You can find Colossians 1 on page 748 in your pure Bible. Again, this is God's holy word. Take heed how you hear it. I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church. which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God, which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to his saints. To them, God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end, I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily. Some of you will be familiar with the name J. Gresham Machin. J. Gresham Machen was born near the end of the 1800s. He died in 1937. He's an American. He's a Presbyterian theologian. He's probably most famous or most well known for being the founder of one of our sister denominations in the Reformed faith, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He's also known for founding Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia. Perhaps you've heard of that seminary. Some of our ministers in our denomination graduated from there. Gordon Keddie would be one of them. J. Gresham Machen was a champion of the faith. He was a champion of the faith. He wrote books. Christianity and liberalism would be one of them. I recommend you have that on your family library. It's still very, very useful. He defended the faith. He defended, not just spiritually and pastorally, but academically, the authority of the Bible. People in his day were saying, you know, the Old Testament got errors. And the Gospels, the four Gospels, they don't even match up. He was addressing that and speaking very powerfully to that end, and he's known to be a champion of the evangelical faith. But one thing you might not know about J. Gresham Machen is that there was a period in his life where he seriously doubted the veracity of the gospel. It was a dark time in his life. He had graduated from Princeton Seminary. In 1902, he went off to Germany to get his doctorate. And he was exposed to men who were very moral, upright, and church men who were beginning to say, well, you know, the Bible does have historical error in it, and here's why. You know, I mean, I don't know how important it is that we really believe that Christ came forth from a virgin and, you know, that he's the only means. That's not really the gospel. And he was challenged. He really wrestled with the teaching of Professor Ehrman, a man I'm familiar with, a very famous German theologian. And perhaps you're here this morning And you too, you're not just to some degree doubting your faith, but the faith, not just whether or not, you know, whether I have true faith, but is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the message of of of our sin before a holy God and his the God man coming to us, dying on the tree. The necessity of faith and repentance in Him, the hope of the resurrection, the forgiveness of sins. Is that really true? Perhaps you've, like J. Gresham Machen, recently or in the past few months and even years, you've encountered someone who, very upright person, that seems to have their life in order, their family seems to be in order, but they're Mormons. Or they're Jehovah's Witnesses, or maybe even they're Muslims. I've met, since I've been here, a Muslim, very kind man. Nice family. Are you doubting your faith? Are you doubting the faith this morning? Well, Paul is speaking to a group of people who are in a sense doubting the faith that they have received. There are men, there are teachers that are trying to get them just to kind of move a little bit off the faith of Christ, the true gospel, what you really need in addition to Christ is, you know, knowledge about other things, this Gnostic gospel, this infatuation with the knowledge outside of the Bible, outside of Christ. You need angels, you need the Jewish ceremonial walls, too. Those ceremonies that pointed to Christ, well, you still need them. You know, those feasts and those Sabbaths and those new moons and things. Christ really isn't everything. And Paul is writing in this section, verses 24 through 29, to encourage them to believe, to continue to believe the gospel, to persevere in the faith. He says in verse 23, after talking much about Christ and his perfection and his preeminence and his sufficiency, he says, if indeed, this is verse 23, if indeed you continue in the faith, And he tells them, you must continue. But he goes in his next few verses to give them reasons, to give them encouragements. We need encouragement to continue in the faith. He writes in verse one of chapter two, for I want you to know. In other words, I write these things before him because I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you. Verse two, that their hearts may be encouraged. that you may have a full assurance of understanding. So what I want to do this morning is I want to speak to you specifically as God's people, as those who do have faith in Christ, that your faith at the moment may be weak. I want to speak to you specifically as those who believe in the gospel. You may be here and you may not be a Christian. You may know that you're not a Christian. And I, more or less, am not going to speak to you. I want to speak to you, dear brothers and sisters in the Lord. I want to encourage you. I want to encourage you. The Bible teaches, this passage teaches us that Christians ought to continue to believe the gospel, because the gospel is beloved, historic, powerful, and sufficient. Four points this morning. The gospel, you ought to continue to believe it because it is beloved, historic, powerful, and sufficient. Look with me, first of all, why should you be encouraged to believe, to continue to believe the gospel? Verse 24. and the beginning part of most of verse 25. It is a beloved gospel. People have loved this gospel so much that they're willing to labor for it, to suffer for it, and to die for it. By such love, they adorn it, and they demonstrate its divinity and its truthfulness. So it's it's beloved gospel. Notice how it's loved by Paul. Verse 25. First, I want you to look at that more or less a normal way of loving the gospel. Well, he loves those who believe in it. He loves them by serving them. He says he he says in verse 24, he suffers for the sake of his body, which is the church. And in the church, he has become a minister. a minister. He's referring to his... specifically to his office as an apostle. We can refer to a minister in different ways. Here he says that it's according to the stewardship from God, which was given to me for you. He's referring to his... the fact that God, Christ Jesus, personally called him to be an apostle to the Gentiles. He has authority In all the church, as an apostle, but in God's providence he was designated specifically to the Gentiles. There are several places where we know that. the Colossians are Gentiles. He's saying, for you, I've been set aside for you. He has not been to Colossae, but his imprisonment in Rome at the time and his whole mission was so that, not just the Jews, but the Gentiles would be engrafted in. He's serving them. I want you to really cue on the word minister. The Apostles, The prophets, the elders and preachers today, ministers of the gospel today, they serve. It's a normal way in which they demonstrate love. How disappointing and ridiculous it would be if God's people didn't love one another. If your mother didn't love you. Okay, if your pastor didn't love you. Paul loves the church. He serves them. He demonstrates that. He labors for them. He didn't just write epistles. He preached. He defended the faith. This is how he's showing his love. I want to focus on verse 24. In a sense it's more of an extraordinary way in which we see how the gospel is beloved. Paul suffered physically for the gospel. that people would believe it. That the Jews and the Gentiles would come to the knowledge of it. He says, and I rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ. What is lacking in the afflictions of Christ? What does that mean? Now this is a phrase that the Roman Catholics especially have taken and they've skewed. Is Paul saying that there's something actually lacking in the atonement of Christ? That Paul and his strikes, his whippings and things, he's adding to? Is that what he's saying? He who said in Colossians 2 verse 14, referring to Christ, having wiped out the handwritings of requirements that was against us, which is contrary to us, and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Is that how we should understand this phrase? He who said in chapter one, referring to Christ, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. Of course not. Whether you understand the book of Hebrews to be written by Paul or not, the same God, same scriptures, And the author of Hebrews chapter 10 verses 11 through 14 makes it very clear that nothing can be added to the atonement, purgatory, your own sufferings. The author of Hebrews says in chapter 10 verse 11 through 14, and every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins, referring to the Old Testament. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." So we know what does it mean then. What does it mean? What is this phrase? What is lacking? The afflictions of Christ. All it means is it's a reference to the fact that Paul is suffering as a Christian. He's specifically suffering as a Christian. The afflictions of Christ. The afflictions that belong to those who are being afflicted for his sake. And they're lacking because God has ordained that not only Paul would suffer, but that you would suffer. All of God's people. All those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Okay? Jesus said, John 15, 20, remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. That's what he's referring to. It was amazing. I'll mention just briefly is that Paul just doesn't patiently endure it. He rejoices. That's a challenge. He sees the eternal weight of glory. that's coming to them, and he rejoices in his sufferings for them. And this is a way of Paul, he's reminding them that this gospel, listen, it's true. I know it's true. I'm willing to be stoned. I'm willing to be beaten with rods. Whipped forty times minus one. How Disappointing it would be if the disciples of Christ, if even one of them, of course we know about Judas Iscariot, he served a prophetic purpose, but if one of them kind of just tinkered out as it were. But how much more if we realize that the twelve disciples of Christ, the apostles, to include Paul, they were martyrs. Doesn't that tell you something? about the veracity, the truthfulness of the gospel? Christianity.com and an article written in 2010 by Ken Curtis. It goes into detail of the 12 disciples. Time would fail me to talk about all the other martyrs that adorn, that love the gospel and adorn the truthfulness of it. But I want you to think about this for a moment. James, the son of Zebedee, was executed by Herod according to Acts chapter 12 verse 2. Peter and Paul were both martyred in Rome about 66 AD. Paul was beheaded. Peter was crucified. Andrew is said to have been crucified in Greece. Thomas died in Syria when he was pierced through with the spears of four soldiers. Philip and Asia Minor was arrested by a Roman official and was put to death. Matthew, most reports say that he was stabbed to death in Ethiopia. Bartholomew. There are various accounts of how he met his death as a martyr for the gospel. James, the son of Alphaeus, was stoned and clubbed to death in Syria. Think about this. Simon the Zealot was killed after refusing the sacrifice of the sun god in Persia. Tradition sends Matthias to Syria with Andrew and to death by burning. Only John in God's providence was exiled to the island of Patmos and seems to have died a a death of natural causes. Are you wondering, this is evangelical faith of the gospel, the gospel that Tim has preached to you, that I have preached to you. Are you wondering if it's really true? I want you to think about it. The fact that it is a beloved gospel. So many people have died for it, suffered for it, labored for the church Time would fail me to mention others. It's a beloved gospel. So continue to believe in it. But secondly, it's an historic gospel. It's an historic gospel. It's not an invention. It's not new. It's actually very old. It's ancient. It's historic. We see this in the very end of verse 25 all the way down to 26 and I'll also more or less cover verse 27 as well. So Paul is a minister of the gospel. He's an apostle in that sense. Why? At the end of verse 25 he says to fulfill the word of God. He's referring to a prophecy. Some take this adverbially. Some translations take it adverbially that he would preach fully. But it's referring to prophecy to fulfill the word of God. What word of God? The mystery, which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to his saints. I want to talk to you about the historic gospel, the gospel that Tim has preached, the gospel that I preach, salvation through faith alone in Christ alone. That gospel. It's an old gospel. First, though, I want to... I've been talking about the gospel. The gospel, that word doesn't even appear in this text, but it's the mystery. The full revelation of the gospel was a mystery of sorts. The mystery can be summed up as Christ in you. Christ in you. Christ, the God-man. The Messiah would become, who God, being God, became man, who would suffer on a tree. He would be the Savior of the world in that sense. That Christ would be in you, would dwell by the Holy Spirit in the Gentiles. That's who you is. That by that there would be a hope of eternal glory. There would be a hope of the resurrection. This is the mystery. Christ is the mystery. This is Paul's language in Ephesians 3. 1st Timothy 3.16. You might be familiar with that verse. The mystery in an even more condensed version is Christ. 1st Timothy 3.16. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh. And this gospel is historic. It's the same gospel as the Old Testament. It was a mystery in the sense that it was not fully revealed. It was hidden, but it was there. Listen, Jesus said to the Pharisees, Abraham saw my day, and he was glad. See, what's he saying? Listen, Abraham might have not known everything about the Messiah, but he trusted in a God who would save his people. His seed would save his people. He believed that. It wasn't as clear as we have it in the New Testament. Peter, Acts chapter 10 with Cornelius. Recall that story? He said, God listen, why would I go to the Gentiles? I've never touched anything unclean. Peter! Okay, this is Peter. He was a disciple of Christ, by the way. A little unclear, but it's the same. It's an historic gospel. It's now been revealed in the incarnation of Christ. Preaching the Apostles, the rest of the canon. been revealed by God according to His will to His saints. The only reason that we can ground as the fundamental reason for why God reveals things is His will. His good pleasure. You know Christ because God willed that you would know Christ. That's what's said here. To them God willed to make known this mystery. And it's an old mystery. That's really kind of my point here. You know, The gospel that I preach, one of the reasons why I hope I deal with preaching in a holy way, it's because this is the everlasting gospel, Revelations. This is the old gospel. I want you to think about that for a moment. I want you to think about this for a moment. The person of the Messiah. Genesis 3.15 tells us that it would be a man, the seed of the woman. Isaiah 9 verse 6 tells us the Messiah would be God. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and his name shall be called Mighty God. The Messiah will be a virgin, or be a son from the Virgin Mary. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and he shall call his name Immanuel, God with us. Sound familiar? This is Old Testament. This is historic. I want you to wrestle with this some more. Inclusion of the Gentiles. Now, where is this verse found? Many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day. Many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall become my people. Sounds like the New Testament. Zachariah 2.11. It's old. the death of the Messiah, that he would be a suffering Messiah. Isaiah 53, kids, you can read Isaiah 53 verses 4 through 6 and know he's talking about Christ. But we gotta remember, that's Old Testament. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions. The chastisement for our peace was upon him. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." It's an historic gospel. But think about it though. I mean, Martin Luther, okay, the champion of justification by faith alone. Listen, that's old. Habakkuk 2.4, Behold, the proud, his soul is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. That's old. That's Old Testament. I want you to wrestle with it. The reason why I want you to wrestle with that... I mean the resurrection will be another point. That's a big theme in the New Testament. Listen, that's Old Testament. Daniel, Psalm 16, Job said, "...and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God." It's historic. It's old. And the reason why I want you to think about the historicity of the Gospel, It's not only because you may be doubting whether or not the doctrine of the Westminster profession of faith is really the real faith. It's relatively new in some sense. But it's also because you face challenges. I remember being in Greenville, South Carolina, and I taught Latin at a Catholic school. And it was well known that the priest of that church that ran that school was a fundamental Baptist, historically, from that area. Greenville, South Carolina is very evangelical, very Baptist, very believing in God's Word. And that man was intrigued by the ancient communion. Well, if you really want to know the truth, go back to Rome. Listen, Rome, their doctrines are relatively new. They concocted them. Not in the 6th century, again in the 9th, 13th century. We're going all the way back. going all the way back. You know, there was a man, I was asked to give a lecture to a group of Jewish folks and they said, we want you to speak on how the New Testament is anti-semitic. You know, where I'm going with this is that if you really want to go ancient, become Jewish. Listen, he said to that group, he said, listen, I'll do that. If only I can first give a lecture on why the Old Testament is anti-semitic. The Jews don't understand the Old Testament. I want you to wrestle with these things. It's historic. What I'm saying to you, what Tim has preached to you for years, the doctrine is ancient. It was hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed, fully manifested. This is why you should continue to believe in it. It's historic. It's historic. Are you doubting? the true gospel? Are you doubting the evangelical faith? I want to encourage you a third way. I want you to think about the power of the gospel. You should continue to believe in the gospel because it's a powerful gospel. We see the power of the gospel in those who need it and those who administer it. Verse 27, I'll just touch on this idea To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles." We need to wrestle with the fact that when Christ died and when he rose again and after 40 days he ascended to heaven and he poured out his spirit upon his church, the gospel rapidly grew. Paul can say twice in this letter that the gospel has been preached to every creature under heaven. He speaks as a man. He didn't know about North America. Verse 6. The gospel has come to you as it is in all the world. The gospel exploded. And it's powerful. I want you to think about that. I told you about the people in Colossae. weeks ago. It shows its power and who it comes to. I mean we're talking about people who were entrenched in paganism. They came to faith. You recall this quote from one commentator referring to the Colossians. They were a barbarous and adulterous people. They worshipped idols. Very far from the country and the religion of Israel, province infamous for its abominations, once it had issued the mysterious and infernal devotions of Sibyl, the most attestable of all pagan idols, and whose service were committed the most unclean and shameful errors." Horrors. The gospel came to these people and transformed them. It's powerful. You know of Rosaria Butterfield. Rosaria is so encouraging to me. Okay, Rosari Butterfield was a very, she is a very smart woman. She was a professor at Syracuse University. She was an open outspoken lesbian. She started reading the Bible. She started reading the Bible. She started talking to one of our ministers in Syracuse. Her life's totally transformed. Power, power. And the power also is in those who administer the gospel. Verse 29, to this end I also labor. He's referring to the previous verse of them becoming perfect, which I'll explain in a moment. Paul's laboring. How is he laboring? By what power is he laboring? Striving according to his working, which works in me mightily. Now I must say that Paul was special. You'll never see me perform a miracle. I don't have the gift of miracles. That's what I'm trying to say. Well, God can do miracles, but no one in his church has those gifts. Paul did. Romans 15, 18 through 19. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me in word and deed to make the Gentiles obedient in mighty signs and wonders by the power of the Spirit of God. Mighty signs and wonders. And I do want to To mention that, that's part of what Paul's referring to. That's part of why the church exploded. In God's providence, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, there was a time where He established the church, expanded the church, and grew the church, for the purpose of confirming His word. After that, those gifts ended. But we also know something about Paul's preaching, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in preaching. Now Paul tells the Corinthians that, I don't want you to hear me and to have faith in the wisdom of men. I want you to have faith in the power of God. He tells the Thessalonians, for you know what kind of men we were among you. Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and much assurance. Have you ever been either listening to a sermon or maybe just doesn't have to be preaching. It could be maybe a conversation you have with your parents or with some other person. Maybe they're calling you, calling you out. Maybe they're sharing Scriptures to you. Have you ever felt conviction? Listen, those at Pentecost listening to Peter preach, they heard him and they were cut to the heart. And they said to Peter, what must we do to be saved? The power of the gospel and those who administer it. I want you to remember the times in your life. Again, I'm speaking to you as those who believe in the true gospel, but also as those who may be struggling. I want you to remember the times where you know God spoke to you. You know God spoke to you. Think about it. Peter is uneducated. He is speaking to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders. He is bold. We ought to obey God rather than man. They identify that. There is something to that. It is the Holy Spirit. It is the power of the Gospel. I will say that again, there is nothing inherently powerful about these pages and the ink on these pages. The Holy Spirit is the efficient power, but the gospel is the instrumental power. I want you to think about that. It's a powerful gospel. And lastly, fourthly, verse 28. It's a sufficient gospel. It's a sufficient gospel. Why should you continue to believe the gospel? Because it's all you need to be saved. You don't need to add to it. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. There's three ways in which it's sufficient. The gospel is sufficient because it's the only thing that's actually preached. The content of preaching is the gospel. Paul says a lot about preaching itself here. Preaching is not the same thing as teaching. Okay? It includes teaching. Notice that he describes preaching as warning and teaching. Teaching informs the mind. You need that. Be renewed in your mind. I want to first convince you that this is what the text is saying, but I want to go beyond that. And I want to warn you. I want to admonish you. In some cases I want to comfort you and encourage you. I want to apply Scripture to you. That's what preaching is. Preaching is not just illuminating the mind. It's applying it to your heart. It's calling you to action, to believe something or to change your ways or to continue to do something, et cetera. So preaching is, and it's to be done in all wisdom. I take that adverbially. It's not wrong for preachers to think about how they communicate, to be wise. It's one thing for me to preach to my own congregation here. It's another thing for me to preach in Reno. It's another thing for me to preach on the streets of Fresno. I need to be wise and adjust my preaching. But the emphasis here is what it is that's preached. Him. Him we preach. Christ, who is the mystery, who is the gospel. This is the only thing I preach. Listen, I'm not going to get up here one Sunday morning and get out a PowerPoint and say, let's... I want to teach the kids how to read. Educate you. Or let me give you a lecture on, you know, some other thing. Listen, you don't need... Education doesn't save you, is my point. The gospel saves you. The gospel saves you. I'm going to preach Christ, His sufficiency, His person, His works. It's sufficient. Secondly, the gospel is sufficient because every single one of you, you need it. It's relevant for you. It's relevant for those in Colossae. It's relevant for those in 2018 in Fresno. It's relevant for those who are in the prison. Every man, three times, Paul says, Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man It's relevant for all of you. It's relevant because you're sinners. And the gospel addresses sin. A doctor's not going to be able to keep you from dying and send you up to heaven. Christ does that. And all of you, because you're just like me, you're sinners. You need the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's for all of you. It doesn't matter what you've done. Listen, I don't care what sin you have committed. Jesus can save you. Repent and believe in Him. All of you. I go downtown, this is kind of a side point, but I wanted to mention it. I go downtown to Fresno with Joel and Tim regularly and I preach the gospel. And I offer the gospel to every man, every woman, everyone. I believe in election. I mean, Paul was a Calvinist before John Calvin was. Okay, I mean, Christ told Paul, I have many people in this city. So keep going. I don't tell people that Jesus died for them. I can tell you that because you're the church. Jesus died for the church. I don't tell people that, you know, if they believe in Jesus Christ, He's got a wonderful plan for their life. But I say, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved. It's very appropriate. Paul believed in the free offer of the gospel to every man. Sufficient. Finally, The gospel completes the deal. It brings you all the way home. That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. It's hard not to realize that Paul has the false teachers in Colossians in mind. Don't add angels to Jesus. Don't add those old ceremonial laws that passed in Christ. Don't go after this Gnostic you know, religion, this Gnostic gospel, this infatuation with knowledge apart from Christ. No need to add. He is, the gospel is what we need to be presented perfect. Christ Jesus is perfect here. The New King James presents this. It translates it as perfect. Sensing that the idea is on that great glorious day we're gonna be perfect in Christ Jesus. Some translations translate it as mature. I want to address that just for a moment. Some Christians, and I believe at least the one I have in mind is a genuine Christian, believe that you can attain to a perfect state of sanctification on this side of heaven. That's not true. The word perfect here is used in two different ways, and I'll demonstrate that from Philippians chapter 3. Turn there with me. Philippians chapter 3, verse 15. He says, therefore, let us, as many as are mature, have this mind. It's the same Greek word translated mature here, because that's the sense. You know, there's a certain level of sanctification that's been reached. But in verse 12, it's the same word. Not that I have already attained or am already perfected. I have not been perfected yet. I'm still waiting for that glory. Same word, two different senses. So we mustn't fall into this idea that we can be actually perfect in this side of heaven. We still sin. As Christians, we'll be sinning to some degree to the day that we die. The point here is the gospel, Christ. Okay, we're perfect in Christ Jesus. That's who we need. We need Christ. It's sufficient. You should love it because it's sufficient. You should continue to strive For Christians ought to continue to believe the gospel. Because it's beloved, it's historic, it's powerful, and it's sufficient. Do you doubt the gospel? I want to conclude my message this morning by asking two questions. Are you that person? Are you struggling with the truth of the Gospel? Let me say one other thing by way of encouragement. J. Gresham Machen, of course he continued in the faith despite this dark time in Germany studying with modernists or liberals as we would call them. It actually wasn't some really good argument that he read that was the instrument to keep him going. It's actually his letters of his mother. But I want you to think about what his mother said. Machen writes, another thing used to be said to me by my mother in those dark hours when the lamp burned dim, when I thought that faith was gone and shipwreck had been made of my soul. This is what his mother told him. Christ keeps a firmer hold on us than we keep on him. Christ keeps a firmer hold on us than we keep on him. No one can snatch me from my hand. Now you may be wondering, am I gonna have a shipwreck of my faith? Am I gonna dishonor my parents? And am I gonna, you know, whatever, Christ, He keeps His people. He keeps His people. He is the one who preserves His people. Psalm 121. With that in mind, I want you to persevere. Second question for you. Maybe I have encouraged you. Maybe this is useful. It's historic. It's beloved. All these different things. It's sufficient. I do want to continue in believing the gospel. What does it mean? Well, what it means is that whether you feel like it or not, you get up in the morning or whatever time it is in the day and you read your Bible and you pray. You've done that for years and sometimes you have your devotions and it doesn't really grab you. Just keep doing it. You need to keep doing it. Just keep doing it. Keep coming to church. Attend to the means of grace, the preaching of the gospel. Keep praying. For those people who you love, who have apostatized, or who don't believe. And there seems to be no movement in that direction. Just keep praying for them. Keep praying. Keep fighting your sin. Just keep fighting your sin. Just keep going. You know, you're like Paul. The thing that I don't want to do, that I do. Don't give up. Just keep fighting. Listen, when bad things happen to you, I know bad things have happened to you. Disappointments, even tragedies. And you start to doubt the goodness of God and His sovereignty. Listen, we may not understand why God has allowed bad things to happen to us. For us to be sick. For there to be deaths in our life and things. Doesn't mean God doesn't love you. Doesn't mean God's not silent. Just keep pressing on. Keep believing in the gospel. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that our perseverance does not ultimately depend upon us. Though we go astray, though we falter in our faith, your Son, by His Spirit, keeps a firmer grip upon us than we do upon Him. Because we believe this, we ask that you would enable us, that you would cause us to persevere, that you would enable us to continue to do those things that we've been doing for a long time. that we don't always see their fruit. We don't always sense the comfort of your spirit. Father, we pray that you would keep us in the faith. You would keep our children in the faith. That they would grow up to take hold of Christ for themselves. We pray for those who've left our congregation. Father, many here weep. over loved ones and children who have left the faith. We ask that you and your mercy, you and your grace, would bring them back. Bring us home, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.