[Rick Shabi]: Well, good afternoon, everyone.

[Audience]: Good afternoon.

[Rick Shabi]: I don’t know what more I can say about that special music than wow. That was absolutely outstanding, both numbers. I don’t even feel you should hear from me. I almost feel like we should just end on that note, in praising God and being excited for everything He has called us to. So, thank you, ABC Choir. Obviously, a lot of work went into both of those numbers. Thank you, Mr. Shoemaker and Mr. Browning, for all the work that I know that you do with the choir each year and thank you for presenting that to us today.

Let me welcome all of you here. We’ve got a lot of people here in this room. I know we have many people around the world, I guess, listening to us on the web today, so good to have all of you with us. It’s a pleasure to be here, and it’s a wonderful thing to live in a world where we could gather together from very many countries that are here in this room, as well as to gather together by Zoom from all over the world. So, it’s a tremendous opportunity, a tremendous weekend for us here. I thought as I started today, since we’re all together from very many places, to remind us all of what the commission that God has called us all to.

I don’t need to turn into the Bible. You know the scriptures very well. But in Matthew 28, Jesus Christ gave the Church the commission. He said,

“Go into all nations, make disciples in all nations, baptize them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19)

He said, “Teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20).

Earlier in Matthew 24, then He said, “The gospel of the Kingdom must be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations” (Matthew 24:14).

Today we live in a time when that can really happen, when the gospel can be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations. In Isaiah 58, when God was calling Isaiah and told him to prophesy to Israel, He told him to “cry aloud, spare not, tell My people their sin” (Isaiah 58:1). And when He told Isaiah, and Isaiah asked, “How long does that message have to be preached?” He said, “Until the cities are laid waste” (Isaiah 6:11).

So, all those commissions and all those things that God has called us to do, you and I all have a part in them. And Jesus Christ in the Bible tells us how we are to do those things, and He lets us know specifically that every single one of us has a role in caring for the congregations and with each other. In preaching the gospel and sounding that message to the whole world, every single one of us has a part. That’s why He called us. And He’s given us the roles that He gives us no matter where we live, no matter what we do, we all have a part in God’s Church and what He has called us to do. You know when Jesus Christ began His ministry, the gospels record different things that He said as His first words. In Matthew, as He was going through the great temptation and Satan tempted Him, Christ responded with, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, means we look at every word as we grow with God, as the Holy Spirit grows us and forms us and molds us into who He wants us to be, we pay attention to those words.

Lately, if you’ve heard me speak at all those in Cincinnati and maybe some few other places, have heard me talk about the adverbs. You know, all God needs to do is just say it. He can say a simple sentence, so we should pay attention to it, close attention to it. But when He punctuates it with adverbs like diligently, carefully, willingly, exactly, we really should pay attention. Live by every word of God. That’s part of what we do. That’s part of what we’ve been called to. That’s part of fulfilling the commission that God has. He also said in Mark, He said, “Repent. Repent and believe in the gospel.” And so, repentance, we know, is an ongoing process, it’s not a one-time thing. As we grow and as God molds us into who He wants us to be, we continually learn things and see things in ourselves that He exposes to us, and we put those things out of our lives so that we are continuing the process of becoming more and more like Him all the time.

So, God gives us many things that we can do that are part of our lives. You know, as we talk about speaking and the past year’s theme for the general conference and really for the whole Church, has been speaking the same thing. Because it is important what we speak to each other and our congregations, what we say to the world. As God’s Church, there’s one way, there’s one truth. There’s one way that Jesus Christ said it. One way that we believe, and we need to be judicious in that. And so, this past year’s theme was speaking of the same thing. So, if you will, turn with me to 1 Corinthians 1, we’ll just read where that theme came from. As a reminder, that theme won’t go away. It doesn’t disappear. Over the last year, we talked about it in various Churches. I’m sure pastors have talked about it in their Churches. As we’ve gone to regional conferences and conferences around the world, that’s been the theme of what we’re talking about, that we all need to be on the same page, teaching the same things.

And speaking it the same way, 1 Corinthians 1:10, as Paul speaks to a troubled Corinthian Church that’s living in a time much like we are, and in our day and age, “Now,” in verse 10, he says, “I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10).

Speak the same thing. The other thing that Jesus Christ would say to us and as He was on that last Passover that He was on earth before He was arrested, He continually said, “My will, Father, is that they become one with one other.” He wanted the unity. He wanted the people that He called to be at one with each other, unified with each other, all marching forward in the same way, all speaking the same thing, and unified with Him and the Father in heaven. And that’s part of our commission too. That’s part of what our calling is, to become like that.

It’s not a natural thing for human beings to be together as one, especially from various lands and various backgrounds, various weaknesses, faults, attitudes that we might have inherent in us, but we work on it. We strive for that unity. We strive and endeavor for that unity of word. And that unity that God longs for us to do. And so, speaking the same thing is just one element of that unity, and that will continue. You know, we will continue to work on that until Christ comes, that we are speaking the same thing. This year’s theme is Advance the Mission because we strive for that unity, but God’s will is that His Church moves forward. He never called us to be status quo. He never called us to be just the same, but He always said, “Move forward.”

We just came out of the Days of Unleavened Bread. And probably within the last week you heard preached, wherever you were on the last day of unleavened bread, Moses’ words as Israel was there at the foot of the Red Sea. And they were panicking because they didn’t know what to do, but God gave Moses timeless words to speak that applied then and they apply to us now, when He said, “Don’t panic. Don’t be afraid. Stand still. See the Salvation of the Lord, and tell My people to go forward.” Advance the mission. Keep moving forward. It’s the same theme that we read of in other parts of the Bible, as well. In Hebrew 6, you remember where it says, in the first few verses there, as Paul is talking to that group of people, “Let’s go on from the elementary principles” (Hebrews 6:1). Go on...to what? Perfection. Go on to perfection. Go on to blamelessness. Go on to spiritual maturity. Keep growing. Keep going. That’s the goal for all of us. Closer and closer to the way Jesus Christ is. The way He spoke. The way He thought. The way He got along with others. The love that He had for everyone. His commitment to the commission that God had given Him.

And at the end of the Bible, we read the same thing in Revelation 19:7, when it talks about the bride of Christ. It says that “that bride has made herself ready. She is clothed in linen, clean, and bright. They are together as one” (Revelation 19:7-8).

Having gone through this life that you and I are living now, always with that focus on mind, always with a vision on where God is taking, and what He has called us to, not allowing ourselves to get diverted by cares of this world, our own personal preferences, our own ideas, but always focused on what God’s will is and what He has called us to. So, advancing the mission is something that isn’t going to just end at the end of this year either, as the theme is a continuing theme. It will build on, speaking the same thing. It will build on growing the Church and doing the things that God would have us do until Christ returns and establishes His Kingdom on earth.

But now is the time that we’re preparing for that. Now is the time that God is preparing us. We can’t waste this time. We have to always keep those things in mind, and keep moving forward. spiritually and physically doing the things that God would have us do and the various commission that He gives us. You’ve heard it said many times. I know it’s been said already today. We live in a different time today than we did four or five years ago. We live in perilous times. We live in times where attitudes of people are just so much different than they were before COVID hit. There were always divisions and problems among people in the world, but not like today, not like the hate that’s there, not the hostility toward each other, not the violence that’s there, not all the other circumstances that I could repeat, but I’m not going to take the time to repeat now, because you know the world we live in. And as we watch all those buds open up on that prophetic tree that Jesus Christ talked about in Luke 21, we know the time is growing nearer.

And as that time grows nearer, it’s incumbent on us to draw nearer to God, to pay more attention to what we’re doing, to pay more attention to how we’re living our lives, to come more and more out of the world and really and truly, not just in words, but in our actions and our thoughts, our focus, and as God’s Spirit leads us to become more like Him. And that’s an important part of our advancing the mission of the Church. Because everyone in this room, everyone listening on the web, everyone who hears this, we have a part individually, in advancing that mission. Collectively, yes. We have a responsibility to each other, we have a responsibility to God, we have a responsibility to fulfill that commission.

Today I want to look at a few examples. Because at other times in physical Israel’s history and even spiritual Israel’s history, we see a time when the Church is entering into a new era where things step it up a little bit. Where the world has changed and something new is beginning. And God makes some strong statements as those things happen. Strong statements from them, really dramatic statements, almost shocking things that He does to get the message across of what He wants from His people, and how we each have a responsibility to fulfill that. We’re going to be turning back to Joshua. In the book of Joshua, we’ll look at chapter 7. But as you’re there, you’ll remember that really in a time of year, kind of right where we are now, the Israelites crossed the Jordan River. And they were camped there with this formidable city of Jericho with its tall walls. It looked like it was impenetrable.

And they were sitting there, and as they kept the Passover, they weren’t ready. They weren’t ready to go in and conquer Jericho, even with God doing all the work for them. There was something that they hadn’t done during their time in the wilderness. Something that had been left undone. And that was, as you can look it up in Chapter 6, none of the male children who were born in the wilderness had ever been circumcised. For whatever reason that was, it was just something they got away from, even though God had instituted that as a sign of the covenant between Him and His people. So, He said, “Before you go any further, everyone who’s not circumcised needs to be circumcised” (Joshua 5:2). Quite an undertaking for a million people or however many were there to have to go through that. But God said, “You’re not ready. You’re not ready. You need to do that.”

Now, we know today physical circumcision is nothing, one way or the other, but the spiritual circumcision, the circumcision of the heart that Paul talks about in Romans 2, that’s part of who we are. That’s part of being ready. That’s having stripped away the cares and concerns, and our personal weaknesses, and faults, and everything that God has...the commitment we make to Him to become like Him, and that when we become aware of this and that, or whatever it is, we give it to God. We put it behind us. We bury it, and we replace it with those fruits of the spirit as we consciously do that. So, Israel did that. They did that. They got ready, and then they marched into Jericho. And they marched around the city, and God had the walls fall down, as you know. And so, they could see the power of God. They knew that He was there. They had to do that in every single one, and God said, “You have to do it. You have to be ready.”

If we come to Chapter 7, we see that they’re fresh off of this victory that God has won for them at Jericho, and now they’re faced with this little city of Ai that’s there. And it looks like a small city. As you read through the chapter, you see as Joshua goes out and scouts it, he says, “Well, this is a small city. We don’t need to send many men over there.”

And so, in verse 4 of Chapter 7, it says, “About three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled from the people of Ai” (Joshua 7:4).

Well, here they were. Here’s this city, a comparatively small city, but Israel runs. What’s wrong? The funny thing is they were there to take the promised land. God led them into it. But there was something that held them back from doing that. In verse 5, it says, “The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them before the gates as far as these places. And therefore,” it says, at the end of that verse, “the hearts of the people melted and became like water” (Joshua 7:5).

Their confidence was gone. What happened? How could Jericho fall and this little city of Ai to have us running scared? What happened?

Joshua falls down. It says, in verse 6, “He tore his clothes. He fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel, and they put dust on their heads. And he cries out to God, ‘Alas, Lord God, why? Why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all? To deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us?’ Oh, if we had just been left over there, on the other side of the Jordan. What shall I do?’” (Joshua 7:6-8).

So, he’s asking the question, why? What happened? How could this have occurred? Why wasn’t the mission advanced? Why were you not with us as we wanted to take that city? And so, in verse 10, God speaks to Joshua. And He tells him something that is important for us to realize as we are here, however many are listening to this, “Get up, why are you lying there on your face? Israel has sinned...” (Joshua 7:10-11). Israel has sinned. There is sin in there and God was going to weed it out because just like they all needed to be circumcised to go into Jericho, they needed to be who God wanted them to be in order to advance the mission.

“They’ve transgressed,” going on in verse 11, “My covenant, which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things and have both stolen and deceived. And they have put it among their own stuff. That’s why,” He said, “that’s why you couldn’t stand before your enemies. That’s why that you turned their backs before their enemies, because they become doomed to destruction. And I won’t be with you anymore unless you destroy the accursed from among you.” So, He says, “You go out and you sanctify the people. They are My special people. They have a mission. I gave them a command. I gave them something to obey, and they disregarded it.” And you know the story as it goes through. It wasn’t all Israel. As God had Joshua go through the various ranks of all the tribes of Israel, it finally came down to just one man, Achan. Achan, who had taken it upon himself to just kind of disregard what God had said to do. And he took some of those things, and he kind of hid them, kept them away from everyone like that.

But God revealed, here’s the sin. “This one man in Israel sinned against Me. And I won’t have it,” God said, “I called you to be a special people. I called you all to obey me, to follow me, diligently, carefully, exactly, willingly, trusting in me.” And thirty-six people died because of what that one man did. Joshua was confused. What’s going on? But God revealed what those hidden problems were. And before Israel could advance in their mission to advance through the promised land, that sin had to be corrected and removed. And God, just like He accentuates some things with diligently, carefully, willingly, boy, He did it in dramatic fashion. Achan and his family died. They died because of that. Israel had to put them to death. The message, the clear message being, put the sin out. There is nothing hidden that won’t be revealed and then put it out. It is such a hard message, but Israel didn’t forget it.

God was making a very strong statement. If I tell you to do something, don’t reason among yourselves and think, “Well, it doesn’t really make any difference. God’s not really watching. It’s okay if I do this a little bit different than that.” No compromise. Do it exactly the way God said. Pay attention to what He said. “All of My people,” He said. And so, Israel had this little hiccup. Not so much of a hiccup because thirty-six people did die because of the action of one. But they learned a very strong lesson, and that lesson is for us today. When God says something, do it the way He said. Don’t compromise. Don’t water it down. Don’t reason and rationalize. Just do what God says. He makes it very clear in His Word. He makes it very clear in what He says.

Just do it.

Just do it.

That’s what you and I were called to. That’s what you and I committed to God that we would do. Now that’s a very painful lesson for Israel to learn. And I could look back at a few more places for just a moment in the Old Testament. But God gave a very strong message at a time when the people were moving into a different era of their lives.

We could go back, and we probably will go back, and look at Leviticus 10:3. We’ll see there that in Leviticus 10, you’ll remember that was a temple, the tabernacle was being built. There were some things that God said, and one of them was perpetual fire, the fire that came down from heaven. That was the fire that was to be used in sacrifices, and burning incense, and all those things. And Aaron knew what God had said. Moses knew what God had said. Doubtless, Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, knew what God had said. But for some reason, these young men thought, “Fire is fire. We’ll just go ahead and use this fire. Who will ever know?” And so, in Leviticus 10, you see, that there they are, offering profane fire, not the fire that God ordained. To the human mind, it would be like, “Well, what’s the difference? Fire is fire.” But God had a very dramatic statement, that He made to Aaron and to everyone from then on out, “Just do it the way I say. Use what I say. Don’t reason among yourselves. Don’t think it’s okay to replace this with that. Just use what I tell you to use.”

“So the fire,” in verse 2, Leviticus 10, “went out from the eternal. It devoured them. And they died” (Leviticus 10:2).

What a dramatic statement from God. Some people read these things, and they think it’s a cruel God, but remember, He does resurrect. Everyone will have a chance for salvation. But He makes a dramatic statement as an exclamation point, “I said do it this way. You didn’t. So, from here on out, do it My way.” Tough lesson to learn. Tough lesson for Aaron to learn.

In verse 3, words that we can take to heart among ourselves as we do the things that God says and live our lives His way, “Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord spoke,’ saying, ‘By those who come near Me, I must be regarded as holy. And before all the people, I must be glorified’” (Leviticus 10:3). There is an example that we set. How do we live our lives? How do we obey God? How do we keep the Sabbath? How do we live our lives in the world 24 hours a day the other six days of the week? Are we honest in our dealings? Are we examples of people of integrity who live by different standards in the world? Not compromising and being just a little bit above their standards but living up to the standards of Jesus Christ. The measure and stature of the fullness of Christ that that’s what we’re called to do. Nadab and Abihu didn’t do it. Guarantee you, Aaron, never forgot that. The other priests of God remembered that.

God means what He says. And if you’re going to be My people and you’re going to be in My Kingdom and if you’re going to serve in My temple if I’m going to build My temple inside you individually or collectively, do it God’s way. Not your way, not your ideas, do it the way God said. If you’re really committed to His commission, advance the mission of the Church, both within the Church and to the message outside, do it His way. Let Him lead, believe what He has to say. Another Old Testament example was Miriam and Aaron. You remember in Numbers 12, the time when they decided they would take it upon themselves to talk about Moses and who he married. And they had their opinions on what it was like, and if you read that account you see that Miriam and Moses, are kind of like, “Well, who’s Moses? God’s revealed these things to us as well.” And God listened. They may have thought they were just talking among themselves and doing the things that people do, but God heard.

And in Numbers 12 you see that Miriam was struck with leprosy. Another one of those exclamation points. No, no, no. Gossiping, rumors, slander, all those things that you do to try to discredit, God said, “Don’t do it. That doesn’t happen in My Church. That isn’t the way things go in this Church.” Truth, doing things His way, and following what God said, letting Him lead the Church. And Miriam and Moses… and Miriam might have died if it wasn’t for Moses’ intercession and said, “Please God, don’t let her die.” She still had to suffer with it for seven days, but it was an exclamation point that God said “that’s not among My people. That’s not the way things go. If you’re going to be My people, if you’re going to advance the mission if you really are interested in the Kingdom coming and being part of it, then that doesn’t happen among My people.” You might say, “Those are all Old Testament examples. God doesn’t really work that way today,” but He does in the New Testament.

Let’s go back to or go forward, I guess, to Acts 5. We find the early New Testament Church that is now growing, and the people are living together as we see in Acts 2. A very good example to the people outside. They are all abiding with the apostle’s doctrine. They are all speaking the same thing, believing the same thing. They are getting along with one another. They have moved in together. They are part of the fellowship. God has put them in His body, and they are breaking bread from house to house. And they have that relationship with God. The prayers to God, that bind them together with Him and each other. And you have a very beautiful picture that even people who didn’t believe had admiration for what was going on among that people. And so, the Church grew, and the Church progressed. And then you have, in Acts 4, kind of the account of Peter. And he is out boldly proclaiming the message.

And they have these things about people selling things and having them in common. And in... I’m in the wrong chapter. Acts 4, as we lead into chapter 5, we see that Joseph who was named Barnabas by the apostles, translated the son of encouragement, we know who he is. He was a figure in the New Testament Church. A Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostle’s feet. He didn’t have to do it. He willingly did it. He wanted to do that, and he became a known man, had a good attitude, encouraging people. But then as you begin Chapter 5, you see it begins with the word “but.”

“But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and they brought a certain part and laid it at the apostle’s feet” (Acts 5:1-2).

And so, here they had this conspiracy, for what reason? Well, we might see, in a moment, what that reason was that they did this for.

“But Peter perceived, God made it known to him what was going on. And he said Ananias, ‘Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?’” (Acts 5:3).

He was never commanded to sell the land. He was never commanded to give it all. He wanted to do it, but then he lied. He kind of came forward for a reason and Peter saw it.

“Why did Satan fill your heart? Why did you lie? Why didn’t you just say, ‘I’m giving part of it. Ten percent, fifty percent.’ Whatever it is, it made no difference. Why did you lie? What was Satan putting in your heart?” Because it’s Satan who puts things in our hearts to do things. And if we stopped and thought, we would realize it’s not of God. Well, there’s one of those exclamation points right there. Ananias dropped dead. Everyone saw it.

Perhaps the first time this happened in Israel, that someone would come forward with that type of attitude. Whatever it is that Peter said, “Why has Satan put this thought in your heart? Why did you think it was okay to do this in My body, in My Church?” And he dropped dead. And then his wife not knowing that he was dropped dead, she came forth and did exactly the same thing. She also lied, and the same thing happened to her. How sad is that story? Everyone there learned a lesson. If we look down at verse 13, well, verse 11, it says, “Great fear.” Fear of God, recognizing His power, them realizing, “Oh, we’ve been called to do things God’s way, not our way. Not trying to force our ideas or having our own little things to do on or whatever motivates us.”

“Great fear came upon all the Church and upon all who heard these things.” God means what He says. We better watch our attitudes too. What are we doing? Are we coming before Him with purity of heart, purity of motive?

We just came out of the Days of Unleavened Bread.

Psalm 139:23, David’s heart-filled prayer when he says, “Search me, is there any wicked way in me?”

What is my motivation? Is my motivation the same as your motivation? Am I really praying, “Thy Kingdom come”? Am I really striving for unity am I really following Jesus Christ? Do I really believe that He is going to return and establish His Kingdom? And do I really believe and want to be there, and understand that I need to be becoming like Him, to be there? He gives us His Holy Spirit. He gives us all the tools we need to do that, but Ananias and Sapphira, they just sort of cast it aside for a while and had a little plan among themselves, but they lost. They lost a lot, but the rest of the people saw, and they knew God means what He says.

And you see that once this happens, look what happens to the Church. Once it is purified, once that attitude was out of there, the Church grows. Good things happen when we are a people that are pleasing to God, when we are a people that are living by God’s way, and God’s precepts, by being led by His Holy Spirit, not doing things the way the world says or our own way of doing, but following Him, following Jesus Christ, who is the head of this Church, who does lead us where He wants to go. He is the way. He is the truth. He will lead us. Do we want to be people who would interrupt that mission? Do we want to be people who would slow that down because He will advance the mission when we are all together with Him? And through the signs or, “Through the hands of the apostles,” it says, in verse 12, “many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord” (Acts 5:12).

They were all together as one. God had gotten their attention. They knew we do things God’s way.

“They were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch” (Acts 5:12).

And then in verse 13, we get a clue as to what Ananias and Sapphira were looking to do. “Yet none of the rest of them,” all the rest of the people who heard these things, “none of the rest dared join them” (Acts 5:13). If we were thinking about doing things like Ananias and Sapphira if we thought, “Well, we could be a Barnabas if we do this, so, if we could do this and have this attached to our name and make it look like something we are because we have to have that notoriety or whatever,” none of the rest of them did that. None of the rest of them there joined them, but the people esteemed the apostles highly. God said this is the way to get things get done in His Church.

“And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them” (Acts 5:14-15).

And so, we have things that begin to happen to the Church when it’s purified, the very thing that God has called us to do. I heard this morning, 1 John 3:3, I use it a lot too, “Anyone who has that hope in Him purifies himself.” God is seeking a pure people. People who are dedicated to becoming like Him, not just in word but in action. That we all work together on that, and that as we work together on that, as we’ve become that, God will advance the mission. We can do all the things, we can blast the world with YouTube ads, TV ads, whatever it is, if we are not living, if we are not individually and collectively being the people that God wants us to be, we can interrupt the mission God will not bless. God blesses us, blesses His Church when we live His way just like in our individual lives.

I often remind myself, when I hear people say, “Just bless what we do,” well, I think, if we are doing things God’s way, yes. Because the thing is we must do things God’s way with the right attitudes, with the right heart, all committed to Him. And when we do things His way, the blessings happen. But it’s upon each of us to live our lives that way. And if our hearts are truly in the work, if our hearts are truly in advancing the mission, and speaking the same thing, and achieving the unity that God wants to have, because when we do those things that energy will be there, the zeal will be there for God’s work. When we don’t do things God’s way, it waters things down, it saps the energy, it devolves into all the things of the world that we see around us that just interrupt and make life irritating and frustrating. All of us want that unity and purpose of just moving forward, and all being together as one, letting God lead this work. But it takes each one of us to become that way. That’s the responsibility each one of us have, every single one of us.

The Achans, he was just an Israelite, but look what he did. Ananias and Sapphira, who were they? They didn’t have a position, they sought a position. Nadab and Abihu, they weren’t Aaron who did it, they were young men who just didn’t pay attention to God. They didn’t understand the purpose. And I would say, young people get to know the commission of God, understand what it is He’s called you to, the Holy Spirit and the power of it, that would bring that zeal into your life, that will make you read those words and understand life is worth living. It’s pretty exciting when you know God’s will. It’s very exciting when you know what His plan is and you’re working together, all of us as one, to have that happen. You want energy, you want purpose, you want meaning in your life, you want fulfillment? Do we really pray Jesus Christ return, thy Kingdom come? Oh, He will. We will, if we put our minds to it and if we make our minds, using God’s Spirit, to be that He wants us to be.

It will take a few more minutes. Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 6. I’m going to begin in verse 12. Because with these examples and where we are in life and what we’re doing, you know, God wants us to come out of the world. Now is the time to come more and more out of the world, “Sanctify them by truth,” Jesus Christ said, “separate them by truth.” And we need to be separated by truth, and understanding the truth more, and making sure we are living it more and more in our lives.

2 Corinthians 6:12, “You are not restricted by us...” Paul says, ‘We’re not the ones restricting you, you’re restricting yourselves. You’re restricted by your own affections.’”

You’re doing what you want rather than what God wants. Do any of us want God, to ever say that to us, “you’re being restricted because of what you want”? If we go, down to verse 14, he says, “Don’t be unequally yoked together as unbelievers or with unbelievers. What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

Even in our own minds if it’s lawless, if it’s apart from God’s law, cast it out. “What agreement,” verse 16, “has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:16). Don’t defile His temple, individually or collectively, we all have that responsibility. Verse 17, “Therefore, ‘Come out from among them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Don’t even touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. And I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters’” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).

So, we need to... As a people, every one of us, and I include myself in that, why do we do the things we do? What do we do? Are we following God? You know, Peter, makes the comments, or here in 1 Peter 2, I’ll read it. And this is my closing scripture. So, following what Mr. Chick said, I know everyone’s breathing a sigh of relief, so okay. 1 Peter 2:1, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, all hypocrisy, all envy, all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow, thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:1-3).

If you know this is the way, if you are living the way of God, you will feel that peace that you heard that no one else...the world doesn’t understand. You will feel that energy and that sense of revival, as you walk with God, you will do that, as you do that.

If you’ve tasted that the Lord is gracious, coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, sooner or later in this life, we will be rejected because of what we believe, but chosen by God and precious. You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. He called us. He laid the foundation. We have His Spirit. We have His truth. He will lead us, and He will guide us. And as we commit more and more to the unity that God wants in speaking the same thing, in working with one another, united behind Jesus Christ, He will lead. He will lead us to His Kingdom. He would say to the Church of God, “Move forward. Move forward.”