I had a call yesterday from Brother Cliff Heller. He and his wife Marty are doing very well and send their greetings to you. Turn with me for our text this morning to the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 2. I have a message for you today that I've been preparing for 40 years. A message for which God has been preparing me for 40 years. That fact alone ought to get your attention. Now, I don't pay much attention to numerology as a subject. to deal with in studying scripture. I recognize that there are certain numbers that have significance in scripture, but I don't generally pay much attention to the school of study called biblical numerology, simply because men have used numbers to invent all kinds of schemes of prophecy, predicting things, even predicting the second coming of Christ and the end of the world. I don't think there's some secret mystery behind every number used in Scripture. But in the Bible, numbers do have meaning. One number is frequently used in Holy Scripture is 40. I'm certain that 40 has no specific meaning, no specific meaning at all. But many things in scripture are related to that number 40. It rained 40 days and 40 nights during the flood. Noah waited in the flood 40 days before he sent the raven out after seeing the tops of the mountains. Moses, on three consecutive periods, spent 40 days and 40 nights in Mount Sinai. Moses sent 12 men to spy out the land of Canaan and they spied it out for 40 days. The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness 40 years. A year for every day they spied out the land. Several of Israel's kings, the first three kings in Israel, Saul and David and Solomon, all reigned for 40 years. Elijah on one occasion walked 40 days and 40 nights to Mount Horeb in the strength of one piece of angel food cake. Before his temptation, our Lord Jesus fasted for 40 days, and he was tempted in the wilderness 40 days of the devil. Our Savior walked on this earth 40 days after his resurrection before his ascension back to glory. As I said, I don't think there's any specific meaning spiritually, any specific instruction to be had from the number 40. But just a little bit more than a month ago, on February 24th, our scripture reading calendar took us to Deuteronomy chapters two, three, and four for our reading. As a general rule, my wife reads the chapters assigned for that day in the calendar, and then she will read Fortner's devotional work, and then she'll read Hawker's work, and then she'll read Spurgeon's work. This particular day when she finished her readings, she came into the room where I was, Bible in hand, laughing with tears and weeping with joy. She said, we sure can't say amen to this. And she read to me my text this morning, Deuteronomy chapter two and verse seven. For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand. He knoweth thy walking. through this great wilderness, these 40 years, the Lord thy God hath been with thee. Thou hast lacked nothing." When she finished reading, we both laughed with tears and wept with joy, and I knew immediately what my text would be today. Forty years ago today, you called me to be your pastor. You might have You might say I've been preparing this message these 40 years. That's the title of my message, 40 years, 40 years. The Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand. He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness these 40 years. The Lord thy God hath been with thee. Thou hast lacked nothing. Forty years of mercy, mercy experienced at the hands of God, ought to inspire devotion in us to our God. Forty years of mercy suggest many thoughts to my mind concerning the past that teach us much that will be of use to us for the future as well as for the present. It should influence us aright for the days before us. Let me call your attention to three or four things here. Number one, let's look back at the past in the light of our text. The Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand. He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness. He's blessed everything you've done. He knows every step you've taken. These 40 years, the Lord thy God hath been with thee. Sometimes he hid his face. Sometimes it looked like he was against you, but he'd been with you. Thou hast lacked nothing. Notice the prominence Moses gives to our God, not only in our text, but in all his writings. And as I look back over the past 40 years, I see in them countless bright lights displaying the presence of God conspicuously. Bright lights making us to know that the path in which we walk is the path God's given us, and it's lit before us as if it were a holy ground for us to walk in. This is God's work. I have said to you before, I think, publicly, I know I've said it to some of you men privately, at the time you called me to be your pastor. Had you called me just a month earlier, I would not have come. I had been a lookout for nine years, and while we had nine years of constant badness nonsense, business meetings and folks fighting and squabbling, brother with brother and sister with sister, blood can as well as folks in the church. Just nine years of constant bickering and squabbling and yakking. God had in the last year, brought about 30 students from Appalachian Bible College over to look out. They drove about 35 miles. Shelby fixed lunch for them every Sunday. And because of the fact that they had been brought under the influence of a ministry, I would not have left them. But at the end of the semester, when the second semester started in school that year, the president of the school banned one church One church in the whole world, Appalachian Bible College students couldn't attend, and that would look out back at the church, because that fellow over there, he's a hyper-Calvinist. And so the students were no longer allowed to come. In fact, when we moved here, a couple of couples moved down here with us for a little while. And then you called me to be your pastor. When I showed up here and we had services together, I called Shelby after the first service, and I said, I believe for the first time in my life, I've met some folks who desperately need and want a pastor. And I believe this is the place for us. And if God's pleased to put me here, this is where we're going. When you called me as your pastor, asked me to come down here, I didn't ask you what you could do for me financially, but at that time you offered to give me What I found out later was about $100 more a week than you took in the year before. And somehow God's always provided for it. The ungodly man, of course, leads a godless life. Because God is not in all his thoughts, God doesn't appear to him in all his ways. But to the godly, God's hand is playing everywhere. God's hand is playing everywhere. To those who have seeing eyes, and believing hearts and hearing ears. To us, the existence of God is not a matter of theory, but it's something observed in the daily experience of life. It's verified by actual experience day after day. And it's been that way since the day God first called us by His grace. Surely you can remember that. when the Lord appeared to you just as clearly as he appeared to Moses at the burning bush and you began to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. God called you to see his face and hear his voice. And you lifted your heart to heaven for the first time. And God whose face you dreaded, whose name you cursed, whose name you feared, you looked upon him and said, Abba, Father. My father, believing on his son, you drew near to God because he made himself known to you. As really so, as he made himself known to those three Hebrews walking in the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel. Do you remember God's marvelous revelation of himself? Oh, what hand was that which took the reins and crushed your stubborn will and turned you to himself? What hand but omnipotence could have wore out such a work? To every believer, his own conversion is a conspicuous miracle and always remains such. The sweet, saving revelation of Christ. What a wondrous thing it is. In the new birth, men try to explain the new birth. They write books, how to be born again. Anytime you see one, don't pick it up because the fellow doesn't know what he's talking about. The new birth is a mystery. A mystery no man can explain. God comes to live in a man. God comes to take up residence in a man. God comes forever to live in you. That's called the new birth. When God comes in life, he brings with him conviction. Real conviction. Real conviction. And real conviction produces genuine conversion. Turn over to the book of Titus, if you will. Let's read about some of this. When God comes in grace, he performs reconciliation. When God comes in grace, he gives faith. Titus chapter two, verse 11. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that it is this grace that brings salvation. We've declared it everywhere. It's preached everywhere. And when it comes to God's elect, it comes in effectual power, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. God comes in grace, and when God comes, he teaches. And when God teaches, you get the lesson. He teaches us to live soberly, righteously, and godly, to live with sobriety, men and women for eternity, righteously, believing on the Son of God in this present world, godly, in a way that honors God, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purified to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Christ came here and made us to know himself as that one who redeemed us from all iniquity and purified us, sanctified us, made us righteous and holy, and made us a peculiar people. The word peculiar doesn't mean odd. like folks who live in Amish community down below Liberty or folks who live in strange ways, dress funny and talk funny. That's not what it means. Peculiar means special people, special people, people particularly cared for, people of his distinct care, people zealous of good works. Turn to Ephesians chapter two, Ephesians two. The Apostle Paul describes this again. This new birth, he says, you hath be quickened, the word is made alive, who were dead in trespasses and in sins. That's where we were when God came to us, dead in trespasses and in sins. Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. We were all just like everybody else. Among whom also we all had our conversation in time past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath. That is, men and women who hated God. Men and women who knew themselves under the wrath of God, even as others. But God, oh, what wondrous words. But God, I was running madly, headlong into hell, madly, headlong into destruction, madly headlong into everlasting ruin, but God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. That is, he made us alive in union with Jesus Christ. By grace, ye are saved, and hath raised us up together. and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come, he did it for this reason, he might show forth the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, the grace didn't come from you, The salvation didn't come from you. The faith didn't come from you. It is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship. God's masterpieces. His masterpieces. Oh my. Look in the mirror and see the best that God can do. His masterpieces. God's masterpieces created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. God gave us life and faith in Christ, creating us in the image of his dear son, that we should walk in good works. and ordained that we should. And if God created us for that purpose and ordained us for that purpose, you can be dead sure God will perform it. Believers are men and women who walk with God in good works. God accepts their lives, the totality of their lives, as a good work wrought on the Lord Jesus. Turn back to John 16. John 16. I said with this new birth comes conviction. When the Lord God makes himself known, he brings conviction, real conviction, not spasms of religion, not temporary fits of religion, not just an occasional feeling of religion, real life conviction. Verse seven, our savior says, nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you. It is best for you. It is necessary for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you. If I don't go and die for you, I'll not send my spirit to you. You'll never receive the blessing of Abraham. But if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove. The word is convince or convict. He will convict the world. Not everyone in the world. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He will convince you who are His elect, His redeemed ones, wherever you're found in all the world, of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. He will convince you of sin. What does that mean? He'll convince you that it's wrong to steal? No, you were born knowing that. He'll convince you that it's wrong to tell a lie? Nope, you were born knowing that. He'll convince you that it's wrong to rape, commit murder, take your neighbor's wife. You were born knowing that. The commandments of God are written on your heart. Romans 1 and 2 say so. What's this mean then? Convince you of sin. Of sin because they believe not on me. Now listen to me. You listen to me. The issue between you and God is His Son. The issue between you and God is His Son. Not because you drink a beer or smoke a cigarette or because you run around. The issue between you and God is His Son. God demands that you bow to Christ His Son and worship Him as Lord. That you believe on Him, trusting Him alone for acceptance with God, trusting Him alone for all righteousness and redemption, bowing to Him in obedience as your King and Lord. He'll convince you of righteousness. of righteousness. What is that? Not what you thought it was. Of righteousness because I go to my father and you see me no more. I came down here to fulfill all righteousness. I came down here to bring in everlasting righteousness. I came down here to magnify the law and make it honorable. And now I go to my father and when the spirit of God comes and reveals me in you, he'll convince you righteousness is done. And he will convince you of judgment. Judgment. Not the future great white throne judgment. You were convinced of that when you were born. You've lived all your life convinced of judgment to come. Men try to deny it, but all men know they've got a judgment to face. What's he saying? He'll convince you that judgment is over. It's over for you for whom Christ died. It's over for you for whom Christ lived. It's over for you who were chosen of God. Over for you who believe on the Son of God because the Prince of this world is judged. You can never forget that when you came into actual contact with the Holy Lord God and felt his hand upon you. You can never forget the fact of God's coming to you. It's not a matter of feeling. It's more than that. It's not a matter of learning. It's more than that. It's a matter of life. I will come to you and I will comfort you. I will come to you. I'll give you life. I'll give you faith. When God comes in the new birth, God comes to make man whole again. Man was created in body, soul, and spirit. When he died in the garden, he died spiritually, so that man naturally is born body and soul. And then when God comes in grace, God sends his spirit in you and creates a new man in you. Christ Jesus, the Lord, in righteousness and true holiness, gives you a new nature, makes you partaker of the divine nature. And now man is body, soul, and spirit again. We came directly into contact, actual contact with the eternal God. Our souls are bound up in a bundle of life with the soul of God in his Son. That's called the new birth. For some of us, many days have passed since then, but those days have brought with them fuller displays of God's power, God's grace, and God's being. Oh, what sweet times of communion. What sweet times of communion. I don't pretend what's not so. I don't pretend always to be living on the mountaintop, living in sweet realization of God's presence. Oh, but oh my soul. I wouldn't take anything for sweet times of communion when God comes to me. and makes himself known to me in his sword, in his mercy, in his forgiveness, in his goodness. Sometimes that we meet together here in the house of God, sometimes, not often, but sometimes, sometimes we come in and God comes in with us and makes himself known in our midst and we worship him. Sometimes in private, when we're reading the scriptures and praying, sometimes long after that in the day when something comes up and we're by ourselves, God comes and allows us to worship him. We have joyful remembrances of his goodness. Sometimes even blessing experiences in prayer. Not much, but sometimes. To you who don't know the Lord Jesus, Poor ungodly soul. I'm casting pearls before swine when I speak of these things. These things are secrets of the Lord which belong only to God and his children. They're things unlawful for man to take to his tongue, but they can never be erased from our memories. When we pass through remarkable circumstances in which the right hand of the Lord has clearly been seen as our troubles themselves, then we know God's presence. This poor man, the psalmist said, cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. Oh, how often that's been the case. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and the Lord saved him out of all his troubles. Brought more often than not by our own faults, by our own failure and the great difficulties. It's now been, my soul, what, 53 years since God saved me by his grace. And I have brought a lot of trouble to myself since then, by my own sin, by my own rebellion, by my own unbelief. But even then, we have had the path plain before us, and God says, this is the way, walk ye in it. And he comes and puts us in the way, takes us by the hand and leads us in the way, and sweetly forces us in the way. He sweetly forces us ever to walk in the straight and narrow way, trusting Christ alone. Plunged into the sea like Jonah was, by our own waywardness, we've been carried safely to the dry land on a whale of God's making to sing salvation is of the Lord. These 40 years since God brought us together in this place, we look back upon them with delight. Tracing the wells of Elam and the fruit-bearing palms, the pools in the valley of Mecca, and the places of encampment in the desert wilderness. How sweetly we adore the overruling providence of God. The overruling providence of our ever-gracious, bountifully merciful God. We've been like Hagar in the wilderness, ready to perish, but the Lord has shown us a way, and we have made to cry with Hagar, thou God seest me. Let us magnify him. Our good shepherd has not left us to wander alone. Our heavenly friend has been better to us than a brother or a sister. He's manifested himself to us in a way he doesn't manifest himself to the world. In this we glory, even as Paul gloried in the revelations he had of God. so we will rejoice in the displays of his mercy, his favor to us. And reading over the past 40 years of our wilderness journey together, these 40 years spoken of in our text, the next thing that's noticed is the blessing God gave. The Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand. That's some statement. The Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand. You remember what God promised Abraham? He said, I will bless you. And then he said, blessing, I will make you a blessing. And that promise, God has fulfilled to us. We read earlier, the first chapter of Ephesians. God has blessed us with all eternal covenant blessings in Christ. And in Ephesians 2, he's blessed us with blessings of grace experienced in our souls. He's blessed us in this place with family blessings in his house. Family blessings, oh, sweet family blessings. Shelby and I often speak of our daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren, as you do of yours, and God's sweet family blessings. We often speak of God's family blessings upon us in this place, in his house. For some reason, known only to himself, God has given Grace Church in Danville a voice in this generation. And he's done so since the beginning of our labors together. He's allowed us the privilege of establishing five gospel churches here, across the country, in Ireland, and in Alaska. We have maintained over the years a number of preaching points. I went for 25 years to Wichita Falls, Texas every six weeks to preach to them. And they still meet together, watch our videos every Sunday. God allowed us to have many such places around the country. He's allowed us to publish and distribute books all over the world. The Grace Bulletin magazine, which by the way is ready and in the racks in the back. We've been publishing that now 40 years, mailing it all over the world. I go places sometimes and find folks who keep every one of them, got them in a rack, keep every one of them because they've been blessed of God to them. We're allowed to have a hand in the work of visionaries. When Brother Larry Brown came here several years ago, he was asking me, he says, is there something I can do? And I said to him, I have wanted for years to have a radio broadcast where we could have gospel preaching 24 hours a day. And now with this internet, it might just be possible. And God gave Larry the skill to set things up for that Free Grace Radio broadcast with the Don Fortner webpage where we post all the things I write and preach. And it's being heard literally all over the world, 24 hours a day. Not just your pastor, other gospel preachers we put on there all over the country. As he's blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. He's blessed us in all ways and He has blessed us always. He's blessed us beyond conception. Blessed exceeding abundantly above anything we could ask or even think. Beyond what we can even remember. How has He blessed us? He's blessed us Bill, like a God. He who is God has blessed us. He's protected us when others sought to destroy us. He's united us when men sought to divide us. He's provided for us our every need. He's restored us from many faults and many faults. He's blessed the work of our hands, all the work of our hands these 40 years. One thing has been taken up and then another. One labor which seemed impossible, we've been able to accomplish and then take up another. And at his feet, we lay the crown. It's his doing. It's his doing. I must confess a very special favor of the Lord toward me. I must confess it to you and confess it to me. You're looking at a man blessed Oh, how God has blessed me. How God has blessed me. How God has blessed this assembly. If we held our voices, the stones in the streets would cry out to our rebuke. Sometimes the work of our hands appears to crumble to pieces. But then it's rebuilt before our eyes by God's hand in a better style. Enemies have arisen. and they've been exceedingly violent, but every one of them only to fulfill some special purpose of God. Every time I've dealt with opposition from a man, God has made his opposition a path of blessing to someone. Sickness comes only to improve our spiritual health. We've been made weak that we might be made strong. The Lord has brought us down that he might lift us up. He stripped us that he might clothe us. He's laid us at death's door that we might know more of divine life. Glory be to God. Our life has been a blessing from beginning to end. So it has been with me. So it has been with you, my brother, my sister. So it has been with this assembly. Again, in retrospect to the past, we ought to notice the perfection of the Lord's sympathetic tend to care. Look at these next words. He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness. He knows the steep mountains and the deep valleys. He knows the rough places and the plain. He knows the dark swamps and the dense forest. He knows the frightening things and the pleasant things. He's known us, not just with the knowledge of omniscience, but with the knowledge of our Heavenly Father, the knowledge of divine predestination, the knowledge of tender care, the knowledge of a sympathizing high priest touched with the feeling of our infirmities. In all their afflictions, he was afflicted. He's borne us upon eagle's wings to himself again and again. We've had great losses. Some of our friends endure heartbreaking bereavements. Just last week, my friend, Brother Carter Brown, the Lord called him home, and then Avalu Boren fell and broke her neck and died on Tuesday morning. Her husband, Carl, died Friday morning. Lord, it took both of them great emptiness in the church at Fairmont, great emptiness in the church at Ashland, great emptiness in the hearts of the families, but oh, how delighted they are with God's goodness. Oh, God's great goodness. What a great blessing. I think about Carl and Avalu, just like that, going together. Sorrows, some of God's people, some of you, our family, are more bitter than bereavement would be. I know of them, you don't. Some of our family are going through troubles. More heartbreaking trouble than if they buried a husband or a wife. But as your days have been, so your strength has been. And as your days shall be, so your strength shall be. Let's move on. We've had the special presence of God. These 40 years, the Lord thy God hath been with thee. He's never been ashamed to be with us, though we're often despised and ridiculed. Whenever we prayed, we've had an audience with God, though we may not have known it. We've worked and seen his mysterious hand at work behind ours. And when we've had trouble, then tempted and trembled, we felt his tender arms, omnipotent, supporting us. In bodily pain he makes our bed in all our sickness. When we felt the fiery furnace of trial, the Lord God has kept us, so well kept us that not even the smell of the fire is upon us. The best of all, God is with us. God is with us. And then he says, thou hast lacked Thou hast lacked nothing. Sometimes we've been in a pinch, but when we were, we can't possibly find anything to drink. God opens up the rock following us and water flows from the rock. God opens up the side of the crucified Savior and honey from his side. The windows of heaven open and the manna pours down from heaven. The Lord has seen to it that we lacked nothing. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. No good thing. God has in the fullest sense blessed us. Second, I'll be very brief. Forty years of blessing ought to inspire in us utter devotion to our Savior. Consecration to Him such as we've never had before. We ought this very day to give ourselves afresh to our Savior. We ought to have learned to trust Him. and trusting Him to trust no other. He is our covenant God. Trust ye in the Lord forever. Do not be moved away from the hope of the gospel set before you. Let nothing turn you away from Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Beware of legality. Let no man beguile you with legalism, with self-righteousness, with works. As you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. As you first came to Him, so walk in Him. Trusting Christ, believing on the Son of God, nothing else. Trusting His blood and His righteousness, nothing else. His intercession, His providence, nothing else. His power, His grace, nothing else. Just trusting Him. forsaking all, I trust him. The Lord has blessed us. He blessed all that we have done these 40 years. So let us find more to do. Over and over in our text, in the seventh chapter, throughout the chapter, we read the Lord thy God, The Lord thy God, the Lord thy God, Jehovah your God. Let us always remember him in this special covenant relationship. Tis done, the great transaction's done. I am my Lord's and he is mine. He drew me and I followed on, charmed to confess the voice divine. High heaven that heard the solemn vow, that vow renewed shall hear, until in life's latest hour I bow and bless in death a bond so dear. And then the text speaks of mercies yet ahead. I could say a great deal more, but I've got to hurry. Having come so far on our journey, as we've reached these 40 years together, We feel bound by powerful influence of God upon us to look to him for blessings and only blessings in the future. Look back in Deuteronomy 2, look at verse 2. And the Lord spake unto me saying, ye have come past this mountain long enough. Don, you walked around this mountain long enough. Turn you northward. Where was northward? Canaan. 40 years I've been walking with you, traversing this mountain long enough. Soon God will take me from here. He says, turn northward. Set your heart toward heaven. March heavenward where we have many who've gone before us. Someone wrote, Even now, by faith, we join our hands with those that went before. And great the blood besprinkled bands upon the eternal shore. Forty years of mercy experienced ought to teach us to set our hearts, our affection on things above, not on things on the earth. And certainly ought to teach us that which is commanded in verse four. Command thou the people saying, You're to pass through the coast of your brethren, the children of Esau, which dwell in Syria, that they shall be afraid of you, and they shall be afraid of you. Take ye good heed unto yourselves, therefore. Now watch what it says. Meddle not with them. Meddle not with them, for I will not give you of their land. No, not so much as a foot breadth, because I've given Mount Seir to Esau for possession. He said, I gave this to Esau. Esau sold his birthright for best pottage. He sold his birthright to get a little riches. He sold his birthright to get a little game. He sold his birthright to get what the world provides. So I gave it to him. I set the world in his heart. Don't you seek it. Don't you seek it. This is Esau's heritage. Your heritage is above. He says, meddle not with them. Meddle not with them. Don't let the things that concern Esau concern you too much. Don't let the things for which Esau grovels cause you to grovel. Don't seek the things Esau seeks. They belong to him. This world is not for you. He says, you shall buy meat of them for money that you may eat. And you shall also buy water of them for money that you may drink. When God first saved me, I was not quite 17 years old. Not quite 17 years old. And I met a preacher. Preacher across town, pastor, one of these whoopee churches where they got a whole lot of excitement and professions of faith all the time. And I heard him actually say this. He saw in the paper that somebody had a car for sale. He said, I'll go get him to give it to me. I'll go get him to give it to me. I'll tell him I'm a preacher and I need it. He'll give it to me. God said, don't meddle with Esau. Don't go around this country like beggars. Your son's the king. Your son's the king, don't go begging. You pay a fair price for what you get. Don't go begging in my name. Don't go begging, close your mind. You belong to the king. Pay a fair price for your food. A fair price for your drink. Don't meddle with the world. Don't beg and grovel before the world. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the father is not in him. Keep yourselves in the love of God. Keep yourselves in the love of God. This is where I am. I am in Christ, in the love of God. I've come past this mountain long enough. I'm headed to a better country. And I'm looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life with confident faith. Oh, would to God that were true of every one of you. God grant you life and faith in his son for Christ's sake. Amen.