Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Practicing Patience Pt.2

If you look over at Matthew, Chapter 10, let's go ahead and just pick up here for this morning and look at a couple of passages. In Matthew 10, the Lord is speaking in verse 22, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake..." Well, wait a minute now, if you are a loving Christian, everybody should love you, shouldn't they? Did they love Jesus? He was the most hated man, and still is, that ever lived. You either loved Him or hated Him if you really understood who He was--now not all the little twentieth century, twenty-first century American representation of who He was, but if you have really encountered Him, then you would know that He was the Rock of Offence. He was that stumbling block that the apostles spoke of. Jesus, if not accepted, stumbles all men. So here we are, His representatives, and He says then, you are going to be hated of all men. Look at it, "...for my name's sake..." Don't be hated of men because you're arrogant. Don't be hated of men because you're hypocritical. Don't be hated of men because of your self-righteousness. But He said that you're going to be hated of all men for, say it, "...my name's sake." How often do you use the name of Jesus in your daily conversation? How much do you let people know who you are representing? I'm not here of my own accord, Jesus sent me here. Now if Jesus sent you there, you need to do a good job. If you're going to tell your employer Jesus sent me here, then do a good job. Stop playing games on the internet or on your computer and do your job as unto the Lord, and give the guy eight hours of work. "But everyone else is." We're not everybody else. Everything that we do, we do as unto the Lord. We do in the name of Jesus and then we can stand and say "The reason you are having trouble with me is for His name's sake because I'm here loving you purely with the truth. I'm here telling you that there's only one way. There's only one name under heaven whereby men can be saved, the name of Jesus." Amen!

What a great opportunity we have right now with the Pope dying. You want to stir some stuff up? And I'm not talking just going out to cause trouble. I'm not talking about that. If you start telling people the truth, you are going to stir some stuff up. Because here's religion at its greatest! A man with a billion followers, people weeping and calling him the face of God--I think not! Jesus said if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father, Amen? Not some eighty-year-old Pole. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with being eighty or a Pole. I'm saying he isn't the face of God. So now a group of Cardinals are going to gather together--not St. Louis--they're going to gather and they're going to vote. The vote is going to come out forty-seven to twenty-six infallible and the little smoke will come out of the stack and everybody will know that the head of the church has been set in place. The head of the Church is seated in heaven today, at the right hand of the Father. He ever lives to make intercession for us and no man but Him can forgive sins. And the audacity of a Pope or any other priest saying that they can stand and forgive sins is apostasy. It's a lie. And yet tolerance says that we're all to just get along together and agree with one another. "They name the name of Jesus, so they must be Christians."

Paul speaks very clear to this in the Book of Galatians. I'm not going to go over there at this particular moment, but what I am trying to show you is, to speak contrary to what is accepted by the populous, to speak the truth of all the paganism and the lies of Roman Catholicism, is going to make you an outsider in the majority of peoples' minds. You are going to be one of those fundamentalist troublemakers. You're going to be hated for His name's sake. Do you have what it takes to stand in this generation? When people really ask you the question, are you ready to respond and tell them Mother Theresa went to hell, the Pope went to hell? People freak, and guess who becomes the bad guy--you; self-righteous, intolerant. So, here we are a people that have need of patience, consistency, endurance to stand against the popular tide of tolerance and one world religion. I am excited about the new Pope. I think this new guy is going to become one of the major players of introducing the False Prophet. The False Prophet, being that one who comes in and is able to through signs and wonders mesmerize the world, is going to bring all religions into one, is going to be the source of this worldwide religion. Do you understand that there is going to be a coming together, believe it or not, of the Muslims, the Jews, and the Christians under one umbrella? It's what the book of Revelation teaches. Now there are going to be the little fundamentalists, there are going to be the extremists out here, but we're talking about the majority. This apostate religious system--the whore, the Bible calls it--is going to give power to the Antichrist. So you're going to see the marrying of this one-world church with a political figure and the power is going to be given to that individual who is going to rise up into prominence; come to a position of power to where we'll turn upon the religious system, bring it into subordination, and set himself up as god. Now that's what's coming in this near future, I believe. You can see the pieces already. You can feel the spirit of antichrist already. You can see that people as a whole are embracing, loving the concept of a one-world mentality. Based initially on tolerance and then subjected to absolute intolerance under the reign of Antichrist; because you've given up your rights through tolerance, you will be lorded over.

So here we are, looking at these particular sign-posts, the signs of the times. One of the things that are going to give power--I had no intention of talking about this, this morning. We'll get back on patience here in just a moment--one of the things that is going to give this power to the Antichrist, of course, is there is going to become an economic collapse and he's going to fix it. There's absolutely no question today that every person will bow to materialism who doesn't know Jesus Christ as Lord.

So, when you see the pieces where they are, what are you doing to prepare yourself for this hour? There's going to be a day when without this mark no man can buy or sell; is your faith going to be sufficient? Do you have what it takes to have your child snatched out of your arms and assassinated before you because you won't deny Jesus? Do you have what it takes to watch your own child in caves, in animal skins, lose all the comfort and ease that they are so used to in this day, because of the name of Jesus? Are you ready to flee to the mountains? Are you ready to stand and be beaten in the courts and leave rejoicing that you were counted worthy to suffer for His name's sake? Instead of hiring an attorney to sue, just raise your hands and praise God, and say what a privilege to suffer for His name's sake. James 5:11 says "...we count them happy which endure..." So here we are, a people that are coming down this last stretch in momentary ease and comfort and affluence. What are we doing to make our selves ready? Are you in training? Are you exercising your faith? Are you learning how to walk in the spirit when it is so easy to live in the flesh? Are you, as we have shared in the past, disciplining yourself when you pray to pray in faith and say "Lord, give us this day our daily bread," when you have bread coming out of your ears? To just sit down and be thankful, not even necessarily thankful for that loaf you are about to partake of, you have a hundred just like it, but thankful for the knowledge of God, the awareness of His presence and that all that we have we have received of Him. The wise man said don't make me poor that I steal and bring a reproach on you and don't make me rich that I forget your name and trust in myself (Proverbs 30:8-9). Here we are, a people filled with riches and abundance and seem to somehow think that it's not going to affect us. It'll rob you of your trust in God. It'll make you think that you could--You're parroting that God's the source, but when's the last time that you really believed it? When's the last time you needed to believe it?

We have need of patience, consistency, endurance. We have need of praying when it doesn't look like we need to pray; the discipline. We have need of fasting. We have need of serving. We have need of a daily cross that we were talking about in our last series, so that we can discipline ourselves in the era of anarchy, no restraints. We need to restrain ourselves. We need to be temperate, and that's part of what patience is all about, consistency is all about, that temperance aspect. We're going to be coming into this time. Now how are we going to do it? By having the Word of God be the hallmark.

We can't trust what the masses are doing, what everybody around us is doing. We can't trust what the popular message of the day is. Forty days of purpose, the purpose-driven church--the world embracing this type of thought process, so much of the right words being spoken. But listen to me; it is not enough to quote Scripture if the purpose of the Scripture being quoted is to glorify man instead of God. Do you want to know how to protect yourself right now? Listen. When you hear much of what these guys are preaching, the popular--those that the world is embracing, listen closely, not to what they are saying, but who is being glorified. Who's it about? Is about man? Is it about man feeling better about himself, about man's life being made better, about man becoming more pre-eminent, about man being more gratified, or is it about man becoming more Christlike. Is it about us dying to ourselves to honor God to bring this message to a lost world, to prefer others better than ourselves, or to make ourselves preeminent--the gospel being used for the glory of man. Now when we are talking about endurance and consistency, that's what I am talking about. Is your mind established or is humanism? Is this philosophy that is out there today eroding your thought processes? Are you studying daily to show yourself approved unto God workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15)? If there has ever been a day when you need to study for yourself, this is it. Don't you trust what your teachers are telling you. Don't you trust what I'm telling you, what the other pastors here are telling you. You be a Berean. You study to find out whether what we are saying is so. At this juncture, to this point, we've been pretty safe. But I want to know what God is saying. Now, God chooses men and He chooses to speak through men, but it's up to you to really be able to know if it is God. His sheep know His voice and another they'll not follow (John 10:4-5). So what're the messages we're hearing today? There're conflicting messages. We're being called to abide in the truth and to be consistent in our belief--and in a day when we're being tried, seduced by the doctrines of devils, by the message of personal preeminence, prosperity, ease, success--that the church has been called to govern America--God's not interested in governments. He is interested in individuals, people, souls. He's already got a decent government set up, it's called the Church.

What are we doing to protect ourselves, to keep ourselves from being those in these last days that are tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men, cunning craftiness whereby they lay and wait to deceive? (Ephesians 4:14) These messages that are going on today, the Scripture says, deceiving and being deceived (2 Timothy 3:13), is what's behind the false prophets of our generation. You know what? Many of these men started right. They believed that what they were doing was right and ended up deceived. The moment you leave the sure foundation of God's message and God's methodology, you're in trouble. I'm talking even about the methodology. We don't need sales gimmicks to promote the gospel. Paul said it's got a power in and of itself, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, it's the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), amen! Don't dilute it. Don't try to package it. Just live it! Proclaim it, Praise God! And let whosoever will, come. But the disciples came to Jesus and they said Lord, your message has offended the people. And listen to Jesus' response--we got to somehow get some damage control here, call Clinton's advisors--what did Jesus say? He said what God has plucked up, don't try to plant again (Matthew 15:12-13). Amen! If it's offended them, let them go away. "Yeah, but if they go away, we won't appear to be successful!" Do you want the praises of God or men? "But if they go away, we won't have the resources, the power; the influence to reach the world!" You want the resource to reach the world, take one cloak, one change of clothes, one pair of sandals and go proclaim the name of Jesus, amen? That's what He said, don't take any abundance. Read it; look at Luke nine and ten. Look at it,. He said just go out there and don't take anything, just go proclaim My gospel and wherever you find yourself, I will bless those people and you will be taken care of. Do we have what it takes to finish this course? Do we believe that as with Gideon's three hundred we are invincible? Do we believe that if God's for us, nobody can be against us? Are you fully persuaded to death that you have received the truth and you're abiding in it? He that endures till the end shall be saved, the Scripture tells us (Mark 13:13).

So Paul says over in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15, take a look over there for just a moment. It's interesting. As you know, the fifteenth Chapter of Corinthians represents to us the most concise passage of the gospel that there is in all of the Bible. Chapter 15, verse 3, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures:" That's the gospel. He was made sin with our sin that we might be made righteous with His righteousness. Now it goes on from there; He died, He was buried, He was raised, He ascended to the right hand of God the Father. He said, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:2-3). So He's gone and He's prepared a place for us. He's at the right hand of the Father and He's making intercession for us and He shall come again to receive us unto Himself. He's coming any day now and every man that has that hope purifies himself even as He is pure, 1 John 3:3 tells us. So now we are going through a purifying process and every man that believes that and every man that has that hope is in the process of purifying himself. Are you patiently doing it, consistently doing it? Do you believe with all of your heart that Jesus could come back today and are you living like it? That's patience. The husbandman has patience; he is waiting for that harvest, that full expectation. He's done all that he can do and he's relying now in God's process of the law of sowing and reaping. The law of Genesis that every seed will produce after its own kind; the law of seasons, a time to sow and a time to reap--are you patiently aware of the season; the sowing, the watering, and God bringing the increase?

There is so much going on around us. Isn't it interesting that one of the prophets said in the last days they will be running to and fro. Does that sound like today? Any of you been to and fro lately? What is that talking about? It's not just talking about the fact that we can fly across the Atlantic now and get to the other side of the world in a few hours. It's talking about purposeless busyness: Where are the people who can sit quietly and hear God? We're living in a time when our children have to have all these games and mechanisms because they have to somehow be distracted; entertained. It destroys imagination. It destroys meditation, true biblical meditation. How easy do you find it to be still today? You say, "Pretty good. When I come home from running to and fro I go into a coma!" That's the problem. How about meditating day and night, muttering, taking the Word of God with you, being aware of your environment, what's going on around you. When I mean that, I don't mean up on the latest political incident. Who cares about that? The world is all taken up--or not the world, the United States--is all taken up about this lady and her feeding tube. What has that got to do with eternity? People are all emotionally involved and Christian groups--do you want to know why? Most Christians are afraid of dying. All of this political junk--I want to tell you something--if God wanted her up and around, she would be up and around! Can anyone believe that--just believe that? "Well, not without this court, not without this doctor, not without this..." Just because we have technology, do we have the moral obligation to use it? "Well, let's argue about that." I'm not going to argue about that! The point I'm making is who cares, if you are trusting God--if the Spirit of God is leading you. And if you are walking in the spirit, you may choose to use this; you may choose not to use this. What's the whole motivation? What brings glory to God? Is God the focal point? How distracted do people get? What if this same image of professed Christians--the same energy of professed Christians had been used in that same period of time of this political issue to get the gospel out? What if the same professed Christians that stood around arguing about euthanasia used all the same time and energy to preach the gospel, just over that short period of time? What am I talking about--patience, consistency, not getting distracted. We are not a people that live by sound bytes and current events; we have an ageless message, amen! We live in a world that lives for the moment. The latest sound bite, the latest crusade--how consistent--you have need of patience. Don't get distracted, stay on the course.

So when Paul is speaking here--it doesn't matter what it is--we get caught up in Super Bowl week. We think, "I am a little caught up in this and stuff, but it's only just, it's the end of the season." Now that "Super Bowl week" is over, now it's "Tiddleywinks week", and now it's "Be Kind to Secretary's Dog's week", or whatever. There is always something going on and being promoted. Everybody's got a cause. Who are we as ambassadors? What's our function? What's our real primary purpose--to proclaim this message. Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, was buried and rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures. If Jesus is not risen, your faith is in vain and you are still in your sins. If Jesus is risen, He's Lord and you need to acknowledge it. If He's Lord, you're not. Are you doing what He has told you to do? If you love Him, you'll keep His commandments and they will not be grievous. They won't be difficult. So we're distracted by the latest doctrine and the latest trend--like the Purpose Driven Church. Before the Purpose Driven Church, it was Promise Keepers. Before Promise Keepers, it was Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Before that it was Full Gospel Businessmen. Before that it was the laughing craze. Before that it was Derrick Prince and the demons casting out. Before that it--and what's coming and what do we believe? Each trend is becoming more inclusive and so now we have "Demon-chasing, Laughing, Purpose-driven, Seeker-friendly...", because it is tolerance. Because when you compromise doctrine in one place, now you have to comprise it everywhere. Be followers of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises of God (Hebrews 6:12). There is a great cloud of witnesses that has been set out, their showing us this course, who wouldn't bow a knee (Hebrews 12:1). "You started so well," Paul said, "Who's hindered you" (Galatians 5:7)?

Let me show you an example. Go over to Kings for just a moment. Let me show you something that's interesting. There's a story that some of you remember over in 1 Kings. Jeroboam is starting a religion. It has a lot of the basic fundamentalist truths, just a few variations. One of the things that I thought was interesting in Jeroboam's religion is the same thing that's missing today. A lot of the pieces were there for Israel. A lot of what Judaism could identify was still intact but there were a few changes. It's interesting that the priest that God had ordained wore on their garments this inscription, "Holiness to the Lord."

Chapter 12, verse 31 says, "And [they] made[a] house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi." Isn't that interesting? Exactly the opposite of who God had chosen. Paul says it this way, heaping to themselves teachers (2 Timothy 4:3). No longer God calling men and separating men, but men separating men. Men looking for personalities, men looking for credentials, intellect; men looking for psychologists and psychiatrists, professional men, business men, men of no conviction for the things of God. "And Jeroboam ordained a feast...and he offered [verse 33] upon the altar [which] he [had made] in Bethel...he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel..." not to the Lord. He ordained a feast to glorify, to recognize, to exalt whom? The people! Does that sound familiar? Humanism. I want to reiterate this. When you are hearing teachings today, don't ask is the guy quoting the Bible. Don't ask is he talking about the name of Jesus. Listen to how it's being applied and who is being glorified. The feast was ordained to the children of Israel. 1 Kings 13:1-3 "And, behold, there came a man of God [from] Judah by the Word of the Lord unto Bethel: and [he stood by the altar as Jeroboam went to offer] incense. And he cried against [this religion], [this] alter in the Word of Lord, and said, O alter, alter, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the alter shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out." And when Jeroboam heard it, he said somebody grab that man. He reached out and pointed to him and when he did, his hand withered. He couldn't bring it back. He cried out to the man of God and he said pray for me and he did and his arm was restored to him (1 Kings 13:4-6). Verse 7 says "and the king said to [him], Come home with me, [and let me bless you. Let me] give thee a reward." Come to the White House, let me put you on Time magazine, come and sit on my advisory board. Verse 8 "And the man of God [responded and said], If [you'll] give me half [of your kingdom], I will not go in with [you, and I won't] eat bread [with you or] drink water [with you]...: For so it was charged me by the [say it] Word of the Lord..." Look at it. "For so it was charged me by the Word of the Lord, saying, [don't eat with these people and don't return the way you came]." Don't give them any opportunity to take hold of you. So he goes another way and he's returning. Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel and his sons came and told him what happened. He said "Man, that's how it used to be in the old days, man! This is a man of God, this is the real deal; we need to have some conference with this guy." Their father said, "Which way did he go?" His sons said "Well, he went this way out of Jerusalem." They said, "We got to get him!" So he hunts him down and verse 14, "and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak [tree]:" Then he said unto him, come to my house and let's fellowship, we are both believers. We're both Christians, we both believe in the Bible. Then why weren't you crying out at the altar. Why was this being done in your back yard and you weren't saying anything about it? Don't tell me we're the same. Don't tell me you're one of us. "Come on! Let's fellowship! We're the same!" No, I can't do it; it was said to me by the Word of the Lord; thou shall not eat bread nor drink water nor turn again in this place. And he said, "Yeah, I--I know how God works and I want you to know that I'm a prophet also but just before I came to you, an angel appeared to me and said go tell this guy to come back with you." And he lied to him. He went back and he ate bread with him, and he drank water. And the Lord said, you we're able to stand against the political power but not against the whore. It was wrapped in religious jargon. What did I tell you to do?

Paul says in Galatians, whether it be myself or an angel from heaven that brings you any other messages, let him be accursed, damned to hell (Galatians 1:8-9). Paul said that about himself. There's not going to be any last day revelation that angels are going to come and bring a new message for this era. There is only one Truth. There is only one message. There is only one Church. There is only one Lord. What are we doing to be patient, to endure in this, to bring a message that nobody wants to hear anymore, that you're going to be ridiculed for, criticized? The exact opposite of what your intention is and who you are, is going to be said about you. "They are just self-righteous." They wouldn't understand true humility, which is obeying God instead of man. That's humility, obeying God instead of your own emotions. So we know the story, don't we? When he went his way, verse 23, a lion met him and killed him. What a way to end. How close are we to this finish line in this generation? He that endures until the end shall be saved. There's seduction around us in every area spiritually. It all sounds so good. You're going to be criticized for being on the outside. "What, do you think you're too good? You think you're the only person that knows the truth? You think you have all of the truth?" Are you kidding me? You've never heard me say I have all the truth; I'm just following the One that does. I'm just being told what to do and doing it. I don't have a clue where this thing is leading me. I don't have a clue where it's leading me on a daily basis but I know where I'm going to end. Are you confident in that? Can you live daily not knowing where you are going to be daily, but knowing that course will lead you to the place, ultimately, that God has promised? I don't know that path. I just know the end. I will see Him and I will be like Him, praise God! Why? Because every man that has that hope daily purifies himself from anything that even appears to be humanistic, of the world, of the kingdom of men, of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of death instead of the tree of life, fleeing from those that are wise in their own eyes, and being jealous for God. Those that endure to the end shall be saved (Matthew 24:13).

Go to Galatians and we will end with this for this morning. Chapter 1, "[Jesus] Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us [verse 4] from this present evil world... [He] Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father... I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel" (Galatians 1:6). There's another gospel being heralded in our generation as there has in every generation. The power of this message is almost irresistible. It's wrapped in Scripture and yet appeals to the flesh and glorifies the flesh and feeds the flesh and justifies the flesh. And to the nth degree of this thing, of course, and we have talked about it, you find the churches gathering that are playing "Top 40" tunes, that are having McDonalds, and their foyers--that are actually building little mini-malls for people to hang out in, that have closed circuit views of the service so that you can actually sit down in the church's Starbucks and drink your coffee and go to church watching on a screen. Never run into the same person twice in a year, and never be accountable to anybody, and be told how great you are and how great God is for making you great. Inviting people to this great church and never hearing a word about sin, hell, holiness, a cross that's daily to be born, the denying of self, the serving and preferring of others, unless it is in the Catholic-mode of works for personal justification, to feel better about yourself, an obligatory works mentally, instead of a spirit-lead spontaneous emptying of self because of tasting the cross. A freely giving because we've so freely received, but a structured, obligatory serving. Paul says "I [am amazed] that [you] are so soon [distracted] from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you other than that which we have preached unto you, let him be [damned to hell]" (Galatians 1:6-8). That's what that word accursed means, anathema. "As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:9-10). The whole motive behind most of these ministries today, as we have shared before, is based upon business procedures and the bottom-line of marketing is, meet the demand; what does the customer want. Give it to him, provide it. Whatever he thinks he wants, the customer's lust is always right. If I seek to please men, I am not the servant of Christ. Do you have what it takes to stand in the midst of this men-pleasing generation and tell people the Truth?

Father, we thank You for Your Word and the privilege of serving You. We just ask that You strengthen us as a people in this generation that would study to show ourselves approved unto God. Let us become steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord--a generation looking for the glory of God. In that fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, as Paul goes on presenting the gospel, arguing the case of the resurrection, concluding that if Christ be not risen you are yet in your sins. He ends the chapter with this verse, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58). What does steadfast mean? The Greek for steadfast metaphorically is speaking of "being fixed in purpose," be steadfast and fixed in purpose. But you see, it has to be the right purpose. Trump is fixed in a purpose. Greg LeMond is fixed in a purpose in his eastern religion that drives him to win these races; people admire him for his great strength. It's humanistic; it's demonic. He's got a god that he is serving with all his heart and he's successful. Wrong god. Trump's got the wrong god. Sincere, committed, convinced. Muslims have the wrong god. Pope had the wrong god. These are committed folks. And then some of us who have been introduced to the truth are just strolling around. What if we put the effort that a Greg LeMond, a Donald Trump put into worshipping their gods? Be steadfast; unmovable. The word steadfast means to be "sedentary." You're just not moving off this position. Some of us, it applies to the sofa, but it should apply to our doctrine. That's what patience is. In a generation where men are being tossed to and fro. Father, make it real we ask, be glorified in our lives in Jesus' name, amen!

Let's stand before the Lord. As Gary plays for us, we'll take just a moment and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our heart, stir us in our pursuit, as we count loss the things we used to count gain, as we press toward the mark, the prize; the high-calling of God. Do you have the same treasure or have you been distracted? Are you consistently just pursuing the same course day after day? "Well, I need variety, you know. I need a little bit of laughing over here, a little bit of casting out over there, and I need a little bit a boogying over here. I need variety." Not me! Just give me steak and potatoes every day, same thing every day: the consistent pursuit. Don't need the pomp and circumstance, just to hear a word "well done." Not looking for the praises of men, but God. Same treasure. Let's sing it together and worship Him. Father gives us the understanding of this course, of Your purpose and the privilege of this calling, and help us to honor You we ask, In Jesus' name, Amen. Turn to somebody next to you and say, "You have need of patience." Amen! Go in peace. God's love go with you.

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