The Bible is a book that is absolutely unique. First of all, it is a book that comes to us from God. Its opening words are a statement and a challenge. The Bible begins with these words, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And these words are certainly a fact to believe, and they're a challenge to believe these words. And again, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. These are words that call for a response, to believe that these words are true, that our created world had a beginning, and that God is that creator, the creator of all things. Now, Hebrews was written to anyone. who is beginning to question his faith in Jesus Christ, it is written to the person who is considering abandoning that faith in him. And it is a book that is filled with sober warnings of the dire consequences of turning from Christ, but it's also filled with a tremendous portrait of the Lord Jesus as our Savior. And we see him pictured in this book as the one who died for our sins and rose again. He's our Savior. We also see him in this book as our priest, the one who represents us before God. He is also our example. He is the ultimate hero, the one we can follow as our example. The Bible says we are to walk as he walked, to live as he lived. We also see him as our king and as our God here in the book of Hebrews. Well, in Hebrews 12, verses 25 through 29, we have a call to respond to the message of this great book. Well, how do we respond to the message of Hebrews? Three ways we see in our passage today. Be obedient. And the first response is obedient to the word of God. And then also be confident. People wonder, what does the future hold? How are things going to turn out? The good news is we win. So be confident. And then finally, be thankful for all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ. So number one, be obedient. That is our first response to the book of Hebrews. Be obedient. Now, the Bible is not just a book, but it is a library. It is what you might call a small library, a library of 66 books. But it is a library. And in this library are many different kinds of literature. Anybody still go to the actual library to check out a book? I don't go there as often as I used to, but it's always been one of my favorite places. I told somebody, most of what I've done in my life started out by something I read in a book. And it is amazing. the influence that books can have on a person. And in the library are different sections. There are children's books, there are adult books, there is a whole section on history which I enjoyed, another section on technical things where I would browse around in there and people would go to different sections for different kinds of literature. There's books on art and poetry and music, all found in the same library. Well, the same is true with the library that is our Bible. It is a book that has history, biography, poetry, there's wisdom literature, There are books in this library that are books of prophecy that draw back the curtain on future events. And then there are epistles, letters that were written to individuals or churches to encourage them in their faith. Each portion of scripture calls for a response. There are some places in the Bible that give us something that we need to know. For example, God's creation of the nation Israel and his dealings with his chosen people are things that we need to know. Other passages give us something to believe. Think about John 3.16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. And that is a promise to believe. And there are things to believe in the Bible. And then there are other passages that give us commands to obey. And here in Hebrews 12, we are called to obey God's Word. We have a command to obey. Take a look at verse 25. See to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking." Now again, Hebrews was written to believers under real pressure for their faith, and some in the group were seriously thinking of abandoning their faith to shield themselves from this persecution. There were some who were driven from their homes by a mob, and then the mob would take their possessions out of the house. Others were publicly mocked and humiliated. Others still were put in prison. We see things like that happening today here in this country and around the world and some were saying, you know it might be easier to go back to the old Judaism go back to the traditions of our family and our ancestors and and Eliminate all these problems in our lives. And so some were thinking about this and so the writer Urges his readers, don't do this for a number of reasons. And one is, we have a great Savior. The one who turns from Christ, says no to a great Savior. In Hebrews 1 verse 4, we read there that Jesus is much better than the angels. We read there also that he's greater than Moses. He's greater than Aaron, the Old Testament high priest, and he is priest of a new and a better covenant. He's a sacrifice that, unlike the Old Testament sacrifices, his sacrifice actually takes away sin. He is the one who can do that. We also have a great salvation. Again, we saw back in verse 22, describing our salvation. You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect. and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. And so we have a great salvation. And the person who turns away from that says no to all of that, all those spiritual blessings. We also have a great danger. And again, chapter 2, verse 1 says, For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? And the one who abandons that faith in Christ faces a judgment that is inescapable. So how do we respond to the message of Hebrews? What is our response to this book of the Bible? Obey its command to listen and obey God. Again, verse 25, see to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking. And so these words call us to make it our priority to hear and to obey what God has said. And scripture is more than just a source of information. In fact, it is a life-changing book, a life-changing message from God. It calls us to respond. The year was 1941. FDR was president and commander-in-chief of our army. And he had the U.S. military issue a copy of the New Testament to every soldier. And the President wrote an inscription in the front of this Bible that urged every soldier to read and to respond to this life-changing book. He said this on March 6, 1941, to the members of the Army, As Commander-in-Chief, I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States. Throughout the centuries, men of many faiths and diverse origins have found in the sacred book words of wisdom, counsel, and inspiration. It is a fountain of strength and now, as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul." And so the President himself, the Commander-in-Chief, commended the reading of the Bible as a life-changing book. The person who reads it will be better off because of it. It's there that we find the Gospel. It's there that we find eternal life. So the Bible is not just a book that finds its home on a bookshelf in our house or on the coffee table, but it is to have its home well established right here in the human heart. There's a song that we sing that comes from the Psalms, thy word I have hid in my heart. And that's where the word of God needs to be, at home there. Charles Spurgeon said this, Once let the Word of God obtain an entrance into the human heart and subdue the whole man to itself, no power, human or infernal, can dislodge it. We entertain it not as a guest, but as the master of the house. This is a Christian necessity. He is no Christian who does not believe this way. And what Spurgeon is saying is the Word of God is not to just be a guest in one of the spare rooms in our house, but the Word of God is to be master of the house. What the Word of God says, we are to do. We are to believe. We are to obey. The Word of God is to be the one who is in charge. And the word of God is a message to believe and obey. Obedience to the word is the way to a really happy and successful life. James said this, he said, prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has forgotten immediately what kind of person he was. The one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, Not having become a forgetful hearer, but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. And it is the word of God that brings real happiness, real success in life. Now, obedience is humanly impossible, but prayer brings enablement from God. God can give us the ability to obey the commands of his word. Psalm 119 says this. Give me understanding that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart. Make me walk in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it." And God can make us the kind of person who wants to trust and obey, to live by his word. and obedience to the word tells us that we've been born again. The new birth is really fascinating because it is an invisible transformation. We can't see the new birth, but we can see what it does. I saw something yesterday, I was here at the church, and during the week one of the fellows was here and getting all the leaves picked up, but somehow there were two piles of leaves in the carport. Now, I know that our guy didn't put them there. I know they didn't fall out of somebody's pickup truck. And I looked at those piles of leaves and I thought, how did they get there? And then I thought, well, the wind has been blowing around here. We can't see the wind, but we can see what the wind does. And the wind put those leaves there. So I took a broom and the leaves are now not really gone, but they're not where they were. And so again, the wind is something we can't see, but we can see what it does. And the new birth is invisible, but we can see the effects of the new birth. And John tells us this in 1 John, by this we know that we have come to know him. How do we know we have been born again? How do we know for ourselves? And it's important. The Bible says again and again, examine yourself to make sure that you are in the faith. Examine yourself to make sure that your salvation is real. And he says, here's how we know. If we keep his commandments, and then he says, the one who says, I have come to know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar. And the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word in him, the love of God has truly been perfected. That is the love of God has reached its goal that that person has been saved. and has been born again, has been changed by the power of God. And by this we know that we are in Him. And so again, it is visible obedience to the Word of God that shows us that the invisible new birth is real in our lives. Now what happens when we fail and sin? And that does happen. We make mistakes all the time. Anybody involved in a trade or a craft knows what it is to make mistakes. Mistakes are part of getting things done, and mistakes and sin happen in the Christian life. What happens then? Are we out of the game, out of the race, disqualified? No. The Bible says this, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And the great thing is, we can get a do-over in our Christian lives. When we sin, accidentally, just through some mistake that we make, we sin, we can bring that sin to God. To confess means to say the same thing, to agree with God that what we did was wrong. And when we do that, the blood of Christ washes that sin away completely. The record is erased in heaven and there is no record. The one thing God can forget is a sin that he has forgiven. He does not remember those anymore and that is great, great news. And so again, when we do sin, there is an opportunity to make a brand new start. There's a hymn that we sing fairly regularly, Trust and Obey. And it is a hymn with a great story behind it. This hymn had its beginning at one of D.L. Moody's gospel meetings. And in this meeting, a young man stood up to share his testimony. And he said this, I'm not quite sure, but I'm going to trust and I am going to obey. And it was these words that became the inspiration of the hymn, Trust and Obey. D.L. Moody said this, the blood alone makes us safe, the word makes us sure, but obedience alone makes us happy. A new birth is the great miracle of the Christian life, and simple obedience to the will of God and the word of God tells us that this great change really has taken place. Now, obedience does not save. Sometimes you'll meet a person, and perhaps you've thought this yourself, that we are saved by obeying God's commands. And there are people who believe that. I've met more than one person who said, I'm going to heaven because I obey the Ten Commandments. But nobody can keep them perfectly. Or someone will say, I'm saved because I obey and live by the Sermon on the Mount. And again, no one can be saved by obedience. The Bible says, by works of the law, no soul will be justified. And so again, obedience is a sign that we've been saved, but obedience, again, does not save. Well, how do we respond to the Word of God? In obedience. And what we have here in our passage are some helps to help us obey. We were out riding around on a narrow mountain road not too long ago, enjoying the colors of the leaves. It was incredible. It was like being inside of a giant postcard for the whole day. And so we were riding around on this windy mountain road, and it was beautiful scenery. But if you looked off to one side, it was a long way down. And there was this little barrier to keep you on the road should you accidentally start to wander off. And then on the other side, of course, is the hillside. So you have these two barriers, these two guardrails to keep us on this narrow, winding mountain road to keep us from going off the road and going a long way down. Well, the Word of God gives us two guardrails, if you will, to keep us on the straight and narrow road of obedience to His Word. And the first guardrail is the lesson of history. The Bible is filled with history, and this is history for a purpose. There are examples in the Bible that remind us, don't be this person, don't do what they did. We need to learn the lessons of history, and as we do, we'll be encouraged to stay on that narrow road of obedience to God. V. 25 See to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking. That's the command. Listen to God and obey. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned him on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven. These words look back to the days when Israel was in the wilderness and they turned away from God again and again. And the history of Israel is the history of their sins and punishments and punishments and sins. They would turn away from God. They would sin, Israel would be disciplined, they would come back, and this would happen again and again. And so the Old Testament record is filled with their direct disobedience to God and the consequences that followed. And one of the ways we stay on the narrow road of obedience to God is to learn the lessons of history. The Israelites learned many lessons the hard way. They turned from God, they turned to disobedience, and they paid the price. And it's a reminder to us to stay on that narrow road of obedience to God. There's a second guardrail, and this is one that takes us into the future. It's the guardrail of Bible prophecy. And Bible prophecy tells us, again, that the person who responds to the word of God in disobedience will pay a heavy, heavy price. And so, again, the one who hears and believes the commands of God and obeys will escape those judgments that are coming. Verse 26. And his voice shook the earth then. And this is now looking back to Israel at Mount Sinai. And there was a tremendous earthquake there, a reminder of the power and the holiness of God. And an earthquake is a shocking thing. It's different from other kinds of experiences because we think that the ground we're standing on is unshakable and immovable. If you've ever fallen and hit the ground, I've done it with my head. Other people have done it with other parts of their body, and the ground doesn't yield. It seems like it's immovable until it's not. And then you get an earthquake, and things that aren't supposed to move start to move. Buildings start to sway. Things fall off shelves. The floor moves around, and you think, what is going on? And there is an earthquake in the past, but there are earthquakes promised for the future in the end times. And these earthquakes are really judgments from God. And what he's saying is, as God judged in the past, he will judge again. And so verse 26, His voice shook the earth then, but now he has promised, saying, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven." And this expression, once more, denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken as of created things. And so this is a shaking of creation that will disrupt the created heavens and the earth, and it's coming in the end times. There are numerous earthquakes that are predicted in the book of Revelation, and one great one that will destroy many, many things. Again, judgments from God. So we can look back in history to the judgments at Sinai, to the earthquake there and others, And then we can look ahead to Bible prophecy, and again, it says the same thing. God will judge the person who turns away from him and disobeys his word. So how do we respond to God's word? Respond by obedience. Obey his commands. And as we hear the word taught, we need to ask ourselves, is there a command for me to obey? What is that command, and how am I doing it, or do I need to make a change? Am I not obeying this command? Do I need to change something in my life? Eliminate something? Add something else? How am I going to obey? When? Do I need some help in obeying? Do I need someone to encourage me with this? What am I going to do to make sure that I'm obeying this command? And so again, we need to get the most from our Bibles, and the way we do that is to obey God's Word. There's a second response we can make, and should make, to the Word of God, and that is, number two, be confident. Be confident. Bible students, students of prophecy, are becoming increasingly concerned today. As we look at trends in our world, people are saying more and more that the day of Jesus' return is getting very, very close, and we're seeing things really develop around the world that tell us that the stage is being set for the great end time drama. Again, God has promised that he will shake heaven and earth with judgment. How do we respond? Do we respond in fear? No. As we look ahead to God's prophetic plan, we can respond with confidence. In the end, we win. We are on the winning side of this great drama that is coming. Again, verse 27, the shaking that takes place It is the removing of those things which can be shaken. And as you think about the created universe, created things, it is going to be removed. Now, this is a great time of year for stargazing, for looking at the heavens. I was out last night looking for the Northern Lights, which we weren't able to see, but I saw three planets. I saw Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. Pluto was out there and I couldn't see Pluto. I think you need like a huge telescope to see Pluto, but it's out there and I couldn't see that. But there's a lot to see and I have this astronomy book that tells you about each of the things in the solar system and it's amazing how different each planet is from the others and it's amazing how systematically they move around I have an app in my tablet that tells me what's in the sky, what time it's going to rise, what time it's going to set. And you think, how do we know that? Who made a timetable for the planets? Well, God made the planets and he put them on a timetable that never fluctuates. And so it's really interesting what you can see just from your driveway looking outside at night. It's amazing. And all of this, though, is created. We were up near Mount Rainier not too long ago. It's a massive, huge mountain. And yet that mountain will one day be removed. The planets that we see will be removed. The heavens and the earth will be replaced with a new heavens and a new earth in this great judgment that is coming. And so the material world is going to be removed, but there are things that will not be removed. There is another world, if you will, that is unshakable. Verse 27, This expression, yet once more, denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken as of created things. And the judgments that are coming will affect the created universe. but so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain." And so you might say that things are going to be shaken out, so to speak, and the things which cannot be shaken, eternal things will remain, but temporal things will be removed. And so again, the material world is actually destructible and will be destroyed in the coming judgments. It says, therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude. And today and forever, we are citizens of the kingdom which cannot be shaken, the kingdom of heaven, which is forever. And from the beginning, that kingdom has been challenged. In Acts chapter 4 and chapter 5, the apostles were arrested, put in jail for preaching the good news of the gospel. And then also the church endured later a severe persecution. It was driven from Jerusalem, but in spite of this attempt to destroy the work that God was doing, the church didn't dissolve. And in fact, it grew and expanded. Acts chapter eight says, those who had been scattered, that is driven from their homes, driven from their city, they were scattered and they went about preaching the word. And so the persecution did not destroy the church, but it caused it to grow. We used to have a weed on our farm back east called witch grass. And we would sort of have a contest who could pull out the longest root. And we thought we can chop this up with a cultivator. But what happens is when you cut the root, it grows from both ends. So you don't just have two ends growing, you have four. And sometimes you can try to get rid of a weed and make it worse. And people have tried to destroy the church throughout the centuries, but the church continues to grow and to thrive because it is part of that indestructible kingdom. Now, today in this country, the number of people attending a church of any kind is decreasing. Go back to 1999. Those were the days before Y2K. Remember that? I remember all the alarm and concern and everything. I remember staying up watching the VCR to see if it would change to 1201, which it did, and the world didn't stop turning. But there was a lot of worry in 1999 about Y2K. So go back to Y2K. In 1999, 70% of all people in this country were somewhere worshiping on either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Everybody was somewhere in some kind of church, some form. Well now, fast forward just 21 years to 2020, how many people today? 47%. Less than half of our population is in a synagogue, church, or mosque. to worship in a given week. So things are changing. And people wonder what's in store for the church if things are shrinking like this. And the church is under pressure from persecution, of course, but also from desertion, people finding other things to do. And they just are not worshiping on Sundays. Does that mean the church is in trouble? No. We are part of a kingdom that cannot be shaken, which is remarkable but true. And we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Jesus said this, I will build my church, and he was confident that that would happen. Now, again, the church, the kingdom, this is a kingdom that cannot be shaken. But by contrast, this world and the things in it have a definite expiration date. Psalm 102 says, of old you founded the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands. And that is amazing. When you watch the movements of the stars and planets again, they're on a perfect timetable. They follow a perfect map. They all have their lanes and everybody stays in their lane. Nothing collides up there. It's amazing, except for asteroids and crazy things like that, but the planets obey the traffic laws and they don't collide. They follow everywhere where they're supposed to go. And so again, God created the heavens and the earth are the work of your hands. Even they will perish, but you endure. All of them will wear out like a garment, like clothing. You will change them and they will be changed, but you are the same and your years will not come to an end. And our universe is going to be changed. There will be a new heavens. and a new earth, but the kingdom is unshakable. No power in heaven or earth can ever harm it or do any damage to it. And so a day is coming when the heavens and earth will be shaken in judgment. Today is the day of God's patience. Today is the day of God's amazing grace. We wonder, where is the justice? Where is the retribution for the evils that we see in our world and the injustices that we see? Well, today is the day of God's patience, and he is enduring quite a lot, but it will not be that way forever. But today is the day of God's grace. Today is the time. Today is the day to be saved. Tomorrow might be too late, and there's no better time than today. to get that life-giving gospel message to a person who needs to hear. Now is the time. Today is the day of salvation. So how do we live in these days before God will judge the heavens and the earth? Peter says this in 2 Peter 3, the day of the Lord will come like a thief. And if you've ever been broken into, did you ever get a letter like two weeks ahead, by the way, we're going to break into your house. So leave everything out so we can get it quickly and leave. When a thief comes, you don't get any warning. They just show up and do what they're going to do. The day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?" And Peter tells us, and number one, be looking for Jesus' return, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because the heavens will be destroyed with burning and the elements will melt with intense heat. And so everything begins with Jesus' return. And so we're looking for his return. And the signs of the times are all around us. You know, it's great when spring comes. Back in New England, one of the things we finally knew that winter would eventually end. And we got a lot of snow, a lot of cold weather, but eventually it would go away. And one of the ways we knew that spring was coming was the fifth season of the year. It was a season that came after winter and before spring. It was called mud season. And if you live in a town that has 100 miles of dirt roads, mud season is a significant issue. Mud season is a place where you can drive down what looks like a dirt road, but it acts like water. And you can sink in as far as you can sink. And hopefully, if you have a friend, you'll get pulled out. But we knew as bad as this is, spring is coming. And also, you'd see the fiddleheads popping up. There are people who actually cook those. Those are ferns before they grow completely to full size. And you can fry those up in butter. You better check it out before you do it. But from what I understand, you can do that. And they supposedly taste pretty good. first green things of spring. And we have signs of the times all around us that tell us that Jesus is coming again, that the end times are very, very near. Be looking. But then also, be looking for a new heavens and a new earth. You know, it's fun. People like to go out house hunting and look for a new house, a new place where they're going to live, and people like to do that. But we're looking for a new home, a new heavens, and a new earth. We're looking for a new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Righteousness, what is right, what is the will of God, will live at home, will be very comfortable there. Think about that, a world where what is right will be the right thing to do. It'll be comfortable and at home in that world. And so while we're waiting, be holy. He says, Beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless. And these are the times to keep short accounts with God. Make sure we're living in the will of God, living holy lives and ready Jesus returned. So these days are the days of God's patience and today is the best day to be a witness. The Bible says this, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. And every day Jesus doesn't return is another day that a person has the opportunity to to be saved. And now is the greatest time to be sharing the gospel because it is the day of God's patience. God is enduring a lot of things that people do and is not handing out direct retribution, but that won't last forever. But today is the day of God's patience. The library has library fine amnesty day. I once kept a book so long the fine was like $4. I had to go in and pay that, but there's a day they sometimes have where you could bring your overdue books in and no fines. You just bring them back and you can leave and you can do that. Well, today is, in a sense, it's a time of amnesty. A person can confess their sins. can repent, can turn to Christ and believe, and all those sins are forgiven. No penalty, no problem. Now is the time. Now is the time to be saved. Well, history is filled with the records of nations and kingdoms rising and falling. Today we see our own nation being weakened and people wonder What does the future hold? And we just don't know. Only God knows what the future holds for this country. But we know what the future is for this world. And the Word of God tells us, don't worry. Be confident. We are citizens of a kingdom that cannot be shaken. It is a kingdom that is forever. And then finally, one third response to the Word of God, especially the book of Hebrews, be thankful. Be thankful. And again, the book of Hebrews was written as an urgent message to believers thinking about abandoning their faith. Stern warnings emphasize the dire consequences of this wrong decision. But Hebrews is more than somber warnings. It is a book that paints an amazing picture of the salvation that is ours in Jesus Christ. How do we respond to that salvation? Be thankful. Be thankful. Verse 28. Let us show gratitude. Let us show gratitude. Because salvation is ours, the kingdom is ours, every spiritual blessing belongs to us. Be thankful. And we express our thanks when we gather to worship and sing praises to God. Verse 28. says this, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe. This is worship, singing praises to God together, sharing testimonies of thanks and praise for things that God has done. That is worship, and that is one of the great ways that we say thank you to God. A person wonders, I don't really need to go to church. Oh, we do, because that is the place where we worship God together, where we say thank you. to God together. There's another way we can say thank you and that's down in verse 16 chapter 13 Do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. In the Old Testament, when a person came to worship, they would bring an animal sacrifice, a grain sacrifice, a drink offering, something to give to God. But what we do today is not those material sacrifices, but doing good and sharing. These are sacrifices we can offer to God, along with the sacrifice of praise. And when we worship, we worship with joy and reverence. Verse 28. We do this with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire. And the God of Zion, and we saw all the blessings of Zion that belong to us, is also the God of Sinai. The God of grace is also a holy God. And so we have this healthy respect and reverence for God. As we come before him, he is a God who does not take sin lightly, and he calls us to be holy as he is holy. So how do we respond to God's word? The message of Hebrews 12.28 says, Be thankful. Praise the Lord with a reverential fear, with a reverential respect. He is a gracious God, but also a holy God. So the Word of God is more than a huge encyclopedia of facts and information, but it is a message. It is a book that calls for our response. It is a life-changing book, and it becomes that life-changing book to us as we respond to its message. How do we do that? Number one, be obedient. Number two, be confident. In the end, we win. And finally, be thankful. Be thankful to the Lord for all that he's given us in Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word and thank you for the life-changing power of your word. Help us to be responsive to its message, to be obedient, to be confident as we look forward to the future of the world and our own future as well. And finally, to be thankful for all that you've given us in Christ. In Jesus' name, amen.