Transcription
You know, when I see a stool like this, one that spins, the kid comes out in me. Now, I have to admit, like a very old kid, like a very wrinkled kid with bags under his eyes and a turkey neck kind of kid. I I get that. But the kid still comes out in me because there's a part of us that wants to do what? We want to spin.
Now, I will confess as a very old kid that I control the rate of spin a lot more than I did when I was younger because it doesn't take me near as much to get dizzy. And the dizzy doesn't go away near as quick. And all my fellow old-timers said, "Amen." You get what I'm saying?
But we all know the reality of what happens if we spin too much. Whether we're young or whether we all old, we know the disorientation that can come from spinning and the dizziness that happens. And it can be fun like in small doses. I mean, you've seen the you've seen the game where you take a bat and somebody puts their head on the bat and they go around the bat for so long, etc. And then they have to go and they have to do a task of some sort and they're staggering around and they're doing stuff.
I did the exact same thing when I was a kid, man. If I'd been a kid with this thing, I would have got a friend. I would have put my hands, both hands on it. I would have put my feet out say, "Spin me as fast as I can." And I would have had them whip me around, whip me until I couldn't stand it any longer. Right? And then what I would do, I would stand and I would stagger around and fall down and we would laugh. And that's a great thing because we know at some point we're going to reorient in life.
However, if you've ever experienced something like vertigo and you don't reorient, like the dizziness just keeps happening. The disorientation is not momentary, but it is normal. It is beyond not fun. It's sickening. It's debilitating. And to be honest with you, it's like this is how a lot of people feel about life. Life is spinning. Life is disorienting. Life is debilitating. Life is hopeless. And we want to stand. But it's hard to stand.
There's words that go along with it in our society, isn't there? You're hearing a lot about like anxiety, mental health, resilience, things such as that. You you know why it's happening, right? I mean, we in this world, we're just going and all this information is coming at us, isn't it? All this stuff from all over the world is happening. But not only that, the interpretation of all the things that are happening and none of it's positive cuz positive doesn't get clicked. So, it's only negative. And we've got the prognosticators out there and they're telling us about the future and it's going to be nuclear war. It's going to be global warming. It's going to be another pandemic and it's all negative.
And then we're scrolling through social media and I see my friends and they're not my friends really because I haven't seen them in a long time. I don't even know some of them. But man, I look at their images and their family, their life, their job, their their world, their kids, their grandkids. They're all better than mine. and I'm behind and my world is just spinning and it's debilitating and I look up and day in day out things feel hopeless and I want to stand but I just feel like I'm staggering all the time.
Amazingly this is not a 21st century phenomenon that's happened because of the information age. I promise you, we go back to first century followers of Jesus and they were feeling the exact same thing because this is a tactic of the enemy that he has employed since the beginning to bring destruction to humanity. In the first century, they were feeling some of the same things. I mean, they were going, they were saying, "Jesus, when you ascended into heaven, you told us that you had all authority on earth and is in heaven, but it didn't feel that way right now. You told us to ask and you would give the nations to us as our inheritance and we're asking but we don't see the nations changing right now. You told us to ask and we would be full of joy. You know recently Lord we were in that time with Nero the emperor and he was bringing great persecution on us. We asked you to make it stop and eventually you did. But a lot of us lost our lives. A lot of us were hurt. And now we're back in it again. There's an emperor domission. It's worse than ever. And Lord the church I was saved in in Jerusalem. it it doesn't even exist anymore. Like it's scattered because of persecution. The city of our savior, Jerusalem, it is gone. The temple has been destroyed, oh Lord. And now the church I'm a part of in Pergamum, it's had a nasty split. And some of the leaders that are there, man, they have fallen from the faith. And everything within me, Lord, wants to stand. And I just don't feel like I am able to stand. Have you ever felt it? It's been a common thing the enemy wanted to bring in our life. It's hard to stand because we're dizzy and we're disoriented.
See, what happens is we're here and the world is spinning with chaos and confusion. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? If we're not really careful, we're doing the exact same thing. We're spinning right along with the world and it's disorienting our lives and it's keeping us from what God has for our life. And what God wants to do through the apostle John in the book of revelation is he wants to help us to stop spinning. He aches that they in the first century we in the 21st century of life would be able not only just to stand and make it not a staggering stand but he wants us to stand and stand strong. God wanted them. It's why he took the Apostle John up into the heavens. He wants us to live in hope, to live in confidence by no longer spinning with the pandemonium of this fallen world, but by teaching us to focus in the midst of all that's swirling to focus on that which is truly real.
You see, most Bible scholars believe that the book of Revelation, maybe you want to turn there. It's really easy to find. is the last book in the Bible. Just go to the end. Most scholars believe it is the last book written in the New Test like like by 20 or 30 years. As Ba Pastor Jeffrey told us so well last week, the church was in the midst of the second empirewide persecution of Christians. Now, since the church was founded, like back in the 30s AD, most scholars believe Revelation was written in the '9s AD. So we're 60 years in the church world, but in the 30s AD and beyond, there was always like localized, regionalized persecution and difficulty in the church. It's what we read about in the book of Acts. We read about it in Paul's letters. But in the 60s AD, about 30 years after the founding of the church, this emperor Nero started this uh empirewide persecution to try to eradicate the empire of Christianity. He failed in eradicating it, man. But a lot of people died. A lot of people were hurt. And then in the 90s, another emperor rise by the name of Domission. And it's hard to believe when you read about what Nero did to Christians, but Domission was even worse.
Now, I want you to do me a favor. I want all of us in person, online, I just want us to pause for a moment and try to do something. I understand that due to modern media and it's always wanting to shock us, what we've done is we've we've actually created a defense mechanism. It's like we can't let everything that comes at us impact us because there's so much negative news that bombards us daily. I mean, even with this defense mechanism, we find ourselves um spinning in life. And I I understand that we can't internalize, we can't feel all the feelings that are being thrown at us. But can we pause for just a moment and think what it would be like not to be a freedom of religion American Christian, but to be back in that day when I looked out in life and someone was out to hurt me, ma me, rape me, kill me, or my family, my wife and my kids for no other reason that I'm one that professes that Jesus Christ alone is Lord of all. I mean, I have to confess that because of the world in which I live, it's almost impossible for me to put myself in that place, but I think we can we can at least taste it.
I I remember back in 2017, my wife and I did the American thing and we visited Italy. Americans are enamored with like the royalty of Britain, though we don't want kings and we love the idea of Italy. And Italy is fun to visit. And we went to Rome and we went to the Colosseum, which has been made famous by American movies. And I'm going to tell you, it was impressive. We went on a tour. I learned a great deal. But there were some things they didn't tell us on the tour that I knew. Like I knew that much of the funding of the coliseum actually happened from the spoils of the destruction of Jerusalem a few years earlier. Like much of the rebuild the building of Rome and the expansion of the city of Rome in the late first century was from the money of the gold of the temple of God from Jerusalem. And I knew that in the 90s AD many Jesus followers had been martyed in that coliseum under the reign of Emperor Domission. Some of the very people who heard the words of the revelation died in that place. I found myself on the floor of the coliseum and there's dirt and I knew that wasn't like the dirt of the first century. But I had a moment. I I know I know it was spiritled that something in me knew that below my feet was the blood of Jesus followers. The blood of men and women of who the scripture says that they overcame Satan by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. They did not love their lives so much as to shrink back from death. And I thought about being a man on that floor. Maybe my wife and my kids were there. I knew what was going to happen. I knew the wild animals that were going to be released. I knew the gladiators, the barbarism that was going to happen. And we were going to be the ones that would be destroyed. And maybe you could hear a man yelling at his wife and kids, "Hey, hang on. Stay true. Stay faithful. It's only going to be painful FOR A MOMENT AND THEN WE'RE going to see him. And we're going to see him forever. And we're going to be with him forever." And for a moment on the floor of the coliseum, I tasted merely tasted the disorientation that must have been felt by those early followers of Jesus. Jesus who told them all authority in heaven and earth was his, but they didn't feel it at the moment.
Knowing the intensity of their disorientation, we are tempted to think that the way we stop our disorientation, we stop our spinning is just to remember that our situation's not as bad as theirs. We think if I can just know that they had it far worse than we are, our situation is not bad, that somehow we're going to quit spinning, that somehow we're going to quit being disoriented. And I want you to hear something. Comparison never brings hope. Comparison isn't going to give us what we want in life. Listen, we have wrestles and struggles just like they did. They are played out differently. But come on, every one of us in here has been in a situation where we go, "WHY GOD? WHY DID YOU allow this to happen? I prayed and this person died. Why haven't you done this yet? Why is this going on in our world?" We have doubts. We have struggles. We have temptations just like they do. They may play out differently. They may be a little bit more subtle. And listen, you still have an enemy, the one the Revelation calls the accuser of the brethren. And he is still working diligently to destroy our faith just as he did.
Listen, if we want to stop the spinning, if we want to no longer be disoriented, but walk in an absolute confidence, an absolute hope in this world, then we must hear from God about who he is, just as they heard. And we must step into the things that God called the people in the first century to step in through the book of revelation.
See the apostle John when he receives this revelation. And really the book of revelation though people think it's about things to come. It's really about the reality of God. It's about who he is. The apostle is actually in prison. He's on the aisle of Patmos, a penal colony. It's a horrendous place where he is going to die. And on that island, he gets a vision of what is most real, what is eternal. And the first thing he sees on the Lord's day, he says, "At once I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven with one seated on it." Isn't it interesting that the first thing John saw in the midst of being dis disoriented and debilitated and things seem out of control and they seem to chaotic, he sees not just a throne, but he sees the throne that is over all things. And you notice, look at the text. It's not an empty throne as if no one is in charge, which is how we feel sometimes, right? It's not a throne that's up for grab. There are not entities that are waring for it, which seems how it feels in life. No, there was a throne that stood in heaven and there's one seated on it. In fact, if you read the book of Revelation this week, you would find that the throne of heaven is mentioned 45 times. It's only mentioned 61 times in the whole New Testament. It's like it's a thing. And the one seated on the throne, we keep getting images of who he is. Like in chapter 4, we talked about it two weeks that he is one who is out of this world, good and just and wonderful and pure and powerful. He's not just holy, but he is holy, holy, holy. He's worthy of our worship in all things. And the one seated on the throne isn't just a king who is temporary, who's going to be here one minute and thrown out the next man. No, he is king of all kings. He is lord of all lords. And we learn from the 19th of cha chapter of revelation as pastor Jeffrey so masterfully talked about last week that he is going to return again and he's going to finish what he has begun. And he is so great and so glorious and so good. We can submit the totality of our lives to him because he's going to lead us to what is eternally good. And we know he is a good king by what we see in Revelation 5. Revelation 5 verse one. Then I, John, saw in the right hand of him who is seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back sealed with seven seals.
Now, I guarantee you that anyone hearing this in the first century immediately knew that a scroll that was sealed was a legal document. It was like a last will and testament. The scroll here is the title of the earth as God intended it to be. See, the world is supposed to be different than it is. It's supposed to be a world of beauty, is it not? No tornadoes, no tsunamis, no floods, no cats. Okay, kidding about the last part. Kind of, right? The world is supposed to be a world of justice. The weak aren't exploited by the strong. The weak aren't abused by those more powerful. No war, no prejudice. It's a world of relational harmony and family harmony. It's a world without addiction. It's a world without death. It's a world as deep within. We know this world's supposed to be different. It's what we ache for. It is the world as God intended it to be. But that reality, the reality of that world is not there. That reality is sealed. And I saw verse two says a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and breaks its seal. In essence, who can bring the WORLD BACK TO WHAT it was intended to be? And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I, John, began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. So, not only is the scroll sealed, but John looks through the annals of history, and no one is worthy to open the seals. No one is worthy to help the earth return back to what it was designed to be. In fact, the seven seals represent God's perfect judgment on the earth. That because the earth is not what it's supposed to be, but it's under the rule of sin, it will face the perfect judgment of God. And John looked and no one was worthy to change that judgment. John is overwhelmed with grief because no one can stop the righteous judgment of God on sin. No one can return the earth and his people back to what is supposed to be. And he wept loudly. But then verse five, one of the elders said to me, "Hey, weep no more. Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah." Say lion. Get that image. The root of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. So John is weeping and into his ear is the voice of an elder. And John hears of a lion. Not just any lion, but as soon as he said the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, John knew this was the promised one of the Old Testament, the one prophesied Messiah, King of Kings. And he is a lion. So listen to me. Long before Mufasa held up Simba, long before we in the west gave the lion the title the king of the jungle, people of old used lions as a symbol of courage and valor. It was the symbol of a mighty warrior who was conquering and victorious. John hears of a lion. Verse six, between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a lamb standing as though it hadn't been slain. So don't miss what's happening here. John hears of a lion, but he sees a what? A lamb. But it's not just any lamb. The word in the original language isn't the normal word for like a grown adult lamb. The big scary lamb, I guess. I don't know. It is actually the word for a baby lamb. Like a petting zoo kind of lamb. Cute, cuddly, great in a petting zoo. Not much help in a world that is chaotic and confusing and spinning and out of control. But the lamb isn't just a lamb. The lamb is also a lion. And not just any lion. a line of the tribe of Judah. And the lamb who is a lion went and what did he do? He took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And you keep reading. It says in chapter 6 verse one, "And I watched when the lamb opened one of the seven seals. And then he opened the second one. Then he opened the third one. And then he opened the fourth one. And things begin to change. And he opened the fifth one. And he opened the sixth one." And chapter 8 says, "And when the lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Heaven went utterly quiet. Why? Why was heaven silent? Heaven was stunned. They were overwhelmingly amazed as God's control of the entire world." You see, heaven was looking and the world us seemed unredeemable. It seemed unfixable. It wasn't just John that looked over every said and said, everything and said, "No one is worthy to break the seals." All of heaven said, "No one can break the seals." Yet, the lion who is a lamb, the lamb who is a lion, redeemed the world in the most unlikely of ways. In that reality, God showing himself as lion and lamb. A lamb who is a lion shouts to you and I something we need to hear in this world. The slain lamb who is a lion shouts that God is in control. That's the book of Revelation.
Listen, at the macro level, God is in control of all the things that are unfolding in the history of humanity. Are you hearing me? All the uncertainty in the no in the news, all the things going on with our president. Maybe I should spin faster when I say that. All the things happening around our lives, all the things that seem to have no order and such, the sovereign is orchestrating all of that. He is working it to his end. We are headed to the new heavens and the new earth. We are headed to not just what he designed from the beginning, but what he designed for mankind in Eden beyond what we can fathom. We are headed that way. And even in the midst of us getting there, while we are eagerly awaiting a savior who is going to make that happen, believe it or not, all the stuff that's going on in the earth, he still had his hand in control.
But it's not just at the macro level that God is in control. It's also at the micro level. If we go back to another book in the New Testament, the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul, inspired by the same spirit as John says, "And we know that in all things," say all things. God is at work for the good of those who love him, who've been called according to his purpose. Look at that. That verse is you. That verse is me. That verse is, believe it or not, about the men and women who are on the floor of that coliseum under Domission's rule. Somehow God is at work in all things for our good. See, when we love God and follow him, he is working in all things for our good. Listen, it doesn't mean that he makes bad things good. It means that in the midst of those somehow he is working for good. That even in the bad things, even in the difficult things, even in the uncertain things, even in the unfair things, he is in control. And he is working a plan together. Just like he is weaving human history to do what he wants. Even when a god who it SEEMS LIKE WE CAN NEVER have a savior at just the right time he sent Jesus just as he said he would send Jesus. He went to the cross just as he said he would go to the cross. And he prophesied about it for years. And he was weaving his plan sovereignly and masterfully in human history. Doing the same thing in your life. If you love him, if you've been called according to his purpose, he is working in all things to bring about his good purposes in you and me.
So what then shall we say in response to this? In response to what? What then shall we say in response to a world that is spinning in chaos and confusion? It's disoriented. Well, if God is for me, and really that word if in the original language could mean since God is for me, what does it matter who is against me? And how do we know that God is for us? Because he is the lamb who was slain, who is the lion. He did not spare his own son. And if he did not spare his own son, but he graciously gave him for us all, how can we imagine that he would not graciously give us all things that he has promised in life?
You see, the purpose of the book of Revelation is for men and women who live in a world that is chaotic, that's spinning, that's disoriented, we're confused, and we're struggling. He wants us to what? He wants us to quit spinning. The world is spinning around us and we're looking at all and we spin with it. We spin with it and we feel disoriented. He says, "STOP. FOCUS your attention. There is one that you think is not in control, but there is a lion and there is a lamb." And he went and he took the scroll. And when everything seemed doomed, he broke the seals. And he is unfolding the earth and unfolding history just as he has planned. Fix your gaze. Fix your attention. Yeah, all this stuff is going to keep spinning. But if you want to live with hope and with confidence and you want to stop the disorientation, fix your gaze. And when we fix our gaze, gives us power. Power to endure suffering. Power to endure difficulty. I stood on the floor of the coliseum and I actually thought in my mind if I saw them about to release a lion on my wife, do I have the power not to deny him, save her life? And I had to confess, Lord, I don't have it. And the Lord just said, I'll give you what you need when you need it. Because I gave it to them. See, they focused their attention and they had a power to endure even the most harshest of things.
See what Revelation wants us to know that if God would give us his son who is the lamb that takes away the sins of the world, we know he is good, right? The heart of God is good. But listen to this. Just because someone or something is good doesn't mean it's powerful. You can be good and be powerless. Jesus isn't just a lamb. And he's not just a baby lamb, but he is also the lion. Not just a lion, but the lion of the tribe of Judah, the room of David. And he opened the seals and HE TOOK BACK CONTROL of the world. And the one who took back control of the world, who holds all things in his hands, he is working in all things in this world and in our lives for the good of those who love him. And so if we want to stop spinning, if we want to stop the chaos and the confusion and the disorientation that's so normative in our world, the way we do it is we focus. We stop and we keep our gaze. We orient our lives and we orient our minds to him.
Listen, the world's not going to stop spinning. In 10 years, if Jesus doesn't come back, there will not be less chaos. We can have a change of the president. There will be no, there will still be chaos. It doesn't matter which party's in charge. It doesn't matter what's happening in other parts of the world, even in the Middle East. There is going to be chaos and there's going to be confusion. and we can spin with it or we can stop and we can be focused and in the midst of that we're going to be able to stand and stand strong.
This is the reason if you will dare hear me that I believe possibly the most common tactic of the enemy right now if not the one of the most common tactics of the enemy in us not in the first century they were enemy was working differently then he was working for denial the fear of death us it's not that the thing he's working in us distraction You see, if he can distract us, if he can distract our orientation, if he can distract our focus, then things are spinning. And guess what we start to do with it? You do this long enough and guess what happens? See, distraction leads to spinning. That distraction leads to disorientation. Disorientation opens us up to deception and deception when we are not strong leads to death. I'm not talking about absolute no longer breathing death. But don't you think things like anxiety and worry are a result of death? lack of joy, lack of peace, hopelessness, death.
See, if we want to stop spinning, we want to stop the disorientation, if we want to live in hope, the key is focus. Therefore, we do not lose heart. The scripture says we don't live disoriented and and unable to stand. How do we not lose heart? We fix our eyes. WE FOCUS NOT WHAT IS SEEN, not what is spinning around us, BUT WHAT IS UNSEEN. BECAUSE ALL THIS STUFF THAT'S SPINNING TEMPORARY, but what is unseen is eternal. We have to focus. AND HOW DO WE FOCUS? IT'S time we go old school. Listen to me. Focus comes from foundational practices in our life. You say, "What are those?" We know what they are. If you've taken notes, just start writing some down. Time in the word focuses us. Prayer focuses us. service in his name focuses us. We had teams of people because of the pending storm that went out and started doing things to help winterize people's home. They were just serving and showing people the love of Jesus. That focuses your life. Why do we gather together so regularly to sing songs in here? It focuses us when we get together in a small group and we discuss how we can live the word of God. It focuses us when we fast. It focuses us. When we do these foundational things in our life, it focuses our lives.
See, we need to do more. Say more of some of these foundational things, which probably means you're going to have to do less. Say less of some other things. Like what? Less scrolling. I didn't say no scrolling. Less scrolling. I dare you sometime to look at your phone and how many minutes, yay, hours, we spend on this thing. less binge watching, less media because if anything causes you to spin in this day and age, it's modern media. And we become a people who fix our gaze on him.
When the lamb, who is a lion, opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. So the angels that were before the throne crying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come," they stopped. The elders who were crying out, "Worthy, worthy is the lamb." They stopped and they were just amazed. Maybe heaven was more than just stunned. I wonder if heaven just went, "He's got it. We didn't see it coming, but he's got it. God's got all of it. And they just breathed and they rested. For the Lamb who was slain, who is also as a lion, is in control of all things. And he is working by his power and his might for the good of all who love him. Is it possible that if we did the same thing and we saw this, we might be able to live in a place of rest in the midst of the chaos. We might have a confidence. we might have a hope. Not only have that hope but overflow with that hope so that others can have it as well. That I believe is our destiny. We just need to hear like those in the first century. Quit the spin. Fix your gaze. Fix your mind. orient your life and see the power that comes from the hope that I give you.
Let's bow our heads for a moment. Maybe online, maybe in person. I just think we first need to say, "Worthy are you, oh God. Worthy is the lamb who opened the seals. Worthy is the lamb who stopped the absolute judgment of God. Now everybody doesn't have to be judged. Now the world can return. Thank you, God, who are returning the earth to what it needs to be. You're taking those that love you and choose you into a great destiny. Man, can you worship? can be in awe of him. The lamb who was slain, who is also a lion. He's in charge of all things. Thank you. Would you thank him that he is working in all things for your good, in all the difficulties, in all the problems. The reason we want to be obedient, the reason we want to be focused is just to stay close to him and not get outside of him working in our lives. Would you ask him right now like, "Lord, how do I how do I orient my life more? What's something I supposed to do that let me be fixed on you?" Just just the one thing. Don't overwhelm yourself. We got the time. Would it be reading a chapter of the Bible every day to start out with? Would it be a little time of prayer? Would it be like Daniel of old who set his alarm three times a day he would stop and face Jerusalem and pray? Maybe we need to do that for a little while. Maybe we need to fast. Some of us I I do think this is of the Lord. Hear me that some of us need to fast social media. We need to fast our phone for a season. Maybe I mean because it's just consuming us. There's an addiction that happens. It's not for everyone, but would you just say yes to the Lord and what he wants to do? Like like Lord, I want I want to say yes to what you would have me do so that I can fix my eyes on the reality of who you are. You're the lamb. You're the lion. And you're in control of all things. And would you just declare that you trust him in all things, Lord? We do. We We trust you in all things. We want to be able to trust you even more. Give us grace to live that out. And it may be that you're listening, you've never surrendered your life to the King. You've never bowed at his throne. You read the revelation and they laid down their thrones at the feet of the one who was seated on the throne. They laid down their crowns at the feet of the one who was seated on the throne. We need to lay down our crowns. All the things we count as important. We say we we submit to you. We surrender to you. We become yours. You've never done that. You do it right now. You just say, "Jesus, I am messed up. I'm a sinner. I can't fix myself. But what you did for me on the cross, it is enough for me. I receive what you did on the cross. I lay my crown down at your feet. I surrender my life to you this day and I become yours. You do that today. He makes you brand new. And you've positioned yourself for God to work in all things for his glory and your good. Lord, we thank you. We thank you. Worthy are you who opened the the scroll. Worthy are you who broke the seals. Thank you that in you we no longer are subject to judgment and wrath. But we are destined for things beyond what we could imagine that are found in your heart. We love you. We worship you. Give us grace to keep our lives focused on you and let us rest. I pray for every man, every woman who is here that we could rest in your absolute control in all things. We refuse chaos. We refuse disorientation. We refuse to spin. And we say you, oh king, are good and glorious. And we trust you. And we stay focused on you. And we rest in your absolute control in Jesus name. Amen.
Okay. Come on, man. Let's stand together wherever you are, in person, online. I think our God who is in control of all, he deserves a round of app of applause. He deserves a shout of praise. Come on. Isn't it incredible if we got this in us? What might it do for our lives? Man, it is incredible. So, man, I just want to tell you, it's a joy to be with you. Those of you who are in person right now want you to know that right after service if you want to say man how do I be a part of a community of faith that's taking next steps like together we are helping each other stay focused on Jesus you want to know a practical way you could do that at Beltway Park after the service go to the foyer um in our coffee shop there's an area where we have uh start here it's like 10 minutes long we're just going to give you options of what you can do here we're also going to have prayer partners make their way down to the front man if you need prayer about anything I do feel like some of you said, "Man, I am spinning. It like feels out of control and I want it to stop. I want you to come down and get prayer." Some other things, some of us feel like there's warfare in the home. You know, we're doing this on Thursday night and we're about to be in our homes a lot, it feels like. And so, you want to get that solved right now. Right. Come on now. Some of us have swelling in the abdomen. I don't think it's like a I need to go on a diet kind of swelling. I've had that. It's like a medical thing. We want to pray for healing there. Purple irises are significant to someone. Someone who said something harsh to someone today and immediately wish they hadn't. I didn't do it today, but I've done it a lot in my life. I get it. There's grace for it and and grace to change. A single mom who's having anxiety due to the possible storm. Someone that doesn't want to just climb the corporate ladder, probably been wrestling with that. Someone dealing with anxiety about their health recently. We want to pray specifically for that. Anything else the Lord would have for you? If you don't mind, I want you to open your hands. At the end of the book of Romans, there's a prayer different than the one we use at the end of most services, but I pray it over each one of us. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. Hear it. May the God of hope, the God who is in charge of all things. May he fill you with all joy and peace because you trusted him and you know he is in absolute control. so that you and I may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And may we have grace to give that hope to a world that desperately needs it. We ask Bashim Yeshua Hamashiach Shalom in the name of Jesus the Messiah, Prince of Peace. And the people of God said, "Amen and amen." God bless you guys. We'll be right back here next week. We'll see you then.