Amen. I like that song. Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. We're still in the last few verses. We'll hopefully finish tonight. Verse Thirty-two there are to call to remembrance the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great fight of affliction. Whilst you became a gazing stalk, both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly whilst you became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me and my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise. For ye a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank You. I thank You we can sing, I am His and He is mine. God, we're thankful that You are the author of eternal life. that you give eternal life to as many who will repent of their sins and call upon you, believing God, we worship and praise your holy name. We thank you for our blessed Savior, Lord and King Jesus Christ. And Father, I pray tonight for the filling of your spirit. Help me ministering to your dear people tonight. I pray for my dear wife, teaching the deaf ladies, fill her with your spirit as she ministers to them. We're thankful for those here with us. We're thankful for those who are with us online. Be with those who couldn't be here with us tonight. Watch over them. Keep them, God. And Lord, we are thankful that we can come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Because of these things that we're reading here in this wonderful new covenant, this right to entrance, even entrance into Your throne, even boldly, has been purchased for us, dear God, by Your dear Son. Help us not to neglect that. But Father, to use that blessed privilege often, Father. And Lord, we just look to You and we pray and ask these things in Jesus' name for His glory. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. All right, we're on the last point there. We saw that God judges woeful sin, and we're looking at believers' need to faithfully endure. It's good to see Ellie back, and we're glad she's back safe. Praise God for that. Continue to pray for her. How are you feeling? Feeling okay? Okay. Still need some prayer. Okay. All right, we continue to pray there. All righty. Okay. The writer of Hebrews encourages them to not to cast away, cast not away, therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of rewards. And so they're continued to keep looking forward. I like the verse, it says, for yet a little while, he that shall come will come and will not tarry. How often do we, when we're talking to others, and we're talking about future plans, and we say, what? If the Lord tarries. If the Lord tarries. One day, brethren, He's gonna come. And there won't be no more need, there won't be any more need for that phrase, amen? One day the tarrying will be over. And by the way, that could be today, amen? And so we look for that. That ought to ever be an encouragement. because when He comes, we're going to be like Him. Amen? And we will see Him as He is. Our old sinful nature will be, thankfully, banned from our bodies to be filled forever and eternally with nothing but the Holy Spirit. Can you imagine the joy of that? And, oh my goodness, Yes, and God has that for us. We are, according to Hebrews 12, a little bit to be looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. So He encourages them, and He uses a phrase that We have taken the time to study before. He says, verse 38, Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. We are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believed the saving of the soul. We talked about perdition, always talking about eternal condemnation, which is why we think the main focus is here about those who, as recorded in an earlier chapter, verse of Hebrews, those who come short of actually believing in Christ. Seems to be that's what the main focus is with these later emphases here. but there are some applications to be made for us all. He says, now the just shall live by faith. We, in our study of the minor prophets, we looked at that phrase. That, of course, comes from Habakkuk Chapter 2. and the just shall live by faith. We find it again in Romans 1, 17. Paul writes, for therein is the righteousness of God. He's talking about the gospel. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith. Paul writes it again in Galatians 3, 11. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident for the just shall live by faith. And so I just want to look at Habakkuk and just do a little review. We've been taught this already going through the Minor Prophets, but it's such an important verse. And I want to, and it's used again in here in Hebrew. So it's repeated three times in our New Testament. So we're just going to go back and just a quick review and refresher on that. And we find in Habakkuk chapter 1, we see that Habakkuk is preaching and prophesying and he is wanting actually, Habakkuk is one of the few prophets that was more concerned with the righteousness and holiness of God than he was the judgment, mercy upon his people. He was concerned with that. He's concerned with all the judgment that's coming. Now, Babylon had not yet come, and Habakkuk is going to see that God's going to send them, but he is concerned with God's holiness and righteousness being ignored. In Habakkuk 1, we read, "...the burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see." And by the way, Habakkuk means to embrace and to hold, and we'll talk about that in a minute. And then verse Habakkuk 1-2, A lot of violence going on. Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me, and there are that raise up strife and contention. Quite a strifeful time going on in Judah. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth. Righteousness is not happening in practice. For the wicked doth compass about the righteous, therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. We saw in an earlier study how they would go to the mountaintops where the prophets would sometimes cry out and they would capture them there. They would hunt them down there. You were risking your life to speak out the truth when they didn't want to hear it. And so we think about that. So what's going on, God? Your law's not going forth. Why aren't you doing something, perhaps? And the law is slacked. And he says, and then God answers him, Habakkuk 1. Behold ye among the heathen and regard and wonder marvelously, for I will work a work in your days which you will not believe, though it be told you. For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful. Their judgment and their dignity proceed of themselves. That means when it comes to right and wrong, they declare it for themselves. We'll decide what's right and wrong. We'll decide what we'll live by. That's the way they are. By the way, that's the way a lot of people are today too, isn't it? Their horses are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. Their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far. They shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall come all for violence. Their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them. They shall deride every stronghold, for they shall heap dust and take it. Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over and offend, imputing his power unto his God. A reference to the time when Nebuchadnezzar had his fit of insanity and became as a beast. But God says, the Chaldeans are coming! Habakkuk, and that's not what Habakkuk expected. Now Habakkuk, having heard these wicked Chaldeans are going to be used to judge Judah, he says, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, God. Let's talk about this. He picks it up in verse 12. Art thou from everlasting, O Lord? Habakkuk 112. O Lord, my God, my holy one, we shall not die. O Lord, Thou hast ordained them for judgment. O mighty God, Thou hast established them for correction. Thou art of pure eyes, then, to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Wherefore lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest Thy tongue, when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? What is Habakkuk saying? Frankly, he's saying, whoa, God, we are more righteous than Babylon. How could you ever, how could you let that happen? We're more righteous than Babylon. How could you let them judge us? That's not an attitude that is ever acceptable to God. And God gives him, God gives him the answer there. He says, He says, Habakkuk says, chapter 2, verse 1, It's almost like he kind of knew it was coming. He was rather bold and brazen in his proclamation there. And God does answer him, and God answers him. Verse 2, the Lord answered me, Habakkuk 2, 2. The Lord answered me and said, Write the vision and make it plain upon tables that he may run that read of it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie, though it tarry. Wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Here's his answer. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not right in him. Whose soul was lifted up? Habakkuk's soul was lifted up. We're more righteous than they. They're the ones that are to be dying, not us. Behold, he whose soul which is lifted up is not redeemed. Here's the answer. But the just shall live, what? By faith. You know what God is saying to Habakkuk? Listen, if I don't judge you and you don't die, that'll be because of faith, not because of any righteousness you've accomplished. God knew that Israel needed His mercy for salvation just as anyone else, amen? And Habakkuk learned that lesson from God, and the attitude itself calls for judgment. If you think that you're escaping judgment, Habakkuk, because you have attained some level of righteousness, you are sorely mistaken. If you are escaping judgment, it's only because you're trusting in me and my mercies, is what he said. It's because of your faith in me. It's because you're looking to me who am the righteous and yet merciful God, is what God is saying to them. The attitude itself calls for judgment from God. And God did not like that judgment, that attitude among Israel. Isaiah prophesied about that. God speaking in Isaiah 65.1, I am sought of them that ask not for me. I am found of them that sought me not. I said, behold me, behold me unto a nation that was not called by my name. He's talking about the future when they'll call out to the Gentiles. I have spread out my hands all day unto rebellious people which walketh in a way that is not good after their own thoughts." He's talking about Israel there. Remember what Jesus said all day long, if I stretch forth my hand unto a disobedient, gainsaying people. That was Israel. And what did they say? He says that they provoked me to anger, verse 3, Isaiah 65, continuing to my face that sacrifice in gardens and burned with incense upon altars of brick, which remain among the graves and lodged in the monuments with each swine's flesh and broth of abominable things in their vessels, which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am holier than thou. Ever hear that saying, holier than thou? That's where it comes from. And God is condemning Israel through Isaiah for having that attitude. It's again repeated to Habakkuk. And apparently he didn't listen to those things. God's going to bring forth in Isaiah 65, 9, and I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob and out of Judah, an inheritor of my mountains. Who's that going to be? That's going to be the Lord Jesus Christ. He's going to inherit the kingdom. He's going to rule from Jerusalem. I'm going to bring forth, by the way, I'm going to bring forth a seed. Remember, Galatians says the seed of Abraham as of one seed. What's that seed he's going to bring forth? It's going to be Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah, and inherit it by mountains, and mine elect shall inherit it." His seed is going to be his elect. Jesus Christ is the elect of God. And by the way, you become one of the elect by getting in the elect, amen? And then you have all those blessings. And remember what Jesus told His disciples? The Bible says, as He was preaching in Luke 13, that there were present at that season some that told them of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you nay, but accept what? Ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. And so, and so, Israel of Tyremen again is reminded, Habakkuk is reminded, and he is repentant upon God's rebuke. Look at Habakkuk 3.1. the prayer of Habakkuk. I have heard thy speech and was afraid. Well, you should be. None of us stand righteous before God in our own works, do we? That's a fearful thing, what he was declaring there, and he realizes it. I have heard thy speech and was afraid. O Lord, here it is, revive thy work. By the way, he's part of God's work, amen. Revive me, God. We need revival. Revive my work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make known. In wrath, what? Remember mercy. Why is he saying that? Because he realizes now, I need it too. Thanks for reminding me, God. The just shall live by faith. And it's by God's mercies that we're not consumed. And so Habakkuk resolves this. He says, in wrath, remember mercy. And then in verse 16 of chapter 3, when I heard God's voice, His proclamation was reminded, my belly trembled, my lips quivered at the voice, rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself. Then he says, that I might rest in the day of trouble. See, when we become undone like that before God, it's then that we find rest, amen? It's then that we can find the mercy of our God. When I heard my belly tremble, my lips quivered at the voice, rottenness in my bones, he says that I might rest in the day of trouble. When he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. And then he resolves this, although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines. The labor of the olive shall fail and the field shall yield no meat. The flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. God, if you judge us to that extent, to the point where we, in a sense, have nothing to eat, yet I will rejoice in you. Why? Because I am ever in need of your mercy and your grace. Amen? And so he resolves to worship God for the mighty God that he is. And so he said, and he continues, having humbled himself like that, back to where he needs to be in his spirit, now he says, the Lord God is my strength and he will make my feet like Heinz feet. He will make me to walk upon mine high places to the chief singer on my string instruments. An indication that he had some pastely duties in the temple. And now his heart's right, and he says, God's gonna strengthen me to walk. Whatever he has for me through all this, he will help me through it. And we need that. The just shall live, what? By faith. We get saved by faith. But by the way, we also live by faith, don't we? It's something that we continue to do. Colossians 2, 6. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, what? So walk ye in him. We just talked about coming to the throne of grace. Come boldly to the throne of grace, what? That you may, what? That you may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Those are the two things that we need all the time, amen? And we come by faith to God, why? Because He's willing to pour it out. He's willing to pour it out to the needy. He's willing to pour it out to the humble. He's willing to pour it out to those that are seeking Him. And He will do that. Because it's faith that makes the difference. Galatians 5, 6, For in Jesus Christ either circumcision availeth anything, no uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love. That's what makes a difference in the Christian life. So he encourages them, cast not away therefore your confidence, your faith. They had faith in God at one point to suffer for him, to be imprisoned for him, to lose their goods, some of them, for him. And what the writer of Hebrews is saying is, don't give up that faith. Because you and I need that kind of faith every day of our lives, don't we? We need to be looking to God for faith whatever comes our way. And so the writer of Hebrews, I believe, has encouraged him toward that. Whatever comes our way, remember that same confident faith. Don't let it go. Don't let it go. You didn't do all that stuff in your flesh. You did that through the Spirit of God. Amen? And by the way, remember, whatever comes today, you can do by the Spirit of God. Amen? Whatever the devil throws at you tomorrow, you can do it by the Spirit of God. Amen? And for the glory of God. And that's what he's encouraging them to. And he says, He says in verse 39, but we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. I was listening to one commentator who took the lose your salvation stand there, and he says, well, see that? There's a clear warning there. He says, they counted the blood of the covenant wherewith they were sanctified, they were saved, an unclean thing they'd done despite the spirit of grace. Now there's nothing left but the fiery, you know, perdition. And people that say you can't lose your salvation, I wonder what he does with the verse back there that says by one offering you have to be perfected forever. Maybe, maybe, maybe it has to change it to buy one offering as perfected for never. I don't know. He already said, what about that? What about that one sacrifice for sins forever? What did he do with that one? And yeah, you have to go back and rewrite a whole lot of, a whole lot of scripture and add a whole lot of scriptures to some other verses that are, that's not needed to make that work. No. There's two things that that could be saying. We're not able to draw back unto perdition, but other than to believe to the saving of the soul. Now, the writer of Hebrews is not God. If turning back to perdition meant that a true believer could turn back to perdition, how could the writer of Hebrews make that claim? How could he say, but we're not the ones that would turn back to perdition. because according to their interpretation, it was those among them who already believe, what, who did turn back unto perdition. So how can the writer of Hebrews say, well, but we'd never do that? No. What he's saying is, he's saying one of two things, but we are not of those who turn back unto perdition. Some believe what he's saying is that there is a rejection of the very gospel of Christ and the doctrines of that truth being done despised. In other words, they look at it as sinning willfully is not just, you know, not just some, you know, well, you told a lie and you wanted to, so you did. No, it's more than that. You have trodden underfoot the Son of God. It's like denouncing the truths and promises that we know are involved in the gospel. And some believe the writer of Hebrews is saying that a true believer will never deny those. You think about Peter. Yeah, well, he denied the Lord. Yeah, he did. But why did he do it? For fear of man, didn't he? And by the way, think about Peter. Do you think he was throwing down the doctrines that Christ had taught him in the mud? I don't think so. I think he was just afraid. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to be dragged up there at that time and beaten with Jesus. So he said, I don't know him. So some say that there are those who say, well, I used to be a believer, but I don't believe those things anymore. You know, they have counted the blood of Christ a common thing. The blood of Christ is no more valuable than the blood of those animals they put on the altar. Some believe the writer of Hebrews may be saying a true believer will never come to that conclusion. They just never will. They may fail Christ in a thousand other ways, but a true believer will never come to that conclusion. And I guess that's possible, but it's not necessary because it seems that he's talking about, again, we talked about salvation there. But we're not of those, you know, he's talking about those who have been born again. We're not those who turn back unto perdition. When we heard the gospel, what did we do? We believed it and received it. And then what? We got saved. Amen? And so that seems like a good interpretation to me. And anyway, there's multiple interpretations other than the lose your salvation one, which goes against so much doctrine that we've learned and we know the Bible teaches. But he's encouraging them. He's encouraging them to have that faith, not to cast away their faith. What did he encourage them to do? He encouraged them to what? Look back. Look back at what God's already done in your life. You need to remember, count God's blessings. I wish, rearing our children, I wish I would have kept more records of things that God did, you know, and things like that. By the way, if you're still rearing them, I would advise you to do that. Write down some of those miracles that God did so that you can review those with your children. And of course, we remember many things that God done, we're able to do that, but I'm sure there's a whole lot more. There's more, there's many that we've forgotten, no doubt, God done so many things. But so he points them back and he says, remember you endured a great fight of affliction. And he says, you have need of patience. that you might receive the promise. He talks about that. And what's he talking about? In all of our trials, What? We need strength. We need patience. Remember, the rest can talk about whatever blessing God has for us in obeying Him. We saw that earlier at different points of time, that rest to the children of Israel on the border of promised land was one thing. The rest to the psalmist, who quoted it, was another thing. And the rest to the Hebrews here, when he first mentioned it, was the rest that they would get if they would get saved to salvation. But there also is a rest of what? There's a rest of abiding in Christ. And if we will follow Him and obey Him, there's a practical application for those promises to come. is that just obeying the Lord. We think about this, you know, we know that the Bible teaches eternal security. And we are saved forever. It is eternal salvation. But when we think about that, though every believer is promised a home in heaven, yet there are many of God's promises that, what, have, many of God's promises are conditional, are conditional. As a matter of fact, when it comes to the blessings of God, our promise of eternal security is conditioned upon what? Faith in Jesus Christ and you become born again. That's the only condition. There's no other condition added. That may be the only promise that is so unconditional. Because think about the other promises of God. There are many promises of God where we are promised to receive peace and rest and provision. And by the way, they're not unconditional. They're not unconditional. What are some of those promises? We'll look at a very familiar passage in Matthew chapter 6, verse 25. What about just the promises of our daily needs? Just our daily care. Jesus says, Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life. What's that phrase mean? Anxious concern. Okay, so we're gonna, among this promises of provision, we're also gonna involve a promise of what? Of peace, of not having anxious concern. Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, what ye shall drink, yet put on what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, the body than the raiment? He says, The fowls of the air, they sow not, neither do they reap. God takes care of them. Verse 26, Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his stature? None of us can. Why take ye thought? Why are you having anxious concern? Why are you worrying? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin. That I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these." See, there's lilies that don't have as beautiful clothes as Solomon has on here tonight. But he was talking about King Solomon, we know that. All right. But God says, look how God clothes them, He will clothe you. And will He not clothe you? And he says, it's not all his glory, it was not really like one of these. He says, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast in the oven, shall he not much more clothe you? What's it say? O ye of little faith. Little faith. You have little faith. You might not be clothed. How much should I not clothe you, O ye of little faith? Wherefore, he says, he says, therefore take no thought, there's the worry, what shall we eat, what shall we drink, what shall we be clothed? We can have peace about God providing our needs, what? For after all these things the Gentiles seek, for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things, then what's it say? But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. There's a condition. Do you suppose there's a lot of believers that aren't fulfilling that condition? I suppose there are. I suppose there are. There are believers that have never stepped out to endeavor to try and be a disciple. They got their free ticket to heaven and they read those promises as we pounded in time and time again. Eternal security. I got it. Now I can go do what I want to do. Well, you better check up on that attitude, first of all. But the Bible says if we're putting God first in our life. And I'm not saying that God requires sinless perfection. Did you know that God, did you know that you, let me say something obvious. Did you know you can have a heart right with God? We all do. And by the way, we want that to describe our lives at least most of the time, amen? And yes, we can have a heart right with God. That's all that God's talking about. that we're seeking Him, that we mess up, we confess that sin, we cry out and ask for deliverance, like Habakkuk, when he realized what an attitude that he has, he repented, got his heart right, and boom, he was right with God, depending on God's strength again. That's all God requires. It is that we're seeking Him, that we're going forward in our Christian life. But we start turning off on bypass and tarrying, and continuing in the same sin, and the same sin, and the same sin. By the way, when we repent, when we confess our sins, when we say the same thing about our sins as God says, He cleanses us and forgives us of all unrighteousness. And I believe it's talking about fellowship there in the context. But when we do something repeatedly, and repeatedly and repeatedly, It becomes, we lose, it doesn't seem as bad to us. We get used to it. And we lose our ability to repent because it doesn't seem as bad as the first time we did it, whatever it was. And so we, in our heart, are not seeking the way that we should be. And we, now, I say this, how many times have I said God often does what? Far more than He promised, amen? I know there's been times where I was a Christian, growing up in the Lord, you know, where I got crossways with God sometimes for days. And you know what? I never starved. By the way, I always had money to pay my bills. Now, I will tell you, there were some sicknesses that came along that the Holy Spirit told me, that's because of your sin. There were some accidents that came along that shed blood out of my body, and the Holy Spirit said, that's because of your sin. But what? You get those things right, don't you? And you go on, don't you? That's what God's talking about. He's talking about just not that strength, where it's a continual thing. As long as you're in Romans chapter 7, as long as you are battling that sin and not putting up the white flag, as long as the real you is miserable in that sin and you're trying to get the victory over it, you're on good ground, okay? Because even when Paul was in the middle of that, at the end of that passage he says, I thank God that with the flesh I serve the law of sin. But with the mind, he says, he served the law of God. He knew that in his mind he was saved. He knew that he was striving to be right with God. And he knew that his own misery and his sin was a continued evidence of that. And so he would go on, I'm sure he would get victory over that. By the way, Romans chapter 7 doesn't describe Paul's whole lifestyle, okay? That was probably early in his life as he was growing. We know that he was able to say, I've fought a good fight, I've finished my course, I've kept the faith, amen? He knew when he was walking with God, he knew also God's working in his life. And God has that, has that for you and me. But there are many things, as I say, that God requires that are more than just believing. We are to believe and obey, amen, and to seek him. Peace of mind, look up Philippians chapter four, and I'll close with this. Philippians four talks about peace of mind. And we like this, and the peace of God, Philippians 4, 7, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Oh good, I'm a Christian, I get that. Oh, not necessarily. There's three or four verses ahead of that. Verse four, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Are we doing that? in every tribe and situation. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Interesting, I studied out that word, moderation. It has the idea of gentleness, meekness, but what it comes from is an idea of being a copy, being a copy. And it's one of those Greek words that is prefixed with a preposition. It has a preposition in front of it, epi. Remember what that does to the word? That magnifies it, doesn't it? So a magnified copy. By the way, that word, moderation, the Greek word, has the idea of like a copy, like a faded copy. What are we to be? We are to be, we are to be conformed to the image of Christ, we are to be examples of Christ, amen? And let me tell you something, the best really that we can do is a faded copy, amen? That's the best we can do because we're not perfect like he is. But what he's saying is, It's got the emphasis in front of it. In other words, be as much like Christ as you can possibly be. Let your moderation be known unto all men. By the way, the Lord is at hand. The Lord is right here to help me be like Christ. Amen. That's what he's saying. I'm reminding you that we are to be examples of Christ. And by the way, the Lord's at hand. The Lord's at hand. Be a copy of Christ. Rejoice in the Lord. Be an example of Christ. And then be careful for nothing. There you go. Trusting Him. But in everything, how do we do that? By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known unto God. And then comes verse 7. The peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds. So if we're following in those paths, we can claim that promise. Then, God, I want your peace. Give me that peace. As best I know, I'm endeavoring to follow in these steps. And then we can claim that. So that's kind of a wake-up call for believers. Just because you're saved doesn't mean you get all the promises of God. Amen? Doesn't mean you get all the fruits of the Spirit. It doesn't mean you see that all begin to grow in your life. No. There's conditional promises that go along with so many of those things because we have life. But God wants us what? To have life more abundantly. And we'll have that, as we already said, when we become disciples indeed, when we abide with Christ, when we follow Him as King and Lord and Savior. And yes, thank God we're part of the family. Amen. But He will help us follow Him. And claim those promises, and then get the rest. from whatever those promises may be promising in that situation. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you for your people tonight and God, how we need that peace that Paul wrote of. So help us to follow you. How we need that wisdom, Father, for life. And we need to be exercised by our trials, you've told us, so that we might grow in strength and patience. We need to receive them. Praying for wisdom, asking you to change us and make the changes in our lives that you want. when our trials come, God, and I pray that you would help us to remember to do that. But then, Father, as we do, the devil will tempt, you will give strength, but you will also fulfill those promises. You have never, never broken a promise, nor ever will you. And Father, we thank you and we praise you for that. And Lord, I thank you we could be here tonight. We pray and ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.