Acts: Faithful Leadership

Well, good morning. It's good to see you. Thank you

for being with us.

Turn with me and your bibles to Acts Acts chapter one,

and I want Acts chapter twenty.

So if you're paying.

Attention, if you're thinking, Pastor, we've been in Axe and

we're starting back from the very beginning Acts chapter twenty,

starting verse one. This morning, we're getting back in our studies.

We've been in Axs for for some time, kind of

took a little.

Break and want to jump back in it this morning.

You know, a few months ago, I encourage you probably

almost have, maybe even a year ago.

Now, we begin praying as a church that our church

would grow.

And every Thursday, you if you're on the text thread

or the church text thread, that sends alert and reminders

of different things coming up.

If you're not on that, by the.

Way, call the church office and Kelly will get you

set up where you can get just reminders of just

events that are coming up, things are coming out of church.

But every Thursday at one o'clock you hopefully get a

text message that reminds you to stop want and pray

and pray that our church would grow, that we might

go and we read the passages. Pastor Scriptures on their

Acts thirteen to two through three. While they're worshiping the

Lord fasting, and the Holy Spirit said, set apart from me, Barnabas,

AND's all for the work of which I called them.

And after fasting and pray.

And they laid hands on them, they send them off.

And the idea is that the church grew, and as

they grew, they developed leaders, leaders that they would send

out to plant churches, to be missionaries. And that's our goal,

our desire to grow here. But as it does not

that just numerically we could get large, but that we

might grow, that we might send missionaries and pastors all

over this world, that the Gospel will expand all across

our world as a result of the growth that we

see here.

You know.

But as you think about growing and how we grow

as a church, I think it's important sometimes to think

of whatever the key elements were, the key ingredients, and

create key things that we need as a church in

order to grow. Thomas was a founder sure how to

pronounce his last name.

He is the founder of executive.

Of Dominoes, and from nineteen seventy to nineteen eighty five

he grew Dominoes from being a really small debt ridden

business to the second largest pizza company franchise in America

with in nineteen eighty five, with one billion dollars in sales.

One accountant. One day I asked the founder Thomas for

you know, just how he grew it and he said programming.

I program everything for growth. And he said how did

he plan for growth? He said, every day we developed people.

People are the key to growth. The key to growth

is developing people, he says, not a special cheese or

not some tasty crust, it's not fast delivery schedules, but

it's people. People are key and effective leadership. Can I

tell you today we think about our church and asking

God that might grow us. As we think about many

really elements that we need foundationally in order to be

a healthy church and be a church that grows. One

of the key elements we need is we need leaders.

We need effective leaders We need people who say, you

know what God's called me to lead. As we start

in Acts chapter twenty, Loop, the writer of Acts Really.

Focuses a chapter twenty on Paul's leadership.

In a way we see Paul's kind of last leadership

before twenty one and on really shows the rest of

the book shows Paul's suffering, but we see Paul's effective

leadership and elements of his effective leadership. And so as

we walk through this chapter and we're starting the first

six verses this morning, I want you to see what

were aspects of his faithful leadership. We're going to look

at this morning, how he as a leader was faithful

to encourage. We're going to look at in the coming

weeks of just different aspects. And so this morning I

want to focus on just Paul's leadership and how effect

of his leadership was and how foundation it was for

the growth of the church, and how we need faithful

leaders here in one of the ways if we're going

to grow, we need faithful leaders that encourage.

Today we're going to look at how he encouraged. We're

going to look at.

What he encouraged and who he encouraged. And so let's

look at God's word together kind of challenge you today.

You know, all of you, whether you whether you want

to be or not, your leader. You're a leader in

your home, your leader maybe here at church, your leader

at your work, you're a leader.

At your school. You God has given you some.

Leadership capacity I'll encourage you. Think about today, how am

I effectively being the leader she called me to be?

And as a leader, how am I effectively encouraging others?

So let's read God's word and let's look at Paul,

how he was a faithful leader, and how he's faithful

to encourage. Starting in verse one of Acts, Chapter twenty

s tend with me, Let's.

Read God's word. It says, after the upproar.

Seas, Paul sent for disciples, and after encouraged them, he

said farewell and departed from Macedonians Macedonian And when he

had gone through those regions he had given them much encouragement.

He came to Greece, and there he spent three months,

and when a plot was made against him by the Jews,

he was about to set sail for Syria, and he

decided to return through Macedonia. Supret the Burian and the

son of Piris accompanying him, and the Thessonians Ertokus and

Seducus and Gaius of Derby, Timothy, and the Asians Tks

and Truthilmnus, and they went on ahead and were waiting

for us at Troas. But we sailed away from Philippi

at the days of unliving Bread, and in five days

we came to them at Troas, where.

We stayed for seven days. Let's pray together. Father, We

thank you Lord that you have led our church and.

God, we ask God that you would continue to be

the faithful leader to us today.

Lord, may your holy Spirit lead us through your word. Lord.

I pray this morning that God you would feel me. Lord.

You know in this moment, Lord, what my Lord, what

my heart needs, what my mind needs.

Lord.

You know the spirit and it's leading of me today. Lord,

So I pray Lord for the work of your spirit

in me. God, may you feel me. May you use

me today.

Lord. We come together, gathered as a body of believers,

and we acknowledge the day. Lord. We need you this morning.

So Father, speak today. God.

We need you, We need your words. So Lord, may

you speak in your name. We pray, Amen, you may

be seated what you see this morning just pause. Faithful

leadership And one I aspect is paulse Faithful leadership is

Paul is faithful to encourage what you see First, Paul

was faithful to encourage, and he was faithful to encourage

the discourage. And as we think about leaders in our

church as you you as a leader, we need faithful

leaders who encouraged the discourage as you come to this

passage of scripture. Now it's been maybe a month or

so since we've been in Acts. In order to remind

you when we're in Acts. Last time, Paul was in Ephesus.

Paul spent three years in Ephesus, and as a result

of his ministry, and he'd been preaching in the Son

of God, and actually he moved from preaching in the

Son of God kind of preaching in the public form

in the city of Ephesus, and many people come to

the Lord. People are getting saved, and their lives were

being radically transformed, so much so if you remember, they

were many times had practice of doing magic alongside their Christianity.

And after seeing what happened to the sons of Skiva,

you remember, many of the church members came and they

brought their magic books and they came together in the

city they burned their magic books. You remember that, See,

lives were transformed. God was leading people, God was saving people,

and lives were.

Being transformed individually.

And as a result of people giving up their practices

of magic, it changed it was changing only the lives

of the individuals, but it was changing the lives of community.

Last time we were in this passage together, we saw

the impact of these Christians radically turning away from the

things of the world and turning more things of the

Christ than it started.

Affecting the businesses.

You remember, there was a silversmith there who was his

role was to make idols. There was a great god

in that city, Artemis, and they would make silver smiths

would make idols to Artemis. And so when people would

travel all over the world as one of the seventh greatest, seventh.

Great Wonders of the world at the time, and.

That would travel all over the world to come see

this great temple of Artemis, and they would buy a

little miniature Artemis as they left the city. And because

what Paul was radically leading people to Christ and people

were turning away from idols, the cell of the idols

had diminished so much so that there was a silversmith

named Demetrius, and he got all the idol makers to

gather silvers missed together and says, hey, fellas, we got

some trouble. This Pau's coming around and he's changing things.

He's changing the worship of the people in our city

and all over the land, so much so that they're

not worshiping the idols anymore, and they're not buying our

idols anymore. And as a result, it's hurting our profits.

It's hurting our bottom line, it's hurting our money, and

also it's hurting the worship of Artemis. So we've got

to do something. Then they started to write, you remember,

so much so that they led a mob of people

from the city of Ephesus into the theater, and twelve

thousand people were in the theater. They had grabbed two

Christians that Paul had led to Christ drugged them into

the theater, and for two hours they shouted Great as

Artemis for two hours.

Man, you think my message is complex this morning? Two hours?

Can you imagine just hearing that. That's what they did.

And then as we come to this pastor of scripture,

look at what happens in verse one, after the uproar ceased.

What is the uproar he's talking about.

He's talking about what's happened he's talking about just after that.

And Paul, look what Paul does. Paul sent for disciples.

That's the Christians in Ephesus, there's the Christians in the church,

and after encouraging them, he said, farewell, you see.

What happens here.

Paul recognizes that in the midst of this there would

be many of those Christians, says, you know what, there's

a lot more of them than there are of us.

You know what, we were trying to live for the Lord,

and this whole community has come against us. The world

that we live in oppose what we're doing and who

we're following, and they're coming after us, and they're discourage.

Paul sees their discouragement, he seeks them, and he seeks

to encourage them in the midst of their discouragement. Can

I tell you today, Church, we need faithful leaders who

see the discourage in our midst, in our families and

our workplaces, and our church body and our growth groups.

Wherever they may be. See when we have folks in our.

Midst their discouraged in their faith, seek to come alongside

them and encourage them right where they are. Can I

tell you I can think about throughout my ministry. I've

been in ministry where I was preparing a buyer for

the for this week, for the Baclaurette service that we're

gonna do later on. I've been the ministry of twenty

nine years. Gosh, that sounds crazy. I don't feel like that.

Just sounds surreal for me to say that. But I

remember our first youth group that I served in. There

was a young girl there. She was in the home.

She was in a home her parents were divorced, and

she had came to our church by herself. Her her

mom was a single mom. Her mom did not at

the time, didn't go to church. And this young girl

named Tiffany will start coming to our youth group all

by herself, and I remember we would try to encourage

her in her faith, but it was hard because she

was alone. I'll never forget Tiffany tell me one time.

She said, Pastor Jonathan or Jonathan, I just don't think

it's worth it living for the Lord.

She says.

Every time I seems like I try to try to

live for the Lord, things in my life gets worse.

She said.

I feel like the days I get up and I

read my Bible, she says, it's the worst day of

my week, the days that I don't read my Bible.

Just things like the Satan doesn't mess with me. I

don't know if it's worth it, but I.

Can tell you that day we saw.

There was times when Tiffany was all alone, she was discouraged,

and I think the Lord that there was godly women

in that youth group, godly youth leaders like Brandy and

Heather and Gwen who would come alongside of her when

she was discouraged.

And said, Tiffany, let's go come on.

I know you're I know you feel like there's nobody there.

But we're here with you, and we're gonna we're gonna

walk with you.

We're gonna encourage you.

Can I tell you listen to me, Church family, there's

people in this room. Listen who feel like they're all alone,

who feel like the things that they're facing are stacked

against them, and they need listen. They need the pastors here,

they need leaders here, but they need you to come

alongside them. Say listen, I say, what's going on in

your life. I know you're battling this health issue. I

know you're battling this relationship issue. I know you're batting

this issue at work. I know you feel like everything's

coming against you right now, but listen God's for you,

and I'm with you, and We're going to walk through

this together. Listen, we need faithful leaders that encourage the discourage.

I'm going to ask you today, can I challenge you, elders, deacons,

growth group leaders, children's leaders, youth leaders, primetime leaders, whatever.

You may be.

Teacher here at BCA, who's that family member in your

life that right now is discouraged. Who's that class member

that's in your class, who's that church member and how

are you actively seeking to encourage them in the midst

of their discouragement. Listen, we need faithful leaders to the discourage,

which is see in verse two in this passage. And

only Paul faithfully encourages discouraged. He also faithful to encourage

believers faith.

Look at what happens in verse two.

It says Paul leaves there, he leaves Ephicis he departs

from Macedonia. Macedonia as a region at the time, Macedonia.

If you could think about the Bible, and you think

about books of the Bible in Macedonia was Philippi.

It was where thessal like it was Bourria. I think

not Bria.

I'm getting maybe getting my geography mixed up, but I

know Philippi and thessali like was there. So if you

think about the Books of Philippians the Book of Thessalonians,

those are two churches that were in the region of Macedonia.

And we know that Paul, after he would start his

miss after he goes through a missionary journey to go

through a region, his custom was to go back through

that region. And that's why it shows us here that

after he leaves Ephesus, he goes back through the regions

of Macedonia to encourage those churches, like Thessalonians and like Philippi.

But the Bible tells us that look at what he

does there, what's his motive? What is his desire as

he's going through these and seeing these Christians in these

different churches and throughout this region. It says in verse two,

when he had gone through those regions, he had given

them much encouragement. He came to Greece. You know what

Paul's focus was when he went to the church with

Estamike and when Philippi went back and visited the church,

he wanted to encourage them. He wanted to encourage them,

but he wanted to encourage them in particular their faith.

We understand this is one of his.

Purposes.

In going back and Acts chapter fourteen, we see that

Paul did this in his first missionary journey. He started

his missionary journey in Derby and those different areas, and

in verse fourteen Lystra was in another area and verse

Acts fourteen, verse twenty two, it says Paul went back

through those regions and listen to what it says and strengthened.

To the souls of disciples.

He encouraged them to continue to the faith, saying that

through many tribulations, we must enter the Kingdom of God.

So Paul's purpose as he goes and visits these churches,

he wants to encourage them in their faith. He wants

to see an area where they're weak in their faith,

and he wants to strengthen that faith.

He wants to encourage that faith.

Can I tell you we need leaders that see the

discourage and seek to encourage the discourage. But we need

faithful leaders that seek to encourage the faith of others.

To see the areas where people are struggling in their faith.

Maybe it's the issue of sin, maybe it's an issue

of trusting God. Maybe it's issue of stepping out on faith.

Maybe it's a issue of understanding something about scripture.

But see to a place where they're weak and.

Seek to be leaders to help strengthen that person in

that area of weakness. We know Paul did this, and

one of the examples I told you was the Church

of Testsonians. Church of Testsonians. He writes to letters to

when the first sess Onions the second tests Onians are

those two letters. In chapter three, Paul talks about his

desire to come see them, his desire to come visit them,

just like we see.

He doesn't acts.

This is what he says to the Church and Testsonians.

But now that Timothy has come to us from you

and has brought to us the good news of your

faith and the love and report that you always remember

us kindly and long to see us. We long to

see you for this reason, brothers, and all our distress

and affliction, we've been comforted by about you through your faith,

and we now live if you're standing fast in the

Lord for what's been, What thanksgiving can we return to

God for you? For all the joy we feel for

your sake before God, as we pray most earnestly night

and day, that we might see your face. I mean

we may see you face to face and look and

supply what is lacking your faith? Paul says, Listen, Timothy's

come to us, He's brought good news of your faith.

But listen, we want to see you again, and we

want to see you face to face again. Why because

there are areas where your faith is lacking and we

want to strengthen those areas. Can I tell you a church,

If we're going to be a church that grows, we

need faithful leaders that encourage, the discourage, but who also

new faithful leaders who seek to encourage others.

In their faith. You know, I can think about.

Twenty nine years I've been in ministry and how God,

in his goodness, has always brought leaders, faithful leaders to

me to help encourage me in my faith. I remember

a son's school teacher named Perry Culpepper was in a

pastor just a man who loved God and taught me

that there are people who are not in just ministry,

just lay people who love God. I never get his

leadership and his care and his encouragement to me. Clay

Latin was my first youth pastor who believed in me,

who believed that God God a call and wanted tom

entor me. Precher Jerry Phillips, you've heard me talk a

lot about him. God would use him so greatly in

my life. I remember and may have told you this

story before. I was a young youth pastors in two

thousand and four. I just started there and Preacher Jerry

would look at me one day and he would say, I'll.

Never get these words.

He said, Jonathan, what do you want to be in

five years in ministry? And I said, very quickly, I

want to be a student ministry. I'd been a student pastor.

I've done that for many years at that time and

loved it, felt comfortable at that.

And I said, I want to be a youth pastor.

He says, I don't think that's the right answer. And

I was like, what do you mean, I don't think

that's the right answer. That's what I know.

This is what I didn't want to be a pastor.

He said, God's got a calling on you. You're going

to be a senior pastor. I said, no, for Jerry,

you've got it wrong. You've got it wrong. He's told

you he talked to you about someone else. I don't

want to be a senior pastor. I want to be

a student pastor. That's not what I want to do.

But listen to me this morning, Preacher Jerry saw something

in me, and he saw an area in my life

that was lacking, and.

He sought to encourage me in it. You know where

it was. It was surrendering to not what I wanted,

to what God wanted for me.

And he loved me enough and led me enough to say, listen,

this is the area right now that you're struggling again.

Jonathan, you need to strengthen in this area. Listen.

Paul did this for the church and Thessalaika. He did

this for all the churches. He sought to encourage them

in the areas. You know, as parents, we know our

children right we know where their strengths are, we know

where their weaknesses are, and it's very easy for us

to see a weakness of our child and say, you

know what you really need to work on. Where there's academics,

you know you're really weak in the mathematic actually really

need to study more math.

Or if it's in a sport, you know you really.

Need to work on your serve or your batting. But parents,

how often do you see the weak areas of faith

in your children? And just as much as you would

encourage them in their math, just as much as you

curage them in their serve, how often have you come

along with your children say listen, your faith is week here.

I love you enough to tell you you need to

grow here.

You need to grow in prayer, praying as you should.

You need to grow in your quiet time. You're not

in your You're not doing your quiet time like you should.

You need to grow in your service to the Lord.

You know, not serving the Lord like you should. You

need to grow in knowing God's words. You don't know

God's word.

You said, well, pastor, they need no, no, no no.

Just as important listen to me that it is that

they grow in their academics just as vital as it.

Is that they grow in athletics. Listen.

It's vital for us parents to tell our children what

areas where they're weak ed and love them enough to say, listen,

you need to grow in this area.

But listen.

Only should we do this as parents as grandparents, But listen,

we ask church leaders need to know count tell your

growth group leaders who are the church. Who are the

people in your class and where are they weak? And

how are you seeking to grow their faith? I tell

you deacons this morning, who are future deacons in this room?

Who do you see and how are you seeking to

strengthen them in their faith? Can I encourage you, elders,

who are the members here? There's struggling in the area,

and how are we seeking to strengthen their faith? We

need faithful leaders to encourage, discourage. We need faithful leaders

who encourage others into their faith. Lastly, when you see

in this passage of scripture, we need faithful leaders who

encourage fellow workers. As you come to this passage scripture, starving,

verse three tells us he spent three months and there

was a plot made against him and about the Jews,

and say so he sets out for Syrium and decided

to go return through Macedonia.

And then it gives us the names.

And you know our struggle with names, So I'm not

going to go through all those again. But in verse

four through verse four and five, we see Paul list

different people that accompanied Paul on his missionary journey. If

you notice he mentions where they're from. Secretary is from

and you see he's from Thessalonians. You see another one

that's from Derby. Timothy is from Asia, and so we

see or the last two are from Asia.

What Luke shows you, I think this is a s.

Important and just said, why why is he telling you

who these are? And why are you telling you? Where

are their names from? What Paul and what Luke's want

you to see is Paul has gathered leaders from every

different church that he has planted or started, and he's

taken these leaders from these different churches, from these different regions,

and he's coming those they're coming with Paul.

And we know through scripture that Paul had.

A mental relationship with these leaders. These were forriture apostles.

Many of them would be future elders, future leaders of

the church. And Paul mentored them, he taught them, he

sought to encourage.

Them and being leaders of the church.

We see this throughout scripture, this consistent example of Paul

mentoring leaders. We see this and by the way, later

on we'll get in a little bit more detail in

the next chapter twenty verse twenty eight, if you just

turn with me a page, we see Paul as he

comes to he's actually head of Jerusalem.

He stops by.

It's a coastal town called Miletus. It's just south of Ephesus.

He actually sends and has the leaders of Ephesus to

come to him at Maltus because he wants to give

them one last charge before he goes you to Jerusalem.

And this is what he tells these leaders. He seeks

to encourage the leaders, and look what happens. In verse

twenty eight of chapter twenty he says, very careful attention

to yourselves and to all the flock which the Holy

spirits made you overseers, to care for the Church of God,

which he obtained by his blood. I know after my

departure of fierce wolves will come along you, not sparing

the flock, and among you your own selves, will rise

men speaking twisted things to draw you away from disciples,

to draw disciples after them.

Therefore, be alert.

Remember that for three years I did not see night

or day to amonish every one of you with tears.

Paul tells the church, Hey, I'm leaving you leaders. You've

got to pay attention to your lives. You have to

pay attention to the Word of God. You need to

pay attention to what's happening to your flock? Hey, wolves

are coming in.

Be alert.

He is encouraging these leaders. He is giving them instructions

of what they should do in the future. We know

he does this not only with the leaders in Ephicis,

but he also does this with a leader called Timothy.

Timothy becomes a pastor, an elder, leads the church in

Ephesus later on, and Paul would tell him in his

letter to Timothy, his second Timothy. His second letter to

Timothy and second Timothy, for he says, I charge you, you,

being Timothy, and the presence of God and Christ Jesus,

who is to the judge living in the dead by

his appearing in his kingdom, preach the word.

Be ready in season, out of season.

Reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and teaching. He tells Timothy, Hey, preach,

that's the word, Timothy, listen, I want you to see.

In both instances, Paul understands the importance of encouraging others.

He imports of encouraging discourage. He sees the importance of

encouraging others in faith.

But listen.

Paul understands the importance of encouraging leaders and Paul seeks

to do that. You've probably heard this before, maybe, but

Bruce Lawson wrote a book it's called Wind and Fire,

and in that book he points out some interesting facts

about sand hill cranes.

They're birds.

They fly in a formation, a V formation, a lot

like geese. If you've ever seen geese fly in the

V formation. He brings out some interesting facts about them.

He says this, These large birds who fly great distances

across continents have three remarkable qualities. First, they rotate leadership.

No birds stays out in front all the time. Secondly,

they choose leaders who can handle the turbulence. And then third,

during all the time one bird is leading, the rest

are honking in affirmation. This is what Larson says. That's

not a bad model for the church. Certainly we need

leaders who can handle the turbulence, who are aware that

leadership ought to be shared. But most of all, we

need a church where we are.

All honking encouragement.

Can I tell you church, we need leaders who are

encourage the discourage.

We need leaders who.

Encourage the faint, but we need church members who encourage

the leaders. Can I tell you church, your growth group leaders?

They need your encouragement. Can I tell you church, your

children's workers are right now caring for babies.

So you can be in here worshiping. They need your encouragement.

Your teachers, your BCA leaders, your administration here of this

ministry that we have academy, they need your encouragement. Your

youth workers need encouragement. Your primetime leaders need encouragement. Your

deacons need encouragement. Your elders need encouragement. Can we be

a church if we're going to grow, we need faithful

leaders and we need leaders encourage, encourage, discourage, encourage others

in faith. But we need church body to come alongside

the leaders and say, hey, listen, we're in this together.

We need each other and encourage one another. I heard

of as I closed this morning. You know, you say,

will pastor. You know I'm not a I don't have

a significant role here at beth Asda, and I don't

have a significant role in the church. And I really

don't do much and and I just don't know how

God could use me.

I don't have great, needy gifts. I'm not a gifted teacher.

I'm not a gifted all this.

I just I don't know how God would use me

heard a story of about a widow. She had gotten

to where her health had declined and she was home

bound and her activities were restricted, but she really wanted

to serve the Lord. So after praying about how she

could serve the Lord, she decided that she wanted to

be a blessing to others. So she the next day

put an ad into Oakland paper, the Oakland Tribune, and

it said, pianist plays hymns by phone daily for those

who are sick and despondent.

Service is free.

The notice included the number for them to call, and

when people called, she would ask what him they would

like to hear. Within a few months, her playing brought

Cher to several hundred people.

Many of them.

Freely would pour out their hearts to her. She was

able to help them encourage them.

You see, they were.

Faithful to call, and she was faithful to play. They

were faithful to share, She was faithful to listen. Their

faithful results were encouragement. She was encouraged by sharing, and

they were encouraged by her ministry. Can I tell you listen,

God wants to use your.

Gifts to encourage one another.

May we be a church and say, Lord use me

to care for others around me?

Would you pray with me? Father? We thank you Lord

that we're here today because Lord.

You've put leaders in our lives, leaders that have encouraged us,

Lord to be the church that she wants to be.

God, we need faithful leaders.

So Lord, I pray today that we would Lord rise

up as leaders.

And care for the discourage in our midst or.

I pray that you would raise up leaders who would

seek to care and to encourage.

Those who are struggling in their faith.

Today, Lord, and I pray that we'd be a church

body who would come alongside the leaders of this church

and encourage them as they faithfully lead. Lord, I pray,

no matter who we are today, no matter how small

our gifts are, no matter how we feel like we

may not have the skill or ability, Lord, like this

lady in Oakland. Lord, may we or just be faithful

to encourage however we can, whether it's a call, whether

it's a card, whether it's a text message, where there's

a hug or a handshake. Lord, may we be a church.

That's faithful to lead. Lord. We love you, Lord.

I pray today for those who've come here today, Maybe

they don't know you, God, a faithful God who's faithfully

led them, and or I pray the day maybe they

don't know the power of your hand, that you might

deliver them from sin as you delivered the man, the

demon's possessed man. I pray to be those today. If

never accept with your gift of salvation, today would be

the day of salvation for them. Today, Lord, they would

trust you as Lord and Savior. They would admit that

their sinner. Lord, they would believe that you died on

a cross for their sin. And today they would confess

you as Lord and savior.

Lord.

They would confess Lord, they need your forgiveness today, Lord,

and today you would save them from their sins, just

like you save the demon possess Men and Luke, Lord,

we love you, We thank you, Lord for your word

here today lead us to respond.

Lord to your word and your name. We pray Amen.

Jesus to fix