for the service. corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality. Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God Unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labour is not in vain in the world. We'll conclude at the conclusion of the chapter together, and may God bless the reading of his precious word. You know, for those who were unable to be with us last Wednesday night at our Leadweight Bible Study, on that occasion, we did consider together and the Bible. Now the things that we thought about on that occasion were not the white You see, repeatedly in the New Testament, we find the Saviour and His Apostles using a two-worded phrase, be ye. And they do so in order to alert us to what is required of us as God's representatives in His Word, as His children, what we are to be and how we are to conduct I'm all right, thanks Alistair, thank you. Be ye perfect, be ye ready, be ye merciful, and be ye transformed. Well, tonight we want to look at a number of other be ye statements, because as this series of titles suggests, the word of God is a hive that is full of bees. The first be ye statement that we want to consider then this evening is found in the passage that we have just taken time To read and you'll find it there in the verse number 58 of 1st Corinthians chapter 15 and the verse number 15 58 therefore my beloved brethren be steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the lord this verse of scripture more than any other verse of scripture in the word of god has kept me going in the ministry it is a verse that reminds me of my duty and of my responsibility when i am tempted to quit when it feels that my labors are in vain in the lord You see, every preacher longs for the saints to be sanctified and for sinners to be converted and saved under their ministry. You know, some people mistakenly think that what makes a preacher happy is a church full of people and the church's members attending the services faithfully. But that's not what makes me the happiest. The thing that makes me the happiest is seeing Christ formed in you. Seeing Christ formed in you. When a Christian takes on a likeness to their Savior, when they come to conduct themselves within and without an assembly of believers as Christ himself would conduct himself, it is this that thrills the heart of the preacher. By this they know that their labors are not in vain. in the Lord, Christ being formed in you. Paul spoke about travailing until Christ be formed in you. To take on a Christ-likeness is that which brings joy and happiness to the heart of the preacher. But that's just the way. In our text, the apostle Paul says that we are to be steadfast and unmovable. Be ye steadfast If ever there was a day that Christians needed to be steadfast and immovable, it is in this day. Sadly today, good people are being blown about, tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. Others, they fill their minds with conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory and spend more time on YouTube than they do in the Word of God. But we are to be steadfast and unmovable. Steadfast and unmovable in the truth that God has revealed to us in His Word. We are, as the text says, to be steadfast. The word means to be firm. And really, as a word, it means to be firmly fixed in place, something that's secure, something that is permanent. The word unmovable is probably just, as it were, a stronger expression of the former word Steadfast. It is re-emphasizing this great need. It really is saying the same thing. Now, what are we to be steadfast, and what are we to be immovable in? Well, let me give you a number of suggestions, and I'm sure you could add to the list. We are to be steadfast in the faith. There is only one faith, the faith delivered onto the saints. And in that faith, we are to be steadfast. Unmovable. We must believe in the doctrines of grace. We must consider ourselves for who we truly are and who God truly is. Steadfast in the faith when it comes to how a man or woman is justified before God. The great doctrines of justification and sanctification and adoption, all of these we are to be steadfast with regard to our adherence to and our belief in. We are to be steadfast, unmovable in our love for God. It really boils down to that. Do we love the Lord? Whenever Peter had denied the Lord with oaths and curses and the Savior met him again there See, of Galilee, the question that the Savior asked was really the key question. Lovest thou me more than these? He did not love the Lord perfectly, but he loved the Lord, and he declared it to be so. Lord, thou knowest, he said, thou knowest that I love thee. And we need to be steadfast in our love for the Lord, for God. Surely when we consider what He has done for us in the gospel, what He has done in our lives already and what He is doing and what He will do for us, surely we cannot but love the Lord. We are to be steadfast in our devotion to Christ. Nothing is to take our love from Him. He is to be our first and our only love. We are not to love the world or the things that are in the world, but we are to love Christ. And so there must be a steadfastness and a movableness with regard to our devotion to Christ. We're to be steadfast when it comes to the doctrines contained within the Word of God. We're to be steadfast in our opposition of evil, as well as our promotion of good. In these matters, we are to be steadfast and unmovable. As I thought of many of God's people who once worshiped with us, Now they are before the throne and face of God. I thought how they were steadfast in their day and generation, faithful in their devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ and to his gospel. But what about us in our day, in our generation? Are we holding to the same biblical convictions as our forefathers held to? Is our love for Christ at the level that it was when we first came to know him in the gospel? Is our Christian life marked by steadfastness? Are we dependable? Are we steadfast with regard to our character? You know, the work of God needs people who are steadfast. We can all be guilty. forsaking our station in the work of God especially whenever the novelty wears off we're full of Zeta at the beginning And yet whenever that zeal feeds away and dies away, it seems to be that our steadfastness is not what it used to be. We can be full of zeal during a gospel mission or maybe on some mission trip in some foreign land, and as a result of that zeal, We can be at the prayer meetings, we can be involved in the inviting of loved ones and friends to the neighbors, we can be living consistent and holy and separate life and then the mission passes or the missionary trip ends and we're never seen at the prayer meeting again. And we never attempt to reach the lost at home. We become careless in our living and we then allow then worldly things to creep back into our lives. Brethren and sisters, these things ought not to be. We are to be steadfast. We are to be immovable in our Christian lives during all seasons of life and all seasons throughout the year. We are to be steadfast. unmovable not only or are we to be that but we are to be always abounding in the work of the lord we are to abound in the work of the lord not simply to engage in god's work we are to abound in it it is to be to our joy it is to be to our fulfillment that we engage in god's work now to abound in god's work means then that in some way we need to be engaged in god's work you can't abound in God's work if you've never engaged yourself in the work of the Lord. Did you know that being a godly mother is part of the work of the Lord? And so is being a godly father. Being a diligent employee and being a fair and honest employer is part of the work of the Lord. True, our everyday labor ought to be done to honor his name, but every Christian should be laboring, I believe, in some sphere of service within the work of God. When we come to know what that sphere of service would be, then we ought to give ourselves wholeheartedly to it and then to always abound in it. I read this statement regarding this need to be always abounding in the work of the Lord. The Christian author, he wrote this, we are not to be Christians by fits and starts. Some Christians are full of activity and effort one day when they're taken up with something new, but when the novelty has gone off, there is a collapse. There must be a perseverance in every work we undertake for Christ. Thank God for men and women. who have been steadfast, unmovable, who have always been abounding in the work of the Lord. You know we are to abound in God's work. That's not to say that God's work can't be difficult, not to say that God's work can't be stressful. God's work is a work that At times the expectations can be higher than really the reality. It seems to be that many times the work is fruitless and discouraging and barren, and yet it is the work of the Lord. And because it is the work of the Lord, that work will be ultimately crowned with success because it is His work. He has begun it, He will continue it, He will complete it. And thereby, because it is the work of the Lord, we can be assured that success will follow our labors when we engage ourselves and we give ourselves to abounding in the work of the Lord. And so let's abound in God's work in this new season. Let's abound in it. Let's not just do it, but let's abound in it. Let's go above and beyond. Let's give ourselves entirely to it. Life is short and soon the crown will be won and the race will be finished and our entrance into heaven will be secured and it will be ours. May we labor. May we labor for reward. May we labor for Christ. May we labor And may our works follow us. And so let us be steadfast and movable. And then let us abound in the work of the Lord. That's what God wants you to do. Not what the minister wants you to do. This is what God wants you to do. He wants you to be steadfast, consistent, faithful, unmovable, always there, dependable. and then to abound in God's work. That's what God wants you and I to do in this new year and in every year of life until the crown is won and we see him face to face. This is what God wants of us. The second B.E. statement is found now in the second book of Corinthians. Second Corinthians chapter six and the verse 17. Second Corinthians chapter six and the verse 17. Let's read from verse 14. But we'll find it in the verse 17. But let's read from verse 14. B.E. not unequally yoked together, with unbelievers? What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God. As God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Be ye separate. That's the next requirement that God places upon us. Be ye separate. When God calls us to live a life of separation, we must come to reflect what that entails and what it doesn't entail. Firstly, God is not saying here that we are to cut ourselves off and cut off all contact with non-Christians inside and outside our families. The reason why God doesn't say that, is not saying that, is because that would go against his final command that he gave to the church to go into all the world and preach the gospel. The ungodly needs to be reached with the gospel. And how are they reached? It is through us that the ungodly are exposed to the truths of the gospel. And so he's not calling here for complete isolationism. Secondly, God is not calling, and I've just said it, for complete isolationism on the part of the church. We're not to be isolationists. We're not to go into hiding and not to interact with the ungodly world. We're not to shut ourselves off in some monastery or some retreat and never come out or some kind of commune and stay there until we die or the Lord returns. Rather, we are to find unbelievers, we're to love them, we're to befriend them, and we're to share the gospel with them. Thirdly, God is not calling for a saved husband or wife to separate from their unsaved husband or wife. Such would go against the teaching of scripture that encourages a saved wife to remain with her unsaved husband in the hope that her chaste life would win her husband to the Lord. No, we must look at this statement contextually. And contextually, what God is saying here is that we cannot link up with unbelievers when it comes to religious enterprises. There must be a complete separation from those who worship God in a way that is not prescribed in the Word of God. You see, what the Corinthian believers were doing was this. They were trying to befriend the world by attending and involving themselves in idol festivals. And in the eyes of God, that was a compromise too far. It was an intolerable compromise. Added to this, the Corinthian saints also allowed forms of pagan worship to come in and religion into the world. And that was as equally intolerable to God. And so such ecumenicalism and such compromise was condemned by God. And therefore, a new call to separation was forthcoming from God. Notice what it says. be not unequally yoked. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion hath light with darkness? What concord hath Christ with Belial? What part hath he that believeth with an infidel? What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? Ye are the temple of the living God." And then God says, come out from among them. Those that you have now found yourself compromising with, you need to get out from among them. And you need to separate yourself onto Christ. There is a need. Tremendous need for separation again. A separation onto Jesus Christ. A separation onto the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. A separation from ecumenism. A separation from false worship. From paganism. From every kind of ism. that is contrary to the teaching of God's word, and there's not many people want to live in a separatist witness. Brethren and sisters, we need to be separated unto Christ. To live a separated life is a tremendous challenge today, and yet this is what God calls to each and every one of his children. We're to come out from those who are ungodly, from those who worship God in a false manner, from those who are idolaters, and those who worship God in a way that is not set forth in his word. The plain teaching of God's word is that the people of God cannot form intimate relationships with those who do not belong with God, especially within a religious setting. It is to be a separation both personally from the world and ecclesiastically from all forms of false worship, which, by the way, can occur as much within so-called evangelical circles as it can without. Now, that is not to say that we are to dismiss out of hand those who do not worship God in the exact same way as we worship God. Who can claim that their worship of God is as God would have it to be? However, the principles set forth by the Lord Jesus Christ regarding worship in John chapter four must ever govern how we worship. Jesus said to the woman at the well, God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Worship is to be guided by the truth of God as it is found in the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Reformed theologians, they speak of the regulative principle of worship. Put simply, the regulative principle of worship states that the corporate worship of God is founded upon specific directions of Scripture and thus the Word of God and not the culture of the day and not personal preference, but that the word determines how we ought to worship God. And it is within this context that God, through the penmanship of Paul, says, be ye separate. Come out from among them and be ye separate. Stay away from such compromise, religiously. Stay away from it. Keep out of it. You must be separate from all things that are in scripture. That's the negative aspect, but we must not forget the positive aspect of separation, a separation onto God. Wherefore, come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you. and I'll be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Yes, a separation from that which is false, but a separation unto God. Regarding this need to be separate or distinct from the world, Mr. Spurgeon, he said this, remember, O Christian, that thou wert a son or daughter of the king of kings. Therefore, keep thyself unspotted from the world. Here he's speaking about personal separation. He said, soil not the fingers, which are soon to sweep celestial strings. Let not these eyes become the windows of lust, which are soon to see the keen in his beauty. Let not those feet be defiled in miry places, which are soon to walk the golden streets. Let not those hearts be filled with pride and bitterness, which are ere long to be filled with heaven. and to overflow with ecstatic joy. Oh, to let us strive to live in the world without allowing the world to live in us. Be separate, separated on to God. One final be ye statement tonight. Ephesians chapter four, verse 32. Ephesians four, verse 32. Ephesians 4 verse 32, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. The verse which precedes verse 32 in that verse the apostle Paul speaks about certain behaviors and attitudes that must play no part in the life of the one who has put off the old man and who has put on the new man. It is expected that all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from the child of God with all malice. That's to be put off. But folks, it's not just simply enough to abstain from acts of unfriendly or hostile nature like the ones that are presented to us in verse 31. The believer is to exhibit Christ-likeness in their conduct towards all men and especially those who belong to the household of faith. And so we are exhorted by the Spirit of God through the pen of the Apostle Paul that we are to be kind one to another. The word kind or kindness comes from the word kind. And really, we get the word kin. We sing that word kin whenever we sing that little rhyme at Christmas time to you and your kin. It really speaks about someone of the same family, someone of the same race. By this word kindness, it reminds us of the fact that we are all brethren We are all of the same blood and therefore we should act as brethren, this kindness, this kinness. We are exhibiting family love when we exhibit kindness or kinness. All who are of the same kindred, of the same family, should be kind. Practically we should be kind in our thoughts, Are there not times whenever we harbor unkind thoughts in our minds towards those within the family of God as well as those outside the family? We need to remember that although such unkind thoughts may be hidden from our loved ones and friends and from the people themselves, they're not from God who knoweth our thoughts afar off. We're to be kind in our thoughts. We're to be kind in our words, whether those words are spoken or whether they are written down in some text message or personal journal or some social media post. Words spoken can never be gathered up again. Child of God, don't you think lightly of your words. Words can do as much harm as they can do good. And remember, before you speak unkindly about another person, that every idle word must be accounted for in the day of judgment. Kind in our words, we're to be kind in our deeds. Acts of charity and kindness can do more good than hours of witnessing to an unconverted friend or family member or neighbor. Our words are meaningless if they're not backed up with words of mercy. and words of kindness. Let your light so shine, we're told. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father that is in heaven. Could we not look around at our families and then among our friends and neighbors and see whether there's not someone that we could show kindness to? Someone whose burden we could lighten? Maybe someone whose cares we could lessen? Maybe someone whose needs we could supply? to heart the counsel that we have there in Colossians 3 verse 12, put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering. No such kindness, it doesn't come to us naturally. But kindness is a fruit of the Spirit. And so let's seek the infilling of God's Spirit on a daily basis to counteract the unkindness that a life governed by the flesh produces. It has been said kindness is love and work clothes. Kindness is love and work clothes. Make sure you've got your work clothes on before you leave your bedroom. You begin to interact with anyone you meet tomorrow in the will of God. Make sure you've got on your work clothes. Show kindness, kindness to others. You know, as I thought about these four BE statements, I thought to myself, is their fullest expression and their fullest fulfillment not seen in the life of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? He was steadfast. He was immovable. He steadfastly set his face to go up to Jerusalem. He was immovable with regard to the purpose for which he came, the task that his father had entrusted to him, the redemption of his people. From that task, he did not balk. From that task, he did not seek any release, but he fulfilled that, the task, the work that the father gave him to do. He came to do the Father's will, and in that he was steadfast, he was immovable, and he abounded in the work of the Lord. Nothing half-hearted with Jesus Christ, he gave himself to the task at hand. He gave his very soul and his very life for his sheep. He was always abounding in the work of the Lord. Early in the morning, we find him praying. Late into the night, we see him touching those that were sick and diseased and leprous. Always abounding. Even in his dying hours, he worked as he spoke and dealt with the dying thief. Did he not live a life of separation? Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. He had no dealings with the Pharisees and the scribes. He called out their false worship and their false religious practices. He lived a separated life and did anyone ever show kindness like Jesus Christ? The kindness of the Savior to little children whom his disciples would push away, he took into his arms and he blessed. Kindness to the undeserving, kindness to the unthankful, the kindness of Jesus Christ. And thus, brethren and sisters, if we give ourselves to these BE statements, then we will begin to exhibit a Christ-likeness in our lives, because Christ was all of these things. And we who bear his image, we who are the bearers of the divine nature ought to be steadfast and immovable, always abiding in the work of the Lord. We ought to live a life of separation and we ought to exhibit kindness. May God help us to do that. May God help us to reflect something of Jesus Christ in a world that knows him not. This hive of bees has not yet been exhausted. And in the will of God, we will return to consider a few more of these bees that are housed in this hive of God's Word. I believe it'll be now in two weeks' time, with next week being some nights of prayer for us. But we have enough here to keep us going. May God help you and I to be these things. Because God says, be ye, be ye. May God help you and I to be these things in our lives. Let's seek the Lord now together in a word of prayer.