Dear Heavenly Father, as we come now to Your Word, I pray that we would have no desires whatsoever to be entertained, to have our ears tickled, and that that would not in any way be in any way driving what I say or how I say it. Lord, I pray that we would come to Your Word young and old and in the middle, all of us alike, just to hear Your Word. That that's what we want. We don't want to make our life necessarily better or different, but we want to hear Your Word speak. And that as that happens, that we would indeed be conformed to that Word. Lord, we pray that you would do this now in this time and give us a joyful anticipation, an expectation of what it will be like to be fed in these coming minutes. Pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. So in Exodus chapter 1, Wait a minute, we're coming back to Exodus. Yes, we've had two weeks off, haven't we? So we're back to Exodus. Now we need to just review briefly. In Exodus chapter 1, we saw the slavery and the cruel oppression of the people of Israel and Egypt. So Exodus 1 is overall a very... It feels depressing. It feels overwhelming. But we also saw, even in Exodus 1, that God was still present. Remember that? God was still present even in the midst of their suffering. And we saw that over and over again in the reference to the astonishing multiplication and the fruitfulness of the people of Israel. They were having babies in a fulfillment of God's creation and covenant purposes. Remember that. God's purposes in creation that His righteous rule and blessing would fill all the earth through the having of children who love Jesus. ultimately, is now being fulfilled in God's purposes in covenant, His purpose to redeem people who have fallen, and to create a people who will bring His rule to all the earth, ultimately through Jesus Christ. So, in the first 10 verses of chapter 2, we saw that Israel's redemption must be drawing near. It must be getting close. We saw that because God is preparing this redemption in the amazing story of the birth of a baby boy. Not only his birth, but his preservation. When Pharaoh had ordered that all baby boys be killed, this baby boy's name was Moses. And oh, what a wonderful story that was. If you weren't here for that, I would just say, you've got to go listen to that one. We saw that Israel's redemption must be drawing near, even though, at the time, the people of Israel themselves, in the midst of all the circumstances, were completely unaware. They didn't know. Near, in this case, means still 80 years away. 80 years. I could live and die in that time. And most of them probably did. We left off last time then when Moses was probably around three years old, and now this morning, verse 11 begins. One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his brethren and saw their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. Now in Acts chapter 7, Stephen says that Moses was about 40 years old when he went out to visit his people. So, for the last 35 years at least, we know that Moses has been raised as an Egyptian. In an Egyptian home. An Egyptian household. And not just any Egyptian household. Stephen says, Pharaoh's daughter adopted Moses and brought him up as her own son, and Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. But, Apparently, Moses had also been instructed in who he really was by birth, in his true heritage as one of the children of Israel. Maybe he had been allowed visits with his biological parents. We don't know, but I assume he knew them because later on it appears that he knew Miriam, he knew Aaron, his brother, twice. Moses emphasizes that he knew, he knew where his true roots were. When he had grown up, he went out to where? Who? His brethren. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and then Moses is careful to say it again, one of his brethren. So for Moses, his real identity, was not the privileged son of an Egyptian princess, but rather a Levite son of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the son of an enslaved people. Now Moses obviously would have known He knew all along, I mean, growing up, you know, that the Hebrews are slaves to the Egyptians. You didn't live in Egypt without knowing that, obviously. He knew about it, but maybe he hadn't witnessed it firsthand. Maybe he had not seen for himself how bad it really was. And so on this particular day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his brethren, and one of the key words, we're going to come back to this at the end of the message, he saw their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. And having seen now with his own eyes, what will Moses do? Now, isn't this just the moment that we have been set up for? with the story of Moses' birth. I mean, we are fresh, hot off the heels of the story of the birth of a deliverer. It was very clear in those 10 verses. And now we're set up for something big to happen. Isn't it just for this that Moses was born in your handout? To rescue and deliver his brethren? From what? Being beaten by the Egyptians. From their cruel bondage and oppression in Egypt. So, having seen now with his own eyes the oppression of his people, what will Moses do? He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. Finally, after 400 long years of being beaten and oppressed, something appears to be happening. The miracle baby has grown up. And he is the miracle baby, isn't he? And he clearly has both, in your handout, both the heart and the strength of a true champion and deliverer. It just gives you the chills when you think about it. Here he is! Now, these are all true statements we're going to make here. Let's look at this. Because, you know, we often read things like this and we're like, now what am I supposed to really think about that? And we wish the Bible just told us, now here's what you should think about that. But Moses just did. But we've got to work this out here. And what does the text really want us to see? There's a lot of speculation we can do, but what does the text want us to see? Whether we find it this morning, I pray we do. But that's the goal every time. Moses is willing to risk his own life. Think about it. Moses is willing to risk his own life of privilege and ease for the sake of what? a single enslaved Israelite that he very likely doesn't even know. Now look at all his risking for one person that he likely doesn't even know. It is obvious that Moses was laying everything on the line, everything. He was completely willing to lose it all. The writer of Hebrews says, by faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. I mean, if you're the son of Pharaoh's daughter and you go out and kill an Egyptian because he oppressed your Hebrew brother, that is saying, okay, I'm all right with not being called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin, he considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward." Now that's a summary of Moses, of all of it, I think. So there's more coming, Moses will develop, Moses will grow, but even here we see that heart. Not only does Moses have the heart of a true deliverer, but he seems to sense that it's gonna be his divine calling. Moses even had a sense of that. Maybe Moses, how many times do you think he must have been told about the story of his birth by his mother or his father? He's heard the story, and having heard that story and now thinking, here I have been brought up in an Egyptian royalty, he has concluded that there must be some reason for this. There must be some reason, and that reason is that he has been strategically placed, and trained, and equipped, specifically for what? To rescue his people. To give deliverance to his people, Stephen says, that Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. And then Stephen goes on to say, when Moses was 40 years old, It came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel, and seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand. And then Stephen goes on to say, but they did not understand. So, In every way, it appears that Israel's rescue and deliverance is finally coming. The miracle baby has grown up. Think about all this. Let's put it all together now, okay? The miracle baby has grown up. In all those years, he never forgot who he really was. He has the heart. He has the strength of a champion and a deliverer. Through his upbringing as the son of an Egyptian princess, he's been trained, he's been equipped for the job. He even understands that this is gonna be his divine calling in life, and now he is taking action. But wait a minute. Wait a minute. Hold everything, right? Was his action right? Some say that it was, some say that it wasn't. Let's just explore it for a moment. Moses was in a position to defend his enslaved brother, wasn't he? But to truly defend his brother, what is that going to require? You don't defend your brother and leave the Egyptian taskmaster still partly alive. No, you've got to kill him. If you're going to defend your brother, it requires killing the Egyptian. Nothing less will do. So, we ask, was the Hebrew slave in danger of being killed? And, is that what would justify it? Or, would Moses have been wrong to turn away? On the other hand, when the Egyptian suddenly goes missing, who's going to answer for the Egyptian's disappearance? When the Egyptian taskmaster is no longer there, who answers? Probably the guy he was beating. Not Moses, most likely. At least Moses didn't plan on answering for it, because he buried his body in the sand. Maybe on the other hand, we don't know something here. Maybe we're missing something. Undoubtedly, here's what we know. Moses was very well-intentioned. His heart was in the right place. But what was he really hoping to accomplish by killing one Egyptian taskmaster? What was he really hoping to accomplish? I'm not sure. As to whether it was morally right or wrong for him to kill the Egyptian, the text doesn't seem to be interested in the question, and I love that. Why doesn't the text tell me what I should think about that? Because, really, the text, that's not what it's interested in right now. There's something else going on here. Stephen, if we go to the New Testament, he seems to assume, at the very least, that what Moses did was not wrong. But, still, there is a deafening, what's the word, silence. when it comes to God's involvement in this story. And I think that's a big part of what makes us uncomfortable when we read the story, right? Where's God in this? I'm not sure where he is. As far as we know, Moses has never received any official calling from God. That's why I think, well, suppose they knew God was granting deliverance through him. Moses must have just guessed it from his birth, from his life to this point. But God had not officially called him. And in all of this story, from verse 11 all the way to verse 22, God himself is never once mentioned. Now, up until this point, we can understand why God hasn't been mentioned. I can see why. It has helped us to feel the silence of God. It feels that God is silent in the midst of Israel's suffering, even when there's all the signs around that He is still present. But here, now here's here, when the deliverer begins to act, right? When the champion goes to work, when supposedly the silence is supposed to be ending, the absence of any story of Moses' call or any mention of God at all feels very, very strange, if not completely wrong in your handout. So how will it all turn out? What's going on here? We read in verse 13 to 14, When Moses went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, Why do you strike your companion? He answered, Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? So Moses goes out to his brothers a second time in his many days. What does that tell you about Moses' heart? His heart is in the right place. But this time, instead of seeing a Hebrew brother suffering at the hands of an Egyptian, behold, what's going on today? Two Hebrews fighting with each other. Of course, this calls for different measures. This time, you can defend the oppressed without killing the oppressor. So he asks the man in the wrong, why do you strike your companion? To which the man responds, who made you a prince and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? Clearly this is not a nice guy. I would just say he's a bad man. Not only was he wronging his brother, but now he mocks Moses. It's as though he basically says to Moses, as we would say it today, who died and left you in charge, right? Do you plan on killing me like you killed that Egyptian? Now, no matter what we might ever say about how well advised Moses' actions had been on the day before, they were obviously well-intentioned. Moses had acted purely out of compassion and a desire to defend and rescue his brother at the risk of losing everything himself. There's no excuse in all the world for this Hebrew and how he responds to Moses. That's exactly Stephen's point in Acts chapter 7. And I bring this up because maybe you'll know why I'm bringing this up. Otherwise, I'll just bring it up, okay? The sarcastic response of this Hebrew to Moses. Who made you the judge? Are you going to kill me like you killed the Egyptian? That response to Moses is just one example. of the constant hard heartedness and unbelief of the entire nation of Israel. Now that doesn't mean that Moses was all in the right. Things are not always so cut and dried. Moses certainly did not deserve this response that he just got. And yet, and yet, I think what's going on in the text. underneath the inexcusable sarcasm, underneath this bad response, was there still a legitimate point to be made? Who made you? Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Now, I ask you, if that had been a sincere question, it wasn't a sincere question, but if it had been and genuine, how should Moses answer He definitely seemed to have all the right credentials. He could say, well, let me tell you the story of my birth. Do you notice where I just happened to grow up? Do you think God might've had something to do with that? Look at what I'm doing. Look what I did yesterday. Shouldn't that be a sign? Who appointed you, Moses? Who appointed you? A prince and a judge over us. He definitely seemed to have all the right credentials, but where was his calling? Where was his divine appointment? And so now, we've reached the brink. And just as suddenly as things seem to be going all right, everything literally falls apart. Then Moses was afraid and thought, surely the thing is known. When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled or dwelt in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well. Now on the day before, Moses had looked this way and that, and there had been no one there. So it seems likely that the Hebrew slave, in order to save his own life, his own skin, had told the Egyptian authorities what Moses had done. What else was he supposed to do? What was Moses thinking he was going to accomplish? He was well-intentioned, he had the credentials, he was on the right track, but what do you really accomplish? Whatever the case, perhaps the guy just told the authorities because, hey, he was glad to be rescued, but he still resented Moses. We don't know. But whatever the case, we know that all of a sudden, Moses the champion, Moses the deliverer, Moses the man for the job, is afraid. Now, as a result of his encounter with these two Hebrews, Moses was given just the head start he needed. Think about it, what if he didn't go out the next day? What if he didn't go out and find these two brothers fighting? And what if he hadn't responded the way he did, would Moses have known that the king was about to be coming after him? No, Moses wouldn't have known. And so, even in the train wreck, even in the mess, we still see the evidence of God's providence. Big word, but beautiful word. Of God's loving control of all the events in our lives. And yet, even though we see the providence, it still looks to be a mess, doesn't it? So far, Moses has been the subject of all sorts of verbs. Verbs have subjects, right? Listen to this. Here's how it's been going so far. Moses went out. Moses saw. Moses saw. Moses looked. Moses struck. Moses hid the Egyptian. Moses went out. Moses said. Moses did. Certainly here is someone to rally and lead and deliver the people and then suddenly we find ourselves reading with new verbs that Moses is the subject of. Moses was afraid. Moses fled. Moses settled in the land of Midian. And it just sounds like a complete train wreck. The miracle baby, the one who never forgot who he really was, the one who has the heart and the strength of a champion and deliverer for his people, the one who has been uniquely trained and equipped and prepared for this job growing up in an Egyptian household, the one who believed that this is going to be a divine calling on his life, the one who had finally gone out to actually do something about it, to defend and help his people, and now this same one is afraid and flees and settles in the land of Midian. In your handout he is rejected by his own people, His life is forfeit to the king of Egypt, and now he finds himself in exile in a foreign land. If that is not a defeat and a failure, then of course nothing is. When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them and watered their flock. When they came home to their father, Reuel, he said, how is it? that you have come home so soon today. They said, an Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock. He said to his daughters, then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him that he may eat bread. You can vividly imagine this entire scene, can't you? The seven daughters of the priest of Midian, they've arrived at the well and already begun the process of drawing water and filling the troughs to water their father's flock. But then, here come the male shepherds that they hoped would not come until they had left. It was always a gamble, right? Would they arrive? Would they not? Here they come. The male shepherds, as usual, refuse to wait their turn. Instead, their plan is to drive off the women and enjoy a small head start with the water that the women have already collected. But it just so happens that today there is a lone Egyptian man who has sat down by this very well. Isn't this exciting? We love those stories where the bullies show up and then someone comes to rescue the oppressed. And when the shepherds, plural, I was tempted. I had the group of shepherds, but I don't know that it was a group. I just know there were at least two. When the shepherds try to drive off the woman, this lone Egyptian man stands up and faces them down. The text says, though the text is not so interested in a feel-good story of a bully being beaten. The text says Moses stood up and saved them. and watered their flock. The daughters come to their father and they say the same thing, but they use a different word. An Egyptian delivered us out of the hands of the shepherds. Moses may have fled in fear to a foreign land, but he still continues to display the credentials of a true champion for the oppressed. He has the heart of compassion and he is strong. He is not content to sit idly by when there's something he can do to help. He is a savior, if we're to use the noun for the verb. He is a deliverer because he delivered the daughters. Let me put it this way. Look at this story. Moses appears to be just what Israel needs. The story at the well. Does it make you feel good or does it just frustrate you? Is this a feel-good story? Is it like, what is Moses doing in Midian? Right? Look at who he is. Look what he just did. Look where his heart is. Why isn't he back in Egypt? What is this? Apparently Moses came to feel something of the same way. Because we read in verses 21 to 22, and Moses was content to dwell with the man, with the father of these seven daughters, Ruel, or Jethro. And he gave Moses his daughter, Zipporah. She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom. For he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land. Everything about this. The problem is we know how things go, so then sometimes we miss the point of this story. Here is Moses marrying, having children, setting up home in Midian. And now the name of his first son is Gershom, meaning, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land. One commentator says, Moses' naming of his son in line with his sense of alien status is a sad comment on the mission that failed. The Moses who burst with such triumphalism onto the scene of oppression as would-be deliverer is now a self-exiled resident alien. So what did it mean? What was the point? Eventually, I think this is interesting. Moses must have felt that there was some point to all this, because well over 40 years later, who was it that included this story in the book that we call Exodus? Who included the story? Moses did. Moses saw a point in what happened. So what did it mean? What was the point of it all? centuries later, sees the point of the rejection and hard-heartedness of the people of Israel. But in the text here, there's another point going on. And I think we find the answer in Moses' own conclusion to the story. This is how Moses concludes the story. Verses 23 to 25. During those many days, the king of Egypt died And the people of Israel moaned." You say, what? Yeah, they're still moaning. Moses is in Midian. They moaned because of their slavery. And they cried out. And their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning. And God remembered His covenant. with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel and God knew. Is it an accident that Moses, for the first time, repeats the name of God five times in quick succession? When so far in this story, it's been Moses, Moses, Moses, Moses, Moses. during those many days." What many days? Those many days that Moses was out of commission in Midian. During those many days, Israel's cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. So, a man named Stuart writes, The Exodus did not come about simply because people were in trouble. It was the result of a prayer of lament for rescue to, and I use this quote because there's one word he puts there, to the only one who could actually do something about it. So far in the first two chapters of Exodus, that's 44 verses, God has been mentioned only Once, I think, I say twice, but his name mentioned God in one place. In verse 11, it was Moses who burst onto the scene, but now finally, suddenly, in the book of Exodus, and believe me, after this, it's gonna be all God. I mean, he's gonna be front and center. But this is where it happened, only here. This is where he bursts onto the scene. Now it is God. who burst onto the scene. After all those verbs with Moses as their subject, suddenly we find four verbs in a row that have God as their subject. God heard, God remembered, God saw, God knew, God heard their groaning. God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel, and God knew. In verse 11, it was Moses who went out to his brethren and what? And saw their burdens. In verse 11, it was Moses who saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. But now here in verse 25, it is God who sees. God saw the people of Israel. Who is it that will save Israel? It is not Moses, but God. The birth and the upbringing of Moses clearly showed that he was being prepared by God for something special. He had all the right credentials. I mean, if anyone ever did, Moses had it. He was well-intentioned. He had the right heart. He was eager, and passionate, and zealous. Now, are we missing anything? You'd think with all that, he's ready to go. But for all that, he wasn't ready. He wasn't ready yet. for the task of leading the people of Israel out of Egypt. In the next chapter, after 40 years spent in the land of Midian, we're gonna see a Moses who looks very much the same, but also a Moses who has been very much changed. We're gonna find a man in chapter 3, no longer so confident in himself. In fact, we're going to find a man, though he still had all the same credentials, we're going to find a man so lacking in self-confidence that he is repeatedly going to make excuses as to why he must not be the right man for the job. Talk about an about-face! But it's also, here's the thing, it is also in the next chapter that Moses will receive what he lacks in this one, his divine calling. When will God give the call? When will God give the call to Moses? When Moses is in the place where he needs to be, when Moses is in the place where he says, I'm not fit for this job, I'm not ready for this task, I can't do this. When Moses comes to the people again, should anyone say to him, who died and left you in charge? Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Moses will be able to respond with the words that God himself will put in his mouth. I am has sent me to you. Yahweh, The God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. In Numbers chapter 12, when Moses is being publicly accused by his own brother and sister, a later, not Moses, we don't believe, a later inspired editor inserts these words. Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth. None of us are humble by nature, are we? None of us here. None of us here are humble by nature. Much less, much less more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. So how and where did God school Moses in this humility? Well, he did it, I think, for all of Moses' ministry. But it all began in that initial failure. And it was a failure. and his 40-year exile in the land of Midian. One commentator says this, Moses' character was clearly that of a deliverer. His circumstances, however, offered no support for any calling appropriate to that character. How do you deliver someone when you're living in Midian, wanted by the king and rejected by the people? It would surely require an amazing supernatural action of a sovereign God for this washed-up exile to play any role in Israel's future. Now, the astonishing thing is, we know the role Moses played in the end, don't we? But to look at it here, it will take a supernatural, amazing action of a sovereign God for this washed up exile to play any role in Israel's future. Not to mention being a deliverer. I just had to quote one other commentator. He says, in the work of God, Mere human effort, however well-intentioned, committed, or influential, results in failure. In the work of God, mere human effort, however well-intentioned, however well-credentialed, however committed, however influential, results in failure. And so, in the midst of whatever God-given credentials you or I may have, or not have, because don't you see now the point is not the credentials, period? We must constantly be brought to the end of ourselves. in order that we might be useful tools in God's hands. But how often are we at the end of ourselves? And if we do happen to have some of the credentials, some of the influence, some of the zeal and commitment then it's even more difficult for us sometimes to be at the end of ourselves. But it is when we feel the most helpless, and this is not just psychologizing here, that's probably not a word, but, you know, this is for real here, this is being there, because this is where God intends for us to be. It is when we feel the most helpless, it's when we're the most acutely aware of our own failings. that we can be used the most mightily and powerfully by God. Maybe in ways that we'll not understand the effect or the full impact it may have. But God will use us when we're emptied of ourselves. Of course, then we remember even the great Apostle Paul who said this, Jesus said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. The problem with Moses at this point is that he was too strong. He was too well credentialed. But God's power is made perfect not in our credentials, not in our strengths, not in our natural talents, but in our weaknesses. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities, for when I am weak, then I am strong. craziness, but true. The Moses of Exodus chapter 2 could not have handled the constant grumbling and complaining and rejection that will eventually be his. He couldn't have handled it. But the Moses of chapter 3 and onward is one who has learned that it is not about him or even about the people he's going to deliver, but about the God whose power, his power, is made perfect in Moses' weakness. Moses is not the Savior, God is. And so then we also learn There's two lessons here, for those of us who would be used by God, and I pray that's, I trust that's all of us. But then there's also the lesson for those of us who look to others who are being used in our lives. We also learn then that we must never Look to any man, unless that man be Jesus Christ. This is especially important. In this day, brothers and sisters, we live in a day of what has been called, I believe somewhere, Christian pop culture. And this happens even in good, well-intentioned, conservative, evangelical circles of superstar pastors, of rock star bands, of famous bloggers and authors, or even just the no-name pastor. at a small local church. I was at a conference once, and I cannot judge the hearts, but it just didn't sit right with me as I saw people wanting to get their pictures taken with a famous pastor. And that made me just be, but part of me thinks, That pastor is no different. Would you want your picture taken with the pastor at this church over here? We do not look to a man. We look to Jesus. We do not adore and admire men. We adore and admire the character of Christ in them. Christ. The value, and I want us to evaluate our interaction with the Christian culture of our day, by asking this question, or at least recognizing this to be the case, the value of all these people, and I'm not trying to put it, here, maybe this will make it clear. The value of all these people, and of each one of us, will ultimately be measured by the extent to which this is the motto of their life and ministry. Christ must increase, but I and all those who listen to my music, and all those who listen to my preaching, and all those who read my books, and all those who read my blogs, I and all that I minister to must decrease. Yes, we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. But all of these witnesses, including Moses, including Moses, are simply witnesses too, pointers too. Jesus, our one, one great hope. and our only Savior. Dear Heavenly Father, please take this story that you have included in your inspired Word so that we might know that you alone are the one who can use weak and inadequate and sinful vessels like us. that we might know through this story that you are a God who delights to make your power perfect, to display your infinite might in our weaknesses. And so I pray that you would help us. No matter how well credentialed we may be or how under-credentialed we may think we are, that we would understand that when we are at the end of ourselves, then You can use us, and then You will. And I also pray, I also pray that we would look to You and not to people. And that the people we benefit from the most, that we would recognize the reason we benefit is because they are faithfully pointing us to Jesus, calling us to decrease, themselves also decreasing and fading into the background, that you might be our all in all. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.