So let's turn to 2 Peter chapter 1. As we turn there, first of all, greetings from particularly Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. I had the opportunity to preach for him last Sunday and to be in the context of his church. Very, very encouraging. And he was particularly encouraged as well in the time that he was with us here and did not hide that from his own people. It was quite something to witness the way he labors on Sunday. His congregation has two services in one building and another two services like somewhere in Shimabala. So he preaches at 8 o'clock here, runs across and preaches in Shimavala area, comes back and does another service, and then goes back there and finishes four services by about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Every Sunday when he is there, it's just incredible to see that. And yet, really, the places, we had lots of supper last Sunday and for just the church which has the main building, for each service there were 50 ushers that were giving out the emblems. So by the end of two services, 100 ushers were giving out the Lord's Supper. That's minus the other church as well. But Yes, it's God's people, they love the Lord, and they expressed a profound love for you as well. So I thought I should at least bring back those greetings. I am starting a series in 2 Peter, and the theme for the series is simply Christian Grow Up. as simple as that, Christian, grow up. And the reason why I have thought about this is that where there is life, there must be growth. Where there is life, there must be growth. However, for healthy growth to take place, there needs to be a deliberate effort at nurturing that growth. Two of you can be born in the same house and grow up together, but if one person is not taking good care of his own health, you will discover that he's in and out of hospital, and then invariably there is retardation in growth. What is true in the natural is also true in the spiritual realm. that two individuals can come to Christ within the same year, 10 years later, 20 years later, one of them is still, as it were, sucking his thumb, though still in his napkins, while the other one is actually a mature adult, spiritually speaking. having a fruitful and impactful life in the world. And the difference is often on how much effort an individual has made with respect to his own growth. And sadly, a lot of believers treat salvation as a mere health insurance policy. In other words, I'm saved, I'm going to heaven, hallelujah, without thinking that I'm supposed to grow and that my own spiritual growth is actually my responsibility. that I need to put in a lot of effort in order for me to grow spiritually. And because of this wrong attitude, you find that many years later, down the line, those who ought to be mature adult leaders are nowhere near that at all. In fact, before we even read 2 Peter and chapter 1, the kind of situation I'm thinking about is addressed in Hebrews 5 and verse 11, where the writer to the Hebrews says, about this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained, he says, by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. And then I'll just read the first part of this one in chapter six. Therefore, let us live the elemental doting of Christ and go on to maturity. In other words, let us grow up. And it is out of that burden, therefore, that I thought let's make our way through 1 Peter chapter 1. If we are going to go beyond that, it will be because the Lord himself leads us to. But at least at this stage, my interest is in just that first chapter. And I'm interested in it because it addresses the subject of spiritual growth. Spiritual growth. It is steady growth, spiritually, that results in a fruitful spiritual life. Let me say that again. It is steady growth spiritually that results in this. Notice verse 8, back to 2 Peter now, chapter 1 and verse 8. Look at the way he puts it there. It says, for if these qualities are yours, and notice the way he puts it, and are increasing. So we'll come to these qualities later. But I want you to notice this, they are increasing. He says, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Putting it a little differently, if these qualities are yours and are increasing, you will be effective and fruitful in your knowledge of Christ. You will be effective and fruitful. So, the issue is obvious. We must grow in order for us to be effective, and we must keep on growing. We must grow in order for us to be fruitful, and we must keep on growing. If that's not happening, then we will be there quite all right, but our lives will be ineffective and our lives will be unfruitful. So that's what I want us to go through as we go through this chapter. Now, instead of us making our way through the whole of it immediately, I'd like us to, for this morning, just look at the greeting, the first two verses. 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 1 and verse 2. And the main reason why I just want us to spend our time there is because in it, we are seeing what I'm calling here the indicative. In other words, the matter of fact. that all Christians have a faith that is of equal standing. All Christians have a faith that is of equal standing. Let me read those two verses to you. Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. What are we seeing in this brief introduction? Three things, quite simple, and we'll make our way through them. First of all, the writer. Secondly, the readers. And thirdly, the greeting. That's all. The writer, the readers, and the greeting. Who is the writer? Who is it that is stating that we have a faith of equal standing with him? The answer is there for us in the very first verse. It is the Apostle Peter. He introduces himself as Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. Now, it must come as a little bit of a surprise to you that he should be referring to himself as Simeon because you will know that the normal way in which Peter is referred to is Simon. There is at least one other place where he is referred to as Simeon. And it is in Acts chapter 15 when they were dealing with the whole question of the Jewish practices of circumcision and so on that should this be imposed upon all those who are now believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so there was a debate that took place in the church in Jerusalem, and out of that debate came the conclusion that they should not be forced to be circumcised and so forth. But it was during that meeting that when James referred to the Apostle Peter's own contribution to the debate that he is referred to as Simeon rather than as Simon. The answer to this problem is simply that Simeon is the Hebrew version of Simon. So really, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether you are using Simeon or you are using Simon. And the main reason why some of your versions will have Simon and some of your versions will have Simeon is simply because in the earlier years of the Bible being multiplied, there was no photocopier, there was no duplicating machine, so somebody would just stand in front and then dictate to perhaps a hundred individuals who would then be writing down. And it's fairly easy, therefore, for half of the people to be writing the Jewish Simeon, and then the other half to be writing the Simon that is more representative of the Greek world. So that's the simple explanation for this. But let's go on, because he doesn't just refer to himself as Simeon or Simon Peter, he refers to himself as a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. The servant bit is one that is true concerning all of us. that it doesn't matter if you are a person who claims to be a Christian, you too are a servant of the Lord Jesus. In fact, the word there, strictly speaking, is not the word servant in Greek, which would be diakonos, it is the word slave, which is doulos. That's really the word that Peter is using here. And what that word really stands for is a person who has no personal rights, because those rights have been given over to a master. That's what a slave is. I mean, a slave cannot even resign his job. That option isn't there. Your servant at home can resign, your maid can resign, you too can resign because you are not a slave. But a slave is someone who is owned by someone else and so his entire life is now lived by by the dictates of another. And that's what Peter is saying here, that this is who I am with respect to Jesus Christ. Whatever Jesus says I do, I must do. I have no choice but to do so. And what I'm saying at this point is that that's not just true about Simon Peter or Simeon Peter, it is true about everybody who is a true Christian. In other words, if you are an individual who spends your time negotiating terms with God as you are dealing with issues to do with your life, most likely you are not yet a Christian. Yes, you're not yet a Christian. Because a genuine Christian is somebody who doesn't enter into negotiations. It is simply, Lord, what would you have me to do? And whatever the Lord says, I do. Period. Why? Because I am his servant, I am his slave. And that's an important test for us as to whether we have genuinely become Christians. And it is whether our lives are lived by what Jesus says we should be doing. But secondly, he introduces himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. And that word simply means a sent-out one. That's all it means, a sent-out one. And that's what he is. He is one who has been sent out by the Lord Jesus Christ to do his will. Now, this is not true of all of us. We cannot say that we are apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, because this apostleship was limited to 12 individuals, just 12, and they've since died. So if today someone comes to me and introduces himself, the moment he just says, I'm apostle, my ears stop listening to everything else. My mind just goes blank, because I'm thinking, then what is he still doing alive today? They were 12. They did their part, and they are gone. They laid the foundation for the Christian faith, on which the rest of us are now building according to the gifts that God has given us. So, the slave part is true of all of us. The apostleship part was true of Peter. But here's the point. Part of the way in which he obeyed the Lord was in the way he used his gift and calling. That's the point. So it's not simply saying, well, you know, Jesus wants me to be loving, to be kind, to be good, and therefore that's what I should be. It's more than that. He's given me an assignment in life. I must fulfill that assignment until I die. And that assignment is that of being an apostle. And as we will notice when we'll be going through this chapter, he's even saying, I'm willing to do this up to the point I die for your sake. Because it's my responsibility. I am a servant of Christ. I must continue fulfilling this. He says there in verse 13 of this chapter, I think it right as long as I'm in this body to steer you up By the way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me, and he says, and I will make every effort so that after my departure, you may be able at any time to recall these things. I'm simply fulfilling my responsibility. I am an apostle of Jesus Christ. Oh brethren, you too, your obedience hangs on knowing your gifting in the Christian church. Your obedience stands on that, because that's what keeps you busy. six to seven days a week. It's knowing that this is what my Savior has given me as my responsibility within the body of Christ. And therefore, I'm not waiting for anybody to come and tell me what to do. I am busy for the Lord. I am His servant. And therefore, I will serve him in this particular way until I die. So your servanthood, being a slave to Christ, is very much tied up with how he has gifted you. And that's what we see about the writer, the Apostle Peter. But secondly, we come to the ones being written to. The ones being written to are individuals who have a faith equal to Peter's. And it is through the righteousness of Jesus. This is the way he puts it. Halfway through verse one. to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now you'll notice that they've not been named. So we ask the question, who are they? If it was a letter that was being written to the Romans, would have said, well, it was the Roman church. If it was the letter being written to the Corinthians, would have said it is the Corinthian church. But this letter is referred to as a general letter. So who are these being referred to as those? Who are they? Well, there's two ways to get there. The first is by looking at chapter three, verse one. Chapter three, verse one. Listen to what it says there. This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. So he's written a first letter. If we go to that first letter, we may just discover who they are. So let's go to first Peter and chapter one. And we discover who they are in verse one. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, here it is now, to those who are elect exiles of the dispassion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. Now, in summary, we don't want to spend too much time on this. By referring to elect exiles, all he means is Christians who have been dispersed by persecution. That's basically all he means. So persecution has broken out against the Christian church, and Christians have had to pack their bags and, as it were, escape for their lives in different parts of the known world of that time. And this would have been largely in Asia Minor, scattered across those areas. And Peter is writing to them. And so you'll discover in both 1 Peter and 2 Peter, there's quite a bit about suffering as Christians. Quite a bit there. The reason is quite simple. He was ministering to individuals who at this time were suffering for their faith. They had to, as it were, run for their lives. What does it say about them? Well, first of all, it is the title of my sermon. They have obtained a faith of equal standing with his. They have obtained. The phrase, have obtained, is a little deeper than our English will betray to us. It speaks, first of all, in terms of the fact that these individuals have already received this in the past tense. They are individuals who already possess this faith But secondly, the word obtained has something of God's absolute sovereignty in it. In fact, there are two other places where it is used, and in both places, it is in terms of people using lots. And lots simply means, you know, like a dice. You shake it, shake it, shake it. and then you throw it on the ground and then it either stops where there's a three or a four or a five and so on. It's not under your control. For you, you're simply throwing it down and then, God, it is His will that finally determines what number will be there. So, that's what is being brought out in that word, obtained. In other words, It was not primarily your decision to have this faith. It was God's decision. And he acted in sovereignty to make you possess what you currently possess. It's an act of God. That's the first thing that Peter is saying about these individuals. And brethren, we can immediately apply this to ourselves because all of us who are Christians today, it was not our cleverness that ended up making us who we are right now. It's not our upbringing that because we're brought up in a Christian home or something that effect. It was an act of God in His sovereignty who brought this about. We are simply recipients. And I hope as you sit here this morning, you can say the same thing about yourself, that you have obtained this. You have received it. Right now, as you sit there, you can say, if I die today, I'm going to heaven. I know it. And it's not because I was clever. It's because God has acted in sovereignty. He has chosen me. What Peter refers to in chapter 1 of 1 Peter when he says that elect exiles, elect exiles, chosen clearly, therefore, by God. What is, I'd like to just spend a few minutes in, is this phrase, a faith of equal standing with ours. A faith of equal standing with ours. Because if you looked at today's Christianity, by and large, and you compare it to the Christianity of the first century, We are a shadow of what the first century believers were all about. We're a shadow. They were under immense persecution, but they transformed the first century by their lives. They were being thrown to lions. to be eaten alive as part of entertainment in their society. They were being tied to poles, and they would pour tar on top of them, and they would be lit. And in the different places around the stadium, that was the way light was being provided for the entertainment. as Christians were being burned alive. But it is said that the people admired them. And they were saying this, Christians die well. They die well. And hence the admiration. So why is that difference between first century believers and us today? Why? I want to suggest to you that one of the main reasons why there's this difference is that we have an attitude when we are reading the Bible and seeing some of the things I'm talking about being right there in the scriptures. For instance, if you read the book of Acts and so on, we approach it as if we are watching a movie. And when you're watching some movie, like Kung Fu, for instance, I mean, those guys are obviously acting. And so you don't even attempt to fight like them. You just go, wow, this guy can fight. Wow. As they're doing it all at machine gun speed, and they sort of jump into the air, and they can literally jump over this building and get to the other side. And the guy doesn't even fall crashing down. He sort of rolls and is up and is fighting. And you don't go away thinking, yeah, so that's how I should live. You don't go like that. You just say, wow, it was a powerful movie. And you change channels to the next one. And I think that's the way we approach the Bible. We read all these accounts and we say these are marvelously gifted individuals. I'm obviously not like them. Notice the phrase. I'm obviously not like them. Well, sorry, you are. You are. And that's the phrase here, to those who've obtained a faith of equal standing with ours. The phrase the equal standing means of equal value, of equal honor, or equally precious. In other words, there's no difference, Peter is saying, between what God has done in you and what God has done in me. Now that faith that is spoken about there is not the doctrine, because if it is the doctrine, in Greek there's always what we call the definite article, which then becomes the faith, and it's missing there. Here, he's talking about the subjective element, the belief, that ability, that God-given ability in me that enables me to hold on to the truth of God and to hold on to God himself. That element is the same in all of us. It's the same in all of us. Whether you're black or white, whether you are living today or you were living in the first century, whether you are an apostle or something else, there's no difference. We have the same faith of similar value of the same owner. We have it as the same. And clearly when Peter speaks of a faith of equal standing with ours, he's referring primarily of themselves as apostles. Remember what he said, Peter a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who obtained a faith of equal standing with ours. In other words, you don't sit there and admire the apostles and say, wow, this is just a completely unique category of individuals, of Christians, and so on. No wonder they are able to live like that. No. With respect to that seed that has been put within us, there's no difference. The gift may be different. But the faith is the same. And the reason is quite simple. It's the same Holy Spirit who comes to open our eyes, who opened Paul's eyes. It is the same Holy Spirit who comes to take residence within us, who also took residence within the early believers. So why should there be a difference? Why? except in our own understanding, that somehow we have been made to believe that when we are reading our Bibles, we are watching a movie. These people are acting. This is not real. The real life is the one we are going through ourselves today. And the sooner we wake up from that sleep, the better it will be for all of us. We actually possess the same faith, a faith of equal standing with them. There's a third reason why it is the same, and it is the reason that he gives here as the means by which we get this faith. To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. In other words, the price that was paid for the faith that was in the heart of Peter is the same price that was paid for the faith that is in your heart. It is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the righteous life he lived and the payment he made for our sins. So why should we think that for us today, we can be full of unbelief and worldliness, and listen to this, and it's okay? It's okay. But not for the apostles, not for the early Christians. For them, it cannot be okay, because no, the payment made was the same. No, let's imagine. A very simple exercise here. I say to you that I have paid Toyota Zambia half a million kwacha for a car for you and for you. Go and get. So you get there, your friend has this powerful Toyota. I could describe one or two parked in the car park here, but powerful. They knew it's a secondhand corona. Will you just say, well, after all, it's a gift. And you jump into yours, and it coughs a few times even when you're starting, and then you go off. No! You say, hey, hang on, hang on, hang on. It's not fair. That's what you say. It's not fair. What's not fair? Well, look, I was informed by the benefactor that the amount of money he paid is the same for the two of us. Yes? So why should I go away with this coughing vehicle already suffering from influenza? And then my friend is going away with this metallic gray something, something, looking like it just came out of a wrapping sheet or something. Why? That makes sense. You are right in putting forth that complaint. But why is it that with respect to our Christian lives, we don't even want to raise it? We find it as a good excuse. for living lives that are meaningless, ineffective, unfruitful, and then we look at the apostles and say, hey, great giants of the faith. Well, Peter is saying the same price was paid. It's the same righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. And thankfully, in this case, the truth is it is the same faith, as he puts it here, of equal value, of equal honor, of equal preciousness. And I love this reality, that he's not saying to us, this is the way you should go and live. He is saying this is the fact. It's the fact. Let's go back to the example I spoke about earlier concerning money. It's not like your benefactor gives you 500,000 and gives your friend 500,000 and then says go and buy. your sales of such vehicles. That's different. Because as you're going there, you're thinking, $50,000 on a car. I think I'll get $300 and put it into something else. And then at least whatever car I'll have, it will be moving around. So it's OK. In other words, it's you being told to go and do something. And then along the way, you should change yourself. That's not what is being said in this text. What is being said in this text is this. This has already happened. This faith you already have. It's already been paid for. So as you read the giants of the faith in the Bible, you should be saying this faith that these individuals have is the same faith I have purchased by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, 100%. It's an indicative, it's a statement of fact. Those who have obtained, they have obtained, they have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Do you realize this? Do you? That's why the judgment day will be quite an embarrassing situation. Because while we are giving excuses about our own situations and our own lives and so on and so forth, someone else will have been in worse situations and lived a more fruitful and effective Christian life. And you really end up biting your tongue because you realize that this is a shameful excuse. It's an empty excuse. When you're saying, well, no, the economic situations were very different. No, that's the reason why. Someone in a worse economic situation, a slave of Christ, still faithful in using his gifts and abilities and saving the Lord, that changes everything. You realize. I have no excuse. It was just my worldliness. Which brings me to the third point, the greeting. The greeting. The greeting to those with a faith of equal standing is actually a prayer. And it's a prayer for more grace and peace. for more grace and peace. Listen to this, verse two. May grace and peace be multiplied, and that's the more, be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Quick definitions, grace refers to God's unmerited favor upon those who deserve the opposite. In other words, we deserve God's wrath, but instead he favors us. And Peter is saying, I am praying for you that this unmerited favor may be yours in super abundance, might be multiplied to you. Peace is the fruit of this grace. In other words, the way in which you know that God has been gracious to you is the way in which he fills you with his own peace. So the two are related as cause and effect. First of all, every believer, anyone who is saved from sin will possess both of them already. You'll be able to say, God was gracious to me in saving me from sin and he gave me his peace. A peace that is beyond understanding. I'm testifying of it. Any believer will speak about that. However, and this is the point, We possess this in ever increasing measure. That grace and peace may be multiplied to you. And that's where some individuals remain thumb sucking in their napkins for many years to come, while others their experience has galloped forward. It is in terms of this multiplication, in terms of experiencing this more and more and more. Now, how What is it that causes this separation? What is it that makes some individuals continue wallowing in that sort of shallow end of the pool? knee-deep in the things of God and so forth. And then others are literally swimming in the deep end and are overwhelmed by the grace of God and the peace of God. What separates the two? Peter gives us the answer here. And it is this, in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. In other words, It's dependent on your levels of knowledge, your depth of knowledge. So this is not just through the knowledge, but in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's you being in it. In other words, you grow as you grow in your knowledge, your experiential knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Now to prove it to you, just two quick verses. The first is verse three, which we'll be looking at the Lord willing next Sunday. Listen to this. His divine power has granted to us All things that pertain to life and godliness, okay? So we have everything that we need for life and godliness. But listen to this. Through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence. So again, it's a fruit of that knowledge. He's given us everything. But as long as your mind and your heart are in ignorance or in shallow knowledge, invariably so will be your experience of this divine life, divine power in your life. We see the same in chapter 2 and verse 20. to the two and verse 20. It says this. For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first." What he's referring to there is that even our initial salvation took place through knowledge. Through knowledge. And all of us will accept that. That the thing that finally made you cry to Jesus Christ to save you was when you came to know Him as Savior. This truth overwhelmed you. That the reason why He died on the cross was to pay the price for my sin. And this is the same one I have sinned against so many times. And consequently, out of that initial realization, you then cried to the Savior to save you. And he did. So the knowledge becomes the premise by which you end up experiencing grace and peace. So yes, Peter is praying. that they might have more of this. But as he's praying that they might have more of this, this won't happen automatically, no. It will happen as they give themselves to the knowledge of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. As they give themselves to this, then prayer will be answered. I mean, it's like if I was to be praying for you that you get promoted at work, it won't happen automatically. It won't just, you know, like magic or witchcraft that suddenly you just find your boss is calling you and saying, okay, you're taking over as general manager. No, it's this. If I'm praying for you to get promoted, the way that prayer is being answered is this. that you are becoming more hardworking. That's how it's being answered. And as you're becoming more hardworking, your boss is noticing and consequently recommends a promotion. So, without you becoming hardworking, that prayer will not be answered. You go to the office, you just leave your jacket on the chair at Naisa. The same thing tomorrow, the same thing. And some may expect, because you've got some prayer warrior of a pastor, bang, one day the boss will simply say, you're taking over as general manager. It won't happen. It's going to happen when there is serious hard work that's beginning to take place in your life. Same thing with marriages. Your elders, your pastors can be praying for you to have wonderful marriages. It won't just happen. It will happen when you as husbands become more loving to your wives and you as wives become more submissive to your husbands. And that's personal responsibility. It doesn't matter how much your elders may pray, their heads might even pop off their shoulders in praying for you. When in actual reality, you begin to play your role as God intended you to play that role, then their prayers are being answered. So it's the same way with spiritual growth. We can pray for your spiritual growth, but if you are not being responsible to increase in your knowledge of God, to know Him, your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, you are missing in church services, you are missing in Bible studies, your Bible is passed during the week, you do not read the Shabbos at all. You won't grow. You won't. Others who God saved yesterday will go past you, zoom, just like that. and you're still thumbsucking. Because you are not doing what you're supposed to be doing in order to grow in your knowledge of God and of his son, Jesus Christ. You're not doing it. And consequently, you will remain behind. Let me hurry on to close. There are two lessons. we are already beginning to see, just from the greeting itself, just from the greeting. First of all, it is that the faith we have is not different from the faith of the apostles or from the faith of the first century believers. It is the same faith. So when you read your Bible, doesn't matter what part of the Bible it might be, and you see God's people Living a life that is clearly a head and shoulders above yourself, it will challenge you. You're not watching a movie. You're watching the kind of life that you should be living. But the second lesson that we learn is that what makes the difference in our experience is our knowledge of Jesus Christ and our being deliberate in growing in that knowledge. are being deliberate in growing in that knowledge. So the question is, are you, as you're sitting in here today, are you deliberately feeding your soul on spiritual knowledge? Are you? Are you? Have you deliberately curved out time and said, this time is for church services, for Bible studies, This time is for reading my Bible. This time is for reading Christian books, good Christian books, because I need to know him more. Is that true of you? Now, brethren, we have excuses. I know that. And I want to challenge these excuses. Because often we come back from our offices, we sit down there, and the first thing we do is to take the remote control and bang. And then an entire evening goes just watching One thing after the other on that screen, which at the end of the day does not help you spiritually at all. Zero. And that week after week after week. And somehow we expect that when a trial comes into our lives, we will handle that trial like spiritual giants. We won't. Because our lives have not been growing. We all have 24 hours in a day, but we need to plan, deliberately plan for spiritual growth. then we will grow. So I'm appealing to you to look again at your spiritual intake, your spiritual feeding. Look at it and say to yourself, with this level of spiritual intake, where would I be by the end of this year? Where? Because it won't just happen. Let me say that again to you. It won't just happen. You need to take it seriously yourself. Amen?