 I greet you this morning in the name of the one, the only one who is worthy here this morning, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the one who considered you and considered me and said, I'm willing to give my life for him and for her. It's an amazing thought as we reflect upon that Jesus Christ died for us, for each individual that is here this morning. But in a dynamic sense, Jesus Christ died for the church and I don't want you to ever forget that. There is a personal aspect to salvation. Each one of us must come to the cross individually. I cannot come there for you and you cannot come there for me. But we come there together as brothers and sisters. No man is there by himself. This morning we are talking about a church life. A church life worth dying for. And the only way that we will understand what this church life is, is if we begin to see it from the perspective that God sees it. And this theme is going to run throughout the message. This is the burden that's on my heart this morning. If you have your Bibles and want to follow along, I invite you to turn to Psalm 48. I'd like to begin there with this beautiful portion of scripture. When I think of something that is worth dying for, it implies that there is a cause, that there is a purpose. There is something bigger than myself that I aspire to and live for. And I find this portrayed in this portion of scripture. In Psalm 48, we will read most of this scripture and the first two verses of this beautiful Psalm have often been sung and set to music. And I'd like for us to do that. And I'm asking you to stand as we sing and as we read this portion of scripture. Will you stand? And let's sing the first two verses together. Great is the law in the city of our God for situ on the sides of three. God is known in her palaces for a refuge. And now we drop down to verse eight. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts in the city of our God. God will establish it forever. Silah, we have thought of thy loving kindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth. Thy right hand is full of righteousness. Let Mount Zion rejoice. Let the daughters of Judah be glad because of thy judgments. Walk about Zion, walk about Zion. Go round about her. Tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks. Consider her palaces that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God, forever and ever. He will be our guide even unto death. Amen, you may be seated. As I ponder this beautiful portion of scripture, there is, I understand, of course, that David, as he penned these words, if indeed it was David, it was a song and Psalm for the sons of Korah, the heading of my Bible says, but as the Psalmist wrote these words, I'm sure there was a practical application and inspiration for them right there. But it's also no question in my mind that there's a prophetic word here that points forward to the church. He calls it Mount Zion. There's a number of observations about 10 that I'd like to quickly make here just as an introduction to this message. And as we think of a church life, the first thing I want to point to is in verse one, the first observation is the creator of Mount Zion is worthy of praise. He says, great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. Our life should be obsessed with bringing praise to God. Its creator is worthy, first of all. There's another thing that I see there about the church, Mount Zion, as he calls it here. But he said it's like a city set on a hill. There's a visibility there. Sometimes we think of the church, the quiet in the land, the hidden, the what, that people don't see readily, but here he says it's a city on a hill. It's a beacon of light. Let us never be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord and of speaking for him and let the whole world see it and be drawn in. There's another thing that I see there in verse two. It's a beautiful place. The church of Jesus Christ is a beautiful place. And I know there's times that there's been, that the pictures that brother Ken shared here of stoning and of beheadings and of martyrdom are pictures of pain and suffering. How can that be beautiful? I call those pictures beautiful. I see men there and women who have a cause in their heart that they are willing to die for. And that's beautiful when there's that kind of purpose and passion in the life of a person. It's beautiful for a situation. In verse three, it's called a palace. The implication is it's a beautiful place. The church of Jesus Christ is that way. In fact, he says next, it is the joy of the whole earth. It is the joy of the whole earth. You know, and there is, I have seen this in various parts of the earth. There's times I've been in Belize, I've been in Paraguay and in Papua New Guinea and in Kenya and most recently in various parts of Ukraine. I have seen the joy of the Lord in all of those places written on people's faces who know Jesus Christ and the gospel has changed them from darkness to life. It doesn't matter the culture. Sometimes we talk about our cross cultural situation. Let me tell you something where the word of God is preached and where it is believed and where the Holy Spirit changes lives. It doesn't matter if the skin color is black or white or blue or green or yellow. It has no impact on that. And the languages are diverse, one from another. We can't understand them unless there's an interpreter at our side when we speak. But there is joy there where there is a belief in Jesus Christ. What a blessing it is. It's the joy of the whole earth. In verse three, I see something else. He says it's a refuge. The church of Jesus Christ is a safe place. It's a refuge for those who are wandering. And I don't know what your situation is here this morning but if you've never been a part of a safe refuge, I'd invite you in. I invite you to come. Sometimes in a group like this, the moderator says he's glad to see all those that have come out. I'm always a little vexed with that. I'm not glad for the people that have come out. I'm glad for the people that have come in. I see that in Mount Zion. It's coming in that we come when we come to church. It's not coming out, it's coming in. Now we come out of the world. I guess we can, I can buy that. It's okay there. And another thing that I see in verse eight. Did you notice it as we read across it? This is not something that comes today and is gone tomorrow. He says it's an everlasting kingdom. This thing's gonna outlive me, brethren. I'm gonna come and go. But the kingdom of Jesus Christ is an everlasting kingdom. It's never going to cease. The gates of hell are not gonna prevail against it. Oh, I get excited when I think of that. Maybe, I don't know if you do this when you read a book or not. I do it sometimes. We read the first couple chapters and then I wanna know how this thing ends. And so we flip to the back and we see what the last chapter is. And lo and behold, we find out that the main character is still alive and well and happy. And so when we go back to chapter three, the airplane's running out of gas and it's going down. I can put that book on the shelf and go to sleep in peace. I don't know how it's gonna happen, but I know at the end of the chapter, at the end of the book, he's still there. And so everything's gonna work out okay. You know what? I read the last chapter. I know how it's going to end. There may be persecutions and trials in our life until we get there, but I know it's going to, that ultimately, regardless, there's going to be a victorious conquering. There's gonna be a victorious entering of the church of Jesus Christ into heaven itself when this kingdom on earth is finished. When I think of that, notice what else he says. He says that kingdom is going to be established forever and he says he has seen it there. And so in verse 11 he says let Mount Zion rejoice. Let the daughters of Judah be glad. And that's why we can rejoice here this morning. We don't know what tomorrow holds. We don't know when that next catastrophe is going to strike or when there'll be that reversal, but we can live here today in gratitude and in joy because we know how it's all going to end out. He says we can rejoice and the daughters of Judah can be glad. And then he says another very sobering idea here in verse 12 and there he says Mount Zion is worthy of close inspection. That's how I worded it. He says go look at Zion. Go look at the church. He says walk about her and go round about her and tell the towers or inspect the towers of the church. What are the pillars of the church this morning? And have you noticed them? He says mark ye well her bulwarks as we think of marking them or take notice of them. There's my center column on that idea says consider well her bulwarks. I think there's another word there. Set your heart to her bulwarks it says. The bulwarks of the church have the idea of the strength of the church. The kind of thing that stands when the storms beat against it. He says Mount Zion has bulwarks. There's towers there that are ultimately going to stand. And he says consider those things. As I think of those things I see a passion. I see a joy that is there. You know Mount Zion it may not be perfect. This temple we don't always get it right. It's filled with human beings like you and I and sometimes there's mistakes, there's misguided thoughts we try and we don't get it right. I didn't say this morning that the church of Jesus Christ here on this earth is a perfect place. But as there is a passion that burns in the heart of each one. I think of several authors, poets if you please who have written words like this. Oh to be like the blessed redeemer. This is my constant longing and prayer. Gladly I'll forfeit all averse treasures. Jesus thy perfect likeness to wear. When that kind of passion burns in our heart then we can walk about Zion and we can consider those bulwarks. Another writer said it this way. He said Lord I am fondly earnestly longing into thy holy likeness to grow searching for more and deeper communion yearning thy love more fully to know and even invites us to draw that water out of the wells of salvation. Oh when that kind of a cause that kind of a passion begins to work in our heart then we begin to understand what it is to have a church life that is worth dying for. We're not finished here yet. Did you notice the last couple of verses? He says the God of the church will never leave her. No he says this God is our God forever and ever. This God is our God not just today not just tomorrow but forever. Our God will be with Mount Zion and he says he will be our guide even unto the end. Even unto death he will stand there with us. This picture of the church of those pillars. I don't know if Paul was thinking of that when he wrote to Timothy the young bishop at Ephesus. Ephesus was an amazing city but maybe a few more details on that in a bit. But Paul wrote to young Timothy and he says these things right eye unto thee hoping to come unto thee shortly. But if I tarry long that thou may us know how thou art us to behave thyself in the house of God which is the church of the living God the pillar and ground of the truth. He didn't say that you're the pillar. He said the church of Jesus Christ is the pillar and ground of the truth. And as you approach the Ephesus harbor there was a huge temple that was there. Now this tabernacle is big but if I understand it right that temple there was so large you could probably set this tabernacle in the one corner of it. I don't know exactly but it was called it was one of the seven wonders of the world. It was a temple to Diana of the Ephesians and you know the story and acts how they worshiped there but the prominent feature of that temple was the pillars. They tell me that there were 127 pillars that supported that roof system and each of those pillars was six feet in diameter. It was made of marble six feet in diameter 60 feet tall weighing 46 ton of piece and there he says that it was a forest of gorgeous marble pillars. And Paul said Timothy don't be so impressed with those pillars. He said it's the church of Jesus Christ. That's the pillar and ground of the truth. What a beautiful picture it is. And I know today the church is not seen as very important by many. There's people that criticize the church for some going to church is just a weekend in convenience. They'd rather go play golf or go fish on Sunday morning but you know it'd be kinda looked down on and so I guess I'll go to church. This morning some people claim that it's more of a habitation of hypocrites than of God. I'm sorry about that but I frankly don't feel like that's a very good excuse. I'm sorry that there are hypocrites in church. There's probably a few in your church. I'll stop short of suggesting who that might be but there's probably a few in your church too but when I think of people who have left the church because of the hypocrites that are in it could it be that the ones that are still there are closer to God than the ones that have left? I'm not sure but it's something to think about anyway. And there's others that say, well my church is dead. My church is dead and I wonder what they mean by that because you see the church, the church isn't cement blocks and carpet and pews, the church isn't two by fours and tin on the roof. The church is people. And once again if the church is dead I wonder if we should check our own pulse. At least our spiritual pulse and is it me perhaps? Is it me that's not in tune with the spirit of God? Is it me that's not bowing? Is it me that's not walking the way of the cross? Is it me that has self still hung on, sitting on that throne instead of hanging on the cross as we were so eloquently taught yesterday? Could it be that it's me? You see the church of Jesus Christ is only living when you and I are spiritually alive within that church. That's what gives the church life. It's the life of Jesus Christ through the believer in that congregation. It's not the paint on the wall or the pew you're sitting on, it's you and me. If your church is dead, I invite you to do something about it. Now I also recognize that there are many, there's a huge diversity here this morning. There's probably people here that have never been a member of a church and they're not quite sure what that means. And then there are those I'm sure that have been part of a church and maybe you're disillusioned by it. It's been a difficult journey and so on. And maybe this morning you're alone. You just claim to be part of that universal church, that great universal church that God is coming back for. But the idea of submitting to a local brotherhood and being a part of that, it's probably maybe it's something that you shy away from. I hope there's many here who have been otherwise and I will come to that in just a bit. I was thinking about that and I find several models in scripture. The Bible Stephen talked about this when he was preaching in Acts chapter seven. He said, this is he who was with the church and the wilderness. Now when you think of the church and the wilderness, I see there a wandering church, a church that was just kind of meandering around waiting to die. They were on their way to the promised land to be sure but the promise was that they weren't gonna get there. Many of them, a wandering church. First Corinthians chapter 11 talks about several other models of church. He says, for this cause many are weak. Is your church weak? Many are weak. And then he said, many are sickly. Are you part of a sick church? And he says, many sleep. Is your church sleeping? Paul mentioned those three possibilities there and they're very sobering possibilities as we think of a sick church, a weak church, a sleeping church. But that possibility exists. There are churches that are drifting. There's churches that are divided. There's churches that yesterday we heard about the way of peace where two are brought together into one, what beautiful scriptural math, two becoming one, that middle wall of partition being broken down. Today we find churches where that middle wall of partition is being built and one becomes two. Maybe you're disillusioned with that. I'm here to tell you this morning, not everything is wrong. Not everything is wrong. There are churches today that honor the Lord Jesus Christ. There are churches that take seriously the word of God and attempt to apply them. And I invite you to find a congregation of believers like that and become a part of that or your own congregation and build it up. Not everyone's on the slippery slope. There are many brotherhoods that are trying hard to put the living word into everyday life. There are many congregations today that can rightly claim that the gates of hell are not prevailing against them. They are moving forward. There's a living vibrancy that is going on within that brotherhood. Oh, I rejoice in that. These are people where there's a beauty in that church because self has been put on the cross and Christ is on that throne within the brotherhood. And it makes a church life worth dying for. Now, before we consider that, perhaps we should ask, well, what is the church? And we don't have time to do any exposition on that. I love what the Dortrecht Confession says. I was going to read this portion. I don't think I'll read but a few sentences. They begin there, the paragraph there in the Dortrecht Confession written in 1632. We believe in and confess a visible church of God namely those who, as has been said before, truly repent and believe and are rightly baptized, who are the one who are one with God in heaven and rightly incorporated into the communion of saints here on earth. These we confess to be the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, the holy nation who are declared to be the bride and wife of Jesus Christ. Yay, children and heirs of everlasting life. A tent, a tabernacle, a habitation of God in the spirit built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets of which Jesus Christ himself is declared to be the cornerstone. This church of the living God which he hath acquired and purchased and redeemed with his own precious blood with which according to his promise, he will be and remain always, even unto the end of the world for its consolation and protection. Yay, we'll dwell with them and walk among them and preserve them so that no flood or tempest, nay not even the gates of hell shall move or prevail against them. This church, we say, may be known by her scriptural faith, doctrine, love and godly conversation as also by the faithful observance, practice maintenance of the true ordinances of Christ which he so highly enjoined upon his disciples. I did read the whole paragraph. I didn't know where to stop. What a beautiful picture of the church. Now what is church life? I tried to just synthesize a few ideas from that. Church life is brotherhood. Church life, we're talking about the interconnectivity of brothers and sisters within the church of Jesus Christ. That's what church life is all about. The Bible calls it brotherhood but you are a chosen generation, first Peter too. We could read that whole chapter with profit. He talks about us being a priest with a holy nation, a peculiar people that we should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light which in time past were not a people but are now the people of God which in time past had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. Oh, what a beautiful picture of brotherhood. And then he says in 1 Corinthians 12 verse 25 that there should be no schism in the body but that the members should have the same care one for another, the same care. That's what builds brotherhood. The thing that amazes me about this whole business of being a body or a brotherhood with the members caring one for another is that many times it is members that look out for each other. You know, we often think of the body and we have many members in one body. The Bible says, now if I'm walking along and I see a sharp piece of glass on the path before me and I'm barefoot, guess what happens? My eye sees it, my brain reacts, my muscles tense up. There is a drawing back, maybe my hands fly up but did you notice that none of those members would have been hurt had I stepped on the glass? You see it would have only been my foot that would have been hurt. So why is my eye concerned? Why do the hands fly up? Why do the muscles tense? It says they're the members have the same care one for another. That's a beautiful picture of church life, beloved. Maybe it doesn't affect you but you're concerned for your brother. So you're gonna make a sacrifice personally for his well-being. That's brotherhood, that is brotherhood. Another thing that I find in church life is fellowship. It's such a beautiful thing. Fellowship, so many verses we could read. First John chapter one. Few verses from First John chapter one. I'll start in verse five. This then is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin. What an amazing gift. This whole thing of koinonia, of sharing together, of fellowship one with another. Revelation 21 is of course a future prophecy. I find a good bit of it a reality today. He says, and I heard a great voice out of heaven saying behold the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying neither any more pain for the former things are passed away. And like I said there's of course a future reality to that. But today as God dwells with his people in his tabernacle, in the church there's a lot of this going on right now. There's a wiping of tears. There's a caring and a sharing together that is beautiful in the idea of fellowship. Today in the church of Jesus Christ there are a number of enemies that militate against church life. I'm going to mention just a couple of them. The first one is the consumer mentality that is around us. What's in it for me? If you're going to your church with a consumer mentality, the way you go to Walmart or to a Sears and Roebuck company, you won't find it. You know, when I go to town to shop I might go to find a set of tires and I'll go into one store and if I don't find what I want I simply go next door. There's a firestone store just down the street or university tire is down the other way. I don't have to go to one and I'm not even committed to it. I'll go where I can get the best bang for buck and there's where I'll buy my tires, right? There's a lot of people that go to church that way. They go for what they can get out of it. They go for a spiritual pill. They go for a shot in the arm. They go for a bit of encouragement and of course they're fair with it. They put their 10 bucks in the offering plate. They want to make it a fair deal. How would it work if you operated your marriage that way? You only, you shopped around and you only put into your marriage what you could get out of it. You know, I want a nice house. I want a good food. I want some intimacy and so I'll just do what is necessary for that to happen with the least amount of input possible. It's a tragedy. There's a second enemy in the church and this one is the idea of attending without being. Attending without being. I'd like to illustrate that with a little, with a contrast here. You know, you were not born a godly unifying member of a brotherhood. That's not how you entered the world. So how can I become that? I take you to the example of Jesus our Lord in John chapter 10 where Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. And he said I am many other times. What did he mean by that? The I am. I use this illustration. I hope you understand where I'm going. There's two groups of people here. Did you know there are farmers who, or there are men who can plant corn, who can fertilize it, who can make things grow, but they are not farmers. I can play ball if the pitcher is kind and the catcher misses it. I can never be called a ball player. What's the difference between those two? I can cook water and if I get really hungry I can even make an egg sandwich. I can never be called a cook. What's the difference between those two? There are carpenters who can nail and saw boards and then there are craftsmen. What's the difference between those two? There are people who do good deeds that Christians should do. They go to church the way a Christian should go. They tithe the way a Christian should tithe, but they are not Christians. And if I want to be very practical, I would have to say that there are men who father children, but they are not fathers. There are females who bear children, but they are not mothers. What's the difference between these two brethren? These two groups of people. I would love to open it up for discussion. You can do this afterwards, but the difference here is obvious. Is it not? These people over here, their heart is in it. Their passion is there. They give time to it. And if I want to summarize it up, these people over here is something they are. They are craftsmen. They are cooks. They are farmers. These over here just attend those things. They just do some of the things that those kinds of people do. And I'm asking you this morning, in the quietness of your heart, which side are you on? Do you just attend church? Do you just do some of the things that churches, that church members should do? Or can you humbly and before God declare, I am the church. I am part of the body of Jesus. And it's something that just comes out of the very core of your being. It flows forth from the fabric of your life. It's not something that you put on on Sunday morning and take off Sunday afternoon. It's something that you are. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. He didn't shepherd because it was high paying. He didn't shepherd because it was an important job. He didn't shepherd because of prestigious position. He didn't shepherd because he loved those woolly animals. He shepherded because he could do no other. He was the shepherd. He is the shepherd. It's simply the way he is. Now, I just got done saying that none of us were born that way. So what hope is there for us? I've heard a lot of excuses. I've heard people say I can't cook because I wasn't born a cook. I can't teach because I wasn't born a teacher. I've seen 10 babies born. I've never seen teachers born or farmers born or preachers born or fathers born or farmers born only babies. But I've seen them become that as it became the passion of their life and as they gave their heart to Jesus Christ and as they espoused a cause that was bigger than themselves, they became that. And I'm telling you this morning that you can become part of this living entity of the church of Jesus Christ as you become that, not just do some of the things that they do. And then there's the minimalist. Minimalism is a tragedy in our churches. It's prefaced by the question, is it a salvation issue? You mean I have to do that? Is it a salvation issue? You mean I have to dress modestly or wear plain clothes? You mean I have to help sing? You mean I have to give up certain kinds of music if I'm gonna do that? Come on, is it a salvation issue? Those of you that are married, I want you to go into your marriage and let's try that there. Honey, would you wash the dishes? Is it a divorce issue? Well, if it's not a divorce issue then I'm not gonna do it. And the wife says, I'm tired of cleaning up. I think I'm gonna stop. She says, is that a divorce issue? How would your home operate if we'd live that way? That is how people are coming to church. Is it a divorce issue? I want to get into the church with the very least commitment that I have to give to it. No, beloved, I'm happy to wash the dishes if that's what makes my wife happy. I'm not gonna come wash yours. But I'm happy to wash hers. I'm happy to help vacuum. She's happy to pick up after me. It's because we love each other. It's not a matter of a divorce issue. It's a matter of a love issue. And that's what brings us to the climax here and the real heart of our message. If you have your Bibles in care too, you can turn to Isaiah 62. The enemy on the wall continues to spin. I'm not sure what to do about it. But Isaiah 62, I was going to read these first, I'm gonna read the first few verses. He says, for Zion's sake, I will not hold my peace. And for Jerusalem's sake, I will not rest until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness and the salvation thereof is a lamp that burneth. The Gentiles shall see thy righteousness and all the kings thy glory and thou shalt be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord. This is talking about Mount Zion again. It's talking about the church, a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, a royal diadem in the hand of our God. Thou shalt no more be termed forsaken, neither shall thy land any more be termed desolate. But thou shalt be called Heffzaba and thy land Bula for the Lord delighteth in thee and thy land also shall be married for as a young man married a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. You understand this verse. Verse four is what is just precious to me and has just completely, it's just been a delight in my heart as I began to ponder this here. He says the church is going to be Heffzaba. What does Heffzaba mean? I suppose many of your center columns in your Bible have it, but that word means my delight is in her. My delight is in her. And brethren and sisters, this whole message will not make much sense to you until we begin to see the church of Jesus Christ from the perspective of God. You see, when we say that God's delight is in the church, think back to the creation. Out of that mess that was there, God made light and He said it was very good and it's something He could have delighted and it was beautiful. And then the firmament and the trees that grew in the grass and then there was the animals and the fish and birds and each one of those things was a glory in itself. It was amazing. And in this verse, He could have said, I delight in that light. I delight in my creation. I delight in all these things that I have made. He didn't say that. He looked at the church and He said, my delight is in her. My delight is in her. I'll tell you, brothers and sisters, when our delight turns away from our truck and our delight turns away from fishing and our delight turns away from our wallet and our delight turns away from our job and our delight turns away from all those distractions in the world and our delight is in her. All of a sudden this whole thing will begin to make sense and we will begin to see the church as the glory, the diadem, the crown in the hand of our good God. He that touches her touches the apple of His eye. It was for this reason that He loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son. It is for that cause that it was worth dying for, that He sent His Son to die for you and for me because of that love. I was gonna turn to Ephesians chapter five and just look again. So ought men to love their wives even as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. And if you think of that, that's a church life worth dying for. It's already been done. There was, He was our leader in that and then there was of course many martyrs that came behind and did that as well. I have one more illustration. I'm going to just skip to the end. I'm going to close with this. I'm gonna need a few volunteers, a couple of volunteers and because time is of essence and I don't know who would volunteer, I'm gonna volunteer for them. I'd like for Brother Dale and Brother Ken to come up here and take these chairs. If you would please brothers. The memory portion that I was deeply challenged with, I worked on it, but I wasn't worthy to stand up here and recite that entire portion in First Peter chapter four, the way these dear people did last night, yesterday or in the yesterday afternoon, whenever it was, that was beautiful. I love that. But First Peter four, verse one has been referred to a number of times and it simply says this way, for as much as Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind, the mind of Christ, for he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin and Philippians two, verse five says a very similar concept. He says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. What does that mean, brothers and sisters, to have the mind of Christ? Now, I thank these two brethren for being willing to volunteer here, but I don't know we really the mind, how do we understand the mind? I'm going to be a little practical here and I'd like to think of it within the realm of the brain. The brain is a physical organ, the mind is much more fuzzy and nebulous and I wonder this morning if it's possible, if mankind will ever get to this place that they will be able to do a brain transplant. I don't know if that is ever the possibility but I'd like to do that this morning. I'd like to just for illustration's sake, take this brother's mind and put it into this brother and take this brother's mind and put it into this brother and I guess we'll use brains because we said the mind is kind of hard to get a hold of and I don't know if there's any last words you want to say before we attempt this or not. Okay, he says it's his game, but so we take these brethren and we put them to sleep and probably trim a little hair off here so it doesn't get mixed in with and we do an incision right around here and there sound asleep, they don't feel anything. We take this cap off, it's this top off here and off here and we take this brain and we lift it out and we disconnect it and we put it in here and we do the same thing here and we disconnect this brain and we put it in here and these brethren are sound asleep and we connect the plumbing and the electrical connectivity that's there and by God's grace it's successful. They are still breathing, we disconnect the machines and they're still sound asleep but now they begin to wake up. They begin to wake up and this brother here, as he wakes up on his pillow, he's beginning to think and he thinks about Costa Rica and he begins to think about the churches of Costa Rica and he begins to, he wonders what's happening with those dear brothers down there because he left them and he came to the to Roxbury campground and he put them in charge of somebody else down there and he's wondering if things are going like they should down there in Costa Rica and this brother here, he's also just re-waking up and as he comes to, he's thinking about Christian light and he's thinking about, they put this warehouse in there and he's responsible for some things in that warehouse and they weren't quite finished. He took off work on Friday to go to Roxbury and he's thinking about what he needs to do when he gets back to work on Monday or Tuesday as he gets back there and then as he's thinking about this, there's a bit of clarity coming into his mind and so he stands up and looks in the mirror and he cannot believe what he sees because they're looking back from the mirror is a dear brother from Costa Rica that he has known for many years and loves and appreciates and he says, how can this be? What is going on with this? And this brother the same way. He looks, he wakes up and he looks in the mirror and there he sees a brother from Stewart's Straft and he doesn't understand this because something has gone on here. Are you with me brothers and sisters? You see the brain is the whole controlling factor of the body and what the brain says is what happens in the body? When there's a disconnect between brain and body, we have a huge problem but where the body is functioning the way it ought to as the brain gives its commands, the body responds and functions. Now what we have done here is we haven't done a brain transplant. We've done a body transplant. We've put Brother Ken inside this shell and we've put Brother Dale inside this shell and now go again to Philippians 2 and 1 Peter 4. He says, let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus and brethren and sisters when that stony self-willed heart is taken out of our heart and the mind of Christ is put in there then suddenly he is in charge of my hands and he is in charge of my feet and he is in charge of my love and he is in charge, he is able, all of a sudden I find myself laughing at the things that he would laugh at and I weep at the things that he weeps at and the work that he wants done my hands do and my feet go because his mind is in here and he is the controlling factor of my life. And he says, let this mind be in you. Arm yourselves likewise with the same mind because he that has this mind has ceased from sinning. Now we need to put these two brothers let them get back into their right mind and thank you so much for taking part in the day. I'll be done here in just a moment if you want to just stay here. Brethren, when we see the church as Jesus saw it and as God sees it and this mind is in us suddenly there will be a change, a dynamic change and it will indeed be a church life. We're praying for amen and God bless you.