Take your Bibles and turn to Revelation chapter number eight, verse number six. Perhaps you heard what Ryan read and you considered the text for today and you thought, how are we ever gonna get through this? How long of service are we planning on having here? It is good and healthy for me, as someone that likes to slow down in scripture to add time strategically, with intention, take larger chunks. And the reason to do so is not just to stretch abilities or test endurances or things like that, but rather if it makes sense in the text. And I think in this case, it makes eminent sense in the text for two reasons. One is I think the intent of all of the detail is to leave us with an impression rather than to overwhelm us with all of the minutia. And secondly, that the whole section, I think, is very tightly tied together. And so to break it apart, I think we lose a sense of the tightness, and we give weight to the minutia that I think shouldn't be given weight. And so that's the reason, you can disagree with me, That would be okay. But that's my reasoning for why we are taking such a chunk of scripture. And now comes the test of whether or not I'm able to preach it, you know, in the next, you know, 40 minutes, right? And see if I can get it done. When we think about this passage, I would point our minds towards radical redemption, which of course doesn't really feel very redeeming when you heard Ryan read it, because there doesn't seem to be a lot of redemption, rather a lot of judgment. But yet I think that's exactly the point that what God is doing as He is making a very clear point at the end of history, at the end of days where He is pointing out that there is only one Savior and that is Jesus. And everything else that everybody seeks to put their hope and their trust in falls apart and dissolves when it comes to the end of all time. You know, if you consider it for a moment, if there are not other genuine powers, let's pretend, we don't have to pretend, we believe this, but let's pretend that God is right and there is no other power except God. If that's the case, then any other God, the source of their power has to come from God Himself. Right? Does this make sense? So, in other words, what will draw the worship of people? Well, what draws the worship of people is when they see something of power and they say, I'm going to worship that. But what if All that that's talking about is nothing more than God's creative work. So it's his creation that they're actually worshiping because everything else is non-existent, right? They could worship something that looks like it has power, but in reality is just the result of God's creation. Or what's the other option? They could worship themselves. And I would say we see that happening all the time, don't we? On that creation worships creation, and people often end up just worshiping themselves. So consider this. No real gods other than God, so what is there to worship? Creation, the earth, Mountains, volcanoes, fires, maybe the water, the sea, the rivers, the atmosphere, weather, storms, the universe, the stars, the sun, the moon. Many idols or gods are built off of creation. And if you look back at the history of mankind, that's what they worship. We're worshiping the sun god. We're worshiping the moon god. We're worshiping the god who controls the weather. We're worshiping the god who controls the water. we're worshipping all these gods, which is nothing more than worshipping creation, because they have to worship something that has power, and there is no other god, and so God has infused these things with power, and they end up worshipping them. No real gods other than God, so what is there to worship beyond creation? Maybe demons. Why? Well, because they're otherworldly, because they're a power, but they're not from God. And so they stand separate from him. And so then you have people worshiping demons or fallen angels because ultimately they don't want to worship God. No real gods other than God. So what is there to worship? Mankind, the works of our hands. Don't we live in this age now? Science, the things that we are able to create. the genius of mankind itself, governments, maybe specific people who seem to rise above others. All these things are appealing because they look like they have power. Yet the truth is that power originates only from God. Everything else has been given power by Him. To worship anything other than God Himself is the height of blindness. It's misplaced loyalty. It's ignorance. It's stupidity. And I'm not trying to attack people, we're just trying to cut straight, right? We're just trying to simply say, let's recognize what is actually happening. You know, God has demonstrated these truths to us as a race, as humanity, many times. And at the end of days, he's going to do so again. And it is that which we see very clearly on display in these verses. So I want us to consider the end of this passage. You say, we made it there already. Well, we're going to start at the end, and then we're going to come back to it. Revelation chapter 9, verse 20 and 21. The rest of mankind, who are not killed off by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands. something that they worship, nor give up worshiping demons, something that they worship, and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, which is just stuff that they worship, nor do they repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts. And as we had pointed out within the service, this mirrors This mirrors what Jesus explained and demonstrated to the disciples in John chapter 6, verse 66. Is that a coincidence? John 6, 66? Yes, that is actually a coincidence. Has no connection at all. But as he says, after this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the 12, do you want to go away as well? And Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? have the words of eternal life. Boy, doesn't your heart resonate with that? Don't you also feel that truth where it's like, I've looked around, I've explored other idols, I've tried to worship other things, and I have recognized by God's grace, through his opening my eyes, there is salvation in no other but Jesus Christ. Man, what a glorious truth. But this ultimately is what so many people do not realize. And part of what God is doing in this kind of end of days thing is he is demonstrating that truth to everybody again. He is making it clear. So as we begin to dip into this passage, we need to understand just almost the outline from those last two verses. that it's going to identify these other gods which cannot save. And so we begin with the gods themselves. This is Revelation chapter 8 verse 6 through 12. Revelation chapter 8 verse 6 through 12. Now maybe when you heard these four trumpets Maybe it reminded you of something, right? There is a connection which keeps coming out between the first four trumpets and the 10 plagues which got leveled upon Egypt. And that connection is strong enough that as we read it, it likely tickles your memory about that event. And you're like, man, that kind of sounds pretty similar. And it isn't identical, but that's because it's intended to prove the same point, not mirror that event. And so I'm going to, for sake of time, I'm not going to be able to just read all of these verses quite like we normally would, but I want us to consider, as we begin to walk through it, consider what was the point of the ten plagues leveled against Egypt? And you'd say, well, wasn't it to set his people free? And I would say, it was, but what a weird way to do it, right? Why not just lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the Red Sea, which happened, why not just do that to begin with, have all of Pharaoh and his armies come after them, open up the Red Sea, and swallow them up? Because that's actually what ended up happening, right? Why not just do that? Why have all the ten plagues? Why go through all of that burden? And I would say the answer is, I think scripture itself, and I'm not going to take the time to elaborate this, but if you go through Exodus, you will see time and again that as God leads up to that, He says, I'm doing this in order that Israel may know, and that Egypt may know, and that all the world may know that I am God. That it was all about a revelation of God. It wasn't just to free the people of Israel. It was to show that he is the only God. And so in the midst of showing that, he showed how he was God compared to all the gods that the Egyptians worship. And so the 10 plagues, as you go through, can be tied very directly to these gods that they worship. And it can be shown very clearly, it's like, okay, God is more powerful than that god. God is more powerful than that god. Because all of those things were taking place, God was showing his dominance in the middle of Egypt, in the place where those gods should have been the most powerful in their mind. And Yahweh was saying, they ain't nothing. Because the truth is they weren't. They were simply wood, and silver, and gold, and they had no power. And God's demonstrating this to them. So now we come all the way back to, or we come to the end of days and we come full circle, right? Because what he's doing is he is saying, they are still nothing. There is no God but me. And so these judgments lay this out, I think very clearly. And so let's just walk. through some of these. He first of all kind of points out this concept that the earth cannot save. Look at verse number seven. It says, the first angel blew his trumpet, there followed hail and fire mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth, and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. So the angel sounds his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood. It appears in heaven, it's thrown to the earth, This is built on the seventh Egyptian plague in which Moses raised up his staff to the sky and God sent hail mixed with lightning and thunder, the worst storm in the history of Egypt. And what did it do? It destroyed all vegetation in Egypt. Most of us have seen the results of terrible forest fires when even the ground was charred black and all the vegetation was destroyed. But none of us have experienced anything like this image, where you have a third of the Earth that is burned up. Can you imagine what that would look like? You know, even the ravaging of large forests in the Western United States is only a part of this, right? We're supposed to picture one third of all the great forests of the world. The Amazon, the Congo, Yosemite, Yellowstone, burned down. It's a natural disaster beyond anything imaginable. We see images of this on television, right? Where we see firefighters fighting large forest fires, and it's just immense, it's crazy. And can you imagine a third of the Earth And all of it is to kind of demonstrate that the earth has no power in the face of God. Have you ever heard somebody say, you know what, I just trust in Mother Nature? And it's like, why would you trust in Mother Nature? Well, because Mother Nature seems powerful. But it's only a seem. It only appears to be so. That power is from God. God is the one who has done that. And so here he is showing very clearly, earth itself has no power, only God does. The earth cannot save, the sea cannot save. Look at verse number eight and nine. The second angel blew his trumpet. Something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died and a third of the ships were destroyed. You know, the second trumpet parallels the first Egyptian plague, where Moses put his staff into the Nile and God turned the water into blood. And you would say, well, Pastor Steve, what is that thing? Something like a great mountain burning with fire. And I would say, I have four possibilities. No, I really don't. I have no idea what that is. I would say it is something like a great mountain burning with fire. that is thrown into the sea. And we could speculate, and we could guess, but we just need to recognize it would be speculation, right? It would just be guesswork. And we would say it might be this, and it might be that, it might be the other thing, and we might in fact be right, or we might be wrong. I think the point needs to be larger. The point needs to be that this is A, devastating, and B, that that which they relied upon could not save them. You know, only a people directly dependent on sea traffic and food production could appreciate how terrible this would have seemed to original readers. How horrible this would have been. One third of the sea turns to blood. In the first Egyptian plague, the Nile was completely turned to blood and all the fish died. Here, it's a third of the sea turned to blood, but also a third of all sea life, as well as a third of all ocean going ships were destroyed. And so that's an unbelievable problem that is there. You know, for Rome, back in the day that this was written, the sea lanes were called the lifeblood of Rome, because the Romans were so dependent on the sea for both food and commerce. And so you can imagine, as they're reading this, being tied so directly to that, that this would have seemed So devastating. I would suggest more devastating than the first plague. That they would have read this and they would have been horrified because it's like, how are we supposed to live? How are we supposed to survive? We are talking about a massive plague. The sea cannot save. We also see that fresh water cannot save. Revelation chapter 8 verse 10 and 11. It says the third angel blew his trumpet and a great star fell from heaven blazing like a torch and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood and a third of the waters became Wormwood and many people died from the water because it had been made And so this again parallels that first Egyptian plague as it falls upon fresh water. And I would suggest as a Midwesterner, as a Minnesotan, you know, this hits me more closely than the ocean one, right? Because this is like, yeah, what would it be like if we could not drink the water? What would life look like if you drank the water and you died? And if you drank water, you weren't sure if you were going to die. And how long would you live in such a condition? It's just like, man, that's horrible. And so you have a third of all the fresh water that is ultimately poisoned. Fresh water cannot save. And then finally, the sun cannot save. Look at verse number 12. It says, the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, likewise a third of the night. And so this trumpet judgment replicates the ninth Egyptian plague, where Moses stretched out his hand and Yahweh sent darkness to cover Egypt for three days. And it was a darkness so total that no one could travel anywhere. It was just, you talk about darkness, right? And when the fourth angel blows the trumpet, God strikes the sun and moon and stars. And so you have this divine passive again that comes into play. It's a graphic verb, this strike. It's a graphic verb. That picture is like a lightning strike or a heavy blow delivered to something. And so the idea is God, literally, literally, God strikes all of these light-giving bodies. And that word that he uses, you know, the strike is there, but then it has a verb cognate of plague. And so the idea is God strikes the heavenly bodies with a plague. Isn't that fascinating? And it might give us insight into what actually that will look like. No pun intended, right? But what that will actually be like. I don't know what that would look like when it actually happens. It's bizarre. It's hard for us to understand. The sun, the moon, and the stars are struck, but they'll only be affected for a third. The sentence in the Greek is clumsy. as it works its way through. And the reason that they would make it clumsy is they're trying to emphasize something. And so what are they trying to emphasize? That kind of convoluted nature of the sentence with all of its repetition, it emphasizes three things. That both day and night are alike without light. So it doesn't matter if you're in the day or the night, both of them are without light. And so that's probably a little hard to say, right? In a very short space. But it's not just that there's no light for a third of the day, there's also no light for a third of the night. And you say, does the night ever have light? And I would say, of course it does. It has the moon, it has the stars. But it's saying that a third of the night will be without light as well. It also makes it clear that the darkness lasts for a third of their length. And so whatever the day length is, a third of it is gone. And that a darkness means that there is absolutely no light. In fact, it has both the presence of be darkened and might not shine. So it says it positively and negatively. It really works hard to bring out this concept. Now how bizarre would this be if you were living during this time? A third of the day. is pitch dark, a third of the night is pitch dark, and it's a third of those heavenly bodies that are affected. And what's the result of these first four trumpets? Well, just like the Egyptian plagues, they show the omnipotence of God and the futility of trusting in those things that he has made, as opposed to trusting him. And so we look at our own lives and how we view this world that surrounds us. And sometimes we feel like we have life under control and that we are able to survive. But really all we're doing is we're trading on the power of God. All that we're doing is we are actually resting in that which he has done. And God is going to prove to all humanity that if they trust in anything other than him, that trust is misplaced. And so other gods cannot save, but then he moves into another section where he points out that demons cannot save. Fallen angels, demons cannot save. We begin this section with the appearance of an eagle. And so when you see eagle, you think what? Freedom, nice, yeah. Think America, right? So this is where America shows up in Revelation. I'm glad that we all laughed. I am so glad that we all laughed. If people were like, oh. I'd be like, oh, no. This is not America, OK? But we have America. We have an eagle showing up. See what you have done to me. We have an eagle showing up. Now, an eagle is a symbol for America today. They, of course, would have known nothing about that then. What would they have known about, though? An eagle is a symbol of what in their day? Rome. Rome, the eagle standard was Rome, right? Is it talking about Rome? Again, I would say no, I don't think it is. But I think there are some interesting points to connect. This is a little bit as an aside, you'll have to bear with me. This is the minutiae I said I wasn't gonna do. I'm gonna get in just a bit of it. So verse 13, it says, then I looked and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead. Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth. at the blast of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow. So the eagle sets up the three woes, which are the next three trumpets. And the idea of that is to increase the intensity of it, to bring attention to the fact that the three trumpets, the three last trumpets, are going to be worse than the four first trumpets. So it is that. We should also take note that an eagle is a bird that eats dead animals, right? And obviously they get most of their living off of fish, but they are part of that species that eat that animal So they'd be like a vulture in that sense And this is one of the reasons that I think the eagle is chosen here in this passage Rather than a vulture or a different carrion bird is because the eagle is one that does that. And it is a great contrast. It's really a great contrast just to chew on in your mind. Because all of the believers are gonna be ushered into a feast. And what feast are the believers gonna be given? The feast of the marriage supper of the lamb. And what feast are those who follow Satan? Anybody who doesn't follow Jesus, what are they gonna be given? It's a feast of their own bodies. The feast is for all of the birds of prey. That's what the feast is for. It's a horrific image. And we'll see it come up again and again in Revelation. Where it's like, you want to follow Satan? You want to follow something other than Christ? And God is making it clear long before this is happening. He is saying that is a horrible feast that you don't want no part of, but he says, follow Jesus. The marriage supper of the lamb is the feast that you will partake in. It's such a startling, visceral image that I think is intentionally given to us again and again. So the ego shows up that way, but we also have the cry of the ego. The Greek word for woe sounds like the cry of an eagle. Isn't that kind of fun? It's just great minutia. The word is pronounced, You know, kind of like the word for woe in the Greeks is pronounced O-E. So just hear that as you read it, right? Look at verse 13. O-E, O-E, O-E. You can just hear that cry. And so I, you know, I hate to be gimmicky, but... I thought, let's just listen to the cry of a bald eagle, right? And so I'm just going to do this right here. This is the cry of the bald eagle. And if you're reading this in Greek, I think you would hear it. You would hear it, right? There's the cry of the bald eagle. And you say, OK, well, that's not exact. It's like, well, I mean, come on. Whoa, whoa, whoa. O-E, O-E, O-E. You can just almost hear it and you have the, you know, the connection to the eagle. And I just, man, I think it's all there. Now you may say, Steve, just relax. Stop connecting dots, you shouldn't connect. But I would suggest this is why the eagle shows up at this point. He is setting the stage that's there. Okay, and then what happens? Then the fifth angel blows his trumpet. And a star falls from heaven. You say, is that a good angel or is that a bad angel? Is that a good angel or a fallen angel? And I would say, I have no idea. I don't know. And there's a lot of debate on both sides. I'm not sure if it's a fallen angel or a good angel. But either way, that angel falls to earth, to the bottomless pit. And ultimately, the bottomless pit is opened up, and demons pour out. And as they pour out, they begin to attack. And the question is, whom do they attack? And the answer is, they do not attack those that are sealed by God. In other words, they do not attack the people of God. So who do they attack? People who do not follow God. Which you say, that makes no sense, because if they're demons, and people are worshiping them, wouldn't they just, like, these are your people. But it's exactly the point. What God is doing is He's demonstrating that when you worship demons, you are worshiping creatures that hate you. And if you think they love you, you are taking a quality of God and you are attaching it to a being that is not God. And a demon will destroy you because that is their nature. They will not love you. They will destroy you. Because they do not like you. And that's what he's pointing out. And all of creation, all of humanity needs to recognize this point. They need to understand the truth of that. Demons are wicked. Fallen angels hate humanity. And you say, why are they prevented from eating grass? And I know we're not reading the passages, but again, it's a time thing, I'm sorry. But why are they prevented from eating grass? Why can't they eat the vegetation? It's because it's the reversal of that natural order for locusts. A locust comes out, which these are mirrored after locusts, and a locust comes out, and what does the locust do? They go after all of the green things, right? And the point is, rather than eating the green stuff, these locusts feed on their followers. They eat the earth dwellers. That's their sustenance. You say, that is horrific. And it's like, bingo. That is sick and depraved. Exactly. We are supposed to be horrified by this. We're supposed to see this in our minds and shy away. And their appearance is intended to do the same. It's vivid descriptions of the locus are given in the text. It's an example of ekphrasis, right, which is a detailed description of a work of visual art as a literary device. And so it says, let me describe this very, detailed and very vividly in order to use it as like visual art in people's minds. And so let's, to try to embrace that, let's think about, let's read their appearance again. In appearance, this is supposed to disgust you. This is supposed to horrify you. In appearance, the locusts were like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold. Their faces were like human faces, their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lion's teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails and stings like scorpions and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. Ah, it's just, it's frightening. It's intended to be like, this is not natural. You're correct. This is bizarre. If you saw one of these things in real life, you'd be terrified. Yes. And it's like, these are things that we should not worship. These are things that we should have nothing to do with. And their king, Abaddon, destroyer. In the Greek, Apollyon. Abaddon is Hebrew. Apollyon is Greek. They virtually mean the same thing. The name of the Greek god, who do you think is from Apollyon? Apollo. Apollo. So if you say, OK, well, I thought Apollo was a good god. No, no, no. None of those gods are actually good, right? But that's what he's built off of, is Apollyon. Again, what do we worship? The only things with power are those things that God has created. So let's note just a couple of things about these demons. First of all, demons cannot save. That's the point. But the thing we want to point out now is that demons cannot act unless God allows. Boy, if you went through this passage, just this little section, and you made note of all the divine passives, And again, we talked about what those are. That's when you read a passive in scripture and it doesn't tell you who's doing it. And so you make note of all of those divine passives. And you go, OK, well, who cast that star from the heaven? Well, that's a divine passive. Who gave that angel the key to the bottomless pit? Well, that's a divine passive. Who gave the demons power to harm humans? Well, that's a divine passive. And so we see it again and again and again and again. And what's the point? The point is, it is God who allows all of that. Now, you say, now, wait a second. That doesn't seem very loving. And I would say, hold it. Think about it. God, for millennium, has restrained demons. He's the only one who keeps them from doing what they would like to do. And for millennium, upon millennium, He has restrained them. And then finally He says, all right, you want them? Here they are. And he gives them to humanity. And what do they do? They attack the very ones that worship them. And I said, that's what he's doing. And you say, that's not loving. And I would say, it actually is. It actually is. Because at some point, there has to be a contrast between wickedness and goodness. And in order to see the fullness of wickedness, you have to let it go. And so God has been restraining evil Since evil came on the scene, this is the time where he pulls off the restraints and says, you want to see what happens? Here's what happens. And please note, he's told us about it. I mean, we're talking about it. He has said, this is what's going to happen. Please do what? Come to Jesus. That's what he's saying. He's saying, it's coming. I'm going to do this. It's going to occur. Come to me. Has God proven himself trustworthy? And now he's saying it's gonna happen. Why is he telling us? So that people who do not know Jesus can come to Jesus so they don't go down that road. Is that loving? It's the height of love. It's complete love. Take note of the fact that they were allowed to torment them only five months. And there's a principle here, a truth about God. He's making a point. Even when he's pulling out judgment and wrath, he is giving them time to respond. He continues to do that. Demons cannot act unless God allows. Secondly, demons hate those who worship them. I've already made this point. But the real message is that the demonic forces are organized. They're powerful. They're terrifying. They're filled with hatred and contempt for their followers. And yet they are also the products of their own nature. They don't love humans, they hate them. And as soon as God grants them permission, they torture and kill all who rejected God and order, even those who worship them. And so God, the only one who truly loves humanity, after this millennium upon millennium of restraining evil, finally says, you wanted quail, here's your quail. if you get that Old Testament reference, right? Other gods cannot save, demons cannot save, and then finally in this passage we see that humanity cannot save. Humanity cannot save. This is verse 13 through 21. You say, is this really talking about humanity? It appears to me that it's talking about more demons. And I would say, it is actually more demons. But the point is to draw out, I think, this concept of humans trusting in humans, of the depth and depravity of our own nature. And so you have the four angels who are released. And they then gather together these, again, demonic forces. The number of mounted troops was twice 10,000 times 10,000. 200 million of these creatures. And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them. So when it says, and this is how I saw, what John is doing is he is doing his very best to say, I was an eyewitness to this, and I am describing this as clearly as I can. And that's why he says, and this is how I saw. He is trying to say, this is what I saw. And then he talks about them. Breastplates the color of fire, and of sapphire, and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lion's head, and fire, and smoke, and sulfur came out of their mouths. And by these three plagues, a third of mankind was killed by the fire, and smoke, and sulfur coming out of their mouths. For the power of the horses in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them, they wound. And they say the rest of humanity who were not killed, these, the demons, are permitted to kill. Again, this gradation that happens. And then, verse 15, they were released to kill a third of mankind. And so the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, that's two thirds. So a third is killed, and you think about that number. How many people are we talking about in today's numbers? Over 2 billion, a third of the population. These demons are released and over 2 billion. Just think about that for a moment. It's just, it's so startling. The numbers are just so massive. What would you possibly do with 2 billion dead bodies? all across the world. It's just, it's unbelievable to think about. And so these demons are permitted to kill, but mankind continues to rebel. Because it says, the rest of mankind who are not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, nor give up worshiping demons. Isn't that unbelievable? It's like these demons are going about killing and destroying. They are not favoring their followers. They're killing only their followers because it's the people of God that are protected. And yet people continue to worship them. And you say, what does that say about humanity? And here's what it says. We need Jesus. Because left to myself, I will destroy myself. that the depravity of the human nature is so deep and pervasive that it will destroy you and anybody else without Christ. One commentator says it well. He says, nowhere will you find a more accurate picture of sinful humanity pressed to the extreme. One would think that the terrors of God's wrath would bring rebels to their knees. Not so. Past the point of no return, they respond to greater punishment with increased rebellion. Such is sinful nature untouched and unmoved by the mercies of God. There could be no more tragic picture of human depravity. And so what's our response? What's our response? How then shall we live? And I would say, let us be grateful. Grateful for the work of God in our lives. How is it? that God in His grace opened my eyes to the truth of the gospel, to see Jesus for who He was, so that I would recognize I need a Savior. How is it that that's possible? And I would say it's nothing but God's grace. I have nothing but gratitude. And dear friend, if you have never come to that point where you've accepted Jesus as Savior, where you've recognized that you need help outside of yourself, then I would encourage you, please, today, Let today be the day of your salvation. Turn to Jesus. Accept Him. All of this that we are being given is for the future, and we're being told it now so that you might come to salvation, so that you might not go through this, so that you too could be saved. And this causes us to overflow with gratitude. How could we not live for Him who died for us? This is our Jesus. Let us be grateful. Secondly, let us love those without Christ. You know, in the midst of gratitude for what Christ did for me, I have to look at others and my heart breaks for them because they are like me. I'm like them. There's no difference. The only difference is that they need Jesus. And it's like, I want them to hear this truth. I want them to see this. I want them to understand that there is no salvation without Jesus himself. That if they put their hope in anything else, it'll fail them, regardless of what it is. And the story of mankind demonstrates that. They can see it in micro form, you know, in 90 years, right? A person's life. but they could see it across all of humanity so very clear as well. That story is a drumbeat that God pounds out a rhythm to that we should hear in our lives. And what should that cause us to do? Those of us who have been blessed by God to have our eyes open to see Jesus for who he is. It should cause us to love those without Christ. There ought to be a commitment to love people to the degree that God does. He is putting this in his word so that those others might be saved. And we should care about that too. We should reach into people's lives with the love of Christ. Finally, let us worship God alone. You know, this whole thing is about worship of God, isn't it? What do you worship? What do you value? Who are your following? And so a commitment to worship God and God alone is the only thing that connects with these truths of scriptures. Or it'd say, okay, what am I valuing more than God? What does worship look like in my life? What am I putting my trust in? Am I putting my trust in what this world has? Am I putting my trust in my own abilities? Am I putting my trust in the things that surround me, whether that might be just the blindness of the fact that the end of life is coming, or whether it might be the abilities or strength that really only came to you from God, what is it that you're putting your trust in? What is it that you are finding your hope in? What are you resting in? And we must be willing to say, I need to trust in God alone, Him alone, how should I worship? May God's word drive us to that as well.