Benchmarks of Marital Bliss, Part 2

What are the benchmarks of marital bliss? What are the standards by which you are able to evaluate your marriage and to understand how to have the joy that God wants you to have? Well, there are certain standards that must be met and they're biblical standards. And what are they? Because that's where it begins. And once you understand the benchmarks, then you can follow the blueprint to marital bliss as prescribed in the Scriptures.

And so we told you last week that benchmark number one was salvation. Salvation is the priority. Unless you're born again, then the love of God is not shed abroad in your heart and therefore you can't love as God loves and we are to love as He loves because the love of God is patient and the love of God is kind. 1 Corinthians 13:4. And so that long-suffering attitude, that kind of attitude cannot come from those who do not know the Lord, only those who do. And so salvation is the priority.

Then we move to point number two or benchmark number two and that was that Scripture must be your authority.

If Jesus Christ is Lord of your life, then His Word governs all that you do in life. Scripture must be your authority. In other words, you must listen to what God says.

You must listen to all that God says without question, without hesitation, and without reservation because those things keep you from obeying the Word of God. And that was always Israel's problem. Israel had a hard time listening to what God said.

And in the book of Jeremiah, the 35th chapter, God explains to them exactly what the problem was. All throughout Jeremiah's prophecy, all throughout his book, he talks about how it is they refuse to listen to what God said. And so listen to the Word of the Lord in Jeremiah 35, verse number 12.

Then the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, will you not receive instruction by listening to my words? Will you not receive instruction by listening to my words? Why don't you listen to what I have to say? And so the Lord says, the words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons not to drink wine are observed. So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command, but I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not listened to me. God provides for Israel an illustration.

The sons of Rechab, the Rechabites, they were descendants of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. They were not from the seed of Jacob. So they did not receive the blessings of Israel.

And yet they provide the perfect illustration for our Lord to contrast Israel with these strangers to Israel. For 200 years, they obeyed. They obeyed everything their father, their earthly father told them.

In fact, if you go back up to verse 8, it says, we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters, nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in. And we do not have vineyards or fields of seed. We have only dwelt in tents and have obeyed and have done according to all that Jonadab, our father, commanded us.

And God is contrasting the descendants of Rechab as those who obey everything their earthly father says without question, hesitation, or reservation. But why is it my people don't listen to the voice of their heavenly father? That's the contrast. And so the Lord goes on to say these words in verse number 15.

Also, I have sent to you all my servants, the prophets, sending them again and again, saying, turn now every man from his evil way and amend your deeds and do not go after other gods to worship them. Then you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers. But you have not inclined your ear to listen to me.

I told you, don't go after other gods. Don't serve other idols. Don't do that.

But you would not listen to me. Indeed, the sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have observed the command of their father, which he commanded them. But this people has not listened to me.

Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I am bringing on Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them, but they did not listen. And I have called them, but they did not answer. That was Israel's problem.

God's Word was not their authority. They were themselves the authority. They wanted to do what they wanted to do.

And so when God spoke, they refused to listen. You see, when God speaks to us in His Word, we are to listen. That shows you that Scripture is your authority.

But when God says, you are to forgive, as I have forgiven you, and we say, no, we're not going to do that, I'm not going to forgive my husband or my wife, then I am disobeying the Word of the Lord, and I am following my own authority. You either listen to the voice of the Lord, or you listen to the voice of someone else other than the Lord, and they become your authority. And God demands that we listen to His Word and obey what He says in His Word.

And so I asked you the question this morning, do you listen to all that God says? Do you do what God says without question, hesitation, or reservation? That's how you know God's Word is your authority. Scripture must be your authority. If salvation is the priority, then it follows that Scripture is the authority.

Number three, this is where we left off last week, and that is this. Sacrifice is always going to be your duty. Sacrifice will always be your duty.

Love is sacrificial. We forget that. Love is always about sacrifice.

Love that is sacrificial will always be beneficial, and love that is sacrificial and beneficial will always be transformational, and love that's transformational will always be sensational. But it always begins with sacrifice. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

That is sacrifice. The Bible says in 1 John chapter 3, verse number 16, these words, we know love by this, that he laid down his life for us. How do we know love? Christ laid down his life for us.

He sacrificed. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. We know love because of what Christ did.

He sacrificed for us. So how do our brothers and sisters know love unless we sacrifice for them? Well, translate that into your marriage. And how does your wife know that you love her? How does your husband know that you love him? There is great sacrifice on your part, and you are willing to give your life away.

That is your duty. That's what Romans 12 says. When Paul says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your logical form of worship.

You sacrifice yourself unto the Lord. You've been crucified with Christ. You've denied yourself.

You've given your life to the Lord. And those who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of God's kingdom are willing to sacrifice their lives for those they say they love. So important.

Sacrifice always costs. Sacrifice is your duty in this way. Listen to Hebrews 13.

This is unique. Hebrews chapter 13, verse number 15. Through him, then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips, and give thanks to his name.

And do not neglect doing good and sharing for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Don't you want to please the Lord? So in order to please the Lord, you must offer a sacrifice of praise. In other words, to praise him is going to cost you.

For instance, you sacrifice your feelings of hardship, your feelings of persecution, your feelings of pain, your feelings of depression, your feelings of sorrow. You sacrifice all that and instead you praise him. You refuse to wallow in self-pity.

You refuse to go to the depths of despair and you praise him. See, you're sacrificing your personal desires. You're sacrificing your attitude of negativity that you might praise the name of God and lift him on high.

It will cost you your pride. It will cost you your desire to complain. Instead, you praise the Lord.

See, the Hebrew people were wondering if the Messiah has come and all the ceremonies are fulfilled in this Messiah, Jesus, then what kind of sacrifices are left to offer? Because we continually offered sacrifices during our ceremony. So if the Messiah has come, what sacrifice is left to offer? And the writer of Hebrews says it's a sacrifice of praise. And for them it would be difficult because, you see, they would have to sacrifice their family.

They have to sacrifice their attendance in the synagogue. They have to sacrifice all their friends, see, because they were praising the Lord God, the Messiah, and it would cost them. You see, sacrifice always costs.

If in your marriage there is no cost to you, you have sacrificed nothing. And yet love is sacrificial. And if love is sacrificial, it will be beneficial to the one you sacrifice for.

And that beneficial love will always be transformational and will always be sensational. What is it that John says? Oh, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God. This is sensational, that the love the Father has shown us is so over-the-top, so otherworldly, because we now are sons of God, we're children of God.

And that's because of God's love to sacrifice His Son on our behalf. I wonder if you understand that sacrifice is your duty. This is what marks us out as Christians.

We live for the benefit of others. We live for the welfare of others. We live for the welfare of the one we say we love.

You want marital bliss? You have to sacrifice. Without sacrifice, there is no joy. There just isn't.

And so you have to ask yourself the question, how is it I'm willing to do this so that my husband or my wife will know that I truly love them, that I'm giving my life away for them? So incredibly important. Ephesians chapter 5. In Ephesians chapter 5, verse number 1, it says, be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love. Just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us.

You want to be an imitator of God? You want to mimic God? You want to be a follower of God? Well, then you got to walk in love. What does that mean? It means you got to give yourself up. That's what it means.

But note this. It says, an offering of sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. When the Lord offered Himself up, it was a sweet-smelling sacrifice that in the nostrils of God, it was well pleasing.

When you sacrifice on behalf of the one you say you love, that, then, is well pleasing to the Lord. And that's what love really is. It's a benchmark for marital bliss.

Salvation is the priority. Scripture is your authority. Sacrifice is your duty.

Number four, submission is your joy. Submission is your joy. In other words, when you submit, your gallantry is great.

What is gallantry? It's a deliberate act by which you show courage. And the deliberate act in which you show courage is when you are willing to submit to the authority of God, and in so doing, submit to one another. Remember Ephesians 5:21? Ephesians 5:21 says that we are to submit to one another in the fear of Christ.

And then it talks about in verse 22, wives to your husbands. And then it says, husbands to your wives. There is in the marriage a mutual submission.

And very few people understand this. Let me illustrate for you. Turn with me in your Bible to 1 Corinthians chapter 11.

1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse number 3. It says, but I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man. We understand that, right? Christ is the head of every man.

We get that. And then it says, and the man is the head of a woman. We get that, but we don't like that.

And then it says this, and God is the head of Christ. And we don't understand that. How can God be the head of Christ if Christ and God are equal? If Christ and God are one? If God the Father and God the Son are one? Jesus said, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father.

Jesus said, I and the Father are one. Well, then how can God be the head of Christ if they are one? How does that happen? How do we understand that? The Bible says in Hebrews 1 that Christ was exalted to equality with God. Well, if they're equal, then how can God be the head of Christ? Well, it's very easy once you understand it.

They are one in essence, but they're not one in function. It speaks not of their essence, but of their functionality. In other words, there was the opportunity for the Son to willingly submit Himself to the Father in order for the function of the Godhead to operate clearly.

In essence, they are one, for Jesus is God and the Father is God. But in functionality, the Son would submit Himself to the obedience of the Father. That's why He said, my food is to do the will of Him who sent Me.

I was sent by the Father, and I live by doing His will, submitting to His will. See? The same is true in marriage. You are equal.

Man and wife are equal. You're both made in the image of God, right? In essence, there is equality. But in function, the man must be the head as it is in the Godhead.

And it demands a submission, but it demands a mutual submission. This is very, very important because in Ephesians chapter 5, when it says, we are to submit to one another in the fear of Christ, that means there is an act of submission on behalf of the woman and an act of submission on behalf of the husband. And we know that the husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church, and He gave Himself up for her, the church.

So there is a giving of my life away, which is an act of submission. But the word for submit is a military term, which means to line yourself under the other. So how does one do that? Well, the husband lines himself up under the woman to fortify her, and the woman lines herself up under the husband in order to follow him.

In other words, I line myself up under my wife to fortify her, to hold her up, to strengthen her, to encourage her as an act of submission by sacrificing myself for her benefit, to make her stronger, to make her better, to make her more equipped. At the same time, she lines herself up under me to follow my leadership. And there you have mutual submission because you submit to one another in the fear of Christ.

But that is your ultimate joy. Submission is your joy. Because you see, if you're not willing to do that, then you're not willing to obey the Scripture as your authority.

And that causes all kinds of problems, not only in your personal life, but in your marital life. So you have to understand that the joy comes because I'm obeying what the Word of God says. And when I submit to one another in the fear of Christ, I am bringing glory to His name.

1 Peter chapter 2 says that submission is that which pleases God. Why? Because it exemplifies the Godhead. And we have to submit to one another in the fear of Christ.

So important to understand this. I wonder how it is that operates in your marriage. Are you as a husband willing to line yourself up under your wife to hold her up, to fortify her, to strengthen her, to establish her, to move her on to maturity because you want her to be strong, independent, living for the glory of God? And so you as the man hold her up and strengthen her and fortify her relationship with the Lord.

You fortify her relationship with her children. You fortify her relationship with you. You fortify her relationship with those in church.

You strengthen her to do that. You line yourself up under her to allow that to happen. And then she lines herself up under you to follow your leadership because you have been given to her by the Lord and she wants to honor the Lord and follow her husband's leadership.

You see, this is so important. This is your joy. That's why the Lord said these words.

He said in Psalm 40, I delight to do your will, O Lord. I delight. I'm filled with joy to do your will.

You see, when you do the will of the Lord, you're filled with joy. When you don't do the will of the Lord, there is no joy. There's just problems.

There's just hardship. There's just difficulty. You're always fighting against someone or something.

You ever notice that in marriage, there's always this battle going on? And in that battle, you're wondering, why can't we get out of this warfare? Why can't we get back on track? What is happening here? You got to go back and ask yourself just four questions. Am I saved? Because salvation is a priority. And am I listening to what God says because Scripture is my authority? And am I sacrificing on behalf of the one I say I love because that's my duty? Because if that's the case, then I'm submitting to the will of God and that's my joy.

See, these are benchmarks. These are irreplaceable. These are foundational elements to your marriage.

They must be functional every day in order for you to experience marital bliss. If you want joy along life's journey, this is where it begins. But then there's the fifth benchmark.

And that is this, supplication is your activity. Supplication is your activity. That is you are a person of prayer.

To supplicate means to offer an olive branch. When you went to a king and you wanted to experience peace with the king, you would bring an olive branch, a symbol of peace. And that you would bow before the king and offer this olive branch as a symbol of peace that you might then request from the king a certain act.

Well, the same is true in marriage. This is your daily activity. We are to pray without ceasing.

Men are always to pray and not to faint, Luke 18, verse number 1. If you're praying, you will not faint. But if you're fainting, it's because you're not praying.

That's the point of Luke 18:1. Men are always to pray so that they don't faint. Men are always to pray so that they don't fall off the ledge.

If you're falling off the ledge, it's because you're not praying. You need to give everything to the Lord, entrust it to Him. That's what we do.

Prayer is the work of the ministry. Prayer is the work in the marriage. You can't change your husband.

Some of you have been married for 10, 15, 20 years, and guess what? He is still doing the same things he was doing 20 years ago. Why? Because you cannot change him.

And the same with you as a husband. You cannot change your wife. But boy, we work so hard at doing that, don't we? We want to mold them into our image. We want to mold our man into the GQ man. We want to mold our woman into Miss America. We want to mold them into the image that we want them to be.

Well, they are who you married. That's exactly who you married. But God can change them. God can do that.

God can do whatever He wants to do. And so you go to Him in prayer, and you ask for the Lord to do the work. And if you'd spend less time and less energy trying to change your spouse and all that energy into prayer, maybe that is the absolute key for there to be change in your husband or your wife.

But God is saying, go ahead. Try it. Try it out.

How's that working for you? Are they getting any more sensitive? Any more kind? Any more loving? Any more sacrificial? Are they paying more interest to you now than they were 10 years ago? Are they really invested in your life? Go ahead. Try to make them that way. Go ahead and see if it works.

And it doesn't. It just doesn't work that way. Why? Because it requires a spiritual change of the heart.

You can make your husband do some things or make your wife do some things, but it doesn't last long because it's not a heart change. It must simply be a change of heart. And only God can change a heart.

That's what he does. So supplication is your activity. This is what you engage in.

This becomes the activity of each and every day because you're trusting the Lord to do what only he can do. Isn't it interesting that the disciples only asked Jesus to teach them one thing? And that was how to pray. They never asked him to teach them how to do a miracle.

They never asked Jesus to teach them how to preach. But they did ask Jesus to teach them how to pray because that's what they always saw him doing was praying. And so in Matthew 6, verses 9 to 15, he taught them the disciples’ prayer, which becomes the model for all prayers.

If you understand the model of prayer, then you begin to pray the way God wants you to pray and ask the way God wants you to ask and live the way God wants you to live. And so they ask him, Lord, teach us how to pray in Luke 11. And so the Lord teaches them the disciples prayer.

So prayer is the activity. Remember in Mark chapter 9 when Peter, James, and John were on the Mount of Transfiguration getting this great glimpse of the glory of God. They come down off the mountain and there was a man whose son was demon possessed.

And he goes to Jesus and says, hey, can you deal with my son? I asked your men, I asked your disciples, but they could do nothing. And Jesus says, oh unbelieving generation, how long should I be with you? Bring him to me. Then Jesus deals with the young boy who was demon possessed.

And they go to the house and they begin to fellowship together. And the disciples were completely perplexed. And so they say, Jesus, could you come here for a second? How come we couldn't do that? You've given us a power to do that. How come we couldn't do what you did?

And Jesus said to them, those very important words, these things only come out by prayer. See, they forgot to do the one thing that was their spiritual activity. And that was to pray.

They become so used to doing what they did that they wanted to function in the flesh. They wanted to function without God. They wanted to cast out a demon without God.

And it can't happen. It's a spiritual work. And spiritual work can only be accomplished by spiritual means.

And so they had forgotten to pray. They had forgotten to depend upon the Lord. And the Lord's saying, you need me.

This thing happens because you're dependent upon me. And you're not. These things only happen because you pray.

And you did not do that. You lived as if I did not exist. You tried to do what you do in the flesh.

You tried to make it happen. And it doesn't work that way in the Christian realm. It only happens if I'm involved and you depend upon me to do the work.

Supplication is your activity. Next, service is your responsibility. Service is your responsibility.

In Galatians chapter 5, it says this in verse number 13, for you were called to freedom, brethren. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Service is your responsibility.

The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve. We as men go home to be served. Serve dinner.

Serve relaxation. Serve quietness. But we don't go home to serve.

Fellas, you got to go home to serve. You leave work and you go home to serve your wife. That's what you do.

That's your responsibility. You go home to serve the one you say you love. And you put yourself in service mode so that when you walk through the door, you don't walk through the door exhausted.

You walk through the door excited about the opportunity to do the dishes, to do the laundry, to pick up after the kids, to change the diapers, to do what is ever necessary to serve your spouse, to serve your wife. But see, guys don't do that. They go home because they want to be served. They've worked hard all day. They're tired.

Let me tell you something. Your wife is working hard too. Your wife is trying to take care of the kids. It's a lot harder to take care of toddlers than it is to do whatever it is you're doing at work.

You might be physically tired, but she's physically, mentally, and emotionally tired. So you go home to serve her. You put yourself under her to lift her up, to fortify her.

Say, babe, what can I do to serve you tonight? What can I do to take a load off of you? What can I do to give you the rest that you need? And she might say, well, no, honey, you've worked all day. Say, no, no, no, no, no. No, I'm here for you.

So what can I do to take a load off of you? Better yet, don't even ask her. Just do. Just do.

You might not be able to make dinner, but you can sure make reservations. And you can take her out to dinner and say, honey, don't you cook a thing tonight because we're going out. We're going to go out.

And if you don't have a lot of money, just go someplace cheap. I don't know. In fact, there's nothing cheap anymore.

Everything's expensive. But look for a place to go and say, babe, I'm taking you out tonight because I'm going to serve you. Get the kids.

I'll get the kids ready. You go get yourself ready. I'll get the kids dressed.

I'll get the kids changed. I'll get the kids bathed. We'll go out and we'll celebrate you tonight.

When's the last time you as a husband ever did that? See, service is your responsibility. What did Jesus say? Acts 20:35. Paul says, remember the words of the Lord Jesus.

It is more blessed to give than it is to receive. That's so good. It's more blessed to give than it is to receive.

Now we can quote that verse. We just don't like to live that verse because we want to be on the receiving end. We want to receive the gift.

We want to receive the help. We want to receive whatever it is somebody will give us. We want to be the receivers, not the givers.

But Jesus said, if you want to be blessed, give, because there's a lot more blessing and giving than there ever is in receiving. How well do you really listen to the authority of God's Word in your life? Scripture must be your authority. So therefore, there's no hesitation, no question, and no reservation about what Jesus said.

And so I go in service mode when I go home. Now, if your husband's sitting here, you're saying, are you going to talk to my wife? How are you going to tell her to serve me? I'm not talking to her. I'm talking to you.

You're the leader. You lead the way in service. And when you lead the way in service, she follows.

But you got to lead the way. If you wonder why your wife's not serving you, ask yourself the question, am I leading in my service responsibility? Because she has an example to follow.

Now listen, you don't lead in service to get her to serve you. That's the wrong motive. You lead in service because that's your responsibility. And when you feel your responsibility, your wife is able to see the integrity of your commitment to her and willing to follow.

So service is your responsibility. Number seven, I must hurry. Your spouse is your ministry.

Your spouse is your ministry. Have you ever noticed that you go to church and you bless the people at church, but you bite your wife's head off in the car on the way home? You ever notice that? We go to church and we're blessing this person, so glad to see them. We're so warm.

We're so kind. We are so loving, so accepting, so sweet. Close the car door.

Honey, what are you doing? And begin to yell at your wife or she yells at you. You see, your wife is not a ministry. She is the ministry.

Your husband's not a ministry. He is the ministry. Your spouse is your ministry.

She and he should be the recipient of all your joy. They should be recipient of your love. They should be the recipient of your kindness.

They should be the recipient of your attitude of graciousness. We find ourselves more gracious to the people at church than we do the people in our car on the way home. That's a problem, see, because your wife's thinking, well, you're so nice to them at church, but not to me.

Or your husband's saying, you're so kind to people at church, but you're so critical of me. Why is that? You see, your spouse is your ministry. They should be the recipients of that which is your best.

They shouldn't be getting leftovers. See, it does me as your pastor no good to give you my best on Sunday and give my leftovers to my wife on Monday. See, that does her no good.

It does her no good to be all excited and on fire for the Lord when I'm preaching and then go home and be a dud. See, she needs to experience the excitement and joy that I give to you, the patience I give to you, the kindness I offer you, so that she's a beneficiary of those things. Your spouse is your ministry.

And let me give you one more, this is number eight. The Spirit is your absolute necessity. This goes along with prayer, but the Spirit is your absolute necessity.

Remember Zechariah 4:6, God told Zerubbabel, when you go to build a temple, it's not by might or by power, it's not by human resources, but by my Spirit, says Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of Armies. It's the Lord of Armies Spirit. That's the necessity.

You need the Spirit of God. Now you're come full circle back to number one again, right? Because salvation is a priority. Well, you don't have the Spirit unless you are saved.

In 2 Timothy 1:7, it says that God has given us a Spirit of love, power, and self-discipline. That's the Spirit God's given to us. We can love because we have the Spirit who is loving.

We can have the energy and the power to do what needs to be done because we have a Spirit of power. And we can discipline ourselves to depend upon that Spirit because we have the Spirit who is disciplined. See that? This is your absolute necessity.

You cry out to the Lord. We are the ones in Philippians 3:3 who take no confidence in the flesh. We are the marked ones. We worship God in Spirit. We glory in Christ Jesus and we put no confidence in the flesh.

That's what marks a Christian. He's not dependent upon himself. He's not dependent upon his self-resources. He's dependent upon the Spirit of God to do what only God's Spirit can do.

And there you begin to experience the fullness of marital bliss. Eight benchmarks that will move you along the line toward marital bliss. They are absolute essentials.

All of them feed off of one another, but all of them are absolutely essential. We give you eight of them because eight is the number of abundance. Seven is the number of completion, but eight is the number of abundance.

In order for you to experience the abundance of joy, these eight benchmarks must be evident in your life. Now, you might be saying, well, what about my spouse's life? See, that's the wrong attitude. That's the wrong question.

They must be evident in your life because they're talking about your marital bliss. And it depends on you, not them.

See, marriage is never about marrying the right person. It's always about being the right partner.

See, we think it's about marrying the right person. Let me tell you something. After five or six or seven, eight, ten, ten years, you're thinking, did I marry the right one? Did I get it wrong? Did I marry the right person? And God says it's not about marrying the right person. It's about you being the right partner. Are you? These eight benchmarks are the measuring rods by which you are to judge your own personal life.

When you do, then you're on your way to marital bliss. Next week, I'll give you the blueprint for marital bliss as outlined in Scripture. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for today. Lord, you are a great God. Lord, all of us in the room need to examine our lives in light of your word.

Forgive us, Lord, for being independent of you. Forgive us, Lord, for not depending upon your Spirit. Forgive us, Lord, for trying to control our spouse.

We can't do that. If we could, it'd be so simple. It doesn't work that way.

And you know that. But, Lord, you're in charge. We need to live as if you're in charge, because you are, and subject ourselves to you and your word.

And pray that, Lord, our lives would truly be subject to your authority and only your authority and not ours. And that, Lord, as we trust you, we realize that you will do what only you can do. And really, that's what we want.

We want you to do what you do and trust you for the outcome until you come again, as you most surely will. In Jesus' name, amen.