Envy or Contentment – Your Choice!

Last time I was with you, a couple of weeks ago, we discussed the spiritual walk of a pilgrim. I'd like to refocus on that topic today and ask and discover what that walk, our walk, looks like, between the starting blocks and between the finish line. If you remember last time, I talked about that there are three parts of pilgrimage.

The first is the initial exhilaration that we're on the way. God is dealing with us. God is calling us. We are moving as being disciples of Jesus Christ. The third part is coming home. Actually, at the end, the great reward, God's grace, the kingdom of God, ultimately eternity. It's the third one, going back to number two, not the beginning, not the end, but the middle, that bogs down the pilgrim, puts the weight on us as we just heard the sermonette. That's what I would like to deal with today. We're about to turn the corner into a new calendar year. I'd like to focus on one spiritual footstep, just one, not five, not ten, just one spiritual footstep.

That God frowned upon in Scripture. Then, next time I'm with you, another footstep, which God smiled upon. So, the two steps, footsteps, in the pilgrimage that we're going to be dealing with, one God frowned upon, the other God smiled upon. Both of these footsteps that were had by previous pilgrims are there for us to learn from. I look forward to sharing that with you. One thing I'd like to share with you is that both of these individuals, the bad guy and the good guy, if we want to put it that way, both individuals were covenant people.

They started in the same starting blocks. Both were covenant people. Both were as covenant people, sanctified by God. Both people were called to pilgrimage, to be moving towards the kingdom of God and not to go down deep with the root system, either into this world or into their hearts that were apart from God. They were like us. But these two individuals took different steps.

I'd like to share a scripture with you to begin to explore where I'm going to be leading you in a moment. Join me if you would in Galatians so we can identify the subject that is at hand. In Galatians 5 and verse 16. Galatians 5 and verse 16, I say then, walk in the spirit.

Walk. Being a pilgrim is about a journey. It's about an adventure. How often does the term walking come through the words that are especially in the New Testament? And you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. You won't feel that weight that we just heard about in the opening message. For the flesh lust against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. There's a war going on. There is a battle that is going on. And the spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another. They're contrary. One has to give. I know Mr.

Cook was talking about Kansas. I think Dodge is in Kansas. There's that old term that came out of Dodge. You know, back in the cowboy days, this town is not big enough for the two of us. It gets crowded in this war of dealing with the flesh. But the spirit only has to triumph. So it says then, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident. Here we go. Here's the list. Which are adultery, fornication, uncleanliness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred. Okay, now we're going to hone in on what we're going to be talking about. Contentions, jealously, outbursts of wrath, anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, heresies, envy. Notice all these are lumped together because they often just don't stand still. They actually bump into and become seamless with all the others, if not physical, spiritual, and intent.

And the like, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in times past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit, notice, is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such there is no law. And those who are Christ have crucified, nailed, crucified, let's put it, nailed it to the, you know, those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another. Notice, envying one another. That's what we're going to discuss today, is just that one footstep which has things that are synonymous with it as well. We're going to discuss the issue of envy. Envy has been the death spell of many a pilgrim, of many a covenant person, of those that were sanctified before God, that miracles came into their midst that they saw, and yet they did not nail it to death. And it rose up in them. In Jude 11, join me if you would for a second, just setting the stage for where we're going, in Jude 11, discussing envy.

It's interesting that Jude is right before Revelation, and Jude has a lot to discuss about spiritual matters as short as it is. It's never the size of the message, it's what's being said here. And notice what it says here. It says in verse 9, Let's start in verse 8.

Speak evil of whatever they do not know, and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, out of control is what it's saying, not domesticated by the Spirit of God. In these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam, for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. Each of these gentlemen, and what's surrounded them, is worthy of a message, but today we're going to center on the rebellion of Korah, because it had everything to do with envy. It dealt with envy. So the title of my message today is simply this for you that are taking notes. The title of my message is, Envy or Contentment? Envy or Contentment? Your choice. Your choice. And it is a choice as to whether or not we walk in the Spirit, or we walk in the flesh, or we say that Jesus is crucified, and we believe that he was crucified, but as he is living in us, we do not nail sin to death in our own lives. Dead, like Rover. Dead all over. And I've got to be honest about this. You know, when we think of Peck's famous book about a road less traveled, for people to deal with envy, to deal with jealousy, to deal with discontentment, it's in all of us to a degree. It just bubbles up at different times in different ways. And it deters our pilgrimage of walking behind Jesus Christ, who, with everything that came his way, was always content with what God had called him to. Before we go any further, I'd like to give you some tools to work with. Allow me to give some working terms, so we're going to be all on the same page, so that we can all deal with our hearts on this matter, okay? There's a couple of both envy and jealousy. They get jealous, or jealousy can overlap. I'm going to give you some terms here for a second. You know, I don't want to give you more Greek than need be, but envy is used off and on in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, I'm just going to use some of the Greek words and jealousy. Envy, the Greek word is sonos. Don't worry about spelling it. Sonos. Envy is the feeling of displeasure produced by witnessing or hearing of the advantage or prosperity of others. You have displeasure because of the news that's come your way, in your mind, about good things happening to somebody else, but not coming your way. They're like on the highway of gold, and seemingly in your mind, you've been stuck on the mud. We're stuck in the mud. Now, let me use the term jealous because envy is just the booster rockets for jealousy. Not that any of you have ever had these problems. Maybe I'm talking to spirit beings. Jealous. That comes from the word zelu, or zela, or zellus. There's passion involved. Now we've got some energy going. To be jealous is moved with passion to possess the differences that envy desires to deprive of what the other has. To deprive what the other one has. Well, if they don't deserve that, I deserve that. They shouldn't have that. That should be taken away from them. But, whereas jealousy desires to have the same sort of thing to take for themselves. In other words, it's not enough that you are concerned about how this person seems to be blessed, and you're in the doghouse of life. No, this means you want their position. You want what they have. What they have, you want to have. This understands something. Envy and jealousy breaks the commandment. It's the tenth commandment. You shall not covet what is yours, or has not yet been given to you. So all of this kind of goes in hand.

Now, whether it deals with envy or jealousy, this is nothing new. This even precedes the Garden of Eden. When you think of, oftentimes people have envy or they have jealousy because they themselves feel that they have been left out of the loop of opportunity. Left out of the loop of opportunity. Let's just think of it just for a moment, because there's nothing new underneath the sun. And maybe there's... and so we look at this. We know that Lucifer was covetous of God's position. He felt that he was left out of the loop of opportunity. So he tried to do a coup. He tried to do a spiritual coup against the family of God. And he was cast down. We also think of the situation with Adam and Eve. They're in the Garden of Eden. And somewhere along the line, Eve would never partake of the tree of good and evil if somehow she felt that God's holding back. God's not giving us the whole enchilada here. I'll take it for myself. And that envy of desiring what God had for himself said, no, she took it. And look what happened. We have the example of Nimrod. Nimrod was nervous. He was afraid of the authority of God and did not trust in it. He knew that his ancestors had been wiped out by the flood. And so he said, I've got an idea. I'm going to build a tower. I'm going to build a tower at Babel. And we are never again going to be drowned like rats from that God. We'll take control of the situation. So in a sense, building the tower of Babel was in a sense a coup against God. Because when it says that Nimrod was the mighty hunter before the Lord, that doesn't mean that he was shooting bow and arrows at rabbits. It means that he had put himself ahead of God and that he would be as a priest-king and be the God of the people. We also find in the epistles of John, we hear of this individual named Diatrophys. Diatrophys, Greek name. And Diatrophys wanted to have what? He wanted to have the preeminence. He felt he had been overlooked. And what happens when people have envy, which I'm going to bring to your point, when people have envy and jealousy, it's like leaven. It spreads. And we're going to be dealing with some anti-envy thoughts at the end, so it doesn't spread on you. So now with all of that said, turn to number 16. We're going to plunge into the story of Korah for a moment. Now Korah, 16 verse 1, now Korah, the son of Ishar. Oh, actually, I want you to spot verse 41 of chapter 15, verse above. Notice this. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God. Wow! The deliverer proclaims he is the deliverer. He is moving Israel on a pilgrimage out of Egypt through the wilderness towards the Promised Land. Now Korah, 16 verse 1, now, one of the great words, and as Suz and I were talking about this morning, the great words of Scripture, now, then, but, and so. It always sets the stage for what's happening. So God proclaims who he is. He is in charge of this movement of two million people to the desert. But now Korah, the son of Ishar, the son of Dohath, the son of Levi, that's going to be important if you don't know about Korah, Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and on the son of Pilath, the son of Reuben, took men. Now Korah has kind of got his name on the marquee of all of this, and he is what we call a Levi. He serves in the tabernacle complex. But we recognize that his attitude spread to others in another tribe. Just like right now when I was talking about, be careful right now about quarantining, because things do spread. Envy can spread, jealousy can spread, bad attitudes can spread.

And these rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel. 250 liters of the congregations, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. And they gathered together against, very important, against words. It's very important to notice and take apart in a scripture. Words have big meaning. They were against. Notice. Moses and Aaron, and they gathered together against them and said to them, You take too much upon yourself, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why, men, do you exalt yourself above the assembly of the Lord? Now, there's three parts to this. This is important, and we're going to cover it at the very end. There are three things that are being said here. And it says this, For all the congregation is holy. Is that correct? Was all of Israel holy?

We'll finish up with that later. Number two. It says, And every one of them, and the Lord is among them. True or false?

Number three. Why, then, do you exalt yourself above the assembly of the Lord? Question. True or false?

So, when Moses heard it, he fell on his face, and he spoke to Korah, and all of his company, saying, Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is his and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him. That one whom he chooses he will cause to come near to him. Do this. Take censors, Korah, and all of your company. Put fire on them, and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow. And it shall be that the man whom the Lord chooses is the Holy One. You take too much upon yourself, you sons of Levi. Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from among the congregations of Israel to bring you near to him? To do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve them, and that he finally has brought you near to him, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi with you? And are you seeking the priesthood itself? When does it end? When will you ever be satisfied by God's grace and what he has allowed your entire tribe to do? When Korah was talking to Moses, it's very interesting, and I want to show you something. And maybe it's something that we all need to do. This happens a couple of times. When he says, why then do you take, why then do you exalt yourself above the assembly of the Lord? I want to show a reaction. So when Moses heard it, he fell to his face.

Folks, this is the PowerPoint. Let's look up here. The man of God, the physical, physical deliverer, the one that reported to the great deliverer, the I AM. When he heard those words, he knew what he was dealing with. Disruption. Disruption leads to destruction. And that boy, as we say in Hebrew, that boy, he hit the dirt. He went straight down. He prostrated himself. He knew that there was a stick in the spoke of the wheels of this pilgrimage, of this rescue. He knew there was something wrong by the tone and by the attitude, and that Korah and Dathan and Abathar were trying to disrupt the work of God in the covenant people of ancient Israel. There was a literal physical reaction based upon a spiritual reality.

I'm sure that Korah said more, but Moses knew that sin was at the door. And he dropped, like an autumn leaf, on his whole body and on his face. He realized that this was not against him. This was against God Almighty. Are you with me? Do we understand the importance of dealing with sin and recognizing that Moses himself was not going to be able to deal with it? See, these gentlemen, Korah, Abathar, Dathan, and the 250 that would join them, let's remember, they had been rescued out of Israel. They had gone through the Red Sea. They had been at the foot of Mount Sinai. They had heard the voice of God. They had the Ten Commandments delivered to them. They had accepted the covenant as Israel said, what God has said, I will do. They had seen the water come out of the rock. These were not newbies, as we call them. These were not strangers in paradise. They were strangers on the pilgrimage. They knew who was in charge, but they also knew that coming out of Egypt, they knew about those Egyptian priests and those great temples on the Nile. They knew that those priests were on the take. You know what I mean by the term on the take? They were on the take from the people. They were taking goodies to themselves, treasures to themselves. And in all of that system, it was a matter of serving themselves. Whereas Moses was serving God. Moses had been appointed by God. He was serving God. But then you notice the attitude. Notice how this spreads. It spread from Korah, the rebellion of Korah. He brought along two people from another tribe, Dathan and Abathar. And now he's got all the big men of the assembly together with them.

See, Moses knew immediately what was happening. These other men didn't get it. They were not spiritually attuned. And this is something that all of us, as people of God, have got to become more quick to. And that is not to suffer bad behavior. Sometimes we are so friendly and people will say, oh, you know, they are who they are.

They didn't really mean that. Words have meaning. Words come from a heart. And these words had meaning. So let's go further here. It says that, you know, he says, is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you? And it's interesting. Join if you would in Numbers 8 for a second. Let's notice what God had given them. Numbers 8. Numbers 8. And picking up the thought in verse 18.

I have taken the Levites. Excuse me. I'm going to go a little bit further. Pardon me. Let's start in verse 14. Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.

They're going to belong to me. They're mine. I'm going to wrap my arms around them. I've got a special job for them. And thus you shall separate them. And that the Levites shall go into service in the tabernacle of eating, so you shall cleanse them and offer them like a wave offering.

For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel. I have taken them for myself, instead of all who opened the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel. For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast, on the day that I start.

I have taken the Levites, instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel, and I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron. You're a gift. You're a blessing. The God of Israel says, you're going to be special. I'm going to give you to Aaron and his sons for among the children of Israel to do the work of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the meeting to make atonement for the children of Israel.

How special! How wonderful! Was it enough for Korah, the Levite, who should have even known better than Dathan and Orr, Abathar? And yet his attitude spread like a cold, like a plague, from one man to two men to 250 men, and it's going to continue before this story is over. So anyway, then, it's therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. It's not against me. It's not against me. It's against the Lord. Let's get this straight. Don't pin the tail on the... Don't pin it on me. This is about God.

And that's why he had hit the deck. You have to really kind of get into it. I wish you could see a picture of that when Moses heard this news coming at him. And this is only two chapters. This is only two chapters after Numbers 14, where we have the problem with the two spies. And nobody wants to go up into the land that God's ready to deliver them. But then notice the answer. It's a cheeky answer. We say in Britain it's a cheeky answer.

Because Moses says, is it a small thing? And so Korah comes back and says, is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of the land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? That you should keep acting like a prince over us. He goes on saying, Morv where you have not brought us out into the land flowing with milk and honey, or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up. You know, just stamps his feet, sinks them into the sand.

Nada! No! We will not come up. Then Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, Do not respect their offering. By the way, I have not even, this is Moses speaking, I have not even taken a donkey. I didn't even get a mule out of this. I have not even taken a donkey from them, nor have I heard any one of them.

Moses said to Korah, Tomorrow you and your company be present before the Lord, and you and they as well as Aaron. Now, it's very important. I'm going to move through this quickly. I'm just going to pinpoint verses for lack of time, because I want to give you some very specific points. Verse 19, And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. So, it finally came through. Then the glory of the Lord, the Shekinah, the cloud, appeared to all the congregations.

And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron said, Now, this is very important, friends. This is going to lead to our points today as covenant people. Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. Then they all fell on their faces and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh shall one man sin, and you be angry with the entire congregation. So the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the congregation, saying, Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

So, boy, there's a lot back and forth going on here, you know, between the tabernacle and down through the tents. And he spoke to the congregation, saying, Depart now from the tents of these wicked men. Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.

So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and their families. And Moses said, By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works. For I have not done it on my own will. If these men die naturally, like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens up its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have been rejected by God.

This was not about Moses. He didn't use himself. He spoke of God. This is God's will. Now it came to pass. The earth opened. Korah. And much of his family, not all of his family, we'll discuss that at the end, went down. And then, not only down, but then it was covered up. Notice verse 35. And a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering incense.

Started with one man, went to another two men, now three men, then it went to 250 men. It was a plague. It was a plague. And then later on, the congregation itself. It was not just a man. It shows the depth of what happened. That later on then, as this is happening, the death of the three, the death of the 250, notice verse 31. Notice verse 31. On the next day, all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, You have killed the people of the Lord.

They're the people of the Lord. Who are you? You've killed. No, he said it would come from God. It would have to be from God if that earth was going to go open up. But they were so conditioned to their response and to the infiltration of sin in the camp, of envy, of jealousy, of discontentment, that then it happens that the plague broke out. Notice verse 47. Then Aaron took it, as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly.

And already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. Notice verse 48. The same people that they had accused. Aaron, the right hand of Moses. And Aaron, you think that this is one of the most gripping scriptures I can explain in the Old Testament. And Aaron stood between the dead and the living.

A hero. He stood between the dead and the living. And the plague stopped. And yet 14,700 people died. What can you and I learn about this incident on the way to the Promised Land? Because you and I are also pilgrims. We also have been delivered from Egypt of today. We follow one greater than Moses. We follow the ultimate Moses, the ultimate deliverer, the ultimate lawgiver, Jesus Christ. We're in the wilderness of this world right now as pilgrims. And we have been speaking of recent date about recognizing where society is.

It's Egypt. It's Babylon. And we need to separate ourselves from it. We can sometimes do that physically, but we have more so to do that spiritually. Not to let Babylon stick around. And you notice the admonition here, stay away, get away, separate yourselves from those men. Don't be involved with them. So where does this lead you and me? I'd like to give you some thoughts, again, going back to the aspect of some big lessons out of this story. The choice between envy or contentment is very important. Let me ask you, and you put on the shoe if it fits.

And if it is not fitting today, it may fit in the future. Perhaps today you have envy, or you have jealousy, that you are outside of the loop of opportunity. You feel cheated for the moment. Life is not coming the way that you think it ought to be. Your jealousy or your envy may not be explosive for the moment, but it's percolating, building steam underneath your skin. It doesn't go away. Marriage, family, your job, your role in the fellowship, the church, or your role in sharing new truth, which nobody to this point after review has accepted.

You feel overlooked. You feel not loved, not liked. You name it. And I'm sure you can. You think about it for a moment. What are you going to do about that? I'll tell you the one thing I've learned. It's a good thing I've got this band-aid on my nose, because I wouldn't want to anoint everybody from fainting and looking at me. And many of you have been here before. If I don't deal with this, I'm going to be dealing with a lot more. Right? And some of you have had skin cancer. I knew a gentleman many, many years ago that had skin cancer that did not deal with it. I visited him for about eight years, normally about every two months. And every two months, more of his face was missing.

Until there is barely any face. I don't want you to lose your appetite. That's what Moses experienced when he dropped to the ground. He recognized the sin that was there. It was wrong. We don't want these things to be happening in us. As we've often said, and you've heard me say for almost 20 years now, if you're not dealing with a need, you're going to deal with hurt. If you're not dealing with hurt, you're going to be dealing with anger. And if you're not dealing with anger, that turns into bitterness. One, two, three, four. So where do you want to begin with? You want to begin at the lowest level. So what are you going to do about it? And don't think any of us are totally immune. If you're a human being, somebody I know very well once told me many, many years ago, never think that any of us are above breaking any one of the commandments. That was a wake-up call for we that think we're righteous. Human nature. And we want to walk in the Spirit. You're all here today because you want to walk in the Spirit, but we've got to be in the realness of that. Like Paul says, I have not yet apprehended, but that which I do, I move forward. Let me give you some basic points real quickly. I'd like to give you some very basic lessons. Number one, don't let desire for what someone else has make you discontent with what you do have. Because somebody else has been blessed for the moment in a way that you have not been blessed, don't allow the root of anger and discontentment come in. Philippians 4 verse 11.

Philippians 4 and verse 7. Let's see what it says here.

Not that I speak in regard to need for what I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased. I know how to abound. And everywhere in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

What a goal that can only be done with the guidance of the Scriptures, the model of Jesus Christ, and the help of the Spirit, to be content of where you are at the moment. And it may not be great, I understand that too, but to give it to God. Give it to God.

It's a matter of perspective. Instead of thinking of what we don't have, we should be thankful for what He has given and strive to be content. After all, our most important possession is free and available to us by our Heavenly Father's grace, eternal life through Jesus Christ. Oh, Mr. Weber, I knew you were going to say that. Is that enough? It is enough. Join me if you would in 1 Peter 2.

Let's pick up the thought, if we could, please, in verse 1. 1 Peter 2 verse 1. Therefore, laying aside, that doesn't mean carrying it like a heavy suitcase, like we heard in the first message, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby, and if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, gracious, coming to Him as a living stone, rejected in the deep, Amen, but chosen by God and precious. Then you're a living stone. You're not a deadbeat. You're living. You're living for Him. Consider wherever you are right now in your life, and you are here today, and you are committed to God the Father and Jesus Christ, and you are here because of what Jesus Christ did, His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His exaltation at the heavenly throne. And as He serves the Father, Moses served the I AM. The I AM, the one now we call Jesus to Christ, serves the Father. He's content. He was content to remove Himself from heaven and come down here for you and for me. And what He tasted down here that we might taste of Him. If we have nothing else, and this is where faith is, if we have nothing else other than to recognize the word and the imagery of what it says here, if you have tasted Christ and gulped it, swallowed it whole, that could be the beginning and the end. That doesn't mean there aren't going to be tough times, and sometimes you are going to be overlooked. And sometimes you say, why not me? I could have done this. I could have done that. I could have had this family. I could have, and I'll make an example, I could have all of my adult children in this way of life.

And you see other families that have all of their adult children in this way of life. Susan and I are parents of three daughters that we love dearly. They're wonderful, all-American girls, but they're not in this way of life. We pray for them. We love them. They're great. But does that mean then I have to envy somebody else? Do I have to covet what God has granted them or what their children at this moment have been called to? Is that where Susan and I need to be? I don't think so. God has his purposes, and in his time and in his way. We all have something that's kind of rattling around in our hearts and in our souls and in our minds that we sometimes say, why? But then we have to give it to God.

Number two, on our pilgrimage towards the kingdom, seek wise company. Seek wise company, not complainers. Notice that key thing. Separate yourself from them. Remember what God told most of the people. Tell them to separate themselves. Those people are living doubt, not answering of self-examination and faith on their own part and surrendering to a better way. Join me if you would in Psalm 24. This is going to go a few minutes here. Psalms 24 verse 1.

Notice what it says here. The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. Maybe that's not what I want here. Maybe I've got a wrong Psalm. Wait a second. You know what? I have an idea here. Stay with me while I see if my idea comes to fruition.

Yeah, Proverbs 24. 1. Pardon me. Proverbs 24 verse 1. Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their heart devises violence and their lips talk of troublemaking.

You have to place and space yourself around people that are discontent. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 33 says this, Bad company corrupts good manners. Think this through again. Very simple combination. Start with Korah. He adds two. Those two add the 250. The 250 add the 14,500 people. Understand that envy and jealousy is a contagion. It's not only a cancer that can affect our spiritual bodies, but can actually affect the bodies of others. Let me ask you a question. A question for you that only... When is the last time you showed a better way or pointed to Christ as the answer to somebody that is either jealous or discontent?

When is the last time that you went to a brother? Think of Aquila and Priscilla, who went to Apollos. And it says they took him aside. They took him aside, not in public, but took him aside out of love and courtesy, and they showed him a better way. That may be with a mate, that may be with a family member, that may be with somebody on the job. I don't know if I could ever do that. Well, it takes two things. Three things. Courage, love, and wisdom. That's simple. That's hard. That's simple, right? Courage, love, and wisdom. Another point. Number three. Don't raise your own self-esteem. Don't raise your own self-esteem by attacking others. Philippians 2. Throw me a few wood for a second. Philippians 2.

Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, because we have tasted Christ as were the words of Scripture, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affliction and mercy fulfill my joy, being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than themselves. Quora? Hello? Is anybody listening? And there are quoras that are alive in a well today, figuratively speaking. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mind, esteeming others better than themselves. Is that what Quora, Abathar, and Dathan did? No, no, no. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others. And by the way, let this mind be in you, which was in Jesus Christ, because you have tasted Jesus Christ, as the Scripture says. Today, there's a term that is used oftentimes in politics. It's called projection. Projection. We project upon others what we ourselves are guilty of. God asks of us rather than projection, inspection, examination, repentance, turning to him in faith, saying, Father, I know that you want me to walk by the Spirit. Give me the tools. Give me the answer. Allow me to come to you because I have tasted Jesus Christ. I've drunk in his example. And he who never complained did not fill out of the loop of opportunity when he said, did not keep a hold on heaven above, but came down here willingly. And understood that in that sense, he would become subservient to the one that he had experienced eternity with through that point and would say, our Father.

When you hear that word projection today, don't think of political parties, because they do. Both do. Everybody projects on the other what they're already doing. No, no. Look at yourself. Number four, don't use parts of God's word out of context to shape your own desires. Don't take God's word out of context to shape your own desires. Remember what I said in the beginning as we broke through? You know, Cora comes up, sounds very spiritual, sounds very spiritual, and says, isn't the whole congregation holy? Yes. And isn't he amongst all? Yes. At that point, he's batting two for two, as we say, in baseball, right? And then he says, but you take too much upon yourself. Wrong! Moses didn't take that upon himself. God called him up on Mount Sinai and said, you shall go before me and you will be my tool in delivering. When you're going through Scripture in this adventure of the pilgrimage, use it wisely. Use it properly. One plus one ultimately has to equal two.

Check your motives. Be humble before the mighty word of God. Be careful not to excuse yourself. We go back to Genesis and there was God talk in the Garden of Eden where Lucifer, the adversary, talked to Eve and said, has not God said?

Just because God is in the equation, the equation is not full until it's done.

Be very careful as to how you allow God's Spirit. Well, God's Spirit does not need to be allowed. It just needs to be followed. But be very careful that you put Scripture together properly. Don't, as God says, don't add and don't subtract.

Point number five. Don't expect to find satisfaction in power or position. In Psalms 75 verse 6 through 7 it says that promotion, promotion comes from the Lord.

That means I have to follow that other verse. Wait on the Lord.

How much more could the Levites have been promoted? They were serving in the temple complex. They were serving God and yet they weren't satisfied. Promotion comes from God. The last part I want to follow with you is it's never over till it's over. Join me if you would in Psalms 84. In Psalms 84, this may come as a surprise to you. I realize that sometimes people think that David wrote all of the Psalms. What an awakening when you find out he did not write all of the Psalms.

In Psalms 84, we'll finish with this.

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper. See, that's what the Levites were. That's what Korah was angry and discontent.

And murderous in spirit. He was action and accomplice to the murder of all those people that died. Because of his wrong attitude of envy and jealousy of Moses and Aaron.

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand years. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God that dwell in the tents of witness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will be withheld from those who walk uprightly.

Let me read this in the passionate Bible paraphrase. For just one day of intimacy with you is like a thousand days of joy rolled into one. I would rather stand at the threshold in front of the gate beautiful, meaning a gatekeeper, ready to go in and worship my God than to live my life without in the most beautiful palace of the wicked.

Do you know who wrote that? You might want to look at your Bible for a moment. Psalm 84. To the chief musician on an instrument of gath, a psalm of the sons of Korah.

Think that one through. Think that one through. They learned something from their ancestor that they share with you and me today. They could have wound up bitter and angry, like the Amalekites that carried on a grudge for a thousand years with the children of Israel. But God was gracious and he, to this generations that came down, they got it. They recognized, be content, be at peace, and wait on the Lord and look up and be an agent of His and remain on the pilgrimage. It's one thing to start. We're in the wilderness. We're in the journey. We're where God makes new men and new women, a new kind of community, a new creation that has tasted Christ. And that greater Moses, that second Moses, leads us forward to the Kingdom of God. Look forward to seeing you at Message Chat in five minutes.