Be diligent unto righteousne..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. And by God's grace, I want us to meditate this afternoon on verse 14 on the third chapter of this letter. Verse 14 and the truth and the exhortation that the Spirit of God gives to his church through the words that were uttered and pained by this apostle.

And of course, an exhortation that is given to us. That exhortation is found there in verse 14. And the exhortation given to us from above is that we will be diligent, presently diligent unto righteousness, or when it comes to righteousness, awaiting and expecting the coming of the Lord. That is what he says there in verse 14. If you brothers and sisters and children that you have your Bibles there, we read carefully that verse 14, it says, Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for this, namely the new heavens and the new earth, be diligent.

That is the main exhortation. Be diligent to be found by Him, the Lord, without spot or without blemish and at peace. Perhaps you have a different translation. It may say something like in peace, without blemish and without a spot. That is the exhortation that we are going to be meditating upon.

And that is the whole message. That is the simple message that is stated in that verse, beloved of Christ, brothers, sisters, friends and children who are following there with your Bibles, that those who by grace through faith profess to be united to Christ, in light of the future reality of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, are to be presently diligent when it comes to righteousness. If by grace through faith you call yourself to be a Christian, the exhortation that the Bible gives you for the present is that in light of this future reality of the coming of the Lord, new heavens and new earth, that you are not only to be righteous or holy, but that you're to be diligent, that you are to strive, that you're to be diligent unto righteousness. There is a sense in which this sermon can come to the end because that is just the plain teaching of that verse. But what we're going to be doing, of course, is that we're going to be reading the whole chapter three, getting the context of where this statement is given.

And then we're going to remind ourselves of that context. And then we're going to understand the theology or the message of that verse. Because my purpose is not only to tell you to be diligent in this present time, but to tell you how to be diligent. That is, of course, not found in the text, but it's found in Scripture. So we are going to see the context of what we have in front of us.

We are going to understand the verse. And once we understand the verse, I'm going to tell you how to be diligent to or unto righteousness, awaiting for the coming of the Lord. And if by grace through faith you have been inserted into the person of Jesus Christ, righteousness or holiness, present righteousness or present holiness, I imagine and I pray that is one of your concerns, that is one of your desires, that is one of the things in your soul that you desire to grow in holiness and in righteousness. And the exhortation given to us from above is not only that we are to have this concept of holiness or righteousness without blame, without a spot, at peace, as an abstract concept, but that you are called to be diligent. So as this man is speaking from this pulpit, there are two types of people in front of me and within the sound of my voice.

Those who are careless about their righteousness and holiness. Those who are indifferent to it. Those who are okay going through motions in their Christianity. And those who, genuinely in the Spirit, desire to know, by the illumination of the same Spirit, how to be diligent, because they are not my words, clearly stated there in verse 14. That is the plain teaching, beloved of Christ.

and children who are following with the sermon, that if you are genuinely in Christ, you are to be presently diligent unto righteousness without blemish, without spot, awaiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, awaiting for that day. So, beloved of Christ, as we have said those things, let's now read together chapter three and let's get the context of that teaching in verse 14 and let's do it together. No wasting our time. Remember what I said last week about obedience in the flesh and obedience in the Spirit? We are coming now before the Lord and we're doing it either in the flesh or in the Spirit.

Not wasting your time. Brother, sister, do not waste your time. If you willingly choose to waste your time, just simply leave and depart and depart from religion and Christianity. Do not waste your time. We come to hear the words of destruction from a scripture, waiting and hoping that we will be conformed to the image of our glorious savior, Jesus Christ.

So we're going to be reading together, brothers, sisters, friends and children who are following there with your Bibles, carefully reading the context of that verse in verse 14. And then we will hope in the in the heart that we will understand as we read and that we will hear the words of our Savior. Chapter three. Of Second Peter. This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved.

In both of them, I'm stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles. Knowing this, first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of this the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.

But by the same word, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly." Verse 8, But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. The Lord is not as slow to fulfill His promise as some count His lowness, but is patient toward you or toward us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, And then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed or burned up. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for a hastening, the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn?

but according to His promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Verse 14, Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for this, be diligent, be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish and at peace, and count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction as they do the other scriptures. You, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and to the day of eternity.

Amen. And this is the word of the Lord. As I said, beloved of Christ, our focus this afternoon is in verse 14, in which the clear exhortation plainly given there is that the Christian is to be presently diligent when it comes to righteousness without blemish or without a spot in light of our looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth. What we have been discussing in these last weeks when I have had the opportunity to address you from this pulpit, beloved of Christ, is generally the topic of the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord, that according to Peter, this day of the Lord is this day of destruction, or this day of judgment, or this day of God, as he reads or as he writes there in the middle of chapter 3, or as the ESV calls it in the end, in the last verse, this day of eternity.

There's another term that this apostle Peter uses for this day of the Lord and that is found there in verse 8 and verse 9, that is His promise. His promise, verse 9, "...the Lord is not allowed to fulfill His promise." What is His promise? The promise of the day of the Lord.

And one of the very important things that I have said to you, beloved of Christ, is that for us to grasp and to obtain the power of that reality of the day of the coming of the Lord, we ought to have a faith that is wholesome. The definition of faith is that we will have conviction, certainty of the things that we have not seen and the things that we're hoping for. And I have reminded you and I have exhorted you from this pulpit, beloved of Christ, not only to have certainty of the things that took place in the past, but also that equally and in the same spirit, we will have conviction of this promise that is coming ahead. We cannot have a wholesome, complete and powerful faith if we have uncertainty and not full assurance of the promise of the coming of the day of the Lord. That is why it's needed that as a church and as Christians, we will be continually fed through the word of the certainties that we have, not only in the past, but also in the things that come in the future.

For that reason, the false teachers that Peter is addressing were questioning the coming of the Lord. That is the satanic spirit attacking your faith. Read Ephesians chapter 6. The nature and the desire of Satan is to destroy your faith. And when he uses false teachers through their deviated teachings, what they want to do is bring lack of certainty or lack of substance to your faith, either to things of the past or more easily accomplished things of the future.

Where is the promise of His coming? These false teachers of chapter 3, where is the promise of His coming? All things continue the same, like from the beginning of creation. And the false teachers of 2 Thessalonians, they were saying that the coming of the Lord had already happened. Already trying to affect your faith when it comes to things that are in the future.

The response of the apostle is outlined from verse 8 until the end of the chapter. And there's certain important things that we need to remind ourselves of what we have discussed so far about this day of the Lord, or this eschatology, if you want, according to Peter in chapter 3. What is the response of the Spirit of God through Peter to the questioning of these false teachers? What is the utterance that comes from the divine court through his servant Peter in response to this false teaching of these false teachers? What is those important things that we need to have clear?

First of all, verse 8, that the Lord is absolutely sovereign on the day of the Lord. that He is the one that decides, He's the one that has hold and knows and decree when this is going to take place. He's sovereign over the day of the Lord. And because He's sovereign, He's the one that decides when that is going to take place. And because He's sovereign, we are to rest entirely in His long-suffering or His patience.

Why? Because that patience or this delaying, as some people consider it back then, it was for a purpose. The purpose of the delaying, if you want, was that all the elect that had been chosen before the foundation of the world, the person of Jesus Christ, will be born and will come to the point of salvation. The Lord is sovereign over this day, and the Lord is also in His long sufferings, awaiting for all the elect to be gathered through the generations and the bride to be completed, that you will be united to the person of Jesus Christ. And a couple of things we consider last time that I had opportunity to address you from this pulpit.

We spoke particularly about characteristics of the day of the Lord, and I gave you at least two of them, perhaps three. The first one is that the day of the Lord is of sudden happening, right? That's what we said. It's like a thief in the night. It's of sudden happening.

And when it suddenly happens, it brings destruction. That is the second characteristic of the day of the Lord. And that destruction happens to the existing heavens and earth in which sin dwells and sin is present. So when the day of the Lord arrives, sudden happening and sudden coming of the Lord, like a thief in the night, destruction of the existing heavens and earth, because sin dwells there, and it prompts the arrival of the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness dwells. Now, In verse 14, we are given another characteristic of this day of the Lord.

We have said that God is sovereign over it. That the long-suffering of the Lord is so that the saints will be gathered unto the church. We have said that the day of the Lord is of sudden coming and sudden arrival. That the day of the Lord will bring destruction of existing heavens and earth, prompting the new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells. And now we have another characteristic of the day of the Lord.

And that is just simply given to us in that word that says, or those few words there that says, found by Him. Therefore it says, Beloved, since you are waiting for this, be diligent to be found by Him without a spot or blemish and at peace. Implicitly, of course, this found of or by Him happens at the day of the Lord. We know that because it says, therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for this, what is this? The new heavens and the new earth spoken of in verse 13.

On that day, beloved of Christ, there is going to be an encounter. The Lord Jesus Christ comes. The day of the Lord has arrived. Sudden happening, destruction. But one of the things that is going to happen is that he is going to found someone.

And that someone is, of course, clearly stated here is the beloved, the church. The church will have an encounter with this Lord. That's why the apostle in the power of the Spirit is exhorting us to be diligent today so that when that day comes, we will be found by him Without blemish, without support and in peace. An encounter is going to take place. Yes, a collective encounter, but also an individual encounter.

An encounter, a meeting of the Church of God with her Lord. An encounter of each one of the souls that by grace through faith has been inserted into his body with the law of salvation. And the Lord is going to search and inquire of them. And they are to be found in a particular way. This is what we have here.

And understanding that encounter that the church will have with the Lord is of vital importance for us, not only to have this as an abstract idea in our minds, but rather make use in the spirit of the present power of that future reality. We have an encounter between the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord Jesus Christ himself. This encounter, beloved, it is confirmed not only by the text that we have here and in 1 Peter, as we will see later, but through the New Testament, the encounter of the saints with the Savior is given to us as a characteristic of the day of the Lord. Let me just simply prove that to you from the New Testament, and then from there we will speak about the exhortation that I wanted to share with you. So come with me, please, first of all, to the book of Colossians.

Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. Actually, in fact, let's go first to Titus because we sang amazing grace. And as we were singing amazing grace, I thought about this truth in Titus chapter two. So let's just go to Titus chapter two, please.

Titus chapter two, verse 11 through 14. This verse is not going to be quite related to what I wanted to say, but now I want to share with you because we sang Amazing Grace. And then perhaps from here, I can build what I wanted to say before. Titus chapter two, we sang amazing grace. I want to show you something from Titus chapter two, verse 11 and 14.

And I want you to see how grace here it is related to the coming of the Lord. And I don't know what the author of amazing grace had in mind when he was writing those lyrics, but this is just the thing that came to my mind as we were singing, led by our brother. Titus chapter two, verse 11 through 14, it says, For the grace of God has appeared. Has appeared. Think, just keep that in your mind.

The grace of God has appeared. Already, that is perfect tense. Has already appeared. Bringing salvation for all people. training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-in-control, upright and godly lives in the present age."

This is the grace that has already appeared. Now in verse 13, it changes to the grace that is to come. It says, "...waiting for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Grace has already appeared, but we are waiting for the blessed hope, and that is the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Now come with me please to Colossians chapter three, and perhaps you will understand what I mean. Colossians chapter three. The coming of the day of the Lord is described in the New Testament as the appearing of the Lord, the blessed hope, the appearing of His glory. Then in Colossians chapter three, verse one through four, pay attention to verse four specifically, but there let's read from verse one. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things that are above, and not on things on the earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Now verse 4. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you, church, also will appear with Him in glory." Now, the appearing of the blessed hope, the Lord Jesus Christ, happens together with the appearing of the presence of the church together with Him in glory. This progresses through the New Testament and is made more clear if you come with me to 1 John chapter 3.

There is an encounter that takes place at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that encounter happens with the church. 1 John chapter 3. In verse 2. Beloved.

We are God's children now, of course, the church. And what we will be, what the church will be, has not yet appeared. But we know that when He appears, that is the day of the Lord, or when the Lord comes, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. I don't know if you can see there, but Beloved of Christ, the appearing of the blessed hope, the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, together comes with the appearing of the saints and in the facing, the encounter, the meeting of the saints with the Savior. There is an encounter.

The church is going to be presented before the Lord when He comes on His day. This is more clearly stated if you go to this famous verse in verse 2014, Jude. Go to Jude, please. verse 24 and 25. Now it says, "...

to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you blameless..." Very similar language to what we have just read in 2 Peter. "...to present you blameless before the presence of His glory..." According to Paul, this is the appearing of the glory of Christ.

"...to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now forever. Amen. What I have just tried to say, beloved of Christ, is that on the day of the Lord, this day of the coming of the Lord, the day of God, the day of His promise, the days of eternity, this day of sudden happening of which the Lord is completely sovereign, this day of destruction in which the existing heavens and earth will pass away and will be burnt with fire and it will be a prompting of new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells. There's also an encounter of the church with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hence, the exhortation of Peter to be found on that day by the Lord Jesus Christ without blemish, without a spot and in peace. eagerly awaiting today where to be diligent, looking and moving towards that day. If we're going to be alive when that day comes, that the Lord will find us without blemish and without a spot. Why? Because there's going to be an encounter.

There's going to be an encounter. Now, beloved of Christ, this is super important because this encounter more than a covenantal or community encounter is a personal encounter. You're going to face the Lord. You're going to be placed before the Lord, either when you die before the day of the Lord and go up to glory, or when the day actually happens. The Lord is going to face the church and He's going to have an encounter with the people.

And the glory of that is not only that we're going to see Him. Imagine what Peter says in 1 Peter. The one who we have not seen yet we love. The flaming fire that comes from His eyes will be cleared and given to us. We will see Him as He is.

We will have an encounter with the Lord. And that is the end of faith. The end of faith. That is the last day of faith. That is the consummation of faith.

Walking by faith. Now, by side, we have an encounter with the Lord. And of course, you're aware also of the fearfulness of the encounter that I saw my half with the Lord on that particular day. Why all of this is important? Beloved of Christ.

Beloved of Christ. Beloved of Christ. Brothers, sisters, and friends. May the Spirit give us attention to these words. Why is this important?

This is important because according to scripture, your diligence unto righteousness is to be empowered by that thing, that day that is going to happen in the future. The power of your diligence unto righteousness is meant to be derived from the fact that by faith you acknowledge that you're going to have an encounter with the Lord on that day if you're going to be alive when the day of the Lord comes. And we are to strive, and we are to grow, and we are to be diligent today in righteousness and holiness, preparing ourselves for the coming of the day of the Lord. That when He finds us, He will find us indeed, as the Scripture says, without spot and without blemish, in peace. I do not know about yourself and I really pray, I do pray many times that you will have this burden indeed of Christ's likeness and righteousness and conformity to Him right now.

Knowing that we have been redeemed in the past by what happened at the cross, but also that this Savior of ours who died upon the cross and is powerfully resurrected and is reigning in heaven will come one day and we will have to face Him. Our hearts will be exposed to Him, who we are not only as a church, but each one of us will be exposed to the eyes of the one who sees all things and to the eyes of the one who judges rightly. This is the importance of the power of this exhortation that we have in verse 14. So I just want to bring your attention very quickly. And I really hope and I pray that we may be now doing this by the power of the Holy Spirit and having faith in the things that we are hearing and the words that we are reading.

I want to bring your attention just to three simple realities that are given to us in the text that I think are going to help us, are going to help us to derive the power of the truth that is contained in that verse. How do we as Christians, brothers and sisters, how do we as Christians derive power from the scripture that is given to us? by understanding the Scripture. How do we derive power from the instructions and the promises that are given to us in Scripture? Not only by reading them, but by understanding them and treasuring them up in our hearts.

Remember what the Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 5, when he's speaking about the glorious fruit of our justification. He calls us to do something that is contrary to the flesh. It says in verse 2 or 3 that we are to rejoice in tribulations, that we are to rejoice in tribulations. How can we rejoice in tribulations when this is contrary and opposite to our nature? How is fallen humanity who by grace, by the grace of God had been redeemed, how are we going not only to understand with our mind or read that statement there in Romans 5, that we are to rejoice or glory in our tribulations, but indeed rejoice in our tribulations.

How are we going to experience not only the word that is written and given to us in our minds, but actually experience that? The apostle continues there in Romans chapter five. He says, but we not only that, but we rejoice or we glory in our tribulations. And then he says, knowing that tribulations produces perseverance and perseverance produces endurance and endurance produces hope. How is the Christian supposed to rejoice in the tribulation?

Knowing through the authority of scripture that the tribulation that I naturally should be suffering through it and being with despair that the Lord says in his word that I should know that this tribulation is so that it will produce perseverance, and the perseverance will produce endurance, and endurance will produce hope, and this hope does not disappoint. Why? Because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by or through the Holy Spirit that was given to us. In the same thing, I'm calling you to do something that is contrary to your nature. I'm calling you to derive power from a reality that is not here.

There hence my difficulty with my words and with the eagerness and the true desire before the Lord that I have that you walk in righteousness and in holiness in light of that which comes in the future. So how are we going to derive that power? Knowing the scriptures. Knowing. the Scriptures.

So what I want to do is just simply bring your attention to know better three simple things of this verse. Three simple things that I want you to understand better or that you will know better about this fact, about this encounter that you will have, that we will have with the Lord on the day of the Lord, if that is to take place before we die. So that this will not be a religious event in which a Colombian man is speaking words, and then we just go home. But rather, rather, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you will be transformed into Christ-likeness and derive the reality of this verse. Three things I want you to know and understand better just simply from the verse that we have in front of us.

First one, I want you to understand better and more deeply the nature of that encounter. I have said already, right, that on that day there's going to be an encounter before the church or before you and the Lord. I want you to understand better The nature of that encounter. The nature of that encounter, because the Apostle Peter is clearly in this verse is speaking only about one aspect of that encounter. And when you go through the New Testament, the encounter that the church will have with the Lord Jesus Christ on that day has different purposes that I have not tracked them all of them, but I know some of them.

For instance, the Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 5, and even in Thessalonians, that on that day that we will be saved from the wrath that is to come through the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Having been justified, he says, or having been saved already by the Lord Jesus Christ, how much more will you be saved from the wrath that is to come? For the Apostle Paul, the wrath is the day of wrath, the day of the Lord. So upon that encounter of the Lord Jesus Christ with the church, He comes not only to meet the church, but to rescue them from the final day of wrath. There is this aspect of this encounter.

Now, the Apostle Peter, in the verse that we have, he is addressing or he has in mind something different that is only particular to the mind of Peter that is found in his first letter and in his second letter, but that Paul also uses similar language that will help us to understand. I feel that I have a lot of complication with my words. Am I clear? OK, please try to follow me and bear with the difficulty of my ideas and with my words. But there is a certain aspect of this encounter of the church with Jesus Christ that is given to us in this 2 Peter chapter 3.

And that is that the finding of the Lord of the church, he says that we should be found by him, is with the purpose of assessing or confirming or weighting or making sure that something should be as it ought to be. You can see it clearly there because it says that you're supposed to be holy or that you're supposed to be without spot or without blemish. That is that this encounter, we are supposed to be found complete, right? So without blemish or without spot. The nature of this encounter of the Lord with the saint, with the church, it is in a sense And I'm not sure if I should use this word, but I'm just going to use it just to explain to you.

An encounter of judgment. I have in the past explained to you that the word judgment is not only this negative word in which we imagine that God is coming just to judge with fire, but rather judgment is just to wait if something is according to what it should be. In that is the sense that Peter has in his mind. Come with me to Galatians chapter two, because in Galatians chapter two, the apostle Paul uses the same language that will help us to understand the nature of this concept that is used there. So come with me, please, to Galatians chapter 2.

Verse 15 and 17. Let's just read from 15, OK? It says, we ourselves, chapter 2, right? Brothers and sisters, Galatians chapter 2. It says, we ourselves are Jews by birth.

Here, you remember, Paul is speaking about the nature of true salvation, right? The true faith. It says, we ourselves are Jews by birth. and not Gentile sinners. Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ.

So we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law. Because by works of the law, no one will be justified. Now pay attention to verse 17, because here is where this use of language is written or is given to us. Verse 17. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin?

Certainly not. And it continues and continues. Here, the language is exactly the same, that if we try to follow the works and we too were found to be sinners, is Christ to be a servant of sin? Of course not. It is that we are found unrighteous because of sin.

It is the same use of language that is used in 2 Peter chapter 3. to find someone lacking or complete. That is the intention of this encounter. That He comes to check, if you want, or to assess, or to weight the completeness of the Beloved, according to Peter, namely, the Church. Now, only this, beloved of Christ, only this, if you hear with faith, and if you only even, you know, my many hearts are just going up now.

Even if you just consider this truth, that you are expected to be found not lacking, not without blemish or without a spot, by the Lord who knows all things. Only this reality should already move us to present diligence, to derive from Him His life, so that we will indeed be found without blemish and without a spot. That is the nature of that encounter, the one who sees all things. The one who perceives all things, the one who knows all things, the one who decrees all things, on that day will be presented before us, or better, we will be presented before him, and he is going to make an assessment. He is going to find us either lacking or not.

The instruction and the call is to be found without blemish and without spot. The One who is going to give to each according to their deeds. The One who understands and knows the secret intentions of the mind and of the heart of every person. This is terrifying, beloved of Christ, because when the professing church comes before the Lord, there we have the words in Matthew chapter 7, many will say, Lord, Lord, didn't we do all of these things in your name? Didn't we prophesy in your name?

Didn't we cast out demons in your name? Didn't we do all of these things? And then the Lord, on that day, speaking to a professing church, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of inequity. There is going to be a day in which the church is going to be found by Him, either lacking or complete.

And the instruction of the Apostle is that we should be diligent so that in that day, we will be found not lacking. Which is the second point that I want to bring your attention to. Pay attention to the expectation of that day. What is the expectation of this encounter? The expectation of this encounter is, beloved of Christ, that the saints of the church will be without spot or without blemish and in peace.

The expectation is that when the Lord comes and He encounters and meets His people, that you, your soul, your heart will be without a spot and without blemish and in peace. And the statement that we have there, it seems in the ESV that is a couple of things, but it's rather just one single statement. It's in peace, without blemish and without a spot. The expectation, beloved of Christ, is that when we encounter Him, we will be holy. Now, this is something that you know, but let me just bring to your mind a couple of qualifiers of that holiness that I hope it gives you a little bit of depth in understanding that the requirement of the expectation for your soul is that on that day you will be holy and blameless.

Come with me please to Ephesians chapter one. Let me point you to a couple of things about this holiness or righteousness. Because if we wanted to summarize it and make it simple, which I think I'm not very good at today. If we are trying to just make it simple, beloved of Christ, this without blemish, without a spot and in peace is summarized in righteousness. We are to be diligent in righteousness or we are to be diligent in holiness.

And you want that presently in the present time, 2000 to 2021, we are to be diligent in righteousness and holiness. Now, I want to give you only two thoughts about this holiness that is expected of us in the future so that we will have more understanding. Remember, knowing these things better, we can derive more power from them. So the first thing that I want to point your attention to is their founder in verse in Ephesians. Let me find it myself.

In Ephesians chapter 1. The first thing that I want you to notice Is that holiness or being without blemish and without spot? Put this in your mind, please. Is the purpose of God for His people even before the foundation of the world? Holiness, to be without spot, to be without blemish, which is the language that Peter uses in 2 Peter chapter 3, is the purpose of God that is in the mind in God for His people, even before the foundation of the world.

So that is what we have there in chapter 1 verse 3. It says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love. You can see it there, right? You can see there the language of, before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without a spot of blame. You will have language like that in your Bibles.

Holy and blameless, or without a spot. First thing that I want you to notice that you have in your mind is that the holiness of your soul, the righteousness of your soul, is the eternal purpose of God before the foundation of the world until eternity future. Now, the problem is that we may think wrongly that this holiness and this blamelessness happens at glory. That is when we are resurrected, and we come to glory when we die. And then we're given this holiness, this blamelessness that happens only at glorification, once we die and we are resurrected.

That is not what the apostle teaches. Come, please, to chapter 5, in which the apostle is going to give us, in Ephesians chapter 5, he is going to give us more explanation of this purpose of this purpose of God for His people in the analogy that is given to us about husbands and wives. Chapter 5, in verse 22, it says, Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its savior. Now, as the church admits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. analogy and comparison established.

25. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her the church And he comes a purpose that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he that is Christ may present the church to himself in a splendor without a spot or wrinkle or any such a thing that she may be holy and without blemish. Can you see there the language of everything that I've just been trying to say with limitation of words? the purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ for every single Christian and for the Church. is a purpose of holiness, of being without blemish, to be holy, without spot, without wrinkle.

Not something that takes place when we are captured and taken with the Lord in holiness and in glory, but it's something that is meant to take place now, arriving and moving towards that important point of redemptive history. This is very important because this means that the present expectation for the Christian and that the present expectation for the church is that we will be holy, without blemish, without spot, and that will be accomplished through the word of God and through our communion with the Lord, but a purpose that is to be pursued. Now, if wrongly in your mind you tell yourself that this is something that you are not able to do and that you should not do, and this is something that only happens at glory, then you have destroyed the power of the Word of God. Because the Word of God says that he will present his bride at that point without blemish and without a spot. And the Apostle Peter calls us to be diligent in being holy and without blemish and without a spot and waiting for the arrival of that day.

So what we ought to remove from our minds that this is not only something that happens at glory, but rather something that we're called to live in the present time. Of course, Understanding something that I explained a month or two months ago. Remember? The presence of sin, and the power of sin, and the penalty of sin. Sin is going to be always with us.

We're not going to be sinless in this time. When glory comes, then the presence of sin is going to be removed. But we have been given the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that we will have victory over the dominating power of sin, and victory through Him always. It is not the will of God, not the will of Christ, that we will be defeated by sin. You agree with that, right?

It is the will of the Lord that by the power of His Spirit, and through the ministration of the Word of God, and our growing in conformity to Him, the dominating power of sin will be put to death, and that even though sin is still present in us, we will be in Him conquerors over our flesh. Namely, to be holy and blameless. This is what Peter also says in 1 Peter 1. And many others will speak about this matter. That is the first thing that I wanted you to have in your mind.

That the purpose of God for his church is that it will be holy and blameless. And this is something that is meant to happen through this time as we move towards holiness, or towards glory, better. Now, the second thing that I want to show you from this aspect of holiness, of righteousness, it is by the combination of those words that Peter uses. He says, to be without spot or without blemish and in peace. He's the only one that uses the combination of righteousness and peace.

He's the only one in the New Testament that will use that combination, speaking of this particular day. Now, I want to bring just a second thought about this holiness that I hope it will help you just to see this in a deeper, deeper sense. Come with me, please, to Hebrews chapter 12. Come with me to Hebrews chapter 12, because Hebrews chapter 12 and another verse is the only instances in which this concept of holiness or righteousness, if you want, together with peace are put together. Come, please, with me to Hebrews chapter 12.

You remember that chapter 12 of Hebrews is famous because it speaks of the discipline of the Lord, right? The discipline that we receive of the Lord, the one whom he loves, he disciplines. And then from verse 12. In verse 12, the author of Hebrews starts to make an argument or a thought, better, about our righteous life, about our conduct, about the things that we ought to do in verse 12. It says, therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees, and make a straight path for your feet, so that what is lame might not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

Pursue peace. Now, verse 14. Pursue peace. with all people, and holiness without which no one will see the Lord. It is connected.

Let's just wait for our brothers and sisters to join. Thank you, Sam. Let's read together again from verse 12. Read with me, beloved of Christ. This exhortation of the author of Hebrews for our holy conduct.

It says, therefore strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Now, here in verse 14, the author is going to place together those two concepts of holiness and peace. Pursue peace with all people. and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. Looking carefully, lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness is springing up, cause trouble, and by this many become defiled and continuous and continuous and continuous.

It is actually very difficult, beloved of Christ, to understand why the authors of the New Testament put together, especially Peter, in that exhortation, this concept of our holiness that is to come together with peace and as one statement. However, I think that this verse here, he says, pursue peace with all people and then holiness without which no one will see the Lord. And this other verse that I'm going to bring you to, to James chapter three, gives us light into something that I want to bring your attention to. Come, please, with me to James chapter 3. These are the only instances, at least that I am aware of, you may tell me if there is any other instance in the New Testament in which these two concepts are brought together, of peace and holiness and righteousness in James chapter 3.

It is particularly verse 18. But let me just read it with you together, beloved, from verse 13, so that you will see that equally or in the same way that the author of Hebrews is doing or giving this exhortation to holy conduct between peace and righteousness, James does the same there in chapter 3 from verse 13. Bear with me. And it says, Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.

But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exists, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy, speaking of our conduct. And then he gives this powerful verse.

Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace And here, together with Hebrews, and together with the verse in 2 Peter chapter 3, and now here in James, we have the combination of these terms of peace with practical righteousness. What is the only thing that I'm just going to say, not to overwhelm your mind with any more details about this matter? Be with me once again. Beloved, the first thing that I said to you about this holiness is that it was the purpose of God, right? The purpose of God for his people to be holy and blameless.

And this is something that is supposed to happen before glory arrives. Second thing, the only thing that I can speak to you from the combination of these two concepts is that holiness and this blamelessness is not meant to be a passive separation from that which is unrighteous, but rather when the Bible calls us to have peace with all men in righteousness, and that peace is the ground in which righteousness comes, is that holiness is supposed to be active, practical righteousness in doing the things that Scripture commands in the person of Jesus Christ. Holiness is not that you separate yourself from that which you consider to be evil. It is an aspect of it that is to be holy, to be set apart and separated. But when we are called to be holy without blemish, without spot, and to have peace with all men, or do it in peace, we are called to have a practical, active, righteousness that is not only evidence in our separation from that which is wicked, but primarily that is seen in an active righteousness to all men, to everyone.

So then I will give to everyone what they are due. And when you think about what the Bible says, what you ought to give to your brothers and sisters, to the lost, to the church, to your family, you see that the standard of righteousness of scripture in the given of yourself, that which is righteous to others, is quite high and is only the person of Jesus Christ. Beloved of Christ, the first thing that I wanted to do is just to simply show you the nature of that encounter, an encounter in which we're going to be found by the Lord. Second thing that I wanted to do is just to show you that the expectation of the Lord when you face Him is that your life will be a life of holiness, a life without spot, without blemish. And this is something that is supposed to be achieved, and it's something that we are supposed to work in this present time.

Now the second or the third thing that I want to point you to, it is to the present requirement. What is the present requirement for the genuine Christian from this verse? The present requirement or better, the present expectation is that the one who by grace through faith is genuinely in the person of Christ will have a genuine concern about these matters and therefore be diligent. You are not going to be holy and without blemish and without spot, without diligence. The apostle clearly is exhorting you to be diligent.

Beloved brothers and sisters, I want you to hear and perceive the intensity of the word that the apostle used, that we are to be diligent in being found on that day by the Lord without blemish and without spot. This encounter that is an encounter in which we're going to be either found lacking or not, this expectation of holiness, of practical and active righteousness, it is required of us that we will be diligent. The word is used by the author of Hebrews also to strive, to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. There is no space for slothfulness in the things of the Lord. There is no place for laziness when it comes to the matters of your soul.

The Christian is supposed to be diligent when it comes to holiness and righteousness. Beloved of Christ, that is that we are so genuinely concerned about the state of our heart, about the state of our souls, that we put our energy, our effort, and everything that we are to accomplish that objective. People give themselves on to building empires, on to making professions, and having a career, and building this, and having that. And they are very diligent in accomplishing all these passing away endeavors. Yet when it comes to spiritual matters, The Bible many times, many, many, many times exhort the Christian not to be a slothful, not to be lazy, not to be taken and carried away by the things of this world.

Because diligence is the natural response of a heart that truly believes that when that day comes, we're going to be assessed or we're gonna be either found blemish or with blemish or without it. So brothers and sisters, is that the urgency of your heart? And I truly ask you this, has the Spirit of God truly given you a desire to be diligent when it comes to righteousness and holiness? Your relationship with the Lord, what you have done even on this day, speaks of your diligence of these particular matters. Because you will accept and you will acknowledge that you are unable to produce this holiness and this righteousness that is required of your soul.

This holiness and this righteousness that is required of your soul, of your heart, can only be accomplished and obtained in the dying of self and in the life of Christ progressively increasing in your soul. Yet the Bible calls us to be diligent on this particular matter. We give our time, our efforts. We give our rest. We give our bodies to things.

We are spent. Think about this. We are spent. Our bodies are spent many times pursuing things of this world. I don't know about you, but I want to spend my back, my mind, my hands, my feet, my money, my resources.

I want to spend all for Him. Because He is the One who gave His life for me. Why am I going to build an empire on this world when it's passing away? Why am I going to spend my time on things that do not satisfy? Why am I going to spend or give my diligence the gifts that the Lord has given me?

To build things unto myself, things that are going to pass away. Whatever the Lord has given me, I'm going to be diligent by His grace, so that I will be found by Him faithful, not because of who I am, but because of the Spirit of Jesus Christ triumphantly making me more like Him every day of my life. But one thing I know, that Scripture calls me to be diligent. Am I going to achieve that waking up at 10 o'clock in the morning? and giving my resources to fruitless things?

Reading a scripture from time to time and praying here and there? Am I going to achieve that with lack of diligence? You must have a different Bible if that is your life. Because the scripture calls me to be diligent in everything. And Christian parents, this is what you ought to work in your children.

Diligence in the flesh, so that when they are saved genuinely, that diligence of the flesh is carried on to the spirit, so that we will be diligent for the Lord. That our children might not be struggling with laziness when they're 20 and 30. That our children, that our people might be struggling with not knowing how to use their time, their resources, because we were careless about bringing up our kids in the admonition of the Lord, beloved of Christ. The matter that is taking place on this day, Sunday, on this particular day, is not religion, at least not for me. It's not religion.

It's a spiritual matter. Just look the faces off our Children. Look their faces of our teenagers and our Children of our kids. I don't know about you, but I want my kids to be utterly taken by the Lord. I'm not only say it, but I want them to be used for the extension of his kingdom.

I want my son to be a carrier preacher of the word, and I want my daughter to be an example on two women of how a house is going to be led in Christ, not with morals. Beloved of Christ, diligent, diligent to give yourself unto the Savior of ours. If you truly love him and if you truly are in him, beloved, this is what we ought to strive together as a family and as a church, to be diligent. And as I said to Brother Bernie the other day, I am going with cornerstone until the end. Oh, I'm not going.

I'm going until the end with what Scripture says. Until the end with everything that Scripture says applied to my life and to the life of all. Because this is what true Christianity is, beloved of Christ. If we have been given eternal life in Him who loved us and died upon the cross, How are we going to give our diligence and our time and our effort and our resources and our talents to the things of the world? I do not understand and do not comprehend this, beloved of Christ.

This is what Peter says in 1 Peter, if you turn to 1 Peter chapter 1. Pay attention to this thing, beloved. This is the only other time in which this word of being found is used and is used by Peter. Chapter 1, in verse 6, pay attention to these statements. In these you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.

Speaking of present trials, now pay attention to the purpose of these trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith A faith that is genuine is meant to be tested. More precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire. Many Christians live as if gold was more precious than their faith. Yet the Bible says that your faith in Christ is more precious than gold. And speaking of that faith, it continues that that faith, the genuine faith that is tested by fire, might be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

That when the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, that when the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, if we have been appointed to live until that point, when He comes and when He arrives and His glory is manifested unto us, that your faith had been tested, been more precious than gold, might be found on that day to be for honor and glory for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also come, faithful servant. Because it's this faith, the one that works, beloved of Christ, righteousness and holiness, is not your effort. When I'm calling you to diligence, I'm not calling you to do things and just simply push yourself into being religious and Christian. I'm calling you to something more powerful that is called continually abiding in Christ. Come with me to 1 John, please.

1 John. 1 John 2. I want you to see just in this verse, just in this verse, the coming of the Lord, or the judgment of the Lord, put together with the abiding in Him. Verse 28 in chapter 2. And now, little children, read these words with faith, beloved.

Abide in Him. So that when he appears, when he appears, remember the language of the appearing of the Lord, when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. Do you see the implicit reality of this verse? that there is either that we are found with confidence or that we may shrink from him in shame at his coming. So he says, now little children, abide in him so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.

If you know that he's righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. How are we going to be diligent, beloved of Christ? This is basically my only burden, my only hope, my only desire for your soul, is that the diligence for your holiness, the diligence for your righteousness, the diligence to be found in that way if the Lord comes before your die, is derived from your genuine, constant, and ongoing abiding in the person of Jesus Christ. That you abide in Him. And by abiding in Him, you have the promise that when He comes, you're not going to shrink with shame, as if someone that is owing to the Lord that is coming, but rather with confidence.

And you can be like the one that Apostle Paul describes in Romans chapter 5. We rejoice! in hope of the glory of God. Not with fear, as I owe something to the Lord, and I've done something that is not, you know, that I'm guilty of something, and that I have not lived the life that I'm supposed to live. But have someone said that if the Lord comes today, I'm ready to be taken.

Not because I have a righteousness of my own, but the righteousness of Christ that was not only imputed when I had faith, but is practically lived through my life by the power of the Spirit. I'm not speaking of me, but generally speaking, Beloved of Christ, abiding in Christ. And then you will say, what is abiding in Christ? What is abiding in Christ? You have mentioned these words so many times.

And you say, what is abiding in Christ? So many things, and time is not enough. And I have already spoken more of the things that I was supposed to say. But come with me to 1 John chapter 2. By God's grace, I hope, if He extends our days, that the next book that we're going to be going through together is 1 John.

And then perhaps I will be able to explain to you the abiding in Christ in more detail. But I want to show you just two things, two things, that if you just simply take those two things, and then you pray about it, and you're broken about it, and you come before the Lord in prayer, and that the Lord may make this a reality in you, you will know and experience what it's to abide in Christ. Chapter 2, read carefully there in verse 6. Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. First, the instruction of what is to abide in the Lord is to walk as the Lord Jesus Christ walked, is to follow the example of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then the mind of the student of scripture should ask, how did the Lord Jesus Christ walked? How did he walk? We're not going to answer that from the pulpit. We just simply read it. Go to 1 Peter.

Peter exactly gives us the answer of how he lived and how we are to follow his example. 1 Peter 2, verse 20. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? speaking to the servants. He will make a point from this.

But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. And then he gives the explanation, verse 21. For to this you have been called. Because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you may follow in his steps. And then he says, Christ, he committed no sin.

Neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten. He continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. If you jump there to chapter 3, And then in verse 14, it says, or verse 13, chapter 3, it says, now, who is there to harm you, following the same thought?

Now, who is there to harm you if you're zealous for what is good? The instruction was, do good as the Lord Jesus Christ did good. And even when people did wrong against the Lord, he replied, or his response was in righteousness. He says in verse 14, But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Let me just elaborate on this, beloved Christ. We abide in Christ. by walking as he walked. That it is by not only professing with your mouth that you are a Christian, but rather dying to self in such a way that the life of Christ is predominant in you, and then the abundance of your heart is no wickedness of your nature, but the treasured word of God.

So then when you speak, when you live, now you're living the life of Christ. And when you live the life of Christ, the righteousness of Christ is naturally and always offensive to this world. And when the righteousness of Christ is lived through and in us, then we're going to find opposition in the world because we're following that which they are unable to follow and that which they oppose to. And even when they oppose the righteousness that is in us, We are able to do the same thing that the Lord Jesus Christ did. Entrust ourselves to the one who judges justly, walking in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me just give you the second advice. I can see your faces there. You are tired. Let me just give you the second advice. Please, let me just give you this.

And then I will exhort you with what the Lord gives. How are we going to abide in the person of Jesus Christ? If any of you is now hearing by the Spirit, beloved, walking as he walked. You want to be like someone? Kids, do you want to be like someone?

Be like Christ. And if your dad is like Christ, be as your dad insofar as he is like Jesus Christ. And if your dad is not like Christ, then go and get your Bible and search who is this Christ and try to be like him. That is what you ought to do, to search in these words and see who is the person of Jesus Christ, His words, His example, what He did, His love and everything, and desire that. Because when you desire that, you find yourself that you have to die to self so that that Christ will live in you.

Second important thing of how we abide in Christ. We abide in Christ by bringing the love of God to perfection in us. Again, we abide in Christ by bringing the love of God to perfection or to completeness in us. We cannot abide in Christ if the love of God is not perfected in us. And if the love of God is not perfected in us, then we are not going to have confidence on the day when we face the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the point in 1 John chapter 2. Bear with me just five minutes, and then we will read it together here. Pay attention to this from verse three. For the Apostle John abiding in Christ is to know the Lord or to be in Him. He says in verse three.

And by this we know, verse three of chapter two of 1 John. And by this we know that we have come to know Him or that we are in Him. if we keep his commandments. Now pay attention. He says that we ought to keep his commandments.

If we keep his commandments, that means that we know him. Verse 4, it says, whoever says, I know him, or I abide in him, or I am in him, or in other words, I know him, but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Give me your mind, please, there, beloved Christ. It says, whoever says, I know him, but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. One would expect that then the call of the apostle is not to obey the commandments.

Because if we disobey his commandments, we are liars, and we are not in him. So we expect now that the call of the apostle is do the opposite, namely, obey his commandments. But he does something very important in verse 5. But the contrast, whoever keeps his word in him, truly the love of God is perfected. By this, we may know that we are in Him.

And the ESV makes it seem that, because he has semicolon that is connected to verse six, but it's not. But anyway, it says, but whoever keeps his word, whoever keeps his word in him, truly the love of God is perfected. Beloved of Christ, treasure up this word in your heart. Hide these words in your heart. And when you treasure up the Word of God in your heart, then the love of God is perfected.

And I don't apologize about using the word perfected, because that's what we have just read. It means not that you become perfect in the sense of not seeing, but then that your heart is filled with the amount of love that you can have, just as when a bottle is filled with everything. And the more that you abide in Christ, the more that He will enlarge your heart. And more and more of His grace and His love will be given to you. And you are called to have your heart filled with the love of God.

Perfected in the love of God. How do you do that? By following the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. And by keeping His Word. Your mind is corrupt.

In our flesh, our mind is corrupt. So we need to change our mind, to renew our mind by the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ constantly. How I pray, beloved, how I pray that you may have His Word treasured up in your heart. That when something comes, the scripture comes to your mind, not because you have an ability to memorize, but rather because you have treasure up in your heart. Do not remember with your head.

Your head doesn't work. Mind doesn't work. Remember with your heart. That requires diligence. Are you going to forget the gospel if you're going to preach it to someone, and then you just need to remind from your memory?

You don't. Because you have been saved by that gospel, and your heart has been impacted by that gospel. And the gospel is not stored in your head, in your memory. It's stored in your heart. Do the same with the whole scripture.

Do the same with the whole scripture. Treasure it up in your heart, young. How is the young going to keep his way pure, Psalm 119? By treasuring up or by keeping his commandments in his heart. This is how we do it, beloved of Christ.

Life, even before glory, is glorious. Life in freedom is glorious, even in the midst of tribulation, even in the midst of difficulties, even when you're weak, when you don't sleep, or you have pain. All of that is glorious. When Jesus Christ is enthroned in your heart, and we have been called to have this Jesus Christ in us. It's not because we can't, or because we are religious.

It's because He says, come to Me. I desire to abide with you. I desire you to be in My presence. Children, and spouses, and wives, and husbands, everyone come to Me. And if you abide in Me, There is pleasures forevermore.

There is power. There is victory. And we can be indeed diligent, not in religion, not in being moralistic, but rather in being found by the Lord at the day of His coming without blemish, without spot, with a heart that is abounding in love, with a will that is ready to surrender. For a life that is ready to be given, to be taken by even whoever wants to take it for the sake of Christ. With an intention of giving and laying down our lives for the brothers and sisters.

Loving our wives of what our brother said. How are you going to love our wives? How are you going to love your husband? How are we going to love our children? We do it only in the person of Jesus Christ.

This is my prayer, not only as I'm speaking here with limited words, but beloved of Christ, this is my desire for your soul. And this should be the desire of each one of us, for all of us as a congregation, that we will walk in the love of Jesus Christ and abide in him, to be diligent, to be found without blemish and without spot. May the Lord bless us, amen.