As I mentioned, last week we had our Baptism Sunday and covered that doctrine in depth, but I want to recap from where we were in the previous chapter of Daniel. The last, in chapter 5, We had the story of Belshazzar and the hand, the floating hand that appeared and the judgment that was written on the wall. Now at the end of that chapter, we saw that the kingdom of Babylon falls. And it falls to a man named Darius the Mede, who was 62 years old. And at that point, we had seen that Daniel was clearly no longer a part of the high officials or the court. At the party, Daniel was not to be found. He had to be gone and sought to help interpret what was on the wall. And so we see now Daniel is being brought back into the fold as we transition here to Daniel 6, but that was an entirely new kingdom. Previously also we had mentioned that these first seven chapters are a chiasm where they reflect each other. In our chapter for today, chapter six, the beginning that reflects chapter three, where we read about Nebuchadnezzar and his dreams. I'm sorry, my apologies. The fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, right? And how their trial that they experienced and how the Lord delivered them. We'll see in the second half of Daniel 6, the great deliverance from the lion's den for this morning, we'll see the trial that Daniel goes through and that mirrors what we've already seen in chapter 3. And what we learn from chapter 3 is that God is truly unrivaled and in power and worthy of all praise. There is none like him. And although there is none like him, God and his people still have many rivals. The war is not yet done. There's still more work to do. So as I mentioned, Daniel chapter 5 verse 31 shares that Darius the Mede receives the kingdom and him being about 62 years old at the transition from Belshazzar. And I want to just read for us the first couple of verses in chapter 6 right here that help see how now the new kingdom is being set up under this Darius. It sets the table, it sets the stage for this new chapter in this new kingdom. It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, probably local officials, to be throughout the whole kingdom. And over them three high officials, or presidents as other translations have used, or more like governors over these satraps, of whom Daniel was one. So we see now Daniel is now back in the fold. He's now back in public life serving the kingdom. And these three high officials and these satraps, they were all to give account to Daniel. He is set as the top high official over all of the satraps and officials. And it is said he has done this so the king might suffer no loss. So the king might suffer no loss. So there's a new king in the kingdom, his name is Darius the Mede. And this Darius is actually an interesting figure in history, and he's actually given biblical scholars a little bit of trouble, because there's not a lot of archeological support or evidence for Darius the Mede, but the lack of archeological support doesn't necessarily present an issue to us, just because he's not written down specifically in what is available today, but we have it here in the scripture for us to work from. And so we see here at the outset of this new kingdom, the political chessboard is being set. There's this structure of state chaps and high officials, all who are to report to Daniel, all to report to the king, and specifically for the king's benefit. And Daniel is yet again set as second in command. And obviously the purpose here is so that there's no financial shenanigans. And financial shenanigans is, that's never been a problem amongst political officials, so I don't see what's the issue here, but anyway. As we have it. Well, as we like to, we typically have a question for our time as we're thinking about our passage. So now we have our context in place, we have this new kingdom, and it's got this new big structure, and Daniel is back again in the fold, in the front, in the thick of it. However, we're gonna see some significant problems arise fairly quickly. So our question for this morning, is how are God's people to navigate false conspiracies from the wicked? How are God's people to navigate false conspiracies for the wicked? Although we have a new kingdom here and a new structure, and Daniel is back at the top in the fold here, we see that this new political landscape is in lockstep with previous kingdoms. Man has not changed. This is not a new regime of men who are of the word. These are all men who are of political savviness. And we see this political savviness put on display immediately. Daniel's reputation obviously precedes him, and that obviously comes into conflict with this new structure. So if you're taking notes, this brings us to our first main point for this morning as we consider our passage. First main point for those who are taking notes is this. Our most high God allows his faithful people to be falsely conspired against even when obeying his law. Our most high God allows his faithful to be falsely conspired against even when obeying his law. No matter how faithful we may be, We are all subject to the sufferings, the potential of being falsely conspired against. I'm sure many of you here, I know many in ministry also experience this, have been falsely conspired against. So we should not be surprised as we see it again here in Daniel, as we've seen in many passages, when those who are faithful, when that faith is used against them in truly conniving and deceitful ways. And the more faithful a person, as we see Daniel's a very upright man, Shadrach, Meshach, they were very upright men, the more faithful a person is, the greater sense of injustice we feel when they are falsely conspired against, when they are falsely accused, when they are slandered. However, what we are going to see is that the greater the injustice that is experienced, the greater vindication and deliverance and glory is given to God for that deliverance. Amen? The persecutions that the faithful experience, that we experience, can be very difficult, but the Lord is faithful to use them mightily in the testimonies of his people. And obviously, the foremost example is Christ himself, whose life the gospels are filled with the conspiracies of the Pharisees as they sought to put him to death. Our Lord knows well what it means to be conspired against. All right, let us dig into our passage for this morning. Verse three, let's continue on. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. What we've seen in the past is clearly happening again. He's become distinguished amongst others, made for his wisdom, made for his experience. But clearly he has an excellent spirit within him. And this is attracted to the king. The king realizes this can be for his benefit. This Daniel is a faithful man and he will be faithful to me. This is gonna be good for me, I like this. So he's gonna set him over the whole kingdom. So the motivation of these Sachaps and the governors, the high officials is set, we see here. One, they are either jealous of this outsider, this exile from Judah who is placed over them, or maybe Daniel is like a bit of a biblical doge. He's keeping things in check. He's making sure things don't get squirrely out there. And if I'm a politically motivated savvy worker, I like to be able to hide things, but I don't think these folks are able to get this past Daniel. Verse four, then the high officials and satraps sought to find ground for a complaint against Daniel. Almost immediately they are finding a way to get out from underneath Daniel's purview with regard to the kingdom. But they could find no ground or complaint or any fault because he was faithful. He was faithful in his roles to serve, to protect, to keep account. And no error or fault was found in him. Now this is Daniel's third kingdom he has served. And I don't know about you, but if I was in Daniel's position, I might be a little jaded from all the overall, I'm very old now, and all this work that I have to put in, and essentially people are just handing me the responsibility of administrating the whole kingdom. But we don't see that. What we see is an excellent spirit in Daniel. We see that he was faithful and that no error or fault is in him. And you know how good politicians are at finding dirt. Nothing can be found on Daniel. They search far and wide for wrongdoing, but they cannot find anything. He is exemplary, faithful in all his duties. I think part of what we see here is that he understood that he's not just serving men. He has served many men in many roles, but he is not just serving men, he is serving God. I'm sure often he's reminded of the promises in the scripture in Jeremiah 29. He was to seek the good and welfare of the city, of the kingdom of where he was, because the welfare they experienced was the welfare he was going to experience. Daniel embodies what we have received in the New Testament in Colossians 3.23. Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. or that is embodied in Daniel here. Could you imagine if a politician in our day and age was spoken of like this? They would change all the Constitution. He'd be in office forever, right? Wow. I'm grateful for the example that we have here in Daniel. But let's not forget the reason that this structure was set up. The structure was set up so that the king would suffer no loss. And so what does he do? He places Daniel at the top, the one in whom no fault could be found, the one with a perfect administrative record. And so of course it's clear that the folks who don't want him at the top, what their purposes are, they don't want him at the top because they're accountable to him. No surprise we see in these conspirators. Another thing we can be, as we get started here, another thing we can be grateful as we see is how good the Lord has been to preserve Daniel in such a position. These are the biggest kingdoms to have ruled the ancient world. And Daniel is being said to have had significant responsibility. And in each of those roles, he has been faithful, no error. That is only because of the power of God. That is nothing in Daniel. That is a man who has trusted the Lord and who the Lord has preserved, who the Lord has been his shield. However, being found faithful, being found without error, clearly does not build him friendship and camaraderie amongst these Sachaps, but it puts a target on his back. Let's continue on, verse five. Then these men said, we shall not find any ground for complaint against Daniel, this Daniel, unless we find it in the connection, in connection to, with the law of his God. We will not find any ground for complaint unless we find it in connection with the law of his God. These conspirators remind me of what we read of in Luke 16, that the sons of the world are more shrewd than the sons of light. These people are savvy. They are shrewd. They know that the only means, the only thing is they're gonna have to fabricate something to pin it against his religious belief. the exclusivity of proper worship. This is what they pin. Or monotheism, the fact that Daniel only serves one true God. This is what they have to go after, because they know there's no other means by which they can get Daniel. And this has long been a means by which the enemies of God have attacked God's people. Monotheism has often been twisted and turned to attack God's people. Many of the early church writings, the apologies of the early church fathers, is to explain that, no, we are not atheists, no, we do not drink blood and eat things, no, no, no, to explain the Christian faith. Often people were accused of being atheists because they did not worship all the plethora of gods. Not that we don't worship all of those gods, it's that we worship the one true God in Him alone. We do not worship kings either. So they know that this Daniel is a man of the law of God and that he will not capitulate on his deeply held beliefs. So here we see the beginning of the conspiracy against Daniel, the roots, the idea taking form against Daniel. Continue on in verse six. Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, O King Darius, live forever. All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps and the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction that whoever makes a petition to any god or man for 30 days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Doesn't that sound like a great idea, king? Now, O King, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it cannot be changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked, that great and proud law. Therefore, King Darius signed the document and injunction. We see here that the king's signing of the ordinance and the injunction is extremely short-sighted, extremely short-sighted. He clearly did not realize what was happening. And perhaps the king is motivated by vainglory. Perhaps the king really likes the idea of being worshiped. Maybe that's not something he's previously experienced and realizes, hey, I'm the new king here. This is a good way to establish my relationship with these people is for them to worship me, for them to seek petitions of me. We see that the flattery, the excessive praise, the insincere praise of the sacheps and the high officials, it works to deceive the king. Romans 16, 18 highlights for us that flattery deceives the naive. And this is gonna come back to haunt the king as he realizes he was so naive and short-sighted in signing this injunction. So we see specifically, this is a very unique, very particular injunction and request that they make. It is a trap specifically designed to fabricate a false charge against Daniel. Against Daniel for being a man of prayer, a man who followed God's law, a man who sought to worship him with his whole heart and worship him alone. This is specifically designed. Let them worship you, but specifically just like these next 30 days, because we know he's going to pray tomorrow, so I need this in his next 30 days to be just in place. Well, how the world and the enemies of God respond to the faithful obedience of his people is out of our control. We can't control what others do. The darkness will always try to stop the light, and the enemy clearly has its own priorities that are not aligned with God. And so the trap has been set for Daniel, and the consequences truly have teeth. The enemies of God are taking advantage of the faithfulness of Daniel. They're taking what is good and what should be honored and what should be praised and what should be supported and made an example to all and they are turning it against him. These plans are truly sinful and devious. Like our Lord, they didn't conspire for him to be kicked out of the land. They didn't conspire for him to be his mouth shut. They conspired for him to be killed. This is very clear. We want Daniel to die. They wanted Christ to die. So we see this here. These are very deep. This is very simple. This is very wrong and unethical. But it is what God has allowed and he will use for his purposes. Our most high God allows his faithful to be falsely conspired against even when obeying his law. So, how are we to respond to this? We see this happening in Daniel, how should we respond to this? If you're taking notes, write this down. We are called to trust God's sovereign rule in the midst of false conspiracies from the wicked. We are called to trust God's sovereign rule in the midst of false conspiracies from the wicked. The beauty of this book, what it highlights over and over and over again is that we can trust our sovereign God, even in the midst of false conspiracies, even when we're being faithful and we're being conspired against. As already been mentioned this morning, the conspiring of the enemy is literally the oldest trick in the book, and it started with Eve. That ancient serpent, his tricks, he came in, sought to deceive, twisted words. He came to conspire against God's people, knowing that they would get death. And so we should learn and understand from the patterns we see in Scripture and the stories we see in Scripture. I love this verse in 2 Corinthians that encourages us to be privy to this. If I have forgiven anything, Paul talking about receiving back the one that they had kicked out for his significant sin. If I have forgiven anything has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs. Believers must not be ignorant of the designs of Satan to deceive, to conspire against, to break our unity. We are to trust in God in His sovereign rule. We should take heed from the words of the Apostle Peter, 1 Peter 4, 19. Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will, and we know that all that comes to pass is according to God's will, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. That's what we see in Daniel, and that's what we are called to do. We are to entrust our souls to God, and we are to continue to do good. Obviously, we see that example in Daniel, and we've seen that example so clearly in Christ. He entrusted his soul in the Garden of Gethsemane, said, Lord, your will be done. And he continued to do the works that were set before him in joy. And that's so open for us, the gospel. Unfortunately, our churches are not free from this type of conspiracy, from these type of bad actors to be amongst us. And very often, the moves are like this, the playbook is the same, right? Where maybe they don't seek to necessarily make themselves the most prominent person, but they want to pit one another against us. The purpose of the conspiracy is one, to pit Daniel against the king, and then to use the king's law to put him to death, and then remove their problem, right? That can often happen here where the devil designs to pit us against each other, and the love that we experience to break that bond. We must be aware of that. We must not let that succumb to us. However, also another tactic is to isolate and dislodge individuals. Maybe folks that might seem weaker, maybe not as connected, that they also tend to be a target as well. To remove them from the greater group, to not allow them to continue to grow in sanctification amongst the church body, to convince them that they don't need the church, that there's other things out there that are better for them. These conspiracies are true, happen amongst us. I'd like to read from us from Jude 18 as an encouragement, as how we do our approach, how are we to trust the Lord in these times and when we experience these things. Jude 18. In the last time, there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions. It is these who cause divisions, worldly people devoid of the Spirit, but you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God. waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. That's how we are to respond. We are to respond in entrusting our souls to the Lord. And we are to work hard in building up our faith in prayer to God and keeping our love, seeking to keeping our love strong amongst us as brothers and sisters. So as we are experiencing accusations, conspiracies in the workplace, let us seek to encourage one another. As we are experiencing these in our church, let us seek to work with one another. If we see this happening in other churches, may we remind and encourage our brothers and sisters to follow these things. We are called to trust God's sovereign rule in the midst of false conspiracies. Our first main point for this morning was that our Most High God allows His faithful to be falsely conspired against, even when obeying His law. And our second point for this morning, for those of you who are writing notes, is this. Only the Word of the Most High God has the power to bind the conscience of His faithful people. Only the Word of the Most High God has the power to bind the conscience of His faithful people. The Word of God must reign supreme in the hearts and minds of Christians. The Word of God must reign supreme in the hearts and minds of Christians. Brothers and sisters, we cannot cower to the fear of man. We cannot cower to the fear of man. especially when we are put into these positions where the Word of God contradicts what we are being called to do. Christians are in no way bound to comply or to obey with laws that are in direct contradiction to the Word of God. We must obey God rather than men as we are so clearly encouraged in Acts 5.29. We need to rightly understand that only God as our creator has the final and ultimate power to bind our conscience by his word and to compel us to action. And so in Daniel's response, we see him truly exercise his liberty of conscience. We see that he is a liberated man and he is acknowledging that only God, only God is worthy of his worship. Let's continue on in verse 10. After the injection's been signed, the state chefs think they're celebrating, they've got their guy, they're gonna pin him. We see how Daniel responds. Thankfully, he does not respond with fear, but in doing what he's always done. Verse 10, when Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem, and he got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously. Zero change in the life of Daniel. Daniel at this point is an older man, a much older man than when we first started this series. He's probably prayed three times a day for 50 years. And that makes him a prayer warrior. Maybe all of us, maybe we've met a person or know people who are prayer warriors in our lives, right? And have you ever tried to get a prayer warrior to stop praying? What happens? They consider those fighting words. That's declaring war against the prayer warrior, which only drives them further to prayer. It doesn't work. It doesn't work. So this trick that they have tried to trap Daniel in doesn't work. He would rather pray and be tossed into the den of lions than to not pray and be in the presence of his God. But what we see here also is a clear example of the liberty of a man's conscience. I want to highlight for us from our confession the doctrine of the liberty of conscience. We so clearly see this in this example where God's Word is being pit against man. And the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, in chapter 21, in paragraph two, we have this, God alone is Lord of the conscience, and he has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are in anything contrary to his word, or not contained in it. What does this mean? This means that God alone is the creator and Lord over our conscience, because he created us. and we will stand or fall before Him, not before anyone else. And graciously, He has left our conscience free from obeying commands or doctrines of men that are contrary to His word." In a situation where we have God's word versus man's word, there's always a clear option. And we are in no way compelled to choose to go with man, but our conscience is freed to serve the Lord. And unfortunately, this doctrine has been twisted to think that this means that you can do whatever you want once you become a Christian. I'm free in Christ to do whatever I want. That's not what it's saying here. This doctrine is not highlighting your great freedom you have in Christ, but this doctrine is highlighting God's supreme preeminence in all things. that above him there is no other, and that to him you must bow, and you will bow, whether in this day or the next. Galatians 5.13 reminds us of this. For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another. It is through the freedom we receive in Christ, not to do our own thing, not to pursue our own flesh, but to serve the Lord. These two things come together beautifully in the gospel. So we are freed from the bondage and yoke of slavery, of sin, where we can only sin before we are saved. And now in Christ, through the gospel, we are free to do what God has for us, the good works that He has prepared for us, that we would walk in them. So we see Daniel here, he does the right and exact thing. What he does is he seeks God's presence. He turns to prayer. He doesn't hesitate to make it clear that God is the one who he will serve. Daniel knew. He knew the document was signed. I don't know why he didn't speak up. Maybe he knows there's no point in that. I'm gonna do what I have to do. But he was clear. There was no hesitation in what he was to do next. He went to his home and he prayed. Verse 11, now we see here, as we continue on in our story. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. Knowing that Daniel was not gonna stop praying, they set up. The trap is set, they go and they catch him. And they come to the king with their perfectly planned trap. They've set their net, and they think they've got their man. Verse 12. Then they came near and said before the king concerning the injunction, O king, did you not sign an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man within 30 days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? And the king answered, the thing stands fast according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked. You know, this great law cannot be revoked. Then they answered and said before the king, Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, he pays no attention to you. O king, over the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day." So they come to the king and they reveal to him that, Daniel, he has disregarded your injunction. He is spitting in your face, O king. He cares nothing for you. He pays no attention to you. And in here we see the true purpose of the injunction is now made clear to the king. He realizes that he's been deceived. He realizes that he's been naive. Daniel, the trustworthy, the godly, the honorable, he pays no attention to you. You're gonna bring this charge against him? What? He's the one who seeks the dishonor. Are you kidding me? You're talking about Daniel? The one who I've set over my entire kingdom? The one who can find no error or fault in? But the king has no other means. He's trapped himself. There is sufficient ground now for these conspirators to pin Daniel, and not only to pin him for disrespecting the king, but to pin him to death. The king is in a truly untenable position. Due to the technicality of their law, which can't be revoked, he can't change what he's already come to pass, and obviously Daniel, he's not succumbing to this law and he's gonna follow his God, puts him in a tough position. His most beloved servant is now caught in this conspiracy. And he was foolish enough to play the part in it. And now this innocent man has been condemned to death. So, only the word of the Lord can bind our conscience. And we see Daniel respond faithfully to this false injunction, this trap set for him. And we're thankful for the example of Daniel that so clearly shows this to us. As we close our time this morning, I have another question for us as we consider this story, as we consider what's happening with Daniel. How can we preserve our conscience and honor the Lord even in uncertain or hostile circumstances? How can we preserve our conscience and honor the Lord even in hostile or uncertain circumstances? Daniel clearly sought to honor the Lord by seeking his presence even though he knew it would come at a great personal cost. And so I have pulled together a handful of verses to encourage us and to show us how we can preserve our conscience before the Lord even when we experience such hostile circumstances. The first is, would call us, encourage us, remind us to focus on the promises of God. He tells us in Matthew 28 that he will always be with us. whether in the lion's den, whether in the ring, whether in the trial, He will always be with us. Second, that we should meditate on His sovereignty. We should meditate and be awed by His sovereignty. Romans 8.28, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purposes. Often people stop at that comma, that all things work for good, but there's more to that. It's for those who are called according to His purpose. So us Christians, we have the ability to meditate on His sovereignty and to take comfort that we can trust that all things will work together for our good in Christ. Third, that we would trust that He will sustain and uphold us. that he will sustain and uphold you. Colossians 1, 16 through 17, for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He has the power, he has the ability, and he sees that you need to be upheld and sustained so we can trust, we can trust that he will sustain and uphold us. Fourth, and we've seen this already many times in Daniel, we see it in many places in the scripture and we see it so clearly highlighted in our gospel that we can cherish that God is a God who rescues. God is a God who rescues. 2 Timothy 4, 18. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever, amen. That's shared with us from a man who experienced so many trials, Pastor Paul. We can cherish that he is God who rescues. Next, we should remember his sufferings. We should remember his sufferings. Yes, there's so many good things we can meditate and remember and love about our Lord, but we should not forget his sufferings. So as when we are experiencing sufferings, we too can be comforted. 1 Peter 4, 12. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. obviously hearkening back to chapter three of Daniel. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. In the midst of these hostile circumstances, our consciousness can be preserved when we remember his sufferings, when we rejoice by being able to partake in them, that we are coming alongside shoulder to shoulder with Christ and his sufferings. And lastly, that we would look to his return. Our days are numbered. This kingdom will come to an end. Christ will come back. Hebrews 9, 28. So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Let us be like those servants who are ready for their master to come back, who have served faithfully even when things were hard, who have looked to his return and take much comfort knowing that what we experience today, what we experience here, whether it's false conspiracies, whether it's accusations, whatever difficult it may be, he will come again soon. For those of you, I don't know all of you here, but for those of you who are here and you have not placed your faith in Christ, I would urge you, appeal to you, consider Christ, consider his sufferings that he came, as we read here in Hebrews 9, to bear the sins of many, and he will come again to receive those who are eagerly waiting for him, to come and receive his church. So place your faith in Christ. The example we have in Daniel is a wonderful one, but all of this points to God, a God who is a great savior, a God who is a great deliverer, a God who is a great sustainer. Daniel's a great example for us, but he is pointing us to God. And so for those of you who are here who have not placed your faith in God, we point you to God, the gospel points you to God. Put your faith and trust in him. And although we experience many sufferings, many trials, there is much comfort we can receive from the gospel and the scriptures. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for this morning. I thank you, Father, for how you have blessed, comforted us. Lord, you have given so much in your word that we can be comforted in our times of trial. Lord, enemies conspire against us, and there's nothing we can do but to cling to you. Lord, that is all you call us to do, to be faithful, to remain steadfast. Lord, the laws of man seeks to tear us away from you, Lord, help us to fight faithfully against what is unjust. Lord, help to call those who are around us to seek you in all things. Lord, thank you that we have this story that highlights that you truly are sovereign over all things and that every injustice will be dealt with. Lord, that nothing extends beyond your reach and nothing will go past your gaze. Lord, we thank you for how you have blessed our church, opportunity for us to gather here together this morning. We pray, Lord, you continue to bless our fellowship. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.