In this second session, we want
to talk about the doctrine of sovereign election or unconditional
election, and it really becomes the opposite of total depravity
in that in total depravity, man has lost his capacity to choose
God. Man's will is in bondage to sin
and to Satan. Man cannot come to faith in Christ. Therefore, if anyone is to be
saved, God must choose because man cannot choose. If God did
not choose a vast number to be saved, then no one would be converted
to Christ. And so this doctrine of the sovereign
election of God is one of the most loving, most gracious, most
merciful doctrines in the entire Bible. It is a doctrine of love,
of God's love, choosing a great number of sinners to be His,
God chose by Himself and for Himself, those whom He would
save. And sometimes people ask the
question, well, why didn't God choose everyone to be saved? The real astonishing question
is, why did God choose any to be saved? More personally, why
did God choose you to be saved? All of us should be asking that
question, why me, Lord? And so this doctrine is humbling. It should put us on our knees
before God, looking up. It is inspiring of worship because
there is a far greater reason now for which to worship God
because of His unconditional choice of us. It's a very purifying
truth in our own hearts. It sets us apart from sin and
the world as we realize God has chosen us for a purpose, and
that is to be like His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's liberating
in evangelism and witnessing because we realize that there
are those out there who will respond to our message. God goes
before us, and there is a people that God has chosen for Himself,
and when we bring the message to them, they will respond and
believe And so it's so very encouraging to know that God has a people
who will be saved. And it's encouraging for missions
that there are those out of every tribe and every tongue and every
kindred of people around the globe that Christ is building
His church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
So this is a very motivating, joy-producing, soul-humbling,
worship-provoking teaching in the Word of God. So having said
that, let's go through the Gospel of John one more time. And if
you'll turn back to chapter 1, John chapter 1, with me, please. And I want to start in the prologue
again in John chapter 1. And in verse 12 and 13, my eye
is really on verse 13, but I want you to note first, concerning
the doctrine of election, that it is the divine choice, that
salvation is rooted and grounded in the sovereign will of God. In verse 12 we read, but as many
as received Him, referring to Christ, To them He gave the right
to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.
That is the human side. of the coin, the free offer of
the gospel, and those who will respond and believe in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 13 is the other side of
the coin. It's the divine side, and it
really is the answer to the question, why do these believe in verse
12? How is it that they have come
to faith in verse 12? Why these and not others? And
the answer is found in verse 13, which we'll look at more
carefully tomorrow morning, but it says, "...who were born,"
and the born here refers to the new birth, spiritual birth, to
be born from above, not physical birth, "...who were born, not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God." This is saying that the new birth is not the
result of blood, meaning our human descent, our lineage, who
your parents were, who your grandparents were. nor of the will of the
flesh," meaning not by our own efforts to earn our way into
heaven. And then it says, "...nor of
the will of man," meaning there is no freedom of the will for
man to believe in God. And it could not be any more
clear than in verse 13. But then it says, but of God. We have been born again by the
will of God. And standing behind the new birth
is the sovereign election of God. Why are these born of God
and not others born of God? And the answer is the new birth. The reason for this is, by way
of analogy, who among us here tonight chose to be born The
answer is none of us. Someone else made that choice
for us to be born, and that was our parents, certainly under
the providence of God, who alone can give life. And my wife and
I have four children, and I remember after our first three children,
we entered in a time of discussion among ourselves and much prayer,
would we have a fourth child? And it was strong on our hearts
that we would have a fourth child if God would grant the child
to us, and we did. And His name is John, and He
is in part the joy of our heart along with our other three children.
But John did not choose to be born. John did not even exist.
It was the parents who made this choice. Well, by way of analogy,
the same is true spiritually as well, and I think this is
one reason why Jesus chose the analogy that you must be born
again, because you did nothing to be born physically. The answer
is the same, you did nothing to be born spiritually. It was
a work of God within your heart when it was dead in trespasses
and sin. But why your heart? Why not your
neighbor's heart? Why not someone else who is close
to you? Why you? And the answer is that
God made a decisive choice in eternity past among those who
were unworthy and who did not merit His grace God chose them for salvation. That's what Ephesians 1, verse
4 says, He chose us in Christ from before the foundation of
the world. So, that's where we begin in
John's gospel, that you were born not of your will, but of
the will of God, John 1, 13. It could not be any more clear.
Second, I want you to come to John 6 and verse 37, and I want
you to see His eternal choice, because God the Father sovereignly
chose His elect before time began, before the foundation of the
world long before any sinner ever came to faith in Christ,
God chose His elect, and He gave them to the Son to be His chosen
bride. And so, in John 6, verse 37,
Jesus is the Speaker, and Jesus says, all that the Father gives
me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly
not cast out." The first half of this verse is divine sovereignty. The second half of this verse
is human responsibility and the free offer of the gospel. But
it is the first part of verse 37 to which I want to draw your
attention He begins by saying, all, all of a certain group,
all collectively, all that the Father gives me. So this means
they first belong to the Father, and the Father then gave them
to the Son, And this Son is to receive them because the Father
has given them to Him, and the Father has given them to the
Son before they ever come to the Son. That's a very important
point in verse 37. Before they ever come to the
Son, they have already been given to the Son. And they've been
given to the Son by the Father because the Father first possessed
them. and He possessed them by His
sovereign electing grace. The Father chose them in eternity
past, and they belonged to the Father. And the Father in eternity
past gave them to the Son, and the Son received them as a love
gift. a chosen bride, and the Father
then commissioned the Son to come into this world and to lay
down His life for these chosen ones to secure their eternal
salvation. It's an extraordinary love story,
but it begins in eternity past, and it begins with the Father
choosing them and possessing them and then giving them to
the Son. and implied in this is the doctrine
of sovereign election. James Montgomery Boyce writes
in his commentary, who are these who have been given by God the
Father to Jesus Christ? They are those whom Paul writes
in Ephesians, for He chose us in Him before the foundation
of the world. Those write, or these writes Boyce, these are
the elect. And so, that is standing behind
this verse. Now, look at verse 39, if you
will. This is the will of Him who sent
Me, that of all He has given Me, I lose nothing but raise
it up on the last day. All that He has given Me. Do
you see that in verse 39 again? That refers to all of the elect. All those who were chosen by
the Father before time began, they were given to Christ, and
Jesus came into this world to fulfill the will of the Father,
which was to obtain their salvation. Jesus did not come for a different
group other than those whom the Father chose and gave to Him
in eternity past. The Father and the Son work in
perfect unity together in their saving enterprise, and all that
the Father chose, He has given to the Son and commanded the
Son to come into this world and to obtain their salvation all
the way down to the last day, in verse 39. I lose nothing but
raise it up on the last day. But standing behind, verse 39,
is this very clear teaching of the sovereign election of God. And there are so many verses,
as you well know, throughout the entire Bible that underscore
this. We're wanting to establish this
in John's Gospel, but I'll just give you some cross-references
that you can jot down and look up on your own. But Jeremiah
1, 5, Romans 9, 11, In fact, the entire chapter of
Romans 9, Ephesians 1.4, 1 Thessalonians 1.4, 2 Thessalonians 2.13, 2
Timothy 1.9, Titus 1.1, 1 Peter 1.1, 2 Peter 1.10, etc., etc.,
etc. The entire Bible speaks with
one voice on this matter, that God chose His elect in eternity
past. And this choice was made by God
alone, for God alone, and it was not on the basis of anything
foreseen good in us. In fact, God chose us not because
of us, God chose us in spite of us. God chose us simply because
God chose to choose us. The decision originated in God
Himself regarding those whom He would choose, and it's for
His glory and for our good. Come with me to John 10. I want
you to see, third, that it is a previous choice, meaning long
before anyone comes to faith in Christ, Those who have been
chosen are those who already belonged to Christ, and they
are those who are called out by Christ. In John chapter 10,
beginning in verse 1, Jesus begins, here's our introductory statement,
"'Truly, truly, I say to you.'" So this is a matter of high-level
importance. He who does not enter by the
door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way,
he is a thief and a robber." We need some historical background
behind this. shepherds would occasionally
want to come into a city where they can spend the night in an
inn, have food, have a meal, buy some things, whatever, and
there was a large community sheepfold, and they would bring their sheep
and put their flock in the large community sheepfold with other
flocks. He would leave the flock with
the gatekeeper and then go spend the night in the inn. There would be, as verse 2 says,
or verse 1 says, thieves and robbers who would try to crawl
over the fence and steal the sheep while the shepherd was
away. And this is a picture, really,
of Israel at this time, the dead religion of Israel, as many different
flocks are in the larger community sheepfold. There are Pharisees,
there are Sadducees, there are scribes, there are common people. It's a mixed bag. Verse 2, it says, "...but he
who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep." And it's a reference
to the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will enter by the door legally
and lawfully and rightly. He will come by the messianic
lineage as a greater son of David, and he will be one who will rightfully
enter into the sheepfold, unlike the thieves and the robbers.
Verse 3, to him the doorkeeper opens. And perhaps this doorkeeper
is John the Baptist who prepared the way for the coming of Christ.
We're not certain. But note, the sheep hear His
voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. And
when He puts forth all His own, He goes ahead of them, and the
sheep follow Him because they know His voice. They were His
before He even called them out, and they were His sheep before
He came for them. And this calling of His own sheep
is the effectual call of God by which those that belong to
Christ will come to Him. Well, the reason that they belong
to Christ before they ever come to Christ is because they have
been chosen by the Father, and Jesus will call them. And we'll
look at this tomorrow. And only those that He calls
by name will come to Him. And He calls them by name because
He knows them before they even come to Him, because they have
been given to Him by the Father. And they have been given to Him
individually, specifically by the Father, because the Father
specifically and individually chose them before time began.
The Father didn't just choose a certain number. He chose specific
individuals by name to be His. and gave them to the Son. And
so the Son now comes for them as a shepherd to the larger community
sheepfold, and when He calls them out, He knows them by name
and calls them by name, and they come. And the reason that they
belong to Him, as I've already said, is because the Father has
given them to the Son in eternity past. He follows up on this in
verse 26 in the same chapter of John 10. when Jesus says to
the other sheep in the larger community sheepfold who are not
His own sheep but are other sheep, He says, you do not believe because
you are not of My sheep. That's a rather hardball statement.
Jesus is saying to them, the reason that you do not believe
in Me is because you were not given to Me by the Father. And
because the Father did not choose you and give you to Me, that's
why you do not believe. Not all of the sheep in the larger
community sheepfold representing the nation of Israel are His. So, verse 27, by total contrast,
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and
I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish, and
no one will snatch them out of My hand." Note verse 29, "'My
Father who has given them to Me.'" Again, the Father has already
possessed them long before they come to the Son. The Father has
given them to the Son long before they ever come to the Son. And
again, what is implied in this analogy is the sovereign election
of the Father in eternity past, choosing those sheep to be the
chosen bride for His Son. And He gives them to the Son,
and the Son then calls them, and they separate from the nation,
and they come, they are drawn by the Spirit, and they come
to Christ. So, verse 29 again, my Father
who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able
to snatch them out of the Father's hand. You see, they already belong
to the Father, and the reason they belong to the Father is
the Father chose them to be His own people. And this choice was
made in eternity past, and they are the given ones that we see
in verse 29. The Father chose them and gave
them to the Son. And what a wonderful thing it
is to be the bride of Christ, to be the true church of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And we are a chosen bride, chosen
by the Father for the Son. Come with me to chapter 13 and
verse 18, and I want you to see that it is a distinguishing choice,
number four. Jesus taught that He had made
a sovereign choice of certain individuals to whom He would
bestow salvation, but not of all individuals. So, we read
in verse 18, Jesus is addressing the disciples in the upper room,
the twelve disciples. Judas is still in the room. I do not speak of all of you."
The all refer to the twelve. Jesus is saying, what I'm about
to say does not refer to all twelve of you. He then speaks
of an inner circle within the twelve. He says, I know the ones
I have chosen. So not all of the twelve were
chosen for salvation. There is an inner concentric
circle within the 12 that he says, I have chosen. He says,
but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, he who eats
my bread has lifted up his heel against me. It was already prophesied
that one of the twelve would not believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the reason is, is because they were not one of
the chosen ones. You see the word chosen there
in verse 18? It's a Greek word, eklegomai. ek, e-k, means out of, like ekklesia,
the church, called out ones. Eklegomai means to choose out
of many possibilities. It is a word that is used in
the Septuagint, which is the Old Testament translation that
was translated into Greek. And it was used of David choosing
five stones to put into his slingshot. There were more than five stones
in that riverbed. But David chose out five out
of all of the stones that were in the riverbed. David chose
out five to suit his purposes that would fit his slingshot
that would enable him to bring Goliath down. It's the very same
word that's used here, that the Father and Christ have chosen
out of the world those whom the Son will save. The same word that's used in...
and the reference for that previous one was 1 Samuel 17, 40. It's
the same word that is used in Joshua 24, 15, when Joshua gave
his impassioned speech, "'Choose you this day whom you will serve.
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.' There were many
gods of the Canaanites as they had crossed into the promised
land. And Joshua stands before the nation and says, you're going
to have to make a choice. My family, we're choosing Jehovah
God. But as there are many other gods,
small g, among the Canaanites, Joshua brings them to the fork
in the road to make the decision. It's the very same word, eklegomai.
choose you. God has made a choice out from
among many, those whom He would save." So, what we see in John
13, 18 is that Christ has made a choice of those whom He will
save, and it is the same as the Father's choice. In John 15,
verse 16, we see that it's a purposeful choice. that Christ has chosen
those to be His whom the Father has chosen and given to Him. If any text is abundantly clear,
it is this text, verse 16, You did not choose me, but I chose
you. I've translated this out of the
original Greek. And it reads, you did not choose
me, but I chose you. It means what it says and says
what it means. In fact, it is so unmistakable that Jesus, who
is the master teacher, puts it in negative denial, positive
assertion. Let me tell you how it didn't
happen. Let me tell you how it did happen. So there's no wiggle
room. There can be no misunderstanding
of what He is saying. Here's how it did not happen.
You did not choose Me. That is to say, your choice of
Me did not originate in and of yourself. Yes, as we'll see tomorrow,
you did make a choice of Me, but it is only because God previously
birthed you into the kingdom and gave the gift of repentance
and faith so that you would believe upon Christ. But your choice
of Me, Jesus said, did not originate with you. You did not choose
Me, but I chose you. This originates within the Lord
Jesus Christ, and in reality, it originates with the Father
who first chose them and then gave them to the Son. And because
the Father and the Son are one, John 10, The Son now chooses
those whom the Father chose and gave to Him. And it's for a purpose. For continue to look at verse
16. He says, you did not choose me,
but I chose you and appointed you. Everyone whom He has chosen,
He has appointed to a specific mission and task here upon the
earth. No one is chosen to just sit. No one is chosen to do nothing.
No one is chosen to be the frozen chosen. Everyone whom He has chosen,
He says, and appointed you, and the you refers to all those who
are chosen, that you would go, not sit, not be stagnant, but
that you would go and bear fruit. And the fruit here is fruit in
ministry, and that your fruit would remain, meaning that it
would be true fruit. so that whatever you ask of the
Father in My name, He may give to you." You see, if you're chosen
by the Father, and therefore chosen by the Son, God has a
purpose in choosing you, and that is to serve Him, and that
is to glorify Him here upon the earth, and for you to take the
gospel, for you to go and to bear fruit, and that the fruit
that would come from your labors would remain. What a glorious
thing it is to be chosen by the Father so that your life has
eternal purpose, to glorify Him. While you're still here in John
15, look at John 15, 19. John 15, It was a saving choice. Jesus
said, if you were of the world, meaning a part of the world system, the world would love its own.
So, if you were still unsaved, Jesus is saying, the world would
love you. If you were of the world, the
world would love its own, but because you are not of the world.
But I chose you out of the world. Because of this, the world hates
you. Please note, the whole world is not chosen. It is a certain
group within the world that is chosen out of the world. And because we're chosen out
of the world, we are now different from the world, and because of
this, the world hates us. So in verse 19, there are only
two classes of people, those who are of the world and those
who are chosen out of the world. There are no other classes of
people in the world. In the world here, kosmos referring
to the evil world that is lost and headed for destruction, the
evil world that is under the wrath of God, that is doomed
for the final judgment. But God, who is a God of grace
and mercy, says, I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion upon whom I will have compassion,
and has chosen out of the world a people for Himself that He might give
them to the Son. There's one more chapter that
I want you to look at, John 17. And I want you to note that it
is a God-glorifying choice. John chapter 17 is my favorite
chapter in the entire Bible. It is the high priestly prayer
of Christ before His crucifixion, and it becomes Jesus' commentary
on the salvation that He has come to bring. begin reading in verse 1, Jesus
spoke these things in lifting up His eyes to heaven. He said,
Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son that the Son
may glorify You. You see the unity between the
Father and the Son here, and the Son wanting to glorify the
Father, and the Father wanting to glorify the Son. Now, verse
2, even as You gave Him, as the Father gave to the Son, authority
over all flesh." That refers to all mankind. God the Father
has given to God the Son supreme authority, sovereignty over all
flesh, over all mankind. That, introducing a purpose,
that to all whom you have given Him. There's that reoccurring
Phrase again, all whom you have given Him. Again, that refers
to the elect, and they belong to the Father, and the Father
gave them to the Son. And here's the purpose, that
to all whom you have given Him, He may give eternal life. Now
He doesn't give eternal life to all flesh. He gives eternal
life to a different group, a smaller group within the larger group.
You note the use of the word all twice, all flesh and all
whom you have given me. That's two different groups.
All flesh refers to all humanity. All whom you have given him refers
to all the elect, which is a smaller number within the larger group.
You'll also note the word gave is used three times in verse
2. gave, given, give. Do you see that three times in
verse 2? Here's how this unfolds. The
Father gave to the Son authority. The Father gave to the Son the
elect. The Son now gives to the elect
eternal life. It's like a domino effect. And
so, verse 2 is stating that the Father has possessed a people
and has given them to the Son, and the Son now is to give to
them eternal life. Behind verse 2 is the doctrine
of sovereign election. Look at verse 6. Jesus reinforces
this in this prayer. And this is really an inter-Trinitarian
conversation within the Godhead. It is the second person of the
Godhead addressing the first person of the Godhead. If ever
we stood on holy ground, it is this, the night before our Lord's
crucifixion. And this becomes our Lord's own
commentary on His own death, the night before His death. So
he now says in verse 6, as he prays to the Father, I have manifested
Your name to the men whom You gave me out of the world. Again,
that's the reference to the sovereign election of God. These men are
His elect disciples. Now, note the next sentence in
verse 6. They were yours. And the reason they were the
Father's is because, again, the Father chose them to be His own
possession. And He chose them before time
began. He chose them before He ever
gave them to the Son. He chose them before the Son
ever gave them eternal life. They were yours, and you gave
them to Me." That transaction occurred before
time began. We were given to the Son by the
Father before time began, so the Son knew exactly for whom
He would die upon the cross. At the end of verse 6, he says,
and they have kept Your Word. Of course they have, because
the Spirit will work in cooperation with the Father and the Son.
Now, look at verse 9. Verse 9 is an extraordinarily
precise verse. Jesus, as He bears His heart
to the Father in prayer, says, I ask on their behalf," and the
there refers to all those whom you have given Me. Jesus is saying,
I am praying only for the elect. I am praying only for those whom
you have given to Me. So, verse 9, look at it again
more carefully. I ask on their behalf, and now that's the positive
assertion. Listen to the negative denial.
I do not ask on behalf of the world." Wow! Jesus says, I'm
not interceding for the world. I am not praying for the world,
but of those whom you have given Me, for they are yours. Jesus cannot even pray to the
Father without repeatedly mentioning the doctrine of sovereign election,
and as Jesus is about to go into the Garden of Gethsemane and
sweat blood in the stress and the pressure and the reality
of this moment, Father, let this cup pass from Me, but not My
will, but Your will be done. Jesus here in this prayer is
drawing strength by anchoring Himself to the sovereign election
of the Father. I ask on their behalf, I do not
ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given
Me, for they are Yours. are the fathers by sovereign
election." Now, verse 24, and we'll wrap this up. Verse 24, Jesus prays, "'Father, I desire that they also whom
You have given Me.'" And this extends beyond the eleven to
really to you and me here tonight, down through the centuries, as
verse 19 and 20 will talk about, that all of those who will come
into the kingdom of God as a result of the ministry of the apostles,
and that extends down to this present hour to us, to all of
the elect and all of the centuries on all of the continents. Father,
I desire that these also whom you have given me be with me
where I am." It's a reference to future glory. It's a reference
to heaven, so that they may see my glory. Not a one of them will
be lost, and they will all be brought safely to heaven. Those
whom He chose in eternity past will be those around the throne
of God in eternity future. so that they may see My glory
which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation
of the world." This is an amazing prayer as
Jesus acknowledges to the Father that the saving purposes of the
Trinity began before the foundation of the world, when a people out
of the world became the possession of the Father, and that by divine
choice, passing over others that these might be His and then the
Father in eternity past giving them to the Son as His gift,
the expression of His love for the Son, so that there will be
those who will behold the glory of the Son forever, who will
be the bride of Christ forever, who will worship Christ forever,
and who will be made fully into the image of Christ. The Father
wants the Son to be worshiped. The Father wants the Son to be
glorified. The Father wants the Son to be
at the center of heaven, and those around the throne of God
are those whom the Father made to be His possession before the
foundation of the world. You see, our salvation is far
more than just rescuing us from hell. There's far more at stake. That does occur because of salvation,
but the Father's higher motive is that His Son would have a
worshiping body who would sing His praises forever and ever
and ever. that there would be those who
would be a part of the hallelujah chorus, who would sing to the
Son and declare to the Son how great He is throughout all of
the ages to come. In order for that to happen,
the Father had to rescue us from hell, but it's for a higher purpose
than just that we escape hell. It is for the glory of God. It
is for the glory of the Son. It is that there would be a chosen
bride who would be made into the image of Christ and who would
declare His greatness forever and ever and ever. Tomorrow morning
when we reconvene, We will look at the fact that the father gave
these chosen ones to the son and eternity passed and then
commissioned him and commanded him to come into this world to
lay down his life for the sheep, to lay down his life for this
chosen bride that he might redeem her and purchase her. that she would be His worshiping
body in heaven forever. As I bring this to conclusion,
I want to say that as you find yourself here tonight, there may be those of us who
have not yet come to faith in Christ. If during this message
tonight the Lord is making known to you that salvation is far
more than me simply walking an aisle or raising a hand or parroting
a prayer or signing a card or joining a church or being baptized,
maybe tonight you're seeing that salvation is so much bigger than
something little I have done. that true salvation began in
eternity past when the Father chose His elect. Maybe in the
shining of the light of these truths into your heart tonight,
maybe you're coming to an awareness that your focus has been upon
yourself rather than upon the Lord. And if you are coming to
the realization that you have never truly believed upon Jesus
Christ, then I want to urge you and plead with you tonight, not
tomorrow, tonight, to pray to the Father and to the Son and
say, save me. I come confessing my sin. I have
never truly committed my life to you, and I want to be yours. If you would pray that prayer
and commit your life to the Lord Jesus Christ who came into this
world to die upon a cross for sinners. He says in John 6, 37,
him who comes unto me I will in no wise cast out. If you will
come in humble repentance and true saving faith. He loves to
gather in lost sinners who put their trust and faith in Him.
So, as we bring this evening to a close, if you've never committed
your life to Christ, if you've never believed upon the Lord
Jesus Christ, I urge you, I truly plead with you to do it tonight. It's the greatest decision you'll
ever make in your life. I've never met anyone who regretted
committing their life to Jesus Christ. Whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And if you truly call
upon the name of the Lord, I can tell you, you're one that the
Father chose in eternity past. Let us pray. Father, thank You
for this wonderful evening that we have been able to spend together.
To look into Your Word, thank You for the riches that are found
in the Gospel of John. And Lord, I pray that You would
help us retain these truths. Give us greater insight and understanding
and cause our lives to be greatly strengthened greatly sanctified
as a result of our study of these verses tonight. Thank you for
my brothers and sisters who have come out. What a wonderful evening
we've spent together. May you open the windows of heaven
and pour out your blessing upon them. In Jesus' name, amen.