love of the world, but we must have love for the world. There’s a difference. Not love of, but love for. Go to Matthew twenty-four, please. Now, let’s see why I’m saying this. Matthew twenty-four, pick it up in verse fourteen. Twenty-four, fourteen in Matthew, it says, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.” Okay, well, that’s painting a little bit picture that maybe the world is important in all nations, which are... make up the world, are involved.

Go back to First John, get these kind of quick. First John chapter two. Same First John that I read, you know, beginning this, where it says, “Love not the world.” You back up, same chapter, but in verse one and verse two, it says, “My little children, these things write I unto you that you sin not, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, and he is the propitiation, the payment for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Oh, wait a minute. Christ didn’t just die for us. Yes, He died for us. He died for the whole world. The whole world.

Then in First John, go to chapter four real quick, verse fourteen. First John four, fourteen, “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the savior of the world.” Brethren, we also know that God is going to pour his Spirit out upon all flesh. All flesh. Right now, he’s working with this little flock of partners. That’s who he’s working with now, but he will work with all flesh. He will work with every nation, king, and tongue. And we’re learning more and more about that, you know, week after week, the last eight-plus years now, we are learning these.

Now, understand, these partnerships that I’m talking about, these last ones with the world, they’re different. They’re not the same. We don’t build the same. We don’t spend the same amount of time, and we come from different angles as we do partnering with the Father in Christ, and the brethren. But make no mistake, we are to be preparing, getting ready, us and the world, for that eternal partnership. Now, one way that we do prepare the world, prepping the world, our appearance, we set examples. How we appear to the world sets a huge example to the world especially if they know you’re in the Church.

How we dress, if our clothes are neat and orderly, just run through... our attitudes, how we handle situations. We’re not to handle it the way the world does. We’re supposed to handle it the way that the reflection of Jesus Christ. We’re to reflect how Christ would handle a situation, his attitude. Our verbal language, how we speak. The world has horrible language nowadays. Just using proper, you know, whether it’s English and you’re in an English-speaking country or any... using the proper language of a nation makes you stand out. Body language makes you stand out.

Our joy, our humor, laughter, the world doesn’t have that humor and laughter. They’re more laughing at people, not with them. There’s a difference. We want to laugh with our partners. Teach our future partners how to laugh, how to be joyous. Patience. They almost seem to take that word out of the dictionary now for the world. There is no patience in the world. Do you think maybe us showing some patience in the world might teach the world, prepare them for what’s coming? Just by, you know, observation one on one. Hopefully, they’re paying attention, hopefully, to see how somebody else is acting, how somebody else handles a situation.

And then the last one I’m talking about, which I’ll expand, is hope. It’s hope. Turn to First Peter three, fifteen, please. Talk more about that hope. First Peter three, fifteen. First Peter three, fifteen says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man,” I repeat, “...every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you.” We are to do it with meekness and fear. Who here would love to have their family members, their coworkers, their friends come and ask you questions about the Church, your beliefs?

Who would? I do. I would. This scripture right here tells you how to get them to do it. Let them see your hope. It will trigger them, hey, why are you so hopeful? And put in these other words that I use. Why are you so full of joy? Why are you so loving? Why are you so patient? How do you have hope in this world? Well, here’s how, let me tell you. Little caveat here, it says, be ready to give an answer. I’ve mentioned this many times to different people. Christians, we don’t play spiritual Jeopardy! You know the TV game show, Jeopardy! where the answer comes before the question?

We need to be ready to give an answer once we’re asked the question, and hopefully, that question is hope. Why are you so hopeful? Be ready to give an answer to that. But brethren, through our living examples, we will increase the odds of future potential members/partners/God beings coming out of this world. That’s on me, you, us. How do we present ourselves in the world? How does the world view us? Put forth your best foot when... because we are preparing the world right now for their future potential eternal partnership. All right. First question down.

Had a lot of notes. I have to cut a few here. How do we build partnerships? All right? The maintaining, right with God again, maintaining our partnership with God. You know? Turn to Luke twenty-one, nineteen, please. Luke twenty-one, nineteen. Luke twenty-one, nineteen. “In your patience possess you your soul,” your life. Patience, waiting on God. How patient has God been with us since before the foundation of the earth? We can be patient for God coming. He was extremely patient for us to answer his calling, to even be born at a point in time when he predestined.

So patience. Psalm twenty-seven, please. Psalm twenty-seven. Twenty-seven and verse fourteen. “Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.” So again, wait on the Lord. Don’t be impatient. Don’t be impatient. Think of if you’ve waited on somebody, say, if you go to pick somebody up and you’re always waiting on them and you, okay, I wait on you, you’re habitually late, for instance. Well, the one time that they wait on you, oh, they’re just beyond them. How can they make me wait?

Well, God’s waited on us. No? And he’s not... You know, he’s coming. He and his Son are coming. The kingdom’s coming. We just need to keep enduring, show our patience, and wait on God. Another way we maintain our partnership, brethren, we keep the commandments. Turn to First John chapter two. First John chapter two, we’ll pick it up in verse three. First John two, pick it up in verse three. “And hereby, we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. He that said, I know him, and keep not his commandment is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whosoever keeps His word in him truly is the love of God perfected.

Hereby know that we are in him.” Oh wait, in him. Partnered with God if we keep his commandments. we know we’re supposed to keep God’s commandments. Every one of them. I’m going to keep nine out of the ten. No, all ten. Get what scripture is off the top of my head, but Christ says, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things I say?” Brethren, we’re the people who can call Jesus Christ, Lord, Lord, because we do what he says. We keep all of God’s commandments. All right? Another way, maintaining that partnership with God and building upon it is faith. Is faith.

Turn to Amos chapter three real quick. I never looked at Amos, this scripture, in this light till here just recently. There it is. Amos three in verse three, “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” Well, it’s talking about walking together, partners. That’s another one about walking with God. But think about agree. If you agree with somebody, then you believe the same things. Well, one of the definitions of faith is belief. So, can two walk together, let’s say, us two or us with the Godhead unless we have faith, unless we agree with God? Think of Abram at the time.

“Pick up and move. Pull out of your driveway, Abram, and take a left.” “I want to pull out and go right.” “No, no, no, you’re going to walk with me. So believe me, you need to pull out and go left.” Well, if we want to walk with God, we have to believe what God says and have faith in what he says, that he’s going to provide us, tie all these different points together, that he’s not going to leave us wanting, lacking anything if we have that faith. Another one, Hebrews eleven, six. I’ll just read it real quick. It says, you know, it’s impossible to please God, you know, without faith.

We can’t please God unless we had that faith, unless we believe him. Think of your children. If your children don’t believe what you say, is that pleasing to you? No. Well, it’s not to our Father either. You have to believe him. Trust him. Have that faith. Romans ten, verse seventeen, trying to hit these so I’ll just kind of feed off each other. Romans ten and verse seventeen. Like I said, this is how we maintain and build that partnership, and this point is off faith. It says, “So then faith,” belief, “comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”

Guess what we grew in the sermonette. Guess what we’ve grown in this message. We’ve grown faith because we’ve heard the word of God. Faith comes by hearing, hearing, by the word of God. That’s building, that’s maintaining our partnership with God. Another, you know, quick way, I wouldn’t go to a scripture here. An easy way. Ask God. Ask him. Say, Father, help me to get closer to you. Show me any schism that I have with you. Help me fill that gap. Give me more of your Spirit, Father, to fill my gaps with you. Ask him. You know, the scripture about seek, ask, and knock.

He will give. You just need to ask. And then there’s grace again. I can use grace on all of them. It’s that divine influence upon our hearts and then our reflection in our lives. You do that, guess what? That’s going to build, maintain, and grow our partnership with God. Now, with the brethren. Maintaining that partnership with the brethren. Turn to Philippians chapter two. Again, pick it up in verse one, Philippians two, verse one. Remember, this is maintaining and building that partnership with the brethren, the Church.

“If there be, therefore, any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfill you my joy that you be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on their own things, but every man also on the things of others.”

That covers so much right there on how to build and grow, maintain our own partnerships with each other. Right there it talks about, you know, one accord, one mind, like-minded. Okay, well, that emphasizes being together. Tight-knit, post-jointed. Well, then he goes, esteem others better. Well, they can say, well, yes, you can do this better than I can. What was one of those things? Be able to teach and be teachable. Teach me how to do what you can do. I’m amazed at what you can do. Have you ever had somebody come and give you a compliment?

About, “Wow, you do that very well. Would you teach me?” And you kind of, “Sure. That’s nice to hear somebody, you know, recognize that.” Well, you’re esteeming them better. You’re lifting them up. You’re making them feel good. You’re bringing joy to them. You know, tightening that bond between you and them. Talk about looking on the things of others. You can tie it in, yes, well, somebody needs something. Well, yes, we can help fulfill that need, but we can also tie it back to, you know, look on somebody else’s needs at something that they’re good at.

Recognize it. You can look at this from somebody needing something or somebody being able to give something, that teaching and being teachable. We can all, we should all understand that we must be teachable, but we should also learn to teach. And that, within a partnership, grows it tighter, grows it stronger. With the partnership, with brethren making it, brethren, don’t be hesitant to put yourself out there. We got the dinner dance coming up in a few days. Ladies, you may not realize this. It can be a little stressful for the men to ask you to dance sometimes.

They’re putting themselves out there. Men, understand the ladies want to be asked to dance. Put yourselves out there. That’s that. You know, building relationships, being... you know, getting closer together with each other. Building those bonds. Find similar interests. What a great time here at the Feast. Find similar interests. Participate with each other. Be good listeners. Grow the brotherly love that is just all over the floor, all over your chairs, all over you. Grow it. Get more of it. And time. Quantity is good, quality is better. Spend that time.

How might you do that here at the Feast? This is the most fellowship, I’ll say now, partnership-friendly, Feast site, hotel I’ve ever seen. I saw it in twenty-one when I was here, and I was so looking forward, just the breakfast area out there. It’s wonderful. Now, if you are down there at seven o’clock sharp every day, change it up. Show up at eight. You’ll see a whole new group of people you’ve not sat with yet. If you come down there and you see a table with an empty chair, make sure it’s with the Church. “Hey, can I join you?” See somebody walk around, you got to...

“Come join us.” Build those partnerships. The outings, the activities, the social hour, make the most of it. Put yourselves out there. It’s your family. Get to know your family. I’m so looking forward when I got to... oh, I got transferred late in here. I was like, oh, wonderful. I get to see people I’ve seen before. I get to see people I haven’t seen before. But then I get to grow, hopefully build better partnerships with everybody. I love this place. I love you all. Take advantage of it. Please, take advantage of it. Now, last. Preparation for our partnership... Well quick, not the last. Preparation for the partnership with the world.

Real short. Couple points, once again, grace, as much as we reflect Jesus Christ in our lives, we reflect the Father, the world sees that. They may not know what they’re seeing. They will. And when they do learn what it is, they’ll say, ah, that’s why they were doing that. It’s going to make it so much easier. Think of your family who you have a partnership with who are not in the Church. They will learn why you are doing everything that they just can’t understand. Don’t stop doing it. Do it even better. Bring more joy to it. We don’t see the changes in ourselves as easily as others see it in us.

Works with everybody. We can see our changes and our growth. Others see it before we do. Your family sees, your coworkers see changes in you that you don’t see yet. And they’re amazed. Sometimes amazing that they, you know, do that. Amazing that they do that. They have different attitudes with it. They will have the right attitude at one point in time. Be above reproach. Do what we’re supposed to do. Don’t take shortcuts. Study to show yourselves approved so you can give an answer when asked. Understand sometimes the answer is, I don’t know.

I say that a lot. I don’t know. The website’s a great source to send them to. This is the world. It’s the brethren too. The brethren, send them to the minister. But this is talking about the world. Now, last question. Why are we building the partnerships today? Why? I think we all know, but let’s hit a few scriptures here. Turn to Revelation chapter twenty-one. Why are we building these partnerships, these eternal partnerships today? Then you even focus it more at the Feast here in Rogers, Arkansas. Why? Revelation twenty-one and begin in verse one.

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth where the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more seed. And I, John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, ‘Behold the tabernacle of God is with men. And he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death. Neither sorrow nor crying. Neither shall there be any more pain or the former things are passed away.’”

That’s around the corner. Now granted, that’s into the kingdom, but the beginning of that is just around the corner. Get excited. The Feast is where we are to, you know, supercharge that excitement every year and keep it going and keep it going. Read the different scriptures. There’s so many in the Bible. Now go to Jeremiah thirty-one, please. Jump around a little bit. Jeremiah thirty-one, begin in verse thirty-three. Jeremiah thirty-one, thirty-three, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, says the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be my people.

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother saying, know the Lord. For they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more.” There’s a point in time in the kingdom for we’re not going to have to go and teach who God is. They will know. God will have poured his spirit out on, once again, all flesh, all his partners, and everyone will know God. Every living original creature will know God. Let’s go to Isaiah.

Isaiah forty, chapter forty, please, and verse thirty-one. Isaiah forty and verse thirty-one, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.” How much have we learned about what’s said in that one scripture here over the last few weeks? That’s a picture. The picture of us. That’s a picture of eventually every eternal partner with God. At some point in time, everyone who enters in, inherits the kingdom of God, will look like that.

Mount up with wings as eagles. You walk and not faint, have all power. How exciting is that? And we are here at the Feast to rejoice in that knowledge and to grow those partnerships with God, with each other, and prepare to learn how to teach the world. Let’s use one more here. Go back to First John chapter three. Pick it up in verse one. First John three verse one, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knows us not because it knew him not. Beloved, now we are the sons of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be.

But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure.” Another promise of God. Sons of God, inheritors along with Jesus Christ, in the kingdom. Being teachers for every future human being until they become eternal partners inheriting the kingdom of God. Brethren, God first chose us from the foundation of the earth. He did his part. It’s our turn to make sure we do our part. Think about that grace, being that mirror, that reflection.

We have to do that. It’s our choice to stay in the partnerships. God says, I’ll partner with... I’ll go get you to the ends of the earth. I’m not giving up on you. It’s our choice whether we stay in that partnership. Stay in the partnership. Choosing to partner with God’s partners is choosing to partner with God. The partner of my partner is my partner. Get it that way. Partner of my partner is my partner. The Feast of Tabernacles is the greatest opportunity to partner with God’s partners. We are living stones chosen by the Father, used by Christ to partner, share, associate, participate with them, each other, and eventually every original preacher.

That’s our future. That’s our now. Don’t wait. Take advantage. Be a doer. We are hearing. We’re growing our faith. That does good. But what does best is to then take what you hear, take that faith and do. One final set of scriptures. Turn to Psalms. Psalm one thirty-three. We begin to wrap up. Psalm one thirty-three, and we’ll pick it up in first verse, verse one. Psalm one thirty-three, one. You are quick. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, and went down to the skirts of his garment as the dew of Hermon and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion.

For there the Lord commanded the blessings, even life for evermore.” How good brethren, how pleasant is it now, and will it be to dwell for eternity with each other? I think if you can say, all right, person sitting next to you, you’ve got an eternal seat right there. That’s your seat place. We’re going to hold that for you forever, that’s your chair. Now, I’m going to sit right next to you until we change seats and get to know somebody else, shifting around. That’s another thing. Try to sit somewhere else to learn other people. To learn how that partnership...

And everybody’s different. Partnerships are not just cookie cutter. Hopefully, we saw that. There’s different ways to partner with God. There’s different ways to partner with the Church. There’s different ways that we are to prepare to partner and teach the world. One way doesn’t work, there’s another way that that does. We must never stop seeking those eternal partnerships. Really think of it. An eternal partnership. We’ve never had that. We’ve had partnerships. Marriages. Marriage, until death do you part. I’m not going to make a joke. That humor might not be... it might fall flat.

But those are partnerships that are to last for a fullness of time. What if there is no end of time? That’s what an eternal partnership, that’s what God called us to be. It’s the reason he foreknew us, predestined us, called us, justified us, and he’s waiting on us. So we must wait on him until he glorifies us. Brethren, take, take, please, take this opportunity here at the Feast of Tabernacles. Don’t just stay in your rooms.

Don’t say, well, you know, I’d like to go to one of the activities. There’s means to go to them. It’s so important. Church, for weeks now, in the Announcement Bulletin, I’ve been describing, we want everyone to go, everybody find a way to go. Make sure you’re at every event. Make sure you participate in every event. Make sure you are sharing in that joy. Make sure you’re associating with the brethren. Make sure, brethren, you are building partnerships today, tomorrow, throughout this Feast, throughout eternity, because as I said, we are not building just partnerships, we’re building eternal partnerships.