In this sermon, the speaker shares a personal story about his grandson and a secret birthday cake. He then relates this story to the idea that God has entrusted believers with a great secret, which is the hope of glory in Jesus Christ. The speaker emphasizes the importance of proclaiming this secret to the world and teaching others about Jesus. He encourages listeners to remain firm in the truth of the gospel and to become slaves to the good news.

Turn with me to Colossians, way over in the New Testament, chapter one. Now before I get started with this letter that Paul wrote to the church in Colossi or Colossi, however you want to pronounce it, I need to explain three things to you that are necessary for you to understand what I'll be speaking about today. First of all, I'm going to use some superlatives. Now the problem with superlatives is we don't believe them anymore. Hollywood and Madison Avenue have deprived us of them. They've overused them. They will say, stupendous, colossal, gigantic, sale of the century. We don't believe that anymore. It's sad, but it's true. Well, the problem is I'm going to use some superlatives today, and you gotta believe them because Paul was not jiving us. He wasn't just putting us on, folks. He's telling us the truth. Okay? The second thing you need to know is the definition of a word. Now, I'm not trying to insult your intelligence. You already know, mystery. Except, usually when you say the word mystery, people think, oh, who done it, kind of thing. Now the Bible never uses the word mystery in that manner. Mystery in Scripture is basically a couple of meanings. One, either something that God has revealed to us, but, oh, it's so awesome and great our little brains can't even begin to fathom it. A mystery. The other usage, and that's the usage of our passage today, is synonymous with secret. With secret. Which then brings up the third thing that I want you to notice ahead of time here. There was in the city of Colossae a heresy, some error of theology that had begun that would eventually become known in history as the Gnostics. Now, that's G-N-O-S-T-I-C-S. Don't worry much about that, though, except that they were a group that had some very funny teachings about Jesus that were erroneous. But, they were a mystery group, or a secret society. And they would say things like, we know things about God that you don't know. Now, when someone says that to you, that's very attractive, isn't it? Just like, oh, really? You know something I don't know? It messes up your day. You try to fool them into telling you what it is they know. The problem with a secret society, though, is they say, oh, no, no, no, no, no, you must join our society first. Now, folks, secrecy is also just about synonymous with darkness. And he says, men love darkness rather than light for only one reason. Their deeds are evil. So, I'm always suspicious of secret groups. There are different ones around, secret groups, that have all these degrees of knowledge. And I'm thinking, hey, if your knowledge is so great, why is it so secret? In fact, I even avoided fraternities when I was in college, because they're secret societies. I didn't avoid sororities quite as much. But they're secret societies. And I was, by the way, inducted into, in college, an honorary fraternity. I don't even remember the name of it. Eat a Bit of Pie, something like that. I know bad. And I'm not sure why I was inducted in. I think it might have been because I did not blow up the chemistry lab, or something of that nature. But I'll never forget when they inducted me in, they brought me into this candlelit room. Now, I'm always a bit suspicious of candlelit rooms. I figure this is going to cost me something. In fact, I'm going back home tomorrow, after having been gone a couple of weeks, which I don't like to be gone that long. But I know what's going to happen. My wife, she's the sweetest thing in the world. She's going to have a candlelit meal. And I love it. I really do. But I'm still just a little suspicious that this is probably going to cost me something. But they usher me into this candlelit room. And I'll never forget this. Now, this is an honorary fraternity. And the inductor says to us, and now, the secrets known only to the members of this fraternity. And I thought, oh brother, here we go. And then he told me what they were. And I thought, don't worry, they're safe with me. It was some useless bit of information like, circles are round. Squares have corners at the edges. The Gnostics were a secret society. Now, you've got the information you need. Paul, now, writes to this young church to try to keep them from falling prey to this, and giving them the understanding that they need. Now, in order to deal with this, he simply talks about who Jesus really is, in the most incredible way. So let's go to verse 15, we will begin with, as Paul begins to express who Jesus is. He starts off and he says, He is the image of the invisible God. In other words, if you want to know what God looks like, look at Jesus. If you want to know what God acts like, check Jesus out. If you want to know how God reveals Himself, Jesus is the way you find out. So hey, not a bad start, okay? He's the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Oh, there's our first superlative. All. How much might that be? Thank you. The firstborn over all creation. Folks, this means He wasn't born yesterday. This means that Jesus isn't, oh boy, well, what's going on here? Man, I've never seen anything like this. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. It's been around a while. The firstborn over creation. But He's not through, He says. For by Him all things were created. How many things were created by Him? Hey, that's not a bad job. Things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. That's a lot of things, folks. All things were created by Him and for Him. How many things were created by Him and for Him? Oh, I like this, too, because this reveals something to me. He didn't just create me, but He created me not, oh, I didn't mean to do that, but for Himself, you know. You ever shop at a seconds store? God doesn't have a seconds store. I mean, it's like, ooh, yeah, look at that. I have a dear friend in Africa who's a world-class artist. And in some of my ministry there, she had ended up giving me a sculpting that she had done, which it's a museum piece. I'm so happy. But one time when I was down in Zimbabwe where they lived, I went out for dinner to their house with she and her husband. And she said, would you like to see my studio? Oh, of course. And, oh, my, I saw some of the most incredible artwork I have ever seen in my life. And I said, that's wonderful. Can I buy that? And she says, no, no, no, no, says, that's my best work. I made that for myself. And then I understood this verse. You were created not just by Him, but for Him. You're His best work. You're a keeper. Satan says, I want this one. Jesus says, nope, nope, sorry, it's my best work. I'm keeping it for myself. So you're a keeper, folks. You were made by Him and for Him. In fact, how many things? All things were made by Him and for Him. Let's keep going here. I could spend the whole day on things like that. He is before all things. How many things is He before? All. And in Him, all things hold together. How many things hold together in Him? All. You probably know that I'm not a trained preacher. It's true. I have a degree in chemistry. And I don't remember much. But one of the things I do recall, they had learned a lot of things about the different forces in the world. Things like electromagnetic forces and gravity and strong and weak nuclear forces. But when I was there, they hadn't figured out what was it that holds the steel to the steel. What is it that actually holds things together? I know. Right here. In Him, all things hold together. Something more to praise Him for. The chair you are seated on, He's holding it together for you. Folks, when they were nailing the nails in His hands and His feet, He was holding the nails together so they could do it. Incredible. In Him, all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. When I read this, this caused me to come up with a saying that I think is going to make me famous. And I want you to know that you heard it here first. Recall that. It's this. When you see a body without a head, it's dead. Can you remember that? Heard it here first. Actually, this is profound, folks, because if you had the power to be in every church in this county today, you would discover that there's some death out there. And, you know, I'm not putting them down. It breaks my heart. But the problem is there are some who have separated themselves from the head, from Jesus. It doesn't matter to them whether He ever lived or died. And they never consult Him. And so they're separated from the head. And they're dead. But what I'm about to tell you is a little gross, and you don't have to listen to this if you do not wish to. But I'm an old farm boy. And us farm boys know that chickens do not grow up inside plastic sacks with weights and prices on them. And when my grandmother needed to feed the farm hens, she couldn't rush to the grocery store. That was a once-a-month, long-distance job. She would go out to the chicken yard, and she had this long stick with a certain kind of bent hook on the end of it. And she'd just reach in and have one of those chickens by the leg, and she'd pull it out. And this is gross. She would grab that chicken by the head, and the body would fly over there, and the head would still be in her hand. I told you this was going to be gross. But for the next five minutes, that chicken was the most active it had ever been in its life. Now, an untrained observer could look at that and say, what a live chicken! But the fact is, that chicken was dead. It had been separated from its head. Sometimes, even in the church, we get separated from the head, and what do we do? We're going to increase our activities. An untrained observer may look and say, what a live situation. But the fact is, it's dead, because it has been separated from the head. Folks, Jesus is the head of the church, the body. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything, how much might that be? He might have the supremacy. Here we go, these superlative words. This says to me that Jesus is not an addition to everything else we do. We do not say, okay, here are our plans, God. Please bless them. Oh, and by the way, we're going to try to include you in this. No, no, no, no, no. He is to have the supremacy, for God was pleased, made God happy, to have all His fullness dwell in Him. How much fullness dwelt in Him? That doesn't mean enough. That doesn't mean more than anybody else. That doesn't mean the great guru. It doesn't mean the avatar. No. God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things. How many things to reconcile? You're getting weak. Thank you. Whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. This is the most fascinating verse. Oh, it speaks such truth. Listen to this. May I illustrate it this way? Don't answer this question, by the way. This is a rhetorical question. Have you ever been stopped on a freeway, maybe, by a highway patrolman or something? Don't you hate it? Makes you mad at the police, doesn't it? I mean, the very idea. You know, you think, he ought to be out catching criminals. Not just stopping someone like me who merely broke the law. Isn't it amazing? We get mad at them. Why? Because of our evil behavior. We were the ones doing bad, and they stop us, and we get mad at them. People do the same with God, see? If there's a God, why are there wars? Huh? If there's a God, why do babies die? Like God kills them? No, we kill them. Who starts wars? We start wars. It's God's fault. Mad at God. Because of our evil behavior. He says, once you were enemies of God because of your evil behavior, but now He has reconciled you. Look who did it. He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish, and free from accusation. He has reconciled you. This is marvelous. It is not that you've bargained with God. It is not that you have reached the heights where you can now contact the gods and plead your case. Oh no, quite the opposite. We don't reach heights. We reach depths. So what does Jesus do? He pleads our case and comes our way anyway. One of the words used for Jesus in the Old Testament, in Isaiah, is that He would be a wonderful counselor. Now, for our modern ears, that would better have been translated as wonderful lawyer. Now, I don't know about Florida, but where I live, we don't often use the word wonderful and lawyer in the same sentence. But He is the wonderful lawyer. What does this mean? I'll tell you what it means. Imagine that it's the end of time, and I've been caught, and I'm guilty, and I know I'm guilty, and I'm standing before the judge, and they're probably going to fry me. I deserve to be fried, and I'm standing there waiting on the judgment, you know, and I got the best lawyer I could find, but there's no chance of guilty. And then my lawyer gets up and walks up to the judge and says, Dad? And did he say, Dad? Wonderful lawyer! Wonderful lawyer! And oh, folks, that's what has been happening. He ever lives to intercede for us. He is the source of reconciliation. It isn't the bargain you struck with God, but it's the bargain that He struck with His Father to come and do something for us that we couldn't even begin to do for ourselves, folks. It's called good news. And through His death to present you wholly in His sight without blemish and free from accusation. I love it. You see, we all know we're blemished, don't we? I mean, when you got up this morning, you made a serious mistake. You went and looked in the mirror. I do that. It's scary. I stand there and I think, I have met the enemy. And I'm amazed at how much money I spend to deal with these blemishes from looks to odor. So we know we're blemished. And accusation? Free from accusation? We all know we're accusable. You know, it's easy. I can say, do you read the Bible enough? Have you prayed 48 hours today? Have you won 10 people to the Lord today? Yeah, I know, forgive me for living. It's easy to be accused. When you were a kid, you remember this kid in your house or in the block? I'm gonna tell, I'm gonna tell. Maybe you were that kid, I don't know. But didn't you hate to hear that? But you know what? Satan's called the accuser. And he goes, I'm gonna tell, I'm gonna tell. Jesus says, already know, already know, already forgiven, already forgiven. See folks, he is going to present us free from blemish and without accusation. Stand there, clean and whole before God. This is called good news. Oh, oh, this is so good. In fact, you can be sure this doesn't come free, does it? There has to be a price for this, doesn't there? I mean, you can't expect something that good to be free. Well, there is a price. Bob, you got the buckets ready yet? No, we're not going to take up an offering, but there is a price. Now, it could be that some of you in some times in your past might have been involved with some system, some organization that offered you, maybe religious one, that offered you something really wonderful. And then you get into it and you discover, oh boy, there is a price to be paid that I cannot pay. And you might actually be a refugee here this morning. And it could be that your palms are sweating a little bit right now, wondering, oh no, what is he about to tell me? That sounds so good, it's so wonderful, but now the price? Well, there is a price, and I've got to be honest with you. Ready? I'm going to read it to you. Here's the price. If you continue in your faith, established, firm, not moved from the hope held out in the good news. That's it. Just hang in there. Continue in my faith. Is that it? Come on, there's got to be more. No, no, no, no, no. That's it. It's right here. Oh, come on now, come on now. I mean, this is good stuff. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll pray. I'll pray 150 hours, okay? No, no, no. It doesn't even say that. It just says continue in your relationship. Continue. That's it. That's it. Is that the official policy of this church? Yep. Truth? Oh, hanging on. Not moved from the hope held out in the good news. Now, the good news means that he did it for us. Bad news is when I've got to do it. Oh, hanging on. Firm. I once had a little bulldog. I loved that dog. Called him Buster. It wasn't a pit bull. I don't know where those things came from. This was one of those little dogs that I loved him because he looked like he'd hit a wall at 50 miles an hour. It was nice to have something in the house uglier than me, you know? But he introduced me to the concept of the bulldog grip. And any of you that have a little dog like that, you know you can shake a rag in his face and he doesn't go, rag. He goes, rag. And I could pull that dog and he'd just dig up ground. I could pick him up. I could swing him around. He had it. I have a friend. He tells me this is true. And I believe him because I trust this guy. He said he had a little dog like that and he said I could take him to town with me. All I had to do was have just a few feet of rope around my shoulder. If I needed to go in a store or something, I'd just shake one end of the rope in his face. And I'd just tie the other end to a tree or something. He said I could be in there for 30 minutes. I'd come out and he'd just... And you see what this is talking about is when you realize I have in my possession the truth. I have the best thing that has ever happened right here. And Satan says, oh no. And we say, oh yeah. And he just starts dragging us and we're just digging up. And Satan can even pick us up and swing us around. It's okay, man. I've got the truth. If you continue firm, not move from the truth held out in the gospel. This is the gospel, the good news that you heard and that has been preached or proclaimed to every creature under heaven and of which I, Paul, have become a slave or a servant. Folks, you're going to be a slave to something in life. You may as well be a slave to good news. So that when people see you coming, they think, boy, here comes good news. That's all a guy knows, good news. You must be a slave to good news. Yep, that's me. Gotta give it, gotta give it, gotta give it. Now, I rejoice in what was suffered for you and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions. In other words, what he's saying here is Jesus won the war, but he left a mopping up action with us. And so that's what I'm doing for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me. Oh, folks, if you're going to be a slave to two things in life, and you will, you may as well be a slave to the good news and a slave to the body of Christ. Paul says, I'm a slave to the good news and I'm a slave to the church. I like that. Back in the 50s, I recall reading in some magazines picture types that no longer even exist as they carried news of things strange to my farm boy ears and eyes. They began to describe things like addiction and they chronicled the overwhelming path of heroin in places like New York City. And we were becoming acquainted with words we hadn't heard before in ways that we hadn't heard it like fix and like cold turkey and it was unbelievable. And they would show pictures of people when they didn't have their fix, how it would begin to affect them and the sweating and then the pains. And then finally, you would see them on the floor writhing and in a fetal position. Did you know that the Bible uses the word addiction? Addicted. Paul speaks in Corinthians about the household of Stephanus, the house of Stephen, who were the first fruits or the first to get saved in Achaia and how they have addicted themselves to the ministry. Oh, now, wouldn't it be strange if tomorrow, say, Bob comes to his office and there are three or four hundred of you out there just writhing on the ground and saying, please, if you don't let me serve, I think I'm going to die. That's called how to freak a pastor out. Folks, you're going to be a slave to two things. You may as well be a slave to the good news and a slave to the body of Christ. And he says, now, I am that slave. I am that servant because of the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness. Not a snippet, not a wordette, not not a little sermonette, not a, you know, a tidbit here of the Bible, but the word of God in its fullness. Uh oh, here we go. The mystery. There's that word. The secret that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. You know who the saints are, by the way. Do you know who the saints are? It's not a football team. Don't, don't, don't, don't. Do you realize that if you're a follower of Jesus, you're a saint? Do you know that? Come on. I want to see your heads. Okay. All right. So if someone comes to you and says, I know something about God that you don't know. You can say, well, that's funny. He blabbed the whole thing just to me the other day. He's revealed his secret, his mystery to the saints. It's been kept hidden for generations. To them, God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is priced in you the hope of glory. Now we know why he revealed it to us, because he knew we couldn't keep a secret. He knew we would go right out and blab it to everybody. I have a grandson, Jordan. He's 14 years old now, and he's begun to travel with me some, which I thoroughly enjoy. He's such a delightful chap. In fact, let me tell you more. No, no, no, I won't tell you more about him. But back when he was about five years old, his mother was fixing a surprise birthday cake for his father. And she said to Jordan, now Jordan, this is a secret. Okay. We want to surprise your daddy. All right. Okay. Don't tell him. I won't. So daddy comes home and Jordan says, guess what, daddy? I've got a secret. I can't tell you about the cake because we want to surprise you. I thought this is wonderful. And I think God gave us his great secret because he knew we couldn't keep a secret. I've got to tell you about this wonderful Jesus. And so we blab it to the whole world, to the Gentiles and everything. So we proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom. How much wisdom? So that we may present everyone perfect in Christ to this end I labor, struggling with all his energy. How much of his energy? How much of mine? Which so powerfully works in me. Chapter two. We're moving along here, folks. I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Fort Lauderdale and for all. Now what does your Bible say? Laodicea? Okay. And for all who have not met me personally. My purpose, and this is my purpose today, is that they, you, may be encouraged in heart and united in love so that you may have the full, here we go, full riches of complete, here we go, understanding in order that you may know the secret of God, the mystery of God. Namely, Christ. There it is. God's secret. God's mystery. The published top secret. That's an oxymoron, isn't it? But he publishes it, and some people still don't know. Namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You know what? I read this, and something happened that I've got to tell you about. They are, in fact, much of it's happening off the shores of this state. They're discovering, they're digging up some of these ancient galleons, well, not ancient necessarily, but some of the old Spanish and other country galleons that sunk off of these shores, often with millions of dollars of gold and treasure. And I was reading about these people who were doing it, getting rich doing it, and as I read that, I had another one of these little revelations. A thought came to my mind, a saying that if that other one that I gave you does not make me famous, this one will. I know how they find that treasure. It's easy. They dig where it's at. Remember, you heard it here first. Now, this is profound. This is profound. For instance, suppose I were to visit Bob, and it's a delight to visit him. Believe me, it is. And Diane. By the way, this is their 12th wedding anniversary. I don't think he told you that, but you need to know that. It's a miracle. Anyone stick with him? 12 years? But suppose that I were to visit him, and he's out in front digging a hole. Bob, what are you doing? Well, it's obvious, Erwin, I'm digging a hole. Well, I know that. But why? It's a secret. A secret that you're digging a hole? It's obvious. No, no, no. It's a secret. Why? Why? Well, you can trust me. Tell me why you're digging it. You sure I can trust you? I promise I won't tell anybody. Okay, Erwin, I'm digging for treasure. Treasure. Bob, you've hit the water table. There's no treasure down there. Give it up. Look, Erwin, I've been working on this hole for months. I'm not about to give it up just because you tell me to. I put a lot of energy into this hole. Okay? Okay. So he keeps working. I'm standing watching. Someone else comes along and says, what's going on here? The man's digging a hole. It's obvious. Well, I know that. But why? I promised I wouldn't tell. Oh, you did, eh? Well, I bet this has to do with treasure. I didn't say it. Now, you know what this guy's going to do? He's going to go out and buy a shovel because he figures nobody can put that much energy into it unless there's something nearby. So he's going to move over a few feet and he's going to start digging. So I'm watching this. Someone else comes along. What's going on here? Well, they're digging holes. I know, but why? Well, this guy over here is digging for treasure, but I promise not to tell. Now, you know what's going to happen, don't you? He's going to go out and buy a shovel. Look, two people can't be digging this hard for something unless it's here. By the end of the day, 500 people will be out there digging, thinking 500 Americans can't be wrong. Folks, we are a nation of diggers. It's got to be out there. We're hunting treasure. Whatever we have to do, we're going to dig. Everything we can do, we find. We hunt it in different kinds of ways. It's got to be in money. Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's in drugs. Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig. No, no, no, no, no. It's in sex. Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig. And we're digging, hunting for the treasure. But folks, listen to me. If you're going to find treasure, you have to dig where it's at. And it says here that I want to tell you about the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. So if you dig somewhere else, what are you going to find? Nothing. If you want to find treasure, where do you dig? Jesus. Isn't that simple? This isn't difficult, folks. It's just so very, very simple. And he says, I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. And there are some fine-sounding arguments out there. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Oh, tradition and world principles. Human tradition. You ever wondered how traditions get started? You think there's a department of traditions? Someone just does it first, and then the next year they say, what are we going to do? Well, what did we do last year? Well, we did that. That didn't make much sense. Why do we do it? We always do it that way. I've seen that happen in colleges. Stupid stuff gets started. It's our tradition. Tradition. Why do we do that? We always have. Who started it? Don't know, but it's our way. Human tradition. And the principles of this world rather than Christ. Now, what are the principles of this world? Well, let's go on to the very end of that chapter, verse 20. It says, since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why as though you still belong to it do you submit to its rules? Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch. These are all destined to perish with use because they're based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship, their false humility, their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Here's what this is saying. Principles of this world are basically this. I will do it. I'm going to turn over a new leaf. I am going to develop a new system of discipline in my life, and then I will be able to say to you that I am a spiritual person. That's principles of the world because you can't do it. Any of you remember the old cowboy western song? The old cowpoke went riding out one dark and windy day, and he sees this cloudy draw and the devil's guys chasing a herd of cows across the sky. I don't sing. I don't make my living singing. You all understand this? And they stop, and they point at this cowboy, and he says, cowboy, change your ways today or with us you will ride, chasing a herd that we never catch across the endless skies. That's the way of the world. Change your way. Basic principles of the world. Handle it yourself. But the sad thing is, folks, cowboy can't change his ways. Principles of Christ. I did it for you. Principles of the world. I'll do it. But I can't. But I'll do it. But I can't. Principles of Christ. Can't do it. I will. Already did. Good news. Bad news. And there may be some of you even here today who are trying so hard to make it. Boy, you're working hard. You get disgusted at yourself from time to time. You have maybe a good day, but then, oh man, and you're thinking, God is not going to love me now. The fact is, he knows that you never can make it on your own. And he says, all you have to do is come to me. Turn it over to me. And then, no, no, no, there's got to be something more. No, that's it. That's it. That's it. Here I am, Jesus. I'm yours. Please take me. Forgive me. And Satan will do his best. No, no, no, this is good. I'm hanging on to this. This is good news. I have tried to do it myself and I can't. Well, it sounded so spiritual, but it just didn't affect the real me. The good news of the kingdom of God, the good news of this church also, Jesus did it. Accept that and hang on. Now, I'm going to pray. And if, perchance, you have been struggling with this, maybe you really, really are so disappointed in yourself and just don't know quite what to do. And you've wondered whether or not there was a refuge where the truth came. Now you've found it. And even as I pray, I hope that you will shove aside all the attempts that you have made to do it and just come with simple faith to Jesus and say, Jesus, I'm so sorry. I've tried so much in myself and I am so tired. Please forgive me and do it in me and for me. And then you will discover what a great secret God has published for you. So you be making that choice even while I am praying. Father, here we are again, so glad that you are God. Here we are. We have come to you with great joy, knowing that you, the king of the earth, have chosen to reveal all your secrets to us in your Son, Jesus. Thank you. Oh, how we thank you and we love you. And God, we're so tired. Oh, Lord, we've tried everything. We've tried all the systems. We've tried to be tough. We've tried new leafs. We've tried everything, God, and it just hadn't worked. And we're so sorry. We're so tired. Please just take us like we are and do your work in us. Oh, thank you. Thank you, Lord. Now we will rest in you. Oh, thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.