In Jesus Alone, Lies Eternal Life

Father, grateful for today, thankful that the world celebrates Father's Day, but there is only but one Father, and we can only come to know you through Jesus. I pray that we would not be ashamed of the Gospel, we would not be ashamed of your name, Jesus. It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone, please.

Open up the Scriptures to us that we might feed in the inner man, in Jesus' name, amen. I want you to reflect on the feeding of the 5,000, just briefly in the accounts. The one in Matthew, chapter 14, verse 13, when Jesus heard it, he departed from there by boat to a deserted place by himself, but when the multitude heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.

And when Jesus went, he went out and he saw a great multitude, he was moved with compassion for them, and he healed their sick. For most of us, we would say, well, we don't have a gift of healing, we could bring them some herbs or drop off some vitamin C, some of our people are sick, bring them echinacea or whatever, but Jesus had authority. He was given authority to heal people who were sick, and he put that authority on the Holy Spirit.

He gave them the Spirit, and he gave them authority to lay hands on the sick. And through his word, he has said to us, if we're walking in covenant with him, we're being born again, filled with the Spirit, that those of us who are elders, people who are sick should call for the elders of the church to come and to pray. But they say, oh, no, no, we don't want to bother the elders, we don't want to make the elders sick, or we don't want to this and that.

And so we never humble ourselves, because the first question that is asked is, is there any sin, brother, in your life? Is there any sin, sister, in your life that you need to confess? Because if you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, because clearly God doesn't want us to live in sickness, that's not his perfect plan, that we would all be sick all the time. So if we get sick, or when we get sick, rather, first thing I like to do is I like to search my own heart and see what was it, oh, maybe I just spoke from pride, or, you know, maybe I just talked down to people who are in my heart, I began to lift up my own heart, like Nebuchadnezzar, and begin to take glory in some things that I accomplished, or things that I've been able to come to do in my life, or even righteousness that I've attained to, that maybe it was somehow by my own doing that I attained to these things. You know, when all of a sudden we find ourselves sick and weak, the Lord allows us to be made weak that we might humble ourselves and look up.

That's what Nebuchadnezzar eventually did, is he humbled himself and he looked up, and that guy didn't even fear God. You know, and we who fear God, we ought to do that early and often, we need to look quickly to the Lord, to humble ourselves and look up. Where does our help come from? Does it come from the hills? Do we go to Dr. So-and-so? I'm not against these things, but the first thing that comes out of our mouth is, I've got to run to Dr. So-and-so, because Dr. So-and-so has the answers.

No, Jesus is the answer for the world today. We tell people, come to our Jesus. Well, what has Jesus done for you? Well, he's given me a great business, he's blessed me with a nice house, he's given me wonderful children that don't listen, but you know what? Come to my Jesus.

Well, what authority do you have? Well, Jesus is the one with the authority. No, he said he put his authority on us. When he left, he gave them authority over different things, to tread on snakes and scorpions, to cast out evil spirits.

He gave us authority over sin. He gave us authority to pray for the sick, that they would recover, not they might recover. And so, if the spirit moves us and people are obedient and they humble themselves, then we will see the power and glory of God, because we need the spirit among us.

Living as cripples, spiritually speaking and saying that's the norm, that's not the way Jesus wants us to live. Jesus calls us to live victorious, calls us to be more than conquerors in Christ, who gives us strength. He calls us to live, not just barely above the standard of the world, calls us to live a chasm, different than the world, between Lazarus and the rich man.

There is a great chasm between them, even among lukewarm Christians. Do they know that you're on fire for Jesus, or do they just tolerate you and say, well, you know, he's a little bit different? Or is there hostility between you and the lukewarmer? Because the lukewarmer is not in the kingdom of God. Jesus said, Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If any man hears my voice, he's speaking to the lukewarm church, and I reckon to say that he is on the outside, knocking to get in. But the problem is, they hear the knocking, but they're not answering because they don't know it's Jesus. Because they said to themselves, they are rich, increased of goods and have need of nothing.

We have become wise in our own eyes, and we refuse to choose the fear of the Lord, which is the key to unlock wisdom, to unlock knowledge, and to receive understanding. So we think that we're men of integrity because we can handle money, but we're not men of integrity. The Pharisees thought they were men of integrity.

But they stood in the doorway, and they hindered people from entering the kingdom by their rules, and they themselves wouldn't go through. We have to be careful. We don't become Pharisees.

Outwardly clean, inwardly full of greed and dead man's bones. This is an expectation to all of us. It says we need to take heed to the things that we hear, lest we drift away.

It's important that we hear what the Spirit says. Jesus was moved with compassion. He healed the sick.

Two things here. One, he had authority to heal sick. Two, he had a heart of compassion.

You need both those things. You say, well, brother's sick. Oh, Lord's probably dealing with him.

That's not the right heart. Jesus didn't say, well, you know, they're sick because probably most likely there's sin. I mean, how many times did he say, go and sin no more? And when he healed them, he didn't say, you know what? You need another 38 years there before you're really feeling sorry about what you've done.

No. You humble yourself. You say, I've sinned.

The Lord has a desire to raise you up. Praise the Lord. But that's not going to happen if you don't have a heart of compassion.

How do you get a heart of compassion? It comes through trials. It comes through tribulation. It comes through testings.

It comes through brokenness. It comes through travail. When you get a burden for the lost, then you get a heart of compassion.

And that doesn't just happen by osmosis. It doesn't just happen because you ask one time that you would have a heart of compassion. And all of a sudden, compassion shows up.

It's a working, a deep working of the spirit within that causes us to become compassionate. That causes us to become patient. That causes us to be kind.

That causes us to be thankful. That causes us to become holy. Allowing the Lord the right to have his own way in our life.

Rather than, I know his way, but I also have my way. I like to do his work, but I have also my work. No.

Jesus said, I have come to do the will of my Father. His work I want to finish. He gave up his work for the Lord's work.

Now I know we have work to do. But we have to be in tune with the things of the spirit. So that when the Holy Spirit moves us, that we respond.

Because that is first and foremost, our responsibility. Not to labor for the food that perishes, as Jesus said. When we get to the later part of chapter 6 in John.

Not to labor for the food that perishes. But to labor for the food that endures unto life. To seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.

And all the other things he is going to add to us. Look in the passage, verse 15 of chapter 14 of Matthew. When it was evening, his disciples came to him saying, This is a deserted place and the hour is already late.

Send the multitudes away, that they may go to the villages and buy themselves food. It seems as though the brother has some compassion. He is thinking very logically.

He is seeing that the people have been with them a long time. And that they are running out of supplies. There is no Costco or over weighty or save on foods clothes.

And so they are going to have to go some distance yet. And they need still some strength for the journey. It is great.

But Jesus wants to show them that your wisdom is rooted in the wisdom of men. Not in the wisdom of God. And he says something very simple to them.

But Jesus said to them, do not send the multitudes away. You don't need to send them away. You give them something to eat.

Can you imagine Jesus put that yoke on that brother? The guy looks with his eyes and he sees 5000 plus women and children. And he has there a little box that Judas has been depleting along the journey. And he is looking in there and he is thinking, there isn't enough money in here.

You need a year's wages to feed all these people. How is this going to happen? You give him something to eat. Can you imagine what would have happened? And that brother's heart would have been anxious at that moment.

Jesus gave him a command and he couldn't fulfill it. And sometimes the Lord speaks to us showing us that we have a lack because we are not understanding who the source is. We don't need to trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

Is your salvation of yourself? Or is there an endless supply of oil flowing from Emmanuel? Not only the blood, the water and the oil. The oil and the wine. We need the Holy Spirit, my friends.

Because what God is asking us to do is impossible with man. But not with God. You give them something to eat.

You know, your wife and your children, they say, Dad, we need something, we need you around more, we need this and that. It's like if you want to have all these things in a roof on your head, I have no time for that. And the Holy Spirit is saying, you feed them.

I gave them to you for you to feed them. Well, that's why I am working, to give them natural things. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures.

Because if we strive in our own strength to labor for those natural things that perish, we'll find ourselves wanting, unsatisfied, empty. But if we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, all the other things will be added. Now people say, give us something to eat.

You can't give what you don't have. First you have to sit at Jesus' feet. You have to spend time with Jesus.

You have to hear Him speak. You have to be ministered to in the Spirit. Jesus was ministered to by angels.

He was ministered to when He would get alone with His Father and pray. You say, man, I toiled all day. You know, and now, man, I just need to get some sleep.

What does Jesus do? He goes to rest on the mountain with His Father. And He was refreshed there. He wasn't sleeping there.

He was with His Father there, charging His batteries. You know, we want to plug in our Teslas. You need to plug into Jesus.

That's where you're going to get recharged and refreshed. Elijah ate some of that holy bread that was given to him, and he went 40 days in the strength of that bread. Jesus said, I am the bread of heaven.

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. Feed on Me. You'll be charged up with the things that pertain to life and godliness.

You give them something to eat. The brother needed to see that he had a need, that he couldn't supply the need, that he didn't have what was being asked of him. And so Jesus helped him out.

You give them something to eat. And He said to him, We have here only five loaves and two fish. So he searched around.

It wasn't even his. He searched around to fulfill what Jesus asked him to do. You give them something to eat.

And you know, the Lord's asking us to search around for what we have. And He calls us to give what we have. Even if it's two mites, give it to Jesus.

Well, they found a boy whose mom had packed him a nice lunch. Five loaves and two fish. Small buns probably that we're going to enjoy after church today.

I was having a time with my son about a year ago. We were in Alberta. We were going to some baseball games with my son.

David was there. I was talking to him about Jesus. And I was sharing this story with him.

And every morning we would go to the game. And he would make his sandwiches with his meat and his buns. And he would pack them and put them in his Tupperware in his bag.

And he was getting very nervous because the meat had run out. And it was the last meat. And he said, Dad, we got to go to the store.

And he kept reminding me, we got to go to the store. Because we don't have any more meat for the buns and everything. And these are the last ones.

And I had to go get fuel. I went to Lethbridge to get fuel. We were about an hour away.

And I said, Son, I want to tell you a story about Jesus. And he told the disciples to go and you feed the people. And there was nothing to feed them.

And they found a small boy whose mom had packed him some buns and a couple small fish. And I said that the disciples asked the boy to give him the buns and the fish. And to bring them to Jesus.

I said, if those are your last buns, we haven't got no more meat and what not. I said, would you give those buns to Jesus if he asked you to give him those buns? And he turned his head away from me and he looked out the window. And I knew he was crying.

We never think about how it might have affected the boy to give his lunch. That he was so diligent to bring with him that his mom had probably packed for him. To give that away, all that he had.

He gave all that he had away for something greater. To see the power and glory of God. And it was an impactful time that we had.

Talking about giving what we have to Jesus. Even however small and insignificant it might be. The disciple comes back and says, all that we've been able to come up with is five small loaves and two fishes.

And Jesus said, bring them to me. My friend, you might not have much. You might only have one word that you woke up with in your heart from the morning.

Maybe a song. Bring it to Jesus. All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give.

Whatever we have, all of my ambitions, hopes and plans. I surrender these into your hands. It's not our natural ability that's going to get us by.

It's the power and glory of God. It's abiding in Christ. It's being found in him.

Not having our own righteousness. Not having our own abilities. Our own strength to rely on.

Christ alone. Jesus alone. Bring them to me.

Then he commanded the multitudes to sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven. He blessed them.

He broke them. And he gave them to his disciples to give to the multitudes. There's something here for us to learn.

We give what we have to Jesus. Jesus blesses it and he breaks it. And he gives it back to us.

And now when he gives it back to us, there's an abundant supply to feed everyone in your life who is hungry and thirsty in need of life. And they kept handing out and giving out and handing out and giving out. And there was no lack.

The key to this story is to be blessed and to be broken. Unless you're broken, there's no multiplication of the bread. And that has to happen before you get to this place.

It has to happen when you're sitting by the side of the seashore and you're there with your father and your inheritance and your livelihood. And Jesus is passing by and he looks over and he gives you that look and he says, follow me and I'll make you fishers and men. And there's that moment in time that maybe that ten seconds, that five seconds where you have a decision to make.

Jesus is passing by. If I don't respond now, what will become of me? Many people were called. Not just twelve, many.

But only those who left all and followed him were chosen. Brother, sister, make your call and election sure. Heed the call.

Respond to the call. Be diligent to love Jesus with all your heart. They say it's Father's Day.

Give glory to God in everything that you do. Honor him with your resources. With the first fruits of your time.

With the fruit of your lips. Praise him. Even when you don't feel like it.

We don't go by our feelings. We walk by faith. You give them something to eat.

He gave them loaves and baskets upon loaves and baskets to hand out and distribute to the men, the women and children. He blessed and he broke and he gave. If you don't learn the blessing in brokenness, you have only a limited supply of five loaves and two fish to get.

And you'll just have to work within those means. But if you allow the Lord to break you, then you'll become more than a conqueror through Christ who gives you strength. I've seen this thing that someone passed on to me.

It was this donkey who was with his owner. The donkey's name was Diesel. And Diesel broke free from his owner and he took off and ran away and his owner never found him.

And years later, a hunter was out hunting for elk and he saw Diesel among the herd of elk. There the donkey had broken free and he was running with the elk, living his best life now. And I saw some of the posts and people were like, way to go Diesel, you broke free, you really found your calling.

Brother, don't be like Diesel, seeking to break free from the master. Bare the yoke in your youth, even though it's hard. Don't be rebellious and run away from the Lord and seek a life of ease, running free and roaming.

Take the bit. Don't be like the foolish animal that refuses the bit in the bridle. Let the Lord put a bit in your mouth and harness those sharp comments and those smart remarks and that pride that comes forth and just seek to be slow to speak and quick to hear what the Spirit says.

Allow the Lord to harness you and to subdue you. You know, when the Lord comes, He comes with 10,000 of His saints riding on a white horse. I see that as a picture of the true church of Jesus Christ.

Coming with the church, riding on a white horse, pure and clean, one that has been subdued under the master, under the control of Jesus. Will you allow Jesus to subdue you and break you so that He can have use of you and need of you? Loose Him and let Him go. I have need of them.

He said of the foal and the donkey. He was going to ride them into Jerusalem. Behold your King coming with a donkey, with the foal of a donkey, as it was prophesied.

They gathered up. Everyone ate and were filled. They gathered up the men who had eaten, 5,000 men besides women and children.

Jesus immediately went into the boat. They went to the other side. He sent the multitudes away.

When we look in John chapter 6, it's the same passage there. But when the multitudes were looking for Jesus, they never found Him. They realized He went to the other side.

They thought, man, we've got to get over there. I mean, this is a fantastic life. We don't have to work.

That guy's going to feed us. We're going to have all the bread and the fish that we need. Wasn't it awesome yesterday? But that's not where it ends.

Because although He gives us all things richly to enjoy and eat, my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches and glory. And He said, may you prosper in being good in health, but even as your soul prospers. He was saying, send prosperity now.

You guys need the true prosperity, not the bread and the loaves. You know, it says that in that passage, send prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Jesus is our prosperity. We are rich because we have Christ. The following day, the people were standing there.

They didn't see Jesus. Other boats came. They said, He's on the other place.

And so they went to the other place, and they found Him. Verse 25, John 6, 25. Rabbi, when did you come here? And Jesus answered and said, Moses, surely I say to you, you seek me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.

There's a lot of people that seek Jesus because of what Jesus can do for them. And I want to tell you this. He's good to the evil and the unthankful alike.

And just because you have natural abundance does not mean that you're spiritually abundant. Does not mean that you're rich toward God just because you have natural things. He caused His reign to come on the just and on the unjust.

Because He's good. But we need more than natural blessings. Those are temporary things.

We need spiritual blessings. And Jesus was putting His finger on the fact that they were seeking Him not because of who He was, but what He could do for them. Do not labor, He says, verse 27, which I've already quoted, for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life.

We need to labor, fathers, husbands, for the food which endures. If we don't invest time in seeking Jesus for ourselves, you will not be able to water your wife and your children. If you don't love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, then as you follow Christ, your children will not see the example.

If you're not following Christ, that you want to leave a legacy behind. Not a legacy of properties and financial success, but a legacy of a godly character, compassion and brokenness, sincerity and truth. I was texting with a brother this morning.

I said, we don't want at our funerals, our children to say, you know what? Dad was such a loser. He had no time for us. He told us all the right things to do, but he didn't do it himself.

He just served money and he was like an angry brother. You know, we don't want to have that testimony for our children, for our children's children. May the Lord help us.

We have to start today. Today we have to change course, even if ever so small. Change course to Zenith.

Fixing our eyes on the Lord Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith. And we need to follow in his footsteps, to walk as he walked, for the joy that was set before him. He didn't live for the passing pleasures of sin, but he lived for the will of God.

Are you willing to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus? Are you willing when people come and say, well, what are you so busy working on? We're building this and we're doing that. It's like, you know what? We're investing in the things of God. Well, how many souls? Can you put a number on them? No, can't put a number on them.

But I can tell you this, one plants and another waters, and God gives the increase. I was driving down the road, maybe a year ago, year and a half ago, and I was so busy doing some things. We go up to the creek and all that.

And all of a sudden, I don't know, I look down to grab a paper of my list that I was going to hardware to go buy something. And there's a guy standing in a crosswalk, just jumped out in front of me. I hit the brakes almost.

I thought, oh my goodness, this guy's going to be so angry with me. I almost rolled over him. And he looked at me and he was waving like this at me.

I thought, who is this guy? Praise God he knows me. Because I thought he was going to do other things, get really angry at me. And I opened my window and he was shouting his name.

He mentioned the creek, the creek. I said, oh, hi. I didn't know who he was.

I went to the hardware and he had walked. I met him there. He was there.

He was walking, passing by when he was coming out. Yeah, he said his name. My name's Mike.

I was a couple years, a few years ago, I'm back with my family. We're going to church, serving the Lord. Thank you for sharing the word with us.

You know, when you're there, it just seems like you're just sowing seed and you wonder if any of it takes root. And here, you know, you're going through a dry time or a discouraging time and you say, what's the point in it all? And the Lord shows you, your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Right? The Lord remembers the labor and the toil that we put towards His name and for His work and for His glory.

Continue to be faithful. Right? The hardworking farmer will be the first to partake of the crops. Continue to be faithful.

Continue to plow. Continue to sow. You will reap in good time what the Lord has intended for you to reap as part of the plan and purpose for your life.

And so, here they are, looking for the labor, for the food that perishes. In verse 31, Jesus says to them, or the people say to Jesus, our fathers ate the manna in the desert. And they're using scripture to say that they were hoping to have the bread and the loaves always.

He said, our fathers ate the manna in the desert as it is written. He gave them bread from heaven to eat. And then Jesus said and answered them, Moses, surely I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Then they said to him, Lord, give us this bread always. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life.

He who comes to me shall never hunger. And he who believes in me shall never thirst. That's the answer.

You know, we go and we buy things, we build things, we seek to work our way up into a career to make a name for ourselves and thinking that we're going to find our identity there. I'm going to tell you, you're not going to find your identity there. Our identity is in Christ.

Hunger and thirst for righteousness and you will be filled. That righteousness, his name is Jesus. He said, I am the bread of life.

He said, your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. He said, I am the one who gives life. The one who feeds on me shall live.

And paraphrase, eat of my flesh and drink of my blood or you have no life in you. And that's really for us the exhortation today. To feed on Christ.

Christ alone. Jesus alone. Therein lies life.

No one else paid the penalty for our sins. No one else took our sin and our shame. But Jesus.

And so when we decided that we were going to get buried with him in baptism unto death, that's the end of self. We're to reckon ourselves dead to sin. So in the things that we're doing and the things that we're involved in, we don't live for those things.

We live for the Lord. Brothers, sisters, seek the Lord while he may be found and call on him while he's near. It says let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.

There's all kind of thoughts we have that come rattling around in our head throughout the week. But the Lord says meditate on things that are lovely, pure, noble, of good report. For his thoughts are not my thoughts.

Neither are his ways my ways. They're higher. To renew our minds and to set our minds on things that are lovely, pure, noble, of good report.

Rather than just setting our minds on how big is the bank account and will there be enough. There's death there for sure in the pot. Don't eat from that pot.

Eat from the bread that gives life. And you will find rest for your souls. You know, Jesus found rest when he went in the night to go spend time with his Father.

And I want to leave this with you, that there is a rest for the people of God. Be diligent to come to that rest. To find rest in him.

Because he is our Sabbath. Not only is he Lord of the Sabbath but he himself is our Sabbath. And it's not so much whether we rest on Sunday or whether we rest on Saturday but that we find ourselves in him.

Not having our own righteousness. There's no rest in seeking to establish our own righteousness. Our own reputations before men.

That doesn't matter. What matters is what God thinks. And take the lowest place, not the best place.

The Pharisees sought the best places. The highest seats. To make a name for themselves.

Take the lowest place. That's where Jesus is. That's where we ought to be.

He didn't come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. He taught us and gave us an example how we ought to walk. And we get infiltrated with the education and the schooling and society and the people that we meet.

You know and everybody's bragging themselves up trying to position themselves in jockeying for who has the better place in this life. Take the low place. Be a nobody with Jesus.

Because you are somebody with him. I shared this time back and I was going to the airport one time and there was somebody who was famous that was eating at a McDonald's and me not thinking I tapped him on the shoulder. He was a big guy and everybody was wanting his autograph and everything and I said, oh are you someone important? And he turned around and looked at me and he was about this much taller than me.

He said no and gave me the back. You know when someone told me who he was he was some famous wrestler and all that. I took my hamburger and I sat down and as I usually do I had a little prayer and I just thanked the Lord for providing for us, for taking care of us and for being good to us and for delivering me from so great a death.

You know I used to be impressed by these kinds of things in my old life and you know people who were somebody in this life and I said thank you Lord that I didn't know that guy's name when he told me his name when they said who his name was and I said amen and I got my hamburgers opening it up and I heard the Holy Spirit speak and he says he didn't know who he was standing beside and I thought to myself what does that mean? And then I got a revelation we are ambassadors of Christ we are a peculiar people a holy nation a royal priesthood his own special treasure the world it says in Hebrews 11 had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory and they treated his servants shamefully and spiteful the prophets they killed them and I was humbled by what I heard and I wept bitterly and I said Lord who am I that you're mindful of me that you care that we would have this kind of heart to be pleasing to the Lord that would be written in the books the volume of the books to do thy will oh God not to do my own will that's not why we were sent to do his will even if it's just a menial task that nobody recognizes and nobody knows be faithful become men of integrity take the lowest place whatever you have give it to Jesus don't seek a reward for it you know the one thing I really like you know people say oh you know we're talking about whether you're saved or whether you can fall away well you know you're going to get rewards it's not having to do with salvation you know when have you given a gift to somebody or you've done something for somebody and you're looking for a reward if you're really born again I've never never done that who's looking for rewards maybe Pharisees I don't know not looking for a reward Lord when were you hungry when were you thirsty when were you sick when were you in prison we visited you they didn't know what you did to the least of the brothers you did for me they weren't looking for a reward that's a true sign that you're a Pharisee when you're looking for a reward you're looking for a pat on the back if you did something good for somebody that's why it says do it in secret don't seek to get honor or to get a reward from men you have your reward if somebody pats you on the back that's all you're getting out of it but to hear well done good and faithful servant enter into the joy of the Lord that's what we want to hear he didn't say did you have all your doctrines right did you have this figured out did you have that figured out were you the perfect church he calls us to be perfect as he's perfect did you have the love 1 Peter chapter 3 it says be of one mind toward the brothers have compassion for one another tender hearted loving one another we lack that in this church we need more compassion tender heartedness and love for one another that comes from spending time with Jesus I don't care how many hours you spend with him if you don't have those qualities in your life you're not perfected in love it's time to go deeper maybe we haven't been broken when you've been broken and you can identify and sympathize with people who are hurting like Paul 2 Corinthians chapter 1 he said we had the sentence of death in ourselves we were going through some things despairing of life and why did God allow it that we might comfort others maybe you went through a miscarriage maybe you went through some hard things maybe you've been rejected by your family that you might comfort others with the same comfort that we are comforted by God be compassionate one toward another tender hearted caring for one another even as Christ cares for us let's pray Lord Jesus I pray that you would help us to be men of integrity to be men who love the Lord with all our heart to be a man who stands for righteousness in his home to be men who walk uprightly who are willing to walk against the grain against the flow not to be ashamed of the name of Jesus to take a stand so that our children can see that we stand for something something good and something right we pray for the power of your Holy Spirit to perform the work that you need to do in our life to bring us to the fullness fill us with your presence cause us to grow we thank you for your word and for the sacrifice of your blood without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins we pray these things in Jesus name