Text:(Rev. 3:14-22 NKJ) "And to the angel ofthe church of the Laodiceans write,`These things says the Amen, the Faithfuland True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 "I know your works, thatyou are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 "So then, because you arelukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 "Because you say,`I amrich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'-- and do not know that youare wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-- 18 "I counsel you to buy fromMe gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that youmay be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed;and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 "As many as I love, Irebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 "Behold, I stand at thedoor and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in tohim and dine with him, and he with Me. 21"To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I alsoovercame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 "He who has an ear, lethim hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'"

Text:(Matt. 6:24-34 KJV) "No man can servetwo masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else hewill hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God andmammon. 25 Therefore I sayunto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shalldrink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more thanmeat, and the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gatherinto barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better thanthey? 27 Which of you bytaking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought forraiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not,neither do they spin: 29 Andyet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like oneof these. 30 Wherefore, ifGod so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is castinto the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of littlefaith? 31 Therefore take nothought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithalshall we be clothed? 32 (Forafter all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweththat ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all thesethings shall be added unto you. 34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought forthe things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

How did you determine what you weregoing to wear today? Are you one ofthose people who chooses and lays out your outfit for the next day the nightbefore? Did you put a lot of thoughtinto it? Maybe because it’s Sunday youchose to wear nice clothes to church. Maybe you’re just wearing what your wife told you you should wear? Or, if you’re a young child, you’re probablywearing what your mom picked out for you to wear. The important thing is that it does appearthat all of us have, in fact, successfully gotten dressed today. Congratulations!

However,just because we’ve gotten dressed for the day doesn’t mean we’re fullyclothed. Did you remember as you gotdressed this morning to put on The Armor of God? The Apostle Paul speaks of this in words ofour sermon text for today:

Last year my daughter’s class went ona field trip to a huge corn maze. I wentalong to help chaperone and was givenfive kids to watch. We set out withconfidence that we could find the exit.We got utterly lost. Fortunately, we metsome other groups that had cheatsheets. They had a map of the maze withlandmarks. With that, it was pretty easyto get out. It was if we had a view fromabove.

It is interesting the things that come across a pastor’sdesk. Usually there is a lot of junkmail and junk email, like “how to have a successful fundraiser,” or someone whocan fill our cleaning supplies needs at church, or that widow from Nigeria whohas millions of dollars she wants to donate to our congregation, she just needsmy bank account number and PIN...

But every so often,there are unsolicited emails that I receive which address things that some ofour members are wondering about. Forinstance, the mass email I received recently asked whether a Christian shouldattend a gay wedding. Then there was thepodcast that asked whether our congregations are ready to welcome repentanttransgenders who have seen the errors of their choices.

Text: (Acts 16:9-15 ESV)

"And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a manof Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, "Come over toMacedonia and help us." 10And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on intoMacedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 11 So, setting sail from Troas, wemade a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi,which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. Weremained in this city some days. 13And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where wesupposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the womenwho had come together. 14 Onewho heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller ofpurple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to payattention to what was said by Paul. 15And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying,"If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house andstay." And she prevailed upon us."

Text: (Heb. 6:1-12 NKJ)

"Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. 7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. 9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

Our meditation is based on the parable of the shrewd steward. You will see that when every effort to climbthe ladder of success leaves you falling flat, Jesus stands ready to pick you back up and put you to work in the kingdom of God. Again, the Savior defines the work ethic Heseeks: “I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon ofunrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.” O Lord Jesus, bless Thy Word that we may trust in Thee. Amen.