 as good stewards of grace. 1 Peter chapter four versus one through 11. And again tonight, our subject is service in the Lord's church. And as I was thinking about our text, 1 Peter chapter four versus one through 11 and that subject of stewardship, I remembered years ago hearing a story about Queen Victoria. When Queen Victoria was a child, she had no idea as a child that she was in line for the throne. She was growing up, they were teaching her and structuring her, but she didn't realize what was before her. Those around her thought it best in her instruction not to tell her, not to let her know about those things. So her instructors or teachers trying to prepare her for the future diligently were having difficulty motivating Queen Victoria. Couldn't get her motivated. And she didn't take her studies seriously. She had difficulty doing the work. She often got distracted, wouldn't do the work. And so one of her instructors, Luis Lasin was her name, would record the young, not yet Queen Victoria's conduct in a behavior book that she began to keep regarding her studies, regarding her education. For example, on November 1st, 1831, Queen Victoria, Victoria at that time, was naughty and vulgar, she wrote in her book. In September 1832, she was all caps, very, very, very, very, four times, underlined four times, horribly naughty, right? Finally, having difficulty with Victoria, her teachers decided to tell her that one day she would be Queen, that she was in line for the throne. The thought was that Queen Victoria, Victoria, having some understanding of her stewardship, some understanding of the responsibility that was before her, that it might shape up her behavior, it might have an impact on her conduct. Well, upon hearing this, that she would one day inherit the throne, Victoria quietly said, then I will be good. I will be good. The simple realization that she had inherited this high calling gave her a sense of responsibility. It gave her a sense of stewardship. And that sense of responsibility profoundly impacted her conduct from then on. I think Victoria went on to learn five languages, became a very prolific writer, a very serious sober-minded student. Now, the moral of that story is this. What we think and what we believe will have a profound impact on how we live and how we act. Those things are intimately connected. They cannot be torn asunder. What we think, what we believe impacts how we live and how we act. It's going to have an impact on our conduct. You and I have a far greater inheritance than Victoria had, right? Far greater than some earthly dominion on an island in the North Atlantic, you and I will inherit the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of the world. How should that then impact the way that you and I conduct ourselves? How should our knowledge of that impact our sense of responsibility? How should that impact our understanding of our stewardship before God? Paul says in Colossians chapter three, verse 23, whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ. Paul certainly has it in his mind that our knowing that we will receive this inheritance from the Lord Christ should impact the way that we live in the here and now. Should impact how we obey the Lord, serving the Lord heartily as to the Lord, not to men. All of that informed by this understanding that we've been given a glorious inheritance. Peter begins this first epistle full of exhortation for how we conduct ourselves as pilgrims and sojourners in this world. And he begins that exhortation with a reminder of our inheritance, what awaits us? First Peter chapter one, verse three, Peter addressing the pilgrims of the dispersion says this, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance. You see that incorruptible, undefiled that does not fade away reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In other words, our understanding of that high calling should inform in us a sense of stewardship or responsibility that is then manifested in our conduct, how we live our lives. Peter understood that and that's why Peter begins where he does. The New Testament writers understood that. That's why many of the New Testament letters begin with chapters that inform our understanding of the glorious realities of our redemption, the indicative statements of scripture and then follow up those indicative, those statements of fact with the imperatives. This is how you then should live. The New Testament writers understood this connection. Our understanding of that high calling should inform our sense of stewardship or our sense of responsibility and that should be manifested clearly in our conduct. Chapter one, verse 13. Peter says, in light of these things, chapter one, verse 13, therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, verse 14, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts as in your ignorance, but as he who has called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct because it is written, be holy, for I am holy. Chapter two, verse one, laying aside then all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking as new more babes desire the pure milk of the world, the word that you may grow thereby. Chapter two, verse 11, beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles. Right, submit to every ordinance of man. Chapter two, verse 13, be submissive to your masters with fear. Chapter two, verse 18, wives, be submissive to your husbands. Chapter three, verse one, husbands, dwell with them with understanding. Chapter three, verse seven, finally Peter says, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love his brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous, not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. Chapter three, verses eight and nine, as each one has received a gift then, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Chapter four, verse 10, Peter is informing our understanding of our stewardship. Peter's informing our understanding of our responsibility to the Lord. We serve the Lord Christ and the way that Peter is doing that is by reminding us of what a glorious inheritance that we have. We've got to think right so that the way that we think, what we believe pours out of us in the way that we conduct our Christian lives, right? Most, it would seem to me today that professing Christians in our day and age walk around looking like they've got nothing in their bank account, acting like they've got nothing waiting on them. They live like bankrupt paupers. Brothers and sisters, let it not be said so of us. We have a glorious inheritance. Peter's made it very clear. Let us live like it, right? Let's bear the weight of that stewardship. Let's bear the weight of that responsibility. We serve the Lord Christ. Peter uses this language of stewardship and responsibility in Paul does in 1 Corinthians chapter four, verse one. Listen to Paul. Let man, let a man so consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. And moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. Paul using that same language of stewardship and responsibility. The word there for steward, 1 Corinthians chapter four, verse one is the Greek word oikonomous. Literally it means a house manager. Someone was placed, a house manager was placed in charge of the property. They were placed in charge of the staff, the food, the finances, so on. And Paul here uses it to refer to someone who manages or has charge over something placed in his care. He is an oikonomous, a steward. Here, Paul says that we are stewards of the mysteries of God. In other words, that steward is to take divine revelation and administer it to God's household. Now, Paul says that stewardship is to be carried out as a hupe retes, a hupe retes, a hupe retes of Christ. The word refers to, it's a translated servant in chapter four, verse one. It refers to an under-rower, literally an under-rower, a hupe retes. A galley slave is what this person would be. So we are galley slaves with a stewardship, with a responsibility. Now, the Corinthians were very familiar with this term, hupe retes, or servant, or steward, very familiar with this term. Corinth was a port city. And Roman warships would frequently pass by Corinth through the Ionian or between the Ionian and the Aegean seas would often pass through Corinth. Typical Roman warship had two to three levels and at the lowest level was where the under-rowers, the hupe retes, were chained to their seats. These were men from various backgrounds, various socioeconomic backgrounds. Generally, they were those who were conquered in war by the Romans. The Romans forced them into slavery and chained them to a seat at the bottom of a Roman warship and handed them an oar and commanded them to row. That's what a galley slave or hupe retes was. If you saw the movie Ben Hur, Ben Hur is an example of this. There would have been a raised platform at the prow of the ship where the captain stood and the captain would shout out orders to the rowers, very specific commands. They were expected to respond with immediate obedience, all required a focused attention and immediate obedience. Their actions in battle could mean the lives or the deaths of those on board the ship could mean victory or loss in the battle itself. So it's very important that they obeyed. Paul is essentially saying, first Corinthians chapter four, verse one, that when he was redeemed from the slave market of sin on that day, on that road to Damascus, then he was chained to a seat. He was given an oar and told to row in obedience to his captain. He is a hupe retes, right? He is a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because he'd been given a stewardship. He's been given a stewardship. He's been given a responsibility. That stewardship was of the mysteries of God. And he was to be found faithful. He was to take divine revelation, administer it to those of God's household, so to speak. And he was chained to a seat, given an oar and told to row. Brothers and sisters, you and I are in the same boat. Figuratively, we've been chained to a seat. We've been given an oar. We've been told to row at the command of our captain. We are hupe retes. We've been given that responsibility because we've been given a stewardship. We're stewards. We have a responsibility. We serve the Lord Christ. And we should row with all our might and row at his command. We've been called to serve the Lord by serving his church. That's what hupe retes do. We are to be faithfully obedient to him, our captain in all things. And we cannot serve him as we should unless we understand our place in the order of things. We are galley slaves, amen? Galley slaves. We are his redeemed slaves, hupe retes. And Paul wants everyone to consider him and all those who serve the Lord Christ as such. Now Paul continues that by saying moreover, in verse two, it's required that these stewards, that one be found faithful. The word that the Spirit of God specifically chooses here is the word faithful, meaning trustworthy, reliable, consistent in their obedience, unwavering in their commitment. Wise may be helpful, diligence certainly necessary, determination be good to have, but the word that Paul chooses, the word that the Spirit of God chooses is faithful. Faithful is the one thing that Paul says is required of a steward. It is required in stewards that one be found faithful. Brothers and sisters, you and I need to be faithful in the stewardship that has been given us by God to serve the Lord Christ as galley slaves in his ship, so to speak, in the church, amen? We're to take this responsibility upon ourselves in the strength that his spirit supplies and serve him in the church. Look with me at 1 Peter chapter four and look at beginning at verse one. Peter would have us think rightly, right? Think rightly about our inheritance, think rightly about what has been given to us in the gospel and then Peter would have us conduct ourselves rightly as good, faithful stewards of God's grace. First Peter chapter four, verse one. Therefore, Peter begins. Now the word therefore connects us back to the example of the Lord Jesus Christ himself given in chapter three. In verse 18, chapter three, verse 18. Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. Jesus Christ suffered in obedience to the Father, suffered once for sins. In other words, he was obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Peter begins therefore, right? Considering that example of Jesus Christ, therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind. Arm yourselves, right? Prepare yourselves, ready yourselves, equip yourselves. Equip, prepare, ready yourself with the same understanding, with the same knowledge, with the same way of thinking. Jesus Christ was willing to die to accomplish the work that he had been given to do. Jesus Christ was willing to go to the point of death, even the death of the cross, to fulfill that which was pleasing to the Father, right? And to redeem his own. The Bible says that for the joy set before him, Jesus Christ endured the cross, despising the shame. We could think of it in terms of his inheritance, couldn't we? Knowing what was waiting for him, he would inherit a kingdom. Jesus Christ was obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. We have to think, brothers and sisters, in the same way, prepare yourself, ready yourself, equip yourself, arm yourselves to think the same way that Jesus Christ thought. Arm yourselves also with the same mind. Now Peter himself, as Peter wrote this epistle, Peter knows that he's going to die for the faith. Peter knows that he's going to be martyred for the faith that day on the beach. In John chapter 21, where the Lord Jesus Christ restored Peter, Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep, Peter, do you love me? Tend my sheep, right? And the Lord Jesus Christ graciously restores Peter. Peter denied the Lord three times, three times the Lord asks him, Peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me? Right, Peter responds, Lord, you know all things, you know I love you. The Lord graciously restores Peter. And then the Lord tells Peter, they'll come at time when somebody's going to take you by the hand and lead you where you do not wish. And Peter understood that the Lord was speaking of his death. The Lord told Peter that Peter was going to be martyred for the faith and what does Peter do? Peter goes right back into Jerusalem, right? And preaches the gospel where Jesus Christ himself was crucified. It's a sense of responsibility, right? A sense of stewardship. Peter knew, even now writing this epistle, Peter knows what awaits him. And so what does he do with that knowledge? He lives like he believes that, do you see? What we think, what we believe, should impact how we live and act. These are not frivolous things that we're talking about here. These are things of eternal significance and we have an inheritance, brothers and sisters. It should impact the way that we serve the Lord Christ in the Lord's cause, in the Lord's church, should impact how we live for him. Peter knows that he's going to pay the ultimate price for serving Jesus Christ. And there he is, laying down his life. Laying down his life day by day in the work that the Lord had given him to do. We were talking about it today at fellowship. I mentioned this analogy of many people would say that they're willing to give their lives for Jesus Christ, right? I'm willing to give my life for Jesus Christ. I'm willing to die for Jesus Christ. But they're not willing to give him their moments. They don't live for him in that way. It's easy to say, I'll give my life to Jesus Christ, but you're not willing to give to him the succession of moments that make up your life, right? It's like saying, I've won the lottery. I'm gonna give him the proceeds of the winning. I'm gonna give him a million dollars, but you're not willing to pay it out in quarters. You're not willing to pay it out in dollar bills, right? And what the Lord has called you and I to do is to understand the scope of our responsibility, understand the scope of our stewardship. We understand those things in light of the inheritance that we've been given and the Lord asks us to lay down our lives. Lay out those succession of moments for his purpose, his cause, his glory. We're to lay it down by quarters, as it were, by dollar bills. And here Peter says, arm yourselves with the same mind. It's the way the Lord Jesus Christ lived, step by step on his way to Jerusalem, on his way to the cross. So arm yourselves also with the same mind, Peter says in verse one, for he, Jesus Christ, who has suffered in the flesh, or he who has died has ceased from sin. In other words, that's a perfect term, a perfect tense verb there. It means that it's done. The one who has died has ceased from sin, has been freed from sin. Praise God. We can live knowing that even if we die, we die, it's game. To live for Jesus Christ to die is game. We should have the same mind. Verse two, so that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lust, the sinful, passionate longings, sinful longings of men, but we should live for the will of God. Right thinking connected to right conduct. Do you see? We have this mind, so that verse two, he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lust of men, but for the will of God. Listen, verse three, we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles. Would you say amen to that? Enough, enough, right? Spent enough of my past life living like that when we walked in lewdness and lusts and drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, abominable idolatries. These are what lost people do, Gentiles there, to satisfy their lusts. That's how you define those things. Those things are what lost people do in order to satisfy their lusts. Enough, right? Enough of that. No more time given to that garbage. No more time spent on any of that wasted, debauched lifestyle, right? The Christians just say, I am done with that. It's called repentance, right? Verse four, in regard to these, they think it's strange. They're shocked. They're astonished that you don't run with them in the same flood of dissipation that they're running in. And what do they do? They turn and speak evil of you for not running with them in that same flood of dissipation. Verse five, they will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this reason, the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. And we don't have time to get into all the details of this text. We're making our way to the end here. But the gospel was preached also to those who are even now already dead, so that even though they were put to death by men in the flesh, they will live in the spirit according to God's will. So then, arming yourselves with the same mind as Jesus Christ, making ourselves ready, equipping ourselves, preparing ourselves with the same mind, what are we to do? Verse seven, the end of all things is at hand. Therefore, three things are necessary. Three things are necessary. Godly fear, mutual love, and faithful service. Arming ourselves with the same mind that Jesus Christ has, making ourselves ready, preparing ourselves with the same mind, what are we to do? Three things. One, godly fear concerns our relationship to God. Two, mutual love concerns our relationship with one another. And three, faithful service, which concerns our relationship to the Lord's church. First, godly fear, verse seven. Be serious and watchful in your prayers. What is necessary? Godly fear. Serious here meaning sensible, reasonable of sound mind and judgment. We're not playing games. These are serious matters. Be sober-minded, be sensible, conduct yourself according to sound judgment, serious. Watchful in your prayers, meaning self-control, sober-minded, discerning, spiritually observant, be serious, be watchful in your prayers. In other words, we have to have our spiritual wits about us. We're to keep our head on a swivel, all while intimately connected in communion with him through prayer. Do you see? Godly fear. The second thing that is necessary, mutual love, verse eight. Above all things, have fervent love for one another for love will cover a multitude of sins and be hospitable to one another without grumbling. Genuine love renders someone hard to offend. You see the connection between those two things, right? Genuine love renders you difficult to offend. If you genuinely love that person, it's gonna be difficult for them to offend you. Genuine love renders one hard to offend. Love inherently and readily tends to forgive the sins or offenses of others. It covers a multitude of sins, do you see? In other words, if you find yourself quick to offend, easy to offend, not willing to forgive, not tending toward forgiving the sins or offenses of others, it means you're not loving. Love tends to render one hard to offend. Love inherently, readily tends to forgive the sins or the offenses of others. Hospitable here in verse nine, literally refers to love for strangers. So, carries love beyond the bounds of Christian fellowship in our own church to demonstrate that love to Christians that we don't know outside of our church, right? It is loving one another. It is talking about Christians, but we're to do all that, loving one another in the church, spilling over the bounds of our church into loving brothers and sisters outside of our church and all of that without complaining, without grumbling, okay? Mutual love. Godly fear is necessary. Mutual love is necessary. Thirdly, faithful service is necessary. We're to prepare ourselves, arm ourselves with the same mind as Jesus Christ and these things are necessary. Three, faithful service. Look at verse 10. As each one has received a gift, net referring to grace from God, divine enablement. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, serve one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Now we know from Paul, what a good steward is. A good steward is a hoopere tes, one who is a galley slave rowing for his captain, faithful in his management of all that the Lord has given him to do, a good steward. And a good steward, he says moreover, it's required that a good steward be found faithful. Here we are to be good stewards of the manifold grace of God. We're to be one who is faithful with that grace, that divine enablement that we've received from him. God has given every Christian a gift. God has given every Christian a supply of enabling, equipping, empowering grace. The grace that it's given, Peter here describes as manifold, multifaceted. It is rich and varied and extensive. That could mean rich and varied extensive in the person himself, but also extends to the body as a whole, right? All of us here together, brothers and sisters, members of this church, we're all joined together in one body, each one being given gifts by God to employ in the service of the Lord in the church. And that grace of God manifold, as many different people are in the room, is the many varied manifold rich ways in which God has imparted grace. Every believer is given a gift of grace, a supply of enabling grace by which he is to serve the body. When that grace, when that gift is employed as God intends, we are good stewards of that grace. To employ his gift in the body, in the way that God has intended, is to be a good and faithful steward of that grace. It means that we're not receiving the grace of God in vain. We're putting it to work in the body to serve the Lord Christ, to serve the church. When we fail to employ God's gift as he intends, then we receive the grace of God in vain, prove ourselves to be poor stewards of his grace, and it's like we bury our talent in the dirt in the ground and don't return any interest on it. We prove ourselves to be poor stewards of his grace. We're to be good stewards of the manifold varied grace, extensive, rich grace of God. Paul categorizes these gifts of God's grace in two ways here. He categorizes them as speaking gifts and as serving gifts. In verse 11, if anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God, not according to his own opinion, but according to what God has revealed. These are weighty matters. We aren't to wax eloquent with our own philosophies or ideas, we're to preach the word of God. Only that which God has revealed, those are speaking gifts. Let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers or serves, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies. In other words, not by his own strength, not in his own wisdom, not leaning on his own understanding, but independence upon the spirit of God who supplies wisdom and understanding and strength. Do you see? Speaking gifts and serving gifts, ministering gifts. This gift of God's grace comes with a purpose. Every Christian, given a gift, speaking gifts or ministry gifts, these gifts of God's grace come with a purpose. So that, verse 11, in all things, God may be glorified. You see, in the speaking gifts that the Lord gives, we're not to speak in our own wisdom. We're not to speak in man's power. We're not to speak our own opinions and persuasive words of worldly wisdom. We're not to do any of that. We're to preach Christ and him crucified. We're to preach the word of God. And in preaching the word of God, God is glorified. In the ministry gifts, in those serving gifts that the Lord gives, we're to serve, not in our own wisdom, not in our own strength, but in the wisdom and strength, the understanding that the spirit of God supplies so that when you serve, God gets the glory for your service, right? For your fruitful, effective service. In all things, so that in all things, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, who bought you, right? To whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. In all things, in all things, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. We're to glorify God through Jesus Christ in all things that we say, think, do, in all ways that we serve. In other words, the scope of our responsibility is all encompassing. It is in all things that we are to glorify him. R.L. Dabney said this. He said, he describes the Christian here as one who has dedicated himself and his all to Jesus Christ, body, soul, and estate to the highest glory of God and love of his neighbor. That's what it means to serve and be faithful here in all things glorifying God. He describes the Christian as one who has dedicated himself and his all, body, soul, and estate to the highest glory of God and love of his neighbor. The faithful discharge then of our stewardship, lest we imagine some limitation in our responsibility. How much is right to give to God, right? How much of my energy, how much of my thought, all right? How much of my heart should I give? How much of my strength should I give? We're to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, right? Mark chapter 12, verse 30, the greatest commandment. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment and the second like it is this. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. So what Dabney's asking is, how much should I give or how much should I withhold or retain to myself? Listen to Dabney, if the attempt to be made to settle the principles of Christian self-denial in expenditures by drawing a line between the part to be appropriated to ourselves and the part to be appropriated to God, we see not where or how that line can be safely drawn. I think the use of the word safely is intuitive there and helpful. We're gonna draw the line, right? In our own Christian lives, in our lives, in our lives, if we're gonna draw the line between that which I give to God and that which I retain to myself, Dabney's saying, I don't see how we can do that safely. I don't see where that line could possibly be drawn. And what Dabney's alluding to here by implication is that no line can be safely drawn. There is no line that can be safely drawn. If you are not His, heart, soul, mind, and strength, then you are not His. You see? We're to love the Lord our God, heart, soul, mind, and strength. If you are not His, heart, soul, mind, and strength, then you're not His. We're to give it all, amen. We're to be faithful stewards. We're hupe retes. We are galley slaves and the Lord's ship obeying our captain. Beloved, God is after something far more radical than your effort. He's after something far more radical than your money. After something far more radical than your time. Does God actually need your service, your work? Does He actually need it? No, God is assay. He doesn't need anything. He's independent. Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 14, I seek not what is yours, but you. That's what the Lord desires. Our heart, our soul, our mind, and strength entirely devoted to our captain, right? That's what it means to be a faithful steward serving with the gifts that God gives us in the Lord's church. We are to invest our very lives in the church to the glory of God, serving one another, serving the Lord's church, serving the Lord's cause with the gospel, all in service to the Lord Christ with our hearts and minds focused on, this is not where it ends. We have an inheritance waiting for us, reserved in heaven, uncorruptible, undefiled, right, reserved for us. We are not yet men to be the church at rest, are we? And we're to be a church at work. Listen to this hymn, I love this. Though with a scornful wonder, men see her sore oppressed by schisms, rent asunder by heresies distressed, hymn writer is speaking of the church, right? Yet the saints their watch are keeping, we're to keep a faithful watch, a diligent watch, a serious sober-minded watch, right? Their cry goes up to the Lord, how long? And soon the night of weeping shall be the mourn of song. Lord Jesus Christ is coming back, amen? And he'll come soon. If he doesn't come back before you die, you'll go there soon, all right? In the midst of toil and tribulation, it's hard work, toil, right? In the midst of toil and tribulation, in the tumult of her war, she awaits the consummation of peace forevermore till with the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blessed and then the great church victorious, then shall be the church at rest, you see? However, though she is even now, even now the great church victorious, she is not yet the church fully at her rest. As triumphant grace is poured out in victory upon the Lord's church, everywhere in the Bible, we are consistently called to be in the church at work. First Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 57, thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Brothers and sisters, we are called to a stewardship, a faithful stewardship of service in the Lord's church. Amen, amen, pray with me. Father in heaven, Lord, we rejoice. It exalts our heart to, rejoices our heart to see this high calling that we've been given to consider that inheritance that awaits us and in light of that grand inheritance and in light of our place in the kingdom Lord, we rejoice to serve you with faithfulness, with boldness, with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength now here in the present as we look forward to that inheritance. Help us Lord, strengthen us, give us gifts, Lord, supply us by your spirit and find us faithful Lord to employ those gifts for your glory in your service in your church. Strengthen us to do just that, give us wisdom as we do, help us to lean not on our own understanding but to depend upon you in all things and help us Lord to be faithful in it. We wanna be chained to our seat or in hand obeying the commands of our captain knowing that they are righteous and good and knowing that we are pilgrims and sojourners on this side of heaven and that our citizenship is elsewhere and we look forward to that. Help us Lord as we serve you, help us to be faithful. I pray that you'd bless the service of your people in this church with much fruit for their encouragement and much fruit for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ who is alone worthy of such fruit and blessedness and pray this all in his name whom we serve with joy. Amen.