Think so. video each for the last couple. >> We have Good. >> Okay. Nice. That's almost been I know that. Yeah. 25 songs. That was Last last announcement. I'm ready. >> Good morning. >> Good morning. Oh, there you go. We are glad that you're here today with us at Grace Baptist Church. If you are a guest with us, uh let me encourage you. I hope you've received a worship folder and uh in the pew in front of you, there is a connect card. We would really love and appreciate if you would fill that out. In a few minutes, the offering plate will be passed. You can put it in there. Uh at the end of the service, you could give it to an elder who will be at the front of the church, back of the church, or back front. Well, we'll be in both places and we'd love for for to connect with you in that way. Uh we really appreciate that. Uh there are several announcements that are in your worship guide. I will not read them all. They are critical. Um and you need to be aware of them. Uh I I do want to just thank you for uh the giving that you have done uh through the Andy Armstrong Easter offering. Uh we collected $2,257. We greatly appreciate that. All of that money uh is going to support um North American missions. So, we're grateful for that. Um there's a few things in here about the nominations for treasurer and assistant treasure as well as meetings for a summer mission trip. Read those details and be aware of those if those are things that you are interested in. Um everyone should be interested in the nomination of treasure and assistant treasur. If you're part of our body, if you're a member, uh we would love to have your input. We need your input in those areas. Um, now imagine with me, picture with me for a moment, you leave your house quietly at night. You're trying not to draw attention to where you're going. Maybe you make your way by foot at first, and then you get a ride. That ride drops you off, and then you have another 30-minute walk. You've arrived to a at a location and you check behind you before you enter the door. You you're trying to see if anyone has followed you. You open the door and you gather there with a small group of believers. Why the secrecy? Well, because following Jesus in your context carries real risk. And when you open God's word, you listen differently. You're not rushed. You're not looking at your watch thinking when my when will be when will this end and when when can I go home? You're not distracted. You're hungry because you don't know when you'll have this opportunity to hear God's word again. That's the reality not for us but it is a reality for many believers around the world. And that's the motivation behind this Friday night's service together. Our gathering uh that is called Secret Church. And so we're going to host a gathering right here Friday night from 7. You're going to hear this correctly. 700 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. That is 6 hours. And many people around the world would give a great deal in order to be a part of an event like this, a time like this. This year, we're going to spend some extended time walking through the life of Elijah. We're going to see what it looks like to trust God in difficult times, in difficult moments, to follow him when it's costly, and to find him even in seasons of weakness and weariness. That's what we're going to look at. And uh so this won't feel like a typical church event. It's going to be quieter. It's going to be a little slower. It's going to be very intentional. And honestly, it it might be exactly what you need. So, you don't want to miss this. Um I genuinely want to invite you to be a part of this. Set aside the time. Come ready to listen, to learn. Come ready to be refreshed with God's word. Uh will it be long? Yes. Will you be tired? 100% you will be tired. You may fall asleep. Some of you will will arrive late to the event. Some of you will have to go home early possibly, but think of what God can do with several hours of extended time unfolding his word together. So, let me encourage you to be here for it. I want to just give you opportunity. We have a video that is advertising this this event. >> There's a line in Elijah's story that has stuck with me. How long will you limp between two opinions? Secret Church is six hours in God's word studying Elijah's life and that question will confront every one of us. Lord willing, we'll gather with over 50,000 Christians worldwide to dive deep into Elijah's story, pray for a persecuted family and to act together to make Jesus known in some of the world's hardest places. This night is not meant to be easy. It's meant to be transformative. So register now. come ready for God's word and whatever it has for each of our lives. >> Amen. Would you stand with me? Every gathering here at Grace Baptist begins with a call to worship. A call to worship, it's a place in scripture where God gives us reason to worship him or he commands us to worship him. Listen to God's word from Isaiah 40. Hear now the word of the one true and living God. Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for her sins. A little bit lower in the chapter, it says, "Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion. Herald the good news. Lift up your voice with strength, oh Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up. Fear not, says uh say to the cities of Jer Judah, behold your God. Behold, the Lord God comes with might and his arm rules for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd. He will gather his lambs and his arms. He will carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young. Brothers and sisters, if you're in Christ today, the Lord has done this in the son of God. The father sent his son to live the life we could not live to die the death we all deserve. And he gathers us, brothers and sisters, this morning. He's worthy of our worship because we have received forgiveness for our sins, the full pardon. Our iniquity is covered. May we see and hear this comfort and good news this morning and respond to God by singing praise to the Lord. Praise to the Lord the Almighty, the King of creation. Oh my soul, praise him for he is thy help and salvation. All ye who hear now to his temple draw near. Praise him in glador. Praise to the Lord for all things so wondrously rained. Shelters thee under his wings so gently sustained. Hast thou not seen how my desires were? granted in what he orained. Praise to the Lord who does prosper thy work and defending. Truly his goodness and mercy may be attending ponder a new what the Almighty can do with his love he be to the Lord. Lord, let all that is in me adore him. All that has life and bread come out with praises before him. Let the amen from his people again forever adore him. Let me amen from his people again. Let me forever adore him. Behold the triune God. The father, the spirit, the son, creator, sustainer, redeemer. Behold a triune God. Behold the Father's heart. How sovereign, how gracious thou are. Eternal, almighty and glorious, come behold the Father's heart. Oh, our God is like no other. Come begin to the end. On his throne, he reigns forever. Come behold him. Behold the son of man, the savior, the lion, the lamb. All honor and glory to Jesus Christ. Come behold the son of man. Oh, our God is like no other. From the beginning to the end on his throne he reigns forever. Come behold him. Behold the spirit's power, indwelling and leading us out. The helper, the healer, the breath of God. Come. Behold the spirit power. Behold, he's coming soon. The Lord will make all things new. We'll fall before and praise his name. Come behold. He's coming soon. Oh, our cross is like no other. Come begin to the end. On his throne, he reigns forever. Call me. Oh, our God is like no other. From the beginning to the end on his throne he reigns forever. Come behold him. Come behold him. Come behold him. >> Amen. You may be seated. >> Scripture calls us to vote to devote ourselves to the public reading of God's word, trusting that through his word, God speaks to his people. One way we seek to live that out here at Grace is by reading a passage that corresponds with our sermon text. Today, our corresponding scripture reading comes from Revelation 2 12-17. And you can find it in the ESV Bible in front of you in the pew on page 1,029. And to the angel of the church of Pergamum, write the words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith, even in the days of antip antipass, my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold the teachings of Balum Balum who taught Ballot to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teachings of the nickelutans. Therefore repent. If not I will come to you soon and war against them with a sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden mana, and I will give him a white stone with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. This is the word of the Lord. Join me now as I lead us in a prayer of confession. Dear holy and righteous Lord, we come to before you full of pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness. We constantly take matters into our own hands by making plans for tomorrow. Creating agendas that fit our desires. Agendas that will give us all the comforts of this world while never asking you to provide us with the comfort of your presence. Yet we still expect you to be there working on our behalf. How arrogant of us. We read and know your word, yet we still believe that we can change your mind when our desires are in direct opposition to it. If we pray hard enough, or worse, if we ignore your commands long enough, we will trick ourselves into believing that we are still within your will. We squander gospel opportunities today because one might be better there tomorrow. one where we will get every perfect word perfect or the best setting that will play to all of our strengths. Lord, we do not understand that we are not guaranteed that for tomorrow. God, please usher the Holy Spirit to grab a hold of us, to shake us and wake us from this blasphemous walk. May we repent of these thoughts and actions and beg for forgiveness. crush our pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness. May we hold Christ at the forefront of our minds and lives today. May we seize the opportunity that we have. Rest in your asurances, rest in your promises, and rest in the work of Christ that if we trust and obey, we will be in your will and this will lead to everything we truly need. In the precious name of Lord Christ we pray. Amen. Now hear this assurance of pardon from Micah 7:18-20. Who is a God like you pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old. >> Amen. Let's stand and sing of our assurance together. Who can stand before the Lord? Who knows our sin? Not hide from your watching eyes, your reent fears. For grace I plea, I call to thee. Have mercy, Lord, I trust. Confident I'm drawing near. Christ made my record clear. Who can stand against the Lord? He holds the highest crown. At his post he sits in thron and wears the conqueror's crown. No enemy can't stand between nor separate his love from his serant suffering still for they have on the hill. Yes, Christ has on the hill. Oh Jesus stands for me. All gloryy to his name. Hallelu. Honor, praise to Jesus in my place. To Jesus in my place. Who can stand the curse of him who watches mankind fall? Passing over for her sins. His patience is for all. A bit grace. This life grace I cry out for. How long? So sing praise and empty grave. His suffering is gone. For he has overcome me. Jesus stand for me. All glory to his name. Hallelujah. Praise to Jesus in my >> only Jesus. All me Jesus says for me all glory to his name praise to Jesus. Jesus in my place. My Jesus in my place. >> Amen. You may be seated. Before I lead us in a prayer of thanksgiving, I want to mention that we have three ways to give. online using the church app or in person using the boxes at the front or back of the room or as the plate is passed. Take a few minutes now to thank God for his blessing in your life and to ask him to help you give out of the grace you have received and so to give regularly, cheerfully and sacrificially. Father, we thank you for the gift of your son. We are grateful to you for sending him to earth to live a perfect life. Father, we thank you for the purity of Jesus's heart. We thank you that Jesus was never conflicted and his desires are perfect always and his delight is to do your will. We thank you that he lived sinlessly. Even though he was tempted, he never went against your word. He lived in perfect obedience and did everything for your glory. Father, we thank you for the truth of Jesus's words. He never lied and he was never false and he never compromised. We are grateful for his earthly ministry because through his earthly ministry we may know you accurately. And Father, we thank you that you have blessed Jesus, that you have highly exalted him, and that he sits at your right hand in glory. And we thank you that he is the firstborn of all creation. And father, we thank you that through Jesus, we are blessed. We have we thank you that you have given us Christ's righteousness through the cross. We thank you that you have taken our heart of stone and given us a new heart, a heart that shares Jesus's desire to please you in all things. And we thank you that through your grace, you have made us ministers of your gospel. that you have made us proclaimers with Jesus of the truth about you. And Father, we thank you that we get to anticipate being with you for all of eternity with Jesus for your glory. We pray these things in Jesus's name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Would you stand with me? Let's respond in thanksgiving. Sing with me song to the scriptures. Why do gentile nations rage? Why do gentile nations race and their useless plots decide? Kings of earth and schemes engaged. Rulers are in combined. They speak out against the Lord, his Messiah they defy. Let us break their chains and cords. Let us cast them off, they cry. He who sits in heaven laughs. For the Lord views them with storm. He will speak to them and rise and in anger he will warn. yet according to my will. I have set my king to reign. And on Zion's holy hill, my anointed will remain. By the Lord's decree, make known. This is what he had to say. He declared, "You are my son. I have brought you forth this day. Ask of me and you. I'll make it to earth and nations all then with higher rod you'll break smashing them in pieces small. >> Therefore kings now hear this word. Earthly judges come and heal. Reverend worship, give the Lord with your joy makes trembling fear. Kiss the son his wrath to turn, lest you perish in your strife. For his anchor soon they burn. Blessed are all who in him hide. Kiss the son his wrath to turn lest you perish in your strife. For his anger soon may burn. Blessed are all who high. >> Amen. Remain standing as we confess what we believe together. >> Christ does command us to publicly confess our faith and to confess what we believe. And one way we can practice that is by confessing it together. And this morning, we're going to use our church's historical confession uh that it was adopted in 1947 here uh to confess what we believe together. So church grace, what do we believe about sanctification? We believe sanctification is the process by which we are made partakers of God's holiness according to his purpose. Sanctification is a progressive work. It begins in regeneration and continues in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit and by God's appointed means. These means include the word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness, prayer, and the oversight and fellowship of the visible church. Amen. You may be seated. Would you join me now in bringing our petitions before the Lord? Our father in heaven, you promise in your word that if we ask anything according to your will that you hear us. And if you hear us, then we will have the things for which we ask. And so, believing that promise this morning, we come before you with requests consistent with your revealed will. And because we come in the name of the only mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And so we ask you this morning for physical health and healing and overall health for our congregation. We pray for those who are sick and we ask you for recovery for those battling chronic illness and disease. We ask you for healing and cures. Lord give researchers necessary understanding that they can develop new technologies and medications, procedures and treatments to alleviate the effects of the fall on our bodies. Lord, please give us a cure for cancer. Almost certainly no one in this room has not been impacted by someone they love battling cancer or has lost a a loved one to this awful disease. And so, Lord, would you cause the coming glory of complete healing in the new heavens and new earth to break into this fallen realm and bring a successful cure for the disease of cancer? We know that a world without cancer is coming. But until then, Lord, would you please deliver us from this terrible plague that we know is cancer. Father, we pray for our expectant mothers and unborn children. We ask for safety and health throughout their terms. We pray for safe and healthy deliveries for both mothers and children. And we ask you now for the salvation of these children that they would be regenerate from the earliest age and know the Lord from their youth. We pray for those among us in a season of life that we know is retirement. That you would sustain their health. That they would enjoy a season of their lives when they have hopefully more time for family and ministry to others. Lord, keep these members strong and able to use their gifts, abilities, time, and health to finish well. and glorify you as they use their time in study and prayer. Prayer for the salvation of loved ones and in service to their church here. Lord, for all of us, we ask you to grant us humility, obedience, and boldness. Work humility, Lord, into our character more deeply. Convince us of exactly who we are in light of who you are. And cause those gospel seeds to grow into an abundant harvest, Lord, in our lives. of fruitfulness. Lord, we pray for the authorities around us. You tell us to pray for those in authority that we might lead and live quiet and peaceful lives. And so we pray today for interim police chief Jackie Steppp and pray that you would grant her to know Christ and to lead our city's law enforcement department as a Christian leader. Lord, surround her with gospel men and women to advise her nationally and internationally. Lord, we pray for our nation's top diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. We thank you that he seems to know you. We pray that this is true. We ask you to use him in your service in places most of us will never go with people most of us will never meet. Lord, give Secretary Rubio godly wisdom that only you can give. And as you use us to build your kingdom and not our own, we pray for our our church and other churches. We pray for churches inside of our area. We pray for First Baptist Church in Saluda and their lead pastor, our former resident, Randy Ramsay. We ask you to revitalize that church under Ry's leadership. And we ask you to save unbelievers in the community of Saluda and move Christians there to help with the work. Bless, protect, and provide for that church and the Ramsay family. We pray for our current intern Justin and his wife Rebecca and ask you to use their time with us to prepare them for their next place of service. And we ask you now to be preparing and identifying their next place of service. We ask you to make this church's investment in them fruitful for wherever you send them and bless us by their presence with us across these months. We pray for churches outside our area. We pray for Oakurst Baptist Church in Charlotte and their lead pastor Dave Russell as he preaches your word this morning. We thank you for this sister SBC and Pillar Church doing excellent kingdom work in an important city. Would you continue to bless their efforts, raise up more leaders, save souls, and mobilize that church for mission in our state's largest city. Lord, we thank you for all that you've done for us and we pray that you would continue to provide for all of our needs. We ask you to for your provision and we ask you for your provision for our families and our church. Lord, would you give us more resources, not for our greed, but for your glory? Would you give us wisdom to steward the resources you give us to do it well? Would you send others here with a variety of gifts and abilities to be employed in your service for our church here? Would you send us financial resources, Lord, not so we can trust in riches, but so we can trust in you when we see that what you have given us came from your good and generous hand. Would you meet and exceed our current giving challenge so we can improve this facility and property that you've given to us and so it can Lord it can be used for generations in places where we can't go and that's the future. The people who will meet here beyond our lifetime. Would you raise up and mobilize every member of our congregation for service? Because we know we are poorer and weaker when any member's gifts and abilities go unused or underused. Would you adequately staff every of every one of our ministries mobilized by our deacons. Lord, make us a fully mobilized congregation. We pray for our local mission field here in Asheville. We ask you to increase the number of Christians in the city of Asheville by converting residents already here and making them Christians and by sending more Christians into the city to live, work, and do business here. We pray for this new season of the West Asheville tailgate market in our parking lot on Tuesdays. And we pray for fruit for the the great commission. Give us both laborers and souls for our labors. Lord, would you arrange countless gospel conversations on this property with neighbors who do not now know you? And we pray for our mission partners like Acme as we partner to see good gospel work that we align closely with grow and expand. Lord, would you bring more like-minded churches into that association that we can give and work together? Would you multiply the number of churches who align with those convictions for healthier disciples and congregations? And Lord, we know you're the God of all nations. And so we pray for the nation of Iran today. And for that church, for the church that is already there. We know there are many Christians in that country. Though many of our brothers and sisters there meet quietly and even in secret, we know that you have not left yourself without witness there. And we ask you to call for for you to call more of your elect to yourself in the land once known as Persia. Lord, bring light into the land and and deliver your people out of Islam and Zoroastrian religion. Bring war to an end and bring lasting peace through Christ, the Prince of Peace, blanketing that land with the glory of Christ. And for us here, we continue to ask you to establish a Spanish-sp speakaking congregation in this facility. Lord, give our brother Mariano in Nicaragua and his family favor with the authorities and grant them visas very soon we pray. And finally, Lord, we pray for the ministry of your word here today and ask you to speak to us through our brother Justin as he comes now to open your word. We know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds forth from your mouth. And so, Lord, feed us as your sheep now because we pray through Christ and in his name. Amen. In 2 Timothy 2:2, uh Paul tells Timothy, young Timothy, "What you have heard from uh me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." And so we we love leadership development here at Grace Baptist Church. We strive to do it in all kinds of ways. uh if you would be interested in participating in our leadership development track uh for men or women uh please see me after the service today. I hope to start a new round of that soon. But we also develop leaders here through uh internships and residencies. And so our current ministry intern uh is Justin Taylor who began with us last month. And Justin and his wife Rebecca live in Hendersonville where they are both uh school teachers at Dana Elementary School. Uh they're graduates of Western Carolina University. And Justin is a graduate of one of our own supported by us SBC Seminaries, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City. And Justin and Rebecca are raising support for our residency to prepare them to be sent from our church to replant or revitalize a church somewhere in our region of Western North Carolina. And so this morning is his first time preaching God's word for us. And so would you pray for Justin as he comes now to bring God's word to us? Brother, would you come? Thank you, brother. I really appreciate that. The Lord knows that I need all the prayer you can send my way. So, even while I'm speaking, just keep it coming. Really, uh, thank you so much. And as you should see on the screen now, if you have your copy of God's word, open up to Numbers chap 22. We'll be starting in verse 1. I believe it should be on page 130 of the ESV Pew Bible in front of you. Our corresponding scripture reading this morning was from Revelation 2, which is the text that we're going to be looking forward to this morning. But before we dive into the text, I just want to offer some thanksgiving to you, to the elders, and most of all to God. Because when Paul commands Timothy in that same context, he says, "I charge you in the presence of God in Christ Jesus." So, I'm preaching before you, but I'm preaching also in the presence of God in Christ Jesus. In the world of insects, specifically ants, there's a phenomenon known as the death spiral. It's interesting because army ants live in perpetual darkness. They're virtually blind. So, they follow each other based off of where the ant is in front of them. And if one ant gets off track, then the rest of them do. And in this natural phenomenon that really happens, you can observe it. They end up spiraling until they die from exhaustion. What a perfect picture of sin and the cycle of sin in our lives. It causes darkness. It causes exhaustion. Like you're running on a treadmill. You're not going anywhere, but you're working hard. It causes blindness and ultimately it results in death. Hence the title of my sermon this morning, causes of sin. And this morning we come to a text about some men who are caught in a series of sins which ultimately do lead them into destruction as well. And as you know on Sunday mornings we have been going through the book of revelation and a series titled uh paradise restored. And there's a complimentary Old Testament corresponding series called Paradise Lost that is kind of interwoven to help point forward or reflect back. And in chapter 2 of Revelation, we've learned that Jesus speaks to seven local churches through John the Apostle. And one of those churches this morning was read about and that is the church at Pergamum. And we'll be hearing about them next Sunday. And speaking to them in verse 14 of Revelation 2, Jesus says, "I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balum who taught Bailo to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality." And now this is not the only text in the New Testament that references Bailo or Balum. And those two men are going to be kind of at the focal point of our scripture today. To really understand the church at Pergamum and how they were holding to the teaching or the doctrine of Balum, it helps to look elsewhere in the New Testament at what is said specifically about them. in Jude as he's writing a letter to a church about false Christians and false teachers. He says in verse 11 of his letter, "Woe to them," referring to the false Christians, "for they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balam's error and also referencing the same thing, false teachers and Christians." Peter in 2 Peter 2:15 says, "Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balum. Now, I promise I'm not trying to lead us into a Bible drill with all these texts. I'm just trying to lay some groundwork for what Pastor Brandon's going to do next week because in verse 16 of chapter 2, Jesus says he will go to war with the church at Pergamum. So, we ought to find out what it means to follow the way of Balum or the teaching of Balum or the doctrine of Balum. Now Jesus here in that same text that we'll read next week refers more specifically to Numbers 24 and speaking to that church in Pergamum when Balum taught Bailo to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel so that they might eat food sacrifice to idols and practice sexual immorality. Now that what that incident in particular was without a doubt his most grand display that his being Balum's most grand display of sin in his life. But what I want to show you this morning is that that same devious subtle sin can be found earlier in numbers chap 22. Which leads me to our text this morning as we drill down to the root of what really caused Bailo and Balum and later the church at Pergamum and later my prayer is that you will see you and I to fall into sin. And our text shows three causes of sin. First fear verses 1-6. Second temptation 7-2. And finally, and ultimately an unchanged heart. Fear, temptation, and an unchanged heart. At first, we see Bailo being driven by fear. And now, typically when we look at this passage, most of us think of Balum, not Bailo. However, as we read, Jesus references Bailo and he's integral to the narrative. And it's through him that we see fear leads to sin. But before we look at Bailo's fear, we need to understand exactly what he was afraid of. Well, a major theme in the book of Numbers and really the whole Old Testament, especially on display in the book of Judges, is a cycle of sin of the Israelites. That cycle is disobedience leading to repentance leading to obedience leading to God's blessing over and over again. And it happened most distinctly in Numbers in chapters 13 and 14. If you'll remember when the Israelites had an opportunity to go into the promised land, God basically says, "I will give it to you. I will win the war. I will fight the battle for you. All you have to do is go. I will do it all for you." And they said, "Those guys are really big. I don't want to do it." So he punishes them and forces that particular generation to wander in the wilderness until they die off for 40 years. So when we come to our text this morning, we are seeing a generation that is after that. So this will be the generation that will eventually make it into the promised land. And in chapter 22, our text this morning, we actually happen to be uh catching the Israelites at a pretty good time in this cycle. They're kind of bouncing back because in the immediate context, if you remember uh the beginning of chapter 21, it's actually something that Pastor Brandon referenced last week. It's the serpents. Okay, Israel is grumbling and complaining against God. And because of that, he sends serpents in the wilderness. The serpents are killing the Israelites and God instructs Moses how to make a snake. He lifts the snake up. And he says, "Look to the snake and you'll be saved." And of course, Jesus says, "I am the snake." In John 3, just as the snake was lifted up, so must the son of man be lifted up. And it's from there that they repent. God blesses them. And then at the end of chapter 21, God is giving them favor and power. They're winning battles. They're defeating kings. They're conquering land. And all by God's grace. So the first thing that we learn from this narrative today in 22 is that fear of the wrong thing leads to sin. Check out verse one. Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. And Bailo the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was in great dread of the people because they were many. And Moab was overcome with fear of Israel. And Moab was in great dread of the people because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. And Moab said to the elders of Midian, "This horde will now lick up all that is around us as the ox licks up the grass of the field." So, you'll notice that Moses, who's the most likely author of this book, ties the battles of the previous chapters where Israel was winning and and they had victory very well into the beginning of this chapter. And I think now that we've read these verses, we can really understand who Bailo is, why he's crucial to the narrative, and what he was afraid of. Moses sets the stage in verse one of this chapter by letting us know that Israel is camped in enemy territory in the plains of Moab. He says, beyond the Jordan at Jericho. And as Bailo says in verse 5, they are dwelling opposite me. So, in other words, the Israelites were on their doorstep, which also tells us why Bao was fearful. And that's just what Moses was saying in verse two. He makes it clear that Moab is terrified because God has just brought victory to the Israelites. And the Moabites saw it. They viewed it. They heard about it. They knew what a powerful force the Israelites were because of the Lord God that was blessing them. But we know how acutely they were fearing in particular because of verses three and four. Observe that not once, not twice, not three times, but four different times in those verses alone, the text talks about how the fear of bail or the fear of Moab was setting in. And those two changes are used synonymously there. It's kind of what Ron was speaking about the other week. Synonymous parallelism. They're used interchangeably. Look at verse 3A. They were in great dread. They were overcome with fear. 3B. They were in great dread because they were many. 3 C. And again, they were overcome with fear. 3D. And again, another expression of fear in verse four. This horde will now lick up all that is around us as the ox licks up the grass of the field. So all this thing, all of this communicates one simple thing, fear. It all communicates fear. But what I really want us to notice is the object of their fear. In verse two, Bailo sees what Israel had done to the Amorites. In verse three, we see that they had great fear over and over again. In who? Israel. Israel. The people. The people. All their fear is directed straight at Israel, the people. Some of you may be familiar with or at least heard the name Alex Honold. He was recently made more famous or popular because he did a Netflix live stream where he free soloed Taipei 101. And before that he also did another free solo climb. And that documentary is called Free Solo. That means climbing without any safety gear. And he did it on El Capitan which is about a 30,000 ft cliff. And in that documentary, they say that Alex Honold has an underdeveloped amygdala. The amygdala is the part of the the brain that controls fear. I'm here to tell you this morning that some of you have an underdeveloped amygdala spiritually. If you under are under the sound of my voice this morning and you are not a Christian, friend, I just want to say I love you and I'm grateful that you're here. And because I love you so much, I feel compelled to tell you that like Alex, like Bailo, you are in the most terrifying situation or circumstance that you could ever be in, and you don't even know it. You may be afraid of many things in your life. You may be afraid of people, circumstances, relationships, whatever it may be. You may be afraid of death itself. And yet, you don't fear the one who is the sovereign ruler over all those things, God Almighty himself. Folks, I just want to tell you that in Luke 12, our Lord Jesus Christ tells us, "Do not fear him who has the power to kill the body and afterwards do nothing with it, but fear him who has to kill the body and afterwards throw it into hell." Fear him. So I plead with you this morning, if you are like Bailo, if you have no fear of God and yet you fear everything else, please don't follow in his footsteps. Don't allow that misplaced fear to cause you to sin. Rather, repent. Recognize your own fallenness. Fear God as a judge like we sang about earlier. But here's the good news, friend. The very one who is judging you, Jesus Christ, who said, "The father gave me all authority to judge." That's what Jesus said. You will stand before him. I will stand before him. But the very one who is judging you and will judge you is the very one who is offering to pay your fine. He's the very one who intercedes for you if you repent of your sins and put your faith and your trust in him alone for salvation. But fear not only leads to sin for non-Christians. Of course, it leads to sin for Christians as well. There are many different ways that fear can cause us to sin. And we all come face to face to face with situations like Bailo did a situation where we feel like something is absolutely going to destroy us. Where you feel like something imminent is on your doorstep like the Israelites were on the doorstep of Bao. It might just do you in. It could be so many different things. Maybe your marriage is deeply struggling and you feel like it can't survive another argument. Maybe there's a financial crisis or a situation in front of you and you're thinking, "I don't know how we're going to make it. How are we going to live?" Maybe there's a sin in your life that you are afraid to confess because you are afraid that it will destroy you, your family, your reputation. Maybe it's death itself. Maybe death is at your doorstep or or at the doorstep of someone you know or a family family member or a friend. Folks, I don't know what it is, but I can tell you that every single one of us faces things in life that we look at and we think, "I don't know how I'm going to get through this. This is going to destroy me." But let me just encourage you this morning. Look to the God who is in control of all of it. Proverbs 16 says that the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. Seemingly the most random thing that you and I could think of. Casting lots is basically the equivalent of rolling the dice. We would say it's all up to chance. The Bible says God's in control of that. He is. take heart. To accept the fact that God is in control of that is part of what it means to fear him over anything else. Let me just encourage you to look at Bailo as an example of what not to do. And I want us to view the first thing that Bailo decided to do once that fear set in. We know that fearing the wrong thing leads to sin. But let's look at how that same sinful fear drives you to someone or something other than God in verse 4b. So Bailo the son of Zippor who was the king of Moab at that time sent messengers to Balam the son of Bayor at Pthor which is near the river in the land of the people of Amar to call him to call to him saying behold a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and they are dwelling opposite me. Come now, curse this people from me since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land for I know that he whom you bless is blessed and he whom you curse is cursed. So what was Bailo's response to his fear? Verse 5 says that he sends messengers to Balum, a pagan prophet, telling him what's going on. He's saying they're on my doorstep. I need help. And he asked Balam to curse Israel because they're too strong for him. The the Israelite army is too big, too powerful. He's going they're going to defeat them. So Bailo sins by running to man rather than to God. And it's the fear that's driving him to this. Look at the exaggerated language in verse 5. They cover the face of the earth. Or in verse 6, they are too mighty for me. That sounds like us, doesn't it? Maybe it's just me. I mean, I don't know. Did you know that even a a penny can block out the sun if you hold it close enough to your face? Even a penny can block out the sun if you hold it close enough to your face. Friends, I just want to tell you that some of you this morning are holding your fear closer than you are holding on to Christ. Some of you obsess more over that that thing or that person or that circumstance or that relationship more than you obsess over Jesus Christ and what he's done for you. Don't let that fear drive you to someone or something other than Jesus Christ. It's in the moments of your greatest fear that he is closest to you and he longs for you to come back to him and to lay it all at the foot of the cross. Don't be like Bailo. Don't let your fear lead to sin and that sin run let you run to someone or something else. And that someone else in this case is Balum. We understand from this scripture that he was a very well-known pagan diver or magician to Bailo at least. In verse six, Bailo seems to imply that Balam's supernatural powers are famous. and the rest of uh the narrative through chapter 24 seems to confirm that as well. And what's interesting is also the extra biblical archaeology that we've discovered. There have been several disco discoveries of Balum, the son of Bayor, and they list all of his accomplishments and his accolades and things that he's done. So, he's well known and it's to him that we turn next. So, thus far we've seen through Bailo that fear in the wrong thing leads to sin and that sinful fear will drive you to something or someone else other than God. And as we continue through the text, we see in Balum that fear is not the only thing that leads to sin. So will temptation. Verse seven. So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the feast for divination in their hand. And they came to Balum and gave him Bail's message. And he said to them, "Launch here tonight, and I will bring you back word to you as the Lord speaks to me." So the princes of Moab stayed with Balum. So this section of of scripture can actually be pretty deceiving, especially if you've never read it before, because it almost seems like Balum is doing the right thing. He's waiting to talk to God before he makes a decision. Generally, you and I would say that's a really good thing. But that is actually Balam's first misstep. Here's what I mean. Think about what's really going on. You have a pagan king, Baleo, asking him to curse God's chosen people. And the king is doing it by bribing Balum with a substantial amount of money. So what we see is not faithful patience in the Lord. It's a man giving into temptation because anyone who knows God and knows his law knows that the Lord of hosts alone is the only one who both blesses and curses his people. So what this passage shows us is that temptation leads you to consider things that you would never otherwise consider. Now this is not me saying that Balam was a faithful man by any means because he wasn't. But I will say that he is someone I think who apart from this temptation may have chosen a different direction. But isn't that how temptation works? Temptation causes you to consider the unconsiderable, to imagine the unimaginable, to desire the undesirable. In other words, temptation causes you to do things that you would never do when you were in your right mind because temptation by definition puts you into the wrong mind. The right mind is to have the right mind of Christ. Think Philippians 4. Whatever is good and and pure and beautiful and holy, set your mind on those things. That's the mind of Christ. That's the mind that he gives you. Whatever is selfish, whatever advances your reputation, whatever builds up your wallet, whatever pleases you, that's the mind of Satan. And it comes from what Balum is experiencing, temptation. The book of James has a lot to say about that, especially in chapter 1. But listen, church, there's something encouraging I need you to see. And it has nothing to do with Balum at all. But it has everything to do with how God responds and what he does next. Look at what he asked Balam. Who are these men with you? And Balam said to God, "Bailo the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out." And God said to Balam, "You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed." So, as you see, Balam is basically just recounting everything that had happened with Bailo. And now he's telling it to God. But what's incredibly important about this section is not what he's saying, it's what God responds to him with. How does God respond to Balam's temptation? What does he ask him? Who are these men with you? As if to say, why are you associating with these guys? Is that not always how God reacts when his people when anyone gives in to temptation? Does he not look at the man watching pornography and say, "Why did you allow yourself to be in that situation? Why did you allow that site or that app or that software to be on your device?" Does he not look at every fallen minister and say, "Why did you allow yourself to operate without accountability?" Does he not look at every alcoholic or addict who falls into relapse and say, "Why did you text that person? Why did you call that person? Why did you go on that side of town? Why did you drive past that bar?" The most comforting thing about all of that is that God asked Balam the question for his benefit. wasn't for God's. Temptation elicits God's mercy. God knew who those men were. He didn't need to ask. God knew his heart. But it should be comforting to know that. And just like when Balam was sinning, in the same way when we are falling or sinning or being tempted, God speaks to us. He asks questions just like he asked Balam for our benefit. How does he do it? Well, he speaks through his word. He speaks through the conviction of his spirit. He speaks maybe through the accountability of a brother or a sister in Christ, through his church. He speaks through preaching. He may be speaking to you right now. God was doing that then with Balum. He's doing it now with you, with me. So get out of whatever temptation is binding you. Because guess what? There are two flashing red exit signs. And I'm not talking about the fire escapes in here. I'm talking about spiritually. There are flashing red exit signs that God gives you when temptation comes and they're called confession and repentance. And they are beautiful. They are beautiful. They are God's built-in way of repentance, of restoration, because Jesus is never more tender and gentle toward you than when you lay your heart open before him and his people. John Piper poses an interesting question regarding this subject. He says, "What's the best way to get air out of a glass? Is it to put a vacuum in the glass and suck out all the air?" No. Is it to maybe go to a local university and rent out a re rent out a a research lab and you know buy some time in some kind of vacuum sealed chamber and then put it in there and suck all the air out. I guess you could do that folks is to fill it with water. That's the best way to get air out of a glass. Friend, the best way to break the pleasure that sin claims to give you is to be filled with the pleasure that only God actually gives you. See his beauty. See his grace. See his love. Be filled with the spirit. Set your mind and your heart on Christ. But we often try the vacuum approach, don't we? You've heard the best way to get rid of an old habit is to develop a new one. Well, that's true spiritually, too. The best way to get rid of sinful pleasure only comes from filling yourself with the reality of who Jesus Christ really is. Understanding the magnitude of what he's done, reaturating your heart with the gospel aresh every day, every hour. Here's the gospel. Never forget that you are so wretched, so sinful, so depraved that the very son of God had to come die for you. But never forget that you are so loved that the son of God gladly came and died for you. That's the gospel. That is what we ought to be filled to the brim with. And thus far we've said that fear leads to sin. Temptation leads to sin. And now we see at the very root of it all for Bailo, for Balum, for the church at Pergamum, for you and I. Ultimately, it's an unchanged heart that leads to sin. And when I mean heart, I'm really drawing from Tim Keller here, who really draws and channels Jonathan Edwards here. But but I mean the biblical heart. You've often heard that it's the seed of the emotions. That's true. That's true. And the Bible uses it that way. But it also uses it interchangeably with your mind and your will, as the Puritans would say, your your affections. What what animates you as a person, that's your heart. Think Proverbs 4. I believe Billy referenced it on Wednesday. From your heart flow the springs of life. Everything about you flows through your heart. And that's what I mean when I say an unchanged heart. So verse 13 says, "Balam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Bao, go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you." So the princes of Moab rose and went to Bao and said, Balam refuses to come with us. And the first we thing that we see, the first way that an unchanged heart is affecting Balum and us frankly is that a heart that has not been changed by God hates his law. A heart that has not been changed by God hates his law. Let me remind you that in Deuteronomy 28, God lists out all of the blessings and the curses. And without getting into the minutia of all those things, the point is for our purposes this morning, he says that I am the one that will bless and will curse. Me alone, God alone. And yet here Balam is actually considering it. And Balam's response here really gives the vibe, I think anyways, could be wrong, but it gives the the vibe of a of a disobedient teenager. not wanting to listen to his parents. Think about it. You remember how it was? You, you know, you you want to go out with your friend and do do something and they come to your door or they call you and you're like, "No, man. I can't. You know, my parents say I have to do homework or something. I don't know. I can't do it." I mean, literally, what does the text say? Bam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Bao, "Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you." Nah, man. I can't. God won't let me go. But we all know for that teenager, for Balum, just because they stayed at home, does that mean they really want to? Does that mean their heart was really changed? No. They were begrudgingly compelled to. Therefore, I would just say, beware of spiritual tantrums. Beware of spiritual tantrums. The idea of maturity is throughout the Bible. Christian maturity in the New Testament. You know, you have baby Christians who they don't even understand God's law. They've never opened the Bible. They can't obey it. They don't even know what to obey. On the other end, you have very mature Christians who are in the word and the word is in them and they know God's law. They obey it faithfully and when they don't, they repent and they make it right. They confess and they keep on moving. And in between you have the teenage Christians. Okay? You have people who maybe know God's law but you don't obey it or you do obey it like Balum but you do you do so very begrudgingly. Okay. An unchanged heart hates God's law. But not only that, an unchanged heart loves itself more than it loves God. An unchanged heart loves itself more than it loves God. Look at verse 15. Once again, Bailo sent princes more in number and more honorable than these. And they came to Balam and said to him, "Thus says Bailo, the son of Zippor, let nothing hinder you from coming to me, for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me, I will do. Come curse this people for me." But Balam answered and said to the servants of Bao, "Though Bao were to give me his whole house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more." So you too, please stay here tonight that I may know what more the Lord will say to me." And so here we see that Bailo, Moab's king, is just not giving up. He's he's sweetening the deal. And he actually becomes pretty dogmatic about it. Look at verse 16. Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, Balum. I will do you great honor. And so again, this is where we can really misread this and say, "Hey, Balam looks like he's doing the right thing, is he not?" I mean, look at verse 18. He says, "I need to talk to God because I can't do less or more than he tells me." And folks, out of context, that is an absolutely fascinating and fantastic way to approach Christian living. And that's why we're fans of systematic, continuous expositional preaching in this church because you could preach a great message on that verse. But just keep reading verse 19. So you too, please stay here tonight that I may know what more the Lord will say to me. In other words, I know God has already said no. I'm aware that this is not his will and it actually breaks your law and your commands, but I really want to, so I'm going to ask him anyways. You know, so far I've I've asked you to look at Bao Bailo and and Balam as examples of what not to do. And sometimes the best way to learn is just that, to look at what not to do. But the Bible gives us other examples of how we should react, how Balum should have reacted and what it looks like to have a changed heart that's in line with God's will and his word. And we see one of those examples in the life of Joseph that is chronicled in Genesis 37-50. Joseph was the son of Jacob. He had 11 other brothers. They would eventually become the tribes of Israel. And he was the favorite. So his brothers were jealous. So after a lot of different events that Jacob favored Joseph with, his brothers became so jealous that they threw him into a pit, sold him into slavery, and threw different owners. He eventually ended up in Piper's house. Piper was the captain of the Pharaoh's guard. And because of God's hand of blessing on Joseph's life, Joseph climbed the ladder or rose the ranks in Pterer's house. And Piper gave him authority and power over all the things in his house except for one thing. What was it? His wife. Now, some men could have said, "I have everything except for his wife. Or you could do what Joseph did, which is to say, "I have everything except for his wife." See the difference? Some men would be tempted to pursue and keep going, keep grabbing. Some men would say what Joseph did. I mean, the NLT just straight up straight up translates it because Pterer's wife is just throwing herself at him, wanting Joseph. I mean, the NLT says, "Joseph, please have sex with me." That's what she says day after day. And he said, "How could I do such a sinful thing and sin against God?" How could I do such a sinful thing and sin against God? Joseph loved God and he loved his will more than his own. He was a man with a changed heart. A heart that was united to God, to his will, unlike Balum. And I invite you to insert your heart this morning, please, and ask yourself where you are on that spectrum of spiritual maturity that we mentioned earlier. When you obey God, is it from your heart? Is it from the innermost parts of your being? Or do you desire what he desires? Maybe you submit to him, but do you do it kicking and screaming or with joy? Which brings us to the final part of the text, a part that you could easily read over, in my opinion. You could chalk it up to a transition into the next section, but I actually see this as the most weighty and poignant part of the whole scripture this morning. Verse 20 says, "And God came to Bailo at night and said to him, 'If the men have come to call you, rise and go with them, but only do what I tell you." So Balam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the prince princes of Moab. So why is this section heavy? It's because God lets Balum go. God basically says, "Fine, you want to go, go ahead. I've given you multiple opportunities, multiple chances. You still insist on going, go ahead, folks. Let me just tell you, that's a scary thing. That's a scary thing. When God leaves us to our own devices to do things our own way, that's scary. And it's not his fault in the least because our wicked hearts are really just going after what we truly want. It's what Bum wanted. Some of you this morning think, "Wow, I mean, that sounds perfect. I'd like to have autonomy. That's what I want." What's that saying? You do you. God forbid. God forbid you do you. That's a scary place to be when you're doing you. So, my final thought on this matter is this. An unchanged heart leads to punishment. An unchanged heart leads to punishment. both temporary and permanent. What do I mean? Well, if you're familiar with the story, you know that Balam goes on. He sets out from here on a donkey and and the donkey won't go the way that Balam wants. So, three times he rebukes it until finally God speaks through the donkey, opens Balam's eyes and the angel of the Lord is standing before him on the road. And in verses 32 of 33 in this same chapter, God comes down on Balam. He rebukes Balam spiritually in the same way that Balam physically rebuked the donkey. And that's his temporary punishment. But what I really want to focus on the fact is the fact that Balam's unchanged heart led to a permanent and ultimate demise. If you know the narrative, you may be fast forwarding in your head. You may be thinking, "Well, doesn't Balum end up blessing Israel, though? Isn't that right?" Yes, but not ultimately. And finally, what I mean is in chapter 24, God does move Balum to bless Israel. However, in chapter 25, Israel falls into idolatry and sexual immorality with the Moabites. And that's what Jesus is referencing in Revelation chapter 2, our connecting text for next week, because something happened between chapters 24 and 25 that led to a stumbling block for Israel, and it was Balum. That's where Balam's unchanged heart gets him into more permanent trouble. Fast forward to chapter 31 of Numbers. God commands Moses to lead Israel in a battle against Midian. And Israel conquers them. And Balum specifically is listed among the slain. And then they have to go and conquer more Israelites that had been corrupted. So they had to kill their own people because they had been corrupted. They were considered as pagans by Balum. Verse 16 says in that chapter says that these people had been corrupted by that advice. So here's what I'm trying to drive out in all of this. Listen, all of Balam's suffering, temporary, permanent judgment, rebuke, even Bailo's sinful fear, all comes downstream from this one thing. They did not have a changed heart. They didn't have a changed heart. Their heart was set after their own will. Which begs the question, how do you get a changed heart? Friend, I'm glad you asked because God made a promise to Israel. About 8 to 900 years after these events in Ezekiel 36, he says, "I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you. I'll remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes. God would ultimately fulfill that promise in two ways. First, he would send his son Jesus Christ. He lived a perfectly obedient life with a perfectly obedient heart so that you don't have to. a heart that was obedient to the father's will to the point of death, even death on a cross where he took your punishment and mine in the great exchange where Jesus got our sin that he didn't deserve and he gave us his righteousness that we don't deserve. And that's not where the story ends. Praise God. like we emphasized last week, because what is forgiveness without resurrection? From the cross, he went to the tomb, but the grave couldn't hold him. So now, as we've been hearing about in Revelation over and over again, Jesus is holding the keys to death and hell. He has the power over death. He's waiting for you. He commands you to repent, to turn from your sins, and to believe, to trust in him and him alone. Remember I said God did two things. First was send his son and the second was send his holy spirit. The spirit of God will regenerate you. He will make you into a new creation. If you want a new heart, a new direction, a new life, rest assured that God even today will generate faith in you. He will call you to the son. It'll show that God has given you a new heart if those things happen by his spirit through his word even today. And if you're a Christian, rest assured that your heart also may become hardened to God's will, to his commands. But again, rest assured that Christ is there. As Robert Murray McShane famously said, for every one look you take at yourselves, take 10 looks at Christ. Let's pray. Father, we are grateful to hear from your word. We are thankful, Holy Spirit, that you inspired it. Incribe it on our hearts this morning that we may follow the son Jesus heartily with focus, with zeal. We pray it to you, Father, through the Son and the Spirit. Glory to you, Father. Glory to you, Son. Glory to you, Holy Spirit. Glory to you, God. Amen. Amen. Let's respond to God. Would you stand with me? Your grace that leads the sinner home from death to life forever. and sings the song of righteousness by blood and not by merit. Your grace that reaches far and wide to every tri has called my heart to enter in. The joy of your salvation. By grace I am redeemed. By grace I am restored. And now I freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord. >> Your grace that I cannot explain. Not by my earthly wisdom. The prince of life without a stain was straightened for this sin. By grace I am redeemed. By grace I am restored. And now I freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord. praise rise up and overflow. My song resound forever for grace will sing. Welcome home to walk beside my savior. By grace I am redeemed. By grace I am restored. And now I freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord. By grace I am redeemed. By grace I am restored. And now I freely walk into thems a bittersweet moment to experience together here. I'm going to ask uh the Martin family if they would to come here to the front, Ben and Hal Martin and Amelia. And uh we have the bittersweet experience of sending off a beloved member family with our blessing. When uh Ben and Hal uh came here, I guess it was like five years ago, five years ago, uh they came as uh newlyweds and no children. And today they leave us uh with their first child, Amelia. This couple and this family have been an example uh of service to uh us all. Uh our brother Ben served for a time as a deacon of technology. He served as an elder. He was one of your pastors for three years. uh how served for three years as our deacon of member care for women and in countless other ways uh the Martins have given of their time, their labors, and their resources to bless, encourage, and support Grace Baptist West Asheville. So, our loss is their next church's gain. They're going to be relocating to the metro New York City area for a new job that Ben has accepted uh in Manhattan. The Bible teaches that God is sovereign even over our movements. And he tells us in Acts 17 that he's determined allotted periods and the boundaries of our dwelling places. So we want to send the Martins to their next place of service with our blessing. And also in the book of Acts, we see Christians like Priscilla and Aquilla who were disciplers of Apollos. Uh we see them moving from Rome to Corenth to Ephesus. We see Apollos and Timothy relocating around the empire where churches were established uh to serve. So this morning as a church, we want to surround them at the front of this room and send them to New York with our prayers. So I'd like to ask all of uh the members who are willing and able to sur come to the front and surround the Martins and let's send them off with our blessing and Pastor Kyle is going to lead us in prayer uh over them. Let us pray. Oh heavenly father, you are the God of time and seasons. In your goodness and grace, we have been blessed for a season with the Martin family. And as you have now called Ben and Howal to a different season and a place in life, we ask that you will guide their every step. We thank you for the many ways in which you have used and moved through them in this church. We thank you for the blessing that they have been to us. We thank you for your provision in their lives. Thank you for the job that you have given Ben in New York. And thank you for sustaining them for over the past nine months when they were without one. God, we ask that you will bless them with your grace and grant them in the days to come. May Ben and Howal continue to commit themselves to you and the ministry of your word through the local church. Bless them as they seek to find a faithful church that holds to the authority and the sufficiency of your word. And you as you have used them here at grace, continue you to use them for your glory as messengers of your truth. Use them to draw lost souls to your grace. Even now, prepare the hearts of those that you would have. Walk alongside of them. Prepare the hearts that you would have for them to minister your word to. Saw them now to hear your word and to trust in you. In this time of transition, when when things seem overwhelming and new, we ask that Ben and how will we remember your truth. May your promises be at the forefront of their mind. May they capture those thoughts that cause them to wonder or question or stress. Resolve in them an unwavering faith and testimony to your goodness and grace to those that you have placed in their life. Bless their marriage. Bless their family as they seek to raise up a million and the instruction of the word of your word in the fear of you. God, we ask that they may be a picture of Christ in the church. That when people look at them, they see a picture of your love for your people. May the peace of your spirit guide them in the times of difficulties and hardship. And God, we ultimately want to say thank you and we praise you for this blessed season of life. And we ask and look forward toward your continual goodness in them. for their good and your glory. We ask these things in Jesus name. Amen. >> You are sent grace.