absolutely amazing how well this day is coming together. As I was looking, and I know what I'm going to preach on, and as you will shortly, listening to what you had to say, and from this morning as well, of Abraham, I was talking to Patrick afterwards, and Patrick made the comment that it's encouraging to hear the preaching because we're talking about strong men. that were made weak for a season. They were strong men, strong men of faith. If we look at Hebrews and look at the chapter of 11 on the hall of faith, the scriptures speak of their strength, of their faithfulness, of their power, and their trusting in God. But we're also seeing their infirmities, and we saw Abraham and his weakness, and we saw that, hey, you know what? We can relate to Abraham as well, because we make the same mistakes that Abraham made. And it's encouraging, it's strengthening to us. I want to read those few verses that Chip already alluded to, even before we get to the passage this morning. And it's from John 6. And they say to him, Lord, give us this bread always. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out." What a wonderful, wonderful promise that is. And the reason why I say that it dovetails so well and nicely with this afternoon is that not only is the promise that He will not cast us out, but even greater than that, He promises to give us great things, marvelous things, powerful things. And that's what we're going to look at tonight. And as I thought about this afternoon and what I wanted to bring forth. I really wanted this time to be a time of encouragement and strengthening as we are walking in that Christian calling. All of us have our different trials and difficulties, whether it's unemployment, whether it's financial stresses, whether it's relationship stresses within the home, whatever it might be. There's always things that can balance down and we need from time to time to take a breath get a glimpse of the glory of Christ and see what he's done for us and be strengthened in the walk that we have. And last week I mentioned that I was reading in my personal time in the book of Revelation and Carolyn Fletcher said to me, You know, when you read the book of Revelation, we can get so tied up in all of the details and wondering what's going on and what's not going on and when does it happen and when does it not happen. And she said, years ago, she went through a study and the man that was leading the study said, you need to put all those things aside for a few moments. And those things are good to think about and to consider. But ultimately, the book of Revelation is about the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what the book's about, the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he shines throughout the entire book. And if you would please turn with me to Revelation chapter 2. And what I want to do tonight is I want to make this fairly brief, and that's always a dangerous thing when the preacher says it's going to be brief, but I'm going to try to make it as brief as I can, yet at the same time give the due adequate focus that we need to on the scripture and then what I'd like to do is afterwards I'd like to have a few minutes of prayer and I want some of the men to pray about these things. I want to pray back to God the blessings that we've had this morning thinking about Abraham and his trials. I also want to pray back to God giving him thanks for the blessings and the promises that we're going to see here within these passages, but I also want to take time and let's pray for Chip and for the ministry. We need to powerfully water the Word of God that went forth with prayer, and that's where we see spiritual warfare taking place. The Word has gone out this morning there in the jail, and now we need to come with unction and fervency in our prayers and water it, and let's look with anticipation at the things that God will do there as the preaching has gone out this morning. So, for this afternoon, what I'd like to do is, the first part of Revelation deals, obviously, with several epistles that are written to seven churches there in Asia. And in each of those churches, there are exhortations and considerations that the churches need to be careful of. But then John ends each of those epistles by giving them a blessing or a reward to be mindful of why they should overcome in the Christian life. And I want to look at every one of those. I want to look at all seven of those rewards and blessings that John gives as an encouragement to us to persevere in our Christian walk. And you'll notice as we look at it, the epistles are written to churches, to many people. But the promises and the exhortation and the blessing is to us individually as Christians, as we're walking in the faith, as we are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, to those that overcome these things. And so first and foremost, we have to look at our own selves and make sure indeed that we are in Christ. But as Chip has already said this afternoon, it's not only being in Christ and coming to Christ, but it's constantly coming to Christ. We are constantly coming to Him in our Christian walk, looking to Him that He would strengthen us, that He would guide us, that He would help us. And yet also, we need to be mindful, man, there are wonderful... Why are we doing all the things that we're doing? If we were going to be honest with ourselves right now, as far as our flesh is concerned, this is probably the last place that we would really like to be. It's been a long day, it's been a good day, but it can be tiring. And yet we have to ask ourselves, why do we do the things that we do as Christians? Why do we believe such things that require faith and can't be scientifically proven? Why do we do the sacrifices that we do? Remember when I was preaching on Romans 12, 1 and 2, of living ourselves as living sacrifices. Why do we do those things? Well, at the end of this time, you're going to be able to answer that very powerfully and mightily. And I trust that when we're done with this, we'll have a greater view of the glory of Christ and what He has promised us as His people. So let's get right into it. I'm going to start with the first church, which is found at the church of Ephesus. And if you take a look at Revelation chapter 2, I'm simply going to read verse 7. When He says to the church there at Ephesus, He who has an ear, Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." So John comes and he's saying, I'm going to write these epistles, I want them sent to these seven churches. And to the church of Ephesus, they've got a little bit of a sin problem. And their sin problem is that they've lost their first love. They've lost the love that they had for me in the beginning. And yet he says to them this great promise, to him who overcomes. So there's going to be trial. There's going to be difficulty. There are going to be tests of faith that come against us as churches and as individuals. And he says to him who overcomes, he gives a great promise. I will give to him to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. And it's interesting in regards to the tree of life. that we find it at the very beginning of the scripture, and we find it at the very end of the scripture. If you turn quickly with me to Genesis chapter 2, and I want to read a few verses here from Genesis chapter 2, beginning in verse 8. Genesis 2.8 says, The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground, the Lord made God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And then drop down to verses 16 and 17. And he says in the Lord, God commanded the man saying of every tree of the garden, you may freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die." And then drop down to Genesis 3, verses 22-24. After the curse and after the fall has taken place, then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us, to know good and evil. And now lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever, therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden. to till the ground from which he was taken. So he drove out the man, and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life." So here we have the first promise, the original promise, to eat freely of the tree of life, and yet because of that fall and that cursing, all of that is abolished. And all of that takes place, and now we find ourselves in the midst of it. And then if you go all the way to the end, on Revelation chapter 22, In verse 14, all the way at the end, when you get through your appendix, you find yourselves in 22. And what does he say there? 22 verses 12-14. And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gate into the city. So if we were to take a snapshot of the tree of life, at first it was given to Adam to freely partake and to freely eat. And then the curse takes place, and the fall comes, and there's separation from eternal life. It's separation from the tree of life. And yet Christ comes, and then we partake of Him, even as we read there in John chapter 6, that we eat of His bread, and we partake of Him. And then there's coming a time where we will freely eat of the tree of life forever. We will have eternal life with the Lord Jesus Christ, and he's promising that if you continue on, if you persevere in your Christian walk, and you trust in him, if you overcome all of these things, there's coming a time that you will eat of Christ, even as we do now, on a daily basis, in a spiritual sense, but there's also coming a sense where, in a very real sense, that we will partake of him freely, forever and ever, and there will be nothing that hinders us from the tree of life, in the midst of the paradise of God, and we're going to be with Him forever. Think about that for a moment. Think of all the difficulties and all the trials that we have, and yet He promises, return to your love. And where are you, personally, right now? Where are you as far as your love concerning Christ is? Have you ever partaken of His love? And yet, have you allowed that love, maybe over the years or decades, to diminish? John's encouraging us to repent of these things, turn back to Christ, turn back to your first love, and be mindful that you've been given the opportunity, the reward, and the promise to eat of the tree of life. But then he goes on to the next church, when he talks to the church of Sumeruna, and he says to them in verse 11, when he says, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. So first and foremost, we have the promise that we will eat of the tree of life forever, that we will be in the paradise of God forever, but on top of that as well, he promises that we will not suffer the second death. All of us, if the Lord Jesus Christ tarries, will suffer the first death. We will have a separation between our body and spirit. And that causes us to fret. That causes times to be anxious. And yet the promise to the Christian is, though you will, if the Lord Jesus Christ tarries, suffer the first death, you will by no means, you will never suffer the second death. And what does the second death indicate? But in Revelation 20, Verse 13 we read, The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his works. Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, and anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. If your name is not written in the book of life, and there will indeed be the book that is opened up, and if the book of your name is not written in that book of life, John says here, in his vision, if you are not written in that book, you will be cast into the lake of fire, and it will be forever. That is the second death. The difference between the second death and the first death, there are many, but one of them is that the first death is a very finite amount of time. When you separate between your body and spirit, it's a finite amount of time. Sometimes it takes longer, sometimes it's very short. But the second death is forever. Think about that for a moment. We don't like to think about these things, but we need to. If we're going to have a real glimpse of God's glory and of his promises, we need to think about this, that there is a second death that lasts forever. And if you're not in the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll be cast in the lake of fire. This is not my teaching. This is not the teaching of this church. It's not the teaching of a denomination. It's the teaching of the Holy Scripture. And these are hard things to understand. They're hard things to comprehend. But when we see the holiness of God, we see His truth, His veracity, and His glory, and He promises, because He is so holy in His character, that this is the only thing that will suffice, apart from the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet John says, to those of us that are in Christ, why do you need to persevere? Why do you need to keep going? Why do you need to overcome these things? You need to overcome these things because if you trust in Christ and you rest in Him forever, you will not suffer the second death. That's an awesome thing. That's a glorious thing. It's a powerful thing. meditating upon this last night, I was thinking, you know, I think far too little of the eternal aspect of the judgment of God. What if every one of us spent a full hour every day thinking about the eternal aspect of the judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ upon those that are outside of Christ? What would that do to us? What would that cause us to evangelize? What would that cause us in our devotions, in our discipline, in all that we do? And I think we need to do that. I'm encouraging myself to do that as well. To think that we are to escape that second death, if we overcome. It's not to those that start well, but it's to those that end well. When you overcome all of these trials, ultimately the Lord's saying you will freely partake of the tree of life. And also you will be spared from the second death. But then he goes on. And to the third church is the church of Herodimus. If you find there in verses 14 and 17, particularly in verse 17, chapter 2, verse 17, he says again, He who has ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna to eat, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows except him who receives it. Now, the one nice thing about going through Revelation is there's about a thousand and one interpretations of every statement in the book of Revelation. And I could go off and go for about a half hour talking about what the different ideas are of what's being said here in verse 17. But I'm not going to go on a tangent. I'm not going to speculate. But what I am going to say is what's very clearly seen in this verse. is that it's not only that we partake of the tree of life, it's not only that we escape the second death, but it's that we have a personal relationship with our God. He says He's going to give us a new name. He's going to give us a new name, and He is going to know it, and we are going to know it, and He is coming into that personal relationship that we would be right. Some of the historical facts of this stone, there were a couple usages of this stone. One of the stones was given, a white stone was given if someone was found acquitted in the court of law. If they were found not guilty, they were given that white stone. Another use of the stone was champions in sport were given this white stone, and their name was written on it, and it gave them privileges and blessings for being champions within their sport. And I believe both of those ideas are also being conveyed in this sense, that in a judgment of God, we are avoiding the second death, But we are also now coming and we're being found acquitted because of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, but more than that, He is giving a personal name that we would have a personal relationship with Him forever, and that will never be lost. As we're given the hidden manna to eat, even as again, as we read in John 6, that He is the bread of life. That is the true manna that we would partake of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that He would be with us, and that we will have it forever. that will eat of the hidden manna that he will be giving us a new name. So you see the kind of transition here as Paul's going, it's kind of stepping stones, one at a time. Starting with the negative that we're being spared from these things, but now the blessings are beginning to mount upon themselves that we have a personal relationship to Christ. And then he comes to the church of Thyatira. If you would turn just a few more verses to chapter 2, verse 26. And he says there to the churches at the Thyatira of the people there, and he who overcomes and keeps my works. Notice the repetition. He who overcomes. He overcomes. He overcomes. He says he overcomes and keeps my works until the end. To him I will give power over the nations. We may look weak and we may look like we have no power. And in this life, in a very real sense, we have little political power, we have little material power, we have little economic power. Those are not the things that Christ has called us to in this life. But he has called us to power over the nations. And he promises in Matthew, he says that if you overcome with me and if you persevere with me, you will be raised up and you will be given thrones and you will judge this generation. We will be the judges of this place by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will rule over the nations for those that are in Christ. And that's hard to fathom in one sense because we feel so weak, we feel so frail. And yet Jesus Christ promises that we will rise up and we will have true power and we will have true judgment over this generation, not because of our righteousness, but because of the righteousness of Christ. And yet he says, in all of those things, as I have pleased my Father and have done His will and have sat on His throne, so you it as well, judging the nations. Again, this isn't my doctrine. This isn't my teaching. This isn't the teaching of this church alone. This is the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ within his scripture that we, those who overcome, those who go through all of these things and are found to be faithful, will rule the nations unto his glory. In one sense, we rule the nations already, and that in our spiritual warfare. As we pray to Him, and as we ask Him of these things, the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ is being established. And though it is invisible in many respects, yet His Kingdom is being established, one stone upon another. and ultimately it will be of all power and of all glory and the temple of the Lord Jesus Christ will be complete and it will be finished and all of these things will then be revealed to all of creation and yet he has given us this blessing that we would be in him by his power and by his authority and yet there is coming a time when that power will be manifested not only to us spiritually but it will be manifested before all of creation Think about that for a moment. I alluded to it this morning when I talked about it. The power of the Lord Jesus Christ coming in all of creation. With the most people you've ever seen at any one time in one place. I imagine that Times Square in New York City has got to be, what, 4 or 5 million people? I don't know. It's got to be a lot of people. I've never been there and I've never seen it. Probably the most I've ever seen is at the swamp. 100,000 people shooting their heads off for the Florida Gators. But you think about that. Think about it for a moment. Where's the most people you've ever seen in one place? You know, if it's 100,000, And they just keep multiplying it. 100,000 by 10. That's a million, right? Multiply that by 10. That's 10 million. Multiply that by 10. That's a billion. Multiply that possibly by 10. 10 billion. I mean, think of the billions of people that have died. And we've already read it. All the death that we've brought up. All of them. There won't be a single soul knitting in that place, but by the power of Christ, they will all come to Him, and we will all be before Him. Think about the mourning that will take place, the weeping that takes place. All of us will be weeping. Whether you're in Christ or very out of Christ, I can guarantee that we will be weeping, because the Scriptures promise that every tear will be wiped away. But it's only from the saints that those tears will be wiped away. And we will see the glory of Christ, and we will see His power, and His majesty, and His authority over all things. And we're all going to be there. And yet He promises, to us, If we overcome, if we persevere through these things, we will join Him as the ruler of the nations. That's amazing. Absolutely amazing. Not only that He will not cast us out, but He is willing, desires, and will give us all these things. And we've got to be mindful, the persecution that was about to take place in these churches was going to be intense. And we have no guarantee in our own lives. In fact, if we have spiritual eyes open and seeing what's taking place in our own country, we have much reason to be alarmed for the sudden persecution of the Church of Christ within our own nation. And it's only a matter of time. It's only a matter of time. And yet John gives these encouragements, that they would persevere through these things, willing to give up all that they have, that they might have the blessings of Christ. And he says that you will rise up with power over the nations. And it only gets better than that. Let's look at the church of Sardis. If you turn in chapter 3 and look down to verse 5, John says, not only do you have the tree of life, not only are you spared from the second death, Not only are you given a new name, not only do you have power over the nations, but in 3 verse 5 he says, "...he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels." So as Christ rises up, and we have the billions and billions and billions of souls before Him, and all that are His, and only those that are His, that's what's important. only those that are Christ's will then Jesus confess before the Father that these are they which you have given to me and I own them." The Lord Jesus Christ is going to own you if you are in Him. He is going to own you before His Father and He is going to confess before His Father that he or she is mine and all of their sins have been blotted out because of my sacrifice. Imagine that. The Lord Jesus Christ confessing before the Father that these are mine. And they are mine, and not only am I going to blot out all of their sins, not only that, am I not going to blot them out of the Book of Life, but I am going to dress them in white garments, and they are going to be righteous, and they are going to be holy before you, even as I am. That's amazing. That is absolutely amazing. We talk about the attributes of God, and those that we have, and those that we can't have. We will be righteous as Christ is righteous. We will be holy as Christ is holy. But we have those things only because He has given them to us, not because they are of our own nature. He alone is God. He alone is the Son of God. He alone is the Lamb that was slain. He alone is the one that has purchased us and cleansed us. But because of those things, He has imputed us and He has given these things to us, that we would be blotted out, all of our sins, and we will be dressed in white raiment. No longer will you be tried. No longer will you fall. No longer will you sin, even as Abraham sinned and all of those things. But that we will be perfectly righteous and clothed in His white raiment, even as He would be clothed as we would be clothed, and he will confess us before the Father." That's amazing. Absolutely amazing. We have two more. If that wasn't enough, he gives two more promises. Now we go to the Church of Philadelphia, and the Church of Philadelphia is interesting, that it is the only church listed that there isn't a single rebuke or exhortation of sin within the entire writing of its epistle there to the church there found in brotherly love. And we read now in verse 12 of chapter 3, he says, He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and I will write on him my new name." So now we are, indeed we will be, the pillar of the temple of God. We will be the stronghold that He has given unto us, and we will no longer go away from Him, but we will always be in the presence of God. And here we have to look at the Old Testament and the New Testament, and think of the temple and the tabernacle and all of those things where the presence of God resided. And now when Christ was crucified, and the veil was ripped top to bottom, and the presence of God now no longer was contained within a building or within a structure, but it was that Christ said, I'm going to come to you, and I'm going to seal you with my Spirit, I'm going to reside with you, until when? Until the day of redemption. So there's this sealing that's taken place within our hearts, within our being, that we've been sealed with the Holy Spirit until that day of redemption, and ultimately, at that day, then all things come together, and we are no longer sealed, but we are brought forth in full fruition as the temple and the pillar of a living God. And we will be with Him forever. Amazing. We are the temple of God. We are the pillars of God within His church where He resides and where His presence is known. And it will be that way forever. That's the promise that He gives. That's the importance of the local church as well. There's so many applications that we can draw from these passages, which I'm not even attempting to do this afternoon. But the importance of the local church, the importance of the universal church, that Christ is bringing forth all of these things under His glory, and there is coming a new Jerusalem, just as the tree of life was kept from us because of the fall, and then it's given to us at the end because we have been redeemed and brought forth in redemption. so shall it be with the city of God coming forth, no longer a Jerusalem of this world, but the new Jerusalem coming down from the glories of glories of heaven itself, and all of us ushered into those that are in Christ, that we would be the pillars of his new God, abiding in his presence, no longer fleeing from his presence, but always being in the presence of the thrice holy God. God would have been perfectly righteous and kept if he had kept his fellowship to himself forever. And yet if we look at the beginning of time, and at the end of time, there is perfect, intimate fellowship between the thrice-holy God, and yet now, not as it was at the beginning, but as it is at the end, it's not only the thrice-holy God, but it's His mankind that has been redeemed by the blood of the second, of the Son, coming forth in that fellowship, worshiping and praising God forever, without any distraction, without any hindrance, because we're the pillar of God. Amazing. That's what we have to look forward to. And finally, the church there of Laodicea. Unlike the church of Philadelphia, there is the exact opposite is true of the church for Laodiceans. There is not a single positive thing said about this lukewarm church. And yet he still gives the promise that if you overcome these sins, it's found in verse 21, to him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on my throne. as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. And that's where the Lord Jesus Christ gives the promise. I overcame my trials. I overcame my temptations. I overcame the death, persecution, and crucifixion that was allotted to me. And if you follow my example, and if you do as I did, As the Father promised me to sit on his throne, I promise to you that you will sit on my throne in glory. That's tremendous. That's exactly, if it sounds too good to be true, it may be too good to be true in your own mind and your own faith, but it is true nonetheless. To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit, sit, It's a place of glory and of authority for a king to sit. He says, you will sit with me on my throne. Again, it is his throne. It is his glory. It's his holiness. It's his work that has caused all of these things to take place. But he promises, because of what I've done, and if you follow my example, you will do as I do, and I will give you my throne, and you will sit with me, judging the nations in all of that glory. It's incredible. Absolutely incredible. It's very important to know that we do not overcome these things by our own power and by our own authority. It is the Lord Jesus Christ that causes us to overcome these things. But the emphasis on these verses is for us to persevere with all of our strength that we would overcome these things. It is your responsibility as a Christian to overcome sins, trials, and temptations. That is your responsibility. And yet, it is your responsibility, but it's Christ who gives the grace to do those things that he ultimately would receive all the glory and praise. These are awesome things. I trust that it's an encouragement to your own soul. As I meditated upon these things, as I thought about these things, I was overcome, no pun intended, I was overcome by the majesty of Christ that he would be giving us all of these things. So where are you at? I tried to keep it as brief as I could. Where are you at right now? What trials do you have? What temptations do you have? I encourage you, whatever you're going through is insignificant compared to the rewards and blessings that we have awaiting for us in the life to come. So put everything in perspective. That's what I had to do. My own trials, my own difficulties right now, I had to put them in perspective of these things and know that these things are far greater, far greater than the small trials that I have right now. So why don't we take a few minutes, let's spend some time in prayer. I'd like a few men to pray. It doesn't have to be long prayers. short, but I trust fervent, brief prayers unto God. Let's pray about these things, giving Him thanks for all that He has promised. Let's also pray for the ministry that Chip had this morning, that there would be fruit that would come out from that. And let's just pray and give Him glory at His due. I'd like one man, if they might, just to volunteer to start us off here, and then a few men will pray, and then I'll close. Anyone volunteer to start us off? Father, it's edifying to your people, it's glorifying to you, to have your word opened and read, to have it proclaimed, to have it applied. Lord, we are that blessed people tonight who have, this very day, have heard your word and we are grateful for it, Lord, we're that blessed people. Lord, we thank you for the particular truth that we've heard tonight, that brings that measure of assurance, Lord, to our own hearts that we're not on a fool's errand in following the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you, Lord, that you are that faithful God, and that you reveal to us just exactly what it is you want us to believe, that which we need to know, that which we need to do. And Father, we thank you for that theme that has ran through this whole passage tonight to the churches that have gone before, but because your word is that living and abiding word that is true for us, the saints, even this very night. Lord, we find assurance in this teaching, we find challenge, and we find even, Lord, a measure of rebuke. And we thank you that all of this works, as it were, in harmony, works together for our good. And Lord, we thank you that this has been so said before us, that we are by grace, through the very person and work of your Son, those who indeed overcome. The victory belongs to Christ. He indeed is that one who has triumphed over sin, over death, over the devil, over the world, over our own flesh. And we rejoice in him tonight. Lord, may your word continue. to encourage us as those who would put our hands to that plow and not let go. Lord, we confess there are times when our grip has been tighter than at other times. There have been times, Lord, when, as it were, our grip was not at all, but you've held us fast and we bless you for it. Please, Lord, let your Word then have that fruit in our lives as you would work it to that end. For Christ's sake, we ask it. Amen. Father, we thank you for this report that we heard tonight from Brother Chip. We thank you, Lord, that you are working, that you use means. And Lord, that even in the midst of those who are criminals, who are outcasts from society, as it were, Father, that you are working. And Lord, you have brought many of them to the place where others cannot go because of pride, because of confidence in themselves. Lord, that you have shown them that even in society's eyes, they are criminals, that they have broken your law. And Lord, that they have not lived a righteous life. And Lord, that repentance, Lord, is not just sorrow because I got caught, but sorrow because I am a fan of the true living God. Lord, you have brought that to many of those men, and Lord, that you have caused them to have faith. But Lord, that faith is always your gift. It is always that which you bring, and to your glory and honor. Thank you, Lord, for offending our brother, for preparing his heart and his soul. Lord, for giving him the words to speak. And Lord, for giving that response. Father, we know that we speak in vain unless You would open the hearts, unless You would apply that Word, and Lord, unless You would turn the heart to Yourself. And so, Lord, we thank You that You grant that unction, that help of the Spirit, and Lord, we pray that even as these men, perhaps even at this moment, are meditating are somehow wrestling with it, maybe trying to push off, maybe trying to find a way that they might put that into practice in their own lives, Lord, that you would, through the power of your Holy Spirit, arrest those who are yet outside of Christ, Lord, that you would turn their hearts to believe the true living God. Father, we pray for those who are saved, but who are wrestling with sin in their lives, struggling with difficult decisions, Lord, that You would use that Word to have its effect upon them as well. Lord, we do pray that you would get glory and honor and praise yourself, that you would continue to bless that work of the ministry there in the prison. Lord, we marvel that you are doing such a thing, Lord, and that in some way, through our brother, that we have a part in that. We thank you for that. Help us to be diligent to hold him and the men with whom he works up in prayer, and Lord, to continue to look for that response of those who need Christ desperately. And Lord, we pray that You would exalt Your own name, that You would receive to Yourself that which is due to You. Thank You, Lord, for this blessing, this opportunity, in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son. Amen. Father, we do worship you, Lord God. We bless you for all that you are. We bless you for this day. We bless you for your word. We bless you for the life that you've given to us in the Lord Jesus Christ, even now, Lord, before we come to you in that place of glory. And we bless you, Lord, of your promises that you will never cast us out, but that you will always be with us, and that you will not forsake us, even to the end of this age. And Father, we pray that you would help us Father, we pray that you would be with us in this coming week when we find ourselves in those difficult times, those trials, Father, whether it's at the workplace or in the home, or wherever we find ourselves. Lord, we just pray that you would come to us in those times of need, that you would fill our hearts and our minds with some of these truths, that we would glorify you. We pray, Lord, for grace, that we would overcome our sins and trials and difficulties, that we might trust in you all the days of our lives. and that we would be found faithful to the very end, and that always acknowledging that it was your grace, it was your love, it was your faith that you have given to us as a gift, that we would believe such things, and that you would receive all the glory. Father, we love you so much. We pray that you would help us to be the living sacrifices that you would have us to be. We pray that you would own every asset, every part of our life, that there would not be a single moment, there wouldn't be a single object that we possess, but that we would lay it before your feet and ask that you would do with us whatever you would have us to be done with us, and that you would receive the glory and the furtherance of your kingdom within this place and within our hearts. Father, we bless you now. We commit our time this evening to you. We commit this week unto you. Father, we pray for your blessing. We pray for your hand and protection to be upon us in all things. First of all, Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.