God’s Purpose in a Variety of Testings: Liberty

God's Purpose in a Variety of Testings: Liberty

Would you join me this morning by turning for Scripture reading to two portions of Scripture in First Kings? I'd like to begin in chapter 6 and read a few verses from First Kings chapter 6 this morning. First Kings chapter 6, I'd like to read beginning in verse 11. And we read there, and the word of the Lord came to Solomon saying, concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then will I perform my word with thee, which I speak unto David thy father, and I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. So Solomon built the house and finished it.

And then in chapter 9, I'd like to turn it over there as well. Chapter 9, verse 1 beginning. First Kings chapter 9, verse 1, and it came to pass when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord and the Kings house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do, that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time as he had appeared to him at Gibian. And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made before me. I have hallowed this house which thou hast built to put my name there forever, and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked in the integrity of heart or in integrity of heart, and in uprightness to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and will keep my statutes and my judgments, then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever, as I promised to David thy father saying, there shall not fail the man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them in this house, and this house which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people. And at this house which is high, everyone that passes by it shall be astonished and shall hiss, and they shall say, why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house, and they shall answer because they forsook the Lord their God who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods and have worshiped them and served them, therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.

And let's mark our Bibles, please, to these two portions of Scripture this morning. These will serve as our texts for the message this morning, and let's acknowledge the Lord in a word of prayer.

Great as Father as we've read your word now, read this portion of it for the morning message. We're pleading the blood of Christ. We're looking to you to help us, Lord, to open our eyes. I'm often reminded, Lord, that I believe it was Dwight L. Moody that said that to read your word without the illumination of the Holy Spirit is like trying to read a sundial by moonlight. And Lord, we need the Holy Spirit to come and help us to see what it is that you would have us to see from your word today, and then to apply it to our lives as we go out, not only today, but tomorrow and the next day. Lord, help us to take to heart your word. Help us as we have just sung this morning to hide your word in our heart that we might not sin against thee. Lord, thank you that you have given us your word. And it's a guide to our feet. It's a lamp to our feet, a light to our path. Help us, each one of us, we each have unique needs in our lives, Father. We each have a unique set of circumstances. Each one of us have unique backgrounds, but Lord, we're so glad that we've come and we hold your word in our hands this morning and we are able to hide it in our hearts, so help each one of us to do that, Lord, that in each of our circumstances we will have the wisdom needed to do your will. And we pray asking these things in Jesus' name, asking your continued blessings upon this service in Jesus' name, amen.

Well, we have the privilege of opening God's word this morning and in the last couple of weeks, although they have been recorded messages, we've been looking at God's purpose and the variety of tests and we want to continue to do that for the next few weeks. We've seen one of the ways that God tests us is when He takes loved ones. Specifically, we've seen those that God has taken from our lives that He takes away loved ones that we relied on. We see how God used people in our lives and then He may take them in death and how we am I going to go forward without that person that God has put in my life? It may be a parent, it may be a grandparent, it may be a spouse, it may be someone that God greatly used and yet He may have removed that person from our lives in a form of testing to us and yet what God's heart has always in these things, even when He takes away dear loved ones from us is to draw us closer to Himself. He wants us to realize that though they may be gone, He is still very much with us.

I pointed out in the funeral yesterday that John Newton, of course it was His mother was gone from Him but how her prayers and how the things that she had taught Him about the Lord still serve as a pointer to really point Him to Christ in the time of His deep trouble on the seas when He went through that storm and thought I am without God and I am without hope in this world and yet God's amazing grace, God proved Himself to be very much the friend of John Newton even though His mother was gone.

We mentioned last week that God sends disappointments in our lives. We talked about appointments and how appointments are, you know, we set appointments, don't we, we have doctors appointments, we have meetings that we arrange and we are planning, maybe it's somebody coming over to serve us something at our home and you know we're expecting that person to arrive at the time they said they're going to arrive or you know our doctors expecting us to arrive at the appointment at the appointed time right and when some party fails in that then there is disappointments. There is a disappointment that comes when expectations are not fulfilled or not met in that way and yet we have seen so many times in our lives how God permits He appoints disappointments in our lives but with purpose. At the moment we might wonder what is the purpose but they are really His appointments for our lives and that's why even when we make plans we must make them in pencil, we must not make them in stone. We must be always open to God's changes to our plans and His appointments for our lives because if we knew how everything was going to go ahead of time then where would there be faith right? How could we walk by faith if we knew where everything was going to fall out?

I will confess that I am the type of person that likes to have things laid out. I like to know exactly how it's going to go. I like to know ABCD and then there's no question right. I like to be organized. I'm not saying that I always am but that's my desire. I think probably a lot of us are at least to some degree that way. We like to have things lined up. Nothing wrong with making plans but be ready for God will bring at times in our lives disappointments but we must not see them. We must count it all joy even when we fall into that type of trial and temptation in our lives because God is working through it to accomplish His purposes. God is working through those things.

I want to speak this morning the Lord laid upon my heart. I've got a number of different testings that I'd like to speak about but the one the Lord has laid upon my heart this morning I believe is the test of liberty. The test of liberty we might say well this is a little bit different sort of tests than the test of disappointment isn't it? We might say that the test of liberty is not one where the Lord is so much taking something from us that we thought that we were expecting that we were going to have but more so testing us with allowing us room to make choices and decisions.

Today we read about Solomon. Solomon was a man who had an appointed plan for his life at the outset of his reign didn't he? He had a plan lined up for him already by his father. The goods, the materials for building this temple were already in place. He had God's favor for building this temple. God wanted this temple to be built. In fact God said Solomon is the one who's going to build the temple. Your son is going to build it not you David and so he already had it all lined up. He had it all in place and all he had to do was just you know kind of like a schedule for our school right? Well at nine o'clock we're going to do this. At ten o'clock we're going to do that at eleven o'clock we're going to have this you know we eat lunch. All of these things are already lined up. We know that once we get out of school five doesn't always take that same fashion does it. It may be filled with more unpredictability. But Solomon it was just right there for him. He just the table was set. He just stepped right into it and said I will. I'll do it. I'll build this temple that provision has been made for and David prayed. Lord give my son Solomon a perfect heart. Keeping this people's hearts a willing heart to always be like this and to do to do your will in so many terms and so many words.

But what we do with liberty is a test right? I think we probably most of us have heard that statement you're at liberty but watch it right be careful with what you do with liberty with your liberty. Now Solomon even had connections we might say. Remember and I know we've gone through we went through Solomon some few months ago when we were looking as we've been looking at the kings of Israel and you remember that we mentioned Hiram king of Tyre this was to the north of Israel right in Phoenicia there was a Tyre was one of the prominent city states if you will in Phoenicia in the north and Hiram in that region he was known for well they have stone masons but they were high up in that area and they were known for their cedar trees lots of cedar trees cedar cedar is excellent for building as we see Solomon not only use that in the building of the temple but in the building of the of his own palace cedar cedar was a good wood to use and Hiram had plenty of trained skilled workers that knew how to work with it and so Solomon was blessed to have this connection this relationship this good relationship with Hiram king of Tyre so that he could say Hiram I know you've been a good friend to my father and I want that relationship to continue and we're going to need this cedar for the building of the of the Lord's house so he had that connection he had that provision of materials he had all of these things in place for him we see that there were many many thousands of men and even those that were working a rotation in the cutting of stones and in the of these costly stones that would be brought in to build the house of the Lord.

In First Kings chapter six if you look there with me you may already have your Bible open to that we read in verse 11 and the word of the Lord came to Solomon saying concerning this house which thou art in building if thou will walk in my statutes and execute my judgments and keep all my commandments to walk in them then will I perform my word with thee which I speak unto David thy father and I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel so Solomon built the house and finished it. We will learn it is also true in verse 38 if you look there in First Kings six verse 38 and in the 11th year in the month of Bull which is the eighth month was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof and according to all the fashion of it so was he seven years in building it. It does trouble me a bit when I read that it took him 13 years to build his own house. He spent seven years building the house of the Lord but almost twice that time building his own house. Not only did he build a palace for himself though we see that he got him an Egyptian wife right daughter Pharaoh. He married an Egyptian wife. In First Kings seven look there in verse number eight in his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch which was of the like work. Solomon made also a house for Pharaoh's daughter whom he had taken to wife like unto this porch. We can see Solomon is turning to the right to the left he's not observing to do according to all that God had told him. He did it seems in the building of the temple but once he begins building his house then we see him starting to build other houses and having wives as the Lord told him not to bring in these multiple wives of the of the gods the false gods of the nations surrounding them. We see that in his liberty he didn't he didn't go out and necessarily just start off by you know building bunches of groves and all of these things and saying forget the house of the Lord we're gonna go worship Asherim we're gonna we're gonna go build all of these things to these false gods but little by little through his compromise these things began to come in. He began well I bear this wife I got to go to her house I got to do this and he just got busy doing so many things that were apart from what God wanted him to do with the liberty that he had granted him.

In fact Solomon was he said I'm living in peaceful times my father was a man of war but this is a time of peace a time of peace you know what we do with our liberty and what we do with our leisure does say a lot about our character doesn't it. It does say a lot about our thoughts. It does say a lot about God is testing us many times with times of peace isn't he. He tests us with times of reprieve a time of maybe we're not under the gun we might say and those times were a test as well as the times when we are under the gun. Think about David he was under the gun wasn't it 13 years of being chased by Saul. Now we have his son he's able to build a temple he's able to build a house unto the Lord and yet what will he do after he finishes that. He doesn't have daddy there to give him direction. He doesn't have his dad his father to give him direction and how he's to go and so he begins to pursue vanity.

Vanity oh it's so easy to pursue vanity and especially now in the times we live we have you know we have every form of social media we have every form of technology at our fingertips and we can go off and just waste our lives with all that is available to us now. We can waste our lives apart from what God actually wants us to do if we're not careful. Be sober be vigilant your adversary the devil he's waiting he's waiting for that opportunity to pounce isn't he. Be careful to do and observe to do according to what God has said. Don't turn to the right hand don't turn to the left. How did Christian and Faithful end up in Doubting Castle? Well we'll just go over here and buy a path meadow right it's just close to the way right just over here a little bit. Little did they think about or they didn't think about where bypath meadow would ultimately lead them. It's just we're gonna take this liberty over here we're gonna go over here to this just a little what we can still see the way over there. No that's not God's that's not God's plan for us.

Solomon we might say had training wheels to begin with but what did he do when the training wheels were taken off? I think of all of us in this sanctuary today or in different places in our lives. Some of us maybe you know we've passed kindergarten now or we're going up into elementary grade. Some are going up into middle school. Some have graduated college. Some have left the nest of home. Some have finished taking care of elderly parents now. Some are retired. Some of you have freedoms that you didn't have five years ago or even last year. Some of you are all of us are free from something that we used to have to do. We have some responsibility and something and now we say that's no longer the chapter of life that I'm in now. I have moved on to the next chapter and we will continue to do that until the Lord comes for us or He calls us home. We're going to have change. We're going to move from one chapter to another in our lives. I think about the time when I was so glad when my parents let me drive beyond this beyond our street on my bike. I could go three or four streets over. I felt like I was really on top of the world you know I could I can get out and see more things happening. But there were different responsibilities that came with that freedom right. You got to observe this that and the other if you're going to go there. You've got to make sure that you know you're not you're not doing it past a certain time of day and all of these kinds of things. What a wonderful thing. You know David was talking about when he turns 21. I think about when I turned 16 the license you know I mean that greatly you got a car but now both of the fuel pumps went out on the truck and you're gonna have to replace one and I'm gonna have to replace one. Responsibility comes with that right. Responsibility comes with that liberty. We noticed that with each stage of life there is new responsibility. Will we take on that responsibility for the glory of God and handle it well as we might say well I handled the last stage well with God's help. Well we're gonna need God's help to go through this next stage. We're gonna need God's help. We might have liberty from something. I know I can look at some of you here today. I know how many years you cared for elderly parents and you did it well. Thank the Lord for that but you're in a new chapter of life you know you're in a new stage of life.

I think of if you'll turn with me to Proverbs 29 please. Proverbs 29 in verse 15. We have a we may not be under the roof of our parents anymore. Our parents may not even be alive anymore. Some of you your parents have passed on but we have a faithful guide with us through all of life don't we? Proverbs 29:15 gives us this principle here. Proverbs 29:15 the rod and reproof give wisdom. Thank God for the guidance that we received from that in that way but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. Why? Because the child left to himself doesn't know what to do with liberty. He's just he's just going to spill something all over the place. He's going to misuse something. He's going to use the wrong pair of scissors or he's going to cut something cut their hair you know they're going to do something foolish with that liberty because they're not responsible enough to handle it. So that's why a child left to himself brings his mother to shame but that's why children obey your parents because they're going to teach you not only what not to do hopefully but what to do. Here's how you need to think. Here's how you need to talk. Here's how you need to handle yourself. You need to become a responsible young person. You need to learn right and wrong good better and best right. You need to learn how to how to carry yourself. We love you. We're not just a cute joys as parents we might say to our children. We want you to learn because one day you're going to have a family of your own. You're going to have your own set of responsibilities and we don't want you to be ill prepared when you come to that time in life. We want you to be able to step into that and say I am so thankful my parents taught me responsibility. I'm thankful for that.

Well looking Psalm 119 verse 71. Psalm 119 verse 71 and it says here in Psalm 119 verse 71 it is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn thy statutes. Instead of complaining Lord why don't why do you send some in your afflictions to my life Lord it's been good that you've brought these afflictions to me that I might I might learn and so that I can now even when the Lord brings me as they will say into a large place or a wide place I can be I can handle that privilege with responsibility because the Lord you've taught me things through the hardships so that I can appreciate when I'm on the mountain top. I can appreciate it when when I have room to breathe. I will praise your name Lord for you brought me out of a horrible pit. You brought me out of the valley. You brought me through the difficulties.

In Proverbs 6 let's look there. Proverbs 6 verse 23. I'm often reminded of these words Proverbs 6:23 for the commandment is a lamp and the law is light and reproofs of instruction are the way of life. You know our our Lord our heavenly Father and even the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts is continually reminding us even when we're going through times of what we would call everything is a blessing really in God's plan but we might say times of blessing victory you're at liberty but watch be careful. The Lord reproves us. The Lord chastens His own. Thank God for that because He is constantly there with us. We might we might not any longer have our parents our grandparents. We might not any longer have certain certain things in our lives to test and direct us that we did in the past but the Lord is the one who is our continual companion. He's our continual the one who loves us and is there with us all the way. He's encouraging and strengthening us but He's also reproving us. He's also there to teach us even in the times but we have to listen to Him. He's not going to force us to listen to Him but He's there and we need to we need to we need to brings even in our lives.

Let's look over in Ecclesiastes together looking Ecclesiastes too. I want to go back to Solomon this morning and and and we read here in Ecclesiastes chapter two what he says in verse one. He said I said in my heart that's where things begin isn't it. I would prove thee with mirth therefore enjoy pleasure and behold this also is vanity. I said of laughter is mad and of mirth what doeth it. I sought in my heart to give myself unto wine yet acquainting my heart with wisdom and to lay hold on folly till I might see what was good for the sons of what was that good for the sons of men which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. Solomon tried out I want to be wise but I want to I want to test out every form of amusement and levity and frivolity and merriment and he said in so many words for the sake of merriment is just vanity just just a life that's nothing but entertaining yourself is an empty life just just I just want to I just want to be entertained. I want I want to have fun. Well there's certain we look at our children and certain ones of them are more logical and everything's in a box and we understand organize this and others are my purpose in life is to have fun. I want to have fun. Well there is a place to enjoy things but we're not just to simply live for the indulgence of just enjoy enjoying have fun and you know Pastor Peacock often remind us we we stumble into happiness on the way to duty right doing what we know the Lord would have us to do. The Lord brings joy in when we are serving him. We're not just to live for the the fun fun fun and the amusement and the and the frivolity of life although that that can be enjoyed sometimes along the way as we're doing what the Lord would have us to do.

We notice here in Ecclesiastes chapter four look over there with me Ecclesiastes chapter four. You know it reminds me of one thing I think of in relation to that is if we did not have a limit to what we could eat. Some of you there's anybody in here like to eat. I enjoyed the taste of food but if we couldn't if we could just eat endlessly when we just keep eating when we we're going to debt because we just enjoy our food taste there has to be a limit right. It's a we can eat thank the Lord for the good food but but even when we eat do it to the glory of God right do it to the glory of God. Well Ecclesiastes four verse four says again I considered all travail and every right work and for this a man is envied of his neighbor this is also vanity and vexation of spirit. So there's the vanity of achievement but when you achieve it you know people win the lottery. I'm not advocating to do that I'm just saying people win the lottery and everybody comes out of the woodwork oh I'm related to you I want money too you know there there's that in the out. I when I worked landscaping every day at lunch there would be nothing I think it was every day if it was not if it was not this it was the lusting after people they saw but people that I worked with they would say man I wish I had so much money like that guy we worked for today. I wish I had that money they must be really nice real privilege and all of these kinds of things. I wish I had all of that and that was just a continual thought process and this vanity the vanity of just wanting to achieve and the vanity of wanting to achieve you know well I at one time I know I remember I said to them I said well what are you gonna be like if you get all of that then somebody else is gonna be getting out here saying I want more things. It's vanity. Thank God that he does at times prosper certain individuals and yet he prospered them why so they can glorify him in the way that they manage those finances. Sometimes God does bless people with great finances but we should not seek that out as the purpose of our lives. We should not labor to be rich the scripture tells us that's not the whole purpose of our lives.

So it's a vanity. Solomon had all the I could desire all the heart could want in the natural sense and yet empty because the liberty was not being used for God's glory. He was not serving the Lord with with all that God had given him. He built the temple but he was not using it all now for he was he was in entertaining himself entertaining his wives. He was building he was inventing he was doing all these things but God just really wasn't maybe lip service but really wasn't in the equation. God was not really in his thoughts in what he was doing and why he was doing it that was not there and it came to a place where he realized this is a great waste even he says in the Ecclesiastes 4:15 he says there I consider all the living which walk under the sun with the second child that shall stand up in his stead there is no end of all the people even of all that have been before them they also that come after shall not rejoice in him surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit. There it doesn't matter how well known or famous you are you're gonna die just like everyone else dies and you're going to be forgotten. You're not going to be remembered ultimately even by those that come in your stead there is no end of all the people even of all them that have been before them they also that come after shall not rejoice in him come be forgotten is what it's saying here. You're going you will not perpetually be remembered. Time will carry on but we're all will go on without you and that's a vanity in itself so what are you doing while you're here right. Does it thought well I have wasted Solomon in the saying I've wasted in vanity many of these years. I began well build a temple but I've done many things to waste.

In chapter five verse 10 he says this he that loveth silver looking chapter five verse 10 he that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver nor he that loveth abundance with increase this is also vanity. Some amazing how when people get money they just want more of it and they want more of it and they can never get enough of it. I just got to have more got to have more. You know my brother said I can't I think he'll be right with me picking on him for a moment here this morning but I remember when he couldn't buy something as a young person said I can't wait like grow up and get a job like I'm buying what I want you know feel like I'm buying what I want with my money with that's not going to bring happiness is it. I'm thankful he doesn't have that mindset now and I you know we all said foolish things like that when we were children I'm sure but when goods increase Solomon says here they are increased that eat them you have more to be more to take it right just happens. It's amazing how it's amazing how that happens and then we see and what good is there to the owners thereof saving to beholding of them with their eyes. The sleep of a laboring man is sweet whether he eat little or much but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. With more riches come more troubles. With more riches there come take up the riches and the passage goes on but we get the point the vanity of these riches. It's not that riches themselves are evil but it is a lot of money is evil it is the root of all evil the scripture tells us but but the Lord said the Lord tells us where true liberty is.

You'll look in John chapter 8 please. John chapter 8 verse 31. We may be at liberty in our lives from something that we previously were had as a responsibility and we no longer have that responsibility. We may look back and say I you know I love those years of that time of responsibility. We may look back at some things and say I thank God that those years are passed in that responsibility that I had and now I have another. I can't I can't go back and live that time. I have the one that's right in front of me now. Look here and John chapter 8 please verse 31 we see here the Lord is speaking to those that believed on him he said then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him if you know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Thank God that we have whatever season of life we're walking through. We may not have our dear loved ones in the past. We may be out from under an appointed trial but we have the truth of God's Word to guide us. It may not say Daniel P did we'll not say dango you should do this now but God the Holy Spirit through the Word will guide us into the understanding we need for that next season but we've got to seek the Lord. We've got to seek the Lord.

What do we read back in in First Kings chapter 9 let's look back over there. Let's look at the words to Solomon what does he say there they're in First Kings chapter 9 we read those words this morning in our scripture reading in chapter 9 and verse let's go back to verse 1 for a moment and it's there that I'm sorry verse 2 that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time as he had appeared unto him at the end and the Lord said unto him I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication of thou hast made before me. I have hallowed this house which thou hast built to put my name there forever and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually and if thou will walk before me as David thy father walked in integrity of heart and in uprightness to do according to all that I have commanded thee and will keep my statutes and my judgments then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever as promised to David thy father saying there shall not fail the man upon the throne of Israel. So let's stop here for a moment. David walked before the Lord as we see with a perfect heart. He had a desire that I've always written in my heart I long I desire to do that I'd like to do thy will right. I want to do what God wants. What is the world's philosophy? I did it my way. I want to do what I want to do. That was basically what Solomon was thinking like a worldling. I want to do what I want to do. We do not need to think that way as Christians. When God gives us liberty let's use the liberty to glorify him. Let's use that because he's testing our heart. I've removed that influence of your father from your life now what are you going to do with your life. I've removed you from the nest. I've given you greater privilege. What do you can do with it? You're going to waste it? You can throw it away. Are you going to take it and you're going to redeem the time? Are you going to redeem the opportunities we have? We're conscious and we have to be reminded continually of this but we're conscious that we have our children for a season. We have them for a season and when that season's over it's over as you know you know raising your children. Those of you that are raising your children for a season or those who have raised children you you you remind me quite often it passes quickly make the most of it.

Well making the most of it isn't just going out to you know the store and buy them everything we can and cite that's not what that means. It means that doesn't mean we don't buy things for them right. Does it mean we don't have fun times and we don't enjoy that's part of raising your children but it's more to it than that. It's training them up in the way they should go right. We need your prayers to do that. Well we all need each other to intercede one for another as we're going through the various seasons of our lives that we will take the liberty that God has given us in this season. You might have the liberty now you said I love the time when I was raising my children. I thank God for those times but I also thank God now that I have another. I have more time to pray. I have more time to write the people. I have more time to visit people. I have more time to minister in ways that I didn't have when I was going through that season. Well this season will pass too. This season will will move past as well so let's redeem it. Let's not let's come and say look at Solomon he's using the latter season of his life well it looks like because he's writing and even talking to the younger people. Remember that I creator in the days of that youth when the evil days come not or however he worded that you know what I'm talking about in the last chapter of Ecclesiastes. Thank God we can we can see that Solomon used that opportunity well. May we use the liberties that we have for God's glory. May we see that even in even in reprieves of life we're being tested for being tested by the Lord. He searches the heart. He tries the heart. He knows and may everything we do be done for the glory of God and that we may redeem the time that he's given to us.

Let's close with a word of prayer today. Heavenly Father thank you for how you test our hearts. Lord we know that in Paul said in me that is in my flesh dwell no good thing. There's nothing good in us but we thank you that we have a faithful guide. We thank you that we have your rod and your staff. Your rod to correct us when we go wrong and your staff to draw us near to bring us back even even as we go through these different seasons of our lives. For thank you that you're our constant guide our constant companion. It's you're there to give us wisdom to light our path with your word. We thank you that where the spirit of the Lord is liberty. We're thankful that the truth sets us free not free from responsibility but free from deception and free from sin that would dominate our lives Lord and that you open our eyes to behold wonderful things and then to take steps you know obedience and trust to what you have shown us in your word. May that may that word be in each season of our lives like a lamp to our feet. May it be like a light to our path that we may be guided with wisdom that our steps may be ordered by thy word. We pray now these things we ask that you bless this closing hymn. Bless our time of fellowship with one another as we conclude this time together today at the end of the service in Jesus name we ask amen.