Look with me, please, in your Bibles today as we return to the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5. The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5. We give you one disclaimer this morning as we enter into this time of the message that we're struggling a little bit with our voice today. I've got a little bit of a sinus thing going on, and that has had its natural effect on my voice a little bit. I'm doing okay right now, but if you hear a squeak, Indulge me, overlook me, forgive me. Steve and I are the walking wounded today. He was concerned about having a coughing spell up here or falling out. He's recovering over a case of pneumonia himself and still a bit weakened from that. And so we're thankful that he was able to carry through with his duties today and leading you in our congregational music. We continue to examine today in Matthew Chapter 5, our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. this message, this magnificent message that the Lord is giving us as he gave it that day, that we see the Lord having set the table with the Beatitudes, addressing that which is within the heart and the mind that is to cultivate a holiness, a spirit, and a devotion to the Lord, a righteousness, if you will, imperfect as it may be, but one that is intent on fulfilling the requirements of God. He then moved into illustrations and examples and teaching with regard to relationships, illustrating that when he would often began the exchange, you have heard it said, you have heard it told. And he would make references to the law of Moses, the law of God, actually, that had been given to Moses. And then not refuting that law, but quite frankly, endeavoring to give the correct interpretation and application of that law. Because what we find here in the context of our Lord's Sermon, which is incredibly important, is that Jesus is addressing a very contemporary problem and his teaching is based upon that problem with regard to man. Contemporary for what is happening even on the day that he gives this message, but contemporary also because it is present in every generation of man. It is a problem that is present in every culture. It is a problem that is present in every empire. And in fact, it remains one of the greatest temptations of these that we address in these past few weeks to the church of Jesus Christ still today. It is a teaching that we desperately need. And we have discussed such subjects as with regard to murder, and understanding the genuine root of that sin of murder does not happen only when the hands have acted, but in fact when it has been cultivated and developed in the mind and the heart. He presented the same case with regard to the sin of adultery. And when we looked at the sanctity of marriage and the issue of divorce, he was very clear with regard to this. Understanding that that which has been allowed to us, applied to us, or granted to us is not based on God commending it, but based on God allowing it. Not allowing it because we deserve it, but in fact, in spite of the fact and looking at our sin and our failure, there is an obvious assumption here, and rightfully so, because it is the nature of humanity. Today we find ourselves looking at something that should be obvious to us. And yet, if we're honest, we realize that it represents one of the greatest failures at every environment and every culture. And that is simply the idea of being honest. Truthfulness. Truthfulness. We struggle with understanding the truth of God's Word and applying it correctly, even when we understand it and simply don't like it. We struggle all the more simply being truthful in our everyday lives. And on the occasion that Christ addressed this subject, he understood that to be very much the problem, and he used the act of taking an oath as an illustrative principle to teach the idea of truthfulness among God's people. There is an illustration that's been used widely through the years and honestly because it is so profound. It happened many years ago when we're told that a chaplain who often state legislatures will have a chaplain come and pray an invocation before the session starts. I believe our state still does that. But there was one that was done many years ago in the state of Kansas that kind of lives on in infamy. It is said that the chaplain stood up and he began his prayer like this, Omniscient Father, help us to know who is telling the truth. One side tells us one thing and the other just the opposite. And if neither side is telling the truth, we would like to know that too. And if each side is telling half the truth, Give us the wisdom to put the right halves together. In Jesus' name, amen. I'd like to have been a fly on the wall in the chamber of that legislature. What a startling thing for a man of God to stand before people who are to be the leaders, who are to be those who are looking out for the community, serving the families and yet the man of God has to stand up there with in quite frankly anyone can see some measure of cynicism asking for God's divine intervention to reveal the truth in what he has pretty much implied will be a sea of lies exaggeration at best dishonesty at worst We find ourselves living in a community and in a culture where the idea of being truthful is the exception, not the rule. In fact, I would argue that the more truthful you are in the environment we live today, the more offensive you are received. They would count you hateful. They would count you ugly. The acceptance of dishonesty is so rampant That we have people today from the politician down to the common man who think nothing of being untruthful on a daily basis. It has become almost an accepted means by which we live. When a politician stands before us and makes a declaration, I am to the point now, folks, I have to be honest with you, I'm 90% certain that he's either exaggerating or out and out lying. You know the joke. How do you know when they're lying? When their lips are moving. I'm certain that there are honest men still out there endeavoring to lead us and serve us, but they become the needle in the haystack. They become the diamond in the rough. We are thankful for them, but they were overwrought by those who give the appearance of being something else. Now, that's the world. And I have no expectation of the world acting anything except like the world. But within the world, God has saved and set aside His people. From our point of view, it is the church of Jesus Christ. We are citizens of the kingdom of God. And God has made it clear in His word that His expectation of a child of God is more than this. His expectation of us is indeed truthfulness. And so he uses this occasion in the Sermon on the Mount to address the problem as it was presented among the people of Israel living within the empire of Rome, led by the Sanhedrin, the scribes and the Pharisees, who had taken the law of God, much like most nations and empires will do. They will have taken what God had given and in it of itself was sufficient. And they have added to it. They have modified it. They have, in effect, changed it. Changed it, and Jesus confronts it here in our text. Look with me, Matthew chapter 5, as we begin in verse 33. Again, Jesus says, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. But I say to you, do not swear at all. Neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your yes be yes, and your no, no, for whatever is more than these is from the evil one. There have been many through the years that have taken this religiously as a text that is said to believe that you and I are not to have anything to do with any kind of oath, any kind of declaration that Jesus was dismissing them all. There are religious groups to this day who, if they were called upon to testify in a court of law, would not put their hand on the Bible or swear upon God's Word. There are those who feel such strong ways about this, they believe that God has condemned it through Christ, period. I would continue today that that is not the basis of the Lord's teaching. It is important for us to look at the balance of Scripture, because Jesus didn't just give us the Word that is found in Matthew chapter 5, He gave us the Word that begins in Genesis chapter 1 and finishes in Revelation. So we look at the teaching that is made possible before us here with the consistency of God's Word. So if we're going to understand this, we need to take a moment to review and remind ourselves what the Scriptures actually teach, not only regarding truth, but regarding the function and the purpose of oaths. We will find, first of all, that vows were actually encouraged in God's Word in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy chapter 10 and verse 20, the Bible says, you shall fear the Lord your God, you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast and take oaths in His name. It does not say you could, it said you are to, correct? The implication is there. In Jeremiah chapter 12, for instance, in verse 16, the Bible says, and it shall be. If they will learn carefully the ways of My people, to swear by My name as the Lord lives, as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people. But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, says the Lord. The obvious distinction is made between those who would believe in the one true and living God, and that they should be swearing by His name as they once were enticed deceived into swearing by the name of Baal. So we see here immediately in the context of the law of God and the teachings of God, that in fact the oath was not simply tolerated, it was in fact called for. Now, what was uncalled for, what was always discouraged, what was always rebuked, was the idea of taking a vow or making an oath and not fulfilling it. This becomes the problem. In the book of Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 12, the Bible says plainly, and you shall not swear by my name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. in Numbers 30 and verse 16. The Bible says these are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses between a man and his wife and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father's house. This makes reference to the commitments and the oaths that are made between the family members. For instance, still today as we gather for a wedding ceremony, there are vows taken. There are oaths made. between a husband and a wife regarding their commitment to one another, and they are expected to fulfill those vows, of course, makes it even more significant for our discussion with regard to marriage. In Deuteronomy chapter 23 and verse 21, when you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it. For the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. Sin to you how? If you do not pay it, if you do not fulfill it. So it is clear that the scriptural principle is this, that in fact there is an occasion upon which an oath is to be taken, and when an oath is taken, it is to be taken seriously, it is to be taken in the name of God, and once taken in the name of God, it is to be fulfilled. And anything that falls short of this is, in fact, a sin, if you will, of rebellion toward God. Now, this is, in fact, God's giving of the law to man. As Jesus begins this portion of his sermon in Matthew chapter five, it is well knowing what the law reads. Now, is Christ here to do anything to change the law? He's already been on record in this sermon to say, I have not come to do away with the law. Instead, I've come to complete the law. And in fact, if I may add to that, by the very language he's using, he's not only completing the law, he is correcting their view of the law. For the Bible clearly shows to us traditionally that what has happened in the life of men who have been given charge over keeping the oracles of God and the law of God, that the sinfulness of their human frailty has crept in. Their rebellion against God's rule of their lives and their responsibility toward other people has been bent in some form or fashion as a matter of convenience to them, as a matter of selfish desire so that they think it's a win-win situation depending on how they handle this teaching in God's Word. That was the case. That was the case that Jesus faced when he brought this message to the people. To understand Christ's teaching regarding truthfulness and oaths, you must understand the congregation he's addressing. The problem that was found in the age of Christ's earthly ministry was that oath-taking had suffered a tremendous abuse. You and I can identify with this if you want to understand where this comes from and what is the, what might be considered childish and childlike games becomes an adult practice as well. For instance, when children, if you see it on television or in movies, I got to tell you, we never did this when I was growing up. When your children would come together and they would tell somebody they're going to commit to do something and they say, do you pinky swear it? Ah, the power in the pinky, right? All right, now, also in the rule of law among children, you also had this other out, and that is when you're telling somebody something, you cross your fingers behind you. Are you familiar with this practice? If I'm enlightening you, I hope I'm not leading you down the path of ruin. It's suggested that if one crossed their fingers, that they're not responsible for whatever they said, that they are exempt in their lying tongue. You say, well, those are childlike games, Pastor. Yes. And there's nothing more discouraging than when adults take on the practice of children. And that, in effect, is what has happened. The Scribes and Pharisees had an entire section in the law that dealt with the idea of oaths. And one of the great accomplishments of it was was to determine when you are bound by an oath and when you are not bound by an oath. Now, we've got a problem already. The law of God has not given us any leeway with regard to not being bound by an oath. But in fact, those who have taken it have cultivated such a process. If, for instance, one of the examples that is written in Jewish historical records according to this law was that you could swear something by the city of Jerusalem, but you can't swear something toward Jerusalem. Now, I'm certain you all know the difference. and could explain it to me. But they were convinced that to swear by the city of Jerusalem was one thing. To swear toward Jerusalem gave the implication of a divine name being invoked. I can only suppose that it had something to do with the requirements of Israelites that when they prayed several times a day, they were to look toward Jerusalem in a sense that they were looking toward God because they were looking to the temple, the ordained place of worship. But this is what it had been boiled down to, that one was not bound if they had swore an oath in a certain manner. There were those who swore upon themselves. They were sworn about different things. And you say, well, thank goodness we don't do that. We do it all the time. You see it before other people. I pray the worldly people who do not know God, God forbid that his own people would find themselves doing this. But swearing upon our mother's grave, swearing upon this, swearing upon that, swearing upon my children's life. We hear these crazy things, even just to say, I swear it, period. Now, these things. Christ would tell you in the life of a believer should not be so. This is the point that Christ is about to make in our text when we pick up in verse 34. He says, But I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by earth, for it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king, nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make the hair white or black. So what is what is happening here is Jesus saying this won't do. The teaching that you were giving in the Law of God was that you were to swear by the name of God, and by the name of God only. And when you do swear by God and make such a commitment, it should be so serious that there is no question as to whether it will be fulfilled, even if it means at the sacrifice of your hurt. But if you imagine, God says, that you have found a loophole in the truth of God's Word, He said, let me correct you, because there's nothing you can swear upon surrounding you that is not given by me. I am the creator and the sustainer of it all. And he literally says to swear upon your head, I created that head. He said, it's up to me whether it stays on your shoulders or not. So your idea that you can swear upon anything else and somehow it is is somehow exempt or removed from it. Christ is exposing, if you will, the underbelly of the selfish, sinful act of a child of God who may have a childlike faith, but is tempted to act in a childish fashion. And God's word and our relationship with God is not to be toyed with in such a way. So. The believer understands this, or is to understand this, by Christ's teaching to recognize this. The believer has been made righteous by God through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is all about understanding a relationship that you have. What He's telling you is, is there is no need for you to swear by such things in your life. In fact, the believer should not need to convince someone else of their honesty. Now you understand the problem. Now we're beginning to recognize the difficulty. And that is the fact that human beings are so natural and prone to lying that one feels the need to swear to have any measure of credibility because of the presumption of dishonesty. But Christ indeed is saying there should be no need for such swearing, because He said to the people of God who have been made righteous by God, you should be counted by verse 37 where it says, let your yes be yes and your no, no. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. So we look back to the verse again, and we ask the question again. I feel like we've already answered, but we're going to try to answer it more thoroughly. Has Christ just told us that there is no place for oaths whatsoever? That it should not be done. Period. If that is the case, then Christ is no longer fulfilling and completing the law. He's actually doing away with part of it. So how do we understand this? Well, let us look to the means that Christ uses regarding oaths by example and that of the Apostle Paul as well. In Matthew chapter 26 and verse 63, there is an occasion upon Jesus standing before the authorities. And Jesus kept silent, the Bible says, and the high priest answered and said to him, I put you under oath by the living God. Tell us if you are the Christ, the son of God. To this, Jesus responded. said it is as you said in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 in verse 23 Paul would say moreover I call God as witness against my soul that to spare you I came no more to Corinth what is it that Paul is doing here he's swearing an oath He said, as God is my witness, I swear to you that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. In Romans chapter 1 and verse 9, Paul would say, For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers. What is it that Paul is saying? Paul is swearing, as God is my witness, I want you to know and believe that I have been calling you out in prayer continually. You're on my mind and my heart. Paul is swearing an oath. So what is it that Christ is really telling us here? He is not telling us that oath-taking is not permitted, but He is telling us, I believe, that oath-taking is not encouraged. That we should be reluctant. We should see a great need and a great purpose by carrying so, and my goodness of all things, don't be lying when you swear such an oath. It should be given great seriousness in the conversation before it ever comes to this place. Oath-taking may be permitted, but it is not encouraged. A believer's commitment to the truth. See, this is the sadness involved here. The sadness involved here that we want to overcome is that we want a believer to be known by testimony, by action, and by behavior that he is a person of truthfulness. One of credibility. Wouldn't you like to be known as someone whom your neighbor would tell another, you know, I may not agree with him on everything, but when that man tells you something, you can feel certain that he's telling you the truth. Wouldn't that be a testimony, a good testimony of among your neighbors? Even those who may not believe what you believe, but they see the evidence that you do. In part by virtue that you're a man of honor and you are truthful. that you make commitments and you seek to honor those commitments, if at all physically possible. Do we fall short? Absolutely. But the challenge that the Lord is giving us is very clear. He says, let your yes be yes and your no, no, for whatever is more than these is from the evil one. We are so tempted in the world in which we live in Our agreements, written and otherwise, are so shoddy today. They are a matter of business. I hear things in the world where it's spoken of, and somebody will sign this incredible contract, and then somebody will say, but it'll never be fulfilled. It'll be broken, it'll be dissolved at some point, it'll be renewed or renegotiated, or something will happen, and so it means nothing. We hear people talking in our past that men would be able to do business with one another and rely upon a handshake and a commitment. Today, we rely on having a good lawyer to pursue our claim for us in court. As soon as we make a commitment with someone, it almost inevitably comes with a threat. You'll either do it or you'll see me again. Christ said that shouldn't be so among His people. That shouldn't be so among His children, among the citizens of His kingdom. This is the striking teaching that He's given to us. And now as we begin to let the bricks form on this wall that Christ has given us, To dispel, to do all we can to resist even the thoughts of doing physical harm in murder. The idea of guarding our mind and our heart so that we might resist the temptation to lust after another's wife and commit adultery even before we have committed the physical act. To recognize the oath and the commitment that we make as husbands and wives to each other is that which is made before in the presence of God. It is an agreement, an obligation given to us by God. And yes, in His love and His compassion and His mercy, He has allowed for divorce, but it is not a badge of honor because Christ says, I hate divorce. And now he takes us to verse 33 and through verse 37, and he's doing the truthfulness of who we are as Christians. And he's laying out before us a standard that by any human look here seems impossible to meet. Because we imagine that every day telling the truth to someone, no matter what they ask, being truthful no matter what the occasion, Have you really given thought to what that looks like? If you were to try to eradicate all the little white lies that we tell on a daily basis. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. I'm not the only one committing sin in this room. To remove all that. It would seem incredible. And it is. Why? Because we live in a radically deceptive world. When the serpent came to Eve, he didn't come to her telling the truth. He came to her telling a lie. She believed it because she wanted to believe it. She had a desire deep within, in the most perfect, pristine environment that God could provide, and still she sinned. We now find ourselves in an environment where we are absolutely bombarded in the media, in the entertainment, in the things that we read outside of God's Word for entertainment. We will find them riddled with deception. We will see the betrayal that comes through lies. We will see the rationalization and the justification for lies. If we look at the historical periods of our nations and our empires, oftentimes they accomplish what they believe to be good things in deceptive ways. We have all kinds of ways in which we rationalize and justify this. And in the midst of that, Jesus is saying that for His children, yes ought to mean yes and no ought to mean no. How on earth can we possibly do this? There are some who would say this is impossible. But then we would look at God's Word and God's truth where the Bible says there is nothing impossible with the Lord. So the basis will be not upon what we are capable of doing, but in fact what we are capable of doing dependent upon the Lord. Submissive to the Lord. Trusting in the Lord. Obedient to the Lord. For we may live in a radically deceptive world, but the Bible teaches us that those who know Christ have been delivered from that world. And how did we come to be delivered? We were confronted by the truth. We were confronted by the truth of our sin. When Christ came to us with the message of the gospel, by the power of His Holy Spirit, it was to confront us with the truth that we were not just a sinner. We were a sinful wretch. We are not just a sinful wretch. We are wicked and depraved as the world in which we live. And you say, not me, Pastor. I wasn't all that bad. Yes, you were. And if you imagine that you weren't that bad, you haven't fully understood or appreciated the salvation that God has given you yet. The truth is. When we recognize and see that we find ourselves in the same place that men and women before us have found themselves over and over again as they stand before God, absolutely guilty of sin and having no understanding, no resolution for it. How do I solve this? How do I overcome this? Because in our strength we cannot. The remedy that comes to us also comes to us through the Lord's truthfulness and the truth of his actions. We are delivered after having been confronted with the truth of our sin. We are delivered by the absolute truth, objective truth of the finished work of Christ on our behalf. We now embrace truth, truth that the world would deny, truth that the world would suggest. It itself is a lie, but we know that it is not. In order to be saved, we must be confronted after the confrontation of our sin. We are also confronted with the truth of our Lord's perfection. Jesus, to be without sin. Why is that important? Because we're not without sin. Why is that important? Because we'll never in our strength be without sin. We can turn over a leaf and it's just going to turn brown like the other side if we leave it there long enough. So we must be confronted with the truth and receive and accept the truth of His perfection in the face of our imperfection. If we know that we have no perfection and we are not without sin, then we now must confront the truth of the fact that we can sacrifice our life to this Christ as every other pagan idolater has endeavored to do to whatever statue, whatever fire, whatever image they have worshipped. They have sacrificed their children. They have thrown themselves over into a volcano. They have done all these things. And we now face the truth that because we are not perfect as He is, that our sacrifice is insufficient. It could never satisfy Him. And therefore, we're confronted with the truth that our only hope is in His sacrifice. A sacrifice that He willingly made. After living that life of sinless perfection, he offered himself on the cross of crucifixion in absolute submission and obedience, not only to the law of God that he himself gave, but in fact the law of God and the wishes of God and the will of God the Father, who had sent him as his only begotten son. We are delivered today, not only by the truth of his perfection and his sacrifice, but we are also delivered today by the truth of his righteousness. being given to us. For now, after we consider the idea, okay, He's perfect, I'm not, thank goodness. He died on the cross for my sins, thank goodness. Okay, I'm alright now. No, you're not. Left to yourself, your only hope still is in the finished work of Christ, and what finishes it is His imputed righteousness having been applied to your life. It is the exchange, it is to take your sinfulness and remove it and place His justification of His righteousness upon your life. Because if that is not there, you still have no standing before the throne of God. For the Bible says it is because of His righteousness that we are accepted before God. It is because of His holiness that we can approach the throne and come so with confidence, not confidence in ourselves. What are we confident in? The Bible says that Jesus Christ presents Himself as sitting at the right hand of the Father. He's there because He's our advocate with the Father. As we approach the throne of God, we know Christ is there. Therefore, when we make requests to God, when we pray to God, the reason why we say, in the name of Jesus Christ, is because He is there. And we belong to Him. Why do we belong to Him? Because God the Father gave us to Him. Christ has claimed us. We have been saved, we have been redeemed, we have been set apart. He has clothed us in His righteousness. And we have been called and commanded to be truthful as He has been truthful with us. As a result, what should happen? What should happen with us? What should be the end of this? We are to gratefully respond to all that God the Father has done for us and done to us through His Son Jesus Christ. And we are to respond to the truthfulness of the Lord with the same truthfulness in our daily lives. Christ didn't just present this to us once. James would do it again. In James chapter 5 and verse 12, he says, But above all, he pays emphasis to this. He says, But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, lest you fall into judgment. It would appear James, by God's divine inspiration, may have known us pretty well. He said, you'd be better off leaving those oaths alone and seeking to be honest and true to God. For there's far too many times you will fall short. What shall we do with this? This truthfulness issue. For some, it may seem strange that we would address this in a worship service in a sermon, but Jesus did, should we not? Jesus felt it important to be a part of the Sermon on the Mount. He saw it as an issue that I think all of us, if we're sober and honest, can see within ourselves first and foremost and see with others too. I do not imagine that this sermon today will change the world. I do not. The only thing that can bring change to the world is God the Father. And God the Father will bring change to the world by His own truth in the hearts and the minds that are transformed and changed. One at a time. His timing is perfect. His power is complete. The transformation is just as certain. Even may not happen until next year, but I trust in it as if it has already taken place. This is the message of God's Word continuously. We see the struggle of man, we see the struggle of earth, and we imagine somehow that it just isn't making it. And yet, when we look to God's Word as His people, we are reminded again and again and again that there's never been a time when a tornado hit, when a hurricane occurred, when an earthquake shook the face of this planet, that God the Father wasn't on His throne. Sovereignly directing. Providentially providing and caring for His people and sending a message to His creation. One that is saving to those who believe. One that is judging to those who will not. May we rejoice today and give thanks that we are counted among those whom He has saved, redeemed, set aside, may we respond with such gratitude that we would renew our purpose to be God's truthful people whose yes is yes whose no is no that we might garner a testimony to those around us that they may see some measure of our Christian character some measure of our devotion to God as such that it affects the decisions we make and and the way we govern our lives before them. Would you stand with me today? As Steve comes and brings us our hymn of commitment to today, a song entitled, My Faith Looks Up to Thee. When we look at that song, hymn number 416, it is a testament to our desperate need to continue to look to Christ For if we look in any other direction, we will find ourselves falling short. We'll find some measure of strength, but it will be in the face of weakness. But when we look to Christ, as we've seen consistently through Scripture, when we look to His Word, when we look to His truth, when our faith is bound in Him, it is the one place where we will always find truth. It is the one place where we will always find comfort. It is the one place where we'll always find peace, direction, shelter in the storm, warmth in the cold, love, mercy, and forgiveness for those who know it and continue to seek it. Let us pray. Fathers, we come before you in this moment. I pray our hearts and minds turn to you, desiring more and more of you. Oh, Lord, as someone has said, may we never, ever, ever get over the fact that you have saved us. You have redeemed us. You have delivered us. There are things that we are very uncertain about. There are things that we can be and are cynical about. But I pray, Lord, you will never be one of them. We recognize that the truth and the good news of the gospel is what you have done to transform our lives and set us apart and set us on this path and this journey you've called us to. And Lord, we are imperfect, we are flawed, and oftentimes we have and will fail. But Lord, what you have put within us is not imperfect at all. What you have sealed within us for all eternity is precious. It is perfect because it is yours. It is that which we possess. It is a calling that we can only receive and claim because you have put it upon us. And we are thankful. Let us be reminded of that truth today. Let our hearts be stirred because of it. For it is in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, we ask. Amen.