Brother John Bergland spoke of the Puritans having twenty-five points. I believe he's a Reformed Puritan. I had my stenographer at my side and she couldn't keep up. It's nice to be here in Omaha and have the privilege of opening God's Word with you. I want to remark just a little bit on how much I appreciated being with the Assembly a while back. It was in the late spring of the year, something like I believe the month of May. And we were together during a Sunday morning or Saturday evening perhaps and all day Saturday night and all day event. Lovely wedding, a nice get together with young people that Saturday evening and Sunday morning a time of preaching the gospel and Sunday night a time of teaching for the Christians. and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't remember when I'd been to a place and enjoyed a gospel meeting any more than I did that Sunday morning. I just felt the Lord gave us real help and encouragement, and it was a precious time. Now this morning, let us go back to the book of John chapter four, where we formerly were reading and see if we can discern a few thoughts for our consideration, things that might be especially beneficial on the subject of worship. I'd like to suggest while you're turning to John chapter four that we were hearing earlier about the word worship. Bear in mind that the standard word for kiss, so that we don't misunderstand the word, the standard word for kiss is not found in any form in the word worship there. So sometimes it can be alluded to that. Keep in mind that the standard word for kiss is sometimes also translated friend. or affectionate love. So we can see that our word is quite complex. And if you wanted to look at the root stem of that word, not just the prefix, cross meaning toward, I think you see an activity or action, a movement, and it's toward. But the kiss would be a strain. It wouldn't say that it would not involve a kiss, but I think that it would be a strain. of the word dominion. I know lexicographers will say that, but as you, some of you well know, I don't agree with lexicographers, and I don't find that uncomfortable. I agree, though, with the book, and I'm convinced that we've been hearing some excellent things about worship. As a matter of fact, we're hearing so much, I wonder where on earth I'm going to get in. I thought, how I'm going to get into this subject. Brother John has covered it so conclusively. But there are some other aspects that perhaps we can look at, and we begin our reading in John chapter four. The Lord has been talking to the woman, and I believe her to be... I'll just tell you exactly what I believe about it. I believe her to be an adulteress. Some have suggested that she is a widow some five times. And after having five experiences and traumas of going through widowhood, she's now decided just to live with a man without marriage. I do not believe that to be so. I believe that she's had five broken homes and that she is now living with a man, that she's not married to. And Jesus, in his discourse with her, is seeking to bring her to see her great need. Too often we try to present the gospel to someone when in fact they're not ready in a sense. What do you mean? Well, everybody's to get the gospel. Maybe I better rephrase that. Yes, to get the gospel immediately. But sometimes we try to present how to be saved instantly. And I don't think that's the exact procedure in Scripture. Jesus didn't walk up, say, now if you'll start believing with your heart that I'm the one that is going to die for your sins, be buried and rise again. And if you'll confess with your mouth, He didn't put Romans ten, nine on her, you know, right away. But he did bring her to the point of seeing her need. And I think that's so important in winning people to Christ. They've got to come to see their need. Oh, my dear friend, before this woman could ever be open to the message of how to be saved, she's got to understand that she needs to be saved. It's the drowning man who knows he's drowning that's willing to cry out, save me. And she's not in that condition yet. Upon the obvious, the Lord Jesus shifts in his discourse to another question. He says, go call your husband. And she says, you know, I don't even have one. Well, he said this, right? You've answered truthfully. The fellow that you're living with now, the man you're living with, is not even your husband. And instantly she senses he's a prophet because the prophets had the reputation of being able to see right into your brain. One of the kings of Syria indicated that someone in his army was a traitor. For he said even the very thoughts of my bedroom seemed to be leaking out. And it was in the days of Elijah and Elisha. So the prophets had a reputation of reading the mind so instantly she said she must be a prophet. And at that point she shifts the conversation to the religious sphere. Our fathers worshiped, verse twenty in this mountain. Haven't you been seeking to evangelize someone and instantly they get off on the religious scene? Or they'll dig up some old confession of faith that they've made fifteen, twenty years ago, or five years ago. They'll come up with some sort of, well, my grandfather was a preacher. Or I'm related to someone who's a missionary. Or I used to go to such and such a church. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you say in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. So she instantly is bringing it into the religious sphere, and worship seems to be the caption. Jesus says unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour comes when you shall neither in this mountain nor yet in Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship, you know not what. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. Now the Lord Jesus linked worship with salvation. Now it is clear in Scripture that worship is linked with other than salvation, but he linked it with salvation for salvation is of the Jews. And I certainly appreciate that. Throughout the entirety of this first message, the fact of the Lord's place that our brother John gave in worship, salvation is of the Jews. And you know that he, the Lord Jesus, is salvation. He is not the plan of salvation. He is salvation. Keep in mind that salvation is a person, not a plan. The hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit. and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship him. God, and then we just have in our Greek New Testament, God, Spirit. The verb is not there. As you well notice, it being italicized in our English New Testament. However, the word, the little letter A, it should have been italicized. May I see to you, it ain't there either. It just ain't there. You can say God is a spirit and you're thinking numerically. When you say God is spirit, you're thinking qualitatively, characteristically. In beginning, John one, one, continuously was the Word and the Word was toward the God continuously and the Word continuously was God. Now one translation, the New World translation, adds the Word was Aga. Now for them, I suggest, and I enjoy translating, and if they like to translate that way, it's absolutely a violation of the Greek language to add an indefinite article, because there is no indefinite article in Greek. Neither A and or N are found in, whether it's Kone, which is Common Greek, whether it's Homeric, the Classic, whatever it may be in Greek, even in modern Greek. there is no indefinite article. So it's really a contradiction of the rules of the language itself to add the indefinite article A. However, to be consistent, we would have to add that indefinite article in other places. So I like to tell those people who are involved in that religion, and I don't mention their name, their headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. But in verse I say to them, and I have their own translation, I bought a copy for a dollar. Verse eighteen, no man has seen, and I say, now, if you put a God in verse one, you've got to put a God in verse eighteen. Look how it reads. No man has seen a God at any time. Well, Paul, the Apostle Paul, a whole bunch of them on Mars Hill, and my wife and I sit on that same hill. Some of them are still around. And they won't live with that statement. So we've got to be accurate in our Bible, don't we? God gave it that way. God, spirit, qualitatively, characteristically, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Now, we learn from First Thessalonians chapter five and verse twenty-three that we are a tri-part being. I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we see that as a being made of God we are obviously three parts. Spirit is mentioned first, body is mentioned last. Now, we're never to say that one is not important. However, I would like to suggest that the order there perhaps is instructive to us. That if somehow we could learn the importance of our human spirit and place it in its right order above the soul, then our body wouldn't get into so much trouble. And worship is to be involving the spirit. Notice, God is spirit. God, spirit, qualitatively, characteristically. And they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. Our spirit, if we're going to define the three-part beings, perhaps, or three parts of our being, we might say that our spirit is our God-conscious apparatus, if I can use that term. Years ago, I was being offered a job with Westinghouse. It was a number of years ago. They had headquarters for that particular division in the city of Dallas, Texas. It was called the Apparatus Division. There they had transformers, lightning arrestors, circuit breakers, oil bath and otherwise, fuses, power line material. I was involved in hotline distribution work in those days and they were offering me a job as the Apparatus Division, the part. So one part of our being being spirit, remember that is our God conscious apparatus. In Romans eight sixteen, the spirit, how many of you have the King James Version this morning? Let's see. All right. Your translation will render it absolutely grammatically correct when it says, listen carefully, the spirit itself. Now some translations will have himself. May I say to you that's not a correct translation. I get criticism a whole lot for speaking sort of authoritatively, but I'm not the authority. God is. So if I speak for God and speak accurately, well, it's authoritative. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And the reason that the King James is right there, the pronoun itself must, in its modification, as it modifies, agree in gender with the word that it modifies, the noun. And the noun spirit... is neuter in gender. However, if you'd like to get the personality of the Holy Spirit, turn to John chapter fourteen, if you'd like, now it's your leisure. And you'll remember there in verse fifteen, the writer is inspired to say, as he's quoting the Lord Jesus in the upper room, message that he gave his disciples, he said, If you love me, you will keep my commandments. His future and indicative is there. You will keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter. that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth in the world cannot receive because it sees him not neither knows him, but you know him, for he dwells with you and shall be in you. There you get the word comforter, and you can see the pronoun in the masculine gender. The Holy Spirit is a person, not just a force, as some religions present him. Now remember, in worship, our human spirit must be involved. And I would suggest that if it's correct worship, the Holy Spirit must be involved. We see in Ephesians five, eighteen, if you'd like to turn there and look at that just for a moment, Ephesians five eighteen, the scripture says, Be not drunk with wine, wherein is except, but be filled with the Spirit. And for those of you, not everybody likes it this way, I'm not saying that everybody does, but for those of you who do like it this way, that is who like a literal translation, you'll find that he's actually saying, be filled in spirit. Ephesians five, eighteen. Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled in spirit. He didn't say be filled with the spirit. It's be filled in spirit. And I do not believe we as children of God, as saints of God, as born ones of God, will ever worship so that it's accepted in heaven unless our human spirit is filled. And unless our human spirit being filled is controlled by the Holy Spirit. For only He knows just how to lead us into giving up to God. With that in mind, We'll come back to Ephesians five, eighteen. We're not through there. But with that in mind, look at a verse found in Hebrews chapter thirteen and verse fifteen. Hebrews chapter thirteen and verse fifteen. Hebrews chapter thirteen. And verse fifteen. In our English version, I think it goes something like this. Vahim, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise unto God continually. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. But it's interesting that the word is not by, which would be hupa in the ablative case, a preposition meaning under, and used in an ablative case, indicating agency, but rather it is the preposition di meaning through. So saints of God remember. Our worship always goes through someone. And you'll remember in First Peter chapter five, I'm sorry, chapter two, verse five, he also as living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, and it's there once more through Jesus Christ. Now in verse nine, he said, but you're a chosen generation. a royal priest of the Holy Nation, a peculiar people. Now the expression peculiar people is an interesting expression because it's the common word for people. Leia is that common little word there, but it means common people, and that's what we are. We're all on the same level, and I'd much be able to be down there, but I guess you got your microphone up here. We're all on the same level in the Lord, and yet he's saying we are not to be freakish, you know, peculiar. Someone said, well, you know, just a bunch of oddballs are freakish. No, no, no, no, God's not talking about that. What makes us distinct and peculiar is the word literally means erected around. It's the word poieo meaning to erect or construct, and it's the word peri meaning around. Now you're familiar with that word peri, like perimeter, pericardium. The word peri is a simple preposition meaning around, periscope. Scopus means to see, peri means around. A periscope is an apparatus that you can see, three hundred and sixty degrees around, used on submarines. So we see that this word, peculiar people, this expression means a people who are erected around. Now the picture that God is giving us in those two verses, verses five and verses nine, those two verses, is simply this, that as holy priests, we're to be offering up, but we're never able to offer up directly to God. It's always through Jesus Christ. And if we're scripturally gathered, beloved, Don't you remember that verse in Matthew five, eighteen? For where two or three having been and are being gathered together unto my name or with a view to my name, there am I in the midst of them. Sometimes brethren will pray, Lord, we thank thee that thou art in the midst. But you know, I'd rather leave the Lord to be the judge of that. I'm afraid that sometimes we're able to gather together and the Lord is not in the midst. Oh, Donald, you forget that we're non-denominational. That verse doesn't say, for where people are gathered non-denominationally, I will be in the midst. Do you notice that? The conditions laid down for the Lord being in the midst are what? Where the two or the three having been and are presently continually being gathered together unto my name. The verb is passive in voice. The subject does not act. The subject is acted upon. When the name of the Lord Jesus, and that's going to be linked with our verse in Hebrews chapter thirteen, when the name of the Lord Jesus in the power of the Spirit has moved us toward that name, the Lord has promised his holy presence right in the midst. Now when scripturally gathered, in that sense, Matthew eighteen and twenty, First Peter, chapter two, verse five, he also has living stones or built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up. If Christ is in the midst of the circle, we're erected around. Okay? If Christ is in the center, then remember our praise to God, offering up to God, is actually going to be to him who's in the midst, through him, and then on to God. Now, the reason we know it's that way is because verse nine indicated you're What? A chosen generation. A kingly priesthood. A holy nation. A people erected around. And I would suggest that when we're erected around the Lord Jesus, our faces are inward, not outward. It's always glued on Him. It's beholding Him, even in the context of our weakness and sinning in Hebrews chapter twelve. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily set us in. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and image of our faith. I believe it's obvious that what the author had in mind as the Spirit of God inspired him in Colossians chapter three. Since in view of the fact that you be raised with Christ or you have been raised with Christ, be seeking those things which are above where Christ sits in the right hand of God, set your affection on things above. And it's not plural, not affection. We're to be single in our affection and it's always to be on him, the Lord Jesus. So set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, and it's those things that connect us with our Lord Jesus Christ. So the picture that I see in worship, and we're going to be looking at three spheres this morning or this afternoon, I'm looking at that clock. The three spheres, remember, the Lord in the midst, in his rightful place, we erected around him positionally. Okay? And as holy priests occupied with himself, we're offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through, it's literally through Jesus Christ. So we can see, as we go back to Hebrews chapter thirteen, verse fifteen, it's literally through him, therefore. Let us bear up. By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise. It's actually bearing up. It's the word pharaoh meaning to bear and anna meaning up. Bearing up a sacrifice of praise through all. Diapontis here means through all. There's nothing we're to be involved in. It's not to be totality for himself. Through all to the God. And this is the only true God. That is the fruit of our lips. Giving thanks to his name is an expression that actually is saying confessing. The word confess is here. Confessing to his name or to the name of him. So you can see then that the name is what we're really offering up. For the name is representative of himself. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus. There's that name. Do you remember in John one where he says, But as many have received him, to them gave his power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name? In first John chapter five, verse thirteen, these things have written unto you who believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may K-N-O-W, that you have eternal life. So the name has become so enamored to our affection, our heart, that we find ourselves looking toward him. And through Him we're offering up to God our spiritual sacrifice, our worship, if you will. Some people re-sacrifice Christ every first day of the week. They call it a man. I call it a man. And they have joined the word anointed to that. Christ's man. I'm not involved in that worship. I'm not involved in that celebration. You may be. I'm not condemning you. That's between you and God. But I'll remind you that those same people who invented that took December the twenty-fifth as a pagan holiday and brought it in and set it up. And it has become an object of worship. Oh, God, help us to be delivered from anything. We were hearing a while ago about things that hinder. And those are some of the things that can hinder. Now get the point that I'm trying to get across simply this. In your human spirit, back to Ephesians five, eighteen. You're to be filled. And the word filled is the word flora, which has a basic function of control. So there's to be absolute control in our spirit. Someone said, boy, I couldn't control. After all, this just came up. I was listening to a preacher tell me why he had come to believe what he believes about tongues. And I noticed, incidentally, recently, in a certain popular magazine, a Christian magazine, very popular among assemblies of Christians that gather like we gather, incidentally, that there's an article by this man. And he's a man that advocates speaking in tongues. I was told by your dear father a number of years ago, Tom, when I was to speak in Des Moines at a workers' conference in, I believe in, I believe, in the year, my dad gave me a call, said, Don, be watching. That man's off on the subject of the Holy Spirit. So at that conference that week, it was like a Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. When the man was up speaking, and then the time came for a question and answer, I raised the question. I said, dear sir, did I understand you to say, and nope, I waited until someone else, and I thought, well, surely some of the older brethren are going to challenge him on that. Not one soul challenge. Are you listening? Not one. So in trembling and in fear, I stood up and I said, Dear sir, I've got a question. Did I hear you say? I want to be sure I was hearing what he said. And then when he acknowledged, he affirmed that that's what he said, I said, then I'd like to challenge that. And so we became friends after the challenge. We were over there at Central Chapel, Mr. Gardiner. And we became friends after this. Then he wrote the book, Let the Tide Come In. And he sent me a complimentary coffee. And as most of you know, I'm not a book reader. I'm the poorer for it. Here's the one I'd like to read. I've read this New Testament and my Bible. That's the one that I'd like to read. And I'm not condemning the reading of books. If you read good ones, they're beneficial. But be sure you get some counsel from some godly and spiritual men that can guide you in reading books because a lot of book reading is a waste of time and it's worse than it's garbage in your mind. I'm telling you the truth. A lot of it is just junk. I don't advocate much book reading. Read very few books. Make sure there are good ones when you do. So I read in this man's book, and I read the whole book through, and I suppose I've only read five or six Christian books in my whole Christian life, pamphlets by the scores. But anyway, I read this, and the other parts I read through several times, and then we began to communicate by mail, and then by telephone, and so on. And first thing you know, I was invited to his home for a two-day conference or debate privately on the subject. And when it ended, the man was pinned down and had no way out from Scripture, from First Corinthians fourteen, on his tongues, and yet he's still wanting to get an assembly together like we gather and spread that stuff. And then the magazine keeps holding it up. You can see why I'm stirred up. I'm not too popular, and neither do I intend to be. But I'm going to be against that kind of thing. I don't believe that's the kind of worship God wants when we're babbling in something, and we don't even know what we're saying. For I asked the dear man, I said, Dear brother, do you know what you're saying? And he says, No. We're to be controlled in spirit. The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. The scripture says that in first Corinthians fourteen in all of our worship is to be intelligent. We're to know what we're saying. We're to know what we're meditating and thinking. And the only way it can be acceptable to God is that when we're controlled in our human spirit and the Holy Spirit is controlling over that and sending up the message through our Lord Jesus Christ to the Father. That's worshiping in spirit and in truth. And it's always in truth when the Holy Spirit's in control. And when He's not in control, beloved, I wouldn't give you a dime for it. I wouldn't give you a dime for it. Free spirits quickly. Oh, mercy. It's lunchtime. All right. I'll just give them to you and then somebody else can chew on it. Number one, personally. One of the reasons that we're so low in our corporate worship is because we're low in our personal worship. Instead of trying to build up the local assembly, brethren, we've got to get back to building up the home. When I went into Toronto area back in the spring of the year after leaving the men's conference down in Georgia, after I left down there, Tommy, and had to get up there real quickly for the conference where I spoke, just as I arrived, I learned that four lovely Christian families were breaking up. And of the four, three of them, the woman was chasing after another man. And of the three, They all were working in public. Brethren, does our Bible say anything about that? Thank you, Tom. Amen. That's right. Come on. I know it's not popular. The Scripture gives us a very good detailed message in First Timothy chapter five. And in Titus chapter two, it says, Keepers at Home. And it's the word, Erdogan, for energy or work, and the word for house. Oikus, houseworkers. May we get back to exalting the woman's role in the home. It's a godly place. Oh, you dear older sisters, may I say something to you? That's a word of challenge. Get back to your post where God puts you. You teach the young women the good part about the home. Get involved in teaching those good things. And back in the home, that's where we're to learn to worship in a personal way. Now, I wouldn't give you even the moving of my little finger that much for this business of going into the closet and jabbering some language that they don't even understand. It's really not even language. It's less than language. I'd gone through, we were down at Wichita one time at a young people's conference a number of years ago, and I'd been asked in a sort of a side room there we were using the Holiday Inn or one of those, one of those big motels for a conference place, and I'd given a lecture on tongues, I said we'd be glad to answer any question you raised on the subject of tongues. And after I'd gone through that sort of upside down and backwards and crisscross and consecutive and around and Then a storm was blowing in. The conference was over, and we were out there, and I was loading up my little car, and a young fellow came out and said, Brother Wellburn said, you know, I think I have the gift of tongues. I thought, mercy, I've missed the point. I thought I've really given a discourse on him. I said, I don't have a gift of tongues. I said, well, make you think you've got the gift of tongues. Well, he said, I think I do. And he said, since you originally came from Texas, you probably understand a little Spanish. He said, I think my tongues is in Spanish. I said, well, okay, reel it off. So he cranked it out. And I listened to a bunch of that, you know, as a rhythmic... babbling of syllables and when he finally cut loose and then he finally ended it I said well sir I can't tell you what you said but I'll tell you one thing it ain't Spanish can you imagine someone's supposed to be worshiping God and he don't even know what he's saying that's not worshiping God in spirit and in truth but it's got to be personal we've got to get back to the home where we as an individual rising to meet God in the day and we have a time with the Lord alone and we worship him Can you ever get into the scriptures and the Spirit of God begins to paint the picture of the Lord Jesus and not worship the Lord? The spheres, personal and then family. I believe that the Father is responsible to lead the entire family in a family worship. And too long fathers have left the teaching of the children up to the assembly and what a mess we're in. We're in a terrible mess. God did not put the responsibility of the assembly to teach the children. He gave it. to the home, the fathers to teach them. Children obey your parents in the Lord, but this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment from, and said it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And ye fathers provoking out your children to wrath, but bring them up in the... And that's the word tidea. It means child training. It's the same word for discipline. Bring them up in the child training, the discipline, and admonition. And that's the word it means to address the intellect mind, not the personality, but the intellect mind. Here we have the Father responsible to lead the family in family worship. And then, of course, our corporate worship, our assembly worship. We can say we're going to have a worship meeting, but that doesn't mean it's going to be worship. And I notice our brother John touched on that area where there's this matter of distractions. And I think all of us could certainly appreciate the entirety of this message and how it seemed to hit every one of us. There's not a one of us. I think we're all bleeding. If you got some band-aids, John, most of us have been hit pretty brutally. in that first message on worship. I think we've all faced some of that. But the truth is, when the Spirit of God has control of the meeting, there will be corporate worship in a unified way. Now, as we come together in a corporate way, that is an assembly, there may be individual worship in the assembly, but when there's real unity in corporate worship, it means the spirit of God is in control. Now, when you read in the book of Acts, and I've done fudged over my time, you read in the book of Acts, you'll notice in the first chapters where it says, like in chapter two, when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. You remember in chapter one, it said, they prayed with one accord. You remember in chapter four, it said, they prayed with one accord. Have you ever been in a prayer meeting where everybody was praying in one accord? And you know what? In each one of those, it's linked up with being filled with the Spirit. Oh, beloved. I've been in so many assemblies where this one always, he won't sit on this side because so-and-so sits over there. Or she won't, and on and on, all these problems that are in assemblies. What must God, what must God think of that? What must be going on in the mind of God about all this division and hassling and ugliness? A little wonder that the state of our corporate worship is a bit, Live it down. The spheres of worship. The spontaneity of worship. I won't even get to touch on that. That's where you don't trump up and pump up worship. It's spontaneous. And we'll not have time to get into that. My time is up. But it's so good to be with you. We'll look forward to taking up some other things. I don't have much to say about it because I guess I'm a pretty poor worshiper. But one thing is certain we're going to have a great time this weekend. Shall we give thanks to the Lord? Our Father, we're grateful to thee that thou hast loved us. And thy love is always the same. It's an everlasting love. Its character and quality is in such a breadth and depth and length and height that we cannot comprehend it. We simply accept it. We believe it. We're here in the sphere of thy love and mercy and grace. And we thank thee for the saints of God who are here, who convened this conference and helped us to really confer, not just preach. Lord, turn this weekend into a real conference rather than a preachathon. Make it something... that's so valuable, so we confer with each other and spend time, quality time together around thy good words until all of us throughout the entirety of this conference are so enamored by the person of our Lord Jesus Christ that we really worship in spirit and in truth. We not only worship the Father, but we learn that those who honor the Father are to honor the Son the same way. We desire to worship Him, as well as worship through Him. And we thank thee for the work of the Holy Spirit in giving thy good word to instruct us and energizing and empowering us to do these things that please thee and bring blessing in our life. We thank thee for all of these and what's before us. And thou dost know what's before us. But we thank thee for it in advance knowing that thy good hand is upon us in our Savior's worthy name. Amen. I've been playing music for nine years, and I've yet to come up here or anywhere and not be scared to death or so. I'd like to read some Scripture, better than what I would have to say. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not even as others, which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus, God will bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not perceive them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with the shouts, the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air, whereforever we shall be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruption shall put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. So thanks be to God, which give us the victory through Christ our Lord. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be. Though we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, but we shall see him as he is. And every man that has this hope in himself purifies himself, even as he is pure. For our citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body that may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working, whereby he is able to even subdue all things unto himself. For we, for here have we, no continuing city, but we seek one to come. We're just pilgrims down here on a short, those that are born again have heaven as their home.