The Pastoral Calling and Our Response

Sovereign Grace Family Church

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August 30, 2015

00:00: Well, I am thankful again to be able to invite my friend and my brother to come and give the Word.
00:09: We are just grateful as a family to you, our church, for having given us this time to welcome our new son into the world and to have a few weeks to spend together.
00:23: And it's just been a real blessing and I want to thank you all for that.
00:26: And I do look forward to being back in the pulpit next week, but I also look forward today to hearing Adam preach, so I want to pray for him before he comes up.
00:33: Let's bow our heads together.
00:36: Father in heaven, I thank you for your Word.
00:38: I thank you for the opportunity to hear your Word exegeted.
00:42: I pray, Lord, that you would fill Adam with your Holy Spirit, that you would speak through him, use him, Lord, as but a vessel, and give him clarity of thought and clarity of speech as he comes to bring the Word.
00:54: I pray that it would just be a blessing to your people and ultimately that through it, that we would see Christians become more confident in their understanding of their faith, and Lord God, unbelievers, that they might be challenged, rebuked, and ultimately, Lord, led to repentance and faith.
01:18: We know, O Lord, when the Word is opened in a group this size, that there are always unbelievers here to hear it.
01:24: Some, Lord, may not even know that they are lost, they are convinced in something that is not regeneration, maybe some profession of faith that they made many years ago, or maybe some type of goodness that they're holding to, some self-righteousness that they're clinging to, and Father, I pray that today would be the day of salvation for that person, that you would open their hearts to the truth and win them to your kingdom, Lord, through breaking them over the anvil of their own sin, and we, Father, ask you now that you would give us this opportunity to again hear your Word, and we thank you again for Adam and his diligence and preparation, and we pray that you'd bless that now as we hear the Word together.
02:05: In Christ's name, Amen.
02:11: Thank you, Pastor.
02:12: Good morning, everyone.
02:15: A few things before I get started.
02:18: I want to tell Brother Jim I know they stepped out.
02:21: They are normally spent with their voices afterwards, but if you are blessed by the musicians, let them know every week.
02:29: I'll tell you, it's kind of funny because one of my favorite groups is Third Day, and the song we sang today, God of Wonders, is a song that they cover, and it's just a real special song to me.
02:43: I saw some of you were very moved by that as well.
02:45: I appreciate Brother Jim doing that for us.
02:48: Secondly, if you're expecting Pastor Foskey today, I'm the shorter, more compact version of him, and a little bit more gray hair.
03:00: He will be back, Lord willing, next week.
03:02: He has given some of us the opportunity to stand before you and teach, and we are very grateful for that.
03:11: My title of the message today is The Pastoral Calling and Our Response.
03:16: We're going to be out of Ephesians 4.
03:18: Several months ago, our pastor asked me to teach on Sunday morning.
03:22: He said he wanted to take a break from preaching in August so he could spend time with his new son.
03:27: While I have taught several times in Sunday school, led several Bible studies, Wednesday night studies, and other groups, I must say a lump did well up in my throat.
03:38: Teach on a Sunday morning to the whole church? Are you serious? I must confess that standing today in this pulpit is somewhat, and I've used the word terrifying.
03:52: It is terrifying, and it should be.
03:54: It should be terrifying to the person that takes hold of the word.
03:59: Hopefully, through our message today, we'll see that.
04:02: I'm not afraid, I'm just terrified.
04:04: I'm not really sure what word to use.
04:08: The men who have come before me, Mr.
04:10: Frazier, Brother Collier, Brother Rod, will probably all tell you that standing here teaching is one of the most humbling experiences you can be exposed to.
04:20: The opportunity granted to the man to stand behind here and teach, well, you better be teaching correctly.
04:26: The word of God tells us in James 3, verse 1, let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.
04:35: Standing here in this pulpit, knowing that I will incur a stricter judgment is not something easily to swallow.
04:42: The more I pondered on what to teach today, the harder it became for me.
04:46: Since I would be teaching only for this day, I felt it best to teach on a topic instead of going through a bunch of verses in a chapter.
04:54: Topics flowed one after the other until finally I stopped and thought to myself, Keith does this at least once a week, usually twice on Wednesdays.
05:03: I continued to ponder this principle and thought about the office of pastor, a man called by God to lead and shepherd the flock.
05:11: This man is one of God's elect who was chosen before the foundation of the world to be conformed to the image of Christ, yet this man also has received a second calling, one to shepherd God's people.
05:22: My heart thought intently on this and how important a position it is for a man to be called to feed the flock.
05:30: But even more than that, how grateful we as a flock should be to have one who knows his calling to lead the flock.
05:38: I will submit to you that prior to this morning I have already discussed this message with Keith and he will tell you that today's lesson is not to place him or any other pastor on a pedestal.
05:50: He will humbly submit to you and say that it is only by God's grace he is where he is today and that only by this same God was he called in this ministry.
05:59: Keith will tell you that being a pastor is one of the furthest things from his mind and prior to his calling only God could have changed his heart when he called Keith to the ministry.
06:08: So with that in mind I would ask that you open your Bibles with me and turn to our primary text this morning which is found in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 through 12.
06:17: Our study today, as you're turning there, our study today will not dive deeply into all the positional aspects of the pastor but rather his immediate calling and responsibilities and for us to understand what our response should be to the pastor.
06:32: So with that the first and most important fact that we must discuss is that the pastor is called by God.
06:37: Paul provides the church at Ephesus and now us a solid understanding of who a pastor is and what he is to do.
06:43: Look with me in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11.
06:45: And it says, and he gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ.
06:57: Now we're not going to talk about the apostles and prophets and evangelists.
07:00: For this text we're specifically focusing on the pastors and teachers.
07:05: Their office is one and the same.
07:07: The shepherd and the teacher, they're one together.
07:11: So the first thing I think is important for us to look at is the very beginning of the text here.
07:14: It says, and he gave.
07:16: Look at these words.
07:18: These words show that someone has granted something and in this case it is Christ who is the giver.
07:24: A similar understanding of the context of he gave can be found in the Old Testament.
07:28: Yes, I know we don't go to the Old Testament very often, but hold your place in Ephesians.
07:31: Go to Malachi chapter 3.
07:34: It's the last book in the Old Testament.
07:36: So if you can find Matthew, go back a couple more pages and you'll find Malachi.
07:39: Malachi chapter 3.
07:43: And once you get there, let's look at verse 16.
07:47: In Malachi 3.16 it says, Did you see the words there? The Lord gave attention.
08:05: The Lord is doing something here.
08:07: Turn a couple pages forward to Matthew 10.
08:09: Just go a couple pages forward.
08:11: Matthew 10.
08:13: And in verse 1.
08:22: Matthew 10.1 says, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
08:35: In both verses the word gave is used to show that the Lord is the one who is giving something to someone.
08:41: And he and only he can give this to them.
08:44: In the original Greek text the word gave is pretty clear to the reader.
08:49: And it's also pretty clear of what is being given.
08:52: This giving or granting to someone is something of special value.
08:56: They're giving something over or entrusting it to someone.
09:00: This is something special.
09:02: You don't just randomly give something of value away, do you? I don't think anybody here will.
09:07: You entrust it to your most capable person.
09:10: And in this case, from Ephesians, the Lord has given the responsibility to some men to lead his church.
09:18: He is calling men to be pastors of his church to watch over his sheep until he returns to take all of us home for all eternity.
09:28: So here's a question for you.
09:31: How many of you have ever taken a vacation or spent some time away from home? You don't have to raise your hands.
09:34: Most of us have done something like that, right? So when you go and leave, have you ever asked someone to watch after your house, your pets, or maybe even watch your kids for you, right? We've probably all done something very similar.
09:48: How many of you, and I'm going to ask this question, and I really don't want to show off the hands of this.
09:54: It's just a question for you to ponder.
09:56: How many of you just walked up to a complete stranger and given them the keys to your house and said, take care of my kids for me while I'm gone? Don't raise your hands, please.
10:08: It sounds silly, doesn't it? There's probably not a person in this room that would say, oh yeah, I'm just going to walk right in the store to this store, the second car that pulls up, I'm going to give them the keys and the directions to my house, say come take care of my kids for me.
10:20: No.
10:21: Why? Because your kids are something that's valuable to you, right? Your house is valuable to you.
10:26: Your belongings are valuable to you.
10:28: You're only going to entrust it to certain people.
10:31: You're only going to ask that one important person to watch after them.
10:37: So I want you to see the same concept is here that the Lord is using to entrust the men of God while he was gone with his church.
10:45: It's the same concept.
10:47: Only certain men were given this entrusting gift from God, and it's important for us to understand this.
10:51: The Lord is the one who calls the pastor and teacher.
10:54: The Lord is the one who moves in that heart of the man.
10:56: That man cannot call himself to be a pastor, nor can he give himself the ability to be a pastor.
11:02: It cannot happen.
11:04: He must be called by God and equipped by God for this task.
11:09: If you like, look over Matthew 16.
11:12: Matthew 16, verse 18.
11:15: This is Jesus talking to Peter.
11:17: And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
11:28: Who is going to build this church? Christ.
11:31: Christ will build the church.
11:33: Christ will entrust the men to the church.
11:35: This is Christ's church.
11:36: He is in charge of it.
11:38: He is the one that I will build.
11:40: Yes, Peter is very important, but Christ is the one that says I will build.
11:46: He's showing that man will not build it.
11:49: It's similar to the text we had before where he says he gave.
11:53: Christ is doing something to show that he gave them.
11:55: Both verses lead us to understand that while men on earth maintain the church, Jesus is the one who is building it.
12:01: He is the one who is maintaining it, and he is the one who will provide the pastors to shepherd the flock.
12:08: Now, it's also important to know that many theologians and scholars are quick to point something out here, and I think it's important for us to understand.
12:14: It's about the flock and the shepherd.
12:16: The people, or sheep, that are under the care of the pastor or the shepherd, well, the sheep do not belong to the shepherd.
12:26: We need to understand that.
12:28: The shepherd does not own the sheep.
12:32: Rather, these shepherds are just tending to the sheep until Christ returns to call his sheep back to him.
12:41: They're just shepherding the flock.
12:42: They're watching over it.
12:43: There are many shepherds.
12:44: There are many sheep, and Christ is giving some men the ability to maintain the shepherding job to certain people.
12:51: So, similar to my analogy earlier, if you go on vacation, your house is still your house regardless of whom you ask to watch over it.
12:58: Well, the same holds true for Christ's church.
13:00: The church belongs to him, and yet he's given some men the authority to watch over it and nurture it.
13:06: So, returning back to our original text in Ephesians, hopefully you held your place there.
13:10: Returning to our text in Ephesians, we understand from verse 11 that Jesus is the one who is giving some the ability to be pastors and teachers.
13:17: We've got to ask ourselves this question.
13:18: Why is he doing this? Why is he only giving some men the ability to do this, and what is our job here? Well, our answer can be found in verse 12.
13:29: So, 11 says, And he gave some apostles and prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ.
13:41: The pastor is called to equip the saints for the work of service.
13:45: Pastor Keith just talked about that earlier today.
13:48: We've had it mentioned several times.
13:50: The shepherd is called to equip the saints for the work of service.
13:54: The King James Bible, some of you may have King James, and I'm using a New American Standard if you're not following along with the ESV, but the King James uses the word perfecting instead of equipping.
14:05: And I believe that equipping is more accurate, and here's why.
14:09: In the original text, the word for equipping is only used here.
14:14: It's only used one time, and it's right here in this verse.
14:16: It's only used once.
14:18: And it literally means to completely furnish.
14:22: Perfecting is, you can perfect something, but you completely give everything to something is a little bit different.
14:29: It still may not be perfect.
14:31: You're still going to equip everything and make it right.
14:34: The basic text would also say to literally just equip.
14:39: So, you're having something that's fully equipped, not necessarily perfect, which is what the other texts use.
14:46: But let me ask you this question.
14:48: What is the pastor supposed to completely furnish you or equip you for? Well, as you read further in verse 12, look in verse 12 a little bit more, you'll see that it's for the work of service.
14:58: The work of service is an interesting definition.
15:01: It's somewhat lengthy, but it's very pointed.
15:04: It means service, ministering, especially those who execute the commands of others or those who by the command of God proclaim and promote religion among men.
15:14: Hmm.
15:15: Does that not expand that whole work of service for you now? The work of service, it seems like a small word, but when you see that definition, service, ministering, especially those who execute the commands of others to proclaim or promote religion among men, that's a little bit more defined for us now, isn't it? We need to understand that the pastor, the shepherd, is equipping us to go and do something.
15:38: God has called out men to be pastors and teachers to equip us with the ability to go forth and proclaim the gospel.
15:44: And at the end of the verse 12, that's what we see.
15:46: To the building up of the body of Christ.
15:49: The building up that is discussed here is the act of one who promotes another's growth in Christian wisdom, happiness, holiness.
15:57: Listen to some of the verses, just look forward.
15:59: Ephesians 4.16.
16:00: Just look a couple verses forward there.
16:04: Ephesians 4.16.
16:06: From whom the whole body being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
16:19: There's that same term, building.
16:21: Look a few more verses ahead of that.
16:23: Ephesians 4.29.
16:25: Just look a few verses ahead.
16:28: A lot of people know this verse.
16:30: Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification, according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
16:40: Now, you didn't hear the word building up in the second verse, did you? It's not there.
16:46: However, the word edification is the same word.
16:49: Building and edification mean the same thing contextually used in this verse.
16:54: You should say only good things to those who hear.
16:56: Things that they will receive grace by, not things that will tear them down.
17:00: We're looking to always edify and build people up.
17:03: Both verses show us the context of Ephesians 12, which says to the building up of the body of Christ.
17:10: As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the pastor is called to equip us, Christ's sheep, with the tools necessary to edify and build up the body of Christ.
17:21: But this not only includes making new disciples, but ministering to each other, building each other up in love of Christ.
17:31: Understanding the importance of what the pastor and teacher has been called to do...
17:37: It's raining.
17:39: It's okay.
17:40: I thought it was the AC, but it's rain.
17:45: Thank you, Lord, for the rain.
17:48: Understanding the importance of what the pastor and teacher has been called to do, it might be beneficial for us to pause for a moment and consider the church at Ephesus during this time.
17:59: You have to think about this.
18:00: This letter was written sometime around 60 A.D., when the church was still growing, still learning, still being persecuted for its faith.
18:09: This letter would have been used to help establish the church, the church leadership, and specifically here in verses 11 and 12, what the members should expect from the pastor.
18:20: This is a foundational message to the church.
18:22: This is what the church needed in the beginning.
18:27: The members should expect structure and guidance on how the church would conduct itself.
18:33: But it also is implied that the members would submit themselves to the authority and teaching of these called men.
18:40: Why else would God call out men to shepherd His church, give them the ability to equip the saints for the work of service, and to the building up of the body, unless there is some action that is required on the part of the church member? Well, He wouldn't do that.
18:58: It's our responsibility to.
19:02: A few weeks ago, Brother Collier preached a sermon on the Great Commission.
19:05: It was good.
19:07: The commission is true today as it was then.
19:09: Matthew 28, if you don't know, Matthew 28, verses 18 and 19.
19:13: And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
19:18: Go therefore, and what? Come on, people.
19:23: Make disciples.
19:25: Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
19:35: And lo, I am with you always to the end.
19:38: Do you see the correlation there between Ephesians 11 and Matthew 28? They're both similar in their charge to the believers.
19:44: In both cases, we are charged with what? Going forth and making disciples.
19:50: We're to be equipped from our pastor's shepherd to go make disciples.
19:56: Every time our pastor preaches to us, we should not be looking at how this will improve my life, make me happy, my best life now, but rather, how can I use this to minister to somebody else? If you are saved, called by God, your life is set apart, covered by His redemptive work on the cross.
20:22: Praise God that before the foundation of the world, you were set apart, set apart to glorify Him.
20:27: Every opportunity from salvation should be to proclaim this good news to others in order for them to also be delivered from their sin and to come to a full understanding of who God is.
20:41: Equipping the saints is not just for you to hold on to and hoard.
20:46: It's not.
20:47: It's a gift for you to share.
20:51: Every time you walk out of these doors, you're entering the mission field.
20:56: Every time.
20:58: You're equipped with the knowledge of the word taught to us by our pastor, and it's both the pastor and the congregation working together to minister to those outside.
21:10: I couldn't stop here while I was working on this.
21:13: I was also challenged with the verse that I previously read in James 3.
21:19: And I know some people here understand that really clear.
21:22: Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such, we will incur a stricter judgment.
21:31: In my opening, I shared with you the great challenge I have standing here today.
21:35: I used the word terrifying.
21:37: Everybody laughed at me.
21:38: You can laugh again if you want.
21:40: That's okay.
21:41: I'm not afraid to stand here.
21:43: I'm not afraid of public speaking.
21:46: But I can stand here today and tell you that it is because of verses like James 3.1 that keep me and many other teachers in line.
21:55: While this verse on the surface seems to be very clear to us, the emphasis placed on the words is very eye-opening.
22:04: What does it mean for a pastor teacher to incur a stricter judgment? Have you ever given that a thought? Now, if you've taught or led a Bible study or even been in a pastoral position, you probably have.
22:17: So many others, it's just reading through our daily devotion.
22:20: But let's break this down.
22:21: I want you to understand the men of God, they're called out and how important it is to them.
22:27: When you break this text down, the original literally reads, let not many become.
22:33: Let not many become.
22:35: The of you has just been supplied for us to understand who the not many are.
22:40: The original phrase is very pointed.
22:41: It's very clear to us.
22:43: You can actually read it and understand this.
22:46: God forbid.
22:48: God forbid.
22:51: Well, God does not forbid men to become teachers.
22:54: Rather, He's making it clear for those of us who are called to the ministry, more of the reason why many should not become teachers.
23:03: Because you're going to incur a stricter judgment.
23:06: Our English translations don't do these words justice.
23:09: They just don't.
23:10: The original words paint a picture for the reader of one who's receiving a great mass.
23:17: A heavy load.
23:18: Think about this.
23:19: Think about something of a burden.
23:21: Like a large weight of condemnation of wrong held against them.
23:25: Who wants that in their life? Raise your hand if you want.
23:27: You're not going to raise your hand.
23:28: Nobody wants that.
23:30: But more than that, it's thinking like this.
23:33: Think of a judge throwing the book at somebody.
23:36: They just load them up with everything they can for doing something wrong.
23:41: Because the Greek word here for judgment is something I'm very familiar with.
23:45: Something several of these men in this audience are very familiar with.
23:48: It's called crema.
23:50: Crema.
23:51: Does that word sound familiar to you? Well, it should, because crema is where we get our word for crime.
23:59: Crime.
24:01: Is the picture becoming a little bit more clear for you now? The pastor and teacher who does not accurately handle the word equip the saints, shepherd the flock, will be judged with a heavy sentence as one who has committed a severe crime.
24:17: What? I just got chills.
24:20: I cannot lie to you.
24:22: I just got chills.
24:24: What an amazing truth to understand.
24:27: What an amazing thing to think about people that you submit yourselves to on TV, through books.
24:35: Keith was talking about that earlier.
24:37: You need to pay attention.
24:40: But more importantly, the person that maintains this pulpit, one who has committed a severe crime.
24:50: Criminals are not let go, are they? They're judged.
24:53: They're sentenced.
24:54: And in this case, with a heavy load.
24:59: But, it is easy not to incur this penalty.
25:03: Simply do not become a teacher.
25:05: Right? It's simple.
25:07: Some of the guys that are teaching are smiling because they know it's true.
25:11: If you don't want this penalty, don't become a teacher.
25:15: But, for those who are called, you must be prepared.
25:22: You must be prepared to equip the saints at all times.
25:25: 2 Timothy 2.15 tells us, gives us more instructions to the teacher.
25:30: Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed of accurately handling the word of truth.
25:38: Be diligent handling the word of truth.
25:43: Apply that to the teacher heart.
25:46: Apply that.
25:48: The position of pastor and teacher is highly important.
25:51: I really want us to understand this.
25:52: We've had a break for some time now.
25:55: And we've had some gifted people come before us and preach.
25:58: But our pastor and teacher, the position is very important.
26:02: It is extremely important.
26:03: It is extremely important for a man to understand this high calling.
26:06: It is important for him to understand that he cannot call himself a physician, only Christ can.
26:12: Failure to do so will result in a strict judgment to that man.
26:17: I could go on for hours, probably days or weeks naming those who claim to be pastors and teachers.
26:24: But they use this pulpit for improper reasons.
26:28: Deceitful hearts, failing to equip the saints.
26:32: You probably are thinking of a few people right now yourself.
26:35: Instead of naming people, I will just say this.
26:39: Woe unto you, false teacher.
26:41: Woe unto you, deceiver.
26:43: Woe unto you, wolves.
26:46: Woe unto any of you who do not take this position serious.
26:50: And woe unto us who do not diligently seek to pray for our pastor and his high calling.
27:02: In closing today, my message has been directed really at just two groups of people.
27:07: The pastor, teacher, and those they are to equip.
27:11: The pastor, teacher, is charged with shepherding the flock, equipping the saints to do the work of the Lord and to build each other up.
27:18: We are to be obedient to the pastor, teacher, and learn from him in order to accomplish this mission, the mission to which we've been called.
27:26: As Sovereign Grace Family Church, we are blessed to have a solid pastor.
27:31: Thank you, amen is right.
27:33: One who desires to proclaim the word, equip the saints, and one who seeks the salvation of the lost.
27:42: He shares this with you weekly as he preaches messages which are faithful to the scriptures and through programs like our newly formed fishing hole ministry, an evangelistic outreach program that he's started.
27:56: In short, we are blessed to have a pastor who loves the Lord and prepares us weekly to do the same.
28:05: Now, I believe I know Keith Foskey well enough to state that he is more than faithful to this high calling of equipping the saints.
28:14: I also believe that he is more than ready to return from his sabbatical and lead this church.
28:23: Keith is ready to stand on this platform, this chancel, as he calls it, and lead this church.
28:33: While his time away has been refreshing for him, certainly warranted, and a much needed benefit to his family, his true desire is to lead us, not just on Sundays, but every day to proclaim the word.
28:48: Every day to proclaim the word of God so that we become equipped to step out from these doors right there and be a witness to the world in need.
28:58: A world that has nothing but a need for a Savior.
29:01: A world that has no hope but only through Him.
29:05: A world of your children, your family, your friends and neighbors.
29:12: A world that needs you to be equipped to proclaim the good news.
29:17: Our pastor is a blessing to our church, but more importantly, he is a man who seeks after the will of God.
29:26: If you agree with that statement, then logically, you must submit yourselves to the precept that our pastor will not steer us wrong.
29:36: He will only seek to strengthen you.
29:40: He will only seek to encourage you.
29:43: And he will only seek to perfect your walk with the Lord.
29:51: In his book, Calvin on the Christian Life, Michael Horton, has this quote.
29:58: He says, It is a great and splitted thing for men to be put in authority over the church to represent the person of the Son of God.
30:06: They are like the friends attached to the bridegroom to celebrate the wedding with him.
30:10: Though they must observe the difference between themselves and what belongs to the bridegroom.
30:15: They should not stand in the way of Christ alone having the dominion in this church or ruling it alone by his word.
30:24: Those who win the church over to themselves rather than to Christ faithlessly violate the marriage which they ought to honor.
30:36: Another well-known author by the name of John MacArthur, you all might know him, says, The pastor's goal is not to please the sheep, but to feed them.
30:47: Not to tickle their ears, but to nourish their souls.
30:52: He is not at all for merely light snacks of spiritual milk, but the substantial meat of biblical truth.
31:00: Those who fail to feed the flock are unfit to be shepherds.
31:11: It is a high calling of a man to faithfully lead Christ's church.
31:18: We should humbly submit ourselves to the word and be equipped to build up the body through our pastor's faithful leadership.
31:29: Let's close in prayer.
31:35: Father, I pray that above all today you are honored by the study of your word.
31:39: All of our worship today through song, giving, and sermon has been to praise and glorify you.
31:46: May we continue to seek to know you and make you known.
31:51: Give us hearts like the Bereans to continue to seek the truth through your word and that we will humbly submit ourselves to our pastor and his authority to lead us and guide us and equip us to do your work.
32:08: I ask all these things in Christ's name.
32:10: Amen.
32:21: Let's stand and sing.
32:23: If you have a need for prayer, please come.