It's already been good to be here today, hadn't it? So if I mess it all up now, you still can go home with your tank filled. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you today again for just your blessings that you've given to us so far, and we pray that you would continue to bless us now as we study your Word. Father, teach us truth, train our hearts today, enlighten our minds. Father, help us to think your thoughts. We pray that your presence would continue to be with us, Lord. We don't have to ask for your presence to be with us because you've already been here, Father. We just pray that that would continue. Fill our hearts with hope and joy today as we study your word. We ask it in Christ's name, amen. If you have your Bible this morning, would you open up to the book of 1 Thessalonians, chapter number five. The book of 1 Thessalonians, chapter number five. I think if we were honest this morning, I think we could all agree that one of the great problems of our culture, and I guess we could even go so far to say is that one of the great problems of living in this world is the sinful disease of materialism. Materialism. When we think about this concept of materialism, I think it's helpful maybe today if we were to give a definition to that. And at least the definition that I'm going to give for materialism is investing everything into something that will end up being nothing. Let me say it again because I think that's an important statement, important definition for the term or for the word materialism. Materialism, the way I'm defining it this morning, is investing everything in something that will end up being nothing. And of course, this can take place with things that we do, with activities that we engage in, with stuff we buy, with all the possessions and all of the things. It's very easy, especially in an American culture, to get wrapped up in all of that kind of stuff. Because here in our country, even the poorest of the poor are more wealthy than the great majority of the rest of the people on the planet. It's not true just to say that a rich person would be a materialist, but listen, even poor people can be materialists. So it's investing everything in something that will end up being nothing. I think a good question to ask in light of that is, why do people do this? Why are people so gripped by this disease of materialism? And most of the times they don't even know that they're gripped by the disease. But why is it that so many people have this problem and struggle with this disease of materialism? Well, let me break it down into two categories. I would say, first off, for the non-believer, the non-Christian, we could say about that person Just because of what we know from Scripture and because of what we know about the human condition, the heart of the human being fallen and depraved, we find that the non-Christian is constantly looking for purpose. But the problem is that the world is too small to fit the hopes of a creature made in God's image. So people, non-believers, maybe we could say it in a different way, materialism for the non-believer is something that they are using to try to fill the void that only a redeemed life in the Lord Jesus Christ can fill. People are constantly looking for purpose and the point that I'm saying this morning is that God has made us as creatures in His image to worship Him and to delight in Him and to enjoy God. And when we substitute that, when we're deceived and we're tricked by Satan and this worldly system and we're deceived to try to find that fulfillment and that happiness in things, we're never ever going to fill the void. And so again, why I said a moment ago, a poor person can do this and a rich person can do this and every person in between. looking for things, looking for material possessions or maybe even relationships or activities or things to engage in that will fill the void. They are trying to actually fill this void in their life, but they can't do it because they are created in the image of God to worship God, to glorify God. They can only do that through being reconciled to God through the person of Jesus Christ. And so all of these attempts in the realm of materialism, it ends up falling short. Now for the Christian, it's a little bit of a different scenario because we have been redeemed. We have come into a situation being redeemed, being born again, having the life of God in our soul, the life of God in the soul of man. Now we can actually do what we were created to do, which is to worship God and to glorify God and to praise Him and to find our ultimate satisfaction in God. We can actually do that. We actually have the capacity to do that as born-again believers. But the problem for the Christian, and maybe this will ring true with you as I thought about this. Don't ever forget that I always have to run my own life through these truths before I share them with you. But I think if we were honest with ourselves and we see if this disease of materialism is in our life, we could say that the problem with us is that many times we get tricked by the voice of our past life before Jesus Christ. Many times we listen to the voice of our past life instead of listening to the new life within us. And sometimes we get deceived and we get tricked and maybe we go back and we hearken to that voice and to that call from a past life and we go back to some of those different things. And for the Christian, as we think about materialism, through materialism comes the problem then for us of idolatry. Now if you think of the Apostle John and his letters, one of the last things that he said, I believe it was in 1 John, to the believers, he says, Beloved, keep yourself from idols. Did you think that only idolatry happened with the pagan non-believer? No, it's just as easy many times for Christians to get sucked into idolatry. Not in the terms of worshiping something for a right standing with God, but by idolatry I mean substituting what God has said or God Himself in many instances for something else that will not satisfy. And so if you're looking for satisfaction in a thing or an activity or an event or something, aside from God, then you are an idolater in that moment. And so it's very easy for us, many times as Christians, to get tricked and to get deceived. And through this disease of materialism, we can become idolaters. Another problem that happens when we get sucked into the reality of materialism is that it can produce in our life false securities when it's Christ alone who should be the occupation and satisfaction for everything in our lives. You ever think about that? Why people heap to themselves so many things and are so concerned about money and so concerned about all the material possessions of this world. It's really at the core of that. It's a security issue. If I have this, if it's tangible, if I have a big bank account, if I have these things surrounding me, if I have things, you know, just like I want them, then that gives me a certain amount of comfort or a certain amount of security. And what happens, our comfort and our trust and our security should be placed where? Should be placed in God, through Jesus Christ, through this relationship that we have with God that, you know, you're reading the Sermon on the Mount and you see all the ways that Jesus talks and tells us not to be anxious and not to be worried about how we're going to be fed or how we're going to be clothed because He takes care of little creatures that He's created, the sparrows and everything else, even the lilies of the field, you know, are clothed in their beauty. Even Solomon, it says, wasn't arrayed like that. So many times then materialism that then becomes idolatry can also lead into this reality of pulling to ourselves false securities instead of the Lord Jesus Christ, listen to me now, being the occupation and the satisfaction of our life. And by the way, as a Christian, isn't that in a practical sense supposed to be the reality of your life? That Jesus Christ is to be the occupation of your life and that He is supposed to be the satisfaction of your life? May I submit to you today, you know, a lot of times in evangelizing lost people, we tell people, we say, seek the Lord. If He's dealt with you, if He's opened up your eyes to show you any light whatsoever, follow that light. Seek after God. Follow that. But listen, I want to tell you today that as a Christian, you should continue seeking. Although you have been born again and you've been reconciled to God, you need to continue to seek that which will satisfy you Which is God, not the things of this world, not the empty possessions and the futile things of this life. And so, if you follow the pattern, if we become materialist, we become idolatrous. And if we keep to ourselves these idolatrous systems or things or false securities, That's just it. We have false securities in our life. And then thirdly, if you just follow the progression, those false securities in your life, because they're treasured so very much, can become strongholds in your life. You start looking at your life and you start examining all of the different areas, especially in the realm of materialism, for example. Let's just think for a moment if there's something that you possess that you hold to so strongly. What would it be like if it was taken away from you? How would you feel? Because that will tell you your disposition towards that particular thing. Hitting home a little bit here this morning, I suppose. But sometimes we hold to things of this world far too tightly. Listen to me. God doesn't mind you having things in this life as long as He has your heart. But when the things become the object that you are going after and becomes the things that you worship and the things that you love, we've crossed the line. Where God no longer has our heart as He so desires in our practical walk with Him, And we've fallen into error and we have brought strongholds into our life. Now the Bible is not at all silent about the things that I'm speaking about this morning. As a matter of fact, there's a parable in Luke's Gospel, in Luke chapter number 12. You don't have to turn there, I just want to read it to you. And I think this is a great portrait today of the American position. And it's the parable of the rich fool. From Luke chapter number 12, I'll pick it up there in verse 16. And he told them a parable saying, the land of a rich man produced plentiful. And he thought to himself, what shall I do? For I have nowhere to store my crops. And he said, I'll do this. I'll tear down my barns and build larger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, fool, This night your soul is required of you and the things that you have prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God. Now obviously in the context of that parable I think we could immediately apply that to a lost person's condition who's seeking in the things of this world as their safety and as their security and they've given no thought or no attention to their spiritual condition before a holy God. But I think in a practical sense we could also speak the truths, the implications out of that into our lives as believers because Jesus is making a contrast with the things of this world versus the true riches. And where do the true riches lie? The true riches lie in our relationship with the Holy God. In being rich towards what? God. You see, if you're rich towards God, you can be poor in the things of the world and you're still rich. That's the wonderful reality about this Christianity that we have been given by a holy God. So you say, Brother Kyle, why all of this today? Well, let me give you my aim for today. This is what I'm shooting at today. Again, I've kind of picked this topic today because this is a big problem in our culture. It's a problem between the non-believer and the Christian alike, especially here in our American context. And so my aim today is to give you, as it were, some medicine for this disease. Medicine, hopefully, that will show all of us today the folly of this reality of materialism And I'm doing it from a passage that has a way of putting things in perspective. Because the passage that I'm about to read to you today, you would probably say, well I don't see anything at all in that passage today about materialism, and you would be right. And so the reason I've chosen this passage is to take materialism, or really any other system or faulty thing that someone could be trusting in in this world and compare it to reality. In other words, sometimes it's good for us just to be shocked about the things that we're doing in our life with reality. And so this is what I want to do for us today. I want us to... let me say it this way. I want us to see that in light of the future but imminent coming day of the Lord, materialism as well as many other things are foolish. Materialism in light of the coming day of the Lord, when you compare, it makes it really foolish and it makes it a folly. So look with me there in our text, beginning in 1 Thessalonians chapter number 5, beginning in verse 1. Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying there is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman and they will not escape. Verse 4, But you, mark that, are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing. Number one, as we contrast materialism to the coming day of the Lord, I want us to put our materialism in perspective again by considering this future coming day of the Lord. Now, you see this phrase there in verse number two that the Apostle Paul, in writing to this church, is talking about the day of the Lord. Now, in one sense of the word, when we think of the Day of the Lord, every day is the Day of the Lord, right? Because God has made it. God owns it. God keeps it going. God keeps everything in its orbit and in its order. So every day belongs to the Lord. He's made it all. This is the day that the Lord has made. We should rejoice and be glad in it. But when we see Paul's intention here in speaking of the Day of the Lord, he's actually talking about a specific future event. We could actually call this an eschatological day. If you ever hear the theological term eschatology, that is the theological category that talks about last things, or end time things, or how it's all gonna consummate, okay? So that's the category of eschatology. And so when the Apostle Paul uses the term the day of the Lord, he's talking about a specific day or a specific event that's sometime in the future. Now, it's not my intention today to get into a full theology of the Day of the Lord, but suffice it to say, the Day of the Lord is a day that's accompanied with the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ when He comes back to this earth to judge His enemies. And so the Day of the Lord, then, is a day of judgment. It's a day of great horror, as a matter of fact, when the world and all of those who are opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ are going to have to face the Lord of Glory. As a matter of fact, when you look in the Old Testament and the New, This coming day of the Lord is accompanied by signs in the heavens, like the sun turning to, you know, being darkened, and the stars not giving their light, and Jesus coming down to earth. You see these pictures all over the Old Testament and the New Testament. And so we could say as well, if you're into the timeline of end time events, we could say also that it's an event that happens after the Great Tribulation that the Bible speaks about. When the Great Tribulation on Earth finishes, then you see in Scripture this coming day of the Lord, where He actually appears out of heaven and comes down to take vengeance upon His enemies. So we could say, again, it is a day of judgment. Now, if you look in our text, you'll find that the Apostle Paul contrasts those persons who are outside of the graces of Jesus Christ with those who are. in a favorable relationship with Jesus Christ. And he contrasts their two situations in regards to the coming day of the Lord. And I want you to notice in our text, first off, it tells us there, the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. People are saying there's peace and security. Then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman and they will not escape. Now notice this. There's a but you in verse 4. Now he's talking to the saints. So he's talking about this coming day of the Lord that's going to take the world by surprise. All of these people who don't know Jesus Christ. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief, for you are all children of light, children of the day." So when it comes to the Day of the Lord, we find that first off it's a day of destruction. And that day of destruction is going to be experienced by the lost people that are on this world in the time of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. And let me say today that by implication, not only are they in great danger, but all of their stuff and all of their things, what value will all of that stuff be when they have to stand before Jesus Christ in His judgment? You know, they're not going to be worried about all their homes and their houses and their bank accounts and their possessions and their stuff because there's a much bigger deal going on here. They themselves are exposed to the condemnation and the judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the day of the Lord, this future coming event, is a day of judgment and people will be judged as well as their things. It's not going to matter a hill of beans in their life or in their situation at this given time. But the Apostle Paul doesn't want us as believers to be shaken by this day of the Lord. Because every time the Scripture speaks to the Christian about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, for us it's a blessed hope. It's nothing to fear. It's nothing to be afraid of. As a matter of fact, what was it that John the Revelator said? He said, Come, Lord Jesus, come. And this should be the heart cry of every single believer in here today. That we should be saying, Lord Jesus, we are ready. Come. Because we're not appointed to wrath. If you'll notice our text, he says, but you, speaking to the believer, you are protected. You're not in darkness. You're not a lost person, brother, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are children of light, children of the day. So when the lost people are all around and they're hanging on to their things and they're living in peace and safety with all of their false security surrounding them, the day of the Lord is going to come and it's going to shake all of that up and they're going to be exposed to judgment. But there's this protection for the people of God. But let me say to you, let me just say to you today, that when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back, If you're living at that time, you are going to be in such awe of the Lord Jesus Christ that by implication, none of your stuff in this world is going to matter either. Just like the lost person as they are face-to-face with the Lord Jesus Christ and His coming judgment, the believer will be face-to-face with the Lord Jesus Christ and all of His beauty and they will be protected and they will be in such... be enthralled with the Lord Jesus Christ that they're not going to be thinking about their family and their stuff because all of that is going to be consumed and done away with. And so the point that I'm making today is that when you think of all of your material possessions and all the false securities of your life, and dare I even say the idols maybe that are in your life that need to be repented of, would you take just a moment? My purpose today is to say put all of your materialism in perspective by considering the coming day of the Lord and what's at stake when it comes. You're going to be face-to-face with Jesus and you're not going to be paying attention to all of the stuff that we put in our life and that we surround ourselves with. The stuff that we give so much time and attention to and devotion to and dare I say love to. Consider that. Consider the coming day of the Lord that you'll be face-to-face with the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll not need any of those things. I want to encourage you today to fight against your materialistic mindset by considering the commands of Scripture and your responsibilities as a Christian. Let me say it again. Fight this materialistic draw in your life when it happens to you by considering the commands of Scripture and your responsibilities as a Christian. Notice verse number six. Paul says, in light of the coming day of the Lord, it's future, it's imminent, but it could happen at any time, here's how you are to behave. So then, let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night, but since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. The Apostle Paul, as he's speaking to these believers and us as well, since we're reading his writings today, this is a call to, in verse number 6, a call to spiritual alertness and self-control. Mark those down. Spiritual alertness and self-control. You see, when the Bible contrasts the believer to a non-believer, the disposition of the two are totally different. The one who is the non-believer is always portrayed in Scripture as the one who is spiritually asleep, or let me even go further to say spiritually dead. They're asleep. They're not in tune with true spiritual realities. In other words, their antenna doesn't tune in with the mind of God like the believers does. And so Paul is saying, listen, in light of this coming future day, in the meantime, until that happens, you as a believer don't act like a non-believer and be spiritually dull. or spiritually asleep, you need to be spiritually awake. You need to have spiritual alertness. You need to turn on the eyes of your discernment and see things in the world as they really are. Listen, it doesn't do any of us any good as we walk in this life to be anything but a realist. You hear me? It doesn't do any good to get in a fantasy land. It doesn't do any good to surround yourself with pop culture and music and movies and get off in these fantasy games and all of the Harry Potter and all of the junk that's out there and live in a fantasy land when the Bible calls us to spiritual alertness, when we are to be discerning, when we are to see the reality of how things really are. And also when it comes to the way that we behave, there's supposed to be a self-control about our life. Would you notice again the text? We don't sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. Or perhaps your translation says self-controlled. There's a soberness to life, an alertness, a readiness, a paying attention, a living in a way that would be honoring and pleasing to the Lord. And he contrasts that with the lost all around us. They're asleep and they're drinking and they're just living in a stupor as they go through this life. But for the Christian, we don't have any part in the works of darkness. We're to be sober. We're to be spiritually alert. We're to walk in a manner that demonstrates self-control. That we're to restrain the passions. That we're supposed to live in light of the fact that we are a new creature in the Lord Jesus Christ. But we belong to the day, He says. And now He brings us next. Not only is there a call to spiritual alertness and self-control, but we need a reminder, listen to me, that we have been separated. First off, notice verse 7 again. We're not like those who sleep. They sleep at night and those who get drunk and get drunk at night. But we belong to the day. You see the difference? Reminds me of Colossians chapter 1. You've been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the domain of the kingdom of light, into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. We live in two different realms. You know, I don't think it's spoken of enough by pastors today that in the life of Christians we should live separated holy lives. We must be separate from the world. Come ye out from among them. There must be a separation. There should be a difference between the way that a non-believer acts and lives their life versus the way that a Christian acts and lives their life. We are to walk in holiness. We're to walk in purity. We're to walk in a manner that esteems and values the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we do that through purity. Living holiness, the writer of Hebrews says, without which no man will see the Lord. You understand? We have been separated. We need to have a wake-up call this morning. As we live in the present, expecting that which is going to happen in the future, we need a wake-up call that says, remember that you have been separated from those who are still lost in their sins. Verse number 8, another reminder is that you as a Christian, you are a soldier. I love the language that the Apostle Paul uses. He says, look, since you belong to the day, since you belong in the light, since you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, since you are a child of God, since you are in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, you need to realize that you are a soldier. You are a navy seal of the world, as it were. You are! Look at what it says. You as a Christian, what are you supposed to do? Be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation. You see, the Apostle Paul starts talking to believers like they're a soldier. Line up! Get in line. Here's the call. Get in your battalion. You've got a job to do. You're a soldier in this world, a soldier of the cross, a soldier of the day. You are the one who bears the Christian graces in this world. And would you notice in the text, I love this, Faith and love and a helmet of hope. Faith, hope, and love. That's the triune, as it were, Christian graces. Faith, hope, and love. He's got them in that order, but they're all there. It's right there together. As a Christian, you're to live in faith. You're to live in and walk in love. And you are to live in this life as a pilgrim and a stranger in this world with your hope tied to the next life, not to this life. You see? That's what he means. The hope of salvation. The full consummation of your salvation. Living by faith. We don't live by sight in this world. You know, the Lord is good to us and doesn't He give us tokens of faith? Just like we mentioned this morning. Answered prayer is a token of faith. When we pray in faith expecting God to do something and He comes through on that, that is a token from Him of faith. It's a token. It's a token of our salvation, answered prayer. When we experience the fruits of the Spirit, those things are tokens from God to show you and to give you assurance and that His Spirit is within you, testifying with you, showing you that you are a child, that you belong. So we live in a way. We demonstrate these things. We live by faith. We walk together with one another in the present time in love. We demonstrate love to one another. That's the mark of a true Christian. And for a helmet, the hope of salvation. So listen to me, as we live in the present time, you fight against a materialistic mindset by considering the commands of Scripture and by remembering your responsibilities as a Christian. What are those responsibilities? We're all over the pages of the New Testament, but it's these that I've been mentioning. It's that you are to have this call. There's a call to spiritual alertness and self-control and you need to be reminded that you've been separated and that you are a soldier and you must put on your armor, the armor of faith, hope and love and fight the good fight of faith. Number three, quickly. Number three, see the false securities of materialism by considering the future hope that you have in Jesus Christ. Notice verse number nine, for God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing. Again, let me say, like the Apostle Paul said earlier, is that we are not in darkness. That day is not there to surprise us and to overtake us. He tells us right here in verse number 9 that God has not destined the believer to wrath. We're not destined to wrath. What is the hope of the Christian? That we are destined to what? We are destined to salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ who died to us. Why does the Apostle Paul say that we will obtain salvation? Wait a minute, Brother Carl. I thought I was a Christian. I thought I already have obtained salvation. Yes, you have. You have. You have obtained salvation. You are obtaining salvation. And you will obtain salvation. You've obtained salvation because you've been justified. You are obtaining salvation because you're being sanctified. And you will obtain salvation because one day you will be glorified. And our hope is this future element of our salvation that's coming. It's coming in the future and we're looking forward to that. We're looking for the full consummation of all that God has promised us and all of the inheritance that God has promised to us as believers. And so the comfort of the scripture is that, listen, yes, this future day of the Lord is coming and all the non-believers are going to be swallowed up and all of the stuff and all the false securities of this world that people are trusting in, they are going to be done away with. But you as a Christian, you need to take comfort and you need to take hope that you are not destined to wrath. That you are destined to salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. And notice that's what he says. Through what? through our Lord Jesus Christ, who did what? Who died for us. Thank God He sent Christ to accomplish our redemption through His death on the cross, that He became our substitute. In other words, Paul is saying, we can put it in short, you have confidence of this because of the Gospel. Because of the Gospel. And also we need to understand that in light of this reality, our hope should be in Jesus Christ, listen to me, not in false securities down here, and that hope should encourage us to encourage others. Notice the text again. So that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with Him. Look at this. Look at the therefore in verse 11. You see a therefore? You gotta ask, what's it there for? In light of everything that's just been said, therefore, for the believer, encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing. You see, the Apostle Paul comes back to that responsibility inside of the covenant community of believers. Our hope is in the future. We're looking forward to that day, the full consummation of the Lord Jesus Christ, our salvation in Him. And because of that, our hope should be in that, not in the materialistic false securities of this world. And that future hope in the Lord Jesus Christ should be the buzzword around the local congregation that serves as a means of encouragement for one another. And people going through trials and troubles and tribulations, what's the word of encouragement? Don't despair because your hope is locked up, not down here, but up there. In the future reality, this future and full consummation of your salvation. Let me close with a few implications. Number one, the day of the Lord is coming and the good news is that those who are in Jesus Christ will be spared, but the lost will perish and all the junk that people are putting their hopes in won't matter on that day. So in light of that, as we consider this text today, listen to me. Consider your own life and your actions. Consider your time and your talents and your resources and ask yourself, what are you doing with all that stuff? Is the majority of your efforts in this world being occupied and preoccupied with the Lord Jesus Christ? Or is it in the things of the world? Are you putting all of your emphasis in this life on the stuff that will end up being nothing? Because if you do that, you're a materialist, and your hope and your confidence isn't in Christ, and your occupation isn't in Christ like it ought to be. Look at where you spend your money. Look at where you spend your time. Look at the things that you do. Try to figure out what is the occupation of your heart and in your life. Listen, if you're here today in non-belief, if there's one among us that doesn't know the Lord, you need to understand that those things will never ever satisfy. None of the things of this world will ever satisfy the hungers and the deep desires of your soul because only the Lord Jesus Christ can do that. That's the first order of business. It's like was said earlier in the previous reading of Scripture that one must look to Jesus Christ and live. They must look to God to find satisfaction for their soul. But for the believer, my encouragement to you today is stop being tricked with all the idolatry and all the false securities in this life that end up being Strongholds. Recognize those things. See those things so that you can be delivered from those things and serve the Lord as you ought to. Instead of all of that, let me recap what I said this morning. Put your materialism in perspective by considering the future coming day of the Lord. Secondly, fight. against materialism and materialistic mindset by considering the commands of Scripture and your responsibilities as a Christian. And thirdly, see the false securities of materialism by considering and treasuring the future hope that you have in the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. And all God's people said. Amen. Father, Lord, we thank You today for the power of Your Word. And Lord, I just pray that The themes that have been spoken of here today would penetrate deep into our heart and our minds, Father, that we would understand the great danger of materialism. Lord, that we would put it in perspective with that coming day, Lord. And Father, that on that day all we're going to be doing is worshiping and praising Christ and seeing Him for who He is and the treasure that He is. And so Father, if that's the end goal, help us to make the end goal take place now in the present. Lord, help us to be occupied with treasuring Christ, and loving Christ, and walking with Christ, and living as we ought to. Lord, you've kept us in this world for a purpose and for a reason, and you've given us those reasons in Scripture, and you've given us the instruction on how to carry those things out. So Father, give us obedient hearts. Help us to be obedient to the Lord Jesus. Help us to walk by your spirit. Give us the mind of Christ in everything that we do. Father, I pray your continued blessings and care upon this congregation. Lord, thank you for your faithfulness in the past and in the present. And Lord, we trust it for the future. We thank you, God. We thank you for Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen.