Phil Parsons - Sunday, March 8, 2020

Family Bible Hour featuring Phil Parsons.

Transcript:

Well, thank you, Paul. It was a wonderful introduction far better than I deserve, believe me, but it's wonderful to be with you here this morning. You know, us from New Jersey, anytime we can get to Florida, it's always a blessing. And so and you would, you would certainly understand that you see, you see many people come from the north, especially this time of year. It's been kind of interesting, because in New Jersey, we've had very little snow a very peculiar year as it relates to weather.

Nonetheless, we are delighted to be here. As Paul mentioned, we we actually joined in last week with a wonderful Bible conference. And it's always good to connect with friends that have been significant in our lives. And we have friends that live here and certainly Paul and Pat King, and Dave and Norma Dewhurst as Dave mentioned last week, our relationship goes back probably 45 years and those are meaningful relationships that are very hard. Hard to to break. In fact they don't break they only get stronger.

And so we treasure times when we can be together. David and Norma visited us several times in the Philippines, and can tell you story after story of our time when we were at Faith Academy, our youngest daughter, Valerie and her family are still serving at Faith Academy. In fact, in terms of our family connection, Valerie has spent the most time in the Philippines.

She has five of our grandchildren, (she and her husband have five of our grandchildren) in the Philippines. So again, we don't get out there often enough, but when we do, we certainly enjoy it very much. Our oldest daughter lives in Dubuque, Iowa with three of her own and our middle son is the closest about an hour and 20 minutes from us in New Jersey, as an elder at Valley Bible chapel in the northern part of New Jersey.

And as Paul mentioned, we were here purposefully to take some security training that was convened at the offices or the headquarters of Pioneers About 70 evangelical mission, people whose specialty is risk management, gathered together, we're living in a troubled world. And this Coronavirus is just one of many components that trouble and make the world more complex than it's ever been.

Who would have thought, you know, 20 years ago, we weren't talking about missionary safety and security. But today it's a it's really a very important issue. As countries become more turbulent, more disruptive, to equip workers who want to share the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, in a world that doesn't want anything to do with the Lord, to to be well trained in matters related to risk, safety and security.

And then the last couple of days, we actually traveled north to Park of the Palms. We have some of our retired missionaries living there and we wanted to touch base with them. Part of our responsibilities is making those connections with our refocused workers, as well as assembly relations, strengthening making the mission of Christian Missions In Many Lands known to places like Lake Howell, and others. And so we find that to be a great source of joy and encouragement, but we have to have two of our former missionaries now living at the Park of the Palms. And then my youth group leader just recently transitioned from Western New York, to Park of the Palms. So it's always good to show appreciation and love on those that invested so much of their time in me.

My wife Mary comes from Canada—I married an alien! That's probably another good reason to make sure you have good risk management. But we've been married for—oh boy, here we go, I shouldn't have said this—40s coming up on 46 years. And three children, 12 grandchildren, and we enjoy what the Lord has called us to do. So thanks for having us. It's a great joy and delight to be here! And it's nice to see and meet with you.

So I just wanted to begin our time together as we look into God's word, how is your journey of faith? How is your journey of faith in your Bibles? Would you turn to Genesis chapter 13? Genesis chapter 13. The journey of faith: there are many things in this world that challenge our journey, our walk, our walk of faith. I just really appreciated singing that opening hymn this morning: Standing on the Promises. I hope we didn't just sing the words. I hope we really understood what we were singing. You know, I love to sing and oftentimes, you get so engrossed in singing, you don't even realize what you're singing in terms of words, but Standing on the Promises.

In our walk of faith, in our journey of faith, we are required—it's demand of us—that we stand on the promises. And as we look in the scriptures this morning, we're going to see that was an important component of the life of Abraham.

Let's look together in Genesis chapter 13. And we'll begin our reading at verse number five, Genesis chapter 13. And we begin the reading at verse five.

"Now, Lot who went with Abraham also had flocks, and herds and tents, and the land could not sustain them while dwelling together. For their possessions were so great that they were not able to maintain together," (they were not able to remain together). Verse seven: "And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. Now the Canaanites and the Perezite were dwelling then in the land. So Abraham said to Lot, 'Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we're brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If to the left, then I will go to the right; or to the right, then I will go to the left.' Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the Valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere. This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the Garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go towards Zoar. So lot chose for himself all the Valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed Eastward. Thus they separated from each other. Abraham settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley and moved his tents, as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wickedly," (sorry this), "Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly, and sinners against the Lord." And we know the Lord will bless the reading of the word, his precious word to us this morning.

So how is your journey of faith? We live in a world (and this will be news to no one) we live in a world that really promotes looking out for number one: looking out for number one. To act in one's own interest, to act in a manner advantageous primarily to oneself. "Look out for number one, if you don't, no one else will." One has said, "If you were to write your life motto, what would it be? Look out for number one, or look out for the needs of others?" Because indeed we do live in a culture that demands that we look out. For number one.

We really have been sucked in to the philosophy of the world: to look after yourself and don't do anything, you don't have to do. And we need to recognize and be reminded that's nothing less than a tool of Satan. Because we contrast that with the words of Scripture that we read in Mark, chapter eight, verse 34: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

And so we have this text before us. It's the story of two men: Abram and Lot. It reminds me of two brothers, two Scottish brothers, John and David Livingston. We all know the name, David Livingston, great missionary. We don't know much about John, but John's focus was making money. And indeed, he became very rich and was wealthy. But his brother David invested his life to being a missionary, to serving the Lord. And it's quoted of David Livingston of saying this I will place no value on anything I have or possess unless it is in relationship to the kingdom of God. In fact, the inscription over his burial place in Westminster Abbey reads this: "For 30 years, his life was spent in unwearied effort to evangelize."

Two men and two very different lives. And it kind of comes down to this word, we understand, that of choices, Choices. Choices. Keeping in mind that the choices we make, carry with it important consequences. Choices set in motion. Events that have profound effects, impacts on our lives. And here's the interesting thing about choices. They may seem very insignificant at the moment but choices do in fact set off a series of significant events.

For example, just for a moment quietly, where you're seated, think about how you came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior. Think about the choices that you made that moment. You came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior. No doubt, no doubt. There was an opportunity to make a choice about perhaps going here or or going there. For me personally, although my parents had a heavy hand in making this choice for me, they made the choice for me to go to camp Li-Lo-Li as an eight year old.

Now camp Li-Lo-Li was in its infancy. (It's by the way it's located in western New York, the southern part. of Western New York.) And it was in its infancy and they were looking for people to come and build up the numbers and encourage friends and so on. So as an eight year old, that choice was promulgated by my parents. And in that choice, I was able to listen to speakers who talked about the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then on one particular evening, it was a Tuesday night 1959 Cabin 21 at Li-Lo-Li.

Camp counselor asked, following the message given by a great evangelist David Stifler, (you may know that name, he's with the Lord now), "Do any of you in this cabin wants to be saved?" And of course, I did not want to live a life not knowing where my eternal destiny was going to be unless it was in heaven. And so I made that choice to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Keep in mind as an eight year old, I really did not have the mental capacity to really fully embrace the decision that I was making, or the choice that I had made, but it was an important thing.

And it continued to set in motion events that have continued to impact my life, even today. So you choose to go somewhere, you meet with someone, you engage in conversation. And all of these choices may have had a great impact on you coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.

For those of you who are married, how about that choice? Or how you met your spouse? Again, choices begin with things that may seem insignificant, but have long lasting implications. For me, it was another camp, it was Berea and they were in great need of camp counselors.

I was in my in between my junior and senior year of college and the assembly in Massachusetts made the announcement: they need counselors at Junior camp. And I thought to myself, "How hard can it be? It's only a week."

What I didn't know was that it was first, second and third graders. And it was much more difficult than I anticipated. In fact, that first night that first night, I had a kid in my cabin who I am convinced just wolfed down his chicken dinner much too fast. And then you know what happened? All over the dining room table. And I been the conscientious counselor went to find the cleanup supplies. And to my rescue, was a nurse, still in her uniform from checking in all those people on Saturday. She said, "I'll clean it up."

I said, "No, no, no, it's fine. I can clean it up."

"No, no, no, let me be the one—I'm—that's part of my responsabilities."

I said, "Fine. Go ahead."

Now, she would tell you that she's been cleaning up after me ever since. But that's not true. But it was a choice and a great decision to let her do the cleanup. But they do set in—choices that we make do set in motion things that have a profound impact, on even on the lives of our children.

And so here we have two men, Abraham and Lot. Two families members who live two vastly different lives. Two vastly different lives. In Genesis, there are 13 chapters devoted to the life of Abram, five of which tell the story of Lot. And often as you read through those chapters, you'll see the sharp contrast between the life of Lot and the life of Abram.

Lots life was a walk of sight. But Abraham's life was a walk of faith. Lot was looking for a city built by human hands, but Abraham was looking for that city that we read about in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 10, the city with firm foundations whose architect and builder is God. We see that Lot fails, but Abram succeeds.

And since choices often results in eternally significant consequences, it's really a call for you and me to make sure that when we make choices that we choose in line with God's principles. In terms of background, we have to go back to Genesis chapter 12, where the call on Abram from God, he was told to leave his country, he was told to leave his family, told to leave his father's house, and embark on a pilgrimage.

And in that God promised Abram a land, Canaan. God promised Abram a great nation, the Jewish people. God promised Abram prosperity, material and spiritual. For Abram, and his offspring, his seed, he promised Abram a great name. And he promised Abram that he would be a blessing to others, that all the families of the earth would be blessed in Abram. And of course that was pointing forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. He promised Abraham, and even came back on that covenant and renewed it and enlarged it.

And so we read about Abraham making that journey from Haran to Canaan. And when he got to Shechem, he built an altar. Don't skim over that, that's an important statement: he built an altar. From Shechem to Bethel. And when he stopped there, he built an altar. And soon after, famine infected the land, the famine in Egypt.

And fearing death, you'll remember that Abram persuaded his wife Sarah to say to Pharaoh that she was his sister. It's hard to condone somebody lying but that's what the Scriptures tell us. And with that Abraham was rewarded with great riches. And Sara became part of Pharaoh's harem. And then the Scriptures tell us that Pharaoh and his household were subjected to plagues and Pharaoh was able to uncover the the the ploy the lie, and humiliated Abraham and sent him on his way and deported him to Bethel.

But then we picked up the reading in chapter 13, where the herdsman of Abram and Lot we're correlating because there was not enough land to support the flocks. And we read that Abram offers Lot first choice of where to settle.

You know, that gives us a little bit of insight into this man we later know as Abraham. We get to some insight about this man, and he offers his nephew Lot first choice. He really made what we read in Philippians chapter two verse three, he really esteemed Lot better than himself. We see that he was courteous that he was kind, that indeed, he was unselfish. Boy, these are things that are really tough in today's world in which we live. To do those kinds of things, to be courteous, to be kind, to be unselfish.

And so he offers Lot first choice, and you can almost picture you can almost picture what's going on. Lot takes this great survey of the vast land before him, and he ponders, and he surveys, and he chooses the lush Jordan Valley. And that choice was the beginning of his spiritual decline, because choices carry with it consequences.

We read in chapter 13, verse 12, that he looked towards Sodom. He look toward it. And then he moved his tents near Sodom. When you get to chapter 14, he's living in Sodom. And by the time you get to chapter 19, he's sitting at the gate of Sodom, where he was a city official.

And then as the story continues to unfold, we recognize that that choice, led to the death of his wife, and he himself barely escaped with his own life and his two daughters. They hide in a cave, his daughters make him drunk, and with that commit incest with him. And the offspring eventually become the Moabites and the Ammonites, who end up being the perennial enemies of Israel. And it all began with Lot's choice to settle near Sodom.

And so as we answer the question, how is our journey, how is our walk of faith, I think we can find some very helpful principles that will help us in today's world, to live a life that is honoring and pleasing to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I would say the very first thing is we cultivate our walk of faith, and not depend on us a walk of sight.

Number one, that we would handle conflicts wisely and graciously. We find that in verses chapter 13, verses five through verse nine. Apparently, Abraham became a very rich while he was in Egypt. The Scriptures tell us that he was blessed with livestock, silver, gold, servants. And it's not unreasonable (the scriptures don't say this) but it's not unreasonable to think that Abraham passed off some of that wealth to his nephew Lot. Families do that even today. Enough to say that both were living very large. And in fact, the possessions had become so large that they could not dwell together.

Apparently there was some fierce competition that were going on between the herdsmen of Abraham and the herdsmen of lots. Keep in mind that as herdsmen they would want to please their master. And so you can understand a little bit of that conflict that was going on. They were nomads, they were always looking to find the best pasture, the place where there was good water for their livestock. And since the land was inherited, there was really little land to choose.

But a couple of biblical truths emerge here. And number one, we may have riches, if riches do not have us. Many of us know wealthy believers Christians who live life well below their means and help others and build God's kingdom, not their own. There's nothing wrong with being rich, but don't hoard that which God blesses us with.

And a second little principle that kind of emerges here is that wealth can certainly be a great blessing as well as a curse. Usually the more money, the more problems. How many of us know where money has divided families. But there's a little point that I don't want us to miss. It's very easy to overlook. Look at the second part of verse 30, verse seven, verse seven, the second part of verse seven, it says, "Now the Canaanite and the Perezite were dwelling then in the land."

I want us not to miss that point and kind of use it as a warning to all of us this morning. And it's this: we need to recognize that unbelievers are watching every move that we make. You claim to be a Christian? You claim to be one of Christ's? A Christ-ian? I want you to know that people are going to watch you. They're going to watch us. They're going to watch how you treat your wife and how you treat your children. They're going to watch how you behave at work. They're going to watch how you deal with stress. And they want to do that when you think no one else is watching. And what is seen will either draw them to the Christ, or repel them from the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's really humbling to recognize that many people will never listen to what any believer says because of what some believers are.

Let me, let me repeat that for, for emphasis. Many people will never listen to what any believer says because of how some believers are. And so it's a call for sharpening interpersonal relationship skills, especially as it relates to handling conflict. The advice here would simply be this: seek to resolve conflict. Notice what—notice what Abram did, he took the initiative. He recognized the conflict that was taking place. It was Abraham who took the initiative. He surrendered his personal rights and sacrificed his interest. And when we walk, a life of faith, there's a call on each one of us to learn to live with brothers and sisters. And it may take a great discipline to develop that skill of living together with brothers and sisters.

So he took the initiative and I want you also to notice just how tender he was, you know, Abrams words to Lot were really really tender words. Twice he says in verses eight and nine, he uses simply the word "please, please." I'd like to know the correct emphasis to give on that word, when we read it aloud. But it really carries with it the idea: I pray you. "I pray you, Lot." They're really affectionate terms. They're tender terms, not demanding terms, tender terms. He was really appealing to their kinship. He says, "Listen, we're brothers, we're brothers."

So seek to resolve conflict, be tender. And thirdly, wait on God. Abram believed that God, he was very confident that, regardless of Lot's choice, God would fulfill His covenant promises in his own life. In other words, Abram did not fall prey to looking out for number one, but he did leave matters, and look to number one, to be a blessing to others.

So a walk of faith means that: believing God's promises of provision, you can be generous with your possessions. And when you face troubling circumstances, wait. Some would use the phrase, "Let go and let God," because He will reveal the way for you.

So we've, we look at this first, helpful nugget to handle conflicts wisely and graciously. Number two. This passage this incident would certainly strongly suggest that you and I need to live life with eternity's values in view. In other words, keep an eye on the eternal perspective. Keep an eye on the eternal perspective.

Decisions and choices, based on selfish desires, for parents that can be that can be anguish. For parents, we all know what it means to divide fair and square when it comes to our children. We, in our first year in the Philippines, we could not justify purchasing an apple at the market. It was just too costly. And I had occasion to visit the country of Taiwan and met a missionary from Scotland who was ministering at Morrison Academy. Boyd Aiken. He's since retired, and he's living in Scotland today. Happened to be teaching Bible at Morrison Academy, and hosted me while I was in Taiwan at this educational conference.

And I was telling him all about how expensive apples were in the Philippines. And after that day of conference, I came back to have an evening supper with them, and he presented me a bag of five large Fuji apples. I mean, these are, these are huge apples for me to take back to our family in the Philippines. And so I was a great hero and I returned after a few days of being in Taiwan. But then came the time to: how do you divide a Fuji apple fairly and squarely five ways? Because no one wants to get the short end of an improperly cut apple! So we know what decisions are like and, and what it means to be fair and square.

Well, Lot saw the value of the Jordan, didn't he? He saw that it was lush, he saw that it was growing, he saw that it was well watered. And it brought back some great memories of his time when he was living in in Egypt. And it was, he saw it as a place where he could add to his considerable wealth. And so here we have Lot: who saw, who chose, and who acted. But it really is a terrific illustration of his downward spiral. His downward spiral of sin, as seen in his choices.

Three choices actually, he made. First of all, he chose himself ahead of others. There doesn't seem to be any concern on Lot's part for God's glory. There doesn't seem to be any concern for his family for his own personal spiritual well being. His primary concern is what's in it for me and boy, don't we live in those kind of days? What's in it for me. And so he headed out east and he pitched this tent near saddam. And shortly thereafter, he upgraded his tent dwelling to dwelling in the city. And by the time we get to chapter 19, he's sitting in the gate, a leader of godless people, and it's not likely that he ever intended to live in the city of the valley. And yet how interesting that we are reminded in Proverbs chapter 14, verse 12, "there is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." And again, decisions and choices.

They may seeming insignificant. They may seem uninformed, At the time, but they set a course for our lives and often, they can be terrifying, even tragic. You know material prosperity should never be sought at the cost of spiritual peril.

Secondly, Lot chose occupation over family. Abraham built an altar at Bethel. Then Abraham returned to Egypt, went to Bethel and called on the name of the Lord. But never do we read, never do we read that Lot built an altar, nor did we ever read that he had any consultation with God, and raised the question, "is this a good place to raise my family?" Or did he ever inquire of God what God may have chosen for him? Why? Because it seems he was consumed with occupation: "Is this a good place to raise my livestock," and gave no consideration about the impact of living in proximity of Sodom. Often the choices that we make are driven by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

And so this really is a very urgent, strong call to seek God's direction. And it means that we must ensure that our relationship with God is strong and vibrant. We need to make it a priority.

Husbands and fathers here this morning, you owe it to yourself, you owe it to your wife, you owe it to your children to prioritize your relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Thirdly, lot chose the immediate, he chose the immediate, over the future. He took the path of least resistance. And oftentimes that's what we do. Lot was not an evil person. It almost sounds like he was an evil person, but he wasn't an evil person. What is true is that he showed evidence of living a life that seemed aloof, and living life on the edge, and perhaps for a time lost his way. But he was not an evil person.

When he encountered challenges, and was forced to make decisions and choices, it just seems that he acted selfishly and foolishly. And as a result serious life changing consequences bring a disastrous end: his wife turned to a pillar of salt, his daughters committed incest with him. And yet Second Peter, verse chapter two verses seven and eight a lot is referred to as a righteous man, but for a time was living in unrighteous life.

You know, when faced with choosing between Heaven or Hell—or think of it as life and death—certainly Lot chose life. He left Mesopotamia and followed Abraham to Canaan. However, when faced with a question about Heaven or Earth, lot chose Sodom.

How about you? Most have likely chosen Heaven with regards to life or death. But how do you answer the question, Heaven or Earth?

We have powerful words for us in the Matthew chapter six verses 19 and 20. "Do not accumulate for yourself treasures on Earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But accumulate for yourself treasures in Heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal."

So living a life on a journey of faith requires us to handle conflicts wisely and graciously, and to live life with an eternal perspective. But let us also be very cognizant to express confidence in God's promises. Standing on the promises of God.

Now, keep in mind Abraham, Abram wasn't completely obedient at the outset. Another thing that's very easily overlooked is that God did not speak to Abram until after Abram made the decision to finally obey God's command and to separate from his father's household. It's almost frightening to think that human disobedience stood in the way of divine blessing. And yet God removed the barrier by forcibly separating Abraham and Lot.

It's humbling to think: how many blessings have we missed, because we have refused to obey God's word? We didn't read up. Let's take the time to read it. Picking up the verse at verse 14, "The Lord said to Abraham, after Lot had separated from him, now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are northward, southward, eastward and westward. For all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the Earth so that if anyone can number the dust of the Earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. Abram, Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth, for I will give it to you. Then Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the Oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron. And there he built an altar to the Lord."

There's the third testimony of Abraham building an altar to the Lord. You know, in verse 10, Lot lifted up his eyes, and he saw the land before him with eyes of financial well being. Abram was told in verse 14, to lift up his eyes and survey the land. And with that God reaffirmed the promise of land to Abram and his descendants, that Abram's heir would be his own, see that his descendants would be innumerable, using the word dust, "and I will make your descendants as the dust of the Earth."

Can you imagine numbering and counting dust? But that's what God said. It's a figurative expression of a large number. And this was great news for Abraham. But it's not what Abraham saw. That's not the reality that he saw. No, he saw the land inherited—I should say, inhabited—by the Canaanites and the Perezites. He saw the land that was once his, now Lots, and his flock grazing on that land. Abram had no child. He knew that Sarah was beyond the age of burying children.

And though he could not see these blessings with his natural eyes, Abram chose to walk by faith. And he said to Abram, "Arise, symbolically state claim of real estate." And even though Abraham wouldn't fully possess it, his descendents would.

And so he was to inspect it with the eyes of faith. And then he moved his tent and dwelt by the looks of memory and Hebrew. And there he built an altar, the third altar. The first one was in Shechem. The second one was in Bethel. And although the scriptures don't say this, you can almost imagine what Abram was perhaps thinking, may have even expressed: "Lord, I don't know what you're doing. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know how you're going to do it. Lord, it sounds impossible to me. But you said it, and I'm going to build an altar and trust you for the impossible."

That word Hebron means communion. That became Abram's home base. And eventually, Abram was buried there. How appropriate. How appropriate, that: Abraham's life, characterized by communion and friendship with God.

And so as we leave today, I wouldn't want us to leave encouraged as we journey our walk of faith. And the first call would certainly be to avoid the trap of looking out for number one, and in so doing when we find those contentious times, that we would act wisely and graciously. That we would live life, make decisions with an eternal perspective in view, and don't negate resting, being confident in God's promises.

Standing on the promises. I cannot fall, standing on the promises, I cannot fail.

May the Lord encourage our hearts this morning, as we faithfully walk that walk of Faith, Let's pray.

Father in heaven, we are very, very grateful for these moments together this morning to look into your holy word. And know that it speaks to each one of us. That it is mighty, that it is relevant. And how thankful we are that we can look at this incident in the life of Abram and recognize just how critical it is, when we make choices. Father, may each of us have the courage to come into your presence moment by moment, especially when we need to make choices and decisions. Recognizing that every decision, every choice carries with it consequences. And our desire father would be that our choices, our decisions would not only lead us into closer walk with you but would even be able to draw others to the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us, Father to fight the prevailing attitude that is in our world today that we are constantly bombarded with, and looking out for number one. So we ask your blessing on today. We would remember those who would just dearly love to be here, but for a variety of reasons are unable to. Father help them, encourage them and bless them. And Father, if there's any here that don't know your Savior, much of what we have expressed this morning, through your words, through the songs would mean very little. Our prayer would be, Father that you would give them no rest. Give them no peace, until they rest entirely upon you. And for those of us who know and love you, help us to walk a life that is pleasing to you, a life characterized by a strong commitment to faith, and that we'll be careful Father to give you the praise and the glory. In the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.