In the sermon 'The Path of Life - 2' by Peter Allison, the focus is on understanding the teachings of Proverbs 15:24-33, which contrasts the wise path of life with the wicked way. The sermon emphasizes that the joy of the Lord is distinct from worldly joy as it does not rely on circumstances. Key themes include the destruction of the proud, the establishment of the widow's boundaries, and the importance of rejecting greed and bribes. Perseverance on the path of life requires a hearing ear that accepts life-giving reproof, humility, and faith. The sermon discusses how faith comes by hearing God’s Word and not by sight, encouraging believers to prioritize divine wisdom over human logic. The path to honor is through humility, and the sermon provides biblical examples, such as Joseph and Moses, to illustrate this principle. The preacher calls for believers to walk in the fear of the Lord, which fosters wisdom and understanding.

Please turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 15. We will read beginning at verse 24. We will be looking though at the last three verses. Please give ear to the reading of God's Word. The way of life winds upward for the wise that he may turn from the hell below.

The Lord will destroy the house of the proud, but he will establish the boundary of the widow. The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord, but the words of the pure are pleasant. He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live. The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil. The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and a good report makes the bones healthy. The ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise. He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility. Thus far the reading of God's Word.

May He be praised at its reading and hearing. Almighty Heavenly Father, These are the words of life. These are the words by which we live. We ask that you would give us ears to hear this morning what your Spirit says to us in them. We ask that their sense might be explained and opened to us, and that we may grasp them with understanding.

We also ask that you would cleanse and sanctify these sinful lips, that they may proclaim the beauty and the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. We started out looking at joy a few weeks ago. The joy of the Lord. This work of God to enable us to see our circumstances, to see in our circumstances the good that God has for us and to be able to rejoice regardless apart from the circumstances in which we find ourselves walking.

This joy is different from the joy of the world in that it isn't dependent upon the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Many people can have great joy when their circumstances are outwardly very beneficial to them. They can be happy. But the joy of the Lord is to see in every circumstance the goodness of God in our life. And then we looked at some of the joys, the fullness of joy, as that finds expression in the Christian's life in the different ways.

Last week we looked as we close out this section of Proverbs, this first half, roughly first half, of the Proverbs of Solomon, which remember extend from the beginning of chapter 10 through chapter 22, and we're almost halfway there. These proverbs, these last few proverbs have been dealing with the path of life. And we saw last week the destiny of people on the path of life. That their destiny is upward to deliver them from sheol below. We saw the God of the people on the path of life.

The God of those on the path of life is the God of the Bible, and there is in a turning away a rejection of the temptation to serve money, which can be another God and is for many. We saw thirdly the conversation of those on the path of life. What is their life like? This genuine and selfless desire and ability to be able to minister to others, to help others. The one on the path of life studies how to answer, defends the truth, is able to give an answer of the hope that lies within him draws near to God and Lastly we saw those that are on the path of life are creators of beauty creators of beauty And there is nothing more beautiful.

There is no word more healing than the words of the Lord, the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so the feet of those who bring that good report truly are beautiful. Lastly, this morning is the keys to perseverance on the path of life. Jesus talked about many different people in whom the seed of the word is planted. Those who hear this good news, and the text last week said how a good report makes the bones fat, makes the body healthy.

Jesus talks about many different people who hear that good news, that good report, and they receive it with joy and they spring up and then things happen, and they don't persevere. Things choke out that joy. The cares of this world come along. The busyness of life come along and displace their joy in that good news. Or the trials come and Rob steal that joy away affliction comes the burning Sun the heat and lacking the keys to perseverance, these people perish, they fall away.

So what are the keys to perseverance in the path of life. They're in verse 31 and 32 and 33. The first key of these three keys is a hearing ear. A hearing ear that hears the rebukes of life. It hears the rebukes of life.

Life-giving reproof. Life giving reproof. The key to those who persevere in the path of life is ears to hear life giving reproof. Life giving reproof comes from the Word of God. But that Word can be brought to us in many different ways.

Can be brought to us through the words of a brother or sister. It can be brought to us through our reading of the Word of God. It can be brought to us through circumstances that happen that bring to mind, cause us to remember things in the Word of God. Those who persevere on the path of life have hearing ears that are able to lay hold and to apprehend these reproofs and to profit by them. The ear is the gate to the heart, probably more than any other sense.

The Holy Spirit says, He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church. It's the only the Holy Spirit can give us these ears to hear. It's God that opens our ears to hear instruction and commands that turn us away and keep us from evil. Ear is very important in the life of a Christian, more so than sight. Those people that are deprived of those senses say that they would rather be blind than deaf.

I would rather be neither. But if you have one or the other, those who know what they're talking about say they would be, rather be blind than deaf. Ears are very important in the life of the Christian. Faith comes by hearing. Faith does not come by sight.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Man wants to say that We learn that seeing is believing. But the Bible says just the opposite, that to believe is to see. And where does that belief come from? Where does faith come from?

It comes from hearing. It comes from believing, hearing the word of God. And the Holy Spirit giving life. We have to first Believe the Word of God before we can see or know anything. If we come to the Word of God with the idea that the Word of God needs to convince us before we will believe that it's true.

We have set ourselves above God. We've made ourselves judges of God. We've said that our own mind and our own Reason is the standard of what is true. And if it doesn't make sense to our fallen mind and our fallen logic, then we're not going to believe it. But if we begin with human reason, if we approach the Bible that way, we won't hear the Word of God.

We must begin with the Word of God. We must start believing the Word of God. And only then can we see. Only then can we understand. He who heeds rebuke gets understanding.

He who hears the rebukes of life is he who abides among the wise. We have to submit our logic and our mind and our reasoning to the Word of God to understand anything about God and man. We have to start with faith in the Word of God See there is no as you know if you've been in our class this summer that Chuck was leading Then you heard many times how there is no such thing as a plain fact. There is no such thing as a plain fact. Everything that we know is interpreted and understood through our eyeglasses.

The question is, What are those presuppositions by which we understand everything, by which we take in all that we take in? See, we're not this neutral entity that can stand outside and above the creation and look upon it and evaluate it. But we are the fish swimming in the water. We can't live outside of that water. That water is all around us, it's throughout us.

Or the air. And so everything we understand, we understand in that context. And so that context, our presuppositions have to be that the Word of God is true. That what God says, what God's Word says is true, even if that means that every other person is a liar. Even if that means that every scientist, every erudite person, every person of knowledge is wrong.

We have to start with the Word of God. The Word of God is true. The Augustine said, I believe in order to understand. I believe in order that I might know. Aquinas said, I know in order to believe.

He started in that sense, he started with man who then decided if the facts in front of him were true or not, if he would believe the word of God or not. Hearing is important to the Christian. God said that Israel did not see any form in the day that God spoke to them from Mount Sinai. So you didn't see anything. You just heard my voice speaking to you.

We need ears that hear God's Word. That hear God's Word can recognize that word as it comes to us in many different ways, many different circumstances. If we are to persevere on the path of life. But hearing, secondly, takes humility. It takes humility.

We have to first of all say that we are not the measure of all things. We have to be willing to listen, right? When you describe somebody who is not willing to listen, you're describing somebody who isn't humble. Pride is a ubiquitous sin among men. It's in all of us.

And it prevents us from listening to correction. It prevents us from acknowledging and confessing our sin. It prevents us from living by faith. That's what God told Habakkuk. Habakkuk had asked God a question.

He had asked God, how come, how come you can use a more wicked person to judge somebody that's more righteous. God had said that he was going to send Nebuchadnezzar to judge Israel. And he asked, how can you do that? How can you do that? You are of pure eyes, he said, back again, said to God, to then to behold evil.

And you cannot look on wickedness. Why do you look on those who deal treacherously and hold your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he? Yes, Israel is wicked, but they're not as wicked as this nation, And why are you allowing this more wicked nation to devour your people, your sinning people? Why do you make men like fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler over them, to take them all up with a hook, to catch them in their net, to gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad.

They sacrifice to their net and burn incense to the dragnet, because by them their share is sumptuous and their food is plentiful. I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart and watch to see what he will say to me and what I will answer when I am corrected. There's Habakkuk asking this question. It didn't add up to his mind. It didn't fit his reason.

His rationality was offended at this. It was troubled. But what was God's answer? Those of you that know the story of Martin Luther know this was his answer too. It's given a few verses later.

Behold the proud, his soul is not upright within him. Behold the proud, His soul is not upright within him. Behold the proud. His soul is not upright within him, but the just shall live by faith. See, the pride keeps us from living by faith.

Those who live by faith are contrasted with those who are proud those who are proud are Self-sufficient their mind is the measure of reality their mind is the measure of truth yes, and God God did give us a mind and we are to use it and we certainly can use it in the defense of the Word of God. God's Word is rational, it is logical, it does make sense, But we can't begin with that or we will never see the sense or the truth of it. We have to begin by faith. The just live by faith. That we believe that God's Word is true, that God's Word is right.

That it is the standard of truth, That it is the standard of truth that it is a standard of morality. It's the standard of law. It's the standard of love And not what we think So God's answer to her back Is behold the proud his soul is not upright within him, but the just shall live by faith. All of our pride is a lack of knowing God. When we understand the greatness of God, when we understand, and that's not just a slogan, but when we understand better who God is and who we are, then we realize our own unworthiness and our own utter dependence upon God, upon His Word to understand anything.

Pride is a very insidious sin. It's just it's pervasive. It was the It was the sin that brought Satan down. It's insidious because we can focus so much on being humble that we become proud of our humility. You know, that's what we call humble pride.

Humble pride says, well, I'm not perfect. There is a young lady by the name of Midge that Jay Adams mentions in one of his books. I don't know her and I hope none of you do either, but she's typical of this kind of humble pride or false pride. Maybe it's an extreme case of it, but it illustrates this. She was an unmarried 23-year-old graduate of a Bible college, and she worked there as a secretary when she came into one of the counseling centers.

And she said on her personal data inventory, she described herself as shy, as lonely, and she said, I am nothing, I feel inferior. Her exact words were, my self-concept is absolutely zero. She says, that may surprise you, but it is. My whole life has been a big fat zero. Nobody notices me.

Nobody likes me. Nobody cares about me. I may as well be dead. I feel so inadequate. And even when I pray I can't find relief.

Probably the Lord doesn't even like me, but He's the one who made me this way so maybe He does." Unquote. See, that's not humility, that's not porness in spirit, That's pride. Masquerading maybe as humility. See, humility is not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less. Midge's problem is pride.

She was thinking too much about herself. In fact, that's all she was thinking about was herself. And that's the essence of pride, to think about herself and to think everybody else is thinking about us as well. Humility recognizes other people probably aren't thinking of us that much at all, because we're not that worthy of being thought about. Pride thinks everybody else is thinking about us all the time.

Because pride is thinking about itself. Humility is being less concerned with what other people think about us Because we are so occupied thinking about other people and other people's needs and not our not ourselves And so midges problem isn't that she has no self-esteem, her problem is she thinks too highly of herself. Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit. Humility or a poverty of spirit is a gracious disposition of our soul by which we are emptied of ourselves. We are emptied of thinking about ourselves and dwelling about ourselves and all of our successes or problems, and rather being filled with Jesus Christ.

To be poor in spirit is to be content with our estate or condition. Some people aren't content with their estate because they think they deserve more. They think that they've been dealt a bad hand and they really are deserving of all these other things that they see other people have, whether it's deserving of money or more things of this world or more love More more acceptance and we're and feeling Sorry for themselves because they're not content ultimately with their own estate with their own condition where God has brought them. See many are have very many Poor people in wealth are high in spirit, just like many people of great wealth can be as well. So being poor in spirit isn't directly connected with our material condition or our words.

See, humility isn't so much a thing is as it is that which permeates everything that we do it's how we think about others and not ourselves. And verse 33 says that the path to honor is to gathering accolades, is to gathering honor. But really humility is the foundation of all other graces. If you meet a humble person, you won't walk away thinking, that guy is so humble. You'll probably walk away not thinking about that guy.

Because the focus was not on himself, but on others. The path to honor is humility. This is universally true. Before God exalted Joseph to be ruler over all of Egypt second only to Pharaoh God Joseph was sold as a slave by his own brothers Into a foreign land Where he probably where he thought he would probably never see his family again. If anybody had cause to be sorrowful and sad And full of self-pity, it would be Joseph.

How many people have been sold into slavery by their own family? And yet, that wasn't the way he lived there. He served his master as best he could. He served his master as if this was the job that he had applied for as if he had sought that job out of all the jobs and He was so successful that his master soon made him the ruler over all of his house. And then he's falsely accused of sexual immorality and thrown in jail.

This person who had done nothing against his master, honorable in all that he had done. He had served him with excellence, served him with integrity, put forth his master's good before his own, is now unjustly thrown into prison by the very one that he had served. Now did he then say, well look, I've been betrayed by my own family, now I'm betrayed by my master, It just doesn't do any good to work hard. Now we find Joseph excelling in the prison. He wasn't feeling sorry for himself.

He wasn't thinking about himself, but he was thinking of others. And pretty soon he is put in charge over the whole prison. Safe to say that Joseph was content with where he was. He grew where he was planted. He was content with his circumstances and not proud but humble.

And it was from jail, literally from jail That he was raised in one day to be ruler over all of Egypt he didn't have to go anywhere and ask people to give him money and and vote for him and Tell everybody how great he was God raised him up from prison to king before honor is humility. Moses had to flee for his life and spend 40 years keeping sheep now you remember what Joseph told his brothers when they found me when they went down into Egypt He said the Egyptians don't think much of shepherds. That's the lowest of the low that's the lowest sort of employment somebody could have Moses went from being in Pharaoh's house the son of Pharaoh's daughter the son of Pharaoh to being a shepherd over a few sheep in the desert for 40 years And before God brought him to be to lead his people out of Egypt David also was taken taken from keeping sheep Remember how his brothers mocked him that one time that he went to see how they were doing and take some supplies to them in the army. You know, they mocked him about, you little kid, you've left your few sheep to come down here.

There was definitely looking down upon him, almost scorned for his work as a shepherd. But God lifted him up, not in one day, but God lifted him up from being a shepherd of sheep to being ruler over all of his people. Ruth is another story of a woman who knew great adversity, whose husband dies, and she chooses to be with God's people rather than her own people. Because her own people were pagan and didn't know the Lord, and she wanted to be with those whose God was Jehovah. And so she went with a widow who had nothing, absolutely nothing.

She went back to Israel with nothing because she wanted to be among God's people and she went into fields and gleaned. She was content to to work with the poorest of the poor And God made her a great woman in Israel. It was from her line, that, and her and Boaz, that Obed Jesse David and Christ came But see even Christ Was was humbled before he was exalted That was Christ's path to humility and Christ is not there was no sin in him But he humbled himself. He took human flesh He's the very God a very God Paul said he did not consider it robbery to be equal with God But he humbled himself to take to himself a human body with all of its limitations. It's finite knowledge.

A body that needs rest, needs to eat. It can't be everywhere at once. For God, who is the creator of all, who is everywhere present, who knows all things, whose power is infinite, to take a human body with all of its limitations, is to humble himself greatly. It's to humble himself more than we could ever, no matter what we did or what we're willing to do. We could never humble ourselves to the extent that Christ did.

He was born of a woman. Here's the one who is creator of all things, who has stretched out the heavens as a scroll, who has suspended the stars in space, the the stars in space, the earth upon nothing, he condescended to be born of a woman. And to be born in a very low condition, to a very low family, Joseph and Mary were not wealthy people. He condescended to be subject to human authority, To live under the rule of a father and a mother and to obey them Jesus told Paul it all authority in heaven and earth is mine and you would have no authority if except what I've given to you yet this one who had all authority who gave Kings their authority Condescended to be ruled by a father and a mother who were sinners who weren't perfect who didn't know everything who surely made mistakes common to humans But Jesus subjected himself to their authority. He was tempted by Satan.

He condescended to know a fast, to know the deprivation of food, and to be tempted by Satan. He condescended to live among sinners. To live among sinners condescended to live among people who hated him and wanted to see him dead Who said all sorts of nasty things about him called him even a son of Satan He didn't have to do all that He condescended to be judged by Pilate. He didn't have to do that. He even told Pilate, look, I have legions of angels at my command.

If I wanted, I could call them forth and extricate myself from this situation but he didn't he humbled himself willingly see we may be a based but it's often not willingly it's circumstances that are beyond our control, but it wasn't so with Christ. There were no circumstances beyond his control. His humiliation was a willing condescension. He humbled himself even to death, allowing himself to be crucified, one of the most shameful, humiliating forms of death possible. To be hung up for all to see.

He humbled himself to die and to be buried in the grave. This is what Paul exhorts us to have, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. See, we too will reign with Christ. We will be exalted with Him.

But first, But first comes humility. Peter says, likewise you who are younger be subject to the elders, clothe yourselves, all of you with humility toward one another. For God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you Jesus said in Matthew 18 whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 23, whoever shall exalt himself shall be a base, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. For whoever exalts himself shall be a based and he that humbles himself will be exalted speaking of the publican The tax collector and the Pharisee who went up to the temple to pray he says I tell you this man this this sinner The tax collector went down to his house justified rather than the other, for, you remember the Pharisee exalted himself in his prayer, the tax collector humbled himself in his prayer, For everyone that exalts himself shall be abased and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.

Humble yourself James says in the sight of God and he will lift you up. He says a little later in that book, but God gives more grace. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. That is the Universal message. It's right here in Proverbs.

Before honor is humility. And that's the way that we go through life as well We're born as babies that are helpless in the most humble of Conditions we cannot we cannot take care of ourselves in any way And then from there we grow older, then young adults, then older adults, and then horyherd adults. This world and the men of this world look for greatness, but God looks for goodness. We shouldn't be looking so much for what God has designed for us, but what He requires of us. What does He require of us?

You probably know that verse by heart, right? What does the Lord require of us? To love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. To walk in that poverty of spirit that recognizes that we are dependent upon God for everything, for our very life, for our food, for our sustenance, for our very existence. That everything that we have, He's given to us.

Maybe you have great knowledge, wonderful, use it for the glory of God, but remember that that knowledge God gave you Maybe it's practical knowledge Like How to make something hard or how to do something that's hard The Bible says if you have a skill, no matter how practical it is, God has taught you that skill. So poverty of spirit recognizes that all we are is from God. And so the fruit of hearing ears and a humble spirit then is wisdom. The fruit of hearing ears and a humble spirit is wisdom. It's those ears that hear the rebukes of life abide among the wise.

Those who heed rebuke get understanding. The fear of the Lord, verse 33 sums it all up, the fear of the Lord is in the instruction of wisdom. Fear of the Lord is used many times in the Bible and we might describe it in a lot of different ways. We might describe it as a carefulness not to do unrighteousness, a reverence, a holy reverence for God and for his rule. But I think maybe one way to get a sense of the fear of God is just to read some passages of Scripture that speak about the fear of God.

And let the sense of Scripture give to you and Give to us this morning an understanding of the fear of God. So let me just read a few passages that speak about the fear of God. When the Israelites were triumphant in battle, the Bible says they smote all the cities around Gerar. And The fear of God came upon all those around them and the fear of God The Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat because the people outside of Israel feared the Lord. They feared the God of Israel.

And so that prevented them from going to war against Jehoshaphat. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you take heed and do it for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts." Job says, unto man he has said, behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is Understanding there's a connection of the fear of the Lord resulting in a turning away of evil the fear of the Lord is clean Enduring forever the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether Come you children listen to me Listen there's the hearing of the ears not come and look but come and listen And I will teach you the fear of the Lord David said Psalm 34 the fear of the Lord Psalm 111 is the beginning of wisdom and a good understanding have all they that do as commandments, whose praise endures forever." It doesn't say that if you understand, if you see, then you'll do the commandments, but rather those who do the commandments have understanding. The fear of the Lord, Proverbs 1.7, is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

So there's the opposite. Remember how we look at these antithetical proverbs. The fool despises wisdom instruction. Those who fear the Lord receive it. The fool hates knowledge and doesn't choose the fear of God.

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance in the evil way. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance in the evil way. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. The fear of the Lord prolongs days but the years of the wicked are shortened. The fear of the Lord is a strong confidence, and His children have a place of refuge.

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death. Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it. The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom and before honor is humility. By mercy and truth and equity is purged and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. The fear of the Lord tends to life and he that has it shall abide satisfied.

He won't be visited with evil. By humility and the fear of the Lord." There's the two joined together again. Our riches, honor, and life. Let not your heart envy sinners, but be you in the fear of the Lord all day long. Speaking of the Messiah, the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

And then in Acts 9, here's the description of these churches, these new churches that had been planted. It says, then the churches had rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria and were edified. And Walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. They were multiplied The churches were walking in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. And they grew.

It was a result of their humility, walking in the fear of the Lord, that they grew. The fear of the Lord makes us teachable, gives us humility, and makes us ready to learn. Pride says that we're basically okay and we don't need to change or we don't need to learn The fruit of Hearing ears and a humble spirit is wisdom And what does wisdom? Do what characterizes wisdom? Wisdom is characterized by walking in the fear of the Lord, walking in his statutes, walking in his ways.

Jesus tells this parable in Matthew 7 about to kinds of people He says Those who hear my sayings of mine and does them those who have ears to hear those who listen and Do and do those things that I say, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it did not fall for it was founded on the rock. Wisdom Jesus says is listening to what he says and doing what he teaches and those who do that build for themselves a house upon a rock that can withstand any storm that life may bring but everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them then we know that those people haven't really heard, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell and great was its fall. And so it comes back around to the Lord establishes Those who fear him and destroys those who do not That rock on which we build is Christ it he is The wise one in whom there is all wisdom That is the question That is always before us that was the question that Satan presented to Eve and that is the question that we answer every day whose word do we believe who do we listen to is God's Word true do we hear it and do it Does it just define our thinking?

Or is our mind the judge, the arbiter of what is true and what is not? May God give us ears to hear what His Spirit says to His people. Almighty Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for your Holy Spirit that gives us understanding of it. That gives us the strength to do as you have taught us.

And yet, O Lord, we So often do not do that which we would do that which we know to do For we wrestle with the sin that dwells in us yet And we look to you this morning for strength to overcome. You have promised and given to us every spiritual blessing, every thing that we have needed, every weapon To be victorious is ours in Christ we ask that we may apprehend and they hold Of what is ours in Christ That we may be those who overcome. That we may be those who reign with you. That we may be those who persevere upon the path of life. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.