So if you have a copy of God's word, you can turn to 1 Samuel in the Old Testament.
! About a quarter of the way in the beginning of the book, the Old Testament.
And it's also okay if you just listen along, and I'll be reading it for us.
I'll read it trusting that it's God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient word.
It's God's word for us, his people.
1 Samuel chapter 30.
Now it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day,
that the Amalekites had invaded the south and Ziklag, attacking Ziklag, and burned it with fire.
And they had taken captive the women and those who were there from small to great.
They did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way.
So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire.
And their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.
Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept,
until they had no more power to weep.
And David's two wives, Ahinoam, the Jezreelites, and Abigail, the widow of Nabal, the Carmelite,
had been taken captive.
Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him,
because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and daughters.
But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son,
Please bring the ephod here to me.
And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
So David inquired of the Lord, saying,
Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?
And he answered him,
Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them,
and without fail recover all.
So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him,
and came to the brook Bezor,
where those stayed and were left behind.
But David pursued, and he and four hundred men,
for two hundred had stayed behind,
who were so weary that they could not cross the brook Bezor.
Then they found the Egyptian in the field and brought him to David,
and they gave him bread and he ate,
and they let him drink water,
and they gave him a piece of cake of figs
and two clusters of raisins.
So he had eaten, and his strength came back to him,
for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water
for three days and three nights.
Then David said to him,
To whom do you belong, and where are you from?
And he said,
I am a young man from Egypt,
servant of an Amalekite,
and my master left me behind
because three days ago I fell sick.
We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites
in the territory which belongs to Judah,
and in the southern area of Caleb,
and we burned Ziklag with fire.
And David said to him,
Can you take me down to this troop?
So he said,
Swear to me by God that you will
neither kill me nor deliver me
into the hands of my only master,
and I will take you down to this troop.
And when he had brought him down,
there they were,
spread out over all the land,
eating and drinking and dancing,
because of all the great spoil
which they had taken
from the land of the Philistines
and from the land of Judah.
Then David attacked them
from twilight until the evening of the next day.
Not a man of them escaped
except 400 young men
who rode on camels and fled.
So David recovered all that the Amalekites
had carried away,
and David rescued his two wives,
and nothing of theirs was lacking,
either small or great,
sons or daughters,
spoil or anything
which they had taken from them.
David recovered all.
Then David took all the flocks and herds
they had driven before those other livestock
and said,
This is David's spoil.
Now David came to the 200 men
who had been so weary
that they could not follow David,
whom they had also made
to stay at the brook Bezor.
So they went out to meet David
and meet the people who were with him.
And when David came near to the people,
he greeted them.
Then all the wicked and worthless men
of those who went to David
answered and said,
Because they did not go with us,
we will not give them
any of the spoil that we have recovered,
except for every man's wife and children,
that they may lead them away and depart.
But David said,
My brethren,
you shall not do so
with what the Lord has given us,
who has preserved us
and delivered us into our hands,
the troop that came against us.
For who will heed you in this matter?
But as his part is
who goes down to the battle,
so shall his part be
who stays with the supplies.
They shall share alike.
So it was from that day forward
that he made a statute
and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
Now when David came to Ziklag,
he sent some of the spoil
to the elders of Judah,
to his friends, saying,
Here is a present for you
from the Lord,
the spoil of the enemies of the Lord.
To those who were in Bethel,
those who were in Ramoth,
in the south,
those who were in Jatir,
those who were in Aorel,
those who were in Sifmoth,
those who were in Eshtimoah,
those who were in Rakhal,
those who were in the cities
of the Jeremilites,
those who were in the cities
of the Kenites,
those who were in Hormah,
those who were in Korashan,
those who were in Atak,
those who were in Hebron,
into the places
where David himself and his men
were accustomed to rove.
The word of God
for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Please be seated.
The grass withers,
the flower fades,
but the word of the Lord
stands forever.
Let's pray.
O Lord,
may your word stand.
We pray that you will please
speak through the preacher,
despite the preacher's limits
and brokenness, Lord.
We pray that your word,
the word of God,
through Jesus Christ,
of hope and salvation,
of a coming kingdom,
of this better king,
whose kingdom has been inaugurated
and who is coming again, Lord.
We pray that this,
you will minister
to your people today.
We pray that you'll
encourage us, Lord.
You'll strengthen us,
that the power of the Holy Spirit
will breathe life
and hope
into your people today.
For your glory we ask.
Amen.
To lose heart,
it means to faint
or to give up.
A coach might have used
that expression with you
at halftime
when you're down three to zero
or maybe a jujitsu teammate
after you lost.
Don't lose heart.
David and his 600 men
had just gotten great news.
If you remember back
a couple weeks,
they were not going to have
to be put in that
impossible dilemma
of fighting on the side
of the Philistines
against the Israelites,
fighting their own nation.
God in his providence
had used even the captains
of the Philistines
to send David
and his 600 men
back to their temporary home
in Ziklag,
which was controlled
by the Philistines,
but it was land promised
by God to his people.
They get to go home,
but quickly as they arrive
at home,
all of them,
including David,
lose heart.
When it comes to our faith,
our walks,
and our life as a church,
losing heart
is always a temptation.
In a spiritual sense,
losing heart
means caving in to evil
or losing your spiritual will
to take another step
or to continue standing.
The enemy wants to attack
God's people,
especially when we're
about to faint
and tell us that we have
no reason to press on,
no reason to hope.
The sermon title today
is why we do not lose heart.
Why we do not lose heart.
I'll walk us through
about five reasons
using this passage.
Number one,
we do not lose heart
because the enemy
is only a temporary parasite.
We do not lose heart
because the enemy
of God's people
is only a temporary parasite.
Look at verse one.
Now it happened
when David and his men
came to Ziklag
on the third day
that the Amalekites
had invaded the south
and Ziklag,
attacked Ziklag,
and burned it with fire.
You know what
the Amalekites were?
They were nomads.
This means they travel around.
They don't have
permanent dwellings
or farms.
And they were parasites.
This means that they live
by draining another source.
So they were nomadic parasites
on the move
that you could say
as you look across the land,
land of Israel
and of the Philistines.
It was like an infection
on their system.
Nobody liked the Amalekites.
They survived
by draining the resources
of these established societies
rather than farming
for themselves.
And after taking a cheap shot
and attacking,
they would ride off
like we just saw in camels.
They're really always ready
to go into the desert
and they would hide
in the ravines
and in caves
and be really hard
to hunt down
and they wouldn't face you
head on in a battle
like a decent civilization.
They had mastered this
over generations.
How to be predatory opportunists.
In Deuteronomy 25, 17 and 18,
they targeted the stragglers
coming out of Egypt
on the Exodus.
Remember that?
Then in Judges 6,
chapter 6, verses 3 and 4,
it describes them
like a swarm of locusts
trying to hijack
the harvest of the Israelites.
This is the Amalekites.
And now they've struck in again
following their modus operandi.
Verse 2 says,
they took captive
the women
and those who were there
from small to great.
See, what they do
is when the army,
the whole army is gone.
They've just left their homes
and the women and children back.
That's when the Amalekites move in.
They're awful.
They're predators.
But there's an interesting comment
in verse 2.
It says,
they did not kill anyone.
And even in this first verse in 2,
we can see that God
is limiting
and even ordering
all things,
including these wicked Amalekites.
Even in their sinful acts of men,
and he will use it
for his own holy end,
even if we don't understand it
or see it fully.
The Amalekites intended
total destruction
everywhere they go.
That's why they set it on fire.
But see, in this case,
God's mighty hand
was superintending theirs.
They took the captives
and carried them along with them
as slaves
instead of executing them.
They carried them away
and they went on their way,
it says.
Literally,
it says they drove them away.
That's the same word
used to how you would
move cattle
from one place to the other.
This is bad treatment
for these women
and these children
being driven
by these horrible Amalekites
like cattle.
They specialized
in low-risk,
high-reward strikes.
They only attack
the vulnerable
and they live off
the work of others.
They don't do anything
constructive on their own.
Think about how
in this world
there's either
constructive work,
destructive work,
or restorative work.
It's only those three.
And the enemy of God,
God creates.
God does the constructive work.
New creation.
The enemy destroys.
God recreates.
God reconstructs.
In God's enemy,
the devil
is like these Amalekites.
Revelation 12, 12
gives this encouragement.
The devil has come down
to you,
inhabitants of the earth,
full of great wrath
because he knows
that he only has
a short time.
See, the devil
is a temporary destroyer,
a temporary parasite,
seeking to be like
a locust with a swarm
of demons
to do damage
to the good
that God creates.
So brothers and sisters,
we do not lose heart
because the enemy
is only a temporary parasite.
Number two,
we do not lose heart
because grief
does not mean
God has departed.
We do not lose heart
because though we do
grieve in this life,
it does not mean
that God has departed.
He is near those
who grieve.
Look at verse 3.
So David and his men
came to the city
and there it was
burned with fire
and their wives
and their sons
and their daughters
had been taken captive.
Then David
and the people
who were with him
lifted up their voices
and wept
until they had
no more power
even to weep.
Imagine those 600 men.
The last time
they had been
in Ziklag,
everything was
full of life,
color,
sound,
smell.
They said goodbye
to their families
and they went off
to fight their brothers
and cousins
so they thought
in this great confrontation.
They didn't know
anytime you go to battle
you never do
whether the Lord
would let them
come back home again.
Would the Lord
deliver them
and bring them back
to their families again?
They got that great news
that they were released
and could go back home
and they could go be
with their wives
and children
but now they find
their artifacts
that were once
in their homes
just as charcoal.
Each thing
they pick up
like it would for us
if our house burnt down
it would remind you
of a relationship
or a memory
with a loved one,
with a family member.
Their town burned.
Their loved ones
taken captive.
Their fellow
brothers in battle
crying aloud
bitter of soul
exhausted
from weeping
till they had
no more strength
to weep
and the army
that was marching
after David
seeing God
take them in
and out
and have victory
now wants to stone
the anointed king
that they had left
everything to follow.
I paused on this.
Why did they want
to stone David
specifically?
These are warriors.
They're carrying
all kinds of different
blades and instruments
you can use
to kill other people.
Why would they
leave all those aside
and pick up stones?
Under the Mosaic law
the success of the people
was tied
to the faithfulness
of the leader.
The men may have
viewed
the destruction
as Ziklag
as a sign
of God's judgment
against David.
See the camp
was to be kept holy
because God
walked among them.
Deuteronomy 23
14 says that.
God is with
his people
among their camp
and is to be kept
holy.
And the preservation
of the family
and the home
was each man's
primary duty.
By allowing
their wives
and children
to be taken captive
and their king
was now
the greatest failure.
He had let
the enemy
intrude
and violate
the home front.
the total loss
at their camp
in Ziklag
suggested that
perhaps the presence
of God
had departed
from among them.
The men
in their grief
viewed David
like their generation's
version of Achan
from the book
of Joshua.
One man
whose poor judgment
has brought a curse
on the entire group.
And so by stoning David
everyone would have
a part in killing
what they believe
is the cause
of all their bitter
trouble.
Stoning
would give each man
that opportunity
to experience
a cathartic
sense of justice
and vengeance.
If we crush
this man
that we followed
then our souls
will feel
less bitter.
We read in verse 6
that David
was greatly distressed
for the people
spoke of stoning him
because all
the soul
of the people
was grieved.
Literally
they were bitter
of soul.
Every man
for his sons
and daughters.
But the encouragement
without getting
any details
is that
God
was with David.
He
is in grief.
His army
is in grief.
He's despairing.
In Psalm
139
verses 7
and 8
cries out
with these questions
to God.
Where can I go
from your spirit
or where can I
flee from your presence
if I make my bed
in hell?
The grave,
the depths,
behold,
even there
you are.
We do not lose heart
because our grief
does not mean
that God
has departed.
number three,
we do not lose heart
because our distress,
in our distress,
God is our strength.
We do not lose heart
because in our distress,
God himself
is our strength.
Look at the rest
of verse 6.
We read that
David strengthened
himself
in the Lord
his God.
He strengthened
himself
in the Lord.
For who is God
except the Lord?
Psalm
1831.
And who is a rock
except our God?
It is God
who arms me
with strength,
the psalmist
cries out,
and makes
my way perfect.
He says,
you have also
given me
the shield
of your salvation
and your right hand
has held me up.
Your gentleness
has made me
great.
We do not have
any indication
that David wrote
a new psalm
for this occasion
but it is a
wonderful comfort
in those old truths,
those old psalms,
singing them
at the time
when he needed
it most.
David strengthened
himself in the Lord,
we read,
in verse 8.
And he also
inquired
of the Lord.
Think about this
and David
in this moment
of worst peril
and darkness
and despair
goes to the Lord.
He's reminded
of the Lord's
presence
and it's the presence
of the Lord
that strengthens him.
And as we've lined up
all of these events,
remember how
two chapters ago
it skips back,
it's like a flashback
for Saul
going to consult
with the witch?
the timeline
has it,
at least how
some have put it
together,
how the very moment
when David is
seeking strength
in the Lord
is when Saul
within that same
24-hour period
is going to
speak with a witch.
as goes the king,
so goes the kingdom.
Saul consulting
the realm of the dead
and David consulting
the living God.
See the contrast
between these two kings,
these two men.
It's a new pattern
being set
for the nation,
a new direction,
a new hope
for God's people.
even without
any good news,
he's finding
his strength
in God.
David then
receives from God
the promise
of a total recovery.
They go
and they pursue
those raiders,
but on their way
200 of their soldiers
reach their point
of exhaustion.
They've been weeping.
It says they wept
until they were already
exhausted and powerless.
Now they go marching
and they get to a point
and they've lost heart.
They are fainting.
They cannot go anymore.
And they just say,
I'm going to stay right here
in the coolness
of this ravine.
We're done.
The word of the ravine,
the brook Bezor,
it means just that,
coolness or refreshing
for the body.
It also has a second meaning,
which I'll give you
in a bit.
So they leave them behind
and as they're traveling
the direction they think
the caravan
of the Amalekites
has gone,
they come across
a starving,
abandoned Egyptian slave
and we read that
they revive this man,
they give him food
and water and bread
and calories
and then he's able
to talk.
And then they ask him,
where are you from?
In other words,
they didn't have
any information
that would lead them
to show kindness
to this person in need
right here,
this injured slave
that's been abandoned
because he was sick.
It wasn't necessarily
a transaction.
Here these men
that are desperate
themselves
are simply showing
kindness
to a slave
that's been left
for dead
because it's the right
thing to do.
And in God's providence,
think about that.
He got sick
three days ago
and as a sick man
being abandoned
and left right there,
this is also the path
they're traveling.
They happened to find him
and prepared him
in the right moment
to be able to give them
the information they need
to now go carry out
what God has decreed.
See God's providence
in every little detail
as it unfolds.
Verse 16,
And when they had
brought him down,
there they were,
spread out over
all the land,
eating and drinking
and dancing
because of the great spoil
which they had taken
from the land
of the Philistines
and the land of Judah.
These Amalekites
had gained a lot.
They had amassed
a great bounty.
All the spoil,
not only from Ziklag
and the Judeans there,
but also from the Philistines.
And it's all there
and here they are
with the slave
being left for dead,
starving without water
and here they are
just enjoying wine
and feasting
and dancing.
So in verse 17,
what God promised David
comes true.
David attacked them
from twilight
before the sun
was even rising,
get a jump on it
until the evening
of the next day
fighting over the night.
Not a man of them
escaped.
I like that statement
because God was true
to his promise.
Now at the same time,
400 young men
rode on camels
and fled.
But God is always true
to his word
and to his promise.
And if we keep reading
later on
and take the whole
counsel of God's word,
1 Chronicles 4.42
says that
all of those
that escaped
get wiped out.
It says 500 men
of the sons of Simeon,
so Israelites
later on,
a different point,
they go and they
defeat the rest
of the Amalekites
who had escaped
and possessed
that land forevermore.
So eventually
the Amalekites
do get their final justice.
We do not lose heart
because in our distress,
God is our strength.
I'm sure David
was distressed
and exhausted
and wanting to stop
at the brook Bezor himself.
But God was his strength.
God made him press on
and God gave him
the great victory.
It wasn't David's energy.
It wasn't David's power.
It was God
being his supply,
being his strength.
Colossians 1.29
reminds us,
Paul cries this out
after all his persecution
and suffering.
He says,
I labor,
striving according to
God's working
which he
mightily works
in me.
We press on.
We do not lose heart
because in our distress
it is God
who is our strength.
Number four,
we do not lose heart
because God sets
the boundaries
for the enemy.
We do not lose heart
because God himself
sets the boundaries
for the enemy.
In verse 18 we read,
So David recovered
all that the Amalekites
had carried away
and nothing of theirs
was lacking
either small or great,
sons or daughters,
spoil or anything
which they had taken
from them.
David recovered
all.
Evil goes exactly
as far as God
permits it
and no further.
Think of
how horrible
it could have been.
Even if it
was horrible enough,
they grieved,
they were distressed,
but it could have been
so much worse.
When Job
experienced evil,
it was not a punishment
for his sin.
Beginning of Job
makes that clear,
but it was by God's
permission.
And Job
understandably
questioned
God's goodness,
God's power,
and God's
justice.
And God
answered Job
in chapter 38
with these questions.
Job
says God,
who shut in the sea
when it burst
forth
at creation?
I fixed
my limit
for it.
I said,
this far
you may come,
but no further.
And here
you proud
waves
must stop.
Evil
will rage
and cause
genuine grief,
but it cannot
cross the boundary,
it cannot cross
the line
that God
himself
draws.
From the
perspective of the
women and children,
they got
driven away.
They could have
cried out with
these New Testament
words that we have
in 2 Corinthians 4,
which we read
earlier.
Yes,
we were
captives
of these horrible
people driven
away.
We were hard
pressed on every
side,
yet not
crushed.
We were
perplexed,
but not in
despair.
Persecuted,
but not
forsaken.
Struck down,
but not
destroyed.
God sets
the boundaries
for the
enemy.
Remember
in Jesus,
his own
words in
Luke 22,
31,
he looked at
Peter in the
eyes,
Simon,
indeed,
Satan has
asked for
you that
he may
sift you
as wheat,
but I
have prayed
for you
that your
faith should
not fail,
and when
you have
returned to
me,
strengthen your
brethren.
God sets
the boundaries
on the
enemy.
Jesus
prays for
his people.
The enemy
cannot
invade
what Christ
is protecting.
Well,
the fifth
and final
reason for
today of
why we do
not lose
heart,
it's because
our king
shares
the spoils
of his
victory
with the
weak and
weary.
Our king
shares his
victory with
us who are
weary and
weak.
Look at
verse 20,
then David
took all
the flocks
and herds
that they had
driven out
before them
that belonged
to the
Amalekites,
and now he
won and he's
the leader of
this group
from Ziklag,
so all the
people say
this is
David's
spoiled.
He's the
one who
gets to
distribute
it however
he sees
fit.
And as
they go
back to
those 200
men who
stayed back
at the
brook and
the coolness
of the
ravine,
those who
did go and
fight say
we don't
want to
share with
those men,
even though
he said
it's yours
David to
decide we
don't want
to share
with them,
that's not
right.
They didn't
even go
fight,
they should
have no
share in
the prophet,
give them
their families
and that's
all.
And David
rebuked
those men
who followed
him and
who fought
but were
refusing to
share the
plunder.
And here's
the second
meaning of
this brook
where these
200 waited
back to
cool off.
The brook
Bezor can
also mean
good news
or glad
tidings.
So while it
may have
refreshed the
body in the
coolness of
the shade,
it's a place
where a
gospel refreshes
the soul.
David said
in verse 23,
my brethren,
you shall
not do
so with
what the
Lord has
given us,
who has
preserved us
and delivered
us into
our hand.
All shall
share alike,
he says in
verse 24.
Verse 25,
so it was
from that
day forward.
See, this
becomes now
a decree
at the
brook
Bezor,
a rule
for the
whole
kingdom
going
forward
as long
as David
is king.
Here's the
gospel
decree.
There's an
ordinance for
all Israel
that all
will share
in the
spoil.
All will
receive
alike
because it's
the Lord
who gives.
And so
he sent
these gifts
to all the
elders of
Judah,
to all
those
different
places,
and he
said,
here is a
present for
you from
the spoil
of the
enemies
of the
Lord.
It's
God's
battle.
It's
God's
enemies.
It's
God's
victory.
It's
God's
glory.
It's
God's
blessings
that he
distributes
now through
his servant
David.
And he
gave those
to all
the places
where David
himself,
verse 31
says,
and his
men were
accustomed
to
rove.
while the
Philistines
will very
soon defeat
Saul and
Israel's
army,
God is
still
distributing
the spoils
of the
Philistines
to Judah
as if they
had won
without David
even having
to go and
fight the
Philistines
for their
own spoils.
You see
God's
sovereignty
over all
of this.
David saw
God's
sovereignty
first hand.
God is
using these
wicked
Amalekites
and this
new king
who God
has humbled.
God has
shown him
again and
again,
it's not
you David,
it's all
of me.
And this
is God's
pleasure in
bringing in
his kingdom.
What a
contrast we
have.
Saul lost
most of
his battles.
He taxed
God's
people.
He took
and took
more from
them.
Now we
see with
David a
new king,
a new
hope.
God wins
the battles.
God gives
bountifully.
God spreads
his blessings
to all
the people
through his
servant,
his anointed
one.
As goes
the king,
so goes
the kingdom.
Our Lord
Jesus in
Matthew 20
declared this,
for the
kingdom of
heaven is
like a
landowner who
went out early
in the
morning to
higher labors
for his
vineyard.
And they
all work and
people start at
different times
of the day and
he gets to
the end of
the work
day.
And he
gives
generously
all the
same blessings
no matter
whether you
labored all
day or
barely any
at the
very end.
Everyone
receives
the reward
because it's
his to
give.
He is the
owner of
the vineyard
and he is
the king
of the
kingdom.
In
Ephesians 4
8 we read
that when
Jesus Christ
had ascended
on high.
Last week
we saw the
glorious truth
of his
resurrection
and he
not only
rose and
walked on
the earth
with all
the eyewitnesses
and teaching
his disciples
but he also
ascended
and he
seated in
session
ruling from
heaven.
We read
that he
led
captivity
captive
and gave
gifts
to men.
He sits
on his
throne
in heaven
our Lord
Jesus
blessing
all his
people
his
church
with
gifts.
1 Corinthians
1 26
God has
chosen
the foolish
things of
the world
to put
to shame
the wise.
God has
chosen
the weak
things of
the world
to put
to shame
the things
that are
mighty
and the
base
things of
the world
the things
which are
despised.
God has
chosen
and the
things
which are
not
to bring
to nothing
the things
that are.
So we
do not
lose heart
brothers and
sisters
because King
Jesus
shares the
blessings of
his victory
with us
who are
weak
and weary.
Amen.
Romans 8
reminds us
Romans 8 17
we are
heirs of
God.
We receive
freely the
blessings that
Christ secured.
We are
joint heirs
with Christ
if indeed
we suffer
with him
that we
may also
be glorified
together
with him.
So where
are we in
this story
church?
We've seen
God's
providence
we've seen
his sovereignty
his power
we've seen
his kingdom
what he is
about.
I think we
have to be
like the
women and
children.
We are in
enemy territory
we are not
of this
world.
Here we
are exiles
and sojourners
and we
are longing
for King
Jesus
God's
anointed
one who
is coming
again
like the
groom
like those
wives longing
for their
husband to
come and
rescue.
We know
Jesus will
come for us
his people
he calls
the church
his bride
we trust
that he
will
he will
deliver us
once and
for all.
We put
ourselves
there
they look
back at
the smoke
going up
from the
city of
Ziklag
and that
could be
like our
life on
this earth
it's a
vapor
it's a
smoke
but there's
an eternal
weight of
the kingdom
of God
that he's
working
into us
it's the
certain
promise
that our
king will
restore
everything
that the
enemy
has stolen
he will
make it
all right
one day
2 Corinthians
4 16
therefore
we do
not
lose
heart
even
though
outwardly
our
man
the
outer
man
is
perishing
yet
the
inward
man
is
being
renewed
day
by day
for our
light
affliction
the sufferings
of this
life
which are
but for a
moment
is working
for us
a far
more
exceeding
and eternal
weight
of glory
we do
not look
at those
things
that are
seen
but at
those
things
that are
not
seen
for the
things
that are
seen
are
temporary
but the
things
that are
not
seen
are
eternal
brothers
and sisters
because
Jesus
is our
king
we
do
not
lose
heart
amen
let's
pray
oh
lord
we are
so weak
we are
so helpless
you are
so mighty
you are
sovereign in
your providence
lord over
everything
help us
to trust
you more
to follow
you more
closely
to not
depend on
ourselves
to depend
on you
will you
please build
your church
lord
may your
kingdom
come here
and lord
we long
for the
day
where your
kingdom
of heaven
will cover
the whole
heavens
the whole
new earth
lord
we long
for this
day
until then
we trust
that you'll
use everything
that you allow
in each of our
lives to prepare
us for yourself
we trust
lord that
you are true
to your promises
you will come
for your loved
ones
amen
you