Okay, for this evening, for a
few moments, let's turn again to Ephesians, the 6th chapter. Ephesians chapter 6. And I want
to bring a message concluding our study through the book of
Ephesians from verse 18 down through the end of the chapter.
Ephesians chapter 6. Now, the title of the message
is found in verse 18. Praying always. Praying always
with all prayer, praying always, praying, praying always. Now,
I believe this is a true desire of every believer in Christ Jesus. The true desire of every believer
is to call upon God to intercede for us, to mediate for us, to
be our advocate for us. And certainly this is the desire
of all who preach the gospel of God. to ask God to intercede
for us to bless His Word unto the hearts of His people. We
ask God to give us plain given, plain speech, God given, with
wisdom and liberty, to declare unto God's people the unsearchable
riches of Christ, Him, and Him alone. Without Him, our Lord
said, we can do Nothing. We need the Lord Jesus Christ
to intercede for us in every way. In our worship, when we
pray, when we preach, I dare not stand here alone in the energy,
the flesh. I ask God and pray unto Him to
intercede for us as we come together to worship Him. Now don't turn. Let me see if I can find this
scripture. quickly for you, but if you want to jot a reference
down, this is found in Isaiah 41, verse 10, where he says,
Fear thou not, I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness. Fear not, look unto Him. He's
able to bless us, able to keep us. Knowing something of our
own frailties, and our total dependence upon the Lord Jesus
Christ to bless us, to enable us to worship Him, and to bless
His Word unto His people, we do pray that He will enable us
to continue to faithfully preach and teach, thus saith the Lord,
Him. But we preach not ourselves.
We preach not ourselves, as the Apostle writes in II Corinthians
4. We preach not ourselves but What do we preach? Our message
is Christ. Christ crucified. We preach not
ourselves, but the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Now
Paul gives unto the church these wise, God-given instructions. to put on the whole armor of
God that we may be able by His grace, His power, His wisdom,
His intercession to stand for the gospel against all enemies
who would oppose the very gospel and God and Christ that we declare. We are to stand fast in this
ungodly world. We are to contend for the truth
and stand in this evil day in which we live. Now, he mentioned
in verse 18 of our text, stand and fight the good fight of faith
and contend for the gospel and stand fast and do it this way,
praying always. You see that in verse 18? Praying
always with all supplication in the Spirit, watching thereunto
with all perseverance, and supplication for all saints, all believers.
Pray for one another. Pray always with these supplications. And the word there is request.
Now find Philippians chapter 4. Turn over there. Philippians
chapter 4. Look at verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Let
your moderation be known unto all men, Philippians 4, verse
4, the Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing. That
is over anxiety. Don't be anxious for nothing.
But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
let your request be made known. Be made known unto God. Cry out unto Him. He knows our
heart. He knows our need. Now there's
much needed instruction that is given to us about praying. Three or four things we see in
verse 18. Praying is the cry of the believer's
heart unto God Almighty, who is the living God, who is the
Almighty God, who is able to undertake for us like no one
else. Praying, first of all, we see
here, praying always. When are we to pray? When? In the morning? In the evening?
At noon, is that the time of prayer? He says here, praying
always, always. Prayer is never out of season.
It's always in season. You remember from Luke 18 verse
1? He said, men ought always to pray. And I believe believers
do. That's the cry of their heart.
In Romans 12, these words are recorded. Rejoicing in hope,
patient in tribulation, We do rejoice in hope. And by His grace,
patient under trial, continuing instant in prayer. Instant in prayer. Continuing
instant in prayer. And then that scripture that
we are familiar with, 1 Thessalonians 5, 17, it says pray without ceasing. Pray without ceasing. Pray always.
It's a cry of our heart unto God. than our warfare as believers
in this ungodly world, we can be assured we'll not be able
to stand for the gospel of God's grace in Christ without looking
unto Him and praying unto Him for strength, for guidance, for
wisdom. This is one of the vital parts
the Lord gives us as the armor given of God. Take the sword
of the Spirit. That's important. Above all,
take the shield of faith. But also, he said, praying always. It makes up this whole complete
armor that God gives unto us. So when are we to pray? Always. Always. Always. Pray that God would intercede
for us and help us. Now, the second thing we see
here is how. How are we to pray? How are we to pray? Pray always
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching. Now,
here's how. Did you catch that? Underline
it. In the Spirit. In the Spirit. How are we to
pray? In the Spirit. In the Spirit. Now, with the
aid and intercession of the Holy Spirit convicting our heart and
blessing us in the Gospel, pray that way. Pray not with this
mere outward formality. Pray not to be seen of men. But
with a true heart, with a sincere heart, with a broken heart, with
a right spirit in a spiritual way, praying for spiritual things
according to the will of God. That's how we pray, according
to the will of God. And pray without hypocrisy. Now, turn
over here to Matthew chapter 6. Our Lord tells us here in
Matthew chapter 6, how to pray and how not to pray. In Matthew
chapter 6, look at verse 5, Matthew 6 verse
5. He said, When thou prayest, thou
shalt not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing
in the synagogues, the place of assembly for the Jews, and
in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. What is their reward?
To be noted of men. to be recognized of men. Verse
6, But thou, when you pray, enter into the closet, and when you
have shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret, and thy Father
which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when you pray,
use not vain repetition, as the heathen do, for they think that
they shall be heard for their much speaking. He said, Pray
after this manner. Verse 9, Our Father which art
in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. This is the disciples' prayer. This is not the Lord's prayer.
This is the Lord teaching His disciples and us how to pray.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory forever. Holy and reverent is His name. How to pray. Now look back at
the text again, Ephesians chapter 6. He said, pray, when? Always. How? In sincerity of
heart, with a broken heart before God, in the Spirit, praying for
spiritual things. And then he mentions this in
verse 18, watching, watching, watching. thereunto with all
perseverance." So, how are we to pray? In sincerity and pray
this way, watching, watching, watching against all those things
that would hinder our prayer, hinder our prayer unto God. Remember what the Lord told His
disciples when He was in the garden on the eve of the cross? And He told His disciples to
watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The Spirit
indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. When the Lord went away
and prayed unto the Father concerning the accomplishment of our salvation,
He came back and He found those disciples whom He left, told
them to be on guard, to watch and pray, and He found them sleeping. Sleeping on the job. And that's
what he said, that's when he said, you watch and pray that
you enter not into temptation. So pray, watching against all
those things that would hinder our prayers. And then he says
here, as well in verse 18, with all perseverance, with all perseverance,
that is, never becoming discouraged or disheartened before the Lord,
but always diligently, faithfully, he said, keep on praying. Keep on praying. In Matthew 7,
7, it says, ask, seek, and knock. And the tense of the verb there
is keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. Like that poor
widow who came unto the unjust judge, she would not go away. She kept coming to him, begging
for help. And finally, he answered. That's
a good, good example for us to keep on asking, keep on seeking,
keep on knocking. The Lord does hear the cry of
His people and He does answer in due time, in due time. Now thirdly, it mentions here,
for whom are we to pray? In this text here it says, with
all perseverance and supplication for all saints, all believers,
That is, we are to pray for one another. We are to pray for one
another. Because like us, all believers,
like us, have hearts prone to evil and need with us the grace
of God. We're to pray for one another,
be concerned for one another. Nothing tends so much to make
us love one another and to forget the faults as we are instructed
to pray for one another. Now it's hard to find fault with
a dear brother in Christ when you're praying for him and loving
him. You remember what he said back
here in Ephesians 4 verse 32, Be ye kind one toward another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's
sake hath forgiven you. So pray always with all supplication
watching with all perseverance, and pray for one another. Pray
for the church. Pray for one another. And I would
encourage you to do so mightily. Look at verse 19 now. Read on.
And Paul said, not only that you pray for all the believers,
all the saints, and pray for God's church, but he said, don't
leave me out. You see this verse 19? Pray for
me. Pray for me. Now notice what he asked for, that utterance
may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make
known the mystery of the gospel. Now Paul was not above asking
for their prayers, for him. He said, you pray on my behalf.
The great apostle knew something of the worth and value of prayer,
did he not? Pray for me, pray for me. And he requested that this church
there at Ephesus, that they would remember him as he's in prison
and in jail. Someone asked the old English
preacher Charles Spurgeon, you remember reading some of his
sermons and articles? Someone asked him how he could
preach with such passion and knowledge and the success that
God gave him. They asked him, what do you attribute
to the influence of your ministry and the scope of your ministry
and the power of God blessing you the way he does. One of the
things he said to the person who asked that question is, that
my folks pray for me, pray for me, pray for me. Now that's key,
that is key. As Paul was chained in prison,
chained in prison as he writes these words. But he said the
Word of God is not bound. He still had preaching on his
heart. His heart's desire was still
to preach the Word of God. And God, by His mighty power,
God gave him two whole years. As he was in prison there in
Rome, God gave him two whole years To keep on preaching the
gospel and to all who came unto His prison, He declared unto
them the truth of the gospel. Let me show you that so you can
have it marked in your Bible if you'll find Acts chapter 28.
Acts chapter 28. Acts chapter 28. This is the last
chapter of the book of Acts. Acts chapter 28. Verse 28, Be it known therefore
unto you that salvation, the salvation of God, is sent unto
the Gentiles, and they will hear it. And when he said these words,
the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. And
Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received
all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, teaching
those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence,
forbidding No man forbidding, or no man
stopping him, but rather preaching with all boldness, all boldness. Now I want you to notice something
back in the text. Turn back to the text. Ephesians
chapter 6. He said, pray for me. Now notice
what he asked for. He didn't even ask them to be
released from jail. He didn't say, well, you pray
for me that God would release me from jail. That wasn't his
concern. His main concern was that God
might give him an opportunity, an open door to keep on preaching
the gospel. He said, pray for me that utterance
may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make
known the mystery of the gospel. His request was that God would
give him liberty and wisdom to keep on preaching Christ. Utterance.
That word utterance means the ability to clearly preach the
gospel in a language that people can get a hold of. Seeing we
have such hope, we use great plainness, plainness of speech. Now let me see if I can show
you what is being said here. If you'll find 1 Corinthians
chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. I Corinthians chapter 2 verse
2. For I am determined not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and
in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my preaching was
not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in the demonstration,
in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith
should not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God.
How do you preach How do you preach in demonstration of the
Spirit and power? How do you do that? Now, I know
what most religious folks think. They get all cranked up in the
flesh and they make a lot of noise. That's not preaching in
demonstration of the Spirit. You know what it is? To tell
the truth. To tell the truth. as truth is
found in God's Word. That is preaching and demonstration
of spirit and of power that your faith should not stand in the
wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Pray for utterance. That's what he asked for. Utterance
may be given unto me. To clearly preach the gospel.
Seeing we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech.
Then he says, secondly, that I may open my mouth boldly, boldly,
to make known the mystery of the gospel. to boldly with liberty
of thought and godly wisdom to declare this gospel. Now turn to Acts chapter 4. Acts
chapter 4. When Peter and John had been
released from jail, they were jailed for healing a cripple
and doing it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. When they
were let go, notice these words given to us in Acts chapter 4.
Chapter 4, look at verse 23. And being let go, they went to
their own company, their own family, and reported all that
the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when
they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one
accord. What are they doing here? Praying.
Praying with thanksgiving and said, Lord, thou art God. which
hath made heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and all that is
in them, who by the mouth of David hath said, Why did the
heathen rage? Psalm 2. And the people imagined
vain things. The kings of the earth stood
up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and
against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy
child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate,
were the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were gathered together,
for to do whatsoever thy counsel determined before to be done,
and now, Lord, behold their threatenings, and grant unto thy servants,"
now here it is, "...that with all boldness they may speak thy
word." Pray for boldness to declare the gospel of God's grace. And then something else he mentions
back in our text, Ephesians chapter 6, verse 19, "...to make known
the mystery of the gospel." to make known the mystery of the
gospel, to prove the gospel from the
Word of God and defend them against all opposition. The gospel is
a great mystery not understood by the natural man, but we still
must declare it, preach it, and God in due time will give a revelation
to the hearts of His people. The gospel is called a mystery. Let me show you that over here
in Colossians chapter 1. Turn back over there. Colossians
chapter 1. And notice this carefully. Colossians chapter 1 verse 25.
That I might make known the mystery of the gospel. The natural man
does not receive the things of God. It's foolishness done to
him. Now notice Colossians Chapter 1, verse 25. He said, Wherefore
I am made a minister according to the dispensation, and the
word there is stewardship, the stewardship of God, given of
God, which is given to me for you to fully preach the word
of God, even the mystery, which hath been hid from generations,
ages and generations. But now, now it's made manifest
to the saints. Now watch this. Here's the sovereignty
of God. He'll reveal this mystery to
whom He will. He's hid these things from the
wise and prudent and revealed them unto His people, to whom
God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory." Now, that's a great mystery. But it is true. Christ in you,
the hope of glory. Now, back to the text. Look at
verse 20. Verse 20. He says in verse 20,
For which I am an ambassador in a chain. I'm in bonds. I'm in a chain. I'm chained up.
I'm shackled. That therein I may speak boldly
as I ought to speak. Now, throughout the writings
of Paul we have these letters. Paul called himself the servant
of the Lord. He calls also himself the apostle
of the Lord. But here he calls himself an
ambassador of the Lord. What is an ambassador? Well,
it's an official representative. It's an official representative.
We send to foreign countries an ambassador from this country,
say, our ambassador to Germany. or to France or to some other
foreign country, and they represent our government to a foreign land. And the Apostle Paul and God's
servants are called ambassadors. They officially represent and
are sent of God Almighty with His message. We don't go making
up our own message. What if we sent an ambassador
over to Germany or France or some other country, and he went
over there with his own agenda, with his own message, rather
than the President's message? He wouldn't last long, would
he? He'd be fired. Be fired. So, we go with God's
message as God's ambassador and we go with His message. Now,
the messenger is not important. It's the message. It's the message.
What is our message as God's ambassadors? Well, here it is.
It's found in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Turn over there. 2 Corinthians
chapter 5. God's ministers and the ministers
of the gospel are ambassadors of the King of kings and Lord
of lords. We go by His decree, we go by
His permission, we go by His power with His message. II Corinthians
5, look at verse 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things have become new. All things are of God. who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us
the ministry of reconciliation, to wit, that is, namely, God
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, and it is
the world of his elect, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and
hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation, salvation
in Christ. Now then, we are ambassadors,
there it is. We are ambassadors for Christ
as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's
stead. Now be you reconciled. You see
that? Be you reconciled to God. For
God made him sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him. That's our message. That's our
message as God's ambassadors. Now look back to the text again.
So Paul is saying here, I'm God's servant. God's apostle, God's
ambassador, pray that I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. As I ought to speak. Now notice
carefully verse 21. Verse 21, as we close this epistle,
Paul is given these words, but that you also may know my affairs. How did I do? Paul knew that
these believers were interested in how he was getting along.
They knew he had been arrested. They knew he had been taken to
Rome. And he wanted them to know how he was doing, that you may
know my affairs, how I do. Tychicus, a beloved brother,
a faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known unto you all
things. How I'm doing. How I'm getting
along. Paul wanted them to know how
he was doing in prison. He said, I want you to know my
situation, my affairs, that you may be acquainted with the circumstances. So, out of love to them and concern
for them, you got to remember that in these days, communications
were slow, slow. It took someone carrying a letter,
physically traveling from one town to another. And so Paul
sent a message by the hand of this faithful man, Tychicus,
all the way back to Ephesus to inform these people how he was
doing. That being said, I want you to
notice what he says of Tychicus. You see what he says of Tychicus?
This is true of all of God's servants. Tychicus, he's a beloved
brother. He's a beloved brother, loved
of God with that special, electing, sovereign love. And the love
of God is sovereign love. It's electing love. It's eternal
love. He's loved his people with an
everlasting love. Therefore, with love and kindness,
he does draw us to himself. Tychicus is a beloved brother.
Beloved, now are we sons of God. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath shed upon us that we should be called sons of God,
beloved, beloved brother. That's true of all of God's people.
They're loved of God in a special electing love. And then he says
here secondly, he's a faithful minister. He's a faithful minister,
a faithful minister, a servant of the gospel. You know what
these servants of the gospel do? I want you to turn back to
the book of Acts and find verse 16. Now this will be a blessing
to you. You need to mark this in your
Bible. Acts chapter 16. What does a faithful minister
of the gospel do? Now notice these words found
in Acts chapter 16, verse 16. Acts 16, 16. And it came to pass,
as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit
of divination met us, she was demon possessed, which brought
her masters much gain by religious soothsaying. The same followed
Paul and us and cried saying, now listen to what this demon
possessed woman declares. These men are servants of the
Most High God which show us, what do God's servants do? They
show us, declare unto us the way of salvation in Christ Jesus. Do you see that? They declare
unto us the way of salvation in Christ Jesus. I want you to
see something else that Paul says of Tychicus. It's found
over here in Colossians chapter 4. Turn over there. Colossians
chapter 4 verse 7. Colossians chapter 4 verse 7.
He said, let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt,
that you may know how you ought to answer every man. That's Colossians
4 verse 6. Now look at verse 7. All my state
shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, faithful
minister. Now here's the third thing. He's
a fellow servant. He's a fellow servant. in the Lord, whom I have sent
unto you for this same purpose, that he might know your state,
and comfort your hearts." A fellow servant. Paul didn't rank himself
above Tychicus. He said, Tychicus is, you know,
I'm an apostle. Tychicus is just one of those
low servants. No, he said, Tychicus is a fellow
servant. A fellow servant. You see what
he's saying there? A fellow servant. We labor together for the same
Lord, for the same cause, the cause of God and truth. So He's
a beloved brother, He's a faithful minister, and He is a fellow
servant in the Lord. What a privilege God gives us
to serve Him in whatever capacity it may be to serve Him. Something
else they do here, He shall make known to you all things, all
things. That doesn't mean that they know
all things. But these faithful servants of the Lord make known
unto you and declare those things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ
and salvation in Him. Now, notice verse 22. Whom I
have said unto you for this same purpose, that you should know
our faith. Now watch this. That He might
comfort your hearts. comfort your hearts. Believers
in Christ, now you know this is so, because our flesh is so
weak, so frail. The Lord knows our frame, He
knows that we're but dust. Paul was so mindful of these
people and their comfort and their encouragement in the gospel,
he takes great pains to pin this letter and send it by the hand
God-given, God-inspired, and give it to the hand of Tychicus,
and send him on this journey back to them, that he might comfort
their hearts. Now what do you suppose he comforted
them with? We just read it. All the words
here from Ephesians 1 all the way through Ephesians chapter
6. That's the word that comforts us. It's the word of God. It's
the gospel of God, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, that
He might comfort your hearts with the word of truth. Believers
in Christ Jesus need comfort because of the corrupt nature
that we have, the corrupt nature of sin that still is within us,
and because of the old adversary, Satan himself, that would accuse
us, that would hound us, that would badger us. Paul said he's
He's that thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet
me and to badger me. But yet, he says, we have comfort
in Christ Jesus. The true remedy for sorrow, you
know what it is? It's Christ our comfort. The
true remedy for sorrow is Christ our comfort. I tell you this,
We can sometimes, being the frail creatures that we are, sometimes
we can be so overwhelmed with the burdens of this life that
we are drawn to despair. What are we to do in these times
of despair? Look to Him. He's our comfort. He's our peace. The true remedy
for sorrow is Christ our comfort. Isaiah 40. You remember these
words? Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people,
saith your God. Why does he say that? Comfort
ye, comfort ye, my people. We need comfort. We need assurance. Speak ye comfortably to my people. Cry unto her that her warfare
is accomplished, her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received
of the Lord's hand double for all her sin. Our comfort is that
Christ put away our sin. by the sacrifice of Himself.
Now, in verse 23 of our text, peace be to the brethren, peace
be to the brethren. Who has peace? This is not talking
about peace among nations or peace among the ungodly world. This is peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. This is peace made by the blood
of Christ. Peace be to the brethren. Peace
with God through Christ. And watch this. Peace be to the
brethren and love with faith. Love with faith and it comes
from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. This is
not talking about that natural affection. Not talking about
this natural affection, this thing we call love, when two
young people start looking at each one another and they have
those sentiments and those feelings. It's not talking about that kind
of natural affection. This is talking about that spiritual
love for God and for spiritual things. And it's coupled with
love and faith. They go together. Where you find
one, you find the other. The fruit of the Spirit is what?
Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, faith. These things
don't bloom naturally in our depraved, sinful heart. They're
the gift of God. If you love the Lord Jesus Christ,
if you believe on Him, it's because He gave you the gift of life
to believe Him and to love Him. By nature, men love darkness,
not light. But this faith and love, it comes
from above. It doesn't come from within. Faith is a gift of God. Repentance
is a gift of God. It comes from God the Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 24, grace, grace, grace
be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. In sincerity. Peace and love
and faith And grace be with all them. Now, notice how he closes
this. Verse 24. Grace be with all them
that love our Lord Jesus Christ, who love Him in sincerity. And then he says, Amen. Amen. Grace upon all them that love
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this is not fleeting, earthly
love, but a spiritual and eternal love for Christ. For He is altogether
lovely. Christ is the object of love,
and a lovely object He is. We love Him because He first
loved us. I want to show you something
in closing. I want you to turn and read this with me. 1 Corinthians
16. Now here's the flip side. Here's
the contrast. He says, Be with all them that
love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." And then he says,
Amen. What about those who don't love the Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity? What about that? Well, it's found
right here in 1 Corinthians 16.22. You got it? 1 Corinthians 16.22. If any man loved not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha. What does that mean? Anathema is the word that means
accursed. Maranatha means when the Lord
comes back. If any man love not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be damned when the Lord comes back. Grace be with all then that love
our Lord Jesus Christ. I tell you what I do, and I do,
I pray, Lord, cause me to love you Loving you to rest in you,
resting you in you to find assurance of salvation and hope of salvation
in Christ Jesus alone. Grace be with all them that love
our Lord Jesus Christ in truth. And then he says, Amen. Amen, which means these words
are faithful and true or so