2 Thess 2:15-17 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 
	Last week, we considered the seriousness that God places upon the glorification of Jesus Christ as indicated in the Old Testament type of the Ark of the Covenant. There were a number of examples cited, from the Old Testament, as to God’s dealings with those who did not fully observe the value of being in the presence of God’s Holiness. He does not take this life that is ours in Christ in any aspect other than with wholeheartedness. 
This does not mean that those who are not desirous of the full measure of God’s blessing are not saved. There are many, many Christians who have gone just so far with God, and do not want anything more than salvation, or baptism with water, or baptism with the Holy Spirit. These are now experiencing the new life in Christ. There are God’s people and fellow heirs with Christ. They will experience God’s glory in Heaven, in the great by and by. They find satisfaction with God in their lives, and enjoy the limited blessings that are theirs when they choose to look to the Lord for His guidance and for His leading.
We are seeing, however, that there is more, much more that is part of the relationship with God that is focused on the fullness of Christ being our very life. Not just occasionally, not just when needed, not just as our emotions lead us to the altar of His Grace, but every moment of our sojourn on this earth. We are dealing with the decision that is before each one. Do we so love the Lord that we desire the full blessing of God at this moment, on this earth, now, not for our sake, not for future fulfillment, but solely for the absolute glorification of Jesus Christ as Lord on this earth today? We are dealing with the absolutely comprehensive death to this world and its every sin, in the life of the Living Word of God, by the Holy Spirit, seen in no one other than Jesus Christ.
	Christ, Himself, lays the matter before us in Matt 16:24-26. Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. "For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? As Christians, if our choice is after the things of this world, including its false promises of fulfillment and enjoyment in its sin, we will lose, not our salvation, but our intimacy with God through Christ Jesus. We will have chosen not to seek after the fullness of the blessing of Jesus Christ, and we will lack that complete blessing in our lives on this earth. We can not have both! It is either the complete blessing of God in all His fullness of Holiness or it is the mammon of this age which will give us nothing!
	Consider the consequences that fell upon Ananias and Sapphira, two of the early Christians who chose not the fullness of wholehearted servitude unto God, but the deceitful riches of this age. Acts 5:1-11 But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land? "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God." And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came upon all who heard of it. And the young men arose and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him. Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter responded to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?" And she said, "Yes, that was the price." Then Peter said to her, "Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out as well." And she fell immediately at his feet, and breathed her last; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things. 
	When we make a commitment before the Lord, we need to do so with the full realization that He will expect our absolute and unconditional obedience to that commitment. We are not dealing with someone over whose eyes we can pull the wool, so to speak. We are dealing with the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth in Whose Holy presence sin cannot exist. We dare not try to deal with Him or to renege on that which we have offered up to Him. He will not honor our insincerity or lack of integrity. If we choose the depths of God, let us grasp, absolutely and fully realize, the magnitude of what is before us! As God invests His everything into us, at the cost of the sacrifice of His very Son, He expects and will accept nothing less than that same commitment of our life, of our everything unto Him! 
	In another vein of man’s conniving approach to the things of God, consider Simon the Magician. Acts 8:9-23, Now there was a certain man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city, and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, "This man is what is called the Great Power of God." And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts. But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. And even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip; and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! "You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. "Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. "For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity." 
… in the bondage of iniquity…Do we, you and me, have the audacity to go before the Lord, cloaked by Christ’s very holiness, and seek the blessing of God, while at the same time shielding, trying to cover up the chains of this age that we willing shackled to our hearts? Do we try to seek after the things of God, while at the same time willingly offer those sacrifices of obedience and homage to the sin and lusts of this age? There is a tremendous difference in coming to God in humbleness of heart and desirous of His forgiveness and compassion and His cleansing work of conformity to the Holiness of Christ, being ashamed and devastated in the sins that we commit. That heart God will honor and bless completely. But, when we try to buy the things of God, when we desire them for our personal profit, when we glory in our sinful actions and delight in hiding away in the dark crevasses of our heart and soul in an effort to enjoy the filthy lucre of this world, do not think for one fleeting flash of time that we are going to receive any of God’s blessing of Holiness. 
Simon believed. He was baptized in the name of Jesus. Yet, his heart was set upon the things of this age and his ability to manipulate God to meet his lusts and desires. He thought that he could use human effort, through buying that which he wanted. He tried to bargain for the depths of the things of God, but God would have nothing of it! He cannot be bartered with! He can not be bought! We are the ones who have been bought with the price of the blood of Jesus Christ. God will not allow that Holy sacrifice to be besmirched or defiled with anything of this present age, especially those dark, little secrets of our disobedience to Him and His Word!
Gal 6:7-9 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. We are not to take God lightly, to simply see Him as an escape hatch if our plans and purposes are thwarted and our ship of self begins to sink. That is not what an intimate relationship with God entails. It is the unqualified surrender of our every claim upon this life, this sojourn on the earth, for the glory of Christ Jesus to be seen in His unparalleled truth, wisdom, love, and grace. If we sow unto Him, these hearts after His unhindered glorification, we will reap the blessing of living, every moment of every day throughout this present age and for all of eternity in God’s immediate and omnipotent presence of Holiness. Our lives will be constantly lived in His way, His truth, His grace, His wisdom, His power, His comfort, His guidance, and in His very heart of holiness, this very day. As God is utterly and decisively serious, so must we be absolutely earnest and honest in the lives that we give to Him!   
	The Pharisee Gamaliel (Ga-mail-e-l) had a sense of the seriousness of the work of God. In that revelation, he addressed the Sanhedrin Counsel as they were trying to determine what to do with the Apostles and their wholehearted proclamation of the glory of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 5:34-39 But a certain Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time. And he said to them, "Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. "For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody; and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. And he was slain; and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. "After this man Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away some people after him, he too perished, and all those who followed him were scattered. "And so in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action should be of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God." If it is of God, it will not be overthrown. He realized that if God was serious in the giving of the One Who was proclaimed as His very begotten Son, the Christ, nothing would be able to stop, hinder, or interfere with God’s plan. Even so, despite the Counsel’s best intention of serving God, they would be fighting against the very One Whom they earnestly tried to serve with their limited human understanding and abilities.
	As the early church continued to grow, the Apostles realized that they, too, would have to make a decision as to the fullness of their service and heart unto God. They were doing their earthly best to meet the needs of the congregation, especially the widows. They were doing what they considered to be good service unto God, but that was not intention for them. 
They had to decide, would they serve God or man. They couldn’t do both. Their decision is proclaimed in Acts 6:2-4 And the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. "But select from among you, brethren, seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. "But we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." …we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. 
They realized that prayer and the ministry of the Word took priority over all their other, well-intentioned activities. They were after the fullness of God and realized that for them to be that wholehearted service unto God, their every time and efforts needed to be focused simply on Him. Because they were called to minister of the Grace and the Love and the Power of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, they had to immerse themselves into Him in prayer and in His Word. Nothing else could be permitted to interfere with that commitment to God. And the same principle applied to the seven brethren called into the ministry of the needs of the congregation in serving tables and taking care of those who were in need.
	As an example, Stephen, focused on the absoluteness of his life in Christ, found that he was called to serve the widows. This he did in such commitment unto God that he was singled out by the Jews and falsely accused before the Sanhedrin Counsel. His defense, with no fear of death, is one of the greatest declarations of the foul course of mankind, even with the best of intentions of service, by their own hands, unto God. Because Stephen chose the full blessing of God, he was enabled to see the very glory of God, which supersedes everything else in this life. Acts 7:51-56 "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. "Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it." Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 
	Another example of one, whose heart was so after the Lord that earthly life with all its attractions was immaterial, is Ananias of Damascus. The Lord told him to go to Saul, the very Saul who was persecuting the church. This was that Saul, who had consented to the death of Stephen by those crushing stones. This was that Saul, who had, with all his human efforts and abilities, sworn to annihilate the very name of Jesus of Nazareth from the earth. God told Ananias to go to this Saul of Tarsus to restore his sight and to pray for the Holy Spirit’s anointing on this violent and relentless persecutor of the church. Ananias knew that his very life was in the balance, but he chose to follow the direction of the Lord with all his heart. He chose the trust in God over his very life and proclaimed Jesus, Alive and Victorious, to Saul. By Ananias’s wholehearted and trusting obedience, God opened the door to the Apostle Paul’s unprecedented life unto the full depths of Christ Jesus. Acts 9:10-17 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Behold, here am I, Lord." And the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight. " But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Thy saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon Thy name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake. " And Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit." In his unconditional commitment to the Lord, not considering this earthly life worthy to be compared with the glory of Jesus Christ, Ananias proclaimed Jesus Christ to Saul and Saul became Paul, the Apostle of Jesus to all generations of both the Jews and Gentiles alike.
	Paul expressed that which was established in his intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. He saw the value, the incomparable worth of a life that was utterly unto the Lord Jesus Christ. He saw the manner in which the Lord chooses to express Himself through the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church. He realized just what was required for the Church to become the absolute fulfillment of the plan and purpose of God in the life of Jesus Christ. He did not hesitate to declare the fullness of Jesus Christ in all His glory within the Church. Eph 4:11-24 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. 
	Again, with intense and absolute emphasis against any of the arguments of this flesh with which we are burdened on this earth, against all the powers of this age which seek to bind us in slavery to its cesspool of sin, let us also… lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. So be it!
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. Amen

	Our benediction this morning is found in Deut 10:14-21, "Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. Yet on your fathers did the Lord set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more. For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. Amen