Grace and Peace

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:05.480 I'm going to mend the bulletin a bit and look at Colossians chapter one again, 2 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:11.429 but just the first two verses Colossus Chapter One, beginning in verse one. 3 00:00:13.390 --> 00:00:18.589 Listen, for this is the word of the Lord Paul, an Apostle 4 00:00:18.670 --> 00:00:21.859 of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother 5 00:00:22.739 --> 00:00:28.579 to the Saints and Faithful Brothers in Christ at Coloss A. Grace to you 6 00:00:28.820 --> 00:00:34.259 and peace from God, our father. That's by the reading of God's word 7 00:00:34.299 --> 00:00:47.890 me. He blessed it to us. Please be seated. Envelopes, I'm 8 00:00:47.929 --> 00:00:54.640 going to talk for a little bit, maybe too long, about envelopes. 9 00:00:56.799 --> 00:01:04.109 Envelopes are rarely interesting, and yet did you know that envelopes predate most things? 10 00:01:06.829 --> 00:01:11.629 They've found evidence of envelopes predating even a written language, before people were 11 00:01:11.670 --> 00:01:19.500 even carving cuneiform. Unto Clay Tablets, they were sending and delivering messages using 12 00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:26.340 miniatures of sheep or items that they wanted to trade and sending him far away. 13 00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:29.900 And the way they would do that is they would encase them in a 14 00:01:30.060 --> 00:01:34.290 clay ball, basically, and to ensure that it didn't get opened or tampered 15 00:01:34.329 --> 00:01:38.170 with, they would roll a stamp around this clay ball to make sure everyone 16 00:01:38.209 --> 00:01:44.049 knew when it got there that this is from the original sender. So envelopes 17 00:01:44.129 --> 00:01:53.760 predate even the written language. and my interest in envelopes began when my father 18 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:57.480 was a postmaster for the US post office. He worked in a tiny one 19 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:01.590 man post office. He was the postmaster, which meant his job was selling 20 00:02:01.629 --> 00:02:08.669 stamps one at a time and in an attempt to drum up business in this 21 00:02:08.830 --> 00:02:16.020 five hundred people town where he worked, he and to keep himself busy, 22 00:02:16.060 --> 00:02:23.340 he developed a hobby and as this hobby was writing, writing letters, and 23 00:02:23.460 --> 00:02:30.250 not just anyone right, but writing letters to famous people, and sometimes they'd 24 00:02:30.289 --> 00:02:38.090 respond with a note or maybe they'd respond with an autographed picture and little embarrassed 25 00:02:38.129 --> 00:02:40.129 to say, he got me into this hobby as well. So in in 26 00:02:40.210 --> 00:02:44.210 high school, days off and on Summers when I would go and spend a 27 00:02:44.250 --> 00:02:46.759 day with him at this tiny post office, we'd spend our days looking up 28 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:51.439 addresses writing letters, because you never know what was going to happen. We 29 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:57.120 would write to cartoonists, to musicians, to authors, to actors, even 30 00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:01.030 to presidents, because you never know who would respond. And every day we'd 31 00:03:01.270 --> 00:03:07.229 check the mail to see if anyone wrote back. Usually they did not, 32 00:03:07.310 --> 00:03:10.550 but every once in awhile you'd get something interesting in the mail, and on 33 00:03:12.270 --> 00:03:19.580 only a couple of occasions we'd receive a handwritten, personalized letter from someone that 34 00:03:19.659 --> 00:03:23.539 we seen on on the TV, and in those instances you could always tell 35 00:03:24.180 --> 00:03:29.370 that they'd taken the time not only to write the letter, but it was 36 00:03:29.449 --> 00:03:35.530 the same handwriting on the outside of the envelope as well, and for some 37 00:03:35.610 --> 00:03:38.969 reason that felt extra special to me. And so you know, in saving 38 00:03:38.009 --> 00:03:45.280 all of these these are artifacts, we end up saving some of the envelopes 39 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:52.960 as well. And when was the last time you treasured an envelope and not 40 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:57.349 just the the letter that it contained? I mean, most of the time 41 00:03:57.469 --> 00:04:01.750 they're uninteresting. We cast them aside because, having gotten the letter to us, 42 00:04:01.830 --> 00:04:06.750 they've accomplished their mission, they fulfilled their function and now they're just clutter, 43 00:04:09.750 --> 00:04:13.219 which is why this evening I wanted to take some time to reflect on 44 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:20.660 what is essentially the address line, or the outside of the envelope of Paul's 45 00:04:20.660 --> 00:04:27.250 letter to the Collossians. It's just a couple of verses here and therefore it's 46 00:04:27.810 --> 00:04:30.290 easy for us to sort of skim past these words and an effort to get 47 00:04:30.329 --> 00:04:35.050 to what Paul really wants to say to the church. Whoever, even these 48 00:04:35.129 --> 00:04:43.439 opening greetings are written with a purpose, and this brief introduction does prepare for 49 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:48.680 what to expect throughout the rest of Paul's letter. Now, Paul is writing 50 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:53.949 this letter to a church he has not yet visited, and as the Gospel 51 00:04:53.990 --> 00:04:58.709 message is spreading, as associates of Paul are also going out and planting churches, 52 00:04:59.509 --> 00:05:02.069 even Paul hasn't been to all of them. So he's writing to a 53 00:05:02.149 --> 00:05:06.779 church in which he hopes to see. He's writing to encourage this young church. 54 00:05:06.819 --> 00:05:12.420 He's writing to strengthen them, to keep them from error, and because 55 00:05:12.420 --> 00:05:15.740 the reason he because the reason he can't visit them, is due to his 56 00:05:15.779 --> 00:05:21.250 own imprisonment. He's writing this letter from prison, and so even if he 57 00:05:21.410 --> 00:05:27.810 physically cannot be with them, he sends this word to them to bring them 58 00:05:27.850 --> 00:05:31.089 Greater Assurance of the Gospel, for he longs for this church to know the 59 00:05:31.170 --> 00:05:34.490 truth. He longs to them to grow in their knowledge of the truth, 60 00:05:34.569 --> 00:05:40.759 he longs for their lives to shine with the truth. Now, ultimately, 61 00:05:40.800 --> 00:05:45.399 Paul is writing to this church with instruction on on doctrine and on life. 62 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:49.910 He's telling this young church not only what man is to believe concerning God, 63 00:05:50.189 --> 00:05:57.029 but what Judy God requires of man. Throughout this letter he is reminding the 64 00:05:57.069 --> 00:06:02.310 Church of the hope of the Gospel and in just a few chapters the length 65 00:06:02.350 --> 00:06:06.139 of this letter, he covers a depth of topics. He proclaims the person 66 00:06:06.300 --> 00:06:13.819 and nature of Christ, the Ministry of the Gospel, proclaiming the mysteries hidden 67 00:06:13.860 --> 00:06:18.449 for age is now revealed to the saints, because he's aware of the attempts 68 00:06:18.449 --> 00:06:24.250 of others to delude and to deceive this church with error. And so he's 69 00:06:24.290 --> 00:06:29.209 bringing comfort as well. He's bringing encouragements that the Church would not be led 70 00:06:29.290 --> 00:06:33.600 astray by what appears to be wisdom, for Christ is the one in whom 71 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:39.560 are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And as he directs the 72 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:44.079 Church not only to the nature of Christ but to his gracious work on the 73 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:49.589 Cross, this work produces a response in the lives of God's people. He 74 00:06:49.709 --> 00:06:54.790 calls us all to live lives then, of of gratitude, saying, for 75 00:06:54.910 --> 00:07:00.430 you have died in your life is hidden with Christ in God. And so 76 00:07:00.550 --> 00:07:05.220 this is a young church, but one that is growing in maturity and will 77 00:07:05.259 --> 00:07:10.379 be used by God for the spread of the Gospel Message. And so this 78 00:07:10.459 --> 00:07:15.459 is a letter that proclaims Christ not only what he has done for us in 79 00:07:15.699 --> 00:07:19.610 securing our salvation, but what he continues to do in and among the lives 80 00:07:19.649 --> 00:07:26.329 of his own people, which is why this is a letter not just for 81 00:07:26.529 --> 00:07:32.160 one church but for the whole church, as Paul gives instructions near the end 82 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:36.639 of this letter in Collossians Sixteen. When this letter has been read among you, 83 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:44.160 have it also read in the Church of the laudessans. And so by 84 00:07:44.199 --> 00:07:48.350 US reading this letter today, we are continuing to fulfill the apostles instructions to 85 00:07:48.470 --> 00:07:56.870 pass this letter along. And so even in the opening lines of this letter, 86 00:07:57.949 --> 00:08:03.180 Paul is already teaching and comforting and encouraging this church. Now, I 87 00:08:03.259 --> 00:08:05.300 know that sounds like a lot to do on the outside of the envelope, 88 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:11.339 but look at how much there is here in these few verses. I mean, 89 00:08:11.420 --> 00:08:15.370 on the one hand, is not all that complex. He's writing the 90 00:08:15.490 --> 00:08:18.649 necessary details right just like the outside of the envelope. He's telling us who 91 00:08:18.730 --> 00:08:24.649 the letter is from. He's telling us who this letter is for. But 92 00:08:24.769 --> 00:08:28.319 even here we are already brought into the heart of why this letter was written, 93 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:35.399 for here we're shown not only Paul's care and concern for the Church, 94 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:45.309 we're shown Christ's care. Paul is expressing the concern of the Lord, and 95 00:08:45.470 --> 00:08:48.669 that the Lord cares for his church is seen in the very first verse of 96 00:08:48.710 --> 00:08:56.980 this epistle. Paul, an apostle of Christ, Jesus by the will of 97 00:08:56.139 --> 00:09:03.059 God, and here we see that it is God's who is sending forth his 98 00:09:03.259 --> 00:09:07.980 word. Paul is writing this letter, and so he identifies himself by name. 99 00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:11.129 But, just so we're clear, he's telling us that he's not writing 100 00:09:11.169 --> 00:09:16.529 to us on his own authority. His address to this church is not simply 101 00:09:16.929 --> 00:09:22.570 with his own instructions, his own opinions. He's coming to them in the 102 00:09:22.730 --> 00:09:28.960 name of someone else. This is what an apostle is. He is a 103 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:37.279 messenger, one send out like an ambassador. This letter is therefore obviously written 104 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:43.029 by Paul, but it carries the weight, it has the significance of Christ 105 00:09:43.110 --> 00:09:48.549 himself. Paul is a representative of Christ. That's what an apostle is. 106 00:09:50.149 --> 00:09:56.059 Therefore, his address to the church is ultimately not his own, but Christ's 107 00:09:56.059 --> 00:10:00.299 address to this church. And just to make that even more clear what this 108 00:10:00.500 --> 00:10:05.139 means. Paul says that he's an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will 109 00:10:05.340 --> 00:10:11.250 of God. You See, apostle is not a self appointed position. Paul 110 00:10:11.289 --> 00:10:15.450 didn't wake up one day and apply for the job, nor was Paul voted 111 00:10:15.529 --> 00:10:20.529 to be an apostle by his peers. Now we know the details of Paul's 112 00:10:20.570 --> 00:10:24.840 conversion and calling on the road to Damascus. He was a Pharisee who had 113 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:30.639 been persecuting the church. He was there when Stephen was stoned and acts seven, 114 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:33.320 and he was on his way to wreck more havoc on the church and 115 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:41.110 Damascus, but the Lord intervened, appearing to him, blinding him, speaking 116 00:10:41.309 --> 00:10:45.590 to him Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And I answered, 117 00:10:45.909 --> 00:10:48.750 who are You Lord? He said to me, I am Jesus of 118 00:10:48.750 --> 00:10:54.779 Nazareth, whom you are persecuting. And when his sight was restored and Damascus, 119 00:10:54.820 --> 00:10:58.980 he was told the God of our fathers has appointed you to know his 120 00:10:58.179 --> 00:11:01.220 will, to see the righteous one and to hear a voice from his mouth, 121 00:11:01.539 --> 00:11:05.889 for you will be a witness for him to everyone that you have of 122 00:11:05.049 --> 00:11:13.049 what you have seen and heard. It was by very direct divine intervention, 123 00:11:13.129 --> 00:11:16.970 that Paul is an apostle, and it was the Lord alone who converted this 124 00:11:18.250 --> 00:11:24.480 persecutor and made him into a witness. Paul is an apostle there for completely 125 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:28.000 according to the will of God, and this is good news, not only 126 00:11:28.039 --> 00:11:33.669 for Paul but for the church. God is at work in Paul, speaking 127 00:11:33.750 --> 00:11:39.029 to his church, and not only to the church in Coloss A, but 128 00:11:39.190 --> 00:11:43.269 to us today. God has been speaking his words is the day Paul put 129 00:11:43.350 --> 00:11:48.820 pain to parchment. This word has remained God's word to his church throughout time, 130 00:11:52.539 --> 00:11:56.580 and so Paul is a heavenly sent apostle. To whom, then, 131 00:11:56.659 --> 00:12:03.409 is the letter written as a messenger of the Lord? Who is his audience 132 00:12:05.370 --> 00:12:09.929 to the Saints and Faithful Brothers in Christ at Coloss a? Grace to you 133 00:12:11.090 --> 00:12:16.679 and peace from God, our father. This is the standard way letters were 134 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:22.480 written in the ancient world. This is the standard way we still write letters 135 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:26.320 even to this day. Who is it from? Who is it for? 136 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:31.909 And yet, even in these ordinary conventions, Paul is using them to communicate 137 00:12:33.110 --> 00:12:37.509 something eternal. For here Paul is writing to the church in Coloss A. 138 00:12:39.190 --> 00:12:46.220 and yet what word do we find missing from this address line? He doesn't 139 00:12:46.220 --> 00:12:50.740 call it a church. I mean clearly that's who he's addressing. And yet 140 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:58.289 what does he call them? He calls them saints, he calls them faithful 141 00:12:58.330 --> 00:13:05.289 brothers in Christ. In the New Testament the words saint is used very often 142 00:13:05.769 --> 00:13:09.730 as a title for a Christian. And did you know what the words Saint 143 00:13:09.769 --> 00:13:18.120 Means? Literally? It means holy ones. Just as Israel was called to 144 00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:22.919 be a holy nation, so here that same language is now being applied to 145 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:28.190 the church. This is so significant, especially for Paul. Paul was a 146 00:13:28.190 --> 00:13:37.429 Jewish pharisee who has now been sent to preach Christ to the gentiles, and 147 00:13:37.509 --> 00:13:43.860 the Pharisees were clearly known for their holiness codes and holiness laws. For the 148 00:13:43.899 --> 00:13:50.620 Pharisees, those who were not Jewish were ceremonially unclean and inherently unholy. And 149 00:13:50.740 --> 00:13:56.809 so, just on a historical level, it's fascinating that this former pharisee would 150 00:13:56.809 --> 00:14:03.889 be addressing a group of Greek gentiles as holy ones. And not a theological 151 00:14:03.970 --> 00:14:09.879 level, how amazing that gentiles are being drawn to the god of Abraham, 152 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:16.480 Isaac and Jacob, that gentiles are worshiping the holy one of Israel and that 153 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:24.350 gentiles are themselves are being called Holy. Is that how you think of the 154 00:14:24.389 --> 00:14:33.590 Church? The gathering of Holy Ones, as the faithful brothers in Christ? 155 00:14:35.269 --> 00:14:39.419 If the post office in two on God a letter simply addressed to the holy 156 00:14:39.460 --> 00:14:45.980 ones of Tucson, those who are faithful in Christ, Jesus, but they 157 00:14:46.059 --> 00:14:52.769 know where to deliver it, would you know where to deliver it? Paul 158 00:14:52.809 --> 00:14:56.450 uses these words as synonyms for the church. Is this how you think of 159 00:14:56.570 --> 00:15:05.330 the Church? Holy People, faithful in Christ. mean, maybe not. 160 00:15:05.450 --> 00:15:13.159 I mean, after all, are we reminded of our unfaithfulness frequently? Aren't 161 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:20.120 we confronted by our sin as we read the law? Don't we repent of 162 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:24.909 our unholy attitudes and desires so often? I mean, is in the Christian 163 00:15:24.950 --> 00:15:31.830 life a constant struggle against sin, against pride, against selfishness? Would we 164 00:15:31.909 --> 00:15:39.700 ever be so arrogant as to call ourselves holy faithful? Well, God is 165 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:45.580 telling us that yes, yes, this is exactly how you should view yourself, 166 00:15:46.539 --> 00:15:52.809 because this is exactly how God views you. That's the parallel in this 167 00:15:52.929 --> 00:16:00.409 verse. Where are these holy ones, where are these faithful brothers? They 168 00:16:00.450 --> 00:16:07.960 are in Christ and incloss A, even here in this address line. Don't 169 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:15.399 you see how we're shown our identity. How should we view ourselves holy? 170 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:19.029 For Are we not called to be Holy Faithful? Is it not? We've 171 00:16:19.110 --> 00:16:25.389 what we've been charged with? And yet this calling is located somewhere, not 172 00:16:25.549 --> 00:16:32.789 only in a physical location, Tucson coloss a, but spiritually. Where are 173 00:16:32.860 --> 00:16:41.539 we located in Christ? And so why does God Call You holy? Why 174 00:16:41.620 --> 00:16:47.889 does God call you faithful? Here? It's because we're getting better every day 175 00:16:48.009 --> 00:16:49.769 and every way, because we're winning a fight, we're winning this struggle, 176 00:16:51.690 --> 00:16:56.769 because every day is just another victory. Holiness and righteousness. No, we 177 00:16:56.850 --> 00:17:00.009 have our absent downs, right, but regardless of our failings, regardless of 178 00:17:00.049 --> 00:17:07.839 our successes, that we that we are in Christ means that when God sees 179 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:11.920 us, He sees Christ. When he sees you, he views you as 180 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:21.470 holy blameless, not because you're winning, but because you're in Christ, because 181 00:17:21.470 --> 00:17:25.869 he won the ultimate and final struggle against sin. When he took your sin. 182 00:17:26.029 --> 00:17:30.420 We paid for it on the Cross. Because of His Holiness and righteousness 183 00:17:30.460 --> 00:17:37.460 is now yours. Only then can you be called holy and faithful by God 184 00:17:37.660 --> 00:17:47.450 himself, locating us in Christ. We then hear the Familiar Apostolic Greeting Grace 185 00:17:47.529 --> 00:17:52.009 to you in peace from God our father. Up, Paul begins this letter 186 00:17:52.089 --> 00:17:57.960 in a typical way. This is a standard greeting, but in this greeting 187 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:03.640 to it's easy to skim over and miss what is really taking place. It's 188 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:08.359 easy to simply hear Paul's words as just another bit of formalism, but not 189 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:12.390 us. The consistency of these words with what he's already just said to those 190 00:18:12.549 --> 00:18:19.710 holy and faithful in Christ comes a message grace peace to you from God our 191 00:18:19.829 --> 00:18:26.990 father, which means that you cannot hear these words simply as a wish, 192 00:18:27.779 --> 00:18:32.460 like the kinds of things we put in our letters. Hope you're doing well, 193 00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:37.180 have a nice day. You see how different this greeting is. It's 194 00:18:37.259 --> 00:18:44.529 not simply a kind remark or a simple wish. It's a public declaration from 195 00:18:44.569 --> 00:18:51.690 the appointed Messenger of God himself. This is why Paul says grace to you 196 00:18:51.849 --> 00:18:57.599 and peace from God our father. Paul is saying these words on behalf of 197 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:04.920 his God and Lord, not himself. This letter that's begins with an official 198 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:11.950 announcement, and this announcement tells us something about who we are, that God 199 00:19:12.029 --> 00:19:19.269 is announcing grace to us. What does that imply. It means that in 200 00:19:19.390 --> 00:19:25.940 ourselves we are undeserving, undeserving of God's goodness, undeserving of God's favor. 201 00:19:27.140 --> 00:19:30.500 And grace implies even more than that. This term implies that we were actually 202 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:36.940 deserving the opposite of God's favor. God is gracious towards those who deserve wrath 203 00:19:37.099 --> 00:19:41.970 and judgment. I mean, if the difference between being poor and having having 204 00:19:41.049 --> 00:19:47.849 nothing and being in debt owing everything before the Lord, we don't just completely 205 00:19:47.890 --> 00:19:52.609 simply come empty handed, we come holding the debt of our sin. And 206 00:19:52.690 --> 00:19:59.200 yet the Lord greets us with a declaration of grace, rather than judgment, 207 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:04.559 rather than pay up. The announcement is grace, and that God announces peace 208 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:10.589 to US forces us to ask the question why. What does this word imply? 209 00:20:11.549 --> 00:20:15.430 Peace is a declaration made at the end of war, which means God 210 00:20:15.509 --> 00:20:22.420 is announcing peace to those who were his enemies, as Paul will go on 211 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:26.539 to tell us in chapter two. And do you, who were dead in 212 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:33.380 your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, but in Christ, as those 213 00:20:33.740 --> 00:20:40.210 gathered in him, what do we hear? Grace and peace. There is 214 00:20:40.329 --> 00:20:44.410 blessing. Where there was once wrath, there is peace where there was once 215 00:20:44.569 --> 00:20:52.039 hostility. This is what Christ has accomplished, as Isaiah prophesied. But he 216 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:57.400 was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. Upon Him 217 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:04.390 was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 218 00:21:10.309 --> 00:21:14.670 This declaration is not Paulse, as we have seen. It's the announcement 219 00:21:14.869 --> 00:21:21.779 of God, our father, our Lord, addresses us with this amazing announcement 220 00:21:21.859 --> 00:21:26.140 of the Gospel. Grace to you and peace, for God is being gracious 221 00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:30.579 to you, and in that very peace that exists between father and son in 222 00:21:30.660 --> 00:21:37.009 the trinity is the same peace you now have with God, which is why 223 00:21:37.089 --> 00:21:41.769 we call God more than gracious, more than peacemaker. What do we call 224 00:21:41.849 --> 00:21:49.440 him? Our Father? The result of this grace and peace is our entrance 225 00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:55.759 into the very family of God. Beloved then, as those trusting in the 226 00:21:55.960 --> 00:22:00.640 Lord, this is God's message for you, as those who have been called 227 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:08.069 by him. This is his message to you. Grace Peace. Have you 228 00:22:08.150 --> 00:22:15.299 noticed? This is how our worship services begin every Lord's Day. It's not 229 00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:22.579 a coincidence. As God's people come into his presence as a body, under 230 00:22:22.619 --> 00:22:30.210 the declaration of these words. It's an announcement that likewise closes out worship. 231 00:22:32.569 --> 00:22:36.369 It's this message was not only colors our entrance into the church, it covers 232 00:22:36.569 --> 00:22:41.170 our life, as this is what is declared over and again to us again 233 00:22:41.250 --> 00:22:48.480 and again throughout God's word. The simple announcement identifies us. It points us 234 00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:52.519 to who we are in ourselves, it points us to our need and it 235 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:57.440 points us to who we are in Christ and who we will be forever in 236 00:22:57.630 --> 00:23:06.549 his presence. Holy Ones and faithful, because that's who you are in Christ 237 00:23:07.869 --> 00:23:11.509 and that's who you will be on that great day, as God will welcome 238 00:23:11.589 --> 00:23:15.259 you into his presence once and for all with these same words of grace and 239 00:23:15.500 --> 00:23:19.619 peace. Amen, let's pray.