Thank you, Leah. Well, this morning we have a special message in SOAR and I want to welcome especially those of you that are visiting with us. It is just a delight to have you with us and we even have a gift if you I should have one here. If you came without a Bible, we would like to give you one. So if you just raise your hand, Joseph will make sure that you get a Bible. Anybody need a Bible, we'd be happy to give you one. Today, we're going to address the subject of a true worshiper of God. What is a true worshiper of God? And so I have very creatively titled my message this morning, A True Worshipper of God. That's for Pete in the sound room. So today, that's the question that we want to answer. And I frankly, I don't think that there is a question that we could address that is any more important than this one. In all of life, I suspect that this answer is the most important question. Am I a true worshiper of God? Hebrews chapter 9, and if you have a gift Bible that's that's on page 808, but in Hebrews chapter 9 in verses 27 and 28. The Bible says. In as much as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin to those who eagerly await Him." Notice a couple of key points in these two verses. Number one, every one of us is going to die. There will come a point, maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, next month, next year, next decade, or many decades from now, but the fact of the matter is every one of us at some point will breathe our last and exit from this life. And what comes at that point? Well, what's it say at the end of verse 27? It is appointed for men, and you could translate this in a context like this people to die once and after this comes judgment, which means you're going to answer to God for everything that you have ever thought, ever said and ever done. And it's not a graded on a curve. OK, this is kind of like the the quiz that Albert and Kyle took this morning. If it's wrong, it's wrong, period. And who's going to be doing the evaluation? Well, Christ will be. Notice it says in verse 28, so Christ also having offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin. But that salvation that appears for is for those who eagerly await him. You could even take it this way. The basic idea, as he's been building for nine chapters, for those who really, truly are in a right relationship with God because they have a right relationship with Jesus Christ, for those who truly are worshipers of God, when Christ comes back, it's salvation for us. But for those who are not true worshipers of God, when he comes back, it's judgment, it's judgment. Listen, there is really no more important question in all of life to answer than this. Am I truly a worshiper of God or not? In fact, for those of you again with a gift Bible page 649 Matthew Chapter 7, Jesus himself makes it clear, and I think this is probably one of the most frightening passages in the whole of the New Testament. Jesus at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew chapter 7 and verse 21 says this, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Do you know what that means? That means there are going to be some people that that that when they die, they stand before Jesus and they will they will acknowledge Jesus as Lord, but he will not accept them as his people. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, is going to enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven will enter. And here's the verse that I really do think this is the most frightening of all, because it tells us that people are going to die believing they have a right relationship with God and find out only when they die that they do not. He says, Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, Did we not prophesying in your name and did we not in your name cast out demons and in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them. I never knew you. We never had a relationship. We never there was no real connection between the two of us. So depart from me. You who practice iniquity, you practice lawlessness. And for me, the most fearful part of that is at the beginning of verse 22. What is the word there that Jesus uses? It's the word many. It's not just one or two people that are going to be surprised, that are going to be confused, that are going to be awakened suddenly to the fact that they now face eternal destruction because they never had a relationship with God through Christ. But many will say to me on that day, Lord, didn't we do all this stuff for you? And he will say, and he says, I will declare to them, I never knew you. We never had a personal relationship. You were never really one of mine. In fact, it's not just New Testament where we see stuff like this, if you take your Bibles and turn to the left to Isaiah chapter one, that's page 455, if you have a gift Bible, Isaiah chapter one. I just want to look at a few of the passages here. I want you to see that the message is consistent in both Old Testament and New Testament. Isaiah 1, we have the vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, the kings of Judah. So this is God speaking through Isaiah to Israel, OK? Specifically, this is related to Jerusalem and Judah. And we'll skip past the introduction to this in verses 2 to 9, and we'll pick up in verse 10, as it really gets to the point. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom, give ear to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah. Now, if you're familiar with the Old Testament, You know that the two most wicked cities in the Old Testament are identified as Sodom and Gomorrah. God had fire come down from heaven and destroy them both. You remember why? Because of their extreme wickedness that God would now address Israel. that God would now address Jerusalem and Judea as Sodom and Gomorrah says that he has quite a bit of anger toward his people because of their behavior. Wouldn't you agree with that? I mean, there would be no greater insult or slander or no more harsh rebuke to give for God to give to his people than to identify them with those who were so wicked he destroyed them. And yet he says, Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah. I'm addressing the leaders of Jerusalem and the people of Jerusalem. And notice he confronts them on their sacrifices and their practices of worship. What are your multiplied sacrifices to me, says the Lord? I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before me, who requires of you this trampling of my courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer. What you are doing. Yes, you're doing what I prescribed. Yes, you're bringing all the animals that I've instructed you to bring. But you know what? Your heart is so far from me. Your behavior is so repulsive to me. I don't want any of your sacrifices anymore. Just stop. Just stop. Can you imagine hearing God say to you just stop? It's offensive to me what you call worship of me. In fact, the next part of verse 13, I want you to look closely at this. Bring your worthless offerings no longer. In other words, all these sacrifices you're making, they are of zero value. I don't accept any of them. And incense is an abomination to me. Now, that may not make sense unless you're familiar with the Old Testament sacrificial system. What was incense used for in the Old Testament sacrificial system? It was emblematic. It was offered by the priest. He would walk into the holy place. And he would have a censer, basically a bronze plate with burning incense on it. You know what incense is, right? You light it on fire and it smells, what? Sweet or spicy. It's got a pleasant aroma, typically, right? It's like an air freshener. And it smells good. You know, God describes the sacrificial system when they were to sacrifice the bulls and goats on the altar out front of the tabernacle and out front of the tabernacle. He describes it like. You know what Father's Day is like? When you get home and we're having steak on the grill, tell me, is that not a sweet aroma in the nostrils of God? I just watched Mark melt in this pew right there, right? Just thinking of it, isn't that awesome? Is there anything like the smell of steak? Okay, that's the way God describes the offerings when they're brought by His people out of an expression of love and worship. It is a sweet aroma in my nostrils, God says. And the incense, it's like you ladies, when you plug in that air freshener and all of a sudden the house smells like vanilla or it smells like, I don't even know what most of, jasmine and whatnot, I don't know, right? Most of them make me sneeze, but you guys apparently love that smell, right? You go, oh, that smells so nice. You know, OK, and that was why God associated incense when the high priest would come in and offer up the morning prayer or the evening prayer as you would come into God and they would have a sensor with burning incense on it and then offer up their prayers. God be praised for who you are and please help us. And well, what does God say here in Isaiah 1 verse 13? Bring your worthless offerings no longer. Incense is an abomination to me. Your prayers offend me. Wow. God says to his people, your prayers are an offense to me. Incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies. I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. Your worship is offensive to me because you're not living a life that honors me. I hate your new moon festivals. I thought God was a God of love. He is. But that doesn't mean that he doesn't have things that offend him. That doesn't mean he doesn't have things that he hates. It doesn't mean that he doesn't have things that he will condemn eternally. And in this case, he rebukes his own people. He says, I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will what not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, remove the evil, the evil of your deeds from my sight. Cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Even though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Excuse me, though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword, truly the mouth of the Lord has spoken. What is God saying to his people here? I don't want any worship from you unless your heart is with me. And don't tell me your heart is with me and that you're actually worshiping me unless you're genuinely living for me. It is possible to think you're a worshiper of God and not be one. That's clear now I think and we could look at many other passages, but I think I've illustrated the point well enough to merit us giving attention to this question. It is possible to think you're a worshiper of God and not really be one. It is possible to think that you are doing God a great favor by the way you live your life and by the offerings that you bring to him by the prayers that you pray and think that you're OK with God when in reality. Nothing could be further from the truth. So what I would like to do this morning is take a look at five contrasting pictures of worshiping God in the Bible. We're gonna look at both Old and New Testament. Five contrasting pictures of worshipers in the Bible so that we can see the difference between those who are true worshipers and those who are not true worshipers. And having seen the difference, we can evaluate ourselves in order to help us to determine whether or not we are true worshipers. So. Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Let's go to Genesis Chapter 4. Genesis Chapter 4. This is an historical account, just like Genesis 1, 2 and 3 are. In Genesis 1, we're told that God creates the universe out of nothing, speaks it into existence, fixes it in place in six literal days. In Genesis chapter 2, we have a reaccounting, some more details given to us about specifically what God did on day six, and that includes giving man an instruction about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 3, when man disobeys God, he is expelled from the garden. And we now live in the aftermath of that even today. A sin-cursed and fallen world. In this context, Adam and Eve, our greatest grandparents, have a couple of sons. One is named Cain and the other is named Abel. And I want you to take a look at the text. There's a tremendous amount of material we could cover here. I remember preaching through the book of Genesis many years ago, and we could spend several hours just in Genesis chapter 4. We're not going to go look at all of these details, just a few high points. So I know I want you to know, I know there's a lot more here than we're going to talk about, but I want you to catch the big hitters. OK, so right there in the front of your Bible page three, if you've got a gift Bible. Genesis chapter four in verse one. The man had relations with his wife, Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, I have gotten a man child with the help of the Lord. And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel, and Abel was a keeper of the flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And so we have the introduction to our narrative. There's been an expulsion from the Garden of Eden, so they're out now fending for themselves. They're having to provide a living for themselves and meet their own needs. These two sons have obviously grown to adulthood. You have Cain, who is a tiller of the ground. You know, we call a tiller of the ground today, a farmer. Abel is a tender or a keeper of flocks. You know, we call a person like that today, a rancher or a shepherd. So two very different occupations, both very acceptable and appropriate. In fact, as you go throughout the Bible, both are approved occupations. Verse three, it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. So it comes time when the harvest comes in and Cain brings in a portion of the harvest that he got that year and he brings it to God as an offering to God. Meanwhile, verse 4, Abel on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And so Abel. in harvest time takes a portion of what his earnings were in a sense for that season and he brings them as an offering to God. Now here's where it gets interesting. Notice it says in the middle of verse 4 the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering. But for Cain and his offering he had no regard and so Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. And the Lord said to Cain, why are you angry and why is your countenance falling? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. It's desires for you, but you must master it. Cain gets so angry as you go through the rest of this text, you will see that he even kills his brother. He kills his. He murders his brother. Why? Because he is mad at his brother and mad at God that God accepted his brother's offering, but he did not accept his. That kind of makes sense, don't you agree? These two guys both took a portion of their earnings that year and they brought it to God as an offering. And yet God seems rather capricious. God seems rather like weird. You're going to accept Abel and not accept Cain? What's that? You know, historically, some commentators have even suggested that the reason that God accepted Abel's offering and not Cain's offering is because Abel brought an animal sacrifice, which, as we all know, by the time you get to Leviticus, that's prescribed. Well, that's prescribed in Leviticus. That's not prescribed in Genesis. What's more? There is no instruction that suggests that Cain should have gone to his brother and traded some grain for an animal and brought that. If you do what is right, won't you be accepted? Meaning what he did was not acceptable. And if you look at at the comparison, Genesis 4-3, Cain, middle of the verse, Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. In contrast to that, I want you to notice just in the details of the text, it tells you the difference. Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part, also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. Now, unless you're familiar with the Old Testament, you may not catch the details that are given there, but the fat portions, especially you ladies, right? When you guys have a steak or you have a big chunk of meat, what's the first thing you do? You cut all the fat off, right? Because fat is bad. And what do we do, guys? Oh, oh, oh, yeah. At least I do. Okay, I'm trying to harden my arteries. No, I'm just kidding. But that's just a side benefit. But the fat portions doesn't mean the portions that have fat in it. The fat portions mean the choicest portions. And whether you realize it or not, when you go to Costco or Sam's or whatever butcher shop or butcher department in whatever store you go to to get meat, you're looking for the choicest cuts, aren't you? Within your price range, you're looking for the best cuts. Oh, I don't want that one. I want that one. And tell me you don't do that. Well, you do that, don't you? I don't. Don't give me that one. I want to lift those ones. I'll take that third one down. Yeah. Right. You're looking for the best cuts. That's what the fat portions mean. See, when you look at Cain, he brought up. He brought what he felt like he was obligated to give the portion that he needed to give to God to appease God, to make God happy and to satisfy God. Do you know what Abel brought? He brought the choices portions. And you notice where it says the firstlings that that means the best ones. OK, the first ones, you line them all up, which are the best ones I'm going to take. These are these are all the best ones. Those are the ones I'm giving to you, God. Now, do you see the difference in the two sacrifices? Now, do you see why God did not accept Cain's offering, but he accepted Abel's offering? Because Cain did what he thought he was obligated to do. He's paying his taxes to God. Tell me something, are you happy to pay taxes? You pay taxes, why? Because you want to or because you have to? Somebody might say, well, really nobly, well, I like having a military and I and I like having, you know, programs and all this stuff, and I like our government running and OK, OK. But it's still an obligation. When you give to God, How much of what you have really already belongs to him? All of it. You say, but I worked for it. Yes. And where did you get to both the time that God gave you and the energy that God gave you to be able to accomplish it? Never mind. Well, yeah, well, I work harder than most people and I'm smarter than most people or I'm more gifted or capable or able than most people at this. And that's why I make what I make. And where did all of that ability come from? Now, where did that opportunity come from? It came from God. There is nothing that we have that doesn't already belong to God. So it's not even close to paying your taxes because it's all God's already. and He doesn't need any of it from us. So when you're bringing it to God, if you're bringing it to fulfill an obligation, or if you're bringing it because you think somehow you earn favor or satisfy a requirement, some noble, spiritual, righteous requirement of giving a portion to God, and so now He ought to be happy with that, and in fact, He ought to even bless me in everything else I'm doing, because I've given some lip service to Him, I've given a token offering to him. You know what? God doesn't accept that. He doesn't need you to give him a token. He doesn't need you for anything. He doesn't need me for anything. He's God. He owns everything. So when Cain brings a portion of the produce of the land and thinks God should just be happy with that, and then God says, no, I don't accept your offering. And if you do what is right, then won't you be accepted? If your heart is really bringing what you're bringing to me because you appreciate the gift of life and the gift of everything I've given you, then of course I would accept you. But your heart is not right. And what you're bringing proves it. In contrast, of course God accepts Abel's offering, not because he likes the choice portions, but because giving the choice portions, giving his best, reveals what about Abel's heart. He really does love God, and he really does appreciate God, and he really is a worshiper of God. A true worshiper wants to offer his best to God because he really appreciates God. And that's where it all starts. That's the beginning of understanding this question in total. Who is a true worshiper of God? A person that lives for God and worships God because they recognize the greatness of God and want to express appreciation and praise and thanksgiving and worship for God because of who he is. They're not bringing or offering or doing what they're doing in order to merit some favor from God or in order to appease God or make up for something that they've done wrong. They're just bringing it because they appreciate God. They worship God. They believe him to be worthy of honor and an expression of thanksgiving and appreciation. That's Cain and Abel. Now, like I said, there's a lot more in Genesis 4 that here we could go through. I could even show you what a life that continues to live for itself instead of turning from sin and worshiping God looks like and the consequences of it. But we're going to skip that for today and we're going to jump ahead to 1 Samuel. 1 Samuel 15. If you have a gift Bible, this is page 192. 1 Samuel 15. And this time we want to do a comparison between Saul and David. 1 Samuel 15. Sorry, I'm telling you page numbers and I'm turning to page numbers instead of. It's not the same page numbers in my Bible. Alright, 1 Samuel 15. We're going to compare two kings of Israel here. And God ordains both of them to be king. With one, he is displeased and rejects, and with the other, he is pleased. And I want you to see why. 1 Samuel 15, starting at verse 1. Samuel says to Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint you as king over his people, over Israel. Now, therefore, so Samuel is a prophet and Saul has been appointed to be king. Samuel says to Saul the Lord sent me to anoint you as king over his people over Israel now therefore listen to the words of the Lord thus says the Lord of hosts I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel and how he sent him against him on the way while he was coming from Egypt so he says Samuel says on God's behalf to Saul Saul God made you king and Based upon the behavior of the people, the Amalekites, going all the way back to the Exodus and the conquering of the land, okay, I am charging you with punishing that people for the way they treated my people. So go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has. Do not spare him, but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. Wipe them all out. So Saul summoned the people, numbered them in Tel-Ammim, 200,000 foot soldiers, 10,000 of them were men of Judah. And Saul came to the city of Amalek, set an ambush in the valley. Saul said to the Kenites, go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, so they don't destroy you with them, for you showed kindness to the sons of Israel when they came out of Egypt. Notice this all relates to behavior tied back to the days of the Exodus and the conquest of the land, from Exodus to Judges. or to Joshua rather. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites and Saul defeated the Amalekites. The whole land, verse 8, he captures Agag, the king of the Amalekites, alive. Oh, captures him alive. What was he supposed to do? Kill them all. But he preserves the king and he utterly destroyed all the people at the edge of the sword. But notice another exception, Saul and the people spared Agag, the king, and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the, notice, fatlings, again, the best ones, the choicest ones, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly, but everything despised and worthless, that was utterly destroyed. So they go in and they do exactly what God says. But instead of destroying everything, they're like, oh, oh, but but let's go through. Oh, those are pretty good sheep. Oh, those are pretty good cattle. Oh, that's pretty good stuff. We should keep all of that. Oh, yeah, that's trash. Just destroy that. So tell me something was all obedient. Did you lead the people in being obedient to God? No. And the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned his back from following me and has not carried out my commands. Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night. And Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, and it was told to Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, and then turned and proceeded down to Gilgal. So Samuel came to Saul, And Saul said to him, blessed are you of the Lord. I have carried out the command of the Lord. I did what God said. How many times do people believe they're doing what God wants them to do when all the while they're not? All they did was part. Or all they did was what they wanted to do and then took advantage of the situation to pad their own pockets. Well, that's all. And I love the rebuke here. Saul says to Samuel, Blessed are you of the Lord. I carried out the commandment of the Lord. He expects to be praised. Samuel said, What then is this bleeding of sheep in my ears and the lowing of oxen which I hear? If you've done what God told you to do, what's all this? And why do I hear all this livestock that you have taken from the land If you've done what God said. And Saul said, well, they have brought them from the Amalekites for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen. For what reason? I love this. To sacrifice to the Lord your God. Notice he doesn't even say our God. He says what? Your God. But the rest we have utterly destroyed. And then Samuel said to Saul, Wait and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night. Speak, Samuel said. Is it not true that though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord appointed you, or excuse me, anointed you king over Israel. And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated. Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord? Why did you disobey? Why did you disobey God? And Saul said to Samuel, I did obey the voice of the Lord and I went on the mission which the Lord sent me. And I have brought back Agag, the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites, which, by the way, simply saying he brought back the king shows he was not completely obedient. And then I love this verse 21. But the people took some of the spoil. I didn't do that. They did that. That's very Genesis three of him, isn't it? Isn't that just like Grandpa Adam? Adam, did you eat from the fruit of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? And what does Adam say? The woman you gave me. It's not my fault. It's her fault. In fact, it's ultimately, God, your fault, because I remember being single, naming all those animals, and then I wake up married, and of all the women you could have crafted me, you crafted me her. So this really, ultimately, this is on you, God. What's Saul doing? The same thing Grandpa Adam did. The same thing we rebuke our kids for. Have you ever noticed that your kids do this? Did you have to have classes for them to shift the blame on their brothers and sisters? Did you have to teach your kids how to really blame you for not giving them clear enough instructions? Oh mom, you didn't actually say that. Mom, what you said. You know, you don't have to, so this is, I'm gonna have fun with this. You don't have to grow up in a lawyer's household to be able to put together a case that doesn't really hold water, but it sounds really good, and pushes the blame on everybody else. I got some grins over here, that was worth it. Okay? You follow what I'm saying? Do you have to teach your kids how to blame their brothers and sisters? Well, he started it. Well, she did. What is that? That's not accepting responsibility for what you've done. That's human nature. Why is that human nature? Because we have a fallen human nature. because we are by nature sinners. And all you see from Saul here is behaving true to fallen human nature. Verse 21, he says, "...the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal." Yeah, of course it was to sacrifice. And by the way, even if it was to sacrifice, guess what happens when you do a sacrifice? Part of it gets burned up on the altar and the rest of it gets eaten by the worshipers. Samuel said, has the Lord as much delight? By the way, if you're looking for key verses in your Bible, here's a couple. Samuel says to Saul, has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? You know what the answer is? No. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams. It is better to obey what God says than to bring him a sacrifice, to bring him an offering. Why? Because rebellion is as the sin of divination and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. And because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king. You know something God is not interested in people bringing offerings and offering prayers and worshiping him if they won't obey him. If you want to obey God. If you're not trembling at His Word, if you don't worship Him and recognize His authority and right to command you in how to live, and you're not living in keeping with His commands, then don't fool yourself in thinking that somehow you're earning His favor by what you're doing in other areas because you're being disobedient in a fundamental level. He's not going to accept anything. To compensate for that. When he does the comparison here, rebellion is as the sin of divination and insubordination as iniquity and idolatry. You know what he's saying? Disobeying me is just, you might as well go worship at an idol. You might as well go commit immorality. You might as well go pretend to talk to the spirits because disobeying what I've told you to do is the same as those kinds of sins. It's the same, it's worthy of eternal condemnation. Now we could go through what happens with Saul here, but I would prefer, well actually, turn back and look at 1 Samuel 13. Look to the left. I don't know what page it is on the gift Bible, but it's 1 Samuel 13, 13 and 14. I just want you to notice these two verses. Samuel says to Saul you have acted foolishly you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God which he commanded you for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever But now your kingdom shall not endure the Lord has sought out for himself a man after what? his own heart and the Lord has anointed him to rule over his people because you have not kept the word of kept what the Lord God commanded you. Key. This was, when we looked at 1 Samuel 15, that was not the first time that Saul disobeyed God. Back in 1 Samuel 13, Saul had already disobeyed God majorly another time. And Samuel says to Saul, OK, because you didn't obey God yet again, you're not. The kingdom is not going to be established as one of your descendants moving forward. What God is looking for is a man after his own heart, and that's who he's going to anoint to be King next. And then you get the first Samuel 15 and Saul disobeys again. And now it's OK, you're going to lose it. Now we get the first Samuel 16. I want you to see, in contrast to Saul, David The Lord says to Samuel How long are you going to grieve over Saul since I rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons Samuel says well, how can I go when Saul hears of it? He's gonna kill me. I Can't go to anoint another king Saul will hear about it. He'll hunt me down and kill me so I can't do that. I The Lord says, take a heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. And by the way, he actually does a sacrifice, which means he told the truth. He's got a he's got a cow that he's leading along and it's going to be sacrificed and we're going to have a festival and everybody's going to eat. And so he's telling the truth. You shall invite Jesse to that sacrifice and I will show you what you shall do and you shall anoint for me the one whom I designate to you. And as we look through the rest of this text, I want you to notice the incredible qualifications of how tall he is, and how strong he is, and how noble he is, and what a conqueror he is, and all the renown that he's already accumulated for himself, which is why God picks him. So Samuel did what the Lord said. Samuel just obeys God, even though his life is threatened. Listen, that's what a believer does. That's what real worshipers do. They obey, even if their life is at stake. Samuel did what the Lord said, and he comes to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, Do you come in peace? Why? Because he's a prophet of God. Are you bringing judgment? He said, In peace, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. So consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. And he also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. And when they entered, he looked at Eliab, the oldest of Jesse's sons, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before me. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I've rejected him. Yeah, he looks like a good king. Men would look up to him. That's got to be the guy. He's not the guy. God sees not as man sees. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks where? Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. And that's the lesson that God is teaching his people right here. The first king he picked, Saul, was taller than everybody else, stronger than everybody else, stood ahead above everybody else in a crowd. He's the kind of king we want. You get the kind of king you want, you know what you're going to find? You do not have a godly king. What God is looking to appoint as king now, to anoint as king now, is a king after his own heart. So Jesse calls Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, the Lord has not chosen this one either. So Jesse has Shammah pass by. And he said, the Lord has not chosen this one either. Jesse made seven sons He had seven sons passed before Samuel and Samuel said to Jesse, the Lord has not chosen these. Samuel says to Jesse, are these are these all your kids? Is this it? And Jesse says, well, there's there's yet one, the youngest. And behold, he's tending the sheep. I didn't bother calling him in. That's the kid. That's a little junior. Why would I bring him in? And notice Samuel's reaction. Send and bring him for we will not sit down until he comes. So they sent and brought him in. He was ready. He had attractive eyes and a handsome appearance, but he's just a kid. And the Lord said, Arise and anoint him, for this is him. So Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And he was anointed as king, not because of who he was, not because of his external appearances, but because he was a young man after what? God's own heart. That's what God is looking for, people that love him. I could take you through 1 Samuel 17, and I could show you what a man after God's own heart looks like in action. He's a teenager. He's on the battlefield. And for days, the two armies are lined up against each other. I've been to that battlefield, by the way. I've been there in Israel and I have stood on both sides of the line and I have stood on the hillside where the Israelites were. And I've looked down in the valley and I have seen I've even stood where the fight took place between David and Goliath. And you see that and you see the distance between those two hillsides and you see Goliath coming down. I mean, it's like being in a stadium. It's a kind of a big stadium, but it's like being in a stadium and being on the opposite side. There's the home side, the visitor side, right? And then there's the field. It's, you know, if you didn't know better, you think that God sculpted the land to be the perfect staging ground for this event. And here you got the Israelites all up on this mountain, all along the hillside. And you get the Philistines on the other side, and every morning, this huge, huge Philistine comes out with all of his armor. And he taunts the people of Israel. If your God is really God, send me a champion. You know who the champion should have been that came out? Saul, the king of Israel. You know what Saul never did? Never came out. You know what none of his guys would do? Go out and face Goliath. David is a teenager, and he comes out, and he's just bringing food to his brothers that are soldiers in the army. You know what David does? David is there the next morning when the Goliath comes out and he starts taunting the God of Israel and the people of Israel. Send me one champion from your God and we'll decide. If your champion beats me, we'll submit freely. Which, by the way, is a lie. But if I win, then you must submit. Nobody takes it up. David gets there and hears God being mocked. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that can talk about God that way? He doesn't care about the army. He doesn't care about the battle. He cares about God. You cannot talk about my God that way. So they try to, first of all, he volunteers to go out as the champion. And so they're going to put all this armor on him. He says, it's too much. Just just give me my sling. And he goes and picks out a handful of stones, five smooth stones. And he goes out and with the first one drops the giant. By the way, when we were there, they let us get off the bus, go stand there, and they said, if you want, you can go ahead and grab some stones, bring it back. I was going to, but the first one I found had blood on it, so I left it. I didn't even get out of the bus. I said, I don't need to bring anything from, I've been here, that's cool. But you understand, David's love for God was so much, he had no concern about risking his life. See, God is looking for people who who worship him because they love him. They worship him because they appreciate him. They worship him because they are thankful for everything he's given to them and they know how much totally dependent they are on him and how much he is worthy to be praised. And David. David is a man after God's own heart. He so loves God, so worships God, so appreciates God, that he will stand up and put his life at risk to defend the honor of God. Now I have three more I wanna share with you, and these are gonna be quick. So put on your seatbelts, buckle your seatbelts, put on your Christ helmets, here we go. We're gonna go through the New Testament now, you ready? So let's go to Luke 7. That's page 690 in your gift Bible. Luke chapter 7. I want you to see. Simon the Pharisee in contrast to a harlot. Here's when it starts to get a little bit shocking, perhaps. Luke 7 verse 36. So about halfway down the page, if I remember right. Notice. One of the Pharisees was requesting him that is Jesus to dine with him. So Jesus entered the Pharisees house and he reclined at the table so he comes in for a meal. It is common to welcome a visiting rabbi or teacher in your home, and so that's what this Pharisee does so that he gets time to ask him questions and find out about him and interact with him and fellowship. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner, which probably contextually means that she was promiscuous, maybe a harlot. Certainly an immoral woman, because that's the way the term is used in reference to a woman categorizing her like this. And when she learned that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisees house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume. Now, just a little footnote here. In ancient times, they didn't have bank accounts. Wealth was kept typically in coins or property, whether it's the clothing that you wore, whether it's the property or the livestock that you owned, whether it was in jewelry or whether it was in things like a costly perfumes, etc. So this is most likely this woman's most valuable possession. Alabaster is not cheap. Perfume is not cheap. And yet, she brings an alabaster vial of perfume, stands behind Jesus at His feet, weeping, and she begins to wet his feet with her tears. You say, well, how is she standing behind his feet? Because they reclined at the table. They didn't have, they weren't sitting at a table with chairs. The table is on the ground and you put your elbow near the table and you recline out this way. So your feet are away from the table, right? And so here you have a woman is a sinner. She comes to Jesus where she learns that Jesus is there in the Pharisees house. And that he's reclining at the table in the Pharisees house. So she brings an alabaster vial of perfume, stands behind him at his feet, weeping and began to wet his feet with her tears, wiping them with her hair, kissing his feet and anointing them with perfume. And when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, by the way, if you underline keywords in your Bible, underline this, he said to himself. He doesn't say it out loud, he says it to himself. If this man were a prophet, he would know what sort of person this woman is who is touching him that she is a sinner, and he would tell her to stop, and he would be repulsed and tell her to get away if he really knew what kind of a person she was. So, he must not be a very good teacher, must not be everything that everybody says he is. And Jesus answered him. Now again, what did it say in the previous verse? This Pharisee said to who? Himself. And yet Jesus knows what he's thinking. He answers and says, Simon. So that's the Pharisee's name. That's how we know his name is Simon. So Simon the Pharisee, I have something to say to you. And so he replied, say it, teacher. A money lender had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii, the other 50. And when they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. Which of them will love him more?" There's his question. I just want to put it into context. Now, this is not going to be a one-for-one exchange here, but let's just, so 50 denarii is 50 days pay for a common-day laborer. 500 denarii is, so that's about two months pay. 500 denarii is about two years pay in round numbers. So let's just put it into round number dollars. Let's say that the 50 denarii is, I don't know, let's say it's $10,000, okay? And in comparison, 500 denarii would be 10 times that. So from 100,000, it just went to, or from 10,000, it just went to 100,000, okay? If you want, you can say it's 50,000 and 500,000. I don't care. Bottom line, a lot of money and an exorbitant amount of money. Now you tell me. Let's say, let's pick on the interns now, okay? That'll make Mark and Kyle happy, at least for a moment. So let's say Mike owes 50 grand, and Eugene owes 500 grand. So he owes 50,000, he owes 500,000. Neither one of them can pay it back, right? We forgive them both. Which one of them do you think will be more appreciative? Well, probably yijun, because a half a million dollars is just an insurmountable debt. 50 grand is a lot, or if we boil it down to maybe a more reasonable amount, 10 grand is a lot, but over a year or two, you know, if I sell my car, I can probably get rid of, I can probably take care of that, right? But $100,000, that's like buying a house, right? I probably could never pay that back. or years and years, it'd be so, a miracle would have to happen, right? So Jesus says, Simon, a moneylender has two debtors, one owes 500 denarii, the other 50. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which one will love him more? And Simon answers and said, well, I suppose the one whom he forgave more. And he says, you have judged correctly. And then turning to the woman, he said to Simon, do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, which, by the way, would have been a common courtesy. And think about it, they wear sandals in those days. So you come into a house, you have a basin of water. And normally the lowest servant of the house washes the feet of the people come into the house just as a courtesy. He didn't even give Jesus water for his feet. They were 30 feet. But she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss. You didn't even give me a typical friendly greeting, a kiss on the cheek, which is normal in those days. Think about the way the French do it, right? In Europe, you go and the hello with that greeting. Okay? You didn't even give me a kiss. But since the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. See the amount of love that she is showing. For this reason, I say to you, her sins, which are many, you think I don't know who she is and what she's like and what her past is. I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven for she loved much. But he was forgiven little loves little. Then he said to her, your sins have been forgiven and those who are reclining at the table with him began to say to themselves, who is this man who even forgives sins? I'll tell you who he is, he's God. And he said to the woman, your faith has saved you, go in peace. You know what the difference between a true worshiper is and one who, though he thinks he is one, is not a true worshiper? Well, look at Simon the Pharisee in contrast to this harlot woman. And somebody who loves God and loves God to because they recognize how rich and gracious God is to forgive sins. The Pharisee doesn't really truly see himself as a sinner destined for eternal destruction and deserving of God's wrath. Do you really recognize that you're that you need God to forgive you that you really are as bad of a sinner as everybody else until you're there? Then you can't even begin to become a true worshiper of God. As long as we're in Luke's Gospel, let me invite you to go to page 702 in your gift Bible or Luke 18 in your own Bible. Look at verses 9 to 17. Now, Jesus tells this parable as an illustration For the sake of understanding the difference in prayer, but it answers our question as well in contrasting two different types of worshipers in their prayers. Matthew or excuse me, Luke 18. Verse 9 Jesus told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt. Two men went into the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other is a tax collector. For the record, Most people who read the Bible think of Pharisees as evil, wicked, mean, bad and nasty people. Pharisees in the first century, in Jesus' day, were people that everybody else looked at as the most religious, as the most righteous, as the most devout worshipers of God. That's what's so mind boggling about Matthew 5 in verse 20. In the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of God. And of all the people in that day that everybody expected would enter the kingdom of God, it would be the Pharisees. And for the rest of us, it's do we make it or not? Jesus says you don't make it as a Pharisee by being a Pharisee. And tax collectors were considered the same as harlots, Gentiles, sinners, the lowest of the low. And that's what makes this parable that Jesus tells so powerful, so profound. Two men went into the temple to pray. The one is a Pharisee. The other is a tax collector. The one is super religious and the other is a sinner. And the Pharisee stood this way praying, notice, to himself. Why? Because God isn't listening. God doesn't listen to this kind of a prayer from this kind of a person. The Pharisee stood and prayed this way to himself. God, I thank you that I am not like other people, swindlers, unjust, adulterers, and even like this tax collector. I thank you that I'm not an evil, wicked, mean, bad, nasty person. I thank you that I'm not a sinner. And here's my proof. I fast twice a week. I pay tithes of all that I get. And thank you that I am a good person. In contrast. The tax collector, verse 13, was standing some distance away and was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven. But was beating his breast. Saying God be merciful to me, the what? The center. You know who's a true worshiper? A true worshiper is a person that recognizes that they're a sinner in need of a savior. Jesus says, I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. You know what God is looking for in a worshiper? Not somebody who is better than everybody else. Not somebody who brings great tribute to him or accomplishes great things for him. He doesn't need us for anything. I still I still really respect the way it stated in Psalm 50. I own the cattle on a thousand hills. Do you really think I need your animal sacrifices? Do you really think I need you or anything you bring to the table to sustain me? I own everything. If I had a need, I wouldn't tell you because you couldn't meet it. You're dependent upon me for everything. Who is a true worshiper of God? Abel, not Cain. David, not Saul. A harlot who comes in repentance. and worship, not Simon the Pharisee, a tax collector who recognizes himself as a sinner, not a Pharisee. And the last two I want to share with you as we close are in John 3 and 4. So in your gift Bible, that's page 711. Nicodemus and a Samaritan woman. John 3, we'll start there. In John chapter 2, Jesus goes to Jerusalem and confronts the religious leaders and cleanses the temple because they have corrupted the worship of God and turned the whole thing into a money-making scheme. Well, the Pharisees saw the way that Jesus turned over those money changer tables and confronted the corruption of the priesthood And so that night, John 3, there was a man of the Pharisees. His name is Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, which means that in addition to being a Pharisee, he's a member of the ruling council, a member of the Sanhedrin. So this is a high-ranking muckety-muck in Jerusalem. And this man comes to Jesus by night and says to him, Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher because no one can do these signs you do unless God is with him. It is clear to us that God is with you because only having God with you would allow you to be able to do the kinds of things you've just done, like cleansing the temple. And notice Jesus goes, well, good job. Verse three. Jesus says to Nicodemus, good job. I'm glad you recognize that. And I really appreciate you being a Pharisee. So devout. Is that what he says? No, not at all. Jesus answered and said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot enter the king or cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said, well, how can a man be born again when he's old? He can't enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he? And Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. You cannot enter God's kingdom unless God gives you a new heart, period. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. You need God to give you a new heart. You need God to change you because this is not something you can do yourself. The wind blows wherever it wishes. You hear the sound of it. You don't know where it comes from and where it's going. So is everyone who's born of the spirit. This isn't something you can accomplish. This isn't something you can control, just like you can't control the wind. Let me ask you a question. We live in a place where there's almost no wind, right? Like for a good minute, like every year. Can you control the wind? This is one of the things that still struck me weird when I got here is how many trees lean to the right. Why do all the trees lean to the right? Don't people know how to plant things straight up and down here? And then I start noticing the first trees we plant in our yard wind up leaning to the right. Oh, you gotta stake them, don't you? Oh my, the wind is blowing like for hours. No wonder everything grows crooked, right? And the wind gets strong, the wind gets soft, but you have no idea. I mean, you know how you can predict the wind? It'll blow when it blows, and it'll stop when it stops, if it stops, right? Well, the Holy Spirit's the same way. You can see the effects of it. You've seen when there's a big swirl of dirt in the air, right? When you're driving, especially if you drive H to go home or H to come out here, once in a while you see that big cyclone-looking thing, all the dust and whatever, maybe it sprinkles on your car. Right? You can see the effect it has on its surrounding, but you cannot see the wind. You cannot control the wind. Oh, we can make windmills that are benefiting from its effects, but don't control it, and that's the way the Holy Spirit is. That's Jesus' illustration right here. Nicodemus, you need to understand something. You don't even see the kingdom of God unless God gives you a new heart, and that's something that his spirit can do. You can't do it yourself. Why would he say that to a Pharisee? Because a Pharisee's convinced that based on his knowledge of scripture and his commitment to try to obey it to the best of his ability, as flawlessly as he possibly can, that that makes him right with God. You can acknowledge that I'm clearly from God, and what I'll tell you is you need a new heart before you can get into his kingdom. Verse 9, Nicodemus said to him, How can these things be? And notice the rebuke that comes from Jesus. Verse 10, Jesus answered and said to him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and you do not understand these things? You are the teacher. By the way, the expression in the original Greek there is clear. The teacher, meaning the preeminent. You are the head ranking muckety-muck in the seminary in Jerusalem, so to speak. You are the big best teacher in Jerusalem, and you don't get this? This is the basics of Ezekiel, the basics of Deuteronomy. You need a new heart. This is Jeremiah, you need a new heart. You need a new heart, and you can't do it. A true worshiper is not somebody who is Nicodemus, at least not in John 3. By the way, you'll notice that Nicodemus winds up with a new heart by the time we get to the end of the Gospel of John. But for the sake of today, as we wrap up our study, I want you to look at John 4. In contrast to Nicodemus, look at the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman, one who is immoral and ostracized even from her own people to an extent. John 4, verse 1. When the Lord knew the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John, even though it wasn't Jesus himself baptizing, but his disciples were, he left Judea and went away into Galilee. Now he had to pass through Samaria, and so he came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. And Jacob's well was there, so Jesus, being wearied from his journey, was sitting thus by the well, and it was about the sixth hour. So it's noon. He's sitting there on a well at noon in Samaria. And there came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Now, this is one little quick note. When this woman comes at noon to draw water, why is it just one woman that comes at noon? Well, she ran out at noon. No, everybody went in the morning. You know why? Because it's cooler. She doesn't go when everybody else goes. Why? Because she's an immoral woman and everybody has ostracized her. And so she comes out to draw water, she brings her bucket, and Jesus says, give me a drink. And that's a really polite way to say it, actually, in the original, please give me a drink. For his disciples had gone into the city to buy food, and therefore the Samaritan woman said to him, how is it that you, being a Jew, ask me for a drink, since I'm a Samaritan woman? And notice, John even clarifies, for Jews have no dealings with the Samaritan. Why would you ask me for a drink? Most Jews want nothing to do with Samaritans. You would never drink from my cup. Why would you ask me for a drink? And Jesus answered and said to her, if you knew the gift of God and who it is that says to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. If you had any idea who was talking to you right now, you would ask me for what I could give you. So she said to him, sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then do you get this living water? Notice she hasn't connected a dot, that's what he's talking about yet. He says, You aren't greater than our father Jacob, are you, who gave us the well and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle? And Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I give him shall never thirst. But the water I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. Eternal life. And so the woman said to him, Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty, nor have to come all the way here to draw water again. And he said to her, Go call your husband and come here. And the woman answered and said, I have no husband. And Jesus said to her, you have correctly said, I have no husband because you have had five husbands and the guy you're with now is not your husband. So you have spoken truthfully. And the woman said to him, sir, I perceive you are a prophet. Don't you imagine she perceives that. You just told me my life story and pointed right at all my sin. So let me ask you, you're clearly a prophet. Let me ask you a spiritual question now. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain. We worship here in Samaria. You, the Jews, say that it's in Jerusalem is where we're supposed to worship God. And Jesus said to her, woman, believe me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the father. You, Samaritans, worship what you do not know. So your worship is wrong because it's an ignorance of what God has said in his word. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. So Jerusalem is the right answer for now. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father, what? In spirit and in truth, because such people the Father seeks to be as worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in what? Spirit and truth. With all your heart, a new heart that God has given you by his Holy Spirit, and in accordance with what he has commanded. So who is a true worshiper of God? A person who worships God in spirit and in truth. A person with a new heart. A person that recognizes their sin. A person that becomes a person after God's own heart. A person who really wants to give God their best because they really appreciate him and all he's done for them. A person who is like the harlot, not Simon. A person who is like the tax collector, not the Pharisee. A person who is Like Abel, not Cain, like David, not Saul. In Isaiah 66, you don't need to turn there, let me just read it to you. Isaiah 66, you can write down, if you've got a gift Bible, you can write down page 499 for later, but Isaiah 66, verses 1 and 2, thus says the Lord, Heaven is my throne. The Earth is my footstool. Where then is a house you could build for me? Where is a place that I may rest for my hand made all these things? Thus all these things came into being, declares the Lord. I own all of creation because I made it. But to this person I will look. This is the person I will show favor to. to the person who is humble and contrite of spirit and trembles at my word. A person that is humble, contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. A person that recognizes themselves as a sinner in need of a savior. A person that humbles their heart, repents of their sin, and comes to God for forgiveness. And a person that trembles at God's word, cares what God says, and lives in obedience to what God says because God has said it. Micah 6. Page 622 in the gift Bible. Micah says pretty much the same thing, quoting from God in this way. He says, What shall I come with? What shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come to him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts? Shall I present the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? No, God has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God. Who is a true worshiper of God? A person that loves God because he recognizes how richly God has loved and blessed you. And a person that has recognizes their sin and their need of a savior and an obedience to God's commands has come to him in repentance and faith and dedicated their lives to living for him. Not so that they can earn favor with God, but because they greatly appreciate the favor God has given them. Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you so much for the way that you have blessed us and provided salvation for us in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May it be that each of us gathered together this morning might recognize the richness of your person and be blessed by your spirit with a new heart. A believing mind and an obedient life. In Christ's name and for His glory, I pray. Amen.