Well, hey, can we praise the Lord for that time of worship? Can we? So fun. So fun. I don't know if you, you caught it, but it's Christmas season and Thanksgiving is gone. And uh, for a lot of you, I recognize that once November hits it's Christmas season for you and Thanksgiving is just one day in the calendar that interrupts the rest of your Christmas season. You know what I'm saying? Like, um, it is probably the case though that if your tree isn't up yet, you're late. Um, you need to, you need to work on that. Okay. Uh, ours is up. When I say ours, I mean, somehow we've, you know, every kid wants a, a little tree in their room, so all of our, I think all of our trees are up almost. And so, um, it's fun. It's, it's the time of year that says to celebrate. It is the time of year that, that, uh, it's so extraordinarily busy, but it causes us to reflect. There's, there's something about sitting in a dark room with a Christmas tree lit up. There's something about watching kids, uh, open presents and, uh, and just watching their reaction. Not all the reactions are good, like you, if you have kids, you know that like sometimes. Their reactions aren't what they ought to be. Uh, and there's always a sense of wonder with them that they think they know what the presents are, but they actually don't know what the presents are. And, and they hope that it's something, and then they opened up the gift and it's not, and they have to figure out if they're gonna display good manners or not. Like Ians. Has all kinds of fun moments, and I feel like, I hope that we're just gonna add to the fun by walking through one of the most difficult sections of the entire Bible during this Christmas season. And so Daniel seven through 12 is really this apocalyptic literature, it's dreams and visions and beasts and all these, these stories that, that Daniel is going to see. And it's about the second coming. As Pastor John Mark said, I hope this really points us to have, for us to have wonder and awe about Jesus coming to earth. That we when, uh, the incarnation, how we celebrate Christmas, but also know, um, but also recognize that, that the, the real story of Christmas, or even your story right now in your life feels much more complicated than just the wonder of Christmas trees and kids opening presents and things like that. And some of you have already felt it like you're, you've hung lights up around your house while your world feels extraordinarily dark, that you'll find yourself this year wrapping presents while you're trying to unwrap your own grief and trying to figure out what's next in life. Like things this year didn't go the way that you thought that they should and. You'll do your best to put on a smile on your face, and you'll even sing joy to the world here at church while trying to remember where your joy is. Like Christmas is a strange time and what, what, what you need to understand and what's going on in your soul is that Christmas reveals a gap. Christmas reveals the gap between what we know should be. And what actually is, it's, it's the gap between promise and reality. It's, it's the gap between peace on earth that we, that we'll sing about and that Jesus says that he came to bring. And in the reality that a lot of us, if we're just being honest, that we feel beaten down by life when we're exalted or ex exhausted, like Christmas reveals the gap in all of our souls. And what I hope this advent season does is reminds us that God meets us exactly in that tension, that God meets us exactly in the gap. See Daniel seven. What we're gonna read about today is a vision for people living in between, living in the gap. People who believe that God's promises and we, we hold fast to them and we believe God's word, that God is never gonna leave us and forsake us, and he has what's best for us. And he's all, and he's gonna be with us like we believe God's promises, but we don't yet see God's kingdom because we're obviously still journeying through a dark broken world. And Daniel seven, it's written to a people surrounded by pressure, surrounded by hostility and, and spiritual beasts all around them. And people are trying to live faithfully in a culture that feels like Babylon. For them, it is Babylon. For us, it feels like that. And I want to under, I want you to understand just real quick how we're gonna approach this. I know that a lot of you are really interested in end times. Uh, I know this because any, any like, um, you know, informal survey I've ever done about what people want to study, it always comes out that they want to study the end times, no matter if they're 12 years old or 82 years old. It doesn't matter. People are, people are fired up about the end times. I'll be honest with you. Let me tell you how I'm gonna read, go about this text, these texts over the next several weeks, they're meant to drive us not to speculation and not to try to write a book about 26 reasons why God's coming in 2026. Like that's not what, that's not, it's not supposed to cause us to like bring out a whiteboard and write a bunch of charts and make you like three hour long YouTube videos that have all kinds of math on them and all. It's not like this is supposed to drive us. To where we are, we are longing for the return of Christ is supposed to drive us to steadfastness. Not speculation. You recognize that all throughout church history, the persecuted church, they have hung on to texts like Daniel seven, not so they could try to predict the end of their suffering so that they could be steadfast waiting for the coming of the Lord and doing well to obey his commands while they wait. And so as we walk through this, we're gonna walk through it as a 30,000 foot view. I won't bring out any whiteboards. I'll try not to give you any math or anything like that, but recognize like, we wanna read this text and we wanna be about, and be about Daniel seven through 12, not so we can try to speculate the time or the day, but so that we can live steadfast right now.'cause that's what God calls us to do. So if you will stand with me for the reading of God's word, we're gonna, we're gonna read Daniel seven. Uh, verse one through 14 In this text, breathe out by God's spirit in his infallible and inert, hear the word of the Lord in the first year of bels are king of Babylon. Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel declared. I saw in my vision by night, behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. The four great bees came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings. Then as I looked, its wings were plucked off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of man was given to it, and behold, another beast. The second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth and, and it was told to rise, devour much flesh after this. I looked and behold another, like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back, and the beast had four heads and dominion was given to it. It after this, I saw in the night, visions and behold, the fourth beast. Terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had iron teeth. It devoured and broken pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the other beasts that were before it. It had 10 horns. I considered the horns and behold there came up. Among them. Another horn, a little one before, which was three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots and behold. And this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking. Great things as I looked, thrones were placed and, and the ancient of days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow and the hair of his head, like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames. His its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him a thousand thousand served him and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him. The court sat in judgment and the books were opened, and I looked then because of the sound of the great words, that the horn was speaking, and as I looked, the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beast, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time I saw in the night, visions and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him and to him was given dominion in glory and a kingdom that all people's nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away. In his kingdom one. In his kingdom one that should not be destroyed. May God bless the reading of his word. You can be seated. Hey, if I can give you my sermon in a sentence today, something I want you to get, that's what I hope you understand take away today, is that knowing the end affects how you live in the middle. Knowing the end affects how you live in the middle. Daniel seven is a turning point in the book of Daniel. Daniel one through six. It's written about these narrative of Daniel. Basically, you see all these stories from the moment Daniel and his friends and and, and some of other who were part of Israel were exiled into Babylon. We see these stories over and over again about the faithfulness of God. God was faithful to Daniel and sustained him when he turned away the King's food. Daniel or God was. Faithful to Daniel to allow him to interpret dreams. Daniel or God was faithful to Sha act, Niha and Abednego as he sustained them and, and joined them in the fire to protect them and, and ultimately, uh, to, uh, to protect them from the fire. And then God was faithful to. To Daniel and he's in the lions den. That's his story. Now, you'll notice in verse one of Daniel seven that this was written prior to Daniel in the Lions den, that Daniel one through six is written in this story. But Daniel seven through 12 is not written in chronological order. Daniel, this would've been written during the reign of King Bel are So Think Daniel five. This is written about the dreams and visions that Daniel received as he's living in Babylon. And so Daniel would've been in his seventies. He would've received this again before he's in the lion's den, and this is a wonderful dream and vision about the one who is going to have dominion over all the earth, whose kingdom shall not pass away. This is about the return of Christ. It's interesting to think like, just think with me. This is some sanctified imagination. Um, if Daniel received this vision prior to Daniel six and him going to the lion's den, it had to give him some boldness as he's about to approach the lion's den. Like he is heard that Daniel, or that God is the one sitting on the throne, even though there are all these beasts around in that. God is going to send one and there's gonna be one like the son of man who's gonna approach the ancient of days and he's going to be given dominion. And the the one who approaches the ancient of days isn't stressed out. He's not pacing, he's not worried about what's going to happen. He merely rules and that kingdom is going to last forever. It's like when you understand how the end is going to happen, like Daniel is okay living in the middle, even in the midst of. Un unlikely circumstances because he recognizes how the end is gonna. He already saw the end. He sees where the son of man receives the kingdom, and it's shaped how we lived in the middle. Like this text this morning is meant to sustain us. It's meant to allow us to keep pressing on. Here's the first thing I want you to see in the text. How can we live in the middle? Well, okay. The first thing I want you to see is to expect your faith to flourish despite opposition. Expect your faith to flourish despite opposition. Let me just kind of summarize for you the dream or the vision that Daniel saw. Daniel's vision begins with chaos. In verse two, he sees, he sees four winds of heaven that were stirring the great sea in scripture. The sea represents chaos. It represents life apart from the created order. It, it represents li a fallen, broken world. Everything opposes God and uh, God's ordered world. And out of this chaos emerges four beasts each representing kingdoms of the world. Lemme tell you how this has historically been interpreted. The, the lion with the eagle's wings, that's Babylon Babylon's national symbol, was this lion with wings, but the wings in the text, they're plucked. It is humbled, it's humanized, it's echoing Nebuchadnezzar's. Rise, fall and restoration. And then you see this lopsided bear. This would've been the Meadow Persia empire. One side race higher represents Persians Persia's dominance. The the ribs symbolize devoured nations and to command is chilling to devour much flesh. And then you see a leopard with four wings and four heads. This would've. Most likely been Greece, swiftness, multiplied. Think about Alexander's lightning quick conquest, followed by the division into four kingdoms after his death. This is lining up very much with the dreamer vision that Nebuchadnezzar had in chapter two. And then you see the terrifying fourth beast. This is Roman and beyond. This is iron teeth bronze claws. This is devouring, crushing, trampling. This isn't just Rome. This is the final expression of human power and rebellion against God. And outta the fourth, fourth beast arises this little horn. It's small, but it's arrogant, it's ambitious, it's blasphemous. And here's a part that we often don't want to see in verse 21. In verse 21, the Bible says, as he's talking about this small horn, like I looked, as I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them. And then in verse 25, he shall speak words against the most high and shall wear out the saints of the most high and shall think to change the times and the law, and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. So even in the text, what Daniel is seeing in the vision is that the saints will be worn down. The saints will be, will be worn out. This means a steady grinding exhaustion. This means that the enemy's plan isn't some big, like this one big attack, but it's constant pressure to the people of God. It's the constant pressure of life in a broken world. Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about. You're tired from trying to live faithfully when everything around you seems to be pointing out to live faithfully. You feel the cultural pressure pushing against your convictions, and you think that you have to compromise in order to. To continue about your life. You feel the spiritual pressure wearing you down, that the enemy is trying to convince you that if you don't do all the right religious things, that God is somehow gonna be mad at you and, and you're being beat down by the reli, by by religious rituals and traditions like you're struggling, or for some of you, like you have. You have experience over and over again life in the brokenness of the world because you can't, like your health is bad over and over and over again, or the people around you, like you, they just can't catch a break. Or you recognize like not all relationships last forever and you're trying to wrestle with that. It's these constant little attacks from the enemy that will wear you down. And what happens is eventually the emotional pressure builds up and you lose all of your hope. It is this constant wear down, and Daniel seven, what he's saying is that you need to expect opposition that you don't like. Don't be surprised by it. It's just some of us. What happens is that whenever this opposition comes and we are worn down by the beast of this world, then what happens is that we'll lose our faith because we're doing something wrong. When it turns out it might be the case that opposition in your life might be a great indicator that you're doing something right. And so expect like this, like despite all the opposition, your faith can flourish. When you, when you recognize that the hope that we have, notice that there's a great hope at the end of verse 25 that says that and, and shall think to change times in the law and they shall be given into his hand being worn down. For a time, times, and half a time. Now, this is good news because it doesn't say for all time. What this means is it's a great truth that the beasts are loud in this world, but their time is short. The beasts of life are loud, but their time is short. They're not going to last forever. That there's coming a day when they will be put to their end. What this means is that his power is, is limited. This, this beast, this little horn that's ambitious and and constantly wearing down the saints of God. His power is li limited. His dominance is temporary and. And God sets the boundaries. He's the one who appoints the times. So you can expect your faith to flourish because we serve a God who He who has the reigns. He's the one who's controlling all things. He's the one as we read in the text who's sitting up on the throne. He's the one who is going to judge. So you can expect your faith to flourish despite opposition. The next thing I want you to see in the text is like the way that you can live well in the middle is to fix your eyes on God, not your situation. You fix your eyes on God, not your situation. There's a transition in the text in verse nine from verse one through eight. So verse one through eight, you get all this description about the beast that that Daniel sees in the vision, and then he gets a glimpse of heaven. Daniel lifts his eyes from the stormy sea and he sees this eternal throne room. It, we see it in, in verse nine. He says, as I look, Thrones were placed and the ancient of days took his seat. This is one of the most majestic pictures of God in all of scripture. He's he, this ancient of days took his seat. His clothe clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like pure wool. The throne was fiery. Flames, its wheels were burning fire. This is a, this is a statement about his purity, his eternal wisdom, the flaming throne, his holy judgment, the wheels of fire, this unstoppable sovereignty. There's a river of fire. In verse 10. This is judgment flowing out. Then there are the countless angels around him worshiping him, attending to him, and what we see, this is notice of contrast. The beasts are raging below. But God in heaven is seated. God in heaven is sure. The ancient of days is unshaken and courts convene. The book is open and judgment is set, and then comes one of the most breathtaking moments in the entire chapter. He says in verse 13 and 14, he says, I saw in the night visions behold on the clouds of heaven. There came one like a son of man and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him. And so he says, I saw one like the son of man and he comes on the cloud and he's presented to the ancient of days. This is a human figure. A son of man, this is, but this human does something only God does Throughout scripture, he comes on the clouds. Only God does that in scripture. We see it in Psalm 1 0 4, Isaiah 19. The one who comes on the clouds is Yahweh. Alone is God alone. This is a human appearing in the role of God, A man doing only what God does. And then it says that he's presented. He came to the ancient of days and was presented before him. So we have this human figure, this human, divine figure who approaches the blazing throne of God without fear. Without hesitation, without being consumed. No prophet ever does this. No angel is ever invited to do this. This is something utterly unique, the ancient of days in the Texan. Verse 14, gives him dominion, gives him glory, gives him a universal kingdom, gives him the allegiance of all people's nations and languages and a dominion that will never pass away. Every empire grasps. For what this the son of man was given. So who was the son of man who is the son of man? Well, Jesus tells us plainly. Jesus calls himself the Son of Man 81 times in the New Testament. It's his favorite title for himself. And at his trial when he's pressed under oath before Pontius Pilate, Jesus quotes Daniel seven directly and he says that you'll see the son of man seated at the right hand of power in coming with the clouds of heaven. In Mark chapter 14, this is what he's saying, I'm the one who rides on the cloud. In other words, I'm God. He says, I am the Daniel seven son of man, the one who's gonna be given dominion and glory and power. He says, I am true human and the true God. One. One theologian put it this way, he says, when Jesus called himself the son of man, he was not making a humble claim to me, humanity. He was making the most exalt, exalted claim possible. He was the one. That Daniel Sa, the one to whom God would give universal and everlasting dominion. In other words, when Jesus says that he's the son of man, he's not lowering himself, he's revealing his glory. And notice, like Jesus earthly ministry was an assault on all the beastly powers. And in the gospel he makes the, he makes the demons flee. He calms the storm, the chaos. He is subdued. He makes diseases a vanish. He forgives sin, which is the dominion of darkness. He defeats death. Every miracle is Daniel seven in motion. But notice in verse 13 and 14 is that Daniel seven. In these texts, it's not merely describing the second coming. It's. It's really describing the ascension when you remember in Daniel or in Acts chapter one, after Jesus dies for our sins and then he's risen from the dead. He's on earth for 40 days and he's gathering around, uh, people and he. He tells them that they're gonna receive power and they're gonna go be witnesses all throughout the ends of the earth. And then, and then he goes up into the clouds. Woo. Like that's the way the text reads. Go read it sometime. Like you read the ascension. That's the way it reads. That he, he makes a statement and then it says that he ascends into the clouds. And I don't know how that works other than Woo. That's the only way it works. And that's what this text is talking about, that he is the, he's going, he's ascending. The cloud rioting. The kingdom receiving the serpent crushing son of man. And you're like, what does this have to do with Christmas? It's because that one, the one who's gonna receive glory and dominion in every kingdom and universal rain first came as a baby, and that's what we're celebrating this Christmas. The before the fire of the throne room, he saw the straw of the man. Before the blazing glory, there's a quiet weakness about him being a little baby. Before the angels fill filled the skies, the shepherds were trembling in a field before he crushed the beast of this world. He fled from a beast named Herod who was trying to kill him, and before he wore a clap crown of glory, he made his way to a cross and wore a crown of thorns. Like this is what Christmas does, is ushers in this kingdom. The son of man enters the chaos with us before he ever conquers it. And that's good news for us because Jesus joins us in the middle. That's what Christmas means, is that in all the mentalness, like in all the brokenness, when when everything is trying to destroy us, Jesus enters into all of it before he brings it to an end. And this is just a reminder. Because we see this text and we're like, man, all this is going on. Like Jesus is up at the, at the, the throne, and he has received all these things, and it's a reminder. The reason why Jesus constantly says like, fix your eyes on me, is because the view from the throne is much different from the view from the sea. And the reason why we fix our eyes on Jesus is because he's the one who's in the throne room. He's the one who's seated at the right hand of God the father. He's the one who is going to rule all things. He's going to judge all things, and he's not pacing. He's not worried. He's never caught off guard. Therefore, fix your eyes on him like he can be trusted. He knows the end from the beginning. He's the one who's conquered death in your place. Christmas means that you can fix your eyes on him even in the middle. Lastly, and I'm in my seat, is that the way that we live in the middle is that we trust that tomorrow beats. Today, Daniel, he asks for understanding. If you look at verse 17, he says this, he says, the four great beasts are four kings who shall rise out of the earth, but the saints of the most high shall receive the kingdom. That's really important. If you underline things in your Bible, you should underline that the saints of the most highest shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever, and ever. That's good news for people like you and me, that the, the saints shall possess the kingdom forever. Forever and ever. The beasts represent these earthly kingdoms. They're powerful, but temporary. They rise, they rage, and then they fall. And then the saints. Of the most high will receive the kingdom. Notice that the Bible says in verse 18 that we receive the kingdom. We don't seize it. We don't fight for the kingdom. We don't try to earn our way to the kingdom. We receive the kingdom. And then you look in verse 22, and the Bible says, until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the most high, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Judgment was given for the saints. In other words, the verdict of heaven is in your favor. The judge, through all the of all, the earth is going to make a judgment, and the judgment is given for the saints to receive the kingdom. And then you look in verse 27, and the kingdom of the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high. His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominion shall serve and obey him. So what happens is that in verse 14, did you notice what happens in verse 14? Jesus. The son of man, he receives the kingdom, he receives everlasting reign. He receives it all, and then in verse 27, Jesus shares his kingdom with the saints. In other words, when Paul writes that word, joint errors with Christ, he wasn't making it up like we receive. Like what? The Son of man wins by dying for us and being risen from the dead. Like what he wins, his people will inherit. This is just the truth. Every earthly kingdom has an expiration date, is what we see in the text, but the kingdom of God does not. What that means is that when you inherit the kingdom of God, you are getting something eternal. This is why persecuted Christians cling to Daniel seven, not to escape their reality, but to endure it. Listen, church because like tomorrow is secure, today becomes survivable. I don't know what you're going through. I have, I have no idea for the most of you, but what I know for sure is that because tomorrow, and I'm not talking about tomorrow, like Monday, like Monday, I go to work tomorrow too. I don't really look forward to gonna work on Mondays. I, it's, you know, I'll sometimes get a bad case of the Mondays. It just happens. But what I know for sure is the ultimate tomorrow. Oh, it sure it's coming. It's secure. If tomorrow is glorious, that means today be, can become meaningful even in the midst of the brokenness of the world. If tomorrow is decided, today becomes hopeful. This is why knowing what's going to happen in the end should totally change the way that you live. You don't have to let your earthly troubles cause you to be anxious and worrisome and stressed all the time. You don't have to allow that. Why? Because tomorrow is coming. The son of man is going to come get his church like we are on the winning team and we win. Y'all are, do y'all watch the Rocky movies or have you guys watched the Rocky movies? I'm gonna spoil one of them if you've not watched it. By far it was. They were created before I was born, so I don't feel bad. Look Rocky four. Okay. Rocky four. He's fighting the big Russian. And the Russians kill the guy. Right. And he makes that statement. He says, if he dies, he dies. And Rocky, he begins, he begins getting ready to fight the Russian. And, and I remember watching the movie for, for the first time, probably before I was supposed to be watching movies like that. And I remember watching for it and I was worried it that Rocky was gonna lose. Like I was nervous. Have you seen how big the Russian was? Big dude. Rocky, not so big, right? Russian killed the guy. I never watched Ro Rocky kill a guy. Like it all seemed like Rocky was going to to lose. What happens is that Rocky injures Ivan in the second round, but the fight keeps going and it looks like Rocky's going to lose, but he finally wins in the 15th round. Incredible. Do you know that I watched that movie? Totally different now than I did the first time I watched it. Why? Because I know the end. Like I'm not worried, like, okay, he killed Apollo, but that's Apollo. That's not Rocky. Like, okay. Yeah, he's a big guy, but I'm not worried. It's all right. Have you seen Rocky? I mean, Rocky's been through like eight movies and hasn't gotten beat yet. Like he hasn't died yet. He's gonna win. The same thing is true. Like church, we know the end. It may seem like we're losing this round, but God's going to win in the end. And in verse 28, it's really interesting. Daniel was pale and shaken. He says, here's the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts are, are greatly alarmed me and my color changed and I kept the matter in my heart. He kept the vision in his heart. He, it didn't remove his problems, but it reframed them the promise of. The Church of God winning in the end will not remove all of your problems, but it should reframe them. It anchored him. In church, we're living in the same story. The beast still rage. You're still gonna be worn out. You'll still feel worn out. The world still feels chaotic, but the good news is that the ancient of days is still sitting on the throne. The son of man still holds the kingdom and his people will reign with him forever. And Christmas is our annual reminder of that. The baby born in Bethlehem and is the king in Daniel seven. The, the child in the manger is the one who rides on the clouds. The one who cried in weakness will one day return in glory, and the one who came in humility will come again in majesty, and he invites you into that kingdom. But notice in the text, and this is something you have to understand about the gospel. Is that the kingdom of God is received. It's not earned. We don't earn the kingdom of God, we receive it. You have to understand this about the gospel for so many of you. What you know about religion is that you have to do a bunch of things so that God is happy with you. That there's a checklist and some, your checklist might be different than someone else's checklist. And you have to do all these things. You have to look the right way and talk the right way, and act the right way, and wear the right clothes, and, and you have to do all these things. And if you do that, then God will be happy with you and he might let you into the kingdom of God. But I want you to understand, like all throughout the Bible, even in the Old Testament here in our text, the the Kingdom of God, the way into the family of God. It is not through earning it. It's not through trying to muster up enough religious works. It's not through trying to to make sure that you're better than the person next to you. That's not the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel of Jesus Christ is that God knew that you would never do enough, that God knew that you could never. Work up enough good works to be in right standing with him. So therefore, Christmas came that Jesus came knowing that you would mess up. Some of you are so beat up by your own sin that you're failing to rest in the grace of God. Like the cross of Jesus Christ knew that you were gonna mess up the cross of Jesus Christ. Screams like, I knew you were gonna blow it. I knew you were gonna mess it up, but he came anyways. And your sin has not caught him off guard. In fact, he knew all about it. That's why he showed up. And what he says is that if you repent of your sin, so repentance is not merely, merely thinking that your sin is bad. Now repentance is turning away from it like it's a volition thing. I'm gonna turn, I'm gonna stop looking at my sin and chasing after it, and I'm gonna turn from that and I'm gonna chase after God. The Bible says that if you to do that and you trust in him. Then he will adopt you into the family of God. He'll, I mean, you'll go from saved or from lost to saved. You'll go from spiritually dead to spiritually alive and you don't have to earn it. See the gospel, salvation is something that is received. It's not earned. And tho, as long as you think that the gospel is something that is earned. You'll be beat down by religion and you'll never have the right relationship with God. And so I'm gonna invite you to bow your heads with me. And I want all of us just to kind of, just to allow the, the spirit of God to, to do a work in us. Some of you this morning, you were in a moment where might be the first time that you've recognized that this, that the kingdom of God, being a part of God's family is not something that you have to earn, and that's kept you away from church and church people for a really long time because you think that you've had to earn it. And I just wanna tell you that you don't have to earn it today. That is the son has received the kingdom. He shares it with you when you put your trust in him, that the saints receive the kingdom of God. If you need to be saved today, I'm, I'm going to invite you. To pray a prayer from the depth of your heart. Just communicate with God what's going on in your heart. Pray something like this. Put it in your own words. God, I know you sent your son to die for me in my sin. God, I know that you sent your son to, to rescue me outta the brokenness that I found myself in, and I know he rose from the dead victorious. And God, I'm trusting you today for my salvation. I'm gonna follow you all the days of my life. If you pray that prayer, I'd love to talk with you just after the service about your next steps in following Jesus. There's no shame in it. There's no anything like that, like people celebrate me. For everyone else, like I'm gonna pray that the spirit will convict our hearts where we're not trusting in God in the middle, where we're not fixing our eyes on God. As we're trying to navigate this broken world, and some of you, you can't stop looking at all the vice that you have found yourself addicted to. Some of you. You can't stop just worrying about things you can't control, and you think that this life is all that there is. Like, I'm gonna pray that the spirit will convict your heart, that you'll fix your eyes on God, and you'll live with great hope because he really does rule the nations. So Father, I pray right now that your spirit will convict all of our hearts. God, where are we trusting in things in this broken world that will lead us astray? God, where are we? Who are we trusting in? When we're being worn out from the beast of this world, God, I pray that your spirit will convict us and that we will repent of trusting in anything other than you and God, that we will fix our eyes on you. Above all else, in Christ's name, amen. Let's stand and worship.