our question 37 last week. There's just one final aspect of this answer that I wanted us to take just a moment to consider and then we'll Move into question 38. But question 37, just quickly, how did Christ being the Son of God become man? Christ the Son of God became man by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary of her substance and born of her, yet without sin. Now this last phrase, yet without sin, we looked at these passages, Hebrews 4, very quickly. that in Hebrews 4.15, we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. And of course, the importance, the significance of Jesus Christ being sinless, this alone is what qualifies him to be a substitute, otherwise he would be paying for his own sin, but no, he was sinless and he is able then to take our sin upon himself and pay for those in his perfect sacrifice. But this matter of Jesus Christ truly being man, truly taking a human nature upon himself is important also as we think about the character of man and the purpose of God in the creation of man. And one thing that is important for us to realize when we look at the Lord Jesus is that humanity by nature and by design is not flawed and sinful. And that's very important for us to realize. There are actually very practical implications of that. For example, the Roman Catholic view of man and his creation is basically that he was created and set upon a place that virtually could not sustain. that there were these inclinations within him that would lead him into sin almost as it were naturally. And this is against what we read in the Genesis account of course, God created even man there on the sixth day and he declared all things not only good but very good at the end of that day. And if this were in any question at all that man could just simply not escape the fall of sin, the Lord Jesus in his humanity disproves this and shows us that this is not the inevitable conclusion. Certainly we are lower than the angels, as we read, and certainly the tempter was very deceitful. And yet, the Lord did not leave Adam and Eve in a situation where they could not have obeyed. And so, that's important in terms of how even we approach our sanctification as the redeemed children of God. In other words, how we view ourselves in the redeemed and renewed humanity. We are being made in the image of the Lord Jesus. And so we find that as Paul would testify in Philippians 4, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. And as we read in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, that no temptation has overtaken us except such as is common to man. And with the temptation, he provides the way of escape. And so this concept that sin is somehow inevitable, that sin is something that is We even have an expression in our language, what is it, to sin is human, to forgive is divine, or that's just human nature for you, or many, many other things where our concept of humanity, of course, is shaped by what our experience of humanity is, which is a fallen humanity. But it's very important for us to remember that humanity from the hand of God was not so, and as redeemed in the Lord Jesus is not so. And so it is very subtle that we would find excuses for ourselves even in such a thought as, I just can't help it, that's just the way I am, that type of mentality. Well, they're just another person. Well, of course, the power of sin, the pervasive corruption of sin, all of that is true in the fallenness of mankind, but in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, he breaks the chains of sin. He sets us free. Whoever sins is the slave of sin, Jesus taught. But what does he say? You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free. And the Lord Jesus is the one who comes and takes captivity captive. And so again it is important just to notice as we see this truth about the Lord Jesus that he did become man and he was a perfect man. He did not fall to the temptation that Adam succumbed to. He faced the same tempter in the wilderness, in all of the reality of his humanity. meaning he was very hungry, he hadn't eaten for 40 days, he felt weak and faint and yet when the tempter comes and encourages him to depart from God's course that he had given him and provide for himself he resists that temptation, man shall live not by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And so we find in the Lord Jesus truly the firstborn. from the dead, the firstborn of all creation. Not only does that convey this position of authority and privilege that he certainly demonstrates being seated at the right hand of God, but that phrase especially, the firstborn from the dead, when we look at 1 Corinthians 15, for example, and we realize that Jesus is the firstborn. He is the second Adam, he is the first to succeed as a man. He's the first to walk as God created man to walk in perfect fellowship and obedience with God. And we are going to be made new after the likeness of the second Adam. And that work has already begun in us as we are being renewed in his image. putting off the old man and putting on this new man, we are new creations in Christ Jesus. And so all of that to say the proclivity to sin, the inclination to sin, the weakness towards sin, those are not things that are inherent and natural In our humanity, those are the inroads of sin, the consequences of sin, but we escape that through the Lord Jesus. He has power, and His Spirit fills us that we might walk in this new life with Him. And so we don't fully attain that, it is a continual battle, we're called to put on the armor of God and we're not promised rest from that battle until we enter into his rest as we read in Hebrews 4. But nonetheless, it is a battle where we are following the captain of our salvation and he is leading us in triumphal procession from victory to victory. And so that's what we should have, not any misplaced sense of self-confidence. but a complete confidence and trust and expectation in the work of God when we understand what the redeeming work of Jesus is accomplishing. We don't give ourselves the excuse, we don't settle for, well I just can't help this. That's just, I'm I'm a person, what do you expect? No, the Lord is making us new and we are called to be holy as he is holy. And that is, it's not a call that we're not intended to answer, we are to follow after our Good Shepherd, and he will assist us and help us until, having fought to the end, having run the race, as Paul said, we can enter into and receive the prize. And so that aspect of Christ becoming man, this is very important for us when we think about our redeemed humanity and what we look to see, what we expect by the work of God. Alright then, question 38 asks, why was it requisite that the mediator should be God? And so we're going to ask two questions. One, why was it requisite that the mediator should be God? And two, why was it requisite that the mediator should be man? So we're backing up now, remember there is a covenant of grace which requires a mediator because of our sin. We've offended the holy God with our sinfulness and a mediator is required to establish peace and God is the only one who could countenance a mediator, appoint a mediator, receive a mediator, It's by his grace that there is a mediator. We could never, as fallen sinners, send envoys into heaven to petition for peace. We're sinful. That's the problem. And so only God could initiate such, as Paul would say, we're as ambassadors from God seeking your reconciliation, the reconciliation indeed of the world. to Him, and so this can only happen through the person of the Lord Jesus. And so why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God? And the answer says it was requisite that the Mediator should be God that He might sustain and keep the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God and the power of death. give worth and efficacy to his sufferings, obedience, and intercession, and to satisfy God's justice, procure his favor, purchase a peculiar people, give his spirit to them, conquer all their enemies, and bring them to everlasting salvation." In other words, these are, at least in a summary fashion, a good number of the things that we require to have salvation. We need salvation in all of these ways. We need salvation from the wrath of God. We need salvation from the power of death, which is the consequence of sin. We need salvation in terms of atonement, a suffering to be accomplished through a substitute We need salvation in having an obedience to offer up to God that we might receive his blessings because that relationship is preserved according to the holy faithfulness of God. We need salvation in continual intercession for God's favor on our behalf. We need salvation to fully satisfy God's justice to procure His favor, to purchase us for Himself, to give His Spirit to us, to conquer our enemies, and to bring us into everlasting salvation and life. And so all of that, those are all needs that we encounter in our relationship with God. And so only God could accomplish all of this, that he might sustain and keep the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God and the power of death. Let's look at Acts chapter 2. And of course Jesus is a man, he's referred to as Jesus of Nazareth in verse 22, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst as you yourselves know. This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. So he's a man. He's Jesus of Nazareth, he can be persecuted, he can be even crucified and killed as a man. But notice verse 24, God raised him up, loosing the pains of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. He's not only man, but he is the son of God. A man can die, but God cannot be overcome. And so it was not possible. for this man to be held by the pangs of death because he is forever joined to the Son of God. And in Romans chapter 1 we read about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and this follows up on that same thought we just saw in Acts 2. In verse 1 of Romans, Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his son, who was descended from David according to the flesh. and declared to be the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. And so we have occasional reference to a person being raised from the dead through a demonstration of God's power. You can think in the Old Testament there are several instances where we have one of the prophets being used to raise perhaps the Shunammite son or other instances. We have Lazarus being called forth from the tomb. But different from all of these where God sent an agent of his to call forth those from the gates of death back to life through his power, unique is the Lord Jesus Christ who is sealed in a tomb and rises from the dead. No one comes as an emissary to call upon this dead man to rise, but rather it is his own His own prerogative. It is not possible for Him to be held by the power of death. And notice in verse 4, He was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead. The Lord Jesus rises on the third day. He rises from the dead. And this declared His divinity, that He was the Son of God with power. It was not possible for Him to be held by death. We also see in Romans chapter 4, In verse 22, we're speaking of the example of Abraham and his faith, how it was counted to him as righteousness and he did not waver when considering the promises of God because he knew who his God was. In verse 20 we read, "...no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness." But the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him, who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." In other words, not only does the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead powerfully declare who he was, and powerfully testify of the Father's pleasure with His sacrifice and His work, but it was necessary for our justification that not only we have a sacrifice offering up to God there on the cross, but we would have a living Savior who would then go as our mediator into the presence of God and present that sacrifice on our behalf to the Father and accomplish for us all that we could not. He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. And so again, it wouldn't suffice even to have a sinless man be nailed to a cross and die. That would not accomplish everything we need as sinners. No, only the Son of God as a mediator could continue past the cross to do the rest of what we need. with an indestructible life. And so it was required that he should be, requisite rather, that he should be God through this matter of being kept from sinking under the infinite wrath of God and the power of death. This is something that is difficult for us to see into, but we do have the teachings of Scripture that we should take account of. And of course, the Lord Jesus, as He's contemplating the wrath of God against sin, there in the Garden of Gethsemane, as He is thinking of what that entails and what He is about to undergo by taking this cup and drinking it, He is crying out to God in prayer, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, but not my will but yours be done. He is sweating drops of blood. The angels come to sustain him and strengthen him as he considers the wrath of God that he is about to experience poured out upon all the sin of all his people there on the cross. That's something that, again, from just a purely humanistic perspective, it's a gruesome sight certainly to see a man crucified on a cross and languish and die, but that doesn't even scratch the surface of what was happening there in terms of, as the Lord Jesus in his words on the cross indicates, it was having the smile of the Father turned away from him and instead receiving from his hand the wrath of God in all his justice. that would be a sufficient and full payment for all the sin of his people. And that is what caused him to cry out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And we should recall that when we think of what it is that was done that we might be saved. And so in Hebrews then, Hebrews chapter nine, we have This same theme picked up in terms of the blood of Jesus being shed in verse 11, but when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, that is not of this creation. He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. And so even though it certainly required Jesus to assume a human nature to end up being nailed on a cross and dying, Nonetheless, it was not a human nature divorced from his divine nature, but as we read here, it is through the eternal spirit that he offered himself without blemish to God. He was sustained in his humanity by his divinity even as he received the cup of wrath from God's hand. So not only to sustain him and enable him as one man to pay the debt of sin for how many millions of God's people, but it gives worth as we, back to the catechism, give worth and efficacy to his sufferings, obedience, and intercession. This is, again, we're looking at the mystery of the incarnation that the Son of God who is eternal and the creator would join himself to a child of man conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary and take that to himself, not in some temporary way as we said, but permanently joining himself to his own creation. In Acts chapter 20, as the Apostle Paul is urging the elders from Ephesus to take care because he would not see them, in verse 25 he says, and now behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood." Again, we're looking at a mystery that we certainly can't pierce the veil of in terms of fully comprehend. But so clearly the scriptures teach us again and again that the Son of God took human nature upon himself. And this was not in some disassociated, temporary, or uninterested matter. Certainly the humanity of Christ was what enabled him to be nailed upon the cross and to bleed. But notice how the Lord Jesus in that very sacrifice on the cross is described in verse 28. Paul urges these elders that the Holy Spirit had made them overseers to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Of course, God is a spirit and has not a body like man, but the Son of God takes a human nature, a complete human nature in the incarnation, and now He does have a body, and He does have blood. and he does shed his blood to purchase his people. And so this is what makes the blood of Jesus so infinitely precious. Again, Adam, had he not fallen into sin, would have been a sinless man. But his blood does not have the same worth and weight the blood of Jesus has. Because here we see again, how is this blood described? You're called to care for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood. This is the blood of the Son of God. And so, this is what gives worth and efficacy to his sufferings and obedience and intercession. In Hebrews 9, we have another reference to this blood, which we just read, Hebrews 9.14, but looking at another aspect of this, in verse 13, "'For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer Sanctify for the purification of the flesh. How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" So you see the power of the blood of Jesus, the worth of it, the effect of it, because it is the blood that belongs to the Son of God. It is powerful and precious beyond all reckoning to purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. And this is also what gives worth and efficacy to his obedience and intercession. And if you will look at Hebrews chapter 7, And we'll look at another verse here shortly to add to this, this matter of obedience. Though he was perfect, he learned obedience. he humbled himself. The obedience of a man to his Creator is what's expected, but the obedience of the Son of God who comes and takes humanity upon himself is precious beyond that of just a mortal man. But Hebrews chapter 7 verse 23, The former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For indeed, it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a son who has been made perfect forever." And so again, the divine nature of the Lord Jesus gives worth and efficacy to his intercession. This is the power of an indestructible life. He's able to save to the uttermost in verse 25. because he always lives to make intercession for them. In verse 24, he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. And so again, it would be wonderful, but it would not be enough if there were a wonderful, perfect Thai priest who partook of mortality. That wouldn't be sufficient. What happens when he dies? What will we do then? The Lord Jesus holds this priesthood forever because he continues, he has an indestructible life. He always lives to make intercession. And so this flows from the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, back to the confession, and to satisfy God's justice. If you look at Romans chapter three, Notice how it was that the Lord Jesus satisfied divine justice in verse 21, but now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we overthrow, then, the law by this faith? By no means. On the contrary, we uphold the law. So again, with an eye toward justification, how we can be found righteous in God's sight, declared righteous, do we look to the law? No, we have to look to the Lord Jesus, who obeyed the law perfectly. And it was in his unique place as the mediator, the Son of God become man, that he was able to satisfy God's justice. Why was it that it would be received in payment for our sins? by the plan of God. Notice there in verse 25, with respect to this redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in verse 25, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. Again, this can't come from fallen man. There can't be a negotiation of some lesser obedience or some lesser conditions upon which blessing might be received, but God rather puts forward His Son. as a propitiation. That's the New Testament word that corresponds to the Old Testament word, atonement. Both have to do with covering, in the sense of not covering over, but one standing in front of the one who deserves what it is, that is to be received. It is the language of a substitute that actually receives the wrath that the principal deserves. And so God puts forward his own son to be the propitiation, to be the one to stand in front of, to provide the covering of atonement over us to receive upon himself the wrath of God. which results in the shedding of his blood that we might find our sins were paid for. And so satisfying God's justice, it required God's approval of the sacrifice. In fact, God sending his son to be the sacrifice. also to procure his favor. Notice that far more than just a man who would obey God and please him, what would he have? Well, as God told Jeremiah, you've saved your own life. But how would a man who did accomplish perfect obedience do more than procure his own blessings? Well, he's not just a man, but he is the Son of God, and he has joined himself not only to our nature, but to the individual members of his body, as the head of the body, so that he has shared of all that we partook of. He has taken upon himself the guilt of our sin. He shared in our weakness. He walked in our temptations, yet without sin. He faced the specter of death that we all taste of as a result of sin. And he gives us what he deserved. And this, again, is far, far more than what just a sinless man deserves. but he gives us what the Son of God deserves. Look at Ephesians chapter 1. Well, we'll begin in verse 3, but pay special attention to the end of verse 6. In verse 3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved." Now this is a phrase or a term, a designation that we find attributed to the Lord Jesus. This is my beloved son. Listen to him. We have reference in John chapter 17, let's just quickly look at that. As we think about what redemption involves, where Christ has accomplished this glorious exchange with those who put their faith in him, he has taken our place on the cross and he gives us his place, even in the very sense of the privilege and the honor and the glory that he is due. He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. we even now are seated with Him in the heavenly places. But in John chapter 17 in the High Priestly Prayer, which as it's called, it's a wonderful insight into the love of God for His people. But as Jesus is praying, this longest recorded prayer of Jesus in the scriptures in John 17, near the end of it, let's pick up in verse 20, Notice how the special love of God for his beloved son is extended to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Beginning in verse 20, I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me, the glory that you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." Now there are other passages we could look at, but perhaps none so clear as that in showing how we have far exceeded what we would have attained had we just simply not fallen into sin. But we have been given the privilege of partaking of the love that the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have enjoyed and given upon one another for all eternity. The work of the Lord Jesus is such that he is in us and his Father is in them and we will share in all of the love and the blessing and the favor that is being given to him. Matthew chapter 3 verse 17 is one final passage we'll look at with respect to this. at the baptism of the Lord Jesus. And again, here in this moment of the baptism of Christ, we see both of these things being set forth. Here is Christ, having lived up to this point, entering into his public ministry as the Messiah. He's being anointed, he's being baptized, As the book of Acts says, it was his anointing where he was officially designated and set upon the mission of being the Messiah. He is the Anointed One. And here is where He is officially taking upon Himself the identity of His people. What is baptism all about? Remember, this is the baptism of John in particular, which the Scriptures tell us was a baptism of repentance. It was the acknowledgement, I'm unworthy. John is proclaiming the coming of the Holy One who would be like the refiner's fire and the fuller soap that Malachi prophesied. If you've built something up that God doesn't approve, you better remove it. If you've left something empty that God had called to be filled, you better fill it up because He's coming. You need to prepare yourself. And so it was a baptism of repentance, of confession of sin. and a declaration publicly of a desire to walk in the path of obedience and in preparation for receiving the Son of God into their presence, much as Psalm 24 anticipates. But Jesus comes, in verse 13, from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. And this isn't lost on John. He knows who Jesus is. John would have prevented him saying, I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me? In other words, this isn't fitting. This is a baptism of repentance. You're sinless. I'm the sinner. John would have prevented him, but look at verse 15, but Jesus answered him, let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented. What do we see Jesus doing here? He is identifying with the condition of his people. He is taking upon himself. He has no sin. He does not need the baptism of repentance, but he's going to take it upon himself. in identifying with the sin of his people. Now he is stepping forward as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by taking it upon himself. Then he consented, and when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water. And behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." There's no question here that Jesus had no sin. He did not need the forgiveness of God, he did not need to repent or to be cleansed, but he was baptized as a means of identifying with his sinful people. And notice the father's commendation of him, this is my beloved son. And so how sweet that is in the very context where Jesus identifies with the sinful people. he still has the Father's love and pleasure upon him. And so not only does that have implications for the Lord Jesus Christ and this public witness to who he is, but it has implications for all who identify then with Christ by faith, who are joined to him. We are blessed and loved in the Beloved. And the one that the Father is well pleased with is the one through whom we are received into heaven itself. And so that leads us to, well, we could look at Romans of the spirit of this Son being poured out upon us and crying out. It's a spirit of adoption. It's a spirit that now recognizes from within our hearts, looks upon God our Father as our Father, as only the Lord Jesus ever had been able to know in this sense of Him being the beloved Son of the Father. And so, we'll have to pick up in Titus chapter two, this matter of purchasing a peculiar people that we're sold in bondage in our sin and the price is far greater than any man could present except the Son of God who was man. He has that which is worth the price which was paid for our purchase. And so we'll look at Titus chapter 2 and possibly Peter as well. Well, let's close with a word of prayer. Our Father, we give thanks to you. We're humbled as we think of the great privilege we have. We're convicted, Lord, of how easily we can overlook that, how we can take an attitude in our own hearts of just complacency or taking these things for granted. Lord, it is the furthest thing from what is expected for us to be welcomed into the throne of the Creator of all things. with the privilege of a child coming to his father, and this is only ours through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ and that special place of privilege and honor that he has had, that love that you have poured out upon him. since before the foundation of the world, that is the favor that is extended to us. And so make us more grateful, Lord. Help us to praise you with true thankfulness in our spirits and help us to regard the Lord Jesus with more love and devotion as we think of all he has done for us. Oh, Lord, may we not count the sacrifices we may be called upon and are called upon to make, Lord, of self-denial or of losing some privilege that the world would promise to bestow on us, and yet it is forfeited because we bear your name. Lord, help us to count such things as light and momentary afflictions, and remember that you are the one who is the fountain of all blessing and joy, and having your love and favor upon us, Father, is in itself all that we could ever wish for or need. We pray that you would encourage us in the freedom that we have to enter boldly in Him through that new and living way into the throne room and to find it a throne of grace for us, grace to help in our time of need. O Lord, please bless us now as we gather and worship you with the rest in this place and as we gather around your throne with all your children by your spirit. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.