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[Music] you you well good morning everybody welcome this day to free grace baptist church it's good to be here this morning it's a beautiful day out there and i'm sure there's a lot of people away on holidays and traveling but it's good to be here in the house of the lord today i was thinking as we when we meet each each week it's uh um we come together to worship god in spirit and in truth but uh and that'll continue until that day that the lord jesus christ comes back again so it's only because that he's tarried another week that we're here but when we're not here then we'll be with him so praise god for that um the announcements i didn't i wasn't given any today except that i know that there's a luncheon after the service this morning and so everybody's welcome to attend if you weren't told or you forgot there's always enough there so please make sure that you come and attend and we can have a time of fellowship together it's nice to be back into this it seems for the longest time that there was no fellowship for people you know for luncheons but we're thankful that we've got back into the place that we can have these things anyway so please join us after the worship today uh for the luncheon upstairs so that's the only uh announcement for today so if you want to turn with me in your bible to psalm 99 and we will read that together psalm 99 will be our call to worship this morning psalm 99 i'm reading from the new king james version today the lord reigns let the peoples tremble he dwells between the cherubim let the earth be moved the lord is great in zion and he is high above all the peoples let them praise your great and awesome name he is holy the king's strength also loves justice you have established equity you have executed justice and righteousness in jacob exalt the lord our god and worship at his footstool he is holy moses and aaron are among his priests and samuel was among those who called upon his name they called upon the lord and he answered them he spoke to them in the cloudy pillar they kept his testimonies and the ordinance he gave them you answered them o lord our god you were to them god who forgives though you took vengeance on their deeds exalt the lord our god and worship at his holy hill for the lord our god is holy and lord bless his word amen um our first song this morning if you want to turn there is uh number 135 number 135. if you want to stand and we'll sing together [Music] well let's go to the lord in prayer this morning seek his blessings upon us father we just thank you that we may come before you this morning as we gather together we come to praise you and thank you in the beauty of your holiness lord we have heard in your word this morning that you are holy it is said twice in this psalm and we know lord that you are holy you are high you are separate from ourselves who are but your creatures you are the blessed creator who has created the heavens and the earth and all things therein and you are so far above us lord that we just want to give you thanks and to praise you for your condescending grace to us lord for your kindness and your mercies we thank you lord that you rule and reign from heaven above that you are not a god far off but you are a god near and we just thank you for that lord that you are there that you delight to hear our prayers as we pray to you you alone are worthy of all glory honor and praise and we we want to bring that to you this day lord as we lift these prayers to you we want to pray for this church here lord free grace baptist church we want to pray as well for the sister churches that we are affiliated with lord we want to pray for the work in surrey and vernon the work in in dryden lord and the work in honduras and lord we just want to pray for each uh each church lord that we might experience your growth and the love that you have shown us we we want to uh learn from your word we want to grow in grace and the knowledge of christ and we just thank you for that lord we pray not just for the the growth of these churches lord but we pray that your word would be preeminent in the church lord that the brothers and sisters that gathered there would be edified and built up in their faith in christ we pray as well that that your word would go forth to those from the church lord who share the word of truth the gospel outside the the doors of the church lord that you would be pleased to gather in others and we know you are pleased to gather in your elect lord from every nation tribe and tongue we thank you for that father i want to pray specifically for the church in honduras i've had prayer requests over the last month or so for the teaching ministry amongst the youth there is many youth in the church there lord and we pray for spiritual blessings that you would bless them to to have years to hear and to understand your word lord and that there would be growth in their lives individually in each one of them and i know that would be the same for each of the other churches lord we we do pray for them as well we also want to pray for lord our brothers and sisters around the world we we know that there are many that are suffering through trials through persecutions some who are dwelling in the midst of civil war as in myanmar or we want to lift them to you specifically and pray for our brothers and sisters there that through these tribulations through these persecutions that you might give them grace to endure lord through these times and that your name would be glorified through it and that the gospel would still go forth lord we thank you for that and lord you have instructed us to pray for the civil authorities of civil governments and lord i have been hearing so many things of late we we see the total lord it seems corruption that is in the land in the governments of our times not only here in this country of canada lord but in our neighbors to the south and the governments there lord we've we've deteriorated and digressed into the place where good is called evil and evil is called good where these men delight it would seem and promote lord various persecutions against your people and against your law lord they want to delight in in the things of uh the murderous things of abortion and of euthanasia and these things that we see more rampant amongst us in the land and lord even though we see seen this past week where the authorities in the united states the supreme court has has done away with a federal law as it were in regards to abortion that there is a great up cry in in in in that country there which has spread even into our country of people who who for various reasons lord i claim not to know them all but who want to continue on in this practices of the practice of what is tantamount to the murdering of children in the womb lord we lift that to you lord and and ask that you would lord take action that you would move the hearts of these civil authorities away from these evil and wicked deeds lord and if they would not bow the knee to your word and your will that you might remove them and that you might replace them witho with others that are more righteous than they are and even lord we pray that same thing for the the proclaimed or the elected leader of this land here who who from things i have seen lord delights after the same intents of wanting to uphold their so-called right of of abortion and they seem to delight in these things lord but we pray for your grace and for your mercies because we know that you are against all these things help us lord as a church and as a people to stand against these things to be firm in standing lord and not to shrink back from from standing in these things for they are things of righteousness lord and these other things that come forth are things of unrighteousness and of evil and we just pray that you would grant us grace and strength to stand for all that is good all that is taught in your word and to teach the things of your word lord help us to be a light and lights in the darkness of this world in which we live that the works of darkness may be reproved lord and we just pray that you would save many from from this from this uh time in which we live lord that by your grace you might translate them from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the son of your love and for we know this is man's only hope and we give you thanks for what you will do there lord and just more locally lord we just want to continue to pray for cory neal's this younger man who is struggling with cancer i haven't heard anything of late but lord we just want to continue to lift him to you in prayer that you would help him and strengthen him through these times and guide the doctors hands and the same for any other lord brother and sister from the church here or other churches that is suffering through the affliction of physical illness at this time that you would be with him lord and uh help them and strengthen them through these times and lastly lord we want to thank you as well for our our brother shane who isn't with us this day and for the wedding that uh occurred lord a witness to your goodness and your grace how you it is you that has joined a man and a woman together to make them one flesh and we just thank you lord that you have done this in the lives of shane and becca and who are now mr and mrs shane abbey and we just pray you would be with them through this time their way and that you would strengthen them and that you would return them to us again we just give you thanks lord for all things and we're so thankful we can bring these things to you to lay them at your feet who are the sovereign god of heavens and the earth and of all things therein and we just want to give you thanks now in jesus christ precious and holy name amen okay if you would turn with me then for our second song number 459 459 and we'll stand and sing again [Music] is [Music] r is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] our scripture reading this morning is going to be is found in the eighth chapter of hebrews if you want to turn there with me hebrews 8. hebrews chapter 8. i don't know if ryan intended that way but we look through the articles of faith this morning on the covenant of grace and here we are now we're going to read about it so in hebrews chapter 8 starting at verse 1 we read now this is the main point of the things we are saying we have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the lord created and not man for every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices therefore it is necessary that this one also have something to offer for if he were on earth he would not be a priest since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things as moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle for he said see you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain but now he has obtained a more excellent ministry in as much as he is also mediator of a better covenant which was established on better promises for if that first covenant had been faultless then no place would have been sought for a second because finding fault with them he says behold the days are coming says the lord when i will make a new covenant with the house of israel and with the house of judah not according to the covenant that i made with their fathers in the day when i took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of egypt because they did not continue in my covenant and i disregarded them says the lord for this is the covenant that i will make with the house of israel after those days saith the lord i will put my laws in their mind and will write them on their hearts and i will be their god and they shall be my people none of them shall teach his neighbor and none his father saying know the lord for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them for i will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds i will remember no more in that he says a new covenant he has made the first obsolete now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away and may the lord bless his word just before we bow on a word of prayer it always strikes me when i read these these passages you know we live in a day where in the in the world pronouns seem to matter but i i rejoice in the pronouns of the bible because here we see god speaking and this is what he is doing he's saying i will do this i will do that it's it just shows us that salvation is of the lord from first to last and let's just bow in a word of prayer father in heaven we just want to come before you father to give you thanks for our salvation which is from you through faith in the lord jesus christ we thank you lord for what you have done in your goodness and your grace and your mercy in christ jesus our blessed savior our our lord our high priest our mediator we thank you lord that as our high priest he mediates the new covenant but that as well that he is able to save to the outermost those who come unto god by him we praise you and thank you for that lord and today we would pray lord as we prepare to hear your word preached we would pray that you would prepare our hearts to receive your word as it is in truth the word of god and we pray for brother ryan as he brings us your word lord that you would bless him that your spirit would give him unction and uh that you would bless all in the hearing of your word and we just give you thanks now in jesus name amen okay for our third and last song this morning it's uh number 243 number 243 so [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh good morning everyone good to be in the house of the lord again you can turn with me in your bibles to first peter chapter two continuing our way through first peter chapter two this section hopefully today uh conclude the section that we've been looking at in these first several um several verses of chapter two up to the end of of chapter uh or sorry at the end of verse verse ten so look uh last week we looked up to uh we went up to verse uh verse eight um from five to eight this week we'll look at nine and ten um there's gonna be a bit overlap as i mentioned last week we skipped over a few a few things in verse five particularly that uh that hopefully time permitting will uh can come back to and and address those today i just sort of structured it that way um just for sake of fitting all the information in in um into these two sermons last week and this week there so um so first peter chapter two we'll read uh we'll read the entire chapter and then um like i said we'll look at verse nine and ten so chapter first peter chapter two therefore laying aside all malice all deceit hypocrisy envy and all evil speaking as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby if indeed you have tasted that the lord is gracious coming to him as to a living stone rejected indeed by men but chosen by god and precious you also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to god through jesus christ therefore it is also contained in the scripture behold i lay in zion a chief cornerstone elect precious and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame therefore to you who believe he is precious but to those who are disobedient the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense they stumble being disobedient to the word to which they also were appointed but you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation his own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light who once were not a people but are now the people of god who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy beloved i beg you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul having your conduct honorable among the gentiles that when they speak against you as evildoers they may by your good works which they observe glorify god in the day of visitation therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the lord's sake whether to the king as supreme or to governors or to those who are sent by him for the as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of those who do good for this is the will of god that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men as free yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice but as bond servants of god honor all people love the brotherhood fear god honor the king servants be submissive to your masters with all fear not only to the good and gentle but also to the harsh for this is commendable if because of conscience toward god one endures grief suffering wrongfully for what credit is it if when you were beaten for your faults you take it patiently but when you do good and suffer if you take it patiently this is commendable before god for to this you were called because christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that you should follow his steps who committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth who when he was reviled did not revile in return when he suffered he did not threaten but committed himself to him who judges righteously who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree that we having died to sins might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed for you were like sheep going astray but now have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls amen let us pray our father in heaven we do come before you now to ask your blessing the ministry of your spirit upon us as we as we examine this passage together lord i pray that you would would send the spirit to be among us to aid in preaching and in hearing and that you would apply these things to our heart and lord that we would leave here rejoicing in the the great god that you are god that has called us out of darkness into marvelous light and through the work of your son the lord jesus who came and rescued us from darkness so lord i pray that you bless us now i pray that you that you be glorified and and and exalted among us here this this morning and we pray this in christ's name amen so just uh just by way of brief review i know we've uh we've we've looked at this uh you know over the course of a year or so that i've sort of slowly worked through this um but but peter is preaching to a primarily a jewish audience or writing to uh to a primarily a jewish audience um they're this the the these were the jews he calls them the dispersion the pilgrims of the dispersion again in um we see that in verse in verse 11 he called you know they're sojourners and pilgrims um and these are these you know they've been they're they're feeling alone they're isolated they've been chased out of their own promised land the the uh of out of uh jerusalem and judea they've been chased out of that by by their own people and as he addresses them through this throughout this book he's using a lot of old testament language he calls them the chosen ones we uh in in chapter one and verse two elect there he um he talks about our our messiah our christ he says in um chapter one as well he's he's using a lot of this old covenant language and this is uh this is language that they would have been very familiar with of course and things that would have been very comforting to the jews as jews the jews as a special people of god in the old covenant there that god had had taken them had rescued them had protected them they were his they were his special people but now as we've seen uh last week we saw that he's applying all these old the these old testament uh terms and this and and all of this he's speaking to them not not as jews but he's speaking to them as believers believers in christ and um so his his point is that you are the true people of god he's trying to get this across to them you are the people of god and to take great comfort by this don't be discouraged that you've been chased out of the land out of out of the promised land you know don't lose heart be greatly encouraged you are the true people of god so last week we saw in um in verse six there that he he he um he's uh he's grounding this all of his his ecclesiology which ecclesiology is is this is the doctrine of the church so he's he's um he's speaking to them as believers that's the church he's grounding this all in the old testament and he does so with this prophecy here in isaiah 28 verse 16 about the about the um the cornerstone in zion the fact that that the the the jews would it was applied to the old covenant jews we saw that last week and they would as they had they had they had broken god's law they had been exiled into into babylon but yet that cornerstone was there whereby they would the the foundation of a new kingdom that was going to be built they would be returned this was highlighting of course on a spiritual level people those who have sinned they've broken god's law like adam they you know they broke god's law they were act they're into in in darkness and sin christ is rescues them out of that and and um you know so that's that picture that's what we saw last week in terms of the of the um of that that uh that rescue from babylon babylon being the kingdom of darkness there and and then cyrus was the one whose god calls his messiah we saw that in isaiah 45 verse one cyrus is the messiah the one who does the rescuing the one who comes and destroys babylon which is representative of the kingdom of darkness and and then restores them back to their to the promised land so that was uh that was the the the typology from the old testament that we saw last week in terms of how it's applied to the to the um to the church now uh we also saw the human response in verse seven and eight and then that was where we stopped so i'm gonna pick up in verse nine today on the the description a further description of the of the the kingdom that is founded on on this cornerstone christ and then i'm hoping hopefully we have time to look at the duty and the and or the role of the kingdom in uh in verses 9b and then also going back to verse 5 as well there so so in verse nine then he begins he begins here he says but you so so he's refocusing on the on the believer so so so just looking back at verse seven and eight remember we have this this contra contradiction between uh or the contrast between those who believe he to to to those who believe he's precious but then we have those who are disobedient or those who who reject the the the christ this this uh the messiah there so he's he's refocusing now on them as believers and as i said earlier he's appealing to them not as jews but as believers that's important to understand in this uh in this context here so um so so that the believers are the the new israel as he's going to apply um apply all this old covenant old testament language here look at verse 9 here he says but you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation his own special people so these are all if you're familiar with the old testament we you know these are all very very old testament uh there's lots it's old testament language this is this is these were all applied to the nation of israel so we have we have israel typology happening here again um but this time it's it's different it's not uh you know last time we saw how how they had they they were like adam they broke the covenant they fell into darkness into exile and they were rescued out of that here we have something um the same the same idea the the same concept of a restoration from from babylon but and again we have we have the same thing it's a restoration from babylon but we've got to go back even even further and this morning we saw that in the we looked at the covenant uh covenant theology this morning and we looked at that abrahamic covenant which is what um which is what this the typology that he's using here now is referring back to the abrahamic covenant and to a rescue from from i say babylon but it's the tower of babel now babel and babylon in the old testament are the same thing the hebrew word is identical word we it's translated for you know different as babel in in genesis 11 verses babylon and the rest for various reasons but um but that is it is the same thing so when we think babylon we were thinking kingdom we're thinking kingdom of darkness that's uh that's important to have in our minds here so to understand now what what is what is uh what is this typology turn to deuteronomy 32 for a minute that that will help us to to understand this concept here in terms of being pulled out of darkness um into into into marvelous light as peter says at the end here so deuteronomy chapter 32 this is um this is moses the song of moses at the before the israelites are about to leave and enter the land you know moses was not permitted to enter the land but this is moses moses song here and it's a reminder to the to the israelites of their heritage so in uh in in deuterono let's we can pick up in verse 1 deuteronomy 32 or maybe actually the previous verse 31 30 then moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly the words of this song until they were ended give ear o heavens and i will speak and hear o earth the words of my mouth let my teaching drop as a rain my speech distill as the dew as rain drops on the tender herb and as showers on the grass for i proclaim the name of the lord ascribe greatness to our god for he is the rock his work is perfect for all his ways are justice a god of truth and without injustice righteous and upright is he they have corrupted themselves they are not his children because of their blemish a perverse and crooked generation do you thus deal with the lord o foolish and unwise people is he not your father who bought you is has he not made you and established you now now moses here is speaking of he's he's he's prophesying in a sense of their fault that they're that they're going to to um to to fall away in the end of verse 31 he he talks about that he says you know i know you're a rebellion and or sorry chapter 31 verse 27 i know you're a rebellion and you're stiff neck you know so he he understands and he's now prophesying in a sense of their falling away and he's been and he's reminding them of something so look so uh so let's let's uh let's continue on verse 7 remember the days of old consider the years of many generations ask your father and he will show you your elders and they will tell you when the most high divided their inheritance to the nations when he separated the sons of adam and set the boundaries of the peoples according to the children of israel now this is a this is moses here is speaking of the tower of babel and the dispersion of all the nations at the tower of of babel there and and so to understand this israel typology we need to we need to look at this at this um at this verse especially verse 8 here at the end of verse 8 we see it says when he set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the children of israel now if you if you look at um if you look at your margin if you have a new king james um if you have other versions they may say they may say what our margin says here either so the septuagint the dead sea scrolls symachus and which is a latin um or a sorry a greek translation of the old testament and the latin they all say either angels of god or sons of god so he's um he's he's talking here so so this variant says the sons of god and it's a very well supported uh textual variant um that the the sons of god so you know he's so what he's he's not speaking here of the division of of the land of the promised land where god divided up the nation or divided up promised land into allotments for the various tribes that doesn't that doesn't happen until the end of joshua after the after the land has been um after they've after the conquest that that was when the when the land was divided up there he's speaking of the tower of babel here so he so literally literally the first um the first line of verse 8 says when the most high gave the nations out as an inheritance when he separated the sons of adam when he set up boundaries of the people according to the number of the sons of the gods so what's what's taking place at the tower of babel is is that the the the we understand the tower of babel when we read that that story there it is a it is a uh um the satan the kingdom of darkness they're coming together they're attempting to dethrone yahweh of israel the creator they're attempting to to overthrow that so it's the kingdom of darkness coming together and and the and against yahweh so what what happens then we know we know the lord changes languages and he disperses them but what he does there is that he disperses them by people group that's why we have all the in genesis 10 and and 11 we have all these various people groups that are that are split up that way and and according to this passage here that each of these people groups is is uh is given out to uh to one of these sons of the gods or an angel of god when we think angel we don't know it doesn't necessarily mean you know a good angel angels are just spiritual beings here we understand satan has dominion over the earth we uh we saw that this morning in the in the um the the confession study there we saw that last week when we when we looked at it's important to understand that satan has the has dominion over the earth he says that himself luke luke luke chapter four i think i quoted it last week as well but the devil said to jesus in the temptation all this authority i will give you and their glory so he's showing them all the nations of the earth in in a moment of time it says and i will i will give them to you and their glory for this has been delivered to me and i give it to whomever i wish so at the tower of babel then god's confusing the languages he's he's dispersing them out he's he's in a sense he's scattering this um the the kingdom of darkness into into all little people groups and each one is allotted or given out as an inheritance verse verse eight they're given as an inheritance to to these various you know spiritual beings that's um that's that's important to to understand here in terms of of our our covenant theology our or israel typology that we find um the in this in this passage here that that the the nations were given over to the kingdom they were already in the kingdom of darkness but they were dispersed as nations in to these to these these evil spiritual beings this is a this is a good concept to to understand here the um but then let's let's let's let's read on then in verse nine now in deuteronomy 32 we're still there so so he so um so he's he's he's in it's uh divided the nations the inheritance out as an inheritance giving them to the to the sons of god or these these spiritual beings which are part or sons of the gods i should say spiritual beings which are which are part of the kingdom of darkness but verse nine but the lord's portion is his people jacob is the place of his inheritance so so so what what's happening at the tower of babel is in history this is historical covenant that's giving us typology of of the of the true of the church the true israel god is is is rescuing one nation for himself out of darkness he's taking the nation out of darkness and and making it his own people his his portion his inheritance we saw that um we saw that last week when we looked at psalm 94 talking about david david's or the writer of the psalm his comfort was the fact that that he was part of the inheritance of god not as an inheritance that someone gave to god but as a that god took and gave to himself in this context here at uh which happened at the tower of babel god took israel out of out of darkness one special nation for his own special people amos 3 verse 2 says you only have i known of all the families of the earth when you think families think nations that was how they were divided up was by family there so let's uh let's let's move on then so for verse 9 the lord's portion is his people jacob is a place of his inheritance he found him in a desert land and in a wasteland a howling wilderness in again wasteland howling wilderness think darkness think kingdom of darkness that's that's uh that's the the biblical theology of of wilderness is darkness so god found him there in a desert land in a wasteland a howling wilderness he encircled him he instructed him he kept him as the apple of his eye as an eagle stirs up its nest hovers over in its young spreading out its wings taking them up carrying and carrying them on its wings so the lord alone led him and there was no foreign god with him so so this this uh we see here very clearly this rescue out of darkness by yahweh of israel rescuing a nation for himself out of darkness now we this concept of of the of the of being rescued out of darkness being the re redemption the typology we often look we often think of it in terms of of being the israelites being rescued out of egypt that they were that god broke down you know the bondage of egypt took them out and brought them to his promised land and that is that that is there is that typology there absolutely to be sure but this is the root of it this is where it it goes back to all the way back to this to this um this account at the tower of babel it's it's tied into the the abrahamic covenant is the foundation for this you know god's people being a special nation so and that's why immediately after the tower of babel in genesis 11 we have the the genealogy of abraham and then and then this and then chapter 12 starts with how god takes abraham gives him that promise to make him a nation in his and his uh you know and his own special people there and then within that we also see that um that that god gives the promise to abraham that that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed it wasn't just for your family abraham i'm not you know he says i'm rescuing you now abraham just your family in terms of this in terms of history but in in terms of on the spiritual level one day there's going to be one is going to come from your family who's going to rescue those who are from from all of these families so it's it's pointing forward to something something so much bigger so much more a a better covenant we read that in uh in hebrews 8 this morning a better covenant with better promises that's what it's pointing forward to there so so this one who was who would who so god gives this promise um to to to abraham of this one who's gonna come so that's uh we see that promise there but um so now now with that concept in mind now understanding what is going on here in in terms of this this this this rescue from darkness and and becoming the special people of of yahweh in uh as a nation now this is pointing forward to this is a typology of the church so now with this in mind let's read these titles here that peter gives to the church he says you are a chosen generation so so generation here think think uh think you know people people uh people group family lines not not generations not succeeding generations how we we sometimes talk about that but it's talking about uh a family group a a a group of people from a family line so you are that chosen generation there and remember this is how they were divided at babel we saw that as families but but but you know god chose him as a family now we are the as a church we are that chosen generation that special people now we see that we can turn uh turn to deuteronomy seven we we looked at this this morning so there's gonna be as i said this morning there's gonna be some overlap um for those who are in the confession study there's gonna be some overlap but um um so you can turn to turn to deuteronomy chapter seven to see that that concept of being the chosen people of god there he now this is he's speaking to them of course this is post um post-mosaic covenant so this is further down in history but again it's like i said the the root of it goes back to the abrahamic covenant but here he's speaking now to the israelites um after their redemption from is from egypt he in uh chapter 7 deuteronomy 7 verse 6. for you are a holy people to the lord your god the lord your god has chosen you to be a people for himself a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth the lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were more number than any other people for you are the least of all peoples but because the lord loves you so so the to an israelite being chosen by yahweh was a was a very special thing there was there was great great comfort in that because they they understood the implications of of babel and the fate of the other nations that they were that they were under the the the influence and the control of the power of these false wicked gods they're these um you know little little g gods they understood that so for them the the fact that they had been taken out of that and that they were now yahweh the creator the one who rules righteously they were they were his special people that was that was a very a very special thing and again to to peter's jewish audience they would have held these things very dear but they would have held them you know they it would have been um you know on a temporal level that they were that that his jewish audience would have been thinking of these things that you know that that you know we were supposed to have life in the land whatever it may be these things were on a temporal level but but um you know peter wants him to think big picture he wants them to think that this is this is so much more than you know being a special people of of yahweh as i'm applying it to you as believers in christ you are the special people but it's it's it's so much more you you know it's it's you know you it's not just about having a nice plot of land in the in the in the middle east god didn't get god didn't rescue you from from from darkness you know just to have a nice piece of land in the in the middle east he chose you to be his his special people and but he rescued you from from from darkness from the oppression of satan the kingdom of darkness on a spiritual level and he and and he's he's rescued you from that and yes you're you're you're the the certain destruction that would have come upon you had you remained in that in that kingdom of of darkness kingdom of satan in rebellion against the lord but he rescued you from that and he's made you the the true people of god true people who are going to dwell with him in in that eternal inheritance that's what peter's been speaking about this whole this whole time here about this inheritance that we have to look forward to and he's saying this is this is a this is a incorruptible it's undefiled it doesn't fade away this isn't just a piece of land in the middle east this is this is new heavens new earth wherein righteousness dwells he says so he's trying he wants them to understand this that that you know god god god god chose you for for the for this to bring you to that so um and again it's this uh as i said this the concept of being chosen to the old testament uh israelites was a comfort was it was an incredible thing and for us it should be the same the same thing as well when we understand where we were in darkness in rebellion against god you know we're we're we were we um you know we can say oppressed in that oppressive darkness under the under the control of of satan him trying to keep us in darkness god rescues us out of that and and it's a it's a it's a it's a rescue that and god does that to his chosen people rescuing them you know what what a comfort that affords you know so many i think i said it last week too but so many people look um look at at the doctrine of election as uh you know they just don't like it the fact that we're chosen there's something that rubs them the wrong way i think it's such a it's such a comfort when we understand what where we were and where we are now and the fact that god god took us out of that where we were helpless we were in bondage it's a it's truly truly uh truly a joy it's really a comfort there um so so that is the that is the chosen generation then he then he moves on he calls them uh royal priesthood you can turn to exodus 19 to see that exodus chapter 19. verses verses 4 and following verse 3 moses went up to god and the lord called to him from the mountain saying thus you shall say to the house of jacob and tell the children of israel you have seen what i did to the egyptians and how i bore you on eagles wings and brought you to myself now therefore if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people for all the earth is mine that you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation these are the words which you shall speak to the children of israel so the nation of israel was to be a kingdom of priests now when we go back and we and and we think of of adam's job in uh in the garden adam's responsibility that he was he was a priest king he was to be he was to be king having dominion over over the creation advancing the borders of the garden he was supposed to be to be doing that he was also supposed to be but he was also a priest and a prophet these three these three um offices function function you know very very much together so he was to to um to to subdue the earth protect it keep it extend the borders of the garden and fill it with image bearers and so making a kingdom so propagating a kingdom by having you know having children being fruitful and multiplying he used to be a king and and but he was also to be a priest where he was to to bring all creation to together offering up this spiritual sacrifice offering up worship to god um so michael morales says there his kingship would be in the service of his priestly office namely that he would rule and subdue for the sake of gathering all creation to the creator's footstool for worship for the liturgical declaration yahweh reigns so so what uh what does this mean you know for for israel we're still looking in old covenant um typology here and that that it goes with this next description there of them being a holy nation as well that they were set apart they were distinct that they were to be israel was to be a kingdom that was set apart distinct from all the other nations and they were to be there there to be a testimony to um of the greatness of god of yahweh the creator to be a testimony to all of the nations and to be a testimony of his glory his greatness and of his universal dominion remember they you know it wasn't for them they their job was to was to understand that yes you know these these other little g gods these other spiritual beings that were part of satan and his you know his principalities his powers they you know they're they're powerful but they are not they are not the on the same level as god you know yahweh of israel was not was not on on an equal level of as you know baal or molech or these other these other gods of the of the nations yahweh is creator that was and that was their job was as israelites was to testify to all the nations of the sovereignty of of yahweh that he was the creator so um you know being a kingdom of priests it wasn't about them about them you know subduing nations physically and and and making a massive you know empire out of out of israel and and dominating you know all the nations around them through through physical um you know war and dominion that way but a witness to the glory and sovereign rule of yahweh the creator and um and and again calling on the calling on them to worship yahweh to not not to worship their own their own gods we see that uh in the psalms a lot you can turn to psalm 66 to to see that um for a minute 66 and 67 both both speak to that psalm 66 starting at verse 1 make us make a joyful shout to god all the earth sing out the honor of his name make his praise glorious say to god how awesome are your works through the greatness of your power your enemies shall submit themselves to you all the earth shall worship you and sing praises to you they shall sing praises to your name selah come and see the works of god he is awesome in his doing toward the sons of men he turned the sea into dry land they went through the river on foot there there we will rejoice in him he rules by his power forever his eyes observe the nations do not let the rebellious exalt themselves oh bless our god you peoples and make the voice of his praise to be heard so very very uh very clearly there this the this calling the other nations around to acknowledge the sovereignty of yahweh of israel now turn to uh turn to first kings chapter eight this is at the dedication of the temple the dedication of the of the temple remember again thinking thinking in terms of biblical theology temple temple is is you know a picture of the garden of eden this is what adam was supposed to do now we have what adam was supposed to you know build this the temple advance this garden um and and then he was to to to uh um like i said to this uh the propagator people a kingdom to to worshiping god well this is what solomon is doing here as a type of of adam he's built he's built a temple and then he's dedicating it now so think thinking you know temple and priesthood here now in uh in 1st kings chapter 8 verse 41 he's uh he says moreover concerning a foreigner who is not of your people israel but has come from a far country for your name's sake for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your outstretched arm when he comes and prays towards this temple here in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for that for which the foreigner calls to you that all peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you as do your people israel and that you may know that this temple which i have built is called by your name and then in verse 60 we see uh we see that again that that all the that all the peoples of the earth may know that yahweh is god there is there is no other let your heart therefore be loyal to the lord our god to walk in his statutes and keep his commandments to this day so that all the earth may know that you are that you are that you are yahweh that is that is um so often repeated making the earth aware of the of the universal dominion of yahweh calling the nations to acknowledge that and you know to the to the praise of his glory so what does that mean for us as the church well it means exactly the same thing i can repeat i can repeat that line making the earth aware of the universal dominion of yahweh and calling the nations to acknowledge that to the praise of his glory now nations there doesn't mean just you know ruling parties it means all people there that is the the job of the church is to advance the kingdom making the making the and we know this is done through christ we'll look at that we'll look at this in more detail um towards the end there but um but but the purpose of of the building of the kingdom the the uh through spreading the gospel spreading the the the the declaration jesus is king jesus says lord and you know calling all those to all the earth to bow the knee to king jesus so again um now but now i want to before we before i go on to this next the next description um here of his own special people i want to go jump back now to verse 5. um here verse 5. i jumped over this um this the spiritual house concept of uh of the church but you also well we looked at it somewhat but you also as livingstones are being up being built up a spiritual house now this this harkens back to the davidic covenant so if you want to if you want to turn to 2nd samuel chapter 7 ii samuel 7. that's where we see the davidic covenant start at verse verse eight now therefore thus you so so david wants to build a house for god that was the that was the the context here at temple he says i you know i i'm david says i'm building i'm living in a nice house i want to build a house for god nathan says go ahead and do it and then comes back to him and says hang on you know the lord came and this is what the lord the lord says to david now therefore thus you shall say to my servant david thus says the lord of hosts i took you from the sheepfold and from following the sheep to be the ruler over my people over israel and i have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you and have made you a great name like the name of the great men who are on the earth moreover i will appoint a place for my people israel and will plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore as previously since the time that i commanded judges to be over my people israel have caused you to rest from all your enemies also the lord tells you that he will make you a house when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers i will set up your seat after you who will come from your body and i will establish my kingdom he shall build a house for my name and i will establish the throne of his kingdom forever i will be his father and he shall be my son if he commits iniquity i will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men but my mercy shall not depart from him as i took it from saul whom i removed from from before you and your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you your throne shall be established forever so so david wants to build a house for god but then god says says that he's going to build david a house not not he's going to build david into a house is is the idea there he's not he's not he's not he's not going to build a house for david but he's going to build a house from david and and the the concept here is one of dynasty one or or house household we might say but but the idea of a dynasty now we see now we know that the the first person in that dynasty david's son solomon he was going to be the one to who would build that temple and and um you know god um god said that you know this is this this he's also going to this this house that uh that he's making of david it's going to be uh forever house it's going to be or and then and then david's son one who is also going to be yahweh's own son he says here would rule forever over that kingdom the kingdom that's established in god's name and it's that it's that the spiritual kingdom which we know is the church of god so so so so david's greater son than jesus he came to build a true spiritual temple which is the church and to do it out of out of to build this this this building out of the members of the household or the dynasty of god so it's a so the concept in the in the old testament is is um is is twofold we have we have a we have a temple building and we have we have uh a dynasty so um but in the new covenant it comes together in in one we have uh we have a dynasty but the dynasty is the temple is the house of god verse 5 says it there you in back in second uh or in first peter you are as the living stones are being built into a spiritual house so you as the the household the family of of god the dynasty of god are being are being built into this this temple place michael morales again says here the the the by it now by it is the hebrew word for house so morales uses morales uses um the word buy it here buy it the buy it david would like to build for god is a house a building yahweh rather will build david by it not only does yahweh reverse roles but he also escalates the building project from abaya to a house made with stones to abide made with living stones his sons so we we as the family of god as gods as god's people we have become the dwelling place of god we have the the holy spirit dwelling in us and we know this is just a guarantee or deposit of of the greater things to come so as christ continues to build that kingdom and then until the end when he delivers it to the father where we dwell with the father for all of eternity turn to ephesians chapter 2 for a minute ephesians 2 19 and 20 19 to 22 we see this this concept here fleshed out by paul in this instance ephesians 2 verse 19 now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of god having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets jesus christ himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building fitted being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the lord in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of god in the spirit so that is the that is the the the the the typology that we find here in the old testament now applied to the church that we as the people of god are are now the uh we're part of the household of god of the family of god the the you know which is which is that spiritual house that temple that god is god and man dwelling together again as i said we're we're just in a state of of you know the holy spirit dwelling in us in in that way as that as that uh as that that taste of the greater things to come when the when the when the the house is complete when the temple the kingdom of christ is complete so so that is that is what we are that um that that the household of god and again as as now going jumping back to verse nine we are um in in first peter we that's because we we are this the household of god because we are this people um for his own possession or his his own special people the new king james says or a people for his own possession or his own his his his inheritance the the the nes piece as a people for his own possession that's the concept there the the the kingdom the the nation that god the household of god that he chose as his inheritance the ones who would be who would be his people think thinking back to babel again have that concept in in our minds there but now as a church we are we are the special the special people of god we saw that um we saw that in in deuteronomy 32 that's uh we read that you can jump back there to to uh for for the reminder deuteronomy 32. um at the the song of moses there at uh um that the lord's portion is his people y'all jacob is the place of his inheritance so um and again he he found him in a desert land in a wasteland howling wilderness circled them instructed and kept him as the apple of his eye his protection of yahweh rescuing out of that out of darkness now this is this is for the the the the people of god now uh we also saw that in in exodus 19 as well we read that you will be uh you will be a special treasure to me above all people we see that concept of special treasure um in elsewhere in uh in deuteronomy deuteronomy 7 verse 6 14 verse 2 26 18 several other places the this concept of being the special treasure of yahweh the the the the people of god um you know all through all through the old testament that was that reminder to the israelites in terms of their temporal blessing their temporal protection temporal life in the land all these things was that you know the you know you were my people israel that concept is all is all through there god had rescued them at the tower of babel and he'd rescued them from egypt he would rescue them again from babylon because they were his special people and now and now peter here he applies it directly to the believers that you are the special people of god now i think it's it's it doesn't take uh it doesn't take much to to just realize like what a what a a blessing that should make our hearts sing when we think about that that yahweh the creator looks at us his people those who believe in christ and and they are they are and he says you are my special people what a what a what a blessing that he's he's rescued us he's called us out of darkness into marvelous light that's what uh what peter says here at the at the end of verse nine he called you out of darkness into his marvelous light because because he because you are his special people because he chose you because he he's making you a holy nation a house for himself one to dwell with because you are his his because you are special to him that is a as a glorious glorious truth um we see turn to acts 26 for a minute we see this uh um paul speaking here in acts 26 recounting the words of christ to him at his conversion acts 26 uh verse 17. jesus is speaking to to him paul's recounting this he says so jesus says to paul i will deliver you from the jewish people as well as from the gentiles to whom i now send you to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light from the power of satan to god that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me so that is a that is a beautiful beautiful thing when we understand that where we were in in darkness where as paul says under the in from the in the power of satan satan trying to keep us in darkness to keep us from to in in there for to keep us from hearing the hearing the gospel and and and and though the means that god uses to rescue his his people satan had us there held us there but but but god came christ christ comes and as the conqueror conquers us out of there and in doing so he's making a household he's making a a nation a kingdom whom god takes as his special people and then and one who who will who brings us into that eternal inheritance where we dwell with him for all of eternity remember the old covenant the israelites there was there was great blessing for the israelites but it was all temporal things it was all it was all things to do with life in the land in in a plot of land in the middle east it was it was um you know the the protection from from enemies this these types of temporal blessings blessings to be sure but but as we as again hebrews 8 we christ is that is the mediator of a way a better covenant better promises these are the promises that we have that that we have this eternal inheritance as the as the true special people of yahweh the creator so um we'll look at now now now briefly in terms of the responsibilities or the duties or the role of this of this nation this people um this this kingdom that christ is is building there we see we see um we see it in terms of of a prophet priest and king type of type of role now we have to understand when we when we when we think of when we think of christ we we we look at this biblical theology we look at at adam adam's job in the garden adam's responsibility that he that he failed to do but it was one of prophet priest and king christ is the second adam or the the last adam the the the eschatology eschatological adam paul calls him the last adam christ is the one who builds his church we know that christ is christ is is adam so when we apply when we apply these things as we as we uh as as i hope to hear in terms of our responsibility how it how it it it it represents mimics um the you know the prophet priest and kingly duties we are not we're not replacing christ we're not you know we're not doing his work for him whatever it may be christ is the one who is building his church but christ uses means to do that and the means that he uses the ones he is commissioned to do this is his church that was that's the the great commission we call that is the commissioning of his people to go and build this kingdom through the declaration of of his of the gospel the gospel message and that's what that's what peter tells us to do here at the end of verse 9 2 that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light now there's there's definitely an aspect where we are we we praise our lord and our savior for for what he's done just the simple fact that he has that he has called us out of out of darkness that he saved us we we rejoice we praise for that to be sure but but the um it says here that you may proclaim the praises of him if you have a if you have uh i think most other versions say the the excellencies because because the word is a different word and then then the typical word for praise in the greek but it's it's one of of of praising the the or declaring the the virtues the the the the the the excellencies the the the amazingness of our savior so it's not just thanking him in praise but it's declaring the who he is you know to the to the nations to proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light and that's the that that that is the message of the gospel that is the the gospel of jesus christ the gospel that is the power of god unto salvation paul tells us that they're that we and that we are to we are to be the ones proclaiming that jesus is building his kingdom but he's doing so through the proclamation of his word by his people the proclamation of that of that gospel message that jesus jesus is king jesus is excellent jesus is glorious and jesus can can save you as well that is the that is the message we proclaim and then um again we so yeah so so much could be said on these things and i've tried to really shrink it down in order to to to fit this you know this passage into these two sermons but um but we'll look at the priestly the priestly role um as well we see that in back in verse five there that uh of of first peter two that you as living stones are being built up a spiritual house a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to god through jesus christ it's important through jesus christ that's always our that's always our our um we always remember that christ is christ is is the the mediator christ is the one who's doing this and we come to the father we offer these sacrifices to the father through our our savior the lord jesus christ we come to the father through the son and now these are the sacrifices that he's that he's speaking of here these spiritual sacrifices this is not this is not atonement for sin that's not that's not the you know that's not with the concept here at all that uh you know we're supposed to offer up some sort of atonement um atoning sacrifice but rather you know those though that that atonement the one you know one for all sacrifice one time that was made by our mediator the lord jesus christ the head of the church that cornerstone we understand that um you know so so so then what does it mean for for you know new testament believers to offer sacrifices these are these are thanksgiving sacrifices um you know so presenting our bodies in in service to the lord romans 12 verse one we can see that um we can see that they're presenting our our bodies it's not not just simply um service but it's it's it's also impurity i beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of god that you present your body is a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to god which is your reasonable service so that is um that is that is that is one way in which our our new testament tells us to that we see that we can offer sacrifice our our bodies it's it's holy holy living it's and and um being being being uh living living a life of of holiness in in in praise to god sacrificing our bodies in that sense um we also have we also have uh the the sacrifice of praise the bible talks about um hebrews 13 15 therefore by him let us let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to god that is the fruit of our lips giving praise to his name we also have the sacrifice of doing good to others do not forget to do good and this is hebrews 13 16 now do do not forget to do good and to share for with such sacrifices god is well pleased but again this is these are very practical um practical things and in terms of where the new testament you know uses that terminology of sacrifice in terms of our response to god um simple practical things we can do we must do um but again we have to we we can't we also want to think in terms of of the of the the role of of adam in the in the in the garden and eve as as his help meet and now us as the as the church with our head christ it um carrying out that role as well so that is the you know that is the the rule there again i'll i'll reread that quote from michael morales that his kingship would be in the in the service of of his priestly office so speaking of adam namely that he would rule and subdue for the sake of gathering all creation to the creator's footstool for worship for the liturgical declaration yahweh reigns so through our through us i don't want to say i don't want to say being prophets that's gonna that's wrong but our our declaring the word proclaiming the gospel you know by god's grace people are saved and we and and and and then the declaration or what our job then is to is is to like like adam here um you know for the liturgical declaration yahweh reigns that's our purpose as we share the gospel as we advance as the gospel advances that we that we um bring people under into the kingdom of god proclaiming the praises of god we we find that uh we find that in revelation as well where the saints are called the the the royal priesthood or a kingdom of priests there so that is that is our that is our our our role it's that priest king role again like i said we're not superseding our king the lord jesus um you know but but we are um and we're not we're not ruling and reigning through through military might um you know trying to to conquer the earth to make it uh to make the earth a christian nation we're not reigning through through political might where we where we you know we want all of society to be to be you know structured um back i'm thinking in terms of theonomy so just just um you know that's that's uh you know that's not our our role either as a church the church is to is to proclaim the gospel of our lord jesus christ to call all all men women boys and girls from every tribe tongue people and nation two to bow the knee to our king and to proclaim that the excellencies of who he is there so so again it's not it's not we're not reigning through through military might um you know the emperor constantine tried that various english kings and queens try that it doesn't it doesn't work you know that that's that's not what the god what the kingdom is is all about the kingdom of christ is not an earthly kingdom it's a spiritual kingdom so we're giving them that that message that changes the heart the gospel that is the power of god through to all unto salvation to all who believe so um sorry i'm trying to i'm trying to cut and paste here um as i go um so so again we we are to uh adam was to be fruitful and multiply he was to fill the earth with with image bearers who would proclaim the sovereignty of yahweh we are to proclaim the gospel um as as the means that christ that christ uses to be fruitful and multiply his kingdom so so the command being fruitful and multiply in in the garden is not to have as many babies as you as you can have that's you know it's okay to have as many babies as you can have that is that is there's that is a great and glorious thing blessed is the man who has this quiver full of them the bible says but that that but that application to us in the new testament is to is to proclaim the gospel to be fruitful multiply the kingdom of god um and and um you know those who as adam was to was to fill the earth with image bearers we proclaim the gospel and that gospel is what god uses to to restore unto the image of god those who are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him colossians 3 10. so that's our that's our uh our our our role now a few things then we we get to the um that sort of concludes our exposition there um i'm sorry if i'm a little bit scattered there's more things i could say here but we're out of time but just a few things that i want to uh i want to us to to appreciate to to marvel at um first is is just the incredible imagery in the in the uh of spiritual redemption that's played out in history in in the people of israel that god sovereignly over he orchestrated history in the in the the covenantal realities of the nation of israel to typify and and show the the the the the true covenant the the covenant of grace and redemption um in that sense that uh that that is to to typify the redemption of all true believers of the spiritual israel so so again you know we last week it talked a little bit dispensationalism it loses that um the that that aspect of it when you've separated those two things the israel and the church we lose those beautiful connections that are there and then as i said um as or i was it was where we were singing number 135 i think it was uh it's it's a psalm it's 135 is a is is a beautiful song but if you are as a dispensationalist now and i would say consistent one because i think many you know would uh would would still take these things uh to to heart and and apply it but but psalm 135 makes no sense to dispensationalists to to to a consistent dispensation you can't you there's no comfort in there speaking of of the of the sovereignty of god of the over his people of the the protection the rescue the inheritance they have there's no comfort for us if we if we separate those two but we understand the the connection between the two and these things that were of incredible blessing in in the old covenant they were just in terms of of temporal things how much more for us as the spiritual people of god or these blessings um blessings for us so um so so we can we can we can we can rejoice in that we can appreciate the the the beauty the unity of the bible there and god's sovereignty over over history and and then of course i think it's very it's very plain very very very uh very easily applied but just to to rejoice in the fact that we are the chosen people of god for his special possession the creator of of the creator of heaven and earth that he chose us us who were in darkness and rebellion he chose us for for himself and made us made us that um his special people look at verse 10 we'll close with that verse 10 who who once were not a people but are now the people of god who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy so we can rejoice in that as paul says in colossians 1 13 he delivered us from the power of darkness conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of his love in whom we have redemption through his blood so we'll close on on that note i hope you you were greatly encouraged greatly greatly comforted by that especially as we as we look at a world that it's evil it's wicked it's it's we it's darkness it's the it's it's the the it's part of the kingdom of darkness but yet we know what we have we are we have we have become yahweh's special people rescued from that going to the new heavens new earth wherein righteousness dwells so let us let us close in prayer oh lord what a humbling and and amazing thought that it is to be called the special people of yahweh those whom you have chosen for yourself to be the ones with you for all of eternity in communion with you lord our hearts rejoice when we think of these things i pray that you would that you would greatly encourage us as we and we would take to heart these things and and to be encouraged and that our lives would be we would be we would be full of praise and and and full of of uh declaration of the excellencies of that one who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light so lord i pray that you would that you would bless us the rest of this day we pray that you would bring us back together this evening if it is in your will and we pray this in the name of our savior the one who called us out of darkness into marvelous light in the name of our lord jesus christ amen well we'll close with the with the doxology 568 you can stand and and sing that together please [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] remain the god of all grace who called us to his eternal glory by christ jesus after you have suffered a while perfect establish strengthen and settle you to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever amen you can be seated for a time of meditation after that i will come up and pray for the food and then after the and then we'll enjoy a luncheon together you