Now Paul, who was the aged apostle
and experienced apostle, writes to the young pastor Timothy,
who is facing a heavy burden of responsibility in the church
at Ephesus. The task is challenging. He has
false doctrine that's coming in, which must be erased and
eradicated and held at bay. Public worship has to be safeguarded.
and mature leadership developed. He's praying that he would become
a mature leader in Christ, too. And the conduct of the church,
too. Paul talks about the conduct
of a minister and that he has to be on guard lest his usefulness
becomes a liability rather than an asset to the gospel. And he
must be careful to avoid false teachers as a young preacher,
too. and greedy motives. That's why I keep stressing,
too, that the preachers, we have to keep putting forth the preeminence
of Christ. Christ gets all the preeminence.
He's the one at the forefront. He's the one who gets all the
glory and all the honor and all the praise. 1 Timothy 1, verses 8 to 16. Name of the message is, flee,
follow, and fight. Flee, follow, and fight. And
having food and remnant, let us be there with content. But
they that will be rich fall into temptation and snare, and into
many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown the man in destruction
and perdition. For the love of money is the
root of all evil, which, while some covet it after they have
erred from the faith, and pierce themselves through with many
sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things, and follow
after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith.
Lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast
professed a good profession before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight
of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who
before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession. that thou
keep this commandment without spot, unbreakable until the appearing
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in His times He will show, who
is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of
lords, who only hath immortality dwelling in the light, which
no man can approach unto, whom no man has seen, nor can see,
to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. Look at verses 11 and 12. But thou, O man of God, flee,
these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith.
Lay hold on the eternal life, whereunto thou art also called,
and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." Every
believer needs to pursue and practice these three instructions
of grace that are given to Timothy here by Paul, and ultimately
by the infinite wisdom of God the Holy Spirit, having Paul
penned these words. Flee those things, Paul writes,
and this refers to all that Paul had instructed Timothy in the
epistle. Flee everything that is contrary to the gospel. Everything. If it's contrary to the gospel,
flee it. Don't even give it a time of
day. Don't even give it a time of day. You hear error, somebody
brings up error and they try to make you eat it, Right? Flee it. Don't have anything
to do with it. Only believe what this Word says.
And this Word alone. This is our guide. This is our
guide. Turn, if you would, to 1 Timothy
1. We are to flee everything that's contrary to the Gospel,
especially those that consent not to wholesome words and sound
doctrine of Christ. Look at 1 Timothy 1. Look at
verse 3 here. And I besought thee to abide
still at Ephesus, and I went on to Macedonia, that thou mightest
charge some that they teach no other doctrine. No other doctrine. Then look at verse 10. For whoremongers,
for them that defile themselves to mankind, for man-stealers,
for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing
that is contrary to sound doctrine. We're to flee these things. Then
look over at chapter 4 of the same epistle, 1 Timothy chapter
4. Verse 1, now the Spirit speaketh
expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from
the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.
Look at verse 6. If thou put the brethren in remembrance
of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ,
nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto
thou hast attained. So we are to flee, flee false
doctrine. Not even give it the time of
day, as I said. And then 1st Timothy chapter
6 verse 3, If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome
words, even to the words of the Lord Jesus, and to the doctrine
which is according to godliness. So beloved, again. And then verse
10, For the love of money is the root of all evil, which some
coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows. The false doctrine is unsuitable
and detrimental to the believer. in seeking Christ and Him alone.
False doctrine will draw you away from Christ and either point
you to your own works, which is what 95% of false doctrine
is, it will point you to something you do. Scripture points you
to what Christ has done, beloved. That's why we're to flee that
false doctrine, flee those things. Somebody brings it up, no, I
have nothing to do with that at all. My salvation's in Christ
and Christ alone. If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek these things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things
on the earth, for ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ
in God. Colossians chapter three, verses
one to three. Then we are to follow, let's
look at our text again. Verse 11 and 12 in chapter 6
of 1 Timothy. But thou, O man of God, flee
these things. So we're to flee false doctrine
and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience,
meekness. Fight the good fight of faith.
And notice Paul is bringing it up that we're like soldiers. We're like soldiers. We fight. We have a fight. We are in a
battle, beloved. We are. We're to flee false doctrine,
and we are to fight and contend for the faith. Fight the good
fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also
called and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
Next, we're to pursue and follow after righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, patience, meekness. We're to make these the grand
object of our pursuit. Why? Because they're all found
in Christ Jesus our Lord. They're all found in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Righteousness, He's our righteousness.
Godliness, He's God incarnated in the flesh. Our faith is centered
in Christ. The love of Christ has been set upon us from eternity
and we love Christ because He first loved us. Patience, you
can't get any more patient than the Lord Jesus Christ, our great
King. Meekness, He's the epitome of
meekness. John chapter 10 says this, My
sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and
I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father which
gave them Me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck
them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one. And
in Scripture declares, if any man serve me, let him follow
me. And where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man
serve me, him will my father honor. John chapter 12, 26. So
we are to follow, follow after righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, patience, and meekness. And it's all centered in Christ,
beloved. Again, it's all centered in him. And these things are
appropriate and suitable for a believer seeking salvation
in Christ and Him alone. Matthew 6 says this, but seek
ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. His righteousness. And all these things shall be
added unto you, because we know all spiritual blessings are in
Christ, right? They're all in Him. And they're
all purchased by Christ, redeeming blood for His people. Ephesians
1, verse 7 says this, In whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace. The only reason we have redemption,
beloved, is because the precious blood of Jesus Christ was shed
for us. And then, as a result of that,
too, we have the forgiveness of sins. And marvel at that. How many sins? All are sins.
And it's all according to the riches of what? His grace, His
grace, which has been bestowed upon us. Unmerited, undeserving
sinners receive the mercy of God in and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. And now we've received the spirit
of the world, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit
which is of God. We might know the things that are freely given
to us of a God. God, the Holy Spirit, he rots
fruit in us, doesn't he? It's the work of God. People
try to People try to muster up meekness. They try to muster
up patience. You can't muster it up. It's
a work of God, the Holy Spirit in us. It's a fruit of the Spirit. Turn, if you would, to 2 Thessalonians,
chapter 2. But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, long-suffering. gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance, against such as there is no law. And
do you know Scripture plainly declares that it's the Spirit
of God which worketh in you both to will and to do His good pleasure?
Isn't that amazing? The Lord saves us and then He
works in us these fruits. Look at 2 Thessalonians 2, 13
and 14. But we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief in the truth, wherein he called you
by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. But look at this, we are bound
to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of
the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you. When
has he chosen you? From before the foundation of
the earth. What did he choose you to? To salvation. Through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Do you
believe the truth? You didn't before, right? God the Holy Spirit regenerates
us when we believe the truth of the Scriptures. Where unto
He called you? And He called you with an effectual
call. An irresistible call. Where unto He called you by our
Gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Turn if you would to Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13. Again, it's God working in you
both the will and to do His good pleasure. God working in our lives, working
in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight, conforming us,
the believers being conformed to the image of Christ. Look
at Hebrews 13, 20. Now the God of peace, that bought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
Look at this. Make you perfect. We're sinners though. Right? We're sinners by birth. We're sinners by nature. We're
sinners by choice. And even after we're saved, we're still sinners,
aren't we? To our shame. But look at this. Make you perfect. There's one day we'll be perfect,
beloved. We won't sin anymore. We won't sin. Right now we're
clothed in the righteousness of Christ and God doesn't see
us in our sin. He sees us in Christ. But look
at this one day, make you perfect in every good work to do his
will. God's people are chosen in Christ to receive salvation
in and through Christ to do his will. To do his will, beloved. My goodness. Make you perfect in every good
work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing
in His sight." Well, we know from our birth that what we do
is not pleasing in God's sight. But scripture declares this.
Look at this, though. Here's the key right here through
Jesus Christ, because we're clothed in the righteousness of Christ
in him alone, to whom he glory forever and ever. Amen. And that's
what the believer says. We give God all the glory, all
the honor, all the praise. It's all his work left to ourselves. We'd be damned to hell. That's
where we'd be going. But God in eternity chose us.
We had no clue. I often say this, what does God
have to do for people? Well, just leave them alone. Just leave
them alone. But God has mercy on his people.
Mercy. Again, look at our text, but
thou, O man, 1 Timothy 6, 11 and 12, but thou, O man of God,
flee these things and follow up their righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith.
Lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called and hast
professed a good profession before many witnesses. Next, we need
to pursue to fight the good fight of faith. Fight the good fight
of faith. And fight means to fervently
strive after. And this is not works, this is
just us contending for the faith. Because we know that our works
have nothing to do with our salvation, but we are to contend. The gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ is worth fighting and courageously standing
in support of. Turn, if you would, to Galatians,
chapter 5, and I'll read Philippians, chapter 1, verse 27. Only let
your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether
I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs,
that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together
for the faith of the gospel. Them Roman legions, when they
gathered together and they went into their ranks, they stood
fast. There's soldiers standing fast, and every believer is a
soldier of Christ. We stand fast. Brother John and I were talking
yesterday after doing some work here at the church, and John,
we were talking about the logistics of the ships and stuff. And you
see these big aircraft carriers and the missile frigates and
all that, and you think, wow, look at those. And they get all
the glory, don't they? But little do people know that here's these
logistical ships that are giving them fuel, giving them food,
just to keep them going. Everyone is important in the
body of Christ, beloved. We're all soldiers in Christ.
Every one of us is important in the work right here. Galatians
5.1 says, Stand fast therefore. Stand fast. Don't be moved. Don't
be moved by false doctrine. Don't be moved by what people
say and this and that. Stand fast. Stand fast. In what? In the liberty. In the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. What liberty the
believer has in Christ. We're free, beloved. We're free. We're free from the law. We're
free from the guilt of our sin. We're free from the penalty of
our sin. We're not free from the presence yet, but one day
we will be. One day we will be. But what liberty the believer
has in Christ. Stand fast, therefore, in the
liberty wherewith Christ has what? Made us free. You see,
workspace religion is entangling. It chains you down. I was watching
John with his big, what do you call it, backhoe. And that backhoe
was on the trailer. I'm losing words here. It was
on the trailer. And I watched John unchain that. And that thing was all chained
up, right? It could not move until all those chains were gone.
And John got on there, and he operated it. made it do whatever
He willed it to do. Think of that, beloved. We were
bound up by the chains of sin. We couldn't move. We were weighed
down. But the Lord has set us free.
And now He moves us and has us go wherever He pleases us to
do, whatever He pleases us to do, beloved. It's incredible.
It's absolutely incredible. What liberty we have. Be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage. And workspace religion
is bondage. Vicki and I came out of that,
it's bondage. It just weighs you down. Sister Nancy, you know
what it's like to, it just weighs you down. You're just, my goodness. What freedom we have in Christ
Jesus our Lord. So we're the fight, the good
fight of faith. This gospel set us free. Christ has set us free,
beloved. Jude says that we are to earnestly
contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints. And the life
of faith is called a warfare. Turn if you would to 1 Timothy.
1 Timothy 1 and then put your finger in 2 Timothy 2. 1 Timothy
1 and 2 Timothy 2. Now we have many strong adversaries,
right? We have the devil, he's an adversary
of ours. Scripture says, be sober, be
vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, is a roaring lion,
walking about seeking whom he may devour. Now he's God's devil,
and the Lord is in full control, but he's our enemy, isn't he?
He is our enemy, he is. And then we also have our own
fleshly nature, which I think is 95% of our problem, to be
honest with you. People always used to say, I
remember when I wasn't saved, And people used to say, oh, the
devil made me do it and all this. And then when I became religious,
it seemed like the devil had more power than God. But no,
that's not true. That's not true. 95% of our problems
is our flesh. It really is. It really is. We
have problems on our own. And Paul wrote about this, but
I see a law in my members worn against the law of my mind, bringing
me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body
of this death? From the body of this death,
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind,
I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of
sin. Look at 1 Timothy 1.18, look at this. We're in a warfare,
beloved. This charge I commit unto thee,
son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before
on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare. War a good
warfare, contend for the faith, beloved. And then turn over to
2 Timothy 2, verses 3 and 4. Oh, were to endure hardness as
good soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Timothy 2, verses 3 and 4, Thou
therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ,
no man that wereth entangle himself with the affairs of this life,
that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. This
is all believers. We're soldiers of Christ. And
we have strong adversaries, as I said. We have the devil, our
own fleshly nature, and Galatians 5.17 says, For the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and they are
contrary to one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things
that ye would." You have that problem? We all do. We all do. Oh my. And then we have the enemies
of the Gospel. Then we have the enemies of the Gospel. Luke 16,
15 says this, and He said unto them, Ye are they which justify
yourselves. Luke 16, 15. They justify themselves. False religion and the peddlers
of it justify themselves before God. They don't see themselves
as sinners. Recently read an article, I don't
know if it was by one of the older grace preachers, and they
said, well, why don't your family, and I'm reading it and it's so
personal, they said, why doesn't your family ask about Christ?
Because they don't see themselves as sinners. They see themselves
as good people. And I was reading that thinking,
I just experienced that two months ago with my family. My, you don't see, see God is
showing us what we are, beloved. Sinners in desperate need of
Christ. In Luke 16, 15, it says, and he said unto them, ye are
they which justify yourself before man, but God knoweth your hearts.
God knows the hearts. For that which is highly esteemed
among man is an abomination in the sight of God. Somebody says,
well, he's a really good person. Maybe in the sight of man. but
he's a Christ-rejecting sinner. And in God's eyes, he's an abomination. That's wrong words, but that's
what the Scriptures declare. I think of my whole family. I'm
the only one in my whole family who I know is saved. So those
words strike home. But the only reason that I'm
saved and so far God's left them in their sins is because it's
God who's made me differ. And I know it's so with you,
too. And in our hearts, grieve for them and we suffer and keep
praying for them. Keep praying for them until they
breathe their last breath. Just keep lifting them up. John
says this, he was talking about false enemies of the gospel.
You are of your father the devil, and the lust of your father you
will do. He was a murderer from the beginning,
and a bold not in the truth, because there is no truth in
him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he
is a liar and the father of it. John 8.44, the master's words. But listen to this for believers,
and ye shall know the truth. And what? The truth shall make
you free. Stand fast in the liberty wherewith
Christ hath made you free. And just rejoice. God doesn't
reveal this precious truth to anyone. He reveals it to his
sheep. And that's where we just really
marvel when we ponder, knowing who we are, knowing our lives,
knowing what we've done, knowing Again, knowing that we're sinners,
that's what we just marvel. That Christ chose me. He chose me. And then, of course,
the word comes up. Why? Because it pleased him. Isn't that amazing? Because it
pleased God. Why? Mercy. Mercy, beloved. We get mercy. Turn, if you would,
to Ephesians chapter 6. The weapons of our warfare are
not carnal, but spiritual. And it's Christ and him alone.
At one time, I used to think the armor of God was something
that we put on. And all the armor of God is Christ. And it's God
who puts that armor on us. And it can never be taken off.
Brother Norm bought that out. I loved it. Norm goes, that armor
can never be taken off. Brother Wayne, we don't take
the helmet off and put it on. No, it's put on us by Christ
and by Christ alone, by God alone. And the armor is Christ. The
armor is him. Look at Ephesians 6, verses 13
to 18. Wherewith take unto you the whole
armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having
your loins girded about with truth. Who's truth? Who's the
one who's the way, the truth, and the life? The Lord Jesus
Christ. With truth. In heaven on the breastplate
of righteousness. Who's our righteousness? The Lord Jesus Christ. He's the
Lord, our righteousness, beloved. And you're free shot with the
preparation of the gospel of peace. Who's the object of the
gospel? The Lord Jesus Christ. And above
all, taking the shield of faith. Who's our faith centered in?
Christ. Wherewith ye shall be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet
of salvation. Who's our salvation in? Christ and Him alone. and the
sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Who's this book
all about? Christ. Do you see? It just keeps
going. It's all about Christ. It's all
about Him. Take the helm of the salvation
and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Praying always
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Who do we pray
to? Christ, our Advocate with the Father. In and through we
pray to the Father, in and through Christ Jesus our Lord. Praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching there
unto with all Perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
So they're all attributed to Christ. The armors are all attributed
to Christ. And they are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds.
Turn if you would to 2 Corinthians 10. 2 Corinthians 10. It's only in and through Christ
Jesus our Lord that we have the victory. 2 Corinthians 10 verses
3 to 5. And then put your finger in Galatians
chapter 2 since we'll be close by there. 2 Corinthians 10 and
Galatians chapter 2. 2 Corinthians 10 verses 3 to
5 says, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after
the flesh. For our weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds,
casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalted
itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ. Now it's called the fight of
faith in opposition to the law and works is the ground of salvation.
Think of that. Our salvation is in Christ and
Him alone through the free grace of God and it's a free sovereign
grace of God in Christ and Him alone. And it's in opposition
to the law and works as a ground of salvation. Look at Galatians
chapter 2, verse 16. This is very plain. You think,
well, Unless God reveals it to us, we'd never know it. Galatians 2, look at this. Knowing that a man... Now if
anyone comes to you ever and says that they're going to go
to heaven because of their good works, open up this verse. If
anyone tells you that by following the law gets them to heaven,
open up this verse. Look at this. Knowing that a
man is not justified by the works of what? The law. Law can never
justify us. Never. All it does is condemn
us. It shows us our desperate need
for Christ. But by the faith of Jesus Christ,
you must believe. You must be born again. And those
who are born again have been given the gift of faith to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,
even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified
by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law. Look
at this for by the works of the law shall no flesh be what justified. You can't be saved by the law. You can't be justified by the
law. And then Hebrews 11.6 says this, but without faith it is
impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe
that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
him. But that Galatians 2.16, that destroys works-based religion.
It absolutely destroys it. Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, so anything you think you can do to justify
yourselves before God, the scriptures declare that man cannot be justified
by works of God. And remember, justification,
right? It's just as if we never sinned, right? So all our sins
are forgiven. All of them. We're clothed in
the righteousness of Christ. Why can we appear before God?
Because of the righteousness of Christ, right? Not by our
own works of righteousness. So if a person says that they're
saved by their works, they're saying they can weave a coat
of righteousness that allows them to be in the presence of
God. That's a lie from the pit of hell. It's impossible for
man to justify themselves before God. by the faith of Jesus Christ,
even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified
by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law, praise
God, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
And then the justified sinner lives by faith in Christ. Look at Galatians 3, verse 11. And again, it's plainly stated
here, look at this. Galatians 3, verse 11. But that
no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident.
For, what? The just shall live by faith. Again, it's plainly spoken here.
No man is justified. You can underline that. No man
is justified by the law. No man. And think of this. When Christ lived on this earth,
right? What did he do? He fulfilled
the law for us. For us. Perfectly. Because we could never do it.
We could never do it. And then Hebrews 10.38 says this,
now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my
soul shall have no pleasure in him. So we're to flee false doctrine,
we're to follow after the things of the Lord, and we are to fight.
Fight the good fight of faith, beloved. Stand fast, contend,
contend for the gospel. Oh, and that God would give us
much grace that we might be able to flee, to follow, and to fight,
because we can't do it on our own, can we? No. Oh, but if God
gives us the grace and strength to turn, if you would, to 1 John,
1 John, chapter 5. Oh, we're to flee, to fight,
and follow, and lay hold on eternal life, in and through the Lord
Jesus Christ, to the glory of God alone. 1 John 5, verse 11 to 13. And this is the record that God
has given us, given to us, eternal life. And this life is in His
Son. It's not by anything we do. It's
only in His Son. It's only in Christ Jesus. It's
only about what Christ has done. It's not about what we do. He
that hath the Son... Do you have the Son? Do you have
the Son? By faith, are you looking to
Christ? Are you looking to Christ? He that hath the Son hath life. We're going to look
at this morning, the death of deaths. Out of the death of one
comes life. Comes life. He that hath the
Son hath life. And he that hath not the Son
of God hath not life. That's pretty plain. These things
have I written unto you that believe. Do you believe? On the
name of the Son of God, that ye may know. Someone asked me
the other day, well, how do you know when you're one of the elect?
I said, because I believe. And they said, well, how do you know
that you have eternal life? I said, verse John tells me. Look at this. These things have
I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God,
that ye may know that ye have eternal life. How do we know? and that you may believe on the
name of the Son of God. I know I have eternal life because
my faith is set in Christ and Him alone. And it's a gift from
God. There was a time when I didn't believe, and now I believe. And
my faith has one object, one center, Christ Jesus, my Lord,
and Him alone. I've abandoned all hopes of salvation
by my own works, and my trust and my rest is in Christ alone.
All my salvation is wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ and
Him alone. But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto
me, and I unto the world. What a great Savior we have,
beloved. Gracious Heavenly Father, we come before Thy throne. We
are so thankful for Your mercy continuously towards we who believe. We are in awe, in absolute awe,
that you chose us before the foundation of the world in Christ
Jesus our Lord and that Lord Jesus you came and died and lived
that perfect life which we could never live and then died upon
Calvary's cross fully bearing all our sins fully bearing the
penalty that was demanded for all our sins you bore it all
Lord and we are in awe just in absolute awe We pray that you
be glorified today and magnified through the preaching of your
word and through the singing. And Lord, as we partake of your supper,
may we remember the great cost, the great cost of our salvation
in Jesus name. Amen.