And we're so glad that you have come to join us in this time of celebration, rejoicing, but also a time of great solemnity as we acknowledge who God is and what he has provided for us, his plan for us in the church age, his plan for this church. So we are grateful that you've come tonight to be a part of this. And we welcome all of you. We are reminded that we must worship God in the spirit of holiness, for God is holy and therefore we are to be holy. We can have holiness in our experience. only if our sins have been forgiven, only if we have been cleansed from all unrighteousness. So in preparation for this time tonight, that what we do would be pleasing and acceptable to God, we'll have a moment of silent prayer to give you opportunity of coming before the throne of grace for yourself. If there is sin between you and the Lord right now, confess those sins to God the Father, that you might be forgiven and cleansed so that what we do tonight would be a sacrifice that is acceptable to God. Therefore, let us pray. Father in heaven, we do give thanks that we have the privilege to assemble ourselves together in freedom. That we might worship you in spirit and in truth. We thank you, Father, that you are a God of grace and you have supplied all things necessary for life and for godliness. And that we can see even tonight the provision that you have made for people in this place. And as we come tonight, I pray that the words of our mouth, the meditation of our heart would be pleasing and acceptable unto you. that all that's done here tonight would bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who loved us and gave himself for us. And we would ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. We do have a theme for this tonight, and it's the foundation of the church. What is the church? Why are we here? And so I would ask you to turn in your songbooks, if you would, to number 350. Number 350, and I invite you to stand and sing with us all three verses, The Church's One Foundation. We have come together tonight to worship God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, who works all things after the counsel of his own will. Worship is not what takes place on the platform, and worship is not what you get from the service or from the singing or from the preaching, but rather worship is something that takes place in your heart. Worship is not what you are getting from God because you came, but rather worship is what you are giving to God as you understand who God is and what God has done. Worship is when you acknowledge the sovereignty of God, when you recognize that he is the all-powerful one who can do whatever he chooses to do, and when you recognize the goodness of God, his grace, his mercy to us, and we thank him for what he has done, we praise him for who he is, and that is true worship. It's an acknowledgment of who and what God is and the fact that it's right that we worship him because of who he is. Well, we come to worship God in a very special way tonight. We worship God through an installation. of a new pastor in this church. And you might say, well, how is this an act of worship? Because we are recognizing that God has a plan for us today. We recognize that God has a plan for this church and that God is the one who has made provision for this church. And God has provided leadership. And God has provided one who is going to lead the church, one who is going to teach the church, one who is going to care for the church. And so we worship God tonight in this installation because we recognize that God has made provision for you, his children, in this place to be able to fulfill his plan. And therefore, this very installation service is an act of worship. And it's intended to honor the God who has provided the pastor. We have not come tonight to honor the pastor that God has provided. We have not come to honor a man, but we have come tonight to worship almighty God who has provided for us. And so we want the focus tonight to be not on a man. We want it to be on the word of God. We want it to be on the one that God, they're the God who has provided this one. So why have an installation? It is not commanded in scripture that we do this, and it's not actually necessary that we do this, but it's right that we do this. In the Old Testament, priests were initiated in a very special ceremony. Kings were anointed in a very special way and they had an installation for them, if you will. Missionaries were commissioned in the New Testament. They had a special ceremony to recognize communicators of the word of God. And it's right that we do this tonight because it recognizes several things. The purpose is not to establish that there's some kind of a separation between clergy and laity. It's not designed to set one above all of the rest as if there were a spiritually elite group. That's not the point. But the ceremony is intended to be a solemn occasion. It's designed to indicate several things. We acknowledge that a man has received a spiritual gift from God. and that he has been given an awesome responsibility, a tremendous burden to carry. And so what we are doing tonight is to recognize that God has done something to provide for this church, but it's a solemn occasion because we recognize that now Juan has been put in a position where he is going to have special responsibility before the Lord. And in this, service, we are going to set one apart. He is going to be separated from others in that it's going to recognize he is the leader. And so this is a most solemn occasion, but in it we celebrate several things also. We do not celebrate the man's accomplishments, not his status, but we celebrate the fact that God has a plan and that he has given this church what it needs to be able to go forward. And so we have come tonight for this purpose, to install Dr. Robert Dean as pastor. And so we remember that. We ask now Ms. Deborah Green if she'll come and sing for us. Who can cheer the heart like Jesus, by His presence so divine? True and tender, pure and precious, oh, how blessed to call Him mine! All that thrills my soul is Jesus He is more than life to me And the fairest of ten thousand He, my blessed Lord, I see. What wonderful redemption, never Can a mortal know how my single head, like crimson, can be whiter than the snow? ♪ All that thrills my soul is Jesus ♪ ♪ He is more than life to me ♪ ♪ And the fairest of 10,000 ♪ ♪ In my blessed Lord ♪ ♪ By the crystal flowing river ♪ ♪ With a ransom I will sing ♪ ♪ And forever and forever ♪ ♪ Graze and glorify my King ♪ ♪ Is more than life to me ♪ ♪ And the fairest of 10,000 ♪ ♪ In thy blessing, O Lord ♪ The foundation of the church is not a man. The foundation of the church is Jesus Christ. And the church is to be built upon the word of God. And tonight, to remind us of the foundations that have been laid and the foundation upon which this church will stand, we have three men who will come and speak. First of all, Dr. George Meisinger. He is pastor of Grace Chapel in Orange, California, and he is also the founder and the president of Chafer Theological Seminary, and he will be speaking on the subject of grace. And then the Reverend Colonel Dan Ingram will come and speak on the subject of salt and light for the nation. He is professor at Capitol Bible Seminary in Washington, D.C. And then concluding this section will be Dr. Thomas Ice, who is the director of the Pre-Trib Research Center, and he's going to remind us of the blessed hope that we have the future for the church. And so they will come and speak to you now. Dr. Meisinger. We talk today about something that sounds peculiar, and that is free grace. Now isn't that redundant? After all, doesn't grace denote, what is a free gift from the Lord? Well, the question is a good one in light of the theological environment that we find ourselves in today. The background of the expression free grace is that many Christians distort the term grace today. For example, one author in a very popular book that was written about a decade ago says this, God's grace is free, but it costs you everything. And he peddles a costly grace, accusing those of us who are free grace proponents of teaching cheap grace. He's wrong. We do not teach cheap grace, but a grace that is absolutely free. And that's cheaper than cheap. Because opposing viewpoints on the teaching of grace swirl around us today, it is extremely important that Christians who are laying the foundation of a new church have a grasp on the nature of God's grace. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 5 that there is a true grace of God, which of course implies that there is a kind of grace teaching that is not true, but distorted and false. And for a local church to have a good launch, it must have a solid grasp on true grace. And so what does scripture then say about grace? And I think there are two passages in the scripture that are very, very important on this subject found in the Book of Romans. In Romans 4, the Apostle Paul teaches that the exact opposite of grace is works, and he illustrates with a man on the job. And this employee puts in a day's labor, and then his boss owes him a paycheck. He earned, he has deserved the paycheck he receives. And Paul is very clear that his paycheck is not counted as grace, but as debt. That is, the boss did not give him a wage out of grace or goodwill, but because he owed it to the employee. In fact, no employee thinks that his boss does him a favor or shows grace when he is paid for his work. Would you not agree? However, if one's boss goes beyond their contractual agreement and he gives his employee a turkey for Thanksgiving, the turkey is an expression of grace, for the employee did not earn that. That was a free gift. But when an employee puts in a day's labor, the boss is in debt to him, owing him that paycheck. Now, what is the point? Paul is teaching that receiving justification or forgiveness is not like a worker receiving a paycheck. God does not dispense justification because a person earned it. To the contrary, justification or forgiveness is an expression of God's free grace to those who believe, not to those who work. And so in the passage in Romans 4, the apostle says this, that justification is to him who does not work, but believes on him who unjustifies the godly. And this is free grace. No amount of good works, whether before, during, or after that first moment of faith in Christ contributes anything to one's free gift from God, the free gift of justification. And moreover, the Romans 4 passage, I think, has a beautiful mention there when it says that God extends his free gift of justification to the believer, and the believer there is said to be ungodly. Listen, people, the Lord does not justify the do-gooders of life, the decent people, those who suppose that they are religious or legalistic folks, even those who suppose that by submitting to the Lordship of Christ and doing that work, that somehow or another they're going to receive the free gift of eternal life. He unjustifies, or justifies rather, ungodly people who have zero merit before God, who have earned nothing before God, who fall short in every way of God's perfect standards. And yet regardless of their absence of personal righteousness or merit, each one finds that his faith, as Paul goes on to say, is accounted for righteousness. Not his works, but his faith alone. Because of that, or through that, God credits to the believer's account, as he did for every one of us that first moment we believed, God credited to our account in the bookkeeping system of heaven, absolute righteousness that prepares and equips us to spend eternity behind the pearly gates. Going on to Romans 11, when Paul deals with God's election of Israel, we see something again of the nature of grace. If God's choice of a nation or by application a person, he says, is by grace, then it is no longer of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace, otherwise work is no longer work. I don't know how we could say it any clearer than that. Man's good works, whether they are supernaturally enabled or not, have nothing to do with God's free gift of eternal life, justification, and forgiveness. Grace and all categories of works are mutually exclusive. They're antithetical to one another. And therefore, to expose the sharp contrast between the costly and warped grace of some and biblical grace, we proclaim free grace. It is free. Cheaper than cheap. For them, their costly grace really is nothing more than just a good deal. We receive a free gift. Now, of course, a believer's moral character and his works play a very important role at the judgment seat of Christ, becoming the criteria by which the Lord determines one's eternal reward. Good deeds play no role, however, in determining whether one has the free gift of eternal life and thus a place in heaven. So what then is the New Testament challenge to a local church laying a foundation for the future. Luke says in Acts 13, continue in grace. That's free grace. The author of Hebrews exhorts Christians in chapter 13 also to establish yourselves in grace. And then Peter, in 2 Peter 3, challenges all believers to grow in grace. And these challenges compel us to mature in our understanding of God's grace. And until a fellowship of believers comprehends the nature of God's grace, its freeness, It is doomed to some grotesque manifestation of legalism or worldly religion. True grace, free grace, completely severs all works from the saving transaction that occurs between God and the believer. True grace insists upon free grace. And then when we have under control that God's grace to us, this vertical free grace, when we have under control that is utterly free and the saving transaction between God and the believer, we will then learn to deal in grace with one another. I call that horizontal free grace. And as the Lord has so freely showed grace and mercy to us, mercies which are new every morning, so we must learn to show mercy freely to one another. That's grace in practice. As the Lord shows kindness to us, so we must freely show kindness to one another. And as Christ has freely forgiven us, as he has given us this free gift of forgiveness. So we must freely forgive one another, whatever the complaint may be. As Paul puts it in Colossians, therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. And then finally, one passage, and I'm gonna have to quit before a trapdoor opens here. We read this in Titus. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. Free grace is a great teacher. Free grace, this passage tells us, is a great instructor for how to live the Christian way of life. And you know, the more we become acquainted with God's free grace, the more committed we become to abiding by God's written standards as found in the scripture. And of course, elaboration on Christian living, the grace that should be taking place in our horizontal relationships, I'm sure will be a major product of your pastor project of your pastor in the years to come. Let me simply conclude by saying may God greatly bless you all as you lay a foundation beginning tonight in free grace, pioneering a new work that will seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Hello, David. I always like to greet a fellow ordination candidate and now member from the ought to class. Seems like when it's my turn to speak, it's always keep it short, Dan. Running out of time. So we will. In Matthew 5.13, Jesus was referring to the Jewish nation when he said, You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. What did he mean? Salt was used as seasoning, as a preservative, and as a purifying agent. As seasoning, salt made food palatable, acceptable, worthy of eating. As a preservative, it helped to retain quality. maintain suitability, or sustain original character. As a purifying agent, it removed impurities. It cleansed. It removed or cleansed of destructive elements. Israel was the salt of the world. It was a set-apart race, people, and nation. which was to be a positive influence on the world, affecting other races, peoples, and nations in a godly way. Israel was a preservative, a retardant of degenerative practices, and a purifying agent to remove impurities, cleanse of evil, and all of this to prevent the world from collapsing under the influence of sin and the cosmic system. Satan's cosmic system. Israel was also light. They were God's representative on earth to shine the light of his plan of salvation into all the dark corners of the world. But Israel failed. And when the nation of Israel was destroyed in 70 AD and the Jews were scattered, God had already begun to work through another agency, the church. Now, the church is God's representative on earth. It's the church made up of individual believers who are to be a positive influence on the surrounding people and nations, acting as a preservative, a cleansing agent in the world, and a beacon of light for God's program. Where does it all begin? It begins with a pastor. and the local congregation. It begins with the teaching of the truth of God's word, training the youth and the adults in biblical principles, and stealing these spiritual warriors against cosmic thought. The local church is a team. Ephesians 2.21 says the congregation is a building of individual stones fitted together In the ancient world, stone masons did not use mortar in construction. They fashioned and smoothed each stone until it fit precisely, precisely in place next to an adjacent stone. Often, depending upon the skill of the mason, the columns, the walls, the entire structure would appear seamless. One solid stone. God is the mason. He is the one fitting the stones into his building, into each local church. In Ephesians 4, 16, we're told the church is a unified body. This is the body of Christ. Joined, knit together by what each joint or member supplies or contributes. And the church is only as effective as each member does his part, her share, causing the growth of the body. The effectiveness of the local church is measured by how well each member of the local assembly does his or her part. That is precisely what Ephesians 4.16 means. It starts with the pastor and goes down to the last seeming insignificant member. The church is a team, not disparate individuals, but a solid unified body, not separate body parts going their own way. This body, then, produces effective spiritual establishment-oriented citizens of the client nation to God. If the church is effective, it produces a client nation that fulfills critical responsibilities as God's representative. First, a client nation is a custodian of the word of God, a guardian of God's word. Second, the client nation becomes a sustaining base for missionary outreach, an outreach to the world, the light of God's truth to a darkened world. Third, it provides a haven for the Jews. It's a friend or an ally of the nation Israel. Fourth, it represents a restraint or it represents a restraint on rampant evil in the world. It's not a world policeman, but a nation that has a national policy which recognizes that unrestrained evil and violence eventually comes to its own door. Why? Because that is the extension of the goal of the ruler of this world, a goal that is committed to the eradication and destruction of Christianity. A client nation refuses to permit evil, to brutalize and destroy humanity, and in so doing, protects its missionaries who are carrying God's message to a lost and dying world. Missionaries grown, sent out, and supported by the local church. And all this is built on the success of the local church. As goes the church, so glows the client nation to God. A healthy, dynamic church is the key to the success of a client nation. Yes, the success of individuals, of individual believers, is important in many ways. But that's true in any dispensation. God's organization for the period of the incalcation, intercalation, is the church. General Douglas MacArthur, in his last address to the cadets at West Point, expressed his admiration for the Corps of Cadets. And in his memorable closing, he said that his final thoughts, his final thoughts, his last thoughts of his life would be of the Corps, of the Corps, and of the Corps. To MacArthur, the Corps of Cadets was central to all the Army represented. The success of the Army was greatly dependent upon the quality and the success of the Corps. For the Church Age believer, members of the Royal Family of God, our thoughts must be of the Church. The success of our nation and the success of our responsibility of being God's representative on earth is dependent upon the quality and the success of the church. We are members of the body of Christ. In the coming weeks, months, and years, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate the importance you place on being a member of the body of Christ. For us in the church age, it's the church. It's the church. It's the church. Thank you. The Bible teaches that God's plan for history starts in a garden and progresses to a city with a tree or cross in between. Knowing where we're going is an important part of anyone's orientation to life. And it just so happens that the Bible reveals to us an extensive amount about God's plan. The Bible teaches us that God started in a garden where man was unfallen and man brought evil into the world. And that there would be a cosmic struggle between God's creatures and that God himself, of course, would be introduced into history to solve this on his own through Christ. The Bible teaches that there is a multiplicity of dimensions. There's human history, there's angelic history. And these, God, like a great master novelist, is weaving together his plans of multiple dimensions into a single goal, and that is the glorification of God through Jesus Christ in time-space history. And therefore, like any child who's growing up properly, their orientation as to what are they going to be in the future. That's what the first 21, 22, 23 years of their life are spent, is preparation for the future. And so if a person doesn't have a proper perspective of the future, then that person doesn't know where they're going. And the same is true with the church. By knowing what your destiny is in the future, tells us what we're supposed to be doing in the present. The Apostle Paul, when he spoke his final time to the Ephesian elders, said that he has not refrained from teaching them the whole counsel of the Word of God. And the whole counsel of the Word of God is what needs to be taught by a pastor teacher to his congregation. And I'm sure that Robbie Dean will be doing this to West Houston Bible Church. And one of the amazing things about the Bible, of course, our God is different than any other God in the universe. But so, of course, the Bible is different than any other book in religious book in the history of the world. In fact, all other religions in the history of the world want to look back to the past and say, oh, wouldn't it be great to get back to the wonderful days of Egypt? Wouldn't it be great to get back to the wonderful days of Babylon? Wouldn't it be good to just get back to the 50s for some of us? And so their focus is that the best has already happened and we want to just get back to the good old days. That's pagan religion. Only in the Bible does it say that the best is yet to come. That we're moving from a garden to a developed city with a cross in between. And that's why woven through the fabric of God's word is an orientation about the future. What is God's plan for Israel? What is God's plan for the church? What is God's plan for history? And because God has a plan for the big picture, then that means logically that he's got a plan for a local church and for each individual. And by learning God's plan for the future helps us to understand what our role is in the present. And that's why you can't be properly taught and properly motivated unless the 28% of scripture that is yet to be fulfilled is taught to you as well. And that's why the church is to be oriented to what the Bible teaches about things to come. The church's hope is Christ himself, that is that Christ at any moment could come and take us to be with him, the blessed hope, the rapture of the church that would end this church age in a moment in time when that last person comes to faith in Jesus Christ. God then has told us what history is going to be like, the seven year tribulation, the thousand year reign of Christ, the great white throne judgment, and then eternity in the new heavens and new earth. And because he's told us about the future, and we understand the past, then we can know what we're supposed to be doing in the future. And so I just want to encourage Robbie and the church as a whole to be future-oriented so that we will be able to know what to do in the present. It was Robbie's great desire that Reverend Gordon Whitelock be here tonight. Gordon is a great man of God, I'm sure known to many of you. He's a man 91 years old, and he's still active in ministry. He was the man who led Robbie's mother to the Lord when she was but a girl. And this is a man who has been responsible for tens of thousands of people coming to faith in Jesus Christ, responsible for thousands of people getting involved in ministry, a great man of God, a man who is used greatly by God, and yet a man who is very humble. in his way, unprepossessing, a man who had a great impact on Robbie's life. He was not able to be here tonight, but he did send a letter, which I will read to you, to the congregation of West Houston Bible Church. Greetings. I sincerely regret that I will be unable to participate in the installation of your pastor, Dr. Robert Dean, Jr. I was trying to make arrangements to attend, But an unexpected four-day hospital visit canceled that possibility. He had a heart attack. But the Lord has spared him and will yet use this man in his own ways. He says, In her teenage years, his mother was a member of my Austin High Young Life Club. Then, as soon as Robbie was eligible, she enrolled him as a camper at Camp Peniel. I watched him several years as a camper, a worker, counselor, program director at camp, and on through his educational career. In my opinion, your pastor is a prince of a man and a spiritual giant. He loves the Lord. knows his word and teaches it well. Believing this is God's choice for you, I will be praying for all of you and expecting God to expand your ministry in Houston and beyond. Signed, a co-laborer in the master's service, Reverend Gordon M. Whitelock. I've been given the task of giving a charge to your pastor. And I don't know whether to face him and look him in the eye or whether to speak so you can see me. But I'm going to talk to Robbie. And so if you get a little bit of my back, excuse me. It's the better side anyway. You're taking on an awesome responsibility here. And many people, I'm sure, will say, well, Robbie, you just go and do your best. But I'm not going to tell you to do your best, because God doesn't want your best. God wants His best. He doesn't want your best. God's best is Jesus. And you need to preach Jesus. And you need to preach Jesus and Him crucified. And you need to preach faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. And in all your preaching of the Word, don't forget Jesus, because He is the Word. He's the living Word, and you've got to preach Jesus. And don't lose sight of Jesus when you get involved in all of the theology and all of the exegesis. Don't forget why you're here. It's for Jesus. That's His best, and that's what you've got to preach. So you preach Jesus, because God doesn't want your best. He wants His best. His best is the Holy Spirit. Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. His best is the Holy Spirit, not how hard you try. His best is the Holy Spirit, and you are commanded, keep on being filled by the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit fill you, fill you with His power, fill you with His wisdom. In Romans 15 verses 8 and 9, Paul said, I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me in word and deed by the power of the Spirit of God. Another way to say this is Paul says, all I'm going to talk about is what Jesus has accomplished through me in word and deed by the power of the Spirit. If it's not in the power of the Spirit, Robbie, you've missed it. God doesn't want your best. He wants his best. His best is the Word of God, and this is what you must do. You must preach the Word. You must be instant, in season and out of season. And this means when things are going well and when there's a lot of fruit, and also during times when it's cold and the fields lie fallow and you can't see anything happening, you've got to be right there teaching the Word, teaching the Word, because it's God that gives the increase. His best is the Word. You give them the Word. I want to encourage you, don't give your children stale bread. You give them fresh bread. There is nothing that I like better in this world than that aroma of fresh baked bread. Oh, that's nice. And if you will give these people fresh bread, oh, that's going to be a sweet smelling savor to the Lord. But also these people can say, smell that. It's wonderful. You give them. Fresh milk, fresh milk for the children. You give them fresh meat for those that are growing. You give them fresh bread, daily bread. Don't give them stale bread. You give them God's best, and that's going to be the Word of God. Now, if you're going to give people God's best, there are some things that you must keep in mind. First of all, the Bible says you must discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. And this word discipline, it's used for athletes who have to train and they have to discipline themselves day after day. Even if they don't feel like getting up, they've got to go do it. Even if they're in pain, even if they're sore and tired, they get up and they discipline themselves and they work and they work and they work. You've got to discipline yourself for godliness. What is godliness? Well, the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 3.17 that godliness is Jesus Christ. It's God manifest in the flesh, and you have got to discipline yourself so that the very character of Jesus Christ becomes your character, so that Christ is formed in you. You must discipline yourself for godliness. It's hard work because the world's going to take you away, and the flesh is going to say, Robby, just relax. Take your ease. You've done enough. Discipline yourself so that you become a godly man. Secondly, you must make personal sacrifice. You do this for the sheep. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. And this is an expression of love. Greater love has no man than a man lay down his life for his friends. It's going to take personal sacrifice. And this is the ultimate expression of love. And if you love these people, you're going to make personal sacrifice. It costs something. If you're going to be in this position, it's not a free ride. It's going to cost you something, and it's going to cost you personally, and you're going to have to make that personal sacrifice. Thirdly, you've got to be an example. 1 Timothy 4.12, be an example to the believers in word. In conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity, in all of these ways, you can't simply say, well, here's the word of God, and I'm going to teach you the word. No, you've got to be an example. You have got to show them how to apply this. And it's got to be something that is yours. It's got to be something you possess. You be an example. How do you want them to talk? You're going to have to be an example. How do you want them to walk? You're going to have to show them. How do you want them to exercise faith? You're going to have to be the example. You can't simply be academic in your teaching. You have got to be an example. And you've got to be able to tell these people, you do what I do. Oh, that's a frightening thing. But that's what you're called to do. You be an example to the believer. You are the pastor teacher. I recall once I asked a man, tell me what he thought the job of the pastor teacher was. He said, well, my job is very simple. I sit down and study and I stand up and teach. I said, well, you just told me what a teacher does. Now, what does a pastor do? Didn't have an answer. Are you going to be the pastor of this church? It's got to be more than sit down and study and stand up and teach. You've got to pastor these people. Now, the divine description of a pastor in the Old Testament is found in Ezekiel chapter 34. And there God holds the pastors responsible. What he said to them is, you have to feed the flock. We understand this. You're going to feed them that fresh bread. but you also have to heal the sick. Now, we understand you're not a faith healer here, but it's talking about something you're going to do in the spiritual realm. You've got people out there that are spiritually sick, and it's your job to tend to them. You must bind up the broken. You've got people that are hurting, and you can't simply say, listen to a tape. You've got to be involved in their lives. You've got to bind up the broken. You've got to bring back what was driven away. Well, we don't like doing that, but that's God's requirement for the pastor. You bring back what was driven away, and you seek the lost. God doesn't say, all you lost people, come to church. No. He's telling us we've got to go seek the lost, and you as the pastor, seek the lost. So God doesn't want your best, Robbie. He wants his best. You give him God's best and you then will please God. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified. I commend you to God, my brother. And now to give a charge to the congregation, we have Dr. R.A. Williams, pastor of McCoy Memorial Baptist Church and president of WHW Ministries. Dr. Williams. I am delighted to be here this afternoon to be a part of Dr. Dean's installation. He has come to us by way of recommendation of Pastor Rudy White, just to give you a little brief history of the WHW conference. And one of our men who used to teach syntax, a fellow by the name of Dr. Larry Harris, died. And we were looking for someone to come in and take his place, and Pastor Rudy White recommended to us Dr. Robert Dean. familiar with the Baraka Church and Dr. Thieme. And I'm thankful to God that when I learned again that Dr. Dean had been once affiliated with that church, we readily brought him in. And he has been a hit with us ever since. I mean, in fact, you know, it's mighty quiet in this church, usually in our culture, you know. But, and I thought Robbie would have a hard time maybe adjusting. especially to a thousand or so preachers hollering and yelling at him. But just let me say, we have made him an honorary Hooper. So I am delighted to be here and to be a part of this service. It is my job to talk to the congregation about what you should do for your pastor. I want to, and I want to say that I'm thankful to God. I noticed that I heard Rudy and I heard Rose, who are here from WHW, break the silence. That's Rudy. That's Rose. So I am delighted to be here, though. There is a passage, though, that I think would be helpful to this congregation. In the book of Philippians, I'll read a portion of it, chapter 4, as the Apostle Paul writes, from his prison cell under house arrest. Chapter 4 and verse 14, and I'll read a few of the following verses. It's a marvelous passage. He says, nevertheless, you've done well that you shared in my distress. Now, you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving, but you only. For even in Thessalonica, you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed, I have all and abound. I am full. having received from Epaphroditus the thing sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." What a marvelous promise. that my God shall supply all your needs. Every person in this building tonight has some needs, every one of us. Whether they are physical, whether they are psychological, whether they are social, every one of us in this building tonight got some needs. Whether we verbalize those needs or whether we keep those needs deep down in our hearts, every one of us would have to admit that there is no house in America that could write upon its front door, no needs here. And so this passage is a marvelous passage because this passage has a promise that my God shall supply all your needs. i love this passage but there's a problem with the passage there's a problem with the passage and that is there are many people who claim promises and they're not practicing the principles that go with them many people are frustrated they're very very frustrated because they stand upon promises of god and somehow Their needs are not met and they wonder why. But with promises, there are certain principles that must be practiced. You can't even claim the Lord is my shepherd if you're not practicing the principle of being a sheep. And so there are many people who are frustrated because they reach in and grab something, and they say, I'm standing on this word, when this word does not apply to them. And when this word, of course, they're not practicing the principle that goes along with it. In this text, there is the church at Philippi. Paul is in prison some 700 miles away from his church. 700 miles away from his church. The church hears about his need. He didn't ask. He didn't have an offered meditation. They simply heard that he was in need. They got a fellow by the name of the pap for data sent this unusually large gift to bless pastor Paul in prison. Now I want you to think about that 700 miles with no car, no train, no bus, 700 miles to take a gift to pastor Paul. And when he takes the gift, he not only takes the gift to him, but he ministers to Paul. Epaphroditus ministers to him while he is in prison. He meets all of his needs. While he is there though, while he is there, he relates to Paul that the people in Macedonia have created a need by meeting his need. As a result of meeting Paul's need, they have created a need themselves. In fact, in the book of 2 Corinthians, we find that this church, they were a poor church. But their hearts were big. And so they blessed Paul. And as a result of them blessing Paul, they asked Paul, Is there a word we can give back to those who are in Philippi? And he wrote this letter, tell them that my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory. Now, when I look at this, this text, this text promises that God will meet their needs. but it's based on the fact that they met Paul's needs. Now we know this is true because the same word for full in verse 18 in the Greek is the same word for supply in verse 19. One way to suggest that what Paul is saying is that the same way you have met my need, is the same way God's going to meet yours. When you look at this passage, there are at least several things that this church did, several principles that they practiced. Number one, in verse 14, they partnered with their pastor in his affliction. You will notice the word communicate in verse 14, the word communicate in verse 15, The word in verse 14, sancononia, is a commercial term that relates to business partners. Each person doing their particular share in making the business better. This church partnered with him in his affliction. May I suggest to you today, tonight, that maybe you should partner with your pastor in his affliction. Strangely enough, the word affliction, thalipsis in the Greek, carries the idea of pressure. Pressure. And the Apostle Paul was under pressure. When you read chapter one, he talks about the fact that there were people who were preaching who were adding stress to his chains. that there were people who were actually preaching against him. There were actually people while he was in prison who were adding stress to his situation. He was under pressure. What kind of pressure was he under? The fact that he had been in Rome for two years and nothing had happened. There were some people who said that God had put him on the shelf. Some have said that when he was in Philippi, when he was in prison, he and Silas prayed and sung praises that night and the jail doors got happy. God sent an earthquake and shook the jails and they walked out. And the jailer said, what must I do to be saved? And now he's been in Rome two and a half years and there are no jail doors flying open. He's under quite a bit of pressure. May I suggest to you, you partner with your pastor in his affliction. You know, I just told my church, I just told my church that there is never a time everybody has a pastor but the pastor. You can come to him and tell him your most dirtiest secrets. You can tell him the worst of things. But who does he tell his to? His fears, without someone saying, huh. I'm saying, who? I just told my congregation. Every time y'all come to me, it's always something bad. It's never anything good. My mom just died. My father died. My uncle shot my sister. My cousin ran off with the secretary's wife. And my daughter is having problems in school. It's always something. Who do you tell your problems to? And oftentimes, one of the things is when you do tell your wife, especially about things that people have said in the congregation, sometimes she tends to hold a grudge longer. But if you will partner with him in his affliction, become his partner. May I suggest something else that you can do? Not only did they partner with him in his affliction, but verse 15 says, they partnered with him alone. One of the great passages he says here, you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church. No church shared with me. No church partnered with me. I preached, but no church partnered with me. Can you imagine the greatest mind of the New Testament who had planted all these churches, who had done all this good, coming to the end of his journey, and he has to say that No church partnered with me when it came to giving and receiving. Not one church. I couldn't help but think about that. Not one church. Even when you read about the church at Antioch in Acts chapter 13, they prayed for him and sent him on his way. No money though. Many churches will pray for you, send you on your way, and that's about it. Paul said no church when it came to giving and receiving. He was giving them spiritual. They were receiving, but they weren't giving him their carnal. Robbie will preach. I don't doubt that. Robbie will teach. I don't doubt that. He will do his best. He will give them, he will give you fresh bread. He will give you fresh milk. He will give you fresh meat. He will discipline himself. I know. But will you, in turn, partner with him when it comes to giving and receiving your part? Finally, Text says that they were, it says that they were alone. They stood alone. They were the only church. Other churches were richer, but they stood alone. And you really don't mind standing alone because God can bless you alone. He can bless you all by yourself. Finally, watch this, he says, Even in Thessalonica, you sent aid once and again to my necessity. That's another thing that they did. They blessed him again and again. They never got tired of taking care of his needs. They blessed him again and again. Maybe because they remembered how he blessed them with the word. But they blessed him again and again. Now, may I say something to you? You and I don't mind that principle being applied to our lives again and again. Because I want God to bless me again and again. I really don't want him to stop. He woke me up this morning. But I promise you, I want him to wake me up again. I'm simply saying, you see, we want this principle operating in our lives. God bless me again and again. Open doors for me again and again. And yet, when God gives you a pastor teacher, we oftentimes don't operate with this principle. I ask you. I ask you, as this congregation, remember your pastor. Partner with him. Lift his burdens. Not only pray for him, but give him something. Bless him. And as a result, God will bless you. That's what the text says. My God, show supply. I couldn't help but ask myself the question, though, Why would God wrap such a promise around the fact that they blessed their pastor? Why would he do that? I couldn't help but ask myself the question. I said, you know, preachers are the brunt of everybody's jokes. Everybody's got a joke about a preacher. And I asked myself, why would he wrap this around blessing a preacher? And I thought about it. God only had one son. He could have made his son Shaquille O'Neal. You know, tall men wearing short pants whose goal in life is to put a ball in a hole. Could have done that. could have made him a Barry Bonds, you know this works in a black congregation really, you know. Could have made him a DeBakey, a heart surgeon, he could have made him a poet. God could have made his son an architect like Frank Lloyd Wright. He could have made him an explorer like Magellan. He could have made his son anything he wanted to. But he made his only son a preacher. And God thinks quite a lot of preachers. Maybe his church ought to think so too. In this ceremony, there is identification so that the one who lays hands on another is saying, you're now identified with me. I am willing to be identified with you. I'm willing that others recognize that there is a relationship, that we are connected in some way. And this ceremony of laying on of hands is one that has come down from the Old Testament and it continues in the New Testament, and it continues today. Now, in the laying on of hands, there was no actual conveyance of grace. It's not going to make him a better preacher. It's not going to make him a better man. It's not actually going to give him any authority, but it's a recognition. And we're going to have this ceremony tonight, a ritual. And we are going to lay our hands upon your pastor. And in so doing, we're going to say he's one of us. We acknowledge the fact that he has been given a spiritual gift by God. And we acknowledge that spiritual gift. And we recognize also that He is willing to exercise that gift, that He is qualified, He is prepared. And we are willing to recommend Him to you. And we do this by this ceremony of identification in which we will lay hands upon Him. And so all who are on the platform tonight will come and lay hands on him to install him officially as the pastor in the church. But not only those who are on the platform, but also the deacons of West Houston Bible Church will come. And they, too, in this ritual will say, we recommend this man. We acknowledge this man. And he will be our pastor. And then when we have laid hands upon him, there will be prayers of dedication. First of all, Dr. Harry Leaf, who is pastor of Grace Bible Church here in Houston, he is the one who ordained Dr. Dean into the ministry many years ago. I don't know how many years ago. It's like my wedding anniversary. Well, it's not that long ago for Robbie. I've been married 36 years. Okay, 25 years ago. And Dr. Leaf laid hands on him and ordained him into the ministry. And how grateful we are that he recognized Robbie's gift and was willing to identify and recommend him to the ministry. And then, Following that will be Doug Daly, who is chairman of the founding committee for West Houston Bible Church. And he also will pray a prayer of dedication and installation. So we're going to ask Dr. Dean if he will come and kneel at the front. All those who are on the platform will come, lay hands on him, all of you who are deacons. And if there are any other in the congregation who are ordained men, We would invite you also to come and to participate in this laying on of hands. So Dr. Dean. Right here, if you'll kneel. Father, we come into your presence to do what a group of men did many years ago for a young man by the name of Timothy, who by the laying on of their hands symbolized and acknowledged your giftedness upon him and the ministry to which you had called him. And father, we want to pray especially for Robbie tonight as he assumes this responsibility. The scripture says that a man plans his way, but you direct his steps and we want to acknowledge your sovereignty in his life and how through these years you have prepared him every step of the way and have brought him at this hour in human history to be the pastor of this church. Father, we pray that you will protect him, that as he discharges his responsibility as a teacher, that he will teach this church to know you better than they know anything else. And Father, by his encouragement and his example, may they come to delight in you more than they delight in anything else. Father, we We love you and you love us. You have placed gifted men in the church as pastors and teachers and we acknowledge that this is so in Robbie's case. And so may your richest blessing be his in full measure as he walks with you and serves you in the years to come. May you be honored and glorified in all that he does. For we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Dear Father, we thank you for this ceremony and we thank you for bringing our pastor to us in your grace. This has truly been a matter of your grace and we've had the privilege of seeing that from the very beginning as a congregation. We thank you for your perfect timing in all this and your perfect provision for us as a church and for Robbie as our pastor. We pray for your continued guidance and direction. We pray that we will stay focused on your word. give the glory to you, and we know as long as we do that, that you will continue to bless us and continue to guide and direct us. We thank you for all who participate in this ceremony this evening, and we ask your blessing on this and the activities to follow. In Jesus' name, amen. It's really a lot of weight on your head when you have about 25 men putting their hands on your head. Well, I want to thank each and every one of these men who have come together this evening to honor us as a congregation. These men have come a long way. The longest, of course, is Jim, who's come from Kiev. The sole reason of participating in this service. We've got two men here from the left coast. Dr. Williams, Prince of Preachers. Become a very close friend the last few years. Dr. Meisinger, who of course many of you have known for a while and I've known for a few years. Colleagues together in the ministry of Chafer Seminary, we're grateful You can be here. I won't tell any stories about Tommy. We go back to, actually, he's not younger than I am, but he was behind me in seminary. We met the first day, I think, of his first year and my second year, and have had a close friendship ever since. Many times standing back to back fighting whatever forces were attacking the Word. And then, of course, young Daniel. And what a privilege to watch him grow and mature over the last seven or eight years as he has gone through seminary, stretching that four-year career into eight or nine. We lost count. And now teaching at Capital Bible Seminary. If a man is measured by his friends, then I certainly have a stature far beyond what I think I deserve. To listen to these men as they have focused our attention on the word this evening, on the foundation of a sound, healthy, biblical church, is near to my heart. Some of you may ask, why this church? Why West Houston Bible Church? Why are we here? I mean, there are the Bible churches. There are other churches that teach the Word. Why us? Well, I think that the Lord has room for many different congregations, and we certainly don't want to set ourselves off as somehow exclusive, the only source of truth or light. But each church, each congregation has certain distinctives, and a lot of that is due to the vision that God gives the pastor. the vision that God gives the pastor to lead that congregation. For I believe the essence of pastoring and that imagery that Paul uses there in Ephesians 4, 11, and 12, it's a pastor teacher. The teaching is a fundamental way in which he expresses that leadership. But he is, in the element of a pastor, there's many different ways that a shepherd, a literal shepherd, take care of sheep. If you want to know later, just ask Gene Brown. He's an old sheep farmer. He's right down here. He'll give you a graphic description. But when you look at a metaphor in Scripture and how it's applied to something else, you have to look at the context of numerous passages to see how that is used and how it's defined. Ephesians 4, we're told that God has given a pastor-teacher to equip the saints. And the pastor teaches, but he's a leader. That's what a shepherd is. He leads the sheep. He leads them to where they can have nutritious forage, where they can grow. He protects them. He watches over them through his teaching of the Word. But above all, he is a leader. He's the one that God gives that vision to. So what's my vision? Well, my vision relates to where we are today in our world today. You may not realize, but we live in a dangerous world. Now, it's not a dangerous world because we're threatened by radical Islamic terrorists. It's a dangerous world because we are in the cosmic system. This is the devil's world. He's the prince and the power of the air. He's the god of this age. And the devil hates for any culture to be in any way biblical. This nation was founded on a Judeo-Christian heritage, on biblical principles that are being constantly assaulted and attacked today from many different quarters, from the media on the one hand, from certain politicians on the other, from the courts, from academic halls that are supposed to train and equip our Children are young people in order to be out and go into the world and be effective and mature adults. And what we see today is the Christians are coming under continuous assaults and they're being wiped out by the thousands because they're not prepared by the local churches to handle the assaults of the day. I think it was Martin Luther who said that you can defend the fortress at every point, but if you don't defend it at the point at which it is being attacked, then you will lose the battle. Just before I left Preston City to come down here, a young lady in our church just started her freshman year at UConn, which is not up in the Northwest Territory of Canada, but is University of Connecticut. And she took a women's studies course. And about the third week of school, she called up her father and she said, I get it. I finally get it. Now this young lady had been consistently teaching in our prep school. She was always there every Sunday. Her whole family was deeply involved in church. And she said, she told me, she said, you know, for the last couple of years, I've really enjoyed the studies on Christology, learning about the Da Vinci Code, the attacks on the Bible, creation and evolution. But you realize I, and I thought that was interesting, but I didn't realize how it'd be applicable to me. I use something from that every single day in every single classroom. Her women's study professor told her she would never be a full woman until she got away from that patriarchal, Neanderthal, antediluvian pastor of hers. The first day she was in class, they divided up the class according to their different religious backgrounds, and she thought since she was the Protestant, she might find those of like mind. The first guy she met was not really a guy, he had just had his sex change operation this last summer. This is the world in which we live today. I could go on about that, but I think that the answer is it's always been as the truth of the Scripture. This is the centerpiece, the focal point of West Houston Bible Church. This is my vision, is not just teaching the Word, teaching it in such a way that it prepares us to live and function, as Dan pointed out, as salt and light in the midst of the devil's world. That means there has to be an apologetic slant on the Word. I had a professor in seminary, Tommy, did as well, taught us that as a culture deteriorates and as paganism dominates more and more, then the area of theology that rises to the surface is more important is apologetics. Because apologetics is not about apologizing for the word. It's from the Greek word apologia, which means to defend the truth. Paul uses it in 1 Peter to talk about giving an answer for the hope that is in us. Being able, even if you don't, in the academic classroom, challenge a professor, and you shouldn't, but sitting there in your desk, you ought to be able to, in your own mind, say, I don't agree with that, it's a false position, it's a lie from the pit of hell, and these are the reasons, because I know what the scripture says, and even if I can't fully articulate them in my own mind, I've heard well-grounded students of the Word of God, scientists like those at the Institute for Creation Research, or others who have specialized in these areas, give an answer. And I know that the Word of God is the absolute truth, the unmitigated truth, and that I can rely upon it at all times. See, my ministry has always been committed to What is a corollary to the doctrine of infallibility of Scripture? We believe that Scripture was breathed out by God, 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17. It's not just a human book. It is a book that is breathed out by God. God, the Holy Spirit, so oversaw, so superintended the writers of Scripture that without interfering with their own personality, without interfering with their own style, without interfering with their own background, without interfering with any of those human factors, He guaranteed that what they wrote was His very thoughts. The Word of God from Genesis 1-1 to the end of Revelation communicates one unified worldview. And we need to communicate that. We need to prepare our people to live and operate in the devil's world. That's what Ephesians 4 emphasizes, the pastor, teacher, the evangelist, or to equip the saints, that's you. That's not somebody who's been canonized by some ecclesiastical body. A saint is anyone who has put their faith alone in Christ alone. As Dr. Meisinger faithfully pointed out, the most important issue for every individual is, what do you think about Jesus Christ? See, the world wants to say that Jesus is a good man. Jesus might have been a great prophet. He might have been a moral innovator. He might have been perhaps even a revolutionary. Those of you who remember the 60s and you remember the attempts to make Jesus just another hippie. You see, you can't get away with that. And I'm not going to ever let anybody get away with that. You cannot ever say Jesus was just a good man or a great teacher or a moral innovator. It's impossible to say that. Because Jesus made claims such as, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man, no one, not one single person can ever get to the Father except through me. This is the exclusivity of the Gospel. This is why those who are not believers in the Lord Jesus Christ hate the Bible. Because the Bible says there's one and only one way to heaven, and that's what Jesus said. He wasn't a moral innovator, he wasn't simply a good teacher. He was either who he said he was, which is the eternal second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, or he was a liar and a deceiver, and one of the most egregious and horrific and heinous deceivers of all time, because millions of people have trusted in him for their salvation. and they have been grossly deceived. So you can't get away with saying he was a good man, a good teacher. You only have two real options. He was either a liar, or he was the Lord he claimed to be. And if he is the Lord he claimed to be, then the issue is, are you willing to trust him alone for your salvation? Recognizing that all of us are sinners. Scripture says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And sin means simply that you have failed to measure up to God's righteous standard. It's not committing certain heinous sins. It's not violating certain politically correct standards of whatever generation that you're a part of. Sin is violating the standard of God's defined in scripture. There are mental attitude sins that are more egregious than overt sins. There are sins of the tongue that are more destructive than other sins. But it doesn't matter, we have all sinned. And therefore, none is righteous. Prophet Isaiah told us that all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Didn't say all of our unrighteousness are filthy rags. That would make sense. They said all your righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Therefore, we can't ever be good enough. It's not based on that. as George pointed out, it's based on the completed work of Christ on the cross. So we're here to make grace a centerpiece, Jesus Christ the centerpiece, but for the person who's believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have to then go a step further. After salvation, what? We have to learn to grow and mature. At the end of 2 Peter, as I believe Jim pointed out, Peter's final exhortation is, grow in the grace. That literally, it's an instrumental dative there, grow by means of the grace and by means of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. You see, the focal point in scripture is on knowledge and application of knowledge. This is why Jesus emphasizes to Peter that the focal point of the ministry is feeding the sheep. Feeding the sheep has to do with teaching the word. Peter learned the lesson Peter learned the lesson well for in 1 Peter 2, he says, that we are to desire the sincere milk of the Word that we may grow by it. Notice he didn't say you're going to grow by praise and worship. You're not going to grow by fellowship. You're not going to grow by giving. You're not going to grow by Christian service. You're not going to grow by any of these secondary aspects of the Christian life that are the product of growth. You grow by the Word of God. That's why Jesus prayed in the high priestly prayer in John 17, Lord, sanctify them by means of truth. Thy Word is truth. You see, if we don't make the Word of God the centerpiece of everything, then we're falling away from Christianity and we're falling back into some form of just pure paganism. The Word of God has to be the centerpiece and it's based on knowledge. Romans 12.2 tells us we're not to be conformed to the cosmic system, but we are to be transformed, completely exchanging all of our thoughts for the thoughts of Scripture. That's the process. We're to be transformed by the renovation of our mind, of our thinking. That's the process. But you know this isn't popular. It's a lot more fun to go to some church and jump up and down and praise Jesus all day long. Listen to good music gets us all moving around inside or or go to some churches and just have a lot of fellowship where there's a lot of social activity. See there's two basic models for the church. One is it's educational and one is that it's social. I believe that if your model for the local church is social, then you'll hardly ever educate anybody. But if your model for the church is education, then the byproduct of that is going to be genuine biblical Christian fellowship. I know when I went to university, I don't think any of the trustees were real concerned about my social life. They were concerned with my academics, but as long as I maintained my academics and stayed in school, I had a pretty good social life. We have to keep the main thing, the main thing, and the main thing is the Word of God. The problem we have today is that the Word of God says the focal point of Christian life is knowledge, and it's changing our thinking. This isn't popular. We have to learn to think like Christ thought. We have to learn to think about everything in life as God thinks about it, because God's the creator who made everything. And we can have the trappings of Christianity, but if we're not thinking as Christ thinks, and how do we know that? Because we have the mind of Christ. It's not some simple, subjective, sit-around-in-Sunday-school kind of activity where you say, what do you think this means? We have the Word of God, the objective revelation in these 66 books of the Scripture. And by putting our focus there, we can learn to think as Christ thinks. We have truth. It's not arrogance. It's not some sort of bias. It's not some sort of arrogant human viewpoint exclusivity. It is a recognition that God has spoken. Because God has spoken, we can know the truth. And as Jesus said, when you know the truth, that is the word of God, the truth sets you free. Free from slavery to sin, free from slavery to whatever systems may be around you, but it is only the word of God and in the framework of the word of God that we have true freedom. So this is the foundation of the church. We talked about grace, we talked about its role, its function within the client nation, Talk about living today in light of eternity, the blessed hope. But above all, the centerpiece, as Jim pointed out, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to preach him and him crucified and everything that flows out of that for our life. Let's bow our heads together in closing prayer. Our Father, we do thank you for this opportunity to gather together at this Special ceremony, the special ritual. I thank you for these men. I thank you for the fact that you have brought such quality individuals into my life over the course of time. Not only these men on the pulpit, but also those in the pew. Those who are out there that have at one time been students of mine or their colleagues. Some I went to seminary with. And Father, it is a tremendous demonstration of your grace that you give each of us men and women like this who can be a positive influence and encouragement in our own lives, as we seek to encourage one another and all the more as we see the day drawing near. Father, thank you for this congregation, for their faithfulness, for their desire to have a church that is centered on your grace, on your word, to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ, and to grow to spiritual maturity. It's not about activity, it's about spiritual growth. Proper spiritual growth leads to the proper application. So, Father, we pray for us as we go forward. What a challenge before each individual here, a challenge as we establish this new work under Your under your observation and in your power, relying upon your promises, the provision of God, the Holy Spirit, the filling of the Spirit, that we may advance and that we may be a witness both in heaven and on earth to your grace. Father, we pray all these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. As we close, please stand and we'll sing together hymn number 338, How Firm a Foundation, at the conclusion of which we will be dismissed and there will be a reception following, I think, through that door in the gym building of this church.