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Transcript

Speed And Honor · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  2 Thessalonians 3, verses 1-5 are our text. Allow me to read them and we'll pray and begin. It says, Finally, brothers, pray for us that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith, but the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord about you that you are doing and will do the things that we command.
• 0:31
  May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. Lord, I pray that you would bless the preaching of your word today. Give us ears to hear and eyes to see your truth revealed. Make our hearts submissive to it, Lord. I pray that we would pattern our lives after your word and not after the world that we live in. Allow us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds this morning. Give us the grace.
• 0:59
  to live differently and to think rightly. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, we continue our study of the second letter to the Thessalonian church, a church, as you'll recall, that was commended for their growing faith, for their increasing love, and for their enduring hope. Last Sunday, Pastor Sam preached on what he described as, and I quote, the chronologically comprehensive, redemptive plan of God.
• 1:29
  That we who are in Christ were chosen from eternity past. That that calling then becomes an anchor for us to stand firm in the present and even to comfort us as we look forward to the future. And notice in chapter 3, he transitions using these words in verse 1. Finally, brothers. Finally, brothers. The Apostle Paul begins his conclusion for the letter. What would be the letter's capstone? He uses this term finally to transition.
• 1:59
  From end time events, what we've been talking about the last couple of weeks, remember the man of lawlessness, the Antichrist, who will one day be revealed, the restraining one, keeping him at bay. He transitions from end time events to the practice of theology. This Sunday and next, he will answer the question based on what we know, based on what we understand to be true, based on our doctrine, how do we then live? How do we put theology into practice?
• 2:28
  And you'll notice that what follows is a plea from the apostle for prayer that the word of God would go forth speedily and with honor. Well, have you figured out yet why the Lord made you? What his calling on your life may be, what your life, passion, and life goal that he has given you should be. Not your occupation or what you do for a living, but rather your vocation, what he has called you to accomplish in your life.
• 3:01
  For those who have been around here a little while, you'll recall my appreciation and respect for a man named Eric Little. Eric Little was an Olympic gold medalist. He ran track, won the gold medal for multiple events in the 1924 Olympics. He was the man who famously refused to run on Sundays because he was a believer. He thought that Sunday was the Lord's Day, that it was a day of rest. And so even when he was scheduled to run in Olympic events that he surely would have won,
• 3:30
  He refused because of his beliefs. He is the man about whom the movie Chariots of Fire was made. And he famously said this. It's become one of my kind of life quotes. I quote him all the time. I love this quote. He famously said, I know that God made me for a purpose. And I also know that God made me fast. And in running, I feel the pleasure of God.
• 3:57
  I know that God made me for a reason, and I know that God's the one who made me fast. And when I do what he has designed me to do, it pleases him. I feel his pleasure. I know that he is smiling because I'm doing what he's made me to do. I was designed a certain way. God helped me to accomplish that calling. I met with a pastor from another local church just a couple of weeks ago.
• 4:27
  This man is going to turn 70 this year. He has served the Lord for nearly five decades. Just been a faithful, faithful man for almost 50 years. He sat across from me at lunch and with tears in his eyes said, Danny, I just want to leave the church better than I found it. I just want to leave the church better than I found it. The Apostle Paul certainly understood this passion, this type of calling, this type of...
• 4:54
  fulfillment on his life when he wrote his own life verse in acts chapter 20 and if you'd like to turn there you can but in acts chapter 20 and verse 24 where he says but i do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself if only i may finish my course in the ministry that i received from the lord jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of god
• 5:20
  The Apostle Paul says, I know why God made me. God called me to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. And if I do that, regardless of what else I accomplish, if I do that, I will count my life a success. But he says, if I fail to do that, regardless of what else I accomplish, if I fail to do that, I will count my life as valueless, worthless, and wasted.
• 5:50
  The Apostle Paul understood his calling. He knew exactly what the Lord designed him to do. He was to make disciples by taking the Gospel to the Gentiles and planting churches. And the conclusion of his letter here in 2 Thessalonians 3 and the conclusion of our study is a heartfelt hope that the Word of God would go out with speed and honor. We see not only his heart passion for the Gospel, but we see his determination
• 6:21
  To see the gospel advanced, unfettered. And he requests this morning in our text three things that he knew would impede the gospel's spread. And these are the same three things that hinder the gospel today. You're going to notice in verse 1, he requests prayer for himself. On behalf of all who would proclaim the gospel, pastors, teachers, missionaries, Sunday school teachers, anybody who stands up and proclaims the truth.
• 6:50
  You sharing with your co-workers and your friends and your family members when you become a conduit of blessing to those who have not yet heard. He's going to pray for us. We who would be teachers of the Gospel. Then you're going to notice in verses 2 and 3, He's going to pray against those who would resist the Gospel's spread. And we find this to be true. That the more bold we proclaim, the more bold comes the resistance at times. And He calls,
• 7:20
  this wicked and evil lacking in faith. And then he's going to pray specifically for the church in verse 4. That the church would act like the church is supposed to act, walking in obedience and so being truly salt and light. And so let's start in verse 1. Notice first Paul's request for himself. Paul's request for himself. He says in verse 1, Finally, brothers, pray for us.
• 7:50
  That the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored as happened among you. Pray for us. Paul recognized first and foremost that the greatest hindrance to the gospel may be the broken vessels God has chosen to proclaim it. Amen? You want to know the biggest hindrance to the gospel getting out? Me. I would have thought, honestly church, I would have thought that if God was passionate about getting the word out, He'd have chosen better teachers. People with more skill. People more eloquent.
• 8:22
  people more influential, people with the gift of persuasion. I would have thought that he would have chosen better people to proclaim it if he really wanted it to get out. The Apostle Paul felt the same way about himself. Pray for us. I'm broken and I need help. The word for pray there, pray for us, is in the present tense.
• 8:44
  which means his request is that the people pray unceasingly, without end, that they make prayer a constant pattern in their lives. It's not like he just says, pray for us, and it's a one and done. Okay, we're going to gather together. Paul asked us to pray. We're going to pray. Amen. Okay, check. We prayed for Paul. But rather, he says, pray continually all the time for me. And what I love is,
• 9:12
  At this time in the church's history, Paul would have been the foremost apostle. This was God's man. This was God's missionary. This was the miracle-working, gospel-preaching, church-planting apostle Paul. This was the guy writing New Testament books. From a human perspective, he could have been called the greatest and most powerful Christian in the world.
• 9:41
  at the time and yet he's requesting prayer from brand new believers the thessalonican church is not more than two years old maybe as young as a year old in the faith when he writes these words down baby christians babies not mature believers
• 10:06
  Not prayer warriors who have stood in the presence of God for decades. These were brand new baby Christians. And the most influential Christian on earth is writing to them and saying, beseeching them, please pray for me. Pray for me. And I think that that's significant. In asking for their prayer, he recognized that the power of prayer came not from the people who prayed, but rather from the God to whom they prayed. Let me say that again.
• 10:39
  He was recognizing that the power of prayer came not from the people who prayed, but rather from the God to whom they prayed. He recognized that even the weakest and youngest believers in the world have the privilege of invoking the power of God by entering His presence and presenting their requests through prayer. Can I just challenge us, church? Don't ever feel...
• 11:10
  unworthy to pray. Don't ever let the enemy keep you out of the throne room of God. Where God has invited, let the enemy not close the door. You may say, well, Pastor Danny, what if I don't know how? What if I don't know? I've had people tell me that. Honestly, it was genuine. What if I don't know how to pray? Relax, then you're in good company.
• 11:38
  Jesus' own followers looked at him one time and said, Lord, teach us to pray. We don't know how. And I think every generation of believers, every generation of believers since has said the same thing, echoed the same request. Lord, teach us to pray. I don't know how to do it. If you're struggling with this, Pastor Danny, I don't know how to pray. Let me give you a couple of tips. Begin with, dear God. End with, in Jesus' name.
• 12:06
  And say whatever you want in between. Anything you want, what's on your heart and on your mind, you can pour out and open up to God. He will listen. He wants you to come into His presence and pray. He already knows what's on your heart and mind. So just pour it out. Psalm 139, verses 1-4. Ashley's already read a portion of this.
• 12:40
  He says, O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit down. You know when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path. My lying down. You're acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all together. So don't be afraid to speak. He already knows what you're going to say. Open your heart. Open your mind to Him and just pour it out. You may say, well, what if I pray the wrong thing?
• 13:12
  I've struggled with that. Anybody else ever struggled with that? What if I pray accidentally against the will of God? And let me just tell you, if you are frequent in prayer, then you're probably already guilty of this. Anybody ever look back at your prayer life, back at your prayer journals and read those things and praise God he didn't answer that request. Right? Where would I be now? Man, there is good news. You know, the Bible says in Romans chapter 8 and verse 26, Romans 8, 26, the Holy Spirit of God.
• 13:44
  actually comes, and I'm going to say the word filters your prayers, filters your prayers. Romans 8.26 uses the word intercedes on our behalf. So he intercedes for us. The Holy Spirit of God comes alongside our prayer life, fixes it, and fills in the gaps before it gets to the throne.
• 14:05
  So if we don't know what we ought to pray for, certainly He does. Now let me read the text. Romans 8.26 says, In the same way, the Spirit helps in our weakness. And the context there is prayer, our crying out to God. He knows that we're weak in prayer, and the Holy Spirit of Himself helps. We do not know what we ought to pray for, Romans 8 says, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. The Holy Spirit of God
• 14:34
  filters and fills in the gaps. That's good news. You may say, well, Pastor Danny, what if I've sinned too much? What if I've sinned too much to pray? And I would say again, you're probably in good company. I don't know anybody who has a right attitude and understanding of their own sin who hasn't at times shied away from the presence of God.
• 15:04
  because of their sin. Like Adam and Eve hiding in the garden, thinking they could hide from God's presence because of their sin. I certainly have been guilty of that. You say, well, what about my sin? Does my sin not keep me from the Father's presence? Can I encourage us here as well, the road back, if you feel estranged from God and distant from Him, then let me encourage you, brothers and sisters, the road back is always paved with prayer.
• 15:32
  The first step back toward God is always to pray. That's the first step. And listen to this promise. I love this promise. John 6, verse 37. Jesus Himself speaking, He says, All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out. Whoever comes to Me I will never cast out.
• 15:57
  If you go to Jesus in humility, asking for forgiveness, asking for salvation, repentant, confessing, if you go to Jesus, He does not shut the door on you. If you want to be in the presence of God, He invites you in. Love that. Don't let the enemy close the door on prayer where God has invited you to. Notice in our text, what is it specifically that Paul prayed for? He continues in verse 1. Finally, brothers.
• 16:29
  Pray for us that the Word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored as happened among you. That the Word may speed ahead and be honored. He prayed that he would never be guilty of slowing the Word of God's speedy advance. Or to say anything that would bring it dishonor. And believe me, to step into the pulpit is a daunting task. James warns those who would teach in James 3 in verse 1,
• 17:01
  where he says, not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. And believe me, I as a teacher pay attention to that verse. I'm standing up here basically preaching condemnation on myself, right? If you're going to stand up here and preach it, you better live it. That's what he's saying. Matthew gives a warning against careless speech in Matthew 12, verse 36. He says, Jesus speaking, I tell you, on the day of judgment,
• 17:30
  People will give account for every careless word they speak. Boy, can you imagine applying that to preaching? I don't understand. People who would stand at a pulpit and wing it. Oh, I don't get that. I don't understand. Maybe, I mean, whatever. You know, you do what you do, I guess. And I know that we should be ready in season and out of season. All that causes me to do is study all the more. Every careless word you speak, you'll be held accountable for.
• 18:01
  To teach, and especially as it relates to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to teach and to preach the Gospel is a heavy thing. It's a joy. But you can see why the Apostle Paul in verse 1 says, pray for me, pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, that I wouldn't get in its way. The Word of God will always be most effectively proclaimed.
• 18:26
  by those who are willing to stand and open their mouths, by preachers and Sunday school teachers and evangelists and neighbors and co-workers and friends who are willing even to face rejection for the gospel and say, okay, well, if all we have to do is proclaim the gospel in order for it to go forward, then how would the gospel be hindered? I think the answer is this, because God never made a man or a woman who wasn't a chicken.
• 18:59
  I think, I mean, unless you guys are the exception, we're all chickens. I'm a coward. I'm afraid. I have a fear of man. And oftentimes, if I'm honest, my fear of man overwhelms my fear of God. I'm more aware and cognizant of the presence of the people in the room than I am of the presence of God in my life. And so that overwhelms.
• 19:28
  My fear of God to the point that I just back out. I just don't say anything. I stay quiet because I'm a chicken. I'm convinced that even some of the toughest men I've ever met, the most brave and courageous men I've ever met, get scared at certain things. In fact, I'm convinced that if the human population only went forward by men birthing them, our population would be a lot smaller. It's my guess, right?
• 19:59
  Because even the toughest of men are chickens. They are the toughest, most brawny men I've ever met. Often our times are afraid of even the smallest things. Spiders, snakes, our own family pastor, Nathan Anderson and I were hiking one day, ran across a little tiny rattlesnake. It shook its little tail at us. And I'm telling you, your family pastor can jump. The man has got hops.
• 20:27
  It was incredible. We're laughing and talking and hiking, and he went from just walking and not a care in the world to straight vertical in less than a fraction of a second. Just boom, vertical and gone. I'm like, Nathan, where are you going? And I don't blame him. There was this little rattlesnake there. Like, oh, that's for real. That happened. But it's funny sometimes, the fears that we have. Some of the bravest men and women I've ever encountered would be scared to stand.
• 20:56
  And publicly testify to the goodness of God toward them. Publicly testify to it. In front of co-workers, sometimes that co-worker conversation is a hard one. In front of neighbors, it's a hard thing to bring up. It's a hard thing to talk about. And you know what I love about the Apostle's request is that he felt the same fear. It's not the only time he ever asked for prayer for himself. Colossians chapter 4 and verse 2. Same words. Pray for us.
• 21:27
  that God may open to us a door for the Word to declare the mystery of Christ, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak. He says, pray for me that when I open, when I begin to preach, that it would be clear and not jumbled. If you ever feel like you fumble over the Gospel, the Apostle Paul did too. He said, pray for me. In Ephesians 6, verse 19, I love this one. In Ephesians 6, verse 19, pray for me.
• 21:53
  that the words may be given to me in opening my mouth to proclaim it boldly, the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. Pray for me, he says, that when I open my mouth, words would come out. I think we see a little glimpse here of his spiritual cowardice. I mean, he was the foremost among the first century believers. And yet he says...
• 22:23
  I fumble over my words. And sometimes when I open my mouth, nothing comes out. So pray for me. Pray for us. Your pastors need the same prayer. If I could ask one thing of you this morning, it would be this. Pray for us. That we wouldn't do anything to slow the Gospel's spread. That we would never do anything that would dishonor it. That's first. Second, notice verses 2 and 3. Paul requests prayer against those who would actively resist the Gospel's spread. Look at verse 2.
• 22:56
  He says, and pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not all have faith, but the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. The apostle was only too familiar with those who would push against his ministry, his entire believing life. People would fight against his mission, even following him from town to town, snatching up the gospel seed.
• 23:24
  as it was sown. And he calls this effort wicked and evil. Not only morally repugnant, but beyond that, aggressive in their desire to destroy the gospel's advance. And because they themselves, the Thessalonian church, had received the gospel so eagerly, the saints at Thessalonica maybe presumed that everybody would. It says in verse 1, as the word sped ahead and was honored,
• 23:55
  as happened among you. So you can imagine this Thessalonian church believing quickly, eagerly. Yes, give us the gospel. They believed and were saved. But he says, don't assume that that's how it is everywhere. It's not. Many of you know my eight-year-old son, Chase. Chase, one day, a couple of months ago, was at school and was sharing the gospel with him. He's very aware of who believes and who doesn't. He's always very aware of this.
• 24:24
  And I don't know if that's the Lord growing the gift of evangelism in him or not, or the growth, the spiritual discernment, or what it is, but he's always very aware. He will even ask me at times, Dad, is that guy a believer? Is that lady a believer? You know, I'm always very careful to say, I have no idea. Between them and the Lord, right? We don't know. I'm not the judge, Chase. But based on the fruit of their life, maybe not. Maybe not. He's very aware of this, and he was one day telling us a story about sharing the gospel with another boy at school.
• 24:54
  And he was explaining to him about Jesus. And this is not a Christian school. He goes to a school where you can find just about any belief that you can imagine. And this one young boy happened to be from a Muslim home. So he was not a believer, but was very religious. And Chase was explaining to him about Jesus. And he came home and Chase was a little bit discouraged and just said, Dad, he doesn't believe. He didn't believe. And he said, Dad, why?
• 25:24
  Why wouldn't he believe? He's like, I explained it right. You'd think if I'm speaking the truth that people would believe the truth. Why wouldn't he believe? The answer, I think, comes in verse 2. For not all have faith. Not all have faith. The grace of God can be proclaimed everywhere. Everybody in the world knows Amazing Grace, you guys. Everybody in the world knows that song. Amazing Grace.
• 25:56
  But not all have received it in faith and so been saved. And the reason is, and I think can be found in 2 Corinthians 4, the reason that the Gospel makes such sense to us but is so preposterous to those outside is because of 2 Corinthians 4 in verse 4. It says, in their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers.
• 26:23
  to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, the God of this world, God of the little G, not big G God, who is in control of all things, who sent his son to die for us, but little G God, the one who controls all of this little stuff, he says, has blinded their eyes. They can't see it. It makes no sense to them because their brains haven't been turned on. Their spirituality hasn't been, there's no light shining on their spirit. And because the lights are off,
• 26:53
  They fumble around in the dark. And as we know about people who fumble around in the dark and combine that with this aggressive resistance against the gospel, there is aggression combined with darkness oftentimes will result in injury. Right? Both to themselves and to others.
• 27:16
  So he says, pray that the Lord would establish you and guard you, verse 3 says, against the evil one, against his schemes, against that resistance. Notice 3rd and verse 4. Paul requests prayer for the people of God to act like the people of God. He requests prayer for the people of God to act like the people of God. Look at verse 4. And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things
• 27:48
  that we command and perhaps the greatest threat to the gospel's advance is for god's people to do nothing the church's inaction can put a halt to the spread of the word of god faster than almost anything else there is a man whose life was relatively obscure in fact i bet you don't recognize his name when i say it but this quote i'll bet you've heard a man named edmund burke said the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil
• 28:20
  is for good men to do nothing. And the same is true in the church. The only thing necessary for the triumph of darkness is for the church, the sons and daughters of light, to do nothing. We do nothing, and guess what will happen? Nothing. Nothing will happen.
• 28:45
  The gospel will cease to go forth because God has chosen human broken vessels to send it forth. And if we do nothing, then nothing will happen. And I become confused a little bit, if I'm honest, and maybe even a little agitated when I hear about opportunities for God's people to advance the gospel and God's people to turn up their nose at those opportunities. That makes no sense to me. I get downright mad.
• 29:15
  when I hear some of those same people complain that the Lord doesn't give them chances to share their faith. So for instance, our church was approached by the mayor of Federal Heights. The mayor attended a funeral service that I officiated 18 months or so ago. I don't know him. I didn't know that he was here. He was just in the congregation. He was here at the church. But he came, he and his wife, and his wife was friends with the lady from our church who had passed away. And so he attended.
• 29:50
  left, came and left, and came back to the church a couple of weeks later, hadn't scheduled an appointment or anything, just showed up. I get a call, right? Office manager calls and says, Pastor Danny, the mayor of Federal Heights is here to see you. Okay. I walked out and I thought, man, what did I do? You know, I don't even live in Federal Heights. You know, I'm like, okay. And so I walked out there, he introduced himself. And he said, I attended, I was part of the congregation from the funeral a couple of weeks ago, and I was wondering if you would be willing to come and...
• 30:18
  do an invocation, a prayer invocation for the next Federal Heights City Council meeting. Would you come and pray for us? And I said, I would absolutely be willing to come and pray for you as long as you're okay with me praying in Jesus' name. Because there are some cities who are fine with prayer as long as you don't mention Jesus, right? And I've heard of these cities. In fact, I come from a city in California who has battled against this, whether they would ban the name of Jesus. You can pray all you want.
• 30:45
  but just don't talk about Jesus. So I said, as long as you're okay with me praying in Jesus' name, I'll come. And he said, I wouldn't have it any other way. Fantastic. So I show up over there, prayed, prayed for their city councilman, prayed for the mayor, prayed for all of the police, because all of the captains and the chief, and now even their newly appointed commander, attend all of these city council meetings. They're all there, so I'm praying for these people, getting to know them, shaking hands and doing whatever. And he just mentioned this. He says, hey, if there's ever a time when you'd be willing to come back, we'd love to have you. Great.
• 31:15
  I said, let me know. I or one of the pastors on our staff would be happy to come. As often as you ask, we'll say yes. And so we've been doing that. He's been asking us to come. We've been going every other Tuesday. They have their city council meeting and we pray the invocation. We have at this point now, our pastors, the four of us, have prayed five for five of the last seven Federal Heights City Council meetings. He came up to me this last Tuesday because I was there, shook my hand and he said, thank you so much for coming. As if I was doing him a favor.
• 31:47
  Right? And I said, I'm happy to do it. And I said, in fact, anytime, anytime you need us, we will make sure that there is somebody here to pray for you if you want us to pray. Anytime. If you have somebody bail at the last minute, you need us there in eight minutes, we can do that. We will make that happen. Pastor Sam, drive. Right? I mean, we can do that. We will do that. I said, this is a commitment our church will make to you. We will fill it every single time. And he says, you guys, what's the last Tuesday?
• 32:14
  Mayor of Federal Heights. He said, I am so thankful to hear that. He says, I call all churches. I call all these churches. I've asked all of these pastors. And he said, I don't even get calls back. I want pastors to come. I'm inviting pastors to come. He was really confused. And if I'm honest, so am I. He was really confused. I don't even get calls back. What in the world? He said, I'm so thankful for Highland Baptist Church. He said this. I'm so thankful for Highland Baptist Church. You're willing to come and pray for us.
• 32:48
  I thought, what sense does it make? And I remember there was such a huge uproar, an outcry from God's people years ago at this point, a couple of decades ago when schools were beginning to take the Ten Commandments out of schools. The Ten Commandments can't be on display anymore. And man, the church just railed against that. And that might have been justified.
• 33:14
  But how can we be so enthusiastic and passionate about that, all the while not even calling this guy back that we're complaining about? The government is taking church out. Well, here is the government asking us to come in. And I can't figure it out. Isn't that weird? It's such a contradiction. You guys, here's the thing. I want to be really careful how I say this. Yeah, I'm going to say it. You guys, we are not the people of the Ten Commandments.
• 33:48
  The Ten Commandments. Praise God for them. Praise God for the law. It points us to Jesus. But the Ten Commandments never saved anybody. The God of the Ten Commandments did. Right? We have a people saying, a city saying, come and pray for us. Man, you better believe we'll be there. And we'll start going down the line. Right? You may get a call. Right? You were 39th on the list, but nobody else is available. Drive over there and pray in Jesus' name.
• 34:18
  You've got 38 seconds to get there. But man, right? When he says in verse 4, look at verse 4 again. We have confidence in the Lord about you that you are doing and will do the things that we command. There is something about the people of God acting like the people of God that matters. It matters for the gospel to go out. You notice finally in verse 5, Paul's benediction over the church. Notice he ends his prayer requests with prayer. Look at verse 5. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness.
• 34:49
  of christ may the lord direct your heart to the love of god and to the steadfastness of christ he ends by saying right making these requests that the gospel would go forth unhindered unfettered and then he ends with and i pray that would happen in your heart as well may it not be impeded may it not be slowed down may your heart be directed to him that word for direct means to make a straight path that all of the obstacles hindrances would be removed that there would be a straight shot
• 35:19
  to your heart to receive the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ. You know, our calling is no different than the Apostle Paul's. We also are to make disciples by preaching the gospel and planting churches. That's what we do. Let us pray that we ourselves, the teachers, would not hinder the gospel spread by bringing any dishonor to it. Let us pray that God would deliver us from any evil person who would slow us advance. And let us pray that our obedience to the truth
• 35:47
  It would become a conduit of blessing to the nations. Amen? Amen. God, thank You for this morning. Thank You for Your Word. God, we thank You for worship and we thank You for Gary and Darlene Buss and their testimony. And we thank You for Paisley Roy. What a gift she is. And God, I pray that You would give us strength to fulfill that vow that we just all made by standing up. That we would come alongside her and remind her of the truth.
• 36:15
  that we would support her parents and their decisions over her. Knowing that You have called them to raise this little girl, God, give us the strength to provide every opportunity that they need, every resource that they need to be successful at that. And thank You, Lord, for Your Word. May we be a people who hear it and do it. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.