Are We Dedicated

Alright. Brethren, we're living in a society with a lot of changes. You just think about this technology, this smartphones. I mean, how many of you would have thought 10, 15 years ago, how many of them, five years ago, that you would do with smartphones what you do today? Things have really changed with social media, and even values in society have changed. Values for instance, as far as society, not God's values, I'm not talking about God's values, but I'm talking about society, the way society considers the value, for instance, of life, of an unborn child, the value of that. That has changed. The value and the importance of marriage, you know, that value, that perception of value today is different than it was 20, 30 or 40 years ago. I'm not saying God's values have changed, but I'm saying society's perceptions of values have changed.

Society's way of training children is so different today than it was maybe 30 or 40 years ago. You probably remember how many of you raised your children, and some people are raising children today. So very different. Education itself is changing. They change different textbooks in schools.

And knowledge is growing. Turn with me to Daniel 12, verse 4, there when Daniel was given these prophecies to come, and then they told Daniel 12, seal up the book. It says, But to you, Daniel, shut up the wards and steal the book in verse 4, Daniel 12, 4, until the time of the end. There were some of these prophecies you'll not fully understand what it means. And at the time of the end, many shall run to and fro. And you know, this is so true today. This is so true. We all run to and fro.

People fly more than ever before. They go, yeah, go there. It's just so different. And then it says, And knowledge shall increase.

If I wanted to find out something 20-30 years ago, I'd have to go into a library, look for the book, search for the book, and ask the librarian, maybe I could find a book, and the librarian says, Well, maybe it's there amongst these few books, and you search them, and then you sit there and look up. Now, today, I've got my cell phone, and I enter into a search engine, whatever search engine you may use, and you say, bing, bing, bing, what time is done set? Today, instance unhappy. And then there's within a split second. I probably don't even have to care, I probably just talk to the cell phone. And you see that. What is this or that? What is the exchange rate? What is how many pounds is, how many grams, or whatever it is? Bang! It's like that. It's... knowledge is just growing. You would have not imagined 10 years ago that you could do that today.

And it really... it's accelerating. So, if you think 10 years from today, don't think, because you're not getting back to it. You're not getting back to it. It's just... we just don't know.

There's so many changes, and that clearly, clearly increases your stress and much stress. There's no question about it. Life is not easier. It's more stressful. All this stress is in precious. I remember when I worked at IDM, many years ago, maybe 30 years ago, or something like that. We used to say, I will be able to do this and this and this, and that means you will not have to work 40 hours a week. You'll only be able to work 20 hours a week because you'll be stuck or protect them. Well, well, well. You know that's not true. So, all these changes kind of leads us to say, what can you hold onto? What can you hold onto? Because you need... you and I, we need to hold on to some basic truth. Otherwise, you feel like everything is getting out of your... from your feet. You're feeling unstable.

Now, let's read what Ecclesiastes chapter 1 says. Ecclesiastes chapter 1, the book of Solomon, is saying, start reading in verse 9. Ecclesiastes, by the way, is a very fascinating book to read, really, it is. And by the way, it is a good book to read during the feast. It's actually traditional. It's one of the books that is written in the feast. So, and it's quite meaningful to do that as well. But, you know, it's the book says, vanity of empty is always vanity to see the preacher. But then in verse 9 of chapter 1, it says, then which has been is what it will be. And then which is done, it will be done. And there's nothing new under the sun. Ha ha ha! Tell me about cell phones. Tell me about search engines and things like that. But you know what? The real values have not changed. The real, real, long-term values have not changed. Oh yes, knowledge is increasing, but the values that count have not changed. Is there anything of which may be said, see this is new? Brethren, the real values don't change. The laws and principles, for instance, of success don't change. So, what is the saying? We've got to study, we've got to do a bit of hard work, perspire, and push them there. And other laws like that, that principles that go with it, but those principles don't change. And one of those principles, for instance, is dedication. Dedication. You know, you and I need to be dedicated. We need to be determined, and we need to be steadfast in our principles. Whether it is our job, whether it is to our family, and even more so important to God. And so, my question today is, are we dedicated? Are we committed? Are we doing what we need to do? Or as we heard in the sermon, are we forgetting to do the things we need to do? One fascinating example of dedication is Samuel's mother, Anna. In 1 Samuel chapter 1, turn with me, please. There is this lady that could not have children. Probably know of the story. She could not have children. And so, her husband, which was Elkanah, which is chapter 1, verse 1, which is Elkanah, he had two wives. One was Hannah, and the other was Penanah. And then at the end of verse 2, says, Hannah had no children. So she was very sad, very devastated, that she could not raise children.

And because of that, Elkanah, the husband, would give her double portions of everything. But that wasn't enough for her. It didn't fold that value system. And she then went and made a vow, made a promise to God. Instead, look at the verse 11, then she made a vow and said, O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the fiction of your maidservant, and remember me, and not forget your maidservant, but will give your maidservant a mild child, then I'll give him, I'll give that mild child to the Lord. All the days of his life, and no raisers shall come from his head.

And you know that that happened. And you know, as you can read from runabout verse 19 onwards, that Samuel was born, and when she had weaned that child, she did not go to the temple, they had to travel in a festival, pilgrim festivals, you know, three times a year, three seasons of the year, she did not go there until the baby was weaned. Nowadays, we probably weaned some people nine months or years. Those days, they see to wean quite a bit older, maybe some four years old or something like that.

One of our sons was weaned probably about that age.

So my wife is saying yes, so I wasn't wrong.

I very forget all the details, but my wife doesn't forget these details. So I double checked myself with kind of a test of truth, you know.

And she said yes, that's correct. So that is correct. But in those days, they weaned them a little later, a little bit. And then she took Samuel to the temple and left him there.

Now you think about your only child. At that moment, it was her only child because she's still breastfeeding.

You're probably not going to have other children to be stopped breastfeeding. Typically, that's my understanding. So she was dedicated to a promise and she fulfilled her vow.

That's dedication. And that was her only son. Well, she did have more children afterwards, as we can read in the scriptures.

But at that moment, there was only son.

You as a mother probably can understand better than dad's how difficult that is.

How difficult that is. But she did it.

And you know, great things were fulfilled through Samuel.

Great things was a part of a big change in the nation of Israel.

Samuel was the one that then got through Samuel, the one that God used to ordain the first king, Saul.

And then he went AY, as we know. And then there was another king ordain, which is king David. And we know how faithful Samuel was in all his actions.

But you're in my solution.

God is not a respecter of persons.

And if God blessed Anna and fulfilled the requests, provided it is according to his will, God will fulfill your requests. Provided, obviously, you are dedicated to him and committed. And you don't forget the commitment that we have made at baptism.

You know, David himself was a man that was very determined to, or steadfast in what he had to do. In other words, he was very dedicated. Look at Psalm 57. Psalm 57.

In Psalm 57, verse 7, you see what David said. Psalm 57, verse 7 says, My heart is steadfast.

Oh God, my heart is steadfast. We repeat it.

Can we say that about ourselves?

Then we are determined, we are dedicated, we are steadfast. We will not let go.

David would say, I will not change my mind. My mind is fixed, and I'll do it.

Now, doesn't say it in sin, of course he did sin, and we all sin. But in his heart, he was dedicated, and once the sin was revealed and he couldn't see it and his eyes were open, he admitted, I have sinned against God. Look at Psalm 17, just a few pages earlier. Psalm 17, verse 3 to 5. Psalm 17, verse 3 to 5 says, You have tested my heart.

You have visited me in the night. You have tried me and have found nothing.

In other words, nothing weakens me, right? So, can you and I, can we say, God, you've tried my heart, and you've found nothing wrong in my heart?

I wish I could say that. I don't know. I hope I am that. I try. But I don't have that conviction to say I am that level of dedicated.

I'm to be dedicated. I'd like to be able to say this. But wow! I say, I look at what he says. He says, I have purpose that my mouth shall not transgress. Wow! If you look at James, he says, who can control his tongue?

And he says, I have purpose in my mouth that my mouth shall not transgress. Concerning the words of man, by the word of your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.

What a commitment! I hold my steps in your paths, that my footsteps may not slip.

Are we dedicated to God's way? Or do we sometimes wish, oh, this is so hard.

But I wish I could go another way.

I'm not saying that, and now I'm being honest and being straightforward, talking about myself and my feelings and emotions, I sometimes see people coming to church and then they don't come to church.

And you know, it breaks my heart. It really breaks my heart.

And I say, why? It really breaks my heart. And it goes well with the sermon that we already know, lest we forget.

And it goes well with the statement there that Mr. Cubey put out there, you know, that unfinished works. It's the same thing. Are we committed, are we dedicated to the calling that we have? Do we understand? Do we really understand the depth and the magnitude of our calling?

I actually don't think we do. I'm sad to say. And unfortunately, quite often, it's like it says, I'm preaching to the choir, you know, because you are probably the ones that don't need to use.

And I apologize. But the point, as we heard in the sermon at the end, is it is worthy to be repeated. It is worthy to be repeated.

Do we stay the course to get that pearl of great price? Indeed, what God is giving us is a pearl of great price. We'll talk a bit more about that.

Are we able to say, regardless of the cost, I am going to stick the way and obey God till the end? Regardless of the cost?

And you know what, brethren? Dedication does not need wealth, does not need great skills, or a university degree.

It doesn't. Look at 1 Corinthians 1, verse 26. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 26. And brethren, again, I apologize because I'm saying something that... but I know you are dedicated. So I'm not saying that you're not dedicated. Please. But I'm just saying it's good to be reminded. Like we said, well, you have to be at least every year to be reminded.

So it's good for us to be reminded. And here in verse 26 Paul is saying to the Corinthians, For you see your calling, brethren, there are many wives according to the flesh, not many might, not many noble, not called. In other words, you don't have to have the greatest skills, you don't have to have to be the richest person on earth. You don't have to have XYZ, the university degrees. Of course, some of us have.

But it says, that is not a criteria to be called.

Verse 27, For God has chosen the foolish things of the world.

Can you and I say to ourselves, to yourself, under the foolish things of the world?

It's probably not very... what is the word?

Saints speak very well of myself, I'm the foolish things of the world. But you know, that's what God calls us. The world looks at what we're doing and says, foolish. Why they keep the sand? Why do they keep sand and go this and do things that do it? It's so much easier.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are strong, that are mighty. And the base things of the world and the things that are despised, God has chosen, and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in God's presence. God calls normal, average people like you and I. That's what it is. Yeah, they're exceptions. Eventually, I'm not one of those exceptions. But God calls average people like us.

And what do we need? We need dedication. We need that steadfastness, deep twittleness, to actually succeed.

You see, the laws of success have not changed.

Turn with me to Psalm 119, verse 97. Psalm 119, verse 97.

Psalm 119, verse 95.

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm of all the Psalms, and verse 97, that's where we're going to start.

All how I love thy Lord. It is my meditation all the day.

How I love God's principles, God's value system, that I meditate about it the whole day.

You, through your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies. So I don't have to be the wisest person, but God's principles, God's value system, makes us wiser. I have more understanding than all my teachers, not because I'm better, but because I am dedicated to God's value system. For your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep your word. You know, God's principles teach us about human nature.

God's principles teach us, don't go this way.

It teaches us the principles of life, and therefore, when we do that, we are happy. We are contented.

How many people in the world today are very unhappy and discontent?

And obeying God clearly is one key issue to make us happier and contented and fulfilled.

And it says, it helps us, as we read here in verse 101, I have restrained my feet from every evil way. In other words, by having the right thinking and the right thought, the right frame of mind, I have restrained the self, the old man, to aim to become the new man.

Look at 102 through 104. I have not departed from your judgment, for you yourself have taught me how sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way.

I hate every false way.

So, what happens is people come out of these great ideas, oh, I've got this great idea of life, or whatever it is.

But you meditate in God's law, and I, as meditating in God's law, look at that idea and say, you don't even take it one step further. You reject it right there. You don't waste your time with it, because you know the fruits that are going to be bad, because it's against those principles.

You see, that's what is breaking every false way. You don't have to go through it. You don't have to spend time proving it. You just know that's wrong. I don't even know that.

As one of God's ministers says, don't come here and sell crazy.

And you know who he is that says that, or maybe you don't, but...

That's...

If you and I are obeying God's laws, you can see that is crazy. So don't come here with those ideas, because those are the spirit of a sound mind. And we're not going to go with that. You're just going to reject it straight away. Because you know what is wrong, and you're not even going to go...

That path of thinking.

You are committed. You are jealous. Look at Psalm 84. Psalm 84, verse 1 and 2.

Psalm 84, verse 1 and 2.

How lovely is your tapper knuckle of Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the course of eternal. My heart and my flesh dry out for the living God. In other words, you're so dedicated, you're so committed, you're so jealous. That gives you joy.

I'm not talking about you and I being hermit or an extremist on some ideas. I'm talking about well-balanced, godly life. I'm not talking about extremism. I'm talking about a well-balanced life.

And that is good. That's what God wants from us.

But some people lose their zeal. They're their cult. They become lukewarm. And in this society, it's so easy to be lukewarm.

In fact, Bible says, this is the age. I'm not talking about this organization, that organization. It's an age where this is predominant in all. People are just like a tiger. They lack dedication to a cause, and particularly to obedience to God.

And when you do that, then doubts come in. And recently I gave a sermon about the great destroyer of faith. It's those doubts that come in. Those fears and uncertain doubts. Because in the end, we are in a spiritual war, and that chucks away of your faith. And next thing you look, the person is discontented. The person leaves a fight. Or that person has committed suicide.

And you say, how is that possible? That person was in the church.

If you and I start letting it loose, losing that zeal slowly, a bit here, a bit there, and slipping up here, slipping up there, it gets bigger and bigger and bigger. And one day you don't even know, you're completely out of the path, you're discontented, you're unhappy, and you could commit that sad act.

Brethren, we must not slip up, slack up, loosen up.

And in fact, we must not stay stale, because if we stay in the same place, we actually get backwards.

We better be growing and moving forwards, growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That's what Peter says. Turn with me in 2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3.

2 Peter chapter 3. At the end of Peter, Peter is saying, listen, don't get lukewarm, because people say, oh well, I've heard this, you know, where's the promise of His coming? Oh, la, la, la, I've heard this for so long. And he says, hey, a thousand... One day, to God, it's like a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. Wait, because they will come that day of judgment. And then he says, listen, you know, prophecy... Think about prophecy, the purpose of prophecy, which is basically warning you what will happen if you disobey.

That's what prophecy is. So hopefully, prophecy is not true, not has not come true, because it means you've repented and changed. But people don't change, so prophecy won't be fulfilled. Why? Because people don't change. But it says, this prophecy is intended for us to become persons that obey. Look at it in verse 11 of chapter 3 of 2 Peter.

Therefore, all these things will be dissolved, because it's going to happen. There's going to be a judgment. One manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness. In other words, you and I should repent. Prophecy is a warning to say, if you don't repent, there's going to be a punishment. Regrettably, the world's not going to repent. And so there's going to be a punishment. But you and I should know better and change and take prophecy seriously. And then it says, there is other therefores. That was therefore in verse 11. Then there's a therefore in verse 14, looking forward to these things.

Be diligent! Be diligent! Be dedicated! Don't do things wrong. And then in verse 17 it says, And you therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware that you don't fall from your steadfastness, for you're dead from your dedication, being led away by the error of this world. That's what it is. This world, peer pressure, whatever it is, our children are under enormous peer pressure in this school.

Enormous! Be a pressure that you and I did not have. And we, as parents, need to really take time to know what's in our children's minds, because there is an evil spirit out there that wants to destroy your children and my children. Fact! Fact! It's not a war of flesh and blood, it's a war of spirits, and there is demon influences out there that you and I don't even think of, but they did.

And so therefore, brethren, beware lest you fall. But in verse 18 it says, But grow! Grow! In the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. We've got to grow in knowing who Christ is. How do we know who Christ is? Because we live in our him, so we're getting to know him, what it is like to be, because we're imitating him.

And as we're imitating him, so we've got to know, and we've got to put to practice his lifestyle, quote-unquote, which is his way of being loving, kind, and compassionate. In other words, his grace. And that's what we have to grow in that graciousness in how we act. So we've got to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Because in the end, he's the image of the Father, and that's what we have to grow in. Why? Because our God, the reason why you and I were born, the reason why God created you and I is to make as his children in his family.

It was to be like him. That is our hope. That's what you and I were predestined to be, to be like God. Obviously, not of the same power and magnitude, but as his children. To have that glory of God. That glory of that royal family, which is God's royal family. We are to be his royal, his children. In his family, it's a royal family. It's a kingdom of kings, of which are members of that royal family. And that's why we are begotten by God's Holy Spirit to be part of that royal family.

So, it says, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if God has got this great glory for you and I, this great pearl for you and I, we should throw all the other stuff away, because of junk. You know the parable, it says, you know, he has a person that is given the spry, regularly quelled, and throws everything else away to buy this pearl.

That's what... that's so meaningful. That's exactly what we need to do. And so, God gives us tools to help in that process. Sure, of course. You and I are justified freely by the blood of Jesus Christ. Nobody is questioning that. Nobody is questioning that. But, you know, it's like a child. You want a child and he says, right, you can have... you can have everything. But if the child continuously rebelling and whatever it is, and ending up being in jail and going into drugs, and doing wrong things, and pro-creating in morality and things like that, and getting to jail, and should you always be biling them out?

Because you might actually be promoting that wrong behavior. So there is a time when there's a thing called hard love, tough love. And therefore, we have to change from the old man to the new man. There is a part that you and I have to fulfill, because otherwise we could lose that justification which is given to us freely by Jesus Christ's blood, because we're messing it up. We might lose it. And we don't want to lose it.

So we've got to be dedicated. And to help us, God gives us the helper, which is the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is a fruit that has many characteristics. And if you turn with me to Galatians 5, verse 22 and 23, Galatians 5, verse 22 and 23, he says, The fruit of the Holy Spirit, it was God's Holy Spirit got all these characteristics. For instance, it's like, for instance, if you take a fruit, it's juicy, it's got a certain color, it's got a certain taste, it's got a certain seed that looks the square, it looks like different elements of the fruit. So God's Holy Spirit is a fruit which has all these elements, love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control.

There's at least three that could be directly related to dedication. One, long suffering. You suffer long. That means you are dedicated to something and you suffer long and you stick to it, regardless of the pressure. Another one is faithfulness. Faithfulness means you stick to what you spare, even if it causes hurt to you. And the other one that also has to do with dedication is self-control, because if you're dedicated, you have self-control of yourself.

So brethren, you and I have received God's Holy Spirit. Upon baptism, we lay on our hands, we receive God's Holy Spirit in us. But God's Holy Spirit, even if we have not received it yet, God's Spirit can be with us, like Christ. On the night He was betrayed, He told the apostles, I'll send you the comfort that He will be in you, but He's now with you. In other words, they did not have God's Holy Spirit yet in them, because they got it at Pentecost, but He was with them.

And therefore, even if you're not baptized, God's Holy Spirit is working with you, with you. So, you have God's Holy Spirit with you or in you. Now, are you going to use it, or are you going to throw it away? In 2 Timothy chapter 1, 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 16 says, Therefore I remind you to turn up the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Look at it in verse 6 again, I remind you to stir up the gift. In Portuguese that word is translated as, make it alive again. Revive it. Stir it up. Revive it. Make it like a flame. In other words, not look warm, for sure. It's active. It's stirred up. And so brethren, for us to do that, we have to stay close to God. We must not extinguish it, or quench it. It was, aye, I'm not going to do that.

I'm not going to listen to that little, still small voice that brings your conscience. No, I'm not going to listen to that. You have to listen to that, sounds, still small voice. We've got to do the right thing. We mustn't quench it. We must stir it up. And then it says, for God's Spirit is not a spirit of fear, it's not of terror, but of power, because that spirit gives us the power to overcome our weaknesses.

It gives us the outgoing love and concern for others to have that desire, and this sound mind, not that exotic, extremist ideas. No, it's just a well-balanced mind. Just sound mind.

Today there's some weird ideas out there. And I'm not even going to mention it, because now I'm going to start getting people saying, oh, you didn't believe that? I was wasting my time. So I'm not even going to mention some of those weird ideas that people have, but you know some of them. They're weird ideas. They're not sound. Reject them. It's a waste of time. We've got to be close to God.

And another thing we need to understand is that sometimes God allows you to be tested. Now think about this. You probably have had to write a test either at school or at university or at some educational institution. And you know usually what happens. I remember some of the tests I did with a lot of people in the classroom, many tables, and you did not allow to have books, and you were not allowed to have little notes written behind you, little things that you look at that, you know, crib notes or whatever it is.

You could not do that. But then you had that paper, and you had an hour to pass the test or two hours or three hours or whatever it is. And maybe it's some sort of things that they ask you some questions, it's A, B, or C, or whatever it is, or you've got to reply and write something. But you know what? When you go through that test, your teacher is not there talking to you and says, well, you should answer that.

You see? The teacher's not there. Think about it. Imagine if you're writing the test and your teacher says, no, no, no, that's the wrong answer, George, it's that one. Oh, thank you. Or, no, no, it's that one, answer that. What validity of the test would that be? Isn't it?

Now think about spiritual. When you and I are going through a test, and God is allowing the test. Now, by the way, why is the test? Is it so that you're going to fail? No, the test is so that you pass and you can go to the next grade. Everybody wants you to pass, but he wants to make sure that you know the material before you can go to the next grade. So God tests us. That's not tempting. Tempting is something to cause him to fail and to slip. God tempts no one. But it's a test. God allows you and I to go through a test. What? An exam. And when you're going through that test, it could be a tough situation in your life.

You're really going through the tough situation in your life. And you say, I'm asking God to help me and give me an answer. And he appears so far he's not giving me an answer.

Oh, I don't know what to do. Well, I'm going to give up. Listen, when we are doing a test, the teacher is not there to give us the answer. We know better the answer. So in those instances, quite often, God says, let me see what his or her heart is. And then when you make the right answer, then you've got all these blessings. This is a heart. Or whatever it is, you can see that's what God wants you to choose. And to make that decision. So a teacher is quiet when we are being tested.

And so God may appear to be far away, but he wants us to free, or around free will, to make the right choice to be dedicated at the time of the test. He wants us to be stirring up the spirit and doing the right thing.

And so he is allowing the test to see what we do.

Look at 2 Timothy 2. Just a page ahead, maybe in your Bible. 2 Timothy 2 verse 10. Therefore, I endure all things for the sight of the lake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Jesus Christ with eternal glory. So I endure. That means we go through a test, we go through stuffings, we have to endure.

And this is a faithful sign. If we die with him, we shall also live with him. If we endure, we also reign with him. So there is a degree of long suffering.

And we're going to go through in this test, because it is a test for God to know where our hearts are.

And there is the point. God is checking our dedication. Are we dedicated to stick to it, to live for, to breathe, to laugh, to eat? In other words, to just be absorbed completely in his Godly way of life. Are we dedicated to it? Are we committed to it? Look a bit further in verse 13 says, if you are faithless, God remains faithful. He's not going to challenge you, him.

And then look at verse 14, remind them of these things.

Charging them before the Lord. Here it was his tele-intimity to tell the brethren, so he's teaching Timothy as a minister, and he said, remind the brethren of these things. Charging the brethren before the eternal, not to strive about a word to no prophet to the ruin of the years. In other words, not to turn the iron spell craziness. Speak to the truth.

And then he says, be diligent to present yourself approved to God. In other words, study, work hard, be diligent, commit, work hard, be dedicated, to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. That's what we're going to do. We're going to be diligent. We're going to be diligent. For instance, we're going to study God's word, we're going to, so that we know God, so we can believe in him, so that we know God's way of life, finally, so that we live it.

Look how Paul put it in Romans, chapter 5. Look at what we mean at Romans, chapter 5.

We have to go through trials and tests.

But Yah is a very important point. Therefore, verse 1, therefore, having been justified by faith, with peace, with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, brethren, as I said before, you and I are justified freely. There's nothing you and I can do to inherit eternal life. It's a gift. It's a gift.

Through whom also, that's Christ, we have access by faith into this Christ, into this generosity, graciousness, in which we stand and rejoice in what?

In the hope of the glory of God. Do you get it? Do you get it? We stand in this Christ and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. That's the big pearl that God wants to give you and I. He wants to give him and I the glory that is peace. I think it's very difficult for us to comprehend. So the best way for me is to give you an example. If you, for instance, were going to get married into the royal family in England, you would then be receiving, quote unquote, the British glory, quote unquote, of that family because you're married in that family.

I think we understand that.

When we are begotten children of God in his family, we receive the glory of his family. That is the glory of God.

Not that we became the highest, but we in that family, not the glory of that family. And that is our hope.

That is our big pearl. That is our big pearl. And not only that, verse 3, but we also glory in tribulations, in our tests. Why? Why do we glory in our tests? So then we pass the exam.

You see, there's a portion that you and I have to do. Yes, we justify freely by faith, as it's saying in verse 1, but we have tests. We have exams. We have to be dedicated and committed and postered exams. Why? Knowing that these exams, these tribulations, produce perseverance. Here it was, stick to it-iveness.

And perseverance, character.

If you have a little margin there, it says proven character. Which means it's knowing what to do and do what you know what you have to do. Because it produces that character.

And character, hope. Because if you are doing the right thing, you can hope for the end result. You can hope. And what is that hope? The hope of the glory of God. That's what the hope is, as we read at the end of verse 2. The hope of the glory of God. So character produces hope. And hope does not disappoint. Why? Because the love of God has been poured in our hearts, but the Holy Spirit is given to us. And God is love. So that means God is pouring into us His nature.

He's divine nature. And that's where we've got to look and apply. And apply. And that's our hope.

Another later, in Romans chapter 8 verse 6 and 7, Paul then says, He says, For to be commonly minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. That means when we dedicate it, and God's Spirit is with us, and we receive that Spirit, that nature, we need to have our thoughts, our meditation, not on the things of the flesh, unemanded, but we have to meditate and think on that spiritual value system that is God's.

And was spiritually minded, and thereby is life and peace. Life, which is happiness and joy and peace of mind.

Because, because, verse 7, the carnal mind, if you're thinking, your mind is continued on a physical flesh and things, that's against God.

Because that's sin. Those are the things of the world. Those are natural enemies of God.

And those things of the world are not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

So then, those who are in the flesh, who are always thinking about the things of the flesh all the time, cannot please God.

We have to be thinking about what God is like, and can imitate God. And that's why, in Romans chapter 12, then we read, I beseech you, brethren. I beseech you, brethren. I plead with you, brethren. This is what Paul is saying. I plead with you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice.

In other words, your flesh, your natural carnal way of thinking, wants to go one way, and we have to present a living sacrifice by fighting that and allowing the spiritual, good, positive thoughts of God to lead us.

That's a living sacrifice which is holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Hey, it's not your great service. It's the men of you should do. It's your reasonable service. Therefore, don't be conformed to this, to fight in this world, but change your mind. Reuse your mind that you may prove. That's the test we're going to prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

So this is the sacrifice of God of ours.

Or do we back off? Are we dedicated to do that?

Or do we back off?

I know we all have our weaknesses and flaws, and we all quite often get on our knees and say, I've messed up again. But you know what? Get up, don't be discouraged, and overcome it. We've got that by controlling your thoughts right with you.

You can do it, because God's giving you the help of you. We can do it. So be encouraged to do that. That's the sacrifice that God wants. He says, this is the living sacrifice which is wholly acceptable to God.

And so, God does not care in you taking a lamb or a bull and burning it as a sacrifice. Yes, those were important because they pointed to Christ. But God does not care in you. God cares that you do a living sacrifice. That is the sacrifice that is wholly acceptable to God.

Look at Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah chapter 1, verse 11 and 12. Isaiah chapter 1, verse 11 and 12.

Isaiah 1, verse 11 and 12.

To what purpose is the multitude of sacrifices to me?

For what purpose are you giving me these sacrifices, lambs and sheeps and goats and bulls? What purpose?

Says the Lord, I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams and the fact of the cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or goats.

And you and I just read in Romans 12. What is the sacrifice that God delights in me? Which is the living sacrifice.

So whenever we read, well, offer a sacrifice, the sacrifice you and I need to offer is a living sacrifice. That is the sacrifice that we need to bring to God. And when you come to appear before me, and in those days, when they came to the temple, in those days, they say you come to church. You appear before me. Who is required this from your hand? Who is required you to come to the temple to trample my quarters? Bring no more futile sacrifices. In a sense, it is an abomination to me. Even the Sabbath and the colon of the temple, I cannot endure.

Why?

Because they bringing them at the same time with the second meeting. You see, they come to church, they go to the temple, but they still doing the wrong things. So what's the good of coming to church? That's in plain language today. Language. What's the good of coming to church? But then when you leave church, you go on and mess around, quote-unquote, 15 quotes. What's the good? What's the good?

So, what God wants is obedience, not sacrifice. That was Paul's problem. Do you remember? Saul, King Saul, 1 Samuel 15, verse 22, 1 Samuel 15 verse 22. God told him to wipe out the Malachite, and he did not. And today, we still have the spirit of the Malachite out there, which is those people that are cowards and cause terrorism, which is the spirit of the Malachite, causing it amongst the children and the ones that are the famous. All because of Saul. Because God said to him, destroy that spirit of the Malachite, and he did not. And therefore, God says in 1 Samuel 15 verse 22, says, As the Lord, a great delight, he burned off his sacrifices. Has he, then, as great delight in that, as he obeyed, the voice of eternal. Behold to obey is better than a sacrifice. It was a real sacrifice that God wants. He's a living sacrifice, as we read in Romans 12. I understand, brethren, that we are just befied freely by Christ's blood. But that is not enough, because we may lose their justification. If we're not fully dedicated to God and his way, because otherwise we're going to lose the gift of eternal life. You know, as it says in Psalm 69, Psalm 69 verse 28. Psalm 69 verse 28. See, you may have been justified by Christ's blood, and therefore you have your name written in the book of life, because you've been justified freely. Because you repented and done with that and you get baptized, your name is written in the book of life. But then, Psalm 69 verse 28 says, 69 verse 28, Let them, those are the wicked, let them be blotted out of the book of the living, out of the book of life, and not be written of the righteous. If you and I are not practicing being dedicated to God's way, we could lose, and our names could be erased from the book of life.

And so what we have to do, brethren, is to put God's mind in us, and God is love, and love is committed, is dedicated. Love never fails! You know the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. So let's go back there. 1 Corinthians 13.

Verse 4 through 8. 1 Corinthians 13 verse 4 to 8. And it says, Love suffers long, and is kind. What was that? When you're suffering long, particularly if you're suffering wrong, unjustifiably, and you still be kind. I'm not saying that either. But that's love. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself. No, it's backed up. It does not be a group. It does not seek its own.

It's not provoked. It's no evil. You know, you can spend hours meditating on each one of these. In fact, it just reminds me. I've given a sermon on each one of these many years ago. Maybe it's time for me to refresh that up. But anyway, each one of these is a sermon by itself. It does not rejoice in inequity, but rejoicing the truth. Beers all things. Believes all things. Outs all things. Endures all things. Love never fails. In other words, love is 100% committed and dedicated and never fails.

In other words, that's God's nature. And God has no weaknesses. And that's what you and I need to grow. I'm not saying that we're going to achieve that perfection in this life. But if our heart is right, God will give us the extra help when we're resurrected. God is absolute. God is powerful. God is merciful. And that's what we must desire to be. That's what we need to strive to be. Look at 1 John chapter 3. I hinted at this scripture a little earlier. Let me now read it in 1 John chapter 3. It's a beautiful scripture. And it says, Be all, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, then we should be called children of God.

Exclamation mark. Then we should be called the very children of God. In the words of the next 20 before, we are now begotten children of God. I mean, I was watching TV just the other day, and there was a lady saying, well, oh yeah, there was a girl that was singing and was saying, I never knew my dad because my dad was dead when I was born.

He had been shot by somebody, whatever, some criminal, whatever it was, on drugs, whatever it is, and just went accidentally, or whatever he shot at them. And so the mother had to continue raising up the child. I mean, go to full pregnancy, and then the child was born, and throughout her pregnancy, or most of her pregnancy, the father was already dead. But the point that I want to emphasize is, the father's job is to beget. Once he's begotten that child in the mother's womb, that child is a child of that dad.

And you know, as we are called, children of God, God has begotten us, has, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is the Holy Seed, the incorruptible seed, which the Greek actually talks about the sperm, which is the seed, which is incorruptible, and that seed begets you as a proper, loving child of God.

Not adopted, as some translations put it. And again, as I said, I have nothing against adoption, but I'm saying, it's actually a genuine, begotten child of God. And we are called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us because it is not Nalim. We first knew beloved, now we are the children of God. But we're not yet born with that new spiritual body. In other words, that will happen at the second, I mean, at the resurrection, the first resurrection, at the moment that Christ comes.

So we will then be begotten, we'll be born again, then at the resurrection. So it does not yet reveal what we shall be like. It was people don't yet see what we'll be like. But we know that when Israel, it was when Christ comes, then we shall be like Him, like Christ, for we shall see Him as He is. Because we will be able to see Christ and the Father in their full glory. Because you and I today cannot see God in His full glory. It's like earlier on there was sun shining in my eyes but through call reflection and then it was burning my eyes.

Now, if you were to look at the sun today, you'll be blind. You know that. You'll be blind. And God's glory is far greater than the sun. So you would evaporate if you could see God as He is today. But then we'll be able to see Him as He is because we'll have a spiritual body. And that is the glory that God has for you and I.

We are now the children of God but not yet born again. We'll be born again and we're born into that family, obviously as a mature adult being, not as a spiritual baby. We are spiritual babies now, but then we'll be mature, grown up, developed beings. But if you and I have this hope, if you and I have this hope of glory, the hope of glory that does not disappoint, as we read earlier, if we have this hope of glory, that's what it says in our eversary tree.

Therefore, everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. We will be dedicated to this way of life and we'll not let go. How are we dedicated?

Are we dedicated? Look with me at 2 Peter 1. And we're going to stop just before the verse that was read during the sermonette, which is very interesting because the sermonette read verse 12. But I'm going to read 2 Peter 1, starting from verse 3. This divine power is given to us. What is God's divine power? It's the Holy Spirit. It's given to us all things that we're coming to life. God's Holy Spirit gives us all the things that we need for eternal life.

In other words, it's like a tool bag of spiritual tools that gives us everything you and I need, spiritually speaking, to have eternal life. And God needs, in other words, to be like God, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. Called us by glory, by His glory and virtue, by which has been given to us precious. Given as exceeding great and precious promises.

What does exceeding great and precious promises? It's to be in His family. It's that great, great pearl. That through these, you may be partakers of what? Of the divine nature. That you and I may have the same nature as God has. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through us. But also, for this reason, giving all diligence, being completely dedicated. Add to your faith virtue. You know what? Be virtuous in what you do. Do the right things.

And to that virtue, more about the knowledge of what you need to do. Study more God's truth. And to the knowledge then, you have self-control. Control yourself. To fight the weakness of the flesh. And to self-control, persevere. Either way, stick to it. Have that dedication to just keep going. And to that perseverance, godliness. Here was put on the mind of God, being more like God.

And to that godliness, then you start having brotherly kindness, which is brotherly love. And then, from brotherly love, you have godly love, which is the love of God. Four, verse 8. If the smallest English word which is so important. If, not the smallest, I is probably the smallest, probably the one we've got to be very careful with. But anyway, if, a very small English word. If these things are yours and abound, you will be not a baron, nor untruthful, in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it says.

We've got to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And if we have these things, if we are putting on the virtue, and if we are speaking to it, and being diligent, and we perseverance, we'll grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

For He who lacks these things is short-sighted. If you and I lack these things, we are short-sighted, even to blindness. And I've forgotten that He was cleansed from His old sense. As we are in the seminary, lest we forget.

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent, be more dedicated to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble.

You will never stumble. Do you know what that means? What is stumble? Stumble is, lose eternal life.

So what is stumble? If you have these things, you'll never stumble. You'll never lose eternal life. In other words, this is a life insurance policy.

Yeah, from verse 5 to verse 7 is giving us a very specific life insurance policy.

That if you do these things, you will never leave God's church.

That makes you think, doesn't it? For, so, an entrance. It was this way, an entrance. In other words, this is the road or the door or the way. An entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the kingdom, the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Through this way, you will be supplied a door, a way to make it into the kingdom. This is the way to make it into the kingdom.

As simple as that. This is a guaranteed entry into the kingdom of God. A guaranteed formula.

Brethren, there are many challenges today in society. Technology, smartphones, values, etc. But what are we going to hold on to are the spiritual values that we have to be dedicated to. And if you and I want to succeed as a Christian, we understand that in first place, yes, we are justified freely by Christ's blood.

But we also understand that we may lose it if we don't do what we need to do. If we need let such a high quality. Therefore, you and I have an important part to play, brethren. You're not throwing away the gift or and the size of your reward.

Therefore, we need to fully understand that we must be completely dedicated to the way of God. And then the outcome is guaranteed and you and I will stand in the kingdom of God.