God is fair, rich, bountiful, loving, kind, and gracious. In order to serve Him, we must know Him in all these aspects. Because He is fair, bountiful, and gracious, He has no problems with His people when they contend for food and water. Since He is not angry with His people when they contend for their necessities, those who serve Him should likewise not be angry with them in such a situation.

Serving God involves caring for God's people. Therefore, it is not sufficient for us simply to be right with God; we must also be right in our attitude toward God's people. Our attitude toward God's people should be according to God's nature. In Numbers 20 Moses should have had such an attitude toward the children of Israel. He should have realized that the people were in need of water. He should have also considered that since water is a necessity, God in His fairness would not be angry with His people but would instead supply them with water. They were not contending for their lust—they were contending for their need. In this matter Moses should have had regard for God's nature and should not have cared for his own feeling. Because Moses cared for his feeling and not for God's nature, he was offended and became angry. God, however, did not have a problem with His people on this occasion. In contrast to Moses, who was angry, God was fair, bountiful, and loving.

In this message I am especially concerned about the young saints, who have a long spiritual journey ahead of them. In order to complete this journey in a proper way, we need to know God in His nature, especially in relation to His people. Whether or not our service to the Lord is lasting will depend on our attitude toward His people. Our attitude toward the people of God must be according to God's holy nature. In order to be right in our attitude, we must know God's nature. We need to realize that in His nature God is fair, bountiful, rich in supply, loving, gracious, and merciful. Whenever we see something in God's people which, to our view, is not right, we need to consider the situation according to God's nature. If we do this, we will be right in relation to God's people. Otherwise, we will be wrong and fail to sanctify Him.

To sanctify God means to respect and have regard for His holy nature. God is altogether different from everyone. He is different not only from the false gods but also from every human being. Since God is different from everyone, we must not make Him common. We must not lower Him to our level. He is special and particular, and we must sanctify Him, considering Him according to what He is in His nature. Furthermore, our attitude toward God's people should not be according to our feeling and preferences but according to God's nature. Whenever we are about to deal with His people, we must be mindful of God's nature. Then we will be preserved from the serious mistake of failing to sanctify Him in what He is.

God has His economy, and His economy includes all His actions. The actions of God's economy are mainly related to Christ and to His Body, the church. Therefore, if we would act according to God's economy, we must have much consideration concerning Christ and the church.

Sometimes the situation in the church is not pleasant because among the saints there is much contending. What is the reason for this contending? The reason may be that the people of God are short of the living water, short of the Spirit of life. The way to deal with this shortage is to speak to Christ, for He is the rock that continually follows the church.