Romans 15:16 - What the Temple Represents Spiritually, Pt. 1 (02/12/2023)

Good morning everyone, so good to see all of you.

It's a lovely day today and we may have balloons flying over our

country from China, but we're happy that they don't know how to make bombers

and jets, only balloons.

Man, is it crazy world.

Was there a third thing?

We don't know.

We don't even know what the second thing was that they shot down and there was a third thing last night.

We need to be very prayerful about our poor old country because a lot of times

in the history of the world before an enemy attacks they send

things up front to take a look at some things.

They flew it right over all of our missile silos, our

atomic, what am I trying to think of, nuclear, there it is, our nuclear missile silos.

Flew right over those and looked at them and looked at our military bases

and we let them do it.

There's no doubt that it was on purpose because you can't think

for a second that they flew this into our airspace and they allowed it to happen on

purpose and said that the reason that they allowed it to go all the way across is the waters are warmer and shallower

on the east coast and they could retrieve it when they shoot it down.

And then while they were telling the story they shot the second one down in Alaska in cold

deep water because now it's okay.

So it's just a beautiful demonstration of how when you lie it won't fit everything.

You're going to get caught in your lie when you start lying.

That was not the reason and it showed very clearly very quickly that it wasn't the reason because they then

did the very thing they said was the bad thing to do.

So anyway it's ridiculous.

And then the earthquake, I did a study

a number of years ago, not that long ago, but a number of years ago that showed

statistically that the earthquakes are getting stronger and more people

are being killed by them.

If you go back I forgot how far back I went in history and looked at that but that was true.

This now is the largest I think as far as the number of people killed ever

and it's up to what 25 ,000 now?

30 now.

This morning goes up every day and so we have that going

on in the world and let's see there was a third thing I was going to mention.

Didn't jot them down so I'll probably forget it but I mean there are so many things

going on right now they're pretty prophetic and we don't

know where we are on the Lord's timeline.

I found it interesting while Ben was teaching on the churches in the book of Revelation

every single, well I won't say all of them because I didn't look at all of them while he was teaching we didn't cover them all, but

I think all of them after Jesus gives them the message to the church he tells

them now fix it because I'm coming back quickly whatever the thing is each church need to fix it because I'm coming back

quickly and he said that as if to say

in your lifetime.

Now what's interesting is we know that those were written to specific churches but they also apply to churches today.

It was prophetic in a sense because well not in a sense it was prophetic because at

any given time it could like you take all the churches in the world right now and every church will fit one of those

models now.

So the reason it was given is to us to hold ourselves up against those churches and

see which one we're the closest to and whichever good thing the Lord said about that great but whatever the

things he wanted to correct we need to correct it just as that church would have to correct it.

The thing that proves it's met for all of us is that he does say at the end fix it because I'm

coming back quickly.

So we know he's coming soon we just don't know how soon we don't even we you know really

don't know if we're even in the seven years or not we could be we don't know but if we see

him start to build a temple on the temple mount then we'll know we know right we're pretty

close to where we are and so you know it's very interesting.

Did you guys know that for years and years you know the King Ranch down in South Texas they

raise Santa Gertrudis cows cattle and bulls and

I know that because my grandfather that was his favorite kind of bull so we always had a Santa Gertrudis bull they're

really rich red color.

They ship a new calf without blemish to

Israel every year from that ranch isn't that interesting just in case they want to start back up the sacrificial

system and they come right there from Texas.

Now you'll hear articles you'll read articles about they sent one from here and there but they

actually come from that ranch and I've always heard that they've got the cornerstone already

sitting there ready to use.

I don't know if that's true but I know when brother Rocky was still in here he's in heaven now but he

believed that that was the case and he had friends in Hebrew University that did all kinds of

studies along those lines just to kind of know where they are if the utensils are ready and all that

and they probably are and it's interesting because in this study that I'm preaching through right now

where we're dealing with the temple in the wilderness tabernacle and then later the temple there were

times when the temple got in disarray and they had to

remake the utensils again because someone had stolen them or taken them out of the temple and they had to put them

back in there and so it's happened several times through history and it's probably happening now

as they get ready for that always thought when Trump was our president he would be the one to destroy the

mosques on the temple mount with some jet bombing attack or

something but he didn't do it yet but maybe he will someday who knows somebody will you

watch all right.

Well let's go ahead and get started.

We're launching off of Romans chapter 15 verse 16 where it talks about the gentiles offerings being acceptable

and we got to the place in our study where we asked the question

what caused the temple to get in such disarray in the first place

and that they had to go in and clean it out and make it serviceable again.

How did that even happen.

And so we looked in second chronicles mostly chapter 29

to talk about these things and I think last time we talked about how

let's see where was I.

Yeah we talked about how the first thing they did in second chronicles 29 four and five and six right in that

area if you want to turn there the first thing they did was they turned their faces away from God

and you remember there were three things their their fathers trespassed which means they got into

a lifestyle of sin.

They then forsook the lord and then they turned away their faces and then they turned their

backs.

So I mean that that's like you you think about they turn their faces from God and then you know like going like this but

then they just totally turned around turned their backs to him.

That's a great idea of backsliding right.

But that's what they did and that's how they got to the place where the temple was out of order.

Um what's interesting about all this is that when you look at it the temple

can picture you because the scripture tells us that our body is the temple of the living god

now that we have the indwelling of the holy spirit on this side of the cross.

And uh so all of these things that you look at that tabernacle and the things that happened where it was

in bad the innermost parts of it were filthy and had to be cleaned out and the doors

wouldn't work where they couldn't even go in.

And that picture is jesus standing at the door knocking and us keeping him out for a while that's called being

backslidden uh or being carnal a carnal christian it's not spirit filled.

And all these things are pictured by that tabernacle.

So that's kind of what we've been talking about.

So um we talked about last time that then once they did

this they got where they would.

They were no longer burning incense.

And that picture's prayer of course uh of the believer.

And then today we'll get down to this part.

So look at second corinthians 29 7 we'll pick it up right there it

says also they have shut up the doors of the porch and

put out the lamps and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in

the holy place unto god.

And um you know it talks about not burning the incense

which is what we talked about last sunday.

A great verse to look at.

We won't take time to read it now since we already talked about it's romans 8 26 and 27 where it talks about i think my two

favorite verses in the whole bible on prayer uh takes quite a bit of study to

understand what it's saying about prayer.

It's not an easy passage to interpret but once you figure it out it's very beautiful.

But that incense that they stop burning is a picture of the prayers of the saints going up before

god.

So they had stopped praying.

Well what is that picture in our lives.

Well obviously when we get into sin and we turn our faces away from god for a while

whether it be a few moments or a few days we tend to not pray.

In fact satan comes to us and says you're too dirty to pray.

And the funny thing about that is the only way back is to pray because you have to go to first john 1 9 and you

you have to be willing to agree with god that you just sinned and it was sinful that what you did was sinful.

And then when you do he cleanses you from that and from everything else you forgot to confess from all unrighteousness

it says.

So think about that so that these are these are things that are picturing the life of the believer

in the old testament tabernacle.

So today the last part of that verse second corinthians 29 7 it says.

And they not only stopped burning the incense but they stopped offering burnt offerings

in the holy place unto the god of israel.

Now if you remember the very first part of this study that we've been doing for so many sundays now

talked about what it what the sacrifices are that we can offer today because

we offer up spiritual sacrifices.

We don't kill lambs and so forth because all of those things in the old testament were pictures of jesus christ.

He fulfilled all of that in his one life and in his death didn't he.

So we don't do that.

It will be done again in the future in a thousand year millennial kingdom.

But it will be in memorial looking back at what christ did as a picture of what he did looking

back at what he did on the cross.

But anyway when they stopped doing the burnt offerings what that pictures to us.

If you review a little bit on the front end of this study in hebrews chapter 1 verse 15 that when we praise

god that is an offering from our lips the bible says.

Hebrews 13 16 says when we give to god's work when we give substance whether it

be money or things or talent or talents our service whatever when we give that to the lord's work

that is a spiritual sacrifice.

And romans 12 1 says that we give our bodies as a living sacrifice when your

spirit is connected with the holy spirit and it's in control of your soul which is then in control of

your body then your body is used in service to god.

So we talk about the flesh in the negative sense a lot in the bible especially in the new testament.

But it's not always in the negative sense when it's under proper control of the new man the body is used in

god's service for good things in this world we are the salt and the light.

We are christians which means little little christs that the world can see and all that.

So when they stopped offering these these burnt offerings for us it's a picture of us

not praying anymore not praising god much anymore not being thankful at this little season in your

life or our lives not giving substance when the lord moves us to give money or service or

whatever to the church we just don't do it.

Or thirdly not letting our bodies be used for god but letting in the bad sense

the flesh take control and so forth.

So that's what this part pictures.

So the result of this was that they turned away their faces from

god they shut the doors of their hearts as jesus knocked on the door.

Revelation 320 is really a christian is a verse to christians not to loss people.

It's a beautiful verse to use to witness to people if you want to.

But it's really for christians that are backslidden and jesus is at the door of the heart knocking saying if

you let me in we'll fellowship again that sort of thing.

Uh it's it's a picture of them putting out the lamps which is uh pictures the presence of god

not burning the incense which pictures our prayers.

So the prayers stop going up and then no longer offering praise and worship and service and

all that all.

Right.

So in second chronicles 29 let's keep going a little bit.

Look at verse 8 it says.

Wherefore the wrath of the lord was upon judah in jerusalem.

Wow.

You know it's it's fascinating the people that believe in this theory that the rapture takes place at the front end of the seven

years.

One of the things they love to say is that god will not put his wrath on his own children.

So they'll be removed and won't be here during the tribulation period.

Well there are many places in the bible where god put his wrath on his own children.

So that's not uh something that holds up under scrutiny of scripture.

In fact i can't find one single argument that they have to prove their theory that holds up under scripture

that's properly interpreted in the context that the scripture is written not one.

So that's interesting.

But anyway um so here they they come under the wrath of god.

Uh the scripture says because they had stopped praying they had stopped

serving the lord and all these things that we just saw.

So the wrath of the lord was upon judah in jerusalem and he has delivered them to

trouble.

That's one thing to astonishment to hissing

as you see with your own eyes.

So in the day which that was written it was evident that they were under god's chastening.

Well what about america.

What do you think.

You do you think it's under god's chasing.

Have you looked at your president lately.

Your president.

Oh i you're you're like most everybody in the rooms from texas.

I found it comforting that he felt that oil and gas would be useful for at least another decade.

And i guess after that we're just going to dump our uh fighter jets.

We're going to dump our you know all of our ships and our army tanks and everything that runs on

petroleum.

We're just going to get rid of all that.

And so wow what an amazing person for our country to

elect.

We are at the lowest mark in the history of our nation the lowest mark.

We have never dropped this low.

And if you have children and grandbabies you should be fearful right now for the fact that when you have a

president like that aggressive nations take note and that's when they start wars.

And it's the history of even america.

You check that out you'll see it's true.

When we went into world war ii we didn't have nearly we didn't even it was laughable how little equipment we had

because they had cut the funding to the military same thing right now.

So it's uh it's it's a difficult time.

But it's wonderful to know who's really in control isn't it.

And that's something we know.

But how would you like to be a person that didn't know that and be an american right now.

But i guess if you didn't know that you would be for biden.

So you wouldn't be afraid.

You think everything's going to be wonderful.

That might have been a rabbit trail.

Verse 9 says for lo our fathers have fallen by the sword and our sons and our daughters and our

wives are in captivity because of this.

So when a nation backslides away from the lord there's your result.

So how many of you think america is going to do well if they stay in the same direction that they're going right now.

Not at all not at all.

It leads to trouble astonishment.

When people look at the nation that falls under god's chastening hand they hiss when they look at it they go that's

terrible.

And they make a hissing noise toward that nation.

It leads to the sword and it leads to captivity of the wives and the daughters specifically.

And so those are kind of pretty amazing thoughts

and what i'm i'm sort of at the end of this study now.

But i think it's very important that we tie this in

with the spiritual side because if it's true what we're looking at is this wilderness tabernacle and then

later the temple as a picture of our own body of our own spirit our soul

and our body and how we serve the lord.

Then we need to look at the spiritual side of it that the physical story pictures.

Or we should say this physical wilderness tabernacle what is it picture what's the spiritual thing it pictures.

And i want to look at that lastly at the end of this study let me read

down through just a little bit of second chronicles 29.

Start with about verse 10 where it starts to talk about how they cleaned out this

tabernacle that had gotten filthy.

Because if we backslide for enough days we will have to do that in our own life.

We'll have to go to the lord and clean everything out and start over.

And that's what we're supposed to do.

It's no accident i've said this so many times.

It's no accident that the lord put this treasure in earth and vessels that he might

receive the glory.

He made us this way on purpose.

He gave us a old man and a new man and he did not remove the old man yet.

And that's on purpose and it's a struggle we are supposed to have.

So when we find ourselves sinning we don't quit.

We don't listen to satan when he says you might not be saved or you wouldn't have done that.

We don't listen to any of that stuff.

We understand what the scripture says about it.

And we simply get on our knees and we clean out the tabernacle.

We start on the inside with our soul and our minds.

And we use scripture to clean out the mind that we ourselves have put filthy stuff into

and we began to take it out.

So look at this beautiful picture of this in second chronicles 29 10.

Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the lord god of israel

that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.

This was the king of israel.

They had a good leader.

They'd had more bad ones than good ones if you read the scripture though right.

So we're not alone in having a bad leader right now.

But but that bad leader put them at risk of the sword and losing their wives and

daughters to captivity.

Did he not the bad leader did.

So bad leaders are serious problem.

You can't take it lightly when one gets elected or when one gets the office even if he didn't get elected.

If you know what i mean that's code for those of us who know what really happened.

Right.

That's nut.

That's far.

Right people.

So it goes on and it says.

Uh in verse 11 my sons be not now negligent.

So he's going to fix the problem before the sword comes.

That's his goal.

For the lord hath chosen you to stand before him to serve him and that you should minister

unto him and burn incense again.

Start praying again.

Is the picture right.

Verse 12 says.

Then the levites arose now drop down to verse 15.

And they gathered their brethren and sanctified themselves first.

They got right with god personally.

And they came according to the commandment of the king by the words of the lord.

So the king commanded them to do it because the bible told him to command them to do it.

And they came to cleanse the house of the lord which your body which is a picture of your body where you

and god meet together in yourself.

In verse 16 says.

And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the lord to cleanse it.

And they brought out all the uncleanliness that they found in the temple of the lord unto the court

of the house of the lord.

So they brought it from the innermost part out to the porch.

And the levites took it from the porch and carried it out abroad into the brook kidron.

Now i want you to think about that little river right there.

The kidron river is going to tie us in with the spiritual side of this in a minute in a

in a beautiful way.

So they took the filthiness out of the house of god that the evil people had allowed

to get in there and put some of it in there in the first place.

And they brought it out and they threw it into this river.

Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify to set it apart from the world and

make it unto god.

And on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of the lord.

So they sanctified the house of the lord in eight days.

And in the 16th day of the first month they made an end to cleaning out the house of god.

Verse 18.

Then they went into hezekiah the king and they said we have cleansed all the house of

the lord and the altar burnt offering with all the vessels thereof they had to put you know recreate the

utensils that they use in the service of god.

They put all those back in place and the showbread table and all the vessels

thereof.

So now they have repaired the house of god

right now remember that they took the

filth and they threw it into the river kidron.

Now turn with me to john chapter 18.

John chapter 18

and verse 1.

John 18 1.

When jesus had spoken these words he went forth with his with his

disciples over the brook kidron.

It's the same river where was the garden into the which he entered

with his disciples.

So the place where he went to pray before he went to the cross was next to this river this same

river that they had thrown the filth of the tabernacle into when they cleansed it

i should say the temple when they cleansed it.

And judas also which betrayed him knew the place for jesus oftentimes resorted

thither with his disciples.

Do you find it interesting that jesus made a habit of going to this place by

this kidron river where they had thrown the filthiness of the temple.

And he would go there often to pray because all of the filthiness of all of us

was about to be placed upon his temple.

Uh when he was going to go to the cross with our sins on his back.

Judas then having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and the pharisees cometh

thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.

Jesus therefore knowing all these things that should come upon him went forth and saith unto

them who are you looking for.

They answered him jesus of nazareth.

And jesus said unto them i am he.

And judas also which betrayed him stood with him and recognized him i'm sure.

And told him yep that's him.

And soon then as soon then as he had said unto them i am he.

They went backwards and fell to the ground.

Well that's a powerful man isn't it.

And he knew they were coming before they arrived.

That is the deity of jesus christ and the power of christ.

And he just said i am he.

And they fell down like dead men on the ground.

Then asked he them again who do you seek.

And they said jesus of nazareth.

Why do you think.

He asked twice.

Well here's the answer.

Verse 8.

Jesus answered i have told you that i am he.

If therefore you seek me let these go.

He was taking care of his sheep.

He was making sure they didn't hurt the sheep he said.

He asked him twice who do you.

Who do you seek.

And they said him so he made it clear oh you're just seeking me.

We'll let them go then.

Brilliant the way that he did that of course marileth unger wrote this in the

unger's bible dictionary which is one of the best books.

But if you get one get an old one.

Uh edited and written in the 1970s or 80s.

The new ones aren't very good.

Naturally they change them.

But he said this about this river he said to the north of jerusalem begins the torrent bed of the kidron

river.

It sweeps past the temple mount.

He goes right next to where the temples was and where it will be built soon.

I think past where afterward calvary and gethsemane were.

It leaves the mount of olives and bethany to the left and bethlehem far to the right.

It plunges down among the bare terraces precipices and crags of the wilderness

of judea the wilderness of the scapegoat.

You understand how he's tying that in when they took the sins of the people and placed it on the head of the

state scapegoat they sent him out into the wilderness.

They didn't kill the scapegoat.

That's a picture of jesus taking our sins to hell.

And so that's the area where they released the scapegoat.

Every year is right in where this river flows through this area so barren and blistered

so furnace -like does it become as it drops below the level of the sea that it takes the name

wadi and nar which means the fire wadi.

At last its dreary course brings it to the precipices above the dead sea into which

it shoots its scanty winter waters.

But all summer this river is dry.

The valley is only 20 miles long but with a descent of

3912 feet.

It is the brook crossed by david when he was fleeing

absalon and second samuel 1523.

In this valley in time in the time of josiah

became the common cemetery for jerusalem.

And so there we see this same same beautiful river.

Now what i'd like you to do is turn with me to john chapter 17 in verse 1 and look at it

with me as we read through and we see the spiritual side of what this temple

um is picturing

as in second chronicles 29 as they took the filth from the

tabernacle and threw it into this river.

Verse 19 over there in second chronicles 29 says.

Moreover all the vessels which the which king a has in his reign had cast away.

So here we see another time in history where a bad king took the vessels and things they used to do the

sacrifices and removed them probably melted them down and kept the money because they were made of silver and gold and

things.

And so these had to be replaced and he had cast them in

in a way cast them away during his transgression or his sin.

And it says we prepared and we sanctified and behold they are before the altar of the lord.

So here in in this time they were making the temple of service again.

This picture is us getting our lives right with god where we can serve god again when we fall into sin we don't

stay down allow satan to make us quit.

We get back up.

We go to first john 1 9.

First we ask ourselves do we believe this verse.

And contemplate that for a few moments and then do what it says and get back up and serve the lord.

That's the only way to keep the sword of the lord away from your family.

Think about that it's the only way to keep the wrath of god away from your nation is to have enough

christians to do this.

So then hezekiah the king rose up early and gathered the rulers of the city and went up to the house of the lord.

He was excited i'll bet you.

And they brought seven bullocks seven rams and seven lambs and seven he goats

for a sin offering for the kingdom god's perfect number seven and for the sanctuary.

So now they're offering all of these animals to cleanse the very sanctuary in which they're supposed to be doing the

offerings because it was in disarray.

And they did this for judah and he commanded the priest of the sons of aaron to offer

them on the altar of the lord.

So they killed the bullets and the priest received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar turning it in uh

well they would later take it into the holy of holies and sprinkle that blood anew on the mercy seat

turning it into a mercy seat away from being a judgment seat.

Likewise when they had killed the rams they sprinkled the blood upon the altar they killed also the lambs

and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar and they brought forth the he goats of the sin offering before the king

and the congregation and they laid their hands on them and the priests killed them and they made reconciliation

with their blood upon the altar and when they laid their hands on them this was picturing that they had raised their hands

above the people and taken the sins of the people and laid their hands on the animal and placed that sin on

the animal so the animal would die for their sins which is a picture of jesus of course

and so the priest killed them and they made reconciliation with their

blood upon the altar or to make an atonement for all Israel.

For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals and psalteries and harps,

musical instruments, instruments of David, they called them, and of Gad, the

king's seer, and Nathan, the prophet, for so was the commandment of the Lord by the prophets.".

So now they're glorifying the Lord with music, loud music, Matt, loud

music, and praising God because now they have made the offerings

and they're joyful.

And the Levites stood with the instruments of David and the priests with the trumpets.

And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar, and when the burnt offering began, the song

of the Lord began also with the trumpets and with the instruments ordained by David, king of Israel.

And all the congregation worshiped and the singers sang and the trumpeters trumped, didn't say that.

I just had to say it.

The trumpeters sounded.

And all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

And when they had made an end of the offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves

and worshiped.

Worship always comes at the end of the service, not at the first, like the modern church likes to

do it, with loud music, yes, which I love, but it doesn't cause the worship.

It is an effect of it.

But anyway, that's a whole nother story.

Verse 30, moreover, Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord

with the words of David and Asaph the seer.

So they were singing scripture songs.

They were singing songs from the Psalms.

We do that sometimes.

And they sang praises with gladness and they bowed their heads and worshiped.

Then Hezekiah answered and said, now you have consecrated yourselves unto the Lord.

Come near and bring sacrifices.

So now, that wasn't the end of it.

Now they bring will offerings, free will offerings and sacrifices.

Each family can bring their own and the priest will take care of that for them.

And that priest is a picture of Jesus, our high priest, right?

And then Hezekiah answered and said, now you've consecrated yourselves unto the Lord.

Come near, bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord.

And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings.

And as many as were of a free heart brought burnt offerings.

And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought was three score and 10 bullocks.

So that's 40 bullocks, 100 rams, 200 lambs.

All these were for a burnt offering to the Lord.

And the consecrated things were 600 oxen and 3000 sheep.

But the priests were too few so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings.

Wherefore their brethren, the Levites had to help until the work was ended.

And until the other priest had sanctified themselves for the Levites were more upright in their heart

to sanctify themselves than the priests were.

And in other words, the priests weren't quite ready for this job.

They should have been ready.

And also the burnt offerings were in abundance with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for every

burnt offering.

So the service of the house of God was set in order.

All of this picture is one man, Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross

and his continuing work in heaven as our priest.

And Hezekiah rejoiced and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people for

the thing was done suddenly.

I mean, Hezekiah just said, get it done.

They weren't ready and it happened quickly and it saved the nation for a while.

Chapter 30 verse one, Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters also to Ephraim and

Manasseh that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover.

Now they're gonna start doing the Passover which they had ceased doing unto the Lord God of Israel for the king had

taken counsel and his princes and all the congregation of Jerusalem to keep the Passover in the second month for they

could not keep it at the time at that time because the priest had not sanctified themselves

sufficiently neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem so they weren't ready,

but they did do it.

Now, all of that is pictured beside the

same river, Kidron River in John chapter 17 verse one.

So look at it.

These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, father, the hour is come.

Glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee.

So he's in the garden.

He knows he's about to go to the cross.

The disciples are kind of oblivious.

They're not ready.

Kind of like those priests weren't ready for what's about to happen, but it's about to

happen quickly.

It's going to happen suddenly.

It's all been pictured already hundreds of years prior to this.

As thou has given him power over all flesh, this is Jesus speaking,

that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him.

Now I want you to notice a couple of things about John chapter 17.

First of all, the entire chapter is a prayer.

It's Jesus praying to the father.

How many of you think Jesus' prayers get answered?

All right.

Can you think of one that almost didn't get answered from our viewpoint?

Only from our viewpoint.

When he said, let this cup pass from me, but he didn't put a period there, did he?

That wasn't the end of the sentence or it would not have been answered, but he continued the prayer and what did he say?

Nevertheless, thy will not mine.

So his prayer got answered and God said, no, I can't take the cup from you and I won't.

You're going to the cross.

And so that was quite a night of prayer for the Lord and the disciples were sleeping the whole time he was praying.

That's a picture of us, sadly enough, but this whole

thing is a prayer.

Secondly, this chapter may be one of the

fullest chapters in the Bible that all through it teaches what it's going to teach.

It secondarily teaches election, predestination,

five points of Calvin, because Calvin didn't make the points up.

He was just a Bible scholar who taught people how to study and to remember things easily.

All five points, everything that God teaches is about how

salvation works from that point of view is found in this prayer.

Now, if you ask a question to Jesus, his prayers always get answered, then this is how it works, okay?

This is how salvation works and that's not even what the chapter is about, really.

The chapter is really just telling the story of the last days of Jesus's life on this earth

and his prayer life and the disciples and their lack of prayer life and all this, but in it

is embedded these amazing truths.

And so forgive me if I point them out as we read through the passage.

It's going to end up at the Kidron River, the same place where the filth of the temple was

cast after they cleaned it out.

Verse two, John chapter 17, as thou has given him power over all flesh.

So, you know, the Bible says, I mean, people say in our day and time, this is not the

case if you go back as far as even 150 years ago, but now

everyone says Jesus died for everybody.

He died for the whole world and they think they get that from John 3, 16, but they don't read John 3, 17, John 3, 18,

the verses all around that verse.

It's not what it's teaching, but that's what the world says.

And it is not true that he died for everyone in the sense that they mean it.

You understand what I'm saying?

He did not die in the place of everyone.

And that's what they mean when they say he died for everyone.

But I will say this, he did die for everyone because everyone will either be judged and spend

eternity in hell because of rejecting what he did on the cross, or they will believe and be

saved and spend eternity with him because of what he did on the cross.

So in that sense only, did he die for everyone?

He died for the cosmos to put it back in order is what John 3, 16 actually means.

And that is a fact.

But nevertheless, whether you think he died for everyone in any sense or not, one thing we know that

is true so far is it says, God, the father gave him power over all flesh.

Every single man, woman, boy, and girl who has ever been born since the garden of Eden, since

beyond when they first came out of it till now, and actually till the rapture happens and even

beyond in the thousand year millennial kingdom where they'll still be born, every single

one of the human beings, God, the father gave Jesus power over them.

Now you got to deal with an uncomfortable question if you believe like the modern world believes that God loves everybody and

Jesus died for everybody and all of this.

And that the way you get saved is you come down and the preacher teaches you a prayer formula and they teach you

that your eternal destiny is in your hands and you just make a decision.

Here's the gift, just decide to take it or not.

That's the modern gospel.

It's not even the true gospel.

It's not the gospel of the Bible, but that's the modern gospel.

Now, a problem that you're gonna have is if Jesus has power

over all flesh, why don't they all go to heaven?

Think about it.

You have to think a little bit to go to church here, right?

I mean, you just gotta, or even there online, right?

Why don't they all go to heaven?

Are you telling me that Jesus doesn't choose for them all to go to heaven?

Does that make you feel, you know, I ask a person straight to his face at a trade

way meeting, all of the country we inject scripture into stock market meetings, right?

It's been a blessing.

And some people like it, some people don't.

And they'll come down to me at the break and talk to me about it.

And this one gentleman comes down to me and says, I don't agree with what you're saying about, you know, that

God chooses his own bride.

And I said, well, sir, did you choose your own bride?

Yes.

Well, why don't you think Jesus has the right to choose his own bride?

And so he says, no, I just, like, I don't, I just don't agree that, I don't agree

that that's how it works.

And I said, well, let me ask you this.

Is that because it bothers you that it's not God's will to save everybody?

And he said, absolutely.

I said, well, let me ask you this.

If I could show you in the scripture in many places that it is exactly how God does

it, is he doesn't choose to save everybody, would you still love him?

And he turned and walked away.

After staring in my eyes for a few seconds and thinking about that question, because the answer was no, he

wouldn't.

Because he has invented a different God than the God of the Bible.

He has invented a different Jesus than the Jesus Christ of the Bible who said the words we're reading in

John chapter 17, and he's believing in one he likes better because that one died for everybody and he's gonna

save everybody.

Which is apparently what that gentleman would do if he was God.

But guess what?

He's not.

It upset me a little bit, but it upset him even more.

But when the break was over, I got up and just told the whole group.

I said, look, you know what?

Everybody in this room would probably be divided into about two

groups if you were God.

Half of you, if you were God and man sinned against you like Adam and Eve did, and man

got as bad as man is now, if you just look at stuff going on in this country, children going into

schools and shooting other children.

That never happened when we were growing up.

Did it?

Adults telling their kids they don't know what sex they are and that whatever they

feel like, they can go get that fixed by a surgeon who will do it for money.

Man, we live in a really evil world where it's coming to be known that the heart is

deceitful and desperately wicked above all things who can know it, right?

Like the scripture says.

And so we live in this same kind of time that the world really has always

been in and we imagine a God who loves everybody, but

we'd all be in one of two groups.

One of us, one group of people would just say, well, I'm just gonna wipe them all out and start over.

Who's in that one?

That'd probably be me.

That's my group, right?

If I'm God, I just wipe them out and start over.

The other group would just, if you were God, you would just save everybody, even though they sin.

Just save them.

Just let it go and save them.

Save all of them, right?

But no one is in the group that would do it like God did it.

And no one likes it unless you get saved and the Holy Spirit shows you in scripture it's God's way and

then you learn to love it.

But a natural man and woman, not even kids, don't like the fact that

God took a completely fallen race that hates him, of which none seek God, the Bible says.

Not one.

All have gone their own way.

Not one looks for God.

And he says, I know that, but I'm not gonna destroy them all, even though they deserve it.

I'm gonna save a remnant of them because I love Jesus and he loves humans and I'm gonna give him some of them as a gift.

And that's what God did.

And everyone hates it.

When they really see that that's what the Bible teaches, they go find them a Bible that doesn't teach it.

And then they go find them a God that's different than that God and a Jesus who's different than that Jesus and they worship

that person, whoever that is.

Now, all of this is just my opinion that that's what people do.

That's what I think people do.

But I know that I myself used to think the other way.

I myself used to believe all those things and worship such a false God as that.

But the scripture and the Holy Spirit straightened me out.

Now, let's just look at what Jesus says.

John 17, verse two, as thou has given him power

over all flesh.

Now remember, verse one says, these words speak Jesus.

So this is Jesus talking off.

The entire chapter is Jesus talking.

It's not John the apostle writing it.

It's Jesus talking.

Jesus says in verse two, as thou has given him, and he uses the word him because he's talking about the son of man,

which is he himself.

It's just formal grammar, right?

It's still talking about Jesus.

He could have said me, but he said him, the son of man.

Thou has given him power over all flesh that he should give

eternal life to as many as the father has given

him.

Is that everyone?

Jesus said, narrow is the gate to heaven and few there be therein and broad is the gate to

hell and many there be.

So Jesus knew they're not all going to heaven.

And yet he has power over all flesh.

And guess what he does with that power?

He only saves the few that the father gave him and said, save that one, save that one, save that

one and save that one.

When he healed the people on the earth in his healing ministry, he did not heal everyone.

He only healed the ones the father had told him already to heal and he healed them.

Jesus said, what I do and what I say, I only do and say, because I've seen the father do it.

He was perfectly one with God, the father in complete unity and one in essence

with God, the father and one in mind and one in heart and one in duty

and one in, what's the word I'm looking for?

Operation of how history plays out.

So he only saves the ones that the father has told him to save, but he has power over all humans.

So he could have theoretically saved them all, but he didn't.

Now, do I say that like I rejoice in it?

Probably because I'm pretty serious about doctrine, so I get excited about it, but it's not because I rejoice

in it.

It's just because I'm so happy that I have a Bible that I can read and

that the Holy Spirit can say, look, I wrote it for a farmer to understand or a junior high kid.

You don't have to have a PhD to understand it.

Just read it, read it in context and I will teach you what it means, the Holy Spirit says.

So as we read this, Jesus says, I have power over all flesh, why?

So that I can give eternal life to as many as God gave me.

That's not all of them, that's some of them.

All right, verse three says, and this is life eternal.

Now he's gonna tell you the true gospel, all right?

I mean, it doesn't matter what the world says, really, what matters is what the scripture says.

This is eternal life that they may know thee, the only true

God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent.

So the way a person is saved is they come to know God, the Father and his son, Jesus Christ.

That's the only way a person is saved.

It's not through praying a prayer.

It's not through saying certain word formulas.

It's not through coming to an altar at a church.

It's not through any of the stuff the modern church says.

It's through knowing God personally and his son, Jesus Christ.

Now we could go into several sermons and look at how God says that

he causes his elect to know him and his son, Jesus Christ.

No one comes to me, Jesus said, unless the Father draws him, there's a clue, right?

It says, everyone who believes has been taught by God.

So no one believes in Jesus unless God himself, the Father that is, has taught that person how to

do it.

You see, all of that's between us and God.

It's not the church causing it.

That's Bapto -Catholicism that thinks the church has to call it.

Oh, come down to the altar.

We'll have a group of people come and teach you what to say.

That's Bapto -Catholic.

It's between you and God.

It's called being called by the Holy Spirit.

While we were yet in our sins, hath he quickened us?

That's the cause of salvation and the only cause and everything else is an effect, I like to say.

Say it as often as I can say it, because listen, you know what preachers do?

You study history of preachers.

They tend to preach about the problems that their generation has, the doctrinal issues that their generation

faces and they love those the most.

And it's not that they don't read the whole Bible.

It's just like they hit the thing that needs to be hit again and again.

And so this is the great misunderstanding of the modern church.

And the Baptists, I love the Baptists.

They were probably the last to go full cycle into humanism, away from God being sovereign.

They were the last of all the great denomination, but they've gone through the cycle now.

Not every local church.

There's a lot of good Baptist churches, pockets of them around the country and around the world that understand the scripture,

but if you look at the big movements, they're some modern thing that's not what the Bible teaches.

And it needs to be rebuked and it shall be.

This is eternal life that they may know thee, the only true God, not some God they invent in their mind

because they like him better.

And Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.

I have glorified thee on the earth, Jesus said.

I have finished the work.

There is another great phrase in this passage.

We can go through and study many wonderful theological books

that have a phrase that they use quite often called the finished work of Christ.

And when you go into the chapters of that theology work that talks about the finished work of Christ, it talks about

everything that he accomplished on the cross and when he died.

Everything he did for us so that we could be saved.

We didn't do any of it.

He did all of it.

And it's called the finished work.

And this is what Jesus is referring to.

He said, I have finished the work which you have given me to do.

And now, oh father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I

had with thee before the world was.

Now we're running out of time this morning, but I got to give you this.

Then we'll stop here and pick it up.

Cause we're going to go through the whole chapter.

You know, it doesn't take long really.

Because it's going to end up at the end of chapter 17, the very first verse of chapter 18 and second

verse, which there are no really chapter divisions in the true Greek Bible.

So it just goes right in and it talks about this river, key drone and ties it all in with this whole big study we've been doing.

So we'll get there.

But look at this.

Jesus said in verse five, and now, oh father, glorify thou me with thine own self,

with the glory which I had with thee before the world began.

Before the world, before Genesis 1 .1.

Turn with me to Proverbs chapter eight at verse 22.

If you want to see some of those magnificent scriptures in the whole Bible this morning.

I mean, if this doesn't do something for you, you got to question why,

okay?

I mean, because this is magnificent information that we probably really shouldn't even have as human beings and we

wouldn't have it if it hadn't been revealed directly to us in the word of God.

We would not know this about God.

We would not know this about Jesus Christ.

That's for sure.

Look at it.

Proverbs, Jesus just said the glory that I had with you before anything was created is what he said in John

17.

So Jesus was not created by God like the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses teach.

And a lot of people think that nowadays, but look what the truth is.

Proverbs 8 .22, the Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way.

So you think about God, the father, who is a spirit being, no man has seen him at any

time.

We don't even know what spirit is.

He's everywhere at once.

And I often say tongue in cheek, the only place I can find where he's not is in the heart of a lost person.

But anyway, he's everywhere at once.

He's not in a place though.

He's not, God the father actually is outside of time and space because he would destroy it

if he came into it.

He only comes into it by his son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, Jesus,

Emmanuel, God with us.

And so if you take the father and you think about the beginning of his

way, what is the beginning of the father's way?

Well, you're not gonna be able to answer that question because he's always existed and nobody made him.

But to speak as a human, we have to think in terms of everything having a beginning, don't we?

Well, if you could go to the beginning of God the father, Jesus was already there.

That's the point of this verse.

He says, the Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way.

Now, I think what it means, since we know God the father had no beginning, I think the

way that he's speaking of is physical existence, the creation of the

universe, time, space, and matter in Genesis chapter one, verse one.

And even before the earth was created, the heavens were created because the angels already existed.

Satan already existed, he was not Satan yet.

But God had to make all that stuff too.

And the beginning of the way that Jesus is talking about, since Jesus is the physical aspect of

God, right?

Is the talking about space and time and all of that.

And if you go back to the beginning of that, Jesus was already there with the father.

So Jesus could not have been a created being, he was actually, we find in the book of Colossians, he was

the creator.

By him and for him were all things made.

So the Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way before his works of old,

Genesis 1, 1, right?

I was set up from everlasting.

Now that word from everlasting in Hebrew is olam, and it means the vanishing point, to the vanishing

point.

So you go out as far as the human mind can think, which is pretty far really,

you can imagine, you can go back really far in your imagination.

And however far you go back, Jesus was set up before that,

okay?

He was set up from everlasting.

That is an amazing word that kind of defies time and space.

Using our language, even in time and space, it's beautiful the way this is worded, because it's hard to talk about things like this

when you live in a three -dimensional world, because we're talking about dimensions beyond three.

We don't know how many, but even one dimension beyond three, your mind cannot think.

You cannot draw, try drawing a four -dimensional picture sometime, you can't do it.

People have tried and they look ridiculous, but anyway, you can't do it.

So Jesus was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the

earth was.

So before Genesis 1, 1, and before the six days of creation and the earth's created, Jesus already

was set up.

Now, we have to look at this word set up because we know we have people who like to teach Jesus was

created.

But if we look at the Hebrew, nosak, it means to pour out, or by analogy,

to anoint as king.

So Jesus was not created, but he was poured out.

Now, if you study this enough, what you'll find is that Jesus was with the father

before anything was created, including time, when there was nothing but God.

But when God created time and space and matter, Jesus, who is called Emmanuel,

which means God with us, was poured out into space and time.

He became apparent in our dimension for the first time, and that's what this refers

to.

Verse 24, when there were no depths, there was no ocean yet, Jesus was brought

forth, it says.

When there were no fountains abounding with water, Jesus was brought forth.

Now, we have to look at this word in Hebrew because that looks like, well, was he created?

He was brought forth.

What does that mean?

In the Hebrew, I need glasses here.

It's yashol, and it means to wait by

implication to be patient.

So that's an interesting translation in the old King James language, but literally what it means is when there were no

depths, when the earth hadn't been created yet, I was patient.

Now, that's Jesus talking, not the father.

And Jesus is the one who was about to create all that stuff, and I think he was ready to do it.

He was wanting to do it, but he was patient until the moment when the father said, okay,

let it be.

And then Jesus spoke all of it into existence.

Wow, what an amazing thing.

Verse 25 says, before the mountains were settled, before the hills were, I

was brought forth.

So before the physical globe, earth was created, Jesus was

patient, waiting till the time it would be created.

While as yet he had not made the earth nor the fields nor the highest part of the

dust of the world, when he prepared the heavens, I was there, Jesus says.

Now think about that.

That may be the only place in the Bible, because I've been looking for this for years.

I didn't find it until I put this study together for today.

And I've studied this passage in Proverbs many, many times.

It's one of my very most favorite passages of scripture because of what it reveals to us about Jesus.

But I didn't see this till this time through it.

He talks about the earth, the highest part of the earth, and he says, when he prepared the heavens, I was there.

So that's maybe the only place in the Bible that shows us in scripture that God created the heavens

and the angelic world realm before, you know, before earth and

all of that.

It's interesting because when you see Adam and Eve, six days later, Satan

seems pretty familiar with the place, doesn't he?

When he comes and talks to him.

But anyway, so that's, if you think about it, the place that we call heaven, and

I've had some interesting talks with a lot of people about this, including some of my own grown children have asked me this question.

Well, I didn't think there was time in heaven.

Well, none of us thought that because we all grew up being taught there's no time in heaven, right?

But the Bible actually doesn't teach that.

John was transported into heaven and wrote about that for us, right?

And what he said was, well, he saw a throne.

He saw the picture of the model that's in the temple.

The Holy of Holies is actually the real ones in heaven.

He saw that.

He saw the Shekinah glory hovering over it, just like over the model, only probably more resplendent light and a lot

more of it.

He looked over here to the right -hand side of it and he saw the lamb, which is Jesus, picture of Jesus Christ.

He saw the Holy Spirit, which was pictured as seven lamps, God's perfect number.

He saw all this.

And then he saw elders, which were pastors who had died and gone to heaven and were

in heaven.

And he saw angelic beings, which were alive and could talk to the elders and the elders could talk and sing.

And if you're going to talk, the word to go from my mouth to your ear requires time.

And it's going through space, a place in other words, and it requires time.

Now, time doesn't work like it does here.

Here, every minute that ticks goes against us.

My hair testifies to that, lack thereof or whatever.

Every time I run into old high school friends that I hadn't seen, they just, David, it's the white, like it's

white.

It's not that it's lacking, it's because it's white.

I know that's all it is.

It's not the wrinkles, it's not the face, it's the hair.

Time is not our friend, is it?

But guess what?

Before the garden or in the garden, before they fell, it was their friend.

They just got better and better.

Well, that's the way it is in heaven.

That's the way it'll be for us when we are in that mode, but there is time.

So here, while he had not yet made the earth, when he

was preparing the heavens, which was before he made the earth, obviously, Jesus said, I was there.

When he set a compass upon the face of the globe, that's an old English way of saying a circle.

Set a compass is a circle.

When he made the earth round, Jesus says, I was there.

In verse 30, he says, then at that time, when he made the earth, listen to this, it's amazing.

I was by him as one brought up with him.

Now, remember brought up means to be patient.

I was one that was patient with God, the Father.

And I was, listen to this, daily his delight.

I was the Father's delight daily before anything was made, rejoicing

always before the Father.

All right, now I'm almost done.

I know it's too long today.

I'm trying to go all the way through the Superbowl so we won't even watch it.

You know, I'm not trying to do that, Katie, right?

I will be watching it.

But anyway, even though the Cowboys are not there, God can't bless it, but it'll still happen.

John 17, six now says this, I'm back in Jesus's prayer again.

He says, I have, well, you know, think about why did we even go into Proverbs?

Because Jesus just got through saying, glorify me with the glory that I had with thee before the world was.

And then we were showing some of that detailed information about that.

Now look at verse six, John 17, six, I have manifested thy name unto the men,

which you gave me.

Not to all men, right?

It's not everybody, it's the few, it's the elect.

It's the ones he chose and knew before the foundation of the world.

It's again and again through this prayer.

I manifested God's name to the ones you gave me.

I opened their eyes.

I made them able to understand you, right?

The ones you gave me out of the world.

So the elect is a select few that God plucks out of the world at large, which is a fallen race

doomed for hell.

And he saved some.

See, we don't like it that he didn't save everybody.

And what we should be, if we were right with God, we would just be rejoicing that he saved anybody.

But we're not like that.

We're natural men and women.

So we don't think that way unless we're instructed by scripture to think that way and learn to think that way.

And when we do, we're the most weird of all people.

We're the most hated of all churches.

I've talked to people all over the world.

When I travel, I'll find people that are in a little bitty, and say, yeah, I go to a little church.

We got seven members.

I said, why is that?

He said, well, we believe in election, predestination, everybody else persecutes us.

Again and again, I've heard that on St. Thomas.

I mean, St. Martin, the beautiful little Caribbean island.

St. Martin met this wonderful cab driver.

He sounded just like Brother Otis, just preaching to me the whole time he's driving me to the beach.

And I said, well, what church you go to?

Oh, it's a little, we used to have quite a few members, but most of them left.

We got about seven now.

And I said, well, what are you going to do when the scripture says the islands flee from me, like in the tribulation, and you're

here on this little island, what are you going to do?

He said, I've got to boat.

I said, okay, I've got to boat for that.

So I have manifested thy name to the men which you gave me out of the world,

thine they were, before the foundation of the world, and thou gavest them to me

in time when you called them.

You see it?

It's all right here.

And they have kept your word.

Why?

Because they can and the others can't.

Verse seven, now they have known that all things whatsoever that thou has given

me are of you.

And now I go back into this Proverbs passage.

Look at what he says in verse seven in this prayer, that all things that you have given me,

which means these elect people that were bound for hell and you saved them for me as a love

gift to give them to me because I wanted them.

Right?

That's what he's saying, but I can prove it.

It's not just a David Mitchell theory here.

Although those are nice and interesting.

Maybe wrong, but they're fun to study.

You can shoot them down or not, but whatever.

Proverbs 8 30, look at it.

This is amazing.

Back in Proverbs, Jesus says, then was I by him as one patient with

him and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.

Now look at verse 31, rejoicing in the habitable

part of his earth.

Now, how many planets are there?

How many stars are there?

Who can tell me a number?

You know, it's interesting that I just learned.

I love YouTube.

You can learn stuff there.

It's always true too, I'm sure.

Even YouTube says Trump won the election, but anyway.

So it's always true.

So anyway, so however many stars there are that we can observe, did you know you have that many

neurons in your brain?

The same number, relatively.

Does that blow your mind?

You think all that happened by accident?

Oh my goodness.

But look at this.

Whatever that number is of stars, most of those stars have planets.

So multiply, how many planets do we have now?

Because the ones I studied, they got rid of like Pluto.

They don't believe in it anymore, but I still do.

But anyway, so how many planets do we have?

I don't remember.

Where's nine?

Where's Maddie?

Would she agree?

If she does, I'll say you're right.

Sam, Sammo, how many planets we got?

How many planets are there?

Very good, Ron.

So multiply the gazillions of stars we can see times nine.

And that's how many planets we've got, maybe.

So out of all of those gazillions of planets that God created,

there was one that Jesus loved.

Guess what its name was?

The earth.

Rejoicing in the habitable part of the earth and my delights were with the sons of

men.

Not the Klingons, not any other aliens from anywhere

else, but the humans on the earth.

Some people think it presented a problem for God when Adam and Eve fell and that he quickly adjusted

in order to come up with a plan because it didn't work out right.

Some of us believe it was his plan.

Otherwise we would never have seen the cross.

But nevertheless, one thing that we know is that

should Jesus have ever been concerned about the human race when they fell, that maybe he's losing them all

and they're all going to hell and we'll be just out destroyed out of his sight anyway forever.

And he'll never have anything to do with them or the earth again.

The father said, guess what?

Merry Christmas, son.

I'm giving you the elect.

I'm going to pluck firebrands from a fallen race one at a time throughout time by my

Holy Spirit on exactly their spiritual birthday.

I'm going to totally open their eyes where they know me and they know you and you can give them the word

and it'll make sense to them over time anyway.

And I'm going to give them to you forever.

Just a small remnant of all the human race, but the race will not be lost because they

will have babies and some of them will be saved and eventually they'll go into the millennial kingdom and

it'll be populated with Jews, Gentiles and they'll all be yours and you'll serve as their king for a thousand years.

How do you like my gift?

And Jesus jumped up and down and wrote Proverbs 8.

Let's stand and have prayer together.

Father, thank you so much for your word.

We ask you to bless it.

Lord, we tried to go a little extra long today so you'll forgive us for watching the Superbowl game later.

And we thank you for all things, Lord.

The things, little things we enjoy.

Thank you for all of it.

But thank you most of all for your son, Jesus Christ that you gave him, not

only gave us as a love gift to him but you gave him as a love gift to us because you knew us

too before the foundation of the world.

And thank you for that.

Thank you that you've given us the scripture and protected it.

You've given us each other and you've given us a heart and a love for one another and for you.

And Lord bless the meal we're about to have today in our fellowship time as well.

In Jesus name, amen.

You are finally dismissed.

That's a new record maybe, I'm not sure.