3rd chapter, Isaiah chapter 3.
You'll read the first 11 verses. We'll read it in conjunction
with verse 22 of the previous chapter because that's what the
word for is for in the beginning of this chapter. See she from
man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted
of. For behold, the Lord, the Lord
of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the
stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole
stay of water, the mighty man and the man of war, the judge
and the prophet and the prudent and the ancient, the captain
of fifty and the honorable man, and the counselor and the cunning
artificer, and the eloquent orator, And I will give children to be
their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people
shall be oppressed, every one by one another, every one by
his neighbor. The child shall behave himself
proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable.
When a man shall take hold of his brother, the house, and his
father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this
ruin be under thy hand. In that day shall he swear, saying,
I will not be a healer, for in my house it is neither bread
nor clothing. Make me not a ruler of the people.
For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen, because their
tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes
of his glory. The show of their countenance
does witness against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom.
They hide it not. Woe unto their soul, for they
have rewarded evil unto themselves. Say ye to the righteous that
it shall be well with him, for they shall eat the fruit of their
doings. Woe unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him, for
the reward of his hands shall he be given him." Let us pray. We bless you and thank you for
the great grace and mercy that you have shown poor sinners in
this world. We thank you, Father, that you
chose your people in Christ before the world began and assured their
salvation before they even entered into this world, before you made
the first man upon this earth out of the dust of the earth.
We thank you, Father, that that security lies not in anything
they do or think or might do or might think, but wholly in
your grace and your mercy. We thank you, Father, for your
great grace for ruined, wretched, vile sinners such as we are. Father, we ask tonight as we
look at this passage of scripture that you'll give us sincere,
thoughtful heart as we consider the things that are set before
us here, the promises and the threats you make that you will
bring to pass. Help us, Lord, to see, to be
aware of our own times, and help us, Lord, to seek your face.
We pray, Father, for Brother Sylvester as he's recovered from
this operation that shouldn't be with him and causes his pain
to be small Bring him back to a good measure of health quickly.
Thank you for the good report on Robert. He's doing better.
We continue to pray those for those of our company who are
going through different trials, tribulations, sicknesses. For
Henry and Wayne and Laverne, Robert and Jenny, we ask Lord
that you might be with them and watch over them. Cause us in
our hearts to remember each other in prayer, to call each other's
names out to heaven. We know if we do that, it increases
our love toward each other. and our dependence upon each
other, and our utter dependence upon Thee. Father, Thou art God. You do Your will in the arms
of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay
Your hand or say unto You, What doest Thou? And yet You seek
Your people to worship You in spirit and truth. Thank You for
giving us a heart to love You and to love each other. We pray
in Christ's name, Amen. Now if you were reading along
with me as we read this passage of scripture, it wouldn't be
hard to say that it's almost like reading the headlines of
what's going on in the world today, this nation that we live
in. In fact, when people usually complain about what's going on
in the nation, I say, why don't you read Isaiah chapter 3 verses
1 to 11? Because it sets forth what God
does to a nation when he's done with it. And in particular, his
nation, his chosen nation, Israel, who by this time and throughout
their history, took their election as an entitlement rather than
a glorious exhibition of God's grace. And he says, I'm done
with you. He said that in the first chapter
and in the second chapter. And here these verses speak of
the result of the sin of the people. Sin has a course. It has a course to run, and it
will always run its course, and it will run like clockwork. Sin,
no matter what it is, will never bring happiness or peace, but
it will always bring turmoil and uphill, uphill, and ultimately
will bring forth death. That course is set forth as plainly
as anywhere else in Scripture in the book of James. James chapter 1, when our Lord
said this, Every man, verse 14, is tempted
when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Can't blame
God for that. But you won't. Then, when lust hath conceived,
it bringeth forth sin. And sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death. That's the course. You can put
it in a simple outline if you want to, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. That's
how sin is going to run and it runs that way every time. And
we find now it's brought it to the place where God says, I'm
done with this nation. It is clear from the first two
chapters that the people who call themselves by the name of
God have fallen into ruin. They blaspheme in every religious
activity and have been described as sick from their head all the
way down to their toes. They look at their election as
entitlement and have no fear of God in their hearts. It is
not any wonder when you tell folks that you believe in election
that they immediately think you're proud. Because that's how they
see election. That's how they see what their
reaction would be if they found out they were elect or they think
that's what it would be. And that's why they despise election
so much. Because the natural response
to election is pride. The natural response to election
is pride. And it is also a sense of entitlement. I belong to God. Ain't nothing
going to happen to me. Ain't nothing going to happen
to me. They look at election as an entitlement.
They don't fear God. Because of this, the Lord declares
what He will do. He does not threaten to kill
them, though as sinners they deserve precisely that. He instead
speaks to them in the language of stripping them. That's the
title of my message tonight, is stripped. Stripped. He speaks to them in the language
of stripping them down, stripping them of all the things that they
have confidence in and all things designed for their safety and
comfort, which they have counted on up to this point. There are
things in this world that God has established for us to give
us a sense of peace and comfort in the natural realm in which
we live. God has given us government. God has given us laws and law
enforcement. These are all for our good. And
as long as we don't break the law, we don't have any reason
to fear them, they will praise us and be thankful that we are
good, upstanding citizens. These things we take comfort
in. I'm comforted that we have a good armed forces in the United
States to protect us from other countries. I'm thankful for that.
These things have been established by God. He's ordained by God
and for our good, according to Romans chapter 13. He also described their character
here and conduct toward what ought to be respected and honored,
and declares that their end will be sad and bitter. And this certainly has reference
to the coming state of Babylonian captivity that they're going
into, but it also refers to what our Lord found when He came into
His own world and His own world received Him not. If you look
at the fall of great nations, and small nations throughout
history and judge even the estate of our own nation at this present
time. We find the same political and religious trends are present
and obvious. One thing about this nation, they were full of
debauchery, they were full of sin, they were an adulterous
generation, they were doing all manner of evil, and all the time
they were saying, we are God's people. Scarcely can you hear
a politician today that wants to win some sort of vote that
doesn't require, that doesn't say of America that this is a
Christian nation. People talk about Christianity
as if it were a common thing in America. And as far as their
interpretation of it is, I suppose you could say we are a Christian
nation. But we're a Christian nation that cares nothing for
the Lord Jesus Christ, if such a thing could exist. This shows
that as sin is common to humanity, so the general course of men
and nations are the same. Read your history. Check the
fall of Rome. Check the fall of Greece. They
all ended, and they were all when they ended, practicing all
manner of evil while saying they believed in their gods. That's
what's going on here. No matter the greatness or the
meanness, sin runs its course and if anyone is saved out of
this malaise that's taking place in time, it will have to be attributed
only to the grace of God that a person is saved. Thank God
that in the midst of these indictments and threats, We are reminded
of the fact that there is yet a very small remnant according
to the election of grace that will be saved, that will not
end up like Sodom and Gomorrah, that will be at peace, that will
live happily and joyfully on Zion's holy hill. And mark well
these words and let us read them for ourselves. Though they be
meant for Israel, they also be meant for the world because everything
talks about the Lord Jesus Christ and His coming in this book.
May God give us grace to heed the warnings and believe the
promises and rejoice in the graces that God shows in this passage
of scripture. These words begin with the word
for in verse one. And that speaks to reason, the
reason for this, which is found in the last verse of the previous
chapter. What is about to be said in these
11 verses has to do with what he said in the last verse of
chapter 1, or chapter 2. Sees he from man whose breath
is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of? See
ye for man, because what is the future of man? And those who
boast confidence in men, our Lord is about to give us. Better
not put confidence there, because I'm going to tell you what I'm
going to do. And what I'm going to do will remove all possibility
of confidence in the flesh. Our Lord first speaks of stripping
away the necessities of life, the staff of life, the staff
of bread and the staff of water. We know in Scripture bread and
water are necessities for life and without them there is famine
and death. Many times in the history of
humanity, the Lord has done this very thing, but not always to
bring men to repentance, but rather to sign their death warrant.
Sometimes God sends famine and the nation disappears in the
face of the earth. Disappear. Bread and water represent Christ,
and they represent His Word throughout Scripture. This is the greatest
of famines that it could ever come to any place, and it's one
that's well documented in the Word of God. In Isaiah chapter
29, if you'll turn over there, Just a few words. The famine
of the Word of God is the big deal. And that's what he's talking
about when he's talking about bread and water. Now these men,
they have the Pentateuch. They have the first five books
of the Bible. They have the story written down. Moses has written it down for
them. But they don't have the Word of God. Because they don't
have someone who honestly sets forth the Word of God. In Isaiah
chapter 29 verse 9 it says, Stay yourselves and wonder. Cry ye out and cry. They are
drunken, but not with wine. They stagger, but not with strong
drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon them the spirit of the
deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets and your rulers,
the seers hath he covered. And the vision, or the word of
all, is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed,
which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this,
I pray thee. And he said, I cannot, for it
is sealed. And the book is delivered to
him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray. And he says,
I cannot. For I am not learned. Then look
over at Amos chapter 8, holding your place there at Isaiah 1,
we'll be back, or Isaiah 4, 3, we'll be back in a moment. In
Amos chapter 8, this is how it's described. When Amos says in the first verse,
the end has come upon my people of Israel, I will not again pass
by them anymore. This is the same language. Amos
wrote about the same time that Isaiah wrote. when the people
were getting ready to go into Babylonia and captivity and were
in captivity in Babylon, he said, my people. God says, what do
you see? I see a basket of summer fruit.
What? The harvest is over. That's what that means. The harvest
is over. Then said the Lord unto me, the
end has come upon my people of Israel. I will again pass by.
I will not pass by them anymore. Think about that. This is God
saying, I'm not coming back here. And look as he describes the
dearth. In verse 11, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord
God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of
bread, nor thirst for water, but of the hearing of the words
of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea
to sea, and from north even to the east, they shall run to and
fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. And in
that day shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for thirst
for the Word of God. And they that swear by the sin
of Samaria and say, Thy God, O Dan, liveth, and the manna
of Beersheba liveth, even they shall fall and never rise up
again. The famine is for the Word of God. And you can look
around you and listen to what men are saying and how they're
using this word today. And I'm saying that famine is,
if not here, it's not far off. This is the famine of the stay
for the child of God lives upon Christ. He lives upon this word.
This is his food and his water. But like Israel in the wilderness,
which is graciously supplied every day for 120 years with
bread on the ground and water every day from the rock. And
yet they despised it and cried, there is no water. And our soul
loatheth this light bread. This is but an early reference
to the gospel being taken away from the Jews and given to the
Gentiles. And what did our Lord find when He entered this world?
What did He find when He entered this world? Did He find a world
at peace? He found men talking about the
Messiah. He found men reading this book and governing people's
lives with it. He saw men controlling people's
lives with this book. He saw men sitting in the Moses
seat and telling people how to live and regulating their lives
and straightening out their lives. He saw men making long prayers
in public. He saw men robbing widows' houses
in the name of religion. He saw men circling heaven and
earth to find one proselyte or one convert leading him like
themselves down the very road to hell. This is what he saw.
This is what we see. Nothing has changed. There's
nothing new under the sun. Just different people doing the
same old stuff. The same old stuff. He entered
this world. He found a religious mess and
a political mess. And He accused these men who
loved the Word of God, He says, you've taken away the key of
knowledge. You've ripped it out. Men don't know what this Bible
is about because you've got it all about their behavior and
their lives and what they need to do. And it's all about Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. You've taken away that key of
knowledge. Never have so many professed
belief in the Messiah without any interest in Him. I'm amazed. I'm amazed. You have people everywhere
saying they believe in Jesus and they love Jesus. And yet
they have no interest in Him. They don't know who He is. When
you ask them, they have no idea. They have no idea. The Lord has
taken away the stay of the staff. This is where it begins. He's
taken away the bread and the water. And the Lord hath taken
away the mighty man, he says. What is that? That's the venerated
man, the honorable man, the man of dignity, the hero and the
champion. Men, young men and women have heroes today, but
I'll tell you what, they're heroes. I look at them, I don't think
they're much to them. What leader so called is worthy of esteem
in the day in which we live? Where is the role model? Where
is he? The Lord hath taken him away.
Taken him away. And now the role models are the
people who are famous for being famous. They have no substance
to them whatsoever but they are in the limelight and they get
news told about them and they get put in jail and people think
that's funny. The Lord has taken away the mighty
man. The Lord has taken away the man
of war. He's been replaced with appeasers and mollifiers of men
and low desires. The Lord has taken away the judges.
Men who are to weigh matters as to their rightness and their
worthiness rather than political and personal expedience. Good
is called evil in this day, and evil is called good. A man who believes the word of
God is called a bigot. A bigot. I always wondered how
can a person call another person a bigot unless that person is
bigoted against the person he calls a bigot. But, you know, The Lord has taken away the judge
that weighs things that are right. The Lord has taken away the prophet,
the man who speaks the words of God and who will not countenance
error, who will stand in the breach and cry, Thus saith the
Lord, no matter what. The Lord has taken away the prudent
man. This word is often interpreted diviner, but here it refers to
the king. This speaks to the removal of
foundational authority, government designed for the good of the
populace, not for the perpetuation of itself. The Lord has taken
away the ancient. Those who have lived and learned
by experience and have knowledge born of age and worthy to be
learned from. The day is drawing to an end. One of the marks of the day drawing
to the end is the laborers come home from the field. And God's
taken the laborers home. The Lord has taken away the captain
of 50, the leaders of men, the kind of man that men will hear
and follow. We never will forget this gray-haired
preacher who was so well respected out in Texas. He was talking
one day and he said, no, the women in our church, they run
the whole thing. And the newscaster says, how
come? He says, because they're the
ones in charge. Why they're in charge, why women
fill the church and men don't is because there's no man to
lead women and no man to lead men. The Lord says, I'm taking
that person away. That person who has leadership,
who has leadership. The Lord has taken away the counselor.
That's the man whose wisdom is sought for and who understands
himself and his times. The Lord has taken away the cunning
artificer, the skilled man, the man who approaches life with
passion. The Lord has taken away the eloquent orator, the man
skilled in speech, the wordsmith, the man whose words carry weight
and substance, not merely a volume of syllables. People talk all
the day. I listen to politicians talk.
I listen to preachers preach and I think of Charlie Brown
and the Peanuts character and the sound his teacher made. That's what I think of. There's
nothing coming out. A great amount of syllables,
but no words whatsoever. But our Lord has taken these
things away. But what has He put in their
place? He's not left men without things. He's given men some things
too in this passage. In place of what the Lord has
taken away, down in verse 4, it says, I will give children
to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. I will
give children to be their princes and babes to rule over them.
They are children in action and thought, consumed with self-interest
and egocentrism, acting in a manner that shows they believe that
the world exists for them, unable to consider the needs for anyone
else. That's what a child is. We love children, and we love
the fact that they're selfish. We think it's funny. We do. It
makes them charming. We like the fact that if someone
tries to take a toy, they'll rip it out of their hands and
grab it and say, mine, mine, mine, mine. But they're really
revealing what they are. They're babies. And that's the
way babies act. Because you don't have to go
far to turn on the TV and find that's the way men and women
act today. They're babies. Babies. Children. Babies shall rule over
them. What's that? Babes in character. Weak and
in need of constant reinforcement and only secure when surrounded
by those whose sole purpose is to agree with them and make their
lives comfortable. I worry when I see men come up
with some new issue. Not necessarily that some new
issue is brought up, because men are always coming up with
ideas. And you know, like old Mo said about Matthew Henry's
commentary on Galatians, he said the Bible sheds a whole lot of
light on that. So when men talk about new stuff, I just look
at the Bible. But I worry when men start to gather people around
them and start to make this issue something that we're going to
divide rather than edify. I worry because that's childlike,
that's like a baby who desires only those around them who make
them comfortable, who make them comfortable. The result will
be that everyone seeks the upper hand. A neighbor will oppress
a neighbor. Children will speak proudly against
the ancient. Never have I lived in a day when
this is more prevalent than it is today. Hoary heads will mean
nothing. Gray hairs will mean nothing.
Men and women who ought to be respected will be rudely disrespected. Mere decorum and propriety will
be a thing vaguely recalled and generally disdained. Our Lord
said, better listen to those folks that's been around for
a while. Better pay attention. He said it is part of his Levitical
law. Look at Leviticus chapter 19. Verse 32 says, Thou shalt rise
up before the hoary head, that's the gray hair, and honor the
face of the old man, and fear thy God. I am the Lord. This is what I say. What do you have today? None
of that going on. None of that going on. You young people, remember, respect
your elders. Show them, honor them, honor
them who have authority over you. You'll have peace in this
world if you do. The base, it says, the miscreant,
the criminal, and the felon will speak and stand against the honorable.
That which once made sense will make sense no more, and
that seems to where we're at right now. Men who choose leaders, men will
choose leaders based on appearance and the flimsiest of notions. Does that sound familiar? They
will choose leaders based on appearance and the flimsiest
of notions. It says in this day, verse 6
says, when a man shall take hold of his brother, the brother of
his house, of his father saying, you have clothes. Be our ruler. How much more shallow can you
be? You have clothes. Be our ruler. You have nice clothes.
You should be our leader. Not that you're qualified for
the job, but you look good for the job. At least you have nice
clothes. There's also a sinister reason
for such lame choices. It's easy when you pick these
leaders to lay the blame on them and take none for yourself. Thou
hast clothing, be our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy
hand. Let the ruin that we caused and that we see around us be
under your hand. And of course, the wise one who
sees what you're saying, the response of such light and vain
men shall be, don't saddle me with this mess. It ain't my fault.
Don't make me your ruler. And this is all indicative of
the days of our Lord where Israel had continued for centuries in
religion. without any regard for the Word of God save for
superstition and the ability to rule and control men. This
Bible is used and abused in so many ways. But one of the chief
uses of it, sadly, in religion is to try to control men's lives.
Try to issue warrants for their arrest. Try to make sure they
do this and don't do that. threaten them with punishment
or tease them with rewards. But this Bible is not about that.
I'm not going to stand up here and tell you what to do. You
know what to do. God has written His law and His word in your
heart when you were converted according to Hebrews chapter
10, Jeremiah chapter 31. You know what to do. I don't
preach against a lot of things preachers preach against, you
know, because I don't need to. I know you know. You've known
all along. Ever since God showed you, you've
known all along. This book's not about controlling
your lives. It's about the One who controls
all things. The One who does control your life, not about
you controlling it so you'll please Him. You will seek to do that which
pleases Christ if you belong to Him. But I don't have to tell
you to do that. You know what I have to do? Turn you loose.
You're like old Lazarus. You've been raised from the dead.
Take them graves close off of him and turn him loose. You're
like that little maiden that Christ raised from the dead.
Feed her. She's hungry. Turn him loose. The state of utter confusion
that we live in and instability is due to sin. There's no other
way to put it, because sin is in this world. Verse 8 says,
For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen, because their
tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke His eyes,
the eyes of His glory, the show of their countenance, their face.
You can see it in their faith. There's witness against them.
And they declare their sin as Sodom. They hide it not. Woe unto their soul, for they
have rewarded evil unto themselves. The nation, the people were fallen
and ruined beyond repair because they mocked the glory of God.
And what is the glory of God? The salvation that He has given
this nation since the beginning, since He chose them. They owe
everything to Him. He pulled them out of slavery
in Egypt. He kept them from enemy after enemy and defeated enemies
before them. He gave them everything that
they couldn't ever earn. And He did it not because they
were righteous, but because they were stiff-necked people. He
did it because He was righteous and He would show grace and show
mercy. They provoked Him to anger. Where?
In His glory. Where He is glorified. That is
the salvation that He has wrought. They are like Sodom. They are
without shame. The Sodomites were without shame. They overtly claimed their right
to debauchery and blasphemy. They overtly proclaim it. You
remember when God sent His angels down to Sodom and blinded that
whole outfit. But their desires were not going
to be quelled and they weren't going to be denied what they
wanted. And it said they walked through
the streets with their hands out in front of them going door
to door to get what they wanted. It says in Genesis 19, They wearied themselves to find
Lot's door. They're blind. Thank God most
men are blind. He'll stop them. Don't stop them.
You can see it in their face. The countenance says, I'm going
to do what I'm going to do and you ain't going to stop me and
nobody else is either. That's what they're saying. And
our Lord pronounces woe upon them. What is woe? Woe is judgment
without mercy. They're done. They're done. As old Scott Rich used to say,
they're gone jessies. That's what they are. They're
done. Judgment without remedy for their
soul. They have a horrible and appointed
end. They stumble at the stumbling
block to which they were appointed. To you who believe He is precious,
but to those who hate Christ, they stumble at Him. Because
they were appointed to stumble at Him according to 1 Peter 2,
verses 7 and 8. And just as we have seen in the
previous chapters, and thankfully so, in the midst of these dishonorable
times, these confusing times, these seemingly hopeless times,
we have the word of hope, the song of redemption, the glory
of His grace. We have a message for the blessed
remnant. It is a message of assurance
without qualification or mitigation. I'm so thankful I don't have
to stand up here and figure out ways to get you to do something. A lot of labor goes into religion. You think of how much time they
put into coming up with all these schemes to get people to come
to church, to get them to stay in church. I remember back in
the 60s and 70s, there was a big church in Winston-Salem and most
of the 1,000, 2,000 members there had a bus ministry. I never have
understood that phraseology, but they had a bus ministry.
That seemed to me like it would be a ministry to buses, but,
you know, it's just me. But they would put a five dollar
bill under one of them seats. So people would get on that bus,
hope and reach under there and get that five dollar bill. And there was
a five dollar bill, they didn't lie about it. There was a five-bottle
deal. And they had Karate for Jesus. And they had Banana Sunday. Who bring the biggest bunch?
They had parachuting into the church for Jesus. They had weight
lifting for Jesus. They had everything but the gospel.
They filled that place up. They filled that place up because
it was big, big business. They had to. It's the only way
they could keep people there. The preacher didn't have anything
to say. The only way they could keep them there. But that's not
the case with the gospel preacher. I ain't got to invent anything.
I've got the message that is the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believes. For therein the righteousness
of God is revealed from faith to faith. I'm not going to try
to cajole you or try to mitigate this message with something that
you've got to do along the way. No. No, no way. Look what our
Lord says in verse 10. Say ye to the righteous that
it shall be well with him. Okay, there you go. Write that
down. You can put a little motto, put
it in wood burning and put it over your door. It shall be well
with the righteous. No mitigation whatsoever. No
if, no and, no but here. Now you won't find a hint of
probability or possibility because there is none. It's unequivocally
and without any qualification. This is a blessed promise come
down from heaven and will not return to God, Lord. I can say
this to the righteous now without apology, without equivocation
whatsoever. This is how it is with you. It
shall be well with you. Guaranteed. One hundred percent. Because this is what God said.
Look around you. It looks like nothing but whoredoms
around you. It looks like nothing but boundness
around you. It looks like nothing but corruption
around you. And it is. But it'll be alright. It shall
be well with you. That's the promise of God. That's
the promise of God. Tell them over and over again. Say it and say it and say it
and say it. It shall be well with the righteous. Tell them
that their works are accepted, and they will enjoy the fruit
of their labors, because their fruit and their righteousness
is of God and not of them. And for the wicked, all we can
say is they're done. They're done for. What they have
gained is all they will ever have. Don't be mad at folks who
don't know Christ and who have gained well in this world. and
have made it and drive nice cars and live in nice homes and seem
to be happy and seem to be no pains in their death. Don't envy
them and don't get mad at them either. Because that's all they're
going to get. They have nothing when they go
out of this world. Say to the wicked, woe unto them
it shall be ill with them. For the reward of his hand shall
be given him. Pity them and rejoice that all
shall be well with thee." Don't expect the world to understand
that. They want you to join up in that religious mess. You don't have to. My religion is
sewed up already by the one man who finished my salvation. It
shall be well with you. Do you believe that? I can believe
that. I want to believe that. And I
want to keep on believing it. Father, bless this for our understanding.
Pray in Christ's name.