I was a little surprised that David wanted me to speak when we have such bright lights as Dr. Jim Renahan and Conrad Mbewe here to open the Word of God to us. But since he asked, I thought it would be appropriate for us to begin by looking at the text that the conference is based upon, and that is in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58. Have you ever considered what happens when an immovable object comes in contact with an unstoppable force? When an immovable object comes in contact with an unstoppable force, what happens? Well, this is a hypothetical situation. that is referred to as the irresistible force paradox or the unstoppable force paradox. It pertains to the realm of physics where two entities are assumed to be indestructible. The paradox rests on two incompatible premises that there can exist simultaneously such things as unstoppable forces and immovable objects. Such a scenario could never exist because it would be a contradiction. Because if an unstoppable force overcame an immovable object, then we couldn't say that it really was an immovable object. And if an immovable object withheld an unstoppable force, we couldn't really say it was an unstoppable force. So we can confidently say that an unstoppable force will never meet an immovable object. It's an impossibility. And as you know, the title of our conference is Immovable. remaining steadfast amidst a declining generation. And it's based here on 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58, where Paul writes, therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. So by way of introduction to the messages that you'll be hearing from these two prestigious Speakers, I thought it would be helpful for us to take a better look at this text. Obviously, this term immovable is not addressing the realm of physics here in verse 58, but the realm of faith, as Paul writes to the saints in Corinth. And that also applies to you. It applies to me today. In this verse, we find Paul exhorting the saints to persevere in the faith without giving up. And perhaps he sensed or heard that someone in Corinth was growing weary in their service of the Lord. And how does Paul go about dealing with that? How does he address and encourage the saints there in Corinth? Well, notice the opening word of this verse. It is the inferential word, therefore. Paul uses this word to draw a conclusion from all that he has said. It could be that it's based just on the previous verse, in verse 57, where Paul writes, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Just knowing that God has granted us victory through Christ over sin and death, wouldn't that be enough to encourage us all to press on in the faith, to press on in our labors, in our ministries for the Lord? It's also possible that this word, therefore, reaches further back than just verse 57, perhaps all the way back to the opening of the chapter, verse one and two. Paul says, now, I would remind you, brethren, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. So these words also come as a call to stand firm in the faith, to be steadfast, to be immovable, to not be overcome. And then Paul, using this word therefore, backs up his appeal with a brief description. We see that beginning at verse three in chapter 15, verses three through 11, actually presents a mini creed. Here is a creedal statement of the major truths of the gospel. And in verses 12 through 57, Paul lays out this wonderful defense and explanation of the resurrection of Christ, the general resurrection, ending on this high note of verse 57, thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So that brings us to verse 58. And here Paul concludes his argument for the resurrection with a very simple, but with a very earnest, heartfelt appeal for the brethren to be steadfast, to be immovable, to always be abounding in the work of the Lord. So Paul's appeal joins together hope and work, the hope of future glory and the work of present-day service, both of which are accessed through the medium of faith, a hope that is bright and a work that is abundant and a faith that is firm. So in light of the sure hope of Christ's resurrection, the note of joy and triumph over sin and death, Paul concludes with this strong note of appeal in which we see endearment, in which we see exhortation and encouragement. We see endearment, who we need to be, as Paul writes, my beloved brethren. Paul often uses the term beloved in his writings. He also uses oftentimes the word brethren. but very seldom does he use beloved brethren together. And here he also uses the personal pronoun my, my beloved brethren, to communicate this deep sense of affection toward the Corinthian believers. If you look back in verse 36, you'll see Paul uses some very tough words in this chapter. He is writing polemically because there were some, according to verse 12, who were actually questioning the doctrine, the validity, the fact of the resurrection. But now, having contended with that, he closes on a more personal, winsome note, addressing them as my beloved brethren. Paul saw these Corinthian Christians as his very own brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know something? We should see one another in the same way. A conference like this provides just the opportunity to build, to cultivate, to enhance endearment. If we are converted, if we are Christ's, then we are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. We are members of the same body, partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. And those who are with us today clearly fit this title of beloved brethren. So may we own that, and may we use that to encourage each other and to cultivate that sense of endearment among us. We can clearly see this tone of endearment in our text, but also we see secondly, exhortation. Exhortation, that's what you need to be. If endearment was who you need to be, exhortation here, Paul is showing what you need to be. And what does Paul call us to be here in verse 58? He calls us to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. These two adjectives, steadfast and immovable, if you look at them, they're really similar, almost synonymous, but there's a slightly different shade of meaning. How are they different? How is steadfast different from immovable? I think the Lord Jesus Christ gives us a very clear example in the Gospel of Matthew where he says in Matthew 7 verse 24, everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came. And the winds blew and beat against that house and it did not fall because it was founded on the rock. That house was steadfast because it was founded on the rock. And we could also say that it was immovable because it was able to withstand the rain and the floods and the wind that beat against it. So in being steadfast, a house is immovable. It can only be immovable if it is first steadfast. Because if it is not steadfast, when the winds come, that house is going to move. So Paul gives us the proper sequence here. First steadfast, and then immovable. Steadfast, this word is only used here and one other place in the book of Colossians, chapter 1, 23. There he writes in you who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body a flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him. In verse 23, if indeed you continue in the faith stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven and of which I, Paul, became a minister. So you see how this word steadfast, it relates to a solid foundation on which we can stand. As we sing, I'm Christ, the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. So when we think of being steadfast, think of it in light of two applications. First, we need to be steadfast in our doctrine, in our doctrine. In Paul's context, it was a reference to belief in the doctrine of the resurrection that the saints are here being called to remain steadfast. Back in verse 12, he asks, how can some of you say that there's no resurrection of the dead? Paul is showing that to deny a central doctrine like that of the resurrection would bring Christ's own resurrection into question. He, in a sense, is arguing from the effect to the cause. If there is no resurrection, how can you say that Jesus Christ then has risen from the dead? And then it would cast suspicion on the very credibility of Paul as an apostle and all the other writers of the New Testament who write of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And all of those who Paul writes of at the opening of this chapter who said that they saw the Lord, more than 500 of the brethren at one time, it would cast suspicion on all of their testimonies. And more than that, it would affect the very church of the Lord Jesus Christ that is built upon the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. And more than that, a denial of the resurrection would undermine Christ's great work of propitiation. We know that the wages of sin is death, And death is the penalty of sin. It is a judicial sentence. It is legal punishment for sin. And as our perfect substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ took our sin, our shame, our debt, our condemnation, all upon himself, our punishment. He submitted himself in our place as our legal representative He succumbed and submitted to the penal death with all the punishment that we deserved. But would Christ's redemption be complete if he didn't rise from the dead? What kind of redemption would it be If Christ still lied in the grave, still lying under death's penalty for sin, how can any Redeemer who dies for us help us unless he rises again? Otherwise, he is still under that sentence of the law that executed him in the first place. Can you see how important doctrine is and why we must remain steadfast? Because if we begin to give way in something that might seem maybe secondary, like people rising from the dead, as the apostles have said, you can see the domino effect and how it will affect other doctrines, including the very heartbeat of the gospel, the very work of Christ. An old Scottish pastor, Robert Candlish, said, If your sin has brought upon you the flood of judicial wrath, and if Christ is to be your Redeemer by plunging himself into that flood and letting its stormy waves go over his head instead of yours, The sacrifice is vain unless he himself first emerge and come out from among the billows. Without the resurrection of Christ, there is really no redemption. Brethren, we cannot waver in the truth. We must hold fast the form of sound words. Paul could say in Ephesians 4, 13 and 14, he is writing of us all attaining to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children. So that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine. carried about because we are not being steadfast by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Oh brethren, we must be steadfast in our doctrinal position, which means we will remain that way. Toward the end of his ministry, Charles Spurgeon was able to stay that he had not moved a single inch from his doctrinal position to which he held when he first began his public ministry at the age of 19. And the first thing he did when he became pastor at New Park Street was to republish the 1689 Baptist Confession. He held to that confession of faith throughout his career. And one of the benefits of subscribing to the confession of faith is that it will help us establish a firm hold on doctrine and to remain steadfast to that conviction that holds us to the truth. It is a benchmark by which we can measure our doctrinal faithfulness and steadfastness over the years. Charles Spurgeon, speaking of this great man of God, he so happened to preach on 1 Corinthians 15, 58. So I thought, I'm going to see what he had to say. And I was so overwhelmed at the message, I thought I should just get up and read Spurgeon's sermon. It would be so edifying to the people. Why try and put a shadow over it? with anything that I would have to say. So instead of that, I thought I would just give constant injections of Spurgeon's words on this text, and hopefully it will minister to you as it has to me. He says, beloved, be firm, be steadfast, be positive, There are certain things which are true. Find them out. Grapple them to you as with hooks of steel. Buy the truth at any price and sell it at no price. Be you steadfast, also in the sense of not being changeable. Some have one creed today and another creed tomorrow, variable as a lady's fashions." I love that. He says, the apostle says to us, be you steadfast, having learned the truth, hold it, grow into it, let the roots of your soul penetrate into its center and drink up the nourishment which lies therein, but do not be forever transplanting yourselves from one soil to another. Jesus Christ is not yea and nay, He is not today one thing and tomorrow another, but he is the same today, yesterday, and forever. Amen. So that is part of the application for being steadfast. Be steadfast in your doctrine, but also be steadfast in your character. In your character. And Paul alludes to character if you look at verse 32, where he shows that a change of conviction on the doctrine of the resurrection would lead to a change of action affecting one's character. If the dead are not raised, well then let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. That's translated to mean if the doctrine of the resurrection is untrue, why should we go on living as if it is? We need to be steadfast. in godly character, in the godly character that rests upon and flows from true doctrine. And some people shift their doctrinal positions over the years, but there's no recognizable change in the lifestyle or outward practice of their lives, but little by little, their theology erodes. Their convictions are compromised, they're softened, their views are turned, and yet, in their outward lives, they remain committed to their marriages and their families, maybe their employers. There's not any noticeable outward change, even though their doctrine has been going through massive upheaval. But others, they first begin to drift in their conduct, in their practice, and then later on change their doctrine to match their practice. I once watched a young man who was a convinced Baptist go off to his first year in college, but he soon met a classmate who was a Mormon. His doctrine would not permit him to be unequally yoked with this woman, so he switched to a doctrine that would. Another man claimed to be holding to the abiding authority of the fourth commandment and the sanctity of the Lord's day, but before long he received a job offer. that offered him double the income that he was making, but it required that he work on Sundays. And so he changed his doctrine to support his practice. Neither one of these men were steadfast. One man changed his convictions for the love of a woman. Another man changed his convictions for the love of money. They were neither steadfast in their doctrine nor in their character. You see, doctrine and character go together as truth and life. Each one will affect and influence the other. They are the two feet with which we walk with the Lord. It is the two wings by which we take flight to draw closer to the Lord. Peter, in 2 Peter 2.5, he speaks of Noah as a preacher of righteousness. And when you think about Noah, how long did he preach? About 120 years. How many converts did he have? There may have been some who died Before the flood, we're not sure, but we get the impression that he, with just his family, eight altogether, entered the ark. He entered as the greatest unsuccessful preacher that ever lived. Faithful unto death, to be rewarded by his God as if he had convinced the whole world to flee from the wrath to come. He was steadfast. He was steadfast. No matter what the results, no matter what the opposition, he was steadfast in the face of difficulty. And James 1, 3, and 4 tell us to count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces what? Steadfastness. And steadfastness, James says, let it have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. So that's the first thing that we're exhorted to here, steadfastness. It means to be firmly established, to set your roots down deep, to be grounded But there's another part to this exhortation, you see, and that is to be immovable. Paul adds the word immovable to being steadfast, knowing that our steadfastness would be tested, and to see how immovable you are will be an indication of how steadfast you were. These two terms should not give the idea of passivity or stagnation, but active resistance. It's like the idea of a tree that is deeply rooted in the ground, and no matter how hard the winds blow, the tree is immovable. It's standing firm. It will not budge from its position, because it's rooted, it's steadfast, and it will remain immovable. We could use the illustration of football. In football, there's the offensive line. They need to be immovable, and they're blocking against defense to protect the line for the backfield. Paul calls us to be steadfast and immovable, and that is the call to hold the line. In our theology, to hold the line in our character, and our doctrine and our practice. To quote Spurgeon again, he says, brethren, when you are assailed by argument, be immovable. And as you are not moved by the world's custom, so take care not to be moved by its persecutions. and equally be unmoved to the world's smiles, it will put on the sweetest looks and tempt you with its painted cheeks. If ever there was a period in the Christian church when professors needed to be exhorted to be steadfast and movable, he says, it's just now, for the foundations are removed and all things are out of course. Men remove the old landmarks, they break down the pillars of the house, all things reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man, and only he, only he who keeps the feet of his saints can preserve our uprightness. And if Spurgeon thought the times were bad back then, he would be astounded to see what the times are like today, amen? It's true that we could say there's nothing new under the sun as far as human nature and behavior are concerned. But we are seeing some strange things in our modern society that have never been seen before in world history. It was just six years ago, the Obergefell decision legalized same-sex marriage. which is an attack on the family. It is an attack on the very God who ordained marriage, who designed and instituted the family. We have never seen a movement before that goes under the title of gay Christianity. But there are homosexuals that claim to be born again Christians who are asserting that it's okay to hold to your homosexual desires and be a Christian and enjoy fellowship with God and all God's people. And many churches are not standing firm in the cultural and moral avalanche. They are caving in to pressure. Churches are embracing the creed of critical race theory and social justice movement. And not only are churches moving away from the historic convictions, but we are seeing professing Christians themselves leaving the faith. There's a group of former Christians who are preaching the message of deconversion, encouraging others who may have doubts and questions to feel comfortable in leaving the church like they have. In the last 100 years, the church in America first enjoyed approval, which then diminished to acceptance and has since turned to apathy, which is now turning to antagonism and will soon turn to aggression. Dear saints, if there is ever a time that believers need to be immovable, is it not today? In his recent book, Live Not by Lies, Rod Dreher distinguishes between hard and soft totalitarianism. Hard totalitarianism is the absence of liberty produced by a totally brutal civil government. Any refusal to conform to state-mandated rules, especially in regard to speech, results in an arrest and being sent to the Gulag, which is the prison for nonconformists. Soft totalitarianism is much more subtle. Rather than escort you off to prison, The civil government, including such powers today as big tech, will slowly take away your freedom by means of offering you a more comfortable lifestyle, including the reward of convenience and pleasure for your complicity, and promising you a secure future in exchange for your present freedom. Consumerism has become therapeutic to most Americans. They can't live without it. And he shows that this incentivizes silence for the sake of peace and profit. The old saying, don't rock the boat. If it's not broken, don't fix it. go along to get along, live and let live. If you obey the rules, the new rules, by refraining from certain offensive speech, well then you'll remain in good standing in the community. Liberty of speech that offends the masses, that will be punished by ways such as fear of being ostracized by your friends, maybe removed from Facebook, being expelled perhaps from your school, losing your job. In other words, you will not be carried off to prison. You will simply be canceled. And the most ominous warning sign of the increase of soft totalitarianism is simply the unspoken demand to believe lies. Affirming obvious lies by silence. in order to conform. To be steadfast, to be immovable, will require you to speak the truth in love at every opportunity. Proverbs 29.25 says, the fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. These are some of the enemies that are directly or indirectly attacking our faith, the world and the flesh and the devil, and that is why we must stand firm in the faith. Listen to what Paul writes in Ephesians 6, verse 10, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand firm. Brethren, we are living in the evil day. In case you haven't noticed, we're surrounded by the cosmic forces of evil, this present darkness, and we're called to be immovable. May God help us to stand. So Paul is exhorting his Corinthians, he's exhorting them to be steadfast, to be immovable, and then also He wants them to always be abounding in the work of the Lord. If the first two parts of this exhortation would be a call to stand and to defend, this third part of the exhortation is a call to march, to be abounding in the work of the Lord. What kind of work is Paul referring to here? Is he referring to pastoral ministry? Maybe is this just a call for us full-time pastors? No, remember who Paul is writing this letter to? The saints at Corinth. He's writing to an entire congregation, all who should be actively engaged in the work of the Lord. Notice the word always that is used here. It's a call to continual service. It means not to work just for a season, and take the rest of the time off, it means to be working for the rest of your lives. And what does Paul mean by this word abounding? It means to increase, to overflow, to excel, to exceed, to have plenty, to be ever increasing. It's not enough to abound in the work just on Sundays. God gives us the opportunity to abound in the work seven days a week. One is never too old or never too young to be abounding in the work of the Lord. Here at our church, we have a 10-year-old boy who is helping put together the elements for the Lord's Supper in the kitchen on Sundays, working alongside an 84-year-old man at times who still brings forth fruit in old age. So the Apostle says nothing about retiring from the work of the Lord, but always to be abounding in it. And this idea seems to suggest even biting off more than you can chew. That might not seem to be common sense in today's world, but when it comes to the work of the Lord, Seek to do it, that's abounding. As Spurgeon says, I do not think a man is doing all he can do if he is not attempting more than he will complete. Our vessels are never full till they run over. The little over proves our zeal, tries our faith, casts us upon God and wins his help. That which we cannot do of ourselves leads us to call in divine strength, and then wonders are wrought. If you are only aiming at what you feel able to accomplish, your work will be a poor one, lacking in heroism, deficient in the noble element of confidence in the unseen Lord, abound then and superabound in the work of the Lord, And really, it's God's work in us, is it not? God who is working in us rather than our work because it is from him and through him and to him that are all things. So whatever we might accomplish for the Lord is accomplished by the Lord, by the Spirit of God working in us. Jesus tells us that apart from me, you can do nothing. And Paul says earlier here, look at verse 10 in this chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, 10. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I. but it was the grace of God that is with me. He works in us to will and to do according to his great purpose, but we are always to be striving to be abounding in that work of the Lord. And Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9, 8, And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. And this is beautifully expressed for us in our Confession of Faith, chapter 16, paragraph three. It's on good works. And it says, their ability to do good works is not at all of themselves, but wholly from the Spirit of Christ, and that they may be enabled thereunto besides the graces they have already received. There is necessary an actual influence of the same Holy Spirit to work in them to will and to do of His good purpose. And then this is based on the previous paragraph. In chapter 16, paragraph 2, these good works, done in obedience to God's commandments, are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith, and by them believers manifest their thankfulness, strengthen their assurance, edify their brethren, adorn the profession of the gospel, stop the mouths of the adversaries, and glorify God whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus thereunto, that having their fruit unto holiness they may have the end. eternal life. Now, why do you suppose Paul gives this exhortation here in verse 58 at the end of his epistle, at the end of this chapter? Why was it even necessary? Because Paul knew that we can get easily Christians can slow down. We're only human. The body can only go so long before fatigue sets in and productivity is diminished. But Paul says in Galatians 6, 9, and 10, let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. So then as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. In 2 Thessalonians 3, 13, he says, as for you brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. Don't grow weary. We have to guard against what they refer to as battle fatigue. George Whitefield, as you know, traveled back and forth across the Atlantic seven times between England and America in his efforts to preach the gospel. Preaching sometimes more than twice a day in his travels, he burned himself out for Christ. And late in life, he confessed, Lord, I am weary of your work. I'm weary rather in your work, but not of your work. I'm weary in your work. He was honest, but I'm not weary of it. And as long as the Lord still gave him the strength, he continued to preach until his dying day. How did he do it? How could he keep going so hard for so long? because he looked to the Lord from where his strength came, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit who blessed his endeavor so that he might always be abounding in the work of the Lord. So that's Paul's exhortation, be steadfast, be immovable, and be abounding in the work of the Lord. And then he closes with a final point, that of encouragement, that of encouragement, and here is what you need to know. And notice what encouragement Paul holds out to encourage us to always abound in the work of the Lord. What you need to know is that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Paul seemed to favor that word in vain, that term here in chapter 15, he opens with it, And with the great inclusio, he closes with it, and he uses it right in the middle, around verse 32. In the Lord, it's not in vain. None of our hard work for Christ will be wasted. What a man shall, so that he will reap. Listen to Hebrews 6, 10 through 12. For God is not unjust, so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name and serving the saints as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. And later in chapter 12, you're familiar with verses one through three. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a cloud, a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself so that you will not grow weary or faint-hearted. When you find yourself growing weary and faint-hearted, look to the Lord Jesus Christ and consider him. Cast your eyes upon the Lord Jesus Christ in your seasons of weariness, and you will find refreshment, because God is just, and he will not forget to bless those who seek to minister in his name, to minister to his people. As Jesus said in Matthew 10, 42, if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward. Our confession in 16.2 goes on to say, yet notwithstanding the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works are also accepted in him, not as though they were in this life wholly unblameable or unreprovable in God's sight, but that he looking upon them in his Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections. It is easy to grow tired and weary, to grow discouraged. After ten, twenty, thirty, forty years serving the Lord and looking and wondering, our church is, it's no larger today than when we started several years ago. Are we making a difference? Is anything changing other than we're just getting old and tired? Well, let us be encouraged by the word of the Lord, because our labor in the Lord is not in vain. It is never in vain. God never forgets what his children do out of love for him, for his name, for the service of the saints. Don't you want to hear those great words someday? Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Be diligent in the ministry for the King, abounding in the work of the Lord. May these things be evident in our lives. May they be the evidence of our love for God who first loved us. So, while an unstoppable force will never meet an immovable object in the world of physics, in your life, may God's grace make you an unstoppable force. And may it make you an immovable object as you stand firm in the faith and conviction May the Lord help us to always be abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. Let's pray. O God, our Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you are the great God of glory, The God who has been pleased to open our eyes while we were yet in darkness, to bring life while we were dead in our trespasses and sin. The God who has been pleased to not only bring us out from under the rule and dictatorship of the prince of the power of the air, the God of this world, Satan, but to bring us into the glorious kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we might be children of light in a dark and dreary world, in which we can hold fast the words of life, in which we can continue to be conformed to the image of your beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in which we can bring forth the words of life that brought life to us through the word and spirit in which we can, by the grace of God, be steadfast and movable and always abounding in the work of the Lord, finding encouragement, knowing that our labor in the Lord will never be in vain. We thank you, Lord, for the privilege of coming together for this conference. We might indeed be encouraged and be an encouragement to one another And we pray that you will be here, Lord, in the power of the Spirit to strengthen us and to send us forth at the end of our time together in the power of the Lord, that we too may put our hand to the plow and never look back until we are home. This we ask in the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.