Well, did you notice that was a Norwegian melody? Not bad, huh? That was great. It's a wonderful hymn. A few weeks ago I mentioned to you an accident of a friend of mine who's a missionary in Mexico. His name is Bruce Bell. I want to bring you an update and let you know that Bruce is remarkably recovering. He sustained severe brain trauma as a result of an accident. He is now in the Dallas Rehabilitation Center and will be there for a number of months, up to a year, in therapy.
But the good news is that his speech is returning, bodily functions, abilities are returning, and the doctors figured that in that course of time he should be able to regain full use. of his faculties. And so we thank the Lord for that. It's a marvelous answer to prayer, and I encourage you to keep praying for him in the upcoming months. For the last two weeks, I have been on jury duty in Ramsey County, and that has been an experience. Every day we check in early in the morning and
get out late in the afternoon. and I've learned an awful lot about our legal system, I assure you. I'll be sharing some of that in days ahead, but if I seem like I'm a little out of it this morning, it's because I am. And I've got to go back tomorrow, but I think tomorrow we'll get it finished up. I hope. Our text today is in Ephesians chapter 3, and we're looking at the subject of the mystery of Christ. We've already read part of our text, but I'd like to back up
to verse 8. Would you join me, please? Follow along as I read the word of God in Ephesians 3. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things. in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the Church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly
places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are for They are, rather, your glory. We are told that people need three things to be happy in this life. One is someone to love, then something to do, and finally, something to hope for. Isn't it marvelous that in Jesus
Christ, God has provided us all of those? In someone to love, we have preeminently our Savior. And then beyond that, other believers, and then the world itself for whom Christ died and whom God desires to save. As far as something to do is concerned, we have the knowledge of God's will. We have a purpose in our being here. And then something to hope for? Well, we anticipate the soon return of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and our being gathered together with
other believers in glory. That's a lot to hope for. The Apostle Paul, likewise, enjoyed all three. Someone to love, he loved the Lord Jesus. And it was for that reason that he was a prisoner. Notice that he calls himself in verse 1, the prisoner of Christ Jesus. He was not a legal prisoner of Rome so much as he was a love prisoner of Jesus Christ. And as far as something to hope for? Well, the apostle is the one who writes to us about that coming of Christ that we anticipate.
As far as something to do is concerned, that's what the apostle is talking to us about in these verses. Paul was God's specially chosen messenger to proclaim the mystery of Christ to the Gentiles. He says he is the prisoner of Jesus Christ for the sake of you Gentiles. And then in verse 2, if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace, which was given to me for you. And then in verse 8, he says that this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ. So the Apostle Paul was God's specially chosen messenger to reveal particularly to the Gentiles This mystery of Christ that we have been looking at for the last few weeks, how we should appreciate this man of God who suffered personally in a great way so that the gospel of Christ and this mystery might be proclaimed.
He endured a great deal so that people like our ancestors Those of us who are Gentiles might have this mystery proclaimed to them and to us today through the book that he has written to the Ephesians. We've examined something of the meaning of the mystery as it is summed up in verse 6 where it says that the believing Gentiles now share equally with believing Jews in the unfathomable, the unsearchable riches of Christ. No longer is there any separation between Jew
and Gentile. In Christ, the two are made one, one new body or entity. In fact, all earthly distinctions are abolished at the cross. Oneness in the body of Jesus Christ demands that there be no prejudicial or divisive spirit among us. whether it be for cause of race, social standing, economic standing, whatever it be, there is no reason for any separation between believers,
no biblical reason. That is why the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace is to be guarded and preserved by us, according to chapter 4, verses 1 through 3. Did the church, this mystery, this unity that we're talking about, happen by accident? Was it a chance that it came into being? Or, on the other hand, is it possible that there is in the church a divine plan that is being carried out? Well, today we're going to examine
something of the mission of the church. and discover that in fact there is in this age, in the calling out of Jew and Gentile alike to be a part of the church, a great plan of God that is being carried out in the world. Remember as we talk about this topic of the mission of the church, that we are talking about something that is related to you, if you're a believer in Jesus Christ.
For you are part of the church. So as we talk about God's great plan for the church, this mystery, we're talking about God's great plan for you personally. Now as we look at the context today, there are at least four facts that come to us about the mission or the purpose of the church. In the first place, its purpose is rooted in eternity. That's fact number one. God's creation of the church was an eternal purpose of His. We live in a day when there are a number of other
ideas that float around about the church. These ideas are either incomplete or totally incorrect. I will list three of them for you briefly. There are some, for example, who see the church as but a continuation of Old Testament Israel. To them, the church is not a new entity, but it is rather a sequence. It is a development or another stage of the divine plan of God for Israel. That is an incorrect definition of the church.
They speak about the church in the Old Testament and the church in the New Testament to differentiate between the two bodies. But my friend, there was no church of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. If there were, then why would Paul underscore in this chapter that the church was hidden by God in the past? That it is now revealed, now made known to the apostles and prophets and to us through their writings. Such an idea that the church is but the continuation of Israel
is incorrect. And then there are some, a few, who see the church as the body of Christ, but they say Israel is the bride of Christ. Have you ever heard that? That is the teaching of E .W. Bullinger. There are still what are called Bullingerites around today, although they have other names than that particular one. The Bollinger taught during his life that the church could not be the body of Christ and the bride of Christ at the same time. That did not make sense to
him. He changed his mind before he died, but some of his followers still carry on his early teaching. That is an inadequate view of the church. Then there are some who see the church as a backup plan of God. The idea is that somehow God failed with Israel, and Israel failed God. Therefore, God had to put into action a backup plan. He had to think up plan B, another plan for this age, when Israel failed because of unbelief. So you see, their idea is that the church is
sort of a backup idea. That it was not God's original purpose, but he went to this because his first plan collapsed on him. That, again, is a woefully inadequate, if not incorrect, understanding of what the church is all about. Actually, the creation of the church was a part of God's eternal purpose. And that is important for you to get
a hold of. In verse 11, it underscores that when it says that what he's talked about in these previous verses are in accordance with the eternal purpose which he carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord. That word purpose means a deliberate plan, a scheme. My point is this, that the church is not plan B. The church is not a continuation of Israel from the Old Testament. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a part of a divine plan which God ordered to come to be in time.
A plan which he put together before the creation of the world. It's an eternal purpose. This is elaborated upon. from a little different viewpoint, but the same basic truth is in sight in Romans 9, 10, and 11. I'd like you to turn back there with me if you would. We're just going to summarize each of these chapters so you can see what the Apostle is saying in this book. In Romans 9, he talks about Israel's election. Romans 10, Israel's rejection. And Romans 11, Israel's restoration.
That's the progress of thought in these chapters that deal with the sovereignty of God. In chapter 9, he talks about Israel's election. Israel was indeed God's chosen people. They had all of the benefits and privileges that are mentioned in verses 1 through 5. Now go down to verse 11. It says, For though the twins were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad. Now the twins are, as they were later called, Jacob and Esau. They are now, as verse 11 speaks here,
in the womb of Rebekah, their mother. They had not yet been born. In order that the God's purpose, according to his choice, might stand, Not because of works, but because of him who calls. It was said to her, the older will serve the younger. Just the opposite of the way it normally was. Before the boys were born, before they had done good or bad, so there were no works on their part involved, God made a choice. And God said, I choose this one who will be second born. talking
about Jacob. And Esau will be in subjection to Jacob. And this is further confirmed just as it's written in Malachi, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Now God did not emotionally have malice toward Esau. That's not the point here. Esau had done nothing wrong at this point. He was still in the womb of his mother. God loved Jacob in the sense that God chose him. It's the love of election. So that his choice might stand irrespective of their works. He chose before they were born.
The second born is the one I choose, said God. And God hated Esau only in the sense that he overlooked Esau and did not choose him as the avenue of his redemptive purpose. for mankind. God chose Jacob and his descendants, the Jewish nation, as his means of bringing about the redemption of mankind. It was through those people that the Savior, the Christ, would come. That was God's sovereign choice. God chose Jacob. God
chose the nation of Israel. Not because they were better than anybody else, but that was just his purpose and choice to do so. But Israel became proud. Rather than responding in faith and obedience to God, the nation eventually collapsed and failed. Because the nation of Israel went about to establish its own righteousness through its works. A law righteousness, a legal righteousness, which God could never accept. And they rejected the righteousness
that God offered to them through faith. We come now to chapter 10 where it talks about the rejection of the nation. And it says in verse 3, for not knowing about God's righteousness. That doesn't mean that they were ignorant, that they'd never been told. But what it means is ignoring God's plan of salvation, overlooking God's righteousness. and seeking to establish their own. The word establish means to establish as a monument. They wish to establish as a monument their own personal
righteousness. It says they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. And the result of that was that God rejected his chosen people. God set them aside. In verse 21, Here is God's attitude. As for Israel, he says, all the day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people. That has been the history of the Jewish nation through this whole age. God has held out his hands to them. But the nation of Israel has rejected the righteousness of God.
God therefore has rejected them during this time. But is God through with them? Is God finished with the Jewish people? Well, there are many who say yes. They say that the existence of the nation of Israel and the world today is just freakish, that it has no particular purpose. How is it that a nation can be subjected to other peoples for almost 2 ,000 years and then suddenly emerge as a political entity and to say that that's a chance? To say that there's no particular
work of God in that, that's foolishness. God has preserved the Jewish people, and he's done it with purpose. Because, you see, God is going to restore the Jewish people, and that's what chapter 11 talks about. Verse 5. In the same way, then, there has also come to be at the present time, that is in this age of grace, a remnant according to God's gracious choice. That is, there are Jews who are saved in this age. Not
all Jews are rejected. Those who come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are, of course, accepted, made a part of the body. It's a remnant, though. It's just a part of them. It says, if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace. What then? That which Israel is seeking for? What does that mean? Righteousness? It has not obtained. But those who were chosen obtained it. The rest were hardened. They were allowed to go in their own
direction and hardened in heart. Now go on to verse 11. I say then, they, the Jews, national Israel, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? He says, did they stumble never to rise again? He says, God forbid, may it never be. But by their transgression, that is their false step, their blunder, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make them, the Jews, jealous. You see, one of the reasons God is calling us out in this age is to make the Jewish people jealous.
And it says in verse 12, Now if their transgression be riches for the world, and their failure be riches for the Gentiles, the riches of salvation, how much more will their fulfillment be? You see, there is a fulfillment coming for Israel. He says, But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles, and as much then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my office, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen, the Jews, and
save some of them. For if their rejection be the reconciliation of the world, What will their acceptance be but life from the dead? That's yet in the future. And if the first piece of dough be holy, the lump is also. And if the root be holy, the branches are too. The first piece mentioned here and the root refer to the patriarchs. Because the Jewish people today are the descendants of whom they are descendants of, Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. Because they are part of that root, because they are part of that lump, they today still have purpose. God is going to fulfill his promises to those patriarchs. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, Gentiles, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. Now here's a warning to Gentiles.
He says, if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. How it is possible for a born -again Christian to be anti -Semitic, I do not know. Because you see, as born -again Christians, we are a part of God's promises to Abraham. We are a part of that root. We have, out of our wildness, been grafted into this cultivated olive tree. speaking about the promises to Abraham. He says
the root supports us. He says you will say then branches are broken off so that I might be grafted in. Quite right. They were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Behold then the kindness and severity of God to those who fell, But to you, God's kindness, if you continue in his kindness, otherwise you
also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in. For God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more shall these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree. He's talking about those branches that have been cut off being grafted back in. In other words, God still has
a future for the nation of Israel. God is not finished with them. He says, For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this, what? Mystery. A number of times in the New Testament you will find this word mystery. It always refers to the same basic definition, but the mystery in its fullness has different aspects. It's like links in a chain. They all fit together. They're not all precisely the same, but they fit together.
These truths do. In Ephesians chapter 3, it is the mystery of the church composed of Jew and Gentile now equal in Jesus Christ. Here the aspect of the mystery that is exposed is that this occurred, the church occurred, because of Israel being set aside. Nowhere in the Old Testament do you see this truth revealed, that God was going to set aside Israel and graft in a group that is predominantly Gentile. It is a mystery. It has
not been exposed before this. He says, don't be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation. He says a partial hardening has happened to Israel. It's partial in two ways. It's partial in terms of time. It is not for all time, but it's for this time. Even now there is a remnant of grace, as we saw earlier in the chapter in verse 5. But the nation of Israel has been set aside for a time. It's a partial hardening. And it's partial not only in time,
but it's partial in numbers. As I said, there are some Jews who are saved. Now it goes on to say, A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Now that is an interesting phrase. What does he mean by this? Well, he's talking about what God is doing right now. God is calling out a people for his name's sake, a people composed, as we've said over and over, primarily of Gentiles,
but including some Jews. God is right now completing the body of Christ, the church, calling out a people that has been his purpose through this whole age of hundreds and hundreds of years, almost 2 ,000 years now. God is putting together a body of people. composed primarily of Gentiles. Now there is an elect number to this body. Those who compose the body of Christ, the number of them is not an accident. It is known to God.
That is why in Ephesians chapter 1 it says that He chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world. Before the foundation of the world, God not only designed this whole plan of Israel, then the church, and Israel being restored, but he also chose every person who's a part of the church. It is no accident that you are born again. That's been God's eternal plan for you, to be saved when you've been saved, where you've been
saved, and placed into the body of Christ. And one day, the elect number of Gentiles will be completed. And the fullness of the Gentiles will be done. It will come in. And when that occurs, it is my conviction, based upon the word of God, that the church, the visible church, will be taken out of the world to its heavenly destiny. Because when the church is completed, when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, it goes
on to say, then all Israel will be saved. The idea is that God is going to turn back to the nation of Israel and begin dealing with them once more. When it says all Israel will be saved, it doesn't mean every individual Jew, but it means as a nation, as a unit, they will be saved. He quotes from the Old Testament proving this, and then he says in verse 28, From the standpoint of the gospel, they are enemies for your sake.
But from the standpoint of God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers, that is, the patriarchs. The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience. So these also now have been disobedient in order that because of the mercy shown to you, they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience
that he might show mercy to all. This is one of the greatest texts in the Bible for Jewish evangelism. They have been disobedient. They have fallen. They have stumbled as a nation. They have been rejected by God during this age. Because of their national unbelief, only a remnant of grace among the Jews have been saved. That's
the mercy of God. And the mercy of God, because of their disobedience, has gone to your ancestors and mine, to Gentiles, people like us, who are cut off from the covenants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God's mercy has embraced us now and has implanted us into that root. of the promises to Abraham, the promises of salvation. We are now a part of that because of God's mercy and Israel's unbelief. However, God says now, you Gentiles, you show mercy to those who have been
disobedient. You preach the gospel to them, even though many of them will reject. Indeed, most of them reject. Preach the gospel to them. Show them mercy. I am convinced that these are the greatest days for Jewish evangelism for this
reason. Even though a Jewish person may not respond to the gospel now as he hears it, God is planting that gospel in his heart, and I believe personally the rapture of the church is so close that we are so soon going to be taken out of here that some of those Jewish people who hear the gospel now and reject it, after the church is taken
out, will then believe it. We'll then believe it and become a part of the great core of evangelists, numbering 144 ,000 according to Revelation, who will go throughout the earth preaching the gospel in the tribulation period. It's exciting to think that now we are planting seed, maybe, which is going to bear fruit not just in this age, the church age, but after we're gone. God is going to bring some of those dear Jewish people to
faith in their Messiah. They will come to him and then eventually be restored and God is going to set up the kingdom of our Savior. Here's my point in going through all this. It is this, that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, far from being an afterthought, far from being plan B, has in fact been the centerpiece of God's eternal purpose of redemption. That means just what I said earlier, that you have been a part of God's centerpiece, God's master plan since
before the foundation of the world. You are not born where you are of the parents that you were where you were by accident. God has designed all of that so that you might come to faith in his son and be a part of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, beloved, you are a part of something that is far bigger than you can possibly imagine today. There is no way for your mind or mine to get around these facts and encompass
them and understand them fully. These things are part of a mystery that God has exposed to us, but we grapple with them, we wonder with them at the immensity of these truths. That was the second fact that I want you to see. The purpose of the church is intended to reveal God. God created all things. He likewise created the church. And the reason that he created the church is to reveal himself. Notice what it says here in
verse 10. In order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church. God is a God who desires to reveal himself to mankind. He does not want to remain unknown. He wants to be known for who he is. You see, God is a teacher. Those of you who are teachers are in a profession that is as much like what God is like as any profession can be. It is a wonderful and privileged profession to be a teacher.
God is a teacher. God is an instructor. Now the lesson that God wants to teach right now is his wisdom. I would define his wisdom as God's skillful use of his knowledge, his intellect, his understanding, his prudence. God is not only omniscient, knowing all things, but he is omnisapient. He knows how to use what he knows. to accomplish his perfect purposes. His wisdom is here described as manifold. You see that word? It literally means multicolored.
It was used in that day of embroidered cloth that was embroidered with different patterns of colors or fields of flowers, many colors involved. We might call it the many -splendored wisdom of God or the iridescent wisdom of God. It's like a rainbow. this wisdom of God that he desires to display. And notice that God, the great instructor, has an illustration of his wisdom. He has an object lesson that he uses, and that object lesson
is the church. You see that in verse 10? God is making known his wisdom, himself, through the church. You and I, are God's illustration of his wisdom in the way that he saved us through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is foolishness to the world. It's weakness and foolishness to talk about the world finding salvation through the death of one person in history 2 ,000 years ago. That is unreasonable and illogical to our world. But that foolishness of man is the wisdom
of God. God has saved us through the cross. But also I believe that the wisdom of God is being evidenced in choosing people like you and me to proclaim that message. Because you see, we are not the people that would, humanly speaking, be chosen. to proclaim the message of the cross. Why, if you or I were planning this, we would select the powerful people of the world. We would select the kings and the presidents and the people who had a lot of money and those who could influence
vast crowds of people. But according to 1 Corinthians 1, God rather has chosen the base and the despised, the foolish and the weak. I'm sorry if that offends you, but that's how we are. God has purposely chosen most of his people among that strata. Why? Because that's his wisdom to do so. Now who are the students in God's classroom? Please notice that it's not us. We are the illustration. Amazingly, it says here that God is making known his wisdom to the rulers and the authorities
in the heavenly places. In other words, the angels. You see, watching us every moment of every day are angels. Now, some people find this a little spooky. God doesn't intend it to be that way. But the facts are, that we are the objects of intense observation by spirit beings. When you and I think we're alone, we're not alone. For gazing upon us are multitudes of angelic creatures described here as the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, the realm of spiritual
things. The application is obvious. That you and I need to live so as to make God's lesson plain to the angels. This gives us a little insight into some other rather strange and mysterious phrases in the New Testament. Let me give you a couple of them. Go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 9. 1 Corinthians 4, 9. Paul says, I think God has exhibited us apostles last of
all. last in the line, coming at the end, as men condemned to death because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. Paul is saying that in this cosmos around us, in this order of things, there are two kinds of creatures, intelligent living creatures, mankind and angels. And he says, as apostles, that they were spectacles both to men and to angels. Now there's another phrase found in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. We don't have time to go into the
context here. Somebody's going to ask me after the service, well, then are women supposed to wear hats? I don't believe so. The particular context here dealt with a situation that existed in that day. But there's a basic underlying principle, and it's the principle of submission. As the man is to be in submission to Christ, so the woman is to be in subjection to the man. And he says in verse 10, Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because
of the angels. Now there are other little passages like this. that remind us that we are being observed by extraterrestrial beings, the angels. And what they are learning by watching us is the wisdom of God. I am sure there are times they must scratch their heads. I am sure there are times when the lesson doesn't come through in my life like I
wish it would. But the fact is that God is working in your circumstances and mine, using us as illustrations, as objects, to teach the angels about his wisdom. You see, angels don't know everything. They have to be taught, and God is teaching them through us. And so the second thing that we see here is that the purpose of the church is to reveal God. The purpose of the church, thirdly, is realized in Christ. That's an important fact to notice
at the end of verse 11. He says this eternal purpose he carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord. Notice it's in a past tense as we would say it. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ came into being because of Christ Jesus our Lord. His work at the cross, the empty tomb. It all focuses back on that. The thing that has brought the church into existence is Him. The thing that causes all of God's promises, all of the fullness of God's purpose to be guaranteed to be fulfilled
is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of God's eternal plans are fixed upon His Son. Therefore, how foolish of any of us to try to live independent of Him. To try to live ignoring Christ. One does that to the peril of his soul. And then fourthly and finally, the purpose of the church is filled with blessing. The reason that God has brought the church into existence is that he might bless people. In verse 12, we have boldness and confident
access through faith in Him. You see, before Calvary, God had to distance Himself from sinful man. That separation was absolutely necessary because of His holiness. But now, through Christ Jesus, God has opened the way to Himself. The veil in the temple was rent as a picture of that. Whereas before God had to say, keep your distance, now God can say, come to me. And God reaches out to embrace us, to receive us to himself,
to hug us, as it were, because he loves us. God has brought about the church so that he might bless mankind. so that he might receive us to himself and give us two rights. And notice what they are. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ has guaranteed two rights for the believer. Number one, the right of free speech. We have boldness, literally freedom of speech. You and I can come to God and directly talk with him. We do not need someone to go between us and God. We can
directly call him Father. And besides the right of free speech, we have the right of confident access. Before, only that high priest could go into the Holy of Holies. Now all of us can go right in. God says, come on right into me. Why? Because the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ has been shed. These are wonderful purposes. To be happy, a person needs to have someone to love. We have Christ. We need to have a hope His soon return. And we need to know that there's purpose
to our existence. And I hope that this passage today shows you that you have purpose, not just for time, but for eternity as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. God's grand plan in saving you is to glorify Himself by writing His message in your life. You see, you're a unique person. There's nobody else like you in all of history, and nobody else can ever be like you. God has saved you so that he might write into your life
a unique stanza in his poem of redemption. Is God able to write in your life the way he wants to? Or is the paper dirty? Is the paper wrinkled and unfit? God has saved you that he might display you forever as an object of grace and use you to teach the angels about his wisdom. Is that lesson coming through in your life, the way you're living it? That's what God wants. God has saved
you, my friend, for a purpose. Regardless of how important you may be in this world, no matter how much or how little money you ever make, no matter whether you're a success in the business world or whatever field you've taken up, putting all of those things aside, don't miss the purpose that God has for your being here. You can know that purpose and fulfill it by giving your heart to Jesus Christ and making him Lord of your life
every day. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that you've called us to be channels, instruments, Object lessons. Forgive us when our sins, our rebellion, our ignorance. from writing into our lives the message that you want. And we say to you as a people, and I hope each of us says individually, write in our lives that stanza of your poem that pleases you. We surrender ourselves to you as fully as we know how. Glorify yourself. And may your eternal purpose be realized in our existence.
Channels only, blessed Master, but with all thy wondrous power flowing through us, thou canst use us. every day and every hour. Would you stand with me, please?