Well, you know where I'm going. We'll be in 2 Timothy, right? And you know what chapter I'm going to, and you know what verse I'm going to this morning. You know it already. And we make no apologies for this, folks, because I think a lot of times, at least I learned over the years, and I'll be 59 this coming June, I've seen folks just shoot by some real important points in a given verse or a section or a chapter. that needs to be read and pulled apart so that the saints might live soberly and godly and righteously in this present world, ever looking for the soon return of their great God and Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. And chapter 2 of 2 Timothy is one of those chapters, and verse 22 is one of those verses that if you're smart, you will spend much time in it, and you'll do word studies on it, and do searches in, because certainly what we want to do is to be able to carry out this wondrous faith that we've been placed into, in a manner that's pleasing to our God and to our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as I told you before, and we're going to reiterate it one more time, this is a pep talk to young Timothy. He's against the wall there at Ephesians, at the Ephesus church. And the reason he is, is there's men who have crept in there by the name of Hymenaeus and Philetus, back there in verse 17, who are trying to seduce the people, and who concern the truth, verse 18, have erred, saying that the resurrection has passed already, and as a result of their fallacious deeds, their heinous ways, They have overthrown the faith of some, and Timothy is pretty much fighting this battle alone. There may be some elders in the church who are helping him, but seeing that he is pretty much the under-shepherd here, he's got his plate full. And word has gotten back to Paul that the little fellow may be declining a little bit in his stature and such, getting a little timid. And so Paul has written to him and sent this letter to him to get him to understand, verse 19, that the foundation of God is sure. The church will stand when the world is on fire. The Word of God will stand when the world is on fire. Jesus says, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it, and nothing is going to prevail against His Word. Men may tear it all to pieces, men may come and close the church building, but the church is not the building, and the Word will stand in the hearts and minds of believers long after the dust has blown away of the lives of men who have tried their best to squelch, to quash, to squash, to corrupt, to tear down the things that God has for His people. The foundation of God's status you are having is sealed. The Lord knoweth them that are His, and let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." And then he talks about a great house and a big church. In a church there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also wood of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Verse 20, And if you are saved today, you are one of those vessels of gold and silver. You're one of the vessels of honor. And we're told that if we'll purge ourselves from these, the men of God, if the saints will purge themselves from these wicked things like Hymenaeus and Beletus are trying to do, Verse 21, we will be a vessel of honor if we will do these things and live up to being sober and righteous and godly in this present world. We'll be sanctified and meet for the Master's use and also be prepared unto every good work that needs to be done for the cause of the Lord. And then verse 22, this is where we are. flee also youthful lusts, and follow righteousness and faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." And we determine that word flee has the connotation of being a fugitive, if you would. That word follow there is the same word or root word of the word pursuit. And so, a few weeks ago, I preached two sermons on these vessels mentioned in verse 20, and after we read those verses, I asked you, what kind of vessel are you? These vessels are supposed to be fit for the King's table, the King being King Jesus. It's not enough, then, for the vessels to be clean inside and out only, though that's the general view of what Paul is saying to young Timothy, Here in verse 22, we discern that this vessel is also supposed to have something in it. It's not just enough for it to be clean on the inside and outside. Debbie's got some very pretty goblets and glasses in her tiny cabinet, and she'll get them out and use them occasionally when we have something special going on, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc., etc., etc. But the deal here is, is that all they are is pretty unless they're put into use, and they're not much good if they don't have something good inside of them to drink. Same thing applies to the rest of her china. That china is pretty to look at, but if there ain't some good food inside the bowls and on the plates, it's not worth much, is it? So here in verse 22, this vessel, these vessels of honor, need something in them fit to drink. It must contain the best wine because we have the greatest King, the only King, if you would, and it's King Jesus. And we want Him to be able to imbibe on the things that should be in these vessels. As a matter of fact, using the idea of the fruit of the vine or wine in our thinking, here then in verse 22, ought to be the choicest grapes of the master's vineyard put in that vessel for him to drink. And what are the choicest grapes, that finest fruits? Well, verse 22, listen, here they are. Those fine grapes, those choice grapes, are the attributes of righteousness, faith, or faithfulness as we said last week, of charity and peace. Now the next question would be, how is the Lord to enjoy that fine wine? Him being in heaven and you, the vessel, here on the earth? Well, through the lips of those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart is my answer. will receive the benefit of you providing those four attributes with the folks listed at the end of verse 22. Providing righteousness, providing faithfulness, providing charity and peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. We get these fine fruits or attributes from the imputed righteousness of Christ that are given to us in salvation and are activated in the operation of the Holy Spirit who has ever conformed us to the image of Christ, who is the very epitome of these attributes. So we feel, listen very carefully, our vessels with these precious fruits that are Christ. Christ is our righteousness. Christ is our faithfulness. Christ is our charity. Christ is our peace. And we fill these vessels, and I'm pointing to myself here and you, we fill these vessels with these things, and we serve them to the elect, the ones that call the Lord out of a pure heart, and the Lord enjoys those things Himself. He imbibes on those things Himself by what you do. I hope you understand that illustration because it's true. Look at Matthew 25 if you would. Hold your hand there. Well, how many of you are getting to learn that verse now? We've been there so long. Matthew 25. Go back there with me and see what Jesus has to say about what I just said. In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks on this wise in verse number 40. Now here He's talking about the folks that Lord, when did we see you hungry? Lord, when did we feed you? Lord, when were you thirsty? Or, when did we give you drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in, or naked, or clothed thee? Or, when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and come unto thee? Well, Jesus says in verse 40, And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me. So in my illustration of the fine fruit in the vessel, and us giving all those that call upon the name of the Lord a drink out of our vessel, in other words, we show righteousness and faithfulness and charity and peace to each other and those around us, then Jesus says that when we do it to them, He gets it too. It becomes a part of who He is, verse 40. See, if you've done it to the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me. Look down at verse 45. Here's the antithesis of this verse 40. In verse 45, he says, Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me. So the understanding here is that we need to do these things to all that we know, especially those of the household of faith. And Christ will receive from it the practice of righteousness and faithfulness unto our elect brothers and sisters who call upon the name of the Lord out of a clean heart or a pure heart is precious to the Lord." Listen, when you do something for someone and you show them Christ by your actions, by your deeds, by your talk, by your walk, I go on all day long here, Christ is honored. Christ is exalted. Christ is blessed. If you've done it to the least of my brethren, you've done it unto me, he says. What a great thing that is. And notice it says, to the least of these. That means even those elect ones who are yet to be saved, and I keep telling you, we don't know who they are, but we may be passing them in Walmart. We may be passing them in the restaurant. They may be in our family. These are the ones yet to be saved. We don't know, we just don't know who they are, but we tell all men indiscriminately, we treat all men indiscriminately with righteousness and faithfulness and charity and peace. And if the Lord has set designs on them to be saved and has chosen to use you in the matter of their salvation, then you will be fulfilling what verse 22 says we are to do. You'll be doing what chapter 25 of Matthew, verse 40 says we've done unto Christ. Now, not only does it mean the least ones are yet to be saved, but I believe it means every man. I know that Paul has told Timothy here to pretty much shun Hymenaeus and Philetus for what they're doing in the church. These are CNOs. These are Christians in name only. And for Timothy to live and walk righteously and faithfully before those who call upon the name of the Lord with a clean heart would include those boys. It would not include them, it would seem. And I know that Paul would have Timothy follow his commands and the Lord's commands in this matter. But on the same token, I know Paul would know that the Lord says that we're supposed to do good to those who even despitefully use us. And so, even in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus in verse 17, I believe Timothy will use righteousness and faithfulness and charity and peace even with dealing with these guys. That's what good vessels do. That's who they are. That is what they present for all men to drink. What am I saying? I am saying that that vessel of the Lord who has been regenerated, converted, justified and is in the throes of sanctification will present Himself a vessel for which all men can drink. And out of which all men can drink. He can be all things to all people. The wine that is the life of the vessels of honor is always pure, because it should be, and it is filled with righteousness and faithfulness and charity and peace. We are to be examples of Christ before all men with these fruits of the Spirit, as Paul calls them in Galatians. That is the cup that we bear, and we want all men to drink out of, but they can if it is corrupt. They can if it is vessels that are filthy. They can if what's inside the vessel is sour grapes and vinegar. And that's why we're preaching through this verse the way we are, that we would think and live and do righteously, that we do so faithfully, be faithful in all that we are and all that we say and all that we do, especially when it comes to the matters of the Bible, the matters of Christ. But the greatest of these fruits, The greatest of these attributes that we've been talking about in verse 22 is that word charity. That word charity there means love. As a matter of fact, in the Greek, it is rendered as agape. It's called agape, which means brotherly love, affection, goodwill, love, and benevolence. It's used in the love feasts that they would have in the Bible should be what we ought to be exhibiting in our love feast. We're getting ready to have one here this morning when we have the Lord's Supper. We've come here this morning and we ought to be praying for each other and we ought to be praying inside right now that we would come before the Lord and honor Him by presenting ourselves as living sacrifices before we receive this cup and eat this bread because we don't want to take it unrighteously We don't want to take it ungodly. Look over at Mark chapter 12. Mark chapter 12, you would. In Mark chapter 12, in verse 30, we have the definition given here about love, and Jesus is giving it to us. Let me start in verse 29, actually. Jesus is answering a man, and He said, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. And then He says this, and the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than this. Now, here again, the Greek word here for love is agape, brotherly love, affection, goodwill, love, benevolence. And here in Mark is where proverbial rubber meets the road. This is what you are to be and do with unlimited fervor. Unfortunately, though, even the veteran saint does not think much about showing love to one another. It happens, even in churches. I can't tell you how many churches I've been to that even a handshake is a premium. No, I'm serious. I was at a church not too long ago, and I and the visiting evangelist, whose friend of mine was preaching there, and the pastor was there, and we're standing at the back door after the service, and there's folks, grown-ups, who are members of this church. who walked between us and never turned to shake our hands as we left there, or as they were leaving. I don't think they shook our hands when we got there. That's one of the things we try to pride ourselves here at Providence when we have a visitor of any kind. I don't care who it is. It doesn't have to be a preacher. It doesn't have to be anybody we even know. We ought to get up and shake their hand, and we do. We welcome them. We're glad to have them here. Some folks ought to admit they have this kind of slogan that was conceived by Peter Marshall. Their slogan is, Oh God, when I am wrong, make me easy to change, and when I am right, make me easy to live with. And that's the way we are sometimes, ain't it? Sometimes that's our slogan, make me easy to live with. But if Christ puts a premium on this love, this agape, This brotherly love, friends, this is what you and I have to do as well to be vessels of honor. There ain't much honor in you if you do not have the mind to be something to everybody. And I don't care what they've done. I've got a good friend of mine who goes every month without fail to a prison in Gena, Louisiana. that holds all those illegals that have been either arrested or done some kind of crime that are getting ready to be deported back to Mexico and he preaches to them. He's learned Spanish on his own, and he goes in and preaches to them. I've read some of his sermons in Spanish. I'm trying to learn myself. And they're not big, giant, laid out things that you would find in big churches. They're just little things that he says to the men that are incarcerated. And how much I appreciate this man who wants to see these folks come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Him and I were talking. We were at a meeting together down in South Mississippi this past year. And he says, I don't know which one of those guys are elect. I don't have a clue. So I go there and preach to them. If there's one amongst them, maybe God will use these words and they will be saved. Friends, that's brotherly love. Oh, I know what we see on TV about the illegals, and I agree 100%. If you're going to be in our country, you ought to come legally. But that does not even begin to answer the question about those that are here. And if we're going to show brotherly love in any way, ought we not to show it to them as well? Because we don't know who is amongst them. Can there be some elect amongst them? Why sure, and probably has already. So Paul asserts this to us, that our righteousness and our faithfulness would flow from this charity. And certainly that was a pattern of what the Lord says for us to do. This is the kind of thing that the disciples would have knew firsthand because John, the Apostle, writes in 1 John 4, verse 8, God is love. So the greatest commandment would be love, bodily love, a God faith. 1 John 4, verse 19 tells us we love Him. Why? Because He first loved us. He gives us a pattern. He gives us a definition. It's dynamic and it's a great expression because we were unlovable. We were criminals. We sinned against Him. We deserved hell. We deserved to be put away forever. We deserved to be destroyed. But God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. God first loved us. Love came first. love so mighty and so true that He created the universe and all that is in it for us. It's so. It's so. I believe it with all my heart. And if it is so, and the Bible says it is so, then every vessel of honor should be and absolutely will be run over with charity, this agape, this love. Turn with me to Paul's extended definition of this in 1 Corinthians. Go to chapter 13. There are three things I want us to glean from Paul's definition and description here in 1 Corinthians 13. First of all, I want you to see that charity or love is the greatest expression of righteousness. Secondly, I want you to see that charity is the greatest expression of peacefulness. And thirdly, I want you to see that charity is the greatest expression of faithfulness. Now look at verse number 1 of chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians. I'm in the wrong place. Let me get to my right verse. Okay. Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I can remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not charity, it profit me nothing. Now look at this, I told you, I wanted you to see that charity or love is the greatest expression of righteousness. Anyone who claims to be saved has got in them, if they are truly born again, they are truly saved, been converted, justified by God, they will have the righteousness of Christ, which the Holy Spirit activates in them and causes them to live soberly and godly and righteously in the present world, but also to express agape, that is charity, before anything else. Notice in verse 1, though I speak in the tongues of men and angels and have my charity, I become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal, it's just a lot of noise. You can say that your works is supposed to be what you're to do, and I agree with you, but what does James say about that? Faith without works is dead. And notice verse 2, though you might understand all the mysteries and how to get to prophecy and all knowledge, you're nothing if you don't have charity. Verse 3 says, If I bestow all my goods upon the poor, and though I give my body to the burned, I have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. You can do all those things, but if love is not the instigator, if love is not the facilitator, if love is not that which causes it to be so, you're nothing. I read upon a good little story here entitled, White Man to God's Man. That's the title, White Man to God's Man. When Wycliffe translator Doug Mielen and his wife moved into a village of Brazil's Funio Indians, He was referred to simply as the white man. The term was by no means complimentary, said Wycliffe, since other white men had exploited them, that means exploited the Indians, had burned their homes and robbed them of their lands. But after the Malans learned the Fulneo language and began to help the people with medicine and other ways, they began calling Doug the respectable white man. When the mailers began adapting the customs of the people, the Fulneo gave them greater acceptance and spoke of Doug as the white Indian. Then one day, as Doug was washing the dirty, blood-caked foot of an injured Fulneo boy, he overheard a bystander say to another, whoever heard of a white man washing an Indian's foot before? Certainly, this man is from God. From that day on, whenever Doug would go into an Indian home, it would be announced, ìHere comes the man God sent us.î You see what Brotherly Love did? You see what Benevolence did? You see what Agape did? Translator Doug Malin was there to pick up this language that he might get them a Bible. And that's great agape right there, wouldn't you agree? But then to get down on his hands and knees and watch that little idiot boy's foot that was injured showed him not to be above those folks, but that he was absolutely defying himself in relation to them. I'm no better than you. And so he knelt down and watched that child's foot. And he wasn't doing it to get their accolades, he was doing it because that's what Agape does. Agape doesn't understand color. Agape doesn't understand different things about people. What Agape sees, there's a need, and it has to be fulfilled. That's why there's a lot of preachers around the country right now that are doing these great big buildings and everything else, and in the meantime, there's people that are starving to death in other countries, ought not be so. There's missionaries, friends, that are having a rough time in other countries, don't have enough money to get by on sometimes. And yet they stay and work, and they work hard, and like the Malians did, they pretty much began to adapt to what the Indians were eating and everything else. By the way, John Hunter, who came up here and helped us paint in here and put all the trim around our windows, is on his way back to Guyana. They got down there and fell in love with those people. Since he came back home, he's been beside himself. He can't find his place anywhere. He's tried to go to some of the churches to unite, but he feels like the Lord wants him in Guyana. He loves those people down there, so him and Catherine are on their way back down. Secondly, notice that charity is a great expression of peacefulness as well. Look at verse number four and chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians, if you would. Charity suffereth long and is kind. Charity envieth not. Charity boughteth not itself. It's not puffed up. Verse 5, charity does not behave itself unseemly, or seeks not her own, is not easy provoked, thinks no evil. Verse 6, rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. You see that? What peacefulness is that? In verse 22, 2 Timothy chapter 2, we see there that we are told that we are to pursue peace, especially those of the household of faith, which are ones that call upon the Lord out of a clean heart. But at the same token, we are to live peacefully with all men, that we might be the true expression of Jesus Christ in the world. And brotherly love, benevolence, is what shows that more than anything else. Paul says pursue or follow accurate righteousness and faithfulness, and he says charity and peace. But let me say something, folks. If you can't do that from a heart that is genuinely true, that's genuinely set on being faithful and righteous in your dealings, then a gompy will never ever show. Duncan McColl, a British soldier in the Revolutionary War, lived through a dangerous assignment. He was protected by an American officer who commanded his men and said, hold your fire, that man has work for God to do. Now how in the world he would know that, no one knew. But the officer proved right. Duncan McColl became a minister when the war was over and he built the church on the Canadian side of the St. Croix River. Members came from both Canada and also from Maine to worship that church. When the War of 1812 came on, Nicole told his people that they were brothers in Christ. So they ignored the war and continued to worship together. The war is raging around them, but they continue to worship together. Now the same type of fellowship, the same spirit of friendliness, still prevails in those sister towns around that church. And though they're separated by a national border, the Americans still cross the river to attend that church. A fire in one town is a call for volunteer firefighters and equipment from the other town. On the 4th of July, the Canadian Mounties parade with the Americans. In return, state troopers from Maine and various bands cross the river to help their neighbors honor their queen. No one's puffed up. No one's saying, look what we've done, we're Americans, we're better than you. They're showing agapia, and I guarantee you most of them are not Christians. How bad is it when the heathens act better than the saints? And yet charity is the greatest expression of peacefulness there is. Now that's been the watchword for America for years. That's how that we have caused our status to incline, increase throughout the world, because Americans have always been ready to give not only resources, but their lives to help others. Now, in the last couple of generations, that's not been so. Oh yeah, we're trying to help the Iraqis become democratic and supposedly that's so in Afghanistan and now over in Libya and other places. But friends, let me tell you something. We can't always say that's true in this day and age. And our young fighting men are dying out there in some of these battles that ought not to be doing so because the agenda stinks. Agape is not what is going on. Thirdly, charity is the greatest expression of faithfulness. Go back to chapter 13 and look with me one more time, if you would, verse 8. Charity never fails. But whether there be prophecies, they will fail. Whether there be tongues, they shall cease. Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. That's true. When I stand before you and preach, I'm praying that the things that I have received of the Lord and the things that I've studied and everything has actually been from the Lord. That's why I try to give more education all the time. I want to give you the best, but my best still I only see in part. We've not been delivered all that we can know about Christ and God and heaven and all those things. We've yet to see Him yet. You understand, don't you? So, what we're doing is verse number 10. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. We'll see it for what it's supposed to be. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away a child's things. For now we see through a glass darkly, through a frosted glass, But then face-to-face, we want to see things face-to-face as they really are. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. And look, and now, what do we use? How do we go about our business? Well, what abides is faith, hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity. We show our faithfulness by charity, by love. I don't know all there is to know, but that doesn't excuse me. I still can show charity. I'm not able to do all that I want to do, but I still can show charity. The South African Pioneer magazine carried a piece entitled, 1 Corinthians 13 Paraphrased. I thought this was really neat. We just got through reading 1 Corinthians 13. And here it is paraphrased. That means that they've changed the wording, not the meaning, just the wording. It reads, If I have the language perfectly and speak like a native, and have not his love for them, I am nothing. If I have diplomas and degrees and know all the up-to-date methods, and have not his touch of understanding love, I am nothing. If I am able to argue successfully against the religions of the people and make fools of them, and have not his wooing note, I am nothing. If I have all faith and great ideas and magnificent plans, and not his love that sweats and bleeds and weeps and prays and pleads, I am nothing. If I give my clothes and money to them, and have not his love for them, I am nothing. If I surrender all prospects, leave home and friends, make the sacrifices of a missionary career, and turn sour and selfish amid the daily annoyances and slights of a missionary life, and have not the love that yields its rights, its leisures, its pet plans, I am nothing. Virtue has ceased to go out of me. If I can heal all manner of sickness and disease but wound hearts, and hurt feelings for want of His love that is kind, I am nothing. If I can write articles or publish books that win applause, but fail to transcribe the word of the cross into the language of His love, I am nothing. It's true. Sometimes it's better for folks to see a sermon than hear one. I know that's trite, and I don't necessarily agree with you because it's through the preaching of the Word that men are converted. But still, I want you to understand that folks are watching, and they're looking to see whether the Church of the Living God will mount up with love. Turn to 1 John 3. I'm just about finished. We'll take the Lord's Supper and we'll call it a day. 1 John 3. Look at me at verse 17. 1 John 3, verse 17. John the Apostle writes, But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shut up his bowels' compassions from him, how dwelt the love of God in him? 18 My Lord, children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. Look over in chapter 4 of 1 John. Look at verse 7. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. And then look at verse 21 of that same chapter. And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also." Tradition tells us that the aged Apostle John, in bidding farewell to his congregation, admonished them to love one another. One of the parishioners there at John's church said to him, but we want something new. Give us a new commandment, John!" John replied, Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning, that you should love one another. About two hundred years ago, one of our well-known encyclopedias discussed the word atom with the use of only four lines. But it took five pages to bring a discussion about love. Isn't that something? Two hundred years ago, four lines is all I could muster about the atom and five pages about love. In a recent edition of that same encyclopedia, five pages were given to the word, Adam. The word, love, had been omitted. That is how far we have come. Romans 13 verse 8, O no man anything but to love one another, for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet, and there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Maybe you haven't committed adultery or killed someone. Maybe you have never stolen a thing, borne false witness, or coded your neighbor's goods. But have you shown your neighbor some love? If you are committed to Christ, love will be what you are known for beyond everything else. That's what you'll be known for. Brother Darryl, I'm old and I'm feeble. There ain't a lot of agape that I can give out. Brother Darryl, I don't have much money or talent. There's not as much I can do. Well, let me end this sermon with this illustration and see if you won't change your mind, those of you who think you're too old or not talented or not wealthy enough to show some agape. Years ago it was advertised in one of the leading papers in one of the major cities that the great violinist who was known in that day was going to play on a violin worth $1,000. Now that don't seem much to us in this day, $1,000 to drop in a bucket to pay for a Stradivarius violin for example, one of the best in the world. I mean, these things go for hundreds of thousands of dollars. But back in that day, a $1,000 violin was something to see. And so, there were no TVs back in those days. There wasn't a whole lot of entertainment. The theater was packed out that night. I mean, packed to the gills. And so many people wanted to see that $1,000 violin being played by this great virtuoso, this great violinist. And he got up, and man, he played that thing, and the crowd went crazy. But when the applause subsided, he took the violin and threw it on the floor and stomped it into a million pieces. How many he stomped it? The people were shocked. But the manager then came on the stage and said that the violinist did not use a thousand dollar violin. It was only worth about $20. He would now play the $1,000 one. So he did. You know that no one in the audience could tell the difference. It sounded exactly the same. He simply wanted to show it's not the equipment. It's the master's hand that uses the equipment. What does that say to us? It doesn't matter how we think we are. too skinny, too fat, too sick, too this, too that, in the Master's hands. We can do anything. Can we show righteousness? We certainly can. Can we show faithfulness? We certainly can. Can we show charity, love, agape? Yes, we can. It's not the vessel, it's what's in the vessel used by the Master. The violin didn't spit the music out, the master pulled it out. One slide of the bow across the strings at a time. Let us not just love in word, let's love in deed as well.