you you Well, good morning. Welcome to Stanley Heights today. We're glad that you're with us here in this 1030 service. How many of you have been through times of crisis in your life? Times of crisis? Well, everybody goes through times of crisis. And this morning, we're going to learn about biblical hope in times of crisis. And I know that God has something very powerful for you. There's just something that, when you have hope in God through his word that takes us through crisis, and I know God has something great for you today, that we've had this weekend, the Hope for the Family Conference with Chris and Don Phillips, and boy, our time with them has given me hope, and I'm so grateful, and those of you that were part of it, I know you've received hope, and today, what God has for you, I know is going to lift your, your soul and your spirit and draw you to the Lord, the source of hope. Today in the Word, Brother Phillips is going to preach to us about hope for the family, trusting God in crisis. And you know, as we sing today, I hope that your thoughts will focus on what we sing. We're gonna sing about how great our God is, what he gives us hope. We're gonna sing about the security that we have and how God works and the way that he works. And I want you to really look for the Lord as you sing today and meet with him in it. Remember, our mission here is to glorify God by developing and deploying disciples in this generation for the next. And we do so, of course, only through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the Phillips have an important funeral obligation that they need to be part of tomorrow. And so we were going to have them close out our conference tonight, but they're gonna be able to, we're gonna let them get on the road so they can be ready for that funeral tomorrow. So tonight I'm gonna finish out our time and talk about the next generation. and give hope for that generation as we open the scriptures tonight. And I'm looking forward to just a great day in the Lord here at Stanley Heights. Let's stand as we sing praise to our God. Let's sing of our God and His greatness. We'll sing number four, How Great Thou Art. O Lord, my God, how great Thou art. I'll bring them home, I'll bring them home. And when I think that God, His Son, loves Mary, Sends Him to die, I scarce can take it in. take away my sin. Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee, I'll break Thou heart, I'll break Thou heart. Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee, I'll break Thou heart, When Christ shall come, with shouts of applaudation, And death befall, what joy shall fill my heart? Then I shall bow in humble adoration, And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, Thou Great Thou Art, Thou Great Thou Art. Let's pray together, and then after which you can be seated. Our God, we come to you. And I think of what we just sang, how great you are to think that you sent your son not sparing, you sent him to die. And really, it's hard to imagine. the great level of your grace and mercy extended to us through your son and it brings us to humility and hope and then when we think of the Lord Jesus will come again and that we will, who are in Christ, will be home with him. It brings us hope and gratitude and is an inspiration for us to seek you and to honor you and to live for you, who gave your all for us. In this time as we gather today, it is our prayer that individuals of this congregation, as we've come to this place at this time that you've brought us together, that we would seek you. We know that you're seeking us, and for that one that doesn't know Christ, for that one that you are doing a work of transformation in his or her life, you're bringing your will to to a greater degree we pray oh God that your spirit would do a work in us and we come expectantly but we come humbly asking for you to speak to us we pray for brother Phillips as he preaches the word to us today we ask that your spirit would enable him and fill him even as you fill us to receive from you And so we ask ultimately that Jesus would be honored and we pray this in his name, amen. Thank you, be seated. Do you trust me as your guide? Though my path for you is steep Will you lean on your own way Or resolve to follow me? I am still your shepherd king Who has led you with my love Since I see beyond your view, surely trust me, faltering one. Do you trust me, Ezra, while the storm still rages on? Every day new mercies grow. Every night I give a song. Since I reign as Prince of Peace, set your mind on things above. Everlasting strength is mine. Fully trust me, weary one. Trust me, weary one, trust me. Trust me, weary one, trust me. Trust me, weary one, and trust me with your life. When you face your final hour, Soon to leave this broken world, Destined for my Jasper Tower, I am he who once was dead, Now alive, my suffering done. You will live, for I arose. Come be with me, favored one. Surely trust me, weary one. Well we are glad that you are here today of course and I don't know if there's a better place to be in the world than right here in the house of the Lord where the Lord is honored and the Bible is preached and there's hope and truth given it's a great place to be and I'm glad you're here if you are a guest for the first time at Stanley Heights we have for you what we call your connection point it's a guide for our time together that we want to give you And I'm gonna ask you just to raise your hand and our ushers will give you your copy as they pass by you. I want you to notice that with this, there's a guest card. If you will complete that with an email address or a street address, put it in the offering box that you'll see behind you as you leave or to your right, or you can hand it to one of our ushers. We'll say thank you for being our guest here at Stanley Heights Baptist Church. Well, we are learning the answer to the question, who am I? And with all of the question about identity that has been in our media and in the culture of our day in the last period of years, this year we're learning God's view of you and finding the power and the freedom that comes when you see yourself the way God sees you. And we've learned so much already through the year, but this month we're going to learn this answer to the question, who am I? In Jesus Christ, I am redeemed. You know, I was enslaved by sin. but in Jesus Christ I'm redeemed from the bondage of sin by the blood of Jesus as payment for my sin to freedom from sin to service for Christ and in your bulletin there's a Bible study that will take you deeper into the scripture in these truths the scripture that we're going to learn with this is Titus 2.13 let's lift our voices and say it for the first time as a congregation this month Titus chapter 2 and verse 13 looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Boy, that's a great job saying that together. Well, let's do children's worship. So, kids, come on to the front, and I'll meet you down there. Let me take the box. Very good. Get your place. You have your place. There we go. Let's see what we have here. Okay, I think I know what this is. You see what that is? Anyone know? What do you think it is? Do you know? Who brought it? You brought it? Do you know what it is? Okay, if you brought it, I want you to make sure you know what it is, okay? This is a timer. Boy, what kind of things do you use a timer for? What do you use a timer for? To wake you up, okay? What do you use a timer for? When we do our piano practice, we have to time. Oh, you use it to do your piano practice time. What do you use a timer for? Baking and cooking. Oh, that's the best. You didn't hear baking and cooking. That's the best. What do you use a timer for? If you're doing something, then you need to, if you need to know when you have to be somewhere. Okay, you just said, okay, very good. When you're on something, you need to know when to stop. Okay, all right, yeah. Timers are really great. I love timers. And it just reminds me though that, you know, time, time is a, believe it or not, time is a gift that God gives every one of us. And the time that God gives us is valuable. Did you know that you can waste a dollar, but you can earn a dollar back? But if you waste time, you can never gain any time back. Time's valuable. And so I want you to think about how do I use my time? And I want you to think, do I, am I doing what I need to do with my time? Am I, make sure I'm taking care of school and doing things that I need to do in my house? Is that the, and using the time wisely? Am I enjoying it? Do I have room for other things that I can enjoy in my life and using my time wisely? The Bible puts it this way in the book of Ephesians, it uses the expression, redeeming the time. It means I'm gonna take time and I'm gonna buy it back and be wise with how I spend my time. And boy, you can spend your time doing great things. What are some great things you can spend your time doing? Boy, you can spend your time going to church. That's a great thing. You can spend your time with God and his word and speaking to God in prayer. You can spend time doing the things that your parents ask you to do. You can spend time enjoying Fun things that you can enjoy in your life. But I want you to make sure that the time that you use, you always put the Lord first in your time. And I want you to remember something really important, is that in time, time will run out. Because all of us only have so much time. And if you come to the end of your time, your life, and you've not received Jesus as your Savior, my friend, it's too late. So you wanna be ready that when time runs out, I wanna make sure that I'm ready because I've received the Lord. And in the time that I have, I wanna invest my time and use it wisely to honor the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the best use of your time and of your life. But I will say, My favorite reason for a timer is whenever that timer gets set for cookies. That's my favorite thing, and I sure like that. So I'm going to give you the, I'm expecting some cookies this week for your family from that timer. Would that be good? I know your family will really like having that. Who's going to take this box home today? You're going to take this box home today? All right, little man. There you go. All right. Thank you all. You can go back to your seats at this time. I want to make sure I introduce to you Brother Miss Phillips. So they're here, Brother Miss Phillips, if you'll stand and say hey to everyone. Say hey, that's a southern expression, isn't it? Say hey. That's a southern thing. And I want to, you'll get to know more about their ministry, Sela Ministries, Sela Counseling Ministries in just a moment. But I just want to mention a few things about them, and you'll learn more. They began in Christian education. Then God called them to missions to Cuba, and then in Dominican Republic planting churches. And then some things happened in their lives and brought them back to Charleston, South Carolina. And there they started a Spanish-speaking church. And then God opened their their lives and directed them to Sela Counseling Ministries. And you will hear, I'm not going to tell you anymore, except to say that you'll hear all about it. And I think you'll find it so refreshing and encouraging. And I want to say how much we've enjoyed having them with us here at our Hope for the Family conference. So you want to make sure you see, and he'll tell you about this, Brother Phillips will, but their display is back here. There's some resources that I think will be helpful, and you can sign up to get their email updates. And so I want you to know about that. Okay, let's do this. Let's sing praise to our Lord. We'll continue singing this morning. The song we're going to sing next talks about beholding the wondrous mystery. And what is that mystery? That God would become man and that God would offer his life in the form of Jesus as a sacrifice for us. And that's what we'll sing praise for this morning. Come behold the wondrous mystery. Come behold the wondrous mystery in the dawning of the King. He the theme of heaven's praises clothed in frail humanity. In our longing, in our darkness, now the light of life has come. Look to Christ, who condescended, took on flesh to ransom us. Come behold the wondrous mystery He, the perfect Son of Man In His living, in His suffering Never trace more stain of sin See the true and better Adam Come to save the hell-bound man Christ, the great and sure fulfillment Of the law in Him we stand Come behold the wondrous mystery Slain by death, the God of life But no rape could ever restrain Him Praise the Lord, He is alive What a foretaste of deliverance Christ in power resurrected, as we will be when He comes! What a foretaste of deliverance! How unwavering our hope! Christ in power resurrected, as we will be when He comes! What a wonderful reminder of the hope that we have in Christ. The next song we'll sing this morning, number 409, Paul says there in 2 Timothy that he knows whom he has believed. And when your confidence is in Christ, and you're confident that what he's done is enough, that he has paid all that you need to pay, what a wonderful thing to rejoice in this morning. We'll sing number 409 together, I know whom I have believed. I know not why God's love has stretched through me. But I know my Eric, he died, and I'm persuaded that he is able To give up what you have committed, but to live against the dead. I know God's love and saving way, to me he did Peace within my heart But I know, I have believed that And I'm persuaded that He is able To keep the heart which I've committed unto Him again Oh, not how, but the Spirit moves from convincing men of sin, revealing Jesus to the world, creating faith in Him. I know my heavenly King. That He is able to give comfort to His head unto Him again. What a wonderful Savior. I hope your heart rejoices this morning in Christ and all He's done. We'll sing of Christ and how He thrills our soul. In just a moment, when we do, in just a moment, I'll ask you to stand. And when we stand, our young people, ages three, four, and five, and then first, second, and third grade can be dismissed to Children's Church up on the second level of the building. Would you stand with me, please? We'll sing together. 526, who can cheer the heart like Jesus? All that thrills my soul is Jesus. Who can cheer the heart like Jesus, by His presence all divine? True and tender, pure and precious, oh, how blessed to come in line! All that thrills my soul is Jesus He is more than life to me And the fairest of ten thousand In my blessed life I see Love of Christ so freely Grace of God beyond every Mercy higher than the heavens Deeper than the deep sea All that thrills my soul is Jesus He is more than life to me And the fair is stuffed. What a wonderful redemption Never can a mortal know How my single red-like crimson Can be whiter than the snow Thank you, may be seated. Today in our church bulletin, we're highlighting our missionaries who we partner with, Chris and Laura Sanderlin and their family, serving with Baptist World Mission in the country of Cameroon, Africa, just have been there a short number of weeks now. And just praising the Lord, Chris's brother's house was available for them upon their arrival there in Cameroon just a few weeks ago. So they're praising the Lord for that. a good fellowship with believers there in the village. And also Laura's been enjoying teaching at Ladies Bible Study on Saturday afternoons as they're getting into the ministry there in Cameroon. But you'll really want to be in prayer for Brother Chris. We'll mention more about this this evening, but he's really going through a significant health issue right now. And they actually have to fly back to France here on Tuesday of this week to get treated for that. And like I said, we'll mention more about that this evening, but really be in prayer for him. If he comes to your mind this week, let's lift him up in prayer because this is really created a very significant physiological things in his life. So let's let's be in prayer for him this week. Also, Bruce and Amanda Stewart. who we partner with in the country of Liberia, working with Silent Word Ministries. Just praising the Lord, an organization called Beyond the Bricks, they've been there working to construct a building for the deaf school. They had the ribbon cutting for that facility on March 14th, so they're praising the Lord for that. They also brought in a missionary dentist to treat many of the people there at the deaf school. They had a visit from Amanda's mom. So they're always grateful to see family. Also, Amanda was able to take a trip to a village there in Liberia and speak at a three day women's conference. So they're praising Lord for that outreach ministry that she was able to have. But let's let's remember these missionaries this week and pray for the thank God for these praises this morning. on behalf of the Sanderlins and the stewards, let's pray for our offerings as well. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we do again thank you for the opportunity you give us to be involved in what you're doing all over the world, Lord, and we think of these missionaries you've allowed us to support, to partner with. It really is a partnership, Lord, as we as we give in faith to support their ministry that you've called them to on these fields. Also, as we pray for them faithfully, Lord, we do ask prayer and give you praise for the Sanderlin family. We thank you that they've just recently in the last few weeks gotten there to the field in Cameroon, how you provided housing for them. You've already given them good opportunities to to be a blessing to the believers there in this Bible study that Lord has been involved with, Lord, on Saturday afternoons with the ladies, Lord. We just pray for real fruit from that ministry, Lord. We do pray for Brother Chris, Lord, and it's a very significant health issue that he is undergoing right now, Lord. They're headed back to France this week in a couple days to get treated for this. And Lord, we just pray for real physical healing that only you can give. Lord, on behalf of him, Lord, we lift him up to you this morning and ask that you heal this issue for him very quickly, help the recovery time to be very short and they're able to get back into the ministry that you call them there in Cameroon, Lord. We do pray for the stewards as well, Lord. Thank you for this new deaf school that's being started there in Liberia and the blessing of this ministry that was able to come and help with the construction, also with some physical services for the people there, this dentist that was able to come. We thank you for the visit from Amanda's mom and that Amanda had this opportunity to speak at this ladies conference. Lord, we ask prayer for them as they continue working there to reach the deaf and hearing folks in Liberia, Lord. Thank you again for, as I said earlier, just the opportunity to have a hand in what you're doing, Lord. And we counted a privilege here at Stanley Heights to be involved in the Great Commission in this way. Thank you for our ability to give as well and how you blessed us with the ability to give. Help bless offerings that are given today. We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen. Nothing more than Him. Nothing more than Him. He is all-sufficient for the emptiness within. Let Him have unanswered questions, open eyes that blind FN. You need nothing, really nothing. You need nothing more than Him. If each morning as you face a day of living, all the problems that sentromic hopes seemed dim, take each one and turn it over to the Master. You need nothing more through all the day than Him. Nothing more than Him. Nothing more than Him. He is all-sufficient for the emptiness within. Let Him have unanswered questions, open eyes that blind at then. You need nothing, really nothing. You need nothing more than Him. All too often we hold dear what this world offers. Men of means enjoy our envy and esteem. Count the blessings that are yours because of Jesus. You need nothing more to satisfy than these. Nothing more than Him. Nothing more than Him. He is all-sufficient for the emptiness within. Let him have unanswered questions, open eyes that blind have been. You need nothing, really nothing. You need nothing more than Him. You need nothing more than Him. Thank you, ladies, for that. And thank you, Pastor. and Miss Vicki and Brother Ed and Miss Danielle for hosting us this weekend. It's been an honor for us to be here. And we have been refreshed yesterday, Friday, and then this morning. The music, just the spirit of the service, and we've just enjoyed it. Enjoy spending time with you, Pastor, Miss Vicki. And Jessica, I see you sitting over there. And the Mims are dear friends, and they just left. I said that this morning, how dear they were, and they just walked out of the church. But I know they came to the first service this morning. And then, Brother Frampton, I can't see where you are. There you are back there. It's such a joy to see you again. It's been a while. But I appreciate your service and your faithfulness to the Lord and your impact you've made all over the world, brother. Thank you for your service to him. And good to see the rest of you here. As Pastor has said, we are Don and Chris Phillips, and we serve with Salah International Counseling Ministries. We were able to start that back in 2020. And the journey there was interesting. We started for our first 10 years of ministry in Christian education. And then the Lord saw fit to call us into missions at age 32. So we began learning a new language at 32 years old, which was a little challenge, but he helped us. And so we were able to go to Cuba and serve there for a year, then the Dominican Republic. And then while we were there, the Lord allowed Don to be diagnosed with lupus. And so that changed the direction of our ministry and it was not easy, but God provided biblical counselors that flew down to the Dominican and helped us for a solid week, speaking truth and guiding us through the scriptures to be able to make those decisions and then transition back to Charleston, South Carolina. And there the Lord allowed us to plant another Hispanic church, but this time on American soil. And we give him all the glory for that. Then in 2020, we were transitioning the church to the national pastor and gradually we had chosen to do that, then COVID hit. And so a lot of things were happening at that time, but the Lord began to grow in both of our hearts, a ministry, a desire for a ministry that combined the heart of a pastor and missionary with biblical counseling. So we began to train when we were in Charleston, we got certified in biblical counseling, and then not knowing the Lord would lead us to start Saleh International Counseling Ministries that same year. When you guys have issues and problems and confusion and difficulties, you go to your pastors, right? Your spiritual leaders. But I ask you, where do pastors and missionaries go when they have those same perplexities that they face in their lives? This is why Selah International exists. I pray that the video will give you a glimpse into what God has called us to do and that how we could possibly serve you in your church. When we launched Selah International Counseling Ministries in December of 2020, we anticipated great things to eventually come, but our God is doing exceeding abundantly above all we could have ever imagined. We hope this presentation informs you of our priorities as a ministry, encourages you with some of the amazing things God has already done, and inspires you to join us in what God has next for Selah and for those we seek to serve. The Selah story is a personal one. This ministry was born because Dawn and I experienced the positive impact of biblical counseling in our marriage and in our family while serving the Lord in global missions. We were seeking to serve with faithfulness, but we were struggling beyond our own capacities to find strength and embrace God's truth. We needed help, and we found it through biblical counseling. We get it. We've experienced the heaviness, the darkness, the powerlessness, the fear, and the questioning. But it's because we also experienced the freedom, the hope, and the help we needed that we founded Selah International. And while we worked so hard to ensure Selah's personalized focus remains laser sharp and crystal clear. In complete dependence upon God's grace, Selah International serves God's church and his servants by helping them remain faithful, healthy, and whole as they continue to serve the Lord. We never imagined God would use the ministry of Selah to impact so many so soon. But we give him all the glory and thank so many who have sacrificially partnered and served with us. 2021 was such an encouraging start when we first felt the burden to address the need. 2022 validated the need as even more ministry families reached out for help. But in 2023, the growth was remarkable. That continued into 2024 as God enabled us to double the number of counseling sessions that we provided for hurting ministry families. And not only this, but God gifted us a home base for Salem, a solid foundation for a bright future. Through the intentional application of His Word, God has restored families, healed marriages, given hope to the depressed, and to those who've been sinned against. He's also restored courage to those who have suffered great loss. We've received so many testimonies of praise to the Lord from individuals and couples who have returned to their homes and ministries strengthened and helped. God is enabling us to accomplish this mission in three ways. First, personal counseling and care for ministry leaders. We provide bilingual, in-person, and global virtual counseling for those in the ministry. When there are deeper issues, such as grief, depression, family conflict, or marital crises, we can provide several days of intensive counseling and respite on our beautiful property. Second, missionary debriefing and soul care. SELA can serve an entire missionary family who's lived and served cross-culturally for years. We help each member of the family biblically debrief as they process their experiences from the foreign mission field and then reacclimate to American culture. Third, retreats and refreshment. Located near Columbia, South Carolina, our 48-acre property includes renovated private lodging accommodations, which allows us to serve multiple ministry families at the same time. And as if the facilities were not blessing enough, there's a seven-acre lake that provides endless possibilities for outdoor activity. Looking ahead, we see this multifaceted property allowing us to host pastoral staff retreats and workshops for ministry leaders to provide them a time of spiritual renewal and rest. We truly can't wait to see what God has for us next. A ministry such as Selah cannot exist to make an eternal impact apart from dependence on God and God's people as we seek to serve those in need. So allow me to highlight a few ways Selah can serve you, your church, and those sent out from your church. Pastors and ministry leaders, Selah is beneficial to you and your family. If you're hurting or perplexed, you don't have to keep struggling alone. Please reach out to us at selahinternational.org. As it says in Hebrews 12, we would love to help lift up the hands which hang down and strengthen the feeble knees. Church members, introduce Selah to your pastor, pastoral staff, and missionaries. Send them to our annual refresh retreat or even send them to our property for a personal time of renewal and encourage them to reach out in times of need. Congregations. We'd love to assist you as you seek to care for your missionaries. Our Soul Care Initiative is a great way for you to actively meet their needs in a tangible way through partnership with Selah International. Partnering together will allow us to provide needed counseling and support to these heroes of the faith as they carry on the work of the gospel on the mission field. Now, here's how you and your church can help Selah. We need passionate individuals and churches at the grassroots level to come alongside and partner with us financially and in fervent prayer. Would you pray about taking an active part in helping Selah International continue to be that safe haven for God's servants and their families? Your generous one-time or monthly gift allows Selah International to sustain and continue to grow to meet the increasing demands of coming alongside so many ministry leaders in their time of need. So we praise God for all he's allowed us to experience thus far at Selah. And we want to ask you to join us in continued prayer and greater partnership as together we serve God's family and look to God's leading for the next chapter on this blessed journey. from the Salem family to your hearts. We thank God upon every remembrance of you. And we thank you for this opportunity to share what God is doing. This is why we exist. I pray that you're able to catch a little bit of the purpose and the vision that we have. And we, our desire is not just that your pastor will be in his place, but that he'll be encouraged. He'll be ready to face the challenges of the pastorate. and also your missionaries. We want your pastors to be strong so that they can encourage you and meet the need of the local church. So everything we do is centered around the local church ministry. We would love to talk to you after the service and get to know you better. So please stop by the table. You can see there on the screen, I have different resources that you can take advantage of. Our prayer card is a little business card that will allow you to contact us in any way you see fit. All the information you need will be right there. Also, we have our updates that are on the table. Please sign up, as Pastor already mentioned. Write your name down and your email address legibly. Very important word there, legibly, so that you can receive those. But these will give you details on what's going on at SELA and then events that are coming up. Also, we have different resources there that you can take advantage of. These are little counseling booklets that deal with each topic that you might be able to grab, five bucks each. and see hope develop today in a certain situation. Here's one on anger that might help those of you that have an issue with anger or someone that you love that has an issue with anger. Here's one on prodigal children. More and more and more these days we see children making decisions that lead them away from the faith. So if you're dealing with that, these might be some helpful hints for you there. And also for evangelistic tool, Here is Ultimate Questions. It's a book that you're able to give to someone who truly is considering Christianity, but are not quite there yet. And these answer the ultimate questions that everyone has about life and meaning and creation. And these are very effective. So grab a few of these to use in your evangelistic ministry every single week. Let's go to God's Word, okay? Psalm 46. Oh, no. Have you ever said that the last couple of weeks? Oh, no. Your mechanic calls, you have to have a new transmission. Oh, no. I love this one. Your daughter passes her driver's test. I mentioned this morning that our daughter, Abby, our oldest daughter, she is so sweet, but she took out three mailboxes the first week she had her license. Yeah. Um, man, when your wife says, honey, we need to talk a lot of times we have no idea. And so that could create great. Oh, no, anxiety. And then on a more serious nature, many of you have faced this when you get the call from the doctor and it's the cancer diagnosis. Or you hear about a loved one who is being taken to the hospital because of a heart attack or a stroke. or your son or daughter comes to you and confesses to immorality, or even a same-sex attraction. Oh no. Many of these issues and more are facing us these days. And I don't know each one of you, but I do know this, that every single person in here this morning is facing some sort of oh no moment, or you're about to enter into one very soon. I don't say that to discourage you. I say that to get your attention so that this morning we can go to a place where we can find hope. As a matter of fact, let's put ourselves in a scenario in your life. If you are facing one of those moments, let's just say you're diagnosed with cancer and a friend of yours, a coworker or a neighbor comes to you and they say, you know what? I am so sorry to hear about your cancer diagnosis, but you're a Christian. Why would God allow this to happen to you? How would you respond to that? That's what they're thinking if they don't know the Lord. This morning, I want us to go to a passage of scripture in Psalm 46, and I want us to draw great hope and strength from this passage. This can make a difference in your life today. So I pray that God will use this as we go through this Psalm this morning. Psalm 46 is a great song of confidence in any crisis. Lord Jesus, I pray today that you would bless us as we go through this passage. I pray, Father, that you would use my words to be clear, concise. I pray it would be effective, but more than that, God, I pray that your word would be the first and primary presence this morning. May our focus be on what you have said, not on what we think. But Lord, what you have said in your word, and I pray that they will leave, that all of us will leave this morning with hope, new hope in our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen. Martin Luther, the reformer back in 1500, made this statement. When he was in distress, he would go to church, call for everyone to stand to their feet, and he would say, let's sing the 46th Psalm, and this is what he said, and then let the devil do his worst. Pastor Boffin, I have not gotten the courage to say that yet, but Martin Luther was so engulfed and saturated with this psalm of confidence, he could even say, devil, bring it on. Wow. As you read this psalm and you read all the historical data surrounding it, you're going to see that it was written during an extreme struggle for survival. The author of the psalm is pleading with God in the face of an enemy that is overwhelming, asking him for salvation. Many commentators believe the psalm was written around 701 BC when King Sennacherib and his Assyrian army was descending upon the nation of Israel, and specifically Judah. The Assyrians were known for their ruthless cruelty when they would come into a city and destroy it. And at the time of the writing of this psalm, they had already surrounded Jerusalem. They had already taken captive 200,000 Israelites around Jerusalem and conquered 42 cities. So now they were coming to their ultimate goal of Jerusalem and they're ready to destroy it. The Assyrians practice what is called siege warfare that you're familiar with. You surround a city that's fortified and then you just cut off all supplies and you just wait for them to give up and to surrender. There are three accounts of the siege upon Israel, and I want us to look quickly at Isaiah, because Isaiah was in the city at this time. King Hezekiah, his dear friend, was the king over Jerusalem at that moment. So turn to Isaiah chapter 37. Keep your finger there in Psalm 46. We're gonna look briefly at the historical context, and I really believe it will give clarity on what God is saying to us in this Psalm. As you're turning there, many believe, as well as I, that Isaiah was the one that composed Psalm 46. It wasn't David because 700 BC, David had already been dead for years. So they believe that Isaiah, in the city, at the same time of the siege, with his friend Hezekiah, wrote Psalm 46. Part of the strategy of a siege was the attacker, in this case, King Sennacherib, would send letters or messages to the king and to the people to demoralize them. So in Isaiah 37, you'll see how that he sent these letters that were saying it's useless to continue on. In fact, verses 10 and 11 talk specifically about what he said in the letter. I'm gonna put it in 2025 language that you may have heard from those that don't believe in God around. So in 2025 language, this is what King Sennacherib was saying in verses 10 and 11. He was saying, Hezekiah, stop believing all the nonsense about God being Yahweh. Stop believing in this phantom God. Stop believing you're a special people and that somehow God's gonna protect you. Look at all these other cities that I've already destroyed. Stop with the delusion. God is not real. Surrender and I'll spare your life. Hezekiah took the letter. He was thinking, you know what? That's true. These other cities have been destroyed. Why are we any different? It's just a matter of time. He didn't know what to do. So he laid those letters on the floor. You remember, right? You remember the story? He cried on his face before the Lord. And that night God answered his prayer. He had been silent up to this point. but he answered his prayer. Remember, back in the Old Testament, God would send messages to the prophet, in this case Isaiah, and then Isaiah would transmit the message from God to Hezekiah. This is what God said to Isaiah in verses 33 and 35. He said, therefore, thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the way he came, the same he shall return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake and for my servant David's sake." There we have it. God's promise. But they didn't know how he was going to do it. He could do it any way he chose. But I truly believe the context of Psalm 46, go ahead and flip back there now, in Psalm 46, if you read through this, you're gonna see that Isaiah was composing this Psalm and tracking what God had done in the past and the reality of his presence in that moment. He didn't know how God was gonna do it, but yet he wrote with such confidence because he believed and trusted in what God had said. So we're going to read through the first part of this psalm, and then I want you to notice there are three stanzas to the psalm. All the psalms were songs. Y'all recall that? They were sung when they worshiped together. And then in this psalm particularly, there are three stanzas, and at the end of each stanza, there's a word that I like. What's that word? Selah. As we were thinking of a name for the ministry, this stood out to me, and I began to research it, and this is what I found out. When you see the word Selah in the Psalms, it's a musical term. So as they were singing along those Psalms together, worshiping, and they came to Selah, they would stop. Many times it would be completely silent, and they would just think about what they had just sung. Then during that moment of silence, sometimes they would repeat an acapella while the musicians would tune their instruments, get them ready to go for the next stanza. But before they went on to the next stanza, they would all together in unison, raise their hands and they would praise and thank God for that one truth that he had just given them. Now you understand why their services were three and four hours long, right? That's what they did. So, this is what Selah means. It means to pause. In the middle of that crisis, you stop. What do you do? You reflect on what truth you have just heard, maybe in a sermon, or maybe in your personal Bible reading, or a message a friend has sent to you, or a podcast, and you stop and you rehearse God's truth in your mind. And then, before you move on, in whatever the crisis is, you praise Him. and you thank him for his truth. You don't know how it's gonna turn out, but you're still choosing to praise him in that moment. This is exactly what Psalm 46 is all about. Psalm 46, verses one and two, the first part. Read that out loud for me if you don't mind. Verse number one says this, begin, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, therefore will not we fear, stop. Three truths, simple truths I want to draw out of this passage today that I pray will give you that confidence and that hope that you need right now. First of all, we have confidence because of God's presence. Confidence simply because of God's presence. Verse number one says, God is our refuge and strength, a very what? Present help in trouble. Jerusalem was surrounded at this moment, but now they have been given God's promise that he would deliver them. I want you to know something, whatever the crisis you're feeling is right now, I don't know what that would be. Let's just say it is that cancer or that diagnosis that you were dreading, or if you're suffering physically, or if you're suffering emotionally, those relationships that just are not mended and it's just churning all the time. Whatever the issue is that you're facing, there's no truth more powerful than that God is with you. Nothing, no one can be with you like God can be with you. So when that unsaved neighbor or coworker comes to you and says, why would God allow this in your life? You can respond by saying confidently, I don't know. But then you can say, but I know this, I don't have to go through it alone because God is with me. And you know what, friend? He knew this was gonna happen before the foundation of the world. So he's given me everything that I need in this moment to have confidence in the middle of this crisis. Then you can ask them, what about you? Do you have that confidence that God is with you? And I ask you this morning, do you have that confidence that God is with you? If you're doubting that, or you know you have never taken that step to receive Christ as your savior, In the middle of a crisis, that's God saying, I'm here. Trust me, reach out to me. I am wanting to save you. If you've never done that, I beg of you, do that today, right now. And you'll see that hope that you've always been looking for given to you in that moment. Psalm 23, even in death, Psalm 23 says, in the day that I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? "'cause thou art with me." Isaiah 43 verse two says, when you pass through deep waters, that's appropriate right now, right? When you pass through deep waters, when you pass through the fire, when you pass through rivers, torrents of crises, God says, I will be with thee. And now look at verse number two in Psalm 46. He says, therefore will not we fear. So if God's with you, guess what? Fear is irrational. Did y'all hear me? Fear is irrational. Now we don't wanna think that if we're overcome with fear, we wanna think, well, it is rational. I know things happen in the moment and that crisis comes up and we don't know what to do. That's gonna rise up in your heart. However, when we recall God's presence with us, that should calm our fears. So whatever they are that grip your heart and the anxiety, this morning if you were there in Sunday school, you heard about anxiety and depression. When those feelings and those, the emotion of anxiety comes up, we have to cure that by truth. No matter how bad the circumstances will get, you cannot succumb to distrusting God. I'm gonna repeat that. No matter how bad it gets, You cannot succumb to distrusting your God. So the crisis happens. What do you do? You follow Selah. You stop and you pause and you reflect and you praise. If you rush out in that crisis moment, for example, I know there's some freaker outers here this morning, but I don't know who they are. How many of you would be sitting beside somebody that just freaks out in a crisis? Pastor, nobody's being honest. I know there are some of you. Some of you are like me, and when something happens bad, you just, it's just gloom and pity party. All right, would anybody admit to that? Thank you for being honest, Ms. Bales. Thank you. Yes. Let me ask you a question. Which one of those glorifies God in that crisis? Neither one. is drawing attention to us. God is calling us to respond with confidence in the middle of that crisis. If we start acting like that in the crisis, then we're gonna distort our life song that God's wanting to bring forth to the world. So tune your instrument, take a moment to get it in line with scripture, reflect on God's truth, and then praise him. and then take the steps forward in that crisis, whatever they may be. You can do that with confidence because of God's presence. Second, we can have confidence because of God's provision, because of God's provision. One of the greatest fears during a siege was that the water supply would be cut off. You can last without food for a while, but when water's gone, you just will have to give up in just a short amount of time. However, the psalmist speaks directly to this fear in verse number four. He says, there is a river, the strings whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. Unknown to King Sennacherib, when he started descending down to Israel, Hezekiah heard about his coming and he knew it was going to be rough, so he began to prepare for that. Now back in those days, it took them a while to come so far from Assyria down to Israel. It was about two or three years. And so Hezekiah began to build a tunnel. He dug a tunnel underground, under the walls of Jerusalem, out to the brook Gihon. tunnel fed water underground, under the walls, and dumped out in the Pool of Siloam in the middle of the city of Jerusalem. That is called Hezekiah's Tunnel. Here it is. Anybody ever been there? Walked through there? Yeah. My wife and I got to do that a couple of years ago. Our Hispanic church gave us a trip to Israel, which we were grateful for. So we began walking through the tunnel, but when we entered the tunnel, we were not prepared for what we saw and what we heard. This is what we saw and what we heard. Guess what that is. That is the brook guy. The springs are still gushing up with fresh water, supplying that water in 2025 thousands of years that when this song was composed and written, isn't that great? But what does that remind you of for us? John 7 38 says the Holy Spirit, he that believeth in me as the scripture said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. So no matter what's happening on the outside, on the inside, you can have that life and that confidence and that joy that God provides for you. Anybody know this lady? Yeah. I'm sure you've read her book. You might probably even seen the movie that was made about her life. Well, when Corey was around 10 years old, she had a crisis. She saw one of her cousins die right in front of her. It was just traumatic for her. And for weeks, she could not sleep. She would have nightmares. And she began to fear that what if that happened to her dad or to her mom or to someone else? And she could not get over that fear. So one day, her dad went on a walk with her. And he said, Corey, I know you've been so afraid from what happened to you. But let me ask you this. When we ride a train, remember last year, last week, we went to Amsterdam, Corey? She said, yeah, I remember dad. When you got on the train to go to Amsterdam, what, when did I give you the ticket? She said, well, when I got on the train, you handed me the ticket so I could give it to the conductor. He said, Corey, that's it. He said, I don't know what God is gonna allow in your life or my life. But what I do know in his word, he says that when that comes, that train comes, he's gonna give us the ticket of his grace. to help us ride that train. Question, did Corrie receive her ticket of grace? You know the story. She lost her parents. They had rescued 800 Jews, saved them, but then they were found out. They weren't Jews, they were Dutch. But God, in his sovereignty, allowed them to be captured, and then she saw her parents get killed, her sister starved to death, torture, starvation, all of these things were going on with her. And then she came to the point eventually where she met one of those same soldiers in that concentration camp that had done all these things to her, who had now received Christ. And guess what she was able to do? God gave her the ticket of grace to be able to forgive, to be able to forgive that person. When they were making the movie, They interviewed the actress that portrayed Corey in the movie, The Hiding Place. And they asked her, they said, you've spent a lot of time with Corey. What is the number one characteristic of her life? Look at her face. What do you think it was? Joy. Now considering what she had been through, and what I've been through, and I can't have joy, what a testimony of trust and faith in the Lord. You know what? The Bible does not promise that we will be immune to suffering. Maybe sometimes great deep suffering, but the Bible does promise that whatever our struggle is, it's going to get better with more, not less of Jesus. So if you're in that crisis, do not pull away from the Lord. Do not pull away from the church. Draw on the strength that the body of believers provides for you, and you will find that you can have that confidence no matter what happens because of his provision in your life. We've got his presence. We've got his provision. And now we can draw on his purpose. And brothers and sisters, this transcends every reason we have to have confidence. Verse number 8, look there if you don't mind, in Psalm 46, says, What Isaiah was doing here, he was rehearsing all the great victories of the past. Because he had no idea what God was going to do to save them, but he gave him his word. So he was choosing to rejoice and have confidence that God was going to do it somehow. Kraus and Nacriab had no idea who he was dealing with, right? That night, Kraus and Nacriab wrote in his journal, the city of Jerusalem is like a caged bird ready to be slaughtered. Tomorrow is the day. And that night, while those 185,000 troops were asleep, the angel of the Lord took them out. One split second, all of them were gone. And guess what Sennacherib did? He turned tail and he ran the same way he came. He went back and he did not accomplish his goal. God came through in that moment. Now we come to the verse Isaiah, I'm sorry, Psalm 46, 10. That is God's supreme purpose for you and for me in every crisis that he's allowed. Notice here that it changes person. Now it's God himself speaking. It says, be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. Now the word, the phrase be still is not in the first place spoken to us when we're stressed out. That's what we think, right? It's used on social media. And by the way, I'm not criticizing, there's nothing wrong with this. If you are stressed out in your life, you just need to put a Bible down there and a cup of coffee and need to take a picture of it to post. That's fine if that helps you get rid of that stress. Nope, not a problem. But that's not the tone of Psalm 46.10. The tone of Psalm 46.10 is actually a rebuke to a restless heart in a turbulent heart. It's like when Jesus stood on the boat in the Sea of Galilee, when his disciples thought they were dead, and the waves were coming over them and thunder flashing. What did he say? He said, peace, be still. That's what he's saying when we're in the crisis. He's saying, remember, be still, stop, be quiet. Sort of like that five-year-old boy or three-year-old girl that will not stop. And you try to get ahold of their, get their attention, hey, Michael, Mikey, Michael James Thompson, look at me. And you shake them, look, look, look, look, look, stop, stop, stop. That's what God's saying to us in the moment of crisis. Don't misunderstand. Whenever that crisis happens and you lose that loved one and your life's changed forever, God knows you're hurting. and it's raw, and he's gonna embrace you. He's gonna draw you close as he does as a shepherd. And he's gonna use your friends and family here in the church to help you during that time. But what I'm saying is that there comes a time when they have comforted you, when his word has comforted you, you've read his word, you know what it says, you know his truth, that you must make the decision to trust God and that he's gonna complete his purpose in that situation. So when we face those moments, we can react and freak out and pitch a pity party and continue in that misery, in that confusion, in that anxiety, or we can choose to believe that God has got a greater purpose for us in that moment. If you're in that condition this morning, I'm going to give you two action steps, only two, just two. The first one is trust his promises. To trust his promises, you have to know them. So if you haven't been in the word of God and that crisis is there, you need to get in scripture and start reading and noticing the promises he's given you. The best definition of trust, I came across several years ago from a fellow biblical counselor. And I would love it if you would just jot this down or just snap a picture of it and then keep it with you for those times of crisis. Trust is believing the word of God. and acting upon it, no matter how you feel, knowing that God promises a good result. Now that's action. That's not just, well, I've got faith. No, it's God, I'm choosing to actively trust you. No matter how I feel, I'm gonna believe the word of God and I'm gonna act on that because I know you're gonna make things right. I know you're gonna work through this situation in a way that glorifies you. As we close today, like you guys, Dawn and I and our family have faced crises. I remember in the Dominican Republic when we realized we were gonna have to move off the field and that couple flew down to the Dominican. They paid for their whole trip. They spent time with us that week speaking truth to us. Now it wasn't easy because both of us are pastor's kids and we knew the Bible before we were born. We went every service. And so knowing scripture sometimes can deceive you because you know it does not mean that you believe it and that you're doing it. It's just trivia. In that moment, we came face to face with a reality that we had known scripture, we have taught it, we had preached it, but we were not applying it in that moment to our souls and to our decisions. It's a big difference, but they helped us through that week. By God's grace, you can see how the seeds for what we're doing now were planted way back then during that crisis. Three years ago, our daughter-in-law, Toni, she was 27 weeks pregnant, 27 years old, and she was diagnosed with a brain tumor the size of my fist. They found it. It was not malignant, but it was growing and wrapping itself around her brain stem. So it had to come out. I remember getting the call, Don, I wasn't with you, it was 4.30 on a Saturday afternoon. I remember pulling over and they gave us the news. I had to preach the next day. And the topic and the passage of scripture was Habakkuk 3, 17 through 19. If you recall that, that's where scripture says that Habakkuk knew that Israel was gonna face the worst case scenario. No food, no fruit in the vine, no herd in the stalls, nothing, everything's demolished. But then he said, yet, what? Well, I rejoice in the God of my salvation. I made it through the sermon. We got in the car and drove an hour to their house. And I remember for the first time ever, I had a panic attack. I could feel it working its way up from my gut, tighten my chest, heart started beating fast. I couldn't breathe, suffocating because I started thinking all the what ifs. What if she dies? What if the baby dies? How's my son gonna react? How's he gonna raise their daughter they already have? All of those things started swirling. I didn't say anything to Dawn, but it was bad. And I said, duh, I just preached on this. Selah, right? Pause, okay? Check box, I paused. Next box, rehearse what you just preached. Okay, I rehearsed it, nothing happened. But then when I said, okay, the third step, oh no, I have to praise him? Okay, God, I praise you. Everything just went away. Now in an hour, I had to repeat it again. And the next day, Dawn was 30 days in the NICU holding little James. When it came time to in recovery, she needed backup. The surgery took two 12-hour surgeries. When she was in recovery, she had a full placental abruption. Baby tore away from the uterus wall, began to bleed out. Miraculously, they got him up four flights of stairs in seven minutes, hooked him up, and his life was spared. Dawn got to be with him every day for 30 days because Zach was with Tony recovering from the brain surgery. And so she got to be there, and I can tell you, it was just Constant, we had to go back to remembering his truth, confidence, trusting, not what we were seeing, but what he had promised. Here they are today. Praise God. She made it through. James is the happiest boy I think we've ever seen. Tony does our graphics for our ministry. If you've seen us on social media, she does all of that. So we praise the Lord that it worked out this way. Now the tumor is coming back. We just found that out recently. Don't know what's going to happen, but we do know we have to trust the Lord through this. He's proven himself to be strong. Now, you may be thinking, my story didn't turn out that way. You know what? It doesn't. It doesn't always happen the way we choose and the way we plan. But even though God has chosen to not allow healing, to not bring about restoration, Our trust and our joy must be in him and his word and his purpose in that moment. Trust his promises. And then the second thing would be follow his commands. It means no matter how you feel, you act on that truth. As I'm trusting, I have the responsibility to keep on serving, to keep on fulfilling my responsibilities as a husband, as a wife, as a grandparent, as a father, I must continue on fulfilling those responsibilities. One of the ways that we do this is by not trusting our feelings. How many have that experience? You followed how you feel and you go on that roller coaster. I feel good, but then I feel bad. And so I'm following the feelings. Remember, feelings are followers. Can you repeat that for me? It's not loud enough. Feelings are followers. That means if I can think truth then eventually my failings will follow just like a train. Problem is, we don't think truth. Here's how I do this in my life and how we counsel those that are going through crises to work through this. This is just one tool, but if you will grab a scripture passage that speaks to your heart, that really addresses your need, and you begin to meditate on that, in this manner, it will really give you that hope that you need. This is my verse in different times of my life. Isaiah 26, three and four says, thou will keep him in perfect peace. By the way, that is shalom, shalom. That's double shalom. Whose mind is stayed or fixed on thee because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. Powerful verse, right? If you will write that down on a three by five card, say it out loud five times every morning, five times at noon, five times at night for the next two weeks, your mind will begin to think truth instead of rehearsing the things that could happen in the what ifs. Another thing to do would be on the backside of that card, study it out. Those that were here during our scripture meditation session yesterday, that was fun. If you will take this passage and study it out, find out the meanings of those words in the originals, and then write it in your own words, a paraphrase in the first person on the back of the card, and then you will be speaking to yourself the results of your study. For example, this is mine. Since God is love and so great, I live beyond harm in his hands. There is nothing that can happen to me that will not turn out for my good, nothing. My job, is to trust and fix my eyes on him. God's job is to give me his perfect peace. Rehearse that for two weeks, rivet it to your soul. You will see the Lord bring confidence as you're rehearsing his truth and following his commands. If you're going through a crisis right now, major or minor, use this tool. If it doesn't work, then go to pastor, he can help you further, okay? Johnny Erickson Tada, you've heard of her also, right? Paralyzed from the age of 18, paralyzed because of a diving accident from her neck down, paraplegic. She's in her 70s now, been in a wheelchair for over 50 years, has had cancer, overcome cancer, numerous different physical issues. I heard an interview one time that almost made me run off the road. She said this statement, she said that my handicap has been an advantage to me. Can you logically tell me how that has been an advantage? This is what she said. It's been an advantage because my crisis has forced me to the arms of Jesus. So your crisis can either force you away from Christ or you can use it to force you to his arms. There, you're gonna find his presence is real. His provision is sufficient and his purpose will give you a reason to keep going on and find the truth and the strength you need and even joy in the middle of that crisis that he has allowed. I pray that will be the case for you this morning. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word, for the truth. Every time I hear it, Lord, it encourages my heart. I pray in this moment, Lord, that if there is someone who does not know you and they're in the middle of that crisis, or they want to be prepared when it does come, Lord, and they have never received you as Savior, God, today, Holy Spirit, draw them to yourself. If there's a dear believer, maybe older, younger, maybe teenager, that's going through a crisis, whatever that may be, Father, would you remind them that there is hope, that they must do their part to reach out to you, to read Scripture, to believe that truth, I pray, Father, that they would be encouraged today as we leave this service and that truly we can say we have that rock solid hope that comes from trusting you because you are our refuge and you are our strength. In Jesus' name, amen. Would you bow your head still or keep it bowed? And before we stand and sing and give you an opportunity to respond, I want you to stop and think. And right now, this is your time. to say okay Lord what is it that you're doing in my life and we were given a homework assignment right where trust is promises what is the promise that you make that I need to trust. Without Jesus Christ the Bible says that when you come to Him in faith you will be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. So that's the promise for you. It may be one of the promises that came out of Psalm 46. It may be other scriptures that God has brought to your mind. What is the promise that you need to trust? Now with that promise what is the command you need to follow? So ask the Lord, take this, this is your time to decide and think about what God is doing and ask him to make it so clear. And then, in a moment, we'll give you an opportunity to stand. This altar is available for you. You want someone to share with you how you can know you're saved by faith in Jesus Christ. You have other questions. We have people here that'll help. You want someone to pray with you. This is the time. You want to seek the Lord and make this front steps, these front chairs and altar where you're seeking the Lord. Then we want to help you and give you the opportunity. So would you stand with me as our instruments begin to play? This is your opportunity to respond. We do not take a long time for invitations, but we don't want to miss the opportunity that is before you. so so so so If you would look up this way, several announcements I want to give you here this morning as we complete our service. Things you can read about in your bulletin. Graduates, if you could get in those graduate information sheets, as we'll be recognizing our graduates on May the 18th. Tonight, after the service, we have men's basketball. Pray for that outreach. There's also tonight a special business meeting as part of our service. We're going to present the opportunity to replace our roof and what that will mean for us. You'll come tonight and hear that as part of business meeting, part of our evening service. And then you see there this Friday, we have Fine Arts Academy here at church. Those are fine arts students. and then Wonder Junction VBS. It is just around the corner. It is about a month from now and so we would ask that you would pray about that and then there's ways you can get involved. You can sign up in the foyer there to be a part and then there's things that we need both for decoration and for the drama. So if you have any of those items there, you can talk to myself, you can talk to Brother Blanton, Mrs. Mims, we'd love to chat with you about some of those things. Let's close our service with a song, and when we do, the Phillips can be back at their table there, you can go by there and greet them, thank them for their ministry here today as you go out this morning. Let's close with Be Strong in the Lord. Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord, and be of good courage, for He is your God. Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord, and rejoice for the victory Thank you for joining us. Jesus said to those who believed on him in John chapter 8, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. We join our God in desiring that you will know the liberating power of the truth of God's word as you apply it to your life. We would love to hear from you and find out what God is doing in your life. You can go to our website, stanleyheights.org. There you can contact us with your prayer requests. You can ask a question. You can find a free resource to study the Bible as a guide in your journey. You can get other sermons and other free resources that are available for you. While we're talking, may I ask you this question? Have you made the most important decision of your life to turn to Jesus Christ and receive Him by faith to be your personal Savior? Oh, if you haven't, would you do so right now? And if you would like some more guidance in that decision, you can go to our website, stanleyheights.org forward slash eternity, and you'll find some help that will guide you in that decision. Again, thank you for joining us. I'll look forward to hearing from you soon.