A Godly Principled Person

Today is the Feast of Pindacost, which means 50th. It's also the Feast of First Fruits. The Bible also calls it the Feast of Harvest. It's also called the Feast of Weeks, because we've now completed seven weeks since the middle or during one part of the Days of Unleavened Bread. And this is a time of year that focuses on you and me, those who God is calling as part of His plan, beginning with the Passover and our deliverance from slavery to sin, coming all the way now through this life that we've been called to live, being successful, and today rejoicing in a harvest that is to take place.

The Greek word pentecoste, which means 50th, became the New Testament term for this festival. And yet more than just saying pentecost or 50th, this festival is rich with meaning for you and for me. It was also known, as I mentioned, as the Feast of the Harvest, which is found in Exodus 23 and verse 16. And this festival showed in advance the church that would be coming, the Holy Spirit that would be placed within those whom the Father would draw, and the development of spiritual fruit, a growth that would take place, growth that is something that God Himself cannot create on His own.

A special type of a fruit that God sees on His special tree that He can harvest. Something that is unique, something that is wonderful, something that gets God excited. This special fruit is what you and I are to be developing in our life, and something that He can pick, He can harvest, He can bring into His house. I want to talk to you today about the festival. Mr. Armstrong said one of the biggest lessons for this festival is it is for the few. It is a small part of a harvest. Though the spring harvest is a large harvest, this is the harvest of first fruits, and it's focusing on first fruits.

The first fruits is a very small part. And we are reminded that Jesus said, many are called, but few are chosen. Many are invited to be part of the harvest, but when He goes to actually pluck the seeds from the heads of grain, you know, few are chosen. When you go to the tree to pick the fruit, we're only looking for the first fruits, the best fruits, something that is very precious and very, very special.

None can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him, and I will raise Him up at the last day. This day really pictures a resurrection. I know we tend to think on towards in the end of the festival season about the plan of God going toward a resurrection, but there's an early harvest, and this is it.

And this day is all about you and me and our brothers and sisters who have come before us. It's all about the Feast of Trumpets, the return of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the first fruits at the last trumpet.

It's all about the Day of Atonement and being perfectly at one with God, as was mentioned in the sermon at today, that perfect at-one-ment, that unity that somehow escapes us in the human, but will be perfectly unified in the Spirit once we are members of the family of God. Jesus Christ spoke in parables because the Father is not drawing most right now. But He said in Matthew 13-16, but blessed are your eyes.

If you look up the word blessed, it sounds like a nice, syrupy, religious term. In fact, many times we say blessed instead of blessed. Blessed is sort of like you have the little comfy blessing, if you are this and if you are that. But blessed are your eyes, for they see. But if you look at the Greek meaning of that word, it doesn't even translate into the English.

There is no translation for that word. You actually have to come to grips with something that is a very strong, not an exclamatory statement. You have to put a, at the end. And what it's trying to say is, oh how extremely blessed, as Mr. Dan Anderson puts it the best, oh how supremely blessed is what that word means. And so what he says here is, verse 16, but, oh how ex, how supremely blessed, oh how supremely blessed are your eyes, for they see.

That is special. We have a special calling to participate in growing to the harvest. And oh how supremely blessed are your ears, for they hear. For assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see and did not see and hear what you hear and did not hear it. God is only inviting and calling out a few. At this time, the first fruits are always few. The first fruits, really, were tiny.

But let's go to Revelation chapter 20 and verse 6 and see another place where this term blessed in the extreme is mentioned. And it's all about this day, today, the harvest of first fruits. Revelation 20 verse 6, oh how supremely blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. When I grew up in the church and others about my age who grew up in the church, we often heard things like, you get three chances to be in the kingdom.

You get to pick. You can come up now in the church and resist the world and all the temptations and all the fun things that are happening with your classmates and people in the world. And that's okay because you'll get two more chances. The next chance is you can live on into the millennium and you can choose to obey God there.

Good deal! Which is kind of appealing to a teen. Or, if that doesn't work out for you, there's the second resurrection. And you can come up in the second resurrection when all the world comes back up, and since you haven't been baptized, you get a third shot there. So kids, kind of make up your mind.

And I kind of grew up with that understanding or assumption until I bumped into verse 6, which said, Oh, how supremely blessed! There's something here that's unique. The Apostle John is saying, after all of the inspiration that he's had, after all the ministry that he's had, here he's saying, in the summary of it all, there's something special about those in the first resurrection who will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years. That's part of the exciting aspect of this festival.

I'd like to ask a question today. Who will be in the first fruit's harvest? Who will be? I'm asking this question because I want to know. I have a burning, itching desire to know who will be there, and if I'm going to be part of it, I'm going to share this with you today. How can you and I be a part of what we're celebrating today? In the opening prayer, it was mentioned about joy, about the expectation, about the excitement of Jesus Christ's return of participating in the world tomorrow, which will be a blessing for all mankind. How can we be sure of our joy and our expectation?

How can we rejoice with assured hope of participating in that? Well, today we're going to take a look at that and try to answer that. And I'll answer it right up front by reading what God said through David. Psalm 15 is not a long psalm by any means, but it actually asks this very question, and then through the inspiration of God, answers it. So let's go right there and see who will be in the first resurrection, who will be in the harvest of the first fruits.

Lord, who may abide, who may dwell and live in your tabernacle, where you are in your home, in your dwelling place? Who may dwell in your holy hill, in New Jerusalem? Who will rule and reign with you? The answer follows.

He who walks uprightly and works righteousness and speaks the truth in his heart. He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend. And whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord. He who swears to his own hurt and does not change.

He who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved. What is the summary answer of who will be in God's kingdom, who will dwell on his holy hill? The summary answer is those who are anchored to godly principled. They are godly principled people.

It's not that they did this or did that, but they are godly principled people right down to their very core. They don't compromise. Notice the resoluteness of each of these responses. And the opportunity for some compromise. For instance, in verse 4, In whose eyes a vile person is despised. But wait a minute. Vile people often are bribing.

Vile people are often giving us opportunities to get something, receive something, push things at us, that are fleshly or monetary or self-enhancing. So maybe we should consider those things. But this individual does not take the opportunity to compromise and goes right for despising that, because it is not a godly principle. Or who swears to his own hurt. He makes a contract, he enters into a binding contract, and then realizes it's not going to work out for him. And you know what our world is like today? Well, how can we get out of contracts? Get an attorney. Let's get out of this thing before we lose or have to suffer some loss. But here a person has set his word, and he does not change, even though it harms him.

So what we find here is individuals who are resolute in doing things the way God wants them. Now, there are some things that being godly-centered or not. Being godly-centered is not the same as church-centered. Being godly-principled and standing on principles is not being the same as a church-involved person. And I bring this out for many reasons. First of all, about 85% of us who used to be here aren't here anymore. They were very church-oriented people. But there's a difference between godly-principled and church-centered or church-involved, church-supportive, a church-worker. All those things are good, and those things are very appreciated. And I think that a godly-principled person will be a person who is oriented towards the church. But Jesus warned in Matthew 7, 22 that this is not the criteria for being in the harvest of the first fruits, because he said, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not done your work? And he defines that. Haven't we done the work? We were very church-oriented. In verse 23, thou will declare to them, I never knew you, you depart from me, you who work iniquity or lawlessness. They didn't follow the law. They were not godly-principled based on laws. They had something else going on. Maybe they were opportunistic, maybe they were seeking something for themselves, maybe they were working some politics within the church and moving up, you see. But there's a difference. Being church-work devoted does not necessarily mean an individual is godly-principled. Example of that might be Judas, very much involved in the work, not a godly-principled person. Ananias and Sapphira, very involved, gave 90% of all they had. That's pretty much the flip of a tithe, not godly-principled people, and so on and so forth. Korah and the leaders who worked hard in Israel, in the camp there, but they were not godly-principled. Also, we should not view being in the church. Here we are, we're in the church, so we're godly-principled, right? Therefore we'll be in the kingdom. Well, it's important that we're in the church. This is a holy convocation today, it was one yesterday. Whenever God says, you shall assemble, we should assemble. But just because we are in the church, or in church even, is not necessarily evidence that we are godly-principled, though it is important that we do that, and it's very, very good. In Ezekiel 33, verse 31, in my own life, I try not to be one of these, and I strongly encourage you to notice this warning about being in the church as opposed to being godly-principled. Ezekiel 33, verse 31, just like the individuals would come to Ezekiel, or you and I might come to church today, so they came to you as people do, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words. Here we are, we like to come to church, part of the church, we're in the church. But they do not do them. For with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Ah! Instead of being godly-principled, they are personally-principled, and their principles are self-centered principles. They can be us at any given time. It can be John Elliot at any given time. And these are some of the things that we must battle and fight. It's not us and them. We saw the enemy and it were us! And that's the challenge, isn't it? That's the leaven that we go about putting out throughout our lifetime. Indeed, you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument. In other words, God's principles, God's laws, can be our favorite music. We love to hear it. We love to go to church and hear all about keeping the commandments and the laws and loving and the Holy Spirit and the plan of God. It can be some of our favorite songs, you know?

You are to them as one who has a lovely song, a pleasant voice, play well on an instrument. It's our favorite tune. It's the church theme. For they hear your words, but they do not do them.

How many years did I come and sit in the church as a teenager, a young adult, and even after baptism, and hear the words, Yeah, that's me, that's me, that's me, and you kind of bond with the message and you bond with the magazines and you bond with this and you bond with what's being taught, and that's me. But how much of that actually was about me, or how much of me was about that, you see? I think as we grow toward spiritual maturity, as our life progresses, God's Spirit begins to show us more and more areas where we need to be more grounded. We need to be more principle-based on His godly ways, His godly laws, the principles that the God family live and abide by, and everything that they say or do. You know, God says, I change not. Simply doesn't change. In any situation, God is always the same. You and I sometimes are more situational in how we are. It kind of depends on the situation. Now, I'm a really principle person unless, you know, there's a freak are involved, you know, you know what I'm saying? Or unless she's going to be involved. Or unless, you know, something else real exciting is going to be involved. Then we start saying, well, let me think about this. Am I going to be going to church this week? Some other opportunities have come on the horizon. Some other things that are maybe more intriguing to me and the family have shown up.

And so on and so forth. But God never changes, and a godly principle person is anchored from the heart.

Another thing that we should not view as godly principled is family-centered or family-oriented, spouse-supportive or family-loyal. Are these things bad? Oh, no, they're very good. Family is good. It's important. The Bible speaks about that a lot. However, it can also just be family politics. You know, the empirical self. It's my family. It's me. It's my family. It's my group. And I'm taking really care of me and those things that really appeal to me. I don't really care about your kid's birthday. I mean, it's my kid's birthday, you know.

I don't really care about, you know, how your kid's doing. It's my kid. I have pictures of my kid all over my house on my wallet, and I don't really want to know about your kid. You know, get out of the ghost. Hey, my kid's up at bat. Hey, get your kid out of the way!

You see, it can just be part of my empire, my empirical self.

And so just by being family-loyal doesn't mean a whole lot, especially if we ask the question, how many spouses and children have followed family members out of the Church of God?

Because they were loyal.

You come do what I'm doing, you know. Let's be loyal to the family.

Well, Jesus Christ said in Luke 14, 26, If anyone comes to me and does not love less, by comparison, his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Principled godliness rises above any relationship that's human, including a spouse, parents, your own children.

And these things sometimes are points of testing, as to see exactly how deep our loyalties to God and his principles run.

Godly principled is not the same as pastor-loyal.

It's not the same as minister-centered.

You know, the ministry is given for good.

And when the ministry is godly principled, it is a blessing. It's a wonderful thing to all of us. Even ministers need other ministers.

And it can be a very, very good thing.

But it also can break down into church politics.

People who are minister-centered can be playing games with a non-principled minister of personal loyalties and personal favoritism, where obligations exist back and forth.

These things can take precedence within the relationship.

And people can receive benefits back and forth, ordinations back and forth.

Things that become minister-dependent. And then when that minister begins to speak and say a certain thing, there are people that are obligated and loyal to a person.

And Jesus warned of this.

Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.

You won't know them by actually their words.

You won't know them by their looks.

You won't know them by their deeds.

Because notice all the good things. They come in sheep's clothing, and you'll know them by their fruits. Fruits are results.

Fruits is the byproduct of something.

You'll see a byproduct in the life of a minister that is either godliness in a resolute way, that is love and concern, or you'll see a self-serving political empire developing, but it's not godly.

Fruits are principles that people live by, minute by minute, over and over. It's a character that forms. It's a way of life. For a godly, converted person, all of these things above that I've mentioned are good qualities. A family and church, and being in church, and having a good minister and a relationship within all of the family of God, all of the body of Christ.

But a godly, sinner person has these and something else.

Let's define what a godly, principled person is. What is the definition? I'm going to give you the best definition I know of of a godly, principled person. Here's what it is. I wrote it out. A godly, principled person is a godly, principled person.

Let me repeat that for you. This is so we're clear.

I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, I know. But a godly, principled person is a godly, principled person. Period. And that's what it's about. It's not about relationships. It's not about owing somebody. It's not about up and down contacts. It's not about what you've got going or who you've got going.

It's being a godly, principled person at all times, in all situations.

There's no matter what the situation is, a godly, principled person will apply godly principles. That's all the principles of Proverbs. That's the principles of the Gospels. That's the principles of the Law and the Prophets. That's the principles of the examples of the people of old. That's the principles involved in all the prophecies in the coming Kingdom of God, in the mind of God, in the Spirit of God, in the two great commandments. Those things all will come together and be applied in every situation, regardless of what opportunities arrive, or what situations, or what the cost is.

Jesus says in Luke 6, beginning in verse 40, some things that we need to really think about here, when we consider ourselves as the first fruits that are growing towards the harvest, that he and his Father are working in through the Holy Spirit. He says a disciple is not above his teacher.

A disciple is one who takes on a discipline, takes on a discipline of a master or a teacher, and then is guided through a special training process, through this discipline, through this curriculum, and comes out the other end, a trained graduate, as it were.

And so a disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. This is what you and I are. We are following a curriculum that has been laid out for us, and in the end we are to be like our teacher. Over in Ephesians 4 it says we are to grow up into him, the head, Jesus Christ, fully, richly, all the way into him, and he encourages us to become perfect, like his Father in heaven is perfect. That's where we are headed. And when this festival harvest is a reality, the return of Jesus Christ, that's what will have happened.

People will become like God and like Jesus Christ. A little bit in this lifetime, a great intent and desire in this lifetime, a great battle internally going towards that in this lifetime, but perfectly at the resurrection. We'll finally be perfect and just like God in the resurrection. He gives some examples here about being trained like the teacher, and then afterwards he says in verse 43, a good tree does not bear bad fruit.

In other words, a godly-principled person will not be doing things that aren't godly, that are ungodly. There won't be two fruits growing on the same tree. A good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree bear good fruit. You won't be going into society and finding some really nice people that are godly-principled. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.

How many of us here today have some sort of a fruit tree or a producing plant of some kind of food in your yard? Anybody here? I bet some of that's citrus, knowing Arizona for what it is. Well, we kind of get excited when the blossoms come out on whatever it is that we're growing.

Maybe it's the onions, or maybe it's the grapefruit. And you go out and sort of, ooh, look at the blossoms, and kind of mouth waters, you know, thinking about the crops that will be coming in later on.

We don't expect something different. You don't expect to go out to that little chive plant growing out of the side of our little bucket in the yard and expect to pick plums. Oh, look, babe, we've got plums off the chive plant. No? No, it's not going to happen. Nor do you expect from a godly-principled person sin. And when somebody says, Hey, honey, we've got plums on the chive plant, would you run out with a bag to pick the plums?

How many of you would do that? No hands. They'd say, I don't think so. And when somebody says, you know, this principled, sinner church member just, you know, did this nasty, horrible thing, you would say, I don't think so. You know, that's what it says there in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, talking about those who are called into leadership positions in the church. A person who is above reproach. One who would not be said to be a sinner, let alone be able to be found guilty of a major sin.

So fruit, a good fruit tree does not bear bad fruit. And so one who is godly principled is not going around also, you know, putting off pomegranates or something. It's just not happening. We are putting out the wheat that is, and the barley that is for the harvest of the first fruits. A good man out of the treasure of his heart. Notice, this goes all the way down to the blood pumper. All the way down to that thing that if it stops, you know, you're dead. That almost source of life, the blood that's oxygenated and pushed throughout your body.

That's how deep this is in a godly principled person. For out of the abundance of the heart, even our mouth will speak, our deeds will be done. Fruit on the tree then is the same all over. This is really the lesson of the Passover. As the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 5, Examine yourselves to see whether you're in the faith. Test yourselves. What's the fruit? Examine yourselves to see what the fruit is.

What is the byproduct? Where are we attached to? What are our core values? Spiritual fruit is constant, and it's very stable. Spiritual fruit is something that God can depend upon, and it's a way of life that is built into you and me.

It's enduring in all circumstances. It's going to be there at harvest time. It doesn't matter what storms come and blow. It doesn't matter what the weather is going to be like, or, you know, what bugs may come. That fruit is going to be there. It's going to exist through the long, hot summer, and it's going to be standing there.

It's going to endure the rain. It's going to endure the cold winter in the snow. It's going to be there. That fruit will remain. Jesus talks about our fruit remaining, about us enduring to the end, to be saved. Now let's ask a question.

Who are godly, principled people? Who are they? There are many legends in the Bible, and I think the legends of the Bible all have one thing in common, and they stood firmly on principle. They weren't opportunists. They weren't in the right place at the right time. They weren't self-serving, self-seeking. They happened to stand on a principle.

It's kind of like, why did Abraham Lincoln ever get to be elected president? He should never have been. He really was not qualified to be president, and nobody liked him. You go back and read the autobiography of Abraham Lincoln, you'll find this man really had everything going against him, except there was just one thing. When it was very unpopular, he had one principle he stood by, and he was well known for it, and he would not change over it. He did not believe that slavery was right. And no matter how popular it was and how well it worked in the economy in this country at one point, he said it was wrong.

And when finally a certain party needed a leader to stand on that principle, they couldn't find one, except they remembered this guy who used to be in Washington years before, whose life had collapsed, his wife had died, he was a real mess, but he stood on principle, and they went and found him. They said, you know what? You're the one here that really strongly stands for this, and we want you to represent our party in the elections. Principled people in the Bible always stood firmly on principle above any circumstance or above people.

Abraham was one. Moses, Joshua, David. Let's go to 1 Samuel 17 and verse 8. Let's put ourselves into this situation with David. 1 Samuel 17 and verse 8. It says, well, you know the story here? The Israelites are in the valley on one side, and the Philistines are across the little valley on the other side, and down in the valley is this Philistine, Goliath. It says in verse 4, and a champion, the word here from the Hebrew is habenayim.

Habenayim means a middleman, or the man between two. Adam Clark says, this is the man who undertakes to settle the disputes between two armies or nations. Ancient champions settled disputes between contending parties by what was termed camp fight. The two camps would send an individual out, and they would have camp fight. Hence the term campio, or champion, which we use today. Well, this campio, this camp fighter, went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath from Gath. His height was six cubits in a span. Now, we don't use those lengths of measurement today, but according to Adam Clark, there are three possible lengths of a cubit in the span. If you use the shortest, and you add up this man's height, it was nine feet nine in height.

Nine feet nine inches tall. That's the shortest. Now, if you use the longest of the length of the cubit, he was 11 foot 3 inches. So by any description, this was a big guy. He was tall. Somewhere between about 10 feet and a little over 11 feet. A little under 10, a little over 11. Now, in verse 5, he had a bronze helmet. Now, wait a minute. Let's stop here a minute. A bronze helmet.

Bronze is an amazing metal, a combination of two metals. It is golden in color. It is heavy. Heavy. It is very, very strong. It doesn't rust. It doesn't do much. But it's heavy. This guy had a bronze helmet on his head. And he was armed with a coat of mail. These were pieces of either brass, which is gold in color, or iron, which is silver in color, in the forms of leaves that overlapped each other.

So you have this giant man, 9, 10 feet tall. And he has this bronze helmet on his head. And now he's covered in leaves that overlap of metal. He is either shining in the sun, gold, or silver. And it is covered in a metal. And it says that this coat weighed 5,000 shekels of bronze. Okay, just his male jacket here weighed 156 pounds, 4 ounces. And he was covered. He had bronze armor on his legs.

He had a bronze javelin between his shoulders. Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam. And his iron spearhead weighed 600 shekels, about 19 pounds. Now you think of a sledgehammer and what a sledgehammer weighs. They come in various weights. But here you've got the equivalent of the largest sledgehammer made on the end of a big beam.

And this guy is covered from head to toe in stuff that is impenetrable. And if that's not enough, a shield bearer went before him. The lesson here is, if you're considering your options, there are none. There are none. There is nothing here. And therefore, we read in verse 10, The Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight together. And when Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistines, they used their five senses and were dismayed and were greatly afraid. There was a test of being godly principled, versus using your five senses, your judgment, wisdom, logic, all your knowledge, all your fighting skills, and realizing you really didn't have any options here. In verse 32, then David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail, because of five senses and logic. These are irrelevant to the principle involved here. This is not about armor. It's not about size. This is about principle.

Verse 33, Saul said to David, you are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are a youth. Saul was not godly principled. And he saw this through human eyes. But David, David was motivated on principle. In verse 36, David simply says, this man has defied the armies of the living God. That's the principle. I don't care how big he is. I don't care how thick his armor is. This man has defied the armies of the living God. And therefore, he must be dealt with. If no one else will do it, I'll do it. Another powerful example of godly principled men are found over in Daniel chapter 3, beginning in verse 1.

Daniel chapter 3. We find here as the chapter begins that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had done something that really impressed himself. And he was all excited about it. He made this image, this statue. And it was a polytheistic culture. Dagon and various other gods were worshipped. But he'd really come up with a cool one. Instead of these stone images and stuff, he had one made out of really neat stuff. And so, he was excited. And so to celebrate, he called together all of the important people that he had selected and put in positions. All of his buddies and cronies and the people who owed him favor and all the politics that was flying around in the government. He got all the special people together. And verse 2, gathered all of these individuals to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Now, you've got to understand here, this is important not to these people, but to the king. He had set this up as important to him. You work for him, he's given you your job, he likes you, you're a nice guy. You've got to come to this dedication. In verse 6, just to make sure that everybody came, whoever does not fall down in worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. The penalty was just awesome, it was breathtaking. Guess where we're going? All the administrators said, we have to show up. So I don't know how much he really intended to burn people, but he sure wanted everybody there. And so, when you see the fire, humans tend to run from fire. In fact, humans, that's one of the worst things a human can ever imagine happening to them is burning alive. It's beyond belief. People usually jump out windows before the fire arrives in advance of fire, because it's just not what you want to do. And so, here's the fire, here's the image. And so, the visual here, and you have to be there and see the fire, the image, feel the heat, imagine you going into the fire, not a good thought. So the circumstance, are you going to use situational ethics here? Well, here's the situation, I'll be as ethical as I can be in the situation. I will curtsy to the image, and I won't bow, not exactly bow. I will bow if I have to be bowing, but I won't really be bowing. I'll be praying. I'll be flicking bugs off my head. And I'll be doing something else, but I won't really be bowing. See, you kind of work through this with your human nature. Verse 12, there were certain Jews among you. Certain Jews. Three in particular, it turns out. Now notice, here's the part that maybe doesn't jump out at us often, but there are certain Jews, Nebuchadnezzar is told, whom you have set over the affairs of the province. It wasn't that there were some foul clerks somewhere, and they hadn't bowed. These were three individuals precious to Nebuchadnezzar, whom he had personally, there's only three. Out of all the Jews that were captured, he had three that were here at this event. And he had set them over the affairs of the province. They worked closely together. These were people he liked. He liked them so well he didn't even use Babylonians. He used the slave guys, but they were so precious and special to him. And he gave them names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

These men, O king, have not paid, have not paid you back. They have not paid due regard to you. You know they're owing to you. Look at the position you gave them. You know they're obliged to you. You know there's a loyalty that's demanded from the privilege that they have, the places that they live, the jobs they hold, the money they have, the special kindness you give to them and their families.

They have not paid you. They do not respond in kind to your goodness by serving your gods or worshipping the gold image which you have set up. See all you've done for them, and they're not doing anything back for you. We have a problem in politics here.

A problem in politics. The king cared. The king cared about them. He didn't really even get mad at them at all. In fact, he's probably said, well these are Jews, they don't understand how it works here in Babylon. So he actually got them together. The king did. You can read the story. And he says, here guys, here's how it works.

And you go bow. And we're going to do this three times. We're going to give you three chances. I don't want to be hard on you or anything, but this is how it's done. And this is my image, and you're going to help out here, see? Well, we come down in verse 16 of chapter 3.

Verse 18.

What? You defy me? You could just hear it. The one who made you what you are? Who's given you everything you have? This is what you do in return? Well, you can just go burn, then. Verse 19.

His face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. See, politics flipped on him. And he spoke and commanded that not only should they be thrown in the furnace, but that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. That was what he was going to do in return for their action. You know, these are just three examples at the same time of godly, principled people who assumed that they might fry. You can read over in Hebrews 11, chapter that talks about faithful people, particularly in verses 32 through 38. There are many similar examples. Some God saved, as He did Shadrach, Meshach, and other individuals. Some God did not intervene and save. But all of these, it turns out, were fixed on principle. All of them went up to the wall, and whatever happened, happened because of the godly principles on which they stood. And all of them were fixated on the kingdom and God's righteousness and the harvest of the firstfruits and participating in there. And they desired a different country, a heavenly country. That's what they were riveted on. You know, in the future, there will be challenges for the inhabitants of this earth, including the church. Not unlike what was presented by Goliath and what was presented by Nebuchadnezzar. We go to Revelation 13 and verse 13 for just a moment. Similar to what Goliath brought to the table, and what Nebuchadnezzar brought to the table, is coming once again on people to sift and to test them. And the only way that you and I, or anybody, can endure to the end in these circumstances is to be godly-principled people. It has nothing to do with the situation. The situations will come and they will come and they will be what they are, but a godly-principled person will always respond the same. Revelation 13, verse 13 says, In this false individual, one of the beasts performs great signs so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth and the sight of men. Ooh, boom, fire, there's fire, that's power. There's a lot of power in this individual. Humans with five senses will sit up and notice and maybe tremble and recognize that that's somebody and something to deal with. In verse 15, and he was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

So once again, you have this almost shadrach, bishach, and abednego versus Nebuchadnezzar's image set up once again.

We have to internalize godliness, the two great commandments and all the things that God teaches. We have to use that in every situation and let that be all the way down to our heart, in every aspect of our mind and body, as it were. Otherwise, in a deep crisis, you'll find a way to rationalize out of obeying God. You'll find a way to compromise. You'll use situational ethics and next thing you know, you'll be in the wrong place because it's not of the heart. Okay, you have to work your shift next Sabbath or you're fired. And at your age and in your gender and in this town, you know there will be no job for you for the rest of your life. How will you house yourself? How will you clothe yourself? How will you feed yourself? You probably won't.

How many times has that been put to the people of God? All you have to do is work your shift one time next Sabbath and you're okay.

Well, situational ethics would say God doesn't want me to starve, you know. God doesn't want me to die. It must be an ox in the ditch. Or, I know I'll be sinning but I'll repent later and I won't do it again. Well, that kind of an attitude would also be one who would receive the mark of the beast. Because if we notice in verse 16, this one causes all both small and great and rich and poor and free and slave to receive a mark on their right hand or in their foreheads. The right hand are the unrighteous deeds that an individual does. And the mark in the forehead is, as it says there, or on the right hand or on the forehead, is the godless belief that we can have. A person can do unrighteous deeds and believe the truth, or the individual simply can be deceived and have a godless form of religion. Or, I guess, both in some circumstances.

But when an individual does not have this in verse 17, no one may buy or sell. You cannot eat. You can't buy or sell. You can't trade. Unless you have this godless thing of either breaking God's law or have left or not be part of a godly religious belief. And it puts a person in a bind. It puts a person under pressure, just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But on principle, the individual who is godly principled will step forward and say, Well, working on the Sabbath simply isn't an issue. It's just not an issue. Remember, people who would come up to the Feast of Tabernacles, and invariably would have some people in the church, their bosses would say, If you go to the Feast of Tabernacles, you're fired. Don't ever come back. Well, it's not about a job or firing. It's about going to the Feast. You know, it's not a choice. It's like, well, I'm going to the Feast. And off to the Feast they go. And we used to laugh back in the earlier times in the church, because invariably, when the person got back from the Feast, one or two things happened. Either the person's employer totally ignored what he said, the person just showed back up for work anyway, and the employer just treated him like they always did and never brought it up, which is very common, because oftentimes, godly people are some of your best employees. It was just kind of a bluff threat. Or, secondarily, they were fired but got a better paying job. But then there are some who weren't rehired and went for a long time, maybe years, without finding other work. Those things about employment were irrelevant, however, when it came to doing what God had commanded. Revelation 12, verse 10, it says, Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come. For the accuser of our brethren who accused them before God day and night has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. We're not saying that God will always deliver a person out of a trial just because they stand on godly principles, no matter what. Are you fearful of these things coming? I know as a child growing up in the church, some of you children, you hear these things about the end time and about the problems that will happen before the return of Jesus Christ. And I know it left me often with the feeling of, why was I born now? Why did I have to be born now? I don't want to be born now. I mean, I really like living now, but I don't want what's ahead. I suffered with that for years and years and years. I was always troubling. I did not like that. Well, guess what? God knows that. And God cares about that. And God actually provides a solution to many who are in or will be in that situation. And it really comes down to this. God has given you and me the opportunity to demonstrate that we are godly-principled people now, every day with every decision. We don't have to go through those big, awful tests. That's what God tells us. We don't have to go through those awful, big tests during the Great Tribulation. To a degree, it's our choice. And I'll show you this. I'm going to read four scriptures to you. I'll let you write them down if you like. Then I'm just going to read them all together. The first one is Luke 21.36. The next is Revelation 3.10.

The next is Revelation 12, verse 6. And the last one is Isaiah 26, verses 21 and 22. Now read together. They read like this. Watch you, therefore, your spiritual condition. Be alert to your spiritual condition. And pray always, showing God-centeredness, asking God to help you be principled. Watch your spiritual condition and be praying always. So that you may be accounted worthy, viewed by God as godly-principled, to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. You can be accounted godly-worthy and miss all that, he's saying, because you have kept my command to persevere. In other words, you've applied godly principles in your life in tough circumstances. And I also will keep you from the hour of trial, because you're already tried, which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth, but you've already passed those tests. Because you and I have shown ourselves to be principled, godly-principled. Revelation 12.6, and the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared of God. God knew all about this. He knew that we needed a space. He knew we needed some safety, that they should feed her there for three and a half years. So come, my people. I know you. You hold on to my principles. Therefore, I call you my people. Come, my people, into your chambers and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, just three and a half years, until the indignation is passed. For behold, the Lord comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their lawlessness. Now, how does that read? Sounds like godly-principled, godly people to their core who have been building fruit that is ripening and ready for the kingdom, will be tested along the way. And God knows who they are in advance. And God loves them, and he cherishes them. He can't do that for everyone, but certainly for some, he promises that he will. In conclusion, the stakes are high for this harvest. It's a very, very important harvest, but the road to it is challenging. The pressures on us are tough. The tricks are very tricky. The logic, the intimidations that Satan and our human nature and others will use. They're bewildering at times. Sometimes the maze is thick. However, this is not so for a godly-principled person. The road is always well lit. The decision is always evident. The path is always clear. God gives us the way, the truth, and the life, and we know what that is. Who will walk in that way? Firstfruits will. Firstfruits will every time. I'd like to conclude by reading Revelation chapter 14 and verses 4 and 5, because this is actually representing all of the firstfruits, as I understand it. Revelation chapter 14 and verse 4, it's talking about one of the two groups of the 144,000. This is the harvest. These are the ones that are harvested. In verse 4 of Revelation 14, these are the ones who were not defiled with women. You women always get us. No, just kidding. It's not referring to women. It's referring to false religions. These are not defiled by false religions, a prophetic term. For they are virgins. In other words, they haven't strayed and corrupted themselves elsewhere. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Wherever He goes. Godly principled, wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God. What defines this group of people who are here in the harvest of the firstfruits? They are godly principled.