The Good News of Jesus: Salvation not Condemnation

And then turning to the New Testament, we'll look there at John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

John's gospel, you know, John has the seven miraculous signs.

He has the seven I am sayings.

But John captures conversations that no other gospel writer captures.

And one of these momentous conversations occurred at night

and occurred between the religious man Nicodemus and Jesus.

And you'll notice if you read through John's gospel that we read of Nicodemus three times.

It's, again, quite unique for a peripheral character that we see a character like Nicodemus more than once.

And we see the way in which God is at work.

And maybe there's a point of connection here because you might be, it's night,

you might be coming to find out a bit more about Jesus.

You might be coming for any number of reasons.

Nicodemus came to see Jesus at night and he got more than he expected.

And my prayer is that we all get more than we expect tonight.

John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.

He came to Jesus at night and said,

Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God.

For no one could perform the miraculous signs you were doing if God were not with him.

In reply, Jesus declared.

Now actually what this says is Jesus answered him.

And you'll notice in verse 2, there's no question.

Nicodemus isn't asking a question.

But Jesus is answering the unasked question.

And each one of us has unasked questions.

Each one of us has questions that have no easy answer.

And Nicodemus, the religious man, is coming to the public figure Jesus at night.

Not just to give him compliments, but because there's answers that he is looking for.

Jesus answered, I tell you the truth.

No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

How can a man be born when he is old?

Nicodemus asked.

Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born.

Jesus answered, I tell you the truth.

No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit.

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit.

You should not be surprised at my saying you must be born again.

The wind blows wherever it pleases.

You hear its sound.

But you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.

So it is with everyone born of the spirit.

How can this be?

Nicodemus asked.

You are Israel's teacher, said Jesus, and do you not understand these things?

I tell you the truth.

We speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen.

But still, you people do not accept our testimony.

I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe.

How then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven, the son of man.

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the son of man must be lifted up,

that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him

shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already,

because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only son.

This is the verdict.

Light has come into the world.

But men love darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light,

so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.

Amen.

And may God add his own blessing to this reading of his word.

We're not going to sing again a portion of the Psalms.

We're going to sing from Psalm 48b, and we'll sing from the beginning down to verse 9.

Let's stand together to sing these words to God's praise.

Great is the Lord, his praise all else excels.

In our God's city, on his holy hill,

Mount Zion is the joy of all the earth.

So high and fair like mountains of the north.

Here is the city where the great King dwells.

God is the fortress of Jerusalem.

When kings joined forces ready to advance,

They looked and fled in terror and surprise,

Gripped like a woman who in childbirth cries,

Like ships destroyed by storm, you shattered them.

As we have heard, now have we have seen it so,

Within the city of Almighty God,

The city of the Lord,

Which by his grace,

He makes secure within your holy place,

Your never-failing love,

We seek to know.

Many years ago, it was helpfully explained to me that there's a significant contrast

between Christianity and all other world religions or world philosophies.

As a rule, most world religions suggest that the problems of life are primarily outside of ourselves,

Whereas the solutions to life's problems are primarily within ourselves.

Look deeply, look deeply, dig deep, look into yourself and you will find the way,

And you will come to know the truth, and then you can live the life.

However, Christianity is not one of those world religions.

It's not one of those world philosophies,

Because it has quite a different outlook.

It says the problems are primarily in here.

And the solution lies outside of myself.

So if I want to look for the way,

I'm not going to find it by looking in.

If I want to find the truth,

I'm not going to dig deep into my own heart or strive in my own mind.

And if I'm looking to live the life that I'm intended to live,

I do not have the ingredients for such a life within me.

I must look outside of myself.

And you see, that strand, that theme is seen throughout the whole of Scripture.

That there is a profound problem that is within us.

But that there is a solution that comes from outside of ourselves to us,

in the person and in the work of Jesus Christ.

So whether we read from Isaiah 45, or John 3, or Romans 8,

which we'll turn to in a moment,

this strand brings together the old and the new,

brings together the law and the prophets.

You see, we need help.

We need guidance.

We need wisdom.

We need direction.

But it must come from a different source.

We can't figure out our own problems.

We can't even understand the problems, let alone devise a solution.

But if you turn with me to Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

we have in that first verse,

a summary statement that captures something profound.

Therefore, Romans 8, 1,

there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

No condemnation.

You see, sin, and by sin we mean doing those things you ought not to do.

But I would suggest that sin, even more,

is not doing the things that we ought to do.

So it's not just the unkind words.

It's not just the thoughts or the actions.

But think of all the generous words that you should speak.

Think of all the kind deeds that you should do.

But you know what?

We just don't have enough time.

We just don't have the opportunity.

And we just leave all those good things undone.

Well, you bring those together,

what we call the sins of commission, what you do,

and the sins of omission, what you don't.

You bring them together.

And there's a verdict that is passed against humanity.

Against the rich and the poor.

Against the wise and the foolish.

Against the east and the west.

The north and the south.

There is a universal verdict.

And that verdict is condemnation.

Now the Apostle Paul begins at chapter 8 by saying,

there's now no condemnation.

Well, something's happened.

Because my heart condemns me.

My mind condemns me.

My life condemns me.

If I am honest with myself,

I am not the person I am meant to be.

I am not the person I was made to be.

And I'm certainly not the person

that will satisfy the righteous requirements of a righteous God.

So I want to notice a few things tonight with you.

You see, we read from some monumental portions of God's word.

Isaiah 45 is a chapter that's rich in a prediction of a worldwide gospel.

Where the whole world is told,

look, look to me and be saved.

All the ends of the earth.

For I am God and there is none else.

And then there's an image of every knee bowing,

every tongue confessing,

that somehow, some way,

there will be a proclamation to the world

and there will be a message of salvation

that is made available not just to one nation,

not just to one people,

but to all nations and to all peoples.

And then you have that evening encounter with Nicodemus.

He comes to Jesus looking for answers.

But the answers that he gets,

he could never have predicted.

You must be born again.

Something has gone wrong fundamentally

and it must be transformed.

But the transformation does not take place from us.

The transformation takes place within us

from God who now dwells in the hearts and lives of people.

And the message to Nicodemus, again,

was presented very clearly.

It's a message of salvation, not condemnation.

So you see, if you come tonight

and you're searching or seeking or curious

and you wonder what God's desire is for this world

and for its people,

Jesus sums up that very simply with the word of salvation.

Jesus has not come to condemn,

but he's come in order that the world might be saved.

And the Apostle Paul here is drawing together

in chapter 8 an argument,

a profound argument to a clear conclusion.

He says, therefore.

Now, I'm not sure if it's Martin Lloyd-Jones or John Stopp,

but one of these great 20th century preachers said this.

Whenever you see the word therefore,

always ask, what is it there for?

4.

Now, the Apostle Paul is a logical reasoning argument.

You know, he's creating a logical, reasonable argument.

Now, it's not surprising.

You might say, well, the beginning of chapter 8,

he's obviously drawing together something from chapter 7.

And you'd be right.

Because Paul in chapter 7 is talking about a struggle.

He says, you know what?

The things I want to do, I don't do those.

The things that I don't want to do,

those are the things I do.

You know, what a wretched person I am.

What a struggle.

I find myself conflicted in my heart,

conflicted in my mind,

conflicted in my life.

Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Thanks be to God,

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

But you know, this chapter 8,

I think is even bigger

than a conclusion from chapter 7.

Because I think what Paul is doing here

is he's drawing together

his argument

that he began in chapter 1.

At the very beginning of the letter,

he said in chapter 1, verse 16,

I am not ashamed

of the gospel.

Now, this is quite remarkable

because the Apostle Paul is speaking

to a people in Rome,

the very center of the empire.

And this group is small.

This group is weak.

This group is poor.

This Christian community

is not up to much.

You see, it's fragile.

It's fragmented.

You just wonder,

how is it possible

that such a movement

will ever have a second generation?

So on one level,

there's much to be ashamed about.

But Paul says,

I am not ashamed of the gospel

because it is the power of God

for the salvation

of everyone who believes.

You see, the power

in the ancient world

resided in Rome,

resided with the emperor,

resided with the army.

But Paul says,

no,

the real power of God

resides in a message

concerning his son.

How remarkable that is,

that the power of God

is now found

in a person

called Jesus,

and that power

is demonstrated

in the life

and the death

and the resurrection

and now the proclamation

of Jesus.

I am not ashamed

of the gospel

because it is the power

of God

for the salvation

of everyone who believes.

That's his proposition.

He then goes on

to demonstrate

that all have sinned

and fallen short,

that there is a shared guilt

and that there is

a shared responsibility

on our part.

We don't do

what we ought to do

and we leave undone

the things

that we ought to do.

So salvation

is found in the gospel.

So if that's his proposition

and then he goes on

to demonstrate

the reality

of the gospel

and if you're wondering

who is this gospel for,

well, in chapter 1 he says,

first for the Jew,

then for the Gentile.

That's another way

of meaning everyone.

So ethically,

your nationality,

so whatever your nationality is,

you're in one of those

two categories.

You either have

a Jewish heritage

or a Gentile heritage.

But if you're not sure

that you're included,

you can just flick a few pages

to chapter 5

because Paul describes

the kind of people

that Jesus has come to help.

If you look at Romans 5

at verse 6,

he says,

you see at just the right time

when we were still powerless,

Christ died for the ungodly.

Very rarely will anyone

die for a righteous man,

though for a good man

someone might possibly

dare to die.

But God demonstrates

his own love for us

in this.

While we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

There are three descriptors

in this passage

that sum up us,

individually and collectively.

We're described here

as the powerless,

we're described here

as the ungodly,

and we're described here

as sinners.

That characterizes you

and me.

It characterizes

all of us in here.

It characterizes

all of them out there.

We are not strong.

We're weak.

We are not godly.

We are ungodly.

And we are not sinless.

We are sinful.

And this is exactly

the class and category

of people

that the gospel

is intended for.

You see,

Jesus did not come

into this world

to make good people better.

He came to find

lost people.

He came to give life

to spiritually dead people.

He came to give salvation

to those whose category

was otherwise

only condemnation.

So the Apostle Paul

is drawing his conclusion

to a clear end.

There is therefore

now no condemnation.

But he's doing something as well.

The second point

I'd like to identify

is that Paul

is drawing a critical contrast.

Now I used to teach English.

And one way

of building vocabulary

if you're learning English

as a second language

or if you're learning

another language

one way of building

your vocabulary

is learning opposites.

You learn tall

and you learn short.

You learn thin.

You learn fat.

You learn old.

You learn young.

The Apostle Paul

is showing us

that there are

two clear opposites here.

There's the word salvation

condemnation

and there's the word condemnation.

And these two never meet.

You are in one

or the other.

You are in the category

of those who are saved

or you are in the category

of those who are condemned.

And you see

John 3.16

that magnificent summary

of the gospel

for God so loved

that he gave.

He so loved this world

that he gave his son.

That whoever believes in him

will not perish

but have everlasting life.

And if you didn't get it

in chapter 3.16

chapter 3.17

goes on to say

for God did not send

his son into the world

to condemn the world

but in order that the world

might be saved through him.

So there you have the contrast.

John is great at this

because John tells us

about light and darkness.

He tells us about darkness

which is ignorance.

He tells us that darkness

is evil

and he tells us

that darkness is confusion.

By contrast

he says light

is knowledge

and light

is goodness

and light

is clarity.

And he draws

this contrast

in chapter 3

saying

there's salvation

and there's condemnation.

So the apostle Paul

begins the letter

to the Romans

saying

I am not ashamed

of the gospel

because it is the power

of God

for the salvation

of everyone

who believes.

And in chapter 8

verse 1

therefore

there is now

no condemnation

for those

who are in Christ Jesus.

If salvation

is found in Jesus

the one thing

that the follower

of Jesus

will never experience

is condemnation

is judgment.

And this is a present reality.

It's not just

a future event

because in John 3.18

what do we read?

Whoever believes

in him

is not condemned

but whoever

does not believe

stands condemned

already

because they have

not believed

in the name

of God's

one and only

son.

So this evening

there are two categories

of people here.

It's not the rich

and the poor

it's not the educated

and the illiterate

it's not the wise

and the foolish

the young or the old

but the categories

that we have here

in the Bible

are this.

There are those

who are saved

and there are those

who are condemned.

Those who are saved

are those

who have come

to know Jesus

they've come

to trust him.

Those who are condemned

are those

who do not yet

believe in the name

of God's

one and only son.

At the end

of his first letter

John puts it this way

he who has the son

has life.

He who does not

have the son of God

does not have life.

So this is a matter

of life

or death

a matter of salvation

or condemnation.

A significant character

in the missionary movement

in the 19th century

was a man called

A.B. Simpson

he was an American guy

he founded the

Christian and Missionary Alliance

it's not a large church

in the west

but if you go to

south and central America

the Christian and Missionary Alliance

church is a large denomination

and he summed up

the gospel in this way

he said

the gospel tells

rebellious men

that God

is reconciled

that justice

is satisfied

that sin

has been atoned for

that the judgment

of the guilty

may be revoked

the condemnation

of the sinner

cancelled

the curse

of the law

blotted out

the gates

of hell

closed

the portals

of heaven

opened wide

the power

of sin

subdued

the guilty

conscience

healed

the broken

heart

comforted

and the sorrow

and misery

of the fall

undone

that's what we mean

by the gospel

that's what we mean

by the message

of Jesus

so Paul says

no condemnation

but you might say

but why does he need

to emphasize that

why does he need

to stress that

because I would suggest

that there are voices

that speak

of condemnation

you see the Christian

has three graces

we're told that

our lives

should be characterized

by three things

by faith

by hope

and by love

but the Bible

also tells us

that we have

three enemies

the Bible tells us

that we have

the world

and the flesh

and the devil

and each of these enemies

has the capacity

to condemn

to accuse

and to make us

think

that we are not

saved

but rather

lost

so the world

the world that

lives without Jesus

the world that is going

in a different direction

the world that prioritizes

different things

we can be condemned

by the world

we can be condemned

by ourselves

by our conscience

by our mind

by our heart

and we can be condemned

by the devil

the evil one

I was reading

Pilgrim's Progress

and there was a remarkable

scene in Pilgrim's Progress

Apollyon

the character

that represents

the devil

and Christian

you know

the follower of Jesus

they meet

and Apollyon

begins by condemning

or accusing

Christian

and he says

you have failed

your prince

many times

how have I failed

my prince

and then Apollyon

goes on to list

all of the mistakes

that Christian made

and you know

we could list

all the mistakes

that we made

and there are many

and what I love

is Christian responds

to Apollyon

and says

all that you have said

is true

and much more

but my prince

is a forgiving prince

you see

when the evil one

accuses you

respond by saying

your accusation

is insufficient

I am much worse

than you say

I've done far worse

than you accuse me of

and that's exactly

why I'm a Christian

I'm not a Christian

because I'm strong

I'm a Christian

because I'm powerless

I'm not a Christian

because I'm godly

I'm a Christian

because I'm ungodly

I'm not a Christian

because I'm sinless

I'm a Christian

because I'm a sinner

the terms and conditions

of Romans 5

are a great response

to the world

the flesh

and the devil

we are not

good people

made better

we are ungodly

powerless sinners

saved and set free

transformed

by the grace

of God

so we have a conclusion

to Paul's argument

we also have a contrast

a contrast between

salvation

and condemnation

they are completely

opposite

so if I am not ashamed

of the gospel

because of the power

of God

for the salvation

of everyone who believes

for the everyone

who believes

one thing that is

never possible

is that you or I

would ever be condemned

but I want to

my final point

is this

is that this whole verse

indeed this whole gospel

hinges

on a crucial

connection

this small word

in

for those who are

in

Christ Jesus

you see

it's not what you know

now what you know

is important

there's a certain knowledge

that's needed

it's not what you know

but it's who

you know

we've heard that

haven't you

that you know

if you know somebody

with power

or with authority

somebody that can

make things happen

well you see

when we are

believers in Jesus Christ

we are now

united to him

we know him

he knows us

but even more than that

we are united

to him

he is within us

we are within him

story was told

in London

in the end of the

19th century

a regular visitor

to the United Kingdom

also to Edinburgh

was D.L. Moody

D.L. Moody

was a physically

large man

he was from

Massachusetts

and he commenced

a worldwide

evangelism campaign

he was educated

in the fourth grade

he was not well educated

his pronunciation

was unique

and yet

he felt

called by God

to bring the gospel

to the world

by the end

of the 20th century

19th century

he didn't succeed

but he did

succeed in preaching

to 100 million

people in person

that's not

not bad

for someone

with a 10 year old

education

but the scene

was told

in London

a young boy

made his journey

across London

to hear Moody

preach

he was poor

he wasn't

particularly well

dressed

he wasn't

particularly clean

and he came

to the hall

where Moody

was preaching

and the usher

asked

what are you

doing here

I've come to hear

Mr. Moody

preach

not looking like

that you don't

and he was

told to go

away

just then

as the boy

was sitting

on the curb

crying

a carriage

pulls up

a large man

steps out

and says

young man

what's the

problem

I've come

to hear

Mr. Moody

preach

but they

won't let

me in

he said

put your

hand in

mine

and let's

see if I

can help

you

something

strange

happened

because the

door that

was shut

a moment

ago

was now

open

the

same

ushers

that had

said

go away

now

welcomed

the

large

man

and

the

small

guest

now of

course

the

large

man

was

Moody

himself

but you

see

so it

doesn't

matter

what

you

know

but it

matters

who

you

know

closed

doors

become

open

when we

know

Jesus

Christ

the

doors

that

were

otherwise

shut

have

now

opened

to

us

when

we

come

to

know

Jesus

Christ

all

the

benefits

and

all

the

blessings

that

belong

to

all

the

people

of

God

come

to

us

Sinclair

Ferguson

who's

a

21st

century

Bible

teacher

put it

this

way

he said

remember

these

three

words

he said

remember

that there

are

benefits

for being

a

Christian

remember

that

these

benefits

belong

to

all

of

us

we

are

beneficiaries

but

he

said

never

lose

sight

of

the

benefactor

you

see

it's

quite

easy

to

focus

on

forgiveness

you

might

focus

on

grace

you

might

focus

on

justification

or

sanctification

or

regeneration

all these

big

theological

words

and

these

are

so

important

but

what

Ferguson

is

saying

is

always

focus

on

the

one

through

whom

all

of

these

benefits

flow

to

all

of

these

beneficiaries

never

lose

sight

of

Jesus

because

it's

our

connection

with

Jesus

that

brings

all

of

these

benefits

all

of

these

blessings

long

time

ago

in

Oxford

John

Owen

was

preaching

and he

said

this

he said

that our

union

with

Jesus

those

who

are

in

Christ

Jesus

is

the

cause

of

all

the

other

graces

that we

are made

partakers

of

they are

all

communicated

unto

us

by virtue

of our

union

with

Christ

hence

is

our

adoption

our

justification

our

sanctification

our

fruitfulness

our

perseverance

our

resurrection

our glory

when we

are united

to

Jesus

everything

that belongs

to him

flows

to us

everything

that he

earns

we

receive

every

benefit

every

merit

that he

achieves

that he

is worthy

of

flows

to

everyone

who is

connected

to him

no other

world

religion

no other

world

philosophy

presents

the message

in this

way

there's

no

solution

within

the

only

solution

that

we

have

to

life's

problems

comes

in

a

person

Jesus

his

life

his

death

his

resurrection

and

when we

come to

know

him

everything

that

he

deserves

is

ours

by

gift

he

we

are

united

to

him

so

there's

this

crucial

connection

that we

now

have

with

Jesus

so

we

have

Paul

drawing

his

argument

to a

conclusion

we

have

him

drawing

this

very

sharp

contrast

between

salvation

and

condemnation

if you

are

saved

one

thing

that

is

never

going

to

happen

is

that

you

will

be

lost

remember

the

language

of

John

10

I

give

them

eternal

life

said

Jesus

and

no

one

can

snatch

them

out

of

my

hand

he

is

placing

his

reputation

on

his

ability

to

hold

on

to

his

people

sometimes

we

as

Christians

we

look at

our

lives

we

look at

our

faith

we

look at

our

commitment

to

God

and

it

seems

very

inconsistent

it

seems

very

weak

it

seems

very

fragile

it

seems

very

sometimes

it's

here

today

sometimes

it

appears

to be

gone

tomorrow

primarily

the

Bible

does

not

define

our

relationship

with

God

based

on the

strength

of our

commitment

to

him

that's

important

we

believe

we

trust

we

rely

upon

him

that's

important

but

primarily

the

foundation

of our

Christian

life

is based

on his

commitment

to us

his

promise

his

perseverance

his

victory

his

success

so

what do

we do

with this

what does

a life

look like

if this

is true

for you

and if

you're

trusting

in Jesus

it is

true

for you

how

should

this

find

expression

I'm

going to

suggest

three

things

I'm

going to

suggest

first of

all

safety

you

and I

are safe

in the

hands

of Jesus

we are

safe

in him

there is

no more

secure

place

than to

be

in

Christ

Jesus

because

he

will

keep

us

he

will

hold

us

he

will

protect

us

second

word

I want

to

say

is

confidence

we

have

confidence

to

commend

this

Jesus

to

others

we

know

what

he

has

done

we

know

who

he

has

done

this

for

so

we

have

every

confidence

to

share

this

message

with

others

and we

have

every

confidence

to speak

and every

confidence

to serve

and third

and finally

is this

if there is

such a thing

as an

optimist

and I'm

not talking

about

temperament

I'm not

talking about

the glass

half empty

person

or the glass

half full

person

but if

there's

ever such

a thing

as an

optimist

surely

the

Christian

should be

an optimist

you see

we are

filled

with hope

not to

spare

our

lives

are filled

now

with joy

with peace

with comfort

with meaning

with purpose

we are safe

we are secure

we are confident

in him

so we above

all people

should look

upon this

world

should look

upon this

city

should look

upon this

nation

with great

optimism

to see

what God

can do

to see

what God

has done

and to see

what God

is able

to do

in this

day

and in

this age

you see

he's not

the God

of the

past

only

he's the

God

of the

past

the present

and the

future

Jesus

Christ

is the

same

yesterday

today

and

forever

so as

you read

the pages

of scripture

you see

what God

has done

but when

you see

what God

has done

that should

give you

great hope

for what

God

is able

to do

today

what he's

able to

do

in your

family

what he's

able to

do

in your

community

what he's

able to

do

in this

city

what he's

able to

do

in the

country

of

Scotland

and to

the

ends

of

the

earth

you

might

not

believe

it

but the

21st

century

is going

to be

the

greatest

century

of church

growth

ever

more

people

are coming

to know

Jesus

in this

century

than they

have

in

any

other

century

the

expansion

of the

Christian

church

throughout

the

world

is

remarkable

we

don't

see

it

here

to

the

same

extent

but

you

go

to

Africa

you

go

to

Asia

you

go

to

South

men

and

women

coming

to

faith

so

let's

be

let's

recognize

that we

are

safe

let us

be

confident

in the

gospel

and

let us

be

optimist

to

see

what

God

is

doing

what

God

has

done

and

what

God

is

able

to

do

in

us

what

God

is

able

to

do

through

us

because

there

is

now

no

condemnation

for

those

who

are

in

Christ

Jesus

let's

pray

Father

we

thank you

for

your

word

we

thank

you

for

its

truth

for

its

power

we

thank

you

that

the

gospel

indeed

is

good

news

the

gospel

is

the

good

news

of

salvation

that

is

found

in

Jesus

and

for

those

of

us

whose

faith

is

in

him

all

of

his

benefits

and

blessings

belong

to

all

of

his

people

help

us

Lord

to

recognize

that

in

him

we

are

safe

that

we

are

secure

help

us

to

realize

confidently

serve

him

that

we

can

make

him

known

through

word

and

through

deed

and

help

us

Lord

to

look

upon

this

world

with

optimism

help

us

not

to

see

a

day

of

small

things

but

help

us

to

see

a

harvest

field

that

is

ripe

and

let

us

pray

to

you

oh

God

the

Lord

of

the

harvest

to

send

forth

many

more

workers

into

this

harvest

field

so

that

more

churches

could

into

the

world

into

those

places

where

they

don't

know

anything

about

Jesus

Lord

we

come

to

you

you

are

the

Lord

of

the