We're going to begin our second
service by standing and singing Fairest Lord Jesus, number 50. Fairest Lord Jesus, 50. Paris, Lord Jesus, Ruler of all
nature, O Thou of God and man the Son, Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honor, Thou my soul's glory, joy, and crown. There are the meadows, there
still the woodlands, robed in a blooming garb of spring. Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
who makes the woeful heart to sing. ? Fair is the sunshine
? Fair still the moonlight ? And all the twinkling starry host
? Jesus shines brighter ? Jesus shines purer ? Than all the angels
heaven can boast Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations, Son of God
and Son of Man. Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be Thine. Good morning. Let's read out a Song of Solomon. Song of Solomon, Chapter 1. Song of Solomon 1. The Song of
Songs, which is Solomon's, Let him kiss me with the kisses of
his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. Because of the savor
of thy good ointments, thy name is as ointment poured forth,
therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after
thee. The king hath brought me into
his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in
thee. We will remember thy love. more than wine, the upright love
thee. I am black but comely, O ye daughters
of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am
black, because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children
were angry with me. They made me the keeper of the
vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou
whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy
flock to rest at noon, for why should I be as one that turneth
aside by the flocks of thy companions? If thou know not, O thou fairest
among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock
and feed thy kids beside the shepherd's tents. I have compared
thee, O my love, to a company of horses and Pharaoh's chariots.
Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains
of gold. We will make thee borders of
gold with studs of silver, while the king setteth at his table,
my spikenard setteth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of myrrh
is my well-beloved unto me. He shall lie all night betwixt
my breasts. My beloved is unto me as a Cluster
of camphor in the vineyards of in Getty Behold the art fair
my love behold the art fair thou has doves eyes Behold the art
fair my beloved a pleasant Also, our bed is green the beams of
our house or cedar and our rafters of fur Let's pray Father we come to you this morning
thankful for the chapter of scripture and father we we come to you
thankful for a place to come to hear the gospel and lord as
we celebrate this this day lord we just um are so thankful that
the message of your resurrection is preached every week out of
this pulpit, Father, and what you came to do and the objective
that you came to meet, that you sent your son to do just that. He came to save a people and
he came and he absolutely saved a people. No question that he
came, who he came to save will be saved and who he's decided
to Passed by will be passed by and father. We're just thankful
that that message is always preached here and father we're thankful
for the one you've sent to bring that message and How blessed
we are to have a pastor? At a local assembly and father
we ask that you just continue to watch over and care for this
group and Just again just watch over and care for us as we go
through the week in Christ's name. I Our second hymn will be 52, Majestic
Sweetness Sits Enthroned. 52. majestic sweetness sits enthroned
upon the Savior's brow, His head with radiant glories crowned,
His lips with grace o'erflow, His lips with grace o'erflow,
No mortal can with Him compare among the sons of men. Fairer is He than all the fair
who fill the heavenly train, who fill the heavenly train. saw me plunged in deep distress
and flew to my relief. For me he bore the shameful cross
and carried all my grief, and carried all my grief. Through Him I owe my life and
breath, and all the joys I have. He makes me triumph over death,
and saves me from the grave, and saves me from the grave. Good morning. Our text is found in John chapter
2. John chapter 2. This is a popular time of year
when a lot of people will attend a church service. And they do
so because it's Easter, and some maybe call it Resurrection Sunday. And many people, their mind is
brought to think about attending a church service because it's
a holiday. It's a holiday. Like they might
attend at Christmastime and or at this time, which is in the
world called Easter. And the purpose for this time
that we call Easter or the Resurrection Sunday, it's to remember. It's to celebrate that our Savior,
Jesus Christ, was raised from the dead. And the raising of
our Savior is good news. It certainly is very, very good
news. But you know it's only good news
to some. It's not good news to everybody. If you or a family member has
just had a child, you've just given birth to a child, to you
whose child it is or to you who know the person that had the
child, to you, you have an interest in it. And it's something that
you think about and talk about and you're joyful in the birth
of a child. But to those who don't know the
parents or who don't have any interest in the child, it's of
no interest. To them, really, they don't really
care about it. Well, that's how the resurrection
is. It's of interest to the children
of God. And so we know on this day that
there's many who are attending a church service in order to
check off a religious box. But it's important to note that
that attending a church service, whether once a year or every
time the door is open, that doesn't save us, that doesn't give us
eternal life, nor does it get us closer to having eternal life. nor does it give us any favor
with the true and living God, but it is a place to be. And
I am thankful, especially and only for those places that do
preach the gospel on this day, and that there may be some who
come for all the wrong reasons, but what a blessing it is if
the Lord attends that gospel word and blesses it to the heart
of some sinner who may be there for all the wrong reasons, but
gives them an ear of faith to hear and rejoice in the death
and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, very early
in the Gospel of John, our Lord speaks of his resurrection, early,
very early, here in John chapter 2. And the reason why this comes
up is, well God had purposed it, he purposed it to come up,
to be declared here, but From our perspective as men and women
looking at this, we see that he was responding to a question
raised by the Jews who were selling animals in the temple. Our Lord
said in verse 16, take these things hence. Get these animals
and your money changing tables out of here. Make not my father's
house and house of merchandise. They were selling animals in
the temple of God, and they thought it made good business sense to
efficiently line up the worship of God in such a way so that
it was just easy for people and they didn't have to think about
it. And these people, of course, made money. They profited off
of their business and setting up shop right where the customers
would need these animals for sacrifice. But turn to verse
18. Look there at 18. Then answered
the Jews and said unto him, what sign showest thou unto us, seeing
that thou doest these things? Prove to us that you have the
authority of God to destroy our fleshly business model here.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, destroy this temple. destroyed this temple, and in
three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty-six
years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three
days? See, they could only understand
fleshly things. They looked at the temple built
up with great stones that took 46 years to believe, and so the
words that Christ spoke, they only heard it in the flesh. They
only understood what he was saying in a very carnal, fleshly way. But we're told in verse 21, he
spake of the temple of his body. The temple of his body. He was
speaking of the death he should die, his crucifixion, and that
he would be raised from the dead. When therefore he was risen from
the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them.
and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had
said. Something wonderful, very extraordinary,
occurred and was accomplished when our Savior was crucified. When he died on the cross, he
accomplished our salvation. And we see here from these words,
we're given an insight to this truth, that what Christ accomplished
for his people in his death was only understood in the resurrection. It was only understood after
Christ was raised from the dead. So we're going to look at what
our Savior accomplished in his death and resurrection today. And we're going to see why is
it that it's only understood by the church after Christ rose
from the dead. And I'll tell you now that that's
a reference to what our Lord does from us in raising us up
from the dead and giving us spiritual life. That's when it's made a
blessing to us. That's when we are given an interest
in what Christ did in laying down his life for the church
and the glory that is revealed to us in his resurrection. I titled this message, He Spake
of the Temple of His Body. He speak of the temple of his
body. And so we're going to look at
this under two headings. Why is this good news? Why is
this good news? And then secondly, when does
it become good news? When does it become good news
to me? When did the Lord make this to
be good news to a filthy, dead, undeserving sinner like me? So, the children of God, or Christians. Now, not every Christian is a
child of God, but every child of God is a Christian. Not every
Christian is a child of God. There's many people who profess
to be Christian, and to be a Christian. But, No one is a child of God
except they are brought into and under the blood of Christ,
made a true spiritual Christian by the Lord. So the children
of God, they will be heard to speak of good news, to declare
the good news which they have heard of the Lord, and now rejoice
in." And this good news is a reference, what we're speaking of, is the
death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, or the death,
burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This isn't
good news to everybody. There's a people to whom it is
very good news, and they rejoice in it, but it's not good news
to everybody. It's only good news to those
who have an interest in the good news. It's only good news to
those who have an interest in it. And in verse 21, John 2,
21, we learn why that is. Why is it that only some have
an interest in it? Because Christ spake of the temple
of his body. He spake of the temple of his
body. And just as the Jews who heard
him say these words didn't understand what he was talking about, so
it is that millions of souls, and by now billions of souls,
that have lived and died in the earth and now are alive this
day, many, many have no interest in the death of Christ and no
interest in his resurrection, but of those whom he spake, the
temple of his body. they hear it and they rejoice. To them it is good news because
they believe the word that is spoken to them. They have an
interest in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ so that
it is good news to them. You that believe the Lord Jesus
Christ that He is your righteousness, that we are sinners who could
not save ourselves, but Christ is the righteousness of God,
sent in the flesh to this world, spared not by the Father, but
delivered Him up for us all. To put away our sins, we have
an interest in what Christ did. And so to us, it is good news. We don't make it good news to
us. God has made a good news to us by giving us an interest
in what his son has done for his people. So Christ Jesus came
for sinners. He said, I haven't come to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And so the temple
of his body, the church, is filled with sinners saved. None of us
are here because we're righteous in ourselves. We're sinners. We're sinners. We've thought
sinful things. We've done sinful things. We've
entrapped others with our sin. We've done horrible, wicked works. And we've rebelled against our
God. And we still do. We see the corruption in this
flesh. It's not that we're such good
and wonderful people that God says, wow, These people are something. When he says they're something,
it's because we are filthy, vile sinners. We've gone. the way
of darkness, but it's by the grace and mercy of our God that
we are delivered from that dark and wicked way that leads to
death. And so because the Lord saves
sinners, so it is that sinners have an interest in what Christ
has done. If you're a sinner, listen up
because there's good news for sinners. in the Lord Jesus Christ. By his death and resurrection,
we hear the good news of God for sinners. For sinners who
need a savior, for sinners who need salvation, for sinners who
need forgiveness with God, they find it in the one whom God has
sent to be merciful to his people, to be gracious to them in the
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The only reason why Christ was
crucified, it wasn't because he did anything worthy of death. He gave his life to save his
people from their sins, to put away the sins of his people.
He accomplished their salvation by redeeming them, by paying
the redemption price. which was His precious blood. It cost Him His life to give
us life, to set us free from the condemnation that we earned
and deserved by our own sinful works, by our sinful nature,
by our rebellion and hatred of God, and the enmity that is in
us by nature. Christ delivered us from that.
He delivered us from our dead works. And so that we would obtain
forgiveness with the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. So let's
look at some scriptures now that confirm what I just said to you
about salvation for sinners by the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn over
to Acts 13. Go to Acts chapter 13. And we're going to be picking
up in verse 26. If I remember rightly, this is the
first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas. And they're out
preaching the good news to the Jews. They think that at this
time, this is what they're supposed to do, that they're to go to
the Jews and the synagogue of the Jews and there be given a
platform to preach the gospel of Christ to the Jews. And so
that's why That's why Paul says here in verse 26, men and brethren,
children of the stock of Abraham, you physical seed of physical
descendants of Abraham, and he adds, whosoever among you feareth
God, to you To you that fear God is this word sent, this word
of the salvation sent. So Paul there is acknowledging
that there's a particular people, a peculiar people to whom this
word of the Lord is sent. Our Lord is addressing a people.
He's seeking out a people. He's seeking out a people who
have an interest. And that is that he's given an
interest in this word of this gospel too. And so it's going
to be revealed in his people that this word, which the Lord
is speaking here this day, that's for me. That's for me. He's talking to me. I'm the sinner. I need this salvation. He adds,
verse 27, for they that dwell at Jerusalem, and they're rulers
because they knew him not. They didn't know that this is
the Messiah. Even his disciples didn't fully
understand what Christ came to accomplish. They were looking
for an earthly kingdom. They were looking for a Jewish
rule over the Gentile nations under the authority and command
of this Jesus of Nazareth. So they didn't understand until
they knew him as the redeeming Savior after the resurrection. That's when they knew Christ
fully and understood who he was. They knew him not, nor yet the
voices of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath day. They
have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no
cause of death in him, yet desire they Pilate that he should be
slain. And so there's that word. Christ
wasn't slain for any sins that he committed. He didn't go to
the cross because he was a sinner or committed some crime worthy
of death. Not at all. He went there to
save his people. to accomplish their redemption
by the death of himself. And to do that, he offered himself
to the father to make an atonement for our sins. And the father
was well pleased with what the son gave him. Perfect righteousness. Perfect righteousness. And when
they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him
down from the tree and laid him in a sepulcher. But God raised
him from the dead. God raised his son from the dead. And then he gives a proof of
Christ's resurrection. He adds in verse 31, and he was
seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee
to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare
unto you glad tidings, or good news. Good news, how that the
promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the
same unto us, their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus
again. As it is also written in the
second psalm, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. And so we see here that God raised
up his son. to declare to us that the sacrifice
of His Son is accepted. God received the work of His
Son and by what Christ did for us we are delivered from our
sins and we're forgiven of the Father through the blood of His
Son. Now I've said to you a few times
already that there's a people who have an interest in what
Christ has done. There is a people to whose ear
this word is good news, to know I don't have to labor. There's
nothing I can do to save myself. There's no work I can do, no
sacrifice I can make to save myself. That's not what God is
looking for. He's looking to the Son for all
my righteousness. Well, to you who can do nothing.
who have no ability to do any good work, and you have no confidence
or trust in yourself, in your goodness, in your strength, in
your willingness, but you see that I'm the sinner, he's the
savior. That's good news to that sinner
who can do nothing to save themselves. To know that God has provided
everything for the sinner of his choosing. He's brought them
to an end in themselves. He's brought them to nothing
in themselves. He's shut them up so that they
have no strength or ability to even do a good work. They know
I'm the sinner, and Christ is the Savior. Have mercy on me,
Lord. Save me. Forgive me. Cleanse me of my sin, Lord. Save
me by the blood of your son. To that one it's good news. And
we have an example here in Acts 13 of how the Lord distinguishes
his grace between the sinner saved and that ignorant one who
thinks they're something even though they're wicked and vile
in the sight of God. Look down at verse 48 and we'll
read to verse 50 together. First, the one to whom it is
good news And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and
glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained
to eternal life, ordained by God to eternal life, believed. They heard it. This is good news.
And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the
region. Now here's those to whom it wasn't good news. But the
Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women and the chief
men of the city and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas and
expelled them out of their coasts. They kicked them out. Get out
of here. We don't want to hear that. Come
back here again, we'll whip you. We'll beat you. But God knows
them that are his. And that's the word. And so the
word that he sends seeks them out. The word that the Father
sends seeks out the sinner who's here in the congregation, who's
hearing online, who hears on sermon audio, wherever they hear
it. He seeks them out, the sinner who has no hope in themselves. But here is what Christ has done,
what God has done for his people graciously by Christ. To them,
it is good news. Now this good news is spoken
of in the prophets, just like Paul says here. It's spoken of
in the prophets. Turn over to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53, and we're going to
begin in verse 3. Verse three speaks to where we
were when our Lord wrought salvation for us. We see that when he finds
us, we don't have an interest in him. And when he finds us,
we're sitting in darkness. We're content in our death. We
don't even know that we're dead. We're just lying there, helpless,
doing our own thing, thinking everything's fine. But the Lord
comes to us even in our death, not because we've done anything
good, but because he will be gracious to us in Christ. And
that's described here in verse three. Christ, whom God has sent,
is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces
from him. He was despised, and we esteemed
him not. That's all of us by nature. That's
where we are when God finds us. Even his disciples forsook him
on the night that Christ was betrayed by Judas. Surely, verse
four, he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. That speaks to when Christ was
here in the flesh and took to himself, he bore the sicknesses
and the diseases and the infirmities of the people. who had no healing
for their wounds and had no comfort for their sicknesses and diseases,
Christ bore them and did many other good works for the people. Yet, even having done that, we
did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. That is,
when Christ was led away to be crucified, the disciples didn't
understand. They said on the road to Emmaus,
we thought that it had been him who was the Messiah. We thought
that he was the Messiah with everything he did and everything
he spoke and said. We thought he was the Messiah.
But I guess not. I guess we were wrong. Because
now he's been taken away from us. They didn't understand until
after the resurrection. Then they understood. And so Next we see in verse 5 the confession. Once the resurrection occurs,
once the Lord Jesus Christ is raised in our hearts, once we
are raised from the dead and born anew in the new man after
the seed of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we understand I'm the sinner. I'm the one he came to save. I'm of his body, the temple of
Christ. I'm the one whom he laid down
his body for to raise me up in himself and to give me life."
Verse 5 and 6, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us when the Lord makes his salvation
known to us, he makes us to know I'm the sinner. I'm the sinner. Christ came for sinners. That's
me. He died for my sins. My sins
put him there. He's perfect and holy and righteous
and just, but he gave his life for me. He bore my burden to
purge me of my sins and to deliver me from the condemnation that
I so justly deserve to be separated from God forever. And so our
God graciously gives us to know our need of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to know that we need His blood, His salvation. We must be washed
in His blood. We must be forgiven of God through
His Son. He makes us to know our need
and He makes us to know that He is sufficient. to meet that
need. Only he can save us. Only he
is the salvation appointed of God. And that he came to save
his people from their sins. Lord, let me be found in that
number. Let me be found in your body
as one who is a sinner saved and washed clean by your blood. And we see that's what the Lord
does. Drop down to verse 10. Isaiah 53 verse 10, Yet it pleased
the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief, when
thou shalt make his soul, and offer him for sin. He shall see
his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the
Lord shall prosper in his hand. And that prosperity which is
in his hand is worked in us, that salvation whereby the Lord
accomplished our salvation and he brings it to us to know what
he's done for us by giving his life and in his being raised
from the dead so that we experience and are made partakers of the
grace of our God in Jesus Christ. Now, when does it become good
news to me? This salvation is wrought by
Christ for the salvation of his people, which is the church,
the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. His church is his temple,
the temple of his body. 1 Corinthians 3.16, Know ye not
that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth
in you? You who believe Christ are the
church, and the church is the temple of God in whom he dwells. The Spirit of Christ dwells in
his people. And so his body, which is the
temple, was crucified with Christ. We were put to death in the Lord
Jesus Christ that we might live anew unto our God in the Spirit. Turn over to Romans 8. Romans
8. Let's look at verses 6 through
8. Paul says it here, knowing this, knowing this, that our old man
is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed,
that henceforth we should not serve sin, so that Christ's death
canceled the debt that we owed, because he paid it in full. There's
nothing left for you and I to pay who believe in Christ. All
those outside of Christ trying to come to God in their own righteousness
and goodness, they'll be paying for all their sin because they
came in their own righteousness in their own works. But you that
have no righteousness and come to the Father through Jesus Christ
the Son, your debt has been paid in full. And this also declares
that Christ has delivered us from the dominion, the reign
of sin, so that now we know our God, we trust him. We're not
laboring in fear and worry to say, I haven't done enough. I
haven't done enough. I've got to do something more
to make myself good and acceptable with God. No. We've been given
peace in Christ to know he's all my righteousness. The Father
is well pleased with the Son. And he's well pleased with all
who come to him in the Son, resting, resting, resting in the Lord
Jesus Christ. So we're dead with Christ, for
he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ,
we believe. We believe that we shall also
live with him. Paul says we believe. Now, we
that have died with Christ now believe in Christ because he
was raised and we were raised in him. unto newness of life. And this is the final point that
I want you to see from our passage in John chapter two concerning
the resurrection of Christ. When is this made good news to
me? When do I hear it as good news? Well it says in verse twenty-two
in John two twenty-two, when therefore Christ was risen from
the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them,
and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had
said. This belief by the disciples
is something much more than just they made a connection. And they
saw the logical aspects of the words that Christ spoke. These
disciples understood that we believe this day because the
power of God has come upon us. God is being gracious to us. That though we were dead in trespasses
and sins, now by his power through the preaching of Christ crucified
and what he accomplished in his death for us, that he went into
the grave and was raised again Now in him I died, and all my
sins were put away by Christ, and I was buried with him. And
now I am raised again by the power of God unto newness of
life, whereby I see and believe the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 4.8, wherefore he saith,
when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and
gave gifts unto men. That gift includes the gift of
faith whereby we believe. that He is the Savior, that He
has accomplished my redemption, and I am raised in newness of
life by Jesus Christ, with Jesus Christ, and by His glorious power. And the Father and the Son send
the Holy Spirit, seeking out His people with this gospel word,
this good news. And he brings it home to their
heart with power to hear it for the first time with faith and
belief. And every time that you hear
it and rejoice in Christ and rejoice in what you're hearing,
it's by the grace of your God being merciful to you, by giving
you and showing you your interest in the Lord Jesus Christ and
what he's done for his people. For by grace are you saved, through
faith, and that faith is not of yourselves, it is the gift
of God. Ephesians 2, 8. And so everything
that you and I require in salvation is all met for us and given to
us in full by the Son, by the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the Spirit of God, as
well, is sent unto us to show us our need, and to show us our
sin, and our filth, and what we are in ourselves, and to show
us that Christ is sufficient, He is able, and He reveals faith
in our hearts whereby we believe and confess, Lord, Save me. Help me, Lord. Don't pass me
by. Don't leave me here in my sin.
Save me. Cleanse me with the blood of
your Son. And the Spirit works that in
us, and He does it by exalting Christ in our hearts as the salvation
of God for me. It makes us the glory in Him.
Our Lord said in John 12, 32, and I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, and he spoke of his death, his crucifixion, I will
draw all men unto me. And so it is that he died for
his people, was raised again for his people, and so he is
lifted up and exalted in the hearts of his people by the Spirit
of God through the preaching of Christ crucified. I pray that
you who are gathered here this day to hear this word, that it
comes to your ear as good news, And every time that you hear
that the Lord keeps making it good news to you, showing you
your interest in Christ, and showing you that He is sufficient
to save even me, the most vile, wicked sinner, to the uttermost,
that He saves me to the uttermost. I'll just close with this scripture
that's found in 2 Peter 119, where he writes, we also, have
a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye
take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until
the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. Christ
is the day star. He's the one whom the spirit
exalts and lifts up and gives an interest in the hearts and
minds of his people to know, I need that Savior. And I'm so
thankful, Lord, that you sent him and cleansed me, had mercy
on me, an unworthy sinner. I praise the Lord. Bless your
hearts this day to rejoice because you have an interest in Christ
Jesus. Amen. All right, let's close in prayer,
and then we'll sing a hymn and be dismissed. Our Lord, we thank
you, Father, for your mercy and your grace to us. We thank you,
Lord, for for the death and resurrection
of your son, doing everything necessary for our salvation.
Even though we were dead and blind and shut up in a prison
of sin and death. And under the spell of the evil
one, Lord, we thank you that you were not stopped or put off,
but came and rescued us, delivered us, brought us out of that bondage
and death, and gave us life. Not only cleansed us of our sins,
but gave us life to behold what you've done for us and to believe.
Lord, we thank you for your son. We thank you for your wisdom.
We thank you for your might. and glory and power which is
able to overcome our every fault, our every need, our every struggle,
our every chain. Lord, thank you for your power
and glory, your might. Lord, you're worthy of all our
praise. It's in Christ's name that we
pray this and ask, Lord, that you would remember those of us
who who do believe, Lord, those of us who need your salvation,
those of us who are listening in even now, that you would remember
us in our infirmities, in our weaknesses, even the struggles
of this body that are so weak and so debilitated and so hurting. Lord, help your people that are
sick and wounded. Help us to heal, Lord. Help them
to heal. My Aunt Marion, remember Scott. Lord, heal them, help them to
get stronger and to be able to move about. And Lord, anyone
here who we don't know has a sickness or a problem, heal them. Help
them, give them strength, Lord. Above all, comfort their hearts,
because more than the physical needs of their body, we know
that there's a spiritual need, Lord. Don't leave us in darkness. Don't keep us separated from
you, but, Lord, draw us through your Son. Cleanse us, Lord. Cleanse them and all of us who
need cleansing, Lord, which is all of us. Cleanse us of our
sin. Heal our bodies and heal our
minds and fill us with the love of Christ to rejoice in Him.
It's in Christ's name we pray and give thanks. Amen. All right. Let's all stand and sing a closing
hymn. 447. The Lily of the Valley. 447. I have found a friend in Jesus,
He's everything to me, He's the fairest of ten thousand to my
soul. The lily of the valley, in Him
alone I see, All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole. In sorrow he's my comfort, in
trouble he's my stay, he tells me every care on him to roll. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star, he's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul. He all my griefs has taken, and
all my sorrows borne. In temptation He's my strong
and mighty tower. I have all for Him forsaken,
and all my idols torn. From my heart and now He keeps
me by His power. Though all the world forsake
me, and Satan tempt me sore, through Jesus I shall safely
reach the goal. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star. He's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul. He will never, never leave me,
nor yet forsake me here, while I live by faith and do His blessed
will. A wall of fire about me I've
nothing now to fear, with His manna He my hungry soul shall
fill. Then, sweeping up to glory, I'll
see His blessed face, Where rivers of delight shall ever roll. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star, He's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul.