It is so good to see so many of you guys out here with us today. I am very grateful that God has called me again to this church because there are So many people here that are just full of God's love. And I hear throughout the week how many times the body experiences love from one another here. And that's only evidence because God is here. And I am thankful just to be your brother in Christ and be able to share with you from God's Word. So if you are able today, I invite you to stand with me and open your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter 8. We are continuing our series today in Ezra Nehemiah, in this series, A People Assembled by God. And so in Nehemiah chapter eight, we'll be looking at verses 13 through 18. It's found on page 475 in the Red Bibles, if that's the Bible that you are using. Once more, Nehemiah chapter eight, verses 13 through 18. On the second day the heads of father's houses of all the people, with the priest and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the law. And they found it written in the law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths as it is written. So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the water gate, and in the square at the gate of Ephraim. And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths. For from the days of Yeshua, the son of Nun, to that day, the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the book of the law of God. They kept the feast seven days. And on the eighth day, there was a solemn assembly according to the rule. Let's pray. Father, we are grateful for Your Word today, and we pray that You'd grant us insight and clarity of speech and thought as we hear from You on this day. May we see You clearly in Your Word, and may we be challenged by Your Spirit and empowered by Him to be obedient to Your Word. We pray this in Jesus' name, all to the end, that You, O God, are glorified and Your church is edified. Amen. You may be seated. The title of this message is God's Word Among His People. The three points that you find there in, oh good they're not, three points you find in your bulletin, there's a little change. This is what happens when you send scripture information to be printed in the bulletin before you finish studying the passage. The points are the same, but the verses assignment are different. So here we are. The first point as is printed, God's people study and obey Scripture, but the verses are 13 through 16, not 13 through 15. The second point is obedience to Scripture brings true joy, only in verse 17, not verses 16 and 17. And then finally, Scripture continuously guides God's people, found in verse 18. So once again, God's people study and obey Scripture in verses 13 through 16. Obedience to Scripture brings true joy in verse 17. And finally, Scripture continuously guides God's people in verse 18. The key point is continuous right study of Scripture with obedience leads to great rejoicing and a deepening reverence for God. Again, the key point of this text is continuous right studying of Scripture with obedience leads to great rejoicing and a deepening reverence for God. In response to the question, is obedience possible? The old Southern African Christian pastor Andrew Murray wrote these encouraging words. It is not in the strength of your own resolve or effort but the unceasing presence of Christ and the continuous teaching, grace, and power of the Holy Spirit that brings the blessing of obedience. Christ, the obedient one living in you, will secure your obedience. Obedience will be to you a life of love and joy in His fellowship. Here's the importance of this message, family, why we need to pay attention to it. Our text today tells us that we must continuously study God's Word to know Him and how He commands us to live. For a lifestyle of obedience to God is very joyful and it demonstrates our reverence for God. Moreover, such a lifestyle glorifies God. It makes Him known. That's why we exist. You see, this lifestyle of obedience to God is demonstrated through obeying scripture proves that we love Jesus and that God has given us life, that we are in an eternal, saving, deepening relationship with Him. For Jesus says in John 14, 21, whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. back in John chapter 17 verses 1 through 3 Jesus prays this father the hour has come glorify your son that the son may glorify you since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him and this is eternal life that they know you the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent See, our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the medium through which God makes himself known to the world. For if God dwells in us, then he empowers us to do the things he commands us to here in the scriptures. Things like loving one another when it's inconvenient, when it's inconceivable, when it's undesirable. For all people will know that we are Christ's disciples if we have love for one another. Moreover, in his high priestly prayer in John 17, when Jesus was praying for the apostles and for all who will believe in Him through their word, Jesus says this to His Father in verse 13, But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. Thus a lifestyle of obedience to God is very joyful. It's having a deeply seated internal sense of fulfillment and demonstrates our reverence for God, even if the world around us is falling apart. In continuous right study of Scripture, with obedience it leads to great rejoicing and this deepening reverence for God. It's what our text today teaches, which is why we begin with our first point. God's people study and obey Scripture. Verse 13 says, On the second day the heads of fathers, houses of all the people, with the priest and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the law. the second day of the seventh month. This was literally the day after the first day mentioned back in Nehemiah chapter 8 verse 2. And so when we read verse 13 here in our text, we actually ask these questions. What prompted these household and community leaders to come study the words of the law? And as indicated in our message last week on chapter 8 verses 1 through 12, we know that these men desired, they reverenced, and they rejoiced over the living God. So they went to get more of Him from the Scriptures. Basically they went to a Bible study led by Ezra. We've got Bible studies going on during the week. If you love God, you want to get closer to Him, what do we do? Oh, somebody said it over here. Somebody's paying attention. Who said it? We go to Bible study. Oh, you're wondering how I can prove that from the text, huh? Let's keep going. You will remember, right, that this is why Ezra actually went to Jerusalem in the first place, Ezra chapter 7 verse 10 records this, For Ezra has set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. Ezra was sent to model obedience to God's Word, to remind, to teach, and to show God's people how to live for Him in accordance with the Scriptures. He did so because he first set his heart to personally study and obey God's Word. Family, this is key. It's the starting point of this right studying of God's Word. We have to personally want to study and obey the Scriptures. You see, studying the Bible merely because that's what Christians do could blossom into a meaningful pursuit of God because we're in His Word. However, that's not a guarantee as many people simply view the Bible as one ancient literary work among other ancient documents. They view it on the same level as Shakespeare. But remember, the God who reveals Himself in Scripture is our goal. Therefore, we personally want to study and obey the Scriptures because we want to study and obey God. Now something else clearly seen here in our text is this principled practice of studying God's Word together with others and teachers who rightly expand on the knowledge of God by explaining it correctly. Of course, personal Bible study is obviously beneficial and it's taught within the Scriptures. However, If that is the only studying of the Bible that we do, never checking our insights within the crucible of Christian fellowship, then we run the risk of developing dangerous theories and positions that could mislead us and others away from God. We need one another. Also, this practice of studying the Scriptures indicates there is determined, dedicated work involved. This is not a mere passing activity, but it's one that influences all of our life. It is a serious undertaking to study God's Word because the subject matter is God Himself. It's what we call theology or the study of God. In his book, Everyone's a Theologian, R.C. Sproul tells of a time when he spoke to the faculty and administration of a Christian institution on this subject. What is a Christian college or university? Sproul told them that a true Christian college or university is committed to the premise that the ultimate truth is the truth of God and that He is the foundation and source of all other truth. Everything we learn, economics, philosophy, biology, mathematics, has to be understood in light of the overarching reality of the character of God. That is why, Sproul continued, in the Middle Ages, theology was called the queen of the sciences and philosophy her handmaiden. Today the queen has been deposed from her throne, and in many cases driven into exile, and a supplanter now reigns. Moreover, Sproul asserts this, that the Bible is the source of all theology. Sproul published his book back in 2014, clearly following the example of the men in our text today. For in the ancient Near East, around 446 BC, these men in our text came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Bible. They came to study theology. They came to study God. through the words of Scripture. You know, I don't think it's mere coincidence that this past week in our men's and women's Bible study, in this book, Behold Your God, that David talked about earlier, the focus was this, beholding God in the Bible. It's not a coincidence. Some people might think it was, but it's not. You see, out of the many things that struck me personally were these passages in Deuteronomy, when Moses connected God's presence among his people to His Word. when he reminded God's people of the accessibility of scripture and when Moses declared how God's word is necessary for life itself. These passages, if you're taking notes, are Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 7 and 8, chapter 30 verses 11 through 14, and chapter 32 verses 46 and 47. Hear the word of the Lord. For what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us? whenever we call upon Him. What great nation is there that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven that you should say, Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say. Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it? But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. Moses said to them, Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life. And by this word you shall live long in the land that you were going over the Jordan to possess. You see, study and obedience go hand in hand. This is what God's people do with the Scriptures. We don't just go to it just to get a list of do's and don'ts for the sake of that, to tell other people how they ought to live. No, we come here to study, to get close to God, because He's our God, He created us. And because He created us, we want to know how should we live to please Him. This is why we come to the Scriptures. Moreover, we need God's Word to survive. It's no wonder that these men went to study God's Word with Ezra. For first, verses 14 and 15 say this, And they found it written in the law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month. and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written. In his written word God commanded the people to dwell in tents during the feast of the seventh month. God's sovereignty is seen in His commands to His people, which means that the expectation of obedience is implicit. And according to Leviticus chapter 23 verses 33 through 44, this feast of the booths was to be celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month. And God's people here in our text today began to prepare to start the feast on the 15th day. We see this in verse 16. So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the water gate, and in the square at the gate of Ephraim. The obedience of God's people to the Scriptures was widespread throughout the entire city of Jerusalem. Also it's helpful to note that this feast was given as a memorial to continuously make God known among His people, specifically that He had rescued them from Egyptian slavery. The fact that in Ezra's Bible study the people focused on the command of God demonstrates that they recognized His sovereign rule over them. They came to the Scriptures in order to hear from God directions for how to live for Him. Their view of God was that He had the absolute right and authority to define them and their way of life by virtue of Him being the sovereign creator of the universe, their creator. God said it, that settles it. Okay, this side gets it. What about you guys over here? What we're talking about, family, we're talking about here, we're talking about the authority of Scripture. I like how one scholar defines this truth. The authority of Scripture means that all the words in Scripture are God's words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God. Thus to say yes to biblical commands is to say yes to God. Likewise, to say no to biblical commands is to say no to God. Have you ever thought about that? God, you read something in the scripture, I read something in the scriptures, and we're like, okay, I see what that says. No, God. You guys know that's exactly what we do when we look in the scriptures and we see his commands and we say no. That's exactly what we're doing. We think because we don't see God that He doesn't see us. You know it's that old hide and seek game kids play, right? I can't see you, you can't see me, right? As we've seen and we've understood from this series in Ezra and Nehemiah, such actions or inactions reveal who or what we really reverence, who or what is really sovereign in our lives. The implications are far-reaching, right? For if God is truth, therefore making the Bible truthful in all that it asserts, then when we obey the Scriptures, we are affirming God and therefore Scripture as being truth. On the flip side, disobedience to the Scripture says in our minds and hearts that both God and Scripture are lying. This affirms what the apostle John wrote in first John chapter 1 verse 10. If we say we have not sinned, we make him, God, a liar and his word is not in us. If we're living a lifestyle of disobedience to scripture and we are comfortable in that sin and we are doing nothing to kill that sin in our lives, then such comfort could indicate a state of being unregenerate. I have a Charles Spurgeon quote hanging in my office that reads, nobody ever outgrows scripture. The book widens and deepens with our years. This quote hangs above a shadow box plaque given to me by one of our members that reminds me of my commission on January 19th, 2020, to screw the truth into their minds. As I regularly say, I being Melvin, have nothing to give you but Jesus, the gospel and Scriptures. Family, I am simply affirming and saying that all I'm going to do, my job description is to take God's Word and to screw it into your minds. Yeah, I say outstrew in the week. Guys, this cuts me first before I even come here. Here's why, family. This world and all that is in it are passing away. It's all temporal and transitory. But the person who does the will of God endures forever. Family, listen, God's preparing His people, He's preparing us for an eternity with Him, and He's doing it with His Word. The Holy Spirit both illuminate scripture. He makes it clear and he grants comprehension of biblical truth and he empowers us to live biblical truth because he lives inside of us. Paul says in Romans chapter 8 verse 11, if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. Family, this is why we can look at, we can listen to, we can comprehend, and we can obey scripture, even the passages we find difficult. That's the chance for you guys to say amen. We should want to study and obey the Scriptures to get more of God, right? Yeah. This is why such a desire and actions demonstrate that we know God and we want to know Him better. And because the next point of this message is true, obedience to Scripture brings true joy. It's right there in verse 17. and all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths for from the days of Yeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so and there was very great rejoicing you know as i reflected on this point here obedience to scripture brings true truth or true joy a thought occurred to me that there that the existence of deceptive fake joy and where it comes from This idea of deceptive fake joy is actually the result of being comfortable in sin and the danger of such comfort possibly indicating a state of being unregenerate. You see, this deceptive fake joy is demonstrated when people claiming to belong to God offer fake worship and work to gain God's favor by assuming their religious activity somehow earns his acceptance. and that because there have been no serious consequences to open rebellion defined as looking at scripture, giving intellectual assent or agreement, yet refusing to obey. The thought is because there hasn't been any serious consequences to such sin yet, that we're okay with God. The history of the people of Israel reveals that they thought and lived like that for years. Just listen to what the Lord says to them through the prophet Isaiah. What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices, says the Lord? I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations. I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts, my soul hates. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Correct oppression. Bring justice to the fatherless. Plead the widow's cause. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Family, is it as clear to you as it is to me that We must stop playing with God in this area of obeying the scriptures. We saw last week that it is the joy of the Lord to solve the sin problem of His people. But that doesn't change the fact that God hates sin and that He expects obedience. moreover as the sovereign creator god he has the absolute right to be who he is and to expect what he expects newsflash god did create us therefore he knows that we're built for him for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him this is why God's people rejoice when they know they have obeyed God. Have you ever gotten really excited when you know you did exactly what God wanted you to do? Could you put it in words or did you just have this inner feeling of like, everything is right? That's joy that comes from obeying scripture. We want to please God more than we want to please ourselves. This desire, this gaze of the soul, as Tozer calls it, it is always towards God as the center of our lives, and we want to obey Him. We want to live for Him. For obedience to His commands in the Scripture's family, it brings very great joy to us, to His people. It brings true joy. This text, It's correcting the practice of not obeying God's commands as He had given it or according to His expectations. This truth is seen in this phrase, from the days of Yeshua the son of Nun to that day, the people of Israel had not done so. Now at first glance we might ask, as I did, how long had passed between the days of Yeshua or Joshua and that day? And this leads to the presumption that the people did not celebrate the Feast of Booths at all during this time period. However, Ezra chapter 3 verse 4 records, and they kept the Feast of Booths as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required. Therefore, this phrase in our text, from the days of Yeshua, the son of Nun, to that day the people of Israel had not done so, must mean something else other than the people did not celebrate the Feast of Booths at all from the days of Joshua until the day of Ezra's Bible study. Well, why is that? I heard you ask that question. You didn't have to say it out loud. I heard you ask it. Well from Ezra chapter 3 verse 3, we saw that it was the fear of man that drove the people to celebrate the Feast of Booths then. They had taken advantage of it being the seventh month and they simply incorporated the feast in with all the other sacrifices they were offering to God because they were afraid of the surrounding nations. And if you remember from this series that we identified the actions of God's people in Ezra chapter three as being a bad beginning. We did this because the text showed the people chose the action to take first upon their return to Jerusalem, rather than following the explicit command of God to make him known in the land by first rebuilding the temple. that fear of man driven observation of the feast of booths was different from our text today. For after God's people obeyed the Scriptures in building and living in the booths, the end of verse 17 says, and there was very great rejoicing. You don't find rejoicing in Ezra chapter 3, but we find it here. Why is that? This change, it's easy to understand when we think of why this feast was given to the people of God in the first place. Remember, the feast was given as a memorial to continuously make God known among His people specifically that He had rescued them from Egyptian slavery. And if you remember, the Day of Atonement was celebrated on the 10th day of the 7th month. therefore preparations for the feast of booths were going on when the day of atonement took place therefore you guys with me y'all getting next do y'all see what's coming okay about three people okay let's stay together Therefore, watch, the truth that God was their rescuer from slavery was enhanced by the day of atonement that had just occurred. So it makes sense that as God's people obeyed the scripture for the right purposes, according to God's expectations as explained in the law, in the word of God, there was very great rejoicing for obedience to scripture brings true joy. Do you see it? That's exciting. I told you we were gonna see it in the scriptures. Once more, guys, the contemporary connection of this text to us today, it's plain to see, right? For God, through Jesus Christ, rescued us from sin when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, when He was buried and God raised Him from the dead. For we were enslaved to the power, the penalty, and presence of sin. We were, as Paul puts it, dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked. following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead and our trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus For by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. The key point of this message today is continuous right study of scripture with obedience leads to great rejoicing and a deepening reverence for God. Right? This is why we get excited when we know that we have obeyed the gospel, that we have believed the gospel, that Jesus is our Savior. How many of you guys actually really get excited? Okay, you can talk about when you're just by yourself, okay? Like when you sing in the shower and you sound really good, okay? Think about when we're all alone. Do you ever get excited, crazy excited, to the point that you really hope that nobody really sees you? When you think about your eternity is secure in Jesus. Anybody else act a fool by themselves other than me? God, I mean, it is exciting to know our sin is forgiven. The reason why this is the key point of our text is because the original audience of this text, they understood this, that as a result of the right studying of the law, They saw God's commands, they obeyed them, and it led to very great rejoicing. They understood that's what this text means. They also comprehended that the Word of God continuously was to guide their actions. Leads us to our final point. Scripture continuously guides God's people. It's right there in verse 18. And day by day, from the first day to the last day, He read from the book of the law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the rule. The continual guidance of Scripture in the lives of God's people is easily seen in Ezra's reading from the book of the law of God each day of the feast. Moreover, when Scripture continuously guides God's people, when it continuously guides us, The result is a deepening reverence for God. And this truth is seen in this phrase here in our text. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the rule, the rule found in Scripture. This statement presupposes that the right studying of Scripture with obedience is our continual practice. For mere acknowledgement of the veracity or truth of God's Word does not produce reverence for God. No, such acknowledgement only produces fear. As James writes in chapter 2 verse 19, you believe that God is one, you do well. Even the demons believe and shudder. Remember, According to Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10, we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. God saved us so that we would glorify Him by how we live in this world, by doing the specific works He designed for each of us to do individually and corporately. And according to the apostle Paul, all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. In other words, Scripture continuously guides God's people. The Apostle John writes in 1 John chapter 5 verse 14 and 15, and this is the confidence that we have toward Him. That if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request that we have asked of Him. And we know that in the pages of Scripture we find God's will for both of us corporately and for us individually. We find God's desired direction for us and for our lives in the Bible. For as He speaks, we hear both specific general directions for our lives that ultimately glorify Him. And the scripture continuously guides us this way. Along with our subsequent obedience, we continuously experience this deepening reverence for God, and what He wants becomes first priority. As I close, Andrew Murray writes this, if in the light of God's provision for obedience, His promise of working all good pleasure in you, His giving you a new heart, the indwelling of His Son and Spirit, you still believe obedience is not possible. Ask God to open your eyes to truly know His will. If you agree to the truth theoretically, yet fear to give yourself up to this life, ask God to open your eyes. Ask Him to let you know His will for you. Beware, lest the secret fear of having to give up too much, having to become too peculiar and entirely devoted to God keeps you back. Beware of seeking just enough religion to ease your conscience, then not desiring to do and be and give God everything he is worthy of. Beware above all of limiting God. of making Him a liar by refusing to believe what He has said He can and will do for you. Family, here's the bottom line. When Scripture continuously guides us and we continuously obey it, then we are demonstrating that we belong to God, that we are indeed His people, that we are saved, that He and His Word live in us. Remember the words of Jesus, Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. With Jesus as our goal, may the key point of this message be true of us. Continuous right studying of Scripture with obedience leads to great rejoicing and a deepening reverence for God. Amen? Amen. So what does God's desired work for us to do in response to our text today? Well, here we have four things with one overarching thing. Here it is, ready? I know you guys are all taking notes. I just see all those pens flying out and all those photographic memories just zoned in on me. Here we go. With Jesus as our goal, okay? With Jesus as our goal, that's this at the top. First thing, keep studying Scripture both personally and corporately. With Jesus as our goal, keep studying Scripture both personally and corporately. Second, with Jesus as our goal, keep obeying Scripture both personally and corporately. Third, with Jesus as our goal, keep rejoicing when we obey Scripture. Finally, with Jesus as our goal, Keep reverencing God through obedience to the Scriptures. Keep studying Scripture both personally and corporately. Keep obeying Scripture both personally and corporately. Keep rejoicing when we obey Scripture. Keep reverencing God through obedience to the Scriptures. Amen? Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the challenge that You have given to us through Your Word. God, we thank You for Your Holy Spirit who lives inside of us, those of us who You have made Your own. Father, there may be some here today who have not trusted in You, Jesus, as their Savior. They are still depending upon their own acts to try to make themselves acceptable to You. But salvation, as we read in Your Word, God, is a gift from You alone. All you require of us is to turn from our sins, to stop depending upon our own efforts to make ourselves acceptable to You, and to place our trust in Jesus alone, to trust that He died for our sins, that He was buried, that He was raised from the grave. You say in Your Word that if we believe that, You will save us and secure for all of eternity us. being Your people, Your sons and Your daughters. And so we pray that today, as Your Spirit has taken up residence inside of each one of us that has believed the gospel, that He will open our eyes to understand the Scriptures. He will empower us to obey, and that we would trust Him to empower us. Again, all to the end that you're glorified and your church is edified. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.