Point Community Church
The teaching of Point Community Church in Austin, TX.
Point Community Church
Together For The Gospel - Stand Firm, Pursue Unity, Embrace Suffering - Phillippians 1
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Morning, everyone. Thanks, team, for leading us. It's really encouraging in my heart. Both of those last two songs we sang in particular, just man, really powerful songs. Um thankful you're here today and uh thankful we have the opportunity to get into God's word together today and to be encouraged by what God's trying to speak to us. Um in fact, with that in mind, if you guys have a Bible, or if you don't, there's some under the chairs, if you pull your Bible out, we're gonna be in Philippians chapter one today. Uh so we'll be um talking in the in the book of Philippians, the first chapter, and invite you just to turn there with me. We're gonna read uh the last four verses of that chapter here in just a minute. Before we get there, if you, when you came in today, did not get a worship guide, if you lift your hand real quick, we'd just love to ask you to um lift your hand and we can give you a worship guide. And we'd love to uh to make sure you know what's going on here at point as well, to be able to follow along with the sermon. I got one hand way up here. Um and so we invite you to, and also if you're a guest today, uh this is your lucky day. Uh you're you uh get a blessing from the Lord today because immediately after the gathering today, uh we have uh we'll have a bounce house set up for all you adults, and then the kids can play cornhole. I was kidding. Um we have a bounce house and cornhole, and we uh we are also gonna eat some tacos together. So we got a taco truck that'll be outside. And if you're a guest, the tacos are on us, it's free. And so uh so have some free tacos for uh for on us, and uh, we'd love for you to enjoy those. And then um the way we're gonna do that, we'll tell you at the very end, but you have to go out and get an actual um you have to actually get a like a little handout for that. And so uh we want to encourage that, and uh you know it's a voucher, and so you can grab that and then you'll uh go and get your tacos. Okay, so Philippians chapter one. Um I just got back from Elder Retreat. So incredibly thankful for the time I had with the men of God to pray and to pursue Jesus with them, and and really thankful for how God's working. Um, let me just tell you that to be in Wisconsin, first off, we had that privilege to get to go up there. Uh, was a gift, it was awesome. It was a it was an amazing blessing. Uh, and so the the when we left Wisconsin that morning, it was 45 degrees. We got off the airplane here and it was a hundred degrees. So it was like, whoa, like wow, that's a big difference. So, anyway, um very thankful though for the time that was there. And God spoke very clearly. We were able to hear from him some specific items uh that we've been praying about for direction. Uh we're gonna be sharing some of those things over the next few weeks uh about how we're gonna grow as a church in prayer, uh, as we're gonna grow in church, and that it's focused on the gospel and the grace that is in Christ. Um also had a chance to talk about how we're gonna teach through this fall. We're gonna be teaching from the book of Ephesians starting uh the first Sunday of uh September. And so you're excited about that, looking forward to that as well. Welcome to our guests who just stepped in. Um glad you're here. And so I just thank God that we have the opportunity to be in this place this morning talking about what's what's next for us. Where are we heading? And the verse that God kept bringing us was from Philippians chapter 1, Philippians chapter 1, verse 27 and 28. And here's what the words of Philippians chapter 1, 27, 28, and I'm actually going to read all the way through 30 say. They say these things. Just one thing. Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or I'm absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind, working side by side for the faith that comes from the gospel, not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of destruction for them, but of deliverance, but of your deliverance, and this is from God. For it has been given to you on Christ's behalf, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, for having the same struggle that you saw I had, and now hear that I have. So a few things as we kind of talk through this Philippians chapter one passage. First off, um, the book of Philippians. Uh Paul writes it. Just in case you aren't very familiar with the New Testament, Paul writes the book of Philippians, and he writes it to a church in Philippi. He absolutely loves these people. He is crazy about these people. It's evident when he writes the book that he loves them deeply and dearly, that they mean a lot to him, they are close to him. And so you get that flavor as you read through the book. Even in the very beginning of Philippians, he says, you know, I thank God every time I remember you and I pray for you. And so as we hear those words from Paul, towards the back end of this first chapter, this is really the focus for his book where he says, uh, you know, I want you to live for one thing. Now, if you could condense your life statement, your focus for what you're supposed to be doing with this life that God's given you, He's entrusted you with, what would you say? I I don't know. I've thought about that, I've thought a lot about the Mark 12, 30 passage where he says, Love God and love people. But in Philippians chapter 1, he says these things. He says, Live your life worthy of the gospel you've received. Live your life worthy of the gospel you've received. Now, the words that he uses there are actually a word that we get our our term police or politics. And he's talking about citizenship. He's talking about how that they are to conduct themselves as citizens of a new kingdom. That our ultimate citizenship as Christ followers is not earth. It's not America, it's not Austin, Texas, it's the heaven. It's it's Christ, it's his kingdom, that we are new citizens and new kingdom. Like Alex was saying a while ago, that we have this new identity, we're a new race, we're a new people, a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a people belonging to God. And so he says to them, he says, I want you to live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel, to conduct yourself like a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. Well, what would that look like? Well, first off, what it would look like if we just take the gospel, and what does the gospel say about humanity? Well, the gospel first says about humanity that we are sinners. It says that every single one of us are born with a sin nature. It says that every one of us are born rebellious to God. It says that every single one of us are needy before a holy God and we need rescuing, we need saving, we need salvation. And so, this morning, if we're going to live our lives in a manner worthy of the gospel, a life that's conducted in that way as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven is a humble life. It's a life of humility, it's a life of being honest that we are people who are imperfect and people who are in need. And so, if we were going to conduct ourselves in front of others in the lives that we live, we are people who are humble, people who are gentle. Now, I'm sure all of you in this room would say that you're awesome at being humble, right? Right. Most of what we call humility is actually like self-deprecating, or you just basically like talk about yourself as I'm not great or I'm a bad person or I'm not very good at this. But true humility comes when we see the holy God who made us rightly and we see ourselves honestly. When we start to see ourselves honestly before a holy God in whom we do not deserve one ounce of his grace and his love and his mercy, it humbles us. So that when we live our everyday life, we actually see ourselves as carriers of grace, beneficiaries from a God who has lavished his love on us that we do not deserve. And he says, live your life worthy of the gospel you receive. The second thing we would say that the gospel says about us is not just that we should be humble, but the gospel also says that we should be confident and secure in Christ. You know why? Because in Christ we are forgiven. We are loved, we are redeemed, we are set free. In Christ, we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us, and so we are now not just citizens of the King in a new kingdom, but we are actually sons and daughters of the King. It's a beautiful thought, isn't it? And so when we face life hardships and circumstances and trials, when we face suffering in any form, like we're going to talk about in a minute, when we face those things, we are secure in Christ. Not in ourselves, not in our own goodness, not in our own righteousness, but in Christ, we are secure and we are found in Christ. So today, as we live a life, as Paul says, to live a life worthy of the gospel we receive, we would be both humble and secure. Humble to know that we need Jesus desperately. We were sinners who needed saving. Secure and confident because we have been saved and rescued by the Most High God. Now, it's possible that some of you might be sitting here today and you've never actually received the gift of salvation. It's possible that you could be sitting here and never have actually believed that there's a God in heaven who made you and who loves you and sent his son to die for you. And can I just as clearly as I can possibly articulate today, if you have never ever received the gift that God offers you in the person of Jesus, today's the day. He wants to offer that to you again. It's on the table in front of you. That Jesus Christ gave his life so that you could be forgiven for your sin. And when you receive that by faith, you get to have Christ in you, the hope of glory. You get to have the surety, the confidence that you are going to be with him forever, that you are his loved son and daughter. And that's what I pray for every person who comes to point here on a regular basis is that you wouldn't just come and be religious people. You wouldn't just come and go through the motions and hear sermons or sing songs, but that you would know your creator and your savior. That's what we're praying for. That's what we believe in. So as we think about this being a focus for us this year, we want to keep putting our eyes on the gospel, on the good news of Christ, on the person and the work of Jesus. Because that is where all of our foundation comes from. The second thing that Paul goes on to say is he starts to sort of break down what that looks like as he says, stand firm. I will hear about you that you are standing firm. Why is it that Paul would say you need to stand firm? Well, anybody who's a Christian or has been a Christ follower very long knows that we're in a war. An all-out war. That we are in a battle. And Paul uses the same exact language in Ephesians chapter 6 when he says to put on the whole armor of God. And he talks about standing firm three times before he even gets to the armor. Why? Because there are so many oppositions and forces that are trying to push us off kilter, trying to distract us from keeping our eyes on Jesus, trying to keep us from advancing the good news of Christ in all the earth. And so he says, stand firm, stand firm, stand firm, stand firm. What do you stand firm on? You stand firm on the gospel. You stand firm on the fact that apart from God, we are headed to destruction. You stand firm on the fact that apart from God, we are hopeless and helpless, but you also stand fact, as we just said, that we know Christ, that we have the power of God in us, that his plans will not fail, that he is sovereign over all things, that he is for his church, that he will build his church, and that the gates of hell can't prevail against his church. So we can stand firm on those things, can't we, today? It's a reminder that we as Christ followers many times don't talk near enough about the spiritual war that we're actually in. And maybe it's because we just look at our circumstances and we think that, well, circumstances are just happening. But the reality today is that circumstances are guided by a God who is sovereign. And that he is working in the world around us, but we also know that there is an enemy that wants to do anything he can, as John 10 says so clearly, to still, kill, and destroy. And so we stand firm in Christ. We stand firm in who we are, we stand firm in his love and his grace, no matter what we face along the way. So he says we stand firm. But not only that, but he goes on to say, in one spirit with one mind, working side by side. In one spirit, in one mind, working side by side. Now, why would Paul say this and why would it even resonate with them? Well, he's just referred to standing firm because it's a battle. And this is really kind of in the same vein because they would have really pictured what it was like for armies during that day to go into battle. And how would they do that? They would go into battle side by side with their shields interlocked, taking ground. And he is saying that I want to hear about you, that whether I see you in person or whether I just hear that you are standing side by side. You are unified, one spirit, one mind. And as the elders were praying this week, we got away, we have battled a lot, a lot of struggles with division and disunity. And we said, God, how do we stand firm? Well, we stand firm in the battle, the real battle, the battle for the gospel to go into all the earth. And we stand side by side. It was so interesting that this is what God, again, put into our hearts to just say, we've got to be people who stand firm, that we are unified. Did you know that John 17, Jesus' high priestly prayer, some of you have already heard us talk about this before, he says in his own words, he says, God, Father, I pray that you would make these people one so that the world would know that you sent me. Now, when you think about all of the ways that we can try to convince the world that Jesus is real, that Jesus came out of the grave, when you think of all the ways you could try to convince your neighbors and your coworkers and your friends about is the Bible actually true, one of the prayers Jesus had was that our greatest apologetic would be unity. It would be oneness in Him. And that only happens by the power of the Holy Spirit. And that's what Alex even referred to earlier. That the Holy Spirit brings us, it unifies us, it draws us together. And we know that if we are people who are fixated on anything other than God, anything other than Jesus, it will naturally splinter and fraction us. That is what will happen in our lives. It's interesting that Paul would write this because do you guys know anything about the history of Philippians and Philippi, the church at Philippi? Well, let me tell you a little bit. In Acts chapter 16. In Acts chapter 16, we get the story. And the first three converts in Philippi, catch this. A woman who was a very wealthy businesswoman who worked with fine linens. So she probably was a fashionista of sort of sorts. Can't say that. Fashionista of sorts. She's probably a fashionista of sorts, probably had penthouses in all the major cities in her day. And she was the first convert. She was down by the river, and she actually helped fund a lot of the ministry there in Philippi, from what we understand historically. The second was a slave girl who was demon-possessed, and her masters were using her to basically make money by getting her to tell the futures of other people and do things for them. And then thirdly, Paul is in jail, and while he's in jail, uh God breaks them out of jail, and as they're about to leave, the jailer knows he's getting ready to go down, and so he tries, he's about to commit suicide. And Paul says, Hey, don't kill yourself. Don't kill yourself, we're here. And then actually leads him out. And so you've got a blue-collar jailer, you've got a slave girl, and you've got a businesswoman who has a lot of money. And these are some of the three first converts in the church in Philippi. What in the world are those three people doing together hanging out? I mean, in Austin, Texas, does that happen? Uh hopefully it does in church. Because that's what the church should look like is we all have a common need in Jesus, no matter what language we speak, no matter what color our skin is, no matter what background we come from, no matter how much money's in our bank account, we need Jesus. And that's what draws us together. His spirit and being his children draws us together. Unity is hard work, and it is a grace gift by the Spirit of God. The wall, as it says in Ephesians, the wall of hostility has been broken down between people in Christ. The wall of hostility has been broken down. There's particularly, Paul is talking about the Jews and the Gentiles, but between every person, every man, woman, and child, the wall has been broken down in the person of Christ. He is the great reconciler. It is his blood that covers all of us and therefore draws us together in unity. Now, I need to talk about something just for a second in light of this issue of unity. And I prayed about it and asked the Lord to really give me some direction. Over the last few years, we've had some conversations with people. Some of them are even here today. And we've been talking about how do we move forward in unity. And through those conversations, we kind of came to some impasses. I mean, just to be honest, we we talked for hours, hours, and came to some impasses on some key issues, um, perspectives, you might say. And our elders, I want you to know we love these people dearly. We love these people deeply. Uh did not expect some of them to be here today, but they came. Um we love them deeply. We continue to pray for them every elder meeting we get together, even with tears. I mean, just tears, brother. Um, but we love them deeply, but in the process of all of this, we have seen that there's just a need to part ways, just like we see Peter and Paul in the New Testament. However, over the last year and a half, the conversation has not ended. Um, people have been drawn into that conversation and told things that aren't aren't even true. There have been some spots and moments in time where lots of public posts and social media, even yesterday, one of the larger ones. And some of you guys don't even know these folks, and we understand that. Our hearts are not to attack people, our hearts are not to divide people. We want to seek unity in Christ. Our hearts and our desires to be forgiven, to forgive as Christ has forgiven us, and in fact, we've done that very thing. But today we do stand in front of you as a congregation and saying to you, we know that you may have questions about this, you may have questions about the post if you happen to know them. And following the service today, our elders want to be available to you to answer any of those questions. We want to be available to answer and address anything that you might have. We have nothing to hide on this issue nor nothing to defend. We are here to be just as shepherds of the flock aware that there are some challenges that are there and still some misunderstandings. But we would ask you as the body of Christ to do a couple of things as we have done what we can over the last couple of years. And that is this. First, the Bible tells us that we should call sin. And so we want to make sure that you guys know that the three things that we have seen are gossip, they are slander, and they are divisive in nature. And the Bible says that those things are sin. And so we have to call them sin because it's not right to do, to not do that, but also to just acknowledge what is happening and that the things that have been said, some of those things are not even true, about our elder, one of our current elders, and about some of the situations that occurred. Now I say that to you again, knowing that just everybody in a world in which you live, and you're human beings, there's sides that are taken. But our hearts are not to take sides because we're all followers of Jesus and we're children of God. So the only side we're on is Jesus. Our hope is to prayerfully like move forward in unity, even through this. Ephesians 4 29 reminds us: let no corruption talk come from your mouths, but only what is good for building others up as it fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. That's our prayer. We want to honor Jesus, we want to honor our brothers and sisters. We would ask that you do three things, church family. We would ask that you not give ear to anything that's not true, that you would not participate in gossip or slander, and we would ask you, church family, on behalf of the elders, I ask you that you would not that you would, that you would pray. That you would pray, that you would seek God and you would listen to his voice because his voice is the true voice. You would listen to what he is saying, and you would say, God, what do you want me to do? How do I act in love towards anybody? You know, the greatest conflicts I've had in my life are in my marriage. The person that I love the deepest is the person I've hurt the worst. The person who loves me the most has hurt me the most. But ultimately, at the end of the day, in Christ that is dealt with. And so the only way I move forward in conflict is to offer that person the same forgiveness that Christ has offered me. And so I want you to know, church family, that as a group of elders, as a group of leaders here, we are seeking to just walk in by the spirit, not by the flesh, and to love people well. There is one note that we should address because if you do, if you are aware of the posts that went out yesterday in a public arena, which is not always the best way to handle conflict, but when you post something like that, there are some people who are concerned about one particular piece of the post. And again, if you don't know anything about this, it doesn't really matter. But one specific piece about a rapist. I want you to know that two years ago there was a gentleman who was here. He actually was part of our church family, and he actually did have a past. He was a person who we were walking very closely with. He was also a person that we had two different people who went through some trainings and went through some processing with them. And without getting into all the details, he's not been here in the last couple of years, but also that our elders prayerfully and carefully handled that. I just want to make sure that parents know, especially for parents with little kids, that's a big deal. And so when you say things like that, you have to address them, okay? We love that man and we tried to love him well, and we actually had to ask him to leave. Um, not because he did anything here on the premises in sexual nature, okay? Um, but we wanted to make sure we're clear. I would just beg you, as a church family, with my heart, I've I've shed a lot more tears. And I'm I'm an emotional guy, but I shed shed tears over this issue, and even people who have been drawn into this whole process, and I would just ask that you would please pray. Please, please pray for the truth. And the thing that God continues to remind me is a few things that have just been in my head. First off, God sees there's nothing hidden from God's sight, Hebrews 4.13. He sees and he knows. He knows our hearts, he knows our motives, he knows everything about it, he knows our thoughts, everything. He knows. Secondly, if everything and accusations that anybody brings against you are true, it doesn't change for one minute God's love for us. It doesn't change his grace, it doesn't change his mercy, his view of us. Now, praise God, those things are not all true, but um, I would encourage you just to walk in that by the power of his Holy Spirit. It's interesting that coming out of that, two things that Paul says as we move on is he says, What is the focus that unifies us? What is the focus that actually gives us unity in the way forward? He says, I want you to be striving side by side, fighting for what? The faith that comes from the gospel. Notice he doesn't say your political position. No, he doesn't say your personal preferences, he doesn't say your religious focus. He says the faith that comes from the gospel. The reason why spiritual opposition exists, as I said earlier, is because spiritual opposition is specifically an attack on God's mission, on God wanting to be using his church to make himself known in all the earth. And so there's spiritual attack that comes from that. Listen, we are partners in the gospel. We are called to work to help every man, woman, and child in our city know Jesus. John 20, 21, Jesus says, Just as the Father sent me, so I send you. So we are sent people. We are sent people by the power of the Spirit. If you were here last week, you got to hear Reuben, one of our church planners that we've sent to Northeast Austin. And what did Reuben say? He said exactly what we've seen so many say. He said, I stepped out, and as I began to work out this thing, um, I begin to suffer. And it's interesting that the next thing that Paul writes here is he says, For it has been given to you on Christ's behalf, not only to believe in him. I don't know if you guys know this or not, but our salvation is a grace gift from God. I mean, I'm just gonna, I'll just talk about myself for a second. If God had not opened my eyes and opened my heart, I would never have received the gospel. But he did. He opened my eyes and he opened my heart and I've received the gospel, and I consider it a grace gift more and more. The older and older I get, I just I go, wow, thank you, God, for saving me. Thank you for your grace and your mercy and your kindness. But also, he says, not only do we get God's grace, he uses the word grace gift, to believe in him, but also to suffer for him. And as our elders were talking about a way forward, we said, not only do we need to stand firm in the battle, not only do we walk in unity, but that we also need to understand that suffering is going to be a norm. We need to embrace suffering. I would dare say that our American view of suffering, or maybe our American theology of suffering is pretty anemic. I know mine is. For the most part, I thought when you suffered, it's because you did something wrong. But the reality is that God is doing something in our suffering. That's why Paul can say it's actually a grace gift. Do you guys know where Paul was when he was writing this letter? He was in prison. He was in prison, guys. He was sitting there in a jail cell. And you know what else is awesome? Previously in this chapter, he says, because he was in the jail cell, he literally got to share the gospel with all the guards in the entire Roman, uh, in the Roman guard there. Can you imagine being one of the Roman guards? It's like, okay, guys, who's gonna go get linked up to Paul today and have to listen to him preach about Jesus all day? I mean, just think about that. I just think about like Paul was such an evangelist that even in prison he was talking about Jesus. It's such a beautiful thought. I wish I'd embrace suffering like that. I'm such a wuss, you know? It's like the littlest thing happens, and I'm like, ah. Man, we got brothers and sisters all over the world suffering for the gospel. So don't be surprised when you suffer. Don't be surprised when hardship comes your way. You cannot read the New Testament with any kind of an intellectual integrity and think that a Christfather will not suffer. It is normative. And in fact, catch this, hear this out. We, me and you, we can never become like Jesus without suffering. We never will. It's through suffering that we actually grow into who God wants us to be. Listen to this passage, this quote from J.I. Packer. Love this brother, means a lot. It brings it honestly, it just brought a lot of emotion into my heart, even as I read it. It says this God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives. Felt weakness deepens dependence on Christ for strength each day. The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually, even while our bodies waste away. Amen. To live with your thorn uncomplainingly, that is sweet, patient, and free in heart to love and help others, even though every day you feel weak, is true sanctification. It is true healing for the Spirit, it is a supreme victory of grace. Church family, we have work to do. We have a city to love and to reach. We have a globe, a world full of people who do not know the grace that we've received. My prayer has been and will continue to be that we would be a people who live a life worthy of the gospel we have received. That we would stand firm in the face of the war and the battle. That we would preach Jesus. We would preach Jesus and Him crucified, even when that's not popular. Who would teach the word regardless of what the world thinks, and we would do it with compassion and love and grace and mercy. That we would stand unified around the person of Jesus. Anything that is unified around something other than Jesus is not of God. It's Jesus, it's his kingdom. That's what is got to be at the center. And within that, that we would embrace suffering that will come, just like the disciples, just like the apostles, just like people long after they were gone who've walked this thing out called the Christian life. If you read any great men of God who've written about their faith, what you will find is a consistent theme of hardship, discouragement, depression, difficulty, suffering, because that's what happens in this life. But this is not the end, people. This is not the end. Our citizenship is in heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven, and all the problems and all the pain of this life will one day come to an end. So we can be people of love. We can be people of grace, and we can keep our eyes fixed on the bigger picture no matter what we may face. Guys, we got work to do. We got work to do. And our elders want to just call you to see the field of harvest around us, to love people well.
SPEAKER_00And sometimes, even when you love, it's gonna be hard. But that's okay because our father still loves us. And nothing can remove that from us.
SPEAKER_01I want to pray for us as we close out our time together, and we're gonna take communion together. But just know that the enemy, he is real, and he wants to still kill and destroy, and he wants to divide, and he wants to plant seeds of doubt and disparity, but keep your eyes on Jesus. He's the only one who will not fail you. He is the only one who will not fail you. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you so much for your love and your grace and your mercy and your kindness. And God, even today, literally in this moment, I just remind myself that apart from your grace and mercy and kindness, I was headed to an eternal damnation. God, that I deserve death and punishment, destruction because of my sin. And God, I thank you today that you rescued me. I praise you, God. And God, I ask that you would please forgive me for such a small view of you and a small view of your grace. You are holy, you are righteous, you alone are the judge who sees all and knows all. And God, I just surrender and submit to you with these people today. Father God, we are here because we love you and because we need you. And I love that when I look across this room, I see people from every walk of life. I see people with different perspectives and different insights and different spiritual gifts, as we'll talk about in the coming weeks. God, I praise you for that. And I thank you that we get the joy and the privilege of linking arms and standing side by side for the faith that is in the gospel. God, help us to do that well together. Help us to be people of humility and people of confidence. Humility and confidence. Thank you, Father. Thank you for your love. And God, I just pray, even today over the situation that we brought up, we continue to pray for healing and restoration. God, we continue to pray for you to allow all of us, every single one of us, to fix our eyes on you, Jesus, and to obey you. Whatever that looks like, and whatever that means, God, that we would fix our eyes on you and that we would listen for your spirit and we would obey what you say. Thank you, God, that we have hope. Thank you that we are not crushed. Because you are leading us and guiding us and you're providing for us. And we praise in your strong name, Jesus. Amen. This morning, as we close out our time, one of the most unifying acts that we have as the church is to take communion together. Now I want to remind you, don't go to the communion table. We have five of them set around. Don't go there quickly. We try to encourage you, take a minute, reflect on your own heart. You don't want to take communion when there's something in your own heart. I mean, the Bible says if you have something you need to deal with, go deal with it before you to bring prayer or worship to God. And I don't know your heart, I don't know what you're struggling with, what you're dealing with, but for every one of us that we would take a minute and say, God, is there something that you want me to do? Is there a command you want me to obey? Is there a sin you want to repent of? And if you take a minute to do that and confess and to repent and then go and take communion and know that you're forgiven in Christ. There's freedom in Christ. You don't have to wallow in sin. You actually can come and be free from it. And so we invite you to do that. Also, if you need prayer, we'll have our prayer team at the back of the room. We do that on Sunday mornings to just give you a chance. If there's somebody, like I just need somebody to pray over me. I need to confess a sin. I need to acknowledge. Like we'll be at the back of the room. We'd love to do that. And uh we would love to be available for you. And then as we close out, we'll wrap up some our time and we have uh even a special moment to announce uh something for uh a person that's in our body of that that is uh on mission, and so we're excited to tell you about that in a minute. But let's let's respond to God. If you want to sing, sing, if you want to sit, sit, stand, go take communion, we're praying, but let's listen for the Spirit's voice and let's obey, okay? Let's do that together.