Would you turn with me this morning to... Well, I'll let you turn with me first, if you will, to Jude, and then we'll go back to numbers that we were talking from in reference to Korah. But we'll read the portion first, and then we'll go to numbers. First, I'd like to read the portion in Jude that has to do with the purpose of this epistle. It's a short epistle, just 25 verses, one chapter. So it's one of the shortest of the epistles. 17th verse, but beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time. who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, I underline that, having not the spirit. Now it would be well if I could say this to remember that, that in the last time mockers will come. And there's plenty of mockers in the world today. Mocking our faith. Mocking our Christ. Mocking the church. Mocking everything the church stands for. Mockers who mock the Lord's coming. Peter speaks of that. They will come and say, where is the promise of his coming? For all things continue as they were in the beginning. And then Peter says, but the Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men consider slackness for a thousand years or a day in the sight of the Lord. Don't you get arrogant in your mind that God has changed his plan one iota. Christ is coming. And so he says there'll be mockers in the last days who will separate themselves from the true church and they will be sensual. and they will have not the Spirit of God. They've been part of the professing church, but have not the Spirit of God. Now may I make that clear, that no congregation per se shall ever enter the kingdom of heaven. There is no possibility of a congregation in totality entering the kingdom of heaven. I would doubt that under the greatest preaching, whether it be Billy Graham, whether it be going back to Paul or Peter or Christ himself, as we remember, preaching throughout, only one quarter of the seed received and bore fruit. So that I would assume from that, that no matter what I preach and in what power I preach, There will always be those within the confines of the congregation who will not have really, in their hearts, taken Christ as personal Savior. That judgment is not mine. That judgment is God's. The Lord makes it clear in the parable of the wheat and tares that the wheat and the tares shall grow up side by side. But He said, do not seek to pull the tares out. They look the same as the wheat. This is not your job. He says, lest in doing so you disturb the wheat. In other words, for any preacher to try to discern who is saved and who is lost is an impossibility. I have to go by testimony of mouth and evidences of life, that's all. God says, by their fruits he shall know them. I would have to say that if I were to, by some vision, look at the congregation and say, by fruits they are known, even then I would not seek to make a judgment, because that kind of a judgment is not in a man's hands. We are not to judge such things as salvation. I may tell you, upon the grounds of the Word of God, and so may you, where the Scripture is very clear on this, where The Lord talks to his disciples, and especially to Peter, and says, I tell you that whatsoever sins ye remit, they are remitted, and whatsoever sins ye retain, they are retained. And I can tell you upon the authority of the Word of God that when I preach the gospel, or when you are witnessed to by someone else, and upon that witness, I say to you, do you believe on Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin? And you say to me, no, I do not believe it. I can say upon the authority of the Word of God, I say unto you then that your sins are retained. They are not remitted. I wish they were, but they are not remitted, since you have not accepted the only possibility of forgiveness. And so upon the authority of the Word of God, as I preach from this pulpit, I can say that. Whatsoever sins are remitted, are remitted upon the grounds of faith in Jesus Christ. And whatsoever sins are retained, are retained upon the basis of no faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior. For there is no possibility of forgiveness of sins without the blood of Jesus Christ. For the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. Then without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. So let us make that very, very clear. that the only possibility of that redemption is in the blood of Christ. In the last days, there will be those who will separate themselves. Sensual. We see plenty of that today. They want all kinds of freedoms. Freedom to do as they please. Freedom to use their bodies as they please. Freedom to set up a new moray and pattern for man. That he has the freedom to do as he pleases about sex and about every other problem that man faces today. But this is not of God. This has nothing to do with the word of God. This is that which people try to establish for themselves. It's only normal for the natural man to try to establish a natural realm for his expression. But for the child of God, this would not have any part in their life. And so, the writer of Jude here is letting us know that we're to be careful. There'll be mockers in that last time who'll walk after their own ungodly lusts. And these be they who separate themselves sensual and have not the spirit. So that you make no mistake about this, where you hear of a preacher who's ordaining premarital relationships and all of this, and you're getting it from pretty high sources in the ministry, Just forget it and look at this verse here and say, okay, I understand. God says he has not the Spirit. That should be very clear. You don't have to go beyond that. You just know that that's true. Now, over in the 11th verse, and then I want to go to numbers. 11th verse, he speaks of Cain, Balaam, and Korah. Three men. I spoke to you about Cain and the way of Cain and how Cain sought to bring the wrong sacrifice to God. He brought her the fruit of the ground and God accepted the sacrifice of Abel because Abel brought the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof, indicating that Abel knew that only a sacrifice, only that which said, I know I deserve death for sin, God My father, Adam, told me, I know, I know the wages, I know the trials, I know the burdens my mother and father went through. I have accepted the wisdom of my father and the wisdom of my mother in telling me. And Cain refused that wisdom. And because of that, Cain became the first murderer. He was jealous of his brother because God accepted his brother's sacrifice. And God gave, remember, Cain the same opportunity. He said to Cain, Cain, will I not do the same for thee if thou dost come the way of thy brother? I have accepted thy brother's offering. I've had respect for it. Would I not respect thine if it were like thy brother's? And yet Cain decided he wanted to come the way he wanted to come. There is a way that seems right to man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death. Balaam, on the other hand, was a prophet of God. God used him. And yet, for the reward of unrighteousness, he sought to curse Israel. And for receiving a reward, a monetary reward, he was going to seek to curse the people of God. And God would not allow Balaam to curse the people of God. When Balaam says, why, when I would curse Israel, God blesses them. What am I going to do? And Balak the king is completely upset with Balaam. And Balaam ends just as Cain did, slain. Just remember, as Cain's whole lineage finally ceased at the flood, there's no descendants of Cain. They're all gone. And Balaam dies at the hands of his enemies. He's slain because he thought that he could accept the wages of unrighteousness. He could accept a bribe. He could accept money and then seek to curse the people of God, and God would not do it. I'm not going to go into all the rest just to say these two men suffered the judgment of God. Now we come to Korah, and Korah is a different one entirely. Now if you'll turn with me to Numbers, the 16th chapter, for this is where the record of Korah is. Now may I say this, the word Korah that you see over in Jude is the same as the Korah. you are seeing in the 16th chapter are numbers. Korah is the Hebrew, Koreh is the Greek, just so you understand exactly what this man did. I'll read a few verses, I'll give you an idea of what happened, and then just for a few minutes, discuss some of the implications to us. Now Korah, the son of Eshah, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and I underlined that, the son of Levi, and then there's two others, Dathan and Abraham, the sons of Eliab and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel, 250 princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown. And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said unto them, ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them. And the Lord is among them. Wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord. And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face. You know, there's a good lesson there. Here's the leader of the people. And here they're going to come up against him and oppose his leadership. Well, you know, ordinarily when this happens, you know, and the leader is opposed. there are fits of anger, and he'd come back. What do you mean you're going to do this, you see? But you notice what Moses does, he goes right to God. He falls upon his face before the Lord. Notice that. He fell upon his face, and he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, even tomorrow, notice he doesn't talk about Moses, even tomorrow the Lord will show who are his and who is holy, and will cause him to come near unto him, even him whom he, the Lord, hath chosen. will he cause to come near unto him. Each thing is the Lord. Nothing about Moses. This do. Take you senses, Korah, and all his company, and put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow. And it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy. Ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. Seemeth it but a small thing unto you that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? This was Korah's place. And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren, the sons of Levi, with thee. Now notice. And seek ye the priesthood also? Ah, this was what it was. Korah wanted Aaron's job. Remember that. Korah wanted Aaron's place. Seek ye the priesthood also, God appointed Aaron as high priest of Israel. for which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord. And what is Aaron that ye murmur against him? Now may I just stop there for a minute. Chapter 16 is a chronological record of man's utter failure before God. And yet, it's a shining story of the exhaustless mercy of God. That even though men fail, God's mercy is exhaustless. His grace is abundant. Remember that verse in the New Testament where sin abounded? Grace did much more abound. God's unmerited favor. And so in this record, in number 16, we see this tremendous lesson God is putting down for us in the wilderness, the terrible sin of man and the exhaustless grace of our God. Now, all the descendants, as I said, of Cain perished. Balaam perished. Now we have come to Korah. And may I just mention this in passing. 1 Corinthians 10, 11 says, all these things are happened to them in the past for examples to us. Their destruction should be our caution. Their destruction has to be our caution. In other words, if we sin as they sinned, then we should not expect anything except the same judgment. Am I right? Is that not fair? If a man sins such as David sinned, shall not the man then expect the same judgment as David was judged with? If a man sins in such a way as it is already revealed in the scripture, what makes that man or that woman think that they shall escape the judgment of God? It is an absolute impossibility, and yet this is how the human mind reasons so often. Somehow, that even though God has judged others, and though they can read of the judgment, and though they can peruse it and see every single thing that happened to that individual, in the Bible itself, in the word of God, somehow they feel that because of themselves and their peculiar needs, or because of the fact that they have an idea that maybe they could get away with it, that they will escape the judgment of God. And yet God says in that 1 Corinthians 10, 11, these things happen done to them for examples to you so that you won't make the same mistakes. And this is exactly what happened with Korah. May I just take two things here? Number one, the most important thing said here is that Korah looked for the priesthood. He looked for the priesthood. He thought the priesthood was something, and I'm going to pull this over into the New Testament. He thought that the priesthood was something that he himself could take upon himself. God is going to give us a tremendous example here for the church, the New Testament. God ordained one man high priest of Israel, Aaron. Korah is a son of Levi. Moses says to him, are you not satisfied? What's wrong? Has God not made the sons of Levi those who serve in the tabernacle of the Lord? God's given you a high and holy position, but you want more than this now. You want the priesthood. You want Aaron's job. Moses saw right through it. And he said, you'll remember that God ordained Aaron. And beloved, the high priesthood, the priesthood of God. And when we call a man a priest, we mean he has access to God. No one gets to God unless they're a priest. If you are not a believing priest this morning, you'll never enter into the presence of God. Martin Luther's whole treatise is based upon one theological truth. All men are priests. The priesthood of all believers is that which drove Martin Luther to that point where that salvation was by grace through faith and every single one came to God and received Christ into his heart and became a priest so that he had continual access into the Holy of Holy. Now Aaron was the only one that had this access, and Korah did not. Korah had to come through Aaron to God. Korah got all of these ones around him, gathered them behind him, 250, it says, princes of the congregation, and he brought them, and these other two that he brought with him, and they wanted the priesthood. You take too much upon you. We're just as good as you are. Why don't we have access? You can picture this in a congregation, can't you? Here's the pastor, he preaches salvation is by grace, through faith, through the blood of Jesus Christ. As I said before, as I was talking about Romans, no one has access to God but by the blood of Jesus Christ. And there are those in the congregation when I say that, they're saying, that's what Pastor Guillen thinks, but I pray every night to God and I get through. God says to Korah through Moses, now you seek the priesthood, and you know that only Aaron is the high priest. And you know, Korah, that you are a son of Levi, and the sons of Levi can never be priests of God. You know that the only way an individual can be a priest of God is if they are sons of Aaron. Aaron is the high priest, and only his own sons can be those priests of God. This is that which I have set down. Now let me come over to the New Testament. Here we are. Let me read it to you first, all right? Let's turn over to Peter, all right? Let's go over to 1 Peter. The second chapter, 1 Peter 2, verses 9 to 11. Now I want you to see, here's Peter speaking. Here's Peter, if I can use this word, because they call him this, and I shall call him that for the moment. Many call him the first pope. But I want you to see what Peter has to say. Very important, very important. Here's what he says to the church. And if you notice the first chapter, he makes very clear, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus and Galatia and Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. So he's not talking to just the disciples. He's talking to all the strangers that he doesn't even know. But he says, you're true believers. Now, I have something to say to you. You are a chosen generation. You are, would you read it for me? A what? Pastor, would you say that again, please? He's talking to strangers that he never met who have come to Christ as personal Savior. And he says, you are a chosen generation. Why are we a chosen generation? Because we're regenerate. A chosen generation of regenerate people. Those have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God. Our bodies have become what? The temples of the Holy Ghost. And so, here we are, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. Notice, we're a holy nation. You know, God's covering everything here. He says, you're a chosen generation. Don't worry about the generations of men. You're a new generation. In Adam, all die. In Christ, all shall be made alive. You're a new generation. New creatures in Jesus Christ. You're a royal priesthood. I'll go back to that. You're a holy nation. He says, now the United States may be having a lot of problems. They may have a lot of problems in Russia too, but I have my believers over there. I don't want you to worry. Your citizenship is in heaven. Nobody can touch it. Nobody can take it away from you. You'll never be a man without a country. You have a country whose builder and maker is God, and no one can take you out of the hand of God. You're a holy nation. Your citizenship is in heaven, and your king is King Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords and the only high potentate over what? All the earth. Holy nation. A peculiar people. Yes, very, very peculiar. Not odd. May I make this clear? Not odd, all right? You know, we use that word peculiar today in an unusual fashion. But not an odd people, just peculiar to the world, that's all. All you have to do, young people, is really testify for Jesus Christ in your office. And I want to tell you something, they'll look at you like peculiar and even odd. And God warns you, ahead of time, you'll be a peculiar people. But you're a royal priesthood. Now remember, of Aaron, he is Korah. I want the priesthood. He says, you're not of Aaron. Why do you want Aaron's job? You know better. You're of the congregation of Israel. You know it's only Aaron and his sons. Here we come to the New Testament, and Peter says, you're a royal priesthood. He says, don't you see the difference? Can't you see the Old Testament priest? Had to be, he says, Aaron and his sons. Now, he says, notice what's happened to you. You are a royal priesthood because you have become a son of God in Jesus Christ and only the sons of God. Just as Aaron's children were the high priest of old, he the high priest and the family priest Even so, Jesus Christ is your high priest. We're told that in Hebrews, we have a high priest in the heavens, touched for the feeling of our infirmities and tested in every point as we are. And here we come now as the very children of God and the brethren of Christ. And you can't be less than a priest. And you are a royal priest. because you are the brethren of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And the only high potentate over all. Isn't it tremendous? You couldn't be less than a praise. If you're a son of God, then Jesus is the first begotten son. And he says in Hebrews, I am not ashamed to call you my brethren. then you cannot be less than a priest. And only priests have access to God. That's the rule of the whole of the Bible. And so God says, now it's all changed. He says, under Moses' law, Aaron was the high priest, and only the sons according to the flesh could be the priests. Now it's changed. Now you're a royal priesthood, and it's only according to the Spirit that I make priests. Because I put the very Spirit of Christ. Jesus says, I will give you my Spirit and He will abide with you forever. And He will make your bodies the very temples of the living God. And you'll be priests with continual access, night and morning, in the darkest moments, in the brightest moments, on the train, in the kitchen, wherever you are. You can turn to me because You're the priest, the brethren of Christ, royal priesthood of God. Live up to thy calling with the access thou hast into the very presence of God. How many of you privilege yourselves as the priest of God? Read it again. Peter says to the strangers in the first verse, of the first chapter to the strangers at Pontus and Bithynia and the cities. I want to tell you, you believers I've never met before, I'm so glad you didn't have to have them on the membership rolls, aren't you? Isn't that great? You know, if you go in some places, they say to you, well, now we'd like to let you have the Lord's supper this morning, but you haven't signed in. And by the way, What church do you go to? Oh, you're a Baptist. Well, I'm sorry, we don't have fellowship with the Baptists. Isn't it great? To the strangest. He says, do you really love the Lord Jesus? Then are you a royal priesthood? You're a holy nation. You've been gathered out from all the nations of the earth. You're a peculiar people. You belong to me. Oh beloved, listen. Are you engaging in the priest occupation? Or are you engaging in the world's occupations? If God's called you, look at how people look at a priest sometimes. Maybe less today than they used to, you know? They have an idea that the physical priesthood, which has no place in the world today because here Peter shuts it all out. He says, don't let anyone ever tell you strangers that it's possible for any man to take the priesthood to himself and go through some educational system and he goes through some seminary and he comes out and he's a priest and you're not. If you do that, you will always find there's a man between you and God. And there is but one mediator between God and man, the Lord Christ Jesus. And he is the high priest, and you are the priest. And only priests have access to God. Otherwise, it will be necessary that you come into a building so you can meet me. But I've chased her a lot. I've gotten rid of it. Well, and he says in Hebrews, He says, we worship no longer in a building made with hands, which was but a figure of the true, but now in the true temple of God. And that temple, beloved, is our bodies, purified in the blood of Jesus from all sin, though we yet be sinners. And Christ sealing it in his blood and dwelling in our breast, that we might say, oh Lord Jesus, in all humility and at all the depths of my spirit, I hardly feel worthy to call thee my brother, yet thou hast said to me, I call you my brethren, because you're part of the very body of Christ. We are members of the body of Christ, members of his flesh and of his bones, and he's the head of the body. Here's the true temple, living stones built up into a holy temple for God. Oh, listen. Have you taken advantage of your priesthood, believer? Have you? How much access do you have to God? A true priest who really loves the Lord Jesus Christ is in continual communion with his Father. As I said at the prayer meeting the other night, it's possible for a woman to be about the chores of the house. It's possible for a man to be on his job and his business. It's possible for a young person to be in school over their studies and at the same time, be uttering a prayer to Jesus Christ, and it's the only place in your life that I believe this is possible. It's not possible for the mind to do two things at once well, but you can pray and be in school and you can labor over your job in the office and still be praying. Why? Because God gave you the capacity when he gave you the Holy Spirit and made you a royal priesthood. Thanks be unto his name. Do you really know him? Do you? If you really know him, what I have said to you this morning is the most exciting thing that you could ever imagine. Because the great theological debate throughout all the world is but one when it comes down to its basics. Has a man the right to have direct access to God? Is this not arrogant on the part of man? The answer of God is yes. As long as you're a member of the body of Christ, which is the true church, you are a royal priest, and I will entertain you not as a fleshly priest, but as a very son of God. Praise his name. Let us pray. Now, Father, we thank Thee for Thy blessed word. Blessed to our hearts this morning, we do thank Thee, Lord, for the access that we have into Thy presence and that we are a royal priesthood. Lord, impress it in our hearts. This was the whole meaning of the Reformation. What has happened to the Church, Lord? It's forgotten everything from its early beginnings. When the Bible became an open book, what has happened to that faith that takes a life and through the Holy Spirit of God cleanses from sin in the cross of Calvary and gives the spirit that we might be the children of God, the sons of God, and part of this holy nation, this chosen generation, this royal priesthood of God. Oh, Lord. fill our hearts. Lord, don't let inertia develop in the hearts of the children of the last days. We're warned about this. There's a coldness. Thou hast said a spirit of slumber will fall upon the people. Many will believe a lie. Father, how we pray that we might be amongst those who love in Christ with all our hearts. We'll see ourselves as part of that holy nation already, part of that royal priesthood, part of that chosen generation, chosen by Thee, to come and have glorious access into Thy wonderful presence. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.