all things well. And so if you were here yesterday, you heard the exact words that God wanted you to hear. And we can always rest assured in that reality. The conference organizers, just as an introduction, my name is Kenneth Mbugwa. I serve as the lead pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Nairobi, Kenya. We are blessed with three little children, Eden, age seven, and Zion, age five, and Judah, who's two years old. And it's my joy to be walking us through the next few sessions in God's Word. The conference organizers have asked me to focus on the theme of rooted, as it is articulated in the parable of the sower. Let me see by a show of hands how many of you were here yesterday as Pastor Mbewe walked through that particular session. Hands up like an eager Form 1 student. There you go. Okay, if you're not here, we'll be looking or touching on that theme in every sermon that we look at. The parable of the sower is repeated in several gospels. In the gospel of Luke, it's caught in chapter 8. But even before chapter 8 in the book of Luke, that's not where we'll be going. But even before chapter 8 in the book of Luke, you're going to have caught a sense as you're going through that gospel that Luke wants to make a distinction. And the distinction that Luke wants to make is of the kingdom of God. And he will repeatedly want to rearrange, rearrange. what it truly means to be in the kingdom or to be out of the kingdom. As Christ is walking through the streets, there's those who will assume, hey, hey, you know what? I'm in the kingdom. Do you know why? Because I'm a son of Abraham. Of course I'm in the kingdom. Then you will hear, Jesus say words like, don't boast in the fact that you're sons of Abraham. God is able to raise up sons of Abraham even out of these rocks. He will seek to show that the crowds that are following Jesus. Large though they be, interested though they be, that they're not truly in the kingdom because it will show that those crowds are coming to Jesus seeking for something other than Jesus wants them to seek. And so you see the parable of the sower is answering a really critical question. Who is in the kingdom? Who is truly saved? It's a very important question. How do we differentiate between who is in And who is out? Because even in that time, there was a lot of confusion. Because there were those who thought they were in, but in reality, they were out. And there were those who would have been despised and looked down upon as those who don't really belong. And actually, they were the ones who were in. So when the parable of the sower asks that question, who is really in? gives a very clear answer. It is those who bring forth fruit. You're going to distinguish between those who are in and those who are out. You're not going to distinguish them in terms of who has received the word. Because many are called. Many are those who will be together with the saints. And just the primary way of distinguishing, even from the parable of the sower, is by seeing those who bring forth fruit. What we'll be doing in the three sermons that I have today and tomorrow, if the Lord wills, is we shall be seeking to identify what true Christianity is. What is true faith? What is true Christianity? It's what the parable of the sower seeks to accomplish. It's what I seek to accomplish. So what we'll start off with right now is what is true faith? What is saving faith? If you have ever read the book of Romans, You know that the book of Romans is the Himalayas of the Bible. Paul is going to scale the heights of his theology, of his core doctrines and articulate them in those 16 beautiful chapters. And as Paul is articulating his theology in the book of Romans, he is going to declare that one is justified by what? I saw an answer there. More confidently? By faith, isn't it? What is justified by faith? In chapter 4, he is going to point to Abraham to help us understand what faith is. I'm assuming that if you either come to Kawatha Baptist Church or to any of the churches affiliated, you already know that. It'd be like, hey, Pastor Ken, you didn't have to come from Nairobi to tell us you're justified by faith. We've already heard of this before. Good. And if you haven't heard that before, well, that's the story. You are justified by faith alone, not by works. And yet, here's the question. What is faith? What is true saving faith? And so when Paul has articulated that, especially in chapter 3, in chapter 4 he goes ahead and points us to Abraham. Namely, the life of Abraham, the man Abraham. is the primary example of saving faith given to us in the scriptures. How central is Abraham? You know the book of James? When James wants to articulate what saving faith is, you remember the words of James? Faith without waxes is dead. Who does he go to to show you that? He goes to Abraham. So if you want to understand what saving faith is, so that you don't fabricate for yourself an idea of faith that is not biblical. You want to look at the man Abraham. You want to look at the man Abraham. Abraham will show up again very early in that chapter of faith in Hebrews 11. And so I want us to spend some time this morning in Genesis and chapter 22, that classic chapter that demonstrates Abraham's faith and here's what I want us to see. Costly obedience, costly obedience is the only verifiable demonstration of saving faith. You can drop the word verifiable if you want to make it even simpler. Costly obedience is the only visible, evident, demonstration of saving faith. Let's read together Genesis chapter 22. I'm reading from the ESV. After these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, And he said, here I am. He said, take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go over there and worship. and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. And so they went, both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, my father. And he said, here I am, my son. He said, behold the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. So they went, both of them together. And they came to the place of which God had told him. Abraham built the altar. There he laid the wood in order and bound Isaac, his son, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, here I am. And he said, do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the place, the name of that place the Lord would provide. As it is said, to this day, on the mount of the Lord it shall be provided. And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sun that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gates of his enemies. And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.' So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Bathsheba. And Abraham lived at Bathsheba. Now after these things, it was told Abraham, behold, Milcah also has born children to your brother Nahor, Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel, the father of Amram, Chesed, Hazel, Pildash, Jidlaf, and Bethuel, Bethuel father of Rebekah. These eight, Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reuma, bore Tiba, Gaham, Tahash, and Maka. This is the word of the Lord. Notice three things here that will help us understand what saving faith is. One, notice what God asks of Abraham. God asks Abraham to give him everything. God asks Abraham to give him You have to understand what it is you're being asked to trust in God for. What is it you're being asked to trust in God for? In the context that we live in, oftentimes what we do is we truncate, we reduce, we minimize what the call to trusting God means. We come to God on our own terms. Here's how it works out. We come to God and we say, on this issue of eternal life, on this issue of being saved from the flames of hell, I think I need help there. I think I need help there. I have a felt need when it comes to making sure that I'm covered in that one area. And so if the deal you're offering me is, oh, salvation is by faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone, and what you're hearing when I say that is, ah, I come to God and I trust in God for my eternal security to be saved from the wrath that is to come. I'm in. I'm in. Sign me up for that. All that he has left. Take your son, your only son, and then here's how it becomes poignant. Whom you love. This is not some mathematical formula you're looking at. The call that is being given to Abraham is something that is close to his heart. It's one that he dearly loves. The passage is pregnant with emotion. It's how you're supposed to read narratives. You don't read narratives the same way you read the epistles. It's not deductive logic. It's a story you're being invited to step into. You're being asked to feel it as the narrator is walking you through the story. And here is what God is saying that should help you get the emotion in the story. This is one that Abraham loves. And what are you to do with your son, your only son, whom you love? Offer him wholly to God. Offer him as a burnt offering. Listen, this is such a big request, it's confusing. Let's just address the elephant in the room. How would God ask Abraham to offer his child as a burnt offering? Get this right. Child sacrifices were very common in that land but they were never to be mentioned amongst God's people. Leviticus chapter 18 verse 2, chapter 20 verse 1, Deuteronomy chapter 12 verse 31, all these verses to the same audience, forbidden, forbid child sacrifices. So we will not really fully grasp what is going on here unless we understand that what God is doing is testing Abraham. That's how it starts off, verse 1. After these things, God tested Abraham, sort of validation of child sacrifices. And yet in that test, he was asking for Abraham to give him, here's the word, everything. And as though that's not enough. God tells him to go and offer that sacrifice in a mountain that is three days journey away. That's a lot of thinking. Once you've decided to obey, you have three more days to come up with an excuse of not doing what God has told you to do. Ever been in a situation like that? Where you just come up with some reformed answers or explanations for disobedience? Well, you know. Some Christian liberty is okay. You know I was kind of tired. You know this and that. He has three days to think about it. It's where God wants him to go and do this. What saving faith is, is a coming to God and trusting him, you hear this, with everything. Because what God asks for, is not merely for you to trust in Him for a future judgment, to trust in Him for just your soul. What God is asking for is for you to give Him your all in all. So the confusion that you see today often in a Christianity that does not resemble the Christianity of the Scriptures is because we leave out a Christianity that trusts God for the spiritual things, but not for the physical things, trusts God for the eternal things, but not for the present things, and that's not the Bible. There's no way you'll find that understanding of faith in the scriptures. We don't get to come to Christ to trust in him for what we choose and hold back the rest. You remember Jesus answering the rich young ruler? What did the rich young ruler ask him? What must I do to inherit what? Eternal life. What's Christ's eventual answer? Go sell? everything you have and give it to the poor, then come and follow me. Why is Jesus saying that to him? What's the deal with that? Because here is what Jesus wants, everything. Everything. The kingdom of heaven is like a man who has found a treasure and he buries it in the land and he goes and he sells what? Everything. and he comes and he purchases that land. That's what the kingdom of heaven is like. Everything. You cannot come after me, Jesus says, unless you hate father, mother, brother, sister, your own life. What? What does Jesus want? Everything. Here's what He's inviting you to do, to take up your cross and follow Him. He's asking you to lay down your life, to give Him control over everything, not just a segment of your life. Those who relate to God, by viewing God as only being involved in a portion of their lives, end up demonstrating a Christianity that is very peculiar to the Christianity that is articulated here. 1 Corinthians 1.30 to ascend, because of him you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption so that as it is written, let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. So I ask you this morning the question, what do you have in your hand this morning that if God were to ask you to give it up to him, you would resist? you would hold it back from him. What is that thing? What is that area of your life? Hear this call today. The call to believe in Jesus is to trust him with that thing. For Abraham in chapter 22, what was it? His son, his only son. Given this is a youth camp, I'm assuming not too many of you have a son. even though in this youth cup there's a lot of beards in the audience. What is that one thing? That's what saving faith is. Trust Him with that. Give that up to Him. Notice Abraham's response, and these other two points are way more brief compared to the first one. Notice Abraham's response, flawless obedience. One, God asks for everything. Notice how Abraham responds, flawless obedience. You'll notice here that it will speak about how immediately Abraham responds. Look at verse three. He rose up early in the morning. There's no delays. to how he heeds God's commands, it will speak about his obedience as being personal. Are you noticing that it's Abraham who saddled the donkey? I mean Abraham is a fairly wealthy dude. He owns a lot, he has servants, he has two young boys who will come along on this trip with him. But notice how when God has asked him to give up everything, it goes ahead to articulate the obedience as being done by Abraham personally. So Abraham rose early in the morning, he's the one who saddled the donkey, took the two of his young men and his son Isaac. It's Abraham that cut the wood for the sacrifice. Stuckey is interesting. Himself, every point and detail, he is the one who is personally doing everything God has asked him to do. He's not delegating any of it. To just highlight his obedience. And the reason you're highlighting his obedience, listen, it's because at the very end of the narrative, that's what God is highlighting. because you have done this thing and obeyed me, and obeyed me. So what you're doing with what God is seeing in the entire narrative is you're going back from what God has seen and you're wanting to observe it yourself. And from the very beginning you're seeing Abraham obeying immediately, Abraham obeying personally. And he arose and went to the place that God had called him to. Most importantly, Abraham actually obeys. Do you know how often times we have the beginnings of obedience that never really get there? He actually gets to the point of doing what he's been asked to do. The narrative really slows down when Abraham gets to the mountain. And he tells us that Abraham built the altar. Abraham laid the wood on the altar in order. Abraham bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood and reached out his hand and he took the knife to slaughter his son. Abraham actually obeys everything that God had told him. What is saving faith? If you're going to miss anything else I say, please don't miss this. It's the point of the message. Saving faith. is demonstrated in actual obedience to God. Saving faith is manifested in actual obedience to God, not intended obedience to God, not imagined obedience to God, actual obedience to God. Let me put it in the opposite, where one's life Hear these words carefully, I'm phrasing them importantly. Where one's life does not manifest evidence of obedience to God, we have no cause to think that that individual has saving faith in God. So I grew up going to church. When I was a teenager, my dad would force us to go to church. He wouldn't go to church, but his idea of morality, my children must go to church, so church we went. And so I, being the strategic guy that I was, found the shortest service I could find. And there was a church right across the road, and they had a teens class in the morning that ran for just an hour, and so I would walk in, zone out, and dutifully sit in there for one hour, and when it was done, I would walk right back out again. My job is done. I'm not interested in that. I cannot remember a single thing that a youth pastor had prepared or was preaching to me. It's not why I was there. I was there because I was told to be there. A guy called Abe, very interestingly, Abraham. He saw me one time and stopped me and asked me, hey, stick around for the main service. I thought to myself, why in the world would I stick around for main service? My job is done. Why would I punish myself further with two more hours of church? Ah, but then Abe invited me to go and shoot hoops with him. He had a basketball hoop in his backyard and, you know, we became friends and eventually I came to church and I joined the teens group and I found some other young guys just like me. And you know what, I started participating in church life. I showed up for meetings like this, and I kind of became good at this Christian stuff. So when they would ask questions, my hand was typically the one that was up. We would memorize verses, I was always the one who would finish them fast, was fairly competitive, so at youth camps and the games, I was a very active teen participant. I got this gospel message thing pretty clearly. Salvation is by faith, yes, in Christ, yes, by grace, absolutely, not by works, I'm in. So if you ask me, Ken, are you a Christian? I'm like, of course I'm a Christian, what do you mean? You know, why? Because it's not about my works. It's about what? Faith. And I had a mental ascent to that reality. And so there I was, Ken the Christian, singing in the choir. All the songs we've sung today I've memorized. for the most part, some of them I haven't sung in many years, from that church. I had not really become a Christian. I had become Christianized. But I thought I was a Christian because I was in church. I kind of understood the gospel, but you talk to Ken's friends. There was no confusion about whether Ken is a Christian or not. Because my life manifested no change whatsoever. I still loved the same sins I loved before I became a Christian. I still enjoyed the same filthy songs I used to enjoy before I became a Christian. I still acted in school the same way I used to act before I became a Christian. My life had not changed an iota. Do you know what I needed someone to come and tell me? I needed someone to come and tell me, Ken, listen, the only true, the only verifiable evidence that you truly have saving faith is evident obedience in your life. Because my life showed none of it. In fact, at one point, a friend of mine said, Ken, if you're a Christian, Ken, if you are going to heaven, there will be no one in hell. Because the way you are living your life, the words that come out of your mouth, the priorities you have, do not show a single thing about this salvation that you're professing. And so when the Apostle Paul articulates what saving faith is, when the book of Hebrews articulates what faith is, they point us to Abraham and they want you to see that yes, yes, yes, you are not saved by wax, absolutely not. But the faith that saves, wax. Those two things could not be more different. To try and save yourself by what you do is one thing. That will lead you nowhere. You can never become good enough. You can never become good enough. But when you give your life to God, when you trust God with everything, what that faith produces inevitably is a life that is transformed, is a life that is changed. So if you're here today, and you're more like me, like I was, and you're like Abraham, I urge you to do this. Take a pause and ask yourself, am I a Christian? Do those who know me see any evidence of change or transformation in my life? And if not, here's what we're going to say to you. Put your faith in Christ. Trust in him. Give him your entire life. And what he will do is he will bring about that very transformation that we're speaking about. Put your finger in Genesis and go to the book of Romans and see the beginning and ending of the book of Romans. Romans is all about salvation by faith, isn't it? Justification by faith alone. Look at the beginning of Romans with me. Jump in and look at verse 5. Verse 5, through whom, I know it's the middle of a sentence, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the what? To bring about the obedience of what? Have you seen the kind of peculiar obedience it is? It's not the obedience of the law. It's not just faith apart from obedience. It's the obedience of faith. What kind of faith saves? This kind of faith is the only kind of faith that saves. Go to the end of Romans. I mean, after Paul has waxed eloquent on what the gospel is, look at how he ends the book. Chapter 16, this is the doxology, my friends. Listen to him from verse 25, now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed to the prophetic writings and has been made known to all nations according to the command of the eternal God. To bring what? To bring about the? If Paul is a missionary here, if Paul was at Caboata Baptist, he has one mission. If Paul is at this conference, this day, preaching to you the gospel, he has one aim. He desires to see manifested in your lives the obedience of faith. A faith that does not work is not a saving faith. So let me wrap up with these few words, with this last point. What that faith latches onto, from Genesis 22, is a Lord who provides. It's a Lord who will see to it that everything needed has been provided. This really begins from the very beginning of the chapter. The main character of Genesis 22 is not Abraham. It's kind of a shocking thing. The main character in Genesis 22 is the God who provides for Abraham all that he needs. You see, you and I are right to ask the question, Abraham, how could you do it? Abraham, you sound like a superstar. I could never do what you just did. Are you tempted to think like that? Isn't it? Like, come on, seriously. Yeah? I mean, you're being asked to just give up PlayStation for one afternoon. And you know you're like, I don't think I can do this. I think I could die. It's the holidays? A whole afternoon? How could I do something like that? Your son, your only son, whom you love. Abraham, how could you do this? You see, here's the thing. We are not meant to look at Abraham as a unique example. We're not meant to look at Abraham and go like, oh, what a superstar. We're meant to look at Abraham. Abraham in the New Testament is offered to us as the example of how you and I believe in God. So that the smallest of Christians, the weakest of Christians, and the most mature of Christians all have faith like Abraham. Their faith needs to resemble the faith of Abraham if it is saving faith. You get that? And so the question is then, what is at the heart of Abraham's faith? Because we're not being asked to be superstars like Abraham. That's not what Abraham is about. What Abraham does is he fully believes that God is going to provide everything necessary to keep his promises. God is the one who's powerful. And what is happening in Abraham? The word is faith. I believe you are able. I believe you will keep your promises. What are your promises? That I will have children as many as the stars in the sky and the sun on the seashore. You will not fail to bring about your saving purposes in my life, through my life. Confidence lies where? In himself, not at all. In God. He is acting out the fact that God is trustworthy. That's what faith is. He believes that God is who he says he is. And so Abraham acts accordingly. And so throughout the entire chapter, there's this idea of sea. It's from the very beginning to the very end. But Mount Moriah is really ya, seas. The idea is he will see to it. Jehovah Jireh is this idea of he will see to it. The lamb that is being provided at the mountain. is this idea that God will see to it. He is trustworthy. He will not fail you. Listen, if he says, come to me, trust in me for the salvation of your soul, here is what faith says. Not, I am able, I am strong, I will obey, I've got what it takes. No, he doesn't say that. Saving faith says, you are trustworthy. You have said you will save me, You have said you will deliver me from my sins, I trust in you. I look at myself, all I see is weakness, inability, inconsistency, fragility. I couldn't possibly be able to do that, but you can because you are God. because you are faithful, because you are the one who indeed will see to it that everything I need for this journey of salvation is provided for me. And friends, that's what Christ dying on the cross is. Christ taking upon himself the form of a man and going and dying on that cross. Is God providing for you everything that you need for your salvation? Everything that you need for your salvation? Let me say it this way, what you need for your salvation is not found in yourself. Have you been listening to me speak and your eyes have been looking inside, assessing your strength, assessing your performance? And you've been saying, maybe I'm not a really good Christian. I really am just kind of messed up. I guess maybe I'm an imposter, not like the other good guys. If you're a Christian, let me tell you this, you're looking at the wrong place. It's not what faith does. Faith doesn't look inside. Faith looks upward. And it says, I might be weak, but you know what? My God is strong. He is the one who is able to carry me and faith acts that out, reaches out to him and receives him as the one who is able to keep you. You're not a Christian? You're listening to the things I've said and you're saying, I can't do this. You're right. You can't do this. You do not have in and of yourself the ability to walk the walk that God is calling you to walk. Do you know who does? Christ does. And so in Christ, all that you need has been provided for you. Here's what you do. You receive Christ by faith. You say, you are able. Sinful habits in my life can be broken because I'm so strong, because I'm so great, because I'm so good. Because God is faithful. Everything needed to help me walk in obedience to Him has been fully provided for me, not in myself, but in Christ. And so I receive Christ by faith, knowing that the forgiveness I need is found in Christ. The mercy I need is found in Christ. The grace I need is found in Christ. The power of being transformed is found in Christ and I come to Christ trusting in Him, leaning on Him, receiving Him as He is. Come and be Lord of my life. Take it all and rule over it. I do not want to be Lord over myself, I want you to be Lord over me. That is what saving faith looks like. And so hear this, the same way you begin is the same way you continue. The same way you begin your Christian life is the same way you continue. Oh, Christian, you have not graduated to the point where now you started off with trusting in God wholly and singularly, and now you're so strong you've got it, huh? Now you can handle your Christian life. Daily here's what you do. You look to a life not your own. You look to a strength not your own. You lean on a wisdom not your own. It's the life, the righteousness, the grace, the mercy of Christ that is at work in you. And you continue to cling to him. So let me wrap up with this one observation here. It is really the main emphasis of our opening message. What is saving faith? The only demonstration, verifiable demonstration of saving faith is obedience. It's a giving up to this God. You're all. And that's what Genesis 3 is about. You'll notice this. Look at verse 3. It says, he took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac. Look at verse 6, so they went, what? Both of them together? That's him and Isaac. They went both of them together. Look at how it emphasizes that again in verse 8 as he answers. He's answered Isaac and then it says, so they went, what? Both of them together, you're like, wait, what's going on here? It's emphasizing both of them together, both of them together, both of them together. What happens at the mountain? God says to Abraham, end of verse 12. Seeing you have not withheld your son. They went both of them up the mountain for Abraham to give up his son. What does God say? Seeing you have not held him back. You have given him up to me. Here's the clincher. Look at verse 19. Do you know how Abraham comes down from the mountain? What changes? Verse 19. They went up the mountain, how many people? Two of them. Both of them, both of them, both of them, for Abraham to offer up Isaac. God says, you did not hold him back from me. Who comes down from the mountain? This is literature, guys. It's not practical. It's not literal. Who comes down from the mountain? So, both of them returned to the young men who were waiting. Does it say that? Who came down the mountain? What happened to Isaac? When you read Hebrews chapter 11, it will add this little phrase. Abraham figuratively offered him up. Even though they came back together. Yes, of course he was there. Don't read this like it's mathematics. It's literature. It's a story. Of course he's right there. But the narrative, the narrator Moses speaks about it as though Isaac is what? as though Isaac was left up on the mountain. That's what saving faith is. You continue working, you'll continue having friends. Yes, you can have a job. Yes, yes, yes, you can have physical health. But you know what God wants you to do? He wants you to leave it all on the altar for him. He wants you to leave as though anything and everything that is yours has been given to who? To God. And so today, this is your call. Here's what I urge you. Do not hold back from God. What does it profit you if you gain the whole world, the whole world, and yet lose your soul? Give him everything. Father, we ask that you would walk in our hearts I trust in you that you are trustworthy, that there's nothing that we could hold on to for our identity, for our joy, for our safety that could compare to you. Would you grant to us even now a faith that will see you as better than everything that our sin longs to latch onto. We ask that any who are here, who are caught up in a false profession, that in your grace and mercy, you would expose to them the fact that you are not Lord over them, and that they would see that grace and mercy as a point on this very day to turn away from being Lords over their own life. and bending the knee to you to receive you as their king. We ask this in your son's name. Amen.