And then we will read through into chapter 8 and the first three verses in chapter 8. So look at chapter 7 and verse 41. There was a certain debtor which had two debtors, a creditor which had two debtors. One owed five hundred pence and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house. Thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, But this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace. And it came to pass afterward that he went throughout every city and village preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him. And certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna, the wife of Cusa, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him. of their substance. Amen. We pray the Lord will add His blessing to the public reading of His own holy and inspired Word. Before we consider the Lord's Word for our hearts this morning, let us look to the Lord once again in prayer. O loving and gracious Father, We bow in Thy holy presence. We are conscious, Lord, that we are before Thee. Thou art mighty, but we are weak. Thou art holy and pure, yet, Lord, we have a nature that is sinful. We come, our gracious God, to Thee in all our need. And our loving Father, we thank Thee for a sense of Thy presence with us already. O Lord, tarry a while longer with us now. And we would come to Thee even as Mary did of old. And she left her sister Martha. She came and sat at Thy feet to hear Thy Word. Lord, we have left Today, the things that normally occupy are time and attention. And we come, Lord, and we occupy Mary's place. We come to sit at Thy feet to hear Thy Word. And, O Lord, as has already been prayed, Lord, give us the listening ear. Give us the heart that is open and ready to receive the Word. Have us to look into the very face of Christ this day. Now, Lord, abide with us. Shut us in with Thyself. May nothing else matter today, at least for this season of worship. Nothing else matters but meeting with the Lord. Grant to me, dear Lord, the help and the power of the Holy Spirit. Enable me, Lord, to preach the Word. And in so doing, Lord, help me to preach Christ. In our dear Saviour's precious and holy name we pray. Amen. Luke chapter 8 and verse 3. There we are given the name of Joanna. and Susanna in the previous verse have been told about Mary Magdalene. But here in verse 3 we read, And Joanna, the wife of Cusa, heard Stuart, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. It must be observed that preaching the gospel and thereby showing the glad tidings of salvation was the great work of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. His working miracles were subservient to this and were for the confirmation of the doctrine which he preached. And with a burning desire in his heart to spread the message of salvation. We read in verse 1, he went throughout every city and village preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. But he wasn't alone in his evangelistic crusade because we read there in the verse 2, and certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna, the wife of Cusa, Herod Stewart, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. And so we can see there was quite a number of women, went with the Lord wherever He went, through those towns and villages. And as the Lord ministered unto the people of the towns and the villages, these women ministered unto Christ. Now, we know the identity of the Twelve. We're familiar with their names. But who were the certain women? We are given the names of three of them. And then we're just told there were many others. Three women. Mary called Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna. Now we know more about Mary Magdalene than we do about Joanna. And we know more about Joanna than we know about Susanna. And this is the only place that you find the name Susanna. We may not know much about her. To say all we are given is her name. We may not know much about her, but we know that she was a disciple of the Lord. She was one of the many women who went about following Christ and ministering unto Him. We know that she served the Lord. And what she did for the Savior was recognized. and her name is recorded here in Holy Writ. There's a lesson in that. There is a lesson that teaches us that whatever we do as the Lord's disciples, no matter how menial or small the task, even to give a cup of cold water in the Lord's name will be acknowledged and recorded. by the Lord Himself. Here Susanna's name is mentioned, indicating the Lord took note of what Susanna did as she ministered unto Him. But the person we want to consider this Lord's Day morning is Joanna. She's another one of the wonderful women that we meet with in the Word of God. And let us see what the Holy Spirit has recorded about Joanna. Now, we see immediately that Joanna was a woman who had been delivered by Christ. And certain women which had been healed of evil spirits, and then three names are given, evil spirits and infirmities, Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna. And so these three women, the Lord had been pleased to deliver them of whatever had afflicted them. This gives us something a little bit of her history, the history of Joanna. This is all we know about her prior to her meeting with Christ and being delivered by Him. Had she, like Mary Magdalene, been afflicted by evil spirits? Or maybe it was some other physical or mental affliction? Whatever it was, we are not informed. But whatever it was, the Lord had delivered her from it. And we find her here now that her life has been completely changed. Indeed, we are told more about Joanna after Christ delivered her than anything about her before she met Christ. And her life as a disciple of the Lord, of course, makes far better and more interesting reading than her former life. I think it's strange when people from time to time maybe stand up in a meeting and give their testimony. And I think it's unfortunate that they spend more time telling you about their old life than they do about their new life. And as far as I'm concerned, the new life is far more interesting than the old life. We all know about sin. We don't want to hear about it. Tell us about what the Lord has done for you. Tell us about your new life. And surely, dear child of God, this morning, your life as a Christian is a lot more interesting than your life as a sinner and living and running with the world. Now you have more to live for. Now you have more to look forward to. Now you have more love in your heart. Just as the life was more interesting for the likes of, say, Bartimaeus, after he met Christ, what was the life of Bartimaeus like before he met Christ? He lived in darkness. Nothing very interesting about that. But then after Christ opened his eyes, my, his life was changed. His life was far more interesting. And what about legion? Life was more interesting for legion after the devils no longer controlled his life and Christ had broken their power. Life was more interesting for the lame beggar who slay at the gate beautiful. Read about it in Acts 3. For when he was delivered of his lameness, we are told, he, leaping up, stood and walked and entering with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. He had never done that before. But the Lord did for him. After you meet Christ, life is far more interesting. They all could sing if they knew the words, Since Christ my soul from sin set free, This world has been a heaven to me, Amid earth's sorrows and its woes, Tis heaven my Jesus here to know. So here's Joanna who told little or nothing about her past life. But anything we are told about her deals primarily after she met Christ. So what we have here then is this woman and her history. And then we have her healer. Luke records, and a certain woman which had been healed. So sometimes, somewhere, The woman and Joanna had been healed by the Lord. Whatever her infirmity or affliction might have been, the Savior healed her of it. And you know, there's a wonderful thought here. For it says, certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities and infirmities. I wonder what catalogue of infirmities go under that one word. And this teaches us that the Lord never saw an affliction that he couldn't heal. He never saw a need that he couldn't meet. He never found a burden that he couldn't carry. He never found a sinner that he couldn't save. He never saw a life that he couldn't change. And a great change was wrought in the life of Joanna by the healing power of Christ. It is interesting when we look at the meaning of the name Joanna. Joanna's name means the Lord is gracious. Or, Jehovah has shown favor. Now here her name wonderfully describes and is a witness to what the Lord had wrought in her life, what the Lord had done for her by His grace. The Lord had favoured her. The Lord in grace had healed her and saved her. Just as He has showed favor to us, for by grace are ye saved. There's another thought here. The Jews would have been very familiar with the meaning of the name because parents in Bible times would give their children names that meant something. And so they would have been aware of the meaning of the name Joanna. Now you think of it. It means that wherever Joanna went, and people recognized her and knew her by name, they would think about the grace of God. Because that's what her name means. But not only would they think about the grace of God, in Joanna they would see the grace of God. And they would know that this woman had been changed, her life had been changed, her soul had been saved. She had been transformed by the grace of God. But you know something? You and I today have been given a name better than Joanna. And that name is Christian. So that wherever we go, others ought to see something of the life of Christ in us and the grace of God in us. Our lives should indicate that we have been favoured by the grace of God. Then we look at her husband. We're told Joanna, the wife of Cusa, Herod's steward. Now, who would expect to find a disciple of the Lord Jesus in the house of a man like Herod? Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee. That's who this character was. This is the same Herod. who put John the Baptist to death. This is the same Herod who with his soldiers set Jesus at nought. Luke 23 verse 11. Yet here was one of the Lord's own. Here was one of the Lord's disciples in the house, in the house of Herod. And there she would have been a witness for the Lord in the house of this ungodly and wicked man. And you know what does this show us? This shows us that the Lord has His elect, we may say, in the strangest of places. Turn over to 1 Kings 18. 1 Kings 18. And in 1 Kings 18, we read in verse 2, the Lord had told Elijah to go and show himself unto Ahab. In verse 2, 1 Kings 18, And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. Now, Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. So here's one of the Lord's own in the house of Ahab. Of course, the Lord had Obadiah in the house of Ahab for a reason. And it was while he was there, we read in verse 4, for it was so when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord that Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifty in a cave and fed them with bread and water. So you see, dear child of God, the Lord has us in certain places and he has us there for a reason. And there sometimes we may find ourselves in places we would never expect to be. And it's always a good thing to ask yourself now, why has the Lord me here? We believe in a sovereign God. We believe in His providential dealings with us. Nothing happens by chance. Obadiah was in the house of Ahab. Joanna was in the house of Herod. And Paul, in Ephesians and Philippians 4, in verse 22, speaks about the saints in Caesar's household. And the Caesar mentioned there, or referred to there, is the wicked Nero. And Nero used to capture the Christians and he would hang them on poles throughout his garden. And he would then set fire to them to illuminate his gardens at night. And yet it was in the house of Nero that Paul sent greetings to the saints there. So it is in the house of Herod where we find Joanna and her husband, Cusa. He was Herod's steward. That word steward is only found here and in Matthew 20 verse 8, Galatians 4 and verse 2. The word there means a tutor. And so we can see that Cusa had quite a prominent position in the house of Herod. He held a responsible office. Was Cusa a believer? Well, we don't know. But we certainly know that his wife was, and she witnessed a good confession for the Lord Jesus. And in the providence of God, We may find ourselves in the presence of ungodly men. Let us be like Joanna and witness a good witness for the Lord. Let us never be intimidated by the presence of the ungodly. After all, believer, we are members of the royal family. We're the children of the King. Spurgeon said one time when he was walking down some street somewhere, he was walking with some brother in the Lord, and the brother says to Spurgeon, he says, you know, if people knew who we were, they would tip their hat at us. And Spurgeon says, what do you mean? He says, well, we're children of the King. We're the King's sons. And we should never be intimidated by the ungodly. And it certainly appears that Joanna was not intimidated by the fact that she was in the house of Herod. We look also at her helpers. When Joanna was not in the house of Herod, we see the company that she kept. Again, we look there in verses 2 and 3, and certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went several devils, and Joanna, the wife of Cusa, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. So all who had been healed and touched by the Master's hand ministered unto the Lord of their substance. And that was the company that Joanna kept. She surrounded herself of those who had likewise been touched by the Lord, had been changed by the Lord, had been saved by the Lord. That was the one thing that was common to them all, that all met Christ. Their lives had been changed by the Lord Jesus Christ. They were united in Christ. And it is in this company of saved, serving women that we find Joanna. It's often been said you can tell a man's character by the company that he keeps. And Joanna was in a good and godly company for she surrounded herself with those whose lives had been touched and changed by the grace of God. You know, I think there's something wrong with a Christian, a professing Christian, who feels more at ease in the company of the worldly person than they do in the company of God's people. There's something wrong. Because if they're more at ease or happy in the company of the worldly person, what fellowship do they have with them? What do they talk about? Surely it would be an indication that there's been no change in that person's life, no change in the heart. Why, whenever we met the Lord, we wanted to be with God's people. Turn please to Acts chapter 9. Acts 9. Are you familiar with what we have in Acts 9? We read there about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. He had been saved on the road to Damascus. A sure sign that he was genuinely saved, he prayed in verse 11. A sure sign that he was saved, verse 17. And Ananias went his way and entered into the house, and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, he's a brother now. A sure sign that he was saved. Look at verse 19. And when he had received meat and he was strengthened, then was Saul certain days with who? With the disciples. He's changed his company. We saw last night the company that Saul of Tarsus used to keep. He was with them that stoned Stephen and Saul to delight in what he had witnessed. He delighted to see Stephen stoned to death. But he's in a different company now. He's with the disciples. He's not long saved. And he's immediately attracted to the disciples, to God's people. He was now under new ownership. It's like the poor man that, well, he and his wife weren't very well educated. This man gets saved. He was saved in the Salvation Army in the days when the Salvation Army preached the gospel of fire and blood. And he noticed that all the members there had sweaters on. And they had text of Scriptures on their sweaters, embroidered on the sweater. Well, this man couldn't read. So he went home from the meeting and he told his wife, everybody there had a sweater on. It had something written on it. I would like a sweater like that. Of course, he didn't know what they had on the sweater. And so his wife got a sweater for her husband, and what was she going to put on it? She had him look out of the window across the street to a shop window. And there was a sign on the shop window, and she says, that'll do. So whatever was on the shop window, she copied it and put it onto the sweater. And he went back to the meeting the next week, and everybody was pleased. They said he had got the best sweater. Because the sign on the shop window read, Under New Management. And the man was under new management. Paul was under new management. He belonged to the Lord and he wanted to be with the Lord's people. That's the way it is. We love being in the company of God's people. We love being with the Lord's people. So we see Joanna, a woman delivered by Christ, And then we have Joanna, a woman devoted to Christ. Having been delivered by the grace of the Lord, we see how that the Lord, or how Joanna and the others ministered unto Him of their substance. I think it's very significant that we read about her deliverance and her deeds all in one sentence. Does this not indicate to us that after the Lord healed her, she wasted no time in helping Him? From being a sinner, suffering from whatever infirmities or afflictions, or whatever evil spirits had controlled her life. Coming from that position to serving Christ, it's all in one sentence. Summed up in one sentence. Indicating to us that she wasted no time in becoming a servant of the Lord. The Lord had saved her, changed her life. She owed a lot to him. How could she repay him? She surrendered her life to him. I'm reminded of Peter's mother-in-law, whom the Lord healed. We read in Mark 1, verse 31, And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto him. You think of the power of that miracle. This woman had a fever. Now anybody who suffers from a fever, you just don't get over it like that. It leaves your body weak and it's a couple of days before you feel like doing anything. We'll hear the Lord healed her completely. You see, the Lord always does all things well. He's never said to anybody, you'll feel a little better in a few days. The job is done there and then and it's complete. And we are told that He lifted her up and immediately the fever left her and she ministered unto Him. She was strong enough to minister unto him. And how soon did she minister unto him? Immediately. Immediately. Before the Saviour and the disciples left the house, this woman was ministering unto him. Saul of Tarsus. No sooner had the Lord dealt with Saul of Tarsus than Saul says, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And yet I'm sure there are many Christians on the road of the Christian life and have been on the road a long time. And they've yet to do anything for the Lord. They've yet to show their devotion to Christ. They've yet to express their love for the Lord. They've yet to pray, Lord, what will thou have me to do? We need to get to that place. Because faith without works is dead. James 2 and verse 26. So as we look at the devotion of this woman, consider with me her service for Christ. It was a Jewish custom. A custom. for women to supply food and clothing for their teachers or their instructors. This was a custom. But for Joanna, she wasn't following a custom. No, for Joanna, she was serving the Lord out of devotion. She was devoted to Christ. Here we have her ministry for Christ. You think of it. The Lord, of course, did not need help from Joanna or indeed any of the other women. Psalm 50 and verse 10 tells us, All the beasts of the forest were his, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. And the mighty Saviour who multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed five thousand could have turned stones into bread for His own sustenance if He chose to do so. In that sense, He didn't need the women to minister on to Him of their own substance. So why did He do it? Why did He allow Joanna and the others to minister unto Him of their substance? I'll tell you why. That He might prove their love and test their regard and devotion to Himself. Why does the Lord allow us to serve Him? that we might show and demonstrate our love for Him, our devotion to Him. And if we don't serve Him in any capacity, the Lord's waiting for us to show Him our love and our devotion. And you know, I believe there are many Christians and the Lord has been waiting a long time for them to express their love, their devotion to Him. True love, you see, will count it a pleasure to give anything to the object loved. J. C. Ryle states, false love will often talk and profess much, but do and give nothing at all. It's all right to talk about the love, but what about the proving of it? What about the doing? And Joanna proved her love and devotion by ministering unto him of her substance. Think about something here. If Joanna was to minister unto the Lord, then she must be with him wherever he went. And so not only do we have here her ministry, but think of her miles. Think of the miles she travelled. Joanna must have walked many miles. There was no such a thing as public transport in those days. She must have walked many miles with her Savior as she ministered unto Him. Notice the words there again in verse 1. And it came to pass afterward that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him and certain women. So the Lord went through the cities and the villages preaching. The disciples were with Him and the women were with Him. They went with Him through the cities and the villages. Joanna was there with Him. I get that lovely picture in my mind of Joanna busying herself as the Lord went about preaching. making sure he had enough food to eat, perhaps taking his outer garments and washing them for him, attending to his physical needs. And I have that lovely picture of Joanna caring for the Lord, looking after the Lord as a woman devoted to Christ, So as the Lord went throughout every city and village, and the twelve were there, and the women were there also, ministering unto Him. Would you turn to Mark 15, please. Mark 15. Mark 15 and verse 40. Mark 15, there were also women looked on afar off. Among whom was Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, the less, and of Joseph and Salome, who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him and ministered unto him. and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem." Now, I know Joanna's name is not mentioned there, but that's her company. Those who had ministered unto him. Now, look. Look there. We're told in verse 41, who also when he was in Galilee, followed him, ministered unto him, And then the other women which came with him on to Jerusalem. Galilee to Jerusalem is a distance of approximately 110 miles. 110 miles. And here's Joanna along with the others. And she has been ministering unto Christ in the cities and in the villages between Galilee and Jerusalem. And she has followed Him all the way. And this shows us that because she was so devoted to Christ, distance didn't matter. Distance didn't enter into her mind. She would have gone anywhere, done anything for her dear Saviour. And dear Christian, this morning, would distance make any difference to us? that we were called upon to do something for the Lord? You think of our missionaries. Think of our sister, Miss Joanne Greer, now going from Ulster to Liberia. There's a girl who's devoted to Christ. And going to that strife-torn country, And is the mission board looking to buy a home for her that is safe enough for her to live in? She'll not be going into a beautifully furnished apartment or a nice bungalow with all the mod cons. But the point is, Joanna was devoted to the Lord. She was prepared to go from Galilee to Jerusalem. She was prepared to go with Christ through every city and every village and every hamlet. And wherever the Lord went, she was ready to go. Where He may lead me, I will go. Oh, for the love to have a love for Christ that Joanna had. Look at her materials. We're told that she and the other women ministered unto him of their substance. The word substance just simply means things or possessions. And so whatever materials or possessions she had, or whatever she possessed, She gave to Christ. The Lord had given her so much. The Lord had not only changed her life, the Lord had given her a new life. Just as He had given Bartimaeus a new life, and Legion a new life, and you and I a new life. What else could she do but devote her all to the Lord? Mary had showed her devotion by anointing the Saviour. A woman we read about in Luke 7, a woman of the city of Benseath, came and anointed the Lord and washed His feet with her tears. Joanna ministered unto Him of her substance. And believer are we like Joanna? What have we done for Him out of our devotion? Ministered unto Him of her own substance. Whatever she had was the Lord's. Whatever she had was the Lord's. I gave my life for thee my precious blood I shed, that Thou madest ransom be and quicken from the dead. I gave, I gave my life for Thee. What hast Thou given for me? I suffered much for Thee, more than Thy tongue can tell, of bitterest agony, to rescue Thee from hell. I have borne, I have borne it all for thee. What hast thou borne for me? We press on quickly and we notice her standing with Christ. It must have been difficult for Joanna to take her stand for her Saviour in the house of Herod. But we find her with the other women taking her stand for Christ and with Christ in another place. We've already looked there at Mark 15, let's just turn back to it again. Mark 15, now she's at the cross. And there we read in verse 40, and there we're also looking on afar off. among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Les, and Joseph, and Salome, who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, ministered unto him, and with many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem." Notice her focus. You read there, verse 41, followed Him, ministered unto Him, came with Him. There's the focus in Joanna's life. Christ is her focus. Her eyes were ever and always upon Him. And in Luke 23 and verses 48 and 49, you read also that she was standing with Him. Can there be any doubt that the Savior was the focus of Joanna's life? Is Christ the focus of your life? Does everything you do revolve around Him? She looked to Him She lived for Him. She labored for Him. She loved Him. She could say without any doubt or fear of contradiction, she could say with Paul, for to me to live is Christ, to die is Gideon. Joanna was dead to the world. Her whole life was wrapped up in Jesus Christ. Not I, but Christ, be honored, loved, exalted. Not I, but Christ, be seen, be known, be heard. Not I, but Christ, in every look and action. Not I, but Christ, in every thought and word. Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord. Oh, to be lost in Thee. Oh, that it may be no more I, dear Lord, but Christ who lives in me. You have her faithfulness. Joanna had followed the Lord from Galilee to Jerusalem, ministering unto Him. And now we find her standing near the cross She was there beholding her beloved as he hung and suffered on that tree. And in Luke 23, in verse 48, And all the people that came together to that site, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts and returned home. And all his acquaintance and the women that followed him from Galilee. Joanna's there. Followed him from Galilee, stood afar off beholding these things. When others went away, Joanna's still standing for the Lord. What a lovely woman this is. What a lovely woman this Joanna is. We notice also her Sabbath. In Luke 23 again, in verse 55, And the women also which came with him from Galilee followed after, and beheld the sepulcher, and how his body was led. And they returned, and prepared spices, anointments, and rested. The Sabbath day, according to the commandment. The women. Joanne was there. She remembered the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Many today remember the Sabbath day. Very few. This isn't a holy day for many. For some people this day is busy if not busier than other days. In the summertime, well, the grass has to be cut. Better go and do her shopping, get her groceries, have to do this, have to wash the car, have to do this. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Joanna did. And in the last place, you have Joanna, the woman who declared Christ. As Joanna ministered unto him of her substance, not a word is recorded as coming from her lips." There's no actual words recorded that's been spoken by Joanna. We read here about what she did. In other words, her works spoke louder than words. Too many people do the talking, but they don't do the work. And Joanna's works spoke for her. And we read there in Luke 24, verse 1, Luke 24, verse 1, Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, that is, the women bringing spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And verse 8, And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulchre and told all these things unto the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and other women that were with them and which told these things unto the apostles. She's declared Christ. She was a witness for Christ. She arrived at the sepulchre early. As far as she was concerned, she was going to meet with Christ. She was going to anoint Him. She wasted no time in getting there. We come to the Lord's house on the Sabbath day. We should be excited, looking forward to getting up to the Lord's house because we're going to meet with the Lord. Think of those people there's a big seal on somewhere and people camp out all night and they wait outside in the freezing cold to get into the store. We have something greater, more valuable, more precious, more lovely. In the house of God, we come to meet with Christ. We should be the first at the door. And the announcement, her arrival there and her announcement, along with the other women, she was able to go out and tell others, Christ is alive. And dear child of God, let us be like Joanna. Wherever we can, Let us tell others about the living Christ. We have a great story to tell. You think of all the other religions in the world and their leaders and their founders, they're all dying and they're all dead and rotting in the grave. Our King is sitting on the throne. Because He lives, we shall live also. May the Lord bless His Word to our hearts.