the armor of God Ephesians chapter 6 we'll be picking up in in verse 13 and 14 is all we're going to look at as far as Ephesians goes although we do have a few passages to look at I'm going to pick it up for context sake in verse 10 and read through Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm, therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. In addition to all, take up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the spirit, And with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for the saints. And we'll stop there for now. Now, again, a little bit of review here, just because it's important to get the context in case you missed it last time. But that take up, again, take up is, again, an heiress imperative, which implies take up the armor and keep it on. That's the implications. It's important to know that. It's the exact same thing we saw back in verse 11 where it says, put on the full armor of God. There again, that was an aorist imperative, which means it's something you do in a point of time, but the imperative being a command, you put the two together. It means put it on with the implication and keep it on. Because let's face it, the battle we're fighting is not going to stop. So there's never going to be a day when we're not engaged in spiritual warfare. It's just, you know, that's the life. That's it. That's the life in which we live. That's the way it is. So we need to be prepared for it. And what is it? Resist an evil day basically means, and we looked at this last time, stand your ground in the evil day. I want to start by looking at 1 Timothy 4. And we'll move on from there and just really pound this truth home. I just hope I don't overdo it. But like I say, if I do, then I just need less handouts for next week. But 1 Timothy 4, 1 and 2 says, but the Spirit explicitly says, in the latter times, some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. by means of the hypocrisy of liars, seared in their own consciences as with a branding iron." Hey, guess what? These folks are still out there, okay? These folks are still out there. Fall away from the truth. What does that mean? Does that mean you lose your salvation? Is that what this is talking about? No. What this is talking about is those that have made false professions of faith. and then prove it by their action. Let's look at Hebrews 6. Look at a few warning verses here in Hebrews. Hebrews 6, 4 through 8 says, For in the case of those who have once been enlightened, catch these terms, who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit. Interesting phrase. And have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come and then have fallen away. It is impossible to renew them again to repentance since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put him to an open shame For ground that drinks the rain, which often falls upon it, brings forth vegetation useful to those of whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God. But if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned." That end analogy, it's almost like, remember the sower and the soils, the wheat and the tares? Same principle here. Same principle here. There's going to be people that, at least on the human level, the mental level, accept the gospel, accept the word. They're even joyful. They express joy. And then as time goes on, it just kind of peters out. Nothing there. you know and and that's that's what seven and eight are talking about and you look at their for those case who have once been enlightened okay and tasted never really consumed it but they've tasted it they've been familiar with it and even been made partakers of the Holy Spirit well how does that happen well in that apostolic age in the age when just miracles were running rampant. They saw it. They witnessed it. They might even experience some miracles. Remember when the 12 were sent out and they did great things, working miracles, doing all that kind of stuff? Does anybody remember were all 12 of those folks saved? No. It was Judas Iscariot. Right. He went out there and he was a partaker with all of that. And he's the classic example of apostasy. You talk about one who knew the truth and then rejected it and walked away from it. That's Judas Iscariot. He's the pinup boy for apostasy. I mean, if anybody was exposed to the truth and rejected it, it was Judas. He ate with them. He walked with them. He lived with them. I mean, just like the other 11. And so on the human level, we say, man, how could anyone do that? Well, they do. They do. As a matter of fact, look at Hebrews 10. Do you think that that's something that we see readily? Or I mean, I know there's people that we can talk to and they know the scripture really well, but we can just sense that there's something maybe not quite connecting with the relationship. before they fall away? There's usually I say yes, but maybe not always just a little. Um, a lot of folks are going to give telltale signs that, you know, like there's something not right here. It's like, uh, we know one lady, for example, that we know I'm not gonna throw any names out there, but we, that's us, I don't know, anyway, that never seems, comes to a lot of functions, but never seems to have any joy about anything, doesn't seem to really grasp it, you know what I mean? And then we knew a fella from years ago, back in our early days as believers, I mean, we got saved in that church, we're talking back in the 70s. Okay, 1970s, all right. And this guy, I mean, he could not tell the truth to save his life. And, I mean, we kind of, being young and not really understanding everything, you know, we even said, like, man, this guy lies when he doesn't have to. You know, I mean, there's nothing, but it's like he just can't tell the truth. Well, there's a telltale sign. And so, yeah, we can spot it. And those folks, you know, those that we need to minister to, if we see that, and this is sometimes hard, go up and say, hey, you know, are you, and talk to them and share with them. And don't be surprised if you make them mad. A greater level of accountability if you've been exposed As a matter of fact, you read in 2 Peter 2 and Jude. the little one-pager Jew, they're talking about those very people, those that apostatized from the faith and now go out there and preach against the faith. They exist. There's seminaries full of those people. Oh, no. I mean, you talk about apostasy. Princeton University, okay? Some of the theological giants came out there. Warfield, Hodge, and people like, if you're familiar with those people, they were there back at the turn of the 20th century. And then when they were fighting the battle, but like a lot of places, the battle was lost. And Princeton does not even close to preach a gospel anymore. It started that way. It started not that way, but it started as a seminary. Yeah, so did Harvard, so did Princeton, Harvard, the Ivy League, what we know as the Ivy League schools. As a matter of fact, it's in their charter of Harvard that, you know why they built Harvard to begin with? So our preachers would not become illiterate. They wanted those preachers of the gospel to be literate, that they could read the finer study tools that were written in Latin and Greek And I digress a little bit, but you go back 150, 200 years, and you know it was required to get a doctorate degree out of those seminaries back then? You had to fluently speak and communicate in ancient Greek, in Hebrew, and some even Latin, and some even you had to have a good understanding of what they used to call theological German, because so many of the great commentaries back then came out of Germany. And then when they apostatized, look what happened to them. Wasn't too long after that, the apostate movement in Germany hit that you had World War I, World War II, and the rest is history, as they say. But that's where it goes. That's where it goes. And I think I'll move on now. And so in Hebrews 10.20, I could make so many analogies Our present day situation in America is pathetic. Okay, Hebrews 10 26 31 says for if we go on sinning willfully after Receiving the knowledge of the truth. There is no longer means a sacrifice for sin, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think that he will deserve who trampled underfoot the Son of God and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the spirit of grace? This is not small language here. For we know him who said, Vengeance is mine, saith, I will repay again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Going back to Kendon's point, that's the point right here. It's a one who knows the truth, denies the truth, and has actually accepted the truth to a certain degree and then just walked away from it. At this, at Applegate Church, the gospel is preached. Truth is preached. If it weren't so, I would not be here. Okay? This is one of those churches that you do not want to die and go to hell from. The truth is being taught here. Do not reject. The truth is being taught here. Okay? It's like, remember back in Matthew 11, when he says, woe to you, Chorazin, woe to you, Bethsaida? That was where Jesus did much of his Galilean preaching. It'll be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for you. You had the truth. They really didn't. So, and again, that's just one of those passages that shows you there's various levels of eternal punishment. There really, there truly is. That's why they're all judged, as we will be, based upon their works. Because there's various levels of eternal judgment. Just like on our side of the coin, there are various levels of reward. And that's a subject for a different time. But, anyway. Okay, Matthew, I've got on here Matthew 26, 14 through 17. I'm not going to go there. That's a story about Judas Iscariot, where as they were approaching the Last Supper, Judas was striking a deal with the priest, 30 pieces of silver. We all know that. Matthew 24, 24, I won't turn to all these. Matthew 24, 24 to 28 describes the same will, the same thing is going to occur during the Tribulation period, which this portion of Scripture covers. But let's look at 1 John 2, verses 18, and all of a sudden our time is fleeting. Somebody slow the clock down, will you? First John 2, 18 to 24. Children, it is the last hour. Same idea as what Paul was talking about, this is the last days, in the last days. This is the last hour and just as you heard the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have arisen. From this we know that this is the last hour. If I had more time I'd even name some for you. They went out from, here's the key, they went out from us, but they were not really of us. For if they had been of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us. But you, here's the difference, but you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it. and because no life, no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar? But the one who denies that Jesus is the Messiah or the Christ. That is, that this is the Antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Little Trinity introduction there. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father. The one who confesses the Son has the Father also. And again, one of the big primary heresies that's already put out there is they attack the deity of Christ. Or if you live in town, they may still knock on your door. They gave up on me years ago. But now where I live, they can't get to my door, so they're not worthy to make the walk. OK, but there it is. How do you tell them? If they just walk away and deny the gospel, that's proof. They never really were. See, that's the key. It's not a matter that they lost their salvation. There's so many explicitly clear-cut passages of Scripture upon the doctrine of eternal security or the preservation of the saints that a few verses, you know, that are in Scripture that make it seem like the ones in, we read in, well, the one in Hebrews, you know, have tasted and fall away, like, you know, that make it sound like they might be losing salvation. And those are the ones everybody that believes in that false doctrine camp on. But again, it's one of those doctrines, like so many others, you must interpret scripture by scripture. And if you take all up, you put, take all scripture and bring it together, the security of the saints is real. Again, that does not give us a license to steal, because then you might find yourself on the other side of that equation, right? So anyway, OK, back to Ephesians 6. And that one took a lot longer than I thought. But anyway, it seemed so quick when I was reading it. Yeah, that's OK. We got all the way to the rapture. oh the one that first John passage yeah yeah cuz he was saying says he says you know there you know there is an antique the Antichrist will come But for now, but as we look around the world now, and we can say the same thing today, but there are just numerous antichrists, small a, that are here. And everybody that's an apostate, antichrist. Anybody that is, well what's the word antichrist mean? Anti means either against or in place of, depending on the context. And both would apply. There's a certain fellow in the neighborhood of Rome that says, I am the vicar of Christ. I stand here in place of Christ. That's why Martin Luther and the boys called him Antichrist. And that was during a time when the Catholic Church was also the government. So many people died as a result of that. But that's what they believed. And they had the wherewithal to say it. and didn't care really who knew it. They stood for it, and they went to the fiery death, standing for it. But it wasn't the second death. No, no, no. That's the one you got to worry about. The second death's the one you want to worry about. Again, the second death is a death that the true believer will not experience. See? We will, in that sense, live forever. We will not die a second time. Some of us, thinking of the church universal, because it still could be hundreds of years away, there's a generation out there that isn't even going to die the first death. In an instant, they will be changed. It could be us. You never know. You never know. But even though the world's in a mess, even though the world's in a mess, don't count on that to get you out of it. Don't run up the credit card bill just yet. You may have to go face the banker. Okay, verse 14. 6. Stand firm, therefore, having girded your loins with truth. Scripture kind of stresses this. Truth, Aletheia, refers to the content of that which is true. The truth of God found in the Word of God, I believe, is the main context of this truth. Where do we find truth? I always think of Pilate speaking to Jesus. What is truth? I have to think he had a little bit of a scoffing attitude behind that question. But a lot of people ask that question. don't know if they're looking for the sincere answer, but what is truth? God's word is truth. And then that's where you lose a lot of them. But anyway, Pilate never went all the way, that's for sure. John 17, that magnificent prayer, John chapter 17, 13, And this again, they call this Jesus' high priestly prayer after the Last Supper. And in the upper room there was some beautiful teaching going on. I mean, it started in John 13, goes all the way through here. And now this high priestly prayer, I believe they've left, they're out. I think the setting is they're probably standing at the edge of the temple grounds, and Jesus in front of the 11, Judas had already moved on, prayed this prayer. He says, but I now come to thee and these things I speak in the world that they may have joy. Praying for the 11, we're going to find out for us as well. I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of this world even as I am not of the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify, or set apart, sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. And you did send me into the world, and I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes, I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. He was their shining example of what that means to be set apart in truth. Okay? Verse 20. Here's where we enter the picture. Okay? It says, I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in me through their word. Okay? You follow that chain. All of our salvations ties right back to these 11. Someway, somehow. if you could follow it back. They're influence out there, you know? You can throw Paul into the mix, too. But anyway. And verse 21, why? That they may be one even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, and that they may be in us. that the world may believe that you did send me." That's why it's so important. See, the unity of the church is extremely important because it's the church the world must look to for the truth. Therefore, we cannot let them look at us. We can't control anybody else, but just here at Abbot, we must not allow them to look at us and see a confused mess. Okay. We got to get it and keep it together. Yes. And at all times, because that like Jesus says, you know, you are the light of the world. You are the light of the world. So we I can sanctify it, it says, we shan't not be dull bulbs, okay? We, huh? You can write that one down. That was a quote right out of Hezekiah chapter four. All right. Okay, having girded your loins with truth, having girded to gird all around or to fasten one's belt around. I know the old King James used the word girdle, but we have a – strange pictures come into my mind when I see that word. So it's like a belt. Remember this is the armor of God. This is a belt. A belt that used to go all the way around and a lot of times you had tunics and stuff. This tightened up the tunics and any extra cloth could be pulled up to that depending on what the individual soldier was wearing. And also it had a function that things like the sword could hang off of it. There was pouches on it where special gear could be attached to it is extremely important. The breastplate, which we'll get to in a later lesson, would flop around without it. It could be tied down to that belt. The belt just kind of holds everything together. So that's why I believe it's mentioned first. Because the first thing we have to have on, if we're going to battle Satan's kingdom, is truth. Don't go out there with error. It's not going to get the job done. Matter of fact, we'd be falling into his trap. So we must have, and know, and understand, and promote truth. Truth. Truth. OK? And again, this act having girded, the act of the grammar says the act of putting on the belt is the soldier's own action. It's not the Lord doesn't put your belt on for you. You must, like the armor, we must take it up. We must take it up. Put it on. It's out there. It's for us. This armor is out there. We don't have to go find it. It's there. It's out there. It's there. Just put it on. Use it. See? Use it. And again, like we said last week, we need to use all of it. See, the lack of truth. As a matter of fact, I want to look at 1 Peter 1.13 before we move on. I can just read it real quick, 1 Peter 1.13 says, Therefore, very similar concept here, gird your minds for action. Keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be bought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Notice, that's Peter's way of saying, gird up your minds, just get the junk out, gird up your minds, get prepared, And the grace of God is going to carry us to the end. That's a loose explanation of it, but that's basically what it's saying. Now the lack of, again, the lack of truth is characteristic of the world system. And we may not get any farther than this one today, but that's okay. I don't mind finishing next week and then moving down and just keep adding armaments in as we go because this is this is critical you know and and I look at it this way too when you get to a passage like Ephesians 6 with the armor of God at my age I may never get back to this one again so you know the shoes could turn up this week I don't know Jeremiah, you're right, I shouldn't. Jeremiah chapter 7. Now here's an example of unbelieving Judah. Jeremiah, the scene here in Jeremiah, the Babylonian captivity, quite frankly, was looming in the near future. Israel, the northern kingdom, had already been taken into captivity by Syria. So they're pretty much gone. As a matter of fact, the Judah itself has been under siege also. So their time is getting very short. Jeremiah 7, 26. Remember, these are God's people, right? 26 through 20 says, speaking of them, it says that they did not, yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did evil more than their fathers. Now that's saying something. Remember, their fathers in the world is what they do. They built idols. So did these folks. Right? Remember the golden calf? And they kept doubting God and not believing God. So they wandered for 40 years. They sent the spies in. The spies said, oh, we're like little grasshoppers. OK, grasshopper, stay in the desert. For 40 years, the next generation went in. So anyhow, verse 27, and you shall speak these words to them, but they will not listen to you. And you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. And you shall say to them, this is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or accept correction. has perished and has been cut off from their mouth. You know that awful thing to say about God's people? Truth has died and has just fallen out of their mouth. There's nothing there, man. Nothing there. God's own people. Absolutely. They're digging in their heels and they're just rejecting God's word, rejecting the word of the prophet. Yep, that's that stiff neck means just you can just kind of just see like they're digging in their heels saying no, just flat saying no, saying no to God. Nine, again in Isaiah, or excuse me, Jeremiah, if I can turn that last page. Nine three through six says, this one's kind of, he's saying the same thing, but they, and they bent their tongue like their bow. lies and not truth prevail in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord. Can you imagine that? They do not know me, declares the Lord. Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor, and do not trust any brother, because every brother deals craftily. and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. See lies and see falsehoods just rule the day. And everyone deceives his neighbor and does not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies. They worry themselves committing sin. Can you imagine? They commit sin on such a high frequency that they exhaust themselves sinning. I mean, what a negative testimony this is. He says, your dwelling is in the midst of deceit. Through deceit, they refuse to know me, declares the Lord. That is why the Babylonians came in and took them camp. It's just that simple. God will judge sin. Daniel 11, we're in the prophets, Daniel 11, 27. Here's one, the scene is, here Alexander who died a young death Alexander is gone as a result of his passing the nation was split up into four pieces among four generals and then later through time you had here you have two of those folks this is not the the original four but you have the area of Syria which were the Seleucids, and then you have the area of Egypt, which were the Ptolemies. If it doesn't make sense, don't worry about it. That's their name. And so now here you have two of these people that are going to sit around the negotiating table, and if this does not sound like today, I'd like to know why. For both of these kings, right? Verse 1127, as for both kings, their hearts will be intent on evil. There's both of them. And they will speak lies to each other at the same table, but it will not succeed, for the end is still to come. It isn't at a point in time." You see these guys, two foreign leaders, sitting together at the negotiating table, lying to each other. Neither one of them has any intention of living up to anything they're saying. They're all trying to snooker the other guy, you know, and get the advantage so they can drop the hammer on him, right? Does that sound anything remote to you? Good restraint, Bob. Good restraint. Oh, man. And I will not make any analogies to our Congress. But anyhow. And then John chapter 8, you had the Jewish leadership. OK. Let's look there. We'll finish with John 8 and Romans 1. It's always a fun place to end. beginning with verse 43. Jesus, again, speaking – this is the middle of the conversation he's having in with his critics, who were constantly there. We see it in, when those of you that went through John with us, we saw it there. We're seeing it already as Will takes us through Mark, and you're going to be seeing more and more of it. I mean, it's just like, it's like every chapter he's confronted with another, you know, doubter, another attacker verbally to begin with. John 843, why do you not understand what I'm saying? And he answers his own question, because you cannot hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears the words of God. For this reason, you do not hear them because you are not of God." Folks, that hasn't changed. You know why they reject the gospel? They're not of God. Godless people want no part of it. But that doesn't change what we do. We as a church are commissioned to put forth the gospel, and just expect that many, depending on how far afield you go, the majority of people you share with will reject. That's just the way it is. You should go on a door-to-door campaign. It's kind of tough in this day and age. But with Cujo out in the front yard, you know, people protect their, they just don't let you up. They don't, that's. You mean a hockey player? Huh? But, But I remember going door to door and, gosh, one out of a couple hundred is all that's going to do anything even remotely positive. That's just the way it is. That's just the way it is. And so don't let that dim your spirits at all, because that's the way it is. we're the minority here we are the you know you look throughout scripture God's people have always been the remnant we've always been described as being the remnant and just just know that that's what it is but you know because that is what it is that God's people are the remnant be real thankful that we are part of that remnant because you just look at human odds odds are we wouldn't be see that from human logic by God's divine purpose he called us and chose us. Okay. Well I'll tell you what, you know I almost, I will, I downloaded some pictures I'll bring them in next week that shows a fully geared up first century Roman soldier. It's all in the front. It is. There's nothing on the back. Yeah. If you run, you deserve to die. That was Rome's philosophy. I don't think that's quite what you meant. No, that's not what I meant. What I meant is my kids would understand somebody in armor. They'd understand that. But the relative sense of what each one of these pieces of armor stands for. Well, that's exactly what I intend to do. And why it's important, yeah. What is it? How do I deal with it? What do I do? And why is it important? Well, it took us 20 minutes to get halfway through truth. And that's the bill. So no, I appreciate it. I'm glad you brought that. Because sometimes you think, as a teacher, sometimes you think, am I doing too much, too little? You know what I mean? And you want people to get it, but you don't want to, you know, you're going to bore some. So you say, just pedal to the metal, huh? There's two. When two are gathered, no. OK. It's a done deal. We will, no skimping. No skimping. I do want to get the last one about the majority of mankind. Romans 1. And this passage pretty much speaks for itself. Romans 1, 18 to 25. And this is the unsaved world's reaction to truth. Reaction to God. This is their mindset. Romans 1, 18 to 25. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." They don't just unbelieve or disbelieve. They actually suppress the truth. And it means just what it sounds like. You just picture a guy just pushing the truth down. Like in the swimming pool, pushing that beach ball underwater. Go ahead. But the truth's going to pop up anyway. But they suppress the truth. They suppress the truth. That's what they're doing. They're suppressing the truth. Because, verse 19, that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. How in the world? Every human being, the worst, pick your worst person you can think of in world history, even that person was made in the image and likeness of God. But only the believer can live up to that image. For, verse 20, since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power, his divine nature, has been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so they are without excuse. A person who is truly seeking God can see that there is a God just by looking at creation itself. Creation itself. Logic tells us there must be a God. This just didn't blow up and happen, even though some say it did. Some marvelous scientists say it did. Really? Come on, guys. With about half the alphabet trailing after your name, you should be able to come up with better than Oh, we had an explosion billions of years ago. Okay, thanks. Okay. For even though, verse 21, they knew God, they did not honor him as God, or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man as of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures. In verse 24, it says, Therefore God gave them over to the lusts of their own hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. And they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator. I mean, who is blessed forever. Amen. The Creator, not them. Okay. And I'll tell you, isn't that what you see today? Today they're a little bit more sophisticated, so they don't carve up images and bow down to them yet. Although, wait and see. As societies keep depraving, don't be surprised what might pop up. I know in the church, Catholic church, people sat down in front of those statues and are praying very fervently. If I tossed a rock at one of those lifeless statues, this was just a saint. They'll come after you. So that's one of the reasons, even as a crazy kid, I never did it. But anyway, we better close in prayer or they're going to come with the hook, knocking. Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for this time. And again, we thank you, Lord, for your truth. And Lord, may we, your people, live your truth and portray your truth to the world in Jesus' name and for his glory. Amen.