connections and was on standby on several flights and couldn't make it to the service on time. He's in the air right now, we trust him. He'll be here on the Lord's Day. It's certainly disappointing for him. He's served well as interim moderator in the recent years. to bring it right even to this point, at this occasion, for Everman Buster Clan's installation service. So do pray for our brother. But it's good to be here, good to be here on this occasion. A happy time to mark God's goodness in the congregation. And so welcoming in Christ's name, and we'll stand together and sing the Psalm 100, the old 100th. All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. Let's sing the Lord's praise together. All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. Insert with mirth His praise for ten thousand years. ♪ Come ye before him and rejoice ♪ ♪ Know that the Lord is God indeed ♪ ♪ Without our aid he did us make ♪ ♪ We are his folk, he doth us feed ♪ and for His sepulchre I'll stay. O enter then His gates with praise, Approach with joy His courts unto. Praise, Lord, and bless His name always, For it is seemly so to do. Because the Lord our God is good, His mercy is forever sure, His truth at all times firmly stood, And shall from age to age endure. ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Praise him above ye heavenly hosts ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ be seated. It's a real blessing to have Reverend Mook here, of course, a retired pastor of the work here in Phoenix. Brother, please come and lead us to this room of grace and prayer. Let us join together in prayer. Let us seek the Lord together for his blessing on our gathering this evening. Our gracious Father and our eternal God, Thou who art the King of all the universe, we come before Thy holy throne in Jesus' name. We rejoice, O Lord, that Thou hast brought us together on this special occasion. And we ask, O Lord, that in this gathering this evening, we will be conscious of that which humbles us and causes us to revere Thy name. We pray, Father, that Thou would be gracious unto all who take part in this service this evening. We pray especially for Thy blessing and the anointing of Thy Spirit's power upon our brother Bannister as he brings the Word of God to us. We pray, Father, especially for the minister-elect, for Reverend Vosickhans, and his family on this special night in their lives. We ask, O Lord, that thou will grant them to be aware of thy particular presence with them. And we ask, O Lord, that thou will bless our brother as he takes up his charge officially here. And we pray that thou will anoint his ministry with thy spirit's power. O Lord, we ask thee that thou will undertake for the other office bearers of the congregation, and we do give thee praise for the stellar work that Mr. Chapler and Mr. Morrow have done during the period of the vacancy. We pray that thou would encourage their souls tonight through thy word and the fellowship of thy people. Oh Lord, we just wait upon thee. We ask you to bless our brother Wagner as he travels. We know that he would sorely like to be with us here, but thou hast in thy sovereign purposes prevented it. We pray that thou would grant him safety as he makes his way here and bless him in his ministry on the Lord's day. Oh Lord, we are humbled. to see again the evidence of thy sovereign purpose. Truly known unto thee are all thy works from the beginning of the world. That we should be here tonight on this occasion indeed causes us to rejoice that thy kingdom is going forward. That thou hast called a man to take up the work here and to seek to advance the cause of Christ and Him crucified in this pulpit and in this area. So Lord, we commit everything to Thee, bless in every aspect of our meeting, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, again, it's my joy to welcome you here as the clerk for Presbytery. This is one of the sort of unusual, not unusual, but one of the features of Presbyterian government. This meeting really is not a meeting of this local church. It's a meeting for Presbytery. One of the features of Presbyterian government is that we believe these services are hosted and held under the oversight of our presbytery. You think of Paul's words to Timothy of the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Now our brother's been ordained some years ago, 20 years ago plus, so no laying of hands tonight, but it is still a presbytery function. And so what happens is the church, the church session, the eldership, they petition the presbytery for permission to call a minister. We oversee that process. We give that permission, that's called moderation, granted to the congregation to call a meeting, to elect a minister. That election is also overseen by the presbytery. It's governed properly, it's held properly, ratified then by the presbytery. And to this point, that we come and there'll be several members of presbytery who will come to the front and will pray over our brother as he's installed to the meeting here. And so part of the feature of that is that we then give greetings. as a presbytery to you as a congregation here. I've already offered the apologies from Irvin Wagner, who very much would like to be here. Irvin Saunders, again the moderator, would also like to be here. And he also was hindered from being here at this time. It's been a busy time. a joyfully busy time for our presbytery. We've got a new minister installed in the Calgary, a new ruling elder in Prince George, a new ruling elder in Greenville, and now a minister here in Phoenix. So you can imagine northwest of the continent, southeast, and now this western side. The officers have been sort of scattered, and we've tried to share the load of the travel and come to the various meetings as best as we can. But they certainly extend their apologies It is a really important thing to remember again that whilst you're geographically far away from nearly all of us, you're still part of the church family of the free church. And it's really important to remember that as a congregation. And so I'm certainly heartened to see people from various churches, from Cloverdale, from Greenville, I'm going to leave out Indianapolis, sorry, I forgot you behind me there. These various churches and myself from Pennsylvania, we're certainly very glad to see you all here today. You think of the language in the scriptures, particularly in Paul's letters, again in Colossians 4, salute the brethren which are in Laodicea and Nymphos and the church which is in his house. And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans. And that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. And you get this sense of interconnectedness in the churches, of a concern and a burden of what's happening here and what's happening there. And they knew of each other. They were aware of the ministries, the trials, and the triumphs in the various churches. And so even in the New Testament, you see that interconnectedness, well beyond social media and emails and text messages, way before all that. But these letters, they connected the churches. And so this meeting is part of that. We care as a presbytery for you folks here in Phoenix. And I know you reciprocate your prayers for us in other parts of the Lord's kingdom. We share our mutual burdens and concerns. We certainly share prayers for one another. another and so I bid you greetings and have a presbytery be assured of our continued prayers congregation here and again dear brothers you take the ministry up you know that your brother will be praying for you in the in the coming days. I have some special words of greetings that came from various men and they also give a flavor Again, of our presbytery and the concerns and the desires for our brother here in the work of God. And this is from Pastor Mooney in the carnegation in Alabama. Brother says this, the officers and carnegation of Trinity FPC congratulate you on this evening of your installation. We were rejoiced with you years ago when you first came to Christ. And over the years, what a joy it was for a youth to be with you at the youth camp. Later, your enthusiasm for serving Christ was contagious when you came to Alabama with Dr. Alan Kearns. We thank the Lord for giving Sharon to be your godly companion and share of your joy. It's been a pleasure to see your likeness in David at Youth Camp and we look forward to meeting Elise there. What great answers this night is to our long uplifted prayers for you and for Phoenix FPC. May the Lord anoint and empower your ministry for the good of his church and the glory of his name. Again, it's also significant, I got an email from our brother Frank Dodurno, who's now a licensed minister laboring in Fredericton. He remembers a time when, again, you must have visited there in Fredericton, and he says this, Thanks for being such an encouragement to myself, as I remember when you used to visit us here in Fredericton back when I was a kid. I remember those times with fondness, and then more formally, we were happy to see Reverend Vosiklens take the work in Phoenix. We've been praying for him and will continue to pray for him and his family. The Lord undertake during this time. It has been a great encouragement to our church to see Reverend Rosicruz accept this call to be the minister of Phoenix FPC. And that's a word from old neighbors of yours. Again, you may not remember these, but I'm sure you do. It's from the Colches, Charles and Verda from Faith FPC. They congratulate you on your installation as a minister. We've rejoiced to recall how the Lord saved him and called him to study for the ministry. We've had memories of him as our neighbor during his student days. They don't say more than that, brother. They just say happy memories. I don't know what sort of neighbor you were in that time. But he continues, we pray for God's richest blessing upon him as he commences the pastor of Phoenix, of the Phoenix congregation, preach the word, exalt Christ. And then our brother, Reverend Golagher, he's back in Northern Ireland at the present time with family. And he writes this, on this very special evening, we rejoice with you in the Lord's leading through the call of the congregation in Phoenix to become their preacher and pastor. This is a wonderful providence of God and has provisioned the people for their worship of the Lord and their witness for Christ in Phoenix. May the Lord fill you with the spirit this evening as you're installed, and may he show his power upon you each time you take to the pulpit to minister the word of God to the people. This is a high and holy calling. But the Lord is your shepherd also. He promises to feed you and strengthen you as you seek to diligently feed the flock. May you be known as that man who preaches and prays. and then waits in the Lord to work his will in the hearts and lives of his people. May you see much spiritual fruit from your gospel-focused ministry. We pray the Lord will also bless your wife and children as they stand with you in the service of the Lord. Yours in the Lord, Ian and Beulah Goldaher. And then finally, from a moderator, the Reverend Saunders has written on behalf of himself and the church fellowship there in Toronto. It is my joy on behalf of our session and congregation in Toronto to express our congratulations at this time of your installation as pastor of Phoenix FPC. I am sorry that I am not with you on this special evening, but assure you of your prayers for the rich blessing of God on you and the church as you launch out on this new phase of ministry. It is good to be reminded of our Lord's promise that he's building his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. May the Lord grow your work as you preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. Every blessing in Christ, Laurie Saunders. And so those are greetings from various members of our presbytery. Again, I'm very glad to be here to extend a more general greeting from the entire presbytery body. May God be pleased to bless you in the coming days. At this time, I'd ask one of our ruling elders from the church in Greenville, Mr. Carper, if he'd now come and read the scriptures at this time. Brother, come ahead. Okay, I'll be reading two passages. The first will be Romans chapter one, verses one through 17. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which is made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. by whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name, among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ. To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if by any means, now at length, I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift to the end ye may be established, that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purpose to come unto you what was let hitherto, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among the other Gentiles. I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is a power of God and of salvation to everyone that believe it, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. And then if you'll turn over with me to Romans chapter 15, we'll be reading verses 23 through 29. But now, having no more place in these parts and having a great desire these many years to come unto you, whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you. For I trust to see you in my journey and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them verily, and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. When therefore I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain. And I am sure that when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Well, now we'll all unite together and sing this wonderful gospel hymn, Come, My Fount of Every Blessing. Hymn number two, four, three in your hymnal. And once again, we'll stand together and sing the Lord's praise. Come, thou fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above, Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it, picked up by redeeming love. Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither by thy help I'm come, and I hope by thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God, He to rescue me from danger interposed His precious blood. Oh, to grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be, Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, O, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above. Amen, please be seated. Well, as I already said, this is a meeting for presbytery. One of the functions of the presbytery is to set and assign prescribed questions answered by men at licensing, also in terms of ordination and installation, both teaching and ruling elders. So this time I'm going to ask Reverend Vosikons to come to the pulpit and I will read the prescribed questions. He will answer them and then he will sign the substandards of redomination as confession of his own faith. So brother, come on ahead. Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice? I do. Do you confess the Lord Jehovah as one God in the Trinity of eternal persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and do you acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour and Lord? I do. Do you sincerely receive and believe the confession and constitution of this Church as contained in the system of doctrine and polity taught in the Word of God? I do. Are you firmly resolved, through divine grace, to adhere to the doctrine contained in these substandards and teach and defend it to the utmost of your power against all error? I am. The following are distinctive positions of doctrine and practice of the Free Pastoral Church of North America. A, the Christ-centered exhibition of reformed faith with a strong commitment to evangelism. B, the centrality and all-sufficiency of the person and work of Christ in the preaching of the gospel. C, the doctrine of God's free justification of sinners by grace alone, through faith alone, in the merits of Christ alone. D, separation from the apostasy of the ecumenical movement, opposition to false charismatism, and steadfast adherence to the historic, reformed, and prosperous faith. E, the personal separation of believers from worldliness in holiness unto the Lord, the necessity of giving ourselves to earnest prayer for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit's power to make our service effective and glorifying to God and for genuine revival in our day. Brother, do you sincerely embrace and will you faithfully maintain these distinctive positions? I do and I will. Are you now willing to assume the responsibilities of a minister in this denomination, engaging to conduct yourself with exemplary piety? and be faithful and diligent in the exercise of personal and private duties that become you as a Christian and a minister of the gospel, as well as in all the duties that pertain to your particular responsibilities. I am. So our brother will now sign his name under the following. I believe the confessional substandard to this church to be founded on and agreeable to the word of God. And as such, I subscribe them as a confession of my own faith. Again, in the absence of our moderator and deputy moderator, Reverend Bannister is going to offer the installation prayer. And so brother. having answered the tribe questions and signed the sub-standards of confessions on faith is now ready to be installed as minister in the congregation here. If I can ask all ruling and teaching elders who are present in the congregation to come forward and stand here. We can probably stand here, there's enough room up here. So stand here, and brother you come here, and Reverend Bannister will offer the prayer. Congregation please stand at this point as our brother Bannister offers his prayer. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you this evening for the access we have into thy presence. We thank thee, O Lord, for the power of the gospel. We thank thee that that power has been manifested in the life of Craig Bosacont. We thank thee for the day that he met thee at the cross and the burden of his heart rolled away. We thank you, Lord, for imputing Christ's righteousness to him imputing his sin to Christ, where it was judged forever. And we thank thee, Lord, for thy call upon thy servant now. We thank thee, Lord, for his testimony, for the way he has shined brightly in the years of his life and his service to Christ. And oh, Lord, we pray that he may continue to shine brightly for the honor and glory of Christ. We pray that thou would meet with him in the place of prayer, meet with Him in the study, meet with Him, O Lord, when He shepherds people that come to Him with particular needs, give Him the wisdom that is promised, O Lord, to those that seek before it, and grant, dear God, that He may be faithful and fruitful in His service to Thee. We ask, O Lord, for Thy hand to be upon Him and His family. We know, O Lord, that as he embarks in this ministry, that the devil will have an interest in him and in his wife and his children. We plead the blood of Christ tonight against the strong man and pray that thou would bind him back and give him no place, O Lord, to disrupt or defile or destroy, but we're not ignorant of his devices. And we ask, dear Lord, that thy word would go forth from our brother as he stands behind the sacred desk. May it please thee, Lord, to carry this church forward. We thank thee that this is evidence this evening that Christ is indeed building his church and extending his kingdom. And, O Lord, we rejoice in this, and we rejoice, O Lord, in the privilege that we have of having a part in the building of thy church. Grant, dear God, that the people of this congregation will be built up. May their hearts be united in the fear of God and in the love of Christ. May they grow in grace and in their knowledge of Christ. And may they be fed as they come Sunday by Sunday, as they participate in prayer meeting. We pray, oh Lord, that thou wilt, through our brother's ministry, equip them for their service in their various spheres of influence. So Lord, again, take our thanks. We praise Thee and thank Thee for this wonderful and happy occasion, and we look to Thee, O Lord, to do us good in the days ahead, and we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. And our brother having been duly installed, we certainly praise God with you as a congregation for the gift that Christ has given to his church. And again, it is the risen and ascended Christ who gives these gifts, the gift of pastor teacher in Ephesians chapter four. And so we praise the Lord for his goodness at this time to the congregation here. And may God richly bless you in the coming days. We're going to sing once more before we come. to the word of God, it's hymn number 485. And again, our brother Bannister has been very kind and willing to bring the charge to the newly installed minister. And at the close of this hymn, we'll ask him to come and bring the word to all of our hearts today. So 485, we'll stand together again, and let's sing the Lord's praise. I have a shepherd, one I love so well. How he hath blessed me, time can never tell. On the cross he suffered, shed his blood, and died. That I might ever in His love confide. Following Jesus, ever day by day, nothing can harm me when Jesus leads the way. Darkness or sunshine, whate'er befall, Jesus the Shepherd is my all in all. Pastures abundant doth this hand provide, Still waters flowing ever at my side, Goodness and mercy follow on my track. With such a shepherd, nothing can I like. Following Jesus, ever day by day. Nothing can harm me when He leads the way. Darkness or sunshine, what e'er befall, Jesus the shepherd is my hope in all. When I would wander from that path astray, Then He will draw me back into the way. In the darkest valley, I need fear, not a will, For He, my Shepherd, will be with me still. Following Jesus, ever day by day, Nothing can harm me when He leads the way. Darkness or sunshine, whate'er befall, Jesus the Shepherd is my all in all. When labor's ended and the journey done, Then He will lead me safely to my home. There I shall dwell in rapture sure and sweet, With all the loved ones gathered round His feet. Following Jesus, ever day by day. Nothing can harm me that He leads the way. Darkness or sunshine or tear befall, Jesus the shepherd is my hope in all. Well, from that passage that was read earlier this evening, I'd invite you to turn to Romans 15, if you would. I won't take the time to read the verses that have already been read, but I do want to call your attention in particular to verse 29 from Romans 15. We read there, And I am sure that when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Let's seek the Lord in prayer here briefly before we consider this text, and let's all pray. O Lord, as we come into thy presence again with thy word open before us, we ask for the help of thy spirit, May he bear witness to the truth of thy word, and drive that truth home, O Lord, to every heart, and especially to the Reverend Vosekans, to whom this charge is given, but to the congregation as well, and indeed to us all. Send forth thy word, O Lord. May it please thee to take me up and make me a vessel fit for thy use. And to that end, I plead the blood of Christ over my life, and ask of thee, Lord, based on the merits of that blood, that thou wilt grant to me strength of heart and mind, clarity of thought and speech, and especially unction from on high. May the message be perceived as the very word that thou wast have for us at this time, we pray in Christ's name, amen. At the time Paul wrote this epistle, he had never been to Rome. But he did have a very strong desire to visit there, as becomes very evident in a number of verses. In Romans 1 he writes, Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, but was let hitherto, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. And then you come to the end of the epistle or near the end of it, the desire is expressed again to visit Rome. So in verse 23 of chapter 15, we read, but now having no more place in these parts and having a great desire these many years to come unto you, whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you. What I wanna call your attention to this evening is not merely Paul's desire to visit Rome, Paul expresses, you see, not merely that desire, but he also expresses and expresses confidently the manner in which he would come to them at Rome. Look at it again, verse 29. And I am sure that when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Underscore that phrase, the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Whenever I have occasion to refer to this verse in my own church in Indianapolis, I tell the folks in my congregation to either write my name or put my initials in the margin next to that verse so that whenever they read it, they'll remember to pray for me in connection with that verse. For you folks that make this church in Phoenix your church, You would do well to write the name or the initials of your pastor in the margin next to that verse. I dare say that this is what every minister of the gospel should want for his ministry, and that this is what the people of God should want for their pastor. It is certainly my hope and prayer today, and in the days ahead, that Reverend Craig Vosakans would come to you this way, that each time he steps into the pulpit of Phoenix Free Presbyterian Church, or any other church for that matter he may find occasion to preach in, that he will do so in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. So today, as I have the privilege of bringing the charge to Reverend Vosakans, as well as to the church in Phoenix. I want to consider this statement by Paul and what it will take for Reverend Vosakans and for this congregation to rise to the standard that's presented in this text. We'll see in the course of this study that we all have a part to play in rising to this standard. So look again, if you would, at the words of the text, verse 29. And I am sure that when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ." Let's think for a moment, first of all, on the fullness of that blessing. The fullness of that blessing. What are we talking about? What does Paul mean? when he speaks of the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Well, I might precede that question with another one this evening. Let me ask you a question as we begin this study. How blessed are you? How blessed are you? What all do you have in Christ this evening? What has salvation brought to you? What are your long-term prospects for the future? And I don't mean merely the future of this church. When I speak of the future, I mean the after this life future. And I mean your after this world future. What are the prospects for you in that? Truth told, you're in this meeting tonight as a believer in Jesus Christ. You are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. And those blessings include His sovereign choice of you. They include the prospects of being holy and without blame before Him in love. Ephesians 1.4. Can you fathom that? Holy and without blame before Him in love. You, poor, vile, guilty, hell-bound, hell-deserving sinner, being in the presence of He who is altogether holy and being in His presence blameless before Him in love. Oh my, we are blessed, aren't we? You've been adopted into his family, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, Ephesians 1.5. He has made you accepted in the beloved, Ephesians 1.6. Do you find those words easy to gloss over? Think about that for a moment. He accepts you. And what's more, as followers of Christ, nothing can ever separate you from his love. Neither death, nor life, nor rangers, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ your Lord. That is true of your minister, that is true of you as a Christian. His blessings include the forgiveness of all thine iniquities, who healeth thee of all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. Psalm 103, verses three through five. And the thing that I love about that catalog of blessings that are found in the 103rd Psalm is the emphasis on the word all. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases. And then there's the blessing of Christ himself. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glorious of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him and cried, saying, this was he of whom I spake, he that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me, and of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. John chapter one, verses 14 to 16. because Christ is with us, and Christ is for us, and we belong to him, and are joined in union to him, we have received the fullness of his grace. Grace and peace are multiplied to us. I love the arithmetic of grace. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you, and it is indeed multiplied to us. Dr. Cairns used to say it this way, when God gave us his son, he gave us the greatest blessing that heaven possesses. If God would give us all the gold in the world and all the material things of this world that carnal souls try to accumulate to themselves, if God gave us all those things, they would amount to nothing in comparison to what he's already given us in the person of his son. I try to mention this often in our prayer meetings in Indianapolis. I remind folks that all the things that we seek God for in the place of prayer, and there are many things that we seek him for, the salvation of souls, the reviving of his church, the advancement of his cause, all very legitimate things, But as we seek God in prayer for very legitimate things, we should never lose sight of the fact that everything we seek does not come close to comparing to what God has already given us, because he's given us his son. Have you thought about that? Everything you seek the Lord for is a lesser blessing to what he's already given. I remember at my own ordination, some 23 years ago. When it was my turn to address the congregation, I said that I considered it one of my primary objectives of my pulpit ministry to convince the followers of Christ that they are bountifully blessed. And Reverend Vosikans, I would charge you this evening with the task of driving the point home because the Christians to whom you minister will need to be, and this is kind of ironic but true nevertheless, they need to be convinced of it over and over again that they are a blessed people. I'm afraid that it's a mark of our depravity that we have a tendency to forget it or to doubt it. When we cave into the temptation of walking by sight rather than walking by faith, then we lose sight of how blessed we actually are. Your task as a minister of the gospel will be to enumerate those blessings to the people of God, and you'll need to remind them that their blessings are very expensive blessings that cost Christ his life blood, And you need to remind them that they are unworthy of the blessings that God freely bestows in Christ. And you need to preach to them the basis for those blessings. They are based not on any merit that they possess, but they are based solely on the merits of Christ's life and death. You have the task of making sure they understand the nature of their blessings, and that they understand the nature of Christ himself, so that they might know how far he condescended in leaving heaven's glory to come into this world to save us. And after you've preached on all these topics, you need something more. If the people to whom you minister are going to know the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ, In order to know the fullness of their blessings, they're going to need the Holy Spirit to minister the truth and reality of those blessings to their hearts. It is the Holy Spirit, you know, that ministers reality. One of the Puritans, I don't remember which, referred to the Holy Spirit as the author of spiritual reality. And we need for truth not merely to be communicated in an academic way as a part of our creed. We need for the reality of truth to be ministered to our hearts. And that's not something we can do with our own strength and power. That takes the Holy Spirit. And it happens in answer to prayer. Paul prays for the saints at Ephesus that they would know in the depth of their hearts the truth of their blessings. You could summarize Paul's prayers. There's two of them in Ephesians. And you could summarize them by saying that what they amount to are prayers for spiritual illumination. And what spiritual illumination amounts to is the knowledge of the truth in our heads being brought home to our hearts. It can be a great gulf, you know, between your head and your heart. So much that we know here as a part of our creed needs to be brought home to our hearts so that truth is reality. Listen to how Paul prays, Ephesians 3 in verse 16. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Oh, what a blessed standard. When you yourself and the people to whom you minister are filled with all the fullness of God, then you will have arrived at the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. So this is something of what Paul means when he refers to the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Could I call your attention next to the need for this fullness? The need for this fullness. I pointed out already, Paul had never been to Rome at the time he wrote this epistle. The fact that he had never been to Rome, however, didn't mean that he didn't know anything about the Christians to whom he wrote. In fact, the Christians he wrote to had established for themselves a worldwide reputation for their faith in Christ. Look at what it says back in chapter one in verse seven. To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, and then note it here, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. Keep that in mind, okay? Their faith was spoken of throughout the whole world. They had a worldwide reputation, in other words, for their faith in Christ. So Paul is writing to Christians, and not just to any Christians, but to Christians, arguably, of a very high spiritual caliber. As I say, they had a worldwide reputation for their faith. And then Paul says in verse 15, so as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. Makes for an interesting question to ponder. Why did Paul want to preach the gospel to those that were at Rome? Weren't they already saved? Weren't they already Christians? Didn't he just say they had a worldwide reputation for their faith? I'm afraid we have a tendency at times to separate the word of God into two different categories. There's the gospel, which is preached evangelistically to lead souls to Christ, and then there's the whole counsel of God, so to speak, that we preach once the gospel has served its purpose and souls have come to Christ. I don't see that kind of distinction here by Paul. He says that he's ready to preach the gospel to those who had already benefited from the gospel and had gained a saving interest in Christ. Why would that be necessary seeing they had already gained a saving interest in Christ? The answer is really very simple. Christians still need the gospel even after they've gained a saving interest in Jesus Christ. The gospel is essential for your growth and grace. It's as the truth of Christ and his salvation fills and thrills your soul that you'll find the fire of devotion ignited in your heart and fanned to a blaze. And in that fire of devotion, you'll be motivated by humble praise and thanksgiving to strive to be holy as Christ himself is holy. I thank the Lord this evening for the training that we've received in the Free Presbyterian Church when it comes to what we sometimes refer to as the preaching of Christ. What exactly does that mean? I've never forgotten how Dr. Cairns described the theology course that he taught. He referred to it as the theology of redemption. I remember when I first heard that. Okay, we're going to have a strong emphasis on soteriology, aren't we? Because this is the theology of redemption, redemption is salvation. Not what it meant at all. What Dr. Cairns meant was that every doctrine in the Bible and every duty in the Bible and every relationship that the Bible addresses is to be viewed through a lens. and that lens is the person and work of Jesus Christ. That's what it is to preach the gospel. The gospel becomes the lens through which we address everything that the Bible teaches. It's my privilege and duty, therefore, to charge you, Reverend Vosikants, to preach the gospel to your people so that they'll grow in grace and in the knowledge of their Savior, Jesus Christ, You must continue to explore the depths yourself so that you can give to your congregation the unsearchable riches of Christ. There's another reason that Christians need the continual ministry of the gospel. It's because we continue to sin. We continue to fight against sin. Paul elaborates this in great detail in Romans chapter seven. Let me read some verses from Romans 7, beginning in verse 14. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do, I allow not, for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent under the law that it is good. Now then, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man, but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? And I take Paul to be describing Christian experience here. The natural man does not delight after the law in the inward man. He does fight a spiritual battle, but it's a different kind of battle altogether. He wants more sin. He's bothered by the fact that his conscience convicts him. That's the battle that he fights. The whole process is flipped for the Christian. I hate sin, I want to overcome it, but I can't deny that it's still present with me. And because of this ongoing battle with sin, it will be necessary, Reverend Bosakans, for you to preach hard against sin. Expose it and condemn it and warn your people about it, but then do the very thing that Paul does. He shows how the gospel gives us victory over sin after describing this intense inner struggle that makes him wretched, He then goes on to preach the solution which is found in the gospel of Christ. Now sometimes the chapter divisions in our New Testaments can be a little distracting to us. Keep in mind, therefore, that it's in the context of this internal struggle on the part of Paul, a struggle that makes him a wretched man, that he goes on to say, Romans 8 and verse 1, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. You see where the victory over sin begins? It begins with the gospel. No condemnation. You're fighting against sin, you gain victories at times, you are defeated at times. The thing to keep ever in mind, no condemnation. There's where the victory begins and the internal struggle. And the reason that there's no condemnation is because there's already been condemnation. Christ was condemned in your place. Christ was the propitiation for your sins. and he will never demand from you what he has already received from his son. That's the gospel. So you no longer identify with sin. You don't deny its presence, but neither do you identify with it. You identify with Christ instead. Romans chapter six and verse 11 has always struck me as the essence of gospel obedience. Here, Craig, is what you must charge your congregation to do. In the words of Romans 6 in verse 11, likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Reckon it to be so. Count it to be so. It's the same word as the word impute. We're very familiar with that word, aren't we? Count it to be so. Count yourself to be dead to sin. And you'll notice that Paul doesn't say feel yourself to be dead to sin. Oh, if he said that, it would be impossible. It doesn't mean that you pretend that you're dead to sin, even when you can tell that sin is still a force in your life. No, you count it to be so because there is a basis for it to be so. You can count yourself to be dead to sin because Christ died to sin once, and you're joined to Him. There's a positional basis for counting yourself dead to sin. and you count yourself to be alive unto God. Why is that? Because I feel so alive to God? Oh, I've got to be honest, there are times when I feel I am so lacking in spiritual sensitivity that I wonder at times if I can even sense a spiritual pulse. But I count myself positionally to be alive unto God because Christ lives unto God, and we're joined to him. So there is a basis for this reckoning process. These are all aspects of the gospel that need to be covered in your ministry of the word. So we've seen something of the meaning of the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. We've seen something of the need for that fullness. Let me say a word finally about the confidence we can have in that fullness. The confidence we can have. You'll notice from our text that Paul was very confident that when he did visit the Christians in Rome, he would come to them in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel. So we read his words, and I am sure that when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Oh, may you gain that same confidence that Paul expresses here. And it makes for a point to ponder what made Paul so sure of this. Surely it wasn't because he was so confident that he was a gifted speaker or a scholarly theologian. I think we could say that part of his confidence was traceable to how certain he was about Christ. He knew who Christ was. He knew what Christ had accomplished. He was sure that Christ was risen from the dead. One of the first books I ever preached through when I became pastor of the church in Indianapolis was the Book of Acts. And one of the things I pointed out time and again from that book was that the power of those early Christians that they experienced was not so much traceable to their brilliant and in-depth knowledge of theology so much as it was their simple confidence in the truth that Christ was indeed risen from the dead. that that is the absolute truth. That's not a cunningly devised fable. That is the absolute truth of the matter, and they knew that. They were convinced of that. They knew he was risen. It was not a matter of speculation or part of an empty creed that they simply professed. No, they knew that Christ was risen from the dead. Paul certainly knew it. He had met the risen Christ on the Damascus Road. And oh, may the Lord impress the truth of it on you and through you, to those to whom you minister. There's another contributing factor to Paul's confidence, which I think brings the matter to the entire church here in Phoenix. After expressing his confidence, notice what Paul goes on to say, verse 30. Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake and for the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. I think it's fair to say that Paul's confidence in coming to Rome in the fullness of the blessing was based on his confidence in prayer, his own prayers and the prayers of others for him. Could I suggest to the congregation here in Phoenix that your pastor's confidence for coming to you in the future in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ has to spring from his confidence that you are praying for him. He will need your prayers. The fullness of the blessing you see does not happen automatically. It can and it will come only as the people of God seek it earnestly in prayer. And how confident you should be these days in your praying. The Lord has borne long with you in your praying. He does that very deliberately. But now at long last the answer has come and God has raised up a man to be the next under shepherd of this church. Oh, how that should inspire your confidence that the Lord answers prayer. So pray for your pastor. Pray for him fervently. Pray for him consistently. And not only pray for him, but pray with him. And in so doing, you can expect that as he comes Lord's day by Lord's day, he will come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So write his name or his initials in the margin outside of this text and remember to pray for him and expect that in answer to prayer he will indeed come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. May God then stamp his word on all our hearts. Amen. That's a word for all of our souls, starting to our brother's heart as well as the congregation here tonight. Reverend Bussecon, it's your turn to come and make some remarks this time. Please come ahead. Well, I want to thank Reverend Bannister for that charge. And it certainly is a solemn charge. And as he said, concerning the prayers of the people of God, whether in this congregation or in our denomination, I will certainly covet your prayers. I need them. And this is a solemn task that I have now begun. So I just thank the Lord for the charge that Mr. Bannister has given me. I have a few things I do want to say. It's not going to be a second sermon, but I would like to direct your attention to a verse of scripture in Genesis chapter 24. And as I was thinking of tonight, I thought, do I script something out? Do I write everything out verbatim, which I often do in my sermons? And then I thought, do I rehearse some ideas in my mind and pray that the Lord will let me speak from my heart to your heart on this happy occasion, on this blessed occasion. And the text of scripture that came to my mind, it's been on my mind for quite some time now, over these days, is found in Genesis chapter 24, and specifically the verse 27. You remember that Abraham's servant is sent to seek a wife for Isaac. And these are his words in verse 27. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth, I being in the way the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren. You know, I have these words underlined in my Bible. And I have a comment in the margin of my Bible. I'm not sure who said it or not. But in verse 27, really, we could summarize it in these words. It says, where God's finger points, God will make the way. Tonight, I do have some thanks to say. First, I wanna thank you all for being here. It's a delight to see you and it's a blessing and it's an encouragement. And it's an honor and a blessing for me to stand before you here this evening. As I think of this night, I cannot help but to think of when I was 22 years old, back in San Diego. And I remember being invited to a service that was being conducted, well, actually, let me back up. The Reverend Tom Tice, he was pioneering a work in San Diego, California. I used to work with him 40 hours a week. Tom was ministering the word of God on the Lord's Day. And at that time, we had a church in Garden Grove, and we had a church in San Diego, two pioneer works. And then we had the work here in Phoenix. And I remember Tom was very helpful to me. I would go to him with questions about the gospel, and I would go to him just asking him certain things, and we became quite friendly. And I thank the Lord for him. But I remember because of Tom's goodness and because of his help, he said, hey, you know, we're having a minister visit in the congregation, and I want to invite you to come. And I said, OK, and I thought, well, it's the least I can do. He's been so kind to me. He's been so helpful to me. And I thought, well, I need to support him. And so I went to that child time daycare center where the church was meeting. And I met and heard Reverend Pastor Mook or Pastor Mook for the first time. Mr. Mook preached a message. I honestly, I can't remember what it was about. I was there, I was unsaved, I didn't know the Lord, but he preached. And where I'm going with all of this is to say that, you know, who would have thunk it, and to use those words, that I would be following in his footsteps in this pulpit. I want to thank the Lord for Mr. Mook. I want to thank the Lord for His ministry, for His faithfulness, for His godliness, and for His example. I'm so thankful that our lives intersected in San Diego. I've shared this quote with you before, and Tom Tice, I don't know if he coined it or not, but he has a lot of isms. And he said that 85% of life is building bridges. and the other 15 is crossing them. So remember that when you come in contact with people. Those maybe that you'll never come in contact with again, but remember the opportunity that you have with them to share the light of the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I think it's only appropriate here tonight that I first thank Mr. Mook. And I thank him for his preaching, his pastoring, not only in San Diego, but here in this pulpit. And so if I could say it, I have a tough act to follow. You know, Mr. Mook is a faithful minister of the gospel, and I rejoice in how the Lord has blessed him in this place for these many years. And we trust the Lord to continue to bless him and Mrs. Mook in the years to come. But I just wanted to quickly share with you just a brief history of how I came into contact, really, with the Free Presbyterian Church. And so it was through the ministry of Tom Tice, it was through the ministry of Mr. Mook, that I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. As I said, I was unsaved when I first heard this man preach the Gospel. And so, again, who would have imagined that the Lord would work His grace in me and that I would be standing here tonight before you. I want to share a word of thanks with the congregation here. I'm thankful, first of all, for your call. I'm very humbled, and I was not expecting it whatsoever. But I'm certainly humbled and thankful and grateful for the way in which the Lord has led you as a congregation. The Lord has been good to you, and the Lord continues to be good to you. And I believe the Lord will continue in the years ahead, not only through me, but that the Lord will be good to you personally in the days that are ahead. I just want to thank you, and I trust that I will earn your confidence, that I will earn your trust in the Gospel, and that through your prayers that I will be able to preach, as Mr. Bannister said, that I will be able to preach Lord's Day by Lord's Day, the fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so I'm going to earnestly ask you to pray for me that in just the preparing of messages, that you will pray for me in that way, that you will pray for me in the preaching of the gospel, and that you'll pray for me in the pastoral work of this congregation. But I want to thank the congregation as a whole. I love you folks. And I've come to know you over the years, driving from San Diego over here and just visiting with you throughout the years. And you're like family. And I thank the Lord for you all. And I trust the Lord to bless you richly in your lives and in your families as well. But I think it would be very appropriate tonight to thank the Lord specifically for a few in this congregation. And first of all, I think as a congregation, We are thankful and grateful for the work of Mr. Chapler for these last three years. I would be remiss if I did not say how appreciative we are of the work that he has done. He did a lot and he took a lot on his plate. He was bouncing hither thither and yawn. Sometimes he even had to play the piano when he was setting up a screen. He was like a one man band. He did a lot. We went through the entire hymn book, I believe, singing all the hymns and a lot of the psalms. He sent me a spreadsheet, and only this is a Herb thing because he's into the spreadsheets and whatnot. But he sent all the hymns that we sang at every event, whether it was morning or evening or during a certain minister or during a video. He has it all laid out, which is very, very helpful. And so I just want to thank Mr. Chapler publicly for the work that he did, and I trust for the work that he's going to continue doing. We're thankful for the Lord giving this congregation a man who is godly, who is holy, who seeks to glorify Christ in his life. He's an elder in the truest sense of the word. He used to go, or he still goes to the Presbytery meetings, and he does so on his own dime. And so he spends the money to pay for the airfare, to pay for the hotel costs, if a rental car is needed. He does that all for you. And so you need to thank the Lord for a man like Herb Chapler. We're grateful for him. And again, just for all the work that he did these three years while we were in limbo, And I want to thank the Lord for Mr. Morrow. He was such an encouragement to me, and just kind of keeping me active, as it were, Lord's Day by Lord's Day. He would call on me often to pray. Kelvin has always been a blessing to me. He's always been an encouragement. And I remember when my family and I first came back, I should say, to this church in 2009, he said, and I can't remember the exact way he worded it, but I think you'll understand the sentiment. He said, I believe the Lord is going to use you and be a blessing here in this congregation. And I've never forgot those words. And I've been, I'm so thankful again for both these men, for their families, for their wives specifically. And I trust the Lord to greatly bless them as they serve this congregation. I want to thank the Lord for our two moderators. And I have to laugh. I thought Mr. Wagner was going to be here yesterday. And so, you know, I text him. I said, how was your flight? I hope you had a good flight. Look forward to seeing you. And he says, well, I'll let you know how my flight is tomorrow. And because I arrive tomorrow, And so I chuckled and I wrote him back today and I said, well, it's at these times when, you know, being a Calvinist, you truly believe in the sovereignty of God and in the way the Lord leads. I know he would love to be here. I'm sorry he's not with us. And it's at these moments that we honestly can say that we take Calvin's words to heart, where true Calvinism is on display. But I wanna thank the Lord for him, for the work he did as an interim moderator and just facilitating what needed to be facilitated. Also, I wanna thank the Lord for the Reverend Stephen Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton started as our interim moderator, and he was up there in Pennsylvania, he sent video links, he came from time to time, and he was a blessing to this congregation. And then sadly, he lost his wife. She passed away. Not only did his wife pass away, but Steve and Hamilton lost a kidney. And so he had to step aside as being our moderator. And so I wanna share, remind you to pray for him. to pray earnestly for the work that he's doing there in Pennsylvania, for the grace that he needs in his life to just keep on keeping on. And again, I just wanna thank the Lord publicly for these two men. I wanna thank the Lord for our presbytery, for the men that have come here tonight, for Mr. Bannister, for Dr. Pollack, for Mr. Roersma, for Brad Carper, for Mr. Mook. I just want to thank the Presbytery for facilitating this meeting. We're so thankful and grateful for the Presbytery and I pray that the Lord will preserve our Presbytery. that the Lord will give our presbytery at every meeting wisdom from on high. You know, doing the work of the ministry is not easy at times. And we need to pray that the Lord will fill our office bearers, that the Lord will fill all of our ministers, as Mr. Bannister said, with the fullness of the power of God. And so I want to thank the presbytery for being here. And I want to congratulate members of our Presbytery, two of them specifically, for the Reverend Ian McVeigh, who just was newly installed there in Calgary, and then for the Elder Mr. Wilkins in Prince George. And so I trust the Lord to bless these two men, and I'm excited for them, and I trust that the Lord will use them in the days that are ahead. I want to specifically thank the Lord for Brad as a member of Presbytery. Brad is a fellow San Diegan. He went to Greenville. That's where we intersected in our lives. Brad was my best man in my wedding. Brad showed up at my first installation and at my ordination in New Hampshire almost 20 years ago. And he's been a very special friend and I thank the Lord for him. And I thank the Lord that he's here tonight. I'm thankful that I was able to pick him up because I went to the wrong airport. I heard that he was flying in on a Legion, and I assumed that he was flying in to Mesa Gateway. I drove all the way down to Mesa Gateway, got caught in a 20-minute traffic jam in Scottsdale because of an accident. I got down there. Brad said, where are you? And I said, well, I'm on my way. I had no idea. I didn't even think that he was at Sky Harbor The others and so I get to the airport. I said I'm here. Where are you? Oh, I'm at the baggage claim So I run into Mesa Gateways entrance. I look at the two baggage claim areas and there's nobody it's a ghost town and it dawned on me, I'm at the wrong airport. So I quickly told Brad, I'm coming to get you. Just give me another 25 minutes. And it was packed at Sky Harbor because I just everybody happened to fly in at the same time there was a traffic jam there. But again, I just thank you, Brad, for being for being the friend that you have been. And I trust the Lord to bless you as being the elder that you are there in Greenville. Thank you for just the way in which you have just supported me over the years. And this is once again, proof of that support. I want to thank the Lord for the special guests that are here. I would love to thank you all specifically, I can't and you know, we're gonna run out of time, but I want to thank specifically Charlene, and for Larry, and for Hannah for being here. They're like family to me. I used to call Hannah, when she was just little, Hannah of Greenville. And she would go and play with the goats in the backyard. You know, she was just a little thing, and she learned the piano, and now she plays so beautifully and so wonderfully. I met Charlene through her brother, through her husband, Dr. Allison Mark, and I wish he were here. He was such a blessing to me, such a friend, such a support, and he taught me much of the gospel. For Uncle Larry, Thank you for being the great friend you've been over the years. And again, I love you folks and your support. Just being here is so, so precious. And thank you so much. I want to thank, again, my family. I just am so appreciative of a family, of the family that I have. We can laugh together. We can cry together. You know, we do things together. We make it, you know, purposeful to have our meals together. And, you know, as I take up this charge, I want to promise you that I'm not going to forsake you in doing this. The Lord has given you to me, and I have a great responsibility to you as a family. And I'm not going to sacrifice that. I thank you and just the love and just the support you've shown me, but I want to specifically thank my wife. I have a treasure and I don't know the half of it. I gotta keep buffing it to see it shine more and more. She's a blessing. She really is a blessing. And I'm thankful for her support. I'm thankful for her abilities. You know, and it's always good to have, you know, just she can sometimes say things that I just don't want to hear, but I need to hear. And I'm so thankful for that. I'm so thankful for the way in which she shows me Christ. I'm thankful for the just, you know, she doesn't think evil of anyone. And she's so, you know, she gives the benefit of the doubt on everything. And I love that about her. And I love you. Thank you. And thank you for your piano playing. It's a blessing to this congregation as well. I believe it is. And I apologize. I want to share one thanks to the Rojmas. I just saw them up in Cloverdale. And he told me as I was leaving, he says, we're coming down. And so they drove all the way down from Vancouver to be here for this happy occasion. So thank you. And I thank the Lord for the traveling mercies that he's shown you thus far. We'll pray the same as you return. But again, I just want to thank all those who have come again, my family. And then lastly, I want to thank the Lord I thank the Lord for this opportunity. And I thank the Lord for saving me. I thank the Lord for sanctifying me. I thank the Lord for now setting me apart for the work of the ministry. And I pray that the Lord will fill me with his spirit, that I will be able to stand here faithfully and preach the gospel. I'm scared. I'm nervous. But I'm excited all in the same, you know. And I pray that as we come together week by week, as we come together as a congregation and as a family of believers in the Lord, that we'll come together rejoicing in Christ, that the Lord will bless us with His presence, that we'll know His presence, that we'll know His unity, that we'll know His power, that we'll know His Christ. You know, we have a great God and we can greatly praise Him. As it was said, you know, we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You know, I love Mr. Farr. Mr. Farr and Brad are both on our session now here in the church. We've been assigned an augmented session. It's really for the good and for this congregation. But Mr. Farr teaches the catechism. And I remember being in Greenville and him just stressing and stressing and stressing the catechism, but specifically the shorter catechism question and answer number one. And I think we have to keep this in mind as we come together as a congregation and as what we do week in and week out. What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to glorify God. and to enjoy Him forever. And so let us, week in and week out, glorify God and enjoy Him forever. This is a blessing. And let us be happy in the things of the Lord. Let us go forth in His strength and in His power You know, there's a lot more I'd like to say and pardon me if I'm a bit disjointed and convoluted in my thoughts, but I just wanted to share my heart with you. And I pray that the Lord will bless you and bless us together as we grow in grace together and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. whom we all serve here in Phoenix Free Presbyterian Church. Amen. I know the bulletin says that I'm presenting just to Reverend Boussacans, but I have a couple other recognitions to do first, and I'll be quick. I too want to say thank you to Mr. Chappler. He's our only elder here, and after Pastor Book's retirement, much of the local oversight And service planning fell to him. And some of the things that he did during these years included visitation. He led most of the prayer meetings. He chose the video messages that we would watch when we had videos. He prepared and printed the order of services, which often included coordination with visiting ministers. And of course, as you heard, he also chose hymns. So then we would go through the whole hymnal, apparently. And he seemed to pick some really good ones when I was leaving. So I thank him for that. He and his wife opened up their home to several ministers and occasionally their wives. When Herb and Olivia moved to Phoenix, it was for the express purpose of assisting a free Presbyterian mission's work. They labored alongside the books and those who the Lord added to the work over the years to see it well established and more recently observed the Lord in this greater capacity during these years. and to help us out through this time. And so we have a card for you, Mr. Chapler, make sure I get the right one, with a small token of our appreciation that hopefully you can enjoy the rest of your life. And then I had something for Reverend Wagner. That'll have to wait. Maybe I'll do that either in the morning service on Sunday or the evening service. But just quickly, well, I'll just read it then. So we'll save the time for now. Next, I'd like to recognize Sharon Vositants. Sharon has been a good friend to all of us and has been our pianist for many years now. And we're very grateful for that. But tonight, I want to recognize her for a new role. She is the minister's wife. And we all know that that role is not easy. Some of you here know that more and better than others. And so we have a bouquet of flowers that you can take home with you. And please accept these flowers as an expression of love and support to you and your family, and in recognition of this new role for you. And we thank you for your faithfulness to the Lord and to his work. And then finally, for Reverend Vosekans, Obviously, Reverend Vosikas is not new to this congregation by any stretch of the imagination, and he has been ministering among us here for many years. Some of the ways include cleaning the church building, visitations, Counseling, Sunday school teacher, youth fellowship leader, pulpit supply, conducting weddings, assisting with funerals. And I'm sure there are several other things that aren't coming to my mind right now or that I don't know about. but we are glad to have him and welcome him now as our new minister. And so he is a good friend of each of us, and we look forward to seeing how the Lord uses him in this new role as our pastor. So here is a welcoming gift for you, and hope that you will enjoy those things, and welcome aboard. Thank you. Almond cookies, maybe? Thank you, and on behalf of my wife, thank you for the lovely flowers as well. We'll stand together and sing a closing hymn at this point. It's been a blessing to be part of the service. It's the Lord's presence for the hymn 666. Jesus, wherever thy people meet, there they behold thy mercy seat. And just after we sing the hymn, I'll invite our brother, Mr. Rosemary, to please come and close us in prayer. Again, ruling elder in our work in Cloverdale. And also to give thanks for the refreshments that are provided. Please stay behind for the refreshments. Any special instructions in that regard, or just? I don't know. Did they go there? They're over here. We'll open up the way and cut the cake. And then I'd just like to put another hat on for number two. All the presbytery, please come and get a picture immediately after the service before you start eating and get chocolate in your face. So please, you come and do that immediately. We'd appreciate that very much before we get refreshments. So 666, may God bless as we sing this hymn together. Jesus, where'er thy people meet, there they behold thy mercy seat. Where'er they seek thee, thou art found, and every place is hallowed ground. ♪ For I within no walls confined ♪ ♪ In heaven tests the humble mind ♪ ♪ Such ever bring me where they come and go ♪ ♪ And take me to their home ♪ Dear shepherd of thy chosen few, thy former mercies here renew. Here to our waiting hearts proclaim the sweetness of thy saving name. Here may we prove the power of prayer, to strengthen faith and sweeten care, to teach our faint desires, to rise and bring a land before our eyes. Lord, we are few, but Thou art near, Nor short Thine arm, nor deaf Thine ear. O rend the hands, come quick, Lead down and make a thousand hearts Thine own. Shall we close in prayer? Our Heavenly God and Father, we thank Thee, Lord, that we can gather together under the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee, Lord, for the blessings we enjoy, and we thank You for the special blessings we've seen this evening, the installation of our brother, Reverend Vos Akans, and we ask that You would bless each one. Bless this family, bless this church family, and we ask that You would bless the Free Presbyterian family as well. As we rejoice together in all that happens, we thank Thee, Lord, for Thy goodness that You give to Your people. We give Thee praise always for Thou art good. We ask that You would bless as we gather together under refreshments. We ask that You would bless the conversation. Keep sin far away from us, Lord. We gather to praise Thee. Bless this congregation. Help it to grow. Send those souls here that need to hear the wonderful gospel of our Lord Jesus. And we give You praise. Help us, Lord, to praise You with all our hearts and for all the time that we have here. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. you