Striving For Excellence

Thank you for the beautiful special music. It was really wonderful. Very apropos to the day as well. So we really appreciate that. Thanks for all the effort that went into that. So we hope we can hear more in the future as well. Thanks. Well, on this very special day, you can't help but think of the little ones. It was reminding me of a story I had heard about three fathers that were waiting in the waiting room at the hospital.

And they were all very nervous about their first babies being born. And the one father was sitting there and the nurse came in and said, Congratulations! You have twins! And I said, Wow! That is really unbelievable! I have twins! And the fathers were talking a little bit more about it. Well, can I see the baby and all this? And they got to talking a little bit and they found out that this man worked for double mint gum.

And he had twins. And sure enough, a little while later, the nurse comes back in and talks to the other father and says, Congratulations! You have triplets! Unbelievable! That is just amazing! I work for 3M! And right then, the third father just grabbed his hair and ran out of the waiting room and said, Aaaaah! And they said, Well, what's wrong with that guy?

He said, He works for 7UP. So that could be a bad thing if it works like that. I thought about saying WD-40, but that might be a little ridiculous. It could work a lot of different ways, I guess. Well, it is a wonderful blessing to be able to celebrate with our families and appreciate our little ones.

And it is, I think, also a challenge for all of us to become a closer family. And that means we've got to take the time to be a family. Because so many times, it seems, we do a lot of things and our time gets taken up. It's used up. We're busy doing things. But sometimes the most important things aren't the things that occupy our time. You ever notice that? Someone sent me a little information sheet that had been a study that had been done on how much time is spent doing different things. It was from the Daily Mirror in Britain. And in an average lifetime, you know how much time you'll spend in front of the TV set?

It's just an average person would spend 11 years in front of a television set. Here we are at a special meal today. How many hours do you think you'll spend eating in your lifetime? Average 38,000 hours. That's a lot of food. 38,000 hours. And of course, now we're in the age of the Internet. You'll spend 11 hours, 20 minutes a month on the Internet. 11 hours a month will spend on the Internet. Maybe you're thinking, hey, that's not too bad.

I think I spend a lot more than that. I don't know. How much do you spend? Then things that take up our time. There are so many different things. How about just getting ready to come to services? For some of us, it takes longer than others. Well, just getting ready. How much time do you think an average woman would take during her lifetime?

Sorry. Would take just to get ready. According to this survey, the average woman spends 136 days of her life just getting ready. That's for, I guess, everything. The average man spends a little bit less, but he spends, supposedly, 46 days getting ready for things. But I think it's a good reminder for us how many times we spend our time in things that maybe we don't really think about. And if we really thought about it, we might not waste our time in those ways.

Would we really spend all those years in front of a television set? I think if we really considered it, we probably wouldn't. Where does our spiritual growth fit when it comes to all of these different categories? Would it be one that would take up a lot of our time, or would it just be a little side note in our life? I think that's probably something that Peter had in mind when he wrote this passage in 2 Peter near the very beginning of this letter.

2 Peter 1, verse 5. He speaks to us as Christians. He speaks to us as God's people, not just to anybody. It's interesting, he focuses on those of us who claim to be followers of God. Do you notice what he says here in 2 Peter 1, verse 5? He says, for this very reason, give all diligence to add to your faith virtue. And then he goes on to add other things, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge, self-control, self-control, perseverance, perseverance, godliness, to godliness, brotherly love, to brotherly kindness, love.

If these things are yours and abound, he says you'll be neither barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten he was cleansed from his old sins. So he starts with faithful people, people who claim to be individuals of faith, which is us.

We claim to be Christians. We claim to be followers of God. And so faith alone doesn't cut it, does it? If we just say, well, we're faithful people, all right, that's a beginning, but that can't be the end of the matter. God's, in a sense, called us to a spiritual construction project. It begins with faith, because that is one of the requirements as you come to baptism. You have to repent. You have to believe.

You have to have faith. We have to have that confidence, that trust, that God is God, not only that He is, but that we believe what He says. So we believe in God, and we believe God. And so it starts there. Without faith, we can't please God. Hebrews certainly reminds us of that. But God expects us to grow from there.

He expects us to add to our faith. And if we're going to grow in the knowledge, and if we're going to grow in faith, we need to add to it. Peter gives us that instruction. And so let's think about adding to our faith for just a minute, because the first thing he mentions here in adding something to our faith, I think is a term, sometimes I don't have a very good handle on what exactly is virtue anyway.

What is virtue? If we're to add this to our faith, we've got to know exactly what it is. What is it that God wants us to add? He says, add virtue. In fact, if you looked up this word to add, it just doesn't mean to do a math problem and addition. But it can also mean to nourish our faith, that our faith can actually be nourished.

Our faith can grow by adding these things to it. And they're not listed in any order, it doesn't seem. But it is interesting that the first one he mentions is this trait of virtue. Do you know how many times this word shows up in the New Testament? You'd probably think, well, being a virtuous person, having virtue is a good thing, and it probably is all over the place.

Only five times. It's only five times mentioned in the New Testament. And two of the times are right here in 2 Peter. That's two of them mentioned right here. It's also mentioned in that section where it talks about the what-so-evers.

You know, whatsoever is true, whatsoever is noble. It's also mentioned there. It says, if there's any virtue. That's that same word that's used in that section of Scripture as well. And so when you look through this word, that it's not used all that often. In fact, some of your translations that you may have in front of you, NIV, NRSV, some of the others, translate that word virtue as goodness. So add to your faith goodness. So obviously, this concept of virtue is a good thing. It's a good quality. But you know, there's more to it than that. You probably thought that that might be coming.

There's more to it than just being a good person. The word was originally used by the Greeks to mean some kind of superior thing. They'd use it if they talked about the military. If the military was powerful and mighty, they would be a virtuous army. Sounds kind of funny, but that's the way that they would use that word. If you were really intelligent, you would be virtuous because you were of superior IQ. So they would use the term in that way. But they'd also use the term as a moral trait, morally excellent.

If you made godly moral choices, you were a virtuous person. And so it begins to show us there's a connection between this word virtue and excelling. So it's not just run of the mill. It's not just something acceptable. But Peter reminds us we should add to our faith excellence. Excellence needs to be added to our faith in all phases of our life. And so there are some translations that translate it as moral excellence. And I think that's a good way to begin to think about this word. Virtue seems to be connected to a quality of striving for excellence.

Excellence in our relationship with God. Excellence in putting on the character of Jesus Christ. Excellence in how we treat one another. Are we striving for excellence in our life? Because it's an indication that our faith is growing.

We want our children to grow up. We prayed for these children. We asked God to put His special blessing on them. That they would grow up in His way, an understanding of His plan, and that they would put on godly character. And that's, I think, part of what Peter has in mind when he told us to add virtue to our faith. The Lexham English Bible in verse 5 says, for this same reason, apply all diligence by supplying with your faith excellence of character. Excellence of character.

So if you had to describe yourself, the kind of individual that you are, the kind of character that you have, that you exhibit in your everyday life, would you describe it as excellent? Would you describe it, as, Peter says here, as virtuous? I think that's part of the challenge for us today, especially as God's people, as God's family. We're to excel.

And if we're going to excel, that's going to take practice. That's going to take persistence. It's becoming excellent at God's way. You know, if we're going to be excellent at it, that means we've got to try to master spirituality.

That sounds kind of funny, doesn't it? If you're a master at something, if you're a master carpenter, you're right up there at the top. You're not a journeyman, right? You're not a novice. You are experienced, and you have persisted at the trade, so you have mastered that trade. You see, God's called us to master the craft of faith. And so are we on our way to being masters in the faith that God's called us to? Well, that's part of what our calling is all about, that if we're going to grow, Peter says the requirement is virtue.

If we're going to grow, we need to add virtue, this excellence, striving for excellence in every area of our life for this virtuous character trait. Now, if we don't, what happens? What happens to faith if we don't do this? Does faith flourish without adding to it? Could faith just be something that's stagnant? Is that possible? I don't think faith can exist too long if it just becomes stagnant, can it?

If you look over at James 2, if you want to hold your place here or put a little marker here, we're going to come back to 2 Peter in just a moment. But James 2, verse 18, talks about faith, a very familiar section of Scripture. But let's see this connection to growing and the growth that's required by virtue, by excellence, and trying to live without it. James 2, verse 18, someone will say, you have faith and I have works. I think we could probably say this excellence that we're striving for, this virtue, could be considered a work, I suppose.

Someone says, you have faith, I have works. James says, show me your faith without your works, and I'll show you my faith by my works. And so here we have almost that same concept of adding to our faith works. And in Peter's case, it was excellence. It was virtue. He says, you believe there's one God. And verse 19, you do well. Even the demons believe and tremble. So just believing, just having faith, just having that trust, that's not what it's all about. He says, do you know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead.

All the way down to verse 26, where as the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. So if faith by itself doesn't flourish, in fact, he says it's dead. It can't be stagnant. He says, if it's not growing, then it's waning. Then it's failing. It's going to die, in other words. But when you join faith with virtue, what begins to happen instead? What would seem to follow when someone is striving for excellence, striving to put on the character of Christ? You see, without virtue, without this excellence, I don't think we can grow.

Is that an overstatement? Do you think that's overstating the issue? Well, let's flip back to 2 Peter for just a minute. If you look back at 2 Peter, he just doesn't say, well, you know, it would be a nice idea if you had a little bit of virtue. It would be a nice idea if you had a little self-control. No, he doesn't say it like that, does he? He says it more in the sense of a requirement.

He says it more in the sense of a command, doesn't he? Notice he says there, for this very reason, what are we to do? He says, give all diligence to add to your faith virtue. Because if we don't, he says, verse 9, we're short-sighted, even to blindness. So he says, be even more diligent. Be even more diligent. That's what he says in verse 10. What does diligence mean? It comes easy. Just happens on its own. Don't we just show up at services once in a while? I'll have increased faith? No, it doesn't mean that. It means we have to try.

It means it's going to take effort. Some of the translations say, employ all care, or make it your best effort, or pay attention to it, one of the more modern translations says, or make every effort. So I have to step back and say, all right, have I made every effort? Have I made any effort?

Or do I just assume that it's going to... Have I really given it my utmost to strive to put on godly character? Have I really had an increase in faith? See that's the question Peter is posing here. Because he says, if these are yours, if we do these things, if we have that kind of diligence, he says they're yours, and he says they'll abound. So it's not even just an increase. That word abound is kind of an interesting one. It means to flourish. It means to really be super abundant. So he kind of contrasts it with, well, you won't be barren, you won't be unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We'll grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. We'll super abound, that word means. When faith is joined with excellence and striving to put on the moral excellence of Jesus Christ, it's going to take work, it's going to take effort, but we're going to abound. Because real faith then leads to real changes, doesn't it? If our faith is real, then the change in our perspective, the change in our life, the change in our character will be just as real, won't it? I mean, that's something that Christ taught about over and over and over again, didn't He?

To the extent of saying, be perfect, as my Father in heaven is perfect. Oh, wow, how can I possibly be perfect? Well, He's talking about being spiritually mature, and the goal is to be like God the Father and like Jesus Christ. And the fact is, He died to make it possible, didn't He? He died to make that possible.

And in fact, He established functions in the church to ensure it. So it's not just a wish or a hope or a dream. He says He established it and ensured it. We find that in His instructions in Ephesians 4. Look at the functions in the church that's mentioned here, and notice the connection here to growing in faith and striving for excellence. Ephesians 4, verse 11, He talks about the functions within the church. He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. What's the purpose of those functions within the church? He says, "...for equipping of the saints, for the work of service, for the work of ministry, for serving, for the edifying of the body of Christ, and the purpose, until we all come through the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." So if someone asked a question, do we strive for excellence?

Do we strive to put on the moral excellence of Jesus Christ? Absolutely. The church, in a way, is designed to help bring that about, to perfect us, to bring us to the measure, not of one another, but the measure, the stature of Jesus Christ. And over and over again throughout the New Testament, we'll find that. That was Paul's objective as well. He said, follow me or imitate me as I imitate Christ. He encouraged us to perfect holiness. So our goal becomes that, then.

It should be that we're adding to our faith. So how do you do that? How do we do that? It's wonderful to want to be like that, but how do we actually do it? And that always the question, how do I act? I want to be that way.

I want to be like Jesus Christ. I want to put on these wonderful character traits. I want to be more loving. I want to be more giving. I want the fruit of the Spirit to be exhibited in my life. Well, it's possible. It's more than possible. God says that we can grow. We can add to our faith. In fact, there's an interesting example of this with a man who was a musician.

He had a little shop where he constructed instruments. And he would put these instruments together, eventually hired helpers to assist in the production of these instruments. And he came to a point that he would not sell any instrument unless it was as excellent, as perfect as possible. So he gave as much human care and skill as he could into making an excellent instrument. He was a master at his craft. And he expected those that worked with him to do their very best to strive for excellence in producing only the finest instruments. So his philosophy was summed up in one sentence. You know what he said? He said, other men will make other violins, but no man will make a better one.

And that was Stradivarius who did exactly that. And even today, Stradivarius violins are the best. They're the best. In fact, he also said, God needs violins to send His music to the world. If violins are defective, God's music will be spoiled. So I wonder, do we ever look at ourselves in that way?

In a spiritual, we're to project God's music, God's way of life to the world, aren't we? That should be our perspective. So what kind of music does our life play? Like the Stradivarius violins have this beautiful, wonderful sound, rich texture.

And people can recognize that with a little bit of training. They recognize that sound. Well, what do people recognize by our example, by the way we live our lives? Stradivarius is synonymous with excellence in violins. When someone thinks of a Christian, a Christ-like individual, would we say, your name is synonymous with that? See, that's what Peter is getting at here as he writes, adding to our faith and adding that virtue, that determination to do what's right, that determination to do what is excellent.

It's also fulfilling your purpose. Part of the reason Stradivarius made violins was not just to have a perfect violin, a beautiful violin. Wow, this is wonderful. Look at this. It's a wonderful piece of art. No, he made them to be played. They were to be used. They were to be instruments in the hands of a master violinist. Well, it's no different for you and I.

God's created us to fulfill His purpose, to be an example of His way of life. In fact, this word for virtue can also be used when you talk about land. You see, a land that's virtuous produces a wonderful crop because it's fulfilled its purpose. The land is there to raise a wonderful crop for the farmer. In its virtuous land, when it fulfills its purpose, a tool in the hands of a master carpenter is also virtuous when it's used correctly. When that tool is used for the purpose that it was designed for, it is virtuous. It fulfills that purpose. And so as God's people, we're to glorify and honor God. And when we do that, we're virtuous. We are excellent because we're fulfilling the purpose that we were created for. And so are we fulfilling that purpose in every aspect of our life? Are we that virtuous fulfillment of what God has in mind? Well, if you're still there in 2 Peter, look back at verse 5 because I want to talk about for a moment how do we do that? We brought up that question a moment ago. How can we actually do that? Well, Peter gives us a little bit of an insight into how to do that. How can we do that? Well, he says, first of all, we've got to give that diligence. He says, add virtue. But he also gives us a little bit of insight on how to make that happen. Verse 9, he says, "...he who lacks these things is short-sighted even to blindness. And he's forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Therefore, be more diligent to make your call in election sure. If you do these, you'll never stumble, and for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." So does Peter give us the how? I think he starts to right there, doesn't he? How do we do it? So verse 9 says, remember. How do we add virtue or really add anything to our faith?

He starts by saying, don't forget. Don't forget because what's happened. When you lack these things, he says, you're short-sighted and you've forgotten that you were cleansed from your sins. You forgot. You didn't remember. So if we're going to add virtue to our faith, we've got to make a conscience effort to remember. That sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Sounds pretty simple. But that's what Peter focuses on here. He says to remember. All right, what am I supposed to remember then? What is supposed to come to mind if I want to add this excellence to my faith?

He says to remember. Well, if we look back a little bit, I think he gives us a couple of keys in what we need to remember. What we need to remember. Look at verse 3. He starts out by giving this greeting at the beginning of his letter. Verse 2, grace and peace multiplied to you. But he says in verse 3, as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Well, is faith godliness?

Yes, it's approaching. Seeing virtue, adding? Absolutely. That's what he's given us. He says he's given us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue, by which he's given to us exceedingly great and precious promises.

That through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that's in the world through lust. So he starts to give us keys to remember. If you look back again at verse 3 in the voice version, it says it a little bit differently. It says in verse 3, God took the first step to rescue us from this corrupt world.

He's granted us His power. That's His divine power that He gave to us. That's one. There's a second thing. He's revealed true knowledge. He's given us all things that pertain to godliness through knowledge. He's given us true knowledge. There's a third thing. He's given us great promises. New King James, King James says exceedingly great and precious promises. And it goes on and it says that we might participate or be partakers of His divine nature or be participants of His own nature, that we can reflect His own life.

We become reflections of God the Father and of Jesus Christ. In order to achieve that, he says, add these things. Remember these things. Remember these things. Remember your sins have been forgiven. Now go on. We have power. In fact, you could probably say, living a spiritual life.

Is that difficult? It's not difficult at all. It's impossible, isn't it? Well, in a way, I think it is. It's impossible because even though excelling, being virtuous is a command that God's given us, we also begin to see He's already given us the power to do this.

We don't have it within ourselves. It's impossible for us to work that up. But as we dedicate our lives to Him, God makes it possible to live the impossible, isn't it? Because we have everything that we need to live a life that pleases God. And we've got to supplement that faith. We've got to nourish that faith. We've got to add to that faith the things that God has already given us. Don't ignore them. Don't set on the side.

Don't forget these things. God's given us His Spirit. And by giving us His Spirit, we have power over sin. We have power to live a godly life. We have God in us so that the impossible does become possible. And it becomes possible as we continually strive for excellence.

We continually strive not to forget. It seems in human nature it's in us to forget, isn't it? Isn't that one of the parts of the Sabbath command? What's the first word? Oh, yeah, don't forget that. Remember. Remember. Why? Well, because that's part of the whole process of becoming a godly individual. He's given us His power. He's revealed us knowledge. He's given us promises. He's made it possible to have godly nature, to put our human nature aside.

And we can add to that faith and do the things we were intended to do, to fulfill the purpose God made us for, to be disciples of Christ. And so He says we can do it by remembering. How do we remember? Well, I've got to read this word to do it, don't I? I've got to take this word of God and I've got to use this word.

I won't become forgetful if I keep reading that word, if I keep that word in my mind and my heart. I've got to use this word. I've got to listen to Scripture. Faith comes by here. I've got to listen to this word.

We could even say this Bible was designed with growth in mind, isn't it? You know that famous section of Scripture, 2 Timothy 3.16, where it says Scripture is given by the inspiration of God? God's word is God-breathed. It came from His very own mouth. It's profitable. What is this word profitable for?

Well, He says it's profitable for doctrine. It's profitable for reproof. It's profitable for correction. It's profitable for instruction in righteousness. Why?

That we could be virtuous.

That's part of what it says there in 2 Timothy, isn't it? That we could be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So God's word was designed in a way that—the passage also says that we could be complete. That we could add the things that are necessary. So God reminds us, study this word, read this word. Don't forget. Make it your goal. If you haven't read the word today, the day is not over yet. Don't forget. Determine. Make it your goal to read this word, to think about this word every single day. You want your faith to grow? Get into the Word of God. Get into His word. Remember those words that we sing so often? Psalm 1, blessed and happy is the man. Remember what that says?

A little bit later on in the Psalm, it says, don't sit in that scourner's chair. Well, I don't want to be there. How can I avoid being in that position? Well, because I place my delight in God's law and meditate on it. I do it, meditate on it day and night. What's the result of that? You know the chorus, right? All He does, prospers well. You see, there's a benefit. The faith grows. There's a different way of saying it. Spiritually, we mature. We edge a little bit closer to that perfection that Christ talked about. We allow Jesus Christ to live His life in us and through us, and we become more like Him and less like us. You see, and that's the goal.

We grow in wisdom. We grow in understanding. And we do it by... well, another song came to mind. Oh, how love I thy law. It's with me once in a while. Oh no, wait a second. Oh, it is ever with me. That's right, it's ever with me. It's my meditation whenever I get a chance when I'm not doing something else. No, no, that's not the words. They don't rhyme. It's my meditation all the day in my thoughts, right? Well, is it? Is it really? Those are the keys that Peter's talking about if we want to add excellence, we want to add that moral excellence to our life. In other words, if we want to put on the character of God the Father and Jesus Christ, that's what we've got to do. Remember to get into that word every single day. And it's such a simple thing, but it's hard to do at times because I think, you know, we're battling these evil forces, and they would love to take up our time. They would love to distract us. And yet, such a simple thing to remember, to remember the wonderful blessings that God has given us and get into those words and strive after it and work after it, be diligent. It's going to take some effort to make that happen. In other words, don't be satisfied with where you're at. Don't be satisfied with where you're at. You know, that was one thing that Paul certainly emphasized, didn't he? Just remind me of Philippians 3. You're going to turn over there for just a moment. Philippians 3, verse 12 is one of those passages that is a reminder, it doesn't matter how long we've been around, excellence still is ahead. It's still ahead. We're still striving for that spiritual maturity that God has called us to. Philippians 3, verse 12 of chapter 3. Philippians 3, verse 12. Here the apostle Paul says, not that I've already attained, I'm not already perfected. I'm not at the maturity level I need to be, I want to be, but am I satisfied with where I'm at? Is this okay? Is this good enough? Or do I continue to strive for the best? He says, I press on. I press on that I lay may hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

I love the way that's worded. Isn't that wonderful? Maybe we haven't thought about it this way. I'm laying hold of what? That I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. What is that I've laid hold on? I think the ultimate thing is eternal life, that I can be in the family of God forever. I'm laying hold of that. I'm not letting go. And what's the assurance that I can attain that?

Well, he says, Christ has a hold on you. Is Christ going to let go? Is Christ going to do His best? Or is He going to say, well, I tried to hang on to Him, but no. He's not letting go. We may pry His fingers off of us. We may try to do that. But He's not letting go on His own accord. You see, Paul had that kind of a perspective that the best is still ahead.

So he says, I don't count myself as having apprehended. But, verse 13, he says, I forget those things which are behind. I forget the past. And that can be not only bad things, that can not only be the sin and the difficulties and the challenges that were in the past, but that can also mean the good things. Don't be self-satisfied. Don't rest on your laurels. Don't say, well, I've done pretty good. No, that's what he says. I forget what was behind. Had Paul done some pretty amazing things by the time he penned this letter? Absolutely. But he's saying, I'm laying all that beside me. I'm putting that all behind, good and bad. And I'm pressing on. I'm forgetting those things and I'm reaching forward to the things which are ahead. And the ultimate, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Here's the apostle Paul admitting he still had room to grow. He still had more adding to do to that faith. And so he was reaching and striving for what lied ahead of him. And so he pressed on. He set such an amazing example for all of us that that should be our perspective then. That now that we're called to put on this excellence, now we've got to demonstrate it. We've got to make it our goal to do just that. If he's called us to reach and strive and strain for that excellent prize, now we've got to put it in the practice. Now we've got to demonstrate it. Don't forget, we're going to remember, and now we're going to demonstrate it. Because in a way, God's challenged us to be something more than we thought we could be. Hasn't he? We can be something more than we thought we could. So can we excel in our relationship with God? Absolutely. Can we determine to use the gifts, the talents, the abilities that God has given us to serve Him and to serve others even more than before? Can we? Can we use those abilities? I believe we can. And if we add to our faith, God makes that way possible. It's also interesting that when we do that, it becomes evident. It becomes evident that we are. Paul wrote something interesting to Timothy. Now maybe we can turn there for just a moment. First Timothy 4, verse 13. First Timothy 4, verse 13 is almost a little synopsis of what Peter wrote. When Peter wrote, we're going to expand our faith. It's not going to be stagnant. It's going to grow. It's going to increase.

We're going to nourish that faith to excellence. And we're going to do that, he says, by what? To Timothy. First Timothy 4, verse 13. He says, to Timothy, till I come, remember. Oh, it says a little bit differently. He says, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Where do you find that? Find that right in that word. Don't forget. Remember your sins are forgiven. Remember the plan of God. Remember your calling. Don't neglect, he says in verse 14, the gift that's in you. It was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things. Think about these things. Give yourself entirely to them. Isn't that our goal? To demonstrate that excellence in every area of our life. Give it entirely. Give yourself entirely. And then he says that your progress may be evident to all. So when we are growing in grace and knowledge, when we're adding to our faith, he says it becomes evident. So he says, take heed to it. Continue in it. For in doing this, you will save both yourself and those who hear you. And so that's the challenge for us. Can we take our faith to the next level? I believe we can. I believe we have been doing these things, but I believe that God's called us to excel even more. So does our involvement, does our participation, does our contribution in the family show that we're striving for the best? Are we really doing our best? Are we using opportunities and utilizing those opportunities to increase our faith? Are we getting those opportunities to read that word? That we attend the Bible studies? That we take opportunities, even for socials, to fellowship? Take opportunities to serve one another, serve our community as well? Do we take those opportunities? Do we exercise the opportunities to encourage others? We have that opportunity that we can give and we can serve and we can excel. So that's part of our calling. We can't remain static. Faith is not a stationary thing. It has to move. It has to grow. Or it dies. So let's make it our goal. Let's make it our goal because there is a requirement. It is required for us to grow. If we claim to be named by the name of God, if we claim to be Christians, then it's a necessity. So let's strive never to forget. Let's always remember and strive for excellence. By doing that, we will add to our faith the quality of virtue.