Thank you, brother. Miss Pat, for the blessing. You got your notepad there, Carolyn? Well, praise God. She is ready, she is ready. Man, all these songs that we are singing, all of it can be found in what we're walking through in Hebrews right now. Same word, same message. Same message. Keith, don't you sing that song? Yeah, that's a good song. Stephen and them had a good time with the kids this morning, excited about this new adventure of helping them. We got some, looks like some good stuff on the way to be a blessing and we're going to be working on some a little program for him for Christmas coming up, so that's great. Remember what we were talking about this morning, how Jesus, he said, my father gave me a word for the weary, that I'll know how to speak a word to the weary in due season. That meant he knew what to say, but He also knew how to say it at the right time, because that's something that we all, man, that's a challenge for every one of us, that we can say exactly the right thing, but it may not be at the right time, or it may be the wrong way we say it. So that's what we'll be praying, that God'll continue to open those doors. Now, you gotta remember, this ain't an ACT you're going through. Look, remember this. We don't wanna push back at God's test. We wanna push through His test. with his help. We got a teacher in here. When your students push back on your own testing them, that don't do them any good, does it? But if they'll push through, whether they do really well on or not, but pushing through to get help in it, you wanna help them. Your aim ain't to fail them, right? Your aim is to help them. And something we wanna remember, I didn't get a chance to get into it all, that's what we're gonna carry over into tonight. All of God's tests are open book tests. Not only their open book test, but their group participation test. You see the ACT, you can't participate. You're sold by yourself. You don't have nobody that can help you. You don't have nobody that can give you some guidance on it. It's all on you. You don't have a teacher there that can walk you through it, explain something to you. You can't ask your neighbor sitting by you because there's no relationship in that group national examination. And a lot of people treat the test of life that way. They go through them alone. They don't share with the brethren. They don't have group participation to help me through the test that I'm going through. And they don't go and use the open book of the Word of God to help me, guide me through. They think they're all on their own and they hate the test, so they keep pushing back at it rather than pushing through. And that's what Paul was telling the church of the Hebrews. He was saying, look, You have need of endurance and the only way to get this patience, endurance is God's got to bring these tests in your life but it's an open book test. It's a group participation test. God has students out there that's already learned a couple of things and he's going to use them to help you with the test you're going through. Janet, do you ever use some of your students that are on top of their game, really know the material, and say, can you work with them a little bit? Does that happen at different times, like a tutoring type thing? Not right now, but in general, usually, if you got a student that's really good in an area, and you're working with one, you can say, OK, can you help him out a little bit and show him how to look at this? And sometimes a student will look at a problem different than even how the teacher. looks at the problem and tries to explain it, they could see a little simpler way that can relate to somebody that's trying to figure this thing out. That's how God works. That's how He works in the kingdom. Remember that. Every single trouble you go through is an open book test. It is group participation. It's the way God works in His family. And boy, that takes a lot of pressure off. I know when I was going through school and a teacher gave me an open book test, that was a whole lot more comfortable to me than it would be if they just put a test before me and I had to recall everything. If I can go look for it in a book, I could do a whole lot better on it. And I'm telling you, everything God does is open book. It's an open book test. And he's not out to fail you. he's out to help you. That's why he sends people our way. So we don't want to push back at the trouble. We want to push through the trouble. So you've got an open book in working with these folks when the test gets can be or does get more challenging. You also got group participation. You don't hesitate and say, hey, can you pray for us right now? Hey, I'm going to talk to them about, can you pray for us? And Senator Brother Shannon, or myself, or Mr. Billy, or Miss Barbara, or any of us, hey, pray for us. Because you're not in it by yourself. When you off this week working with them, we're with you, amen? And we're gonna be praying for you. And like when we doing stuff, the rest of us are out doing the thing that God's given us. Britain at work, Lucas at work, whatever it may be, hey, we're all in this together. It's group participation, amen? You ain't by yourself. Yeah, yeah, and you know I've shared these things with you before, some of those principles that we highlighted last week, we highlighted again a little bit this morning, and the very first time I came with y'all, I was looking back over Stephanie's notes, we talked about uncovering those wells and With that, when I was at our first fellowship, we took these principles on to a point where we had a shovel that we kept up on the back wall and we had a pick that we had up there as well. And when we had a mission team, when we talked about those little shovels, which Stephanie's going to be looking into to get us some, when we would commission and send out a mission team, we would give them all a little shovel to remind them that they were well diggers, but we took the pick off the back wall and we put it on the table so that it would remind us that we had a mission team on the field and we were the ones through prayer that would be breaking up the fallow ground as they was out digging those wells. They would take the shovel with them. to remind them that they were on mission and they would bring the shovel with them and we would keep the pick. And when they got back, we'd put both the shovel and the pick back up on the wall again. And it was just something that we did and walked around those principles all the time. And so, yes. Y'all be uncovering some of those wells, even digging some wells, you know, and what God's gonna do. So exciting. We talked a little bit, we said that this morning when the men in Sunday school mentioned it again, look, find somebody that we can love on this week and show some extravagant love of Jesus to. And sometimes that comes maybe even as a church fellowship, that we can find somebody somewhere with something that God puts on our heart to show an expression of extravagant love. Yeah. He'll be a candidate this week to show some love to, amen. Just to send him something, send him a word. We got his number, if you want his number, we can get you that number and you can send him something, call him, just let him know you're praying for him. Won't take a whole lot, won't take a whole lot, just to know that somebody's lifting him up, amen. Anybody else? Amen. All right, open up Hebrews. Let's look back at chapter 10. There was a lot more I wanted to give away this morning. Of course, we always run out of time. But we're thankful we can carry it over, right? and we can bring it up again and again. So I've already highlighted a couple things. This idea of endurance, patience, is that patience, we want it to have its complete or perfect work, and it can't happen without tribulation, tests, and trials. This is the way God has designed it to be, and all of it's purposeful. It's so that Jesus can get out of us. If God didn't deliver us over the death, we wouldn't manifest Jesus out of our mortal flesh. So the test, the troubles, the trials is to bring us to a place where we lay our life down so that his life can be lived out of us. And what they were doing when they were under pressure, they kept pushing back at the pressure. And he says, you look, you can't do that. You have a need for patience, endurance, and that only comes through the trials and the trouble. So we push through the tests that come in our life because God works in those tests. As we've seen in Romans 5, It says that, what? Tribulation worketh patience, patience worketh character, and character worketh hope. That's a process that God has. We also looked at James, right? James said, count it all joy. Not because of the trouble, but because of what God's gonna do in the trouble with you. Because the trouble's not what's shaping you. God's shaping you. He's just using the trouble to draw you near unto Him so that He can do a work in you. Steph and I was talking about experiences and things that we have gone through. I mean, Hebrews talks about it. That's how you put these things to work, that you put them to work through exercise, through experience. You learn these things. Even Jesus learned obedience by the things that he suffered, the Bible tells us. So if we're gonna be conformed to him and wanna be like him, we know that we're gonna learn obedience through the things that we suffer as well. and how everybody is shaped by the experiences in life that they've gone through. The information they've been fed, the things they've been taught, the experiences that they've gone through and watched other people go through. But we're not like the world. We are different in the sense that the world doesn't squeeze us out as we go through these cycles of troubles. God is what? Transforming us as we go through those things to be more and more like Jesus. So if I'm responding to the pushing back at the troubles, the test, if I'm pushing back at them, and I'm not becoming more and more like Jesus, that simply means the world is conforming me. and God's not transforming me. And that's what we see with the people in this first century as he writes to these Hebrews, that's what was going on with them. They were pushing back, they were treating these troubles like the world would treat them, and it was molding them. conforming them, squeezing them and that. And he said, no, you have a need for patience, which that is you push through the troubles God brings in your life. Let God transform you through it. And as a result, he's going to manifest his glory out of your life. And he says that in 1035, therefore do not cast away your confidence. That was their bold proclamation. They had that at one point in time. They were boldly proclaiming the things of the Lord. It would be like, they were similar to, you ever heard somebody brag on what they could do? And boy, they could do this and they could do all this, but when it put the rubber to the road, when it came down to it, they couldn't do none of what they were bragging on what they could do. Well, this is what they were doing up front. They had great. boldness of who they were in the Lord. But soon as a little pressure came against them, they cowered down from it. And he says, you gotta take us, you gotta go into, you gotta face this trouble. You gotta face this opposition. You gotta press through it. And that's where he says, don't cast off that boldness, that confidence you have. It's got great reward. Verse 36, for you have need of endurance so that after, after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. After you have done the will of God not after you have been taught the will of God, but after you what? done the will of God Not that you know, but you can't do if you don't know, but it's not just what you know You got a what walk in it You gotta walk in, it's gotta walk out. That's where that endurance comes. You gotta walk through the trouble. You can't just know the troubles are gonna come, and when they come, you push back at them and revert back. No, you gotta walk through what God's given you to walk through. And this is the first time. in 10 chapters that he brings up the will of God. Matter of fact, watch this. Y'all follow along with me. Go back to chapter number two. I'm gonna give you a few things in Hebrews that they have a practical application for them to do something. All that you've been reading thus far, I'm gonna give you just a couple passages that you can look at to tell you how important it is to realize that you got an open book here to work with because the bulk of what Hebrews has been teaching us is teaching us who Jesus is, that he's better than everything else, but there's been very little telling us what to do with what we know about him. That's where you get in the chapter two. Chapter two one says, therefore, we know that word therefore, our English teacher help us. What is it telling us? To connect back to what he just said. He said, so we could say it like this if we really wanted to. Because of this truth, because of this revelation, what I just explained in chapter one, therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things what? We have learned least we, drift or slip away. All right, here's an admonition. He just told us all that he told us about Jesus being better than the angels, that nothing can compare to him from that perspective. Now that we know that because we know this truth and that God dealt with them when he spoke to them before through the prophets, they were held accountable. Now that he spoke to us through his son, who's better than the prophets, better than the angels, what should be our responsibility? We need to listen to him. That's the key. Everything that he just said about Jesus is so that we'll pay attention to what Jesus says. Therefore, so that's the first time in these two chapters that they are given something to do and that is take on responsibility. Be accountable, give more earnest heed to it based on what? The open book of telling us who Jesus is. Remember, we got an open book test, right? So the bulk of Hebrews is an open book explaining all these great revelations with just these couple little nuggets in there on how we then are to put that to work. Look, that one word, that one sentence. Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we slip away. So the whole chapter one was to prep us for that word right there. If Jesus is who God says he is, and we know that he is, If Jesus is better than the angelic host, if he's better than the prophets, and God is speaking to his people through his son, what should be our responsibility? Pay attention to what he said, let us. He's gonna use that phrase a couple times. The word we must, you can use the word let us then, give the more earnest heed to pay attention to it. He doesn't do it again until three one. Go over to three one. 3 1 because chapter 2 is going to carry us deeper in that Jesus who was a brother to us Suffered death by the grace of God to purchase us who are brothers who have been given to him by the Father and then 3 1 says Therefore holy brethren partakers of the heavenly calling. What are we supposed to do? What do we ought to do? I Consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him who appointed him as Moses, also was faithful in all his house. So that's the second admonition, Brother Shannon. Of all that has been said about who Jesus is, what he's done, what he's doing, the first word is you need to pay attention to what he said. Give the more earnest heed. Then you need to consider or measure up, look at his life. How did this great messenger of God, who's better than Moses, what did he do in building God's house? Out of thus far, three chapters, we got two admonitions that we're to do. Pay attention to him and take an examination, look at his life. So all that's been said thus far gets us to two places. Listen to him, learn from him. Listen to him and learn from him. He doesn't do it again the chapter 4 look in chapter 4 So everything has been said in the rest of chapter 3 about them and who didn't enter into God's rest, why? Because they wasn't listening to him and they wasn't learning from him, right? So they didn't enter into his rest. What chapter four and verse one says, therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest, notice what it says, let us Fear, for fear any of you seem to have come short of it, for indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but the word which they heard didn't profit them. Because it wasn't mixed with faith in those that heard it. So the next admonition would be is that you need to listen to Him, you need to learn from Him, you need to believe Him, you need to trust Him. He's worth trusting. So four chapters with a lot about Jesus, with only four exhortations toward us and our response to all this knowledge of Him is to listen to Him, to learn from Him, and to trust Him today, right now. Trust Him right now. Trust Him right now. Very practical. Okay, so he's saying all that I've been teaching comes down to these things. Listen, learn, trust Him. Listen, learn, trust Him. Because everything else has been doctrine. It's been truth about who He is. But truth about who He is affects us that we position ourselves to hear from Him. position ourselves to learn and follow Him, and position ourselves to continue to trust Him today, and what He's given us to do. And then at verse 11, 411, here's that word again. Let what? Let us, because of this, be diligent to enter that rest for fear anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. Why? For the word of God is what? It's living. If it's living, that means it's what? It's alive, it's a living word, it's a word that's alive today. It ain't a dead word, it's what? It's alive, it's a living, it's powerful. That means it's able. It's able to do something in it. Why is it keen? Keith, it's active. It's alive, it's able, it's active. It's alive, it's able, it's active. Now, it needs to be what? Alive in me, able in me, and active in me. It's powerful and sharper, that's the idea. It's active, it's at work than any two-edged sword piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and joints and marrow and a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. So in four chapters, we have what? Four admonitions to listen, to learn, to trust, and be moved by this living, powerful, and active word that should be alive, able, and active in my everyday life. Right now. Right now. So all that was taught, because there's been a lot taught. There's been a lot of explaining who this Jesus is and what he's doing. Comes down to those four things of how that's to affect us. in what we know, because doctrine does change how we perceive life. Doctrine changes how we live life. Good doctrine leads to good decisions. Good teaching leads to good transformation in our life. And that's why it's so important to know what he said about him, and then look, okay, well has it had this effect on me? Because this is how it's gonna affect you. If it's affecting you, this is going to be the effect. You're gonna listen to him, going to learn from him, you're going to trust him, and he's going to transfer eternal dynamics of himself and his word inside of you. That's why it becomes alive, able, and active in you. It transfers life to you. His life is transferring life to you. The message is transferring his life to you, it makes you able to do what he did, and then it is active in you so you can discern between what is right and wrong, good and evil, God's way or the wrong way, all right? There's another, look in chapter number five, chapter number, excuse me, chapter number four, chapter number four, again, look in 16, look in 16. Knowing all this, that it's alive and we got this high priest, what should be our response, Brother Shannon? Let us, because of this, come what? Boldly to the throne of his grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. You see the progress? You're listening to him. You're learning from him because you trust him and following him. His word is being transferred in life and able power and wisdom and keenness and insight in you. And now that you can see all this, what would be the natural flow? Now you come into a high priest. You're entering in the throne room of grace because of, with boldness because you know who you are. You know who he is. You're following him. He's your shepherd. So out of all that we see this, it don't happen again to chapter number six, chapter number six. Look what he said, remember he said they were living, he's getting to them now, they're immature, they need to know a few more things. So he says, therefore leaving the discussion of the elementary principles, here's that phrase again, let us go on to maturity, perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God. So that group of people, he was saying, Brother Shannon, you ought to be feeding people the word of God now. If you were listening to him, learning from him, trusting Him, His life is being transferred to you through His message, that it is living in you, powerful in you, making you keen and wise to know how to take the next step. You're coming before His throne with boldness, asking Him to help you in times of need with these tests that you have to face. The natural response would be you'd be teaching people by now. But the evidence that you're not teaching people means you gotta go back. You would need to go back, but he said we need to move on. We need to get away from this elementary stuff and move on. So you gotta go back to what? Don't slip away, don't drift away. You gotta listen to him, learn from him, trust him, let his word go to work in you so that you can approach him with boldness and confidence in the day of the Lord. So we are in six chapters. Six chapters and how many admonitions has he given us thus far out of all that he's been teaching? A handful thus far. And there is a lot that he's been teaching about Jesus. About their lack, what he's done in encouraging them who he is. So you remember, the whole point I'm making is this. What we've been called to do, we're gonna have to face things in this life. We're gonna face troubles in this life. but we got an open book of how we get through those troubles with God's help and us seeking Him. But the book ain't gonna pay us no good if we ain't listening, if we're not learning, if we're not trusting, if the Word of God is not alive in us, living in us, transferring its life to us. Transferring its power within us to overcome problems and issues and transferring the wisdom we need, it's keen and sharp to know how to take the next step with God. We're not gonna come to the Lord. You know what we're gonna do? We're gonna revert to everything else with the problems that we're facing and we're not gonna come boldly to the throne of God. And that's what we see a lot, right? A lot of people, how many times we remember about King Saul when he was studying him? That when David showed up on the scene, the first thing David had to do was remind Saul how good God's been. that God is good and he's been gracious to me and God's protected me and brought me through. He delivered me here and delivered me there. He took me out of the mouth of the lion. He did all this every, he delivered me from bears and all that doing his work. I trust he's gonna take that Philistine out as well. And what did Saul, he had to keep telling him every time, why? Because Saul kept, when he was in trouble, he went to everything else but God. And we are often reminding people how good and gracious God is. And that's what he's doing here. He's reminding them that in Christ, God's been so good to you. So gracious with you. And if you're not coming to him with boldness before the throne of grace, it's a revelation, what? You're not been listening, you hadn't been learning, you hadn't been trusting, that's why you're unsettled, why you're disturbed, and then his word is not transferring its power, its wisdom, and its life to you. Because you are letting what? you're pushing back at all the stuff rather than letting God lead you through. You're not pushing through in what God's given. Okay, let's look over, now I want you to pick this up. He doesn't give them another admonition until chapter 10. Everything else is doctrine about Jesus and how good he is, how better he is than this and that and everything else and it's not until chapter number 10 that we find where he says, look in verse number 19. In chapter 10 is where the shift comes and all this teaching from here on out, now he's gonna start what? teaching them how to, or giving them things to walk in and to do. Verse 19 says, therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest, by what? The blood of Jesus, because it's so much better than any other sacrifice, or any other blood, by a new and living way which he consecrated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and having a high priest over the house of God, let us do what? Draw near now. He already said that when we come bold But remember he had to what he had to shift with these people because they were not they were immature so he spends that from chapter 6 Keith to chapter 10 and explaining again why Jesus is worth coming to and what he's done for them. And he says, now you need to come to him and draw near to him with a true heart and full assurance and faith, having our hearts sprinkled from the evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Then we see another one, verse 23, let us then hold fast the confession of our hope without what? wavering for he who promised is faithful. Remember, he said they had a confession, but they were wavering in that confession and they needed what? Patience. They needed endurance. Well, all that's gonna come through this solid teaching that he's been given. And then verse 24, he gives them something else to do. What is it? Verse 24, and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. Let us consider our brothers. Let us consider our brothers. Verse 25, not abandoning or forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the custom or the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day of the Lord approaching. That's a great evidence of when somebody needs endurance or patience. One are they coming to God bringing their problems to him? Are they living with an open book searching out? God's answers for the test they're facing or is it group participation? where they gather in with the brother and sharing their needs and their troubles and that I need help and it's not that they out there as Renegades doing it all on their own, but what they're coming together for help in this work, and together they draw in near unto God. Together they come in before the throne of God with boldness. Together they are stirring one another up, spurring one another on, sharpening one another in love and good works. That's why we come together, right? But when you notice people start drifting away, slipping away, and they are no longer gathering together with the people of God, They've got a confession, they've got a bold declaration, but they lack in what? Patience. Because what are they doing? They've gone through a few things in life and they keep pushing at it. But not what? Pushing through. The circumstances are manipulating them, not them walking through the circumstance with God doing something in them. And that's why you see them what? Eventually just steadily kind of fall away. This is what he's warning them of, right here. Look in chapter 10 again, look in about verse 36. For you have need of endurance, patience, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. So those handful of things that we talked about is what he's been talking about, the will of God, doing the will of God. What, listening? learning, trusting, believing that message that is living and alive and powerful, praying and coming before the high priest, entering in with a sacrifice that cleanses us from our conscience and condemnation, and that what? We gather together with the brethren to stir my brothers and sisters on up to more love and to more good works for the glory of God. That's been the will that he's talking about. That they had what? Because they were pushing back, they had forsaken. But he's telling them, I've got more things I desire for you to do. Look over, go back to chapter number five. Let me show you this right here. Chapter five. Verse 12. He says, for though by this time you ought to be teachers. And what we say about teachers, what are teachers? They are what? They're feeders. Teachers feed. But this group that he's referring to, he says you need, on the other hand, you're not feeding, you need somebody to what? Feed you. The first principles of the oracles of God, and you have come in need of milk and not solid food. What is milk? Reprocessed nutrition. A mama eats, right? Mama eats, and mama needs a healthy diet. She needs to eat good, why? Her body breaks that food down and produces milk. And she feeds her little ones milk. But a little one can't survive on milk alone. They eventually gotta get off milk. But milk is always reprocessed nutrition. Somebody eats on it, chews it, gets it reprocessed, puts it out, and it's milk. It's the elementary basic things, it's milk. You can't survive and become mature on milk. You gotta be able to move on to some solid food and then on to some meaty food, some stronger food. And he's saying those who own stronger food become feeders, they feed. You take like a small child that has gotten off milk, they've transitioned from solid baby food, then they move on, they could eat rice and beans and meat and things like that, you can take that four and five year old toddler and he can turn around and help you feed a little baby a little milk. He can help hold the bottle for you because he can be a feeder now. Well, he was telling this group of people, you're not even at that place. You still have to be fed. You should be feeding and teaching people by now. And this is the reason why. Watch what he says. For everyone who partakes of only milk is unskilled. And a skill is knowing how to do something. Knowing how to take the next step in something. A skill is a wisdom. A discipline. You're unskilled in the word of righteousness for he has obeyed. Verse 14, but solid food belongs to those who are mature, full age, those who by reason of what? by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. You know what that's simply saying, Key? That what you've taken in, you put it to work. You exercise it, you're living it out. You are skilled in the word of God to be able to live it out in everyday life. So what he's saying to these people here is that because they were not, a baby don't have the skill to live out a particular thing. A baby that's on milk, when mama says, go take the trash out, what is that baby going to do? That baby don't know how, can't get the trash out, right? Or if mama tells that little baby it's time for them to cook supper, Miss Barbara, can that baby do it? No, because it's what? An immature, small baby that doesn't have the skill level to do that as of yet. These people that he was writing to who started out strong with their confession, but because they pushed back at the pressure and didn't walk it out, they yielded to it and tucked tail. Now because they wasn't doing the will of God, they're exercising of the things of God, was vacant, it wasn't there, it was void. So they are still like little babes because they hadn't been walking out what God had given them. Simply goes back to what? They wasn't listening, they wasn't learning, they wasn't trusting. God's Word wasn't active, able, and alive within them, and it wasn't coming before the throne of grace with boldness. They just blended in with everybody else. As a result, they didn't gather with the brethren. They weren't exercising the truth. And that's why he says, look, you have great need of patience, and that when you have done the will of God, when you've done the will of God, then you will receive the promise. You see, it's in doing. You gotta know it to do it, but knowing it ain't enough, are you with me? You got to act on it in faith and walk it out. And therefore, that's where he goes in the chapter six. He says, we're gonna step away if God would permit us, because we can't go no further than what God permits. And if you're still a babe and not willing to come out of that, God's not gonna permit you to go any further. We want you to go further, but if that be the case, that's not gonna happen. So, now go to chapter 13. Tomorrow's reading. Tomorrow's reading. See how all this fits and comes together. There's a lot that needs to be said. We've talked about them before when you get into this discipline and you get into discipline isn't pleasant, even as a father or mother disciplining the little ones, that's never pleasant. It's not pleasant when God chastens and disciplines us either, but God has a goal and the aim and what he's doing and all that. He talks about Esau. Remember how Esau sought the blessing with tears, because he thought that the blessing was his right, and therefore he sought it, but he never found room for repentance, because Esau wasn't concerned with being right with God, he was concerned with what he thought was rightfully his, that was his push. As a result, what did he do? He lashed out at his brother. He was gonna kill him. Why? Because he felt like his brother got what was his right, and therefore that's the response. And when people mistreat people, and people are ugly to people and lash out at people, that's an evidence that they what? Defending their own rights rather than desiring to be right with the Lord. That's just evidence and all, it's a manifestation of the flesh. And all God's people said, that's what he saw, that's how he lived his everyday life. Sometimes we do that as well. But in chapter 13, Looking about verse number 20, verse number 20. Paul closes this letter out with this great word of where we wanna be praying for one another so that we can what? Listen, learn, trust, and see God's work active, powerfully able in us, and alive, that life being transferred inside of us. Look what verse 20 says. Now may the God of peace, who brought up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, may God make you what? Perfect, complete in every good work to what? Do his? working in you what is well-pleasing, where? In his sight. Do you notice that? You will not, I will not, we will not do God's will if God ain't working in us. Ain't gonna happen. The will of God, what I say, now can God use people to accomplish his will? Oh, we see that hands down. But will I accomplish his will without him at work in me? What did he say? who through the blood of Jesus, Jesus becomes our great shepherd. May he work what? In you to complete you. How does it read here? Look, make you complete in every good work. May he make us complete in every good work. to do His will, how is that going to happen? He working in you what is well pleasing in His sight. Notice it didn't say what is well pleasing to the world. He didn't say what is well pleasing to man. He didn't say what is well pleasing to you, but is what? Well pleasing in His sight. Isn't that what Romans 12, 1 and 2 says as well? I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, present your bodies unto the Lord as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto Him which is our reasonable service, be not what? Squeezed or conformed by this world when you're going through things, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove, what is that? Good and acceptable and perfect will of God. There is no good and acceptable and perfect will of God unless God's transforming your mind within to go push through the troubles he brings in your life that he's gonna produce a character in you and a hope that never disappoints. That does not, you don't get to that place without the trouble, without the test. without the trials. We have to go through those things to see patience have its complete work that produces Christ-like character in us that we have a hope that never disappoints. It has to go through that cycle and that process. All of us, we're gonna constantly be going in and out and in and out the test of life. But remember, the test of God are all what? Open book. They're all group participation in the family of God. And there's not one trouble or trial you go through that's a waste with the Lord and that he uses it all to what? Comfort and deliver other people. that He brings in and out of your life. It's never just about you and me, amen? So when the scripture says that He's the God of comfort, He's not comforting us with a feeling. His comfort comes to us through revelation, through His presence, through His message, through His transformation that He's doing within us. so that as we have our unique situations that we're going through and the troubles that we're facing, because not one of us are facing the exact same kind of trouble, but the key is, who's facing that trouble with me? Who's taking me through the test? That's where the commonality comes in with all of us, God's presence, God's power. God's message that he's bringing me in and through and what he's doing in me, he wants me to share with you. What he's doing in you, he wants you to share with us. Why? Because that's where the common comfort comes in. In the revelation of him helping us bear through the difficult, the hard, the despairing thing. We don't wanna push back at it. We're asking him to help us push through it because it's pushing through it. Patience is having its perfect work. And out of that, people see Jesus in us. They see Jesus in us. They see Jesus, amen? So I tell you, that verse 20 and 21 is one of those that we don't wanna ever forget. That it's the God of peace who makes us complete, who works in us to do his will in what is well pleasing in his sight. And everything he just said there, he's already stated when he said, look, you need to listen, you need to listen to Jesus. God speaks through Jesus today. He spoke to our fathers through the prophets, and he still speaks to us through Jesus, even through those prophets, but you gotta be in relationship with Jesus. That's the blood of the everlasting covenant. That's where we get peace with God from. But God's gonna make you complete when you listen to him, you're learning from him, you're trusting him today, and his living message is at work inside of you. He's at work inside of you, making you complete and whole, that you bring in all your needs. And we got a high priest that knows what it's like to suffer, amen? He knows what you're going through. He knows what it's like to be tempted. You can bring them to him. You can bring those needs to him, and you can keep bringing them to him over and over. You can cast them on him, because he can bear it, and he'll bring you through. Not that he's going to separate you from the brethren. No, what is he going to do then? He's going to keep bringing you near to the brethren. Why? Because it's God at work in you, completing you to help bless your brother and your sister as they're going through things. That's why he says you're gonna stir them up on the good works and love. You're gonna sharpen them. Iron sharpeneth? Iron. We keep a cutting edge for the glory of God when we gather together with one another and consider our brother. We don't gather to come in and say, look, what you got to bless me with today. No, we come looking to consider one another, amen. Like Greg pointed out, talking with Martin. I got to talk with Martin. Others notice Martin's countenance this morning. that you come considering, Lord, who can I bless today? How can I help somebody? They're down, they're discouraged. And when you're going through things and you're going through them the right way, it don't push you away from the people of God. What does it do? He propels you and drives you to the family of God to help you bear through. Those are all evidences of God completing us, completing us. So to him be the glory. Anybody gotta add, wanna add anything? Thank you, Carolyn. So did God have a lot to say to help us in what we are called to do in everyday life? Oh yeah, his revelation's full of it. Teaching us who he is. why he is who he is, what he does, and how, when we trust it, believe it, how it affects us in our everyday life. Amen? Father, we thank you, we bless you, ask you to help us with these things. We love you and thank you so much for your kindness with us and gentleness before us. We pray for Keith and Pam as they go on a journey this week. We pray that you would help them as they work with this family, that, Lord, it will be just one divine moment after the other. And that through the little things and the big things and the trials and the tests, that they know that they've got a teacher who's always ready to hear from them. You've given us an open book to know how to search out for answers and you put us with a family that we can call on for help. So Lord, we just bless you and thank you for the way you work. We do ask, as 13 said, that we pray that you would complete us, working in us what is pleasing in your sight. Thank you. We praise you for it in Jesus' name, amen. Love y'all. Y'all have a good night.