Christ Daily (1 Corinthians 16)

[Music] Will the Lord be with you?

If you have a Bible, and I hope you or someone around you does, would you turn with me? We are going to be in 1 Corinthians this morning, chapter 16, which this will actually be our final sermon in our series where we've been working through this letter together. And if you've been with us through this series, what you find is that Paul is writing to a church in the city of Corinth. And that this church has a number of issues. That this is a a greatly divided church. This is not the church you typically would want to go and attend on a Sunday morning. And what we find is that they have issues when it comes to division, when it comes to um their value system, when it comes to sexual ethics, uh the Lord's supper, spiritual gifts, gender practices, the order of the service, so many different issues in this church. And so what we find is that Paul is just addressing each of these issues one at a time. And what you find is that this makes this letter theologically rich. If you've been with us through the series, it really starts to hit home on so many different issues. And you'll notice that it kind of, you know, makes you have to really assess your own worship, assess your own church, think about the other churches in the area, because what you find is that Paul, he's not just talking to these Corinthian Christians. He's talking to us. And you'll notice that he's going to hit home with you somewhere in this. He's going to convict you in some areas. And ultimately, he's trying to bring them back to their identity in Christ. Because if you aren't intentional with your relationship with Jesus, you're going to find yourself shifting and moving with the current of culture. And that's exactly what these Corinthians were doing. They were going with the world. They were going with the culture. And it was affecting their worship and their own relationships. And so Paul has been calling them back to unity in Jesus Christ.

And and last week, if you remember, we finished chapter 15, which really the chapter 15 is the climax of this book because what we find here is that is where our ultimate hope, our foundation, our identity is. And it's found in the gospel of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins according to the scriptures, was buried, and then rose on the third day according to the scriptures and then was seen by numerous eyewitnesses. That is the foundation of our faith. If we do not have a resurrection, we do not have a savior. If we do not have a resurrection, we do not have a faith. Nothing we do here matters if Jesus is not risen. But then Paul goes on to say, "But because he is risen, because we know that it is true, because Paul literally encountered him, experienced the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, we have everything to live for because Christ is risen. Everything matters. Anything is possible now for us. And so our hope is to live today in light of the resurrection. to live in light of the future hope which we will all be glorified. You in Christ will be perfected in the future when Christ returns. There will be no more sin, no more sorrow, no more suffering. Your body will not age. You will radiate the glory of Christ and you will be with him in his kingdom forever. That is our hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That you have an everlasting kingdom, an eternal life with the God of all creation. That is what we have to live for. And so then Paul ends chapter 15 in verse 58. He says, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast and movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." And so he closes 15 with saying this. Because of this reality, because Christ is risen, because the gospel is so good and so true, everything we do in this life is not in vain. Your life, your labor is not in vain. And so, we are to work for the Lord. We are to live every day for Christ.

And so, as we look to chapter 16 now this morning, I think that's what we see Paul doing. I think that's exactly what's going on here. Because in in this final chapter and you'll notice it's going to be a little bit more practical and you might be like reading this and like I don't really see how you know because it's not as like theological. It's not as doctrinal. He's not going to give you these theological teachings and here's what you need to think about and do and and this is how we think about God. But rather it's just really really practical about what he's going to be doing in the next few weeks and months. And he's talking about, you know, he's it's a closing of the letter, right? It's his final exhortations. It's his his greetings and his and his farewell. And you're like, can we really any get anything out of this 2,000 years later as as Christians? And I think what you'll find here is if you kind of eliminate that notion from your mind and just are just open to hearing what God's word says. Because by the way, chapter 16 is just as inspired as chapter 15. It's so important that we understand that this is God breathed. What Paul is writing here is for the church universal. And so what you're going to find, I think, is that this, though practical, is deeply spiritual. And I think what it's going to do is show how following Christ is lived every day in the ordinary rhythms. And that's why I've named this or entitled this sermon Christ daily. Because what you see is in light of the resurrection, our labor is not in vain. And so here is what Paul is doing. See what I'm saying? Because of what he just has been teaching them and showing them. He is now showing what his life looks like moving forward day by day. And you're going to see that he starts to talk about, okay, here's what you need to do as a church. I'm going to be going through Macedonia and I want to come and I want to stay with you during the winter and here's some things that you need to make sure that you can keep these relationships and submit to this lead leadership and make sure that you're thinking about the ultimate thing which is Christ. All of these things are practical daily living following Christ. And so what I've done is I've broken this sermon into three applications. And if you have a a bulletin and you like to fill out notes, there's an interactive outline there. But I've just have three blanks with daily following each of them. And I think what these are are rhythms in our lives that are evidence in how we follow and relate to Jesus in our daily life.

And so the first thing in verses 1 to4 what I think Paul shows us and if you can push me forward there Richard in verses 1 to4 I think what we find is that we are called to give daily. In verse one it says, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also." See, what Paul is doing here is he's dealing with some business now, right? He's been giving them their the answers to some of their questions. He's been addressing some of their concerns, but now he says, "Now, here's something you need to make sure you were mindful of as a church." And what he says here is he instructs these Corinthians to set aside specific gifts for the saints. And this is for the saints in the city of Jerusalem. Once again, Jerusalem is where the Christian movement begins, right? So, you have you have Jesus is crucified. you see that he's resurrected and then you see Pentecost that's where all of these Jews hear the message for the first time that Christ is risen and then from that location from that central hub we see that Christianity starts to expand. So in this city, this is where the beginning of Christianity began. And so what we find here is that due to the persecution and due to a severe famine as well as the Roman occupation, we find that this church and and these saints in this area, they are deeply and greatly impoverished. And so he is encouraging these gentile Christians to help support these Jewish Christians. And so what we find here is that giving was a regular part of the early church's worship. And I it's actually interesting because sometimes you don't even see the subtleties. There's so many things that you just learn about the early church if you just are careful as you read because it even makes it clear that they were meeting on the first day of the week, right? There's not a command meet on the first day of the week. But it's just you see how they are always doing this. That was what was expected. And here he says, "As you are coming together on the first day of the week, let each one of you lay something aside." So notice that each of you, by the way, this isn't the elders. This isn't the the richest among you, but he says each of you set aside a portion. He doesn't say how much, but he he does say that each of you and when you come together for worship, set apart a certain portion to support your brothers who are in need. And so, as I said, I think that this shows us that this was a regular part of their worship. You see other times where Paul is collecting things to help another ministry to meet needs. And I think likewise, we as the church need to understand that giving is a part of our worship. And and if you know me, you know that I don't talk about money very often when it comes to, you know, giving. And not every sermon is about giving. And this even this whole sermon is not just about giving. So don't hear that. And in fact, we don't even pass the offering plates apart from the last Sunday of the month. We have an offering box out there. And I don't even deal with the money here at our church. I don't know what you give. And I I don't want to know what you give. And I'm never going to ask you, hey, have you given this percentage to the church? You will never hear that. But we do need to look at God's word. And whenever the the Bible does talk about giving, we also need to recognize God's word. Amen. We need to recognize what God says. And here he is showing us that these early Christians had needs. And Paul was expecting that these churches were going to step up and that they were going to meet some of these needs. But I think this goes beyond just money. By the way, as we're talking about giving, when we think about our worship, and I think we as as consumeristic materialists, you know, American Christians, sometimes we forget this, but worship is not about getting. Worship is about giving. Do you realize that when you come to church, it's not what can this church offer me? What did I get out of it? You hear that a lot, right? What did you what did you get out of the sermon, right? What what did you and I'm not saying that all of that is wrong, of course, but it's just that that's just our immediate default mindset. What did I personally get? Did was I emotionally moved? But rather than was God glorified? Did I come and give my best? Did I give my offering? Did I did I give my abilities? See, worship is about giving. Ultimately, it's offering your time, your attention, and your abilities to God and his people. That's what worship is. And that's what we are called to do. And once again, he is talking here about on the the first Sunday, you meet this need. And of course, there are opportunities to come on a Sunday to give like that. But we are called to give daily because you are called to give your time, your attention, your abilities or or sometimes in those who go through membership we talk about your time, your talents and your treasures, right? For alliteration purposes. We are to give these things in all that we do because every day is worship. Everything you do is meant to glorify God. And so when we look to Romans 12:1, we now see how this makes sense. It says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." So what is Paul saying? He he is beseeching he he's earnestly begging them imploring them that they as believers would present their bodies that is who they are their entire being as a living sacrifice to God. See Christ offered himself to be a sacrifice so that we could now be living sacrifices. So that means you are to offer all that you have in worship to God. That means you are called to give every single day. And what we find is that when you do this and you are devoting it to Christ, that means that everything that we give is worship to Jesus. When you give to a church that is faithfully honoring the great commission and the biblical mandates that we are called to, that is a gift to Jesus. When you see someone that is homeless or impoverished or if you are feeding someone that is in need, that is ultimately meeting the need for Jesus. When you share the gospel, you are honoring Jesus. All of these things are ultimately acts of worship. And so we as the church, we must be radically generous, radically giving when it comes to our our time, our talents, and our treasures. You cannot be someone that just gets all the time. You have to be someone that is actively giving. And as we talk about this, it's so important that you hear this. God cares so much more about the heart of the giver than the size of the gift. God doesn't need your money. God doesn't need any one of us ultimately for his purposes. He can do anything he wants whenever he wants. But he has elected to bring us into his mission and purposes that he has by his grace offered us this opportunity and privilege that we can now walk and work alongside of him. And so it is so much more that we focus on devotion rather than on obligation. And that's what we see in 2 Corinthians. So just think this is written to the same group of believers a little bit later in chapter 9:7. And it says, "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver." See, he's not going to do it by obligation. He's not going to say, "You got to give me this much right now." He says, "I want your heart." If you love God, you love his church. And if you love his church, you want to support the ongoing work of the ministries. And if you love God, you'll love his image bearers. And we see every single soul is an image bearer. And if you expect people to have their needs met, if you truly care about them, you're going to be someone that will give. Now, once again, we're not talking about a dollar amount. We're not even talking simply about money. But if you truly have a heart for people, if you have a heart for God, you're going to be someone who is giving, not out of obligation, but out of love and devotion.

Now, as we talk about giving, and I know that it can be so, you know, icky sometimes when you feel about a church talking about giving, I think it's also important that we recognize there needs to be accountability for churches and for leaders when it comes to giving, especially when we're talking about money. And in verses 3 to4, you see that actually because what you find is that when you give, you have a right to know where the money goes. Verses 3 to4, he is talking about them appointing certain people that they respect and trust and that there will be accountability both on Paul's side and on these saints' side that they're going to go together so that both of them are going to be checking each other. And so that's another good thing that we have here as a church is that if you want to know something, if you are a member of our church, by the way, you have a right to our finances. You have a right to know what we do. And we give an annual report. If you become a member, you are welcome to to bring and ask for the the elders to come together. If you have a concern or a question about our mission fund, any of us are open books. We are happy to discuss those things. And if you have a church that is not comfortable with doing that to the members of the church, that is a problem. There needs to be accountability. And if you are a saint supporting the work of ministry, you have a right to know what's going on with the ministry. That's why we love to have our mission partners come and give us a mission update or a mission report because we want to know, okay, we've supported you. What is going on there? So likewise, you if you give to a church or a ministry or anything you give, you have a right to know where the money, where the time, where the effort, where that is being spent. But if we do this right, if we give daily to the glory of God with our time, our talents, and our treasures, and if we have people holding us lovingly accountable, do you know what it does? Giving meets the needs of others, it advances the gospel, and it blesses the church. And I'm sure many of us probably would say amen to those things. Do you want to see that in your life, in your church, in your community? Do you want to see people's needs being met? I do. I know there's times where my needs need to be met and I need help. It's a blessing when people meet needs. That doesn't happen without people giving. Do you want to see the gospel being advanced? Sometimes people don't care about the message you have to share with them unless you have a cup of water for them first. They might be cold and need clothing, but you're like, "Well, I know you're cold, but let me just pray for you really quick, and I'm just going to walk away." No. When you meet these needs, it allows for gospel conversations. And then finally, it blesses the church. You know, we you know, it's it's better to give than to receive. Jesus even said that. Those are the words of our Lord. And we know, and if you've done this in your life, you know it really does bless you. Not only does it bless the person that does benefit from the gift, but to be the giver itself, it truly is a blessing. And so if we want these things, we must give daily.

So that then moves to verses 5 to 12 where we then see not only should we give daily, but we need to plan daily. Because here's the thing. If you think, "Oh yeah, I'm going to give." But you don't have any intentionality. And if you aren't planning, if you're not purposeful, then you know what your giving is going to be like. It's not going to be systematic. It's going to be sporadic. And there are people that that's what they do. They give sporadically because they aren't intentional. They don't think and plan. They aren't purposeful. But when we look here now, moving on just beyond the the topic of giving here in verses 5 to 12, what you see is that Paul now starts to give all of his personal plans. See, this is once again how it's practical but still deeply theological. See, we see that Paul considers where he is going to go, who he will meet up with, and what he will do while he is there. Isn't that interesting? He's already thinking weeks, months in advance. I'm going through Macedonia. I'm going to meet up with uh and stay with the church of Ephesus until Pentecost. I'm going to want to spend time with you in the winter months. We have Timothy who is coming to be with you right now. He's on the way. Apollos can't be there right now. We have all of these different things that's going on. And Paul is just constantly planning. He's thinking about these things. Now, check your heart. Examine your life. Are you like Paul here? Are you intentionally planning, investing in everything you do for God's kingdom? When you go to work and you make a paycheck, are you thinking, "How does this ultimately allow me to invest into the kingdom of God? How do I utilize these things to advance the gospel for more people to go to heaven to make Jesus famous to make heaven crowded?" How are you doing that in your daily life? in your home, in your marriage, with your kids, at your at your school, at your job, everywhere you go, are you being intentional and seeing how can I use this to impact the kingdom? Are you asking yourself that right now? When you wake up, it's not I'm going to work because I got to do this. I'm going to work to glorify God. That's why you do what you do. If you were in Christ, that's what we are called to. And if we want to honor Christ, if we want it to be pure and true worship, we must be intentional. You can't accidentally worship Jesus. You have to be intentional with your worship. You have to plan. And so, just think about Matthew 6:33 where it says, "But uh but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Are you seeking first the kingdom? Now, once again, it's not bad that you are doing a job, that you that you that you're pursuing a relationship, that you love spending time with your kids. All those things are are are wonderful. They're blessings that God has given us. But seek first the kingdom. Your first priority in everything you do is kingdom. That's everything. And then God, he he gives us the promise here and the other things will follow. Paul was taken care of. Now he had moments where he was in great abundance and many times where he lacked, but ultimately he knew that the Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. See, he says kingdommindedness, kingdom first and God will take care of the rest. So we need to plan, we need to be purposeful, we need to be thinking about these things. And in fact, even when we look at at what Jesus says in Luke 14:28, he says, "For which of you intending to build a tower does not sit down first and count the cost whether he has enough to finish it?" See, even on a practical job site, you're not going to do anything unless you're sure that you have the the volunteers, the resources, the plans. Why would you think that your spiritual life is going to be any different? You think you can coast through Christianity and be effective for the kingdom without any type of intentionality? It's really foolish when we think about it. Same thing with your your diet, your workout regimen. None of these things work out unless you are intentional and unless you plan. And I think when we do these things, planning daily actually helps us avoid what we see in this world, which is rushed or reactive living. Do you feel rushed or reactive to your life? We know what it's like. There's the mornings where you didn't take the time to think about what you're going to wear the next day. Maybe you didn't meal prep. You forgot to set your alarm. You wake up. Now you're trying to figure out what can I do minimally to get to work on time. You didn't even think about traffic ahead of time. And now you're you're stressed. Your heart's racing. You're sweaty. You know, you're you're disheveled. You may you forgot something, you know, this time that you should have had. You forgot to put your phone on the charger. Now your phone is dying. All of these things because you weren't planning ahead. So what are you doing? You're reacting to life. When we plan, you see what it's like when you see the difference. Have you had the the times before where you had set your alarm, you got a good night's sleep, you knew exactly where all your stuff was at the next day, you get there early, maybe you even had time to like, you know, listen to some worship music on the way. Maybe you had your devotional prayer time. You got to read some scripture. Maybe you got to sip your your morning coffee before all the chaos came. And then the world starts going and you're you're ready. There's a big difference between being prepared and being reactive to life. And Paul shows us how to plan, how to be productive in this life, not to be reactionary or rushed. And I think that that also is is speaking to why so many of us feel anxiety, a lack of peace and contentment is because we're just not planning. Life is already hard, but if you go in without a plan, it's almost impossible. And as we make these plans, as we are intentional, I also think it's important that we recognize that people matter more than tasks. People matter so much more than your daily tasks. When we say plan, plan around relationships and people more so than I'm going to do this today. And that's really going to be a mindset shift for some people here because that's what we do. I know especially guys we are more about we're more interested a lot of times in things than than people and women are usually a little bit more oriented of course there are exceptions a little bit more oriented towards relationship we all need to be people focused what are the encounters I'm going to have today now that doesn't mean neglect your work by the way but how can I affect the people I'm working with as I do my work to the glory of God see the difference there's one that's like I'm just going to go do my job and I don't care what they think or I'm going to go and I'm going to impact. I'm going to be salt and light in this space. See, the mindset shifts exactly what you're going and I I will share this that I know that that just that a little bit of intentionality will make a huge difference in people's lives. Have you ever just got a phone call or a text message that you just really needed? It was simple. It was one phone call. Maybe it lasted five minutes or just one text and it really changed your whole orientation for the day, maybe even longer or just a cup of coffee with somebody, just get together with them. These little moments where you just take time with people, when you prioritize them, you see fruit and it bears fruit sometimes that is far beyond what you even know. There are people that were literally about to give up on life, but there was that one phone call that changed everything for them. So, we need to plan around people daily. Don't neglect relationships. Don't neglect the people that God has intentionally placed in your life. By the way, the people in your life are not by accident. The people that are here this morning, it was not by accident. I'm not saying I know what God is going to do with this message for you. But I know that God wanted you here to hear this and now you're going to deal with it however God has seen fit. But the thing is he has intentionally placed certain people in your life at certain times and you are to capitalize on those relationships and see what is God wanting me to do and what am I to learn and how can I glorify him.

And so then what we then do is we see what Paul says in verse 7. So if we're wanting to give daily, we want to plan daily, we're intentionally investing in things of the kingdom as we value people over our tasks. We then see that it's so important that in all of this we do to the glory of God, to the will of God. Because in verse 7, it says, "For I do not wish to see you now on the way, but I hope to stay a while with you if the Lord permits." See, he had a hope to see them in the future and spend time with them. But he says, 'If the Lord permits.' What Paul knew here is that we make a plan, but ultimately our schedule is submitted to the sovereignty of God. See, the Lord is sovereign over your calendar. He is the one that ultimately needs to be one that guides you. And if he is saying, "I know you wanted to do this, but you need to go this direction. You need to listen to the voice of your shepherd and not rebel, not resist." So many times we make decisions on what makes us happy, what makes us feel good, rather than what is God saying. I hear Christians say that all the time when they make big decisions, they don't ever I don't hear I'm looking for it sometimes like I don't hear them saying, "Well, the Lord led us to do this." Now, sometimes people use that as just a excuse to say anything they want to do. But on the flip side, I do hear a lot of like, "Oh, I applied for this new job." Or, "Oh, I quit this." Or, "Yeah, we broke up." Or whatever it is, right? Just fill in the blank. But there's not a lot of seeking the guidance of the spirit, actually asking God, God, what do you want me to do in this? And we actually see this in James 4:es 13 to 15. It says, "Come now, you who say today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city. Spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit. Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.'" Is that your mindset when it comes to your planning? I know so many times we already have our retirement planned. We have our vacation destinations planned. But are we ever saying if the Lord wills, because by the way, the Lord might not will for you to retire. I'm serious. Think about that for a second. Some of you have been thinking, "Oh, I'm so ready to retire." What if God says no? Paul literally was doing ministry until he died. Are we okay with saying, "What is the Lord's will?" Now, the Lord might say, "Yes, enjoy your retirement." But he might say, "Move to Africa." He might. When you follow the Lord, you're going to notice that your life can change on a dime. And we got to just be okay with that because ultimately, we're not clinging to this world. We're not clinging to this stuff. We're clinging to Christ. And Christ is on the move. And if we want the gospel to advance, Christians got to go with it. So, let's think about this. Are we scheduling our life around God's timetable? Are we allowing his sovereignty to be over our schedule? And when we do that, then we must schedule our day-to-day time with him. How do you know what God's plans are? You got to spend time with him. If you want to know what Zach's doing for this weekend, you got to come and ask me and we'll talk about what what I'm interested in, what I'm planning on doing, what my hopes and dreams are, what my setbacks are. If you want to know what's God what a go what God's doing. Got to spend time in prayer. Are you praying daily? Not just before a meal. Not just when it's reactionary because now you're drowning. Are you praying daily? Are you in scripture daily? I've been asked a couple of times recently, why is it so important to to be in your word regularly? Because that's his voice. It's like I want to talk to God, but I don't want to listen to him. You have to hear what he has to say. And it's most clearly given to us in his infallible, inherent, inspired word. So, we got to spend time in prayer, and scripture in solitude. Some of us had this men's retreat recently, and we had a time where you just went in the wilderness for an hour just to spend time in the presence of God. Now, you could read, you could pray, you could just sit in silence in his presence, but there was so many men that I spoke with and they said that this is the first time that I've done this ever or I haven't done this in years. This should be a daily practice. Now, it doesn't always have to be an hour in the wilderness, but you need to spend time in solitude. You have to spend time in the presence of God if you really want to get to know him, if you want to know his plans. And so you make sure that your plans are reflecting his will.

So we need to give daily. We need to plan daily. And then finally in verses 13 to 24, we need to endure daily because by the way, life is going to get hard. And you're not always going to feel like giving in worship. You're not going to always feel like making plans. And you may even start well but not finish well. And so here I think we see Paul he closes with a series of exhortations or that is encouragements for the church to persevere. In verse 13 you see him say, "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong." And then continuing, "Let all that you do be done with love." See, this is one of the final things he says. And by the way, if you say some of the last words you say are usually many times the most important, right? You might have a disagreement or you might be talking with your brother or a friend and then eventually as you're about to leave, hey, I love you. I'm praying for you. Hey, I know that we disagreed on this, but you know, I'm always here for you. Right? So, there's these sober moments at the very end of a conversation. And I think the same thing here with Paul. He says, "Hey, I know I've been giving you a hard letter." He's been rebuking them and and really calling them out on some of their stuff. But he is really clear here. I'm for you. And what he's saying is watch, pay attention, be spiritually alert, stand fast in the faith. He's saying persevere, endure, don't quit. And he says you got to be brave, be strong, and ultimately let love be the driving force of all of this. He is calling them to perseverance because once again, he knows life is hard and that the world is tempting. He knows that life is hard and the world is tempting and that if you just go on default mode, the culture is going to take you away with its current. But if you are purposeful with your giving, with your planning, he says, then continue to endure. Watch. Pay attention. What is the world valuing? What are they saying? And what is God doing? And you're going to notice that they're going different directions and things are going to be a little bit easier for you to stand firm. But in those moments, there's going to be friction. There's going to be moments where you're you're thinking about, do I really believe this? Am I really going to set all my, you know, hope in the resurrection of Christ in the glorification of the saints? And so what he's saying here is yes, it is worth it. Stand firm even when others, even maybe in your own congregation or in your own family start to drift or even when your faith feels weak. Both of those things are going to happen in your life. He says, "Stand firm. Speak truth. Stand up for truth. Have conviction for Christ. Reject sin." He says, "Do these things even when your brothers, your sisters, your mom, your dad, your neighbor, when they're not doing it, stay the course. And even if you don't feel it, because there are going to be moments, maybe you're feeling that right now, where you don't feel it. You aren't to trust your feelings. You're to trust Christ. Stand firm in your faith. Even if it's weak. You know, it says there's this quote, "Even if you're hanging on by a thread, let it be the hem of his garment." That is what you cling to in all of life's worries and woes. And so, what does that look practically? What is daily perseverance? Daily endurance. I think it looks like this. Prayer and the struggle. When life is really hard, pray. Labor in prayer. I think it looks like sacrificial giving. Once again, not just money. I'm talking about you're tired, you're spent, but you still go and help that person that's struggling. You you have that conversation. It's sacrificial giving. I think it's courage and difficult moral decisions. There are so many times that it's going to be so much easier to just cave, you know, just don't hold firm to your convictions. But this is daily perseverance. And finally, it's steadfast love toward others. It's that you love those who may not even seem lovable. is that you continue to love them, show mercy and grace to them, to you know p pursue them even when other people maybe in your home, your church, your workspace, nobody else is pursuing them. You might be the only one. That is what daily endurance, daily perseverance looks like. It's doing the hard things consistently, systematically. And once again as we close in verses 15 to 20 is that this will not occur. Endurance will not occur without community. Perseverance is strengthened in community. There is a reason that God gave us the body and not just one member. There is a reason that you're not a solo saint in this world. He has given you brothers and sisters. And we already looked at this earlier in this letter that the spiritual gifts are meant for the edification, the building up of the body. We need one another. And if you notice here in in this section, he starts to list all these different people that are doing different things. And you have Priscilla and Aquila there. You have some of these other household names. You have these certain leadership positions. And what he's saying is that you need to greet one another with a holy kiss, which you know, we're not going to spend a ton of time on that, but basically it's just about having affection and being with one another. How you need that community, how they've refreshed and encouraged one another. If you want to endure in this life where it is hard, you need to make sure that you are around other believers who will strengthen you, who will encourage you, who will say, "I'm going through that same thing or I I've been there and this is how I got out of it." You need brothers and sisters going going to help you along your journey. And in Hebrews 10:24-25, it says, "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching." We are to exhort, to encourage one another every single day. And remind them, I know what you're going through, but remember the day is coming. What is that day? Christ is coming. And that's why we call this Christ daily. The reason we give, the reason we plan, the reason we endure because Christ Christ is coming and Christ is with us. Christ is with us every single day. And so Christ daily is more than a simple motto. It's a lifestyle. Christ daily is that we don't just need Jesus on our worst days. We need him on our best days. We need Christ every day, every moment. And these are just some simple, practical tools that allow us to see him in the every day. And so my prayer for you, my prayer for me, my prayer for this community is that we would see Christ.