Luke 8:40-56 A Tale of Two Healings Good morning, I am blessed to be here with you all.

Transcription

1 Luke 8:40-56 A Tale of Two Healings Good morning, I am blessed to be here with you all. P a g e 1 The word Providence comes from two Latin Words, Pro, which means before, and video- which means to see. When we speak of God s Providence we are referring to Him seeing all things before they happen, as He sovereignly arranges all things. Hughes I can clearly remember the first time Jess and I were made aware of God s Providence over the affairs of our world. It was the day Jess went forward to receive Christ as her Savior. You see, my father, who is a strong man; he is a man, that I can say walks on a solid foundation, and is not moved by much. But you see in 2004 his only son was living with an overpowering addiction. One of the last times he saw me, before that day Jess was saved, I was so out of my mind, that I could not even hold a conversation with him. For some reason, I cannot remember anything from that talk, but his eyes are engrained into my memory.

2 His eyes told me that he was overwhelmed with darkness, as he was losing his son to Satan. P a g e 2 I saw hopelessness in his eyes, and despair, as he tried to just have a normal conversation with me, his only son. We were well passed the days of him pleading with me to get better, I was gone, and my father was trying to speak to what was left of my tweaked out mind. I cannot remember why I was at his home that day, but it would be months before I saw him again. I moved to Lake Havasu, and me and my girlfriend continued in the fallen lifestyle I had become accustom too. My father, after seeing me in that state, had gloom come over him, and as he tells it, his foundation seemed to be crumbling, he was not as strong as he thought he was. He went to a pastor s conference, and there he found he could not shake his troubled spirit. And I don t know if you have ever been around a group of pastors, but they do not like to show weakness or vulnerability to one another. They pontificate and try to spiritualize everything, to kind of hide the fact that they are just men. Still to this day, Pastors are hard for me to gather around.

3 P a g e 3 I heard it once said, that Pastors are like manure, when they are all clumped together, they are no good, they are just a pile of stink and disgust. But when you spread them out, like manure, they can do a great deal of good. They are better in their ministry then gathered together. And my father at this particular conference was not wanting to wear the spiritual mask, he was broken, and even fearful for his only son. One night, he did something he usually would not do, his Pastor introduced him to another pastor in the area we were living in; my father poured his heart out to a pastor he had never met, and told him, that his son was lost, and the two men prayed for me and my girlfriend to find our way to church. The pastor, who my father never met before, asked where I was living with my girlfriend. My father told him, Lake Havasu City, Az. It was hardly coincident that the two met each other that day. How, could that be coincidence? I was lost in the very city that pastor was from. They left that prayer time, and you know they never spoke again that whole conference.

4 Well, it was a couple weeks after that incident. P a g e 4 That is was Easter Morning, and that is when Jessica out of the blue, woke up, and demanded I take her to church. She had an urgency that I did not understand then, but now know was the Spirit of God awakening her to her sinful condition. The only church I thought to take her was Calvary Chapel there in Havasu, and we went to the Sunrise Service in their parking lot. That is where Jess heard Pastor Ray give the gospel, and she went forward and gave her life to Jesus. Now, out of the many people that came forward that day, Pastor Ray came over to us, and started chatting with us. We introduced ourselves, and Pastor Ray had a look of shock on his face. After I shared my name with him, and introduced my girlfriend, he asked if my dad was a pastor. I said yes, and he said something like, I met him for the first time a couple weeks ago, and we prayed that you both would come to church. And here you are. This is God s Providence. Jess and I both were skeptical, she thought it was his tactic to keep us at the church.

5 P a g e 5 But this was all orchestrated by God, and you see there is no coincidences in this life, God is Sovereign over all, and it was not chance that my father and pastor Ray prayed that day, it was Divine, and it was not chance that Jess and I ended up in that church that morning, it too was Divine. And from that day, there are just too many stories to tell, of us witnessing God s Providence, Jess and I began calling them not coincidences, but Godcidences, as He time and again showed us He is arranging our lives into a beautiful orchestra. My father thought his son s life was over, and he had almost lost heart, and God s Providence knew a different outcome. And this morning, in our text we will have a wonderful picture of this attribute of God s Character and His Grace. I don t know what you are going through this morning, but God is Sovereign, and He is in complete control of your life. Please, for those of you who are in the midst of chaos this morning, let the text speak to you, and understand God is never late, and He will always come through one way or another. Let us pray before we get into our study We will be in Luke 8 verses this morning.

6 P a g e 6 Remember, last week, we saw Jesus authority over nature, as He commanded the disciples to head across the Lake to the other side. Jesus fell asleep as a great tempest overwhelmed the disciples and almost caused them to perish; they then awoke Jesus who calmed the raging storm. Jesus had an appointment on the other side of the lake, with a man succumbed to the control of a Legion of Demons. Jesus then asserted His Authority over the spiritual realm and freed the man, and it was a touching scene. However, the townspeople did not feel comfortable with Jesus around, and instead of Revival, we saw Rejection. And Jesus politely left the Gadarenes, but not before He set loose an undeniable witness, the healed Demoniac was now to preach what Great things God had done for him. Jesus got into the boat, and as we will see, He will have two more Providential or Divine Appointments back in the Galilee Region, as they go back across the lake. We will also see what the people of the Gadarenes missed out on by their rejection, as Jesus will now be able to minister among a welcoming crowd, and miracles will abound. We pick it up now in verse 40 of chapter 8

7 P a g e 7 A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed(Matt 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43) 8:40 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. 41 And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. We see a warm welcome here as Jesus returned to the people waiting for Him. Among the excited and welcoming multitude was a very anxious man named Jairus. Jairus was the ruler of possibly the same synagogue that the centurion helped build in Luke s earlier account, whom we met at the beginning of chapter 7. And perhaps Jairus knew of that great miracle Jesus performed for the gentile man s servant. It could be possible that Jairus was in the delegation sent to plead with Jesus about ministering to the gentile soldier. But now, tragedy has stuck his own home. We see here his twelve-year-old daughter lay sick, and was dying. Now the ruler of the synagogue was a man of high position.

8 P a g e 8 Jairus was a man who had made something of himself, and had reached the highest point on the ladder within his community. This man would be responsible for the order of service and even appointing those who would have the privilege of sharing in the synagogue. He would be wealthy, and he would be a man who was given much respect from his community. This man had gained all that this life says you need to be happy and well. But what good was his prestige, his lavish lifestyle, if the most precious thing in his life was laying on her death bed. Luke is the only writer who points out that this was Jairus only daughter, the light of his life. Daughters and Daddies have a unique and very special connection. I am trying to raise my son as man, and even at 3-years old I am trying to instill in him a work ethic and teach him how to walk as a man of God. I love the relationship with my boy, I love that he likes to stack wood with me, and he likes to work. He constantly says, Daddy, I am a worker! But a daughter, oh they grab a hold of a Daddy s heart. They bring such sunshine and joy to a daddy s life.

9 P a g e 9 I just had a Daddy and me day with my 4-year-old Lola on Friday, and I was just thrilled to spend that sweet time with her. She was so happy to show me what she does at school, her work, and her dimples were full blast, and her little hand was holding my hand. My heart is like a butter on a hot skillet, just a puddle. A daughter can soften the hardest man, I guess I am pretty hard, because God gave me three girls, they all light up my life. Jairus light here is dimming, I imagine him pacing back and forth, waiting for Jesus boat to land, and as soon as Jesus was off the boat, this noisy, excited crowd becomes silent, as the honored Jairus comes before Jesus and bows humbly. Now, it is likely that Jairus was familiar with Jesus, as the synagogue in Capernaum was a regular stop for Jesus. Jairus familiarity with Jesus does not mean he was friendly with Jesus at all prior to this incident. We know Jesus had huge contentions with the religious leaders at this point, who were already plotting Jesus demise. But as this man is about to say goodbye to his little girl, who he had 12 years of memories with.

10 P a g e 10 Think about this, Jairus was there for all of her milestones, when she first crawled, then walked, her first smile, her first laugh. And here as she is about to blossom into a woman, death has come for her. This breaks this great man, and in one last attempt to save his baby girl, his last resort is Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth. Desperate times call for desperate measures, as Jairus can care less about his own reputation at this point. Jesus was this man s only chance, his only hope, and understand, it is actually a very good place to be, when Jesus is your only hope. Despair and desperation are often a prelude to experiencing the greatest seasons of Grace. Well, our title this morning is A Tale of Two Healings, and this encounter will be interrupted with another person s encounter with Jesus. Now, in Charles Dickens famous book A Tale of Two Cities, he sets the tone of the Book up in the opening sentence It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of disbelief, it was a season of light, it was a season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it as the winter of despair, we

11 P a g e 11 had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way Dickens then tells the Tale of two cities, London and Paris, that provided two different experiences at the time of the French Revolution. Two different realities can be happening at the same time. And here in our story this morning, we see a theme of duality as well. Our young girl, twelve years old, in the spring of her young life, had her whole life ahead of her, and she is now set against a women who is in the winter of her life, who has known harsh realities about this fallen world and suffered for twelve years. We have a girl who is the center of her daddy s world, and a woman long forgotten and lost in a crowd. Twelve years ago, Jairus little light came to his world, giving Jairus meaning and a new reason to live. Twelve years ago this girl brought blessing and joy to the world. Yet twelve years ago, this woman began hemorrhaging, losing blood, and losing her life. Twelve years ago, this woman began down a dark road of weakness and shame.

12 P a g e 12 We see the dual state of these two souls at the same point in history and they will be linked together forever in their stories because of their encounter with Jesus. So, as Jesus was heading back with Jairus to heal his daughter, we see there will be what seems to be an impediment or hindrance on their way. Look at the end of verse 42 through 48 But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. 43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. 45 And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" 46 But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me." 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. 48 And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

13 P a g e 13 It must have been wearisome for Jairus, as the crowds thronged against Jesus. Jairus did not have time for any kind of hold-up, and you can feel the anxiety of the moment. Especially, when to Jairus dismay, everything came to a complete standstill. Jesus is interrupted by a woman, we would do well to note that Jesus always had time for interruptions, He saw them as opportunities to join His Father s Work. It should cause us to consider our own life s interruptions, perhaps some of those people we try to avoid or dismiss are some of the greatest opportunities to be used by God. This time thief in our story is a poor woman, suffering for twelve years with a flow of blood. Now Luke points out that she was also broke, having spent all her money on physicians who could not heal her. And once again, Jesus is her last, and only hope. And once again, we see when Jesus is your only hope, you are in a good place. This hemorrhage would have left this woman unclean and a permanent outsider, it has been too long since she has been able to touch another human being. The Law states in Lev. 15:25-27 'If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the

14 P a g e 14 time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. 26 Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. 27 Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. You must understand this woman s desperation in wanting to be healed of this humiliating condition. She was suffering physically and socially. Now, the Rabbi s of the day had in their writings, in the Talmud, a list of around 11 cures for this specific disorder, however they were no more than superstitious and folly. Some of which were, taking of a Persian Onion, three pints, boil them in wine, and give it to her to drink, and say, arise from the flux. If this does not cure her, set her in a place where two ways meet, and let her hold a cup of wine in her right hand, and let someone come from behind and frighten her, and say Arise from the flux! Hughes I am sure there was not a remedy or superstition she did not try, however she hemorrhaged all the more.

15 P a g e 15 Mark 5:26 she had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. This woman, for twelve years was separated from her home, a stranger in her society, and cast out from her religion and all the while declining in health. Now, it was illegal for her to touch anyone and had to avoid people, so she could not approach Jesus in the open. It was in a multitude this woman found her cover, as she secretly made her way up to Jesus. Had she come to meet him face on, His disciples may have protected their Teacher from her unclean label. After-all it would ruin Jesus full day of ministry, as He Himself would be considered unholy if she openly touched Him. Jairus would have cast this unimportant sufferer aside had she came any other way but by stealth. So from behind, she reached out with her hand, in faith, and grabbed the tassels on the border of Jesus Hebrew garment. It was a desperate reach, but it was full of faith, and Doctor Luke writes at the end of verse 44, her horrible condition ceased immediately! Understand her simple faith was doctrinally incomplete, but very effective.

16 Today many religiously astute Christians dismiss the faith of an uninformed believer. P a g e 16 But I have seen in desperation, a person, who knows very little scripture if any at all, who knows nothing of our tenants of faith, and whose life is a mess according to our Christian standards and morality, and I have seen from that place of desperation, the greatest of faith, as imperfect as it may be, it is great. The person may only know that Jesus, God s Son died for their sins, and they reach out in that simple understanding, and I have seen heroin addicts healed, and I have seen foul mouthed men cleansed, the angry man settled, hurting marriages restored, and the suicidal given hope. This woman s faith is incomplete, but powerful, and Jesus rewarded her simple faith. In an instant her suffering is cured, her hemorrhaging stopped, and she immediately has life and vigor surging through every part of her body. Her faith is rewarded, however still incomplete, so Jesus wants to cement in her a higher and complete faith. He asks in verse 45, Who touched me? Now, this question seemed meaningless, Jesus had a crowd around Him, and the crowd were all pressing up against Him.

17 P a g e 17 So Peter the Bold, took it upon himself to point out the obvious. And Jesus rebuffed Peter instantly, in verse 46 Jesus clarified, the touch was not a normal touch, it was one of faith, and Jesus knew power had gone out from Him to heal. Now, the woman of course is embarrassed enough, and perhaps feared for her own safety in breaking the law here. She had already began to escape, and go off in her very incomplete faith, healed and restored. But Jesus wanted to give her a deeper faith, than that of a selfish faith. For those who come to Jesus for selfish reasons, they miss out on the greater blessing available to them. Jesus didn t just offer a miracle to this woman, He was offering a new life, and a fresh start. The woman in verse 47 realizes Jesus knows all, and she came before the Healer trembling, and she like Jairus fell at Jesus feet, as Jesus allowed her to confess her faith. Her belief was only part of her salvation experience; she must also make this confession. Rom 10:10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

18 You see we believe on Jesus, and His sacrifice on the cross and we believe in His death, burial, and His resurrection, and when we do, we are forgiven, and His righteousness is imputed to us. P a g e 18 But we too are too confess, and to proclaim this new life as well. Christianity is not a closet belief. This idea that our religion is a private thing and should not be discussed, is not a genuine faith. This woman confesses before her community of what her belief has done in her life, as she is healed inside and out. And of course, in her confession, she may have been worried at what people thought of her, she gave a complete disclosure of all that had taken place. Now, look what Jesus replies to this humbled woman in verse 48, He tenderly calls her Daughter and tells her to be of good cheer, because her faith in Jesus made her well. No one else in scripture does Jesus ever call Daughter. This is such a tender picture, as Jesus sends her away in peace. She is fully restored in all areas of her life. Maybe it has been twelve years since she has seen her husband, held her children, twelve years of people judging her and avoiding her uncleanliness.

19 She is now able to worship again, as she is no longer unclean. P a g e 19 And I imagine that Jairus heard Jesus call this woman Daughter, and his heart filled with so much hope for his own daughter. If this Carpenter from Nazareth can heal this woman s condition, then surely He could and would heal his own suffering daughter. The once bothered ruler of the synagogue, has now, a ray of light now bursting in his heart. There is no greater motivation in life than hope. Hope lifts the soul up from the darkest of places, and hope helps you to walk lighter in this world, hope allows Joy and Excitement to enter your heart. But as we will see, as soon as Jairus gets a glimmer of hope, darkness will overcome him, by a word from a messenger from home. 49 While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher." All hope was lost! Jesus might have been able to heal her when she was alive, however, who could raise the dead to life? It was now time to mourn, and except this horrible fate.

20 P a g e 20 A father s worse nightmare has come to Jairus, and the news must have shattered his heart to a million pieces. The messenger understands the impossibility of healing the dead, and encourages Jairus to stop troubling the teacher. Perhaps, anger overcame Jairus, If there had not been so many interruptions, perhaps hope would still remain! The blossom of hope has now withered away. Hendrickson But this messenger s understanding, is immensely incomplete, and debased. For Jairus, as long as Jesus was by his side, hope still remains. Jesus is God, and not limited at all, by even humanities most feared enemy, you see, death has no sting, when a person walks in this world with Jesus. Jesus completely disregards the hopeless messenger, and we read now in verse But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well." Jesus overhearing the discussion tells Jairus not to worry, only believe. She will be well.

21 P a g e 21 Jesus is making clear in the face of this great tragedy and horrible sorrow, to have faith, is all that mattered here. We will note Jairus silence, and I believe hope is fluttering once again in his heart, and he follows Jesus quietly, yet hopeful, perhaps on the edge of complete and unashamed weeping. We read now 51 When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. 52 Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping." 53 And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. Now, the previous healing was done unnoticed by anyone as the woman touched Jesus garment. But here Jesus demands witnesses be present. He brings His inner circle with Him, Peter, James, and John, and they join the overwhelmed mother and father. We see the professional mourners are already present. Understand, the Hebrews buried their dead on the same day that the death occurred. This meant they had to be prepared, and they had paid the ceremonial weepers. These people were specialists, and howled hysterically.

22 P a g e 22 Being that it was their profession, they understand that this child is dead, there is no pulse, no breath, and no hope. Yet, Jesus with great authority silences them, and explains she is not dead but sleeping. Jesus has a fuller understanding of life and death, and as we saw with the widow of Nain s son, Jesus can span that great chasm between the living and the dead no problem. To Jesus, death was no more than sleep. Now, Jesus words brought about a reaction from the crowd gathered around, it says in verse 53 that they ridiculed Jesus, other translations said they laughed Him to scorn. We see the foolishness of their cries for the dead daughter, and it was indeed not honest sorrow, but a hollow and heartless cry. In a moment, they turn off the tears, and turn to laughter. And Jesus is quick to deal with the fakes, verse But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise." 55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. 56 And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

23 P a g e 23 Jesus removes His faithless mockers, and enters into the death chamber, where the precious little girl lay. And this is so very interesting as we have pointed out previously, Jesus in all three accounts of Him raising the dead to life, He speaks to the dead as though they are alive. To this sweet little girl, He says Little girl arise. To Lazarus He said, Lazarus, come out of there. To the widow s son, in Nain, He commanded the son to arise. Notice, she was physically dead, some who struggle with the miracles of Jesus, they try to bring them into our human reasoning, and say that the little girl only lay there sleeping, and Jesus just diagnosed her correctly. And there is evidence, because of the Jews haste to bury their dead, that they sometimes buried those who were not dead, and only sick. They have uncovered tombs in Israel with evidence of the people being buried alive, and evidence of an attempt of escape to no avail. But Doctor Luke clearly says, once Jesus gave the command, in verse 55 her spirit returned. A body without a spirit is dead here on earth. Hers returns, and to her parents delight she arose immediately!

24 P a g e 24 You can see her little eyes fluttering, and opening wide, and who would be the first person she saw, Jesus staring compassionately back at her. Then she would look for momma and dad, and she would see the thunderstruck disciples standing there. And it is interesting here, Jesus even at the climax of this incredible miracle, He does not overlook the obvious needs of this young girl, she needed nourishment. And I imagine, mom who perhaps once complained at all the snacks her girl ate throughout the day, she joyfully jumped at the occasion to make another peanut butter and jelly for her precious daughter, or whatever was the Hebrew equivalent of the day was. She never thought she would get to make a meal for her daughter again, and I imagine she happily gets busy here. It drives me nuts, our kids all day long, it could be right after Jess prepares a great feast for them, it will be 5 minutes, and they are crying for a snack. I cannot believe how many stinking snacks 4 little kids can eat, it is a huge part of our budget. But I will tell you this, as much as a pain it is, the thought of not have that little one ever being able to ask me for a snack again is a pain unbearable. No these parents rejoiced in the simple duty here.

25 And perhaps Jesus gave that chore as a gift to their weary heart. P a g e 25 But it is interesting in our Tale of Two Healings, the woman who wanted to keep her healing a secret was made to confess before a multitude at what God did for her. But this very public man, and his prominent family, they are commanded not to speak to anyone what had taken place. Perhaps Jairus influence would have been a trigger for a premature attempt to forcibly acclaim Jesus as the Messiah, and causing a revolt against Rome. This was not His purpose, so they are asked to keep this between the seven of them in the room. Now, this whole story, is one of Divine Providence! We saw a desperate father, a dying young girl, a suffering woman, Jesus was delayed, a woman was healed by her faith, then a dead girl, and then a life restored, and finally a faith-filled man. This is as Kent Hughes puts it the choreography of heaven. As the disciples must understand now, Jesus is God, He can do anything, and we will see after this miracle, Jesus will now send them out with this final lesson of Providence.

26 P a g e 26 The disciples as we will see next week will go out in power, knowing that God is working all the time and everywhere. Even when things seem inconvenient, there is a purpose, God is Sovereign over all! Now, today, we can go with this same confidence, understand Jesus is not physically with us today. We cannot see Him visibly, we live by faith, but understand this, this morning Jesus is by our side nonthe-less. When you understand Providence, when you understand that nothing is by accident in your life, that Jesus is always with you, and working around you, it opens your heart up to a whole new world of opportunity. Understand this morning, that Jesus still stands at the side of every sickbed, He still stands with the lonely in the prison cell, He is even in the midst of our busy malls, He is in each and every classroom, and please know He is in all of our homes. He is there waiting for the hand of faith to reach out to Him. And He still says to each and every troubled soul, Reach out and trust Me. Jesus invites all who are weary, who labor, and are heavy laden, and He still offers rest today.

27 P a g e 27 To those suffering this morning, He has not left you nor abandoned you. Jesus is near to all who come to Him in faith. This morning, perhaps these words are hitting ears, that have never come in contact with Jesus before. Maybe you have never known His closeness before. Perhaps you thought grueling religious rites brought Him near to you. Maybe you thought your wickedness put you at a distance Jesus could never reach too. Please know right now He is here, and He will come to all who come to Him in faith. Look to Him today for your healing, for salvation and hear Him say to you, Son or Daughter, be of good cheer, your faith has made you well, Go from here today in peace! Understand God s Providence this morning, you are here in this place for reason, and you were meant to hear this message. It is now up to you to respond to Jesus, don t be like the mockers who were ushered quickly away from Jesus. Come to Him this morning, and know His nearness and love.

28 P a g e 28 Maybe you are a Christian this morning, and you just needed to be reminded of His closeness and concern for your current situation, hear Him this morning, and hear the Word spoken, Do not be afraid, only believe, Do not weep, there is hope. You see you wrong your own soul by not bringing your griefs to Jesus. Ironside We will have opportunity for you to come up during this last song, for you to bring your burdens to Jesus, in prayer. Take advantage of this important part of our worship service. His house, this building, is a house of prayer. So as always, the elders and pastors will be up here this morning to pray with you, please come up and be ministered too this morning. Let s pray