On Sermon Regrets and Warnings (1 Cor 10) | The Sandhurst Beyond Sunday Podcast

In this episode, Will and Adam take a deeper dive into 1 Corinthians 10, discussing sermon regrets and Paul's warnings in the passage. Join the conversation as they unpack this passage together.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

All right. Welcome to the Sandhurst Beyond Sunday podcast, where we want to equip the Saints to think biblically about God, life, and culture so that our faith goes beyond Sunday. That's what we're doing. And uh, dude, we got big days right now. We got uh July 4th to 50th this past week. What did you do? That's big time.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

That's big time. Yeah, I know. Our family went out to a fireworks display, and it was really fun. It was incredible. Um, and uh I'll tell you, I spent most of my time filming the guys on the ground, like with the fire rockets shooting all around them. I was like, I was like, this is more fun than watching. I mean, it was incredible. It was incredible. So where'd you go? So I went out to Lotus, uh the to Lotus Recovery, and they had this whole community that comes in and they brought the whole recovery community together, and we were there with them. It was a really and really incredible time and um beautiful, beautiful time. Uh campus out there in Quimby, they did a great, great job on it. And so um, family was whole was all there and just just an amazing, amazing time. So big shout out to Lotus for what they did.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

I love it. Yeah, and fireworks, there's something special about fireworks. I will say, um, there were students who asked me one time, hey, can we do fireworks at your house? And for some reason, right? For some reason I said yes. I said yes once. Yeah, because it became a war zone. Stuff was tipping over and literally like running, diving. Like, where do you run when they're just shooting everywhere?

SPEAKER_02 1:24

Yes. One of my firework memories is we we we uh we celebrated laugh forth when we were living in England, and uh that was really special.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

And were you the only ones that celebrate pretty much?

SPEAKER_02 1:36

Everybody's like, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Great.

SPEAKER_02 1:39

But uh so we I you know I had uh I had one of those Roman candles and it has like 10 fireballs that shoot out of it, and I I was super naive and I just stuck it in the ground. Bad idea. Because first ball threw it down, and now every shot is going horizontal, and then it shoots and it's like spin the bottle. It's a different fire, like we're all diving on the ground. And one of our guests actually had her hair tinged by the ball shooting past her head. And then I I at that point I was like, yeah, I'm gonna let other guys do that. It was insane.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Hence the reason you're filming other people set up the fireworks.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

Yes, that's like I'm like, yeah, here we go, here we go.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

Just waiting for the hair to get singed.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

Oh man. But but I did have this one thought about the fireworks, and that is that as as you know, with all the explosions or whatever, for us, you know, fireworks is entertainment. And it's fun and it's super entertaining. But I did think about the guys back 250 years ago when it was not entertainment, you know, it was it was a war, it was real. And uh, and so it for me, uh, fireworks is fun, it's exciting, but it also stirs, you know, my kind of my heroic imagination, if you will, to think back about the guys that saw it back in 1776.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Yeah. Yeah. We went to the uh the soccer complex.

SPEAKER_02 2:52

Okay, cool.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

And dude, it was it was a great time. Yeah. Um, similar to last year, except there wasn't a thunderstorm. And the parking, like you could you could get in and they had um some things set up, like some disc golf, some spike ball, some like a little ninja course for or a little optical course for kids, and a bunch of other stuff too.

SPEAKER_02 3:12

And I'm really glad to hear that that went well well, Bill, because we had gone the year before and there were some struggles with that. You know, like you said, the storm, the parking, there was there were some hiccups. Yeah. So, but it sounds like, man, they they they made the adjustments and made it work for people, and uh that's awesome. I'm glad that happened. So big shout out to Florence.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Drone show, dude. Never seen that before. That was sweet. Yeah. Anyway, speaking of America, today is a big day. Tell us why. Today's Monday. So if you're watching this on Tuesday, America plays plays Belgium tonight. Woo! 8 p.m. Dang. I know. Let's go. Let's go. I want to win. And uh we got we got crazy games.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Did you see the games yesterday?

SPEAKER_00 3:51

Yeah, yeah. I watched both games. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:54

Crazy games.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Absolutely. Yeah, insane. All right. So if you're not keeping up with the World Cup, tonight's your night. Tonight is your night, although by the time we're listening to this.

SPEAKER_02 4:03

Coverage starts at 6 p.m. Don't be dismayed. The kickoff is at 8. Yes. Don't be exhausted by kickoff. 8 o'clock.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Yep. All right. Well, um, we are in 1 Corinthians. I was gonna say back in 1 Corinthians, but we were in 1 Corinthians all missions month. We're in chapter 10, though. And so here's what I want to do. I want to just go through the text. I want to um actually share some regrets that I have about yesterday. Okay. Two regrets. Um, I also then want to go back through the text and touch on some things that we didn't get to touch on in the sermon. And the hope in it is, again, equipping the saints to think biblically about God, life, and culture, that some of the things that um that weren't able to get addressed in the sermon would be able to be uh talked about now with the hope that 1 Corinthians 10 would become a better, a bigger, deeper treasure to us and that it would that 1 Corinthians 10 would go beyond Sunday. Um so that really is the goal. We'll read it and uh then I'll share some of two of my regrets from yesterday. All right. Chapter 10, verse 1 says, For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ. Okay, so he's talking about the how they received these spiritual blessings coming out of Egypt and making their way to the promised land. Right.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

Do you think that the rock here is a uh reference to um Moses speaking to the rock or striking the rock and water came out?

SPEAKER_00 5:48

100%. Yeah. Well, because he says that, what is it, 2 Corinthians? Yeah. Yeah. And and the rock was Christ.

SPEAKER_02 5:53

So they drank from this rock where the water came out and they ate the spiritual food as the manna.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

I w yes, yes, 100%. Yeah. And the the fact that I didn't give any attention to like what he says about and the rock was Christ, that I didn't give any attention to that on Sunday could have been a disappointment to some people. But it is, I think, worth worth noting insignificant that again, Jesus doesn't just kind of show up in the New Testament um like this guy who was never around, like he just gets called off the bench, like, hey, we need somebody right. Like was active in creation, was active in the the the wandering years, in the deliverance, in the guidance, and in the provision. And so that this whole trinity thing has been around. That is a really good point. Before the beginning.

SPEAKER_02 6:38

Yeah, that it's not just like, okay, we had a starter, but now we need the you know, the closer from the bullpen, right? I mean, right. It's like uh the Trinity has been actively involved all along, and the Bible is clear about this. It's it's not like, ooh, we're sort of inferring this. It's clearly stated.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

Clearly stated. All right, so they've received these spiritual blessings, verse five. Nevertheless, with most of them, God was not well pleased, for they were laid low in the wilderness, i.e., they died. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we ought not cra so that we would not crave evil things, as they also craved. Do not be idolaters as some of them were, as is it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and they stood up to play. Nor let us act immorally, or sexually immorally, as some of them did, and twenty three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord or test the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents, nor let us grumble as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. So uh he gives these four stories, and he says, These things happened as an example. Part one of the example was to kill our cravings. That was verse six, to kill our sinful cravings. Right. And the other part of the example is not just to sort of help us kill our full our sinful cravings, but to give us instruction in how to resist, because those those cravings will come back.

SPEAKER_02 8:07

Yeah, and can I mention here to you that um this verse six is not saying that all these people went through these horrible things uh that God was literally making uh you know an example for us. Like they it mattered to them in their life. And when he says these things occurred as examples to us, what he's he's not saying that was the primary purpose of them, that God was literally crafting their lives to be uh an object lesson for later people. He's saying that's just one of the results, right? And and so I just wanted to point out that that that these things occurred, and he the the the point is not about necessarily God is doing this, but the main thing is like open your eyes, like make sure that this example is not lost on you. That that's kind of the point there, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Could not agree more. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. All right, so now verse 11, now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man, and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. All right, so that's the text. Let me talk about two regrets from yesterday related to sort of the sermon and therefore the text.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

And by the way, great talk. I mean, like it was a good sermon. It was a really good sermon. Like I left thinking that was well taught. So whatever regrets you have, you know, my mine are in the in the bigger picture. I just want to say that for the record. Yeah. And every teacher, every preacher, for those of you who who don't preach regularly, is gonna walk off the stage and think I failed that. You know, and and and so uh there's always things that we can improve. But um, just for the record, it was a it was a great, it was a great message, and I was personally encouraged and challenged. So I appreciate it. I'm interested to see what you're gonna say.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

It is true that anytime you teach, or really anytime you do anything, when you're done, you're like, oh dang, I wish I could get a second crack at that. However, I think these are the legitimate things that uh legitimate like regrets worth bringing up.

SPEAKER_02 10:10

If you've ever uh if you know you have been with like a master carpenter like Chuck Black or something, you're like, this this you know book uh shelf or cabinet you just made is awesome. And he's like, Yeah, just don't look too closely. I'm like, if he says that, then I'm okay. Yes. So I get it. I think every craftsman thinks that.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Yeah. All right. So the first regret that I have is related to the very first word in the chapter four. Okay. Um, and that was the connection that I tried to rightly make between chapter nine and ten, that the the verse right before the word four says, Um, but I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. Okay. So um, an attempt yesterday to uh explain what he means so that I myself will not be disqualified. I tried to say well, what it doesn't mean, it doesn't mean that he he's not going, man, I I'm I'm afraid that I'm gonna be disqualified from salvation. Right. Uh what he is saying is uh he doesn't want to be disqualified from the opportunity to be used by God in winning the lost. Okay. I don't want to disqualify myself from the game. The the phrase that I used to try to um capture that is that he doesn't want to be missionally useless. Right, right. Um if I could go back, I I think that was poor word choice um for a couple reasons to say um to to kind of connect all of chapter 10 to this desire to not be missionally useless. Um for a couple reasons. Um one, there's sort of there's a pragmatic and theological reason why I think that was poor word choice to say disqualified equals missionally useless. The pragmatic reason is if we believe that our past has rendered us, like our past sins have rendered us missionally useless, then what's the point of being in missionally engaged at all? Right.

SPEAKER_02 12:09

Because we'll always find something.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

I've I've I'm disqualified. Right. My past is disqualify I and so I I think uh to for me to say as many times as I did yesterday, I don't want to be missionally useless, you know, to I th I think that really makes people go, well am I missionally if I'm already missionally useless, then what's the point of being missionally engaged at all? Uh so I think that's the pragmatic reason uh regret that I have for using that language to try to explain disqualified.

SPEAKER_02 12:40

For what for what it's worth, and and I and I take your I take your regret and I and I I I I I get it. Um uh the way I took that, if you can find a sort of a a positive way to to to interpret that, yeah, go is the is not that it's a hopper, like you're either on or off, because if it's a hopper, everybody's disqualified. I mean, there we can always find things that nibble away at our at our at our missional usefulness or whatever. We can always find sins to to look to. I took it more as uh a spectrum to say, look, don't get beyond the tipping point of you know going over the edge. You know, uh stay close to God, keep following him so that you don't do it. I mean, like even in these soccer games, you know, there's a lot of contact, a lot of throwing, a lot of grabbing. But there's a point at which you you if you cleat the guy in the back of the leg, you're gonna get a card. You know?

SPEAKER_00 13:26

Unless that card gets reversed. Did you guys hear about that? Did you hear about that? Crazy. I'm happy for us. I'm not sure. Redemption that that that that was right. In FIFA. In FIFA. But whatever.

SPEAKER_02 13:41

Whatever. Yes, yes. So uh I I think at that point, I I think what I took was, you know, it's try to stay within the the the on the normal end of the spectrum so that you don't get over the tipping point. You don't go beyond, you know, the boundaries of of of of I say no kind of normalcy in in your struggles.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

Yeah. So that's the pragmatic reason that I have regret for using that language to explain disqualified. Um the theological sort of reason for the regret is God doesn't just use people in spite of our brokenness, he often uses us through our brokenness. And Paul himself has a a very stained past. And um and then he doesn't just talk about his past, he talks about himself as being in in the present tense, like he talks about himself being the chief of sinners.

SPEAKER_02 14:32

And yeah, and and and by the way, I do think Paul thinks about that as the past and the present. Like uh I I think for him it there's not like there is definitely a obviously if anyone had a born-again moment, Paul did. Uh but I do think Paul thinks um that this is a part of my story, it is a part of my humanity, and it is it is a part of my redemption story that I bring to it, not something that I leave behind from it.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

Yeah, so um, so theologically I I'm going there there is no one who is redeemed by God, uh, who's indwelt by his spirit, who is at the same time missionally useless. Amen. That's my regret. So there's a theological reason, there's a pra there's a pragmatic reason. And so just to give a little bit of attention to that that word disqualified, um the the the word, the Greek word is uh ad adach ad akimos. Um it means to be unapproved, not standing the test. It's usually translated as unfit, failed, or worthless. And um so so really strong language there. Yeah. Um I think if if I was going to gonna go back and try to capture what Paul is saying based on that, I would say I would not use the language uh missionally useless, but maybe um missionally unfruitful, missionally ineffective, missionally disengaged, or to say it positive, um he's going, I want to I want to be missionally engaged. I want to be missionally effective, I want to be missionally fruitful. This is what he wants, and what he's giving in in chapter 10 is this warning of hey, um, here's how we can render ourselves missionally disengaged or unfruitful or ineffective, yeah, not useless. Yeah. And so uh I do think well, I I have a regret there.

SPEAKER_02 16:36

So I th I I the words that you know as you were going through kind of the unfruitful of the other words that you might have used, the word that came to my mind was compromised, to be missionally compromised. That you've compromised the integrity of the strength that you otherwise would have, right? You know, you think about, for example, um, you know, uh trust in the business world, and something happens and it compromises your trust with someone. It doesn't mean that they're uh bad or good, it just means that okay, uh now we need to figure out, now we got something to deal with. And I think Paul's saying, don't compromise the trust people have in you, don't compromise your witness by uh by engaging in in in worldly ways that that uh sabotage the the the reflection of God's image in you and through you.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

I think that was really well said, yeah, missionally compromised. And so to kind of slap a verse on what I think Paul is saying, uh Hebrews 12, he's going, I I want to exercise self-control and discipline so that I can run with endurance the race that is set before me, and I don't want to act in such a way where I'm going to be missionally compromised. I think that that that's really good. I would so I I regret um that I s that I use the language missionally useless. I don't think that was right or and I do think it was unhelpful. So um that's first regret. Second regret, a little bit more um quick, is I think showing the pictures of the guys of the men who have fallen, that's a regret that I have. And I would even say, maybe I'll say it on Sunday, but I'll say uh here and now, I'm sorry that I did that. Um I regret that. I think um Christians we tend to be really quick to shoot our wounded and I never want to be that. And I I didn't mean to do it, but I did it on Sunday. And while while it's true, it was th those pictures are helpful to me personally because I truly in in my heart I'm not in judgment of the people as I I am trying to um to see how their sinful craving to see where their sinful cravings took them. Uh but not everything that's helpful to me personally is uh appropriate or good to be publicized corporately. And uh so I regret that. I'm sorry about that. If I could go back, I would not have done that, it wasn't worth it. And I um Yeah, I yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:15

Okay, and and um in the moment, I mean, and I and I I affirm that. I affirm your regret. Uh in the moment, it didn't hit me wrong. Um and the reason is that these these you're not you're not exposing them. Like these men were public figures, they had public failures, and there's been a public, you know, trail, right? So the the the this was not new information to anyone, it was just an organizing of what's happened. Uh so there there was no, you know, no offen no gossip or offense on your part in the sense that this is all public uh information. Um I but uh but to your point about sort of organizing it all in one place and kind of re-promoting it for a public purpose, that you're probably right that it would be good either on a personal level or maybe a private level with a small group, a couple of people in a discipleship environment, maybe not um a gathered worship service, right?

SPEAKER_00 20:07

That's yeah. Yeah. And and and then when you combine the two regrets that I have, taught using this language of missionally useless and then showing these guys most all all of them are alive except for one in the pictures that I showed. And and if you didn't see the sermon, then sorry that this doesn't really make sense. But um what I was not intending to say, but accidentally communicating is these guys are currently missionally useless. And I do not believe that. Yeah, and that is just not true. Yeah, uh, I have real regret there.

SPEAKER_02 20:40

Well, for what it's worth, I didn't take that. I I did not make that connection in the moment. But I can see how you you could connect those dots.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

Yeah. So um those are my regrets. Any other thoughts on regrets? Uh yeah, no, no, no. Anything you regret about the sermon that I did?

SPEAKER_02 20:57

I I I would I would really, okay, you know, duly noted and I would put it behind you because I think that the, you know, if if I were grading the message, it would it it was it was strong. And and like you said, every teacher has regrets when he walks off the stage, and some are greater than others. And um, but uh for for what it's worth, whoops, for what it's worth, uh your your uh you know the the things that you've just mentioned as as mistakes that you would take back. Uh um they they didn't hit me wrong in the moment. And as I'm sitting here, okay, yeah, I I would do that differently, you know, now that you mention it, but I wasn't I was not uh it didn't hit me wrong.

SPEAKER_00 21:29

All right. Well, I appreciate your grace, and it hit me wrong. So I appreciate it. All right, um let's let's hit the text here and uh let's start with the first really four verses where he talks about they've received these spiritual blessings. If you're gonna put them in categories, the the spiritual blessing of deliverance, the spiritual blessing of guidance. He references the cloud and the pillar of fire. Um so make sure we just know. As they were being led out of Egypt into the promised land, God guided them by a cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night. So this was how he guided them. And then provision. He references the manna in the wilderness. And so the spiritual blessings that they experienced coming out of Egypt were this divine deliverance, guidance, and provision. Right. We have experienced the same sorts of blessings in Christ. Deliverance, guidance, provision. Let's talk about those real quick as we're trying to want to make sure that we understand the awesomeness of the gospel that we have believed, and what way have we experienced divine deliverance, guidance, and provision? What thoughts do you have?

SPEAKER_02 22:51

Oh man, in so many ways. I mean, obviously, uh there's layers to it, right? There's a spiritual layer, there's a relational layer, a physical layer. You know, God um has given us the grace to respond to his love and to love him back. And so he's filled us uh for by grace you've been saved through faith. It is the gift of God, not by work, so that no man no man can boast. So that we've received the gift of faith to give back to God. And so we have received deliverance in Christ. Um, we have received direction, you know, in his word, he continues to speak to us through his spirit. He gives us his church to, you know, he gives us his word to and his gives us his people to help guide us along the path of which there are many thorns and difficulties through many dangers, toils, and snares. I have already come. And uh, and so we have so many helps given to us. And then finally, provision. Oh my goodness, you could just go down the list of in every way. He's he's filled our souls, he's given us his his grace, which is his his presence, his provision, his protection. Uh, and and in so many ways he is he has done this, and he and he continues to. I think the trouble is when it doesn't look like we want, even in our day, like we can look at them and go, why did they grumble? They were given man in the desert. Well, we grumble, like, you know, because we he does these things for us, but we don't always like the way he does them. And therein lies the that you know, when when you get discontent or you get irritable uh or resentful about the way things are happening, then that's that's that's where we we get off the high road, get off the path.

SPEAKER_00 24:18

Yeah. Gospel blessings. And uh, in terms of deliverance, guidance, provision, some thoughts that come to my mind or some verses um in terms of deliverance, he has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. That's deliverance right there. Um, in terms of guidance. Um, you you know you referenced his his word 100%. Uh his word is our guide, a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path. He's given us guidance, he's provided for us. Uh the the greatest thing that God has provided to his people is himself. That Jesus said, It's to your advantage that I go away, because if I go, then I will send you the Holy Spirit. And uh so we like Israel have received the divine deliverance and guidance and provision of God immensely spiritually blessed. And then we come to verse five. Yep. Nevertheless, nevertheless, nevertheless, with most of them, God was not well pleased, for they were laid low in the wilderness. All right, I don't know that I have a great answer here, so and I know we've talked about this before. How is how how do we reconcile this idea that we have been delivered and God has given us guidance and provision? And and therefore we stand in the righteousness of Christ, therefore God is pleased with us, and yet can God then not be well pleased with his children, with with us? Can is he pleased or not pleased? Can is he fully pleased or is he sometimes disappointed because uh the Bible says that we can grieve the Holy Spirit? That's right. So does he delight in me? Is he grieving me? Yeah. So how do how do you make sense of this?

SPEAKER_02 26:15

Yeah, so there's so many ways in which we live in the center of biblical tension, and this is one of them. So we there's the there's the long game of the relationship, and there's the daily game of the fellowship. So our relationship with God is a relationship in which he delights in us, right? So let's take, you know, we are his children. The obvious example is our children. Like I delight in my children from the moment they were conceived till the moment one of us passes into glory. There's no day in which I'm not thankful for and delight in my children. Now, um, that is the relationship which will never be broken. Now, is the fellowship broken? Absolutely. We have our moments when for some reason, some behavior, some whatever, words, thoughts, actions uh lead us into some sort of conflict. But that is not a break in the relationship, it's a break in the fellowship. And so that can be renewed. And so we live in this uh tension between there is an ongoing, unbreakable relationship with God, but there is a daily fellowship with him that can be uh compromised and renewed. And I think that's what's happening with Israel.

SPEAKER_00 27:17

Yeah. Uh so the the break can be in the fellowship, not that I am uh unloved, less loved, unsaved, less saved, um, but that the God who adopted me as his child and delights in me as his child can grieve uh the the the things that I'm doing, can grieve the behaviors, the cravings that I have that are breaking that fellowship that um and you know he's jealous for our affection, and so it grieves him when we take a path that goes uh against our joy in him. So he is uh pleased with us as we stand in the righteousness of Christ, and he grieves anything that we do that that pulls us away from what is our greatest joy.

SPEAKER_02 28:10

And I think this is actually one of the strengths of the Christian faith, and it is unique to Christianity that Christianity allows it recognizes the complexity of humanity in existence, that it's not just uh kind of a flattened thing, it is it is nuanced and it is multi-layered, and it is an interaction of the human and the divine, and to kind of make it less like cosmic. Um Christianity uniquely gives us the ability to rejoice and grieve simultaneously. The world cannot do this. Okay, if your dog is happy, it's not sad. If your dog is sad, it's not happy. I mean, it's like animals can really do one thing at a time, and the world sees us as animals, just the top of the food chain. But God sees us as made in the image of God and the ability to do things and to think things and feel things and experience things multiple layers at a time, and we can rejoice in and be completely connected to and loving towards our children while we are grieving and struggling with something that is happening with them. And that is a wonderful, mysterious, delightful thing that Christianity gives to the world that it cannot experience apart from the living in the image of God. And so what God made us in this image and he delights in us always because of that. But he is at the same time grieved when we live apart from that image because we are now taking a hammer and trying to treat it like a screwdriver. We're trying to do something apart from our identity, and he is hopeful for us that we will realign with the our design, because that is where our true joy is found. And a hammer is happiest when it's hammering, right? And so he has made us to live in his image. And when we depart from that image, he's grieved, but his delight in us remains as made in his image, he is hopeful for us that we will return. So those are some thoughts.

SPEAKER_00 30:01

Yeah, and man, that's that's really good. His delight remains even as he is grieved. His delight remains in us as his children, adopted by him, by his doing, uh, and yet uh is grieved by the choices that we make that well, you said it better, that that pull us away from our greatest joy in him. Um, so in the text, they've received these spiritual blessings. Nevertheless, the people he redeemed, he was not well pleased with them. And so uh he's gonna give four examples. And one of the things that we didn't do in the sermon is give uh sort of the story behind these, and I want to give us a chance to make sure that we know the stories that he cites here. All right, now all these things happen as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Okay, these stories are supposed to kill our cravings for sin. Story number one do not be idolaters as some of them were, as it is written. The people sat down to eat and drink and stood up to play. Pause. What's the story there, Adam?

SPEAKER_02 31:03

All right, so that's happening in Exodus at the very beginning. They've just left Egypt, they've just crossed the Red Sea, they've arrived at uh at Mount Zion, and they're there, and Moses has gone up on the mountain. He's gone longer than they think he should be, and they got impatient. They they make this golden calf, and they uh and they honor the calf as the one who brought them out of Egypt. And and then Aaron says, wait, we're gonna have a festival of the Lord, but they kind of then they just sort of mesh these two things, their idolatry and their Yahweh worship, and they got up to eat and drink. The people sat down to eat and drink, got up and dulled in pagan revelry. And so they that that's that moment when they're waiting for Moses and they are worshiping the calf, and they've they've they they've they've rejected God, they've gone back to what they knew, uh, pagan worship, like like it was done in Egypt.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

Yep. And God's like, I'm gonna destroy them, Moses, and start over with you. Moses intercedes for all of them. He's like, God, please don't save them all. Yeah. And uh and God relents. Prayer matters. Yeah. Um, and but then when Moses goes down, he's upset by what he sees. He takes golden calf, grinds it up, throws it on the water, makes him drink it. Yep. And as Hal would say, not all that glitters is gold. That's for sure. All right. Um so that is the sin of idolatry that he references as a story that says, Hey, um, when you sense that craving towards idolatry to love something more than God, remember, remember this story and let that craving just uh have some context.

SPEAKER_02 32:38

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:39

All right.

SPEAKER_02 32:39

Um I think what's interesting about that too is that that you know, again, just God God is not just zapping them for doing something, you know, out of his way. Uh he is saying they were sowing to death and he was punishing them to bring them back to the path of life. That's discipline. That's discipline. That's right. It was for their good. He wasn't just like uh, you know, in in some kind of a divine rage. This is this is uh not in conflict with, but actually a part of his love for his people to say this, I'm not going to allow you to do things that will kill your soul.

SPEAKER_00 33:13

Yeah, I wonder though. It is divine rage, but it is not um hateful rage. Right. Yeah. You know, and and it's kind of like you were saying earlier, the the rage and the and the love are not exclude, not mutually exclusive things. Um it is divine rage from divine love.

SPEAKER_01 33:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:34

That's idolatry. The second story, he says in verse 8, nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and 23,000 fell in one day. What's the story there? Story comes from Numbers 25, and actually you gotta back up a little bit just to get the story. So um Balaam gets hired as this guy to this the sorcerer, really, to curse Israel. And God won't let him do it. He even uses a donkey to make sure that he doesn't. And so he doesn't curse Israel, but what he does is he um gives instruction to Moab for how you can destroy Israel. Okay, it's not gonna be with a curse, it's going to be with this sly little thing where we um we entice them into sexual immorality that is going to lead to uh more idolatry. Yeah this intermarriage where um they're gonna be tempted to now serve other gods. That's right. And so uh that's where we pick up in numbers twenty-five. Balaam didn't curse them, but he did instruct them towards instructed Moab how to beat Israel. And it says, uh, while Israel remained at Shaitan, this is Numbers 25, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and vowed down to their gods. So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel. The Lord said to Moses, Take all the leaders of the Israel of Israel and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel. So Moses said to the judges of Israel, Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal. Now, the instruction is given, execute the people who have committed this sexual immorality and therefore this um this idolatry. The order is given, I don't think that the order has happened yet, that that it's been the executions have happened yet. Here's why. It says this Then, behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. So this guy brings this girl in, this foreign woman, and he walks in front of Moses in front of everybody, and is basically going, like, What you gonna do? Yeah. You ain't gonna do this. You do not have the guts to do what God has said. You ain't gonna do nothing. He's basically calling God and Moses' bluff. Yeah. Turns out it's not gonna be a bluff. No. So what happens? Next verse. When Phineas, the son of Eliezer, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through the man of Israel and the woman through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. Yeah. This is the story that he's referencing here, going, Hey, I'm telling you this story, and this serves as an example for us that when you have this craving towards sexual immorality, remember that and let it go. Hmm, I'm craving it. This is not worth it.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And uh again, just shows how how seriously God takes sin. Yes. Absolutely. And again, these are great warnings for us. Number three.

SPEAKER_00 37:14

Number three, I'll read it. And maybe you can tell us a story. Yep. Uh, nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.

SPEAKER_02 37:22

Okay, that seems sounds so random, but it's not. Uh actually, um, you know, you know more about this uh than you think because you know we all see that medical symbol on the side of a of an ambulance with a snake that's wrapped around a pole or even a cross. And this is this is where that symbol of healing comes from. Uh there were at the end of the they're now they're uh this is from Numbers chapter 21. They're at the end of their time in the desert. They've been there 40 years, they're they've come back full circle and they're about to enter the land, and they're just tired of the manna, and they say, they they start to grumble. Man, Moses, we are tired of this food, we are tired of this water, we are tired of of all of this, uh, and we and are just sick of this. And they they grumble against God. They test the Lord, but what what that means is uh they they basically call God's provision insufficient. Like you are not doing it right. And and that that is a that is a form of idolatry, setting up yourself against God. And so so that's when uh God sent snakes among them to discipline them, and then God said, if you create a golden snake and whoever is bitten looks to it, he will be healed. And that's that's uh that's the source of that healing symbol on the ambulance, and that's the source of this verse here.

SPEAKER_00 38:34

All right, yep. And so the the story says, Um, that when you want to test the Lord, remember this, and let that craving die. This fourth story is uh in verse uh verse 10, nor let us grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. What's the story there? Again, a story from their wandering in the wilderness, and it's from number 16. Probably that there's there's a number of stories that would fit this description of uh they grumbled. Um but one of them is number 16, where a guy named Korah and 250 other guys come to Moses and they say, Um, well, I'll read it. He says to them, You have gone far enough. So he's talking to Moses and Aaron, you've gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst. Yeah. Uh and the Lord is in their midst. So why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord? In other words, uh, Moses, you've been our leader, uh, but your time is up. All right, you're not special. Uh God hasn't chosen you. Get out the way. You have taken, he actually says later, you've taken us from a land of milk and honey, i.e. Egypt, and you you've gone nowhere. Your time is up. And so Moses uh goes, all right, well, let's let's just see. Long story short, is uh they kind of set up a test. Who has the Lord chosen? And um and Korah gets um swallowed up by the earth. Yeah. And the re the other 250 guys get consumed by fire. Yeah grumble. Yep. The next time you're grumbling, remember um no, I I do not want to test the Lord in that way.

SPEAKER_02 40:30

Yeah, and I I love not I don't love, it it it breaks my heart, but it does remind me that you know creation is God's, and so the earth and fire consume his enemies, and um, you know, that he will he will deliver those who follow him. But uh it it and in even in Moses' day, you know, I think we think, you know, they had these ten plagues on Egypt and they saw the Red Sea divide. And I mean, if you live through that, you didn't need faith. But it's clear to us that they even they who saw these incredible things still needed faith to follow God. You know, I think if if I saw that, I would, I would, I would follow no matter what. Well, they didn't.

SPEAKER_00 41:07

And so I think And we have received spiritual blessings greater than they. Far, far.

SPEAKER_02 41:13

So I think the the onus is on us to to to to to walk in the way of faithfulness, to follow God, to not grumble, to not test the Lord, and and and and to to follow with uh gratitude and faithfulness.

SPEAKER_00 41:27

Yeah, so the uh you know the they walked into their own demise in these four different ways, the the idolatry, the sexual immorality, the testing the Lord, and the grumbling and so question is Um how how do these stories or other stories in the Bible help you personally, Adam? Uh how do how do bringing these stories to mind actually help you sort of kill those cravings before those cravings get to snowball into something you're like, all right, I'm gonna I know I shouldn't, but here I go.

SPEAKER_02 42:06

Yeah, I mean it's uh there, you know, the old uh wisdom from uh Andy Griffith, you know, nip it in the bud. Uh when I look here, you know, Paul himself uh tells us in uh in verse 12 so if you think you're standing firm, be careful that you don't fall. You know, that to not get on autopilot, to stay every day submitted to God, to keep the fellowship with God uh intact, fresh, to to maintain fresh repentance daily, to maintain fresh commitment daily, and to be accountable to brothers who will help uh call things out for me if I'm starting to stray from the path. Because um even in uh the the proverb this morning, it talked about you know the the the person who strays from the path that goes, he goes, he goes, and then his destruction will come suddenly. Well, and then you mentioned it the sermon that uh that things often happen gradually and then suddenly.

SPEAKER_00 42:58

I think I quoted, I think that was I heard that from you. Yeah, and you came over that or I got it from Mark Twain. Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:04

Uh that that that oftentimes, whether it's good or good things work, you know, we talk about the overnight success. No, it wasn't. It was 40 years of gradual, low slope behind if uh an overnight success. It's the same thing in destruction. There's a there's usually a long gradual slope down before something uh catastrophic happens. And so I think for me it's just to make sure that I remain accountable to to daily renewing a fellowship with with with of loving God and others and so that I I don't get to that point where some catastrophic event is needed to correct.

SPEAKER_00 43:34

Mm-hmm. Yeah. The the snowball effect of sin really and and and that phrase, you know, sin it grows gradually uh and and ruin happens gradually and then suddenly. Yes. Um it helps me. Uh I've said before, and I think I took it from my dad that the sin that rules me will one day ruin me. Right. Um sin it snowballs. And I think uh Uh an image that Matt Chandler has used before is the baby lion. I don't know if you've heard him talk about this before, but he'd talk about like the baby lion sins, the ones that are kind of cute, the ones that are uh don't seem like terrible, uh, but that snowballs or that that he'd say that lion grows. Yeah. And that that line will eat you.

SPEAKER_01 44:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:21

And the the little sins that uh seem like no big deal. Um you know, it wasn't that bad, it wasn't that long, it wasn't that many times, uh, it wasn't that severe. Right. Those those things grow. And and they will ruin me. They they've there's a well-worn path of people who received God's blessing and were ruined by um in in a way that they should have expected and they didn't. And and how arrogant would it be to think that I would be any different.

SPEAKER_02 44:52

And I want to speak to the men here too, especially, and say that we as men, as males, are often uh guilty of passivity. You know, if if in other words, if if I got away with it and nothing happened, if the ref didn't call it, if if my wife still talks to me after I was a little sharp to her, well, it was okay then. And if, you know, uh if my you know kids are are breaking the rules under me and it's causing stress in our home, but they're still alive, it's still okay, and I don't want to deal with it. You know, I've got other things happening, I've got bigger, bigger fish to fry, so to speak, then it'll probably be fine. And we men can just so easily justify these little, these little little downward grades. And I and I would just call us out as men to uh call a spade a spade. And if something is wrong, call it, especially in your own heart. And you want to be gentle, but also firm and and and firm first of all with yourself and keep yourself accountable and be the man, apologize, take the whoop and move on, but deal with things while they're small because you don't, you know, the ounce of prevention is worth that pound of care.

SPEAKER_00 45:57

Yes. Well it it is. And um yeah, you're you're totally right. The I think one other thing that has helped me in thinking about these stories and um just kind of attacking the craving, not just the behavior, is the ripple effect. Like, like the the consequences of the sin go beyond the person who committed the sin. And a lot of these stories, it was the man and his family who are affected. Right. And that is just so um real to life that um that I can look around and see stories and go, man, my my sin and the cravings behind them, they will uh they will impact the people I love most. They will impact most the people I love most. And I don't want that. That helps me kill the craving. And and that really has been helpful for me to go um to to address the craving, not just the sin, uh the the the sort of action. That really has helped me. The the nip it in the bud sort of thing. Um it's been helpful to get it early, and it's been helpful to get it at the core root of my heart. Man, behind this decision is a heart craving. And um and I need I need like I need some hope. I need some power outside myself to help me in um the deepest, darkest places of my heart. Um, and so I think these stories help us not just address the behavior but the cravings behind them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:39

So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:41

Um, that's the first thing he says. The example the the four stories, they are examples for us so that we wouldn't crave evil things. The second thing he says is these things happened as an example and they were written for our instruction. So not just to kill the craving, but to give instruction. And the the points that I said yesterday that I want to get some of your thoughts on, Adam, are um that they give instruction that number one, I am not invulnerable. That is, uh, if anyone thinks he stands firm, take heed. Like be, I think your Bible says, be careful, yeah, um, lest he fall.

SPEAKER_02 48:17

Yep, be careful.

SPEAKER_00 48:18

Um, so I am not invulnerable. And then also these stories give instruction that my temptation is not unique, it is common to man. Whatever idolatry, sexual immorality, grumbling, testing the Lord, I feel now has been happening. It is not unique to me. And then uh these stories also give instruction that um my God is faithful. Um and so I think probably maybe maybe there's more to be said about, you know, we're not invulnerable and that my temptation is not unique. But I do want to think more so about the the faithfulness of God. And what you would say, Adam, to someone who goes, Man, I believe uh 1 John 1 9, I really do, that I believe that God is faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I do believe that. Here's what I would love to experience. I would love to experience God's faithfulness to be the way of escape in temptation. And just make sure that we we keep that thought that I just said connected to the text. It says, No temptation has overtaken you, but such as has come to man, and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also. What would you say to someone who's going, I I believe God is faithful and just to forgive me, but I'm just not feeling like I'm experiencing God's faithfulness to deliver me, kind of like from the Lord's word, to deliver me from temptation. Uh, but I want to experience God's faithful, faithfulness in that way. What would you say?

SPEAKER_02 49:52

You know, that's uh that that that is that is attention. And I would say search your heart and see where is God moving in you today. Um in other words, don't judge yourself by externals, like I'm not a terrible person, I'm not doing this, or I'm not doing Y or not doing Z. I just, you know, my little, like you say, my little pet sins or whatever, my little uh lion cubs ends or you know, whatever. Don't don't remember to just put yourself on, put your finger on your impulse and recognize that every sin is is leading to death. Every sin is poison. And and to to be aware of where you are tempted. So I'll I'll give I'll give an example. Um I borrowed a um a few years ago, I borrowed a steam vacuum cleaner from someone who uh was not in our church, but a friend of mine from other circles. And um I used it, and when I was returning it, it was in the back of the car, and there was something happened, I forget what happened in front of me. I had to slam on the brakes, and I could I could hear the the uh vacuum like roll and bang on the back of the seat like it was in the in in the very back. And I thought, oh, that probably wasn't good, but it will. So I return it, you know, and a few months later I ran into those people and I'm like, hey, did that vacuum work for you? Because it doesn't work for us. And I was like, yeah, it did. It worked for me. But in my mind, I'm thinking, okay, I know probably what happened was, you know, when it when I slammed on the brakes and it hit, I heard it thud, you know. So was it technically right that it worked for me and I returned it working? Yes. But did I tell them the full story? No. And later I felt convicted about that. And I went back and I and I made that right. And and and but it was, um, I feel like that we know, each individual person know your conscience to listen to your conscience and to pay attention to what God is doing in your heart. And don't do what is technically right, but do what God is leading uh where he is putting his finger on in your heart to stay uh on on the high road in fellowship with God. And and it's gonna be different for everybody.

SPEAKER_00 51:55

Yeah, I think that's that's a good example. And um, you know, got we we take God at His word. God is faithful, who with the temptation will provide a way of escape. And so if for someone who's going, I would love to be able to tell stories of God's faithfulness to um deliver me from the temptation. Um I think everything you said is good.

SPEAKER_02 52:22

Because in that moment, I was super tempted to go with my truth, my technically true statements.

SPEAKER_00 52:28

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 52:29

Um, and I did for a while. And I let that, but I knew in my heart, like there was more to the story that I was not revealing. That uh, and and and and at the end, in the end, and it took me a while, I was like, okay, I'm I'm going to open that part up. But um, I was tempted just to let it go because it was all fine. Yeah. Um, but I feel like that the Lord was not pleased with the way I handled that.

SPEAKER_00 52:55

Yeah. And and God was faithful to take what was um sort of a deceptive true technicality, but uh he was faithful to convict you even after the sin and uh and to point you towards righteousness. I think that's a good example of God's faithfulness being uh present and active even in and after your unfaithfulness.

SPEAKER_02 53:21

Aaron Ross Powell And the danger in this is not just that um well what I mean, what a small little deal. What does that matter? Well, one little thing That's the baby line. That's it. Leads to, oh, well, that kind of worked. I could do it in this again and again, and that's the gradual slope, and that's what leads to kind of that sudden destruction later when the compromises get more frequent, they get more significant, and all of a sudden the the frog is boiled in the kettle.

SPEAKER_00 53:48

Right. And I am missionally compromised. Yep. Not useless, compromised.

SPEAKER_02 53:54

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 53:57

God is faithful, and the fact that I am or you are, we are, still struggling with sin does not mean that he is not faithful. It does mean I have more to learn and more to grow in terms of my sanctification. I have more to learn, more to grow. The fact that I fail, it doesn't uh it gives me reason to rejoice that I stand in his righteousness. It gives me reason to grieve that I've broken fellowship with God, and it has given me reason to keep going back to 1 Corinthians 10 and Hebrews 4 and say, Lord, I need your grace to help me, to give me grace to help in time of need and mercy. Mercy and grace to help in time of need. I God is faithful, and part of the sanctification process is learning to rest in and live in the power of God's faithfulness to us in terms of saying no to the cravings of the flesh. He is faithful, and we have we have more to learn, more to grow about living in it.

SPEAKER_02 54:59

Well, one thing I want to point out here is if in in verse um 13, and God is faithful, kind of to your point, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. So God doesn't ever take something without providing something in its stead. And so if we don't have the food we want, like they didn't, we do have the food we need. And the way I think that we protect our hearts in that moment, you know, you asked, how do you, you know, protect your faithfulness in that moment of temptation? One way is to cultivate gratitude for God's deliverance, guidance, and provision in the forms that it is it is carried. And that's again something that we tend that grew Christians can hold in tension at the same time that we are content with with what we have. We are also going to work, we're developing ourselves, we're developing our lives, we're building fences, we're, you know, we're uh we're you know cultivating vines, we're we're we're doing things to grow what God has given us. And so um, but we we keep this tension and ambition in in tension. And with but the the ambition that drives us forward is based on a fundamental uh contentment with God's deliverance, guidance, and and provision. And so to cultivate gratitude uh will help protect our hearts from resentment, irritability, um, and uh and discontent.

SPEAKER_00 56:26

Yeah, his faithfulness is deeper and wider than the faithfulness that I um than what I see in any given moment. Um deliverance, guidance, provision. All right, so let's um let's close on this thought. Or just want to speak to I mean just in our conversation, but speak to our church listening when it comes to these four things that these four sins that he um highlights idolatry, sexual immorality, testing the Lord and grumbling, I just want to like declare God's faithfulness to um to be to be our way of escape from those things today. So when it comes to idolatry, the um the idolization of my image, the idolization of success, the w whatever I'm tempted to idolize, and I can make a list for me. God is faithful to be my escape from that today, as he is also faithful to forgive me and cleanse me from it when I commit it. He's faithful for that today, church. When it comes to sexual immorality, he is faithful to be my escape today from that sinful craving. And he is faithful to be uh faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from that sin today as well. When it comes to testing the Lord and and the temptation that comes that says, uh, oh God will forgive me anyway. That's testing the Lord and that temptation that God is faithful to be my escape from that cheap gospel garbage today, as He is also faithful to forgive us and cleanse us for that since for that sin if we commit it today or when we commit it another time. And then the fourth one, grumbling. He is faithful to be my escape from a whiny, um, complainy, self-absorbed attitude today. He is faithful to be my escape today, as he is also faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me uh if I fail in that way today, or when I fail in that way in the future. So I want I want to really just uh as as we've done on Sundays, do do this again to consider God and it He is He is faithful to be our escape today and to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. No, we are not missionally useless. And when to the extent that we were missionally compromised, um, there is an opportunity for repentance back to a God who loves us, sees us, and has redeemed us and given us his spirit so that we can be on mission to do the things that he has called us to do, like win the lost.

SPEAKER_02 59:19

Yeah. Yeah, and I and I do want to point out that when it says here in uh the verse 13 is often misquoted, it says, God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. Uh oftentimes people say God will not give you more than you can handle. Absolutely, he does. Uh we we have things more than we can bear every day. And that's why the next sentence says, But when you are tempted, um you can handle it. No, he will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. And so um we have more than we can bear every day. And that's why his his Paul doesn't say uh I I can do it. He says, His grace is sufficient for me. Yeah, he's faithful. He is faithful. And so that's why, you know, looking up to him is so important to remember that it's his grace, his power, his strength. It was his deliverance, his guidance, his provision. And it will continue to be that Jesus says, I am the way. And so uh we are so dependent on his grace every day, and that's how we make it, that's how we stand up.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:14

Amen. The all of chapter 10 is flowing out of uh Paul's desire, and not just Paul's desire, the the saints' responsibility and privilege to um to win the lost. And so I want to close us in prayer, uh, an abridged version of our prayer for our one, and um, and then also want to pray that we would experience God's faithfulness to be our escape from our sinful cravings today. Um, Father, thank you for your grace. Thank you for your grace. Um in uh when we and as I have r regrets from Sunday about um the way I explained things, um thank you that your word is still living, active, sharp, and transformational. I'm grateful for it. Um I want to ask that you would use your word in the the story of saints of old to give us uh inspiration and warning. That we would not act on the cravings of our sinful desires. And pray that we would not be missionally compromised and to the extent that we are, that we would throw ourselves back on the throne of grace, that we would approach the throne of grace with confidence to find mercy and grace to help in time of need. And pray, Lord, that you would use us powerfully at home across the street and around the world, um, and to win the lost. And so, Lord, we as a church, we have identified people that we want to win to you, understanding that it's by your doing. And so um, we believe that you are worthy of worship from every t tribe, tongue, people, and nation. You're desiring that none would perish, but all would come to repentance. But right now, our ones they are dead in their trespasses and sins, they are by nature children of wrath. So we pray for them, asking that the eyes of their heart would be enlightened, that they would know the hope of your calling. How can they call on him whom they have not believed? How can they believe without a preacher? Here we are, Father, send us. Yeah, the church is handhers, send us. In weakness and in fear and in much trembling, speaking not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in a demonstration of the spirit of power, so that their faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on your power. Father, we know that out of the overflow of our hearts, our mouths speak. So help us to love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and let us be known by our love. Oh God, incline your ear and hear, for we for we present our supplication before you, not on account of our own merit, but on account of your great compassion. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Amen. All right. Thanks, everyone. Thanks, Adam. Yep.