Exercising True Faith: A Chorus of Virtues Part 1 - 2 Peter 1:5-11

1:22Minimalists are truly in the faith. You can hardly tell. And you have to really answer. Analyze and scrutinize, and you really, at the end of the day, you can't be certain where they really are or where they'll spend eternity. My question is: are you sure that you belong to Christ? Are you sure you are in the faith? Well, this passage answers the question: how you can grow in your assurance, how you can know and understanding and be certain and growing certainty that you belong to him. So, just as kind of an overline of these, of verses 5 through 11, if you'll notice, first of all, there is this command, a command, a command to supply through, now for this very reason, apply all diligence in your faith, supply, supply through diligent command. Then, the next section lists seven virtues, seven virtues, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. It runs through verse 7. And then he gives you two reasons. Supply these things to your faith, these seven good reasons. For if these qualities are yours and increasing, they will render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the Christ. Then he goes on again in verse 9: For he who lacks these qualities is blind and short-sighted. And I tell you, it's not ever good to be called blind or short-sighted. Two very good reasons to put these seven virtues on, to be growing in these. And then he, verse 10, restates. The first command. Diligent. You see that? Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you. And then in verses 10 and 11, he gives another two reasons. Command. Then he gives seven virtues. And then he gives two good reasons why you should seek to be diligent in these virtues. The command again. And then he gives another two reasons. And these reasons of verse 10, for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble. Wow. Now there's a promise. And then, for in this way, the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior will be abundantly supplied to you. So the first command is, you supply diligence in your faith. And at the end, he's saying, and if you do this, verse 11, the entrance of heaven will be abundantly supplied to you. You abundantly supply, and the Lord abundantly supplies.

3:55See idea. But notice the words in, notice the words these in verses 8, 9, and 10. Notice the promises that these possess these qualities. For, look, verse 8, these. For these qualities. For if these qualities are yours. Again, in verse 9, if these qualities, short-sighted. And then verse 10, for as long as you practice these things. So you've got these qualities, these qualities, these things. Very important. This passage is about these things, these qualities. What are these things? Well, they refer back to verse 7, or they refer back to the seven virtues of verses 5 through 7.

4:45And I will call these virtues a chorus of virtues, a chorus of virtues. And so this morning, I want us to look at these verses 5 through 7 and come away with an understanding of these things or these virtues, so that you will make sure that you are neither useless or unfruitful, so that you are not blind or short-sighted, so that you will never stumble, and so that the entrance to the kingdom of heaven, the eternal kingdom, will be abundantly supplied to you, and you will have assurance.

5:23So, since Peter is speaking very directly to his audience, I'm going to do the same. My outline is going to follow the same direct address. First of all, apply diligence to your faith. Apply diligence to your faith. Look at verse 5. Now, for this very reason, this very reason, when you see that, look back. He's referring to something. For this reason, look back to verses 3 and 4. Remember, we've been talking about this the last couple of weeks, these divine grants that God has given to every believer. You remember grant number one in verse three that Jesus. Jesus Christ has granted to you everything you need for life and godliness. Grant number two, Jesus Christ has granted you His precious and magnificent promises in verse 4 with a purpose. If you see at the end of verse 4, so that, so that by them you may become partakers of his divine nature, a sharer, a fellowshipper with his divine nature, so that you will continue to escape that corruption which is in the world because of lust.

6:34So God grants these promises, and they are the basis of a life of faith. You see, life isn't about just getting through and then getting to the very end and hoping you're saved. As if everything of life is all about working to salvation. No, life begins with salvation. And he gives you these promises so that you can truly live life. You see, God has given all the power and all the provision necessary for a holy life. God has granted you all of these things.

7:13He's granted these things to you in salvation. And if you are in Christ, you possess an inner dynamic which impels you towards a holy life. God's divine nature grants the desire, His divine nature. Divine nature grants you the desire for a holy life, and his power enables you to live that life. So, for this very reason, because this is yours in Christ, therefore, apply all diligence, mature in your faith, grow in your faith. The word for diligence is the, it's in the place of emphasis, and it's the noun. It's the noun, and he says, diligence. Apply it, so to speak. Diligence, it's in the place of emphasis, and it means to make haste, be eager, do your best, take care, see to it, be diligent.

8:21It's the word in Luke 1:39. As soon as Gabriel had announced to Mary that she was going to bear the son of God and the ruler over David's throne, Mary rose and went in a hurry. See, Elizabeth, a hurry. You get the idea? Diligence. She made haste. She went quickly. And that's the idea here. Make haste. Be diligent. Quickly. Word for applying is to bring something along something else. Like to bring something in, to apply, to bring it in, to supply in addition to provide something necessary.

9:11You know, and I've told you about our homeschool at times on our first day of the year. Line up the kids, and I start speaking to them like a drilled sergeant. They line up. We take roll call. Okay, what do I expect out of you guys this year? What do I expect? And the answer that they're supposed to give me is, our very best. Our very best. So I say, do I expect a C minus out of you? No. What do I expect? Our very best. And then I'll trip them up and say, Do I expect an A plus out of you? No. What do I expect? Our very best. That's another way of saying apply all diligence. For some, if you apply all diligence and you come away with a B, I'm very happy with that. If that's your very best, if you do excellent, but you haven't applied your very best. You have not carried out what I desire in my homeschool, right? In Mountain Meadow Academy. I'm sorry, it's not a homeschool, it's an academy. Even though there's no mountains, there's no meadow. But anyway.

10:27But it's another way of saying, I desire your very best. Very best. And this is what God is saying. This is what Peter is saying. Apply your very best to your faith. And then he uses this word supply, which is a fascinating, fascinating verb. It comes from the word chorygos. It's the word we get choir from, and it refers to the leader of a choir. This word was used to speak of a certain group of people that would put on these huge performances. In the glory days of Athens, there were these masterful plays that were produced. It celebrated the arts, celebrated the culture, celebrated the religions of the Greco-Roman world. And these were some huge productions, notorious, in fact. And they required large choruses, and they were very expensive to produce. And so Athens had, like the Aggies, a very spirited-minded citizenship. Okay? You know, like Texas AM, we've got some very spirited-minded Aggies out there, alumni, right? It's kind of like, okay, you want a football stadium here? We'll give you the money, right?

11:54Very spirited. In fact, I guess the moral of the whole story, and I think the Aggies are. Alumni are some of the most intense givers to the university. It's profound what they will give. I think the moral to the story is: if you're going to start a university, make sure you have a petroleum engineering department. For sure. For sure. Well, Athens had some of these spirited-minded citizens who were really into the play. And some of these citizens, it was necessary in order for a play to come off, or one of these big productions, they'd have to have individuals who would voluntarily take it upon themselves the duty of collecting all the resources, training all the individuals for the event, and to underwrite the whole thing. And they would do so out of their own pockets. So, in order for there to be a performance, there had to be these individuals who would step up to the plate and take on the duties and the responsibilities and saying, whatever it takes, it's going to happen. These were called corigoi.

13:06And the idea involves a certain lavishness to it. It never means to supply or equip in a cheap way, just the minimalist. But these individuals were always there to give whatever it took, and they gave lavishly to make sure that a noble performance took place. Well, to some degree, I mean, if you've been around EBC, you've witnessed, I can probably embarrass a couple, but certainly Patricia Lasseter. I've watched her through the years leading a choir for the PGM choir. And if you've ever up here on Friday and seen this large homeschool choir come together, and others, it's not just solely homeschool, I guess. But the idea is I've watched her through the years just put whatever resources it takes into it to make it happen. And there have been a ton of other people that have played a very huge role as well, but she makes it happen.

14:08Seen Pat do the same thing. Pat Johnson, so two Pats, right? Two Koragoy, right? Doing whatever is necessary to make sure this thing comes off. And this is exactly what Peter is saying to all of us. For this very reason, apply all diligence in your faith. That is to lavishly furnish your soul with everything necessary to excel in the highest virtues. Lavishly furnish your soul with everything necessary. And this is the imperative command: supply everything you need. And it comes through diligence. Diligence. Supply is the command. Applying all diligence is the way you do it. You are to lavishly and generously supply your soul with the ability to excel. In the high virtues, applying all diligence, hastily, quickly, not recklessly, but diligently, and right away. Think of it this way: God is looking for such chorus leaders today, chorus leaders who will supply all diligence to develop a chorus of virtues in their own life and then put that life on display. That's what He is looking for. This is what He has called you to. This is the calling in your life. This is what He has called you to do.

15:41You see, your profession is really not your calling, at least with a capital C anyway. No, this is your calling, to lavishly supply your soul with all diligence so that you will grow in your faith and Christ-likeness. That's the show He wants to put on. Christ-like individual. And you are to be that choir master. You may be called to be in different things in life. I would not put those as a calling with a capital C. This is your calling. You may be called to be a father, a wife, but that is an occupation. The end result is not just that you be a father, but you be one that does so excellently.

16:30You may be called to married life. You may be called to be single. You may be called to be an engineer. You may be called to be a secretary, a mason. You may be called to be a professor. Some of you are called to be students right now, right? Well, the idea is for you to excel in the virtue in whatever station in life God has placed you. But your calling is to excel. We need people, we need fathers, wives, husbands, students, people in all forms of society, all stations of society, to be excellent and excel in virtue. This is the beautiful life. All of God plus all of you.

17:22It's an incredible, incredible thing that Peter is laying out here. We play an active role in our sanctification. God has justified us, and thus monergistically. But we are to participate in our sanctification synergistically. We bring our diligence into God's presence. This is what we bring in. And we place it right before God, what God has done. We place it alongside what He has done. Not to justify us, but to participate in that sanctifying work of the Spirit. And this is the loving response to all that God has done.

18:13And this involves a relationship with him. He gave all. And you bring all your diligence and lay it right there with him. It's beautiful. You see, diligence is the means to promote growth in your faith. And as your faith matures, look at verse 10. You become more and more certain about his calling and choice of you. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent. There's that command again: to make certain about his calling and choosing you. God has given you a clean slate in life through his work on the cross. And each day, as Lamentations 3:22 says, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, and great is his faithfulness. Each day is a new day.

19:12Luther said it like this: You have a good heritage and a good field. Take care that you do not let thistles and weeds grow in it. Apply all diligence. Apply all diligence to your faith. Next, I want to look at. The seven virtues. Applying diligence in all of these virtues. This is the chorus of virtues that I mentioned to you. Notice faith leads the chorus. Before you can become like God, you've got to believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Notice that love is the grand finale. Faith has its culminating accomplishment in love, agape love.

20:00So I just want to walk through these. Walk through these, this chorus of virtues that you are to diligently develop in your own life. First is moral excellence. Look at verse 5. For now, for this very reason, applying all diligence in your faith, supply moral excellence. The term is the supreme virtue, or it's the term for supreme virtue in the fullest sense. It describes outstanding moral character. It's the umbrella term, moral excellence. Paul uses it in Philippians 4:8 when he says, Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is a good repute, if there is any excellence, dwell on these things. It's the idea. Peter already has used this term in verse 3, speaking about the drawing. Power who has called us by his own glory and excellence. We were drawn to Christ's glory and excellence. And so, in context, what Peter is saying here is that moral excellence is a direct reference to Christ's likeness.

21:20Christ's likeness is what characterizes the divine nature. Christ-likeness is moral excellence. And he has been manifested to us. So, we are to quickly, with all haste and all diligence, strive to be like Christ. We are to mimic those qualities that first drew us to him. Second, knowledge. Look at applying all diligence in your faith, supplying moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge. Now, Peter has already used this word a couple of times. Look in verse 2: grace and peace be multiplied to you. How is it going to be multiplied to you? In the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. And then in verse 3, seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of him.

22:16Knowledge. He's already spoken of it. And here he's speaking of a practical knowledge. There's the word for wisdom, Sophia, which is the skill of living, the right application of knowledge, or the Skill of life in the larger picture, but here gnosis is used, which speaks about a practical knowledge. Grow in your knowledge of God. Grow in your knowledge of Christ and His Word. And the more you know about God, the greater basis you have of faith. So you supply knowledge to your faith, and your faith will mature and grow. Think of knowledge as a launching pad for your faith. Okay, think of it as a launching pad. The greater your knowledge of God, the greater your launching pad, or the greater launching points you have in life, so to speak, to launch off in faith. The more you know about God, the more you will trust Him. It's important to notice here that faith and knowledge go hand in hand. Knowledge is going to keep your faith on target. It's going to keep you from unbiblical pendulum swings. Understand the word. It'll keep your faith on target from getting carried away.

23:38And what he's saying is, use your minds. Use your minds. Grow in your knowledge of God. Grow in your knowledge of yourself. Get to know yourself a little. Study yourself, your weaknesses, your limitations, your surroundings. Get to know yourself. Listen, if I get up early in the morning, I know it's not. Good for me to enter into a deep theological or any kind of conversation after 9 p.m. It's not going to be profitable. I know myself. Learn from the successes and failures of others. Wow. Study the world around you. Study those around you. Pay attention.

24:20Increase your knowledge, your experiential knowledge. You see, knowledge enables us to develop a correct insight into all circumstances and to know the moral quality of the people that are in your lives. You need to grow in knowledge so that you will grow in your ability to discern what is right versus what is wrong, so that you'll know the difference between what is true and what is false, what is profitable and what is unprofitable, and what is encouraging and what is hurtful. You need knowledge. Grow in your knowledge. Study your routine and make proper adjustments so that moral excellence will prevail in your life.

25:04Use your minds and let your biblically informed mind control your passions. That's what Peter is saying here. In your faith, supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control. Do not be a person driven by passion, but by knowledge. Biblical knowledge of who God is. Self-control. The idea of self-control literally means to take a grip on oneself. Literally, we might say, get a grip. You heard that, right? Well, that's the idea of this word. Get a grip. Get a hold of yourself. Get a grip.

25:48You see, reason based on true knowledge is to control the believer. The opposite is a state in which reason is entirely servant to passion. Welcome to our society. Welcome to where we're going. Unbridled lust, where passion controls the mind, not mind controls the passion. And this is what causes the corruption in the world. He's already said this. Look back at verse 4. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Question: What is the predominant controlling factor in your life? Is it a biblically informed mind, or is it your passion? Passion, unbridled lust.

26:37So the word carries an idea of self-restraint, self-control, self-restraint, but it also carries the idea of self-discipline. As Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 9:25, everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. It's the idea here. And there was a strict code of training in the Olympic Games of the day. The athletes. Would take solemn vows and they would go into training and they would abstain from unwholesome food, unwholesome and wine, and all other manner of things because they were in training. So a Christian must exercise self-discipline in all circumstances.

27:19And what he's going to show as he goes on in this book is that a lack of self-control is a characteristic of bad theology and false teachers. This is how you're going to be able to distinguish true and false teachers. Loose morals and fleshly entertainment, it demonstrates a lack of true knowledge and maybe even a lack of faith altogether. Worldliness is a sign to be concerned, not something to be excused. And slap it under the name grace, where there is a progression in fleshly, in the fleshly mindset or in the fleshly morals. It's not a cause for celebration or defense, but a cause for worry and concern and to self-evaluate where you really are. But see, those movements that divorce faith from conduct are governed by bad theology at best.

28:26Next, perseverance. Look back. Look at the next virtue in your faith. Faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance. You see, perseverance involves self-control over the long haul. It endures the temptations, the trials, and the difficulties of life while maintaining a vibrant faith in God. It speaks of endurance, an enduring faith, that no matter what life throws at you, there is this calm and consistent confidence that God is sovereign, God is good, and He is in control, and He is working this out for my good, even if I can't see it just yet.

29:05You see, perseverance is not mere acceptance, it involves eyes of faith, knowing that God has a good purpose for everything that life throws at us, and even the worst events. Hebrews 12:2, you remember Jesus fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross. Persevered the cross. Why? He knew the goal. And he was able to endure. He is the example of us to persevere, even in the worst of events. We are to persevere in diligence as well. Right? It's easy to, after hearing a sermon like this, to all of a sudden think and be strong for a day or two, right? I'm going to go be diligent. And then this time tomorrow, after. Afternoon, you're kind of already slacking off. And the idea is to persevere, even in diligence. Remain strong in hardship. Remain strong in sacrifice and unpleasant toil. You will experience this in life and in ministry. But our faith is to endure and remain strong, knowing the goal.

30:24Next virtue in the list is godliness. Look at it. Applying all diligence. Supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness. The word godliness, we've already seen this word before, for reverence. It means, in verse 3, God has already granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness. Godliness refers to a respect for everything that's God, from God, a reverence for God, a respect of everything that belongs to Him.

31:04Reverence and obedience, godliness. And He's speaking about practical godliness. Practical godliness. What does practical godliness look like? Well, you practice practical godliness when you are fully mindful of God's presence in every situation. Practical godliness is life in the very presence of God. Everything. Moment of it in the very presence of God. That is godliness. The man who has godliness always worships God, and he always gives him his due. But he also correctly relates to his fellow man, and he gives his fellow man their due as well. And that's where he goes. In your faith, supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and then self-control, and then perseverance, and then godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness. See the development here? The word is Philadelphia, which literally means the love of the brethren, love of the family of God. You are to grow in your love for one another as fellow believers in Christ. There needs to be a progression of love towards one another, to everyone who has been born of God. There needs to be a progression. Grow in this, grow in your love. And it's great because we're not all there yet, but the command here is to be growing in it and to apply all diligence to see that you do grow in it without skipping these others' virtues. If you start taking knowledge out or if you start taking godliness out, brotherly kindness doesn't seem the same tune.

32:53It's a compromising kindness. He's telling us to beware of any form of Christianity that tolerates being unkind to any believer of Christ. You need to be aware of any form of Christianity that may be in your own heart that tolerates being unkind to any Christian. Beware of seeing the needs of your brothers and sisters as an intrusion into your life or into an intrusion into your Bible study or your prayers or your service to God. They are not. That is why you're here. They're not an intrusion. They're the main thing.

33:36You remember the lawyer stood up in Luke chapter 10 and he said, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And he said to him, What's written in the law? How does it read to you? And he answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. He had his theology really down. He knew the Bible. He knew what it said. And then Jesus said, Do this, and you will live. Go out and do it. And then he says, Okay, who's my neighbor? And then he jumps into this famous parable of the Good Samaritan. Let me just read a little bit of it to you. Jesus replied and said, A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and they went away, leaving him half dead. And by chance, a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side of the road. See, he got. In the way of what the priest was going to do. And so he had to go to the other side. Then a Levite came. And when he came to the place and saw him, he passed by on the other side of the road. So both the priest and the Levites saw this beat-up man as an intrusion into their godliness, into their service to God. And so they avoided him. But a Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him, and when he saw him, he felt compassion and came and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. And he took out two denarii, and he put him on his beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will return and I will repay you. So Jesus says, Which of these do you think was a neighbor to this robber? And he said, The one who showed mercy to him. And Jesus said, Go and do the same.

35:27You see, it was the Samaritan who acted like that choir master of old, making sure that everything was taken care of and all the details were in place so that this beat-up man could have a complete recovery. That's what brotherly kindness looks like. You see, there's something really wrong with your religion if you see the needs of people in your life as a nuisance. And sometimes the needs are physical, but almost always the needs are spiritual, and at times they can. Be very, very taxing. The physical ones are easy, but usually they're just a window into the spiritual need.

36:10And Peter has already said something about this. In 1 Peter 1:22, he says, fervently love one another from the heart. You see, you cannot build a church that will endure on people who will not show kindness to one another. That's why brotherly kindness is so important in God's mind. You see, true knowledge leads to good theology, which leads to showing kindness to the household of faith. So be diligent to add to your godliness brotherly kindness. And then there's the grand finale: love.

36:48Diligence. To your diligence, supply moral excellence, and then knowledge, and then self-control, and then perseverance, and then godliness. And in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. This word is agape. It's that unselfish, sacrificial love of the will. It's a set will set on the well-being of others. Be selfish. And it extends beyond those who think like you do. It goes beyond the pale of believers, and it includes even those who are hostile to. Your faith. This is incredible words from a man who's about to be crucified upside down.

37:39He knows it's coming. And here he is saying, Love. Love even your enemies. Matthew 5, 44, Jesus says this, But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rains on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore, you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

38:22God loves everyone. And beware of any theology that would tell you different. God loves everybody. And you are to mimic this love. Be perfect and be like him. But this agape love, it's directed at the world, but it is ultimately directed at God. This is the fulfillment of the law. Deuteronomy 6:4 says this, Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Might.

39:02Faith is the beginning point of love. Faith is the beginning point of love. And this is the chorus. For this reason, apply all diligence. In your faith, supply moral excellence. And in your moral excellence, knowledge. And in your knowledge, self-control. And in your self-control, perseverance. And in your perseverance, godliness. And in your godliness, brotherly kindness. And in your brotherly kindness, love. See, one of the best medicines for your life is diligence. If you will be active about the things that God has called you to, it's the best medicine.

39:43Diligence is our response to God's love. And I see so many ailments in our society today, so many people dealing with all kinds of issues, from depression to all kinds of other disorders. And I can tell you, one of the best medicines is diligence in these things that Peter has laid before us. I remember when I was young and sent away to live with my grandmother for a little while, I remember she would have us up, have me up very early in the morning. It'd still be dark out, and she'd come in there, get out of that bed. What are you doing laying in the bed this time of day? Well, it's still dark outside, you know. Get out of that bed, and she'd pull the covers off. And I'm like, I'm up, I'm up. So we had this kind of routine in our little world there. If I got up before she did, and maybe 4 in the morning, 4:30, I'd go in there. And grandma, what are you doing laying in bed this time of day? It's get out of that bed. What are you doing laying in? That's what I want to know. And she'd jump out of bed and get to work. You know, that was our life there. But the idea is: get up, get diligent, be diligent in these things. Add to your faith moral excellence. Supply these things. Lavishly supply your life with all diligence so that you will grow in your faith.

40:59The question becomes: why should we love God like this? Well, the answer is because He first loved us like this. I told this story earlier this week, but about a hundred years ago, there was a construction accident. This building was going up, and there was this, as it was being constructed, there was a scaffold that was set up, and the building engineer came out, climbed up on about the third story, and he tripped and fell. And below was a laborer who saw him falling, took his position underneath, embraced himself, and took the full impact of this man's fall. And it crushed nearly every bone in his body, literally crushing him. And this is what Isaiah says about Christ. He was pierced through for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, and the chastening of our well-being fell upon him. And by his scourging, we were healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall upon him.

42:13What was remarkable is that even though the impact of the engineer fractured pretty much every bone in this laborer's body, he survived the impact. Yet he had severe disabilities. And years later, a reporter caught up with him and asked him how the engineer had treated him since the accident. The man said, Well, he gave me half of all he owns, including his share in the business. And he is constantly concerned about my needs. He never lets me want for anything. Almost every day, he gives me some token of thanks.

42:52You see, we are to demonstrate our gratitude to Christ by applying diligence and cultivating this chorus of virtue in our lives. We love him because he first loved us. My concern this morning is that we will walk away from here without the diligence, like Mary, and make haste to go implement these things so that we don't fall away. Let us not leave here this morning like a person who looks in a mirror and forgets what he loves. Looks like.

43:32Let us be diligent to obey this. Let's just make haste. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for your great grace. We thank you for your promises, your grants. We thank you for your work and salvation that you have given us that we might truly live a life before you of faith. God, you have done all this so that we might truly live, live abundantly, partaking in the divine nature. Father, help us not to forget these words today. Help us even now start to apply all diligence. Show us specifically what that need means in our daily routines. Show us, Lord, how our routines need to change so that they will be an environment where we will grow our faith.

44:34We ask for you to insert yourself into our lives this morning. In Jesus' name, amen.