Judges chapter 7 is the portion we've read this evening, but our text is found there in chapter 8. And it is the fourth verse of the eighth chapter of Judges. A verse that we've often thought about in our own mind. The words of verse 4 of Judges 8, and we read And Gideon came to Jordan and passed over he and the three hundred men that were with him, faint. He had pursuing them. They may have been faint, but they didn't give up. They continued pursuing the enemy. Sometimes we grow faint in the work of the Lord through disappointments and discouragements. But the Lord Jesus has told us, may not always they pray not to faint. We are indeed to carry on and pursue the enemy. Israel had once again done evil. in the sight of the Lord. Judges 6 and verse 1. And as a result, the Lord delivered them into the hand of Mivian. They were under the rule, dominance of Mivian for seven years. This was the Lord's way of chastening his erring people. And when the Lord chastens us, believer, it is an indication that we are indeed His children. He only chastens those whom He loves. And here He was chastening His people by delivering them into the hand of the Midianites. We see the results of this oppression. For in chapter 6 and verse 2, we read there that the people of Israel suddenly found themselves homeless. They made themselves dens and strongholds, made caves and strongholds in the mountains. They were homeless, driven from their places of abode. Not only were they homeless, they were hungry. For verse 4 of chapter 6, And they encamped against them and destroyed the increase of the earth. Till they come unto Gaza and left no substance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor ass. So they're homeless and they're hungry. Then Israel felt the hopelessness of their situation. for we read then in chapter 6 again in verse 5 for they came up with their cattle and their tents and they came as grasshoppers for multitude for both they and their camels were without number and they entered into the land to destroy it and Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites And then we read, and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. They had been brought so low, homeless, hungry, and felt all hope was gone. They had been impoverished. And it is then that they cry unto the Lord. When everything for them, for Israel, was at its lowest ebb, it was then they cried unto the Lord. Like the prodigal, when he came to an end of himself, he looked again towards the father's house. He thought of returning home. Israel here begins to think about returning home, coming home to the Lord. You remember Jonah, disobedient Jonah. He's been swallowed up by a great fish and it is when he is brought low that we read that Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly. Now Israel in her distress cried unto the Lord because of the Amidianites. And that cry came up to heaven, that cry turned the fortunes of Israel. Here was the turning point at this time. The turning point was the cry of Israel, was the praying of the Israel of God. That turned things for Israel. And the Lord responded to that cry as he had done so before. When Israel in Egypt cried to the Lord for sore bondage, they were low. They felt all hope of them ever being delivered from under the Pharaoh that ruled over them, that that hope was gone. was then they cried to the Lord, for we read in Exodus 2, and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried. And their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage, and God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them. That was the turning point. Once again, it was their praying, it was their crying to God that marked the turning point in their history. Because, as we know, God raised up a deliverer in the person of Moses. And how often has prayer been a turning point in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ? And we give ourselves to seeking the face of God and crying to Him. God hears that prayer. God hears the cry that comes out of the heart. And very often that cry is the turning point, as it was here with Israel. And the Lord now answers Israel's cry because of the Midianites. and how we are reminded here of God's mercy God's mercy again Israel had gone away from God and as a result was chastened but here we see that in wrath the Lord remembered mercy because he answered the prayer of his people and raised up a deliverer raised up Gideon to be Israel's deliverer and to defeat the Midianites. Deliverance from Midian came by way of the sword of Gideon and his 300 men. And they had gone out against the Midianites and conquered many of the Midianites but the battle was not won as yet. And after they had fought hard against the Midianites, the 300 men and Gideon were faint. But they didn't give up. They were faint, yet they pursued the enemy. They wanted a complete victory. I want us then to consider tonight Gideon and his appointment. The Lord appointed Gideon to be Israel's deliverer. We're reminded here of the fact that our extremity is God's opportunity. There was Israel hungry and homeless and helpless and feeling hopeless. That was their extremity, but that was God's opportunity. So it is with you and me, believers. So it is with us. Our extremity is God's opportunity. When we cry to Him, that's when God steps in. Let us consider then Gideon the person. We're told that Gideon was the son of Joash from the tribe of Manasseh. And the raising up of Gideon to deliver Israel was, first of all, a sign of God's great favor. Even though Israel had done evil in the sight of the Lord, yet after they had cried to Him, He was ready to forgive. He was ready to show mercy. He was ready to deliver them, and that is great grace indeed. We see this truth in the person of Gideon, for we know that Gideon judged Israel forty years. But the interesting fact is that Gideon was the fifth, one, two, three, four, five, the fifth judge in Israel. And five, of course, speaks of grace. Isn't it interesting that it was the fifth judge that God raised up to be Israel's deliverer to manifest the grace and the mercy of God? to bring Israel out from under the yoke of bondage and under the Midianites. Gideon would remind us tonight of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one whom Abraham called the judge of all the earth. The Lord's coming, as our deliverer, was an act of grace and mercy. Why did God not leave us to perish in our sin? He would have been just to leave us in our sin. And to perish in hell for all eternity. God would have been just in doing that. Because we were sinners against Him. We were His enemies. But no, God had mercy on us. And it was by His grace, His grace that He delivered us from our sins. He's the Judge of all the earth and He's full of grace and truth. John 1, 17, For the law was given by Moses, the grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord. Next we look at upon Gideon and we have here a sight of a great fighter. Not only was Gideon a sign of great grace, we look upon him and we see there a sight of a great fighter. Let us take his name. His name means a feller. His name means a hewer. His name means a great warrior. And later the Lord was to use Gideon to fell the Midianites, to hew the enemies of Israel. If Israel was to know deliverance, Israel needed one who would be a great warrior. That's what Gideon was. Once more we see here the person of our Saviour. One who came to deliver us, he's the captain of our salvation. He's a man of war. That's how he's described. He's described as a man of war. And 1 John 3 verse 8, we read that he was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Christ is a destroyer of the works of the devil. He's the captain of our salvation. He's a man of war. "...and cometh forth from Edom with dyed garments from Bozro, this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength." Isaiah 63, verse 1, describing Jesus Christ. And how did John see Him there? when in exile in the isle of Patmos. Why, he saw the Lord, and he said of him, out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he might smite the nations." Why, many people today wouldn't see Jesus Christ in that way. Wouldn't see him with a sword in his mouth that he would use to smite the nations. They wouldn't see Christ as a man of war. But he is. And I'm glad he's a man of war. And I'm glad that he'll go out against my enemy and he'll go out and defeat all his and our enemies. and I'm glad that he was manifested to destroy the works of the devil because I couldn't do it and none of us could we needed Christ the man of war to do that but then we see here also in the person of Gideon a soul of great faith we know this from the words written about him in Hebrews 11 you turn to Hebrews 11 a great chapter on faith, and there we find Gideon's name mentioned. Gideon is found in the Hebrew role of honor. In Hebrews chapter 11, we read there in verse 32, And what shall I more say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah, and David, also of Samuel, and of the prophets, who through faith So Gideon was a man of great faith, who through faithless subdued kingdoms wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the noise of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in the fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. So when we look at Gideon we see a man of great faith. So believer tonight Jesus Christ is our faith. It is through faith in him and his atoning blood and his finished work that we have been delivered from our bondage, from our Midianites and now we belong to him. Praise God we've been set free. We've been delivered and him whom the Lord sets free is free indeed. So we have Gideon the person. Next we look at Gideon and his poverty. When the Lord made his will known unto this man, unto his servant, Gideon brought his poverty before the Lord. Look at chapter 6 and verse 15. And he said unto him, O my Lord, Wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." This reminds us of again the Lord Jesus Here is Gideon and he has his eye upon his poverty, his weakness. Who am I to save Israel? We're reminded of the Lord Jesus who was rich, became poor. We through his poverty might be made rich. And we thank God that through the poverty of Christ, believer, you and I have been made rich. But this is what Gideon said about himself. And that's good. It's good to have a humble spirit. It's good not to think too highly of ourselves. For if we exalt ourselves, the Lord will soon bring us down. It's what the Lord thinks of us that matters. And what did the Lord think of Gideon? Look again at chapter 6. This time, verse 12. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thy mighty man of valor. My Gideon is a different opinion of himself. Let us say that is good. But the Lord said of Gideon he was a mighty man of valor. The Lord knew all about Gideon. The Lord knew what he was doing when he chose Gideon to be Israel's deliverer. You think of the words that are written about the Lord Jesus Christ. for he came from Bethlehem, Ephrathah, little among the nations. Wonderful parallel here between Gideon and our dear Saviour. He lived in obscurity for thirty years and came from that despised town of Nazareth Yet what a mighty deliverer He is! The fact that Christ grew up in Nazareth, the Jews looked upon Him and said, how can this be Israel's deliverer? How can this Jesus of Nazareth be the promised Messiah? And they rejected Him because of His lowliness, because of His poverty, because of where He came from. But we receive Him and embrace Him as our mighty Deliverer, our mighty Conqueror, because He is mighty to save. Then we think of Gideon and his great peace. Like Moses and Jeremiah and a host of others down through the years. Gideon was not sure about this call to deliver Israel. And he wanted a sign. Chapter 6 again, verse 17. And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign. that thou talkest with me verse 19 Gideon went in and made ready a kid and unleavened cakes of an ephah flour the flesh he put in a basket and he put the broth in a pot and brought it out onto him under the oak and presented it and the angel of God said unto him take the flesh and the unleavened cakes and lay them upon this rock and pour out the broth and he did so. And the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes and there rose up fire out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. Then he built an altar Gideon. He built an altar unto the Lord where he had brought his present to the angel of the Lord. And we read in verse 23, And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee. Fear not, thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord and called it Jehovah Shalom. Jehovah Shalom. Whenever you visit Israel, if you ever have a chance sometime, you will greet the Jewish people there with those words, Shalom. As we would say, good morning. How are you? They would say, Shalom. Shalom means peace. Jehovah Shalom. means Jehovah is our peace. And here the Lord told Gideon, give nothing to fear. Jehovah Shalom will be your peace. And thank God Jesus Christ is Jehovah Shalom. Jesus Christ is our peace. He is our King. He's the King of Salem. He's the King of Peace. He's Jehovah Shalom. That is where we get our peace from. And it's the peace of God which passeth all understanding. So we have Gideon being appointed by the Lord to be Israel's Deliverer. Next we see Gideon in his assignment. How often have we spoken the words of Gideon that were spoken in chapter 6 and verse 13. Look at verse 13. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, is the Lord be with us? Why then is all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles? which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." We know that the Lord is with us. We know that He is amongst us. But how often have we thought these words, O Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? Where are all his miracles that our forefathers have spoken of? Has the Lord changed? Has he lost his power? Has he forsaken us? Praise God, he hasn't. But then, remember, the Lord was chastening His people. The Lord had withdrawn His power and left Israel to the mercy of the Medeivites that they might come to that place where they would look again to Him and cry and call upon His name. Here we have, first of all, the Lord's precept. for Gideon. Notice the Lord did not debate with Gideon, instead he simply told him what he was to do. Gideon, as it were, complains in verse 13. Verse 14, the Lord looked upon him. He didn't debate the matter with him. The Lord looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites, have not I sent thee." There was the precept. There was the order. He was given marching orders. Gideon, it's time to go. The Lord was raising up Gideon to bring deliverance to Israel just as he raised up Samson. For we read of him a few weeks ago, and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. And you remember what Mordecai said to Esther? Mordecai said to Esther, Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? God had raised up Esther for that particular time to stand against Haman, to expose Haman and save the Jewish people. The Lord had raised up Gideon and he would give him an army that would go against the Midianites and deliver Israel. He was brought to the kingdom for such a time as that. Believer, you and I are brought to the kingdom for such a time as this. God has raised us up in this day and generation that we might be his servants. We might be used to the extension of this kingdom, and as he told Gideon that he was to go, God has given us the marching orders. It's time to go. Do a work for God. Go and serve me in my vineyard. God has raised us, brought us to the kingdom for such a time as this. The Lord's precept to Gideon, the Lord's promise to Gideon. The servant of the Lord was fearful. Certainly he was. It's a fearful thing to serve the Lord. It's a great responsibility. And so Gideon was fearful, but the Lord gave him a two-fold promise. Chapter 6 and verse 16. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite a million ices, one man. Two-fold promise. I will be with thee. In other words, the Lord promised him his company. Get in with the joy of the company of the Lord. Whenever you are conscious and aware of the Lord's company with you, you can face any foe, just to know the Lord is there, to know that He is with us. When he called Moses, raised up Moses to deliver Israel, Exodus 4 verse 12, he said, Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. That was the complaint of Moses. I can't speak. What will I say to Pharaoh? Moses, you don't need to worry. I'll be with you, and I'll put the words in your mouth. Just leave it all with me. I'll be in control. And when the Lord took Moses home, Joshua was then given the task of leading Israel into the land of promise. Joshua was afraid. The Lord had a word for Joshua. But we read, and as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. You see, believer, the Lord never gives us a job to do that He doesn't go with us and enable us to do it. He doesn't leave us, as it were, to paddle our own canoe. The Lord will always go with us. Whatever He asks us to do, He went with the disciples, you recall. In Matthew 28, verse 20, He sent His disciples out to preach the gospel, teaching them to observe all things and know, I am with you, always. even on to the end of the world. Go out and preach the gospel. Go and teach all nations. Take the gospel to the four corners of the earth and I'll be with you. You don't need to worry. You'll be able to enjoy my company. I promised Tim, I promised Gideon his company. He promised Gideon the conquest. The Lord promised Gideon that his venture against the Midianites would not be a futile one but that he would be victorious. See, believe where we are on the victory side. He reminded him that the battle was not his but the Lord's. The Lord told him and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man Midianites may have had a great army thousands in the army but when the Lord would give in the victory it would be like just smiting one man wouldn't be like smiting a thousand or ten thousand but like just smiting one man That's how easy the victory would come to Gideon. And you notice the Lord's power for Gideon. Again, chapter 6, in verse 34. But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, and at the easer was gathered after him. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gibeon. You cannot effectively do anything for God except the Spirit of the Lord is upon you. We dare not go out and face the enemy in our own strength, depending on our own skill. Believer, what we need is the Spirit of the Lord. That's why the Lord told the disciples to tarry at Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. Yes, He told them to go into all the world and preach the gospel and He would be with them, but they needed the Spirit of the Lord. They need the power of God that would come to them through the Spirit of God. And any man that has done anything at all or accomplished anything for God has been a man that has been filled with the Spirit of God. Lord Jesus, at the beginning of His ministry, was there at Jordan. He was baptized and the heavens opened. And we read that the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove. upon Him. Christ is our example, of course, and if the Lord Jesus Christ had the Spirit of God coming upon Him at the beginning of His ministry, so we also need the Spirit of the Lord to carry out the ministry of God. Whatever we have to do for the Lord and in His name, we need the Spirit's help to do it. Zechariah 4 and verse 6, we've often quoted those words. Each one of us, I'm sure, in prayer. It's not by might, nor by power. We pointed out before that power there and the might there is reference to an army. The might and the power and the force and the strength of an army. It's not by the might or the power of an army. It's by my Spirit, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts. The power we receive comes from the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts. How we need that might, that power of God the Holy Spirit. That's what Gideon needed as he went out against the Midianites. And then you have Gideon and his accomplishments. Now the Lord must give Gideon an army. with which to go out against the Midianites and here we have the soldiers and Gideon had looked upon the Midianites as they camped in the valley the number was so great that they could not be counted chapter 6 and verse 5 Gideon had 32,000 men And as Gideon looked upon the Midianites, I'm sure Gideon felt, I would need another 32,000 men. Instead of that, we know what the Lord said, Gideon, you've got too many. You need to thin the ranks. For in chapter 7 and verse 2 we read the people that are with thee are too many for me. Notice they were too many not for Gideon but they were too many for the Lord. And so he begins to thin the ranks and at first 22,000 men returned home. Chapter 7 and verse 3 22,000 men were given the opportunity to return home. 22,000 men did not have the stomach for the fight. It's the same today. There are men today and they don't have the stomach for the fight. They want to stand up against the devil and the devil's crowd and stand up for Jesus. Just don't have the stomach for the fight. It would be as well just going home. The elimination process continued and Gideon was left with 300. Chapter 7, verses 6 to 8. He was down now to 300. What an encouragement this is. Is it not encouraging to know that God doesn't need an army? Tens of thousands. To carry out His will and to do His, work out His plan and His purposes. Just give Him a handful of men, just give Him some occasions one man. One man. I think it was John Wesley who said, give me 200 men that fear nothing but God and sin. And he said, we will shake the gates of hell. That's what the Lord wanted for Gideon, 300 men. who would go through with God. And that's what he got. And it was with the 300 men that they gained the victory. The believer God can give us the victory here in this time. It may not be many of us, but when we have God, we're in the majority. We're in the majority. You have his soldiers and you have the sign. The Lord told Gideon and his servants and our soldiers to go to the Midianites and to listen to what they had to say. And there in chapter 7 in verse 13 we read, And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came into a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it that the tent lay along. And this fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel. for into his hand hath God delivered Midian and all the host." Isn't it amazing that God is able even to command the very dreams that people have? The Lord warned Joseph about the threat of Herod and the Christ child And it was by a dream. The Lord spoke to the wife of Pilate. He spoke to her in a dream. She went to her husband and said what she had dreamed that day. And she told her husband, have thy nothing to do with that just man. God controlled the very dreams that individuals had. And this gave Gideon a vision of victory. He heard these men talk about the dream they had. And as a result it gave Gideon a vision of victory. Believer, whether it comes to us in a dream or not, may the Lord give us a vision for victory. That's what we want. We need a vision of what God is able to do. And then you have the sword. The dream the Midianites had was about the sword of Gideon. But it was the sword of the Lord also. And God was going to take that sword in the hand of Gideon and it would be the sword of the Lord. And the sword of the Lord would bring deliverance for Israel. For us believers today, what is the sword of the Lord? Why is this great book? It's the Word of God. And this sword will slay the enemy every time. This sword will put the enemy to flight. This sword will slay the sinner. Bring them under conviction and bring them to Jesus Christ. This sword will confound the enemies. Those that rise up against Jesus Christ. Those who will say today there's no such a person as Christ. Those who will say there's no such a person as God. There are no gods. There's some controversy somewhere in the states. And there's a group of people and that's what they're saying, there's no God and there's no Christ. The fool has said in his heart there is no God. Thank God we have the sword of the Spirit. Then you notice the stand. When Israel and Midian engaged in battle, we read about Gideon's 300 and what they did. Look at chapter 7 there and verse 21. And they stood every man in his place. That's what is needed. My whenever you're up against the enemy and you're fighting the enemy, you don't need desertions then. You need every man to stand in his place. Gideon's 300 men was made up of those who were prepared to stand in their place. This is a day of compromise, believer. It's a day in which more and more people are leaving the old paths. They're abandoning the good, old-fashioned, authorized version of the Scriptures. And they're turning to some new, modern version. And then they are abandoning the preaching of Christ and the preaching of the Gospel, and not prepared to stand in their place. May God give us grace to stand in our place. and stand for the Lord. And finally you have Gideon and his advancement. As we read there in our text, and Gideon came to Jordan and passed over he and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them. God had given them a victory, but the victory wasn't complete. And obviously being engaged in a battle, the men were faint, there was only 300 of them. They were faint. But we read, they still pursued. And in God's work we sometimes get faint. Sometimes feel faint. Spurgeon talked about the ministers fainting fits. All of those fainting fits feel like giving up. Let's be like Gideon in the 300. Look at the words. And Gideon came to Jordan and passed over he and the 300 men that were with him faint. In other words, Gideon identified himself with the 300 men and he felt faint as well. And thank God, believer, when we're engaged in the battle and we're faint, Jesus Christ can identify with us. He identifies with our fainting. He knows what it's like. There he was in Gethsemane's garden, wrestling, agonizing before his heavenly Father. Sweating, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground. But he didn't give up. He pursued. Praise his name. Because he had a people to deliver from their sins. They were faint, but they kept following. Notice they went on anyway, inspired by their leader. Gideon was amongst them. And Gideon came to Jordan and passed over he and three hundred men that were with him, faint yet pursuing. Their leader inspired them. The Civil War. General Stonewall Jackson. inspired his men. They covered many miles in the day and they did it because Jackson was their general. Because he walked with them and he went ahead of them. Jackson inspired his men and they covered many, many miles in the day as they went against the enemy. And the enemy couldn't believe that the Confederate armies had indeed covered so many miles. They didn't think it was possible. And that was why Jackson won so many battles. Because he inspired his men. May Jesus Christ inspire us. What Christ did and how he went on to deliver you and me from our sins. May that be an inspiration for us. You have the foe in chapter 8 verses 5 and 6. They got no help from anyone else. But then their help was in the Lord. You have the fight in verses 11 and 12 of the same chapter. And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Noba, and Jogbeha, and smote the host, for the host was secure. And when Ziba and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Ziba and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host. Victory at last! God gave him a complete victory. He discomfited all the host and brought deliverance to Israel. What a man Gideon was. Gideon was what he was because of Gideon's God. Surely this is an encouraging story in the life of Gideon. God can take one man, give him an army of 300. Humanly speaking, the odds are stacked against him, yet still give him the victory. Believer through our eyes, our fleshly eyes, The odds are stacked against us. How can we see this town and city one for Christ? But let us view this city with the eye of faith. And while at times we may faint, may we still be found pursuing, keeping on, and going on, and going through with God, and doing what God would have us to do. Yes, Gideon and his 300 men were faint, but they still pursued them. May we be members of that army. And while we may faint at times, may we still pursue. Let's bow our heads together in prayer. Our loving and our gracious God, we look at the lives the exploits of men like Gideon. And Lord, they themselves inspire us, encourage us to go on when at times we feel like giving up. But Lord, we look higher than Gideon and we see our blessed Saviour. We see how He pursued the enemy right to the end, defeating the devil, conquering death and delivering our souls. Oh, we praise Him tonight for His great goodness and the great victory of Calvary. And we're glad that our trust is in Jesus Christ, the Captain of our salvation. We will trust Him implicitly, knowing that He will always lead us to victory. Bless the Lord. Lord, write the Word upon our hearts tonight. May we meditate upon it this evening and rejoice in Christ, the Captain of our salvation, our Gideon. Our Lord be with us as we part. one from the other. May they hand be upon us throughout this week and are going out and coming in. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit abide with me and with us now and forevermore. Amen.