I'm going to ask you please to look again tonight to the book of Job chapter 1. Job chapter 1 verse 1. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants. So this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day. And they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them. And he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, it may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus Job did continually. Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, we ask now, Lord, that you would help us to see in these verses of your holy word what you would want us to see tonight. Help us, Lord, to rightly handle your word so that we would do nothing but read out of it what is your truth. Lord, guide us by your Holy Spirit. We know that he is our teacher. and just help us, Lord, to be workmen who do not have to be ashamed. We ask you, Lord, to do work in our hearts tonight. Lord, we stand in need every day of your work in us. Lord, you tell us in your word that you're working in us that which is pleasing in your own sight. And may you even tonight work in us, both in the way that we teach your word and in the way that we respond to your word, Lord, work in us that which pleases you. We ask you, Lord, to grow your people, to grow your church. We also ask, Lord, that you would touch the hearts of lost men and women and save sinners. Lord, even in this place tonight, there are men, women, young people who are searching and seeking. Some are not yours, and yet they are insensitive to their great need. And Lord, we ask you to just awake them and to show them their need for Christ. We love You, Lord, and we thank You for Your work in us and who You are, Your presence in our lives. In Jesus' name, Amen. This morning we began looking at Job from the perspective of fatherhood. We looked at Job as a father. And we asked, what do we learn from these verses of Scripture about Job, his relationship to his children, and what do we, on his Father's Day, what do we learn that could help us as we strive to honor God in our homes, as we as fathers, dads, strive to honor God as godly men. What do we learn here that can help us along our pathway? This morning we focused on the fact that you see in this scene a happy family. This should be the influence of a godly father in a home. His home is a place where there is peace and there is joy, where happiness that should characterize the godly is found, where the joy of the Lord is present. That, of course, is the Lord's work. Only the Lord can produce that joy, but God uses means and a godly father should be an influence in that direction. We saw some indicators of happiness in this family. We saw that his children would get together and feast together on each one on his day, would have the brothers and the sisters into his home. We said we can't know for sure what the feast days were, but it may have been their birthdays. And in their getting together and eating together and drinking together, you see enjoyment, you see Getting along, you see peace, relationships that are good. We saw that his children had graduated out of his home. They were established. These boys had their own homes and they were able to entertain one another. These children obviously enjoyed being together and that in and of itself is a blessing. There are many families where they don't enjoy getting together. There's strife and there's jealousy and there's division. But in Job's family there doesn't seem to have been that at this time. We saw that his children delighted in serving one another. They would rotate, hosting in one another's homes. They delighted in doing that. And so we ask, what kind of qualities in a man, in a godly man, what kind of qualities in a godly father would contribute to that kind of family? We talked about having right priorities this morning. Although Job was the wealthiest man in the East, had all sorts of wealth and it seems like his boys were well-established as well. His main concern was not just their financial well-being. Even though his children were getting along relationally, he wasn't just satisfied with material wealth and relational riches, but his main concern, his first priority was, how are my children doing with the Lord God? Are they honoring God as they should? Are they loving God as they should? We saw that his concern was that they had perhaps in their happy times together, perhaps they had neglected to honor God properly. This was his first priority. And we saw that this priority flowed out of a personal commitment on Job's part to God. Job wasn't trying to lead his children in a direction that was strange to him. Verse 8, the Lord's testimony concerning Job was this, have you considered my servant Job, that there's none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil? Job himself feared the Lord, Job himself turned away from evil, Job was sensitive to sin and didn't want to be guilty of it, and so that's why he had this concern about his sons and daughters. He wasn't trying to be concerned about something in them that he wasn't concerned about in himself. He had a personal commitment to God. And it was a consistent commitment, a consistent concern that he displayed, a consistent example that he set. We learn in verse 5, this wasn't a one-time thing. It says, "...and when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would sin." Not he did sin, but he would sin. This is what he would do as a normal course of things. He would sin and consecrate them. And he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, it may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. And then the Bible says this, "...thus Job did continually." This is the kind of father leads his family in the joy of the Lord. He has the right priorities, he has a personal commitment to God himself, and his commitment to the Lord is consistent and clear. The Lord God is first in his life every day as a pattern. And we also saw in Job's life evidence that he also loved his wife as he should. And this is necessary for a happy home, that a husband would love his wife, that the marriage would be sound and solid. We saw how in the most grief-stricken time of his life when his wife spoke very foolishly and said, why do you hold your integrity? Curse God and die. Even in that time, Job did not sin with his lips. He offered a gentle rebuke to his wife and he encouraged her to understand that we have received good from the Lord, shall we not also receive evil? He was a strength in a time when she was very foolish and very weak. So we talked about the happy state of his family and what we saw in his life that contributed to that kind of family. Tonight what I want us to see from these verses is not only was this a happy family, This was also a holy family in the sense that it was set apart unto God. In the sense that you had a man leading this family and he had dedicated his family to the Lord. He had dedicated his home to the worship of the true God. It's written all over those verses, isn't it? This is what Job did. His family was going to serve the Lord. Think about what Joshua said in Joshua 24 15. It says, "...and if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your father served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me..." What did Joshua go on to say? "...and my house, We will serve the Lord God. My house will be set apart unto the Lord. My home is dedicated to the worship of the true God." And it's obvious in these verses that Job's household was that kind of household. His family was a holy family in the sense it had been set apart unto the Lord. Now how do we see holiness in these verses? What do you see that goes into a family being a holy family? And by the way, I want to underscore this. I alluded to it this morning, but I want to underscore this. These two things go together. Where you have holiness, you're going to have joy. And so a truly joyful family must be also a family that is serving the Lord God. There is no real joy apart from the Lord God. How do we see Job serving the Lord in the midst of his family in these verses? Let me give you a few things tonight. Here's the first one. We see, and this is the mark of a holy family, we see Job encouraged the liberty of his children. And I know I mentioned that this morning, but I really want to camp on it tonight, that there is a concept of holiness that isn't biblical, it isn't real, it's false, it's a substitute, it's a counterfeit, and you will know this false holiness, you'll be able to recognize it right away because wherever you have a fake holiness, there is no joy in it. Wherever you have real holiness, wherever you have authentic holiness produced by the Lord Himself. That is, He has saved someone. He has redeemed them unto Himself. They belong to Him. They've been taken out of a dark and dying world. They've been brought into the kingdom of His marvelous light. They've been given life. They've been given forgiveness. They've been given fellowship. They've been reconciled to the living God and have a real relationship with the living God. You mark it down. Those people will breathe joy. And wherever you have a dead, long-faced drudgery of a walk, so-called walk with God, that is not real holiness. A holy family is a family that understands their liberty to enjoy life as they serve the Lord. As we saw this morning, Job did not forbid the feasting of his sons and daughters, and he was a man of integrity. Had they been doing something sinful, he would have stopped it. But he didn't do that. He even encouraged it by making sure that they carried it out in a way that honored God. And this is going to be true wherever you find real holiness. We need to understand this because the devil wants to suggest to us a concept of holiness that isn't real. It is external, it is rigid, and it sucks the life out of life. And it's not from God. What did they say about our Lord, the Lord Jesus, when He dwelt here among us? Here is God in human form. Here is holiness embodied. Now, His critics, what did they say about Him? What was one of the things they said about Him? Matthew 11, 19. Jesus said this, "...the Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, look at Him, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds." Now we know this was a distortion. I can guarantee you tonight on the authority of Holy Scripture that our Savior was no drunkard and no glutton. How do I know that? Because those are sins, according to the Word of God. Being a drunkard is a sin, isn't it? And being a glutton is a sin. And our Lord was sinless. So He was no drunkard, He was no glutton. But ask yourself this question. What does this tell you about our Lord? He rubbed the religious hypocrites the wrong way. And why did he rub them the wrong way? Because he would not live their life of false holiness. You understand that tonight? If you understand, would you say amen? He wouldn't live that life. He wouldn't subject himself to that false concept of holiness that was devoid of any joy. In Matthew 6.16, the Lord Jesus said, and when you fast, do not look gloomy. like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces, that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward." There's a version of Christianity, and it's not Christianity, that it's all about don'ts. Don't do this. Don't do that. Don't do this. Don't do that. Box up your life to where there's not much living. and maybe you'll be holy. And what you find about genuine Christianity, there are don'ts, there are thou shalt nots, but you know what? There are also whole lots of thou shalt. This is what you're to do. This is what you're to pursue. Love the Lord. Love your neighbor as yourself. Serve the Lord gladly. Those things are all throughout the Word of God. And when you come to know the Lord God in truth, when you've truly been redeemed and saved, you'll find out that even those negative commandments found in Scripture are not burdensome to you. They are joyful to you because you know you have a Heavenly Father who loves you and wants to spare you the pain of sin. The Bible does not say that the fruit of the Spirit is gloominess. The Bible says that the fruit of the Spirit is, among other things, joy. Think about it this way. If our life is a holy life, then it has to be an obedient life. Because there's no holiness without obedience. And if it is an obedient life, then it has to be a joyful life. Because we're not only exhorted to be joyful in the Word of God, and we're not only offered reasons to be joyful in the Word of God, we are positively commanded to rejoice and to do it at all times, in all circumstances. Philippians 4.4, rejoice in the Lord always. And that's an imperative. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. And so the first thing I want you to see about Job and about his family, this holy family that was clearly set apart unto the Lord, is Job was not a man who said, stop that feasting, stop getting together so much, stop that laughter. You know, that wasn't him. And that's not real holiness. Where there is holiness, there is liberty, and where there's a holy family, one of the things a father is teaching his family is how to enjoy life as unto the Lord. Whether you're eating or drinking, in whatever you do, do it unto the glory of God." So he encouraged their liberty. Now, not only did he encourage their liberty, there's a second thing we see here about the holiness of this family. Job warned of license. You see, as soon as we go down this road, there's always another group And they don't understand godliness anymore than the hypocrites do, the legalists do. There's another group, they say amen to that. You know, I don't see why you good people get so caught up in commandments. I don't know why you take the Bible so seriously and so literally. I don't know why you gather as often as you do there at the place of worship. Some people would say, I don't even know why you see any need to gather together at all. You know, God has given us all these things to enjoy and I have just learned what liberty is. Liberty is enjoying everything God has given me and you're exactly right. I'm against that long-faced concept of holiness. You see, they don't understand holiness either. If you're a libertine, if you think that godliness is living for your pleasures, or living for the pleasures of the world, I might say it that way. If you think that godliness is living for earthly pleasures, temporal pleasures, you don't understand godliness either. Godliness is learning what pleases the Lord and that becoming your pleasure because of new birth, because of conversion. It is delighting in the Lord, finding your delight in God. There's a kind of love that we are clearly commanded against in Scripture. Second Timothy 3.1 says this, but understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty for people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, Unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit." And then he says this, "...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." When he says lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, what's he talking about? Talking about taking temporal, earthly pleasures and serving those pleasures instead of serving the Lord. It's not a condemnation of all pleasure. It's a condemnation of sinful pleasures, temporal pleasures being placed in the place of God. Having the appearance of godliness, he goes on to say, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power. Avoid such people. Avoid such people. Where there is real godliness, it is a life-changing godliness. Changes your pleasures. Changes your desires. 1 John 2.15 says, "...do not love the world, or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, and the desires of the eyes, and pride in possessions, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." Philippians 3.18 says, "...For many of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, walk as the enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their God is their belly, and they glory in their shame with minds set on earthly things." So it is true to say that real holiness is not saying, you know, suck all the joy out of life. You can't enjoy anything God has given you. That's not holiness. But neither is it libertinism, where you say, I'm going to just live for pleasure. I'm going to live for the things that God has made. I'm going to set these things of the world. And no one says this. I'm talking about how you live. I'm going to set these things that God has made in the place of serving God Himself. I'm going to give my life to the pursuit of things that will not last past the existence of this world." That's not holiness. So Job's attitude was not that there should be no feasting, but neither was it his attitude that God should be forgotten in their feasting. Rather, he didn't discourage their feasting, but notice what he was concerned about every time. Verse 5, And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would sin. That is, he would summon them. He would call his children to himself, and he would consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, It may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus Job did continually. Kids, I want you to enjoy each other. I want you to enjoy life. I want you to see God as the giver of everything that He's given us to richly enjoy. But in the midst of your enjoyment, I don't want you to be insufficient in your praise. I don't want you to substitute what God has made for God. I don't want you to substitute each other for God. I want us to glorify God and keep God at the center of all that we do, even our pleasures, even our enjoyments in this life." That's the kind of attitude that Job would have had. And that's the kind of attitude that characterizes real holiness. We have to teach our families this. And there are a couple of qualities that go into that, into understanding that kind of holiness, real holiness. Job was a humble man. One of the things that stands out to me as I look at this is, you know, he didn't do what some parents do. He didn't think that his children were above sinning, did he? He didn't say, well, you know, my children would never do that. My children would never abuse pleasure. My children would never leave the Lord out of a gathering. My children are incapable of sinning. Was that his attitude? Not at all. Not at all. And he didn't think that he himself was above sinning. He understood the dangers to his own life. This was the Lord's testimony of him that we've seen in verse 8 before. Blameless, upright, Job reverenced God. And listen, you don't reverence God if you're walking in pride. And you don't avoid sin if you're walking in pride. Pride comes before a what? Fall. And so here's a man of humility who understood the dangers in this world. Folks, do you understand there is nothing in the world system that encourages you toward God. Every bit of it encourages you away from God. It's like we walk through a world full of landmines. If I ask you to walk through a landmine field, you would clearly hesitate. But do you realize we're walking through a landmine field every day we walk and tread this earth? All around us is that which would pollute us, dirty our feet, bring us down. Job understood the dangers. And so even though he did not forbid his children from enjoying the life that God had given them, at the same time he warned them of the dangers of sin, he warned them against license, He understood they were capable of sinning. He was a humble man. Hand-in-hand with this kind of holiness is Job was a sensitive man. Listen, he cared about not sinning even in its most disguised forms. Notice that God takes notice of our lives not just around an altar somewhere, putting it in Old Testament context. Putting it in our context, God is not just concerned, Job understood this, God is not just concerned with what we do in the church or what we do in public. Job understood that God is taking notice even of our festive gatherings in our own homes. What happens at Christmas? What happens at Thanksgiving? What happens at a birthday party? What happens on a day like Father's Day? God takes notice of that too. And if we want a home that is set apart for the Lord, we'll realize that. Do you realize, my friend, that God takes note of your conversation? Isn't it a sad truth that we'll say things in our homes we would never say anywhere else? As if that is, you know, safe zone? Not right to sin anywhere else, but it's okay to sin there? No. And Job understood? No. Even as his children gathered in one another's homes, he understood there is the potential for sin against God. One of my favorite passages in the Old Testament is Malachi 3.16. It says, "...then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another, the Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed His name." What a passage! They talked about the Lord with one another and the Lord heard them. took note of it, put it into a book of remembrance. Obviously, this is anthropomorphic language. This is bringing it down to a level where it connects with us. God heard it and paid attention to it and wrote it down. And He takes note of those who love Him and who esteem His name, even in their private conversations. If our homes are going to honor the Lord, we must deal with sin there. make our homes holy unto God. So when you talk about real holiness, there has to be humility. And when you talk about real holiness, there has to be sensitivity. Sensitivity to sin and sensitivity to that which pleases God. And we want to put away that which would ever displease Him. But also you can say, and this contributed to his view of holiness, Job was a gospel man. Because what did he do in association with his children? It says that he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings. Job understood the need for a sacrifice for sin. He understood that even those sins committed in our times of gathering, in our homes, are sins that would condemn us forever if there were not an offering for sins. What kind of a sin would send someone to hell? if not for the atonement of Christ. Any sin. That's how serious it is. Listen, those sins that we commit in our homes, Those sins that we commit through our common conversation or our attitudes toward one another, the way brothers and sisters treat each other at home, the way husbands and wives treat each other at home, our priorities, what we do with our spare time, those sins committed at home are the very kinds of sins that Jesus had to die for or we would have perished forever. That's why we have to deal with sin seriously right there in our backyard, right there in our home. Job didn't say to his sons and daughters, now if you commit something in public, we're gonna have to get together. I'll have to consecrate you and we'll have to offer burnt offering. No, even the sins committed in their private gatherings, Job would call his children together and no doubt speak to them and deal with them and then lead them in sacrifices for their sins. So Job was an example in liberty. He taught his children and encouraged them to enjoy the life God had given them, but he also warned them against license and taught them at the same time the seriousness of sin so that there you have a real holiness. There's joy and there's reverence at the same time. There's something else that contributes to a holy household. Job was watchful for the souls of his children. Dads, I want to encourage you with this thought tonight. I think often about Hebrews 13, 17, where the church is exhorted to be submissive to pastoral authority. And one of the reasons listed there is, it says that these men watch for your soul. This is their task. This is their God-given responsibility to watch for your soul, to exercise a shepherding work in your life. From time to time I may pull you aside and say, I love you brother or sister, I have a concern. It's a sister, my wife will be with me when I talk to her. I have a concern. You may one of these days say to yourself, who is he? Who is he? Express a concern to me. I'll tell you who I am. Someone given a responsibility by God to watch for your soul. That's why we do that. But let me say this to all the fathers here tonight. Do you understand you have a pastoral role in your family? You have a shepherding work to do in your family? That you are to be watching for the souls of your children and even, I would add, of your wife. Have a watch care ministry in their lives. Job was concerned about the spiritual well-being of his children. So what did he do? He took the initiative. He initiated this contact, didn't he? Notice again what it says, verse 5. When the days of the feast had run their course, Job would sin. He sins. He summons. He calls. He consecrates. He takes the lead in all of this. As one old preacher put it, he sent for them as a father, he sanctified them as a preacher, he sacrificed for them as a priest. He was faithful to a God-given responsibility to watch for the souls of those who are under our authority, those who are under our care. And in praise of his children, we have to also note they were responsive to him, weren't they? He sends, and what do they do? They come. And they're not only responsive to His instruction, His calling for them, they're also responsive to His concerns because they follow Him in the sacrifices for sins. They follow Him in these burnt offerings. Indeed, they made His concerns their own concerns and that reflected their own faith in God. Dads, are you watching for the souls of your children? Are you watching over the spiritual condition even of your wife? Are you asking yourself, how is my family doing? How are my kids doing? Is that a real concern? And do you take the initiative? When's the last time you had a serious conversation with one of your sons or one of your daughters about their walk with God? When is the last time you pulled them aside? Let me ask you this, when you see danger signs, When you see things that you know indicate spiritual coldness or they're just not, you know when we're doing well, don't you? You know when you're doing well, you know when they're doing well, you know when they're not. And when you see those signs that they're not doing well, when's the last time, especially if they're adults now, if they moved out of your home, when's the last time you took the initiative to say, you know what, I love you and I am concerned about how you're doing. Here's what I see. Here's what concerns me." Just because they're gone doesn't mean you stop loving them, does it? Just because they're gone doesn't mean you stop doing this sort of thing. These boys had their own homes, but Job still cared about them, still called out to them. So this was a happy family, and it was a happy family because it was a holy family. And this was a family especially a father that was ready to honor God in hardship as well. And that's what came their way. Verse 6, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, From where have you come? Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it. And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job? There is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around Him and His house, and all that He has on every side? You have blessed the work of His hands, and His possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that He has, and He will curse you to your face.' And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, all that He has is in your hand. Only against Him do not stretch out your hand." So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house and there came a messenger to Job and said, the oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them and the Sabaeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead. And I alone am escaped today." What does a godly man do at a time like that? Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and did what? Worshipped. He worshipped. You say this is a great testimony to Job. It is, but you know what? It's a great testimony to God because only God can produce this in the heart of a sinful man who's been redeemed Do you realize, beloved, it's only a short step from a table of feasting to the coffin. It's only a small step from the time of feasting to the time of mourning. Job was wise to watch for the souls of his children, for it would not be long before they were in eternity. And dads, do you understand tonight it won't be long until your children are in eternity? And are you working by the grace of God to prepare them for that day? And do you yourself understand it won't be long until you are in eternity? And are you ready for that day? You can't prepare your children for what you're not prepared for. And you'll never honor God in times of extreme hardship unless you really live your life with an eternal point view. Job did. Job was ready for this by the grace of God. It wasn't easy, but he was ready. You know, I can't help but notice also genuine holiness here. You know, there's a kind of, again, false holiness. When something like this takes place, The appearance someone wants to give is as if they don't even feel it. The godly thing is you don't feel it. Did Job hide his grief? He tore his robe. He shaved his head. He mourned, but he worshipped. He mourned, but he worshipped. And he said, verse 21, naked, I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job did not sin or charge God. Fathers, how are we doing? when I walk with God, are we influencing our families in a way where there will be a happy home? And are you influencing your family in a way that there will be a holy home? And will your influence lead your family in such a way that it will honor God even in the midst of extreme hardship? Only the Lord God can produce this. And may He produce this in us, His people. And all God's people would say, Amen. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, I thank You for the salvation that is rich and real and found and known only in Your Son. Holy God, You, because of Your great love and mercy, even when we were helpless, Your Son died for us, for ungodly people. By Your own mighty hand, Lord, You have changed our hearts so that we understood Your gospel, Your good news, You worked in us repentance, brokenheartedness over our sin, and faith that would embrace Your Son. You brought us up out of the miry pit. You set our feet upon a rock. You have made us Your children. And even now, Lord, You're working in us that which is pleasing in Your own sight. Lord, You make us aware, and we're grateful that You do, of how far we fall short of what You would have us to be, what You made us to be, Lord, what we would desire to be. And yet, Lord, we know that You're growing us and training us as a father does his children. And one day, we will see that salvation that You've begun in us completed, and we will be glorified and presented before Your presence spotless and blameless. And this, Lord, will be to your praise and to your glory, for from beginning to end, salvation is of the Lord. We thank you for this. Lord, I pray for any man or woman or young person here tonight who is yet to know this salvation by faith in Jesus. Lord, may they even tonight, with a broken heart, made aware by you of their need for forgiveness, A broken heart made aware by you of their need for the Savior. May they turn in their hearts from their sinfulness, from their sin. And Lord, may they flee from the wrath to come by running to you, by running to your Son. Lord, help us as fathers to strive into desire, honor you by the way we lead our families. Help us to be good shepherds, Help us to be faithful pastors. Help us to watch for the souls of our children. Lord, even to be a watcher for the soul of our wife. Lord, may we seek to live our lives in such a way that we'll be able to say with Joshua, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. We ask you this tonight in Jesus' name. Amen.