Well, since we are not rocks or animals or plants, we are image bearers of God. And since we are image bearers of God, we have the unique ability to ponder the big, fundamental, existential questions of life. Questions like, who am I? Why am I here? What's the meaning of life? and what will happen to me after I die? Well, in the next I Am Saying I want us to look at this morning in the Gospel of John, we will come face to face with the one who has the answer to all of these questions, the one who says of himself, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Well, with that, please turn with me to John chapter 14. If you have your Bibles with you, John chapter 14. This chapter begins what is called the upper room discourse or Jesus's last words or his farewell speech to his disciples, at least his last words as he ministered on earth. Before Christ is lifted up on the cross and before he is later lifted up into heaven, he gathers his disciples together one last time to teach them important truths that will comfort and encourage and even strengthen their souls. So his disciples are about to be left behind. At least the physical body of Christ is not going to be with them any longer. His humanity will be taken on the cross and even higher, taken up into glory. He's no longer going to physically be there. They will not be able to see him with their own eyes. And Christ is leaving them not in a nice and happy place full of love. No, he's leaving them in a barren spiritual wasteland full of bloodthirsty enemies that our intent on trying to tear down and destroy the church of Jesus Christ. So, throughout this discourse, John 14-17, Jesus encourages His disciples by showing them that they have nothing to fear at all. Yes, He will leave them behind, but He's not abandoning them. No, He tells them that once He Goes up into glory. He is going to pour out His Spirit upon them. And His Spirit will dwell within them and protect them and help them on their journey to heaven. And even more than that, He is going to a place to prepare for His disciples. And one day He will come and take them there Himself. So, it's encouragement before He goes to the cross. Before He goes to glory. He's telling His disciples, you will be okay. I'm going to send my spirit to guide you, to lead you into the truth, to protect you. And later, you're going to be taken up into glory to see and behold my glory for all eternity. Well, it's in the midst of this teaching that Jesus confesses this amazing truth about Himself. It's found in v. 6, where again He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Well, some of His disciples are a bit confused about where Jesus is going. He says, I'm going away. They don't quite understand where He's going. Which is kind of mind-blowing because he's been saying it throughout his three years of ministry. And they also don't quite know how to get there. Which again, he's been talking about that for three years. But the disciples are slow of heart, so are we. And so Jesus, in verse 6 here, makes it absolutely plain where He's going and how His disciples can get there. He is saying that He is going to heaven and that He is the only way for anyone else to get to heaven. Right? It's not through human effort or achievement. It's not by hiking up a steep mountain, or taking a long voyage, or selling all your possessions, or living some sort of holy, righteous life, denying every single thing you possibly can, that will get a person to heaven. No, Jesus says here, He is the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to get to heaven. The only way to be with Him. is through Himself. Heaven is enjoyed. Glory is achieved only by trusting in Christ. And so I want us to consider these words this morning, this I am saying, just under two broad points or categories. First, I want us to see how exclusive the claim of Jesus is here. And then second, how exalted the claim of Jesus is here. So first, notice how exclusive this claim of Christ is. And notice that Jesus does not say here, I am a way, a truth, and a life. He doesn't say some come to the Father through other means, or other ways, or other avenues. That's what worldly wisdom wants to tell us. It declares that Christianity is just one path out of many which leads up the mountain to God. It's just one avenue to heaven. Jesus is just one choice out of many saviors to choose from. I'm sure if you polled most Americans, or at least many, they would say something like that. They would say that there's really not a whole lot of differences between all the various religions out there in the world. They would probably say they all have enough truth in them that if someone sincerely follows the religion of their choice, they will learn some truths about God, and they will end up living with God in heaven one day. So whether it's Islam or Judaism or Buddhism or Christianity, they would say they're all just different approaches which lead to the same destination. And so if they lead to the same place, then they must all be respected and seen as legitimate paths to God. In fact, that's what the comedian and actor Steve Harvey believes. Listen to his words. There is no one way to heaven. No one way to paradise. It's like television. There's over 800 channels of cable, and they're all pretty entertaining. So I'm pretty sure that to get to heaven, there's got to be more than one route, because somebody watching another channel or taking another channel than you, they're still getting entertained, and they're probably still getting to heaven. I think Pastor Joe has quoted that many times from this pulpit, but you see the point. He's a comedian. He's an actor. He's on TV. So he's thinking in terms of TV channels. But there's thousands of channels out there, TV channels. And in the same way, there's thousands of ways to get to God. I think that's what's being communicated to us with the Coexist bumper sticker. You've probably seen that on cars even here in Owensboro. That's the bumper sticker that uses different religious symbols to spell out the word Coexist. Its purpose is to tell us that all religions are compatible and harmonious with each other. Well, this may be the world's opinion about religion, but what's Jesus' opinion? Because that's what's most important. What does Jesus say? Well, again, He does not say He is one way and one truth and one life among many. He doesn't even say that he's the best way, and the best truth, and the best life among many. Instead, he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. In other words, he's saying, I am the only way. I am the only truth. I am the only life. There is one way. One truth. One life. And I am it. Period. End of discussion. That's what Christ is saying here. Let me just make a couple applications. First, if you're a believer in Christ, never budge on the exclusive claims of the Gospel. Brethren, don't budge. When Jesus says that he is it, he is saying that all other religions are not it. So whether it's Islam or Buddhism or Judaism or any other ideology or philosophy or religion, he's saying those things are not the way, they are not the truth, they are not the life. Instead, they will never move a person a single inch closer to knowing and enjoying God. In fact, anything outside of Christ pushes someone farther away from the living and true God, drags them into things like superstition and idolatry and the grave and eventually the very pit of hell. That's how exclusive the message of the gospel is. Jesus is the only way and truth and life. Anything else is a counterfeit and a sham. Now the world hates this message. I mean, you see John 14, six quoted in a lot of debates between atheists and believers. It's that important of a message. The world hates it. The world probably sees what Jesus says here in John 14, 6 as the most offensive, intolerant statement ever made. And so when we point out this statement, when we say that Jesus is the only Savior, we're mocked and ridiculed and called fundamentalists and bigots. We're pressured to keep silent about our beliefs. But dear believer in Christ, do not shift a single degree from this I am saying. Do not compromise. Do not capitulate. Do not give in. But take your stand. If Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life, then that means there's no other options left. There is nowhere else to go to hear the words of eternal life. There is nowhere else to go to experience salvation. There is nowhere else to go to make it to heaven. Jesus is it. The Apostle Peter says something similar in Acts 4.12. He proclaims, and there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. That's an exclusive claim. But if we water down the Gospel because of persecution, peer pressure, or just simply fearing the faces of men, we have lost the Gospel completely. If we somehow say that Jesus is just a Savior, and not the Savior and the only Savior, if we say that Jesus is just one name out of many under heaven by which man can be saved, we have gutted the Gospel of all its saving power. If there are other ways of salvation out there, then Christ died in vain and our faith is in vain and we are wasting our time here this morning. I mean, what are we doing gathering together, spending an hour and a half in worship if Jesus is not the way and the truth and the life? Brethren, if we give up on the absolute exclusivity of Jesus' claims here, we have given up on everything. This truly is the hill of all hills to defend and even to die on. So never budge, brethren. No matter how backwards or foolish or antiquated we might look in the world's eyes, we must unashamedly embrace and confess this I am saying, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. But second, if you are not a believer in Christ, I hope you seriously come to grips with what Jesus says here. Again, too many people out there think that Jesus is just one good religious leader among many others throughout human history. They think that He is on par with men like Buddha, and Confucius, and Muhammad. But Jesus here is making the most exclusive claim about Himself when He says He is the way, the truth, and the life. Christians didn't make up this saying about Jesus. Jesus said it Himself. And he is putting himself here in a category all his own. He is claiming to be absolutely unique. So your view of Christ cannot be that he is just one good option out of many. Someone like this does not say of himself, I am the way, the truth and the life. As C.S. Lewis once famously said, a man who was merely a man, and said the sort of things Jesus said, would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was and is the son of God, or else a madman, or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool. You can spit at him and kill him as a demon. Or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about him being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." That's true. I don't know if Lewis got that from what Jesus said here, but it's very relevant. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Some good moral teacher out there would never say that about himself. Unless he was crazy, or he was demon possessed, or he was who he said he was. So Jesus says He is the way, the truth, and the life. You have to do something with these words. You can't just sit on the fence. You've got to come to a conclusion about what Jesus says here. You have to respond. Again, as C.S. Lewis said, you either have to see him as crazy or demon possessed or really and truly the son of God. Those are your options. I'm here to tell you this morning that indeed he is the son of God. He is, and everyone should fall at his feet and confess him as their Lord and their God. So that's how exclusive this claim of Christ is. But this leads me to my second point about this verse. And so secondly, notice how exalted this claim about Jesus is. Why does Jesus make such an exclusive claim about himself here? Why is he so unique? Well, this statement provides us with four astounding truths which show us his unrivaled glory and teach us how we should respond to him. So let's look at them one at a time. First, Jesus is the great I am we must bow down to. He's the great I am we must bow down to. Jesus begins by saying, I am. And we've seen this in previous weeks. But just remember the words I am. That is a very significant phrase because it is a name for God in the Old Testament. Exodus 3.14 says, God said to Moses, I am who I am. And He said, say this to the people of Israel. I am has sent me to you. It's one of the names of God. He's the great I am. Which means He's eternal. He never changes. He's not in need of anything. He's not becoming anything. He is and will always be I am. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and the promises that He makes will always come to pass. He is utterly faithful to what He says. So God's the great I Am. He's eternal. He's immutable. He's self-sufficient. He is self-existent. And here's the amazing thing about John 14, 6. Jesus is taking the name of Yahweh in the Old Testament, and He is applying it to Himself. He's saying, I am the great I Am. I share the same divine nature with the Father. I am one with Him. I am equal to Him. I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the Almighty God who is and who was and who is to come. It's just important to point this out once again, because at the very start of this saying, at the very beginning of this statement, Jesus is saying that He is not just some great human teacher inspired by God. He is so much more than this. He is the great I Am in human flesh. He is God incarnate. He is the only begotten Son of God. Come down from heaven to teach us the will of God for our salvation. So the only way not to die in your sins is to bow to Jesus as the great I Am. to confess him as the eternal son of God who has taken on human flesh to rescue and redeem sinners. So he's the great I am we must bow down to, but second, Jesus is the way to God we must walk on. So he says I am, and then he says the way, the way. He doesn't just show us the way. He doesn't just teach us the way. He doesn't just make a path to a certain destination. He doesn't just pave the way. But he says, I am the way. Well, the way to what? Well, it's not the way to prosperity or health or riches. But here he is saying he is the only way to the Father, to God. It clarifies what kind of way he is at the end of the verse when he says, no one comes to the Father except through me. In other words, if you want to come to the Father, if you want to live in the Father's house, if you want to live for all eternity in glory, I am the only way to get there. The only way. Because of our sin, there is an infinite gulf that separates the holy God and sinful men. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, sinned against God, and they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. They were alienated from the life of God. They were cut off from fellowship with God. And that alienation, that separation, continues today. Because we are all in Adam, and we are all like Adam. We are sinners because of Adam, and we are sinners because we follow in the footsteps of our first parent. We've all sinned against God. We've all gone astray. We've all turned our own way. We've all walked away from God by nature. We are all separated from God in this world. So the most important question in life is, is there any way back to God? Is there any way back into His gracious and glorious presence? Is there any way to have true fellowship and friendship with Him again? Is there any way to be reconciled? And Jesus tells us here that yes, there is a way. And there is only one way back to God. And He is that one way back to God. Since He was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, He has now been highly exalted. He has risen from the grave. He has passed through the heavens. And He now sits at the right hand of God as Lord over all creation. Right now, Jesus Christ is basking in the glorious presence of the Father. And He will do so for all eternity. He's made it. He's there. The gates of glory opened up to Him. But He didn't do it just for Himself. He was lifted up on the cross and later lifted up into glory for sinners like us. He went as a trailblazer. He went as a way maker. He went as a forerunner to represent all who would put their trust in Him. And so through Christ, the barrier that existed between the holy God and sinful men has now been broken. The veil has been torn. The infinite gulf has been bridged. The new and living way has been paved. And the gates of glory have been opened wide for sinners like us. As 1 Peter 3.18 says, For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God. Being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit. That's what we sang in the first hymn. Let us love and sing and wonder. It's all about Jesus being the way back to God. Reconciling us. Securing our way to God. Bringing us to God in the future. So it's only through the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ that we can draw near to God, and God can draw near to us. As 1 Timothy 2 says, He is the only mediator between God and men. So if you are a lost and wandering sinner out there this morning, be encouraged that if you put your trust in Jesus Christ, everything that alienates you from the life of God will vanish. All your sins can be forgiven. You can have peace with God. You can experience His love and mercy and grace right here, right now. And you can be given hope to spend eternity in His glorious presence in the future. But here's the thing, you must see Christ as the one and only way. He's the only road. He's the only path. He's the only avenue to heaven. You must hate every false way. You must reject the road of other religions. You must reject the road of your own good works or the good works of others. You must reject the road of tradition. None of these paths are the way to God. They may seem like they're good paths to walk on, but the Bible says they are all false paths which end in death and destruction. The only way up the mountain to God's holy presence is the person and work of Jesus Christ. Any other way leads to what we could say a swamp, or a pit, or even to a cliff. Jesus is the only way. And you must not just say Jesus is the only way. You must not just admire it from afar, but you must put your feet upon this path. You must walk on the path of Jesus Christ yourself. In the New Testament, especially in the book of Acts, the Christian religion is called the way. The way. Probably got it from Jesus' own statement here in John 14, 6. He is the way. And so now in the book of Acts, being a Christian or the Christian religion is called the way. Well, that means that you have to walk on this way. You've got to become a Christian pilgrim. Following the Lord Jesus Christ. if you ever want to get to God. So, Jesus is the way to God because by His death and resurrection, He has opened wide the gates of heaven for sinners to enter through. But third, Jesus is the truth of God we must believe. He is the truth of God we must believe. Jesus next says, I am the truth. I am the truth. Now, throughout human history, philosophers, scientists, great thinkers, all kinds of people have spent their entire lives searching for the truth. But on our own, and because of our native depravity, we are blind as bats to the truth. We couldn't find it if it was staring at us in the face. We're all like Pilate, who once asked Jesus, what is truth? We don't know. But Jesus tells us here in a very simple statement that mankind's quest for truth begins and ends with Him. He not only teaches here that He is teaching the truth, or that He's full of the truth, but He says here that He is the truth. This means all truth is found in Him. As the true God and King over the universe, He is the source and foundation of all knowledge and truth. All the truths about science, and mathematics, and morality, and physics, and logic, and mechanics, and economics, and biology, all these truths are held together in Jesus Christ. They're held in perfect order, and unity, and harmony. in Christ. Reality is what it is because Jesus is Lord. Colossians 1.16 tells us that all things were created through Him and for Him. And Hebrews 1 tells us that He upholds all things by the word of His power. All truths come from Him. But Jesus being the truth also means that all saving truth is revealed through Him. He's not only true God, but He's also true man. He's the true Messiah. And He has come into this world to reveal to us not just general facts about the universe, but He's come into this world to give us special truths which can save our souls. He has come as the faithful and true witness to tell us the truth of the gospel, to teach us about God, to teach us about ourselves, and to teach us about how we can be saved. He's the truth of God we must believe. Well, how important is this saying of Christ in the world that we live in, brethren, that he is the truth, especially in this postmodern society? We live in a postmodern world which rejects any notion of the existence of universal truths. Many people think that you can have your truth and I can have my truth. And even if these truths butt heads and are illogical and contradict each other, we must all hold hands and sing kumbaya together. Well, what does Jesus have to say about this? He tells us here that there are not many competing truths out there in the world. There is no such thing as your version of the truth and my version of the truth. He tells us that there is only one ultimate truth. There is only one truth which all other truths flow from. And that truth is theological. That truth is Christological. That truth is Jesus Christ. He is the Word of God. He is the wisdom of God. He is the truth of God. He is true truth. He is absolute truth. He has a monopoly on all truth. The truths about God, about the world, about ourselves, about the past, present, and future, all come from Him. This means that if your life is not aligned with the Lord of truth, if you're not following Christ, who is the truth, your life is one big lie. You're not living according to the facts. You're out of touch with reality. You're living your life as if Jesus is not on his throne when in fact he is. If this is you, you don't have to live like this anymore. Jesus is the truth which can set you free. Free from all ignorance, and sin, and darkness, and deception, and the devil, and death, and even hell itself. He says in John 8, 31-32, If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Set you free from all those things. A vain, and meaningless, and futile life Jesus is the truth. You need the truth. You need to know the truth about who you are. You need to know the truth about why you are here. You need to know the truth about what you should be doing with your life. You need to know the truth about where you're headed after you die. Well, all of this can be found in Jesus Christ. And you may be someone who doesn't know a lot of things about how the world works. And that's okay. We're all honest with ourselves. We know very, very little. But if you come to Jesus who is the truth, you will know the one great truth which will save your soul. You will know Jesus Christ. And if you know Him who is true, everything in life will fall into place. Everything will make perfect sense. Because everything is flowing out of Jesus Christ sitting upon His throne. And when you recognize that great truth, Everything else fits in its proper order. So believe this truth and start living a meaningful life in Jesus Christ. But for those who profess to believe in Jesus, let me ask you this. Does your life revolve around Jesus who is the truth? Not just a truth, not just some kind of truth. He is the truth. Does your life revolve around that? Jesus as a truth should fundamentally change the way we view and approach all of life. Every thought, every word and every deed should be impacted by the truth of the gospel, by the truth that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, raised from the dead and reigning on his throne over all creation. That one great truth or reality should dominate us. Take us over. Affect everything that we do. He's the truth. So do you love the truth? Do you speak the truth? Do you walk in the truth? Do you practice the truth? Someone observed the way that you live. Would that person be able to say that person is sold out to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the truth? I may not like that person, I may not like him because he's following Jesus, but he's following Jesus. He is absolutely convinced that Jesus is the truth and his life reflects that great reality. Just remember, you cannot say you believe the truth and live against it. The truth is going to overtake you at some point in time. But you can't keep butting heads with the truth, profess to know it and love it, and yet, live your life entirely against the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't live like a disciple of Christ on Sunday, and then turn around and live like a child of the devil from Monday to Saturday. Remember, the devil is not of the truth. The devil is a liar. And there is no truth in him. But if the truth of Jesus has not transformed your life, if the truth of Christianity does not inform and influence all that you think and say and do, what does that mean about your profession of faith? It means that it's probably worthless. And it probably means that the truth is not in you either. So you can follow Jesus, the truth, or you can follow the devil, the liar. Let's choose to follow Christ. And let's let the truth about himself and what we read about him in the scriptures utterly change the way that we live our lives. He is the truth. Let us go nowhere else except to him. The fourth and finally, Jesus is the life of God we must receive. The life of God we must receive. The last thing he says is, I am the life, the life. We're all looking for life, especially as we know that we will all have to walk through the dark door of death someday. But so often people look for life in all the wrong places. Long ago, people sought after the fountain of youth, which supposedly is in St. Augustine, Florida. Not really, but there's a attraction there where you can actually drink from the water itself. And I did that a few years ago, and I'm still getting older. It didn't work. But I didn't go there thinking that it was going to work, but that's how people think. There's a fountain of youth out there that will allow me to live forever. Or there's all kinds of anti-aging medications out there. Right now, some of the richest people on the planet are trying to come up with ways to solve the problem of death through artificial intelligence. We all know we're going to die, so we're seeking after life. Well, there is a way to live forever. And Jesus says it right here. He is the life. The way to live forever is through Him. Just as there is no truth outside of Christ, there is no life outside of Him either. As the everlasting God, all life is found in Him. All life comes from Him. All life is derived from Him. Every creature lives and moves and has its being in Christ. And as the Messiah, eternal life comes through Him. Jesus laid down His own life on the cross, but then He took it up again. He rose again from the grave, and now He has an indestructible life. He is alive forever. He will never die again, for He has defeated death, and death no longer has dominion over Him. He now possesses in glory the fullness of blessed eternal life. And so if we believe in Him, He freely gives this life to us. In this very Gospel, the Gospel of John, we read statements like this. John 3.16, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 6.40, This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life. And I will raise Him up on the last day. And John 11, 25 through 26, we saw this last week. I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. It's amazing statements. That Christ has the power and the authority to give eternal life to every single perishing sinner who believes in him. And so if you have put your trust in Christ, God promises right here and right now that you have eternal life. The very life that Jesus possesses in heaven is alive in you. A life free from ignorance and sin and death. And a life full of righteousness and peace and joy. But if you don't believe in Him, you're still living in the shadow of death. You're still dead in your trespasses and sins. You may have convinced yourselves that living apart from Christ is truly living, that you get to do whatever you want with your life. But the Bible says you do not have life now and you will not see life in the future. The Bible says that you are dead even while you live. So if you wanna pass from death to life, if you wanna escape from the torments of eternal death and hell and enjoy the everlasting blessings in heaven, if you want to get out from under the darkness of the wrath of God and enter the light of God's blessing and grace, you must believe in Christ. He is the life and his life is offered to you right now as a free gift. You don't deserve it, you don't merit it, you don't earn it. The Bible simply says to receive it with the empty hand of faith alone. So please do so now before you sleep the sleep of death forever. Jesus is the life that you must receive. Well, in conclusion, the Bible says that as sinners, we are lost, we are ignorant, and we are dying. That is the state of man in his sin. We need help. We need a miracle. We need salvation. We need God to work. And friends, we have that in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has come into the world as a perfect Savior to meet our most pressing needs. He is the way which leads to the special presence of God. He is the truth which reveals to us the saving knowledge of God. And He is the life which brings us into sacred fellowship with God. As one man once wrote, without this way, there is no going. Without this truth, there is no knowing. Without this life, there is no living. So if you're looking to Christ, let me just encourage you one last time, have full confidence that Jesus is who he says he is. He says that he is the way, the truth, and the life. Don't doubt it. All right, this should bring great assurance to our souls. We're putting all our eggs in one basket here, but it's the right one. It's the one that's gonna carry us through the river of death and get us to the celestial city. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Have full confidence in this statement and live fearlessly in this world. No matter what Satan brings in your way, no matter what hardships and hindrances you face, continue to hold fast to this confession. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He's going to get you to glory. He's going to get you to heaven, no matter the obstacles, no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifices. No matter if you have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Jesus, your good shepherd, will get you there. So live fearlessly in this world. But lastly, if you're not looking to Christ, my final appeal to you is to do so now. Bow to him as the great I am. Walk on him as the way. Believe in him as the truth. Receive him as the life. And the promise to you is you can draw near to the Father, and one day you can live with Him forever in eternal glory. Well, may God work in your heart to do this very thing. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, what an astounding statement of Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. Help us to be amazed by this statement. but help us not to mock it. Help us to fall down and worship Jesus Christ as the eternal son of God, as the true Messiah, as the only way to draw near to you. Lord, we thank you for sending him into the world. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And we pray, Lord Jesus, you would save any sinner outside of Christ here today. May they come to Bow down to the great I am. May they come to walk on this way. May they come to confess this truth of Jesus. May they come to receive the life that he gives to perishing sinners. And we ask this in his precious name. Amen.