If you will open your Bibles
to Isaiah 55 verse 6. Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. Call ye upon him while he is
near. Now if a man wants wealth, money,
he seeks it. If a man desires recognition
and fame in any area, he seeks it. If a man's body is sick and
he wants to be healed, he will seek healing. If a person has
his heart upon any temporal object and the attainment thereof, he
seeks it. Now this is wise and this is
correct, this principle is correct. And upon this principle is based
the words of our text. You desire the Lord? Seek him. You desire his mercy? Seek it. You desire his grace? Seek it. You desire salvation? Seek it. Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. called ye upon him while he is
near. David said, They shall praise the Lord who seek him. Hezekiah was commended because
he sought the Lord with all his heart. God even added fifteen
years to his life because he sought the Lord with all his
heart. The woman with the issue of blood, who had tried many
physicians but was no better, she sought the Lord. And when
she found the Lord, she was healed. Blind Bartimaeus sought the Lord. He cried out. And when he was
discouraged by those about him, he cried out the more. And they
told him to be still, and he cried out the more. He sought
the Lord with all his strength, with all his heart, and he was
healed. The Ethiopian eunuch went to
Jerusalem seeking the Lord. He went to the temple seeking
the Lord. He obeyed the Jewish ceremonies,
seeking the Lord. On his way home from Jerusalem,
in the chariot, he was reading the Scriptures, seeking the Lord. The thief on the cross sued for
mercy. He sought mercy, and he received
mercy. And you are invited, yea, you
are commanded to seek the Lord. What is meant by seeking the
Lord? Turn to Psalms 22, verse 26. What do we mean by, Seek
ye the Lord? What is meant by seeking the
Lord? Who are the true seekers of the Lord? There are a lot
of professing seekers of God. Who are the true seekers of God? Who in this congregation and
who in our radio audience are really seeking the Lord? Are
you? In Psalms 22, verse 26, the meek
shall eat and be satisfied, they shall praise the Lord that seek
him. They shall praise the Lord that
seek him. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 29. Jeremiah 29. This is a verse
of Scripture that should be underlined in your Bible. Jeremiah 29.13. And ye shall seek me, and find
me, when ye search for me with all your heart." What is meant
by seeking the Lord, and who are the seekers of the Lord?
I'm going to give you four answers to this question, or one answer
divided in four parts. First of all, those who seek
the And this is, and this is always
true, without exception, without exception. Those who seek the
Lord are those who discover somehow that by nature they don't have
the Lord. Now that's got to be true. A
man does not seek what he already has. What we have, we do not
seek after. This is what Christ said of Israel
when he declared, the well don't need a physician. They already
have help. They don't seek help. They don't
seek healing because they're not sick. He said, I'm come to
seek and to save the lost, and those who are not lost have no
need of him. The Jews said, We have Abraham
to our father. God is our God and we are God's
people. Why should we seek what we already
have? This is what John said of the
city of the church of Laodicea. He said, You cry, We are rich
and increased with goods and have need of nothing. People who already have God don't
seek God. People who think they already
have God don't seek God. People who are wrapped up in
religion do not seek God. They already have God. They have
a God, not the true and the living God, but they have a God, and
they don't seek God. David said, As the heart panteth
for the water brook, so panteth my soul after thee, the living
God. The Lord Jesus Christ said, this
is eternal life, that they might know Thee, the true and living
God. A man will never seek God until
he finds out, until he discovers that by nature he doesn't have
God. All who truly seek the Lord are
first made aware of their separation from God. They are made aware
of their own emptiness. They are made aware of their
own inability. They're made aware of their own
guilt and sin and shame, the fact that they don't have God. We are without God, without Christ,
without hope, without mercy in this world. That's true without
exception. The people here today who are
seeking the Lord are those who have first discovered that by
nature, by birth, they don't have Him, that God is far away
from them. And then secondly, those who
seek the Lord are those who really desire a saving union with the
Lord. Now let me ask you three questions. Are you looking for the benefits
or are you looking for the bestower of those benefits? Which one
are you interested in? Most people whom I know are interested
in going to heaven when they die. That's the sum and substance
of their religion. They do not want to go to hell.
They want the benefits, but not the giver. Secondly, are you
content with the house, or do you want the Father? Which one
do you want? Are you content with the heritage,
with the inheritance, or do you want the one who gives it? Are
you content with the gifts, or do you want the giver? One songwriter
put it this way, Lord, deny me what you will, only ease me of
my guilt. Broken at thy feet I lie, God
give me Christ or else I die. The people of Israel wanted the
loaves and fishes. Christ said that. He said, I
know why you are following me. You are following me because
you ate the loaves and fishes and were filled. If there were
no heaven, would you still follow Christ? If there were no gates of pearl
and streets of gold and life hereafter, would you still want
to be a follower of Christ? The sick wanted healing and relief,
but they didn't want him. Christ said, you follow me because
you saw the miracles. I know why you follow me. You
want to see more miracles. You've got a son you want healed,
or a daughter you want healed, or a friend you want healed.
That's why you're following me, because of the miracles. And
Christ did not commit himself unto them, because he knew their
hearts. The Jews wanted a king. They didn't want a Savior. The
Jews wanted a kingdom, a rich kingdom, but they did not want
him. What did Jeremiah 29, 13 say? You shall seek me, and you
shall find me when you search for me with all your heart. I can have the benefits and not
have Christ, but I cannot have Christ and not have the If I've
got Christ, I've got everything. Then thirdly, what is it to seek
the Lord? It's first of all to discover
that I don't have Him, that I don't have Him by nature, that something's
wrong between me and God, that my sins have separated me and
God, that as a guilty, unworthy sinner I'm deserving of eternal
condemnation. I don't have God. Not by nature,
not by blood, not by heritage, not by inheritance, not by environment. I don't have God. And secondly,
it's really, really to truly desire a saving union with the
Lord. And nobody can answer that question
but you. Do you want Christ, or do you
want what Christ gives? Do you want Christ, or do you
want Christ's blessings? Do you want Christ or do you
want Christ's gifts? Would you be satisfied with the
gifts and not the giver? There are a lot of wives that
are that way. There are a lot of children who are that way,
ungrateful, unthankful. They'd just as soon have the
comforts of a home without having the father of the home. They'd
just as soon have the gifts and not the giver. It doesn't matter
who gives them, just so they have them. Then thirdly, those
who seek the Lord are those who have been made willing to be
saved on His terms. On His terms. Now, Brother Thornberry
said in his message the other night, grace is God giving us
what we do not deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what
we do deserve. Grace is God giving us what we
do not deserve. And mercy is God not giving us
what we do deserve. Are you willing to be saved by
grace? Are you willing to be an object
of mercy? Not merit, mercy. Are you willing
to come, as Brother Carson quoted so frequently in his messages,
empty-handed? In my hands no price I bring.
Simply to the cross of Christ I cling. Could my tears forever
flow? Could my zeal no longer know? These for sin could never atone. Christ must save, and Christ
alone. Are you willing to be saved as
a beggar? Are you willing to be brought
back as a lost man? Are you willing to be raised
as a dead man? Are you willing to be clothed
as one that is totally naked? The first mistake that a sinner
makes in trying to approach God is trying to approach God apart
from Christ. That's the first mistake that
sinners make. There's no grace apart from Christ.
There's no mercy apart from Christ. Christ is our righteousness. Christ is our sacrifice. There is no approaching God apart
from Jesus Christ, totally and completely. Other foundation
can no man lay than that which is laid, Christ the Lord. I am
the way, I am the truth, I am the life. No man cometh to the
Father but by me. You cannot honor the Father if
you do not honor the Son. It's an impossibility. No man
can know God apart from Christ. If you do not have Christ, you're
ungodly. I thought yesterday, I saw a
young man who belongs to a family in this
church, who never attends the house of God, who never worships. And I looked at him, moral, honest, good father, good provider. I thought to myself, what if
I said to those parents or those loved ones, your son's ungodly? They'd be offended, wouldn't
they? Huh? Sure they would. Well, he is.
He's ungodly. If you're here this morning and
your husband's not here, he's ungodly. If you're here and your
wife is not in the house of God worshiping, she's ungodly. If you're here and your children
are not here, they're ungodly. I don't care who they are, I
don't care how talented they are, how honest they are, how
upright they are, they're ungodly. And if you don't have Christ,
you are ungodly. You are as those in the flood,
you are as those in Sodom, you are as those who nailed the Son
of God to the cross. Without Christ, you are ungodly. Is that hard? Well, you will
face it in the judgment. You will find out in the judgment
that you can't honor the Father if you don't honor the Son, that
you can't have the Father if you don't have the Son, that
you can't know the Father if you don't know the Son, and you
can't partake of the Father's mercy apart from the Son. Now,
that's so. And I'm persuaded that we need
to treat these people a little more firmly. and quit pacifying
them, and quit trying to, in a sentimental, emotional way,
love them into the kingdom of God. They need to be told that
hell is moving up to meet them at their coming, that they're
walking on slippery slide to hell, that they're walking on
rotten boards over the pit of corruption. The second mistake a sinner makes
is to think that he's good enough to approach God. Going about to establish their
own righteousness. They have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. Turn to Titus chapter 3 verse
5. Titus 3 verse 5. Listen to this. Titus 3 verse 5. Not by works
of righteousness which we've done. But according to his mercy
hath he saved us." Are you willing to be saved on those terms? Are you willing? Those who seek
the Lord are those who have been made willing to be saved on the
terms of mercy, not by works of righteousness which we've
done, but according to what? Mercy! Mercy. Mercy. Paul said, I obtained
mercy. You don't earn mercy. You don't
merit mercy. You don't deserve mercy. You
obtain mercy. It's a free gift. God saves whom
He will. Are you willing to be saved on
those terms? God saves whom He will. He said,
I'll be merciful to whom I will be merciful. I'll be gracious
to whom I will be gracious. Are you willing to be saved on
those terms? A lot of folks aren't. A lot of folks rebel against
it. A lot of folks stick their chins out, you know, and they
stick their bottom lips out and they say, I just won't have sovereign
grace. You won't have grace at all if
you don't have sovereign grace, because that's the only kind
of grace there is. I just will not have sovereign mercy. You
won't have mercy at all if you don't have sovereign mercy. That's
the only kind there is. If it's any other kind, it's
not mercy. If you merit it, it's not mercy.
If you deserve it, it's not mercy. If you work for it, it's not
mercy. If you get it because you're different from somebody
else, it's not mercy. It's reward. If you serve the
Lord and he saves you, he's rewarded you for your service. But if
he saves you for no other reason but that he loved you, and he
would show mercy, and he would glorify his matchless name by
forgiving a wretch like you, then that's mercy. The third
mistake a sinner makes is this, to be bound up in religious tradition
based on the teachings of men rather than the commandments
of God Almighty. The religious men of Israel said
to Christ, Who do you think you are? Why, we've been in this business
of religion longer than you've been living. That's what they
said. You're not fifty years old. You have no formal education. Dost thou, dost thou teach us? We've been defenders of the faith
for years. Yeah, but what faith? Whose faith? The curse, oh, and what a curse
it is! The curse of denominationalism
is creating systems and traditions that are damning souls to hell. That's exactly what it's doing. Denominationalism is creating
systems and traditions in which men hide and find comfort while
they go on to hell, never knowing Christ. never knowing Christ. I wish the name Baptist, Methodist,
Presbyterian, Church of God, Church of Christ,
Nazarene, Pentecostal, I wish they'd never been invented. It's
the curse of our day. Nothing you can do about it now.
It's gone too far. But I'll tell you this, I'm not
interested in making a Baptist out of any of you hell-deserving
sinners. You can be whatever you want
to be. You can call yourself radio if you want to. I don't
care. But I'll tell you this, you'd
better seek the Lord. You'd better forget your tradition
and forget your heritage and forget your catechisms and forget
your creeds. forget your leaders and everybody
else and seek the Lord, or you're going to hell. Now, that's so. Those who seek the Lord are those
who are willing. They've been made willing to
be saved on His terms. His terms. What will you have
me do? Paul said on the road to Damascus,
I don't care what it is, I'll do it. I don't care. Well, we'll do it if it fits
in with our religious tradition, but if it doesn't fit it, we
won't do it. Okay. You go right on. That's your
business. It's your soul. You can spend it where you want
to. You can send it where you want to and spend eternity where
you want to. But as for me and my house, we're
going to seek the Lord, the Lord. And made willing to be saved
on his terms, his terms. Mercy, mercy, mercy. And then the fourth thing, those
who seek the Lord are those who are willing. Now get this. I
didn't write it. I'm proclaiming it. Those who seek the Lord so as
to be found of Those who seek the Lord so as
to be saved effectually by him are those who have been made
willing to part with everything and everybody that stands between
them and a personal, intimate, loving, singular marriage union
with Jesus Christ. I want to show you a few illustrations
of this. Matthew chapter 19. I'm saying
that Jesus Christ is a jealous lover. He's a jealous lover. I'm saying that Jesus Christ
is a jealous king. I'm saying that Jesus Christ
is a jealous God. And he's not going to share you
with the world. Here in Matthew 19, verse 21,
this young man came to Christ and wanted to know what he should
do to be saved. Well, the Lord told him about
the law. And he said, I've kept all these
from my youth up, what like I yet? Verse 21, Jesus said unto him,
Christ knew what his trouble was. Christ knew his point of
rebellion. Christ knew what he loved. What
was he? He loved his possessions, and
Christ is going to show him that. He loves his possessions more
than he loves the Lord. If thou wilt be perfect, go and
sell that thou hast, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven, and you come follow me." What's the
Lord doing here? meeting this young man at his
point of rebellion. That's exactly what he's doing.
There's nothing wrong with having possessions. Abraham was a wealthy
man, but Abraham didn't love his possessions more than he
loved the Lord. There's nothing wrong with having possessions.
Solomon was the richest man that ever lived, but he loved God
first. There's nothing wrong with having education and wisdom. Paul was the most educated man
of his day. But Paul said, I don't come to
you with wisdom of words. The pride of my education is
not the first object of my preaching to show off my brilliance and
to exhibit my ability. He loved God first. And what
Christ is doing is crossing this young man at this point of rebellion.
He loved his riches more than he loved God. And he looked,
listen to this, but when the man heard this, He heard the law, and he agreed
with it. Morality. He had no objections
against morality. He had no objections against
religion. He had no objections against eternal life. But he
had some objections against parting with his God, which was his money. And when he heard this, he went
away. He left Christ sorrowful, for he had great possessions. He left sorrowful. What was he
sorry about? He wanted eternal life, too.
He wanted that too. He wanted salvation too. He wanted
heaven too, but he couldn't have two. No man can serve God and
manhood. No man can have two masters. No man can have two masters. And this thing of seeking the
Lord is to be willing to part with that other master. And Jesus
Christ become King and Lord and Master. And then turn to Matthew
10. Listen to this. Matthew 10, verse
32. God will meet you at your point
of rebellion. The Scripture says the Pharisees
would not submit to the baptism of John. So they had to go to
hell. What was the baptism of John?
The baptism of repentance. They weren't fixing to be baptized
of John in the River Jordan and show that they were guilty sinners
depending upon a Savior, depending upon the death, burial, and resurrection
of Christ and their identification with Him in that death and in
that burial and in that resurrection. Oh, no! And God met them at their
point of rebellion, and they wouldn't break. And here in Matthew
10, verse 32, listen to this, "...whosoever therefore shall
confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father
which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before
men, him also will I deny before my Father which is in heaven."
Don't you think I've come to bring peace to this earth, make
your life one road of bed of roses after another, one road
of comfort after another. I've come to send not peace,
but a sword. I've come to set a man at variance
against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law. A man's foe shall be there of
his own household. But if you want the Lord, you've
got to be willing to part with those who don't want Him, even
if it's your father, or mother, or wife, or husband, or child. He that loveth father and mother
more than me is not worthy of me. He that loveth son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me. He that taketh not his cross
and followeth after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth
his life shall lose it. He that loseth his life for my
sake shall find it." Lord, somebody said, your mother
is out here, and your brothers and sisters. He said, who is
my mother? Who are my brethren? These who do the will of God,
the same are my mother, mothers, and my sisters. And they who
do not the will of God, I have an obligation to them, but that's
all. Now that soul is the family of
God. And then in John 16, now turn
over there with me. John 16. Now Christ is telling
his disciples here. He's already said that those
who seek the Lord, who seek the giver, not the gift, who seek
the Father, Not the benefits who seek the Lord, but those
who have been made willing to part with everything and everybody. David said, Your enemies are
my enemies, O Lord. Your enemies are my enemies. In John 16, Christ said, verse
1, These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not
be offended. They'll put you out of the synagogue.
Are you worried about being put out of your synagogue? Are you worried about leaving
your old denomination? Are you worried about leaving
the old church? Well, Christ told his disciples,
they're going to put you out of their synagogues, and the
time will come when whosoever killeth you will think that he
doeth God a favor. And these things will they do
unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But
I tell you what you do when you leave their synagogue, you shake
the dust off your feet as a witness against them. And you consider
it the greatest honor in the world to be cast out of their
synagogue, because they cast the Master out. Now then, secondly, how does
one seek the Lord? Those who seek the Lord are those
who know that they've been separated from Him by their sins. It's
those who really desire, want to know the Lord. They want a
saving, vital, personal union with Him. They want to know Him.
It's those who are willing to be saved on His terms, and it's
those who have a willingness to part with all that stands
between them and a personal love affair with Jesus Christ the
Lord. Now, how does one seek the Lord?
Well, three things. I'll give them to you more briefly
than the others. Christ alone. Take Christ as
your way. Secondly, the Holy Spirit as
your helper. And thirdly, the Word of God
as your guide. Now, Christ is the way. In the
economy of redemption, Jesus Christ is all. He is all our
wisdom, He is all our righteousness, He is all our sanctification,
He is all our God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. Peter said, We are not redeemed
with corruptible things as silver and gold from our vain conversation
received by tradition from our fathers, but with the precious
blood of Christ. You take Christ as your way.
There was corn in Egypt in the days of the famine When the famine
was over all the world, there was corn in Egypt, and when people
went to Pharaoh and asked for corn, Pharaoh said, Go to Joseph. Joseph is in charge of the storehouses. Joseph prepared the storehouses. Joseph filled the storehouses. You want corn, go to Joseph. If you want mercy, you go to
Christ, because he filled the storehouses. He prepared them,
and he made them. He's in charge of them. The Holy
Spirit must be our helper. I want you to turn to one verse.
Turn to 1 Kings. This verse of Scripture, last
night I was looking at it, and I just looked at it for a long
time. 1 Kings 19, verse 7. Come on, all of you, turn over
there with me. 1 Kings 19, 7. Now, the sinner is pardoned by
the merits of Christ. But there's an inward work of
grace and sanctification that no one can perform but the Holy
Spirit. Now listen to this. God said
to Elijah in 1 Kings 19, 7, and the angel of the Lord came again
the second time and touched him and said, Arise, Elijah, and
eat, because the journey's too great for thee. It's too great. The burdens are too heavy, the
trials are too many, the road is too rough, the way is too
dark. For you, you've got to have help. I've got to have the Spirit of
the living God. I can't know my sins unless he
reveals them. I can't know my substitute unless
he reveals them. I cannot survive tomorrow without
his help. It's too much for me. Lord, help
me to keep on keeping on, baloney!" You're just an old, empty, naked,
helpless, weak sinner, and the way is too hard for you. Arise and eat, eat of the Word,
eat of the Spirit, eat of the Person of Christ, eat of His
blood, eat of His flesh. You've got to have Him And the
Word of God is our guide. Now let me close with just these
remarks in our text, Isaiah 55, 6. It says, Seek ye the Lord. Now this is dead serious here,
and this is really dangerous. Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. Look at this next statement,
"...call ye upon him while he is near." What does that mean? That means that you can't always
seek him and find him. That means you can't always call
on him, because one of these days he's not going to be near. He said in Proverbs 1, you'll
call and I won't answer. You'll seek me But you shall
not find me." Now then, those who are dead can't seek the Lord. Those out rows of hell can't
seek the Lord. They're in the grave. Those over
in Ashland Cemetery can't seek the Lord. Their souls are in
hell or heaven. Their bodies are in the grave.
Harvest is past. Summer's ended, son! Remember! Now, I want all of you to listen
to me right here. I'm not saying very old people can't be saved. That's not true. I've never known
very many, but I won't say they can't be saved. But I'm saying
this. The man whose mind is now old and withered, who has spent
his youth and strength in rebellion against God, who has no capacity
to consider repentance and faith, is not going to seek the Lord. Now, I find this. Men your ages,
men and women your ages, have capacity and faculties and mental
ability to consider these things I'm telling you. But I've preached
in many a rest home and to old folks, and they just sit there
and grin at you. They're interested in the singing.
Most of them. I'm telling you the truth now.
Bless your heart, it's a good ministry, and I'm for it a hundred
percent. But about all you can do to somebody
and they get up to that age, comfort them. That's about all. The die is cast. The concrete's
set. They're going to heaven or to
hell. I hope that doesn't offend you. But I'm telling you this,
you'd better seek the Lord while the dew's still on the grass.
You'd better seek the Lord while you've still got a mind and ability
and capacity and faculties to do some serious considerations
and thinking. Because the longer a man dwells
in sin, the harder he becomes. And after a while, the gospel
is nothing but a city sentimental story. You go on now. You go
on the way you're going. That's your business. I'm not
going to say a word except to tell you the day is coming when
you won't find him. Esau waited a little late, didn't
he, to seek repentance. He didn't find it. And then I'm
telling you this, those who are given up by God are not going
to seek Him. The Bible says, Leave them alone!
That's what Christ said. The disciples were upset about
the Pharisees, and Christ said, Leave them alone. They're blind
leaders of the blind. They're blinded by their religion.
They're blinded by their tradition. They're blinded by these things
that they've set stock in and stored by. Leave them alone. Don't talk to them anymore. They've
chosen their way, let them walk in it. And he said, when you
leave their city, you shake the dust off your feet as a testimony
against them. You go somewhere else. God gave
them up. Turn to 2 Thessalonians. Now
listen to this. This is dangerous. You do with
it what you will. In 2 Thessalonians, And I'm telling
you this, I'm walking on eggshells, I'm praying, God, don't, don't
turn my light into darkness. Don't do it. In 2 Thessalonians
2, verse 10, listen to it. Talking about Satan, with all
deceivableness, of upright unrighteousness in them that perish. because
they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved. And for this cause God shall
send them strong delusions, that they should believe a lie, that
they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness." Strong delusion, deceived, deceived
by religious traditions. Israel, Israel left Egypt, came
to Kadesh Barnea. They looked down in the Promised
Land. God said, There it is. And they turned around and walked
away. They turned around and walked
away, and they never again, never, had an opportunity to enter the
Promised Land. Never. Well, you say, Israel entered
the Promised Land. Not that bunch. No, sir. Everybody over 20 years
of age died right out there in the wilderness, and their bones
perished in the wilderness, every one of them. God brought them
to a point of rebellion. He said, There it is. There it
is. And they looked at it, and they
turned around and walked away. Now, you do what you want to. You've come to the place where
two seas meet. You may now, so to speak, be
cast in the dye for eternity. At any rate, God has come down
by His Spirit to talk to you, and you've now heard a loud call
from heaven. You've looked at Canaan. Beware how you turn a deaf ear
to what God says. It may be your last warning.
The rest of it, strong delusions. Or you can have religion. You
can go on from here. You've come to the point of rebellion.
You've come to the place of testing. You've come to the place where
God spoke to you. Christ and Christ alone. And you can have religion after
that, but you'll have strong delusions, and you'll think they're
accurate. Spurn not the call to life and
light. Regard in time the warning kind. that called, thou mayest not
always slight, and yet the gate of mercy find. God's Spirit will
always strive with hardened, self-destroying men. You who
persist his love to grieve may never hear his voice again." May God lead you to seek the
Lord and seeking him to find him. finding Him to love Him,
and loving Him to walk with Him. Who is your Savior? Christ the
Lord. Does anything or anybody keep
you from loving Him, trusting Him, believing on Him? Our Father in Heaven, anoint
the message with the power of the Holy Spirit. Grant, O Lord,
that those who know not Christ, who've never publicly owned their
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, their confidence in Him alone,
Grant that they may in this hour declare that Christ is my Lord,
and we who love him and trust him and believe on him strengthen
our faith in Christ, strengthen our love for Christ and our love
for one another. Bind us together in the person,
in the body of our head, the Lord Jesus Christ. In his name
we pray.