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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/bruce-rodgers/christ-the-pattern-of-faithfulness-and-commitment/
In looking at the subject of commitment and faithfulness, last night we were thinking about the deteriorating condition of our culture and even we've discovered it in our own lives as well, a diminishing, a breaking down of commitment and faithfulness.
And we began to think about where commitment really comes from, its true foundation, and we discovered that it comes from God himself. It's rooted in his own character, God, the faithful God, the one that we have come to know and to experience.
Just in closing, last night I was touching a little bit on what gives it its force, what compels it, and I'll just remind you of those again. The lowest level, we might call, of commitment is arising out of a sense of need, the recognition that we need God, we need Christ.
And even though we believe in a moment of salvation and an eternal salvation, we need him every day, every moment of the day. And so that reason alone should be enough to keep us close to him. But then we were also thinking about appreciation love, appreciation for what he has done, appreciation for what he is.
And that is a higher motivation, and we made reference to the love of Christ, which constrains me. We also mentioned covenant love. And covenant love is that faithfulness that arises from within oneself, despite failure, despite limitations, despite disappointment, because it is of God to be faithful.
And there are two others that I didn't mention last night, and I'm just going to mention them quickly now. And I call the fourth one loyalty love. You've heard of the employee who's the epitome of loyalty to the company, the manager who takes the business as his own.
Well, we ought to be loyal. I'm just going to read Titus chapter 1, verse 2 says, In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the world began, but has in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is or which was committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior.
So here's an expression of loyalty that the Apostle Paul acknowledges his work, his ministry as a stewardship committed to him of the one who is God our Savior. The faithful, eternal God who promised eternal life.
It's nice to know that God always had this in his heart, to have people with him forever, to enjoy him forever. And even though sin has corrupted that and destroyed that, God has set to work to bring about the recovery of that plan.
And the message of salvation is that plan, loyalty love. And the last one I wanted to mention was gift love. And that's in the sense, not now my commitment to another person because of the beauty I see in that person or the goodness or the need I have of that person, but simply the love that gives because we care.
And I'm thinking of Romans 6 and 23 and Romans 8 and 32, where it says that he that spared not his own son, but freely gave him up for us all. So we have this idea of compassion, of care, of interest in the need of others.
And that in itself also is a very compelling element of commitment in God's things. Do we really care? Do we have his care, his compassion? And so that's really looking at God. And I want to notice a couple of verses in Ephesians chapter 5, which bring together what I'm thinking of or have been thinking about, sort of a transition from looking at God and our relationship to God to thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ and his work for God on the earth.
Ephesians 5 and 1 says, Be ye therefore followers of God, literally imitators of God as dear children, beloved children, and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.
Now, if you look at the context of this, therefore, be ye therefore imitators of God, it's about how we care for one another and the attitudes that we have for one another. Getting rid of all bitterness, all wrath, all envy, all malice, and all of these bad attitudes towards other people.
And in contrast, to be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ has forgiven you. So we're being drawn directly once again to God's attitude, God's action toward us.
He showed kindness. He showed grace. We have become his children. And one of the most interesting things to watch is, especially in little children, where little children imitate their parents, picking up the very same mannerisms, talking the same way.
Why? Why do they do that? Well, it's because Dad's my hero, and most dads would say, if only it would last. How often it happens that that idolizing, if we want to use that in a good way, of one's father or mother turns into a contempt, a rebelliousness, a contempt.
Do you know that that never happened with Christ? I want to look at that in a moment. Be ye therefore imitators of God as beloved children. As obedient, beloved children who love their father and who delight to imitate him.
Not only to appreciate him, but to imitate him. You know, that is the greatest praise that you could ever give to somebody, is to try to be like them. Then it goes on to say, and walk in love as Christ also loved us and has given himself for us.
Now here's the pattern. You know, I used to, as a young Christian, hear so much about the pattern, the pattern, the pattern. And usually it was in reference to assembly gatherings. And there's a lot of emphasis put upon a scriptural pattern.
One thing I have come to appreciate is that the pattern is not just on paper. The pattern is in people. And the supreme pattern is Christ himself. He's the pattern. And so we are to walk in love. We are to live out our lives in the element of love.
In the character of love. In the motivation of love. As Christ also loved us. And gave himself for us. Here's the character of that love that he gave himself. He sacrificed himself for our need. But you notice that it doesn't just stop there.
He did it for us, but he did it unto God. And there's a very important principle that is involved here. He loved us. He gave himself for us. An offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.
So even though he did it for our sakes. To help us. To rescue us. He did it as an expression of devotion and worship of God. And I guess we need to ask ourselves the question. How far has my love for God moved me?
How much has my devotion to God. My worship of God. Drawn me to serve. To sacrifice myself for others. Because this is the heart of God. This is the work of God. So I want to look with you then at the Lord Jesus as our great pattern.
And we want to look at a little bit of his early life to start with. Just for a little bit of you might say context of his life. Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2. The first glimpse that we have of the Lord Jesus as to his character and development.
Is given in Luke 2 and verse 40. And it says. And the child, the young child grew. And waxed strong in spirit. He became strong in spirit. Filled with wisdom. And the grace of God was upon him. Now I wonder what age he was.
What age that's describing. A young boy. He's becoming strong in spirit. He is filled with wisdom. And it says the grace of God was upon him. Do you know that the Lord Jesus becomes your model. Your pattern the moment that you get saved.
And it's interesting that right from his childhood up through into adulthood. Right through to his death. You can connect with him. You can relate to him. If you happen to be blessed as one who was saved as a young child.
You can recognize that the Lord Jesus is my example. I can draw strength and encouragement from what he's like. And so I want to just give you a few glimpses that are given to us here in Luke chapter 2.
The next part of it is given to us in verse 41 down. In verse 42 it says. And when he was 12 years old. They went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And you know the story how they go up there and they return after the Passover.
And they thought that he was in the company and he wasn't. Verse 46. Wished you not. Don't you know that I must be about my father's business. And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. One of the things that I appreciate is that God draws near to little children.
That's why I'm always glad to see an act of children's work in an assembly. The Lord Jesus made it very clear that children are the closest to the kingdom of God. Because they're the most unencumbered by worldly things.
But the world is working pretty hard today to entrap, to ensnare young minds. To occupy them so that they never think about spiritual things. But it's very, very common for young children to have thoughts about God at a very early age.
And so here you have a 12-year-old boy with a clear understanding of the Father and his business. Spiritual things. And so I want to just encourage those of you who are parents and are grandparents to do the utmost that you can to bring the little ones under the influence of God.
That's why I love to see little children at meetings. And it's wonderful when they are exposed to the Word of God in the home. And have the opportunity to see that God matters. God is important. And to learn the principles of God at an early age.
Because God is interested in young hearts. And here is a young boy, 12 years of age. And he recognizes a priority of life that God is first. And God's interests are first in his life. So the Lord Jesus, even at that age, manifests this interest in the things of the Father.
But you notice that he also has a balanced spirituality. He was no doubt more spiritually minded, more wise than his parents were. And I'm just using the word parents in an ordinary sense. We know that Joseph wasn't his actual father.
And he makes that clear in this passage. But it says he was subject unto his parents. And so at that stage of life, he reflects a godliness that is suited to his age. Do you know that obedience, submission to parental authority, is the very first commandment?
And the commandment with a promise? In other words, God's blessing upon our lives follows along this track of our submission to authority. That's a fundamental spiritual law. So it's not that you are totally dependent upon the kind of care or parenting that you were given for your blessing.
It is equally important, and I would suggest even more important, what your attitude is. A willing, submissive, obedient spirit is a spirit that is being prepared to serve God, to honor him. And so in this passage, then, we have him increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.
It will be another 18 years before he is going to burst upon the scene in public ministry. And when he does, at the age of 30, and he goes to be associated with, identified with, the baptism of John, as John sees him coming and realizes that Jesus is coming to be baptized by him, John tries to stop him.
And he says, no, I need to be baptized by you. Now that's a testimony. John calling the people to repentance, boldly denouncing the hypocritical leaders of the nation. But when Jesus walks into his pathway, he says, I can't baptize you.
I need to be baptized by you. And if we follow the scriptures carefully, we will see that John makes a testimony that he didn't know that Jesus was the anointed. He didn't know that he was the Christ until he was actually baptized and the sign is given of the Holy Spirit descending and resting upon him.
And then he gives his witness, I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God. And so his appreciation of Christ was upon his godliness, his personal life. And so I want to just emphasize that, that before you think about what can I do for God, what can I be for God in active service?
The most important thing that you can be is to be a godly Christian, an obedient Christian, one who is devoted to God and whose life expresses righteousness. Let's go over to John chapter 4 and we'll see some of this motivation that is presented to us.
John chapter 4, the story of the meeting with a woman from Samaria. And she goes, leaves her water pot and goes into the city. Verse 31, meanwhile his disciples prayed him saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that you know not of.
Therefore said the disciples one to another, has any man brought him ought to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat or my food is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. Now have you looked at this passage and asked yourself the question, in what sense is food being looked at here?
The disciples were thinking of food in the sense of sustenance. He must be famished by now, he must need food badly. But the Lord answers in this interesting way, My food is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work.
I'm going to suggest to you that we're looking at food here more in the sense of satisfaction than in sustenance. It's not so much what enabled him to keep going as what motivated him to keep going. You know, addictions are a big thing today.
What do you live on? What controls your motivations? Could you say, my food is to fulfill God's will? Well, you might say, well, you know, I try to do what's right. I try to honor the Lord, I try to do some things for him.
But this is something beyond that, isn't it? Here is someone saying, my food, what I live on, what I live for, is to do my Father's will. So this is the power of devotion. You've heard the book, it's been a very popular book in recent years, The Purpose Driven Life.
It's a good title, it's a good concept, although I think I have some problems with the author. But I would call this not a purpose driven life, but a purpose drawn life. Not so much driven by a sense of purpose, but actually drawn by it.
Just like the addict is drawn back to what has become his craving, his need. You know, the tragedy of our day is that most people today are drawn by pleasure. And probably tomorrow night I'll look at that a little bit more from 2 Timothy 3.
One of the defining characteristics of the last days is men shall be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Instead of living to please God, we are living to please ourselves. But here is the supreme example for our lives, the Lord Jesus himself.
The one who, if anyone, should be served hand and foot here in this world. He is totally devoted to fulfilling the will of someone else, the Father. Let's notice chapter 8, verse 29. John 8 and 29. And he that sent me is with me.
The Father has not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. You know, I remember reading quite a number of years ago in a book on parenting and so on, family counseling, that one thing that parents have to start with is that one of the greatest motivations of a child, a young child, is to please mom or dad.
It's one of the greatest motivations and longings in a little child's heart to please mom and dad. That's one reason why it's so destructive, so devastating when parents split up. Because the children is torn between an impossible thing to reconcile in his or her little mind, how to please mom, how to please dad, how to be loyal to mom, how to be loyal to dad, and they're constantly being torn back and forth, back and forth.
But this is one vital, important lever, that desire to please. And again, that can be destroyed. There's enough in the fallen nature to destroy it, and children can come to the place where they have no interest in pleasing mom or dad, but only to please themselves.
But if that desire can be cultivated and encouraged, and a parent can show that love to that child that keeps drawing out that longing to be pleasing to mom and dad, it's a tremendously valuable thing.
Do you know what happens when that fails? We have a young person growing up who is conflicted inwardly all the time. And even when he or she goes his or her own way and lives life on his own terms or her own terms, he still carries within him this inner conflict of wishing that he could be pleasing to mom or dad.
And some of the most troubled people are those who have never been able to experience a parental-child relationship where there is this sense of knowing that I am not only loved, but approved and pleasing to them.
I'm going to ask you a personal question, a direct question. Do you have any consciousness within you as to whether you are pleasing to your Heavenly Father? Do you make your choices daily with this desire to be pleasing, and to carry within you the joy and the confidence that what I am doing is pleasing my Father, pleasing my Savior?
That is a very important aspect of spiritual life, because we are to live our lives in touch with God, in fellowship with Him. So the Lord Jesus speaks about this, the joy of having the Father with me.
The Father has not left me alone, because I do always those things that please the Father. Let's go to chapter 14, the last verse of the chapter. He's about to leave the upper room and to go to Gethsemane, and he says,.
But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. To where? To Gethsemane and to Calvary. As the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.
Even to the point of death. Now that's devotion. He must think a lot of his Father. He must be held, controlled, by that appreciation and love for the Father. And you know that that's what the Lord Jesus came to bring to us.
He came from that eternal invisible realm, to make God known to us in the character of Father, that we might be able to enter into a true relationship with God, to come to know the God of eternity, in this direct personal way, as my Father, as your Father, and that we would have this same appreciation and love for the Father.
So that's the desire that the Savior has in his relationship to God and to us. Now I want to try to move into John chapter 17, and I want to touch on something that I often have given along with the Stewardship Series, which you endured through last fall, and I don't know how much of it you still remember, but this actually gives a little pre-see of some of that same material in John chapter 17.
John chapter 17 is a prayer, and we most often think of it as the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus, and it certainly is that. The Lord Jesus is standing, as it were, just at the gate of death. He's about to leave this world to go to the Father, and he prays deliberately in the hearing of his disciples, so that they might know his interest in them, and his intercession for them to the Father.
But it is at the same time a beautiful pattern for us of stewardship, and Christ is here as the pattern steward giving account to the Father. Notice how the chapter opens, John 17 and 1,. And 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. Verse 4, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of or from thee, for I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me.
And they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them.
And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world. And I come to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name.
Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. And he mentions in verse 13 that my joy might be fulfilled in themselves.
Verse 14, I have given them thy word. And then verse 17, sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. Now there's so much in this chapter, but I want to just draw attention to this emphasis upon Christ as a pattern steward.
What we have here is a glimpse of the Savior as he presents to the Father his account of his stewardship. I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. You know that you and I have a stewardship.
Each one of us have a ministry. We have been entrusted with part of God's work, and there is a day coming when each one of us individually, before the Lord, must present our account. What is that all in view of?
Of being in his kingdom. Of serving him. Of worshiping him forever. Of being associated with Christ in his eternal kingdom. This is not small stuff. This is our real future. And so the Lord Jesus, as about to leave this world, to go into the Father's presence, he is giving account of his faithfulness to God, his commitment to God and to his things.
And so I want to just touch on four areas of responsibility fulfilled. And in each one of these areas of responsibility, there's a certain relationship in which he fulfills it, particularly. So the very first one in verse 4 is to God himself directly.
I have glorified thee. And so I'm going to suggest this is in relationship to the name of God. And he has glorified him in the relationship of son. Just like you. Just like me. We also are children of God.
And our fundamental stewardship, our greatest stewardship, is living out our life to the honor of our Father in heaven. So that we would so live our life that people would see us and glorify God. That people would observe our behavior, our attitudes, and be convinced that there's a God in heaven.
And have a good idea of his character. When it says, I have glorified you on the earth, not only did he speak about God, but he reflected God's character. He revealed God in all that he is. And that is our greatest stewardship.
And that is the most personal, direct stewardship. You notice he not only says, I have glorified thee, he says in verse 6, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou hast given me. The word name is used here a number of times.
So what's in a name? Well, if you didn't know me whatsoever, my name wouldn't really mean anything to you. It would just be a label for somebody that's coming to visit you. But if I had been around for 25 years, 40 years, my name would instantly carry a reputation.
And so the name of a person becomes intertwined with the reputation that they carry, their testimony. And so when the Lord says, I have manifested thy name, he is saying, I have been true to all that you are.
And I have revealed you completely as you truly are. And that is our calling. That is our greatest stewardship. You see, people, people gauge what God is like from what they see of us, from what they gather from our attitudes, our behavior, as well as the testimony that we give directly.
And so not only the direct responsibility of reflecting God's character, but the next part of that verse, verse 4, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And so in relation to the work of God, not now the name of God, but the work of God, and that is in the relationship as a servant.
Each one of us are called to serve. He is the sovereign. We are the servants. Do we acknowledge that? Or do we actually live as if we're on equal terms with God? That we can please him when it pleases us to please him.
We can honor him when it suits us to honor him. But when we want to please ourselves, we'll please ourselves. You know, that's really putting yourself above God to recognize that he is the sovereign, that he is the master, and that I am a servant to him, obligated to him, accountable to him.
And the Lord says, I have finished. I've completed the work you gave me to do. Now, personally, I have no problem seeing this include the work of the cross, even though he has not yet gone to Calvary.
But just from verse 11, when he says, And now I am no more in the world. I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world. Well, he was literally very much still in the world. But he is doing it from the perspective of departing and being with the Father.
And so, I know you can debate whether this includes Calvary or not, but I have no difficulty in accepting this as being all part of what he's talking about. I have finished the work. Now, that's quite a thing for him to declare before he actually physically has done it.
I have finished the work that you gave me to do. So, so completely committed to everything that God would ever ask him to fulfill that he could make this declaration. If you're anything like me, as you think about your life, you will look back, and it's rather patchy.
And along our life's pathway, there are these monuments of good intentions, of things that we thought and recognized that we should do for God. We never got around to it. We never completed it. And I didn't even mention from Luke chapter 2, which was one of my starting points, remember what the Savior said, I must be about my Father's business.
Now, this is one of the critical differences between a useful, successful life and a lot of regret. How many times do we say, I should. I should be doing this. I really should go there and see this person.
I really should get studying the Word of God. I really should be helping out in this work. And then we manage to talk ourselves out of it. I should acknowledges an obligation, but doesn't make a commitment.
It doesn't necessarily mean you've committed yourself to doing it. When you say, I must, you have not only acknowledged an obligation to do it, but you have made the commitment. I must do this. You know that this is characteristic of the Lord's life.
At the age of 12, I must be about my Father's business. John chapter 9, I must do the works of Him that sent me. Now, there's a number of verses, I'm not going to go into them now, where He makes that kind of statement.
The Son of Man must be lifted up. This is something that He recognized is a necessity, and it must be fulfilled. Here He is, you might say, at the conclusion of it. He says, I finished it. I finished it.
I've accomplished it. So this is the pattern of commitment and faithfulness that we see in Him. There's another emphasis given quite a number of times in this chapter as well, and that is to the Word of God.
I have given unto them Thy Word, Thy sayings, and Thy Word in its totality. And so this is in the relationship as the teacher, as the one who is the one explaining to us, communicating to us the revelation of God, as the teacher.
He has given to us faithfully everything that God gave Him to teach. Now, there's something that I want you to pick up on, and that is this. His stewardship becomes our stewardship. Because this chapter is not only talking about the termination of His stewardship on earth, of His completing.
I have done this. I have done this. I have done this. But He's transitioning to the glory, and He's transferring responsibility to us. And you get that in verse 18. As, or according as, Thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
You say, yes, but we've always been in the world. Yes, but He's taken us out of the world. He has removed us from being part of this world. And now He is sending us back into the world as missionaries.
Do we recognize that? Do we accept that? That His call in salvation is not just separating us from our judgment, our eternal damnation. It is also severing us from the world that's still going there, but then turns us around and sends us back into the world with a purpose of perpetuating the work which He came to do.
And so every one of these aspects of responsibility now come upon us in some capacity. To the name of God, to the work of God, to the word of God. We have been given a tremendous revelation of God. Someone was just speaking tonight at the supper table about that we're really the most blessed and fortunate people that live on this earth.
To have the truth of God, to have been given the gospel, to know salvation, to be given so much truth. It now is our responsibility. And this is where we again get these strong terms of commitment and faithfulness.
Paul speaking to Timothy at the close of his stewardship, 2 Timothy chapter 1 and chapter 2, he says, the things which you have heard from me, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.
And so each generation holds a stewardship of the truth of God. And again, if we lose our commitment to the truth of God, it's not going to be perpetuated. It's not going to be available to our children and to our grandchildren, to our neighbors and to others who will be saved and brought into the kingdom of God.
Finally, the last one that is emphasized here is the people of God. Notice how many times he mentions the men which thou gave us me out of the world. Verse 6, thine they were, thou gavest them me, they have kept thy word.
But notice verse 11 down to verse 13, the emphasis upon being kept. He says, in the middle of verse 11, Holy Father, keep through thine own name or keep in thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I have kept or guarded, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Now, recently I mentioned to my audience that if we were to issue 25-year certificates for shepherds and for assemblies where there's been nobody lost, I wonder how many of us would get one. I've been around, moved around a number of times.
This is at least the fourth assembly that I have lived in. In Ontario, where I am presently in Sudbury. And I look back over the years of assembly life at believers who were once among us. Believers, some who got saved, and then something happened.
And they're not with us today. Some of them, you wouldn't know whether they're Christians or not today. Sometimes they were stumbled by someone else's criticism. Sometimes it was just their own failing.
And maybe we didn't pursue them diligently enough to see them recovered. What a testimony, what a declaration to be able to declare before the Father, those that you gave to me, I kept. None of them is lost except the son of perdition that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
You know, it's possible for us to be personally devoted to God, faithful to God, to be totally committed to the Word of God and to the work of God, and yet somehow miss commitment to the people of God.
Somehow miss the reality that everyone who comes into salvation becomes one of those precious sheep that the shepherd loves and wants to see protected and preserved. And one of the highest callings of God is to shepherd God's flock.
And I would say today that the need is so great. The ways in which people are drawn out of the pathway of God, there's so many of them today, that we shouldn't leave all of the responsibility to those that we will call officially the shepherds of the assembly.
Every one of us needs to feel a shepherd responsibility for other Christians. You notice something else that he says here. While I was with them, verse 12, I kept them in thy name. Here again we get that important connection with his name.
So I would suggest that this means more than just I managed to keep them together and keep them as a group despite all their squabbling and idiosyncrasies. I managed to keep them together. I kept them in your name means that he kept them in fellowship with God.
He kept them in harmony with what God is. And that is an even bigger challenge than just not losing members of the assembly, as we might say speaking locally. But that we keep them, shepherding them, guiding them, counseling them, instructing them, so that they are molded and kept in fellowship with God himself.
Just as 1 Corinthians chapter 1 that we were reading last night, God is faithful who has called you unto the fellowship of his son. Are we really in fellowship with God? You know, I think one of the critical things that is happening today is that we are forgetting that it's not just to agree with one another enough to hold together as a church group, but to be held together in fellowship with all that God is.
We are losing sight of God. And the reality that we all are constantly being drawn out of fellowship with God. We're always being dragged down and we need to encourage, strengthen, stabilize, help one another to walk before God.
So here's a testimony of the one who is our great pattern, of the Lord himself, personally, totally devoted to the Father, pleasing him and in his relationship to the people of God, to be a true shepherd, keeping us for God in his name.
Shall we pray? Our Father, we bow in thy presence. We pray that thou would renew our thinking, rekindle our own zeal and faithfulness for thy name, to remember that the assembly is not our assembly, and it is not our prerogative to make up the rules or the standards, but it is thy word.
It is thy character. It is thy presence. And so we pray that thou might draw us to thyself. Help us to become warmed up again in our spirits, restored to thyself. Our Father, we would cry to thee that we might gather strength, not only from thine eternal faithfulness, but the wonderful example and the pattern that our Lord Jesus has presented to us.
The recognition that thou art worthy of our trust, that thou art worthy of our love and devotion, worthy that we should lay down our lives to please thee and to serve thine interests. And so we would look to thee tonight and pray that thou might stir our hearts to fight against the current of our age and to live to please thee.
We ask thee for this in the precious name of our Lord Jesus. Amen. Could we try singing together 416? 4 -1 -6. And kindly remember the meeting tomorrow night.