Matthew chapter 11

And before we read the 11th chapter of Matthew this morning,

let's go to the Lord in prayer.

I want to read the prayer that the

Apostle Paul prayed for the church at Ephesus.

Prayer unto the Lord.

The Apostle Paul said,.

For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole

family in heaven and earth is named.

He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,.

To be strengthened with might through

His Spirit in the inner man,.

That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded

in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and

depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge,

that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

And Paul went on to say this in that prayer,.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all

that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to

Him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ to all

generations forever and ever.

Amen.

Amen.

And I know I've done that before.

For the prayer I've read from Psalms, those imprecatory Psalms, those

forgiveness Psalms, and today we read through this.

But it is very, very important for you to know, Rob

mentioned it in passing in Sunday school this morning, that God is glorified

in His church in this world.

God is glorified when His people

are filled with the knowledge of Him and His will.

And how is that worked out?

How is that accomplished?

That is accomplished and worked out by the primary means, by the

ordinary means of grace, by you coming and gathering in God's house and us

together corporately praying and us together corporately reading and studying God's

word and us together and corporately hearing the word of God read aloud and for

us corporately being actively involved in the preaching of God's

word, when the preacher preaches God's word.

It's when you are taking in God's word.

It's when you are not only listening in passing, but you

are actively listening to what is being said and what is being spoken.

The children, the young people, when you come out of class every morning, even when I asked you about

last week's message, Hannah, it is important, it's not something that just

the young people in the church need to be doing, but it's something that the older folks in the church need to be

doing, being constantly aware of what thus says the word of God.

And when we open up the Bible and you, in your hearing, hear

what is read, you are hearing the words of the living God.

And you ought to pay attention closely to it.

For it is in paying attention, it is in learning, it is in understanding, it is in taking these

steps that are intentional steps, when you take notes, when you consider what's being

said.

Some of you have wonderful memories.

You may not need to take notes.

But if you're learning anything as you get older, you're learning that your mind is not what it used to be.

Amen?

Somebody?

It is not.

I remember when I was a child, I was in Cub Scouts, and you're supposed to memorize little bits to get

your badges.

I memorized, I believe, the whole Cub Scout handbook.

I thought my Cub Scout leader was going to just smack me to tell me to shut up.

I was just rattling it off.

But I can't remember like that anymore.

And I would dare say many of you cannot.

It's important for you to take intentional steps to help yourself, aid yourself in learning.

So, again, the Apostle Paul prayed that they would be filled with the knowledge of God and His will,

that the church there, and as is our desire today, that you would be filled with the

knowledge of Christ, that you would know the breadth, the length, the depth, the height of the knowledge of the

love of God, how high it goes, how far it goes, how deep it goes, how wide it goes.

And I know this is not something that's possible by natural human means, but it's something that

the Spirit of God will do in you as a believer.

He will bury His word deep within you so that you can apply it and understand it and know it and

love Him better and better.

And Paul said, to Him be glory in the church.

The church is where God is glorified, who is called to be salt and light as we learned in Sunday school

this morning, Rob.

It is the church of Jesus Christ.

But as we turn to Matthew chapter 11, and we're going to read there the entire 11th

chapter this morning, I wanted to say all that, I guess, to

lay kind of the groundwork, to lay a bit of foundation for this in understanding and

knowing and desiring for you to be filled with all the knowledge of the will of God and for you to be

salt and light in this world.

It is not a desire or it is not a want

that your elders here have, that your Sunday school teachers here have for you,

that the song leaders have for you.

It is not just a natural desire, but it is what is called

for from the word of God.

And it is not expected that you can just always be, have your head up in the

clouds because sometimes,.

As the old saying goes, sometimes you don't feel like soaring with the eagle,.

Sometimes you're on the ground clucking like with the chickens, right?

Sometimes, many times in our lives,.

Many of us,

that the troubles of this life have overwhelmed us,.

That the problems in this world are not worth us fighting after, but as we learned again in Sunday

school, going back to Sunday school, human life is valuable and the

souls of men are valuable and it is the church's great

task and responsibility to proclaim the good news of the

message of Jesus Christ to all in this world.

We are not responsible for the response of men and women in this world, but we are responsible

to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And as a matter of fact, that being said, back in the 1600s, the Canons of

Dort that were written, I just want to read you a statement that one of the articles in the Canons of Dort concerning Christ's

death, his redemption of men, and this is what the old timers, how they perceived

and how they taught others that the gospel was to be proclaimed, they said this,.

Moreover, the promise of the gospel is, that whosoever believeth in Christ crucified

shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

This promise, together with the command to repent and believe, ought to be declared and

published to all nations and to all persons, and you've got to understand how old this is,

they said it ought to be pronounced, proclaimed to publish to all nations, to all persons,

promiscuously, and without distinction, to whom God, out of his good pleasure, sends

the gospel.

How should we be proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ?

We ought to be doing it promiscuously.

We ought to be throwing it out at every hand.

Every time that we turn around ought to be a cause for us to share the gospel with this

lost and this dying world.

Again, it's not expected that you always have your heads in the cloud, but as

we're going to see here from the 11th chapter of Matthew today, we're going to be seeing four things in

this chapter itself.

If you want to write these down, first thing we're going to look at is John's heartfelt

inquiry unto Jesus, John's questioning Jesus.

The next thing we're going to see is Jesus' informational response.

The third thing that we'll see is Jesus' insight into his generation at the time.

And the fourth thing that we're going to look at in the last few verses of that chapter is

Jesus' encouraging prayer and Jesus' call to come

unto him.

John's inquiry, Jesus' informational response, Jesus' insight into his generation,

and Jesus' encouraging prayer and call to come unto him.

The Bible says in Matthew 11, verse 1,.

Now it came to pass when Jesus finished commanding his twelve disciples that he departed from

there to teach and to preach in their cities.

And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and

said to him, Are you the coming one, or do we look for another?

This is John's inquiry.

This was John's question.

This was from his heart.

This is John the Baptist, by the way, that the Scripture is speaking of, just to be very

clear and to be very certain.

This is John the Baptist.

This is John the Baptist, the one who had been called to be the forerunner of Jesus

Christ.

This is John the Baptist who the angel Gabriel came and announced his birth to

Elizabeth, his mother, and to Zacharias while Zacharias was in the temple.

And by the way, when we begin our study of the book of Luke in a week or two, we're going to be looking in depth at that.

But this is that John the Baptist who proclaimed the acceptable

year of the Lord, who went out to make the way in the desert for the

Lord Jesus Christ himself, the one who preached repentance and remission of

sins unto Jesus Christ.

This is that same John.

This is that same John from his mother's womb when Jesus

was in Mary's womb and the two mothers came together into the same womb.

This is the same John who left in his mother's womb being filled with the Holy Spirit from that time.

This is that John.

This is the John who, baptizing down at the Jordan River,

waiting on the coming of the Messiah, having been told by God that he would know

the Messiah when he came because he would bear witness that he was the Messiah.

And so when John is baptizing at the river, Jesus comes up on the hillside.

John recognizes him for who he is, it's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

He points his finger unto Jesus.

Jesus comes down to the water where John is baptizing and Jesus says, I must

be baptized by you.

This is that same John who recognizes that he is a man standing

before the Holy Lord of glory in human flesh.

And he says, no, it is I who must be baptized by you.

And it's this same John.

This same John the Baptist who the words of Christ rang in his ears and it said, no, it must be

so that all righteousness is fulfilled.

This same John experienced the person of Jesus Christ.

This same John who baptized Jesus Christ and when Jesus Christ was

raised up out of the water, the Spirit of God descended on him and lit on him

like a dove and remained on him.

This is what John saw.

And it is this same John who after preaching, being the forerunner of Jesus Christ,

is taken by the wicked king Herod and by,

but remember this, under the divine sovereignty and providence of God

is taken by the wicked hands of Herod and is imprisoned and is soon

going to be beheaded for his stance on the truth of the Scripture and the

holiness of God and God's righteous judgment of sin.

This man, because he is just that, a man

that is susceptible to the flesh, who is

susceptible to being overcome, a man who is susceptible to depression and

sorrow and sadness in this world, he was yet a man, but he was God's man.

And God's man here sincerely was doubting and questioning

everything that he had spent his entire life doing and wondering, is

Jesus the one?

This is John's inquiry.

John sends two of his disciples and he asks Jesus, he says, go ask Jesus this,

are you the coming one?

Are you that unique one?

Are you the Messiah?

Or do we need to look for another?

And again, this is John's sincere inquiry.

Next, notice Jesus' informational response.

Jesus could simply have said, yep, dropped the mic

and walked away.

But Jesus' response was informational.

It was very important and it was very encouraging.

Jesus answered and said to them, you go and you tell John the things which you hear

and the things which you see.

You tell John the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed

and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the

gospel preached to them.

You go tell John that you see these things.

You go tell John about how Jairus came to me and asked me to come

and to help his daughter and his daughter died.

And you go tell him how Jairus said he knew he wasn't worthy, he was a man under

authority, he knew what it was to have people under authority to him, but he just asked that Jesus would speak the word

and his daughter would be healed.

And his daughter at that same hour was raised up from the dead.

You go tell John the blind received their sight.

In your time throughout this week, I encourage you to read chapter 8 and 9 and 10 leading up to

this 11th chapter in Matthew because you'll see that the lepers who came to him

asked him to heal them, to cleanse them, and Jesus cleansed them.

You'll see how Peter's mother -in -law was raised from her sickbed.

You'll see how Jesus, who being having authority over the heavens and the earth, still

to see that the disciples were scared to death to be on.

You'll see how Jesus cast out demons out of the Gadarene Maniac into a

herd of swine and how the herd of swine ran down the hill and destroyed itself.

Jesus, you go tell John that the blind see, the dead are raised, that the deaf

hear.

He goes on to say this, the dead are raised and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

And then Jesus said, and blessed is he who is not offended because

of me.

That word offended is an important word.

And again, this is why it's so important to dig when you do Bible study.

Blue Letter Bible is a great resource for you to look at.

You don't have to be able to read Greek or speak Greek or know Greek.

You can just go and look up the Greek words that are in the text and know what the writer was intending when it

was written.

That is important.

The words matter.

This word offended.

Let me look it up just to make sure I'm telling you correctly here.

This word offended in the Greek is pronounced skandalizo.

It's where we get our English word scandalized or scandal.

When scandals arise and it means to put a stumbling block or an impediment in the

way upon which another may trip and fall.

Jesus was saying, blessed is he who is not caused to trip and fall

because of him.

How easy it is for us to get tripped up in this world and to sit down and

to sit back and to stop and to say, somebody else will do the work.

No, listen, God has called His church to do the work in this

world.

Despite the circumstances, despite where we might be in an

emotional state in our lives, He has called us to work.

Work while it is day, for the night comes when no man can work, Jesus said in another place.

The Bible goes on to say here in verse 7, As they departed, Jesus began to say to the

multitudes concerning John.

So listen, John's disciples are hearing this and John's disciples are taking all this in

and Jesus says, you go tell John this.

And then Jesus began to say to everybody else who was around, in the hearing of those two disciples of

John, this is His informational response, He says to the multitude concerning

John, what did you go out in the wilderness to see?

Did you go to see a reed shaken by the wind?

But what did you go out to see?

A man clothed in soft garments?

Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

But what did you go out to see?

A prophet?

Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet, for this is He of whom it is

written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your

way before you.

Jesus quotes the Old Testament prophecies concerning John.

How encouraging that must have been for John to hear that when the disciples got back to him, if they got back to him before he got

beheaded.

In any case, we have it recorded for us here in the Word of God.

Assuredly, I say to you, Jesus goes on in His response,.

He says, Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the

Baptist, but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the

violent take it by force.

Many times throughout life, that verse may trip some folks up and many folks take it

completely out of context.

What that verse is simply stating is simply this, Jesus is saying, Look, there are men, evil in the

world, who is trying to press down, hold down, to retard,.

To stop the progress of the kingdom of God.

And many of them are doing it by violence.

Herod was doing it by violence.

Violence was perpetrated and carried out by the kings when they tried to have every child

two and three years, under the age of two and three years old to stop the coming of Jesus Christ.

He suffered violence.

But Jesus said, the violent take it by force.

This is a reality.

This is something that ought not to alarm or concern us to such a degree that we

lose heart and that we faint.

Jesus goes on and he says, For all the prophets in the law prophesied until John.

He reinforces what God has said from the beginning through the word of God itself.

He said all the prophets in the law prophesied until John.

And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

It was prophesied that Elijah would come again.

This was not a literal reincarnation of Elijah, but he who would

come in the spirit of Elijah in the power of God.

This is what John did.

He came in the power of God, proclaiming the kingdom of God is at hand, preparing the

way of the Lord.

So we see John's inquiry.

We see Jesus' informational response.

And now we see this, Jesus' insight into his generation.

Jesus continues to talk to the crowd that is gathered there.

And he said this, But to what shall I liken this generation?

It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions and saying, We

played the flute for you, and you did not dance.

We mourn to you, and you did not lament.

Jesus gives in a

specific statement here the condition of that generation.

Now here's something that's true.

Here's the timeless principle for this entire message throughout all this in Scripture that we're looking at today.

It is this, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Since the beginning when Adam and Eve fell,.

Sin has corrupted our thought process.

Sin has corrupted this world.

Sin has corrupted every area of our lives.

And it will continue to do that until Christ comes and makes all things new one day after

a while.

But he said, To what shall I liken this generation?

How will I compare this generation?

How can I make you understand that generation, his generation there?

But it ought to be very much accepted and believed as our generation today, for it truly

is.

He said, It is like children sitting in the marketplaces.

He compared that generation to a bunch of children.

What an introduction.

You know everybody tuned in after that.

The preacher gets up and he says, You all are acting like a bunch of children.

Now I want you to listen to what I'm saying.

The wise man would tune in.

The foolish man will turn off and turn away.

He said, To what shall I liken this generation?

It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions and saying, We played the flute for you.

Two things are taking place here.

It's what the children would do in the marketplaces at this time.

The children didn't have iPhones.

They didn't have Androids.

They didn't have tablets.

They wasn't playing Angry Birds or doing whatever everybody does now all the time.

On their phone.

They actually used their imaginations, and they would play real -life events out.

We played the flute for you, and you did not dance.

They would play wedding.

They would play the wedding music,.

And everybody would get together.

Everybody knows when the wedding march is played, what's everybody supposed to do?

Stand up in unison and watch the bride come down.

They would pretend and play wedding.

And then Jesus said,.

And then they would say, We mourn to you, and you did not lament.

They would play funeral.

Now imagine that.

Somebody said, That's dark.

I don't know how to go with that at all.

Study it out.

There wasn't a lot else going on then.

So they would play a sad song.

They would whistle a sad tune,.

And they would practice mourning.

They would practice the funeral dirge.

Everybody coming up sad.

But Jesus said, You're all acting like a bunch of kids because you're not getting your way in the world.

Unapologetically, I preach this because it is the truth then, and it is the

truth today.

We ought not whine and complain when we do not get our way, but we ought to seek the way of God above all.

Jesus goes on in verse 18, and he says,.

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon.

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax

collectors and sinners.

But wisdom is justified by her children.

For John came neither eating nor drinking.

Jesus came eating and drinking, and they say, Look, a glutton and a winebibber.

They called John a demon, and they called Jesus a glutton and a winebibber because he was

friends with tax collectors and sinners.

So this was Jesus' insight into this generation.

Do you see how the more things change, the more they stay the same?

The dates on the calendar, the years on the calendar change every year, but the nature of

man remains constantly the same.

Sinful and in need of forgiveness that comes only by and through the blood of

Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in verse 20 going on in his insight into that generation,.

Then he began to rebuke the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done,

because they did not repent.

Now this is very important right here.

Again, this is Jesus' insight into his generation.

He began to rebuke the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done.

The place where his power was seen and put on display the most was the

places that did not repent and obey his truth.

And so Jesus says this, Woe to you, Chorazin!

Woe to you, Bethsaida!

For if mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have

repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Tyre and Sidon, Sodom and Gomorrah, as you're going to see through this, study up on it, I encourage you to do that, were wicked

evil places.

He said,.

But Tyre, if the works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago

in sackcloth and ashes.

But I say to you,.

It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.

And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to hell.

For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained

until this day.

Does everybody know what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah?

In case you don't know, you can read it in the Old Testament.

But it was so wicked and so evil and so vile that God ran down fire and brimstone.

And destroyed the entire city.

But Jesus tells them, if Sodom and Gomorrah had seen the things that you've

seen and known the things that you know, that city would still be

here today.

What an indictment.

What an insight into the condition of that generation.

Mark this down though, Hebrews says it, if God did not spare the

old world that He created as we've been learning about in Sunday school, but

destroyed it with the flood of water, know this, He

will destroy it again one day by fire.

And your concern,.

Your need,.

Is to be saved from the wrath to come.

Because truly there is a wrath to come.

What a statement that Jesus makes to them.

Jesus, His insight into their condition.

And then in verse 25 through 30, we see Jesus encouraging

prayer and Jesus' call for them to come to Him.

Jesus' prayer begins.

So Jesus leaves off directly from making the statement about Sodom and Gomorrah, being in better

shape on the Day of Judgment than them.

He says this,.

And at that time,.

The Bible says,.

At that time,.

Jesus answered and said, I thank you, Father.

So imagine, He's giving them this insight, He's telling them the truth about their condition, and then He

goes straight into prayer, and He says, I thank you, Father.

I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth.

What a wonderful way to pray.

By the way,.

That's how He taught the disciples to pray.

When you pray, say, after these words, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, you are

holy.

God is Lord of heaven and the earth, but Jesus Christ, and here we again, there's so much

in this.

And by the way,.

We are Trinitarian in our beliefs.

We believe in one God, manifest in three persons,.

The Father,.

The Son,.

And the Holy Ghost.

Can't be explained naturally speaking, but it's what the Bible teaches.

Behold, Israel,.

The Lord,.

Our God,.

Is one.

But here we see, the Son of God, God in the flesh,

speaking to the Father, three distinct persons.

He said,.

I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise

and the prudent.

And then he says, and has revealed them unto babes.

Now these terms, these two phrases, wise and prudent and babes, are

metaphors.

They're figures of speech,.

Listen to,.

Let the people understand and know this, that it is not intellectual

achievement,.

It is not book learning, that is gonna get you into the kingdom of God.

Book learning is important though,.

Let me add that.

But it's not what saves a man.

It's not what makes a man right in the sight of God.

It helps our theology to be correct when we study the scriptures thoroughly.

But Jesus said,.

I thank you, Lord,.

Lord of heaven and earth, that you have not revealed these things to the wise and to the prudent,

but revealed them unto babes.

The wise and the prudent make a way for themselves,.

They make a name for themselves by their own power, by their own authority.

And by their own might, by way of metaphor.

But a babe can do nothing.

Without the aid of an adult.

And friends, you cannot be saved without the aid of God the Father.

And this is what Jesus states.

Jesus goes on and he says, Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your

sight.

All things have been delivered to me.

And here's Jesus claiming the authority and speaking and the power of who he

is, God in the flesh.

He says, All things have been delivered to me by my Father and no one knows the Son except

the Father.

Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and the one to whom the Son wills to

reveal to him.

And Jesus said in verse 28,.

Come to me.

This is Jesus' call.

He's not saying, Will you come? He's commanding you.

To come unto him.

It's a no brainer for the man who understands and knows his condition before God

that he would do nothing.

Except run to Christ. Run to

me.

And Jesus says,.

Come unto me.

All you who are labor and are heavy laden.

Those of you who are tired and those of you who are weak.

There are those in the church world.

Who want to take.

A dominion theology approach to witnessing and evangelism to those in this world

who want to claim spiritual power,.

Might and authority for themselves.

But the truth be told,.

If we hold to the word of God, we are not mighty.

And we are not powerful.

We are but sinners saved by the grace of an

almighty God.

Who live our lives daily according to that same grace.

That has saved us.

We are lowly.

We are tired.

We are rightly always to understand and realize and recognize

who we are but to know that we are sons of the living

God at the same time.

Come unto me.

All you who are labor and heavy laden.

And I will give you rest.

What is the beautiful thing?

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Our lives are wretched and ravaged by sin.

It affects every area of us.

It affects our mind.

It affects our hearts.

It affects our will.

It affects our emotions.

It does everything and that will never change.

Until Christ comes.

And he makes all things new.

But in something else and this is the good news today something that will never change.

That the grace of God.

That brings salvation hath appeared to all men.

Teaching us.

That denying ungodliness a worldly lust.

We should live soberly.

And righteously.

And godly in this presence.

The same.

And his call today.

To you.

Is come.

Unto me.

All you who labor and are heavy laden listen, there's nothing that will wear you

out more than knowing that you have a task set before you that no matter how hard you

attempt no matter how hard you try no matter how much you work out no matter how much effort you put into it that you

are never going to be able.

To accomplish that task the task that I'm speaking of when I say that.

Is the task of being made righteous in the sight of God.

No man will ever be able to do that but Christ has done it.

He said I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and

you will find rest for your souls.

We have God's promise we have Jesus Christ making this

promise and if the word of God is faithful and if the word of God.

Is true.

And if Jesus Christ is the son of the only is the son of the father who is in

heaven and his word is true and he speaks on the authority.

And on the power and on the right of the father.

In heaven and he makes a promise.

Don't you think.

Don't you know.

Don't you understand that what he said then is still the truth today.

Question is this is not what Jesus said but this is the preacher asking you

will you have rest today.

Will you take solace.

Will you take comfort

in the holiness in the righteousness in the sovereignty.

In the goodness.

In the mercy.

In the truth.

Of God's own son.

Today will you.

Come.

Jesus said come.

Come.

Jesus closed by saying this my yoke is easy and my burden.

Is light.

The note here I want to read this.

For that.

Those verses there 29 and 30 says this that he Jesus has fulfilled the laws righteous

demand perfectly for his people Jesus perfectly fulfilled.

The law of God.

And his spirit empowers their grateful obedience therefore he alone can

provide true rest.

For the soul.

Rest.

Comes.

To you.

Child of God when you stop kicking against the pricks.

Rest.

Comes to you.

Child of God.

When you stop beating the air and you submit

yourselves.

Unto God.

And he will exalt you.

In due time.

Now.

I wish I could tell you.

That I know of a certainty.

That the word got back to John the Baptist.

We don't know that, that's not told us in the scripture.

What is told us is this that at a time later.

That John was beheaded.

For his stance.

But here's what I know.

That those who God saves.

He keeps and those.

Who suffer.

Child of God.

Those who suffer for the cause of Christ will one day be glorified.

And whether or not that word got back to John it's got to you today.

By.

The authority and the power.

And the providence of an almighty.

God.

Come unto me and I will.

Give you rest.

Heavenly Father as we come.

Unto.

Your throne again this morning.

God it is with gratitude.

And sincerity Lord.

Thankfulness of my heart for the truth of your word

for the power of your truth

and God for the.

Reality of its.

Presence.

Of the presence of your Holy Spirit.

In the lives.

Of your people and God it is our prayer.

Today.

That through the preached.

Word today.

That your people would take refuge.

That your people would take.

Comfort in who.

You are.

In your character and in your nature in your eternality in your

fullness.

That God.

We might not only understand your grace in the good times

but like the apostle Paul that we in our weakness might be made aware of your

power.

Through our.

Weaknesses through our.

Infirmities through our.

Frailness God and in that

you are demonstrating

you are demonstrating your sovereignty over all things.

And.

That you.

Through the sufferings and through the.

Trials.

What little they may be compared to many of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

That you through.

The troubles the trials and the persecutions are getting glory.

Through your church and so as for.

Those specifically in our congregation

that are overcome.

That are.

Worn down that are weak that are tired that are

heavy.

God that I ask.

That

by the sovereign.

Supernatural power of your Holy Spirit that you encourage.

Their hearts and that.

You truly give them.

Rest.

In you.

For it is in Jesus name I pray.

Amen and Amen.

I want to.

Encourage.

And remind all of you next Sunday morning.

Lord willing Terry's his coming to be here for Sunday school

children.

I want to encourage you all to do something.

Those of you those children that are here that your parents are not here.

I want to encourage you invite your parents to come to church a

matter of fact.

I challenge you children.

To do that.

You parents of parents invite your children to come to church.

You got friends you got neighbors you got enemies invite them to come.

To church Sunday.

Evening next week five o 'clock I want to encourage everybody to be here.

Be early.

We're going to be having joint service with Eden Chapel.

We're going to be worshipping together as churches there.

Aaron's going to be preaching.

He's going to be preaching on the topic of.

Theology and why it matters.

We singing some songs together and then we'll be taking about 30 minutes to begin going through some of the questions that you all turned in.

So many good questions.

There's so much.

Conversation that we can have on them we may not get but to a couple of them that night but that'll be okay it'll be

good.

Any other.

Announcements that I'm forgetting to make.

If not.

I want to look at you all for just a minute.

Tell you that.