Virtues of the New Life in Christ - part 1

So if you would take your Bible and turn back to chapter 4 of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 4, it's a familiar place for all of us. But we will start here in verse 25. I did say earlier that verses 25 to 32 all go together. But we will only cover verses 25 to 28, and we'll get to the remaining verses next week. Now here in verses 25 to 32, we're going to see that Paul is giving us more and more practical teaching. That's what this second half of the book of Ephesians is all about. But really this teaching is an extension of what we studied last week. It's an extension of verses 17 on down to verse 24.

And that's why I want us to all read the verses together in our Scripture reading. I know it was a big portion to read. Now let me show you how this fits together. Let me show you how Paul is teaching here. In verses 17 to 24, Paul was all about showing these Ephesian Christians who they were in their former lives before they came to Christ. He reminded them of their old lives, their old ways, that they were worthless and good for nothing in their minds and in their thinking. And as a result, they were permanently blind and blinded in their understanding of God and all things pertaining to God.

They were truly separated from God and the life of God, and they were at home in a life of darkness. And as a result of these things, their hearts were calloused over to the point that they could no longer respond to moral and spiritual stimulation. And because of who they were in their former lives, they gave themselves up and over to all sorts of lusts and lustfulness. And they were even greedy for every kind of impurity. So Paul was reminding them of who they once were in their former life, how they lived. And he was reminding them that this is how the pagans lived, the Gentiles. And he was calling them to no longer live like the pagans.

But also in verses 17 to 24, Paul was all about showing these former pagans who they were in their life after Christ. What their life was like after they had come to faith in Christ. He reminded them that in their new lives, they had savingly believed in Christ. He reminded them that they learned of Christ at their conversion. He reminded them that they heard about Christ and they were taught by Christ at their conversion. And as a result of being converted to Christ, their old self was put off like a bad habit or old clothes. And as a result of being converted to Christ, there was this new self that was put on.

And of course, this was a work of the Spirit of God in regeneration. They could not do this work on their own or in themselves. Simply, they truly became a new creation in Christ. So Paul was reminding them of who they were and how they once lived. He was reminding them that positionally, they were at one time in Adam, but because of the work of God in them at their new birth, they were now positionally in Christ. And no doubt, some of them were being tempted to live how they once did. Most likely, some, if not many, had vestiges of their old life hanging around in their new life. And Paul was aiming at this.

So take note of what Paul was doing here. He was commanding them not to live like the pagans or how many of them had once lived. He was reminding them that they had come to faith in Christ. And as a result, the old self was put off and the new self was put on. And in this reminder, Paul was also comparing their old self to the new self, their old self to the new self. He was contrasting their former way of life with the new life that they had in Christ. Well, starting here in verse 25, Paul transitions to addressing more specifically what their new walk or their new life should look like.

He is addressing certain things from their old life that needed to be put off, put out of their lives. And all these things that he tackles here were a part of the everyday life. Look at how everyday all these things are. Look at how common these things are, how we can relate to these things. He addresses truthfulness and lying in verse 25. You might have picked up on that in our scripture reading. He tackles bad and good anger in verse 26. He deals with stealing, work and generosity starting in verse 28. You might have noticed when we were reading that he deals with good and bad speech in verse 29.

And he started in verse 21, he addresses bitterness and anger that leads to wrathful outbursts and animosity. It's really a lot. Even slanderous, evil speech at others. It's very practical. To me, it sounds like Paul's been reading some of the Ephesian Christian social media posts. Sounds like Paul maybe had been listening to some of their disagreements in their homes and maybe some of the language that they were using in their private lives. Sounds like Paul might have been listening in on some of their conversations at work or maybe when they were playing golf with their friends or fishing with their friends or even at the deer camp.

Maybe even when they were talking and text messaging. Sounds like Paul had been attending some of their church business meetings. Maybe some of their committee meetings who were very contentious. Sounds like Paul had been listening in on some of their conversations between church members. You know those secret kind of conversations that are out in the parking lot when most everyone has gone home? So this morning, we're going to see how Paul explained more of what their new life in Christ should have looked like. Specifically, Paul addressed certain vices from their old life that should have been put out of their lives.

And Paul addressed certain virtues that should have been brought into their lives. Now occasionally, I'll get you to write down a word or two. It might be good for you to write this word vice down and this word virtue. Some of you know what those words mean. The word vice, it speaks of a moral fault, a moral corruption. Maybe it speaks of something that's habitual, a defect, a shortcoming, something moral, even spiritual. Virtue, meaning if you know what a virtue is, it is a conforming to a right standard, something that is right, something that is beneficial, a spiritually good quality.

Now my approach this morning will be to take these vices and these virtues one at a time. One at a time. And we will even see that Paul gives them certain particular motivations as to why they should move from vice to virtue. Vice to virtue. We're just going to take these one at a time. And again, we're not going to cover them all. We've got to save something for next week. Isn't that right? So number one, Paul calls them from lying to truthfulness. It's easy for you to see right there in verse 25. Paul calls them from lying to truthfulness. Go back and look at the verse.

"Therefore, having put away," we know that language, "put away, cast off, falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another." Now here Paul gives them a specific expectation for life in Christ. That is the new life, and that is they were to put away falsehood. The King James says putting away lying. The new American, the English standard, uses the word falsehood. And this putting away speaks of getting rid of something. It speaks of throwing something away. It speaks of taking something off, like someone would cast off a bad habit or someone would put off old clothes.

And this falsehood or lying speaks of falsehoods in a general sense. This would refer to all sorts of lying, all sorts of lies, any type of falsehood. And this would be an outright lie as well as what I call kind of a side door lie. You know, one can exaggerate and insinuate and be untruthful. You know, one can even be silent in a conversation which would communicate some type of a lie or some type of a falsehood. Now think about it. Teenagers, you can outright lie and tell your parents you have finished your homework.

But you know, you can lie by insinuation, by making them think that you have finished your homework when in reality you've only finished about half. Think about it. We can outright lie and tell someone we caught a lot of fish when we went on our fishing trip. But we can lie by exaggeration or insinuation, insinuating and bragging that we caught a lot when reality, in reality we only caught a few. Now think about it. We can outright lie to our boss when we communicate that we have worked hard in giving him a full day's work on company time.

But when in reality we've only put forth a half a day's effort and we've gotten paid for a full day's work. Now think about this. Taxes, tax season. We understand paying our taxes. We can be silent about a certain part of our income. Therefore we can outright lie on our taxes. So right here, Paul calls these Ephesian Christians to put away, to cast off this vice from their past life. This vice was speaking and living all sorts of lives in falsehoods, which was a big part of their culture. And just like they would put off dirty clothes or a bad habit, they would have put away this vice, this bad vice.

But then Paul calls them to put on a new virtue. He calls them to put on a new virtue which was compatible with the new life that they had in Christ. And the virtue he calls them to put on was speaking truth, being truthful in every way. And this speaking the truth refers to speaking and living truth. The language here is in the present imperative, which means that this was ongoing. So this was to be their habit. They were to speak and live truth in their daily lives and in every circumstance habitually. Now I want you to notice something. I want you to take note of the context. I taught you this. Context is keen.

Context helps us out far more than we know. When we see this word "neighbor" here in the verse, we can think that Paul was calling them to be truthful with their neighbors. Of course, the second greatest commandment says that all believers should love their neighbor as themselves. So being truthful to a neighbor would apply here. It goes without saying that they were to be truthful in all areas of life dealing with all people. Isn't that right? But Paul goes on to say, "Let each one speak with his neighbor in truth," what does it say? "For we are members one of another." And this shows us that Paul was aiming at a particular context here.

Paul was speaking of the body of Christ or the church. Although he does not use the word "body" or the phrase "body of Christ," he was speaking of the relationship that they had one to another as members one of another. This is the body of Christ. So yes, he was calling them to be truthful in all of the areas of life. But specifically, he was calling them to put away any and all falsehoods and to put on truth and truthfulness as they relate to one another in the body. So I want us to see the motivation here. And the motivation is clear. It's the context. The context is the motivation. They were all members one with one another.

They had all been reconciled to God into one body through the cross, chapter 2, verse 16. "And this great reconciliation had killed any and all hostilities among them, even between Jew and Gentile." So they were one body. They were one body. And the motivation to be truthful among themselves was the reality that through the cross, God had made all of them one. Simply, they were all members of this one. So look at what Paul is doing here. He was calling them to put off this vice from their past life. But at the same time, he was calling them to put on this new virtue that was compatible with the new life in Christ.

Put off lies, put off falsehoods in any way, shape or form, and put on truth and truthfulness habitually. And look at how this really applies to us. You know what times I'll ask questions, I call them rhetorical questions. Think with me about these questions. What happens if I lie when I'm playing golf with a few friends? Might start off as a little bit of a joke. But eventually people will say, "You know what? He's a pastor, but he is a lying pastor." But you know what happens if I lie to my wife? What kind of marriage will I have if I lie to my wife? What happens if I lie to my children?

What will my home life be like if I lie to my wife and I lie to my children? And you know what happens if I lie to you as a pastor? What's the context of what Paul's teaching? As your pastor, what happens if I lie to you, let's just say about church finances. We're trying to wrap up our 2023 budget, which we will present here soon. But what happens if I misrepresent the truth and if I lie about church finances? But let me turn it around. What if you get involved in the life of the church and you just have a habit of lying to those brothers and sisters around you? How are they going to view your witness?

What happens if you lie in your small group? You see? I did make a few comments about business meetings and all things like that. What happens if we lie to each other in the life of the church? A lot of things can happen. A lot of bad things. So Paul was calling them to put off lying, to put off falsehoods, he was calling them to put on truth and truthfulness. Of course he was calling them to live truthfully in all areas of life, but especially as they related to one another in the local church. And then number two, he calls them from unrighteous anger to righteous anger. He calls them from unrighteous anger to righteous anger.

We see this in verse 26 and 27. Let's look back at the verses. He says, "Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to or for the devil." Now here Paul gives them what can be seen as an odd command for what? The new life in Christ. He says, "Be angry and do not sin." And King James says, "Be angry and sin not." Now this word angry speaks of a lot. This is an emotion that has settled in the heart. It has settled into the mind. It's a determination to be angry. This is a determined direction of thinking, a determined direction of the mind and in the heart to be angry.

And this is not just a flash of anger. This is not just a quick fit of rage and then it dissipates. This is a determination in the heart, in the mind, and in the thinking to be angry and continue to be angry. But a question or two here. Is Paul saying it's okay to be angry? Shouldn't Paul be saying don't get angry? Look back at the beginning of verse 26. What does he say? "Be angry and do not sin." And notice what's happening here. Paul says, "Be angry and sin not." I like the King James there. It's because there was a good anger and there is a good anger and there was and is a sinful anger.

There was and is a righteous anger and an unrighteous anger. One scholar says that Paul was saying, "Simply let your anger not be mixed with sin." Now let me help you see what good anger is. All throughout the Gospels we see that Jesus actually expressed a righteous anger towards the religious leaders. Jesus directed this righteous anger at the religious leaders at various times all throughout his ministry. When they got mad that he healed, when they were mad that he interacted with the sinners and because they abused the temple there in Jerusalem, when they abused the temple they also abused worship and abused people.

Well in all of those circumstances Jesus got angry and he did not sin. More specifically in Mark 3 Jesus got angry, angry at the religious leaders because of the hardness of their hearts when he healed on the Sabbath. They were watching Jesus to see if he would heal on the Sabbath and they were wanting to catch him. They wanted to catch him supposedly breaking the law and they were trying to trap him. And when he did heal he knew that they were condemning him in their hearts and the Scripture say that he was angry and he was grieved at the hardness of their hearts. And also Jesus cleared the temple.

It seems that Jesus cleared the temple in anger on two different occasions in John 2 at the beginning of his ministry and then later on at the end of his ministry in Matthew 21. But in John's account Jesus even made a whip. That says that it was premeditated and he drove out all of the animals and the money changers. He even threw over the tables as he was driving all of them out of the temple. Now think about that scene. He used a whip, he threw over tables, driving animals and people out of the temple. He was angry, he was angry but he did not sin in that anger. So Jesus exemplifies a righteous anger.

But make sure that you see that Jesus' anger was disciplined. It was unselfish. He had this controlled purposeful anger. He wasn't selfish in his anger. Jesus' anger was ultimately for God and for truth and for righteousness. His anger was ultimately against injustice, sin and evil and for the glory of God. And here Paul was calling these Ephesians to a new virtue. Anger but anger without sin, a righteous anger. He was calling them to an anger that hates sin, all kinds of sin, all sorts of unrighteousness, all sorts of injustice, really anything that is anti-God and anti-Bible. Basically it's an anger that hates evil, Psalm 69.9.

Think about it. Think about the measuring stick here. Questions like this, was it evil? Was it sinful? Was it anti-God? And if the answer is yes, then they should have been angry. But not an anger that leads to sin. Again, a couple of more things that I want you to think about. You know we should be angry. Yes, angry when we hear our Lord's name taken in vain. Are we angry when we hear our Lord's taken in vain on television? We should be angry when we see families destroyed by divorce? We should be angry when we see homosexuality and all of these perversions that are just everywhere in our society. And think about it.

We should be angry when we see a church that is sinful, when we see a church that is unhealthy, when we see a church that is worldly. We should be angry when we see churches fall into defeat and shame and uselessness and ashamed of the name of Jesus. But no matter how great our righteous anger is, we can never move over to an anger that is sinful. So here, Paul calls them to put on a new virtue which was compatible with their new life. And the virtue he was calling them to was a righteous anger. Yes, a righteous anger. But then Paul calls them away from the vice that was in their past life and that vice was a sinful anger.

But what a sinful anger. Simply sinful anger is for self. It's an anger that is selfish, self-serving and self-defensive. Speaking of this sinful anger, I love what the Bible commentator McDonald says. He says, and I'm quoting, "When it becomes an emotion of malice, jealousy, resentment, vindictiveness, or hatred because of personal wrongs, it is forbidden." Oh, I love how William Barclay differentiates between righteous anger and sinful anger. He says that I'm quoting, "The anger which is selfish, passionate, undisciplined, uncontrolled is a sinful, a useless and a hurtful thing which must be banished from the Christian life.

But the anger which is disciplined into the service of Christ and for our fellow men, in which is utterly pure and utterly selfless, is one of the great dynamic forces in this world." Now at this point Paul gives us a warning. What does he say? Be angry but don't sin in that anger. And then he issues a warning saying, "Do not let the sun go down on that anger." Now right here, this is when some of you remember a verse from marital counseling. You think that verse only applies to you and your spouse when y'all get in an argument. No, it's far more than that. Look back at verse 26.

"Be angry, do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger." But a question, which anger is he referring to? Which one? The righteous anger or the unrighteous? Which one? He is referring to this righteous anger. Paul was saying that even a righteous anger can degenerate into sin. He knows that even a righteous anger can turn into pride, it can turn into self-righteousness. Paul knows that this righteous anger can even turn into bitterness and resentment. So Paul says, "Do not hold on to that righteous anger. You've got to let it go.

You've got to let it go." And also what can be seen as a part of the warning here can also be seen as a motivation. Paul says, "Be angry, but do not sin in that anger." And he says, "Do not let the sun go down on that anger. Let that anger go, because if that anger is held on to, it gives the devil an opportunity in the life." Look back at the verse. "Be angry, do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil." Here Paul was saying that if they held on to that anger, yes, even a righteous anger, that gives the devil a place and an opportunity in the life.

The righteous anger that is held on to, it turns into pride, it can turn into self-righteousness, it can turn into bitterness and resentment, it can turn into even hatred. And in the end, it turns into a sinful behavior. What starts out as a righteous anger and then turns into a sinful anger and then it turns into a sinful behavior. And then they actually become what? A tool of the devil. Leon Marr says, "They become the means of helping the devil do his work." It's true. You know I thought about it like this. How many pastors? How many ministers? How many even real true Christians get angry at the sin and the sickness of the church?

Oh, they are right. Oh, they are on the side with God and God's Word. They have a true righteous anger and they should, but they nurse that anger until it becomes pride. They nurse that anger until it manifests itself into self-righteousness. Then it turns into bitterness, then it turns into resentment. And how many churches are split right down the middle because of a righteous anger that turns into God's people helping the devil do his work?

How many new churches, and I have it in quotations in my notes, how many new churches are started because a pastor allows a righteous anger to turn into pride, to turn into self-serving motives, therefore they become a tool of the devil. So look at what Paul was doing here. He was calling them, these Ephesian Christians, to put off this vice from their past life that was probably still lingering on in that new life. But he was calling them to put on a new virtue that was compatible with the new life. He calls them to put off sinful anger and to put on a righteous anger. "Oh, but, but don't hold on to that anger," he says.

"Don't give the devil an opportunity to turn that righteous anger into his plans, into more sin, and ultimately ruin." Now, folks, listen to your pastor here. We need to see how this applies to us in so many ways. This applies in so many ways. There are some of you here this morning. You're holding on to a sinful anger. You have a propensity for a sinful anger. It's a carryover from your past life. You have an anger that is selfish, is unrestrained. And look, it is hurtful to others. It is selfish, and it is sinful, and it hurts the ones who are closest to you. It hurts your spouse. It hurts your children.

It hurts those who are closest to you. You are wrapped up in bitterness. You are wrapped up in sinfulness. You are wrapped up in this persistent agitation all the time. Why? Because of anger. Maybe it stemmed from circumstances at work. Maybe it stemmed from things in your family. Maybe it stemmed from difficulties in trials, but what's happened is that anger has become rooted in your life, and it's not, it's like a cancer. It's eating you away. It's eating you away. That is not supposed to be in the new life. Put that vice off. But there are some of you here, you need a righteous anger. You need a righteous anger.

We all need a righteous anger, a disciplined anger, a disciplined anger that is directed at sin and sinfulness. Yes, we do. I don't know if you picked up on what Barclay said, but it's really true. He talks about this righteous anger. He says it is a dynamic, a great dynamic force in the world. Righteous anger? Yes. I've thought about this a lot. It's a part of my testimony. I'll be honest with you, I would not be standing here, and I wouldn't be the pastor of Grace Life Church Brookhaven if years ago I did not understand righteous anger.

Because God began to grow me and sanctify me in the ministry, I found myself more and more angry at what was going on in the church. The church that was sin-filled, the church that was led by ungodly men, and I became more and more angry. Did I ever fight bitterness? Sure. Did I ever fight pride? Yes. Because of a righteous anger in me, I said I can't play that religious game anymore. There's a warning here. Oh, if we hold on to righteous anger and allow it to fester in the wrong way, it really gives the devil an opportunity to ruin us and it gives him an opportunity to turn us and use us for his even wicked schemes.

And again, how many pastors have ruined their ministries by allowing a righteous anger that is held on to, to turn into pride, arrogance, bitterness, selfishness, and even more? And so many church leaders have been a victim to that. So Paul was calling them to put off anger, and in a sense he was calling them to put on righteous anger. Oh, but he was warning them not to hold on to it and nurse it. He was warning them not to give the devil an opportunity to come in and hijack that righteous anger and use them for his own plans. And then number three, Paul calls them from stealing to work and then to sharing. We see this in verse 28.

He calls them from stealing to work and then to sharing. Let's look at verse 28. "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest or noble or good work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need." Now here Paul gives another expectation for the life in Christ, and that was to put away stealing, but he was calling them to do a whole lot more. Now this stealing should be easy to understand. It simply means not to take something that belongs to you. Stealing is to take something that belongs to you. It's a violation of the seventh commandment.

And you know that commandment is rather short. Exodus 20, 15, "You shall not steal." And this was a big problem in their culture, just like it is today. You know, many in their culture were very, very poor, especially by our standards, and many of them were slaves and scholars and historians tell us that stealing was really a big part of life and a part of accepted life for many. It was just a big part of society, and it's really a big part of our day and our society as well.

And no doubt Paul must have been speaking to some who were in the church who came from this kind of life, and no doubt there were some of them who were kind of holding on to that vice in the new life. Again, I want you to think with me and follow you, Pastor. Teenager, listen, if you take money out of your mother's purse and she doesn't know it, you're stealing. You're a thief. Sir, if you're not honest with your time at work, you're stealing. You're stealing time and you're stealing money for the time that you didn't work. Listen, if any of you are not truthful on your taxes, you're lying and you're stealing.

If you don't pay your bills, you're stealing. If you take anything that doesn't belong to you, you're stealing. So here, Paul, it caused them to put away this vice from their past life. This vice was speaking of stealing, thievery, any and all kinds of stealing. But then Paul caused them to put on a new virtue which was compatible with the new life that they had in Christ, and the virtue he caused them to was labor. Yes, labor. Work is a virtue. And notice what kind of work this is. First, it's honest work. The King James uses the word "good." This speaks of work that is honorable.

Now, Paul is not very specific here, but he seems to leave it open for the Christian and their conscience. But this is obvious. It should be honorable work or work that is not contradictory to the word, and it shouldn't be contradictory to the faith. But then second, he says, "Work with the hands." Now, there are some here who think that Paul was commanding them to do manual labor. But I don't think that Paul was giving a strict command to work with their hands or with manual labor. I don't think that's what Paul was saying. He wasn't commanding them to work with their hands while condemning those who worked strictly with their minds.

Simply, he was calling them to all be responsible to work and to work hard, to work and to work hard so as to provide for themselves and to provide for their families. Now, look at the motivation that Paul gives. He calls them to work and to work hard not only so that they can provide for themselves and for their families, but also so that they may able to share with others who are in need. He was calling them from stealing to working, to working, to working hard, and then to sharing. One writer I came across this week said that he was calling the thief to become a philanthropist. But I think it's more than that because of the context.

What was the context? Each other. What's the context? The body, the church, brothers and sisters in Christ. Do you see? So look at what Paul was doing here. He was calling them to put off a bad vice from their past life, but at the same time, he was calling them to put on this new virtue that was compatible with the new life in Christ. Put off stealing and put on work. Put on work, honorable work, hard work, good work, but more. Put on sharing. And I want you to listen to your pastor here, especially those of you who are members of Grace Life Church, Brooke Avon, and especially all of you who are going through the membership process.

We cannot think merely of ourselves when we are dealing with money and income. We can fall into the trap and into the sin of wanting more and wanting more and wanting more just for ourselves. You know, we've heard of this term first impressions. Did you know that we as a church have a first impression? And it matters. I heard the testimony of some visitors back when we had our first Sunday fellowship when we were baptizing. One of you were in one of the hallways and you heard some visitors around the corner. Those visitors were talking about how friendly you were.

And you know, folks, any time a visitor comes, a loss center, when they come, no matter who they are, we should be very, very friendly. We should be accommodating. We should love them. Look, one of our first impressions should be friendliness, friendliness, loving, caring, friendliness. But you know when folks get into the family? You know when you marry in a family, you know what the family is all about. But when you get into the family, the church, you know what you should run into? Sharing. Giving to the needs of others, sharing.

Oh, not always waving a flag saying, "Look at what I do." We don't ever want to let our right hand know what our left hand does. But no, within the family, we should be sharing. We should be sharing. We should be sharing. And you know what times? It should be sacrificial. We've yet to have a need in the life of our church, but one day it's going to happen. There's going to be a crisis, a circumstance, a crossroads for us where we can sacrificially give what? For the needs of others. And you know what we should do here? We should always be generous. Be generous. We should always heed the command. But it's got to go beyond the command.

It's got to be a calling, and it's got to be a work that God does in us. And oh, we've got to do it with a great pleasure. Why? Because that's a brother over there who has a need. It's a sister who has a need, or a family that has a need. So Paul was calling them to put off stealing, all kinds of stealing, all kinds of dishonesty. He was calling them to put on work, hard work, honest work, honorable work, good work. And not only to work, he was calling them to put on the virtue of sharing and the needs of others. Now as I begin to conclude, notice something. Paul tackles more vices and more virtues starting in verse 29 on down to verse 32.

But like I said earlier, I've got to save something for next week. But look at what Paul was and is doing here. Paul was calling these Ephesian Christians to put off the old vices, those sinful habits, those things from their former lives, those sinful corruptions. He says those things have no place in the new life. And then Paul was calling these Ephesian Christians to put on these new virtues, new Christian habits, new Christian qualities, certain things that are truly Christian, virtues that are compatible with the new life in Christ. He says these are things that should be in your life. And it's the same for us.

There should be a putting off and a putting on, a putting off and a putting on. Now what's the title of the message? If I brought up vices and virtues, the title would be too long. So I just chose to title it on the positive side. Virtues of the new life in Christ. Virtues of the new life in Christ. And these need to be virtues that are seen in all of our lives, all of our lives. So let's pray. Let's commit these things to the Lord. Let's worship and close out our service and look forward to what else the Lord has for us the rest of the day. Let's pray.