Remain Faithful & Steadfast - I Am Coming Soon to Reward You

Good morning, FCBC.

Our beloved intern, Pastor Dave Gibson, is in Tucson helping his sister with a painting project. I'd rather be anywhere than painting. 

Glad to be with you here this morning. If you would turn with me to Revelation Chapter 3. We will be continuing in our series in church number six out of seven. My name is Steven Denton, if I haven't met you, I would love to meet you. I serve on the Men's Ministry core team, and have been a member here for a few years.

And in and around 190 BC a city was founded by the king of Pergamos. His name was Atlas. He on more than one occasion, although he was king and had all the power he wanted deferred in terms of power and authority or deference in general to his brother, giving him the nickname “Lover of his brother” and therefore the Newtown. Getting the nickname City of Brotherly Love or Phileo and Adelphi.

Or we would get Philadelphia. So if I pull up the map here. Philadelphia is in modern day Asahir Sahir Turkey, about 38 miles southeast of Sardis. So you'd think Boise to Mountain Home. It's kind of the geography there. The city is built on a hillside and if you drive around Alasha here today like I did on Google Maps, there's plenty of vineyards and olive Groves. Philadelphia seems like a nice place. Also a good place to get a good cheese steak.

In Philadelphia, no, that's the wrong Philadelphia. Just seeing if you're awake here, it's 8:00.

Let's go. There was a mix of Gentile and Jewish believers in the Church of Philadelphia that went out to its mailbox one day to get a letter from the apostle John containing the very words of Christ to that church. So this morning we are looking at the letter to the Church of Philadelphia.

So we're going to start in verse 7 and I'll just read this down and then we can unpack this this morning. Together.

“And to the Angel of the church in Philadelphia, write the words of the Holy One, the true One, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door which no one is able to shut. I know that you have little power. And yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not but lie. Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you because you have kept my word about patient endurance. I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell on the earth.  I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it. And I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

This is God's word, and if you've been tracking with our church series for the past few weeks or you just know this text and these churches, you'll notice that unlike last week to start us or definitely unlike next week to the church at Laodicea, there's no rebuke in the text to this church.

So if you scan that passage again with your eyeballs, you won't see anything like this is what I have against you.

Here's three things you can be doing better. This is a church to whom Jesus says you're doing great. Keep going, hold fast now. I find this particularly amazing because I've been in churches my whole life. I've never been to a church that doesn't have problems. This was not the only church that God ever oversaw that didn't have any problems. It's a church. It has people, it has sinners and proximity with one another. And that means there were problems in Philadelphia.

In Philadelphia, there was pride, selfish ambition, laziness, worldliness, hypocrisy, blind

spots, gossip, slander, lust, being a jerk, being nosy, being stupid, being impatient, harsh, out of tune, singing. It was all going on in Philadelphia. I promise Jesus doesn't bring.

Give that up. What does that tell you about Jesus?

He's gracious, he's merciful, he's really good at keeping the main thing the main thing. If you were to go home and read all 7 churches today, you would notice that when he rebukes the church, it's generally in areas of three things.

1. They have a passion problem. Maybe you know the right things, but you've left your first love. Your heart and its flames have died down into cold embers.

2. You might have a doctrine problem. You have theological drift, or you're drinking theological or theological poison and you need to root that out or you are tolerating sin.

As I just mentioned, all churches have a problem. We all have sinners in us. But are

are we constantly uprooting those weeds that grow in the garden of God? Are we

constantly pruning and mending and tending to our conduct and our character? If you tolerate sin or embrace sin, Jesus is going to write you a letter. Meaning you're in danger of losing your accreditation as a true local Church of God. So FCBC, if we are to hold fast, which spoiler alert, that's the general application in this passage, hold fast. We are to pursue the opposite of those three things that Jesus brings up. We are to have a hot passion, good doctrine, and to be continually pulling up the weeds of sin.

Holding fast is harder than it sounds. It's a military metaphor, right? To hold the line, to hold the line means to not move the line. But you're being shelled. What comes natural is to retreat, to run away. That's the easy thing to do, is to move. To stay put is hard, or a fitness metaphor if you like. There's a thing in fitness called an isometric exercise. It's a wall sit, or it's holding a plank with your core off the ground or doing a pull up and then just staying there at the top of the bar and you start to shake because gravity wants to bring you down. It's hard to stay still. With a lot of things in the spiritual life, the hard

part is not just in getting the attribute, it's in keeping. Getting a hot fire going is not terribly hard, but keeping it hot means every 15 minutes. Log, log, log, poke, blow on it, log.

Getting doctrinal precision requires

reading and knowing this book.But the entire world is against us, a world that

never stops mocking the church from without and trying to invade the church to

get inside, to corrupt, to deconstruct, to dissuade, to nudge, to poke us, to

nuance, to get us off of the straight and narrow path of biblical orthodoxy.

And that's why, as a church, we review the text every week. To recalibrate. And

of course, our sin problem of all things, I shouldn't have to convince you that

your sin is not one and done. Nobody has ever said, you know, I was impatient a

long time ago and I got rid of that. So I haven't been impatient ever since

then. It's something we continually have to be on guard against.

But if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. This is how you maintain your diligence in the Christian life to fight your sin. This is a present

tense verb putting to death. So in verse 7, let's get into this.

And to the Angel, who is the pastor of the church in Philadelphia, right? These are the words of the Holy One. Jesus opens with his resume in his letters. I've taken some resumes in my line of work. I've read some cover letters that applicants have written

to me describing who they are and why they should work for me or for the company I work for. I've never seen an application that starts Dear Sir or Madame, I am the Holy One, the true one.

I would pay attention to that cover letter if I got it. The Holy One of Israel is a name for God that appears in the Bible 25 times in Isaiah alone. It would have been particularly a tip off to the Jews. Having read this, to whom will you compare me? Who is my equal? Says the Holy 1. So you remember I said this church has a mix of Jewish and Gentile believers. The Jewish believers would have said this guy thing or this author. Jesus is God himself speaking to us. Because only God would say that about himself. He is the Holy One. And he is the true one.

Back to some Old Testament verses describing God. From Psalm 19:7, “His way is perfect,” and every way is perfect. The word of the Lord proves true. From Proverbs 30:5, “Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”

Jeremiah 10:10, “ But the Lord is the true God. He is the living God and the everlasting king.”

So when Jesus says I am the holy one and the true one, he's not just saying I speak true things and I have a blameless character. He is saying I am the one and only God and the deity of Christ is a theme that the apostle John who wrote this letter loves to write about. So then we transition from who is to what he has. He has the key of David. The key of David is a phrase that appears back in Isaiah chapter 22:20, where God fires 1 leader and

he hires another and he says of the new leader.” On that day I will call on my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah. He's going to be the new replacement leader, and I will place on his shoulder the key of the House of David. He shall open and none shut. And he shall shut and none open.”

If you have the keys to the building and you open and shut the door, it means that you control access. You can admit people in or you can keep people out. And because the city of David is in Jerusalem, but our text is talking about the new Jerusalem down there in verse 12, and Jesus has the keys to that city. The point is that Jesus Christ controls access to who gets into heaven and who does not. Jesus is the gatekeeper of heaven.

So imagine you're walking up to heaven and Jesus sees you and he says hey, insert your name here. Welcome home. I know you enter into the joy of your master. To another he says, hey, I know you well done, good and faithful servant. You take charge of 10 cities. Hey, I know you. That's what you want to hear, even. Hey, I know you a little bit. You made it.

Congratulations. Come on in. Go manage the salad bar. Welcome here. But what if he says to you? Hey. Remind me of your name again. Not seeing it here. I don't know you.

According to Matthew 25, he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me You cursed into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” You do not want to be not on the list. You do not want to hear that.

So I don't know who walked in this morning, but maybe you're wondering. All right. The operative question then is how do I get on the list? The good news is the Bible deals so extensively with this question that I can essentially answer that question out of any book in the Bible. So we're in Revelation right now, right? So let's take Revelation.

What do we have? It's already on the screen. It's been there for 5 minutes. “Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by its gates.”Rev 22:14

 OK, great. What does that mean to wash their robes? Also from this book, Chapter 7 these. “They who have come out of the great tribulation, they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

What does it mean to be made white? And what does the blood of the Lamb accomplish? We can go back to the beginning of the book “ to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood”, or even in the middle of the book, “for you Jesus were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” So just from Revelation alone, I find that the people who go to heaven are the people who have had their sins forgiven by the blood payment of Jesus Christ.

Jesus died for you, for you were slain. John writes of Jesus. He died as a payment for us, to wash us clean from our sins, to pay our debt for our millions of trespasses against God. And if you believe in him, which means to trust in Jesus, to apply his blood payment to your registry of sins, you can have them all washed away and be made bright and shining white by his dark and Crimson blood.

Your name goes on the list. Because he bought you. Because he loves you. And he has the power to admit or to deny entry as he opens or closes the door. To one who opens

and no one will shut. Or who shuts and no one opens. Some translations in verse 7 will supply the object who opens doors that no one can shut. Or who shuts doors that no

one can open. The word door is not there in the Greek, but it does appear in verse 8. So,

we do have a pretty good idea that the door is the metaphor in mind here. And what's interesting about this door metaphor is that it's probable that many Jewish believers in the church at Philadelphia were kicked out of their synagogue. For professing that Jesus is the Messiah and being cast out of the synagogue is a big deal. We would use a word like excommunication, but it was really the center of all of Jewish life in the synagogue.

So when Jesus says I have set before you an open door that no one is able to shut,

that would have had a particular sweetness to those believers who had just been kicked out of their synagogue, as if Jesus is saying they shut the door in your face, look upward. There is the real door and it is open and no one can close it on you.

And in verse 8 he says, “I know your works.”

So imagine the boss calls you in and sits you down and stares at you and says I know your works. You have one of two reactions, right? One is you're squirming in your seat because you've been rounding in your favor on your time cards or you've been painting or you should have been patching or you should. You've been skirting, cutting corners, not doing what you were asked, etcetera. And that's uncomfortable. But this is a letter written to a church that has largely been doing great things. So for Jesus to say, I know your works well, it's also like being Job and you feel like you're doing the things that nobody might see and give you credit for.

And it's such a comfort to have one in authority come to you and say, I see what you've

been doing. You may think I haven't seen what you've been doing, but I see what you've been doing. You've been doing good things in secret. The Lord sees you've been serving the church in inconspicuous ways. The Lord sees you've been doing small things when nobody is watching that God would approve of. God is watching, and He knows what you've been doing.

My beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of

the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. So whether you are the servant in the nursery, that changes smelly diapers, or you are on setup crew before anyone arrives, or you are in the prayer room, or you are quietly doing admin for an

upcoming event, whatever, how small the Lord sees.

So he continues. Jesus says in verse 8, “I know that you have but little power.”

Some translations, little strength. What does little power mean? It's a little tricky to interpret, but based on the context of There's an outside pressure to compromise God's Word and to deny his name from both the culture in Philadelphia and this Jewish synagogue.

It probably means the church was small in number, so it didn't have any. They didn't have a seat at the table at the City Council, they didn't have any cultural presence, and furthermore it was just being assailed by the Jews. Jesus said in spite of your odds. You've kept my word and you have not denied my name.”

The phrase kept my word also appears in verse 10. You've kept my word about patient endurance. The word that Jesus has in mind is a reference to the Scriptures. And the combination is not simply that they learned the scriptures or understood or even applied or taught. But they kept it.

To keep something involves time. And there's no shortage of Scripture that talks about how simple time can erode your faith. Jesus warns about some when they hear the word, they receive it with joy, but these have no root. They believe for a while and in a time of testing they fall away from Luke chapter 8. You know, I don't usually hear about someone being a firm believer on Wednesday and then claiming to be an ex Christian on Thursday. Doesn't happen that fast. But I have watched many Christians lose their faith over a number of months and years and decades.

Like we would say that water is no match for a rock. Water is soft, the rock is hard. But if you put that rock in a river and the water just comes year after year, decade after decade, you end up with smooth rocks, river rocks that you line your garden with because you can walk on them. They don't hurt your feet. The rocks have lost their cutting ability.

 A church that gradually aligns its beliefs with those of the world. It loses its cutting ability. It loses its power. The culture has no problem with the church with no sharp edges.

No doctrine that conflicts with the cultural wars. No practices that set it apart from the practices of the world. No people that look different from the world's people. In fact, if I were the devil, I would wholly promote this kind of church because it confuses the world as to what a church actually is.

You've been on a plane and flying to Denver and the pilot comes on and says we've started our initial descent into Denver and we'll be there in 30 minutes. And you look out the window and you're like, well, I didn't feel the descent. And as I look down, all I see are clouds. We're still doing 600 miles an hour. We're still at 25,000 feet, but the descent has begun.

It's gradual, the decline.

When you abandon the word, it starts small. Maybe you don't just throw your Bible away, but you start to blush at the parts of it that are hard to swallow. Maybe they're a little culturally insensitive. Maybe they're just out of step with what you would like. You begin to squirm at what is uncomfortable. And then you find other teachers, preachers, podcasters, content creators who share your same embarrassment about certain texts, a verse here and a verse there. So you don't throw your Bible away, but you do take kind of. Invisible scissors. Cutting out certain sections that are objectionable, just keeping hold of the ones that you like. Having gripped the scissors, you kind of realize you like having scissors in your hand. There's some power in that tool. You get used to it. You get proficient at it. And whether or not you realize you've granted yourself the title of editor in chief over the Word of God. And the more you use those scissors, the better and better you get at cutting. You don't quit calling yourself a Christian.

Conveniently, you keep finding so-called Christian preachers, podcasters, bloggers

who have cut the same verses out that you have. And so overtime you end up fulfilling the thing. That Paul warned Timothy about. There's a time coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate, for themselves, teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth.

You don't know that verse is there because you cut that out with scissors. And so the culture comes to you and says there's more verses we'd like you to cut out because we find them offensive, and you're happy to oblige. But you still call yourself a Christian. But

Jesus says you have not kept my word.

There's a guy across the street from me. He brought up his religion. He quickly introduces himself as Catholic non practicing. And I still don't know what that means. Like you what what what is that? Is this an identity? But you don't have any. There's no, there's an orthodoxy, but an orthopraxy. Like I would never introduce myself as, well, I'm Steven, I'm married, non practicing. Like I haven't talked to my wife in years. I don't know where she is. Like doesn't make sense to me. Paul continues on, but as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed. Knowing from whom you have learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

This is how you hold fast. You follow His word. All scripture is breathed out by God.

And profitable for teaching, rebuking, correction, and training in righteousness, that

the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

But Philadelphia is keeping Jesus word so that Jesus promises. This in verse 9, “I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not but lie.“ What does that mean? The synagogue of Satan? It first appeared back in chapter 2, verse

9 in the Church of Smyrna. “I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich. And the slander of those who say that they are Jews but are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

So as I mentioned earlier, the church is likely a mix of Jewish and Gentile believers.

And the Jews who belong to that church had been kicked out of their synagogue. So to the faithful Jewish believers, Jesus offers these counterpoints. They said that they are the true synagogue, but they are liars, so I call them a synagogue of Satan. They say that they are Jews, but they are not. They cast you out, I bring you in. Their synagogue is a copy in the shadow, but mine is true and eternal. They close the door on you, but they cannot close my door, because what I opened, no one can shut. And they claim to worship the true God, but I will make them bow at your feet.”

That doesn't mean they'll worship you, but it does ultimately mean that they will ultimately acknowledge that they were wrong and that you were right.

There's a number of places in the Old Testament where God promises to be faithful to Israel. Not only will you defeat your enemies, but they will bow before you. In Isaiah chapter 45,” God writes, They will come over to you and will be yours. They will trudge behind you, coming over to you in chains. They will bow before you and plead with you, saying surely God is with you and there is no other. There is no other God.”

It's like, it's like saying you have to kiss the ring. You have to acknowledge that I was right. I followed Christ because of him and I was right. It's a level up. Note the irony here. The promise intended to Jews in the Old Covenant, that their enemies will bow before you, is now being filled in a largely Gentile church. There are false Jews who will bow before a

church that is filled with Gentiles. Do you know that when God judges his enemies, you will be in the bleachers? It's going to be a spectacle. You're going to watch this. In other words, you will not be playing pickleball in the New Jerusalem and then turn to Jesus and

say whatever happened to all of our enemies. And he's going to say don't worry, I took care of it. That's not how it's going to go down.

You will be there for the main event. You will have tickets. Psalm 37:34 “Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land you will look on when the wicked are cut off.”

Not only because you deserve to see the recompense of the wicked, but because you suffered. And because you suffered under their persecution, but someday, God will

be further glorified by your witnessing of His justice being carried out. And at the end of the day, it is all about the glory of God.

Verse 10. “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial. That is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell on the Earth. I'm coming soon.” The hour of trial is a debated phrase as to what it particularly refers to, and I don't have the space this morning to entertain all of the eschatological interpretations of what that means.

But because the verse dovetails right into verse 11, the hour of trial, right into I am coming soon and Jesus hasn't come back yet. There is a strong argument to be made that what our Jesus has in mind, even to us, has not yet been fulfilled yet. Coupled with other verses in the Bible that talk about a future time of punishment, retribution, the wrath of God being poured out, we would commonly call it the Tribulation. That's what most scholars in our tradition would interpret this as referring to. Jesus says, “I'm coming

soon.”, and there's an hour of trial before that that you faithful church, will not have to

endure. He is coming soon. Which of course, is the most frustrating verse in the Bible, right? It's been like 1900 years. What does he mean by soon? It's like, don't you ever pray? Like, dear Lord, I don't want to be blasphemous, but words have meanings. What does this mean? Soon is a very, very, very relative term. Sincerely, all of us. It is helpful to know that the Greek word for soon can be translated quickly or suddenly or unexpectedly or fast, which lends new meaning to the phrase in line with other scriptures.

So when Jesus comes, he will surprise people. He will come like a thief in the night. Also on the Christian calendar, Jesus is coming, shall we say, next. There aren't these prerequisites other than warning signs. The dissension of Christ is the next thing that follows the ascension of Christ that happened just after Easter. And it also seems obvious that soon is a word that is designed to keep the church eager with anticipation about the Lord's coming.

Like mom says, kids, I want your rooms to be clean when I get home. I'm going out shopping for a bit, but I'll be home and the room's better be clean. You and I know that if

mom is shopping, she might not be home soon at all. It might be all day, but she says soon. Why? So that you might take her second coming seriously and prioritize her orders because she'll be home any minute. Any minute now.

And because Jesus hasn't come back yet, it stands to reason that the hour of trial has not happened either. The Bible goes into detail about a future season in which the Lord will

judge the earth, and similar to Egypt, Israel was unaffected by the plagues against Pharaoh.

The church will not take any collateral damage from God's judgment. Our sins were paid for in full. At the cross, the earth flooded, but Noah and his family did not get wet. Jericho was sacked, but Rahab escaped safely. So Jesus is saying, because you have faithfully endured the trials that the world threw at you, I will keep you from the trials that I throw at the world. 

And so we're back full circle to our application in verse 11. “Hold fast, what you have so that no one may seize your crown. What is your crown and how can someone take it off your head? The crown is the award given to the athlete who competes and wins. Paul says in First Corinthians 9: 24, “We run to receive an imperishable wreath.” We are all this morning running a spiritual race and Jesus will hand out rewards. Rewards are a commendation from God. It's not referring to salvation, which once you have, you cannot lose. This is whipped cream on top. But it is possible to not get full credit for the things you do in this life.

John, the author of this letter, wrote in a previous letter. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. According to 1st Corinthians 3, your life's work is like you bringing a mineral and setting it before the Lord for evaluation. And he purifies it with his blowtorch, his fire, his refining furnace. And what is leftover is either pure. Well, it is pure because the impurities have been burned away. And he says, this is what I can reward you for. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer

loss. Paul wrote Howcan you suffer loss? You can be disqualified. You can run a play, but have it come back this afternoon. Some of us will be watching our team score a touchdown, and right before you rejoice, you're going to wait 5 seconds because you're waiting for what?

That yellow flag, is there a flag on the field? You're just waiting for the ref to say no.

Holding off in 7110 yard penalty, repeat. First it's got to come back. You don't get points for that.

If your work has moral compromise or spiritual compromise. Your play can come back. If your work has faithlessness, laziness or apathy, you have incurred opportunity costs.

To use a financial term, if you're seeking the glory from people instead of the glory from God, you can suffer loss. But to the one who wins in verse 12, “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.”

There's another spot in the Bible where it talks about people being pillars. It's in Galatians 2:9. “And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived that grace was given to them, they gave to me, me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship.” These were important men in the church. They were celebrities. They were honored. Jesus is saying to the conquering Christian, I can make you a pillar.

I think of heaven a lot, but I imagine the city and the temple.  I wonder if there aren't

engravings everywhere of the names. Of faithful men and women throughout the

centuries who are eternally honored for their sacrifices. For Christ.

I went to London a number of years ago and then this is up in Liverpool. This is like 20

years ago. And if you know this club, this is where The Beatles kind of got their start. They're playing in this dank bar and got their first followings and right across from it you look where I'm looking straight behind you.

Sorry, is that the picture? Yeah, there we go. So right behind where I'm standing there is this photo, which may be hard to see on the screen, but every brick there has a name on it. These are all the artists that played at the club. And there's even a different picture where all of the artists who achieve UK singles and the number one spot got gold records on the wall there. And I think, I wonder if that temple on that day is just going to have

giant engravings of people of different sizes. As an award ceremony, as an Eternal well done. This is your name. Reward for you. One thing I can guarantee you is that you will

not regret any sacrifice you've made in this life for Jesus. He is able to repay you 100 X for every temporal thing you give up down here that the Kingdom of God may be advanced.

Whether that's your physical laborers for the church, your emotional laborers to counsel someone in need, your money to fund a ministry effort, your time sacrifice to help execute a program, your prayers to move the hand of God. Are your talents to help accomplish a project? Every single thing you do for God is being actively logged. And one day you will stand before Jesus, and he'll crack open the books and he'll say, let's take a look.

And it'll be a good day. Remember, it's a commendation ceremony. It's not a guilt trip. Our sins have been forgiven. And the spirit of this meeting is to crown His Saints. And we take off our crowns and we throw them at His feet. And any rewards we are credited with, well. They're going to be traced back to His grace. Nevertheless, how will you do on

that day?

 How are you running today? Food for thought, Philadelphia.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your word to us. We thank you that we have a Bible, the very words from you to us, to teach us how to live. This morning. We pray for our church corporately, that we would faithfully follow your instructions, that we would not veer to the left or right or get off course. And then, if we do, you correct this lovingly and gently, but thoroughly, that we might remain on track and be a faithful church in the Treasure

Valley.

And corporately, yes, but also individually. Lord, just pray for any man or woman here.

Who considered these words of Jesus and applied them to our own lives? Lord, would you help us stay on track? Would you help us true up our devotion to you? Would you help us stay in the Word? And in prayer and in fellowship with one another.

That we might truly receive our reward in full, and that we might give you all glory.

And honor for your grace to us. Teach us Lord, we pray in Jesus’s name, Amen.