Identification Truths Plus 2012

All right, we are on question four. Lesson 25, is that correct? Yes. Lesson 25, we... Let me get to it here. I think we got to question four, right? Is that correct? I think we went through... We got through three, I think. So, question four, lesson 25.

Is there a difference between Christian liberty and freedom? time liberty is freedom and freedom is liberty. But there would be a whole long stretch of liberty and not much about freedom. But you hit it. Liberty and freedom, the same. And as we went through the word, as we went through the verses in Galatians, I think it was Galatians, Galatians 5.1, liberty and freedom are brought out there. It's the same word is used in there.

So basically liberty, the Christian liberty and freedom in verse 5.1, Galatians 5.1, it's the same word.

We also looked in Webster's dictionary definition for freedom and the Webster's definition... Webster's Dictionary definition. I can't do diction and definition together. Webster's definition for liberty is freedom. So even with the Webster's definition, they're the same, liberty and freedom. So we're going to look at that and we're going to explore that a little bit more. that liberty and freedom are the same and what that means. So, question five.

Read 1 Peter 2.11-3.12. I'm not going to read the whole thing, but what is the key verb in this section? Submit. When you go through this, and I'll just read the first section because there's two of the verses I really want to look at. The first one 1 Peter 2, beginning of verse 13. This is out of the New American Standard.

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God, that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the King.

So if you go on in verse 18, servants be submissive to your masters with all respect, If you go down in verse 1 of the next chapter, in the same way, you wives be submissive to your own husbands. In verse 5, for in this way in the former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, also used to adorn themselves being submissive to their own husbands.

So, the key verb in this section is submission. So we're saying about submission, how does that fit under grace? We're supposed to be free, not under the law. But it's saying submit. The interesting part, if you look at that first section is, which I think, how do you explain this? In verse 13, it says, submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution. But then when you look at verse 16, in the New American Senate, it says, act as free men.

So does this sound correct? Submit, but act as free men. How do you submit, but be free? Is that wrong? Is that a typo? We're in free, but it says submit. We're free to submit. Now that sounds a little strange though, you're free to submit. So act as free men but you're to submit. It sounds a little contrary if you kind of put them together, you're free but you're to submit.

Oh Holly, yes. So, well freedom was like, we're free to let Christ live through us, so to be free to submit would be to allow Christ to live through us to submit. Right? Perfect. And we'll also get into the fact that when we are free, what are we doing? We are changing masters. And that's the key. We're under the mastery of Christ now. And we'll see that in some of the verses. We're now slaves to righteousness. It does make sense that you can be submitting but still be free. And we'll expand on that as we go on.

So, what are the three areas of subjection described in the verses in 1 Peter? What are the three areas? Because we're going to explore this a little bit more. In 1 Peter 2, 13-17, and husbands. Yep, so state or government. Then when you get to 1 Peter 2, 18 through 25, what's that? Bond slaves. Bond slaves, or also within the household, with a slave, master, those type of things. What about 1 Peter 3, 1 through 12? Husbands. Husbands, family, basically within the family. Okay?

There are three areas that we are told about where we're in subjection. Under grace, the freedom we have, but we're under subjection there. Now, describe at least three things that freedom is not. I have my answers, you'll probably not. I have the answers and I'm looking for them and I'll fish for them out there. Just give them to us. No, I let you at least. Three things that freedom is not. Well, we've talked about this before, it's not licensed to do anything. It's not just an open window of the ads that we get on TV. If it feels good, do it. You're not afraid to grumble or say things which God in his wisdom has provided for our needs.

Well, what about her Sarah? I'd just like to argue again. Since I'm divorced, this really bothers me. They were submissive to their husbands, like Sarah. Sarah wasn't exactly submissive. Actually, Sarah was very submissive, I think. In a lot of the things, you know, when you look at what... Yeah, you know, she was very submissive too. When you look at, you know, what he was doing, phew, you know, it's like, we get all this, you know, how great and wonderful, but he was, hey, oh no, she's my sister, you know, she's my sister. You know, he has a lot of stumbling where she was very submissive, but the biggest thing is submissive to husbands. That's what you're grumbling at, I think, more than anything. So, we'll get to that. Do you want to edit that section of the Bible, I guess? Do you want to snip that piece of paper out? Unfortunately, there are several references to that.

And as well as husbands. We've talked before, a little bit, about the fact that the word submissive right now brings up an image that is not really the scriptural way that submission is functioning. Just as you brought up that it says wives be submissive to and subject your husband, but the husband who is acting as Christ toward the church brings out a desire to follow that leadership. By following the leadership sounds a little different than submission. Well, and actually that word is, when you look at it in the Greeks, to be under the teaching of. You know, we take the word submit or submission as kind of like slave and master. It gives you an image of a guy laying on a couch telling his wife to go get him something. Yeah, go get me the sandwich, you know, sitting in his underwear and the socks on the bark-a-lounger, you know, barking commands, and you have to go do it.

It is to be under the teaching of, and there's a portion of it that's respect and honor your husband. It's basically to be under the teaching and have respect and honor your husband. Now the key on all that though, and the one thing, and I think we'll touch on a little bit in the next lesson is, are they, and we've touched on that also before, Is the wife's submission, or the husband's loving her as Christ, are they codependent? If the wife is not submissive, am I not to love my wife as Christ loved the church? Oh, no. In that way, no. No. So, if your husband is not loving you as Christ loved the church, does that mean you're not supposed to be submissive? No. That's a hard thing, because you think, we're in a quid pro quo. This goes back to identification.

This is the old man. The old man wants equal, fair. If I do this, I want this. Merit. I want cause and effect. We're under grace. That's not the operating system. And so, I'll be submissive to you if you love me like Christ and give me everything. That's not in scripture.

Husbands, and you look at all the qualifications, and again, I go through, the main reason I'm going through the submissive part is because, just showing under law, husbands have a much more description of what they have to do, or not have to, but are supposed to, being in Christ, how you love your wife. There's much more, and again, as I said, if you look at those criteria, you cannot do them. And that, as a husband, you have to come to that realization, you can't do them other than in Christ. And once you start taking your eyes off Christ, you start looking at yourself, and then you can't fulfill what you're to do as a husband. But I'm not to look at my wife and say, you're not being submissive, so I'm not loving you today.

Our old man, though, is the one who does that. The old man wants, I'll do this if you do that. Merit-based. As you understand that, you can understand how you should respond. If I'm doing that, if you're not acting, I'm not going to do it. That immediately tells me it's the old man. So, I'll get back to the three things freedom is not. I've got one. Not taking our relationship with Christ for granted. Yeah, yeah. That's not on the fishing list. Well, no, I'm thinking with freedom though. Yeah, it was not on my list, but I'm trying to bring it in. I mean, that is true.

Under freedom, we can't just, you know, kind of sit back and, Lord, you're going to do everything. I'm just going to sit here on a blob on the couch. Now, we do operate from a position of rest. And once you realize that, you then function. because it's not your efforts, you're basically who you are in Christ, and you're manifesting the life of Christ through you. So, yeah, taking it for granted, I'm trying to think, yeah, if you just take it for granted, I'll just sit here and the Lord will do everything, I'll just do nothing. Alright, and no reason for me, it's done, no reason for me to pray or talk to God.

And we'll get to that, how grace is a motivator. Because a lot, if we're under freedom, we're not to serve. We don't have to serve. But we will explore how, through grace, that is a great motivator for service. And that we are now slaves to righteousness. And we'll expand on that a little bit. Freedom is not a release from responsibility. Exactly. Exactly. And we'll get into that. We'll expand on that.

So my three fishing lines, for what I was... describe at least three things that freedom is not. It is not autonomy. So autonomy is from the Greek word auto, self, and namos, which is law or self-law. So this means, you know, I make up my own rules. I do what I want, when I want to do it. Is that how we operate under grace? No. As we'll see later in the New Testament, this is not freedom or liberty, but slavery. If I do as I please, that's actually slavery, and that's under the old man. So no one is autonomous except God, who can make up the rules in harmony with his character. So, autonomous, self-law. So just when you see what autonomy is, it's self-law.

So immediately you understand that... Actually leads to chaos. It does, absolutely. Each person is making up a different set. And are we seeing that right now? I mean, I just see, you know, their moral relevantism. where, you know, everybody makes up their own rules. There is no absolutes. And that's where I think we're sliding, which is a problem. But God knows about this. So, the second one, it is not freedom from service.

And that's what we're talking about. Romans 6, 18. And having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. So we become free from bondage, from slavery to sin. But what does the verse say? We become slaves of righteousness. Slaves of righteousness. This says we're now free to serve. So again, sitting back and not doing anything, we're now slaves of righteousness.

So liberty and freedom in the New Testament is not freedom from service, but it's just a change of masters. We now serve Christ. And it's not a burden. It's not an effort. It's who we are in Christ. So, it's not freedom from service. We just sit around in a blob and we contemplate our navels and hang around and do nothing.

It's actually a motivator because if we manifest the life of Christ, we will serve. And then the last one, it's not freedom from authority. So, if we look back at 1 Peter 2.13 and 16, we're to submit ourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution. How? As free men. So therefore freedom is not freedom from authority. It means, and we'll explore on this as we get into the next lesson, there are shaved off authorities that God has given to humans and we'll see all these things. We kind of touched on the different things.

What does it mean by as free men? Subject yourself as free men now that seems... Well, that was what we were talking about at the very first, you know, in those verses. How do you do that? Well, you are free. You're free to serve now. You're not slaves to sin. And we'll touch on that.

And the spheres of authority that they have and where those boundaries are when you are to submit and when you're not. We can go back to where Paul was told not to teach or speak the gospel. Sanhedrin said, no, don't do that. And what did he say? Did he obey because they were the ruler? He was under Christ. He was under God's authority. And he said, I have to. So that explains where man's authority is and when you can step out of that.

So, we'll expand on that a little bit in the next lesson. I'll give you the definition of what liberty is. We've kind of touched on that. Liberty is freedom from every form of tyranny as specified by the Word and it is submission to Christ as specified in the Scripture. So, it's freedom from every form of tyranny and then it's submission to Christ as we see in the Scripture. Remember what we said, freedom or liberty is a change of masters. This definition notes the change from tyranny under other masters, and now under submission, we are under Christ as the new master.

So, you didn't think we'd get through that lesson, huh? explore that too. You're all getting ahead. So we're now lesson 26. Pull that one up here. OK, so I didn't think we were going to get through the lesson. So you don't have any prep time for this. We'll have to go through it on the fly here.

And I want to get through a lot of these, because You know, I love the grace section and I think next week, are you Mike for the next two weeks? I think you're up for the next two weeks, which I think that's it now. I think. Oh, we got one more week? Oh, okay. So I got one more week then.

Because I want to get through a lot of this on grace. It's kind of, I really like, I love the topic of grace and how it functions and how we function under grace. Unfortunately, I didn't get this lesson today. I didn't think we'd be through, but we did. So, lesson 26, question 1.

Is Jesus my only authority? What about your parents under Christ? There it is. Ultimate authority. Under is the key word. So, what's your answer, Mike? He's the ultimate authority. But he he shaves off some of his authority to parents to municipalities too. But he he is the ultimate authority. He's not.

Let me put it this way. Like if I'm driving to church on Sunday and I'm doing 85 on the I 25. I'm not under your authority, I'm under Jesus' authority. We may bail you out at that point. We may come down and post your bond for you. So yeah, I guess the question is, is Jesus our only authority? Let's put it that way. No. Okay, no? Good, good. So, do we take orders from, can I say, do we take orders from none other than the Lord Jesus?

And your husband. Oh, this is going to be a fun one, I can tell. This is like premarital. Alright, so yeah, actually it's good, you guys are getting through this, where a lot of people if you just say, no Jesus is my only authority, oh I can't, you know. I don't have to obey my husband. There are lots of different things. Mike, tell him the cops, if he's doing 85 in a 25.

Jesus is my only authority and I have to get to church, so at 85 miles an hour, I'm able to do that. So, the question number two, does Christ ever give some of his authority to humans? Yes, so we'll look at some of those and we touched on some of them in the last lesson, but what about Ephesians 5 22 Colossians 3 18 and 1st Peter 3 1 basically this is going back. These are three passages that explain about wives again again. I use the wives part, you know, not just being chauvinistic and going after the women only, it just is, submission is the word, it's a lot easier to go after, to the point, because we're under grace, and I want to see about how we say submission, and that sometimes for people, when you talk about grace and we're free, active, stand fast in the liberty which we have in Christ, and then you say submission, it's very confusing sometimes, because wait a minute, I'm under grace, I'm not under law, I can do as I please, But God has shaved off some of these authorities, and it's very clear in Scripture.

Ephesians 5.22-24 Why be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord? Good phrase on there. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, he himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

Colossians 3.18 Wise, be subject to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. And then 1 Peter 3, 1 and 2. In the same way, you wise, be submissive to your own husbands, so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. So, on all three passages, the Greek word for subject is hupotasso, which again is to be subordinate or to be under. So it's to be under the teaching or under the guidance of is the word there.

So, therefore, and maybe this is the, should we omit these verses? Because we only have one authority and that's Jesus. You might want, are you, you want to X these out, I know. So can we just omit these because why is your, you don't like that submission part to be under? Should we get rid of these? Well if the husband did what he was supposed to do as Christ. As Christ loved the church.

Well I don't think there would be very many women that would have any problems with that. So it's all the husband's problem. It's the husband's problem in the sense that used to be the leader in this. That's where the responsibility is. Is their response based on your actions? Oh no. That's the point. But I must say that if I as the husband, because I've been given limited authority from God, and I receive my authority, or I don't live up to my authority, then they don't have to follow it. If it's outside of scripture, yes. But if I'm just a lazy husband, does that mean they're not to be submissive? Just because I'm lazy. I leave my underwear on the floor.

And I don't wash the dishes. And I don't take you out to dinner four times a week. And I don't bring you roses. Does that mean you're not supposed to be submissive? The problem you have in most marriages isn't that kind of stuff. The problem is that the husband won't take his responsibility and lead spiritually. He won't do that. He won't lead his family and he won't lead his wife and if he doesn't do that... But who is responsible? Who's the one who is under the challenge or is not being obedient to scripture. Picking up a sock isn't the issue. No, no. In yours, who is the one?

It's the husband. It's the husband. Now, you know, and I read this, you know, and this is, in the same way you wives be submissive to your own husbands, so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives. To the word.

Right, but the key is, and this is what, we want fairness, we want equality, we want this result quid pro quo. And that's where I think a lot of the problems in marriages happen. And this is where under grace, because the husband or the wife isn't doing this, I get, you know, and I'll tell you, first off, I know, when I don't do it and I expect something from my wife is what I call, I fall off the horse. I've been there, I've done that, where I'm expecting something of my wife and I get frustrated. And I'm going, I tell you, I work through this and it's shorter to get back on the horse. But, as I say, get back on the horse. And getting back on the horse means I'm focused on the Lord. That's what I mean by getting back on the horse.

The minute I expect something out of my wife, I've taken my eyes off Christ and my responsibility. When I'm expecting something from her is when I fail. And you could say that about any of those relationships. And you're expecting from the government. We'll get into all those. But the point is, and I think a lot of marriages is because if the husband isn't doing it, that gives justification to the wife to say, well, that bum, so I don't have to do anything. A husband says, I'm not going to love her because look what she's doing. She didn't wash my clothes. She didn't do this. She didn't respond to me. She's not everything I need. Why do I have to love her as Christ? Love the church. And the thing is we've taken our focus off Christ. And what is it?

What is it? itself you're immediately putting yourself itself I want this well who is that that's the old man that's the one who does that and I think a lot of marriages get into this well he's not doing it so I'm gonna buck up and I'm not gonna do a thing but it also I mean I think it doesn't mean that you can't address those issues you know like you can't say unless you you know stop or clean up your mess or something, you know, I mean that's all just day-to-day. And we'll see if it's outside of the authority or scripture. If he tells you to do something that's scripturally wrong, you do not have to follow that.

Because it's very limited in the authorities. What God has shaved off, it's like governments. They have very specific areas of which they have authority. If you step out of that, i.e., you can't study the Word of God. You can't pray. There are some issues there that are scriptural that, okay, is that beyond their authority?

And the point in these things is a lot of times we just have this self thing that says, again, if that, then this. Grace doesn't work in that way. It's unmerited. And these things, I think a lot of relationships, a lot of personal things, if you get out of this system of, I need, oh wait, what is that, I?

Where's my focus? immediately on myself. And I say this as, again, when I fall off the horse in my relationship with my wife is when I expect something. And when I expect something, that's the old man. And I got to get back and focus on the Lord. I do not expect anything.

And then I can act as who I'm supposed to be in Christ. which should be a draw to her. And I'm to present her holy and blameless, you know, love her as Christ, love the church, you know, the requirements. And if I'm focusing on the Lord, that should be. And guess what? If I'm doing that, that should draw her to this relationship. But it doesn't have to be. My reaction is not predicated on hers. I was just along that same line.

We sort of are taught in our culture the blame game. whether it's the national debt or whether it's a failed marriage or whatever it is, very easy to point to what other people should have done instead of what God expects of me. And if, exactly as you say, if I focus on what I should be doing in Christ, then all this other stuff can get your emotions all heated up, but as we've heard upstairs in the sermon, if we start operating on the emotional basis of how things affect our feelings, well you shouldn't have done that.

The point I get at, and this goes back to our whole thing about identification, why identification truths are so important, is the co-crucifixion and this separation and understanding the old man and the new man. Because the old man is the one who wants the quid pro quo, wants the equality, and is all self-based. When you start realizing, I've been offended, I require, I think, and I'm looking at all these things, start to understand who are you following at that point? The old man or the new man? And that's where I think we get into a lot of these problems is that we follow the old man. We kid about when Mike and I go out to lunch.

You know, you bought last time? Okay, I'll buy this time. I buy every time. No, you don't. No, you don't. You use that grace excuse all the time. You pay all the time. But there's no natural reaction. Again, as I said, if I invite you over for dinner, what's your first reaction? Oh, I'd have you over for dinner. If I get you tickets to the Bronco games, well, I'll get you tickets to the baseball game. It's always quid pro quo, as I say. Well, I got to repay you. Under grace, there's no repayment. That's why we hit on grace so much. There is not a debt owed.

So we have to understand when we have these reactions, see who it is, start understanding it's the old man responding, not the new man. As you're talking, I'm thinking, here I am as a husband and I recognize that I'm out of character. I'm expecting something from my wife or I'm at odds with her about something. And here comes the information about, oh, you're not functioning. as a believing husband should function, I'm going to change it and get back on the horse. Can I take credit for getting back on the horse?

How do I as a believer who understands, wait a minute, I've just been convicted by the spirit of not fulfilling my role as a husband or whatever it might be. resting in who you are in Christ, understanding it's a life. I'll tell you, we've been through this, and to me, it's finally understanding, it's getting away from that expectation. As soon as I understand I get rid of that expectation, the anger, the frustration, all that melts away.

And I start, I just go back to focusing on the Lord. Lord, that's not who I am in Christ. That's not... and you're leaving out the energy and the purpose of the Spirit of God in this, and the fact that in my recognition that I'm either a slave to righteousness or a slave to sin, that I'm never in the middle, which means that I don't have the liberty to decide. Or put it another way, I can decide But that, because I decided, doesn't mean it's going to automatically happen.

To me, it's walking the spirit or walking the flesh. Which do you choose to do? And I think it's the Holy Spirit convicting and convincing you, you are acting as under the old man. Let me add something here. I don't think it's so much my choosing to walk in either. I think the only choice I have is who's going to control me? Who am I going to let control me?

But that's the point. That's the choice. And that's why I say it does ultimately come to you. Who are you choosing to walk? Under the spirit or under the flesh? I can choose to be under the flesh and that's when I fall off the horse is I expect you to be doing this. And my choice is not to focus on the Lord.

And when I focus back on the Lord, the more you understand it, I guess the point is that the more you understand what the old man is doing, it becomes less and less attractive or patterned as you understand who you are in Christ. It doesn't matter if she's not doing what she's supposed to do.

You let it grow, right? I mean, that's a little bit more. You open up a little next time, maybe. A little more, a little more. So it's not like choices that happen out of the blue and you choose, choose, choose. It's like this is all towards growth. Grow in the grace and knowledge. Grow in the grace and knowledge. It's spiritual. And that's where it says you grow in that.

I'm less impacted by her not doing this. or you not doing this, because it doesn't matter. I'm looking for self is to be satisfied. That's not right. As I understand that, it's a lot less, it becomes, you know, that hymn as I say, you know, the things of earth grow strangely dim. in the light of his grace. And it's also building character because you're kind of suffering each time you don't get every little thing you want. The point is, and that's why I think the identification truths are so important.

Understanding the old man and the new man. We are free. God is done. judicially taking care of the old man. We choose to either, I'm going to go, I'm selfish and you know that wife should have been doing this. I expected this from her. I'm not focused on who I am in Christ. And that the maturity comes is that it's less and less that I expect. And more and more of who I am in Christ. And that's again, I think just a lot of the problems and issues that we have are understanding that one, identification and two, operating in grace, it's not a quid pro quo system. It's not, if you do this, I do this.

And that's the beauty of the system. Under law, it was that way. You do this and you get this. You do this, here are the consequences. Under grace, it's growing in the grace not to what? Be conformed to the image of Christ. That's the growth. And as you do that, these things just melt away. The next time it happens, it doesn't happen. That's the old man. I realize that. You don't need to develop in a situation like that. I'll say fair or something like that. It just becomes less important. It's not like it's just blah. But it's focusing back on the Lord.

To me, the importance is, and we'll get into this, in the Corinthians, in 13, the importance of love. And you've got to put all these things together. Am I manifesting love? Am I doing it in love? I expect you to... Oh wait a minute, is that in love? You know, in grace there are lots of principles that we operate under. I can't just, you know, as we say in Liberty, I can have a beer, but if I know you're an alcoholic, I'm going to drink in front of you because that's good. Where's my motive? Is that done in love?

No. You know, so all these things fit together. The principles that we operate, we don't have laws, but we have principles. And what we're kind of exploring now are some of the authorities that are given that we operate under this system of grace. We'll go on. Another one is in Ephesians 6, 1. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Colossians 3, 20. Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Again, it's...

So, is this one where we should omit these verses? Nick, you can't answer this. Should we omit this? We only have one authority, and that's Christ. So kids, Yahtzee, you can do whatever you want, right? They don't need to obey their parents because they're obedient to Christ, right? They don't have to obey. Is that right? Right. That's one of the Ten Commandments, after all. We just went back to square one. We'll now be going back to lesson one of the identification truce next week. Again.

The next verse, my father's provoking our two children to wrath, bringing them up in the nursery. And again the responsibility of the parents is to not provoke them to wrath. But that doesn't mean you can't discipline them, you can't do anything, which a lot of children will use that, that under discipline you're evoking wrath. And that's why all these have, when you put it all together it fits, you know, as a parent and going back to reading in Corinthians about love.

Do it in love. You can't exclude these things from all the principles that we operate under grace. And there's a lot of different principles that we operate under. And one of them is love. And you should be doing this under love. You should love in a relationship, in a wife and a husband. It's under love, you know, and the greatest of these gifts is love. You know, faith, hope and love. And there are all these things put together, then you know how you operate. So I'm not going to be burdensome to my wife and do all this because I'm to love her as Christ loved the church. It all fits together. So again, grace has great freedom.

We don't have a list of laws or anything like that. We operate under principles and some of these authorities just to give some structure under the world we live in right now. There's some structure. And again, they're very limited in their authority. We're going to touch on that as we get to the next questions. They're limited in their authority. They're limited in their power. But there are some authorities that have been shaved off for us. So, all right, let's close. Heavenly Father, we thank you again just for who you are. We thank you again just for this system of grace and the liberty that we do have in it.

We thank you that as we function in grace, we have unlimited blessings from you and it's unmerited. It's not what we do or how we do it, Lord. You use all these circumstances to draw us to you, to that intimate relationship with you, and that's what you desire. is that fellowship as we've seen in your word in John 17. You desire to have that relationship that Father, you and the Son have and to draw us into that same relationship and that love union.

And we thank you for that. We thank you that you haven't left us alone. You have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which convinces and convicts us of your word. And we thank you that you left us with your word to understand how we operate under grace. Father, we just thank you again for all the blessings you bestow upon us and just your sovereign and intimate care of each and every one of us. And Father, we just rest in those facts and what you have for us. And Father, we just thank you for all these things in Jesus Christ.