Please turn back in your Bibles with me to 2 Corinthians this morning as we get back to our series on this remarkable letter. It's been a couple of weeks. Two weeks ago we were in our Christmas season and we enjoyed that time of fellowship through singing the praises of God, God's grace by sending Christ. And then last Sunday we sort of set the stage of what this year is going to look like. But now we're going to get back to this series, and even though we have just a few weeks left, we're in Chapter 12, there's only one more chapter to go through, there's still so much for us to look at and so much to learn from these inspired words given to the Apostle Paul for us even today. So as we get back to chapter 12 of 2 Corinthians, we need to remember that Paul was in the process of defending himself as a true apostle. Now, this is something that he did not want to have to do, but he was sort of feeling pressed to do it, to prove that he was a true apostle of Jesus Christ who was used by God in a special way to establish the church in that ancient cosmopolitan city of Corinth, which is just about 50 miles west of Athens there in Greece. So for a while, if you recall from chapter 11 into chapter 12, Paul felt like he had to play the same game that the false teachers were playing, which he described all the way back in chapter 10, verse 12. Do you remember what they were doing? These false leaders, these false apostles were measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves amongst themselves. And so they were kind of measuring up against each other to see who was better, who's the better speaker, who's the better teacher, who had the most followers, who was getting the most money from those followers. And of course, Paul described that as being something that was not wise. measuring ourselves by ourselves, comparing ourselves. It's not wise. But as it turns out, as we read through chapter 11 into chapter 12, there really was no comparison at all between Paul as a true apostle and those false apostles. And so Paul now wants to end this game and explain to this beloved church his true character in his life and service for them. And so our text will be from verses 11 through 15, where Paul writes again, I have become a fool in glory. Ye have compelled me, for I ought to have been commended of you or by you. For in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, even though in reality I be nothing. Truly, the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. For what is it wherein ye were inferior to these other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong. Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be burdensome to you. For I seek not yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, even though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved." As we just read in these five verses, the Apostle Paul sought to serve Christ and this church in a rather unconventional, unnatural, and even abnormal way. according to the standards of the world. But what is abnormal to the world really is and ought to be normal for a believer in Christ. What is unnatural to the world really is and ought to be natural for a servant of Christ. Because this is what Jesus himself taught us all the way back in Matthew chapter 20. Where Jesus said, whosoever will be chief among you. Now we would admit that the apostles back then were chief among the leaders of those churches. But Jesus said, the way the world works in leadership is not the way the church is going to work in leadership. Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your Servant, not your master, but your servant. And then, of course, he gives himself as the prime example. Even as the son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to serve and even to give his life a ransom for many. And that's what we just read in these verses. Paul is seeking to follow the example of Christ by being a servant to that church. So this morning, We, too, need to learn what Paul learned about living and serving as Christians. And the first thing that we come to in verse 11 is that we need to learn to look more like Christ. We need to learn to look more like Christ, even as Paul strove to do. And how did he do this? Through the humble service that we find in verse 11. Humble service. Again Paul writes, I have become a fool in glorying, but you have compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you, because in nothing am I behind the very cheapest apostles, even though I be nothing. Now in the eyes of this world, glorying which we find there in verse 11, which can also mean to boast or to brag about something, to brag about yourself, to brag about your accomplishments. That's perfectly normal, isn't it? That's perfectly natural. In many ways, it seems like the only way to get noticed and to get ahead in this world and in this life is to boast about yourself. I remember when I was learning how to write a resume for the first time, I was told that you've got to sell yourself. And so that's what you do. You know, when they ask you for your weaknesses, you try to find strengths that can look like weaknesses but really aren't weaknesses, right? You sell yourself. That's perfectly normal in this world, to get ahead. But what is normal in this world is and ought to be abnormal for the Christian and abnormal in the church. And that's why Paul says, after attempting to play the same game as those false teachers, I am become a fool in glory. And really, that's the way we ought to feel when we're kind of pushed to state our achievements or our accomplishments, when you are attempting to sell yourself. Though we can be thankful for how God has enabled us to do these things, yet it's not a comfortable thing for Christians to do. What's normal in this world ought to be abnormal for the Christians. In fact, it seems like Paul was starting to feel a little ashamed that he even had to write to them the way he did earlier. So he wrote to get their attention. It was so out of character for him to glory in even his weaknesses, but now he was done. They had compelled him, and now he was going to stop glorying and he was going to keep on living and serving as Jesus did, not in pride, but in great humility. And that's what we need to learn, too, in our life and service for Christ. Humility. We need to learn humility for the same reasons Paul did. First, because of the favor of God to us. The favor of God. Paul continues on in verse 11 and says, For in nothing am I behind the very cheapest apostles. Now, at first, it sounds like Paul is still playing the boasting game. But in truth, he's not. He's just stating the truth, stating a fact that God had given him the blessing and the gifts of being an apostle. Paul, like nobody else, saw his calling and service as an apostle, as the gracious gift of the Lord to him. For Paul, all he had, all that he did, all that he was, was from and through the Lord. In fact, back in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 10, Paul wrote, by the grace of God, I am what I am. When you simply state out of gratitude what God has given you as a gift, That's not boasting, that's not bragging, that's not glorying in yourself, but rather glorying in what God is doing both in and through you. And that's what Paul did. But then also in the same breath, Paul expresses a humble heart because of the great folly of pride. The very end of verse 11 he says, though I be nothing. That is a true statement of humility. That is the true feeling of a heart of a Christian. Because Paul knew that without the Lord, he was nothing. Paul knew that without the Lord, he could do nothing of true and lasting value. And isn't that what Jesus himself taught? In John 15, verse 5, Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches. He's talking to his people. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. And then, of course, he adds these words, for without me, Ye can do nothing. We see later on in the New Testament that the things that we do apart from abiding in Christ become wood and hay and stubble, things that have no true and lasting value. Now, this kind of humble attitude and humble service is unnatural to the world. It's abnormal. But it will become completely natural for you when you learn from the humble heart and service of your own Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Remember these words from Philippians 2. Maybe you already have them to memory. Philippians 2, verse 3, Paul says, "...let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind..." That's humility. "...in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." That's abnormal from the world's point of view. He goes on, "...look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." Why? Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, not just the form, but he is truly God, in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, humility, took upon him the form of a servant, humility, and was found in the likeness of men, flesh and blood, like you and I. That's humility. and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself even further and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. That's humility. Let us learn today to look more and more like Jesus himself, because the Christian life is a humble life. And the Christian service is a humble service, so we need to learn to look just like Jesus, even as Paul strove to do. The second thing that we find from these verses is that we also need to learn to live more like Christ. To live more like Christ, also as Paul strove to do, how? Through patient service. Not just humble service like Christ, but also patient service. This is what we find in verse 12. Paul continues, truly. And he's talking to those Christians that knew him personally, the Christians that were there when he founded the church there in the city of Corinth. And he says, truly, the signs of an apostle. In other words, you knew who I was. You know who I am. The signs of an apostle were wrought among you. They were worked out in all patients in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. Now the most normal and natural way to live in this world is to live for the moment, isn't it? The goal of so many people in life is just to, as it says in Luke 12, take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But tomorrow, we may die. I know some of you stayed up for the new year. If you watched any of the events on TV as the ball dropped, that was on full display, wasn't it? The partying and the revelry. We stayed up and we had a good time. We didn't need to drink. We didn't need to have the music. We didn't need to carouse. But you think about living for the moment. People live often just for the next weekend so that they can get a break from work and just live for that day. living in the moment, trying to do as much as they can with the time that they have. And that is normal. But what is normal in this world is and ought to be abnormal for the Christian and for the church. And that's why Paul describes the kind of life and service that he had with them in this way. He says, truly, the signs of an apostle were wrought among you. He worked. He worked hard. But he didn't just work for the moment. He worked for eternal value. He worked. And that was one reason why they should have responded to him and his ministry. Now, there are quite a few signs of an apostle that are mentioned in the New Testament. Here he just mentions one. The signs mentioned here are the signs of miracles. God gifted Paul in a miraculous way. He gifted Paul to work signs and wonders and mighty deeds. Now you think, boy, if we had this gift, if we had this ability, if we could work and serve in this way, boy, I would be at church every single Sunday, and I'd be on fire for God every single weekday, and I'd be out there witnessing to all my friends and all my co-workers and doing all of these things. Because these are powerful things, powerful tools that God gave the Apostle Paul. Just a brief look at what these are. The miracles that were used to get people's attention were called signs. God gave this gift to Paul to help him be identified as a true apostle. They could say, ah, there's something different about this guy. The miracles that were used for awe, to astonish the people that he was speaking to were called wonders. These were used much like the plagues that God used in Egypt to bring people to a point of astonishment and even concern about their condition before such a mighty and powerful God. Miracles that were used for approval were called mighty deeds. These mighty deeds were used to show that God had granted His approval and authority to men. So all these different kinds of miracles were used by Paul to convince and to convict the people there in Corinth that they needed Jesus as their Savior. Now, you would think that with these kinds of gifts in your arsenal, how easy it would be to serve God, no matter where He sent you and no matter who you spoke to. But that does not appear to be the case in this verse. Because Paul says that when he was with them, even performing these kinds of miraculous signs before them, he had to do so in all patience." In all patience. So it seems that the Corinthians were not so easily persuaded by these signs and wonders and mighty deeds. Perhaps they were as stubborn as Pharaoh back in the Old Testament when he had to go through these ten plagues before he was convinced to let God's people go. In fact, if you remember the very beginning of the Corinthian church from Acts 18, The Lord even had to console and encourage Paul to keep on keeping on, to keep on serving, even though he had these miraculous gifts. In Acts 18.9, the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision and prayer, be not afraid. Paul was afraid. Paul, the apostle, the great apostle, with all of these gifts and abilities to perform miracles and signs and wonders and mighty deeds. He was afraid. The Lord says, don't be afraid, but speak. And hold not thy peace, for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee, for I have much people in this city. And so it took Paul patience and perseverance and persistence in his service in that city of Corinth. In fact, that time in Acts 18, he ended up staying there for a year and a half. One of the longest periods of time of his ministry in staying in one place at one time. So in spite of Paul's God-given gift to work these signs and wonders and mighty deeds, Paul still experienced fear in his service for the Lord. And so he, too, needed to learn to serve as Christ served, with patience, persistence, and perseverance. But once again, isn't that kind of attitude of patient service unnatural to the world? But what kind of servant are you for Christ today? Are you patient? persistent, ready to persevere, not saying, well, I'm just going to give up, but rather continue on in service for the Lord. This kind of patient attitude and patient service is so unnatural to the world, but it can become completely natural for you if you learn from the patient heart and service of the Lord. Think about Jesus's service to you. If he, like many of us, would have given up, where would our faith be? Think about how Jesus came to serve. You don't need to turn there, but listen to what it says in Hebrews chapter 12. We spent a little time looking at verses 1 and 2 last week, but now listen to verses 2 and 3. Hebrews 12, 2 and 3. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. That word endure is the exact same word as patience that Paul describes here in 2 Corinthians. For the joy that was set before him was patiently enduring the cross, despising the shame, and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God. And then verse 3, consider him, think about Jesus, who endured, same word, who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Even Jesus, with the purity of His life and the power of His words, still had to be patient in His service, still had to endure such contradiction of sinners against Himself. Yet He persevered in order to fulfill His ministry and to die on the cross so that you and I might be saved by faith in Him. The truth is, if you are a Christian today and you are sitting here today, God is not done with you yet. Of course, this last week, we had to say goodbye to Conor Rice. For 27 years, he struggled physically, mentally, in ways that we could never imagine. And of course, his parents and his family members suffered along with him and struggled with him. But God had a reason for Conor to live for 27 years Someone described him even later that he was actually taller than I am. Six foot one, 210 pounds was what he reached. And yet we would wonder, the world would wonder, what was the point of his life? Why did God keep him around so long? Well, we may not know all the reasons, but God only took him when his purpose for him was fulfilled. If you're here today, God's not done with you yet. And that's why we need to patiently, persistently persevere in the service that God has given us, no matter what it is, no matter where it is. So let us learn to live more and more like Jesus, because the Christian life is to be a patient life and Christian service is a matter of endurance. Learn to live like Jesus. And then we find a third thing that we see from verses 13 and 14 from Paul's life. We also need to learn to labor more like Christ. Again, all of these things describe service for God. Paul strove to live and labor more like Christ through selfless service. Through selfless service. not just humble service, not just patient service, but selfless service. Again, verse 13, Paul continues, for what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches? Now, for some reason, the Corinthian church thought that they were less than the other churches that Paul founded or the other churches in other areas of the world. Have you ever felt that way? Are we missing something in our church? Are we inferior? no different than the early church. And they were founded by the apostle Paul himself. What is it wherein you are inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong, verse 14. But behold, this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be burdensome to you. For I seek not yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. Again, it is quite normal and quite natural for us to live our lives for ourselves in a selfish and self-absorbed way where it's our problems, our pain, our financial difficulties. And you can see this all over Facebook today. The world will tell you that that's OK. You need to look out for number one. And of course, who are they referring to? Not the Lord, but yourself. And it seems like the Corinthian church was infected with that same kind of attitude, even to the point where they were jealous of other churches. And they were thinking that maybe because they had Paul as their apostle, they were inferior to the other churches. Now we think, what were they complaining about? They had Paul! But they were thinking, well, there were other churches that had Peter as their founder, or one of the other apostles that had actually been with Jesus for those three years when he was on earth. Maybe they felt a little slighted that they were founded by someone that was not with Jesus for those three years. We're not sure why. For some reason they felt inferior and were jealous. So Paul now takes the opportunity here to remind them that the only difference between them and the other churches, whether it was founded by Paul or Peter or any of the other apostles, was simply they did not have to support Paul financially. That was the only difference. He did not want to place that kind of burden on them. As we see from other scriptures, that was the right of the apostles to receive support from the churches that they found. It's the right of pastors and teachers. They said, I didn't want to burden you with that. Freely I receive, so freely I'm going to give. He wanted to be a living example of the gospel himself. But he said, in everything else, you're the same. See, every church, including theirs, including ours, no matter where we are, no matter what size we are, we have the same founder. Jesus Christ is our founder. Now I know, back in 1955, there were a group of people that came from, I think, First Baptist Church and other places and signed a little charter establishing Grace Baptist Church of Mohawk. But they were not the founders of this church. Jesus Christ is the founder of this church. We have the same gifts. as any other church. You go through 1 Corinthians 12 and you see all the different gifts, spiritual gifts that God has given to us, and the Holy Spirit has provided us the same gifts that they have to other churches. In fact, our church has the same mission as every other church. It's the gospel, the ministry of the gospel, here and in the places that God puts us, whether it's the Good News Club or the nursing home or wherever you are, as a representative for Christ and your church, There's no reason for jealousy. There's no reason for comparison shopping, thinking that, well, we're inferior to someone else. Why? Because we are the same. We have the same founder, the same mission, the same gifts. And so Paul shows them and us the kind of attitude that we should have toward each other. Instead of looking within and being jealous, we ought to look without and be selfless. He describes in verse 14 a selfless desire for each other. Paul says these words, for I seek not yours, but you. I seek not yours, but you. The reason why Paul did not actively seek financial support from them or any other church was so that there would be no question about his motive for ministry. It wasn't about money. It wasn't about what they had. It was about them. His ministry was not for himself, but for them, not what can I get from you, but how can I give myself to you so that you might belong to Christ? And unfortunately, I think we have more of a selfish attitude oftentimes, even in our own service, don't we? Even on coming to church, well, what can I get instead of what can I give? What can I get out instead of who can I minister to today? It's not just about coming and sitting and receiving and filling up that cup. It's then about spilling out what has been filled up to give to others. It's a selfless desire. But we also see a selfless devotion for each other. A selfless devotion, even as Paul had in verse 14. And he describes how the children, not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. This is a common principle. all throughout the world. It is a normal thing, a natural thing, for parents to want to provide for their children. And we do. As someone once said, parental love, though, can often be an expensive love. Right? According to a report by the Department of Agriculture, the cost of rearing a child through the age of 17 in the United States, are you ready for this? is about $230,000. Parental love is expensive love. Think about the Hegdals. They're millionaires. They just haven't invested in their children, right? But for parents, that's OK. Because parents do it out of love. And so as parents provide for their children, Paul says, that's why I'm here. I'm seeking to provide for you as a spiritual father to you. But this kind of selfless attitude and selfless service is quite unnatural to the world, isn't it? So natural. But it will become completely natural for you as you learn from the selfless heart and service of the Lord. Remember the lesson Jesus gave to his disciples. We referenced it earlier from the book of Matthew, but he says the same thing in the gospel of Mark. Mark 10, 42, Jesus called his disciples to them. Remember they were arguing who's going to be the big wig in the kingdom of God? Who's going to sit next to Jesus as a co-ruler? So Jesus calls them together and says to them, you know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them. And their great ones exercise authority upon them. They're masters. We see this in our own government. But then Jesus says, no, what's natural to the world is to be unnatural to the church. What is normal to the world is to be abnormal in Christians' lives. And so he says, so shall it not be among you. But whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister, your servant. And whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve. He was completely selfless. Completely. So let us learn to labor more and more like Jesus. It's not about what I can get out of my service, but how I can give out of my service. Because the Christian life is to be a selfless life, and Christian service is a selfless service. Let us learn to labor like Jesus. And then fourth, we also need to learn to love more like Christ. To love more like him, even as Paul strove to do. How? Through sacrificial service as well. That's what we find in the last verse we come to, verse 15. where Paul again says, I will very gladly spend and be spent, spend and be spent for you, for your souls. Though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. Here the true motivation of Paul's service for the Lord and for that church comes out. What is it? It's love. The reason why people don't serve Christ is because they don't love Christ. The reason why people don't serve Christians in the church is because they don't love Christians and they don't love the church. And from the world's perspective, sacrificial love is not a natural thing. It's not a normal thing. This is why when there are exceptional stories of sacrificial love, they are celebrated, they're written about, maybe even put into a movie. But what is not natural will become natural in your life as a Christian. What is not normal will become normal in your service as a Christian. And there will be a true attitude of Christ-like love. Paul writes again, verse 15, I will very gladly spend and be spent for you. Now if you look at verse 15, you can see the contrast with his desire from them in verse 14. Verse 14, it says, I seek not yours, but you. And now he says, I will very gladly spend and be spent for you. Do you see the difference? Paul did not want anything from them, but was willing to give everything for them. That's the difference. Paul did not want anything from them, but was willing to give everything for them and spend all he had. He spent all his money for Christ and his church. He spent all of his resources for Christ and his church. He spent all of his energy and even all of his time. In fact, whatever Paul made, he gave. And he did so very gladly, it says there. Now this reminded me of the other passage in 2 Corinthians where it talks about how Christians are to give. Chapter 8 and 9, how God loves a cheerful giver, right? Even Ron mentioned that in his prayer before the offering. And then we remember that it's not ours, it's yours, and so we give it gladly. And that's what Paul's saying. It's not just about giving my resources, but giving my life gladly in service for God. That means it was one of his greatest pleasures in life was to spend and be spent for them. Is that how you feel when you serve Christ? Is that how you feel when you serve other people? I am glad to spend whatever it takes to be a blessing to that person. I'm glad that I have the privilege and ability to be used up for ministry for Christ. For Paul, it really was better to give than to receive. We had our final Christmas yesterday as a family. All of Angie's family got together, and of course it's my family too now, but we enjoyed seeing children open presents, and of course the kids, they think it's better to receive than give. They're tearing up that wrapping paper. They're looking at those presents. They're excited. They love it. But the older you get, the more you enjoy watching those children open those presents. Because you mature in your understanding of giving. You mature in your understanding of love. You mature in your understanding of sacrificial service. And even though I probably didn't help my wife pick out these presents, In fact, they were as much of a surprise to me as they were to those kids. I had a smile from ear to ear. Because it was better to give than to receive. That's what it means to be a Christian servant. And he says this especially if it means the winning of their souls for Christ. But this sacrificial love extended not to his possessions either. It extended to his own person. He was willing also, it says here, to be spent for them. That means he was willing to be completely used up in his service for the Lord and for them, for their souls. You might have seen the bumper sticker that says whoever dies with most Tories wins. That was not the philosophy. of Paul. That should not be the philosophy of Christ's servants. Because in reality, our time is not our own. It belongs to Christ and His people. Our gifts are not our own. Even our health is not our own. And so Paul gladly allowed himself to be used up, spent in his service for Christ. Then we also see the condition of that love. We see the true affection of Christ-like love in verse 15 when he adds, I'm doing this. I will spend and be spent for your souls, even though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. Now some other translations have this in the form of a question, but either way, this seems to be an ongoing condition in the church. The love of the Corinthians for the Apostle Paul, and we've seen this as we've read through this letter, had grown weaker and colder. even though his love had grown warmer and stronger. As Philip Hughes once wrote, less love on their part will not diminish the greatness of his love for them. For it is not to himself that he wishes to bind them, but to Christ. That's what Christian love is all about. It's not I love you because I want you to love me. It's I love you because I want you to love Christ. And so even though the less I'm loved by you, the most important thing is that you love Christ. That's what Christian love and service is all about. His love, our love, ought to be a reflection of Christ's love. It's a love that does not count the cost. It's a love that gives all and seeks no reward. And this kind of loving attitude and loving service, again, is so unnatural for us in our own flesh. But I want you to know that it can become completely natural as you look at and learn from the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ Himself. In Galatians 2, verse 20, Paul wrote, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Love and sacrifice. Love and giving. Jesus loved you and gave himself for you. He gave his very life so that you might receive him and have rest for your souls. In fact, Jesus said in John 15, 13, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. That's true love. That's sacrificial love. That's wondrous love. What wondrous love is this, O my soul! O my soul! What wondrous love is this, O my soul! What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul. For my soul. To bear the dreadful curse for my soul. So now let us learn to love more and more like Jesus, because the Christian life is an unnatural and even an abnormal life in the eyes of this world. But I want you to know it will become normal as you seek to look like Christ with his humility, as you seek to live like Christ with his patience and endurance, as you seek to labor like Christ with selflessness, and as you seek to love like Christ with complete surrender and sacrifice to him and his people. You will never regret when you live and serve for Christ and his people in this way. You'll never regret it. So may your life's motto become like Paul's. I will very gladly spend and be spent, not just for you, not just for God's people, but for Christ himself. I will very gladly spend and be spent. Let's close in prayer. Gracious Father, I thank you for this testimony of the Apostle Paul and really what a Christian servant is all about. I pray heavenly Father that we will not just look to Paul and his example, but to follow him as he follows Christ's example. Because ultimately the way Christ looks and the way Christ lives and the way Christ labored and the way Christ loved is how we ought to. And so Father, I pray as we look at these verses that we will have those two main principles in view. Help us, Lord, as Paul, to not seek the substance of people, but rather the souls of people. It's not the things that they have, but who they are that we want to win to Christ. And then, Lord, I pray that we will very gladly spend and be spent in service for Christ and for your people. Because, Father, that is what the Christian life and service is all about. And so, Father, I pray that you will impress this truth on the hearts of your people today. I pray that we will work for the night is coming again. So often what is normal in the world often comes becomes normal in our lives as Christians. And yet there should be a counter cultural lifestyle in our lives as believers in Christ. What is normal in the world should be abnormal in the church. What is natural in the world should be unnatural to us as believers. And so, Father, I pray that we will be peculiar people, zealous of good works, as we seek, as Paul did, to live lives and to serve you with humility, with patience, with selflessness, and even to the point of great sacrifice, because our greatest desire is that a soul will be one to you. And we ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.