I met Doug and Judy at that Bible
conference, and it has been my intent to get here. I fell in
love with those two people. Thank you. I am not on yet. It's great. Hopefully it will stay that way.
It changed last time. It went to red. Thank you all
so much. The welcome here, you don't have to put forth an
effort to make us feel welcome. You already have. And I greatly
appreciate it. This morning, I'm going to do
a scripture reading. before we turn to the text I'll
be preaching out of. Let's turn first to Ephesians
chapter 2. I think I was talking to Curtis
before the message, or between. And this message that I'm going
to try to bring, I can see the glory of God in what I've read
and what I've prepared. I just hope that the words can
convey a little of what I see. I've struggled to get the words
right. I just hope the Lord will bless it to us. Ephesians chapter
2. And you, hath he quickened, who
were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind. and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
ye are saved. and hath raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that
in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For
by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast,
but we are his workmanship. created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk
in them. Wherefore remember, that ye,
being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision
by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that
at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world. But now, in Christ
Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the
blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath
made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us. Having abolished in his flesh
the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for
to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace. And that he might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby,
and came and preached peace to you, which were afar off, and
to them that were not. For through him we both have
access by one spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are
no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the
saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone. In whom all the building, fitly
framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. in
whom ye also are builded together for inhabitation of God through
the Spirit. Let's bow together and go to
the Lord in prayer. Our mighty, gracious, merciful,
sovereign Lord and Savior, our Father. Oh Lord, what a privilege
it is to call you our Father. to be able to come into your
presence because of Christ Jesus, your son, because of his blood,
because of his salvation. We are adopted into your family. Oh, Lord. Meet with us again
today. Bless this word. Lord, let us not meet in vain,
but send your spirit that we might truly worship, that Christ
might be exalted in our midst once more. Lord, how thankful
we are for the pastors and the preachers and the teachers that
you've sent. All those who have come before us, who have taught
us taught us that salvation is of
the Lord and that there is one God and one Lord, one Savior. Lord, cause our hearts to bow
to Him. Forgive us, Lord, of our sins.
Father, we ask that you remember those that prayer was asked for. Lord, we thank you for your mercies
to this congregation that The floodwaters didn't overtake any
person at all or called safely back here after such destruction. Lord, be with us. Keep us by
your grace. For it's in Christ's name we
pray. Amen. Imagine with me, if you will,
you have found the absolutely perfect piece of property. It
is your dream property. You have all the time and all
the resources that you want at your disposal, and you want to
build your perfect house. What's that house going to look
like? When a person drives up to the exterior of that home,
what will they be greeted with? A warm, inviting house? A modern
house? A traditional house? It's your
house. It's going to reflect who you
are. When they walk through the front doors, what will they be
presented with? Is it a warm, inviting, relaxing
place to enter into? Does it show forth a little bit
of adventure? Does it show forth that you like
things clean and tidy and everything in its place? Does it show that
you've got kids? It's your house. It's going to
reflect a little bit of who you are, give an idea of who that
home and builder is. In all that preparation, that's
going to be what you put forth. You're going to prepare for that
home to put forth something about yourself, who you are. Our Lord is so gracious, so condescending
in his word. He who inhabits eternity, who
the heavens cannot contain, who is wise beyond measure, he speaks
to us in small phrases, in terms that the smallest among us can
understand. We just read in verses 21 and
22 that our God and Father is building Himself an habitation. He's building Himself a house
to dwell in for all eternity. If we build our homes to reflect
something about who we are, God's home will reflect who He is. In the beginning, God created
all that we now see about us. And he placed our father Adam
as caretaker in that habitation. Was that first creation the habitation
our Lord intended to build for himself? No, for that habitation
was resting upon the creature's righteousness. and God's habitation will not
rest upon his creature. In Job, Eliphaz says, behold
he, speaking of God, behold he put no trust in his servants
and his angels he charged with folly. The angels who are declared
holy angels he charged with folly. Eliphaz continued, how much less,
speaking of trust, How much less trust in them that dwell in houses
of clay, whose foundation is in the dust which are crushed
before the moth. Speaking of man who is formed
of the dust of the earth. God created this world not as
his final habitation, but he created it in preparation for
that habitation in which he will dwell In this preparation for this
habitation, it's going to reflect all his characteristics in their
full glory. When Adam rebelled, when he sinned
against God, he died, casting all his children into death with
him. Did he thwart God's purpose?
Did he catch God by surprise and now all this habitation that
I created isn't fit for me anymore, I'm going to have to make another
plan? No. He fulfilled the purpose of God
in his rebellion. That habitation was never intended
to be his eternal habitation. He will not trust in the creature
to build his house upon. It was necessary for Adam to
fall so that God might show forth his love, his mercy, his righteousness,
his glory, his holiness in bringing many sons unto glory. Through
the only begotten Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, suffering
death and resurrection. Now let's turn to my text. In
1 Chronicles chapter 29, 1 Chronicles, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges,
1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles 29, starting in verse 1. 1 Chronicles 29, verse 1. Furthermore, we start with furthermore. This chapter is a continuation
of a speech that David started giving to the congregation of
Israel and to his son Solomon in chapter 28. This speech to
the congregation is, if it isn't the last time that he addresses
the congregation, it's one of the last. It's towards the end
of his reign. And just glance back at chapter
28, verses 2 and 3. Then David the king stood up
upon his feet and said, hear me, my brethren and my people. As for me, I had in mind heart
to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the
Lord and for the footstool of our God and had made ready for
the building. But God said unto me, thou shalt
not build a house for my name because thou hast been a man
of war and has shared blood. David's focus in this last address
is on building the house of the Lord, his God. He doesn't focus
on how he came to be king of Israel, how he slew Goliath,
how he, after Saul was killed, he came into being the king,
the many battles that he was victorious in, how he vanquished
his foes, He didn't concentrate on his failures or his successes. But David is focused on the building
of the house of the Lord as he ends his reign, and that was
his desire from early on when he reigned in Jerusalem. Now, back in chapter 29, verse
one. Furthermore, David the king said
unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen,
is yet young and tender, and the work is great, for the palace
is not for man, but for the Lord God. Now I have prepared with
all my might for the house of my God, the gold for things to
be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the
brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and
wood for things of wood, onyx stones and stones to be set,
glistening stones and of diverse colors, and all manner of precious
stones and marble stones in abundance." That phrase this morning that
I want us to concentrate on, now I have prepared with all
my might. David knows that he cannot build
the house of God. But he prepared for it with all
his might. He was told when he wanted to
build that house, Nathan told him first, go and do all that's
in thy heart, for the Lord is with thee. And then God sent
Nathan right back to him the next day. No, you'll not be building
me a house. But David didn't set it aside,
he prepared. The Lord said, your son shall
build me a house. And David set about preparing
for his son to build the house. He prepared with all his might. Solomon, when he began to build
that house, he wanted for nothing. David had provided everything
that was needed for the building of that house. If you want to,
turn back a few pages to 1 Chronicles 22, verse 2. David's telling all that he prepared. 1 Chronicles 22, verse 2. And David commanded to gather
together the strangers that were in the land of Israel. And he
set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. And
David prepared iron in abundance for the nails, for the doors
of the gates, and for the joinings, and brass in abundance without
weight. Also cedar trees in abundance
for the Zidonians, and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood
to David. Now jump down to verse 14. David is speaking to Solomon
here. Now behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house
of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a thousand thousand
talents of silver, and of brass and iron without weight, for
it is in abundance. Timber also and stone have I
prepared, and thou mayest add thereto. Moreover, there is workmen
with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber,
and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work. Of
the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is
no number. Arise, therefore, and be doing,
and the Lord be with thee." David didn't just provide the
materials. And the workmen, he provided
the place that the temple was to be built and he vanquished
the enemies of Israel as Solomon could build the temple in peace.
And we've seen the preparations of David and we know that Solomon
completed the temple. Where do we see Christ in this?
How is he magnified and glorified in what we've just read? Well, if we consider David and
Solomon's conversation here and their actions as a parable, as
a tale told with earthly people and things that represent what
God does in the spirit. I think we'll see a little of
the conversation between God the Father and God the Son in
their eternal covenant. Because we know that before the
foundation of the world, God the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit entered into a covenant, one with another, to build a
house, an habitation for His dwelling. Nowhere in Scripture
is directly recorded what took place in that covenant. But we
are provided with glimpses, with peeks, so to speak, behind that
veil, that we might see and understand just a little bit of what we
have before us, what the Lord determined to do in that council. Before we begin, there's a couple
things we have to establish. And the first is, that the Father,
God the Father, cannot build by Himself this house. David couldn't build the house
because he was a man of war and has shed blood. God the Father's house is going
to be built from the souls of men. Redeemed sinners are His
habitation. Man that has borne the seed of
Adam is unrighteousness, full of sin, separated from God. And God is of purer eyes than
to behold evil, and can't not look on iniquity. Do you know
what happens when God looks upon iniquity? When he finds iniquity,
he can't look upon it. When he finds it, go to the cross. See on that cross what happened
when God the Son had sin found upon Him. God the Father turned His back
on His only begotten Son and He poured out His wrath upon
Him. God the Father will have nothing
to do with sinful men directly. He can't make a habitation of
the likes of Adam's race as they are by nature because their nature
has rebelled against God and have become the opposite of God. He is life, we are death. He is spirit, we are temporal
and of the earth, flesh, dust, decay. He's eternal, we're temporal. He's holy, we are sin. Were he to build his habitation
of Adam's unregenerated seed, he would deny his very nature. God the Father can't build his
house of unregenerated men of sinners, lost and undone, separated
from God, but he purposes to build a house of some of Adam's
race. And all that he purposes shall
be brought to pass. But how is that to happen? We
read in Ephesians, Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, is the
chief cornerstone of God's habitation. It is in Him that we are builded
together. In our example of David and Solomon,
David can't build the temple. Solomon does build the temple,
but he does it with the preparations of his father. Our Lord Jesus
Christ is going to build His temple. He's going to build His
habitation. He's going to do it because of
the preparations of God the Father. God the Father prepared with
all his might. He prepared the pattern of his
house. He provided the materials. He provided the builder. He established
the place or the person on which the building is built, and he
vanquished his enemies. So what is the pattern of God's
habitation? As our homes are patterned and
we want them to reflect who we are, so His house is a pattern
and a reflection of who He is. In Genesis 2.26, God said, let
us make man in our image after our likeness. What is a pattern
but the likeness of that building that's to come? The habitation
that God builds and prepared for must be suitable to His glory. It must be to His specification.
And the building's template is Himself. Nothing else will do. There is no creature that can
reflect the glory of God. He alone. Everything else is beneath him,
not suitable. As the pattern can never reflect
the glory to be seen in the finished building, when God created Adam
in his likeness, Adam was perfect. He was upright. He communed with
God. He stood in his presence without
a mediator. He was able to stand in God's
presence. Because he was perfect, he had
no sin. For a time, he stood there. But that time was short-lived. In his rebellion, Adam's soul,
the soul into which God had breathed life, died. And he was separated
from God. God's purpose to build his habitation
wasn't doomed because of Adam's rebellion, because he never intended
for his habitation to be reliant upon the creature. His house shall be established
upon himself. David gathered the materials
for the house in abundance. He left nothing for Solomon to
have to find for himself. He gathered those materials for
almost 30 years, so that when Solomon came to rule, he was
able to finish that house in a short amount of time. Had Solomon needed to gather
the materials, the task would have been daunting and would
have required far longer than it did. Having those materials,
the plans, the builders, the place, and peace He completed
the building of the temple. God the Father provided the materials
for the Son, those souls that He will redeem, that He will
dwell in, that He will have His habitation in. He provided those
to his son, the master builder, to complete his habitation with.
John 6.39 says, 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. God has prepared a people
to be made in his image, in his likeness, who do not have the
defilement of the sin obtained from the fall of their father
Adam. And these people shall be made fit for his habitation. God having predestinated those
for his son to build his habitation with, he laid upon his son the
task of making those souls fit to be his habitation. Do you
see the might that he's going to display in his preparation?
These souls that were by nature inherited from their father Adam,
dead, without God, without Christ, without hope of salvation, they're
deserving of nothing but the wrath of God and His eternal
condemnation. How is it possible that these
souls might be made the righteousness of God? only His righteousness
and His holiness in which He can dwell. Nothing else will
do. Nothing else is worthy of His
habitation. So how will they be made fit?
Hold your place here and turn over to 1 Peter 2. And we'll
come right back to 1 Chronicles. 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 5. Ye, who are ye? Ye, the strangers
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia. Elect, ye elect according to
the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification
of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Christ Jesus. Ye also, as lively stones, are
built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Peter refers to us as lively
stones. Stones are a very good illustration
of what we are. By nature, we're dead, lifeless. In our original form, you can't
hardly go out and do anything with a rock that hasn't been
worked with. It's not level, it leans, it
tilts. It's hardly worth using for any
kind of building purposes without being worked upon. So as Peter
compares us to stones, let's examine the stones that David
provided to Solomon to build the temple. How were these stones
prepared? First Kings, is two books to
your left from 1st Chronicles. 1st Kings chapter 6. I'm just
going to read one verse here as well. 1st Kings 6 and verse 7. And the house, this is speaking
of Solomon building the house, and the house, when it was in
building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought
thither, so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of
iron heard in the house while it was in building. To make the
stones ready for the building, the workmen had to leave Jerusalem. They had to go outside of the
camp. They had to go to where the stones were and they had
to work them where they were at to be made fit to go into
that building. Our Lord's master builder, who is our Lord Jesus Christ, he left the holy place in heaven
where he dwells with his father. He came out from there, from
where He is glorified and sang praises to by the angels eternally. He left that habitation and He
came out and He came to where we are. He laid aside His glory. He took
upon Himself the likeness of sinful man. Though He were born
of the seed of woman, and not of the seed of Adam, so that
he had no sin of his own. He came into the world. He walked
among sinners, those who rebelled against his father, who hate
his father. He walked among them, that he
might be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He was tempted
at all points, like as we are, but he never failed. He never
transgressed the law. He never once sinned. He walked
in the flesh among us, and he honored the law. He fulfilled
the law. And he didn't fulfill the law
as the scribes and the Pharisees said that they had kept the law. He fulfilled the law in every
jot and tittle, meaning that from what we, in our carnal reasoning,
would consider a small law, a little law. It's okay to break that
law. It's a little law. That littlest law is holy in
the eyes of the Lord. You break it, you've sinned,
and you're condemned. He kept that little law. He didn't
just keep it in action. In word, he kept it in thought,
he kept it in deed, he kept it in the fullest intent of his
heart. He completely fulfilled the law
in absolute perfection. As those masons building the
temple fashioned and formed those stones outside of Jerusalem,
outside of the camp, so our Lord came And he made those stones,
those souls that were given to him of God the Father, fit to
be placed in the eternal habitation of God. Those masons of Solomon's,
they worked with those stones. They took those stones as they
were, and they cut away everything that wasn't needed off of that
stone. They changed the appearance of those stones. Our Lord's task
is a bit more complicated. Our appearance isn't our problem.
It's our nature. We have a nature that is against
God, and He must give us a new nature. The stones He received,
they're dead in trespasses and sins. They must be made to live. Those stones He received, they're
property of the broken law. They can't be used. It's not
lawful to take them. They don't belong to him yet. Justice has to be paid for their
transgression, for their offenses against the law. Christ Jesus
must free them from that bondage that they so willingly sold themselves
into. Freedom from the law, life from
death, Is such a thing possible? It is when God Almighty prepares
with all his might. Having walked this earth in the
flesh, honoring God's law, a man, fully man, Jesus of Nazareth,
in absolute holiness, kept that law. And that is a wonderful
thing for him. He can stand in the presence
of God in his own righteousness. But if he takes it no further,
if he stops at simply fulfilling the law in and of himself, I
remain condemned, guilty, undone in my sin, and the law of God
continues to be against me. In his mighty preparations, God
provided to Jesus Christ a body. It says, a body hast thou prepared
me, And in that body dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. It was that body that walked
the earth in the flesh. It was that body that they took
and tormented in the halls of Pilate, upon which that whip
fell and ripped his flesh, upon which the blows of the soldiers
hit. Upon that head the crown of thorns
was planted. His beard was plucked out. And finally, when they had tormented
that body so greatly, they took it, led it outside of Jerusalem,
and they nailed that body to a tree, and they planted it hanging
between earth and heaven. The body of Jesus of Nazareth
upon that cross became the altar in which God the Father placed
the sins of all those that He prepared for His Son. Those sins being found upon Christ,
God could not look upon Him. He turned His back. He sent forth
His wrath, and He sent forth His wrath without mercy. There was no mercy found for
that man on that cross. That wrath fell upon him, and those sins, I picture it, the altar built,
the wood was laid inside that altar, and the fire set to that
wood, And that fire only burns as long as there's wood for it
there to consume. Once the wood is gone, that's
the end of it. The wrath of God is fueled by
sin. And as he hung on that cross,
our altar, containing those sins, wrath of God fell. and burned
until every last sin that he came to bear was burned away. It's gone. He bore it all. And once those sins were consumed,
the Lord of life bowed his head and he gave up the ghost. The
penalty of the law The hold it had upon God's people was satisfied
with the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. He had ransomed them
from the penalty of the law. The work was done. The blood
was shed. Penalty of breaking the law had
been paid. And his body was taken down and
laid in a tomb. David, in his preparations for
Solomon, built the house. He gave the pattern of the house.
He gathered the materials. provided the workmen, and he
vanquished the enemies. Our Lord's enemies seem to have,
at this point, cause for celebration. His body's been laid in the tomb.
That man who had threatened their traditions, had threatened their
way of life, had threatened those leaders of Jerusalem's hold over
the Israelites, he was put away. locked behind that stone. And he couldn't threaten their
traditions anymore. His blood had been shed and his
people had been bought from their bondage of sin and shame, but
the victor appears for a moment to be the enemies of Christ.
And his people were scattered as a flock of sheep without a
shepherd. On the third day, He of His own
power, He took up His life again, as He had said before, and I
quoted this earlier this morning, Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my Father. The Father made preparations
for his son and gave him commandment to take his life up again. He
took his life up again to ever live and make intercession for
his beloved people. And now his enemy comes, my enemy
comes, comes accusing the brethren of all the sins that they commit. O. B. Williams doesn't believe
you. Obie Williams doubts you. Obie
Williams doesn't trust you. And all I can do is stand guilty. But my Lord, The accuser stands there, and
my Lord stands and shoves forth the scars in his hands, in his
feet, in his side. Paid. Obie Williams has no sin. Everything that you just said,
I did it. their mind. My Redeemer so identifies
with me that He claimed my sin. He suffered, bled, and died for
my sin, and He paid the penalty for my sin. And the accuser can
say nothing against me, that He, our Lord, Case dismissed. Paid. The enemies of our Lord and of
us, they continue to try. Oh, we're plagued with doubts
and fears. Our sin. David said, my sin is
ever before me. And yet, They can't prevent the
building of God's habitation. For it is Christ that hath died,
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. David provided the pattern,
the materials, the workmen. He vanquished the enemy, and
he purchased the land on which the temple would be built. Second
Chronicles is just to your right. Chapter 3 verse 1 says, Then Solomon began to build
the house of the Lord at Jerusalem and Mount Moriah, where the Lord
appeared unto David his father in the place that David had prepared
in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. David purchased
the threshing floor of Ornan at a time of great distress.
He had sinned against God in numbering the people of Israel,
and the angel of the Lord stood against Jerusalem. David had
bought the threshing floor to offer a sacrifice unto the Lord.
God's habitation is built upon the cornerstone Christ Jesus,
the Son of Man and the Son of God. God's habitation reflects His
glory, His holiness, His righteousness, His mercy, His truth, His love,
His grace, His hatred of sin. All of this is seen in the suffering,
death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. And
we are made fit to be the habitation of God because of Christ in you,
the hope of glory. Solomon wrote to Hiram, king
of Tyre, as he started building the temple, saying, But now the
Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there
is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. As David had fought
the battles in bringing peace to Israel, our Lord in his death,
burial, and resurrection fought against our enemies, and he was
victorious. We read it earlier in Ephesians
2, 14 and 15. For he is our peace, who hath
made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even
the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in
himself of twain one new man. So make him peace. We look out
upon this world, this creation that God set forth in six days,
and we wonder at the might of God. We marvel at the planets
and the stars, the rivers and the oceans, the calms and the
storms. And in all of this, mankind in
general think that they see the might of God revealed. We forget
who God is. God is spirit. His dealings with
men are eternal and spiritual. God Almighty is building of redeemed
sinners and holy temple unto the Lord. It is the building
of this temple that he proclaims to have prepared with all my
might. God has prepared for this building
for all eternity. From the foundation of the world,
He entered into a covenant to give a people to His Son. His
Son entered into a covenant with His Father to redeem those people
through His life, His death, and His resurrection. God the
Holy Spirit entered into a covenant with the Father and the Son.
that he would draw those people out and reveal to them their
need of a Savior and declare the things of Christ unto them.
In his preparations for this temple, he supplied the material,
the souls of his chosen people, the builder, our Lord and Savior,
the cornerstone, the person on which it is built. and he made
peace between God and men. Such a great salvation is ours
that God is just and justifier of sinful men. And people think that they'll come before God
And they'll say, I'm so glad that you sent Jesus to die for
me. And just to bring a little bit from
home, let's add this to your building. My good deeds, my preaching,
my Sunday school teaching. They would bring death. For we, by nature, are nothing
but death. We have nothing. Everything we
touch, we defile. And they would put death into
that habitation of life, by which they exclaim, oh, the death of
your son, it was so good for us, but it wasn't quite enough. You didn't prepare well enough. We have to give something more.
And God the Father is going to say, depart from me. I never
knew you and cast them into utter darkness. What's our hope? What's our salvation? Christ
and him crucified. Oh, may God give us grace to
come to him, to seek mercy of him. We're guilty. We're defiled. We're unworthy,
but all he's glorious and he is mighty and he is merciful
and he is willing to say even the most. Let's just miss the
word prayer. I'll turn it over to you after
we pray. Lord, our God, Oh, thank you, Father, for having mercy on us in eternity
past. Thank you, Lord, for your mighty
preparations. And Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ,
thank you for. For you were willing to become
that which your father hates, despises, and suffer his wrath
for what we are. And Lord, thank you for sending
us the comforter who takes the things of Christ and makes it
known unto us. Oh, Lord, bless your word. May we may we feast upon it. Let not the world and the cares
of it take these things of Christ away from us. Keep us turning
to Christ, laying hold upon him and suing him for mercy. Lord,
bless this congregation. Lord, have mercy. Be gracious. Be. Anoint your preachers, Lord,
and your congregations throughout this world. Give us pastors to feed us. Oh,
how we need to be fed upon the bread of heaven. Thank you for all that you've
given us, all that you've done for us, all your mercy towards
us. Keep us and bless us. For Christ's
sake, because of his merit, keep us and bless us. For it's in
his name we pray, amen. No. Oh, Kevin.