Now that's a song, isn't it? Thank you, brother. If you have your Bibles, please open to the second chapter in the Book of Acts, Acts chapter 2. I will be picking up in the 14th verse this morning. We have eight verses to traverse together, so let me read the living Word of God, Acts 2, starting in verse 14. But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them. Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel. And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even on my male servants and female servants, in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. May the Lord bless the reading and proclamation of his word. Pray with me. Father, here we are, coming to the preached word, gathered not to hear the voice of a man, but the voice of the Lord. Work what only you can work among us this morning. Magnify the divine Son, magnify our glorious Father, magnify our beloved Holy Spirit, and have your way here among us today. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Acts 2, 14 through 21, the outpouring of the Spirit. It was June 1630 in Scotland that the stirrings of revival came to a small community called Shots. The group of wealthy women had providentially broken down in their horse and carriage, and they were being cared for while everything was being repaired, and these were wealthy women. And during the days of their stay in this village community shots, they had offered to fund a series of evangelistic meetings. and even bring in some of the most notable preachers from Scotland to come and preach to the gathered saints. And so it was that the very famous Robert Bruce, which hopefully many of you have heard of, he came and preached along with other men. Well, so it goes, as men preached over the days of this string of meetings, the Lord descended. He came down and many in the congregation were visibly moved, being stirred up with love for Christ. And the meetings when they would shut down, they wouldn't really stop, earnest prayer was had day and night. Conversations entirely spiritually minded, soul stirring conversations happening into the early morning hours day by day. At all hours of the night, in private, saints would be praying. In small groups, saints would be praying. They were just unable to sleep due to the excitement of the day. Then came Sunday, the final day of meetings, and the Lord came down once more with such grace and power. Nobody wanted to leave. Nobody wanted that to be the final meeting. So it was decided that afternoon that they would hold a Thanksgiving and communion service outdoors because the gathering had grown to such a number, more than 1,000 people. They would hold this communion service Monday morning and let that be the final meeting. It was said that a young man was chosen, 27-year-old John Livingston, to preach that communion service that morning. with all the excitement, the gathering, spending hours into the night praying, hoping in God to come yet again with power, even saving power, recognizing that there were many unconverted ones there. Again, Christians unable to sleep labored in prayer that Sunday night into Monday morning. And by 9 o'clock Monday morning, When the gathering was beginning to come together, John Livingston, 27 years old, not ordained yet in the ministry, was so burdened with his unfitness, full of insecurity, he actually decides to depart the meetings altogether, and he starts walking down the road. As he was walking away, he felt as though God spoke to him. and said, was I ever a barren wilderness or a land of darkness? And with that, he was converted again. He turned right around and with assurance, feeling as though God was really with him, he returned to the camp meeting to preach that morning. As he began to preach, his text was Ezekiel 36, 25 and 26, God removing a heart of stone and giving a heart of flesh. As he began to preach, God gave him such unction and power. Towards the end of the sermon, it began to rain. They're outdoors. People were stirring, putting on coats and hats, and he preaches on. He said, if a few drops of rain so discomfort you, how discomforted would you be? How full of horror and despair if God should deal with you as you deserve. And so he will deal with you if you do not repent. God might justly rain fire and brimstone upon you as he did upon Sodom and Gomorrah, but blessed be his name. The door of mercy still stands open to you. The Lord Jesus Christ has now become a refuge in the time of storm. His merits and mediation are the alone defense from that storm, And none but those come to Christ, just as they are, empty of everything, taking the offered mercy from his hand. None but them will have the benefit of this shelter." And he concluded his sermon. That morning, in the rain, in a prolonged meeting, God was pleased to save 500 of those gathered there, 500. Amazing, absolutely amazing, and yet nothing in comparison to what we're reading about in the second chapter of Acts. Just another glimmer, just another downpour, just mercy drops falling from heaven. So saints, why do I go back to church history in times It's because God is still doing what He began to do in Acts 2. And we need to take heart, dear ones, that the Lord is still at work, that what began on the day of Pentecost nearly 2,000 years ago was merely the opening of the floodgates. that God's mercy showers are coming down still. Today, such outpourings, sometimes on an individual level, sometimes on a corporate level, they're continuing all over the earth, just as our sovereign King determines it. And we need to take heart and to believe that this is reality. So, here we come in our text, verse 14, to what is often recognized as the first Christian sermon. And that's noteworthy in and of itself. I'll have more to say on that probably in the weeks to come. Of course, what we have, and I just read a small portion of it, the sermon actually extends all the way through verse 36, so you've got a whopping 23 verses of Peter's encapsulated sermon. Of course, we should say this isn't the sermon in total. You could read it out loud in three minutes, maybe less if you read quickly. Peter certainly spoke more than this on that occasion, and yet this is Luke, the author of the book of Acts, simply giving us the thrust and outline of what Peter said that day as he stood and preached among the thousands gathered. It is a substantial summary of the sermon's content, and for that, we're exceedingly grateful. What a sermon it was. Maybe the greatest sermon ever preached this side of the incarnation. Three thousand converted in a single sermon? It's hard to find that anywhere in church history. and all of it in some sense a response to where we were a couple of sermons ago, this question that was brewing among the gathered multitude, what does this mean? You see that in Acts 2.12. That's what they're asking, hearing people speaking in tongues unknown to themselves, every man hearing in their own language. They're asking, those that aren't mocking that is, they're asking, what does this mean? One author has said of preaching that the New Testament views preaching as God in action. Preaching is not merely a word about God and His redemptive acts, but it is a word of God. And as such, is itself a redemptive event. I think we should see something of that when we hear Peter begin to open up his mouth that day in Jerusalem. So here we go. Look with me at the text, verse 14. Peter now stands among the 11. Once again, a spokesperson for that dear group of apostles. And he, Peter, takes the initiative and begins to address the crowd. Some had been mocking, saying they're merely drunk with wine. Others, again, asking the question, what does all this mean? The cloven tongues of fire, the sound like a mighty rushing wind, every man speaking in these unknown languages, what does this mean? Peter will answer the question. with such precision, with such clarity, with such conviction. There's something significant, by the way, about the word Luke uses here, addressed. Peter stood up and addressed them in verse 14. It's the same verb that we see eleven verses earlier in verse 4, he gave them utterance. The Spirit is the active party in both of these scenarios is what we need to see. Again, the same Greek verb. This is Luke making a clear connection between the Spirit's empowerment or the Spirit's activity in both gifts, the tongues that were being spoken in verse 4, and now the preaching of Peter. It's the Spirit that's enabling. It's the Spirit that's empowering. It's the Spirit that is leading the way. All of what we're seeing here in Acts 2 is the work of the Christ-commissioned and now outpoured Spirit of God working through His people. Do not lose connection with that. Again, think back to the last sermon where we considered the change, the before and after snapshots of the lives of these apostles, Peter maybe in particular. Before Pentecost, Peter wouldn't so much as stand up to a servant girl. But now, Peter will courageously confront the world by the power of the Holy Spirit. Significant. Peter begins by urging this vast audience to hear him, to give him their ears, to listen. He's emphatic, and he's going to begin to explain, guys, we are not drunk at all. It's just 9 o'clock in the morning. Typically the first Jewish meal of the day would happen somewhere between 10 and noon. Guys, we haven't even begun to digest anything. What you're seeing is not drunkenness. Let me tell you exactly what is going on here. I've broken the remainder of the sermon into two parts. One, prophecy fulfilled, and two, priesthood of all believers. Prophecy fulfilled, priesthood of all believers. So let's begin, as Peter unpacks this, citing an Old Testament text from Joel 2, let's begin to see how Peter answers the question. What does this mean? Peter's going to tell them exactly what this means. Prophecy fulfilled. Look at verses 16 and 17. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel. And he begins to cite Joel 2, 28 through 32, Joel saying, and in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams. In order to understand the present events, Peter takes that audience back to the Word. He's opening the Scriptures. Again, the first recognized Christian sermon. And I love that little phrase that Peter uses here in verse 16, this is what the Word says. Three simple words, other translations will say, this is that. It's as though Peter addressing this multitude, he's saying, this, everything you've been seeing this morning, the miraculous events that have surrounded this group of 120 Christians, this is that. Right here in the text of Scripture, Joel 2. I'll show you what's going on here, I'll show you what the Lord is doing here. This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel. In order to understand the present, we need to be driven back to the Word. Yes, the new covenant fulfills Old Testament promises. What the prophet Joel had uttered so many hundreds of years earlier, that very event he foretold of. Peter's saying it is happening before your eyes right here this morning. Joel's prophecy is the fullest and clearest prophecy of this Pentecost event in the entirety of the Old Testament. That's pretty undisputed. And so, that is where Peter, by the Holy Spirit, goes. Again, Joel 2, 28 through 32. Peter then is explaining. He's expounding the Word. He's pointing to a prophecy fulfilled. And then notice the mention of this curious phrase, and in the last days. This is how he begins to quote Joel. If you were to flip over, and you don't need to, if you were to flip over to your Old Testament, it would read a little differently in the English translation of your Old Testament. If you were to have on hand, or maybe via your cell phone, the Greek Septuagint, it would also read a little bit differently, the Greek Septuagint being a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. There is a slight and not insignificant change in Peter's citation of Joel 2 here. In the original reading, again, citing the Greek Septuagint as often the apostles did in the pages of our New Testament, it reads, and it shall come to pass afterward. But that's not what Peter said. Peter said, and in the last days. What's going on here? Peter has modified it. I would suggest Peter is interpreting Joel 2 in the moment by the power of the Holy Spirit in an inspired way, and thus he tweaks it and says, in the last days, what's going on? Peter, by the Spirit, understood the significance of what was taking place that Pentecost Sunday. A new age had begun. the era of the Spirit had arrived. So then, with Christ's first coming, His incarnation, being born of a virgin, comes the beginning of the last days. We could say the first days of the last days began when Christ came the first time. The pouring out of the Spirit here in Acts 2 is the final consummating proof that a new era has begun, that the church has officially entered the last days. And the last days is a pretty well-known theme. throughout the pages of our New Testament. It's not rare that you will see something about the last days, the last hour, the end of time coming. Hebrews 1 verse 2, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son. Paul will say in 1 Corinthians 10, 11 that the church in His day are those who are on whom the end of the age has come. 1 John 2.18, children, it is the last hour. And as you've heard that the Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come, therefore we know it is the last hour. There is this urgency in the New Testament that we're in the last days, that the sun is setting on human history, and there are both encouragements and warnings associated with the last days. But it's not unique to the book of Acts at all or Peter's sermon. No, Luke and John and Peter and Paul, all these New Testament authors are talking about and dealing with the last days. So, what are we seeing here in Acts 2? It's that the new era of the Spirit marks the earliest days of the last days. And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. This is the Pentecost event, the outpouring of the Spirit, as Joel puts it, on all flesh. And Joel's prophecy goes on to expand what is meant by all flesh. In verse 17, all flesh includes both genders, male and female. For he goes on to say, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, male and female. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit includes all ages you've got in Joel's prophecy, young men and old men. And it includes men and women from every rank or class in society, even servants or slaves, as Joel cites. There is no discrimination then in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, not at all in God's spiritual kingdom. And yet we see the pouring out of the Spirit here on the day of Pentecost is marked both with words and wonders, signs and wonders. I want you to see this historic event as something like the downpouring of rain, a deluge of rain. As John Stott puts it, the whole picture of the Spirit outpoured in Acts 2 points to the generosity and the finality and the universality of the event. And I like that description. And this is highlighted by the events of that day, the sound of a mighty rushing wind, the tongues of fire that hovered above the heads of the 120 gathered in that upper room, the unknown tongues being spoken, people hearing in their own language. These are phenomenal signs and wonders. It's highlighted by what Joel prophesied as well. Saints, this moment in time is the inauguration. We've had one of those this week in America, but this is the inauguration of the era of the Spirit, of the last days, this outpouring of the Holy Spirit, an outpouring that was amplified or highlighted by dreams and visions and prophecies and words. Yes, dreams and visions and prophecies and words, not something to be scared of, but something to think biblically about, no doubt. Think of some of the New Testament occurrences of these things, dreams, visions, prophecies, words, all of which surround and follow the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. Joseph, husband to Mary, the mother of Jesus, dreams. Pilate's wife dreams something like nightmares. Ananias has a vision, Acts 9, along with Peter on that rooftop, Acts 10, or Cornelius in his house, Acts 16, or Paul in Acts 16 with the Macedonian call. John, the revelator, has a vision, and we have the final book of our Bible. due to that vision. Caiaphas, the high priest in his day, John 11, ironically prophesies. Philip's four daughters prophesy, Acts 21. New converts prophesy and speak in tongues, Acts 19. The Apostle Paul takes four chapters in 1 Corinthians to deal with prophesying and matters pertaining to church order. And then there are just so many words. The book of Acts itself, if you recall from the very first sermon I preached, is 25% discourse. One quarter of the text that we read in these 28 chapters is speeches and sermons, words, the preached word. tongues gifted, unknown languages, prayers spoken that shake houses and liberate prisoners. This is the mighty work of the Spirit of God beginning in the book of Acts. Then we shift in the text to Joel's prophecy from heavenly words to heavenly wonders. Read on with me in verses 19 and 20. I will show wonders in the heavens above, signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day." These cosmic wonders highlighted in Joel's prophecy are signs that Luke says will precede the day of the Lord. I'm going to say that the day of the Lord is the last day of the last days. So here we are in Acts 2, we're in the first days of the last days. The day of the Lord is the last day of the last days. And keep in mind there is this component of already and not yet at work here. Cosmic wonders, not foreign to the life of Christ, not foreign to the day of Pentecost, nor will they be foreign or absent preceding the coming of the Lord, His second coming at that great last day. Cosmic wonders mark the inauguration of the last days, just as they will mark the culmination of them. Remember, on the cross, When the sun was at its zenith, noonday sun, darkness covered the face of the earth for three hours, and the earth did shake. Such apocalyptic signs will precede the end of time, the coming of the Lord a second time without sin unto salvation, the Lion of the tribe of Judah returning again. Apocalyptic signs will precede his arrival as well. And then figuratively speaking, seeing these things as metaphors, this imagery of cosmic upheaval and bloody-looking suns and dark skies often points to the shaking of nations, even the upheaval of entire kingdoms. Surely right in the midst of Roman rule and government, this is beginning to happen even on the day of Pentecost. Rome will rise and fall. No enemy, not even the devil and a horde of demons could prevail against Christ's church. If all of this sounds spectacular, maybe even a little scary, so be it. In light of verse 21, this demonstrated power Joel prophesies of, these fearful signs, they demand a response. Acts 2, 21, and it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Peter quotes it here, Paul quotes it in the 10th chapter of Romans. Saints, we're dealing with factual events when we think of the already component to these things. As Jesus hung on that cross in the midst of the noonday sun, suddenly the land went dark and God turned the lights out. That's a scary scene, and it happened. We're dealing with factual events. A real wooden cross with real nails. The very real bleeding Savior dying for sinners. A real tomb there in the rocks, followed by a very real empty tomb. The ascension of the risen Lord before the apostles' very eyes. This is history. These things happened. were dealing with facts as much as Abraham Lincoln was a president of the United States during the Civil War. The events of the Gospels, the events of the Book of Acts, they took place. They're facts. And it begs the question, what are you going to do with those facts? Will you just discard them, say they're unimportant, they don't affect me, when in reality they are the very things that are important and affect you? What will you do with these facts? And since God was true in fulfilling these Old Testament promises in the days of the New Testament, how will you deal with what is coming? What is surely coming? A very real death. the upheaval of nations, cosmic signs and wonders, fearful things, a threatening devil who seeks to devour. How will you deal with those facts? All of this demands a response. And I think that's why Peter in verse 21 marks a bit of a transition in his sermon, citing Joel 2, whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord. shall be saved." Not merely a verbal answer is required right now, not a nod of the head, but the movement of heart and life, a real response this text demands, a real response. Now, let's circle back to something we can't afford to overlook, the priesthood of all believers, the priesthood of all believers. Prophecy was fulfilled. I think we've considered that at length. What about the priesthood of all believers is said here. Look with me at verse 17 once again. And in the last days it shall be God declares that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. I've already pointed to the significance of Joel's language. which encompasses people from both genders, encompasses people from all ages, encompasses people from every rank in society, top to bottom. The gospel, the outpoured spirit, justification by grace through faith, it's not for the elite only. It's not for the white, cisgender, 40-something-year-old male that has a middle-class kind of income or better. No, Christ has determined to pour out His Spirit on all flesh. All, not meaning everyone without exception, but rather all types of people. All types of people. As we will see in the pages of Acts that follow Acts 2, there are, of course, many who refuse to believe the gospel. They reject the apostolic preaching. Many who stand in opposition to it, even persecuting the church of Jesus Christ, enemies of the gospel. So the Spirit will not be poured out on all flesh in totality, every man, woman that has ever lived or is alive, but rather every type of person. Think about that. This indiscriminate outpouring of the Holy Spirit all by itself is really good news, really good news. I mean, who am I? Who am I to deserve the outpoured Spirit of Christ? And who are you? We're nothings and nobodies, and yet here's the God of the universe saying, I'm going in that day to pour out my Spirit on all flesh, sons and daughters, slaves and freemen. But there's something more you must hear than this. Sadly, so many in our day get caught up in the sensational. They're all about the dreams and visions and prophecies. They miss the mark. They miss the mark. If you walk away from this text this morning longing for dreams and visions and tongues and prophecies, I submit you've totally misunderstood the passage. What's amazing about this passage is the personal experiential part, the fact that God has chosen to dwell in us and His Spirit then be poured out upon us. That is amazing. It's no more like the days of the Old Testament when a leader here or a prophet there experienced the Spirit resting upon them. It's not even like it was with Moses in that day where he gathered the 70 around the 10th. You could read about it in Numbers 11. And there the 70 were, and God took from the spirit that he had put on Moses and distributed amongst those 70 men, and they prophesied once, but not again. Maybe you recall that day that there were two other men that had not gathered with the 70. This is Eldad and Medad. and they were in the camp, and the Spirit of God was resting upon them. And here comes Joshua, much in the spirit of the immature apostles before Pentecost, saying, Moses, you gotta do something about this. You gotta shut those guys down. Do you remember Moses' response? Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit on them. Brothers and sisters, Moses' longings came to pass on this Pentecost Sunday. This is what God has done and determined to do even from before the foundation of the world. And more than that even, the new covenant promises foretold in the pages of our Old Testament, spoken of by the holy prophets of old, they have now become a reality. We could look at many texts in Isaiah and Ezekiel and Jeremiah. I'll cite just one. Jeremiah 31, one of the great new covenant texts in our Old Testament. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts and I will be their God. Listen to the language. I will be their God and they shall be my people. Something Brian referenced in the reading this morning in Revelation. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they shall all know me. From the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more. Did you hear that language? They shall all know me. from the least of them to the greatest. This is the New Covenant era, saints. This is what Christ seated on His heavenly throne, powerfully ushered in to the New Testament age of the church. Now every Christian knows the Lord personally and intimately. Now every Christian has experienced something of this outpoured Holy Spirit. Not one here and there, not a few, not a select number, all flesh. The fact is that you and I are, each and every one of us, as redeemed saints, prophets, priests, and kings. We are not Christ, but we are in Him, and because we are in Him, we are prophet, priest, and king. We are Christ's mouthpiece in the earth, ambassadors of reconciliation. As priests, we are the body of Christ, saved for service, each member of Christ's body, having his or her part in God's redemptive plans. Again, as priests, we are those devoted to or addicted to the service of the saints, 1 Corinthians 16, 15. More than that, we are living sacrifices. Romans 12, those who laid down our lives for our brothers and sisters, and then as kings. We are those who reign with Him, 2 Timothy 2, those seated with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2. This is the new covenant reality. Saints, though we will all grow in the outworking of these things, you and I are not striving to be these things. For we are these things in Christ. This is who you are, dear Christian, in Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Is this you? Does this reality mark your life? Are you saved in the grace of Christ and now serving in the power of Christ? Is this you? Can you say with the Apostle Paul, Colossians 1.26, for this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He so powerfully works within me. You see, dear ones, the kingdom of God is so much bigger than you and me. And it's active. And it's on the move. It's expanding. You may feel it to be declining in this part or another part of the world, but you need to know this morning, no, it's expanding. It's growing, maybe not before your eyes presently, but in other parts of the world. Christ is coming. His kingdom is expanding. It's like the seed sprouting and growing in the night season, and the farmer gets up in the morning and sees the growth, and he can't even explain the growth, but it's there. And if you're in Christ, if you have this outpoured spirit, you're to be active in Christ's kingdom coming. The priesthood of all believers means that there aren't any Christian benchwarmers. It means that all of us are in the game. Living in the last days, between the inauguration of the last days, as we've seen this morning, to the coming of the day of the Lord, when He comes again, we have these limited days of opportunity. I believe for the American church in this present day, with the newly inaugurated president, We have been given a little respite, maybe a little more time to work while it is still daylight, recognizing that the night is coming when no man can work. Repent of your own self-serving agendas. Christian, repent of wasting energy on building your little kingdom of self that will only crumble to the ground. If this day the things that I've described are foreign to you, if you have lived your life to this point and everything has been about you. Repent and believe the gospel. You need to be born again. Take a Christian full of the Holy Spirit and he or she will leap over walls and run right into the fray of battle, testifying every step of the way of the grace and glory in Christ Jesus. The Christian will resist sin, pursue holiness, even defy the devil. Take a Christian who neglects the reality of the outpoured Spirit, and that man or woman will mount very few obstacles, serve reluctantly, live in a state of indifference and insecurity, know constant discouragement, and bear very little fruit. This is a necessity, saints, to see these things and to walk in these things. Have you the Holy Spirit or not, beloved? It will change everything. It will change everything. And how much more will your good Father give the Holy Spirit, if you'd ask? Unbelief is so crippling here. To see this in the text, to believe that the Spirit was outpoured, to read the words upon all flesh, and not to embrace this reality as your own, as though you are some insignificant, dry, barren land seated with Christ in heavenly places. Unbelief cripples many a saint here. Saints, I just want you and me and us together to live no more in the slums of powerless Christianity, in the slums of low, meaningless Christian existence and experience, because there's no time to waste. Our days of opportunity are few. Even as Brian said this morning, some 50 or 60 or 70 or 80 years from now, we will not be here. Some 30 years from now, you may not have the energy or the ability to do much for Christ, but pray. There's no time to waste. No time for Christian daydreaming. Make haste, saints. By the power of the Holy Spirit, make haste. live with a holy urgency, do all the good you can, trusting this big Christ to supply all the power He can. It's not like we're alone. It's not like we've been left to ourselves. It's not like we're without the appropriate means or power. or resources. We have the best captain and we wage the best of wars. So saints, arise, stand, live for the glory of God. Fight that His name might be magnified among the nations. In the power of the Holy Spirit, the outpoured, deluge Holy Spirit, live with Christ, walk with Christ, serve and sacrifice and give and suffer for the glory of Christ. He's with us, and He'll be with us to the very end. Amen. Pray with me. Father, You know the needs of the hour, and not merely on a corporate level, but on an individual level. You see now even the thoughts and intentions of the heart. You see how the saints are wrestling with the Word. applying it to their own life and circumstances. You see the need. You see the unbelief. You see the carelessness. You see the hope. You see the excitement and the joy. You see it all, Lord. You know us all together. You framed us. You've made us. You're building us. You know us. Work, Lord, for Your name's sake, I pray. Work. your will be done, your kingdom come. In Denton, in Nicaragua, in Nepal, in Dominican Republic, your kingdom come, your will be done. In Jesus' name, amen. Saints, would you stand and let's sing before the benediction.