together this Lord's Day morning. There is much that I could say in introduction, but I don't want to take up all of our time before we look at the Word of God. Just to express our gratitude, we've heard several praying for us and arriving. We got in safely on Thursday afternoon and met Pastor Mark and then Bonnie. It was a good greeting and to get settled, and we are very much settled. It's good to be back in New England. This is my old presbytery. I was born in Connecticut, Shelton, Connecticut, Derby, Connecticut, so I'm a Connecticut Yankee. In Ohio, everyone thinks I have an accent. I don't have an accent. They have an accent. My mom was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, so she spoke very much like someone from Massachusetts. I have two sisters in New Hampshire. So it's wonderful to be back here, and I can extend greetings from a sister congregation in Columbus, Ohio, Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church. And everyone has been praying for you, and they'll continue this evening. They'll have a time of intercession, and they'll be praying for the church and for your pastoral search. And if there's anything Hazel or I can do to encourage you, to comfort, to help in any way, you can reach out. We are very, very much an open book, an open home, open door. And we will be here. Hazel will come and go a little bit. We have six grandchildren in Columbus. It's difficult as grandparents to leave them, and particularly for grandma. And so she'll spend some time back in Columbus and then here. But we are very much looking forward to worshiping together, serving the Lord together, fellowshipping together. Now, I draw your attention to Matthew chapter 11, as we look at God's Word, verses 1 through 6. I should say, and maybe by way of apology, that Various sermons I've been preaching, I've been retired for two years, semi-retired for two years, filling a lot of pulpits, and so there's various messages, and if you've listened on Sermon Audio or whatever, there may be certain texts, certain sermons, but I do preach a little bit extemporaneously, and in every occasion, there's something different. So if you think you've heard the sermon, in some ways, you really haven't. This will be fresh. So let's look at Matthew chapter 11, verses one through six. I don't know what the tradition is. Do you stand or you remain seated for the reading? Sure. This is God's word. Give your careful attention to its reading. When Jesus had finished giving instructions to his 12 disciples, he departed from there to teach and preach in their cities. Now when John, while imprisoned, heard the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, are you the expected one, or shall we look for someone else? Jesus answered and said to them, go and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive sight, and the lame walk. The lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear. The dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense at me. Blessed is he who does not stumble or trip over me. Let's bow together in prayer. Father, we ask now that you would open your word. Indeed, your word is a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path. We would ask that you would fill us with your spirit. We pray that we would know the heavenly reality, that we would hear the voice of Christ himself, consistent with this text in Matthew, that the spirit himself would witness with our spirit, that he himself would speak in the depth of our heart, consistent with your word. Come to us, we ask. Bless us. Receive our thanksgiving for this, that you have entrusted to us We pray in Jesus' name, amen. So Jesus has come into your life. What did you expect? We have crossed the threshold of a new year. What are your expectations? Of course, with expectations come disappointments. possibly even disillusionments, expectations that are a narrative within the mind, within the head, various images that we might have, even strong imagination of how things are going to unfold for us, what kind of plans, what kind of goals, what kind of commitments that we look forward to, what does it look like in our mind, what does it look like in the, things we say and what we speak about concerning the future, various promises, maybe promises of God, maybe promises to one another, expectations. What are you looking for? What are you looking forward to? We sometimes carry our expectations like vouchers and we go to cash those vouchers in and they're no longer acceptable. Ah, disappointment. We sometimes, at the beginning of a new year, which we are, we're a couple of weeks in, but sometimes at the beginning of the new year we assess the past. I usually take New Year's Eve, I don't go out, our church usually hosts a game night, I stay in and look over my calendar for the past year and look over the various events and things. Think through the year and all the various events, both the blessings and the difficulties, the adversities. And as I look back, consider that there have been disappointments over the past year. And sometimes then in my mind's eye, other events from years past, other disappointments, remind me, haunt me at times. And so when I think about the past and the future and the various relationships and financial matters and jobs and opportunities, thinking about how things really didn't pan out the way I thought they should, relationships that possibly had broken apart, various estrangements, just difficulties along the way. I sometimes get discouraged and sometimes afraid to look into the future with further expectations, thinking that if things have fallen apart in the past, what will happen next month, throughout the year, in the years that lie ahead? What am I expecting? What are my expectations? Perhaps there are those discouragements where things, circumstances didn't pan out. And at times, the circumstances even contradicting what I believe the Lord to have promised. Maybe we've had crushing disappointments, maybe we've had small disappointments that have mounted up and erode our confidence, confidence possibly in ourselves, confidence in one another, sometimes to the heart, sometimes our confidence in the Lord. Have you ever had that? Looking ahead, thinking things are going to pan out, and yet the pieces don't come together. It's as though a rug is pulled out from under us. Expectations are not met. And at times, it hurts. At times, we are disappointed. At times, it could go so far as to be utterly disillusioned with ourselves, with others, Sometimes with the Lord? Have you ever experienced that? And so we're at times maybe afraid to plan because we know that around the corner lies a disappointment. How many young people, young people brought up in the church, perhaps siblings or maybe children or grandchildren, growing up in the church and with the innocency of childlike faith, looking to the Lord, trusting the Lord for something in their minds, huge, very, very big. And the Lord, in their minds, the Lord doesn't deliver, the Lord doesn't measure up, and as they grow into adulthood, There may be resentment, there may be bitterness, maybe a lack of faith, maybe a walking away from the church, maybe a walking away from the Lord. Have you ever been tempted that way? Have you ever known anyone like that? Is there someone in your family who has been like bitterly disappointed in the Lord and they've walked away? Have you? Perhaps at times you've struggled with it. Relationship doesn't work out, job doesn't work out, financial things just fall apart, whatever, shattering. Maybe a crushing disappointment, maybe small disappointments just along the way that sort of add up. Great expectations. Charles Dickens, one of the best English novels. And remember Pip? He had all these expectations about becoming a gentleman and everything else. having various relationships with a young woman. And at the end of the book, spoiler alert, at the end of the book, remember, he says something along the lines, the only expectation that ever came to fruition was the expectation that I could help my friend, and that's it. It's an interesting, interesting read of a young man who goes through life, and things often just don't pan out. His expectations are not met. It was a European composer, late 19th century, early 20th century, Gustav Mahler, who as a young man had a very, very close brother. And this close brother kind of served him hand and foot because he saw the genius of Mahler and his music. And his brother then contracted a disease and died a slow death, slow painful death. And of course Mahler was calling upon God to save his brother and the Lord took his brother. And that was a cataclysmic event in his life that in some ways made him secular. There's on and off, various ways of seeking spirituality, but in regards to an Orthodox faith, he walked away. His expectation that God could heal his brother was not met. It's as though God pulled the rug out from under him. It's like life being a cruel joke. 20th century existentialists. And so, in our homes, in our families, in our church, Are you expecting the pieces to come? What are your expectations? What are your expectations for this coming year? What are your expectations in regards to following Jesus Christ, depending upon his word, his promises? What do you think God is going to do for you as you look forward to this new year? Will it be a year of disappointment? I imagine there'll be some. Will it be a year of disillusionment? I pray not. Will it be a year that all of your expectations will not be met, almost guaranteed? But in the end, that's good news. Profound disappointments, dashed expectations, disillusionment even in our faith. Sometimes we might ask the question, shall we look for something else? Shall we look for something else? Well, long introduction. Just to demonstrate that this text, the Holy Spirit is speaking to us this morning. We are all people. We are creatures made in the image of God. We have memories. We can look back. And as creatures, we can look forward. We can look forward. We can look into the future. And in that future, we have various expectations that we might build in our mind, various narratives, images, ways of thinking about the future, and depending upon the Lord, depending upon one another, depending upon ourselves to fulfill those expectations. And how often do those expectations not materialize? sometimes dashed, sometimes to disappointment, sometimes to profound disillusionment. Are you following? The Holy Spirit is speaking to us this morning from this text about such struggles within the Christian faith, in which a child of God struggles with various expectations, even depending upon God's promises, and it's as though God doesn't measure up, it's as though God pulls the rug out from under us. It's as though things just don't pan out, the pieces don't come together, things are shattered. Well, this is John's crisis, John the Baptist, as I read it. You might have other interpretations, but I think the internal evidence is fairly strong. And further, what I'm going to say is I'm not going to do a harmonization. We're gonna stick with Matthew, and you're gonna see when I preach through the Gospels, I'm going to stick with the context of the particular text, the writer. Matthew has something to say. When you harmonize, which is, you can do that, so you look at Luke, you look at Mark, you look at John, you can harmonize, and that's one way of approaching the Gospels. But another way is to ask, we can ask ourselves, well, what is Matthew's point? What is he trying to get across? By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, what is the Lord saying in this text consistent with this narrative? And so we look at the text and we see that there's a crisis. John the Baptist is having a crisis. He is now in prison. What were John's expectations of Jesus Christ, Messiah, Yahweh coming through the wilderness? Repair the way of the Lord, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. What is John's expectations? What were his expectations and now sitting in prison? When Jesus had finished giving instructions to his 12 disciples, he departed. It's interesting, if you go to Finish Giving Instructions, chapter 10 is about the various adversities, difficulties, trials that a disciple would face. When Jesus finished giving instructions to his 12 disciples, he departed from there to teach and preach in their cities. Now when John, while in prison, heard the works of Christ, it's interesting, not the words, but the works, When John, while in prison, heard the works of Christ from whom? Maybe his disciples, maybe the guards, maybe other prisoners, the float, the gossip, misinformation. Now when John heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, John speaking through his disciples, Are you the expected one or shall we look for someone else? Are you the expected one or shall we look for someone else? This is a question that is coming from the heart of John. Expectations not materializing. Disappointment in regards to what he's hearing. Things not working out, the pieces not coming together. He's sitting in prison, in Herod's prison. He is in all probability hearing the executioner's sword sharpening in the back. He knows that possibly the next day, Herod's so capricious that he could be decapitated, he could be executed, and in fact, he will be. We know the story, don't we? So, John's spiritual crisis. If you look at the text that I read, verses one through six, you could divide it into two points. Simply, you have John's question and you have Jesus' answer. This morning, we'll just look at John's question, and then this evening, Lord willing, we'll look at Jesus' answer. So for this morning, John's question. Are you the expected one? Are you the coming one? Or shall we look for someone else? This is remarkable. This is John the Baptist. This is John who was that light, who was to witness to the true light coming into the world. He was the one who baptized Jesus. He saw the Holy Spirit, witnessed the Holy Spirit coming upon Jesus at the baptism, hearing the Father from heaven, behold my beloved Son. This is John the Baptist. The last great prophet of that old administration pointing to the Messiah, things are being fulfilled, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And now he sits in Herod's prison. Disappointed, disillusioned, crisis of faith. come with me and we'll consider what John's expectation is. According to Matthew, what were John's expectations? And if you look at chapter three of Matthew. You can start at verse seven. I'll read it and then comment. And ask this question. Now John's sitting in prison, period of time after. He's in the wilderness preaching. Chapter three, verse seven, but when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? What was John's expectation? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Do not suppose you can say to yourselves, we have Abraham for our father. I say to you that from these stones, God is able to raise up children for Abraham. Look at verse 10. The axe is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Verse 11, as for me, I baptized you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove his sandals. He will baptize you with what? The Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clear his threshing floor. He will gather his weed into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with fire. Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Tree that does not, the axe is already at the root of the tree. Tree that does not bear fruit, cut that, thrown into the fire. I baptize with water, one coming after me, baptized in the Holy Spirit and what? Fire. The winnowing fork is in his hand and he will do the threshing and he will gather the wheat to the barge and he will take the chaff and do what? It will be thrown into unquenchable fire. That's rather apocalyptic. This is John thinking Messiah's coming, Christ is coming, the Son of God, Yahweh himself is coming and he's coming to clean house. He's coming to make things right. The last judgment is at hand. The kingdom is at hand. He's thinking consummation. The end of the age. Not just the last days. The last day. That's his expectation. Now look, verse 13, Jesus arrived from Galilee to Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent him. What? I have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But Jesus answering, saying to him, permitted at this time, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he permitted him. It's interesting, another question, John. What, you come to me? Again, what's his expectation? His expectation is Messiah comes, Yahweh comes, the end of the age, judgment is set up, Jesus will clean house, The wicked will be put away, the righteous vindicated. And now Jesus shows up, and John is expecting, John's expecting what? Ah, here comes Messiah, he will baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus comes in order to be baptized in the Jordan River by John, what? John says, I need to be baptized by you. Why are you coming to me? I need to be baptized by you. You see, all of a sudden there's a kind of like a disarming. His expectations are kind of being dashed. He's expecting Messiah to come in Jesus. And the end of the age and the coming of the king. And yet Jesus comes and wants to be baptized with a baptism of repentance. He's done no wrong. He is perfectly righteous. Could this be a foreshadowing that John doesn't fully understand, a foreshadowing? Jesus is gonna undergo a baptism of repentance, not for any sin that he has committed, but he will be baptized to identify fully with his people. We know this, eventually he'll take our sin upon himself. Having no need to repent, he will fully, thoroughly identify himself with us. with the sinner, and so he will undergo a baptism of repentance. That's a foreshadow. There'll be a more severe baptism for Jesus down the road. We'll consider that a little further this evening. You see, John is not understanding that. He thinks the end of the age has come. The wrath of God has arrived. Jesus will clean house. Dashed expectation. Later in chapter nine, John is in prison, the disciples, John's disciples come to Jesus, and another question, why? Why are your disciples not fasting? We are fasting, the Pharisees are fasting, why are your disciples not fasting? Do you remember that passage? Again, there's a kind of disarming. Jesus is not fulfilling the rules of piety. He's not doing what even the Pharisees are doing. He's the righteous Savior. Why is he not teaching his disciples to fast the way we are fasting, even the Pharisees are fasting? Remember, Jesus' response, yeah. The bridegroom has come for the bride. Why would we mourn? It's like, this is a time of feasting. Time of rejoicing, the bridegroom has come. This is disarming. It's like the disciples, even John himself, not quite, it's beyond their framework, beyond their understanding, beyond their expectation. Spiritual. Do you get it? So now he sits in prison. What? Messiah's coming. John, the last, the greatest of all prophets, coming and he testifies of the life, and now he sits in Herod's prison? And we know the story. We thought the promises are even the prisoners will be released. Remember in the prophets, even the prisoners will be released. John is not going to be released. He is struggling. Are you the coming one? Are you the expected one? Or shall we look for someone else? Things aren't panning out. His expectations are not being met. I have to say we're not John the Baptist. We're not in this critical period, but the spirit is speaking to us. Matthew is writing this many years after these events and he's writing to a church in Palestine, possibly Jerusalem. that is on the threshold of the Civil War, and I don't wanna get into the weeds of the history of what happens to the Jews and even Jewish Christians during that time of Civil War. It becomes a bloodbath. It's as though the wrath of God comes, but the instrument is the Roman Imperial Army, and it's Christians that are going to be, like, crucified. In fact, someone says that, Over 500 people were being crucified after the Civil War in Jerusalem, 500 people a day being crucified until the Romans ran out of wood. And the Christian church so closely related to the Jewish synagogue that Romans were not making that distinction. And of course, the Jews hated the Jewish Christians, whatever the case. There's a great deal of persecution, great deal of adversity, great deal of suffering. So do you not think that now we layer it historically? John the Baptist, are you the coming one? Shall we expect someone else? Expectations not working out, he's in prison. How many years later, what, 30 years, 40 years later, Christians are undergoing severe persecution, being hated by the Jews, being hated by the Romans, being hated by everybody, and there's going to be a bloodbath. Are you the coming one, or shall we expect someone else? You could see the church trembling. Their expectation of following Jesus not quite working out, is it? Very, very difficult times. Now, we're not John the Baptist, and we're not that early church. We are who we are, the Church of Jesus Christ now in 2025, and yet the Spirit speaks to us. What expectations are being dashed for us? What's not quite panning out? Is God pulling the rug out from under us, from under you? Where are his promises that I've depended upon? I'm following Jesus. Why aren't things working out? I really love the Sunday school class. We had R.C. Sproul on the screen from how many years ago? He looked really young, he's not with the Lord. And saying, ah, you know, the Christian, it's a struggle. Once I became a Christian, I thought everything would be easy. More dimensions of perplexity, difficulty, adversity, This is what we're called to, we're following Jesus, and all of a sudden things are just quite panning out the way we, we trust him, we're following him, we have expectations, and how many times are those expectations dashed? You follow the text? Are you listening to the spirit? So, Now John sits in prison. Where are we? Some takeaways, and I conclude. I see, you know, I've been preaching at various churches. In Columbus, we never had a clock in the back. If we did, I probably couldn't see it if it was so far back. But it's like, most congregations have this clock in the back. It stares at the preacher in the face, like, I'm sorry. Three things to take away. First, confusions and questions. Jesus has come into your life, what do you expect? Different expectations about God, about Jesus, about the Christian life, trusting his promises, being involved in church, expectations, expectations from the pastor, expectations from the elders, from the deacons, expectations from one another, from mom and dad, siblings, from others, expectations. And at times, these expectations just don't materialize, or it's like they're contradicted. I'm trusting in the Lord for one thing, and it's as though the opposite happens. It's almost like a cruel joke. I'm trusting the Lord, and my circumstances in his providence contradict the very thing that I understand God to be, the promises that he's given to me that I'm trusting in. It just seems to be the opposite. It creates a great deal of stress and tension, I have to say. And I speak from personal experience, but I know as a pastor for many, many years, knowing congregation, knowing the human heart, that for many of you it's been the same. Times when his will expressed through his providence will confound, confuse, possibly create a spiritual crisis. Where is God? He seems to be silent. a bronze heaven dome over me. Things just aren't panning out. What's worse, sometimes we think, well, God is pulling the rug out from under me. Have you ever had that kind of crisis? Or watched someone else, a loved one, have that kind of crisis? Have you? I'm not expecting you to stand up and say, yeah, that's all right. There are times where God will confound and confuse, possibly creating a crisis. Over the next several weeks, we're gonna look at various texts where this is a theme throughout the scripture. This is a theme where the children of God sometimes are placed in circumstances and they're crying out, Lord, where are you? Why have you put me in this furnace? Why have you stuck me here? What is going on? Why are you not fulfilling the promises that I've so invested my whole life in that I'm trusting you for? Why aren't things materializing the way the way I am expecting consistent with what your word teaches. I have to say that if you're struggling with any of that or if you've witnessed someone else, maybe an adult child, maybe a parent, maybe someone within the church, maybe someone outside the church, no, I don't go to church anymore because I just don't believe in God, he let me down. I have to say that if you're struggling with any of these questions, you're confounded, confused, disappointed, disillusioned, I think you're not alone. The one thing you're gonna find within the scripture again and again as this theme unfolds is you're not alone. The children of God face these kinds of struggles all the time. There are seasons of blessing we're thankful, seasons where we're trusting the Lord. He answers a prayer, we'll praise God, and he does. So I don't mean to be so morbid and dark. He is at work and often he comes through, but there are times where he chooses not to, and it really, it challenges our trust, our faith, it challenges our belief, our expectations of who God is, of who Jesus is. I have to say, when you're struggling, you're not alone. And it's nothing wrong to say, yeah, you know, I've had this, I've doubted God. At times, I think that God has pulled the rug out from under me. At times, I think this is a cruel joke. At times, I'm wondering whether there's a God at all. Life can be so difficult, my expectations are not being met. But it's interesting, we come back. And the Spirit speaks. And there's more to the story. But just the one point, don't miss it, the one point is you're not alone. You're not alone. The scripture testifies again and again. Witnesses of the children of God have struggled. But more, recognize and challenge your limiting framework, it's John. Is John wrong? Is he false to have expectations? The wrath of God is coming. The axe is at the root of the trees. He's going to burn the trees that don't bear fruit in fire. He's going to baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand. Well, where's the axe? Where's the Holy Spirit and fire? Where's the winnowing fork? Where's Yahweh cleaning house? Is John wrong in these expectations? No, he's not. It's rather flattened. His understanding is flattened. His understanding is, we can say circumscribed. His understanding is crabbed. He doesn't have the full framework. There is a book, I think it's entitled Visual Intelligence. I use this, I love this book, Amy Herman, who is a, she's an art historian and been hired by the CIA, the FBI, various, you know, Secret Service agencies, whatever, in order to teach agents how to see, this is gonna be a wonderful emphasis, even tonight, Jesus is gonna say to John's disciple, what do you hear and see? The thing about John is his framework is too narrow. It's not false. What he's looking at is not wrong. It's just he doesn't have the full picture. His expectation is, what can we say, crabbed, circumscribed. Again, not the whole picture, and so this can create a crisis. Amy Herman will have an agent come to, say, the Boston Museum, sit him or her within a gallery, and the assignment is, look at one painting, basically, one painting for two hours. Have you ever done that? Have you ever gone to a museum? I mean, most people, they kind of flip from picture to picture, right? You stand and you look at a painting for two hours. Two hours, one painting. Then they're supposed to write down all their observations and come back. And so they come back and, oh, you know, we saw this, you know, the little dog in the tree with the apples. And she said, well, what about the frame itself? Do you consider the frame? There's all kinds of questions you could ask. Focal point and how to enter into the picture, all kinds of things. All kinds of things you could ask, but she'll ask, well, do you consider the frame? Most do not. Did you consider what other paintings were next to it? Did you consider the lighting? Did you consider the color of the wall? These are all these things that nobody has thought about. Their framework was too narrow. This is John. His framework is too narrow. And often this is us. In fact, inevitably, all of us, our framework is too narrow. God is infinite, incomprehensible, eternal. And he is working out his profound purposes in us and through us. Imagine that. And do you think we're going to be able to gather that? Do you think our expectations are going to capture that? Do you think we're going to fully understand God at work in our lives and in the church? My friends, we will not. Our framework is too narrow, crammed, circumspect, narrow. And it's good that we memorize the confession, the catechism, and we are taught again and again. Hopefully the framework is broadened and we get to see even the frame itself, the lighting, the color of the wall, whatever, all those things. But that's going to take time and work and sometimes dashed expectations in order to kind of rouse us, awaken us. You don't know it all. I don't know it all. I turned 70 in March, and often my prayer these days is, Lord, I don't understand. I just don't understand, but I'm gonna find it. So recognize and challenge your limiting framework. You don't know, God, is that work? And so when it seems as though he's pulling the rug out, it seems like this is a cool joke, it's not. He's doing a very, very deep work that is beyond our volition. beyond our understanding. At times our understanding catches up, and that can be a wonderful blessing. But he's humbling us. He's teaching us. He's leading us. For John himself, for John himself, there's more to the judgment than John was figuring. Consider, we'll look at it more closely this evening. Judgment is coming, but is it gonna be against people or something else? I'll leave you with that question, because it'll be answered tonight. Look at Jesus' response. Judgment is coming. But upon what? Upon whom first? There is the end of the age. He will clean house. The chaff will be thrown in the fire, no doubt, but not now, not today. What is Jesus doing? Well, consider that this evening. Trust him, follow him. Again, he says, blessed is he who does not stumble. You see, John is kind of sort of stumbling, you know, kind of spiritual crisis. Jesus, he's not gonna chide, he's not gonna admonish, but he will warn. He'll warn, but hey, here's the blessing, just look to me. Don't turn to the right or left and trip over me. Just keep looking to me. You see, it's not about all that we understand, it's about looking to a person, a living person. Jesus has risen from the dead, he's given you his spirit and his word, And there is that ability, in some mystical way, there is that ability to see him, to look to him, to follow him. That's what we're being called upon. Not understand everything. Not have an answer. Not explain. Not mansplain everything. Follow him. It's not an easy ride. It's not an easy path. But it's good. This is how he works wisdom in us. This is how he works godliness in us. This is how he works a humility like Christ's in us. May the Lord bless you, brothers and sisters, and what the Lord is doing in our lives. As hard as it might be, it is good. Let's pray. Father, we call upon you this morning and ask that you would so bless us, your word, In our lives, in our hearts, may we understand what you are doing to the extent that we cleave to Jesus, even though we can't answer all of the questions that arise within our heart. Be near unto us, seal unto us your grace, your goodness, our union in Christ. We ask in his name.