Before we get to this evening's sermon, let us go before the Lord and ask for a blessing on the word this evening. Lord, we thank you that we can gather here this evening to worship and praise you, Lord. And that we pray that above all else, your name be glorified. That you would use me this evening as a faithful vessel to preach your word, to preach the truth of your word. and all of its glory to your faithful people. And may these words feed them, nourish them. May they bless and edify and strengthen all who hear, Lord. We pray this in your name. Amen. Tonight's sermon is continuing back in the book of James. Tonight's message is titled, Sin, Temptations, Desires, and Our Perfect God. We are in James, chapter 1 still, verses 13 to 18. I'll give you a moment to turn there. And beginning in verse 12. So blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial. For when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Verse 13. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. And each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. And then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. of his own will he brought us forth, by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." So this is going to be our passage this evening. And as we've been in the book of James and continuing our study, James is shifting now to this issue of sin and temptation. And he's going to be addressing a question, more like an accusation, as to who is to blame for the temptations that we experience. Right? Some people, amidst their suffering, were beginning to sort of blame the Lord, whether directly or indirectly, we don't know, but James is dealing with this issue of beginning to blame the Lord, saying, God is tempting me. And so, how are we to understand this? Because the question, I believe, that's in some of these early Christians' mind is, we've already looked earlier in this chapter, they're facing trials that they're enduring, persecution, right? It caused them to be displaced. They've had to leave their homes and forsake a lot of their livelihoods. And we know that God is sovereign over all things, even our trials. And so the question can arise, well, if God is sovereign over our trials and our sufferings, And if he's sovereign over our temptations, is he responsible to some degree for those temptations? So James is going to address this issue because some, when they experience the kind of exceedingly difficult trials that these early Christians in the first century have been experiencing, and in their suffering, some are beginning to potentially blame or struggle with blaming God, accusing God, saying that it is God who is tempting them in some way, shape, or form. And in so many ways, we're not that different today. When we experience pain and suffering to such a degree and in our trials and weakness, we can begin to sinfully blame God in our trials and in the hardships that we endure. Maybe not directly, and we probably would not let it come out of our mouths that way, but in our hearts, we can struggle with this. And so like these first century Christians, how are we to understand? And I would say it is the wrong response. That it's not only a sinful response, but it's got everything backwards about the nature of God and who he is. It misunderstands. And that's ultimately what James is going to point us to, and it's going to... He's going to demonstrate exactly why God can never be to blame for the temptations that we experience no matter the trial. Right? James is going to respond to this false accusation by explaining that temptations actually, rather than from God, they come from our own sinful desires. our own sinful hearts. And because it comes from our own sinful desires and our own sinful hearts, therefore we are responsible for our own desires, for our own temptations, and our own lust, not God. And James is going to vindicate this perfect and good God from which James says is the source of all good and perfect gifts. And of course, He's a righteous God, full of light and goodness. Right? He is the God who tests our hearts for our own spiritual growth and discipline. But He never tempts our hearts. And that's going to be a key distinction as we continue throughout this evening sermon. But a main theme that we're going to see is exactly that. The God who tests our hearts, but never tempts our hearts. And three main points that we're going to unpack here in this passage here is number one, the false accusation. The false accusation is God to blame for our temptations. Point two is the heart's incrimination. James is going to incriminate the heart and demonstrate that it is the heart that is the origin of all sin, temptation, and disordered desires. And third final point is God's vindication that God is the origin of all that is good and perfect. So beginning in verse 13, so James says, let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. So here's that first, here's that false accusation that some Christians in their suffering are accusing God of bringing temptation upon them. Maybe not in full, but maybe to some degree. that God is somewhat responsible for the temptations that we can experience because he's sovereign over the trials, right? So the trials that they are suffering, they start to experience this being hard pressed, it starts to creep in all these negative thoughts. It starts to weigh you down, the burden of your suffering. And in that moment of weakness, these first century Christians, and us as well, we're not exempt, can begin to struggle with blaming God to a certain degree. Blaming God because if he is causing the suffering that he is sovereign over, The argument is that God must be causing the effects of the suffering, namely the temptations that we could be experiencing. Right? This is how the reasoning goes. But is this true? Is God really to blame? And we're going to read that James immediately is going to set the record straight, beginning in verse 13. Right? James immediately wants us to understand. And what's the very first thing that James says? He says, let no one say, when he is tempted, that I am being tempted by God. Right? So immediately James sets the record straight. He wants all of us to understand that God is not responsible for our temptations, and he could never be responsible. And here's why. Why is it that God can never be the source or cause of our temptations? Number one, there's a difference between testing and temptation. Right? So God engages in testing us, but not tempting us. Point two. Temptation always aims to produce sin. That's a key thing of temptation. But testing always aims to produce righteousness. And here's an example text. Luke chapter 17 verse 1. He said to his disciples, temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come. That's speaking of temptations. Now look at 1 Peter 1, verses 6-7. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in what? Praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So there is a key vital difference between testing, which produces sin, and, I'm sorry, temptation, which produces sin, and testing, which works righteousness in us and discipline. Another point on why God can never be to blame. Number three, temptation, by definition, originates from evil and requires evil. It requires evil. You have the object of temptation that is tempted by the subject of temptation, like the tempter. And so when you think about that, the subject of temptation, whatever is putting forth the temptation, has to itself possess evil. Because it possesses the desire to want to tempt in the first place. And number four, another reason why God cannot be to blame. Because temptation must come from an evil source, it therefore cannot come from God. But it must therefore come from our own sinful nature. If you were guilty of attempting to tempt someone to sin, you, as the tempter, would have an evil desire. Namely, your evil desire is to want them to stumble and fall. So the moment that someone tries tempting somebody to stumble, there's already evil there. So the very nature of temptation originates from evil. So how can that be with God? How can God be to blame for temptations when it would be an evil desire to want somebody to stumble and fall in the first place? And this is exactly what we're going to see. James is going to put the blame on the heart, on us, on man. In verses 14 and 15 we'll soon read, the responsibility is on us as the individual, and thus the culpability, the blame, is on us. So when James says that we should never say, I'm being tempted by God, Or we should never say, God is tempting me. He's not contradicting the reality that God is actually sovereign. And he's sovereign, and his sovereignty can bring us trials in this life. Because trials, though testing, are meant for our own good. And their aim is to make us holy and righteous and to discipline us. But temptations, as we've seen, comes from an evil motivation. It comes from sinful desires. And the aim of temptation is to make us deny God in choosing sin over righteousness in a given moment. One biblical commentator puts it like this. The difference between a test and a temptation is found in the motivation of the tester and the expectations. The devil tempts that the believer might fail God's standard of faith and commit sin. God tests the believer so that he might be sharpened into true character with no focus on making the believer fail. See, that's an important distinction. God intends to make us holy, not sinful. So when God works in our trials and our suffering, it is always for our own spiritual benefit and for his glory. So when we say things like, God is tempting me, what we're actually doing is making God out to be a liar. saying, in effect, that God doesn't work to make us holy, but he's working to make us sinful. That's what the accusation is. That God is tempting me, and that's why I'm struggling this way. And you might, someone might think, well, after all, God made me this way. So how could this be my fault? He made me with weaknesses, and these particular weaknesses, so why would he put me in a position to be tempted by my weaknesses? And sometimes, sadly and unfortunately, this is how some people think. And this is even within evangelical circles. There's actually theological doctrines that have been developed to accommodate this. Movements are defended and circulated that use this kind of similar language to indict God. Now, they don't actually think they're indicting God. They don't see it that way. But the reality is, it does indict God. It makes God out to be sinful, to desire to want to make his own believers stumble. And we'll take a look at some of those theological movements, because they've actually gained some traction. But James is clear. God cannot be tempted with evil. And this is important for us to note, because James is telling us already something about the nature of temptation. We already see that temptation always seeks to produce sin. And God always seeks to produce righteousness. Secondly, when we accuse God of tempting, We are accusing God of being a tempter. Right? We end up slandering God's holiness and his nature by saying, God, you aren't actually good. Because if you were good, you wouldn't be tempting me with sin. So, in effect, it accuses God of being a tempter. But who does scripture name as the tempter? Matthew 4, verses 1-3. When Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, and after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came to him and said, if you are the Son of God, then command these stones to become loaves of bread. Brothers and sisters, Satan is known as the tempter. He is the one who tempts. So how could it be that God could ever be compared to Satan? So we have to make this clear, brothers and sisters. We must never, no matter how difficult our trials become, we must never begin to accuse God in our heart for tempting us. God tests us, but never tempts us. Right? God is pure goodness and light. So He never tempts us to sin, but only tests us to make us righteous. Looking at verse 14. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. So in this verse, James shows us how temptation operates. Right? James ultimately blames the individual and he incriminates the heart. For it is from within us that the root of sin dwells. And we're responsible for our own desires. And if we're responsible for our own desires, then therefore we are culpable for our own desires and temptations. Think of it like this. If you didn't have desires for sin, you could not ever be tempted to sin. If you had zero desire for sin, nothing could ever tempt you to want to sin, because you have no desire for it. So think about it like that. And some people might be thinking, and this is where some confusion arises, well, Jesus was tempted, but Jesus never sinned. So if Jesus was tempted and never sinned, then can't that be applied to us? And the answer is, well, it depends on what kind of temptation you're referring to. So, biblically, we have to understand temptation in two categories. There's the external temptation, and then there's the internal temptations, right? Internal and external temptations. External temptations is what Christ experienced in the wilderness, meaning the devil, the tempter, came and presented to Jesus something, right? Presented sin to ultimately disobey the Father. That was an external temptation, not an internal temptation. And here's what I mean by this. Jesus did not experience any internal temptation that we experience as fallen creatures. Right? So there can be a lot of misunderstanding regarding the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. And passages like Hebrews chapter 2 and Hebrews chapter 4 where it talks about this. It says, Some will read these texts, right, and they think that if Jesus had the temptation and did not sin, then we can have this kind of temptation and also not sin. But people forget to consider the crucial differences between our temptations and those of Christ. Number one, Jesus had no sin nature. He had no sin nature. And this is what I'm talking about. It's like, if we didn't have a desire for sin, we wouldn't experience temptation the same way. And we have desires for sin because we have a sin nature. Christ had no sin nature, but we do. So that's one important distinction. Another important distinction. Jesus never desired sin, but we do. There's never been a day in Christ's life, during His earthly ministry, where He actually had an internal desire of sin arise in Him, desiring something that the Father would never want Him to desire. And part of that is because He had no sin nature. And number three, so Jesus was not just a man. He was fully man, but he was not only a man. He was also God. That's the incarnation, right? The union between the divine nature and the human nature in the person of Jesus Christ. So here's some key questions to ask. How can you be tempted to sin without a desire for sin? Jesus never did not desired sin. So how exactly was he attempted? And that's where the distinction between external and internal temptation comes in. He experienced external. We experienced internal temptation, because we desire things we ought not. Right? When Satan put forth all the kingdoms of the world before Christ's eyes, and he put them before them, and he offered them to Christ, if he would just but worship Satan, if he would just worship him, if Christ would just worship Satan, then he would give him the kingdoms. And in that moment, Here's the question, did Christ begin to feel or experience the desire to actually worship Satan in light of Satan's temptation and his offer? Does that sound right to you? That Christ beginning to be externally tempted by Satan, actually his heart was longing for it? Is that how we understand Christ's temptations? See, we may not think about it like this when we read the text, but that's what we're saying if we say our temptations and Christ's temptations were the same with no differences and no distinctions. Did Christ begin to become, to find that appealing, to want to worship Satan in light of what he could gain? all the kingdoms of the earth, of the world. In the same way that Eve found the forbidden fruit appealing, was that the same way? Is that how we understand Jesus' nature? And these are problematic implications if we fail to understand temptation properly. So like James, we have to answer with a resounding no. Because look at what James says here in verse 14. Each person is tempted, when? When what? When he is lured and enticed. Lured and enticed by what? His own desire. So who's culpable? The individual, us. The two words, lured and enticed, in the Greek are exoklomenos and deliazomenos. Both of these words mean to be dragged away, to be lured in, to be enticed, to be baited, so as to arouse an interest, an enticing interest. And again, James says, how is this done? How is the dragging and luring and enticing accomplished? It's done through what? Who does the luring and enticing? Our own desire. That's what James says. James says it comes from us. Our own desires are what tempt us through luring and enticing us to do something that is contrary to God's will. And because of these desires within us that are sinful, that is why we are tempted. So we can't say God tempts us, right? James says it is our own desires of the heart. That lure and entice to tempt us. But it's not just the desires and our actions that are sinful. James is also, as we'll see, our temptations in and of themselves can be sinful. Looking at verse 15. So then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Now here's where a lot of confusion comes in. Because people read this and they think that the desire and the temptation are not sinful. But only when we act on the desire and the temptation. Then they look at this because they get caught up on the word where it says, the desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin. So then the assumption and the argument is, well as long as it's not conceived, as long as it doesn't come forth and bring forth the fruit of sin, it's not sin. And therefore I'm not guilty, I'm not culpable. But look closely. Is James saying that sin is only sin once we act on our temptations? Or is sin considered sin even at the level of desires in our hearts? So the heart of sin does not begin with our actions. but with our desires internally. Sin isn't just sin at the fruit, but at the very root. That's when sin begins. And sometimes we get this confused because we assume that James is saying that desires and temptations are only sinful once they get to a certain degree, right? Once it's conceived and given birth to sin. And that's how sometimes this passage is read. But James is actually not teaching anything new, or anything different. He's actually teaching something in accordance with Old Testament understanding of the root and heart of sin. And that is our very desires. In Psalm chapter 7 verse 14, it reads, Behold, the wicked man conceives evil, and is pregnant with mischief, and gives birth to lies. You see? What it's saying there in the Old Testament, how it connects here, what James is saying? Sin is at the root in our heart, not just our fruit. the very root, which is our desires. We give birth to sin, that's the fruit, our actions, because we conceived sin in our hearts. That's the root. So yes, our desires and temptations can absolutely and most often are sinful. And we're responsible for them because it's our own desire, James says, and that desire, the wrong, disordered desire, that's what tempts us to sin. And this, there's some important things to understand here. Because sometimes it is taught that there's a difference between sin and temptation. And what sometimes people mean is that when we are struggling with temptation, it means that we're not guilty of sin just yet. Because what they're trying to say is if I'm struggling with temptation, as long as I don't act on my temptation, I'm not guilty. Because it's only when I give in to my temptation and act on it, that then I'm guilty. But scripture would call us to examine our hearts, the very roots of where sin comes from. And if there's any evil conceived in us in the form of sinful desires, if that desire is sinful, then we are guilty of sin. And there's been a lot of confusion on this at times. As I mentioned earlier, the certain doctrines that have come up or movements within the church. Something, I don't know if some of you guys have heard this, it's called the Revoice Movement. And the Revoice has had lots of conferences across the country. But it's a movement that seeks to reconcile the Bible with those who profess to be Christians, but yet have homosexual desires, known as same-sex attraction, or SSA for short. The claim is that there's a difference between homosexual attraction and the homosexual lust. And that it's okay if we have a homosexual attraction, but it is not okay if I have a homosexual lust. It's okay if I have the attraction, and the desire, and the temptation, as long as I don't act on the desire and the temptation. Do you see the trick there? The sleight of hand? So, The homosexual lust is sinful, but not the attraction. Only if you act on it. You see? That's the sleight of hand. What's happening is that there's an attempt to make false distinctions. between the attraction and the desire. And that the actual sexual lustful desires, that's what's sinful. And the reality is, it's seeking to normalize what the Bible would condemn as an inordinate desire. Any inordinate desire is a desire that is disordered. It is not directed towards God, but is directed towards something unholy. And therefore, it is sinful. And here's why this is important. If Scripture calls us to fight our sin and to put it to death, as the Apostle Paul calls in Romans 8.13, and if we are to mortify the sinful deeds of the flesh, but if we allow sin to be redefined by the culture, and we allow it to be rebranded, and say that sin is only a sin when it reaches a certain degree, and that sin isn't a sin if it's just temptation, then the consequence is that we will have waves and masses of Christians go on in their spiritual walk thinking that the temptation to sin is not sinful in itself, only the actual action, which means there will be no one striving to put temptations to death. We would be okay with just having these disordered desires and temptations as long as we don't act on them. Do you see the consequence? This is what happens. But when Paul calls us to mortify the sinful desires of the flesh, he's pointing to the very heart of sin, not just our actions. See, when we only emphasize the actions and the outward fruit, that's exactly what the error of the Pharisees were. I've never committed murder. or adultery, right? Christ was teaching on the Sermon on the Mount. But he aimed at the heart, Christ did, and says, oh, really? You think you're guiltless in regards to the Sixth and Seventh Commandment? Now, it may be true that you may not have committed the literal fruit of adultery and murder, but in the eyes of Scripture and Christ, you're not guiltless of the commandment of the Sixth and the Seventh Commandment. Why? Because broken it. in our hearts. Do you see? And this is why this is important. And ultimately James is telling us that it is our own hearts that are incriminated. Our hearts are what's guilty. Not Christ, not God for tempting us. And think about the passage in Psalm where it says that they were pregnant with wickedness. Think about that language. It's very intentional. When a baby is born and is out of the womb, you have a human baby. What was it prior, when it was still in the womb? A human baby. What was it at conception? A human baby. So even though James is using the language that when desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, okay, gave birth to sin, what was it before? Sin. What was it at conception? Sin. It's basic biology. So we can't read James in this passage to say, well, as long as it doesn't conceive and come forth as sin, then I'm not guilty. I haven't done any sin yet. Brothers and sisters, a baby is a baby all the way from conception. It's a human baby, just as it is still after birth. There's not a mistake that James is using this language. He's appealing to nature in this, in his argument. So it is not God who's culpable, but we are culpable. God is vindicated, and it is the heart that is incriminated. And here in the next last final verses, 16 to 18, we're going to see how James vindicates God and his holy nature. That James is ultimately going to point us to the reality of who God is, and that his nature is perfect and good. Reading starting verse 16 do not be deceived my beloved brothers every good gift and every perfect gift is from above Coming down from the father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change of his own Will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures right James understands that God's nature is so perfect and holy he refers to him as the father of lights, from which every good and perfect gift comes down. So then how can it be that God could ever be the source of sin, which is evil? It's impossible. In fact, James explains further that God's plan is not to work sin in us, in the believer, but that God's plan and purpose is to what? Bring us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Notice the contrast. Our own will and desires gives birth to sin. But God's will and desire is to give birth to us through the Word of Truth. James is talking about the new birth, our regeneration, the glorious work of God's redemption. How could you ever charge God in His wonder and majesty and might to bring forth sin and charge Him with being guilty of tempting us? Right? The God, the Father of light, which every good and perfect gift comes down from. If every good and perfect gift comes down from God, then how can that which is evil come down from God? And this is the whole point. This is how James vindicates God's nature. Right? Looking at verse 18, where it says, Of his own will, that's God, that he brought us forth. by the word of truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." James is pointing to God's nature and purpose and intent in working in us. It's not to tempt us. Right? Because if his purpose is to that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creature, he's not going to work sin by tempting us. And it's as if God is saying, It's as if God is saying, look, mankind is sinful. He has sin in his heart, and he's gone astray. Every one of us pregnant with sin. But look at what God's going to do. I will bring forth life in their death. And I will bring forth righteousness in their unrighteousness. And through their darkness and the dark hearts, I will shine forth my light. That's what the Father of Lights does. He brings forth light. And this is the good and perfect gift that comes down from above, right? This new birth from the very beginning where God worked in our hearts, regenerating us, changing our very nature so that we can have good desires from our sinful desires, and we can actually have desires for righteousness. But that did not come from us. That came from the Lord. So even the righteous desires that we have can never be accredited to our account. Because they came from the fact that God reached down, so to speak, transformed our hearts and gave us a new heart, removed the heart of stone, the sinful heart of stone, and gave us a new heart of flesh, and put his Holy Spirit in us. That now when we used to only desire that which is contrary to God and sinful, we now have desires that are in right order towards God, not just against and hostile to God. This is what God's work has been, and this is what he continues to do. And this is what James is referring to when he brought us forth, that is to bring us to birth, to birth us through the word of truth, through the gospel, through all of his word. For what reason? So that we can be a kind of first fruits among all his creation. So in the one in whom there is no shadow, but only glorious light, he who dwells in unapproachable light, who promises to work his light in us, he could never, ever be the source and origin of evil, and that could only come from us. And now that we know that all these sinful temptations that we experience come from some disordered desire in us, and it's sinful at the root, at the heart, brothers and sisters, not just at the fruit. We don't get to bypass it by saying, well, I didn't act on it and kind of go on our merry-go-round way and then walk away. Now that would make us externalistic Pharisees who think that we've done something good just because we've checked the box and we restrain to some degree. But I think we all know that if our hearts are tempting us to something sinful, to speak an ill word of somebody, to curse somebody, to desire harm on someone, And even though we stop and we don't act on it any further, I think we'd all know and should feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit that our hearts are condemning us, that we already are wrong, we're already contrary to God's will there for even desiring ill will towards somebody. We don't avoid God's condemnation in that moment for the sin that we are guilty of in our hearts. And this is why this is important. And rather than resisting it like some would in the Revoice and whatever other movements out there, rather than resisting this and saying, well, I don't like this because this is saying that I'm even more sinful than I thought. I stopped. Don't I get some credit? And rather than resisting it, He should lean into the grace of the Lord all the more, understanding that He is the reason why we have a new heart and a new nature in the first place. And though the old nature and the old heart wages war against us still, we can continue to go before the Lord to cleanse us and sanctify us. But we cannot do that if we choose to resist it by claiming, I am innocent. I've done nothing wrong. And that may be what some desire to do. But brothers and sisters, for us, we should, like the writer of Hebrews says, throw off all sin that entangles so easily. And not just the fruit of our sin, but the very root. All desires that seek to draw us away from Christ, that we throw them off. And let us put it to death and live for righteousness, from our very hearts, not just externally in how we live and look and dress and act, but internally from our hearts, lest we just be whitewashed tombs, to throw off all sin and to live for righteousness, for the glory of God. And by God's grace, who has changed us, and shaped us, and transformed us, and continuing to transform us, that's exactly what we're going to aim to do. And that's exactly what we aim to do in the Christian life. It is what separates true religious Christianity from all other religions in the world. Think about this. Other religions pray. They all have holy texts. Holy texts. They all have their alms and giving and they all have their service and their form of piety. No other religion deals with the universal problem of sin. They don't. Talk to anyone from another religion and say, how do you mortify the flesh? How do you mortify the sinful deeds of your flesh? They don't. Blank stares. And if they do, it's some external work. So brothers and sisters, this is the work. This is what we have to do to live for righteousness and to put off all sin that entangles. To live for Christlikeness and to grow in Christlikeness. And just in closing, I want to read this poetic Puritan prayer because I believe it captures this point really well. It reads, O God of the highest heaven, occupy the throne of my heart. Take full possession and reign supreme. Lay low every rebel lust. Let no vile passion resist thy holy war. Manifest thy mighty power and make me thine forever. Thou are worthy to be praised with my every breath. Loved with my every faculty of the soul, served with my every act of life, thou has loved me, espoused me, received me, purchased me, washed me, favored me, and clothed me, and adorned me when I was yet worthless, vile, soiled, and polluted. I was dead in iniquities having no eyes to see thee, no ears to hear thee, and no taste to relish thy joys, no intelligence to know thee, but thy spirit has quickened me, and has brought me into a new world as a new creature, and has given me spiritual perception, and has opened to me thy word as light, as guide, solace, and joy, and thy presence to me is a treasure of unending peace. Let's close in prayer. Lord, thank you for this opportunity to gather this evening among your people, to read of your word and to study and to know you, to come together worship and lift up your holy names and praise you. Lord, you are the father of lights from which every good and perfect gift comes from. Lord, help us to know this and to rely on you in those times of difficulties and trials and sufferings, never wavering, never faltering in our faith, but to always trust you as the good, faithful God that we know you to be. And Lord, let us come to you humbly before you with our sin that so easily entangles and to cast it away. and every thought, word, and deed, not just the outer fruit, but the inner root. Let us cast it all away and make us new and make us holy to give us new desires for you and for righteousness, Lord. We ask and we pray for these things in your name. Amen.