Sermon April 23, 2023 - Pastor Harlow 1 Peter 3:1-6

Not only that his drinking was over his drinking days were over and even the Lord took his bad language away and he drank every day of his life ever since he was in the Air Force that's what God can do you have to just keep praying and trusting the Lord and I know some people might say in fact they said it back then and they've said it since I've shared my story why didn't you just leave him I'll give you four reasons one I made a vial the day I got married two I still loved him four if I left he would have no Christian Light in his life and five God said my grace is sufficient for thee and it is and I hope and pray if there's any unequal yoked ladies here today don't give up don't give up keep praying and keep living your life before him you won't be sorry thank you Pastor [Applause] his Mercy is more amen far above all we can think or do or comprehend God can do

You know what a beautiful display of the Gospel and so Christian woman do not lose heart because the way that you live for the Lord has a direct impact on either adorning the Gospel of Christ to become more attractive or it disfigures the Gospel to become more repugnant we have souls at stake that's what's at stake and so eh sorry from 1986 to 2011. I got tissue out there that they could run to me I'm just kind of like whoa I know we got them out there guys ah thank you appreciate that just need that thank you so much I appreciate it now know why some preachers bring handkerchiefs ah but from 1986 to 2011 Oprah she had a daytime cult following and every single day she averaged between 10 to 20 million viewers every single day for the span of what 25 years I mean that's a huge following right and she's still hugely influential and she has a very popular website and an article appeared in 2019 it was May of 2019 and it said what was the title of this is it normal to hate your husband appeared and the article is filled with quotes you can go online you can read it says I recently asked a group of a dozen basically happy married women at my book club it's more of like a drink wine and talk Club if they ever hated their husbands without hesitation almost every hand shot up in the air like obviously or another quote is remember it's normal to hate your husband's guts

Sometimes that's even a good thing now the article does say kind of as a and at the end an addendum if you would true hate however is a major red flag I'll get that distinction and God doesn't make that distinction either hate is hate and that's not exactly a Biblical approach we would say to the disdain that many women may feel towards their husbands and so let's go to the add fonts back to the source of all truth so as Believers we are not led by the culture but by Christ so if you would stand with me in the in honor of God's word as we read First Peter chapter 3 verses one through six God's word says this likewise wives be subject to your own husbands so that even if some do not obey the word they may be one without a word by the conduct of their wives when they see your respectful and pure conduct do not let your adorning be external braiding of hair putting on of gold jewelry or the clothing you wear but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet Spirit which in God's sight is very precious for this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to Adorn themselves by submitting to their own husbands as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord and you were her children if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening let's pray and so Lord we do thank you for your word we entrust it to you we pray that would encourage us that it would strengthen us that would help equip us to conduct our lives in righteousness in Holiness that the fragrance of Christ would permeate every aspect of Our Lives Lord mayor marriages be representations of the love of Christ to the world for husbands I pray that we would be an example of that purity of Love Of Christ in leading our

Wives and that wives would be an amazing example of that submission that you had to the father Lord that we might each one of us in our homes be able to display the Beauty and the power of the Gospel we just give it over to you and we ask that you do a work today in Jesus name amen man I'm just falling apart today and I well the passage begins with that phrase likewise likewise and it's in direct reference to the passage that Jim talked about last week and which by the way how many of y'all were still chewing on some of the things that Jim talked about last week yeah it's good it's good it's important for folks to be able to hear not just myself preach but other capable Godly men to stand up and say thus says the Lord God it's a good thing it's a sign of a healthy church now this Harkens back directly to being subject for the Lord's sake and why is that Peter's already given his reasoning in First Peter chapter 2 verse 12. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation now that word conduct right there is a key word for Peter it appears a lot but as we talked about a few weeks ago it doesn't take much to grow weeds in your garden you can just completely neglect it and before you know it you got pests you got weeds and you've lost all your vegetation and as Christians we must make it our daily work to tend to The Gardens of our hearts by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that as we love the Lord and as we grow up into maturity in him we should be seeing increasing submission to the things that God loves and Peter he begins our passage today

We're talking about six principles for a Godly wife he the first principle is this is about the command he gives us the command to be subject to your own husbands now Jim he defined being subject to as arranging ourselves underneath and as Christians we are called to be strangers in this world and that the home of the believer should be one of the strangest places to a lost person it was one of the things that first drew me to Christ I grew up in a home full of anger bitterness arguing and then I go into a Christian's home for the very first time and it's completely different it was welcoming it was it was inviting it was loving it was caring and it was the fragrance of That Home by the presence of the Holy Spirit that first got me interested in what do they have that my family does not have and so we are free yet we are also slaves to God and so in that we are as we said a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for his own possession and so we are free in our slavery to God we are free as followers of Christ but we also submit ourselves freely as well and wives they have that unique calling from the Lord to be subject to their husbands to arrange themselves under his headship and Paul he instructs his wives and not his wives but he instructs wives in Ephesians chapter 5 says wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord for the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church his body and is himself its Savior now as the church submits to Christ so also wives should submit and everything to their husbands and so Christ he is God and Christ he didn't come to be served but to serve and so wives have the unique Ministry of submission and yet

Husbands and we're going to go here next week guys so y'all aren't off the hook okay husbands have the unique calling to serve their wife to seek out their good and a Christian is never more like Christ than when they honor God by serving others in love we are called to love our neighbor and husbands there is no closer neighbor than your wife amen come on guys amen guys I ain't gonna let you all off the hook come on in our passage today we're talking about wives and we see that Peter he doesn't just have wives in general in mind here okay because his specific instruction is to wives of unbelieving husbands the unbelieving husband so does this mean dear sister in the Lord that if your husband and Savior are not called to arrange yourself under the authority of your husband only as much as the church can claim Authority equal to or greater than Christ and we don't believe that do we're Baptists we don't do that we serve Christ we subject ourselves to his headship in Christian woman you should be doing the same to your believing spouse and so submission it's a Hot Topic and maybe some of you had tuned me out I hope not let me win You Back by describing what submission is not firstly submission does not mean agreeing with everything that your husband thinks or says or does amen and so as we look at submission you can see that in verse one right you look at it she is a Christian he is not they don't agree on that my wife and I we disagree about some things and that's okay she's also the most submissive and agreeable person that I've ever had the privilege to know

But submission does not mean leaving your brain or your will at the wedding altar it means it's it's it is not the inability or the unwillingness to think for yourself that's not submission either submission does not mean avoiding every effort to influence your husband because the whole point of this text is how to win your husband submission does not mean putting the will of the husband before the will of Christ submission to Jesus teaches submission to husbands and governments and employers and parents submission does not mean that a wife gets her personal spiritual strength primarily through her husband a good husband ought to be a source of strength a source of guidance a way to build up and in and sustain and encourage his wife but he should never replace by his spiritual leadership Christ himself a Christian wife is not lacking in strength submission does not mean that she is dependent upon him to supply her strength of Faith virtue or character in fact the text assumes the opposite John Piper he defines submission this way submission is the Divine calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband's leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts so then what is the purpose the purpose for being subject to unbelieving husbands I'd like for you to look at the Scripture with me it says so that even if some do not obey the word they may be one without a word by the conduct of their wives you see obedience to the word is a primary issue for Peter and this is the second time that he's used this kind of phrase in this book in First Peter chapter 2 verse 8 he says this they

Talking about unbelievers stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to as we'll see in first Peter 3 verse 20. They formerly did not obey when God's patience waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared in which a few that is eight persons were brought safely through the water later on in chapter 4 verse 17 it says for it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God and if it begins with us what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the Gospel of God and so what is this not obeying well it's unbelief it's not responding to the Gospel it's the rebellion of husbands against their creator now in our world today especially in our local context there is a hunger for greater morality right how many of y'all have like y'all have seen that desire for goodness just to thrive in our world right and we see that becoming more and more of an of like a an engaging thought something that people want to cling to they want the morality they want that structure you hear it phrased man I wish that America would be a Christian country again and things like that here's the thing if we come to God or if we if we just are seeking morality and as Christians we want Biblical morality but if we're just seeking morality what good is that what good is morality for the sake of the destination's the same the destination still held if we have goodness for the sake of who is good God and so if we just have morality and goodness for the sake of that then we've totally completely forgotten the Gospel the only way that we get to goodness and morality and things like

That is by fulfilling what God has said in his word Make Disciples of all the nations share the Gospel preach the Gospel make your life a Gospel life and then you will reach people but we can't circumvent that process but anyway I'm going down a rabbit Trail I shouldn't go down there but if you are a God doesn't want us just to be good people he wants us to be God's people he wants us to be his people and the Gospel isn't about yours your goodness or society's morality it is about God's goodness and your Badness and that in spite of how bad and how much you've disobeyed in spite of all that God he still desired to have a relationship with sinful men and so he sent his one and only begotten son to be born of a virgin to live a perfect sinless life to be betrayed crucified dead buried and rose again so that you can come to God by entering through Christ you can't get there through your morality you can't get there through your good works you can't get there by your own efforts your own kindness there's going to be some relatively decent people in hell it's not good works that saves it's by faith alone in Christ alone that's the only way and so you may have be an unbelieving spouse and your wife has pleaded for you pleaded for your soul and you might be here and I want you to know she loves you but Jesus loves you more he loves you so much more that in spite of your sin in spite of your Rebellion he endured the cross that you deserved and paid that Zen debt so that anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved and that includes you as well there is nothing that you've done that shocks God

Bible says that God demonstrates his own love toward us and that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us but wives who are enduring patiently right now you're praying for your husbands I want to impress upon you the importance of your mission to subject yourself to your unbelieving husband to wind to win their soul to Christ that word one in our passage today it's literally translated as prophet p-r-o-f-I-t as in turning a prophet and as Believers here our main job is to share the Gospel of Christ with people Paul said it this way as he subjected himself to others in First Corinthians chapter nine it says this for though I am free from all I have made myself a servant to all he's subjecting himself to people that I may win more of them to the Jews I became as a Jew in order to win Jews to those under the law I became as one under the law though not myself not being myself under the law that I might win those under the law to those outside the law I became as one outside the law not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ that I might win those outside the law to the week I became weak then I might win the week I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some I do it all for the sake of the Gospel that I may share with them in its blessings and so this is your missionary purpose wife this is your mission field your mission field is in your home if your spouse is not saved your people group is your husband and Paul he Echoes this in Titus Chapter 2 verses four through five and so train the young women to love their husbands and children to be self-controlled pure working at home kind and submissive to

Their own husbands that the word of God may not be reviled and so how you speak to your husband how you follow his leadership how you honor him how you seek his good is directly tied to how open he is to hearing the Gospel and if you're the spouse of an unbelieving husband and you constantly beg him to go to church and you start to nag at him you may be unintentionally preventing him from coming to Christ and that the reason behind that is that it's much better for him to see Christ through your holy conduct than for you to alienate him by criticizing him into joining you Peter then instructs us about the method the method and there's five things here I think five ways that Peter says that wives are to conduct themselves in this way the first way that he says is respectful respectful conduct but this isn't exactly the best translation there because this in the Greek it's not an adjective it's a prepositional phrase in other words this word here respectful is actually the word fear it's Phobos and so we could understand this to be seeing your pure conduct in light of your fear of the Lord because we're not called or commanded to fear men we know that throughout the entirety of Scripture Christians are called to fear the Lord and so Peter's big Point here is that your Good Conduct ought to be stemming from your personal relationship with Jesus Christ we don't submit to authorities just because they're authorities we don't submit to our bosses in order to get a raise or just because we like them we don't do those type of things you know why we submit and why we do them because God has instructed us to and because of our great love for the Lord we bring ourselves under his authority and living

The life that he tells us how to live so it's out of that great love that we have for the Lord because of his salvation that we arrange ourselves under the authority of others the second way is by being pure that word here is hagnos it means Guiltless it means innocent and so in the context of a wife it means that you are for him it means that no one can accuse you of being a bad wife and so you conduct yourself honorably you conduct yourself innocently we also see here Peter's instruction to be authentic he says do not let your adorning be external the nasb puts the emphasis this way don't let it be merely external as a Godly wife the way that you present yourself it should not be all surface level you might you might take forever to get ready I don't think that's what this passage is about right you know what I think it's about I think it's about how you do spend your time in prayer conducting yourself in a way that's wholly unto God not just letting your presentation be surface level and lip service but how you conduct yourself with genuine love genuine care and concern for the Salvation of your husband's soul and this word adornment in the Greek is the word Cosmos which really threw me for a loop as I was studying that like what why in the world would would Peter use the same word like Cosmos or you know creation universe galaxy star like those type of words to talk about adornment here why is it translated that way you know I started thinking a lot of people's entire world revolves around their looks it's true in 2018 16 and a half billion

Dollars were spent just on plastic cosmetic plastic surgery alone now that's enough to fund the international Mission board like for the next 65 plus years in one year that's that's a lot of money okay we were talking about today about you know going out and sending people out into the mission field to reach unreached people groups right and that's just in one year and so Peter he gives some cultural examples of things like braided hair which was a very time consuming process back in the first century it still is but these things were elaborate and I'll show you some pictures later but you know gold jewelry adorning yourself not just with like a ring or earrings but they would it would get real gaudy and you can read about these in the historical documents of the first century they would Adorn themselves in expensive clothes and silks and colors and yet everything was just surface level it was just all right there and Paul he had something to say about this too in first Timothy Chapter 2 verses 19. He says likewise also women should that women should Adorn themselves in respectable apparel with modesty and self-control now with braided hair gold or pearls or costly attire he uses those those same examples but with what is proper for women who profess godliness with good works so the principle is this Godly Christian woman glorify God don't just have a surface level beauty that takes hours to fix up and neglect your prayer life your quiet time your good works your Bible study things like that but you should be primarily found like your beauty should be primarily found in the hidden person of the heart your personal relationship with Jesus the issue that Peter is addressing isn't so much what you wear although he does

It Paul he addresses it as being modest and self-controlled and things like that the issue is the condition of your heart that's the ultimate issue and this is why Peter he continues and he instructs wives to be gentle this is the same word used for meekness it's how Christ describes himself when he says that he is gentle and lowly of heart this is the result of the work of God and our Salvation this is one of the fruits of the spirit gentleness his word it's the same word used in the Septuagint the Greek Old Testament to describe a person who is humble which used to describe Moses who was meek this doesn't mean weak women the Bible is full of examples of Godly wives who were wise who were strong who were Fearless who were God honoring because God he has not called you to be a doormat to be walked on by your partner but a help mate for your husband and so Peter's final instruction about the method here is that wives are to be quiet and this is oftentimes abused by some Churches right one woman can't talk in service can't pray or you know even at home they try to apply that there I this word is his psychios which isn't so much understood as the act of not speaking because we know women talk right they're humans like Ugh and we know that women would instruct other women and that they would talk at home and they would prophesy we have examples of Priscilla talking to Apollos explaining him a better way to know the Gospel but this quietness it's actually under defined as being untroubled and freed from disturbances especially free from noise and uproar I think of like the Real Housewives shows right you know that are just full of screaming and yelling and hollering and you know like it's just I'm not a fan of those type of things it's a characteristic of Godly women not

To be loud not to be self-centered or self-promoting not to be shouting out or easily set off it means that you don't invite drama into your life you don't thrive on it because quietness and Tranquility or synonyms here now the fourth principle that Peter gives is the reasoning the reasoning why and he describes it firstly as imperishable Beauty and you can write that down in perishable Beauty there this is in direct contrast with the things like the braided braided hair that will get gray it will get growth in the gold jewelry it will be lost will be given away it could even be auctioned off when you pass your clothing it will fade it will get holes in it will go out of style but a Godly Godly wife's Beauty remains when her beauty isn't primarily found in the things that fade away but it's found in the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and it's by bearing this kind of fruit that we've been talking about this is an example of this is actually from about A.D 59 to ad79 this woman her name was sappho and this is pretty standard for how women would dress back in that time this is on a wax tablet and you can see up there you got all this gold and stuff she doesn't have her hair braided but in here those little dots that are in there are jewels that are actually in this net that would go over the hair you got different earrings and this is silk and looks like either a blue or a purple very extravagant for that time and then you got that green silk tunic that's underneath there but this is an example of you know the great disparity between very wealthy women who would almost flaunt their wealth and this would all be surface level and the humble women who didn't get

Pictures done of themselves and their their nameless saints that we will see in heaven or we could talk about braided hair I looked at some of these different things this was actually kind of a Roman style back in the day it takes modern people about four and a half hours to do that kind of extravagant braiding and all sorts of different jewelry that they would put into their hair and wear on their ears and things like that if you're wearing earrings and stuff like that don't think that I'm coming down on you okay like please don't think that look at me I'm wearing jeans in a in a flannel okay like we're talking about modesty here we're talking about what is sensible we're talking about not just the surface level stuff but the issues of the heart but Peter he's talking about the imperishable beauty that a woman has in Christ but Peter also gives another reason and there is an expensive honor and you can write that down there okay because because as we talk about extensive honor what I mean is that this kind of honoring of your husband costs a lot it's tough it's hard it be shared that story and you know I'm moved to tears over that because her story is not unique it's it is unique to her but we hear that same thing over and over and over again in our culture the cost is high but this kind of beauty is not something that everyone has in fact relatively few women have this kind of Godly character in God's sight it is very precious but it's also tangible proof to the Lost husband of the value of knowing Jesus Christ it might take a while to reach him but it's worth it I mean any woman can make themselves look good on the outside but when a husband beholds the beauty of

Jesus Christ and his wife what happens is he's totally disarmed by her character and it's a high cost and it's tough but it's valuable in the reward could be your husband's Soul being one to the Lord this word politelles talking about the talking about the cost of it is the same word used to describe the nard that was used to anoint Christ's head in Mark chapter 14. It was precious because of its value and in the same way your obedience to the Gospel is precious in the sight of God the fifth principle here is the example and if you look at verse 5 it says for this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to Adorn themselves by submitting to their own husbands as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord now the Old Testament is full of all sorts of different examples of women living this way especially the Patriarchs lives you got Sarah you got Rebecca you got Rachel you got Leah these women they followed their husband's leadership and they did it not because the men were intellectually Superior or more spiritual but because they hoped in God that's exactly what Peter says and so this is why Peter can instruct the women in the church today to endure this way with the power of the Holy Spirit is because your hope is in God as well the women in the Old Testament did it under their husbands as an example to us and Peter he specifically named Sarah as an example here of this kind of conduct the example that Peter cites here is explicitly found in Genesis chapter 18. The Lord he had visited Abraham's tent and they said in verses 9 through 12 it says they talking about the Lord said to him where is Sarah your wife and he's he Abraham said she is in the

Tent the Lord said I will surely return to you about this time next year and Sarah your wife shall have a son and Sarah was listening at the tenth door behind him now Abraham and Sarah were old advanced in years the way of women had ceased to be with Sarah so Sarah laughed to herself saying after I am worn out and my Lord is old shall I have pleasure now I want you to notice that context Peter puts this my Lord as a positive example and he's not being disrespected by Sarah there although she does make sure to note his age but he's still she's still honoring him she's still submitting she's still even in a casual conversation you see her complete submission to his authority she still speaks her mind she still has her doubts and this is in spite of Abraham making a serious leadership blunder in Genesis chapter 12 and he'll make a similar one again in Genesis chapter 20. Does this mean that your husband gets the run-of-the-mill that he always gets his weight not really submission is not blindly following your husband's leadership remember that definition that we talked about that submission is the Divine calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband's leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts let me let me tell you something Godly wives long for responsible Godly men to lead them towards Christ Godly women flourish when that happens they don't flourish when a husband is disconnected and so let's talk about how this may work out let's say that you and your husband have a decision that you have to make and you're not sure about your husband's decision you don't have a piece about it there's there's the godliest woman that I know she's just walking love you babe

So we're in our home it looks like this about every year we have the same conversation sometime around August or September because we've got five kids and Christmas is always a big deal right I mean if you just spend like a little bit of money it adds up quick for each kid right now my love language is gift giving and I love giving gifts I'm on a pastor's salary so we have to make sure that we're being responsible with our resources so we save up all year I'm like man maybe if we could just do a little bit more and she's like I don't know about that Cody I'm really not feeling very comfortable with the budget that we have set and so you know what I do I don't say well it's going to be my way or the highway I think that we can do this therefore we're going to do this that would be wrong that would be a way of you know belittling her and not valuing her but you know what we do is we pray seek the Lord I might look at some ways that I can help alleviate some of those concerns do an odd jobs and things like that because I still want to provide for my family and things like that but you know what's interesting is that we always talk about it and we always come to a consensus through prayer through studying the word by seeking out the Lord together you know when she voices those concerns she's not overthrowing my Authority or trying to be subversive you know what it is that she needs reassurance sometimes I might have an idea and so you know you know what we should invest in this I think this would be a good direction for us to go and she might go you know Cody I really don't see how

But I trust your leadership and so I take that into consideration and I might leave the family in the direction and it might all work out well the point is that she is willing to follow and that she's being very humble and submissive as she does it and so Peter here he gives a another principle here is the extent the extent of that submission it says do good and do not fear anything that is frightening and so wife to an unbelieving husband you may be concerned about where your husband may lead you remember that you do not have to be afraid okay as you honor the Lord God in submission to him first and secondly to your husband you can rely that God on God that he will do his good work and he will deliver you from evil if your husband seeks to lead you into sin you can tell him say I love to honor you I love to bring myself under your Authority and I love to submit to you but I cannot follow you into sin because Christ is my king the glory of God is the ultimate goal of every woman who trusts in the Lord God and we have countless examples of not just women in Scriptures but women throughout history and a lady that you may not have heard of before is this lady right here her name is Esther Burr anybody ever heard of Esther Burr before she was the second daughter of Jonathan Edwards he had eight daughters poor guy and she married Aaron Burr and he became the president of Princeton College she learned from her from her dad all about piety all about Christ she put her hope in God and not men and her journals they were published in 1984. Before then she was pretty much a nameless person but you can read them

All throughout that her journalist about her fight for Faith for example in 1754 she gave birth to a little girl named Sarah and after she was born they discovered that she had what they called a crooked neck and Esther she humbled herself before God and wrote perhaps God foresaw that we should be too proud of her and so it has sent This calamity to mortify us and her three years later in September of 1757 her husband died because he was just working so hard at the college and she doesn't even gloss over her pain at all she calls it a deep wound and she says that God only can know and to him alone would I carry my complaint but then two weeks later she's writing to her mom and she says this God has seemed sensibly near in such a supporting and comfortable manner that I think I have never experienced anything like it request earnestly of the Lord that I may never faint under his severe stroke I am afraid that I shall conduct myself so as to bring honor on the religion which I profess namely Christ and so what is the one thing that a woman who hopes in God fears what she fears bringing dishonor on God she fears that she may fail to glorify God under the rod of his hard Providence and how does she quiet her heart in the midst of that fear well she preaches to herself the attributes in the character of God that he will be faithful hence a lot of prayer Esther Burr she wrote she said at night when retired felt calmed with the thought that God would be glorified the ever blessed God will lose none of his glory let men are or Devils do their worst wives arrange yourselves under the authority of your husband to honor them even the unbelieving ones that God might receive all the praise and glory through

Your work head heart hand head I want you to know that every believer is called to subject ourselves for the sake of Christ every single one of us we're not our own masters you know whom we serve we serve the Living God heart I want you to believe that God values your suffering way more than you know it's extremely precious to him and you know what the world doesn't make sense of any of it hand I want you to be the kind of man that your wife loves to submit to or be the kind of woman who willingly follows her husband I mean what better testimony is there to a world that reviles Christ than to see a beautiful display of the Gospel through submission to your husband let's stand let's pray and let's respond and worship Lord we thank you so much for this day as we just rely on you God help us to live out this these Biblical truths especially for wives whose husbands may not be Believers God I pray that you would grant them endurance that you would help re-center them on their mission to win these Souls God we don't want these men to perish in Hell forever separated by your grace and your love or we want them to be reached with the Gospel we want them to Proclaim faith in you we want them to be born again and so I just pray that as these Godly women go from here that they would know that they're not alone but that they have a church that's cheering them on as Prayer Warriors and sources of encouragement God that we might see a mighty work done in our community and our world For Your Glory we love you in Jesus name amen [Music]

Lord I come [Music] I confess bowing here I find my rest and without you I fall apart you're the one that guides my heart sing that again Lord I come I confess bowing here I find my rest and without you I fall apart you're the one that guides my heart Lord I need you need you oh I every hour I need my one defense my righteousness oh God how I need you [Music] where sin runs deep Your Grace is more where Grace is found is where you are and where you are Lord I am free Holiness is Christ in me and where you are Lord I am free holiness [Music] is Christ in me foreign Lord I need you oh I every hour I need you my one defense righteousness oh God how I need Lord I need you Lord I need you oh [Music] I need you my one defense my righteousness oh God how I need [Music] you're my one defense

My righteousness oh God how I need foreign well we do need him don't we I don't know I better talk into this or you can hear me I know I have a quiet voice right if you're looking at your bulletin some of you saying is that PJ and no I'm too ugly for PJ but him and his family had some family issues they had to deal with so I'm here if you don't know my name is Spencer but I hope you do know my name is Spencer that means I'm doing my job I think but let's go to our God In Prayer father God we just want to bring you us to you Lord each of every one of us at our life we will follow the word we will trust in God will be an example we'll help bring others to Christ and will bring honor to you by doing that Lord as we leave here we want to also thank you for the food that you have blessed us with that's in the auditorium today we hope everyone stays and joins in the fellowship but we do thank you for that we also want to pray for guidance in the business meeting to follow and just lead us as you would want us to be led and follow and make the right decision that need to be made today we just come to you in Jesus name amen is thank you yes