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good morning everyone welcome to Free Grace Baptist Church for the first Sunday of 2024 a blessed day indeed we will start with a few quick announcements before we begin worship this morning um so today we have this evening we have Ryan malar from Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in Armstrong preaching here he's in s in Sur this morning we'll be here this evening preaching we look forward to that we have moved the Lord's Supper which we normally celebrate on the first Sunday of the month to next Sunday evening uh Wednesday night bible study will resume this week it's been off for a couple of weeks but it starts this Wednesday again and then the B baptismal service is also next Sunday morning for cherelle Neils and Becca Abby for our call to worship please turn to Psalm 111 Psalm 111 praise the Lord I will praise the Lord with my whole heart in the Assembly of the upright and in the congregation The Works of the Lord are great studied by all who have pleasure in them his work is Honorable and glorious and his righteousness endures forever he has made his wonderful Works to be remembered the Lord is gracious and full of compassion he has given food to those who fear Him He will ever be mindful of his Covenant he has declared to his people the power of His Works in giving them the heritage of the Nations The Works of his hand hands are very Purity and Justice all his pre precepts are sure they stand fast forever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness he has sent Redemption to his people he has commanded his Covenant forever holy and awesome is his name the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom a good understanding have all those who do his Commandments his praise endures forever amen for our first hym please turn in your Salter him not to 89 B is in Bravo Psalm 89 B we're going to sing standers one to five only to a familiar tune please stand with me forever shall The Tender Mercies of the your will shall your i s of mercies that endure forever will and the [Music] faithfulness and his for he has and he has for that son shall mer his for my Mercy shall my his throne and grace are willing forever Mighty God your his GL cor and Shining Bri before your face Our Truth and Love and B praise man you may be seated let's go to the Lord in prayer our gracious and loving Heavenly Father we thank you for this glorious day thank you for the privilege we have of coming into your house today of gathering as your people on this first Sunday of the year to worship you and to praise you and give you Thanksgiving for the blessings past and the blessings that we anticipate in the future we thank you God for the good that you've done in our hearts and in our church throughout the past year we trust that your mercies that are new every morning will be new this year as well we trust that you will walk with us and that you will be gracious to us we know that you are a loving heavenly father and we know that as your children we can expect good things from your hand when we ask in faith believing Lord we know that you not only bless us with good things that we desire but sometimes good things that we do not desire that are for our good in your Providence that may seem difficult or even tragedy to us Lord we pray that you'd be gracious to us in this coming year and sustain us whether we have to go through difficulties as a congregation or individually we know that there are trials and we have been promised that we will go through such trials and we pray oh God that you would give us the grace to persevere in this coming year and Lord we pray for those that are struggling even now whether in this congregation that have uh right here in this in our midst this day that have physical mental spiritual challenges we pray Lord that you would uphold them or those that are not able to be with us this day whether at home or in the hospital Lord we pray that your grace would sustain them as well this day I pray you'd continue to bind us together as a body and that we would bear one another's burdens even as we are commanded in the scriptures we thank you Lord for the the privilege we have of of having the malar with us we pray that you would bless Ryan this morning as he ministers out in Ser we pray that congregation would be edified and and built up you would do them good this day continue to work in their midst throughout the coming year we pray Lord that as Ryan comes back and preaches to us this this evening you would work through his his uh Ministry to us in this congregation as well L we thank you for this day we pray your blessing would rest upon Pastor Butler when he comes to the pulpit in a few minutes to preach to us again open our hearts and allow us Lord to be receptive cause the Holy Spirit to be at work and to to change us for your honor and For Your Glory we desire Lord to not stagnate but to constantly mature in the faith and we know that it's it is our tendency to stagnate our tendency to go backwards even and to leave the God we love and we pray oh father that you'd be merciful to us and that you would keep us by your Almighty Grace and and sustaining power and cause us Lord to grow and to thrive individually and as a congregation Lord we pray that you'd be gracious to the Brethren up in Armstrong today that you would continue to work there continue to bless that congregation bless the congregation that meets out in dren Ontario and Lord for other churches that we are associated with that we that we know of here in Canada even in this local city of chillak or in this Valley we pray Lord that your blessing would be upon every pulpit and every congregation where the gospel is preached continue to build your church in this nation and cause us to be a light and a preserving Force here in Canada Lord we pray that you would do this all over the face of the Earth as you have promised and we pray oh God especially for those Nations where the gospel is persecuted in a much more severe way than we see here we pray Lord that your your Saints would endure that they would be given strength they would be U Heroes for the faith where you put them through trials that are are far beyond what we can imagine Lord be gracious to your people in China in North Korea in the Middle East where there is turmoil and War right now sustain your Church oh God I pray we thank you for your goodness and your kindness toward us this day and pray that you would continue with us as we worship you continue to uh give us gratefulness in our hearts for this opportunity that we have and we pray Lord that we would always have this freedom and use it wisely we ask it in Jesus name amen for our next hymn we'll turn to number 429 in our himels 429 Come Thou F of Every Blessing and please stand again with me as we Sing My Heart Sing prise mer s nevering all of [Music] pranging Love here I my I [Applause] am pleas take me to Jesus a strer God to pre mying to to I feel heart remain seated for our morning scripture reading in the new Testament we're turning today to Matthew chap 16 Matthew 16 and we will read the entire chapter beginning verse one of Matthew 16 then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and testing him asked that he would show them a sign from Heaven he answered and said to them when it is evening you say it will be fair weather for the sky is red and in the morning it will be foul weather today for the sky is red and threatening Hypocrites you know how to discern the face of the sky but you cannot discern the signs of the times a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah and he left them and departed now when his disciples had come to the other side they had forgotten to take bread then Jesus said to them take heed and Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and they reasoned among themselves saying it is because we have taken no bread but Jesus being aware of it said to them oh you of little faith why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread do you not yet understand or remember the Five Loaves of the 5,000 and how many baskets you took up nor the seven loaves of the 4,000 and how many large baskets you took up how is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread but to Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees then they understood that he did not tell them to Beware of the leaven of bread but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees when Jesus came into the region of cesaria Philippi he asked his disciples saying who do men say that I the son of man am so they said some say John the Baptist some Elijah and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets he said to them but who do you say that I am Simon Peter answered and said you are the Christ the son of the Living God Jesus answered and said to him blessed are you s Simon barjona for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my father who is in heaven and I also say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not Prevail against it and I will give you the keys of of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in heaven then he commanded his disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ from that time Jesus began to show his to his disciples that he must suffer sorry that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised the third day then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him saying far be it from you Lord this shall not happen to you but he turned and said to Peter get behind me Satan you are an offense to me for you are not mindful of the things of God but of the things of men then Jesus said to his disciples if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me for whoever desires to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it for what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul or what will a man give in exchange for his soul for the son of man will come in the glory of his father with his angels then he will reward each according to his works assuredly I say to you there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom amen let us pray gracious Father in Heaven thank you for the words of Christ thank you for his ministry on Earth thank you that he fulfilled all righteousness that he went to the cross on our behalf thank you Lord for the teaching that we have just read help us oh Lord to be mindful of doctrine that it is important and the doctrine of the scribes and Pharisees was twisted even though they were revered by the the people of the land be merciful to us oh God help us to maintain truth truth according to your word we ask this in Jesus name amen for our final hymn we will turn to Psalm 92b as in bravo 92b and we'll stand together again as we sing you sing your prise you show his prises of AD heart you my Victorious PR your words and your heart you might forever glor you BL in your all his rightous true [Music] all you can turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Proverbs Proverbs chap 30 we've got a few things coming up in the next several weeks so God willing we'll return to our study in John's gospel in a few weeks time this morning our emphasis will be on Proverbs 30: 24 to 28 a passage that we have looked at in the past but I want to begin reading in proverbs 30 at verse 15 to the end of the chapter so proverbs 30 beginning in verse 15 the leech has two daughters give and give there are three things that are never satisfied four never say enough the grave the barren womb the earth that is not satisfied with water and the fire never says enough the eye that mocks his father and scorns obedience to his mother the Ravens of the valley will pick it out and the Young Eagles will eat it there are three things which are too wonderful for me yes for which I do not understand the way of an eagle in the air the way of a serpent on a rock the way of a ship in the midst of the Sea and the way of a man with a virgin this is the way of an adulterous woman she eats and wipes her mouth and says I have done no wickedness for three things the Earth is perturbed yes for four it cannot bear up for a servant when he reigns a fool when he is filled with food a hateful woman when she is married and a maid servant who succeeds her mistress there are four things which are little on the Earth but they are exceedingly wise the ants are a people not strong yet they prepare their food in the summer the rock badgers are a feeble folk yet they make their homes in the cags the locusts have no King yet they all advance in ranks the spider skillfully grasps with its hands and it is in King's palaces there are three things which are Majestic in Pace yes four which are stately in walk a lion which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any a greyhound a male goat also and a king whose troops are with him if you have been foolish in exalting yourself or if you have devised evil put your hand on your mouth for as the churning of milk produces butter and ringing the nose produces blood so the forcing of Wrath produces Strife amen well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you for this beautiful day certainly as the psalmist says the heavens declare the righteousness of God most high we bless you for your work of creation for your Providence as well for Redemption by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ Alone we pray that even now you would forgive us of all of our sin and unrighteousness we pray that you would cleanse Us in that precious blood we pray for any and all here dead in their trespasses and sins that the voice of God most high would come and that you would call them out of Darkness into marvelous light confessing faith in our blessed savior forgive us wash us and cleanse us guide us now by your Holy Spirit and may we learn the lessons from these little things that are exceedingly wise and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well as I said our Focus will be on those wise little things in verses 24 to 28 but just a couple of Thoughts by way of introduction first of all Solomon was skilled in the Natural Sciences so it shouldn't surprise R Us that he evokes these images now this particular chapter is ascribed to agar but ultimately Soloman would be responsible for the book itself we know that other authors wrote uh certain Psalms but the the the writer of the book uh in the book of Hebrews refers to the Book of Psalms saying in David so David oversaw the entirety of the Suter I would suspect that Solomon oversaw the entirety of the Book of Proverbs but in First Kings 4 at: 33 and 34 we read also he spoke of trees from the Cedar of Lebanon even to the hsip that brings out of the wall or Springs out of the wall he spoke also of animals of birds of creeping things and of fish and Men of all nations from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom they came to hear the wisdom of Solomon we saw last Sunday morning that our lord Jesus invokes the very created order to teach us lessons about carnal anxiety we're to be like those lies of the field we're to be like those birds of the air we need to trust in God's provision and in go and in God's kindness Bridges makes the observation that God instructed job by Behemoth and Leviathan in job 404 and 41 here he instructs Us by the ants and the conies and indeed in the minute creation his Splendor shines as gloriously as in the more Majestic I think that's absolutely positively true and it's one of the things that God does in terms of instruction to us is he appeals to the created order things that we see in nature and that is precisely what we see AAR doing here in verses 24 to 28 I want to look first at the title line in verse 24 and then the four little things in verses 25 to 28 notice a similar structure in this section verses 15 and 16 the leech has two daughters give and give and then it goes on to explain or Draw out that principle there are three things that are never satisfied four never say enough the grave the barren womb the earth that is not satisfied with water and the fire never says enough look at verses 18 and 19 there are three things which are too wonderful for me yes four which I do not understand there's the title line and then it's developed in verse 19 the way of an eagle in the air the way of a serpent on a rock the way of a ship in the midst of the sea in the way of a man with a virgin notice in verses 21 to 23 for three things the Earth is perturbed yes for four it cannot bear up there's your tital line and now he fills in the blanks for a servant when he reigns a fool when he is filled with food a hateful woman when she is married and a maid servant who succeeds her mistress and then notice in verses 29 to 31 there are three things which are Majestic in Pace yes four which are stately in walk a lion which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any a greyhound a mail goat also and a king whose troops are with it so it's a very effective teaching device to give us this title line specifically in verse 24 and then draw out particular concrete applications in verses 25 to 28 now with reference to verse 24 notice it first States their weakness and then highlights the way that they compensate so verse 24 there are four things which are little on the Earth but they are exceedingly wise and then as you move through those four things that's precisely the way that agar treats the subject matter now when it says there are four things which are little on the earth the primary emphasis isn't stature now we know that ants are little we know that conies or rock badgers are little we know that locusts are little in terms of stature and spiders but he's talking about their significance or rather their insignificance we see that in Exodus 18:22 then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you but every small matter they themselves shall judge so it's something that's insignificant 1st Samuel 15:17 when you were little in your own eyes were you not head of the tribes of Israel so again it's significance and not stature that is in view that's the emphasis in the title line there are four things which are little on the Earth but they are exceeding wise so the unifying feature of these creatures is that they're little but another unifying feature of these uh creatures is that they overcome their insignificance by this compensatory wisdom and we'll turn to that now so there's four little things you probably already heard me say con con is not in the new King James that's the old King James but you have first the diligent ants of verse 25 secondly the cautious conies using the old Old King James so I can alliterate there in verse 26 the United locusts in verse 27 and then the persistent uh Spider or lizard in verse 28 so let's look first at the ants so again corresponding to the title line it gives you their weakness and then it underscores their strength or the way that they overcome their weakness so it says the ants are a people not strong by referring to ants as people I think that Edgar shows that he wants the natural order to function as a pattern in order that he may demonstrate that their weakness is something that they overcome so if that's intrinsic to an ant certainly the image bearer of God most high can do likewise in other words if the ant has this whole sort of array of things against him but he able he's able to manage and overcome those things what agar wants you to do is to think likewise he wants you to overcome as well he wants you to be diligent he wants you to be persistent he wants you to engage in preparation so the answer of people not strong drop down to verse 30 a lion which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any the ant does not have that wherewithal the ant cannot best any other animal in the animal Kingdom the lion can it's the king of the forest it's the king of the the Wilderness it is that one that is able to overcome by sheer force and power whatever obstacle lie in its way but not so with the ants so the ants are a people not strong they're insignificant they're little they're not a people that that have the wherewithal that the lion does to be able to overcome the various difficulties and challenges so how do they compensate for that it says yet they prepare their food in the summer so because they're not Lions because they cannot go out and kill Wilder beasts on the uh serengetti so that they are not equipped with that facility they have to think ahead now I'm predicating evance probably more than Ager would be happy with here but but follow the logic they understand that we can't just go out in January and kill a wilderbeast in order to sustain Our Lives if we don't go out prior to a cold January this is a January I've never seen before here in Canada it's quite beautiful but if the ants were to rely on their prowess their power and their ability it's obvious that they would starve to death in the winter months so how do they compensate for that littleness how do they compensate for that lack of strength or that insignificance they compensate by preparation they compensate by diligence they compensate by giving that attention necessary to over over come the obstacles that life has presented to them if you turn back for a moment to Proverbs chap 6 you see another emphasis on the ants and their ability Proverbs 6 at verse 6 go to the ant you sluggard consider her ways and be wise which having no Captain overseer or ruler provides her supplies in the summer and gathers her food in the Harvest how long will you Slumber oh sluggard when will you rise from your sleep a little sleep a little Slumber a little folding of the hands to sleep so shall your poverty come on you like a Prowler and your KN like an arm man see again the ant can't think that way the ant can't love its bed the ant has to go out and gather up the food such that the ant will be prepared to face the trials that nature brings as Walt key says their exceptional achievement which is out of proportion to their seemingly inadequate size and power provides a model for God's people to exercise prudent foresight discipline and Industry in a timely manner so in other words when AAR speal AAR specifies this he's not saying oh I just want you to Marvel at the ants I want you to stand amazed at the ants he's telling you he wants you to imitate the ants he wants you to be diligent he wants you to be a prepper uh uh not a prepper in the sense that well maybe in a prepper in that sense but he wants you to be prepared for the various hardships and the trials and the travails that face God's people in this present evil age age now as we look at this particular passage as we consider this particular strength I think it does yield to us a temporal uh imitation and a spiritual imitation temporally we ought to be the sorts of people that are diligent to prepare that are diligent in our work that are diligent in doing those things that God has called us to turn to Proverbs 27 specifically at verses 23- 27 Proverbs 27 7 at verse 23 be diligent to know the state of your flocks and attend to your herds for riches are not forever nor does a crown endure to all generations when the hay is removed and the tender grass shows itself and the herbs of the mountains are gathered in the Lambs will provide your clothing and the goats the the price of a field you shall have enough goats milk for your food for the food of your household in the nourishment of your maid servants last week when we looked at Jesus in Matthew chapter 6 25-34 remember that he's not condemning work he's not suggesting lie on your bed and wait for everybody to bring you all the necessities of life he is condemning there carnal anxiety he is condemning there an obsessive worry he's condemning that betrayal of the Kingdom principle seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and and then all these things will be added to you he's not condemning industry he's not condemning diligence he's not condemning preparation in fact the scriptures overwhelmingly condemn in the opposite direction a man is to provide for himself temporally 2 Thessalonians 3:10 the Apostle Paul says if a man does not work neither shall he eat other words there ain't no such thing as a free lunch here on God's green earth you've got to labor you've got to be gainfully employed six days you shall labor and do all your work the seventh is a Sabbath rest unto our God now with reference to extending that parameter just a bit 1 Timothy 5 chter 8 uh chapter 5 verse 8 if a man does not provide for his own especially those of his own F family or household he's worse than an Infidel he has denied the faith well honey God's going to send us Mana from Heaven no most likely he's not you need to get up out of bed and quit being like a sluggard and imitate The Ant and go do hard work for your employer it's a pretty obvious example or a pretty obvious application but what about the spiritual these ants are a little folk these ants are weak and yet these ants are exceedingly wise why because they they diligently prepare what about with reference to the spiritual realm I mean you might be a man who provides for himself you might be a man who provides for his wife and his children but have you thought about provision for the age to come have you thought about preparation for that day of judgment have you reckoned with the fact that we will all stand before the Christ of Heaven and Earth to give an account of Deeds Done in the body whether good or bad that's a reality in fact that reality is more of a reality than many other realities we govern Our Lives by it's appointed unto men what to die and then what to come to judgment have you like the ant diligently prepared with reference to being safe on that day of judgment listen to riy he addresses children specifically he says Dear children the best time for seeking pardon Grace and the friendship of God is the time of youth youth and childhood are your summer now you are strong and well now you have plenty of time now you have few cares and troubles to distract you now is the best time for laying up food for your souls I think you should really listen to that the wise man in the Book of Ecclesiastes says remember your creator when in your youth what's the supposition if you don't remember him in your youth if you banish him him banish him from your youth you don't get better you don't get softer you don't get more oriented to God most high you usually double down in your rebellion and your transgression and your iniquity but as well listen to what Bridges says concerning this particular verse he says a quickening sermon do the these little insects preach to us they make preparation for the coming winter again we've settled that they're not a strong folk but they lay up food for the winter he says what must be the thoughtlessness of making no provision for the coming eternity whing away life in inactivity as if there was no work for God for the soul or for eternity shall not we learn to be wise betimes to improve the present moment of salvation not to wait for the winter the verge of life when that Grace offered now shall be offered no more sinner if all be lost by your indolence will you not be the great loser what else have you to do but to prepare for eternity like what do you have going on that's so important right now that you don't need to settle accounts with God by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ Alone what could possibly be more important in your life or mine than to make peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ well you know I'm too busy for religion I've got a lot going on on Sundays I I can't really fit those sorts of things in well anything else you're fitting in is not necessary in the grand scheme of things it is preparation for the day of judgment it is to stand before God clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and cleansed in his Precious Blood that is the one thing needful get that settled get that down then all these other things will be added to you this is the emphasis or this is the spiritual lesson conveyed by these weak ants he goes on what hope can you have of Heaven at the last if you have never seriously thought of Heaven before Oh before it be too late throw yourself at his feet whose heart overflows with love you see Brethren that is the main message that these ants convey to us yes temporally get your house in order temporally make sure your wife is fed temporally make sure that that your children have feet or shoes on their feet or feet on their shoes but most importantly spiritually You're Not Strong you don't have works you don't have righteousness you don't have lawke keeping on your resume such that when you stand before God he says well it's been exact it's been entire it's been Perpetual well done good and faithful servant you don't have that capability you're dead in your trespasses and sins the only hope is to fly to the Lord Jesus Christ it is to believe on him and receive that forgiveness of sins and that righteousness that avails with God so listen to the little Aunt as he preaches to you be diligent and prepared and beware of excuse making beware of excuse making turn over to Proverbs chap 26 6 specifically at verses 13-6 beware of excuse making well you know I've got all this other stuff or religion is not really for me Christianity kind of perplexes me all that sort of thing excuses do not Avail on the day of judgment well you know God I was busy I couldn't really think about Jesus you know God I had a lot of time or a lot of lot of hands on my time I couldn't really think about Jesus look at the fool in Proverbs 26 at verse 13 the lazy man says there is a lion in the road a fierce lion is in the streets no there wasn't do do you really think that they would have lived in communities that were marked by lions in the street in Exodus CH 23 God says that he will not dispossess the land of the Canaanites too rapidly well why is that because if the land is vacant guess who comes all the beasts of the field so the Hittites the hivites the jebusites and all the other Canaanites are dispossessed by Israel so the lions that stood at Bay when the hivites occupied the land would have stood at Bay while the Israelites were there now Brethren there's Oddities there's things that happen on occasion I've seen three deer a couple of times on my way from my home I take the back route over there right by uh men's and Riverside there's three deer I've seen them you know several times but that's not common I don't usually see them on yil road so so there could have possibly conceivably been a lion in the streets but that's not this guy's fear this guy fears hard work this guy doesn't want to get his lazy self out of bed this guy wants excuses as to why he can't prepare as to why he can't can't be deal what well there's a lion in the street no there isn't genius get up get dressed and go to work notice in verse 14 as a door turns on its hinges so does a lazy man on his bed there it is isn't afraid of lions he's afraid of work notice as well in verse 15 the lazy man buries his hand in the bull it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth the simplest of tasks are overwhelming to him what would the ants say the ants would say do you know what we need to do to make sure that we eat in the winter do you understand the massive undertaking involved to make sure that ants and their we little ants all get to eat during the winter months we're not Lions we can't go out and Conquer we have to be smart we have to be diligent we have to be prepared and then notice that this is actually the origin of this man's sin the lazy man verse 16 is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly Pride it often times is simple Pride well I don't have time for religion because why because I've already achieved I've already arrived I'm I'm such that God would never cast such a a a beautiful specimen of humanity like me into the Everlasting bit oh yes he will and that's absolutely affirmed in scripture he's given proof of this by raising Jesus Christ from the dead he is the man that will be the judge of the living and the dead so listen to the ants and be diligent in preparation temporally but even more so spiritually now notice secondly you've got the cautious Cony same pattern corresponding to the title line you get their weakness and then you get their wisdom verse 20 six the rock badgers conies old in the Old King James are a feeble folk now this is the rock badger hydrax Leviticus 11:5 Deuteronomy 14:7 Psalm 10418 refers to these animals now likely it's a Syrian Rock hrex they live together in colonies from 6 to 50 and often Sun themselves on the Rocks they're difficult to catch because they post guards that make a high-pitch whistle at the approach of any enemies makes sense right look at it the rock badgers are a feeble folk so that's their problem that's their challenge that's their issue that's their conundrum that's their difficulty but then notice the compensatory wisdom yet they make their homes in the cracks well why do they do that because they're prey animals if they sleep with The Predator they're not going to wake up again prey animals here are smart enough to know the pecking order and as a result they're not going to nuzzle up to a lion out in the wilderness for their nightly shelter they're going to put the guards on the perimeter so that during the day they can go out and Sun their Cony bodies and they're going to have those guards that announce the the the the penetration of the the the the cour on there by the Predator but where do they make their homes they make their homes in the Crags they take their Shelter From the Predators they don't want to be vulnerable they know that they're feeble they know that they're weak they know that they don't have the wherewithal of the of the lion so therefore they hide themselves from The Lion it makes perfect sense so the rock badgers are a feeble folk and then their wisdom is seen yet they make their homes in the cags John Gil says the Coney make their homes in the rocks to secure themselves from their more potent enemies and thus what they want in strength is made up in wisdom you see a recurring theme here that we're going to visit at the end it's a it's a concept that used to be I think a lot more common than it is today you're probably thinking Common Sense well yeah that's another victim in terms of just thinking and processing rationality but there's another thing that I think leaps off the page from this section it's called self-awareness self-awareness be aware of on self right the the ant knows its limitations so what does it do it diligently prepares the Coney knows its limitations so what does it do it prepares the locusts understand their limitations so what do they do they prepare the spider understands its limitation so what does it do it prepares in other words Brethren let your your strengths let your talents outweigh your baggage let them outweigh your liability we've all got challenges we've all got issues we've all got hardships we've all got all all have certain difficulties in our lives but the answer isn't to blame God the answer isn't to blame our fellows the answer is to accept accept that and by the grace of God seek to overcome it that's kind of been the way that man's always operated from the the coming of Adam from The Finger of God in creation so they make their homes in the Craigs now again temporally and spiritually I think there is application to be made terms of temporal in our studies in the pentat on our Wednesday night bible study we saw in Exodus 22: 2 and 3 the legitimacy of self-defense in terms of the temporal application Brethren no matter what your government may tell you it is your right to defend yourself and exodus 22 2 and 3 legitimizes that principle you can protect yourself you can protect those around you and dare I say you should you better you must it's your job it's your your response it's your duty this is something temporally that flows from this particular passage we need to make sure that we are engaged in lawful Godly defense of ourselves in the temporal Arena again those passages I invoked with reference to the anend we need to prepare we need to be uh cautious when it comes to our food and our shelter we need to be diligent in terms of laying up those provisions and in terms of seeking by the grace of God to be protected from the various mations that surround us but spiritually again doesn't the cony lend itself to a spiritual interpretation relative to the day of judgment we're under the Wrath and fury and curse of God most high what shall we do shall we try to appease him with our works shall we try to appease him with our words shall we try to appease him with a newfound religiosity or rather shall we run to that strong tower which is Jesus Christ and find our refuge there if the cony is marked by wisdom for hiding from the Predators then the people of God will be marked by wisdom from hiding from the Predators that Brethren is our responsibility notice in the book itself turn to Proverbs chapter 4 Proverbs chapter 4 cautious conies hide from predators cautious Believers ought to realize there's a predatorial bent remaining in them and I think that's what Solomon addresses in Proverbs 4:23 he says keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life keep your heart with all diligence this is 247 job this is constant this isn't only on Sunday only at the the morning service this is a constancy for the people of God just like Romans 13:14 but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts right that's what a cautious Cony does he he hides himself from the potential predator and in this particular instance the the Predator that resides or at least remains in his own heart look at Proverbs 22 Proverbs chap 22 it's not just the heart remaining corruption that the cautious Cony tries to uh uh uh hide from but it's the world and it's the devil notice in Proverbs 22 at verse three a prudent man foresees evil and hides himself self but the simple pass on and are punished see Brethren there is a sense where imitating the cony might mean a bit of a change to our lives if we get right up to the brink of Temptation and we realize that when we get right up to the brink of Temptation we're not strong enough to not fall here's a bit of encouragement don't get right up to the brink of Temptation Proverbs 5 when Solomon is cautioning his young son from the adulterous woman he says do not go near what the door of her house he doesn't say bed he says door you're not strong enough to even go near the door of her house what does James tell us that pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God and the father is this to visit widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself unspotted from the world how do we do that we exercise caution we exercise what the conies man manest when they try to provide safety for themselves versus The Predator the same proverb is repeated in 27 spe specifically at verse 12 a prudent man foresees evil and hides himself the simple pass on and are punished so spiritually speaking we look at the ants and they tell us to diligently prepare we look at the uh conies and they tell us to dig diligently hide and to diligently hide in the Savior King foul I to the Fountain fly Wash Me savior or I die nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross I claim in other words I realize I don't have the ability and the wherewithal to stand on the day of judgment unclothed Unforgiven I don't have the ability because I don't have exact and entire and perpetual and personal obedience to God's law I'm a mess I'm a wreck I'm a law breaker the reality is is that God is a holy and righteous God the reality is is that we're sinful and rebellious men and the good news of the Gospel is that Jesus comes to rescue rebellious and unrighteous men he does so by his life his death and his resurrection he does so in such a way that all those who look to him in faith will have everlasting life that's the means by which we hide ourselves from that torrent of God's Wrath on the day of judgment again guilt these are an emblem of the people of God who are a weak and feeble people unable of themselves to perform spiritual duties to exercise Grace to withstand the Corruptions of their nature resist the Temptations of Satan bear up under afflictive providences and grapple with spiritual enemies or defend themselves from them but such Heavenly wisdom is given them as to betake themselves for refuge and shelter to Christ the Rock of Israel the rock of Salvation the rock that is higher than they a strong one on which the church is built and against which the Gates of Hell cannot Prevail and here they are safe from the storms of divine wrath and the avenging justice of God from the rage and fury of men and the fiery darts of Satan here they dwell safely and delightfully and have all manner of provision at hand for them Amen brother preach it that's precisely what agar is communicating to us as he invokes the example of the ant as he invokes the example of the cony now notice thirdly the emphasis on the Locust called this the United Locust almost sounds like a soccer team in the UK Manchester United is playing the United Locust but again let's look at the the way it corresponds with the title line you've got the weakness verse 27A and then their compensatory wisdom in verse 27b the locusts have no King the locusts have no King now while Anarchy may suggest itself as a preferable way to live as our current government proceeds it isn't God gave civil government for good in fact in Proverbs 8 Jesus speaking his wisdom says by me Kings reign Romans 13 there is no Authority except from God and those which are ex exist are established by God so civil government in and of itself in principle Is Not a Bad Thing other words it was instituted by God now what man does with it he turns it into a bad thing but that's a sermon series for another day and another age if you're curious what it looks like to be in an anarchy you can read judges 17 to 21 judges 17-21 shows you life lived without a king what happened there was no king in Israel and everyone did what they did what was right in the eyes of God no they did what was right in their own eyes again not a good place to be when we devolve to that sort of a mindset than anything goes it is chaos it is not Cosmos so our prayer ought not to be for the elimination of civil government but for the elimination of wretches who occupy civil government and the institution of men that fear God that should be the prayer of the people of God relative to the man of civil government but back to our text the locusts have no King so what does that mean they're going to be challenged it's going to be tough God in in his wisdom this isn't some overarching sort of barbaric hierarchy that God made God made man to to lead and Eve to be his helpmate God instituted male leadership in the context of the church the Bible speaks to leadership to just say well leadership is terrible no terrible leadership is terrible leadership in and of itself isn't terrible it's a good thing again provided that the persons involved in it are doing it in a good way so when you look at the locusts that have no King you might start scratching your melon and saying wait a minute it's going to be a problem for them again they're not big big you know eagles they don't have the wingspan or they're not the vulture that can you know descend from miles away on prey and and dead prey and and eat it up no that the locus is the locusts have an obvious disadvantage in the grand scheme of things so so how do they compensate for that what do they do to sort of correct that notice yet they all advance in ranks they don't just kind of look at each other and in the Locust tongue say well we don't have a king so we're we're done we don't have anybody to lead us so it's over we should just be extinct right now welcome the the the various things that happen according to Nature under God and just accept our faith no that's not what they do they've got a weakness no King but they compensate for it by advancing in ranks and the way that they advance in ranks is most impressive the Bible speaks about locusts a lot in fact in Joel 2 specifically at verse 25 God says so I will restore to you the years that the swarming Locust has eaten The Crawling Locust and the chewing Locust my great Army which I sent among you why does he call them a great Army that he had sent among them see typically we think of armies as you know Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians with all their Weaponry we think of the Romans with all their Weaponry well in the hand of God the Locust become a great Army and when we ask the question I actually asked this of Google and this is what I got a desert locust swarm can be 460 square miles in size and packed between 4 and 80 million locusts into less than half a square mile each Locust can eat its weight in Plants each day so a swarm of such size would eat 423 million pounds of plants every day like the individual animals within them Locust swarms are typically in motion and can cover vast distances in 1954 a swarm flew from northwest Africa to Great Britain in 1988 another made the lengthy track from West Africa to the Caribbean so the Locust start commiserating well you know we've got no King so so we're done we've got no Alpha Locust so we're over we got no leader Locus so that's it no what do they do they advance in ranks they manage to get along with each other they manag to do what is necessary to accomplish the mission they manag to function in a way that overarches their weakness we don't have I'm a king so let's do the next best thing let's Advance together in ranks now in terms of the temporal imitation again just think about your life you're surrounded by Family you're in a church Community you're in a government or a polity a civil poity where there is at least some semblance of order but we need to be thankful that God has not left us destitute in this world children should be thankful for their parents the church should be thankful for leadership the the Civil Society should be thankful especially when one or two come along the way that actually have brains and and conf function those politicians Among Us that can walk and chew gum at the same time we ought to praise God that that those ones are alive but in terms of the spiritual imitation the spiritual imitation or application the church does have a king the church does have a head the church does have an alpha and the church is commanded to Endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of Peace in Ephesians 4 1:6 in fact previously in the Book of Proverbs in chapter 6 The there are six things which Yahweh hates yay seven are an Abomination to him and then it fills in the blanks for things that you might believe would be on that list and then the last section 19B says and one who SWS Discord among the Brethren the Brethren asking questions or chatting or talking or even disagreeing that's fine sometimes people do that well at church we disagree sometime show me a human family where they don't disagree from time to time maybe you're putting the bar a bit too high so asking questions or perhaps not agreeing with 100% doesn't mean we're sewing Discord among the Brethren but there is a species of man and Wom women that do so Discord among the Brethren and that is to be repudiated it is to be rejected we are to Endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of Peace we are to be as one man with one mind serving our blessed savior and King why because we're those who have a king and the King has been very particular and very specific in how he wants us to advance he wants us to advance in ranks the Locust got that right even in the absence of a king we have a king who's promised to build his church we have a king who's promised to defend us to protect us to rule over us and govern us we have a king that is everywhere present with us so therefore when we hear his commands we ought to take them to heart we ought to advance in ranks we ought to agree we ought to be focused on the mission we ought to be mindful of the reality that this isn't a onean man show but everybody doing their part as Paul indicates in 1 Corinthians CH 12 it's because an eye isn't an ear doesn't mean the eye is useless it's because the foot isn't a hand doesn't mean the foot is useless we all have our specific capacities we all have our specific roles or our specific tasks and if the Locust without King can advance in ranks why can't the people of God advance in ranks when we've got the King of Kings and the Lord of lords so the spiritual immitation of this is most necessary as Gillan says it's an emblem of unity Concord and Harmony and again that doesn't mean we we all see everything exactly the same a bit of healthy disagreement within the parameters of Orthodoxy isn't a bad thing as long as we're not heral I Think Jesus is a creature well you can't disagree on that I don't think God's Triune well you can't disagree on that I don't think we're saved by grace through faith Al well you can't disagree on that es cetology we're going to divide over that put put three guys in the room with you know Book of Revelation you'll probably get 30 interpretations from those three guys on what's going to happen in the end so Brethren there ought to be that healthy cooperation that that United waling makes the point how much more should God's people under God's King Advance God's kingdom by fighting in unison against the enemy not themselves each one doing his part within his own rank of peers with the strictest discipline that's a good observation we've got enemies we got the world we got the flesh we got the devil we don't fight those enemies with Weaponry we don't you know Mount up a a a marshal attack but collectively and spiritually we pray against those things we we preach against those things we we seek to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so we can effectively withstand the enemy of Christ's Church seems so simple the locusts are able to function we ought to go go thou go thou and do likewise but then that brings us fourthly and finally to the persistent spider or or lizard notice in verse 28 the spider skillfully grasps with its hands and it is in King's palaces now the translation here is difficult it's either spider or lizard it's also difficult to understand the particular metaphor or the particular illustration that is given does it mean or rather it is difficult to know whether the it's the spider skillfully grasping with its hands or the ease with which a spider or lizard can be grasped by the hands of another again there's some you know degree of ambiguity in the passage not because of the passage but because of ambiguous men and the inability to know specifically what's going on here the ESV translates it almost differently the lizard you can take in your hands yet it is in King's palaces so whatever the problem and whatever the animal it's compens compensatory wisdom is that it's in King's palaces here's what I think I think it means that the spider skillfully grasps with its hands to build its web to do its thing and in building its webs and in doing its thing which seems in significant I mean there's a surface level appeal of a spider and it's weet if you're one of those people I can't stand spiders then you might want to shut down for just a moment spiders are great spiders are wonderful now that means not when they're running over my face I I might sing a different song then but I'm not the guy that kills spiders they function well in the world they kill other things that I like less than spiders so spiders are good and the webs are intricate and they're pretty solid and pretty strong I think the under sort of ging principle here is that is insignificant as it may be if it's just that spider uh weaving its web or if it's a lizard or a spider that can easily easily be grasped into a jar that that's its weakness it's its littleness its insignificance and yet where does the spider reside it's in the king's Palace I ain't never been in a king's Palace probably will never be in a king's Palace obviously the king of kings in his Palace but the spider demonstrates something here of persistence and dare I say it even a Godly ambition do what you will to that spider it's in the king's palaces you ever had that experience you've hosed down a spider web one time and the next day you come back and there it is either it's still intact or they rebuilt it in the same place that that's persistent I got to say if some big guy with a big hose blast Ed my house and obliterated it I'm not sure I'm going to build again on that site I'd be afraid that he's going to come again with that big hose and blast me into Smither but the spider is persistent spider's ambitious I want to be in your backyard and you're not going to chase me off I want to be in the king's Palace and you're not going to chase me off I think that's what's Happening Here its exceedingly littleness is found in the fact that it's a tiny spider Gil mentions this in terms of its strength yet such is her constancy and acidity and her unwearied application to business that as fast as they her webs are destroyed she attempts to restore them in other words though you get obliterated by a large garden hose though you get torn down by some meddling child though you've got the various challenges associated with life in a spider world you are nevertheless persistent you are nevertheless ambitious you're not going to go to the neighbor's house because you don't want to go there you're going to stay at this house because that's where you want to be so the spider demonstrates something to us consistent with these other little things they've got a weakness but they've got compensatory wisdom now in terms of the temporal uh application it should be obvious don't give up do what you're supposed to do even in spite of the challenges in spite of the hardships in spite of the trials and the difficulties now there might be a time time and place where you know if you're 5 foot2 and you can't bounce a basketball you may need to just accept the reality the NBA is not in your future but for the most part people just give up because they don't like it to be hard sorry where does God's word ever promised ease I heard that as a kid oh that's not fair who said life was fair we need a great big dose of that motto back in modern society don't we who said life was fair really can you show me chapter and verse life will always be fair for you I could show you just the contrary I can show you Asaf in Psalm 73 where basically he throws his hands up in the air and says life's not fair the righteous are suffering and the unrighteous are exalted that just doesn't seem fair as for me he says my foot nearly SLI why because of the fairness of the world no because of the heartache and the hardship beset upon the people of God and by the affluence and the prosperity of the nonp people of God life isn't fair how do you deal with it by whining and grumbling and moaning do you just you know SOB to tears every time something I'm not saying there can't be some hurt there can't be some sorrow but if your life is punctuated by if your life is defined by constant misery over the difficulties that this world has I'm sorry you may need to Charter a rocket and fly to the moon because this world has its challenges and usually it's at this place because I think it's so fitting and appropriate I quote a story from Robert the Bruce he was the king of Scots from 13 6 until his death in 1329 he was on the run after the 1305 Battle of methan Bruce hid in a cave where he observed a spider spinning a web now you history Buffs are going well that's apocryphal it didn't really happen I don't care it's a good story and I think it illustrates well the point he was on the run after the 1305 Battle of methan Bruce hid in a cave where he observed a spider spinning a web trying to make a connection from one area of the Cave's roof to another it tried and failed twice but began again and succeeded on the third attempt inspired by this Bruce returned to inflict a series of defeats on the English thus winning him more supporters and eventual Victory do you know why WD40 is WD40 because there were 39 failed attempts to make WD40 so if that guy after number one would well just too hard I can't do it he and his Corporation and his Empire wouldn't be the multi-billion Dollar Empire it most likely is Brethren life is tough this a good happy sermon life is hard life can be unfair I hope you parents are training your children this way oh Johnny oh you know little whoever everything's always going to be roses for you bluebirds will come and they will clothe you there'll be rose petals as you walk to work that that job by the way where you make a handsome salary and you never have any irritating people Brethren there is a constant refrain amongst businessmen on how difficult it is to find workers today has the bar ever been so low show up and and breathe and you'll probably own the company before long life isn't fair and and I know this is tough I know that there's a lot of baggage and a lot of people's lives and it has a big effect and impact on them going forward I don't know how to make that magically disappear but I can suggest that you bring it to the Cross you bring it to the Lord Jesus you bring it to the god of absolute Glory power and mercy and you lay it at his feet you get about the business of life if the spider has the ambition and the persistence to be in King's palaces then as Solomon says elsewhere in the Proverbs do you see a man who excels in his work he will stand before Kings why is that because that's not the majority report you got lazy whining grumbling people that people this Earth and when the people of God get serious about their God and they live by grace through faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us and we go to not Solomon's School in the Book of Proverbs but jesus' School in the Book of Proverbs and we hear his wisdom and we act upon that wisdom I'm not going to say all your troubles will be cast away but you're going to negotiate you're going to work through you're going to be diligent and of course the spiritual application the people of God at certain times in various epochs and history have been seen as insignificant they have been seen as little they have been been seen as marginal they have been seen as the the rabble of the Earth but paradoxically where do we dwell we dwell in the king's Palace even presently Ephesians 2:6 indicates that now we're not already there to be sure we're not yet there but we already enjoy the present benefits of Christ's Kingdom right here right now so if these spiders in their persistent ambition understand the blessedness of being in the king's palaces when we likewise are tried or vexed or or oppressed or should the persecution get turned up if these things befall us life isn't over we are in King's palaces we are heavenbound we're going to that place that moth and rust cannot destroy we're going to Emmanuel's land so whatever they throw at us here we ought to be able to deal with it because of there in fact wal walkey again makes this observation this conclusion points to wisdom's reward of living in a luxurious Royal Palace if the son the one to whom agar is addressing himself if the son whom wicked men and women want to capture exercises caution though as vulnerable as a lizard or spider he too will live in the chief residence of the realm paradoxically the people of God who are foolish by the world standards live in Heavenly places a beautiful emphasis and one that we need to keep at the Forefront of our minds whatever affects us in the here and the now cannot shake our possession because God in his grace conferred upon us a kingdom in fact look at the language utilized by the savior in Luke's gospel Luke 22 at the inauguration of the supper according to Luke's gospel look at what Jesus says specifically at verse 28 but you are those who have continued with me in my trials and I bestow upon you a kingdom here I would have much preferred a good translation it is literally and I Covenant upon you a kingdom just as my father covenanted one upon me in other words it isn't simply a bestowal it is that but it's a covenantal bestow founded on the sure Promises of God most high who cannot lie who cannot deny himself and will accomplish the purpose for which he sent the son of his love brethren we ought to be persistent and ambitious in the spiritual realm in terms of our status in heaven well in conclusion I already sort of foreshadowed this first application the need for selfawareness the need to to recognize one's own limitations again this is not the most obvious thing in the world today the 5 foot2 guy that wants to be the NBA Center needs somebody in his life honest enough to tell him no you you you can't do it the guy that's the proudest one in the church or in the home or in the workplace shouldn't write the book on humility there is a need for selfawareness if the ant fancies himself as strong and stately as the lion he will starve in the winter if the cony thinks himself as strong and stately as the lion he will be eaten by the lion if the Locust does not understand that weakness in inherent in being a locust and doesn't overcome that they will be overcome and if the spider doesn't understand the reality that it's insignificant that it's little it will not be in King's palaces selfawareness is an absolutely crucial tool to navigate your life and again it's not the wisdom of Solomon in the Book of Proverbs it's the wisdom of Jesus he he gives you tips he gives you insights he gives you things for you to ponder and for you to consider so understand that inherent weakness that you have it doesn't do anybody any good to to think that they have no weaknesses right oh no I'm 8 foot tall and bulletproof I can do anything and everything you meet those people once in a while don't you they've done everything better than you by the way they they they just have they've been to more places they've done more things and they've done it very well if you ask them and you're sitting there scratching your head going that can't be true or if it is true why are you telling me this like what's the end game here just to show me what a slob I am I mean come on that's not cool self-awareness Brethren goes a long way in this world again this isn't non-theological non-biblical if that doesn't scream or leap off the page in this section I I don't know what does and as I mentioned earlier one of the challenges to self-awareness is is just old Garden variety Pride Garden variety Pride look at 2616 2616 the lazy man we already saw it is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly seven men who can answer sensibly Solomon saying that's a good thing seven men who can answer sensibly and then this one adult thinks he's smarter than the rest of them that's not good remember rabam he takes the throne from his father Solomon and instead of taking wisdom from his father Solomon's uh advisors he listens to his friends how'd that work out oh it was great it was not great at all it it it ruptured the kingdom it caused you know a a break in the kingdom it was not a good thing I mean Solomon was wise I've already mentioned that I've already established that do you imagine that the people that gave counsel to Solomon were probably wise as well I mean a wise man doesn't listen to fools that's why he's a wise man A wise man may not be the brightest man but he's wise and that he surrounds himself with the brightest man so when push came to shave with rabam he'd rather listen to his dummy friends than rather listen to the wise men that surrounded his father and then notice 3013 we didn't read that section but here again here again it is pride actually we'll read the section the subunit verses 11- 14 there is a generation that curses its father uncannily parallel to the generation that you and I live in in here in verses 11 to 14 there's a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother there's a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness there is a generation oh how lofty are their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up this is one of the tremendous challenges against a Biblical self-awareness he just being proud and arrogant so once you identify that weakness overcome it by your strengths again the idea is not I I don't have any weaknesses no I seek by God's grace to cover those weaknesses with my strengths just like the end just like the Coney just like the Locust and just like the spider and then finally I just want to end where we were imitate these creatures imitate these creatures in the temporal sphere imitate these creatures in the spiritual sphere because there is a day coming the Judgment of God most high God doesn't judge on a curve well you gave it your best shot you get a participation trophy you can sit on the bench over here that's not how God judges God judges in righteousness God judges according to his law God judges with Precision there's no argument that you can sort of get out of the Judgment of God there's no lawyer that you can hire there's nobody that will stand in your place save one lawyer Christ the one who stands in in your place Christ that's the beauty of the Christian Gospel I don't have a life of obedience I'm filled with sin but Jesus came and rendered a life of obedience Jesus came and went to the cross and died as a sacrifice and a substitute Jesus Christ was raised again the third day and the promise goes out to every creature on God's Earth that if you believe in him you will be saved if you believe in him you will be forgiven and you will receive that righteousness that crack that will hide you from the predator of God's just judgment and vengeance upon those who have transgressed his law come to the Lord Jesus imitate these little things and know the joy of the Lord as your strength well let us pray Our God and Father we thank you for your word we thank you that nature itself teaches us very valuable lessons we see it with the Ant and the cony we see it with the Locust and the spider and we thank you for this Lord God help us to be prepared by grace through faith in our blessed savior and help us to imitate these little things that are exceedingly wise and we ask through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we can turn in your H books as we close our service by singing the doxology 568 we'll stand as we sing together PR him all creatures be Praise Him theost PR father son [Music] andly the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen thank you Father for this time together thank you for the blessed privilege to worship the the god of Heaven and Earth go with us now we pray in jesus' name amen well please be seated for a brief time of meditation