Please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 10, Hebrews 10, and we'll be looking at verses 19 through 25. And that's on pages 946 through 947, if you're using your pew Bible there. We're moving toward not quite there yet, but this is very practical today toward the practical applications of all that we've gone over in Hebrews Hebrews chapter 10 verses 19 through 31 Let's hear God's Word together. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain that is through His flesh, And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching, the day drawing near. Let's pray. Father, as we continue in this wonderful study through the book of Hebrews, And we come now to some of the applications or exhortations that would proceed out of all that we've learned. We ask, Father, that You would give us grace to recall all that we've seen in the glory of Your Son, in the superiority of Your Son over all of the old covenant rituals and ceremonies. And that that would lead us, Lord, to say, well, what shall we then do with these things? And as you respond to that question by giving us these exhortations, we pray that you would give us the strength and grace to indeed take these to heart, to take action, to apply these things, Lord. So please give us grace, Lord, in the application of your word this morning. Forgive us for our sins and grant us your Holy Spirit so that we might do what's pleasing to you, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Jesus is the Son of God incarnate. Jesus is the perfect High Priest. Jesus is from the perpetual order of Melchizedek. Jesus has been appointed unto the priesthood or to his priesthood by divine oath. Jesus has offered himself as a perfect, sinless, human offering. Jesus has entered into God's heavenly tabernacle, not made with human hands. Jesus is the mediator of a better and new covenant of grace. All in all, Jesus alone truly deals with the problem of sin, such that we can freely and continually enter into the presence of God through him. Having made his case to affirm these profound truths, the author now moves on to call his readers to respond Accordingly, these precious truths should move the people of God to act in various ways as we've hopefully been amazed by the things that we've seen and grown in our appreciation of what Christ has done. It should lead us to say, how can we then respond? Well, this morning then, we will consider three of the ways in which the author calls for a response. First, we begin with verses 19 to 21, as the preface, kind of a summary, a little bit of a summary of what he said, or at least pointing back to that, that leads then to these three responses. He says, therefore, brothers, since we have confidence, right, this is what he's established already. Since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh, and since we have a great high priest or a great priest over the house of God, let us, he says, and then he gives us exhortations. And so in light of all he has just said, he begins by saying, therefore, He's saying these things being the case, he's assuming we've read all that he's said already. Christ having accomplished in full what the old covenant sacrifices merely foreshadowed and could not accomplish through animal sacrifices. Therefore in that light, and he says brothers, that is partakers of the same new covenant promises and blessings, that is the better things to come, since we have confidence to enter the holy place, since we can enter not merely the earthly holy places, that is the copies, but the actual heavenly ones, the real substance. since we can enter into God's heavenly presence with the absolute certainty of being received, accepted, and welcomed by the blood of Jesus, he says, not by the blood of bulls and goats, which we've seen cannot take away sin, but by the blood of Jesus that is the perfect offering of the Son of God who bears the fullness of our humanity. by the new and living way, not by the old, insufficient, dead-end way, where the conscience could never truly be purified and cleared of all guilt, but through the new and living, effectual way, where the conscience could truly be cleared of all guilt and the offerer could be perfected. He says, that has been opened for us, for all who have truly been joined to Christ by faith, through the curtain that is through His flesh, not through the earthly veil into the earthly most holy place, but through the offering of Christ's worthy humanity through His human flesh into the heavenly most holy place. And since we have, that is presently we have, we continually have a great priest, a priest and superior high priest, a perfect priest and mediator according to the order of Melchizedek over the house of God. One who has been ordained by a divine oath and given all authority to rule over God's heavenly tabernacle. Since these things are the case, he's again summing up what he's already proven. He says, now let us, let us. And so the author is here summarizing and bombarding us with a glorious restatement, as it were, of all that he has just proven, with the intentions of compelling us to act in the light of these glorious truths. Everything in God's word is not meant just to remain in the indicative. It's not just to be informative for us. Everything is meant to produce action or response. It leads to imperative, to exhortation, to a response. So in other words, there are profound implications. Implications that ought to affect how we live and act daily. which emerged from all that has just been presented to us about Christ, who he is, and what he has accomplished for us. And so the author states here, as it were, since we have such a great high priest who has by his valid, perfect, and effectual offering now accomplished for us that which was merely foreshadowed in the old covenant, let us take advantage of his laborers by acting and responding in the following ways. Since we now have license to do certain things that were once held by mere shadows, but have now been opened up and released to us, let us take full advantage of these opportunities, let us act. And then he provides us here now with three actions that we ought to take, three let us statements. Since, well then let us, he says three times, compelling us to respond to so glorious a gospel. And those are the three things that we will now consider. First, in verse 22, he begins, let us, since that's the case, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." So he begins by saying first, since this is the case of what Christ has purchased for us through his offering, let us draw near. Let us come close. Let us approach. Let us draw near. To what or whom is he calling us to draw near in light of everything that he has said? Well, of course we know, to the living God, of course, from whom we were once alienated because of our sins. See, we can now draw near to God. we could enter into the most holy place. At the beginning of creation, Adam walked with God in the Garden of Eden. But because of his rebellious sin, he and Eve were kicked out of the Garden along with all humanity that would descend from his loins bearing the curse of his sin nature. But now, a viable means has been provided, enabling sinful men through the righteous Son of God to lay hold of God once more. We can draw near. And so the author declares with a sense of fervent encouragement, as it were. He says, don't turn away from God by going back to the priesthood and the sacrifices of the old covenant that still keep us at a distance. Even those sacrifices and those high priests still kept them at a distance. There were still the barriers in place. And only the high priest can enter into the most holy place once a year. and only the priest can enter the holy place. And the people were limited as to how far they could come. But since that's been exchanged or been removed and replaced with the access we now have in Christ, he says, draw near through Christ, your perfect high priest and sacrifice through him. He says, go to him, draw near to him and draw near to him with a true, that is with a sincere and genuine heart in full assurance of faith. Go to him with a sincere heart in spirit and in truth. being confident when he says, in full assurance of faith, being confident that he fully receives you at all times, and that without regret, God receives us, not reluctantly. He doesn't say, well, you know, I guess I have to receive you because of what my son has done, and so I'll do that. No, he's the one who sent his son to do that, so that he willingly and freely bids us to come to him, and he receives us without regret. Faith is only required in the present when he says this. Faith is only required, this full assurance of faith, because we cannot see God on this side of the grave. See, we have to have a full assurance of faith, a full confidence. The only thing that would challenge that is because we can't see God, right? And there's still limitation in one sense. But he says, don't let that hinder you. By faith, you can come. And that faith is necessary because on this side of the grave, we don't see God directly. But we can be absolutely certain that he hears and receives us with arms open wide in the light of what our Lord and Savior has most assuredly accomplished in time and space and in the light of his present unending ministry of intercession on our behalf. And he says, and with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. What couldn't happen through the old covenant sacrifices? What have we seen? They could not purify the conscience because there was a reminder of sins year after year because the sins were not ultimately removed, they were covered for a time. Here, he says you can come with a clean, being clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. through his sanctifying grace and his perfecting power at work in our inner man. Because his sacrifice actually removes the guilt of our sins. We can draw near to God with a holy desire to put our remaining sins to death. offering our bodies and our members as holy instruments unto the service of God in Christ. It's like what he says in Romans 12 about offering our bodies as living sacrifices and our members. Christ's shed blood purifies our consciences and our motives and our inward desires, enabling us to move forward bearing no guilt from our past sins so that we can now serve God with a pure heart. And our bodies, our physical members, are now washed and sanctified by the Word of God and the effectual working of the Holy Spirit so that we can dedicate them to His holy service. What a contradiction to the Greek thinking of that day. To think that only the spirit was good or could be good and the body is in itself evil. Here we find that the bodies are sanctified as well unto the service of God. They are good as they were from the beginning, but sin has been what's corrupted us. We are now fit ministers of God. where a holy priesthood, able to enter into his presence, conducting ministry on behalf of all who surround us, those who are saved and unsaved alike. This was pictured in the shadow of the priesthood. Remember when they were sprinkled with blood and they had blood put on their toes and on their thumbs and they washed in the labor whenever they had to go in and offer sacrifices, they had to wash in the labor. Well, what that signified by way of symbol is the reality of what God has done for us in Christ so that we are washed on the inside even as they were washed on the outside. But then secondly, there's a second exhortation. So that's the first, is draw near, come near. This being the case, come near. In verse 23, the author exhorts, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. The first exhortation had to do with taking full advantage of the opportunity of drawing near to God in Christ. This second one relates to persevering and holding fast to our confession. To hold fast is to cling to. with the entire conviction of your soul. It's to cling to with your soul and that plays its way out in our actions and how we live. But it's to cling to that same gospel. It entails not allowing anything whatsoever to shake you from your firm conviction of your hope in Christ alone. There will be many subtle, demonically-originated teachings and traditions that will attempt to slip in, wishing to loosen your grip on the simple gospel of Jesus Christ. People will tell you, both directly and indirectly, that Christ is insufficient. Not that he's not helpful at all, but that you need something else to add to Christ. They will come in the form of moralism, traditionalism, secularism, social justice, and a host of other seemingly noble customs. They are customs of deception. Even good practices, things that you'll say, well, those are good practices, will be elevated to the place of becoming gospel realities, attempting to shift your trust to some degree away from Christ alone and into some other direction. It's a good thing to want to be a godly man or a godly woman or a godly father or a godly worker. Things we've talked about even in Colossians. But when that becomes the gospel, when that becomes the thing that makes you right or keeps you in a right position before God, it is a false gospel and it becomes dangerous. When it's not a fruit and becomes the essence of your faith, then you know you're shifting away from the gospel and that is what happens continuously throughout the ages. having considered all of the glorious realities surrounding Christ's high priestly ministry and work. We must strive long and hard to retain our grip of faith on Christ and on Christ alone, even as we strive to improve our responsible obedience to Christ at the same time. So we want to improve our obedience. We want to get into the practical obedience that we're called to do, those things that signify the truth about Christianity. They are those which evidence our Christianity. But we want to improve upon our grip of faith in Christ, which is the means that we obtain the power to obey in those ways. It's always through faith and never separate from Christ. We dare not shift. to a legal, self-righteous mindset, believing for a moment that our salvation rests on anyone or anything else but Christ. All throughout Christian walk we will come upon oil slicks and grease pits and slippery moral slopes that will attempt to move us away from Christ but our feet must be uncompromisingly shod with the gospel of peace and the gospel of grace at all times, so that we will stand and press forward without falling to the left or to the right. We are exhorted to hold fast our confession notice without wavering. without wavering, there's no compromise. Our gospel convictions are never to become optional. They must be bolted down, welded, and cemented into our hearts as screws that will never budge under any amount of pressure. And we secure such an uncompromising conviction with the most powerful adhesive in the universe. What is it that enables us to secure that conviction? To maintain that conviction? It's what he says here in this text. It's the understanding that God is faithful. It's the faithfulness and the integrity of God that drives us to continue to cling to that conviction. We don't budge because we're convinced that God won't budge, that his gospel has not changed. It's like the Apostle Paul says in Galatians, if I or even an angel from heaven come to you with a different gospel, then may he be accursed. The message takes the precedence over everything. The message takes the precedence over the apostles. Now, thankfully, the apostles are those who brought the message. And they stood faithfully on the message. And they were ordained by God to represent Christ and His message. But Paul says, if I, an apostle, come to you with a different teaching, he's putting the teaching over himself. Let me be accursed. The message is what's relevant, what's important. And that's why today, you'll have in some of these other churches, alleged churches, false churches, the Roman Catholic Church, even Greek Orthodox, what do they appeal to? Tradition. Well, there's apostolic accession, apostolic succession. It went from the apostles to these men and these men and these men. And they don't consider whether or not the truth is still maintained. by these different organizations, and so they prefer the alleged succession over the truth. We go by the truth, and if every church or every denomination goes astray in the truth, we don't appeal to succession, we appeal to the gospel and to the truth and to God's word, which is over and above all else. Let them be accursed if they contradict that message. All that we have studied and learned, and reinforced about the glory of Christ's work of mediation on our behalf, has been planned, ordained, and accomplished by the sovereign mind and hand of God. And so we know, as we see in our text, attached to this exhortation, he who promised is faithful. That's where our hope is, nowhere else. Our God is uncompromisingly reliable forever. He has always shown himself as such, and he can be nothing less than faithful and true to his word. We saw this already in Hebrews as well. His promises are backed by what? By a divine oath that he gave to Abraham, assuring us that the one who cannot lie, it's impossible for God to lie, will indeed fulfill all of his promises that have been given to all who cast their hope and confidence in Christ alone. And so such glorious truths compel us to draw near and to hold fast. And then thirdly, there's a third exhortation that he gives us here as well. Finally, we're further exhorted in verses 24 and 25. And let us consider, there's the third let us, Consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some. but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day draw near. How important this is. We actively draw near to God in prayer. We saw that already. That was the first let us. We cling to our hope in Christ without compromise. That was the second let us. But we also commit ourselves to building each other up in our most holy faith. That's the third let us. let us consider notice how to stir up one another to love and good works what wording is used here what great wording he says let us consider you see considering involves consciously striving to do something there there is there's something going on in the mind you're you're taking action with your mind to think about how you can do this. You're planning it out. You're not just going haphazard as you move forward or random. There's consideration. There's meditation. There's pondering involved. Intentionally looking for ways to do what? To stir one another up. What a wonderful word. To stir one another up. You see, stirring brethren, involves being a catalyst. Stirring is to be a catalyst. It's to provoke in a positive sense. It's an action that proceeds out of consideration. It means that we're consciously planning, thinking about these things, and then as we plan, we then take action with stirring up the brethren according to what we planned. Some people look for intentional ways to stir up trouble, don't they? They know what kinds of sparks and triggers will create problems and cause chaos and division. They know how to do that. They study it. They've given their mind to thinking about these things, and they know if they do this, it will create problems. It will set a wedge. Here, however, we have the opposite notion in mind. We consciously look for ways to stir the pot of blessing. We generate waves of grace, looking to initiate sparks that can trigger productive gospel flames in others. And our intent in considering and utilizing means of stirring up others has an aim in mind. We have a goal. We consider. We process. We ponder. How can I stir these people up? How can I stir them? And there's a goal unto what? It is to stir them up, to motivate others onward to what? To love and good works. How can I be a catalyst that will stir the pot, that will meet that base and keep it from just staying still and get it to start to work in such a way that it will produce love and good works? You see, it's not just being satisfied with my own activity in the kingdom. It's saying, well, look at what I'm doing for the kingdom. But it's using biblical means of encouraging and motivating others to be active in the kingdom as well. We look around the body and we say, this is a body and we all need to be active. And we see where there's less activity in certain areas. Well, how can I stir that up? It's a domino effect, a chain of influence whereby we pass on such a spark to each and every one of the people of God. And the goal is to cultivate an atmosphere where everyone is consciously, biblically looking for the means of continually expressing love in all directions and devoting ourselves to good works. Works of service that build up and advance the kingdom of God. It's like in the book of Ezra. If you see Ezra and Nehemiah, you'll see this idea throughout those two books. Because there are times when the people grew dull. They were afraid and they backed up because of the enemy. And then they stopped what they were supposed to be doing in either building the city or the wall or the temple. And they needed to be stirred up again, right? The pot kind of settled. Well, in Ezra, when the people had gone back to Jerusalem, to rebuild their temple and their wall and their city. Remember, their city that they went back to was the equivalent of an ash heap. It wasn't just that the wall was broken down and the temple was destroyed, it's all the trash, the materials that were all broken and useless were still there. If they weren't dealing with a clean, you know, slate, a playing field that was clean, it was a wreck already. The work was beyond overwhelming and it seemed to be an impossible task. But the Lord would do what? What do we find there? He stirred up the hearts of the people, we're told. And people like Zerubbabel and the prophets stirred up the hearts of the people. A few good men and a few prophets used by the Lord stirred up the hearts of the people and motivated them to press onward and eventually they completed the task. Remember, they got everyone involved, most of the people, standing up, building up sections of the wall. They all surrounded the city, protecting it with one arm. They had a building implement, and on the other hand, they had a sword. And they stood there, and they waited until they could build that up high enough to protect them from the enemy. Do we have any spirit stirrers? in our midst, brethren, who would consciously, actively, consistently seek to awaken our body as we would be tempted to drift and slumber and lose sight of the glorious prize. We all drift We all slow down at times. We all get caught up or busy at times in other things and we lose our focus. But if you have a body of stirrers, there will always be someone stirring others to get the flame going again. And then that person gets going and somebody else starts to wane out a bit and then they stir up someone. We're stirring each other up. Notice, and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together. You can't stir if you're not there, right? Not neglecting to meet together. When we distance ourselves from the body, we are like single embers that are in danger of going out. We need to be among the coals. We need to be continuing with the people of God as much as possibly possible, actively seeking to stir one another up. This is right in keeping with what the author had exhorted earlier, isn't it? And hopefully when we read this, you said, you know, that reminds me of what we went over in chapter three. Because what did he say in chapter three, verses 12 to 14? Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. Now, what's the recourse for that? What is it that we use to help keep us from drifting away from the living God, from growing dull, from turning away? Here it is, but do what? Exhort one another daily, every day, as long as it is called today. Now, have we ever gotten to a day that's not called today? When you wake up tomorrow, what will you call that? That's his point, right? As long as it's called today. Four, we have come to share in Christ if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. We're truly in Christ if we hold the confidence to the end. Well, what is the cure? What is it that keeps us from falling away so that we persevere to the end and show ourselves to be truly in Christ? It is the encouraging one another daily in the body. If you're not in the pot where the people of God are stirred, if you're not planted firmly in the church where life-sustaining exultation is mutually exhibited, then you will be prone to grow cold, to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, and to fall away. unless you are in jail because of your faith. And God gives you special grace in that situation. And sometimes in the jail, he provides fellowship. If you are not among the people of God as much as you can be, you will grow cold. It's a fact. That's what the scriptures teach. The gathered church is the mechanism which contains much of what is needed for perseverance growth, faithfulness, and sanctification. Notice, and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, listen to what he says here, as is the habit of some. Paul's not saying, well, good thing is we haven't seen this happen. He's saying, don't stop meeting together, as is the habit of some. And you can bet, you can bet that Paul could think of specific people, as well as the people in Hebrews. I'm saying Paul, because I think he preached this sermon, personally. But whoever wrote it, you can bet that he knew that they knew that there were specific people that they could see on and face the images, as it were, who have maintained a habit of distancing themselves from the church. Some have the habit of neglecting to meet and fellowship with the body, and they do so to their own spiritual demise and detriment. We have seen them throughout the course of our Christian walk, have we not? We could think of people in our own minds if you've been in the faith long enough. We've seen people gradually drift away. getting caught up in worldly things, believing they are better off doing things on their own rather than by the Holy Spirit's appointed means. And all such individuals who intentionally neglect meeting with the church, the people of God, are unhealthy Christians. At the very least, they're unhealthy Christians, if they're true Christians at all. But at the least, they're unhealthy Christians. They are like arms and legs that have been cut off from the body, having no blood flow or sustenance or oxygen to keep them alive. Remember, brethren, the church is the body of Christ, and we are connected to Christ as part of the body. To willfully separate from the body is to willfully separate oneself from the head, as it were. We need each other. We need to stir each other up, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, But, right, there's the not, but instead, encouraging one another all the more as you see the day drawing near. We know where this is all heading. We know the outcome. We anticipate the end of this world and the return of Christ. See, in one sense, while we don't wish to see the things happening throughout the world right now, right with Iran and Russia and Ukraine and China, and how vulnerable we are, at the same time, we pray about that, but we also don't, we're not afraid, because we know where this is all heading. We know this is not our home. We know that glory has not yet come to us. We wait for that final day to draw near. And as we age, we anticipate the end of this world and the return of Christ. And as days pass by, that day, that is the final day, which ultimately matters most, draws near. We are approaching, brethren, the end of all things, are we not? And so in order to avoid getting swept into the torrent of this temporal life's baggage, what do we do? You're not gonna get it from the world. We encourage one another to keep our eyes on the prize. We need each other to remind each other to look at the big prize. We remind each other that this is not our home, that there is a very clear approaching end in view The power of sin and temptation and the material sway of the world and this life's cares is ever upon us and we cannot face these alone. We must encourage each other onward past it all. You need me and I need you and we all need each other to pick each other up in the battle and to say to one another, dear brother, sister, look right there. There's the finish line. Don't stop now. Sow to the spirit. Sow to the spirit. Fight the good fight of faith and finish this race with me. For our heavenly prize and glory is just right there. Get up. Let's go forward. We are not home yet. Well, brethren, let me just sum up the matter by way of conclusion for you as we've looked at these three exhortations. All in all, brethren, all that Christ has done for us and all of the glory summed up in His person and His work that we've considered in the last several weeks has to be something that actually moves us. This is not meant to be merely informative. It's supposed to be life-changing. Again, the indicative always leads to the imperative. The imperative doesn't come without the indicative, because then you become self-righteous and works-based, but it always follows the indicative. Now while it ought to compel us to praise and thank God with our mouths, it also most certainly ought to compel us to actively, consistently, daily cast our lives into His service. Think about it for a moment, brethren. If Christ has opened up such a direct way to God, a way that has not been opened for thousands of years since the time of the fall of man, how can we not be zealous to diligently press into his presence? And how can we not fervently desire to live in a way that's pleasing to him, hating and striving to put the sin to death daily? And brethren, what more confidence could we have in the effectual nature of Christ's righteous offering? What more could God possibly do to convince us that Christ is absolutely and wholly sufficient to remove our sins and to grant us a guiltless conscience such that we can be certain that no matter how we feel, we stand righteous in God's sight forever. What angle of reasoning could ever convince us that Christ lacks something or anything to even the smallest degree that could hinder us at any given moment from coming into the very presence of God? What level of your own unworthiness could ever hinder you from being received by God when God is receiving you solely on the basis of Christ's worthiness and atonement? You see, brethren, that is the message of Hebrews and the message of Scripture, isn't it? We are not worthy. We will never be worthy. But Christ is wholly worthy. And when we come to God, we always come united to his worthy son. And so we hold fast to our confession, breaking through and past any inkling of an interference. that would take our eyes off of Christ. We drown out every opposing voice and tradition and teaching with the words, but Christ is worthy and therefore so am I. And then we carry this confidence with us wherever we go, always using it as a means of building up others and seeking the lost. we recognize our own weaknesses and the weaknesses of others, compelling us to press all the more firmly into the church, into the body and the bride of Christ, never forsaking the body, but rather encouraging one another daily as the day of Christ draws near. The end of your narrative, brethren, in this world is drawing near. The end of your narrative and my narrative is drawing near, and your eternal destination is just up ahead. Let that reality govern and direct. how you use this short and precious time that leads to glory. Don't get lost in this world, but rather live as the faithful of old have lived. Can you see how this is getting to Hebrews chapter 11? Very soon, we're gonna have an example, a checklist of those who faithfully endured to the end. Those who had faith and didn't merely partake in the ceremonies, they did that, but they had genuine faith. those who were exiles on the earth, and who look to a better home, whose maker and builder is God. And if you are not a Christian this morning, if you are not joined to Christ by faith, then know for certain as well that your path has a destination. But that destination will never bring you into fellowship with God if you are still in your sins. All you will know forever is the fierce anger and wrath of your creator unless you are joined to Christ by faith. Christ is the only means to God, the only worthy sacrifice, the only worthy mediator, the only worthy high priest. the only worthy means of entering into God's heavenly tabernacle where we can have access to our Heavenly Father whenever we want. Because He is the only offering that is worthy to actually remove and take away our sins. If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ, seek Him today before it's too late. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the amazing promises that You've given us in Christ. We thank You for all that You revealed about Christ to us. Even in these chapters, things that are so deep and yet so rich to our souls. And Father, we pray that You would help us to respond actively and consciously respond as we ought to in keeping with these commands. That we would be those, Father, who would draw near to you, that we would be those who cling to the promise of the gospel in Christ, and that we would be those who are among the people of God, stirring each other up and encouraging one another as the day draws near. Oh Lord, we ask that you would build these truths into our hearts so that we would live out of them, we pray in Christ's name, amen.