What is a Man of God? Pastor Daniel Batarseh

I'm fully aware that usually we don't get into the Bible this late into the morning. But I'm also reminded of how long the church services were in the book of Acts. Does anybody have an idea how long the church services were in the book of Acts? I'll give you an idea. In one story, you had two, individuals who are a couple, and they decided to come to church one day, and and for some reason, they decided to come and and lie.

I don't recommend you do that. And so this couple comes in and they lie about a property that they sold, and amount the amount that they were gonna give. They they claimed they gave it all, and they actually kept part of it back. So they can show everybody how wonderful they were in their sacrificial service to God. And what happens?

Well, the husband first goes in and he dies. So think about this. He dies, and then, they have a funeral for him. And then it tells us in acts five, three hours pass on, and then the wife comes in. And then they ask her, is this true about how much you sold this for?

She goes, yeah. It is true. She lies. She dies, and they have another funeral. Matter of many hours, was like a church service in the book of Acts.

Now, I'm not going to keep you here for three hours, but I also want to take time to go through the word of God. And usually, when it comes to times like this of baptism service, you take advantage because there are new people here to preach the gospel. Matt Sladek took care of that. Alright? Or you come here and you explain, why do we do water baptism?

Why do we do this? Why do we not do it the traditional way? Why do we do it this way? But we're just gonna go to the scriptures and trust that God's gonna speak to us with what he has in mind for us this morning. So meet me in the book of first Timothy chapter six with two short verses.

And we do have to keep in mind that there is another service after this, so we'll have our eye on the clock, but we do not want to bypass what God has to say. Meet me in verse 11 of first Timothy chapter six. But as for you, oh man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.

Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Father, we ask in these short moments, help us understand what you're trying to say here. Give us an attentive mind, Lord. Let us not be squirmish in your presence, but restrain us to receive the bread of life that you've ordained for this morning. We believe you now in Jesus name.

Amen. In these short two verses, you arguably have one of the most honorable, gracious, thrilling titles that heaven can give a mere mortal. And what's so encouraging is that what was said here is not exclusive to Bible characters, it's not exclusive to preachers or full time ministers or for men alone for that matter. It's available to anybody who eagerly longs for it. And that title is tucked in here in the first few words of verse 11.

But as for you, oh man of God, oh man of God. People aspire to achieve many things in this life. They they work themselves to the bone in order to get to a certain occupation or to fulfill certain accomplishments. But all of that falls short to the trophy, to the testimony of being God's man or God's woman for this hour. And what's so encouraging here is that this is not for us to covet a title or to be known as somebody so that we can be praised for our spirituality.

For for Paul to mention this to Timothy, you, a man of God, implies this, that you can have such an effective testimony. That as people come into contact with you, they would they would discover something about the beauty and the worthiness of God. And I think that's something that every Christian should aspire to. That if you're gonna be a man of anything, if you're gonna be a woman of anything, it would be a man or woman of God. And I want you to see how this is true, that this title should inspire us.

It's something that has to do with your testimony. And there's a case study for this morning. It's the man Elisha. Look at this in second Kings. If you have your Bibles, I would encourage you to turn there.

Chapter four verse eight and nine. Elisha was a prophet in the Old Testament. A man of God. And if you study his life, you will notice that he's referred to as a man of God on many occasions. And one day Elisha, it says here in verse eight of chapter four of second Kings.

One day Elisha went to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. And she said to her husband, behold now I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. Isn't that encouraging? Elisha would pass through this area frequently, and one day this wealthy woman said, you have to come by.

I see you often. Please eat at my home whenever you pass by. And what we're told here is that she didn't immediately recognize him as a man of God. It was after frequent visits when he would come over, when he would conduct himself in her house, when he would sit at the table and have conversations, when when they would have those dialogues, over time, the King James would say, I perceive that this is a holy man of God. The more she got to know Elisha, the more she made an observation that this man is different.

See, we think if you're a man of God, that the moment you walk into a room, you radiate light, and you do miracles without even you wanting to do miracles, that people like this guy is a holy man of God. Even Elisha who performed miracles was not recognized as such until the woman got to know him. And here's the fear that we should have, and it's a holy fear, because unfortunately, you have many professing Christians that the more you get to know know them, the more you doubt that they're a man of God. The more you you question whether they really claim to follow Jesus as they say they do. And that's possible as well.

Because Paul said in first Corinthians three to Christians, by the way. You don't have to turn there, but listen to what he says to Christians. Verse one of chapter three of first Corinthians. But I brothers, so they're Christians. He called them brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.

I don't want that. There was something about the Corinthian Christians. They were believers. They were infants. They were brothers, but they were stunted in their spirituality to such a degree that their their light for Christ was dimmed, and none of us should settle for such a testimony.

Men of God, woman of God, and we should be grateful to go know that being a man of God or a woman of God has nothing to do with ability or popularity. And everything to do with at least three things that Paul pulls out here. Would you like to know how you can become a man of God? Would you like to know how you can become or known as a woman of God? Never mind the eyes of man, but in the eyes of God.

Well, let's look here in first Timothy chapter six verse 11. The first ingredient of a man of God, is that a man of God is known for what he rejects. A man of God is known for what he rejects. The first thing that Paul mentions in light of Timothy being such a man, is the instruction of what? Flee.

You, oh man of God, flee these things. Now to flee something implies that you are in the presence of something or someone very dangerous. You only run away from something that endangers you or is worthy of killing you. And you often flee from something that is also chasing you. And Paul says here, flee these things.

What things? Well, the things that he mentioned just before this verse. Verse nine and verse 10 tell us that they're the desires to be rich and the love of money. That's what he's telling this man of God to run away from, which is quite interesting. Isn't it?

Paul understands in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit of the danger of these lusts. Paul understands that when a man even has those desires, they can corrupt his testimony as a man or a woman of God. So he says, hey listen Timothy, whatever you do, run away. When the opportunity comes for you to bite into this temptation, flee. Flee it in your thoughts, flee it in your actions, flee it in your business deals, flee it in any opportunity to be somebody less than a man of God in your dealings with materialism.

And that's important because it tells us that a man or woman of God is someone who actively avoids the allurements of this world. They're continually aware, listen, and they protect the purity of their affections. They push away all temptation and anything that would taint their devotion and their pure standing before the eyes of God and the eyes of man. There's somebody that has a heavenly ambition and they want nothing to interfere with the zeal or the focus of that ambition. That's important because the word flee here is the present tense, continually flee.

Continually evade. Knowing that these things will come to you over and over again and it requires you to be aware of that and to strategize how you can remain free from the lust that corrupts the people that do not know Jesus Christ. So we're talking about Elisha. Right? This happened to Elisha.

Go back to second Kings. We're gonna go back and forth from first Timothy to second Kings. And look at chapter five of second Kings verse 15. Elisha was just used by God to perform a mighty miracle. Naaman, a Syrian comes into town.

He's a high ranking officer for the Syrian army. He is littered with leprosy. Nobody from his town can help him. Nobody from Syria can help him and word in the area is there's a prophet in Israel who can do something about it. So he comes, Elisha gives him the set of instructions, he goes and dips himself in the Jordan and he's healed and he is so moved.

Not just by the fact that he's healed, but that this is the true and living God, that he comes to Elisha and he wants to reward him. He wants to give him a gift. And we're told here in verse 15, then he, being Naaman, returned to the man of God. Man of God. Man of God.

This is a man of God. He and all his company and he came and stood before him and he said, behold, This is Naaman speaking. I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel, so except now a present from your servant. And look how Elisha reacts. Verse 16, but he said, as the Lord lives before whom I stand, I will receive none.

And he urged him to take it, but he refused. I'm not taking a penny from you, Naaman. I'm not gonna receive a thing from you, Naaman. Now here is where we have to be very balanced in our Bible study. We could take that interpret and saying a true man of God, who is in ministry specifically, will never receive a reward, will never receive payment for a service to God.

You can make that case, I'm sure. But it doesn't line up with the rest of scripture. So then it begs the question, why is this prophet choosing not to receive something when just one chapter before the Shunammite woman gave him a room to stay and would feed him till his belly would explode? Who would lavish blessings upon him? Why is he doing this?

And I think the answer is when you scroll down. Elisha had another servant named Gehazi. And when Gehazi saw his master, his boss not taking this, He thought to himself how foolish. And so when Naaman goes down the road, Gehazi chases after him and he says, yeah, you know, I'm I'm sorry, but we actually do need some stuff and took what Elisha says don't take. And when he comes back, the prophet I mean, you're talking about a guy that can receive instruction and insight without even have to be there.

He receives the insight from the Lord that Gehazi went with a greedy heart to receive something that he shouldn't have taken. And look what Elisha says to him in verse 26. But he said to him, did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? He's like, I was there. You thought I wasn't there.

I was in my living room, but my heart was with you. And I'm sure Gehazi turned pale white in this moment. And then look what Elisha says, was it a time? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants? In other words, he's like, I know that what you had in your mind was to take the money from him and then buy all these things.

But is it a time for that? It was the wrong time. Why was it the wrong time? Because Elisha knew something about the testimony of this moment. Naaman was not an Israelite.

Naaman never knew the God of Israel. And here for the first time, a pagan is being introduced to the power and grace of God and Elisha wanted to make sure that he maintains the purity of this moment by not thinking that Naaman had to pay for this miracle. He didn't want this man who just got introduced to the true and living God, that God has a price tag to his mercy. And so he could take it, but he understood the timing. He understood the situation.

He was discerned and so he says, no. You're not gonna take anything or give anything rather to me. You go on your way and you relish in the mercy of God over your life. But Gehazi didn't see what Elisha saw because what Elisha was free from, Gehazi was possessed with. A covetous spirit.

And here's what you have to understand. You want to be a man of God. I'm not talking about a Christian that goes to church. You want to be a man of God, a woman of God, then you are continually concerned about the testimony of God. Even at the expense of your comfort, even at the expense of your personal advancement, the the chief desire of your heart is that God would be seen the way he's supposed to be seen, that your ways would not interfere with how people perceive him.

You think to yourself, how will people see God through my actions, through my words, through my responses, through my reactions? But unfortunately, Elisha, rather Gehazi was motivated by what the world is motivated by. Isn't that the same thing what Paul says? Don't be caught up with the desires of this world, the riches, and the love of money. And you have a picture of it right here.

A man of God is known for what he rejects, what he avoids, what he pushes back. But secondly, a man of God is known for what he not just rejects, but what he pursues. What does he say here? But as for you, oh man of God, flee these things and then what does he say? Pursue.

Pursue. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. So here's the understanding that there's an alternative to the love of riches and money. A man of God is known for what he has ambition toward. What is his supreme delight in life?

He's a different set of desires. He he lives by different motivation. There's something else that stirs him and motivates him for his long term plans and his daily decisions. And how does somebody know if they're pursuing these things? Because we can all if I ask, who here pursues these things?

Oh, I do. I do. I pursue But it can be measured. It can be truly measured. I I looked at this verse last night and said, Lord, how do I know if I'm pursuing these things?

These are immaterial. These are substances of the soul. These are invisible things. So how do I know how to pursue money. I know how to pursue riches, but how do I pursue these things?

Two ways. It's pursued in the place of prayer, firstly. It's pursued in the place of prayer. Many people pray around the world. Many religions pray.

But it's not about whether you pray or not, it's what you pray for, that reveals a lot about where our hearts are at. Prayer for many people is a superstitious act. Prayer for many people is just something that they do ritually. But the the man of God prays, and he prays in a particular way. Prayer for the man or woman of God is greater than just unburdening your soul from anxieties and fears, though it has that place and we have that freedom.

No. Prayer serve something greater. Prayer is the potter wheel that a man or woman of God places himself on, so that God can do his work in that man, and mold that man, and melt that man. Prayer is the revelation of a man of God who is aware that apart from the grace and power and strength of God, I cannot be who God calls me to be. Prayer is the place where you understand that apart from it, you will not only become a failure in the area of a man of God, but you will become like what Gehazi could become.

And all these creeping ugly things can settle in, but prayer is the great shield that keeps you in the lane of the will of God. And so because of this, the man of God, the woman of God has a revelation. I must set a time part in my day to seek him. And if not that, then I will take advantage of windows of time throughout my day as I drive, as I work sometimes to communicate with God and say what? God make me like Jesus.

Help me be righteous. Help me be godly. Fill me with your love. See, the the chief concern of a person, of a Christian who really says, I wanna know be known as a man of God is that they wanna be like God. And they know that they don't have the ability, they don't have the knowledge, they don't have the strength to arrive even to the foothold of that possibility.

So they come before the Lord. Lord, please. I wanna be like Jesus in my marriage. I wanna be like Jesus toward my children. I wanna be like Jesus toward my parents.

I wanna be like Jesus in my workplace, but if you don't help me, I will fall flat on my face. These things are pursued in the place of prayer, but they are also pursued secondly in the place of practical service when the opportunity arises. You know what's amazing about these things that you're supposed to pursue and I'm supposed to pursue as a man or woman of God? None of them have to do with how many souls you've saved. That's how we esteem a man of God.

Right? Look how how many people he preaches to and look at the songs that he has written has nothing to do with that. Doesn't matter how many miracles God allows you to do through your hands. It has nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with practical deeds and the attitude in which they are performed in.

And when we think about Elisha again, we realize that he's called a man of God. But let me ask you, for those who know their Bibles and you know the story of Elisha, why would you say that he's a man of God? And honestly, we might say because he's a miracle worker. Elisha is known as the prophet of miracles. His prophetic precision, his supernatural abilities, the things that he has done for the nation, Surely, he's a man of God.

And I'm sure we can argue that him being a prophet has something to do with the title of him being a man of God, but I argue that it's not about what he did, but it's about the substance of his character that made him a true man of God. How? Now listen to this. This is how people knew Elisha. You wanna hear it?

Second Kings three eleven. When they were wondering, the king was wondering, is there a prophet in the land that we can seek guidance from? And I want you to see how they define Elisha. Second Kings three eleven, And Jehoshaphat the king said, Is there no prophet of the Lord here through whom we may inquire of the Lord? Then one of the king of Israel's servants answered.

Look how they answered. Elisha the son of Shaphat is here who poured water on the hands of Elijah. You know what's interesting? We don't have time to go there. I wish we did.

If you just read a few verses back, Elisha already performed two miracles with water before this moment. The first miracle was when he split the Jordan River with the cloak of Elijah. And the second miracle with water was what there was a town that had polluted springs, and Elijah with his word commanded by an act of faith that the water was healed. And then you come to this incident, and the people recognize Elisha for one main thing early in his ministry. He poured water on the hands of Elijah.

What does that mean? They knew him as a servant. They knew him as a servant, a practical servant. They knew him as the man that followed Elijah around to assist him to be the mouthpiece of God for his generation. And they knew that Elisha was one who washed the hands of Elijah.

Would you say that's a man of God? Would you say that's a woman of God? No. The one who can preach eloquently and powerfully moves the emotions of men. No, the the the one who travels and is sought after in conferences and has written many books and is in the charts of the worship music list.

Really? Here's a man of God. He cleaned the hands of another man. Doesn't that encourage you? Doesn't that encourage you that you can walk in that place, in that status before heaven?

And all you have to do is be a servant. Be somebody that helps in the most practical ways. Really, honestly, we look at this and we think, that's that's not what I thought a man of God is. But that's how the Bible describes a man of God. And I want to tell you today that a janitor could be more of a man of God, than a sought after conference speaker that travels the world.

Why? Because it's what Paul mentions here. It has nothing to do with popularity or power, and everything to do with Christ being melted in your character and your attitude. A man of God is known for what he pursues, and you don't need a platform to pursue it. Elijah in that moment, Elisha rather only had one opportunity in that season and it was to serve one person, whether people saw him or not.

But people did see him. That's the encouraging part. We saw him. He pours water on the hands of Elijah. You have no reason not to feel ambitious to say, Lord, make me a man of God.

Make me a woman of God. And watch what he'll do. He might put a microphone in your hand or he might give you soap and a rag. Lastly, a man of God is not just known for what he rejects, a man of God is not just known for what he pursues, but a man of God is known for what he fights for. Verse 12 of first Timothy six, fight the good fight of the faith.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Remember the direct context here is a young pastor who is inevitably going to face challenges as a minister, yes, but also as a child of God. And the question is, what does it mean to fight the good fight of faith? And I think the way you answer that is to see how Paul used that language for his own life. You know it.

Right? We quote it at funerals all the time, for Christians at least. In second Timothy four seven, just listen to these words. Paul says, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race.

I have kept the faith. What does it mean to fight the good fight of faith? It means that you do everything by the grace of God to make sure that you keep your testimony until the end. For us to finish well, I want to just tell you honestly, it's not going to be a turbulent free glide into glory. No, you and I are gonna fight.

And the original word for fight here in the Greek is the word that we use for agony, to agonize. Now think about what that implies. That implies that there is a battle the moment that you confess Jesus Christ as Lord. And the fight that you're gonna have to fight is a struggle against the desires and the impulses of your flesh. Every single day, your flesh wants you not to be a man of God.

Your flesh wants you to be lazy, to be distracted, to be littered and corrupted with sin. There will be a struggle against the flesh. It involves weathering the storms of trials and temptations that are outside of your control. It includes you warring against an invisible enemy, knowing that he cannot take your salvation, but he can make you not a man of God or a woman of God. Just one of those Corinthian Christians that are fleshly and not spiritual.

That's the most that he can do, but it has great impact on the gospel in our age. And it also involves, you ready for this? A faithfulness to the truth of God's word regardless of the oppositions that are on the horizon. And I argue this in closing, that a major focus of the Christians fight in America will have to do with defending biblical truth. It's coming.

It's already here actually. We just haven't seen it on our front step yet, but it's coming. And here's my instruction to you, man of God, woman of God, that testimony over your life will be tested in just a few short years based on how you will fight for truth. The threats, the fines, the arrests, the blogs, the smearing, the stripping of rights, very likely are to be a reality in the American church. And the church in America will then see who are true men and women of God.

Mark my words. And in fact, God forbid, but it would not surprise that those that we thought would be men and women of God might disappoint us. And those that we never expected to be men and women of God will surprise us. And in order for us to ensure that we will be able to fight this fight and bear the testimony, the badge of a man or a woman of God, Hear me very carefully. Prepare now and ask God to be fearless.

You and I cannot fight the fight that is about to come if you have fear in your heart. Man of God, I wanna ask you a question. And those who are here in the Old Testament Bible study on Friday night should know this. When is the first mention of the phrase man of God in our bibles? You can only answer if you're super confident in the answer.

When is the I'm talking about the first mention of the phrase, man of God. There is there is a mention early in the scriptures, and I'll just give it to you for the sake of time. But I'm not gonna tell you, you have to turn there. Deuteronomy 33 verse one is the first mention of the phrase, man of God. And safely, that tells us something about what a man of God means.

It's almost like the law of first mention. The fact that it's mentioned first in this setting tells us a great deal and invites us to investigate what it truly means to be a man of God. This is what it says, this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God. The first time this phrase is attributed to an individual human is in this verse, which begs the question, doesn't it? Why Moses?

Why is he the first person with this title, and what about his life that gave him the right to be ascribed with such a trophy? And I think the answer is actually found in the New Testament, and I assure you from here we will finish. In Hebrews 11, I want you to see something. And as you hear it, you're gonna say, wow, how supernatural is the consistency of the word of God. In Hebrews eleven twenty four down, we get an inside look into this man of God and what made him a man of God.

And this is what the scriptures tell us. Now listen to this, verse 24 of Hebrews 11, By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Sounds very familiar. It sounds like what Paul says when he says, flee these things. Flee the things that the world treasures and prizes.

Flee the things that consume a man where they don't see the value of eternal treasures. Flee these things. So the first thing that we understand about Moses is that he does what Paul tells Timothy. He evades. He ignores.

He turns his eyes away from the glittering scenes of the palace, and the prestige power, and the political position of being a man of Egypt. A man under Pharaoh. And he said, I'm not doing it. It says he refused, meaning that he had the invitation, but Moses had something in his heart. You read carefully, Moses knew that he had a call to be a deliverer for the nation of Israel.

And when he when he waited on the balance, he realized that that call outweighed whatever Egypt could could offer. And so he fled. He fled these things. But look what happens next in verse 26. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

You know what that sounds like? Pursue. Pursue. Well, Paul told Timothy, run after these things. Here's your alternative.

And Moses saw the reward and the cause of Christ and Christ likeness far greater than all the prizes and all the tricks and all the talents of Egypt. Even to the point that he was willing to suffer. Even to the point where he was willing to be rejected and hated and hunted down like an animal. Which brings us to the next point, verse 27. By faith, he left Egypt not being afraid.

Not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Fight the good fight of the faith. What happened? He left Egypt. He fled these desires of the world.

He pursued Christ likeness and the cause of Christ. And what happened? You think you're gonna be a man of God without Satan trying to chase after you. Satan is not equal to God by the way. He does not possess omnipotence or omniscience.

He's limited with his resources. He's limited with his abilities. And so we cannot think for a moment that Satan can target all Christians in the same way with the same strength and the same resistance. No. He chooses who he fights against.

And I'll tell you who he fights against the most, the man of God. The woman of God. Not Corinthian like Christians that are fleshly. He's like, you can't even deal with yourself. Well, you don't need me to help you with it.

But a man of God. A woman of God. And I'll tell you this, that the secret to Moses being the man of God was that he was fearless. He was fearless in his obedience to the Lord, no matter what it cost him. And when he left Egypt with that tribe of people, Pharaoh snapped and he said, how did we let this happen?

And he gathered his best chariots and they chased them down. And you don't see Moses knocking his knees and saying, I guess this is as far as God took us and he surrendered. Moses cried out to God and God performed a miracle. And I wanna tell you this, we're reading a lot of things, news posts, blogs, laws being changed. It is not the time to fear.

This is the opportunity to shine as men and women of God more than ever. And so I call believers today to fight the good fight of the faith. And the fight will be you knowing this word, understanding why you believe this word, and proclaiming this word. And I wanna end I'm sorry, maybe I lied. In second Timothy, we're still there.

I wanna end in light of the baptisms today, to those who just got baptized. Fight the good fight of the faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. Listen, go those who were just baptized today, and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. You did that today. And I wanna tell you something, it's not gonna be roses and peaches and cream.

You just took up arms and you're about to fight. Perhaps you leaving this place, the fight is gonna come from your family members that think you joined a cult. Cult? We're just going by the book. Perhaps you're gonna face some opposition in your own mind with lies from Satan himself.

And if not those things, then as a Christian, you were bold today, you were strong today, you were filled with joy today, but make sure that those things are true when protests come, and you sit in your classroom and your faith is mocked, and when your job is at risk because you stand for the love of the church, and you know that you have to come to the house of God no matter what people say, get ready to fight. I'm telling you a great sifting is coming to the American church because I argue that the American church has not really known what it means to fight the good fight of the faith. Maybe in your flesh, maybe with your own temptation shirt, but I'm talking about real life outside opposition where demonic forces take advantage of people who are not saved as weapons against you and me. No time to fear. It's time to shine.

And so I call all of us in this place to the invitation of being men and women of God. It's known by what you reject. It's recognized by what you pursue, and it will be ultimately seen and testified for what you fight for. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this time together, and we pray and we ask that you would make us men and women of God.

We don't wanna just be church goers, Lord. We don't wanna just be Christian by name. We wanna be like Elisha, that as people get to know us more, whether we're businessmen, stay at home moms, students. The testimony would be, I perceive that this is a holy man. I perceive that this is a holy woman of God, and that you would receive all the glory for that.

And that people through our lives would see that you are worthy of being surrendered to completely. And so Lord, in this place, help us do that as Christians. And Father, in this place, for those who are not Christians, they are not saved, they're not truly born again, help them realize that Christianity is not about how you do things, of God ultimately comes down to surrender and to draw and let them make you a man of God. And for those who do not know you to understand that Christ loves them, that he paid for their sins, that they can be forgiven, and they can be a child of God in this very moment, the moment they repent and believe. We love you and we honor you with everything within us, oh God, and we worship you now.

In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.