Please join me in prayer as we petition the Lord this morning. Heavenly Father, thank you we are able to gather together this morning and to sing to you, to praise your most holy name. I pray for our time together right now in your word. He would equip us, He would encourage us, He would show us as your children who've been purchased by the blood of your Son, how we are to live, what we are to believe. So we petition to you this morning to sharpen us by the power of the Holy Spirit. We petition you this morning, Lord, for so many who are serving overseas. Father, I pray for my dear friend, Katie. who's serving in Asia, I pray that you would give her wisdom to know what to do as persecution has increased. Father, I pray for the Johnson family as they are serving, and there is a team from First Keller there right now, just loving and encouraging them. Lord, I pray that you would keep them safe, Lord, and you would allow the gospel to go forward and you would grow your church. Father, I pray for Marnie Echol this morning who is continuing to suffer just with cancer and the doctors need wisdom and knowing what to do next in treating her. Father, what a good God that you are. And Lord, as we all are suffering in this room today, Lord, I pray that we would trust you, that we would rely upon you, Father, and we would know that we are pilgrims marching through this temporary land. And that you are faithful to bring us home. So equip us, Lord, this morning. May I be faithful to the preaching of your word. In Christ's name we pray, amen. If you would, turn with me to Titus, Titus chapter one. And once you get there, please stand with me in the honor of God's holy word being read. Titus chapter one, as we continue to walk through the pastoral epistles. For context, I will begin in verse five, Titus one, verse five. This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for a shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply that they may be in sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths. and the commands of people who turn away from the truth to the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and their conscious are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They're detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. May we enjoy the Lord and His words, and may He bless our time together this morning. Please be seated. So the churches in Crete, they were not healthy. And the reasons were extremely clear to the Apostle Paul. Having observed the issues as he traveled the island, meeting with the churches and the leadership, he had put some things straight with Titus, but there was still much to be done. When false doctrine is being taught, you will no doubt see unholy living. You will see living that should not be of God's people. These things go hand in hand. What we believe to be true, it will direct our lives. Doctrine and life, they go hand in hand. Titus was not alone in correcting church problems. As we have already studied, young Timothy was dealing with the same problem in Ephesus, according to 1 Timothy 1, verses 3-7. We read, As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. And many, because of that, were wandering away into vain discussions. But as we see in today's passage, knowing the problems of a church and doing nothing cannot and must not be the answer of God's people. Knowing the problems and not doing anything is sin. As God's children, we must obey the Word. Knowing the problems and only praying is not the answer when it comes to false teaching within a church. When it comes to false teaching in the church, immediate action is required by the church. In verse 10, we see this. Titus is charged to silence the deceivers. He says, For there are many who are insubordinate. They are empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced. They are upsetting the whole families by teaching for shameful gain what ought not to teach. So the false teachers in Crete, they were many. False teaching among the Lord's people is no small matter, but when you have many false teachers among the churches across an island, you have a serious muddle, a serious muddle going on. This is why Titus was to appoint qualified elders in every town. Titus would not have been able to handle every church in every town on the island of Crete. Multiple elders in every town and every church would have been needed. Throughout the scriptures in the New Testament, you have a major theme that is common in almost every letter after the ascension of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit. The church has problems. The church has problems. And most of the problems, they were internal problems. It is the leadership. It is the false teachings. It is the false doctrines that are going forward. It is the failure of believers to know the Word of God and to teach the Word of God. If the church is failing to abide, which has resulted in the world penetrating the church, and the church is looking like the world, dear child, this should not be. This should not be. The church has been purchased by the blood of Christ. The church has been set aside to be holy. The church is to be conformed more into the image of Christ. And I trust that you understand that the Holy Spirit will do that. The Holy Spirit will conform us more into the image of Christ. It's not just justification. It is also sanctification, and that sanctification will be complete one day when we are glorified. We are to look more like Christ. The church is to be penetrating the world with the Word of God. The church should be the holiness of God for this dark world to see. Christ is in us. This is to be the light. The churches in Crete, they had many false teachers in the church. Acts chapter 20 verses 29 and 30 come to mind. It says, Paul is addressing them as he is leaving these elders of Ephesus. He says, I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things. Why? To draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease, night or day, to admonish everyone with tears. So you can have the Apostle Paul preaching and teaching the Word of God to elders and to a church for three solid years, and after three years, what can happen? They can still fall. they can still be penetrated by false doctrine, and the church can go the wrong direction. The church of the living God must be alert to everything that is being taught. The teaching of the church is to point to Christ. It is to lift name, lift high the name of Christ. It is not to point people away from Christ, nor is it to point to the works of men. The teaching of the church must also be found in the Word of God. You think this would be understandable, but what is proclaimed as truth must have a chapter and a verse in God's Word. It must be found in the Word. It is the job of the church to examine the Scriptures to see if what is being said is true. We are to be good Bereans. Last week I briefly discussed that when Paul wrote to the church of Galatia, his words were like fire. He had righteous anger. He was rebuking the church in Galatia in love, and he held nothing back. In Galatians 1, beginning in verse 6, he said, I am astonished. that you're so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and returning to a different gospel. Not that there is another one, but that there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. So anyone who preaches a different gospel, let them be accursed. Let them be anathema. Let them be devoted to hell, is what the Scripture says. And Paul included himself in this. He said, if I preach to you something that what you have already heard is a true gospel, let me to be devoted to hell. If anyone preach, even an angel, let them be devoted to hell. The false teachers in Crete were many and they were to be silenced. In verse 10, it says, there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers. Insubordinate, they are rebellious, they are disobedient, they are unruly and out of control. This is what happens when you don't have accountability in the church. This is what happens when you don't have a statement of faith, bumpers that serve as guiding the flock away from heresy and leading people in the truth. Empty talkers and deceivers. They taught and spoke senseless words in a smooth way. They dressed up falsehood. They presented it as truth and it looked good. We see this today so much. We see it way too much. We see truth that is being taught mixed. with falsehood. And it's leading thousands upon thousands upon thousands astray. And we're not talking about something that is temporary. We're talking about something that is eternal. You're talking about heaven and you're talking about hell. You're talking about someone believing that my salvation is based upon what I do versus my salvation is based solely upon the work of Jesus Christ. Yet empty talkers and deceivers. And what these men were teaching was not because they misunderstood what they studied. What they taught was false and they taught it with a purpose to lead people astray. They taught with a purpose to seduce and to deceive minds. False doctrine was especially being spread by the circumcision party, it says. It says many Jews and creed within the church were the cause of the false doctrines. And it's quite possible they wanted all to be circumcised. We're not sure. What we do know is that the Jewish myths and commands of men were being taught and practiced, and the result was that the church was hearing heresy and it needed to end. History has a way of repeating itself, doesn't it? Deception gets repackaged with each passing generation. This happens in the church and it happens in the name of Jesus Christ. History has a way of repeating itself and it's not fun. This is why as a children of God, we must, we have been given the word of God. So for children who have been given the word of God, we must know the word of God. We have it, we have no excuse. We have no excuse whatsoever. We are to know it. We are to camp out in it. We are to teach it. We are to defend it. And when false teaching happens in the church, among those set apart, the church should know it, and they are to silence those teaching the twisted words of heresy. What Paul discusses is so basic, yet it is so difficult. If false doctrine is going to be rebuked, it must first be recognized, but it doesn't stop there. To know the falsehood in the church is not enough. The flock has a responsibility to do something about it. We are to silence it. Now we all intellectually know that there are things in our own life that need to change and we haven't changed them. If you cannot think of a list, I'll be glad to hang out with you for five minutes and I'll help you start your list. And I'm sure you can add to my list. There are things in our life that need to be changed. And by the power of God, those things can be changed. And by the power of God, one day, everything will be changed. Everything. Now, some things in our life presently need to be stopped. Some of us need to do less. Some of us need to learn how to say no. Some of us need to work harder and smarter, knowing that the power of God can do more than we can ever think or imagine. The list is endless. But when it comes to the teaching of the church, when it comes to those whom Christ has purchased, we must not neglect to address falsehood. Souls are at stake. As people of the truth, we must uphold the truth and silence the false teachers. Verse 11 says they must be silenced. since they were upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. So the deceivers were to be silenced by Titus and the other elders that were appointed. It had gotten so bad already that whole families were upset and shameful gain was happening. Some of the false teachers were going house to house promoting their twisted doctrines. And we still have that today. Churches must know the problem, they must address the problem, and they must put an end to the problem. The false teachers must be silenced. Listen again to the words of John Calvin that I said last week. The pastor ought to have two voices, one for gathering the sheep, and another for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves, and that is because he loves the flock. But what do you do when the pastors are the problem? By God's grace, Lord willing, you'll never have pastors like that going forward. But you need to understand that I cannot make that promise. Just as the words of Paul said, and Paul himself, if I preach a different gospel, let me be devoted to hell. Let me be accursed. And so, but the flock has got to be ready. The flock has got to know the word of God. The wolves and thieves are to be driven away. Their mouth is to be stopped, which means it is not just the pastors that must know the word. It is also the flock that must know the word. And when the flock sees something that is being taught wrong, the flock has every right and every expectation. And the flock is expected by God to do something about it. You must do something about it. The false teachers were teaching for personal gain. This is always a goal for false teachers. It's pride, it's profit, and it's power. It's pride, profit, and power. What can I teach that will profit myself? What can I say that deceives, that leads people astray, and it puts money in my own pocket at the same time? What is found in the word that I can twist and use for personal gain and dress it up to look beautiful to where people can buy it? Paul addressed this very issue with Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 6. He says, He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. So as Paul continues in his instruction to Titus, he does so with the words of one of their own poets. You see this in verse 12. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. And then Paul agrees by saying, this testimony is true. So they were called to rebuke for the purpose of soundness of faith. To rebuke for the purpose of soundness of faith. He uses the words of a respected Greek poet. Epimenides from the city of Knossos of Crete. He was held in high esteem in the sixth century, considered one of the seven greatest wise men of Greece during his day. He declared, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. And Paul said, this testimony is true. See, many times Paul knew the culture that was going on at a specific church where that town was. He understood what was happening, and he used their own language and their own people to go against that. Paul, elsewhere in Scripture, he did this. We saw this. He says, I appear that you are very, very religious. I see that you even have an altar devoted to an unknown God. And so here, what does it say? Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. So Paul says this testimony is true. So Paul stated that what was happening among the Cretan church was this. You had liars, you had evil beasts, and you had lazy gluttons that had come into the church and taken over. The morality of animals. hating to work and loving to eat. And they lied all the time. This is not to be among the Lord's flock. It is to be addressed. And these people are to be silenced. He says, therefore, in verse 13, therefore, rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith. They were to be severely talked with. It's not like that you pull them aside and you say, hey, We have a small problem and I think we should talk about it. Like, do you have time to get together? No. I mean, these men were standing up before the congregations and they were preaching something that was completely false. Paul says, rebuke them sharply. Rebuke them sharply. They were to be silenced. It was to be a time of hearing the truth and by God's grace, it was also to be a time of sound faith, that they may be sound in the faith. So it wasn't just that Titus was to do this discipline for the purpose of the flock. He was to also do this discipline for the salvation of the false teachers. See, sometimes a church can get so caught up in doing something right that they do it wrongly. It says, I want you to do it right. I want you to care for not only the flock of God, I want you to care for the salvation of those who are preaching something false. Our God is great, you never know what He's gonna do. Just preach the word and see what happens. In verse 14, you see more detail of what was happening. They were not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. But both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, they are disobedient, they are unfit for any good work. See, to be sound in the faith is to have the right thinking and the right living. It is to have the right thinking and the right living. When you are sound in the faith, you are devoted to truth and you deny falsehood. You deny falsehood. This is very huge. It is momentous. I want you to understand. It is not just knowing the truth. It is also denying that which is false. Because our culture today in the United States says, no, you cannot do that. It may be true for you, but it does not have to be true for me. No, if we love them, we're going to hold to the truth and we're going to deny falsehood and then love, proclaim the truth to them so that the Lord can save them. to be sound in the faith and to have the right thinking and the right living. These false teachers, they were devoting themselves to Jewish myths. They were not devoting themselves to the Word of God. They were devoting themselves to the commands of men, not to the commands of God. The very things that the teachers were to be denying in the churches, they were being devoted to. and they were feeding it to the sheep. This is blind stumbling. They approved it and they lived for it. And they brought others with them. They were making disciples, not of Christ, they were making disciples of Satan. And verse 15, it says to the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and their consciousness are defiled. So when one believes truth and lives by the truth, they are pure and what they do is pure. But when one denies the truth, nothing is pure. Their mind and their conscience are defiled. Whatever they do, whatever tradition, whatever ceremony or legalistic activity they are involved in, it will not save, nor will it glorify the Lord. In verse 16, it continues in describing the unbelieving teachers. They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They profess to know the living God, but by how they live, they deny the fact that they know the living God. They don't know God. How they live, their works, it denies that they know God. In other words, a person is known by their fruit. Something that Jesus taught, a tree is known by its fruit. The God who saves also sanctifies and sanctification means fruit. Now salvation is by faith. We know not by works, but the one who has faith in Christ will no doubt work for Christ. Amen. So I have a question for you. How's your work? Are you working at knowing Christ and are you working at working for Christ. No doubt we increase our knowledge and understanding of who God is by the reading and meditating and memorizing of God's Holy Word. I hope that you're growing in understanding of that, that the words that God has breathed are important and they should become increasingly important as a child of God. Because not a dot, not an iota is going to pass away from this book. That's how precious they are. As one of the men said this morning, sweeter than honey, more profitable, better to be desired than gold. This book is wisdom. This, this book is what God has given to his children to know and to live by. What a joy to have. What a joy to be thankful for it. And what a burden to think about that there are so many people groups that don't have a single word of it. There is so much to be done. And here they're saying they profess to know God. They say they know the living God, but they don't by the way that they live. Now, Romans 3 verse 28, it says, For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. That's what you had in the Reformation. By faith alone. Works do not justify you. What you do does not justify you. One is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. On the churches down the street. It's right next to a Catholic church. And on their sign, it says, Reformation Sunday. Nailed it. I read that each day as I drove by coming to church this past week, and I was just thankful for the fact that one man, he pulled away from it. And he realized, I can never, ever save myself. I'm dependent upon the Lord. It's by faith alone that one is saved. The salvation is by faith. Now, many people are going to argue and they're going to point to James chapter 2, verses 14. It says, well, good is it my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but it does not have works, can that faith save him? No. If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and one of You says to him, go in peace, be warmed and filled without giving them the things needed for the body. What good is that? It's also faith by itself. It does not have works is dead, but someone will say you have faith and I have worked. Show me your faith apart from your works. I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe in shutter. Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works. And the scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness, and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. Now, both Paul and James, they were fighting the same battle. As one pastor put it over the years, is they were back to back from one another, defending the exact same thing, talking to two different groups of people. Their swords are up and they're going to town. They're declaring the same thing that faith alone justifies, but true faith, it will result in works for the Lord. Because understand this God's children, they glorify him. Not just later, they glorify him. Now we're to have works now for the Lord. We work for him without faith in Christ for salvation. One cannot have good works. This is what is being said. Without faith, one is unfit. Without faith, one is worthless. Without faith, one is disqualified for any good work. As one commentator said this past week, it's not that individuals who are not saved cannot do anything good. It's that individuals who are not saved cannot do anything that is pleasing to the Lord. So we are to be devoted to the word of God and to know the word of God. We are to know truth and we stand and defend for the truth. Even when you have pastors, they're preaching something false in your own church. You are to approach them. And it's something as Jeremy Martinez constantly reminds me of there to be two or three witnesses. And the church of God is responsible to recognize and deny error. We are to recognize and deny error. How important this is. In Matthew chapter seven, verse 15, he said, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them. by their fruits. Sounds like the very same thing that Paul was addressing to the church in Crete. They were denying God by how they lived. They were denying God with their works. He goes on to say, are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? If you don't know anything about those things, the answer is no. So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Now, as children of God, I want us to understand a few things. You and I are going to have seasons of our life and you and I are going to have areas and times in our life when you hear things like this and you become so depressed and you start to doubt your salvation. Or you may become so disgusted with your life because you're going through so much. Just understand this. We all stumble in many ways, James says. The picture that is constantly been brought up to my mind, and I talked about this with the men on Thursday night as we gathered together for discipleship, was as we grow in our sanctification, you and I are going to continue to see more and more of our sin, not less, because we're understanding more and more of God's holiness. And when we understand more of who God is, we're going to understand more about us and our great need and love for our savior. And so sometimes in the Christian walk, what it is like, and when I say sometimes, most of the time, it's an elevator. You're growing, you're growing, you're growing, and then you see more and you feel like you just dropped two more floors. You're growing, growing, growing, and it just drops again. And you continue to see more and more things in your life. That's part of sanctification. That's part of living in a fallen world. That is part of how we are to live. But understand this, see God's grace in all this. God's grace has allowed you to see those things. God's grace has pointed you to those things, those sins in your life. Be thankful for those things. So don't get disappointed that you see more and more of your sin. See more and more of your sin and repent and turn away from it and be more and more satisfied with who God is. Rest in who He is. Continue to grow in that. This is what He's saying. You're going to have individuals that come into the church And they were going to see and be teaching all these different things. But as the church body, we must know everything that is being taught and we must understand everything that is being taught. You must know if it is truth or if it is falsehood, which means you must be good brains and you must know the word of God. So we must speak up when falsehood is in the church because truth matters. Souls matter. And let our works declare that we are God's children. I had some moments this past week where my life did not really reflect that I was a child of God. And like I said earlier, if you can't think of any times, then that means you really need to get into the Word of God. And you can see moments that you know that you did not image Christ, you did not glorify Him, and you're called to repent. That's why in our services, On Sunday, we have times of repentance. I hope that this is not the only time that you will repent during a week. I have prayer time right before this with men, before we come into the sanctuary in here. I repent of my sins in there before I have time with those men. I have time of prayer in my office before I even meet those men, where I'm repenting of my sins that I've committed. Each and every day I do. Because I can't go five minutes of reading God's Word and not stopping and repenting. Because I see things, but I also stop and I give praise and honor and worship to a holy God, because He has saved me. Because left to my own devices, I would still be doing nothing but sinning. So let's speak up when falsehood is in the church. Let us let our works declare that we are children of God. We are to not deny God by the way that we live. Let our works support the words that come out of our mouth. Father, I thank you for this morning. Your word is so good. has been said numerous times this morning, is sweeter than honey. Father, it is what we need. Your Word is living and active, is sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces and it divides. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even said, we are not to live on bread alone, but on every word that has come out of your mouth. Every word that we have access to, Father, Father, I pray for Foundation Baptist Church. I pray for First Baptist Church Keller. I pray for Desert Ridge Baptist Church. I pray for Glendale Baptist Church in Oregon. I pray for the surrounding churches in Hearst, Euless, and Bedford and all the churches around this world, Lord, that the church would step up. And if false teaching is being taught within the church, Lord, that the members of that local body would do their job. that the members of that local body would stand up for truth. That he would get to the point that they would be demanding that their elders preach the word and nothing else. And they would preach longer and the word of God would be held so high. Father, we are to be a pillar and buttress of the truth. You've entrusted us with the gospel. You've entrusted us with your word. We are to defend it, and we are to silence those who are talking against it within the church. Lord, I pray that we would obey. I pray that this church will become healthier and healthier. Lord, that is our prayer. Lord, I pray this morning for those who are not trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ for their salvation, that it's Jesus plus something else. Lord, I pray that you would save them by your grace. It's Jesus plus nothing, Jesus alone, faith alone, and Christ alone. Father, thank you for this morning. Thank you for saving undeserving sinners. It's in your most holy name that we pray. Amen. We are about to come together to the Lord's table as God's children and take of the Lord's supper. I ask that you would spend a few moments in silence, spend a few moments reflecting upon the word of God that you have just heard. You would examine your life. And if you have ignored the time of confession already this morning, that you would confess your sins now. and get right with the Lord before we partake. As our men come forward and you continue to spend time with the Lord, I want Isaiah 53 to be upon your mind and your heart. It says, who has believed what he has heard from us and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he has bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was a chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has lay on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shearers is silenced. So he opened not his mouth. As we come together to take of the Lord's Supper as God's children, we have a warning in Scripture that if we have not trusted in Christ and Christ alone for salvation, Scripture says, do not eat and do not drink. This is just for observation only for you. That we would take this time seriously because He says, if you take of it wrongly, you're eating and drinking judgment upon your life. And it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. So if you are not saved, do not partake. Make sure as a Christian, you examine your life. And this is a joy that the church can come together and remember this and do this because this is one of the ordinances of the church. The one of two, baptism in the Lord's supper. We are thankful for what the Lord has already accomplished. And every time we take of this, we are proclaiming the gospel. We are saying we identify with this. We understand that Christ was crucified for me. His body was nailed to that cross for me. His blood covers my sin. It has covered my sins. It has made me born again. I have a new heart. And so we give praise and glory and honor for that. And so we are remembering that. And we need to remember that daily. We need to remember what the Lord has done. Preaching the gospel to ourselves is very, very important. Jesus did this with the disciples, the 12, before he was crucified. He told them to continue to do that, and we're to continue to do that, and we're still doing it 2,000 years later. As long as we are called a church, we are to do it until Christ returns. So examine yourself, think about the blood of Christ, thinking about the body of Christ. And I encourage you, if you are a parent, spend time talking with your children about what we are doing. It's okay if you're a little loud and they're a little moving around. That's, we're family. It's okay.