Well, good morning and a very warm welcome to this broadcast this morning in the name of our great Savior and our Lord Jesus Christ. This message or devotion which is intended for Sunday morning, the 14th of February 2021. We're going to begin this morning by worshiping God wherever we may be located, saying together the words from Psalm 46, the Sing Psalms version of the psalm, as per the bulletin that was circulated prior to this. recording. We worship God by declaring his praise, saying together these words. God is our refuge and our strength, our ever-present aid. And therefore, though the earth gives way, we will not be afraid. Though mountains fall into the sea, though waters foam and roar, we will not fear. Though mountains quake as waves engulf the shore, A river flows whose streams delight the city of our God, the holy place in which the Lord most high has his abode. God is within his holy place. The city will not yield, for God will come at break of day to be her help and shield. The nations are in disarray. The kingdoms disappear. God speaks, and at his mighty voice, the whole earth melts with fear. Be still and know that I am God, on earth exalted high, and all the nations of the world my name will glorify. The Lord Almighty is with us to strengthen and sustain, for Jacob's God is our strong defense and fortress will remain. Let us come before God together in prayer. Let us pray. Our gracious God and our Father in heaven, we thank you for the immense privilege of being able to draw near to your throne of grace this morning, being able to come into your holy and almighty presence knowing that as we do, we do not come to just some God of our own imagination, but to the one true and living God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the creator of heaven and earth, the author of every life, the one who has redeemed us from the curse of the fall, even by the life and the death and the resurrection of our Savior and our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for these words of the 46th Psalm, where we're reminded that you are our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. where we're reminded that even in the midst of all of the storms of this life, yet there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. That river which symbolizes your ongoing presence with your people. your ever-flowing love towards us in Jesus Christ, the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit as He continues to lead us and comfort us and strengthen us in the most holy faith. We thank you for the reminder that in all of the calamities and the difficulties of this life, The whole point is always that you would be glorified. For you are the one who says, I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. And yet, our Father, we confess that this is not always our chief desire. or our focus in life. We confess that because of our own indwelling sin, there are times when we have sought after our own glory, days when we have gloried in idols, instead of truly dedicating ourselves to the praise and the glory and the adoration of our great God and our Savior. And so we ask that you would once again have mercy upon us, that you would forgive our many sins, and that you would cleanse us, even by the blood of our Savior, from all unrighteousness, from all that is displeasing in your sight. Lord, as we spend this time studying your Word in this strange way and these most strange of circumstances, we ask, O Lord, that nevertheless you would be pleased to bless your Word to each of our lives, that you would visit your people in power throughout the earth, that you would once again grant to all the saints, wherever they may be, an increased measure of faith, a renewed mind in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that you would enable each and every one to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel. We pray, our Father, that you would help us in this difficult season. Help us that we might chart a steady course, that we might discern the days in which we're living, that we might walk humbly before the Lord our God. Strengthen your church, we pray. Sanctify your bride, and prepare your people for works of righteousness, to be those who would produce fruit in keeping with repentance, so that your glory might be seen in this dark and fallen world, in every nation, and to the very ends of the earth. Hear our prayer, O Lord. Grant us blessing as we come to study your word together. For we ask all of these things in the most blessed and glorious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, please turn, if you have your Bible there, please turn. We're going to continue our study in the book of Acts this morning, and we find ourselves today in the penultimate chapter of Acts after many months and even several years. We're in chapter 27, and we're gonna read the whole of the chapter, chapter 27, from verse one all the way to verse 44. This is the word of the living God. And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius. And embarking in a ship of Adromitium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day, we put in at Sidon, And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. And putting out to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Nidus. And as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmoni. Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Licea. Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous, because even the fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives. But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete close to the shore. But soon a tempestuous wind, called the Northeaster, struck down from the land. And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. running under the lee of a small island called Koda, we managed with difficulty to secure the ship's boat. After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, feeling that they would run aground on the surface, they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along. Since we were violently storm-tossed, They began the next day to jettison the cargo. And on the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship. And he said, Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you. So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I've been told, but we must run aground on some island. When the fourth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. So they took a sounding and found 20 fathoms. A little further on, they took a sounding again and found 15 fathoms. And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship and had lowered the ship's boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go. As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them to take some food, saying, Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you. And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. Then they were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. We were in all 276 persons in the ship. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach on which they planned, if possible, to run the ship ashore. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tie the rudders, then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. But striking a reef, they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck. and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. The soldier's plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to the land. Amen. And may God bless to us the reading and the preaching of his Word this morning. Let us come before him again in prayer briefly. Let us pray. Our Father, We thank you that we can open up the pages of your Holy Word, the inerrant, God-breathed revelation of Scripture. We thank you that this Word is able to enliven us in the faith as it is impressed upon us and blessed to us by the work of your Holy Spirit. We thank you that it is useful in your hand for increasing our knowledge and understanding as to who you are and your good and holy purposes for our lives. We pray, Lord, that you would bless your Word, then, to all who will hear it this day and perhaps in days to come. And we ask all of this in the great name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. A friend of mine has often said that it's not always when we're on the mountaintop of life, when everything is rosy in the garden, that we learn life's greatest lessons. Instead, it's often when we are in the valley, or so to speak, when we are experiencing a period of intense trial, a time of great hardship, great uncertainty, perhaps, when we feel that we are at our weakest, our most vulnerable, our lowest ebb. Often it's at those times that we come to a deeper understanding. We come to a greater appreciation of all that God is and what he is like. His faithfulness to provide and to bless in often surprising and unforeseen ways. His ability to protect and to strengthen and encourage his people, even in the most difficult of circumstances. His absolute resolve and his steadfast commitment to the work of his gospel, to the building of his church, and to the glory of his own name. Well, in our passage this morning, Paul was not only facing a time of intense hardship and serious personal trial, but he quite literally found himself in the eye of a storm. having been questioned by the king at Caesarea, having been granted his request to go on and to appear before Caesar, here he was, now being escorted, transported by ship, all the way on to Rome. And the thing that really strikes you as you read through Luke's very precise record of these events is just the intense danger, the hardship, and the serious obstacles that Paul faced along the way. We're told that having been handed over to this centurion named Julius, Paul, along with some other prisoners, boarded the ship, we would imagine, at Caesarea, and they basically then sailed, first of all, north, up the west coast of what would be modern-day Lebanon. They took some protection against the wind under the Lee of Cyprus. They then headed west, passing along and through several of the ports on the southern coast of what would be modern day Turkey, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Myra, and Nidus. They then headed south towards the island of Crete. They sailed around the south of that island and eventually made it all the way to Malta. In the next chapter, we will learn that they then sailed due north to Sicily. They went through the Strait of Messina, up the west coast of Italy, and finally on to Rome. Now, that is a very quick geographical description of Paul's journey. But it says nothing at all about the toil, the hardship, the extreme danger that was faced by the apostle and by all who were on board that ship or those two ships. First of all, we need to understand that this was a journey that probably took somewhere between two and three months to complete. From what we're told here by Luke, those months were anything but plain sailing, not least because of the perilous weather conditions. By the time they made it to the island of Crete, they had already faced an intense battle with the very strong and prevailing winds at three different stages of their journey. First of all, as they headed north past Cyprus, again as they sailed slowly west along the southern coast of Asia Minor, And then again, after they reached the town of Nidus, where we're told in verse 7, they were prevented from taking what would have been the more direct route across the Aegean Sea. And they were instead forced by the wind to head due south, effectively then circling around the southern coast of Crete. Then they arrived at a place called Fair Havens in Crete. The decision was taken to go further west along the coast to a place called Phoenix, where they planned to spend the winter. But this was when things took a very serious turn for the worst. Luke tells us in verse nine that the day of atonement, day which happened in late September or early October, that festival had now passed. And what that meant, the reason that he's telling us this, was that they were now on board a ship at the very time of year that was considered to be the most dangerous when it came to sailing in an ancient vessel. Apparently from late autumn through to February, March time, this was a period of time when most sailors would have docked their ship for the winter. It was seen as being just too high risk, too precarious. It was an extremely dangerous time to be sailing in the first century on the open sea. And that's exactly what we see here, isn't it? Having failed to listen to Paul's advice in verse 10, we're told that they continued their sail, and the result was they found themselves adrift at sea, being battered by a tempestuous wind called the Northeaster. It even had a name. It was that notorious, well-known. And for 14 days, we're told, they went without food. They had to jettison much of their cargo. And because they couldn't see the sun during the day or the stars by night, they simply had no idea where they were going. Luke then tells us that when they finally caught sight of the island of Malta, the ship then struck a reef. It was run aground. It was literally falling to pieces. To such an extent, they had to just jump overboard. They had to make their own way to the land, either by swimming or by floating along there on bits of debris that had come off this battered vessel. Not only that, but Paul also faced danger once again, not just from the elements, not just from the storm at sea, but also from sinful men who wanted to take his life. Luke tells us in verse 42 that the soldiers who were on board, their plan was to kill the prisoners of which Paul was one, lest any should swim away and escape. I mean, this was hardly what could be described as a nice winter cruise on the Mediterranean, was it? Paul would have been seriously fatigued probably somewhat malnourished, and his very life was once again in danger, first of all, in the midst of these terrifying conditions at sea, and secondly, from the murderous intentions of those who were standing guard over him and the other prisoners. And so what can we learn from this whole episode? I want to mention four things this morning that I believe we could and we should learn from Paul's experience on a stormy sea. First of all, we learn that in the midst of desperate and difficult times, God provides for and God blesses his servants in extraordinary ways. For two years, Paul had been kept in custody at Caesarea. But remember that during that time, we know that he was given a degree of liberty by the previous governor, Felix, who, remember back in chapter 24, he had given the order that Paul's friends should be allowed to visit him and attend to his needs. Well, in a similar way, here in chapter 27, the first thing we notice is that Paul was not the only Christian on board that ship. In verse 1 of the chapter, Luke uses the first person plural pronoun, we, to indicate the fact that he was with Paul throughout the entire journey. And what's significant about that is this was actually the first time since way back in chapter 21 that Luke had spoken in those terms. That's not to say that Luke had never seen Paul during the events of the intervening chapters, but it is to say that now, upon boarding this ship, he was once again with Paul. He was in close proximity and fellowship with Paul. He was experiencing with Paul all that he experienced as they journeyed together across the sea. He then gives us two further details in verses 2 and 3. First of all, another believer named Aristarchus from Thessalonica—remember, this was the man who, we were told, back in Acts 20, verse 4, had accompanied Paul as he brought the offering from various churches back to Jerusalem. Well, here, Luke tells us that he too was on board with the apostles. Then in verse 3, it also tells us that the centurion, Julius, in what was surely a very surprising act of kindness and generosity, it says that when they stopped en route at Sidon, this man actually decided to allow Paul to visit the church in that place. You think to yourself, What encouragement Paul must have taken from this fellowship with his fellow believers, that amidst all of the turmoil and all of the chaos, all of the hostility, the uncertainty, there he was enjoying renewed camaraderie, the blessing of sweet communion with his brothers. in the Lord Jesus Christ. In desperate times, God often provides and encourages his servants in unforeseen and often extraordinary ways. The second thing we learn is that a difficult providence in this world tells us very little about God's will for our individual lives. In God's providence, it was very easy, and the way was very clear, for Jonah to board a ship and to head for Tarshish. Yet that was clearly not God's will for his life. On the other hand, it was very difficult, and the way seemed almost impossible for Paul to go to Rome. Yet that clearly was God's will for his life. If the events of Acts chapter 27 had been recorded without there being any reference to the fact that it was God's will for Paul to visit Rome, I think we would probably, many of us, would come to the conclusion, given all that he experienced at sea, we would probably come to the conclusion that this was just not God's intention for his life. Given what the angel of the Lord said to Paul in verse 24, you get the impression that maybe even Paul himself was beginning to question whether or not that might be the case. The angel appeared to him in the midst of this violent storm. And what did he say? Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. It's as if Paul himself was perhaps having a little wobble, beginning to doubt, maybe I'm going to die out here. Maybe I've got this all wrong. Maybe this has never been the will of God after all. And so we learn here that we mustn't over-interpret God's providence when it comes to discerning his particular purpose and will for our lives. John Flavel said, the providence of God is like Hebrew words. It can only be read backwards. That's not to say that there can't be pointers and signs, doors that open, doors that close, things that might sometimes play a part as we try to prayerfully discern where God may be leading at any given time in our lives. But the point is we mustn't become overly simplistic or mystical in our deductions when it comes to reading the circumstances and the events of our lives. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. The third thing we learn is that the apparent dangers of this world can never prevail against the hand of God's protection. It is significant, I believe, that Luke records for us here in verse 37 the precise number of those who happened to be on board the ship. We were in all, he says, 276 persons. Why is that significant? It's significant because it underlines the precision and the certainty with which God was absolutely committed to and intent on protecting each and every person on board. Back in verse 22, Paul had said to the crew, the soldiers, the other passengers, the other prisoners, he'd said, I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. How could he be so certain? For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, he said, Do not be afraid, Paul, you must stand before Caesar, and behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you." So said Paul, take heart, men, take heart, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. Later on, and after they'd spent these fourteen nights adrift at sea, we then read of how Paul urged the men to take some food. But look at what he says in verse 34. I urge you to take some food, for it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you. Not a hair is to perish, he said. This is a kind of idiom that we see several times throughout the Scriptures, don't we? And it's used to convey the idea of complete safety, of absolute, definite protection. See it earlier on when the words of Jesus himself—remember when he was warning his disciples of the persecution that they would face in later years—and he said to them in Luke 21, "'You will be hated by all for my name's sake, but not a hair of your head will perish.'" So this is what Paul was saying, wasn't it? Even in a situation where, according to verse 20, it literally seemed as if they were going to die. And then what do we read in the final verse of the chapter? The ship was falling apart after it had run aground on the reef. Falling apart at the seams. They were still some distance from the shore at Malta. The centurion orders those who could swim to jump overboard, make for the land. He tells the rest to float across using planks, other parts of the ship. And what does it say? And so it was that all were brought safely to the land. Friends, I honestly believe from the way that Luke has very precisely recorded all of this, that if it hadn't been for the definite promise And then the meticulous protection of God in this situation. Many of these men, perhaps all of these men, would have perished. It's as if Luke wants us to be very clear in our minds that maintaining the safety of these men was quite literally, in human terms, impossible. It was against all odds. was something that could only be achieved by the preserving power of Almighty God as he proved himself once again faithful to his word, delivering on his promises, first of all, as he spared all 276 men from death at sea, and secondly, as he protected and preserved his apostles. along with the other prisoners, from the murder that was intended by these soldiers. It is a great encouragement, is it not, that even in the very worst of this life's circumstances, when it seems as if all hope has gone, Luke tells us in verse 20, all hope of our being saved was abandoned. That's Luke saying that. Yet it's in that very moment that the angel of the Lord appears to his servant. And he basically says to him, fear not, for God is in control here. And he has promised that not a single person on this ship is going to perish. It's so tempting, isn't it, especially in difficult and tumultuous times of life, to think that everything's just out of control. Of course, in some ways, people often are, in terms of their sin, out of control, or so it would appear. But friends, it's here we're reminded that the living God is always in control. And as such, as Jesus himself said, not one even single sparrow can fall to the ground apart from the will of our Father in heaven. There is no danger on earth, above the earth, or under the earth that can prevail against the hand of God's protection. And this is what we're reminded of in the story of the apostle as he sailed upon the sea. This brings us to our final point this morning, which is that regardless of the dangers, regardless of the apparent obstacles that present themselves and so frequently can present themselves in a fallen world, the work of the gospel of Jesus Christ simply marches on. And I think we see that here in two wonderful ways. First of all, when Paul found himself visiting the believers at Sidon, there he was, a prisoner on board a ship, heading for a showdown with Caesar in Rome. And yet in the midst of it all, in the providence of God, and through the kindness of Julius, he finds himself with this surely unexpected opportunity of being able to meet with this local fellowship where he no doubt would have probably preached, he would have no doubt probably prayed for the believers there, building them up in the faith and strengthening the church in that place. That's the first thing. But then secondly, there's also then his ministry on the ship itself. I mean, just think about this. For more than two years, Other than those three occasions when Paul made his defense before various Roman officials, Felix and Festus and Agrippa II, Paul did not have much of an audience, apart from on those occasions, with whom he could share the gospel and testify to Christ. But now, All of a sudden, he finds himself with a captive audience of 275 men on board a ship. And you really do, you get the impression here, particularly in verses 23 to 26, that the Lord was opening a door of gospel opportunity here. a door through which Paul would be able not just to provide a word of comfort to these men concerning their safety and their security and God's protection and so on, but ultimately to God himself, to the one who would maintain their safety and therefore in the end to highlight to these men the urgency and the importance of them then bowing down before him. It's interesting that after he'd already mentioned the fact that God had promised to protect the men and he promised to spare their lives, you notice that shortly thereafter, Paul not only, he cares for the men by urging them to take some food in verse 34, but then it says, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all. Think about that. In other words, it's as if God had elevated the apostle, in the midst of all of the hustle and the bustle and the chaos of this ship, to the point where now he was suddenly in a position of being able to pray to God and speak of God in front of everyone else on board. Amidst all of the chaos and the confusion of that particular moment in time, it was as if the Lord had allowed events to unfold in such a way that this door would be opened for Paul to testify to the promise of God's Word and to worship God for his goodness in front of this great crowd. You know, you can imagine some of these men sitting there, listening to the apostle as he prayed and as he gave thanks to God for the food, for his goodness, and for his promises. You can just imagine them watching on, kind of scratching their heads, perhaps, looking at one another, thinking to themselves, how can this man be so thankful How can this guy be so at peace after all that we've just come through? What is it about this guy? What is it about his faith? What is it about his God? How can he be so confident and hopeful and steady in the midst of such chaos and calamity and danger? We know the answer to that question, don't we? It's because not only was he trusting in the faithfulness of God to do exactly what he had promised to do—verse 25—but perhaps even more than that. It was because Paul was a man whose life could be summed up by those words that he would later on write to the church at Philippi from Rome when he said, for me, to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. You see, Paul had come to learn and to understand by the grace of God that his life was no longer for himself or about his own comfort. Paul had come to see that the entire purpose of his existence was to glorify God by making Christ known. And for that reason, It didn't matter how serious the danger or what circumstances he faced, he continued to listen to God's Word and to testify to what he had said, to bear witness to the light of Christ in a dark and dangerous world. Well, we're not on board a ship in the middle of a storm at sea. But we are living in increasingly dark and difficult times. And so how important it is, then, that as we live in that world, as we navigate our way through the storms of this life, Particularly, we might say, in this particular season in which we currently find ourselves, how important it is that we would be like the Apostle Paul, taking God at his word, trusting in his faithfulness to preserve us in Christ, and then responding to his promises by making the best use of every opportunity, bearing witness to his truth, testifying to his light in this dark and dying world. The wind was against the Apostle Paul, and every outward sign indicated that this journey would end in total disaster But friends, because the Lord is on the throne, every single man was spared, and God's purpose for the gospel continued on. And this should cause us to rejoice in the power and the authority and the goodness of our God. and it should embolden us in the wonderful work to which he has called us. Let us pray together. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this word this morning, and we pray that you would be pleased to seal these particular truths to our individual hearts, to our lives, and to our circumstances, that we would indeed remember and be greatly encouraged by the truth that our God reigns, that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that as such, O Lord, You truly are in control, even when life seems bewildering to us, even when life seems chaotic to us. And we thank you that you are not only sovereign over heaven and earth, but you are faithful to your people. providing for us, caring for us, strengthening us in the most holy faith, equipping us for life and for godliness and for the works that you have prepared in advance that we might walk in them. Help us to do so, we pray. Help us to learn from the apostle insofar as he learned from Christ himself. Help us, O Lord, to be faithful and steady and fruitful in the work of the gospel, to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and soul and strength and mind, to love our neighbor as ourself. We pray, O Lord, this day for different people in our fellowship, in our families, those known to us who are facing particular times of struggle and affliction. Think of those who are feeling very lonely and isolated due to the effects of lockdown. We remember those who are battling illnesses, some of them long-term. Remember those who are recovering from operations, medical procedures. We remember, O Lord, those who are grieving the loss of a dear loved one. We pray, our Father in Heaven, that you would minister to each one at their point of need, that you would comfort those who mourn, that you would strengthen and restore those who are weak and unwell. We pray that you would grant faith to those who are doubting your promises. Grant repentance and faith to those who are lost and for whom we find ourselves so burdened. O Lord our God, we pray that you would bless this fellowship and bless the church to the ends of the earth, embolden your people in the truth of the gospel, and help us to be zealous in its proclamation with those who are perishing. We pray, O Lord, our God, for those who are being persecuted, some of them in horrendous ways, in places like Nigeria, in places like Burkina Faso, in Iran, in China, in North Korea. We ask our Father that you would visit them, you would encourage and strengthen them, enable them to stand amidst much trial, heartache, and opposition, comfort those who have lost loved ones in these circumstances, soften and change, transform the hearts of those who would do violence to your people. We pray, O Lord, thanking you that we can come with all of our burdens. Teach us to do so. Help us to do so. Help us, Lord, to come as children before our Father with all of our needs and not to be anxious about anything. but with thanksgiving to pray to you. And Lord, we pray that you would respond to us, to all your people throughout the world this day. granting us the peace of Christ, guarding our hearts and minds in him. We ask that you would bless your word and bless the Lord's day to all the saints. For we ask this and all things in the wonderful and the glorious name of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.