Would you please stand with me now for the reading of God's Word, and turn with me first to Jeremiah chapter 9, as we read together verses 17 to 26. Jeremiah chapter 9, verses 17 to 26. The prophet Jeremiah says, Thus says the Lord of hosts, consider and call for the mourning women, that they may come and send for skillful wailing women, that they may come, let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run with tears, and our eyelids gush with water. For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion, how we are plundered, we are greatly ashamed, because we have forsaken the land, because we have been cast out of the dwellings. Yet hear the word of the Lord, O women, and let your ear receive the word of your mouth. Teach your daughters wailing, and everyone her neighbor a lamentation, for death has come through our windows, has entered our places to kill off the children, no longer to be outside, the young men no longer on the streets. speak thus says the lord even the carcass of men shall fall as refuse on the open field like cuttings after the harvester and no one shall gather them thus says the lord let not the wise man glory in his wisdom let not the mighty man glory in his might nor let the rich man glory in his riches, but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight, says the Lord. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised. Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart." May God add a blessing to the reading of his word. And now would you turn with me to Philippians chapter 3, as we read verses 4 through 9. Philippians chapter 3 verses 4-9. Paul writes, "...though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so. Circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, concerning the law, a Pharisee. concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. And indeed, I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith." All flesh is like grass, and all of its glory is like the flower of the grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord abides forever. And all of God's people said, Amen. Please be seated. Let's pray. Lord God in heaven, We ask one more time, God, as we look into your Word, that you would give us eyes to see and ears to hear what your Word is calling us to know and to believe upon. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you would help us, Lord, to singularly sit at your feet and hear from you that nothing would distract us from what you are calling us to hear this morning. We pray, Lord, that it would be for your glory. I pray, Heavenly Father, that I would accurately proclaim your word to these, your beloved. And we pray these things in your precious Son, Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen. If you haven't turned there already, I would encourage you to turn with me to Titus chapter 3 verses 1 through 8. Titus chapter 3 verses 1 through 8. If you did not go, it's 1st Timothy, 2nd Timothy, and then Titus. And Titus is right before the book of Philemon, which is right before Hebrews. Titus, chapter 3. Let's begin this morning by reading from God's word from Titus, chapter 3, verses 1 through 8 together. Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish. Disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration, renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. that having been justified by His grace, we should have become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to man." May God add a blessing yet again to the reading of His Word. Now, just to let you guys know, we did enjoy I guess if some of you were here at the Parsonage, our home, on a Tuesday evening, you heard a little bit about our trip, but as always, we enjoyed Dickinson, we enjoyed ministering the Word of God there to Grace Reformed Church. I think that's the name of the church there. But it is always good to come home, amen? It is good always to worship the Lord with you, and therefore we're glad to be back. Let me begin by retelling a shorthand version of a Disney classic that all of us are familiar with. A story entitled Beauty and the Beast. Beauty and the Beast. We've watched that together several times. Interestingly, somehow it fits with what Paul tells Titus this morning. The story, as we all know, is of a young, very rich man. He is very good-looking. He is muscular. He has a full head of beautiful blonde hair. For all intents and purposes, he would appear to be charming and debonair and good-looking. But behind what you can see is a very brash, arrogant, self-absorbed young man. He treats everyone as poorly as is possible. He treats those who work for him as if they are beneath him. And what you see is an arrogant, egotistical young man who for some reason believes that the world owes him a certain amount of respect because of this wealth that he has inherited from his daddy. Because you literally don't see him doing anything but being handsome and devonair and treating people poorly. Well, one day, a little old lady comes to his home. She is walking through the wilderness path, soaking wet because Out around her is a massive storm. The wind is blowing. The trees are howling. There is thunder and lightning in the sky. And all of a sudden she comes to this massive home. She makes her way to the front door and she rings the doorbell or knocks with the knocker and this prince comes and answers the door. Because he's arrogant, he takes one look at her and sizes her up, and before she has even said a word, concludes that she is beneath him. She asks very kindly, Sir, may I come into your home? My clothes can dry off, I can warm up, perhaps get something to eat, wait for this storm to pass, and then as quickly as I came, I will leave and you will never hear from me." Essentially, she is asking for compassion. Because he has concluded already, as I've said, that she is beneath him, he mocks her. He makes fun of her. He concludes that she is dumb and she is not worth his time. He takes his massive wood door and as he begins to close it, she speaks a, and this is pretend obviously, but she begins to speak a curse over him. And in an instant, this man, who is debonair and charming, or not charming, but he's good looking, becomes this hideous beast. He's got werewolf fangs, and he's covered with fur, and he's got long claws. He's huge. He snarls. And the idea is that she turns him into this hideous creature that actually reflects who he is on his inside, his heart. There's one stipulation to reversing this and that is he somehow needs to allow what is deep within him. So the story is actually about his, you know, bringing out this goodness within him that we know to be false. He's depraved. But he's got to somehow be nice to a young woman as hideous as he looks so that she will fall in love with him and this curse become reversed. In the next scene or so, we see this young woman or princess named Belle. Belle meets this hideous beast through various circumstances. And at first, she is absolutely thrown off by him, how harsh he is, how selfish, he's rude, he yells, he's intimidating. But as she lives with him, she befriends him. As the story unfolds, what you actually learn about this young woman is that Belle has this uncanny ability to look beyond what she can see into this heart that's covered with meanness and bring it out of him. She somehow has the ability to soften his words and the way he responds to her and all of these people that work for him. And over time, as you know, she falls in love with him because who he is comes forth. Well the point here, strange as it might seem, it is as believers in Jesus Christ who have been regenerated where God gives the elect individual a new heart, a renewed will, new affections to follow after and obey God. The Westminster Confession of Faith, 13.1, describes regeneration this way. It says, they who are once effectually called and regenerated have a new heart, a new spirit created within them. Article 6 of the Canons of Dort says, He, God, graciously softens the heart of the elect, however obstinate, and inclines them to believe. The idea is that in regeneration we grow to show love and compassion to those who do not know the Lord, who have perhaps acted hostile to us, because showing love and compassion through Christ is what we have grown do. The context to which Paul writes Titus in Crete, his young pastoral protege, is that the Christians there are in a situation similar to our own. That is, a world of wickedness, deplority, a sort of depression as people work so diligently to get everything that they have ever desired that they might feel even an inkling of happiness as they look to hurt one another viciously. And in turn, they look to attack and hurt Christians, perhaps even those whom they know they have loved. What Paul tells Titus to tell the believers in Crete is that as difficult as these people are, as hard-hearted as they are, as those who have decided to make up their own minds to completely ignore the word of the Lord, the fact that they were made in His image, that they were put on earth to give Him glory and honor, that they have, because of their hatred for God, acted out towards you, have been disobedient to you, acted arrogantly to you, that the Christian can't somehow allow that to become a source of bitterness or frustration to the point that they, we, simply want to turn our back on them. The first eight verses of chapter 3, Paul is admonishing Titus to remind the Christians in Crete that the regenerated believer is marked by love for people both inside our fellowship, the church, and those outside of the church. Verses 1 through 3, Paul reminds us of our duty to treat people honorably, compassionately, because of our transformation in Christ. Verses 4 through 7, Paul reminds us of how we are saved in Christ Jesus because of his mercy. In verse 8, he reminds us of our mission in this world, which is an act of love. So we begin together, verses one through three, Paul reminds Titus that we, as regenerated Christians, are called to treat people, all people, with compassion. Would you follow along with me as I reread the passage, beginning in verse three, down to verse one to three? He says, remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were once, also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another." You notice, as we begin here, verse 1, that Paul begins his exhortation to the people, the Christians of Crete, by telling Titus to remind them. The them, as you can very well imagine, is the church. But what we need to know is that this word, remind, is the basis for what Titus is to do with all of this information that he's given from the Apostle Paul, what he's giving him. In other words, this word as a present tense verb brings the idea of persistently bringing these things up. In other words, it isn't just a one-time exhortation that Titus is to give to the church. It is something that Titus is to proclaim with some consistency amongst God's people. He says, verse 2, and this is what we are to be reminded of, or I'm sorry, verse 1, he says, to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. The point being made here is not just an exhortation to do a bunch of stuff that will make your confession in Christ seem genuine in the world. It is that in doing these good things that honor God, to respect the authority that has been placed over us, we, with a good attitude, show ourselves to be genuine in our faith and in the work God our Father has done within us. In other words, what Paul is saying is, to be counted as genuine and loving in this world, regardless of the way that they treat us, as obedient children of God, the world will know whether they acknowledge it to you or not, that your faith in Christ is real, is genuine. Notice that Paul doesn't specify which branch or level of the government he is referring to. So he's not saying, pick carefully which official you are to submit to, meaning the level of official doesn't matter, whether it's a local police officer or the mayor or whomever. He's not saying pick carefully who you're to submit to or whether you agree with all of the policies of the person that you are called to submit to. He is making a general comment for us as God's regenerate people to have a good attitude about obeying them all. The caveat being, unless these people start ordering us to do something that is contrary to the word of the Lord, then we have, in all rights, according to love, the absolute right to lovingly disobey them. In Romans chapter 13, for example, Paul tells the Christians in Rome that the reason believers ought to have respect for and obey our human government is for no other reason than God sovereignly placing them above us. He tells us in Romans chapter 13 verse 1 specifically, "...let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God and the authorities that exist are appointed by God." You remember in Matthew chapter 22 verses 16 to 27, as the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus, Jesus makes the point that we as God's people are to render the things that are Caesar's back to Caesar and to God the things that are God's. He isn't suggesting that what the officials are doing is fair, or the money they are asking from us is for good purposes, but that our faith is not in a politician, but in God Himself entrusting Him as those He sovereignly chooses to lead, lead over us. He tells us, verse 2, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. To be peaceable is to be uncontentious, that is, friendly. To be gentle, that is, to have an attitude that does not hold grudges but gives others the benefit of the doubt. So again, we are to have this disposition to those who God has sovereignly placed upon us. Verse 3, he tells us why. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. Rather than resenting or slandering the unbelieving political leaders or the educators or the media or the people who are in the public industry, rather than allowing our mouths to speak venomous attacks on their immoral agendas and the various movements that they offer the world, the organizations that they advertise, we are to remember where we came from. what we were delivered from. See, the idea that Paul is bringing up to Titus is a warning, a very subtle warning. that if as believers who learn doctrine, we learn the scriptures, we have the ability to recite it, we have the ability to communicate it, to teach it perhaps, we have become a people of prayer, we've seen God orchestrate different beautiful things in our lives, bless us with all kinds of blessings, that if we aren't careful, Because biblically we know their trajectory, we might begin to grow to think ourselves superior to them. As if our being in Christ has something to do with our particular piety or some mentality that we've grown to have in Christ. See, the solution, that as we look out at the world and what the world is pursuing, the agendas that it's trying to describe as moral and right, as we learn about public schools that are teaching things that our children shouldn't even be on their radar or hear about that instead of thinking of them as somehow beneath us begin to realize that the reason they're doing the things that they're doing is because unlike the the blessedness of his intervening in our life has chosen not to in theirs and therefore Because we're regenerated in Christ, we have a pity, we have a mercy for them. It isn't as if we don't understand that what they're doing or teaching or leading people astray, it's not that we don't understand or can't articulate their trajectory will be an eternity in hell. It's that as His people, we know that He was merciful and kind when he didn't have to be to us. And therefore, as his regenerate people, we have compassion for them. 1 Corinthians 6-9-11, Paul writes to the Corinthian church, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And here is the point, and such were some of you. but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God." The issue here is that in order for us to have the godly testimony in an ungodly culture amongst those who rule over us, people that God has sovereignly brought to us, we have to remember that such behavior should be expected from ungodly people. You notice what he says here, he says, for we ourselves were once foolish, We ourselves were once disobedient. We ourselves were deceived. We were once serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. The Greek term for foolish simply means to lack understanding. to be disobedient is the idea that even though a law could make absolute and perfect sense, don't do this. It is immoral. Doesn't necessarily bring with it that the law is somehow going to change the inner working or the sinful thinking leading to a complying or obedient behavior. In other words, it's not a mental thing we're talking about. It is the Lord working in the heart of a person, therefore leading them to be changed and transformed as they believe upon Jesus Christ. He says some of us were deceived. That comes from a Greek word that literally means to be purposely led astray. That's literally the idea that you could look at an idea that's before you. And this world will look at that knowing that that decision is going to lead to other bad things, perhaps worse decisions, and conclude that because I have already set my heart upon it, I must finish what I've started. He says that we've served various lusts and pleasures. Perhaps we've been full of malice and envy, hating and hating one another. Well, what is the point that Paul is making to Titus and Christians of Crete and us? You and I have to view the unsaved world not as your enemy, but with grief, tears. See, it's wrong. It's wrong to look at someone who does not know the Lord and conclude in our inner workings, our hearts, our minds, that the reason they're doing what they're doing is somehow because they aren't as smart as I am, is wrong. Paul says to Titus, to the Christians of Crete, that because we have been regenerated, and we know, verse 3, what we've been regenerated from, we have compassion. for them. Another thing that Paul is not saying here is that this compassion that we're called to exhibit is easy. It's not easy, amen? He's not saying hurry up and get over it. Be a man. Even if you're a woman, he's not saying be a man. Climb the hill and get over it. That's not what he's saying. He's talking about a compassion because of what Christ has done for you to be extended to those who do not know him. To cry if we must, as we see those we love go off in directions that we could have never anticipated. only to weep silent tears in hopes that the Lord will sovereignly transform their minds and their hearts for his glory. So the first point that Paul makes to Titus is that as Christians who have been regenerated, we have compassion for those who are ruling over us. We don't speak badly about them, we have compassion. Notice, secondly here, verses 4-7, we are to remember our salvation. So he builds on verse 3, he says, beginning in verse 4, But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by his grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." He goes on from honoring politicians to talking more about how we were saved. His point here is simply that we are now in Christ radically different from the way we once were. Even if that radical difference takes years and years to take shape, We are in Christ now different than we were, from the way the unsafe still are because of his kindness, his love, his mercy, his washing of regeneration, his renewing by the Holy Spirit of grace. Notice here to begin with verse 4, "...but when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared." This word kindness comes from a Greek word that connotes genuine goodness and generosity of heart given to those who literally do not deserve it. The picture that Paul is painting for Titus, for the church, is that what God in Christ has done for the elect and showing us his loving benevolence, his graciousness, his concern for us, desire to save us according to his covenant of grace and drawing us to himself. In other words, God doesn't pick your name out of a hat and say so-and-so is going to be good enough for salvation. It is electing you was His purposeful goodness and kindness being shown to you for His purposes. Listen to how John Calvin describes this act. He says, although God testifies His goodness and love to all, yet we know it by faith only. When He declares Himself to be our Father in Christ, Before Paul was called to the faith of Christ, he enjoyed innumerable gifts of God, which might have been given him a taste of God's fatherly kindness. And he had been educated from his infancy in the doctrine of the law, yet he wanders in darkness, so as not to perceive the goodness of God until the Spirit enlightened his mind, until Christ came forth as the witness and pledge of His grace of God, the Father from which, but for Him we are all excluded. Thus He means that the kindness of God is not revealed and known but by the light of faith." What is Calvin saying to us here? That God can show the unsaved all the mercy and kindness in the world and does. that they would not know it until God reveals it to them. His kindness, not just for kindness sake, but points to their eternal need. Verse 5 says, This gets back at what Paul was saying in verse 3. Regeneration literally comes from the Greek word that means someone receives new life to be born from above as per an act God does in us. You remember in John chapter 3 verses 5 through 8, Jesus answered and he said, Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." What is Jesus saying? Like our inability to predict where the wind blows in a certain direction, we cannot predict whose eyes the Spirit will regenerate and open. Remember earlier we read in Philippians chapter 3 verses 4 through 9, the point to what Paul wrote there to the church in Philippi is that because Christ paid the price for our sins, they are graciously removed. That justice is satisfied and God's kindness and love and mercy and regeneration have been given us and that we didn't deserve any of it. Therefore, We love the wicked of the world. We're reminded here in verses four through seven that our love for them because of what Christ has done for us is to be genuine. It's to be genuine. Thirdly, verse eight, Paul reminds us of our mission in the world. You follow along with me, verse eight. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men." He reminds us in verses 1 through 3 that the world lives according to the way sin leads people to live. that how they live cannot deter us from the way we ought to live, to glorify God. In verses 4 through 7, Paul reminds us that because of the way we became regenerated, we remember what sins we've been saved from and therefore show the world compassion. In verse 8, Paul talks now about, to continue to glorify God, we must remember our mission as believers. First of all, this faithful saying are these things that Paul has been addressing in the text thus far. Secondly, he again is calling Titus to not only remember but proclaim these things and to bring them up to the beloved of God so that they are careful then to maintain these good works. These good works, thirdly, Paul says, are profitable to men. What does that mean? That we who believe upon God, who, drawn by His mercy, must maintain a good work where we seek out opportunities to do good works. But it also means that we have, as we grow, the ability to proclaim the very message that we as believers believe upon. In other words, the ultimate good work that Titus is calling us to pursue is both to love people, to show them compassion, to pray for those who don't know him, to do it consistently, as often as we think about it, to somehow find ways to serve them, but to at the same time proclaim the message that God has given to us through Jesus Christ. That is, that sinners must repent and believe upon Jesus Christ. Jesus, in the Gospel of Luke, gives us a good example of this. In Luke chapter 10, verses 25 to 37, an expert of the law comes to him and asks him, what must I do to be saved? As you know, the expert of the law is already beginning a bad conversation with Christ because if the expert of the law had read the Old Testament even a little closely, he would have seen that there was nothing that he could have done to have been saved. Jesus is engaging him on his terms with the question he asked. So Jesus asked him, what does the law say? This expert of the law tells Jesus to love the Lord with all of who you are and your neighbor as yourself. So Jesus agrees with him and he says, go and do that. The idea is that this expert of the law is to go love the Lord, our God, with all of his being and to love neighbors as himself, as perfectly as God has called him to. What should have happened as this teacher of the law heard Jesus' words or his response to his question was that this man had become humbled. He should have realized as an expert of the law that although God's word calls him to a certain level of spirituality, that there was no way in his sinfulness that he could have achieved the perfection that God's law was calling him to pursue, to have. The text says that this expert of the law wanted to justify himself. That is to say that the Pharisee had learned that the people you love are those who you call friends, but those who you call an enemy, you hate. In other words, when this man is asking Jesus, who is my neighbor, he's actually looking to get into a debate with Jesus about who specifically constitutes a neighbor. So Jesus listening to him and his question and his response back to him begins to tell him a parable. A parable of a Jewish man. He's walking in the road and he is suddenly mugged and beaten and left for dead. Jesus tells us that a priest then started coming down that road. He sees that man. He's been beaten. The priest goes to the other side of the road to pass him so that the man who's laying there half-dead can't even see him pass. Jesus tells of a Levite who again sees this man laying in the street who avoids him, goes to the other side so that again the Jewish man, his own brother in Judaism, can't see him, so he doesn't have to help him. But finally a Samaritan sees this man and it says that he has compassion on him. He's compassion on him. He's told that the Samaritan goes to this man who's been beaten and left for dead and he binds up his wounds. He pays for the man to sleep in an inn and to recover, and then he tells the innkeeper that if he needs more attention when he gets back, he'll pay for what the man needed for the amount of time that he spent in this place. Jesus now looks at the expert of the law and he says, who showed him mercy? Who was his neighbor? The expert of the law, verse 37, says, "...he who showed mercy on him," meaning the Samaritan. So why am I bringing this up? Because this Samaritan would have been seen as an enemy of the person he was helping, the Jew. Did you know that? It was the Samaritan. The Samaritan was giving up provisions that he had for his own journey, so actually it cost him quite a bit to help this man who had seen him as an enemy. The point, however, is for Jesus to show us, this man, this expert of the law, that when it comes to our loving people the way God intended for us to, that he comes short, that he's nowhere near it. The point that we come to here is not that if we find a homeless person that you spend all of your money taking care of them. We're not talking about going and finding someone who's walking the streets and nursing them back to health. In fact, in our day, we have to be careful who we help because we don't know what they might do as we try to help them. But the actual idea here is the challenge for us is if we are, in our love of ourselves, willing, in even one iota, able to love someone who we would consider our neighbor. In Matthew 5, verse 46, Jesus asked the question, what reward is there if you only love those who first and continue to love you? Paul's point here, beloved, to Titus is that like the Samaritan, the believer, because of God's magnificent regenerating work in us, must learn how to show compassion to those God puts in our lives for his glory. Being careful of who we're helping, but the basic idea that we are called to show compassion because of what he has done for us. It's interesting because as we think about this, some of us would give the shirt right off of our backs, amen? If somebody needed us, we would drop what we're doing and we would help them in every way that we possibly can. But some of us are afraid. Some of us just don't want to. We're afraid of being hurt. We're afraid of being taken advantage of. But the real question at the heart of this issue of loving people is the thing that we're actually trusting in. We're trusting in the outcome. That is to say, if I love them and they respond to me in an encouraging way, I feel great about loving them. But if I love them in such a way, if I give of myself to them and they don't treat me the way that I think I would deserve to be treated because I love them, then you're trusting in the outcome. But if we are trusting in the Lord because of what He has done in us, we will trust him to take care of us even in the midst of our sufferings." As difficult and scary as that is, amen? This morning we come to the Lord's Supper remembering, I hope rejoicing, over the fact that the Lord our God has come to us, Emmanuel, set those who the Father has chosen from eternity past that we might be saved from our sins to the praise of his glorious name but that work that he begun in us in electing us and then saving us does not end we don't simply learn as much as we possibly can and call that a good and to our Christian walk, we are nevertheless called to carefully love those who God has put into our life. Let's pray. Lord God in heaven, we pray, O God, that as we think about those who you are calling us to love, we pray, O Lord, We wouldn't love them with a reckless abandonment. We pray that we would love them with wisdom. That we would know our own limitations. That we would use wisdom, so not as to be taken advantage of. Perhaps loving someone means loving them afar. There's nothing wrong with that, and I pray that you would give us peace about that. But if perhaps you have called us to love someone who is immediately in our life, I pray, Heavenly Father, that in your grace and in your mercy, you would help us to see that you are nevertheless causing us to persevere. That the message we proclaim or try to live out in front of them is not about us. It's not about our trying to convince them that this is somehow real. It's what you are doing in their midst. And I pray, oh God, that we would trust you with that. I pray that we would trust you with their hearts, with their minds. For it is in your precious name we pray. Amen.