Why did Jesus Leave?

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Amen.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Let's pray together.

Pray with me.

Father, we say we believe because, Holy Spirit, you made us believe.

We can never believe these things or raise your hand or say amen to them if you didn't stir something in us to say that is true.

And to know that you've already made a way with the things that face us right now.

That it's not all up to us to make life work out.

You've made a way for you to get maximum glory and for us to experience good.

And so we just uh we just take a breath.

And we just we just say we repent of anxious hearts that forget how how incredibly sovereign you are and good you are.

And we just pause and say, yeah, those all those things are true.

You're gonna get your way all the way right on time.

And so we turn into your hands things like insurance companies dragging their feet and missed weeks of pay and all the rest.

When we say we we believe you're the one in charge, and we believe you're the ones working all this out.

Amen.

Thank you.

Be seated.

I'm glad you're here today.

Uh, if you're a guest, my name is Blake Hardcastle, and I'm the equipping pastor here at Grand Parkway, which means in lots of different ways and environments, I help prepare our people to minister to our people.

That's it's called what I do.

This morning, uh, we're answering a question uh from this from a text in John chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

The question is this why did Jesus leave?

You may know, okay, I think I understand why Jesus came.

I think I've got it, why he died and rose again.

But then he left.

Why'd he leave?

So our text today is John 14, 25 to 31.

And this is this is the Spirit will answer for us.

This is why he left.

Now I'll give you the little short notes.

Jesus left so you could have real peace.

He left so you could experience real peace.

Let's read the text together.

Uh, these things I've spoken to you while I'm still with you, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I've said to you.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives, do I give to you.

So let not your hearts be troubled, let neither let them be afraid.

You heard me say to you, I'm going away, and I'll come to you.

And if you loved me, you would have rejoiced, but because I'm going to the Father, and for the Father is greater than I.

And now I've told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe.

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world's coming, but he has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.

Rise.

Let's go from here.

So this morning we're gonna look at uh four observations from the text and see how is it that Jesus leaving, this is how he provides peace for us.

So, first one is this uh we are made for peace.

Peace is a necessary experience for the human.

A life that is constant um disorder, disarray, chaos.

This is what we do uh to interrograte someone.

We withhold peace from them.

I'll give you whatever you want, just give me a moment of peace.

Where do you see this in the text?

This is verse 27.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives do I give to you.

And so it's implied in the text that the world would never be scratching and clawing for peace, and Jesus wouldn't leave it if this wasn't necessary.

Now, um, uh you also know this, you've experienced this.

If you've ever moved, you know the experience of this growing, rising chaos and the longing for, can we just get to where we're gonna be and like have whatever necessary boxes and beds are set up and just put the rest in the garage and just not think about it?

Can we just do that?

Um, if if you've ever had to take a board exam where my career future depends on this thing being past.

If you've ever had to break up a relationship, or if you've ever had to fire someone, you've ever had a medical concern, you you know uh that peace is what my my soul is longing for.

Before we moved here, one week before he moved, our middle son Jack, he uh we lived on the East Coast for a move here, and he's like, I need one more big ocean day.

Okay, so he goes to the ocean with his friends and uh ended up, he ended up in the ER that night with my wife because he had stepped on something and the sole of his foot got lacerated.

And I, you know, I look, I don't know much, but I just know you don't want a bunch of sand and whatever's in the ocean in your foot and booth somewhere.

And so they put him under and uh and they get every little grain out there, and all Jenny's thinking is we have not got time for this.

The moving truck is coming in six days, and and now this guy's worthless.

Now this guy's crutches.

We do this is not, this is chaos.

And and and they get and they gave him the good the good sleeping gas because he woke up and telling Jody the nurse, hey Jody, Jody, let's get matching tattoos.

So we knew he had a good experience.

But but you know that you long for peace.

You you know that in some way that you are made to experience it.

Uh let me give you an example.

The uh the world craves peace, and Jesus gives his kind, and and the world will search for it.

And the typical ways are uh that let me let me numb myself so I don't have to really feel what my life feels like.

I can get kind of a measure of peace.

Let me ingest something or swallow something or inhale something.

Let me just not feel what my life feels like.

Let me numb myself to that.

Or another way is uh okay, I don't want to let me distract myself.

So let me take my brain and let me engage it in something that's mundane.

And it can be something noble, like let me let me get busy cleaning, or let me get busy constructing, or let me just watch a show.

Let me just kind of uh uh go into my neutral so I don't have to think about what my life feels like.

That's the other way the world searches for peace.

And a third way is just to take the facts and spin them.

It's it's kind of there's a there's a book I had to read in school uh called How to Lie with Statistics.

And the whole thing was that you're about to do research and you have to know that you can spin this and you can manufacture, you basically you can you can take the light and cast it where this is says something that only says it this way if the shadows are all looking this way.

And so one of the ways the world finds peace is let me spin the facts so I can I don't have to feel and confront what my life is like, that I can have a measure of peace.

And it's all uh it's not true peace.

Now let me say this you know, there's a sense of uh if I could just get things right, you know, the world looks if I could just get in the right relationship or get the right job, or if I could just get the right diet or the right rhythm to life, then the stars will align and all my dreams will come true.

And it just never happens.

It just never happens.

And and let me ask you this you do this, do this test for yourself.

Next time you go and you open the fridge and it's not mealtime, you open the fridge, just pause and ask yourself, am I hungry or am I looking for peace?

It's so subtle.

Our our longing for peace.

It may be that some of the habits you have are really your way of, I need to try and get some peace.

Now, God's not against peace.

In fact, Jesus said, the reason I'm leaving is so you can have it.

Now, let me give you a couple, let me give you a little more granularity to this.

The the way the world comes after peace, it's it's it feels peaceful, but it's really imitation.

And what I mean by that is when I was in college and I had to cook myself, which really meant what can I open?

And so at one point I got sick of uh can tuna fish, and my my friend was eating this thing called imitation crab meat.

You ever had imitation crab meat?

Yeah, it comes like in a block and and there's these chunks of like white, bright white, I don't know if they're bleach, but bright white hunks and and little reddish strip.

And if you dip in cocktail sauce, you can get it down, it's fine.

In the back of the package, oh, lots of protein in here, okay.

And so imitation crab meat.

So I lived on that for a couple years in college, and then uh we moved to the mid-Atlantic to the East Coast, and then I had something for the first time called Maryland blue crab, steamed with old bay.

Imitation crab meat, that's a lie.

This is not even close at all.

You can even dip it in old bay, and this doesn't make a difference.

This is not the same at all, and and so much so that I just I didn't eat it anymore.

It wasn't above it, it wasn't like I'm too good for this.

It was I I don't want it.

Now, I'll now I'll don't jump don't jump to your phones yet.

Uh I haven't had Maryland blue crab since I moved here five years ago.

I also haven't had imitation crab.

I'm not tempted to.

I can wait for the real thing.

So the peace the world gives, it's an imposter, it's an imitation.

Let me give you some granularity.

Just in case you want to get convicted.

Here we go.

Uh here's a bunch of examples.

So uh uh she feels nervous at a gathering where she doesn't know anybody, so she repeatedly checks socials on her phone.

The internet is her refuge.

He's embarrassed that he lost his temper with someone, so he's staying home and isn't answering texts or calls.

His house is his shepherd.

She's struggling with her debts because she feels like she can't say no to her children's demands for toys and gadgets and outings.

Her family is her light.

He keeps telling his wife he'll do the jobs around the house when he gets home in the evening.

He just wants to watch TV.

Comfort is his portion.

She knows she ought to see a bereavement counselor, but she's scared of bringing the pain back to the surface, so she's putting it off.

And not yet, is her rock.

He's overwhelmed by his problems and can't face the world without a drink inside him.

Alcohol is his strength.

She's very capable at her job and relationships, and but she keeps away from anything new or challenging because deep down she needs to feel good about herself, and not failing is her salvation.

You see how subtle the quest for peace is and how how easy it is to take an impitation of post an imposter of peace and not experience the real thing.

This is why Jesus left to give you peace.

Point number two the Holy Spirit, he is our source of peace.

Where do you get that?

Jesus says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.

How do you know that's a spirit?

Because all of chapter 14, he's telling them, Look, guys, I'm leaving.

I'm going to prepare a place for you.

I'll come back.

Guys, I'm leaving.

That means the Holy Spirit's coming.

You're going to get another helper.

I won't be your helper.

You're going to get another helper who's going to live in you.

It was when he says, Look, my peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.

This is not just saying, hey, good luck.

You can do it.

He's saying, This is good that I leave.

Because now the spirit can come and be your peace.

Now, uh, what does this look like?

Let me show you two pictures.

Let me show you one picture first.

And this one is uh this is a a calm lake, a pond.

I'm gonna call it a lake.

And I don't know where this is at, but this is just something we downloaded off the internet.

So it's somewhere in the world.

But when you look at this, just let this in.

Is your heart rate kind of dropping a little bit?

That looks like a nice place to be.

No people, nobody cutting their foot and having to go to the emergency room, no one needing help with their fence, just me and this dog, and this dog thinks I'm awesome.

And it's calm.

This is what we think is the peace.

Yes, when God gives me this, yes, I'll be a peace.

How could I not be a peace?

This is what we want to say.

Yes, uh, God, do it this way.

Let me show you another picture.

This is a painting called Calm in the Storm.

And this by a guy named Jack Dawson, uh, who's kind of famous for uh painting something and leaving several little um gospel clues in it.

So if you were to go online, Bittersweet Galleries where you can find this, uh, you'd see real tiny up in the corner, you're gonna be able to see it on this screen.

Uh, there's an empty tomb, and then there's a cross.

He's almost always trying to tell the gospel the story.

But this this scene here, this is a uh cataclysmic.

You got you got thunder and lightning and torrential downpour, and what we circled there is a little tiny dove.

It's actually the thing in the middle of the screen right here.

You got a little dove on a nest just in an alcove.

It's out of the wind, out of the water.

It's safe in the midst of the storm.

This is the peace that's available to you through the Holy Spirit.

In fact, this is the peace that you can have that the non-believer cannot have.

They gotta get peace externally from the dock and the dog and the calm water.

You have when he says, My peace I give to you, you have access to a peace that in the midst of the storm, I don't have to be troubled.

I don't have to be a slave to fear.

Now, how does the Holy Spirit give this peace?

This is verse 26.

But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, which we'll just pause right there and say, Oh, once again, the Trinity's popping up.

We got Jesus talking about God the Father, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit.

This helper, the Spirit, who the Father gives my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I've said to you.

Now, typically we look at that and go, oh, he's talking to the the disciples themselves who are gonna be the ones that pass on the teaching of Christ and establish the doctrine of the church.

That's true.

But this also means something for you that the peace the Holy Spirit works in you is reminding you of what's true, of helping you understand what this means.

Let me give you some examples.

In fact, this is gonna be the exact inverse of the world's way of getting peace.

So God is my refuge.

Psalm 46.

God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

The Lord is my shepherd, Psalm 23, the Lord is my light, Psalm 21.

The Lord's my portion.

We sang this and we read this.

The Lord is my portion, says my soul.

Therefore I will hope in him.

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

It's good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

God is my rock, Psalm 2062.

God is my strength, Psalm 73.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

He's my salvation.

Isaiah 12.

Behold, God is my salvation.

I will trust, I will not be afraid.

Because I'm so brave, because I'm so tough.

No, for the Lord God is my strength and my song.

There's something where the Holy Spirit can strengthen you, which I which looking outside, I should tremble and should be afraid, because this is beyond my control.

But he is something where he's giving you a peace that Paul says to Philippians, this doesn't make sense.

Your pain doesn't make sense.

This peace makes even less sense.

This is the what's available to you.

And so if you're in a storm, just wait.

He's got a safe place for you.

You don't have to make it stop raining, you don't have to make it stop lightning.

Just wait.

It won't stay like this.

And I'll also say, if you're not a Bible reader, what is the Spirit going to remind you of?

If you don't expose yourself to the word, what is he gonna bring back to your memory?

Third point this morning is that peace has to be fought for.

Where do you see this?

This is verse 27, the end of that.

Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

So he doesn't say, hey, don't ever be, don't, don't ever get troubled, don't ever get afraid.

What he's saying here is don't be or don't stay troubled.

Don't just let yourself just downward spiral spiral and stay imprisoned in fear.

Now he's not saying just suck it up and don't be afraid.

He's saying don't stay there.

Now, how can he say this?

Verse chapter 16 say, look, I've overcome the world.

All that's breaking loose that's wrong, I've already overcome that.

It's good, it's you're gonna see.

It's gonna get folded into what I want, how I want.

Maybe you're like me, and uh, have you ever worried about something, been fearful or troubled by something?

And then when it finally plays out, it wasn't that big a deal.

I had the capacity to be a terrible prophet, meaning I'll get a little bit of data, and then I will extrapolate with just that data.

That, oh, this is what it's always one month, one year, 30 years, then I die.

That this is how it's always gonna be.

Or that, okay, I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know where I'm going, I'll never know.

And that this is not what he's encouraging.

This kind of uh where we become our own worst enemy, where we always think it's always gonna be this hard, it's always gonna be this lonely, or this unfulfilling, or this hostile.

Have you ever noticed how the first time you do something is just the most unnerving?

Because the first time you've done it.

And that if he's brought you through something three or four times, you're like, oh, I know how this plays out.

That doesn't make it say ouch less, but I know how this song ends.

I know the chorus, I know the bridge, I know the conclusion, which is he sees me through and he gets glory.

And so I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna stay troubled.

Now when things are not right, you should respond.

This is not right.

This should respond with troubling.

But staying, he said, this this is not for you.

The peace I leave you with, this is your part of fighting for it.

So, what's that look like?

How do we what do we do when troubles rise in us?

I think we have to answer four questions.

The first one is, what's actually happening?

Next one is what do I feel?

Then what do I believe about this?

And then what does God promise?

Big example.

Uh, last summer we uh we had to replace three of five cars, not all once, but like three or four months.

And um, you know, one was because there was an accident, okay, you got an accident.

One was like a just unfortunate cataclysmic engine kapoot failure, and one just like the car died of natural old age.

Like, okay, this is the one that did what it should.

These two jumped in front, and so uh that's what's happening.

What did I feel?

I felt pretty insecure, pretty like, what are we gonna do?

I'm not interested in being Amish, I'm not interested in walking anywhere, I'm not interested in biking anywhere, nothing here is close.

Um I I was sad, like, but I I really like that vehicle.

And have you seen the prices of used cars?

Like, I'm gonna have to go from dun dun to and what did I believe?

I believe things like okay, we're just never gonna have a savings.

If if one more big thing happens, we're sunk.

What was true?

What's God's promise?

Romans 8 32.

He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, with him, graciously give us all things?

And so the prayer that summer was roughly lead us to some wheels, lead us to a means.

And I did it three times.

Yeah.

I'm not interested in replacing the other two.

I'm good, and I don't think I'm tempting God to make that happen.

Just saying what I felt and what I believed had to be corrected with what He promises.

If I've Believed it was all up to me, then it was it was gonna be bad.

In fact, your experience of peace is directly related to the character of the person you believe is responsible for it.

Your experience of peace is directly related to the person you think is responsible for it.

So if you think you're responsible for securing your peace, it's gonna be a rough ride.

It's gonna be a scratching claw.

If you believe Jesus is responsible, and the Holy Spirit is the one who secures it and accomplishes it, then you can be in the storm and you can be letting go of fear and letting go of being troubled.

And I'll just acknowledge some of you, not just this week, this year, this decade, have been through the ringer.

Some of you have been through the ringer family-wise and in relationships that are strained and estranged and all the rest.

Some of you have been through the ringer medically.

And how could God let this ailment happen?

Some of you have been through it emotionally and just remember, fighting for peace is just I'm making the effort to believe his promise.

This is what Philippians 4 is talking about.

You're very probably familiar with this.

That don't be anxious about anything.

Don't stay anxious about anything.

You should get, oh no, but don't stay there because in everything by prayer and supplication, let your request be made known.

And the peace of God, which doesn't make sense, which can't be a formula, it surpasses knowledge, it will guard your heart.

Your pain doesn't make sense.

The peace of God makes less sense.

Let's go to the fourth point.

It's the last one here.

Number four, God's path to peace, it doesn't have to make sense.

Doesn't have to.

Where do you see this?

This is verse 28 and 29.

You've heard me say, I'm going away, and I'll come to you.

Now, if you loved me, you would have rejoiced.

That sounds like rebuke.

Because I'm going to the Father, the Father is greater than I, and now I've told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe.

That's what we see in the New Testament.

We see a confused, doubting, sloppy faith disciples becoming strong and vigorous.

They believe that something changed in them.

Now they didn't rejoice.

In fact, uh the scripture is pretty clear, they think this is a bad idea.

And you and I probably would too.

Look, Jesus, all the things we've been through, and we're finally getting to the final battle.

And you're saying that we're replacing a general with the Holy Spirit, whatever this is.

I mean, this did not make sense, and it wouldn't make sense to us.

And surely, listen, I got can we call for a vote?

You know, we're not Baptists yet, but if we are, let's call for a vote here.

Let's uh let's have a discussion.

We get Robert's rules, they don't exist yet, but let's let's try and make them happen.

Um, they're rebuked for their disbelief.

That really disbelief that Jesus knows what he's doing.

And we can just get just like them and get kind of the good idea fairy rising up in us.

Let me just ask this do you always have to come out on top for God to be right?

Do you always have to?

Does God always have to make sense and for you always to come out on top, for you always to get your way, and for it to be good?

Can sometimes God just win and you maybe don't win?

And and you're okay with that?

See, I think so many times God giving glory uh meshes up with just intense goodness for us that when sometimes it doesn't, we're like, hey, what's going on here?

Let me say it this way.

Uh hey, I don't know if you've ever been in a classroom with first graders uh and there's a change in the schedule.

Like, all right, boys and girls, today instead of math time in the morning, we're gonna have a visitor and then we're doing math in the afternoon.

Yes.

When are we doing in the afternoon?

Why are we having a visitor?

Well, you'll see in a minute.

Do we still get reset?

Yes, we still get recess.

What time is math gonna be?

Well, it'll be this afternoon.

Do we need our math folders for the visitor?

No, we don't need your math folder for the visitor.

Do we still get lunch?

Yeah.

When there's uncertainty, it's fear-inducing.

Right?

That's totally normal for a first grader.

Hey, you're changing, I just got used to things.

I got used to feeling safe because we got kind of a rhythm, and and I know math happens in the morning, and and now you're changing it.

Are we always gonna have a visitor?

And and it's things that you might think, why would you think that?

Because they're longing for peace and safety.

And we're just like a first grader when God does stuff.

It's always gonna be this way.

Are you gonna blow down my fence every Monday?

No, I'm not gonna blow down your fence every Monday.

Why would you think that?

You blew it down this Monday.

No, I'm not gonna blow it down every Monday.

It's time for you to look at what I've done, not just in the scripture, but in your life.

I've proved myself over again.

And instead of confusing you fear, so well, no, no.

I want to get fearful, I want to get troubled, but I know what he's done.

I'm reminding myself of that, so I'm gonna wait and watch how this works out.

In fact, I'm gonna be greedy for I best this is gonna be a good one.

I don't I don't want to miss out on this when we face things that are the bump of life, everything from breakups to measles to cancer, it's unsettling, unnerving.

We don't expect it, and it's not under our control.

We just sing a song that says, I believe these things about you.

And God's not pulling a fast one over on you.

He's saying, Look, I I proved myself, and I've given you the spirit to remind you of that.

It's not all up to you to give your flashcards.

I'll give you the spirit to remind you of this.

When something is confusing, when something is threatening, that's not all there is to it.

Uh, God knows what he's doing.

There's a method to his madness, what feels maddening to us.

And we don't have to make excuses for him or apologize for him.

We get not, this is really how it is, and God really has done something in the past, and he's gonna have to really do something again.

And I'm really gonna wait and watch when he does.

Oh, there I go again.

I'm looking to me.

I'm looking to my ability to make the math work out.

I'm looking into my my sweat, and I just know it's not enough.

Jesus has proved himself over and over again.

You won't look to him to provide help and hope and leadership and peace, and he'll fail you and let you down.

You might be, you might be in the alcove a little longer.

Well, I promise it's longer than you want to be.

It always is longer.

But it won't last forever.

I'm gonna close with this.

I want to tell you about my friend Chad.

Uh, Chad is a guy who a couple years ago got some bad news.

He's a guy I know through college ministry stuff, and and he's got really bad news.

Kind of news where um, yes, you're young, yes, your daughter is in middle school, uh, yes, this is unusual, uh, yes, we're gonna have to install a port and schedule treatments and all the rest.

And um, just out of nowhere, out of the blue.

Uh, and his um they they wait a couple days and and told Aubrey their daughter.

And um, a couple days later, Aubrey, I want to show you this is a picture of a note she wrote, and just says, I know that God knows what he's doing.

It's just it's just a seventh grader, her version of, I'm praying for a big juicy fish.

It's just someone having real faith.

And it's not something she's made up.

This this reflects Psalm 112.

He is not afraid of bad news.

His heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

His heart is steady, he will not be afraid until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.

You can know that God knows what he's doing.

In fact, I'll just say he's the only one who knows what he's doing.

And he said, I'm giving you the Holy Spirit so you can rest in that peace.

Beloved, what we normally do in sermon time is we unpack the Bible and then we take a few moments and we'll let our Holy Spirit, you now anchor this down in me.

I don't just want to be someone who hears the word and then moves on and spins up and gets busy and distracted.

Well, let's just anchor down to what do you want me to believe?

What do you want me to do?

What do you want me to feel?

And so Lindsay's gonna play and maybe sing something, and we have some we'll have some questions on the screen to guide you.

But I really want you asked our Holy Spirit, you're supposed to be my peace.

What do you want to remind me of?

Give me that peace.

Let's pray together now.

Jesus, you're all those things because you say you are, and it feels so good when when we taste and experience it.

When we walk through the way, when we see the miracle, when the when we couldn't see you working, then we finally see it.

And we couldn't feel you working, and when we finally feel it.

Oh, it feels so good.

We we crave that, we want that.

We pray that those in this room, in the next hours and days, that there would be lots of ways made and miracles felt, promises kept.

There we'd be people who are like, oh, I don't have to do it on my own.

Just be all who you are, everything that's in your heart for us, all of that we want to know and experience.

Amen.

Thank you for being here.

We uh typically make you aware.

We got lots of things going on in this church.

Uh, even though this week we didn't have email or power for a while, you didn't know, but we got them all in a video.

And so we we make you aware of these things by this announcement video.

Turn your attention to the screen, please.

Here's what's happening at Graham Parkway Baptist Church.

Due to the weather from last week, men's breakfast was postponed.

We will gather instead this Tuesday, July 16th, in the student building from 6 to 7 a.m.

So come hungry for the word and breakfast tacos.

Finally, on July 21st from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

in the gathering room, we are hosting a workshop called Learning to Pray for Others, led by Sam Storms.

This training will give us a biblical framework for prayer, some practical tools, and a deep confidence in God and ourselves when we pray for others.

Childcare is available with registration.

For more information or to register for these events, please visit our website at grandparkway.org.

If you have any questions or want someone to pray for you, find one of our pastors at the front of the stage at the conclusion of our service.

Now don't sleep on that um workshop of Sam Storms next Sunday.

In fact, uh if that's moved your heart at all, go ahead and this afternoon register for that.

So we we have materials available, we know to expect you.

Uh all of us could could pray better, learn better, but there's something about when you have you have, okay, this is what I know what to do.

You find yourself, oh, uh, I'm gonna do it a lot.

You know, when you put a hammer in your hand, oh, what all can be a nail.

So you want to be someone who I want to experience praying for people, this is for you.

Uh stand up, please.

We close our service with a spoken blessing.

Uh at the conclusion, there'll be some pastors down here.

Uh, we'd love to pray for you.

Uh, if you're a guest and new here, we we're glad you visited.

Thank you for taking the time.

Uh, we want to pastor you.

So we are ready, make yourself known to us.

So uh we close the spoken blessing.

Is it raise your hands if you're comfortable?

Though the power goes out, and though the fences fall down, and though insurance companies drag their feet, though there's pot shots at world leaders, you can rejoice in the Lord.

You can be joyful in the Lord God your Savior.

Because He has given you peace.

Depart now.

Don't tremble, don't fear.

Rest in His peace.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Amen.