to Children's Church at this time. As they go, I invite you to turn with me back in Luke's Gospel to Luke chapter 23. Luke chapter 23. It's been the pattern at Dayspring for 35 years to preach expositionally through books of the Bible, verse by verse, and so really every Lord's Day is just building upon what came of the previous Lord's Day. Before and this this Lord's Day It's even doubly so as we revisit the same passage that we were in together last time in fact if there are those who are listening to this message who are in my future and have downloaded this message from Sermon audio and have not yet listened to last week's sermon I would urge you to stop and to go back and listen to last week's message first these go together. This is a two-part sermon in many ways. We're going to begin reading as we did last time in verse 32 and read all the way to 43. 2 others who were criminals were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called the skull, there they crucified him. And the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching. But the rulers scoffed at him, saying, He saved others. Let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his chosen one. The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, if you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. There was also an inscription over him, this is the king of the Jews. One of the criminals who was hanged railed at him saying, are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. But the other rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds. But this man has done nothing wrong. And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And he said to him, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. If there is anyone here this morning or listening online who feels that God cannot save you, I have wonderful news for you. There are no hopeless cases with God. We see this in our passage today, which we considered together last week and are looking at again today. And it's a scene of horror and cruelty and desolation and forsakenness. Because here we are at Golgotha, sometimes called Calvary. where three human beings are being hung alive on crosses. One of them is an innocent man experiencing the full wrath of God for all the sins of all of his people. 2 of them are murderous, 3 insurrectionists, rebels. As you learned last week, 4 these probably are not thieves as we have commonly been taught in the tradition from Tyndale's translation. 5 The term that Matthew and Mark in their gospel use is the Greek word laestes, 6 which often gets translated as robber or thief. It is better translated as 7 insurrectionist or rebel. In fact, if you wanted to identify someone as an insurrectionist in the ancient world, in the Greek language, the most clear and precise term that you would choose to use would be the very term that Matthew and Mark choose, lestes. The word means insurrectionist. So the NIV translators, they get one right. when they translate the word as rebel. These men were insurrectionists. They were rebels like Barabbas. It's very likely that they were co-rebels with Barabbas, given that there were three crosses prepared, but now Jesus hangs in between these two instead of Barabbas. And we saw last week that you and I are all insurrectionists. We are all dying men under the sentence of death and condemnation. We are all rebels before God, insurrectionists against His rule and authority. And Jesus takes the place of a rebel and he dies as a rebel in order to provide redemption to rebels. We considered this passage last time in three main movements, mercy, mocking, and redemption. And we saw how in the most difficult and darkest moments of our Lord Jesus, as he poured out his soul unto death, that he looked away from himself and his own needs and in his compelling love and compassion, he extended mercy to others in his prayer. Even as he dies, Father, forgive them. Forgive them. And in this great and astounding mercy, it was extended in the face of terrible mockery and mistreatment. But even the content of the mocking of the crowds, even in that the scoffers unwittingly declare the truth about Jesus and the necessity of the cross that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the King of the Jews. Jesus is the one who saves. He is the Savior. the first criminal who dies mocking Jesus. He reminds me of the death of the great philosopher Voltaire. Voltaire had been an enemy of the church, opposed to the gospel all his life. And as he lay there on his deathbed, a minister came to him and asked him to renounce the devil. And he famously replied, now is no time to make new enemies. And he was being very witty. He was a mocker and a scoffer and said more than he knew, agreeing that he was not at enmity with the enemy of God. This criminal who dies mocking Jesus says more than he knows, Jesus, the Christ, save yourself and us. Jesus is the Savior. The other criminal trusts Jesus and cries out to Jesus for mercy. And this morning what we're going to do is we're going to focus in on what we learn from this repentant rebel who, as we sang together last week, He rejoiced to see that fountain in his day and there have I The vile as he washed all my sins away There's so many encouraging and significant Lessons to draw out from this man's is life-changing encounter with Jesus that I just had to preach a second Sermon just to do justice to what you learn here So I have I have seven points this morning seven things to see here as we consider this redeemed Rebel and his encounter with Jesus as they both die on Roman crosses seven things from the life of this redeemed criminal. Number one, and this first point is going to be review for those of you who were here last week. Number one, Jesus' death saves by freeing individual sinners from divine punishment. Jesus' death saves by freeing individual sinners from divine punishment. What happened at the cross was as we expounded last week, penal substitutionary atonement. Penal, there was a punishment. Substitutionary, he was standing in the place of others. Atonement, he paid the price to bring reconciliation and forgiveness to sinners. Look again at the words of this man as he faces death. First to his fellow criminal, his fellow rebel, do you not fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? In other words, don't you realize that God exercises judgment against sinners, and therefore you are not in a place to be mocking anyone, much less this particular man who hangs next to you. You should fear God because of your sin, because of your guilt. And then notice how he then moves on to acknowledge his own guilt, to own up to who he is and to what he has done. Verse 41. He says, and we indeed justly, we are under the sentence of condemnation justly for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds. He acknowledges his personal guilt and his rightful condemnation from God. He also identifies Jesus as being under the same sentence of condemnation. And yet at the same time, he acknowledges that this man, Jesus, has done nothing wrong. And it's at this point that he then appeals to Jesus, the sinless one, as Jesus hangs on the cross, remember me, remember me when you come into your kingdom, when you enter into your kingdom as king, remember me, have mercy on me. But what a picture that is given you here with regard to the meaning and the significance of Jesus' death. bearing the penalty of condemnation that is due to sinners, though he has done nothing wrong. Why? So that the guilty condemned sinner might be welcomed into his eternal kingdom. Jesus' death it saves by freeing individual sinners from divine punishment. That's point number one. Secondly, as long as you have earthly life and breath there is hope of salvation as long as you have earthly life and breath there is hope of salvation. A number of years ago there was a respected pastor who for decades had pastored the same congregation here in Austin, who it had been found out had been using the church credit card to make cash withdrawals at casinos for gambling. And as the elders came alongside and investigated carefully knowing that a charge must not be brought against an elder lightly or based on a single testimony alone, they just discovered more problems and patterns of behavior that reflected the life of an unbeliever. And so they began the loving process of church discipline, taking their own pastor through discipline. And sadly, he responded to it as an unbeliever would, in pride and in unrepentance. And ultimately, they had to turn their own pastor over to Satan. and then to call a friend of mine as a new pastor in his place. And the unrepentant pastor, he had gone out to try to start some new ministry when he was suddenly struck with pancreatic cancer. And all of the treatments were too late to stop it from taking his earthly life. The cancer, it had spread too rapidly. But shortly before he died, It appears that he finally repented of his sins and trusted Jesus because he called up my friend who is pastoring his former church in Austin and he confessed his sins and he asked forgiveness from all of the people whom he had harmed. As long as you have earthly life and breath, there is hope for salvation. If there's anyone here this morning who has lost loved ones, a son or a daughter, a spouse, a brother, a sister, a mother, a father, grandchildren, a close friend, this is a good reminder. Never give up praying and proclaiming to those in your lives who have never been born again and really trusted in Jesus alone for salvation. I mentioned just a couple of weeks ago here how the Lord had saved David and Tommy Sitton's son, Josh, who had been so lost for so long. Last week, I was at To Every Tribe at the board meeting, and David Sitton, he was called upon by the board to give a status of the ministry. And before he even talked about the ministry with tears of joy in his eyes, he told of how his son had been a criminal, and a liar, and a thief, and a junkie, addicted to heroin, and crack cocaine, and Oxycontin. And then he told us that the last prayer that he had offered up to God for his son, Josh, was just a weak, hopeless, almost perfunctory prayer for Josh's salvation. And then God radically saved Josh and made him a new creation. And now he's this irrepressible evangelist. May the Lord grant him success in his evangelism. There are no hopeless cases with God. As long as there is earthly life and breath, there is the hope of salvation. Keep praying, keep evangelizing, keep proclaiming that God would use you to save some. And let me just say, if there is anyone here this morning who thinks that you have simply gone on too long in your rebellion against God, in your hypocrisy before others, if you think that you are beyond the grace of Jesus, that you've just wasted too many opportunities, that you've failed too many times over and over again, that you've resisted for too long. Consider the extravagant patience and mercy of Jesus Christ that is displayed in the salvation of this criminal at the cross who is just breaths away from eternity. Of course, you must not take that as an encouragement to presume upon God's grace. Don't plan for a hospital bedside conversion. Don't come away from this morning as if that's the point. The Puritan William Guthrie once wrote that the Bible records but one instance of a deathbed conversion. One that none may despair and but one that none may presume. There are people who have the thought that I will live my life like a jetliner careening into the earth, but I'll pull up at the end. You know, right before I die, I'll say, Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, take away my sin. That is my plan. In a group this size, I am confident that there are those of you here this morning who believe that heaven and hell are real, who believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the only hope for sinners, and you have reason to believe that His heart is large and generous and that He will receive all who call upon Him. And all of that is true. And you say to yourself, one day, someday, one day, preferably close to judgment day, I will call upon Him. Don't be so presumptuous as to bank on being the rebel on the cross. The Word of God is abundantly clear. The time to seek salvation in Jesus Christ is now. The day is today. That's the day that you go to the Lord Jesus. It is the fool who banks his eternity on some future day. Today is the day. So don't presume But on the other side, don't fail to come to Jesus now because you're afraid that it's too late or because He won't receive you. That is not the biblical picture that is given to you of Jesus Christ. And even more significantly, right here as He dies and saves this man. John Calvin puts it well when he writes this, There is no room to doubt that Jesus is prepared to admit into His kingdom all, without exception, who shall apply to Him. So apply to Him. Come to Him while you still have life and breath. Thirdly, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. You'll hear me say this many times from this pulpit. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The salvation of this criminal proclaims to you in a clear and glorious way that salvation comes by faith alone and not by good works. There's a popular view out there that if you're just good enough, if you're just a good enough person, then you will be okay in the judgment, in the world to come. Nobody's perfect, but if your good deeds, if they outweigh your bad deeds when your life has come to its end, what you have done is weighed on God's scale, then you will receive salvation in the world to come. If this man had to give an account for his actions and deeds over the course of his life and offer that up to God as commending himself to be received into God's kingdom, I don't think the bar could be set low enough. He wouldn't make it. If you added up the course of his life and you weighed the good against the bad, These few moments that he has here to make up for all the rebellion and all the sins of a lifetime and the evil that has characterized him up till this moment, he would never be able to make up for the life that he had lived. He couldn't clean up his life. He couldn't promise to do better in the future. He was dying. He had made a complete mess of his life. He had nothing to argue, nothing to promise, no plea, nothing to bring to Christ as collateral for salvation. He simply threw himself on the Lord's mercy. And he asked for something that he did not deserve. Jesus. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. This man was not baptized. you know they're they're some who say that you cannot be truly saved until you are baptized baptism in some sense becomes a prerequisite for being saved this man was never that's not baptized he had the opportunity in in luke's second volume you get yet another account which shows you that baptism is by no means a prerequisite to salvation In Acts chapter 10, Peter, he preaches the gospel to a group of Gentiles. And first, they hear and believe and they are saved. They believe the gospel and are made new creatures as they receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit falls upon them and they are glorifying God. And only then, Peter says, can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized. So in no sense does being baptized serve as a prerequisite for being saved. This insurrectionist, this repentant rebel, he was not baptized, and yet he was saved apart from good works. Now, I want you to just consider with me for a moment two church members, Jim and his wife Mary. They are not Dayspringers. They are not even real people, but you probably know people like them. Mary is a sweet, kind lady who goes to church almost every week of her life. She is nice to everyone. She thinks that all good people will go to heaven no matter what they believe. If you ask Mary why God should let her into heaven when she died, she would tell you that she has tried her very best to live a good life, to share the love of Jesus with others. She has never intentionally hurt anyone. She believed in God with all of her heart and went to church. According to the Bible, Mary, who had lived a good religious life, would die and go to hell. Her husband, Joe, by contrast, who had lived a wicked, irreligious life, who mocked his wife week after week as she went to church, but who repented and believed in Christ on his deathbed, would die. and go to heaven. And some of you are probably thinking, wait a minute, that's not fair. But the second that you think that, you reveal that you don't really understand God's grace. There's this tendency to cling to salvation by grace, helped along by human works. But the Bible repeatedly proclaims that we are saved by God's grace alone, not by any works or merit of our own. That those who try to add their works actually deny the gospel and come under God's condemnation. So if you are here today, and if you have lived a good life, You are not an inch closer to heaven than this rebel who has lived a wicked life. In fact, you may have more trouble trusting in Christ alone because your good works may tempt you to pride and to self-reliance and self-righteousness. God's salvation is always given in one way and one way only, by His free grace, totally apart from any human merit. That way no one can boast. joining a church, being baptized, partaking of the Lord's Supper, helping the needy, giving your time and your money and your resources, reading your Bible, saying your prayers, and having your quiet times, it will never save you. None of that was the basis of this man's salvation. None of that was the basis of his salvation. His salvation came through trusting in the one who had done nothing wrong. Trusting in the one who had lived the righteous life that he had not lived. Trusting in the one who bore his punishment on the cross. And on the basis of that, he was saved. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And it's important to also see here that true saving faith always, by necessity, always involves repentance. Because when you turn to Jesus in faith, you are turning away from sin, forsaking your former life of unbelief. Turning to Jesus always involves turning away from sin. Faith involves repentance. And you see that here with this criminal on the cross. In both Matthew and in Mark's account of these two rebels, They tell you that both of them, the criminal on the left and the criminal on the right, both of them were mocking Jesus. They were both initially ridiculing and railing against the Lord. And you may not have noticed it here in Luke, but both criminals asked Jesus to save them. He ignored the request of the first, but granted the request of the second. Why the difference? The first rebel did not ask in repentance and in faith. The second rebel did. The first rebel was angry and bitter, railing against Jesus, mocking Him. He didn't face up to his own sin. The second rebel He was repentant, turning from his sin and trusting in the Lord. Jesus graciously granted his request and assured him that he would be with him in paradise that day. You know, to say that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone is another way of saying that salvation is all of God. that God is absolutely sovereign over the salvation of souls. And you see that here clearly in our passage. Listen to these words by J.C. Ryle. On this passage he writes, We see, firstly, in the history before us, the sovereignty of God in saving sinners. We are told that two malefactors were crucified together with our Lord, one on his right hand and the other on his left. Both were equally near to Christ. Both saw and heard all that happened during the six hours that He hung upon the cross. Both were dying men and suffering acute pain. Both were alike wicked sinners and needed forgiveness. Yet one died in his sins as he had lived, hardened, impenitent, and unbelieving. The other repented, believed, cried to Jesus for mercy, and was saved. A fact like this should teach us humility. We cannot account for it. We can only say, even so, Father, for it seems good in your sight. how it is that under precisely the same circumstances one man is converted and another remains dead in sins. Why the very same sermon is heard by one man with complete indifference and sends another home to pray and seek Christ. Why the same gospel is hidden to one and revealed to another. All these are questions which we cannot possibly answer. We only know that it is so and that it is useless. to deny it. Do you ever wonder why that here on the Lord's Day that some hear the Word of God and drink it in with interest while others sleep under it? Why it is that some are here with tears in their eyes while others are laughing and passing notes? Why it is that some so gladly look to Jesus And others walk away under the same ministry, hearing the same things. In some cases, grow up in the same home under the same influences. Brothers and sisters, all we can say is that there is a sovereign God who chooses in His grace to grant new life and to give repentance and faith to some and not to others. And if there is any man in all of the Bible who proves and demonstrates that God is sovereign in salvation and that you will reach heaven by God's grace alone apart from anything and all that you do, it is this man. This man was never baptized. He was never a missionary. He never won anyone to Christ. He never had a quiet time. He never read his Bible. He never memorized any verses. He never made restitution for his crimes. He was never able to apologize to anyone for his violence. His hands and his feet were nailed down. He could do nothing but look to Jesus in faith. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and not by your works, even in part. Fourth. Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, always leads to good works. Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone always leads to good works. You saw this powerfully back in Luke 19, verses 11 to 27 in the parable of the ten Minas. that there is a necessity of good works and there is in fact a final judgment according to works there is a divine inspection of your fruit and your fruit will testify to the reality of your salvation because salvation always produces the fruit of good works when this man When he stands before the Lord in the final judgment to give evidence from his life that he was truly made new in Christ, his faith will be vindicated by his actions. He displayed godly courage in rebuking his fellow insurrectionists. He displayed godly wisdom in recognizing the innocence of Jesus. He displayed godly humility in acknowledging his own sin and proclaiming his dependence upon Jesus. This man did not have long, but he made the most of his time his life was radically changed, and it gave testimony to the reality of his saving faith. And when he stands before the Lord, his changed life from the moment of his conversion will vindicate the reality of his faith, and that must be true of you also. genuine faith always leads to submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ. There's a false teaching out there that says that once you walk the aisle and make the profession of faith, once you turn to Jesus in faith and you're saved, that you can actually go on living like the world and not obeying the Lord Jesus. And that is simply not true and not what the Bible teaches. Genuine faith always leads to obedience. Yes, imperfect obedience, but true obedience nonetheless to Jesus as your Lord. Good works, will of necessity, flow from your new life in Christ. You are made new creations, and the work of God will bring forth fruit and evidences that you are saved. But those works, they neither make you saved or keep you saved. Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, always leads to good works. When Jesus died on the cross, he immediately entered into paradise. In verse 43, Jesus said to this criminal, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Today you will be with me in paradise. in our day you may have heard uh... this teaching on tbn or from other popular tv evangelist such as joel ostein recently made this one popular and there are many a heretics out there today especially in the word of faith movement who teach that the crucifixion was insufficient to atone for your sins and that jesus He also had to suffer for three days of torment in hell. So there's this teaching out there that Jesus had to finish the work of the atonement in hell for three days. But this teaching is heretical and it is contrary to the teachings of God's word. The Bible teaches that atonement was made finally and fully at the cross and not in hell. We see this in John chapter 19 and verse 30, it says, when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. Tetelestai in the Greek, paid in full, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. No further debt need to be paid. He finished the work of the atonement on the cross. Jesus's spirit never went to hell, but on the cross he suffered the full wrath of God that is poured out in hell. that the scourgings of the guards and the nails in Christ's hands and the other physical pains that Jesus suffered did manifest God's wrath upon Him. The most intense suffering that Christ experienced was spiritual in nature, the torment of experiencing God's wrath for the sins of His people. Lord willing, we will look together next week at the next passage in Luke chapter 23, which includes Jesus' words there in verse 46, where Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, into your hands I commit my spirit." And having said this, he breathed his last. The spirit of Jesus went into the Father's hands. When Jesus breathed his last and died on the cross, he immediately entered into paradise. If you have questions about this or questions about how other passages in the scripture relate to this teaching, I would be happy to discuss those with you afterwards. Just come see me. Sixth, when believers die, they immediately enter into the presence of Jesus. When believers die, they immediately enter into the presence of Jesus. The insurrectionist says, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus says in response, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Today. This is the blessed hope of the believer. The believer does not turn to Jesus in faith expecting Jesus to give him his best life now. You know, to turn all of his earthly sorrows into joys or to bring health and wealth and earthly prosperity or to alleviate life's difficult circumstances. When Jesus saves the repenting rebel here, he doesn't then take away all of his challenging circumstances in life. He doesn't take him down from the cross and brush him off and take away his pain and heal his wounds and build up his self-esteem and give him a brand new lease on his earthly life. The immediate circumstances of this man do not change. He is still condemned by Rome for his crimes, dying as a criminal. He is still suffering, justly so, as he himself admits. He is dying, laboring in pain to take each breath upon the cross. When Jesus saves people, It's not to give them their best life now, but to secure for them their best life in eternity in the very presence of the Lord. Jesus says, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise, today. You should be comforted, brothers and sisters, as you have believing family, as you have believing friends who face death, maybe who already have faced death, you should be comforted by this, that they are in the presence of Jesus. You should be comforted by this as you face death. You will all face death if the Lord doesn't return first. And you don't have to be afraid. You can be confident of Jesus' word that in the very day that a Christian breathes his or her final breath, they will be with their Lord Jesus in a state of perfect security and rest joy Jesus calls it paradise That's why in his epistle to the Philippians in Philippians chapter 1 and verse 21 the the Apostle Paul He could say that for me to live as Christ and to die is gain My desire he says is to depart and be with Christ for that is far better than Yes, you await the fullness of the resurrection, the fullness of the fulfillment of God's promises when you are raised with new bodies and there's a new heaven and a new earth. And yet, when believers die, your soul is immediately with Jesus in joy. There's no delay. There is no purgatory. For those of you not familiar with the Roman Catholic false teaching of purgatory, it basically says that the holiest of saints, they go straight to heaven when they die, but most who die in a state of grace destined for heaven, they die having failed to reach a sufficient level of personal holiness. And so, they go instead into an intermediate place called purgatory. where through the punishment of pain and fire, the soul is slowly purified. As I was reading J.C. Ryle, I was struck by something else he wrote. He said, if the thief, and I would add, I would change that to if the rebel, if the rebel needed no purgatory, the whole doctrine of purgatory falls to the ground. I mean, if anyone would have needed purgatory, some additional time beyond death for some further purification, for some further cleaning up, you'd think that it would have been this criminal. But instead, what? The sufficiency of Christ's atoning grace led him to be immediately in the presence of Jesus in paradise. When believers die, they immediately enter into the presence of Jesus. Seventh, and lastly, and for some of you this might be the point that hits most closely just to where you're at right now. Think about this. Don't assume that you know the best way for God to glorify himself through your life. Don't assume that you know the best way for God to glorify himself through your life. You might imagine that this criminal could have reflected on his earthly life and considered it to largely have been wasted. But in his wisdom, has not God brought remarkable glory to himself through the life of this man, this evildoer who was saved in the final hours of his life. Again, J.C. Ryle. He says, the verses we have now read deserve to be printed in letters of gold. They have probably been the salvation of myriads of souls. Multitudes will thank God to all eternity that the Bible contains this story. And I would add in a more fundamental way, you can thank God for all eternity for his providentially glorifying himself in the actual providential unfolding of this man's life, from his birth to his death. And in the same regard, you can trust God to accomplish His perfect will in your own life, whether it's a long life or a short one, rich or poor. Apparent success or apparent failure? Steady, quiet faithfulness saved at an early age or radical rescue? It's one of the things I love about hearing the testimonies of the men at the men's prayer breakfast. It's the variety in which God glorifies himself in the lives of his people. None of us sees the whole picture. None of us sees the end from the beginning in the way that God sees it. And so we should be hesitant about trying to measure the value or the impact of a life, especially in comparison to others. And you should never assume that you know the best way for God to glorify himself in your life. He does all things well for his people, and you can trust him for that with every detail of your life. How beautifully this is displayed in the redemption of a repenting rebel at the cross. Let's pray together. Our Lord God, how we thank you for your providential unfolding of the life of this man. whom you redeemed so powerfully in his final moments on earth, and whose testimony to your grace and to your glory is recorded for us in your word. We thank you, Lord, for this gift, how we thank you for Jesus Christ, who endured such suffering and condemnation even from your own hand. Lord God, for the sake of rebels like us, And Lord, as we consider this redeemed rebel, may we trust you and not turn away from the grace and the mercy that is displayed here to us in the cross, and that we would trust you for our salvation, that we would trust you for the very details of our lives. that you Lord would be glorified in and through us as you see fit for Jesus sake and in his name we pray. Amen. Please stand together. Be sure to greet those among us who are visiting with us and those who are relatives of Dayspringers with us. I see many visiting relatives this morning. Always a pleasure to have you with us. And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.