Would you turn with me, please, in the word of God to Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15, commencing to read at verse 11. Luke chapter 15, beginning to read at verse 11. Let us now hear God's word. And he said that as Jesus, a certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when they had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and they sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would feel it filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, how many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. And I'm no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. But he arose and came to his father. And when it was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and be merry. For this my son was dead, and is alive again. He was lost and is found, and they began to be merry." May God bless his word. We'll take a moment to bow for prayer. Father, still our hearts this day gather up every wandering thought, blessed Holy Spirit, fall afresh upon us. This day, even now, draw near. May the hush of eternity be stamped upon the gallery. May a volume of prayer attend the preaching of the word. and may work be wrought this day in hearts for Jesus' sake. Amen. Now, I'm sure that you are all aware that this probably is one of the most familiar stories in the New Testament, maybe even in the whole Bible itself. And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, we have heard this all before. And I'm sure you have. Being in the Free Presbyterian Church, you've often heard messages from Luke chapter 15. But there may be some who are listening today or some even gathered with us in God's house who haven't heard it before, who don't know all there is to know about this particular parable. Who can tell? Maybe God has a word and season. And the message that is placed upon my heart for today. In Luke chapter 15, the Lord Jesus is speaking to two different groups of people. He's speaking to religious people represented by the scribes and the Pharisees. He's speaking also to a religious people represented by the publicans and sinners. Now to get his message across to his congregation, he told them a story about a man who had two sons. That's the way the parable begins. And they said a certain man had two sons. The elder son represented the self-righteous Pharisees and scribes, verse two. The younger represented the publicans and sinners in verse one. Now the character of the loving, forgiving Father reminds us of our loving, gracious, heavenly Father, the God of heaven. I want you to keep that in your mind as we develop the message. Now one author that I read on this particular parable said, the major theme of this parable is not so much the conversion of the sinner in the form of the prodigal, as in the previous two parables, but rather the restoration of a believer into fellowship with God. Now, I think that we can look upon this particular parable in a twofold way. I can certainly preach a straightforward gospel message from Luke 15. And at the same time, I can preach the message to those who may be today in the far country who profess the Savior's name. So I do believe it's possible to address these two kinds of people, two groups of people from this particular portion that we have before us. Now, in the first two parables, the owner went out to look for what was lost. The shepherd went out into the wilderness, and the woman in the story, well, she looked around the house for the piece of coin that she had lost. Whereas in this story, the part about the prodigal son, the father waits and watches eagerly for his erring son to return home. Now, as far as I'm concerned, The graciousness of the Father outshines or overshadows the sinfulness of the Son. The parable is not necessarily all about the Son. I do believe that the parable is all about the Father and the story. You may disagree. That's the way I see things here. Because it was The memory of the Father's goodness that brought the prodigal to repentance. And it is the goodness of God that brings sinners to repentance. That's what brought you and me, child of God, to the Lord. It was the goodness of God that brought us to repentance. Of the younger son, it says in verse 13, he took his journey into a far country. That's my text. his journey into the far country. And I'm going to use this young man's experience to deal with the subject that I want to deal with this morning. Christians in the far country. Maybe this is the appropriate time to say this. Maybe the reason why I have been directed to this portion is Because someone here who professes the Lord's name is at this point of time in the far contrary. If that is the case, then this is a word and season for you. And my advice to you is sit up and pay attention, take heed, because God is here. He's come to seek you today. Yes, he's come to seek the sinner, and he's come to seek the erring one who's grown cold to become indifferent to the things of God. So set the scene now, Christians in the far country. The text, his journey into the far country. Three simple things I want to share with you this morning. First of all, who the prodigal forsook for the far country. Well, the parable opens with a young man coming into the presence of his father with a request. He says, give me, give me the portion that belongs to me. Being the brother of the older, then his portion was one third of the father's inheritance. The older son received two thirds. And usually you waited until the father died before you talked about these things. But it seems to me that the young boy was really saying, Father, I wish you were dead. I wish you were out of the way so I can get my hands upon my inheritance. What an insult that was to his father, who loved him, cherished him and cared for him. Father, give me. And then not many days later, he was in a hurry to get away, you see. Not many days later, he took this journey into the far country. So who did the young son forsake? He forsook his loving father. And that shows to me that he had no desire to be in the company of the father. He had no desire to be in the presence of the Father. He had no desire to be close to him. He had no desire to listen to his word or to obey his command. Now apply that in a spiritual sense to those who know the Lord, who profess faith in Christ. It's sad when a believer has no desire to be in his divine presence. When a believer does no longer desire his companionship, to be close to him, I think about John who leaned his head upon the bosom of Christ. He desired closeness. And we as the people of God ought to desire this closeness because we owe him so much. We owe him everything. The sacrifice that he made, the blood that he shed, the life that he offered up to make an atonement for our sins, that we might be delivered from hell. And at the end of the journey, enter into his divine presence. I do believe that the far country was in his heart long before he entered there. I do believe that the far country was in his mind and in his thoughts before he made this request. I don't know how long he had been thinking about this. I don't know how long it was in his mind. But the moment came when he made a choice, a horrible choice, a horrible decision. He wanted distance between him and his father. Of course, this is nothing new. You go back to Genesis chapter three and you think about Adam, made perfect in the image of God. God gave him a wife. beautiful garden, everything that they needed. And then he made a horrible choice that has affected you, has affected me, that has affected the whole world, all of mankind. And as a result of that choice he made, he was separated from God. So he put a distance between him and his God. Where do we find him? In Genesis chapter three, he's hiding from God, hiding from his heavenly father. And there may be someone here in this congregation today, and that's exactly what you're doing. You're trying to hide from God. You're running from God. You'll never succeed. Some of these days, God will put you into a corner And God will say to you, I have given you opportunity after opportunity. Now is the time for me to deal with you. And God can do that if it pleases him to do so. He knows how to chasten his people for their benefit, for their good. He's not an angry God. He's not a God that is against his people. He's a God who's for his people. But he knows how to deal with us. Like all parents, when children grow up, they want to do their own thing. Sometimes mom and dad has got to step in and discipline. It may not be received well, but at the end of the day, mom and dad has the interest of the child at heart. That's the way God works. He's put that within parents, the hearts of men to do the same thing because it's in their best interests. Adam was separated. The whole of the human race has been separated from God. And this young man wanted to put distance between him and his father. The son was really saying, I want to be free to do whatever I want to do, to go wherever I want to go and to be with whoever I want to be with. I will do it my way. And you'll notice the word me is mentioned twice in verse 12. Father, give me the portion that befalleth to me. That shows a selfishness, me. It's all about me. It's all about my needs, my wants. It's all about me. He didn't want the restraints of the home. No more rules to abide by. No more regulations imposed upon me. I want freedom. I want to go. And so that's what he was really saying. He wanted to be free to do his own thing. And God has given to his people a book. And the parameters of this book has given us the path that we ought to live. He shows unto us the way we ought to go. And they say, this is the way, walk ye in it. But I hear someone saying, but I want to do my thing. I don't want regulations and rules and restrictions upon my life. Other people don't have the same restrictions. Even in other churches, they don't have the same restrictions. Why should I yield? Why should I submit to the discipline, the standards, the rules, the regulations? But if our church is governed by the Holy Scriptures, the things that are put in place in a congregation are put there because God has ordained it to be this way. And sometimes we, as human beings, think, well, I know better. I know better than God. I do it my way. He was self-willed. He was independent. That's the kind of spirit he wanted. And I don't believe that he had any intentions of ever returning to his father. He was entering now a new chapter. The past is going to be forgotten about. And it's in sign sealed and delivered. That's out of the way. Now I want to enter into a new chapter in my life. I wonder, did the father have a quiet chat with him, warning him of the dangers of going there? I don't know, maybe he did. No mention is made here and there's got to be a reason for it. Maybe the father knew the son, and I suppose he knew him better than anybody else. And he thought to himself, my son has got to learn it the hard way. And you know, there's some people like that in life. They've got to learn it the hard way. All the appeals and the prayers and the advice and counsel, oh, they shrug it aside and they invite God to deal with them as a father deals with an erring child in a chastening fashion. The son is going to learn the lesson. the hard way. Now, there were two things he believed were necessary to have a successful and fulfilling life. Freedom and then money, or freedom and funds, if you like. But when you study this portion before us, you'll notice where it all ended. Feeding swine, a filthy profession, in a foreign land. So he set out looking for freedom and he's ending up here in bondage. He's lost his freedom. He's lost his vision. Because the Philistines, in the case of Samson, the Philistines put out his eyes. He'd lost his freedom and he lost his vision. And Samson, unfortunately, lost his life as well. So here was this young man seeking freedom. Far country. The fields are always greener on the other side. He lost his freedom. Feeding swine. All his nice clothes have disappeared. His hair's unkempt. Maybe a long beard. Smelling of the pigs. This is where it all ends, you see. The prodigal's freedom was gone. His finances were gone. But his life was spared. So, he turns his back on his father. The father's house, and the father's provisions. I don't need your support anymore. I don't need you. I will survive. So that was his mentality. He was the son of a loving father. There was a relationship there. Here is a son born into the family of a loving father. And that reminds us children of God, of the relationship we have as Christians. As many as received him, that is Christ to them give a power, the authority to become the sons of God, even to all those that believe in his name. We're sons of a heavenly father by nature, we're children of wrath. But by the new birth, we become sons and daughters of God. And God is our loving heavenly father. And by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, we've been constituted as the children of God, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. What a standing we have this day, access to our heavenly father through Christ the Son by his Holy Spirit. And as the father in the story had riches and wealth and had his inheritance, and the young boy was entitled to that, our heavenly father has unlimited resources spiritually, and of course, materialistically as well. And they can become ours when we ask for it. Give me, we can pray. If we ask from a true heart, from a sincere heart, Not wanting to squander what we receive from God. The relationship has been once and for all established. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God, beloved. Beloved, now are ye the sons of God. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. You've received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba Father, the Spirit beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Have you got that witness with them today that you're a child of God? The relationship of the prodigal was that of a son to his father. And this is the relationship, child of God, that we enjoy. This is the relationship that we have been brought into by grace. Now, let me say something. If you are a son of God, nothing can alter that relationship. No sin or backsliding can alter it. The prodigal in the far country, was still a son of a father who was waiting at home, patiently waiting for the son to return. He's learning things a hard way, a lesson that he couldn't learn in the home. He's got to learn it in the far country. He's got to experience discipline, problems, issues, loneliness, poverty, to bring him to his senses. The relationship was not broken, it still existed. What was altered was his fellowship and communion with the Father. He was still a son, albeit a disobedient son. And we've got to understand this. that once in Christ, regenerated by the Spirit of God, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, called by the Spirit of God and the family of God. Once we are justified, that justification is forever. And we may falter along the way like so many of God's people have done down through the years. But that relationship cannot be destroyed. But fellowship and communion with God can be broken. His union with the Father was unaffected. but his communion with the father was broken. And when we backslide, children of God, and go into the foreign country, that's what it really means. Our relationship does not change, but fellowship does. David sends with Bathsheba this great man. He refused to repent initially. Some believe that during that time, the Lord struck them with leprosy. I can't say for sure, but they did. It may have lasted for a year. Out of contact, relationship was the same, fellowship was broken, until God's servant went in with the message of God, David, thou art a man. Thou art the man in the parable that I have told you today. Thou art the man. Oh, the conviction that failed. Psalm 51 was the result of this. I have sinned. I have transgressed. As a someone today, you've lost your way. I'm not here to condemn you, by the way. I'm here to exhort you. to point you to Christ, to the father, to the father's house, to what you used to experience, what you used to enjoy. But reminding you, our union with Christ doesn't alter, but communion does. It's immediately broken. What about Naomi? She left to go to sojourn in Moab. She stayed there 10 years. She was away for 10 years. What about Jacob? Oh, Jacob was a great man, was he not? Yes, of course he was. He went away to the far country. He's the Old Testament prodigal, if you like. Away for 20 years. I don't know how long this boy was away. Jacob was away for 20 years. But there's mercy with God. Because God said, I want you to go back to Bethel, the house of God. Bethel, get back there. For he met with God in Genesis 20, 28. There's only one place where you can get restoration, that's at the cross. Back to the arms of a loving Heavenly Father. What about Abraham? Oh, Father Abraham, the friend of God. Well, we know from the word of God that between Genesis 16 and Genesis 17, you see these six at the end of Genesis 16, these 99 at the beginning of Genesis 17, so there's 13 years between. No revelation from God, he had faltered, he had sinned, he ran ahead of God, And for 13 years there was a silence. God never spoke to him for 13 years. Can you imagine that? Maybe you're here today in God's house. You're a believer. Suddenly you're remembering former times. You're going back two years before and you enjoy being in the house of God. You're here maybe by constraint. Maybe the Lord just brought you in to hear this message today. But you can remember fonder times, happier times. The wheels have come off somewhere along your life. You need help today, you need God. You need his mercy. Who the prodigal forsook for the far country? What the prodigal found in the far country. I'm not gonna get the message finished, so don't worry about it. I'll get a little bit of the second point covered here. So he, the prodigal, sought for the far country. What the prodigal found in the far country. Well, what did he find in the far country? It was not all that he expected it to be. How do I know that? Because the Bible tells me he began to be in want. Oh, he set out with a lot of ambitions. certain things he wanted to do, maybe business projects and so on, but now how come he began to be in want? Well obviously he enjoyed the fun time. There he wasted the substance with riotous loving. The world is many, many pleasures to and just the child of God to and away from the things of God. And the term riotous loving, some translate reckless loving or lush loving. So we can only imagine what that is referring to. I don't want to be blaming him for something that he wasn't guilty of, but that's the idea in the word. Wild extravagance is another way to interpret it. loose from restraint. And the root of the word riotous is the same as the word excess in Ephesians and riot in 1 Peter. So there's a contrast here. At the time he went into the presence of the Father, he gathered together all of his goods. There's the gathering up of these things. And then he's in the far country. And he wasted all of these things. And that word wasted, it means to scatter abroad, to dispense. It's the word used for winnowing the grain. You throw the grain up and hope that the wind blows away all the useless part of it. The dross. He threw his substance right about him. He threw it away carelessly. He squandered the goods the father had given to him. So let me ask you the question, are you using the gifts or talents that God has given to you for his glory? He gives unto his children gifts and talents and abilities to do certain things. This comes along with salvation. Let me ask you the question, are you squandering the Lord's goods? Are you using those goods for the glory of his name? It says he joined himself to a citizen of that country, and that word joined simply means he glued himself to it. He cemented himself to him. He's in bondage now. Oh, he's looking for freedom away from the father, and he's glued to a citizen of another country. He didn't care for him at all. Because the sense of the word that is used here, that he glued himself, he made a nuisance of himself. The citizen didn't really want to hire him at all. But he insisted, he kept on insisting. With the result that the citizen really showed him very little respect. That's what he's saying here. He was laboring for the citizen in the far country, instead of working for father at home. Now his service is mentioned, he gets sent out into the fields, plural. I suppose we could call this citizen, the foreigner, the foreigner's fields, a different land, foreigner's fields. And the prodigal's brother, remember when the prodigal returned and his elder brother come in from the field, he had been out working in the father's field. So here's the prodigal. He's out in the fields of the citizen. The brother who stayed at home, he's found in the father's field. That reminded me when I was studying about the story of Ruth and Boaz. In Genesis chapter two, Naomi encouraged Ruth to go into the harvest field. And the field that she entered into was the field of Boaz. Boaz is a type of Christ in the Book of Ruth. So she was sent as a new convert into the field of Boaz to labor for Boaz in his field. And when Boaz came on the scene, he said unto Ruth, go not to glean in another field. And then he went on to say, I want you to keep your eye on this field, labor here in my field. But here's the backslider, laboring in the foreigners' fields. While the brother who stayed at home representing self-righteous people, he's at home working in the father's field. Remember Proverbs 24, the wise man went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of a man void of understanding, he discovered great neglect. It was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. So the field of the slothful had been neglected. Are you neglecting your field, the field that God has placed you in to labor for him? Remember what Jesus said in John 4, 35. He said, a great missionary text, lift up your eyes and look on the fields. for they are quite already onto harvests. So a little thing I want to deduce from what I'm saying here is this. We have got to take care of our own field, the field of our own heart, before we can worry about the fields out there if they unconvert it. It's good to have a missionary zeal. Yes, we're a church that believes in missions and missionaries of the cross. We support them. but if your own field is not right, how can you get involved in the fields of others? Backsliders are great wasters. I think of Matthew 13, verse four, the sower went out to sow in his field. He was scattering seed. And there's a spiritual application. The sower initially is Christ, but it applies to pastors, teachers, Sunday school teachers, whatever. And we're to sow the seed of the kingdom of God. So spiritually, when we, as sowers of the seed, we're doing the Father's work, spreading the Father's gospel, spreading the Father's word. And the sower did it faithfully. The son of Luke chapter 15, he scattered a substance. He scattered and wasted the father's wealth. He did it foolishly. Both reap the harvest. The sower in Matthew 13 reaped the harvest. It was fruit. But the son in Luke 15, he reaped the harvest. It wasn't fruit. It was a famine. It was a famine. There's an old saying, and I quote it now, who follows pleasure, pleasure slays. Pleasure slays. I'm not sure how long he was in the far country. I couldn't say that, couldn't even make a guess at it. But suddenly, he encountered famine time. He's enjoyed fun time, but then he encounters famine time. There arose not only a regular famine, it was a mighty famine. By when God comes after you, it will be a mighty coming after you. It was a mighty famine. Waste is followed by want. His finances, his friends, his food, they're all gone. He never anticipated this. He never expected this. This was not what he expected to find in the far country, but that's the way it turned out to be. He never expected to end up in the fields feeding swine. There's his experience at want. There is his employment, the meanest of all jobs, feeding swine. especially for a Jew. And then there was the environment. Tyrell, what an environment to be in. That's where he's come to. Oh, he set out with great hopes and aspirations and everything else. I'll do it my way. I want my freedom. Nobody will tell me what to do. Doesn't matter who pleads with me or prays for me, I'm going to do it my way. He did do it his way, but then God did it his way. And boy, that was a tough blow for the young man. He began to be in want. What he found in the far country, it wasn't what he expected to be. What a come down, what a mess, far from home. No friends, no funds, no food. No man gave unto him. Oh, he maybe had plenty of friends when he was wasting his money and entertaining them and buying them whatever they were using for drink, whatever. Everybody's gone now. Nobody cares for him. Nobody wants him. Nobody wants to be in his presence. Get away, you stink. You're no friend of mine. Oh, he was used. And I think it dawned on him at a crucial moment, I have been used here. I've been used, I've been a fool. The fact that the swine were fed better than he was. Fowler's house was never like this. Do you agree with me? Fowler's house was never like this. Remember a lot, Genesis 13. There's a contrast even between 13 and 19. Sad. He only had a tent, he never had an altar, you know. But yet, when you read Peter, he was a just man, a righteous man. He was agreed with what was going on in Sodom. What on earth took him to Sodom? You see him looking towards Sodom. Oh, there's something beginning to work with him. Wonder what it's like down there. Oh, maybe I should go down there just to check it out. And then he located near Sodom. Oh, he's on a dangerous path now. He's locating towards Sodom. And then he's actually living in Sodom. What a disaster. And then he's losing out in Sodom. He lost almost everything. He lost all of his possessions. He lost his wife and his married daughters. He's lingering in Sodom. Even when the angels, the two angels come and say, let's get out, they had to lay hold upon him. He was lingering there. He wouldn't get out. He couldn't talk to him, you see. He couldn't talk to some people who were backslidden. They're hard, they're cold, they're indifferent. That's just the way he was. Nobody will tell me what to do. The angels and mercy laid hold upon him. And then he's leaving Sodom. I suppose we could say only with the shirt on his back. He took his journey, that's the prodigal. Abraham took his journey and he went on, still going toward the south because of a famine. The prodigal journeyed to a far country and was troubled because of a famine. Finances are gone. Fellowship with the father is gone. His food is gone. What a mess he's in now. I could go on, but I'm not going to keep any longer. I'll just give you the main heading. When the prodigal fled from the far country. It says in verse 17 that when he came to himself, he had not really been thinking right up to this point of time. And then he discovered, I've made a big mistake. It was at this point he began to think. He shut out all other noises and he began to think about his father in a different way. As circumstances had caused him to come to this realization. D.L. Moody said, there's always hope for a man when he begins to think. How sad it is today that some people don't want to think. They do not even dare to think. They do not even dare to sit down to think about a message preached in church or to think about their eternal destiny, where they will be in eternity. They're afraid to think. And so they shut these thoughts out of their minds by listening to loud music, by watching the videos, by going to the pub or the nightclub. All of these things just to wipe out from the mind thoughts about heaven or hell, where I will be in eternity. The Word of God tells me that the psalmist, when he was musing, that word muse means to meditate, to think, to meditate. And that's good. Psalm 1 tells us that as well. But when you add the a or the a to muse, it becomes negative. Amuse. Amusement. amusement. This is the devil's tool to prevent people from thinking. Repentance is the means to think again. And in the case of the prodigal, it was not a matter just of turning away from something. It was a matter of turning away from something, onto something. A return to the Heavenly Father. Now, Where are you, child of God? What is your position this day? Are you in the far country? Well, you may be enjoying the fun part now, but I can assure you, reading the scriptures, finding out from the experiences of other men, the famine time will come. It will hit you suddenly, just like that. And then what will you do about your boasts? There's mercy with God. Abraham, the great man that he was, failed many times. He failed in Genesis 12 and in verse 20 with the same sin. And maybe you feel powerless and hopeless and helpless and you're maybe saying to yourself, there's no hope for me. I keep on falling into the same old sin while Abraham did the very same thing, but God forgave him. There's mercy with God. There's a friend in heaven who loves you, loving father. He's been gracious to you, he's kept you alive. We could have done more, you know, by way of discipline. but there's mercy with God. He arose and came to his father. He was starving in the far country, but he's satisfied at home. Oh, they killed a fatty calf. The old garments are removed, new garments are put on, the rings there, the shoes on his feet. Oh, they're rejoicing. He's moved from misery to merriment. By the grace of God, he's back home again. The heartbreak is over. The nightmares end it. He should never have left, but he did. And he learned the hard way, but now he's home. When he went away, he offered a prayer, give me. That spoke of his selfishness. But the homecoming prayer, complete contrast, make me submission. He's getting back into fellowship with his father. And dare I say, there's a thought of the sacrifice and the slaying of the fatted calf. There's only one way back to God, whether you're a sinner or a backsider. It's through the sacrifice of Christ, through the atonement offered by this perfect Lamb of God. You can be saved today from your sin by grace, by blood, through faith in Christ, by the Spirit, and leave God's house justified fully by grace. ready for heaven and home. And if you're a backslider, you've lost out with God, you can be restored. That's what the psalmist says, Psalm 23, he restores my soul because there's mercy with God. What about it? Though I forget him and wander away, still he does love me wherever I stray. Back to his dear loving arms would I flee when I remember that Jesus still loves me. May God bless you. If you're in the far country, come back home. You've turned away from your loving father, come to him today. begin to rejoice, and you'll meet with him around the sacrifice of Christ. Be blessed. Amen. I'll not go to the door, but I trust that if anyone does want to speak to a minister, I'm here. Some of your elders are here. Mr. Murray will be available as well if you want to speak with him. But please, if God has spoken, listen. Listen. We'll close in prayer. Father, we do pray that we'll bless thy word this day and use it for thy glory to edify the saints, to challenge the unconverted, and to be the means to restore those who may have left their first love. Dismiss us with thy blessing. Dim thy fear, for we ask these things in the Savior's name and for Jesus' sake. Oh man.