Okay, I've decided to start in the book of Proverbs as we're considering and taking a step back into the book of Colossians chapter 1. And now, as just a quick reminder of where we've been in the book of Colossians for several weeks now, I've been sounding like a broken record, giving thanks Giving thanks, giving thanks is the motive that we find along this prayer that started in verse three, and that many scholars believe it goes all the way to verse 23, but we've been just pacing ourselves over and over and over again, why the Apostle Paul took the time to express this gratitude that he had for the Lord and for his gospel message that had transformed the life of his friends that he did not know. Many scholars believed that they did not know him personally, but had heard about him from Epaphras, the faithful servant of the Lord. But I decided to start in Proverbs because we are now entering into this, what many scholars wrestle and they're struggling with. Does this prayer include this Christological hymn that some believe was a tradition of early primitive Christianity that was transferred orally and that they practiced, they sung during times of worship to the Lord? And this Christological hymn that one person just really encapsulates this creative insight of something that took place in the triune community. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit from all eternity. A place that we can't even fathom. We can't even begin to encapsulate what that includes, what that looks like. Yet we are given glimpse of it with texts like the book of Proverbs chapter eight, or Genesis 1.1. In the beginning, the beginning of what? The beginning of all things. Ex, let's see if I, ex no hilo, I believe is the right word. In the beginning, God created, not with matter, not with substance, before anything even existed, any cell, any molecule, anything, God created out of nothing. And the triune God, you can read it in Genesis chapter one, it gives us a very broad description of what God did in creation. and God created. John 1.1 tells us, in the beginning, the same word that's used in Genesis, at the start of all things, before anything would be created, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. So we get this affirmation as a melody, as a symphony, as a theme throughout scriptures, and then we end up where we're at today, which one scholar called this, this divine philosophy of the universe. Notice well this divine philosophy of the universe that we find in recorded for us in the book of Colossians, right wedged in there like a sandwich, right wedged in there in this prayer of thanksgiving that Paul is expressing and recording by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And then he turns, it's like he pauses, right? I said earlier in another sermon, it's like Paul is writing these doctrinal types of prayers. And now he gets very theological on us. And listen to the words that we find in Colossians chapter one, right in that prayer as he's giving thanks, in verse 15, he says the following. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, with their thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. And I love this word, all things. Can you say that with me? All things, right? All things were created through him and for him. Verse 17, and he is before all things and in him all things hold together. I think Paul likes using the word all things, don't you? I get that feeling that he loves using this word a lot. It's kind of like that, in Christ, in Christ, in Christ. He loves redundancy, and there's something about redundancy that the human nature needs to be reminded of. And it's same true for us when we're affirming God's creative power. See, he's not man, he's not finite, he's infinite. And so God, the triune God at the creation of all things, this is incredible. This for us, if you, a little technicality here for all you Bible thumping, you know, Bible nerds, if I could say it that way, that love. Here's some literary highlights or insights, all things. It occurs four times in verses 15 through 17 and twice in verses 18 through 20, which we're going to consider next week. And the words through or by him in verse 16 are repeated twice in verse 20. Now, I'm gonna let you ponder on that as you're going through your exercises this week and just reviewing the sermon and listening to the podcast or going online or those of you friends who are tuning in online, take note of that. Because once again, it's good to pause and take the Scriptures. And if you have the ability to take a word, a blank Word document and cut and paste and paste it on your Word document, fracture the Scripture and see and look and observe, even take the numbers off. Because in Greek, they didn't use numbers like we have it in our modern-day Bible. It's all one run-on paragraph here or sentence. that many people believe that that verse three all the way to 30 23 is one long sentence. But for our purposes, we are pausing here and we're fragmenting different parts of this prayer and allowing the spirit of God to speak to us and allowing the spirit of God to show us through his word what he wants us to take with us in the 21st century. So I have four things I would like to quickly run through this beautiful Christological hymn. First, first, Christ is the perfect revelation of the invisible God that became visible to humankind. Okay, Christ is the perfect revelation of the invisible God that became visible to humankind. Listen to what the text reads again. He is the image of the invisible God. When I think about this, again, it takes me quickly back to the book of Genesis. To Genesis chapter one, verses 26 through 27. Listen, you can turn there or you can just listen to it and take note of it and go back. Listen to what the scriptures describe for us in that moment when the triune God was talking about creating man. He says, then God said, let us make man in our image. after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heaven and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping things that creeps on the earth verse 27 so god created man in his own image in the image of god he created him here's the two The two genders God created since the book of Genesis so that there's no mistake, there's no confusion. He didn't create a third or a neutral gender. He created male and female. He created them and that's what the scripture tells us. Now, pause there for a minute. Because when we talk about human dignity, human dignity is a center conversation of all modern day themes and things that the church has to address in its modern context. When we talk about addiction, when we talk even about gender dysphoria, or we're talking about any other modern thing that the church has to confront ethically and morally, we have our first conversations on human dignity. That is, in other words, that would mean we always recognize the dignity that somebody else has as a human being, regardless of what they've done. Why? Why is that? Because scripture is very clear. Both male and female were created in the likeness and in the image of the Creator. And at minimum, everything that we approach and have a conversation always recognizes human dignity. We don't talk down to people because we're not God. We're not seated on the throne as we saw in the book of Psalms, right? Only he is seated above the heavens and the earth. And so this is a good reminder of this truth, right? Notice, man, as stipulated by Hendrickson, he said, man, though God's image, is not God. This is what Henderson was scripting as he was commenting on this text. And then he says the following, but as the image of the invisible God, the Son is, first of all, Himself God. And we're going to unpack that a little bit more as we're looking at this text again. So when we read what Paul is praying about here in the book of Colossians, there is no mistake. There is no doubt that this is also the fathers of the Reformation. They picked up this slogan and they said, in Christ alone, he is alone the true image of God. This is rather remarkable for us here living now in the 21st century. Why? Because again, we turn to scriptures and the author of the book of Hebrews, whoever you land on is the author or not, recorded this beautiful word that we find very similar to what Paul wrote in Colossians chapter one, verse 15. Listen to what Hebrews chapter one, verse three says about this Jesus. He says he is the radiance of the glory of God. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature and he upholds the universe by the word of his power after making purification for since he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Amen. Amen. There is no doubt that Jesus, that Christ is this exact image of God as well as the visible representation of God, illuminating God's essence. And again, Colossians 119, for in him, the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. Colossians 2.9, for in him, the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. Speaking about Jesus. So again, this is a beautiful reminder of what Paul insists, even in Romans chapter 1 verse 20, God's invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature have clearly, have been clearly seen. Seen by whom? Only believers? being understood from what has been made so that men are without excuse. You can deny the power of God, but you cannot deny the reality that God exists. And Paul was writing it in description of a society that was depraved. Friends, let us not be surprised that society is going to hell. Let us not be surprised by the action and the conduct of a society that's spiritually dead. We are called to be different. We were studying in this morning's class on baptism. We have been sanctified and we've been justified. And those have very strong implications of what the work of Christ was about when he came and incarnated in humankind. And so we are told that in Christ, he's the, in Christ we see this visible God, this invisible God, and Christ makes God visible for us as creator, redeemer, as a merciful God, as a loving God, and what God cares about. What did Jesus do? Romans would tell us, Romans 5.10 would tell us, even while we were yet enemies of God, Christ came to die for us. Would you die for an enemy? Would you die for a person that you, is not easy to like or love? Yet Christ did that for us in representation of God himself. John Calvin wrote, these famous words in reference to this part of the book of Colossians. And he said, this is His righteousness, His goodness, wisdom, and power. In short, Jesus is the image of the invisible God, yet He is also the image of His entire self because Jesus was God. And so again, we are reminded of this, this Paul writing this to the church and the believers of Corinth and first Corinthians 1545. This is, thus it is written. The first Adam became a living being, but the last Adam in reference to Christ became a life giving spirit. What a beautiful reminder of who Jesus was and what He represented and what He came to do for us, fallen humanity. Yet again, in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18, We read the words and this constant reminder that Paul is beating a drum and speaking to the church in Corinth and he's telling them, and we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is spirit. So when I thought about this image, and Jesus, this Christ is the image of the invisible God, what is the text really trying to say here? And I've read all these other verses, and we're still like, huh, pastor, but what is that? How does this connect to the image of God? And I asked the same question of the scripture. And here's the response I got. You might agree with it, you might disagree with it. But Jesus in the gospel of Matthew. is approached by the pharisees and the pharisees you have to understand the pharisees were uh not they were very knowledgeable in their in their in their traditions and religions and the do's and don't do's and you know that you got to go through all these phases to even you know get baptized and and whatnot but they try to trap jesus and and and with that malicious intent they ask jesus hey jesus um you know they bring out this coin and they say hey jesus what what what you know Who are we supposed to be loyal to, right? You know, who are we supposed to pay taxes? Do you pay taxes, Jesus? Kind of like tithing. Do you tithe? Right? So they're asking Jesus, right? And then Jesus, you know, brings up this coin and says, whose image is on the coin? Image. Same word you're finding in Colossians. Image, right? and Jesus asked them right there in Mark Matthew chapter 22 verse 20. And he said, this is how Jesus responded to them. He said, who's Jesus said to them, right? Matthew 22 verse 20. He says, and Jesus said to them, whose likeness and inscription is this? Meaning on this coin, right? And they said, Caesar's. And look what Jesus said to them. Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God. My friends, this is a beautiful message and a symphony that we're listening to in the form of this prayer in Colossians. Right, this Christ. The second person of the Blessed Trinity came into humankind to reveal to us who even Jesus said, you've seen me, you've seen the Father. What Jesus would help us understand that, well, the second point would be, would help us unpack this even more. So if you're not confused now, you're going to be confused more now. Listen to the second part of this verse in 15, right? Christ was not created. He was not created, but existed before anything was created. Look what the text tells us. He is the firstborn of all creation. Now in our English, our English, sorry for all you grammar nerds here and all you teachers, my apology, but the Bible wasn't written in English. It was written in Greek. And so you have to go to original language. And if you, if you're a teacher and you're really just technical with grammar, Greek is going to drive you nuts. because the way we speak is not the way it was written. So, you know, like Pablo is preaching this morning, Pablo preaching. That's it. And it's kind of hard to decipher. That's why you have to read context or teaching Pablo. It's like, what is that? Why is it reversed? But that's just the way it was written. And so when it says the firstborn of all creation, we have to pause there and really just ask ourselves the question, was Christ really created? No. The answer that you get from the whole Bible, the whole meta story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, everything that we read and study and read about the Christ, is the answer is no. And in fact, when you read firstborn, it's not an issue of origin, but it's more an issue of rank and position. So when you read this text, you're reading Jesus or Christ is numero uno. It's kind of like the numero uno pizza, right? Numero uno, number one, first, above. And in reality, right? Because again, if you just studied this, right? Verse 18, Colossians 118, right? And it helps us understand that. And he is the head of the body of the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. Ask yourself, was Jesus the first one to resurrect from the dead? Good theological question, right? But if you study the Bible, was he really the first one who was risen from the dead again? No. No, I mean, you'd have to go to Old Testament texts. The widow's son, Elijah, prayed and he resurrected, right? Or Jairus' daughter in the New Testament. Jesus prayed for Jairus' daughter and she resurrected. How about his best friend? The guy, he actually went over and spent a lot of time in his house with his sisters, right? And ate carne asada and tacos and all of that, right? What did Jesus do in John chapter 11? That was like on the fourth day, a body is deteriorating. It's probably stunk in that grave. And yet what did Jesus do? He resurrected Lazarus. But what does Paul really imply when he's saying Jesus is the firstborn of the dead? That is a very interesting thing. And this is very important when we're talking about the preeminence of Christ, his supremacy. So he's not talking about that he's the first. I think it means that he is the source of resurrection. Meaning for us and you and me, now looking back 2,000 years, when we are facing death, we have no reason to fear because he who conquered death is the life giver, is the source of all eternity. How's that for your theology? Cancer might rob you, dementia, Alzheimer's might rob you of everything you live for, but it will never rob you from the hands of Christ our Lord. Amen. It will never rob you from your care and the Father's love of you, no matter how tragic our death is. We belong to the Lord. And so this beautiful expression, right, that He is the cause and the source of every created thing, even the things that I can't easily accept. And so, what a beautiful reminder, right, of Proverbs chapter 8. Again, listen to the words of Proverbs 8.22, the Lord possessed me. And again, many scholars believe that that whole beautiful reminder in the book of Proverbs is actually a word associated to Jesus as the wisdom. But look what it says there in Proverbs 8.22. And again, wisdom is identified as the master craftsman Just as the hymn in Colossians speaks of Christ as the creator of all things in verse 30 of Proverbs chapter 8, it's just a reminder. Then I was beside him like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always. Always. So it's not like what you and I tend to associate eternity and space and time. They always existed. the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in beautiful community, eternal, mind you. And again, this is a good shout out for small group, because in small group ministry, we're always talking about community. In fact, again, this is an extra one from the sermon. Sorry, I'll come back. This is a short rabbit trail, because my wife already looking at me like, land the plane. A good reminder, a good reminder of the importance of community. God created us to be social beings. Dr. Allen, you and I could talk about this and I expect that we will follow up on this and have a good and important dialogue about the need for relationship. The triune God existed for all eternity in holy relationship called community. And he desires that for us, especially for the church. You were saved from to be saved to. And in a 21st century when we have, notice friends, the primitive church, they did not have Instagram, Facebook, and all of the social media that we have today, yet they were very close. which tells us that we can live in an age of technology, yet we are so distant. In fact, there's some studies out there that really highlight how people just, they're pulling up into their driveway, they push their little button, this door goes up, then they drive in, and then they push this button and this door goes down, and they seclude themselves from all the rest of the world. You don't believe me? Door dashing has become famous. You can order food without going to the restaurant. Right? And so again, this appears and this is a constant reminder of how Jesus is the firstborn again again it reminds us of various old testament texts for example psalm 89 verse 27 a title of sovereignty a title of sovereignty that the lord was prophetically speaking through the psalter when he said i will also appoint him my firstborn the most exalted of kings of the earth a messianic promise of who this Messiah would be. This is important to distinguish who Jesus, who Christ was from all the created things. You can ask yourself a question. Christ is preeminent over creation and not just within creation, said somebody. Another person asked the question, well then what's the difference between Jesus being firstborn of all First in all, what does that really mean? Because you consider people like Jacob and Esau, they were first. Or among Jacob's son, Reuben, who was the firstborn. Or Simri, who was the firstborn. Or Manasseh, who was also a firstborn. Or how about, what does it mean that Israel in Exodus 4.22 is also identified as the firstborn? What does that mean? Why is it so important for us to wrestle with this? And why, if Christ is being called by God, my firstborn, what is the importance of this? Well, here's three more scriptures for you to just read through and ponder the word firstborn. For example, in Romans 8.29, a very famous eschatological and a text that describes about the work of salvation in our life. Look what Paul writes to the church in Rome. He says, for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. in order that he might be firstborn among many brothers. Or Hebrews 1.6, and again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, let all God's angels worship him. Okay, we're not talking about an origin, we're talking about a rank and position that Christ takes and has above all the created order. revelation 1 5 this is how the the the the apostle tells us here and from jesus christ the faithful witness the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings on earth to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood glory to god Glory to God for what he has done through his son, Jesus Christ. So, so this term, when we read it, this firstborn in reference to Christ says nothing concerning about his origin, but declares his position, his rank and office. He is first. Why is this so critical? Because life is so uncertain. Your health is uncertain. Your job is uncertain. Society and economy right now is so volatile. But guess what? You have a preeminent savior. So while my health and my life is like a roller coaster, my God is consistent and faithful. My emotions go so high and so low and so high and so low. And it's so beautiful that Christ, regardless of my situation and how high and how low I go, He is faithful and consistent. And as we heard last week, His faithfulness endures forever. His faithfulness endures. That's the beauty of this. So thirdly, Christ was the agent of creation, used to bring all things. Notice how beautiful this is. Christ is the agent, the life-giving sword. When I read this, I mean, again, I jump back to John chapter 15, and again, Jesus, if I ever write a book, I'm gonna call this, well, maybe I shouldn't say that publicly, because, you know, I really, If you steal that idea, just know it's mine. the bullseye of discipleship. That's what I would call my book, the bullseye of discipleship. And really, when you read John chapter 15, you're reading this center, right? He is the vine, we are the branches, right? He says, you can't do anything without me. Or Israel Huffton's song, I don't know if you guys ever sing an Israel Huffton song, but man, he wrote, he sings that song, Jesus is the center of it all, right? He's the center of it all. We're going to affirm that, right, towards the end. And in this text, right, He is the center. He upholds things, visible and invisible. Right? And these have many things that we have to bear. But Jesus Christ was the agent of creation, used to bring all things into existence. Again, the text says, and notice this, the text says, for by Him, verse 16, for by Him, all things were created in heaven. Now notice those dimensions, right? He's going to go through a series of dimensions here. The first dimension is heaven. Then he includes in verse 16, and on earth. Notice this other dimension he's including, this visible and invisible. Did you capture that? So William Hendrickson, he did this phenomenal thing and I loved it, right? So if you're a note taker, put an X like this on your paper, right? Put an X like this. And this is how he unpacked this text right here. So he takes this text, right, and then he just highlights this for us, and he helps us understand, right? So right in the middle, right in that praxis where the X goes, write the word and above and the word and below, right? So right in that center, that praxis, right where the two Xs meet, write the word and and and on the bottom. On the, what we would call the left-hand corner, put the word heavens, right? You want to, in the heavens, because that's what the text says. On the right upper-hand corner, put on the earth. So you're looking at the X, right? Your left would be this. You want to put in the heavens, in the center, and on the top right-hand corner, on the earth. And then on the bottom left-hand corner, you wanna put the visible and the bottom right-hand corner, the invisible. When you get some time with some coffee or some tea or some water or some yogurt, whatever you're into, spend some time, open up the Bible, and get into the text again. and see the importance of how the text comes alive when it describes the importance and the centrality of Jesus in creation. Because again, Everything according to John chapter 1 tells us That creation was done through his word and everything was made by him again read Genesis account and God said and God said and God said and God said and then the next thing you read and it was done. So Beautiful, beautiful rendering of the created order, but beautiful thing. Even when you get to man in Genesis chapter two, God didn't call man into existence. The Bible says God took from the dust of the earth and he formed them. He shaped them. We were created by his hands. But then what I love is man was not a living organism until God breathed the Ruha of God, the breath of God, the spirit that brought that form, that empty shell, and it brought it to life. So, Again, we read about this supremacy of God. And again, we jump to what the scripture says collectively. Hebrews chapter one, verse two. But in the last days, he has spoken to us by his son. Does God speak today? Yes, he does. How does God speak to us today? Through his son, Jesus Christ, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. We don't deny that the Lord, again, beautiful, when you get time, I mean, I love my time that I could spend in the scripture, but John chapter one, verse three, and verse 10, it tells us this, and all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. I mean, we can't unpack that right now, but all things. All things, all things were created by him. Verse 10, he was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. What a beautiful reminder of all things were created by Christ. invisible forces of the spirit world as much as the visible and material order. We are not Platonism or Plato, Plato's, or I don't know how to say that. But anyways, you know who Plato was, philosopher, in what, fourth century before Christ? Right? It was him who we all fault because then his apprentice began to write more and took on what? Like all spirit is good and all matter is evil. Hence, even the church has adopted many of that type of thinking and philosophy. Here, this again for us evangelicals, Bible thumping, Bible believing, Bible practicing believers, We understand all things were created by God, thus, as Genesis 1 31 says, all things were, all things were good. Come on, folks. That's a Sunday school text, right? All things were created and all things are good. All things are good. This is important because we are raising a generation of young people who think sex is bad. Huh? Pastor Pablo, you said the S word at church. Like, oh, that's a stigma, dah, dah, dah, you know? And hey, God created this and it was. So what has the world done to change the narrative? what philosophies are creeping into the church, even to the church in Colossae. Nobody can pin a finger and say it was this, this, this, and that. But there was philosophies, thoughts, patterns, mentalities that were creeping in that were not Christ-centered. and it's important for us to come back to what matters more. Listen to the message that Christ is the origin, is the genesis, is by his word, he is the incarnated word of God. That's why it's important for us to come back and see all these thrones, principalities, authorities, powers, and dominion, all were created by God. This is very important for us. This is very important for us in our faith. The Son is central in the narrative of creation. Again, Paul wrote this to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 1.10, and as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him. Man, Paul really loved that word, all things. It's kind of like the but word, right? You know, I've said this in the past, Ephesians 2, 11, and then you get to verse 13, but, right? But in Christ, but now in Christ, right? Well, now he's saying all things in him, things in heaven and things in the earth. Let us not be afraid of an unraveling world. Why? Because the fourth thing that tells us is this central truth to the text that we're studying. And I'm about to land this plane because my time is like flashing over. Christ is the sustainer of all the created order. Have you ever heard, again, I'm not a fatalist. So you're not going to get this from Pastor Pablo. And I'll fight you tooth and nail every day if you're a fatalist and you think, well, this whole world's going to hell. Okay, yeah, yeah, it is. But you and me have a participation in what we call the Great Commission to proclaim God's good news to those who are dying, right? And so, look what the text says, and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. This is crazy. Pastor, are you suggesting that without Jesus, the natural laws of physics wouldn't go? That's exactly what I'm saying. Without Christ, the laws of nature and physics and science would not matter because everything would be chaotic. In fact, I believe, as many scholars believe, that it's this Christ that brings order to everything creative, visible and invisible. You want to know why your marriage isn't working out the way you planned? Maybe you need to make Christ the center of it. You wanna know why finances aren't working out? You're working, you're working, you're working, and it's like you have pocket in your holes. Try making Christ the center of your finances. Why am I so struggling in my? Make Christ the center of your thought life. He holds and sustains everything in its proper place and order in life, visible and invisible. And this is what Paul is just unpacking here. And my friends, I could take more time. But again, what does it mean when it really says that he holds all things together? It means that he has a perpetual, a continuance, a permanent existence of all things depending on Christ. It means that Christ unites all things and he holds all things together. All things would disintegrate and separate without Christ. The universe is dependent on Christ for its orderness, balance. He sustains the universe, nature, and even the events in history are dependent on Christ. The universe is being held together by Christ himself. Okay, this is radical. Very radical, but Jesus was a radical dude. He drove religious people nuts. He was a radical dude. So what is the takeaway? Well, depending on what season of life you're in. If you're a young person that you're aspiring to experience the love story, make Christ the center of that love story. If you're between work and you're aspiring new career goals, make Christ the career goal first. The rest of it is like what we say in the business world, it's all details. Again, I love this. You go to Old Testament, right? And you find a guy, some dude, poor dude. He was probably upset because he was called, no offense here if anyone's called Nehemiah. But Nehemiah, he made this prayer. And notice what he said in this prayer as he went back to find this destroyed city and the walls were turned on. But notice what Nehemiah says in Nehemiah 9, 6. You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven and the heaven of the heavens with all their holes, the earth and all that is in on it, the seas and all that is in them." But notice, notice tucked away in this one sentence, he says, and you preserve all of them. You preserve all of them. This is phenomenal, friends. When you get a chance, read Psalm 119, verse 91. By your appointment, they stand this day. Talking about the created order. For all things, notice what the Psalter says in Psalm 119, 91. All things are your servants. All things are your servants. If you ever have a moment to spend some time in Psalm 104, especially verses 24 through 27, when he's describing this thing about the creation, he says, oh Lord, how manifold are your works. In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, right? All you science nerds here, right? Man hasn't explored the depth of the sea. There's parts of the ocean that we still can't get to, yet look what the Psalter says. Then it says, there go the ships and the Leviathan, which you formed to play in it. These, verse 27, all look to you. You give them their food and do season. Maybe the issue isn't that God's mad at you. Maybe this isn't your season. Somebody needs to hear that. Maybe it isn't that you're in sin, dah, dah, dah, you're not being faithful. It's not that. Maybe this isn't the right time for what you've been asking God. Yet, when you make Christ the center of it all, all good things come from the Lord, who gives to His children in due season. And that's the word of the Lord for today, my friends. Let us bow our heads. Father, perhaps somebody is listening, and they've been wrestling with their faith. May they hear the words as given to us in this prayer. Christ is first. Christ is supreme. Christ is preeminent. Christ is Lord of it all. All things visible and invisible in the heavens and on earth. Everything, all things have been made and created by Christ, for Christ, and in Christ. And Lord, whether we think those things are good or bad, Lord, you sustain them all. for your glory, for your honor. Perhaps someone here today would just say, Lord, you need to be the sustainer of my world, the sustainer of my marriage, the sustainer of my health, the sustainer of my finances, the sustainer of it all. My prayer to you would just encouragement, confess it with your mouth, believe it in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord. and surrender that and believe it in your heart and that God raised them from the dead. And the scriptures promise to you is you shall be saved. Amen.