Sermon Transcript

All right, we’re going to do things a little bit differently. Truth is, I’m buying an extra 40 minutes to heat that water tank. So we’re going to do our sermon first, okay? And if you, I don’t, so just a quick reminder, we are following through with our sermon leaflet today.

What? Oh, sorry, it is time for children’s Bible class. Everybody’s thrown off. I was wondering why Jill was looking at me with a furrowed brow. Time for children’s class. Warren, Sammy. Okay, go on, Sammy. All right. Way to go, dude. All right. I love this Church, and I love children. Okay. The Lord is good, amen?

All right. So today we’re doing something a little bit different. We’re going to do our sermon first, and then we’re going to sing some more hymns to bide us some time to prepare ourselves clothing-wise for the baptism that we’ll do at the end of this service. So today, Church, we are reading from Romans 6. Go ahead and make your way over to Romans 6. Week in, week out, we are in the… Normally, we are in the sermon series, Who is Jesus and What Does He Want? Today, we’re taking a break. We’re going to jump into Romans 6 because I want our Church to have a nice reminder of what baptism represents. This will not be a long sermon, but it will be a weighty sermon.

You see, we’ve been enjoying the beautiful attributes of narrative in the Gospels. You know, we get a storyline with main characters and plots and struggles and resolutions, all the great things of great stories. And today, we get to jump into Paul’s treatise on the Gospel. And it feels very different from a Gospel narrative. So it’s going to be shorter, but it will require the gears in your head to be turned at full blast. So, Church, will you rise with me as we read Romans 6:1-14?

What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace. (Romans 6:1–14, CSB)

This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated.

Heavenly Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus, and I ask that You would please take this service and make Yourself known today. Oh Lord, give us the peace that is needed to know that Christ has paid for all of the sin that we have committed as we receive Your words of encouragement that we have been raised to new life for those of us who are in Jesus. Father, I ask that You would open our eyes to see and our ears to hear, and that we would have the word of God truly mold us into righteous ambassadors that are weapons for Your mission in Your kingdom as You are transforming this world, the place it shall be for eternity when You reign here as our King. Jesus, I pray that You help me to take a back seat, for me to disappear as Your word rings true. Jesus, come. Help me to focus fully and completely. And I pray that You would please bless everyone here with an attention span to make it through this beautiful text that You have given us. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

We Ought to Reckon Ourselves Liberated from Sin’s Tyranny for Service to God as a Vessel of Righteousness

The book of Romans is a letter that was written by Paul as he was on his way to do a mission trip to Spain. And he needed to rally a bunch of funds. But you see, the funds that he wants to rally for this mission trip, this fundraising, he needed to raise funds from a Church that is currently in a schism and between Jews and non-Jews. You see, there was a point in Roman history where the Roman emperor was getting fed up with the Jewish people who were there.

This is in part due to the zealot groups, which you might remember from our Galatians Bible study. One of Jesus’ 12 disciples was a zealot. These were people who were so sick and tired of outsiders like the Romans telling the Jewish people what to do, they decided to take things into their own hands, and they would grab a dagger, and they were known for using daggers, and they would either slaughter Romans or Roman sympathizers. They were Jewish mercenaries.

Now you see, the Roman emperor gets sick and tired of the upheaval and the unrest, the political unrest in Rome, so he decides to expel all the Jewish people from Rome. But when the Jewish people were expelled from Rome for this season, you see, the Jewish Christians had been in the churches for some time. And the Jews and the Gentiles were at peace with one another for a while, but you see, the Jews were the ones who were running the Church for a long time, for a few years. So they were doing things that looked very Jewish in these Roman churches. But when the Jews were expelled from Rome, the Jewish Christians went with them because the Roman government didn’t have a category for non-Jewish Christians and Jewish Christians. They just looked at Jews, much like Hitler, and gave them the boot. So these Jewish Christians, they wind up leaving Rome. And guess who was running the churches this whole time? Non-Jews. So things in the churches start to transform. Like, now they’re eating, some of them are eating meat that was sacrificed to idols. Some of them are no longer celebrating the same calendar holidays, like Passover. There are other traditions that are going by the wayside because the Jewish brothers were removed from the Church in Rome.

But it didn’t last forever. Eventually, their exile from Rome ends, and they return. And when they return, the Jewish brothers and sisters are in the churches, and they’re like, what has happened? This is not the way we saw things when we were here a few years ago. And now they’re fighting because the Gentiles, the non-Jews who were there, they had been running the show. But the Jews are thinking they’re going to be returning, and they’re not agreeing on everything. So what is Paul doing in his letter? Paul wants to unite this Church under the gospel. He is setting out for them what Jesus has done and accomplished so that he can bring them back together as a Church. And he unites them with these beautiful doctrines like propitiation. Propitiation is the doctrine that we have a sacrifice that is killed on our behalf to take away God’s wrathful anger against our sin. Well, in Romans, Paul tells us that Jesus is the propitiation.

Paul wants to unite the Church by first reminding them in Romans 1. He says, look, all of you are sinners. I don’t care who you think you are. I don’t care if you think that you’re more righteous because your people had Moses and the prophets. He says, even if you had Moses and the prophets, you’re still a sinner. Romans 1 really lays out the whole idea that every single person is a sinner. There is no one who is clean. So even if you think that you are a good person, I assure you, you are not. If you think you’re a good person, then I recommend that you read Romans 1 because a good person is someone who never thinks a bad thought. Vileness, vile language, vile thoughts, hatred, anger, impatience, none of it exists in you. That’s a good person in God’s eyes. But instead, in God’s eyes, Paul says, “Guess what? I don’t care if you’re a Jew. I don’t care if you’re a Gentile. All of you deserve to be condemned. Every single one of you.” We see that in Romans 2. God has a righteous judgment. In Romans 2, he also shows us that everybody has disobeyed God’s law. That’s the Jew people too who are now like judging the Gentiles when they come back. They’re like, “You’re not following the law.” Paul is reminding them, “Neither are you.”

And then in Romans 3, we begin to see this beautiful idea that God is now declaring people righteous not because of their deeds. People are good, but not because of what they do. They are good only because they are righteous through faith. In Romans 3:21, we read,

But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. (Romans 3:21–22, CSB)

In other words, he’s telling you, “I don’t care if you’re a Jew, I don’t care if you’re a Gentile, if you have faith in Christ Jesus, in God’s eyes, you are declared righteous.” But if you are not in Christ Jesus, Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And what is your recompense? In Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death.” But for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, we are declared righteous.

So Paul, in the book of Romans, erases the distinction between Jew and Gentile. And he’s uniting them through this beautiful reality that we can be declared righteous as one people group under a shared King. And that King is Jesus.

Now, Church, in Romans 6, we are going to get to see the beautiful reality of what baptism points us to. It points us to a very important call. But the first thing that I want you to remember is that the main point of today’s sermon is that we ought to consider or reckon ourselves to be liberated from sin’s tyranny. And not just liberated from sin’s tyranny, but we are called to be God’s vessel of righteousness. And by vessel, I mean a weapon.

1. Consider Ourselves Liberated from Sin’s Tyranny (Romans 6:11a)

So, the first point for you in your sheet with your blanks is to consider ourselves liberated from sin’s tyranny. Look at Romans 6:11, “So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin.” What does he mean by “dead to sin?” It meant that we were enslaved to sin. This is why I say you must consider yourself dead to the tyranny of sin. What do tyrants do? They force you to labor under their will and their commission without a care for who you are or how much it is costing you. And in Romans 6, Paul is personifying this entity we call sin, and it is a ruthless slave driver. It does not care for you. It only seeks to wear you to the bone, and it will destroy your soul for eternity. And do not think that if you go to hell, you stop sinning there as well. The torment of this slave driver will tear you down for all eternity if you are not enjoined to Christ Jesus.

a. The Tyranny of Sin Meant That We Were Enslaved to Sin (Romans 6:6), Our Former King (Romans 6:12) and Lord (Romans 6:14)

The tyranny of sin meant that we were enslaved to sin, which was our former king and lord. Now, where do we see the word king here? This word king is seen in Romans 6:12. He says, “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body.” You see, apart from Christ, sin reigns within us. And this word in Greek is the same word from which the word king comes. So Paul is saying, “Do not let sin be your king.” Because in your mortal body, apart from Christ, that’s exactly what it was.

The next one is “the lord who ruled over us.” Look at Romans 6:14: “For sin will not rule over you.” This is the word —the same word from which we get the Greek word “Lord.” So, the sin that was in us, apart from Jesus, was our lord. Church, without Jesus, sin is your lord and king. And He is a ruthless slave driver, and you will obey him.

You see, this is why Jesus could look at the Jewish leaders in the Gospel of John, and He said, “Your will is to do the will of your Father, who is a murderer. That’s why you seek to kill Me.” (John 8:44, paraphrased) Every slave driver has a master, and sin’s slave master is Satan himself. Without Christ Jesus, you will never desire to do the righteousness of God. You will never desire God, unless God works a miracle in your heart.

So when my children mess up and they sin, and they say, “I just can’t help it, Daddy, she just gets on my nerves.” You don’t look at your kids and say, “Well, you’ve got to try.” Because I’m telling you now, sin will not let you. The only thing that will stop you from sinning is if Jesus sets you free from that master. So, parents, what do you tell your children when they say, “I just can’t help it”? You say, “You’re right, you cannot. And neither could I. That’s why we need to plead with Jesus to set us free.”

b. This Means We No Longer Let Sin Control Our Bodies to Do Sinful Things (Romans 6:12-13a)

All right, the next point in your bulletin. The reason we must consider ourselves liberated from sin’s tyranny is that this is how we no longer let sin control our bodies to do sinful things. Church, if I tell you, “you can fly,” what should you try and do? Well, you can either believe me and actually try and fly, or you can just stay grounded and never do anything. Well, sometimes when we tell you, “you are freed from the grips of sin,” you act like I’m telling you to jump off a cliff and fly. But you are free from sin if you are in Christ Jesus. So live like it. That’s what Paul is saying.

Jesus has purchased for you wings of righteousness. You do not have to be addicted to pornography, to alcohol, to lust, to lying, to cheating, to stealing. Because if you are in Christ Jesus, He has broken that for you. And you are free. Do you believe it? Jesus has broken your tongue of crassness. He has broken your addiction to impatience. Perhaps you like to fly a special bird when you’re on the road. Jesus has broken your addiction to saluting that flag. Jesus has given you a new master if you are in Christ Jesus. And Paul wants you to know that you must consider yourselves dead to sin, because that is how you are able to use the power that Jesus has given you. Jesus has given you the power to live a life of righteousness, but you can only have that power if you truly believe it. Therefore, reckon yourself to be freed from sin.

This is clear in Romans 6:12-13. “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires.” You see, sin will be there on this side of our resurrection. And it will still be barking orders at you. It will tell you, “take another look, men.” Women, it will tell you, “well, if you only married so-and-so back in high school, maybe you wouldn’t be in this problem.” Sin will be barking orders. And if you forget that it is no longer your master, you might be tempted to obey sin. So you tell sin to “shut up.” You tell sin to shut up and sit down where it belongs, because it has died.

And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. (Romans 6:13, CSB)

Church, look at me. Pornography is killing the Great Commission. I have had missionaries who want to leave and go abroad, and they have sought this Church for help financially. And every time a missionary prospect comes to me and asks for money, I ask them, my first question is, “Do you struggle with pornography?” Because we do not want to send people on the mission field who have not yet broken the addiction to sin. If you want to preach that Christ is risen and there is new life in Jesus, then you have to live like it.

Church, this is an epidemic. I found out from someone that 80% of applicants to the International Mission Board, 80% of people who are applying to our SBC, thousands of people, 80% of them, their application is either stopped or slowed when they are asked, “Do you use pornography?” It is killing us from saving people from the pits of damnation because we do not believe that Jesus has set us free. You are free from sin. So when it barks an order, you tell it, “Not today, Satan,” because Jesus has given me new life.

Now, our body is meant to be a weapon in a battle. We are always in a battle. The weapons of darkness are seen in Romans 13:13:

Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. (CSB)

Church, Jesus drank wine, but what He didn’t do was carouse and get drunk, right? Why is that okay among Christians? I’m not talking about banning all alcohol, but why are so many Christians just okay with getting wasted like it’s a high time? This is an instrument of the enemy. Peter says:

Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. (1 Peter 5:8, CSB)

 If you are carousing in drunkenness, the enemy is wetting his teeth with saliva to swallow you.

Promiscuity. Why are we okay with cohabitation? Why are we okay with quarreling and jealousy? It is because we have forgotten that Jesus has set us free. Jesus has set us free.

c. Because We Were Baptized into Christ’s Death (Romans 6:3-4)

[A]ll of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death…[you] were buried with him by baptism into death (Romans 6:3–4, CSB)

d. Sin Died When We Died (Romans 6:6-7)

Church, the next point is, when we died, our enslavement to sin’s power over our lives also died. Or, to put it another way as on your bulletin, sin died when we died.

[O]ur old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin. (Romans 6:6–7, CSB)

This is possible because God condemned sin.

[God] condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, (Romans 8:3, CSB)

Jesus came, He took on all the sin that we committed, and it was put on His body, and then God destroyed the body of His Son. That is what it means when we say “He is our propitiation.” He absorbed the wrath of God. Every time we do something sinful, you just remember that the thing you did was paid for on the cross by the God who loves you. Nothing we do is free. Either we pay for it or He paid for it. Let that motivate you to remember that you have been set free from sin.

So that is the first part. Baptism symbolizes our call to consider ourselves liberated from the tyrannical grips of sin as the Lord of our lives.

2. Consider Ourselves Alive to God to Serve Him with Our New Lives of Righteousness (Romans 6:11b)

But baptism points to another half of our call. The sibling of liberty is service, right? Therefore, baptism symbolizes our call, Church, in your bulletin, baptism symbolizes our call to consider ourselves alive to God, to serve Him with our new lives of righteousness. This comes from Romans 6:11: “[C]onsider yourselves…alive to God in Christ Jesus” (CSB). Church, this means that we present ourselves to God as servants resurrected from death. You have been raised, if you have been baptized with Christ, you died with Him, but you are resurrected to a new life.

Church, this is something that really struck me, because this is how we oftentimes treat getting baptized and coming to faith. We like to say, “Okay, let the old me die, and then I’m a new person.” We say that, we affirm that. “I’m a new creature in Christ,” but we just like to punt the football and wait and see what happens. But you see, when you come to Jesus and you give your life to Jesus, you have to make an intentional decision to serve Jesus. If you have been baptized and you have given yourself to Jesus and you have done nothing with it, you do not know Jesus. Because when Jesus bids a man to salvation, He bids him to come and die to himself, to pick up his cross, and to serve Him until the day he meets the Savior that died for him.

So, when we are born to new life and resurrected, we are born to a life of service, and we must consider ourselves alive. Does that mean that you have to go and work in the children’s Bible classroom every Sunday? It does not. Does that mean that you have to push a vacuum cleaner at Church? It does not, though we would greatly appreciate it. Does that mean that you have to do everything that you see other people doing in this Church? No, in fact, Jesus Christ has knitted you in such a fantastic way that He has called you to do something that nobody else in this room can do. Do I know what that is? I do not. But if you get on your knees and you seek the Lord and you ask Him, “Jesus, what have You made me for? Why did You save me? What did You want me to do? How do You want me to do it?” I bet you everything I’ve got that Jesus will give you that answer. Do you? In fact, if you do not know what the Lord wants you to do, I’m almost certain it is because you have not sought Him for that answer. Am I wrong?

All right. So let’s seek the Lord. Find out what He made you for. Because you have been called to a life of service. My seven-year-old gets this. She knows that her ultimate purpose is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. My seven-year-old goes to the store. “Hey, how are you? You a Christian?” You think I’m lying? If you want to see how fast your cheeks turn red, you can take my seven-year-old on a shopping spree. She will love you and make you blush at the same time, every time. Because Emma loves Jesus. And she knows that her Savior has called her to a mission. But that’s also because she’s got a daddy that has told her that. She’s got a daddy and a mama that shows her that in the Bible. You see, this is why it’s so important, Church, to make disciples in the Church. This doesn’t happen by accident. This is a purpose. And you have to purposefully decide to follow through with the Lord’s commission.

All right, let’s speed this up. Giving ourselves as weapons of righteousness is possible because when Christ was resurrected, after having died with Him, we were raised to a new life.

a. Christ’s Resurrection Means We Are Raised to New Life (Romans 6:4)

To put it another way, as in your bulletin, and to shorten it for the white space, Christ’s resurrection means we are raised to new life. What is this new life? This is a new life in the Holy Spirit.

Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you. (Romans 8:10–11, CSB)

You have the Spirit of God in you, Church, if you are united with Christ. Don’t believe me? Check this out. “For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons” (Romans 8:14, CSB). This is the second greatest part of being baptized into Christ’s death: when we are resurrected to new life, we are given the Spirit of God, making us sons of God.

As Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8) Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called what? Amen, sons of God. That’s right, children of God. We are God’s children and we are peacemakers. We are pure in heart. We hunger and thirst for righteousness. We are merciful. Why? Because God’s Spirit dwells within us if you are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:14-17 I’m going to finally read it without stopping.

For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:14–17, CSB)

We are co-heirs with Christ, if indeed—this is the important part, Church, especially in America, because it’s coming—if indeed we suffer with Him. Being a Christian, I had to look at my daughter, my seven-year-old daughter. She said she wants to be baptized. And I look at her as I will look at every person who says they want to be a Christian and follow Him and be baptized. I say, “Do you realize the world will hate you because it hated your Savior first? Do you still want to be baptized?” And the answer must be a resounding “yes” because we are co-heirs with Christ. The end of Romans 8:17 says that we will also be glorified with Him.

b. This Also Means That We Can Serve Him with a Hope of a Future Resurrection (Romans 6:5)

Now, Church, last point. This means all of this. Baptism points to our call to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive in Christ. And with that call comes this beautiful recognition that we serve Him with a hope of a future resurrection.

Okay, remember this illustration I gave you earlier about where I said, “If I told you you have wings, you can fly.” And I said, “jump,” right? And of course, nobody’s going to jump. One, we don’t believe sinners when they tell you you can fly. If you do, you really need to see a doctor. But secondly, the other thing is, Church, we need to be Christians as though we can fly and not care if we die. Trust me. It’s a beautiful thing. Serve the Lord with reckless abandon. That is the point of your hope of a future resurrection. Because Jesus was resurrected, you can go into the lion’s den. And you don’t enter the lion’s den thinking, “Oh, those lions aren’t going to eat me.” The point is, if they do eat you, you are resurrected.

When Jesus was trying to sleep on the boat and the waves were getting all crazy and wonky and it looked like they’re going to die, they woke up Jesus, and they said, “Don’t you care we’re going to die, Jesus?” He says, “Oh, you have little faith” (Matthew 8:26). Why? Was Jesus saying they have little faith because they could have calmed the storm? No. He was saying they had little faith because even if they died, they were still going to be with the Lord.

We can be in dangerous places for Jesus and not care. Now, men, you have a job to take care of your family. Does that mean that the Lord will never call you to go into dangerous places with your family? No, it does not. But I understand the difference between me as a single guy going into a dangerous area versus a man leading his whole family to go into a dangerous area. There is a difference there. But as believers, we must not be afraid to love people the way God loves them with reckless abandon. That’s what you do with your future hope of resurrection.

1 Corinthians 6:14, “God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power” (CSB). Romans 8:5, “For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit” (CSB). 1 Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” (CSB). Church, this is what Paul meant by, inPhilippians 1:21, “To live is Christ and die is gain.”

If you are alive on this earth, it is meant to serve Christ. If you die on this earth, you get Christ. Church, as a Christian, there is no losing for you. So why are you afraid to make disciples? Everything is a win. There is nothing that can happen to you that will kill you because you are resurrected with Christ Jesus.

But the key, and this is our conclusion, Church, the key here is Romans 6:11. Three words—: “In Christ Jesus.” Without these three words, this entire sermon is garbage. “In Christ Jesus.” The whole reason why you can consider yourself dead to sin and alive to serve God as a vessel or a weapon of righteousness is because you are in Christ Jesus. If you are not in Christ Jesus, take everything I have said today and throw it away, because what you need to know is that you must be united with Jesus first. You are still in your sin and the wrath of God is still on you, John 3:36. And what I want you to know is if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you can be saved (Romans 10:9). You will be united with Jesus.

You must recognize that your nature, you are a slave to sin, and God is a holy God. We live in a world that does not like to talk about Jesus being the God of wrath, but Church, Jesus is coming back and He’s going to judge all sin. If you read the book of Revelation, Jesus comes back with a sword in His mouth (Rev 19:15). Why? Because He is going to judge everything done wrong that was not paid for by His blood. Isaiah 13:11, “I will punish the world for its evil and wicked people for their iniquities” (CSB). We all agree, we prefer the God of compassion, love, and grace. And that is exactly who He is, but He is also a God of justice. And Jesus is the sweet answer to that tension between love and justice. Because in Jesus, God punishes sin and gives us grace. No other religion on earth can answer how God can be loving and just at the same time. But Jesus is that answer. If you enjoin yourself to Christ, then He will pay your debt for you.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24, CSB)

This is the good news, Church. So consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ as servants of righteousness.

Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, I thank You for being our God of love, our compassionate God, who tenderly drives us to Your mercy seat. I pray, Lord, that You help everyone in this room to consider themselves dead to sin and alive to Christ for service. For those who do not know how the Lord is wanting to use them, I pray that You would remind them this week to get on their knees and to pray and ask You for direction. How can they serve You even in any stance of life or level of handicap or age? I know You desire to use them. That’s why they’re still on earth. So please, Lord, speak to Your people. Start a revival in the bones of Your soldiers here in Wake Forest. And help us to be bold, galvanized ambassadors for our Master. In Jesus’ name, amen.