0:12 Let us turn our bibles to the book of Acts chapter 11. Acts 11, I will be reading from verse 19 to verse 24. Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, that is Lebanon, and Cyprus and Antioch speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, that is Libya, who on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to to the Lord.
1:12 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with a steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a great many people were added to the Lord. This is a two part message about this man called Barnabas. This is the second time we read of this man in the book of Acts. The first time, we read about him very briefly in chapter four, very few months after Pentecost.
2:06 Many have suspected that Barnabas was one of the 70 disciples Jesus sent in Luke chapter 10. He sent 72 by two, to every city he was going or about to visit. Of course, we don't know that, but many have suspected that. We know in Acts chapter two, the Holy Spirit came, the church was founded, 3,000 people believed in Christ, all were Jews. What happened to these Jews after the end of the feast?
2:50 Remember those would have come from all regions of the Roman Empire, would have come to Jerusalem to the feast of weeks, or the feast of Pentecost. After the feast they would have gone back to their countries. Had they shared the gospel there? They might have. How much was their influence?
3:10 We do not really know. But we know right now the gospel have reached Antioch. When did this happen? It happened almost twelve years after Pentecost. Twelve years.
3:28 The first twelve years, the gospel was presented to Jews only, except to Cornelius and his household. When the Lord summoned Peter there to Caesarea to preach the gospel to him, he received the gospel and the door was open to the Gentiles. But three to five years later, the gospel now reached Antioch. And how did it reach Antioch? It threw a few people that we don't know about.
4:01 And why did he go there? You know why did he go there? In Acts chapter eight tells us that, the beginning of the chapter, it says, there was a great persecution on the church, and all the disciples were scattered to Judea and Samaria, the two closest regions to Jerusalem except the apostles. They should have gone there long time ago. Jesus commanded them to do just that before his ascension.
4:37 You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. But it took a great persecution. It took great persecution for the church to fulfill her mission. And believe me, God still uses the same method today to accomplish his purposes. But suddenly in chapter nine, we are introduced to Saul of Tarsus who makes a request from the high priests to go to Damascus, more than 200 miles away from Jerusalem to arrest the followers of the way or the Christians.
5:33 How did these people get there? We are not told, but we can conclude that some of those who got saved during Pentecost went back to their homeland and they shared the gospel there. And maybe very few believers came to know the Lord. But more so after this great persecution that happened during Stephen's time. People went to Judea, went to Samaria, but then later went farther than that, went to east, west, north, and south, and began preaching to the gospel, but first to Jews only.
6:13 But then later, when a door was opened to the Gentiles, now they had the courage to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. And we see here those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, to Lebanon, to Cyprus, to all over. And when they came to Antioch, they dared to share the gospel not to the Jews only, but to the gentiles too. Antioch, that is in modern day Turkey, that's more than 500 miles from Jerusalem. That might sound short for us, but in those days, 500 miles on foot, that's a long way.
6:58 They went to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the good news of this great revival in Antioch has reached the church in Jerusalem. No doubt in my mind, they receive it with much joy and excitement, but not without some worries and some doubt. They had many unanswered questions. Who are those who founded this church?
7:28 We did not send any of our apostles there. We didn't send anyone. What are they teaching? Are they qualified? What, Jews and Gentiles worshiping the Lord together?
7:40 What about the law? What they are doing? Many Christians, I'm sure, arose in the church in Jerusalem. They realized at the same time there is a great need to help this young church, this emerging church, to take this responsibility of teaching, to pastor, to care for, to teach these young believers. And whom did they think about?
8:10 No one but Barnabas. They chose Barnabas. You see, Barnabas was a very valuable believer for the church in Jerusalem. He was a very unique man. He was incredibly gifted.
8:30 We read of him about thirst in chapter four of the book of Acts. He was a Jewish man. His name was Yosef or Joseph, and the apostles called him son of encouragement, son of exhortation, son of consolation. He had a very special gift, gift of encouragement. He was able to inspire others, to lift up others, to edify, to to comfort, to support, to provide all the needed things for believers, especially young believers.
9:10 I believe Barnabas had all the qualifications needed to be one of the seven chosen in Acts chapter six. But the church chose not to choose him. Why? Because I believe they saw there is a greater ministry for him than to serve tables. In chapter six, we know in the book of Acts there arose some dispute in the church, some complaint.
9:42 There was the first challenge in the early church. The Hellenist Jews, those Greek Jews complained that their widows were ignored, were neglected in the daily distribution. When the apostles heard of this complaint, they didn't just shove this complaint under the carpet. No, they took it very seriously. It was a legitimate complaint.
10:07 They asked the congregation to choose seven men full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom and of good reputation, and they will appoint me for this appoint him for this ministry, but we do not see Barnabas as one of them. And I suspect the reason we find is in this chapter, in the verses we just read. You don't want this man to be occupied in serving tables when he can serve in bigger ministry, in larger ministry, where his gifts are. In Jerusalem, in those days, there were many young believers. Right?
10:55 Seems to be that everyone was a young believer. In chapter four, we read the number of believers reached already 5,000 men. Chapter two, three thousand. Chapter four, we have 5,000 men. Then we read of multitudes coming to the Lord.
11:16 So So I believe when we come to chapter six or seven, we have more than 20,000, the number of the church in Jerusalem. And how many apostles we have? 12 apostles in charge of how many of two twenty thousand believers. So the ministry of Barnabas was very much needed then and there. He was a man who cared for people more than for himself, which was evident in his life.
11:48 Again, in chapter four, we read of him selling his land. We see many believers then, they were selling this land and giving the proceeds to the apostles to distribute to all those who are in need. And the Holy Spirit singles out one man, Barnabas. Single out one man by name, Barnabas. And it says these things in Acts four thirty six and thirty seven.
12:23 Thus, Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it on the apostle's feet. Why is that? Clearly there is something so special about this man, his character, his love for the people. He was a leader servant. He was a generous man who cared for people more than things.
13:06 Oh, how selfish. How selfish the culture of today is. The selfish spirit is dominating our culture today. Barnabas' mind was on things above, not on things on earth. He knew that only what he does for Christ will remain.
13:34 Everything else will perish. He believed the word of his Lord and master in Matthew nineteen twenty nine when he said, and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children, or lands for my name's sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. He believed those words and he acted upon those words. I believe he might have been there when Jesus even spoke these words. He might have seen Jesus caring for people individually.
14:24 Yes. He just had time for the individual. We see Barnabas doing the same again and again. It is shame how many a pastor today, when they become famous, when they become big, large ministry, no longer care for the individuals, no longer care even for the congregation. They surround themselves with a few trusted friends.
14:58 They are the big shots. They do not associate with the common people. Jesus was not like that. Jesus had time for the individual. Barnabas learned from his lord and master.
15:13 He had time for the individual. May God give us wisdom and grace to take care of the individual, to pay attention to the individual like our Lord did. Barnabas did not take the words of Christ lightly. He imitated he imitated his Lord and his savior. He sold his land, gave it for distribution.
15:44 For one reason, his love for the people, his focus on alternate things, not on earthly things. In contrast in contrast, in chapter five, we see a couple by the name of Hananiah and Sapphira who decide to sell also their land and to give some of the proceeds for distribution among the saints, pretending that this is the whole sum, the total surprise. They desperately wanted the reputation of Barnabas, but did not possess the heart of Barnabas. They desired the fame of Barnabas but didn't have the character of Barnabas. They sought acknowledgment by others to be loved by the people, but they didn't love the people like Barnabas did.
16:45 They wanted to be perceived that they cared for the Christian community and about God's things in order to receive honor from men. This is was not the character of Barnabas. For this reason, we can see their sad ending. Many many do things in order for others to see them, in order to be exalted by men. Barnabas wasn't like that.
17:22 Barnabas has a different motive. It was never an earthly motive. It was God's glory. He was heavenly focused. God will not just just will not judge only our actions.
17:42 He will judge our motives, the motive behind everything we do. Is it for self glory or it is for God's glory? In first Corinthians four:five, you don't have to open there. Paul writes, therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
18:27 He will disclose the purposes of the heart, your inner thinking, my inner motives. Three years after his conversion, young Saul, who became later known to us as Paul and by the way, there was no change in names. Saul remained Saul, and he also remained Paul. God did not change his name. He was Saul to the Jews, and he was Paul to the Gentiles, by the way.
19:03 So after three years of his conversion, young Saul, and I will use his his name, I'll turn this sometime, Paul, sometime, Saul, he went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with the church there. What kind of reception did Paul receive in Jerusalem? We read, about that in Acts chapter nine verses twenty six and twenty seven, if you open there, please. Now when he had come to Jerusalem, that is Paul, he attempted to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.
20:17 The believers in Jerusalem feared Paul. They could not believe he's a genuine believer. Now imagine, imagine Saul in a large city. His old friends are all gone right now. They became his enemies.
20:38 He came trying to find a church. He came trying to find a community of believers to fellowship with, to break bread with, to be welcome, to have someone take him under their wings, to revive his soul, to support him, but everyone looked at him in suspicion. Everyone looked at Paul's past as the enemy and persecutor of the church. They did not believe him. They didn't believe he was a new a true convert.
21:16 I can't imagine how young Saul felt then. I can't imagine the disappointment of this young believer. No one believed him. Everyone is doubting his faith. Everyone questioning if he's a believer or not.
21:35 Everyone is looking at his past. Do we keep looking sometime at someone's past? At someone's sins, at someone's failures like those believers did to Paul. Oh, he can't change. He can't change.
21:57 I know him better than that. I know his motives. Listen. With some individuals, we have to be very careful and cautious, always wise and discerning, but let us not judge individuals based solely on their past before they come to know Christ. Let us not reject Rahab because of her past.
22:32 Let us not reject Ruth because of her background, because we don't know what will become of Rahab or of Ruth. Let us look past their past to their new life, new self in Christ. If God did it to us, he can do it to others too. Now when all doubted Paul, Barnabas came and revived Saul's spirit. Barnabas saw what others failed to see.
23:20 He saw a genuine believer. He saw a vessel of honor for the service of the master. He was able to detect. He was able to discern that Saul was a truly man of God. He believed him and he believed his story.
23:37 Barnabas was not gullible. Barnabas was not naive. I'm I'm not saying we should believe everyone and everything we hear. Absolutely not. We must be careful, very careful not to believe everyone and everything we hear.
23:57 Does that matter how sincere they may look or sound? It's of very extreme importance. We must always use spiritual discernment. Paul tells us in one Corinthians two fifteen, the spiritual man judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. Christ has taught us to be simple as doves, but shrewd as serpents.
24:34 I see this in large lacking in the church today, big time. Big time. Listen to what Proverbs fourteen fifteen tells us. Tell us the simple, and here a simple means the gullible, the naive, the foolish. The simple believe everything.
25:02 The gullible believe everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps. Listen to the words of the Apostle John, in first John four one. He tells us, beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. And we have many helpers. Many helpers trying to make friends.
25:47 I am one of you. We share the same faith using Christian vocabulary. It begins usually with the so called Christian experience. God told him, quoting some scripture, maybe affirming you, finding more and more about you, finding your weakness, persuading you to trust him, to believe him. You see, speaking a Christian language does not make a person a Christian.
26:24 Attending a church does not make you a member of the body of Christ. Paul writes very harsh words all of us submit with to the Galatians in Galatians three one, when he says, oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? Who has tricked you? You see? Christian can be tricked.
26:49 Christian can be tricked to believe and trust imposters and believe false teaching. It's happening all the time. Who has tricked you? Don't be tricked by false teachers and false teaching. Test every spirit.
27:08 Don't be naive and foolish and simple in that sense. Use the scripture as your guide in everything. We need the spirit of discernment. And as we get closer to God, closer in fellowship with him, studying his word daily, getting getting acquainted with it, walking really in the spirit. And does not hurt, I believe, to listen to R.
27:41 C. Sproul or John MacArthur or Vody Beckham. Does not hurt. We become more and more able to discern and judge in all matters. Barnabas had the spirit of discernment.
28:00 He saw things others did not see. He was able to discern when he saw Paul. He is a genuine believer. You don't need to treat this man, he's real. He's real.
28:13 I'm not surprised the Bible calls him that he was man full of the Holy Spirit. Clearly, he was in fellowship with God. He was full of the Holy Spirit, listening to the voice of the shepherd on daily basis and walking in his ways and in his truth. What he did, he took Paul and introduced him to the apostles and told him of his conversion story and of his zeal for the Lord. Barnabas was an initiator.
28:52 Barnabas had time for the individual. He was a goal oriented man. Listen, he not just believed Paul, he saw what great potential this man has for the kingdom of God. He brought him directly to the apostles. You see, one thing is to invite him for dinner.
29:13 It's good. One thing to invite him for bible study, it's great, but he took them directly, he took them directly to where? To the apostles, to the top. Here a man you must meet. Here a man you must listen to.
29:29 He's a great potential for the kingdom of God. He went directly to the apostles. He was an initiator. He was discerning. He was doing things, man of action for the kingdom of God.
29:45 Do you know what happened after that right away? Everything changed. Suddenly, everything changed. Everyone is trusting Paul. He is in and out with the disciples declaring the truth of the gospel, both to Hebrews and Greeks.
30:01 Listen, read verse 28. Acts nine twenty eight. So, he went in and out among them in Jerusalem, preaching boldly the name of the Lord, and he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him. Oh, how much? Oh, how much this former persecutor of the church wanted to glorify Christ where he dishonored him most in Jerusalem?
30:39 And he was now able to do it because of Barnabas because of Barnabas. Now Paul's spirit now, I believe, was lifted up. His soul was revived. His heart was set on fire for God, all because of the encouragement and the help of one man. His name was Barnabas.
31:06 Do you see the effect of one man on people's life? When we affirm them, when we encourage them, when we love them, when we show interest in them? The church saw what gift Barnabas has. He was an encourager. Barnabas obeyed the call.
31:40 You want to send him to Antioch? He obeyed the call, and he left his beloved city for the harder task, for the bigger responsibility. Whatever it takes to help this young emerging church, five hundreds miles away from his friends and family. Now look at verse 23. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad.
32:14 He saw the grace of God. What that really means? He saw the grace of God. How did he see it? He saw the grace of God in the life of the believers.
32:38 He did he he saw the grace of God in what God has done in the Antioch church. The former pagans are worshiping the true God. Jews and Gentiles worshiping God together. Jews look at the Gentile as animals. Gentiles did not respect the Jew, did not respect the Jews.
33:00 They are worshiping God together. He saw the fruit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the church. He saw the grace of God and he was glad. He rejoiced. Apostle John in his third epistle one four, he writes, he says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walking in the truth.
33:36 Paul writes of his joy, the letter of joy, the epistle of joy, the Philippians two one to four. Let me read it to you. So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Let let let each of you look not only do his own interest, but also to the interest of others.
34:32 Now this is the grace of God. This is the grace of God. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. You know how much how much joy I have when I come to church, when I see your love for God, when I see your love for his truth, when I come and I see you, each one of you having their bibles in hand, Sometime I see John Owen and Jonathan Edwards books here. People underlining verses that give me joy when I hear worship, when I hear your prayers, when I see you fellowshipping here even until late in the day.
35:19 That gives me joy. This is the grace of God. This is the work of the Holy Spirit that I see among us, and I give glory to God for that. Barnabas saw that in the church of Antioch, and he was glad. He rejoiced in the work of the Holy Spirit, in the work of the grace of God in the life of those believers.
35:45 What did he do? He exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with a steadfast purpose. He exhorted him. He's an exhorter. Right?
35:58 He's an encourager. He exhorted him. He encouraged him all. New believers and those who have been in the faith for a long time. He urged him to remain faithful to the Lord with a steadfast purpose.
36:16 You see, what new believers need most is encouragement through solid teaching. What old believers need most is encouragement through solid teaching. Barnabas exhorted him all. We looked at Paul last Sunday, how the great apostle needed to be encouraged. You see him open with friends, with Barnabas, Titus, Silas, Luke, Priscilla, Aquila, Onesiphorus, then later John Mark.
37:00 He encouraged them and he was encouraged by them. God regularly strengthen us through the presence and the ministry of others. Listen to the word of Paul in second Corinthians seven verses five to six. Paul writes of this experience saying for even when we came in Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn, fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.
37:48 Just being imprisoned there. Just being imprisoned there with Paul encouraged him, comforted him. That's why the scripture command us not to neglect, to meet together as the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as we see the day draws near. We need it more and more. With all the evil we have in this world, we need more and more to encourage each other, as we fellowship with each other.
38:26 We need these kinds of friends that Paul had. We the brother and sisters like the friends of Paul, because we are weak, we need people to encourage us, because sin is real, because Satan does not sleep, he will intensify his attacks on us, because the truth of the gospel must reach the fourth corners of the earth. We must stick together. We should never underestimate the importance of coming alongside each other to fight the good fight. We fight not as individuals, we fight as an army of Christ, but sometime, unfortunately, the church fails us.
39:24 Friends disappoint us. Paul has experienced that. All of us at time might have experienced that. But even when friends forsake us, God has promised he will strengthen us. He will abide by us.
39:47 He will always be for us to encourage, to help. Paul needed encouragement of the Lord to be able to fulfill his mission. So we also do. But as we talk about encouragement, we must be careful with flattery and that is for both givers and receivers. Be careful from unworthy praise.
40:33 All of us need to be affirmed at times, but let us not use excessive praise and excessive compliments on anyone. Even among Christians, flattery can be used under the guise of encouragement. A wise person should be able to differentiate between flattery and a sincere compliment. Listen to what Paul writes to the Thessalonians in first Thessalonians two five saying, for we never came with words of flattery. As you know, nor with the pretext of greed, God is witness.
41:26 False teachers often use flattery. Let us encourage each other, at the same time resist flattery. And how do we encourage each other? By using the scripture as the main source of all encouragement? By using the scripture as the main source of all encouragement.
42:00 Barnabas was the right man for the job. Barnabas was not perfect, but he was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, gifted in teaching, and he was an encourager. Now imagine if they send someone else other than Barnabas to Antioch, a legalistic member of the circumcision party. And there are many of them in Jerusalem. Imagine that.
42:31 He would have been terrified. He would have been terrified to see Jews and Gentiles worshiping God together. Not wearing kippas on their heads. Eating together, he would have been terrified. Whom did they send?
42:51 They sent Barnabas, who was a man who lived by God's grace. And when he saw God's grace, he was glad. Did he see imperfection in those new converts? Did he see old habits in these old believers and young believers? Of course, he did.
43:20 Of course, he did. Do we have any old habits? Do we have any imperfections? We have a lot of them. But rather on focusing on the imperfection and shortcoming of these new believers who he focused on the grace of God in saving them and began encouraging them more and more to stay faithful and true to the Lord.
43:50 Young believers need encouragement. Babies need to be treated with all gentleness, with love, need to be cared for, taught with patience, fed regularly, and just watched him grow in the love and the knowledge of Christ. Barnabas knew very well how to encourage and how to train believers. He did not tell them to begin forming committees. He did not tell them to start looking for new staff members.
44:33 He did not focus on any of these things. That's very important for the church today. For Barnabas, that was not at all the issue. He had something else in mind. He exhorted them to remain faithful to the Lord.
44:50 He keep preaching to them the gospel of Jesus Christ. That was him emphasis remaining faithful to the Lord with a steadfast purpose. For when we cleave to Christ and his word individually as a church, we grow in power, in faithfulness, in love, in unity, in influence in this world. Furthermore, all the church ministries and activities should have a final goal to aid us in remaining faithful to the Lord. That's our objective, to remain faithful to the Lord to the end.
45:38 It's very possible for lives to become barren, for lives to become dry in the midst of so much activity when there is no true heart devotion to Christ. We need to focus on the essentials. We need to focus on these things. I'm going to end with verse 26. Barnabas was also, by the way, a solid bible teacher.
46:21 Verse 26, for a whole year, they met with the church, that's Barnabas and Paul, and taught a great many people, and until the disciples were first called Christians. In chapter 13, it tells us of five prophets and teachers in the church, And on the top of the list, who? Barnabas. Barnabas. Barnabas was a great bible teacher.
46:48 Now remember what he just said. He said it's enough for the student or the disciple to be like his teacher. Weak teachers produce weak students. And I'm going to also conclude that strong teachers will produce strong students. Want to destroy a church?
47:10 You know what to do? Bring a weak pastor. Bring a Bible teacher who does not care much about the word, about doctrine, about what says the Lord. Bring a pastor who cares more about what people think of him than what God demands. Bring a pastor who loves money and position more than the souls of men.
47:37 Bring a pastor who is shallow, storyteller, experience focused, destroy a church. You want to build a church? You want a strong church? Bring a strong teacher. Will we hire new employees?
48:02 We don't have them trained by the weakest on our staff. No. We choose the strangest, the strongest, the man with the most knowledge and experience, the one who cares for our practice most. Why? Because we want them to learn from the best.
48:20 Look at the disciples of Jesus, 12, uneducated. Change the world. Who was their teacher? Christ, the best. You want to have strong students, strong disciples?
48:32 Learn from the master. Barnabas was a great bible teacher. That's why we have a strong church in Antioch. We thank God for this church. We thank God for the ministry he has begun here, and we can anticipate even greater things in the days, the months, and years to come as we continue to focus on the essentials, to remain faithful to the Lord, to remain faithful to his truth to the end, not to be shaken by the enemy, not to be shaken by the doctrine that other than the doctrine we have in the word of God, not to be deceived by a teaching of men, but to be faithful to God and to his word.
49:33 Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the book of Acts, for your servant, Barnabas, that we learn so many things about him. We learn so many things from his life that we can apply a man who was imitator of Christ like Stephen also, man full of the Holy Spirit and faith. Lord, we pray that you would grant your people today the faith of Barnabas, the wisdom of Barnabas, the discernment of Barnabas, to be filled with the holy spirit, to have the courage of Barnabas, to be initiators, to be goal oriented, to love your truth, defend your truth, fight for your truth, live by your truth, abide in you and in your word.
51:27 Lord, help us as a church continue to be united in one spirit and mind, loving, serving each other, Loving people more than loving things. Be heavenly minded, not earthly minded. Lord, we see the enemy is attacking from every side, and he is intensifying his attacks on the church, on your people, on your truth, on your precious word. Lord, I pray that you will continue to bring more and more men of God who would rise up and speak boldly without any fear your truth, to shine your light in this dark world, to rebuke sin, to speak love and repentance. Lord, I pray bring salvation to our government, bring salvation to our country, bring revival, Lord.
52:51 We need more Barnabas to bring this revival and begin in our homes, begin our families, and begin our church here right now, Lord. Lord, we trust we trust in you. We trust in your Holy Spirit. Lord, we give you the glory and the honor. In Jesus' name.
