have been preparing. Second Corinthians chapter 5 we're going to be looking at verses 1 through 10 but let me have a word of prayer. Father this morning as we come together as your people I pray Lord that you would again speak to us through your word convict us of sin Encourage us Lord in our walk with you Help us to know every day Lord that we are weak vessels, but Your power is working through us To get your work done And Lord, we have a bright future Because we're going to spend eternity with you And so I Lord I pray this morning that the Word of God would encourage us in that way And I ask it in Christ's name. Amen So today, I really want to challenge you all who have trusted Christ as Lord and Savior, and I'm assuming that for most of you, whether you have been a Christian for a short period of time or whether you have been in the faith for some time, consider why the Lord did not take you home to be with him immediately after your conversion, but actually left you here. Why did the Lord allow you to be born during this time in history? Why did he allow you to be raised in a particular cultural setting? Why are you here in such a time as this? And it's an exciting time to be a Christian. It really is. Well, the Lord left us here to be ambassadors for Christ. If you look at chapter 5 verse 20, it says, therefore we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making an appeal through us, we beg you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God. An ambassador for Christ takes a very specific message to the world of people with the authority of God behind them with urgency that asks people to respond. And what is the specific thing they ask? In verse number 20, to be reconciled to God, meaning that people are not reconciled to God, but they need to be. The command really further expresses urgency Get reconciled to God and do it now. Become friends with God today through Jesus Christ. Take advantage of the peace terms of the gospel while there is time. We keep begging people for Christ. That's what Paul is saying here to us who are left on this side of eternity, because the message of 2 Corinthians that the gospel ministry is carried out by the power of God through frail vessels. God puts his treasure in baked dirt. Know who baked dirt? The baked dirt are us. We're the baked dirt. Now if you look over in chapter 4 that was read this morning in verse number 7, It says, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. So all of us are earthen vessels, baked dirt. And baked dirt, an earthen vessel, is just the fragile clay jar. That's all it is. And that's how God decided to do his unfinished work on this earth. One translation says it like this, we now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. And this makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. So the apostle Paul explains to the Corinthians that the moment of believing, The saved one is complete. He is delivered from sins, taken out of this loss of state, cleansed, forgiven, justified, born of God, clothed in the merit of Christ, free from all condemnation. So we actually live in the temporal while we desire the eternal as Christians. We believe we actually live in our weakness while we desire strength. We live by faith when we desire sight. That's where we live. So consequently the saved person is reconciled to God through the death of Christ and then given work to do between the day they get saved and the day they physically die. From the day we trust Christ and are made new, Christians start living by faith. And to live by faith, the child of God learns to turn his attention on the unseen. Is it better to live by sight or by faith? on this side of eternity. Well, it's better to live by faith. And why is that? Well, faith can see around corners. Faith can see what is not seen. Faith can see into the future. And we can do that by God's Word because God's Word tells us what's going to take place. So even though Christians are made new, they still remain in this body of humiliation because we have inherited the consequences of the fall. Christians sense something is just not right with a renewed soul living in a mortal body. There's a tension already when we become believers that something is not right. Something's not finished yet. And so we yearn for something more. That's what we do. Christians, because they sense this, and why do they sense it? Because they're living in a dying body. As 2 Corinthians chapter 4 tells us in verse 16 through 18, therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, Yet our inner man is being renewed day by day, for a momentary light affliction is producing in us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not to the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." So living by faith is the practice of seeing the eternal. it is the confidence and what will be it is the confidence in the promise of god in the power of god to accomplish all that he said the apostle already said in second corinthians four fourteen knowing that he who raised the lord jesus will raise us so now the scripture turns our attention to show the confidence and the longings and the courage and the evaluation of people who are baked dirt. While living on this temporal earth, there are going to be certain things the Bible wants us to know. And Paul wanted his audience to know, especially in light of those who were coming against his apostleship, people who were false teachers, false converts. And the first thing that he says about us being in baked dirt is that there is a future confidence for us who are living now, who are earthen vessels. Actually, there's four things about our new bodies that will give us confidence in the power of God. And here's the first thing he mentions, that our future confidence will be in our glorified bodies. verse number one of 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 our glorified bodies the first thing he says are permanent verse 1 says for we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down we have a building from God a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens and notice first it says as believers we know something he's using the perfect tense indicating the present state of affairs resulting in a past action and the past action was salvation and the present state of affairs is a future hope in a glorified body in fact the fact is that all true Christians know what is so comforting and strengthening for all of us that our true home is heaven But it's more than knowing heaven is home. It is knowing we will each individually have a permanent glorified body to live in heaven. If you look again at our verse, it says that if the earthly tent, which is our house, is torn down, or meaning should die or be broken down like a tent, we have an assurance that we have a heavenly body in which we shall dwell So brethren, we occupy mortal bodies that are transitory in nature, just like a tent in which we use for camping. It's put up as a temporary structure and can be taken down quite quickly. So the idiom here in the Greek is that it gives the picture, a helpful picture, of to loose completely or to loose the rope from the pegs that hold the tent so that the stretched canvas collapses and can be rolled up. So a tent is never meant to be a permanent dwelling. A tent is temporary, but our new bodies will be permanent. So the contrast really in this whole section of scripture is a tent in contrast to a house, not made with hands in contrast to what is manufactured, the heavens in contrast with the earthly and the eternal in contrast with what decays. The second thing he says about This new body is in verse number one, that our glorified body is on reserve. It says we have a building from God. We possess the title deed right now by faith. And the title deed to things hoped for is faith. That's what we find all over scripture where it says in Hebrews 11, 7, by faith Noah being warned by a God about things not yet seen in reverence, prepared an ark for the salvation of his household by which he condemned the world, became an heir of righteousness, which is according to faith. So we possess a heavenly body, and we possess it by the eyes of faith. It's waiting for us in heaven. So when people reserve things, they usually call ahead to have someone else put something aside in their name. If someone else tries to claim it, the person who put it aside can say, oh no, that's unreserved already for so-and-so's name and in so-and-so's name and is waiting their arrival to pick it up. And what has God done for us? He's put on reserve a body for each and every one of us. And our name is on it. I like what it says in Luke 10, 20. It says, nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your name, your names are recorded in heaven. See, that's a confidence and an encouragement God gives his people while we dwell these frail bodies. There's a third thing that builds confidence about our body. In verse number one, it says a glorified body is made by God. It says a house not made with hands. So this building has its whole source in the origin of God. It has no human origin at all. And this word house here gives the picture of a permanent, very suitable structure to house our redeemed soul. It is not temporary. It is not a temporary dwelling like a tent that can be torn down. God has made it durable. He has made, He has guaranteed it forever. A tent like our earthly bodies is temporary. Our glorified bodies will be permanent. Now, why is the Apostle Paul even saying these things? Because this is not a normal way of thinking. People do not think like this. Matter of fact, there's not many people who actually think about dying. They want to avoid that subject at all costs. And I understand why. We all understand why. Because in reality, we really don't want to die. We want life to go on. And that's also something that the Bible teaches is something that's real. We want life to take over everything. That's what we want. And that, as we grow in the Lord, we are going to find that this is what God is actually producing in us. All our forefathers were looking for the same things. As it says in Hebrews 11.10, for he, Abraham, was looking for a city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. This is something we all are yearning for. A glorified body made by God, a permanent one. But then it says in verse number one, two, our glorified body is in heaven. It's eternal in the heavens, that we will live in our glorified bodies in heaven, and that is the place where God dwells. This fourth thing that builds confidence as we live in this temporal state in this baked dirt. So here we see the example even of our Lord's body when he rose from the dead. He can eat, yet it was not necessary. He can appear in a room with closed doors, free from all the restrictions of space. It's an immortal, an eternity body. It's free from all limitations through time. It's also an exalted body raised in honor. No sickness or death, no conception. Neither will people be given in marriage, it says, in this new state that we will be in. And Mark is recorded, and the Gospels record that when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of heaven. A set number of people will be there. It will also be a body of happiness. Revelation 21 for and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will no longer be any death No mourning or crying or pain. The first things have passed away It also is a body conformed to Christ body where first John tells us we will be like him because we will see him just as he is but until that day that We have some difficult things to go through. It is very natural for baked dirt indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God to experience some genuine fears while living in a collapsible tent. So that brings me to the second thing, the present longings of baked dirt in verse 2 to 5, that our present longings while living on this earth is that we have a longing verse number two for indeed in this house we groan longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven in as much as we have put it on will not be found naked so while in this tent there is a groaning and that groaning is an internal groaning It's within oneself. By faith, all believers are hoping for the future, whereas we long for our house, which is from heaven. It is really a subjective feeling. We are looking at an objective fact. The real cause of groaning may not be what we think it is. The real cause of groaning is this internal yearning for a glorified body. God does that in us as believers. Now, it's not necessarily the weakness or the frailty that we experience here on earth in our body, nor the sufferings that may come our way which causes us to groan. We may groan in these things, but for a different reason. This reason we groan is because we want a new glorified body. We want to be in the presence of Christ. So this verse says it is like longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven. And remember, clothing is very personal. It sets closely on our body and wraps around our body as if it encloses it. In a similar way, The dwelling from heaven will be both a covering and a residence for our redeemed spirits. We long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. That's what we long for. And you've got to admit that as we live in these bodies and as time goes on and you get older, it's not so pleasant, right? Young people don't understand that yet, but the people that are getting older do. So as we grow older, we should yearn as a Christian for our heavenly body. Part of the groaning is we do not want to be found without a body. As Paul is saying here, we don't want to be found naked. And as much as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. And the term here, naked, really means to be uncovered or bare, in need of clothing. And for this, it's quite definite here, having put it on, meaning that we will put it on, will not be found naked. We groan not to put off, but we groan to put on. That's the groaning. that we experience as believers. Another translation says it like this, for we will not be spirits without bodies but we will put on new heavenly bodies. So this groaning that is going on in the inner person of a believer is produced by the Holy Spirit of God and I guarantee you people who are not genuine believers do not have this groaning. And as Paul is really writing against false teachers don't have this groaning. They want to stay here. They want to be healthy, wealthy, and fine here. Yeah, someday I'll make it to heaven. But see, for a believer, someone growing in the Lord, the more we grow in Christ, the more we want to be with Him. But there's a burden also that we have as believers in verse number four. It says, for indeed while we are in this tent we groan, being burdened. Because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. So we know we're going to die. We know that. We have attended enough funerals to know that when the soul leaves the body, the body becomes lifeless, as far as we can see. It goes to the ground. It experiences decay and completely turns to dust, or it's consumed in cremation, seems to be the more economical way to end someone's life, or put their body in a different place. But then we wonder, what's next? Everybody wonders, well, what's next? We only know what's next by divine revelation, so our burden is that we don't want to die. In other words, we don't want to be without a body or left naked. The body that we have now is better than nothing, but it's a dying body. It's a decaying body. It's a perishable body. It's a temporal body. There's something unnerving about the soul separating from the body at death. Death is always strange. It's always weird. It doesn't belong here. It's an enemy. It never will belong here. So as we have this tension between dying and dropping off these mortal bodies and taking on something that is eternal. Well, one teacher from Scotland wrote, man is not complete without his body. So when death comes and He leaves the body. He is in an abnormal state of nakedness and will remain so until the Lord comes. Again, in verse number four, we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed. We want to fully and forever be clothed with our new garment and be done forever with this dying thing. I still to this day hate to go to wakes and funerals. hate it. So that's when I know people don't know the Lord. You should hate it too. And look at the end of verse 4, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. That's what we want. We want life to take over completely. And it will. When life takes over completely, death is done away once and for all. That's what we want. And that's what Christ has done. He defeated Satan in death on the cross. Nothing shall be left of it. Christians are desirous of the resurrection of their body. And Paul, again, writes in 1 Corinthians 15, but when this perishable will put on the imperishable and this mortal will put on immortality, then, then death is swallowed up in victory. So therefore, The ideal state for the saint is to leave the mortal body and without any interval be clothed upon with their spiritual body. That's the ideal state. And it's good to know these things. So we Christians are not in the dark or confused concerning death and the body. And my fellow Christians, don't you think it's strange to think like this? to be thinking and feeling in these terms, groaning, being burdened for a perfect glorified body that has been planned for us all along by God himself. So the thought that we wish to die that we may live points to the evidence of God's Holy Spirit working in us. Try talking about this with somebody who has no reference point of that context. They'll think you're crazy. They'll think you're insane. It sounds like a sci-fi movie. But it's reality for a Christian. Just follow the Apostle Paul. He says, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Who says that? Who thinks like that? This is very strange language. But very important for baked dirt ambassadors to grasp because you're not home yet. But God has something for you to do until you get there. So what does God do for us? He gives us the guarantee. Look at verse number five. He says, now, he who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the spirit as a pledge. So our great God has done this by his spirit which indwells in us and gave us the spirit as a down payment, a full guarantee, all the rest that it's recorded in scripture will follow. We have it by faith. So it's the idea of ownership. To be sealed, God marked us for his own. And then, of course, the spirit is the pledge. It is the guarantee. It's the down payment for what is to come. The first araban is the word there, the first payment by which he makes it, he assures the recipient of final payment and that payment in full. That's what he says to us. Paul, again, picks up that same theme in Ephesians where he says, in him you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given to us as a pledge of our inheritance with the view of redemption, God's own possession to the praise of his glory. So in, it is part payment On the total obligation that we use the very expression today, earnest money, the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts is the witness of the Spirit that we are gods. He is not really talking about those who faced eternity blindly or plunged to their doom with no thought of Christ. He's talking about a confidence in the face of eternity that is more real than the things that are seen. We Christians have an assurance regarding death and eternity that no one else has. And that means the conduct in which Christians are to have is much, much different than would be expected. In fact, third thing he tells us baked-earth people is that we have a courage in verse number six through nine a present courage for living notice what it says it we were living in other words by faith therefore being always of good courage and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord for we walk by fate not by sight we have good Courage that means boldness confidence and that confidence is what in what God has already said what Paul had already said in scripture that Christians are armed with this revelation and Can always be of good courage because correct truth or truth gives us confidence to live each day but it also tells us in scripture that we ought to know something as believers and what do we know we know first of all that We're only away from the Lord a little while. In verse number six, it says, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. So you as a Christian, me as a Christian, are only on a short trip. You'll be home sooner than you think. I think a second thing a Christian knows is that they cannot go to be with the Lord. while occupying these collapsible tents. This body belongs to us in the present state only for the time being. And that also means that the only thing, the only thing keeping us out of the Lord's presence are these bodies. They have to be removed. And they will be. I'm reminded of a true story. of a good Christian man. He just retired from his job. He was an electrician, age 59, was enjoying his first day of retirement. He said to his wife, my first day of retirement has been wonderful. If all of them are like this, it's going to be great. Well, a large branch from an oak tree fell on him and killed him that very day. Now, what are we to think? Tragedy, yes. For his loved ones, he left behind. But looking at this incident through these scriptures, this man's retirement continued in the presence of the Lord. Wow, how amazing could that be? That's seen clearly. But we don't always see it like that. Matter of fact, our minds sometimes don't even want to go there. A famous storybook character once said it, and I quote, to die would be an awfully big adventure. You know who said that? Peter Pan said that. And brethren, for a believer, death is an awfully big adventure. Going from this temporal life into our new dwelling with the Lord, a place he prepared for us, a body he prepared for us, is going to be the greatest adventure that we would ever experience. And of course, it seems like Peter Pan had pretty good theology, wouldn't you say? So why is this the way to think about death? Christians who vacate the body have a better portion, that's why. If you notice in verse number eight, it says, we are of good courage. Why is that we are of good courage? I say to be, prefer rather to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord. That's where we're at good, why we have good courage. Their portion, our portion is that we, once we leave the body, we're at home with the Lord forever. And that's never going to change. Don't get me wrong. Christians on the one hand desire to stay at home in the body. Why? Because we're amongst our people, our own people, our family. We don't want to leave them too soon. But on the other hand, as long as we remain here at home in the body, we're away from our other home, the Lord. We're away from our Lord whom we love, we're growing to love. We're absent, it says. And to be away from one's own people means that I am a pilgrim, a stranger, an alien, living in alien surroundings while I am absent from the Lord's presence. And after a while, you don't want to be there anymore. Why? Because he's out of our actual sight. I cannot see him. I can't see him with my eyes. I have not seen him with my eyes, but I will, and you will. And that's the hope. That's the encouragement that we have. Until that time, Christians ought to know something else. They ought to know that their journey, while away from the blessed existence in the visible company of the Lord, is a faith journey. It is a faith walk. That's why he says in verse number seven, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We want to walk by sight. But right now, on this side of eternity, we have to walk by faith. And faith is better than sight while we're here. And while we walk on this earth, we do have something. We have faith. God's given us this faith. We're growing in this faith. So we see the things not seen by faith. Someone made a great observation about faith. They said, for this life, faith is everything, the all-sufficient substitute for sight. And isn't this what the Lord said to his disciples? Jesus said to them, because you have seen me, have believed. He says, blessed are those, blessed are you who have not seen, yet believe. See, living by faith is the practice of seeing the eternal. It is a confidence in what will be. It is a confidence in the power, the presence, again, in the character of God. And all, again, the patriarchs saw this. Our forefathers saw these things. For you just read Hebrews 11, and what do you find? Stuff like this. For now faith is assurance of things hoped for. convictions of things what not seen and then in verse 9 without faith it's impossible to please God for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him and then in verse 13 of Hebrews 11 all these died in faith without receiving the promises but having seen them having Welcomed them from a distance and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on earth How did they possess them by faith? Because the they believed in the one who promised it That's what Christians do so all those who live by faith will die in faith and That and by doing so will actually gain approval from God and And while we walk on this earth, we do actually lack something. We lack sight. But what is quite amazing for the believer is that faith and sight have the same object, the Lord. We will see him as he is, sight. But faith, we know him and see him by faith. We don't walk around trusting in something that doesn't exist. or someone who does not exist, what we long for will become a reality. What faith now embraces as being unseen, it shall presently embrace as seen. The thought that we Christians are approaching nearer and nearer to the Lord and will soon see him face to face should, should, make us ashamed to do anything displeasing to Him, and should move us to do everything that would be pleasing to the Lord. In fact, that's exactly what our text says. We are living by faith, but we're also living in a way to please God. Verse number 9, notice what it says, therefore we also have our Ambition whether at home or absent what to be pleasing to him Are you pleasing to the Lord? The word ambition is really It's a good word, but it misses something in the original because the original has something to do with affection and honor I'm pleasing to the Lord because I have an affectionate connection to him. I honor him I look at him quite differently than I did before because I know more about who he is. So have you thought of your life in this way? You ought to. We all ought to. It should be our driving ambition while we still occupy these bodies on earth that we would be pleasing to our Lord. And of course, one way to be pleasing, and he goes on to explain that, is to be ambassadors, to be a witness for God on this side of eternity. It should start right now. It should start today if it hasn't started already. And Christians should live each day knowing that they are getting closer and closer to the face to be face-to-face with the Lord. And the next thing after death is the judgment seat of Christ. That's why he says that there's going to be in a future evaluation of baked dirt. Every one of us is going to be evaluated. There's going to be a future evaluation at the Bema seat. In verse number 10, notice what it says. It says, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in his body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. So we must, in other words, take our Christian life seriously because we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And while no Christian will endure the wrath of God, why is that? Because Christ has already endured the wrath of God on sin in our place, What a great blessing that is. Our work will be tested by God's fire. So with all the groanings and the burdens that we have while here, we must live before the eyes of the one who matters the most, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And of course, the phrase, the judgment seat of Christ really comes from the, it's a picture of the, athletic games in the Greek culture, in the New Testament world, or after the races, after the games were concluded, a dignitary or even an emperor himself took his seat on an elevated throne in the arena, and one by one, the winning athletes came up to the throne, and they received a reward, usually a wreath of leaves or a victor's crown. See, all believers will face an evaluation before Jesus. Every day we get up, we must say to ourselves, we are God's servants, and it matters what we do in our bodies. We must say to ourselves, we are also ambassadors for Christ. While on earth we represent someone else, we represent Christ in this world, in this country. We are aliens, though, and foreigners and strangers on the earth, while here we are representatives of another kingdom, of Christ's kingdom. And this evaluation that baked dirt is going to go through, Jesus' evaluation of our lives is not to determine whether we enter heaven or not. The issue of our eternal destiny was settled when we believed in Jesus and received eternal life by faith alone through his grace alone. Also, we Christians will not face condemnation or punishment for our sin when we stand before him. God has promised that no condemnation will ever fall on those who are in Christ by faith. The evaluation will focus on what we did in life. after we trusted Christ. What we did with our gifts, what we did with our resources, what we did with our opportunities, what we gave God in our life, did we endeavor, though imperfectly, to please Him in all things. And the outcome, of course, of this evaluation will be reward or loss of reward. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 tells us that. So you are a building on God's construction project. The foundation of the building was set when Jesus died on the cross, and each of us is building upon that foundation. Gold, silver, costly stone refer to Christ-honoring motives, personal integrity, joyful obedience to God. Wood, hay, and straw or stubble are perishable things, sinful pursuits. Selfish motives, pride-filled actions, underhanded manipulations that would go in how we run our life. We want to live in a pleasing manner. Erwin Lutzer, in his book, Your Eternal Reward, wrote this. He says, imagine staring into the face of Christ, just the two of you, one-on-one. Your entire life is present before you. In a flash, you see what he sees. No hiding, no opportunity to put a better spin on what you did, no attorney to represent you. The look in his eyes says it all. Like it or not, this is precisely where you and I shall be someday. Standing before the Lord So you see big dirt has burdens They have desires They live in a fragile clay pot, but they have responsibilities That God has given every single one of us was a believer that we would live for him now if you today are seeking to serve God with commitment and in obedience and you are building with the right stuff. If you're coasting along with no desire for spiritual growth, no demonstration of sacrificial ministry to others, you're building on God's house with wrong stuff. Now, of course, if you are there and in a permanent state, you may not be a believer at all. See, being baked dirt, God knows we're fragile. He knows we need help, and He's provided all the help that we need to take us from point A to point B and to bring us into His presence. So my fellow Christian, the fact that we will be given account of our lives to Christ should make us realize how serious the Lord is about how we live our lives as His children, knowing that knowing at the same time the promises that he's given us and the power that he's given us to live the Christian life. So God chose, he chose to carry out all gospel ministry through frail vessels like you and I. I wouldn't have chose that way, but God did. And he chose that way for one specific reason, that when things get done through our life, People can't point towards you. They gotta point towards the power of God and give God all the praise and glory, right? That's what God does. And believe me, it's counterintuitive to what we think as human beings, but that's what God does. So give yourself to the Lord and serve him and make your ambition to please God in all you do. And believe me, you will receive the blessing of God that only God can give. And that's the only life to live while you live here. And any conversation I have with believers, they all some way in the conversation say, you know what, it is great to be a Christian. Somebody this morning said to me, what would my life be like if I wasn't a Christian? I don't even want to think about that. Where I was when I became a believer, it would end up in a horrible place. And God rescued us. He rescued us and put us in a place of blessing. Blessing a place of joy a place of good encouragement and he's given us a future that's already taken care of You don't have to worry about that. You just serve him while you're here. Amen. Let's pray Lord. Thank you this morning Your goodness to us is beyond measure and Lord these scriptures really do change our thinking about what's next and what we ought to do. And Lord, every single one of us here today have felt very often the weakness of the flesh. Sometimes we feel like we can't even go on because of our weakness. But Lord, the burdens are different than we thought. The desires are different than we thought. The natural desire of a child of God is to want to be with Christ. So thank you for that, Lord. But while we're left here, let us be ambassadors. Let us be good representatives of the kingdom of God. Let us do things with the motive of pleasing you. And Lord, we know we do that imperfectly. But Lord, let us obey your spirit. Let the word of God continue to transform our minds. so that we would know the good and the acceptable and the perfect will of God. And we would go out to serve you with zeal and love. And I pray this this morning in the precious and the great name of Jesus Christ. Amen. OK, this morning we do have our Lord's table. So let's take a few minutes.