Good morning. Thank you, Mark, for leading us in worship and great songs to stir our hearts this morning. I first would like to begin by thanking the elders of Living Hope Church for allowing me this great and exciting opportunity to preach my first sermon before you all. Also, I need to thank so many of you who have helped carry me through by encouragement to pursue this undertaking of teaching and preaching. 

I have to admit, although I've been drawn to teaching since I became a believer, it continues to bring about strong emotions of trepidation, which I find, for the most part, to be healthy and necessary for the role, but certainly something that's going to take some personal growth within myself to be more comfortable with the weightiness of the responsibility that comes with teaching God's word. 

Since this is my first go at this, I've chosen a text that I have recently become very acquainted with through leading Bible studies here at the church once a month. My journey in that study has been far deeper than I could have ever imagined, and I hope those of you who have been a part of it can say the same. My goal today is to tie many weeks of those studies into one cohesive message to share with you all the impactful truths and lessons we've been gleaning from that study. 

Because today is a standalone message, I have to break our customary practice of going through a book verse by verse from beginning to end, which makes for a bit of a challenge in setting you all as the audience in a proper context. But rather than beginning by spending a lot of time setting the background and introduction to this letter, I'll do my best to implement and explain those details as we work through the verses in our text that I've chosen for today. 

If I could have you all open your Bibles and turn your attention on the words of our text this morning, I'll be reading from Colossians chapter 1 at verse 9 through 11. Colossians 1.9 says, "for this reason, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to his glorious power for all patience and longsuffering with joy." 

I have three points on your outline for today's message that I have given the title "Be Filled by the Knowledge of Him." First on your outline, we have filled with the knowledge of his will. Next, fully pleasing him. And third, joyfully enduring. 

In verse 9, we notice right away Paul is responding to some information that he received. And it's important that we find out what that information was. If you look back with me at a few verses in chapter 1 where Paul addresses those that he's writing to, in verse 2, it says, "to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colossae." 

It's clear from this that Paul is writing to a body of believers or church in Colossae. But what's intriguing to me is the descriptive words he uses as to distinguish or categorize the believers. Paul uses the word saints and faithful brethren. Without a better understanding of the state of this Colossian church, it leads to two common schools of thought, which I would argue both be incorrect. 

One school is the thought that would be that of the false religions within Christendom that holds to a form of hierarchical system among members, such as the Catholic priesthood. Then on the other hand, in most evangelical circles, that would correctly reject that hierarchical system, would just say that Paul is not making any sort of distinction. But rather, he's just further describing the believers of Colossae. 

But in considering the state of the Colossian church at this time, I see Paul essentially driving at two things. First, I see Paul encouraging all of them of the simplicity of being in Christ. He addresses all of them as saints. But rather than knocking down the weak, Paul holds up the faithful, acknowledging that he knows there are some who are struggling within this congregation, but yet still assures them, because of their faith in the gospel, they are saints indeed. 

Secondly, the apostle is asserting that this letter is beneficial for all of them, not just to those who are struggling in their faith from a wide variety of heretical influences coming upon them at this time. Paul is saying whether you're doing great and remaining steadfast, or if you're being shaken in your faith by all of these deceptive teachings going around, Paul says, everybody, pay attention to these things that I'm writing to you. 

Yet the interesting fact is Paul had never been to or personally met any of these believers in Colossae, which is why it says in verse nine of our text, "since the day we heard it," and as he will later state in the beginning of chapter two, "for I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many of you that have not seen my face in the flesh." 

So that brings rise to the question, how did this church come about, and how did Paul receive news of the state of affairs there? Let's look at the verses previous to our text to help us answer some of these questions. Beginning in verse three of chapter one, it reads, "we give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since the day we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints, because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth. As you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the spirit." 

From these verses, we learn that a man named Epaphras was the one who brought the gospel to their region and founded this local church in Colossae, where he remained there as a pastor. Based on a few instances in the Bible about Epaphras, it's widely concluded that it was most likely that Epaphras heard the gospel and was a student of Paul's during the two and a half year ministry he had in Ephesus, you can read about in Acts 19. Following Epaphras' conversion and training in the apostles' doctrine, Epaphras returned to his home region of Colossae and spread the gospel there. 

And what we just read tells us what kind of impact it had there. Paul also says of them for your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints. He also affirms that it was Epaphras that brought them the word of truth of the gospel and that knowing the grace of God in truth has caused them to bring forth fruit. Then from verse eight, we learn that it was Epaphras himself who delivered this news to Paul. 

Another thing that is important that we can gain from this is that although a fairly young church, they had been established and had been fruitful for several years. However, as they continued to grow as a church, they became a greater threat to the cultures and religions of that region. Due to the location of Colossae, there was a wide diversity of culture there, but the main heresies that were beginning to creep into the Colossian church were Jewish legalism and Gnosticism, which both essentially teach that you need something more than faith in Christ for justification and sanctification. 

Legalism adds rituals and works where Gnosticism says you need to have a higher knowledge through their more spiritual teachers and leaders. And so it was these issues that was having damaging effects on the believers there, which caused Epaphras to travel over 1,000 miles to seek Paul's advice while he was under house arrest in Rome. 

Now the first response we read Paul make to this news from Epaphras is he prays for them. In both verses three and nine, Paul states that since he has received this news, he has been continually praying and giving thanks to God for their faith and love in the spirit. In verse nine, Paul begins to describe what it is that he so desires for them in his prayers. Look back with me at verse nine. It says, "for this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." 

A major key to understanding this passage is to know what the Bible means when it uses the term filled. I would like to take a little time in giving some other examples of how the word filled is used in other parts of scripture. And what I want you to watch for is how the term has an effect that is followed by a reaction or result due to this filling of whatever it may be. 

Feel free to follow along in your Bible or just listen and read, but I'm going to move rather quickly through some longer passages to get to the point I'm driving at. Our first passage is in Luke chapter four at verse 16. So he, Jesus, came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah and when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, "the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." 

Then he closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him and he began to say to them, "today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." So all bore witness to him and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, "is this not Joseph's son?" He said to them, "you will surely say this proverb to me. Physician, heal yourself. Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your country." 

Then he said, "assuredly I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah when the heavens were shut up three years and six months and there was a great famine throughout all the land. But to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet, and none of them were cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." 

So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things were filled with wrath and rose up and thrust him out of the city, and they led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down over the cliff, then passing through the midst of them, he went his way. Here we see Jesus in his hometown, proclaiming to be the Messiah. And pointing out to a group of religious Jews that in several instances in the past, God had bestowed grace upon the Gentiles while bypassing Israel for their widespread unbelief. Which caused them to be filled with emotions of anger, which in result caused them to attempt killing Jesus by throwing him off a cliff. So there we see an example of filling having a negative effect. 

Now let's look at a passage that has a more positive effect in Acts 7 at the martyrdom of Stephen. Here we're going to see Stephen addressing another group of religious Jews, chastising them for rejecting Christ. Beginning in verse 51 of Acts 7. "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit, as your fathers did so to you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by direction of angels and have not kept it." 

When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 

Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears and ran at him with one accord, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 

Then he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he said this, he fell asleep. Here in verse 55 is where we see that term again, "he being full of the Holy Spirit," in which case caused Stephen to have a reaction of forgiveness toward the people who were stoning him to death and joy that his spirit was about to be received by Jesus. 

Hopefully now you're starting to see the pattern in which the term filled has a controlling effect on how a person reacts or behaves. I have one more passage that makes it very clear and apparent what Paul means when he uses the word filled. Ephesians chapter five, beginning in verse 15. "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Holy Spirit." 

Speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. Paul's illustration here is between the stark contrast of being drunk with wine and being filled with the Holy Spirit. This paints such a clear picture in my mind is how we should understand this term filled. 

I know we've all seen the effects of a person being filled with alcohol, and we know that the more that is consumed the more it takes over that person's thoughts and actions. And this is the same idea Paul is getting at. Being filled with the Spirit, be continuously letting it so fill you that you would be a useful vessel in which the Spirit could work through, producing fruits of righteousness in and through a believer's life. 

So now let's go back to our text and apply what we know about what it means to be filled, and what it is that Paul desires for them to be filled with. Verse 9 again, "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." 

So it is with the knowledge of God's will that Paul asks that these believers would be filled by, filled by, or controlled by. But what does he mean, the knowledge of God's will? My understanding, as well as my experience, is that we come to know God through the only book he ever wrote. He has so graciously preserved his will in his word for us, that we may know the plans, purposes, and character of him. 

There's an interesting note to make here about the Greek word Paul uses for knowledge. Typically we see the Greek word gnosis translated as knowledge in the New Testament. However, in this case, the word Paul uses is epignosis. The preposition epi amplifies its intensity so we could understand this as like a super knowledge. Epignosis was a term popularized by the teachings of Gnosticism, and their use of this word implied that this knowledge was one in which that could grasp and penetrate into an object. 

I find this to be highly valuable in understanding our passage. Paul is saying there's more to this knowledge than just some merely academic endeavor for the purposes of status game. He's telling them that it's in having a thorough knowledge of his will that they are going to gain wisdom and understanding in true spiritual matters. Paul is still building off those previous verses where he just reminded them that it was the word of the truth of the gospel that they believed, and in knowing the grace of God in truth, that they had love for all the saints and were bringing forth fruit, just as it had also been working throughout all the rest of the world. 

It's God's plan that through his word he might bring us into conformity with the likeness of Christ. In 1 Thessalonians 4.3, Paul writes, "the will of God is your sanctification." What God wants most for us while we are left in this world is to be set apart from this world, that we would be an effective witness and testimony for our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Turn with me to chapter 17 in the gospel of John at verse 9, where Jesus is praying for believers. John 17.9, Jesus says, "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me. For they are yours, and all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you gave me, I have kept, and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth." 

As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world, and for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth." We see here in this passage that believers are left in this world for the purpose of bringing glory to God, by trusting in his word and to do his will. And verse 17, "sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth," couldn't be any more clear that it is his written word to us that is his means to bring us into conformity with Christ, with the intent of setting us apart in this world. 

Which is why it is so important for us as believers to be fully dependent on God's strength through his word, through prayer, fellowship, worship, study, so that God would reign and have control over our lives. Paul will bring this idea up again in chapter 3 when he talks about letting the word of Christ dwell in you richly, meaning that we must yield to and allow the word of God to be comfortably at home with us, so that it would have an effective outward reaction to the inward reality of Christ living in every believer. 

The Bible is filled with this concept that the word is active and living in those who believe and obey it. In John 6, 63, Jesus said, "it is the spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life." And a few verses on down, I love so much after Jesus asked his disciples if his word offends them, and Peter answers, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." And listen to what 2 Timothy 3, 16 says, "all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 

Also in 1 Thessalonians 2, 13, we read, "for this reason, we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you welcomed it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which now pay attention here, which also effectively works in you who believe." 

This is why when we come together as a fellowship, and also I pray in our homes and personal lives, that the word of God is at the absolute center and forefront of everything. His word is his means for our growth in all things, that we might become more like him. Just as Peter wrote, "as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed that you have tasted that the Lord is gracious." 

Next, in our outline, I have fully pleasing him. Beginning at verse 10 of our text, it says, "that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." Here Paul gives his purpose in praying that they may be filled with the knowledge of God's will, and the reason being is that they might do what God has intended for them in the course of their lives. 

Ephesians 2.10 says, "for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." This teaches us that God has made us new creations in Christ for the purpose that he might use us to perform good works according to his will, and that we ought to walk in those works which he has arranged for us, meaning we must make a willful choice to know and to trust his will for our lives, so that we would walk in those works in a way that would be fully pleasing to him. 

We see Paul would have us to be fully pleasing to God in our conduct, and he knows that it is the filling of God's word that is going to cause them to walk in a God-pleasing manner. As believers, we should always be aware that the way we live out our lives has a major impact on how God uses us to bring souls to the saving knowledge of the truth. 

The word worthy in our text here means to be similar in value or of equal weight, giving the sense that how believers conduct themselves is of equal value to how Christ conducted himself in this world. Jesus walked perfectly and flawlessly in the Father's will, and he is our example of conduct to pattern ourselves after. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 says, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." And Ephesians 5.1 says, "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us." 

The reason that we give ourselves over to the will of God should be motivated by the same exact reason Christ gave himself over to the will of God, that men would be saved. Is that not the ultimate purpose and will of God for leaving us in this world? Turn with me to 1 Timothy, beginning in chapter 2. 

1 Timothy 2 verse 1. "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." 

This is such an astounding connection God makes with the way in which we conduct ourselves before lost men in this world. So that those lost men might see the transforming power of the gospel in our lives, convicting them of their sin and leading them to recognize their desperate need for a Savior. This is why back in verse 10 of our text it says being fruitful in every good work and increasing. 

This is the outcome of walking in an abiding relationship with Christ. When we submit ourselves to his will, we are going to see him producing fruit in our lives that leads others to Christ. And isn't that the heart desire of every Christian for his fellow man? We says of this verse that the way the grammar is structured in the Greek, the wording would be best translated as increasing by the knowledge of God, rather than how our English translations have it, increasing in the knowledge of God. 

Not that we shouldn't be increasing in the knowledge of God. Yes, scripture absolutely exhorts us to do that, and so do I. But particularly in this verse, that's not what it's referring to. We says the word increasing is directly linked to the word fruitful. So that means that the increasing Paul is speaking of in this context is not the increasing in the knowledge of God, which then points to the increasing or growth of the fruitfulness of the believer, which also is prevalently taught throughout scripture. 

First Thess 4.1 says, "Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more just as you received from us how you ought to walk and please God." First Corinthians 15.58 says, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." Philippians 1.9-11, "And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more in the knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Christ Jesus to the glory and praise of God." 

So we see that we as believers are to be fervently abounding in the work of the Lord. And again, if it's by the knowledge of God that causes this abounding, it's reiterating that the means God has for this to work out in our lives is by knowing his will. Now verse 11 brings us to the third point on our outline, joyfully enduring. 

Follow along with me at verse 11. "Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power for all patience and longsuffering with joy." Paul also uses the same type of language in Ephesians where we read nearly an identical prayer to the one we are looking at today in our study. There are some added details here that shed light on what he means by this strengthening. Read with me, if you will, beginning in chapter 3 at verse 14 in Ephesians. 

Ephesians 3, 14. "For this reason, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." 

Now to him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, amen. Now where does it says in the inner man? The word in is the Greek primary preposition eis, spelled E-I-S, which describes motion from one thing to or into an indicated point reached or entered. 

Both of these passages show that the strengthening was to take effect by means of power imparted or infused and this impartation of power takes place from the spirit of God to the inner man. Another thing that stands out to me in both of these passages is that Paul says it is God who supplies this strengthening to us and that it is according to his riches and glory, which we know means is limitless and infinite in scope and supply and effectiveness. He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think. 

Then get this, he says according to the power that works in us, this limitless power, the supply of power and strength God imparts to our inner man, meaning literally our spirit is strengthened by his spirit. It is God working in our inner man by his word and spirit that empowers us to be strengthened with all might. And contrary to what the Gnostics would have taught, this spiritual wisdom and strength is freely available to all believers and not only to a few who work their way up some kind of spiritual ladder. 

The next word we come to in our text in verse 11 is for. And here I want to look at what God intends this strengthening of spiritual power to be used for. Our text reads "for all patients and long suffering with joy." What a striking concept this is in our world, which looks to might and strength to get a leg up and bolster themselves above others for selfish gain. But God's strengthening is imparted to us for completely different purposes. 

And what we see in our text is that God strengthens us for enduring trials and tribulations with an attitude of rejoicing. The terms patience and long suffering are both submissive virtues, not easily acquainted with the lost man and Adam. The Greek word used for patience is hupomene and the idea is a continual hopeful endurance in placing oneself under difficult circumstances, which is clearly something all Christians are called to do. The same word is translated as endurance in Hebrews 12.1, which says, "therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." The rest of that chapter, as well as James 1, tells us that trials are a testing of our faith and that through those trials, patience is produced in us. 

The other term here, long suffering, literally means long tempered. Dealing along the lines of relationships with other people, God intends for us to bring glory in every situation, especially in relationships which others observe a Christian's behavior. There's no better example to ourselves than the long suffering God had to you and me, brothers and sisters, and he is still long suffering for those who have not yet believed. You cannot have patience and long suffering apart from grace. Grace is the essential element to both of these virtues. They both are manifestations of grace with the purpose of displaying the love of God and turning men to Christ. 

Turn with me to 1 Timothy 1 at verse 12, which makes this so clear. 1 Timothy 1, verse 12. "And I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man. But I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." 

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. However, for this reason, I obtained mercy that in me first, Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him for everlasting life. Also, Romans 2.4 says, "or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" 

Brothers and sisters, our work in the Lord is not in vain. God produces the fruit as we abide in the love of Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for us all to be brought back into a right relationship with God so that he could be the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Lastly, we see that being patient and longsuffering in trials is to be done joyfully. 

And this is where our message today comes back full circle. Our joy comes from knowing and being filled with God's will, which gives us a proper perspective and confident hope in our suffering. As Christians, a Christian's joy is built on the truth and promises of God and the hope he provides through faith in Christ. Regardless of our circumstances, we can always have joy in what God has done and isn’t doing in us. 

In closing, I would like you all to turn to one more passage in Romans, beginning in chapter five. Romans 5.1. "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulations produces perseverance and perseverance character, and character hope. Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." 

Dear friends, our hope is secure and sure and never to disappoint. Because our hope is in the living God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, he will not leave you, he will not forsake you. And because of these and the many other promises of God that are all yes, we rejoice always. 

Let's close in prayer. Father, thank you so much for this opportunity and the immense blessing that came through preparing for it. Also, thank you for all the gracious listeners that were able to be here today. I pray that this time was encouraging for everyone here and listening online, and that we might go out as doers of the word and not as hearers only. I ask that you would strengthen us to be always mindful of these things we learned today so that our joy would be full and we would be effective witnesses for your son, Jesus Christ. It's in his name we pray, amen.