The first day of the week
Acts 20:1-16 · Vern Peterman · Jul 1, 2018
Acts (2017-18), No. 68
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/49261910546399

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Good morning. We're going to be proceeding into this passage, Acts of the Apostles, chapter 20, verses 1 through 16, as Jim just read for us here. As we do that, I just wanted to drop one kind of tantalizing question. Did Paul ever meet Jesus in person before Christ was crucified? Interesting, as you examine it, it is, I would say, possible, possibly even likely that Paul did cross paths with Jesus before he was crucified, and now as we go through this, obviously he continues to encounter Jesus a number of times. There's a one-page handout on that that kind of explores that, and so that might catch your interest.

What we do know, however, from Scripture is Paul, as Saul encountered Christ face-to-face there on the road to Damascus. Acts chapter 9 describes that. The Apostle Paul, as we will see going through the book of Acts, continues to reiterate that account two more times. And so that's one thing we're certain that from the book of Acts that that did take place.

Secondly, Paul spent time face-to-face with Christ being taught by him, whereas the other apostles in the context of Israel, in the context of Jesus' three-plus-year ministry in Israel, they spent time with him there, the apostle Paul. by revelation that we have in multiple places, spend time with Christ face-to-face, being taught by him personally before he went on any missionary journeys. Here we have a picture of the deep canyons near Petra. We actually have a few of us that have actually been to Petra, but at very least Petra is a city kind of in south end of the Dead Sea in Jordan. That is likely the location up in those deep canyons around Petra where the Apostle Paul would go and spend time with Christ and spent quite a bit of time with Christ personally being taught of him.

Jesus spoke to Paul to assure him that he could carry out the ministry in Corinth. So we know of that from our having gone through Acts earlier. This is Acts 18.9. And so this is one instance where the book of Acts reveals that Christ spoke to him personally and actually gives the quote of those words. We have additionally, Jesus is going to stand at Paul's side to assure him about the ministry that he has had in Jerusalem and will have as he heads on to Rome. That's in chapter 23, verse 11. We're going to get there, if the Lord doesn't come for us all first. And so as we look at this, I think it's important to kind of keep this in mind.

Here's Paul's perspective, right? As we're going through these, especially as we go through the passage like we see today, what Dr. Luke records is often sort of a travel itinerary with a few, you know, high points or low points, if you want to call them, as the Apostle Paul goes along and others travel with him. But it's important to keep in mind, Dr. Luke never says, and Paul sat down and wrote a letter to the Corinthians, and Paul sat down and wrote a letter to the Romans. What we do have, however, is indications in each of those letters as to when he wrote. And we're going to be taking a look at some of that here as we go through it.

Here is Paul's mindset as he's going through this travel itinerary. He has had direct contact with Christ, been trained by Christ for what he is being sent out to do. In fact, you and I as believers in Christ are his disciples, being trained ultimately by him. So here's Acts 20, 1 and 3. It says, After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted them, and we'll continue on with that in a bit. So this uproar was the uproar as we had seen in the previous passage in Ephesus. There had been essentially a riot, as it was called. I was trying to think if I had some sort of a farm story comparison to the riots, but really nothing quite like it.

Our animals never rioted. But we did have a few visitors sometimes who did things like leave the pigpen gate open, try to snag one of the baby piglets, and then there was the time when one of the gals who was visiting tried to milk the cow from the tail end. Bad idea. The cow is not lifting its tail for exercise. Anyway, so you go through here. We never had riots like that on the farm, so I just don't have any good farm stories.

Nonetheless, they did have riots here, and it was enough that it got this, essentially, it says the city clerk, his role was actually in the position of a mayor, and he had given him a speech to, hey, let's settle things down and dismiss it. But it was enough of a ruckus.

Paul needed to leave Ephesus. at that point, and that's what's being described here. He'd taken his leave of them, and he left to go to Macedonia. When he'd gone through these districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews, he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.

So here is the Apostle Paul. He is headed off to Macedonia, as we'll see shortly on the map. This is kind of the Greek peninsula, and Macedonia is the upper end. It says he came to Greece. That would include Achaia and the rest of the Greek peninsula there that was included with that. He spent three months there, so some continued period of time, mostly in Corinth.

Now, so here is the large map. We produced that for your handout in the past. We're going to focus and include in your handout is starting from Ephesus here where he had left. The northwest quadrant there is what's shown on your map. So here's how we have it. Here is Ephesus on the west end of what we now call Turkey. It was at the time called Asia.

And so here he is taking off in the direction of the Greek peninsula, if you will, and he says he spends time in Macedonia. That would take him from Philippi on into Thessalonica and Berea, places where churches had been established, and then on down into Athens and Corinth.

Now as we go through this, one of the things that's important to remember is while Dr. Luke is recording, he went here, he did this, this happened, this happened. One of the other things that we have is a very special insight. are the things that the Apostle Paul wrote during this same period of time. And we can't go through all of it, and you'll be glad for that, otherwise we would be here till midnight. Okay, so what we have here is a sampling, and this kind of reveals Paul's mindset about this period of time. 2 Corinthians 11, 23-27, and this would be September-October, so early fall, 56 AD.

Paul said, I was in, referring to himself, in far more labors, far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews 39 lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I spent in the deep.

And what's very interesting is, how many shipwrecks have we seen so far in the book of Acts? None. We're going to get there around chapter 27, but this here reflects that he's already been shipwrecked three times and we haven't even read about him yet. So the truth is that what we see in the book of Acts is simply highlights, isn't it? It is showing this one and that one. What he's telling us here is that this happened far more often than is recorded specifically in the book of Acts.

And so that's a key point for us to remember. But as he goes through these immense number of trials, by the way, wouldn't wouldn't we be discouraged going through this sort of thing? You know, I think I would. The stoning, I think I'd take a while to recover from that. You know, most likely, he says, I have been on frequent journeys," sounds like the Eccles, anyway, and dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers with the Petermans, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren. I've been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights and hunger and thirst, often without food and cold and exposure. Sleepless nights, I can relate to that too.

Anyway, so with all this, what you see is an immense list of all the different things the Apostle Paul has been through, and he's not done with what is recorded in Acts yet, right? So more on top of that. He's been through quite a bit. And as we pointed out before, the Lord told him back in Acts 9, He would show him how much he must suffer. I will show him how much he must suffer for My name. So this is not just, he went through a lot of hassles. This is not just suffering in order to grow as a believer. This is suffering for the name of Christ. That's what he's doing.

And as he heads towards Jerusalem, he will be told, he has been told, we're going to see in chapter 20, he's been told, he says, in every city I go to, the Lord tells me that I'm headed for more trouble. And he's warned three times in Acts, as he's headed to Jerusalem, he's headed for trouble. Do you think that makes him say, oh, I'm not going there? No. Not at all. He continues to head right into the eye of the storm, so to speak.

But here's the other part, 2 Corinthians 12, 1-4. And so it says, boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable. So I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. So he's talking more about revelations that he's had. He even gives a time frame. I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, whether in the body I do not know or out of the body I do not know, God knows, such a man was caught up to the third heaven. Okay, so let's talk about this.

Three heavens in the Bible. First heaven, atmospheric heaven, like where the birds fly. Next, stellar heaven, starting from above the atmosphere out into the solar system and on into far-flung galaxies. Third heaven, this is the heaven where God dwells and where the angels are sent to and fro. This is where we have our citizenship. That's the third heaven. What's he telling us here? The Apostle Paul had been to heaven. Now, if you went to heaven, I mean, would you publish a book? Maybe you'd make a movie, right? Guess what? He gets told something. Listen to this.

And I know how such a man, whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know, God knows, was caught up into paradise. Paradise is a word three times in the New Testament. Jesus says to the thief on the cross, today you will be with me Paradise, okay? This is the second time. Paradise, third time, book of Revelation, okay? Referring to the new heavens, new earth. Paradise is this third heaven.

Alternate term, right? He heard inexpressible words. Now, so, as to writing a book, as to making a movie, what do you see? Which a man is not permitted to speak. Paul, I'm going to bring you up to heaven, and you can tell people that they're seated there with Christ and the heavenlies, but not yet. You can tell people that they have a heavenly citizenship. You can tell people to set their minds on things above.

But don't you say a word about it. Can you imagine that? You are prohibited, Paul, from describing to people anything that you saw. Zip it up. Don't say a thing. And one reason why? That's not your job. That's John's. Book of Revelation, 150 verses on the heavenly scene. That's John's job, not yours. You keep quiet about it. Isn't that amazing? But still, that would be a rather heady thing to carry around, wouldn't it?

I've been to heaven. How many of you have been to heaven? I've been to heaven. Wouldn't that be something? The Lord says I've got a solution for that head problem He says this 2nd Corinthians 12 7 through 9 because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations and being to heaven Having been to heaven for this reason to keep me from exalting myself There was given to me a thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan to torment me to keep me from exalting myself I Wait a minute.

I thought it was an apostle. He could ask for any miracle. He wanted. Yeah, maybe You could ask for all kinds of miracles, command things, but it didn't necessarily mean that you could make everything nice for yourself. As a matter of fact, was his life problem-free? Not even close.

Verse 8, concerning this, I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. If you ask the Lord enough, will He carry it out? Is He forced to? But one of the things we tend to do You know, Nancy is one who sends things out on the prayer chain, and we have this idea that the more people you get, the better. If you get it loud enough, God listens finally. And actually, James says the prayer of one righteous man availeth much. So it isn't the number, although it's good to have a number of people praying in support, right? He implored, here's an apostle. I mean, if anybody's got leverage in heaven, this guy's it, right?

I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me, and he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you." So grace is not just that God isn't as uptight about sin anymore, right? Grace is a sufficiency. Grace is a sufficiency. And by the way, that's far from all, but it certainly is that. My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness, right? Most gladly, therefore, I rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

Oh, I'm not up to this or that thing. I'm inadequate. Good. In fact, one of the things that Nancy and I will do in marriage and pre-marriage counseling, we'll say, okay, now here's what the Bible says about being a husband, right? And if the guy says, okay, I'm ready for it, I say, you're in trouble. I would rather boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Being a godly husband, being a godly father, godly wife, being a godly child in the home, this is God's work. God's doing.

But that was the Lord's prescription for Paul. We have in parallel with that, written just a little bit later, only by a few months later, after 2 Corinthians, was the book of Romans. Paul had written to the church at Rome. He had had contact with them in a lot of kind of back and forth messages to the church at Rome, but he wrote them in chapter 1 and again in chapter 15 about visiting Jerusalem and then heading to Rome. that He is going to see them next.

We won't be taking the time to look at the whole passage. I'll just point out to you verses 25 and 29, and then on to 31 and 33. But now I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints. I know that when I come to you, I'll come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints, so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.

Imagine, here is his perspective. He wrote what we saw there in 2 Corinthians. He's also seeing that, okay guys, I'm headed to you via Jerusalem. I'm not sure all the details of how God's going to pull this off. But when I come, I'm coming to you in the blessing of Christ and in the will of God.

So just as Paul was ready to set sail for Syria, he found out about a plan that the Jews were putting together to kill him, probably by drowning. And so if he got on the ship to Syria, he wouldn't go then. So what was going on here? At Passover time, especially, the Jews from all over the Roman Empire would load up on ships and head towards Jerusalem or as close as they could get by land. And so there were ships just loaded with Jews headed to Jerusalem on this pilgrimage. And it was during that time that some of the Jews were figuring out, hey, you know, that would be a time where like during the night we could toss Paul over and nobody would notice.

And so Paul got wind of this and says, eh, that's not great. So here's Paul. He'd go through all sorts of things, but was being an apostle volunteering for being a martyr. Not necessarily. Why? The apostles didn't aim for martyrdom. They didn't aim to get killed. Why? They knew that they had a special place of delivering the message. And while they certainly didn't mind being at risk, they were not there to most certainly end their ministry.

So this is an example of one point of guidance about the will of God. Paul changed his plans, and as it turns out, it changed the timing, as we're going to see, of his going to Jerusalem, but it didn't change the ultimate goal. So this is an important thing for us to keep in mind as we look at the will of God in our lives. God may change some of the details of things, But in the big picture, he's still working towards the same end. God may in fact change this or that circumstance for us, but where he has us headed, the big picture, we need to keep in mind.

Here's Acts 20, verse 4, And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, and the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Segundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus, and Trophimus of Asia. Aristarchus is one that we have seen already. We'll see again in chapter 27.

He's mentioned again in Colossians 4.10 and in Philemon 24. And one of the things that is very clear, this is a very faithful man. He's only mentioned five times from Acts on into the book of Philemon. But he's a very faithful man.

Paul at one point even calls him a fellow prisoner. A fellow prisoner with me. Another one that we see here is Timothy. Timothy is spoken of, although we first hear about him in Acts 16, he is spoken of in the New Testament more than most of the apostles. Once you get from the book of Acts on, and Acts 1 is the last time the apostles are listed, You don't hear about a great many of them, but Timothy we do, and I think that's on purpose. It's to show us what the training up should be, what the discipling process should look like. And so we'll be taking a look further at Timothy as we go down the line here. Tychicus is one who carries about some of the letters that we read about in the New Testament.

So these are all faithful men. They're going along with the Apostle Paul, not only to carry out ministry in parallel with him, but also as they're carrying financial aid to Judea through famine and whatnot. that they're carrying the money together and having lots of men for the purpose of safety, that it doesn't just get stolen.

We sent yesterday, I don't know if you remember this, but we sent money over to Hassan, reimbursing him for the cost of the Sunday school children's ministry materials. that are being produced over there, because they made 50 copies of everything for all the children that are there, and they say children all the way up into their teens. So they made copies of all the material there. Here we have an instance, these people are in support. of ministry. We were able to send the funds electronically. They didn't have that option in those days. You carry the money and you better make sure you have a number of guys with you so that you keep the money transfer safe instead of having robbers and thieves take control of it.

Here's Acts 20 verses 5 and 6, but these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. Troas, as we mentioned previously, is the place that more than a millennia before had been Troy. This is the Trojan horse legend. At any rate, so we sailed from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread and came to them at Troas within five days. There we stayed seven days, and by the calculations, we're actually able to nail down those seven days. This is April 19th through the 25th, 57 AD. So what we see also, we sail from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread.

The Days of Unleavened Bread was the week after Passover, immediately after. So Paul had missed Passover in order to avoid being probably cast off the ship and drowned. And he avoided that, but he missed the Passover target, which was his initial time.

And now we're going to see a later target that he's going to be shooting for. But this is the schedule. In case you're looking for more detail, we passed this out some time ago, but we have more copies of this chronological table of the Apostolic Age with all the points of chronology in case that's of interest to you. A couple of pages, two sides of one page there.

So now, as he's passing along, he'll go down from Corinth and then passing along, then back in his return route. And so here they are at Troas. So, Paul had originally planned to go to Jerusalem for Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Finding out the Jews' plans to kill him made him head to Macedonia and Achaia first, then to Jerusalem. So that's the pattern. This change of plans meant they would go to Jerusalem by Pentecost, if at all possible, rather than by Passover.

Pursuing God's will, it's important to keep in mind the big picture of what God is doing, though the details may change. Ever had something radical happen in your life that says, well, that changes everything? Probably God did it on purpose, right? And in fact, God's going to change some things. It's important for us to keep in mind what God doesn't change.

And that was a part of what the Apostle Paul was doing here, exactly. Here's Acts 20, verse 7. On the first day of the week when we're gathered together to break bread, one of the things that we see as a pattern is in the New Testament, There was, early on, starting on the Gospels, we see reference to the first day of the week.

The Gospels, all of them, have some reference to, you know, first day, second day, that sort of thing. We have, as a matter of our cultural background, different days for the days of the week. We call it Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc. The Jews simply numbered it, and that was how it was done. The first day of the week had been set as the day when the Christians gathered by the day when Christ was raised from the dead. And that first day of the week reference is given in Matthew and in Mark and in John. So that was established.

We see it here in 1 Corinthians 16. We see the Apostle Paul instructing the believers to set aside money for the relief of the saints in Judea. set aside the funds on the first day of the week. Later on in the New Testament, we'll see the first day of the week, which we call Sunday, called the Lord's Day.

That shows up early in the book of Revelation, Revelation 1.10, if I recall correctly there. And so why was the first day of the week important? It was established by the Christians based on the day in which the Lord was raised.

It's not biblically correct to say that the gathering of Christians on what we call Sunday is the Christian Sabbath. That's real different. One thing is you don't start getting ready for Sunday at sundown on Saturday. We also don't stone people in church if they work from Saturday evening until Sunday evening. We don't do that, at least not usually. So it's not that.

This is based on the time when the Lord himself was resurrected. And so what we find is that the believers would gather on the first day of the week regularly. Basically, they wouldn't miss it. They gathered together regularly. And why would they do that? Why would they gather together regularly on this first day of the week, the day we call Sunday? And why would it be important? Well, one thing is the believers would gather because they saw a need for gathering.

They recognized the need for gathering as a time to be taught, as a time of fellowship. So they saw the need for the church body to interact with all the different gifts. You know, every single one of us has been given a spiritual gift. And to exercise that spiritual gift, it's for others in the church body.

If that only takes once in a while, takes place, then that's not God's intent. Furthermore, the people who would gather the first day of the week saw the importance of gathering. It was not only a statement of importance for them, but it was a statement of importance. This is important. This is the body of Christ. Christ, as we will see, paid his lifeblood for us. So the first day of the week was a gathering time for the church established way back then based upon the day of the resurrection of Christ and the need of the church body and the importance of that.

And so this is a point for everyone to take thought to, but also especially husbands, fathers, and considering, okay, why do they gather? What are the needs that are met there? Needs for feeding. We see throughout scripture the idea that teaching within the church body is compared to food or even something to drink, milk as it's called in 1 Peter. And then to see the priority that people place on it.

So next we have here, Paul began talking to them intending to leave the next day and he prolonged his message until midnight. And there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. Now notice the we there. Start seeing this we. That means Dr. Luke was there, okay, where we were gathered together.

And there was a young man named Eutychus, okay, sitting on the windowsill, sinking into a deep sleep. And as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. And that's why we don't have third floor windows here at Holly Hills. Alright.

So, verses 10-12, But Paul went down and fell upon Him, and after embracing Him, he said, Do not be troubled, for His life is in Him. And when he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak and then left. And they took away the boy alive and were greatly comforted." And you may also be greatly comforted that we're not going to continue this service until midnight.

Right? Okay. So, I've got a question. Should we expect a miracle? I've even seen billboards, that's especially in the Bible Belt, right? Seen billboards, expect a miracle, right? And you'll find different people who will particularly be drawn to that and particular, how they call them, televangelists who will try to do such things.

Here we have Benny the Hinn. In this picture, Benny the Hinn, it's funny, he expects a miracle, but when he has heart trouble, he goes to the hospital. Nancy and I knew of two people in Carson City, two ladies, who were told by Benny Hinn that they would be healed of their breast cancer. They're now home with the Lord.

So, no, that doesn't sound so good. It is often presented as if, well, if you don't, you know, expect a miracle, then you don't have enough faith, right? And that if you have enough faith, you wouldn't be in that wheelchair, you wouldn't be, you know, with those crutches, you wouldn't have your health problem, whatever it is from A to Z, right?

Paul's miracle by the raising of this boy Eutychus was a validation of his apostolic sponsorship. But he still read, as we saw earlier, in spite of asking three times to have it removed, this thorn in the flesh. In writing to Timothy, it advises him to take a little wine for his stomach's sake. By the way, that's a little wine, okay? But for his continuous problems. So rather than coming to Timothy and saying, Timothy, you know, we shouldn't be having any problems, I'm an apostle, let's just get rid of this problem. And who knows, they may have prayed for it, but it didn't mean that all the problems are going to go away by miracle. This is a particular validation, even for an apostle.

We should expect what the Bible says to expect, and I think that's the key thing. What does the Bible say we should expect? And the Bible actually says lots of things that we should expect. Including rejoicing and when got that when you encounter various trials But here's what it says example Romans 8 28 through 30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God To those who are called according to his purpose for those whom he foreknew he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren and these whom he predestined he also called and These whom he called, he also justified, and these whom he justified, he also glorified. What should you expect? Exactly what the Bible says.

And there are many things that the Bible says rather than expecting something that God doesn't promise. One of the great problems that I encounter among the folks that I work with in Africa, is they will say, I'll claim this or that for God. I'll believe God for this. Wait a minute, you're believing God for something He didn't promise. So you're being not faithful, you're being presumptuous. There's a big difference.

Here's Acts 20, 13-16, when we going ahead to the ships that sail for Asses. intending from there to take Paul on board, so he had arranged it, intending himself to go by land. And when he met us at Assis, we took him on board and came to Mytilene, and sailing from there we arrived the following day opposite Chios, and the next day we crossed over to Samos, and the next day we came to Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia.

For he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. So he had gone from, I'm aiming for Passover, to I want to get there by the day of Pentecost. That was the next feast after Passover and unleavened bread, the next major feast. And so this day that he came to Miletus, April 29th, 57 AD.

And again, if you want more details on the chronology, that's available as a supplement. So where is this going here? Well, this passage gives us a lot of travel detail, and we can end up being caught up in, well, there's kind of a travel itinerary here with a few highlights. It even allows us to nail down the exact dates.

Paul is headed to Jerusalem to serve the saints there. That's what he's going towards. We need to, one, understand from the letters that he wrote, what was his mindset? What was his perspective? Why was he aiming to go there? Why was it so important that even in spite of warnings, many of them, he's going to go anyway. He is headed there to serve the saints.

In the many details of life, it's important to keep in mind the focus that really matters. Lots of things will happen to all of us. We who are in Christ and He in us, and each one of us who believes, until we see Him face to face, to keep that in focus. Christ, when He had some last words to say to His disciples before His crucifixion, is abide in Me and I in you.

Here's the Apostle Paul. There are people trying to kill him. He's trying to get places. All sorts of things happen to disrupt his schedule. But what does he end up saying? Abide in Me and I in you. The Apostle Paul takes this and he, as he's going through this, is abiding in Christ. Christ in him and that's what he teaches again and again and again. He writes to the churches. He tells one, behold Christ. He talks to another. He says walk in the Spirit. He talked to another. You are called to fellowship.

In 2 Corinthians 3.18, again, this is right in the middle of this journey we just read about here. This is a great perspective for all of us to take to heart here.

2 Corinthians 3.18, but we all with unveiled face, that is not having a face, spiritually speaking, that is veiled by the law, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord the Spirit. Beholding the Lord Jesus Christ is in his mind, and that is his mindset as he continues on in this missionary journey.

Let's pray. Father, we are so thankful that by the Lord Jesus Christ and as a work of the Holy Spirit, we can come running to you. And through the midst of things, no matter what sort of smoothness or turbulence, either one, in life, that we can abide in you, that we can trust in you, that we can have a walk with you. That's what you've called us to. We pray that you would draw our hearts to exactly that. That we would be dependent upon you and relying upon you in every way. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.