Brethren, let's be turning to
Luke chapter 7. I want to begin with how our Lord
begins in verse 24. When the messengers of John were
departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John. Our Lord spoke to the people
here that were... gathered around our Lord. He
spoke to them the things concerning John Baptist, because the things
concerning John concern us. They concern all the people of
God. You see, John was a prophet sent
of the true and living God. John was actually the prophet,
the last prophet that would come before the coming of Christ. And we're told in verse 29, And
all the people that heard John and the publicans justified God,
being baptized with the baptism of John. And Luke is emphasizing
here for us that those who heard John, that believed him, they
were baptized by John. And that their obedience in hearing
John and believing what John said and being baptized, they
were justifying God in him. They're confessing this man is
sent of God. God has sent him here for us
to hear. They were confessing that, and the scriptures tell
us they justified God. Now, those who believe God, which
the scriptures say here is a justification of God. We're giving glory to
God. We're confessing He's true. He's
true. Well, that justification that's
evidenced in us is actually a picture that God has justified us first
in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why we justify God. That's
why we have faith and believe God, because God has done a gracious
work of salvation in his child first. And I like how it says
it in verse 35, Luke 7, 35, but wisdom is justified of all her
children. That is, God's wisdom in what
he did to save his people, in committing us to the hand of
Christ, trusting us to Christ, he trusted Christ first. by giving
us to Christ to save us, his wisdom in doing that is justified
because we see the salvation of the Lord worked out in his
people exactly as he purposed it to go. Exactly as he purposed
it. Now, when John came and he began
to baptize, what we see in the scriptures is that Christ was
right behind him. Christ immediately followed upon
John because John was what's called a harbinger. That is,
his coming foretold us that Christ was near. The salvation of God
is very, very near. John the Baptist's ministry is
also a type of what the Holy Spirit does for his people. It's actually a picture of what
the Holy Spirit does for all God's people in that the Holy
Spirit is given to reveal Christ to us and to make us to know
Christ. And that's what John was sent
to do, to declare Christ, to reveal the Christ to the people,
to declare him when God revealed it to him, to make it known,
And to teach the people, look for the coming of Christ. Look
for him. So here's a few things that the
baptism of John did. One, it manifested a people who
justified God, who declared God is right. God has done his promise. God is accomplishing his promise
that he made to us. And they justified God through
their obedience to the word they heard. in that they were baptized
by John. And Christ did indeed follow
immediately behind the ministry of John and that gives us an
understanding of what the Holy Spirit does for all of God's
people in that He reveals Christ and Christ follows. Christ is
revealed where the Holy Spirit is, where the Holy Spirit testifies,
Christ is sure to follow. in the testimony of those people.
And so John said this, he said, I knew him not, this is John
1 verse 33, I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with
water. The same said unto me, upon whom
thou shalt see the spirit ascending and remaining on him, the same
as he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. So John came as a
picture, baptizing with water, but Christ comes and baptizes
us with the Holy Spirit. He gives us the Spirit, the gift
of the Spirit, whereby we know and glorify God, whereby we justify
the wisdom of God in believing Christ. And so that's what this
baptism of John typified. And those who believe Christ,
they evidence that God has justified them. He did that first. What
does Hebrews 11.1 say? Faith is the substance of things
not seen. No, faith is the evidence of
the substance of things not seen. It's the evidence that we have
salvation. It's the very substance that
we have been justified by God in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
why this fruit of faith is being evidenced. because God has justified
us, saved us by his darling son Jesus Christ. So, yeah, it's
a substance of things hoped for, right? And what we hope for is
salvation, and by the Lord Jesus Christ. We're putting everything
on him and resting all our hope of salvation in him. And it's
an evidence that that's exactly our salvation, the Lord Jesus
Christ, he's done it. So our Lord is teaching us here
in this passage that God has a sovereign purpose in saving
his people by grace in his son. And it's made evident through
the fruit of faith, testifying that God has done this. God has
brought this salvation to me, to my heart. God has given me
life, and faith is a fruit of the Spirit and evidence that
we've been justified by God. So Paul tells us in Romans 8.28,
First we see the purpose of God and what he's doing here. Paul
tells us in Romans 8.28 that all things work together for
good to them that love God. To them who are the called according
to purpose. The sovereign, gracious purpose
of holy God. Almighty holy God. You that love
God. You that trust Christ, you that
confess Christ in truth, in spirit and in truth, it's because God
has purposed to be gracious to you in His Son before the foundation
of the world. You that believe Christ, that's
an evidence of God's grace and mercy to you in Christ. you whose
hope is fixed in Christ. That's an evidence that God has
done that. That he has visited you in grace
with a gracious purpose. A gracious purpose. God has a
purpose in everything he does. And every one of his children
is saved according to that purpose. Saved according to that purpose.
You consider this purpose when we read now in Luke 7, verse
24. When the messengers of John were
departed, Christ began to speak unto the people concerning John.
He asked, what went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A
reed shaken with the wind? Are you just out on a nature
walk out there? No. But what went ye out for
to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously
appareled and live delicately are in king's courts. And you
wouldn't go out into the wilderness to look for a man of fleshly
influence. You would go to the king's court,
to the king's palace to talk to them. But what went ye out
for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you,
and much more than a prophet. See, there was a purpose for
God leading the people out into the wilderness. He was drawing
them out there to hear a prophet, a prophet of God. And the people,
the publicans, and the Pharisees all went into the wilderness
to hear this prophet speak. That's why they went out there,
according to purpose. And God's purpose was, one, it
was because there God would manifest them that are His. And there
God would manifest them that are not His. One would justify
God in obedience to God's word according to God's purpose, and
the other would reject the word against themselves and would
not hear it. Just like we read in Romans 9,
verse 11 through 13, the children being not yet born. neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand. It was said unto Rebekah, the
elder shall serve the younger. For Jacob have I loved, and Esau
have I hated. So the promise of life by the
grace of God in Christ was a saver of life unto life in Jacob. And it was a saver of death unto
death in Esau. And it was worked out according
to the purpose of God, according to election. God manifested life
in Jacob. And then he left Esau to himself,
dead in trespasses and sins. Both were born dead in trespasses
and sins. Both were born into that body
of sin in Adam. But God left Esau there, but
he took Jacob out. He delivered him by the blood
of Christ, according to the promise of Christ, according to the election
of God in Christ. Esau, he just went on his way
according to the course of this world under the prince of the
power of the air. And that body in bondage to sin
and death. But Jacob was delivered from
him. because God purposed to be gracious to him. Well, God
manifests his salvation in all his people to justify God, believing
him by faith, which he gives to them. God reveals it to his
people through that redemption, work, and glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's why salvation is brought
to us, and it's to the praise, the honor, and the glory of Christ's
name. And so we see this work that's
done in the people of God according to the purpose of God. We see
it with regard to John's coming. When John came, we see this purpose
of God being worked out by the response that was wrought in
each that heard him. whether they received it or not.
And that's because our God, it pleases him to reveal and to
manifest the work and glory and salvation of Christ in his people. It pleases him that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not according to
our works, not by him that willeth or runneth, but of God that showeth
mercy. And so our Lord says now in verse
27, Luke 7, 27. This is he of whom it is written,
behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare
thy way before thee. You see, John was a prophet,
and he was spoken of. He was prophesied of by the prophet
Isaiah. This is he who is the voice of
him that calleth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord.
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Now, the scriptures
teach us that John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. What does that mean, that it
was a baptism of repentance? It means that when the Lord sent
John One of John's messages was showing the people what sinners
we are under the law, that we're not righteous. So John is there. He's hammering away. He's saying,
stop stealing wages. Stop doing these things. And
he was pointing out that we're wicked. He wasn't telling us
how to get ourselves righteous and get ourselves saved. He was
pointing out we're sinners. We've got a problem. We're not
the righteousness of God by the works of the law. We're coming
up short by the works of the law. And he was making that known
through his preaching. And so the people were turning
from dead works that cannot save to look for the coming of Christ,
whom he said, this one who comes shall obtain for you the forgiveness
of your sins. He shall give you the forgiveness
of your sins, not your works under the law, because you're
sinners. You're failing. You're coming
up short. You've not kept the law for righteousness. but Christ is coming. Look for
his coming. He's the one that will give you
the forgiveness of sins that you're seeking under the law.
Repent of that, turn from dead works, and look for him, because
he's coming. He's right behind you. That's
what it means when it said John preached repentance, because
He pointed out so perfectly by the light that was given to him,
the light that he's shown on the works, he was showing we're
all sinners. Every one of us is sinners, but
Christ is coming. but the Lord is sending the Lord. He's sending your Lord to save
you. He's the one who's doing it.
And Paul confirmed this in Acts 19 verse 4, and speaking to those
who had only been baptized with the baptism of John, he said,
John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance. saying
unto the people that they should believe on him which should come
after him, that is on Christ Jesus. So again, I just re-emphasize,
John, you read in, sometimes you might think, is he, sounds
like he's talking about works. No, he's not. He's pointing out
all your works under the law have not made you righteous.
We're all sinners, but the one who does save his people from
their sins is coming right behind me. So stop trusting in the works
of the law and look for him because he's coming. He's coming. That's
what he's saying there. And so John Baptist, his coming,
it makes clear that man, like we're looking on the outside.
Oh, this one comes consistently to church. This one leads the
singing. This one preaches, right? We're
looking on the outward and saying, well, there's the work of God.
We don't know, right? It's a work of the heart, which
the spirit does. The Lord blesses the weakest
one among us, because it glorifies Him, to the praise and honor
of His name. And so the Lord tells us, speaking
of John, He said, this is John 5.35, He was a burning and a
shining light, and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in Him.
A lot of people went out and heard John, and a lot of people
justified God in being baptized, but a lot of people seem to have
disappeared after Christ was crucified and raised from the
dead. A lot of them rejoiced, but what
was it, 120 after Christ's resurrection? Because some believed for a time
and then fell away, and some just missed Christ entirely,
did not see Him and understand. Like we saw, Paul was speaking
to four men, I think in Ephesus, who had only received the baptism
of John and hadn't heard of Christ yet. They missed Him. But the
Lord knows, He knows them that are His, and it was according
to purpose how He did it. But there was only 120 when Christ
was resurrected. That's because John is a prophet,
and he's a picture, but only the Holy Spirit can circumcise
this wicked heart. We can't by outward practices
and doings such as baptism. We are to be baptized into Christ,
believing on him, but that doesn't give us salvation. It's what
the Holy Spirit does in making us a new creature by the incorruptible
seed of Christ that we're saved, that we're made new creatures
by him. Only God can do that. And John was a type of what the
Lord does, but he couldn't do it. and the people. He was a
type and he pointed us to Christ just as a picture of what the
Holy Spirit does in turning us from dead works that cannot save
and dead letter religion and trusting the flesh and turns
us to Christ who does save his people entirely by grace. And so the Lord gives us a new
heart and that's why some of you hear and believe. I pray
all of you. because the Lord gives the new
heart, and he causes us to hear Christ and to believe him. As
our Lord said, if they persecuted me, they'll persecute you. If
they kept my word, they'll keep your word also. That meaning
that, not that I'm perfect, but in so far as I do preach Christ
faithfully and declare the gospel to you, you that are his hear
the voice of Christ speaking, and you believe it, and you receive
it, and you rejoice in Christ. as though Christ was here speaking
to you. His people hear it and rejoice in the truth, in the
truth. And so that's pictured in those
who heard John and were baptized by him. Look at verse 29 again.
And all the people that heard him and the publicans justified
God being baptized with the baptism of John. They were confessing,
yes, yep, John is, he's right, he shined a light on my works
and I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. And he's right.
And they were turned from trusting what they were doing to look
expectantly for the Christ who was coming. That's what is being
worked out there. He was a burning and a shining
light, shining on our darkness, exposing the sin and the crevices
and corners of our dark hearts and minds. Exposing it. And that's a picture of what
our Lord does in revealing Christ in the heart by His Holy Spirit,
who gives us the light of Christ. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Just like we we see often that
when God said let there be light and there was light on that dark
formless void planet and chaos It was a God shining his purpose
to be gracious to a people here And so it is when Christ shines
his light in our hearts. It's because God purposes according
to the election of grace to be gracious to that person and To
cover them with the blood of Christ and to adopt them into
the family of God by the blood of Christ. And so through the
gospel we're made to see we're sinners, that our works are coming
up short, that we've all come short of the glory of God. Thanks
be to God for his darling son, Jesus Christ, who makes us righteous
in and by him. And so salvation, what the Lord
is showing us, just like with John, what John said and what
the Lord continues to preach to us in the gospel is salvation
isn't the result of our tinkering around in religion and playing
around in a sandbox of religion. It's entirely by grace in the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's where we meet God and
come face to face with God in the face of Jesus Christ. That's
how we know Him. And so, He gives His Spirit. He gives us the baptism of His
Spirit. who comes in, just like we saw
pictured in John, he reproves sin in us, he shows us that we
are sinners, and he testifies of the righteousness of Jesus
Christ, the very righteousness of God provided for us entirely
in him. And He declares to us the victory,
the accomplished salvation that He has wrought for us, and He
reveals faith in His people who have been given life by Christ,
meaning Christ died for them. You that believe Christ in spirit
and truth, bless God, because that's the grace of God which
has accomplished your redemption in Christ Jesus. That's a rejoicing. That's a joyful thing when he
makes that known to us, brethren. And the Lord now sends messengers
to his people to seek them out by declaring this gospel wherever
we go, just making known the grace and knowledge of God in
Christ wherever we go by preaching the gospel. That's what we're
going to talk about. Not the news and the weather
and other doctrines, but to preach Christ, speak of Christ, because
that's how the Lord's going to turn his people from dead works.
and from dead religion, by hearing Christ, by God making it effectual
in our hearts. Paul said it this way, Acts 26,
18, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light,
and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness
of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by
faith that is in me. That comes by, we preach the
gospel, but it's not, the power's not in us. The power is in the
gift of the Holy Spirit taking the things of Christ in that
gospel word and making it effectual in the hearts of His people.
It's His work. It's His salvation. It's a spiritual
work that I cannot lay claim to being able to do. But that's
okay. I'm not trying to do it. I'm
just trying to preach the gospel faithfully trusting that the
Lord does it in the hearts of His people as it pleases Him.
as it pleases Him. So the Spirit, the giving of
the Spirit, just makes it, brings it all
to pass, makes it all come to pass through regeneration, through
the giving of life because of Christ, out of the blessings
of Christ's resurrection. That same resurrection power
that raised him from the dead is what raises us from spiritual
death so that we're born again, made alive spiritually, given
an understanding of spiritual things, that is, all things settled
in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. He made to rest upon Him. And
those who justify God by faith in Christ, it's because we've
been born again. It's because God has justified
us in His darling Son. Christ has shed His blood for
us. And that's an amazing, amazing
thing that publicans like us. I like how it says, and the people
and the publicans. We're the publicans. We're the
people that can't even be called people. We're vile sinners and
we have been given the grace of God to hear Him and to believe
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a wonder of His grace. Now, our Lord also exposes what
man is when God leaves him to himself like Esau. in verse 30,
but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God against
themselves, being not baptized of John. Without the Spirit of
God, without the Holy Spirit, we can hear the best preaching
in the world. There were so many people who
had heard Christ himself preach and speak and testify of God
that did not believe. Without the Spirit of God, we
cannot be saved, right? Because the Spirit of God is
the one who makes us to... He applies the blood of Christ.
He makes us to hear Christ. He opens the door. He's the porter
that opens the door. And so without the Spirit of
God, we'll be left to just justify ourselves, to speak of what we've
done, right? When you talk to someone who
has not heard, And you ask them what they have heard, they testify
of, well, I gave my heart to Jesus. I walked the aisle. I
dedicated my life to Jesus. I did this when I was 12 years
old. I did this, and I did that. And that's what man speaks of,
is what he's done for the Lord. But you ask a child of God, and
they speak of what Christ has done for them. It's justifying
God, not ourselves. We're justifying what he's done
for us. And so listen to what Paul said.
He said it this way. He said, it is Christ that died,
yea rather, that is risen again. When we're charged for our folly
and our sin, who is he that condemneth? And so when someone asks you,
well, how do you know you're the Lord's? Because it's Christ
that died, yea rather, that is risen again. He loved me. He gave himself for me. We don't
talk about, well, I gave my heart to Jesus. No, we say, well, wait
a minute, Christ died and put away my sins. That's my hope,
is that his death obtained my forgiveness and his resurrection
has given me life. That's my hope. That's my hope. I'm a sinner saved by the grace
of God. And you that believe him and
justify God, that's your testimony too. That's your hope and your
testimony. We preach Christ. We preach him. He's even at the right hand of
the throne of God making intercession for us. That's why we speak of
him and not of ourselves. Now, I stand amazed at how freely
Christ is preached to all men. We're to preach Christ, free,
sovereign grace. Preach him as freely as you can,
trusting that the Lord is able to sovereignly deliver his people
as it pleases him. He's not going to go wrong. It's
not going to fail or go off the rails. You don't got to put guardrails
and throw up precepts and the law and all kinds of protections.
Just preach Christ and trust him who saves his people to the
uttermost to do it and leave it with him and pray for one
another. But trust Him, trust Him, brethren. I will listen to how freely Christ
spoke to the Jews, to sinners, just like us. John 5, 34, I received
not testimony from man. He was talking about John there,
too. He said, but these things I say that ye might be saved. That blows my mind, but I'm so
thankful for it because it shows how long-suffering our God is
with sinners like me. And how hard-hearted we are,
how slow we are to hear and to believe all that the prophets
have spoken and our God has written. And we're so ignorant and in
darkness and have no understanding, and yet God is so patient with
us. We see it in Peter. and the many failings of Peter,
and how slow he was to hear the truth. But if you're the Lord's,
He keeps you growing and growing and growing, and He keeps revealing
Christ to you. That's why when I speak to others,
I try not to just point out every fault with them. I try to just
keep declaring Christ. and keep preaching the successful
Savior. And I'll tell them, I'm telling
you of the successful Savior, not the failure, but I'm declaring
Christ to you. And I just keep doing it because
I know that even if they're in dead letter religion, it's through
the preaching of Christ that he's going to bring them out.
Because I was in dead religion for many years, decades, until
the Lord opened my ear and caused me to hear Christ and how he's
sufficient. He did the whole thing. and then
by his grace through the preaching of the gospel all that mist and
darkness and fuzziness and lies and corruption began to just
he took care of it he took care of it and settles us in Christ
more and more so that we're not tossed by every wind of doctrine
and the slop of the waves he does that in his grace and mercy
by preaching Christ so we declare That salvation is of the Lord,
knowing that it's by the Lord's grace that everything we've built
up by man's flesh is shaken before God. God shakes it. Through the
preaching of the gospel, he comes by the giving of the Holy Spirit
and just shakes it and rattles it. And in that which is fleshly
and built up by man, falls down and crumbles. And that's OK.
We're going to have our world turned upside down, probably
many times. Because our Lord is continually
saving us and delivering us out of dead works and having our
eyes put on dead things, that our eyes will be put on Him who
is our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the gospel's preached
openly, the free sovereign grace of God. And it's preached right
here to all whom the Lord brings. We don't go after services to
the back room and then say, well, now let me really tell you how
the Lord saves his people. No, it's freely preached to all,
to everyone. We don't hold anything back from
the people that the Lord brings across our path because The Lord
saves whom he will, not whom I will, but whom the Lord wills.
And so we preach it freely. But what the Lord shows us is
man left to himself doesn't want to hear it, doesn't want to be
reproved of his sin, doesn't want to hear that all his sacrifices
and works throughout decades of time are all worthless junk. I don't want to hear that. But
by the grace of God, I will. And so will you. So that more
and more, he opened your hand to let go of all the baggage
and the dead letter religion that we've trusted him. Paul
said, I forget those things that are behind. Who cares? It's all
dumb. What does it matter? I don't
care if my confession was great yesterday. The Lord keeps me
confessing today, Christ. And that's why we keep preaching
Christ, trusting Him and looking to Him. Now, verse 31, Luke 7,
31. And the Lord said, whereunto
then shall I liken the men of this generation? And to what
are they like? They are like unto children sitting
in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, we
have piped unto you, and ye have not danced. We have mourned to
you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither
eating bread nor drinking wine, and ye say, he hath a devil. The Son of Man came eating and
drinking, and ye say, behold, a gluttonous man and a wine-bipper,
a friend of publicans and sinners." And what he's saying there is,
when left to ourselves in this flesh, that's how dead and corrupt
this flesh is, that there's nothing I can say to save you. There's
nothing I can say to make you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. But that's what God's given us
to do, is to preach Him, because if the Holy Spirit opens the
door. Then you'll hear the voice of
the Son of God. You'll hear Him speaking to you,
saying your name, and He'll draw you out of that bondage and death
and darkness, the mist of darkness. So God keeps warning us. It's
not that God's hiding anything from us. He keeps warning us
in His word. He told us back there in the
garden that we're under the curse. Then in the giving of the law,
He reminds us You're under the curse. You can't do it. The scripture
hath concluded all under sin that we might receive the promise
by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to show us you can't come to
the Lord in the works of the law. He reminds us and warns
us by the prophets. He warned us again by the coming
of John Baptist. He reminded us when Christ came
in the flesh and spoke all this gospel word. He reminds us by
the apostles coming. and by these scriptures, and
he continues to remind us in the preaching of the gospel week
after week. And he warns us, he shows us
that in this flesh, we think we are something when we're nothing.
Revelation 3, 17, because thou sayest, I am rich and increased
with goods and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art
wretched and miserable and poor and blind naked and you know
what because I've been comparing this the Lord's purpose to Jacob
and Esau right you know what Esau said when Jacob was leaving
Laban and he comes and he's given his brother a big gift of cattle
a big big gift and what did Esau say to him When he gave him that,
he said, I have enough, my brother. Keep that thou hast unto thyself. And that's what the natural man
does. I've got enough. I've got righteousness coming
out of my ears. You keep what you have to yourself,
because I don't need it. Jacob implored him, and he did
take it finally, but all it was for him was an outward blessing. It was no blessing inwardly. He didn't have the promise that
Jacob received of God. Jacob had the promise. Jacob
pursued the promise by the grace of God, Esau did. And that's
what we're reminded of. We can get people to be baptized
like John Baptist did, but it's really the work of the Spirit
that saves. Because a lot of people were
baptized, and a lot of people didn't show up when Christ was
crucified, except the crucified. And left to ourselves, that's
what we do. But the Lord tells us, because
as many as he loves, he rebukes. and chastens and tells us, be
zealous therefore and repent. Not work harder under the law,
but turn from trusting your ways and look to Jesus Christ whom
I've sent, because he is the one who I've sent to save my
people from their sins. And he says, I stand at the door
and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will
come unto him and will sup with him and he with me. And what's
he talking about? Just like what John said in John
10 3, behold, to him, the porter openeth the door. And then you'll
hear his voice. and you'll hear him call your
name, speaking to you, and you'll be called out of that bondage
and led by the Lord into life everlasting in him. And so, our
Lord blesses us. He said at the end there, that
was at the end of Revelation 3, the last church that he was
talking to, and he ends it with, he that hath an ear, let him
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. When you look at
Matthew's recording of what we see here in Luke 7, he ends it
with, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith. Let him hear what the Spirit,
let him, or actually he says, he that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. And Luke records it as, but wisdom
is justified of all her children. They're all saying the same thing. God in wisdom hath committed
us to the care of Christ. That's whom he sent to save us
from our sins. Not the law, not our works, not
our decisions, not our aisle walking, not our praying the
Romans prayer, but looking to Christ by the grace and power
of God to save us from our sins apart from our works, apart from
our wisdom, all to the praise, honor, and glory of God revealed
to us in the face of Jesus Christ. So I pray our Lord bless each
and every one of us to hear Christ, that the porter would open the
door of our heart, that we may hear the voice of Christ and
believe him and follow him all the days of our life. Amen.