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[0:00] Good morning. It is a good day to be here.

[0:11] It's the first day of the week, and welcome to the worship service. I want to express my gratitude to the congregation, to each one of you, for your support in helping us in leadership as well.

[0:33] Thank you for your prayers and support in being there, willing to serve. And so that is, it is so worthy to serve our God together.

[0:48] And we appreciate the ability or the opportunity to do it together with you. On that note, I just want to bring a clarification or an explanation of the follow-through of a vote that we held last spring regarding to the leadership conference board.

[1:12] So we, as part of all seven churches in the conference, voted to adopt a new leadership board. Every church has one representative on that board.

[1:28] And then our missions board as a conference would be on there as well, as well as our deacon board. And so as a follow-up of that, that passed in all the churches, and that is implemented.

[1:42] And at the last brotherhood, I was chosen to be our rep from Mountview. And since then, the new leadership board has turned back and asked me to consider being the chairman of the board.

[1:59] And that would have implications on us, on Mountview. And I have not said yes, but rather said I would go back to Mountview and we would discuss and see what the feeling was here, what the thoughts were here.

[2:23] As there are implications time-wise, they're uncertain. Would it take up 20% of my time, 30%, 40%? We're not sure.

[2:37] And so this coming Saturday at the Brotherhood, there will be a lot of discussion on this. And so I would encourage you to come prepared to share and to speak into that.

[2:49] And if it was to go forward like that, it would affect Pastor Henry as well. He would have to pick up more of the workload and others of you as well.

[3:03] And so I just wanted to bring us up to speed on that. So on one hand, it's a blessing to be able to reach out, to serve in other places.

[3:15] It's also an opportunity when we leave a bit of a void for others to step up. And some of those opportunities are stretching.

[3:31] On the other hand, it's more comfortable to stay at home and to shepherd here fully. But yeah, I just wanted to share that you know ahead of time that this is happening.

[3:49] Okay, and then just for Wednesday, the course continuing, starting up this Wednesday. So far, no one has stepped forward with offering children's ministry.

[4:01] I would really invite you to pray about that. We're not asking for someone to commit for all eight weeks. But if you can take one or two, and thus we share the load, please let us know before Wednesday.

[4:20] And it's been such a blessing. Last spring, for three months, we had children's ministries, and it worked really well. And it enables the parents to be here in class uninterrupted.

[4:32] So just keep that in mind prayerfully. Would the Lord perhaps be able to use us there? All right, we have a very full morning, it seems like.

[4:48] And we're going to end the service with communion today. Today, the last time I spoke two weeks ago, we had a teaching on the coming Kingdom Age.

[5:03] And this morning, we want to continue. So the message is titled, The Kingdom Age, and it's going to be part two. And last time, we looked at a couple points, and we looked at, does the Bible really teach that there is a coming Kingdom?

[5:24] A thousand-year period of prosperity, of peace here on earth, where Jesus will be present. And as we looked at Scripture, I trust all of us realized, yes, the Bible very clearly teaches that at the return of Christ, it will usher in that Kingdom Age.

[5:49] And we know that the Jews to this day are waiting for that time. They're waiting anxiously. And also, we looked at the fact that Jesus will be there, ruling.

[6:07] King David will be a prince under him. The church, all believers before that time, will be present in our new bodies, ruling with Christ.

[6:27] And that's going to be a hallelujah. Absolutely. And I encourage us to use our imagination. What could that look like?

[6:38] As we'll have people in their flesh bodies yet, populating, living, and, but the whole church age will be there with Christ reigning.

[6:52] And so, very little details on what that would look like. What's our relationship going to be with, with those that are still being born and living in human flesh?

[7:09] And we simply don't have all the answers. But this morning, I want to look at a few more items in this. And first, it's going to be a kingdom of prosperity.

[7:26] And secondly, there is going to be a kingdom of worship. And so I'm touching to those two briefly this morning before we do communion at the end.

[7:40] So let's just unite in prayer again. Father, we thank you for bringing us together. Thank you for giving us the privilege, the freedom to gather as your children, as one of your local churches.

[7:57] And may you bless us this morning. May you bless the Word as it's presented. And just give strength to do that. To your glory, in Jesus' name.

[8:08] Amen. Amen. How many of us are scared of bears?

[8:21] There's a few. Or maybe almost half. How about snakes? Oh, I think a few more. Why is that?

[8:34] Why are we scared of them? They don't like you. They have Henry written on the wall. Target, right? This morning in Sunday school, we're going through a teaching of God working throughout the ages.

[8:56] And we learned that after the flood, the fear of man came upon the animals. And we realized that before the flood, there was harmony.

[9:10] And now we look ahead to the kingdom age, and we realize it's going to be a time of harmony again.

[9:25] Of perfect peace in all of creation. And that's a reality that's coming that's maybe hard for us to imagine.

[9:36] And so the descriptions that were given in Isaiah 65 are going to be very true on that day. So I want to just work through this real fast.

[9:47] Isaiah 65, verse 17. And so God is saying, I am going to create a new heavens and a new earth.

[10:19] Now what does that mean? The description that follows is clearly that of the millennium. Of the kingdom that comes.

[10:31] Well, we remember in the tribulation period, there will be much destruction. As mountains will be moved and flattened, islands will flee.

[10:44] The sky is going to roll up like a scroll. The stars are going to fall from heavens. This is all described in the last three and a half years of the tribulation period.

[10:58] There's going to be blood everywhere. The oceans, the fresh waters. In other words, it's become uninhabitable.

[11:12] People can't live here anymore. And yet Jesus says, I will return on the Mount of Olives. And I will dwell here on this earth.

[11:26] It leads us to understand that the description of prosperity that follows, that Jesus will renew this earth and the heavens.

[11:40] And yet we're told very little about that process. And here God says simply, Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth.

[11:55] The former shall not be remembered or come to mind. That which was destroyed is going to be passed. Now, 2 Peter chapter 3, I'm not going to turn there, but it talks about the heavens and the earth burning up with fire.

[12:18] And I'm going to save that for next Sunday. But that may be a reference to the end of the thousand years where God brings in the eternal state.

[12:38] And there will be a brand new heavens and a brand new earth and a brand new city. So this is more a refurbished, a remade state of earth and the heavens.

[12:53] And turn with me to Zechariah chapter 14. Zechariah 14, verse 4.

[13:14] And in that day, that's the return of Christ, when he comes down to earth, in that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west, making a very large valley.

[13:33] Half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. So we have a picture. Jesus coming down on the Mount of Olives, the exact spot where he went up from.

[13:47] And Acts chapter 1, the angel said to the disciples, just like you saw him go up, he's going to come back down.

[13:58] And here as his feet touch, the Mount of Olives, it's a huge hill or ridge on the east side of Jerusalem, and it's going to split in two, north and south.

[14:12] And let's go to verse 8. And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea, half of them toward the western sea.

[14:26] In both summer and winter it shall occur. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day it shall be, the Lord is one, and his name is one.

[14:38] And so here we have a further description of living waters flowing out of the temple of Jerusalem. Flowing out both ways.

[14:52] And as Jerusalem is up on a mountain, up on a hill, it makes sense it will flow both ways. The splitting of the Mount of Olives will facilitate one river to go east, down towards the Dead Sea.

[15:10] How many of us have been at the Dead Sea? A handful. And we know that the mineral content is so high that you can't sink.

[15:23] It's so high, there's zero life in the Dead Sea. It's dead. There's no living things in there.

[15:34] It's the only body of water that has a continued flow into it, the Jordan River. No streams go out. None.

[15:47] By the way, the Dead Sea water level is continually going down a bit. And yet it's receiving water and none is leaving.

[15:57] It's the current stage of that and it's getting mined and minerals very richly. Let's turn to Zechariah.

[16:10] No, Ezekiel. Let's turn to Ezekiel with that. And chapter 46, and I want to read a little portion there.

[16:20] 47. My apologies.

[16:46] Ezekiel 47. And I'll read 1 to 10. And so Ezekiel is seeing a vision of the coming kingdom. Verses, chapters 40 through 48, Ezekiel sees things are yet to come.

[17:02] One of them being the temple is rebuilt and worship is reinstituted. Animal sacrifice is going to be instituted.

[17:13] But in verse, chapter 47, 1 to 10. Then he brought me back to the door of the temple and there was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east for the front of the temple faced east.

[17:27] The water was flowing from under the right side of the temple south of the altar. He brought me out by the way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east and there was water running out on the right side.

[17:43] And when the man went out to the east with a line in his hand, he measured 1000 cubits and he brought me through the waters the water came up to my ankles. Again he measured 1000 and brought me through the waters the water came up to my knees.

[18:00] And again he measured 1000 and brought me through the water and the water came up to my waist. And again he measured 1000 and it was a river that I could not cross.

[18:12] For the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, Son of man, have you seen this?

[18:24] And then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river. And then I returned there, and along the bank of the river were very many trees on one side and the other.

[18:35] And he said to me, This water flows toward the eastern region going down into the valley and enters the sea. And when it reaches the sea, its waters are healed.

[18:49] And it shall be that every living thing that moves wherever the rivers go will live. There will be a very small multitude of, there will be a very great multitude of fish because these waters go there, for they will be healed and everything will live wherever the river goes.

[19:09] It shall be that the fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Egalam, and they will be places for spreading their nets.

[19:21] Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many. As we look at the concept of the Lord redoing this earth, and He is able to transform an entirely dead body of water into a sea filled with life.

[19:45] It says, Teeming with fish of every kind. Just like that are found in the great sea, likely the Mediterranean. And so for those of us that have been there, this is miraculous because that sea is very dead.

[20:05] In fact, if you splash and get a drop in your eye, it burns. It's strong. And so here we have a description.

[20:16] The Lord has a plan for us. And so one area where He will change this world. Along with that, let's turn to Ezekiel 34, a few pages back.

[20:38] A further description. Ezekiel 34 of millennial life. Starting in verse 25. Ezekiel 34, verse 25.

[20:59] I will make a covenant of peace with them. This is with Israel. And cause wild beasts to seize from the land. And they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

[21:13] I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing. And I will cause showers to come down in their season. There shall be showers of blessing.

[21:25] Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord.

[21:36] When I have broken the bonds of their yoke. And delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations.

[21:46] Nor shall beasts of the land devour them. But they shall dwell safely. And no one shall make them afraid. I will raise up for them a garden of renown.

[21:58] And they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land. Nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. Thus they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them.

[22:10] And they, the house of Israel, are my people. Says the Lord God. You are my flock. The flock of my pastor. You are men. And I am your God.

[22:21] Says the Lord God. And when Ezekiel received this vision. He was in captivity in Babylon.

[22:35] For the sins of them as a nation. God caused them to be destroyed. In their captivity.

[22:46] He gives such hope. And blessing. That there is a time coming. Of prosperity. Not only from all the nations around you.

[23:01] But from Mother Nature. As we use the term. From nature itself. From God himself. He will cause all nature to be at peace.

[23:13] This is a promise yet coming. How many of us were watching the news these last week or two?

[23:26] A few of us. Very, very active in the Middle East. Very active. And Israel is continuing to stand alone.

[23:39] Defending themselves. And we are seeing. We are seeing the power of God. On their side. They are doing things.

[23:50] Which there is no other explanation for. As they are able to wipe out enemies. With intelligence. And abilities.

[24:01] That are purely God given. They. This day. Feel so alone. And yet God.

[24:13] God has promised. A kingdom. For them. And also for the believing Gentiles. Who will survive. And so from that.

[24:26] We know God's plan. Ahead is good. And it includes. His people as well. From that. And it gives us. From that. From that.

[24:40] It gives us. A message of hope. Like Israel. In the darkest time. Ezekiel.

[24:51] Spoke to them. God spoke through Ezekiel. A message of hope. No matter. No matter. What. You are going through. No matter.

[25:03] Where you are at. In life. Or if you are going through dark times. There is a message of hope. As God has a plan.

[25:16] For his children. That hope. Revolves around. His children. All those.

[25:27] That put their faith. In the Lord. Their God. And it. It. It. It. It. It. It serves. As an encouragement. To all of us.

[25:39] And so. Whether you are rejoicing. This morning. Or whether your heart. Has a heavy spot. Turn. To the Lord with him. I.

[25:51] I often tell. Guys that. That. That. That. That. That. That. That. That. That. That. That. That. That. That. That. You need to. Zoom out. You need to. Quit focusing on.

[26:03] On. On your problem. Or. Your affliction. Or your trial. Zoom out. And see the big picture.

[26:16] See what God is doing. Zooming out means this. It's. It's. Seeing. Life from God's perspective. And all of a sudden.

[26:27] My problems. Get smaller. And God gets bigger. And I. And I can find. Hope again. To move forward.

[26:39] And so these passages. Serve. At least in my life. To do that. Very much so. Going back. To. Isaiah. 65.

[26:52] Our original passage. Starting in verse 20.

[27:05] No more shall an infant. From there. Live but a few days. Nor an old man. Who has not fulfilled his days. For the child shall die. 100 years old.

[27:16] But the sinner being. 100 years old. Shall be accursed. Longevity of life. Long lives. Are. Are predicted here.

[27:29] Or prophesied. I should say. For this kingdom age. And. And yet. It sounds like. There will still be. Some sorrow. As death will not be absent.

[27:40] Um. They shall build houses. And inhabit them. Inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards. And eat their fruit.

[27:51] They shall not build. And another inhabit. They shall not plant. And another eat. For as the days of a tree. So shall be the days of my people. And my elect.

[28:03] Shall long enjoy. The work of their hands. We will enjoy. The prosperity. Of our work. As it's. Will be blessed. By the Lord.

[28:16] I picture. What's often said. Paradise. Here on earth. As. As God will create conditions. For prosperity.

[28:27] prosperity. And so again. As we look at that. Don't attempt. Don't attempt.

[28:37] To create. Your own paradise today. It's futile. We live in a cursed world.

[28:53] Till the Lord removes the curse. We will not enjoy. This kind of prosperity. And yet.

[29:04] He has enabled us. By his spirit. To be at peace. To be joyful. To be loving. To.

[29:15] To resemble. The Lord himself. As we walk. Walk the days of this earth. Verse 25.

[29:29] I'm going to. Skip ahead a bit. The wolf and the lamb. Shall. Feed together. The lion. Shall eat. Straw. Like the ox. And dust. Shall be the serpent's food.

[29:40] This shall not. Not hurt. Nor destroy. In all my. Holy mountain. Says the Lord. A very brief. Description. Of animals. Living in peace.

[29:51] Isaiah chapter 11. Is much more full description. Where it talks about a child playing by the cobra's hole. All those things that we fear now. Will be gone.

[30:05] You know when we were in Bolivia. The people there told us. We wouldn't want to move to Canada. They have. The bears are scary there. And.

[30:15] And we come back to Canada. I wouldn't want to live in Bolivia. Because they have snakes. But. Worldwide. There's a time. Of peace coming.

[30:27] And we will not have to fear these things anymore. God will remove that. A time of prosperity.

[30:38] And. Briefly. A place of worship. And scripture tells us.

[30:49] That. Jerusalem will be the place of worship. And. And that all nations. Will travel. To Jerusalem. To worship.

[31:00] It's going to be. Jesus Christ. This. Center. Of. Of. Of. Of. Worship. And of governance. Jerusalem.

[31:11] In Israel. And. And. And. There's a few details. That we don't necessarily understand. But. Isaiah. Ezekiel.

[31:22] Chapter 40. Through 48. In detail. Describe. The temple. That will be built. During the thousand years. Very.

[31:35] Very. Exact. Instructions. Read that for yourself. Ezekiel. Chapter 40. To 48. In that.

[31:46] The priests are prepared. Just like the Old Testament. And then it introduces. Animal. Sacrifices. And when I.

[31:57] The first time I read that. It. It had me. Kind of stumped. Why. Why would God. Talk about. A future kingdom.

[32:10] After Jesus has died. As the ultimate sacrifice. Why would he introduce. Sacrifices again. And yet that's. What we read. In Ezekiel.

[32:20] Ezekiel. Specifically. Specifically. Chapters. 44 to 46. And so. Because it's so. Large.

[32:32] We just cannot read. All of this morning. But. It's described there. In detail. We will. They will be sacrificing. During those thousand years. So I want to open it up. Any thoughts.

[32:42] Why would God. Implement. Something like that. Why would God. Why would God. Why would God. Why would God. Why would God. Why would God. Why would God. Why would God. Why would God. Why would God. Why would God. Why would God. Why would God. Mr. Tucker.

[32:53] Would have all the answers. Okay.

[33:16] Okay. So it's. It's a revealing. God's. God's. God's. Precise purposes. Maybe. To show. Death. Death.

[33:26] We wear. The people. Hear. The God. To be. The Bible. Or. To be. The Bible. Okay. Right. And so remember.

[33:38] That all. All the people. Entering. This. Millennial. Kingdom. Will be. Believers. But they will have. Children. Born to them.

[33:48] It sounds like. Pros. Pros. Pros. Pros. Pros. Prospering in that. So the earth will be filled. With new children. And. what are we going to do here at the end of the service?

[34:03] We're planning to have communion. And why do we have communion? We look back. To the sacrifice. That Jesus made.

[34:15] And we remember. And we also look forward. To his coming back. Now. If you're like me.

[34:27] You're forgetful. And we need to be reminded. And we need to be in God's word all the time. To be reminded. To be thankful. These people living in the thousand year reign.

[34:44] May. And this is a possible explanation. They may need. Instead of communion. A symbol. That makes them.

[34:55] Look back. And appreciate. God really did die for us. Back there. The Old Testament. Looked ahead. And they.

[35:06] Sacrificed animals. In. In faith. That God would one day do this. After God did that. The church age was born. And we now have communion.

[35:17] And we look back. Now we're entering. The last millennia. At that time. And. And it's perhaps.

[35:28] That God will. Bring that back. To remind the world. Continually. I gave my son. He shed his blood. And.

[35:41] That's. That's maybe all. That I can. Give for an explanation. But when we get there. We will understand it fully. That I promise. It sounds like.

[35:53] There will be. That need for remembrance. If you look at. That need for. To perform. And not being remembered. Right. Yeah. Quite. Quite possible.

[36:04] Well. There will be. Fully human nature there. And so. They will need. Some kind of. Some kind of. Scheduled events. To turn them. Their hearts. To the Lord.

[36:15] To the Lord. As well. Yeah. Yeah.

[36:25] And so. It's not going to be. A system. Of legalism. Or. Or. Earning your salvation. Anything like that. But rather. Also on faith.

[36:37] That this is. In remembrance. Of what God has done. And so. I'm going to stop there. With that. So these are. A few thoughts. On. The coming.

[36:48] Kingdom age. And. If you're like me. You're looking forward. To this. There's. There's not.

[36:58] A lot. Good ahead of us. On this. On this world. There's. Death. And pain. Everywhere we look. Lest.

[37:11] If we don't have Christ. A center. Of our. Of our hearts. Of our lives. Then there's no hope.

[37:25] And it's. So much of the world. Is living like that. And maybe just for a moment. Just try to imagine.

[37:37] If you didn't believe any of this. What would life be like today? If there was no hope.

[37:49] What would life be like? May the Lord. May the Lord. Move us. To continue to share.

[38:01] The good news. To those that have no hope. Let's. Close. The sermon part. In prayer. Father.

[38:13] There is. There is. Much. That we don't. Understand. At this time. And yet. We. We can see. From your scriptures. From what you've given. That. That plan.

[38:23] Is complete. It's whole. And it's wonderful. It's going to be a time. Of prosperity. Like never before. And so Lord.

[38:35] As we continue. To. To toil. To serve. To walk. Each. Each day. Each hour.

[38:47] Each minute. May we do that. With eternity. In mind. Knowing. Father. That at any time. You will send your son.

[38:58] To remove the church. We praise you for that. Lord. Fill us with hope. And with our joy. In Jesus name.

[39:10]  Amen.