The sermon emphasizes the qualifications for a pastor or overseer as outlined in the Bible. It states that a pastor must be a man who is above reproach, faithful to his wife, and able to manage his household well. The sermon underscores that pastoral roles are divinely assigned to men and speaks against women taking up pastoral positions, viewing it as contrary to God's design. It highlights the distinct glories of men and women, emphasizing that women have a different but equally significant role. The sermon further explains that a pastor's character should reflect godliness and that he must be able to lead his own household before leading a church. It draws on biblical texts to assert that pastors are to be examples of good character and suggests that their personal lives should display the qualities they preach about. Jesus Christ is presented as the ultimate model of a pastor, being the perfect groom to the church, and the sermon closes by celebrating His faithfulness and righteousness.

Words of our God. It is a trustworthy statement. If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity.

But if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the Church of God? And not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. He must have a good reputation with those outside the church so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. May God bless the reading and now the preaching of this is word. Amen.

Amen. You may be seated. When I was a young man in college, I had the privilege of rubbing shoulders with a truly phenomenal man named Zach Jennings. His father being the pastor Bob Jennings that some of you may know. And as Zach's father, Pastor Bob Jennings, lay on his deathbed, someone asked Bob to describe his son, Zach Jennings.

Describe your son. And This is what Bob said, though I don't have the wording quite right, wish I remembered better. But here is, in essence, what he said. In fact, these are the exact words, Zach is a fine fellow. He is a fine young man.

And Bob Jennings, he wasn't using the cheapen definition that we use far off to today for the word fine. How you doing? Fine. That's not the right word of the use. That's not the right way to use that word.

Fine doesn't mean okay. Fine means fine china. Fine wine, the best of the best, the highest quality. My son is a fine fellow. And I remember hearing that and thinking, what a description of a son in whom you are well pleased.

My son is a fine man from the lips of a man that I think is some of one of the finest of all men ever to live. A fine fellow. Paul says in verse one of our passage that if any man aspires to the office of overseer, that it is a fine work he desires to do. That word fine there is not an OK work. It is an exceptional work.

And to paraphrase Pastor Doug Wilson, it is a fine thing to want to be an overseer. It is a fine work. And in order to do this fine work, he must be a fine man. Fine work must be performed by fine men, which means the qualifications of these men are very fine indeed. What must he be in order to be your pastor?

So we're having a Q&A session this afternoon with Isaac Johnston, whom your pastors are appointing as a pastor. What must he be so that you may say with your pastors and with God, amen, and vote yes. What must he be to be an overseer of Crossroad Church according to Almighty God? And the answer is, he must be a fine fellow. He who aspires to the office of overseer desires a fine thing.

So he must be a fine man. And that means first, that he must be a man. He must be a man. Which Isaac is. That's verse one of our text, Very, very straightforward.

It is a trustworthy statement. If any man aspires to the office, it is a fine work he desires to do. So the office and function of a pastor is given by God to men. Not only does it say man there in verse one in our English Bibles, but if you look in verse two, Paul gives the qualification husband of one wife. This is clearly talking about a man.

Only a man could be a husband. He must be a man in order to be a pastor in Christ's church. And so you might ask, well then, what do you call the women around our country and around our state? Or what do you call the women in our own town of Erlum who say that they are pastors? Disobedient.

They are disobedient. That's what God calls them. Women are not pastors. God did not make women to be pastors and if they insist on being pastors, they are disobedient. Now Ladies, that is not a put down.

To say that God made you for a different kind of glory, that is not a put down. To quote my wife, that is a put up. To put up. God gave man the mission in the garden and he gave the woman to be the man's crown and helper. And nobody anywhere should think, well, she's just a crown?

She's just a helper? How dare you belittle women like that? Nobody in this room should have those thoughts. I've watched way too many movies for you to tell me that crowns don't matter. I've read too much history for you to tell me that crowns don't matter.

I've read too much history for you to tell me that crowns don't matter. Whole wars are fought over crowns and women. And women, lest you think that there isn't particular glory in being the helper of a man, what is the name given to the third person of the Trinity, God the Spirit? What does Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, call the Spirit, the Helper, the name of God. So ladies, do not be listening to the lies of feminism that want to rob you of your glory.

God made you for a glory that is not the same glory as men. But feminism seeks to rob you of that glory and make the pinnacle of your existence as a woman to make the peak of your value as a woman of being the same as man. That's foolish filth to distill you women down to being a man. Little girls, don't you ever listen to those lies. Now I know this is a sermon about the qualifications of pastors for men, but because of that I need you to give me a moment with my little ladies in the congregation.

Little girls, You listen to me please right now. And you young men, you listen to me too. This is the kind of girl you need to marry. Listen to me young ladies. Do you remember Genesis chapter 1?

Genesis chapter 2? God makes the land and the sea, the mighty ocean. Little girls, He makes the lions, He makes the tigers, He makes the bears, oh my. He makes elephants, He makes whales, he makes giraffes and peacocks. Little ladies, he makes butterflies.

And we were raising butterflies in our house. We've got 10 chrysalises. Well, I don't think all of them are chrysalises, but we got 10 on some part of the lifespan. Got 10 of them. We named them all after our children then mommy and then daddy and then we're back to Mercedes.

I think again He makes butterflies He made hummingbirds I mean come on if you ever young ladies if you ever find yourself wishing that you lived in a fairy tale, that kind of land, they wish we lived in the land of fairy tales. A hummingbird, you live in one. God made all those things, hippos, dolphins, he made the sky, he made sunsets little girls. Don't you love sunsets? Tonight if you haven't seen a sunset in the wild tug at your daddy's sleeve ask him kindly daddy can you go take me to watch the sunset it'll be past your bedtime.

Daddies make an exception. Be amazed tonight at the artistry of the glory of God. That's what God made. He made all that. Hippos, giraffes, peacocks, butterflies, sunset.

He made all that in the beginning. And at the climax of creation, as God got to the very end of all the amazingness that he had made, from bullfrogs to butterflies, as he got to the end of his glorious creation, what did God do? Who did God save for last? The woman. Eve, he made a helper suitable for Adam, the mother of all living things.

Woman. Children. Precious little girls. Women, children, precious little girls. When God made that first woman, do you think that he made her because he ran out of ideas?

That the author of the Hummingbird and the hippo got to the very end at the crescendo point of creation and he just laid and died? Do you think that? That God said at the very end of creation, I made all this glory and I just ran out of ideas. He threw his hands up, I guess I'll just make a woman. Is that how God is little girls?

No. God doesn't run out of ideas. God didn't run out of glory at the end. God made all of this world, He made the clouds in the sky. God made the sun, moon, and stars.

And your God, ladies, your glorious creator girls, He made you, the woman, as the crown jewel of creation. He made a woman to be a helper, to be a mother, to be a wife, to obey her husband, to obey her father. And Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 that that is double glory. That is double glory. You are the glory of man.

You are the glory of the glory, double glory. Don't you ever, ever go out from here thinking that it is not glorious to be a woman. I got a whole house full of double glory. You want a little taste of the glory? Come to the brats.

The peak of womanhood, young ladies, is not to be a man. The beauty of womanhood is not to be able to do what men do. No, that message robs you of the beauty and the grandeur and the glory of your God given femininity. So I need you to hear this really plainly. The beauty of womanhood is seen in being a wife, a helper of your husband if you're not married young ladies, a helper to your father, the beauty of womanhood is seen in the unmatched calling of being a mother.

The beauty and glory of being feminine is seen in the church as single and married women alike adorn the gospel with their dress, their conversation, and their obedience to Jesus Christ. And that is why, coming back to the pastoral qualifications, that is why when men try to appoint women to be pastors, That is far from being loving and caring. When men do that, when men try to take a woman and rob her of her glory and make her into a man, that's abusive. That is pastors robbing women of their glory. And a pastor's not being a real man when he does that.

He's being a thief. He's not being a real man when he puts a woman in a position in the church that acts like there aren't distinct glories that God has made between men and women. And instead a pastor, when he ignores the first qualification says, well I know better than God. I know what glory is more than God knows what glory is. When a pastor does that, he's abusing women.

He's robbing you of your glory. He's not being a real man because real men love real women. And so real men appoint real men to the office of pastorate and those same real men then free the women that they really love to be about the double glory that Christ has called them to in their God-given femininity. Pastor must be a man. Number two, he must be a man who aspires to the office.

He must be aspiring. Now, we're going to pick up the pace here a little bit. Verse one, it is a trustworthy statement. If any man aspires to the office of overseer it is a fine work he desires to do. A pastor must want to be a pastor.

If he doesn't desire it, if he's forced into it, He won't be able to be about it gladly, willingly. He won't be able to obey the command in Hebrews 13 verse 17 to perform his oversight with joy and not with grief, which ultimately wouldn't be profitable for you as the church. You don't want your pastors wishing they weren't pastors. Not a good place. Not a good place to be.

And so for any of you young men in this congregation, any of you older men in this congregation that aspire to the office you need to understand what you're aspiring to. God says in James chapter 3 that for those in the office of pastor particularly teachers there is a stricter judgment. God says in Hebrews 13 that pastors will give an account to the Lord Himself for how they watched over your immortal souls that were given to your pastors in their care. They're going to give an account to God for how they watched over and cared for your immortal souls, souls for whom Christ died. That is really heavy.

That's really heavy. That's why when we have visitors and when we see numerical growth in the church and people get excited, sure, it is exciting, but it also makes your pastors tremble. Because Hebrews 13 is real. Because Hebrews 13 is real we will give an account for immortal souls how we shepherded you And the more bodies that come through that door, the heavier that burden becomes. We're glad for it.

But it is a heavy gladness. A true joy. But a heavy joy. There is weightiness. And there are many nights, brothers and sisters, that sleep comes with great difficulty because of this reality.

A pastor's heart is deeply affected by what God says here. Because of what he has made pastors to be overseers of. Think about that, immortal souls. Souls that will never die. Jesus says watch over them until I put them back in to my care.

Wow. So you need to understand what you're getting yourself into, men, if you aspire to this office. Titus chapter one says that pastors are to put things in order in the church. And so to that end, your pastors appoint other pastors to put things in order. And all the more as we see our numbers grow, we have been asking for God to raise up men to put things in order in this church.

And we are so grateful that God has raised up Brother Isaac. If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it's a fine work he desires to do. A pastor must be a man who aspires to the office. Now, most people's Bibles actually use the word bishop there for overseer. So if you've got a new King James or King James version which makes up the majority of the Bibles in our land.

You're gonna see the word bishop there. That's the word for overseer. That's the word for episkopos is the Greek word, episkopos, which is, You've probably heard of the Episcopalian Church. Have you heard of that? That's where they get that.

That's where they get that word, Episcopos, overseers, bishop, which we don't call in Baptist life, we don't call each other bishops unless you're talking about J.C. Ryle. He is the bishop. But it really is okay to use that word, bishop, overseer, elder. There's a different Greek word for the word elder.

That's the word prispateros. Have you heard of that word before? Prispateros. It's where we get the word Presbyterian. Presbyteros means elder.

We get our word Baptist from baptism. So we got all these different Greek words and words in English, episkopos, overseer, presbyteros, elder, and those two words, those two titles, they're used interchangeably in the New Testament. So elder and overseer are two titles for the same office. Okay? I'm gonna give you an example of this so you don't know, you don't think I'm just making it up.

Acts 20 17, Acts 20 17, Paul called the elders of the church to come to him, so he uses the word presbyteros. Paul calls the elders of the church to come to him and then 11 verses later he uses the other Greek word for bishop or overseer, episkopos. He says, hey elders you come to me and then 11 verses later in Acts 20 he calls those same elders overseers and shepherds. So what's Paul doing in Acts 20? Paul is telling you the titles elder, overseer, shepherd, pastor are all titles that can be used interchangeably to refer to the same office.

Different Greek words, yes, Same office. That's how Paul uses them in Acts 20. Peter does the same thing. 1 Peter chapter 5, in verse 1, Peter calls them elders. And then in the next verse, verse 2, 1 Peter 5 2, he tells those that he just called elders, he tells them shepherd the flock, pastor the flock, elder, overseer, pastor, different words all referring to the same office.

Now that's important for you to understand. You might think, man, that's not that important. Oh, it's really important. There are two offices of the church, elder and deacon, pastor and deacon, overseer and deacon, and every pastor, elder, overseer is given the same charge and authority over the flock that God has appointed them over. Which is why your elders are hoping in the coming days to alter our Constitution and bylaws to better reflect that biblical reality that pastors in the plural over a flock hold equal authority among themselves.

It's not the Pastor Grant show. Man, aren't you glad for that? Man, you should have heard some of the conversations when I first came on year one and year five. I want to go this way. Pastor Matthew goes, whoa man, that is not okay because he's my pastor.

It's not the Pastor Matthew Show. You are to have pastors in the plural, with equal authority, putting things in order in this church, and that needs to be reflected in our governing documents, don't you think? If you don't, well come talk to me. So we hope to do that in the near future, make that more plain. Verse one, it's a trustworthy statement.

He must be a man, he must aspire. Verse two, an overseer then must be above reproach. He must be above reproach. This is the third qualification we see in this letter. Now, it really is the heart of all of the qualifications.

It's not simply enough to be a man. It's not simply enough to aspire to the office. There are evil men who aspire. There are lazy men who aspire. There are irresponsible men who aspire.

There are unfaithful men who aspire. Those men won't do when it comes to shepherding the flock of Jesus Christ. And so really here in this qualification in verse 2, Paul moves to the heart of the matter. A man who is able to exercise righteous oversight of Christ Church must first be able to demonstrate righteous oversight in his own life and in the life of his household. Did you get that?

If a man is to exercise righteous oversight among us, he must first be able to exercise righteous oversight in his own life and in the life of his own house. If he will not do that, he won't all of a sudden become a pastor. If he's not able to exercise righteous oversight in his own life, you can't expect him to then have hands laid on him and all of a sudden he comes up to the pulpit and he's different. It's not how this works. It's like the man who wants to be a missionary, and yet he's not qualified to be a missionary, but he thinks that somehow, when he gets on that plane right overseas, there's gonna be this magic that happens.

Over the Pacific. Shoo. Whoa! I'm a new man. No, when he gets to China, he's going to get to China the same way he left America.

Same for pastors here at Crossroad Church. A man who was able to exercise righteous oversight of Christ's church must first be able to demonstrate that righteous oversight in his own life and in the life of his home. In short, he must be above reproach. He must be above reproach. Now that phrase above reproach, it could be translated a number of different ways.

Blameless, not guilty, good reputation, have a good name. All of those translations get at the gist of what Paul is saying, he must have high character. And really all of those remaining qualifications, if you read through all of the qualifications in verses 2 through 7 here, they can really be summed up by that one phrase, being above reproach. He must be above reproach in the church, that's verse 2, and he must be above reproach outside the church, that's verse 7. He must have a good reputation with those in and outside the church.

Now these qualifications are bookended with this concept of being above reproach. Do you see that in the text? The bookends. Above reproach in verse 2, above reproach in verse 7. Good reputation in verse 7.

So I need you to lock in with me some of you have been distracted I get it There's lots of things going on back there lock back in for just a second I think this is really important because you might be thinking this is just a sermon about pastors Yeah, he gave a little caveat about the women, but I've just been checked out for the last 15 minutes will you check right back in you check back in because these really are qualifications for pastors yes but these are things that really ought to be in your heart these are thing we ought to aspire to These are qualifications for your pastors so that you might see their lives and say, I want to imitate him as he imitates Jesus. This is for you. So if you checked out, Come on back. These character traits are descriptors of godliness for all Christians and so we should all seek to possess these things in these verses because elders are to be examples and you are to follow their examples. 1st Peter 5.3, 1st Peter 5.3, pastors are to be examples to the flock, and so that which the church ought to be, her leaders must first be as an example.

So as my former pastor, Brett Kaprenica, my parents' current pastor, Pastor Brett Kaprenica says these things, quote, these qualifications start with the character of elders because elders set the course for the character of the rest of the congregation. So whatever bent you find emphasized in the lives of your pastors, you will eventually find as the emphasis of your church. What leaders model, members will eventually reflect." End quote. So a man must be above reproach inside and outside the church that this church must maybe above reproach inside and out. So what does it mean then for a man to have a good reputation in and outside the church?

Well I think we understand inside the church better. That's verse 2. But what about having a good reputation outside the church? Verse 7. We're gonna skip some verses.

We're gonna come back. What does it mean, what does verse 7 mean, to have a good reputation among those outside the church? How do you have a good reputation among pagans? It means that an elder is to be a man whom people have a really hard time finding legitimate fault with. It's difficult to find legitimate, non-ticky-ticky fault with an elder.

That's what the idea is here. Can't find legitimate fault with an elder of Crossroad Church. So it doesn't mean that those outside the church will think he's right. Actually those outside the church will very much think he's wrong. They will not like what your pastors preach and teach because it pricks their conscience.

But boy, he's reliable. Boy, he's the best neighbor you could ask for. I mean, he does tell me about my sin. He does tell me about the Savior that I desperately need who died for my sin. And he does exhort me to repent and believe the gospel.

And Hey, I could do a little bit less with that Man he's kind of my wife man. He's kind of my children. He sure is generous with his time He sure is slow to anger. He sure is hospitable. I mean, I don't like his Jesus But I can't deny a boy's a good man.

I might not like his Lord. I might not like his message, but I can't deny that he's a good dude. He's a good neighbor. I can't deny that he loves me. I can't deny that he's a man of high character.

That's what it means to be above reproach outside the church, have a good reputation outside the church. Now, this doesn't mean that a pastor is to be sinless. If that was the case, there wouldn't be any pastors. Not sinless, but above reproach. When in doubt, Matthew Henry it out.

And so here's what the Puritan Matthew Henry says, quote, A man above reproach must be one who lies not under any ill character, but rather must have a good report, even from those that are without, not grossly or scandalously guilty, so as that he would bring reproach upon the holy function. He must not be such a one." End quote. I hope you're getting what being above reproach means. Pastors are handling the holy things of God And so the life of those pastors must therefore be holy. If a pastor is to handle the holy things of God, the life of his household ought to be holy.

The life of his house ought to be holy so that he might handle the holy things of God in the household of God in a holy way. The lives and the life of his household should complement the holiness of the office that he is to occupy. So we've just finished our series on the law of God. 18 weeks, 18 sermons on the law of God. And the question is how are we as a church to love the law of God and to delight in the law of God and to obey the law of God by the grace of God.

How are we to do those things? To love, to delight, and to obey the law of God if those teaching you the law of God hate it and they don't show you how to love and delight and obey the law of God. You can't do that as a church. We can't live as a church if our pastors will not love and delight and preach first to themselves before they ever preach to you. Sometimes you will be very kind with your encouragement and I really appreciate that about sermons and teachings and things like that.

It very much is a boon to your pastor. And you say, man, I was convicted by this. And I'm grateful to hear that. But the Holy Spirit moves. You just need to understand that when you say I'm convicted, You need to understand that your pastor has spent six days prior convicted himself.

Pastors are to administer to you the word and sacraments and they are handling the holy things of God, and as such, their lives and the life of their household should exemplify that holiness. We preach first to ourselves, and then to the flock we love. So it shouldn't surprise you that Paul's next qualification be concerned with a man's household. If he's to be above reproach, in and outside the church, well the next qualification then would be his household. And namely, his wife.

Now later on in verse four you're gonna see his children are mentioned as well, we're gonna get to that. But here we see the husband of one wife. As Michael Foster puts it, quote, a man's wife and children, a man's household, is his resume for the pastorate. So when you apply for a job, when you aspire to an office, you present your resume. And a potential elder's resume is his household.

If his own household is not in order, then you have all that you need to know that this man will not be able to put God's household in order, and so it is to the man's household that Paul now turns, end quote. And that's the final qualification this morning that we will talk about. He must be the husband of one wife. Now you might be thinking, man there's a lot more qualifications, and yeah there is, you won't talk about setting yourself up for failure to try to do this in two sermons, but that's what I've done. The husband of one wife.

Now that definitely rules out polygamy. An elder cannot be polygamous. One wife. But this qualification very much extends far beyond a number. It's not just the number of wives a man has, but his faithfulness to that one wife that really matters here.

This is part of what it means to be above reproach. And it's huge. I want you to get this. This is a huge qualification. Will this man be faithful to the bride of Christ, the church?

When you have a prospective elder, you're asking the question, will he be faithful to the bride of Christ, the church for whom Christ died? Will he be faithful to the bride of Jesus? That's what we want to know. We'll start with this. Is he faithful to his own bride?

Faithfulness to his bride is absolutely essential if a man is to be faithful to Christ's bride. He must be the husband of one wife truly a one woman man a One woman man. So what are the habits with women in the church? What is it? What are his habits with women in the church?

What are his habits with women in the church? What are his habits with women outside the church? What steps has he taken to stay above reproach? Is he comfortable texting women individually, or is he very quick to loop in wives of the, or the husbands of the wives that he's texting. What are his online habits?

Is he a man whose life seems prone to having an affair? That's what this qualification is all about. If he's going to cheat on the wife that God has given to him, he'll cheat on the church of Jesus Christ. An elder must be faithful to his bride, a one-woman man. Does this man live out Ephesians chapter 5?

That husbands love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word that he might present to himself the church and all her glory having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their wives as their own bodies, for he who loves his own wife loves himself. That's your calling, husbands. And if a man's life is not an example of Ephesians five, he has no business pastoring the church. He's not a good example to you, and he's not going to be faithful to the bride.

Let him, by the grace of God, instead get his own house in order. Men sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes men, get it in their minds, man to be a pastor would be whoa. To be a husband is whoa. Forget about the pastorate. You are shepherding immortal souls in your own home get the gravity of that before you even mess with being a pastor of church A man that does not have his house in order does not need to strict your judgment for his poor oversight over the house of God where there is already judgment for his poor oversight in his own house.

He's not loving his wife well. Do you know what he's doing? If husbands, if you're not loving your wife well, if you're not leading her, you are proclaiming a false gospel. That's huge. Far from being a pastor, let that kind of man repent and be made new by gospel power.

A pastor must be a one-woman man. So what are your online habits, men? What safeguards have you put in place to ward off temptation online? We've got accountable to you right there for you. How do you protect your wife?

How do you wash your bride with the water of the word? If a man is faithful towards his bride, that's a wonderful indication that he will be faithful to the bride of Jesus Christ. Leading and loving and protecting and providing for your wife is the front page of a man's pastor resume. He's not gonna love his wife. If he will not bring his kids in order, then how will he bring things in order in the church?

And the answer is he won't. He won't. An elder and overseer, a pastor, a bishop, he must be a man who aspires to the office, but he also must be a good man, a fine fellow who is above reproach, who is faithful to his wife. And next week, we're going to go see the additional qualifications that God has made for those who exercise oversights of Christ's church. Temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.

He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity. He must not be a new convert so that he will not be conceded and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil." Now, if you read that list with me, maybe you say the same thing that I say every day last week when I studied. What a list! 2nd Corinthians 2 16, who is sufficient for these things? I mean, you read this collection, you go, who is sufficient for this office, for these things?

And who ultimately is sufficient? Your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the man. Jesus is the God-man. Son of man, Son of God, the eternal God, the Word become flesh, the God-man.

That's who Jesus is. No man in this room has angels praising them. Why? Because we're not the man. He is.

Jesus is above reproach. Jesus is above reproach. Jesus is the one whose name is above all names. Jesus is the one who was thrice holy. Jesus is the one on whom at his ascension God has bestowed the name which is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess in earth and in heaven that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2. Jesus is the man. Jesus is above reproach and Jesus is the husband of one bride. He is the perfect groom for you church. There are none more faithful.

There are none more pure than the Lord Jesus. And this Lord Jesus loved you and He gave Himself for you to make you sinner his bride. So that by grace through repentance and faith, your sins that would be like scarlet would be as white as snow. You are his forever Christian because of what Jesus Christ has done in his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. And he has made you his bride, and he will keep you forever, for he is the one woman God-man who is above reproach, which means He will not lie, and He will keep you forever.

He will not go back on His oaths to you. I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. Come what may, My faithfulness is everlasting. He's the perfect groom of Ephesians 5.

He will present to himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, and he will make her holy and blameless. Church, what a groom you have in the Lord Jesus Jesus Christ the perfectly righteous one above reproach what a friend what a groom for sinners Jesus lover of my soul friends even pastors may fail me foes will assail me but he my savior makes me whole. Jesus what a strength in weakness. Let me hide myself in him, tempted, tried, and sometimes failing, but he my strength, my victory wins. Hallelujah.

What a Savior. Hallelujah. What a group. And let's sing that now, shall we? Isaac, if you'd come.