He could have called 10,000 angels. He wouldn't need to. He wouldn't even need to call 10,000 angels. He could have just said, hey, you know, I'm not doing this. But then he looked down through eternity, and you know who he saw? You saw you. You saw me. He said, I'll die for them. I'll give my life and I'll shed my blood for them. Wow. Seeing for the first time, part eight, and I've subtitled it, A Contrast, because we're asked in our key verse, which is verse 32 of Hebrews chapter 10, to remember. And it says, but call to remembrance the former days, in which after ye were illuminated, ye entered a great fight of afflictions. He says, but called to remembrance, and so we are to contrast what was to what is. And I believe if we do that, there's a song, Count Your Blessings, named The One by One. I don't think I care so much for the lyric that follows it, which says, and you will be surprised what God hath done. We ought never to be surprised. God said he would be there for us. God said that he would direct, he would walk with us. He said that he would meet our needs. And so, I don't know if there's any way to ever change that or not, I don't know, but I believe that maybe the songwriter had in mind was the idea that how easily we forget what God has done for us. Now most, if not all of us, have photo albums full of pictures And perhaps you have a number of photo albums that every once in a while you like to just sit down and reminisce about bygone days. My wife has gone through a number of our photo albums, and she has taken out all our kids' and our grandkids' pictures. And on their birthdays, she sends them those pictures to help them remember when they were, some of them were here in Vermont or when we were together for their birthdays and so on. It helps them to also remember their childhood. But I doubt that any of us have pictures of the bad times. Now, I don't know, I don't think you have an album that says, these were the good days. Another album says, these were the bad days. Because for the most part, we don't want to have to remember the bad times. And as difficult as times may have been, prayerfully, we learned something about ourselves that we could not have learned any other way. The school of hard knocks, called life, serves as a harsh schoolmaster. Then one day the gospel was shared and you responded because you were illuminated. You were imbued with saving knowledge and you saw the truth. You accepted Christ as your Savior. Your unsaved friends didn't get it. Perhaps maybe now they still don't get it. They didn't understand. You say, or you told them and said, I have come to a state of faith in the person of Jesus Christ. They look at you and say, you what? What did you do that for? Are you silly? Are you foolish? Or you can become one of those holy rollers. Well, your own friends, they didn't get it, didn't understand it. Perhaps family and coworkers didn't get it. And some perhaps even gave you some grief because of it. But again, if you would look in Hebrews chapter 10, in verse 33, the Bible says there, partly while ye were made a gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly while she became companions of them that were so used. You became a part of the ridiculed, of the persecuted, if you will. Now this word illuminated is in the Aorist tense, which means the minute you saw the light, you saw the truth of the gospel, that you were a sinner and that you needed to come to a saving faith in the person of Jesus Christ. Boom! And just like that it came on. And you said, that's what I need to do. And you did it! Amen? Well, that is the understanding of the Aorist tense. meaning at some point in time, but it is also in the passive voice, meaning this illumination came from an outside source. That source was the Holy Spirit that enabled us to see that we were sinners, regardless of how highly we may have thought of ourselves, thinking that we were a good person, I don't really need to be saved, I haven't done anything wrong, I don't believe I've really sinned against God. Then all of a sudden the gospel came to you, the light bulb came on, and you saw it. You saw the truth for the first time. So the moment we come to this saving faith in Christ, we entered a new and a living way. We now walk with Christ and have access to all the information that we need to live a successful Christian life that pleases our Heavenly Father. Listen, you don't have to live the Christian life to please me, nor me to you. But if I walk to please the Lord, then we will please each other in the process, amen? Our goal is to walk to please the Lord. to please our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who through his death and resurrection makes it all possible. You know the sad tragedy is that there'll be a lot of people who will go to church somewhere today. Maybe they went last night, I don't know, depending on their faith. But they went into church and they feel like they met with God. And now they're gonna walk out of church and leave God back here in the building. Do you ever remember a time when that was probably how it was when you went to church? You went there to worship and to praise the Lord. And when you walked out, it's as if like, okay, I'm going back out into the world now. And I'll come back next Sunday and I'll meet with God because this is where God lives. God doesn't live in this building. God lives everywhere. God is on the present. God is in all of creation all of the time. And wherever I am, I am in His presence all the time. And so by God's grace today, see in the light, part eight, concerning our illumination. Father, won't you guide, won't you direct? Lord, I'm sure that many people have various misgivings, and Lord, because they don't understand your nature, they don't understand your character, or they have been somehow brought to believe that this is where you live, that this is where we have to come in order to be able to come into your presence. They don't realize that you're present in their home, in their prayer closet, that you're present with them in their vehicle, you're present with them wherever it is that they go. And so, Lord, as we come together as a group of believers, Lord, challenge us. Open our understanding. Lord, increase it. Increase it exponentially so that, Lord, we will not walk out of here today the same way that we came in, thinking the same old thoughts. But we will be challenged in our heart of hearts to think bigger, to see the bigger picture, to realize that we are a part of that bigger picture. whether it's to salvation or to rededication, whether it's here in the sanctuary or at home. Pray that your perfect will will be accomplished. Today in Jesus' name we pray, amen. So the very first point this morning is the source of illumination. In John chapter 16, if we can turn, we'll be back into Hebrew, just mark it there. But in the gospel of John chapter 16, I'm sorry. In John chapter 16, In 14, 15, and 16, we're really given the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God. And I believe it really is, it's very important, it's incumbent upon all of us to understand what is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I believe we miss out on so much in the Christian life because we don't understand. the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God. And if we don't know what the Bible has to say, then we're going to have misgivings, misunderstandings, if you will. But in John chapter 16, look in verse 14, speaking of the Holy Spirit, or the Comforter is another name that he is often called, or in the Hebrew or Greek it would be the Paraclete. Verse 14 says, he shall glorify me. Now talk about me. This is Jesus speaking concerning the ministry of the Comforter who is going to follow him once he has ascended. He, the Holy Spirit, shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. It is amazing how so few actually know or understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit, even though the Word of God is clear about his ministry. Some believe his primary ministry is to provide the power for the Christian life. He does this, aren't you glad? But it is not his primary ministry. Others believe his goal is to develop holiness in our lives. And yes, he does produce a Christ-like fruit within us, if we will surrender and cooperate. But sanctification is not his primary ministry. Still others believe his primary ministry is to teach and instruct us, and certainly he does enable us to understand the Word of God and its application to our lives. But even this is not his primary ministry to you and I. Most certainly, these are supporting ministries for God's ultimate goal for conforming you and I to the image of Jesus Christ, as per Romans 8.29. Over just a couple of books, if you don't have it memorized there, but in Romans 8.29, the Holy Spirit there is addressing the fact His ministry is to conform us. It says, okay, Romans, yes, 8.29. What did I do here? Oh, I'm in chapter nine. Romans 8, 29. It says, for whom he did for to God, for knew you. You're not someone that just happened to be at a Johnny-come-lately along the line there. Before the foundations of the world were laid, he saw you. He knew you. He knew what you would do. Now, do not go down the road or the rabbit hole with John Calvin. God did not choose who was gonna get saved. He knew who would get saved and there's a difference. To know is to also understand that, where's I gonna go with that, is to give us free choice, is to give us a free will. And so you came to Jesus Christ because you exercised your will to accept what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross of Calvary. But nonetheless God knew who would get saved and who would not get saved. And we don't have any idea. And so our responsibility is to get the gospel out to whoever God brings into our lives. And so his primary ministry is to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first fruits among many brethren. So before the foundations of the world were ever laid, before you were ever conceived, and before you were ever born, God had predetermined a purpose for those whom He knows will get saved are the ones whom He is going to predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. The unsaved can't be predestined. The unsaved cannot be conformed to the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, His primary ministry is to make Jesus Christ very real. to a lost world, and a very real personal person to the redeemed of the Lord. I mean, don't you want Christ to be very real? I'm glad that my wife is not an enfigment of my imagination. I'm glad that she's very real. I'm glad that she's very genuine. And so the Holy Spirit's ministry is to make the Lord Jesus Christ very real. that He not only is the Son of God, but that He gave His life on the cross that we might have eternal life if we would receive Him. John chapter 14, if we can just look back there one more time, John chapter 14, verse 26, Jesus speaking, He said, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name. He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. And again in chapter 15 and verse 26 again he says here, But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. And as we see in chapter 16, again in verse 14, he said, he shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. And so none of this, none of this can be accomplished without the indwelling Holy Spirit in the life of everyone who comes to a saving faith in the person of Jesus Christ. Is Christ real to you? I want you to think about that for a moment. Or is he an abstract? Or is he just some historical image, some historical figure? Just how real is Jesus Christ to you today? How real? Are you cognizant of his constant continual presence? Or when you walk out of your prayer closet or you walk away from your place of devotions, do you leave them there waiting for you to come back the next morning? Or do you walk out of that time that you have with the Lord and knowing that he is with you and that you are with him and you're going to go throughout your day that way? I wonder if we were as cognizant as we would like to think we are, about the continual ever-presence of the Lord, if we would say some of the things that we say, or we do some of the things that we do, or get involved in some of the things that we get involved in. Amen? Think about that. It's almost as if we can compartmentalize Him and put Him over here, while we go over here and do this, and when it's time we'll go back over here and pick Him back up and bring Him here, and then we'll put Him back over there and we'll go back out into the world. He is ever-present. Ever-present. He is omnipresent. Now perhaps A.W. Tozer put it as plainly as is needed. And he says this is for millions of Christians. God is no more real to them than he is to the non-christian. Think about that. The non-christian has no awareness of God whatsoever. They don't. Think about that. They have absolutely no awareness of God. all they've heard about him, or they may use it in vulgarity, but they really don't have an awareness of his presence. You and I, on the other hand, no matter where we're going, no matter where we are, no matter what we're doing, we should be constantly aware of his presence. Now, I think there's an advertisement, yeah, it's for the search engine called DuckDuckGo. claiming that they don't watch over your shoulder. In other words, there's a little thing on computers called cookies. And when you go out to a place, somehow they trap into your IP address, and they will send you all kinds of information. So that's how that comes out. Have you ever ordered something online, then you've gone out there, and maybe you've done some searching out there, and all of a sudden, all these little things open up all over the place there. That's because they're watching, not technically, but theoretically, they're watching over your shoulder, and they're paying attention to what you're doing on that keyboard. That's why only a foolish individual would put information out there on the internet that you don't want other people to know about. And I'd warn parents and grandparents, do not let your children put pictures out there. There are people who are looking on Facebook and some of these other mediums out there, predators, stalkers, who will find you if you put information out there. And there are other individuals who can find all kinds of information about you. The less people out in the world know about you, the better off you are. But we have come to this particular point where people put things out there on the internet. I want to use the word fools, but it's foolish to do so. They don't need to know what you just had for supper. They don't need to know what you did 10 minutes ago. Pick up the phone and talk to whoever you want to talk to and say, hey, listen, I just fell off my bike or my sister-in-law called my wife. But you know, we've got to be careful. For millions of Christians, God is no more real to them than he is to the non-Christian. They go through life trying to love an ideal and be loyal to a mere principle, not ever realizing that it is a loving personality that dominates the Bible. A loving person speaking, pleading, loving, working, manifesting himself whenever and wherever his people have the receptivity necessary to receive his presence. What would you do if you said something you knew you shouldn't have said? Boom! There was the Lord. Where did you come from? I've always been here. Oops, did you just hear what I said? Oh yeah, I heard what you said. I even knew your thoughts. But He is omnipresent. He is in our presence and we are in His presence. This is His world. He was there when it was created and He is a part of it, and we are a part of it, and wherever we are in this world, We're with Him. We're never separated, never apart. Folks, Christ never becomes more real than when we choose to walk in obedience to Him, even as He walked in obedience to the Heavenly Father. John chapter eight and verse 29 says, I do always those things that please Him, that is, that please the Father. Because Jesus, the only time I can think of that He would have been separated from the Father was when He was on the cross. And He wanted to, He asked the Father, why he had forsaken him. But God was still present in the world. It was a very dark time, but nonetheless God was present. He said, I do always those things that please him. He was always aware that no matter where he was, that what he was doing, he was with the Father. This is when we become illuminated. This is when Jesus becomes more real and personal in our lives, and our desire is to honor him by being conformed to him, to be conformed to his image. So when the world looks at us, they're seeing a replica of the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe it may be in the rough making, but it's in the making, amen? Because many of us are all at different stages in that particular being conformed or being made over into the image of Christ. Some are further along, some are getting there, Some haven't even made the trick yet. Romans 8.29 requires a full surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit. You can't be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ with one foot in the world and one foot in the body of Christ. You have to really be all in or you're not going to be conformed very easily. It says again, for whom He did foreknow, He did predestinate. God predetermined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Which brings us to the second point. First of all, there was a source of illumination, which is the Holy Spirit of God. We see what we see and understand what we understand because of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of God. And his ministry is to... What? I just preached it. It's to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in and through our lives. So secondly, there's the effects of illumination in Romans chapter 12. And in chapter 12 in verse 2, which really is a verse if you want to put alongside of it, is concerning a divine transformation. Because the transformation that God is looking for is that which is done by the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit of God in concert with the Word of God to conform us to that image. And he says there in Romans chapter 12 in verse 2, and he says, and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. There are three or so effects when the redeemed of the Lord allow the Word of God and the Holy Spirit of God brings the light of the glorious gospel into focus in our lives. So that we're not just reading mere words or chalking up certain amount of facts and information along the way, but that we're growing, knowledgeable. as God would have us do. The first one is the redeemed of the Lord are moved intellectually. That is the first and foremost. By such a profound truth, John chapter 5 verse 39 says, search the scriptures for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testify of me. When you read the book, you're reading about the person of Jesus Christ. All that we need to know is contained here in this book. Now you'll find his handiwork under microscopes and through telescopes. And you'll find his handiwork all around out in the countryside and wherever you may be you'll see his handiwork. But you'll also see the devil's as well. But here in the Word of God is where we learn of the Lord Jesus Christ. So search the scriptures for in them You think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. So there is the word of God that illuminates you and I. Also in John 15, 26, it says, but when the comforters come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me, and there is the Holy Spirit that illuminates us, along with the word of God. And then there is the second one, which is the redeemed are moved emotionally. First of all, we're moved intellectually. Then we are moved emotionally by such divine light. How many of you are saddened that you have come to a saving faith in Christ? How many of you wish you could go back and undo it all? How many of you can say, amen, I'm glad I'm saved? Amen. To think that the God of creation loves me, let alone that I even exist. John chapter 3 and verse 16, for God so what? Love the world, that whosoever, hey, you and I are part of that whosoever. To think that God would want me to be a part of his family. Romans 10 30, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. To think that Christ would love me enough to die so I could live. Romans 5 8, God commendeth his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And on we could go if we would, but remember our former days? What it felt like when you were first saved? I think Jack's got a pretty exciting, he's giving me a testimony this week. Just this morning, I should say, just this morning. If you wanna hear it, you're gonna have to stick around this afternoon. But it's an exciting testimony, it really is very exciting. Because some of the comments he'll make, I've heard him say it publicly to me a number of times. But God is still God. And prayer still works, amen? So I've whet your appetite, so Brother Steve, we should have some more here this afternoon, amen? It'll be well worth just the testimony itself. Because it'll be an encouragement. How many of you are praying for someone who is lost, that's not saved? You know, you're really concerned that there's someone in your life that you would love to see come to Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? Don't give up. No matter how impossible it may seem to you, don't ever give up. How many of you are praying for someone who's backslidden? Who's not walking with the Lord? Don't give up praying for them. continue to lift them up before God. God hears, God knows, God sees. God will work. The third one is the redeemed find themselves moved volitionally. Have you ever felt antsy, you just had to go up and do something? My wife and I went in and she said, I was antsy for the two days. Probably because I'm thinking of all the things that have to be done back here, things that need to be done. And at the same time, it's a different schedule. When you're out and you're off in someplace else, it's different. It's different. And we were so glad. She was ready to come home Friday night before even Saturday. We're going to hang in here one more day. But just remember what those early days were. And they should not have waned in excitement, they should have grown. We should be more excited today because we know more, and we've experienced more. Folks, it should be getting better. Oh, preacher, but what about the trials and what about the tribulations? I've got a letter here. Oh, if I could get it done. This letter came to me in our mission, so it's part of our mission group. Gerald Pauly and his wife Marguerite. Keep in mind, they're a little bit older than Peg and I. They're, I think, two years, two to three years older than us. And she says, I look back over our prayer letters since we moved to St. Bernard de la Calle, and it seems to me that we have been through a lot of bad weather, troubles and health problems and so forth. Do you think it's strange for us to tell you that we have been very happy. Everybody's like, ah, my ache, my pains, this, my that, this, my over there, oh man. And she says, and I'm going to tell you, she shares some things in here. She said that we feel blessed of the Lord in so many ways. We thank the Lord fervently every day for his presence and for his bountiful supply for our needs and our projects. The solarium is in place and is elegant and appropriate, besides being perfect as a church entry. We're grateful for the gifts of extra money that enabled us to make the last payment the day that they finished the installation of the solarium. And she goes on, she says some things about the cost, which I won't go into, other than the fact that we had given them a check for 3,000, which was 4,000 Canadian dollars, which is exactly what they needed to finish the solarium for them to get in. But she says, the time of trial, right after Christmas. And they've had these kind of problems for the last, I think, the last 10 years. And Dr. Pauly is not one of those guys who gets up on scaffolding and stuff like that. We had gone up there to Boucherville and we had done a project. And they finished up most of the project except for the vinyl siding. And so I was coming home, and I was going back up there to do the vinyl siding. And I told Dr. Pauly, I will be back Thursday morning. I'm going home for prayer meeting. I'll be back Thursday morning to finish up the vinyl siding. Well, I get off a bit later than I anticipated. And I pulled into their driveway. There's Dr. Pauly, second story up there on his hands and knees. I said, Dr. Pauly, you're never going to be able to do the siding on your hands and knees. You actually have to use your hands, besides holding on to the scaffolding along the way. But from that point in time he had had a number of heart attacks. The guy has had 12 stents and recently a 13th stent in his heart. He's had several heart attacks of which one he was dead on the table and they revived him. And he says, right after Christmas, we had bad storms and high winds. There was a postal strike, 34 days, no mail, and another two months before the backlog could be delivered. February the 6th, Gerald went out on a bitterly cold day, and from the window, I saw him pick up a snow shovel. I hurried to warn him, now she has to shuffle because she uses a walker. I hurried to warn him not to shovel. The snow was very heavy. He was coming in. He had pushed a shovel full of snow and had chest pain. I convinced him to let me call for an ambulance. The hospital was 45 minutes away in good weather. It was an hour before the ambulance got there in the storm and an hour and a half to get to the hospital. The care that we got The care that he got in emergency saved him. And the next morning at 6 o'clock, he was temporarily transferred to a hospital in Montreal where a stent was added to his collection. He now has 13 stents plus a triple bypass with a Y junction, whatever that is. Goes on and says, the 10th, 11th of March. He was short of breath and thought he had a cold. He had an appointment for an eye exam. At the clinic, I saw that he was getting worse, and he really couldn't breathe. I rushed him to the nearest emergency room. We had to wait several hours, but that was because the nurse who did the evaluation had called for cardiologists. To get to the point, his lungs were filled with water, or fluid, and he had pneumonia in both lungs. The stress on his heart brought on another heart attack, For a week, the doctors didn't know why his lungs kept filling with fluid. Finally, after several x-rays and two nuclear scans, the cardiologist diagnosed insufficiency cardiac. He survived, and after two weeks, we came home. I say we because I was snowed in at the hospital. There was a storm of the century, and three days later, a bigger storm of the century struck Followed by a storm the like of which no one had ever seen in Quebec, the parking lot personnel could not plow or shovel because of all the cars under the snow. I needed to go home for my medicine and other necessities. One of the men dug my car out and brought it to me. I made the 45-minute trip home in an hour and a half, only to find that there was no electricity. I went back to the hospital and parked on a mound of snow. That night, the last storm covered it. Two days later, three men got the car out for me, and I went home, only to find there was no water. I returned to the hospital with a pillow and a blanket that plugs into the cigarette lighter. The parking lot attendant gave me a free parking space and I slept in the car for the rest of the time. It was hard to walk back and forth from the car in the snow and sleet and the ice, using a walker if you will, trying to get around in a foot of snow with a walker. A young couple literally carried me and she's not a small woman. A young couple literally carried me over a bank of snow. I met good people and told them that they were answers to prayer and added that they could have the same joy and peace that I had. We had tracks in the glove compartment. Gerald had a long and fruitful conversation with the patient in the other bed about the Lord and the salvation and true life he offers. He was a student. We were talking with an orderly. And when he realized that Gerald had been a pastor, he got so excited, he started preaching about how to get saved, how he got saved, rather. He was from the Ivy Coast and wants to learn the Bible and to be able to preach. His name is Yaw Pee. So remember Yaw Pee. But in this, he says, we're happy. We're at peace with the Lord. I've had enough of this. I can't handle it. I can't take it anymore. God, what are you trying to do to me here? But no, they didn't do that. because they had lived a life, they had walked a life in the presence of the Lord. So they looked at things that you and I would have said, no way. It's just one more hurdle that the God was going to see them through. So every once in a while you come across the life path of some folks who are the express expression of what it means to be illuminated by the Word of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit. And we close this very quickly, the context of illumination. And it says in Luke 24, 31 and 32, it says, And their eyes were opened, and they knew him. These are the two disciples who were walking on the road to Emmaus. And Jesus, after his resurrection, had come alongside of them and talked with them, and they talked with him along the way. And it wasn't until he sat down, and we're going to have something to eat, and he blessed it, that all of a sudden their eyes were opened. Listen to it again. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, did not our hearts burn within us? Have you ever had that experience? where your heart was just elated, your heart was excited when you're reading the word of God, you saw something that really spoke to you, something that really challenged you, something that you knew was going to change. Maybe a thought pattern or change something about you and about your walk with the Lord. Did not our hearts burn within us while we talked, while he talked with us by the way and while he opened to us the scripture? These are times when our hearts should be ablaze and aflame and reading the word of God and not that, boy that's a long chapter. That's got, the last one just had 10 verses and this one's got 35 or 40 verses, that's a long, I mean, do we really look at reading the Bible as a chore? And I believe that many of us do. We look at it from time to time. This is a chore to read the Word of God. And I believe it's because there's a problem called love. Do we really have a love for the Lord and being able to see how God is working throughout history? How He worked in other people's lives? How He will work in our lives as well? So what exactly do you and I see or experience when we are reading our Bibles? Is the presence of the Lord a living reality to us? If not, why not? The disciples did not die for a noble cause. They died for a Savior. They gave their lives for the person of Jesus Christ. They gave the ultimate sacrifice. In their early stages, they seemed at times a little wishy-washy, but when the light of the glorious gospel came together, they became bold, they became steadfast, willing to put their lives on the line for the cause of the person of Christ. No holding back, just full speed ahead. What a difference it makes in our lives when we can see what God wants us to see, and then to use that insight to live all out for Christ. That's why we have the illumination, so that we can be that shining light. He gave us, I should say he gave his all for you and I. What have we given to him in return? The context of illumination is the ability to see someone or something that is so much bigger than ourselves. Someone who is so majestic that it takes our breath away. A beauty that leaves us mesmerized and in awe. With a desire to fully surrender our lives and serve rather than being served. What a difference. Lord, how can I serve You today? Lord, what can I do guided by You? Rather than saying, well, Lord, I have this need, I have this need. And it's always about what our needs are. Not that God minds, but He already knows what those needs are. What a refreshing, how can I serve you today? Lord, I gotta go to work, how can I serve you today? How can I serve you in the greenhouse? How can I serve you driving the bus? How can I serve you as I hammer these nails or look at these blueprints? How can I serve you, Lord? Lord, your basic tongue, I want you to use me. You have a picture, I'm retired. God still can use you. There's still a place for you to go. There's still a place for you to serve. There are things that God would have you to do. How about hearts of fire for God? Hearts of fire. Set my heart ablaze. Father, thank You for the sign that we could be together. Lord, I believe that sometimes we We look like we're miserable Christians, because oftentimes I believe we are. We have every reason in the world, through faith, to have hope. And even in the most dire of situations, Lord, in the most difficult of circumstances, it's not like you've abandoned us. Lord, you're there with us. You're there ever present, walking with us, guiding us, ready to lead us. Lord, We should be the most contented individuals. Lord, when I think of the word contentment, I think of Dr. Pauli and Marguerite. Lord, just being in their presence is refreshing. Because Lord, it's not like they have it easy. Both are diabetics. Both have to use walking instruments to help them get around. And Lord, the things they do, to serve you. They don't wake up in the morning asking how you can serve them. They wake up every morning asking, Lord, what can we do for you today? How can we be used? Well, that should indeed be our prayer. Lord, use us. Use us. Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. You say, Preacher, pray for me today. I do believe that many times I have been very selfish. I've been selfish in my prayers. I've even been somewhat selfish in my expectations of you, Lord. But I haven't been very forthcoming. I haven't been as readily available to be used by and for you. And you say, Preacher, pray for me this morning. I want to see it. Now, step out and do it, and the light will come on. It's not like walking into one of those rooms that has that electric eye that you walk in and the light comes on. But once you set the course and you take that first step and say, Lord, use me, he's going to show you throughout today how you, how he can use you, the honor to glorify him, and you will be blessed as a result. Nothing is more exciting. and seeing prayers being answered and souls being saved as a result of your prayers. Missionaries' needs being met because you prayed and you gave. Nothing is more exciting than seeing God work in wonderful and marvelous ways and knowing that you prayed. Maybe you actually had a physical part in that because God used you. Preacher, I want God to be able to use me. I want my life to be a life that God can count on and be used. Preacher, would you pray for me in closing? young and old alike. You may not be able to say, Preacher, I don't even know if I got a home in heaven. This is where it begins. One of the most exciting life ways that you could possibly imagine is to walk with the Lord. Will it always be easy? No. Will it always be exciting? Oh, more than likely. Will it be fulfilling? Absolutely. Will it be discouraging? Yes, we will face discouragements, but we can overcome all that. The Lord will guide us, the Holy Spirit will strengthen us and encourage us along the way. But if you do not know Christ as your own personal Lord and Savior, then my dear friends, would you accept Him today as your personal Lord and Savior, whether at home or here in the sanctuary? Oh Father, we thank you for this time that we could be together. And Lord, I believe that many times all of us from this pulpit to the pews and at home as well, We're very myopic when it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't see you everywhere, even though you're there. We're not always aware of your presence, though you are there. And Lord, it means that something has to change within us, because we should be able to sense your ever-abiding presence, to know that you are there, not just only academically, but experientially. And Lord, may that be so, beginning today. work in our hearts, work in our lives to bring the glory that you deserve. Father, we pray that you'll bless the meal that we're about to receive downstairs. Dismiss us now with thy blessings, we pray in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and all God's people said, amen.