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Everything Sad Will Come Untrue

May 9, 2021 Series: Easter

Topic: Holy Week & Easter Scripture: Romans 8:18–39

Transcript (By MS Word)

Amen, what a beautiful song.

Thank you worship team.

This morning we are continuing looking at Romans 8, so we'll be finishing out that chapter.

In my opinion, one of the greatest chapters in all the Bible.

Not that you ever want to lift one up over the other, but just.

If you can memorize a chapter.

That would be a good one.

We've been looking at the meaning of the resurrection for those for us.

All of us who are living in this life.

We're not yet with the Lord Heroes again, and we know that in a very real sense, we've been raised with him.

But yet we're also in our mortal bodies.

And So what does it look like to live?

This side of being with the Lord, whether it's his return.

Which we long for or are going to be with him until he returns later.

So we're doing that series we kind of began at first Corinthians 15, where Paul, as I say, every week, highlights the fact that death is the separation from God and he says, where is he says, the sting of death is sin.

Then when the power of sin is the law, and so he kind of sets the stage, thereby saying our attempt to live apart from God, which is what we do in the flesh.

Is the very definition of what it would mean to sin, and it's the very epitome of death, and so we then moved to Romans 678 to sort of unpack some of the meanings of law and of the battle of the fact we have the new nature and the old nature. Then last week we explored from Romans 8 the fact that we are now in the spirit.

If you are a Christian, the spirit of God lives and dwells in you.

And and it's such a beautiful, UM.

Passage I just highly recommend going back and meditating over and over on the entire chapter, but he ends Chapter 8 or excuse me that passage.

Verse 17 by saying where heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ provided we suffer.

And that's a very hard concept for us suffering.

He's already set it back in Chapter 5.

And when he talked about that, we are justified by faith.

We have peace with God.

We've been glorified, and he says, now we rejoice in our sufferings.

And I think that's a hard understanding.

I think for years I thought of suffering as those few moments in life that everybody has a differing levels that we just wish we wouldn't have.

But we sort of know might be coming.

And of course, those are part of what suffering is.

But what we're going to see this morning is that a more full picture of suffering.

Is life in in this world that's groaning?

Paul really sets the stage much larger than those few events.

We're all afraid of it.

It says basically moment by moment being apart from God and the wrath, the wrap that this world is suffering from because of the fall creates suffering.

And So what we're going to do is read the rest of this passage and I just want to remind us that.

Uhm, it's our attempts to avoid this suffering is the problem.

That's kind of the problem that we see in Paul in Romans 18.

Romans 8 is that the sin is our attempts to get rid of this suffering through improper means or methods that have nothing to do with God and what Paul is inviting us to do is to understanding the full scope of the story.

So let's listen together starting at verse 18.

For, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the Sons of God.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its ******* to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together and the pains of childbirth until now, and not only the creation, but we ourselves who have.

The first fruits of the spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons.

The redemption of our bodies.

For in this hope we were saved.

Now hope that is seen is not hope.

For who hopes for what he sees?

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Likewise, the spirit helps us in our weakness, but we do not know what to pray for as we ought.

But the spirit himself intercedes for us with Groanings too deep for words, and he who searches heart knows what is in the mind of the spirit, because the spirit intercedes for the Saints according to the will of God.

And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good.

For those who are called according to his purpose.

For those whom he foreknew he also pre destined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the first born among many brothers.

And those whom he pre destined.

He also called and those whom he called he also justified.

And those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him, graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

It is God who justifies.

Who is to condemn Christ?

Jesus is the one who died more than that who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shell tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness or danger or sword.

As it is written.

For your sake, we are being killed all the day long.

We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, and all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is the word of the Lord.

Jesus, we praise you.

For this word, for the work you have done on the cross for defeating Death, Holy Spirit, we praise you.

You've applied that truth to your Saints.

And now we ask that you would help us understand these amazing truths that we would walk with you and be with you in glory, Amen.

There's a lot here.

I mean, I'm realizing as I read it again, like this would take weeks and weeks and weeks to fully unpack, so I'm going to have to do a little bit of a.

A job to get all the content into a key idea, but would love if any of you want to go deeper.

We can.

I think we can cover most of it.

This week I was dumb.

Watching a video, a woman that's a missionary with surge in Uganda.

But she's a physician missionary, but she also writes fiction in the in.

The interview is about why she writes these stories and how it impacts her ministry.

She has for every child she wrote a new little book and it helps with the children in the village where they serve.

Then just she said one line that stuck out.

Now we've talked a lot about story and about how all stories point to these stories.

I think that's not unfamiliar to you, but just the fact that she said this way helped me.

She said.

What makes this story so impactful?

One of the things?

Is that you know when you're reading a story, it has a beginning and ending.

Like you know you're not going to be just left hanging.

And so often, even though we might say our lives are part of a story, there's a sense at times that we don't know the ending.

We don't know where we're going.

It's sort of a a serial serial type show, you know sitcom.

We don't know how long the runs gonna last, mines a sitcom.

And what we remember is the Bible is a narrative and what Paul saying in Romans 8 is you have to see that.

We this is not just a a nice way to tell a sermon.

Paul is saying you are part of a story, a grand, the grand epic of all of life.

If you are a Christian, you've been grafted into that story.

You have a role, but we must understand that story to know who we.

We are.

And how to make sense of our lives?

And so that's the goal of Romans 8 is to really remember the bigger picture.

Now the problem would be for any version of Christianity that you have.

Where you don't do that you you don't see how your daily life plugs into the biblical narrative, it's insufficient.

And it's damaging.

And so our job as followers of Christ who follow his word is to come to these types of scriptures and ask show us how we are grafted into this story, which Paul does beautifully here in Romans 8, and that's what we're going to look at this morning.

Because God has called us as his children.

We are to be the characters.

We actually are the characters in the drama of redemption, so we're going to just start with his beginning, which is the the stage is set.

I I thought I had as I was coming up, it's Mother's Day. My mom used to always shush me when I was talking at the beginning of his show, and she would famously say I'm trying to catch the plot.

I didn't know what that meant.

But she would miss the plot.

Well, let's set the plot.

This is for your mom.

I don't know if you're watching a movie.

Paul sets it right at the beginning he says, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with what the glory.

First thing you have to understand the glory.

There's something Paul sees at the end that the the word he chooses here is glory.

And it's going to be revealed and he draws us in as a as as people of God, to us, right?

That's verse 18.

And then he goes a little bit further.

He says 4.

The creation waits with eager longing.

For the revealing of the Sons of God.

Now if you go back to chapter one, Paul begins as amazing letter by starting with the beginning like he says, maybe he's talking to just man mankind, human beings, all humans.

The wrath of God is being poured out.

He says that in what's that he's saying, which that's sounds incredibly harsh, but he's saying because of our fallenness because of the willful choice Adam and Eve made.

Here's the effects.

There is a wrath of God, and God has to follow.

His law, he can't say well I didn't mean where they mean that rule.

You know, like parents do.

Sometimes he's both just and the justifier, so he's just in carrying out the wrath.

But we know that he's also the justifier and that it's his son that comes and rescues us from the wrath.

But the point Paul is now making in Chapter 8 is, let's talk.

Now that broadly creation is.

Waiting it's longing for something.

What's it longing for?

The revealing of the Sons of God a lot of times when bad things happen, people say where was God?

And what Paul is saying do Christians is listen?

First of all, a lot of bad things are happening.

The news can't cover them all.

Bad things are happening in my heart, my story, our world, this the life of this church and all across the globe.

And we are in this posture of longing and grow.

Running until that last son of God or daughter, no sons of God as a position as sons, that both men and women are grafted into.

Just like the Bride of Christ.

Men and women are the Bride of Christ.

We both have to play that role.

We have to understand that sons of God mean the men and the women that are drawn in as children of God.

There's going to be a last one, and it's a.

I believe it would be amazing novel if one of you want to write like a story, the last St the day that St.

I don't know if it's the day they confess and Jesus enters there.

Does God give them a little bit of leeway?

But at some point there's that last St and Jesus says I'm coming back.

So there's a story we're involved in.

Right and in the meantime.

Creation is groaning.

It's a hard word.

That's the ending is glory, but the conflict is this groaning of creation.

Now, I can't.

There's so much you could talk about with that weather.

Sure.

You know pollution, the the things that you know when Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden, you get thorns and things that created the the pain in childbearing.

So these were the effects of the spiritual death, right?

But then mankind is also contributed so you could spend a lot of time on what it means that creation is subjected to the to the.

To this pouring out of this penalty, but what we know is it's the creation itself is waiting and longing for restoration.

So the point is the crowning jewel.

Of creation is man.

And when man is redeemed, and all of the redeemed are set and ready, then creation will be released.

It says set free from its ******* to corruption.

That's a pretty big story.

That's more than like one.

That's like a trilogy, right?

Like if you're going to write that, that's not a short story.

Paul is drawing us into.

The drama that is all of time.

And he says, but not only that.

He says.

We ourselves. Verse 23.

Who have the first fruits of the spirit are also waiting eagerly.

Now I want you to hear these words, he says, we groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

He's not teaching that we're not yet adopted.

He's teaching that we the the adoption has begun.

I don't have a perfect metaphor, but it might be something like you've already adopted a child, but you're waiting for a certain date to go pick up the child, but it's as good as done, and in this case we have the first fruits of that adoption which we talked about last week.

The Holy Spirit, but we don't have.

It's not finalized because we long to return to be.

With our father face to face, that's the grand story, but in the meantime, we're groaning.

We groan inwardly, Paul says.

And that groaning and Mama earlier, he calls it. Longing is a longing for all things sad to come, untrue the title of the sermon. It comes from Tolkien Samwise Gamgee, but it's it's really a reflection of Revelation 21. It's weird, long for the curse of this life to be reversed.

And anything short of that longing.

Is man-made, it's a man made religion?

Anything that's short of that epic desire that the spirit gives us?

Is short changing it in fact?

I think is living out of the flesh.

If it's simply, I just want my family to be happy.

I want my community to flourish.

I want my church to do this or I want my.

No.

The longing is for what Paul is talking about.

The new heavens and the new Earth Christians.

Is that your longing?

I'm I'm saying Paul is calling us to a reorientate

Mission.

Remember the movie The Matrix?

I'm not gonna give tons of information, but for me it's just that great illustration where it's the taking of the pill that opens up Neo eyes to the reality of the matrix.

And I I would say for Christians it's similar that when the spirit comes, Paul teaches really starting in eight and before because the fact there's no condemnation.

Because we now have a life in God, we're no longer under the penalty of law.

There's no, there's a freedom.

To actually notice.

The problem.

And we can actually proclaim our longing for full redemption, even though we have no idea how we're going to do it.

Most of us don't do that because we think, well, if I say something is broken, I've got to fix it.

But the Gospel says no, no God fixing it.

The Holy Spirit is doing this.

It's been done.

In fact, Jesus has already been raised and you're raised with him, and so now we are invited in.

To this process.

Of naming the hurt and longing for the cure that brings us to our second point.

Where do we get our lines?

Is that cheesy?

Where these actors we need lines?

My lines.

So Paul begins in 26 with the word likewise.

The whole first point is there's this grand drama of redemption.

We have glory is the end point.

The current conflict is groaning both of creation and we ourselves.

And now Paul is going to transition to our role.

And he says, likewise, the spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought.

But the spirit himself intercedes for us with Groanings too deep for words.

That word is repeated three times the creation groans we are self grown.

And now the spirit groans.

What Paul is teaching there is.

A groaning is actually a good thing to groan is too long.

And when he says words that are, it's too deep for words.

It doesn't mean that we have no idea this is going on.

It simply means it's not simple.

The prevailing theory is that there are deep.

Longings that we can't even articulate at all.

Points that any problem we have here.

We could name there's something even deeper and even deeper and even deeper.

And what the spirit is doing is he's saying you think you want a new job or something something out here, it's important.

I've got something down here that you really are longing for, and it's a groan that's so deep.

That there's only one answer for that grown.

And that's where I says he intercedes for us. Look at what Paul goes on to say in verse 27 and he who searches hearts. That's God the father.

Knows what is in the mind of the spirit.

That's the Holy Spirit because the spirit, the Holy Spirit intercedes for the Saints according to the will of God.

Paul is giving us the background to how this interplay is happening and the fact that God the father.

Is able to see into our souls, and the spirit is saying they don't realize what they really need, but here's what they really need and it's something deeper than you thought.

When the spirit is in that posture.

Of interacting with the father by bringing up these deep needs, an illustration I've used before that just I found it on YouTube is the Tom and Jerry.

Were there babysitting a little duck?

I don't know why.

But the little ducks, just oblivious, running around the world, you know the zoo and construction sites and different depending on the episode and Tom and Jerry's job for the first time that I can remember they're getting along is to basically protect that duck from demise and the ducks not even aware, right? If you can, you picture that episode.

If you can't.

YouTube it.

So.

The spirit is interceding for us.

That even in we don't.

We're not the ones who are going to figure out everything we're doing wrong, and then the spear goes now.

The spirit is the one who reveals to us not only our sin that we can see, but he's already interceding for the things we can't see and the hurts and their brokenness that we don't even know about.

And so Paul goes into this.

Amazing place that I wish I could spend a lot of time on, but here's what the Spirit has done.

Let's know what Paul says.

He says before we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good.

For those who are called according to his purpose.

That is a very misused verse.

Let me tell you what it's not saying.

This is not a universalist verse.

It's not saying for every human being, no matter what happens in your life, it works to your good.

It doesn't say that it's for those.

Who love God?

Right and all things work together for good.

For those who are called according to God purposes.

What that means is a lot of things that seem really bad in my life today.

In the end, I hate to use the word term grand scheme, but in God's Providence those things are shaping.

Our future and his future purposes.

That means that right now, May 9th, 2021. Every event that's ever happened in your life, the things that you've done that are awful.

The things that others have done to you that are awful.

Or the great things that have happened to you that you give praise for all that stuff is all being used by a sovereign God for his purposes.

And it's good for you and I.

That is fascinating.

It's hard to grasp that, but it's fascinating.

Where I wish I could spend more time and a lot of you probably spend more time here.

Listen to this series of theological statements to back up what Paul has just said.

He says for those whom he that's God, the father, 4 new.

That doesn't mean foreknowledge only means four intimacy that he that he's harkening back to this concept of knowing.

That God the father knows his elect from the beginning of time.

He also predestined those elect to be conformed to the image of his son.

We believe in predestination.

A lot of people like, Oh my gosh, she's got it absolutely like that is one of the greatest doctrines that God is sovereign, and that if you want to be in his Kingdom, you are invited.

That's the mystery.

He doesn't say well.

The invitation wasn't supposed to go to you.

It's supposed to go to your roommate.

You just stumbled upon it.

Oh, it's embarrassing if you want it, it's yours because the spirits.

The reason you want it.

Your eyes have been opened, and Furthermore what that shows is if you want Jesus.

Not only is he yours, God foreknew you and predestines you.

Not only did he do that, he's conforming you to the image of his son so that we going back to this concept of story.

Jesus is now the first born among many brothers.

Right one of Jesus is Nate.

He's in his age.

He's a man.

He's the first born of creation.

He's also God.

We will not be like that part of him, but we will image him in his madness by being his brothers for the rest of eternity.

And that would be brothers and sisters, again, remembering that this is dealing with a type of.

Kind of a metaphor.

I hate to say that I'm not trying to be.

It takes a lot more explanation.

We can talk later.

Men and women are called into this same relationship.

And also those whom he predestine he called, that's the spirit who opens our eyes and those whom he called.

That means your eyes are open.

I think I'm interested Jesus.

Might you be for me?

He justifies.

That means you've been counted righteous.

That means you are clean.

Your record has been ripped apart.

That doesn't mean you're wholly apart from him.

That doesn't mean you all of a sudden wake up and you go do amazing stuff.

It means God looks at you and your record of sin has been torn.

It's gone.

It was poured out on him on the cross and listened to the last line right there in verse 30 and those whom he justified.

Past tense he also glorified.

Marsha Carnes isn't in here, but she's the only person I've ever met that reads the last page of a story.

Might anyone know that by her?

She reads the last page of a story.

Well that's what Paul is telling us to do.

Like there's the last page of the story, you're glorified now, wherever you find yourself in the middle of that story, understand these things are true.

So what do you where do you go to get your lines?

Now, what does it look like?

How does this work?

Uhm?

This is the hardest part, I think, because we're not robots. There's a mystery, right? Everything we do is under the Providence of God. God is 100% solver, all sovereign, but we're not. We're not free to then act like we're just robots. 'cause that's not true either.

That's one of the mysteries.

It's it's a both and.

But no matter what you say, God is sovereign.

Over everything but yeah, you don't get to say well then he made me do it because you are making the choices and it's this mystery but as Christians.

We have the Holy Spirit who gives us life.

And who brings up that he has connected us to God the father, and has given us this opportunity to live out of his power.

And So what does that look like as the as those that are drawn drawn up into this drama?

And listen to what Paul says.

What then shall we say to these things?

What things all of that amazing theology?

What shall we say?

Now it's interesting because my tendency would be to stop and say, well, what shall I say?

It's amazing, it's great.

It's and he says wait.

But if God is for us, who can be against us?

Did you hear that question?

Why would he say that?

Because in our flesh we doubt that's why all the way back at Roman 7 Pulse talking about their wrestling of the new nature and the old nature, and how in Romans 8 we finally realized the Spirit says there's no condemnation, but we are going to have to by faith believe that over.

And over again, freshly because in our flesh we're thinking something out to get me something.

Is there something trying to Take Me Out?

Right?

Do you know that for every?

Thing we choose.

This is every sin we do is our attempt to squelch that desire or maybe to meet it on our own.

There's a desire behind it.

There's an itch we can't scratch, and we're saying to God I don't trust you.

I'm going to go after it myself, and when we resist that urge and fight that temptation, the battle.

We talked about a few weeks ago.

What's going to happen is you're going to start having this inner dialogue of is?

Is this safe for people?

For me I feel and what's it require faith?

Faith, that's what that's the whole point of this passage.

Paul saying, you're suffering.

Wait for it.

With patience you, if you already had the thing you hope, and that's not hope.

Trust in the Lord.

He's rescuing you.

They have faith in him who can be against you.

And I'm going to. I'll pick up on that in a minute, but there's this middle quote for Paul and he's quoting from Psalm 42, where he says for your sake, we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

You you have to, we need to understand.

The original audience knew the whole song.

They sang it.

So when I if I said something like Amazing Grace, that saved a Wretch like me, your mind would immediately know the whole context of that song.

So for this audience they would hear that and they would know the whole context. Let me read it to you from Psalm 42.

Yet, for your sake we are killed all the day long.

We are regarded as sheep.

To be slaughtered.

To.

Slaughtered, who are the pronouns who were?

Who are you are and who's the wiewel?

The we are the people of God that follow God, but yet for your sake we are killed.

Who's here?

Who's this rider talking about?

And then you look at verse 23, awake.

Why are you sleeping?

Oh Lord.

Rouse yourself, do not reject us forever.

I'm not suggesting that the writer of the Psalm, nor was Paul saying we should be angry with God.

That's not the point.

The point is, we should grown for the actual issue where we find the only solution.

Is the Salvation we have in Jesus all of the other selections we make are but poor choices and and Paul is inviting us to with the somnus cry out to God.

All.

 

For your sake, we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Now, just before that Paul has said who can separate you from Christ Jesus, the one who died and he says, will it be tribulation or distress? Or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? And then he quotes Psalm 44.

22 and I just want to remind us guys, that's that has in the past been for many of us in our modern minds like that would never happen.

And then we come through a pandemic, and may I say.

I'm sure this is super risky compared to the things that these people were about to go through.

The pandemic might not be the biggest deal that we just faced.

That Christians will be harmed that the enemy is going to come for us.

That is what Paul is teaching, and that's what happened for that audience.

And that's going to happen earlier.

He says creation, and we are groaning as in pains of childbirth.

Jesus himself uses the metaphor in the Gospels.

What does that mean?

It gets worse and worse and worse until the end.

Are we prepared for that?

Are you willing to cry out?

For your sake God, we are being killed all day long.

We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

I think you should feel that that's the groaning, but here's the answer that God gives.

I am the sheep that was slaughtered.

You're not going to be slaughtered.

You may feel it.

It may.

At times you may think that's what's happening that at all points Jesus is saying.

I have been slaughtered.

I have been raised.

I have ascended.

You have this spirit and you are completely safe even when it doesn't feel like the.

So when these earthly things like tribulations and distresses, and persecutions, and famines, and nakedness and danger, come, he's saying, the goal is not to weather the storm that would be being a conqueror, we made it through that storm.

Right, the tribulation that we had last year is over.

We're through this one more.

Conquerors, right?

We're all sitting here as conquerors.

But Paul in verse 37 says no.

You are more than conquerors.

Why?

Because not only can we handle pandemics and tribulations and nakedness in distress, which when they're removed, you're still in your mortal body awaiting a final death pool.

Like no, no, no, let me explain to you the story you were caught up in.

We are more than conquerors.

For I'm sure that neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor rulers, nor things present nor things.

To come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything, and all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Is that our hope?

Christian is that your hope?

Hey man, the love of God nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus is that your hope practically?

What do you do?

In a minute I wrote down some practical applications and Jeremiah 6 Jeremiah writes.

Thus as the Lord stand by the roads and look and ask for the ancient paths where the good way is and walk in it and find rest for your souls.

Christian, here's the goal.

Walk in the paths of Christ.

Here's what it looks like.

There's something that seems hard for me.

My flesh says I've got a solution.

Check out that website.

Make that purchase make this decision.

Say that word, call that person all the sins we choose.

And Paul is saying no, put the death to sin by pressing into the spirit, and the spirit is saying you're safe.

Thanks.

Those things aren't going to rescue you.

It's going to hurt.

You're going to have this tumultuous moment where you're not sure what to do with this this issue, but we can rejoice why?

Because what it reveals is that we are growing.

Let's name our grounding.

Let's say Holy Spirit.

I know that there are deeper things.

Will you show me that what I'm longing for at my core is to be with my heavenly Father, the love of God?

And will you show me Holy Spirit that these things are true?

And so we get out the script?

Let me read this script over and over again.

What shall we say to these things of God before us who can be against us?

And we read this gospel message.

When we praise the Lord that this is the path we're on and we long for his return, and we set up, we set our eyes on true glory.

Anything less than that is man-made religion.

And I would ask us all to examine.

Are we ready to give up our man-made attempts and run in the Gospel?

To the true glory that we awaits for us.

The adoption and inheritance of eternal life.

Let's pray.

Spirit, we praise you that you have given us this message.

We confess, Lord, that it's not for a lack of Bibles there everywhere.

But it's for a lack of our hearts.

Turning to them.

Opening our scripture.

Where you promised to show us your word and illuminate it to our souls.

Teach us to study in the feast until.

Meditate and define life Lord in your gospel.

Teach us also to name and confess the areas where we are looking toward other gods.

And teach us to be bold, knowing that we're not the ones that can change our heart.

You are, in fact, if we're even able to confess, it's because your spirits already at work.

Father, for those in this room, if there are any that do not already have a relationship to you, I ask Holy Spirit, let them by Faith cry out to you.

Let them understand that right now.

They can confess a longing to be.

With you forever.

Or for those of us, that might be a little bit stagnant in our faith.

I pray.

Also, we would confess and repent.

Freshly and Lord for those dear brothers and sisters who are walking steadfastly, continue to renew them in your strength, that we would all as a body of Christ.

Be filled with your spirit for your glory.

Amen.