We're turning to Romans chapter 6 for our reading today. Romans chapter 6. We're beginning our reading at the verse number 1. Let's read God's precious word. Let's hear God's word. Romans chapter 6 and the verse number 1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism unto death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Or if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin. alive unto God through Christ Jesus our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Amen. We'll end our reading there at the verse 15. Let's seek the Lord briefly in a word of prayer. Loving Father, and our gracious God in heaven, we come before thee. Pray that thou wilt open this book to our hearts, fill this preacher with thy spirit. Help, O God, in all of the weakness of the body and frame and mind, we pray. Come, take possession of this life, this mouth, this tongue of mine, and help me to preach, O God, the word that thou hast given, even for this congregation today. We offer prayer, believing and in faith, Christ's precious and holy name. Amen and amen. You cannot take Christ for justification unless you take Him for sanctification. If ever there was one who attempted to receive Christ with justification and not with sanctification, he missed it. He was no more justified than he was sanctified. Those remarks by the theologian A. A. Hodge only serve to remind and to highlight to us the truth that a person cannot be justified without being sanctified as well. The two are mutually inclusive. not mutually exclusive. You cannot have one without the other. Those who are justified are those who are sanctified. It is this very truth that the Apostle Paul begins to present in Romans chapter 6 and does so through the chapters 7 and 8 as well. In actual fact, those three chapters denounce any attempt to divorce justification from sanctification, because the justified one will be the sanctified one, and therefore those who have no experience of present sanctification have no reason to suppose that they have been justified. It was J.C. Ryle who said, tell me not of your justification unless you have also some marks of sanctification. He said, boast not of Christ's work for you unless you can show us the Spirit's work And so this matter of sanctification that we've been considering together recently is a most vital, a most important, a most fundamental truth that we need to give due and careful consideration to. It really is that part that deals with our Christian lives between the moment of our regeneration and the moment of our glorification. And folks, That's a large part of our lives. When we think about the moments in between that moment that we were saved and the moment that we will be eventually glorified. Now we've set forth a number of foundational truths over the last number of weeks and for time's sake we're not going to repeat them again, but we want to look at this doctrine biblically today, want to look at it more closely in this service. I want you to consider first of all with me the principle of sanctification, the principle of sanctification. The central reality of our salvation is that through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we enter into a vital, a personal, and a living union with Jesus Christ through whom All salvation blessing flows towards us through our union with Christ. All blessings that He has secured for us flow to us via Christ who is our living head. What are those blessings? When a person is united to Christ, first of all, they're brought from spiritual death to spiritual life. That is the blessing of our regeneration. And then we're pardoned from our sins, and we're accounted righteous on the grounds of Christ's saving work. That is the blessing of our justification. And then we're accepted into the family of God as sons and daughters of God, and we become inheritors of eternal life. That is the blessing of our adoption and of our glorification. But there are times that we overlook. There are times that we de-emphasize. that sanctification is as much a blessing and as much a benefit from Christ and from our union to Jesus Christ as our regeneration, our adoption and every other matter that I brought to your attention. It is as much a blessing and it comes to us as much through Christ as every other blessing that we have in the gospel. Now Paul He emphasizes this in Romans chapter 6, in the verse number 6. He said, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him. The body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin. Paul speaks off the old man, the old nature, that which we were before we profess faith in Jesus Christ. And Paul, he reminds the Roman believers that this old man, when Christ died on the cross, died with Christ. This old man was crucified with Christ. The old nature was put to death when Christ died on the center cross. Christ died for me. Christ died as me. And we need to understand this today. If we want to enjoy victory over sin, if we want to understand what it is to live a victorious Christian life, if we want to be more than conquerors through him that loved us, then we need to come to understand that this all flows This blessing of sanctification, this progression in holiness, this advancement in our Christian lives comes as a result of our union with Jesus Christ, because due to that union with Christ, we are dead to sin. and alive unto God. When Jesus Christ died, He died as our representative. And as He died for sin, I died in Him. And whenever He rose again from the dead, I rose again with Him. When He died on the cross to break the power of sin, when He died on the cross to break the dominion of Satan, through our union with Him, thank God I enjoy what Christ has achieved and accomplished for me. I stand into the victory of the cross. Through my union with Christ, now being united to Christ, what Christ has done on my behalf, I enjoy the benefits of. Because He died to sin, I have died to sin. Because He delivered and He broke the power of Satan and the dominion of Satan, I now enjoy that experience within my life. The hymn writer penned it like this. For me, Lord Jesus, thou hast died, and I have died in thee. Thou art risen, my bands are all untied, and thou, thou livest in me. You see, so many people, when they come to this doctrine of sanctification, they look at it as this way. In order that I might become holy, in order that I might be sanctified, I must try harder. Or they would say, you know, I need to pull as hard as I can upon my moral bootstraps, or I need to resolve to be holier in my life. And yes, there is a part that we are to play. However, the Lord Jesus Christ, he clearly teaches that the only way that fruit will ever be produced in our lives, and remember that holiness is a fruit, The only way that fruit, any kind of fruit, will be produced in our lives is if we abide in Him. Jesus Christ said in John chapter 15 verse 5, I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing. Jesus Christ was simply relating to these individuals, his disciples, that if they were to bear any kind of fruit, the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of holiness, then it was only going to be accomplished due to their union with Jesus Christ, their abiding in Jesus Christ. Understanding that sin is a great enemy, understanding that the lusts and the passions of the flesh would cause us to be overcome by, Christ was bringing to the attention of these disciples that the only way that you'll ever know victory in your life, the only way that you'll ever bear the fruit of holiness is if you abide in me. and if you draw from me the victory that I secured for you on the cross of Calvary." Thinking of those words in John 15 verse 5, Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, he said these words, my holiness, my righteousness and purity do not stem from me, nor do they depend on me. They come solely from Christ and are based only in Him, in whom I am rooted by faith, just as a sap flows from the stalk into the branches. Now I am like him, and of his kind. Both he and I are of one nature and essence. I bear fruit in him and through him. The fruit is not mine, it is the vine's." What Luther was literally saying and what he was understanding was that his sanctification, his holiness, Just as much as his justification came from being united to Jesus Christ only by being in union with Christ was holiness possible. One preacher put it this way, sanctification like any other salvation blessing is a direct result of being joined to Christ in the glorious fullness of who he is. But in order for us to know the benefit of Christ's victory over sin on our behalf, we are to reckon, we are to count, we are to believe that fact according to Romans 6 verse 11. Notice the verse, likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Christ Jesus our Lord. It is by faith. by faith, an act of faith, that I understand that Christ has died for my sin, as even a And as a result, I bring my sin to Him, I confess that sin, and by His grace, He cleanses me and gives me the victory over that sin, just as much as I received my salvation through faith in Christ. So I enjoy the victory over my sin as a believer that Christ secured for me on the cross of Calvary. I believe Mr. Spurgeon explains in a very practical way how this or what this reckoning involves. Paul says that we are to reckon ourselves to be dead unto sin. How do I do this? How do I reckon myself to be dead unto sin? This is what Spurgeon said. He said, take your sins to Christ's cross. For the old man can only be crucified there. We are crucified with him. The only weapon to fight sin with is the spear which pierced the side of Christ. He said, you want to overcome an angry temper? How do you go to the work? It's very possible if you've never tried the right way of going to Jesus with it. How did I get salvation? I came to Christ just as I was. I trusted Him to save me. I must kill my angry temper in the same way. It's the only way in which I can ever kill it. I must go to the cross with it and say to Jesus, Lord, I trust Thee to deliver me from it. This is the only way to give it a death blow. Think of it, believer. Maybe you've got a covetous heart today in this service, and you deal with that on a daily basis. You know it's sin. How will you ever know victory over it? Well, you understand and you have come to acknowledge that it's sin. And then you come in faith and prayer to God and say to God in prayer, Lord, thou dost know that I have a covetous heart. Lord, you said that you would save your people from their sin. Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sin. Lord, I believe that thou didst die for this sin, the sin of covetousness. Forgive me of my sin. cleanse me of it, and replace within this heart of mine this covetous spirit, replace with it a contented spirit, that I might enjoy what I presently have and not crave for that which I do not have." Maybe there's a lust in your life. Did you know that Christ died as much in the cross for that sinful lust as He did for all your other sins? Bring that sin to the cross. Bring it to Him in prayer. Lord, thou didst know this lust, this besetting sin that I am troubled with, but I believe that thou didst die for this sin. on the cross of Calvary, thou didst shed thy precious blood to wash this sin away. Take away this sin of lust, this inordinate desire, this passion that is sinful and wrong and vile and is causing me to become engrossed in sin. Give me deliverance from it. I believe that thou didst die for my sin. Lord, replace it now with purity. And with holiness, this is how we practically reckon ourselves to be dead. I have died in Christ. You have died in Christ. Sin shall not have dominion over you. Understand that the life of defeat and the life of sin that you profess and you walk and you live today Thank God we can know victory over these things. We can be more than conquerors through him that loved us if we only but understand that I'm in union with Jesus Christ. He has triumphed over every sin and therefore sin shall not have dominion over me. Reckon yourselves, count yourself to be dead to that sin and pray that God will give you the victory Because thank God, being in union with Jesus Christ, we share in His accomplishments, we share in His victory. Not only did He accomplish that which was needed for our justification, He accomplished that which was needed for our sanctification. What has Christ made onto His people? He's made unto his people according to 1 Corinthians 1, verse 3, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. This is what Christ has made over to us. He is our sanctification. He enables us to live a holy and a righteous life. We cannot be united to Christ and not be sanctified. It is but the natural outworking of our justification, because whom he saves, he sanctifies. And we know his help in this work of sanctification as we are found abiding in Christ. Those that he sanctifies, he has justified, and those whom he has justified, he sanctifies. God is desiring to make a holy people. And I want to ask you today, are you striving after holiness? Is it your desire to live a holy life? To obey the command to be holy as God is holy? We will never reach the extent of His holiness, but He desires that His people will live in holiness. Christ-likeness in our behavior, in our speech, how we dress, what we say, what we do, where we go, how we treat the family of God. Holiness is our watchword. Holiness unto the Lord. That's what's written on the bells of the cows. There we read in the Old Testament, Holiness unto the Lord. Where's the holy people? Where's God's holy people in these days? Where's this sanctified band ready to heal the revival that we're so desiring for, craving after God for? Oh, to understand that Christ has died for my sin, and thereby, thank God, sin shall not have dominion over us. My old nature died on the cross. However, the difficulty was with the Apostle Paul that he understood that though he died in Christ, the old man was still very much alive. And so that brings us to consider the progression of sanctification. Yes, the Bible, it speaks about my positional sanctification. I am in Christ. I have died in Christ. I believe that to be so, but the Bible also teaches that God's people are being presently sanctified. Theologians speak of it as progressive sanctification. You see, impositional sanctification, I've been called out I've been separated, I've been set apart from the world and on to God, and that happens in my salvation. However, in my progressive sanctification, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is now transforming and renewing the entire life, enabling the believer to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness. It is our progressive sanctification, because just because a person is in union with Jesus Christ and that they're enjoying all the blessings and benefits that his death and resurrection secured for them, including their dying on to sin. That does not mean practically that they become sinlessly perfect in a moment of time. The Apostle Paul, he speaks about this battle that goes on within his own soul, within his own life, a battle that raged within him after even he was converted to Christ, sins that lay latent, yet at times they revived again. Reviving again, trying to bring him into captivity. In Romans chapter 7 verse 23, we read there, But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? Here we find Paul understanding, yes, I have died in Christ positionally, but practically, as I live as a man, living in this world, surrounded by sin, living in the flesh, in this body of flesh, I understand that there's another law, and it's trying to bring me into captivity, to the law of sin. And therefore, Paul said this, I die daily. He understood that he needed to die daily, die to his sin, die to his lusts and passions, die to this appeal by this man, the old man, to die to his temptations to follow into sin. And so he says, I die daily. Yes, judicially. Judicially, God sees us as having been sanctified, but practically, how we need to be daily sanctified, daily dying on to sin and living on to righteousness. Thomas Watson, the Puritan, he likened this progressive sanctification to be like a seed that's planted in the ground. It begins to grow, a little seed, it begins to grow the blade and then the ear and then the full corn within the ear. John Owen was another Puritan who used that same illustration. He said, the work of holiness at its beginning is like a seed cast into the earth, namely the seed of God by which we are born again. And we know how the seed that is cast into the earth grows and increases. being variously cherished and nourished. Its nature is to take root and to spring up, bringing forth fruit. So it is with the principle of grace and holiness. It is small at first, but being received in a good and honest heart, made so by the Spirit of God and nourished and cherished there, it takes root and produces fruit. Owen uses this example of progressive sanctification and advancement and holiness being like a little seed. this truth, this progression, this growth is referred to and highlighted in various portions of God's Word. 1 Peter 3, verse 18 speaks about the readership growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It refers to an ongoing work in sanctification. The psalmist spoke about the growth of the righteous. Psalm 92 verse 12, the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall grow, he shall grow like a cedar. Paul writing to the saints in Thessalonians, like I said in 2 Thessalonians 1 verse 3, we are bound to thank God always for you brethren as it is made because your faith growth, your faith growth exceedingly and the charity of every one of you toward each other aboundeth. There was growth, there was an abounding, this was the effect of sanctification Faith growing, love abounding within the hearts of God's people. Now when we consider this thought of progressive sanctification, we need to notice that there are two aspects to it. Two aspects to our sanctification. First of all, there is a mortification. There is a dying. There is a dying involved. Mortification. It's that aspect of our sanctification that involves our dying onto sin. It's presented in various portions of God's Word. Romans 8, verse 13, "'For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.'" Mortify the deeds of the body Galatians 5 verse 24 and they that are Christ have crucified the flesh and the affections and lusts Colossians 3 verse 5 mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil conspicuousness, covetousness, which is idolatry. And what we find in these portions, these verses of Scripture, this thought of mortification, we come to understand that it is by the help and the assistance of the Spirit of God that we are enabled to mortify the deeds of the body and we're enabled to crucify the flesh. In this mortification, The pollution and corruption of human nature is gradually removed. It involves a number of things. In order to mortify the deeds of the body, how do I do this? Well, simply, it involves me ceasing doing those things that God tells me not to do within his word. Ceasing to do those things that God tells me not to do in his word. At him that steals, steal no more. We're to put off lying. We're to put off covetousness. You go through the commandments of God. There are certain things that God tells us not to do. And as we obey the Lord in this, then we come to understand that we're mortifying the flesh. We go through the teachings of Christ, what teachings they are. And as we As it were, conform our lives to the teachings of Christ, we mortify the flesh, go into the epistles and the writings of the apostles, and again we find many things that we are forbidden to do as believers. And so mortification, it simply involves us obeying those directives and breaking off ourselves from such conduct that God tells us not to do, but it also avoids It also involves us avoiding certain things that are not compatible with the Christian life. Worldliness is not compatible with the Christian life. Living like the world, behaving like the world, dressing like the world is not compatible with the Christian life. The Christian is supposed to be crucified to the world, and an inordinate love and fascination for this world, its pleasures, its popularity, its possessions, its pomp, is not compatible with what God expects of his children, who are, yes, off or in the world, but not to be off the world. And so there's simply an avoiding of those things that are not compatible with Christian living. I tell you, drinking alcohol is not compatible with Christian living. Sabbath desecration is not compatible with Christian living. Adultery is not compatible with Christian living. One has likened this process of mortification to be like a tree. We have all saw the trees as they've come out of winter and into the springtime, and you often find yourself wondering at how some of those leaves are still attached, those dead, brown leaves. They find themselves still attached to maybe a beech tree, and what happens As we die, or as that spring appears, life, as it were, comes into the branches of the particular tree from out of the sap that's within the trunk of the tree. And as that life starts to make its way out into the branches, out to the outer extremity of the tree, what happens? As new life begins to grow, as the buds begin to come out of the end of the tips of the branches, what happens? The old leaves, they fall to the ground. What's happened? New life is now permeating the entire tree, causing those dead things, those things that have no life in them, to fall to the ground. And this is what happens as God begins to work in us of His own will, doing His good pleasure. As the new life that we have become partakers of starts to take possession of the entire being, as that life makes its way out to the outer extremities of our lives, those dead things, those things that we once did, they now fall to the ground and are replaced with new things. The life of God is now within us. Let me try and explain it from personal experience. When I was an 18-year-old, the Lord dealt with my heart. I was at Edinburgh University studying there. The Lord worked in my life. And whenever he did, I began immediately to start to question, start to question old habits, start to question sinful practices, start to question questionable things within my life. God was starting to work. The first thing that God dealt with me with respect to my living and how I was living, the first thing that God dealt with me was with respect to the immoral posters that I had hanging on the wall of my university place of residence. Those were the first things that God dealt with. They immediately came down from the wall. They were put into the bin, never to be erected again. And then God started to deal with me about the places that I was going. And so the public bar and the nightclubs were no longer frequented. They were before God dealt with me, but very soon afterwards, I stopped going to such places. And then the next thing that God dealt with me was with respect to the cinema. I went there, even when I professed faith in Christ, I went there, and then God started to deal with my heart, and God started to speak to me about the things that I was viewing, and just the association of the cinema, and so I stopped going to the cinema. And then God started to deal with me with respect to my worldly music. And I found myself one night emptying all of my music into the rubbish bin. never to be listened to again. Now I want you to notice that whenever God dealt with me, he didn't deal with me with respect to every issue on one particular night. I speak from personal experience that the process that God dealt with me was a gradual and a progressive way. While God dealt with me in that way, God deals with his people in different ways. It isn't as if God deals with, first of all, a person's music, and then the places that they go, and then how they dress, and who they accompany with, and what they do, and what they do not do. And God goes through that list. That is not, as I see it, how God deals with us. God deals with individuals on an individual basis. And so though God dealt with me very quickly about these things, and I came to understand that I shouldn't have had immoral posters, I came to understand I shouldn't have been in the public bar, but God dealt with me progressively and gradually, and he started to cut off those things that were wrong, that were vexing, that were grieving to the Spirit of God. God dealt with me as an individual. God will deal with you as an individual. I could stand here to six o'clock tonight, half six this evening, and speak about all the different things that you need to have done with, all the associations that you need a break with, all the affiliations that you have to have done with, Your sins, I try to speak of sins, not generally, but specifically, but there are a multitude of sins that God needs to deal with each of His people on every particular matter. But what I want to simply say is that God must deal with your hearts. And God needs to deal with my heart. And maybe God is dealing with your heart, and there is some sinful practice, there is somewhere that you go, and you have come to understand, this is not where I as a Christian should be. This is not what I should be doing. These are not the people that I should be associated with. Well, God needs to deal with you, and as He deals with you, whatsoever He saith unto you, do it. Do it. Now I'm not saying that you should continue to be in the world. I'm not giving license for this. Please don't get me wrong. I want to be clear. You need to break off all associations with the world. We're in the world, we're not off the world. This is what God expects of us. We are to starve the old man, we are to mortify, we are to have the old man crucified. were to die to our sin. And can I say, folks, that God is still dealing with us, preacher? God is still dealing with us, preacher. Things that I need to put off. Things that I need to have done with. And this work goes on throughout our lives because you know what happens, folks? Sometimes we allow sin back in. And sometimes we let the world back in again. God needs to mortify us again and deal with our sins. He needs to continually sanctify us. And so there is a dying. Secondly, there is a quickening. Because while the mortification deals with the negative aspect of sanctification, this quickening is the positive end of sanctification. Because you know, folks, God brings new life into our lives. And as he brings new life into our lives, we live on to Christ. This new life, this new nature starts to take possession of the child of God. It causes the very graces of God to be strengthened within us. This grace that has been implanted within our soul, God begins to quicken us. And yes, we put off certain things, but then we need to put on other things. As I've tried to say, yes, we put off anger, but then we pray that God will quicken the grace of peace. For that's the opposite of anger, to be a peaceful individual. or to put off impurity. Yes, we need to do that, but we need to pray that God will quicken the grace and the desire for purity. We put off worldliness, but in its place we pray that God will quicken us in Christlikeness. We put off hatred and pray that God will quicken the grace of love. We put off our impatience and we pray that God will quicken us in the grace of patience. We put off our fears and we pray that God will quicken us in faith. We put off our rashness and we pray that God will quicken us in gentleness. There is a quickening. There is the yielding of ourselves on to God. We reckon ourselves to be dead to sin, but in the quickening aspect, we reckon ourselves to be alive to God, to His grace, to His mercy. We put on the armor of light. We put on Christ. We put on the new man. We put on bowels of mercy and kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering. We put on charity. There is a quickening process. as well as a dying process. That is only possible as the Spirit lives within us. Let me close with two observations. Observation one, both this dying and this quickening, it does require the believer to cooperate with the Spirit of God as he furthers us in conforming us to Jesus Christ. There is that personal responsibility. I die. I mortify. By his grace he quickens. I put off. I am to put on. And we understand that there is that human responsibility when we think about those commands to be holy. And as I've noticed with you, various things to mortify and to put on and to put off. These commands, they simply infer that I have a part to play. Am I cooperating? God's dealing with your heart, things that you need to have done with. Are you cooperating with him? Never God puts his finger on some thing that you need to break with. Are you willing to let go? Let God have his absolute control and sway in your life? See, the only way to live the fullest, the Christian life to the fullest potential is by dying unto sin and living unto God. The second observation is that these two aspects of dying and quickening, they occur simultaneously and continuously throughout the Christian life. Berghoff, he said, the gradual erection of the new building need not wait until the old one is completely demolished. If it had to wait for that, it could never begin in this life. With gradual dissolution of the old, the new makes its appearance. And so someday you may be dying to some sin. The next day, you might be living on to righteousness. It happens in tandem. I die to sin, I live to God. And so this week, whether God sees and seeks to cut off maybe some fleshly desire or to cultivate some Christian grace in your life, just obey his leading. And it's prompting because it'll see to your advancement in holiness just that little bit more. I die. Paul said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. The life that I now live, I live by faith, faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Christ died not only to save you, Christ died to sanctify you, to make you holy, a holy people, all that we might be such a people. And understand that we'll only ever be such when we understand that Christ secured holiness for us when He died on the cross. And that I am to mortify the flesh. I am to have done with the world and all of the sins that are so rampant in my life. And I am to live, I am to live in holiness. I am to live seeking righteousness. I'm to live my life in light of God's word. May God help us as individuals, may God help us as families, may God help us as a congregation, all that we might die to sin and self, and that we might live on to God. May God be pleased to bless his word to our hearts for Christ's sake. Let's bow our heads in prayer. a life of overcoming, a life of ceaseless praise. Be this, thy blessed portion throughout the coming days. The victory was purchased on Calvary's cross for thee. Sin shall not have dominion. The Son hath made thee free. Our loving Father, we thank thee for the victory of Christ on the cross. We thank thee that he died for our sins. We rejoice, O God, that we can stand in to the triumph of Christ. We can know what it is to have overcoming power. We know, dear God, that many are the lures, many are the temptations, many are the draws back to this world. Help us to die to them. Help us, O God, to close our ears by faith to their calls. Let us wholly follow after the Lord in these days. Guide us, O God. Guide every child of God. Let us know the varying issues that there are within the congregation. Lord, deal with such. Deal with hearts. Deal with people, O God. Deal with our sins on a personal level. Help us, dear God, to come confessing and be honest with thee and praying that God will come and sanctify these lives. And then as God himself puts his finger on the issues that need to be dealt with, oh God, deal with them, we pray. Put them to the sword, put them to the cross. Lord, crucify it, we pray. Put it to death, we ask. May we have done with it. and any risings of that sin again, may we be found at the cross again, pleading the victory of Christ over them. Oh, may the Lord do his own work. Oh, let us die in these days, die to ourselves, die to self, die to sin, and help us to live to God and to his glory and to his praise. Answer prayer. Take that which has been of thee and use it to the glory of Christ our Savior. For we offer prayer in and through the Savior's precious and holy name. Amen and amen.