Marks and then temp the Lord when we're pre preaching for us, but I'm gonna quote that song song again this morning I quote it. Don't you listen to it carefully. It's a revival song and I felt this a few time in my life and Sometimes you want if you'll ever feel it again, which I did today, of course Lord out poured his Holy Spirit. I When the Lord turned again, the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then our mouth filled with laughter, our tongue was singing. Then said the among the heathen, the Lord hath done great things for us. The Lord hath done great things for us, what we're glad. And that's what I felt this morning. Kind of pinching myself to see if this was real, like one that dreams. And then the writer's not through, he says, turn again thy captivity, O Lord, as the strangers in the south. Let it soar in tears, shall reap in joy. He that go forth and weepeth bearing precious seeds shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. And that turn again thy camp shall be to your lord of the strangers of the south. You have heard me say this before, kind of like we've been in India and other places, that you cross a long, long bridge that just dries up, shucks in the air. You say, what in the world is this bridge doing here? And what happens when the monsoons come, that place is filled with water. You think the water will never be there again. That's what David was saying over there, turning in that capital order to the traders in the south. Sometimes they like it so dry, never will be a flood again, but there will be. So they were begging God, look, we've had a revival, we want some more revival. But then they that sow in tears, we gotta sow in tears, prayerful tears, shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and bear a precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bring his sheep with him. So go home and read Psalm 126. And I won't do it too quickly, because I got some other things I want to say, but read that Psalm 126. It's a great revival prayer and rejoicing because God has sent revival. Our God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we're able to ask or even think. But while we're happy, I want to give you a word of caution. First of all, I want you to pray especially the next few weeks for Davis and for Luke, because this may not happen, but it's interesting to me in the scriptures in the third chapter of Matthew, Christ was baptized. Guess what happened in the fourth chapter immediately? He led the wilderness to be tempted. And that has always spoken to me. that when somebody gets baptized, the devil doesn't like that. He may really work on these gentlemen and try to bring something stumbling block in their path. So pray for them in a special way. I also want to tell the church, you be in prayer. This is not to dampen our spirits, but to give a word of caution. I've been around a long time now. I've experienced a lot of things. We had a revival like that at Whitehaven Church back in 1970. I'm going to read you a little bit about that. This was in our Thanksgiving meeting in 1970. And we had a great time. It's unbelievable what time we had. Lee was baptized then on November the 27th, 1970. Laura was also. And Lisa Braddock, where are you now? And Ronnie Ewing. In fact, Ronnie, the way he got baptized, but also for the Holy Spirit at that meeting, I knew Ronnie needed to join, but he hadn't joined. So I caught him by the back door one night and wouldn't let go of him. until he said, I'll make a profession of faith. So I went to baptize him right that night. And his mama had been at home with some sick kids or something. They had to go get Sarah Ewing. And I had bought some clothes from old Edwin's daddy. I brought a card because all my baptized clothes were wet. And I remember we sang until they got there. And I preached a little sermon in the baptistery. I didn't intend to. When I talked about the Father, I said something about the Father, something about the Son, something about the Holy Ghost. So we had those. Then, in December, the revival continued because we baptized nine more, including Glenn, by the way, Glenn. Hope God will bring him back someday. And we did that. So the Lord was there. But here's the point I want to make. Right after that, the roof caved in on top of us. We had some church trouble. We had some guys that jumped me. I didn't know how to handle it. That's why I like Good Dickens. We had some bad Dickens over there. And I won't call names. Most of them are dead anyway. But we got Great Dickens. That's why I love Good Dickens. I mean, the roof caved in on top of us. The Holy Spirit was there. Some people didn't like the Holy Spirit being there. You know what some guy told me? His surgery went on too long. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine that? Can you imagine that? People make a profession of faith and get baptized, and the service went on too long. I didn't know how to handle it. I got so mad, to be frank with you, so upset. I had a 1971 Plymouth Valiant. On the way home, I said, I quit, hit the dashboard, or I'd lock the whole dashboard. And to my shame, I had to put some blue tape on that thing. So as long as I had that car, that's how I set up. And I didn't stay there long after that. I went, and the Lord used me then, to go to Clinton, Kentucky and start a church there. I had some more good days. Bill Wallace came there. He had more maturity than I did. But here's what I'm pointing out. You be careful. The devil don't like what happened here. I'm not going to quench the spirit. You watch it. Because the devil doesn't like that. Be alert. Be alert, OK? Don't let you be the one who the devil comes through. We could, on this building program, have a great time of unity or a great time of disruption. Let it be a time of unity. Not only do we build a building, it's the church building. I preached that sermon. I thought it was a great sermon. The real building is us, the church. The church building is a good thing. We're glad we got it, aren't you? To me, it's like the Taj Mahal. If you had been around here when we started, had to meet in that little house over there, and it wasn't even as big as it is now. And before that, 841 Stratford was renting the place. Our living room was on the ground first. To have a building like we got, like the Taj Mahal, you people need to appreciate that. Now, I'll make you do something a little bit strange. Everybody here that's 23 years old or younger, stand up. 23 years, no all the old people can't. 23 years or younger, stand up. How many? Come on. Come on, you're a big kid, you're not 23 yet. Come on, up. Up. 23 years and older, everybody up. Okay, you can sit back down. You didn't know this, man, but this is a, anniversary of the homegoing, one of my heroes. I got my heroes in my office, if you want to see who they are in there. It was Tony McEvella. He went to see the Lord in 1997 on this date. And I hear why I want to mention that. While he was here, he did a great job being a great church member and a great deacon. He was raised a Roman Catholic in Spain. You're talking about God's products. Immigrated. the U.S. when he was a kid. And God probably met my mother-in-law, because he was on the GI Bill, so he was going to watchmaking school down in Houston. And Patty's sister lived down there, LaRue, and Patty went to stay with them, and she became a secretary at that school that they met. This little Catholic boy met an old Baptist girl. She wasn't an old Baptist yet. He met her, and I can't go through the whole details, it's a good story. And God probably, anyway, They got married, and the first time he went to an Old Baptist meeting, can you imagine? He's from New York. He's a Spaniard from New York. Stinking Yankee. And the first time he'd go to a social session in Arkansas, he thought, well, there's the nicest people I've ever seen, but they're just crazy, bunch of backwood people. But you know, God got a hold on him. And so they moved to Memphis, and he was so conscientious that when his grandmama tried to join the church, he held her back, actually held her back, because he thought she'd make a mistake. Then his conscience molded him. He began to study. He worked at a jeweler downtown. On his lunch hour, he'd go down to that main library down there, where the law school is now, where Seth goes now, used to be a library. He studied books. He got chefs, herds of dogs. It's like to be a religion. He said, my, my, my, these printed babies, this used to be mainstream stuff. This is sovereign grace, and God converted him. He had a library that rivaled a preacher's library. He had a great exhorter. He loved the College of Jesus Christ. Here's why I mentioned it then. Let me read you something. I'm exhorting you young people. This is what you call passing on the torch. You see, Tony Machiavelli, being dead yet speaketh. He's one of the charter members of this church. He's the one that helped draw up the Article of Faith, the Rule of the Court, which is the best I've ever seen, really, frankly. I'm not kidding. I wrote a court. I'll read them to you. We're going to study them some of these days. But anyway, here's what he did. Here's what you got to do. You ready for this? It's over in Acts chapter 13, verse 36. Now, pay attention to me. I've tried to do this. I've not been as good as I should have been at it. But I've tried to do it. I'm charging you to do it. Somebody gave sweat and blood and treasure and guts to get this place right here. Bobby Poe and Tony McEvoy gave their life savings to get this building going, to buy this place. Tony gave his education money. He had plans for his kids for this. They put their money where their mouth was. And they put their time where their mouth was. So that's why we have a place like this, people like that. So I love this verse in Acts 13, verse 36, for David, after he had served his own generation, the will of God fell on sleep. He died. But David served God in his generation. I'm charging you, you serve God in your generation. And my prayer is that there'll be a place, I don't know whether the location will be here or not, I hope there'll be an entity direct chapel candlestick when the Son of God comes again. So I'm charging you, you understand me? I'm giving you a solid charge. Most of y'all didn't know Tony McAvella, but I believe some of his prayers are being answered today. I'm gonna keep praying until I draw my last breath. I hope I say a lot of prayers in my lifetime, a lot of those prayers will be answered after I'm gone. So don't forget that. So you worked hard to maintain unity, don't let the devil come in, pray for our baptized boys, and serve God in your own generation, okay? Well, I am thankful to be in God's house tonight. So thankful for the happy news that has already been mentioned of these brothers professing Christ and following him in baptism. Just praise the Lord for that. I want to just share some exhortations with you tonight related to, I hope it'll go in really well with what he has just said, related to life together in the body of Christ. And this wasn't really part of the message, but as I was standing at the last song, I wanted to just give some exhortation to Grace Chapel, and he may have just done it. And I just wanted to say to Grace Chapel as a son of Grace Chapel, Grace Chapel, you are greatly blessed. You are richly blessed. Just what he mentioned, a heritage of committed people. I thought about Brother Tony, granddaddy this morning when I woke up, one of the first things I thought of, and thought of his life that still impacts me. It is a beautiful thing to have gloriously positive spiritual ripple effects in life, and that's what his life and so many others have been. But Grace Shepard, you are greatly blessed. He just had the people 23 years and younger stand up and a whole lot of people just stood up. And there's a number of young families here and there are some older heads who've been around the block a time or two who provide stability and example and instruction. And you have two pastors who love the Lord Jesus Christ and who love you and are trustworthy and care more than anything else for your spiritual well-being. So you are greatly, greatly blessed. And the final exhortation was, don't blow it. But Brother Jack just said that. And so we mean that, say that a little bit silly, but really in seriousness as well. So let's look at a couple of scriptures tonight. What a rich treasure that God has given to us. Let's think for a couple of scriptures tonight and some exhortations about life together in the body of Christ. There's nothing more precious, nothing more valuable on this earth than a body of believers who are together committed to Christ and committed to each other to follow Christ together, and to hold up the gospel of Christ, and to help each other follow Christ, and to be a beacon of light for Christ to those who are without. There's nothing more precious on this earth. But it's not always easy, is it? And there are great challenges to it. So the first exhortation I want to give you is from Psalm 78. Psalm 78. And I'll just break into the context here. The context really is one generation passing along the torch to the next generation. And to the first lesson I want to give you, the first exhortation is this, is our ultimate hope must be in God. Our ultimate confidence and dependence must be in the Lord. So in Psalm 78, he says in verse 6 that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born, which should arise and declare them to their children. And here's the point. that they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments. Brother Zach is fond of Psalm 126 and 127. It says, unless who? Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Brothers and sisters, our ultimate hope, our ultimate reliance is not in our goodness, is not even in our heritage, It's not ultimately in those things. It's not ultimately even in the gifts that God gives to his church. It's not in any of those blessings that we receive. It's not in the number 23 and younger who are here. Our ultimate hope must be in a good, wise, sovereign, powerful God. That's the ultimate source of our hope. As we live in a generation that's just like the book of Judges, where all men do that which is right in their own eyes. And there are increased just threats and perversions and dangers. And even within the churches as there are great challenges. Let me just give one exhortation is that we should be praying that God would raise up more faithful preachers. We need God to raise up more faithful men of God so that there's not a shortage and there's not this scramble to find who can fill this void, but that God is raising up. So there's many challenges. So our ultimate hope is not in ourselves, but our ultimate hope must be in one who is eternal, One who is the Trinitarian God, as y'all have been talking about here in your Bible studies. One who loves and cares for His people and knows the needs of His people. And so, as you are thankful for the abundant blessings of God to you that are real and ought to be appreciated, remember, Lord, we need you to build this house and to sustain this house and to bless this house to continue on to do your work and to do it better and better. for many generations to come. Now that's really an exhortation, but it's also a comfort that our hope is in the Lord. Our hope is in one who is greater than we are. I tell you, as a pastor, often I think, Lord, if this is just a man-made thing, we're sunk, because I have a very limited capacity. and I have limited resources, but I have hope and I have courage if I know, Lord, that this is a God thing, that this is You at work and dependent upon You for success. So, number one, our ultimate hope and confidence and reliance must be in the Lord. But secondly, look in the book of Hebrews, if you will, Hebrews chapter 13. Even though it's true that our ultimate hope is in God, the reality is, and this is the way that God has established it, is that we still need pastors. Our ultimate hope is not in men, because they could make a mistake, they could get sick and die, many things could happen, right? So our ultimate hope is in the Lord, but God has made it such that we still need pastors. We need leaders. So in Hebrews 13 verse 17, He says, this is the Word of God to you, church. It says, Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you. So Brother Zach has preached on this verse many times. The word obey, the idea of a willingness to be persuaded. I like to say it this way. A willingness to be led. God has ordained that you need spiritual leaders. So pastors didn't invent the idea of there being pastors. The Lord Jesus came up with that in love for His people. So God has ordained that His people need to be led by faithful, mature, godly men as they preach the Word of God. So these men don't have authority just in themselves. They don't have authority in their own preferences and their own ideas, but their authority comes as they lead with the Word of God. So as Paul would say, their goal is to be able to say, hey, follow along with us as we follow along with Jesus Christ. Follow along with us as we follow the Lord Jesus Christ. As we seek to know this Savior who has died for us and washed our sins away, as we seek to glorify Him and do His will, follow along with us as we follow Christ. Now that looks good on paper a lot of times, but the reality is that we're not born into this world wanting to be led. We're born into this world thinking that we know pretty much better than anybody who wants to lead us. And so that would be one way that the enemy would like to hinder, right? I don't have to listen to that counsel. I don't have to listen to that exhortation from God's word. I'm pretty good how I'm going. And those old guys, they're so out of style anyway, right? There's all kinds of things that our flesh could come up with, but this is God's word. So he says, as I give you faithful leaders, yes, they're flawed, yes, they're weak and all that, but as they bring you the word of God, as they love the Lord and they love you, you be willing to be led by them. as they follow Christ. He says, four, this is a big deal because they watch for your souls. Now let that sink in. They watch for your souls. So normally when we ask folks, how are you doing? I'm doing great. I had a good meal, several good meals today, I feel well, the sun's shining, I've got a job, this and that, and we know what we're talking about. There's one brother who always asks this question, how is it with your soul? Right? That gets a little deeper, doesn't it? It gets a little deeper. So the greatest needs that we have are, how is it with you and the Lord? How is it with you and the Word of God? What's your relationship with God through His Word? So this text shows the weightiness, the seriousness, the importance of this, is that God in His goodness gives to His people faithful leaders to watch for their souls, to pray over them, to guard them, to be on the alert, on the lookout, to care for their spiritual well-being. And it's serious for them because they have to give an account. So they're not on their own. They're accountable to the risen Christ, the sovereign Lord who has called them into this labor. They have to give an account to God and your behavior should be, he says, that they could do it with joy. and not with grief, because that's bad for you. That's unprofitable for you. So, a willingness to be led. Look in 2 Corinthians 1. I love this description of Paul as a minister of the gospel and how it relates to those who he is ministering to. So, I know that you do, but just this exhortation of appreciate your pastors. Be thankful to God for them. Pray for them. They are mere men. They have stress. They have burdens. They have fears. They have sin struggles. They have all the rest. Pray for these men. Hold these men up. Listen to these men. Be eager to be taught by them as they teach the Word of God. But also look at them as God's gifts to you to help further your joy in Jesus Christ. Well, that was a mouthful, but let me say that again. Appreciate these men as God's gifts to you for the furtherance of your joy in Jesus Christ." That's what Paul says here in 2 Corinthians 1 verse 24. Paul says, not for that we have dominion over your faith. So I'm not a lord over your faith, Paul's saying. I'm not your conscience. I'm not a spiritual dictator. Don't look at me that way as one who has dominion over your faith. But, Paul says, but we are helpers of your joy, for by faith you stand. So Paul's like, I don't want you standing on me. Some men are super strong leaders and it's really, sometimes it seems like it's about them. Paul's like, I don't want you to stand on Paul. I want you to stand by faith on Christ Jesus. And I want you to follow me as I follow Christ and as I teach you and as you understand and know the Word of God better and better, you apply it in your life. This helps your joy in the Lord. What a beautiful picture of this relationship between the ministers of the Gospel and the people of God as they serve them with the Word of God and the people receive it and imbibe it and embrace it and digest it and live it. The result is a greater joy in the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's a precious thing. So our ultimate dependence is in the Lord, exhortation number one, but number two is we still need pastors. So the exhortation is to follow them as they follow Christ. To be eager to be taught by them and to hold them up. The next one is this. Look in Romans chapter 16. This is precious to me. And here's the next point, is that relationships in Christ are sweet. Relationships in Christ are sweet. Now, Romans 16 is not typically one of your memory verses. Salute Trithena and Triphosa who labor in the Lord. Verse 12, salute the beloved Persis who labored much in the Lord. Verse 14, salute Asen, Critus, Phlegon, Hermas, Petrobus, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them, and we could go on and on. But I want you to think about this, not just trying to be silly but make a point. Think about the book of Romans, like theological ocean. Masterpiece. The depths, isn't it? Romans is rich, rich, incredible, lofty truths of how a holy God makes sinful men just in Christ and the truth of election and calling and all these precious things. Glorious truths. And Paul comes to the end of this really long letter that's just rich and deep and he starts calling all these long names that don't mean anything to us. But what do you have? You have a picture. You have a picture of the sweetness of relationships in Jesus Christ. Listen, God is a social being. And He's always been that way. Brother Isaac's been doing the Trinity, or did last Wednesday night here, I understand. God is a social God. So, God the Father and Son and Spirit who loved one another from all eternity decided to share God decided to share Himself with sinful people and make a family, and bring a people into a family, and that's God's people. And so the bond that fellow brothers and sisters have in Christ is the deepest and most rich bond that there is. We have a lot of strong families here, and that's a good thing. We ought to have. Family is a gift of God. But do you know that the Beecham family is a temporary family? and the guesses are temporary, and the Harris's, and the Poe's, and the Martins, and Atkinson's, and I'm probably leaving somebody out. They're all great, and they're blessings of God, but they're temporary families. That's going to lead into an eternal, the eternal family. And the basis of this family is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That's what holds the family up. Because we have the same father who decided to adopt us into the family, and we have the same elder brother who's not ashamed to call us his brothers, and the same Spirit who dwells within us, that binds us together. So I just encourage you and exhort you that relationships in Christ are sweet, but they're sweeter if you invest in them. And they're better if you have that long-term view of relationships. One of the, and I'm going to get to Romans 16 in a moment, but one of the things that is very common in churches today of all kinds, primitive Baptist churches, small churches, big churches, whatever it may be, is common is it's hard to connect with people at church. And that's real because we're human beings, and especially someone new, hard to connect. But even sometimes people have been there a long time, hard to connect. Two words of exhortation. Open yourself up, receive, and endure. Okay? So you're pouring yourself, you're making yourself vulnerable in relationships to others. You're opening up, but you're also receiving. You want to learn from others. You're asking questions, but it's still hard. I don't feel close. So you endure. You endure. Look, this is the place to be. The house of God is the place to be. And so in these relationships, there's bumps in the road. That's why just about every epistle in the New Testament has something about love and forgiveness and long-suffering and forbearance and all the rest. So there's inevitable bumps in the road, but these precious relationships are worth all of the forbearance, all of the difficulties that relationships bring, and the more we endure that, the sweeter that it gets. So, let me just, with that, let's look at a couple of examples in Romans 16. Paul is saying, tell this brother hi, tell this sister hello, give them my greetings, I love them. There's this bond. So in verse 1, he says, I commend unto you Phoebe, our sister, which is a servant of the church, which is at Centuria, that you receive her in the Lord as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you. For she hath been a succorer, that literally means a patroness of many, and of myself also. So Paul is saying, church at Rome, receive sister Phoebe from the church at Centuria, whatever business, ministry, whatever she's doing, help her because she has blessed the people of God. So she's obviously a woman with substance, with material resources, and she has helped fund the ministry of the gospel. She's given to Paul. She's given to many others in the churches. We love this sister. She has ministered to us, Paul says. Receive her and help her. The next one, verse 3. Greet Priscilla and Aquila, we know them, my helpers in Christ Jesus, who have for my life laid down their own necks unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles." We read the New Testament, and it looks like almost we think sometimes Paul is like a superhero, right? Man, everything he touches is just Holy Spirit magic. Well, Paul was obviously incredibly, uniquely gifted and used by God, but Paul didn't fly solo. Paul did not fly solo. Paul had people around him. Paul says, look, you tell Aquila and Priscilla hi, I mean big time hi, greet them. These folks risked their lives for my sake. And so not only am I telling them thanks, but all of the churches of the Gentiles who've benefited from my ministry are thanking them because of what they did to help keep me going. You see that beautiful? As you labor together in the Lord, as you serve the Lord together, bonds begin to form. They just begin to form. As you help some difficult situation, as there's some prayer need that's hard and intense, you have to work together on it. If there's some danger lurking and the people are burdened, you're working together, there's a bond that begins to form as you walk and labor with the Lord together. Verse 6, Greek Mary, not sure which one, a lot of them, Greek Mary who bestowed much labor on us. The word labor here means to work until you're exhausted. So Sister Mary somehow, in some way, so labored and served Paul in his ministry that she was exhausted. Real quick, salute, verse 7, Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. Paul said, tell them, hi, for sure, we were in jail together. We were in jail for Jesus together. We've suffered together. We've paid a price for Christ's sake together. I love these folks. Finally, this is one of Brother Zach's old classics in verse 13, but I do love it. Salute, Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine." So it's like Paul is saying, hey, tell Rufus High and his mother that she's like my mother. because she's cared for me and she's loved me. You see the point? Listen, relationships in Christ are sweet, and they're precious, and they're worth working through, and they're worth pouring yourself in, and receiving, and making yourself vulnerable. So really quickly, in Colossians 3, you know this verse, but we need to hear it again, and again, and again. In Colossians 3, in verse 12, Put on, therefore, put these clothes on, spiritually speaking, as the elect of God, holy and beloved. So, as the people chosen by God, loved by God, made holy by God, put these clothes on that are beautiful in God's sight. bowels of mercies, that deep, deep compassion. So it's this idea of I am willing to enter in to the pain of another. So I'm not so hard-hearted and selfish that I say, that's their problem, I can't get into that. No, here's this idea of Christian love within the body, of I'm willing to enter into your hurt with you as best I can. I'm willing to try to get under that burden with you, just try to maybe shoulder a little bit of it up, so it's not so hard on you. Isn't that beautiful? This idea of, I'm getting in with you, and I'm hurting with you, and I'm suffering with you, and I'm helping with you in this difficulty and in this pain. That's precious, isn't it? So we're not alone. We're not alone in this world. We have the Lord, and we have His people holding us up, put on kindness, this purposeful love. The body of Christ should be a kind place where we purposefully go out of our way to be gracious and generous to each other. Humbleness of mind. So I could be wrong if we have a conflict. I'm willing to admit I could be wrong because humbleness of mind. I may not be wrong and I won't admit it unless I'm shown that way, but I have to entertain the possibility I could be off. Or my desire and my opinion may not be the one that needs to be heard the most in this room right now. Putting on humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering and forbearing one another, that simply means we put up with each other. It's like, does that sound Christian? It's pretty Christian because Christians are still sinners and we have to put up sometimes with our annoyances and our immaturities. So we're putting on this forbearance and forgiving one another. No place for a grudge. No place to hold something in the heart. Because if any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things, put on charity or love, which is the bond of perfectness. So, exhortation that our hope, ultimate hope, must be in the Lord. Secondly, but we still need pastors, so let's appreciate them and follow them as they follow Christ. Thirdly, that relationships in Christ are sweet and they're worth the investment and the deep love. And then finally, just finally, let's look at Ephesians 4 just for a moment. And let's think just for a couple of minutes. It's a rich passage, so it can hardly do justice in just a few minutes, but let's think and look at a big picture view of the beauty of the body here and where we're supposed to be headed. So in verse 8, speaking of Jesus, when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens that He might fill all things. So let's just stop for a minute there, a mouthful. Jesus is the gift giver. He's the one who came down. He descended from heaven. He's led captivity captive, meaning he won the battle, and now he's ascended back up in honor and glory, and in so doing, he's giving gifts to men. A lot of the commentators believe, and it seems accurate, that Paul is using an illustration from maybe a Roman general who would conquer. And so as they would go back and celebrate their victory, they would leave their captives in an open procession behind them, just naked and ashamed. It was a shame to the captives, but also just who was supposed to show the glory of the victory that the conqueror had won. And they may throw out gold coins, just sharing their wealth and the spoils of their victory with the crowds who were cheering them on. So here's the idea, okay? The church, it doesn't look maybe that impressive sometimes, but here's the idea. Is that Jesus Christ came down from heaven and He won an awesome victory. That He defeated His enemies. That He conquered sin and death. He rose up from the grave. He has crushed Satan. And He's redeemed His people. And He's gone back to glory as a conquering hero general And he's got spoils of war he wants to share. So he's throwing out the spoils of war. He's giving gifts to men. And you know what? Some of those gifts are the church, right? People within the church. And he specifically highlights here the teaching gifts. So think about that. Think about that the next time that Brother Isaac stands before you and you're like, here we go again, 10.30, Sunday morning. We've done this a time or two. And think about, hey, wait a second. You know what we're doing here? We're enjoying the spoils of war. We get to enjoy the spoils of what Jesus has done. He's conquered the enemy and He's thrown out His riches so that His people can be built up. So He gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers and they're there for this, for the perfecting of the saints, the equipping of the saints. so the saints can do the work of ministry to the whole body, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man under the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children. tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things which is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body under the edifying of itself in love." Let's try to give just a brief snapshot of that before we close. Here's the summary. Jesus has come, the great conqueror, has defeated his enemies. He's gone back to glory and triumph. He shared gifts with his church. These gifts, especially that we benefit from, are pastors and teachers in the context of the church, and as they teach the Word of God, as they faithfully expound the Word of God. Not just picking out their own favorite verses here and there, but they're serious about bringing the message of God's Word to the people of God. As the people of God take that in, as they eagerly listen, as they say, Lord, teach me through your servant. And they see and they understand and they apply it. And they live it and they believe it and they obey it. Guess what happens? They're being equipped. through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to serve the Lord, and the result is the whole body is edified and built up. And with this goal, as this is happening, the body is moving towards not just being little babies in the Lord, but they're moving to being grown-ups in the Lord who know how to help and counsel and encourage one another, who know how to make wise and godly decisions, who know how to live wisely and soberly in this world with great joy in the Lord, as we read earlier. But it's not just a bunch of head knowledge, they've got love. So they're speaking the truth in love. And they're receiving from Christ the life source and the nourishment so that every joint and band and every part of the body is contributing and the body is built up and God is glorified and honored. Sometimes we need to take a step back and say, oh yeah, that's what church is supposed to be about. That's the big picture we're looking at. So it's not just, oh, so-and-so got on my nerves today. Or, why do they have to be so difficult? Or, oh, that was like an hour-and-five-minute sermon. Why did he stop at one hour? I'm hungry. Or, we've heard this again. Or, I want to go check the score. Or, I was up until two on Saturday night, so I'm so groggy on Sunday morning I can't even pay attention. Or, all those things that can get in the way. We need to take a step back sometimes and say, wait, look at what Christ has done. He's given this to us, given these gifts to us, that we may eagerly take it in, learn, be equipped, and grow, and the whole body edify itself together for God's glory and for God's honor. Grace Chapel, I love you dearly in the Lord and thankful to be a product of a son of Grace Chapel. And may God, as he's already said, continue to bless this body to move forward in days ahead. God bless you.