Colossians 2023

We're gonna turn to our Bible reading, from colossians 3 and the first 11 verses, it should come up on the screen. And then after this Tom is gonna come and preach from this passage. So colossians 3 beginning at chapter 1. Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of god.

Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of god is coming, You used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived, but now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these, anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

Do not lie to each other. Since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator. Here, there is no gentile or due, circumcised or uncircumcised. Barbarian scythian slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all. Father, we thank you that, your your words are everything that we need, for life and for godliness.

We thank you that in them, we find truth, and we find light for our feet, and we find a lamp for our path we find guidance in this dark world, that we find a double edged sword which convict us of our sin that we find a surgeon who is willing to remake us and loves to remake us through this word. And, we pray father as we think about those things which still belong to our earthly nature, that you'd help us to deal honestly with those things, that you'd help us not to cover up, but by your spirit to put these things to death. And we pray that you would help us to clothe ourselves in the new identity which we have in the lord's us. And so we pray that you would speak to every 1 of us, this morning in Jesus' name. Our Oh, man.

Well, 1 of my favorite old testament stories, is what 1 children's author calls the god contest, the god contest. It's between, yahweh, who is the true god and baal the false god And, the text is, 1 king's chapter 18. The time is Sunrise 870 BC, or thereabouts. The location is in the top of Mount Carmel. The key players, are Elijah and Yahweh and the lord and the true god on 1 side And on the other side, there's Ahab, there's Jezebel, there's Bail and the prophets of Bail, which stand for everything that is wrong and evil in the world.

And the challenge is laid out by Elijah in 1 kings 18 verse 20. So Ahab summoned Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel, then Elijah stood in front of them and said, How long will you waiver hobbling between 2 opinions? If the lord is god, follow him. But if Bail is God, then follow him, but the people were completely silent. Then verse 23, now bring 2 bulls.

The prophets of baal may choose whichever 1 they wish and cut it into pieces. And lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood of the altar, but not set fire to it. Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the lord, the god who answers by by setting fire to the wood, is the true god. So here's the challenge.

Okay? You can have a bully. You can prepare it. You can cut it up, you can arrange it on the altar, and now we're going to see who is the true god in heaven. The god who answers by fire, he is the true god, and then all Israel will know that that god is worthy of our allegiance and our loyalty and our praise.

That's the challenge. And we don't have time to read it, but team Bail are up first. And if you know the story, it is a colossal failure for them. All of their prophets from sunrise until sunset are marching around their sacrifice and they are trying everything. They are throwing the kitchen sink at this thing.

Please bail will you respond? They're praying, and they wail, and they cut themselves, and they even let their blood flow to the ground anything to get the attention of bail. But the text says that there was no answer and no 1 responded and there was no reply. Silence from bale in heaven. And then Elijah, verse 36.

Walked up to the altar and prayed. Oh lord. God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are god in Israel and that I am your servant, prove that I have done all this at your command. Oh, lord, answer me. Answer me so that these people will know that you, oh, lord, are god.

And that you have brought them back to yourself. Immediately, the fire of the lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust, it even licked up all the water in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, the Lord. He is God. Yes, the lord.

He is god. Could it be any more decisive than that? Could the victory be any more obvious? Could the sovereign god have proved himself in a clear way? The fire of heaven flashes down as he is called upon and everything is assumed even the water in the trench is licked up by the fire of the Holy God.

But then, and this is the verse that I wanna properly introduce colossians 3 with, then Elijah does something really interesting. Before celebrating the victory, he's got a job to do. Now that the victory has been won, he's got a job to do. And so verse 40, Then Elijah commanded, seized the prophets of bail, don't let anyone get away. They seized them elijah had then brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

Does you see what's going on? On the top of Mount Carmel, the victory is won. Bail and all who worship him have been publicly humiliated. That god has been put to open shame before the watching world. It's done.

The victory is won. But following that victory, Elijah wants to put to death whatever remains. He wants to put to death whatever influence remains for bail in the land. He wants to go through now that the victory is won, He wants to go over the hills and through the valleys and slaughter all that remains loyal. To that false god.

And that, at least in my mind, serves as a wonderful old testament illustration of a new testament reality of what we find here in colossians 3 1 to 11. In verse 4, we're told that the victory is 1. Verse 1 to 4. That's the Mount Carmel moment. Jesus Christ dies on a cross.

He puts our sin to open shame He triumphs over his enemies. He declares through his cross to the world that the lord, he is god, the lord, he is god. And when any Christian trusts in him, they share in that victory over sin and satan. And so in verse 1 to 4, the victory is 1, but notice what he says in verse 5 to 11, there's some mopping up to do. There's some mopping up to do.

And now in light of that victory, the Christian has got to go over the hills and through the valleys of their own life, and put to death whatever is still loyal to the old nature, to go and to ruthlessly slaughter whatever remains of the old self, now that that victory is won. And so we're gonna look at 4 things from the text this morning. We're gonna look firstly at the actions that we must take. The actions that we must take We're then gonna look at the sins we must slaughter part 1, then the sins that we must slaughter part 2, and then there's some practical encouragement for putting these commands into practice. And so firstly, let's look together at the actions that we must take in light of the victory.

In verse 5 and verse 8, there are 2 commands. Verse 5, put to death, verse 8, rid yourself. Pretty strong, aren't they? Put to death verse 5. Read yourself verse 8.

1 1 commentator puts it this way. Every Christian has the responsibility before god to investigate the lifelines of whatever sins are defeating him or her personally and to cut them off without pity. In other words, that is not the language of accommodation, is it? It's not the language of friendship with the sin that remains in our lives. I mean, you cannot imagine the prophet Elijah coming down from Mount Carmel after the victory and inviting a prophet of Bail for dinner.

As if it didn't matter, have 1 over and still remain friends with what was evil in light of the victory. This is the language of complete eradication. You might imagine a city and you see this in in warfare in the past, and even still today, you might imagine a city that is surrounded by an attacking army. And if they cannot bring down the walls, what they might do is just camp out outside the city walls and for weeks, if not months, just cut off the lifelines that go into the city. Stop the food coming in, block up the rivers so they have no fresh water.

Close it off so they can't remove their dead or they're dying from inside the city and just cut off systematically every lifeline to the city and watch it perish. Well, Paul says that we are not to do that with flesh and blood, but when it comes to our own sin, We must cut off the lifelines that supply it and feed it. Put to death, he says, in verse 5. Or you might imagine ridding yourself in verse 8 as going through a wardrobe and you go through your wardrobes, you might do from time to time, and you work your way through the clothes in the wardrobe and you take out everything that is old. Everything that doesn't suit you anymore.

Anything that doesn't fit you anymore. Anything that is old and knackered and needs to be thrown away, and you systematically work through taking out whatever doesn't fit you anymore, and you take it all down to charity shop all down to the dump and you rid yourself of the clothes that are no longer suitable for who you now are. Rid yourself, he says. Put off any of the old clothes that no longer fit the new you. That is what Paul has in mind here, and so brothers and sisters opening question, does that describe your attitude to sin.

Do those metaphors currently fit how you're treating the sin that remains in your life. Put to death, cut off the supply lines. Rid yourself, he says. Those are the actions that we must take. Secondly, What are the sins we must slaughter part 1?

In other words, what are we to put to death and what exactly are we to rid ourselves of? Well, verse 5, put to death therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual immorality. Now you notice what he doesn't say. Paul doesn't say put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sex. He doesn't say that, and I think that's quite important.

The reason he doesn't say that is because he's not 1 of the false teachers that have been plaguing this church in colossae. We've seen, haven't we in this series, how they were false teachers in the church, and 1 of the things that they would do would be to forbid the good things that god had made as a fast track to holiness. So they would say what would really impress God is if you abstain from certain types food. If you are severe with your body, if you fast in unnatural ways, if you deny yourself good things, If you deny yourself natural things like sex, then you will then you'll be holy then you'll be holy. Death to the earthly is what will make you spiritual.

But because Paul is a Christian, he doesn't say that. He says, put to death therefore, whatever ruins the gift. Put to death therefore, whatever corrupts the goodness, sexual immorality. The word is porneia from which we get pornography, and it simply means any sexual activity outside of a 1 man, 1 woman marriage relationship. And so it's quite a simple definition, but very, very far reaching in its implications for our world, isn't Anything at all outside of could be something online, could be something that we do in person, could be something we do when scrolling the internet late at night, could be a way in which we speak in the office could be what we choose to look at on TikTok, what we do at home, anything at all outside of the 1 man, 1 woman covenant marriage relation ship would fall under this definition in verse in verse 5, sexual immorality.

And so he says, put to death therefore whatever lies outside of that good, safe environment. The Bible tells us that the lord in his kindness has created that gift for a safe place, for a happy, healthy, holy place within marriage. And so he says wherever it falls outside of that, sexual immorality. But then he says, look, impurity, lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry because of these the wrath of god is coming. So do you see the connection there between the action itself and the heart very important to see that.

If sexual immorality at the top of the list is the act itself, then everything else in that list is to do with the thought life and the heart life, isn't it? Isn't it? All the language of desire, impurity lust, evil desire greed, which is idolatry. Now what's he telling us there? Well, he's telling us that the act of sexual immorality doesn't just happen 1 day.

I mean take, for example, a husband or a wife, How many of them do you think wake up happily married by all other standards? They wake up 1 day and they just decide today would be a good day to commit adultery. I'm just I'm just gonna I'm just gonna do that today. I feel like that today. Is it not the case that the act itself began weeks or months or even years earlier in the thought life and in the heart.

You might imagine a long sort of stretch of dominoes, you know, stretching out, you know, when people put thousands and thousands of dominoes together in a in a room. And just before they set it off and film it and watch it for all to see, Well, you might imagine the last domino toppling as the act itself, but the first 1 to go The first 1 to go is not the act itself. It's a growing dissatisfaction with the 1 that they married which turns to greed for something else, which becomes a desire for someone else, until eventually the dominoes have toppled and the act itself is just the last 1 to go. And at that point, it is almost impossible. It's not completely impossible, but it is almost impossible to resist the final stage the click on the website or the Google search or the night in the hotel.

It's almost impossible to resist the final stage If at every other point, the desire has been ignored and ignored and ignored or even welcomed, Sexual immorality is the act, but everything else in that list springs from the last word which is idolatry. In other words, it's a desire issue. It's a covetousness issue, which in the end leads to the final toppling of the last domino. And so he says put to death whatever remains. This week I heard another story of a of a big name pastor in America.

Big name minister in America, who has sadly fallen in this area. And, whenever that happens, and then whenever it hits the headlines, it's always an opportunity to, to firstly, reflect on your own heart and to take stock a bit of your own life. But also it's an opportunity to appreciate the goodness of god's word. All over again. You see, if you think about it, how many churches would have been saved from heartache?

If only god was trusted in this area. How many divorces over the years could have been prevented if only god was believed in this area. How much pornography would never have been made or consumed if only god was trusted in this area. Do you see the reason that god will bring judgment on what he hates in verse 6? Is because it destroys and damages what he loves, which is people and marriages, and relationship, and brains, and hearts.

The reason he judges it, the reason these things draw down the wrath of god upon the world is because it ruins what he cherishes. And so he says, put to death. I know to the world we live in, this really does sound ridiculous, and maybe the younger you are, the more ridiculous this sounds. Only 1 man and 1 woman in marriage, is that is that in our day, do we seriously want to still contend for that? Do we want to believe that that's even possible?

That sexual intimacy could only be enjoyed within the 1 man, 1 woman marriage. But does not the word of god prove true time and time and time again in this way? And so friends, let's pray that as Christian people who have been made pure by the blood of Jesus, that whatever of this remains in us, we would put to death. If there is a device that needs throwing away would not verse 5 say throw it away. If there is a day dream for somebody else, starting to take root in our hearts, would not verse 5 say pull it out with all the energy that you can.

If there is an account that needs unfollowing, would verse 5 not say go home and click the button as soon as you can. If there is accountability that is worth seeking, would verse 5 not say, who do you need to talk to this morning? Because if verse 5 means anything. If language means anything at all, put to death, much mean be serious about it. Mustn't it?

Mustn't it? It must mean be serious. It must mean be ruthless. With the strength that god provides. Those firstly are the sins we must slaughter part 1.

Secondly, Let's look at the sins we must slaughter part 2. But now, you must also Rid yourselves of all such things as these. Anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips, which can also be translated, and abusive language from your which I think fits the context a bit better, rage, malice, slander, and abusive language from your lips. Anger in verse 8 is that feeling we get when something happens to us or when someone crosses us, and it feels like magma, that hot magma that is moving up through your body. In fact, like a volcano, you might even start to tremble on the surface because you're feeling so angry.

And if by the spirit of god, that can't be controlled, the magma underground will become the lava overground. What is inside the heart will break out into behavior we'll become verse 8, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language. Those are all types of anger on display, aren't they? Those are all types of anger on display. When anger bursts out, it's rage When anger comes forward, it's malice.

When anger comes out, it's slander. That same commentator I referred earlier, putting verse 5 and 8 together says this and it's on screen. Many Christians tend to concentrate on 1 list or the other. 1 knows of Christian communities that would be appalled at the slightest sexual irregularity, but which are nests of malicious intrigue, back biting gossip, and bad temper and conversely of others where people are so concerned to live in untroubled harmony with each other that they tolerate flagrant immorality. The gospel, however, leaves no room for behaviour of either sort.

It may not be as obvious as sexual sin but the list in verse 8 is just as ugly and just as able to spoil the church. And as you can see in verse 11, that's really what this is all about. I think that's where he's building up to verse 11. He's really saying, brothers and sisters put to death anything that will spoil the church of god. Put to death anything that will damage your brothers and sisters and bring shame upon the name of the church.

Look what he says in verse 11. Here, there is no gentile or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian, scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all. Now I know some of those terms are a bit lost on us today, but to have, in this culture, to have barbarians and scythians, which as far as I can see, were basically savages of the ancient world. They didn't speak any of the sophisticated languages. They weren't educated in the philosophy of the day, They were a primitive violent, feared people to have them next to barbarians who presumably wouldn't have God along very well.

I mean, just look at their name. I mean, barbarian scythians and to have slaves and free and to have Jews and gentiles singing from the same hymn sheet, and that is literally what they're doing in verse 16. They are singing, Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs together. To have them singing from the same hymn sheet is so wondrous that even the spiritual realm cannot appreciate the glory of what's in front of them, that even the angels in heaven are looking upon this community and saying, What depth of glory is that? How did how did they how did they do that?

How did they achieve that? And you know, the same is true, isn't it? For us this morning. Wherever you look in this building, You will see Christ. A Christian brother or sister who might be struggling with a health issue of some kind, or a mental health issue of some kind.

If Christ is in that person, Christ is there. It might be a lively 7 year old kid who loves Jesus and makes lots of noise. If Jesus is in that person, Christ is there. Might be your brother or sister from another culture who might do things differently from us, and we don't quite understand. But if Jesus is in that person, Christ is there, might be an elderly person who's struggling physically to keep going, but spiritually is walking with the lord.

If Christ is there, Christ is in that person, how do we know? Because he says Christ is all and is in all verse 11. Isn't that striking for? If the lord Jesus Christ is living in another person, that is the same lord Jesus Christ who is living in you. Jesus Christ is all and is in all in order to unite And therefore, the point is how sad it would be if malice and slander and hatred were to go untreated in the church because those things would undo the very thing which Christ died to achieve.

And look, it's important to say with all of this that this is not designed to be unrealistic teaching. Because if we're honest, we cannot always prevent angry thoughts from coming into our minds, can we? We we cannot always prevent those rogue thoughts coming into our hearts, but the encouragement here is that before those thoughts turn into and before those thoughts turn into words and definitely before they become patterns of behavior. Let's put it let's put it to death. Like all families, especially at Christmas, it seems to be, There are times when we will say things, which are not kind, and we will write emails to each other which we we we wish we hadn't have written, and we will offend people from other cultures.

That stuff will come out. But in the strength that god provides, can we agree together to try to put it to death as early as we can. Because as Paul says in verse 11, if anything is worth killing for, the church is worth killing for. It is worth putting something to death for the sake of the church. So those are the actions we must take, and those are the sins we must slaughter.

But as we close, I wanna try to give some practical help for putting this into practice, mainly because I know the state of my own heart, and I know how much help I need to be this ruthless with my own sin. I read this week that apparently John Calvin the the reformer is known to have said. It would be best for a preacher to fall and break his neck as he mounts the pulpit, if he is not himself going to be the first to follow god in living in his own message. And you know, I was half expecting that to happen this morning. Because there I am this week reading colossians 3, and I'm reading all of this stuff, and there's a fresh resolve in my heart to put these things to death and keep going, and I've even got my little notebook out, and I'm thinking about what the best way would be to say this to you, what language I can use to make you get this, and there's resolve to do more.

And I'm saying, yeah, Calvin's right. I've gotta first to live out the message, I'm gonna break my neck, but then just as soon as I've written something good down, I'm on my face again. Falling in the very sins that I'm trying to tell you to be careful of. And so how do we actually take these commands? And move forward with joy.

I've got 6 short sin killing strategies, which I hope are gonna be really helpful 6 sin killing strategies, which I hope will be really helpful. Firstly, be realistic about the battle. Be realistic about it. John Owen apparently said, seventeenth century puritan, although I couldn't find the quote from him. Apparently, he said on the screen, there is not a day but sin foils or is foiled, prevails or is prevailed upon, and it will be.

Whilst we live in this world. In other words, what we are aiming at here brothers and sisters by the grace of god is not perfection in this life. In the lord Jesus Christ, and in the gospel, we already have that, but in the reality of our lives, There are days when we will know victory, and there are other days in which we will fail. There are hours in which we will know victory. And there are hours in which we will fail, and it will be whilst we are in the world.

Should we therefore be casual about our sin? I've been trying to show you no, but equally Don't get too depressed if you're not sinless by next week. Heaven is the age of perfection. Heaven is gonna be glorious, but it is not now, and so be realistic about sin. But secondly, be optimistic.

Be realistic about it, but be optimistic about it. Because if you are a Christian here this morning, God has put inside you an incredibly powerful person. An agent of change, and his name is the Holy Spirit, and guess what? He is a lot more committed to killing your than you are. And therefore brothers and sisters, if he is in you, you will make progress.

You will make, you can't not but make progress because the sin killing spirit of god has decided to take up residence in your life and he will never, ever, ever, ever leave you as he finds you. He's not gonna leave you as he finds you, and he will never ever ever abandon a project which he has started. But we'll bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. I think that's encouraging, isn't it? So be realistic about it, but also be optimistic about it Thirdly, be honest when you fail.

Be honest about it. What do I mean by that? Well, look, if we believe the Bible then we also believe that every single Christian is both justified perfectly before god and yet we remain sinful, and that will be true of me until I go to heaven. And therefore, when I sin, guess guess what? I don't have to be like Adam anymore.

I don't have to blame somebody else, and I don't have to cover up by pretending it's not serious. That's a way of covering up, isn't it? When we just pretend it's not serious, and I don't have to cover up so you'll think that I'm perfect. I don't have to do that anymore. That's such a mess.

That's such a weird 1 that, isn't it? On the 1 hand, I believe that I'm justified before God and yet will be sinful for the rest of my life. And yet when I do sin, I want to cover it up so that you think I'm perfect. What am the state of that? I mean, what a contradiction?

I'm living in a way which undermines my doctrine. I know I'm gonna be sinful until I go to heaven, but I wanna cover up so you don't think I'm sinful until I go to heaven. What a state? But now you see In Christ, we are so free from our sin that we can be honest about our sin. We can look it in the face We can take responsibility for it, we can say sorry, and we can go back to god, and we can remember that Jesus loves sinners and died for sinners.

I'm not saying that's easy, that kind of honesty because Satan hates it, and he hates that kind of transparency. He lives and loves the world of the cover up. But that is the freedom of the gospel, isn't it? We don't have to be weird, honest, in weird ways, you know, confessing everything to everyone because that's just unhelpful. But in appropriate ways, we can just deal honestly with our sin.

I think that's encouraging So firstly, we can be realistic. Secondly, we can be optimistic. Thirdly, we can be honest. Fourth, let's be a student of our sin. Be a student.

Be a student of our sin. In other words, as you think about your week and how much time you spend on Netflix or scrolling through screens, is it worth reclaiming some of that time to study your own heart? What is it about this time of day, which makes me so vulnerable to sin. Why did I react so badly in that meeting. Why does that TV show always leave me feeling discontent with what God has given me?

Whenever I watch it, I feel dissatisfied with what I've got and I want something else. Why is that? Why when I don't sleep well, Do other people always get the worst of me? Why is that? Why does that happen?

In other words, feeling the effects of sin is actually quite easy, but to put it to death, we've gotta study it. Not just what happened to me, but why. Not just what did I do, but why did it happen? And so fourthly, in order to put this to death, let's be a student of our sin. Realistic, optimistic.

Let's be a student of our sin. Fifthly, Let's be hopeful for the future. Let's be hopeful for the future. Cause brothers and sisters, as I've said, in a hundred years time, for almost I would think every 1 of us, all of this battling will be over. Just a hundred years, and all of this battling will be over for every 1 of us.

And then the things in verse 5 and 8 will never be part of our lives again. And all of the scars that we might have left over from these things, which couldn't quite heal fully in this life. Will be healed forever, and best best best of all. We will not miss or desire our sin ever again. When we are there looking our lovely lord Jesus Christ in the face, We won't be wishing that we just had 1 more night of immorality on earth.

We won't be wishing, oh, do you know, I think I did miss something not going for that affair? I think that was a mistake. I think I should have done that. When we are gazing upon the sweetness of our savior, We will finally see as we should see, and we will feel as we should feel, and we will think about sin how we always should have thought about sin. And in light of that, is it not worth being as ruthless as you can now with the things you will have no sharing for billions and billions and billions of years and won't even ever miss or desire again.

For a second. I think that's really encouraging. Be hopeful. Be hopeful about your future. And lastly, be taken up with Jesus.

Be taken up with Jesus. And I wanna finish here because 1 error I think you could fall into reading colossians 3 1 to 11 is to think, okay, I get it. I've gotta do 2 things. On the 1 hand, I've got to fix my eyes on Jesus, and on the other hand, I've got to put my sin to death. Those are the 2 things that I've got to do.

Fix my eyes on Jesus put my sin to death, a b 1 2, but actually it turns out that they are 1 on the same thing. It is as we fix our eyes on Jesus that we find our sin will be put to death. It is not 2 things. It is 1. And that would be the final encouragement that we gaze together upon the lord Jesus Christ, and we remember that on the top of Mount Carmel, the victory was won, that when he went to his own Mount Carmel outside Jerusalem, he decisively defeated sin and evil forever, and we fall down and we say, yahweh, the lord Jesus, he is god.

Jesus, he is god. And as we fix our eyes on him, we find the strength that we need to put to death whatever remains. And I think that's encouraging to fix our eyes on Jesus because I know some of these things, particularly the stuff in verse 5, particularly sexual sin can leave people feeling very guilty and very ashamed, and it can be very hard for us to move on with those sorts of things. But as we come to the cross, we remember that Jesus Christ not only died to pay the penalty for our sin but that he took the shame associated with our sin that on the cross, he was embarrassed and he was humiliated and he was shamed and he was stripped naked and embarrassed so all of our shame could be paid for. Not just the legal stuff dealt with but all the shame associated by our sin was thrown onto our saviour so that we have not only been forgiven but cleansed That's the language of scripture, not just forgiven, purified by the lord Jesus.

And so when it comes to putting our sin to death, We fix our eyes on him, and we find that the 2 things after all are only just 1. I think that's encouraging. Should we bow our heads and let's pray. And I'll give you a moment perhaps just to read through those list of things, and it might be that you wanna just spend some time now being honest in your own heart before the lord and asking for his help to rid yourself and to put to death whatever of this remains, and then to refocus your mind on the mountaintop of Calvary, where Christ died for you. And to find fresh strength there.

Lord Jesus Christ as we fix our eyes upon you and the glory that is to come and all that you did for us on the cross. We pray that the root of sin might be greatly weakened in our lives. And we pray this for our own sake. And we pray it for the health of our church and we pray it for our witness in this world and above all we pray it for the glory of your great name.