Do We Have a Different Spirit Like Caleb?

Well, good morning, everyone! Maybe we can do a little bit better than that. Good morning, everyone! Good morning! Okay, good! Lily, that was amazing. I mean, I don't know how you do it. Get your hands like this. Wow! Really gets my brain all twisted, but it was beautiful. Thank you. Appreciate your service. Thank you. And welcome to a number of the Brethren that are visiting. Not only the Fort Worth Brethren, it's a blessing for us to have combined services. It really is an opportunity for us all to fellowship, but also there are a few people that are guests. So please, you are welcome, and I hope you have a blessed day in fellowship with everyone.

Let me start here. I'm a long clock, my time here, so I know how long I've got. The symbolism of Unleavened Bread, brethren, reminds us not only taking leaven out, but it reminds us of putting off the old man, yes, taking leaven out, but also putting on the new man, because we're eating the unleavened bread, symbolic, obviously, of Christ in us, but also of us being a new person. And so there are a number of biblical lessons that we can extract from that. And many of them are actually connected with the Israelites leaving Egypt. Now, we're going to look at the Israelites' example as they left Egypt today, and we're going to look at how their sin escalated.

I think the key word here is escalated from fear and lack of faith to outright rejection of God. Those that outright rejected God ended up, they were adults at that time, ended up not entering the Promised Land except for Caleb and Joshua. Think about it. Not even Moses or Aaron went into the Promised Land. So we, in fact, told that Caleb went into the Promised Land because he had a different spirit. And so my question today is, do you and I have a different spirit like Caleb? And therefore, if we don't, we will not enter our Promised Land, which is the kingdom of God. And so today, brethren, I want to analyze the Israelites' example and how we need to have a different spirit.

As opposed to the Israelites that they were baptized into Moses, we are baptized into Christ. And you and I have been given a different spirit, which is God's early spirit. Therefore, because you and I have God's early spirit, provided you and I are being led by God's early spirit, there is no condemnation upon you and I when we fail, because we're trying with a different spirit. And God, through his power, through his spirit, through this different spirit, will help you and I to make it into the kingdom, because that's his desire, and that's why he gave us his son. And therefore, brethren, provided you don't turn your back away, provided I don't turn my back away, your entrance and my entrance into the kingdom of God is guaranteed.

So, in one simple word, or a few simple words, the message is a positive message. It's not just us taking leaven out, but it's us putting the new spirit, God's spirit, through unleavened breath, through living God's way, being led that way, and you and I will be in the kingdom, because that is God's desire for you and I, and ultimately, for all humanity. Let's look at how Paul introduced this point about the Israelites example in 1 Corinthians 10, and we're going to start from verse 1, and he says, Moreover, brethren, 1 Corinthians 10, verse 1, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea.

In other words, symbolically, they were baptized into Moses, in the cloud and in the sea. And then in verse 3, they all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, that was with them, that followed them, that was leading them, that was with them, that followed them, and that rock was Christ. And so, brethren, when we look at that and compare it to our situation, we were also baptized when we repented, but not into Moses, into Christ.

Now, Paul, in Romans 6, explains a little bit more about this baptism, and by the way, I'll be coming back to 1 Corinthians 10, but in Romans 6, starting in verse 1, we see there that Paul is explaining that we are not to continue living in sin. And he says, because we were baptized, you read that in verse 3, we were baptized into Christ Jesus. Now, I want you to pay attention to the words that you and I were baptized into Christ Jesus, because, indeed, we are baptized in Jesus' name. In other words, by Christ's authority, but we are baptized by Christ's authority into what?

Into Christ Jesus, into the spiritual body of Christ, which is His church. So it's actually two things. We're baptized in Jesus Christ's name by His authority into His body, which basically means into His family.

And so, now that we are in His body, as His physical body died, symbolically, as in His body, we are buried into the watery grave. The old man dies.

And likewise, we resurrect, symbolically, with Christ to live a new way of life. And this is what's explained in verse 4. And it says, Therefore we were buried with Him, Christ, through baptism into death. Why? Because we baptized into His body, spiritually speaking. And that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, by God's power and His glory through the power of His Spirit, even so, we, you and I, should walk in newness of life. Our responsibility now, as baptized members of the spiritual body of Christ, the Church of God, we are to live a new life. We have that responsibility. And verse 5, For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. So we are united. We are at one. We reconciled with God. And we are at one. In His death, the old man dies. We are at one, united, in His resurrection, to live a new life, to imitate Jesus Christ. You see, Paul also says in Galatians 3, verse 27, that we are to put on Christ. In other words, and we read in Scriptures like in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 22 and 23, that the body of Christ is the Church. That is also endorsed, or backed up, or restated in Colossians 1, verse 18. And as you may recall, when you were baptized, you may remember some of the words which said, I do not baptize you into any human organization or sect, but I baptize you into the spiritual body of Jesus Christ, right? You may remember that. We are baptized into God's family, which is kept by the name of the Father of that family, which is God, which is the same name as the name Son of God, which is the same name of God's Holy Spirit, which is God's, the Spirit of God. And so you and I are baptized into the family of God by Christ's authority. And so, turning back to 1 Corinthians 10, verse 4, we read that that rock that was with the Israelites was Christ. You read that 1 Corinthians 10 at the end of verse 4, that rock was Christ. Christ led them just like Christ leads you and I. He led away to die for us. He led away to be the first one to receive immortality from humans. And you and I will receive immortality at His coming at the seventh trumpet. So Christ led them into the wilderness. You and I are being led through this spiritual world, which is a wilderness, spiritually speaking. We are in a wilderness. This world is not the kingdom of God. It's a wilderness, a spiritual wilderness. And we are going through that. But the Israelites, when they went through that wilderness, they did not live a new life. They came out of that baptism into Moses, and they continued the old way. You and I have been baptized into Christ, and we are living a new life, a new way, a new man. We are being led by God's early Spirit. That's why then Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 5 and 6 talks about that God was not pleased with them. And they were scattered in a wilderness. They did not make the promised land except for Joshua and Caleb. And then he says, and these things in verse 6, these examples are for us, to the intent that you should not lust after evil things, as they also lasted. And so these things are our examples. They desired physical things.

They did not truly repent. Your and my lives in the church, as Christians, is one of continuous ongoing repentance. So Paul then starts describing some examples of what they did. But I want to briefly turn to Numbers 14 verse 22, because there in Numbers 14 verse 22 we see the moment when God said, you will not enter the promised land. That's Numbers 14 verse 22. And he says, because all these men who have seen my glory, they've seen God's power, and they've seen the signs which are dead in Egypt. Yes, there were 10 plagues in Egypt. They saw that. They saw when there was a mountain on the left, a mountain on the right, the sea was in front of them, an army was behind them. Oh, what shall we do? And God opened the sea. And God also did miracles to them in the wilderness. And he says, and these men have put me to the test now these 10 times. Now, you and I can just say, well, 10, well, these are different things. But have we taken a little time to study these 10 times? Now, today, as part of this, I want to go through briefly about these 10 times. Because these 10 times give us a very important spiritual lesson. And the lesson in basic, simple summary up front, so you understand where I'm going, is that through these 10 times, there was an escalation of sin from smaller to worse to worse and to worse. There was a pattern of sin getting worse and worse. And that could be something that could happen today to you and I. A pattern, a trend. And so it is important for us to look at the strand and analyze ourselves and say, am I in the strand getting to the point where I get to that 10th, where it says, that is enough. You will not get into the kingdom of God. Wow. So let's look at them. The first two. And I'm not going to turn to all the Scriptures. I'll refer. And you can study them in your own time. But the first two was that twice they tested God by the Red Sea. First he described in Exodus 1411, where they complained and showed regret. And secondly, in verse 12, where they rejected God's plan. And basically there was an initial, let's call it, initial first stage of lack of trust in God and showing itself in fear. They accused and assumed that God's deliverance from Egypt after killing the firstborn had failed. They were stuck with the sea in front, two mountains at the back, and Egyptian army behind. So they assumed God had failed. And so they said, well, let's go back. They kind of, well, maybe God is not really doing so his plan is not working out. Let's go back. And instead of trusting God, they said, well, let's go back to Egypt. So basically it's a first stage of weakness. Weakness in the faith.

Now think about you and I. How often has God already delivered us from trial upon trial? And obviously we continue facing trials and more challenges. Do we then have doubts? Do we lose some of that trust in God? And we do we start getting afraid and we start questioning? Well, maybe it was easier in the world. Then we go back to the world.

Then we have the third and fourth test wherein they tested God twice concerning water. And that was in Exodus 15.23 with marah, which meant bitter, and in Rephidim in Exodus 17 verse 2. So once again, Exodus 15.23 and Exodus 17 verse 2. So the first one, the water was bitter. And so what did they do? They grumbled and grumbled and mouthed and complained. Alright? Murmured. Murmuring. Frustration under trial. And then later on was a little tougher. There was no water at all in Rephidim. So they contended and argued and accused God. Was God really with them? And so when we think about our situation, even after experiencing blessings, the human tendency is to grumble and complain when discomfort arises. We start questioning God's presence and faithfulness in our lives. And we, in a sense, put God on trial.

So there may be daily frustrations, stress at work, fatigue, unmet expectations, and what they lead to. Grumble, grumble, complain, complain. This is real hard. Why is that happening to me? Is God with me? Why do I have this trial? Is God with me? And so now we moved from weakness and fear in a trial to murmuring, griping, complaining, and possibly even accusing. Now we get to the third test, which is actually the first and sixth, which they test God twice about manna. And that is in Exodus 16, verses 19 through 20 and 27, where it was a case of disobedience about the Sabbath. And then later on in Numbers 11 verse 6, it led to despising and contempt. And so now what we have is an even deeper escalation, moving beyond fear and complaining to disobedience and contempt for God's provision and will. In Exodus 16, we read, gather only enough for the day. And on Friday, they said, well, gather double. But, you know, I'm not sure if God will provide for tomorrow, so I'll go and take into my own hands and gather some for tomorrow. You know, they disobeyed. And then later on in Numbers 11, we see that they say, my soul loves this bread in gratitude, the spies, contempt. And so what do we have? In summary so far, at the Red Sea, they feared and lost trial. In the situation of war, they murmured and questioned God's presence, lost gratitude, and complained. In any high manner, they rejected God's provision and disobeyed, and with contempt, they despised God. So you can see that escalation. So the question to you and I is, is it possible that we receive constant blessings and still show contempt? Contempt towards God? Contempt towards His Church? We may begin to disobey and despise God's Word, despise the truth, the truth we've learned, and despise Christ's spiritual body, the Church. And so we start with excuses for this obedience. Why? In my situation is very unique. I can break the Sabbath, for instance. I have a reason. You know, in my situation, I can break the Sabbath. Now we get to the fourth test, which is actually, we've covered three, which is basically groups, which is of two each. So the fourth one is the seventh and eighth, which is about the quails. And the quails is in Exodus 16, 12, and Numbers 11, 4, and we see lust and rebellion leading to some degree of judgment, of punishment. You see, in Exodus 16, they complained about the manner, and so God gave them meat, the quail. And basically God provided a gain, still teaching them about trusting God and supplying. But in Numbers 11, we see that they lasted, they rebelled, they demanded, and then there was a judgment. They were plagued, they'd hit them. The issue was not lack of. The issue is that they lasted exceedingly. Remember, this was what Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians 10. They said they lasted so that we should not last as well. In Psalm 106, verse 14 says, they lasted exceedingly. God gave them what they wanted, but because of their last, there were consequences because they were eight, and there were consequences. And number, you read that, died. There was a judgment. What do we have here? We have no longer weakness, but we have a willful desire, overriding submission to God. You know what's last for something physical? What could it be? Well, for instance, it could be, well, I want to play sports on the Sabbath, and I know I should not do it. But because, yeah, there's a championship, I'm going to get this medal, I'm going to get this cup, I'm going to get this, I'm going to break God's Sabbath. Oh, after I have won the cup, I will then obey the Sabbath.

And so what we have here is a breaking away from what Isaiah 58, verse 13 says, doing your pleasure on my holy day.

Or putting that away. I want my way. This is the way I want it, and after I've achieved this, then I'll obey you, God. But I want my way. It is a desire at last. Putting something else before God, in other words, it's a rebellion against God, which leads to some degree of punishment. Now we get to the ninth test. In the ninth test, now the Israelites escalated the situation by testing God with the cough. That's Exodus 32, 1 through 7. And what we have here, brethren, is a clear and serious situation into an open, organized rebellion against God's will.

They replaced God with a false form of worship mingled with sexual immorality. A false worship in God's name. Faked under, oh well, this is Christian, or this is for the Lord, but it was a false worship. So let's review this again. Red sea, fear, and loss of trust. A weakness, let's put it another way, of the flesh. Then the water, murmured, complained, losing gratitude. Then the man got even more, which is a desire now of disobeying because of things and despising God. Then the quail was willfully lusting and rebelling against God's will. And the cough now is organized, rebelling, reshaping God into something they imagined in their own minds. So they replaced God with a false form of worship. And what do we have today? Pagan holidays. Lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God. Sexual perversion. Wrong priorities. It's all over. And now we get to the tenth, is that they tested God in the wilderness of Peron, Numbers 14, 1 through 4. This is the most serious escalation, which is open rejection of God's authority. They refused to follow Him at all. They refused to enter the Promised Land. They rejected God's plan entirely and attempted to replace the leadership. Said, let's put another leader in front of us. Brethren, that is ultimate rejection of God's authority, and that's very dangerous.

And it can happen, because this is an example. And so, what do we see? In the earlier examples, we have attitudes, and in our case, if those early attitudes are not corrected, it can lead to a hardened heart that no longer wants to follow God. And seeing that you are still in Numbers 14, let's read then verse 23. They certainly shall not see the land to which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected me see it. In other words, they will not get into the Promised Land. The spiritual example to us today is they will not get into the kingdom of God. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him, and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. And so, brethren, God shows mercy to those that have the right spirit. God showed mercy to Caleb and Joshua because they had a different spirit. Do you and I, do we have a different spirit?

You see, even after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the next generation, as they moved into the Promised Land, it was their children, they continued sinning. And by the way, brethren, that is the history of Israel and Judah, as we can see, that's why they left, they were punished out of their land, and things like that. And look at Numbers 21, verse 5 and 6. Numbers 21, verse 5 and 6. And it says, and the people, these are the next generation now, going into the Promised Land, and the people spoke against God and against Moses. You see, they again, they still are, against the authority. Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, for there is no food, no water, and our soul loves this worthless bread? Those attitudes continuing. Verse 6, so the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they but the people, and many of the people of Israel died.

This is exactly one of the examples that Paul quotes in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. So let's go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 10, and as we look in verses 7 through 9, we see some of them, they were luster, they became idolaters. Verse 8, they committed sexual immorality. And then in verse 9, nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents, which we just finished reading. And others were complaining. And so what do we have here? A continuous wrong attitude, a continuous wrong spirit. And so Paul, in 1 Corinthians verse 11, says, Now all these things happen to them as examples, as they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. They are examples for us. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. You know, if we don't have God's Holy Spirit, if we are spiritually blind, if we don't have a different spirit, we could think that we're okay, and then we could fall. And then in verse 13, he says, But God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. God provides a way out, that does not say that God will take the trial away.

Because he says at the end that you may be able to bear it. So it doesn't say you'll take the trial away. He may, he may not. Depends according to his will, according to each situation. But God will give you his Spirit, his power, his capability, a way of escape that you will be able to bear it with his help. Look at verse 16 and 17. The cup of blessing with which we bless is not the communion of the body of Christ. We are in Christ's body. We baptize into that body. And we therefore are one. We are reconciled as one. And so it says, and the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? We are one. One body, spiritually speaking. For we, though many, are one bread and one body. We are united. We've got God's Holy Spirit that unites us. We've got Christ that reconciles and gives us, gives us his Spirit. And so we see that very clearly that as we were baptized into Christ, and yes, by Christ's authority, we are in this one body. And we receive God's Holy Spirit to help us as a way of escape to go through these trials and overcome. Now this is not something that Paul did not know or did not experience. As we read in Romans chapter 7, at the end of Romans chapter 7, we see that Paul said, you know, he had the same struggles. You read from verse 13 through 21. It says, I've had these struggles. I want God's law. It's in my mind, but I've got this fleshly body, this carnal flesh that I'm struggling against. Paul had the same struggle as you and I. In verse 22 and 23, it says in Romans 7, For I delight in the law of God according to my mind, according to the way I think. I've got God's Holy Spirit. I want to obey God because that is God's character. That's God's nature. That's God's love. Love towards God and love towards fellow man. So I delight in the law of God, but I see in my flesh another law that's in my body, in my members, which there is a war against the law of my mind with God's Holy Spirit. And so I'm struggling and bringing me into the captivity to the law of the Son of the flesh, which is in my members. O Richard man, says Paul, that I am. I think you and I, we all can say the same thing. O Richard person, I am. Who will deliver me from this physical body of death? Christ will deliver us at the resurrection. Christ will deliver us. We all can say this. We all can say this. And therefore, thanks to Jesus Christ, our bodies will be changed from corruption, physical flesh, a body of sin, to a spiritual body, incorruptible, that never has those physical carnal pulls.

And then reading in the next verse, which is chapter 8, verse 1, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. If you and I have this different spirit, and I believe you do, the mere fact, you, you have this different spirit. You're striving. And so, even though you are struggling, and I struggle, we all struggle, there's no condemnation. You're not condemned. Even though occasionally you fall and trip, you do not have a condemnation because you have a different spirit, which is God's Holy Spirit, and you are being led by God's Holy Spirit. In verse 10 and 11 of Romans 8 says, So you are part of Christ, Christ is in you, his mind, his spirit. You are living God's way. The body is dead. Oh yeah, you have the temptations, but you are not following that. You are striving to overcome and change. But the spirit is life because of God's righteousness.

But, verse 11, if the spirit of him, which is God's Holy Spirit, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead, and the Father delegates that responsibility now to Christ, and Christ, under the Father's instruction and command, and using God's Holy Spirit, will give life to a mortal body through his power, his spirit, which dwells in you. Brethren, the days of 11 bread are very encouraging, because as you and I put on, and symbolically we eat this 11 bread, we are partaking of God's bread from heaven, God's Holy Spirit. The bread of life, which represents Christ, Christ in us, and he's given it to us, and Christ is in us. And so, God's Holy Spirit, to you and I, is a guarantee, a down payment, that you and I will be resurrected at Christ's coming.

You will be given a better body, provided you are led by the Spirit, and you don't walk away from it. Verse 14, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are, not maybe you will be, you are already past, future, tense, you already are present. You will be in the kingdom. You're the sons of God. And so, brethren, as we take these days, it's so easy for us to always be beaten down by unleavened bread, you are sinful, you are sinful, you're bad, you're bad. Brethren, I want you to look at the positive. I want you to look at, provide you being led by God's Holy Spirit, and you have God's Holy Spirit on you, even though now and again you and I failed, there is no condemnation, because the Father loves you, and he wants you in the kingdom, and provide you keep trying. You've made it. Okay, you have to remain faithful to the end, but you made it. Provided you remain faithful to the end, of course. And so, it is a very encouraging point. And if you read now verse 18, it says, For I consider that the sufferings and the pressures and the trials and the difficulties, and I know so many of you are going through very, very deep, profound trials and difficulties. I know. I know. But these sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in you and me, in us.

For, verse 20, for the creation, you and I, we're subject to futility. We're subject to this carnal mind, to this frailty. Not willingly that will be frail forever, but because of him, because of his purpose, he's subjected in hope. Do we have this hope? In 1 Corinthians 13, 13, we read, faith, hope, and love. Faith is critical. We gotta start in faith and end with faith, trusting God. Ultimately, the end goal is to have the nature of God, which is God's love, which is represented by his law and his ten commandments. But in the middle, like an anchor, is hope. If you and I don't hold on to this hope, to this vision, it's easy for you to let go. We gotta hold on to this hope, brethren. God wants everyone in his family, ultimately. Sooner or later, all mankind will have their opportunity to make this choice. You and I are the first few, reading verse 23. We also have the first fruits of the Spirit. We are the first few that have received God's Holy Spirit. The others will get it later. But God, in his wisdom, decided to call you and I. But his purpose is to call everybody. God is fair. And as we go through this, we need to make a living sacrifice. Romans 12. Romans 12, verse 1 and 2 says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by God's mercy, please, in God's mercy, please, present your bodies a living sacrifice. Don't give up! Holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Brethren, quite often we read, we come to God's early days, and it says, bring a sacrifice. Then we read of bulls and goats and things like that. But there's no temple today. We can't do that, because you would have to bring it. The Levites would have to do it, and those priests, it's their responsibility. But what is our responsibility? Oh, we don't bring a sacrifice to God's early days. Yes, we do. Yes, we do. We bring a living sacrifice, your body. You're going through trials, and you are there. You are here. This is your living sacrifice that you come to God, even though you're going through trials and difficulties. It's a living sacrifice which is holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And therefore, don't be conformed to the sword, but be changed. Be transformed. It's a complete metamorphosis. By changing your mind, your way of thinking, your spirit, to have a different spirit like Caleb had, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. You know, brethren, Christ also had to go through a living sacrifice. In fact, more than that, he ended up having to die. But he had to go through a sacrifice. Look at Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. In verse 5 through 7, and Christ saying, therefore, when Jesus Christ came into the world, Hebrews 10 verse 5, Christ said to the Father, sacrifice and offering, you did not desire.

Physical killing of bulls and goats is not what God desired. But a body you have prepared for me, the Father prepared a body for Jesus Christ, his physical body, as the son of Mary. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, you had no pleasure. Then I said, Behold, I have come. In the volume of the book it is written of me. In other words, God's plan was designed that way. He came to be a living sacrifice and to die for us. In other words, to do God's will. That's why Christ came. And Christ completed that full sacrifice. It's complete. It's not half and done. It's complete. And it's complete. In verse 14, Hebrews chapter 10 verse 14, for by this one sacrifice of Christ, He has perfected forever you and I. He's done the job.

God has done what is required for you and I to be in the kingdom, provided you are being sanctified, provided you are going through the sanctification of the Spirit and to obitures, provided you are striving to obey with God's Holy Spirit, a different spirit.

And that is if you and I are led by God's Holy Spirit. And then in verse 19, therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, when you and I, with God's Holy Spirit, pray on our knees at home privately, we are coming boldly, boldly into the Father's very throne, symbolic of those two wave loaves, because we are coming boldly, because we still have sin, we still have leaven, like those two wave loaves, wave loaves symbolically had. So we're coming boldly by a new and living way, which He consecrated, Christ consecrated for us, through the veil that is His flesh, through what He did for us. And so, brethren, now you and I can stand before God with a different spirit than the wolves, with God's Holy Spirit. And you and I must keep on keeping on. We must keep on keeping on with this different spirit. And in verse 22, He says, Let us draw near with a true art in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. It's our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience with Christ's blood, and our bodies washed with pure water with God's Holy Spirit. Brethren, we have absolute confidence and assurance that you and I will be in the resurrection of the saints, because we have the guarantee. We have the down payment from God, which is His Spirit. And God has planned this for all humankind. It's not that you and I are different or special. For some reason, He decided to call you and I now. One day we'll know, but now we don't. But He has predestined every human being. Think about that. God has predestined every human being to be a child of God. Isn't that what we believe? That's what we believe. That's why you and I were born. Look how He says that. Paul says that in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3 to 5. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3 and 5.

And it says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. And quite often we just read as, meaning as in the church. But brethren, this applies to all mankind. God wants all human beings to be in His family, right? So not just you and I and the others will not be in the family. God wants everyone. He wants to give us every spiritual blessing. Those that are called now and those that will be called later. For just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, He didn't choose angels for this role. He didn't choose other forms of life on earth. He chose humankind for this purpose. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we human beings ultimately will be holy and without blame before Him. And therefore He predestinated us, all human beings, to sanction as sons by Jesus Christ. According to the good pleasure of God's will.

That's why we were born. Isn't that our booklet? Why were you born? To be sons and daughters of God in God's kingdom? That was predestined by God right from the beginning. That's why Christ was slain from the foundation of the world for all of us. And so what must you and I do now? As I conclude, the last scripture is in Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3 verse 12 through 15. Colossians chapter 3 verse 12.

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, as we now have been chosen by God, as we... Why are we chosen? Because we better know, because we're responding to the calling. Now, others are being called and not responding. Maybe they'll respond later. But we are chosen now because we're responding with elect of God, holy and beloved. What must we do? We've got to put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another. And if anyone has complained against another, just as Christ forgave you, you also must do. And above all, put on love, agape love, which is the bond, in other words, the superglue of perfection. You and I have taken the leaven out of our house. We've taken the leaven out of our lives. Maybe during the Spirit you've seen some leaven, spiritually speaking, still in your lives. And you say, oh, I've got to take that out, too. I've got to become better. And so we've seen the bad example of these relights. We know the bad example of our carnal mind, and we have to symbolically strive to put on the new man without sin. Every day of our lives, just like these seven days, represent completely out of our lives. We need to allow Christ to be in us every day of our lives. We need to put on the new man, using God's Holy Spirit, beyond these seven days. In other words, we need to have a different spirit like Caleb. Verse 15, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts. We have peace of mind with God when we are right with God, when we are at one with God. To each, you're also called. We were called for this purpose in one body, to be united, to be at one with God. And it says, in one body, which means in unity. And therefore, be thankful. We have a great blessing, brethren, and it is something to really be thankful.