This morning we want to spend our time studying an account that many, even non-Christians, know and at the same time do not know. And much of our knowledge of the Bible is like that, isn't it? We know all the great accounts of the Bible, all the great narratives. We know about the fall, we know about the flood, we know about the parting of the Red Sea, Jesus feeding the 5,000, Jesus walking on water. Even unbelievers have heard of those narratives. However, it's often that we have this superficial knowledge of these accounts, a superficial understanding, and it's not until we really dig deep into the scriptures that we come to really understand what it's all about. And this is the case with the account of the Magi in Matthew 2, verses 1 to 12. You know, those three guys, as they're often depicted, giving gifts to baby Lord Jesus as he is lying in a manger. Many people have heard of the Magi, and at least they've seen them depicted in some way in a nativity scene, perhaps. But how many people could tell you what this narrative is all about? How many people do you think could tell you what is the meaning of the Magi's visit with the Christ? This is what we want to learn this morning out of God's word in Matthew chapter two, verses one to 12. And what I would like to do this morning is to read this passage in full with you, and then we want to study it in depth. And then at the end, I would like to draw out some truths from this passage that we should contemplate on this day. And so if you have your Bible, please follow with me in Matthew chapter two, verses one to 12. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet. And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah. For out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people, Israel.' Then Herod secretly called the Magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the child. And when you have found him, report to me so that I too may come and worship him." After hearing the king, they went their way. And the star which they had seen in the east went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And after coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother. And they fell to the ground and worshipped him. Then opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the Magi left for their own country by another way. If you look at verse 1, we are told that the events that take place in this narrative happened after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. Matthew is careful to give us the birthplace of Jesus Christ, and this is no inconsequential detail. Because Matthew's gospel was written to prove and to stress that Jesus is the King, that Jesus is the Messiah who was prophesied in the Old Testament. And this is why he gives us the birthplace of Christ. Bethlehem was a small town about five miles south of Jerusalem. This is where Jacob, who was renamed Israel, buried his wife Rachel. This is where Ruth met Boaz. And this is where their grandson, King David, was born. And this is where the Messiah was prophesied to be born, in Bethlehem of Judea. And so Matthew gives us the place. But notice he also gives us the time. He says, in the days of Herod the king. Bible events are set in space and time. We have a historical religion with places that can be visited this very day, with historical details that can be verified and which have been verified time and again by archaeology, for example. The Bible gives us real events with real people. And so this is why it's my conviction that we shouldn't talk about the Christmas story, because of what that word implies to many people, it's that this is all made up. The Bible is filled with historical detail, and here we find a historical figure, King Herod. Now, extra-biblical non-Christian sources tell us much about who this was and what he was like, which really helped to shed a lot of light on this passage. We find many Herods in the Bible. This one is the first one, and he is known as Herod the Great. in part because of his architectural prowess. He loved to build magnificent buildings and he was really good at it. His most prominent work being the Second Temple in Jerusalem. He is the one who reconstructed the Second Temple in Jerusalem. And so if you went to Israel today and you visited Jerusalem, you would visit the Western Wall. also known as the Wailing Wall. And this is part of what King Herod built. It's part of the wall that surrounded the second temple, part of what's left after the destruction of the second temple. That's the Herod that we have here. Now let me tell you a little bit about this man. Herod was an Edomite. That means he was a descendant of Esau, not Jacob. In other words, he was not even a Jew, much less a descendant of David. And that's important because in the Old Testament, we are told that a descendant of David was the rightful heir to the throne. And so we have here an illegitimate king sitting on the throne. How did he get there? He was installed there by the Roman Senate around 40 BC, and he ruled for about 40 years until 4 BC when he died. King Herod was a gifted politician. He was incredibly wealthy, but he was ruthless. He was cruel. He imposed heavy taxes upon the people. He was extravagant. And he was jealous, suspicious, and extremely paranoid. Always worried that someone would try to usurp his power and dethrone him. And this paranoia led him to drown one of his wife's brothers, and to kill her mother, and then to kill her, and even two of his own sons. This is where that saying comes from, it is better to be a pig in Herod's household than to be his son. Because Herod was something of a Jewish convert, albeit secular, and so he wouldn't have eaten pig, and so the pig would have survived, unlike his sons. Days before his death, Herod arrested hundreds of distinguished Jews, and on the very day of his own death, he had them put to death so that, quote, there would be mourning in the city when he died. He knew that the Jews hated him, and so he slayed hundreds of Jews so that there would be some mourning in the city. This is the king that we have here in Matthew 2, verse 1. This is who was on the throne when Jesus was born, and when these men arrive in Jerusalem, the Magi. These men are shrouded in mystery. We don't know much about them other than what we have here in Matthew chapter 2. What does the term Magi mean? Well, by the New Testament times, scholars tell us that the word Magi referred to someone who was something of an expert in astronomy, astrology, the natural sciences, and even magic. These were kind of like stargazers. And Matthew tells us they come from the East. Not very specific, is it? We don't know where they come from. But I think that the best possibility is that these men came from Babylon. Because when we read the book of Daniel, we read that there were magi, magicians, wise men in Babylon. Those are the guys who failed to interpret the king's dreams when Daniel came in and interpreted those dreams correctly. And so it's possible that they come from Babylon. But what's important for us to know in this narrative is that these were Gentiles. They were pagans. and even possibly involved in occult practices. And they come to Jerusalem. And they arrive saying, look at verse 2. This is the only line they have in the entire Bible. This is all that they say. Matthew 2, verse 2. They say, where is he who has been born King of the Jews? They arrive at Jerusalem. We don't know where they come from. We don't know how far they have traveled. We don't know how they got there. But they get there and they ask the question, where is he who has been born King of the Jews? Notice they don't say, where is he who has been born to be the King of the Jews? But where is the legitimate person who belongs on the throne of David? Where's the legitimate king, the king of the Jews? You would expect the people in the capital city, the city of the king, to know that the king was born. And no one has a clue how silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given. The idea here is that they went from place to place, from person to person, asking anyone and everyone, where is the king of the Jews? No one had a clue. Why did they come? Why were they looking for the king? They tell us. For we saw his star in the east. Literally in the Greek it says, at its rising, not in the east. We saw his star in the east, and we have come to worship him." This star is as peculiar as these men. What did they see? How did they know it was his star? Many theories have been thrown out. Some say they saw an alignment of planets in the sky, some kind of phenomena. Others say it was a supernova. Others say it was a shooting star or a comet that they saw. But a plain reading of this text tells us, plainly, this was a miracle, that this is supernatural. And so I believe the best explanation that has been offered is that this is probably the Shekinah glory of God. Much like the light that led Israel out of Egypt, God now led these men by this light to King Jesus. How did they know it was his light or his star? We're not told. But here's the thing. This would not have told them about the king. How did they know about Jesus? How did they know about the Christ who was to come? The star only told them that the king was born. But how is it that they knew about the coming Christ? Evidently, they had some exposure to the Old Testament scriptures. Evidently, they were exposed to the Word of God. They had something of an understanding of prophecies concerning the Messiah. Now, if these men come from Babylon, which had a large Jewish settlement after the Jews left Babylon to go back to Israel, it's possible that the Jews who remained in Babylon would have relayed to them knowledge about this coming Messiah, if not Daniel himself when he was there. At any rate, even though they had limited revelation, even though they had limited knowledge of the Word of God, they responded to that knowledge in the right way. They came to seek the King in order to worship the King. They responded to what they knew. How come they went to Jerusalem? Well, it's because it's the capital city. That's where you would expect the king to be, right? And someone might say, well, wasn't the star leading them to the Savior, to Jesus? Well, up to this point, Matthew doesn't say that. All that Matthew says is that they saw the star at its rising. They saw the star appear, which told them that the Messiah was born. And so they just assumed Jerusalem would be the place to be. They assumed the city of the king would be the place to go, and their presence seems to have caused a stir. Look at verse 3. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Somehow he hears that these men have arrived into the city and that they're saying that the king of the Jews has been born. And while this must really have triggered his paranoia, right? He was troubled. He was disturbed. He panicked. He was the king on the throne. And now people are saying that the king of the Jews has been born. This is just another threat to his reign, just another threat to his throne. He wasn't excited about the news of the Christ. He wasn't rejoicing with great joy at the possibility that the Messiah of the Jews has come. He was enraged. He was afraid to lose his power. He was afraid to lose his authority, his throne, even though he was an illegitimate king. Even though at this point, it's very possible he was into his 70s. He was troubled. And when the king got troubled, everyone else was disturbed as well. Why? Because they knew who Herod was. They knew this guy, this man is unstable. They knew his murderous tendencies. And they knew these news meant bloodshed. Someone is going to die because of this. And so they feared the repercussions of this news. Unstable people make everyone around them anxious. especially when unstable people have great power. So alarmed, Herod acts quickly. Look at verse 4. He says, gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. He gathers to himself all the spiritual elite of his day. The chief priest, those words can be translated high priests. Now in the Old Testament, we're told that there could only be one high priest at a time, and when he died, he was replaced. But in the times of Christ, no one really cared about the law. And so there was this network of high priests, and a high priest could be removed and replaced. And so we have here an illegitimate king sitting on the throne, illegitimate high priests and the scribes. These might have been Pharisees, experts of the law, people who could quote the law of God inside and out, people who knew the word of God. And he says, it says he gathered them all. Herod wanted a second, third, fourth, and fifth opinion. Where is this child? Where is this king who was born? But notice Herod had understanding that there was an expectation of a Savior or a Messiah, right? And he makes this connection because the Magi came asking about the King, but here Herod says, where is the Messiah to be born? And so Herod makes the connection that the King and the Messiah are one and the same person, that the Christ who is coming is also the King of Israel who is coming. But he's unfamiliar with the Scriptures. Even though he reigns in the throne in Judah. He's unfamiliar with the Word of God. And so he asks these experts. And in verse 5, they respond. Look at verse 5. They said to him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet. The spiritual leaders of Judea, they give him the right answer. Because verse one told us Jesus is born in Bethlehem of Judea, and they point to the scriptures to support their answer. They say, for this is what has been written through the prophet. Notice that they had a high view of the word of God. They believe the Old Testament was God's revelation, God's prophecy that he gave through the prophet. The prophet was the tool. And they believed that the Word of God was authoritative. They weren't ignorant of Scripture. But we find they were indifferent to it. Indifferent to the Word of God. To the abundant truth that they had. No hint of excitement about the person of Christ. Only an orthodox answer. All we find here is dead orthodoxy from these men. And they quote Micah, verse two, and part of a prophecy in 2 Samuel, look at verse six. They're quoting the prophet. And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. This is a prophecy written about 700 years before the birth of Christ that told us where he would be born, who he would be, and what he would do. And this is a very good typical feature in the Gospel of Matthew. Over and over and over again, if you read Matthew, he shows you how Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah. to prove this is the one we're expecting. This is the king. Again, these men, it's not that they didn't know the word of God, they were indifferent to the word of God. They didn't care. They were happy to know the scriptures. Well, now armed with this information, Herod puts together a plan. Look at verse seven. Look at verse 7. Then Herod secretly called the Magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. Why did he call them in secretly? Well, obviously he didn't want to draw attention to this. And it's possible that he knew that some people in Jerusalem, knowing his character and track record, might warn the Magi about him. And so he calls them in secretly. And those people would have been right, because Herod at this point had a sinister plan in mind. He had a sinister plan in mind. And so he speaks with the Magi. And if you look at verse seven, the text is very careful to tell us Herod wanted to know exactly when they saw the star, down to the very minute. Why? Because Herod knew that the appearance of the star had something to do with the timing of the birth of Jesus. Why is that important? We'll see in a moment. Look at verse eight. And Herod sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search carefully for the child. And when you have found him, report to me so that I too may come and worship him. So it seems Herod pretends to be excited about the news. This is wonderful. He's in Bethlehem. Go find him. And when you find him, come tell me because I want to come and worship him. This was a bold-faced lie. Herod wanted the child dead, and he thought he could use the magi to lead him to Jesus. Apparently, these men buy into it. Look at verse 9. they buy into the lie. After hearing the king, they went their way. And the star which they had seen in the east went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the child was. The star reappears, the star that had come up and they saw, it reappears, but this time Matthew says it actually led them. It says it went on before them and it halted over the place where Jesus was. This clearly tells us this was not a normal star. This was a miracle. This was divine guidance. God was leading these men by this light to the light of the world, guiding them every step of the way. Verse 10, when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. They couldn't contain their excitement. And Matthew describes the reaction they had to finally reaching Jesus in the superlative. He's stacking word upon word, rejoiced exceedingly, great joy. This is the proper response when a person finds Jesus. This is the proper reaction to the birth of the King. Great joy, rejoicing. What a stark contrast. these pagan Gentiles with limited knowledge rejoicing at the birth of the Savior. And here we have Herod, access to the word of God, hostile to the Christ. The Jews know the word of God, indifferent to the Christ. You can imagine their heart racing as they stand outside. the place where the Messiah was. And they enter. Verse 11. After coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell to the ground and worshiped. Then opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. Now, this may be unsettling to some of you. If you look at verse 11, they entered the house, not the stable, like the nativity scenes portray. At this point in time, the child Mary and Joseph relocated to a permanent residence, a house. And in this narrative, Jesus was likely between one and two years old, not a newborn baby lying in a manger. Verse 1 told us these things happened after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. Another detail that might rock you, maybe not. We don't know how many Magi there were. Three are depicted in the Nativity because of the three gifts. The gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Three gifts, three people. There's likely a hundred maybe, or more. And we don't know if they traveled alone. Maybe they traveled with a military from their homeland. We don't know if they rode camels. We don't know. That's all tradition. And so some of you maybe are sitting there wondering if Hobby Lobby is going to give you a partial refund for those three magi you have in your nativity display. And those camels, they're a Christian business. It's probably gonna happen if you kept your receipt. This might be a curve ball to some of you, but the passage here is not a Christmas Jesus is born narrative, but a shortly thereafter. They enter the house. And it says, they saw the child with Mary, his mother. And someone mentioned that when Jesus is mentioned with Mary in the Bible, Jesus is always mentioned first. They see the king. And what's their first response? What's their first action? They fall on their faces and they worship him. Notice, not worship him and Mary, Worship Him and Him alone. He is the only one deserving of worship, the only one deserving of glory. Now the word worship could be understood as paying homage to an earthly king, of deep reverence and respect for an earthly authority. But I think that the whole thrust of this narrative tells us that when these men worshipped this child, it was in the fullest sense of the word. They came to worship God incarnate. The word made flesh. Emmanuel, God with us. In fact, it's interesting. The verse that the Jews quoted, the scribes and the chief priests, out of Micah 2, in verse 6, they didn't finish the quote. They didn't finish the verse. Let me read you Micah 5, verse 2, all the way. But as for you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah. From you one will go forth for me to be a ruler in Israel. His going forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity." Even in that verse, Micah the prophet tells us, this is no mere human being. This is God. This is the Messiah. This is God incarnate. They came to worship Jesus, the one who would save his people from their sins. Matthew already pointed this out in Matthew 121, when the angel said to Joseph, you shall name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. And so I believe this great joy that they had was the joy that a deliverer from sin had come. From sin. It's the same idea that the shepherds heard from the angel in Luke 2, verses 10 and 11. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people. For today in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. They worshiped God. And then they offer gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Now many people have tried to find symbolism behind these gifts. Gold for Jesus as king. Frankincense was often used in sacrifices to God, so to his deity. And then myrrh, which was used upon death for the humanity and passion of Christ. But I think that's reading a bit much into the text. These were simply expensive gifts fitting for a king. They gave to God the best out of a heart of worship. These three men worshipped in spirit and truth, and out of the outflow of that, they worshipped through giving the best. expensive gifts. This is likely what financed the family's trip and stay in Egypt when they fled to Egypt. Well, having accomplished their mission, they departed back home. Look at verse 12. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the Magi left for their own country by another way. A unique feature in Matthew's gospel is that God warns people through dreams, especially the first few chapters. He warned Joseph not to divorce Mary because the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And he warns the Magi here not to return to Herod. Because as the end of verse 13 tells you, if you look down at verse 13, Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him. This tells us that these magi had been fooled. They may have been wise, but they were not omniscient. But you can't fool God, who knows the thoughts and intentions of the heart. You cannot fool God. And through this entire narrative, we see the sovereign hand of God guiding these in darkness to the light. And we see that the evil schemes of even the most powerful men on earth cannot thwart his purposes. God knew Herod's intention was not worship. It was murder. So he warns the Magi. But Herod seems to have had a plan B. A plan B. When he asked them back in verse 7, when is the exact time that you saw the star? Because if you go to verse 16, this is what it says. Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the Magi, he became very enraged and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem in all its vicinity from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the Magi. fitting his character, he went and slew all the males two years and younger in Bethlehem. Which, this is how we know Jesus was not a newborn at this point in time. He was two or under. The Magi listen once again to the God who led them to the Savior. In obedience, they return home another way, wherever that may be. We don't know. These guys were kind of like Melchizedek. Where does he come from? Where did he go? I don't know. But what it tells us is that God has people in every place. So what truths do we learn in this narrative? I think I should begin by answering the question I raised at the beginning. What is this narrative all about? What is this narrative about the Magi all about? It's this. It's that Jesus is not only King of the Jews, but King of all nations, and that all people must bow to this Christ and submit to this Christ and believe in this Christ if they are to be saved from the wrath of God. by including this narrative of these Gentiles who come from who knows where to worship Christ, that is precisely the point that Matthew is emphasizing. Jesus came for all nations. Gentiles coming to seek to worship the King of the Jews. This is a fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that in you all the nations of the world will be blessed. Secondly, we learned that we don't know what God is doing around the world, right? It's easy for us to assume God is not working in the darkest parts of the world. But what we learn in this narrative is that that is not the case. These Gentiles had exposure to just enough truth to seek out and to worship the Son. The Father drew them to the Son. And those whom the Father draws, they come. And they will be saved. Third, we learned that it's often those with the least amount of revelation that are the most zealous for God and that love God the most. Because they respond to the little truth that they have. while others like Herod, who has access to the Word of God, and like the Jews, who have all this access to the Word of God, are the most indifferent. Now, saints, listen to me very carefully. No one has more access to truth and gospel than we do in this country. Let us be very careful not to take God's Word for granted. Let us be very careful not to be like Herod who has access to the Word of God but does not read it. Spurgeon once said to the congregation, some of you have enough dust on your Bibles to write the word damnation on it. Let us be careful not to be like the Jews who knew the Word of God and didn't obey it. They didn't love the person to whom the Word pointed. Let us be very careful. Fourth, we learn that knowledge of the Word of God does not equal knowledge of God. Again, the Jews, they knew the Word of God inside and out, and they were still dead in trespasses and sins, indifferent and hostile to God. One commentator says their failure to believe was not due to ignorance. Another commentator said they failed by being passive. They knew the Word, did nothing about it. They didn't go with the Magi to seek out the Christ. They stayed home, happy to know the Word of God. It's one thing to know the Word of God. It's another thing to know the God of the Word. Fifth, we learned that it's not enough to worship God externally, right? Some people, they give God only the externals, the gold, the frankincense, and the myrrh. but withhold worship from the heart. It's easy to offer external worship to God. And listen to me, this is a very real danger today on Christmas Eve and tomorrow. We can think that because we came to church and heard a message and sang some songs and gave to the offering box, whatever it may be, that we have offered worship to God. But is our heart in it? Are we excited today because of Him? Are we here because of Christ? So many people are more excited about receiving a new Lazy Boy chair than the child who has been born, than Jesus. A new kitchen set, a new video game, a new TV, whatever, than the Christ who has been born. Let me give us a challenge here this morning. Here's the application for this whole message. Let me challenge you and myself. Take time today and tomorrow to pray as a family and to thank God for his indescribable gift that he has given us in the person of Christ. Salvation, forgiveness of sins, eternal life, reconciliation with God. That is the gift. Take time as a family to sing songs of worship to our great King. Take time to read the Word, the narrative of His birth as a family. To worship Him on a day that is set apart for Him. Not for us. Not for the family primarily. Not for the presents or the music. I love those things. That's not the point. He is the point. Let's teach our kids He is King. It's His day. Do they see that in our families, as parents, as grandparents, or do our kids see us more excited about the events? I'm convicted by that. Six, we learn we are to rejoice today. Rejoice in your salvation. Rejoice in the Lord of your salvation. Do you rejoice in your salvation, Saint? Maybe you've lost your joy here this morning due to sin. Maybe you're in a rut. Maybe you've lost your focus. Let this be the day you repent and seek him afresh and receive forgiveness and receive again the joy of your salvation like David. May this be the day. And seventh, we learn God's purposes cannot be thwarted. even by a mighty ruler upon this earth, like King Herod. That God is over His people. He's looking over the lives of His people. This is true in the life of Christ. It's true in the life of the Magi. It's true in your life, believer. God is watching over His people. God is on the throne, no matter who is in the White House. God is Lord. Our Savior lives. God reigns. And let me end by speaking to the unbeliever here this morning. To the one who has not trusted in Christ yet. Someone has rightly said, we find three reactions to Christ in this text. Hostility, like Herod, against Christ. Indifference to Christ, like the Jews. Or faith in Christ, like the Gentiles. How will you respond today? Will you, like Herod, want to hold on to your own authority over your life because you want to be Lord of your life? Will you reject Him because you want to retain control of your life and refuse to bow to the Christ? Will you reject Him who made you and is Lord of all? Or will you, like the Jews, be indifferent to the truth that you have received today? Will you reject the truth of the gospel and unbelieve that Jesus is the incarnate God, that He is King of kings, Lord of lords, Savior of all men? Will you refuse to believe that Jesus is the only person that lived a perfect life on earth, and that He died on the cross in the place of sinners like you, for your sins, and that He rose again on the third day, that He ascended to the right hand of the Father, He's coming back to judge the living and the dead? Will you reject that? Will you be indifferent to your only way to salvation? Or will you, like the Magi, believe God's revelation, believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, and worship Him and serve Him? How will you respond today? Hostility, indifference, that leads to eternal wrath. eternal hell separation from God, or faith in Christ, which leads to forgiveness of all your sin, eternal life, reconciliation with God. Each of us this morning are going to leave these doors having responded in one of these three ways. May this be the Christmas you celebrate, not only the birth of Christ, but your rebirth, new life. May this be the moment in the day you receive life eternal by faith in the King who has been born. Let's pray. Father, we come to You in the name of Your Son, the Lord Jesus. We're so thankful for Your Scriptures. We're so thankful that You've revealed Yourself to us. That You've revealed to us the way of salvation by faith in Your Son. And Father, I can't save anyone. Only You by the work of the Holy Spirit can awaken a dead sinner to the truth of Your Gospel. the truth of Your Word. Only You can convict of sin and righteousness and judgment. And I pray, God, if there's anyone here this morning that does not know You, this is the time You remove the scales from their eyes. Remove their stony heart and give them a heart of flesh to believe. But for all the saints here this morning, may we leave rejoicing. May we leave focused on our Savior to worship and serve Him better, to make Him known, to praise Him in all that we do and say and think. It's in His name that we pray and ask. Amen.