HUMBLE AUTHENTICITY

I know a man who was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for a double murder.

He murdered a mother and her baby.

This was a number of years ago.

At one point, this man was placed in the same section of Long Bay Jail

as the guys who were involved, who were convicted for murder in the Milpere Bicy Bicy massacre

back in Father's Day in 1984, I think it was.

I'm a bit vague. I was pretty young at the time.

And in that massacre, I think six bikies were killed,

but they gunned down a 14-year-old girl in the crossfire, an innocent girl.

And so one day in Long Bay Jail, these bikies grabbed hold of this bloke that I know,

beat him up really badly, poured boiling water all over him and put him in intensive care.

And the reason they did that was because they considered him to be such a lowlife for having killed a baby.

Now, I find it remarkable.

It's a remarkable trait of the pride-driven human heart

that no matter where we are, no matter what we're guilty of,

we can always find someone who makes us feel morally superior.

Even in a supermax prison, surrounded by the worst of the worst,

you will always find someone who makes you feel better.

There will always be someone who will make our sinfulness and our lack of righteousness

look positively praiseworthy in our eyes.

Much like the Pharisee in the parable that was read out to us in Luke 18,

where he says,

God, I thank you that I'm not like other men.

And especially that tax collector over there.

What a scumbag.

Jesus directed this parable, he says right at the beginning in verse 9,

to those who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else.

And the parable has a really tough ending.

And the tough ending of this parable tells me that our core value of humble authenticity

that we're looking at tonight is a matter of life and death.

This is how Jesus puts it.

I tell you that this man, the tax collector, rather than the other,

went home justified before God,

for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.

That is, God will humble them.

God will, in effect, crush them.

And he who humbles himself will be exalted.

God will lift up the humbled.

So this issue of self-righteousness and humility is so crucial

because it is ultimately about life and death and eternal life and death.

And there is a stark contrast between the Pharisee and the tax collector

and how they arrive at their self-evaluations.

The Pharisee assesses his righteousness by looking at someone that he considers a scumbag.

His tax collector.

The tax collector, humbled by his own sense of sin,

calls out to God.

He doesn't even look up to heaven.

He doesn't even look at God.

He is so crushed by his sin and he calls out to God.

John Calvin, bloke from years ago, said,

It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself

unless he has first looked upon God's face

and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinizing himself.

For we always seem to ourselves righteous and upright and wise and holy.

This pride is innate in all of us.

Unless, by clear proofs, we can stand convinced of our own unrighteousness,

foulness, folly and impurity.

And so that's what we're going to do tonight.

Take a leaf out of Calvin's book

and we are going to begin with contemplating God first

and having contemplated the majesty and holiness of God,

we'll get an assessment of ourselves as human beings.

So let's have a look.

Isaiah invites us to share his vision of God in Isaiah 6, verses 1 to 4,

Isaiah 6:1–4

if you come with me on that one.

Isaiah 6, 1 to 4.

And this is obviously just one glimpse of God,

but I think it'll be enough for us at least to start for tonight.

And then you can continue on from here,

studying the attributes of God.

One thing that I want to encourage you to do.

Attributes of God and study your own human heart.

Know your heart and know God.

At least seven glimpses of God here in these first four verses.

Firstly, in verse 1, it says we see that God is alive.

King Uzziah is dead, but God lives.

Psalm 90, verse 2 says,

Psalms 90:2

That's two sermons ago I said that.

God is ultimate reality because he existed before anything was made.

God was the living God when this universe banged into existence.

And that's not a sneaky reference to the Big Bang there.

He was the living God in 1966 when Time magazine put on their front cover,

God is dead.

And he will be alive, living 10 trillion ages from now

when all the puny human pot shots at his existence have dropped into oblivion

like a pebble into the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Over 54 million people die each year.

But not God.

In a brief 120 years,

this planet will be populated with at least 10 billion brand new people.

And the 7.238 something or other billion of us right now

will all be gone

off the face of the earth

just like King Uzziah.

But not God.

He always has been and he always will be alive.

Secondly, we see that God is authority.

Verse 2.

Saw the Lord seated on a throne.

God sits on his throne.

And that is the picture that you see consistently throughout the Bible.

God sits on his throne.

He rules.

All is at peace and calm in his heavenly kingdom.

You get no picture of God in the Bible at all, anywhere,

of God needing to cut the grass, pull the weeds out, load a truck,

or direct traffic, or anything like that.

He sits and he rules.

The throne is his right to rule the universe that he has created.

He has authority over our lives, whether we like it or not.

And after him there is nowhere else to appeal.

There is nothing beyond him.

Thirdly, we see that God is all-powerful.

The throne of his authority is not one among many thrones.

It says,

I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted.

That throne is,

God's throne is high and exalted,

is that it signifies his superior power over every other throne,

every other authority.

No opposing authority can nullify God's decrees.

He always fulfills and accomplishes what he purposes.

Nothing can get in his way.

As God says a little later in Isaiah 46, verse 10,

Isaiah 46:10

I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times,

what is still to come,

I say my purpose will stand,

and I will do all that I please.

And so to be gripped by the all-powerful sovereign God

is either marvellous,

because you know he's on your side,

or it is terrifying,

because you know that he is against you.

I want to say indifference to the sovereignty of God,

and he's all-encompassing power,

means that you just haven't seen him.

You can't be indifferent to the sovereignty of God,

and he's all-encompassing power,

just means you haven't seen him.

You haven't seen it for what it is.

Let me tell you friends,

if you're a person who trusts in the Lord Jesus,

in this world of chaos and instability and sin,

the sovereign authority of the living God

is a refuge full of joy.

It is a refuge full of joy.

It gets you out of bed in the morning.

For me, the sovereignty of God is a matter of survival,

day by day.

Fourthly, we see that God is magnificent.

I saw the Lord seated on a throne,

high and exalted,

and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Most of you,

a number of you,

weren't even alive when this happened.

1981,

Diana, Princess of Wales,

married Charles,

and the wedding day was televised,

it was live.

I was a young kid at this point,

like I was 11 or something like that.

And what happened was,

we had sort of like a wedding party.

So,

that is not I did.

A bunch of families got together,

watched it all on this little TV.

They weren't flat screens back in those days.

This little TV,

we're all watching this stuff,

all the weddings happening.

And I can remember it vividly

in this person's lounge room.

It's the middle of the night.

And,

what are we doing here?

At a wedding,

for goodness sake.

But the big moment was,

when Diana copped out of the carriage,

and started to walk up the steps of,

of St Paul's Cathedral in London.

And as she got out of the carriage,

the train of her dress,

just kept coming,

and kept coming,

and kept coming,

and kept coming.

It was eight metres long.

And I didn't care,

but all the women in the room went,

oh,

wow,

look at that.

And,

really?

That was my response,

as an 11 year old boy,

and frankly,

it still would be now.

But,

what would it mean,

if the train of her dress,

not just filled the steps,

as a ball's cathedral,

but all inside cathedral,

all the pews,

and the,

the choir loft,

and the pulpit,

and the,

the balconies,

and the whole lot,

it was all made out of one piece of material.

I think the oohs,

and the ahs,

and the wows,

would be even more,

magnificent,

because that's the picture,

of the train,

of the robe,

of God's,

fills,

all of the heavenly realms.

It,

it,

it,

the picture here,

is that God is incomparable,

in his splendor.

The fullness of God's splendor,

shows itself,

in thousands,

and millions of ways,

in what he has made,

from the heights of the galaxies,

and,

you know,

like,

you go out there,

in the middle of the darkness,

I know you can't do it in Chatswood,

but you go out there,

in the middle of the darkness,

and you just see the galaxies,

and you just read the passages,

where God says,

I just placed that one there,

and that one there,

and that one there,

and spoke them into existence,

from the heights of the galaxies,

to the depths of the ocean,

right down in the darkest deeps,

of the ocean,

where there are strange little fish,

that have their own headlights,

and some of them have got these dangly lights,

on the front of them,

and some are attached to their chins,

and some are at the bottom of their eyes,

and the noses glow,

and you can't even get your rod there,

and you go,

what are they there for?

I don't know,

except,

it's a display of the splendor,

of God.

You see,

God is lavish in his splendor,

and his creative fullness,

spills over,

spills over in excessive beauty,

and if that's the way the world is,

in all its,

intricate detail,

and beauty,

and majesty,

how much more spectacular,

is the God who,

thought it all up,

and brought it all into existence?

Fifthly,

God is revered,

above him,

were seraphs,

each with six wings,

with two wings,

they cover their faces,

with two they cover their feet,

and with two,

they were flying.

For whatever is going on here,

these six strange winged creatures,

with feats,

and eyes,

and intelligence,

they never appear in the Bible again,

at least,

not under the name of seraphim.

One thing is for sure,

given the grandeur,

of the,

the scene,

that we get a glimpse here,

of the heavenly realms,

and the power,

of these angelic hosts,

it's best for us,

not to picture,

chubby little babies,

with wings,

flushing around the ears of God.

That's not the picture here.

These are awesome beings.

Verse four says,

that when one of these dudes here,

speak,

the,

the foundations of the temple,

the foundations of heaven,

shake.

So there's no puny,

silly little creatures in heaven,

only magnificent one.

And even they,

these magnificent beings,

as great and as good as they are,

as untainted by human sin,

as they are,

even they,

revere their maker,

with great humility.

Two wings cover their face,

they won't even look upon the Lord,

nor do they even feel worthy,

to have their feet uncovered in his presence,

two are covering their feet.

How much more,

would we shudder and quake in his presence?

We,

who could not even bear to endure,

the presence of one of these seraphs.

They,

they,

they would freak us out.

Six,

God is holy,

verse three,

and they were calling to one another.

This,

this is the seraphs,

the ones who speak,

and the whole foundation shudder.

Holy,

holy,

holy,

holy,

is the Lord almighty.

The possibility of language,

carries the meaning of God,

and eventually,

you get to a point,

where it just runs out.

I mean,

what's left there to say?

And the word holy,

carries us to the brink.

This is,

this is kind of as far as we go.

And from there,

the experience of God,

is,

is beyond words for us.

And the reason I say that,

is every effort that you have,

in terms of trying to define,

what the holiness of God means,

it just keeps coming back around to say,

God is holy,

means,

God is God.

That's basically it.

God is one of a kind,

in a class by himself.

In that sense,

he is utterly holy,

but then you have just said nothing more,

than he's God.

God is absolute reality,

beyond which there is only more of God.

There's nothing beyond God.

There's nothing else that he answers to.

There's nothing else that he is separated from,

to make him distinct in his being.

He is incomparable.

His holiness determines all that he is,

and all that he does,

and it's not determined by any person,

or anything.

The arrogance of human beings,

to think that we can determine,

what God is like.

His holiness is what he is as God,

which no one else will be.

His holiness determines,

what it means is that,

he's not me,

and he's not you.

He is other than us.

Then the seventh and final thing about God,

God is glorious.

Verse 3,

Holy,

holy,

holy is the Lord God Almighty.

The whole earth,

is full of his glory.

And the best way to understand that,

in this context,

is probably to say,

the glory of God,

is the display,

or the exhibition,

of his holiness.

God's holiness,

is the incomparable perfection,

of his divine nature,

and his glory,

is when,

that divine nature,

is made public to us,

so that we can see it.

God is glorious,

means,

that his being,

has gone public,

so that we can understand,

what he's like.

In Leviticus 10 verse 3,

Leviticus 10:3

God says,

Among those who approach me,

I will show myself holy,

in the sight of all people,

I will be honoured,

or a better translation,

in the sight of all people,

I will be glorified.

When God,

shows himself to be holy,

what we see,

is glory.

And what we are meant to do,

when we see glory,

is worship.

That's our response.

And so when the seraphim say,

the whole earth is full of his glory,

what they're saying is,

the whole earth,

displays him.

We're meant to make the connection.

And the seraphim can say that,

it's because from the heights of heaven,

where they are in the throne room of God,

they get to glimpse,

all that God's made here,

and they go,

oh,

oh,

yeah,

I get that.

I get the connection.

I can see how this God,

has made that.

And this is a reflection of this God.

They see that.

The whole created order reflects something of the beauty,

and the character,

and the worth,

and the splendor,

and the holiness of God.

And so friends,

that is the necessary first step,

towards a life of humility.

It is seeing something of God,

something of his glory.

And can I say,

it is a continual process of seeing his glory.

And as I said in the first sermon on this series,

in Christ-centered Bible saturation,

the ability to see God,

is the gracious work of God in our lives.

And without his help,

we are blind to the facts about God.

No,

that's not what I said.

What did I say?

Two Sundays ago.

We're not blind to the facts about Christ.

We're blind to the glory.

We can't see glory.

We can't,

therefore,

we cannot see God.

Because glory is what he's revealed.

Without his help,

we are blind to his glory.

We can't even see God by our own strength,

and that is humbling.

But know this,

when God graciously allows us to see him,

when he reveals his glory to us,

we actually,

correspondingly,

at the same time,

we see our sin,

our lack of glory.

Isaiah 6,

5,

Woe to me,

I cried,

I am ruined.

For I am a man of unclean lips,

and I live among a people of unclean lips,

and my eyes have seen the King,

the Lord Almighty.

So to quote John Calvin again,

Isaiah sees in this moment

his unrighteousness,

foulness,

folly,

and impurity.

Impurity.

And it's the same experience that Peter had

when he'd been out fishing all night.

Remember the occasion,

he's fishing out all night,

doesn't catch anything,

so he kind of is about as good of a fisherman

as what I am.

And then Jesus comes along

and says to him,

cast your net on the other side of the boat.

And he's like,

really?

And so he does,

and he gets this huge haul of fish,

tries to bring it on the boat,

huge haul of fish.

And what happens in that moment?

Peter goes,

my goodness,

look at all these fish.

Retirement plan.

This is fantastic.

No, he doesn't.

This is how Luke records his response.

When Simon Peter saw this,

he fell at Jesus' knees and said,

go away from me, Lord.

I am a sinful man.

You see,

Peter had been walking with Jesus

and talking with him

and eating food with him for some time,

and then in this moment,

God allows him to see glory.

And the immediate response is,

I'm a sinful man.

God allowed Peter to see his glory

in the face of Christ in that moment.

And when that happens,

your own lack of glory,

your own sinfulness is what's exposed.

And Peter's experience

is the same as Isaiah's experience

because both of them got the same glimpse

of the same God.

John 12, 41 says,

Isaiah said this

because he saw Jesus' glory

and spoke about him.

That's a reference to Isaiah,

Isaiah 6:1–4

chapter 6, verses 1 to 4.

When God allows us to see his glory,

we also see how far short

we have fallen of that glory.

Romans 3, 23,

for all have sinned

and fallen short of the glory of God.

The Bible diagnoses sin

as a universal deformity of human nature

which is found at every point

in every person.

The phrase that gets brandished around

is total depravity.

And it's commonly used

to make explicit

the implication of sin in our lives.

It means that there is a corruption

of our moral and spiritual nature

which is total.

Not in the sense

that we are all as bad

as we could be

because none of us,

none of us

are as bad

as we could possibly be.

Not one of us.

God graciously

restrains

our wickedness.

If he did not,

no two of us

could be left

in the same room

at the same time.

We would destroy each other.

That's kind of a glimpse

of hell

when God takes his hands away.

The only reason

you are sitting here today

or I'm standing here today

and not in a prison cell

is the gracious hand of God.

My friends,

that is humbling.

Total depravity means

that no part of us

is untouched by sin.

There is no action of ours

that is good

as it could possibly be.

Even the good things we do

are tainted by sin.

I mentioned this morning

at church this morning

that a month or two ago,

I can't remember exactly

what it was,

there was an elderly lady,

she was up reading the Bible

and then stepping down

off the stage,

I was up to preach

and I grabbed,

I put my hand out,

she grabbed my hand

and I helped her down the stairs,

you know,

help an old lady thing,

you know,

one good deed sort of stuff.

And in that moment,

when I saw her coming down

and realizing that she needed to help,

it was no problem for me

to stick my hand out

and help her.

And once she was down safely,

she walked off

and I started to ascend the stairs

and before I even got

to the lectern,

the thought in my mind was,

I wonder how many people

saw me do that.

Just like that,

just happened like that.

Everything that we do

is tainted by sin.

You know,

I don't just need

the blood of Christ

to cover the wrong things I do,

I need the blood of Christ

to cover even the good things I do

because there's no such thing

as a perfect performance.

I don't ever get anything

perfectly right.

Nothing in us or about us

ever will match

God's perfect standards.

Everything is tainted by sin.

And like Isaiah,

we are ruined

unless something is done for us.

And there is only one solution.

Isaiah 6.6

says that one of the seraphs

flew to Isaiah

with a live coal

and touched his unclean lips.

See,

this has touched your lips,

your guilt is taken away

and your sin is atoned for.

The seraph came from God

to Isaiah

to deal with Isaiah's sinfulness.

God atoning for our sin

is our only hope.

The seraph and the live coal

coming to Isaiah

is simply a forerunner

to God himself

coming to us

in the person of Jesus Christ

to deal with our sin.

1 John 4.10

This is love.

Not that we love God

but that he loved us

and sent his son

as an atoning sacrifice

for our sins.

1 John 2.1-2

makes it explicit.

Jesus Christ,

the righteous one,

the only one who's not sinned,

he is the atoning sacrifice

for our sins

and not only for ours

but also for the sins

of the whole world.

We are only saved

from our sin

by the action of God.

It is all of God

from first to last.

And so Christianity

is not about good people

getting better.

It's not about good people

getting better.

If anything,

it is good news

for bad people

coping with their failure

to do anything good.

Winston Churchill.

He was the master

of the clever put-down.

He once described

a political opponent

as a modest little man

who had a great deal

to be modest about.

But the Bible

consistently leads me

to believe

that I've got a great deal

to be modest about.

I've got every reason

to be humble.

I'm finite,

I'm weak,

I'm limited,

I'm sinful,

I'm inept,

I'm flawed,

I have a beginning,

I will have an end.

And yet,

the deceitfulness

of sin

means that I am not

immune from the

logic-defying effects

of pride.

When I first heard

about that incident,

about,

a number of years ago,

that incident about

those guys

in Long Bay Jail

and what they did,

I was amazed

how self-righteous

they were.

What right do murderers

have to judge

another murderer?

What makes them think

they're any better?

You know,

those guys,

I mean,

my goodness,

filth,

scumbag of the earth,

you gunned down

an innocent

14-year-old girl,

who gives you

the right to say

this guy,

because he killed a baby,

is worse than we are?

And yet,

when I say that,

I actually elevate

myself over them

as if they're worse

than I am.

How easy it is

to put ourselves

into this parable

of the Pharisee

and the tax collector

and know

and know

and know

that I must be

the tax collector

in order to be

right with God

and read this

parable

and go,

God,

I thank you

that I am not

like that

self-righteous Pharisee.

The irony

of sneering

at the one

who sneers.

is so entangled

in our hearts.

It's so easy

for us

to move

from dependency

in Jesus

back into

self-dependency.

The key

to living

the Christian life

is to never

get up

from the foot

of the cross.

You came

to Jesus

as an open

handed

beggar

and nothing

ever changes.

Nothing

ever changes.

When I see

beggars in the street

I used to think

get a job.

now I think

that's me.

I might be

wearing different

clothes

and I might be

showered

but that's me.

You came

as an open

handed beggar

and nothing

ever changes.

I rediscovered

this a fair bit

recently

in the last

number of years

in the life

of Charles

Simeon.

he was a

Christian minister

suffered greatly

and after

you've been

a Christian

for 40 years

he wrote

this

there are

two objects

that I've

ever desired

for these

40 years

to behold.

The one

is my own

vileness

he means

his own

sinfulness

and the

other

is the

glory of

God

in the

face

of Christ

and I've

always

thought

that they

should be

viewed

together.

You want

to get a

bigger

bigger

bigger

picture

of

God

and his

glory

what will

happen is

you'll

discover

your own

lack

of

glory

and to

mine

the

depths

of

your

own

lack

of

glory

and

your

own

sinfulness

you need

to cling to the

cross

you go

together.

He actually

labored to know

his true

sinfulness.

heart

heart

He wrote

the tender

heart

the broken

and contrite

spirit

are to

me

far above

all these

joys that I

could ever

hope for

in this

veil of

tears.

I long

to be

in my

proper

place

my

hand

on my

mouth

and my

mouth

in the

dust.

I feel

that this

is safe

ground

here I

cannot

err

for I'm

sure that

whatever

God may

despise

he will

not

despise

the

broken

and

contrite

heart.

To

paraphrase

him a

little

bit

I

think

what

he's

saying

is that

the

safest

place

in the

world

is at

the

foot

of

the

cross

of

Christ

with

your

face

in

the

dust

in

humble

submission

in

total

dependency

upon

him.

Clinging

to his

righteousness

not

yours.

And

I

think

that

he

also

gets

that

from

Isaiah

66

2

that

tells

us

what

actually

draws

the

approval

of

God.

Not

our

ministry

budgets

not

our

building

program

not

how many

people

are

sitting

here

in

church

not

what

sort

of

good

deeds

you

do

or

what

money

you

give

in

church

this

is

what

gets

God's

attention.

He

who

is

humble

and

contrite

in

spirit

and

trembles

at

my

word.

I

am

thoroughly

convinced

that

there

can

be

no

effective

life

Christian

growth

or

ministry

or

mission

without

the

cultivation

of

humiliation

in the

heart

and the

weakening

of pride

in the

life.

Living

living

out

humbly

in

authentic

way

will

look

sort

of

like

this.

When

you're

confronted

with

the sin

and the

failure

of

another

person

you'll

be

more

aware

the

humble

person

will

be

more

aware

of

their

own

sin

and

their

own

failure

towards

God

than

another

person's

sin and

failure

towards

them.

That's

humility.

you'll

be more

aware of

your

own

failure

than

another

person's

failure.

Therefore

you'll

be less

judgmental

and less

critical.

You'll

also

mean that

you won't

try and

smooth over

your sin

to excuse

it, make

it less

than what

it is.

You'll

be real

about it.

I'll be

frank with

you.

I'm

standing

here looking

at all

you right

tonight and

I think

you're a

bunch of

rotten

sinners.

That is

my

assumption.

My

assumption

with every

single

person sitting

here right

now is

that you

all have

skeletons in

the closet

that you

would be

absolutely

mortified if

we jammed

them up there

on the

screen right

now.

The reason

I know it's

true is

because that's

me as well.

I work on

the assumption

that you're

all human

and you've

all fallen

short of the

glory of

God.

reality

and I

believe

that

reality

ought to

be evident

more and

more in

the church.

When we

present that

we've got it

all together

and we

present that

to the

world,

it is

anti-gospel.

Let me

give you an

example of

authenticity.

One episode

of the TV

show The

Simpsons,

Homer Simpson

is being

interviewed

for a job

at the

nuclear power

plant,

Springfield

nuclear power

plant.

There's two

jobs,

three blokes

going for

an interview.

The three

of them

were asked

the question,

what would

each of you

say is

your worst

quality?

The first

guy says,

well,

I'm a

workaholic.

The second

guy says,

he responds

in a similar

kind of

self-righteous,

not really a

weakness,

more like a

strength kind

of way.

He says,

I push

myself too

hard.

Homer Simpson

on the other

hand answers,

well,

it takes me a

long time to

learn anything.

I'm kind of a

goof off and

things start to

disappear from

the workplace.

And he

starts going on

and the

interviewer,

that's enough,

that's enough.

Somehow he got

the job.

Now,

I want to say

to you,

I don't

recommend it

as an

interview

technique.

But the

honesty is

refreshing.

His

authenticity

is appealing

especially

against the

self-righteous

false humility

of the other

two.

Because that's

what false

humility is.

It's actually

pride in

disguise.

Designed to

extract

praise.

My friends,

we start the

Christian life as

beggars at the

foot of the

cross and we

finish the

Christian life as

beggars at the

foot of the

cross.

As we sing,

nothing in my

hand I bring,

only to the

cross I cling.

It never

changes.

We must

labor to lay

aside any

remnant of

self-righteousness

that lurks in

our hearts and it

lurks there in

every dark

corner.

At the cross is

where we must

begin and end

if we have

experienced the

daily joy of

living by God's

transforming grace.

grace.

We need the

spirit of God

to help us to

see our total

spiritual bankruptcy

and also to

drink deeply

from God's

infinite grace

to us in the

Lord Jesus.

May we experience

both deep

humiliation for

our sin and

deep joy in

Christ at the

same time.

And then in

deep awareness

of what we have

received,

looking only to

Jesus and

only having

our comparison

with him,

may we extend

that same

spirit of

grace to

others as we

authentically live

out who we

are, beggars,

in daily need

of grace.

Amen.