Patient Continuance, Part 2

Well, hello again. I appreciate Mr. Kenebec's split sermon there about building a temple. We have often talked about the temple that God is building in all of us, and we want to continue that. Last week when I was here, we told you that what we want and what we pray for everyone here and everyone listening in on the web, and we should all be praying for each other, is that we encourage each other, we get to know each other, we become one with each other, we love each other, and we want to see each other there when Jesus Christ returns.

That's going to take some work, and there's going to be some trying times ahead of us as we do that, but as we follow God and as we cling to Him and do the things that God asks us to do and that you know what to do, we'll be there.

So last week I gave you some points that I wanted you to remember. Certainly this isn't an exhaustive lift, but let me remind you of some of those from last week, and we'll continue through here because I do want to arm you with some things to think about and to do as we all move forward. Last week you'll remember we talked about three things.

The first one we talked about was one of those old cliches that we've heard, and I told you be aware of cliches. Sometimes we can hear a cliche and we just think we're done, we've done it, and we don't have to worry about it.

That's the time it's very dangerous. Stop and think what that cliche means. The first one was endure to the end. We know that we need to endure to the end. We know that we have to stay the course and that we can't let our hands fall by our sides or our knees become weak. We have to keep moving forward. If you'll remember, we talked about the sower and the seed, the parable of the sower and the seed, and how people initially are very excited when they receive the truth.

Some immediately Satan comes and snatches it away and we never even see them attend Sabbath services. Others will continue a little bit and something comes up, whether it's a tribulation or persecution or an entertainment opportunity, and they want to do that instead of obeying God and they fall by the wayside. Others, most of us sitting here in the room today, would fall into the category of the third one, who would be in danger of having something happen in our lives that we could continue for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years, and then find ourselves not enduring to the end.

The Bible talks about letting the cares of this world take us away from the love of God we should have. It might be the cares of this life, looking, pursuing riches, pursuing whatever it might be, and looking away from the things that we were called to and the truth that we have. There's two other words that are in that parable, those other things in life, because it doesn't have to be just the cares of this world that would carry us away. It wouldn't have to be the pursuit of riches or the pursuit of whatever it is, but other things that could take us away from God, and we always need to be aware of that.

Satan, the adversary, who would love nothing more to take you out of the church, to take me out of the church, to see the whole thing fall apart, will do anything and use anything to get us to not endure to the end. Maybe it's a disappointment that turns into bitterness. Maybe it's a discouragement from someone.

Maybe it's a rebuke that you just don't like taking rebukes or whatever it is that would turn you away after all these years and think, I just don't want to be there anymore. Pride is a very dangerous, dangerous thing. It could be one of those dangerous other things. We think we know too much. We think that we know more than someone else or something, something that is there.

Any one of us could fall prey and we could find any of those things take us away. None of us want that to happen to anyone here or anyone listening or to anyone that God would call and put in his church. We talk a lot about oneness and unity and growing to be one collectively as the temple God is building, certainly individually.

It takes all those stones that God is using to build that temple. Take a stone out, take another stone out. Pretty soon the building crumbles. None of us want to be that weak link or that weak stone. So we encourage each other. We look out for one another. We help each other and encourage each other. Stay on that path. Endure to the end. Be part of that fourth group that endures all persecution, all temptations, endures the good times that can be so dangerous as well that can just kind of lull us to sleep and make us think things are going to go on forever and not pay attention to things.

That was enduring to the end. The other thing we talked about was Jesus Christ's words. When He called disciples two words. Follow Me. Follow Me. Very simple words. Follow Me is very easy if I tell you, follow Me from here to there. Follow Me when Jesus Christ says them is not so easy. It's a straight path. It's a narrow path. It'll have twists and turns along the way, but He is the only way to the destination that you and I want. No matter how many twists, no matter how many turns, no matter how many things that come up along the way that you think, well, this should have happened this way or that should have happened that way or whatever.

Follow Him. Always look to the Bible. Always follow His words. Never deter.

Never think you know a better way. Never think another church or another minister from another place that isn't teaching the whole truth of God has a better way. Only the true Church of God. Following Jesus Christ, preaching the truth of God is the way to the Kingdom. It's the only way. Don't let anyone ever tell you anything differently. Last thing we talked about last week was enduring deception, religious deception. You remember we looked at 2 Thessalonians 2, and it said there that if we don't develop a love of the truth, a love of the truth, that God will send strong delusion that we would believe the lie. It's not enough to know the truth. We absolutely need to know the truth. We need to know what's in the Bible. We need to know and come to know every word in it because every word in it has meaning. There's a couple words we'll look at here in a few minutes that I want to draw your attention to that I want you to remember today that you may not have noticed before as we learn to live by every word of God. But we have to love the truth. Jesus Christ said He was the way. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. He is truth. You and I, our calling is to become like Him. We need to become truth. Live by every word. It's in our hearts. It's in our minds. It defines us. And when people see us and know us, they would look at us and say, there are people who follow the Bible. They love the truth. We must love the truth. So I want to go on today and give you a few more things to think about and kind of put in your basket there to contemplate as you go from here and as we all move forward into our different ways. And one of them I want to start in Hebrews 5. The word is going to be deception, but not deception like we talked about last week in religious deception. Deception is one of those words that wouldn't even be bad sometime to think to sit down and contemplate deception. What are all the ways that I could be deceived? Could be religious, right? We hear something, an interesting little theory that piques our interest and we can kind of speculate and take a branch off of the Bible and say, yeah, that makes sense. I'm going to follow that. God's opened my mind to this unique understanding that's different than everyone else has. And all of a sudden we find ourselves at odds with the church and not following Jesus Christ anymore, but following our own ideas and what we might like to be. There's religious deception. There's self-deception. We could give sermons on that. We've all been the victim of self-deception. We're not so much victims as we are the ones who engender it and make it happen. We all think that, you know, probably, well, we all have pride and that leads to self-deception. We think we know more than anyone else. We're better than anyone else and we have a better idea than anyone else. We've got to guard against that. That's where husbands and wives and fellow church members and friends and family members can help us. And when you hear something, don't get mad. Don't get mad. Really examine because self-deception can be one of the things we'll never see in ourselves, but others will. And we have a responsibility to help each other along those ways. But there's other kinds of deception as well. We're going to get to that in a minute, but let's look at Hebrews 5 here because deception occurs when we aren't looking at things in the correct way. We're not using the Bible or the knowledge that God gives us or the truth that God gives us in a certain way. So here in Hebrews 5 and verse 12, he's talking to a group of people that he says should be spiritually mature.

Whatever happened in the in the church at that time or whatever the author of Hebrews is writing here, he's talking about, you know, by this time you should have been able to judge this a little better. We need to go back and you need to look at the Bible. Let the Bible be the guide. Let the God be the let the Bible lead you into what you need to do and decisions you need to make. And verse 12 in Hebrews 5 here, he says, for though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God and you have come to need milk and not solid food. Well, all of us sometimes sometimes it's not bad to go back and have some of that milk and refresh our minds about what the basic teachings and truths of the Bible are, to make sure we haven't wandered from them, that we haven't watered them down, we haven't justified some little pathway off of it in a little bit thinking that that's okay. God's very clear on what the elementary principles of Christianity, true Christianity is. True Christianity is.

Verse 13, he says, for everyone who partakes only of milk, we have to grow, right? Babies, human babies, they start off with milk but they don't just have milk the rest of their lives.

Christians may start off with milk, we all do, but we grow. We become what he indicates here in verse 13, everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. Think about that word, unskilled. Maybe circle it in your Bible.

You know, we need to become people who are skilled in the Word of God.

The only way we become skilled in the Word of God is to read it, know it, study it, diligently study it, apply it into our lives. When we are faced with situations, apply what God says is the answer, search the scriptures, look for the answers, ask God what the direction is. The only way to become skilled in the Word of God is to use it and make it part of our everyday life.

Those who are unskilled in the Word of God are not pleasing God. He gives us this textbook, this instruction book for life, for us to become skilled in. A situation arises. What do I do? I think back to this scripture. That's the direction God would have us be. I ask God, what are the words I should say at this time? What is the path I should take? How should I react to this? Should I do this even though it's not what I want to do? And as you become skilled in the Word of God, as you become skilled in your relationship with God and asking Him and looking at Him as a shepherd, teacher, mentor who is there, who wants to provide everything we need to get from here to the return of Jesus Christ to be standing there with Him, He'll provide. He'll provide. But we have to become skilled. Remember that word, skilled in the Word of Righteousness. In verse 14, but solid food, solid food belongs to those who are of full age. That's spiritually mature. That is who, by reason of use, reason of use, have to use the tools we're given, have to use the Holy Spirit, have to use the Bible, have to use the knowledge that God gives us, have to use the things that we have. You know, we could have the greatest instrument in the world, but if we never use it, if we never practice it, what good is it? You know, I look over here, I know we have people who know how to play the piano. I don't know what to do with that. Well, I know what to do with it. It wouldn't sound very good, but without using it, without practicing it, they don't become skilled. It's the same thing with the Word of God and the way of life of God. Have to use what God gives. Those who, by reason of use, have their senses exercised. See that? Reason of use, you have your senses, your spiritual senses exercised to discern both good and evil. When you, by reason of use, become skilled in the Word of God, you can look at a sense of self-care. When you look at God, you can look at a situation. You can look at an attitude. You can look at a direction something's going and discern, is that the direction God would go? Or is that the direction I would go? Or is that the direction the world is going? Where's truth? Only one source of truth. Only one source of truth. We have to come to love the truth.

They, by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. To discern truth from error. To discern right from wrong. Even to discern something else. Let's go back to Matthew 16.

The Greek word that's there in Hebrews 5.13 is Strongs number 1253. Very, very similar meaning to what we find in Matthew 16 verse 3, which is Strongs 1252. Same English word translation.

Same meaning, if you will. Jesus Christ speaking to the Pharisees. They're looking for a sign, as often they are. Verse 2 of Matthew 16 says, Christ answers and says to them, When it's evening, you say, it'll be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, it'll be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.

Same color of sky. Two different outlooks, two different forecasts. You become skilled in reading the sky by reason of use and paying attention to what's going on. You see the difference in that.

The Christ says, hypocrites, you know how to discern the face of the sky, but you can't discern the signs of the times.

Here they were, with Jesus Christ the Messiah in their midst. They couldn't even see it.

They had the Word of God. They had it that they could probably recite it, whole books at a time. But they couldn't even discern that the Messiah was with them.

How sad is that? How sorry is that? What were they applying that they couldn't even see what was in front of them? And so they were deceived. They put the Messiah to death.

So we live in a time. We've talked about it often. That's much, much different than it was two or three years ago. It'll be much, much different two or three years from now. And however long God allows this world to go on before the time of end really gets here.

But we have to be people who can discern and see the signs of the times. Seeing the signs of the times will energize us. Seeing the signs of the time when we see prophecy being fulfilled, when we see the direction. And what God has said for millennia ago, written in the Bible, that it is happening. It'll be energizing. It will be zealous if we really are committed to God. If we really are seeking His kingdom and understanding and discerning even what it is between now and then, you know, we will have to go to and committing ourselves to follow Him through whatever it is between now and the end.

Discerning the times is really, really important. You know, we live in a society today, you know, unlike any time you and I have lived in the United States, where you can find, you can turn on a TV station and find anyone that can agree with what you want it to be. You can set on one set of channels and they'll tell you everything is peachy, dory, fine, everything is in control. You can set on another one and say, you know, all this talk about censorship, all this talk about war, all this talk about the things going on, the economic troubles in the world and where it's headed, you know, food shortages that are being predicted. When have we ever lived in a time where food shortages were projected in America? I mean, what are the signs of the times that we're even being warned? This is what's ahead. You know, we live in times that are quite different. The words we hear are quite different and we can find anything we want on TV. And sometimes you can't listen to just one thing. You have to be balanced because, as we read last week in Isaiah 59.14, truth is fallen in the street. You're not going to find truth by listening to one party or your neighbor or your best friend that's outside of the church.

The truth is in the Bible, discerning and watching what's going on and knowing the signs of the times that are in the Bible that will show us when that time is growing nearer. And when that time is growing nearer, it's not time to relax. It's not time to sit back. It's not the time to enjoy the good times because Christ says, as it was in the days of the sons, as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man, they'll marry, they'll give in marriage. It'll be good times. The good times will roll right up until the very end. We don't want people who are sound asleep, who are going to panic when that end comes. I'm heartened when I read, and I read economic forecasters, and I read most of everything that you guys send me to look at, and I'm always interested in what is there, but a lot of the economic forecasters today will tell you who are looking at things. First, they have no idea why we're still in the state we are. It's kind of like just we're there by merely because God has not allowed the whole thing to fall apart yet, but that when America falls, it won't be a gradual decline. One day, it will just not be there, the economy. Just one day, it'll happen, and no one knows what that day will be like. But we know, as we look ahead to Revelation 13, I'm not turning to Revelation 13, we know that the world will be in a state of panic when that beast power arises and the commands that the whole world worships it. We are people who need to know and remember, as we're skilled in the Word, skilled in prophecy, skilled in discerning the times, that we're aware of that. Let's turn over to 2nd 1st Thessalonians. 1st Thessalonians 5.

Words we've read over the years. Words I kind of want you to remember as the years go on, and you'll be hearing, you know, some of this isn't going to never be talked about again.

But Paul gives us, you know, he writes to this church in Thessalonica. Remember the church in Thessalonica, as we've talked about in our Bible studies when we were going through the book of Acts, it was a persecuted church. They had a lot of trouble. All the churches in Acts had different things. The Thessalonica was a church that endured a lot. And in chapter 5, verse 1, he says, concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you, and I would caution, not caution, I would encourage you, every time you see the word you in the Bible, take that personally. God's talking to you and me. But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. Well, we all have need to be reminded of these things. For you, yourselves, know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

We know that. No one knows the day or the hour. Only God knows the day or the hour. But there is a process that goes on. And we know in Daniel we have 1335 days, 1290 days, 1260 days. We know in Revelation there's a time that Satan is cast down to the earth. And God says, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth. The devil is cast down to you, you, having great wrath, for he knows he has but a short time. And when we see things that are so different, so not even understandable of what is going on in a world around us, we might just look at those times and say, there is a short time, however short that is, because only God knows could be however long God wants it. For you yourselves know, and when that count begins, the day of the Lord and the return of Jesus Christ is happening. Won't turn back, won't turn back. The process will continue. For you yourselves know perfectly the day of the Lord, so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, and I have a feeling, I don't know this, when they say, the world says peace and safety, peace and safety, however that message goes out, everything is going now. You don't have anything else to worry about. Peace and safety, what does God say? Sudden. A prophetic word you find throughout the Bible, sudden destruction comes. So when you hear peace and safety and you want to relax and say, see, everything went back to the way it was, beware. Sudden destruction comes. Upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. They shall not escape.

Those who by reason of use, who have become skilled in the word, who have been skilled in discerning the signs of the times and the other discernment and discernment of deception that we would be looking at all around us, they will escape. Christ says, remember in Luke 20, 21, that you are counted worthy to escape. Discern the times by reason of use, become skilled in the word of God, become skilled in using it. Engage God, ask Him, let Him be your guide. Follow Me, Jesus Christ said. Follow Me. Do things the way that I said to do.

So that's one.

Let's turn back to 1 Peter. I'll let Peter give you the next point. If I give you the point, I would use one of those phrases you've heard me talk about often over the years.

But Peter has a way of saying it in a different way that caught the attention of the people he was writing to that can catch our attention as well. Sometimes we just need to look back, what do these phrases mean? Because when we see it in a different way, it's like, am I doing that? Am I getting ready the way that I should be getting ready? Here in verse 13 of 1 Peter 1, he begins the verse saying, therefore. As we've said many times, when you see the word therefore, go back and read what comes before therefore because the author here, God, who inspired Peter to write this, he's saying many things that are worth reading. I'm not going to take the time to read it. You can read up to it, but in verse 13, following all that, Peter writes, therefore, therefore gird up the loins of your mind. Be sober. Rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Gird up the loins of your mind. What does that mean?

That's not a phrase that we commonly look at. Peter could have said it another way. In fact, when you look up again, the Greek word there, it's the only time it's used in the New Testament, right here in that verse. Gird up the loins of your mind. Sometimes when we come across phrases like that, we look at that and think, okay, let's understand the words that God has said. Let me read a couple of Bible dictionaries say about this gird up the loins of your mind. It's really playing on gird up. This is from Vines. We've all heard of Vines Expository. It says, This figure is taken from the circumstances of the Israelites as they ate the Passover in readiness for their journey. The Christian is to have his mental powers alert in expectation of Christ's coming. The verb is in the middle voice. I didn't take the time. I know we have some English majors probably in here who can tell us what is the middle voice. Apparently very important because they say the verb is in the middle voice indicating the special interest the believer is to take in so doing. Gird up the loins of your mind. Here's what Thayer says about it. This is a metaphor derived from the practice of the Orientals who in order to be unimpeded in their movements were accustomed when about to start on a journey or engage in any work to bind their long and flowing garments closely around their bodies and fasten them with a leather girdle. So here they have these clothes they're about to go someplace. These clothes could get in the way. If you're going on a long journey, find them up. Get them close so they're not causing you any problems so that you can just get forward, get on with the job, keep marching forward. It's the readiness of it, the consciousness of what you need to do in order to be moving forward in the way that God wants. He says, gird up the loins of your mind. Be sober. We know what that means. Don't just be flippant about everything. Don't think you know it all. Be very aware of what is going on. Rest your hope fully, fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Gives us some clues there. Mental preparedness. Getting our minds ready. You know, there's a lot to be said about mental preparedness. Sometimes if we're going on some excursion, you know, we might do all the physical preparations. We might get ourselves ready, get ourselves into an exercise program, buy the right equipment, have everything there that needs to be. That's great. That needs to happen. But the mental preparedness has to happen. The people that win the race, the people that endure to the end, they're mentally prepared.

Gird up the loins of your mind. Other places in the Bible, it says, prepare your heart. Prepare your heart. Look and see what the road ahead has to offer.

Because the road ahead does have some twists and turns. We know that.

We know that some of those things can be really tough, and there's going to take some mental toughness, and I use that mental toughness as in, we're going to need God's Holy Spirit in order to have that toughness and that commitment to get through it.

You know, if we wait and we don't do any mental preparedness, if you sign up for whatever it is and you don't do anything to mentally prepare yourself for what it is, you're going to fail.

Because commitment doesn't come with what shape our bodies is in. Commitment comes in with what shape our minds is in. Gird up the loins of your mind. Get it ready. Get it focused. Don't let anything else get in the way. Know what your goal is and march forward.

Get those garments that are flowing under the cause of your problem and get them bound tight among you. Be prepared like the Israelites were told to be prepared. When it's time to go, go. They were mentally ready. They had been schooled through all those plagues. When God says it, it's happening. We believe Him. He is the God. And so you and I go through the same thing. How many times have I talked about recently about taking the opportunities that God gives us?

The opportunities that God gives us. Gives us trials. He gives us little tests along the way. It's not because He just wants to make our lives miserable. Everything He does is because He loves us. He does that because we need to become mentally ready. We need to develop the complete reliance on Him. The complete trust in Him. The complete faith in Him. We need to be growing closer and closer and looking at every single word because He wants us to learn to live by every single word of His Bible. Of His truth. Not our truth. Not our interpretation of it. If we want to be in the Kingdom, we do the things the way God said. He's not going to make exceptions and say, well, you know, you did most of the things right. You didn't want to do this. Okay, fine. Maybe I was a little hard on that and I expected a little too much. God's not going to say that.

Everyone that is in His Kingdom will be doing things that they will have learned through the course of their lives, and He will see in their hearts they're committed to doing things His way. And as He makes us aware of things that we aren't doing right, that we are ready to submit and change and ask for His Holy Spirit to give us the desire and the strength to overcome self and to begin doing it His way. You know, when you look at terms like that, gird up the loins of your mind, it's interesting when you see, you know, the translators of the Bible. And when you look at the Septuagint version, they will tie what the meanings of the Greek words were back to the Hebrew words that have the similar meaning. And so I want to go back to a couple of Old Testament scriptures here and look and see what we can learn from that as we gird up the loins of our mind. First one is in Proverbs 31. Proverbs 31. You know, Proverbs 31 is the chapter that talks about the virtuous woman. And all the things that are written about the virtuous woman there are so are so good. You've heard me say, you know, to this of Proverbs 31, husband to make a Proverbs 31 wife. And many men will look at this and say, you know, my wife, this my wife, that. Men, we should look at this Proverbs 31 as well, as you heard me say on the Bible study, I think even last week, because what is our goal? What does God have in mind for us if we endure to the end and if we follow Christ fully, holy, earnestly, carefully, diligently to become the bride of Christ? What do you think the bride, what God and Christ are expecting of His bride? It's here, the spiritual end of it here in chapter 31. But let's look at verse 17 because verse 17 says she, the virtuous wife, girds herself with strength and strengthens her arms.

Well, there's that word, girds. Ties back to 1 Peter 1 verse 13 there, and it's similar. Now, when we think about the Proverbs 31 wife and it says she girds herself with strength.

Again, do we think, you know, we're going to find her three times a week down at LA Fitness. She is picking up weights and she's increasing those weights and what a virtuous wife she is that she can continually increase the strength, the physical strength she has. If you want to do that, that's fine. No, it's talking about spiritual strength here. She girds herself with strength.

We have to gird ourselves with strength, that mental toughness, that mental preparedness, that mental alertness that God urges us over and over to have. Where does our strength come from?

From ourselves? From our thoughts? You know the answer. Philippians 4 13 says it. Our strength comes from God. In weakness we find strength. When we yield to Him, then we are strong. When we are weak in our own eyes and we look to Him for strength, He provides. That's where our strength comes from. That's where the mental preparedness comes from. When we need strength and when we find ourselves in times of trouble, what do we think? Do I run here? Do I run there? Can this agency help me? Can this thing help me? What can I do to help myself? No. The first thing we do is go to God.

Be my strength. Be my trust. I trust you. Doesn't happen overnight. That's why God gives us a lifetime.

But through every test and every trial we come through, if we discipline ourselves, if we take advantage of the opportunities and say, I'm going to trust God, let me stop, take a deep breath. I trust God. What's the direction I go? What's the answer in here? Do I have faith in you? Do I wait on you? Do I rely on you? Will I seek you? Will I go back to the Bible and seek the answer? God will provide what we need. He needs to see that we want it. If we go back to Judges 8, it's another place that the Septuagint ties gird up the loins of your mind back to. And Judges 18, I don't know if I said 8, but it's Judges 18. Here, I'm not going to go through the whole story and everything you can read through it, but you find this same phrase three or four times here in the verses right around verse 16 where I'm going to go to. And we might read these verses and say, how does that tie back to gird up the loins of your mind? Because this is talking about a physical thing, but it has a spiritual implication. Verse 16 of Judges 18 says, the 600 men armed with their weapons of war, who were the children of Dan stood by the entrance of the gate, they were armed with their weapons of war.

Now weapons of war are something interesting. If someone handed me a weapon of war, I might look at it. I would have no clue what to do with it. I would be unskilled in that weapon of war. So you could hand it to me. I would look at it. I would fumble it. It would be of no use to me because I was unskilled, untrained in the use of that weapon. The only way I'm going to get trained in the use of that weapon and be able to take that weapon and act and use it effectively is to be trained. It happens by reason of use.

By reason of use. That only comes with time. That only comes with practice. That only comes with taking the opportunities to use those weapons that God gives us to become mentally prepared.

What are the weapons of our warfare? You know the answer.

Ephesians 6. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. The weapons of our warfare are spiritual.

They're mighty. They're able to bring down the adversaries of the world when we know how to use them, when we have become skilled in those weapons that are listed there in Ephesians 6 that we've talked about a few times over the last year. When we become skilled in them by reason of use where we've used them because, again, when we need them in that evil day that it talks about in Ephesians 6.13, we want to be ready. We want to be skilled. It doesn't do any good to know it's there if we have, oh, you know what, how do I use it? Now's the time to be doing that. Now's the time to be girding up the loins of our minds so that when the time comes to use those weapons of warfare and we have the opportunities to use those, we will be able to do that. We have to gird up the loins of our mind to do it and say, I must do that. I must use the self-control that comes from the Holy Spirit as one of those fruits to do that and make myself stop and do the things and not just always do the same things I do over and over and over again. In Psalm 10, Psalm 10, you know, if we look at when we look at gird up the loins of your mind, we can replace that with prepare your heart. Get ready. Put yourself in those positions. Look at the scriptures. What will I do? What will I do when the mark of the beast comes? Will I be ready to say no? Will I be mentally prepared and ready when my life is threatened, when my well-being is threatened, when my family is threatened? Will I really be mentally prepared to say no if I haven't done any of the work ahead of time to get myself ready? Well, we know that we need to get ready. In Psalm 10, verse 17, David tells us where that preparation of the heart comes from, where we can look to it. He doesn't do it all for us. We have to make the choice. Verse 17, Psalm 10, Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble. See that? You've heard the desire of the humble. You're looked into their heart. You know, they really want. They really want to do your will. They really want to be ready. They really want their hearts prepared. They really want to repent. They really love the truth. They really are working hard that their heart becomes the way you want it to, and not just the lip service, and not just the knowledge, and not just the physical adherence to your laws, but the spiritual and mental and complete adherence to it. You heard the desire. Does God hear our desire? When we pray to Him, does He look into our hearts and say, they really do want to follow you with all their heart, mind, and soul? Or does He just hear words?

When He sees our actions and our choices, does He see our desire? Or does He just, to Him, are they just words? You heard the desire of the humble. Humble's the key word there. God does not respond to the proud. He only responds to the humble. That's whose cry He hears. You have heard the desire of the humble. You will prepare their heart. You will work with them. You will get them ready. You will give them the opportunities, and they will know what's going on. You will gird up the loins of their mind. They will be ready when that day comes. It's God who does it, just like God gives us repentance. God gives us guidance. God does all those things. When He sees the desire of our heart, one more verse on this one. Let's go back to Job.

Job 11. I'm going to read verses 13 to 19. You know the book of Job. I know we know what the overall theme of the book of Job is, but boy, there's an awfully lot buried in the book of Job. Sometimes it's good to just take a couple chapters or chapter in Job. Just look at what God says. Sometimes it can be couched in. The friends are saying this, so we don't want to pay attention to it, but there are words of wisdom here. Here, Job is being told something by his friends. Of course, they have the idea that Job has sinned, and that's why he's going through the problems that he has. But what they're saying is not wrong. Job 11 verse 13 says, if you would prepare your heart, if you would stretch out your hands toward him, if iniquity were in your hand and you put it far away, and you would not let wickedness dwell in your tense, then surely you could lift up your face without spot. Yes, you could be steadfast and not fear, because you would forget your misery and remember it as waters that have passed away, and your life would be brighter than noonday, though you were dark, you would be like the morning, and you would be secure, because there's hope. Yes, you would dig around you and take your rest in safety. You would lie down and no one would make you afraid. Yes, many would court your favor, if you would prepare your heart, if you would do those things, make use of what God gives us, become skilled by reason of use, be ready. Okay, third one for today, John 16. John 16.

Of course, we know these are the words of Christ to His disciples. You and I are His disciples today.

On the very last words, very last words, He gives them in verses 32 and 33 of John 16.

I'll read 30. I'll read those. After this, He goes into the prayer where He talks about the unity that He would like to see in His body of called Iones. In verse 31, Jesus answers the disciples.

He says, Do you believe? It's a fitting start to that. Do you believe? Do you believe what you read? Do you believe? Indeed, the hour is coming. Yes, has now come that you will be scattered each to His own and will leave Me alone. And that's what happened to Christ. As He faced the crucifixion, they all scattered except for John and the ladies that were there below the cross. And He says, You'll leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone. You left Me alone, but I'm not alone, because the Father is with Me.

You know, there may be times coming up that we will all feel very alone.

Where's the help? Where's the support? Where's my wife? Where's my fellow church family? Not that they've abandoned Me, but I'm here, and I feel all alone in the face of all these adversaries who are barking at Me, wishing I wasn't here, clamoring about all sorts of things they want to do to Me, and I feel very, very alone and very, very vulnerable. Always remember, you are never alone. God is always with you. He is always there. He says it over and over in the Bible. When Christ was going through those miserable things that we can't even imagine during those last hours of His life, He knew the Father was always with Him. In the Old Testament and New Testament alike, it completely and constantly reassures us, God is always with you. Deuteronomy 31, I will never leave you or forsake you. Hebrews 13.5, I will never leave you or forsake you. He is always there. Know it, feel it, put it in your mental preparedness that when I feel alone and vulnerable, God is there. He will provide the strength. He will provide what I need.

He will see me through this trial no matter how difficult it is. Always remember that God has our best interests at heart. He isn't looking to make our lives miserable. When we go through trials and tribulations, you know that it's because He wants to perfect us and make us ready. He wants us to become stronger in Him, to rely on Him more, trust in Him more, look to Him more, seek Him more.

The only way that happens is when we cling to the truth and more closely follow the truth of the Bible that Jesus Christ leads us to, that His Church teaches one way to the Kingdom. One word of truth, one Jesus Christ who is the truth, one church, and I'm not talking about an organization or a corporation, one church that teaches the whole truth of God. If you go to any other church and they teach anything else that's not in the Bible that Jesus Christ didn't teach, it is not the true church. Why put any stock or trust in it? Follow Christ. He will never leave you. Well, I've got another one in a couple weeks, you know, God willing you'll hear that, but let me end it there. I am a little bit over time, sorry about that, but it is my last day here. Cut me a little slack here and I know you will. I do want to say again how much we've enjoyed being here with you, and we will be back from time to time. I know Mr. Kennebecke, I kind of have told him we're going to be kind of, unfortunately, we're going to be down here for you, maybe now. No, he and I get along very well. We very much enjoyed it, and I would say, and we will never forget you, we will always love you, and we're not far away, right? In this world, we have each other, we can see each other. On Zoom, we're going to continue the Bible studies. One of the highlights of my life week is to be with you and all that are on the Bible studies and Sabbath services, of course. Follow the shepherd, you know. God has provided you a shepherd here in Mr. Kennebecke. Work with him, respect him, honor him. He will lead you. He will lead you, I trust, in the way of God and to lead you, continue to lead you in the way you've been taught to the kingdom. Follow him, but know the word of truth, know Jesus Christ is the shepherd, and that he will lead. I do want to leave you with a few words because I, you know, ask God always to bless and watch over all of you. So I can't think of any better way to conclude this sermon than to just read God's words from Numbers 6. So if you'll turn back there and read with me in Numbers 6 in verse 24. As God says, ask his blessing on his people. You are his people. And we ask God to bless all of you and keep you in the fold. Endure to the end. Be there. Be there when Christ returns. Verse 24, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.