Jesus Our Ministry

[0:00] Well if we could, with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling, if we could turn back to that portion of scripture that we read.

[0:16] Colossians chapter 4, we're concluding our study on this letter. Colossians chapter 4 and if we read again at verse 16.

[0:30] And Paul writes, he says, When this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

[0:41] And say to Achrypas, see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains.

[0:53] Grace be with you. So as we come to the end of Paul's letter to the Colossians, we can see that Paul has taken the Colossians on, you could say, a spiritual journey.

[1:07] Because from his opening words of encouragement right up until these closing words of exhortation, Paul has been seeking to remind the Colossians of who they are in Christ.

[1:21] And as we said before, Paul wrote this letter to the church in Colossae. It was a church that he had never met. And yet he wrote to them because of their pastor, this man called Epaphras.

[1:33] And Epaphras had a concern for the Christians in his congregation. And his concern was that, well, his ministry and their Christianity, it was being undermined and weakened by false teaching.

[1:46] Because the false teachers, they claimed that the Christians in Colossae weren't proper Christians because they only had Jesus for their salvation. They didn't have the Jesus plus.

[1:59] Jesus plus knowledge and Jesus plus good works and law keeping and circumcision and tradition. And because of their intelligence and because of their eloquence, the false teachers, they convinced many of the Colossians that they weren't really saved.

[2:17] And they thought that, well, the Colossians thought that because they had only confessed Jesus as their Lord and Savior, that they were now inferior. They were inadequate. They were good enough to be saved.

[2:29] And they lacked assurance. They lacked assurance in their Christianity. And the result was that the Colossians, they doubted their salvation. And they questioned whether or not they were genuine Christians.

[2:41] But from the outset of his letter, Paul reassured the Colossians that he was praying for them. He was praying, as we saw from chapter 1, he was praying that they would be filled with knowledge, wisdom and understanding.

[2:54] So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. And you know, as the pastor of the congregation in Colossae, Epaphras must have been so thankful for this letter.

[3:06] Because throughout this letter from Paul, Paul has reminded the Colossians of who they are in Christ and what they have received in Christ. And that their Christianity, it's to affect every area of their lives.

[3:22] And as we mentioned, as we were looking at this on Sunday evening, Paul has been asking us, or asking the Colossians, questions about Christianity. And we mentioned that in chapter 1, Paul asked the question, how do you become a Christian?

[3:36] And Paul said that in order to become a Christian, you must repent of your sin and confess that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Saviour. We must confess that Jesus is supreme, sovereign and sufficient for all things.

[3:51] And then we went into chapter 2, Paul asked the question, do you live like a Christian? Do you live in the confidence and assurance of your Christianity? Do you live in the confidence and assurance that you're following Jesus Christ?

[4:06] That you belong to Jesus Christ? That you're bought by Jesus Christ? And that you're united to Jesus Christ? Do you live like a Christian? What he was saying, do you constantly live with this fear?

[4:19] Thinking, I'm not good enough. I'm not worthy enough. I'm not a proper Christian. Does God really love me? But Paul, as we saw, Paul asked this question because as those who have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, we have no reason whatsoever to lack assurance or to lack confidence in Christ.

[4:39] Because as Paul says, Jesus Christ is our fullness. And that in Christ, as a Christian who is united to Christ by faith, Paul says we lack nothing because we are all complete in Christ.

[4:56] We have confessed Jesus as our Lord. Therefore, we have received every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. We lack nothing. We are complete in Christ because of our union with Christ.

[5:11] And then we went into chapter 3 on Sunday evening and Paul asked the question, how much does your Christianity affect your life? And Paul said that our Christianity should affect every area of our life.

[5:23] There's not to be little pockets that we keep to ourselves. It's to affect every area of our life. Because Paul said you have to put off your old self.

[5:34] You have to put on your new self. You have to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. And you have to put in the effort of loving obedience to God's word. You have to put off, put on and put in.

[5:46] But now as we come to the last chapter of this letter, Paul is asking us this question. What is your Christian service? What is your Christian service?

[5:59] And having gone through his whole letter and saying, well, if Jesus Christ is your Lord, if you have experienced the fullness of salvation because of Jesus Christ, if you have put off the old self and put on the Lord Jesus Christ, then what is your Christian service?

[6:18] What is your Christian service? And in this passage, Paul presents to us three areas of Christian service. He talks about supplication, speech and support.

[6:30] So three areas of Christian service, supplication, speech and support. So if we look first of all at supplication, that's the first area of Christian service.

[6:41] And Paul says in verse two, he says, continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak.

[7:04] And so having reminded the Colossians and us that we are united to Jesus Christ by faith and that he reminded us before that when Christ was crucified, we were crucified with him because we're united to him.

[7:18] When Christ died, we died with him. When Christ was buried, we were buried with him. And when Christ was raised, we were raised to the newness of life by the power of the resurrection.

[7:29] That's because of our union with Christ. And because of that power of the resurrection and that newness of life in our union with Christ, Paul has told us that we must be committed Christians and that our Christianity should affect every area of our lives.

[7:47] As we said in chapter three, we have to put off the old self, put on the new self, and put in the effort of faithful and loving obedience to God. But then following on from this, going into chapter four, Paul reminds us that an area we really have to put effort in is prayer.

[8:06] And you know, it may seem obvious to us, but you know, in the busy world that we live in, with so many pressures and so many demands, the first thing that we are likely to reduce or to give up or to ditch completely is prayer.

[8:23] But you know, Paul urges the Colossians, and he's urging us here in Barvis, he says that, in fact, he commands us here in verse two. He says, continue steadfastly in prayer.

[8:39] Paul says that we have to take an earnest approach to prayer. We have to be consistent and persistent in prayer. As you know, it requires effort.

[8:50] It requires discipline. It requires a desire. Prayer requires faithful obedience. And just like Paul said in the previous chapter about putting in the effort of love and obedience in every area of your Christian life, Paul applies it here to prayer.

[9:10] And he says, continue steadfastly in prayer. And as you know, Paul himself, he was a man of prayer. That's how he introduced himself to the Colossians.

[9:21] He had never met them, and yet he writes to them and says, I'm praying for you. It's the way he introduces himself. I'm praying for you. It's the same way he introduces himself to the Philippians.

[9:33] He says that he's not ceased to pray for them since the first time he heard of them. And you'd see it time and time and again in Paul's letters. He reminds all the churches that he's constantly praying for them.

[9:44] That's his earnest desire, that he keeps praying for them. And his desire is that in turn, when he prays for them, that they will be encouraged, but also that he urges them and he pleads with them that the churches will pray as well.

[10:01] Which only reminds us that, well, if we had been encouraged to pray steadfastly, it reminds us that we can pray anytime, anywhere, about anything.

[10:13] We're to pray without ceasing. We're to pray continually. And we're to be steadfast in our prayers. Now, prayer, it doesn't have to be long, but it has to be earnest.

[10:25] And it has to be genuine. The Apostle James, he reminds us that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. And he used, in the letter of James, James uses the example of Elijah.

[10:41] And you look at Elijah's prayer on Mount Carmel. It was short. It wasn't long. But it was fervent. It was genuine. It was earnest. And it was persistent.

[10:54] That's one thing about Elijah. He was persistent. And, you know, it's good for us to, continually be speaking to the Lord, to be continually, steadfastly in prayer, praying for people, asking him to help us and guide us and give us grace to cope with whatever is in our day.

[11:15] But you know what I love about what Paul says here, and he says it in many of his letters. He reminds us that prayer is not just an individual exercise. Prayer is not just a private thing, although it is a private thing.

[11:31] Prayer is also a plural thing. Prayer is a plural thing. Because when Paul writes about prayer, he writes in the plural. He doesn't refer to the church as individuals.

[11:45] He refers to the church as a body. The body of Christ. And he says here to the Colossians that as a body of believers, as Christians who are all one in Christ, he says, you should continue steadfastly in prayer together.

[12:04] You should be together, he says, and you should pray together. And he says that when you pray together, be watchful and be thankful.

[12:15] So when you come together in prayer, like a prayer meeting, be watchful and be thankful. That's what he says in verse 2. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

[12:28] So our prayer should not only be earnest, our prayer should be watchful and thankful. We should be watchful, we should be vigilant, we should be alert to the attacks of the enemy.

[12:41] That's what the word watchful is seeking to portray to us. It's the image of the watchman in the watchtower. He's in the watchtower of the city and he's watching for an attack from the enemy.

[12:54] And the watchman is awake, he's alert. He's alert to the movements and the advancements of the enemy. And that's how we should be as Christians and as a congregation and as a church.

[13:08] Because as we know only too well the devil goes around as we're reminded in the Bible he goes around like a roaring lion, a prowling lion seeking whom he may devour.

[13:23] But we're told to be watchful. We have to be alert. We have to be awake to the attacks of the enemy. And you know Jesus, you read the Gospels and Jesus repeatedly said the same things to the disciples.

[13:37] Be alert. Stay awake. Watch and pray. He said it again and again and again. But in our steadfastness and our watchfulness Paul says that there also must be thankfulness.

[13:56] Our prayers must be full of thanksgiving to God for his goodness, his mercy, his faithfulness, his kindness, the fact he keeps us. We have to be thankful.

[14:09] And as Paul goes on to say in our steadfastness, our watchfulness and our thankfulness, he says, we are to pray for gospel opportunities. That's what he says here.

[14:20] Continue steadfastly in prayer, be watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I am in prison.

[14:37] So Paul exhorts the Colossians and us as part of the church of Jesus Christ. He says, we're to be steadfast, watchful and thankful in prayer. Why?

[14:49] For the sake of the gospel. And you know, that was Paul's primary purpose and vision. He wanted more and more people to come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

[15:01] And Paul's request is that the Colossians would pray for gospel opportunities for Paul, even though he's in prison. He says, pray for the Lord to open a door for the word of God to be preached and for the mystery of Christ to be revealed.

[15:18] Now, the mystery of Christ, he's said that again and again throughout this letter. He just means the message of salvation. He's talking about the gospel. Pray for the gospel. Pray with steadfastness, watchfulness and thankfulness.

[15:32] Pray for gospel opportunities. Pray for the word of God that doors would be opened, that opportunities would be given, that lives would be turned touched, that people would be transformed and that people would embrace Jesus Christ as he's freely offered to them in the gospel.

[15:51] That's what Paul was asking. And you know, the request is still the same today because the request which is coming from Jesus Christ, our head, to us, his body of believers, the request is pray with steadfastness, watchfulness, watchfulness and thankfulness.

[16:12] Pray for the word as it goes out week by week like the arrows from the king that we were singing about in Psalm 45. Pray for the word. Pray for doors to open for homes and lives of the people in this community to change.

[16:28] Pray for gospel opportunities, personal opportunities to witness about Christ and if possible to speak about Christ. Pray that you'll be given the words to speak with boldness.

[16:42] Pray so that more and more people in our community will embrace Jesus Christ as he's offered to them. Pray. Continue steadfastly in prayer.

[16:57] And so what is your Christian service? What is my Christian service? Paul says the first area is supplication. It's prayer. But the second area of Christian service he speaks about is speech.

[17:12] So supplication, speech. He says in verse 5 walk in wisdom towards outsiders making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious seasoned with salt so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

[17:30] In these verses Paul draws our attention to the importance of our Christian witness. And he makes clear to us that our Christian witness is part of our Christian service.

[17:43] Our Christian witness is part of our Christian service. And Paul says that our Christian witness is to those who are outsiders meaning those who are still outside of Christ.

[17:55] and Paul says that our Christian witness involves two key areas our walk and our talk. We're told in verse 5 walk in wisdom towards outsiders making the best use of your time.

[18:10] Then he says let your speech always be gracious seasoned with salt so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. So our Christian witness it involves our walk and our talk.

[18:22] And Paul says about our walk he says walk in wisdom. Be wise in the way you live your Christian life.

[18:34] Don't be a fool. Don't play the fool. Don't do anything that could compromise your Christian witness. Don't do anything that could undermine your profession of faith.

[18:47] Don't be a fool in the way you live your life and in the way you conduct yourself whether in your home or among your family or among your friends or in the workplace or even on social media.

[18:59] Don't live like the world. Don't walk with the world. Paul says be wise walk in wisdom. Think about what you do.

[19:12] Think about where you go. Think about how that will be perceived by others. Think about how the unconverted will perceive your actions. But more importantly think about how your Christian walk will be perceived by God himself.

[19:29] And you know my friend if you're not sure about something if you should go to this place or if you should do this thing if you're not sure the advice that I was given as a young Christian was always err on the side of caution.

[19:44] always err on the side of caution walk in wisdom. But as Paul says here our Christian service is our Christian witness.

[19:59] And it not only involves our walk it also involves our talk. Because Paul says in verse 6 let your speech always be gracious seasoned with salt.

[20:11] And Paul is clear that our Christian witness involves the walk and the talk. Because it's not only about what we do that defines us. It's also about what we say.

[20:22] And sometimes it's not only what we say that defines us it's how we say it. And the tone in which we say it. Our speech is so important. And how we speak to those as Paul is saying here to those who are outside of Christ it's important.

[20:39] And how we speak to those who are even in Christ that's so important. Our speech it reveals a lot about us. It reveals our temperament. It reveals our attitude.

[20:51] It reveals our thoughts. In fact it reveals what's really inside our heart. Is that not what Jesus said? Out of the heart the mouth speaks.

[21:04] And what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart. This is what Jesus says and he says this is what defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

[21:19] These says Jesus are what defiles a person. And you know it's interesting the things that Jesus says are what defiles us.

[21:30] They are the very things that Paul was telling us to put off in chapter 3. That we're to put off our old life. We're to put off what is worldly and earthly and ungodly and we're to put on, put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

[21:49] And in this case with our Christian witness, with our walk and our talk, especially our talk, Paul says that we are to have grace upon our lips. We're to have grace upon our lips, which is certainly a characteristic of Jesus.

[22:05] That was the description again we were given in Psalm 45, how grace was poured upon his lips. And if we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ every day, then we must also have grace poured upon our lips.

[22:22] We have to have speech that's always gracious, not backbiting, not hurtful, not demeaning, not belittling or slandering or even lying. Our speech is to be gracious.

[22:34] And as Paul says, it's to be seasoned with salt. And you know, when we hear those words, seasoned with salt, are you not immediately reminded of what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount?

[22:47] Jesus said about the Christian, you are the salt of the earth. And as you know, salt, it's one of the most common preservatives. It was, well, it probably still is.

[22:59] It was a common preservative in the ancient world, and I'm sure it still is. To this day. But anyway, in Colossae, because Colossae was located near the Mediterranean, which was a very warm place, salt would often be used for preventing food from going off and rotting.

[23:17] water. And that's the emphasis both Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount and the emphasis that Paul is making here with the illustration of salt. They're emphasising that our Christianity, our Christian witness, it's to have a preserving influence upon the rest of society, in which our Christian influence, it's to prevent further corruption and rottenness.

[23:41] And you know, there always seems to be this rotting away of society. It was mentioned in prayer this evening. There's this deterioration of Christian principles. But you know, without the preserving effect of Christians in society, our society will continue to deteriorate at an even greater pace.

[24:03] And what Paul is reminding us here is that our Christian service is our Christian witness. Because our faithful Christian witness, it's to have a preserving influence upon those around us.

[24:19] It's to have an influence upon those in our home or those in our family who are outside of Christ, those in our workplace who are outside of Christ, those in our congregation who are outside of Christ, those in our community who are outside of Christ.

[24:33] And you know, for Christians to have an influence upon the world and in society, for Christians to be effective salt, there must be contact.

[24:45] Because when it comes to preserving meat, for salt to be effective, salt needs to be applied. Salt needs to be rubbed into the meat.

[24:57] And in the same manner, we have to be rubbing shoulders with the world. of course, we have to be careful not to rub too closely with the world in order to avoid compromise and succumbing to the pressures of the world.

[25:11] There's a fine balance. It's a very fine line sometimes. But in order for our Christianity to have this preserving influence, we can't afford to be isolated.

[25:24] But we should be separated. And I've said this before and I'm sure I'll say it again. it's what defines Christianity. Separation is not isolation.

[25:35] It's contact without contamination. Separation is not isolation. It's contact without contamination. And so as the salt of the earth in our walk and in our talk, there must be contact without contamination.

[25:53] Our Christian witness must be such that it has a restraining influence upon those who are outside of Christ. And you know, sometimes we see that in the workplace.

[26:05] I always remember this from when I was working as a Sparky. There are those who were prone to using bad language. But when they were around a Christian, they would refrain, maybe out of respect, that you're a Christian.

[26:19] On the other hand, there was always some who would use bad language because you're a Christian. They would use it in spite of you. And as I know, sometimes sadly the workplace can be one of the hardest places to be as a Christian.

[26:33] But no one ever said it would be easy. What Paul is reminding us here is that we are to be faithful. And our responsibility is our Christian witness.

[26:44] Our responsibility as our Christian service, the responsibility is our walk and our talk before the outsider.

[26:55] And so Paul is asking us in this chapter, what is your Christian service? And he says that our Christian service is supplication, it's praying. Our Christian service is speech, walk and talk.

[27:09] But lastly, he says that our Christian service is support. Our Christian service is support. Look at verse 7.

[27:20] he says Tychus will tell you all about my activities. He's a beloved brother and faithful minister and a fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts.

[27:38] And with him, Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you, they will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Aristachus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions.

[27:54] If he comes to you, welcome him, and Jesus, who is called justice. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

[28:06] Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you always, struggling in your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you, and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

[28:24] And you know, in these closing words of his letter, Paul briefly mentions a number of people here who are serving the Lord in different capacities.

[28:37] And to us, well, as those reading it, they just seem like a list of names, and they've been lost to us in history. But you know, to God, they were all faithful servants who served the Lord wholeheartedly.

[28:55] And that's what we have to remember here. They were all known to the Lord, each and every name here. The first two names that are mentioned, Tychus and Onesimus, Paul describes them both as fellow beloved brothers.

[29:10] Their role was to encourage the Colossians, to make known to them what was happening to Paul. And the way that Tychus and Onesimus would make known how Paul was, was by visiting the Colossians personally.

[29:25] As we said when we began our study of this letter, Paul was in Rome, he's in prison, he's under arrest for preaching the gospel, but he's received this letter from a concerned minister, Epaphras.

[29:39] He's a pastor in Colossae, and he has concerns for the Christians in his congregation. And Paul then writes to the Colossians, even though he'd never met them, doesn't know much about them.

[29:51] But what's interesting is that Tychus and Onesimus, they are in Rome with Paul. They're not in prison, but they're willing servants of the Lord.

[30:02] And Paul sends Tychus and Onesimus to Colossae with this letter. They are to carry this letter from Rome to Colossae. And we know this because if you're reading from the authorised version, it will say at the end of the letter, that it was written from Rome to the Colossians by Tychus and Onesimus.

[30:23] And so Paul mentions these men, Tychus and Onesimus, important men. But then Paul mentions three Jews, Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus who is called Justice.

[30:36] And Paul says about them that these are the only men of the circumcision, meaning that they're Jews. And Paul says that they are my fellow workers for the kingdom of God and they have been a comfort to me.

[30:48] Aristarchus, Mark, and Justice, they've encouraged Paul. They've provided support for him while he's in prison in Rome. But then you have, after naming these three Jews who've been serving the Lord faithfully, Paul then names many Gentiles who've also been serving the Lord.

[31:06] He mentions Epaphras who was the minister of the congregation in Colossae. And also, interestingly, he's also the pastor in the congregations in the neighbouring cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis.

[31:20] And with this, Paul could see the burden, the burden that was upon Epaphras as a minister and the strain that he was under because of three congregations in three different places.

[31:33] But then Paul, he also mentions Luke in verse 14. Luke, the beloved physician, greets you, as does Demas. He mentions this beloved physician and Luke, who is, as you know, he's the one who wrote the Gospel of Luke.

[31:47] He also wrote the Book of Acts. And from the Book of Acts, we know that Luke went on many missionary journeys with Paul. So this is another faithful servant. Then there's Demas.

[32:00] But you know, Demas, he's a sad story. Because even though he was a helpful and devoted servant at the beginning, Paul says in his last letter to Timothy, the letter he wrote just before he died, he says, Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world.

[32:23] Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. Demas was a servant of the Lord. he started out well, but the world had a grip on him.

[32:36] And he made the conscious decision to forsake Paul and to forsake the church and to seek after the things of the world. Demas is a sad story.

[32:49] But you know, Paul, he also mentions a few others. He mentions this woman called Nympha in verse 15. She was a woman who was rich and she opened her home, willing to have people come into her home to hold a church service.

[33:06] And Paul thanks her for it. He's very thankful to her for opening her house. Then there's also this man right at the end, Archippus. He seems to have been called into the ministry by the Lord.

[33:19] He says in verse 17, And say to Archippus, see that you fulfil the ministry that you have received in the Lord. So there's this encouragement to a man who's been called by the Lord.

[33:32] And you know, although it's just a list of names of people whom we know very little and almost nothing about them, and they seem to be to us just forgotten history, you know, what amazes me is that nothing they did was forgotten by the Lord.

[33:47] Nothing they did was overlooked by the Lord. Apart from Demas who forsook the Lord, this list of people, they were faithful servants who wholeheartedly gave their lives to serving the Lord.

[34:00] And as servants of the Lord, they didn't seek recognition. They didn't want to be put on a pedestal. They didn't make a name for themselves. They weren't celebrity church men or church women.

[34:12] They were just ordinary Christians who loved the Lord Jesus Christ and sought to live out their life for his glory. and they did anything they could for the extension of Christ's kingdom.

[34:29] They weren't more important than Paul because they were supporting him and Paul was supporting them. They were working together. That's the emphasis of all these names.

[34:40] They were all working together as one body united to Christ as one people and they were supporting one another in the work of the Lord.

[34:50] God. And you know this should emphasize to us that the ministry of the gospel is not about the minister. It's about the local church working together and supporting one another in the work of the gospel.

[35:07] It's not about anyone making a name for themselves because it's not about us. It's all about Christ. And that's the way it should always be.

[35:19] It's always about the serving the Lord Jesus Christ where we serve him out of love and devotion to him because of what he has done for us. And that's because you know Christianity obviously it's all about Christ.

[35:36] It's all about Jesus. And you know that's what Paul has sought to remind the Colossians throughout this entire letter. This simple teaching that it's all about Jesus.

[35:48] Jesus. It's not about us. It's all about looking to him. Paul sought to remind the Colossians it's all about Christ and hopefully he's also reminded us that our salvation and our service it's all about Christ.

[36:04] That everything we are as a Christian, everything we have as a Christian, everything we do as a Christian is because of Jesus Christ. Christ. And you know if, I don't know if you noticed the titles in the Bible study booklet, they're all about Jesus.

[36:24] That's the emphasis of the titles. Jesus our confidence, Jesus our Lord, Jesus our rock, Jesus our fullness, Jesus our lifestyle, Jesus our ministry.

[36:37] It's all about Jesus. And so my friend the letter to the Colossians, Jesus, if it has reminded us anything, it should have reminded us that everything we are as a Christian, and everything we have as a Christian, and everything we do as a Christian, is all because of what Jesus Christ has done for us.

[36:59] It's all about Jesus Christ. So may the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, teach us, we pray thee, to walk before thee humbly, and that, O Lord, that we might be those who are known and found often at the throne of grace, that we would be those, Lord, who come with our petitions and our prayers and our supplications, bringing all our burdens to thy footstool, knowing that thou art the one who is ruling over and overruling in all things.

[37:43] Help us, Lord, as thy people, to walk in wisdom. Help us, we pray, to speak with speech that is seasoned with salt, that we, O Lord, would be God-honoring and God-glorifying in the way we live our lives.

[38:00] O Lord, we confess that we faint and fail, but keep us, Lord, we pray thee, for we know that we cannot keep ourselves, that we are those who are weak, but Lord, help us to see, as Paul said, that we will glory in our weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon us.

[38:20] Lord, remember us, we pray, help us to support one another, help us to bear one another's burdens, help us to be the local church that wants to reach the local community with this glorious message of Jesus Christ, that it would not be about man, but it would always be about him, the one who loved us and gave himself for us.

[38:43] O guide us, Lord, we pray, lead us and keep us, and go before us for Jesus' sake. Amen. We're going to conclude our service by singing to God's praise in Psalm 71.

[39:04] Psalm 71 in the Scottish Psalter. We're singing from the beginning down to the verse marked five.

[39:19] O Lord, my hope and confidence is placed in thee alone. Then let thy servant never be put to confusion, and let me in thy righteousness from thee deliverance have, cause me escape, incline thine ear, unto me and me save.

[39:34] Be thou my dwelling rock to which I ever may resort. Thou gave'st commandment me to save, for thou art my rock and fort. Down to the verse marked five, to God's praise.

[39:46] O Lord, my hope and confidence is placed in thee alone, and let thy servantить him of the till the Everest time cause me escape incline thine ear unto me and me save be thou might dwelling rock to which

[41:14] I ever may resort the gift of love led me to save for loved thy rock and forth free me my God from wicked hands and cruel and unjust for thou O Lord God art my hope and from my youth my trust the grace of the

[42:23] Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever more Amen Lord групп toisten