It is a great joy in the providence of God that we are exploring the resurrection of Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 28 on Easter Sunday. While our hearts have been preparing for this moment for many months through the course of our study in the arrest and trial and crucifixion and burial in Matthew chapter 26 and 27, we finally realize the expectant joy of beholding the risen Lord in both scripture and by faith. And yet we have to stop and consider and wonder, why is the resurrection so important? Well, for starters, The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the key distinguishing feature in Christianity above all other religions, whereby Jesus Christ, he proves his perfect divinity and his saving ability by paying for the sins of his people through his death, and then by vindicating that work by his resurrection. Because here's the thing, every man dies. Every man dies. Abraham, Moses, and Elijah died. Buddha and Muhammad and the Dalai Lama died. Joseph Smith died. Charles Taze Russell died. Ellen G. White died. And yet along with them all, Jesus of Nazareth died. But only Jesus rose again. And to reimagine a quote from J. Gresham Machen, that Christ died is humanity, that he rose is divinity. But more than this, Christ rose for a reason. He rose to ensure our regeneration. In other words, we have new life because of the resurrection of Christ. 1 Peter 1.3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Second, He rose that we would be justified. In other words, we'd have a right standing with God because of Christ. Romans 4.25, that He was delivered up because of our transgressions. In other words, our sins put Him on the cross, but He was raised to life because of our justification or for our justification. Third, He rose to ensure our future resurrection. Because Jesus rose, all believers will again rise with Him. 1 Corinthians 6.14, God has not also raised Jesus Christ only, but He will also raise us up through His power. And fourth, He rose to empower us to live godly lives. Romans 8-11, if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He will also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit who indwells you. Or as we read in Romans 6-4, as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. And so all that we have in Christ, beloved, our regeneration, our justification, our sanctification, our glorification. None of this comes if Christ has not been raised from the dead. This is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15-17, if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is in vain and you are still in your sins. And yet, Christ has been raised. And so therefore, all of this is ours in and through Jesus Christ. And it is that very event that we're going to spend our time looking at today from Matthew chapter 28 in your copy of Scripture this morning. Matthew 28 verses 1 through 10. In this we read here, Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. and his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen. Just as He said, come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead. And behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him. Behold, I have told you. And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to the disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. And Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. Go and take my word to my brethren to leave for Galilee and there they will see me. We begin with a timestamp here. The event that's recorded is after the Sabbath. The Sabbath is on Saturday. At the beginning of the dawn of the first day of the week, that's Sunday. That's where we are here at this point. It is the third day since Christ has gone to the cross. And over the years, many have taken issue with this concept of three days, because many times in scripture, we read that after three days, and even in the account of when Jesus talks about the story of Jonah, after three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, the son of man will be raised from the dead. And so they've taken issue with the fact that while Jesus in the ground, he dies roughly three o'clock on Friday, raises early morning, Sunday morning, that's only about 36 hours, what gives? Well, we know that if he's buried on Friday, rising on Sunday, we understand the Jews have a very different concept of time. They regard any part of a day as being a complete day. Even the scriptures bear witness to this. For example, just in Esther 4.16, the command is given not to eat or drink for three days or night or day. And yet in chapter five, verse one, we see the fulfillment of that. Now it came about on the third day. And so even then, we see that a part of a day is as a whole day in the Jewish thought here. And so for Jesus to be buried and rose again after three days, we understand that the rising of the third day or on the third day, it fits with that timekeeping. And so there's no need to stumble over this concept. And so that's what we read here. On that third day, on the first day of the week, on Sunday, this group of women, they travel out to the gravesite. In fact, it's likely that this is the exact same group of women who were there to witness His crucifixion. They were there to witness the body being taken off the cross. They were there to witness the burial. And even Luke records that they had come back the next day on Sabbath, on Saturday, to prepare spices to anoint the body of Jesus, and now they're back again. The same group of devoted and faithful women. Matthew records only the first two names here, Mary Magdalene, and then the other Mary. We know from Mark 16.1 that that other Mary is Mary, the mother of James. We also know that she is accompanied by a woman named Salome. Even Luke adds later on, they're joined by a woman named Joanna, who we know is the wife of one of Herod's servants. Additionally, the Bible says that there were other women with them, plural, other women. And so there's at least six women there, or maybe more than that. But there's this group, this band of women, this faithful group of women who have come out, and the Bible says, as Matthew records, to look at the grave. to look at the grave. Remember, they had prepared the spices to anoint the body of Jesus. Mark records that as they're walking to the gravesite, they have a conversation. And they're wondering among themselves, who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb? Who's going to roll the stone for us? It's heavy. We're not going to be able to roll it ourselves. But here's the thing, even in death, these women are still serving the Lord. What's remarkable here is that Matthew records that they had come for the purpose of looking at the grave, but we will know and see that they are going to leave having seen Jesus Christ himself. Verse two, and behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. Throughout the course of biblical history, we know that earthquakes are often signs of God's judgment and power and even victory. The death of Jesus three days earlier was followed immediately by an earthquake. And now at his resurrection, a severe earthquake shook the whole land. At that same time that the earthquake is shaking, the Bible says here, an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and rolled away the stone. Perhaps, maybe the earthquake was the means by which he was rolling away the stone. We don't know, but we know that the stone was moved. And once the stone had been rolled away, the angel goes and sits upon the stone, victoriously demonstrating conquest over the grave, a conquered foe, if you will. Well, what did he look like? Verse three, his appearance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow. In the Bible, angels oftentimes appear to us in different ways, but this angel is specific and special. This angel appears glorious, and in doing so, he is depicting the glory of Christ. It's not that the angel is glorious, but he is reflecting and refracting the glory of Jesus, what they're about to see. A bright and flashing radiance, the Bible says, like lightning. His clothing as white as snow. What does this sound like to us? I'm reminded of the portrayals of Christ and his glory, particularly on the mountain of transfiguration from Matthew 17. It notes that he was transfigured before the disciples on that mountain. And the Bible says his face shone like the sun and his garments became white as light. Mark adds, whiter than any launderer could make them. Or John's heavenly vision in Revelation 1.16, Christ appears as one like a son of man, clothed in a robe, reaching to his feet, girded across his breast with a golden girdle, his eyes like a flame of fire, his face is like the sun shining in its strength. And so even now, the angel at the tomb is displaying and projecting the appearance of the glory of Christ. Of course, we know that the women, they're not the only ones who were gonna see the angel at the tomb. We know here the Jewish Sanhedrin had already stationed Roman soldiers. They had already been worried in the previous passage about what's gonna happen. They were worried that the disciples were gonna show up in the dead of night and roll away the stone and steal the body of Jesus and fabricate a resurrection. They were concerned about that. They said the last deception would be worse than the first, and so they stationed guards there, trained soldiers to guard and protect over the stone, the grave, and they set a seal on the stone to guard against any kind of funny business. They were posted there all night long, but then at daybreak, an earthquake shook the ground and opened the tomb. And an angel appeared in glorious splendor, like lightning before them. How did they respond? Verse four, the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. In other words, they were terrified. Matthew records that they shook with fear. Even after the earthquake, they're still shaking. They're still trembling, even after the tremors stop. And then it says that they became like dead men. Not that they actually died. We know that they're still alive. They appear and they go back to the Sanhedrin later on to report what they've seen, but they pass out cold. They faint with fear and terror. They're totally rendered useless, incapacitated. They're simply too overwhelmed to function. One scholar notes this, the ones assigned to guard the dead themselves appear dead while the dead have been made alive. I love that. These men are rendered dead before the living and risen Christ who they have not yet seen. What about the women? What about the women? We know that they were terrified because of how their angel responds, but look at how he responds. Verse five, the angel said to the women, do not be afraid. I love that. Do not be afraid. For I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He encourages them. He encourages them. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is meant to encourage and uplift our hearts. That's partly why Resurrection Sunday, Easter Sunday, is so important to us because it lifts our spirits. It lifts our gaze to heaven. We are not to be afraid. We're not to tremble with fear. We're to have our souls and our hearts enlivened and electrified by the good news of Jesus Christ. Do not be afraid. See, the soldiers had everything to fear. They had every reason to fear because they're dealing with the power of God and the judgment of God and the wrath of God. because they themselves had not yet believed. And so for them, this was a day of terror, a day that was frightening. But these women, they were followers of Christ. They were his lambs. They were devoted to him. And like all believers, they have no reason for fear, no reason to be in dread. In fact, this would have been the best day of their lives. to know that Jesus is risen. The angel says, I know that you have been looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He was crucified, you're right. He was nailed to the cross, you saw him. They saw him pierced. They saw his bloodied corpse coming off the cross. They saw the bloodstained linens wrapping around the body. And so what else would they expect but to see a crucified Christ? What else would they be waiting for? Now they were certainly hopeful, but they didn't know what to expect. And so the angel informs them in verse six, he is not here. He's not in the grave for he has risen just like he said. In fact, Jesus had been saying this repeatedly over and over again, that he would be arrested, that he would be tried, he'd be crucified, buried, and then he always added, and on the third day, he would arise again. Every single time he talked about his crucifixion, his burial, he would arise again on the third day. Five times in Matthew alone, he prophesied his resurrection. And the woman had heard him say it, but they never could have imagined that it would happen this way. But now, it was reality. Now, they're about to see. And then, as if to further prove that Jesus had risen and was gone, the angel guides them and they're led into the tomb to see the place where he was lying. I love that phrase, where he was lying. At this point, We may note, if you know your Bible, you'll note the discrepancies in the gospel record. Well, what do I mean by that? Well, Matthew and Mark record the appearance of only one angel, at least it seems, while Luke says that there are two. Well, what gives? It's not hard to reconcile, actually. Matthew records that there was an angel appearing to them outside the tomb, while Mark records that an angel is sitting inside the tomb awaiting them. So we have one on the outside, one on the inside, so therefore Luke says two angels. Pretty straightforward. And so now once they make their way inside, there is an angel waiting there for them, and he shows them the place where Jesus had been lying. They see the grave clothes. They see the place where he had died and been buried. But now they also see that Jesus is not there anymore. In fact, He has risen. And the angel tells them in verse 7, go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee and there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you. This is the essence. In the core of evangelism, isn't it? Go and tell. That's what we are to do. That's evangelism. That's sharing the news of the gospel. To go and tell people who Jesus is, what he's done, and that he's risen, and he's coming again. And the angel charges the women with this blessing of telling the disciples that Jesus has risen from the dead. And so they get to be the first ones to declare the victory of Christ over death. Furthermore, they're also entrusted with the news that they will also see him and they will be gathered together again in Galilee. Now, what they don't know yet, that all of them will be in Jerusalem and they'll see him in Jerusalem before that time. But later on, and we read this in John chapter 21, later on, they will be together again at the place where it all began in Galilee. This brings us to another remarkable reality here. The Lord is, in his unique and providential way, blessing these women and doing so in a remarkable way. See, women in the first century Israel were not as highly regarded as they are today. In many ways, they were regarded as second-class citizens. Furthermore, not even their testimonies would be admitted in a court of law. And yet God chooses to impart this stewardship of bearing witness to Christ to a group of devoted women. He gives them this blessed charge. See, here's the thing. If the gospels had been a human fabrication, no Israelite man, no one writing this in the first century would have written it in such a way to give women as the first witnesses to the resurrection of Christ. It never would have held up in a court of law. No one would have believed it. Furthermore, it would have discredited the entire story. And yet, that's exactly what happens. It's history as it unfolds. God chooses to send these women to the grave and then to the disciples and he gives them the charge, go and tell about the resurrection of Jesus. And so what are they to do? Verse eight. It says that they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to his disciples. The women obeyed the command of the angel, but truthfully, they didn't need much motivation. Jesus was alive. They were excited. They couldn't wait to tell the other disciples. Of course, there were some mixed emotions here, and Matthew records this. On one hand, they were filled with fear. They were afraid. partly because of the overwhelming sight of the angel which had terrified the soldiers and rendered them totally useless, but also, no doubt, of the anxiety of the implications of a risen Christ. See, we have the vantage point of knowing what this is all about, but in real time, they don't know exactly what's going on. What will this mean for us? Will this mean the day of the Lord now? Is God gonna bring judgment to Israel right now? Is this gonna mean war? Is this gonna mean famine and terror? What is this gonna mean? We don't know. And so there's so much uncertainty. So yes, they were afraid, but yet at the same time, we also see that they have great joy. There's great joy here because they know that Jesus is alive and they're gonna see him again. They've wanted nothing more this entire time. Friday, they were broken in pieces to see him die. Their hearts were heavy on Saturday when they considered that he was gone. And now Sunday morning, they're going to see him again. And so they're excited and they're filled with great joy. So what do they do? They break common decorum and they run. They run and they tell the disciples the news. However, they don't get very far. before they encounter the Lord. Look at verse nine. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them, and they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. This is the fourth time in this passage that Matthew uses this word, behold. Behold. Now, grammatically, this word behold, it's a device used literarily to drive the whole thing forward. It's almost as if he's saying to the reader, look at this, and then look here, look, look. He's driving the story forward, but there's also here something else going on. Because ultimately, this is the theme of the revelation of Jesus Christ. When Christ is revealed, the people of God are meant to behold Him. We're meant to see Him. And He's also saying to the reader, look! Look at Jesus by faith. Yes, read the words on the page, but as you read, let your heart, let your mind, let your spiritual eyes look and behold him. That's another reason why when we read these gospel texts, our hearts are enlivened and they lift. Because even here we see in our spiritual eyesight a vision of the risen Christ. And he's marvelous to behold. And we see Him, we are meant to behold Him, and that's what happens here. Jesus meets up with them. Now, according to the narrative here, if you read them sort of synoptically and you'll follow the chronology here, it appears that He's already made Himself known to Mary Magdalene, which is not recorded here in Matthew, but it's in John chapter 20. Jesus has an encounter with her where she thinks he's the gardener. And then he says, he says her name. He says, Mary. And she says, Rabboni, teacher. And they have sort of a special moment there. And then she goes off. But now here, the rest of the women, they're headed back to tell the disciples about the empty tomb. And then Jesus meets them there. And the Bible says he greets them. He greets them. Now, the Greek word used here is kerete, which is really just a very simple greeting. It could be something akin to good morning, good morning, greetings. Of course, there's other manuscript traditions that include that he utters the word rejoice. He certainly could have said rejoice, but the truth is he doesn't have to say much. He could have said anything. They know who he is. They've been waiting for Him. And the Bible says they came up and took hold of His feet. What would you do when you saw Jesus, when you see Jesus? I'll tell you, I'm not gonna be standing very tall. They bowed down, they grabbed his feet, and the Bible says they worshiped him. They worshiped him. Two things to note here. First, the women, they run up and they take hold of his feet. This is so important, not just for the sake of homage and worship and veneration, but it's more important than that. Because here's the thing, they're not hugging a ghost. They're not hugging an apparition. Because there are some people who will say, Oh, Jesus only appeared to be there. Oh, no, he wasn't. They grabbed him. They held on to his feet. He was really there. And they were able to grasp him. They held him. Mary does the same thing in John 20. She grabs him and he says, Mary, let go, let go. This is not the time. Go back and you have work to do. Go tell my brothers to meet me. But that's what they do. They grab him and they embrace him. But secondly, and most importantly, they worshiped him. They worshiped him. No apparition, no angel, no mere man is worthy of worship. And the thing is, people have this twisted today. And there's even been an uptick in this kind of language to this word worship, ascribing value, ascribing worth, ascribing honor and praise to. But here's the thing, celebrities are not to be worshipped. World leaders are not to be worshipped. Angels are not to be worshipped. Only God is worthy of our worship. And that's who Jesus Christ is. He's God in human flesh. He came to earth wrapped in a body in order to live a human life among us. After all, isn't that what Emmanuel means? God with us. That's who He is. He lived among His people. Among the lost and dying in the world, those who are dead in trespasses and sins. And even though God had reserved only judgment because of such wickedness, Christ, He died on the cross to pay for sin. To satisfy the wrath of God. And in doing so, on Good Friday, our punishment was mitigated. God's anger satiated. His justice vindicated. And His love was put on display. Jesus paid for sin on the cross. was buried to put them all to death, and then rose victorious to bring us new life. How could we not worship Him? How could we not praise Him? The women certainly did. And yet, they were still fearful. What does this mean? What's going to happen here? And then Jesus speaks again. Look at verse 10. He encourages them. Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. This is the second time they hear this this morning. Do not be afraid. Go and take my word. Take the word to my brethren to leave for Galilee and there they will see me. The same thing the angel says, don't fear, fear not. And again, he has a job for them. He's got something for them to do. He says, go take word to the brethren, to the disciples, to his brethren. What is the message? He says, leave for Galilee, go to Galilee, the northern region of Israel. It's there that they're going to see him in time. Of course, he'd already predicted all of this. He told them he was gonna do this back in chapter 26, verse 32, even before the betrayal, even before the disciples all run away, he tells them in the upper room, you will all fall away because of me this night. But after I have been raised, what does he say? I will go before you to Galilee. He told them all of this. Everything he had said to them. This is nothing new. And so yet despite the disciples unfaithfulness, they had fled. Peter had denounced him and turned away. Jesus goes right ahead with the plan. He keeps on going. Nothing can thwart the plan of God. Nothing. He had died. He had risen, and now he's gonna meet them in Galilee. And that's ultimately where Matthew's gospel is going to conclude, in Galilee. But that's not what happened next. Turn over to John chapter 20, in your copy of scripture. John chapter 20. We know that the women obey the command of the Lord. They go back, they tell the disciples that Jesus has risen, Peter and John run to the tomb. They break decorum as well. They run. Of course, John is careful to note that he outpaces Peter to get to the tomb. Calls himself the disciple that Jesus loved. John and Peter, they run to the tomb. They find it empty. They find it empty, just like the women did. At that time, however, they didn't remember that Jesus had prophesied the resurrection, and so they go back home. But later that night, they very quickly remembered what Jesus had said. John chapter 20, verse 19. John 20, 19. So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, peace be with you. And when he said this, he showed them both his hands and his side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. And when he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they have been retained. But Thomas, one of the 12 called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, we have seen the Lord. But he said to them, unless I see his hands, the imprint of the nails and put my finger into the place of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. After eight days, his disciples were again inside and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut and stood in their midst and said, peace be with you. And he said to Thomas, reach here with your finger and see my hands. And reach here your hand and put it into my side. And do not be unbelieving, but believing. Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. And Jesus said to him, because you have seen me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see. and yet believed. Remarkable turn of events here, where Jesus reveals himself. They see him. They touch him. They see the prince, the marks in his hands and in his side. He talks with them. He breathes on them, a prefigurement of what's going to happen at Pentecost. Later on, he eats with them. They touch him. They hold him. They have their time with him. He remains with them. Of course, these aren't the only ones who see Jesus alive. Paul reports in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that Jesus appeared to more than 500 people. 500 people. And like Thomas and the women, they would fall down at Jesus' feet and they would worship Him as God and Savior. See, everything changed on that Sunday. Everything. This is the most substantive, important, groundbreaking, earth shattering, history epoch making day in human history. Sins were paid for on this day. Death was conquered on this day. Forgiveness earned. Peace with God secured. The way of heaven opened. Salvation accomplished. New life in Christ granted on this day. By His resurrection, He proved Himself to be the Son of God. By His resurrection, He claimed authority as head over the church. By His resurrection, He guaranteed life and resurrection for all who trust in Him. And so therefore, we have to ask, do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior? Do you know Him? Are you able to worship Him as Lord and God? Have you believed the message of the gospel? Because Romans 10, nine and 10 says, if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. What better day Is there, if you have not yet turned from sin and trusted in Christ, what better day is there than to believe today? And by believing, the Bible says, have life in his name. And not only life, but hope. Not only hope, but forgiveness. And not only forgiveness, but love. That's what we receive in Christ as Romans 5.5 says, the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Do you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Come to him. He will accept you. He will turn no one away. I think sometimes we get caught up in some of that. People come to church, they hear the gospel message, they hear that Jesus died on the cross to pay for my sins, rose again the third day to bring new life. We hear that message, that simple, simple message, and we say, well, I know that's probably true, but he wouldn't accept me. He wouldn't love me. I have too much sin. He won't want a relationship with me. That's a lie. God desires to know all who desire to know Him. He will pour out His love on you. He will give you life. He will forgive you all of your sins. Every single one, past, present, future. He will secure you in Him. He will give you assurance of your faith and of your future. He will change you from the inside out. He will mortify, He will put to death sins in you. He'll bring to life righteousness in you. He will reconcile you to others, to believers. He will reconcile you to Himself. My friends, He will love you. He does all of this for His own glory. And so, come to Him today. And maybe you've slid away. Maybe you grew up going to church, and you heard the message, and you professed faith, and you were running the race, and then something happened. And you fell off the wagon, you drew back. Life beat you down, you became more sinful, you loved your sin. Whatever the story, come back. It's never too late. Come back to Him. He will accept you. He will forgive you. He will love you. How can he do it? How can he do any of this? He can do it because Christ has risen from the dead. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you. We thank you for your loving kindness which has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. We rejoice because you've given us your Son who gave His life as a ransom to pay for sin. We rejoice because the penalty for our sins was buried in the ground, into a grave when a stone was rolled over our sins. Our sins were crushed and decimated with His body. The life was drained out of our sins as was drained out of His body through His blood. The penalty, the punishment, the condemnation that was meant for us is gone because of the cross of Christ. And yet in the resurrection, we have life. We have forgiveness. We have hope. We have peace with God. We have peace of God. We have vitality. We have assurance. We have energy. We have faith. We have assurance. We have all we need in Christ because of this resurrection. And so, Lord God, I plead with You. I beg You on behalf of Your people to revive and resurrect hearts today. Lord, that You would reach down into souls' dusty hearts, stony hearts, and give life Pump life-giving blood into veins. Invigorate and liven spiritual eyesight and faith. Lord, restore and call back sinners to Yourself. Those who've fallen along the way, bring them home. Those who've wandered, gather them back. Those who've never known You, make them known to You, O Lord. I pray, Lord, that You would save the lost. Do not let a single person leave this room without giving their life to You, O Lord. Would You revive people, save people, by Your grace and for Your glory? If not today, then when, O Lord God? Save and redeem. You can do it because of Christ. We have all that we need in Jesus Christ. So save, O Lord God. Redeem and save the lost. Let them not go home without You. And let them live until their dying day, singing Your praises, O God. Glory and praise be to Your name and Your name alone, for now and forever. Amen.