Why You Are God's Special Treasure

Well, brethren, happy Sabbath once again to each and every one of you. We are all very familiar with the ancient Israelite peoples, most of the Old Testament. Is there written history? And it tells us a lot about who they were and how they thought and the things that they did, like any history does. God called out an entire generation from Egypt, that very first generation, who I want to talk about a little while, called them out of ancient Egypt, and Egypt was symbolic of sin, and he revealed his presence to them.

God loved the ancient Israelites, and he desired to give this very first generation some incredibly special opportunities. And I'd like to talk about those opportunities, because the opportunities that they rejected are the opportunities that God has given to you and I today, in our lifetimes, in this very generation of God's Church. Let's go to Exodus chapter 19, and we will begin in verse 1 and see something that was said just three months after they had left the land of Egypt, the children of Israel, something that God said about them.

It was his plan. It was his will. Now, they chose to reject his will. God allows people to make choices. We've been talking about that a lot recently. They chose to reject his will, and God allowed them to make their own choices and to do something different. But let's see what God had intended for this nation. He was going to give them an opportunity that no other people on earth have ever been given in human history. Not on any other continent, not on any other place on this planet.

He was going to give them an opportunity that was very special and very precious. Exodus chapter 19 and verse 1. In the third month, after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. God is going to reveal a lot to them on Mount Sinai. For they had departed from Rephidim and had come to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness.

So Israel camped there before the mountain. And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the children of Israel, I want you to specifically tell the children of Israel what I have planned for them. And here it is. Verse 4. You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself.

I brought you out so fast, so rapidly, from the land of Egypt. Waters even parted so that you could walk on dry land to leave Egypt. You were protected on eagle's wings, swiftly, with the strength of an eagle. You were protected against Pharaoh's army, against everything that was there, every adversary, everything that was there to stop you from leaving the land of Egypt. God says, I was there so that I could bring you to myself. Verse 5. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people.

God says you'll be something very special, very precious to me. For all the earth is mine. God reminds him that I own everything. And yes, even though the majority of people in this world don't acknowledge my existence, don't acknowledge my presence, God says, I own it all. Verse 6. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. What an incredible opportunity that they were being given at this time.

Again, no other people in human history were ever given this kind of opportunity directly from God. This very first generation of Israel was intended to be a physical type of the kingdom of God. Do you realize how different history may have been if they would have grasped the golden ring and taken this seriously? They literally may have been the beachhead for the kingdom of God.

Beginning in Jerusalem, beginning in that land, if they would have kept God's laws and been obedient to God and respected the covenant, history, prophecy would have been different. That's how powerful. That's how important this opportunity was that they were being given. The definition of the word type from the American Heritage Dictionary is a figure, a representation, or a symbol of something to come.

This was a type of the fact that God wants to establish a kingdom over all the earth. He was willing to begin with just one small group of people, the descendants of Abraham, and to begin to build that kingdom through them as a physical nation. For Bible students, of course, we know that many events in the Old Testament foreshadow something greater and more important in the New Testament.

And this is an example of that. They were a type of the kingdom of God. They would have been one nation, one people, a model nation for the world, a beachhead of God's law and values on the earth. And from them, from that point, it could have radiated out to the rest of the world. Again, history would have been different. Prophecy would have been different than the way it is going to be if they would have understood and valued the privilege God was offering to them.

Let's see this contrast again. Deuteronomy 7, verse 6. If you'll turn there. Deuteronomy 7, verse 6. Moses, again, talking to the people of Israel. Chapter 7, verse 6. For you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for himself. A special people dedicated to God, to do God's will, to serve God, to be a model and example for everyone else living on the earth. Chosen you to be a people for himself. A special treasure above all the peoples of the face of the earth.

The Lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were more numbered than any other people. For you were the least of all peoples. Certainly peoples, or the nation surrounded them, were vastly larger in population than they were. Verse 8. But because the Lord loves you, and because he would keep his oath which he swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of bondage.

Just like God has redeemed you and I from sin, that's a house of bondage. We've been redeemed from the slavery of sin in our lives. They were being offered redemption from the bondage of the physical nation of Israel in which they had been physical slaves.

And have redeemed you from the house of bondage and from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

So God wanted to send them and allow them to establish a new nation in the Promised Land. The Land had been promised all the way back to Abraham and then Isaac and through Jacob. And now all of the descendants of Abraham through the generations were being given the opportunity to go into this Promised Land. They were to establish this kingdom based on God's laws and God's commandments. And by doing that, it would set them apart from every other nation that existed on earth. No matter what continent we may be talking about, they would have been truly unique, special, as God says, holy priests in his sight. And other nations would have looked and have been in awe with how these people were blessed and how they worshipped just one God. And how they kept these laws and these values that brought so much happiness and contentment and productivity to just this one little nation on earth.

As I said, they were intended to be a model nation to the entire world, a possible beachhead for the future, coming, kingdom of God overall of the earth. While we're in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy chapter 26 and verse 16, let's highlight this again. Deuteronomy chapter 26 and verse 16. Chapter 26 verse 16. This day, the Lord your God commands you to observe these statutes and these judgments. Therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and all your soul. God is looking for total commitment from the people whom he is working with in any age. Therefore you have proclaimed, and in Exodus chapter 19 and verse 8 and in other places, when the covenant was offered to them, they said as one, we will do what the Lord has instructed. So they accepted the covenant. They publicly proclaimed their acceptance of this covenant with God. Today you have proclaimed the Lord to be your God and that you will walk in his ways and keep his statutes, his commandments, his judgments, that you will obey his voice. Also today the Lord proclaimed you to be his special people. I want you to notice this refrain over and over again. Special nation. Something very precious and wonderful in the sight of God. They could have been that was being offered to them, that was God's will for them, and how did they respond to it?

Continuing here also today, the Lord has proclaimed you to be his special people, just as he promised you that you should keep his commandments and that he will set you high above all nations which he has made in praise, in name, and in honor, that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God just as he has spoken.

So what is God saying here to them? If you understand what I'm offering you, future nations like Rome will drop to their knees and pay obeisance to you. They will praise you. They will honor you as a unique nation on earth.

Every other physical nation on earth will acknowledge your supremacy and your greatness, and they will honor your name, and they will say, truly, this is a holy people to the Lord their God.

So again, history, as we know it, would have been totally rewritten if they would have just accepted and understood what God was offering to them.

This was a generation directly called by God. He revealed his presence to them, revealed to them his commandments and his way of life. He offered them nationhood. He offered them here a very special status. And of course, these promises were also a type of what he offers us spiritually today.

The Apostle Paul understood this as a type when he wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 2 that they were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They were washed of their sins when they came out of ancient Egypt. Think about how they had been saturated with the paganism of Egypt.

Egyptian gods, Egyptian laws, Egyptian values, Egyptian customs. But yet, when they came out of it and they crossed the Red Sea, God looked at them in great love, and he forgave them. And he said, as we read a little bit earlier, the Lord loves you. That was in Deuteronomy chapter 7. God wanted ancient Israel to be this model people.

He had a very special purpose and destiny for them. But as we know, sadly, they didn't live up to their potential. They didn't even come close to living up to their potential.

And that's why God decided to work through different peoples. Instead of simply a physical nation, he decided to call and create a spiritual nation.

And you are part of that spiritual nation. And in God's sight, you are a special treasure above all people because he called you.

Just like God said to them in Deuteronomy chapter 7, God says to you, I love you.

And God says you are a special people. He has set you high above all the peoples of the earth because you are his children and because he's working in your life to help you to prepare in service for eternity.

How great is that? We are, if you think about it, those of us who are being trained in this lifetime in his spiritual nation are the superstructure that will exist above the kingdom of God. Much of what we read about the kingdom of God is a physical nation, is a physical kingdom. There will be human beings on the earth at that time. There will be laws. There will be buildings. There will be a lot of physical things going on in that kingdom. But what will be guiding and directing all of that physical activity will be a superstructure of spirit-led beings who were prepared and trained in this lifetime to serve in that kingdom. And that is your calling. That is your calling today. That superstructure is oftentimes referred to in the Bible as Zion, where Jerusalem is the physical capital of the physical nation of Israel, later Judah. Zion is the spiritual capital of God's people. Let's go to 1 Peter 2 and verse 6. If you'll turn there with me, 1 Peter 2 and verse 6. Let's see how the Apostle Peter understood that even though they failed in the opportunity that God had given them, that opportunity has now fallen upon us, God's spiritual nation, His spiritual priesthood, His spiritual people. Verse 6. Therefore, it is also contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, referring, of course, Jesus Christ, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame. They will experience eternal glory in the family of God. They will eventually become part of the bride of Jesus Christ. Verse 7. Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious. Jesus Christ is precious. He shed His blood for our sins. He is our personal Savior.

He is the one who has given us access to the Father because of His sacrifice and mediation. He is our God, our elder brother. He is precious. But to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. So the Jewish leaders in His day rejected Him. They had Him crucified. Yet this very one who was rejected is the chief cornerstone of the spiritual nation of God, the nation whom God is working through today. Verse 8. In a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, they stumble, being disobedient to the Word for which they also were appointed. Verse 9. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light. So it's saying here that we today are a chosen generation, royal priesthood, holy nation, special people. He doesn't say that if you're good enough, you can be these things. He doesn't say someday you can be these things. What He's saying is just continue in the relationship you have with God now, and these qualities are yours. These qualities are what God needs for His spiritual kingdom. Let's pick it up here now in verse 10, who once were not a people, but are now the people of God, who has not obtained mercy, but have now obtained mercy. Before we were called, we were out there in a world like everyone else, struggling, making all kinds of mistakes, trying to do things our way, trying to figure out life, usually stumbling our way through it. But when God called us, He brought us into a family. We became the people of God. We became part of His spiritual nation, and because of that, now we receive His mercy.

Verse 11, Beloved, I beg you, as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works, which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. So we should live our lives to the degree that though people may criticize us now, because we don't conform to this world, and maybe we're a little different in our values, in our lifestyle, than our neighbors are, than our co-workers are at work, that we live such a life of integrity that when Jesus Christ returns, they can say, I knew there was something special about that person. I knew they were different. I knew there was a quality in them that set them apart from everyone else. I may not have agreed with everything they did or their values, but they were people of integrity. They truly believed what they believed.

That's the kind of example that we should be setting in this world.

Ancient Israel was carnal, and they never seemed to grasp what God desired for them to become.

History shows they were just a shallow reflection of what God originally intended for them to be, except for a very brief period of time during the reigns of David and Solomon.

They were a mediocre nation on the world stage, usually overshadowed by powerful pagan neighbors like Egypt or Chaldea or Babylon or Syria.

They were always caught in the middle, being hit like an anvil with a hammer for most of their existence of small, mediocre people who never achieved the potential that they could have had that God had planned for them.

Well, that was the very first generation of ancient Israel, and they didn't live up to their potential. It's a good lesson for us. So what can we do different?

We are God's spiritual people. We don't want to have this same kind of ending that ancient Israel had. Eventually, they went into captivity first, the northern tribes of Israel and then the southern tribes of Judah.

We don't want to have an ending like they did. So what can we do that's different? What approach? What attitude can we take that's different than what they had that can help us in our preparation to become a spiritual nation, a spiritual people?

Let's see some examples. Numbers 11 and verse 1. Let's turn there and see right off the bat immediately a quality that they had that displeased God. In time, it graded on God's nerves.

God dealt with it patiently for a long time, but eventually his patience worked then because this was something that they did continually, that displeased God, that irritated him. This was what removed from them their ability to be a special people, a holy priesthood, a great nation. Numbers 11, beginning in verse 1. Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord. Now what did they have to complain about? Well, they're complaining about their wilderness experience. Their wilderness experience wasn't pleasant. They left homes, permanent structures, no matter how shabby they may have been in the land of Goshen. And they're out there in the wilderness, and there's heat, and there's scorpions, and there are sandstorms, and they bring a certain amount of food with them. They bring a certain amount of water, but eventually they claim that there's nothing to eat. Eventually they claim there's no water to drink.

They begin to question the leadership of Moses. Where's this guy taking us? We seem to be going in circles. And says the people complained. They went through a lot of wilderness struggles. And because they complained, it displeased the Lord. It says the Lord heard it, and his anger was aroused.

So how about us, brethren? You know each and every one of us are going through our own wilderness experiences? How are we dealing with them? Now we live in this world. It's a wilderness. All you have to do is read the newspaper or social media page. You'll see how confused and what a wilderness this earth is. We're going through a lot of wilderness struggles. Some of us, because of our health, we're going through wilderness. It's a wilderness struggle. Our health is going south, and we're struggling with health issues. Some of us live in poverty. That's a wilderness struggle. That's not an easy thing to do. Some of us have relationship issues. We have marriages that are strained. We've got issues going on with our relationship with our spouses or our children. That's a wilderness struggle. How are we dealing with that?

Some of us are underpaid. We might have jobs, but we're not paid very well for them. Some of us may be underemployed. We want to work 40 hours a week, and we can only find part-time jobs. Whatever it may be, we all have a wilderness experience right now that we're struggling with. Something that's going on in our lives, and maybe only we know about it. Sometimes, we'd rather know about it than they're praying for you. But still, it's a wilderness experience. So how are we dealing with our wilderness experience? They dealt with it by complaining, by showing a lack of appreciation for the things that God gave them, and the things that God had already done for them. What had God already done for them? He already took them away from physical slavery. Generations and generations of physical slavery, hard work. Remember they served with rigor? That doesn't mean they were sitting on a lawn chair with somebody fanning themselves all day. When you're serving with rigor, that's hard physical labor.

He brought them from that, and when they were cornered by Pharaoh, he opened up the Red Sea to dry land so they could cross it.

He was offering them a new land that they could live in. He's giving them the leadership of Moses. He's intervening. When they say they need water, he provides water.

When they say they need something to eat, he provides manna. But no matter what he did for them, it was never enough. There was always room for dissatisfaction. Always room for complaints.

So how are we dealing with our wilderness struggles in our lifetime? Well, God wasn't pleased with them, and it says, So his anger was aroused, so the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some on the outskirts of the camp. Now, why on the outskirts?

Because, symbolically here, the real believers were in the core of the camp. They were around the tabernacle. They were listening. They were in the center of the camp. On the outskirts of the camp, where is why the trouble was, that's where the mixed multitude was. Those who were Egyptian, and maybe some other Semitic peoples who came out of Egypt with them.

Maybe some of those who were Egyptian, Israelite children. Mixed families, but some were certainly Egyptians. They're called the mixed multitude. They weren't in the center. They weren't in the core of what's going on. They're hanging on the fringes like camp followers, taking pot shots all the time. Just trying to complain and trying to cause trouble. That's what's happening here.

Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched. So he called the name of the place Terreburah, because of the fire the Lord had burned among them. Now, the mixed multitude, again, this was some Egyptians, probably other Semitic peoples, who had been in Egypt and left with them as part of the group.

They were adventurers. They may not have even believed in God. They may not have even had personal belief in Yahweh, but here was a great adventure. This is going to be fun. This is going to be exciting. Maybe I can find a way to weasel myself into a leadership position with this new kingdom and all that's going on with these peoples. So they tagged along. Now, when the mixed multitude, who were among them, yielded to intense craving so that the children of Israel also wept again and said, Who will give us meat to eat? Oh, I want a hamburger. Anybody here want a hamburger? Yeah, half the hands go up. All right, I shouldn't have asked that question.

Who will give us meat to eat? Verse five. We remember the fish, which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, and the onions and the garlic. But now our whole being is dried up. There is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes. Really? Well, first of all, their memory is real faulty. First of all, when you're serving with rigor and you're being beaten all day long and you're working from sunup to sundown, you don't have a lot of time to enjoy melons and leeks and onions and garlic. You're usually growing them for someone else, like an Egyptian. So that's faulty memory number one. Faulty memory number two is it says in Exodus 12 and verse 38, quote, A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds, and a great deal of livestock. End of quote. Yet they say that there's nothing at all here except this manna before our eyes. What they really mean is there is such a thing as a free lunch. I don't want to give up one of my cows to eat it. That means I might have one less cow. God, you provide the cows. You provide the meat. And how does a person's thinking get to that level? Well, when we begin to just take God for granted, when we begin to stop being thankful for our blessings and the things that we have, that's the natural leap that our mind takes. The Hebrew word here for wept, where it says they wept a couple of times, they wept again there in verse four, is the Hebrew word bakha, and it means to complain or bemoan. Oh God, where are you, God? Yes, living in the wilderness in a tent was considered a trial by many Israelites compared to the permanent dwellings that they would have had in Egypt. But it's through trials that we are tested to see if we're faithful and if we appreciate what we have. And that's why they had wilderness struggles, and that's exactly why all of us, in one way or another, have our own wilderness struggles today. To see if we are thankful and appreciative for what God has already done for us, the promises that God has already made for our future and for our lives. In Philippians 4, verse 11, Paul said, not that I am referring to being in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. Have we learned to be content with whatever we have? Might be an incurable disease. Might be an incredible debt on a credit card that we're trying to pay down. Might be any number of things. But are we working on those than just being content without being anxious or blaming God or being angry or complaining about those kinds of things? Are we just patiently, positively dealing with the cards that have been dealt to us in life? That's the question. Because ancient Israel didn't get it. They didn't understand it. Numbers, chapter 14, verse 1. A few chapters ahead. Numbers, chapter 14, and verse 1. This is a story that I'm sure most of us are familiar with. Moses had sent out spies to the Promised Land to bring back a report. They were supposed to be the leaders. As the Hebrew word is translated in English, these were leaders of the tribe. These weren't just anyone. These were supposed to be the brightest and the best of the tribes that were sent out as spies. And I'm sure you recall this story. Most of them, the overwhelming majority, brought back a negative report of the Promised Land. So we're going to pick it up here now in verse 1.

So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, If only we had died in the land of Egypt, if only we had died in this wilderness, why has the Lord brought us out to this land to fall by the sword that our wives and children should become victims?

Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt? And they said to one another, Let us select a leader and return to Egypt, than Moses and Aaron fell in their faces before all the assembly at the congregation of the children of Israel. Needless to say, God is not pleased. And that's one reason they, Moses and Aaron, fall in their faces before the assembly. They're beseeching God's patience and mercy. In spite of all that God has done for them, they're questioning God. He obviously doesn't know what he's doing, because he's taking them to a land that's so bad. They're questioning God's appointed leadership of Moses and Aaron. They obviously don't know what they're doing. They're not real leaders. That's why we need to choose a leader. They're questioning the whole idea of leaving Egypt. Maybe we should just go back to Egypt. What kind of a God, think of this stung, what kind of a God would have brought us out here to die in this wilderness? What kind of God would even do that? Do you think that line offended God? Do you think it showed a lack of faith? Absolutely. It absolutely, positively did. All the great miracles that they had witnessed meant nothing. They still complained. They still whined. God brought them through the Red Sea. He protected them daily with a pillar of fire. He fed them with manna. He was offering them a rich new land to live in. But whatever he gave them, it was never enough. So how about us, brethren? Have we, like the Apostle Paul, learned to be content in whatever stage or situation we are in life, to be content with whatever I have? Their entitlement, their lack of appreciation, was too much for God to endure. And with this attitude, they were unusable to God. God said, you know what? Here's what I'm going to do. You just said your children were victims here? That I brought them out to die in the wilderness? Well, I'm going to reverse that. Because your children are going to see the Promised Land. And all of you are going to drop here in the desert and die. And none of you are going to see the Promised Land except for Caleb. Numbers 14, verse 19, pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of your mercy. Just as you have forgiven this people from Egypt until now, then the Lord said, I have pardoned according to your word. So you see, he's quick to show mercy and forgiveness. Verse 21, but truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. Has that happened yet? You know what? That's a prophecy.

To this point in time, not all the earth has been filled with the glory of the Lord. That's a promise that God says, okay, you rejected that special people privilege I gave you. You rejected that opportunity to be that bridgehead in a small kingdom on earth. I'm going to do it through someone else. I'm going to do it another way. But mark my word as truly as I live. All the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. Because all these men have seen my glory in the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and have put me to the test. Now these 10 times and have not heeded my voice. They don't listen. I say the words. They don't listen. Moses says the words. They don't listen. They certainly shall not see the land that I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected me see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed me fully. Now I'm going to step out on a limb here and say that different spirit that was in Caleb may very well have been God's Holy Spirit. Caleb could very well have been converted, which certainly wasn't reflected by the overwhelming majority of the people. They may have been symbolically baptized by walking through the Red Sea, but they definitely lacked the qualities and the fruit of God's Holy Spirit. But Caleb was different. He has a different spirit in him and he has followed me fully. I will bring into the land where he went and his descendants shall inherit it. So even though he's an old man, he's going to live long enough to actually see the Promised Land. So God equates whining and complaining as a lack of faith in his omnipotence, a rejection to him. It's a rejection of God's promises. It shows a lack of faith. It shows a lack of respect for God. It shows a lack of appreciation for all that God has already done for each and every one of us.

So in this case, his decision was to allow this generation to die in the wilderness and allow the next generation to inherit this new world that had been awaiting them. That generation failed to live up to their calling and their potential. So God decided to do it a different way. And that's where your generation comes into play. Because God was working with you long before he called you, long before you read a booklet or you heard a sermon or you saw a TV program or something in your mind clicked and began to make sense. God was there in the background working long before that, preparing you for that moment when he could begin to call you out of this world. And it would all begin to make sense.

Do we appreciate that? Do we realize that that makes us a special people? The fact that God has called us and God has given us the gift of his Holy Spirit, that we study this word and we go to Sabbath services and we fellowship and we read from this book all the time so that we can be that holy priesthood, so that we can teach others about the values and principles that are in this book. Do we value that? Do we fully grasp what God is offering to us? Or like them, are we just taking it all for granted? Yeah, I really love you, God, but what have you done for me lately? Is that our attitude? Is that our approach? Are those what our prayers would sound like to God? Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 1. The author of the book of Hebrews is going to discuss that generation of ancient Israel we've been talking about, and he drew some parallels to the early New Testament church, and I think we can draw some of these parallels to ourselves today. I think that's a fair thing to do. Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 1.

We were called by the Father, and we accepted that calling. That's why we're here, and we've repented of our sins, and we were baptized with water, symbolically to remove our sins. We received the gift of the Holy Spirit. That all comes, that all emanates from the Father calling us into a new life, becoming a new creature in Christ. Partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him who appointed him as Moses also was faithful in all his house. For this one, speaking of Jesus Christ, has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but he who built all things is God. Jesus Christ created all things, so he has more glory than Moses. Very simple deduction. Verse 5, Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as the Son over his own house, whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of hope firm to the end. So we are God's house, spiritually. We are the nation, the house that God is working with today. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, speaking of what we've been reading about of ancient Israel, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me and tried me and saw my works forty years, but you know, it just like never seemed enough. Whatever God would do for them, it never seemed like it was enough. Therefore, I was angry with that generation and said they always go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways. So I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Beware, brethren, so this is the author of the book of Hebrews, perhaps Paul now interjecting, beware, brethren, lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.

But exhort one another daily. Encourage one another daily. Be there for each other. We're all in the same journey together. We're all in the same spiritual nation as co-workers, together as the same spiritual family. But exhort one another daily, as it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

So faith to God is clinging on to the truth for a lifetime, not just for a few years, not just while times are good, when there are no trials, no problems, but through the difficult stages, the tragic times when life comes back on us and deals us some difficult things to deal with.

That's what the author of Hebrews is talking about here. Steadfast to the end. While it is said today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. Now this word hardened is the Greek word skeruno, and it means being unfeeling, being stubborn, being harsh in our approach. Somebody asked us, we give them a snap answer back, we're harsh.

That's the Greek word for this word, having a hardened heart, and that's something that God doesn't want us to have because hardened heart cuts us off from the blessings of God.

The Israelites had become hard because of the experience they suffered. They became cynical. They became sarcastic. They became unbelieving. And they provoked God to allow this generation to die out without ever fulfilling their potential.

Obviously, brethren, we don't want the same thing to happen to us. We want to be in the kingdom of God. We want to be part of the bride of Jesus Christ.

We want to share in the glory and the eternity that God offers us. And I think that's something that I wanted to emphasize very strongly today because we do live in a world that is increasingly becoming negative, increasingly becoming jaded and hardened, and a world that doesn't listen to anything.

And we have to be very careful that we don't get pulled into that.

God's no longer working with the physical nation like ancient Israel, but as part of the new covenant, He's working with a spiritual nation, the one that we just read about in the book of Hebrews.

What God desires from us are spiritual fruits. We know what those spiritual fruits are. They're mentioned in Galatians. Love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. This is what God's looking for in our lives.

These were all qualities that the ancient Israelites lacked because they didn't appreciate what God had done for them. Matthew 7, verse 12. If you'll turn there with me. Matthew 7, verse 12.

A statement here from Jesus Christ Himself.

Because ancient Israel did not show by their attitude, by their communication with Moses, by the comments they made about God that they did not have the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

They did not have the kind of fruits that they should have had. The kind of fruits that are necessary to be a special people.

The kind of fruits that are necessary to be a holy, royal priesthood.

Jesus says, chapter 7, verse 12, Do you want love from other people? Do it to them. Show them love. Show them joy. Radiate it.

And it might be contagious. Maybe old Grumpy might smile back at us. If we radiate some joy, do you want peace? Then reflect peace to everyone whom you meet.

Do you want patience, long suffering, someone to suffer and endure for a long time? Then demonstrate that towards them.

You want someone to be kind to you? Then give them kindness. You want someone to treat you well with goodness? Then treat them well with goodness.

This is all that Jesus means when he's saying, whatever you want men to do to you, also do to them.

It's that simple. It's not a hard concept. It's hard to do because it requires the fruit of the Spirit dwelling inside of our hearts and minds.

So it's hard to do in that way, but it's a very simple concept. You want people to treat you with gentleness? Be gentle with them in our words and in our tone and in the way that we say things.

Do you want people to exercise self-control and not hit you or not verbally abuse you or not take your wallet? Then exercise self-control for yourself in the way that you treat them, in the way that you give them honor and dignity for their being.

This is what Jesus is saying. Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.

For this is the law and the prophets entered by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go by it, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

This world is filled with human religions and human philosophies and all kinds of ideas and how to be happy and how to find fulfillment and how to make a spiritual connection. And it's wide and it's diverse, it's right, it's left, it's all over opinions, ideas, attitudes, philosophies, it's wide and broad and most of it's an invented lie.

But there is a way that's narrow. There's a gate. And the gate is that relationship that we have to God because we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And the way is narrow. It's inside of this book. It's called laws. It's called commandments. It's called values.

It reflects the will and the mind of God and it also teaches us the examples of a lot of people who rejected the will and the mind of God and what the consequences were in their lives.

So Jesus is saying that we need to go the right way. We need to travel the right path. Verse 15, Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits because they say things that aren't true.

They say things are going to happen. Those things don't happen. They're disingenuous. They're liars. They're crooks. Sometimes they're out for your money.

Jesus says, Be very aware of them. Eventually it will be revealed who and what they are.

Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit.

But a bad tree bears bad fruit in time. It's all revealed. My mother used to say, It all comes out in the wash.

And in time, people's motives are eventually revealed. The level of integrity people have are eventually revealed.

The level of conversion and commitment that people have towards Christ is eventually revealed.

Verse 18, A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruits.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.

Those who respond to their calling in this lifetime, in our generation and are converted, their lives are changed forever.

And that's the fruit! A changed life! A person who has taken that powerful gift of God's Holy Spirit and is using it to transform how they think, their attitudes, their emotions, their ideas, their behavior, and allowing that transformation to take place.

But here's a word of caution. Cut people some slack and give them some time. We're all in various stages of the faith.

We're all in various stages of coming to understand and accept God's way of life. And for some people, it just takes time.

Some people literally have to leave in order to find themselves. The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 should remind us to be patient with other people.

And that sometimes people have to depart in order to figure out what they need to do with their lives and in order to appreciate what they had by losing it.

So that's a very important concept as well.

So in conclusion, let's go to Revelation 19 and verse 7, our final scripture today.

I've used a metaphor a lot today about us being a spiritual nation, a spiritual people.

There's another metaphor that applies to all of us here, and that is we are preparing to be the bride of Jesus Christ, the Mary Jesus Christ, when He returns.

That's something His church is going to do, and obviously we are part of His ecclesia.

Revelation chapter 19 and verse 7, Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.

So are we making ourselves ready each and every day by becoming more godly, by developing more of these fruits that we've been talking about?

Are we making ourselves ready by being thankful and appreciative for everything that God has already done for us?

Are we dealing with something inside because we're just angry with God, or it's never good enough, or maybe we're struggling with a lack of patience towards ourselves or lack of patience towards God?

We have to be careful not to allow that to get to the point where we become like the ancient Israelites, and we make it difficult for God to work with us.

And His wife has made herself ready.

And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Then He said to me, Right, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And He said to me, These are the true sayings of God.

Some rather ancient Israel had an incredible opportunity, a unique one, that was offered to no other nation on earth.

And they abandoned it. They didn't fulfill what God's will was for them.

You and I today are God's spiritual holy nation, His people.

Are we going to remember to remain faithful?

Are we going to strive to be a small handful of people that can change the world?

You know, don't ever think that a small handful of people can't change the world.

In reality, it's the only thing that ever did.

Two thousand years ago, twelve people in the Middle East, called disciples, marched out with a message and literally changed the history of the world.

Now, we may not believe that their descendants took it in the right direction, but yet twelve people, twelve individuals who heard the message of Jesus Christ, ultimately changed the world.

And God's working with a small few people.

And that's you. And your destiny is to do nothing less than literally change the world.

Let's be preparing for that. Let's be growing daily.

Let's be developing more of the fruits of that spirit. Let's be allowing those fruits to transform us so that we can fulfill the potential that we have, so that we can truly be God's special people, a holy nation, a holy priesthood of God.

Have a wonderful Sabbath.