Justified Before God

Well, good morning, Cross Church Phoenix. How are you? >> Good. Good morning. I'm Pastor DJ. I'm the pastor here. And I want to be the first to invite you to open your Bibles to Job chapter 8. And if you're new with us, welcome in. Um, I'd love to get to know you more. Uh, come find me after service. Would love to chat with you. And uh as you're turning to Job chapter 8, Esther, Job Psalms, so right before that big book of Psalms, Psalms, um Job chapter 8, as [clears throat] you're finding your way there, I did want to address something publicly, and it's it's great, too, that that this recording is live on YouTube and Facebook so that it's all over. Um but there's a lot of I guess talk kind of swirling around uh pastors and the people who run in different theological doctrinal circles about AI and its ethical use and its unethical use and all of these things are going and I want you to know directly from me. Uh I do not use AI to write my sermons. I was asked that question and um I think it's fair and one that I mean hey I I'm accountable to not only God but to the flock and so if you ever have questions or have a concern that you want to ask me come come ask I think it's a fair and good question. Um I think AI can be used for a lot of good things. um you know post sermon um there's uh some kind of some formatting and Bible group material that cross church is using now and and AI is used to kind of customize that for each church but I do not plug anything in uh to AI um to produce anything. It goes let me just share this with you personally. It goes against my conscience. I think that this whole thing is becoming kind of a Christian liberty issue. Some pastors use it more than others. Um, so I'm not going to say that a pastor who does is in some kind of sin. Um, unless they are lazy and using it in order to be lazy and slothful in their study, that's different. Um, I would say that that could would be sinful. But, uh, for me, I do not use it. Now, if I am googling a verse because I remember the the words, but I can't remember what verse. You know how you guys have all been on like Google might give you a a autogenerated AI response. Can't help that. But usually it'll list it and then I can use it as as if it's normal Google. Um I do that. But as far as plugging anything in and saying give me a three-point sermon on Job 8 to10, help me out because it it will that's the scary part. it will um but uh you know I I love this kind of this thought um AI and and stuff it's it's us prompting right it is [clears throat] we are in control it is I speak and you serve me that's the relationship with AI but really our relationship with God's word is what he speaks and we serve him and AI will never confront you um on your sin you know I've heard AI is the most polite ever you could like yell at AI and it will be it'll just apologize so kindly. Um, but God's word is is unchanging and uh it does confront us, but I wanted you to hear it from me for what it's worth. Not sure if anyone else had that question, but I do not do that. Okay. Hopefully, you're at Job chapter 8. Inate innate in every human being is a desire for justice. We crave justice. Humanity may not always agree on what justice is in any given situation, but deep down we want justice. Um, you could turn on the news and see uh, you know, on on your given news site, you know, people who some criminal thing happened in the news and you'll see some demonstrate or riot for their the person's imprisonment. You'll see others uh, demonstrate or riot for their uh, release or freedom. And both sides are what? Craving and wanting and have this idea in their mind of what justice is. Both sides are craving justice. They just don't see eye to eye on it. But our nonetheless, we do desire as humans justice. Our desire for justice comes from God. It's not just by chance that everyone uh that that you and I desire this. We are made in the image of God and therefore desire justice. I had to really I had so many thoughts on this sermon that it was 3,000 words. Now, for context, my sweet spot is about 2,200 words. I write everything out. 3,000 words. Like, we would be here till about 1:00. Um, and so I really needed to pair this down. So, I had m multiple verses for this, but I'm just going to give you one. Isaiah 30:18 says, "The Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him. Justice is one of God's attributes. He cannot help but be just. There will never be a time where he is unjust. The problem for mankind is that we've sinned. And since God is just, sin must be dealt with. Sin must be punished. So, how can a guilty sinner like DJ or anyone else be made right with God? Or as Job puts it, and this is in the our main heading of our outline. If you don't have an outline, um there's some on the table in the back, and we're also having communion this morning if you would like to take a communion packet, but how can a person be justified before God? That I believe to be the theme of chapters 8-10. We're not going to have time to walk through verse by verse. I do encourage Bible groups to read through as well as reading through on your own devotional time. How can a person be justified before God? And we'll see the answer this morning. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for this morning. Thank you for your word. And God, I pray that you would soften hearts and that you would give us ears to hear what your spirit has to say to the church here at Cross Church. I pray God for um truth to be understood and for your glory to be revealed. Lord, get me out of the way and may it be your words that are heard in Jesus name. Amen. Well, let's stand as we read a few select verses together. Um if you can't uh if you are unable to, that is totally fine. Just uh you you can stand with us in spirit as we honor God's word. Just going to read a select few verses from 89 and 10. So beginning in Job chapter 8 verse one. Then build the shoe height replied, "How long will you go on saying these things? Your words are like are a blast of wind. Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? Since your children sinned against him, he gave them over to their rebellion. But if you earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy, if you are pure and upright, then he will move even now on your behalf and restore the home where your righteousness dwells. Then, even if your beginnings were modest, your final days will be full of prosperity. Turn over to 91. Then Job answered, "Yes, I know what you have said is true. But how can a person be justified before God? If one wanted to take him to court, he could not answer God once in a thousand times. God is wise and all powerful who has opposed him and and come out unharmed." Verse 29 of chapter 9, Job continues. He says, "Since I will be found guilty, why should I struggle in vain? If I wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lie, which is soap, then you dip me in a pit of mud and my own clothes, despise me. For he is not a man," he's talking about God, "for he is not a man like me that I can answer him, that he can take that we can take each other to court. There is no mediator between us to lay his hand on both of us." In just two verses from chapter 10:es 2 and three, Job continues, "I will say to God, do not declare me guilty. Let me know why you prosecute me. Is it good for you to oppress, to reject the work of your hands and favor the plans of the wicked?" This is God's word. Amen. You can be seated. Well, chapter 8 opens with Bildad the Shou height. Uh Abraham had a son named Shua. After Sarah died, he married another woman named Catura. And they had a son named Shua. This is another reason why we place this in those patriarchal times. But again, we can't be 100% sure. But Bildad is a shoe height. In verse two, Job uh Billad basically tells Job that he is full of hot air. Verse two is like Billad saying, "Job, your words are like the great wind that destroyed your kids." If you remember what happened in the first few chapters uh that caused Job to lose his children, a great blast, a great wind knocked over their eldest son's house where they all were and all of them died. And so Billad um is is using strong words. It was a great wind that caused the death of your children. And your words are like a great wind. They're like a blast of wind. you're full of hot air. And then Bill Dad shares his view of God's justice. And I want to get to this quickly. Number one or a sorry, um, letter one, number a um, Bill Dad's flawed view. Man earns justification before God through good works. This is Bill Dad's flawed view. He asks in verse three, does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? And the implied answer to those questions is no. That's the answer Bill Dad wants. And he's right. That is correct. Of course, God will not pervert justice. But again, Job's friends will say right things about God, but misapply them. That's the theme of the whole book. Bill Dad believes suffering is God's retribution for sin, just like Elephaz does. This is Bill Dad's version of the retribution principle we talked about last week. And as you read through it, he applies it to Job's children first and then to Job uh himself. He says, "See Job, your kids must have been in sin. That's why they died." verse four, right? God turned them over to this. They they must have been in some rebellious sin. God handed them over and they all died. So he's also not very sympathetic. Now you verse six, if you Job are pure and upright, then he God will move even now on your behalf and restore the home where your righteousness dwells. Oh, and your last days will be full of prosperity. Now, if you've been in Job with us since the beginning, what is the problem with Billad's claim? The problem is that Job is pure and upright. God said he was in chapters 1 and two. God said it twice about Job that he is a pure or blameless. Some translations will say an upright man. And yet, he's still suffering. Billad saying, "Job, just do good. Do good. Be nice. Do good things." That will get God to move and bless you again. If you do good, God will make everything better. This is how you justify yourself before God. This is how you get back right in right standing with God. You must have sinned to have him take away your stuff. The key to get it back is to just go repent and do good things again. And God will. He's saying God will must, would be obligated to move on your behalf. And unfortunately, Billad's completely wrong. Job is a pure and upright man and what? Still suffering, not prospering. Bill Dad's evidence, he says, is previous generations, right? He says he points kind of backward and he says you know Job all the wise men who've gone before us like we were born yesterday we don't know but those who've gone before us all agree on this job why can't you see this and then he uses plant illustrations just like how a papyrus reed will wilt away without water so too you're wilting away Joe because God won't sustain you until or unless you repent That is what build that is saying. God is not sustaining you. Just like a a reed without water won't be sustained unless you repent. Then God will sustain and fill you and water you again. If you repent, Job, you will flourish. And he claims that this is guaranteed. According to Billad, if an innocent person suffers, then God is unjust. Which is why Billad's view is both flawed and very scary. In his ignorance, Billad has declared God unjust because Job is an upright man and still suffering. He doesn't have a clue that he himself who claims to be speaking for God is actually uh speaking against and calling God unjust. God will call him out later. So don't worry about it. Right? God will put him in build that in his place. Don't worry. But how many of us how many people fall into this flawed view of justification? I've talked with uh professing Christians, believers, and sometimes I'll ask them depending on the situation, you know, how did you become a Christian or what makes you a Christian? It's a good thing. I I would challenge reflect on yourself, what makes you how did you become a Christian? And often I'll hear, right, I grew up in church. My parents were Christians. I just kind of figured I am too. I still I attend church. I do I serve. I'm nice. I do help people out. And I'll lovingly say that those things are great, but those don't make you justified before God. Going to church, having Christian parents, doing nice things, attending, giving, serving, all these things doesn't take care of your sin problem. But sometimes, right, what do we think? We think, well, I give, I attend church, I volunteer. Why isn't everything better? Why hasn't God hit the like easy street button for my life since I'm serving him, right? He's supposed to like flip that switch where it's all downhill from here instead of feeling like I'm still running uphill. But what we're learning in Job is loving God, serving God, obeying God, all things Job was doing does not make God subservient to us. attending, giving, serving, worshiping are great and we are called to do those things. Those are both acts of obedience to God. But it doesn't mean that God is now obligated to make our lives rainbows and unicorns, as nice as that would be. So, Billad's flawed view of justification is both dangerous and false. And so, we see Job's reply in chapter 9. Now this is where I think Job starts to kind of waver and struggle a bit. He too will say true things about God but unfortunately this is where uh he will also start to say false things about God like he favors the plans of the wicked. We read in chapter 10 um no that's not true but Job is broken. Job is hurting and so he's expressing these things. But his opening question in verse two is the question of the for the ages, right? How can a person be justified before God? And so we've seen what Bill Dad thinks. How about Job? Our second point number two, uh, letter two, number B is Job's sobering view. It's impossible no matter what you do. In chapter nine, Job, and I again, I encourage you to read through all of it yourself, but Job declares God's majesty in all of creation. And then he says, "You know what? I feel like God's not even going to listen to me anyway." Right? Even if I cry out to God, he ain't going to listen. But the meat of Job's view of how a person can be justified before God is in Job 9:29-32. He says this, "Since I will be found guilty, why should I struggle in vain? Look, if I wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lie again soap, then you dip me in a pit of mud and my own clothes despise me." He's talking to God. For he God is not a man like me that I can answer him that we could take each other to court. I kind of imagine God like, you know, uh like like a a chocolate dipped strawberry. would just dip it. Like Job's like, "If I wash myself up and clean myself up, he's just going to grab me and like dip me in mud, set me back out, and call me filthy again." That's how he feels. We see more of his despair in chapter 10. And I'll just read another excerpt. Job 10:17. He's saying to God, "You, God, produce new witnesses against me and multiply your anger towards me. Hardships assault me wave after wave." He is simply a broken man. Why is Job frustrated? Why is he talking like this? Well, Job knows the life he's lived. He knows he's loved God, worshiped God, interceded on behalf of his children to God. But now he's beginning to kind of question it, right? All of it. Is it really worth it? Have you ever been there? I don't know, maybe you have. Being honest, you know? Have you ever been there? Like, is this really worth it? Since God will find me guilty anyway, what's the point? Right? Verse 30. If I wash myself, God will dip me in a pit of mud. He's saying that no matter what he does to try to be right with God, he's still guilty and filthy before God. And he knows, right? He knows, you see this in the text, that God is bigger and stronger than him. And look, if he tried to take God to court, he'd lose. Job is saying, "You don't want to subpoena God into court because the success rate is zero and he knows it. He's saying, "I'm guilty before God no matter what I do." And you know, he's right. This is why I'm calling this Job's sobering view. It's not false or flawed. It's it's true and it's sobering. Why is it impossible to justify ourselves before God? The first thing we need to understand is that sin, all sin is ultimately against God. Yes, we hurt each other. We are fallen sinful people who've gathered because we are redeemed by Christ. But church people hurt people. You've talked with people who have church hurt and and that is unfortunate. That I hate I I can't stand when when I hear that because that's not what the church is supposed to be, right? We might rub each other the wrong way, but may we come together, love, and forgive and be of the family that God has called his church to be. But we must understand that all sin is ultimately against God. Yes, we hurt each other when David sinned in his adultery and murder. adultery with Basheba, murdered Uriah her husband. He says in the Psalms, against thee, this is where my little King James comes sometimes comes out, right? Against thee and thee only have I sinned. What? You've taken advantage of Basheba. You murdered Uriah. What do you mean against only God? You've sinned against all kinds of people. Not to I don't think David's saying that hasn't affected other people, but he's saying ultimately I'm accountable to God for my sin and he knows it. And he writes Psalm 51. No amount of good deeds can clear our guilt of sin. We're still guilty before God. No matter how good we try to be. Why? [snorts] Why can't we just do more good deeds than bad? Maybe you've heard this before. Our good will outweigh the bad, right? And God will understand. Let me into heaven when I die. Maybe you've heard that. Maybe you believe that. The problem is that good works do not remove guilt. And you and I know it. I just need to give you an example of it. Let me give you an example. If you know where Alvin Scott is, let the FBI know. Alvin Scott is on the most wanted list for a double murder in 2001. He's believed to have fled the US and is somewhere in Turkey right now. So, you can go find him if you want. There's like a big reward waiting for you. Now, Alvin could be in Turkey right now helping old ladies cross the streets, uh rescuing cats out of trees, volunteering at local shelters, being the kindest neighbor ever. He is doing all kinds of nice things. You know, he's still on the run for a double murder, but he's turned over a new leaf and he's trying to be a kind man from here on out. Now, let's say you're Alvin's neighbor. He's the nicest guy you've met. You've known him for 20 years because the murders were in 2001. That was 25 years ago. He showed up as your neighbor 20 years ago. You had no idea. But he has been the most considerate man you've ever met for the last 20 years. Then you find out he's on the most wanted list for double homicide. It's hard for you to believe, but you know it's him. Would you be concerned? I hope so. Would you think justice has been served? Would you think, "Hey, I'm not going to call police cuz, you know, he's just so nice." stinks for the families of those he murdered who have un who have uh that that chapter of their life is still unended. They they don't have any closure. Sucks. Stinks to be them, but he's nice to me, so I'm not going to report it. The fact is Alvin could be the most benevolent good Samaritan in all of Turkey right now. It does not clear his guilt of murder. It doesn't make him innocent. It doesn't mean he's no longer a murderer. No matter how much good he does, he cannot clear himself, clear his guilt for the sin of murder. And justice is not served until he faces the penalty for his crimes. Now, that may be an extreme example, but that's what it looks like to believe that you can be justified before God if your good deeds outweigh your bad. That's like Alvin getting caught and telling the judge he's doing all these nice things on the run. Doesn't that justify me? Haven't I paid my dues? I've been volunteering at the shelter for the last 20 years. No human court would consider that just if he were let off because, well, he put on a nice facade. No more just than God letting us off the hook for sin just because we helped someone change their tire. It's the point I'm trying to make. We can't clear our own guilt of sin. And Job knows it. But may I suggest to you that someone far greater, eternally greater, also knows it. And that is God. God knows. Pastor DJ, everyone listening to his voice or will ever pull this up on YouTube ever again cannot justify themselves before God. God knows it, too. And that's why Jesus came. How can a person be justified before God? Well, it's impossible on our own. Job's right. But Job also offers a clue in verse 33. This our last point, the clue to the truth in Job's brokenness. There is a mediator between God and man. In Job 9:33, Job says, "There is no mediator between us." Now, Job remember was written thousands of years before Jesus uh came as Emanuel in God with us as fully human, fully God. But Job is right in feeling he needs a mediator. That's why I'm calling this a a clue. Even though Job doesn't think there's a mediator, he's right to feel that he needs one. Does that make sense? He doesn't. Now, he does not need a mediator to tell God to listen to what he has to say. No, no, no. He needs a mediator to represent him completely, to stand before God on his behalf. And praise the Lord, we have the whole story, right? We have the full story. We know Christ is that mediator. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, "For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ." How Christ puts his righteousness on us, presenting us to God the Father, pure and clean, washed from the guilt of sin. And through Christ's death and resurrection, this doctrine of justification comes to light. I'm so excited that I get to talk about this. This is foundational. The doctrine of justification. Romans chapter 3 lays this out very clearly. Romans 3:23-26. Paul is writing and he says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." All means all. Right? There's no special thing in Greek. In the Greek, all means all. Everyone, right? Even in the Greek. Um, and are justified by his grace as a gift. You are justified by his grace. Unmmerited, undeserved, unearned favor, which is a gift. You didn't earn it. It's not your dues. It's not your paycheck that you earned for good deeds. No, it's a gift freely given by God to us through what? The redemption that is in Christ Jesus. In verse 26, oh highlight verse 26. Understand and think through verse 26, please. It is so good. Paul says it was to show the whole work of redemption. It was to show his Jesus righteousness at the present time. So that listen, so that listen, so that listen, he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ. This is huge. How is Christ both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in him, of the one who believes in him? He's just because he declares us guilty of sin. God doesn't ignore our sin, wink at our sin, and just kind of let it go. He says, "Yes, you've sinned and are guilty before me and deserving of death." In my personal devotions this morning, I'm reading through John. This just kind of came to me first service. I'd like to share, but I would read the woman at the well. She comes, right? And they have this interaction. I can't get too ind depth, but um Jesus is is talking about how if you knew who I was, if you knew who I was, you would ask you'd be asking me for living water. She's like, "Well, where do you get that? You don't even have a thing, right? You can't even get no water, would you?" And and she says, "I know that the Messiah's going to come and he's going to teach us all things." And he's like, "I am him. That's me." But they have this interaction, right? She's like, "Hey, go." Jesus says, "Go call your husband. have him come join us. He does this on purpose. What? You think Jesus doesn't know the truth? She says, "Well, I don't have a husband." She's like, he's like, "You're right. You don't. You've actually had five, and the man you're with right now is not your husband." And you're like, "Well, he's so mean." No, no, no, no, no, no. He's calling out truth in the most loving way he can. This is love. And she feels, she knows it because she goes home and she's just like a witness of Christ. come see a man who told me everything about myself. And it says that a whole bunch like the whole town starts to believe in Christ and come to him because of her testimony. But Jesus does not ignore her sin. He acknowledges it, but also offers her grace and love. And Jesus says um and and just it it's so good. I have to move on. It's 11:26, but you can read John 4 on your own. Um, but again, all that's to say that he does not ignore sin. He doesn't ignore Pastor DJ's sins. He says, "DJ, you've sinned and are guilty before me. Guess what? You deserve to go to hell, DJ, for your sin." And I have to stand there and say, "Yep, do." So, he's just, but this is the key. Romans 3, but he's also the justifier. So, he's just and the justifier. How is he the justifier? Because of the cross. Christ's sacrificial death on the cross pays your sin debt and clears you of your guilt. It's not you or I trying to earn our salvation by doing good works. When we think that we can earn salvation, we are nullifying the cross. If there was another way, don't you think that the Trinity would have figured that one out by now? Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Father, if there is any way that this cup, the cup of the Father's wrath against sin could pass from me, let it be, but nevertheless, not your will, but my will be done. Guess what the answer is? From the Father to the Son, who have eternally loved each other perfectly along with the Holy Spirit. Um, the answer is the cross. There was no other way. Not a loving answer. The answer was is the cross. This is Christ saying, "Yes, you're guilty and deserve death and an eternal separation from me in hell, but I will pay that price for you by dying on your behalf." And he did. That's why the scriptures describe Christians being in Christ, not around Christ, in Christ. Because if we, you and I, if we tried to stand before God, aside from Christ, justifying ourselves, then you're the fugitive hiding from God under the guise of good deeds, and it's not going to work. But when we are in Christ, God looks at us and sees his son. He sees the righteousness of his son, Jesus Christ, and he declares you justified. Amen. >> For those who are in Christ, insert your name there. If you are in Christ, the father can look at you and say, "Righteous, not because of anything you did, because of Christ, because of my son." But what else does the scripture say? If we try to stand before God in our own righteousness, Isaiah says, "Our righteousness is as filthy rags." And he's not talking about the kind of rag that is was used to like clean a car engine. You can research that yourself. Is a filthy rag. He says Christ's righteousness is perfection. When we are in Christ, we are justified because Christ is justified, not because we justify ourselves. The price has been paid. Justice has been done. We were declared guilty. That was just. But then we were also justified by Christ who washed away our sin. And we get to be with him forever. Amen. Praise God. Glory. Hallelujah. Right. That promise is for only for those who are in Christ. I want to provide a biblical definition of the doctrine of justification. Um, this is just for you. You can keep it or or store it or take a picture of it, whatever. Um, but this is a biblical definition of what the doctrine of justification is. It is a legal act of God. Legal. There's courtroom language all over the scriptures. That's how it that's what it is used to describe our relationship between God legally and our standing before him in sin and righteousness and all these things. Okay? It is a legal act of God by which God declares a guilty sinner righteous or justified. These are close terms. solely solely [snorts] on the basis of Christ's imputed righteousness through faith alone in Jesus Christ. You say, "What is imputed?" It's just like it's given to you, if I could put it that way. Christ gives you his righteousness. So, it's not like me and Jesus are going to save me together. It's Jesus is going to save me completely. Um, and I just need to uh be in him. It's not like we're contributing good works. We are saved, people. We are saved to do good works, but not by good works. Okay. Now, we're going to enter into a time of of communion, but um I hope that this has been um as sobering for you as it has been for me to study it. Um if you don't have a communion packet, [clears throat] there's some in the in the back on the tables there if you're going to join us. But I do need to give some admonitions here. Um, if you've trusted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you are invited to join as we celebrate the Lord's Supper. Um, you don't have to be like a member. If you like, I haven't been to pizza with a pastor yet. Can I? Yes. Yeah. Um, however, if you're here and you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, uh, for one, today could be the last day that that's true. Uh, we would love for you to come to Christ. Like, today um would be the best day. um because we're not guaranteed tomorrow. But also, I would also uh just add um I would invite you to watch but not partake. The Bible is is clear on how we do this. Um it says we do this in remembrance of Jesus looking back. When we do this, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. You kind of have to be alive to come, right? So, we look forward to his return. And then the Bible says, "So, therefore, let uh let a person examine themselves." And that's in looking in uh introspective time. And um I want to just invite you to take time now before we uh eat and drink to examine yourself. Are there sins that need to be confessed uh to the Lord? Is there anything in your life um that you need to turn over to him? This is a time, brief time, I know it's getting late, of reflection of our love for Christ. Do you love and cherish him? Is he everything to you? Just take a minute now and reflect. Take some time to examine yourself and then we will uh read the scriptures and partake. Never want to interrupt. So if you're still communing with the Lord, continue to. I want to read 1 Corinthians 11:23-24. Paul is saying, "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you." That the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Let me just pray for us. Father, we thank you for the broken body of the Lord Jesus Christ. That was the only way that sin could be atoned, paid for. The only way we could be justified is if you did it because we could not do it in Jesus Christ, the eternal son of God, did it. We thank you for it in Jesus name. Amen. Let's partake. And you can peel that second layer back. Paul goes on to say in 1 Corinthians 11:25, "In the same way, he Jesus also took the cup." After supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." So this is a proclamation that Christ is alive and coming back. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross for sin. We do lift up in prayer any anyone here who who does not know the Lord Jesus. They know about him. They know of him. But God, I pray that that relationship would become personal now where they truly know you intimately as their savior from sin. We thank you for the blood of Christ who washes away sin. Nothing could do it but the blood in Jesus name. Amen. Let's partake. I want to invite the worship team up as we close with the song. And I want to leave you with a couple of u scriptures. 1 Peter 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope. A living hope, not a dead one, a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In first Peter, he continues to write in chapter 5:10, "And after you have suffered a little while," we will suffer a little while. After you've suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself what? Restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. That's what we have to look forward to. We have we have restoration, confirmation, strengthening, and establishing to look forward to. We are already those things in Christ. And no matter what you're going through, and it may not feel like you feel very restored or very strong, God will do it. And we have his promises. So, let's stand as we sing our last song.