Christ Is All - Philippians 1:19–26

Why don't we pray?

So Father, thank you for a new morning.

Thank you.

That we have is Christ.

Not through us, but through your Son Jesus.

Father, we thank you.

Uh that he is that firm foundation.

And uh we can say, yet not I, but through Christ and me.

Be with us today, Father, as we go through your word, and I just I pray that your Holy Spirit would move through this place and help us, Father.

To make Christ the main thing and to not make other things in our lives the main thing, but to make him the ultimate thing in our lives.

You pray all this in your name.

And all God's people said.

Amen.

Well, you're all looking tan this morning.

Enjoying summer in Pentwater.

How many is having a good time in this summer?

Alright, we got a couple people out there having a good time.

We've been enjoying it as well.

You know, we've been taking on sailing, so we're a bunch of sailors now.

So we just learned from the sailing school with prams.

Now we're into the sunfish sailboats, and our boys are sailing out on Pentwater Lake, and it's been a ton of fun flipping over and then reflipping the sailboat.

It's been a ton of fun sailing and uh just enjoying that experience.

You know, it's interesting.

We've not only been sailing, but we've been eating different food than we're used to.

We've been eating a lot of fish.

How many fish lovers do we have out there?

Oh, we got a couple out there.

So someone dropped off the other day some smoked salmon, and my oldest son, it's been a chore to keep this boy full.

He came to me and said, Dad, I'm hungry.

I was like, awesome, we just got some smoked salmon.

And he's like, Oh, that'd be great.

I leave the kitchen and I come back and I see him, he's devouring the smoked salmon in one hand, and the other hand, he's got cinnamon toast crunched, and he's going every other.

Not really what I'm gonna call the ideal combination, but they're enjoying the new foods and uh interesting combinations as well.

But hey, if you're new with us, we're going through the book of Philippians, and we're entitling the series Joy in the Journey.

Joy in the Journey, and we're gonna be in Philippians 1, and we're gonna be looking at verses 19 through 26.

And as you're getting there, as you're getting ready for that, I just want to ask you a question this morning.

This this white piece of paper, if I were to hand this blank white piece of paper to you and ask you to finish one sentence honestly.

Not with the answer you know you should probably put down or the church answer, the answer you're supposed to give, but if you were to answer honestly, what would you put on this?

For me to live is what?

On this white piece of paper.

For me to live, is it Christ?

We're gonna learn from the Apostle Paul that that's the right answer, but is that really true in your life?

If you had this white piece of paper and you gave it to your spouse or you gave it to your neighbor sitting next to you, what would they put down for your word?

Would they really put down Christ?

You know, maybe they would put down family or they would put down success or security or comfort, retirement, maybe even sports or money or your reputation.

None of those are necessarily bad.

Whoever fills that blank becomes the center of our life.

It shapes your priorities, it influences your decisions, it also influences your identity.

It even affects how you handle suffering and how you handle death.

Today we're going to hear from a man who's sitting in a Roman prison cell, finishing that one word with Christ.

For me to live is Christ.

And he says to die is gain.

Those may be the most powerful words the apostle Paul ever wrote.

But here's what I want you to notice: Paul didn't suddenly arrive at this conclusion because he was sitting in prison.

Prison simply revealed what already had been true in his heart.

When everything was stripped away, his freedom, his comfort, his future, his reputation, even his life, Christ was still enough.

And that raises an important question.

What kind of life can honestly say, for me to live is Christ.

What does that really look like?

It sounds good, but what does that really look like practically?

As we walk through this passage, Paul gives us three characteristics of a life where Christ truly is everything.

Every single thing in our life.

And if you're taking notes, the first is this a Christ-centered life produces confidence.

A Christ-centered life produces confidence.

Let's pick it up in the passage in verse 19.

For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed.

But with that, full courage, now, as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

You think about this, Paul has every earthly reason to be anxious.

Think about where he's writing these words.

He isn't sitting in comfortable AC on a day like today.

He's sitting strapped to a Roman soldier in this Roman prison.

He's chained, and every day he wakes up with uncertainty.

Any day, Caesar could write and say, you're going to be executed.

Any day Caesar could say, you know what, we're going to release Paul.

He does not have the answers at all.

He doesn't know what's going to happen.

And yet, spiritually speaking, his confidence has never been greater.

That almost seems backwards, and I think most people become more confident when circumstances improve.

Oh man, look at my retirement 401k.

It's doing great.

Or my finances are doing great.

My family's doing great.

Therefore, my confidence increases.

But Paul becomes more confident while his circumstances continually deteriorate.

Why?

Like we talked about last week, Christian confidence was never built upon circumstances.

It has always been built upon Christ.

Notice how Paul begins, for I know.

He doesn't say I hope or I wish or I think or maybe I got a good feeling.

He says, I know.

And that word speaks a settled confidence, this unshakable assurance.

Not because Paul could predict the future, but because he trusted the God who already held the future.

Church, there's a tremendous difference when confidence is in outcomes versus confidence in God.

And we often want confidence that everything will work out the way that we want.

Paul had confidence that everything would work out according to God's perfect plan.

And those are always not always the same thing.

His confidence rested in the prayers of God's people.

Paul says, through your prayers.

I mean, you think about that.

One of the greatest missionaries who ever lived, one of the greatest theologians who ever wrote scripture still depended on prayers of ordinary believers.

Paul never outgrew his need for prayer.

He understood something we often forget.

God has chosen to work through the prayers of his people.

Prayer isn't simply a religious exercise that we do occasionally, prayer is the participation in God's work.

And James 5, 16 says the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

That means that every prayer offered for a missionary, every prayer offered for a believer, or even a non-believer, or every prayer that's offered for the church, it matters.

It's a part of the work.

Sometimes you wonder, what can I possibly do?

What can I do, God?

I don't know what to do right now, and how I can serve you.

You can pray.

Never underestimate what God accomplishes through praying people.

One pastor said the church moves forward on its knees before it ever moves forward on its feet.

That's what it's all about.

That's exactly what Paul believed.

His confidence rested in the provision of the Holy Spirit.

Paul also says, and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

That word help carries the idea of this generous supply, an abundant provision, more than enough.

Paul isn't facing prison by himself.

He's not depending on his own courage.

He's not trying to manufacture this confidence in his life.

The Holy Spirit is supplying everything he needs.

The Spirit gives wisdom and we don't know what to say or what to do, and the Spirit gives peace when anxiety begins to overwhelm us.

And boy, are the anxiety levels high in our country and our nation.

Church, God never calls us to walk through something without giving us his presence.

You realize no matter what trials you face, or whatever you go through, he is there with you.

He's not saying to go through this alone.

John 14, 18 says, I will not leave you as orphans.

Praise God.

That promise still stands.

You may feel alone, but if you belong to Christ, you never are.

His confidence rested in God's greater purpose.

Notice in verse 20 that Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

This is perhaps one of the most remarkable statements he says in this passage.

Paul isn't ultimately asking, Will I live?

He's asking, will Christ be glorified?

Thinking of all the things he could have asked, he asks, Is Christ going to be glorified?

His focus isn't this self-preservation, it's Christ's exaltation.

I mean, what's the difference?

Most of our prayers naturally revolve around comfort.

Lord, fix this.

Lord, take this away from me.

I'm done.

I don't want to face this anymore.

Change this.

Or Paul's greatest prayer was, whatever happens, make much of Jesus.

What a maturity.

Because Paul understood something every believer must learn.

God's highest purpose isn't making us comfortable.

God's highest purpose is making his son known.

And Romans 8, 28 says, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good.

But verse 28 explains, good.

To be conformed to the image of his son.

God is more interested in your Christ-likeness than your comfort.

He wants you to become more in his image.

Sometimes that means that he delivers us from trials, and sometimes he delivers us through trials.

Either way, the purpose never changes.

And I'm always moved by the hymn writer who wrote the song, It Is Well with My Soul.

Horatio Spafford was a successful attorney in Chicago and he was doing a really good job.

And he had one son and four daughters.

And you look at his son, his son came and developed this severe case of pneumonia.

And they ended up seeing his son die right in his arms.

And when you think things get worse, it only gets worse.

He he uh was starting to go about his day and went back to his job, and there was a Chicago fire.

All the land that this man had built himself upon in Chicago was burning.

The whole Chicago fire went off.

And he had lost a lot of his real estate.

His family was devastated, so they decided, what do you want to do?

And he knew D.

L.

Moody very well.

And he said, you know what?

Right now there's not much for us here.

We don't even have a home.

Let's send you guys on the ship to go and visit with D.L.

Moody in Europe.

And you can be encouraged by his ministry.

And so his wife and his daughters decided to go because he had to stay behind to make sure that he could figure out the real estate and how things were going to look.

And they end up going across in a foggy day and they hit another ship.

And his four daughters drowned.

All of his kids.

Polar opposite of what my family is: four boys and one girl.

He had four girls and one boy.

And then all the stuff that he's ever belonged to him is gone.

And his wife sends over these two words saved alone.

And as Spafford sailed the place where his daughters died, he looked out over the sea and he said, One peace like a river.

How could this man have that?

How could he have this peace like a river?

His confidence wasn't made, his life wasn't made on what made sense.

It was because Christ is still worthy.

That's exactly Paul's confidence.

Nothing he was facing made sense whatsoever, just like Spafford.

And so what does it look like for us when hardship comes?

Instead of asking, why is this happening to me?

Ask, how can Christ be seen through me?

Instead of praying, only, Lord, remove this, pray, Lord, can you please use this?

Instead of focusing on what you've lost, focus on what God has accomplished.

Church, our greatest testimony is often not how God keeps us from suffering.

It's often how faithfully he carries us through it.

And we see this man Horatio and his family, like they went through the worst of the worst.

And yet God never abandoned them.

He was with them.

And he carried them through it, and it became one of their most powerful things that God brought in their life for a testimony.

And through that, one of the greatest hymns of all time.

It is well with my soul.

And the Apostle Paul is chained in prison.

He's going through trials, he's going through the unknown, this anxiousness in his life, and he's sitting there with this confidence.

Because a Christ-centered life, it produces confidence in your life.

Number two, a Christ-centered life has one supreme purpose.

A Christ-centered life has one supreme purpose.

Philippians 1 21.

For to me to live is Christ.

To die is actually gain.

If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell.

I am hard pressed between the two.

My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

So there it is.

We see it.

For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.

If there is one verse in the Bible that gives an autobiography of this man Paul, is that verse right there.

Many call Philippians 1.21 the autobiography of the apostle Paul in one single sentence.

Everything, every decision he made was for Christ.

Every pain he endured was for Christ.

Every sermon he preached was for Christ.

Everywhere he walked was for Christ.

Every suffering this man endured was for Christ.

Can all be explained by these seven words.

Can be summed up for this man of Paul.

For me to live is Christ.

This is simply a beautiful verse to memorize.

It's a declaration of complete surrender.

It's a statement of ultimate allegiance.

It answers the most important question every person must answer.

What are you living for?

What's on this white piece of paper?

What is that word that comes to mind that is the foundation of your life?

And Paul says, My answer is going to be different.

My answer is Christ.

Christ is his life.

There's a tremendous difference.

Christ was Paul's identity.

Paul no longer identified being a Pharisee or his education or his accomplishments or even titles or what others had thought of him, everything that once defined him, been replaced by Christ.

Look at this in Galatians 2.20.

Paul said this, I have been crucified.

I have been crucified with Christ.

It's no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me.

Paul understood that before you discover what you are called to do, you must first understand whose you are.

And he knew it.

It is I who've been crucified.

It's no longer I who live, it's Christ who lives in me.

Your identity is not found in your occupation, and your income, your title, your accomplishments, even your failures.

Everything is found in Christ.

And that changes everything.

Christ was Paul's mission.

Everywhere Paul went, he looked for opportunities to advance the gospels of Christ.

His mission never changed.

The circumstances changed, but the mission didn't.

What is God's will for my life, you may ask?

When much of God's will has already been revealed in our lives.

Love God.

Love people.

Make disciples.

Glorify Christ.

Make Christ the main thing.

Whether you're a teacher, a mechanic, a farmer, or a retiree, a business owner, maybe you're a student, it should all be centered on the fact that to live is Christ.

Nothing else but Christ.

Christ was Paul's joy.

And remember, Paul's writing, it's impossible for him to do this in his own strength.

Because Paul's joy wasn't connected to comfort, it was connected to Christ.

And if your joy depends on circumstances, it's going to rise and fall as your circumstances change.

And if your joy depends on Christ, it remains steady, never changes.

Hebrews 13:8, we talked about last week.

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever.

The source of Paul's joy was unchanging.

Christ was Paul's future.

Then Paul says something that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to the unbelieving world.

And to die is gain.

And to die is gain.

Notice he doesn't merely tolerate death.

He calls it gain.

When he dies, who says something like that?

Certainly not someone who believes death is the end.

Paul viewed death completely different because he knew what waited for him on the other side.

Death wasn't a loss of Christ, it wasn't, it was the presence of Christ.

Death wasn't defeat, death was victory.

And that doesn't mean that Paul had a wish that he would be dead.

You know, I think of it from the song from Phil Wickham, who recently wrote a song called Homesick for Heaven.

Just hearing these lyrics, my heart longs to a country and a king, of a land I've always known, but I've never seen.

Some call it paradise or the land of the living.

Well, I call it home, and I am homesick for heaven.

And he says, I want to walk with Moses on streets of gold and dance with David before your throne to thank you face to face for the grace you've given.

I want to see my children run in your arms and worship the Savior who wears my scars.

There's this ache in my heart.

I'm homesick for heaven.

No more fear, no more pain.

Every tear wiped away, crying holy.

Every knee on the floor, every voice evermore, crying holy.

Oh, I want to go home.

I want to go home.

Paul did not have a death wish.

He was homesick.

Homesick for heaven.

As Christians, we don't minimize death.

Death is still an enemy because it came through this nasty word called sin.

Death hurts, it separates families, it brings grief.

Even Jesus struggled with that with Lazarus.

And it hurt.

But because of the resurrection of Jesus, death no longer had the final word.

And Paul could look at death in the face and say, You can take everything, but this you can't take.

You can't take Christ from me.

In fact, you'll only bring him to his presence.

And that's why he can say, To die is gained.

Paul's holy tension here, beginning in verse 22, Paul opens a window into his heart.

He says, If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell.

He's not confused, he's conflicted.

He longs to be with Jesus.

Notice verse 23, my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

The Greek phrase translated far better is empathetic.

It literally carries this idea of better by far, immeasurably better, better beyond even any comparison.

Paul isn't saying heaven's just a little better than earth.

I mean, think about no more funerals, no more cancer, broken relationship, anxiety, tears, guilt, shame, no more death.

More importantly, perfect fellowship with Christ forever.

No wonder Paul says it's far better.

Yet he does not ask God to take him immediately because of his love.

He puts others ahead of self.

But he says, But to remain, in verse 24, to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

Paul chooses ministry over comfort, service over ease, sacrifice over self.

That's Christian maturity.

He wasn't living to escape, he was living for obedience.

Church, if God still has you here, he still has work for you to do.

There are children to raise, there's grandchildren to influence, there's neighbors to reach, there are believers to disciple.

The moment your purpose on earth is complete, God will bring you home.

He'll bring you home in his presence.

And there is fruitful labor to accomplish.

You know, I think of Jim Elliott, a missionary, and he had five others who went with them.

They went to the jungles of Ecuador to win the Warriani people for the gospel of Jesus.

And they they fly in and they had all these plans.

They're young and they're excited.

They've been praying for months for this trip, and they finally make it in and they start talking to the people, and they are greeted not with love, but with spears.

All five of them lost their lives.

They speared them to death.

And the wives were not with them, and they struggle with that, and the world watched with them.

Just total confusion.

What a waste the world would say.

Why would anyone throw their lives in like that?

And Jim Elliott had written these words in his journal.

He said, He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain, what he cannot lose.

Jim understood something that the world really understands.

Your life is temporary.

You cannot keep it forever.

Every one of us will eventually have to lay it down.

The only question is, what we give it for.

From the world's perspective, Jim lost everything.

From heaven's perspective, he gained everything.

The world saw failure, but God was writing a much bigger story.

Later, the wives go back to the same village, the same village that killed all of their husbands, and they spread the gospel to all the people in the village, including the ones who killed their husbands.

And they come to Christ.

I even got the privilege of meeting Jim Elliott's son at Moody Bible Institute, and he was talking about how he was doing a presentation, and the guy he was doing the presentation with was the guy who murdered his father.

You think about forgiveness and grace and what they had gone through.

The world saw failure, but God was writing a much bigger story, and they've been able to influence many other tribes because of their father's willingness to obey.

They didn't understand, but they obeyed.

So let me ask you this question.

Paul forces every one of us to answer, finish the sentence with honestly, not with what you know the church answer to be, for me to live is what?

This blank piece of paper.

What would go on this piece of paper?

For me to live is what?

Timother Keller, Timother, Timothy Keller once wrote, whatever you look to more than God, for your happiness and security is your functional savior.

You think about that.

Whatever you look to more than God, for your happiness and security is your functional savior.

If there's anything other than Christ on this piece of paper, I would argue this morning that that is your functional savior.

And Paul, he knew that it had to be Christ.

And Paul would later write in Philippians 3, 8, indeed, I count everything as a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ my Lord.

That is the heartbeat of a Christ-centered life.

And he could honestly say, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

A Christ-centered life has one supreme purpose, and I would argue this morning that the apostle Paul understood what goes on this piece of paper.

To live is Christ.

Number three, and lastly, a Christ-centered life invests in others.

A Christ-centered life invests in others.

In Philippians 1, verse 25.

Philippians 1:25

So that in me you may have ample cause to glorify in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again.

Paul has just told us something astonishing.

He said, My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

But if anyone had earned the right to say, I'm ready to go home, it was the Apostle Paul.

Thinking of all the pain this man endured, all the things he had seen, he was ready.

After saying he wants to be with Christ, he immediately turns his attention back to the Philippians.

Because his love always looked outward.

And Christ centered life doesn't simply ask, What do I want to do?

It asks, What do others need?

That's exactly what Jesus did in Philippians chapter 2, which we're going to later talk about when Christ emptied himself and took the form of a servant.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

Paul is following the example, the savior that he loves, and Paul understood that life was never about himself.

Notice what he says in verse 25 I will remain and continue with you all.

As long as God leaves you here, he has a purpose for your life.

Sometimes we think our purpose ends when we retire.

We're done.

Our children have grown, they're out of the house.

Oh, my house declined, so I'm done.

Or reach a certain age, so therefore I'm done.

And I'm telling you, I don't see that in the Bible.

You never retire from praying.

You never retire from encouraging, from discipling, from loving other people.

If God still has you breathing, he still has you serving in some way.

Notice Paul's priorities, he gives us three words that describes what he wanted for the Philippians, their progress.

Paul wanted them to keep on growing.

The word progress was used early in the Philippians when Paul spoke about the advancement of the gospel, describes moving forward, making a headway, continuing towards the goal.

The Christian life was never ever intended to be stagnant.

You just stay in the same place.

God never calls us to be still spiritually, he wants us to grow.

And Paul wasn't satisfied with the Philippians simply attending church.

He wanted them to be involved.

He also talks about their joy, and Paul also desired their joy.

Notice he doesn't separate joy from faith.

Biblical joy isn't manufactured, it grows out of walking with Christ.

He wanted people trusting Jesus more deeply.

That should challenge all of us.

Ask yourself, when people leave a conversation with me, do they leave encouraged in their faith?

Or do they love Jesus more because they spent time with me?

I mean thinking about that.

Is that true of your life?

Do my words build others up or just tear them down?

Do I point people towards Christ or towards myself?

Paul understood the greatest investment you can ever make is investing in the next generation and walk with other people in their lives.

Matthew 6, 19 says, Do not lay up yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, but lay up yourselves treasures in heaven.

The greatest legacy isn't measured by what you leave, is isn't measured by what you leave behind.

It's measured by who you leave behind.

The man Dawson Trotman understood this.

He was the founder of Navigators, and his ministry was dedicated to help people and disciple people.

And Billy Graham even had conversations with him.

He's like, I have about 6,000 people who just gave their lives to Christ.

And I was wondering if you could kind of take them and start discipling them.

And he was overwhelmed by the task, but he was so passionate to see people come to know Jesus and to go further in the relationship, not staying stagnant, but to continually move in the process of discipleship.

And in June of 1956, Dawson was swimming at the beach and he noticed there was a girl out there struggling to swim.

And so right away, this man jumps into the water and ends up pushing her up to the surface and brings her to safety.

And they couldn't find Dawson.

Later, they took a rescue crew out there and they found Dawson's body later.

They don't know if it was heart failure or just the fact that he drowned holding that person up.

But Billy Graham was at his funeral and he talked about it, and many people talked about Dawson.

He had many of his disciples there, and one statement captured his entire life.

Dawson died exactly the way he lived, always holding someone else up.

Is that true of your life?

Discipling other people.

I mean, it's a beautiful picture of the Christian life.

We had the opportunity to do that.

He spent his life lifting people spiritually, teaching them God's word, encouraging them, and discipling them.

That's a kind of legacy that lasts.

A Christ-centered life invests in others.

It's not just for us to have comfort, it's for us to invest in other people around us.

And as we come to the end of this passage, everything points back to the unforgettable statement.

To live is Christ.

To die is gain because Christ was his confidence.

He wasn't afraid of the circumstances.

He wasn't afraid of death because Christ was his treasure.

He spent his life investing in other people instead of himself.

Church, imagine.

Imagine what would happen if this white piece of paper had Christ on it for every one of us.

And it wasn't just a church cliche answer, it was actually true of our lives.

How different pet water would look.

How different the surrounding communities would look.

How different our families would look.

How different grandparenting would look if it was all about Christ.

Imagine believers who were more concerned about another person's spiritual growth than their own comfort.

That kind of church would change a community.

That kind of church reflects Christ.

And so let me ask you one final question.

For you to live is what?

What would go on this piece of paper?

What would your spouse say?

What would your kids say?

What would your grandkids say?

What would you say personally?

For me to live is what?

For the Apostle Paul, we see that it was Christ.

And Christ's in our life that produces confidence.

When we choose to submit to Christ, it produces confidence in our lives.

It brings a supreme purpose.

And it also is a life that invests in others.

In the end, we're going to come to a dash.

You have when you were born, and you have when you die.

And you got the dash in between.

A tiny dash is all we have.

The question isn't how long is your dash?

The question is who is different because you live?

Who is different because you live?

For me to live is Christ.

For those who walked away, I want to sing this song to you guys this morning.

I want to create some time in the service where you can spend time with the one who should be number one in your life.

Christ.

I want you to have a conversation with him.

You see, one of the things as I get to know Christ more is amazed by his grace.

Amazed by his mercy.

Amazed that sometimes we decide to take the long way home.

But he's still waiting.

And he still wants a relationship with you.

And you may be in this room today and you've never received Jesus, you can do that today.

You can get off that long road home and you can make that decision to follow Jesus today.

We'd love to show you how to do that.

To make that middle dash worth something.

Because the only thing that's not going to fail is Christ.

Everything else will.

And so as I sing this song, I want you to spend some time with your Savior.

I want you to pray.

I want you to think.

I want you to really observe your life and be honest with yourself.

Sometimes the greatest liar of our lives is ourselves.

And it's a struggle at times.

What is on that white piece of paper for your life?

And if you have walked away from your Savior, you can always come back.

He's on the other side just waiting.

And so spend some time with your Savior.

Hey God, it's me.

I've been lost a little while.

Walking all these miles and night.

Some direction.

Cause down here it's getting high.

I've been searching near it for me.

You wait for me to take it all well.

I can't just let go.

You it for me.

You eat all it all.

Sorry it took so long.

I was taking the long way.

Oh now I say for the store.

What do you like to do, my death?

When you leave the road, do it for me, I'll take it all in the world.

I was taking the long way home.

You wait for me.

You wait for me.

Father God, we thank you.

You wait for me.

Sorry for the times where we've looked at that piece of paper and it was the wrong thing.

It wasn't a life that was centered on you, Father.

I pray you forgive me for that.

Father, forgive us in our lives, the times where we've not made you the foundation of our lives.

Father, help us.

Help us to make you the one that's the true one that's on that white piece of paper.

To live is you and to die as you.

So, Father, I pray that you'd be glorified in that.

And you would help us all to be able to do that this morning.

We thank you for Jesus.

We thank you for what He's done for us.

And pray you continue with this.

We're going to give you an opportunity.

We've seen this song a lot of times.

It's called The Lord the Blessing.

And I want to encourage you to pray this song over somebody.