Philippians 2:12

Good morning and happy Mother's Day! It is once again that great day, the one day a year that we take some time to honor our moms here at Cross Connection and around our nation. Moms certainly deserve to be honored, whether it's your own mom, your wife who is a mom, or your sister who is a mom. They all deserve honor.

Your mom willingly cared for you when you were a baby. The next person who does that will likely cost you a lot of money, so she did it willingly. Honoring a mom is tough work. I don't know this experientially, but I do know it by observation. Some of us made mom's job a little bit more difficult. Were you one of those? Come on, be honest. I know I was. My mom is right there; she can attest to it.

We want to keep in mind that our moms deserve to be honored. We have award ceremonies for athletes, actors, writers, teachers, and many other professions. So, we do have a day set aside to say thank you and to honor our moms. Here at Cross Connection, one of the things we do as a token of appreciation is give moms a red rose when they leave today. My mom gets to be the first. Happy Mother's Day, my love! This is just a little token of appreciation.

More than that, in just a moment, we will have all the moms stand. We want to honor you and pray a blessing upon you, that the Lord would pour out His blessings on you. However, before we do that, we recognize here at Cross Connection that for many ladies, Mother's Day can be a tough day. It is a blessing, but it can also be difficult for some.

There are those who wake up on Mother's Day with a dryness in their throat, a weight on their chest, and a pit in their stomach because of loss. At Cross Connection, we take some time every year on Mother's Day to acknowledge those losses. We recognize that some experience pain due to the loss through a miscarriage, others through a stillbirth, and some through the loss of a young child.

The loss of an adult child is a profound experience. We know that in our church, there are ladies who wanted so much to be mothers. That was their number one desire, and unfortunately, that desire was never satisfied. I understand that there are women who choose not to attend church on Mother's Day because it can be a difficult time for them.

To acknowledge these losses, we have some white roses available here. At the close of our service today, if you are experiencing that loss, we invite you to come up and take one of these white roses. Some of you may be celebrating Mother's Day for the first time without your mom in your life. If you see someone with a white rose, please pray for them silently. If you need prayer at the end of the service, we will have some of our prayer leaders available to pray with you.

While today is a blessing for many, we recognize that it can also bring pain for some. However, we want to honor our moms today. So, if you are a mom, please stand up. Let's take a moment to pray for you.

God, we thank you so much for the moms of our church, and we ask that you pour out a blessing upon them. We know that a single red rose is not sufficient to express our gratitude. More than that, we ask, God, that you bless them as we honor them. We are grateful for the moms you have placed in our lives, both individually and in our church community.

I also want to thank you for my own wife, the mother of my children, who is not able to be here today because one of our kids is sick. Please bless her as she cares for our sick child, Lord. We are truly thankful for the blessing that you have given us through the moms in our church, and we ask that you pour out your blessings upon them. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Now, I would like everyone else to stand up as well. Please open your Bibles to the book of Philippians, chapter 2. If you don’t have a Bible today, that’s okay. Just raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. Open your Bible, or your YouVersion Bible app, or whatever you have. Philippians is near the end of your Bible, right after the books of Galatians and Ephesians. In my Bible, it’s on page 1965.

We will start reading today at verse 12. Before we begin, I ask that you please pray for myself, Pastor David Guzik at Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara, Pastor Lance Ralston at Calvary Chapel Oxnard, and Pastor Lloyd Pulley at Old Bridge Church in New Jersey.

We're going to be speaking this week at a conference in Germany to about 200 Christian leaders across Western Europe. So, I'm leaving right after this service. The third service gets to watch this service on video. Pray for us as we go this week.

In Philippians chapter 2, verse 12, Paul writes, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. And for the same reason, you be glad and rejoice with me."

God, we pray that you would give us insight and application from the Scriptures here, that you would use Your word to transform the way that we think and the way that we live. God, make us more and more like You. We thank You that You are so interested in us experiencing the life that You came to give, and You've given us Your word to direct us. So, God, help us to learn from it. Lord, direct us by Your Holy Spirit. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

One of the benefits of being a part of a church for a long period of time is that you start to develop friendships and close relationships with others within the family. The church is the body of Christ, the family of God. As you're a part of the church family for a long time, you start to relate to one another as brothers and sisters, and you build memories together as you walk out your life with Jesus in community with one another.

It's an awesome thing to be able to experience that. In some ways, your church family, if you're a part of that family for a long time, starts to be closer to you than even people who are relatives in your extended family. It's beautiful how God works that into our lives. I've had the privilege, as I've shared before, of being a part of this church for a long time.

Some of you have been a part of this church for a long time. I know that many of you have come in the last few years, but I've grown up here at Cross Connection, and some of you have been with us since we were Calvary Chapel Esmito. God is doing some great things through the church, but the relationships that you build are important. If you've been a part of this church for 15 years or more, then you know that over the last 15 years, I've changed.

My physical appearance has changed quite substantially. Now, I'm not just talking about the fact that I've gotten 15 years older. I do look a little bit older than I did 15 years ago, but if you were here 15 years ago, you know that I weighed 300 pounds. Some people who have been here for a shorter time may not believe that, but I weighed 300 pounds. From December of 2000 until December of 2003, I went from 300 pounds to 175 pounds, losing 125 pounds.

An interesting thing happened during that period, especially as I was losing all this weight. People would come up to me here at church with a very interested look and say, "You've lost a lot of weight." I would respond, "Yes, I have." Then they would ask, "How did you do it?" I knew when they were asking that question, they were hoping I would give an answer like, "Well, you know, I found this amazing miracle spray that you spray on your food, and it instantly kills the calories, so you can eat whatever you want." Or they were hoping I would say, "Yeah, I found this amazing medication that if you take it at night, the weight just falls off."

Their anticipated look would shift from excitement to disappointment as I explained, "You know, I ran my butt off, literally. I changed my diet, and I exercised a lot." People didn't want to hear that. They don't want to hear that because we've all tried and failed. Now, I did lose a whole bunch of weight, but I found some of those pounds along the way after getting married and having four kids. People would much rather hear about a miracle calorie spray. Amen? Everyone is looking for that.

I think that this desire for an easy solution is somewhat true also with the discussion of happiness. You see, I don't think it's far off to say that everyone wants to be happy. I think it's true that everyone desires to be happy. We live in a nation that highly values the pursuit of happiness.

People are seeking happiness. Not only does everyone want to be happy, but I don't think it's far off to say that God desires for us to experience fullness of joy. Jesus said in John chapter 15, verse 11, "These things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full." He preached these things to His disciples, the teachings we study week in and week out here at Cross Connection, so that His joy would be in us and our joy would be full. The Lord desires that we experience the abundant life He came to give. In John chapter 10, verse 10, He said, "I've come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly."

So here's the question: If it is true that we all want to be happy, and if it is indeed true that Jesus desires for us to experience fullness of joy, why is it that so many people are not happy? How can we be happy? We have been going through the book of Philippians here on Sunday mornings for the last several weeks, doing a series called "Happy and You Know It." In this text we are looking at today, Philippians chapter 2, verses 12 through 18, I believe we will find some important ideas about happiness.

However, I am afraid that the answers we find in this text about how we can be happy may change our expression from one of anticipation and expectation to one of resignation. This is similar to what I would share with people when they come and ask, "How did you lose that weight?" In this passage, we will discover exercises toward happiness. Philippians chapter 2, verses 12 through 18, gives us some very clear happiness exercises.

Before we get into this, I want to mention that some of these exercises we will look at today are the biblical equivalent of spiritual crunches. I recognize that some of these concepts may make you think, "Oh, really?" because they are tough. They are not easy things. But I am going to ask you, for the next 30 minutes or so, to put on your spiritual stretchy pants. I even brought some wristbands; we can put on our spiritual wristbands and get going as we engage in our CrossFit of happiness.

We're going to look at the P90X, the intensity, the beach body, whatever it is of happiness here in the text. In Philippians chapter 2, verse 12, Paul writes, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

Point number one, if you have your sermon guide handy, is that happiness is a discipline. Now, I think we would all agree that it would be nice if tomorrow morning we woke up and found out that, during the night, we somehow inherited or won a huge lump sum of money. Imagine waking up and realizing you are overwhelmingly rich. In the same way, it would be nice if everything in your life just happened to make you happy forever, eternally happy. I think we would all like that, but I would say the odds of both of those things happening are about the same as the odds of winning the Powerball lottery—slim to none.

However, as it relates to the issue of happiness, there are exercises that we can do, as the Scriptures lay out, that allow us to experience the fullness of joy and the abundant life that Jesus spoke of. So, happiness is a discipline. First, we find here in verse 12 that this discipline takes obedience. Paul emphasizes this when he says, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed." Would you underline the words "always" and "obeyed"? The Philippian church always obeyed, which is a phenomenal thing to consider.

I think it’s safe to say that if you and I are going to experience peace, joy, contentment, and rejoicing—the things that Paul talks about in this letter—then one of the things that will lead to that is our obedience. Will we always obey perfectly? No, I recognize that we will fail. We all fail. Christians fail, and non-Christians fail. We all fall short of the glory of God and perfect obedience. However, I do think that the Scriptures give us the idea that we should target total obedience.

We should set that as our goal. Even if we fail, we should target total obedience to what the Lord tells us in His Word. Why should we do that? Well, the Bible reveals, even at the very beginning, that God created you and me. He knit us together; Psalm 139 says He knit us together in our mother's womb. That's a good Mother's Day verse. God knit you and me together. He is the OEM, the original equipment manufacturer. He made us.

Not only did He make us, but He made us in a way that there is an optimal working condition. When we use the equipment that the original equipment manufacturer has given us in the optimal way, we will experience the joy, rejoicing, and blessing of using that equipment correctly. That's why He has given us a user's manual about how we are to live. When we follow the instructions and obey the things that God says in the Scriptures, we will experience the joy of using the equipment in the way that the manufacturer has told us to use it. In that, there is joy and rejoicing in obedience. Happiness is a discipline; it's a discipline that involves obedience.

Secondly, we find in verse 12 that not only does happiness involve obedience, but it also requires integrity. Look at Philippians 2:12 again: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence." The Philippian Christians walked in obedience when Paul was there, but also when he was not. He heard the testimony that they continued to walk in obedience to the things he taught them from the Scriptures, even while he was absent. They did not need apostolic oversight to keep them walking in obedience. They did it while Paul was there, and they did it while he was not.

Parents, how many of you feel super overjoyed when another adult says to you, "I was watching your kids, and they are really well-behaved. They were over at my house, and they are so polite and well-mannered"? That is such a wonderful thing. How many of you would say that is a joyful thing? The Scriptures say in 3 John 4, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth." In the church, there are a few couples that take care of our four kids from time to time.

I am always so blessed when people share with me that my kids are well-behaved. It has everything to do with Andrea, my wife, but they'll say, "Your kids are so polite. They're so well-behaved." I often respond, "Are you being honest? Come on, tell me the truth." They insist, "No, really, they are so well-behaved." I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth.

When Paul receives word that the Christians in Philippi continue to obey even when he is not there, he recognizes their integrity. They demonstrate obedience and integrity. Happiness is a discipline; it requires obedience. It is a discipline that requires hard work. Happiness is hard work. It is not just something we wake up and stumble into; it requires disciplined effort.

How do we know that? Paul says at the end of verse 12, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." He addresses his dear brothers and sisters, saying, "As you have always obeyed in my presence, but also in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." I am grateful that it does not say "work for your salvation." It says, "work out your salvation." The New Living Translation is really helpful in this regard; it records it this way: "Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear."

The picture that Paul presents here is that if you are a Christian, you have received salvation from God as a free gift. We find this in Ephesians and throughout the whole scripture. We receive salvation as a gift from God, and Paul encourages us to work hard to show the results of our salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.

If you want to get fit and achieve a "happiness six-pack," it is going to require disciplined hard work. It requires that we obey what the scriptures say and that we have integrity. We must obey even when no one is watching as we walk these things out. I recognize that obedience and integrity are tough; they are hard things to accomplish. And if those are hard, they get even harder.

Look at this: Philippians chapter two, verses 14 and 15 instruct us to do all things without complaining and disputing.

How many of you totally failed at that this week? Do all things without complaining and disputing, verse 15, that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

Work hard, Paul says to the Christians at Philippi and to us living 2,000 years later and thousands of miles away. Work hard to show the results of your salvation. In what way? Well, do all things without complaining.

Now, what are some synonyms of complaining? Grumbling, murmuring. I've been reading through the Scriptures this year, and I'm in the Book of Numbers. Maybe some of you are there as well. Just this last week, I opened to Numbers chapter 11, which is where I was, and I read this: "Now, when the people of God complained, it displeased the Lord." When the people of God complained, it displeased the Lord. I can guarantee you that you will never experience joy and happiness in this life while also being displeasing to the Lord.

When the people complained, it displeased the Lord. If we live a life filled with complaining, it will make you lose your joy and lose your happiness. Everyone here knows that this is the case. When you're going around grumbling, complaining, and murmuring, you're not happy. A lot of times, we think that we're grumbling and murmuring and complaining because we're not happy. But I would say that oftentimes, the grumbling, murmuring, and complaining precede unhappiness. It leads to unhappiness.

So here Paul says, if you want to experience joy, peace, contentment, and rejoicing, if you want to be happy for the rest of your life and into eternity, then you need to be a person who says, "I'm not going to complain." I'm not going to complain. He says, "without disputing." Another way to say this would be "without arguments."

Moms, how many of you are just totally overjoyed when your kids are not arguing and disputing with one another? Isn't it awesome? It may only happen for 12 seconds, but it's a joy. Recently, this has happened a few times. I'll come upstairs at our house and find our son, Ethan, our oldest, and our second oldest, Addison. They will be sitting at the table, coloring together, and they are actually sharing crayons. It's a beautiful, wonderful thing. Now, it doesn't last for very long, but there's no arguing. There's no disputing.

There's none of that going on. Here, Paul says that these things are essential: that we do all things without complaining and that we do all things without disputing. Notice the result in verse 15: that you may become. When you're working out without complaining and when you're working out without arguing, you're engaging in these spiritual exercises. Feel the burn! The result is that you may become blameless and harmless children of God, without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

As you're doing these things, what will it do in your spiritual life? It's going to increase your strength. You will be blameless, which means undeserving of criticism or rebuke. No one can criticize your lifestyle, and no one can rebuke your behavior. Paul says you'll become harmless. Harmless means innocent, or another way of saying it is simple. Jesus used the exact same word. The Greek word translated as harmless here in Philippians chapter two is the same word He used in His teaching to His disciples in Matthew chapter 10. He said in Matthew 10:16, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

The Apostle Paul uses the same word in his exhortation to the Christians in Rome. In Romans chapter 16, verse 19, he says, "I want you to be wise in what is good and simple, harmless concerning evil." How do we become blameless? How do we become harmless? Well, he tells us right here: live a life without complaining, without arguing and disputing, and you will become harmless. You will become blameless. You will become, thirdly, faultless—again, unrebukeable.

Even though others in the world don't live like this, and in our natural fallen state, we don't live like this either. We are prone to complain, to murmur, and to argue. In some ways, in our nation, it's almost as if those characteristics are fanned in us to be complainers. I find myself falling back into it a lot, and I'm sure that you've experienced the same thing. Paul says that if you're going to experience this abundance of life, you need to work out your own salvation with energy and effort so that you can be these things. You need to be obedient. You need to have integrity. You need to be someone who does not complain.

Someone who does not argue with other people. Paul continues in verses 17 and 18, highlighting two more happiness exercises in this regimen for happiness. In verse 17, he says, "Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and I rejoice with you all for the same reason. You also be glad and rejoice with me."

Point number three on your outline: Happiness grows through faithful sacrifice and service. You see it there in verse 17, the drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith. Happiness grows in us through faithful sacrifice and service. These are the biblical or spiritual crunches of happiness. Like losing weight and growing strong, getting toned does not just happen. It takes hard work, discipline, and energy. It requires effort.

You will never grow strong or get toned without a good diet and an exercise routine. The same is true spiritually. You will not experience the benefits of the Christian life by sitting in a sedentary position and waiting for it to come upon you. It requires effort and work. We are not working for our salvation, but since we have been saved, we must work these things out in us through obedience, integrity, sacrifice, and service without grumbling, complaining, or arguing. We will not experience joy unless we do these things. The joy of Christ will not be a part of my life or your life until we joyfully sacrifice and serve other people. In that sacrifice and service, there is a growth of joy.

That is why Jesus taught that it is more blessed to give than to receive. To give of yourself brings a blessing. Paul told the Corinthians in Second Corinthians chapter eight that as the people of Macedonia, from the church in Philippi, gave—even though they didn’t have anything to give—their joy increased. You can read it for yourself in Second Corinthians chapter eight. Their joy increased as they sacrificially gave of themselves. I understand that these things are not easy; they do not just happen.

And that's why points one and two are that they're disciplined and hard work. However, discipline is not easy. The author of the book of Hebrews writes in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 11, "No discipline seems enjoyable at the time."

Yesterday morning, I thought, "I'm going to go to the gym and work out." I went there, got on the treadmill, and started running. The first five minutes felt okay, and then ten minutes in, I realized the only time I was joyful was when it was done. It's hard work. No discipline seems enjoyable at the beginning. The author of the book of Hebrews goes on to say that it is painful. Later on, though, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been exercised by it, those who have been trained by it.

Sadly, there are not many people, both in the church and outside of it, who do the things that lead to happiness and fulfill these happiness exercises. This means that if you will do these things, if you will put God to the test and see if this is really true in His word, and work these things out, your joy will begin to increase. Verse 15 in Philippians chapter two will be true of you: you will shine as a light in a dark world. You will shine as a light, as a beacon of Christ-centered joy. As you work these things out and they begin to grow in your life, you will shine brightly in a dark world.

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter five, verse 16, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." As we work these things out, it will increase our joy and increase His glory. People will see just how glorious He is.

Point number four in your outline is that happiness is bringing light to those in darkness. As I was thinking about this this week and working through the passage of Scripture, I was meditating on it, pondering it, and looking at the challenges and the truths.

Paul emphasizes obedience, integrity, sacrifice, and service without complaining or arguing. As I reflect on these qualities, I see that they lead to an increase in our joy. This is all good stuff, but sometimes I find myself not desiring to refrain from complaining. Do you realize that sometimes we actually enjoy complaining? There are moments when I like to argue with people, and at times, I simply do not want to do what Scripture instructs us to do. These can be challenging tasks.

It's akin to saying, "Okay, I'm going to go run now," or "I'm going to do a workout now." Often, we just don't want to do those things. We want the benefits, but we don't want to put in the effort. As I pondered these thoughts, I remembered that nestled in the middle of this passage is my favorite verse in the whole Bible.

Look at verse 13. Some of you may have noticed that I skipped it. Verse 12 states, "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling." Notice it says to work out your own salvation, not your neighbor's, not your husband's, not your wife's—your own salvation—with fear and trembling. Verse 13 continues, "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." The New Living Translation is helpful here; it says, "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him."

A few minutes ago, I mentioned that you will never experience the abundant life and joy while also being displeasing to the Lord. I guarantee that. However, I also guarantee this: you will experience the abundant life and joy as you do what pleases God. That is what He created you for. You will experience the joy of God as you engage in the things that please Him.

Here, the Apostle Paul points out this profound theological truth: God is working in you, Christian, to instill the desire and to provide the power to do the things that please Him. He is working in you to even desire obedience, integrity, sacrifice, and service, all without complaining, grumbling, or disputing. But here's the key: notice it says to work out your own salvation, for it is God who is working in you.

He is working in you. He's giving you the desire and the ability, and now you've got to get up and step up. You have to make a decision: I’m going to do this by the power of the Lord, by the strength that He supplies. I can't do it in and of my own strength, but He is working in us.

We already saw in Philippians chapter one, verse six, several weeks ago that we can be confident of this very thing: that He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. So, He’s going to finish that work. The question is, will I step up and make a choice to willingly walk in obedience? I fail all the time, but I’m asking that you give me the ability to have integrity, to not grumble, and to not complain.

Point number five on your outline: God is working in you. God is working in you so that you can work this out. None of these happiness exercises are possible apart from the work of God in us. In other words, the maximal joy that we could experience is not going to happen in the life of anyone without the saving work of Jesus Christ in us. We need God to be working in us by salvation because the work that Jesus did on the cross makes it possible for us to experience these things.

So, God is working in you so that you can work this out. One final key to enable us to obey, to have integrity, to sacrifice, to serve, and to do it without complaining or arguing is found in Philippians chapter two, verses 15 and 16. These verses state that you may become blameless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

Look at verse 16: holding fast the word of life. Another translation says holding firmly to the word of life. Virtually every exercise routine has equipment, whether it's resistance bands, special shoes, bars, weights, or dumbbells. This is no different, and the equipment is the word of life—the Scriptures. Paul says to hold firmly to the word. How do I hold this firmly? Well, it’s not just a tight grip on my actual physical Bible, but it’s taking what is in...

Here and reading it, studying it, memorizing it, and thinking on these things is essential. It’s about taking this and making it a part of my life. As I take the equipment that God has supplied for this routine, I will be enabled to do exactly what we're talking about here: to obey, to have integrity, to sacrifice, and to serve, all without complaining and without arguing.

How do I know that? One final passage of Scripture: open to about the middle of your Bibles to Psalm 19. Psalm 19 is a Psalm or a song written by King David of Israel about 3,000 years ago. In verses 7 through 11, King David speaks about the word of God and uses a number of synonyms to describe it.

Psalm 19, verse 7 states, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. They are more to be desired than gold, yes, even much fine gold; they are sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them, your servant is warned, and in keeping them, there is great reward.

If you want to be happy and you know it, if you want to be happy for the rest of your life, you're not just going to stumble into it. Yes, Jesus has made the abundant life available to us through the finished work of the cross. He said, "It is finished." The opportunity for joy—maximal and increasing joy, not just temporary or limited joy—but joy that increases and goes on forever into eternity is available to us. Psalm 16:11 says, "In your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Therefore, joy that is increasing and eternal is available to us, but we do need to work out our salvation.

We need to work hard because happiness is hard work. We need to be disciplined because happiness is a discipline. The hard work, the discipline, the spiritual crunches are obedience, integrity, sacrifice, and service without complaining or arguing. As we, by the power of God working in us, work these things out, I can say with absolute certainty, because of the truth of God's word before us, that your joy and your abundance of life will increase. These are such awesome truths that we have. I think this is a great message any day, but especially on Mother's Day.

Final point: the word of life will bring joy to your life. So hold firmly to God's word. Amen. Would you stand with me as we close?

Lord, we thank you for your word, which is living and powerful. We thank you that by your word, your servants, us, are warned, and in the keeping of your word, obedience with integrity brings great reward. So God, I pray that my brothers and sisters here would experience the great reward of your word this week.

I also pray that if there are any here today who have not yet experienced the joy of salvation, Lord, would you draw them to yourself to put their trust, their confidence, their faith in you, Jesus? You did the work; you accomplished it on the cross, and you rose from the dead to declare it is reality. Draw them to yourself.

Today we pray, we praise you, and we thank you in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, Amen. Amen.