I invite you to turn into God's Word to the book of Romans, Romans chapter 11, Romans 11, the very last paragraph of that chapter. beginning here at Romans 11 at verse 33. May God's Spirit continue to work in our hearts and give us the Spirit's understanding, the Spirit's illumination, that we would grow in the Lord and honor the Lord, serve the Lord with glad hearts. This is God's word, Romans 11 at verse 33. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen. Let's ask God to be with us. Let's pray together. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we remember the Proverbs and the lessons where we were instructed, hear my son and accept my words that your years of your life may be many We also hear words to hold fast, to keep hold of your instruction. Lord, it's your instruction that you instruct us. And so we turn to you now as your sons and your daughters, and you administer your word to us. Oh, Father, may it be so that your Holy Spirit would impart to us understanding and life and guidance and comfort and counsel and correction. Indeed, Holy Spirit, lift our hearts unto our God. And so, Father, as we open your word, you come and instruct us, and you teach us and lead us. We are here not for ourselves. We are here for your honor and your majesty, your dominion. Be with us now, we pray. We ask your presence in Jesus' name. Amen. congregation here at Emmanuel Church, at the very heart and core of Bible learning, at the very heart and core of growing in Christ Jesus, it is knowing the essential matter that God is above and we are below. God is above and man is below. The Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Lord, our Master, our Friend, the Lord Jesus, He came and He came from above. The Bible tells us that. Sent from above. He came from above and He lived, taking to Himself human nature, He lived right here below with us. In Hebrews 5, a Bible book further on back, further on back in the New Testament, a Bible book there, the book of Hebrews, the book of Hebrews tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ did not take honor to himself. Didn't take honor. That chapter, Hebrews 5, is talking about that God sent him, God appointed him, It's all in the section about priests and priestly service and the great high priest who Jesus is. But God sent him, God appointed him, the Lord Jesus did not take honor to himself. And he lived his life here below, like unto us. Not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters, like unto us. And that same chapter in Hebrews gives an emphasis that in his life here below, in his life unto his father, he gave himself in reliance. He entrusted himself. And the emphasis in Hebrews 5 is that this reliance is prayer. entrusting himself into his father with prayer, thanksgiving, a reliance that indeed no honor is his, giving glory and honor unto his father. The Bible tells us he was heard, his prayers were heard because of his fear, his reliance, his trust, his entrustment, all glory to God. He was heard because of his fear. He learned obedience in his suffering. Our Savior was sent from above, but came as one to live here below." Now, this morning, we named the name of Christ. By God's grace, we name the name of Christ. We're here. We're here because the Lord has first loved us. We're here because we want to live and be strengthened in Christ. We want to honor Christ. We want to walk after Him. So how is it? How is it that we enter into this very life, this Bible learning, and this essential fundamental place of saying, It's for growth in you. It's for honoring you. How do we live in Christ this way? How do we follow in this pattern, that fundamental pattern, God is above, man is below? Well, we too. We too bring Him our hearts. We too, we bring Him our lives. We live in Christ. We rely upon the Lord Jesus day by day, moment by moment. He's our living head. He's our friend. He's our king. He's our master, our Lord. But we have questions, don't we? Lord, why am I here living below? Lord, in what way are you shaping my life? In what way are you taking my life in Christ and taking my life and shaping me after my Savior that indeed I might be a faithful servant here below? And Lord, as a congregation, here at Kent Emanuel Church, how is He taking you as a congregation? That together, as you name the name of Christ, and you long to honor Christ, and you long to live in the strength of Christ, and in your union with Jesus to live in the Lord, and to be strengthened in the Lord. But as a congregation, we have our ups and downs, and our twists and turns. And Lord, what are you doing in our congregation that we might be a better fit? that better example in Christ, that better strengthening display of being in Christ and thus to be your people. Lord, what is it that you have for us in the big picture purposes of life? You are above and we are below. These questions come to our minds. Maybe you're here visiting Kent Church this morning for your first time. We welcome you. But maybe you have these questions on your minds. Maybe you're not sure about what Christianity is all about. Maybe you're not sure what the main central message of the Bible is all about. Maybe you're asking, Lord, what is your purpose for my life? Why am I here? Where will my life end up? You've come to the right place, as we say. You're here because all of us are here. to learn that He is above and we are below. The book of Ecclesiastes is not far removed from these kinds of questions. To everything there is a season, a time of every purpose under, down below, under heaven. A time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, a time to pluck what is planted. And the writer goes on, I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He's made everything beautiful in its time. He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. The preacher here in Ecclesiastes is saying, God is above, man is below. If your faith is in Christ Jesus this morning, you're living in Christ and you're living through Christ and you're living through that enabling help of God's spirit that you might live out Christ and his purposes for the Lord here down below. But you do have questions. I have questions. There are big things that happen in our lives. There are little things that happen in our lives. There are these seasons to every season. There is a life under heaven to be lived. There are twists and there are turns. There's the providence of joy. There's the providence of what we sometimes call God's frowning providence, his frowning face, his chastisement, all with a view to have us more and more conformed to Christ. He's made everything beautiful in its time. And so we can say by his grace, we can say for from him and through him and to him, Lord, you have it all. But my guess, because this is where I live, my guess, it's hard to live in that strength day by day. How do we get there? How do we draw down from Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ, how do we draw down, he's our living head, we're called to live in him, and we are, but we know the twists and the turns. How do we get there? That's the book of Romans. It's the book of Romans. And even before we drop into chapter 11, the passage we've read, remember Romans. Romans is almost like four mountain peaks. We saw beautiful Rainier this morning driving in. Rainier, Adams, Baker, all of them, right? But there are four mountain peaks in the book of Romans. Creation, fall, redemption, glory. You need your climbing rope. You need an ice axe this morning. We're going to go through, just quickly, this backdrop, before we get to 11, this backdrop of what has been on the Apostle Paul's mind, missionary Paul, four mountain peaks. We start with creation. The book of Romans spells out creation to us. Our God is the God who is. He's freely determined to make all things. And the Apostle Paul pulls creation down into Romans. He pulls it right into his pen. And in Romans chapter 1, we have these words, since the creation of the world, God's invisible attributes are clearly seen. He moves on. Man is made in God's image. And that gets alluded to by the words, although they knew God. Romans 1, Romans 1, 18 and following, on down to 21, 22, 23. Although they knew God, they did not acknowledge him as God. But man, made male and female, made in God's likeness. And yet we know a little bit beyond Romans 1 and 2, we've got to bring 5 back in to the creation account that's given to us. There are our first parents, Adam and Eve. And Westminster Larger Catechism 21 reminds us that indeed our parents fell from that state of innocence wherein they were created. They broke covenant with God. And that's Romans 5 at verse 12. Through one man's sin, sin entered the world. And you see, that passage is giving us a window where we look back at Genesis 1 and 2. We're looking back into creation, the creation account. And what is Paul doing in Romans 1 and 2? He's got his bulldozer out. And it's a big one. It's a DC 9. And he's doing some excavation work, laying that foundation for his message throughout the book of Romans. And he starts here with these lessons about creation. Romans 1, Romans 2. I've brought in a little bit of 5 because it's a creation notion here. The first man fell into sin. Second mountain, the fall. Man is wholly lost. has a darkened heart, he has a record of transgression, he's in bondage to the dominion of Satan. Every aspect of man is soiled and spoiled, inwardly and outwardly, heart and inclination, and the practical outworking of daily living in his behavior. Every aspect of man, from his head to his toe, spoiled, stained, polluted by sin. That's Romans 3 and 4, part of 5. Move on. Third mountain peak, redemption. Romans 5 tells us that all mankind is either in the lost and sinfully ruined family of Adam or redeemed and restored in the family of Jesus Christ. And Paul is spelling out the gift of redemption. What is redemption? Redemption means purchased and restored. We typically are thinking of purchasing only. But redemption means purchased. There's a transaction that's made. but also being restored to usefulness. Think with me of Ephesians, Ephesians 1, 7. In him, in Christ, in him we have redemption through his blood. That's the purchase. Redemption through his blood. The passage goes on. And what? The forgiveness of our trespasses and sins. That's being restored and made useful once again. Purchased and restored. Now when Paul is marching through, Romans 5 and Romans 6, Romans 7. He's taking up the fact that our God does not lower His standards of holiness, but He comes to us in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And He comes to us to put man in the right with God Himself. It is justification by faith alone in Christ alone. It is God's righteous way of making the unrighteous righteous. And that's why Paul will say in Romans chapter 5, by one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, and so by one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. And Paul goes down a little bit further on into 7 and chapter 8 of Romans that God has sent forth His Holy Spirit. His Spirit has been sent to His church. to indwell the heart of the believer. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8, 11. And this faith alone in Christ alone makes us all, Jew and Gentile, makes us all a family. He will say in Romans chapter 10, there's no distinction between Jew and Greek. For the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call upon him. For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans chapter 10, verses 12 and 13. That's Romans 5, 6. I've dwelt a little bit longer in Romans 8. Moving on into chapter 10, 11. One last mountain peak, glory. Creation, fall, redemption, glory. Glory. The word glory means honor. It means majesty. It means brightness and radiance. It means something that is weighty. Glory. Paul essentially is saying we are to be a people of all because our God is brilliant, holy in his splendor, majestic in his ways and his works, glorious weighty in his being, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, our glorious God. Now Paul has been ramping up to this theme of glory even back in chapter 8. Those whom He called, He also justified. And those He justified, He also glorified. He's going to say in Romans 8 as well that there's a glory yet to be revealed. That means there's an onset of glory right now. made after Christ's image, renewed by the Spirit, made altogether new by the Spirit, renewed in Christ, made after Christ, living in Christ. You have a measure of that glory now. But that final glory is yet to be revealed. But Paul doesn't shrink back. He tells us, live as those ones renewed in Christ. live out that place of splendor and glory unto the Lord. In fact, he's gonna tell us in the next chapter from our passage in Romans chapter 12, that this giving ourselves over to the Lord is indeed, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. There's your glory, there's your worship, to be a living sacrifice unto the Lord, to be well-pleasing, to honor him and to serve him. Glory that has begun here below is that glory is to continue even unto all eternity. He will tell us in later chapters in Romans. None of us were called to live to ourselves. He says if we live, we live to the Lord. If we die, we die to the Lord. Whether we live or we die, we are the Lord's. And in Romans chapter 15, live in such harmony with one another in accord with Christ Jesus that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. Romans 15. There it is. Mountain peaks. Romans. Now do you see why Paul stops the writing? He puts the pen down. Oh, the depth, the riches, the wealth. His judgments, inscrutable. His ways beyond man. He is above. and we are below. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things." Could there be a hint in this doxology for from Him and through Him and to Him, a hint to the Trinity, the Triune God, the Father from From him are all things and the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, through him are all things. The Holy Spirit, to him are all things. Paul has put down the pin and he's saying in so many words, God is above and we are below. I want to draw down now three lessons. from the passage itself, Romans 11, 33 and following. The first lesson, we praise him for his greatness. The second lesson, we praise him because none compares. We praise him as a tribute, as an offering. Let's take up the first one, his greatness. And that's verse 33. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments. That opening word is a word of a sigh. It's a groan. It is not a groan of grief, but it's a groan of an acknowledgement of God's greatness. Can't you see this? Come and enter into this praise with me. And that word depth, he begins this paragraph of praise with that word depth because likely on his mind is this bottomless being and the ways of our God. He speaks of depth. He's speaking this way because this is the one who is vast in its breadth, in our God's width and depth and length and height. Oh, the depth. Now, many teach at this point, and I think they're correct, that Paul likely is using a figure of speech of the depth of the ocean. Oh, the depth. Oh, the depth. We make our way out to the Puget Sound. We make our way out to the San Juan Islands. And we see those waves. And we see the ferocity of the ocean depths. Paul likely is thinking like of Psalm 107. They who went down to the sea, doing business in the great waters, they saw his wondrous works in the deep. And this is striking. This is striking. to put forth language that Israel would be familiar with. God's people of old would be familiar with the depth and the awe and the vastness and the ferocity and the severity of the deep. If this is my map of Israel, over here in this direction is the Mediterranean. And then you have the coastal plain, up north is Galilee. And then over to the east, beyond the Jordan, is Bashan and Gilead. And that's why the Bible often refers to the North Dan, to the South Beersheba. Israel was a land people. And Paul is now using a figure that would get their attention. The Jew and the Greek. Here in the book of Romans he's likely referring to this figure of speech because he knew the ocean was something to be feared. This is one reason why the Israelites feared the Philistines so much in their history. They were a people of the islands of the sea. Southern Greece likely, not exclusively, but likely from the island of Crete. They were sailors. They did their shipping on the seas. They knew something of the deeps. They knew something of the waves. They knew something of the watery dread of the sea. And so Paul is going to lift that metaphor, bring it here into this passage about doxology. Do you want to think about the depths? Do you want to think about the watery dread? Do you want to think about the deeps of the awe of who our God is? This is it. Oh, the depth of the riches, of the wisdom, of the judgments. of who our God is, the greatness of our God. The Lord is in a category of one. Look at verse 34 of our doxology. For who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has been his counselor? Verse 35. Who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? Rhetorical questions, right? Rhetorical questions. They are penetrating questions. Paul in so many words is saying, yes, I know and you know that our God is great. But do you know that he has no need for the creation? He is above, we are below. No need for the creature. No need for the creation. He's in a category of one. Who has known his mind? Who has been his counselor? Who has first given a gift to him? Remember Job chapter 38. The Lord speaks to Job and it's those creation themes. Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge, dressed for action like a man? I will question you, and you will make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know. Or who stretched the line upon it? Or on what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone? When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy, Tell me if you know! Job chapter 40. Job replies. Job chapter 40. Then Job answered the Lord and said, Behold, I am of small account. What shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. No one, none compare to our God. No need of the creature. No need of the creation. He is above and we are below. Third lesson. This doxology is a tribute. It's a praise as a tribute. That means it's an offering. Verse 36, for from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Paul is offering this tribute of praise, this tribute of thanksgiving. And He's fundamentally doing what is our day-to-day-to-day purpose, whether you eat, whether you drink, whatever we do. Father, I'm here for Your praise. I'm here as an offering, all according to Your mercy, to offer to You to be that living sacrifice. Words of praise, words of tribute, a life that conforms to such words saying, Lord, I'm here for your honor, your majesty, to glorify your great name. C.S. Lewis, in one of his books, he reminds us that praise is not complete. I'm paraphrasing now. Praise and thanksgiving is not complete until it is expressed. And Paul here is unleashing his heart. O Lord, unto you be glory forever and ever. My heart is yours. I'm here to serve you. Now the book of Romans, and with Paul's doxology in view here, it's not giving us answers to all of life. We've already talked this morning about the twists and the turns, providences of great joy and gladness, providences of His frowning face where indeed we're learning lessons of chastisement, we're learning lessons to increase our devotion through Christ's strength, increase our devotion unto the Lord. Paul is not giving his answers to all of life's questions here. Paul is not zooming in on a classroom or a textbook kind of approach to life, a textbook way. Paul is not publishing words that we'll find on our Kindle. He's not giving us textbook answers. Paul himself understands heart-puzzling matters. Let's drill down just for a second. For Pastor Paul, Saul of Tarsus, now named Paul. For missionary Paul, for foreign missionary Paul, Paul is consumed with the preaching of the gospel. He tells us repeatedly, right? He's in chains but the word is not chained. He tells us repeatedly about his mission. For this is my purpose. For this, I would be about the ministry of the word, expanding the kingdom, expanding the gospel, spreading the word. Paul is committed to the ministry of the word. So part of Paul's doxology here, part of his doxology here is that Paul has just reflected on the place of Israel, the Jews, and the Gentiles. He's just told us in Romans 11 that there is this root and this trunk of Israel of old. She's in covenant with God and yet she's been hardened in her own unbelief. And Paul now says the Greeks or the Gentiles have been grafted into this trunk. And Paul is saying, well, God had his purposes with Israel. Have those purposes failed with the root and the trunk? By no means. But he says, missionary Paul, pastor Paul, preaching Paul, he says, but wonder of wonders, now these outsider Gentiles, they would be grafted in. And in so many words, Paul is saying, are you telling me that God's purposes are now including these outsiders? And there's been a hardening for Israel for a time to include these outsiders. And Paul is saying, who would ever have imagined this? The greatness of our God and the mercies of our God would bring in these despised and outsider peoples, the Gentiles, and He would show an honor and a glory unto them. And we know what's going on in that passage, that indeed they might reflect a witness and such that Israel might be won back. But it's all with a view that all men, Jew and Gentile, would be grounded below, down below, on the mercy of God. Oh, the mercy of God that would be distributed to all mankind. All of us are fallen creatures, and it's only His glory, only His majesty at work in that saving news of Jesus Christ. And Paul is saying, wonder of wonders, I would have never expected this. Missionary Paul, he's gripped, oh, the depth of the wisdom and riches of our God. Paul himself is giving us a bit of a glimpse of the twists and the turns, ups and downs, big things, little things, providence of all kinds. Paul is saying, you got me on this one, got me. I would have never put it this way, but our God is the sovereign God. I'm here because from him, through him, and to him are all things. To him be the glory. Eugene Peterson, popular author, passed away 10, 12 years ago. He's talking about God's greatness. He said, our God turns everything we ever thought about him around. We think that God is an object about which we have questions. We are curious about God. We make inquiries about God. We read books on God. We get into late night bull sessions about God. We drop into church from time to time to see what God is doing. We indulge in an occasional sunset or symphony to cultivate a feeling of reverence for God, but that is not the reality of our lives with God. Long before we ever got around to asking questions about God, God has been questioning us. Long before we ever got interested in the subject of God, God has subjected us to the most intensive and searching knowledge. And Peterson concludes, the fundamental mistake is to begin with ourselves and not with God. God is the center from which all of life develops. Oh, how we need to hear that today. So Emanuel Church, what will you do with this passage? We certainly have to say, it's not about me. And we hear that a lot nowadays. And we also have to say, it's not about we. The short range aim, the long range aim is not about man's happiness, but God's good pleasure. God being God, God being Lord, God working graciously in his love, his power, his wisdom and dominion. and we're here to be his doxology. Some of us watch the Olympics, when the Olympics come around every so many years, and we know about those three-meter divers. It's a three-meter board, and they'll walk out to the edge of the board, surveying briefly. They step back. They might use their right foot there on that paddle, and they're adjusting that fulcrum because they want that fulcrum back to the rear of the board. As they prepare their approach to the board, they want to hit that board, and it's a springboard. And they want to hit that board and have that spring action, and they want to sail to the heights. And they will do their twists and their rolls and their turns, and they'll knife that water. Paul is saying, Do you have that three meter board at the ready? The riches of God's promises, the glories of his great name, the honor and devotion of his works, his mighty ways, he's above or below. Because it's God's truth that indeed directs our steps that we might be that people of giving to Him the heights of doxology and praise. I close on one passage about the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord and our Savior came into this world. And he gave himself unto his father. Hebrews has told us he gave himself in reliance, taking no honor to himself. We find him often in prayer. We find him often with his 12, and he's saying, this is the purpose for which I was sent. Let us go to the next towns. He's a man, the God man, who gives himself unto his father in that full reliance, that full devotion, that full honor, and that tribute of praise. And specifically, we come to a place like Matthew chapter 11. And in Matthew chapter 11, it is a passage where indeed it has ministry written all over it. It's a passage where John the Baptist has been in prison and John sends a couple of his own disciples to the Lord Jesus and says through them, is this the one that is to come? Should we expect him or is it someone else? And Jesus tells those men, you go back and you tell John. Tell Him what you see and tell Him what you hear. And you tell Him that the lame are now walking and the blind are now seeing. You know that passage. It's ministry. It's shot through with Christ's reliance upon His Father in terms of His ministry. But go back and tell John what you see and hear. And then just a little bit later in that same passage, Matthew 11, Jesus is now presenting to us mystery of mysteries. Mystery of mysteries. Christ Jesus himself would enter into this life, and there would be matters where there would be God's judgments on display, and Christ Jesus, showing some of his humanity to us, is saying, these judgments are all of God's gracious design, God's gracious work. So what is he talking about? Later in Matthew 11, he says he's preaching now in Bethsaida and Chorazin. And he's saying, Bethsaida, Chorazin. The very works and majesty ways of God, the very works of God that have been done in your presence, if those had been done back up in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented a long time ago. But now there is judgment there at your doorstep, Bethsaida and Chorazin. It's a passage that reminds us that Christ came into the world. And being Lord of lords, our God, King of kings, very God of very God, taking on human nature, he enters in to man's condition. And there are those who are accepting of his works and those who are rejecting his works and hardness. Yes, he's denouncing them for their unbelief, but he experienced this. Why will he later tell us in Matthew, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks. He enters into the big problems of life. He enters into the smaller details of life. He enters into the twists and the turns of life. He enters into the providence of his Father where some are brought to belief and others are hardened in unbelief. I want you to walk with your Savior through this. Because it's in that passage. We read these words. At that time, Jesus declared, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and you revealed them to little children. Jesus is turning to that reliance upon his Father. And He praises His Father, this doxology from His lips, even though Himself, He's experiencing the division among men. Some to believe, some to be hardened in unbelief. I thank You, Father. You are Lord of heaven and earth. And You've hidden these things from the wise understanding. You reveal them to little children. And yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and to anyone whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Emmanuel Church, there's not a one of us in the room that can be a people of doxology. And that's why this morning you need to come to Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus alone is the doxology of God. Christ Jesus alone is our living head who is our praise and our thanksgiving. Even here in the passage, in this area, in this moral arena of being a thankful people, Christ expresses thanks even though he knows the heart of man, even though he knows and experiences the judgments of God, some to believe, some to unbelieve. Even though He's in the midst of all the throes and all the activity and energy of ministry, He knows His Father as at work, and so He entrusts Himself unto His Father, and He says, Father, You are Lord above, You're Lord of heaven, and You are Lord below on earth, and I'm here to do Your bidding. Your gracious will is being accomplished. Are you in Christ this morning? Do you know Him as your Lord and Savior? That's why Jesus is going to say, come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden. You're puzzled about life. The twists and the turns are there at your side. The ups and the downs. The providence is here, the providence is there. For you personally, for you corporately as a congregation. He's telling you, come. Come in your labor. Come where you have heavy burdens. And he says, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn for me, for I'm gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy. My burden is light. Maybe for some of us, we've never heard the good news of Jesus Christ. You're trying to figure out life on your own. And he says, come. Come unto the Savior, confess your sin, confess your dominant ways of being self-centered, figuring out life on your own, in your own strength. He says, come. For others of us here at Emmanuel, will you come this day and you tell him of your heartache, and you tell him of the twists and the turns, the ups and the downs, big things, little things, because he says, in your labor, in that heavy burden, he promises rest. He is our praise. In Him, by faith, you take Him by faith. In Him, you have a new capacity. And that new capacity and that new enabling strength of His Spirit is that you would bow the knee and you would confess with your tongue, for from Him and through Him and to Him. Lord, I'm here for your glory. I am here that one day I will be in your eternal presence, for you are my glory. You are my joy, my delight. Father, strengthen me in faith, and by the enabling help of your Spirit and according to your Son, make me that man, woman, or child to live unto God's glory. Amen. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we would pray that as you have glorified your Son, the one who went to the cross for us, buried in the tomb, raised on the third day, our glorious living head, the Lord Jesus, we would live in his strength, and by the help of the Spirit, oh Lord, impart to us grace upon grace, life upon life, and that we'd live unto our God. Take us and use us, be pleased to shape us after your Son, and that in all things we'd be a people of gratitude, a people of thanksgiving, a people of praise, for your wonders are far, far, far above us. Grant us these things and be our help and strength. We pray these things now through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.