You. Good morning. Welcome to the last Sunday service in 2024. Again, for 51 Sundays, this is Sunday 52. It is good for us to gather together to worship the Lord. Every week as you receive the bulletin that Ms. Misu prepares for us. You see there that we are here to exalt the Lord, to edify the saints, and to evangelize the lost. Yes. Thank you, Ms. Misu, for preparing for us. As you can see, we are preparing to exalt Christ, and we are going to exalt each other. My prayer is that our weekly worship together will be a time that is spiritually refreshing for you. To prepare our hearts for that, we'll hear Mrs. Hinderton play, Happiness is to Know the Savior. You'll find the words in a bulletin there from the hymn number 599. You. Our happiness, our joy is to know Jesus. In the parable of the talents reveals that our Lord takes pleasure in our talents as well. The two stewards are commended in Matthew 25 verses 21 and 23 with the same reward, the same combination. By the five talents or two, his Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Let's turn in our hymn rolls to hymn number 539. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. We'll stand to sing. ♪ His gift of righteousness ♪ ♪ And his attempt at righteousness ♪ ♪ I hear the church bells in the distance ring ♪ ♪ Alleluia, come, Jesus, come ♪ ♪ Come, Christ, come, come ♪ O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. ♪ Every eye shall see Him ♪ ♪ The young and old, ready to be young ♪ ♪ Across the sun, the earth, and the sea ♪ ♪ All over now, He's still the same ♪ ♪ All over now, He's still the same ♪ He is darker-skinned than all his blood. Some are real, while others are not. Living for our lives through his way, living his whole life in his will. A blessed, splendid vision, Oh, what an ecstasy! Oh, what an ecstasy! O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Amen. Good singing. You may be seated. In your bulletin, you see that our scripture reading this morning is found in 1 Samuel 26. It's been a momentous week, and this chapter has some momentous Principles encapsulated in verse 23 for us. David is running from King Saul, God's anointed. And the struggle he has is he is also a dog to mom too. Now, look at this. David was saved by God and ascended to the throne. Saul chases him to kill him. But Saul is also a man who was saved by God. That's the dilemma. and David has the perfect chance to get his eternal life. I gave you time to get to 1 Samuel 26. We'll read the first four verses, and then we'll continue on through the chapter. Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, is not David hiding on the hill of Hekelah, which is before Jeshama? So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziv. having with him 3,000 chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Zip. Saul camped in the hill of Hakela, which is before Jeshimon, beside the road, and David was staying in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, verse four, David sent out spies, and he knew that Saul was dead. A man came to Saul and told him to go to Gwanghwapagilla Mountain. Saul went to Gwanghwagilla Mountain with his uncle, who had chosen him from Israel, to find David. David then arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, an Abner, the son of Ner, the commander of his army. And Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him. Six through eight. And David said to Himalak, the Hittite, and to Abishai, the son of Zeruelot, Jod's brother, saying, we will go down with me to Saul in the camp. And Abishai said, I'll go down with you. So David and Abishai came to the people by night. And behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the people were lying around him. And Abishai said to David, today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke. I will not need to strike out the second. I am the son of Abel, the son of Abel, the son of Abel, the son of Abel, the son of Abel, the son of Abel, the son of Abel, the son of Abel, the son of Abel, the son of Abel, the son of Abel. When David and Abisham went to the people at night, Saul lay in the middle of the house and slept, and the window was hung over the ground, and Abunel and the people pressed it down. Abisham said to David, Did God put your enemy in your hands today? First Samuel chapter 26, we are now reading verses nine through 11. So with David it's all. But David said to Abishai, do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be without guilt. David also said, as the Lord lives, surely the Lord will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he'll go into battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed. And now please take the spear that's at his head and the jug of water and let us go. Da-hwi, don't kill him. Raise your hand and hit the one who received the oil bomb from Yeo-ho-hwa. Yeo-ho-hwa will come and hit him. He will either die or go to war. Once again, 1 Samuel chapter 26, verses 12 through 14. So David took the spear and the jug of water from the side Saul's head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, a sound sleep from the Lord had fallen on them. Then David crossed over to the other side and stood at the top of the mountain at a distance with a large area between them. And David called out to the people and to Abner, the son of Nerus, saying, Will you not answer, Abner? Abner said, Who are you who calls the king? Da-hwi left with a bottle of water and a spear next to his head, and there was no one to wake him up, see him, or know him. He woke up and let them sleep deeply, and they all fell asleep. Verses 15 and 16. So David said to Abner, are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your Lord, the king? For one of the people came to destroy the king, your Lord. This thing you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, all of you must surely die because you did not guard your Lord, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the jug of water that was by his hand. David said to Abunel, Am I not a warrior? Who among the Israelites is like you? But how can I not protect my Lord and King? Did one of the people go in to kill my Lord and King? My actions were not good. David said is it it is my voice my lord the king I He also said, why then is my Lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? What evil is in my hand? Now therefore, please let my Lord the King listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering. But if it's men, cursed are they before the Lord. For they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground, away from the presence of the Lord, for the King of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the mountains. When Saul heard David's voice, he said, My son David, is this your voice? David said, My Lord, it is my voice. Saul said, My Lord, why do you pursue the Lord's servant? What have I done? What evil do I have in my hands? Listen to what the king of the four states has to say. If you, who are trying to make me the king, wish for it, I wish for you to be rewarded. Israel won't eat I'm your little sister. I know she doesn't need it Verses 21 and 22. It's all said Return my son David for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day Behold, I have played I've committed a series here error first home to David reply behold the spirit of And I'll let one of the young men come over and tell you. Now notice this key verse, verse 23. This is the theological significance of this entire chapter. The Lord will repay each man his righteousness and his forgiveness. For the Lord delivered you into my humanity, but I refuse to stretch out my hand against the world. Now behold, as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, So now may my life be highly valued in the sight of the Lord. And may he deliver me from all distress. Finally, verse 25, then Saul said to David, Blessed are you, my son David. You will both accomplish much, and surely prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his house. Saul said to David, My son David, you will be blessed. You will do great things, and you will be victorious. David went his way, and Saul went his way. As we get ready to pray, there are some things that we have to pray for in the bulletin. Let's be in prayer for our New Year Eve service this Tuesday at 7 o'clock. We want to have a time of praise and prayer as well as a time really to celebrate God's faithfulness in this past year. Yes. We would like to thank and praise God for taking care of us throughout the year of 2024. We will have a blessed time. We do invite all of you to come this Tuesday at 7 o'clock, bring a white elephant gift, and be ready to count your blessings and to anticipate God's blessings in the coming month. So when you come, if you don't have a gift to give at home, if you don't have a gift to give at home, if you don't have a gift to give at home, if you don't have a gift to give at home, We will divide this into two parts. The first part is worship for everyone that will last from seven to nine. And then Brother Song has agreed to help to organize some game time. that will take us into the new year as we pray in the new year. Being prayer about how the Lord would have you to serve the church in the coming year. The sign up list is still in the back. I would like to tell you that if you look at the table in the back, you can see what you've done over the past year, such as being a public servant, a guide, and so on. And speaking to the church, being a prayer about the faith promise, about our mission's budget for next year. And of course, you know, to expect for the first service of the new year, we will have the Lord's table that will be this coming, the first Sunday of the year and of the month. One last announcement before we pray. We know that many of you read through the Bible every year. There are several reading schedules in the back. Also, Pastor Threlfall sent Faith Ministries bookmark that has a read through the Bible, the books of the Bible checklist that's in the back as well. Our Father in heaven, we rejoice that you are on your throne. Unlike Saul, you, Lord, you are a righteous king, a righteous son. You are always good. You are loved and you are merciful. Father, we thank you for the example of David, your anointed Messiah. We thank you for Jesus Christ who is the Messiah, the King of Kings for the world. All authority has been given to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We rejoice to be your servants. We rejoice to be citizens of the kingdom of heaven. We rejoice that we are children of God. Father we have a citizenship in heaven but we have a land we live in, and we pray for the country of Korea. We pray for those in the judiciary, the legislative, and the executive branches who have decisions to make. We pray that they would have wisdom. We pray that those that you have placed in positions of power might rule righteously. We pray that they would seek what is best for the nation and not simply the political party. And as those who live here, Lord, we pray that you might give us the privilege of living quiet, peaceable, godly lives. And that's what I pray. We pray that the gospel would continue to go forth in positions of power and authority and to people of every status here in Korea. We pray that your people would be salt and light in this day and this age. Lord, unify us in Christ. We have one Lord, one God, one faith. One God, one Savior of us all. One Holy Spirit who unites us into the body of Christ. Lord, we know that this world is a place of tribale and trial. We pray, Father, that you would help us to serve you faithfully in this world. Will you pray for those who continue to have health difficulties? Lord, raise them up, heal them up, for you are the great physicians. We pray that those that are on vacation might be refreshed physically and spiritually. We pray, Father, for these times when we remember your past faithfulness, the Lord that you would help us. to praise you and thank you for the goodness over this past year. Lord, for many of us, it's been a hard year. The loved ones have had physical problems and spiritual battles. But Lord, it's been a good year because you have been with us. You have brought us hope. Thank you for the mercy that you multiply upon us. Thank you for the grace that has gotten us through. Thank you for your love which never ever has or will change. Now Lord bless our time of worship today. Help us to worship you in spirit and in truth this day. Be glorified in all that takes place here today. We pray this in Jesus' name with thanksgiving. Amen. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue our worship this morning with hymn number 469, Wonderful Peace. We will continue ♪ The rainbow connects us with the deep blue sky ♪ ♪ As bright as the evening sky ♪ ♪ As fast as the traffic flows between the clouds ♪ ♪ We soar with the wind in our sails ♪ ♪ Peace, peace on your face ♪ ♪ And on your father's heart ♪ ♪ Sweet love, my spirit, forever I pray ♪ ♪ In God, my spirit, to thee I pray ♪ ♪ The treasure trove in this wonderful place ♪ ♪ Buried deep in the heart of my soul ♪ ♪ Such is God and man, and man is the world ♪ ♪ God is real, and man is eternal ♪ ♪ God is real, and man is eternal ♪ ♪ For the Lord bless us ♪ ♪ Gloria, gloria, gloria ♪ ♪ In excelsis Deo ♪ ♪ In excelsis Deo ♪ Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave And on this night you say, you must not forget I love you. ♪ The joyless labor of thy hand ♪ ♪ The armless coach of thy hand ♪ ♪ With arms stretched to the sky above the east ♪ When you are at last, I shall see the light, And when you turn to see, I shall raise a toast to you, And I love you, and you shall hear it. Lost in sorrow, peace, and God is on your mind. Change not, never give, only the Word, I pray. We're going to go ahead and ask Brother Henderson and Brother Nam to take the offering. Lord, as we come before you today, we thank you for your kindness. You have given to us many good things, and now we ask that you would bless what we give back and use it for the furtherance of the gospel and for the glory of your own name. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed, finding, as he promised, perfect peace and rest. We'll continue with hymn number 468, page before the last, and we'll stand to sing Sweet Peace, the Gift of God's Love. Let's stand. ♪ In the garden of Jesus ♪ ♪ A child was born this evening ♪ ♪ A song in the gloom of evening ♪ split the sea. ♪ I hear them say ♪ ♪ Close to Jesus' cross ♪ ♪ What a day it is on Sunday ♪ ♪ The good Lord had promised ♪ ♪ To kiss the beauty from His face ♪ Jesus Christ, Lord Jesus Christ, I know that He's been just to me. To me, to me, He shows His love, that He's the Son of the Father. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ♪ But you'll be so fine ♪ ♪ Up there I see the clouds ♪ ♪ Deep as the river water ♪ ♪ Clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds ♪ ♪ The danger shows no fear ♪ ♪ No matter the wrath of the beast ♪ ♪ The beast will take what he's in ♪ ♪ He knows where we shall go ♪ ♪ Whose broad stripes and bright stars ♪ ♪ Through the perilous fight ♪ ♪ O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? ♪ And I will praise Thy name forevermore. As you take your seats, I invite you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy 2. This year, 2024, we rejoiced in our Savior's promise that I will build my church. On Wednesday evenings, we've seen our need of salvation as we went through the Book of Romans. Of course, Romans is this wonderful epistle that describes the greatness of our salvation in God's plan. Together on Sundays, we have journeyed with the Ephesian church. This has been a great case study on how Christ builds his church. So from Ephesians, we learned several images, several pictures of the church. In Ephesians 4 and 5, we saw how God gathers gifts and grows his church. And so we saw details about how the church is organized as Paul wrote the pastor of the Ephesian church, Timothy in 1 Timothy. the importance of doctrine, prayer, pastors, deacons, all that, 1 Timothy. We continued with the Ephesian church and we come to Paul's last letter, 2 Timothy. And here in 2 Timothy, we have emphasized that God commands, calls his church, his pastors, and his people to Be faithful. We took a brief detour to Malachi. And there we saw vividly illustrated how our fleshly hearts sometimes question if God even loves us. We take worship for granted as tedious drudgery. Instead of giving ourselves first to God and then giving other things to God, we give tokens, worthless junk to God. And yet, God in Christ, in this first coming, has come to provide all we lack in our infirmities, in our spiritual sickness. Of course, we have seen that God did not come just once. Christ is going to come again. And so now we come back to 2 Timothy chapter 2. In verses 3 through 7, we've seen that soldiers, athletes, and farmers have to be faithful to their duty and discipline themselves to receive their anticipated reward. Paul points to himself And he says, I am an example of faithfulness that will encourage you and encourage others to be faithful too. That's verses eight through 10. Now Paul is a good example. but the Lord Jesus Christ is an even better example of faithfulness. And so in verses 11 through 13, we see this is a trustworthy statement. If we died with Jesus, we also will live with him. If we endure, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. Key verse, verse 13. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. So today, as we examine 2 Timothy 2, 14 through 26, what we're going to see is that faithfulness to God is tried by testing, but God remains. Today, we are going to look at the next verse, from verse 14 to verse 26. When we say that we are loyal to God, we are challenged by trials, hardships, and hardships. In other words, we can be tested. Nevertheless, God is still That's the title of the message today is, Tried and True, Be Faithful to Your Faithful God. In other words, those who remain true to God by disciplining themselves to holiness will find God is faithful in turn to keep His promises and honor His faithful servants. So you have your Bibles open. 2 Timothy 2, we'll start by reading verses 14 through 19. It's a big section, but here we go. Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them, in the presence of God, not to wrangle about words which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Himenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they have set the faith aside. Verse 19. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands. Having this seal, the Lord knows those who are His, and everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness. You have made us remember this, so that we may not quarrel with one another, and that we may be firm in the presence of God. This is not beneficial at all, and will destroy those who listen to it. You are a man of truth, a man of truth, a man of truth, a man of truth, a man of truth, a man of truth, a man of truth, a man of truth, a man of truth, a man of truth, Verses 20 and 21. Now in a large house, there are not only found gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, some to honor, some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the master, prepared for every good work. Verses 22 through 26. Now flee from youthful lusts, pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart, but refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance, leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. The Lord's people will not quarrel, but will be kind to all people, teach well, endure, and punish those who disobey. May God give us wisdom and let us know the truth. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we pray that you would help us to see you are being Strengthen us in our weakness. Help us, Father, to see the battle is not ours but God's. Christ Jesus is the captain of our salvation. He goes before us into battle. If we are on his side, we will have the victory. We will not despair. We will not faint. We will gird our loins and fight. Fight for right. Fight for our God. If we but keep our eyes on Jesus, we will beat them. Bless your word today, as it is proclaimed. And show yourself true. Vindicate yourself. Vindicate your word is true. We pray this in Jesus' name, with thanksgiving, amen. Three points this morning for you, for your attention. Number one, as we look at the scripture, I want you to understand that when you are tried, remain true to your God. Number two, when you are tried, find God remains true to you. He is faithful. And finally, as we bring this to a conclusion, we will see tried and true that God honors those who honor his word. Now, as we see here, In this passage, the reality of life is that you don't just go through life and everybody likes you. There are people who are gossips and who use their tongues to hurt and lie about you. Korean translation There are people who like to, the word we see here in verse 14 is wrangle. with their words. They like to argue. So when you have those word wranglers, these people who verse 24 describes as quarrelsome, these producing quarrels with ignorance, what do you do when you're faced with divisiveness. And so we see in verse 23 and 24, refuse foolish ignorant speculations knowing they produce quarrels. The Lord's Bond servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged. So broad. When you are tried by divisiveness, by arguers, verse 23 and 24 say, be kind, be patient, be true. Kind to all, patient when wronged, able to teach, that means tell the truth. And then a second trouble that we find is that there's just a bunch of worldly empty chatter, verse 16 says. 16. There's just a lot of wasted words, empty words, worthless words that just bloat the atmosphere. They fill the air with nothing. Sometimes it's the gossip that verse 17 describes as spreading like a gangrene. We've all experienced that. So we've got divisiveness, we've got useless words, we have thirdly, unfaithful people. When you're tried by man's unfaithfulness, you need to remain true. and trust your God. So, here in 17 and 18, here are two men, Hemanaeus and Philetus, Men who've gone astray from the truth saying the resurrection already took place. In each one of these cases, the solution is the same. Know the truth, hold to the truth. You see, some allow their faith to be upset, verse 18 says. Some just listen to these worthless words, these false teachings. That did not help them. If you know God's word, you know the truth. Don't let anyone pull you to the left or the right of God's words. Stick to the scriptures. Now we know that the enemy, Satan, resorts to lies. He is not truthful. Far too many people don't care about the truth either. Once again, I point you back to 25 and 26. You need to know the truth and to gently correct the wrong. Verse 25 says, with gentleness, correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance, leading to the knowledge of the truth, that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. Now the temptation when you are faced with any of these problems is to defend, to defeat the argument, or to attack the enemy. That is not the point. The point is, you need to love your enemy. This one who has their verbal sword out and is hurting you so badly is one God loves and gave his son to die for. So the solution is not to be more clever or more cutting. The solution is to be more loving, more kind, as verse 26, 25 says, with gentleness respond. So, of course, I'm not saying you should accept what's wrong. I told you to catch it right away. I told you to punish it. But the point is, how much do I beat the other person's words? To put it simply, do I beat the other person's words with my smart words? That's not the point here. How gently and softly do I convey the right facts? That's the point here. all these trials, these people may leave you wanting to sing from the hymnal, nobody knows the trouble I've seen. Nobody knows but Jesus. Another hymn says, Does Jesus care? You know, here are all these people attacking me, attacking the truth. Does Jesus care that I'm all alone? In the refrain of that song comes back, yes, Jesus cares. I know he cares for me. In personal trials like these, reflect on the truth. God is watching. God is listening. Everyone, what we should remember in this difficult situation is that God is always watching over everything, and we should remember and reflect on the truth that God gives reward to those who are faithful according to God's words in such a situation. And God is able, by His Holy Spirit, to fill your mouth with wise, right words. Secondly, so first of all, we've seen when tried by personal difficulties, remain true to God. Secondly, when you are tried in these circumstances, find God will be true to you. For this second point, we're going to camp on verses 19 and 22. Now notice here in verse 19 that we see that everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain, avoid, abstain from wickedness. Now, to abstain from something is to stay away from it. If I abstain from soju, I don't drink soju. It's not in my house. Verse 22, on the other hand, says don't just abstain, but verse 22 says flee from youthful lusts. So if we are to abstain and flee from sin, then we need to know that God is the rock that we fleeing to, that we are clinging to when storms rage. You know, when storms are raging, the waves are overwhelming your boat, you're swept overboard, God's promise is the unchanging life vest that keeps you afloat as the enemies are attacking and your own flesh is betraying you. In some battles, Victory is found by running away. We depart, leave iniquity. Avoid any sin that will betray you into the hand of the enemy. Flee from her as a vicious lion trying to chase you down. So if you have the lion of sin chasing you, Where are you running to for safety? Again, we've got a foundation. We have a safe zone. A place where sin cannot molest, as the psalm says. Notice verse 19, the firm foundation of God stands having this very seal, the Lord knows those who are his. As you run away from sin, flee to God. Find His promise ever true. The Lord knows His own. And brother, in this battle, you will not fall to friendly fire. You will not be hit by your own side, by God himself. The Lord knows you. He has not forgotten you. The Lord knows your battles. He is the commander in charge of the battle. The victor who has crushed Satan's head beneath his feet on the cross. Everyone, the person in charge of this fight is called the Lord. And he is the winner. He has already beaten the head of the snake on the cross. For 40 days in the wilderness, he resisted and overcame Satan's temptations in the wilderness, Matthew 4. Yes, even when his own disciples encouraged him and said, you know, you don't have to go to the cross. Let's not go to Jerusalem. Let's not go to the cross. Jesus rebukes him. Get behind me, Satan. What's the point? The point is God knows. He knows the power of temptation. He knows your weakness. Not just intellectually, but God in Christ became weak, became mad for us. He knows your name. He knows your desires. He knows your fears. He knows your hopes. God knows you. He knows your love. He knows you love Him. He knows that in your heart you truly do desire to please Him despite whatever's going on. He knows how to have to hear. Maybe the temptation just to give up and walk away. Whatever it is, And He loves you anyway. He has compassion on you. And he can and will deliver you. So brother, sister, fear thou not. Be strong. Be courageous. For the Lord And these times, look to Almighty God. Wait. See what great things He will do for you. God will use you in ways you cannot comprehend. Believe it or not, God will actually glorify himself through you. God knows you. His grace will be enough. First Corinthians 10.13 assures you that there has no temptation come to you, but such as is common to man. And God will, with the temptation, make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it. Your trial will pass. You will get through this test. And by God's grace and by self-discipline and prayer, you will prevail. Flee soon, flee to God, chase righteousness. Notice that we are commanded here in verse 22, pursue righteousness. As you flee from sin, flee to those virtues the Holy Spirit is giving you. to produce his fruit in your life. So picture this, as sin is chasing you, you are chasing righteousness. So you do right by unbelievers and fellow believers. as you follow God's righteous way according to his word. Now, this righteousness is accompanied by a trio of virtues. We can't leave these out. We must have them. We must have faith. Hebrews 11.6 says without faith it's impossible. Please God. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Genesis 15.6. So faith in God will enable us to realize nothing is impossible with God. By faith we move mountains as we pray to our Almighty God who is with his children. Faith trusts God because we trust and believe God's Word. God's Word is true because God is true. So brother, sister, you can trust God. He is our God, our Savior, our Father, our friend. How foolish we would be to distrust the one who loved us enough to send his only son to die on the cross to secure our salvation. God loves you. Don't you think he'll take care of you? The second of the trio is love. And of course, 1 Corinthians 13 tells us if we don't have charity or love, we don't have anything. Everything else is worthless. Without love, we can make a lot of noise, but it's worthless because our works are not motivated by love for God and love for our neighbor. Jesus Christ actually said, you know what? Love God, love your neighbor, Everything in the scripture hangs on this. James 2, Galatians 5, 14 both proclaim If we love our neighbors the way we ought to, we have fulfilled the law. Faith, love, and then thirdly there in verse 22, peace. Jesus Christ, Isaiah 9.6, is the Prince of Peace. At the fall, God and man became one. But now, Romans 5, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. That peace was purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ. He laid down his life. so that we could have peace with God. Jesus Christ is now our mediator, the one who comes between God and man, the male Christ Jesus. So, as Psalm 85, 10 says, in Jesus Christ righteousness and peace have kissed each other. They are united. Now we have peace with God, therefore we seek peace with one another as well. We are commanded to live as far as in us lies, peaceably with all men. Romans 12, 18. in Hebrews 12, 14. Peace with God, peace within. Peace with man, peace within. 2 Thessalonians 3.16 tells us God promotes peace in our own hearts, even when this wicked world puts us in trying circumstances. Our final point, third point, is found in verses 20 and 21. Now notice, in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and earth and water, some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the master, prepared for every good work. When we are tried but true, we find God honors those who honor his word. God knows you. You are His if you have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. He is Lord of your life. As you chase righteousness with faith, love, and peace, while fleeing sin, you discover The God who watches your heart, sees your actions, and knows your place. Your pursuit of righteousness, your search for God will be rewarded. Those who see Christ find Him. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. God rewards His soldiers who faithfully serve. Athletes who train and discipline themselves finish well. And what these verses say here in verses 20 and 21 is that God is placing his faithful servants as trophies on his shelf to display for his glory. They are honored. Verse 21 there says that God uses and honors those who purify themselves and faithfully serve. Those, verse 21, useful to the master, prepared for every good work. So brothers, sisters, your tears are seen. They are upon you. They are, as it were, hid in God's bottle as something to keep out. Your faithfulness, your service is recorded in the Lamb. Your service is not in vain. God himself uses you even now, prepared for everything. And in the future, He will reward you with crowns and eternal glory for your service for Him in this life. Brothers and sisters, let us serve God for His glory and our great glory. Let's pray. Our Father, help us to be faithful. Help us to be wise to flee sin. Help us by your grace to pursue righteousness with faith, love, and the peace of God. Continue to sanctify us and use us for your glory. Bless us, we pray. In Jesus' name, Amen. As we conclude, we'll sing hymn number 470, It Is Well. We'll sing just the first verse. Let's stand to sing. When you're sad, my friend, I want to know that I will. ♪ His sorrows and sin can be sure ♪ ♪ The Lord, our God, our Lord, our Lord ♪ ♪ Is God of destiny ♪ ♪ Yeah, His word, His word we know for sure ♪ Let's pray. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen. I would like to introduce you to the glory with pleasure. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, glory, dignity, power, and authority have been with you for a long time. Amen. so