 way of reminder in your bulletin. Please make sure to turn your cell phones off so we can limit interruptions to the preaching. And then also I want to remind you that this coming Saturday, June 22nd, is the Spurgeon Fellowship Conference. And I just want to remind you again to get registered for that as quickly as you can so that we have an accurate head count for food. We're going to have breakfast for you that morning, lunch in the afternoon, and we'll finish up about three o'clock. And that's on the five solas of the Reformation. We'll begin at 8 a.m. and go until 3 p.m. Go ahead and register for that as quickly as possible. The deadline is on Wednesday just for the sake of food. We've got about 150, I think, registered so far. So it'll be just a wonderful day of preaching, learning from God's Word, and also fellowship with God's people. So we look forward to that on Saturday, beginning at 8 a.m. Also, want to make sure that you're aware of Sunday School classes coming up, you know, with the things that we were needing to deal with in the church. We wanted to get everybody together for a period of time, but we're now going back to options for Sunday School. So in your worship folder, wanted to make sure you were aware that Sunday School classes will begin on July 7th, and we've got several choices there available for you. And so if you will, please fill out the form that Nikki's got there in the worship folder and drop that in the basket when it comes around. You'll have a couple of weeks to look at that and decide, but you can read there the descriptions of each of the classes. The way that we have structured this is so that mostly with that we've got exegetical exposition, right, on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, just verse by verse through the Bible. Then we're running doctrine, small group nights on Tuesday and Wednesdays. And so we wanted to devote the Sunday School time on Sunday morning to family, to the family. And so if you look at how all that fits together, and whether you're single, married, have kids, don't have kids, there's Sunday School classes there available for you, and a lot to learn and pick up. But this is part of a framework, if you will, for how we're doing things around here to help facilitate your spiritual health and growth. And so this is an important part of that, and we have several classes there for you to look at. So fill that out when you get a chance, and we just want to exhort you to attend to that. I've had the question before, oftentimes when it comes to Sunday School or Sunday night or group, is this a covenant issue? And I'd like to submit to you that that's the wrong way to think about these things. When you think about God's people gathering together, Scripture says in Hebrews chapter 10, not to forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as is the manner of some, but as the day approaches, we're doing exhort one another, consider one another, to stir one another up to love and good works. And so if God's people are getting together, and God's word is being taught, then what is the response of a genuine Christian? I want to be there. I want to be there. God's word is being taught, God's people are getting together. I want to be there with them. I want to hear the word of God preached and taught. And so that needs to be the attitude of your heart with respect to this. I encourage everybody to sign up for Sunday School and to make sure you're being faithful and coming to Sunday School. And if you can work it out, you will, right? God's people will do that. So I wanted you to make make you aware of that and take the next few weeks to consider those classes and then which ones you'll want to sign up for. But with that now too, today being Father's Day, I want to thank the Lord for our fathers and we have a gracious Heavenly Father, amen, and a lot to emulate in Him with our own families, with our own kids. But I want to take a moment and pray for dads and just that we would ask the Lord's blessing on that, ask the Lord to help our fathers as we're going to learn today in 1st Timothy, rule and manage their households well, and just to be faithful to God in these things. And where's Brother Edgar? Did he step out? Okay, maybe Noel with you here, brother. Would you mind praying, just praying for dads? Praying that we would be blessing our families would be faithful to the Lord in the stewardship that He's given us. Thank you, brother. Amen. Thank you, brother. All right, well, let's continue to worship the Lord. Our church is an evangelistic church and we desire from the heart to obey the Lord in the Great Commission. And so I'm thankful to the Lord for that. And we wanted to give you an exhortation. Brother, tell us how it's going. Thank you. I wanted to give you an opportunity. Some of you have evangelized there before and it's a central park in the Plaza Centrum. When he went to evangelize there recently, he took one of the brothers from the seminary who wanted to learn how to evangelize. And so as they were walking there, they got cornered by a gang of like seven guys and they couldn't run and they the gang mugged them and began to take all their things and reach in their pockets and take everything that they had. And when you think about that, how discouraging something like that can be, when you think of it like, I'm on the way to do the Lord's work, why did the Lord let this happen? And it can begin to be discouraging. And when you get discouraged in the Christian life, you can then become very apathetic. Discouraged, apathetic. And then you see more sin and you become more discouraged and more apathetic. And more discouraged and more apathetic, more discouraged and more apathetic. And the downward spiral happens. Now, where the, how is it downward spiral happens from sin? When you get discouraged when something bad happens, at that point you shouldn't be. That's where the sin first happens. You should be thinking, do I deserve this? No, I deserve much worse. I deserve much worse than this. So I'm very thankful that Harrison didn't continue down that road. But after they got mugged, they looked and see, look, the only thing they didn't take was our bag. And it's got full of tracks and bibles. So amen, let's go preach the gospel. So if you, I tried to encourage him with this, because even afterwards you can become discouraged by this because in summers you regularly go and you don't have that safety anymore in your mind. If you have, you've had your home robbed or someplace you commonly go and you've been robbed there, then you know this feeling. And what I was exhorting him with and encouraging with this, this happens all the time. Look at Paul in 2 Corinthians 11. It's just part of following Christ that he's in danger of robbers. In fact, he's in danger of a lot more. He's in danger. It says he was in danger in the city. He was in danger in the country. He was in danger at sea. He wasn't anywhere where he could go, where he wasn't in danger. He had many fast things. He had many sleepless nights. He had, and above all those things was his concern for the church. That was the hardest thing for him. So I exhort you now. Now, what is discouraging you? Is it sin? Is it where you don't have that faith and trust in Lord in the trial? What kind of thing discourages you? It leads you to apathy. You need to look at that and face that in your life because it will take you from the work you're to be doing in the Great Commission. It will discourage you. So instead what you do is humble faith and say, yes Lord, I deserve much worse than this. Help me to have faith in you in this time, to trust you, and to do the work that you've called me to do. So I encourage you all. I exhort you. Follow the pattern that Paul said. Follow the pattern that Christ said. And humbly trust him and continue to do the Great Commission. Amen. Thank you, brother. We have that example in Scripture, Paul and Christ, and then we see Harrison just following in their example, right? Well, you and I do. I mean, thankfully, we don't have the kind of persecution here that they endured on a daily basis, but we have that same safety concern on occasion. What do you do if something like that happens? Do you persevere and serve the Lord? You just need to be faithful. And to be faithful in the Great Commission, that's commanded by our Lord, but it's also the joy of the Christian's heart to see people saved, to see his word go out. And so let's remain faithful to the Lord in that. All right. Well, let's continue to worship the Lord now with giving. And if you will, turn in your Bibles with me to Ezra chapter 8. Ezra chapter 8. And each week, we take this as an opportunity to worship. Worship in Scripture includes this worshiping the Lord in giving of our tithes and our offerings. So we look at different passages of Scripture to inform our understanding of that. And here we see an example given to us in Ezra chapter 8. Ezra chapter 8. And let's begin reading together at verse 24. Here, Ezra chapter 8, verse 24, the Bible says, And I separated 12 of the leaders of the priests, Sherabiah, Hashabiah, and 10 of their brethren with them, and weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for the house of our God, which the king and his counselors and his princes and all Israel who were present had offered. So now the community, the Christian community, engaged in this giving together. Look at verse 26. I weighed into their hand 650 talents of silver. And that's a lot of silver. It's about 25 tons of silver, right? Silver articles weighing 100 talents and 100 talents of gold. 20 gold basins worth 1,000 drachmas and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold. And I said to them, You are holy to the Lord. Now here, holy to the Lord, consecrated to God, set apart to God. You, as a disciple of Christ, if you profess the name of Christ, have been set apart through repentance, turning from sin, and faith in Christ, you've been set apart to the Lord. Set apart to the Lord, consecrated to the Lord, results in worship. Here, worship through giving to the house of the Lord. Verse 28, I said to them, You are holy to the Lord. The articles are holy also, and the silver and the gold are a free will offering to the Lord God of your fathers. And again, this comes out of the cheerful giving, the willing giving from the heart of God's people. Then look what he says in verse 29. Watch, and watch the stewardship here. Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and the heads of the fathers, houses of Israel and Jerusalem in the chambers of the house of the Lord. And so the priests and the Levites receive the silver and the gold, and the articles by weight to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God. And this is an example for us in worshiping the Lord again with our gifts, our tithes, and our offerings. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, I want to thank you, God, that you have in your wisdom prescribed this way in which we worship you, and thank you for this time. I pray that, thank you, Lord, for the blessing of the faithful giving of your people. We just see the work of the Lord going forward here, and we know, Lord, that you own the cattle on a thousand hills, and you don't need our money, Lord. But this is a testimony of our trust in you, a testimony of our dependence on you, and I want to just a way that we worship you by remembering all that you've given to us. And we pray, Lord, that from a grateful heart, a thankful heart, God, that we give you this, these tithes and offerings, and pray that you would use them for the furtherance of your kingdom, or we want to see souls saved, want to see your kingdom pressed forward, and want to see your name made famous among the Gentiles. Thank you for this time of worship in Jesus' name. Amen. As the men come to take the morning offering, our scripture reading this morning is in 1st Timothy chapter 3, verses 1 through 13. So if you will, please stand with a Bible in your hand and turn to 1st Timothy chapter 3, verses 1 through 13. Thank you, brother. 1st Timothy chapter 3, verses 1 through 13. This is a faithful saying, if a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, not given to whine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous, one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence, for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach in the snare of the devil. Likewise, deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much whine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience, but let these also first be tested, then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless, likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things, let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children in their own house as well, for those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. Amen. Thank you, brother. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, thank you for your word, Lord. We joyfully submit under the authority of your word now, Father, and thank you for this time of study, of worshiping you in this way. I pray, Lord, that you would take the truths that we're learning here from your Spirit, God, in 1 Timothy 3, and apply them to our hearts. Help us to live faithfully by these things for your glory, and we love you, Lord, and it's from the heart that we desire to do these things, to be a testimony of you. Lord, here specifically today with respect to running and managing our households, God, that we'd be faithful fathers, faithful husbands, men worthy of reverence and respect, as the Bible says, that live for you with all our hearts, soul, mind, and strength, that even now, Lord, we pray that, as you've commanded, that we would present our wives wholly and blameless without spot or wrinkle before you, God, that our children would be saved for your namesake when we long for the day to worship you in heaven, unhindered by sin with all the saints, and thank you for this little foretaste of glory, God, this church that you blessed us with and this time to study together, again, for your glory in Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. In our series that we're going through this morning is Lessons in Leadership, and we've been studying in 1 Timothy 3, and we've been looking at this paragraph from verses 1 through 7 with respect to leadership in the church, and so we've, from these verses, gleaned now lessons in leadership and these leadership skills, characteristics from the apostle Paul written to Timothy here, appended by the Holy Spirit for us to take exhortation from and for us to learn from. Now, we've been talking specifically about leadership in the church, specifically with respect to that man that has the desire for a bishop, and that desire said by Paul as a good work, and now seeing that through these characteristics, his performance or his experience in his private life has consequences for his fitness to lead in public. These characteristics for the leader or a leader in the Lord's church are non-negotiable. These are to be held, and they're to be held in an ongoing and abiding way, his experience or those characteristics in his private life determine or has consequences for his fitness to lead in public. Now, we've looked at this man's single-mindedness with respect to devotion to his wife or sexual purity. We've seen his single-mindedness with respect to these characteristics that he must have in order to lead. Today, we're going to see that his single-minded devotion to the Lord when it comes to ruling or managing his household. We see from that the character that that produces. He's to run his whole household well. Now, this specifically applied in this passage to managing his household, having children in submission, as the Scripture says, with all reverence, and then how that relates to taking care of the church of God. So, where do you look for men to lead the Lord's church? Where do you find them? One, you find them, those men, obviously faithful to the work of the Lord. You find them evangelizing. You find them making disciples. You find them faithfully in assembling together with God's people. You find them fervently praying. You find them serving the Lord. But where else do you find them? According to the Word of God, you find them at home taking care of business, leading and running their household well. And we're going to see an example of this here from the Word of God in 1 Timothy chapter 3. This, the third point in our series, is the leader's experience. His experience in running his house. We'll see next week in verse 6, his experience as seen in his maturity and the faith. But here, beginning in verse 4, his experience as seen in ruling his house well. Look at verse 4 together. The Bible says here, one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? Now, in verses 4 and 5, we see his experience here. And we're going to see his experience in ruling his household well from three different perspectives. One, it's ruling well. He must be able to rule well. Ruling well, point two, is further described by having children in all submission in all reverence. All right? And then lastly, ruling well is described more subtly by taking care. He's to take care of his house. Take care of his spouse. Take care of his kids. He is to take care of ruling his house so that by his experience, he can demonstrate faithfulness in order to be able to take care of the church of God. Now, it's interesting today, guys, dads, that in the Lord's providence, this instruction from 1 Timothy 3 comes to us on Father's Day. Let that link in your mind. This instruction from 1 Timothy 3 with respect to fathers, husbands, and how you're to rule your household, link that in your mind to Father's Day now in your remembrance. And let's apply this teaching. The Word of God here exhorts us with how we're to run our household. This is all men, all Christians, all families need godly leadership. All churches need godly leadership. And let's take the Lord's instruction here and put this into practice. This is the way, man of God, that you're to live for him in your household. This is the way, man of God, that you are to lead your family. We must apply ourselves to living this text. Now, verse four begins here that we're to rule well, one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. This ruling well clearly from chapter three applies to running the church. The church, if you think about it this way, is a family, right? We have brothers and sisters. The Bible uses familial terms all over the place. We have brothers and sisters all submitted together to our heavenly Father, God. Now there's no Mother Mary, right? So you know, there's no Mother Mary. It's brothers and sisters in Christ submitted to God the Father. This is our family. This is family. And running the church is not like running a business. It's not like running a strategy. It's not like a businessman running a business, a general running an army strategy. This is running the family of God. And Puritans referred to their family as a little church. See that throughout Puritan writing, their church, their little church. The family was considered their church. Men, before we get into this text, let me ask you, how is your little church running? How you doing? The Lord has given you a stewardship over your family, a stewardship over your wife, a stewardship over your kids. How's your little church running? Is it a little church that glorifies and honors the Lord? Is it a little church that you're managing in such a way that the Lord would be pleased with your management of it? That's His little church. That's your little church. We're to manage that well. Every church needs good, godly leadership. Every family necessitates good, godly leadership of the family. We want to see our wives saved, our kids saved, right? And then this is specifically required of you, but ladies also of you. Take instruction from the word of God here with how you lead and instruct your children, how you help and how you submit to and how you serve your husband is all instruction from the word of God with how our family is to be run. And these skills given by the word of God here are skills that are to be in place. Here specifically in verse four, this requirement that the leader of God's people is to have his house ruled well falls under the divine necessity of verse two. Look at chapter three verse one. This is a faithful saying. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then, and that word must be, it's the word day in Greek. It is a divine necessity. It is non-negotiable, essential. It must be the case that this is to be the case that a bishop must be blameless. As we go through these characteristics and we come to verse four, one who rules his own house well falls under this divine necessity that we see in verse two. These skills can't be developed on the job as a leader in the Lord's church. They've got to be there. These skills in order to be a leader in the Lord's church must be evident and observable. It's got to be a guy, men, that can rule their own house, that have their children in submission with all reverence, and that they are taking care of things at home. For you, Christian, who claim the name of Christ, this is a divine necessity for you also, right? The Lord has commanded, take care of your house in the same way that Christ loved the church and gave himself for her, you, husband, are to love your wife and sacrifice yourself for her. In the same way that Christ cares for his body, you're to care for and instruct and admonish and correct and love your children. This is teaching from the word of God all over the place in Scripture and we're to rule our houses this way. This has become virtually axiomatic in leadership, right? You don't take a faithless man and give him a job in the hopes that that work will make him faithful. You give a faithful man a job, right? We're to exhibit these characteristics. Anyone leading in the Lord's church must have his act together at home. The word here in the Greek is praieste me. It means to rule. It means to manage or to exercise leadership over, to direct. It's in the present tense, meaning it's ongoing. It's abiding. It's consistent. Here it's really interesting and for you Greek guys, this word is in the middle voice which means that in order to take the lead, this person acts upon himself in order to perform what the word is asking for. Here to lead, to rule, to take care of, to direct, to preside over. In the middle voice meaning that you must men, act upon yourself in order to do that. You in acting upon yourself exhibit self-control, self-discipline. You act upon yourself in order to place yourself in leadership of your home. Place yourself presiding over your home with clear authority here. This is a crucial point. You cannot rule well until you first rule yourself. It takes, and this all goes back to self-control. Further back in the passage, to temperance, to sober-mindedness, to the gifts of the Spirit, right? Gentleman's patience, peace, self-control. It all goes back to acting upon yourself here before you can rule well. In other words, a man must learn to control himself before he can faithfully control his children or faithfully control and run his household. You are to lead in this, men, and you've got to put yourself, act upon yourself to do that. You can't simply and always and consistently find yourself in the position of responding to, reacting to. Something goes wrong, something happens, and you come along to mop up. It's not leadership. Here, this leadership, you've got to act on yourself first. You're to be self-controlled. Self-control leads to self-discipline, and it's specifically disciplines in Christian life. Discipline with learning and knowing the Word of God. Discipline with wisdom and how you apply the Word of God. Discipline and the attention necessary spent with your children, spent with your wife, teaching them the Word of God. All requires action to be taken on the part of the man. And men, this is for you. You're to take yourself in hand and rule well. Self-control, self-discipline. That word, well there, it's the word kolos in Greek. It means beautifully. It means honorably. It is not just good in the sense of being useful. It's good in the sense of being beautiful. Being glorious. Being something worthy of observation. It describes that word well every aspect of the Father's responsibility in running his household. In loving and caring for and attending to his children. In that sense then, if it's well, if it's beautiful, if it's dignified, worthy of observation, then it's not to be heavy-handed. It's not to be authoritarian, right? We know the difference between authority, which is a good thing, and God institutes it, and that which is authoritarian, which has a negative connotation, right? It's not to be heavy-handed or authoritarian. You're not to press into subservience the people in your household. This is not to be abusive. It's not impatient. It's not self-serving. It's not thoughtless or absent-minded. This is to be done with great honor. It's interesting in 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 7, the Lord commands men, husbands, to dwell with your wives in an understanding way. It says they're giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel. This applies to every aspect of running your household. To dwell in an understanding way, that word understanding way there, means to understand, to know what the Lord requires of you in the circumstance that he has you, you understand the stewardship that he's given you, and by a healthy, loving fear of God, you execute your stewardship as the Lord would have you execute it. That you do that in a way that gives honor to the Lord and honor to your wife, and in this case, honor to your kids as well. You need to constantly ask yourself, what am I teaching my children by what I do? What am I teaching my family by how I live? Jesus Christ said, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. What do the kids see when they look at you? What does your wife see when she looks at you, when she observes your leadership of the household, when they observe your conduct and your service to you and your love for the Lord? How do they view you? And men, this must be done out of a love for Christ, out of a love for Christ. Secondly, it's done out of a love for their soul. You think about the depths from which Christ drug you to save your soul, and if you love and care for your family, love and care for your wife, love and care for your children, then you're going to provide them. You're going to be Christ to them in your life and how you act and how you interact with them and how you instruct and correct with all long suffering. You're going to be Christ to them. And I want to give you an example of this. Turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 6, Deuteronomy chapter 6. In much here, ruling, running, managing the household well, a lot of that is emphasized in instruction. We have the greatest guidebook imaginable in God's word. It is perfect and pure converting the soul. It is what makes it possible to be wise into God for salvation. It is beautiful, right? This book needs to permeate our households, needs to permeate our family relationships, our marriages, relationship with your children. It needs to be permeating every aspect of how we run and manage our households. And here in Deuteronomy chapter 6, begin in verse 1 with me. Let's take a look at this passage together, verse 1. Now this is the commandment and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess. Now he's writing this specifically here to the children of Israel. Take these use here and make that you personally. This is to you personally. That you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess. That you may fear the Lord your God to keep all his statutes and his commandments which I command you. And now look at this, very interesting. You and your son and your grandson. One of the reasons that you devote yourself to the things of God so that your kids have a shot of heaven. So the Lord would work in their lives that the Lord would be pleased to use you as an instrument in his hands for the well-being, the spiritual well-being of your children so that they might be saved. Single brother out there, listen single sister, you should desire from the heart that the Lord would use you as an instrument in his hands for the salvation of a loved one, of a friend, of someone you're witnessing to, someone that you hang out with. Be used of the Lord in this. This is the purpose for fathers, guys to be used by the Lord in your household. Listen to what it says. You and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore hear, oh Israel, and be careful to observe it. You know that word here, here is tied directly to obey. If you hear and do not obey, you didn't hear, right? This is here and obey. Therefore, verse three, hear, oh Israel, and be careful to obey it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey. Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall, here is the first, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. Unlike today, when we think of heart in our context today, we often think of it as the seat of our emotions, the seat of affections. The Old Testament, Hebrew, heart was the seat of the person. It was the seat of the intellect, the seat of the reasoning. It was the seat of the mind, the seat of our understanding. That was the heart. Here, you're to love the Lord your God, certainly with all your affections, with all your mind, with all your understanding, with all your reasoning, with all of the mental capacity within you, you're to love the Lord your God. But then it says with all your soul. All your soul was the person. It was the seat of their sensibilities, the seat of their will, the seat of their resolve. It was the person. You're to love the Lord with all your sensibilities, with all your resolve, with all your will, and then finally with all your strength. That's just labor. That's work. If I love the Lord with all my strength, what does that look like? That looks like me serving the Lord, serving the Lord's people, obeying Scripture, evangelizing, making disciples. It means serving God, serving the God, serving God with all my strength. And look at verse six. These words, which I command you today, shall be in your heart, be in your mind, be in your intellect, be in your reasoning, be in every part of you, and you shall teach them diligently to your children. That word diligently there carries the sense of a sculptor, big huge piece of granite that looks like nothing but a huge, craggy piece of granite, and that sculptor begins the laborious work of taking hammer and chisel to that piece of granite until you lop off all that which offends and that piece of granite starts taking shape. And you want that piece of granite one day to be conformed into the image of his son, to be saved, and it begins with that granite. And if you chisel into a piece of granite, that's not lightly departed from or lightly forgotten, right? That granite remains. It is doing the hard work of chiseling that piece of granite. And that's the job of a godly father to chisel that piece of granite. You're to teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. This is a figure of speech called a marism. This is a double marism which displays opposites to incorporate the whole. So when it says, when you lie down and when you rise up, that means all the time. From beginning to end, you're to teach these things diligently to your children when you sit and when you walk. In other words, everywhere, no matter what you're doing, no matter what time of day it is, no matter where you go, at all times you're to be teaching diligently to your children the things of God. When you talk of them, when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand. They shall be as frontless between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. We must obey this with all our hearts for the sake of your soul, for the sake of your wife's soul, for the sake of your children's soul, for the sake ladies of your husband's soul, we're to obey these things. Flip back a page to chapter four. See another example of this, chapter four. And look at verse seven. This is Deuteronomy chapter four, verse seven. Here again, where do we get the power, the ability, the wisdom with which to do all these things? It's only possible in the Lord, only possible through Scripture, only possible in the power of His Spirit. Look at verse seven. For what great nation is there that has God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us? And for whatever reason we may call upon Him. Think about it for a moment, your context and apply this to yourself. The Lord, Jesus Christ, through His substitutionary atonement, His work on the cross has given you access to God the Father through His blood, that you can boldly enter the throne room of grace and lay your supplications before God the Father because of the work of Jesus Christ, because He's redeemed you. He has bought you out of the slave market of your sin. He has washed you clean, pardoned you, forgiven you of your sin, placed you in His kingdom among the beloved. You are beloved to Him. You're as a son. Remember this, remember this position that you have in Christ and we're to remember this. And look what it says in verse eight. And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? And the Lord gives you His word and He gives you His testimonies and His judgments to obey them and to live for Him. He gives you instruction from His word on how to be pleasing in His sight. And then look at what it says then in verse nine. Now remember, remember this in verse nine. Only take heed to yourself. Here it is again, men. Take yourself in hand. Self control. You're to act upon yourself so that you can act and be an example to and act upon your family, upon your kids, upon your wife. Take heed to yourself and diligently keep yourself. Are you doing that, guys? Where, guys, have you begun to stumble? Where have you become weak? Where are you failing in your service to the Lord? Is it in your study of His word? If you're not in His word, you're on the path to failure in this. Where are you failing to serve Him as you should? Then it says here, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Let me ask you, when you remember the depths from which Christ saved your wretched soul, you remember the cost that He paid on Calvary's cross to redeem you. When you think about the bloodshed, does it not inflame your heart to serve Him with everything you've got? Remember that. As oftentimes, the Lord saves a man and then the flesh begins to creep in and apathy begins to creep in. Lovelessness begins to creep in. Coldness, indifference begins to creep in. And Hebrews would warn, take heed to yourselves lest any of you fall short. Fear, lest there be in any of you a heart of unbelief and departing from the living God. Shore these things up. Why? Why is that so important? Look at the rest there of verse 9. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren. Take yourself in hand so that you can turn then and teach your children. Look at verse 10. Especially, it says here, concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God and Horeb. When the Lord said to me, gather the people to me and I will let them hear my words that they may learn to fear me all the days they live on the earth. When these Israelites came to God at Mount Zion and God's thunderous voice came out of the mountain. The people were panicked. The people were frightened. Moses said it was exceedingly frightful. They learned by that to fear the Lord their God. Our God is a consuming fire, the Bible says. They're to learn from that experience to fear God. Now, if you're in Christ, praise the Lord there is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. But there's a healthy fear of the Lord isn't there and wanting to please him and not wanting to fall away. And as Hebrew says, the Hebrew says the fear lest you fall away. There's a healthy fear of the Lord here. But again, what's the purpose of that? That they may learn to fear me all the days they live on the earth. But look at what it says at the end of verse 10. And that they may teach their children. Men, you're to do this. You've got to stir up, cultivate in yourself a healthy fear of God. You've got to stir up and cultivate in yourself a healthy understanding of what it must have been like to stand at the foot of Mount Zion and hear the very voice of God. And you're to fear him in your stewardship of your wife, fear him in the stewardship of your children and running your household. We're to do this so that we can teach our children where to remember these things back in 1st Timothy chapter three. Again, this is ruling well emphasized in instruction, instruction of your family. Listen to the words of this prayer. Oh God, I cannot endure to see the destruction of my kindred. Let those that are united to me in tender ties be precious in my sight and devoted to thy glory. Is that not what you want, dads, for your kids, for your wife, ladies? Is that not what you want for your husband? Sanctify and prosper my domestic devotion, instruction, discipline, my example, that my house may be a nursery for heaven. My church, and he's talking about his little church, his home, at my church, the garden of the Lord enriched with trees of righteousness of thy planting for thy glory. And he goes on to say, grant that the promising appearances of a tender conscience, a soft heart, the alarms and delights of thy word be not finally blotted out and bring forth judgment unto victory in all whom I love. Boy, is that your heart toward Christ? Is that your heart toward your family? Are you, father, a clean and useful instrument in the maker's hand? Does how you live and interact with those in your household point them to Christ, or does it point them to this world? Are you yourself caught up in the mindless and meaningless trappings of this world? Are you pointing your kids, your wife, your household? Are you pointing them to Christ? When you, single person, gather for fellowship, are your fellowship centered on the mindless and meaningless trappings of this world, or is your fellowship centered around Christ? If it's fellowship, it's centered around Christ, otherwise it's just getting together. It's to be centered around Christ. Man, how do we do this? You're to rule well, single, married, with kids, without. How do you live these marks? One, you must be converted, that your sins be blotted out. You must be converted. You will never go farther in your home. You'll never go farther with your wife. You'll never go farther with your kids. Then your own unsubmissive, rebellious, wicked heart will allow you to go. You'll never overcome that. You must be converted. You must be born again. How can you be on a firm basis to run your household well when you're a rebel against God? You must be born again. You must be converted. You must be saved. You need to see your rebellion against God and turn from that. You have to see that black, traitorous, disgusting excuse of a deformed and rebellious heart, and you have to turn from living that life, self-serving, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, turn from living that life, turn by faith to Christ, trusting and relying in Him alone to save you, and be saved. Many today will say, I'm a child of God. I have my Father in heaven. If you're outside of Christ, you're of your Father, the devil. You need to get yourself a new dad and turn to the Lord and live. If you aren't yourself going to be soundly saved, and how can you lead your kids in the way of salvation? It is impossible. It's the blind leading the blind and both go headlong into the ditch. Secondly, men, you must be transformed. You must be transformed. Second Corinthians, chapter 3 verse 18 says this, but we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the spirit of the Lord. Praise God for that. You must be transformed. If you're in Christ, you're indwelt by the spirit, then from glory to glory, you're being transformed into the image of Christ. You must be transformed. You can look at something beautiful and not be made beautiful. You can look at a doctor and not be healed, but praise God. You can look at Christ and be more like him. How do you look at Christ? You pour yourself into the Word of God. How do you look to Christ? You can look to Christ and by his spirit be more like him. Be transformed into his image. Be conformed to him in the way that you live, in the way that you obey, in the way that you love, in the way that you serve, in the way that you rule your household well. Be transformed by Christ. The only way that happens is by his spirit through the Word of God. Doesn't happen by default. By default, you're being transformed into this world. You run in the current of this world, being swept away in the river, the flood of debauchery of this world. But if you're going to be transformed into the image of Christ, you've got to pour yourself into the Word of God. You've got to keep looking. Look at Christ and then look again, and look again, and look again. You do that in the mirror of God's Word. Be transformed. But then finally, you do this by faith. And when you look and you see Christ and you see his Word and the glories of Calvary and the glories of what God has planned for you, which the heart of man has not imagined, when you look and you see that, you just obey by faith. Just obey him by faith. Humbly submit yourself to the Word of God in every aspect of your life. Live for him. Obey him fervently, zealously from the heart. And the Lord will transform you in one day fully and finally glorify you for all eternity. And when that happens, man, you want your wife there, you want your children there, amen? You want to leave them behind, leave them to suffer destruction? May that never be. This ruling well, then second point, is further described in 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 4 by having his children in submission with all reverence. If you rule well in your house, man, you're going to see fruits in your children. Here it doesn't demand that this man who's to rule the church has children, but it prescribes how he is to relate to them if he does, okay? Gives us specifics here for that. Can a man lack children and yet still have the characteristics necessary to rule a household well? Well, certainly you can. Can a man have children, have them in outward or obvious or observable submission with reverence and be missing this mark entirely? Yeah, that happens too. Sometimes the right signs, this outward submission or outward reverence, can be propped up by an ungodly means. So again, this issue is character, it's heart, it's not circumstances, okay? And again, man, this is ongoing. When it says having children in submission with all reverence, that word having there in the present tense, meaning it's ongoing, it's abiding, this is the normal and usual course of his relationship with his kids. He says that they're in submission. This means lined up in obedience. We've looked at this word before. It's hupotaso. It means lined up in subjection under, similar to the way that men in the military would line up under a commander, right? There to be lined up in obedience, described by Titus chapter 1 verse 6 as faithful. Now many have taken that verse to mean that the kids must be saved. What that's saying in Titus chapter 1 verse 6, tied closely here to 1st Timothy chapter 3, is that the children must in their behavior display the behavioral characteristics of one who has been under faithful Christian instruction. If the father of the household is leading well, if proper, good, faithful biblical teaching is going on in the household, then his children will display that faithful fruit, if you will, of faithful Christian instruction. They'll be obedient. They'll be in submission. As Titus says, they won't be accused of dissipation, which wastefulness, or insubordination, all right? Now critical point regarding this issue of submission, we're all to be submissive. This is a critical issue today, right? Sortly neglected. Children are to be submissive. Wives are to be submissive to their husbands and everything in Ephesians 5 verse 22. And we are all to live in submission or in obedience under the authority that the Lord has placed us under. We're all under authority, and we're to obey that authority. Now how does a father in your household model this? Dads, how do you model this to your kids? You model it by being submissive yourself. You model it by being faithful and intreatable to receive correction. You model it by being humble to repent of your own sin and to ask for forgiveness. You may even need to ask forgiveness of your child. But you model that submission by submitting to authorities over you in their view. We're repenting of your own sin, asking for forgiveness, receiving instruction and correction. Here, with respect to the children, he has them in submission, it says, with all reverence. Now this, with all reverence, that could describe the kids or it could describe the dad, right? It could describe either one. In referring to the children, the word order in the Greek argues for this being descriptive of the children. And that would go well with Titus 1 6 where the Bible says that the kids are not to be insubordinate, not to be accused of insubordination. However, the word is used elsewhere predominantly for the father. The father, in with all reverence, meaning that he is worthy of respect, that the father is worthy of reverence, not that he is reverent, he should be, but that he's worthy of reverence, worthy of this respect. And if you think about it then, here, this is not an either or, this is a both and. The children respond to the father with reverence and respect because the father himself is worthy of reverence and respect in his conduct toward the children. These both things go hand in hand together. Older men in Titus 2 2 are worthy of reverence. Young men in Titus 2 7 are worthy of reverence. All believers in scripture are described as those to be worthy of reverence or respect. And therefore, if you think about it this way, the children in responding to that faithful Christian instruction respond to the father in a way that reflects the father's instruction or interaction with them. In other words, you won't see this child over time, back talk, lash out at, disrespect the father on a consistent basis. We know that kids being some of them being lost are capable of doing that, right? But that the behavior of the kids and their interaction with their father will reflect the father's reverence and respect for the word of God and for their stewardship of their children and how they interact with them. Children, how do you talk to your dads? How do you talk to your moms? Are you obeying them? The Lord commands you to obey your parents with reverence and respect. How do you interact with your mom and your dad? This is what the Lord commands of you. Men, ladies in your households, if the authority in your household ends with you, you're in trouble. You're fallible. You have clay feet. You'll make mistakes. If that's the highest authority in your household, you're in trouble. All authority points to Christ. All authority points to God. When you tell your children to obey, when you are looking for obedience, where does that authority come from? It's a derived authority from God. And all authority in the household should point to Christ, should point to God. This is, as we talked about at the very outset, a sign of experience or maturity in the life of the man, the leader of the Lord's church. Those men that desire the position of bishop, desire to be a leader in the church, have to have that level of maturity about them that is worthy of respect, worthy of note, that is worthy of that kind of reverence, such that their household reflects that, having children in submission with all reverence. But now point three, there's a more subtle description here. And this comes from verse five, 1 Timothy chapter three, verse five. The Bible here says, for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, that's that same word probably used to me in the Greek, how will he take care of the church of God? Here, ruling well is more subtly seen in this description of taking care. The church needs to be taken care of. The family needs to be taken care of. That responsibility is the man's. This communicates something important about those that will lead the church. It communicates something important about the man that leads the household. This is descriptive of how the church is to be overseen by its leaders. It's descriptive of how the household is to be overseen by the father. And like we said, running a church is more like running a family than it is a business or a government or the military. In this scene, since there is that loving care, that parental responsibility that is certainly to be there in the house, but then it's going to be manifest in the church by its leaders. The word there is epimilemi in the Greek, and that means taking care of, caring for. It carries the sense of being thoughtful, being concerned. We don't have time to go there, but in Luke chapter 10 with the Good Samaritan, the Good Samaritan saw the man along the side of the road and he epimilemi, he took care of him. He bound his wounds. He made sure that he was well. He made sure that his needs were taken care of. He took him to the innkeeper, paid the innkeeper to continue taking care of him. The Good Samaritan, epimilemi, took care of him, right? This was taken care of. Again, guys, this word is in the middle voice. It means that you must act upon yourself to perform this action. If you're going to take care of your family, it doesn't happen by default, it doesn't happen by your wife doing something, or I tell you what, honey, I want to take care of the household, so here's a list of things I want you to do, right? This is you acting on yourself to do the things required of you to take care of your house. And men, where this doesn't happen, it's often a lack of discipline. It's often a lack of self-control. It's often a lack of conversion. It's often a lack of diligence on your part to serve the Lord. Men, you must act upon yourself. This word, and you compare this to the Good Samaritan, is attentiveness, is thoughtfulness, is care, is compassion, is love, love, love, love, right? Thoughtfulness. Many men give their time, that was another aspect of the Good Samaritan, they give their time, they give their attention to the things of this world that are vapor, that are going away and good riddance to bad rubbish. They're here one day and they're like withered grass, they're gone tomorrow, and they give all of their time, all of their attention to those things, while the things that should be most important to them, their own soul, the soul of their wife, the souls of their children, their household, those are the things that are neglected and they're neglected all the way to hell. Where are you sacrificing for your hobby? Sacrificing for your work? Sacrificing for your entertainment? Sacrificing for your leisure or pleasure? Where are you sacrificing those things that matter most? And this passage exhorts you, act upon yourself to rule your household well, to take care of your house, take care of your wife, take care of your kids. And that, including instruction, it includes discipline, it includes care, attention, time, love, time, attention, love, discipline, instruction, love, it takes all of that. And you've got to fear the Lord in this. The Bible says in Proverbs 14 verse 26, in the fear of the Lord, there is strong confidence. It says in the fear of the Lord, there is strong confidence. And it goes on to say, and his children will have a place of refuge. In other words, if you have no fear of the Lord, your children are vulnerable. Your children are vulnerable prey to the predator. They're vulnerable to the roaring lion which roams around seeking whom he may devour. Fear the Lord in their strong confidence and your children will have a place of refuge. Epi-Malai here means demonstrating love and compassion. It means nurturing and gentleness. It means giving time and attention. Here, so we understand, love, ruling your household well, attention cannot be defined by time. If I give an hour a night, two hours a night, two hours a week, an hour a month, it can't be defined by time. It has to be defined by what you do. It has to be defined by love, by instruction, by care, by attention. 1 Peter 3-7 says to live in an understanding way. We looked at that, means to be informed of God's will for what you're to do in your stewardship. It certainly includes supervision. We've already seen it certainly includes instruction and discipline. Let me give you an example. Turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 2, and let's see two sides of this issue. One a positive example, one a negative, from 1 Samuel chapter 2. And here we have on one side of this example Hannah and her son Samuel. On the other side of this example, we have Eli and his wicked sons, Haphne and Phineas. We'll see these two contrasted here in chapter 2. Now think about this for a moment. The care, attention, love, godliness, instruction, fear of the Lord, discipline that is necessary to rule a household well and look at where these two end up. Let's look at the sons of Eli first. This is 1 Samuel chapter 2 verse 12. Here the Bible says now the sons of Eli were corrupt. The sons of Eli were corrupt. That word corrupt there literally means the sons of Belial. Now if they're the sons of Belial, who is that equating Eli with? Right? If your kids are wicked and corrupt, if they are sons of Belial, who does that make you? Right? There's the sons of Eli were corrupt and they did not know the Lord. They had no regard for the Lord. No regard for Him is what that means. And the priest custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest servant would come with a three pronged flesh hook in his hand while the meat was boiling. Then he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot and the priest would take for himself all the flesh hook brought up. Now Eli's sons, these corrupt, wicked sons of Belial, were helping in the temple with sacrifices. And they were doing this in such a way that it was great wickedness before the Lord. As a matter of fact, look at chapter 2 verse 17. Here the Bible says therefore the sin of the young men Phineas and Haphne here was very great before the Lord. For men abhorred the offering of the Lord. It says in verse 16 that they actually took the offering by force. This was great wickedness in their worship and offering to God here. They were corrupt. Look down at verse 22 and see this. Verse 22. Now Eli, it says, was very old. Here is about to be the first rebuke of Eli of his sons. And this came when Eli was very old. This says that there is great neglect going on in Eli's household. He's just neglected his parental responsibilities altogether. He's not corrected his sons, not disciplined in his sons. This first happens when he's very old. Look what it says. And he heard everything his sons did to all Israel and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. They were making cult prostitutes out of the women who met before the Lord's tabernacle wickedness. So he said to them, why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. Know my sons, for it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord's people transgress. If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him? Nevertheless, they did not heed the voice of their father because the Lord desired to kill them. And would you want that said of your kids? And my kids won't obey me because in the hidden decrees of God, he is seeking to kill them for their wickedness. And that's neglect here. That's neglect, dads. You neglect your family. You neglect your spouse. You neglect your kids. And you reap what you sow. And your kids may reap of themselves destruction. Your wife may reap of herself destruction. This is a miserable example here. A miserable example of neglect. A miserable example of the consequences of that on the family, on your kids. We know from Scripture that kids bear their own iniquity. They bear their own sin. But when the Lord says he will visit the transgressions of the fathers to the third and fourth generation, what that's saying is that the consequences of your sin, dads, fathers, may be that three and four generations later, your kids and your grandkids and your great grandkids are still suffering the consequences of your lack of love for the Lord. Suffering the consequences that you brought about because of your neglect. You've got to love and serve the Lord here. But look at the alternate. Well, before we do that, now this is hypocrisy on the part of Eli. This is hypocrisy. If you go back one page, go to 1 Samuel chapter one. It was not until Eli was very old that he first rebuked the sons here. But look at chapter one. Look at verse 12 with Hannah here. And it happened, chapter one verse 12, as she continued praying before the Lord that Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah spoke in her heart, only her lips moved. You know, by the, when this is going on, you can only imagine what Eli's sons are off doing, what they're doing with ladies at the Tabernacle of Meeting, what they're doing in their corrupt behavior, what's going on behind the scenes. And look at what Eli said. Therefore, Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, never mind, his kids are probably off drunk somewhere. How long will you be at the drink? Put your wine away from you. And Hannah answered and said, no, my Lord, I'm only woman of sorrowful spirit. Listen, Eli's sitting here rebuking Hannah. And when his sons are off involved in all kinds of debauchery, it's hypocrisy. It's hypocrisy. How can a man lead the Lord's church in that kind of hypocrisy? Hear your kids acting like sons of the devil and you're going to stand before the Lord's people and rebuke and correct and instruct along. It's great hypocrisy. Can you see the importance of this qualification for leadership? Great hypocrisy. Look at Hannah chapter two. Look at her love for the Lord here. Verse one, Hannah prayed and said, my heart rejoices in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies because I rejoice in your salvation. No one is holy like the Lord for there is none besides you, nor is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly. Let no arrogance come from your mouth for the Lord is the God of knowledge and by him actions are weighed. And Hannah loves the Lord. This love for the Lord overflowed into a love for Samuel before he was even born. Hannah's praying to the Lord for Samuel, consecrating Samuel to the Lord before Samuel was even born. And then look at her love and care for Samuel. Look at verse 18. But Samuel ministered before the Lord even as a child and that was by Hannah's doing. Wearing a linen ephod, moreover his mother used to make him a little robe and bring it to him year by year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. And remember, Samuel's in the temple because Hannah loved Samuel. And as much as she loved Samuel, she loved the Lord more. And she consecrated Samuel to God and prayed to the Lord to keep Samuel. And you see that's a glorious picture, making him a robe, making him an ephod, caring for him. And look what it says in verse 26. And the child, Samuel, at the time when Hoffney and Phineas were growing in their sin, growing in their wickedness, growing in despised by the eyes of God. It says the child Samuel grew in stature and in favor with both the Lord and men. And guys, is that what you want to hear as a testimony of your kids? They grow in favor with the Lord and with the men. We're to rule our household well. Has to be done in balance. We see that from the example of Eli. It can't be all compassion and no discipline, right? Can't be all supervision and no love. It can't be all love and no attention. You got to be the full package, guys. We see this exemplified by Paul's care, pouring his life out for the church in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 4 through 12. I encourage you to take a look at that for yourself. Not to be lorded over, not to be heavy-handed. Matthew 20 says that Jesus called them to himself and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them and those who are great exercise authority over them, yet it shall not be so among you. But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. For those men who desire the position of a bishop, these marks must be true of you and how you rule or manage or take care of your household. Men, if you're single, this can be done by proxy. Watch how you take care of or interact with other children, how you teach a class, how you interact with kids in the church, how you interact with sisters in the church, other brothers in the church. If you haven't been given the gift of singleness, then don't be foolish and as soon as you're ready, take a wife and put these things into practice. We're to practice these things. For you fathers here today, this is God's father's day exhortation to you. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength. Demonstrate these things in your life by loving the Lord in that way. Model your love and devotion to the Lord to your wife, to your children. Practice these things. Take yourself in hand. Self-control, self-discipline. Own yourself and obey the Lord. What would your wife say? How would she characterize you at home? What would your kids say? How are you with the finances, with your work, with important decisions, with discipline? Do you see or demonstrate observable care for the children? Attendance, constant repetitive instruction, shizzling at that hunk of granite, right? Do the kids obey you? Do they respect or regard you highly? Is it out of pure fear or is it out of love? Is there an animosity and rebellion in their heart although they may obey you outwardly? This isn't called for perfect home and perfect kids, and we know that not all kids are saved, but are they respectful and obedient? In terms of Titus 1.6, do they behave in ways faithful to Christian instruction? What would your kids say? If you're here today and you've not bowed the knee to Christ, then do you see a pattern of selfishness in your life? Do you see that your kids, family, your spouse are inconveniences to you? Is your interaction with your spouse, interaction with your kids noted or consistently seen by outbursts of wrath? You may call it frustration, you may call it impatience, you may call it aggravation, the Bible calls it sin, the Bible calls it murder in the heart, the Bible calls it anger. Do you see that as a pattern in your life? Are you uncomfortable talking with your wife or your kids about spiritual things? In other words, are you ashamed of him and his word? Does your life show a pattern of unbiblical or unwise decisions that you and your family and your kids suffer the consequences for? Is that the pattern in your life? And aren't you sick and tired of running around on that merry-go-round? Be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. Be transformed from one glory to another glory. And see your family saved, soundly saved. See your household cared for. Run it well. Proverbs chapter 3 verse 5 says this, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding and all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, God, such a high calling or such a high calling to be a father, a high calling to be a mother and certainly a high calling Lord to lead in your church, to lead amongst your people. God, grant us grace and mercy in this Lord. We are hopelessly incapable apart from you. God, hopelessly incapable of anything good apart from Christ, apart from the work of your spirit in us. God strengthen us to this task, empower us and enable us to this task. God, help us to have understanding of your word and the application of your word for the wisdom that we need to run our households well, to have children in submission with all reverence and Lord, help that faithfulness Lord, empower that faithfulness to spill over into the church and caring for God's people. We love you or we love your church. We love your people, love your word. We want to be faithful, good stewards of those things which you have entrusted to our care. We can't do it apart from you and it'd be hypocrisy if we tried and help us to do these things by your spirit in the power of your might for your glory. And Lord, we want, we want to be in heaven worshiping you or we want to be there with our wife, with our children. We want to see those loved ones around us there with us worshiping you. That person that we witness to, that loved one that we've been investing, pouring our lives into, save them. God, make them trophies of your grace but may we be, Lord, faithful, clean instruments in your hand for that purpose to your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.