ISAIAH 552008 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Isaiah 55

Amen.

Here as we continue in the book of Isaiah, chapter 55 is one of those chapters that you might be familiar with. It's one of those great chapters and refreshing chapters. No judgment, no pronouncements of, you know, this city is going to fall or that nation is going to be conquered. But it's really a great invitation by God. It's an invitation to come and be blessed. It's an invitation to come and be blessed.

to come and experience the fullness of what he has in store for those who are devoted to him, for those who will love him and follow him. It's an invitation that was given to the nation of Israel, but is also extended to you and I this evening. And it's an invitation that I hope you will respond to. We start Isaiah chapter 55 in verse 1. It says,

And you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Here as we begin Isaiah 55, the invitation, the call, is to everyone who thirsts.

Everyone who is thirsty. Now as we read these things, of course, we're not speaking of the physical elements. We're not talking about those who have a physical thirst and need a glass of water. But we're talking about those who have a spiritual thirst. Those who have a thirst within their soul. Those who have a thirst and a yearning within them that is not quenched. They are unsatisfied spiritually.

They are needy. God gives this invitation to everyone who is in that condition. And I would ask you this evening to evaluate your heart for a moment. Are you thirsty? Are you satisfied with where you are in your relationship with God? Is your relationship with God such that you need nothing else? Every one of us has a thirst.

We have this thirst within us that we are seeking to satisfy. We've described it many different ways as Christians throughout the years. Life without Jesus is like a donut. You have a hole in the middle of your heart. Maybe you remember that song. Maybe not.

Everyone talks about this hole in your heart that's kind of, it's God-shaped and you can try to fit everything into it, but nothing else will really fit that hole that's in your heart. But only Jesus can fit that hole and fill that hole and give you the satisfaction of what you need or the quench, I'm sorry, the quench the thirst that you have.

And you can try to fill it with all kinds of things in life and you can chase after money, you can chase after the grand career or the house of your dreams or the relationship that you've always desired and you can try to fill it with drugs or alcohol or whatever pleasures of this life that you can come across. We all have a thirst. We all have a desire to be satisfied. We all have a need to be satisfied.

But what is it that satisfies our soul? And this is what God is presenting to us. He says, everyone who thirsts, if you're unhappy in life, if you're not satisfied, if you thirst for more in your life, this invitation is to you. And so he says, come to the waters. And then he extends it on, this is the good news, and you who have no money, come, buy and eat.

The invitation that God is offering here is not one that has a price tag attached to it. It's not one that is affected by the stock market or whether or not the government bails out the $700 million in mortgages and those lenders that are in need. It's not based upon the financial situation that you experience right now or anytime. The thirst that you have can be quenched

Without any type of physical resources, it doesn't require that you spend money. You don't have to give extra whenever we pass the offering here in order to experience the fullness of what God has for you and to be satisfied. You don't have to have some type of works attached to it. It's not on the basis of what you can do or how much you can give or how much that you have.

He says, come and buy you who have no money. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. And there's a good indication if you're not satisfied and yet you're trying to satisfy yourself with the things that you purchase and the ways that you spend, you can know just from right here, this verse, it's never going to satisfy you. Whatever you can buy, if you can purchase it,

If you can spend money for it, it's not it. It's not what's going to satisfy you. It's not what's going to quench that thirst within you. Because that thirst can only be quenched with something that is obtained without money and without price. And so he asks the question in verse 2, why do you spend money for what is not bread? Asking the question, why are you spending money? Why are you investing yourself? Why are you using your resources to

to obtain things that do not satisfy you. Again, we're not talking about physical bread, but we're talking about the nourishment that you're yearning for. We're talking about the substance that you're desiring that would fill you, that would meet that need, that would fill your hunger and quench your thirst. He says, why do you spend your wages for what does not satisfy? Why do you spend your money to chase after things that

That will never satisfy you is the question. This is God asking us this question. How foolish we are so many times we get caught up in these endless chases. And we think if we just have this next thing that then that'll be it. Then we'll be satisfied. If I can just get that cool new phone, then that's it. I'll have everything that I need. Or if I get...

A 30-year marriage. Then I'll be satisfied. Then I'll have everything that I need. Or if I get this house, or if I can get to this place in my life. And we have this chase. But the problem is, and you know how it goes, once we get there, then there's something else just beyond the horizon, just around the corner. Oh, man, once I get there, then I'll really be set. Once I get a family, man, then I'll be satisfied. I can't wait. That's what's really going to fulfill my life.

And then once the kids get out of the house, then that's when I'll be satisfied. That's when it'll be great. And we continue to extend it farther and farther. It's an endless chase. And so he says, why do you spend money for what is not bread? Why do you try to fill that need? Why do you try to fulfill yourself in ways that will never work?

So he goes on to say, listen carefully to me and eat what is good and let your soul delight itself in abundance. So God doesn't leave us hanging. He doesn't leave us to try to blindly try to figure out what is it? What is it that is going to satisfy me? What is it that is going to fulfill me? He gives us the answer. If you really want to be fulfilled, if you want to be satisfied in life,

God says, listen carefully to me. Listen carefully to me and eat what is good. God is offering to us the most valuable thing in all of eternity for free. And he says to attain it, to get it, to receive it. All you need to do is you need to listen carefully to me.

And that's what really this chapter is all about. It's about listening to the Lord and hearing from Him and receiving from Him. He is the one who can satisfy us. It's relationship with God that we are yearning for. And our flesh tells us, no, that's not it. Our flesh tells us, that actually kind of just gets in the way.

And we're too busy for that. And we've got other priorities and other things we've got to take care of. And there's these other things that are more important. And we've got to take care of these issues. And so we chase after all those things. Because that's what our body tells us. That's what our heart tells us. That's what our feelings tell us. But the reality is, what we really need is a relationship with God. And you might think, well, that's great, Jerry. But I'm a Christian. I'm already...

I already received Jesus and I don't know if there's any unsaved people here, Jerry, so just move on to the next verse, please. But the reality is that this is for us as Christians as much as it is for those who have not yet made a profession of faith. It's for those especially who profess to be Christians but in reality don't walk in a relationship with God and don't have an intimacy with the Lord. It's for every one of us.

Because when we say the prayer, when we give our lives to Jesus, the thirst, it is quenched as long as we stay there in that relationship with Him. But our hearts are prone to wander. And our eyes often get placed in directions that they should not be placed in.

We begin to give in to cravings here and there. We begin to be distracted by this world and the things that they can offer and the persuasive advertising or conversations, the appealing and enticing things that are offered there. And very easily and very quickly, we can move out of that relationship that satisfies us completely in search of something more. But it's only that relationship with God that will satisfy us.

Can you understand? Just for a moment, think with me. Without God, actually, let me back up a second. Don't just for a moment think with me. Think with me the whole time through here. But think about this example for a moment. Without God, the good moral person who has a house and a family, and they love each other, and they've got food on the table and stable jobs, the good moral person, the good moral family is no better than the drug addict.

Without God. They're all searching. They're both yearning. They're both desiring. They're both trying to fill their life with something that will satisfy them. They've just gone different avenues to try to meet that need and fill that hole within them and quench that thirst that they have. They're searching, trying to be satisfied, but neither of them will ever be successful without God.

The point is, it's only God. God says, listen to me. You who are thirsty, it's a call to those who are thirsty, who recognize, I have a need, I have a thirst. And he says, come and eat, and you'll be satisfied. And it won't cost you anything, because it's about a relationship with the Lord God Almighty through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, if you're not thirsty, you will not come. If you're not thirsty, don't come.

It doesn't do anybody any good for you to be religious and have a show of religion or Christianity if it's not about a relationship with God. If He's not the only thing that will satisfy you, the thing that will meet your utmost need no matter what happens in life. This invitation is to those who thirst. Are you thirsty? Do you want more of God?

Do you need, does your soul cry out for that relationship with the Lord and more intimacy with Him and to draw close to Him, to know Him because you're so passionately in love with Him? I think it's very likely that Jesus had this passage on His mind and His heart in John chapter 7 when He stood up on the last day, the great day of the feast and cried out saying, "...if anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."

He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Jesus says, if you're thirsty, come to me and drink, and out of your heart will flow rivers of living water. Not only will you be quenched, but you'll be quenched to such a degree that your life will abound. That's why he says there at the end of verse 2, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. See, it's very clear if you are in a place of,

of right relationship with God. Because your soul can delight itself in abundance. There's abundance within. No matter what's going on around you, there's abundance because God meets your need. And He fulfills you and He satisfies you and He can quench your thirst. And how do we receive that? How do we receive this? God says, listen carefully to me. Verse 3 says,

Verse 4,

Here the Lord is looking forward to the relationship that He will have with His people during the millennial kingdom. When He establishes His reign. When at that time finally His people will incline their ear to Him and hear Him. And the work that God is going to do in that is going to be so great that the whole world is going to be impacted and affected and receive the bountiful blessings of Israel today.

Being right with God and receiving Him and listening carefully to Him. And everyone is going to run to the land of Israel because of the Lord their God, the Holy One of Israel, because He has glorified them, glorified Himself through them. We've been looking at that picture many different ways throughout the book of Isaiah as He's foretold of these things that are yet to come during that thousand year reign of Christ.

But in a lot of ways, we do not have to wait until then to see these verses fulfilled. He says, "'Incline your ear and come to me. Here in your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David.'" It's an everlasting covenant of mercy. God says, "'Listen to me. Incline your ear to me.'" It's kind of like, cup your hand around your ear and pay attention. "'Listen to what God is saying. Hear him, and your soul shall live.'"

Hear Him and your soul shall live. There will be life, abundant life. Again, rivers or torrents of living water flowing forth from within you. And it will be such that God will be glorified in you. And the world around you will know of Him and His work because of what He has done in you. The nations will run to you. The people around you will run to you.

When people are in trouble around you, they'll run to you. When they need to know something about God, they'll run to you. When they need to know how to quench that thirst that they see has been quenched in your life, they'll run to you because they see the work that God has done. They've experienced the waters of living water that has flowed forth from you. They're not bitter waters or sour waters.

But they're living waters, fresh, full of life. I think we should be challenged with that. What is the world around us experience? The people around us, our world, the people in our lives. What do they experience flowing forth from us? Is it torrents of living water? Or they're bitter waters, sour waters, waters full of muck and mire, full of filth.

or fresh springs of life that come forth from God. God calls out everyone who thirsts. If you want more of God, if you want to be satisfied and filled with abundance, if you want life within, real life, the abundant life that Jesus spoke of in John chapter 10 verse 10, He says, Come to Me. Listen carefully. Incline your ear. Hear.

And your soul shall live. He continues this in verse 6. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake His way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord and He will have mercy on him and to our God for He will abundantly pardon. He continues the call. Seek the Lord. Call upon Him.

How do we seek the Lord? He tells us, call upon Him. Look to Him. Forsake your way. Abandon your thoughts and turn to the Lord. Turn to the Lord. The thing that we need. The only thing that can meet our need. The only thing that can quench our thirst is a relationship with God. And so He says, seek the Lord. Call upon Him.

Spend time with Him. Chase after Him. Turn to Him. Forsake your way. Abandon your thoughts. Those things of you, those, well, I feel and I think, and if you're ever around Pastor Cisco and you say, I feel or I think, prepare to be chastised somewhat severely because He'll remind you, that's what you think, that's what you feel, so what? What does the Lord say? Forsake your way. Abandon your thoughts and return to the Lord.

What does the Lord say? What is His word on the subject? What does He say will satisfy you and meet your need and fulfill you? He says, seek the Lord while He may be found. This invitation has an expiration date. It's not open-ended. It expires and its expiration date is the same as yours. When you expire, the invitation expires. In other words, as long as you have life...

As long as you are breathing, you have the opportunity. Everyone who is still living has the opportunity to receive this invitation of God, to seek the Lord while He may be found, and to call upon Him while He is near. Psalm 145.18 tells us, "...the Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." And so the Lord is near whenever someone will call upon Him.

And so the invitation is there for those who will receive it. For those who will take God up on His offer. And it doesn't matter what you've done. And it doesn't matter how far you've run from Him and how badly you've rebelled against Him or how callous and hard you've become in your Christian walk or how religious you are. None of that matters. The invitation is for anyone who

who will hear, for anyone who will call upon Him in truth. And He says that He will have mercy on you and He will abundantly pardon. Not only will He give you abundant life, not only will your soul be able to delight in abundance, but He will abundantly pardon. Even if you've abundantly sinned, He will abundantly pardon. Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more, the Apostle Paul tells us.

And so there's still opportunity. Although we may face consequences for decisions, for our rebellion against God, even in the midst of those consequences, God offers to us a satisfied soul. He offers to us life within. He offers to meet our need and quench our thirst. We're not talking about escaping consequences.

We're not talking about having the perfect life with no trials or trouble or turmoil, no hurts and no pains, but we're talking about through this life, through those trials, through those difficulties, having the peace that passes all understanding. We're talking about having the joy inexpressible. We're talking about having abundant life and a soul that is satisfied for those who will seek the Lord. He will have mercy on

Even though we have wicked ways and thoughts, we can turn to God and He will abundantly pardon. He tells us to forsake our ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Why? Going on in verse 8 and 9, He says, For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. The reason why we need to forsake our way and abandon our thoughts is

is because God says, my thoughts are not your thoughts. We always think we have God figure it out. We always think we know what he's looking for or trying to do or trying to accomplish. We always think we know what he's desiring and what he wants to do. We always think, well, maybe not always, but we often think we even know better. If only he would listen to us and do it our way, things would sure go well. But God says, you need to forsake your thoughts.

You need to abandon your ways and don't just live and think the way that you do because that's the way you've always taught and thought and done and that's the way that your mom raised you and that's what society says and that's what everybody else is doing. You need to turn from all of those things and turn to the Lord because His thoughts are not like your thoughts. Your thoughts are not His thoughts and your ways are not His ways. He goes on to say,

demonstrate that by saying, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways. So we'll stop and think for a second. How high are the heavens above the earth? Well, I don't know. How do you measure that? If you're flying in an airplane from Okinawa to California, how high do you fly, Daniel? 36,000 feet. Did you guys leave the heavens? 36,000 feet.

Did you enter the heavens? How high are the heavens? Now, NASA puts this measurement on it. They say a person is an astronaut when they travel higher than 50 miles high. So if you've traveled over 50 miles, they classify you as an astronaut. You've passed out of this atmosphere and into space, into the heavens. Now, 50 miles...

Anybody can do the math real quick? 5,280 feet times 50 miles. 264,000 feet. Did you guys get close to that, Daniel? No. So you're not an astronaut, man. Sorry to tell you. Here's the point. How high are the heavens above the earth? That's how high God's thoughts are above your thoughts. So when you think you've got it all figured out, and when you say, I think, and Pastor Cisco corrects you, even if it's just, say, 30,000 feet, how are you going to get there?

You can't jump high enough. You can't attain that. Your thoughts, they're never going to be as high as God's thoughts. Your ways are never going to be as high as God's ways. You're never going to achieve His level of thinking or doing. And so what comes naturally to you and what you think and what you feel, you better double check with Him because His ways are not our ways. And it's why we need to forsake our ways.

And the unrighteous man needs to forsake his thoughts because God is nothing like us. The things of us do not compare to the things of God. See, we would have so much limitation. We would only get to experience a fraction, a tiny fraction of what God intends for us if he was limited to our thoughts and our ways. We think, well, what I really need is this.

God has eternity in store for us and things beyond that, well, we can't even imagine and eye has not seen nor is ear heard nor is entered into the heart of man that which God has in store for those who love him. And we reduce that to, man, if I could just get this car. God says, I have so much more for you than the car that's going to break down in ten years.

I've got greater things in store that you can't even imagine. Oh, I don't know, Lord. I can imagine quite a lot. God says, look. Look at the heavens. Look up there. As high as those are, that's how much higher, that's how much better, that's how far greater my ways and thoughts are better than your ways.

You think you know what you need. You think you know what can satisfy your heart. And you have your thoughts and plans about how you will satisfy yourself and how you'll meet your needs and quench your thirst. You need to forsake that. Because God's thoughts are not our thoughts. They're far greater, far beyond what we could ever ask or think. Verse 10.

For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven and do not return there, but water the earth and make it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Verse 11. So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

So now He gives us another picture. Something else for us to chew on and understand a little bit better what He is saying. God says, consider the rain that comes down and the snow that comes down from heaven. They don't immediately turn back around and get taken back up. You don't have the reverse raindrop after the rainstorm and then all the water just flies back up into heaven off the earth. No, what happens? Well, the water comes down

And then it goes all of the different ways that the water goes. And it goes and it waters the hills and it waters the grass and it causes things to bring forth and to bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. The rain comes down and produces fruit. There's growth as a result. God says in the same way, my word doesn't just go out of my mouth and then come back and have accomplished nothing.

No, he says, my word will not return to me void. What happens in the meantime? His word goes out and it goes down and it waters. Well, it waters people's hearts and souls. It waters people's lives. And it brings forth fruit. It causes growth. God says, it will accomplish what I please. And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. So, we've established this is an invitation for those who are thirsty.

And we're to listen, we're to come and hear, to pay attention and listen carefully, to seek the Lord. And we need to forsake our ways and our thoughts because His ways and thoughts are way higher than ours. So how do we get His ways and thoughts? How do we accomplish this? How do we receive? How do we let God do the work that He wants to do? How do we receive from Him? And so He gives us this picture. Here's how you receive. My ways are as higher than your ways as the heavens are.

above the earth. You can't reach him. But here's what I'll do. I'll bring down from the heavens, just like the rain comes down from the heavens. I'll bring down my word from the heavens and it will come and do the work in you that I please to do in you. And it's beyond what you can imagine. It's beyond what you could ask or think. It's far greater than you can know. But it can be done because my word is going to prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Here, what God is saying is that

Come close and listen to me, everyone who thirsts. He's saying, the thing that you need, the thing that will satisfy you, is my word that has been sent down from heaven. In the beginning was the word. The word was with God. The word was with God in the beginning. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. The word of God, Jesus Christ. He's the bread, the manna sent down from heaven. He's the one who said to the woman at the well, if anyone drinks of the water which I give...

They will never thirst again. Jesus is the fulfillment of this invitation. He is the Word that has been sent down from heaven. And He speaks to us through His Word. Through the Word that you have there in your lap. The Bible. His name is the Word of God. He speaks to us through the Word of God. It's living and powerful and sharper than any double-edged sword.

The Word of God is what God has chosen to use to change us, to transform us, to impact us, to reveal Himself to us. I have on my hand a ring that I got in Israel. It says in Hebrew, the Lord reveals Himself by the Word of the Lord. As a reminder to me, here's how God has chosen to reveal Himself, by the Word of the Lord.

Here's how God has chosen to change us and to work in our lives, to bring to us His ways and His thoughts. It's by His Word. His Word is what is being offered in this invitation, in the person of Jesus Christ, and in the message of the Scriptures. We find the fulfillment that our soul is craving. And it's only found in that relationship with Jesus Christ. It's only found...

in a real relationship. Larry and Vianne, they've been married for 30 years. They have a real relationship. They communicate, they talk, they share. They've gotten to know each other more and more each year for the past 30 years. Maybe some dips and valleys, but you understand. They've grown in their relationship. As real as their relationship is, God desires a relationship within us in that same reality.

We share. He shares. We communicate. We learn. We grow together. Well, we grow. He doesn't have much growing to do. But we grow in that relationship with Him. And we learn to share with Him. And we learn to hear from Him. And He speaks to us. And we speak to Him. And we communicate. And we take long walks on the beach together. And we learn to love one another. Again, He already loves us perfectly. But we learn to love Him back and respond to His love.

But as real as the best marriage relationship is, that is the relationship that God desires with us. And He supplies it to us primarily through His Word, through the person of Jesus Christ and the message of the Scriptures. And the result of the Word of God, what happens when God's Word goes forth and accomplishes that which He pleases? That's what happens in verse 12.

For you shall go out with joy and be led out with peace. The mountains and hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree. And it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Now again, we have pictured for us that millennial reign when Jesus Christ establishes His throne.

And literally, these things will take place. And creation will be renewed as a result of Israel turning towards their Savior, inclining their ear to Him, hearing Him, and receiving Him as their Savior. But we don't have to wait that long. The result of us receiving God, receiving the Word of God, Jesus Christ,

walking in relationship with Him, developing that relationship by spending time with Him in His Word, which will not return to Him void, but will accomplish that which He sent it forth to do. It will accomplish what He pleases. The result of that in our lives is that we shall go out with joy and be led out with peace. The joy and the peace that we are thirsting for and desiring and try to fill with every other thing is filled when we receive the Word of God that will not return void.

See, it's an invitation to every one of us. Do you want to have the life that is described here? The abundant life that God promises to those who will follow Him and walk with Him? The peace that passes all understanding? The joy that is not able to be expressed because there's such intensity to it? It's not found in our ways and in our thoughts. It's found in His ways and His thoughts, which are way higher than ours.

So we can't figure them out. It's not something we can accomplish on our own. The only way this can be accomplished in us is by the word that goes forth from His mouth. God gives this invitation to everyone who thirsts. Are you thirsty? God wants to fill you. He wants to satisfy your soul. He wants to meet your needs, to mend those hurts, to give you abundant life. That's what He desires for each one of us.

He desires for us more than we would ever even know what to ask for. And He says, look, if you want this, if you're thirsty, listen to Me. Listen to My Word. Receive My Word. Jesus said, if anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. If that is the life that you want, God says, come to Me and drink. Jesus says, come to Me and drink.

Believe in me. Believing, as we often share, is more than just intellectually acknowledging that He exists. But it's receiving His Word and forsaking our ways, turning to Him. Forsaking our ideas, our thoughts, and submitting ourselves to Him, to His ways and His thoughts that He presents to us through His Word. Just like we have our thoughts and our ways and how we're going to satisfy ourselves. But God says, it won't work.

So, if you're thirsty, would you listen to me? Would you lay aside those plans that you have, those things that you think are going to satisfy yourself, those thoughts that you have, would you lay those things aside and receive my ways and find true fulfillment through relationship with me? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that every one of us would respond to your invitation. God, I pray that all of us would receive the fullness of what you have for us.

Lord, it requires that we really believe you. And it's so easy in our hearts to say, yeah, yeah, and still be determined in these other things, in these life pursuits. And Lord, you may have some of those things in store for us. But Lord, help us not to insist on our ways and our plans and thoughts. God, I pray that you would help us to recognize our need for you and this thirst that we have, which is for you. And God, I pray that you would remind us as we have this thirst that

remind us, God, not to run to other things to satisfy that thirst, but Lord, to run to you. You alone can satisfy us. You alone can meet our needs. And so, Lord, I pray that you would help us to be diligent in listening to you, carefully hearing from you. Help us, God, to be faithful and disciplined in reading your word and spending time with you. Lord, our flesh will lie to us. Our hearts will deceive us.

and cause us to neglect our time with you. But Lord, I pray that you would remind us that it's you that we really need, and it's you that we're craving, and it's you that we're desiring. Lord, I pray that you would help us to exhort one another daily, reminding each other it's you that we need, it's you that we're craving, it's you that we're thirsting for, and only you can satisfy us.

Lord, help us not to neglect your word or neglect the assembling of ourselves together, but to encourage one another. Because, Lord, you have things far greater than we can imagine in store for us. So help us to turn to you, to run to you, to walk with you, and allow you and your word to accomplish in us that which you sent it forth to do. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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