Kalon Mitchell
Where Is He Leading Us?
Hold Fast Until the Trumpet Sounds
As we prepare our offering for this Feast of Trumpets, what are we doing daily that makes a difference as we continue to prepare for the return of Christ? This message looks at Philadelphia’s example of little strength, but still faithful and asks whether that’s true of us right now, not just something that happened to a church long ago.
Hold Fast
One of my favorite terms in the Bible is the admonition for us to “hold fast.” When I was younger, I read a lot about sailing — large sailing ships have always fascinated me. There is something majestic about traveling across the water in a boat with large rigging and all the parts of a ship. But being on the ocean is not without peril; there are times when storms come, and sailors have to withstand them.
From a nautical standpoint, “hold fast” is an old maritime command meaning to grip a fixed point, a rail, a line, anything they could securely hold on to. This was especially shouted to the crew in heavy weather so no one would get swept overboard; it’s essentially “hang on!” It was also used to mean securing a line itself (to belay it so it doesn’t run out), and “holdfast” is the general term for any fitting, clamp, or cleat that pins something in place against the ship’s motion so it can’t shift. (The word shows up outside sailing too; carpenters use a “holdfast” clamp, and biologists use it for the root-like structure kelp uses to grip a rock.)
This term “hold fast” appears a number of times throughout the Old and New Testaments. So it is not just a nautical term. In the Bible, the way it is used is powerful, because it describes the need for each of us to cling to God with everything that is within us.
In Hebrew, several words get translated as “hold fast,” each with a slightly different meaning. One word can mean to seize and grip firmly (Job 2:3; Isaiah 56:4,6), which is bound up with the idea of strength itself. Another word can convey the thought of grasping or seizing physically (Song of Solomon 3:4), and a third word can mean to cling, cleave, or stick to (Deuteronomy 10:20), describing the kind of closeness a husband and wife have, staying devoted and stuck to each other out of love and commitment, no matter what.
In Greek, several verbs get translated as “hold fast,” each with a slightly different meaning as well. One word can mean to grasp with force, to seize and not let go (Hebrews 4:14). Another word can mean to hold down firmly or to retain or possess securely (Hebrews 10:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; and 1 Corinthians 15:2). Finally, a third word can mean to hold oneself against something, and to cling to it (Titus 1:9).
As we can see, across both the Old and the New Testaments, “hold fast” describes a deliberate, muscular grip on what’s internal rather than external — faith, hope, integrity, God’s Laws — held under pressure, against a force that would otherwise tear these things away. It’s not casual possession; it’s resistance under strain.
Scripture actually gives us pictures of exactly what kind of strain is meant. Hebrews 6:19 describes hope as “an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil”; something that holds firm precisely because a current is pulling against it. And Ephesians 4:14 warns of not being “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting”—children of God blown off course by every gust. Both these Scriptures place us right in the middle of a storm-tossed deck: the wind and waves trying to sweep us overboard, and faith and hope being the grip that keeps us from going over.
The storms in our lives are going to happen whether we are ready to “Hold Fast” or not. The question is, where is our strength to ride out the storms?
Luke 8:22-25 and Matthew 14:22-33 describe actual storms in which the early disciples found themselves being forced for a reason. Christ used these moments to help teach the disciples that the storms were there to make them lean on Christ and realize how they could get through any situation. We are also Christ’s disciples and He uses the same approach with us today to help us learn to lean fully on Him in all situations so that when the storms that come get bigger, we can “Hold Fast” and find the God-given strength to endure until the end and make our calling and election sure.
The Weight of God’s Glory
This message explores what the Bible actually means by “the glory of God,” tracing the shift from kavod (weight, substance) in the Old Testament to doxa (glory made visible) in the New Testament. It considers how a person’s life gets tested over time, the way a foundation and building materials are tested by storm and fire. It closes by contrasting those who took credit for what God did with those who redirected glory back to Him.
How Much Fruit Are You Bearing?
Spiritual growth can feel vague and hard to track. This sermonette examines what Christ teaches about pruning and bearing fruit in John 15, and asks whether our own growth is something we can actually see and measure, week by week.
Two Hundred and Fifty
On July 4, 2026, America celebrates 250 years of independence. Speeches will be made. Flags will be waved. Politicians from every persuasion will congratulate the nation and promise a brighter future. The word freedom will be repeated until it almost loses its meaning.
America was founded on revolutionary ideals. The Declaration proclaimed that all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution and Bill of Rights sought to preserve those liberties by limiting the power of government.
Yet 250 years later, an uncomfortable question remains. What has become of that freedom?
Regardless of political affiliation, few would argue that Americans today enjoy the same level of liberty, privacy, trust in institutions, or confidence in their future as previous generations did. The government has grown. Division has deepened. Citizens increasingly look to political leaders to solve problems that politics has never been able to solve.
Christians however must view this milestone differently. We are not called to place our hope in political movements, elections, constitutions, or governments. Jesus Christ plainly stated that His Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). While nations rise and fall, the people of God are commanded to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
That knowledge allows us to ask a question few will ask during America’s 250th celebration.
Is there another 250 in the Bible that serves not as a reason for celebration, but as a solemn warning?
Numbers 16 records another group of 250. They were not ordinary Israelites. They were “leaders of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, men of renown(verse 2). They were influential, respected and trusted.
Yet these men united themselves with Korah in challenging the authority God had established through Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounded reasonable enough: “All the congregation is holy” (verse 4). Why should Moses and Aaron occupy positions of authority over everyone else?
It was an appealing argument. It appealed to equality. It appealed to fairness. It appealed to the belief that no one should possess authority over another.
But Moses exposed the real issue. “Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD” (Numbers 16:11).
Their rebellion was never really against Moses. It was against God. That same pride, the conviction that we know better, that we get to decide what’s right—that is the same attitude we can observe today in America and in many other nations.
Scripture identifies the modern English-speaking nations: America, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and their kin are the descendants of ancient Israel, specifically of Joseph and the “lost ten tribes.” That identity carries weight. Not the weight of pride, but of responsibility. God has specifically warned that nations carrying this identity will experience national consequences for this exact pattern of pride and self-rule. While America may be enjoying its remaining freedom now, what is coming is predictable and yet entirely avoidable, if people would wake up and pay attention.
Deuteronomy 28 lays out the blessings (vs. 1-14) and the curses (vs. 15-68), tied to obedience or disobedience to God’s laws. When Israel lost her way and turned from God, notice the progression that God tells us would happen. It intensifies step by step: confusion and frustration (v. 20), disease and economic collapse, foreign oppression (vs. 43-44), military defeat (vs. 25, 49-52), siege and captivity (vs. 64-68).
In Leviticus 26, God repeats the same warning again and again: “If you will not obey me…” Again, each refusal deepens the consequence. The broad arc is pride, then broken national strength, then famine, then invasion, then desolation and finally scattering among the nations.
The 250th anniversary of America should be less a celebration of past greatness or coming greatness and instead be a more sober reminder that national blessings are taken away when a people turn away from God.
Proverbs 14:34 holds no punches: “Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.” It doesn’t matter who people think they are in their own eyes. When their actions become so consistently unrighteous that the pattern itself becomes a verdict, there is a problem.
People today do not want to know what sin is. And when they do know, they still don’t want to fully obey God’s law in keeping the Ten Commandments. People speak constantly about defending freedom. Far fewer ask what freedom is actually for. Biblical freedom was never freedom from God. Rather, it is freedom to obey Him, which in the end gives true freedom from sin and the penalty of sin—death!
Modern society has redefined freedom as the right to determine morality, to decide what is right and wrong, what marriage is, what life is worth, what Truth is, and ultimately who has authority over us. Yet, this is not a modern philosophy. It is the oldest Satanic lie in history: “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5).
Satan’s “promise” was never that mankind would become like God in character. The temptation was that mankind could replace God as the ultimate authority, determining good and evil on its own terms. That lie has driven every major rebellion against God, including the one staged by Korah, and it persists to the present day. Korah’s rebellion was just another expression of the same spirit. That spirit is alive today. It is celebrated as progress. It is praised as freedom. It is defended as personal autonomy. But Scripture plainly calls it rebellion.
The 250 men who stood with Korah believed they knew better than God. They rejected the authority He had established while convincing themselves they were pursuing justice and equality. Their rebellion became a warning, preserved for every generation. The ground opened and swallowed them.
America now celebrates 250 years of independence. Scripture reminds us about the 250 men who died. One celebration remembers the birth of a nation. The other remembers the destruction of men, and their families—of those who rejected God’s authority. One is marked with fireworks. The other was marked with fire from heaven.
The lesson is not merely that America has reached 250 years, but what America has become along the way. God is not impressed by military strength, economic prosperity, or patriotic celebrations. He is looking for people willing to humble themselves, repent, and obey Him.
Will America and the other modern descendants of Israel heed God’s warning before it is too late?
When Everything Accelerates
The world is accelerating and nobody knows how to stop it. God told us this was coming. Underneath all the technology, capability, and noise, the same ancient problem is surfacing that has always surfaced when humanity gains more power, we want to be like God, on our own terms, without going through Him.
Living Life in Reverse
This sermonette explores the tension between living in the present, learning from the past, and trusting God with the future. Through several scriptures we are reminded that God calls us to be intentional about the moments we are given. The challenge is to embrace each day with gratitude and purpose.
Why do we have a ministerial conference?
Some may wonder why we hold a conference for the ministry. What is the purpose of meeting together?
Before we answer this question, some background history might be helpful.
In July of this year, it will mark the 25th year of existence for the Church of the Eternal God (CEG). While this is a good and impressive milestone, what is most important is that we continue doing the Work of God with fervency and zeal. Many people at the time when CEG was started stated that this organization would not last more than a few months. Yet, by the grace of God, we continue to operate and God continues to help open doors for us to preach the Gospel to the world (Matthew 28:19-20; 16:17-18).
One of the core tenets of CEG found in our Statement of Beliefs is the following:
“The Church’s Commission:
“We believe that it is the Church’s commission to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to all nations as a witness, to warn all nations, and especially the lost tribes of the house of Israel (mainly in the United States, Great Britain, certain Commonwealth nations and nations in Northwestern Europe) of impending danger, and to feed the flock of Christ – the Church – spiritually and physically.”
As we continue carrying out this commission, it is important that we maintain our focus and approach in doing the Work. In order to do so, we meet monthly in technical meetings over the Internet to discuss various ongoing projects and continually work to keep doing what we are doing, making improvements when needed, but also staying true to our core values that God has entrusted to us.
We have often stated that we are to be growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, which includes remaining steadfast in the Truth that we believe. Quoting again from our Statement of Beliefs:
“The major doctrines of the Church are those, which were taught by Herbert W. Armstrong, derived from the Biblical teachings as followed by God’s faithful servants, and originally established by Jesus Christ through the founding of His Church in the time of His chosen early apostles. Since we are to increase in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, we are committed to review and alter any of our teachings, if and when proven to be wrong by the Bible.”
We continue to follow this principle, and it has served the Church well through the years. People have come and gone, but we continue to hold fast to the Truth and we persevere in preaching it. The Work that we are doing has been given to us by God, and by His grace and strength, we will continue.
On May 10, 2003, a Q&A was written asking the question: “Does the Church of the Eternal God and its corporate affiliates believe in and practice hierarchical government?”
The Q&A emphasizes that God is not working through independent, self-directed individuals, but through an organized structure under Christ. If God governs His Church through structure, then periodic gathering, instruction, and alignment within that structure are necessary and beneficial. The purpose of the unity is so that we can effectively preach the Gospel and help prepare the way for Jesus Christ’s Second Coming.
Quoting from that Q&A further should help us to understand how the Church operates administratively:
“We in the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God, the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom, and the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada, discuss things among ourselves, ‘submitting to one another in the fear of God’ (compare Ephesians 5:21). We are convinced, and experience has shown, that if a person is not willing to submit to others ‘in the fear of God,’ such a person will sooner or later cease to be a part of the organization. When we do not reach an agreement on a given point, we place the matter on hold, meditate and pray about it, and come together again for further discussion. When we decide an issue, we do it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, expecting full consensus, as was the case in Acts 15.”
Unity is a clear theme that runs through the Bible. In order to fulfill our part in God’s Work, we are anxious to maintain unity.
Paul clearly wrote about this in Ephesians 4:1-5: “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism…”
The unity that is shared between God the Father and Christ should be the same unity with which we operate. But Paul doesn’t stop here. There is a reason why unity is so important in his view.
Continuing in Ephesians 4:11–16:
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
In participating in this conference, the ministry is working to do just this. We are working on behalf of the readers and those who are called. We do the Work because we have been called to do so to preach the Gospel as a witness and to help the growth of the entire body, by doing our part!
While the ministry continues to carry out its responsibilities, the membership also has a responsibility to grow spiritually. Together, the Church should be growing and maturing as one unified Body.
Ephesians 2:19-22 states:
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
We must allow God’s Spirit to be increasing within each of us. The more this happens, the more God can move His plan forward. We are not static; rather, we are created to grow and develop toward the fullness of God’s character and Way of Life.
While unity and spiritual growth are vitally important, another question must also be asked: Why do all this Work?
As mentioned above, preaching the Gospel and all that it entails is the commission given by Christ, and it is the one that we are keen on fulfilling. Christ told us exactly what would happen before His return: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).
The world is still standing, Christ has not returned; therefore, our commission is still in full force and effect. Christ plainly tells us that this is what we must be doing to the extent that we can. We read in Mark 16:15: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” He added in Matthew 28:20, ”…teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Our job is to watch, warn and exhort! Our StandingWatch YouTube channel does exactly this in commission of Habakkuk 2:1-3. We must not be discouraged by small numbers. (Remember, Elijah thought he was all alone, but God had preserved 7000 in Israel, compare 1 Kings 19:18).
God will bring people into His Work to help as we prepare ourselves. We are seeing growth though, even if it’s not in ways that we always expect. Our video on the Fall and Rise of the Jewish People has now surpassed 2.4 million views. This demonstrates that God continues to open doors for the Work. Each week, we also send out large quantities of booklets to individuals requesting them.
When ancient Israel sinned and went into captivity, people remembered God and turned back to Him. We should recognize that the greatest portion of the Work may still lie ahead of us. We should pray diligently that God will provide additional laborers to help accomplish His Work.
Matthew 9:35-38 tells us:
“Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”
Christ cared about the people. This should also be a concern for us in such a way that we are dedicated to preaching the Gospel which contains good news to this world. In order to do this, there has to be unity so that we can continue to fulfill the commission of the Church.
One of the key takeaways from our conference is that we gather together to gain strength, encouragement, and greater understanding in how to better accomplish the Work of God. When the early Church met in Acts 15, they came together to seek greater understanding of the Truth. At that time, they discussed the issue of circumcision—a matter considered extremely important by some. Yet the conclusion they reached brought about a significant change for the Church. This aligned with what Peter had previously experienced through the vision he received before baptizing Cornelius and his household. The decision reached in Acts 15 helped open the door of salvation more fully to the Gentiles. It was a major development in the growth of the Church and the expansion of the Work.
As we conclude this year’s ministerial conference, we can move forward and be encouraged in continuing the Work of God. All of us are part of this effort together. Every prayer, comment, contribution, and act of support is deeply appreciated. This is not a one-person work. As Scripture says:
“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).
We can all continue praying and asking God for wisdom, strength, and open doors to preach the Gospel, while ensuring that we remain aligned with His Will in all things.
In closing, Psalm 90:13–17 provides a beautiful capstone to this Q&A:
“Return, O LORD! How long?
And have compassion on Your servants.
Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.”
Lead Writer: Kalon Mitchell