Let me call your attention to Ephesians chapter 5 and verses 5 to 12. Ephesians 5, 5 to 12. And it reads, For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them, for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. Trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord, and do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead even expose them. For it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret." And so what I'd like to speak to you about is a particular issue that's been going on for a couple of weeks on the internet. Some of you who keep up with those types of things probably have heard About it, others have not. It has to do with Alistair Begg and something he said back in September of last year. And it had to do with something, a question that a grandmother wrote him about. And so the background to the interview was that Begg had received this letter from this grandmother and her grandson was going to marry a transgender individual. And she had been invited to the wedding. So she wanted Alistair to tell her what she should do. And so the answer to the question was as follows. First off, he asked the grandmother if her grandson understood where she stood concerning such matters, and she answered yes. Of course, this is a Christian woman who was asking the question. Furthermore, He said, does he understand that your belief in Jesus makes it impossible for you to affirm the choices he has made in life? And again, the answer was yes. So finally, Alistair said the following to her. So then as long as he knows that, I'd suggest you go to the wedding and I suggest you buy a gift for the couple. The reasoning behind him giving this advice to the lady was that your love, speaking to the lady, your love may catch them off guard, but your absence will reinforce the fact that these people are what I always thought, judgmental, critical, unprepared to countenance anything. And it is a fine line, isn't it? It really is, and people need to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. But we're going to have to take that risk a lot more if we're going to build bridges into the lives of those who don't understand Jesus and don't understand that He is a King. So I like to concentrate on the answer itself, the repercussions, what that means for us in light of what we had just read in Ephesians 5, and not so much on Alistair, the person, or even the couple that's involved, any of that. Obviously, I don't know the lady, I don't know the couple that's involved, and so for me to speak about that would be superfluous anyway. But let's examine this answer in light of what we have read from Ephesians 5. Let's go back to the passage. If we look at the four verses preceding what I just read, verses one to four, we read a number of things there that serve as background to what I just read. In verses one and two, Paul tells his readers that they are to be imitators of God. And someone may ask Paul, hey Paul, how do we do that? And Paul for sure would say, glad you asked. Because notice the reply that he gives to that hypothetical question. Number one, we are to walk in love, real love, not what passes for love today. Because what passes for love today is you have to allow me to do what I want, permissive love. If you let me do what I want, then that means that you're loving me. That's not the love that the Bible speaks of. Sometimes love does the difficult thing. The not so happy thing, the thing that will make a person unhappy and sometimes even offend them, that is a true love that the Bible speaks of. Why? Because it's a love that cares for the person, for the whole person, not just for the feelings and the emotions of the person, but also for the well-being of the person, for the soul of the person, more importantly. And if we're going to care for the soul of an individual, sometimes we're going to have to say things to them that may offend them, but they're necessary for their ultimate benefit. Paul goes on to say, let not immorality, impurity or greed be named among you, among us. And notice that Paul doesn't say simply not to engage in such activities. That goes without saying that the individual, the believer is not to engage in those activities, but that they are not even to find expression in our speech or that of others concerning us. In other words, when people look upon us, they should have no reason to say that we are immoral, that we are impure, that we are greedy. Then number three, Paul says, do not speak filthy, silly, or coarse words. Words have power. And they have power either to build up or to tear down. Now, this is not the power that some people in certain quarters think that words have. In other words, if you say something, it'll come true. That's not what Paul is meaning here. What Paul is meaning here is that there are certain words that cut deep to the heart, that can offend for offense's sake and not because they're necessary for the benefit of the individual. Sometimes we speak words, we blurt out words that do a lot of damage. And that damage, though done in a second, sometimes can take years, sometimes a lifetime to resolve and to correct. And so it is important for us not to speak words that are going to be destructive to those that are hearing. Rather, they're to be constructive. That is what we speak. And then he says that we are to give thanks. The language of the church is thanksgiving. I've said that before. The language of the world is complaining. And so when you hear a person complaining a lot, that shouldn't be a Christian. Why? Because a Christian understands that everything that takes place is already ordained of God. If it is ordained of God, then we have no reason to complain. Why? Because this is happening, whatever the situation may be. Good, bad, or indifferent. This is happening because God has ordained it. And God always has good purposes behind everything that He does, everything He ordained. People do not. Sometimes people have evil purposes behind what they do. But in the case of God, even in that evil that He permits, there's still good behind it. And then comes the passage that we read earlier. And so let's note a few things from this passage. The immoral, number one, the immoral, impure, covetous, idolater, will not have a place in the kingdom of God. This is similar to the passage in 1 Corinthians 6, 9 to 12, where Paul describes a number of sins, one of which is, of course, homosexuality, which is what we're discussing here tonight because of that wedding, that transsexual wedding, and then says two important things about it. Number one, those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. That reminds me one time, John MacArthur used to go to the Larry King show a lot. And of course, Larry King passed away a number of years back. But in the early 2000s, I think in the 90s as well, John MacArthur was sort of like Larry King's resident pastor. And so whenever a pastor came on the show, it was John MacArthur. And so one night, during one of the shows, MacArthur and Gavin Newsom, who at that time was the mayor of San Francisco, he is now the governor of California, you've probably heard of him, were, yeah, I guess so, were discussing the issue of homosexual marriage at the time because, you know, this was before it had gone to the Supreme Court and so there was a discussion about it And the show. And so at a moment in the conversation, John MacArthur cites this passage. And then he says at the end, when Paul says that those who do such things are not going to inherit the kingdom, he turns to Gavin Newsom and says, you want to go to heaven, don't you? And I thought that that was a really good way of sort of like impressing upon the individual what it's all about, what it's a stake. Nothing less than our eternal soul. You know, if we engage in these sins, we're not going to inherit the kingdom. And as an old time preacher I heard one time said, if you miss heaven, you've missed all there is. Because that's all that we live for is to inherit the kingdom of God. So then Paul goes on to say those sins were practiced by some of the Corinthians, but they have now been set free by the spirit of God. And so it's important to notice that Paul says, yes, these people or these sins will condemn the soul. But then he goes on to say, guess what? Some of you are practicers of these sins, but now you are no longer that. Why? Because the Spirit has sanctified you, has cleansed you. And so anyone who says that's impossible for folks to be delivered from their bondage to sin is deluding himself and deluding you or trying to. Paul, the same Paul said in Romans 6, 17 and 18, That the Romans have been turned from slaves to sin, to slaves to Christ. And so when we come to Christ, we are no longer slaves to that sin which before was our master. Now we have a new master. And we can't have two masters. Right? The Lord spoke in the context of money and Christ says you can't have two masters. But that extends to every aspect of life. We can't have two masters. It's impossible. We're going to love one and hate the other. The people who practice these things are sons of disobedience, they are subject to the wrath of God and so we are to tell them so, so that they in turn can escape that wrath. The crux of the matter is that we are not to be partakers or to share or to have fellowship, as the King James Version puts it, or to be partners together with those who practice these deeds. We, too, were formerly darkness. We, too, were in the darkness that some, those who are outside the body, are in today. And you may think of yourself and say, well, I wasn't that bad, or I came to Christ when I was 15, so I didn't have a lot of time to be bad, right? But guess what? That darkness was as dark for you as it is for them. There's no shades of darkness when you're in sin. You're in darkness, complete and utter darkness. But guess what? Now we are no longer there. We're like those Corinthians that have been released, that have been set free from that darkness. We are now in light in the Lord. And we cannot, therefore, continue to involve ourselves with these behaviors. Rather, We are to cultivate goodness, righteousness, and truth. We are to continuously seek to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. And we do this through studying His Word, as well as through self-examination. 2 Corinthians 13 and 5, Paul says that very thing. Examine yourselves, test your own selves, whether you are in the faith. Or do you not know yourselves that you are in Christ, unless you'd be proven to be reprobates. And so we have to constantly be testing ourselves. We can't, as it were, rest on our laurels. We have to ensure that we are following Christ. Why? Because in that final day, a lot of folks are going to come to the Lord and are going to say to the Lord, Lord, didn't we do this? Didn't we do that? Didn't we do miracles? Didn't we do many wonderful works? And what's the Lord going to tell them? Depart from me, I never knew you. Notice what the Lord says, I never knew you. It's not I knew you at one point, but I don't know, I no longer know you. It's I never knew you. And so regardless of what we may be doing today, no matter how good we think it is, we have to ensure that we are trusting in the Lord, that we are placing our trust in him and him alone and in his work and not ours. So rather than partaking, there's also another side of the coin. We're not to partake or to behave like children of light, but also we are to expose those works of darkness. That conduct is shameful even when it's done in secret. The unfortunate reality is, as this instance proves, that a lot of those things, which in years past were done in secret. People were ashamed of doing them. They wanted them hidden. And if they came to light, then people were rightfully ashamed. But now they're done in light of, in the plain sight of everyone. You know, in the light of day, as it were. And not only are they done in the light of day, but they're done so proudly. It's almost like the people who are doing them think that they're doing something good and it's praiseworthy. Paul said in Romans 2 that many are the ones who not only participate in such things, and some of them may not do so directly, they may not be engaging in those particular issues themselves directly, but in any event, they give hearty approval to those who practice those activities. And so you not only participate, but you also approve of those people who are participating in those Listen to what William Hendrickson said about this, about verse 11 of our text. Sin must be exposed. One is not being nice to a wicked man by endeavoring to make him feel what a nice fellow he is. The cancerous tumor of sin must be removed. It is really not an act of love to smooth things over. as if the terrible evil of the sons of disobedience is not that bad. And it is sad to say, but all too often we don't take sin as seriously as we ought to. And just the fact that sin was what led Christ to the cross should tell us how serious it is. It cost the Son of God His life. And if it cost the Son of God His life, then it is indeed very serious. I think that what happens very often is that we are bombarded so much by TVs and the internet and so on with sin and with wickedness and sometimes we sort of become inured to it. We're so used to all of that stuff that's going on that at times we just don't pay attention. But we do well to pay attention to the extent that we need to ensure that sin does not lose its seriousness for us. That it is still just as serious as it is in reality. So getting back to the activity that I mentioned here at the outset about this wedding that this lady has been invited to. If you've been to a wedding, and certainly here at Grace, You've heard the preacher ask a couple of questions here at Grace, one that was traditional, one that I think is more, I had never heard it before I came to Grace, but I think it's a good question nonetheless. The first question is, of course, and everybody knows that one, if anyone objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace, right? And that preachers have been asking that question at weddings for, I don't know, centuries probably, right? I've never been at a wedding where somebody says, I object, right, and you probably haven't either. And so, but then the second question is, as a congregation, or something to this effect, okay, don't quote me, but something to this effect. As a congregation, do you commit yourself to aiding this couple to live up to their commitment before God and help them to strengthen their marriage? And so, you probably remember, I think the last wedding we had here was the Martin wedding. If I remember correctly, it may have been another one, but. Oh, Allison, that's right. Allison and Steve, that's right, on April 1st of last year. And so, you probably heard Tim say those very words or something like that. And we all committed ourselves to helping them do that, right. And so the fact that you're present at a wedding ceremony and you're answering yes to that question, hopefully, implies that you're giving your approval to those proceedings. You cannot say that you're neutral if you're attending that wedding. Just your mere presence at a ceremony such as that one says to the people who are getting married and to the people around you that, yes, I approve of what these two individuals are doing, you know, like it or not, right? Hopefully you like it, obviously. If the questions ask about objecting, and again, I say that because a lot of times, you know, just like the part in the wedding ceremony where the bride was supposed to say that she was going to obey the husband or whatever, that's no longer there for the most part. And the question about objecting, in many weddings also has been eliminated. But if the question is asked, then for somebody who is there and is witnessing this so-called wedding, then as a Christian, they would have to object. Obviously, that has its own problems. And to object to such a thing in public might be more problematic than not, especially If it's a relative, it's best to talk to that person separately. But the point is that if you're there and this is taking place, then you will be obligated to say something about it, being a believer. Then there's also the issue of buying a gift, which is compounding the problem. Because now you're not only giving approval to what's going on, but you're also celebrating what they're doing. You'll congratulate them by giving them a gift. And even if you don't say a word when these proceedings are going on, a gift implies that you're appreciating what has taken place and not just the persons involved. You're also giving your approval and celebrating the fact that these two individuals are joining together. And they're supposedly joining together before God. Obviously, in a situation like this one, there is no such thing as that type of wedding being joined by God, but that is the ostensible reason that is taking place. And so, another reason that Brother Beck gave for saying yes to the invitation was because you're supposedly showing them love, but love in 1 Corinthians 13, says that it does not rejoice in unrighteousness. And that is what would be happening in this case. It is something that is unrighteous, that is uncalled for, that is truly a travesty, a sinful travesty, unfortunately, that these individuals are engaging in. And so it's indeed a sad, sad and tragic thing that is taking place, not a joyful one as most weddings are. Now, don't get me wrong, relationships are important. You know, relationships with your family are important. We shouldn't minimize the impact that a refusal to participate in such evil deeds is going to have in your relationship with others, and especially with your family. You know, that goes without saying. But that cannot be your primary concern. when it comes to guiding your actions as to whether they're right or wrong. You know, if you're thinking my first priority is how is this going to affect my relationship with my family, then I think that you're going at it from the wrong perspective. We can have a great relationship with our family and yet help them in their descent into hell by our behavior towards them. You know, it is worse than not loving them, to allow them and to help them to do things that are going to result in their soul being lost. That is the worst kind of hate that you can have for any individual. And if you love a person and especially a relative, then you're going to use your opportunities to teach them the truth, to influence them for good rather than for ill. In addition, Jesus came to bring a sword. And He indicated that we cannot love our relatives more than Him if we expect to be saved. In Matthew 10, 34-39, the Lord said the following, Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. And so notice there that the Lord Himself is telling us we can't love our relatives or anybody else for that matter, more than we love Him. The reason that the Lord uses relatives is because usually those are the people we love most. It's our fathers, our mothers, our children, our husbands and our wives. And if we are not to love even those more than the Lord, then what does that say about anyone else? There may be a couple of objections that are mentioned about us rejecting this sort of conduct. The first one is, and probably the one that we may have heard before, is that Jesus ate with sinners. Luke 7 speaks about the Pharisees complaining because Jesus came eating and drinking, often with sinners, those that the Pharisees considered among the worst of the worst, because everybody that Jesus ate with is a sinner of one kind or another, right? And we are all sinners to one extent or another, and so that never changes. But they also complain that John did not eat or drink, that he was a sort of an ascetic who lived in the desert and didn't eat, didn't drink, didn't do any of these things. And so the moral of that story, that particular story, is not so much what Jesus or John did or didn't do. It's the fact that the unredeemed, the unregenerate heart will always find fault in what the redeemed do. The sinful heart is always looking to justify itself. And so they will either do so by judging you as a bigot, a homophobe, et cetera, et cetera. You've heard the insults before, right? The monikers that so often the world tags Christians with. Or they will do it by claiming that their behavior is approved by one who claims to be a believer. So that would be the case that we have here. Then secondly, another objection may be, how can we show love if we stay away from people? But the reality is we're not staying away from people as people, but we stay away from their sinful behaviors. We do not participate in them. Notice that in our text, Paul says that you are to reprove such deeds, right? You are to not have fellowship with those particular deeds of darkness. It is not saying that we are to avoid people at all costs. Jesus did many things, however, that we either cannot or should not do. He is, after all, God. And as such, He could engage in certain activities that we should stay away from. Our capacity to resist temptation is not the same as the Lord's. That is why we abstain from participating, because we understand our own weaknesses. We don't put ourselves in situations that are going to tempt us to participate in evil deeds. In addition, And this is, I think, very important and something that the people who complain about the fact that Jesus went and ate with sinners are not bearing in mind. And that is that Jesus didn't go into these places to celebrate what was going on. Rather, he was there to preach and call people to repentance. So take, for example, the supper that Matthew gave after his call. Although the text does not say so, Explicitly. I don't think that we would be incorrect in surmising or inferring that he did so in order for those whom he knew from his previous life to meet Jesus and hear the word from him. Because notice that he calls this feast immediately after Christ calls him. And so it's too much of a coincidence that those two things go one in the heels of another. And so this was not a meet and greet and have a party type of an affair. Notice what verses 12 and 13 of that chapter says. But when he, Jesus, heard it, he said, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means. I desire mercy and not sacrifice, for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. The same story is told by Mark, and Mark adds to the call for sinners, he also adds to repentance. In other words, Christ did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And so Christ, who is the physician of the sick soul, came to call those who are sick to repent. So to say that Jesus ate with sinners is only half of the story. He ate with sinners. He was in the company of sinners. What? So that he could call them to repentance. If that's what we're doing, then we're doing the right thing. But if we're doing it, as in this case, simply to participate in a particular unrighteous deed, then we have missed the boat completely. So what is the bottom line for us? First of all, we must appreciate the fact that we are all sinful. We're sinful creatures. We're weak. We're in need of a savior. That leads to compassion. and the desire to free as many as possible from the bondage that they are in. We cannot do that, however, if we are doing the same things, the same unrighteous things that they are doing. That is giving them more license to continue to wallow in their sin. Secondly, we have to understand our limitations. Imitating Christ doesn't mean do everything the way that he did it while here on earth. An extreme example of that, Tim has mentioned it before, those in the Philippines who during Good Friday have themselves crucified. And why? To what end? Because supposedly they're imitating Christ. And so you see there how warped their mind is that they think that they have to do these things in order to be imitators of Christ and to be accepted by Him. So that is lack of knowledge. Thirdly, many of us are already or will in the future be facing pressures to conform to the world and to go along and celebrate, in many cases, perversion. The agency that I stopped working for just about a month and a half ago, a government agency, a federal government agency, celebrates these types of things openly. and it's not going to be long before everybody has to celebrate or they may be in danger of perhaps losing their job, being ostracized, being blackballed, etc. There are other companies, other corporations in the private sector who already are doing such things. In Canada, for example, they have laws that speak about the fact that if you speak against those types of perversions, then you are subject to a fine at the very least or even jail time if it gets to that point. And so the sinful world has gone from demanding tolerance to demanding acceptance to demanding celebration. If we must make a decision that may impact our livelihood, how are we going to make that decision? Are we going to stand for the truth or are we going go along to get along. 1 Thessalonians 5, 21 and 22 says that we are to test all things, hold on to what is good. And then something very interesting that Paul goes on to say is to abstain from all appearance of evil. Remember what we read earlier in the Ephesians passage, that these things are not to even be named among us. And so we are also to abstain from even the appearance of evil because we are children of life. If the world cannot see a difference between us and them, then what good are we doing? Fourthly, the ostensible church in many quarters is already compromising. What will our stance be as a church? Will we go along to get along, as I mentioned just now, or will we stand clearly apart so others can see what Christianity is about. There's always going to be believers out there who are going to be fleeing from churches, from groups that are compromising with evil. They need to find a haven. We need to be a haven for those people who are looking for true preaching, for the truth being unapologetically expressed, preached, spoken about. For people to be dedicated to being holy, to being sanctified, to be like their Lord and their God. And so we need to be that haven for those who are looking for those things, not to mention that we ourselves have to be holy as our Father is holy. Remember that the world, the government, society, they're not our friends. They're not the friends of the church. No amount of compromising is going to change that fact. The more you give, the more they'll demand. Because as I mentioned, they've gone from tolerance all the way to celebration. What will come next, right? We will have to be willing, happy participants in all that goes on. That, I believe, is the next step. But we should be warned. As Matthew Henry put it, he said, there are many ways of our being accessory to the sins of others, by commendation, counsel, consent, or concealment. And if we share with others in their sin, we must expect to share with them in their plagues. Fifth, we are to be light and salt. As the Lord said in Matthew 5, what do these elements do? What is their function? Light, just as the word implies, right? It gives light. It reveals what is in the dark. It brings discovery to the dark corners of the world. It shows why the darkness is not good. Paul tells us in our passage that we are to walk in light. We are to be different. We are to contrast with our society that walks in darkness. Instead, we are to walk in light. We are to walk in righteousness, truth, and love. Those are the characteristics of those who are the Lord's. Salt, it not only gives flavor, but also preserves. It keeps substances from spoiling. However, as the Lord himself said, if the salt loses its savor, can it be salted again? So again, if the salt is not preserving, is not doing good, to the world, then what good is it for? You know, a salt that had no taste, that could give no taste to the food would be good for nothing. Sixthly, in this point, I'd like to make two separate points here, two sub-points. 6A would be we must care more about our brethren, about their feelings, about their thoughts than we care about the world at large. What I mean by that is that it is essential for us to be compassionate to all men, no doubt about it. But we must be concerned primarily, firstly, for those who are of the household of faith. In Galatians 6, 9 and 10, Paul said that we are to do good to all men. But then he goes on to specify that we are to do good especially to those that are of the household of faith. And in 1 Corinthians 8, you may remember that passage there, that whole chapter deals with meat offered to idols. And the point that Paul is making is, yes, eat it if it's necessary for you to eat it. You go to an unbeliever's house. They give you food that had been offered to idols. Eat it. Idols are nothing. But then he goes on to say, but what if a weaker brother knows what you're doing, is offended by it? Then it is your responsibility to care more for what he thinks than what your unbelieving host may think. or may feel, and so it is essential for us as a church to care for one another before we begin to care for those that are outside. Those that are lost may or may not become believers at some point, but the ones that are within the church are already members of the kingdom. We need to treat them like it. And then, 6B, celebrity pastors, or any pastor for that matter other than the ones that are pastors of this congregation, are not charged with your souls. It should go without saying, but MacArthur, Lawson, and yes, Alistair Begg, are not your pastors. They are not the ones to whom God has given charge for you and for your soul. They certainly may have many good things to say, They do not know you, however. They do not know what issues and problems you're facing. They do not know what challenges you're dealing with. Obviously, as pastors, we'd like to know our congregations even better than we do, and that's never going to be any different. I may be a pastor here for 50 more years, and that would be interesting, a 112-year-old pastor, but be that as it may, I may be a pastor here for a long time, and I still will want to know you better. And of course, there's always new members that need to be gotten to be known as well. And so that is a never-ending process, but it is one that we as your pastors are charged with doing. The very first thing that Brother Beck should have said to this lady, I don't know if she's a member of his congregation, so let me clarify that first, but it doesn't sound like it because it was a letter that she wrote him. And I'm not sure that, you know, I wouldn't think that if she was a member of his congregation that she would write him a letter. She would probably come and talk to him personally, I would think. And so probably it was somebody that listens to him on the internet and felt the need to ask Brother Beck for this or to ask him this question. But if I had been in that position, my first answer would have been, have you spoken to your pastors? because they're the ones that are the first line of defense, as it were. They're the ones that can address you primarily because they know who you are. They know what you're about. They know what issues you're facing. I do not. As mentioned earlier about Paul speaking to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, he told the elders that they were to feed the flock over which the Lord has made them overseers. Elders are not appointed over the entire church. We're not popes, right? We're not cardinals. We're pastors. We are bishops, though we are not bishops in the sense of the Eastern Orthodox Church or the Catholic Church. That's a different story for another day. Sometimes we miss this point because we watch these folks on TV the MacArthur's, the Lawson's, et cetera, and we blur the lines that exist between what they say and what the congregation's pastors say. Hebrews 13, 17 tells us that we are to submit to those who have the charge over our souls. Please bear that in mind. We as pastors have charge for your souls, and that is a very important responsibility, one that we do not take lightly. If we bug you about your attendance or about any other matter, It is because we not only care for you, but we also have that responsibility. And it is important for us. And I say us because I have pastors myself, too. You know, just because you're a pastor doesn't mean that you don't have your own pastors. Tim and John are my pastors, just like they are yours. And so it is important for us to submit to their charge with joy and not reluctantly as the writer of Hebrews said, because if we do so reluctantly, that would not be profitable for us. And so hopefully that is something that is beneficial and useful for you tonight. Again, as I mentioned, I know that sometimes it seems like these subjects are constantly in the public eye, you know, we're being hammered left and right by it. But I think it's important for us as your pastors to make our voices heard so that if you're in that situation, and again, this lady I'm sure never dreamed that she would be in that situation when she became a grandmother, for example, and yet here she was. And so those are things that are very real, that we are all probably going to deal with to one extent or another. if we live long enough. And so hopefully, if that is your situation at some point, you'll be able to be equipped to at least begin to answer that question.