Phil Beach Jr. emphasizes God's process for building sons, highlighting the importance of remaining vigilant and not becoming complacent amidst life's challenges. He draws parallels between Isaac's journey and our own spiritual growth, stressing that God desires a personal relationship with each of us rather than allowing us to settle on the faith of others. Beach warns against the distractions and anxieties of life that can weigh us down, urging believers to keep their focus on Jesus and to actively participate in their spiritual development. He encourages the congregation to embrace the trials and discipline as part of God's refining process, ultimately leading to the fullness of Christ in our lives.

Wife Pippa are visiting us from England. By the way, after Bruce speaks for a few moments, my dad would like to address everyone, particularly regarding the success of the Pregnancy Care Center Banquet. It was a tremendous success, everyone was very pleased. So afterwards he'd like to just make a few comments. But Bruce and Pippa are with us and we first met probably about seven years ago, I believe, in that vicinity. And God has knit our hearts together with Bruce and Pippa. How many remember Mike Barton, who has been in our midst? Mike has come a number of times. Well, Mike is Pippa's father. And they're a team, Bruce and Mike are a team. The Lord knit them together quite many years ago. The Lord has knit our hearts together and they've been a blessing to our lives and to the lives of many saints. And so it's a joy to be able to sit and listen as Bruce opens up God's word to us this morning. And we pray that he'll speak to our hearts. So without any more delay, we'll turn things over to Bruce so he can share whatever's on his heart. If you want to use this, you may. Should I go this way or that way? This good? I'm told I want to use this, so I want to use it. Okay, all right. I really want to use it. It's a real privilege for us to be here in Hackettstown. We've been looking forward to this for a while. We came from England through Newark on the 4th of September. Came through the airports and have been here since then and are now on our way back to England. Oh, thanks, brother. We've had just a great time seeing some of you folks. Some of you I've known before and some of you I'm just getting to know. And we've had a great time, of course, with all the beaches and enjoyed some fine, I keep wanting to say football, but I can't say that in America. We enjoyed some fine soccer yesterday. And one of your sons was in goal, is that right, yesterday? That was some fine goalkeeping. I tell you what, I thought, you know what, that boy may be living with us in England before a long plane in the Premier League. That was just some good goalkeeping. I was pleased to see that yesterday. So was the coach. The other team was not so pleased. This morning, I just want to look in the scriptures together for a while. You know, we're living in an interesting time. People for ages have been saying we're living in the last days. In the last few weeks, people are starting to say, man, we're really living in the last days. But you know, in all these things, in the midst of all the situations that are happening in the world, it's crucial that we keep God's perspective on what's going on and realizing that in all things, He's working out His purpose. And there are going to be all kinds of events. There are going to be all kinds of situations, turmoil. But God has one objective, and that is that His Son be glorified in all the earth and that His people be brought to the fullness of the stature of Christ Jesus. And everything moves toward that end. But in the midst of that, there is no doubt there are going to be times of trial. There are going to be times of difficulty. And as we come to the climax of the age, things are going to continue to heat up. In Luke chapter 21, Jesus is addressing this issue. And the whole chapter goes on and He talks about signs and the sun and the moon and the stars and nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and the tossing of the sea. And here's a Scripture that's probably been fulfilled more in the last few weeks than it has been for quite a long time, that men will faint from terror apprehensive of what is coming on the earth. A lot of people are scared right now. A lot of people are scared. But Jesus said, when these things take place, lift up your heads for your redemption draws nigh. And then a few verses down at verse 34 of Luke 21, He makes this comment. He gives us a warning. He says, be careful. And my apologies to all the King James purists I'm reading from the NIV. He says, be careful or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life. And that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen. And that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man. In the midst of all these things, Jesus gives us the warning, be careful. Be careful, be watching. Because it's possible that in the midst of all the turmoil and the tribulation, we can get weighed down with things. And He mentions three things. And the first two are pretty obvious. Church-going people, they say, oh yeah, the drunkenness and the dissipation, sure. Sure, I got that, no problem. Not gonna get weighed down. But then He drops that third one, and it's kind of a bomb, the anxieties of life. Where are people who get caught up, and America, I have to say, is probably the worst of any place I've seen in the world, and getting caught up with stuff. Just stuff, the everyday events of life can just all of a sudden begin to weigh, and weigh, and weigh, and weigh. And we get so caught up into the things that are going on, that suddenly this thing springs on us. And you know, the word keeps coming out, get back to normality. Big events have happened, get back to normality. And you know, there's a great truth in that. I've lived in England for 16 years, and we've had our share of terrorist situations with the IRA, you know, city blocks get blown up, and that kind of thing. Mike and I have been, one time we had to go get visas for a trip to Nigeria, and while we were in the subway in London, the voice came over the loudspeaker, we've had a bomb threat, you have 90 seconds to get out. When you're four stories down, you do find out that you can run backwards up escalators. It is possible. But in the midst of becoming normal, we can allow things that are just the cares of this world to start weighing again. And we miss what God's wanting to do, because you see the next verse, Jesus says that the day will come upon all those, who the NIV says, who live on the face of the whole earth, but the Greek says the day will come upon all those who are settled on the earth. And this word's kind of an interesting word to help us out a little bit. In Genesis chapter 26, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, in verse 17, this same word is used, that is used in Luke 21. Genesis 26, verse 17, and it's the situation where Isaac is given the land of his father Abraham, and he moves back to where Abraham had been established. And Genesis 26, 17 says, Isaac moved away and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, and he settled there. And the Hebrew indicates that he sat down and became one who was at ease. He made himself comfortable. And he reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, and he just decided he was gonna make himself comfortable right there. But the thing with this situation is, as you read through the passage, Isaac was still riding on Abraham's covenant with God. He was still riding on something that somebody else had established with God. But he wanted to settle on that and be at ease on the basis of that. And this is an interesting situation because if you read through the passage down around verse 19 of Genesis 26, Isaac's servants started digging wells. And the NIV is kind enough at the bottom and the margin to give the meaning of some of these names, and they're all so interesting. In verse 20, they opened a well, and the herdsmen around the area didn't like that and said, this is our water. So a dispute broke out, so they named the well Esek, which means dispute. And then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also, so they named it Sitnah, which means opposition. Then he moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled about that one, so he named it Rehoboth, which means, room or an open place. He said, the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land. Sometimes we wanna get settled, and we wanna get real peaceful, and maybe even ride on somebody else's coattails. And God starts bringing things into our lives to make sure that doesn't happen. Because if we get too settled, the day's gonna close on us unexpectedly like a trap. So God sometimes sends opposition. Sometimes he sends dispute. And sometimes he brings us into a place of room, but it's usually after the dispute and the opposition. Very rarely before, unfortunately. There is a process we have to go through. But you see, this passage is interesting because even when the third well, which was the place of room had been opened, God wasn't done with Isaac yet. And in verse 23, he went from there up to Beersheba. And that night, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am the God of your father, Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant, Abraham. God's not wanting Isaac to be riding on Abraham anymore. But he says, I was the God of your father, Abraham, but this is about you and me. And you know, a lot of times we come as believers and a lot of the teaching that's prevalent in the church today rides real heavily on the fact that Christ has done all the work. And that's true. That's totally true. The work of the cross is a finished thing and it's a done deal. And we walk into the fullness of that forgiveness and that salvation. However, a lot of us, we kind of get that place and then say, well, you know what? I'm gonna settle now. I'm gonna kind of get at ease. He's done it all. That's good. I'll just kind of take my spot. And we just kind of come into a place of relaxation. And our covenant with God is a legitimate thing. There's a recognition there, but it's still based on that. And we haven't really entered into it for ourselves. And Isaac was kind of in that place. He had wandered, he had sought, and he had gone to different things. And verse 25 says that Isaac finally, after God came to him and said, yeah, I'm the God of Abraham. That's no doubt, but this is about you and me. This is about taking it a step further, Isaac. Isaac built an altar there and he called on the name of the Lord. And it's interesting, you read through the life of Abraham. Every time something significant happened, what did Abraham do? He built an altar. And so now Isaac, he comes into that place for himself where he recognizes, boy, I built the altar. And that's an interesting thing. These guys, they must've been thirsty boys. That's all I can figure. But they go looking again, they need another well. So they dig again and they found a well. And down around verse 32, it says, that day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug. And they said, we found water. And he called it Sheba, which means the well of oath or the well of seven. And to this day, the name of the town has been Beersheba. That well of seven, the completion of what God was wanting to do with Isaac. Not allowing Isaac to get too comfortable, but working with him and stirring him and allowing things to make sure that he didn't get too settled on the face of the earth. Because we are a people in pilgrimage. We are people who are walking through this earthly land to a better situation. And you know, something I've noticed, we've been able, God has graciously opened a lot of doors for us to travel to a lot of countries. And I've always noticed that the more we're in third world situations, there seems to be a much greater appreciation for heaven. They're always talking about what's gonna come. Now here, we're not so worried about what's gonna come because we're doing pretty well as it is. Thank you very much. And I have to tell you, as good as George Bush and all his guys are right now, this isn't the millennium folks. We're not there yet. Thank God. And if we're not careful, we become settled. And we become very comfortable with things. And Jesus says, be careful. Watch or the day will spring on you unexpectedly like a trap. So he says, watch, be watchful and always keep on praying. It's a continuous process. Always be watching, always be praying because there's something going on. There's a stirring happening. There's a shaking happening. And we've gotta be a people that are aware of that. And I'm not talking about just the big events, the big global things, but in our own lives. Just as we were praying about earlier today, God allows things to come in and he begins to do things. And sometimes, you know, if you watch enough of the stuff on Christian television and God sends things to make sure that you're unsettled, well, you start thinking, well, my faith's bad or God doesn't like me anymore or I'm not saying the right thing or something. Yet here God is. With Isaac, he's saying, now, Isaac, I've gotta take you into fullness. You can sit here and what your father did if you want, but I've gotta get you into fullness and that's gonna mean there's gonna be a little dispute and there might be some opposition now and then, but there's also gonna be a place of room and there's gonna be a place of growth before we come to that. But you've gotta see that that's the process. And there's another thing that God's doing in us. In Jeremiah 48, there's just a couple of verses that are kind of an interesting little situation. There's a group of people that show up now and again throughout the Old Testament and they're really pretty unpleasant. Group by the name of the Moabites. Now, if you know much about Moab, their start was pretty bad. They were doomed from day one. Moab was one of the two offspring of Lot and his two daughters. From the very beginning, there was mixture. And throughout their history, this is what Moab embodies, is mixture. When Balaam was called on by Balak the king to prophesy against Israel and he couldn't do it, God wouldn't let him do it. Everything he said was good things. Balaam thought, man, you know, I'm wrong. They're paying me to prophesy bad stuff and I can't do it. What are we going to do? And he calls Balak back and says, you know what? You couldn't get in that way. God won't let me do that. But there's another way. And the scripture says that at the instigation of Balaam, the Moabites sent their women and got the people of Israel and started mixing the worship with pleasure. Started bringing in all kinds of other things and that mixture affected Israel and it took generations, literally, to eradicate that problem. But almost every time you encounter Moab in the scripture, there's a mixture going on. And in Jeremiah 48, we hear about Moab for the last time in the scriptures. And I think there's a thing, T. Austin Sparks calls it the law of last mention, where we hear God's final word on a particular group or something that's kind of symbolic throughout scripture. And this is the last time we hear about Moab. And in verse 11, it says this, that Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another. She has not gone into exile. So she tastes as she did. And her aroma is unchanged. There was no pouring going on. There was no pouring from vessel to vessel. Nothing happening to get rid of the dregs that had settled to the bottom. All the junk that ruins the taste and makes everything bad. And so she wasn't necessarily awful, but she was unchanged. The aroma wasn't good. There was something mixed in there that was making it unpleasing. And so finally she's going to get sent into exile. She's going to face judgment because verse 12 says that God says, I will go ahead and send men who will pour, but they won't pour from one vessel to another. They'll just pour it out, smash the jars. And that'll be it. God's got us in a place now where we're able to make decision. Are we poured from vessel to vessel or are we going to just hold ourselves and say no? And then the day will come and we'll just have to be poured out and that's the end of it. And the jars are smashed and it's a done deal. No, we're able in a place right now where God can work. And you know, it doesn't have to be nasty stuff. So often we think, oh boy, if God's going to work, oh brother, oh no, God's going to work in my life. How bad can it get? You know, a lot of times it's not from one thing worse to another. It may be just from one thing to another. Sometimes it may even be better things. But God's trying to develop different aspects. He's trying to bring about different qualities. He's trying to enlarge the nature of Christ in our life. And you know, Proverbs gives quite a few... There are a lot of Proverbs in the book of Proverbs that talk about unrighteousness and all the difficulties. But there are also a lot of Proverbs that talk about the fact that crucibles and testing come through applause and blessing and prosperity and God uses those things to test and prove sometimes just as much as he does the fire of affliction. But the fact is what he's doing is he's emptying from vessel to vessel. Getting rid of a little bit of the grit that's still in the bottom of the wine. Kind of wanting to improve that taste a little bit. Make sure the aroma keeps getting better and better. Always looking for higher quality. But we allow him to do that. We allow that process to go on. He never forcefully does that with us. But if we'll allow him to, he will begin that work and he begins that process. And he continuously is bringing about a pouring and a cleansing and a removing and improving. He never leaves us in a vacuum but he always wants to bring us to a higher level. It's a very positive thing. And we're in a situation where I believe we're coming to a point where God is up in the stakes is a wrong way to phrase it but he's bringing us to a higher level where I think God's saying it's kind of put up or shut up kind of time, you know. Because in the events of the world the way things are going, middle road sitting I'm going to just wait and see which way this thing's going to go. That option is becoming not possible. You see in Revelation you notice something that occurs with the people. In Revelation chapter 6 when the first real run of judgments come the people fear God and they acknowledge the God of heaven. And they say, boy, this is from him. But by the time you get to Revelation chapter 16 the people are cursing God. See they had an opportunity they acknowledged where it was coming from but they never responded to what God was doing. And by the time they come to those last judgments they're not fearing God but they're cursing him. And we have to be so careful Jesus says be careful and watch. Don't let these things weigh you down and start causing the hardness to come in but stay sensible. Stay sensitive to what he's doing to the fact that he's pouring so that he can remove those things so that he can improve the fragrance of Christ in our lives so that there's a continual situation where there's more and more and more of him. Hebrews chapter 12 is another scripture that kind of looks at this. And a lot of people have been quoting this verse lately for obvious reasons. In verse 25, Hebrews says, see to it that you do not refuse him who speaks for if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth how much less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth but now he has promised once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. The words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken that is created things so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire. Everything that can be shaken is going to be shaken. Boy, I heard more people quote that verse after September 11th than I can remember. But you know what? There's a truth to what's going on. Things that are of this earthly temporary realm are going to be shaken. They're going to be stirred because God is wanting to make sure that we're not settling on that which is sand that has no foundation underneath it that when the winds and the waves and all the difficulties come they're going to fall. So he is shaking everything in our lives not just the big global stuff but right here in who we are our relationships the things that we consider to be those immovables our security our place of trust what makes us who we are he's going to shake those things. But here's the great thing about God verse 27 says the words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken but it doesn't mean that taking away God never leaves a vacuum but the Greek indicates almost the substituting of one for another. He's going to shake what needs to be shaken he's going to clear it out but he isn't going to leave you hanging but he's going to replace it with that which is eternal. Because the scripture says that we are to be given a kingdom not that will not be shaken but he says it cannot be shaken. It's immovable and we have to be getting our foundation on that which isn't going to shake. So many things and I tell you I know this is difficult the times that are coming I think are going to be difficult for people in America. Everything's pretty easy. You know there's not a whole lot of difficulty that comes America's way. I've seen people getting fistfights over ice when hurricanes hit Miami you know who's going to get the ice first. Well in England we don't use ice so it's not a problem. But some of the things that we consider to be so important are pretty minor things and they're very temporary things and so God's going to shake and he's going to shake because he's wanting to get us focused on that which cannot be shaken that which is eternal that which is immovable and that comes from that which is of his hand. It's got to be based on his character. The eternity of who he is. The infinity of who he is. The fact that he does not change from one day to the next. The fact that he knows the beginning from the end. He's the A. He's the Z. He's everything in between. He's the Alpha and the Omega. The first and the last and everything that we have in him is where he's wanting to plant us. But for all I would say probably all of us I know for me at least there's got to be some shaking in there so that there's some removings of some things and some replacing with that which is of him with that which is eternal. And what we have to see is that in all of these issues God is at work. There are times and there are situations where absolutely the enemy comes in like a flood but you know what? Even with Job that whole thing started when God said have you seen my servant Job? Take your best shot. Now Job didn't know that but God did. God knew the boundaries he had set and Satan knew the boundaries he had set. And we're so encouraged boy rebuke the devil. You get that from Phil and I were joking yesterday. We came to the soccer game and dropped everybody off and then went over to buy a bunch of coffee at Dunkin Donuts and you can tell I don't live here. I ordered all wrong and that's a whole nother issue and the guy just kind of laughed at me but we got there in the end. But Phil had a real good parking spot when we dropped everybody off. It was the second one in. We said oh man it's a shame we're going to lose this place but we're going to go get the coffee and we came back and just jokingly completely jokingly let me clarify that. I said to Phil well Phil we need to just claim that parking spot as we come into the parking lot and brother it'll be there. And sure enough we drove around and there was not one but there was two. The first two were together and I said see there it is abundance but there are some people who almost feel like they have to rebuke the enemy if they don't get the parking place they're after because they've claimed it you know and everything that's bad is the enemy attacking them and God sure wouldn't want it to happen but God is the one that does the pouring out. He's the one that he's going to bring the shaking he's going to bring the stirring because he's got a purpose in mind and that purpose involves us coming into the fullness of the stature of his son. So we have to recognize that he's at work. He's at work and he is doing his purpose his plan he's accomplishing it and there is nothing going in our lives that he's not aware of. Nothing. There's not a thing not a situation. Hebrews 12 a little earlier on makes it pretty clear that it's not just God's responsibility but that we're involved in the process as well and I just want to take a couple minutes I won't take a long time with this but there in the first half of chapter 12 there are a few directives and they're all action words for us and they're all imperative words you do not well if you think it's not a bad idea but they're do this and Hebrews 12 one says therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses first one let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles this is one place where I do think the NIV's got the right word entangles because it's the kind of stuff that just gets in there and like if you're trying to run through woods and vines have grown across or something you just can't get through it and you just get yourself all caught up in it and you find yourself entangled I think the King James says besetting and that's true part of it too it's something that just seems to keep hitting us over and over and over but this but the writer to the Hebrew says throw it off make the effort to get rid of it whatever it takes the things that hinder the things that entangle Jesus said it in almost the same way the things that weigh you down the anxieties but here these things aren't anxieties so much as they're sins they're things that have become almost a part of who we are habits have become character and God has to alter that thing but we start by saying yes Lord not by myself but with you I'm going to throw this stuff off in your power I'm going to start getting rid of these things and I'm going to start walking we're going to start walking to the fullness of what you have and then he says let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us that's a word that the western world does not really care for much these days perseverance we want it quick we want it short we want it sweet no bother no trouble if it's a war situation in out in two weeks time they shouldn't take any longer than that should it and we'll be done but for the long haul no I don't really have time I've been busy schedule but the scripture says this is going to be something that's going to take day after day after day after day and we're going to be in there day tomorrow the next day with perseverance running the race set before us because you know it's easy for us if we're readers at all especially if you read Christian biographies or things like that you can read one and say oh man that George Muller what a man of faith I'll never get there or one that comes to mind immediately is brother Lawrence his little book the practice of the presence of God boy this guy just all the time he's talking to God all every day but what you don't read in that little book is if you ever read his letters it took him 10 years of working to get to that place where the practice of the presence of God book is where he was just abiding and for 10 years he was making some real goofy mistakes but there was perseverance going on and we have to be among those who are going to run with perseverance for the long haul okay God yeah that's what you call a big goof I flopped major today but that doesn't mean I say well forget it let's go home no you get up and we'll go again and that's the nature of what it means to persevere to run the race with the intention of getting to the finish line no matter what it takes to get there but then he goes on and this to me is the big one let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God let us fix our eyes on Jesus or the more literal translation is let us look away to Jesus look away from that to him it's a total realignment of our focus and I tell you a runner that wants that trophy that wants to see that finish line you don't run looking at the crowd or at the things you're going to have to avoid you're looking or those things that are trying to catch you from behind it's ahead looking away to him and then he goes on to say consider him consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart you're not the first that's been down this track we've got an example of one who's done it before of one who's already cleared the path who's led the way and we look to him and then we don't just have a glance but we consider folks we take the time in the course of our days to sit down with the Lord of glory and let him impart his life to us by his Holy Spirit we let him impart his character we search the scriptures and become to know the man in glory the things that he faced and how he faced them the things that he used to become the fullness how did he handle the situations that he encountered the temptations that he encountered how did Jesus face those things what was his response how did he tell us to face them we consider him I'm reading a book right now the man made an amazing very simple but it was a very applicable analogy he was talking about the kid that watches baseball all the time wants to be a great baseball player so what's he do he watches Barry Bonds and he goes out and he buys the right hat he buys the right glove he watches the way Barry Bonds holds his bat and man you and I used to do it when I was a kid it was Joe Morgan I don't know if anybody remembers Joe Morgan for the Cincinnati Reds he always used to cock his elbow before he hit anyway that has nothing to do with this at all but the kid sees all the right stuff and learns to do all the right things but he goes out there and it's just it's not happening he's not Barry Bonds what's the problem and the writer said what he's not doing is the things that in the six or eight hours that nobody ever sees Barry Bonds are going on the discipline the running the exercising the hours of just swinging that bat over and over and over and over until that technique's just right that nobody ever sees it never makes ESPN but that's what makes the person and we want to kind of grab at the features of Christ or the features of Paul but we don't want to talk about going out into the wilderness and being alone with the father before anybody else was up or the fasting that's required or just meditating on the word and those aspects of our lives that make who we are for when those game times come up but that's got to be what we're about considering him who endured all these things who encountered all these situations but he went through and we if we're considering him won't lose heart and grow weary but we'll walk with him in it and then the last thing and I won't read the whole passage but down in verse seven the writer says endure hardship as discipline and we kind of come full circle God is in the process of building sons Hebrews talks about the fact that he's bringing many sons to glory and if he's a good father he's going to discipline his children he's going to do what's necessary to bring them to the fullness of sonship and that's not always pleasant but if we endure there is a harvest of righteousness and peace that is ours in Christ Jesus and all of those things are not God things but they're us things we choose to do we choose to throw off the sin we choose to run with perseverance we choose to look away to Jesus I think I heard I think it was Dave Wilkerson that said once if a man's an alcoholic and he's inside the liquor store walking up and down the aisles checking out every kind of vodka he can find saying oh Lord Jesus please deliver me from this oh Lord Jesus deliver me from this don't expect a lot of help but if he chooses to walk out that door and walk down the street saying Lord give me the strength to fight what's here I'm going to look away expect some help to come we look away to Jesus we look away and set our eyes on him and who he is and we consider the glory of who he is realizing that God is going to bring us to the place where just like he did there's an interesting scripture in Hebrews that talks about the fact that through suffering Christ learned obedience I don't think that means he learned not to sin because I believe Christ was sinless but I think that he came to different stages where he had bigger tests I'm not sure that if God had sent Jesus to the cross at 12 that he was ready for it right then but as he saw as he encountered in his own life at that moment in the fullness of time he was able to say Father I really don't want to do this but not my will but your will be done if there was any other option I'd go for it but that's not what we're about here your will is what we're about and there had been a process of learning and for us God wants to do the same thing he's bringing us to sonship we're not going to be deity we're not going to be little gods but we're going to be able to walk in the fullness of the nature of Christ Jesus and that is his purpose for his church in these days everything I believe with all my heart Middle East across Europe getting ready to start the Euro in January of 2002 whatever that's going to do stuff in America the war on terrorism things in Africa whatever's going on all of these things can get us so worked up but God's got one purpose and that is that we would see and that we would become the fullness of the stature of Christ Jesus that's what he's working toward he's going to do what needs to happen we've got to be willing to walk with him in those things and do our part in the process and he will bring us step by step more and more into his goodness and his grace and his glory and that's pretty exciting let's just pray together Father we can come before you recognizing that your grace and your goodness and your mercy and your everlasting love just reaches far beyond what we can even comprehend far beyond what we can even recognize Lord is the vastness of who you are and Lord we come with confidence because your son has done a finished work and Lord we ask you to take our lives and craft them according to your good pleasure if there are any among us Lord who have kind of hardened themselves to your work who have come to a place where they're becoming settled not willing to be poured out Lord we ask you to stir them afresh today and Lord for all of us we ask for your grace and for your enabling to Almighty God make this a reality for us I pray bring us to that place of sonship Lord where we are able to walk in the fullness of the inheritance that you have for us we thank you Lord for the work that you've done in Christ we thank you for the fullness of that and Father how sad it would be if we stopped short of what you have for us Paul talks about the fact that it will take us ages and ages to understand the fullness of the riches of Christ oh Lord in this present age we want to know all that we can we want to understand the glory that is in him and that you have made available to us through his life through his glory so Lord I just ask in Jesus name for each one of us that you would cause that work to become a reality in us stir us Lord and shake us bring us to that place where we are vessels open to the work that you want to do that you may be glorified and that your eternal purposes may see fulfillment in this day in Jesus name we pray amen thank you Father for speaking to us today what a right on word oh God let's give the Lord a few moments now we have some time let's just let's just let him speak to our hearts this song let this become our prayer now this is it here let this be our cry Holy Spirit thank you for your words this morning do it in us we pray Holy Spirit teach me dear Lord to live all of my life through I'm captured by your holy calling send me apart I know into yourself lead me Lord take all I give my life into your presence Holy Spirit teach me dear Lord to live through I'm captured by your holy calling send me apart I know into yourself lead me Lord I take me hold me use me fill me I give my life apart call me lead me walk beside me heart is left take all lose me fill me I give my life to the Father's hand call me lead me walk beside me I give my life to the Father's hand all lose me fill me I give my life to the Father's I give my life I want a special prayer just respond come forward we can kneel down here maybe you just want to ask the one next to you to pray with you let's take advantage of this moment that God is giving us His presence His Word so clearly spoken, so clearly spoken, He's here, He wants to just make Himself known. So anyone who has special prayer, as we continue to sing a few more songs, I certainly want to encourage you to, if you like, if you need to have someone pray with you, you can come and we'll kneel here, or you can ask the one next to you. Just call upon the Lord and let His Holy Spirit work deeply the truth of His Word into our hearts this morning.