The Model Life: Abstinence, Part 5

Turn once again with me if you would to the book of 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 as we make our way through this Epistle of the Apostle Paul looking once again at the first eight verses.

This becomes a very crucial Text for the church. It was crucial for the Apostle Paul think about this way in chapter 1. It's all about the model church Well, the model church is filled with people who live The model life in chapter 4 in chapter 5 are all about the model life and the model life begins with the life of abstinence the model life is more about what you don't do than what you do do and Therefore he begins with explained to us what the model life really looks like This is the will of God even your sanctification that you abstain from sexual immorality If Paul hits it pretty hard Because he wants The church to be a pure church.

He's concerned about the purity of the church. He's concerned about the integrity of the church He's concerned about the beauty of the church He's concerned about the testimony of the church and he knows that unless the church lives differently than the world You can't reach an impure world Unless you're a pure and holy church And so he hits it very hard Peter Similarly says something over in 1st Peter chapter 4 with these words when he says this 1st Peter chapter 4 verse number 1 therefore since Christ has suffered in the flesh arm yourselves also with the same purpose because He who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin So as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lust of men But for the will of God because God has done such a great work in your life live no longer according to the lust of the flesh but live according to the will of God and Paul says this is the will of God your sanctification that you abstain from sexual immorality and then he says this for the time already past is Sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles having pursued a course of sensuality lust drunkenness carousing drinking parties and Abominable idolatries in all this they are surprised that you do not run with them in the same excess of dissipation and They malign you Peter says the unbelieving world Takes note that you no longer run with them in the same abominable idolatries You don't no longer live the way you used to live Instead you live according to the will of God.

Therefore they malign you He says your your lives are different than what they used to be And that's why Paul wants to make sure that the church understands that we are to live according to the will of God So he gives this great injunction In verse number three of chapter four, this is God's will for your life That you abstain from from sexual immorality Live a life of abstinence Live a life that refrains abstains from anything immoral that you might live for the glory and honor of Your God so important.

That's the injunction. It's running that injunction. We've told you are all these instructions Instructions that help you understand how to abstain And so we're spelling out the word Abstain, so you understand what those principles are so that you can apply them to your life There are tools for you to help you through each and every day each and every week as you live your life In the first the first principle is is that you aspire to please God only and always That's your aspiration That's where it begins This is review But again, we need to go over it again need to reiterate it again.

So you understand that that our lives are to be enamored with God We want to please him More than anything else listen You please the one you love the most If you love your wife, you want to please your wife, right? Children who love their parents want to please their parents Those who love God They want to please God Peter, excuse me, Timothy would say over in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 these words But realize this that in the last days difficult times will come For men will be lovers of self and lovers of money Verse 4 lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God In other words the last days the days that began with the arrival of Christ and will end when Christ comes again Those last days are characterized by people who love themselves Therefore they love to please Themselves that's what they do And yet that the Christian has a has a marked difference because his desire is to please the Lord his desire is to live for the Lord to honor the Lord and Therefore we make it our ambition to please him.

That's what Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 5 verse number 9 and interesting as you as you look at our study on Wednesday nights in the book of Ecclesiastes and Compare it with our study in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4.

There's a lot of similarity between Solomon's pursuits in life, right and what happens toward the end of his life as he begins to pursue all these worldly things And how it affected him remember Solomon was the king of Israel He was the wealthiest man who ever lived the wisest man who ever lived His Solomon would engage in all kinds of self-pleasure And you would think that this guy who was a son of the great King David Who's in the land of Messiah? Would understand the implications of his kingship and how to apply to the arrival of the of the Messiah and live to please the King his King King Jesus But he didn't And we looked at it on on Wednesday night again because it's so important in the book of Ecclesiastes the second chapter Solomon said these words I Said to myself come now and I will test you with pleasure So enjoy yourself.

He's so ambition was to please himself He set out on this journey. That's what the book of Ecclesiastes is all about. It's about Solomon's journeys And in chapter 2 is a summation of the of the Ambition of his journeys. It's all about myself. He says it over and over again He says I want to stimulate my body verse number 3. I want to enlarge my works. I want to plant my vineyards I want to make gardens. I I want to I want to do all this for myself And so he says I collected for myself this and I collected for myself that I went here I didn't hold withhold anything for my own pleasure and they says all that my eyes desired.

I did not refuse them I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure for my heart Was pleased he set out to please his heart. He didn't set out to please his God He stood out to please his heart because he had pushed aside everything his father King David had told him He'd refused to listen to the Word of God that was so clearly given to him And began to seek satisfaction under the Sun without pursuing his God And then he concludes It was all empty It was all futile It was all a waste. I Did everything my heart wanted I?

Accumulated everything I could I could ever desire. I had more than any man could ever have and yet It never satisfied and those who do not abstain from sexual immorality are Those who live a life of self-pleasure They they live lives as those characteristics characteristic consecutive with e3 of the last days lovers of myself rather than lovers of God Because lovers of God want to please God lovers of self want to please self We just want to do what we want to do So in order to ever turn away from sin, it begins with an aspiration to please God only and always living for the glory of your king And so that's why Paul says in first Thessalonians 4 We instructed you on how you ought to walk and please God Now we want you to excel even all the more We want you to aspire to please God only and always Don't set out to please yourself Please the Lord That was principle number one principle number two once you aspire to please God only and always and you begin bodily death of discipline as Is necessary for personal holiness Bodily discipline It begins with presenting your body as a living sacrifice Romans 12 1 and 2 Where Paul says I I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice Holy acceptable in the God which is your logical form of worship and be not conformed To this world will be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove What is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God?

This is the will of God for you present your bodies as a living sacrifice Once you do that, then you you put to death the members of your flesh daily That's what Paul says over in the book of Colossians the third chapter in verse number five Paul says these words Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as Dead in other words kill the members of your body mortify the members of your body immorality impurity passions evil desires and greed which amounts to idolatry and So he says he wants you to put these things to death Why because all they're going to do is hinder your your work your walk with the Lord.

It's it's called the principle of mortification It's it's putting to death those things that that caused me to fall into sin. It was the great Martin Lloyd-jones Who said these words years ago? about the principle of Mortification he says this He says I do not know of a single scripture and I speak advisedly Which tells me to take my sin the particular thing that gets me down To God in prayer and ask him to deliver me from it and then trust in faith that he will Now that teaching is also often put like this You must say to a man who is constantly defeated by a particular sin.

I Think your only hope is to take it to Christ and Christ will take it from you But what does the scripture say? Ephesians 428 to the man who finds himself constantly guilty of stealing To a man who sees something he likes and takes it What am I to tell that man and might I say to that man take that sin to Christ and ask him to deliver you know What the Apostle Paul tells them is this let him that stole steal No more Just that Stop it And if it's fornication or adultery or lustful thoughts again stop doing it Says Paul, he does not say go and pray to Christ to deliver you.

No Stop doing that. He says and become as children of God So important to realize to him who stole steal no more Not to pray about not stealing just don't steal To him who engages in immorality engage no more Don't do it Begin bodily discipline train yourself to be godly That's what he says in verse number four of first Thessalonians chapter 4 remember that he says each man needs to know how to possess master his own vessel Protect his own life By putting to death those members of his body that caused him to fall into sin Listen if you if you struggle with gluttony Then you can't go to the grocery store and walk down the aisle that's going to satisfy your gluttonous desires You bypass that aisle It's as simple as that If you don't want to fall do not walk where it's slippery That's just a basic principle, right You want to fall down on your tush then don't walk where it's slippery walk where it's dry Walk where you'd be able to have stable feet Well, the same is true in Christianity.

There are things that you don't do places you don't go It's it's it's called the the mortification of the body It's the putting to death those things that are against you you know notice this that memorization and meditation lead to maturation maturation leads to mortification right and mortification in and of itself Leads to the manifestation of a godly character Very simple principle.

It's called the Eminem principle, right? Meditation and memorization lead to maturation Maturation leads to mortification that doing away with those things Which leads to the manifestation of a godly character to a world that needs to see Christ in you It's just that simple But it begins With bodily discipline as is necessary for personal holiness But that will never happen unless I aspire to please God only and always I know some of you're saying haven't you already said this? Why are you repeating this again?

It's because it is so necessary to understand. I Don't want you to forget Because each and every one of you faces temptation every day every single day And you need to know what the Bible says when it comes to resisting temptation Number three if you've been following us is very simple.

Number three simply is submit yourself Freely and fully To the delights and demands of Scripture ABS submit yourself freely and fully To the delights and demands of Scripture So let me show you once again how Wednesday's Dovetails with Sunday We talked to you on Wednesday night about what happened to Solomon What happened to Solomon's life?

What how's this man? He was a great king and Having all that he had Turned away from the Lord. How did that happen? And we took you to first Kings 11 to show you what turned his life away All those all those women 700 wives 300 concubines God said be careful They'll turn your heart away from me and they did so he took you all the way back to the book of Deuteronomy To show you what happened to Solomon's life The king shall not multiply horses for himself And he did He should not multiply wives for himself verse 17, and he did Or else his heart will be turned away nor shall he really increase silver and gold for himself and he did It wasn't enough that God gave him wealth.

He asked for wisdom and God gave him wealth. It wasn't enough To have what God gave him he wanted more silver He wanted more gold and this says now it should come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom He shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life That he may learn to fear the Lord his God. He did not do that He did not sit and write the law of God. He does sit and read the law of God every day Didn't do that Because if he did he would learn to fear his God, but he didn't fear his God He sought the pleasure of man The great thing about Solomon's life is that he did turn his life around and at the end he says here's the end of man Fear God and keep his commandments That's exactly what Deuteronomy 17 says fear God keep his commandments read the word of God study the word of God Write the word of God let the word of God engulf you And you'll learn to fear me And he goes on to say these words By carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen That he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left Said he and his sons may continue long in the midst of Israel But he didn't do that and so as Believers in Christ as members of the body of Christ as children of the Living God What do we do?

We have to be in the word of God we have to be under the word of God We need to be listening to the word of God need to be reading the word of God everything about our life is the word of God And so we find ourselves submitting freely and fully To all the delights and demands of Scripture because God's commands are not burdensome they are not and that can only happen if I Begin bodily discipline Remember Psalm 19 Such a beautiful psalm pick it up in verse number seven the law of the Lord is perfect restoring the soul The testimony of the Lord is sure Making wise the simple The precepts of the Lord are right rejoicing the heart the commandment of the Lord is pure Enlightening the eyes the fear of the Lord is clean enduring forever the judgments of the Lord are true They are righteous altogether.

They are more desirable than gold Yes, then much fine gold sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb Moreover by them your servant is warned and in keeping them there is great Reward That's what Solomon's father wrote everything about your life comes from the Word of God And when you keep the Word of God, there's great reward and David learned that over time So he talked to his son Solomon Solomon would begin that way, but he became enamored with the things of the world Dissatisfied with where he was Began a journey that would lead him down a wrong path by the grace of God by the end of his life He writes the book of Ecclesiastes to give you a journal on What was wrong with his life and then how the life was turned around?

to fear God and to keep his commandments We told you on Wednesday night. These things are written for your instruction Romans 15 verse number 4 that through perseverance and the encouragement of Scripture You might have hope You want hope Read the book of Ecclesiastes Study it realize that the pursuits You're you're engaged in the direction you want to go Is going to lead you to a life of futility emptiness and fragility Not to a life of stability not to a life of nobility But if you fear God and keep his commandments it will Very very important This is the will of God even the sanctification that you have stained from sexual immorality Solomon did not 700 wives 300 concubines Wow He did not submit himself to the Word of God He did not engage in bodily discipline Because at the core of his being he aspired to do what to please him self not to please His God and you think of your life where it's been All the things that have happened in your life where you have walked away from the Lord or you have sinned against the Lord Why is it?

Because you aspire to please yourself You seek pleasure for yourself Instead of seeking to please the Lord Principle number four was last week And that was turn away from even the appearance of iniquity Turn away from the appearance of Iniquity This is so important the Bible says abstain turn away from Turn away from sexual immorality, but before you ever get there abstain from even the appearance of iniquity why?

Simply because Ephesians chapter 5 says we're not to even talk about the things that the world does in secret they're abominable and Therefore as Job said he made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully upon a woman He was going to abstain from immorality But to do that He needed to turn away from any appearance of evil Not play around and dabble in the arena of Sin Let me give you principle number five.

I mean, let's see if we can finish it today. Okay? We can if you want to stay till noon, I mean we can say we can finish it I'll be done before the Super Bowl, don't worry Principle number five in our outline a B s T a In a the second a is Associate with those who walk intimately with Christ Associate with those who walk Intimately with Christ I've chosen my words very carefully.

Notice. I didn't say associate with people of the church Because there might be people in the church that don't walk into me with Christ right so associate with those who walk intimately with Christ Let me put this to you this way Show me your friends Show me who you follow and I can tell your future.

I'm not a prophet Nor son of a prophet But show me your friends Show me who you follow and I will show you your future. So how can you know my future? I don't But the Bible does So Solomon all of his wisdom said these words Proverbs 13 verse number 20 He who walks with wise men Will be wise But the companion of fools Will suffer harm that's your future Who you follow Who your friends are? Will determine your future Walk with wise men you'll be wise walk with fools You'll suffer harm Psalm 119 verse 63 David said I am a companion of all those Who fear you and of those?

Who keep your precepts Davidson I am a companion of those who fear you and those who keep your precepts as parents We need to help our children understand how to choose their friends to make sure they follow The right kind of people and so as parents we want to help our children understand you walk with fools You're gonna suffer harm you walk with wise men. You'll be wise you want to be a companion of those who who fear God and are Committed to keeping his precepts That is so important Go back to Solomon's life Who did he surround himself with Pagan women and so they turned their heart turned his heart away from the Lord You need to walk with wise people people who walk intimately with the Lord people who love the Lord Who are committed to following?

the Lord So important remember over in in first Corinthians 6 Paul says Don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough it does Clean out the old leaven so you may be a new lump just as you are in fact Unleavened for Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us Solomon would say in Ecclesiastes 9 18 one sinner destroys much good one sinner destroys much good First Corinthians 15 33 That company corrupts good morals Read the book of Proverbs.

It's filled with instruction and Commandments about who you walk with who you associate with who you follow who you attach yourself to just remember who you follow and Who your friends are will determine your future? Because they will influence you In fact If you go back to 2nd Timothy chapter 3 about the last days How men will be lovers of themselves lovers of pleasure whether the lovers of God? Bible says avoid such men as these Avoid them in fact it it goes on to say that in the last days Children will be disobedient to their parents Avoid Those who are disobedient to the parents we talked about this last night in our perspective on parenting Do you know that the wisest thing you can tell your child?

Is that if the son or daughter you want to date is disobedient to their parents avoid them? Because that's what the Bible says 2nd Timothy 3 verse number 5 avoid such men as these don't hang around with those who live in Disobedience to their parents because that's the characteristic of last days.

It's the characteristic of those who are lovers of themselves lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God oh By the way Romans 1 says the same thing that men of depraved minds are Disobedient to their parents Very important to realize that Some of us as parents are asleep at the wheel Need to wake up and smell the coffee We know who our kids are hanging out with Who are kids associate with? What are they doing To make sure that we follow the biblical guidelines And help them to understand that we need to be the kind of people who associate with those Who walk intimately with Christ?

Why Because they rub off on you They influence you And you want to be influenced for good not for evil You want to be influenced the right way and not the wrong way So associate yourself with those who walk intimately with the Lord Next principle we will finish today Is this? immerse yourself immerse Yourself in the arrival Of the King Immerse yourself In the arrival of the King This is very very important Jesus is coming again But you know what for the most part we don't even think about that Unless you come to church on Sunday we talk about it But nobody woke up today thinking man.

This is a great day. It's Super Sunday Jesus is coming today, maybe Now we thought this is a Super Bowl Sunday. That was the first thing in our minds We don't we don't live each day thinking is today the day But you know what if you want to live a pure life and abstain from sexual immorality now you do that immerse yourself Into thinking only about your coming King See why would I want to do that?

Well listen to what John says 1st John chapter 3 Verse number one see how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called children of God and such we Are for this reason the world does not know us because it did not know him beloved now We are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be We know that when he appears We will be like him Because we will see him just as he is And everyone who has this hope fixed on him Purifies himself even as he is pure he who has this hope fixed on him You are immersed in the arrival of Messiah.

He could come today You study prophetic passages You immerse yourself in the scriptures you bathe yourself in the Bible you saturate yourself with the inspired text Specifically around the arrival of the Messiah knowing that he could come at any moment, and you need to be ready for his arrival and He who has this hope this blessed. Hope in him purifies himself even as he himself is Pure I'll say it to you again. I probably already said it over 500 times. I'll say it again The clearer you see The future the cleaner you stand in the present That was the theme of the book of Daniel If you're with us, and I study the book of Daniel Daniel was a pure and blameless man But he lived in anticipation of the coming game Everything was about the arrival of the Messiah and his kingdom He was taken into Babylonian captivity at the age of 16 He was taken away from his family at age of 16 to go off in the captivity of captivity And how did the man remain pure and holy before his God?

kept looking For the coming King and that's what Immersing yourself Into the arrival of your blessed hope does That's why Paul would say in Titus chapter 2 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Peter He'd say it this way In his first epistle he said this first Peter Chapter 1 verse number 13 therefore prepare your minds for action keep sober in spirit fix your hope Completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ Gather up your loins Get a grip on life How do you do that?

By fixing your hope on the revelation of Jesus Christ. He's coming again as Obedient children do not be conformed to the former loss which were yours in your ignorance But like the Holy One who called you behold yourselves and all your behavior because it is written you shall be holy for I am holy So he gives the command that God gave way back in the book of Leviticus be holy for I am holy But with the impetus that if you are looking get a grip on eternity with the arrival of the Messiah himself You can learn to be holy as he himself is holy Because you're looking for the blessed hope and then he says in his second epistle Peter does second Peter chapter 3 in verse 11 Talking about the coming of the King The arrival of Messiah the new heavens and the new earth He says since all these things are to be destroyed in this way.

What sort of people ought you to be in? holy conduct and godliness Because all these things are gonna happen this way and you know What's gonna happen this way because it's all been prophesied and I'm reiterating for you What kind of people like you to be holy blameless Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God Because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements will melt with intense heat But according to his promise we are looking for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells Therefore beloved since you look for these things since you are immersed with these things since you are fixed on these things Since you are preoccupied with these things be diligent to be found by him in peace spotless and blameless Peter said the same thing Paul said it earlier in the book of Colossians We read to you verse 5 Earlier in Colossians 3 we said therefore consider the members of your earthly body is dead.

Why do you do that? How can you put off the old man and put on the new how can you mortify the members of your flesh versus 1 to 4 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ keep seeking things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God Be preoccupied with the heavenly Be fixed on that which is above not on that which is below Set your mind on the things above none of the things on the earth for you have died in your life is hidden with Christ In God when Christ who is our life is revealed then you also will be revealed with him in glory It's reiterated over and over again Israel would be holy and blame us Because they were looking for the arrival of Messiah Messiah came and they missed him But he's gonna come again and Paul and Peter and James Reiterate over and over again That this is the blessed hope This is what you live for You're living for the appearance of Christ.

Who is your life? your sustenance your security your satisfaction doing that immersing yourself By gazing only upon your blessed hope Will cause you to live a pure in holy life This day Because the clearer you see Is coming in the future the cleaner you will stand in the present It's just that simple and lastly Lastly if you're following along it's letter N in the word abstain and that is Neutralize the enemy's ploys and promises of pleasure Neutralize the enemy's ploys and promises of pleasure How do you disarm the enemy How do you render Satan Ineffective In your life Paul would say in 2nd Corinthians 2 verse 11 Brethren be not ignorant of Satan's devices talking to the church, right?

He would later say and I'm sorry that's 2nd Corinthians 2 and 2nd Corinthians 11 He would talk about the fact that I'm concerned that that what's gonna happen is that Satan's gonna steal your devotion to Christ He was concerned about that Because you see Satan is the deceiver John 8 44. He's the liar He's the deceiver He's the murderer from the beginning And the deceiver Is a divider right All dividers are deceivers. That's why they divide And Satan is the ultimate divider. He divided the angels in heaven Against the Christ against the Lord God of Israel He's a constant divider, but the ones who deceive and the ones who divide are the ones who?

Destroy and Satan is called in Revelation 9 Apollyon the destroyer. That's really that's who he is Deceivers divide and destroy Satan wants to deceive you into thinking That the pleasure you're engaged in is real It will last But the earthly pleasures are are the best thing for you See Satan has a twofold method to blind the unbeliever and to beguile the believer That's what he does He wants to blind the unbeliever from ever understanding the deity of Christ that second Corinthians 4 4 But he wants to beguile the the believer.

He wants to trap him. He wants to deceive him He wants to turn him away from truth So what do you do? How you neutralize all that Well James says James 4 Resist him and he will flee Peter says in 1st Peter 5 verse number 9 Resist him same thing but resist him steadfast in the faith The only reason Satan flees is because you resist him firm in The faith the definite article the scriptures the doctrine the truth of the Word of God that's why in Ephesians 6 that the only offensive piece of armor that you have is a sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God right and Therefore we take that word And we stand firm In the faith That's why Christ gave us that example in Matthew chapter 4 On how to deal with Satan's ploys and promises of pleasure Since if you bow down and worship me bypass the cross I'll give you the kings of the world They're mine.

Anyway, I'll give them to you. You don't have to go to the cross Just bow down and worship me Turn turn these stones into bread. I know you're hungry. Ah Here's the pleasure life. Just take the stone turn them into bread. You'll be satisfied And Christ always responded to Satan's methods of temptation by what Scripture the Word of God Disarming Satan neutralizing all the ploys and promises of pleasure By saying thus says the Lord Man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God He set the tone for you and me on how to resist Satan steadfast in the faith We need to know the truth.

We need to know the Word of God inside and out That that's why we've spent these last several weeks looking at these principles that will help you understand look you can gain victory Over temptation you can gain victory over Satan's ploys That all begins with an aspiration to please God so before we close Just let me encourage you.

You can't change your past It's over It's done and God forgives Can't change it But you can change your entire future by consecrating your life to Christ And serving him Looking to him only That's it I'm gonna read something to you. Just listen.

It's right out of the Bible Psalm Psalm 135 Says this listen carefully The idols of the nations are but silver and gold the work of man's hands They have mouths, but they do not speak they have eyes, but they do not see they have ears, but they do not hear Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths those who make them? Will be just like them Yes, everyone who trusts in Them if it is true, and it is the heathen can become Like the lifeless gods they worship How much more? Will we become like the Christ who is the living God when we worship him the unbeliever will look at their gods Who have ears that do not hear eyes that do not see mouths that do not speak They are lifeless gods And those who worship them become just like them lifeless People but when you with unveiled face beholding as a mirror the glory of the Lord worship him and bow before him and Learn all you can about him if Heathens can become like their lifeless gods.

How much more can we who have the Spirit of God? Residing within us become like the one true God That's the bottom line How much do you want to be like Christ? My prayer for you and for me is that that would be our our heartfelt desire our passion We might truly be like the Christ the Son of the Living God Beholding it in the mirror the glory of the Lord and being transformed from one level of glory to the next level of glory even as By the Spirit of God Paul tells us That's the that's the plan So we've given you the injunction We've given you the instructions next week We'll give you the implications Out of the first eight verses.

Let's pray together father. We thank you for today The opportunity you give us to spend time in your word Truly Lord. You are a great God and Lord you spelled out for us how it is we can We can neutralize the enemy How we can focus above and not below how we can serve you and Please you and not please ourselves We pray that that would be our desire and our ambition They would seek the glory of our King We love you, Lord We love you, therefore we want to please you we love you more than Anything else you've said if any man come after me and not Hate his father mother or love his father or mother more than me.

He's not worthy of me We can't love anyone else more than you And if we are committed to loving Christ That's all that matters May we be the kind of people That bring glory and honor to your name in your name only We pray this in The name of our coming King Jesus Christ our Lord Amen