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Amen. So keep your place there in 1 Samuel chapter 14. We're going to get to a story here in 1 Samuel chapter 14 in just a few minutes. There's a lot going on in this chapter, but we're going to look at a story right away at the beginning of the chapter. This morning, the topic or the title of the sermon this morning is loyalty. We're going to talk about what the Bible talks about loyalty. I was thinking about on this subject, I'm reading through this story and others in the Bible, and the Bible actually talks a lot about loyalty. Loyalty, however, in our day today is a rare thing. I believe that loyalty has always been a rare thing, but you see some amazing stories in the Bible showing extreme loyalty in the face of very difficult situations. Worldly teaching, teaches against loyalty in almost every way. Looking at all the isms that we have today, from feminism to secular humanism to all these different worldly teachings today, they actually teach against being loyal. I'm going to show you that from the Bible this morning. But look, loyalty, all that to say this, loyalty is a trait that you should have. It is a trait that is a very important trait for someone who is, as we would call, someone of good character. Loyalty is something that you should have. Before we get into the sermon, let me just give you a prerequisite on loyalty. There's a hierarchy to loyalty that the Bible talks about. I mention this all the time whenever I talk about these hierarchies of leadership and following as we went through a series on that just recently. But basically even when the Bible talks about hierarchies in our lives from children to their parents, the Bible always puts in that caveat that children obey your parents in the Lord. So obviously the hierarchy of loyalty is always with God on top. The Bible talks about that with children in Ephesians chapter 6. The Bible talks about it with husbands and wives, wives to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord, the Bible says in Ephesians chapter 5. So obviously we aren't to just be loyal no matter what to some person or human being or whatever. It's always God is our ultimate loyalty. God trumps everything. God trumps everything. Even in Romans chapter 13, the Bible is talking about government and the structure, the purpose of government. Like Romans chapter 13, the first couple verses there are some of the verses that are really like, people really work those verses hard to just get you to say that no matter what you need to listen to the government. And I've heard that preached not by anyone that I associate with, but I've heard some pretty crazy sermons preached from Romans chapter 13 saying you just need to do whatever the government says no matter what. But the point of Romans 13 is really two points where the Bible says, you know, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers so there's no power but of God. So really the point of Romans chapter 13 in those first few verses there is that number one, the point of government, you know, God gave a structure of government to mankind to carry out, you know, proper judgment to punish evil. Okay, that's the first point. The second point is, you know, God is always the highest power. You know, we're always to obey the higher power. So when we talk about loyalty this morning, just understand, you know, applying this to loyalty that our first loyalty is always to God. All right, so we're not just to follow somebody or just have friends that are just taking us against, you know, what God wants. That's not proper loyalty according to the Bible. Even in Colossians chapter 3 when it talks about servants and masters, you know, it says, you know, servants obey your masters according to the flesh. Look, you're gonna have masters according to the flesh in this life but then it says fearing God. It always put, I mean, the Bible is very thorough saying that, look, God is the ultimate authority in our lives. So if any loyalty that we're having, and look, many people will do this, they'll just be loyal, you know, to a fault to where they're being, you know, they're going against God being loyal to a man. This is when Peter said, you know, we ought to obey God rather than men. So that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about this morning is, you know, finding the proper people to be loyal to and then actually being loyal. All right, and I'm going to show you three points this morning on loyalty that will show you how everything we're taught today. You wonder why is loyalty so rare? It's because everything that we're taught today is basically teaching people, adults, children, generations to just not be loyal, to have no loyalty. All right, turn to Matthew chapter 14. You know, a lot of people will, you know, they'll hear a sermon like this and they're like, oh, you know, you should be, you know, you can't just be blindly loyal. But here's the thing, when we look at our ultimate loyalty being loyal to loyalty to God, it's impossible to be loyal, it's impossible to be blindly loyal to God. And I'm going to show you that in a second. Look at Matthew chapter 14. Look at verse number 12. So we're just talking about some prerequisites that God is our ultimate authority and is our ultimate loyalty. Look at verse number 12 of Matthew chapter 14. So Jesus here is rebuking the Pharisees. Look what he said in verse number 12. Then came his disciples. Jesus just rebuked the Pharisees and said some things that were just, you know, going to really offend them. Then came his disciples and said unto him, knowest that, knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, every plant which my Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. He's basically saying to his disciples, like, there's a reason that I'm rebuking these people openly. There's a reason that I'm just, I'm just tearing, you know, their faces off every time that they are here. It's because they're not from me. They're not teaching what my Heavenly Father, you know, taught. He's like, they are teaching something that is contrary to God. Look at verse 14. He says, let them alone. He says, they be blind leaders of the blind. So you can't be a blind follower of God because the Pharisees were blind leaders of the blind. They didn't know what God wanted. They were teaching something different than what God said. And then they were leading people that also didn't know what God wanted. So look, you can, it's impossible to be a blind follower of God because in order to follow the Lord, you have to know what he wants. You have to know the Bible. You have to know his word. So look, you can't say, oh, you blindly follow the Bible. That's a contradictory statement in itself. The Bible tells me what God wants and I follow that. That's not blindness. That is just listening to what God says. That's just being loyal to the Lord that's in front of us here. All right. So it's not possible to be blindly loyal to God. Somebody that says, oh, you just blindly follow the Bible. It's an oxymoronical statement that they just said. No, I'm not blindly following the Bible. I'm reading the Bible. I understand the Bible and I'm following the Bible. It's that simple. All right. So look, all that is a prerequisite to the three points. I want to give three points on loyalty today. Go back to, actually go to Proverbs chapter 17. Go to Proverbs chapter 17. Knowing that our ultimate loyalty is to God, let me just give you three points this morning on loyalty and how you can, you know, become a loyal person, become more loyal in your life. It will serve you in many different ways, especially in your spiritual life, which we'll look at at the end of the sermon. Look at Proverbs chapter 17. The first point I want to make on loyalty this morning is this. Loyalty is long lasting. Loyalty is not a short-term thing. Look at Proverbs chapter 17 and look at verse number 17. The Bible says, a friend loveth at all times and a brother is born for adversity. So just notice that at all times in Proverbs chapter 17 here. The Bible says that a friend, you know, loveth at all times. This is a friend that is loyal all the time. You know, there's a time function to this. I mean, look, everybody knows this. Friends, I mean, real friends, you know, it's the type, look, friends are the type of friend that you should have, by the way, should be loyal for a long time. All right. This is why, look, this is why, you know, it eludes so many people. You know, this is why loyalty eludes so many people because it's not like you can just be loyal for, you know, a month. It's not like you can have a friend and be loyal for a year. And it's ironic because the very definition of loyalty itself, meaning, you know, steadfastness or faithfulness as the Bible would say, it requires, look, if you're just loyal to somebody for six months at a time and then you're loyal to somebody else for six months at a time and then you're loyal to another friend at six months at a time, by definition, you're disloyal. That's the irony of the definition of loyalty. So, look, loyalty lasts a long time. So, a test is, do you have friends for long periods of time? You know, that's a good test in your life. You know, are you the, you know, we've all had like the person who's like has the friend of the month or the friend of, you know, whatever. They have a different friend all the time. But do you have long-lasting, you know, friendships? Have you worked at the same place for a long time? That's another, you know, just a, it's a sign of loyalty. So, loyalty is not something that is short term, is the first point. Now go back to 1 Samuel chapter 14. Go back to 1 Samuel chapter 14. Somebody that, you know, just doesn't have relationships that last for a long time, you know, they're loyal here and then they're loyal here and then they're loyal here, that by definition they are not a loyal person, okay. Go back to 1 Samuel chapter 14. So, the first point is this. Loyalty, the first point is a simple one. Loyalty is a long-term thing, okay. It's a long-lasting thing. Now here's where it gets difficult. Look at 1 Samuel chapter 14. We're going to look at the story. Of course, we're at a, we're at a, there's a lot going on in this story. But basically, Saul and his son and all the people of Israel, they're in a bad place. They're in a, you know, this war against the Philistines. If you read the chapter before, they don't even have any weapons. You know, they're making their, their farm tools into weapons. So, they're in a bad place with this war against the Philistines. The people are afraid. The people are scared. And Jonathan has an idea. You know, Jonathan is a very courageous, a very brave young man. He's a very brave, I don't know exactly how young he was here, but he was, you know, he's not someone who was a coward. And he comes up with a pretty bold idea here in 1 Samuel chapter 14. But that brings me to my second point on loyalty. Loyalty is selfless. Okay, loyalty is something that is not necessarily going to be good for you at all times. And this is where loyalty, this definition of loyalty and these examples that we see in the Bible. Look, in the Bible, there is so many stories in the Bible of extreme loyalty. And I believe that's why those stories are in the Bible, is because those are extraordinary situations, especially when we look at this armor bearer that was with Jonathan. Loyalty is selfless. Loyalty is something that is not going to do you well personally all the time. And this is where we run into problems with the teachings today. Because the teachings today are, what's good for me? What can I get? What's best for me? You know, as a woman, as a man, as whatever, you know, as a human being. All these teachings today are all focused on the individual person, the individual self. And loyalty is not going to get you there. Loyalty is selfless. Look at this story. Look at verse number six. Look at verse number six. Think about it. We have a whole army up against the Israel, Israelites, and it's not looking good. They don't even have weapons. And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, come and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for there's no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. He doesn't even say we're going to win. He says, hey, you, one guy, you know, the guy that carries his armor and apparently fights as well, he says to him, hey, let's go over to this massive garrison where there's probably hundreds, maybe even thousands of soldiers, just me and you, and let's go fight. He's like, and maybe it'll work out. He's like, maybe it will work. And what does this guy say? I mean, when your boss comes to you and says, hey, you know, let's go do something that might get us killed, you know, and it might work out, you know, how many people would just be like, all right, let's go. Most people are going to be, you know, questioning that, being like, ah, have you thought this through? Have you thought about this? Look at verse seven. And the armor bearer said unto him, do all that is in thine heart. Turn thee, behold, I am with thee, according to thy heart. He just, right away, he's just like, I'm with you. Look, that's loyalty right there. That is loyalty to his friend, to Jonathan. He's like, let's go fight this entire garrison of soldiers by ourselves, and the Lord may help us. Maybe. I mean, look, it was a humble thing for Jonathan to say. He didn't say, for sure, God's going to help us here. He was being honest. I mean, there was no argument. There was no suggestions on maybe doing things a different way. Hey, maybe you want to grab these guys over here. They're not doing anything. Maybe they can go help us. There was no thought for, hey, what about our, what about my life, Jonathan? What about your life, Jonathan? There wasn't even thought for his life. Maybe we should wait for the entire Israelite army, but it gets even better. It gets even better. Look at verse number eight. So, look, the guy doesn't question. He's just like, I'm with you. Let's go. Jonathan continues. Then said Jonathan, behold, we will pass over. I mean, this is like the ultimate test of loyalty right here. He's like, behold, we will pass over onto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. You think, all right, all right, Jonathan's going to grab his armor bearer, and they're going to like put on their ninja outfits, and they're going to like do the ninja thing, right? They're going to go and like sneak up on people and be like commandos, and that's how they're going to defeat these Philistines, but Jonathan's like, no, we're going to go over there, and we're going to announce ourselves. You're like, oh, boy, you know, I mean, what kind of military strategy are we running here, you know, Jonathan? You know, what's going on? He's like, not only is it just going to be me and you, but we're going to go over there and be like, hey, guys, hey, over here. He's like, we're literally going to go and announce ourselves. We're going to discover ourselves to them, all right? There's no ninja, there's no ninja tactics going on here with Jonathan, but look at verse number nine. And if they say unto us, Terry, until we come to you, then we will stand in our place, and we will not go up unto them. But if they say thus, come up unto us, then we will go up, for the Lord hath delivered them into our hand, and this shall be a sign unto us. And then they went ahead, and they did it, and both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. So even the Philistines knew that all the Israelites were just cowards hiding in holes. This is why Jonathan did this, by the way. And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, come up unto us, and we will show you a thing. They're like, come on over here. They went and they announced themselves. They're like, come on over here. You know, we'll show you something. And Jonathan said unto his armor bearer, come up after me, for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet and his armor bearer after him, and they fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer slew after him. So they just, they slayed dozens of men, these two guys. And it works out. But the point is, you know, this guy just followed, you know, Jonathan at the risk of his own life, of his own well-being. So look, true loyalty is selfless, is what I'm trying to get you to understand. Because of this, you know, he understood, look, this guy understood that loyalty will cost you something. You know, loyalty is, if you're in some kind of relationship in your life, I don't care if it's a friend, a spouse, you know, whatever, master-servant relationship, whatever, and you think that, you know, loyalty is just never going to cost you anything. You're not going to be a loyal person. Because loyalty is going to cost you something, because by its very definition, it is selfless. That's what you need to understand. This armor bearer would have never followed Jonathan if he was worried about himself. It's that simple. You say, how did he do it? Because he was just loyal to Jonathan. That's it. What Jonathan was asking him to do, like it wasn't against what God wanted. Jonathan was just saying, hey, here's the plan, you know, God could help us in this plan or he could not. And he's like, you know, let's go. He was a very loyal person. He was not considering himself at all. So the second point is loyalty is selfless. Turn to Proverbs chapter 27. Turn to Proverbs chapter 27. And that leads me into my third point on loyalty. And that's this. Turn to Proverbs chapter 27. Difficult times are needed to reveal true loyalty. That's the third point that I want to point out about loyalty this morning. Think about the sermon on sorrow last week. You know, everyone thinks, everyone thinks that sorrow is bad. You would just bring up the word sorrow. Go on the street with a, do the man on the street interview and just bring up the word sorrow to people on the street. I guarantee you 99.9% of people, if you ask them, is sorrow good or is sorrow bad, people are going to say sorrow is a bad thing. But look, everyone thinks it is so bad to go through difficult times. But look, the reality is there's so many good things that come from it through difficult times. One of the values and one of those extreme values of tough times, of tough situations, is that it will reveal who is truly loyal, who has loyalty. I mean, think about it. What if you had a group of friends? Just think about it with your own friendships. What if you had a group of friends and half of them were really disloyal but you just didn't know? You didn't know who it was. Like, that would be very disturbing. Who would ever want a group of friends where half of their friends, say you had 10 friends, and five were really truly your friends and five were not your friends? But you didn't know who was who. Boy, I would rather have no friends than have that kind of group of friends. But that is why difficult situations are necessary, or one of the reasons that difficult situations are necessary, because difficult situations will reveal true loyalty. Look at Proverbs 27 and verse number 6. I had a friend one time that, I mean, I've told this story before. I don't want to be the guy that tells the story over and over again, but it's relevant here. I had a friend one time, I had a group of friends, they were my roommates when I was 18, 19 years old, and I got in a difficult spot one time with a few of these roommates, and one of these friends ran away. And I was appalled. From that point forward, I was disgusted with this person. To this day, I'm disgusted with that person, like 25 years later. Because I was just, I'm shocked. I was shocked. We got in a difficult situation. It was no fault of our own. And it's like, hey, you know, we got to go to work here, and one runs away. And I was just like, wow, that's unbelievable. Look, that's not royalty. But you know what? It took that difficult situation to unveil, you know, look, that's who he was the whole time. That's who he was. I'd known this person for three, four years at this point, and that's who he was the whole time. I just didn't know. I just didn't know. So that's a valuable thing about difficult times. Look, think about Jonathan and the armor bearer. Look, I guarantee you that those two men were closer after that situation, because now Jonathan knows he probably already knew, because they'd probably been in difficult situations before, you know, they were warriors. But look at Proverbs 27, verse number 6. The Bible says, faithful are the wounds of a friend. But look at this last part. But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. You see, the reason that the kisses of an enemy are deceitful is because the reason it's deceitful is because you don't know in this verse, you don't know their enemies. They're kissing you. They're friendly to you. They're, you know, they're being your friends. You just don't know you thought they were your friends. That's why it's deceitful in itself. So you say, how do I find out? So I got these 10 friends. How do I find out? It's one of the best ways to find out who your real friends are, who are the ones that are loyal to you, is because, look, it's easy to have friends when everything's going well. You know, this is where the saying fair weather friends comes from. You know, you look at, you know, just the rich and famous. You know, everybody wants to be around somebody that, I mean, not me, not you, but I mean, like, lots of people want to be around people that are rich and famous, because everything's going well. It's fun. But then tough times come, and then people like that are standing by themselves, because there's going to come a time when maybe it's not pleasant being your friend. There's going to come a time where maybe it's not pleasant being my friend. There's going to come a time where it's just not pleasant having that particular friend at times. This is David's situation in 2 Samuel 15. 2 Samuel 15, David is being kicked out of his own capital by his own son. His own son betrays him and is taking over his empire, taking over his kingdom, and kicking him out. And look, these men that followed David, these people that followed David and went with him, look, things were not good. They're being hunted. That army, you know, armies where people were coming after them, trying to kill them. People were cursing them, but they were loyal, and that's how, I mean, David knew that these people were loyal at that point, because at that point, and here's the thing, it was David's fault. It was David's fault that they were being kicked out. This was a punishment from God, and these people were just like, you know what, we're loyal, and we're going to go with him. Turn to 1 Chronicles Chapter 12. Turn to 1 Chronicles Chapter 12. But here's the thing, I mean, nobody would want, nobody really wants fair weather friends. So if you don't want fair weather friends, you know, I think that a lot of people would probably just like put their blinders on to this. They just like being surrounded by people, and maybe they even know that they have fair weather friends, but me personally, I don't want fair weather friends. I'd rather have no friends than fair weather friends. I'd rather have zero friends than have ten friends where five of them are just secretly enemies of mine. That's just me. But how do we know who those five are? The way you know how those five are is when tough times come. That's how you know. 1 Chronicles Chapter 12, look at verse 16. This is where David is taking over his kingdom. Saul has just died. Saul, and unfortunately Jonathan, has also just died, and David is taking over the kingdom. He's now king, and he's cleaning house. He's going to war against the Philistines. He's, you know, taking back, you know, the lands that Israel has lost. And look what he says in verse 16. This proves right here that going through tough times will reveal who is truly loyal, and it will also bring those people closer to you. Look at verse 16. And there came the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David. And David went out to meet them, and he answered and said, if ye come peaceful unto unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you. Now here's what's interesting. This is what David is saying. He's like, if you are here to help me, my heart will grow closer to you, be knit unto you. He's like, my heart will be with your heart. He's basically saying, are you loyal to me? But you know what helping David involves here? You know what the help that David is asking for here? The help is going to be some tough time. That's how David could say that his heart would be knit unto them, because he's saying, you know what, I'm going to test that loyalty. He's like, because we're going through some hard times. I'm not going to ask you to help me to move furniture. He's like, I'm not going to ask you to help me, you know, you know, do some yard work. He's like, we're going to go to war, and many of you are going to die to help me. He's like, then my heart will be knit unto you. And he could say that honestly, because he knew that after going through that test of battle, going through that test, that struggle that they were about to go through, he knew that that would prove their loyalty. And if they wouldn't go, then he knows who they are. So it was an interesting, you know, test, but look, they prove themselves through fire. So that's the third point, is tough times, difficult situations, will show you who is loyal and who is not in your life. So look, it's a good thing. Struggle, even though you and I may not stand up and say, we want to go through struggle, we want to go through sorrow, we want to go through all these tough times, there's so much good that comes from it. There's so much good that comes from it. So that's just three simple points on loyalty. And you look at, there's a lot of stories of extreme loyalty in the Bible, you know, you could pick and choose stories all day long. There's also a lot of stories about extreme, you know, and, you know, the antithesis of loyalty, which is like Judas, right? Judas, who just like literally sells out God, literally just turns on God for what? For principle, for, no, for money. Just sells out the Lord Jesus Christ. Even look, even Peter, even Peter, you know, tripped up and was not loyal, when he said, you know, in Matthew 26, 35, Jesus said, you know, Peter said, though I should die with thee, yet I will not deny thee, Peter says. Peter basically said to Jesus, after Jesus told him, like, you're going to deny me, he's like, no, I'll die for you. And then, of course, Peter failed at that. We know that Peter completely redeemed himself and was loyal, literally unto death, you know, with the rest of his life. But look, loyalty is all over the Bible. It is something that we should definitely have, and it should be a long-term thing. So who should we be loyal to? That's the last part of the sermon tonight. Look at this morning. Turn to Proverbs, turn back to Proverbs chapter 27. Who should we be loyal to? Who should we be loyal to? For how long should we be loyal? I mean, a long time, or is there any limitation to that? You know, who and when should we be loyal? Turn to Proverbs chapter 27. The Bible says, you know, look, the first people that you should be loyal to is, I'm sorry, go to 2 Corinthians chapter 6. I messed you up there. The first people that you should be loyal to is your friends. You know, that's one group of people that you should be loyal to. You should stand by your friends through good and bad as it is fit in the Lord. Okay, don't forget that ever. You say, well, my friends are into all sorts of things that, you know, I don't feel like I should be involved in. Look, as it is fit in the Lord. You know, I mean, this is where, you know, the Bible, this is people that get saved later in life. Maybe they want to, they're changing their life, they're turning their life around. This is where the doctrine of separation comes in. This is where the doctrine of separation, like, maybe you shouldn't be, you know, yoked up with people. In 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14, the Bible says, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? So the difference between being friends with somebody who is unsaved and is just into all sorts of sin, and someone should be, you know, who should be, you know, you should be loyal to, is basically an unrepentant sinner that's out in the world. You should not be loyal to that person because you're not being loyal to God if you're in that situation. Because God wants you separate from those things. But now, people will take this too far and say, well, because I have a friend that makes mistakes, then I should not be loyal to this friend. No, look at David. David made all kinds of mistakes. As a matter of fact, a lot of the mistakes and a lot of the punishments that David went through, the people that were loyal to him and around him went through those punishments because of things that he individually did. But they were still loyal. See, David, though, he was not an unrepentant sinner. David got right almost immediately whenever he messed up and made mistakes. He was extremely humble. What 2 Corinthians 6 is talking about is some unbeliever living in the world. These are people that we should not be yoked up with, especially unequally yoked, where we are put in positions where their lifestyles are coming upon us. That's what the Bible is talking about. So, first of all, you need to have the correct friends. You need to have the correct friends. And this is where Proverbs 27, 17, you know, comes in and says, Proverbs 27, 17, where it says, iron sharpeneth iron. So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. So, look, we should have the type of friends where, you know, we're not to be separated from them, serving them or being loyal to them is fit in the Lord. And, look, we should be sharpening each other through that relationship. All right, turn to John, chapter 15. You say, at what cost? You say, at what cost? What happens when it starts to cost me being friends with this particular person? Well, as long as it's in the Lord, just like the armor bearer, you know, dealt with, as long as it's in the Lord, look at John, chapter 15, and verse number 13. As long as it's in the Lord to be friends with this person, look, your loyalty should basically have no limit, is what Jesus even says himself. Look at John 15, and verse 13. It says, greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends. Look, I'd say at the point where if you and I are friends and you literally have, like, being my friend is literally going to cost you your life, I'd say at that point there's some struggle going on somewhere. I'd say at that point it's not all, you know, rainbows and sunshine. Something has gone wrong, but the Bible says that, you know, you should be loyal to your friends up to death, is what Jesus says. It's like there's no better love than literally just giving everything for your friends. And look, as long as it's in the Lord, that was the armor bearer right here. The armor bearer's like, hey, is this going to cost me my life? He's like, I'd rather, he's like, I'll take the loyalty. I'll take the loyalty rather than being a disloyal person and saving my own life. He literally quite possibly could have traded being loyal and his own life. It could have cost, I mean, if there's ever a situation that would cost you your life, it's, hey, me and my buddy going up against a hundred other people. But he was just loyal to the end. So look, you should be, as long as it's fit in the Lord, choose your friends correctly and then be loyal to your friends. It's very simple. All the way. That's the definition of loyalty. Here's another one. Turn to Proverbs chapter 31. Who else should we be loyal to? How about this? In our marriage we should be loyal. We should be loyal in our marriage. I find it interesting in Proverbs chapter 31. This is super interesting. In Proverbs chapter 31, you know, you ladies get this beautiful chapter all dedicated to you. If I needed to be the ideal woman, all I have to do is really just, Proverbs chapter 31. It's all right there. I don't have to piece a bunch of things from the Bible, just Proverbs chapter 31. This virtuous woman in the Bible. But I find it interesting that the very first thing that is pointed out about the virtuous woman in verse number 10. In verse number 10, it's like we start on the virtuous woman. It says, who can find a virtuous woman? Her price is far above rubies. But look at verse 11. The very first thing. So it says, this virtuous woman, this perfect spiritual woman, it's like she's so rare. But what's the first trait? The Bible says the heart of her husband to safely trust in her so that he shall have no need of spoil. Look, the first trait mentioned here is that he trusts her. He completely trusts this woman. Why? Why does he trust her? Look at what it says in verse 12. Because she will do him good and not evil for the first couple years of their marriage. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. You know what the first thing? Look, the first trait mentioned about this virtuous young woman is that she is loyal. She is loyal to her husband. Look, a lot of young people, a lot of young people are looking for the wrong things in a spouse. A lot of young people, they have, look, both young ladies and young men, they have this long list of things that they want to have for this perfect spouse. They're looking for perfection in many different ways. But notice the first thing mentioned about the virtuous woman. Look, I'm here to tell you young people, it's much less complicated than that. It's much less complicated. This ideal woman, her husband has total trust in her. Why? Because she'll do him good and not evil all the days of her life. Her whole life. Young ladies, this is what men want. Even if they don't know it, this is what men want. They want loyalty. As men, as young men go through this life and they lead, they rise, they fall, they walk, they run, they trip and stumble. They want someone who will stand by them. That's what they want. Not chastise them. Not criticize them. That was a dumb move, idiot. Not, you know, destroy, you know, the ideas and the things that they want to do. Look, the armor-bearer never questioned this arguably foolhardy plan of Jonathan's. He just went. That's what young men need, is they need an armor-bearer for a life. That's why the virtuous woman in Proverbs chapter 31, the first thing that it pointed out is that she is loyal. Look, you could argue that this is the only thing that a spiritual young man needs in a life. You could make that argument. You say, how? Because if she is loyal, everything else will follow. That's how. But a woman who questions her husband at every turn, you know, you know what she's doing? She's trying to save herself the suffering. She's trying to save herself and her family, you know, the suffering of what she thinks is a foolhardy decision. But let me tell you something, ladies. The trade is not worth it because he will not trust you. It's not worth the trade. This woman in Proverbs chapter 31 is the opposite of the feminist today. She stands by her husband all the time. The whole time of her entire life. So, young men, you say, what should I want in a wife? Loyalty. That's what you should want in a wife. You say, but how do I know? How do I know? Well, Matthew chapter 7 says that a good tree can't bear evil fruit. So, does she have loyal parents? That's a clue. That's a clue right there. All you need is loyalty and everything else will follow. Ephesians chapter, what about the, what about the men? Women are like, well, shouldn't my husband be loyalty? Well, in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 25, it says, husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. Look, so you're not loving your wife if you are, you know, giving your affection or giving your loyalty, whether it be, you know, your body or your attention or whatever to others, you know. Be a faithful husband. Pretty simple there. When? All the time. That's when. Look, it's much simpler. It's much simpler in marriage, especially, and it shows us like what we should be looking for, you know, before we even get married. How about this one? You know, the Bible talks a lot about masters and servants. This is why I got to have a King James Bible, too, because this master-servant relationship is just like a real thing. It's basically every time the Bible is talking about masters and servants, every time Jesus tells a parable about, you know, masters and servants, like, you know, parable of the talents or whatever other parable Jesus is talking about with masters and servants, he's talking about just like authority, you know, just the hierarchy of authority in your life, which we all have. We all have different levels of authority that we're underneath, that we're above in our lives, so masters and servants is an important thing. If you don't have a King James Bible, they're going to change it to like slavery and all this stupid stuff, and it's just completely lost. You know, it's completely lost in all the modern versions. All this great teaching about how to handle authority in your life, and guess what? Being loyal to authority in your life. How about your employer? It's a universal truth that you will have masters and servants in your life. This is why you see that there's no loyalty today like with people that go to work anywhere. There's just no loyalty at all. It's the same principle, though, that should be applied. Find someone, it's the same principle that you would apply to your friends. You know, find someone, the Bible says in Proverbs 28 that there's unjust gain, meaning there's a just way to make money. There's a place that you can go work that is just, that is a decent, honest way to make money, because God doesn't want you working for, you know, somebody that kills people, or some abortion provider, or some wicked company that is just anti-God. So find somewhere you can work that will provide just gain, is the first thing. Find friends that you shouldn't be separated from, and then be loyal to them. Find somewhere you can work, and look, here's another thing people will do. They'll be like, well, you know, my boss, he's not an independent, fundamental Baptist. It doesn't say that your boss has to be a saved, Bible-believing Christian. It says that you have to make your money in a just way. If he's not saved, and he's, you know, but you're, what you're doing is an honest living, there's nothing wrong with working there. You know, you go and you build something, but the guy that you work for is a Hindu or something, you know, but he's just, he's in an honest living, it's an honest trade, it's honest gain. The Bible says you should be loyal then. You know, you should be loyal. Look, they pay you. They train you. Many times people hire people, and they don't make money on them for like the longest time. I don't know, it probably depends on the trade, but I know, I know friends of mine who are business owners that literally just stop looking for people to hire because it's just, it's just costing them too much money. They train somebody for an entire year, and then the person quits. They train people up for six months, a year and a half, the person, you know, just stop, you know, they just stop looking for people because, look, they can't just invest in people that are just never going to be loyal. But it's a real problem today, and it's all about loyalty. It's all about loyalty. Look, like, well, you know, they just weren't this, and they just weren't that, and I just feel like I, I deserved another dollar an hour, you know. Here's the thing, you don't deserve anything. That's the way, you know, you need to teach your kids you deserve nothing. You deserve nothing. You say, I deserve better. No, you don't deserve anything. You don't know anything. You know nothing. When you, when you know things, and when you gain skill and gain knowledge, look, the money will come. All that other stuff will come. The key is, you know, be loyal, and look, loyalty will be rewarded, especially in those situations. So, look, loyalty is something, as long as we are just keeping God at the top all the time, we need to find the right people in our lives to have relationships with, and then we just need to be loyal to those people. It's very simple. It's a real problem today, and look, it's a character trait that we should all have, and it'll strengthen, it'll strengthen all of your relationships. It'll strengthen your friendships. It'll strengthen your friendships, you know, especially in church. It'll strengthen your marriage. It'll do well for your, your work life, but here's the main thing. God wants us to be loyal. This is why you see so many places in the Bible where words like diligence are used, where words like faithfulness are used. You know, the Bible says, you know, a faithful man who can find. In Proverbs chapter 20, actually turn there, Proverbs chapter 20, look at verse number 6, I believe it is. Proverbs chapter 20, verse number 6, the Bible says, a faithful man, meaning a loyal person. Look at verse number 6. The first part of that verse is, most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness. So, remember how loyalty is selfless? This person is, he's just proclaiming himself. He's, he's focused on himself, and then what does that translate to? He's not loyal, because he's focused on himself, because loyalty itself is selfless, and it's going to cost you something in your life. And look, here's a really sad thing. If you are not a loyal person, you will raise children that are not loyal. Your children, you know, you'll raise children that, you know, they could turn on you. They will not be loyal to you. Loyalty, you know, is something that is passed to the next generation, and guess what? This is why you see many people. Ultimately, loyalty is why you see so many people that struggle with loyalty where they completely fail in their spiritual life, because ultimately, they can't be loyal to anyone. They also can't be loyal to God, because it's just, it's just a trait that they don't have. So, it's so important that we, you know, evaluate ourselves. Do we have the right relationships in our lives? If I do, I need to be loyal to those relationships. Why? For my own personal relationships? For my own spiritual life? Yes, but also so my children will understand and see that example of what it takes to be loyal. Like, oh man, you know, my dad was still loyal to that one person in that situation, even though that caused him a lot of pain and suffering to be there with that person when they went through those things. A lot of people told them that, you know, maybe he shouldn't have done that, or maybe we shouldn't have done that, but as long as, like, they weren't being disloyal to God, you should be loyal to those friends, loyal to those relationships, loyal to your spouse. And the best thing out of it, and the best, you know, it just goes along with everything else in this Christian life, is that this will be an example to our children. In the next generation, they'll be loyal, but that's why this next generation we're seeing, they just can't be loyal to anything, because their parents weren't loyal. Nobody ever taught them how. Nobody ever taught them how. And then hopefully, if we're loyal in our lives, we'll have that point. You say, oh, I just give everything and just be loyal no matter what, but we have that point in our lives where God will say to us, you know, well done, how good and faithful servant. Like he says to the person, you know, after the person with the five talents that makes five more talents, he says, well done, thou good and faithful servant. So, you know, that is the goal in our lives. And then we can pass that on to the next generation as well. Let's, and look, here's the thing. Eternal security is like the ultimate demonstration of loyalty to us. The fact that there's nothing that we could ever do, we could go and we could mess up for the rest of our lives. We could go and we could trip and fall on our face every single day of our lives. We could actually go and, like, not even, like, want to serve the Lord for the rest of our lives. And God will still remain loyal to us. I mean, that is the ultimate loyalty right there. That's the ultimate example. Everything that God teaches, he shows us by example first. And eternal security is the ultimate, just the demonstration of, hey, this is what loyalty is. I will never leave thee or forsake thee, ever. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.