Dear Family,

Today is Sunday, June 5, 2022. This is the 50th Day in our Count to Pentecost. The Feast of Pentecost has fully come this year!

There were several great prophetic fulfillments about 2000 years ago that God orchestrated in a very special sequence. First, Jesus Christ had just accomplished His unique contributions as a human being to God’s Master Plan of salvation. Then, He had been accepted by the Father on our behalf. And, God had laid the Chief Corner Stone as the foundation for His Church.

Now the time had come for Christ to build His Church (Matthew 16:18).

Acts 2:1-4,47(B) (1) And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (2) And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. (3) And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. (4) And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (47)(B) And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

God’s sense of timing has certainly not been what people have typically expected. After 2000 years, we find that God is still building His Church. We also find that we ourselves are part of God’s workforce. We are laborers together with Him. Yes, at the same time He is building us, we are helping Him build.

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

May we all be faithful to the end; until God has built and brought His work to the perfect state He desires!

Happy Feast of Pentecost!

Ben Faulkner, Pastor
© Copyright 2022, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,

Today is Sabbath, June 4, 2022, Day 7 of Week 7. This is the 49th Day in our Count to Pentecost.

Before Jesus died, He told His disciples that there were many things He had not yet shared with them, because they could not (yet) bear them. God wisely sequences what He reveals to us.

John 16:12-13(A) (12) I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. (13)(A) Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…

Our Father is guiding us through His “Spirit of truth” (John 16:13). And, now that the Spirit of truth has come, God is revealing more and more of His mystery to us, until one day in the near future, the mystery will be finished (Revelation 10:7).

True Believers need to be aware of the work God is doing in us and through us. It is most certainly NOT a matter of OUR works versus faith. Brethren, WE are His “workmanship.” We are “created in Christ Jesus.” And, God’s purpose is to further His own “good works” that God has already determined that we should “walk in them.” If Jesus is not doing the “works” in us and through us, then whatever “works” are being done can only be in vain.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast. (10) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Our heavenly Father will finish the work He has begun in us, based on His schedule. Jesus will do His part, and He will work until it is done. Both of Them work (John 5:17); and, They expect no less from us who are now part of the work They are doing.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Part of Jesus’ prayer in the garden before He was taken to be crucified included His assertion that He had completed the work God had given Him.

John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do.

Consider Jesus’ last three words before He died (John 19:30), “It is finished.” Let us all be about our Father’s business, which God will reveal in us and to us as we submit ourselves completely to Him. During this Pentecost season, let us surrender ourselves to God’s guidance and to recommit ourselves to His purpose for us!

Ben Faulkner, Pastor
© Copyright 2022, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,

Today is Friday, June 3, 2022, Day 6 of Week 7. This is the 48th Day in our Count to Pentecost.

What did the ancient Israelites experience at the foot of Mt. Sinai when Moses brought the people out of the camp (Exodus 19:17) to “meet” God? We learn from Scripture that the earth itself vigorously responded to the presence of God with shaking, trembling, and quaking. Of course, the natural, carnal response of the people was to be very frightened.

Exodus 19:16-18 (16) And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. (17) And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. (18) And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

Psalm 114:1-7 (1) When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; (2) Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion. (3) The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back. (4) The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. (5) What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? (6) Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs? (7) Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.

Brethren, God’s Master Plan involves His Church being brought out to “meet” God, not at physical Mt. Sinai, but “unto mount Sion.” What ancient Israel experienced is a mere foreshadowing of what God is preparing us to experience before His glorious presence in the “City of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” God was making ancient Israel a kingdom. He is giving us a permanent “kingdom which cannot be moved.” Hebrews 12 describes our future!

Hebrews 12:18-29 (18) For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, (19) And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (20) (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: (21) And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) (22) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, (23) To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, (24) And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (25) See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven: (26) Whose voice then shook the earth: but now He hath promised, saying; Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also, heaven. (27) And this word; Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. (28) Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: (29) For our God is a consuming fire.

Ben Faulkner, Pastor
© Copyright 2022, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,

Today is Thursday, June 2, 2022, Day 5 of Week 7. This is the 47th Day in our Count to Pentecost.

If God had wanted the entire world to have known immediately about the resurrected Christ, there are many ways He could have achieved it. After all, nothing is impossible with God. However, it was God’s revealed plan that He build a Church, and that His faithful servants would be the ones to accomplish the spreading of the Good News of the resurrected Christ and the coming of the Kingdom of God, by telling and retelling the story to new people and teaching (feeding) the Believers who joined in the effort.

Once Jesus Christ’s perfect work was accepted by the Father, God initiated a new phase of His plan. Hence, the Day of Pentecost and the pouring out of His Holy Spirit as He birthed His Church almost 2000 years ago. God sent POWER to become sons of God (John 1:12). Much like the members of a baby’s body being formed inside its mother, God’s begotten sons are being formed.

Much of this must be being done in secret. We wait for the appointed time. We wait for the redemption of our bodies. We wait for our change to come when this mortal shall put on immortality.

Psalm 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

Romans 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Jesus said He would build His Church, and the gates of hell could not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). Although the early disciples reportedly “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) with the details of God’s plan, the true Church of God has remained small for 2000 years compared to earth’s population.

God has a way of working things out in quiet and in secret until He is ready for the great revealing or the public presentation of His particular project. Consider how small our numbers seem to be in God’s Church today. We don’t really know all of the people with whom God is working. We certainly seem to be a small flock, scattered into so many different groups under so many different corporate structures. However, we KNOW God is building His Church, and He is perfecting it. Nothing can stop it! It cannot be long now until Christ returns, and God’s Church transitions into another phase of His Master Plan. Let us endeavor to be in prayer and supplication in one accord as we wait.

Ben Faulkner, Pastor
© Copyright 2022, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,

Today is Wednesday, June 1, 2022, Day 4 of Week 7. This is the 46th Day in our Count to Pentecost.

The Holy Bible provides information that Jesus Christ has been very involved in building His Church.

To do so, He has been fulfilling many roles. One of those roles is that of High Priest.

Many have wondered what Jesus Christ was doing during the 10 days between His ascension and the Feast of Pentecost. And, we have wondered what He is doing now. Although we do not yet know exactly what Jesus Christ was doing during the 10 days between His ascension and the Feast of Pentecost, we know Jesus was fulfilling Scriptural promises and prophecies.

We know earthly priests were to be very diligent about their duties or suffer severe consequences.

We can only conclude that the manner in which our Glorified Everliving Savior Jesus Christ fulfills His priestly duties is exact, meticulous, i.e., perfect.

The assignment of the priestly duties, the design of the ark, the tabernacle, and all of the vessels of the sanctuary were to be very carefully crafted in exact duplication of the pattern God showed Moses on Mt. Sinai. These were a “shadow” to serve as prototypes, until the “heavenly” vessels and Everliving Priest should fulfill their true meaning and purpose in the heavens, once and for all eternity.

Hebrews 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Hebrews 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

Although Jesus has presented Himself as the Perfect One-time Sacrifice, He remains a Priest forever in our Father’s presence. He is there now to intercede, mediate, and advocate for us because He is building and protecting His Church. Not even the gates of hell will prevail against us. He promised.

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee; That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Ben Faulkner, Pastor
© Copyright 2022, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,

Today is Tuesday, May 31, 2022, Day 3 of Week 7. This is the 45th Day in our Count to Pentecost.

We learn from Acts 1 that 40 days after the Wave Sheaf, Jesus ascended into heaven. He gave instructions in Acts 1 about what the disciples were to be doing until they received “power.” He told them they would be “baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.”

Acts 1:4-5 (4) And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me. (5) For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The disciples may have suspected that Jesus was referring to (v. 5,” not many days hence”) Pentecost, the Holy Day the Jews called Feast of Weeks, but Scripture is not clear. After 40 days with the resurrected Christ, they may have had some idea of the prophetic foreshadowing of that Holy Day. At any rate, the 11 disciples, along with other of Christ’s followers (about 120 altogether) obediently went to Jerusalem to “wait” as Christ had instructed.

Acts 1:12-14 (12) Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day’s journey. (13) And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. (14) these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren.

As we obediently wait and Count to Pentecost, being in one accord in prayer and supplication seems very fitting for us today, also. Let us all pray with one accord that God manifests His will to us, and we become more and more aware of the power God has made available to us to do His will.

Ben Faulkner, Pastor
© Copyright 2022, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,

Today is Monday, May 30, 2022, Day 2 of Week 7. This is the 44th Day in our Count to Pentecost.

The first time the English word covenant is used in the King James Version of the Bible is when God is dealing with Noah (Genesis 6:18). The word shows up in the Old Testament well over 200 times, and the study of each of these contexts is very helpful. However, the covenant that God made with Israel at Mt. Sinai is extremely important for true Believers to understand. It was a marriage covenant between God and Israel. It is a covenant that Israel quickly broke. And, it is a covenant that is being replaced by a better covenant (also a marriage covenant) based on better promises.

The reality about the everlasting fellowship God is calling us into is truly a beautiful love story!

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (31) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: (32) Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: (33) But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people. (34) And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, 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, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Isaiah 54:5-10 (5) For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of Hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He be called. (6) For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. (7) For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. (8) In a little wrath I hid My face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. (9) For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. (10) For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

Hebrews 8:6,13 (6) But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. (13) In that He saith; A new covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Everyone involved in the NEW covenant will be ready! This covenant is everlasting.

Ben Faulkner, Pastor
© Copyright 2022, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,

Today is Sunday, May 29, 2022, Day 1 of Week 7. This is the 43rd Day in our Count to Pentecost. It has been called the Week of Camping Before Mt. Sinai.

As we begin the 7th and final week in our Count to Pentecost, we find ancient Israel nearing the foot of Mt. Sinai where they will camp for about a year. At Mt. Sinai, God made a covenant with them, an earthly covenant, which was a type and foreshadowing of the everlasting covenant God is making with His people now.

And, just as they had to prepare to meet God at Mt. Sinai, we are to prepare as well. At Mt. Sinai, God showed the people that He maintained strong boundaries and guidelines to approaching Him. His presence was not to be taken for granted, not even by nearing the mount and touching it without specific permission or invitation.

Exodus 19:10-13 (10) And the Lord said unto Moses; Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, (11) And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. (12) And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying; Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: (13) There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

As we prepare ourselves for meeting with God in a special commanded assembly before Him at Pentecost, let’s be sure that we submit ourselves to God, giving ourselves to Him in His way! Let us appreciate what God has sanctified.

Let us realize that God Himself has sanctified us. After all, we are His saints. Let us present ourselves before God, clean, and ready to fellowship with our Father and our Savior!

After all, our loving God looks upon us as He did Israel, with at least one major difference. That nation was to be temporary. The nation He is building now will be everlasting.

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.

Brethren, may our great and loving God draw us closer and closer to Him. And, that He will bless us with the reverence He requires of us when we fellowship with our Father, our Savior, and with His people.

Ben Faulkner, Pastor
© Copyright 2022, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,

Today is Sabbath, May 28, 2022, Day 7 of Week 6. This is the 42nd Day in our Count to Pentecost.

We are now ending the 6th week of Israel’s journey to Mt. Sinai. This is the week many Bible historians call the week of Jethro’s visit. Jethro, Moses’ father-on-law, brought Moses’ family to the campsite.

Seeing Moses sit in judgment all day, overwhelmed by the pressures of judging every matter the rowdy Israelites brought out, Jethro suggested a form of judicial organization. We have come to call that organization the “Jethro Principle.” And, it has been used as an organizational form in many capacities, not just for judgment.

The principle involved delegation of authority to capable people who actually would learn how to judge. Part of the preparation to be a judge was Moses’ teaching “them ordinances and laws.” This is a crucial component.

A second, most important part of this delegation of authority involved the character and integrity of the men Moses would use.

Exodus 18:20-21 (20) And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. (21) Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

In essence, God is training us to be able to judge, also. Of course, He wants “righteous” judgment, and His laws (not just any laws or rules) are the key. Through God’s Holy Spirit, His laws are being written on the hearts of true Believers. When our training is complete, everyone God will use to teach or judge others will be of the same nature, character, and integrity as our Savior and our Father.

Ben Faulkner, Pastor
© Copyright 2022, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,

Today is Friday, May 27, 2022, Day 6 of Week 6. This is the 41st Day in our Count to Pentecost.

One of Moses’ greatest challenges in the 40 years of leading a murmuring, rebellious people, was burn out. If Moses had allowed the errors of the people to fill his mind, he could have been immersed in their negativity. Many people would find leading this huge group of grumbling malcontents to be overwhelming and unbearable. Humanly, we may wonder what kept Moses from just walking away from the job.

However, Moses on many different occasions was tempted by Israel’s contrary actions, yet he did not succumb to the typical, natural impulses. Why?

God had given Moses a clear purpose! The vision of leading the children of Israel into the Promised Land remained fresh in Moses’ thinking. That purpose even trumped burn out.

Also, God was very real to Moses. God had given Moses the opportunity to be in His divine presence, face-to-face, something like the meetings God had had with Moses’ forefathers. Through intimate contact with God, the vision could remain fresh and powerful.

Once God engaged Moses in the task before him, there was no room for doubt that God would bring His people to the Promised Land. While Israel often looked back to Egypt, the only direction Moses looked was forward. No matter how long or difficult the journey, we must all press forward to the goal like Moses did (and a whole list of other faithful witnesses, also, see Hebrews 11).

Philippians 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him; No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

Once committed to God and His purpose, there is no looking back! God says Moses was “faithful in all his house” (Hebrews 3:2, 5). We want Him to say that about us, also.

Ben Faulkner, Pastor
© Copyright 2022, Church of the Sovereign God