What He Wants and How He Feels — Mark 11

0:15 Morning. I'm just going to indulge myself here for a second, if you don't mind. Here we are at Westlake. Bible fellowship, Westlake, Cleveland, Ohio. Thank you.

0:42 Turn around and get a selfie. I like to keep a video record. Pardon? You should turn around and get a selfie. Oh, I know that I'm here.

0:52 Because I was remarking to brother Bingham between meetings. We're trying to determine what year I first came here from Erie to speak at Westlake. It was in a school and we kinda narrowed it down. We couldn't get exactly the the year, somewhere between 1974 and 1978. More than Justin, Miranda, nice to see you both.

1:20 So it's been a few years that I've been coming here. And it's because I have so many faces I don't recognize. Now, it could be because I've never met you before. It could be because my eye vision is bad. It could be because you've changed your appearance because you've grown older as well.

1:42 Nevertheless, it's nice to meet you all that I haven't met before and it's certainly great to be here. My portion is Mark 11. So if you can turn in your Bibles to Mark's gospel chapter 11 and I must say December 29, I was here and it was Mark nine. Alright, the Mount Of Transfiguration. So that's roughly nine weeks ago that I was here last, and it seems like you've gone through a chapter and a half.

2:18 So that's some good teaching. I would not find that not good. I would find that good to take your time. Trevor, nice to see you. And Abbe, how nice.

2:49 I have at times found it fun to take an app in my phone or my iPad or my Mac called iMovie and take video clips like the one I just took and put them together. And a segment of this video connected to a segment of this video connected to a segment and to kind of like make a movie, but crimping out things you don't want, angles you don't want, certain things you do want, and I make these little movies. There are times when I do that with scripture. In my mind, I like to see the video in order. I know there's chronological Bibles.

3:41 They put the bible in order, but they don't put it in order necessarily by the sequence of the comments or events as much as this chapter follows this chapter follows this chapter. And when you read the gospels, I'm sure you find, as I do, that it's hard to put everything in order. Now, there's three gospels that have a lot of harmony to it, and then there's John's gospel, which seemingly doesn't, Just fine. All views of Christ maybe if you would but from different points of view. Same event, different angle.

4:23 Alright? As if we took a video of this event that I just took of your front view and somebody came in the back door like Karen and Scott, they took a video, they would see a whole different side of you. But it would still be you. It wouldn't be less of you. It would be the back of you.

4:42 Or a different view of you. And sometimes that's how the gospels are for me. This is a view of Christ that I don't usually consider in this account. Therefore, I find it at times not only helpful but necessary to get the whole view. Mark's gospel, believe it or not, even though it took you nine weeks to get a chapter and a half done.

5:10 I don't know who the speakers were before me, but praise the Lord they were thorough. Let's say that, they were very thorough. Laboring the necessary points, that's what matters. Not to the point where Christ would say, but you've ignored the weightier matters. I wouldn't say that, but it's important that we get it all.

5:31 That much we take from his comment there to the Pharisees. I've prepared a video not to watch, but to hear or to read, follow along with me since you all have Bibles of Mark 11. That means I've taken clips of the other gospels, and I put them in where I think they belong. Let me say that again, where I think they belong. You might not think they belong there.

6:03 I'm okay with that? When it's your turn to speak, you put them in the order you want or you think it's important. I'm okay with that. Alright. I'm okay with a slight disagreement that I would think he said that here and didn't say that here, and that happened here and didn't happen here where you've got it.

6:21 Okay? Are you with me? Okay. Very good. Let's pray.

6:40 We will make no progress as he's intended from gathering for the purpose of instruction from his word unless he goes to work now in each of our hearts. You'll make no progress in your faith, and your discipleship, and your love for Christ will not be advanced one bit except that he would come in our midst now, manifest himself to each one of us. So, we might receive his word for what it is. The word of god, not the word of men. So, let's pray to that end.

7:24 Father, we thank you for your son. We thank you that we can be gathered to him and to him alone. Now, we need no other mediator. That we don't need another man. That we trust the Lord Jesus to speak to each one of us.

7:41 He's gathered us. We believe for the purpose of being our head. We are but members of his body. Members in particular, Members with function, with role, with gifts, Lord. That we come under his command and pray that as we open your word, more importantly, your spirit would open our hearts to the things that you've said, details that you've written down for our learning details, lord, that would increase our faith and our love and our motivation to follow after him, the lord Jesus Christ.

8:19 And thus, we commit our time and ourselves into your hands. In his precious name, the lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Mark 11 then. Chapter one Or sorry, chapter 11.

8:56 There's no grammar in Chinese. But a simple question. What do you think Jesus Christ wants to do with you this morning? What does he want to do? What does he want to do?

9:15 What does he have any expectations? We gather to him believing his great promise. Does he have any expectations? A view. I don't want you to think about the whole assembly.

9:35 We'll get to that at the end of the message. Watch just this video clip for a second. Christ comes to meet with us. Now, I'm not talking about a theological point. I don't want to have that argument with anybody about whether he really gathers with his people or not.

10:02 I don't wanna have that argument. I know that that point has been pretty much dismissed. That his presence is ignored. He has real no expectations of what to expect when he walks in amongst us. He doesn't know what we're...

10:30 Because, for the most part, I think you would agree that he no longer is the most important person when we gather. We all are. We're the most important people in how we feel when we're here. How we're treated. If we feel respected.

10:53 If we feel loved. If we feel wanted, if we feel needed. And when we don't, we have good excuse not to be so full of joy that we heard this morning when we come. Because the way we feel. So, my initial question, What's his expectation?

11:21 How do you think Jesus Christ is going to feel being here today? No, I can tell you when I'm done how I feel. And I am willing to share with anybody how I felt at the Lord's Supper. I'm not really that important. I think overall the assemblies have lost a great simple truth.

11:50 It's more about how the Lord Jesus Christ feels. Now, we could just say, well, he's... Come on, dog. He... What?

11:59 He doesn't really he doesn't really what? He doesn't really care what we're doing, how we're doing it. Is that what we believe? That he's just a great big tolerant. He loves us so no matter what we do, he's gonna accommodate us.

12:20 That I think, unfortunately, is pretty predominant amongst Christians. He is so hugely understanding of my incredibly poor and wretched condition that no matter what I am, he just accepts me. Well, sound familiar? And we've presented Christ in a way that he is all accepting. No matter what we are or what we're doing or what we're thinking or how we're feeling and how much grudges we hold when we're not forgiving, whether we're angry, whether we're not, whether we're there, whether or not.

13:06 He really just doesn't care because he really has no expectation because he knows us all. We're all but us and he understands us all. Really. That's how you see the lord Jesus Christ meeting with his people. I'm sorry.

13:56 We're dying for our sin. That's what we deserve. I suggest you, very few Christians enter into that phrase. They never endure things because it's what they deserve because they're sinners. We get mad when we endure things on this planet because we're Christians.

14:17 Christians shouldn't endure. They should be blessed. Where's the sunshine? We never ask for rain. So, so many Christians, especially, I hate to say this, second, third generation Christians grow up not understanding the concept that eventually I'm going to be next to Christ and I'm going say, you know what?

14:39 I don't deserve to be on this cross either since you saved me. No, that man was given the greatest priestly comment you could hear. Today you'll be with me. When we transpire or when we leave this planet, you're gonna be with me. There's no greater act of priesthood than that.

14:55 You're gonna be with me, Jesus said to him. But what brought the man to that position was recognition of what he deserved. I deserve to die for my sins. And without that attitude, we have no appreciation for the Lord Jesus. We just don't.

15:14 We've lost appreciation for him. We lost a sense of even worrying about what he wants and how he feels. Most Christians don't gather with, I wonder how Christ feels about being here based on what we're doing and what we're thinking and what we're singing and how we're singing it and what we look like and how we're dressed and what time we come and what time we don't come. If we come and don't come. He doesn't care because he just Jesus Christ and he just doesn't care about things like that.

15:38 I'm sorry to tell you. I'm sorry to tell you if I'm the first one. Yes, he does. He cares about his people. He cares about when you come and when you don't come.

15:56 You're a member of his body. If the eye can't say to the hand, I don't need you, Can the eye say to itself, they don't need me? Either a member of the body of the Christ or you're not and if you're not a member, then you're not saved, then today may be the day of salvation for you. But if you are a member of the body of Christ, who has the right to say the body doesn't need me today, Christ can live without me? Of course he can, but it's never been his plan.

16:27 Every person he ever saved, he joined to his body. Every person ever saved, he joined to his body and gave a very particular role and function. And that's you. And that's me. We have to start caring about Jesus Christ.

16:45 We have to. We have to start caring about how he feels. We have to have some reverence for his opinion. He could go out and break out of bread and say, that was a great meeting. Did Jesus Christ go out and say, I enjoyed that.

17:07 I enjoyed that. You know he's described as a sweet savor, An offering sweet savor to God. Ephesians chapter two. And can you for a moment just leave the planet in your mind and keep your feet here, but in your mind, go into God's presence and listen to God breathe in. His son.

17:32 A savor is a smell. Not a thought, it's a smell. He's a sweet smelling savor as an offering to God. And when you show the Lord's death, can you just see the father saying, they're talking about my son. And we're great at explaining the death of Christ and why we gather the way we gather.

18:02 Unfortunately, it doesn't say explain the Lord's death till he come. That's the job of the evangelist. Do the work of an evangelist. The church's job when gathered the first day of the week by pattern was what? Proclaim the Lord's death.

18:17 Not a kid. Explain it. That's why our kids lose interest. They'd rather go listen to a drummer beat than listen to somebody re explain why we sing that song to that verse when that comes up. Because we just keep re explaining.

18:31 Where's the zeal to proclaim the Lord's death? Where is the excitement that comes from? Wow, first day of the week, I have another opportunity to gather to Him as head with the emblems to show His death. To show His death, to proclaim His death. Do you have anything better to talk about?

18:52 Oh, yeah, you do. Go out and tape yourselves while you're out there eating grapes. See what everybody's talking about. Forgive me. I've been coming here since 1975.

19:13 No? '76? In the school. Way back when you met with a school. Mark's gospel chapter 11.

19:55 Where? In Bethany, where they made him a supper. Martha served, Mary sat at his feet, and Lazarus sat at the table with him. A large crowd of Jews found out Jesus was there and came. Not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus whom he raised from the dead.

20:13 So, the chief priest made plans to kill Lazarus as well. For an account of him, many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him. Verse 12, and on the next day, Many people heard that they were coming to the feast when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. That's the day. First, we start with the day.

20:38 The next day, John's gospel says, the next day, after the washing of the feet, after, or the, excuse me, after she anointed his feet, after Lazarus sat at the table of John 12. Now verse one, and as they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethpage and Bethany. At the Mount Of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said, go to the village ahead of you. Just as you enter, you'll find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden on. Untie it and bring it here.

21:17 And if anyone asks you, verse three, why are you doing this? Say the Lord needs it and we'll send it back here shortly. This is what we call what? Who knows? What do we call this day?

21:29 Come on. Palm. It's not today, is it? It's four weeks from now. We're four weeks early.

21:40 Who scheduled the timing like this? Roger, where's Roger? Roger, what are you doing? We're four weeks... I'm okay with it, Roger.

21:47 I like this passage myself. Don't worry about it. Yes, we call this Palm Sunday. You're going to find a colt, untie, and bring it. It's going to be the foal of a colt of a donkey.

22:01 Nobody's ever rode on it. I want you to bring it to me but tell em we're when they ask you what you're doing, tell em the lord needs it and then we'll send it back when we're done. And here we read Matthew 21. This took place to fulfill what was spoken to the prophet. Verse five of Matthew 21, say to the daughter of Zion, see your king comes to general and riding on a donkey on an on a colt, the foal of a donkey, which is a reference found in Zechariah nine nine.

22:31 Rejoice greatly, daughter Zion. Shout, daughter of Jerusalem. Your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly, and riding on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a donkey. And there we intercede back to John 12 for a second. At first, his disciples didn't understand this.

22:51 His disciples have been following now for three years. They didn't understand all this. It was only after Jesus was glorified. Did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had to be done. Alright?

23:09 So, I only say that and add that point because all this is going on and you have these tremendously loyal followers of the lord Jesus Christ and guess what? They're confused. We don't get it. We don't get it. We don't get it.

23:27 We're followers, committed followers. But we don't get it. We don't understand what's happening. It doesn't make sense to us. So they went and found a colt outside in the street and tied at the doorway and they untied it.

23:42 Verse four of Mark 11. Sorry. And some people standing there asked, what are you doing? Untying the colt. And they answered verse six.

23:53 As Jesus had told them to the people. And the people let them go. And when they brought the coat to Jesus, they threw their cloaks over it and he sat on it. Back to John 12 for a second. They took palm branches and went out to meet him.

24:09 They took palm branches and went out to meet him. Shouting. Not the disciples, the crowd. When he was come near the place where the road goes down, the Mount Of Olives, Luke's gospel, many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they cut in the fields. Verse eight of Mark 11.

24:38 Now, we go back to John 12. The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave and raised him from the dead bear record. For this cause, the people also met him for they that heard that he had done this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said amongst themselves, don't you see how we prevail nothing? The world is going out after him.

25:02 In a verse from Luke 19, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God, loud voices for all the miracles they had seen. So you're talking about Jesus Christ who's moving from Bethany to the city. It was a day after the supper of John 12 that Jesus takes with him, sends the disciples, starts walking, go get the coat, the foal, the people that had come to see Jesus because Lazarus said, they start following him, They start shouting. And now he's walking towards the city. Now they're getting closer.

25:36 They're going down to Mount Of Olives, Southern Eastern Side Of Jerusalem, down to Mount Of Olives, down to the valley, down to the Brookhedron that he's going to cross over. And a whole crowd of disciples. Now, there's another group of people. There's those who came because of Lazarus. They're his disciples.

25:58 There's Pharisees there. There is his crowd now that comes praising God. Loud miracles because of the miracles they had seen. They went ahead, verse nine, and those who followed shouted, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

26:17 Quote from Psalm 118. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David. Hosanna in the highest, verse 10. Now we jump to Luke 19. Some of the pharisees in the crowd, now you know who the pharisees were.

26:34 The pharisees are hypocrites. Hypocrites. They're a sect of the Jewish people. Don't forget how they started. I told you last time I was here.

26:46 It started all the way back during the time of Ezra. When they had suffered so greatly that Ezra started, made everybody made a promise and commit themselves to obeying to the T, the letter of the law. To no more intermarrying. Unfortunately by the time we got the crisis, Pharisees were in charge of so much and they had become so hypocritical about really helping people understand God's law, God's wishes, God's demands, that they grew separate from everybody. Because you're this, we can't.

27:23 Because you're that, we can't. And they're hypocritical and they hate Christ. They've already seen how they said the whole world's going after them, we gotta do something. Well they hear this Hosanna singing, they hear this shouting, they hear this acclamation, they hear this praise, and what do they say? Verse 39 of Luke 19.

27:44 Rebuke your disciples, they say to Christ. And Jesus said, I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out. That's a famous verse. Everybody likes that verse. The stones will cry out.

27:56 They sing better than we sing maybe. I don't know if that's true or not. I think he could make them sing. I don't think they sing. I heard you singing this morning.

28:05 You did pretty good. Not bad for a handful of people from Cleveland. You sounded pretty good. I'm sure the Lord I'm sure the Lord enjoyed it. Because you sang from your heart.

28:23 It wasn't choir singing, was it? It's from the heart. Verse forty forty one of Luke 19. It's all the same video clip. I'm just taking you on a trip from Bethany the day after the feast of John twelve or the meal of John twelve and walking you on Palm Sunday all the way down to the Valley Of Kidron.

28:45 Now, he's down there. He's looking up and there's a city and on his right hand, there's the beautiful what if it's called the temple and then he's gotta go to and then up and you know, in verse 41 and as he got close to Jerusalem, he saw the city and he wept and he wept. He said, that's part of Palm Sunday most people don't get to. Why? Because they don't watch the video I just made them.

29:18 You see? The video. Take the whole picture in. Step up and take the whole picture in. Everybody clamoring.

29:25 Everybody happy. Everybody excited. Lazarus followers. Because of Lazarus we came because we saw you do this miracle. And we are shouting praise.

29:34 He had a wonderful miracle and people coming from the city because wow, this is great and it's just amazing. All that's going on. The whole city, Matthew says, was stirred. In the NIV, it says, but the real word is shaken. The word seismograph comes from the word.

29:58 The same word used in Hebrews about once more god will shake the world. They weren't stirred. We use that word a lot, stir us up. Usually to no effect. We don't need stirred, we need shaken.

30:17 It's illegal to shake a baby, you know that. Christians ain't shaking up. We need to get them to come to grips with this. And why would I want to include this on a Palm Sunday? And this isn't Palm Sunday, that's why I include it.

31:09 I'm going to ride a foal that nobody's ever been on And you're going to be so excited. Your your cloaks are coming off and they're going to put palms down and they're going to make a path for me. And when I get to that city, You think I'm shouting? You think Jesus Christ was shouting that he, oh, is the greatest day of my life. Everybody paying attention to me.

31:34 Everybody giving me their accolades. Everybody hands out, bouncing, having fun. He got to the city and he wept. Now we know he wept at Lazarus tomb. We know because it's the shortest verse in the bible, Jesus wept.

31:53 And you can think about all that weeping that Jesus did to Lazarus' tomb and you know for sure it had nothing to do with Lazarus. How could Jesus possibly weep for somebody he's gonna talk to in the next five minutes? He's weeping for Mary and Martha and for all the other grievers because of what death does to people. What death does to the survivors. And Jesus Christ could get just, these people who are so dear to him just drink in for a moment.

32:23 Wow, this has really impacted poor Martha and poor Mary. No matter what I say to Martha, she can't get it. Wow, death has such a grip and the fear of dying and fear of death has such a grip on people. No wonder he wept. Isn't Jesus Christ who, the writer of the Hebrews says, tasted every one of our deaths?

32:44 He not only tasted death for every man, he tasted every man's death. Now you're going to leave the planet someday. I don't know if it will be by the trumpet. I don't know if it'll be a personal home call. I don't know.

32:56 You might have a preference which you prefer. Alright? Which you would prefer. But I'm telling you the day you leave the planet, Jesus Christ tasted that death at Calvary. No, when Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem that day on that foal with all this hoopla around him, he wept.

33:15 He wept. Luke's gospel tells us. And you know perfectly well in just a couple days time because if this is really the first day of the week, and you know by Thursday, he's gonna go through the, and he's gonna be the, and while he's going to Calvary, he walks by people who are weeping for him. You remember that. And he says to them, don't weep for me.

33:44 You weep for yourselves and you weep for your children. Alright? Verse 42 of Mark Love or Luke's gospel 19. And he said to the city, like he was talking to a whole city, just standing at the valley, looking up at the whole city. If you had only known on this day what would bring you peace.

34:11 But now, it's hidden from your eyes. And the days will come when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. And keep in mind now that his historians of the day, Josephus being the major one, but others who described the siege of Jerusalem, that's gonna take place forty years after this week. Forty years after this week in Jesus' life. The Roman general Titus is going to have competition between his legions on who can build a section of a wall fastest.

34:50 Which should have taken months to do, they did it in three days. Because he had competition between legion twelve, legion five, legion ten, legion one. And so who can build it fastest? So up go these walls. And why do the walls go up?

35:04 To keep the Jews from leaving Jerusalem. And Titus' strategy was wait till Passover. Passover, this is Passover. This is Passover week on this day that we are reading. And Titus was smart enough to wait till Passover when all the Jews fled into the city.

35:19 Then we are going to surround them and we're gonna bring them into submission. We're gonna bring them into submission. AD seventy. Jesus Christ, on this day that he rode the donkey, told them exactly what was gonna happen to their city. Exactly to the tee, literally what the Romans did to them.

35:43 And then they built the battering rams, and they filled up the valleys, they cut trees down for 10 miles so they could use the wood, so nobody could sneak out. They had tunnels to juice to get out of the city, because now he's starving them all to death. You don't wanna surrender, I'm gonna starve you all to death. So much so that the women ate their own babies. Yeah, it was bad in Jerusalem.

36:05 And it wasn't because the Romans hated the Jews, because the Jews were seditious. They were fighting amongst themselves. And the Romans could no longer control the civil order of the city. They had to go in and take it. Ordered by the, at that time, emperor Vespasian.

36:23 Yeah, Titus had a strategy. You can read about it and Josephus wore the Jews chapter five or book five, chapter 12. Into the exact detail that Jesus then describes him in verse 44 of Luke 19, they will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another because you did not recognize the time of god's coming to you. And you know, later that same week, Jesus Christ sat with his disciples on the mount because every day he'd go to the city and every night he'd go out and he sat the mount and the disciples said to Jesus, look at the temple, isn't it beautiful?

37:22 Because they were allowed to spoil the country. They melted the walls so they could get the gold plating off the blocks. The whole city was shaken. And the crowds answered, this is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. In verse 11 of our chapter, Jesus entered Jerusalem.

37:51 That's Palm Sunday. Now, I don't know if you know Jesus that way. I don't know. I don't know if you like to think of them that way. The church historian, Sebius, writes this, and I quote, if anyone can compare the words of our savior with the word of other historians concerning this war that he described, how can one fail to wonder and to admit that the foreknowledge and prophecy of our savior was divine and marvelously strange concerning the calamities then that befell the whole Jewish nation after the savior's passion and after the words which the multitudes of the Jews uttered when they begged the release of a robber and a murderer and besought the Prince of Wight should be taken from their midst.

38:43 You see the sedition that happened in this city was led by robbers and murderers. And that's who Barabbas was. And this historian writes that Christ's words were so fitting because he knew that they were going to say, we have a custom. Every year, a Passover, you give us one one criminal. You release one to us.

39:06 And Pilate said, do you want Jesus? No. He's your king. We have no king but Caesar. These are Jews.

39:18 We'd rather have Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a thief and a robber. And it was his sect that grew up that brought all this war to them. And Josephus, whether you read him or not, I don't know, it's up to you. A Jew in a priestly line and a Pharisee.

39:44 But once he was captured because he was a general assigned to Galilee area, Vespasian, who was an emperor yet, flipped him and he became a Roman historian and a Roman... He was sent to talk to the Jews. They're your people. Go talk to them. But in his comments about how bad the city got, he said this.

40:07 In the fifth chapter of his book on the war of the Jews, and I quote, and here I cannot but speak my mind, And what the concern I am under dictates to me, and it is this, I suppose that had the Romans made any longer delay in coming against these villains, that the city would either have been swallowed up by the ground opening up to them, been overflowed by water, or else been destroyed by such sundor as the country of Sodom perished. For it had been brought forth a generation of men much more atheistical than were those that suffered such punishment for by their madness, it was all that people came to be destroyed. And Jesus said, if you only knew the day that God came to you. If you only knew. If you only knew.

41:43 But when you came, did you weep when you walked in? Instead to us all as a group, only individually, if you only knew who really Jesus is. And what's he really like? And what really does he expect from you as an individual? Revelry?

42:08 Recreation? Go do your thing and ask for his blessing? Dismissiveness, just push him away, despair. I mean, what really does he expect when he gathers with us? Does he have any emotion to be here?

42:22 Does he walk in like written in Hebrews two? These are the holy people, I'm not ashamed of them. Can you see him staying to his father? These are the people you gave me. I'm not ashamed of them, I'm glad to stand in their midst and declare you.

42:36 Lead the singing. He's the only song leader, of course, that there ever was, never were gonna be. He leads the song, Hebrews two says. Or would it be that he would stand outside before entering and weep because of the condition of our hearts and the condition of our experience or condition of our relationship and just say to us, if you only knew who I really was. I'm convinced and no doubt about it.

43:03 No doubt about it. Personally convinced the very first time I get the breath to say to Jesus Christ in person, when I'm there, however transported, whether physically or in the rapture, it won't matter, at some point I will have the courage to look up after how much of eternity I will be ashamed in his presence to say to him, I'm sorry Lord, I didn't realize you were that serious about your purposes. Convinced of it. That will be my first comment. And I'll move on from there.

43:43 He's that serious. This is Jesus Christ we're talking about. Jesus Christ we're talking about. The king of kings, not the president soon to be voted upon. This is the king of kings, Jesus Christ.

44:02 And I will ask you, do you honor his presence? Do you honor his presence with us? I know you got your own walk and you can go play golf and talk to him. I get that. Go in your closet.

44:16 Do your thing. I get that. But the uniqueness of gathering a body in a location called Westlake Bible Fellowship. Do you honor His presence? And does He enjoy being here with you because of it, the way you found to honor Him?

44:31 Let's close in prayer. I'll leave you with that question. I can keep going, of course, I can keep going, but I don't want to belabor the point. Lord Jesus, thank you for your grace, your forgiveness. We acknowledge our weakness, our frailty.

44:56 Lord, our paltry attempts to gather and to honor you. In these last days, Lord, we pray that you will strengthen that which remains. Lord, strengthen in us that which remains in a way that honors you and you only. We don't ask for honor for the meeting, for the building, for each other. We ask to find ways to honor you.

45:29 To that end, Lord Jesus, we commit ourselves. In Christ's name, amen.