Gifts from the Father of Lights

A free gift for you. You ever see that? Maybe in the mail, maybe on your computer, maybe some salesman tells you, I have a free gift for you. And automatically you say, no reason opening that. Send that item to my junk folder. Don't listen to the salesman, because there's no such thing as anything that's really free. More importantly, we recognize that some of these things are tactics to get something. Not to give you something, but actually dig in and get something from you. On this Holy Sabbath day, let's stop and think about gifts, real gifts, true gifts that have come to you and to me. That God has offered to you and me. They're good from God's lips. They're called good. They are things that embellish, that only help. There's no downside. There's nothing negative. And they're offered to us with an if. If we want to accept them, number one, and if we want to pursue them, number two. So we actually have an involvement in this gift receiving and the using of the gift and developing into greater gifts. The Bible states, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. It shows here a spiritual dynamic that is different to anything you and I would give. Often if I give you a gift, well, I want you to like this. I'm giving you a nice gift. It's looking good. It's gift wrapped. But when God gives us a gift, it is pure. It's perfect. It's good. It is clean. It is right. It is righteous. And it's only for good. He says, all these good and perfect gifts come down from above from the Father of lights. Now, who are the lights? If he's the Father of lights, plural, who are the lights? What are these perfect and good gifts? Do we want these gifts, by the way? Are they something we would want to receive? Let's look at these today in this message entitled, Gifts from the Father of Lights.

The word light from the complete word study says the Hebrew word indicates sunlight, bright sunlight. Sunlight is good, isn't it? Sunlight brings warmth. It brings a certain growth component, a certain health component. It brings many things that are good. This light also can refer to a pillar of fire in a dark night, which God is. He led the way. In other words, it shines the light. It is always used as a positive symbol. Always positive. So think of light, God's light, the light that represents God and Jesus Christ as always being positive.

It is in the New Testament, a source of God's glory and God's righteousness, God's way. Let's go to John chapter 1 and verse 4, and we'll see here as Jesus Christ, the logos, the word is being described, that this is a component of the God family. John chapter 1 and verse 4, in him was life. That's good. And the life was the light of men, men who stumble around the darkness. Verse 5, the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.

So this light is a special light. This element of God, this goodness, this brightness, it is something very different than society, which is called dark. This phos is the word, light, phos, like phosphorus or phosphorescent. I've read a book recently about a lady, or a lady had written this book about her and her husband's journey from Toronto down to the Caribbean on a sailboat.

And her husband was really into sailing, but she wasn't so much. And at some point in the Caribbean Sea, they had to make a long multi-day passage without stopping. And someone always had to be at the helm. She found herself the first night on her shift in a dark cockpit on the ocean swells, and she didn't like it at all.

Until her boat passed through water that contained some little organisms that were phosphorescent. And suddenly, around the boat, the lights turned on in the water, and a greenish-blue color, everything the boat touched, and the little waves around the water just turned into a glowing sea that was so beautiful that she liked it so much, and she enjoyed her time so much, she didn't want to wake up her husband for his shift.

She wanted to keep going. Now, consider that little story for a moment, how in our lives we maybe don't want to live God's way of life when we're carnal, and we don't see it. But at some point, when the lights come on, light is a beautiful thing. It's a wonderful thing. It brings good things to us. It's like a sunrise, and people just love to watch the majesty of colors and brightness emerge out of darkness. And so, here we find in Him was life, and the light and the life was the light of men.

Good things coming from God. When we think of Jesus Christ and His example, He started out much like you and I. If we look over in Luke chapter 1 and verse 35, we'll find a beginning in Jesus's life that mirrors your in my beginning. Luke chapter 1 and verse 35. Mary and the angel are talking. The angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will overshadow you. And therefore also that Holy One which is to be born will be called the Son of God.

So she's going to have a baby, and that one Jesus would have a beginning much like ours that began in the womb and eventually was born, and He would be called the Son of God. It's related to God. He's the Son of God. God became His Father. Now, we're told in Scripture that as we follow Jesus Christ and as we follow the prescribed course of salvation, we become called Sons of God. Jesus says He is your Father in heaven.

So we follow that same course. Now in verse 40 of chapter 2 of Luke, Luke 2 verse 40, And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Now, we find that in the New Testament the first person to receive God's grace is found right here, and that's Jesus Christ. Jesus was the first one, it says here, the grace of God was upon him.

Obviously, Jesus was not a sinner, so if we think of grace merely as Jesus died for our sins, we're not thinking clearly. The word here translated grace is charis, c-h-a-r-i-s, and it means favor or gifts. The gifts of God were upon Jesus Christ, and he was God's Son. He says in James chapter 1 and verse 17, every good and perfect gift is from above, from the Father of lights. In other words, he's the originator of lights. Who is Jesus Christ? Let's go to John chapter 8 and verse 12.

And then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world. So the Father of lights, the first light, you might say the first fruit light, was Jesus Christ. He says, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.

You know that subsequently, Jesus, as he was leaving, said, you are now the light of the world. He called us sons of God, as he was spiritually and literally a son of God. We are called spiritual sons of God. And we are, as he says here in verse 12, to have the light of life. Where do we get these things? Well, these are gifts from the Father. Perfect and wonderful gifts. So the Father begins giving fitting gifts to Jesus Christ to accomplish what he was sent here for. And Jesus Christ will speak then about us receiving gifts as well. So, how did Jesus Christ do it? As he grew up, as he developed into his ministry, how did he do it? Let's go back to James chapter 1 and verse 17 and read about these gifts. James 1 and verse 17.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. This is a consistent God with consistent gifts, a consistent plan. The process of salvation is consistent. There's no turning, no shadow. Nobody's going to make any changes in it.

Now, notice verse 18. Of his own will, he brought us forth. He brought us forth. You'll see a woman would brought forth a child. We are, in a sense, brought forth by the Word of truth. Who is the Word of truth? Revelation chapter 19. His name, Jesus Christ returning, is the Word. And he brought us forth by the Word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Or, as the Greek word there would say, his kind of the God kind. That we can ultimately follow Jesus Christ. He said, the way you know, he says, I am going away. And the way you know, we're to follow him to become first fruits of his kind along with Jesus Christ.

So we're invited here. We begin to see some gifts that are offered to us. We begin to see a way, a truth, a life. Ultimately, Jesus wants us to be representative of the God family and be lights ourselves. And for the gifts that God gives us to pass on to others. In John chapter 15, we'll see some of these gifts. John 15, let's look at verse 4 of John 15 verses 4 through 8. He says, abide or dwell in me.

Dwell in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you dwell in me. We are offered here a wonderful gift of God and Christ dwelling in us through the Spirit and us dwelling in that family. That's our country. That's our laws. That's our mindset as the family of God. And if we dwell like that, then he said we will bear fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I've spoken to you.

Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine. Now, when you think of these gifts, we think, oh, these are nice gifts. Of course, it's the Sabbath when we're at church. So let's stop and think, do I want the gifts of God? Do I really want the gifts of God? He's raising an important statement here. If you dwell in him, that's where your mind is. You dwell in him, then you'll bear fruit. But what if that's not where we want to dwell?

What if we want to dwell in our career? What if we want to dwell in more sales? What if we want to dwell in my hobbies, my projects, you know, my farm, my animals? What if I want to get up in the morning and go about my own business? And I don't really want to pray and study. I don't really want to take God with me in the day.

It kind of be like somebody who gave you a gift in a beautiful box and has a bow and they hand it to you and you say, wow, well thanks. I wasn't expecting this. And you open it up and well, it's a green sweater. Well, how nice. A green sweater. I was needing to fix the breaks on my car.

I was hoping to get a career advancement. I was hoping that person would fall in love with me. I was, you know, my mind's somewhere else, but I've got a green sweater. Well, there's nothing wrong with a green sweater, but my head's not there right now. I didn't plan to wear green today. Maybe the temperature isn't just right, but thank you for the sweater.

I'll just put that over here. See, I'll just put that aside. Well, he's talking about something here and he goes on in verse 5. I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. Are we about bearing fruit? Are we about bearing prophets? About bearing fun? About bearing, you know, entertainment or some pursuit? Are we about bearing spiritual fruit?

If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and withered and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they're burned. So we're going to see, yes, we're saved. At baptism, we're saved from the penalty of death and the lake of fire for the sins we have committed in the past. And we're given these gifts and opportunity to pursue God's righteousness and bear fruit. But what if we're not interested in that? He just said right there. He says, if anyone does not abide in me, verse 6, if we choose not to, well thanks for the green sweater, but I don't think I'm going to be putting this one on today. I'm sort of busy with other things. Then we wither and eventually, you know, there's no place in the family of God for those who do not become godly. So let's just remember that. Do we want the gifts that God offers us? Do we want that coat of the armor that God offers us to defeat Satan and to overcome and to be in his kingdom? That's a good question for each of us to ask every day as we get up. Am I interested in praying and studying? Am I interested in putting my mind on God and his laws and then going out as an agent of agape love and truth and right today? It is a living example and lie to the God family? Or do I have something else in mind? Back in 1 John chapter 5 in verse 18. 1 John chapter 5 and verse 18. We know that whoever is born of God does not sin. Now, those obviously who are literally born of God as spirit beings won't sin. But here, he seems to be saying those who are engendered of God, those who have God's Holy Spirit, don't live a life of sin. We're kind of like the apostle Paul. We're moving out of that. We're wrestling. We're fighting it. Our days are filled with battling that and overcoming. And so we're not living a life of sin. But he who has been born of God or engendered of God as the Spirit of God keeps himself and the wicked one does not touch him, does not prevail. We know that we are of God and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. What a fabulous gift we are given to have our eyes opened and our ears opened to know God and to not be deceived by Satan who deceives the whole world. Going on, he says here in verse 19, we know that we are of God. Verse 20, we know that the Son of God has come and given us understanding.

What a blessing that is! How can we possibly receive such a wonderful gift as understanding and wisdom in these things from above, unless it is given to us as a gift, that we may know him who is true and we are in him who is true in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Great gifts, wonderful gifts.

But once again, are those the gifts that we are looking for? Is that what's really on our mind as we're told to seek? First, the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness. Is that priority number one on a daily basis or does that slip into number 22 if I get a chance? And I'm talking to the choir here, obviously, at the same time I'm talking to myself because it's a daily choice that we all have. And unless we really come to desire and appreciate these gifts from the Father of lights, then we might, as Jesus said, become untapped from the main stock, as it were, of life. And we could be withered up. Jesus was given gifts from the Father of lights. Let's go back to Romans chapter one. Think again of Jesus who came as the first of the first fruits. He came as our example. He was the forerunner. Paul here in the book of Romans, breaking in into verse two, verse three, concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh. So we have that in common. And declared to be the Son of God. Well, we also are declared to be sons of God. You are now sons of God, the Bible tells us. But with him, to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness. We have the Spirit of holiness. By the resurrection from the dead, we have the promise of the resurrection of the dead to follow him. Verse five, through him we have received grace. We have received favors from God, these gifts.

And he says, apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name, among whom you also are called the called of Jesus Christ. Gifts that God gave Jesus Christ, he is giving us, has given us, if we truly have repented and have been baptized. So we have been given these gifts. Notice in verse 16, Paul says, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. The gospel has shined to us.

Verse 17, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.

Faith. Another gift that we've received. And we are assured and we trust and we devote our lives to these things because of these gifts that God has given. You know, it's a wonderful thing when each of us begins to receive these gifts from God, the calling, the faith, the repentance, the baptism. We all started there at one point. And whenever we sometimes get a letter, a new contact, or some new person comes that has been touched by these gifts initially and is beginning to respond to it, it's very encouraging. For instance, a man wrote from an island country in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa, and he said, I'm 50 years of age and I work as a primary school teacher in a certain village. I have just signed up on the UCG website and I appreciate the message and I intend to attend Sabbath services on his island. Please inform me about the address and time of services. I very much intend to obey God as I am convinced there is no other right way than him. Now, that's so encouraging to hear. And then, after God gives us that faith, then we have to act on it. Sometimes we see what I've termed as the one in ten rule. You get a letter like this from an individual and they're kind of rare today, but if you get ten of them, one will actually show up at church. His intent was to show up, but one actually comes.

Of the ten who actually come, one will come back. Of the ten who come back, one will be baptized. And the history of our church, for every ten who are baptized, maybe two remain.

You know, it is choices on our side, on our side, that determine our success. Because God never leaves or forsakes us. His gifts are always there. His desire is always there that we succeed. But we have to determine whether or not these gifts are important to us. Let's look at the gifts. Let's take a look, first of all, at faith. Faith can't just be faith, as James brings out so clearly. It has to have participation. Faith with action. Faith with works, it's called. Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2 and we'll read verses 8 through 10. Ephesians chapter 2, starting in verse 8. For by grace, or by these favors, these gifts of God, you have been saved. Yes, you have been saved by grace, initially. What were we saved from at baptism? We were saved from the death penalty for the sins that we had previously committed. Now, it takes a commitment after that, as we've already read, to then put that sin out of our life. But this is like an individual who's at sea and a boat comes alongside and, oh, there's a person floating in the water out there. I've seen at least three people do this on the same day. And they're mostly submerged underwater, but once in a while when the swell comes by, the head pops up and they just kind of look at you. I mean, they're toast. They're dying. They've already tired out. They can't swim anymore. Now, if you throw the person a life ring, or better yet, dive in and go underneath and do the certified rescue where they don't drown you, too, you can give that person saving. It's called a life saver. You have saved this person's life. Now, in that sense, if you throw them a life ring and they hang on to it, they're saved from immediate death. But there are sharks in the water. They're already experiencing some amount of hypothermia. So are they permanently saved in that condition? No. But they've initially had the initial saving. So what is this right here? By grace or by these gifts you have been saved, you've been thrown a life. And as we come out of the baptism tank, then our sins and the penalty of those sins is removed and put on Jesus Christ. But then we have to walk. We have to walk as a new individual. We have to grow up into Christ. So here in verse 8, that not of yourselves, for it is a gift of God. He didn't somehow earn these gifts. Who gave you a calling? Who gave you faith? Where did this come from? And all the other gifts. It wasn't because God looked down and said, wow, there's some humans down there that are just exceptional. Why, they're just really, they reflect well on us. Let's give them conversion.

That's not how it works.

And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. So these gifts are gifts.

In verse 10, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So this faith that we received, it says, by grace you have been saved through faith. This is something that God has given us freely. And at the end, we must then walk in them. In other words, work. We must participate. We must become involved. Is that something we want to do? Is that a gift we want to receive? Let's go and talk about the next gift, repentance in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 25. 2 Timothy chapter 2, the last two verses here. 25 and 26. Talking here to the ministry, and it says, In humility, correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them, give them repentance. Repentance is a gift from God. So that they may know the truth, knowing the truth is a gift of God. And that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. All these things are gifts that are given to us that we need to desire, we need to receive. We need to say, Yes, I appreciate this. I appreciate all that God has put into this, and Jesus Christ and his sacrifice and their life and their daily monitoring and dwelling in me through the Spirit. See? They even know the number of hairs on our heads. They really care. And it's their desire that all will come to repentance and receive eternal life. So then we have baptism. We go back to 1 Peter, 1 Peter 3 and verse 18.

Now, I could be turning to the more familiar scriptures for each of these, but I thought, let's take some scriptures that we don't often turn to and show how these are gifts from God. So regarding baptism, we go to 1 Peter 3 and verse 18. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. That's a gift. Being put to death in the flesh, but being made alive in the Spirit.

By whom also? Well, let's drop down here to verse 21. There is also an anti-type of the flood, which now saves us. Baptism. So we are now baptized, and he shows here clearly, not the removal of filth from the flesh. In other words, we're not taking a bath here. It's not to take soap and scrub down and take the germs and everything off from a hard day's work. No, not the removal of the filth from the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God. The answer. God gave us repentance. He offers us baptism, and we have to answer and say, yes, I want a new man. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God. He's already there. We're offered the way. We're invited to participate in the process. Now it's up to us to do our part. If we continue on in chapter 4 verse 1, therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind.

Our participation is to arm our mind with the same devotion and dedication he did. For he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lust of men, but for the will of God. So again, here are the gifts. Here's the sacrifice. Here's the forgiveness of sin. Here's the baptism. Do we want it? Do we want to then live for God? Forgiveness of past sins. The apostle Paul speaks of in Acts chapter 26 verses 17 and 18. Let's go to Acts 26 and verse 17. Here Paul is talking about his calling and conversion. Acts 26 and verse 17. This was given to him dramatically. It wasn't something he was even wanting. It says in verse 15, so I said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose to make you a minister and a witness, both of the things which you have seen and the things that I will yet reveal to you. Verse 17. I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you. So he is being sent here. He's called uniquely and given these gifts. In verse 18, he's being sent for this reason. To open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

Repentance of sins, forgiveness of sins, all of these things, along with the faith, along with the calling. These are gifts that God gives us, offers to us. Following that is the Holy Spirit.

In Luke 11, verse 11, we know that Jesus was the Son of God, and we also become children of God, sons and daughters of God, sons of God. Various terms are used to describe the familial relationship of those who are becoming godly. In Luke 11, verses 11 through 13, notice, if a son asks for bread, notice the terms here. Didn't say a foreigner or something, somebody you never heard of, asked. No, it's about father and son. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he be offered a scorpion? Verse 13, if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? I've always found that to be a very interesting statement. How many people ask God for the Holy Spirit versus for a new car, a better job, healing, some release from some situation, some advancement? They get up in the morning, they pray so hard for something. How many of us are going and asking our Heavenly Father to give the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Spirit a green sweater? He's like, oh, well, thanks. But I was really wanting the car. Sometimes we as humans can have our priorities mixed up, and we don't seek first the kingdom of God. We'd rather get up in the morning and pursue our personal daily life. But here it is. We're offered the Holy Spirit as a gift. And it says here, once again, who will give in the form of gifts, Father to Son, who will give the Holy Spirit?

And then we have the Helper. The last gift that I'll talk about here, John 14.23, which is the Holy Spirit. But notice it's a Helper. It's a good thing. It's not something to challenge us or cause us to stumble or in any way negative. It's a Help and a Helper if we are using it and pursuing the right things. John 14.23, Jesus said to him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him, dwelling in us, and we are to dwell in them. That's an incredible, incredible gift of God and Christ living in us and helping us. Dropping down in verse 26, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, it will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you in the next chapter in verse 26. Chapter 15 in verse 26.

In...

Oh, we just read verse 26. Okay. Okay.

The United Church of God has a booklet called Transforming Your Life, the Process of Conversion. It's a process. It's not a state, an instant state, but a process of converting to be like God. And in it, it says, Jesus was born not only to make possible forgiveness of the past, but to help us conquer the strongholds of sin. That's what the Helper is there for. Lead us, guide us, direct us, but help us conquer the strongholds of sin. I mean, when you think of Ephesians chapter 6, the armor of God, there's your stronghold of sin, Satan the devil, the devil. He's our opposer. He's the one who is trying to defeat us, make us fail. And yet we are given all of these same gifts in various described ways in an armor description so that we can have help. And that help in time of need will enable us to withstand the wiles of the devil and having done all to stand. So it's all good. But again, as I mentioned in the series on the armor of God, do we each morning desire to pick it up and put it on? So you didn't say you're clothed with the armor of God. It says, pick up, put on this piece, put on that piece. Deliberately desire to put on this part and that part. And is that something we desire? Or is that another green sweater that say, you know, I've got other things in mind? In 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 16, the apostle Paul shares with us the importance of striving, of putting these things in priority positions in our life, not in some secondary thing, like the five foolish virgins when Christ returns like, oh, oh, well, I didn't have that as a priority. I didn't really develop any oil. But let me see if I can go get somebody else's oil. Let's see if I can go buy it off of somebody else. See, we need to be seeking first these things on a daily basis. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 16. Therefore, we do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Glory means brightness. If we were working along these things, we are heading to a great destination. While we do not look at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. If we're not careful, we'll get focused on trivial things where moss and rust corrupt, and we won't be looking at the important things. We have a wonderful God. He desires that we use these gifts, that we treasure these gifts. They are the most important, best things there are in life, and we cannot just relegate them to one day a week. We must be building them into our lives. Let's look at Ephesians 6 and 10 briefly, just to notice here what this armor of God contains. Ephesians 6 and 10 says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of his mind. Where do we get God's power and strength?

Put on the whole armor of God. That's how we do it. It's power. It's good. It's strength.

And he says in verse 14, Stand therefore. We are to stand. We are to endure. And we can do this easily, in a sense. You can do almost any job if you have the right equipment.

But if you don't, then it becomes impossible. So don't faint in the day of adversity if you have all the tools to stand. Cross the page in Philippians 2 and verse 12. As we wrap this up, Philippians 2 and verse 12, Therefore, because of these things, brethren, as you have always obeyed, not as in my absence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. And as the Bible says, Do you believe in God? Great! Don't count too much about your belief in God being and saving you, because Satan and the demons believe in God and tremble. You've got to do something with that belief. You have to put works with it. Verse 13, For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do for his good pleasure. So God promotes a will and then the work to do the things that are right if we want them, if we have a mindset of wanting that. Do all things without complaining and disputing that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God, without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. Jesus was the light, and if we do what he did, we are lights in the world. The Father of lights is the Father of those who are holding fast the word of life, those who are living it. You and I have a blessed opportunity here to be involved. As it says here in verse 16, holding fast the word of life so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ. We want to rejoice when Christ returns. He is the ultimate judge, and he will judge many to have eternal life and to shine like the Son and the kingdom of his Father.

So in conclusion, I'd like to read one more passage. It's in 1 Corinthians 9, beginning in verse 24.

Read through the first part of verse 27. 1 Corinthians 9, beginning in verse 24. Don't allow yourself to get seduced into slowing down, into getting sidetracked, a feeling entitled that somehow something is going to work out without your direct involvement. It's not going to be done for you. Your race isn't run for you. We have to do this individually. In verse 24 here of chapter 9, do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize?

Now, in any race, you only have one person who finishes first, but we are all running our own race, and we need to work out our own salvation in that sense. We are responsible, in other words, to work out our own salvation. But he says here, run in such a way that you may obtain it.

And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now, they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore, I run this way, not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight, not as one who beats the air, but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection. A lot of effort, a lot of work, a lot of participation using these gifts that God gives us. So now is the time for us to be alert, assessing the opponent, developing the godly character, fighting the good fight, and encouraging others along the way to win that race that God is offering them as well. How can we do this? We can do it the same way Jesus Christ did it, because we have been given gifts from the Father of lights.