Well, please turn, if you would, in God's Word to Colossians chapter 1. And this is my new favorite book of the Bible. And this text before us is a text that actually I think is very timely, as it speaks to some of the frustrations that I've sensed growing in others, that I sense in me in this time that we're in. I have to fight at times to have gratitude and I came across an article just recently in the Mountain Democrat newspaper that said this, research from various sources tells us that gratitude not only makes us feel better in the moment, it also reduces aches and pains and improves our overall feeling of health. It improves the length and quality of our sleep. This article says it enhances our psychological health and reduces negative emotions. It boosts our empathy and trims our aggressiveness. I could use some of that. It renders us stronger and more resilient in the face of stress and trauma. I think we can all use that right now. The author says, regularly counting our blessings can help us deal with our worries, not only on our health and that of our loved ones, but also our economy in this time. There's a lot to be worried about and concerned about, the article says, but we also have much to be thankful for. And she recommends counting your blessings and going through the alphabet, thinking of one or two things for each that starts with each letter that we're thankful for that. I don't know if that lady writing that in the newspaper was a Christian or is a Christian or not, but I do know that some of the biblical psalms actually go through the alphabet to give thanks to God, from A to Z, or from Aleph to Tau in Hebrew, or from Alpha to Omega in Great. The Psalms say things like this, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. I will give thanks to God with my whole heart. I will recount all of his wonderful deeds. Many, O Lord, are the wonders which you have done, too numerous to count. How precious, Psalm 139, are your thoughts to me. How vast is the sum of them. If I were to count them, they would outnumber the sand. This is what we sing about, 10,000 reasons for my heart to find to bless the Lord. Oh, my soul. Colossians 1, three through eight is about gospel gratitude in our precious and preeminent Christ, that's what the book of Colossians is all about, the preeminent Christ. And Paul wrote this from prison. If you weren't with us last time, I encourage you to watch that message. Paul learned how to be content in prison. He learned how to count all else's loss compared to the surpassing worth and blessings that he found in knowing Christ. as his Lord, and he's writing Colossians under government orders to stay in a house, in a literal lockdown, in chains, locked to a Roman soldier, but he thanks God for free grace in the gospel. He can't be in church, and that's been how it's been for a much longer time than us, that Paul has not been in church as he writes this on a Sunday, at least in a normal way, He's still waiting to hear what the government's going to say about his future, but he's giving thanks. I've heard a lot of complaints from us who don't have it as bad. as Paul did, but I want you to look with me at Colossians 1 verse 3. We always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of this you have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing, as it also does among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love, in the Spirit. Our Father, we thank you and we ask that you would make known through your Spirit now the grace that is ours in Christ, the hope that we have, and that you would help us in this time, Lord. Even as now I'm speaking to this camera, Lord, we know that that will not be a hindrance to your message. In fact, it will be a means through which your message goes forth in even greater measure. We pray, Lord, for your gospel to bear fruit this very day, in this very hour, in the days to come, for the glory of our Christ, we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, the big idea of this passage is thankful for Christ's gospel that can't be locked down. We're to be thankful for Christ's gospel that can't be stopped, and really in three parts, we'll break this down, the context of gospel, gratitude, the concepts of thankfulness, and then the constant application for us. Starting with the context, it's Paul in prison in Rome. As I mentioned, he's locked and chained, as he says in chapter four, probably linked to a Roman soldier. There's no quarantine pass for him to go out like you heard about last Sunday from one of our missionaries as the one person in his family who is legally allowed outside of his home. Whatever shelter or place Paul was in was a long-term house arrest, and in his case, he wasn't sure whether he would live or die. So this wasn't just inconvenience for him, this was real injustice. And how easily we can get riled up, how easily we might give complaints about our state. Maybe you have, even this weekend, Paul says in the state that he's in, I always give thanks, we always give thanks, he says on behalf of Timothy who's with him. We have it much better than Paul, and much better than other missionaries you've heard about with Satanists in their government, or presidents that can't go to their own capital because of assassination attempts, or borders that are shut down so that stores are shutting down. A third world lockdown really puts things in perspective that aren't quite what we would want. One of our missionaries told us in his country, anyone going out of a home after 2 p.m. will be arrested and caned. I believe that means beat with a rod. Some have far Worse. The question before us and before me as I'm looking at this text is, how often do you complain, do I complain, versus give God thanks? Look at verse three. The Word of God says, in context, we always, Paul says, we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray. That's the same phrase and the same way Paul starts 2 Corinthians. To a church with a lot more problems than we face, some pretty serious issues that were wrong in Corinth, but he starts this way. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. And that's part of a broader context there in Corinthians of what Paul means by talking about God as the Father of our Lord. He's the all-compassionate. Father, like Psalm 103, as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on his, those who fear him. Let's remember that Paul, who always gave thanks also, often suffered great pains. And so later in that same letter, 2 Corinthians 11, he describes some of his experiences. So let's compare this to some of what we've been going through. Far more imprisonments with countless beatings, often near death. Five times, Paul says, I received the 40 lashes Minus one. That was a flogging or flesh-ripping whipping. He says, three times I was beaten with rod. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and day I was adrift at sea, dangers from robbers, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness. He goes on, many a sleepless night. in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure, and apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak? And I am not weak, Paul says. And he adds this, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus knows whatever danger in the city or anxiety, he knows his grace is sufficient. This is the apostle who writes, we always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we sing, my heart is filled with thankfulness to him who walks beside, who floods my weaknesses with strength and causes fears to fly, whose every promise is enough for every step I take, sustaining me with arms of love and crowning me with grace. We haven't gone through what Paul did, but in our weakness, in our daily pressure, We can join Ephesians 1, another letter written from prison. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who's blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. That's where giving thanks and praise starts. With everything good that we have from above, from the Father as James says in Colossians 1 verse 5. goes on to those heavenly realms, look at verse five, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven of this you have heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel which has come to you as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing. And I see that happening, what we read about here, I see that earthly roots are being loosened to heavenly hope and gospel Fruit is being spread in some unique ways, and we'll talk more about that later, and the concept of hope a little bit later, but this centers on the gospel, and how it keeps growing, and it keeps going rapidly across the globe, and we even say things like going viral, and we mean that in a good sense. That's what's going on with the gospel when Paul's talking about some translations say the truth was spreading. Even while Paul is bound in a house, God's message is not bound. That's what Paul told Timothy. He's locked down, but Christ's word can't be locked down. The unstoppable gospel kept increasing, not just in spite of what was going on for those Christians in his time, but through it. And Paul's guards became his captive audience. Literally. His captors became his captive audience while they were working with him. He would then share the gospel that they were beginning to get saved. 2 Timothy 2 verse 9, Paul says, I'm chained like a criminal, but God's word is not chained. And Paul used that analogy of his change to declare the word. And so can we use the analogy of what we're going through. God's truth is never on lockdown. There is no quarantining. There is no containing the gospel. Its healing message is increasing, and it is spreading person to person, globally, as it's shared, and even in far distances. It's crossing those far distances and reaching people who were not being reached before in this time. Christ's good news is contagious in a good sense. It's this gracious, life-giving antidote to the sin problem that we all are infected with. No government can save us. But look to Him who Isaiah said has the government on His shoulder. He's the wonderful counselor. He's the mighty God. He's the everlasting Father. He is the Prince of what? Peace. and he died to bring us peace. And Isaiah also says, by his wounds, we are healed. That's speaking of our spiritual healing that we need. Verse three calls him our Lord Jesus, our Lord Jesus. Is he your Lord Jesus? If he's not your Lord, bow in faith to this Lord. Today, if you reject Christ, if you reject Christ's grace, you actually have a greater invisible enemy. God is your enemy, the Word of God says, if you reject His Son. But Paul says in Romans 5, while we were yet enemies, God reconciles those who believe through His Son's death for their rebellion. See, Romans 5 says death spread. It spread to the whole world. Death spread to all, and all sin and death spreads through sin, but there is a cure in Christ for this universal problem, for this worldwide problem of sin, and that cure is to repent and to trust Christ alone to save you. The Bible says that if we turn from our sins and trust His death for us in our risen life, we can be saved and we can be changed. The Bible says the heart of unsaved man is incurably sick, but the regenerated get a new heart. If you beat your breast and say, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner, he will. And if your new heart now beats by the Gospel, you can always be thankful for Christ's work. No matter what else is going on, the heart of Christian gratitude is the Christian Gospel. This is so timely for us. I needed this. You need this as well. Our heart needs to be filled with thankfulness to Him who bore our pain, who plumbed the depths of my disgrace and gave me life again. who crushed my curse of sinfulness and clothed me with his light and wrote his law of righteousness with power upon my heart. See, the gospel is the power of God to save, and it's also the power of God for thanks, for praise. Turn back, if you would, just a few pages. to Philippians 1, the book right before this, also a prison epistle or a letter written while Paul was in prison. Philippians 1, verse 12, he says, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear, I've seen that. Not all, but many have been more boldly speaking of Christ, and I wanna encourage you, on social media, wherever you are, if you wanna be controversial, make it about the gospel. Don't share fear about our government, share faith, gospel, grace, boldly, because no one can stop that, unless they distract us from the preached word to the political world. We need to know that what's happening is to serve for the advance of the gospel beyond our walls, beyond our usual reach, beyond, I'm here in the church building, beyond those who would normally come to this church building who are hearing the word, or that we are having conversations with that we didn't before. We all have concerns in all of this. I do too, is to, how this is going and how long they will prolong this and all these different things. We all have concerns in all of this, but let's keep Christ preeminent overall and know that he can turn the hearts of kings and governors to show us favor again. But how are we in the meanwhile to present ourselves outside these walls or online? Verse 27 of Philippians 1 says, Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear, he says, that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. This is not the time to start fighting against fellow Christians who will come down on different sides or have different feelings, even strong feelings about different things that are going on or how we should be conducting ourselves. This is the time to be striving together in this battle that is not against flesh and blood. And it's not primarily about even our own flesh and blood. You may feel like you can't stand all of this much longer or can't Stand to others for stands that they take or don't take in response, but we're called to stand firm side by side, or at least six feet apart for a time. Look at Philippians 4, verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. This is a command of God. Let your reasonableness or gentleness, this is what should be known to everyone. This is what should be known about Christians in this time, that we are rejoicing in the Lord, not in everything that we see going on, but in the Lord and our gentleness, our reasonableness. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known to God. We're to bring our concerns and our cares and the things that trouble us to the one who can do something about it and who is. So thanksgiving isn't in liking your circumstances, it's in the Lord that we rejoice. And we're to do that always. If you lack peace in verse seven in your heart and mind, go back to verses four through Six, and be reminded, gratitude is in God, not good circumstances or government. And let me just remind you, Paul had it far worse for both when he wrote these words. But in verses 11 through 12, Paul learned the secret of being content. Verse 13, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. That's through Christ. Verse 19, and my God will supply every need of yours. according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Our glorious Christ supremacy and sufficiency, that is the theme overall in Colossians. We need to guard our hearts and minds in Christ, and so Philippians 4, 8 says, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, so it's not just about whether it's true or not, is it, keep going, is it honorable, is it just, is it, pure, lovely, commendable. He says if there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Meditate on these things. There's all kinds of things we can set our mind on. But set your mind on these things, on what's worthy of praise that you can thank God for. That's where we need to choose to dwell. And there's one last praise in Philippians, end of Verse 22 mentions there's saints, that means believers, in Caesar's household. It says there were Christians in the pagan emperor's administration. Paul's confinement in Rome actually led to the gospel reaching the heart of Rome. So, even in a Christian-killing government like Paul's day, even if they were to try to stop the church They can't. They can't stop a church. And when Paul couldn't preach in synagogues, he kept preaching. And so will we. When Paul had to be isolated from the church, he kept the gospel going forth in other ways, and so will we. And these Philippians knew about the story of when Paul came to town and the jailer in their town who put Paul in lockdown, he actually got saved through that process by Paul's witness. You know the story in Acts 16 where the persecutors attacked them and they gave orders for them to be beaten with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, into the inner prison and fastened their feet in stocks. about midnight it says Paul and Silas were praying and and singing hymns to God, that's the witness that makes the unsaved ask, what must I do to be saved? When they see that hope that is within us that's different than the world, we're not like the rest of the world that have no hope. When they see us speaking in terms of hope and our witness, that's what will make them ask. The world can give complaints, but thanks, hope within us, that's different. And in Colossians 1, we get to hear Paul praying from another prison and praising God, and so that's the context of gospel gratitude. Now I'm moving to number two, the concepts to be thankful for. Colossians 1, verse 4. Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Right after Paul says he gives thanks always, He gives these three concepts or three categories to help. Hearing of others, faith in Christ, love for believers, and heavenly hope. Faith in Christ is the first one of the three. This is what saves us. This is what sustains us. Paul heard about the faith of these believers he'd never met. And Paul writes us about 1,000 miles away from a church in Colossae, which is a small town in the area of modern Turkey today. We miss face-to-face fellowship. Paul actually never had that with this church. Chapter two, verse one, he speaks of those who've never seen him face-to-face, but he had a fellowship of faith. It's good for us to hear the Christian faith of those who are thousands of miles away. And that's one reason why we're putting missions spotlights out there for you. I don't know about you, but when I hear the faith in Jesus of those on that Congo compound, two hours a day, praying, studying Revelation, that moves my thanksgiving. It's also convicting. Second one is love. for all Christians. It's been said that true vertical faith always leads to horizontal love. True vertical faith moves outward, horizontally. Paul heard of the love that this church had for all the saints. That's, again, New Testament term for the saved. Let's be honest, some Christians are harder to love than others, but these that we read about here, loved all fellow believers. And that's one of the marks of a true Christian, is they love other Christians. And these times, actually, I think we can excel still more in love. And these times, as they go on, it's gonna be harder in some ways to love, but we need to show to the world that we're disciples of Christ. And I am so thankful to see people in our church, how they've been seeking to show love, literally, to all the believers in our church, younger and to each other. Colossians 1 verse 8 says, Epaphras made known to us your love in the Spirit. And that reminds us, this is what the Spirit produces. This isn't just natural love. This is something, remember Galatians says, the fruit of the Spirit is love, right? And Romans 5 says, the love of God is poured into our hearts through the Spirit. So I like that image of being poured into us like a vessel that we then pour it out to others. Paul talks about being filled with the Spirit, and as we do that, we overflow with his love, which leads to another text where Paul talks about overflowing with many thanksgivings. And so our third concept or category to be thankful for is heavenly hope. Verse five mentions the hope laid up in heaven that they heard in the gospel. If you can think of some of the gospel words like just in Matthew five through seven, Jesus talked about great reward in heaven, storing up treasures in heaven, seeking first the kingdom of heaven. The book of Ephesians talks about our eyes being opened to see the hope of our of our calling and the riches of the glory of our inheritance in heavenly places. When we talk about hope in the Bible, this biblical hope isn't wishful. This is trusting what isn't yet visible. At the end of verse 27, Colossians 1 says, Christ in you is the hope of glory. But Colossians 3, we look beyond that. It says, seek the things that are above where Christ is. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. So there's this already and this not yet. We have Christ now, but we're to set our mind on where he is in glory, on heavenly things and not earthly things. This is a great opportunity in this time. And it's actually such an important theme. So next week, Pastor Corey's gonna take us deeper into that hope of heaven before we move on in Colossians. I think that's such an important thing for us to meditate on further. But this all centers in the gospel here. The Gospel Transformation Study Bible says, the grace of the Father, the gospel of the Son, and the love of the Spirit are given so that they can experience and exemplify the faith, the love, and the hope of the Christ-centered life. Paul's calling on these Colossian Christians to remember who they are and what they have because of the gospel. And it's the gospel itself that causes fruit to be born in the lives of God's people, as verse 6 says. It's the gospel from start to finish. We don't ever graduate from the gospel of grace. We move more deeply into it over time as we continue to see how profoundly sinful we are. yet how much more profoundly gracious God is. And so, Paul starts this letter with grace to you, but he's also thankful for grace in you. And that's really his pattern, speaking of grace to you and then grace in you. We need to see evidences of grace in others, to thank God, to encourage them Charles Spurgeon said, for the church that was at Colossae, Paul gave hearty thanks to God for the most important blessings, especially for their faith, their love, and their hope. It would be a very useful exercise to our hearts if we would often give thanks to God for the gifts and graces which we discover in our Christian brethren. He says, I'm afraid that we are more inclined to spite out their faults and to suppose that we deplore them than we are to discern the work of the Holy Spirit in them and from the bottom of our hearts to give thanks to God. That takes us from the thankful concepts to number three, the constant application for us, verse six. which has come to you as indeed in all the whole world is bearing fruit and increasing as it also does among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God and truth just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf. In the first century, starting with Pentecost, all the known world had seeds of the gospel being spread, and we're bearing fruit and increasing, even as Paul writes this, and that's continued to this day. Grammar is emphasizing this is the constant pattern in the lives of Christians. Jesus talked about the seed of the Word being sown, and he talked about how the fields were ripe unto harvest, and praying for more laborers to come, and the seed even bearing fruit, while the laborer isn't there. He talked about that in other places. And so Paul, picking up on that same kind of language, is reminding this small town church to think much bigger, to think of missions. Even as Paul's missionary journey converted Epaphras, evidently, who was their church planter, He probably heard the gospel in Ephesus. Acts chapter 19 talks about how Paul was there for two years and all those in Asia, this would be part of Asia Minor, modern Turkey, they heard the gospel. And so Epaphras evidently was one of those who was discipled by and taught by Paul and had become a mutually beloved fellow servant of Paul. And in the book of Philemon, we read that Epaphras had become a prisoner with Paul as well. And it encourages me to know from our small town church, the gospel message is going out. As our sermon audio page was looking at it just this week, it had downloads, people listening to our sermon audio page from quarantined places, listeners in places on lockdown, places like China, places like Spain had 21 Downloads. The country of France had 53 downloads. Recently, Japan, 68. Other countries, Arab countries. Let's praise the Lord that his word is going forth from our little church because we have a big God. And let's be thankful that we also have in-person missionaries. Like verse seven mentions faithful. We have faithful ministers of Christ on our behalf of our church around the world. around the globe, we have beloved fellow servants who are making known God's grace this very day, even seeking to reach unreached people groups. We need to be thankful for them and their labors of love, and we also need to be prayerful for more fruit as opportunities increase for the word of truth to be heard and understood. Thank God for Oliver and Carissa in Africa. Their electricity had been out for a month. Put that in perspective, some of us have some outages from PG&E. Their electricity was out for a month. They'd been prepared for that in the way they'd been living and serving the Lord, but they had the option to come home on furlough recently. They stayed in love for the people there. We should thank God for and pray for those. I thank God for the Clarks also seeking to reach African Muslims in that part of the world. I think of Seth in Asia. I'm just sharing the first names of these people, but a brother where police patrol is very strict. You can be physically beat if you leave your home. He loves all those people and he has chosen also to stay there and wants to hear the gospel, wants to work towards getting the gospel where they can hear it so that they can understand the grace of God and truth. Thank God for Bob and Maria. This month we're giving a special love offering to them, 50 years of faithful service in Greece. I pray their Bible Institute will help those in that works-based Greek Orthodox religion that many would understand in truth God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And through our Project of the Month love offering, may the gospel continue to bear fruit and increase in Athens, in this very place that Paul visited And if you give to that online, just if you put Greece on the memo, even if you're giving online or by check, that will help give them some encouragement. I thank God also for our brother Taki. He was here last year, I believe. He's also in Greece on a very small island in a small town, probably much like the small town of Colossae that Paul's writing to, speaking the same language that Paul spoke, Taki is faithfully ministered there. Only a very, very small number who are truly saved on his island, but his radio ministry has increased his gospel reach, and I know that he's even seen through his time, there are many Iranian refugees coming to Christ as they pass through Greece and the mainland. We've been talking about that last time. He was here, I thank God for Joyce also on the island of Guam and her faithfulness to go back to the field after losing her husband last year. She is a beloved servant making known the love of the Lord to the Micronesians and She's devoted much of her life to them and continuing to do that. We're grateful for Matt and Marla, an island of Taiwan, and how faithful they've been for so many years in the whole world, as verse six says. And those are just parts of the world where we have this very connection that's being talked about here. The gospel is bearing fruit, amen? And in those islands, We pray, Isaiah 42, that in Christ's teaching, it says, the islands will put their hope. Let them give glory to the Lord and proclaim his praise in the islands. We get to be a part of that. Isaiah 66 prophesies God's witnesses would be sent to, it mentions countries in Africa, and it says, and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory, they will proclaim my glory among the nations. And we've seen that even from some of those islands, there's people going to other islands and nations and proclaiming the fame and the glory of the Lord. We should always thank God as we pray for those like Paul and Epaphras and our missionaries. And I'm so thankful for Didier in Africa and seeing those growing churches they planned to when I was there a little over a year and a half ago and and one of the blessings I don't know if I've shared with you guys is one of the men who's in my preaching program down at the Master's Seminary, very like-minded, a solid brother. He actually lives I think 90 or 100 kilometers from the border of Lububashi where DDA is and he's been able to come through his connections and be continuing some of the training of those pastors there, which is just such a blessing to have a national pastor and that natural connection where he can continue on the training of those men where I'm not gonna be able to anytime soon go over there. And so we pray for that right now. Of course, the countries and the borders and things are on lockdown, but Lord willing, they'll be able to continue those things. But God is, in that time, growing. Their hope that is laid up for heaven in Revelation As I talked about earlier, I think of Grace and Carol, single missionaries like Paul, who are in South Africa now teaching women and children the gospel as elderly evangelists, still being faithful to the Lord. I think of Bob, whose wife Sharon went to be with Jesus not many months ago, but he is, continuing to minister. I think of Carol. who was with us a while back. I think of Al and Linda, who can't travel to other countries like they did before, but they're still, through creative ways, they were kind of ahead of us in what they're already doing, getting the word out in creative ways, helping teaching go forth to those nations. I think of my hero, my hero, my beloved dad, at his age, going to the Philippines earlier this year, to keep teaching, to keep supporting Alan, our missionary there. And we certainly want to think of Alan and the work there. It was so great for me to hear and to see that enhanced quarantines aren't stopping God's message. On our behalf, we also have in the states Brian and Amy helping young people honor their creator and his word from the beginning. And Tim Thompson is a chaplain for our local law enforcement and more recently in Marshall Hospital and he's had his own health struggles but has continued to serve. I'm also thankful for Frank Erb and what he's been doing in the state capitol and how even there in the state capitol are Our ministry is being extended. The gospel has been bearing fruit. There's people who work in the Capitol building that he's been discipling. And I bring up those things to keep missions before us. But also, the context of Colossians, that's what this is about. And so, as we think of us now, as we close, look at Colossians four for application of this first point, gratitude connected to the gospel. Chapter four, verse two. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. There's that thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom, he says, toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be Gracious. So again, this isn't a time for grumbling speech about our our leaders. This is a time for gracious speech and seasoned words thinking how we can answer and address each person flavoring what we say with giving thanks And thinking about and praying for open doors to speak of the grace of God in Christ so that just this week I got a smog check just across the freeway and over here, and I tried to make good use of that conversation on what's going on as he asked me, and where are things at in his business, and I talked about what I did working here at the church, invited him to come join us. He said, well, I'm not really much of a person to go into church, and I said, well, no one's going to our church right now, but I gave him the address, the information for our church, said we'd love to come, we'd love you to come and check us out online and hear some of what God's word has to say about these things. I bring that up to say there's opportunities like that if we'll try to push those doors open. Are you opening your mouth? Pray for open doors and make the best use of the time. This is something I need to stretch myself and push myself to do more because it's not, we've got to take those steps now and get the gospel out. And so will you join me trying also to be more thankful and purposeful in our families. That's something I've been convicted of wanting to be more thankful for, but also purposeful for the time with my own family. And I want to close. I can't say it any better than what a sister in Christ, one of the moms in our church sent me. just talking about what she was thankful for. One thing I've appreciated about this time is that the crisis has stripped away a lot of unnecessary busyness that cluttered our lives. People are available to chat on the phone or to go on a socially distanced walk together outdoors. We've met more of our neighbors in the past month than we've met in the previous 20 years. I'm also thankful, she says, we have ample time and no excuses not to participate or to practice in good habits in the home like morning Bible reading and prayer, regular chores and family meals. We're also finally getting around to a lot of home and garden projects. And the icing on the cake is that we also get to spend a lot of quality time together playing games, reading books, taking walks, doing puzzles, et cetera. She said it feels like a home again. And we look forward to being together with people in person again, but this mom says, I don't look forward to going back to the hectic pace of our pre-pandemic lifestyle. I hope we will all continue to appreciate the simple pleasures of life that we are enjoying now. And finally, I'm thankful for the technology that allows us to stay connected with our family, friends, and church. And it also allows, she says, my husband to work from home, kids' classes from home, and me to buy supplies for delivery or pickup. And that's just a sampling of a number of things I've heard from others, but we have a lot to be thankful for, amen? And so as we close, there's gonna be application questions that'll again be online, but let me encourage you, even before you move on from this time, if you're with your family, before you get up and get on with your day, continue this by talking about what you've been thankful for in all this. What you're thankful for, where you've seen God's grace at work, and be prayerful, or even talk about ways that you might be able to reach out with the gospel. We pray. Our Father, we thank you. We praise you for your gospel that keeps bearing fruit and is doing that even now. We pray, Lord, that you would help our faith, our hope, and our love to grow. We know 1 Corinthians 13 says, faith, hope, and love remain, and the greatest of these is love. I pray, Lord, through your Spirit, that you would grow us, and that you would grow us beyond even where we could go before this, that we would be spreading the gospel, that it would be increasing and bearing fruit. I pray that you would do that this week, this day, this very hour, for the glory of the preeminent Christ, we pray. Amen.