Vesper Service

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Short Summary
The Vesper reflects on developing deep intimacy with Christ through sharing in His sufferings, prayer, and obedience, emphasizing the transformative power of faith and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It highlights the enduring value of God’s word, the call to live surrendered lives for His glory, and encourages believers to think big in their spiritual aspirations, grounded in gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice and God’s abundant power working within them.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Vesper Message: “That I May Know Him”

Early Memories and the Foundation of Faith
– The speaker recalls earliest days, being taken to Sunday school by his father.
– The first hymn learned was “Jesus Loves Me,” which remains treasured and a source of reassurance.
– Emphasizes the universal truth: Jesus loves me, and He loves you too.

Desire for Intimacy with Christ
– Echoing Apostle Paul’s sentiment from Philippians (Philippians 3:10), the speaker expresses a deep desire to “know Him” intimately.
– Intimacy with Christ involves sharing in His sufferings and understanding Him deeply.
– Intimacy is described as a “quiet and private atmosphere,” referencing Jesus’ advice to pray in one’s closet (Matthew 6:6).
– Personal communion with Jesus in the “secret place” is a vital spiritual practice.
– 1 John 1:1-3 is cited: fellowship with the Father and His Son is assured by the apostolic witness.

The Cost and Reward of Knowing Christ
– Intimacy includes “a detailed knowledge,” gained through close association and study.
– Hebrews 12:3 encourages considering Jesus who endured opposition to avoid fainting.
– The speaker invites listeners to join in praise and commitment to walk with Jesus.
– Hymns and worship underscore the desire to walk humbly with the Savior.

Prayer to Jesus and the Walk of Faith
– Addresses a question about praying to Jesus, affirming it by example: “Master, let me walk with Thee.”
– Refers to the Emmaus Road story (Luke 24:13-35), where Jesus explained Scriptures and hearts “burned within” the disciples.
– The power of resurrection and fellowship in sufferings (Philippians 3:10-11) are key to being “made conformable unto His death.”
– Taking up one’s cross daily is a path to intimacy and spiritual growth.

Christian Fellowship and Spiritual Brotherhood
– Compares Christian struggle to “Band of Brothers,” emphasizing unity in faith and shared spiritual battles.
– Paul’s words from Philippians 3:8-11 are quoted extensively, highlighting counting all things loss for Christ.

Giving All to Christ
– The hymn “Less of self and more of Thee” is mentioned to illustrate the progressive surrender in Christian life.
– The speaker desires total devotion to God, withholding nothing.
– “Christ gave His life for me” hymn reinforces gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice.

Reflection on Christ’s Atonement and Our Bodies as Temples
– Easter season reflections highlight Christ’s love and sacrifice.
– 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 is cited: our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, bought with a price.
– Encourages glorifying God in body and spirit, recognizing the cost of redemption.

God’s Foreordination and Eternal Plan
– Peter’s teaching is referenced: Christ was foreordained before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:18-20).
– The sacrifice was planned long before creation; the 2000 years since Christ’s death are part of God’s sovereign timeline.

The Incorruptible Word and Christian Living
– 1 Peter 1:23-25 and Isaiah 40:6-8 remind believers that human life is transient like grass, but God’s Word endures forever.
– Romans 14:7-8: “None of us lives to himself, none dies to himself; we belong to the Lord.”
– Encouragement to live with eternal perspective, not fearing man but God (Matthew 10:28).

Christian Comforts and True Treasures
– Acknowledges earthly comforts in a rich country but warns these are not necessities.
– Emphasizes heavenly treasures and eternal hope.
– Hymn lyrics highlight the transient nature of earthly glory and the brightness of heavenly joy.

Jars of Clay and Spiritual Weakness
– 2 Corinthians 4:7 is referenced: believers are “jars of clay” holding a treasure.
– The speaker admits human frailty and emphasizes dependence on God’s grace and Spirit.
– Spiritual life grows through suffering and trials, not by human strength.

Carrying the Death of Jesus in Our Bodies
– 2 Corinthians 4:10-12 describes being “always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus.”
– The paradox of “death works in us, but life in you” is explained as spiritual fruitfulness through suffering.
– Romans 6:5 promises resurrection likeness for those united with Christ in death.

Joyful Anticipation of Resurrection
– Personal anecdote about a baby recognizing herself is used as a metaphor for future resurrection joy.
– Hymn “Full surrender” invites believers to wholly yield their souls and lives to Jesus.

Discipline and Obedience
– Hebrews 12:5-11 teaches the value of God’s chastening as proof of sonship.
– Even Jesus “learned obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).
– Obedience is not theoretical but proven and deepened through trials.

Consolation in Sorrow
– Hymn lyrics express how sorrow, touched by heaven, reveals unseen spiritual light.
– Suffering is not purposeless but part of God’s refining and revealing work.

Warning Against Neglecting Spiritual Riches
– The story of a poor person hiding wealth under a mattress illustrates the tragedy of unused spiritual blessings.
– Encouragement to recognize and fully use the treasure of the Spirit within.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength and Knowledge
– Ephesians 3:14-19 is quoted, praying that believers be strengthened by the Spirit, rooted in love, and filled with the fullness of God.
– Emphasizes the power of God working in believers beyond all they ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

Encouragement to “Ask Big” and Think Big
– Calls for bold spiritual aspirations and trust in God’s power.
– Reminds that God works in believers to will and do His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
– Jesus’ promise: “Ask and you shall receive” (John 16:24).

Gratitude as the Core Christian Attitude
– Responding to criticism of Christians being smug, the speaker declares gratitude as the true feeling toward the Christian life.
– Ends with a hymn celebrating gratitude and the assurance of God’s love.

Closing Scripture and Assurance
– Romans 8:31-32 is quoted: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son… how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
– Final assurance of the Father’s love and glory to God through Christ Jesus.

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Key Bible Verses Mentioned:

– Philippians 3:8-11 — “That I may know him… and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings…”
– 1 John 1:1-3 — Fellowship with the Father and His Son.
– Hebrews 12:3 — Consider Jesus who endured contradiction.
– Matthew 6:6 — Pray in your secret closet.
– Luke 24:13-35 — Emmaus Road story.
– 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 — Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
– 1 Peter 1:18-20, 23-25 — Redeemed with the precious blood of Christ; incorruptible seed.
– Isaiah 40:6-8 — All flesh is grass but the Word of the Lord endures forever.
– Romans 14:7-8 — We live and die unto the Lord.
– Matthew 10:28 — Fear God, not man.
– 2 Corinthians 4:7,10-12 — Treasure in jars of clay; always carrying about the dying of Jesus.
– Romans 6:5 — United in likeness of death and resurrection.
– Hebrews 12:5-11 — God’s chastening as a sign of sonship.
– Hebrews 5:8 — Jesus learned obedience through suffering.
– Ephesians 3:14-21 — Prayer for strength, love, and fullness of God.
– Philippians 2:13 — God works in you to will and do His good pleasure.
– John 16:24 — Ask and you shall receive.
– Romans 8:31-32 — If God is for us, who can be against us?

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Overall Themes:

– The central longing and goal of the Christian life is to know Jesus Christ intimately.
– Intimacy with Christ includes sharing in His sufferings and resurrection power.
– Prayer, worship, Scripture, and communion in the “secret place” nourish this intimacy.
– God’s discipline shapes obedience and holiness.
– Earthly life is transient; true treasure is spiritual and eternal.
– Believers are weak vessels but carry the surpassing power of God’s Spirit.
– Suffering has purpose and reveals spiritual realities unseen in prosperity.
– Boldness in prayer and spiritual vision is encouraged, trusting God’s abundant power.
– Gratitude is the proper response to God’s grace and love.
– Assurance that God’s plan is sure, and believers belong to Him forever.

This comprehensive message beautifully blends scriptural teaching, personal reflection, hymns, and encouragement to deepen faith and commitment to Christ.

Transcript

I remember that from my earliest days. I remember being taken to Sunday school by my dad, and that was the first hymn of praise or song of worship that I ever learned, and I haven’t forgotten it, and I still treasure it, and every once in a while I need to remind myself of the fact that, yes, Jesus loves me.

Jesus loves me, and he loves you too.

My heart echoes the sentiments, the desire of the apostle Paul. In the book of Philippians, he said, essentially, whatever it takes, I will do it, that I may know him.

That we might have intimacy with Christ.

And what better way to gain intimacy than to be a sharer in his sufferings?

Intimacy, a close relationship.

Moreover, a close personal relationship, or the setting of intimacy, is that quiet atmosphere, a quiet and private atmosphere. I think of that as the secret place of the Most High. I think of our Lord recommending to us that when we pray, we go into our closet and pray. When I get up at 3 in the morning, not by intention, by the way, but I wake up and I don’t have to go far to enter my secret place, because it’s right there where I lay.

And I commune with Jesus. I commune with the Heavenly Father. In first John, the first chapter, verses one through three, we are assured that surely our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, That I may know him intimately. Another aspect of intimacy is a detailed knowledge. A detailed knowledge resulting from a close or long association or study.

Consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds, but consider Jesus faithful in all things, doing the Father’s will, that I may know Him. I’m already on board, and I hope you’ll join me tonight as my select choir. How many of you have been members of a select choir before? Well, tonight’s a big night. Then you’re all members of my select choir.

Let’s raise our voices up in praise to the Heavenly Father. Let’s raise our voices up in assurances to our Lord Jesus that we do want to walk with Him.

O Master, with Thee in lowly path.

The strain of time the freedom Help me the spoon.

I’m somewhere.

Deep Fade away Sing and guide the hope.

Teach me thy pain.

O Savior, let me walk with Thee.

What kind of a program is this? I have to write a letter.

We had the pleasure of being involved in a study last week. Part of the study was considering our relationship with God Jehovah, God, Jesus Christ, and the question came up, can we pray to Jesus?

And the answer is, you Just did you prayed, master, let me walk with thee. In lowly paths of service, free walking with Jesus. We gain tremendous intimacy with Him. I wish that I, by some means, could be like a little fly on the wall with those disciples who were walking to Emmaus after our Lord’s resurrection, and a stranger met them.

What’s going on? You seem troubled in your hearts, and they said, you must not be from around here. This is the OB Albert vernacular version of the New Testament. I’m sorry, there’s been so many things going on.

There was. There was one that we thought was the Christ, and he was crucified, and then the stranger says, oh, fools and slow of heart to believe, and he starts with the law and the prophets and shows them all about Jesus, and here’s my point.

As they walked with him, and as they reflected on that moment, they said, did not our hearts burn within us? And that’s the way we feel when we commune with Jesus. That I may know him. That I may know him. The apostle wrote in Philippians chapter three, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.

He gives us a definition. How can we achieve this fellowship of his sufferings and be made, have the power of his resurrection working in us? Here it is being made conformable unto his death, and so as his great love poured out his life for us, for we can emulate that. We can take up our crosses daily, we can deny self and follow him.

And in those followings we gain tremendous intimacy. You know, sometimes those who have been in combat together refer to themselves as brothers forever. I think there was even a series on television a while back called Band of Brothers.

And as we fight the good fight of faith, shoulder to shoulder, we are knit together with each other. We are knit together with our Lord Jesus. We are made conformable unto his death, and we begin to see things, to understand things that are deep lessons that those without his spirit cannot comprehend.

That I may know him.

Tell us more, Paul. Yea, doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.

That if by Any means I may attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

But we know there’s a special emphasis there. It’s not a resurrection of dead. It is if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. The dead in Christ.

Our hearts reach out to our Lord. They wish to commit all to Him, and, you know, I think of the hymn Less of self and more of the, and it’s that progression in the beginning. There’s kind of a rebellious soul.

And then gradually they give more and more and more to the Lord until they can sing all of the and none of self, none of self and all of the.

And as I grow in my Christian life and perspective, I wish that every atom of my being be wholly devoted to God. I would have it no other way. It took me a while to get there, to think like that, to appreciate that. But nothing would I withhold.

Yes, Lord, I would give all to Thee and I’m sure you would too. So let’s join our voices together and sing all to thee.

Christ gave his life for me in his precious blood he shed that I my friend someday and queen can fall he gave he gained his life for me how grateful life should be he gave me gave his life for me how grateful I should be His Father’s house of one another his glory circle throne he left for his lens.

To all for the.

Jesus.

His home, salvation.

And life and more.

When we’re in the Easter season and we rejoice that the Christian world reflects on the magnitude of what Christ has done for mankind, if they don’t see the full extent of what his atoning value will accomplish, at least they can realize the depths of love that he possessed that would lead him to accept crucifixion, lead him to accept being accused of being a blasphemer. He who was holy, harmless and undefiled.

Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you? Do you ever reflect on that, how special that is, that the Holy Spirit of God dwells in our body?

Our body which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own. For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

I treasure that thought, that we are bought with a price. How can I exercise self will? How can I violate the will of Christ in my life knowing that he bought me?

And I am delighted that he did, and you know, we reflect in this Easter season. It’s been about 2,000 years and doesn’t that seem like an awfully long time? Has God forgotten his plan? Did Jesus die on the cross and the Lord dropped the ball?

That he forgot what was accomplished by the death of Jesus? I think absolutely not.

Peter tells us that Jesus is a precious lamb who verily was sacrificed from before the foundation of the world. So think about that. Before the foundation of the world. Now, I don’t know how long it took myself to form the world, bring it into being, populated with plants and animals and fish and birds and human beings, and then Adam sinned, and then it was necessary for our Lord to come.

Well, at a minimum, that’s 4,000 years.

God foreordained the sacrifice of Jesus 4,000 years at a minimum before his crucifixion.

So we’ve only been waiting 2000 years to see the grand outcome of his ransom price.

You know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world.

Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart, fervently being born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible by the Word of God, which lives and abides forever.

And I sense the power in the Scriptures. The Word of God, his word will not return to him void, but it will accomplish that which he has sent it to, and perhaps as a little bit of a quirky viewpoint, but I believe that every bit of Scripture we imbibe into our being doesn’t fade away. It doesn’t corrupt. It will germinate someday.

That seed incorruptible, the Word of God which lives and abides forever.

For all flesh is as grass. All the glory of man is the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower thereof falls away. But the Word of the Lord endures forever, and this is the word by which the Gospel is preached unto you.

Think about that. The power of that message. The Word of God endures forever. It is incorruptible, and this is the word by which the Gospel is preached unto you.

With this in mind, turning to the book of Romans, we read, none of us lives to himself. No man dies to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord.

Whether we live Therefore, or die. We are the Lord’s and I am so thankful for that.

Jesus admonished us not to fear people.

Fear of man brings a snare, doesn’t it? Have you had that kind of experience in your life? He tells us, don’t be afraid of those who could kill the body, but they’re not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him, that is God in heaven, who is able to destroy both body and soul in Hades.

Our perspective on life is very different from that of most people.

We appreciate the good things that we have in this life, and let’s face it, we live in one of the richest countries that has ever existed on the planet, and we have comforts aplenty on every level. You know, your mattress is not that comfy. You can buy a luxury mattress topper to put on it.

A little too warm in the house. Turn on the air conditioning. Not quite cool enough. I’m going to go from 73 down to 72.

Get in your car, turn on the air conditioner, or in the wintertime put on the heated seats or some people, like myself included, like the heated seats, even in warm weather. What a life we lead.

But all those things really are not necessities in life, their little comforts. We realize that earthly treasures are vain and let’s sing about that.

How transient.

The glory of the passing but the west fairest blossoms die and all may never skies as well. There is a brightness now, now beyond the reach of care and pain Then let the hope of joys to come dispell.

Since God is ours we’re traveling along O passing through.

God who said let light shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

We have this treasure in jars of clay to show the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

We have this treasure in jars of clay.

Sometimes we refer, half kiddingly, half jokingly, that we’re all a bunch of crackpots.

And well, I certainly can attest to that myself. But we are plague ours, we’re receptacles, and the Lord and his generosity has poured out his spirit into us, and we may leak that spirit a bit, we need to constantly refresh it.

But it also shows us that we are just that sleigh.

And in our discussion earlier on the generous vineyard owner or generous householder, we saw that it’s not how wonderful our vessels are. We saw that it is the supply of grace and spirit that God gives us each day, and as I Look out at you. I see many of you that I consider superior to myself, and the rest, well, no better for sure.

It’s not how great a person we are, it’s how great the God we serve is.

As for us, we are afflicted in every way. But we’re not crushed, we are perplexed, but we’re not in despair. Persecuted perhaps, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus also may be made manifested in our body.

We who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus sake. So that the life of Jesus also also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

It’s not a morbid, morbid scenario. It’s a scenario of active process we bear about in our bodies, not our own dying, but reckoned as dying and burying, not bearing Jesus death constantly delivered over to death for his sake that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh, and so, as Paul noted, death works in us, but life in you.

As Paul poured out his life and offering. As Paul poured out his life, ministering, encouraging, being persecuted, being beaten, being stoned, being cast out, reviled, rejected, and on and on. The death process was at work at him. But we see that in the Lord’s overruling and all those experiences, it only enabled him to bring forth spiritual life in the disciples of Jesus.

Romans 6 tells us that if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection, and I think of that moment. If faithful, what will that be like?

I remember when our daughter was very small, very small, just maybe a couple months old. Laying in her crib and always working her hands and her legs and just very active and very happy baby, and Janet and I were standing at her crib and looking over at her one evening and she’s doing all the motions, and then suddenly she does this.

She realized, it’s me, that’s me.

And I just wonder the tremendous change of nature that we will experience. If faithful, will there be that moment when we stand in the Lord’s presence and we look at whatever hands may be and we realize it’s me, I’m there. What joy shall fill my heart? That being the case, I wish to fully surrender to the will of God. Join your voices with mine as we sing Full surrender, Full surrender.

I little to keep to read my soul.

Jesus to increase O late I forsake hope my will mind Praise heart gracious Redeemer Take O take and seal me again.

Come and possess me whole.

Settle and fix my wayward soul with all my weight.

Sire, be this my love to falling.

My hope I am treasure.

And keep my heart.

I love those words.

Ah, that I may know him.

My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction. For whom the Lord loves, he corrects even as a father, the Son in whom he delights.

If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the Father chastens not? But if you are without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are you bastards and not sons?

Furthermore, we had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence.

Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? For they for a few days verily chastened us after their own pleasure. But he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

And even Jesus, though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.

He learned obedience by the things which he suffered. He always obeyed the Father’s will. He always sought the Father’s will. Didn’t Jesus already know what obedience was? Well, he knew the theory of it, and so do we.

We know the theory of obedience, but the nitty gritty, the fruitage of obedience under duress. In those trying circumstances, when we see the hand of God mightily working on us as the clay and he is the potter molding us into what he wants us to be, we learn the value more deeply, more profoundly, of obedience.

Our next hymn is one that has long been a favorite of mine. We don’t sing it too often, so I’m going to have the orchestra play at least one verse of it for you to get the melody in your hearts. But there are some very beautiful lines, poetic lines in this hymn, and acknowledgments of how great the light of God in Christ Jesus is in our life, and so we’ll ask them to play us a verse, and then we’ll join our voices together, singing our consolation.

Join me, brethren. Although drives the mourner’s chair, how dark this world would be if land is saved and wounded here we could not fly to.

But Thou wilt heal the broken heart, which like the plants that throw their fragrance from the wounded Plut wreaths sweetness out of O who could bear life’s stormy dew did not thy wing over come J wafting fro the dome our peace branch from above Even sorrow touched by heavens bright with more than rapture’s pain. As darkness shows us worlds of light we never saw bound.

Thank you, I like it too.

All the lines I think are so beautiful. But this last stanza, even sorrow touched by heaven rose bright with more than rapture’s ray. As darkness shows us worlds of light we never saw by day. I think that’s so profound.

As darkness shows us worlds of light we never saw by day. We come to greatly appreciate the righteousness of our God. The principles of righteousness must be inviable in our lives. Standing for righteousness, suffering for righteousness. That’s not suffering for suffering’s sake.

Or to walk around with a long face in public and maybe have a little whip and beat our backs and look like we’re in agony. No, there’s a much higher purpose. Those things would draw attention to our flesh and make people think, oh, according to their flesh, those poor people, that’s just so terrible. But no, the Lord is overruling the working of the Spirit on our knowledge of Scripture and the experiences he allows in our lives, and as darkness comes crossed, that he’s able to show us worlds of light we never saw by day.

Yes, we have this treasure in earthen vessels.

And I hope we all can realize more profoundly as we walk through this Christian experience, our Christian life, and to imbibe deeply of the riches that God has for us in our daily lives.

It’s almost cliche that you hear in the news about a poor unfortunate soul that passed away lonely in a small apartment, maybe in a a tenement in the city. Friendless, no family.

And as the junk clearers come in to take all their possessions out of the house, they lift up the mattress and there are a couple bills hanging out, $20 bills, $100 bills, and so the disposition of the estate. They have to count the money, and oftentimes there’s a million or two million dollars in the mattress, and they lived in a hovel.

Maybe every evening for dinner they would measure out three peas, a half a carrot, a small potato, a little piece of fish.

That’s the extent of their enjoyment of life, and yet they were surrounded by wealth, riches, and their lives could have been enhanced and enriched so much more.

I hope that we realize the value of the treasure that we have in us. No, I’m not going to throw you folks under the bus tonight. I’ll put Ob Albert there. I hope so much that he comes to realize the value of that spirit that works in him.

I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now, unto him that is able to do all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Okay, I see a couple perplexed faces, and that’s what I was hoping to see.

That’s a misquote you have there in front of you. Oh, it sounds great. But wait, it gets better.

Instead of reading. Now, unto him that is able to do all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus. Now. Now, unto him that is able to do all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us. Is that right?

Is that it? Is there more? I think there is.

Ah, this is getting better. Now, unto him that is able to do above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, and so on. Above all that we ask or think. But wait, the apostle turns it up another notch.

Now, unto him that is able to do abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Satisfied? There’s more. Are you ready? I think this is it. Now, unto him that is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.

Amen, and I will say amen to that he is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think. So am I laying on that spiritual mattress stuffed with $2 million and not enjoying the privileges that the Lord has given me? Or am I truly imbibing as deeply as I can? And I think for all of us, when we have done all that we can do, we still feel that we could have done more in the Lord’s service.

But what would be the consequence of this scripture in our lives? I hope you don’t mind my recommendation. If he’s able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think. How about this? How about we ask Big our spiritual aspirations?

Ask Big. Father, help me do all you can in your power to help me to submit to your will, to help me bring glory to your name, to help me bear fruit to your eternal glory. Ask Big, and don’t think of yourself as this fallen, broken little human being. We know that as new creatures we are giants compared to what we would be otherwise in the flesh.

I say that of myself for sure, and so that being the case, how about this? How about we think big? How about we have vision of service, what we can do, finding ways to foster edification in the brotherhood. Ask Big.

Think big.

Because it is God who works in you both to will and to do his good pleasure. Jesus said, ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.

We hope these meditations have been helpful and encouraging. Every time I refresh my memory with them, I’m rejuvenated.

I have deep gratitude in my heart.

I work with a fella who has had some very negative experiences with Christians, and his negative spirit experience mainly has been that they’re so smug and that they feel that they’re so much better than everyone else, and he asked me, so when you think of your Christian life, what’s the feeling that you have? My answer? Gratitude.

Gratitude. We have cause for gratitude. Our closing hymn. Let’s raise our voices to the Father in singing this.

When all by me.

Rising.

Transporting it with love Yah, I’m the in wonder Love and praise. O how can words give equal warmth? The gratitude declared that glows within my most.

Can’t read it there.

My.

Shall be to heaven.

Well, brethren, what shall we say then to these things? If God is for us, tell me, who can be against us?

He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

The Father himself loves you. Amen. Brother Derek.

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