0:00 [Music] I don't know what condition each one of you have come to this meeting today, but no matter how discouraging and disheartening it may be, you're walking in 0:18 today, there's a wonderful promise in God's word which is found in Lamentations. Lamentations um Lamentations chapter 3 verse 21. Lamentations 3:21. And if you have a Bible, open it 0:37 up. It says this in the Living Bible. It says it this way. Lamentations 3:21. Yet there is one ray of hope. His compassion never ends. It is only the Lord's mercies that has kept us from complete 0:56 destruction. Great is his faithfulness. His loving kindness begins a fresh each day. Yet there is one ray of hope. And I was thinking about a person who knew Jesus probably more than anybody else. All of us would have loved 1:16 to spend time with Jesus physically. to meet with him, talk with him. And there was a man who did have that opportunity. And I was James, his brother. And so I wanted to speak on his story this 1:34 morning. But as we get started, I wanted to ask a question to each one of you. You know the prophet Samuel uh he was the one who was one of the prophets who anointed the kings like 1:52 King Saul and King David. I have a question. Among these four options, who was Samuel's ancestor? Prophet Samuel's ancestor. A Kora, which is Kora, was the one who rebelled against Moses. 2:10 Caleb, the one who went into the promised land, Aaron, who was the high priest, or Joshua, who also led the people of Israel into the promised land. So, you know Samuel the prophet, who was his ancestor? If you 2:27 think it's A, raise your hand. Okay, if you think it's B, Caleb, raise your hand. If you think it's C, Aaron, raise your hand. If you think it's D, Joshua, raise 2:47 your hand. Okay, if you were the one person who said a kora, you were [Laughter] right. You would be very surprised having seen Samuel, a godly man that he was. It says in 1st Samuel chapter 3:13, 3:07 if you're have your Bible open, 1st Samuel 3:1 19, "So Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground." Samuel grew and the Lord was 3:24 with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. This was a man who walked with God and God backed this man's life, his words, every single word. It says in one translation that none of his words would ever fail, anything that he spoke would 3:43 come to pass. And as I think of this man, godly man, and think of his ancestor who is Kora, I want you to turn with me to Numbers 16. Number 16 verse 28. Numbers 4:01 16:28 Moses said number 16:28 Moses said, "By this you shall know that God has sent me to do all these things. For this is not my doing. If these men die the death of all men, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the Lord has 4:20 not sent me." Verse 30. But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens up its mouth and swallows them up with all that that is theirs and they descend alive into hell, then you will understand that these men 4:39 have disrespected the Lord. And I think about this. You see Kora there and he's gathered up all these people after him, about 250 people. And he's saying, "Is God only speaking 4:58 through Moses? Doesn't he speak through all of us? Aren't we all God's children?" And Moses is saying, "Don't do this. Don't rebel." And as this is happening and he's gathering all his family together, his 5:17 sons decide that they're not going to stand with their father. And I can picture this. You can picture this. Their sons are leaving their father to stand on the side of Moses. And I can see their father saying, "Sons come. 5:33 Come." Do you think that God is speaking only through Moses? Don't he don't you think that he speaks through me as well? Am I not a part of the Levites as well? And as they see and I I I I can 5:50 picture their sons who saw Miriam a few chapters earlier. What happened to Miriam? when she said a word against Moses, her brother, she got leprosy and she was put out of the camp for seven days. And I can picture the sons of 6:08 Kora. They're all thinking, "Dad, we just saw this. For seven days, Miriam couldn't be in the camp because she was had lep leprosy because she was talking against Moses. Don't do this, Dad. Dad, don't do this." And so they step 6:23 away. And this is what happens next. Verse 31. As he finished speaking these words, Numbers 16:31, as he finished speaking these words, the ground that was under them split open, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, 6:40 and their households and all the men who belonged to Kora with their possessions. Verse 33. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into shol or hell and the earth covered them over and they perished from the midst of the 6:58 assembly. It says there later in numbers 26 11 the sons of Kora didn't die. And I think even though this was a terrible tragedy of a man rebelling against a godly man, I see this ray of hope that in the 7:17 midst of such a tragedy, God could bring one of his descendants to be a man like Samuel. And when I see that only God can do something like that, take such a terrible situation and bring something good from it. If you turn with me to 7:34 Isaiah chapter 61, turn with me to Isaiah 61 verse 3. Isaiah 61:3 to grant those who mourn in 7:52 Zion, giving them beauty for ashes. Beauty for ashes. And I see that that's what the Lord does even today. He takes all these ashes and he brings something beautiful if we're willing to go the way that the sons of Kora did. Lord, I want 8:11 to submit to you and in that God can do something wonderful. But as we think of James, the brother of John, I believe that I'm sorry, James, the brother of 8:27 Jesus, I I believe that he was born probably about 5 years after Jesus. We don't know for sure, but he was probably the oldest of the other four brothers of Jesus. And he had the opportunity to see 8:43 Jesus from a very, very young age. And so he saw how Jesus would go to the synagogues, how he would sing along in the synagogue meetings, how he would pay attention, how he sometimes disappear and go off to pray, how he was always 8:59 obedient to his mom. He saw this. Now, as time goes on, even though he sees all of this, he doesn't believe that Jesus indeed is the Messiah, that this is God in the flesh. He doesn't believe it. And there's this verse in 1 Peter 9:17 chapter 2:8. A stone of stumbling. Turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 2:8. The other day, uh, actually it was yesterday. I was going around the neighborhood for a walk. And I knew that there's this small 9:34 uneven sidewalk, but I happened to not be paying attention. And so I was walking and then I just hit my foot against it and nearly fell down. And I remembered even though I went through this path so many times that p that you 9:49 know that that stone of stumbling was there. And this is what Peter says in 1 Peter 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 8. A stone of stumbling and a 10:09 rock of fence. This is one of the titles of Jesus. One of the titles of Jesus is that he would be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word. And so I see as Jesus is growing up and 10:31 James is looking at his life, observing his life, one of the first incidents after Jesus goes into his public ministry is what we find in Mark chapter 3. Turn with me to Mark chapter 3. Mark chapter 3 verse 10:51 31. Verse 31. Then his mother and his brothers arrived and standing outside they sent word to him and called him. Verse 32, a crowd was sitting around him and they said, "Behold, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for 11:10 you." They're eagerly here. They're looking for you. Verse 33, answering them, he said, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" Verse 34. Looking about at those who are sitting around him, he said, "Behold my mother, my brothers. For whoever does 11:30 the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." And I see that Jesus all these brothers and his mother, they come, they're looking for Jesus. They want to speak to him. And wouldn't wouldn't this have been a 11:52 perfect opportunity for Jesus to welcome them. But Jesus does something prompted by the father. He says, "Who are my mother and my brother?" Even if it meant offending his mother and brother, Jesus said what he had to say. And I think about his mother 12:11 and brothers. What would have James thought? This wasn't a small gathering. It says there was a crowd. And in the midst of the crowd, he says, "Who's my brother and who's my mother?" And I can think of this. All the brothers are 12:24 standing there. Jesus, we wanted to come here and listen to you. We wanted to meet you. And is this how you treat us? A stone of stumbling. And I can imagine they're talking to the mom. Mom, did you see what Jesus said just now in 12:43 front of all these people? this crowd embarrassed us and you don't see after this incident I can't see any other time where the brothers came to any meeting that Jesus had and so that kind of tells me most 13:01 likely they got offended by the stone of stumbling a few more pages to the right if you turn to Mark chapter 6 verse one Mark chapter 6 verse1 1. This time the disciples, this time his brothers don't come to him, but Jesus goes to 13:20 them. Mark 6:1, Jesus went out from here and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. Verse 2, when the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. And many listeners were astonished, saying, "Where did this man 13:37 get these things? And what is this wisdom given to him?" And such miracles as these performed in his hands by his hands. Verse three. Is this not the carpenter's son, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joseph, Jude, and 13:54 Simon? Are these not his sisters here with us? And they looked, they took offense at him. Again, the stone of stumbling. Verse four, Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own 14:13 hometown and among his own relatives." And he doesn't go just his relatives, right? His hometown. Then he narrows it down to his relatives. And then who does he narrow it down even further? Among his own household or his own family. 14:32 He already offended his brothers and mother. Now the second time here now he comes to Nazareth and in the midst of the church meeting or the synagogue meeting he says my own family dishonors me. They don't give me any honor and there his brothers are there 14:51 his mother is there. Jesus you could have told this to us privately. He didn't have to tell us in the church meeting that we have honored, we've dishonored you. Jesus was a stone of stumbling to those who are disobedient. 15:08 If you turn me, turn with me to John chapter 7 2. John 7:2, you can see how it's building up step by step. Verse chapter 7 verse two. Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of 15:26 boots was near. Therefore his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go into Judea, so that your disciples also may see your works which you are doing." Verse four, for no one who does anything in secret, when he himself seeks to be 15:43 known publicly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. Jesus, why are you doing all these things in secret? You want to seek popularity, right? You want to be popular, right? Go to Judea. Let everybody see your miracles. Be 16:02 popular. Did Jesus ever want to be popular? No. Anytime he did a miracle, he'd say, "Don't tell anybody." He never want to be popular. What did his brother say? You want to be popular, right? Go to Judea. 16:19 I see that Jesus when he was that that word was meant to be like, you know, when you go fishing and you put a ho hook, you put that hook there so that you'll catch that fish, right? And I see that they're trying to put that hook out 16:32 there. Is Jesus going to justify himself and say, "No, no, no. I'm not I'm not interested in public." No. Jesus didn't even take the time to grab a hold of that hook. He didn't justify himself. Okay, you think that I'm seeking 16:46 publicity? Go ahead and think that, but I'm not going to justify myself before you. Why did they ask him? There's so many other places to go. Why did they ask him to go to Judea in particular? Why did his brothers ask Jesus to go to 17:02 Judea? If you read with me John 1:1, the very first word, after these things, Jesus was walking in Galilee, for he was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill 17:19 him. So his brothers knew that in Judea they were seeking to kill him. And so he did, they didn't say go to Nazareth, don't go here. He said go to Judea. And I can see in the so much of bitterness and jealousy in their brother 17:36 in these brothers that they're they're not even interested in Jesus being alive. They want him to go to Judea where the Jews were seeking to kill him. And I see this, that's what 17:51 jealousy and bitterness can do. You and I can stumble over the stone of stumbling if we're not careful. We can even be offended with Jesus, his word, for the message we 18:11 hear if we're not willing to be obedient to that word. It's a danger that we all I see that with Jesus's own family. They were tempted to be offended with him and they were offended. I believe and that's why they didn't believe in 18:29 him. But it says there if all of these people are stumbling, what's Jesus' question to us? What's the Jesus question to you and me today? I believe it's what he says in John chapter 6, a few verses above. John 6:61. What does he 18:48 say? John 6:61. But Jesus, conscious of his disciples grumbling at this, he said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble? Are you offended? Does this cause you to stumble?" And I believe that's the 19:07 question that God will ask me and you. Are you stumbled? Are you offended? Are you going to be offended by this thing that happens in your life when you're corrected? Are you going to stumble? Is this going to be the stumble? The 19:20 perfect stone on which you stumble against but the story doesn't end for James 19:37 there. I can picture this that you know after seeing all of these things offended and all of that Mary you know usually Mary wherever Mary goes she takes her sons along with with her and I believe that Mary was a strong had a strong 19:55 personality. Do you want to know why I think that? I guess none of you are curious. But uh the reason I feel that she was a person of strong ability, a personality was she had four married sons that she 20:12 would say like we saw in John Mark 3. She took her four older married sons and said, "We're going to the meeting and these four older sons are going to the meeting." I'm thinking she had to have a very strong personality if she could 20:27 convince older married sons to go to the meeting. But not only that, if you read about James in Galatians, Galat in Galatians, James sends his friends, not he didn't go in person, but he sent his friends to go and see Peter. And Peter was so scared 20:47 of James's friends and what James's James' friends will think of him that he got scared and he said, "Okay, I can't sit with the non-Jews anymore. I have to go and sit with the Jews." And that's the personality that James had. I believe he was a very very 21:05 if you met with James, you would have a you'd know that this person had a strong personality. and and if if Mary had to control a person like James, how much stronger personality she would have had. So that's why I think that Mary had a 21:19 strong personality. But God even uses people with strong personalities and breaks them. And that's why I see with Mary, Jesus, we ran out of wine. Woman, what does that have to do with you? The Lord knows how to deal with every single personality 21:38 type we have. And so he can use strong personalities and weak personalities but he makes them conformed our personality conformed into the likeness of Christ. But I think that you know after this hardening of heart for James, what 21:57 kindly what finally did the Lord use to break him? And so when Jesus when I I believe that you know it says in John chapter 19 if you turn with me John 19 verse 26 John 19 26 when Jesus then saw his mother and 22:16 the disciple whom he loved standing next but nearby he said to his mother behold your son. And so you see that Mary was there at the cross with John. And even though she was a strong personality and she could have her sons 22:35 come, I see that her four sons didn't come to the crucifixion. I believe they stood their ground saying, "Mom, you can go, but we're not coming." And I see I I I can picture this Mary coming back home to the home 22:53 where James and his brothers were living. And James is looking at his mom. Mom's packing up and taking her clothes and taking her belongings and heading heading out. And James is asking, "Mom, where are you going?" And I believe this is the 23:12 conversation. And it's not written here in scripture, but I can put my imagination to use and say, "Lord, what would that have looked like?" And James is asking, "What? What's going on? Why are you crying, Mom? Why are you taking your bags and 23:25 leaving, Mom?" And she says to him, "I was at the cross with Jesus." And Jesus told me to go and stay with John, his disciple. And I believe the reason he said that was because he knew that the four of you 23:44 will not take care of me once he dies. And so he said to go and stay with John. And I believe that James would have looked at her and then you know I think that would have broken him when he saw his mom leaving the house 24:03 because Jesus considered him unworthy to take care of his own mother. because of the state at which he fell to, how far he had fallen. And I believe that Mary would have said this to his sons. There was 24:21 something that was prophesied by Simeon. If you turn with me to Luke chapter 2, Luke chapter 2 verse 35. Luke 2:35. You can read with uh verse 34. And 24:39 Simeon blessed them. 234. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, "Behold, this child Jesus is appointed to the fall and rise of many in Israel for a sign to be opposed." Verse 35, "And a sword will pierce even your own soul to 24:56 the end that thoughts from the hearts may be revealed." Many hearts may be revealed. I believe Mary would have said that. James, I just come back from the cross. I saw Jesus, your brother, being 25:15 beaten, pierced, mocked at, ridiculed, bleeding from head to to head to foot, crown of thorns, brutally crucified. And I'm warning for that. 25:38 But my mourning does not stop with my one son. It continues for the four of you. You are all What did Jesus ever do to you? All he did all his life was good to you, good to you, good to you. And you were jealous of him. You 25:57 hated him. And when he was dying on that cross, none of the four of you would come there even in his time of agony to show any care or concern for 26:13 him. So, not only does the cross where I see Jesus die pierce me, but the four of you are like swords that are piercing my soul right now. And I believe that's the conversation that would have happened and she would have 26:29 left. And there is James sitting there running through all of these things. How far I've fallen, how far I've gone. Time goes on. I believe there was 26:47 a I believed that there was a tremendous remorse in James's life from that day onwards. I don't know. It doesn't say. But I believe this is probably one of the greatest greatest miracles. If all if you asked me who 27:06 should Jesus reveal himself after his death and resurrection, I would say there's so many different people who were so close to believing you. Lord, go and reveal yourself to them because this would have been the one thing that would have 27:22 changed their life forever. But the person I would say no to would be the person who received so much and rejected it. Rejected it. Rejected it. Who am I talking about? I'm talking about Jes Jesus's brother James. 27:40 He had so much of opportunity more than anyone else to believe in Christ but he rejected it for probably 25 years of seeing Jesus in that house. There's a verse in Isaiah 45:15 which says you are a God who hides yourself. 28:00 I think one of the greatest miracles that ever happened was God being living in a home for 25 years with James and James not being able to recognize that this was God walking in the flesh. I believe it's one of the greatest miracles that he's a 28:15 God that he hides himself. And as he's going through thinking about all these things, how I wanted, how I was jealous of him, how I asked him to go to Judea, how I put these poking comments, oh Jesus, you want to show yourself, go show yourself 28:30 off in Judea, never standing up for him, all of these. And if it was the last person who deserved to see the risen Christ, I believe it would have been James because he had so much opportunity to believe in 28:49 him and he did not. But you see these verse this verse in 1 Corinthians 15. I think it's probably one of the most precious promises that there is hope for every one of us. No matter where you are today, maybe you've been to these meetings for many, 29:09 many years and still have not put your faith in Christ. You can read with me here. We can read from verse 5. And he appeared to Peter 1 Corinthians 15:5. And then to 29:29 the 12, the other apostles. Verse 6. Then he appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. Verse 7. And he appeared to James. Of all the people that Jesus 29:47 could have appeared to, I believe others would have been more worthy to have seen Jesus. But one who had rejected him over and over again, there was still one ray of hope. Jesus did not give up on 30:05 James despite all of what he had done. And I believe that's the same message of hope for each one of us today, no matter how much we've heard over and over again. Maybe like James putting it off. But God had mercy on him, gave him that 30:26 ray of hope. And I believe it changed his life forever. That one time, God, of all people, you would pick me to reveal yourself after the resurrection. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. I'm not 30:44 worthy. And you see this again, if you turn with me to Acts chapter 1. Acts 1 verse 14. Probably one of the greatest greatest joys that a man like 31:03 James and his brothers read with me verse 14. Thank you. Acts 1:14. These all with one mind. Acts 1:14 were continuing continually devoting themselves to prayer along with the 31:21 women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers. James was also there on the day of Pentecost. He was among those 120 upon whom the Holy Spirit filled. This man who had rejected Christ all through his 31:40 life finally was filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. There is tremendous hope. While we still have life on this side of eternity, there is hope. There is a ray of hope for each one of us. But don't put it 31:57 off. It says that if we read in Galatians 2:29, he was one of the leaders of the church. Actually, he was the leader. It was, it says, James, Peter, and then John. How could God take someone who rejected him all through his life and 32:15 completely turn it around where now God could use him years later to lead that church? And that's the hope of the gospel, that God can take broken lives, ruined lives, things that the devil tried to destroy and bring something good from 32:33 it. He can make some beauty come out of ashes. But who is this hope for? If I ask James, James, is there hope for anybody? And he says, yes, I believe there's hope for anybody who have these 32:50 two things. One, it says in Luke chapter 8 verse, if you turn with me to Luke chapter 8, verse 15, what does it say about the good soil? Verse 15. Luke 33:07 8:15. But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in a honest and good heart. Honest heart and hold it fast and bear fruit with perseverance. honesty. Yes, Lord. It's not going well 33:25 for me. You see that uh fruit over there? Does it look good? It's rotten. It's a rotten fruit. And about 11 years ago, that's what brought me to Loveland 33:43 here. Externally, my testimony was good, serving in the church, going to the meetings, all of that. But inside, if I was honest, my life wasn't doing well. And the Lord was asking, AJ, are you going to be honest? You have all the 34:00 check boxes, go to church, serve, all of that. But are you happy with your defeated life, your personal life? Are you happy with it? Or are you going to be honest? There's no fruit in your life. And I believe that's what James 34:14 had to come to grips with. Yes, even though 25 years I went to the meetings, I saw Jesus' life, but I have to be honest. My life is not going well. And that's what led him to come to Christ when he was honest. Can we all be honest today? Yes, 34:33 every single one of us can be honest today. Will every single one of us be honest today? That's the question the Lord asking you and me. Are you going to be honest? Yes, Lord, it was me. I was the one who denied you all these years. 34:48 Yes, it's not going well for me spiritually. Externally, I have a good testimony, but at home in secret, my life is without any fruit. Or if there's any fruit, it's like that rotten one over there. Be honest. James was honest. Yes, 35:06 he probably went to Nazareth and said, "Yes, I know I told you I didn't believe in Jesus, but I take back my words. I believe he's the son of God. Even though he was my brother, I didn't recognize him. Yes, you believe that I I I said 35:19 that I didn't believe in him, but I do. And if it means eating up my words and coming back here in Nazareth and humbling myself, I'm willing to do that. What did he have to do? The second thing I believe is what he says in James James chapter 1 verse 35:37 21. In humility, in humility, receive the word. James 1:21, in humility, receive the word implanted which is able to save your souls. There's hope if we're honest and 35:55 if we're humble. And if anybody spoke about humility, I don't know if anybody else said this. Read with me James 4 verse verse 6. James 4:6, "But he gives a greater grace." I don't think anybody 36:13 else says that he gives a greater grace. Why did he say that? Because he was one who received that greater grace. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Verse 10, "Humble 36:31 yourselves in the presence of God." Maybe you might not humble yourself here, but go before the Lord. Ask the Lord, "Lord, you who see my life from beginning to end in private, in secret, what do you think about me? Do you think 36:46 I'm humble? Or do you think I'm proud? Lord, you tell me, Lord, I want to humble myself in your presence before you. Not before men, but before you, Lord. If you consider me humble, then that's fine. No matter what other people 36:59 say. But there is another side to this coin. There's two sides to this. One was the side of James who received many opportunities to repent and finally God had hope for even 37:22 him that he would repent. But the other side I see is with Jesus. Jesus, it says that he was made just like us, that he was tempted just like us. And I think about Jesus living in that house, living the perfect 37:41 life, and seeing James and his younger brothers, not believing in him. Do you believe that Jesus prayed for his brothers? Do you do you believe that Jesus prayed for James? I believe he did. And even though he lived the 38:02 perfect life, nobody else lived a perfect life like him. Day after day, he saw his brothers not believe in him. And I believe because he was like us and he was tempted like us. I believe that when he was here on earth, the 38:20 father did not tell him whether his his brothers would come to faith or not. I believe he was tempted just like me. There are many people in your life and my life that I don't know if they'll be saved or not that I've been praying for. 38:34 I don't know. Can Jesus relate to me? Was Jesus tempted in the same way I was when I pray for these people? Lord, I'm praying for this person, but I don't know what's going to happen. Can you relate to me, Jesus? What would Jesus say? Jesus says, 38:51 "Yes, I prayed for all my years and even on my death on the dying. I never got to see James and my other my other brothers come to faith. It was only after the resurrection that 39:09 Jesus saw his four brothers come to faith. Even Jesus could not see the salvation of his brothers before his death. And that gives me hope saying Lord you you can understand when I pray for others in my life who don't know you. I believe you 39:29 can relate. I can pray along with you and say Lord you understand because you prayed for your four brothers and I can imagine there on the cross as he sees his mother and John coming oh will my brothers be here maybe my 39:44 brothers will be here and they'll come to see me here hanging on the cross and when he doesn't see them and he knows his time on earth is done and he says it's finished into your hands I commit my spirit He didn't get the opportunity to see his brothers 40:02 being saved. And so that gives me great hope that I can keep praying. You can keep praying for those of our loved ones knowing that the Lord hears and understands. Maybe we'll see it in our lifetime, but if not, definitely in eternity. Jesus saw 40:21 it after he was raised from the dead. And so we too may see it when we are raised from the dead. So may the Lord help each one of us. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray for each one here. Lord, thank you Lord. There is a 40:39 ray of hope. Lord, you take people who've rejected you over and over again and out of your tremendous mercy which triumphs over judgment. You showed mercy to James. Lord, thank you Lord for showing mercy to us. Lord, we want to come with an 40:55 honest heart today. No matter how it's been to till today, Lord, we say, Lord, we want to humble ourselves. Lord, we're ready to apologize to anybody. Set matters right with anybody, Lord. Receive forgiveness from you, Lord. Ask 41:07 for forgiveness from you, Lord, because we want to set matters right with you. Thank you, Lord, that while we have life, there is still hope. And thank you, Lord, that we can pray for others. You understand how it is when people 41:19 have rejected you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, that you can bring beauty out of even ashes, Lord. I pray that you'd move mightily in our midst, Lord. That many would come to know you in these last days, Lord, as you reach out to us, 41:32 Lord. May we not stumble over the stone of stumbling, Lord, but let us treasure the cornerstone that was rejected by men, which is precious in our sight, Lord. May you do a mighty miracle in our midst, so that you will receive all the 41:45 glory in Jesus name. Amen. [Music]
