And I just want to read one verse
to you, kind of use this as a starting place. And here's my subject, the believer's
reward. The believer's reward. Genesis 15 verse 1, after these
things, The word of the Lord came unto
Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield,
I am thy protection, and thy exceeding great reward. Let's ask God to bless. Lord, this is such a special
time for us as we meet together as your people. Folks gathered here in this building
and others joining us by way of the Internet and all of us
together seeking Your face, asking that You would bless as the Word
goes forth tonight. Lord, our great desire is that
You would be magnified, exalted, May we remember that by nature
we're nothing and by heart everything. And the only reason that we're
your people is because of your grace. Grace given us in the
Lord Jesus even before you made this world. We thank you for
your for goodness unto us, for your saving grace, for adopting
us into your family. We thank you for the redeeming
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do want to praise Him this
evening, this One who is the High King of Heaven. We bless
Him, Father, and we thank You for Him. May our hearts be instructed
this evening in this vital subject of the believer and the reward.
May we come to a greater understanding of our position in the Lord Jesus,
our Savior. These things we ask in the Lord's
name, our Savior's name. Amen. We just sang a song that
I had selected, and that third verse riches I
heed not, nor man's empty praise, thou mine inheritance." A lot of people talk about the
inheritance that the Lord's people are going to receive, the reward
that the children of God are going to have. He's our reward. If you can learn that, you won't
have any difficulty with what many believe are those rewards
that God's people merit by their works on earth. Many years ago,
I'll tell you a story. I think it was in, I don't remember
exactly what month it was, 1973. I was working at a church in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina. That's where Nancy and I met
brother Tim James and his wife Debbie. And we just kind of instantly
fell in love with each other. And of course, we've been the
best of friends ever since. Tim and I have been, and Nancy
and Debbie have been. Just been a wonderful relationship. But I was working there as I
took care of all the music. and teaching Sunday school class
and teaching the young people. And we had a guest preacher came
to town from Ashland, Kentucky. I did not know Brother Mahan. I had never heard of him before. But I will say this to you, I
never forgot him. He was the most powerful preacher. And God was pleased to open my
eyes and my innermost being to the gospel of God's free grace. And during those few services,
I don't remember how many times he preached to us, several times,
four, five, six times, something like that. But in one of his
messages, he got on this subject of believers and their rewards. And he said, there are some people
who believe that there are going to be yo-yos and tinker toys
that are going to be passed out in heaven. He said, that's a
bunch of foolishness. And I didn't forget that message. because that kind of crossed
with what I had always been instructed in. I believed at that time that
salvation's by grace, we get to heaven by grace, but our position
in heaven is based on works. That's what I thought. And then
he came in and he said this idea of rewards, and I still remember,
yo-yos and tinker toys. I'm sure he must have said that
here. Well, he preached and left. And our preacher, the next Lord's
Day morning, he got up and he said, I'll tell you something
about believers and their rewards. He said, don't make fun of those
rewards and don't ever call them yo-yos and tinker toys. Boy,
I knew who he was aiming at. One thing to aim at somebody
when they're there. It's another thing to just dress
him down when he's long gone. But I learned a lot from Brother
Mahan about God's salvation, God's gospel. And I also learned then, and
I committed myself to a study of the believer and his reward. I believe there are several people
in this world who do believe the Gospel of grace. They believe
the truth of redemption by the bloody sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus, and they believe we're robed in His righteousness. They
believe Christ is their hope of heaven. have difficulty, however, when
it comes to this subject of the believer and his rewards. And they say, they believe that
when we get to heaven that there will be a judgment just for the
children of God. And that's when rewards will
be passed out for faithfulness and for labor and for works done
for the glory of God. And that's when some rewards
won't be passed out. There'll be some people who'll,
they'll just get there. But they're not going to have
any rewards. They believe that faithful Christians will be rewarded
with a mansion in heaven, while those who didn't serve the Lord
quite as much, they'll get there. But they won't have as big a
mansion as others have. There are people who believe
this. In fact, some of them even say, you know, I just have a
little cabin in the corner of glory land. Maybe I won't get a mansion,
but I'll get in there though. And they say the Lord will recognize
those who served Him more by giving them greater rewards and
that there will be some people there who will get those great
rewards, prophets, apostles, missionaries, preachers, pastors,
martyrs. They'll get more than just kind
of an everyday run-of-the-mill child of God, you might call
them. And maybe you believe that. I don't know, and I'm not trying
to jump on anybody tonight. Nobody here, I'm not trying to
get on you, and I'm not trying to get on anybody who might be
watching by way of the internet. I hope God will speak to all
of us. Let me tell you something. First
of all, the words were reward. When our inheritance is spoken
of in the Scriptures, it is always the reward, not rewards. And if you'll just take the time
to look at a concordance, the word rewards is only used five
times in the whole Bible. Never, never, in association
with the people of God. Never. And we've got to get out of our
minds, if it is in our minds, this idea that we're saved by
grace. We get to heaven by grace, but
our works on earth, that's what determines our position in heaven
or our happiness in heaven or our reward in heaven. You got
to get out of that kind of thinking. We must not, this is vital now,
we must not mix grace and works. Now, though there are many people
who believe the reward system for the children of God, I believe
the issue, and I hope God will enable me to be a teacher this
evening, I believe the issue can be easily and very quickly
settled if we have a better understanding of the doctrine of salvation. Let me set before you a few questions. First question, who saves sinners? We say, Jim, the Lord does. Well, you're right. There is
such a thing as the salvation of sinners. The salvation of
the righteous is of the Lord, Psalm 37 and 39. Jonah said salvation
is of the Lord, Jonah 2.9. Be sure you understand the doctrine
of the Word of God. Salvation in the Scriptures involves
everything, everything that is necessary
to bring a poor old sinner from the ruins of Adam's fall to the
very height of heaven's glory. That's God's salvation. It includes
everything. As stated in 1 Samuel, the second
chapter, it's the lifting up of the beggar from the dunghill
and to set him among the princes of God's people and make them
inherit the throne of glory. Everything. from us being stuck
in the miry clay of our depravity, from the Lord taking us out of
that, and washing us, and robing us, and then taking us to glory,
and setting us among the very princes of His people, that's
salvation. That's salvation. And there's
no aspect of salvation, no part of the package, we might put
it this way, not on this side of eternity nor on the other
side of eternity that in any way is determined by us. If you can get that, if you can
understand that, then you'll see the reason why this idea
that we'll get rewards when we get to heaven, you'll see why
that's a foolish idea. What is salvation? What is deliverance
from the curse of the law? Who does that? The Lord does. Our Savior bore the curse of
the law. He was condemned. He was judged. The wrath of God fell on Him.
He saved us from the curse of the law by being made a curse
for us. He saved us from our sinfulness,
from the power of sin, the penalty of sin, the presence of sin. He's the one who saved us from
Satan. He saves us from self. He saves
us from this world. The salvations of the Lord. We
know that in its purpose. 2 Thessalonians 2.13, the Lord
chose us under salvation. Salvation of the Lord in its
purchase. The Lord Jesus bought His people.
He bought and paid for us. And He paid the justice of God.
He didn't pay the devil. The devil wasn't owed a price.
He didn't redeem you from the devil. He rescued you from the
devil, but He redeemed you from the law that you had violated. He redeemed you from divine justice
by bearing in His body all of the sins of His people and then
enduring the wrath of God. He purchased us from divine justice. Justice held us for ransom. And
there in Job, the father said, release him or deliver him from
going down to the pit. I have found a ransom. Who's
that? That's Christ Jesus and His sacrifice
unto death. His bloody death settled our
account with God. That's done. He said, I finished
the work that you gave Me to do. And then there's salvation
by mighty power. The Holy Spirit came to us through
the preaching of the Gospel. And as a result, we've been born
again. Born from heaven. Born anew. And in that new birth, in that
giving us of life that we didn't have, of light that we didn't
have, He gave us repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus. And salvation includes the preservation
of us. He keeps us in the faith. He
keeps us believing. If we labor in the gospel, He
keeps us laboring. If we do anything of benefit
to anybody else, it's the Lord working through us. to will and
to do of His good pleasure. Now, surely none of you will
disagree with that. Now, here's another question.
Is salvation altogether by the grace of God, or do our works
have anything to do with it? Well, you know the answer to
that. By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. We read in Romans 11, if by grace,
it's no more works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. You can't mix them, but if it
be of works, then it's no more grace. Otherwise, work is no
more work. Does the sinner? Did you? Did you, by your work, Do anything
to enhance or improve your standing before God? Is there something we have to
do to cooperate with God in this matter of salvation? Do we add
to what the Savior did? Did He do almost everything and
then we add our faith and that seals the deal? Is that the way
it is? That's what lots of folks believe.
There's no salvation if you've got to do something to seal the
deal. The deal was really sealed before
the world began when God in His purpose, He appointed a surety for us. And that Lamb of God, He died
in the purpose of God before the world began. That sealed
the deal. Salvation. Does the sinner make
any contribution whatsoever to his standing before God? If he does, then salvation is
by works. And that's diametrically opposed
to the Word of God. You remember in Acts chapter
15, the Jerusalem Bible Conference.
We called it the First Sovereign Grace Bible Conference. And the
issue was, are people saved by the grace of God? Or saved by the grace of God
and obedience to the law? Oh, there's some debating that
went on and arguing that went on. And then Simon Peter stood
up and he said, but we believe, this is what us apostles believe,
but we believe that we shall be saved just like the Gentiles by the grace of God, by the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then consider this. Since
we've now established that salvation is altogether a work of God,
how extensive is this salvation? How far back does salvation go? And how far out this way, how
far into eternity does salvation reach? Well, salvation reaches
all the way to the Eternal past. You know what Hebrews chapter
4 verse 3 says? All the works of God were finished
from the foundation of the world. All the works of God? Yeah. Salvation? Yeah. Creation? Yeah. Providence? Yeah. Consider the
origin of salvation, 2 Timothy 1.9, who saved us and called
us. Called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. He saved us before time ever
began. How long have I been a child
of God? You say, well, you just said a little bit ago you learned
the Gospel back in 1973. I didn't ask you. I didn't ask you when I learned
the Gospel. I didn't ask you when you learned the Gospel.
I asked you how long have I been a child of God. Are you a child
of God? How long have you been a child
of God? Always. Always. You are predestinated unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto Himself. To the glory
of God. We've always been in the family
of God. And because we're members of
the family of God, because we are children, in time the Holy
Spirit was sent to us to reveal the Gospel to us. Is not our Savior called the
everlasting Father? Well, then He must have everlasting
children. You didn't become a child of
God when you believed. You believed because you were
a child of God. You were a lost child. You were
a bankrupt child. You were a corrupt child. You
were a wayward child. But you were one of His children,
and He called you by His grace." That's what Galatians 4, 6 says,
because you are sons. God has sent forth the Spirit
of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Well, that's salvation in the
eternal past. Well, consider, secondly, salvation
in the historic past. Our salvation was finished when
the Lord Jesus suffered, bled, died, and arose and ascended
for His people. When He said it is finished,
everything that had to do with our salvation, the salvation
of His people, was accomplished. He was satisfied according to
the Father's will. Daniel expressed it this way. He said when Messiah comes, He
will accomplish several things. Number one, finish the transgressions. That means shut them up. Bind
them all together. Cast them into the depths of
the deepest sea. That's what Christ did for His
people. And Daniel said He'll make an end of sins. He'll consume
them. That's what that means. He will
be their destruction. Did He do that? Yes, He did.
Yes, He did. And Daniel said He'll make reconciliation
for iniquity. Reconciliation. That's atonement. That's propitiation. That's satisfaction
of divine justice. Did He satisfy divine justice
by His death? Well, He certainly did as evidenced
by His resurrection. And His ascension. And His coronation. His exaltation as Lord of all. Make reconciliation for iniquity. And Daniel said he'll bring in
everlasting righteousness. Did he do that? For He, God, hath made Him Christ
to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. He is the Lord, our righteousness. He was delivered for our offenses. And it was raised again because
of our justification. So there is salvation back in
eternity. Salvation, it's a historic thing. And then salvation is experienced. Conversion is the work of the
Holy Spirit. As many as received Him, to them
gave He the authority and power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on His name, which were born, not of blood,
not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but born
of God. Why does anybody believe the
gospel? Because they're born of God, that's why. No dead sinner is going to believe
on the Lord Jesus. No dead sinner is going to flee
to the Savior for salvation. A dead sinner can't do that.
He's got to be made alive. But once made spiritually alive,
he flees to the Savior. He's all I need. He's my hope.
He of God has made unto me wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord. Well, what about salvation in
the present tense? We've got eternal tense and historic
tense. It's experienced. What about
salvation in the present tense? It's spoken of as being an ongoing
thing. Listen to 1 Corinthians 1.18
for the preaching of the cross. It is to them, really it should
read this way, who are perishing. Who are perishing. But unto us which are being saved,
it's the power of God. I hear people say, I got saved.
Actually, you're still being saved. It's salvation. It's ongoing. He's saving you right now from
the wiles of the devil. He's saving you from temptations. He is saving you right now from
yourself. He is saving you. In the blood of Jesus Christ,
it goes on cleansing us from all sin. That's a continual thing. That's why we read in Philippians
1, verse 6, He who hath begun a good work in you will finish
it under the day of Jesus Christ. It's continual. Don't talk, don't
say, well, I got saved. That just sounds real Arminian,
don't it? and then salvation in the future
tense. 1 Peter 1 says it's ready to
be revealed at the last time. Ready to be revealed. Someday, someday our soul's going
to be glorified. We're going to lay inside this
carcass of flesh, this corruptible tabernacle. We've got to go to
glory. We'll enjoy salvation from all
sin, the presence of sin. But you know, salvation is going
to be finished in eternity because the Lord Jesus who bought my
soul, He bought this body too. I know when we die, we go to
heaven and we get a heavenly body. That's 2 Corinthians chapter
5 says that. But he bought this body and he's
going to have it. And he's going to make it perfect
when he comes back. He's going to raise it from the
grave. Unless I'm alive when He comes, even then He's going
to change it in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. But if He
doesn't come back pretty soon, this flesh is destined for the
grave. Going to put my body in the ground. But I'm coming back with Him. referred to the message this
morning, if you don't know what I'm talking about. I'm coming
back with Him. My soul is, and He's going to
raise this body. It's going to be a perfect body. It's going to be glorified. Glorified. Then you can say, now there's
a saved man. There's a saved man. Now you agree with me that salvation's
of the Lord. You've been right with me. I
know you have been. Nobody's disagreed with me. Well then, if this is all of
grace, how in the world can anybody say that our condition in heaven
is based upon our faithfulness or our works? That's just so
inconsistent. I'm not mad at anybody. I'm not fussing with anybody.
And I'm certainly not going to debate with anybody. It's either
all of grace or it isn't. And God will have to deal with
people on that. Well, what about rewards for
the righteous? Well, I just said the word rewards
in the Bible. It doesn't ever have anything
to do with the people of God. The Lord said to Abraham, I'm
your shield, I'm your reward. What more reward would you want
than the Lord Himself? Jehovah who saves. It seems to
me like the Word of God teaches that if you have the Lord Himself,
you've got everything in Him. Ain't nobody going to have more
than I have or less than I have. And even better than that, nobody's
going to be exalted above me. Listen, after we do all that's
expected of us, we're just unprofitable servants. That's all we are. It's what Jeremiah said, Lamentations
3.24, The Lord is my portion. He's my inheritance. Therefore
will I hope in Him. This idea of rewards for service
suggests that in some way the grace of God and the blood of
the Lord Jesus are just not sufficient to get us all the way to the
top. And if you're not careful, that'll
be a deadly doctrine to you. because it's mixing works with
grace. I think a lot of people kind
of hold on to this idea because they hadn't been instructed any
different. They hadn't been taught any different.
But now you have, right from the Word of God. Do we labor
for the Lord? Yes! But we're not laboring for the
Lord to see what we can get. We're not mercenaries. We're
not hirelings. John chapter 10, the hireling,
it looked upon in any favorable view. If we do anything in the Kingdom
of God, if God uses us in any way, it's not us. It's the Lord. Surely I'm going
to get credit for my works. Well, now wait a minute. Ephesians
2 and verses 8, 9, and 10. For by grace he is saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath ordained. Did you get that? Which God hath ordained that
we walk in. It's by the ordination of God. And in 1 Corinthians 15 verse
10 where Paul says, by the grace of God I am what I am. He talks
about the grace of God working through him. All that he did
was due to the work of the Spirit of God and the grace of God in
him. He didn't attribute anything
to himself. I asked Brandon to read that
passage of Scripture for us in Matthew chapter 20. The landowner goes out, six o'clock
in the morning, and he hires some workers. Come work for me,
I'll pay you a penny. Pay you a penny for the day's
wage. You know, that was the normal thing back then, right?
A penny for a day. You work for me for a day, I'll
give you a penny. That was at 6 a.m. And at 9 a.m. he goes to the marketplace and
he says, I'm gonna hire some more. 9 o'clock. Come work for me, I'll give you
what's right. He goes back at noon. Come work for me, I'll
pay you what's right. He goes back at 3 in the afternoon. Hired more workers. Then he goes
out at 5. He hires more workers. Come work
for me, I'll pay you what's fair, what's right. And 6 o'clock comes. Time for everybody to hit the
time clock. Punch out. They started paying those that
went to work at 5 o'clock first so that the others could see
how generous he was, how good he was. Those 5 o'clock workers,
they got their money and said, man alive, it is wonderful. And 3 o'clock workers, and noon
workers, and 9 o'clock, and 6 o'clock workers, they got their paycheck
and they say it's been some kind of mistake. My check's not big
enough. Well, what's your problem? Those
fellas that went to work at 5 o'clock, they got paid the same amount
I got paid. That's not fair. They're equal. Oh, that's a key word in that
parable now. They're equal to us. The Lord says, cannot I do what
I will with my Lord? Just because you stingy, just
because you hard-hearted, that don't mean I am. Everybody gets
the same. The Lord is my reward. Everybody
gets the same. That's a New Testament example.
I'm going to give you an Old Testament example. And I want
you to go to the book of 1 Samuel and chapter 30. Now, I don't
have time to read this, and I don't want you to read it while I'm
preaching on it. Read it later. Because if you
get to reading, then you're going to lose the train of thought. You might even cause me to lose
my train of thought. That often happens. But I'll
tell you, here's the story. David had 600 men who were warriors
for him. And David goes over He goes to Achish and the Philistines. David is against King Saul. So he goes over there to kind
of solicit their help. Didn't get any. Anyway, while
he was gone, the Amalekites invaded Ziklag, burned the city down. Captured women, children, gold,
silver, all the possessions. David came back as a sad sight. He sought God's will, what should
be done. And the Lord said, go after him. Go after him. Look at chapter
30 verse 8. David inquired of the Lord. 1
Samuel 30 verse 8. David said, shall I pursue after
this troop? Shall I overtake them? And the
Lord said, pursue. For thou shalt surely overtake
them and without fail recover all. You'll recover everything.
So David went, he and his 600 soldiers, his 600 men that were
with him, and he came to the brook Besor where those that
were left behind stayed. But David pursued he and 400
men. What about them other 200? He
said it was 600. David and 400 men go after these
thieves, robbers, What about the other 200? Watch, it says,
for 200 abode behind. They were too faint, too weak,
that they couldn't go over the Brook Beesore. Maybe they were so disappointed
as they looked at ziklag and ashes, disheartened, I don't
know, they just couldn't go on. 200 stayed behind them. And David
will later say they stayed behind and looked after the stuff, whatever
was left. And David and the other 400 men,
here they go. And they find them Malachites. It's more to this, you can read
it later, but I want you to look at verse 18. And David recovered
all that the Amalekites had carried away. Verse 18. And David rescued
his two wives. And there was nothing lacking
to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither
spoil nor anything that had taken to them. David recovered all." Well, it was David and the 400
men, wasn't it? Well, now wait a minute. The
Scripture says David recovered. David's a picture of our Lord
Jesus. He recovered all that we lost in Adam's fall and infinitely
more. Okay? And look at verse 20. And David
took all the flocks and the herds, which they draved before those
other cattle, and they said, this is David's spoils. He said,
this is David's spoils. So look at verse 21. So now they
come to those 200 men that didn't go with them. Okay? David came
to the 200 men, which were, they were so faint that they couldn't
follow David. They didn't have the strength.
They just couldn't go on. Whom they had made also to abide
at the brook Besor. They went forth to meet David,
these 200 did, and to meet the people that were with him. And
when David came near to the people, he saluted them. But now watch
this. Then answered all the wicked
men, the men of Elijah." Wicked men. Of those that went with
David. Here's what they said about these 200 that didn't go. They didn't fight like we did.
They didn't put their lives in jeopardy like we did. We went
forth courageous. They didn't. They stayed here.
They didn't do as much as we did. And they said, watch it, verse
22, because they went not with us, we won't give them any of
the spoil that we have recovered except We'll give to every man
his wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart. They not gonna get the reward
we gonna get. That's what they said. Then David spoke up. Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord hath
given us. You forget who gave us the victory. You forget who gave you the strength
to fight the battle, the wisdom, the cunning, the prowess, the
ability. You shall not do so, my brethren.
You're not going to deprive them with that which the Lord hath
given us. Who hath preserved us? Who preserved
us? God did. and delivered the company
that came against us into our hand. For who will hearken unto
you in this matter? Who's going to listen to you
when the king speaks? But as his part is that goeth
down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by
the stuff. They shall part alike. You're
not going to get more than they get. You're evil men to think
that way. And it was so, watch it, verse
25. It was so from that day forward
that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto
this day. And when David came to Ziklag,
he sent up the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his
friends, all of them. And he said, Behold, a present
for you of the spoil of the enemies of
the Lord. Yeah, but they didn't go fight
with you. It's a present from the Lord. But they didn't put their lives
on the line. They weren't as dedicated as
we were. It's a present from the Lord. You see, in glory, all of the
king's people received the same. The Lord is our portion. Abraham, Listen to me. I'm your shield. I'm your protection. You think you're protected out
here in this world? Well, I'll get my automobile
and I'll drive. I'll be safe in that. Well, we'll
see. I hope you will be, but that's
not your defense. That's not your safety. The Lord's our defense. The Lord's
our shield. And He said, and I'm your reward. But He didn't just say reward.
I'm your great reward. But He didn't just say, I'm your
great reward. He said, I'm your exceeding great
reward. Now, is there more than the Lord? I tell you, folks not thought this
through. I hope and pray that God give
light. He's all we need. Let me ask you this. Are there
degrees of perfection? Are there degrees of glorification? Are there degrees of justification? Listen, you're either justified
or you're not. You're either going to be glorified
or you won't be glorified. You see, this is all to the praise
of the glory of God. and we'll rejoice. He's going
to give us of the spoils of the victory. It all belongs to King
David. It all belongs to King Jesus.
And he says, here, here's a present from me. Everlasting happiness. Enjoy
me. Enjoy me forever. This is the
believer and his reward. Next Lord's Day, I'm going to
preach on believers and their crowns. And some of you are saying,
I thought you said that's what you're going to preach on tonight.
Well, I was going to preach on that tonight, along with what
I've already preached tonight, but it's already been 49 minutes. So, I decided I'd divide it in
two. And I'll say the rest of it.
Next Sunday night, you'll hear the rest of the story. Alright,
I hope that helped you. Hope it helps. Bless, Father,
the Word that's gone forth. Oh, how we magnify Your grace. We're not worthy of the least
of Your mercies. And after we've done all that
we ought to do for you, which nobody ever has, but after we've
done whatever it is that we do, we're just unprofitable servants. But you say to us, like David
did to all the people, here's a present from the Lord. The Lord is our reward. O great
Jehovah, Thank you. Thank you for your blessings
and your kindness to us through the faithfulness and the work
and the worth of the Lord Jesus Christ in whose name I ask these
things. Amen.