Well, thank you very much, Davy. And again, brothers and sisters, it's good to have a new fellowship with you this evening around the Word of the Lord. We're turning again, please, to 2 Kings. 2 Kings chapter 5. 2 Kings chapter 5. I thought I had it marked in the Bible, but I've just noticed that I haven't for some reason. But anyway, it will not take us too long to find it. 2 Kings chapter 5, and we're taking the same reading that we took last week. It occurred to me that I had three headings last week, but I only ministered on two of those headings, so the one that I omitted and I must say, I don't know why I omitted it. It was an oversight on my part. But anyway, we're going to be ministering on that particular heading. Naaman's Deliverance, Naaman's Deliverance. We're going to be thinking about that tonight, along with the other things that I believe the Lord has. Given me from this passage again 2nd Kings chapter 5 and this time we're going to read We'll read we'll take the same 14 verses verses from verse 1 to 14 again the same passage that we read last week 2nd Kings chapter 5 Commencing to read at verse 1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria. He was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper, and the Syrians had gone out by companies and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid, and she waited on Naaman's wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my Lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy. And one went in and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? Wherefore, consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.' And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.' So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away in seat, and said, Behold, I thought he will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned away, and went away in a rage. And his servants came near and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean! Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. And his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. And may the Lord bless the reading of this infallible and precious truth to our hearts this evening for his name's sake. A dear brother who's well known to myself and to the saints in Nottingham recently told me of another brother who was well known to him and absolutely devoted to the work of the Lord. And this particular brother led a Bible study for the men who worked at the Belfast shipyards, Harland and Wolfe, for many years. This brother himself worked there and he used to rise at five o'clock every morning to prepare the Bible lesson for the men for that day, before going to the workplace. And he told this brother, who's known to us, that his own personal method of Bible study was as follows, and this is what he said. Read a passage once, Read it through again. Read it again a third time, and then start reading it. And if you cannot see Christ in that passage of scripture, he said you're not reading it right. That was the advice that he gave to our brother Roy Ferris from Knockna Gummy, and Roy passed it on to me recently. And dear friends, that was a challenge to me. So often we can become preoccupied with the other aspects of Scripture, such as doctrine and prophecy, and of course they are absolutely vital. But we can become so preoccupied with these that we miss our blessed Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the ultimate purpose of the Scriptures? Our Lord Himself gives the answer in John chapter 5 and verse 39. Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life. And they are they which testify of me. Yes, 2 Timothy chapter 3 verses 16 and 17 tell us that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. But what comes beforehand? 2 Timothy 3 and verse 15 comes beforehand. And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, Paul said to Timothy, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, which is in Christ Jesus. And there, beloved, is the first and principal purpose of the Scriptures, is that we might see our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In Elisha's message to the King of Israel, in verse 8 here, there is a profound statement of the utmost importance. Let him come now to me, he said, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. Remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in Luke chapter 4 and verse 24 Verily I say unto you no prophet is accepted in his own country Just as Israel did not heed the message of the prophets in their day Our Lord came unto his own and his own received him not. And so this Gentile military leader is invited to come to the prophet of God by the prophet himself through the king. Now the king should have known to send Naaman to the prophet. But in the words of Elisha, there is a strong rebuke to the chosen people of God. He will know that there is a prophet in Israel. In other words, he'll know that there is a prophet in Israel even though you did not tell him. Or to put it another way, I'm paraphrasing here tonight, you will not hear the message of God through the prophet, but I know this man will, and it will be a lesson to you. You remember also the words of our Lord in Luke chapter four and verse 27. You remember that they had just heard him speak from the book of Isaiah in the synagogue, demonstrating that part of the prophecy of Isaiah 61 and verses one and two was fulfilled in their ears. Of course, we know that our Lord stopped the quotation just at exactly the right place. We don't have time to go into that this evening, but we know that our Lord rightly divided the word of truth and stopped the quotation just short of where it says, the day of vengeance of our God. And he demonstrated on that occasion, that the first part of Isaiah 61 and verses 1 and 2 was fulfilled in their ears because he was in their presence, speaking of the acceptable year of the Lord. And they marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. But when he came to the closing words of his discourse, in Luke chapter 4 and verse 27, this is what he said. Many lepers were in Israel at the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. What a rebuke that must have been to those gathered in the synagogue on that particular occasion. To hear that the only individual God chose to heal at that particular time was a Gentile leader. and not an Israelite. So much so that in the very next verse following they were filled with wrath, in Luke chapter 4, and rose up and thrust him out of the sitting, leading him to the brow of a hill to cast him down headlong. But praise God, our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, passing through the midst of them, went on his way. And just as our Lord Jesus Christ, the prophet in his day, was dishonored in his own country of Nazareth, so Elisha's message in his day fell upon deaf ears. And so God chose to use Assyrian, Naaman, as an example of repentance and faith. Now first of all tonight, in verse 9 and following, we see Naaman's delay. Naaman's delay. Notice verse 9, the first part of it. So Naaman came. So Naaman came. Now this was a promising start on Naaman's part. He did as Elisha instructed, he came to the house of the prophet. He could have dug in his heels as it were and stayed at the palace with the king and insisted that the prophet would come to him, but no he didn't. He obeyed the instruction for the first part and came, and we should commend him for that. But he only came so far, because we read here that he stood at the door of the house of Elisha. You remember how our Lord said in John chapter 10 and verse 9, I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be sealed. Naaman here really is a picture of a sinner, knowing the way of salvation through repentance and personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, coming to the door, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ, but just standing there and proceeding no further. Many have said that they are not saved because they are waiting for some blinding or flashing light experience, some miracle, as though God were obliged to prove his existence to them, when the word of God simply commands to repent and believe. As our Lord simply declared, I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved. But alas, so many will not enter in through the door that is Christ himself because they are too proud. Proud of their religion, proud of their church or denomination, proud of their good deeds and good works and so on, but alas, they are not humble enough to come to the Lord Jesus Christ himself in humble repentance and simple faith, recognizing themselves as guilty sinners in the sight of a holy God and that Christ is the only Savior of sinners. I wonder how many this very night are just standing at the door, knowing the way of salvation, but refusing to go in. Notice how Naaman came here with his horses and with his chariot. You know a chariot spoke in those days of status and of importance in Old Testament times. You remember in Genesis chapter 41 and verse 43 after Joseph had been made ruler of Egypt, Pharaoh made him ride in the second chariot that he had and you remember how they cried before him bow the knee. And such was the honor that was bestowed by Pharaoh upon Joseph and we know that Pharaoh was used by the Lord to save much people alive at that time because of the famine in the land and we know the rest of the story. But here Naaman arrives at the door of Elisha's house with his horses and with his chariot and he just stood there. Now it may be that he was just waiting there out of respect for the prophet instead of knocking on the door and demanding his attention. But in any case he arrived with a great air of status and importance. I wonder how many will not come to the Lord Jesus Christ and how many will not enter in through that door because of their material possessions. They are not willing to give them up. They do not want to give up their status symbols in life, which really are idols. You remember the very last words of John's first epistle in 1 John chapter 5. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. A reproof to Christians, believers, to keep themselves from the idols of this world. And so many are not wanting to give their status symbols up in life, their chariots, their flashy cars and so on, their houses, the career, the clothes and all the rest of it. And how many Christians sadly are following that same example, the trappings of worldliness. And notice how they can be a stumbling block to obedience. In verse 10, we have the command. And then we see that the command came with a promise. Verse 10, And Elisha sent a messenger unto him that is Naaman, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. It couldn't be any simpler. Seven we know in scripture is the number of perfection. Speaking of the perfect nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, the lamb who was without blemish and without spot, the one who knew no sin, did no sin, neither was there any guile found in his mouth. And then we remember that John baptized in Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And we remember how multitudes came, confessing their sins and were baptized. And this act that Elisha commanded Naaman to do was a type and foreshadow of the command to repent and believe the gospel. It was not much to be asked. He was not required to present himself to the priest and to offer the sacrifice that Moses commanded in the law. We could think of Leviticus chapters 13 and 14 and all the requirements of those two chapters concerning those who had the plague of leprosy. But Naaman didn't have to do any of this before he could be clean. No, he was instructed to do a very simple thing. Essentially, he was instructed to carry out an act of faith. Naaman would have to go to Jordan and believe that what the prophet of God said would come to pass. But verse 11 tells us, Naaman was wroth. He was wroth. Beloved, it's a very dangerous thing to be angry at the word of the Lord. And sadly many today are angry at some of the commands of scripture, even some professing Christian. And they know the good that they ought to do, and they know that the word of God commands them to do certain things. But they get angry when they're challenged about them. Naaman was wroth and went away. Here we can see how a man's importance and material status can be his own worst enemy. It made him delay, and it made him disobey the word of God. Think of it. There he was, standing with his horses and chariot, and the moment he received the instruction from the prophet of God, he turned his back in anger. Really, it speaks of pride. Look at what he says in verse 11. Behold, I thought he said, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call in the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper." Notice the first words he said. Behold, I thought, I thought. And sadly that is the problem with so many today. What they think for them is the final authority, rather than what the word of God says. We live in the day and age when everybody on the media says, I think, I think this, and I think that. We hear politicians saying it all the time. Our own Prime Minister says it regularly, I think this and I think that. And for them, that's the final authority, rather than what the Word of God declares. Behold, I thought, he said, he will surely come out to me and stand. He wanted the prophet to pay tribute, honor and homage to him. Essentially, Naaman wanted the whole thing to be done with pomp and ceremony, that his standing and importance would be openly recognized. Ah, but God shares his glory with no man. That no flesh should glory in his presence. And sadly far too many in churches and in some assemblies of believers are wanting glory for themselves. That is why we have power struggles and egotistical individuals wanting to have the preeminence among them, like the Theophanies of 3 John. People liking to hear the sound of their own voices. May God deliver me and all of us from that trap. Naaman wanted the healing done his way and not the Lord's. Look at how he continues here in verse 11. I thought he will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God and strike his hand over the place and recover the leper. You see, Naaman had a picture in his mind as to how the healing should be carried out, as he saw it. He wanted something akin to the time when Moses stretched out his hand over the Red Sea in Exodus chapter 14 and divided the waters. Naaman wanted a great miraculous sign and wonder here. And in his mind, that alone would be fitting to someone of his standing. We all know the expression that beggars cannot be choosers. Sadly, we see here that Naaman was proud. We see here that he needed to be taught a lesson in humility. Look at how he speaks of the River Jordan in disparaging terms in verse 12. Are not Abama and Pharpar rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean? He wanted to go to the place of his own choosing, where he believed was best, rather than to obey the word of a prophet. He considered the waters of those other two rivers to be superior to the river of Jordan. or the rivers of Israel. So many today are too proud to go where God instructs them to in his word. They look down upon certain places as if they were beneath them to go and work for the Lord. And the more exotic the locations are, very often they're where so-called missionary trips have as their destination. And I've personally witnessed so-called missionary reports with photographs of young people on those trips sunbathing and enjoying a social time together rather than engaging in prayer and evangelism. And a brother who's now with the Lord, very senior to me in years, once said to me, he said, they're nothing more than holidays. Naaman wanted to be healed according to his terms, but the gifts of God are never given according to man's terms in scripture. It is true that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, James chapter 5, but it's not true that the demands of men's own hearts can be met by God at the drop of a hat. Far too many professing Christians expect God to answer their prayers and to bless their wants when they've scarcely even begun to obey scripture. And so Naaman delayed. He delayed. And he turned in verse 12 and went away It reminds me, you know, of a spoilt child throwing a tantrum when they do not get what they want. Hardly a godly reaction to the instructions of a godly man, nor is it a fitting attitude to the goodness of God. It speaks of pride and stubbornness and ingratitude. But look at how he is rebuked in verse 13, and this is absolutely remarkable. And this is where I really want us to get to tonight. And if it was to put a title over tonight's message, it would be simply this, Naaman and his servants. Naaman and his servants. Last week we considered the little maid, but tonight we're focusing on the servants now. Notice verse 13. And his servants came near and spake unto him. Now this is absolutely remarkable. It took great courage for his servants to do this. Not only that, it took great humility for them to do it as well. To approach their master while he was in a fit of anger. They came near, it speaks of gentleness. Gentleness in contrast to his rage. Proverbs 15 in verse one tells us, a soft answer turneth away wrath. And here we see these servants exercising this divine wisdom, turning away the wrath of their master, Naaman, with a soft answer. And they paid dividends, spiritually speaking. Notice what they said to him. My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, verse 13, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean. Notice that they emphasize the simplicity of the instruction here. Notice how they refer to the man as the prophet. They recognised that he spoke the word of God, and their entreaty to name him showed that they had faith to believe the instruction, and that the instruction, if it was obeyed, would bring the promised healing. Just like the little maid in the earlier part of the chapter who we considered last week, it took the words of ordinary, humble, individual folk, servants, to humble a man's pride, and ultimately to turn him to the one true God. And so we see Naaman's delay here. But secondly tonight, we see Naaman's deliverance. Naaman's deliverance. Verse 14 opens with the words, then went he down. And the emphasis really there is on the word then. Because it was only then It was only then that he went down, after his servants had entreated him. Here we see him humbling himself, finally, eventually, after all this time, after all of his deliberation and delay, and it took humility now for Naaman to heed the words of his servants and to follow their counsel and to obey the word of the prophet. By going down to the River Jordan, he was demonstrating outwardly that inward change that was now taking place within his heart. This is absolutely remarkable. One moment he was losing his temper in a fit of pride and fury. The next moment he was quietly going down to the very river he had spoken ill of just a moment ago. What a transformation. You know, it reminds me of two things. First of all, it reminds me of a sinner turning from their sin and coming by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. And then secondly, it reminds me of a new convert taking that first step of obedience to the word of the Lord, following the Lord's command. to be baptised. Then went he down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan according to the saying of the man of God. Notice he's no longer trying to do the whole thing his way, he's doing it God's way now, according to the word of the man of God. And his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child and he was His flesh came again like unto that of a little child. That's a picture of the new birth. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever. 1 Peter 1 verse 23. And he was clean. That speaks of the cleansing away of sin that is promised through faith in the precious blood of Christ. All the leprosy was gone in a moment of time because he obeyed the word of God through the prophet. He was clean. That which was a picture of sin, leprosy, and what an awful picture of sin it was, was all gone. Obedience to the word of God brings blessing, both in regard to eternal salvation by obedience to the gospel of God, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and with regard to the Christians' walk with the Lord. Disobedience brings nothing but bondage, misery, and bitterness in the life of a Christian believer. But the river here is also a type of the Word of God, and it's also a type of the cleansing and sanctifying power of the Spirit of God through His precious Word. You remember that the Spirit of God and the Word of God cannot be separated. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 17 tells us that it is the sword of the spirit, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, part of the whole armor of God, the only attacking part of the armor, the only attacking weapon, the word of God. And just as Naaman went down and dipped himself in the water, so we as believers ought to be immersing ourselves in the word of God, saturating our hearts and souls, as it were, as well as our minds in the holy scripture, Hence why Paul instructed Timothy in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 15, and we know it so well, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Naaman listened. And thankfully, and eventually, he obeyed before it was too late to try the patience of God. Sadly, the trouble with so many today is that they are too proud to obey the scriptures. And yet they still expect the Lord's blessing upon their lives. And they may even be serving the Lord in some capacity. Maybe in children's work or something of that nature, and that is good. But they are only partially obedient instead of fully obedient to the word of God. And in many cases, they know the good that they ought to do, and they do not do it because it is simply a step too far. Too much to ask. They may have to lose something that they hold dear. Romans 12 and verses 1 & 2 does not allow that particular brand of Christian living Romans 12 verses 1 & 2 I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice Holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this world and Sadly so many believers today are conformed to the world and they wonder why there's no blessing in their lives and but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Beloved, if we are conformed to the world, then how can we know the will of God for our lives? This is the principle of separation that we see right the way through the New Testament. Separation from the world. Our brother Bert quoted it in his prayer tonight. Love not the world, 1 John 2, verses 15 to 17, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Separation from the world. And let us take the example of Naaman again. as a lesson for Christian living. He learned that particular lesson that the blessing would not be gained without obedience. In Leviticus 14 we have the law for the leper in the day of his cleansing. He was to be brought to the priest. And Leviticus 14 tells us about the two birds that had to be brought, the two clean birds and the cedar and the scarlet and the hyssop. And one bird was to be killed over running water. And then the other bird was to be dipped in the blood. And the blood was to be sprinkled seven times upon the man on the day of his cleansing of his leprosy. And then he was pronounced clean. And then the living bird was let loose. And then he was to wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and wash himself. And after seven days, the same process was to be repeated again. He was to wash himself and wash his clothes, but this time he was to shave his eyebrows off. He was to shave all the hair off his body. And that reminds us of what Naaman experienced. His flesh came again like onto that of a little child. And then the three offerings. In Leviticus 14, there was the sin offering, there was the trespass offering, and there was the burnt offering. Those three were to be offered by the priest for the man, to make atonement for him. But there was also a log of oil to be brought. And then there was the meal offering as well. But at the end of that particular ceremony, after those seven days, at the very end of all that, the oil was poured upon the head of the man who was cleansed of his leprosy. We know also about the blood and the oil upon the tip of his right ear and upon his right thumb and upon the right big toe of his right foot. And we know that that speaks of his ear being consecrated to the word of the Lord. And his hands being ready to work for the Lord. Consecrated ears, consecrated hands, and consecrated feet as well. But after all of that, When the oil was poured upon the head of that man who was cleansed of his leprosy in the day of his cleansing, what a remarkable and wonderful blessing that must have been. At that point, having gone through all that necessary separation because of his uncleanness and all the rest of it, in the day of his cleansing, to be pronounced clean by the priest, and to have the oil poured upon his head, how wonderful that must have been for that leper to know that he was completely healed and completely cleansed of his leprosy. And when the oil was poured upon his head, the oil in scripture we know as a symbol, as a type of the Holy Spirit. And it speaks of that man being anointed and ready for service. And in a sense, that was what Naaman experienced. You see, Naaman came into the good and blessing of having his leprosy cleansed without the requirements of the law. He simply repented in his heart and obeyed what was commanded him to do, and that proves the truth that to obey is better than sacrifice. And to hearken than the fat of rams, the words of Samuel, the disobedient king, saw in 1 Samuel chapter 15 and verse 22. And we know from that chapter that partial obedience is disobedience. Do you desire to be ready for service tonight? Ready for the blessing of God? The leper was only anointed after he had obeyed all of the requirements of the law. And Naaman was only healed when he obeyed the voice of God through Elisha. Again, Naaman was not required to fulfil the requirements of Leviticus chapters 13 and 14 in order to experience the cleansing of his leprosy. He only had to obey the word of God by faith. And really, Naaman is a picture of us being justified by faith and having peace with God. through our Lord Jesus Christ. He was healed when he obeyed the voice of God through the prophet Elisha. It couldn't be any simpler. Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. May the Lord bless his word to our hearts tonight for his name's sake. Next week, God willing, we're going to look at Naaman the leper again. And we're going to be looking at Naaman the leper and Elisha in more closer detail next week, God willing. But tonight, I trust that these few simple thoughts from Naaman and his servants will be a blessing to our hearts. Shall we pray? Our Father in heaven, in closing tonight, we give thee our thanks for thy precious word. We give thee our thanks, Father, for these lessons that can be learnt from the example of Naaman. We thank thee, Father, for the repentance that he experienced in his own heart when he turned from his pride and from his anger and simply obeyed thy word through the prophet and did what he was told to do. Father, we pray this evening for sinners who are dead in trespasses and sins in this town and further afield. Hardened hearts, hearts that will not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, We can think only of those words. 2 Thessalonians 1, warning us that in flaming fire, thou wilt take vengeance on all them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the church will have been gone by that stage. The time of tribulation will be at hand. Our Father, we pray, that while we're still in the day of grace and in the day of opportunity, that sinners might be convicted of their sin and realize their lost condition, realize that just like leprosy, sin is a plague that spreads and corrupts and defiles and damns souls forevermore in hell. Our Father, we pray that we might see thy hand move in mighty power and conviction in these days, that sinners would realize that there is a God with whom they have to do Father, we live in a generation in which there is no fear of God before their eyes. We pray, Father, for an awakening of the fear of God. That men and women will realize that if they die on their sin without Christ, it'll be forever too late. They'll go to hell, the prison house of the damned. And then ultimately, following the Great White Throne Judgment into the Lake of Fire forevermore. Father, we cannot even begin to imagine the eternal torments and suffering. We praise Thee, Our Father, for saving our souls. We thank Thee, Our Father, that we who deserve that punishment have been redeemed. Redeemed how I love to proclaim it. Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Father, we thank Thee again for this for these lessons that we can learn from the life of Naaman. And we pray thy blessing, Father, upon the weeks and studies, and the weeks that lie ahead. Pray for our brother, pray for our brother Bert, who will be ministering thy word on the Lord's Day morning, and then for our brother Harold Williamson in the evening. In the gospel, we pray for thy blessing to be upon them, and that you would undertake, Father, that they may know thy leading and the unction of thy Holy Spirit. Father, for our time together, take of our thanks this evening in our Savior's precious and worthy and wonderful name. In his precious name we pray all these things, giving thee our thanks. Amen. Amen.