I want you to turn this morning
in your Bibles to John chapter 17. I want us to read just the first verses. These words
spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father,
the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify
thee. As thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life, to as many
as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which
Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, Glorify thou
me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was." Now, we do not need to consult
any commentary or get any second opinion on what we have just
These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are allowed
to overhear His prayer to the Father. And this is not only
His prayer, this is His intercession on the behalf of His people. And it has to do with what he
refers to here as the hour. The hour is come. And that is the time appointed,
the time ordained, the time predetermined by God in old eternity, before
the world began." We will surely miss a great part of God's glory
if we do not seek to find out what it says in this book about
what God did before the world began. You see, what He purposes
and what He determines and what He does before the world began,
that assures that He alone gets all the glory. Christ talked
very often about this hour. We read in John 7 that they sought
to take Him But no man laid hands on him, because his hour was
not yet come." He asked some, what do you have to do with me? My hour is not yet come. And so by this predetermined
hour that Christ looked to and looked forward to, we know that
what He did in His work on the cross, it was not some contingency
plan. He went in His life toward this
hour. And the prophet had said long
before, speaking as the voice for God, speaking of a people,
speaking of a nation and a land which were none other than the
people of God, he said, I will remove the iniquity of that land
in one day. One day. One time. And what does Christ ask here
as He prays to the Father? He asks Him, He says, glorify
Thy Son. And sadly, so many people think
that to glorify is to make something better or to improve on it. when in reality it means simply
to make manifest that which is. It says, glorify me, which simply
means show me to be what I am. Do it, he says, that it may glorify
thee. In other words, in that hour
that Christ is talking about, God would glorify Him, show Him
to be who He was and why He was here, and in that cross death,
Christ would glorify the Father, make known or manifest who He
is. and what He has done in His amazing
grace. And the thing that we find next
is, in this, we're reminded of His absolute sovereignty, His
absolute total power, whether it be over kings or whether it
be over paupers, Whether it be in that day or whether it be
in this day, in verse 2 he says, and thou hast given him power,
authority, in this particular role that he is now engaged in,
power over all flesh. All flesh, male and female, young
and old, rich or poor, intellectual or ignorant, power over all flesh. And how will He exercise this
sovereignty? Well, we know that He does so
in creation, He created what He would, when He would, how
He would. And we know that He exercises
it in nature, in the things themselves that were made. All things were
made by Him and for Him. We know that He does it in providence. He works all things by His hand. He sustains and upholds all things
by the Word of His power. But what He speaks of here, and
most of all in this book, is that He exercises this authority
and this power, especially in salvation. In other words, this
is His glory in that covenant office as the God-man mediator. The prophet describes the coming
Messiah as the mediator of that new covenant. And so, he's talking
here about God giving him that authority and him manifesting
that authority, exercising it, as he carries out this office
that he has agreed upon and agreed in, in the everlasting covenant. This is what the Godhead determined
him to be and to do. And if you notice in that second
verse, he goes on by saying, "...as thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give, eternal life to as many
as thou hast given Him." He has this authority. He has this power. He exercises it in giving eternal
life. Eternal life. And if He gives
eternal life, then we have to know immediately that eternal
life is the gift of God. It is the gift of God. You cannot earn it. You cannot merit it. You cannot
decide that you will have it. You cannot engage yourself in
any ritual in order to obtain it. It is all of grace. You cannot work for a gift. You cannot deserve a gift. And this is what the apostle
tells us later in 1 John, he says, and this is the record
that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His
Son. He gives eternal life by giving
Himself. He is the gift. All of salvation
being a gift of God in Christ, Paul says, thanks be unto God
for His unspeakable gift. Someone says, but you have to
believe. Well, that's a part of the gift. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. All who truly believe, believe
because God gave them faith, and all men have not faith."
He describes righteousness in Romans 5 as being a gift. He describes repentance as being
the gift of God. And so Christ speaking here speaks
of this gift that he gives, and it is nothing less than eternal
life. But not only does he say he gives
it as a gift, he exercises this sovereignty, this power and right
to give eternal life. But who does he say he gives
it to? Some say he gives it to every
person. Some say he offers it to all
men without exception. But if we're ever going to find
out about eternal life, we're going to have to find out about
Christ, and we're going to have to find out who He says He gives
eternal life to. Verse 2 again, "...as thou hast
given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given Him." Now, I didn't put that
in this verse this morning. And this, regardless of what
any person in this world says, will say, let God be true and
every man a liar, He gives eternal life to as many as the Father
has given Him. That is a definite number. And that is the theme, not only
of this whole book, but of this whole Bible, and especially of
this whole chapter. Look down in verse 6. I have manifested thy name unto
the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they
were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word."
There they are distinguished again. Verse 9, he says, "...I
pray for them." I pray not for the world." Now let me ask you
this, this being the intercessory prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ,
would you imagine that He would not pray for everyone that He
died for? He prays for exactly the same
ones that He went to the cross and died for. Not every person
in the world, but those given to Him by the Father, it says,
out of the world. I pray not for the world, but
for them which Thou hast given Me, for they are Thine. Lest we not understand, look
down in verse 14. I have given them thy word, and
the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. And we'll make a big mistake. We'll make an eternal mistake. will make a soul-damning mistake
if we do not ask the Lord to teach us the various usages and
meanings of this word, world, in the Scriptures. Look down
in verse 16. They are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. Verse 23, "'I in them, and thou
in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the
world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them
as thou hast loved me.'" And he goes on to say, "'And you
have loved me, with an everlasting love." These are those loved
of the Father with an everlasting love. They are a people given
to Him by the Father. They are those to be His bride. They are a number, as it says
in Scripture, which no man can number, but that God has numbered. These are they that are called
the elect of God. They are called the church of
God. They are called the people of
God. But they are, in this instance,
those that were given to Christ in that everlasting covenant
and that He was made totally, absolutely responsible for. It was His responsibility to
save them. To save them from their sins. If you look back in John chapter
6, he describes them also in John chapter 6, in verse 37,
when he says, "...all that the Father giveth me." Here they
are again. They are a people given to Christ. And it will be His responsibility
to save them, and when He does, it will be His glory alone. All that the Father giveth Me
shall come to Me, and Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise
cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." All
through these verses is this language of Christ who is Jehovah's
servant. He humbles Himself in order to
fulfill all these covenant obligations. Listen to Him again. And this
is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which He
hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth
on Him, may have everlasting life." and I will raise him up at the
last day." These are also those that are described by Christ
as His sheep. Look down in John chapter 10
at verse 27. having said to those unbelieving,
Christ-rejecting Pharisees that they were not of His sheep. He says in verse 27, 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." They are His sheep. They were
given to Him by the Father. They were entrusted to Him with
all their salvation depending upon Him, and the glory of God
hanging on what He accomplishes on their behalf. Paul says, Husbands,
love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for
it. But most of all, This morning,
I want you to look at what he says in verse 3. John 17 verse 3. Now how anybody could read this
verse and go on oblivious to the Scriptures, go on disinterested
in the matter of their soul, go on without any interest in
trying to find out what He says eternal life is? I cannot imagine. Listen to Him. And this is life eternal. Does that mean anything to you
when the Lord Jesus Christ Himself It ought to mean something to
us in everything God says through the prophets. It ought to mean
something to us in everything He tells us by the apostles. But my friend, this is the very
words of the Lord Jesus Christ as He spoke them to the Father. And this is, Life eternal. That's why I say we need not
run, explore anywhere else, investigate anywhere else, because the One
who is life Himself, the One who has been given authority
over all flesh to give eternal life to as many as the Father
has given Him, He says, And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." You see, it doesn't matter what
We think eternal life is. I heard a man say yesterday of
a preacher, he said, his view of Christianity is a lot different
from my view of Christianity. Guess what? Neither one matters
a bit. What you think or what I think,
what you say or what I say or anybody else does not change
what Christ says. And He says, this is eternal
life. And it is not to simply live
forever. I think that's what most people
believe that eternal life is, to just live forever. Everybody's
going to live forever. Everybody is. When we were created,
God breathed into us and made us a living soul. And the way we know that everybody
is going to live forever is that hell is described by Christ as
being as long as heaven is. Is that not right? The wicked shall go into everlasting
punishment. But the people of God shall go
into everlasting glory. But they're both going to live
forever. Some in indescribable agony. Some in unbelievable suffering. that cannot be described or measured,
but can only be warned of and pictured by everlasting fire. But not these. He gives them eternal life. And it's not even to go just
to heaven. It's not as people sing about
and write about and talk about golden streets and palaces and
mansions and playing golf and singing and all this kind of
foolishness that men and women talk about. All that is, is a
revelation. They make a revelation that they
have no knowledge of what eternal life is. Eternal life, Christ says to
the Father, is to know Thee, the only true God. To know Thee, the only true God. And surely, if He says there
is one true God, there must be many false gods. Is that not
right? If language means anything, if
eternal life is to know the only true God, then all these notions
about gods and faiths and all these other things, they are
simply false gods. Are they not? Eternal life, Christ says, is
to know the only true and living God. And if you notice here,
contrary to what some are always wanting to say, it involves knowledge. Knowledge. I don't know why some
make that a very dirty word in their vocabulary. It involves
knowledge. He says, to know thee only true
God. And I know some say always, it's
not what you know, but who you know. That's so pious, isn't
it? But it is the what of God's Word
that distinguishes the who. It is the truth of God that distinguishes
the true God. It is the gospel of God by which
we know the true and living God. I like what an old preacher said. He said, here then we have authority
to conclude that in the proper apprehension of the only true
God, in His threefold character of persons, and of the person
and offices and relations of Jesus Christ as the God-man Mediator,
the glorious Head and Husband of His church, this is life eternal. It is to know God as He is in
Christ. He says, "...our Lord does not
say that it leads to it, but that it is. Not that this knowledge
shall hereafter bring the happy possessors of it to eternal life,
but that it is now already in possession." If by His grace, you, and I know
sometimes we really get to thinking we are somebody, but we're like
specks of sand on that large beach not far away from us. We're like drops of water in
the vast oceans of this world. And if we are blessed of God,
to know the true and living God." He said, this is life eternal. To be delivered from our blindness,
to be delivered from the bondage of Satan, to be delivered from
this bondage of false religion on every hand, to be delivered
from our blindness and our unbelief, to know the true Living God. We have it. Eternal life. He never speaks about a feeling, although the knowledge of the
true and living God surely does bring to our hearts and minds
the most wonderful feeling. When they sang this morning of
that triune God, the name of that hymn is the triune prayer. Blessed Father. Blessed Jesus. Blessed Spirit. all who acted
in one accord in this covenant salvation to save us from our
sin and to bless us in the knowledge of the only true God." Somebody
says, you're just too narrow-minded. No. He's the only true God. Someone says, well, you've got
to leave that open for interpretation. Oh no! He interprets Himself
who He is. We don't know by our searching
and finding out if we know it's by His revelation of Himself
to us. And He does it through the truth. Listen to John's words in John
3. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." An old
preacher said, he's got it. He's got it. If Christ is all
his hope, if God has given him an understanding of the truth
of the gospel in that who he is and what he's accomplished,
if that is his hope, He has eternal life. You see, eternal life is to know
God in Christ through His Word and His work. is to see how God
is glorified in that work. Look in verse 4, "...I have glorified
Thee on the earth, I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me
to do." Our hope is in that work finished by Christ that the Father
gave Him to do in this covenant. I read something in an article
someone had posted recently. I don't know why a preacher would
make a statement like this. I honestly do not. But he said, there is no prerequisite
to faith in Christ. God does not tell sinners that
they must know this or that doctrine before they can believe." Really? Does God not require? Is there not a prerequisite? I'm not talking about something
we do, but is there not a prerequisite for faith? Do we not have to
have revealed to us, manifested to us, the object of faith? I want to read you some verses
in Scripture, and this is just, I'm talking about a paltry handful
of verses. But listen to what Christ says. In Mark 1, he says, "...the time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent ye,
and believe the gospel." That's what our Lord said. Believe the
gospel. Repentance is toward God. And in repentance, we acknowledge
that God is not who we thought He was. And we turn from that
false view of God and do what? Believe the gospel. Turn over to Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10. Now listen, in verse 13, which is a verse often isolated
to itself, misrepresented. He says, "...for whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Somebody says,
that's just what the Bible says. Not by itself it doesn't. He
continues, "...how then shall they call on Him in whom they
have not believed?" Well, we can go along with that, can't
we? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not
heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent?" If you don't like the term prerequisite
for faith, what is it if it is not hearing the truth." Hearing
the gospel, because he continues, "...how beautiful are the feet
of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings
of good things. But they have not all obeyed
the gospel, for Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?"
And you can look at about any Bible in Isaiah where he talks
about that very thing, who hath believed our report. And in the
margin for that word report, guess what you'll find? Doctrine. Doctrine. And yet somebody will say, God
doesn't require that you know this or that doctrine. What is
the gospel but doctrine? It is the doctrine of Christ. Turn over to 2 Thessalonians
and listen to what the Apostle says in 2 Thessalonians in chapter
2 and verse 13 where he says concerning
these believers at Thessalonica, 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." He's acknowledging
just what Christ says. Here is a people given to Christ. And they were chosen of the Lord,
loved of the Lord from the beginning, chosen to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit, and what? And belief of the truth. I remember Brother Henry Mahan
saying many times, you cannot believe on one of whom you've
not heard any more than you can come back from where you've never
been. And that is the truth. Eternal life is to know the only
true God. Now, I lived a large portion
of my life. I lived it in a very moral atmosphere. I've taught some things. I'm
thankful for that teaching. I would to God that more parents
would set an example and teach their children moral values like
my parents did. But in that morality, at the
same time being raised up in religion, I mean, Sunday school,
Bible school, training union, whatever it was, to the extent
of trying to stand before men and women and preach. I'm going to tell you something
about someone I don't really know about myself. That's what
it amounted to until somebody with courage. Only God can give
this kind of courage. Somebody who, jealous of the
glory and honor of God, valued the truth of His Word more than
he valued his own life, stood and preached to me the truth. You know what I found out? I
found out that that good old God, the one we always called
the Dear Lord, He wasn't God at all. He wasn't God at all. He wasn't
the only true God. But He revealed Himself through
His Word. It was like overnight, I got
a new Bible. It was amazing to me that God
had immediately, the night before, put all these things in this
book that I'd never seen before. Not only that, He had now brought
my heart to a willing submission of the things that I had seen
but rebelled against. He's the only true God. Paul says in Ephesians 13 to
those Ephesians believers, he said, in whom you trusted after
that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. I'd heard the gospel of how to
be saved all my life. But God's gospel is the gospel
of your salvation. the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Turn over to 2 John. 2 John, and look down at that ninth
verse. Now, in the face of such quotes
and statements as that, what does this mean then? 2 John,
verse 9. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son." If there come any unto you, and
bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither
bid him God speed." The doctrine of Christ is the gospel of Christ. It's the good news of Christ,
the glad tidings of Christ. An eternal life is to know God
in Christ through His work and through His Word. It's a discovery
that God has arranged to His people that they find out, that
they have revealed to them the only true God through this gospel. Peter said, God, he said to those
other disciples, you know that God made choice among us that
by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel and believe. You see, his work was a covenant
work. in agreement with the Godhead,
and His blood is described as the blood of the everlasting
covenant. It has to do with who He is that
accomplished the work, being the Son of God, come to earth,
manifest in the flesh. And it especially has to do with what He accomplished in
His work. He glorified God in the salvation
of those He was responsible for. Paul says to Timothy, He saved
us. He saved us. But there's nothing God glorifying
in today's Gospels. They say God's done all He can.
They say it's up to you. They say it's your decision.
They pressure people down the aisles. They do all these things
and double-damn the souls of men and women and young people. But they don't tell them what
Christ did. What kind of work does He describe
here? I know all throughout the Bible
it's called a work of righteousness, it's called a work of peace,
but here it's described as a finished work. Now, I'm not a scholar, but I know this, you cannot add
anything to and you cannot make better that which is finished
and complete. John says, "...and you are complete
in Him." He is life. He is life. He glorified God in His saving
them all together by Himself to the glory of God. Because Christ came as one that
was sent. It is to know the only true God
and Jesus Christ. The only time that he uses those
two names together in Scripture. And Jesus Christ whom thou hast
sent. Do you not know what he was sent
for? I've often told you that he was
not sent for, but he was sent. The word apostle means one sent
forth. And so the writer of Hebrews
says, Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the apostle and high priest of our profession Christ
Jesus. He's the apostle. He was the
one sent forth from God. You and I did not have a clue,
not even being born, when over 2,000 years ago on this earth,
God came in human flesh as the one sent from God. Do we have any understanding
or knowledge of why He was sent? John says, "...for God sent not
His Son into the world to condemn the world." Why? Because the
world is already condemned. "...but that the world through
Him might be saved." There's that word, world. Are we going
to try to find out what it means? Evidently, it's not that world
that He said, they are not of the world and I pray not for
the world. This must be a different world. It's the world. of His
people, the world of that body of people given to Him in that
covenant. John again, and we have seen
and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior
of the world. Not to save everyone in the world,
but to be the Savior of the world. He's the only one there is. There's
no salvation in any other. He's the only Savior there is.
And thus, He's the Savior of the world. John again, "...in
this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that
God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might
live through Him." What is the difference between
spiritual life and death? The living know the true and
one living God in Christ. All of his people are taught
of God. That's what the prophet said, and they shall all be taught
of me. Christ said, quoting the same
thing, they'll all be taught of God, and everyone that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father. What do they do? They
come to me. Their hope no longer rests in
a false Jesus, or a feeling, or a work, or anything like that.
They trust Christ alone. They seek to give all the glory
to Him, and to honor Him. Galatians chapter 4, he said,
in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, made under
the law, to redeem them that were under the law. Did He or
didn't He? He didn't send Him to make them savable, like these
stupid preachers say, to give everybody a chance. He sent Him
to redeem them, to buy them, pay the price of their redemption
from all their sins by the shedding of His blood? Did His blood shed
on that cross redeem them? Or did it just make them redeemable? You see, these are the things
that distinguish the only true God. The truth of His Word that
sets forth Christ as the only but absolutely successful Savior
of His people. Turn over to 1 John 4. 1 John 4, and look down in verse
10. Herein is love, not that we love
God. I hear lots of folks talking
about how they love God. My constant thought is how little I love
God. You say, don't you love God?
I love God. But not like I should. And certainly
not as He desires. But that He loved us and sent
His Son. Now the next two words are added
by the translator. They're in italics. And sent
His Son, the propitiation for our sins. The propitiatory sacrifice,
the mercy seat, the sacrifice itself for our sins. What does a propitiatory sacrifice
do? On the one hand, it turns away
the wrath of God. And on the other hand, it restores
the favor of God. You see, we can only know God
in Christ. And our knowledge of Him, which
we gain by His gospel when His Spirit reveals the truth to us,
is more than a mere intellectual knowledge. It's a knowledge of
affection. You remember what the Bible says
about Adam concerning Eve? It says, and Adam knew his wife. He was in an intimate relationship
with his wife. He loved his wife. How much did
he love her? He loved her so much, that when
she partook of that fruit, and by that she fell, being deceived
through the subtlety of Satan, he knowingly, He took of that
fruit because He loved her. That's why He's the type of Christ. We love Him because He first
loved us. You see, faith is joined to the
understanding. Paul said, I know whom I believed. and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." How
do you know whom you have believed, Paul? By what God revealed to
him. He knew who because of what God
had revealed to him, what Christ had taught him concerning who
he was and what he had done. Faith is never separate from
the understanding. Faith is not grounded in feelings,
it's grounded in the facts, the facts of the gospel. Look over in 1 John chapter 5,
and I'll try to bring this to the close. Look in 1 John 5 and
verse 19. John says, "...and we know that
we are of God. And the whole world lieth in
wickedness." That world being the world outside of the
Lord's people, outside of His elect, outside of the church.
That world Christ said that we're not of the world. And we know that the Son of God
is come and hath given us an understanding." Somebody says,
well, you people think you know everything. No, we don't. I'm amazed at what I don't know
sometimes, and I can only hope you don't know all I don't know.
You never listen to me again. But He has given us an understanding.
He has given us through His Word, by His Holy Spirit, a sufficient
distinguishing revelation. that we may know Him that is
true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus
Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life." Would you believe what he says
after that? Which shows us what eternal life
truly is. The knowledge of the only true
God. He says, Keep yourselves from idols. Keep yourselves from
every God that isn't God. From every error that is not
founded on the truth of God in His Word. To know God is to trust
Christ and the work that He accomplished. And that alone. And that is why
so many show that they do not really know the true God. Christ said, "...all things are
delivered unto Me of My Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but
the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son.
And He to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." Isaiah says, Come ye near unto
me, hear ye this." He's the voice, God's using His voice to speak.
Come ye near unto me, hear ye this. I've not spoken in secret
from the beginning. From the time that it was, there
am I. And now the Lord God and His
Spirit has sent me. You say, well, what do we do? Well, our Lord said this, this
is the work of God. This is what He requires. If
you do it, this is the work of God. He accomplished it. That
you believe on Him whom He hath sent. Eternal life. which God gives
in Christ, is to know Him, to distinguish Him from every false
god, to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He hath
sent. Only by His grace do any ever
know Him. And yet in an amazing way, Some
old preachers said, Providence is the handmaid of salvation.
But He is always working. We get our eyes distracted so
much about what's going on, what man's doing in this world. What
we need to be looking at is what God's doing in this world. And
He's not doing it through big preachers and big movements and
all that kind of stuff. He's doing it by that spreading
of His Word whereby He's always moving His people into contact
with the Gospel. Now, I was just cruising along
myself, thinking like Saul of Tarsus did, that I already knew
God. And God budded in. That's what
He has to do to all of us. We go one way and we think this
is the way we decide and all that. All the time. We're like
fish in a fishbowl. We're just swimming. We think
we're so free and taking care of everything. But all the time,
the whole bowl is being carried by God. And in His providence,
He brings us. Sometimes through life instances. Sometimes through work. Sometimes
through the military, sometimes through marriage, sometimes through
one thing and the other, but all the time, He's bringing us
to this revelation of Himself. Might even take you from Croatia
somewhere and bring you to the U.S. to hear the gospel. See
what I'm saying? But the thing is, He does it
to give us eternal life. Father, we pray that You would
bless Your people with the knowledge of Yourself, with this understanding
of who You are and what You have done for us in Christ, that we
might have confidence and assurance and be able to rejoice in that
finished work of our Redeemer, that we might praise you and
thank you all our days that you were pleased to give to us eternal
life. We pray and we thank you in Christ's
name. Amen.