Passing the Exam in God's Classroom

Well, yesterday, in my letter, as I read it over again last night, I wanted to get something out to you, and I read it over. It wasn't as coherent as I didn't think, as I hope most of my letters are, but I did have a topic in mind that I wanted to talk about in that letter. I made a statement, and I'm going to fill in the blanks a little bit for you here today. But you'll remember in that letter, I made the comments, as I was talking about Passover in the upcoming Holy Days, that life is our classroom. And I think we all know that. We are in class every day for the training that God is giving us. He has something in mind for us, and it's important that every single day of class, that we are there and that we are working toward it. It really was brought home to me the last two weeks, as we've been gone, because I learned a lot during those two weeks. We learned a lot when we were in Tacoma, with the people that were there, learned a lot in the home office, learned a lot through the council meetings. And we learned something every single day of our lives. God has called us to something, and He's preparing us for something. And you remember back to, whether you were in college, high school, or wherever it was, you were in class every day. And you were learning something every day. And you had reading assignments every day, and the teacher would give lectures every day. And every once in a while, it would come to a time when you had a test. Remember those days? And many of us would, you know, that day before a test, we would go back and we would read all those assignments again. We would look at all the notes. We would make sure we were ready, because we had to get that grade that we wanted to get. And we would cram for those tests. And got them, in many cases. You know, as you did well in school, you did that. But there was a lot that we learned in high school and college that we just don't use every day. You know, I can remember classes that I had, and I studied hard for them to get the grades that I wanted. But after I graduated, just in my field of endeavor and everyday life, it wasn't something that I used every day. And so, after the test came and you got the grade, you just kind of forgot it and went on with life. Not so in the classroom that you are in. We are in a classroom where everything we learn, every day, applies to our lives. Every single thing we go through, God is preparing, He's molding, He's getting us ready. And as we're here in this Passover season, with just five weeks until the time that the baptized members of the Church come before God, remembering, commemorating Christ's death, recommitting to Him, recalling the commitments that we made to Him, understanding and not taking lightly the commitments that we made and the tremendous aspect of His sacrifice and what it means to us. As we're in this time, we have to know and remember, we are in a classroom. We're in a classroom every time we come to Church services. This is the time, God's days, you get together, I'm going to teach you. They're on this time at Sabbath services, and He teaches us the other six days of the week as well. At work, at school, at play, in the grocery store, whatever we do during the week, we're learning, we're teaching, we're being taught. God is getting us ready. It's not one of those things that we do, we come, we listen and we forget it. If we've done that, we're missing the whole point. And we're not taking God's calling seriously. Let's go back to 1 Peter 4, and open with the passage of Scripture there. 1 Peter 4.

And just to get the context, we will read through verses 7 through 18, because Peter writes to the Church there at that time, and he's writing to us as well, because these words have been preserved for us. He asked the meaningful things as we read through. Let's begin in verse 7. He says, The end of all things is at hand. Well, we could write that today. If I came up here, if you came up here, and said that the end of all things is at hand, as we look at the world around us, we can certainly say and see that the world is in a place today far different than it was a year or 18 months ago. We've talked about that many times. We just see things continually move toward the time that the Bible talks about and prophesies what things will be like at the end of this age. I happened to be looking at one of my news sources yesterday, and there was an economist who was also one of the 16 agencies that work with the government in the plans that they have. And he was making a comment, and he was selling a book, too. So some of this they take with a grain of salt. But I think that there is the merit of what he says. But he says behind the scenes, the government is getting ready for war. They look at the world around us, and they know the way things are going. Whatever we hear on the news and whatever they say publicly, they know the world is headed toward a situation that we haven't seen in quite a while, and that we are getting ready for war. He also talked about the economy and about all the reports that we hear on TV about how things are back, and the economy is stronger than ever, whatever. And he says with where the levels of the stock markets are, with the basis of what you look at and how it's been based, that we really should be preparing for quite an adjustment to the stock market. Such good adjustments that could send us into a recession worse than the one that we saw in 2008, seven years ago. Now, he's not the only person saying that, but we do live in serious times, and we do live in a time that is far different than what we would have talked about at least two years ago when I was standing up here. And Paul, or Peter, says here in verse 7, the end of all things is at hand. And he says, therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. Be serious about your calling. Be serious about the things. Watch and see what is going on around you. And above all things, have fervent love for one another. So he says, be serious. Look at what's going on around you. Be serious about your relationship with God. And above all things, have fervent love for one another. For love will cover a multitude of sins. Grow in grace and knowledge. Grow in these aspects that God has called us to. Become the people that he wants to.

Doing the things that he said, but also growing in those fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, all those that are listed back in Galatians 5, 22. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. Let him speak the truth. If anyone ministers or if anyone serves, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Verse 12, Beloved, don't think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you. For the Spirit of glory and of God rest upon you, on their part. That is, the people in the world, the people that don't have the understanding, the calling that you have and I have. On their part, he's blasphemed, but on your part, he is glorified. And our lives should reflect that as we are led by God's Holy Spirit. But let none of you, the verse that teens suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this manner. The verse 17, For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. Now is the time that God is looking at us. Now is the time when we're in the classroom, his classroom, that he's looking, assessing, making judgments, making determinations, hoping that we're taking things seriously, hoping that we are doing the things, and giving us certainly everything we need to do it, but we have to make the choice to follow him, the choice to yield to him, the choice to give up our own wills in our own ways and replace those with his will in his ways. The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who don't obey the gospel of God? In verse 18, if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? So here we are at a time, a little over a month from the time of Passover, a time that we are to be examining ourselves, a time that we should be taking things seriously, if we haven't taken them seriously before, a time that we really assess ourselves and look at ourselves through the eyes of God, through the eyes of His Holy Spirit. Are we being and are we becoming who He wants us to become? Are we letting Him show us our faults and our weaknesses? Are we becoming perfect, which is what He has called us to become, that we won't achieve in this life, but we should be getting closer with each succeeding year? Let's go back to verse 15.

When I was putting this together, verse 15 just jumped out at me, and I've learned when things jump out at me, I should study them a little bit more. Verse 15, Peter, when he's talking here, he says, let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, or an evildoer. Well, none of us, I would hope, would suffer as a murderer or a thief.

Those are just heinous crimes. We should be beyond that, certainly. Or an evildoer. But the other one he throws into that group is, or as a busy body in other people's matters. Isn't that an interesting thing for Paul or Peter to group into that group? Murderer, thief, evildoer, busy body. Wow, you would think a busy body is a busy body, right? He maybe caused a few problems or whatever, but a busy body lumped in with murderers and thieves?

Peter must have seen something there and thought, this is a problem. There's a problem, and it may be a problem among some of us today. I don't know. But let's look at this busy body here, just as an insight into the sermon for a few minutes. We haven't talked about this before, and since it's right here in the verses that we're talking about, it's been a few minutes on what a busy body is and what the Bible says about it.

Busy body. If you look in the dictionary, it says that it's someone who meddles into someone else's affairs, and inordinately so. Not just a matter of asking questions or giving suggestions, but it becomes just too involved in someone else's life, to the point that they're watching everything they do, giving advice or giving their opinion on every little thing that goes on. In the Two Testaments, there are three types of busy bodies. We'll look at the three verses here briefly, and maybe something for a sermon that later we can talk about. The words in Greek, you can look them up. They're just too hard to pronounce, and I didn't even write them down because—just take my word—they are three words, and I looked at those words and I thought, I just can't even copy those letters down right now.

There's one type of busy body here in 1 Peter 4, and it's the type of person who really just too much infuses himself into someone's life. In a remote family location, not anyone in our emotive family, we've experienced that. I didn't know that I called them a busy body. I probably called them many other things in the past, but we had someone who got so involved in our life that they had an opinion on every single thing we did. They would talk to my wife—I kept my information to myself—but they would talk to the kids, and they would have an opinion on this and an opinion on that and an opinion on that.

And you know what? The years during that were tough. They were tough. They were unsettled. I found myself at cross-buds and in a bad mood most of the time. Debbie did. The kids were upset. Finally, we just had to say, no more. No more. Out. Because a busy body just creates all sorts of strife that can even affect your spiritual life, we found out, because you're so focused on someone so involved in meddling in your affairs that it just takes away from everything else.

And this type of busy body, with the Greek word translated there in 1 Peter 4, 15, is that type of person. Peter lumps them in because it would create problems in the Church. If we had a busy body in the Church, people would be upset. It's the antithesis to unity. A busy body would be the opposite. They would be going around meddling and getting involved in things they shouldn't be involved in, and unity goes out the window, and strife and contention and upset occurs. And in God's Church, in our lives, what He's looking for us to be is united, not torn apart.

And busy bodies can tear apart. It's not a good thing to be. And when Paul or Peter here lumps them in with murderers and thieves, I think we need to take note. If that's something that we may be prone to, or if we see that in our lives from outside, that we may want to say, no, I'm not going to let that take me away from God, or let that affect me spiritually at all. Let's look at another example here, back in 2 Thessalonians.

Excuse me. 2 Thessalonians 3.

2 Thessalonians 3. And again, we'll begin in verse 6 just to get some of the context here.

2 Thessalonians 3, verse 6. This time, Paul writing—we were reading Peter's epistle before—Paul, writing to the church in Thessalonica, he says, We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly, and not according to the tradition which he received from us. Oh, you remember Paul. Back in 1 Corinthians, he said, Imitate me as I imitate Christ. And he was telling the people, he was holding himself to a standard, I will follow Christ, you follow me as you see me following Christ. But Paul would be the first one to tell you, if you see me not following Christ, don't follow me. And we would say the same thing today, right? We all should be following Jesus Christ. We know the standard that he set. We know what the Bible says. This is the word of truth. This is what we follow. And whether it's me up here or any other man from this congregation or someone else, we would listen to him as long as he speaks the words of truth. But when an idea gets off of the words of truth, we would follow Christ and not him. And Paul is saying that here. You've gotten an example. You've seen an example from us. Follow us as we follow Jesus Christ. Don't walk disorderly is what he is saying here, and not according to the tradition which he received from us. In verse 7, For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you. We didn't eat anyone's bread free of charge. We worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we don't have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us, as they were following Jesus Christ and his example. First, stand for even when we were with you, we commanded you this. If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. So we see the context of what he is saying. People have some time on their hands. Verse 11, For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but our busy bodies.

There we have that word again, a different Greek word this time. Not so much meddling and using their authority or their influence in the family or situation of the church to meddle into things that they shouldn't be meddling in, but these people are just there because they've got free time on their hands. They're very interested in what is going on in your life, someone else's life. When I read this, I think back to my days in corporate America, and there would always be—we didn't really call them busy bodies, we called them other things—but people who were just very interested in everything that was going on around the office. They knew what this person was doing, they knew what that person was doing, they knew this, and they had all sorts of interesting tidbits and whatever. A little bit more than a gossip, they were just inordinately interested in what people were doing, and not for good. And not for good because you don't read anything about busy bodies ever in a positive context. And so we have some idle people here that Paul says are walking in a disorderly manner. They're looking for something. They're searching for things, not to build up, as our words should, but to cast aspersions or whatever else they have in mind. He says in verse 12, Those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ, that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. Of course, he's saying it's because they don't have enough to do.

Verse 13, As for you, brethren, don't grow weary in doing good. And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person, and do not keep company with him that he may be ashamed.

So he's talking about someone who's idle, a busy body, stirring up some stripes, stirring up some contention, using his words and using his time for something different than building up, but looking to see, looking and having an opinion and allowing these things to form in his mind, certainly not the type of thing Christ would do, certainly not the thing the Bible would tell us to do. The Bible would tell us if we have anything against someone, if we hear something about them, though we might want to take up Matthew 18, verse 15. Do you remember what Matthew 18 and 15 says? It says, If you have something against your brother, go to him directly.

And as we are in the past over season, I don't know, every year we talk about forgiveness and how we need to forgive one another. If there's anything between any of us and the church, we would want to forgive one another. We would want to be reconciled. Matthew 23 says, If you aren't reconciled, be reconciled to someone before you come to God. But I would say, as you hear things, if you ever hear things about someone, take God's Word. Go to them and ask the question.

Don't talk about it. Don't tell someone else. Don't ask them if they've heard about it. Go to the person and ask the question. Do the things that God said to do because he's interested, that you and I in his classroom every day, that we're going to pass the test and that we're going to be in the kingdom, that we're going to graduate to what he is preparing us for. But if we kind of, in this area or some others that we'll talk about, are doing things not right, remember who he lumps one type of busy body with. And here, this type of busy body, he says, Note that person, and don't even keep company with them, that he may be ashamed. Now, remember what God's will always is. He wants you. He wants me in his kingdom. Don't keep company with them that they may be ashamed, that they may recognize what they're doing, that they may repent, and that they may come back and be living their lives the way that God had said. Verse 15, yet don't count him as an enemy and admonish him as a brother. Tell him what's going on. Give him your opinion. Ask him. And then Matthew 18 and 15, as you work through those verses, you see if he doesn't listen, you take someone back with you and finally bring it to the church if it's not resolved at that time. Being up front with one another. If you hear something. I would even say, of course I would say, if you hear something in church that doesn't square with the Bible, if I say something, if Mr. Wentz says something, if Mr. Permar, Mr. Brownmuller, Mr. Johnson, anyone up here says something that you don't understand or don't think, come and ask. And I'll tell you what's going to happen. We're going to go back to the Bible, and if something has been misstated, we're going to correct it because this is the foundation that we are all here for. This is the word that we follow. And we want it to be clear to everyone it's God's way we follow, not my way, not anyone's way, except Christ who started this church and God the Father who's very interested and involved as well, that we will be part of that kingdom.

So in these busy bodies, these people, he says, don't even associate. Walk away. Don't have fellowship with them. Not because you've judged them, but because you want them to understand the problems that they have and to be able to come back and be part of the church and repent of a sin that is not so small in God's eyes. Let's go back to 1 Timothy 5. Let's see the third type of busy body here that we find in the New Testament. 1 Timothy 5. Here, this chapter, Paul is talking about widows and how to work with them. Beginning at verse 11, he's talking about some of the younger widows, and he's concerned about them. And in verse 13, he makes this comment. 1 Timothy 5.13.

Besides, he says, they learn to be idle. They've got a lot of energy. They're younger. They learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle, but also gossips and busy bodies saying things which they ought not. Well, we've all been guilty of that, right? Saying things which we ought not. This is a different type of busy body that's more along the line of gossips. But again, loves the rumor, loves the fact, loves to be able to pass it on to someone else, and it's an awfully lot of fun to sit and talk about people and do that. Cast aspersions and whatever else it is that people do. Three types of busy bodies. None of them are talked about in a positive way here. All of them are something that we should stay away from. If we see it in ourselves, ask God for the strength to overcome, to put that as part of our past. If we see it in someone else, not to participate with it, not to hate the person or anything like that, but pray that they will see their way too. Again, what God wants in His Church is unity. These things destroy the unity, and they can destroy people's reputations, they can destroy the fabric that God is working with here in Orlando in His Church around the world. Let's look at a few verses here that talk about this back in James as well. James 4.

James 4 and verse 11. Don't speak evil, he writes. Don't speak evil of one another, brethren.

Very simple verse. Don't speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. That's how God sees it.

He sees it in another way too, and something with us.

That's a problem. He who speaks evil of his brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. There's just one lawgiver able to save and destroy.

We know if we're hearers of the law and not doers of it, we're here for the wrong reason. We can accumulate all the knowledge that we can. We can memorize the Bible from Genesis 1 to the last verse in Revelation. If we don't do it, then we're here for the wrong reason. We're in a classroom. We read, we hear, we learn, we apply. If we don't do it, if we don't do what we've learned, we're missing the boat. Judgment is now on the house of God. Now is the time to be serious. Now is the time to take your calling seriously. Now is the time to be in class and to remember that you're in class every single day. Let's look at James 5. James 5 and verse 9.

Don't grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. And he says, Behold, the judge is standing at the door. It's serious. It's time. He's watching. He's grading. He's seeing what we do and how we improve and what we are able to choose to use his Holy Spirit to put out of our lives. Not that we ever do it ourselves, but we make the choice to put sin away and say, I will not fall. Pray to that anymore. No, I won't do that. No, I will remain committed to God, even though I really want to do something else. No, I will believe what his words does, even though it would be so much easier if I would take some of the world's ideas or my friend's ideas on these things. Strong words about the words we use. One more. Let's look at Psalm 101. Psalm 101 and verse 5.

Psalm 101 verse 5, Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, a busy body, one of those definitions that we talked about, whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, kind of does it behind his back, wouldn't say it to his face, but could talk about it behind his back and kind of cast aspersions about him, whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy. God says. Those are some tough words, aren't they? Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy. The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, him I will not endure. Because that's what it comes down to, isn't it? When we slander someone else, when we talk about someone else, when we have a great time cutting down someone or getting so involved in someone's life that we're telling them, go here, do this, we think we know a lot more than them, don't we? We've got all the answers is what that tells people. Pride is one of those things that we certainly need to be on the lookout for all the time. And as we examine ourselves, pride is one thing we don't see in ourselves. Pride blinds us to our faults. Someone told me back, and I've heard it in church, but the first time I heard it was back, and one of my supervisors or whatever said that, you know, if you hear something about yourself, you should pay attention. Your first reaction is going to be, no, that's not me. I don't do that at all. He goes, but listen to it, because people will tell you they will be coy about it, but listen to what people say about you, because they'll tell you who you are. If you hear it the second time, even though you think that's not me, you better still go back and you better look at it, and you better be doing the job the way that you were to be done. And it's the same thing in church. We may think that we're fine, dandy, everything is great, we have it all together, but if we hear things from people, we might think, ah, the pride is blinding me, I don't see that in myself, what are they seeing in me that I need to pay attention to? Because we all have those things. We all have things that we don't see, but others may see. I'm not saying and advocating that all of us could be going up after services and telling each other our faults, don't do that. But, you know, I think as we listen in conversation, we can learn a lot about ourselves, and as we examine ourselves, we can think back to some of those things that has happened over the last year, two years, and say, what is it? What is it about me? You know, this whole idea of being a busybody really goes back to the ninth commandment, doesn't it? You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. We think of that as just outright lying, but it can fall. There's many things involved in that commandment, and we need to be very, very cautious about what we do. In fact, as we examine ourselves and as we go through that process, which you should have already started, but certainly in the five weeks before Passover that we do, we might want to look at those commandments and the spiritual end of them, read through the Sermon on the Mount, see what Christ said about the spiritual application of those commandments, and make sure that we are doing things the way that He would have us do.

Remember, judgment is now at the house of God. Peter says to be serious. Paul also tells us to be serious as we approach this time. Let's go back to 1 Corinthians 11. 1 Corinthians 11. The person leading up to this, Paul, is talking about the body and the blood, the bread, and the wine. He's talking about the Passover service. In 1 Corinthians 11, he says, For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. So when we get together on the evening of April 2nd and the baptized members participate in the Passover service, I hope we're thinking about what Christ's death means, how important it is to us, how much He gave up, and that that's been the forefront of our mind. And that we, when we committed to Him, we said we would follow you no matter what. We will remain true to you. We won't be taken astray. We will keep our eyes straight ahead. We will follow the truth, and we will write down that line. No matter how much it hurts, no matter how much we have to give up, we stay committed, convicted, and you will give us the courage to see us right through to the time of Jesus Christ's return. Every time we do that, we proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. Verse 27, Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. We read those verses every year. Whoever takes of these sacraments in an unworthy manner is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

How important is that Passover service to God? How important is it to God what we are doing in the time leading up to that Passover service? Is it really important to us? Is it there? Are we concentrating? Are we focused on what Christ did for us and how important it is when we sit there and we take the bread, we take the wine, we wash each other's feet, what those things mean, what we are telling God, what they represent? In this time leading up to it, are we focused on that and understanding the significance of it? Paul goes on to say, under inspiration from God, let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. That's what we're doing in this time leading up to it, examining where are we? Where were we last year? Can we look back and say there were these errors, faults, weaknesses, sins that God showed us last year, and with His Holy Spirit, we've overcome those. Or are there some that we just kind of realize they're there but it's like, you know what, it's not that important. Look at everything else I do. God is going to overlook that sin. He's going to overlook that weakness. If that's in our mind, think again.

Think again. He's not calling us to be 75 percent perfect, 95 percent perfect. His goal for us and the standard set for us is perfection. You and I will not attain it in this life.

But we certainly have the attitude that everything God shows us, that is, in contrast to His way of life, we would be willing to give up, be willing to allow Him to lead us, guide us, change us, and that we remain committed to the truth that He called us to. Because you didn't put yourself in this classroom. He put us in this classroom. A tremendous opportunity, a tremendous privilege, a tremendous calling, and partaking in the Passover is a tremendous opportunity each year to recommit to God. Verse 29, He who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself. The time is now. Be serious is what He's saying. Every Passover is serious. Whoever takes it of an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body, not really understanding what we're doing, not paying attention to it, not understanding the magnitude of Christ's sacrifice to what it means to us, not discerning the Lord's body.

Then He says what the consequence is if we do this, if we take it lightly, if on the Wednesday night before Passover we start thinking, oh, I need to examine myself here in the next 24 hours and get ready, we may have missed the vote. For this reason, He says, many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. Heraling words, aren't they? Think God takes what we do in this classroom of life seriously? This classroom that we do every day? This classroom that is the Passover? This classroom that is Sabbath services every week? Every Sabbath? Think He takes it seriously? He says, if you take it in an unworthy manner, you're not paying attention to what the sacrifice of Christ is. And He tells us what the consequences could be. Maybe we need to examine ourselves and see. Are we taking the calling seriously, or are we just going through day by day? And nothing ever changing. When we are judged—let me, verse 31. If we were judged ourselves, we wouldn't be judged. Because in this classroom, God wants us to examine. He gives us the Holy Spirit that will shine the spotlights on those areas we need to be paying attention to. And if we would take care of it, if we would repent, if we would yield, if we would allow Him to change us, we wouldn't be judged. But when we're judged, we are chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned with the world. What He wants is you and me and everyone He calls in His kingdom. That's what He wants. That's what you want, I pray, for each other. It's what I want for each of you. We want to be in the kingdom. That's what we're here for, to allow God to prepare us for what He has in mind for us. So, we talk about each year, and I don't know, we may have a sermon coming up on forgiveness and the things that we need to look at ourselves.

As I mentioned, forgiveness, reconciliation with one another. We could talk about how we live our lives, honestly. How do we live our lives the other six days that we don't see each other, at work, at play, at school, in business? What do we do? Are we living in that classroom and doing the things that God has called us to do? Or do we look more like the world or a combination of both?

How do we live our lives with that? What about our commitment level to God? Where is it that He sees us being? How does He see us living? And how grounded are we in the truth? What is our relationship with Him? How grounded are we in the truth that you have in your laps ahead of you? And do you know and do you really believe that the body He placed you in is the real Church of God? Let's go back to 1 Timothy 3. 1 Timothy 3.

1 Timothy 3 and verse 15.

Let's... verse 15. It cuts into the middle of the sentence, but it doesn't alter the meaning here. He says, But if I am delayed, as you write to Timothy here, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

See those words? The Church of the Living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth.

One Church has the truth. There's only one way to the kingdom. There's only one Church that Jesus Christ began. There's only one Church that He reaches the truth, the whole truth.

God has called you into that Church. I can say that without reservation. If I had even the slightest bit of doubt, I wouldn't be standing here today and I wouldn't be part of this. I know that this is the truth, and I know there's not another Church out there, and I don't mean corporate organizations. I mean the Church of God. How important is that to you? You know, sometimes I marvel when I hear people who used to be a Church and they go off and start their own Church, and I think, really? You start your own Church? One God, one Jesus Christ starts His own Church. We don't start our own Church. Christ started the Church, the Church, the pillar and the ground of the truth. And yet, Satan has many devices, and he can have people just come up with all these things in their mind to think that they know more than the Bible. They know more than anyone else.

All goes back to that thing of pride that we talked about. One Church, one Lord, one Savior, one way to the Kingdom. And as we are here, leading up to Passover, appreciating, discerning the Lord's body, discerning where the truth is, following that truth, and committing to it, and sticking with it, and asking God the Holy Spirit that He's put in us, those of us that are baptized, that He will give us the strength and the courage to always see clearly, and always discern the truth, and to follow it. Other things that we can talk about. We talked a little bit about people that would be busybodies. One of the things that I did have in my sermon before I saw the verse in 1 Peter 4.15 was the verse in Matthew 7, verse 1, that talks about judging others.

And years ago, years ago, I read a book that someone had referred me to, and most of the book had some good points. It had some not-so-good points, either. But it was a book by a man by the name of Oswald Chambers who lived back in the 1800s, and he wrote something on Matthew 7.1 that actually had quite an impact on me. And at that time in our lives, we had four kids at home, the two older had just become teenagers, and you know what life is like with teenagers. It's just a daily experience. But I found myself, and I didn't even realize I was doing it, but you really want your kids to do well. You want them to be the best in class, best in the sport. You want to encourage them to do the best they can in everything. And sometimes what we can do is criticize too much. You know, we can kind of so encourage, we think we're encouraging, but at the same time what we're doing is, you didn't do this right, you didn't do this right, and the way it comes across to a child or a spouse or whoever else we may be talking to, it can come across as critical.

And I realized, you know, all this talking I'm doing, that's not changing things at all. Things are getting worse. There's more discord around the house than the fruits of what I'm doing isn't working at all. And if in our homes or in our church we find things that just aren't working, that there's not the peace, that there's not the love, that there's not the accord there should be, we kind of want to examine what we're doing. And we kind of want to go back and see what God would have us do. And criticism is, and judging is not one of the things that we want to do or making any kind of accusations against someone. Not us to judge, it's to God to judge. Let me read what Mr. Chambers said on criticism, because some may be prone to this. And this is in relation to Matthew 7, verse 1. It says, Jesus says regarding judging, don't. The average Christian is the most penetratingly critical individual. Criticism is a part of the ordinary faculty of man, but in the spiritual domain nothing is accomplished by criticism. Now that's not saying that if we see a fault that we don't mention it. But criticism, and you know what criticism is, we've all been the victims of it at some point. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the powers of the one criticized. God is the only one in the true position to criticize. He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into communion with God when you are in a critical attitude. And that's true, isn't it? Because God isn't a critical God. He will tell us what's wrong. He will show us what's wrong. But He won't just harp on it all the time.

And He'll only criticize when it's... or criticize... He'll only correct when there really is a problem. It's impossible to enter into communion with God when you are in a critical attitude. It makes you hard and vindictive and cruel and leaves you with the flattering unction that you are a superior person. Jesus says, as a disciple, cultivate the uncritical attitude. Beware of anything that puts you in the superior person's place.

See what that comes down to as well?

Pride. Anything where we think we know more. We should be doing more. We're superior to someone. I can criticize you just like I did to my kids because I don't know much more than you. Even though that may be true.

I shouldn't have said that. But I was talking about my kids, not yours.

But you get the point, I hope. Pride is one of those things. And when we have these attitudes that we know more, and when we're doing these things, when we're judging, when we're thinking, we know more than God, more than the Bible, we have an idea that's different than what the true Church of God is preaching. We might want to look at ourselves and say, is this the superior attitude of mine, or is that real truth?

We've had people who have attended here who don't attend here anymore because they had an idea that they knew a little bit more about prophecy than what we preached. And I'll tell you that some of them I've talked to, some of the things they believe now absolutely would grow hair back on my head. Turn it black. It is amazing to me when people let go of the truth of God, what Satan will lead them into. And they become totally different people. It is a precious calling. Never let pride, never let superiority, never let you thinking that you know more. You've got questions, bring them. Let's talk about them. Let's get to the Bible. Don't let your ideas or your friends' ideas or the internet's ideas or the TV preacher on Sunday morning's ideas get to you and take you away. Satan will do anything to take you away. He'll lead you into a critical attitude, if that's what it takes to take you away. He'll lead you into thinking things that aren't so, if that will take you away. He will leave you into doubt. He will lead you into disappointment. He will let discouragement. He will do whatever it takes to separate you from the calling you have. He wants nothing more than to take you out of the body that God has put you into. Never forget that. And when that doubt and when those things and anything that we would talk about, don't let that happen. You go back to the source. You talk to someone. You work it out, but you don't let go of what God has called you to. Paul says, hold on to that crown. Don't let it go. Don't let your attitude, your pride, your ideas take you away. This is the time to be examining ourselves. Actually, all our times is to be examining ourselves. But this is the time of the year God put in place that He said, examine yourself before the Passover. Take it in a worthy manner. You committed to God. You committed to Jesus Christ. You said, I will follow you through thick and thin. I will give my life for you. Honor that commitment. If you don't honor that commitment, we'll shame on you. But you know what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11. Just don't let go of that. I'm going to go a little bit longer here, but let me go back. I want to show you a few other things in the Bible reading that you've been doing here. Back in Exodus, a couple other areas that we can examine ourselves in that you have read here in Exodus. First of all, let's go back to Exodus 12. Exodus 12. Here in Exodus 12, Israel has come out of Egypt. God is the one who led them out, just like God is the one who has opened our eyes to this truth. It has nothing to do with us. It has everything to do with Him. And here He's giving them some instructions on what to do during the days of unleavened bread. In verse 15, He says, seven days. Exodus 12, you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day, you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

Okay, shall we cut off from Israel? That sounds like a punishment, doesn't it? If you don't follow my instructions, you will be cut off from Israel. Not a position that we want to be in. Let's drop down to verse 19, where God says the same thing. Verse 19, He says, seven days no leavened shall be found in your houses. Since whoever eats what is leavened, the same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.

If you go against this, you'll be cut off. It's a punishment. Why does God cut off someone?

Not because He condemns them forever, but He wants them to see the error in their ways and come back and understand, repent and come back. But being cut off is not something that we from the congregation would look toward, it's something that God says to say negative. Let's go back to 1 Corinthians 5.

1 Corinthians 5, verse 8. Oh, no. 1 Corinthians 5. We're going to begin in verse 4. I'm going to give you a little background here. 1 Corinthians 5 is the chapter where Paul is writing to the church in Corinth. There is a sin of sexual immorality that is going on in this church at that time. The congregation is okay with it. They tolerate it. They know what's going on. He says it's a sin that's not even named among the Gentiles. Yet they just allow the person to come into the church every week and be part of the body. In verse 4, he says this, it says, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together along with my Spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one. He's talking about this person who is sinning, and it's an obvious sin. Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Again, we're reminded, you may separate this person. Cut him off. Why? So that he may see the area of his ways, repent, and come back and be a member of the God. It doesn't do anyone any service to just condone their sin and to accept it, as Paul is saying. We are not here to just make each other feel good and pat each other on the back and say, yeah, yeah, yeah, what you're doing is okay. We are here to measure up to the standard of perfection that Jesus Christ called us to. So he's saying, in this church, you know, you would want to put him out. And as you read in the 2 Corinthians, you see that this is exactly what happened. The man did repent. He did recognize the error of his ways. He did come back, and he was a valid and important member of the congregation there. Verse 6, he says, Your glorying is not good. Don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Well, that was the case in the church. A little leaven was leavening the whole lump.

Remember that God is dwelling in us and he's building us into a temple, a temple that is supposed to be adhering to all the standards that he set forth. A temple to which he will return, a temple comprised of people that he will make kings and priests that reign with him, people who have demonstrated in the classroom of life what they really want, what he has to offer, who are living their lives in accordance with the Scriptures, who are not just swimming by every day, but who really are actively putting into practice what they hear, what they read, and what they should be doing. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. It's true in our lives. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. We are all sinners. None of us are perfect. We all have things that God reveals to us that need to be weeded out. Don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Okay, my point. In ancient Israel, when people wouldn't eat the unleavened bread or put leavening out of their house, they were cut off. In 1 Corinthians 5 and other places were told, if someone is sitting, cut them off. We read in Psalm 101 verse 5 about the person who was God cuts them off. It's a punishment. What do you think God thinks about people who cut themselves off from the congregation that he's put them in? What do you think about what God thinks when people who don't come to a class, where the congregation is asked to come by God every Sabbath day, but they cut themselves off for weeks, months, or forever at a time. They cut themselves off.

Does that even make sense? God says, if you don't do this, I'll cut you off. And yet, there are people who cut themselves off. Not discerning, not serious about their calling, not really in tune with what's going on and what God is working.

If we fall into that category, we may want to examine ourselves. Are we taking our calling seriously? Do we really believe what God has called us to? Do we really understand? Do we discern the Lord's body? Let's go back and look at another thing in Exodus.

I could follow up with those comments with Hebrews 10, 24, verse 25. You all know what that is. You've heard it enough about not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together. But let's go back and look at another thing in Exodus that we can look at and apply to ourselves here. And this time, it's Pharaoh. Pharaoh is an unlikely person to look at when we're examining ourselves, right? He's the personification of evil, we would say. Egypt is the type of sin. And we see Pharaoh as the prominent figure here in the early chapters of Exodus.

You've read through and you know the story of the Exodus. You know the story of the plagues and what God worked on Egypt and how, finally, his people were delivered. But what do we learn about Pharaoh? Because you know what? Pharaoh was in a classroom all those days as well. Pharaoh never got the lesson. He never understood what God was doing with him. Israel was certainly in the classroom during the time of those plagues.

God was telling them exactly who the real God is. That he was more powerful than all those gods of Egypt that were there at that time. All the names of which they knew. They knew the God, Ra, the God who was the moon god, the God of everything that was there. They all had names. That there was one God, the true God, the God that you and I worship, that was more powerful than any of those guys that had absolutely no power whatsoever. Pharaoh was in that classroom.

He never learned his lesson. In the early days, you remember the plagues. The first plague, Moses turned the water. God turned the water to blood through the rod that Moses put in the water. Remember what Pharaoh did? He saw what was happening, and his magicians were able to do the same thing as Pharaoh patted his back. Don't have to worry about that. Our gods can do the same thing that their god can do. He didn't pay attention to the fact that all the water of the river, all the water in the basins, and everything else that turned to blood, but he just kind of left off that little thing and patted himself on the back and thought, no, our gods and me, I'm sure as he was thinking, he, Pharaoh, was a god as well.

Finally, God came to the point where he segregated the plagues or distinguished the people of Israel from the people of Egypt. The plagues that came on Egypt didn't come on the plagues on the people of Israel. It happens in the plague right before chapter 9 here, but let's go to chapter 9. You can see in the classroom that Pharaoh was in here, all during all those plagues. Let's pick it up in verse 1. Exodus 9.1. The eternal, and I'm going to actually use the name. Because in Egypt, they were used to hearing all these names of the Egyptian gods, and Moses even asked, well, what name do I tell them?

I just can't tell them God. There's hundreds of gods. Then he said, tell them I am who I am. YHWH, Yahweh, Jehovah, whatever you want to say, excuse me. So I'm going to just put the god's name in here as I read through this.

Then YHWH, Yahweh said to Moses, go into Pharaoh and tell him, thus says Yahweh of the Hebrews, let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of Yahweh will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep, a very severe pestilence. And Yahweh, YHWH, will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.

Then God appointed us at that time tomorrow, saying, tomorrow, YHWH will do this thing in the land. And so he did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died. But of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he didn't let the people go.

Now look at the classroom that Pharaoh was in.

Moses has said, this is what the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is going to do.

It's going to happen to your herds. It's not going to happen over in Israel.

Pharaoh let it happen. Pharaoh went and checked, and he saw nothing of Israel was destroyed.

Did he learn the lesson for that day? No, he didn't. No, he didn't. Time after time, ten times, Pharaoh was in the classroom, ten times he failed. He never picked up on the fact that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the same God you and I serve, was greater than all the gods of Egypt. He never learned his lesson, and through it all, and at the very end, he lost even his son. Now what did he do every single time? Because he kind of saw what was happening. It was proven to him the God of the Hebrews is greater than the gods of Egypt, because they could no longer do the, as he wanted to think of them, tricks that the God of Moses did.

But he never got the lesson. He hardened his heart. Now the question for us would be, do we hear God? Do we listen to God? Do we see his hand? When we hear something that's different than what we want to believe, than what our heart wants to believe—remember we talked about that a few weeks ago? What our heart wants? Do we listen to God? Or do we just keep doing the same things and shrug it off and say, nope, that can't be. Nope, this is the way it has to be. This is what I want.

Pharaoh hardened his heart. He simply wouldn't listen. I sure hope that none of us are in that position, that none of us are here thinking, I just don't have to pay attention to that. When I hear something that kind of sounds like maybe what I should listen to, that we would say, no, I'm not going to go there. If that is part of any of our thinking, maybe something we want to examine, maybe something we want to give to God and ask him to unharden our heart. Make it fertile grounds for your spirit again. If Pharaoh was anything, Pharaoh was full of pride. He wasn't about to let anyone, even God, change his mind about anything. And in the end, he lost it all. Even after the 10th plague, when he saw what had happened and he finally caved in, he finally kept from wanting, asking Moses to compromise what God had commanded them to do. He lost his son and he let the people go. Even then he didn't get his lesson. Even then he sent his armies out and tried to overtake them in the wilderness and kill them at that time. And he lost it all. All the chariots, all the horsemen, all the pride of Egypt, it was gone because he never learned his lesson.

He was in a classroom. We're in a classroom. Are we listening? Are we hearing God? Are we doing what he wants us to do? Let's turn over to Psalm 29. Psalm 29.

I'm sorry, Proverbs 29. Proverbs 29 verse 1.

He who is often rebuked and hardens his neck will suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy.

That's exactly what happened to Pharaoh, isn't it? He was often rebuked. He's standing classed, hardened his neck. None of that was going to touch him. He was going to keep doing what he had done, no matter what, because in his mind, whatever he was doing was okay. He was suddenly destroyed.

And when he watched the red stick hover over everything, no matter how much he wanted, it couldn't be reclaimed. It was gone. It was gone. He had failed, and he had failed miserably.

None of us want to be in that boat. There's 10 virgins that are mentioned in Matthew 25. There's five virgins that are a very sorry group of five. Who, when Christ returns and that final judgment has come, and we don't know when that time is, that's saying, wait, what about me? What about me? And they're knocking on the door. It's a pitiful experience. What about me? And God says, no, the time has passed. Suddenly.

Not without warning, because we sit in God's classroom every single Sabbath day.

I hope. I hope we realize that that's what we should be doing. We read the Bible, God's word, every single day. I hope that that's what we're doing. We have a relationship with God, and we talk to Him every single day. I hope. We're led by His Holy Spirit, I hope. And we pay attention to what God puts in our minds and shows us about ourselves. How do we handle it? How do we handle it? Let me conclude. Let me conclude over in Hebrews 12. While you're turning there, I was looking for last year over the sermons that have been given here in Orlando. Mr. Wentz is given, Mr. Johnston, Mr. Romuler, myself. And you know those are all important lessons. Every single one of those sermons are a lesson from God. Every single one of them points you toward God's kingdom, the things that we need to be doing. And I know as I write sermons, I know when I'm done that God has written it, because I see me in some of those things, and I learn something from every single one that I write. This week at the Council meetings, it kind of struck me because there was a topic that came up, and one of the Council members said, I don't think that's ever been discussed at the Council before. Where did this idea come from? And it wasn't anything major. And someone said, oh no, that was discussed. It was discussed at the December meetings. And indeed it was. And he thought a minute and he goes, oh, you know what? He goes, I think I was sick one day in December, and I didn't come to the meetings. He goes, I never went back and saw what we talked about that day. And he sat and mused for a minute, and I thought, he learned a lesson. He learned a lesson. I should have gone back and seen what was discussed that day and not just pawned it off as I wasn't there, so no big deal. I learned a lesson, too. You should be learning a lesson. Everything that God gives you in his classroom, he holds you accountable for. He's working with you, he's preparing you, he's getting you ready.

You know, if you skip half of the college classes, and when you come to the time of the final exam, the professor doesn't want to hear, well, I didn't come to class all that time. You're still held accountable for it. One of the things that I learned quickly in college is it's not like high school, where you just kind of go through the book and you can repeat all the things. You've got to be in the lectures because there's a lot that are given during the lectures that may not be in the book, and you're held accountable for that as well. It's the classroom God has put us in. We're all in training. We're all in the program that he's put us in. Are we really getting it? Let me read through Hebrews 12. I'm going to conclude here in Hebrews 12 because this hits a lot of the points we've talked about. This is a very good chapter to read, and I'm not going to make any comments as I read through this. I'm just going to read the Scripture because, in many cases, what God has recorded is more than adequate. But not adequate. I would encourage you to listen to what God has to say. Go home and listen to it again. Go home and listen, and make sure that you are doing what God's will is and that you analyze yourself through the eyes of His eyes and with His Holy Spirit. Hebrews 12, verse 1, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the spin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, for for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and had sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted the bloodshed, striving against sin, and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as the Son's, my Son. Don't despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him. For whom the Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every Son who He receives.

If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with Thuns, for what Son is there whom a Father doesn't chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we've had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjectance to the Father of spirits and live? For they, indeed, for a few days chastens us, that seemed best to them. But He, for our prophet, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening needs to be joyful for the present, but painful. Nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. Lest there be any pornicator or poor, offained person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, and he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word would not be spoken to them any more. For they could not endure what was commanded. And if so much as the beast touched the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow. And so terrifying was the sight that even Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and trembling. But you come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. See that you do not refuse him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth, but now he his promise, saying, Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.

Now this yet once more indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of the things that are made that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire.