I'd like to say thank you for the invitation to be here to share with you these five services. It'll be my first time to ever do five in a row on the subject of missions, but it's something that thrills me to have the opportunity to do that. I went to Mexico first time when I was 16 years old on a mission trip, that is, and it wasn't a run-of-the-mill typical short-term mission trip. We went out into some pretty remote mountains, jungle areas, and back into established churches and just more or less observing so that we could learn missions. Not out there trying to show them how to do it, but seeing what we could learn. And that was when the Lord called me into His ministry at 16. Janet and I were married in 1977 and did a short nine months of deputation. And we were in Mexico City before our first anniversary because the Lord had called us to missions. And that's been my life. And it thrills me to discuss it. It just thrills me to study it in the Scripture. It thrills me to do it. It thrills me to talk about it. So I thank you for this opportunity. I want to turn to Isaiah chapter 24, and the title for the study is In the Fires, which is maybe a little bit unusual, but You know, I preach out of the King James Version. I hope you can handle that. And there is here in this verse, Isaiah 24 and verse 15 says, Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires. You know, that's one of those verses that you read in the King James Version and you kind of scratch your head. What in the world is that talking about? If you're reading in another version, it probably says in the East, which is a good translation. We have that as a scripture song that we sing over and over. And for years I sang that, glorify you the Lord in the fires. And I thought, what in the world is this about? And you know, I thought, I have to study this passage, this verse, and this context, and see what in the world is that about? So I set out to study Isaiah chapter 24. I think, I hope that these verses will be as exciting to you as they were to me as I began to study and to look into them. You look in verse 1, and we have to back up to the beginning to get the context to see the real impact of what you get when you get down to verse 15. Notice it begins with a behold and that's there for emphasis. He's calling attention There is something here important that he wants to emphasize and so he says behold, you know That's not just something stuck in there to fill up a space. He is emphasizing something when he gets to this point He says behold the Lord maketh the earth empty now as you go back through previous You see that Isaiah has been dealing with the subject of judgment, sin, and the Lord's judgment. But you see that in all of these previous chapters here, he's been talking about something that was very localized. Back in chapter 15, it was the burden of Moab. Chapter 17, it was the burden of Damascus. In 18, he speaks of the rivers of Ethiopia. In chapter 19, the burden of Egypt. In 21.11, the burden of Duma. In 21.13, the burden upon Arabia. And then in 23.1 it says the burden of Tyre. And so you see as you're going, as Isaiah is giving his prophecy here and as he is Developing this which God has given to him and he's setting this forth. He's giving this message of judgment upon this place and that place. These are immediate. These are localized. These are close at hand and they know what's going on around them and they can see the hand of God at work. Sin and judgment taking place. But suddenly when he gets to chapter 24, you see a shift. It's no longer just Tyre or Egypt or Damascus. He says, behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty. The panorama has grown. He's looking at the world. You see in verse 1 he says, he calls it the earth, and in verse 3 he calls it the land, but meaning the earth or the world, in verse 4 he says the earth, and then says, the earth mourneth and fainteth the way the world languishes. So you see here that the picture has changed. It's not just a very localized thing. It is looking at the world wide picture. And what's he talking about? He's talking about sin and the consequences of sin in the world. And if we go back to Genesis, the curse that fell upon the earth because of sin, and because of that, the temporal judgments that come upon the earth because of sin and upon men because of sin, and eventually, a final judgment that will come upon the earth because of sin. You know, there's some clues here that I think all the commentaries seem to miss. They want to put all of this off in the future and they put all of this in the end times and they miss clues that are here that make this, this is about here now. Certainly, sin has been in the world since the beginning, and sin has increased, and the curse becomes more evident and obvious, and God sins cyclically. He sends judgments upon the earth, and this happens, and that happens, and you see it happening over and over again until it will come to a final judgment. But this is not talking only about the end. It's talking about now. So what do we see here as we go through these verses? He says, God's hand of judgment is upon the earth. Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty and maketh it waste, turneth it upside down and scattereth abroad the inheritance thereof. God's hand is upon the earth because of sin, he's saying, and it shall be, in verse 2, as with the people, so with the priest. As with the servant, so with his master. As with the maid, so with her mistress. What is he showing us in this? that the effects of sin and the curse and the judgment includes everybody. The people and the priest. The servant and the master. The maid and the mistress. He says, as with the buyer, so with the seller, and as with the lender, so with the borrower. And so, here he's showing how the effects of all of this is inclusive, it's universal, all are included in this that we're talking about. Verse 3, the land shall be utterly emptied and utterly spoiled, for the Lord has spoken this word. Verse 4, the earth mourneth and fadeth away. The world languisheth and fadeth away. The haughty people of the earth do languish. Here we're seeing the effects of the curse. Remember, sin came. And with sin came the curse, the thorns, the sweat of the brow, the pain in childbirth. So the earth mourneth. The curse has come upon the world. Verse 5, the earth also is defiled. This glorious creation perfect in every way, has been defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. So you see sin, you see that all are affected, you see the curse on the world, you see the defilement of the earth because of sin and the curse. And then in verse 6 he says, therefore hath the curse devoured the earth. They that dwell therein are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men left. It's interesting if we think. what the Lord said in Genesis. Now you're going to toil with the sweat of your brow. Now it's going to be labor. But what do we see as the effects of the curse? They didn't even begin to realize, did they, at that time, what would be the consequences of sin coming into the world. Because we see that through sin coming into the world, we see death. Through sin coming into the world, we see... You can just go down and you can name all of the effects that have been part of the curse. Not just labor, not just sweat, not just pain and childbearing, but there is death. And now we can look at this world, part of the curse because of sin, we look and we see cancer. We look and we see homes broken up. We look and we see famine. We see plagues. We see catastrophe. We see war. We see a world suffering under the consequences of sin. That which God created so glorious has been defiled. And if you go over to Romans 8 and see The Scripture says about this there in Romans chapter 8, beginning at verse 18, he says, For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature that which is created waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature, the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." See, he sees that sin coming to the world, brought bondage of corruption upon the world, It was made subject to vanity in the whole world. And in verse 22 then it says, For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. That's the picture of the world since the fall. The picture of the world that we live in. A world stained by sin, but now groaning under the weight and the curse of sin. Well, that's the picture that Isaiah is painting for us. The world that we live in is one that is cursed by sin. He goes on describing that until he gets down to verse 13. Go there with me. Because here, In the middle of this chapter, the Lord opens Isaiah's eyes to see something that he had not been thinking of as he was going through this prophecy. And he sees this. Isaiah is excited. He breaks out in praise. There's something here that I didn't understand. And we see here that he is expressing awe, and he's expressing hope, and he's expressing expectation of God's blessings. And he shows us here that in the midst of the curse, in the midst of the cursed world, there is something else that is happening at the same time. And we need to see that too. We can be so focused on all of the bad in the world, and the suffering in the world, and the consequences of sin in the world, that we miss out on seeing that something else is also happening. In the very darkest of times. And that's what Isaiah gets to when he gets down to verse 13. He says, when thus it shall be in the midst of the land. When the whole world is suffering under the consequences of sin. When that's the way it is, it seems like it's the darkest. He says, When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. What's he talking about here? He's using the illustration of harvest. Of course, the harvest is not the New Testament sense of the harvest at the last day when the Lord is gathering His own to Himself. Here, He's been looking at destruction and desolation sweeping the world away, hasn't He? And so, here He's been looking at the world in its very darkest when it seems like all that is good is swept away. He says when it is the darkest and when it is the worst that it can be, there is still something that is left. There is still something that remains. There is still something that is the Lord's. He says, it shall be as in the shaking of an olive tree and the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. You see, what He is talking about here is when the harvest has come through and all of that low-hanging fruit's been taken away. There's the olive tree. And there's those olives that were missed. And the olives up on the top branches. Or if you're going through the vineyard, there were the ones that weren't quite ready perhaps, or those that were hidden behind some leaves perhaps, or in the shade perhaps, and they missed some here and they missed some there, and so they come back through to glean, because there is something that's left when everything else has been taken away. With that olive tree, they come back and they go to each one of those trees and they shake that tree. And they take a stick and they beat that tree because they want to shake all of those olives that are left. See, what He's teaching here is the teaching of the remnant. That God has a people. When the world is at its darkest, and when all seems to be swept away by sin and curse and judgment, the Lord has His remnant. Now, this is one of those things where all the commentaries seem to have missed the point, too. They don't see what Isaiah sees here, really. Because every one of them gets to this, and the commentators, when they get down to here, they say, but at least there's a remnant. And they look at it in that glum sense, oh, things are so terrible, but at least there's a few. That's not what Isaiah sees here. When Isaiah gets to this, and he comes, and he sees all that is swept away by sin, and all that's swept away by the curse, he says, but fear not, glory to God, there is a remnant! He's not looking at this glumly, oh, oh, well at least. No, he's saying, yes, there is! Look what He says when you go to verse 14. They, the remnant, those that are left, those that are spared, those that are the Lord's, they shall lift out their voice. They shall sing for the majesty of the Lord. They shall cry aloud. from the sea. He sees the remnant as the Lord's people that He has spared, that He has taken for Himself. And these know the Lord when the world is in sin, and they're in darkness, and they don't know Him, and they're living for self, and they're living for sin, and they're living for Satan. Here's these that know the Lord. And they lift up their voice in praise. And they sing for the majesty of the Lord. Because in His grace, He has a people. It's not all lost. And it's not all darkness. And it's not all sin. He says, they, this remnant, they shall lift up their voice. They shall sing for the majesty of the Lord. They shall cry aloud from the sea. Now notice, He speaks of this remnant praising those who know God and they are praising God. And He says, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Notice the last words of verse 15. It says, Even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles or the coastlands of the sea. We have to stop and think about that. What are you referring to? They shall glorify the Lord from the coastlands. Where is Isaiah? Israel, right? What is the sea? Isaiah is not thinking about the Pacific Ocean. Isaiah is not thinking about the Atlantic Ocean. Or the Indian Ocean. He's thinking about the Mediterranean. That's the sea that Israel thinks of. That they know, they're familiar with. And so what is Isaiah doing? He says, they shall glorify the Lord from the coasts. of the Mediterranean. So what is he doing? Isaiah stops and he looks west. And he sees the coastlands of North Africa. He sees the coast of Turkey, Asia Minor, and Europe. And he says, looking west, he says, God has his remnant there in those western lands. God has His people that He's saving there in those western lands. We read all about it in the book of Acts, don't we? As the Gospel went west. We don't read so much about Africa, although there's a little bit of a mention of some of the cities there on the coastlines. But here, you see Him going through Turkey, and then you see Him crossing into Europe, and you see the Gospel spread west. God has His remnants. You know, in fact, look with me over in Acts chapter 16. You'll see this peculiar way maybe that the mind of a missionary works. Acts chapter 16. Chapter 16 is Paul's second missionary journey and they go out and they've wandered around for a while. He receives the Macedonian vision and so they assume that the Lord has called them to preach the gospel unto those in Macedonia. And so it says, therefore, in verse 11, therefore, loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracea and the next day to Neapolis. In fact, verse, jump out and grab him. Losing control as we came straight course to Samothrace and the next day to Neapolis. That doesn't just jump out and grab you. It doesn't look like there's a whole lot there, does it? You know what's happened in that verse? For the first time in history, a missionary has left Asia and he has set foot on Europe! That's Neapolis. That's the gospel going west. And the Lord begins saving His remnant through those lands. When He goes through Macedonia, and Achaia, and Italy, and the gospel spreads beyond them to England, and France, and Germany, and Switzerland, and the northern coastlands of Africa. Isaiah says God has a remnant, and He's saving them. And then He says, look west. He's saving His remnant in the coastlands of the sea. In the west, Africa, Asia Minor, and Europe. So then, going from verse 14 to verse 15, He says, wherefore, glorify ye the Lord in the fires, in my King James Version. Why did they choose that as a translation? Well, that's a word that has some various applications, but when they used it in singular, it meant flame. But in the plural, it meant more than just flames, it meant light, or even, when they used it geographically, the regions of light. In other words, the sunrise. In other words, the east. That's what that word meant. Isaiah has just looked west, and he says, God has His remnant in Africa and in Europe. And then He turns and He looks east. And He says, Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the east. God has His remnant in the east too. What's in the east? The east is from Israel. That's those dark, lands that we hear about in the news every day. That's Syria. On the World Watch list, the list telling the dangers for Christians living in those lands and the difficulty of Christian life in those lands, Syria is number six on the World Watch list of persecution and danger for Christians. That's the East. But you know, I just read a report this week. You ever seen the name Aleppo in the news? I think you have, haven't you? And the report coming in this week is that most, well, like 50% of the Christians have left all of Syria. And the Christians that are left behind in Aleppo are reaching out with ministries of mercy because their houses have been blown away, their utilities have been blown away, their sources of food have been blown away, and somehow these Christians are able to help other people. As they reach out and they're helping Muslims who are hurting and suffering, those Muslims are looking at the Christians and saying, we're killing you and you're doing this to us. You're feeding us. You're healing us. And they turn around and they come back and say, tell me more about this faith that you have. There are Muslims coming to the Christians asking to hear the gospel in Syria today and coming to Christ. The east is Iraq, 32 million people, 92% Muslim, home to 36 different people groups, the number seven most dangerous country on the World Watch list. To the east is Iran, 80 million people, 98% Muslim, home to 95 different people groups, number eight most dangerous country. To the east is Afghanistan, 31 million people, 99% Muslim, home to 77 different people groups. Number three most dangerous country in the world for Christians to live. To the east is Pakistan, 193 million people, 96% Muslim, home to 394 different people groups. Number four most dangerous country in the world for a Christian to live. To the east is India, 1.3 billion people, 80% Hindu, 13% Muslim, home to over 2,000 different peoples, people groups. Number 15, most dangerous country in the world to live. To the east is Myanmar, Burma. 55 million people, 89% Buddhist, 4% Muslim, home to 151 different people groups, number 28, most dangerous country. To the east is China. 1.3 billion people, officially atheist, but with an enormous underground church, home to at least 55 different people groups. I'm surprised at this, but it's only number 39 on the list of persecution. So many other countries and peoples and tongues. The number one most dangerous country is also in the East. Anybody know what that is? North Korea, that's right. And what does Isaiah say? Glorify ye the Lord in the east, in these dark lands where the gospel is hated. Isaiah says, the Lord still has those olives up in the top of the alder tree. There's still those grapes to be gleaned. The Lord has His remnant even in those places. And there He is. So He looks west. And then He looks east. And He sees the remnant praising the Lord. And this verse 16 is exciting too. Because after having looked west and having looked east and seeing the remnant of the Lord there, he says, from the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous one. the Lord Jesus Christ. From Isaiah's perspective, where he's standing in the land of Israel, what is the uttermost part of the earth? Well, see, he didn't know that once you get past the West, Europe, there's an ocean out there called the Atlantic. Or if you go east, past the eastern continent of Asia, there's another ocean called the Pacific. And so if you cross the Atlantic, or you cross the Pacific, where do you get? The Americas. The Americas are the uttermost part of the earth from Isaiah's standpoint. Do you see that whenever tonight we sing the church's one foundation, and they lift up their voice and they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, you are the fulfillment of verse 16, from the uttermost part of the earth, we have heard songs even to the glory of the righteous one, the Lord Jesus Christ. He sees that God has a remnant in the Americas. And we are that remnant standing here tonight and praising the Lord here tonight. But He has that remnant yet in the Americas. And so we have to go where it's yet the darkest and preach. We have to go across the street where our neighbor doesn't know the Lord. But the Lord has His remnant right here. in this uttermost part of the earth and throughout Central America and Mexico and Latin America and South America. And so we go preaching to the uttermost parts of the earth, but then we remember we're going to have to go back to the west, His west. Go back to the east, His east, because the Lord still has His remnants in those lands too. I thank God. that the Gospel did, like we see an ax go into Europe, because one day it got to England, and then because it got to England, it got here to us in the United States. But you know, for all those who are part of that remnant, the only way they're going to come to know the Lord is if the message gets to them the same way it got to us. We have to take the message to them. You know, we're troubled by the news, aren't we? We look at the news and we see the darkness and we see death. Don't let that keep you from seeing what Isaiah saw. The Lord has His people. You know, as I look to the second half of verse 16, Isaiah says, but I said, my leanness, my leanness, whoa, to me. The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously. It's almost as if Isaiah is saying, you know, I've seen the earth. Cursed by sin. And then, Lord, You're showing this glorious vision of the remnant that You are saving throughout the whole earth, throughout the whole world. But you know, Lord, I just don't really feel it. I believe You. But He says, My leanness. My leanness. I just don't really feel it. I don't see it right at this moment. We contribute the same way. Look at the news. We look at the massacres in Paris or the massacres in San Bernardino or all the different places. We look at ISIS as they went into the Boko Haram group in Africa as they have killed so many Christians and trying to eradicate Christianity from those places. Or we can just look right here closer to home and look at the effects of Planned Parenthood and crime and racism. And we look at all the darkness of the world and we just cry out, I lead this. Lord, I believe you, but I don't really feel it. But you know, the Lord says, that remnant is there. Not one of them will be lost. Let me give you a story, a testimony. You probably haven't heard before. I know you've heard the name of Adam and Iren Judson. first missionary, Baptist missionary from the United States. He wasn't Baptist when he left the coast, but he was Baptist when he got to India, because he had been reading his Greek New Testament. But you know, as Adoniram finally went to Myanmar, or Burma as it was called at the time, and they still preferred to call it Burma actually, he was serving the Lord there in Burma, During 1824, 1825, he was imprisoned, a terrible time in the life of Aaron Iron Judson. He was close to death at that time. His wife was emaciated, but doing all she could to take care of him and feed him inside the prison. And she was so devastated physically that when he was out, shortly after that, in 1826, she died. 25 years later, 1850, Adoniram died. Well, 1851, there was another Baptist couple that went to Burma. Many families had gone there to preach the gospel, but in 1851, so that's the year after Adoniram died, 25 years after Anne died, this couple named Ingalls moved to Burma to serve the Lord. Mr. Ingalls died there on the mission field. Mrs. Ingalls stayed just to tell the gospel. One day she went out into a remote village. This was many years after. They had been in the field many years. She went out into a village and she just started talking to people and telling people about the Creator God. The love of that Creator God. And there was an elderly man, probably, I'm guessing from the way I read all this, probably about my age, an elderly man who was in the crowd listening to her to tell the story about the Creator God, and it caught his attention, and he said, would you please come to my village and tell the people about this Creator God, who is a loving God. Tell them this same story. And so she says, you know, when I can, I will go. And sometime later, she went out to this other village, Mrs. Ingalls. She arrives. The people knew that she had said she'd be there, so they weren't surprised. They welcomed her when she got to the village, and there was a place, a nice big house there, and a porch area, I guess, and they put her a seat out there, and people saw this white lady out there, and so the people began to gather around, and she starts telling the story of the Creator God. And as she develops the story, and she tells them of the coming of Jesus Christ, and of his sacrifice. She hears a voice. An elderly lady out in the crowd. And this elderly lady is saying, that's the rest of it. That's the rest of it. Well, Mrs. Ingalls sees the excitement in this lady And she says, Grandma, please come explain to me what you're talking about. So the lady pushes her way through the crowd. She comes up to Mrs. Ingalls and she explains, you know, a very long time ago, when I was young, I lived in Ava. My husband was one of the servants of the king. And during that time when we lived in Ava, There was a white foreigner. It was a lady who was destitute. She was in great anxiety about her husband who was in prison. He was lying in chains. This was Ann Judson, the destitute lady. The man in prison, of course, was Adoniram. And this elderly lady says, you know, I pitied her. I used to carry rice and eggs to her. And she would talk to me about her God. And now He provided a way of salvation from our sins. Well, later my husband fell into disfavor with the king, and so we had to flee. We had to sneak out of town at night, and we came out here to the jungle to live. She says, I never forgot about that white lady and what she said about the one true God who created all things. But I could never remember how we could get rid of our sins. You told me the part that I'd forgotten. That's the rest of it. That elderly lady, was the mother of the elderly man who had invited Mrs. Ingalls into the village. Both he and his mother believed the gospel and were joyfully baptized. You see, when those olives are up in the top of the tree, the Lord's not going to lose a one of them. It may take time. And it may take some shaking of the tree. And it may take some beating on the tree. And it may take some digging through the leaves to find those olives to glean. But the Lord's not gonna lose a one of them. She's finally said, that's the rest of it. She trusted Christ. Brother Paul Brown, who was my pastor for so many years in Oklahoma City, now is in Thailand, told us about a village he went out to. He says, we went out to this village, it was the most remote village we've ever gone out to. And there was an elderly man in the village who said that a missionary had come there in 1978 to preach the gospel, but didn't hang around. And several people said they were converted way back then, back in 1978, and he's writing this letter last year. He says, I preached the gospel to them for two hours, going over the gospel in detail. They were not only riveted, but joy reflected in their countenance. And after I finished preaching the gospel, one of the men come to me with a beaming face and said, that's the gospel we heard back in 1978. And thank you for preaching it so clearly to us today. That's what we believe. You see, since 1978 all the way up to 2016, last year when he wrote this, they'd been out there abandoned. But they had heard the Gospel. And the Lord had preserved His own. And now they're going back and building that church. Not a building, but that assembly of saints. See, the Lord doesn't lose on one of His own. They're His. And they shall all be saved, whether it's in the West or the East or the outermost parts. He's gathering them. And that's through the preaching of the Gospel. You know, he goes on again here in Isaiah 24, back broken down under the consideration of sin, but he comes to chapter 25, and suddenly his eyes are opened again, and he says, O Lord, Thou art God, I will exalt Thee. So he comes back and he breaks out once again and prays, I will praise Thy name for Thou hast done wonderful things, like counsels of old, or faithfulness and truth. And he makes this amazing statement in verse 3. Therefore shall the strong people glorify Thee. The city of Thee. And I like the King James here. Yes, I know it means ruthless. But it says, the city of the terrible nations shall fear Thee. Because you see, there are some strong peoples out there, hate-filled peoples out there, who hate God, who hate the Gospel, who hate Christians, and they are stony-hearted, They are strong people putting every ounce of energy they have into destroying the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are strong people. But Isaiah is saying the Lord has His remnant right there. Even those terrible, yeah, terrorists, so ruthless that they are terrorist people. Terrible nations shall fear Thee. The Lord will gather His own. How does He gather His own? Through the preaching of the gospel. Where does He gather His own? Well, they're in all nations. That's where He has His remnant. Even the strong and terrible? Yes. When you read the news, and you see the hatred, Remember, you were in the same blindness one day. Why did you not go to that same extent of depravity? Grace. Grace was restraining your sin. That's the only reason. You know, when we preach on depravity, we always say, now, depravity doesn't mean that any man is as bad as he possibly could be. That's true. But why is He not as bad as He possibly could be? Because of common grace. God is restraining sin always. And otherwise we would be as bad as we possibly could be. That's the only difference between me and a man in Iraq or Syria. It's God's restraining grace before I was saved and His saving grace today. Even the strong and terrible, yes. When we read the news, we need to remember those people are in the bondage of sin and blindness. And pray, God, give us ways to send the Gospel. The questions and answers that Paul asked and answered haven't changed of Romans 10. How will they believe? They must hear. And how can they hear? We must preach. How can they preach? They have to be sent. whether it's radio, TV, internet, literature, physically going, or maybe even looking for those immigrant populations who have come here to the United States and said, hey, come over to my house. I'd like to feed you lunch. And then just sit down and let me tell you about my Lord and how He loves to save sinners. And we can remember Isaiah 26.3 when we read the news, that will keep him in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on thee because he trusted in the Lord. Amen. May God bless His Word. Let's bow our heads together and ask Him to bless us, challenge us, and encourage us through these things. Father, thank You for this prophecy that You gave to us through your servant Isaiah. We see the world that he saw. A world dark in sin. And yet, Lord, we've been able to see through the ages You gathering Your remnant. Thank You, Lord, that it went to the uttermost parts of the earth and today we have the Gospel. Lord, give us grace to be part of that same picture in taking the gospel to the remnant in those lands that are still yet in darkness. Lord, we know there are saints there. We pray that you would bless them. Protect them. And Lord, perhaps it is your will that the blood of the martyrs might be the seed of the church, that those Christians might lay down their lives, shed their blood in making Christ known. If so, Lord, bless those who are there. Encourage them, strengthen them in the times of great darkness, and Lord, show us ways to give gospel light in those places of darkness. Use us, I pray, Lord, for your glory and honor, that we and they might sing for the majesty of the Lord. We pray it in Jesus' name, amen.