We'll turn in our Bibles to Isaiah 52. In a moment, Martin will read the New Testament reading, the text for the preaching of the word, a little more than that, but the New Testament reading just before the preaching. So Isaiah 52 right now, and then a few moments from now, Mark chapter one after we sing. So let's stand and read our Old Testament reading. It's an Old Testament prophecy of God's promises of redemption to Jerusalem, and more than that, the promises of the preaching of the word to the ends of the earth. You'll see that at the end of the reading. Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion, put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to you. Shake yourself from the dust, arise. Sit down, O Jerusalem, loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus says the Lord, you've sold yourselves for nothing and you shall be redeemed without money. For thus says the Lord God, my people went down at first into Egypt to dwell there. Then the Assyrians oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what have I here, says the Lord, that my people are taken away for nothing. Those who rule over them make them well, says the Lord. And my name is blasphemed continually every day. Therefore, my people shall know my name. Therefore, they shall know in that day that I am he who speaks. Behold, it is I. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, your God reigns. Your watchmen shall lift up their voices. With their voices, they shall sing together. For they shall see eye to eye when the Lord brings back Zion. Break forth into joy. Sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem. For the Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations. And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. This is the word of the Lord. Good evening. As we turn to Mark chapter 1 for our reading this evening, I want to thank the session for inviting me to preach this evening. It's a joy for us and for me to serve you this evening, as Lisa and I were discussing recently how much of a joy it's been to worship with you and really to have been so blessed by each one of you over the last four years as we've spent four school years here in South Carolina and prepare to go back to Canada. So thank you. for your love to us. Mark chapter 1, we're reading from verses 21 to 39. I'll be preaching to you tonight from verses 35 to 39. This is the word of the Lord. And they, that's Jesus and his disciples, went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, be silent and come out of him. And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, what is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him. And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. And the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, everyone is looking for you. And he said to them, let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out. And he went throughout all Galilee preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. Let's pray. Our great God, we come to you this evening as we're about to hear your word preached. We pray that you would speak through your spirit to each one of us, that we would learn and grow, and that we would be able to apply to our lives what you would have us to learn from this passage. We thank you for your word. Make it effectual in our lives, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. Setting priorities can be very difficult. It can affect many different areas of life. It makes me think of a hapless Canadian politician not too long ago who, when he was in a political debate, he was going back and forth with his opponents and they were challenging the record of his party in government. And he, at one point, got very exasperated and he shrugged his shoulders and he looked at his opponent and in a very sad voice said, you don't know what you're talking about. Do you think it's easy to make priorities? And you can imagine that little clip was played over and over and over again by his opponents during the next election campaign. And he is no longer a Canadian politician. Setting priorities can be difficult and the struggle isn't just right there, it's also in our own lives, in our own homes. We often run off our feet with so many things to do, so many places to be for ourselves and for our children. It's very easy to forget those things that need to take preeminence in our life, that need to be the priority in our life. God and our families. The church also can struggle with these sorts of things amidst many different things that fill the church calendar, even worthwhile activities, we can forget. What is the priority of the church? What is the purpose of the church? What is the preeminent work of the church? So you might ask, then, how do we determine, as the church, how do we determine what the priorities are to be? For that we need to look to our King and our head, to the Lord Jesus Christ. The church must mirror the Lord Jesus Christ. The church's priorities must be the same priorities as Christ. If it's a priority to him, it should be a priority to us as the church and as individual members of the church. His kingdom priorities should be our kingdom priorities. Jesus, as we read even in our context, had a very busy ministry. He had much going on in his day-to-day ministry among the people of Israel. You can imagine, just as you're reading through the text we've read this evening, you can see there's a very fast pace. This was one Sabbath day, and you can see all the work that Jesus had to do. As he began the day in Capernaum, in the synagogue on the Sabbath day, he preached the word, and he brought the word. And in the middle of bringing the word, this man stood up and challenged him, this man of unclean spirit. Jesus cast out the demon. And people were marveling and wondering who this man was with all this authority. And even as he's in the synagogue, his fame is spreading around, is being spread around, foreshadowing what was to come that evening. All the crowds had come to him. And after he's finished preaching and he leaves the synagogue, he enters into Peter's home. And immediately he's confronted by the fact that Peter's mother-in-law is sick. She's sick with a fever and so they come to him and he goes to her and he lifts her up gently and tenderly and he heals her completely and perfectly. And it almost seems as soon as that's completed, there's a knock at the door and there's crowds and crowds of people coming to him. Some are possessed by demons, some are very sick and their loved ones are bringing them to Jesus, hoping that he'll heal them. They weren't disappointed, because as the text tells us, that he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. Imagine that as a day in your life. How busy it is. You need to stop and catch your breath. It didn't seem like Jesus had much opportunity to stop and catch his breath. It was a busy Sabbath. And we get that sense, too, as Mark peppers his narrative with his favorite word immediately. Everything was happening, one thing after another. But do you think Jesus, at the end of all this, and this was just one picture of his, this was just one day in his ministry, do you think through his ministry he sat there and he shrugged his shoulders and said, do you think it's easy to make priorities? I don't know what I'm here for, I don't know what I need to be doing. No. In fact, in the verses 35 to 39, the text we'll look at this evening, we see that we can learn much from how Jesus knew his priorities, he focused in on his priorities, and he didn't lose that focus. He knew what they were, he spent much time teaching his disciples what his priorities were, and he continues to instruct us through his word. And so we see in verses 35 to 39 that in the midst of all the busy work of advancing his kingdom, your king, the Lord Jesus Christ, prioritized two things, prayer, and preaching. Amidst all the work of advancing his kingdom, your king, Jesus Christ, prioritized prayer and preaching." And that's very simply how this text breaks down. From verses 35 to 37, we see that Jesus prioritized prayer, and verses 38 and 39, we see that he prioritized preaching. Verse 35, we We see Jesus after this busy day. The text tells us that rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. Now, rising very early in the morning, you might think, well, at least Jesus was able to get some sleep. And he probably got some, but very little. In the original language, it's very, it's an emphatic grammar. It's early in the morning, at night, very much. It's almost as if the day, the evening, and then the next day, just kind of blurred together. Jesus got up as if he had no sleep or very little sleep, and he went to find a quiet place away from all the people so that he could pray. It was a long Sabbath day. Jesus, very man, as he is very God, very exhausted and tired. And yet he prioritized this need for spiritual strength above his need for physical strength. And we see Jesus going off to pray, going off into a remote place, carrying the burden of servant leadership, the burden of all those who are coming to him. He was seeking to heal them, but also to heal them of their spiritual sickness, bringing them the gospel. And so he goes off to pray. And why did Jesus go off to pray? I think there are really two reasons why Jesus went off to pray. First, he understood his need. And second, he understood his ministry. He understood his need. Again, we've already mentioned he was, he is very man, very man, very God. But in his humanity, he still would have grown tired and he would have grown, he would have needed that communion and that continued strengthening and equipping by the Holy Spirit. And he desired and needed that communion with God the Father. And so he went to find that communion, the communion that he needed as much as you and I need it. Prayer, as we see here and throughout even just the Gospel of Mark, is a high priority for Jesus. He frequently would go off and take, he would go and find a remote place and pray. And he was frequently exhorting his own disciples that they needed to pray. And that real spiritual power in their ministry was to come through taking that time, seeking the power of God in prayer. He prioritized prayer for himself and for his disciples. He recognized his personal need for it as well. Do you understand your need for prayer in your life? It was a pattern for Jesus to go off and pray. Is it a pattern and a priority in your life? Do you take those times in prayer and do you find those times in prayer to be a delight? or are they a burden to you to go and pray? Is access to God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ a burden for you or a delight? You know, children go through different stages as I'm learning as a relatively new father. But there are stages where, at least with Titus, where there are times where he didn't want me out of his sight. If I was going off to school, he was upset. And as soon as I came back, he wanted to spend time with me. I'd come home and he'd want to get into my arms and spend time with me. Now there are other times where that's not so much the case. He almost couldn't care less when I was walking out the door and he barely looks up when I walk back through the door. He's got other things on his mind and he doesn't need me. What stage are you at in your relationship as a child of God with the Father? Do you need and desire that time with Him? Or do you have so many other things that are clouding your priorities that you don't really need him? You only need him when it hurts. You don't need him all the time. Friend, if Christ needed communion with his Father, how much more do you and I need to have that time with our Father? Christ didn't understand only his own need, but he also understands your need. It's why, to this very day, He continues to pray, and He continues to intercede for you at the right hand of the Father. That as you pray, He prays, and He's always interceding for you. He understands your need far more than you do. He understands my need far more than I do. Christ understands your need, and He intercedes for you, and should encourage you then to go to the Father in prayer through Christ. But Christ didn't only understand his need, he also understood his ministry. He understood that prayer is a primary means of grace. And as our confession teaches us, prayer is a way of supporting and strengthening the preaching of the word. As Jesus was coming and as he was ministering to people, as he had begun his ministry, and was ministering to people with the gospel, He understood the need for prayer. No doubt, as he healed those who had come to him and cast out demons, he no doubt had a burden in praying for the many fickle people who were coming to him, looking for the miracle-working Jesus and wanting nothing to do with the gospel message he was bringing. They wanted to be healed in this life. They didn't care about the life to come. No doubt he was praying for his disciples, recognizing, only having recently called them, that the trials they would be going through, praying that the Lord would sustain them and strengthen them, that they would grow and develop to be really the first men of the Church. The first men building up the New Testament church, praying for them, knowing what temptations they would face. No doubt praying for all those whom the Father had given to Him, that He was preaching the Gospel, praying that they would come to Him, that they would repent and believe in the Gospel, and come to know God through the Lord Jesus Christ. no doubt praying for his church, praying indeed that the gates of hell would not prevail as his kingdom advanced, as his church advanced, as his church grew, praying that God would receive all the glory, even as the church grew through the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. He understood his ministry, and he spent time praying, praying, recognizing the necessity of prayer to see his kingdom come. Do you recognize that the Lord has given you and I a great privilege to be involved in the kingdom work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he's given us that privilege through prayer. Your prayers and my prayers as the saints are part of God's unfolding purpose. It's how God has chosen sovereignly to work and to build up his church. large part through your prayers and through my prayers. Do you pray for the ministry of the Word as it comes to you week after week after week? Do you pray that the Lord would bless the preaching of the Word, that it would come to you faithfully, that you would hear it, love it, store it up in your heart, and practice it in your lives? Do you pray for Pastor Peter that amidst all the pressures of ministry, amidst all the challenges, the struggles, and also the distractions that can come in ministry, that he would be focused on rightly dividing the word of truth and bringing you the gospel faithfully week after week after week. We need to pray. We need to pray for our pastor. We need to pray for the Word as it comes to us from this pulpit in this place. Do you pray for your elders as they seek faithfully to lead you, to rule over you, to make very difficult decisions for you on your behalf? Do you pray for them as they seek to exemplify for you the requirements of what it is to be an elder? From 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Requirements that not only for them to follow, but as they seek to set an example for all Christians to follow and to be living godly lives. Do you pray for your elders? Do you pray for kingdom growth in this place? Do you pray for the word not to just stay within these walls, but to go forward to Taylors and to Greenville and beyond to see all the elect brought in through the preaching of the word, are you praying for kingdom growth? Do you take the time, as much as you are able, but do you take the time to come every week to join with the body of Christ to pray together in our prayer meetings? Do you come, do you recognize the importance of prayer? And why prayer meetings in the life and the history of the church have been vital in the growth of the church, in the spreading of the gospel, in the calling of sinners to repentance. How do you prepare for the Lord's Day every week? Do you and I pray in preparation for the Lord's Day, that we would come and worship the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength? And do we come to hear what the Lord would have to say to us, that we would hear it, love it, and practice it? And do we, when we pray, Do we trust that our King hears us, intercedes for us, and our God will answer our prayers? These are good things to pray for. There are many needs, many needs in our lives, many needs in the life of the church. Do you pray? Do you take the time with your family to pray? Do you take the time with your husband or your wife to pray? Do you take the time daily to spend time alone in prayer? Do you spend that time in the morning or in the evening? Again, we have the great example of the Lord Jesus Christ here who prays, but Jesus isn't just an example. He's not just an example that in our own strength we can hope to follow. But He's the one who, through His own blood, has paved the way to the throne of grace that we have full and free access to God Himself. You see, I don't want you to be mistaken when I exhort you to pray and exhort myself to pray. It's not a bunch of works that you must do, but it's a privilege that we have. It's a privilege that we have to go to the throne of grace. It was the blood of the Savior who paved the way for you to have access to God, the Creator. You have access to the Creator, to the one who made all things and continues to keep all things, to hold all things together, the one who providentially cares for this whole world, but especially, and in a special way, cares for his church, cares for you as the members of his church. Jesus also empowers us by His Holy Spirit. As we heard this morning, the Spirit dwelling in us also prays for us. He empowers us to pray so we don't go to God praying on our own. We pray through Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and we cry out, Abba, Father. Sometimes that's all we can say. God knows our needs. The Spirit prays for us. Christ intercedes for us. We need to pray. like a car without fuel, like our bodies without oxygen, like our souls without Christ. Our Christian lives and the ministry in this place will be dead if we do not spend the time in prayer, if we do not intercede before God. We must pray. We must pray. This was what Jesus knew, and this is what Jesus practiced. But sadly it seemed that he was alone in setting prayer as a priority for his ministry. We see that in verses 36 and 37. Because as Jesus had found this remote place to pray, we read that Simon and those who were with him searched for him. And they found him and said to him, everyone is looking for you. Here comes Peter. Peter leading the search. Now, Peter, in this case, as several places throughout Mark, is not very positively portrayed. No doubt, because Mark is the narrative, is the gospel narrative of Peter. It's Peter telling Mark the story, and Peter doesn't really portray himself very positively in his own story, recognizing in hindsight his own foolishness. It says here in the text that Simon and those who were with him, with Simon, searched for Jesus. And this is a term that is always, almost always used in terms of a pursuing him. It has a really hostile connotation. It's not simple that he was looking for him. He was searching for him. He was trying to hunt, he was looking to hunt him down. The New American Standard Version uses that term. They hunted for him. They're trying to figure out where did he go? Where did he go? And then they confront Jesus. They find Jesus and Peter confronts him. Peter said, Peter and those who were with him said to Jesus, everyone is looking for you. Again, looking, another term that is quite negative. To seek Jesus in Mark is negative. We see his family was looking for him. The Pharisees were looking for him. Peter and his companions were looking for him. And they come with this presumptive statement, everyone is looking for you. And right away we can see through this, we see here's Jesus' priority of prayer, We see the poor priorities of Peter and the people who are with him. Because they thought, everyone's looking for you, this is great. But there's this huge crowd that's coming. They need healing. They need to have demons cast out. Jesus, this is great. Your ministry is exploding. Your ministry is expanding. Come, heal. You need to be doing things. What are you doing in this remote place? No one can really find you over here. The crowds aren't coming over here. What are you doing? What are you spending your time doing? Their perceived needs versus the reality of Jesus' mission and what he needed. Jesus had a bigger purpose than simply drawing in as big of a crowd as he could so he could demonstrate his power as the Son of God and healing them. It was not just about doing, but Jesus recognized he needed to be praying, to be strengthened, so he could focus in on the gospel message that he had come to proclaim. Prayer was vital to Jesus, and at this point was less vital to Peter and to the other disciples. They didn't recognize, they didn't know it. They didn't know their need. And how about for us? Do we recognize our need? Do we recognize that prayer is vital for our life as Christians and for our life in the body? in the body of Christ, or do we err with Peter? Isn't it true that we're so often guilty of prioritizing doing rather than praying? I found it interesting, perhaps I've just noticed this for the first time, that with the recent school shooting in Florida, there was quite a backlash online against the phrase of politicians and others who say that our thoughts and prayers or with the victims, or with their families. And true enough, the saying, thoughts and prayers, or you know, our thoughts and prayers are with you, is often just thrown out there, as that's the nice, polite thing to say, and you wonder how many people are actually praying, are actually thinking and praying about those involved. But we saw quite a, there's quite a backlash of those, and particularly students in that school who said, we don't need your thoughts and prayers, we need your action. We don't need prayers, we need gun control. We don't need prayers, we need you to do something. Maybe the sad reality and the sad picture of our culture that prayer basically is seen as ineffectual. What has prayer ever stopped? You see signs saying, when has prayer ever stopped a school shooting? I think it's pretty presumptive if you don't realize maybe what God has done in the tragedies and the wickedness that have been stopped through the prayers of God's people. But closer to home, in our own situations, how often when someone is sick and not doing well or someone needs help, we say to them, you know, I'd love to help you. I just can't right now. I can't do anything to help you, but I'm praying for you. I can't do anything to help you, but I'm praying for you. As if prayer is somehow superfluous to the work that we ought to be doing to one another as brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. Prayer is the first thing we ought to be doing. Prayer ought to be the priority. We need to pray and then do. We don't simply, we shouldn't add prayer as if that's almost part of the excuse. I'm not doing anything, I'm just praying for you. That's doing much. for those that we are ministering to, although we need to make sure when we tell people we're praying for them, we actually do pray for them. Is prayer vital as it was to Christ? Is it vital in your life? Is it vital to my life? Is it something we take the time to do? Jesus prioritized prayer. But he also prioritized the preaching of the word. And it's very interesting in verses 38 and 39 to see his response to Peter. As we have seen in our first point, he prioritized prayer. Peter came, and those who were with him, confronting him, basically asked him, what are you doing out here? You have work to do. And Jesus then points them and redirects them to the real work that needed to be done. Not the healing of crowds, but the preaching of the gospel. In verse 38, Jesus said, just ignoring basically what Peter was saying to him, just kind of looked at him and he said, Let's go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also. For that is why I came out. And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. See, in verse 38, there's no direct response from Jesus. He redirects Peter. He ignores the crowds who were with the people who had come with Peter. And he refocused Peter and his disciples on the preaching. That's why Jesus had come out earlier. That's why Jesus had come into Galilee. That's why when he had begun his ministry, he began at preaching, as we read earlier in Mark 1, in verses 14 and 15. Now, after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God and saying, The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel. The Kingdom of God was being established through the preaching of the Word, not through the miracles that Jesus was performing. The miracles confirmed the message that Jesus was bringing, confirmed that this man is indeed the Son of God, this man indeed is all-powerful. God's kingdom is coming and there is forgiveness in the king. As we see in the next chapter with healing the paralytic, Jesus forgave his sins and then some of them murmured and said, how can he forgive sins? And to demonstrate that he indeed has the power to forgive sins, he told the man to stand up and walk. The miracles confirmed the gospel message of Jesus. They were not ends in themselves. They were but temporal manifestations of the power of God, whereas the gospel and the transforming work of the gospel by the Holy Spirit had eternal benefits for those who heard and believed. Many today fail to understand the importance of preaching. And sadly, there are all too many preachers who take full advantage Too many are looking for temporary fixes to their problems. You turn on the TV, and particularly maybe in the South, but you turn on the TV and there are any number of channels where you have what we would call prosperity gospel preaching, where if you believe in Jesus, then all your temporary problems will go away. If you have debt, it'll be gone. You just need to believe. If you're sick, God will heal you. And there's nary a mention of sin and the need for forgiveness in Jesus Christ. We see the mixed motives of the crowd coming, wanting to see the... They heard the buzz, and they heard all the wow factor about Jesus, and they come crowding in. And so many today don't want, just like those crowds, they don't want the gospel. They want the healing. They want the Jesus who gives them financial security and physical security. Does this describe you? Does this describe how you picture Jesus and his ministry? Is Jesus' number one priority supposed to be you and your needs and your perceived priorities? Now, perhaps this evening, in our context, you might sit here and think, Maybe not a helpful question. I mean, who here is gonna be thinking that Jesus is, that the prosperity gospel is something we should be believing in? Caution against maybe assuming that it's not an issue, but maybe more closer to home for us. How do you witness? How do you speak to others about the Lord Jesus Christ? How do you speak to those that you have the opportunity to share and talk to them about the Lord Jesus Christ? Which Jesus do you present to people? Is it the Jesus that if you come to Jesus all your problems will be taken away? If you come to Jesus that those struggles that you have, those physical troubles or trials, are going to just disappear? Or are you bringing them the Jesus? It says, you are a sinner in need of a savior, and Jesus is the one who can take away all your sin, the one who can restore you to a right relationship with your creator, the one who came and gave himself and took on the punishment for sin and calls all men to come to him and to find rest from their sin. How do you present Jesus? Do you bring people the whole Jesus? Do you bring them the real Jesus? Do you bring them the real gospel? It can be very tempting to think we need to make Jesus more attractive than he already is, to make the gospel a little bit more attractive and a bit more appealing to the flesh of men instead of appealing to their need for a savior from their sins. Children, Jesus Christ is not a superhero. He's not a superhero. He's not just one with God-like powers that can fix whatever problem you may think you have. He is the very Son of God who has come to take away the sins of the world and to save His people from their sins. If you are here tonight and you do not know this Lord Jesus Christ, if you're here tonight and you do not know forgiveness for your sins, if you are here tonight and you are still lost, Come to Jesus who has come to save his people from their sins. Come to Jesus who has lived a perfect life and died a perfect death so he could offer himself and say, come to me and I will give you rest. Come to Jesus, you will find rest like you've never known before. You'll find peace like you've never known before. Peace in your soul, peace with God. Jesus responds in verse 38, and then he acts in verse 39. We read that he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. Jesus then went forth with his disciples, following him and learning, and he preached the gospel. He advanced his kingdom throughout Galilee. He healed people. He still cast out demons, demonstrating that who he was and his claim to be the Son of God But he had his spirit strengthened, he had his priority, he was focused on his priorities of prayer, and his preaching was strengthened through his prayer. But he went and he preached the gospel. He went to their synagogues and he preached to them reconciliation with God through himself. Do you understand the importance, the priority of preaching? Jesus preached the Gospel again. He saw this as a priority. But so, throughout the New Testament, we find this over and over again. Particularly, we see it with Paul. As Paul takes from Isaiah, the passage that we read earlier this evening, and he He brings home the importance, the need for preaching, the need to bring the Gospel to others and how important it was, how preaching was the primary means of doing that, the number one means of grace, the preaching of the Word, to bring the Gospel message to sinners and to call them to repentance. He says in Romans 10, How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. They have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. The message is clear, Christ understood it, do we understand it, that the kingdom will not advance without the preaching of the gospel. Christ came to bring his kingdom, and he did it primarily through the preaching of the gospel, supported by prayer. Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, do you understand that your faith comes through the Word, through the Spirit applying the Word to you? Do you understand that you will only grow in your faith? You will only grow as a believer in Jesus Christ, through the Word, primarily through the preached Word. It's why we're exhorted to be here. It's why we're commanded to come together and to hear the Word preached. It's why we're to follow the pattern of Christ and the early church of coming to hear the Word preached, so that we would grow in our love for our Savior, that we would bring others to come and hear the gospel. That's why our evangelism and our witnessing to others is not to keep them out of the church, but to bring them to church, that they hear and are under the preaching of the Word. And if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ, it is the Word of God that will save you. The Holy Spirit applying the Word of God. Do you know this Jesus, the Jesus that's been brought to you this evening, the Jesus of The Jesus that comes to you in the word of God, bringing to you the gospel in himself, the gospel again that says, you need a savior, I am the only savior. Come to me. I am the only solution to your sin, to your problem of sin. Jesus goes and preaches and he sets for the church the priority of preaching. And so we've seen, haven't we, that through all the busyness of advancing his kingdom, all the busyness of all the different things that were pulling on his time and pulling on his attention, amidst all the work of advancing his kingdom, your king, the Lord Jesus Christ, prioritized prayer and preaching. We've seen it very simply in this text, his praying and his preaching. It was his example, it's what he said, it's what he taught his disciples. And so our prayer and preaching are the priority of our king, shouldn't they be our priority as well? As members of the body of Christ and as the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you know what's important to your spouse, Don't you seek to try and to live that out for them? If you know they really appreciate something, don't you seek to do that for them? Or if they don't appreciate something, to not do that? Don't you understand what their priorities are and you seek to serve them and to love them according to what's important for them? How much more should we, as the body of Christ, seek to serve our head? We know what his priorities are. We know what he desires of his church. should we not seek to live it out and to continue to make his priorities our priorities. It's not easy to make priorities, admittedly, but Christ has given us his priorities and he strengthens us. When it's so easy to get distracted and to get to lose focus, he refocuses us and brings us back to his priorities. We can be thankful for growth. Interestingly, if you read in Acts 6, when the apostles were being distracted by the many pressures of the early church, They appointed other men to take some of the role, to take some of the work that they were, some of the work that needed to be done. Why did they do that? So they could dedicate themselves to prayer and preaching. It may have taken them a while, it may take you and me a while to understand this and to live it out, but they began, they understood how important and vital to the life of the church prayer and preaching were, and they were taught that. by Jesus Christ. They understood his priorities and they used them to build the church. And so friends, we've been given clear directions by our king. We need to follow his lead. We need to make his priorities of prayer and preaching our priorities. We need to seek our faithful God for the blessing of the preached word in your own soul and in the kingdom work in this place. And when we follow our king's priorities, When you follow your King's priorities, you will see Christ's church grow, you will see His kingdom advance and Satan's kingdom torn down, and you will see great glory brought to the name of our beloved Savior and King. Indeed, may His priorities be your and my priorities tonight. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, our King and Head, we thank you for giving us your word, giving us such clear direction for how you would have your church and kingdom grow and advance. We thank you, Lord, that you have given us such clear directions. We pray that you would give us the grace and empower us by your spirit to follow them, to implement them, to put what your word teaches and what we've learned tonight, put it into practice. We pray, Lord, that you would indeed bless us and bless this church. May your priorities be our priorities. And we pray, Lord, that you would receive all the glory, that your kingdom would advance so that you would receive all the glory. And we pray, Lord, that your elect would be brought in, that your people would be strengthened through the means you've given them. Thank you again for worship today. Thank you again for worship this evening and for time in your house and your special presence. We pray as we conclude our worship that you would continue to pour out your blessing upon us throughout this evening and this week. Hear us we pray, in Christ's name, amen.