Work It Out: God Works In You to Will and to Do
First B Jackson
2017-12-31

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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It's good to see everybody. Hey, how about this? Let's stand up together. We'll sing a hymn. I'm gonna just say this.

I like today just as much as I like Christmas Eve. And I'll tell you why. You know, we say Emmanuel, God with this, and we say that with on Christmas Eve and Christmas and everything. But God is with us every day of the year. Amen to that?

And so I'm just I'm so glad just to continue on and and and worship and continue on the presence of God every week of the year.

Alright. Good Christian friends. Good the of born today. Ox and day on before him bow, he is in a manger now. Christ is born today.

Christ is born today. Alright. Verse two. Good Christian friends rejoice with heart and soul and voice. Now ye hear of endless space.

Jesus Christ was born for this. He is open heaven's door. We are best for evermore. Christ was born for theirs. Christ was born for theirs.

Alright. Verse three, good Christian friends. Good Christian friends rejoice with heart and soul and voice. Now you need not fear the grave. Jesus Christ was born to say.

Calls you one and calls you all to gain his everlasting home. Christ was born to say. Christ was born to save

Receive, I've got a few announcements this morning and I don't have slides for every announcement, but happy New Year. Tomorrow is New Year's Day, so we are not going to do crisp Monday nights at 1st B tomorrow night. Nor Nor Awana, but they'll start back up on the eighth. And speaking of the eighth, I don't have a slide for this, but community Bible study. Community Bible study has been happening all over The States for quite some time, and maybe all over the world for some time, I would imagine.

We are starting community Bible study. It was at Ann Stalker's house last semester, but a six week course that starts January 8, and that's gonna be 09:30 to 11:30 here at the church. She has ordered books but has minimal committed involvement at this point, but community Bible study is a great way to dig into the scriptures together. 09:30 to 11:30, it will be here at the church with babysitting. Alright.

Everybody hear that? No slide. No visual learners understand that, but if you'll come to me afterwards, I'll explain it to you thoroughly. I'll write it down so you can see it so you know when it is. Alright?

Snowmobile retreat is happening January 26 through the twenty eighth. You can see Kyle Knutson. Actually, if you have a paper bulletin in your hands, there's a tear off portion of the bulletin that you can tear off. Put your name down, turn this back in so we know that you're coming. You can turn it in with a check, that would be great, but you make the checks out to OFCR, Old Faithful Christian Ranch, and I think that that covers it.

Anything else, Kyle? Yeah. It's coming up quick. It is. Four weeks from Alright.

And I think that's the only announcements that I have right now, but there are more in the bulletin, so if you would grab a paper bulletin, you'll know what's going on. Anything else, Carl? Nothing I can do. Nothing. Alright.

Well happy new year. I'm glad you're here this morning. Y'all worn out. Just think how you're going to feel after midnight tonight. Alright, aren't you glad you started off with a blessing?

Would you, would you stand and greet one another and we'll bring you back together with a song. It is a tight dream.

It's a tight dream.

I don't have a whole lot to say. I don't have a whole lot to say either. I said I don't.

Alright. All thy works. Let's sing. World. Gonna to say.

He's mighty to say forever. Author of salvation. Heroes and conquer the great. Jesus conquer the grave. Alright.

So take me as you find So take me as you find it. All my fears and failures. And fill my life again. I give my life to father, everything I believed in. Now I surrender.

Alright. Let's sing savior. Savior, he can move the mountains. My God is mighty to sing. He's mighty to sing.

Forever author of salvation. Heroes and conquer the great. Jesus conquered the great. Shine your light. Shine your light and let the whole world see.

We're singing for the glory of the listen can move the mountains. My God is mighty to say. He's mighty to say forever. Author of salvation. He rose and conquered the grave.

Jesus conquered the grave. Let's sing that again. Say, Seedor, he can move the mountains. My God is mighty to say. He is mighty to say forever.

Author of salvation. He rose and conquered the great. Jesus conquered the grave. Amen. Would you pray with me?

God, we're very,

very grateful to and and humbled to to gather here before you to sing to you. Thank you, God, for for humbling yourself and doing just what we we've sang here for, coming to Earth to to live with us, to abide with us, to live that perfect life, to die that sacrificial death for us because you love us. Thank you, God, that you came to save the world, not condemn it. And thank you, God, for your Holy Spirit to guide us, to live within us, to lead us, to remind us to do all that you promised to do. You do these things.

And Holy Spirit, we do say we invite you here. You are welcome. You're welcome to lead our lives as we surrender to you God. And I pray there would be more of that that sweet surrender so we could experience more of the fullness of joy in you. In Jesus name.

Amen. And that makes me think of this verse right here from Psalm 16. It says, you will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence. Is is there anything really greater than the presence of God in our lives and the pleasure of living with you forever? Let's sing.

Holy Spirit, you're welcome.

There's nothing well more that will never come close. No thing can compare. You're our living Lord. Your presence, Lord. I've tasted and seen all the sweetest of loves.

When my heart becomes free and my shame is under. Are welcome. Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for. To be overcome by your presence lord your presence

Verse one, there's nothing worth more.

There's nothing worth more that will ever come close. No thing can compare your our living old. Your presence, Lord. I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of those. When my heart becomes free and my shame is under.

By your presence, Lord. And Holy Spirit, you are welcome. Holy Spirit, you are presence

And let us become more aware of your presence. Let's sing that.

Let us become more aware of your presence. And let us experience the glory of your goodness. Let us become more aware of your presence. Let us experience Would you pray with me?

God, again, what can compare to your presence? In Psalms, you say a single day in your court is better than a thousand elsewhere, and it's true. I thank you for a peace that passes understanding. I thank you for a deep down in our gut kinda joy. I thank you, God, for being present with us every day, and that we can walk in newness of life.

And I just thank you God for the joy of your salvation, and I thank you just for the for life and and life to the full measure. That is what you offer us. That's what you give. And, it does not run dry. You are the well that doesn't run dry.

So thank you. And God, as we give, we we we say we trust you. We're storing up treasure in heaven. We say we trust you. We say that you could stretch a dollar a lot farther than than we can.

And we trust God that, we trust that the gospel would advance using not only these gifts, God, but the gifts that you've you've wired us with, to reach other people, to be salt, to be light, to be your representatives. So God, continue to do your good work in this valley and all over the world. And we pray this in Jesus' name.

Worship to Rocky. No one on earth deserves the praises that we sing. And Jesus, do you receive the honor that you're doomed. Oh, we bring an offering. Holy one of heaven.

It's only by your blood. It's only through your mercy. Lord, we are. We bring no offering worship to Rocky. No one under deserves the praises that we sing.

Amen. The kiddos can head down to Peak Children's Church Mark Hull. You're around here somewhere. Okay. Come on up.

You can use Carl's mic right there.

Morning, everybody. Before I start, I'd like since it's the last day of the year, those that have served in the church in this last year, either in Awana or in the kitchen or men's paternity, could you hold your hands up? Anybody that served in this last year? As far as for the BOT and staff here at First B, we'd like to thank you for all your service that you provided. At this time, we'd like to have the new members come up.

Marcus Shaver, Eugene Morningstar, and Crystal Updike. You know, by becoming a member, you show your commitment to the body of believers. We know as believers, we are all part of the body of Christ. And by becoming a member of the local church, we show our commitment to the local body. And if you have any questions about becoming a member, come see me or you can grab one of these membership information packets that are by the front door right down on the left hand side.

You can tell I'm very nervous. We'll be all nervous together. Alright. Can I get you to introduce yourself and then say anything you would like to say, like why you chose Firstbee?

Okay.

My name is Eugene Morningstar. I've been playing music here, I guess, six years. And I should have been a member probably by now, but I'm I'm very thankful for the grace that's been extended to me and I just wanna become a member to I guess be held accountable and I feel like this is a great place where so many people are chasing after the truth and God. And so I'm just very thankful, and I should have been a member a while ago.

I'm Marcus Shaver. Wanna get plugged in with the church and have more opportunities to serve and also make it a fit. And I'm excited to grow here with you all.

Crystal Updike and I drive over from Pinedale and I'm a contractor and, I've, accepted the Lord when I was four years old and I've grown up in churches but not Baptist churches, Bible churches. But I won't hold that against anyone. I think what's more important if we love the Lord and want to serve him. I graduated Bob Jones University and Pensacola Christian College. My heart's with education.

I'd love to teach Sunday school if I'm given an opportunity, but I love the fellowship and I feel at home. So, you.

Thank you.

Okay. I have a couple questions for you. Have you personally trusted in Jesus Christ as your savior and that he died for your sins and rose from the dead? And you can answer by we do. And do you believe that God has led you to join First Baptist Church as evidence of your desire to grow in the grace of Christ and in your love and service for his glory?

And then to the body, You can answer by we do, if you would, please. As members together in the body of Christ, will we endeavor to open our hearts to the ministry of both serving and also being served by each other and our new members? And you can answer by what we do. Pastor Ephesians, would you pray for the body, please?

Left off. There we are. Philippians two starting at twelve and going to eighteen today. I have about half as many slides as I usually do. I've just put the scripture up there.

I might have a couple of pictures or something, but as we go forward, looking at this, I wanna go back just quickly because we've had a couple or three Christmas messages in between this, my favorite passage two one through 11 was the last time we were in Philippians together. I want you to hear this. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, is there any consolation in Christ by the way? Is there? Yes.

If there's any comfort in love, is there comfort in love? Yes. If there's any fellowship of the spirit, is there? Yes. Okay.

If there's any affection, does it exist? Is there any mercy? Does that exist? Then, Paul says to them and he says to us, fulfill my joy by being like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind, and let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, in some versions say vain conceit. If we puff ourselves up, that is vain.

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in loneliness of mind, let each esteem others as better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interest of others. And then we go into this great hymn. Now, I mentioned this and tried to present it as close as I could for what it said but I didn't go into the debate over whether this was previously a hymn that Paul picked up. You know, when I'm preaching sometimes, I'll throw a sermon reference out where it's a song and it might be anybody from fair and young to, I don't know who, deep purple.

It could be anybody. It comes up, and Paul is probably drawing on an old an older, couldn't be terribly old because Jesus' crucifixion was in about thirty three AD, and this is in '62, but by this time, the church had already come to grips with the full humanity and full deity of Jesus, and so most commentators believe that five through 11 or at least five through eight was a a a hymn that pre existed, Paul, and he borrowed it. I don't care whether he did or didn't. It made the cut. It's in the canon.

It's definitely there. It's definitely true, but a lot of times in the Bible, five through 11 be set apart as poetry. If you see that, it's not quoting the Old Testament, but it's probably quoting some poem or hymn that was previously known, and this is what it says. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation. He emptied himself, taking the form of a bond servant, and coming in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, and he became obedient.

He obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father. So that's our lead in, our ramp up to this week's verses. If you noticed five through 11, it sounds like poetry, but I was reminded of this poem. I'm gonna read it.

It's a limerick. Don't worry. I'm not gonna go anywhere. You don't want me to go. There once was a poet from Japan whose poems could not possibly scan.

When told this was so, he replied, yes, I know. That's because I always try to squeeze as many words into the last line as I possibly can. Okay. The form of this as a poem in Greek or in English, we stray from the standard forms, and so this does stray from any standard form, but it's nice that this is the centerpiece picture of Jesus that this whole passage is built around. Think about it for just a second.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. He emptied himself, made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, coming in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross, and therefore, God has also highly exalted him, given him the name that's above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, those in heaven and those on earth, those under the earth. Are there any others? No. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is lord to the glory of God the father.

And then there's a therefore. Now I think what he's saying in these two verses is keep up the good work. There is also a little bit of, I may show up anytime now. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence as I'm trapped right here in prison in Rome. I can't get to you.

Just you have always obeyed. While I was there, it was amazing to me. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you because I know what it was like. I know how you are. I know how y'all have been, and I know that you are struggling with your faith and going forward.

And then he says this, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Now I talk a lot about balance in this church. We talk, and I have worn a hole in the carpet going back and forth across. Work out your own salvation. Sounds like it's leaning real heavy to one side, doesn't it?

Work out your own salvation. I've already told you there are no single singular u's in the book of Philippians. So this one is work out y'all's salvation, but it does have own in there. So it's individually, each of you should be working out your own salvation, and work it out. Now I read one commentator this week that I agree with that I like what he said.

You can't work it out until God has worked it in. He's trying to make the balance for you. Now if I had only gone this far, work out your own salvation, even went as far as with fear and trembling, it sounds like it's all on you, but the verse doesn't stop there. Salvation, you cannot do enough. You cannot try hard enough.

You cannot earn God's favor by what you do, trying to please him. Salvation is by grace. It's unmerited. So you can't do that, but he says work out your own salvation. Work out the salvation that God has already offered and you've already accepted with fear and trembling.

Now we know that there's only one name under heaven whereby men must be saved, and that's the name of Jesus. Actually, if you want to know where that comes from, I I've been quoting this all the time, and I had forgotten where it came from. Acts four and five, it came to pass on the next day that the rulers, elders, scribes, as well as Annas, the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and many as were of the family of the high priest. They were gathered together at Jerusalem, and when they set them in their midst, and this is Peter and John after they healed the man, and they had done it on the Sabbath. By what power, by what name have you done this?

And then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man by what means he has been made well. Let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, that always gets me. This guy that y'all crucified, remember him? Whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man stands here before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone, nor is there any salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

I I rest on this a whole lot because it's the only way. There is an exclusivity to Christianity and that frustrates the modern mind and it frustrates the society so, but the exclusivity is an inclusive invitation for absolutely everyone. Talked a little bit about work out your own salvation with fear, and trembling leans very hard on the responsibility of man or human responsibility. But in God's sovereign plan, he has made a way that we can be saved. There's salvation in no other.

Accept this and you will be saved. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Sovereignty of God, I went the wrong direction. I couldn't remember. Sovereignty of God on this side, human responsibility on that side.

It looks like when you see work out your own salvation, looks like really heavy. It's on you people. Do right, act right, read right, don't do. Don't do this, don't do that. Responsibility of man.

If everything is on our shoulders, that's a very, desperate place to be. Robertson McCookin was the son of the first president of the seminary I went to, and he said this and I it really resonates with me. It seems easier to go to a consistent logical extreme than to remain or to stay at the center of biblical tension. Y'all seen my crosshairs view where there's too supernatural and too natural a view, too dogmatic and too existential or experience based a view, and it's easy to go to a consistent logical extreme, but not really stay in the center of biblical tension. Well, with the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man both being affirmed by scripture, we have to kind of let go of, I'm right about this, and I say it's over there or I say it's over there.

We have to say, God is good. God is right. I don't understand trinity, but I believe it. I don't understand how it can be God's sovereign plan and my real free will, but the Bible affirms both. So I like the way this verse ends.

This is one of those that starts off this way. It says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, but then it says, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. So it's not all on us. God draws. God has given us his word.

He's given us an effective call, and how we respond does matter, but he's the one that's doing the work. Does that make sense? Are you with me? Okay. You can't work it in until God has worked or you can't work it out until God has worked it in.

Alright? The salvation is available in Christ and in Christ alone. Accepting that fact with humility leads to God's work in your life and the Holy Spirit working. For it is God who works in you to will and to do. I like this to will and to do and I like it because will is not do.

Does that make sense? You have to have the will in your heart, in your mind before you do. The truth is whatever you have the will is what's going to work itself out in what you do. Does that make sense? As we go into the new year, if we're thinking about losing weight, just an example, you know.

To will it is to say, I am going to do this with your help, Lord. Will you help me to do this? You have to get it right here before you're ever going to be able to walk it out. That makes sense? And it says that God is working in you to will and to do for his good pleasure.

The next line. Do all things without complaining and disputing. My version that I had memorized was do all things without grumbling and complaining. I think that one actually hits it better as far as the order of the words. They're very similar.

The two words are very similar. But just like to will and to do, one of them is an interior thing and one of them is an exterior thing. So if you're do all things without complaining and disputing or grumbling and complaining. The grumbling word is about something that's happening inside. It's not an exterior thing.

It's like Yosemite Sam. Okay? Now he acts on those feelings, but those feelings are like, You know, it's like he's not talking to anybody. He's talking to himself. It's back and forth murmuring like, Do you get that?

It's the dumbest example I've used lately, but I think of it every single time. It's it's murmuring with oneself, and then it has a way of working itself out in complaining. So grumbling and complaining I think are better words. Murmuring is the same word. When the people came to Peter and the disciples in Acts and said, our widows are being overlooked.

It says, and they were murmuring amongst themselves, and then they started to complain. Well, the sermon that I gave on that was consider the merits of the murmuring of the people around you, But as far as how we live our life, if we are emptying ourselves and acting like Christ, God is acting in us to will and to to for his good pleasure, and then this is the command is to do all things without grumbling or complaining or without with complaining and disputing. So, man, that's a heavy one. I left some space in there for you all to contemplate this one today. Do all things without grumbling or complaining.

I've been considering it for the last two weeks. So that you may become blameless and harmless. Now pure and blameless is a way to look at this too. So that you may become pure, that first word means unmixed. It's unmixed, like pure paint, white paint.

You put a little bit of anything else in there, it becomes mixed. It's not pure, and it leans further and further towards whatever you put in there that you may become pure and blameless, and if you look at those, the pure part of it is an internal thing. There's a purity, and when I say purity today in a church, I think that most people think of men's purity. It's an immediate thing because that has become our euphemism for pornography is, avoidance of pornography. Men's purity, it's a perfectly good example, perfectly good word, but it's more than just that.

Pure intent, a pure heart, unmixed. We have God's plan as our plan. We are looking out for the interest of others, not merely our own interests. So it's not selfishness. There's a purity.

That you may become pure, and then the blameless is action based, but it starts with purity. Does that make sense? Are you with me? Blamelessness, he'll go on in Philippians to say against such things there is no law. Like you don't want to be guilty of breaking the law.

If your heart is pure, and if your life is run by the condition of your heart, he's working us towards a condition of purity, and what exhibits forth from that is a blameless walk where you can't look at that walk and go, wow, that was selfish. Wow, that was wrong. Wow, that was hypocritical. Wow, that's actually breaking the law. That was underhanded or devious.

Now you see that it says so that you may become pure and blameless. Your starting point is not purity. Your starting point is not blameless. Children of God, without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Deuteronomy thirty two five talking about all of those surrounding Israel.

They are corrupt and not his children. To their shame, they are a warped and crooked generation. Now, I don't think that Israel did the job that they were set to do by God is to be a light to the nations and call out. They saw they as an us and them, and they separated themselves apart from them, and they did not shine the light of God into the lives of those people around them. But what Paul is asking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, what God is asking of us is to shine as lights in the world, to become pure and blameless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as light in the world.

Jesus said to his followers, and as Carl said during the Christmas Eve service, he said, I am the light of the world, but then he said, you are the light of the world. Christ lived that perfect, blameless, pure life, had a perfect record. He's the only one that has done that, the only one who could do that. He emptied himself to do it. He acted in accordance with the will of the father by the spirit, and then he left this job to the church.

You are the light of the world. I will build my church. I will use you to do it. I will build my church. You are the light of the world.

Don't hide the God that you serve. Holding fast to the word of life, God's word has to be central in our lives. With humility, we take it up and we hold on to it. There will be plenty of opposition. I guarantee you.

In 2018, there'll be plenty of opposition to the word of life. So that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run-in vain or labored in vain. Now here it is that Paul is in prison. He can't go. He can't see what's going on.

He's shooting this arrow into the air. It falls to earth. He knows not where. He sends out this letter, and when he sends it out, he's like, I pray that when they get this, they'll get it. They'll understand it.

They'll take it to heart, and it'll be something that will help them in their walk. They'll understand that God is the one who's working in them, but that they are to work it out. They're to keep on in the battle. They're to keep on going forward personally within themselves so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I've not run-in vain or labored in vain. Now the last little section that we're going look at today is a little weird in most modern cultures, or at least Western cultures.

Yes, and if I am being poured out, Paul says, as a drink offering. Do y'all know what that even means? So in ancient Greece, they had libation offerings where they would take either wine or water or oil in some cases, and they would pour out a portion of it, and they just pour it over an altar. There are various kinds. That one's one from Africa, from Egypt, And that one's another one from Africa.

And they would pour this out. You see these rings right here are containers, but this just runs out. You pour it into that and it just runs out onto the ground or onto the altar. This one is another one from the ancient world. In Nepal, in Kathmandu, there are a bunch of these temples right here.

This is a little bit different. It's not just a libation or drink offering, but they have set these temples up mathematically so that when you look into one end, do you see that looks like looking into a mirror that's looking into a mirror? Can you see that? They set them up so that it would look like when you're looking in to the future, you're looking into eternity by looking through those, and in each one of them there's a place where you can drip oil with colored powder on these little places of offering. Paul says, if I am being poured out as a drink offering, now the drink is good, it's fit in the bottle, it's in the jug, whatever, it's good.

It's good to be used. It's profitable for people, but that being poured out, it's pouring out. It looks like a waste, right? Are you with me? But he's saying if I'm being poured out.

This is the only modern one that I could think of in this society. That's an old English 40, okay? In rap culture, in black culture, know we're in Jackson, and I know that a lot of y'all are not really into this, but pouring one out for their homies is a very, very normal thing. You'll see it in movies. I want you to know that this still progresses.

It is a waste of the first part of the drink, and it's pouring it out. And Paul says, if I am being and that's always for fallen soldiers or for fallen thugs in that case. If I'm being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith. So it's not just an altar to some pagan god. He's saying that I am in prison, and I am languishing, and I am hurting, and I am in some instances, it may even appear that I am being wasted here.

But if I am being wasted here, I'm being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith. He realizes that. Do you remember that earlier, he said that I don't know which I would rather do, whether I would die or whether I would live. I am torn between the two to go and be with Jesus. We'd be better by far, but to stay with you means fruit from my labor, and so even thinking on that, I will stay, I will remain, and I will continue for the service of your joy in the faith.

Yes, I'm being poured out as a drink offered on the service and sacrifice of your faith. I am glad. I'm glad. I'm doing what it is that God has put before me. I have no doubt about it.

Even though I'm suffering, I'm rejoicing with you all. And for the same reason, you also be glad and rejoice with me. Are you going through anything today that's harder than what Paul has been through? I think the Philippians could have seen that and gone, wow, I'm kind of free and unencumbered. I live in a place where, you know, it's pretty favorable for me.

I think that myself, I think I'm free and unencumbered. For the most part, I'm able to go and do, and he's saying for the same reason, you also be glad and rejoice with me. Now, Philippians two one and two. If there is any consolation in Christ, is there? If there's any comfort of love, if there's any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like minded, having the same love, being one accord of one man.

Would y'all pray with me? God, as I was considering kind of the end of this year, beginning of next year, and what you would have us do as a church, as a people. Lord, it kept coming back to me individually, to me, to my own personal walk, my own personal walk with you, and what kept ringing in my ears, Lord, is that you are working in me both to will and to do for your good pleasure. Lord, you are giving the right and good desires. You're drawing me to yourself.

I pray that you would align my thinking with yours, and that you would align my actions with that thinking, Lord. I pray for each soul here in the building that you would convict us individually and personally, Lord, in a way that we'd understand it's from you, that you would cleanse our will, that you remove our cultural lenses, that you remove any hindrances from willing to be in the will of God and from doing the will of God. In Jesus name, lord, I ask your blessing on this coming year for each individual sitting in this room and for every family that they represent. Would you use us, Lord, to draw other people into your family? The capital c church, would you allow us, Lord, to do your will?

It's a pleasure and a privilege. I'm glad and I rejoice, for where you have us. In Jesus' name, would you bless? You know, bam, come on up and the altar is always open and the front row is almost never full. So, if y'all would like to, I want to give you an opportunity.

I I we don't do this every single week although the church that I grew up in, the tradition I grew up with, we always had an opportunity to come forward. It wasn't just for salvation. It wasn't just for church membership. It's for you to take time out and just pray, but do it in a way that's a little different, in a way that can be kind of a marker, a mile marker in your life. So the altar is open.

If you would like to come forward and pray, just kneel before the altar. Please feel free if you'd like for one of us to join you from the band or from the elders, we would, but you don't we don't have to. So just come forward if you'd like. As we sing the words of this song, I don't think it could be any more appropriate. Take my life and let it be Consecrated lord to thee.

Let's stand together while we sing this.

Consecrated Lord to me. Take my moments and my days. Let them flow in ceaseless praise. Let them flow in ceaseless praise. Sing, take my hands and take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love.

Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for thee, swift and beautiful for thee take my will and take my will then make in thine it shall be no longer mine take my heart it is thy noon it shall be thy royal throne. It shall be thy royal throne.

And let's end with I surrender all.

I surrender all. Surrender all.

Amen. Can you agree with me on this? Second Corinthians five nine. This verse is the benediction for today. So we make it our goal to please him.

Whether we're at home in the body or whether we're away from it. We make it our goal to please him. Jesus name, Lord, would you use us this week in a way that is doing your will. Amen.