For our Bible reading this morning, I would ask that you turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10. This is something of Christ's mission discourse. He sends His 12 apostles out and gives them, or puts before them, the mission they are to follow and carry out. We are looking at verses 5 through 15 this morning. but we'll begin reading at verse one of chapter 10. This is page 1035. So Matthew chapter 10, beginning with verse one. Here, the holy and infallible word of God. And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these. First Simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddeus, Simon the zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You receive without paying, give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable on the Day of Judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town." And that ends our reading from God's Word this morning. May He add His blessing upon it. The congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the last number of weeks, we've been looking at the mission of Jesus. Why did Jesus come? And one of the central things we've been seeing in considering Christ's mission is his compassion. The compassion of Jesus is seen throughout. As Jesus calls Matthew the tax collector, he makes very clear that he came to call sinners. He came to call sinners to repentance and to life. He came to bring them, sinners, salvation, great and modest compassion, coming to us in our sins to give us life. When Jesus was later asked about fasting, he expressed there the joy, the joy that he now brings, the new age of grace and salvation he brings through his death and resurrection. So Christ compassionately brings us this day of grace, this day of life, this day of new hope and joy. Then as Christ went out performing miracles, as we saw, He compassionately delivered God's people from their many enemies. He delivered them from the world, their own sinful flesh, and the devil. And He did that in order to reveal the life, the abundant life we can have in Him. And the last time we heard about the compassion of Jesus, He looked upon the crowds. He saw the crowds. He looked at them with compassion. They were like sheep without a shepherd. And so Christ taught His disciples to pray for more laborers because Jesus saw these people. He knew they needed the gospel. He wanted more laborers to go to bring them this gospel that they might hear and be saved. Christ and His compassion coming to bring marvelous deliverance, hope, and life. It's Jesus' compassion, it's the Father's compassion, and it's for you and for me and for the world. And as I said, it drove Jesus to do what He did. It was what motivated Christ to keep going, to keep working, to go all the way to the very end of the cross. Christ's compassion upon sinners. And as I said last week, it's a compassion that should also motivate us. And the reason is because Jesus commissions his disciples to carry on the very ministry he himself was engaged in. We're told Jesus went through all the towns and villages preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and affliction. And in verses five through 15, it's very clear that this is exactly what Jesus wants his disciples to now do. He wants his disciples to do the very same thing. It's important for them as well then to have this heart of compassion, which proclaims the nearness of the kingdom of God. Christ's ministry was one focused and centered on that kingdom. The kingdom of heaven is at hand, the kingdom of God is near, and His disciples are to continue this very ministry of God's kingdom, proclaiming and announcing to all that it is come, it is here, it is near. And while, as I said, the disciples are somewhat unique, they are the 12 apostles. We are not given their authority and power and office or position. But still, the rest of the New Testament makes very clear that their work is, in a way as well, the work that we're to be engaged in. And so we want to look at this kingdom ministry that Christ had, that Christ passed on to his disciples. Jesus came to send his disciples out on this kingdom ministry. And there are three things we find out about this ministry here in our passage. First of all, that it's a ministry of salvation. Secondly, that it's a ministry of grace. And then third, it's a ministry that brings division. So the kingdom ministry is one of salvation, of grace, and one as well that divides. So here are the twelve before Jesus. They're called to Him, and they're now sent out to go out. But Jesus limits their going out for the time being. At least this initial sort of mission trip, if you want to put it that way, He limits them. He says they're not to go out on the way of the Gentiles. They're not to go to any town of the Samaritans. They're effectively limited to Galilee. Now, this isn't to contradict any care on Jesus' part for the nations, for Gentiles, and so on. The rest of Matthew's Gospel makes very clear Jesus is interested in going to the nations. He sends out his disciples, go to the ends of the earth at the very end with a great commission. So it wasn't to deny any kind of Gentile mission, but we see here again God's priority, priority for the Jews, as it were. As Paul will write in Romans 9, to them is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, the promises, the patriarchs, and from the flesh, the Christ. And so there's a An appropriateness to going first to the Jews of Galilee before they go anywhere else. And that's all that Jesus is expressing here. The need to bring this message to God's historic covenant people. And it may say something to us about an ongoing concern for Jews today to bring them the gospel, that they really need the gospel and to share that gospel with them. But we want to focus especially or particularly on the message the disciples are to bring as they go out. They are to bring the message that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Now what is the kingdom of heaven? Sometimes it's also called the kingdom of God. Those are basically synonyms. But what is this kingdom? What does it refer to? What does it mean? The definition I tend to prefer is that the kingdom is God's redemptive and restorative rule. God's redemptive and restorative rule. That may seem somewhat abstract. What does that even itself mean? Well, I would invite you to think for a moment about what it will mean when God's kingdom comes in its fullness. What is the fullness of God's kingdom? Well, it is that fullness we will know and we will see and we will enjoy at the very end of the age when Christ returns. When Jesus comes a second time, then we will have fulfilled that prophecy God gave through Daniel where God's kingdom will cover the entire earth. Remember, children, there was that rock cut out of a mountain by no human hands and that rock tumbles down the mountain and it smashes that statue made of all those different kinds of metals and materials? And then that rock that smashed the statue so grows and grows and grows and one day covers the entire earth. See, that's what's gonna happen when Jesus returns again and God's kingdom, you see, will cover the entire earth, the entire universe even. We will see the entire universe come under God's redemptive, restorative rule. All believers were told, all the wicked, all the unbelievers will be cast out and they will be punished everlastingly in the lake of fire. We are told that there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, no more death. No more curse, right? No more curse of death. No more curse of thorns and thistles. No working by the sweat of our brow. But all creation, the entire universe, restored and made perfect and right, free of corruption, free of anything that defiles. Everything made right, restored, and true. And you see, that's the message of God's kingdom. It's that message of God bringing all things under his restorative rule so that all is made right and good and true and perfect. And I hope you get the sense of that because this is really the beauty then of what the disciples are to proclaim and what Jesus himself proclaimed. Because the beauty is that this kingdom, this redemptive, restorative rule of God is at hand, it's near. And the meaning is that as Christ has entered the world, this future day of glory and mercy and grace has already been introduced into the world. The kingdom isn't here yet, but the disciples are to proclaim that kingdom has, in a sense, already arrived. It's been introduced to the world. And you, as you come to Jesus, and you as you believe in Jesus, you can begin to know and experience and enjoy what this kingdom means. It's a way of saying that today, today, you may now come under God's redemptive rule and be saved. See, this is why Jesus had the very ministry that he did. Why did He go about preaching? Why did He spend so much time healing people, driving out demons, curing lepers, making the lame to walk, the blind to see, and making the dead to live? Why was Jesus doing all of this? Because you see, He was not only proclaiming the kingdom, but He was also showing us what the kingdom's like. As He healed, as He drove out demons, as He made people to see and to walk and so forth, Jesus was showing us a picture of what we may have eternally in Him. Those people who were healed could still get sick again someday. Those people who were made to see could yet have their vision slowly fade away when they got older. And those who were resurrected to life, like Lazarus, still ended up dying again later. But you see, in these miracles and in this preaching, Christ is seeking to express to us and show us and proclaim to us and reveal to us that this complete, perfect, full, redemptive rule of God can be entered into and can be known and can be enjoyed today. And that in fullness we may in one day receive that freedom from all corruption, sin, and death, and stand perfect in His sight. That this is now the day of salvation that we can enter into. And what is that salvation? Salvation not just of our souls, but really salvation of our bodies, salvation of the world. See, that's the message the disciples are proclaiming, not just, hey, guess what, your soul can be made right with God, but no, as you come to me, you may also one day be raised victorious from the grave and stand perfect on the earth. As you come to me in faith, one day you'll be remade in my glorious image and you will radiate with the glory of God and you will see and you will live in a world that's been fully made right and perfect. That's the glorious message, a message of all the blessings, life, peace, and glory that we may have as we come to Christ in faith. This is what Jesus wants his disciples to proclaim as they go out. It's why he says, tell them the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Go heal all diseases and sickness, drive out demons, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, et cetera, et cetera. Jesus wants his disciples to carry on that same ministry so that as people hear and people see, they would understand the glory, the salvation Jesus brings. Now, as I said, these are the 12 apostles, and we haven't been given their office. There are no more apostles. We haven't been given their authority in the sense of we have their apostolic authority in ourselves, but the central idea still remains. We are Christ's disciples. You see, this is, again, a reminder of the kind of ministry we seek to have as a church that we should seek to have as God's children individually in our care and our concern for one another. It's about showing the salvation of Jesus. That as we share the gospel, as we live among one another, and as we interact with one another, that we're concerned to point everyone's eyes to the true glory of the salvation Jesus brings. A salvation that touches us in our a salvation that touches us in our sickness, a salvation that touches us in our loneliness or our fear or our worry and so on, a salvation, yes, that gloriously, primarily preaches the washing away of our sins, the cleansing of all of our guilt, that we may stand right before the face of God. But one as well that means we will stand right in terms of our bodies being made right. and a world that's made right. You know, that's really the glory of salvation that we have in Jesus. And I think it's easy for us to forget that at times, perhaps for good reasons, because we do want to focus on the salvation, the deliverance from our sins. But we should not lose sight of the glorious breadth of Christ's salvation. The breadth of it, that's to amaze us, fill us with awe, and that's the kind of kingdom, that's the kind of salvation we're to preach and to share with others as we seek to minister to one another around us. So this ministry Christ calls His disciples to give is a ministry of salvation, showing the full breadth of the salvation Jesus gives. But next we see as well that this is a ministry of grace. Ministry of grace. Jesus next tells his disciples, you receive without pay, give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. Now, before we get into that more specifically, just a word on what Matthew gives us here, because those of you who are sharp-eyed Bible scholars will notice that Mark has Jesus tell his disciples to take a staff and sandals. In Matthew, Jesus forbids a staff and sandals. Mark has Jesus telling them to take a staff and sandals. And so many people find here some kind of difficulty insurmountable to them and are often troubled by it. Well, how do we resolve this conundrum? There may be a sense in which Jesus is saying, don't take extra staffs or sandals. That may be a possibility. But we also need to remember how Matthew, again, writes his gospel. And Matthew, again, likes to condense his narrative, and he likes to treat it thematically or topically. And we know that Jesus sent out his disciples more than one time. Luke tells us about Jesus sending out 72. In other words, the disciples are sent out numerous times by Jesus. And Matthew likely is taking all of Jesus' instructions, and he's condensing it all here and giving it to us in one place. And you see that even when we get to verse 16, because Jesus isn't talking so much about a Galilee ministry anymore. Now he's talking about going before kings, Gentiles, and so on. So Matthew is condensing, you might say, all of Christ's instructions. And he then gives this instruction to us in this way to underscore that the ministry the disciples give must be one of grace. That's why he says, don't bring staff or sandals. It's to emphasize that this ministry must be one of grace. And the key statement is, you receive without paying, give without pay. Or perhaps you might also put it, freely you received, freely give. You see, these men, these disciples, did nothing to deserve being picked by Jesus. Even as Matthew shows us, it was all Jesus' own initiative. Jesus went to them. He singled them out. You, follow me. They didn't come running to him and saying, please let me be part of your core group of disciples. No, Jesus sort of, as you will, dictated the terms and brought them on. And the Gospel of Luke also shows us that Jesus spent an entire night in prayer to the Father before he selected these 12 men. So far from earning a choice into Christ's discipleship, instead God freely chose them in His grace. Just as Ephesians 2 tells us about our salvation, by grace you have been saved. Through faith, and this is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God, not of works that no one may boast. The only reason any of us believe in Jesus, the only reason any of us are included among his disciples is because of God's free grace to us. God graciously chose us, God graciously set us apart, God graciously transferred us in Christ from the kingdom of darkness into his kingdom of marvelous light, saved by grace, chosen by grace, received freely by grace. And Jesus now tells his disciples, You have been saved. You have been selected by grace freely. You have received me freely. You have been chosen by me to be my disciple. Now the way you conduct yourself should never contradict that. And so we find Jesus giving these instructions about not taking extra provisions, with the idea being that as they go out, they're to depend upon God, and they're to depend upon the thankful support of those to whom they minister. Now, there are all kinds of debates as to how we are to apply these words that Jesus gives his 12 apostles to ministers, to missionaries, and so forth today, but I think we can at least focus on what the rest of the Bible sort of does certainly underscore and confirm for us when it comes to these instructions. In the first place, the Bible does speak to pastors and other individuals, ministry workers, And it does emphasize that we are not mercenaries. We must not and cannot preach the gospel for a price. The Bible is very clear about that. We are not to preach the gospel for a price. We're not to charge for our services. It's easy to fall into that kind of trap. Someone invites us, perhaps, to go somewhere else, to go to a conference, to go to some kind of camp or convention, and to say, well, this is what I charge for my time, this is what I charge for my services. Jesus says no. The Bible teaches us no. That may not, must not take place. We are freely, graciously saved, and we are to preach that gospel for free. We do not put a price on the gospel. We do not put a fee before the gospel. It certainly makes clear that as ministers, we must also not be engaged in the pursuit of selfish material interests. It should be very clear that we are to be absolutely careful about denying the free grace of the gospel. apply to myself. I am and I should preach for free. And the reason for that is, as well, to very clearly communicate to the church and to all those around us that the gospel is free, that salvation in Christ is free. Brothers and sisters, you don't have to pay for the gospel. You don't have to pay a fee to get access to the gospel that you might find salvation in Jesus. No, the gospel is free. It's the gospel of God's free grace to you in Jesus Christ. There is no cost. There is no cost. Then there's the other side to what Jesus says here, the laborer deserves his food. Now that may seem to contradict what Jesus has just been saying about it being free. How can Jesus say, you know, preach freely, give freely, but now the laborer deserves his food? Well, the point is that while the gospel is freely preached or freely given, those who freely receive it should render thankful support to those who preach it freely to them. If you want to put it that way, the reality is that you do not pay me as your pastor. I'm not paid. Maybe you think, well, those are just word games. No, they're not word games. That's the scriptural teaching. That's the scriptural message. I am not paid as a minister of the gospel. That's normally the way we talk, and perhaps there are governmental reasons for that, but I am not an employee. I am not paid for services rendered. I do not get so much money for every sermon or for every visit, every meeting, and so on and so forth. That's not the reality, scripturally speaking. That's not the truth. In fact, that's often the mentality that rests behind those members in the congregation that might get upset on different occasions and come charging up to a pastor saying, you better be quiet and you better not talk about this because I pay your salary. That actually happens. It's never happened to me, thankfully. It's never happened here, but I know it's happened. I pay your salary, you do this. No, the church does not pay her pastor. I, again, am not a hired hand. I'm not an employee. I serve free of charge. Some of you may be thinking, well, let's test that. But that's the scriptural teaching. The pastor is not an employee. He preaches the gospel freely, but the Bible charges the church to provide for Christ's servants with the resources he needs to continue to serve freely. It's kind of even similar to how it was in the Old Testament. The Levites weren't paid, but as the Israelites brought their offerings to God, the Levites received part of their thank offerings so that they had the support they need to care for their families and to continue to serve freely. And it's the same principle that continues even in the New Testament. That God's people, in gratitude and thanksgiving for this free gospel, for this gospel of grace, for this salvation that's been made known to them, for this ministry, they're so thankful that they, in their thankfulness, bring forth support to care for those who preach this gospel and who share this gospel freely. And again, this isn't simply a word game on Jesus' part. Jesus is saying this is all about the gospel. This is also all about making very clear to everyone that the gospel is free of charge. And that the salvation that Jesus brings doesn't have a price attached to it. What does Isaiah say? Come, you who have no money, buy and eat. Come, you who have no gold or silver. Come, buy and eat and be filled. You see, that's what Jesus is impressing upon his disciples. What is impressing upon us is that the gospel must always, always be free. No cost, no fee, no payment for services rendered. Yes, thankful care and support from those who receive. But by no means is there a fee to the gospel of grace, because this message of salvation is the gospel of God's free grace. And no disciple, no minister, no pastor should ever, ever go about his work in such a way that it would deny that very point. The gospel is the gospel of God's free grace. Freely we receive, freely we are to give. Well, there's much more we could perhaps think about on that point, but we need to consider finally how this kingdom ministry is also one that divides. As we'll go on to see, Jesus makes very clear the gospel and its ministers will receive and face incredible opposition. Jesus does not give a rose-colored vision of service to him. And we see that very clearly here in Matthew 10. In the last verses of our text, Jesus prepares us for that reality of persecution. He says, whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it, and if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. The disciples go out freely. They go entirely dependent upon God's care and the support of those whom they end up ministering to. And so Jesus says, when you go to a town or a village, find someone worthy and stay with that person. Someone worthy most likely refers to a person, a house, a family who is receptive to the gospel. They are open to supporting the ministry and the work of Jesus. And so they're to go with this person who's open to the gospel, to go with them to their house and stay with them. And on entering that house, Jesus says you're to greet it, but not to give any normal greeting. You are to pronounce a blessing of peace upon this house. and all those who are living there. And that's, again, a picture of what the kingdom of God brings and what it gives, right? It brings peace. The gospel announces that through faith in Christ, we have peace with God. We're forgiven of our sins. We're set free of our guilt. We're righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. And so there's peace between us and God, and the gospel announces that there's peace between us as brothers and sisters. We are reconciled in one blood, in one Lord, in one Savior. We are adopted into one family of God, and so there's peace between brothers. The blood of Jesus accomplishes this, and so as the disciples go out and they find people receptive to the gospel, they're to make that peace known, to pronounce that peace of God upon that house that has shown an openness to the gospel. But even for as wonderful as that message of peace may be, Jesus grants, Jesus reveals, that it will meet opposition. It could be, Jesus envisions it here, it could be that someone who seemed worthy ends up being unworthy. They seem open to the gospel, you go to their house and you reveal the gospel, you share the gospel with them, and they grow hard-hearted and they reject it, and Jesus says, if that's to happen, You should let your greeting of peace be rescinded. Withdraw your peace. He doesn't make clear how that's supposed to happen, if it's supposed to be some kind of announcement, the peace of God you do not possess or some other such thing, but it could very well be at least what Jesus says in verse 14, that they shake the dust from their feet off as they leave that house or that town. Now when Jewish people in Christ's day traveled through Gentile territory, again, where Gentiles lived, and if they passed through a town or they passed through some land that was owned and lived in by Gentiles, and they came back to their own land, they would shake their clothes off from all the dust their feet had kicked up. They shook their clothes off. because they had just come through this unclean land. Really, it was a sign of contempt. You're pagans, you're sinful, you're wicked, you have nothing to do with God. And what's remarkable is that Jesus now says, those who reject the gospel are to be treated that way. Even Jews who reject this gospel are to be treated that way, where you, as it were, shake the dust from off your clothes that your feet have kicked up as a sign to them that they are now under contempt and the judgment of God. And Jesus is telling his disciples to make clear in that way that the dividing line of the human race no longer falls between Gentile and Jew, but the dividing line of the human race now falls between those who either accept the Word of God and the message of Christ and those who reject it. This is, you might say, a very transitional moment. Again, Jesus sends his disciples just to the Jews. And as they go, they are to make very clear to these descendants of Abraham that the dividing line that they think is between Gentile and Jew is not true any longer, but the dividing line is between those who receive the Word of God concerning Jesus Christ and those who reject it. That is the one thing that makes all the difference in the world. where they reject or they believe the Word of God concerning His Christ. It is this ministry, you see, of Christ's Kingdom that separates and divides all people. The Gospel is the most glorious news in all the earth. It is the message of God's free salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, a salvation of body and soul, a salvation of cosmic proportions, of eternal blessings, But at the same time, it's a ministry, it's a message of salvation that's found only in Christ. Only known and received by those who accept and believe and give their faith to the words and the testimony of Christ. Brothers and sisters, if you need any reminder of how absolutely important it is to listen to God's messengers, to listen to God's word, this is it. Listen very closely to what Jesus says. If anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town, truly, in the Greek, Amen, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. It's hard to think of a judgment more terrible and in a sense more deserved than that of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are still the go-to picture of judgment. And Jesus says the day of judgment will be easier, will be lighter, will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for the person who rejects the word of Christ's disciples. who reject the word and the testimony of Christ. Sodom and Gomorrah will have an easier time before the judgment seat of God than the person who obstinately rejects and resists and does not listen to or follow or receive the word of God through his servants. Now, this is not about men, it's not about puffing up men and ministers as if they're some special people, but it's about the fact that God's word comes through those men, just as it comes through the elders. It comes through these men, and Jesus says, those who reject the word that is coming through you will face, as it were, the severest judgment when it comes to standing before the throne of God on the last day. Those who will be punished the most, those who will receive the greatest pain, those who will receive God's harshest condemnation, are not like the places like Sodom and Gomorrah that never had the gospel. No, it will be those people who had the gospel, who had the message of Christ, and refused to believe it, to follow it, to hear it, to obey it. And I think that's especially sobering for us, because we have heard this gospel all our life, haven't we? Countless sermons, numberless sermons, Sunday school, catechism, youth group, Bible studies, family devotions, personal devotions. The Word of God has filled, as it were, all our lives. And if we receive that Word, we will have the most glorious blessing you could even begin to fathom. But if you knowingly reject it, If you knowingly reject this word that has so filled your life and confronted you time and time again, the greatest destruction awaits you. It is so sobering. For us personally, it's sobering for me even as a pastor too, thinking of the church. It's not at all either to detract from the compassion of Christ's ministry. It's not to undermine the wondrous freedom of God's grace in Christ, or to say, well, then it's better not to bring the gospel at all, because if we bring the gospel to them and they reject it, they're gonna be worse off. No, that's not to make any kind of argument along those lines, because only the gospel can save, only the gospel can deliver. And the world desperately needs the gospel. Jesus says, pray for more laborers, because they need the gospel. It's the only way to be saved. But it should make us, oh, so very careful, very careful that we are not, not rejecting that word God is bringing through His servants. Because to reject that word is to our eternal peril. The gospel is the only way to salvation. The gospel of God's free grace in Jesus Christ is the only way to experience and to know and to come under that redemptive rule of God so that you will be made new and perfect and live in a world of absolute perfection and righteousness. And the only way you will come to believe is through this word of Christ, hearing the word of Christ. And the only way others are going to come to know and to believe is through the Word of Christ. We have freely received it. We have freely been saved. And we ought then in great compassion to now joyfully tell this Word to others. to be engaged in this kingdom ministry, which Christ calls his disciples to continue on, to tell others the wonderful news that kingdom of heaven is at hand. So to Christ be the glory, and may his ministry be fulfilled in us, his people. Amen. Let's pray. O Lord our God, as we come here this morning, we again thank you for your Word of grace and mercy and love in Jesus Christ. Father, the Gospel alone gives us hope. The Gospel alone gives us peace. And only in that Gospel do we know your Christ, whom you sent. And so, Father, we pray for faith. We pray for faith on our part that we might truly respond to this Word in true and genuine saving faith. Lord, that we may know your kingdom, live in your kingdom, be citizens of that kingdom forever. And Father, may we as well hear the call of Christ then to engage in this kingdom ministry, to share this gospel of glorious salvation with the world. And to Father, never put a price on that gospel either because it is one of your free grace. So equip us for your work and your service, we pray. Continue to give us the knowledge and understanding we need to faithfully serve you in all of our lives, in our work, in our play, in our travels, whatever we may be doing. Lord, may we bring glory to Christ, proclaiming the glory of his kingdom that he has brought, that he has accomplished, through his own work, life, and death. Father, thank you for making us citizens of your kingdom. And would you bless this gospel ministry around the world that more and more may come to know you and your saving grace in Jesus Christ, your son. And we ask it in his name and for his sake. Amen.