Shine like Stars

It's been my privilege over the years to be involved with different parts of this church,

with John Gemmel for many years, with Graham, actually Ali Chalmers is one of my students

at Faith Mission a few years ago, and Peter also attended the course.

So it's just a privilege to be involved with different preachers from different kinds of

churches and different situations, and also to be involved in teaching at Faith Mission

and also at Edinburgh Theological Seminary.

I'm sure you'll enjoy Daniel, who's the Old Testament professor this evening.

So we come to God's Word.

Let's just pray briefly and ask God to speak to us.

Gracious God, we pray that you might, by your Spirit, take your Word,

use it to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable.

And may we be ready and willing to respond to whatever you might say to us.

And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Almost three weeks ago, on July the 11th, 2017, a 93-year-old Scotsman died in a hospital

in a town in North India.

I think you'll look in vain to find any record in the Scotsman or in any other media,

but Andrew McCabe was a remarkable man, among the finest Christians I've ever been privileged

to encounter.

He was born in a missionary family that originally came from Dalkeith,

and Andrew was commissioned as a missionary from Charlotte Chapel in 1950.

And so for 67 years of his life,

he devoted himself to providing hope to tens of thousands of young boys

from impoverished backgrounds in India and also in Nepal,

through schools that he established.

He believed the only difference between a street kid in Calcutta and a privileged child

was opportunity.

However, what underpinned all of this was his Christian faith.

Awarded somewhat to his surprise in MBE by the Queen in 1992,

he told me the story of what happened.

He said,

I was told that when I went in there, I was not to say anything.

I was just to bow.

And if Her Majesty wanted to say anything to me, that was her prerogative.

Otherwise, bow, get your award, and get out.

He had apparently the longest conversation of any of those who were awarded anything that day.

And Her Majesty spent quite a lot of time talking to him about the boys in India

and asking what their needs were.

And Andrew said,

I told her,

Your Majesty, these boys need education,

but most of all,

they need Jesus.

And what he believed,

he lived out.

My wife and I witnessed this firsthand.

We traveled with him through the jungles

on the border with Nepal in northwest Bihar,

which is the poorest state in India,

seeing how he related to the people

and the great love and esteem in which he was held.

Countless numbers of boys received a Christian education.

We will never forget watching 3,000 boys in a school playground at assembly.

Boys from Christian, Muslim, Hindu, tribal backgrounds

reciting together in English the Lord's Prayer.

Many of the boys went on to careers as doctors, teachers, bankers, army, government officials,

pastors, many other careers.

Indeed, I think somewhat wonderfully,

the doctor who treated him in the hospital in Fisabad

and his final illness was one of his own boys

who had grown up in the home he had provided.

You see,

the great thing about Andrew was

his Christian service was matched by his Christ-like character.

And there was no credibility gap between the two.

Now, I know that over these past weeks,

you've been studying this little letter

in the New Testament, part of the Bible,

written by a Christian missionary

named Paul,

who was on trial for his life.

He addresses this letter to these Christians

in the Greek city of Philippi,

which was a Roman colony

in that Greek setting,

which had come into being

when Paul had visited the city

on one of his journeys

and preached the good news to them.

And he is keen to remind them

that what they believe

must be matched by how they behave.

How their talk is to be matched by their work.

And if you have a Bible,

it would help to turn to Philippians

and look at chapter 2.

Let's just touch on what you looked at last week.

I listened to Graham's great message last week

from the first part of the chapter.

So if you've got a Bible or a phone,

I'm very suspicious about phones in church,

that people are reading the Bible

or are they looking at text messages.

I'm trusting you here

that you're reading the Bible.

So Philippians 2.

Things have changed, haven't they?

I'm getting old.

Look at what he said.

Do everything without complaining or arguing

so that you may become blameless and pure

children of God without fault

in a crooked and depraved generation

in which you shine like stars in the universe

as you hold out the word of life.

Here we find a picture and a challenge to them

and it's a challenge to us

if we claim to be followers of Jesus.

The challenge is this,

I want to leave with you to focus on and develop,

is that we're to shine like stars in the universe.

If you have a modern version,

it says shine like stars in the sky,

which is just the same,

but I kind of like universe.

But anyway, shine like stars in the universe.

If you look at the night sky,

you will see that some stars shine more brightly

than others.

Some shine very faintly against such a black,

dark background, indistinct.

And some Christians shine more brightly than others.

Some, sadly, are hardly distinguishable

against the background in which we live,

which is becoming, I believe, increasingly dark.

Others, like Andrew McCabe, shine brightly,

stand out clearly.

So, what are the characteristics

of a shining star in the church?

In this next section, as we come to it now,

I'm to suggest that Paul describes two men

who are known to these Christians in Philippi

who are shining examples,

two stars who shine more brightly than the rest.

Paul describes the first one of them

as one of a kind.

He says, I've no one else like him.

He says, of the other, he's extremely valuable,

should be held in the highest honor.

So, let's look at these two shining stars

in Philippians 2, 19 to 30.

What I want us to do

is to look at each one of them

and compare, maybe even contrast,

our own attitude and behavior

and ask if we too are shining brightly.

So, let's look at the first section.

And Paul mentions here a man named Timothy

who he describes, I want to suggest,

as the soulmate.

Look at verses 19 to 24.

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon

that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you.

I have no one else like him

who will show genuine concern for your welfare.

For everyone looks out for his own interests,

not those of Jesus Christ.

But you know that Timothy has proved himself

because as a son with his father,

he has served with me in the work of the gospel.

I hope, therefore, to send him

as soon as I see how things go with me.

And I'm confident in the Lord

that I myself will come soon.

Timothy, if you don't know the Bible,

if you do, just a bit of review,

is a younger man who's been Paul's closest colleague

for many years.

He was the product of a mixed marriage.

His mother was a Christian Jewess.

His father was a Greek.

Timothy came from a town called Lystra,

a town in the highlands of the Roman province of Galatia.

I like maps if you don't just ignore that.

But Lystra is right in the middle of there.

And it's likely that when Paul first visited this town

on his journey,

that Timothy maybe became a Christian

through hearing Paul preach the good news about Jesus.

Because Paul describes him as his son.

He's not literally his son.

He's his son in the faith.

And a few years after this first journey that Paul took,

he took another journey,

which is commonly known as Paul's second missionary journey.

And there's the map there going the opposite direction.

When he came to Lystra,

he discovered that Timothy was maturing,

developing in his faith,

well respected,

and he invited him to join his missionary team.

And so Timothy joined Paul's missionary team

and they traveled on further over.

They crossed over into Europe for the first time

with the good news of Jesus.

And the first place they came to

where they preached the good news

was this town called Philippi.

So the people in Philippi knew who Timothy was.

Now, here we are a dozen years later.

Timothy has become Paul's right-hand man.

He's been entrusted with several important commissions.

And so Paul is about to send him back to Philippi.

And Paul explains why he's the right man for the job.

The only man who fits the bill.

Look what he says.

He says, this thing is working here.

He says, Timothy is one of a kind.

He says, I have no one else like him.

The word translated there, like him,

is an unusual word.

It's only found here in the New Testament.

The Greek word, I mean.

It literally means of equal soul.

Paul says Timothy is the only person

who has the same soul,

the same essential passions, concerns,

attitude, ambition.

That's why I've described him as his soulmate.

And Paul describes two particular ways

in which Timothy shows this scene in his life.

The first is focusing on the needs of others.

He says, I have no one else like him

who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.

The word translated genuine is in Greek Genesis.

It's to do with your nature.

Something natural.

But in Timothy's case,

it is something supernatural.

When you become a Christian,

when you turn from your sin,

you put your faith in Jesus,

God puts his spirit within you.

You're born again of the spirit of God.

And the Holy Spirit begins to produce

the fruit of the spirit.

And one sign is that it turns

our natural self-interest,

looking out for number one,

to that of the welfare of other people.

In fact, the New Testament constantly says

one of the hallmarks

that you are a genuine Christian,

that God is at work in you by his spirit,

is that you have a genuine concern

for the welfare of other people.

And especially fellow Christians.

But not exclusively.

That should be a characteristic of Christians

in any local church.

Now, that's what it should be like.

But Paul goes on to say,

it's not what everyone's like.

He says, for everyone looks out

for his own interests,

not those of Jesus Christ.

One commentator writes,

the general run of Christians,

as far as Paul saw them,

put themselves first and Jesus next.

But it was not so with Timothy.

And that was why Timothy stood out for the rest

and could be described as a soulmate,

sharing a similar attitude to that of Paul.

Now, let's pause a moment,

be practical and direct.

If Paul was writing about this church,

and I only know one or two of you,

so I'm not pointing the finger at someone

I've just suddenly heard about,

you know, been told about,

but let's be direct.

And what proportion of us would be in the category

of those who look out for their own interests,

not those of Jesus Christ?

Some of us?

The majority?

A minority?

How many Timothys are there among us

who genuinely concern for one another,

not primarily our own needs?

So Paul says he's like that,

focusing on the needs of others,

but he also says,

he shares a common concern,

slaving in the work of the gospel.

But you know that Timothy has proved himself,

the word is used of proved an experience,

because as a son with his father,

he has served with me in the work of the gospel.

Paul says, in fact,

Timothy is my son in the faith,

and he shares with me in the family business.

But this is not the kind of business

in which son and his father sit in a plush office

and employ other people to do all the work,

the hard and menial task.

No, Paul says,

Timothy has served with me,

the Greek word is literally,

slave with me.

And the work in which they are involved

is the work of the gospel,

making the good news of Jesus known to all.

And the very nature of this work

means that you have to adopt

the attitude of that of Jesus himself,

the attitude and practice of slaves,

those who have no rights,

but slave for their master

to whom they belong.

Now, Timothy has seen what this is like for Paul.

On the first visit Paul made to Timothy,

to Lystra,

he would have seen how Paul,

after preaching the gospel,

was stoned,

dragged outside the city,

and left for dead.

Thankfully, he survived,

but such things were the common experience

of Paul and of all who joined him.

So Paul reminds the Christians in Philippi

that Timothy had proved himself.

He'd shown his mettle

as he had slaved alongside Paul,

co-slaves in the service

of their master, Jesus Christ.

And Paul says,

he's therefore the ideal person

to come and visit you.

Now, the job description

has not changed in 2,000 years.

The terms and conditions

for a slave and servant of Jesus Christ

is gospel work,

and I tell you that gospel work is hard

and it is costly.

For you abandon your rights

for those of the gospel

and the Savior whose gospel it is.

So again, let me practical.

Let me ask you,

as I ask myself as I prepare this,

what is it costing you

to serve Christ?

Or have you opted out?

Well, we all want to know,

as Paul puts it later in chapter 3,

then we all want to know Christ

and the power of his resurrection.

But along with it,

we're a little more apprehensive

about sharing in the fellowship

of his sufferings,

becoming like him in his death.

What did Jesus become like?

Well, if you've been following this series,

just a reminder of how the chapter begins.

He talks about the way of Christ.

And he says,

notice the relationship to one another.

In your relationships with one another,

have the same mindset as Christ Jesus,

who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God.

Something to be grasped at,

to be used to his own advantage.

Rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness,

being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death,

even death on the cross.

So again, to be practical,

what are your plans?

Are you sitting there saying,

I'm here, here am I, Lord,

whatever you want me to do,

I'm available.

I'll serve anywhere.

I'm wanted.

Whether it's got a title or not,

whether it's seen or not seen,

I'm prepared to serve others

and be a slave in the work of the gospel.

Or are you thinking,

and as I get older,

I find what a temptation it is.

Some of you who are my age,

or maybe even older, who knows.

Now is the chance to let someone else take over.

I deserve a break.

It'll be a relief not to have to be here every week

to teach those children,

count that money,

steward of that door,

make that coffee,

attend that meeting.

I'm looking forward to retirement.

I'm glad to hear that Ian is not retiring.

He's just being,

what's,

you say,

retire as a retread.

I think it's no way.

So,

now you're Timothy.

Paul plans to send Timothy

as his valued representative

to the church in Philippi

for their soulmates.

But he says,

Timothy can't leave immediately.

We need to wait the verdict of the court

because Paul is on trial for his life.

He will be needed.

Instead,

Paul says,

I'm going to send someone straight away.

So,

turn back to the Bible

and here we have the second person,

a man called Epaphroditus,

who I've described as the risk taker.

I'll explain why in a moment.

Verse 25,

but I think it's necessary

to send back to you

Epaphroditus,

my brother,

co-worker,

and fellow soldier,

who is also your messenger,

whom you sent

to take care of my needs.

For he longs for all of you

and is distressed

because you heard he was ill.

Indeed,

he was ill and almost died.

But God had mercy on him

and not on him only,

but also on me

to share me sorrow upon sorrow.

Therefore,

I am all the more eager

to send him

so that when you see him again,

you may be glad

and I may have less anxiety.

So then,

welcome him in the Lord

with great joy

and honor people like him

because he almost died

for the work of Christ.

He risked his life

to make up for the help

you yourselves

could not give me.

Of all the churches

that Paul founded,

only this one church

in Philippi

supported him financially

in his missionary endeavors.

And when the Christians

in Philippi learned

that Paul was

a prisoner in chains in Rome,

they decided to send him

some practical help.

Now, you need to know

a bit about the background.

In those days

when you were put in prison,

they didn't put TVs

in your prison cell

or give you nice meals

and other meals

or reasonable meals anyway.

There were no amenities

provided by the authorities.

Relatives and friends

had to bring in

food and provisions for you.

If you didn't have any friends,

you suffered or even starved.

And even if you had friends,

they might be somewhat reluctant

to identify with someone

who was on trial before Caesar

for a capital offense.

But the Philippian Christians

were not worried

about such things.

Instead, they determined

this church,

and it's a wonderful thing,

they got together

and decided,

we're going to send

a gift to Paul

and we're going to send

one of our members

with the gift

to give it to him.

And so they chose

one of their members,

a man named Epaphroditus.

Now, unlike Timothy,

we know nothing else

about Epaphroditus.

It's quite a common name

or the shortened form Epaphras.

We know nothing

about this Epaphroditus

except what is found here.

He's named Epaphroditus

after the Greek goddess

of love, Aphrodite.

Presumably, he came

from a Greek background

like that.

His name, the name means

charming, lovely, amiable,

and it suited him well.

And the task of which

he was assigned

also suited him well.

For we learn that Epaphroditus

was not the type

who settled

for a comfortable existence,

but rather we learn

in verse 30

that Epaphroditus,

he risked his life

to make up for the help

you could not give me.

Now, again,

the word here,

translated risk,

is a very unusual word.

Again, it's another

of these words

that's only found here

in the New Testament.

What you have to do

if you're a student

of the Bible,

you have to find

other literature

from the first century

written in Greek

to try and work out

what it means.

Its meaning is

somewhat obscure,

but most people think

it refers to a gambler

staking everything

on the shake of a dice.

Now,

gambling with dice

is not a practice

that is endorsed

in the Bible,

not least because

you're risking money

on an uncertain outcome.

But the gamble

that Epaphroditus takes

is commendable

because what was at stake

was of the utmost importance

and the outcome

is sure to be favourable.

So what risk

did Epaphroditus take?

In these verses

we see that,

first of all,

he took a risk

to his physical health

his sickness.

Read in the verse there,

indeed he was ill.

Somewhere on the journey

to Rome,

carrying this gift

for Paul,

or maybe after he arrived,

Epaphroditus got seriously ill.

We don't know

what the problem was,

all we know

is that it was

life-threatening.

Now,

there must have been

a strong temptation

to turn back

in the face

of such adversity

or to return home

as soon as he arrived.

But Epaphroditus

was determined

to fulfil his commission

no matter what the cost,

even if it cost him

his life.

And as it turns out,

as we read,

indeed he was ill,

almost died,

but God had mercy on him,

not on him only,

but also on me

to share me sorrow

upon sorrow.

As with the illness,

we have no idea

how he recovered.

But whatever the means,

Paul attributes it

to God's mercy.

Still the case today

with any healing,

whether directly from God,

naturally through the body's

healing processes,

or medically,

through the skill

of doctors and nurses,

God is the author of life.

He's also the author of death.

What is important to see

is that Epaphroditus

was prepared to take this risk,

his life for the sake of Christ,

because he was following

in the footsteps of Christ.

The Scottish professor

William Barclay comments

that in the early centre

of the church,

there were a group of Christians

who adopted this name

for themselves.

They called themselves

the risk takers.

Let me read what he says.

It was their aim

to visit the prisoners

and the sick,

especially those who were ill

with dangerous

and infectious diseases.

And he says in AD 252,

plague broke out in Carthage.

The people there

threw out the bodies

of the sick and dying

into the streets

and fled in terror.

Cyprian, the Christian bishop,

gathered his congregation together

and put them to work

burying the dead

and nursing the sick

in the plague-ridden city.

And by so doing,

at the risk of their lives,

they saved the city

from destruction.

He then concludes,

in all Christians,

there should be

an almost reckless courage

which makes them ready

to gamble with their lives

to serve Christ

and to serve others.

Is it a justifiable risk?

Only if we believe

that the gospel

is the power of God

for the salvation

of everyone who believes,

Romans 1.16.

And only if we believe,

as Paul does,

as we've studied previously,

that for me to live is Christ

and to die is gain.

For the Christian,

it's a win-win situation,

whether you live

or whether you die.

And Epaphroditus

was prepared

to take that risk.

But notice the second risk

that was also involved here,

not only to his physical health,

his sickness,

but also,

you can miss this,

but also to his emotional health,

his sensitivity.

Somehow, perhaps,

with a messenger

going back in the opposite direction

to Philippi,

the church there

learned that Epaphroditus

was desperately sick.

And so,

when Epaphroditus learns

they know this,

he feels it deeply.

For he longs for all of you

as distressed

because he heard you,

he heard,

you heard he was ill.

The word translated longs

is one of deep desire,

not just homesickness,

but a deep,

gut-wrenching feeling within.

And the word distressed,

again, a very interesting word.

It is only used elsewhere

in the New Testament

on one other occasion.

The word distressed

is the word used

to describe the agony of Jesus

in the Garden of Gethsemane

when he faced death himself

and we're told,

sweat as it were,

great drops of blood.

That's in Matthew 26, 37

and the parallel in Mark 14, 33.

You see,

Epaphroditus is one of those

rare people

who feels what other people feel.

He's distressed

when other people are distressed.

It's another Christian trait.

And while there is clearly

a physical risk

to serving Christ,

there is always

an emotional risk

if you take the risk

of involving yourself

with other people.

I've been involved in

Christian ministry

overseas

and in this country

for, well,

a good part of my life

for 50 years.

And one of the great,

great challenges

is involving yourself

with other people.

There is an emotional

involvement.

There is an emotional demand.

It's very painful.

And I tell you,

if you are in full-time ministry,

in so-called full-time ministry,

the great danger

is to treat it

as a professional thing.

But you can't do that

in Christian ministry.

If you're going to be genuine

about being involved

in Christian ministry,

it means emotional pain.

And there's only one way

to avoid it,

which is to avoid

involving yourself

with people emotionally.

And some of us feel

this more deeply

than others.

I have a wife

who is a very good counselor.

Sometimes I have to stop

talking to too many people

because it just

emotionally exhausts her.

It's just so painful.

I have to be honest,

I'm a sort of guy

who can switch off

and put it somewhere

in the back of my mind.

But when someone

someone talks deeply to you

and talks about

some of the pain and agony

and whatever it is

they're going through,

it's a very painful

and demanding experience.

It was a risk

that Epaphroditus

was prepared to take.

I wonder if you and I are.

But Paul is very concerned

as he sends Epaphroditus back

that the church there

don't regard him

as some kind of failure.

And so he commends

Epaphroditus,

uses three lovely

increasing terms

to describe him.

He says,

he's my brother,

one with whom I'm joined

in the deepest affection.

He's my fellow worker,

one who served with me

in the work of the gospel.

And he is my fellow soldier,

a comrade in arms

who has fought side by side

with me against the force of evil.

Epaphroditus says,

Paul,

he's fulfilled his commission

so when he gets back,

give him a warm welcome.

Welcome him in the Lord

with great joy

and honor men like him.

In fact,

think about this.

Epaphroditus is going to go back

and he's the postman

who's going to carry

this letter of the Philippians

back home

and he's going to talk about him

in the very letter

that he's carrying back home.

And sometimes,

wounded soldiers

with physical and emotional scars

return home

to a deafening silence.

Sometimes our missionaries

come home

to a deafening silence.

Many years ago,

when I was a missionary,

having come home,

I heard a Christian counselor,

a doctor,

a missionary for 30 years

called Marjorie Foyle

and she wrote a remarkable book.

I was just looking on the internet

and it's been reissued.

It was first published in 1987.

The book is called

Honorably Wounded

and she talks about those

in Christian service,

not just missionaries,

but in Christian service

who've been hurt

and scarred

sometimes by the experiences

that they have

encountered.

and she says,

we should esteem them highly

and care for them,

not ignore them.

Give them a warm welcome.

Don't leave it

until the funeral service.

I often take funeral service.

I've got a file this big

since I've been in Edinburgh,

probably 200 funerals.

And quite often

when you describe someone

at a funeral service,

people say,

I wish he or she

could have heard that.

And there is a place

to honour one another,

to esteem people,

just to express

our appreciation.

It's good that you've

prayed already for your team

who are going to join you here.

I'll keep praying for them.

Keep appreciating them.

Don't end up

a certain person

when we came to

Charlotte Chapel.

It's a kind of

cultural thing said,

don't expect anyone

to thank you for anything here.

Just assume you're doing fine,

otherwise we'll let you know

know.

It wasn't always like that.

It's improved over the years,

but be careful.

So here we have

Timothy the soulmate,

Epaphroditus the risk taker.

And after this,

there's Paul himself.

He doesn't explicitly mention,

but he's part of that same

fraternity,

how he relates to these men

and how he relates

to the church in Philippi,

which shows that he practices

what he preaches

and he feels

what they feel.

He feels the same kind

of anguish and sorrow.

You see that emotional intensity

in Paul,

which you don't sometimes

see in other places.

In the Bible speaks today,

commentary on Philippians.

If you're following this series,

it's one of the best

commentaries by Alec Matea.

Quite straightforward.

He says,

What Paul was inspired

to imply about himself

and to state concerning

the other two

reveals them as men

who have taken the example

of the Lord seriously.

He goes on,

The Lord so consecrated himself

in obedient service to God

that he poured himself out

for the benefit of others.

They so consecrated themselves

to God that self was subdued

in the service of other Christians.

And here's a key phrase,

The Lord is the Christian's model.

They are model Christians.

They are model Christians.

So I'm nearly through,

but let me finish with

two questions.

Question one.

Am I a model Christian?

Now I know what most of us say

in this circumstance.

If I came to you and said,

Are you a model Christian?

You would say,

Oh, don't follow me.

Follow Christ.

Paul says,

Follow me as I follow Christ.

Am I a model Christian?

I don't mean,

Yeah, I'm a perfect Christian.

You want to see the best example

of perfection.

Here I am.

No, but am I walking

in the way of Christ?

Am I following Christ?

Am I serving Christ?

Am I living other people?

This is a very practical section,

isn't it?

If not,

if against a dark background,

you are indistinguishable

from anyone else.

If someone was told me,

a Christian said,

I've just discovered

that someone in my work

is a Christian

and then I never would have guessed.

That's pretty scary, isn't it?

That gets about you?

If we are indistinguishable,

maybe some of us here this morning,

maybe one or two of us,

I don't know.

Second question is,

am I a Christian?

Because you see,

if you've turned from your sin

and put your faith in Christ,

if God is at work in you

by his spirit,

then he should be producing

the same kind of characteristics

that we see in Timothy

and Epaphroditus

in Paul,

those characteristics

should be growing

and increasing

in Christ's likeness

and if that's not the case,

maybe this morning

you need to put your faith

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the challenge

to us all.

The challenge we began with

is to shine like stars

in the universe.

I'm going to finish

with a prayer.

Now,

this is an interesting prayer.

This is a prayer

by John Wesley,

founder of Methodism.

I would hate you

me saying that.

My father's family

are all from a Methodist background.

I began preaching

as a young man

in Methodist churches

and they have

a covenant prayer

that they use

to renew their covenant

before God.

I'm going to read

the words of it.

It's quite a sobering prayer.

We're going to use it

as a final prayer

before I hand back to Ian

for a final song.

I'll put the words

on the screen

because I think

it's important

that you see

what you're going to pray

if you want to say

Amen at the end of it.

We could all stand up

and say it together

but maybe that's...

Let's just read it.

Okay, here's it.

Read it slowly.

Lord,

I am no longer my own

but yours.

Put me to what you will.

Rank me with whom you will.

Put me to doing.

Put me to suffering.

Let me be employed for you

or laid aside for you.

Exalted for you

or brought lobe for you.

Let me be full.

Let me be empty.

Let me have all things.

Let me have nothing.

I freely and wholeheartedly

yield all things

to your pleasure

and disposal.

And now,

glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

you are mine

and I am yours.

So be it.

And the covenant

now made on earth,

let it be ratified

in heaven.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.