WEBVTT 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:06.799 Thank you. I want to express gratitude to those 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:10.500 of you who prayed for me this last week as I 00:00:10.500 --> 00:00:12.800 ministered in the Bible Conference in Grand Rapids, 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:17.859 Michigan. The conference was on the campus of 00:00:17.859 --> 00:00:22.100 the college where I attended. I graduated from 00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:25.800 there over 20 years ago and so it was most interesting 00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:31.160 to see a number of friends that I hadn't seen 00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:36.119 in many, many years. One of the current students 00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:39.179 came up to me one evening after the service and 00:00:39.179 --> 00:00:44.100 said, are you from Valley Falls, Kansas? And 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:46.299 I took a step back, not knowing how to respond 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:50.899 because that's where I was born and raised. I 00:00:50.899 --> 00:00:54.039 said, why, yes. She said, do you remember Nora? 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:04.180 I said, I sure do. That was my first love back 00:01:04.180 --> 00:01:09.000 in the first grade. There were three of us in 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:12.439 our country school. Three of us in the first 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:16.280 grade in our country school. Two boys and a girl, 00:01:16.420 --> 00:01:22.000 Nora. The odds weren't very good for the two 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:26.659 of us. For her, it was great. And she said, well, 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:29.840 I'm Nora's daughter. And she introduced me to 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:31.680 her brother who's also a student there. It was 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:34.079 interesting to meet them and get acquainted. 00:01:35.500 --> 00:01:38.239 Someone on the faculty came up and said, my, 00:01:38.359 --> 00:01:42.640 you have matured well. I thought, what a diplomatic 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:47.939 way of saying you're looking old. But that's 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:50.140 part of life, isn't it? That's part of life. 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:52.739 Would you open your Bible with me, please, to 00:01:52.739 --> 00:01:57.099 1 Thessalonians 5 as we conclude our study? in 00:01:57.099 --> 00:02:00.159 this epistle from the pen of the Apostle Paul. 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.799 We have a need to be meaningfully related to 00:02:07.799 --> 00:02:11.759 other people. Barbara Streisand did a song a 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:16.599 number of years ago now in which she said, people 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:21.039 who need people are the luckiest people in the 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:25.560 world. Well actually luck has nothing to do with 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:30.120 it. The fact is that all of us are created with 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:34.319 a normal and healthy need to belong to some kind 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:38.740 of a family system. To be a part of a community 00:02:38.740 --> 00:02:43.539 of acceptance, nurture, and discipline. And when 00:02:43.539 --> 00:02:45.460 you think about it, that's not a bad working 00:02:45.460 --> 00:02:48.379 definition of what a church ought to be. A community 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:54.860 of people where there is acceptance, nurture, 00:02:55.719 --> 00:03:00.719 and discipline. And just as in a natural family 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:04.620 there needs to be responsibility and duty, so 00:03:04.620 --> 00:03:08.180 in God's family, God's community, there is the 00:03:08.180 --> 00:03:10.840 same. There is duty. There is responsibility. 00:03:11.740 --> 00:03:13.759 And that's what the apostle has been writing 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:16.099 to these Thessalonians about as he concludes 00:03:16.099 --> 00:03:21.060 this book. Beginning in chapter 5 verse 12 he 00:03:21.669 --> 00:03:24.590 explains to all of us our duty. First, our duty 00:03:24.590 --> 00:03:29.490 to leaders in verses 12 and 13. Our duty to other 00:03:29.490 --> 00:03:34.389 people, verses 14 and 15. Our duty to God the 00:03:34.389 --> 00:03:38.930 Father, verses 16 through 18. And we've been 00:03:38.930 --> 00:03:42.110 looking now, this being the third week, at our 00:03:42.110 --> 00:03:46.270 duty to the Church of Jesus Christ in verses 00:03:46.270 --> 00:03:51.020 19 through 28. Our duty, he says, is threefold. 00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:53.639 Our duty is in the first place to be sensitive 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:58.199 to the Holy Spirit and His working in our midst. 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:02.180 And then he says our need, our duty to the church, 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:06.460 is to be serious about our calling. God has called 00:04:06.460 --> 00:04:09.460 us to holiness in lifestyle. We need to be serious 00:04:09.460 --> 00:04:13.099 about that. God has called us to belong especially 00:04:13.099 --> 00:04:15.939 to Him and to be used by Him in the world. We 00:04:15.939 --> 00:04:20.069 need to be serious about that. And as we conclude 00:04:20.069 --> 00:04:22.589 the book, we see that our duty to the church 00:04:22.589 --> 00:04:28.769 is finally to be sincere with one another. Genuineness 00:04:28.769 --> 00:04:32.029 and loyalty to the people of God and to the work 00:04:32.029 --> 00:04:35.110 of God in the local church is an imperative. 00:04:36.370 --> 00:04:40.569 Genuineness and loyalty. Those two things are 00:04:40.569 --> 00:04:43.930 essential for a family, aren't they? A family 00:04:43.930 --> 00:04:46.769 really won't function as a family unless there 00:04:46.769 --> 00:04:51.230 is genuineness and loyalty there. And the same 00:04:51.230 --> 00:04:53.990 is true of a church. It cannot function as God 00:04:53.990 --> 00:04:57.750 intends it to as a church unless there is sincerity 00:04:57.750 --> 00:05:00.810 with one another, unless there is genuineness, 00:05:00.810 --> 00:05:05.449 unless there is loyalty. Being sincere and devoted 00:05:05.449 --> 00:05:10.810 will characterize us as a church only to the 00:05:10.810 --> 00:05:15.329 extent that you and me determine in our hearts 00:05:15.329 --> 00:05:20.329 to be sincere and devoted. It seems to me that 00:05:20.329 --> 00:05:23.850 in these verses, which really are a collection 00:05:23.850 --> 00:05:27.490 of closing comments, Paul lays out for us at 00:05:27.490 --> 00:05:30.509 least three areas where our sincerity toward 00:05:30.509 --> 00:05:33.949 one another really shows up. Let's read what 00:05:33.949 --> 00:05:39.769 he says. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the 00:05:39.769 --> 00:05:44.019 brethren with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the 00:05:44.019 --> 00:05:46.980 Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren. 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:53.000 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:57.959 The first area where he points out the need for 00:05:57.959 --> 00:06:01.339 our sincerity is in the area of intercession 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:04.839 for one another. When he writes his second letter 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:07.500 to the Thessalonians, the third chapter and verse 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:10.800 one of that letter, he says, finally brethren, 00:06:10.939 --> 00:06:16.120 pray for us. Intercession is an area where you 00:06:16.120 --> 00:06:21.259 and I need to be sincere in our relating to other 00:06:21.259 --> 00:06:26.339 people in Christ's body. The apostle says, brothers, 00:06:27.819 --> 00:06:30.720 it's emphatic the way that he writes this. He's 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:33.920 emphasizing the fact that They have come from 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:37.339 the same womb, which is what the word brothers 00:06:37.339 --> 00:06:40.480 means in the Greek language. They've come from 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:44.079 the same womb of God. They have been born into 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:48.160 the same family. And he says, based upon our 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:54.920 familyhood, pray for us. Paul had already prayed 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:57.540 for them. He made this clear as he began his 00:06:57.540 --> 00:07:00.720 book. Turn back to chapter 1. And look again 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:03.519 at verse 2 where he says, we give thanks to God 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:07.259 always for all of you, making mention of you 00:07:07.259 --> 00:07:11.800 in our prayers. So Paul has indicated that he's 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:14.920 prayed for them. And in chapter 3, he tells us 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:18.959 something about the way he prayed. He says, now 00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:23.420 may our God and Father, verse 11, may God our 00:07:23.420 --> 00:07:26.959 Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:31.810 way to you. And may the Lord cause you to increase 00:07:31.810 --> 00:07:34.329 and abound in love for one another and for all 00:07:34.329 --> 00:07:38.370 men, just as we also do for you, so that he may 00:07:38.370 --> 00:07:41.209 establish your hearts unblameable in holiness 00:07:41.209 --> 00:07:44.509 before our God and Father at the coming of our 00:07:44.509 --> 00:07:48.550 Lord Jesus with all of his saints." As I look 00:07:48.550 --> 00:07:51.170 at that, I see here at least a couple of prayer 00:07:51.170 --> 00:07:53.810 requests that the Apostle Paul obviously had 00:07:53.810 --> 00:07:58.389 already offered to God. He prayed that the Thessalonians 00:07:58.389 --> 00:08:02.949 would be deeply in love with each other. That 00:08:02.949 --> 00:08:06.810 their love would abound and increase. And not 00:08:06.810 --> 00:08:11.290 only toward each other, but toward all men. Even 00:08:11.290 --> 00:08:15.589 toward those outside of the family of God. What 00:08:15.589 --> 00:08:18.149 was it that Jesus said would characterize us 00:08:18.149 --> 00:08:23.470 as His disciples? That's what He prays for. He 00:08:23.470 --> 00:08:26.250 also prays for their holiness in lifestyle. He 00:08:26.250 --> 00:08:29.970 says that when Jesus comes, your hearts may be 00:08:29.970 --> 00:08:33.950 found blameless before Him. In this book he talks 00:08:33.950 --> 00:08:37.710 about the eminence of Christ's return. That Jesus 00:08:37.710 --> 00:08:40.070 could return at any moment and the fact is he 00:08:40.070 --> 00:08:45.029 could have returned back there in the fifth decade 00:08:45.029 --> 00:08:50.360 AD when he wrote this letter. But he didn't return 00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:52.580 then. He didn't return in the first century or 00:08:52.580 --> 00:08:55.899 the fifth or the tenth or the fifteenth. He may 00:08:55.899 --> 00:08:58.659 return before the twentieth century is over. 00:09:00.259 --> 00:09:04.320 And as we look into the mid -east, we see a lot 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:06.980 of indication that things are developing pointing 00:09:06.980 --> 00:09:10.639 toward the end times and the return of Christ. 00:09:12.039 --> 00:09:14.580 Paul has been praying. He says, I pray that your 00:09:14.580 --> 00:09:18.899 hearts may be found blameless before God. That 00:09:18.899 --> 00:09:21.159 your lifestyle will be such that God will be 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:25.320 pleased when Jesus comes. He calls them saints. 00:09:28.340 --> 00:09:30.379 As you and I pray for each other, those are two 00:09:30.379 --> 00:09:32.460 things we can always pray for and never be out 00:09:32.460 --> 00:09:36.940 of the will of God. Now the apostle invites them 00:09:36.940 --> 00:09:39.799 to share his battles and his burdens. He says, 00:09:39.980 --> 00:09:44.320 pray for us. Every now and then someone in the 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:46.440 congregation here will come up to me and say, 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:49.759 Pastor Galen, I want you to know that I pray 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:54.519 for you every day. I can't tell you what that 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:58.159 means to me to have someone say that and to know 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:01.200 that that's the truth, that they pray for me 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:05.559 every day. The fact is that the greatest and 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:09.919 best gift that any of us can give to anyone else 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:14.080 is to pray for them on a regular basis. That's 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:17.169 the best gift we can give. Nothing more meaningful 00:10:17.169 --> 00:10:20.289 can be done for anyone than to pray for them. 00:10:20.830 --> 00:10:22.710 That's why I appreciated what was emphasized 00:10:22.710 --> 00:10:26.149 this morning that we might be a praying church. 00:10:27.409 --> 00:10:29.710 Oh, it's good for us to write down our requests 00:10:29.710 --> 00:10:33.429 and to share them. Ask others to pray for us 00:10:33.429 --> 00:10:36.450 as we do on the back of our registration slips. 00:10:36.509 --> 00:10:39.990 But you know something? It's even better for 00:10:39.990 --> 00:10:43.690 us to come and pray for those requests at five 00:10:43.690 --> 00:10:46.830 o 'clock on Sunday afternoons. or other times 00:10:46.830 --> 00:10:51.590 when we gather for prayer. If we're going to 00:10:51.590 --> 00:10:54.710 be sincere, and we want to be sincere, then it 00:10:54.710 --> 00:10:57.289 means that this area of what we're about as a 00:10:57.289 --> 00:11:02.049 church needs our attention, intercession, for 00:11:02.049 --> 00:11:06.690 one another. And if we're going to be sincere 00:11:06.690 --> 00:11:10.110 with one another, it also means that we must 00:11:10.110 --> 00:11:13.169 look after this area of affection for one another. 00:11:15.659 --> 00:11:19.980 exhorts us here in this 26th verse to greet all 00:11:19.980 --> 00:11:23.659 the brethren with a holy kiss. Affection for 00:11:23.659 --> 00:11:26.779 one another. Several other times in his epistles, 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:30.799 Paul says something about this. Romans 16, 16, 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:36.139 1 Corinthians 16, 20, 2 Corinthians 13, 12. And 00:11:36.139 --> 00:11:39.620 Peter joins him in 1 Peter 5, 14, greeting one 00:11:39.620 --> 00:11:43.360 another with a kiss of holiness or a kiss of 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:47.809 love. Christian affection. The point is that 00:11:47.809 --> 00:11:50.370 if we are sincere with one another, we need to 00:11:50.370 --> 00:11:55.470 be genuine in expressing our affection for our 00:11:55.470 --> 00:11:59.330 brothers and sisters in Christ. The holy kiss 00:11:59.330 --> 00:12:01.850 that he talks about here was the culture of that 00:12:01.850 --> 00:12:06.490 day. It is a little foreign to us to go that 00:12:06.490 --> 00:12:09.990 far. We Westerners are somewhat more reserved 00:12:09.990 --> 00:12:13.139 than that, but if you watch television at all, 00:12:13.179 --> 00:12:15.480 you see people in other parts of the world who 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:18.679 greet each other with a kiss on the cheek once, 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:23.059 twice, three times. And that was the custom in 00:12:23.059 --> 00:12:25.820 Paul's day to these people that he wrote to. 00:12:27.480 --> 00:12:31.399 We need to be effusive in expressing our affection 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:35.460 for our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. 00:12:35.500 --> 00:12:38.539 In a holy way, not a passionate way, obviously, 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:43.309 but a holy way. Apparently, the custom in that 00:12:43.309 --> 00:12:45.809 day was that men greeted men this way, women 00:12:45.809 --> 00:12:49.850 greeted women this way. I think it's important 00:12:49.850 --> 00:12:52.549 for us to be open in our demonstration of Christian 00:12:52.549 --> 00:12:57.830 affection. That may be through a hug. Some people 00:12:57.830 --> 00:13:01.230 are comfortable with hugs. I don't mind hugs 00:13:01.230 --> 00:13:05.909 at all. Some people are very uncomfortable with 00:13:05.909 --> 00:13:09.570 that. They prefer a handshake. Some like the 00:13:09.570 --> 00:13:17.000 high five. However you wish to do it, however 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:20.279 it's comfortable for you, the point is don't 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:25.659 be a loner. Don't just come and be isolated and 00:13:25.659 --> 00:13:29.460 walk out, leaving others untouched and being 00:13:29.460 --> 00:13:35.179 untouched. But be free to give that warm handshake 00:13:35.179 --> 00:13:39.500 or that embrace, that brazo as they call it in 00:13:39.500 --> 00:13:43.500 South America, that indicates that We are more 00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:47.659 than just acquaintances. We're family. And because 00:13:47.659 --> 00:13:50.779 we're family, we want to be affectionate. Of 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:52.740 course, it's more than a hug. It's more than 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:57.620 a handshake. It's measured really by what I do 00:13:57.620 --> 00:14:02.039 for the benefit of somebody else. Sometimes hugs 00:14:02.039 --> 00:14:07.879 and handshakes can be only superficial. The real 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:11.039 measurement of our affection is how far we're 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:14.120 willing to go to help another, to sacrifice for 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:17.639 another. But the point is this, that if we're 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:20.259 going to be sincere toward one another, it needs 00:14:20.259 --> 00:14:24.600 to involve our affection for each other. I think 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:28.200 it's important for us to be open in our greeting 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:31.379 of each other and I want to press it beyond that 00:14:31.379 --> 00:14:35.080 to say we need to be open in our accepting of 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:39.860 newcomers into the family of God. That we must 00:14:39.860 --> 00:14:43.399 not allow our church to become a closed system 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:47.720 of relationships. But that is a natural tendency 00:14:47.720 --> 00:14:51.860 in human dynamics. That we get our friends around 00:14:51.860 --> 00:14:55.139 us and when that compliment is filled, whether 00:14:55.139 --> 00:14:58.759 it be a half a dozen or a dozen or twenty, that 00:14:58.759 --> 00:15:03.820 we tend then to seal off that circle of relationships. 00:15:03.940 --> 00:15:11.320 Oh no, no no. We must try to avoid that. And 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:13.899 as a church, whether it be our large body or 00:15:13.899 --> 00:15:18.360 in our smaller groups, to remain open to newcomers 00:15:18.360 --> 00:15:23.259 coming in so that we can assimilate, we can enfold 00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:27.840 them into the family of God. As I think about 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:31.139 us as a church, that's one thing I want to characterize 00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:35.139 us. I want us to be a praying church. But I want 00:15:35.139 --> 00:15:37.500 us to be an affectionate church too, a loving 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:40.580 church that's willing to demonstrate its love 00:15:40.580 --> 00:15:45.220 openly and without embarrassment. And then if 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:47.100 we're going to be sincere with one another, he 00:15:47.100 --> 00:15:50.080 tells us it needs to involve exhortation to one 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:53.440 another. He says, I adjure you. It's a different 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:57.960 word, isn't it? To adjure means I charge you. 00:15:58.980 --> 00:16:03.639 It has the force of an oath behind it. The meaning 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:07.419 of it is that God would discipline them if they 00:16:07.419 --> 00:16:10.200 failed to do what he was about to ask them to 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:13.080 do. So with that in mind, let's see what he asks. 00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:17.259 I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter 00:16:17.259 --> 00:16:22.700 read to all the brethren. He says, pass this 00:16:22.700 --> 00:16:25.639 word around. Exhort each other with what I've 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:31.490 said in this letter. You and I are to admonish 00:16:31.490 --> 00:16:33.909 one another with what comes to us from the Word 00:16:33.909 --> 00:16:36.769 of God. This letter, of course, was a part of 00:16:36.769 --> 00:16:40.629 the Word of God. It was inspired as it fell from 00:16:40.629 --> 00:16:43.090 the lips of the Apostle Paul and as it was written 00:16:43.090 --> 00:16:47.210 down. The Spirit of God caused these words to 00:16:47.210 --> 00:16:50.389 be written, and He says, now read it among all 00:16:50.389 --> 00:16:54.929 the brethren. Pass the word. Our goal, of course, 00:16:54.970 --> 00:16:58.009 as a church is not to conform others to our image, 00:16:58.029 --> 00:17:01.490 but it is rather to see all of us conform to 00:17:01.490 --> 00:17:04.269 Christ's image. And brothers and sisters, this 00:17:04.269 --> 00:17:06.869 is where we find out what that image is all about. 00:17:08.529 --> 00:17:11.710 And so it's important for us to be a church that 00:17:11.710 --> 00:17:15.630 remains focused on the Word of God, the teaching 00:17:15.630 --> 00:17:18.650 of the Word of God, the exhortation to life that 00:17:18.650 --> 00:17:21.690 comes from the Word of God. As I think about 00:17:21.690 --> 00:17:24.750 the future of our church, I want us to be a praying 00:17:24.750 --> 00:17:28.990 church more than we are now. I want us to be 00:17:28.990 --> 00:17:31.329 an affectionate church even more than we are 00:17:31.329 --> 00:17:34.809 at this point. I want us to be a Bible -focused 00:17:34.809 --> 00:17:38.809 church. A group of people who love the Word of 00:17:38.809 --> 00:17:42.170 God and who are getting the Word out. You and 00:17:42.170 --> 00:17:46.750 I have a solemn obligation, a charge before God 00:17:46.750 --> 00:17:50.579 to keep the Word of God in our focus. and to 00:17:50.579 --> 00:17:58.920 measure our lives and our ministries by it. Our 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:05.960 duty to the church is to be sensitive to the 00:18:05.960 --> 00:18:12.559 Holy Spirit. It is to be serious about God's 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:14.759 calling in our lives. It's not frivolous, it's 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:21.299 not a game. It's to be sincere with one another. 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:27.579 It's our duty. God calls us to that. Our duty 00:18:27.579 --> 00:18:33.039 to the church, to be sincere, requires God's 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:37.339 grace in our lives. That's why he says, the grace 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:41.319 of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Not God's 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:46.039 grace as some doctrine that we learn about intellectually. 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:50.460 Not God's grace in a song that we may enjoy singing 00:18:50.460 --> 00:18:54.880 together as we do wonderful grace of Jesus, but 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:58.440 God's grace in the sense of an active, dynamic, 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:05.720 potent force in our lives enabling us to be sincere 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:09.779 with one another. God's grace enabling us to 00:19:09.779 --> 00:19:13.819 be faithful in praying. God's grace enabling 00:19:13.819 --> 00:19:18.890 us to be open in our affection. God's grace enabling 00:19:18.890 --> 00:19:22.450 us to be honest in our exhortation to one another. 00:19:24.089 --> 00:19:27.029 The Christian life is a mingling of duty and 00:19:27.029 --> 00:19:31.049 delight. The two are not contrary. Just as Jesus 00:19:31.049 --> 00:19:36.089 obeyed and did his duty by offering himself on 00:19:36.089 --> 00:19:39.849 the cross for our sins that we might have eternal 00:19:39.849 --> 00:19:43.910 life. Just as he did his duty, he found delight 00:19:43.910 --> 00:19:47.569 in doing it. He said, I delight to do thy will, 00:19:47.769 --> 00:19:52.190 O God. The scripture says, who for the joy set 00:19:52.190 --> 00:19:54.970 before him endured the cross? You see, duty and 00:19:54.970 --> 00:19:58.849 delight are not opposites. They work together. 00:19:59.569 --> 00:20:02.049 When you and I are faithful to our duty, God 00:20:02.049 --> 00:20:05.710 fills our hearts with delight. It is a delightful 00:20:05.710 --> 00:20:12.509 thing to be dutiful to God. Let's pray together. 00:20:12.910 --> 00:20:18.230 Our heads bowed, our eyes closed. I'd like for 00:20:18.230 --> 00:20:20.869 you, just where you're seated, to respond to 00:20:20.869 --> 00:20:26.069 God's call to duty. Would you ask the Lord to 00:20:26.069 --> 00:20:30.369 enable you to be sincere in your relationships 00:20:30.369 --> 00:20:37.289 to others, in prayer, in affection, in exhortation? 00:20:38.490 --> 00:20:41.210 Would you ask God to strengthen you by His grace? 00:20:41.900 --> 00:20:46.859 to be a faithful member of the Church, the body 00:20:46.859 --> 00:20:51.240 of Jesus Christ in this world. Lord, do this, 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:55.240 we pray, and as a result of it, may the next 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:58.319 ten years of our ministry, should Jesus, Terry, 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:03.359 be even more fruitful and more glorifying to 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:08.220 you than we've experienced in our first ten years. 00:21:08.859 --> 00:21:10.839 In Jesus' name, amen.