Well, ain't God good? Oh, man, all the time. Works everything together, doesn't it? The good and the bad. The good and the bad. All right, well, look. Sandy already put divs on y'all. She says she got a question tonight to ask. So they waiting on it. All right, tell us about it. And 127, oh Romans 127. What does it say? Chapter one, verse 27. But what's the verse say? Well, we have to read it all in context. And you have to understand what we're looking at in verse 18 through the end of the chapter is a description that Paul lumps all humanity under outside of or apart from Christ. Those who are not in relationship with the Lord. So all of humanity he's referring to those who are not in relationship to him, those who have suppressed the truth, and unrighteous living, those who have changed or converted the glory of God and worship the creature and not the creator, he just gives this great big list to describe the nature of man that is empty and void of God. And that's what we find in these passages here. And he's lumping, he's getting to the point, he's wanting to make the emphasis that you Jews are no different than them Gentiles. You have the same fallen nature as they have. Even though you were born a Jew, an Israelite, even though you were born into the covenant promises of God by way of birthright, you still have a nature that's bent towards sin And as a result thereof, we see God grouping this whole human species in this mindset of, of course, the depths of sin gets deeper with some than others. Scripture teaches us in other places that when men cast off revelation or the law, They cast off restraint. That means they go further and deeper and further and further into sin. So we see the product of that started when men rejected to worship and give glory to a holy God. It just cascaded from that point on. And what we find as a realm of punishment is that God gave them over. He released them. He turned them over to a debased, rejected that is not approved by god a mindset that god does not approve of but as a form of punishment as judgment god gave them over to that way of living he turned them over to it and therefore they continue to run on that path and of course that would include homosexuality as well that is saying god released them as a form of judgment that is saying he he did not intervene he did not step in like he's done with a child that is he is you know he says he he disciplines all those that he is he chastens those that are his he'll never leave us nor forsake us that means he won't allow us to do things without being chastised for it as his child but humanity as a whole apart from him falls in an area that god will turn them over and allow them to go and he takes his hands off and just lets them run in the sin that is judgment that's wrath That's where 18 says, and the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all ungodliness and unrighteous living. That's judgment. Wrath is judgment from God. And then he gives this description all the way down of what God did as a result of man's actions. His wrath is being revealed. His judgment is being manifest when he turns them over and lets them live. So it is a sin, but it's also, as you asked, it is a form of God's wrath and judgment upon them. It's one of those almost like a double whammy. You've committed the sin. You've loved your sin. You liked your sin. You hated the light and you loved darkness. And as a result thereof, God, then in His judgment and punishment or wrath towards you, just lets you keep running in it. And you just go further and further. That's a scary thing, isn't it? And that's what we seek. But, at the same time, that's why God sends out His missionaries. In the midst of this darkness, and this is what Paul's painting, Paul's painting a picture that man, apart from God, is ugly, is dark. Who knows how far he'll go? We don't know how far it'll go. And what he's showing is, is that when man is ungodly, man is wicked. When God is void and not present, And men are not God worshippers toward Him. The by-product is wickedness, iniquity. But in spite of that, Jesus still died for wicked sinners. So in this dark picture that He paints of man, He's really unveiling the great light of the Lord Jesus Christ to even lay his life down for such subjects as he just described in that first chapter. He died for them because we were in that group. We were unloving. We were unforgiving. We were unmerciful. We were disobedient to parents. You see, every man doesn't fall into every category that he lives. But every man falls into some category that he lives, that some face. Some are just worse than others. But even the least of the worst has a need for redemption just as much as those who are deeper and further and darker in their society of sin. So yes, I would say that statement is correct in the sense that is part of the punishment or the judgment or the wrath of God upon humanity. Oh yeah, this applies today. Yeah. This is talking about the nature of man from the beginning when Adam fell, that's when it started. That's when sin began to snowball. And since then, it's only gotten worse. And for an example, you ever, how many of you ever made a snowman? How many, when you make the snowman, how do you make it? What do you do? We're not really big snowman makers around here, that's for sure, but how do you do it when you do it? You pack it? You pack it together. It takes a while packing it together. You know what you could do? It's easy. Once you just get a little bit in your hand, put it down in the snow and just start rolling it. And you roll it. It's just going to gather all the snow that it comes across. And before you know it, you've got a big old pile of snow, so big you can't even pick it up and move it. And then you work it and pack it and shape it. And then you do it again. And then you get up onto that thing. It depends on how big it is. And you put it up on that other one because that snow gets heavy. Well, sin's like that. When Adam fell, sin just snowballed effect and you got caught up in it too. It picked you up. and you roll down and thankfully that little blade of grass you know when you do a snowball it does pick up some grass too and weeds and all that and anybody that wants a really good snowball man is going to pick that grass out and take it out of there. Thankfully Lord Jesus picked you up and pulled you out of that rolling effect. Now we still have to see the consequences of it. We still have the effect of that snowball effect, but I'm thankful we ain't caught up in what he says in chapter one, beginning in verse 18 through the end of the chapter. Praise God for verses 16 and 17. For the power of the, for the gospel is the power of God under what? Salvation. For everyone, that's right. Saying the Jew needs it, no different than the Gentile. In essence, all men, everywhere, needs the gospel. And that includes today. So yes, that applies today to us as it did when Paul wrote it. Right, that's the mentality or the affections. Their desires are vile. Right. Yes. And because God gave them over. That's why it's so difficult. Because God turns them over to these vile affections. He turns them over to this debased mindset. And when God turns you over to that, that mindset, the word debased or vile in the essence, it means that it's a lifestyle or it's desires that are unapproved by God. you know the word reprobate he turned him over to a reprobate mind what is a reprobate mind but who turned him over to that scripture says god did god turned him he released him turned him over to a reprobate mind the word reprobate means to be disqualified that's what it means to be disqualified remember when paul said that he beat his body into subjection that when he preached the gospel himself he would not be a what? A castaway? A reprobate. Same word. Exact same word. It means to be disqualified because it's unapproved. God does not approve of it. It's not something that God gives approval upon because it's disqualified and therefore he turns them over to that. So yes, it includes homosexuality. It includes any vile affections that are disqualified or not approved of by God, which homosexuality does take you deeper because it's unnatural. Scripture gives us that picture. It's an unnatural thing. It's not natural. Even creation shows us that it's not natural for men to be with men. That's an unnatural thing. Heterosexual sins is still a sin, right? Adultery, fornication, heterosexual man and woman, that is natural. but still outside of the covenant boundaries that God gives it, the cup that He makes it for, it's still disqualified, it's still reprobate, but homosexuality even takes it further because it is an unnatural thing. It is. it is and and and the thing is god lets them go into that and that's part of his wrath that's why he may the wrath of god is unveiled against ungodly and unrighteous living look in verse eighteen but that does not put them in a position that they don't qualify for the gospel to be preached to them amen Because that's what the whole, this is saying that just because you may not be in this, you're still a sinner and you have a need for a savior. And just like the homosexual needs him, so do you need him. You're all falling short of the glory of God and you have a need. They were born a sinner. that had a disposition toward rebellion and sin but we don't far know of anything that the scripture would tell us nor does anything we know that has a uh... a genetic being toward homosexuality but what we find it's a matter of ungodliness and wickedness and as a result of those two things those two things that are not dealt with by or through a relationship with god they are inevitably drawn toward such things as as homosexuality or whatever it may be look look what he says in verse one that's what we have to keep in mind is that the scripture says we're all born with an inherited nature that's bent towards sin he says right here verse verse 16 let's just start there verse 15 man we so close He says, so as much as is in me. I like that verse because as much as is in us, we're ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it, that is the gospel, is the power of God unto salvation. That's why 1 Corinthians would say this, for it is through the foolishness of the message preached. Because you've got to preach the gospel. Through the foolishness of the message preached, men are saved. And the scripture says it's through the foolishness of the cross. That's why the world or even you at one point in time took the cross lightly because you thought, well, that's foolish. It's really a foolish thing that God uses preaching and uses the message of the cross, a king dying for his people on a cross taken upon sin. That's a foolish way of thinking. It shouldn't go that way. But God said he's going to use that foolish message to rescue men. And he also says that through wisdom through natural wisdom men cannot know god god set it up that away you cannot through just the practical wisdom you cannot know god that away the only way to know him is through the through the gospel through the message of the cross that's it and god intentionally and purposely established it that away that's what corinthians one tells us he says in verse 16, for it is the power of God on the salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek. That's important. One, we see God going to His people to share a message. Remember, Romans tells us they rejected that message as a whole. But why? In God's wisdom, like we're reading today, He did that so that He could extend mercy to who? To people like you and me. and praise God God's wisdom is beyond finding out how he works in those type of ways verse seventeen for in it that is the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written the just shall live by faith verse eighteen for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness, that's the idea of wickedness, the wickedness of men, who suppress, or the idea they convert the truth, they hold down the truth by unrighteous living. That is, they justify their way of living and therefore suppress the truth of God by unrighteous living. They make unrighteous living become acceptable. And that's what our culture of war is about. They want things like homosexuality or things like immorality and fornication, those types of things, they want them to be socially acceptable. Why? Because that holds down the truth. It suppresses the truth in unrighteous living so that you're accustomed to it, you laugh about it, that type of thing, so you will disregard the truth. That's a strategy of the enemy. Remember, these people that he's describing, just like you and me, were blinded at one time, right? and the enemy held us in captivity to our blindness and we couldn't see these things and we needed light and that's why preachers of the gospel have been set out to expose the darkness by preaching the light of the gospel he goes on verse nineteen it says because what may be known of God is evident or manifest in them for God has shown it to them for since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen so he is establishing a historical reference that from the very beginning these attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power in Godhead so that they are without excuse and that is the thing men are without excuse for their sin even though they are born in the sin even though they love sin they are still without excuse for their sin Because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God. Nor were thankful, became futile in their thoughts, and their fewless hearts were darkened. You take like at the Tower of Babel. Remember that? What did God tell them? That they told Noah that he was to be what? Fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. But what did man say? What did Nimrod say? Let us all gather together for fear we'd be spread out. See, that's contrary to what God told him. And you're dealing with the same time frame of Noah and his descendants. Nimrod is one of those descendants. They said, let us build a tower so that we can be of one mind, one people, with one language. Where God told them to do what? Spread out, multiply, and replenish the earth. But man said, we're going to do it our way. What did God do? He intervened, didn't He? He confused their languages, and He divided the nations from that point right there. So we're talking about historical references that have carried over to this very day that we're living upon right now. Paul's just given a great explanation of it. Right. And the reason is, but what did God tell about Noah and his descendants even after the flood? He says that a man's heart, even from his youth, is continually evil from the days of his youth. What did he say prior to the flood? that every imagination and intent of the heart was evil, desperately wicked, because he inherited this. The flood didn't cure this. The flood just dealt with the wrath of God of dealing with man, but man still had a sin problem. And it just carried on from there. And he goes on to say in verse 23, and they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the image made like corruptible man. That means they made images to worship and to bow down before and put man before God. And they converted what God said about Himself and changed it to fit their way of living. And they made like birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. They worshipped nature over worshipping Him. Therefore, as a result, God also gave them up. to what? Uncleanness in the lust of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves. God gave them up to uncleanness. He let them go. Acts 14 would tell us that in bygone generations God let man do what he wanted to do. He didn't exactly the inherited nature of sin that's in them that was already in them and begin and They wanted that and kept going after that God gave him up He goes on to say verse 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and Worship and served the creature rather than the Creator which would include self in that for this reason God gave them up to vile passions and For even the women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of the error which was due. You take historical reference, Sodom and Gomorrah. God's wrath was revealed against that, wasn't it? The flood, God's wrath was revealed against that. We see it over, and all Paul's doing is establishing the condition of man and God's graciousness to intervene and come by way of a Redeemer, Jesus. It's what he's building up to. He says in verse 28, and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate or debased mind to do those things which are not fitting. being filled with all unrighteousness or wickedness, every kind of wickedness and sexual immorality and covetousness and maliciousness. They were full of envy and murder and strife and deceit and evil-mindedness. They were whisperers and backbiters, yes, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents. They were undiscerning, they were untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, and unmerciful, who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do they do the same, but also approve of those who practice them. Now they may not, you got to keep in mind what the scripture is teaching us. Man as a whole, as a whole for humanity, has been in it for man. This is what he's telling us. They may have punished a group of murderers, but they may have let the extortioners or the injustice go in another area. Why? Because you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. I'll overlook this if you overlook that. I'll approve of this, but I'll deal with that. You see, this is just humanity, because humanity is in for humanity. poet of God. He is showing. But he is getting to a point about the Jew. He is saying you are no different. You point the finger at the heathen, the Gentile, the ungodly worlds out there that who didn't have a revelation of God and you say we are different and not like them. Paul is saying no, you are just like them. You are no different. Watch what he says. Verse 1 of chapter 2. Therefore you are inexcusable. Old man, whoever you are, who what? Now what does he mean by that? You're inexcusable, old man, whoever you are, who judge. True. But in the context, let's see what he says. he's he's gonna make a point in this and that's true exactly what both of you have stated in the fact that that a lot of times we judge somebody else for doing something but we're doing something else that that may not be in the same category but could be worse no matter how you look at it still sin uh... but this is what he's making a point about he says you're inexcusable old man who judge for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself Because we all got to make judgment. Judgment is natural. God put it in us. He given us a conscience with His law written on it to make judgment. As natural as a man and a woman have natural affection toward one another, you and I have to make judgment. Now, if our judgment's empty or void of God, it's no good. But we still got to make judgment. No matter how you look at it, you're going to judge and I'm going to judge. But I need my judgment to be according to righteousness. That means I need a standard of judgment that is outside of myself, that is right and not wrong. And that would be the Word of God. Yet, that's not what he's talking about here. He's talking about this. He's saying that whenever you can judge another man or woman over their sin, you automatically condemn yourself because you can recognize the difference between right and wrong, what is opposed to God's way and what is not God's way. When you make judgment, you automatically condemn yourself that you yourself are in line to be judged as well. Why? Because you have come to a place or age or whatever it may be that you can discern and when you judge somebody else, you automatically fall under condemnation because you can make judgment, you know the difference, now you fall under judgment yourself. That's what that passage is teaching. Because he's going to show you if you keep reading in chapter 2 he even gets into the gentiles who didn't have a law But were a law to themselves because they they held men accountable either excusing them or accusing them of right or wrong So therefore they will be accountable for the judgment they made and will have to give an account of it That's why he says you're inexcusable If you can judge somebody you fall under judgment Right. And that's so true, but by context, this passage is not necessarily talking about that, but that is exactly right. It says, wait a minute, if you can notice somebody else's sin, but can't recognize the big problems going on in your life, you've got a problem. but this passage is just referring to the fact that if you have one ounce of an ability to make a judgment you automatically condemn yourself and you need a redeemer is the point. He's going to show that to them. Yes, sir? And you did judge him. You judged that he needed Jesus because of what he was doing and what he was saying. You've got to make judgment. That's what we've got to understand. Well, you can make a judgment in the sense that you can condemn him and not help him. But if you make a judgment and recognize this man needs Jesus, and I want to show mercy to this man because I've judged he's without him, I'm going to extend Christ to him and give him the opportunity to respond to that because I've got to make judgment. That's what we've got to figure out here is that it is innately put in us, especially just as a human. God's put a conscience in us to make judgment. The word conscience means with knowledge. I have a knowledge of right and wrong. It's with me. And when I see it, I've got to make a judgment on it. It's no different than knowing that that fire is hot and that stove is cold. I've got to make a judgment. Do I put my hand on that hot fire or not? we we you will make judgment you have to but your judgment needs to be with mercy meaning you're not gonna leave that man where is that your heart is you want to see him rescued and you recognize that you at once where where he was and you still have areas that God's working on you so you're not gonna beat him and shun him you're going to try to help him that's the kind of judgment we as believers are to exercise but you gotta make judgment don't don't let anybody ever tell you not to judge it is so it's so now you're judging me right now and what I'm saying whether you whether you want to acknowledge it or not exactly you have to mm-hmm yeah And that's where you just ask God, Lord, help me. You pray for that man, Lord, use somebody, send somebody to him. He needs your light. I don't know what is going on in his life. I do know if he's lost, he's blind, he's in Satan's trap, so he needs light. He needs a messenger to come with the gospel. Lord, would you show him compassion the way you showed me compassion? That's judging, but that's judging with a heart after the heart of God saying, God rescued a man. I'm no different than him apart from Jesus. Jesus just got a hold of me, and he's still in his sin, but he can still be rescued. And that is healthy. That is the life of a believer. You know? Yes. Yeah, I'm better than you. That can be and that's wrong. Yeah. Yes. It's not. It's healthy. It is the life of the believer. God makes judgment and that's what we want. We want to know what his judgment is. And the scripture says that when we were lost in a lost world we live in, the scripture says they are under condemnation. You don't have to judge them in that mindset. They're already under condemnation. He's already condemned them. They are condemned according to the word of God. But it's the heart of the believer to recognize the fact that they're condemned, but they need somebody to help them see the light. Now if they reject the light, the scripture says that is revelation to us that they under condemnation. But we don't have to hurt them, but we can be honest with them and let them know you're in sin and you will perish and die in that sin until you give your life to Jesus. The messengers of the cross have to tell people they're sinners. That's what Paul is doing right here. Paul has just said about the power of the gospel, and that is the means of God by which He manifests our salvation in Christ Jesus, and that in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, and the next word he says, but the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and wickedness. You know what he's doing? What we attempt to do is we try to take the wrath of God or the law of God out of it, but you can't. because it's what reveals the heart and the nature of the man and then the good news sheds light that Jesus died for you in spite of your sin where you are you see you've got to point that out because if you don't point that there's no repentance there's no turning in faith and acknowledging confessing that God has been long-suffering and kind and gentle toward me in my sin that grant me repentance Yeah, that it doesn't wound. And the gospel does wound. It reveals to me that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. That's right. And that's where we're dependent upon God to do that. Right. It does have application. And that's what the church in our day, because the culture we live in suppresses the truth. And because the churches believe in what our culture says and not what God says, we've got this all flipped and wronged. Scripture tells us that we as the people of God do have authority. and we can make judgment and we can declare that somebody is condemned in their sin and we can even condemn those that come against us that's what the scripture means when you bind that on the earth and release that because what is bound already in heaven under the judgment of God can be bound on the earth and what has been released by him can be released we have that authority as the church but because we have been deceived and and and very little backbone and don't know the truth is what it all boils down to a very lack of knowledge of the truth being ignorant of truth we therefore pine away when somebody says you can't make you can't say that about me so we said well we better not do that we're going to offend them well i recall there was times when the disciples came to jesus and said when you said that you offended all them And Jesus said, well, I tell you what, whatever my father planted will remain planted, but what he didn't plant, it will be uprooted. They are blind leaders leading the blind. And if they lead the blind, they both are going to fall in the ditch. You don't worry about them and go preach the gospel. Go tell the truth. right and that's why it's so important and to have a heart of compassion wisdom no one what to do next no one that there's an enemy behind this no one that people are blinded no one that there's that there's demonic warfare their spiritual warfare going on that's just where we as the people of god recognize and should be able to see things differently than any other people so therefore we can exercise compassion toward people try to help And when they rebel against you or come against you, you don't have to be threatened by that at all. As the passage that Greg read, as the heritage of the saints of God, there's no weapon whatsoever. There's no argument whatsoever. There's nothing that they can bring up against you. It can't prevail against you. You are who you are in Christ. But you have the authority to speak things, life or death. according to the Word of God. With your judgment being based on the Word of God, you have that authority to reveal to somebody where they are in their lostness and where God can bring them out, that they're in spiritual death, they're blind and can't see. But Jesus gave His life for you and preached a gospel that's able to save. Even though it's foolishness to them, even though they don't want to hear it, it's power in it. You let God do the calling, amen? Right, right. Yeah. Corinthians and other passages, it talks about where we once were some of them. We practice these very things that the world practices, and God called us out of that. And that's part of it. But when we have people around us, I mean, when we have family members that are obviously still trapped in sin, lost, it should be our heart not to harm them, not to hurt them, but to intercede for them. and ask God to rescue and to use his people and people that can have an effect on them to see them rescued through his blood and recognize that there's areas in our life that still need to come under his righteousness still need to come under that that's part of being freed by the truth you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free that's growing in grace thank God that he continually keeps revealing truth to us to set us free from the lies that we were believing so therefore you approach it from another angle it's still sin You still need to recognize it as sin. You still need to point it out as sin. But you do it in such a way that has a heart to see them rescued and not just to harm them or hurt them and make you look better than them because you're really not. You're different. And the reason you're different is because of Jesus. Amen? Bill? Yeah. A lot more. Yeah. Yes. That's right. And it includes a lot more. Things that we kind of brush aside, don't it? Read what it says. Okay, unrighteous. Those who are not right, right? Not right with God. Don't have a relationship with Him. And that would include everybody that's apart, not connected with Jesus. Amen? all right keep reading okay so we can talk days on each one of those when it comes the thievery How's a way that you may not go to the store and rob people, but what's a way you can rob God? According to Malachi, that's a way, no doubt. Can you rob Him in the sense of whatever resources you have? Not giving the glory to God. That's right. That's a thief. that people look to you. And that goes back to being self-centered, doesn't it? It goes back to being unrighteous. It goes back to idolatry of wanting people to recognize and notice you, wanting you to receive the glory. So all those things, He groups them all together. So He's saying that, you remember, those who practice such things they have they have no inheritance there is no blessings upon them of the kingdom of god and you were once one of the you fit in that category everybody did but you were washed sanctified and justified by the blood of the Lamb. Amen? So you've got to make that distinction. Paul is telling him you make a distinction there. Right? In essence, that's what he's saying. You've got to recognize the difference. Yes, that comes by way of the grace of God, of God revealing Jesus to us and we repenting and placing faith in Him. So all that, which the root of it, we're seeing why those things happen in Romans chapter 1. Because men chose not to worship the Lord. They suppressed that with unrighteous living, made it socially acceptable, common, god gives them over to that kind of living and he groups everybody in it and then he says wait a minute but even while you were yet sinners christ jesus died for you to set you free from that to wash you to justify you to sanctify you so that you can go to work for him amen so that's the message of the book of romans is a detailed description of the gospel, what it is. Showing the ugliness of man, the wonder and awful, awfully amazing grace of God. It's amazing. It's wonderful. that's right and there's even some passages that will take another day to get into you read in some of the Psalms where scripture says God is angry with the center and even says he hates the center all day but he still dies for the center there's passages when God says about the Edomites that he has a perpetual hatred for this group of people It's hard to take, it's hard to figure out and understand, but that's what he said. And you know what, the Edomites are all based down, you know what it makes a picture of? It's really, they are a manifestation or a picture of the flesh, what man produces in the flesh. The Edomites are the result of the flesh. That's right. The result of the flesh. What is a picture of? The war of the natural against the supernatural. God hates the natural. He hates the flesh. The flesh cannot produce the righteousness of God. It can't. And that's why the scripture says don't sow to your flesh. Because of the flesh you shall reap corruption. That's why you've got to sow to the spirit. And therefore you'll reap of the spirit everlasting life. Things that are heavenly and godly. But if you keep having trouble with the flesh, it's because you're sowing to the flesh. That's why. keep surfacing keeps coming up that flesh within you is gonna corrupt and that's where the issue is and that's where a lot of these things about what we talked about tonight we've we can take a uh... a man-centered world-centered culture-centered way of thinking and keep feeding on that and it's gonna corrupt how we think about god and how he worked in what we're supposed to do in the messiah Let's pray. Father, we thank you. We love you and praise you. We give you glory and honor and we ask you, we plead with you to continue to use your people, your truth by way of your spirit to sow to our spirit so that we can reap that which is eternal, that which is approved, that qualifies, that is fitting the gospel. that we can go forth and see family members and this community and this culture we live in, people even abroad, worldwide, that we can have an effect of sharing the light of the gospel and seeing new rescue souls, pulling people out of sin. We ask you, Lord, to use us, to teach us, to send us, to guide us. You already said go. We don't have to ask for that. Just use us. Raise up labors in your harvest, and we'll give you the praise for it. In Jesus' name.