Where is the Beef

Years ago, 1984 to the exact, because that is several years ago and several, but it doesn't seem like that long ago in one sense, but it is a long time ago. Almost 40 years. Some commercials that are done never leave your memory. They stick. And that particular year, Wendy's Hamburger, Wendy's Hamburger Place, you know, they had their number one commercial, and it may have been the number one commercial that year, I'm not sure.

And that was back during the midst of the Hamburger Wars. Not that the Hamburger Wars are ever concluded, I think. And of course, everybody knows, I think, don't you, how much I enjoy a good hamburger. Or even a poor hamburger, if it's with a good cup of coffee. But anyhow, the ad featured three little old ladies in this hamburger joint, standing at the counter, looking at a hamburger on a plate on the counter. And behind them, a plaque on the wall said, home of the Big Bun.

And they're standing there looking at this huge hamburger on this plate. And one says, it's really a Big Bun. And the other one, another one says, well, it's certainly a Big Bun. And then one of them lifts the bun off of the meat. And there's this tiny little piece of meat between these huge buns.

And little Clara Peller, that's her real name, barely tall enough to even see on the counter, she looks at it and she says, where's the beef? And then she says that again, where's the beef?

Is anybody back there? Where's the beef? That commercial was extremely effective. And anyone who ever saw it never forgot it. That's why it's the way you're laughing and chuckling, because you remember it. Where's the beef? Well, that particular question has been asked before by different ones at different points in time. It's not a new question. In fact, it was asked even 2,000 years ago by the Apostle Paul.

Because if you turn with me to Hebrews 5, verses 12 through 14, and we look at Hebrews 5, verses 12 through 14, isn't that the question that the Apostle Paul is asking and what he wrote here? Where's the beef? 30-something years, over three decades after the church began, to the church in Jerusalem and the sister churches of Judea, Paul writes, where's the beef?

For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, ought to become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. Milk, instead of strong meat. For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness. For he's a babe. But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, or perfect, or complete, or mature.

Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. He saw what should have also been very obvious to them through any kind of their own personal self-examination. Is Clara Peller the only one that has ever asked that question? Well, obviously no, I just answered that. Paul asked it. What about God? Does God ever say, where's the beef? He wanted title, subject, one and the same. Where's the beef? That is an extremely important question for you and me.

Because God asked me. He asked you. He asked us. Where's the beef? Looking for the real meat, examining ourselves for evidence of such, and frankly, it's time for spreading the bread to look at the beef. And to see how much there is. The saddest situation is when you spread the buns and there's no meat in there at all. But of course, it's also a poor situation if you spread the buns and there's very little meat. It's interesting in society and life and living that just by way of talking and speaking that when we talk about the need to strengthen or build something up, we talk about, well, we really need to beef that up.

We need to beef that up. We need to add some beef to that. Some real substance, some real meat. We need to beef that up. What beats up God's people? And frankly, what is going to beef up the Kingdom of God and the world tomorrow? When we want to deal with the concern with somebody, when we want to get to the heart and core or to the substance, to the real issue, a lot of times we'll say, well, what's the beef? What's your beef? Or what's the beef? Let's cut to the chase and just get to the real meat.

What's the beef here? Now, in the King James Bible, the language, bread, meat, food, substance are oftentimes synonymous. When God says, where's the beef? Because He does say it. He might not use those exact words, but that's what He is saying. That's what He's asking. He's saying, where's the meat? Where's the substance? Okay, what is He talking about?

What is it? Do we really know? Do we really know what God is looking for? Well, obviously, when we talk about the real meat, what we're dealing with is the real substance. We're talking about the heart and core. We're talking about that which is major versus minor. We're talking about what is primary versus what is secondary. But again, in terms of taking on the real meat, the real beef, there is the progression. We start off with milk, don't we? 1 Peter 2, 2.

1 Peter 2 and verse 2. Peter writes, that which is so true to the way we all start off, as babes. He says, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Isn't it interesting and very teachable how much the physical creation is done in a way to parallel spiritual lessons?

Peter says, basically is saying in so many words, when we start off, we're like newborn babes. What is a newborn babe like? It wants milk and it spends most of its time, so much of its time, nursing, getting milk and sleeping. And of course, in that whole process, it's growing.

And the time comes that it can handle that which is not just milk only.

You couldn't feed a T-bone to a newborn. You couldn't feed oatmeal to a newborn.

Just milk. But as newborn babes, notice, you know, we start off with milk. But notice something that's emphasized here. A newborn babe doesn't desire a T-bone, doesn't desire oatmeal, doesn't desire anything like that. It desires milk. And it doesn't last very long before it's wanting more.

But desire, motivated for it, wants it, is hungry for it, seeks it, cries for it, yearns for it. And he says, we, as newborn babes, desire this sincere milk of the Word that we may do what? Grow, thereby. Desire is the prime focal point. And again, milk is great for babies. And we all start out as babes even physically, but also as spiritual babes too. But think about a mother's milk. A mother's milk is good and it's cleansing. It's cleansing.

In a mother's milk, there is colostrum. Initially, in the milk, there is colostrum. Colostrum acts like a laxative upon the baby. It cleans it out. It cleans out its entire digestive track.

When our daughter was born, well, actually, before she was born, when we were meeting with, you know, a doctor in regards to the baby's coming, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl, because still, back in those years, you didn't just automatically go get checked and find out, oh, it's a boy. You know, it wasn't a coming out thing about, well, it's a boy or it's a girl. We just, you know, we're just wanting a healthy baby. We get a healthy baby, we'll be very happy.

But anyhow, Angela brought up the question that she said, when the baby is born, I want to nurse it. Because it was very common at that time, many times, for them to pop a bottle of sugar water, a nipple connected to sugar water to them. A lot of doctors would do that, and then you got to nurse it later.

We didn't want that. We wanted the baby to nurse just as soon as possible. The colostrum cleans out the baby. It acts as a laxative, and also in the mother's milk are the antibiotics, natural antibiotics, which help to protect against germs and bacteria. It's very basic, very basic, but very good. Milk is very basic, but it's very good, and you grow by it. Now, go back with me to Hebrews, this time Hebrews chapter 6.

Hebrews chapter 6. Now, you will notice, again, man put the chapter breaks in, in the verses, which I'm glad for, because it helps me to find stuff. It helps us. It organizes the Scripture in that sense.

But think of this. In chapter 6, the first word in verse 1 is, therefore.

That is a connector to what was just read. Therefore, as a result, therefore, he says, but strong meat, verse 14, previous, strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Therefore, it's a connector. It should go right on into it. Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ let us go on unto perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on our hands and of resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment.

Notice, therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ doesn't mean abandoning them.

You know how you leave a foundation when you put it down?

You don't get off on the side off of the foundation. When you're building and you lay a foundation, the way you leave the foundation is you go above it. You build on it. That's what it means. Well, what did you do yesterday? We got the foundation finished. Well, what are you going to do today? Work on the foundation? No, we got the foundation laid. What are you going to do? We're going to start raising the house, the building that goes on it. You get the foundation in place and then you start building on it. And the foundation, there are things that are foundational principles that are foundational like the doctrine of Christ. Let us go on to perfection. That is, let us grow. Let us develop. Let us become complete. Let us become mature. Not laying again or that is not having to lay again the foundation of repentance because we've lost it. We shouldn't say, oh, my frame of mind, my repentance is almost gone. I'm losing that foundation. I got to get it in place again. Hopefully getting in place and keeping it there. Not having to lay it again because you keep it in place from dead works and a faith toward God. And again, the doctrine of baptism is laying on the hands, resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Now think about it. Repentance and baptism. Cleanse. Newborn babes.

Like a laxative, the milk of God cleans you out. Repentance and baptism. And you're cleansed.

Cleaned out. Your record is washed. You're cleaned. For doing what? For going on to the real meat. Verse 1, let us go into perfection. That's talking about meat. That's talking about a certain completeness, a certain maturity. For going on to the real meat. For the indwelling of God's Spirit that the real meat may be developed. And what happens if it isn't?

That's what verses 4 and 6 is about. 4 through 6. I mean, why is that sandwiched in there, or let's say tagged on? Because immediately after Paul writing that, he says it's impossible, verse 4, for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away to renew them again to repentance, seeing they crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh and put Him to an open shame, that doesn't happen when there's meat there.

But those who don't go on eventually to meet at some point, the real substance isn't there. But that's why he tags it on here in this sequence.

See, verses 4 through 16 speaks of the failure to ever get into the real meat.

It never moved into, or it didn't remain in, the real meat. What was the failure?

What was missing? What is the meat that wasn't there?

What gave, or what would give God, the cause or the reason to say, where's the beef?

Okay, let's proceed. What or who is the meatiest thing or person in all the universe?

In all existence, well, obviously, you have to accuse me of making a rhetorical question, because if I say what or who is the meatiest thing or person being in the whole universe, there's only one answer for that, right? That's God. I mean, where is the real meat? Who truly has the beef? God does. 100%. How much of the meat of God have we eaten?

How much of God's beef have we taken on? How much of the bread of life have we eaten and absorbed?

Let's go to John 6, where we spent some time on Passover evening. John 6.

Verse 27. John 6 and verse 27.

Labor not for the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endures into everlasting life, leads you right up to everlasting life, involves you in everlasting life, it results in you having everlasting life, which this kind of man shall give to you. For him has God the Father sealed. Verse 33.

Verse 33. For the bread of God is he which came down from heaven and gives life unto the world.

Verse 35. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He that comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believes on me shall never thirst.

Verse 48. I am that bread of life.

Verse 51. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world. Then verse 53. Then Jesus said to them, truly, truly, which is what verily, verily means, I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. I mean, it's really emphasizing, isn't it, absorbing Christ.

Verse 54. Whoso eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. Then verses 55-58. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. And they didn't get it. They didn't understand it. And due to cannibalistic terms that he was using, some of his own disciples said, oh boy, these are hard savings. We're out of here. We can't process this. We can't handle that. And what was he really talking about? He was talking really about the meat or the beef of God, which we are going to very specifically get to.

Verse 56. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me, and I in him.

As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eats me, even he shall live by me, this is that bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead. He that eats of this bread shall live forever. How much do we have to show for eating Christ? How much do we have to show in terms of a cumulative effect?

Nourishment, taking it on, it becoming a part of our fiber.

Three scriptures in particular show us great admonishment in this regard.

The first one is Ephesians 4.15. And I may not turn to these. We're very familiar with them. But Ephesians 4 verse 15, grow up into Him in all things. You start out as a babe, physically and even spiritually. But physical babies must grow up. They must grow up into adults, or something is seriously wrong with them, right? Newborn babies in Christ must grow up.

They must grow up into spiritual adults, or something is wrong with the growth process.

Grow up into Him in all things. Philippians 2.5. Again, another one that we know, the second one that I will mention. Philippians 2.5, let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus.

The Father should be able, at some point in our growth process, the Father should be able to look at our mind and say to the Son at His right hand, there's getting to be a lot of resemblance in His mind to your mind, Christ.

There's getting to be a lot of resemblance in His mind to your mind. Let this mind be in you.

And then the third one, of course, which really nails the result that is being looked for is Galatians 4.19, but it still doesn't tell you specifically what the real beef is yet, but it's automatically in the calculation. Let's put it that way. Galatians 4.19, my little children, whom I labor, like in childbirth, until Christ be formed in you.

In Paul's looking for the beef in Hebrews 5 and not finding it and correcting them, look at the context. Again, it's 30-something years after the church had begun.

There were some veterans in that congregation and the sister congregations of Judea.

They had been there since the beginning when the church began. Some were still alive and still there who had been there when the church began, and He was correcting them for having failed to take on God's nature, Christ's nature, for having failed to reflect the Father in the Son's mind, to reflect their love, to reflect their approach, to reflect their makeup. They simply had not and were not growing up into Christ in all things. They were not taking on the real beef. So, what is the beef that God is looking for? What is it about God that He wants to see in us? What is it about He Himself that He wants to see that in us? I mean, we know He is the real meat.

How is that meat defined? Well, again, the Bible does give us the answers, and the answer is given in 1 John 4, verses 8 and 16. 1 John 4, verses 8 and 16. And bear in mind, this now that we will read is written 30 years or better after Hebrews. So, we're even another three decades on down the line from Hebrews, and we find that John is also dealing with the real meat, the real beef. And there's a word we put on it, which is 100% accurate. Verse 8, 1 John 4, verse 8. He that loves not knows not God, for God is what? Love. And He repeats it in verse 16.

And we have known and believe the love of God that God has to us. God is love. And He that dwells in love dwells in God and God in Him. Now, in today's society, you say love, that can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. But I can tell you what it is not. It is not just a feeling. It is not just an emotion. It is not just a thought. It is not just a concern. The love that is expressed by Y might say that that's what God is. You could take the word agape and make it an acronym.

And maybe you could make it more than one acronym. But here's one acronym for the word agape, letting each letter stand for a word, Almighty God's awesome propelling power.

Because that's what it is. Almighty God's awesome propelling power. What's the real meat?

Well, short answer, that's what He is. That's the driving force and substance of the universe.

What is called agape, that 100% totally comprehensive label of everything that is good and right, that's what God is. And it's the driving force and substance of the universe. This is something, again, far beyond just what we generally think of as love. It's the strongest thing that exists. There is nothing that exists that is stronger than that. There's nothing that exists that is as strong as that or that can ever be. And what are you talking about when you use the word agape as defining love and defining what God is? Well, you're talking about God's very fiber. You're talking about His very nature. You're talking about His very mind. And you're talking about His very makeup. It's His makeup. It's His mind. It's His nature. It's His fiber. It's the deepest and most powerful force that flows through Him and out.

Here's one of the things that comes out of that.

God will never, ever do something with any one of us or for us that is bad for us. It might be challenging. It might be difficult. It might be hard.

But He never has the motivation, I just want to get somebody. I just want to hurt them. I just want to see them suffer. I just want pain. I just want to have some sadistic fun. It's never...

it's not possible for that to be part of His makeup. What He does for us, He always does for our welfare, even when it is something sometimes that He has to do that is corrective to help either keep us on the right path, get us back on the right path, or take us further down the right path. But it's the deepest and most powerful force that flows through Him and out. It's the very essence of the Holy Spirit, and it's seated in us in a very special and yet tiny way at spiritual conception. It is to be exercised and grow. Notice with me Galatians 5 verses 22 and 23. It's seated, seated in us in a very special and yet tiny way at spiritual conception. And it is to be exercised and grow.

Here is what is seated, and sometimes it can be very, very, very, very, very tiny.

Verse 22, "...but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance against such, there is no law, there is no restriction on that." But what you are reading when you read Galatians 5 verses 22 and 23, you are reading of the spiritual genetics, the genetic code, the spiritual genetic code of God's makeup. This is the genetic code of God's makeup. When a physical baby begins at conception, it has its own DNA code. It becomes a unique being. But it carries genetic coding from its mother and its father, and through the wonderful process of genetics, could pick up some of grandpa's too, and great grandpa's. I have a first cousin that I grew up with.

We have a picture of, and I'm trying to remember if it's a great-grandfather or a great-great-grandfather, but this picture of this great-great-grandfather and this cousin that I grew up with, they looked like twins.

Genes that dominated in the looks of this great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, dominated in the looks of this great-grandson or great-great-grandson on down the line. It's interesting about the genetic codes and all. But this is expressed as a spiritual genetic code of God's makeup. It's seated in us. It's tiny, but it's fair.

And in its fullness, as it's developed, and of course, we all know that from member to member to member, each and every one we're talking about that has God's Spirit, that these fruits, this member may excel in certain fruits and maybe not in others, and the other person over here may excel in the ones that this one doesn't excel in. It's all there, but it can really vary because there's a growth process that must take place. There's a growth process that must take place. And by exercising this genetic code, we grow in these things. Yes. And in its fullness and the fullness of this code, it expresses a copy. Meat. Real meat. Ephesians 3 verses 17 through 19. Ephesians 3 verses 17 through 19.

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints. Notice what is the breadth. You know, how wide. And length. How long. And depth. How deep. And height. How high. Expansion. Comprehension.

Constantly expanding in the depth, the breadth, the length, the height of God and His things. And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with what? The fullness of God. It says of Christ that He, it pleads the Father that all fullness dwell in Him. And again, to the degree that we take on the real beef and the real meat, to that degree, we reflect the fullness of God. Let's be clear about something. Knowledge alone is not meat.

Knowledge alone is not meat. It's knowledge. It's learning. I have known many a person who knew things and didn't do them. They knew, but they didn't do. Knowledge alone is not meat.

1 Corinthians 8, 1. 1 Corinthians 8 and verse 1.

Boy, that person really knows a lot. Well, yeah, that's good. What do they do with it? Well, I can't tell they're doing anything with it.

Now, as touching things, Paul writes the Corinthians. Now, verse 1, chapter 8, 1 Corinthians.

Now, as touching things offered to idols, we know that we all have knowledge.

But here's one of the things about knowledge you've got to be careful with.

Knowledge puffs up. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know something you don't.

You know, kids play those games, and sometimes adults do too. But knowledge puffs up.

But agape, because that's what it's talking about there, the word charity, agape is what it's talking about. Knowledge puffs up.

But agape edifies. It builds. It promotes. What good is all my knowledge and all my understanding might ask themselves? What good is all the knowledge and the understanding that I have if I don't become like God? Now, if I'm putting that knowledge to proper use and understanding, it can help promote that process of becoming like God. But on the other hand, to have all this knowledge and understanding, if I don't become like God, what good is it going to do?

Okay, here's another thing that is not meat. Gifts. Gifts are not meat. Gifts are not meat.

Chapter 12, verse 1. Now, concerning spiritual gifts, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, Paul says, I would not have you ignorant.

There's things that you need to realize about spiritual gifts. They are not meat because God can give gifts just like that. I don't speak a word of Russian, but if for somehow, some way, I found myself in Russia and God wanted what's coming out of my mouth to be Russian, He could do it. With no change in my character or anything, just the gift. If God can create gifts all day long. Now, are gifts needful? Yes. Are they good? Yes. Is knowledge good? And gifts are good?

Right. If they're used to serve and to edify, but they alone are not necessarily beef. I am extremely thankful to God that my legacy in His truth, something to feel blessed about, not to get big-headed over, thankful to God that His allowing me to be involved with His truth and His people. A lifetime, frankly, now, I have known men that were extremely knowledgeable.

I have known men that were extremely gifted, extremely talented. And that knowledge and those gifts that could have been used for really serving the church and God, serve themselves to the point that they went spiritually AWOL. They flew the coop. So I know that knowledge and gifts themselves are not the real meat. If the real meat is there, they can really be used to enhance growth and development. Verse 31 here in this chapter 12, He says, but covet, or that is desire earnestly, the best gifts. Nothing wrong with that, especially if your motivation is proper.

He says, okay, covet, or desire earnestly, the best gifts, and yet, yet, I show you a more excellent way, a more excellent way than, quote, knowledge, a more excellent way than gifts.

Well, let's bring in one third thing right quick. Prophecy. Prophecy isn't meat.

Prophecy isn't meat. We have prophecy buffs. We have prophecy nuts. We have ministries that are built strictly and almost fully on prophecy. And this reaches all the way back to worldwide days when we had those elements among us who they were just always wanting to know, well, what's the timing on this prophecy? And what does this prophecy mean? And again, there's nothing wrong with having an interest in prophecy. And so much of the Bible as we know is prophecy. And even the holy days contain prophecy. So it's not that prophecy in any sense is wrong, but it's not meat, except the prophecies that deal with the meat, with the real beef. But prophecy, per se, is not the real meat. If you notice here in chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians, and verse 8, it says, Agape never fails, but where there be prophecies, they shall fail.

It was a prophecy that none of it was going to be destroyed.

It failed in one sense, just make the point, but it only failed in timing because God had a clarifier on it, so to speak. Jonah, you're going to go preach to them that I'm going to destroy them. And we know the account, but eventually Jonah did do that. He had to, and he did it.

And God was going to destroy them. He was prophesying to them for 40 days. He walked among them, prophesying, you're going to be destroyed. And it was pretty imminent.

And they repented, you know, human basic repentance, and God took mercy. Okay, it won't happen right now. Well, God, I knew you wouldn't go through with it. You know, blah, blah, blah. You know, Jonah's attitude. You know, God said, I'll postpone it. It'll come at a later time. It won't come now. It'll come on down the road at a later time. He didn't fill in all the blanks at that time for Jonah, but that prophecy in that sense failed only in the sense it wasn't carried out at that time. Time was extended. But prophecy isn't meat as such. But again, back in verse 31 of chapter 12 here, and yet I show you a more excellent way.

And what's that excellent way? Well, he shows it here in chapter 13 verses 4 through 8.

And again, I'll read it with the word that should be in there, agape. It suffers long and it's kind. It doesn't envy. It doesn't, it's not rash, as the margin can render it. It doesn't vaunt itself. It's not puffed up. It doesn't behave itself unseemly.

It doesn't seek her own. It's not easily provoked. And some people, you just are on eggshells around them because you don't know what may set them off. But it's not easily provoked. It thinks no evil, rejoices not in iniquity. It doesn't take pleasure in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.

Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, agape never fails. And if you take the measure of that, if you take the measure of that, it's a tall order. But guess what? That fits God 100%. It may only fit us 1%, 10%, 20%. Whatever it does, but it fits God 100% and we're to shoot for taking this on because this gets into the real meat, the real beef.

Because what is laid out in verses 4-8, that's God's makeup. That's God's nature. That is His mind. That is His fiber in detailed action. And if you look at verse 13 here, it kind of cinches it, hits the nail, sets the nail, final hit on the head, so to speak, and now abides faith, which is crucial. You cannot be in the kingdom of God without faith. The door to the kingdom is framed in faith, as I covered at the Feast of Tabernacles a couple of years ago. There is no way one can be in the kingdom of God without faith. Period.

So we know that's extremely important. And who can live without hope?

Somebody just takes every bit. If your hope is taken completely, 100% totally away from you, you're the walking dead. People have to have hope. Hope is so crucial. So these are extremely important. And then agape, or love, these three. These are the big guys. This is the big stuff.

But notice what it says, the greatest of these is agape.

This is wine. And we read this, passed overnight, John 13, verses 34 and 35. John 13, verses 34 and 35. A new commandment, I give to you that you love one another, and of course, again, that commandment had been given, but here's where the newness comes in that makes it new, as I have loved you. Look at how my love is shown to you. And that is what you are to copy and make part of you, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, that measure, that depth, that breadth, that height, that width of love, shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one to another. You know, for our understanding of agape, for our understanding of the meat God is looking for, the meat that has to be in us, the meat that has to be developed in us, we have to add a word. For our understanding, we must add a word, and that word is sacrificial. In other words, sacrificial love. Sacrificial love, because that's what agape is. Agape is sacrificial love. This is the best way to express the true beef, the true meat, the true substance, because this is the kind of love God has. It's the kind of love God is. It's the kind He wants us to have, that He wants to develop in us. This is the kind of love God showed us. Notice chapter 15 and verse 13. Chapter 15 verse 13, greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Now, even if it's at that basic level of a man who is uncalled, who doesn't have God's Spirit, but he's done the foxhole with his buddy, or a bigger foxhole with his buddies, and a grenade is tossed in. And in wartime, this has happened. And he throws his body on top of the grenade to shield his buddy, and it blows him apart and kills him, and his buddies live. He couldn't give more than he gave. He gave his life. That is an act of love, an act of sacrificial love in a very important way. Yes, and we understand that. And Christ says, greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And Christ voluntarily laid his life down for all mankind, didn't He?

See, this is what makes us like God. This is the core of God. It's the core substance.

And it must become our core. It must become our core substance as a spiritual creation.

And He expects that of us toward each other. Again, verse 12, This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. And in some ways, the greatest unity the church ever had in this age was probably at its very beginning in the book of Acts. Acts 2, when the church began, and in those days and weeks and months, those first times of the church. That's probably when it had the greatest unity.

And we know in chapter 2, when the church began there, that the gift of tongues was given.

And we understand what the tongues were. Languages that were spoken. And I won't go through that, but I'm saying they were also given the gift of tongues for the promotion of the gospel at that time. But also, in addition to the fact that there was the gift of the Holy Spirit given, which created the church, God's power in His mind, the genetic coding was seated in them.

Also, that you love one another as I have loved you. And notice in chapter 4 and in verse 32, and the multitude of them that believed were of one heart, of one soul.

You're hungry, I'm hungry. You're cold, I'm cold.

You're in need, I'm in need. I feel truly your pain, your hurt, your hunger, your need.

Neither said any of them that ought of the things which He possessed was His own, but they had all things common. Now, that was a time that was unusual. It was an unusual context. It's not speaking of communism or anything like that. But what it's talking about is this.

Many proselytes had come in. They had been converted on the day of Pentecost.

They didn't want to leave right away to go back home.

But their means of support ran out shortly.

And there were local disciples with whatever they had to share, and they shared to make it possible for them all to stay together and be together for a time.

See, they had the gift of tongues, but by putting it all together, they had the gift of tongues, yes.

But they also had sacrificial love. They had both.

You know, down through the ages, God's people have had to...

And I'll use the words at Bob Dick, long-time veteran minister up in the Northwest, highly respected man and rightly so, very sharp individual, served on the council many years, chairman and all that. I remember the message he gave years ago with the GCE, and he said, we must be a work to do a work. Think about that. We must be a work to do a work.

The beef of God has to truly first be there, and it is sacrificial. Sacrificial. Now, it is interesting. I'm not going to turn back to Matthew 25 in verse 40. But in Matthew 25 and verse 40, Christ said, as you have done it to one of these, and people don't read it carefully, the least of my brethren.

He didn't say the world. And if you're what you should, there'll be a spillover effect to the world.

But he did say, as you have done it to the least of these, my brethren, my brothers and sisters, my siblings, you've done it to me. But he speaks of sacrificial love. The statement in Romans 15.1 about the strong should bear the infirmities of the weak. That's Romans 15.1. Sacrificial love. That's a gopi. That's neat.

It's interesting that when the church has been strong in this, it has grown.

And when the church has waned in this, when it's waned in this, the church has waned. Revelation 2.4, don't go there. No need to. Just reference that there with Ephesus, that first epic of the church, that first century and into the second century of ways.

God said, because you have left your first love. Those were the people of Acts. Those were the people of Hebrews. Those messages back at that time. Those were the people. It doesn't mean it doesn't have application dust also. I'm just saying that they were indicted because they left their first love. And you know, waning will be and is the hallmark of our time. What does Matthew 24 verse 12 say? Matthew 24 and verse 12 say this, Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Do we think that agape is immune to that? Or that is, the person holding agape is immune to losing some of the agape? Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Let me share with you something that may have been shared with you by another minister at a previous time. But in 1996, the second year that United was going, the Council of Elders held one of their face-to-face meetings right over in Alabama in Birmingham. In 1996, one of those sit-down-together meetings of the Council of Elders was in Birmingham. That was in 1996. And one of the things they wanted to accomplish was to isolate what has been our chronic problem in the Church. This is what they came up with. And the issue was nutshelled in a brief and yet quite thorough statement. Listen carefully. This has been the chronic problem that was identified. As ministers and members, we have not always conducted ourselves in a godly manner with each other in our roles, relationships, and responsibilities. That's worth repeating. As ministers and members, we have not always conducted ourselves in a godly manner with each other in our roles, relationships, and responsibilities. And I can amen that.

That is a lacking of the real substance of beef. Sacrificial love, the real meat, is willing to serve, willing to be put out, willing to be inconvenienced, willing to be worked with, and to work with.

Sacrificial love is willing to tolerate, willing to be tolerant.

It's willing to bear with. It's willing to help. It's willing to support.

See, sacrificial love speaks the truth in love. Ephesians 4, 15. Sacrificial love learns how to blend judgment, mercy, faith. It doesn't hit just judgment and leave mercy and faith out. It doesn't hit judgment and mercy and leave faith out. It doesn't hit faith and leave judgment and mercy out. Matthew 23, 23. It takes judgment, mercy, and faith and learns how to blend it together.

See, folks and brethren who are going to be working with millennial people someday, and someday all of your neighbors and family members who weren't called in this age, working with them in the last great day, it takes discernment and it takes growth to know the difference between compassion and compromise, to know the difference between helping and enabling, to stimulate one's retreat from sin versus discouraging them deeper into it.

This is why we're told in Galatians 6.1 that if a brother be overtaken in a fault, let those of you who are spiritual try to recover them because otherwise you take a bad situation and you make it worse.

It takes sacrificial love. It takes beef. It takes meat to distinguish between when you're helping and when you're being used to know when it's godly to say no and when it's not godly to say no.

And see, the challenge is becoming a person of meat, learning how to be a person of beef.

That's the true Christian challenge. Taking on God's very nature produces meat. It shows, it reflects, it has to, and it builds a warm and strong congregation of health and benefit. It builds a family. It builds beef. And so I beseech you at this time and at all times, actively pursue the strong meat of God. And in the final analysis, none of us will have to hear the question from God's mouth upon our ears, where's the beef? Because it will be there and it will show and God will know.