8/5/2024 - Charles Zimmerman - Family Week 1

um our our speaker this week uh really needs no introduction at Harvey Cedars right we were talking after dinner like we were talking like 38 39 years right and neither one of us are really that old even really but um so I looked up online Charles you you got five stars right I I I looked you up online right the first thing I saw there was an obituary I go well that's not him because he's here right but but then I I saw you you have five stars online but but Charles is the uh the teaching Pastor there at Calvary Church Calvary Church has bringing had been bringing kids to Harvey Cedar since I was like a little kid right and so we have a long long relationship with Calvary Church and I just think of some of the staff members over the years that that have been here uh on staff from Calvary Church but uh let's give Charles a warm welcome he really doesn't need a great introduction but we're really glad that you're here with us Charles well thanks John a French vanilla latte that's embarrassing I know and he actually admits it right I'll get you one I'll get you one no as he was explaining I have these every every morning I go to Starbucks I have coffee at home I stop at Starbucks on the way inevitably while I'm waiting in line the orders are being placed I think these people are ordering dessert we need five pumps of this extra whipped cream on that oh but skim milk you put 15,000 calories in the cup but you can't have 10 extra calories from the whole milk well anyway it's great to be how many of you are glad to be here this week I am too I'm really glad to be here because I don't get too much respect at home at least at church let me explain to you one recent incident after the Sunday service I'm walking through the atrium I tend not to hang around real long if people want to talk then I'm leaving as I'm walking through the atrium to go to my office I hear Charles Charles and it turned around as a young woman and so she comes running Charles Charles I just want you to know I'm a hospice nurse and if you ever need help I'm there for you not only do they want to get rid of me they want me dead right when do you tell somebody you're a hospice nurse if they need you I I didn't take her phone number even though she wanted to give it to me well what I thought we would do this week is to look at some reminders and here's the reason why we need reminders so let me just H we're all among friends you can answer honestly when you arrived and started to unpack how many of you realized you forgot something coming yeah okay I remember once uh when I came um I pulled into the room I was unpacking I left all of my toiletries at home in the bathroom I had no razor toothbrush toothpaste soap nothing so I think all these little shops on the island kind of count on that as you run down and gather supplies I don't think I forgot anything yet I didn't bring sneaks but I should have brought those I think I have everything else but if you're like me you need reminders my phone buzzes they remind me in 15 minutes something's coming and my computer reminds me of that lots of dings and whistles any of you do to-do list uh I'm a to-do list guy right and it it's not that I I like making the list I like the satisfaction that comes when you cross that item out right and so I do have my uh calendar on the phone when I do that I'm actually in in this Century but I also have a daytimer because I like to-do lists and often the lists are longer than the blocks for the days and it just feels good when you cross the last one off for the day and you finished and you go home and you get a few more but usually I like to do this Crossing them off the reason is I need reminders and without the reminders I tend to forget well interestingly it's important to remember some things things around the house it's important to remember Supply coming in Harvey's seater it's important to but it's most important to remember things that God wants you to remember and if you're like me sometimes we forget now we're going to take all of our reminders this week from the book of Philippians now we're not going to look at all of the famous verses there but there are lots of famous well-known verses in Philippians so uh let let me show you what I mean uh with the first one and we're we're not doing this one this is kind of beside the point um no that wasn't the one I wanted is the one Saints and servants and Saints share Grace and peace right so let me read the first couple of verses and I'll tell you why why I put I put this one up there Paul writes Paul and Timothy Servants of Christ Jesus to All God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi together with the overseers and deacons Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ um now it is a bit of a cliche but if you've ever heard somebody tell someone how to give a speech or believe it or not I taught homiletics for like 30 years and it is a cliche but there's truth to it here's how a good Talk Works tell them what you're going to tell them tell them and then tell them what you told them that that that's pretty good advice right and so in the introduction you should be opening up the topic tell it tell them what you're going to tell them tell them in embody in a message and then summarize tell them what you told them lots of good messages work that way if you remember that cliche you have a pretty good way to look at most of Paul's letters so if you were to read the beginning of Paul's most of Paul's letters and the end in the beginning he tees up what he's going to tell them at the end he summarizes what he told them and in the middle he tells them and so the beginning right those first two verses here's what Paul says servants and Saints share Grace and peace that's what they do now I always find it interesting Paul and Paul describes um himself and Timothy as servants he doesn't say Paul the great Apostle the Grand Puba you know the one who came to his senses on the Damascus Road the one who was called by Jesus to reach the Gentiles no no he says Paul and Timothy servants actually the word slaves right we live in submission to Jesus our responsibility is to live under his authority he calls the Philippians Saints that's the same root word that we get the word holy from so he calls himself a servant and he and Timothy are slaves but the Philippians you're Saints you you you're not holy in and of yourselves you've been made Holy by the work of Christ in your life so Christ implanted the spirit in you and that Spirit has now made you holy as you become holy and live out that process he also tells them in the first two verses what those servants and Saints do they share Grace and peace they don't share conflict and bickering they don't share argument and critique they don't share judgment and condemnation they share Grace and Peace So before we actually look at the one we're going to look at tonight let me ask you uh what are you sharing these days grace and peace Division and polarization anger and and judgment condemnation what Have you shared right at the beginning Paul says says Hey servants and Saints share Grace and peace that's what Paul and Timothy are doing in the letter that's what he's challenging the Philippians to do and that's what he's calling us to do now in the rest of the letter all he does is unpack what servants and Saints are to be sharing so all of the other reminders just share with us what Grace and peace are all about how we experience them not as end users we share them we often treat the gospel as if we're end users right we're the recipients let's just kind of sit and soak now no no no we're conduits not end users we experience and then extend so that's that's H kind of the first one we're not going to look at that one that's kind of just teed up right at the beginning here are a few um of the reminders we may not look at these um I'll just show you some of the famous verses in Philippians and I'll tell you this familiarity may not breed contempt as the saying goes but it sure breeds superficiality and sometimes oh I know that I heard that before and you don't take time to wrestle with what it actually means so let's make sure we understand the context that's why we're going to look at some of the reminders let's kind of dig around and try to understand what's there I'll show you what I mean as we go all right so here's that one for me to live as Christ die dies gain how many of you ever heard that before very familiar right a famous familiar saying but when you hear it you give a sent have you wrestled with what it means to live as Christ thought what are you actually Living For is it Christ something else he here's another one rejoice in the lord always I say it again Rejoice you've heard that too right how are you doing with rejoicing um or are you complaining does anxiety go up usually anxiety goes up rejoicing goes down Philippians is often called the letter of Joy but it you know Joy is kind of um a a little bit of a superficial reading here's what I mean it is about Joy but Paul also tells us in the letter how that Joy is experienced here's what he says joy comes from contentment and Community when you read through Philippians yeah Joy is the goal how do you experience that Joy being content in the gospel and living in community with God's people so contentment community and joy they are kind of the three things that come together in Philippians and we rejoice in the Lord as we recognize that here's another one be anxious about nothing don't be anxious about anything any of you are real high on the anxiety scale uh right nothing like the culture we're living in will uh get you right afraid of the economy afraid of the Border afraid of wars in the Middle East afraid Wars coming over here we live with a heightened sense of anxiety in this tornado of concern um be anxious about nothing another one I can do all things through him who gives me strength how many of you know that memorize that I I saw a really interesting thing on Instagram the other day and I should have put the picture up here it was a picture of a coffee mug with this verse on here's what it said I can do all things through a verse out of context and you know why it says that because in the context 413 does not mean you can do all things power up and do whatever you want make $5 million leap this tall building in a single bound no what's the context the context of 413 is this Paul says I've learned to be content with nothing and to be content with everything I've learned what it is to be weak and to be strong I can live in any set of circumstances I can do all things through human strength interestingly my guess is the last time you thought of that verse or you heard that verse it was not in the context of weakness in poverty and doing without is it was in the context of powering up and accomplishing something in your strength rather than the gospel funny I can do all things by taking a verse out of context I heard's another one and God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus you're familiar with that too right so lots of famous familiar verses in Philippians hopefully they don't breed contempt um guessing they breathe a little bit of familiarity superficiality so we're going to unpack a few of them not all of them but we'll unpack a few of them well here's the one that that we're going to do tonight being confident of this that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus I don't know about you I need that because sometimes it doesn't feel like I'm making much progress it feels like I'm going backwards I look around at other people they seem to be making less progress than me um and so I need to be reminded God starts a good work and God completes every good work he started let me paraphrase and this is the one you can memor I think we'll put it up here okay so here's the one we're going to memorize right he who began a good work in you will complete it all right read that with me ready he who began a good now don't look at the screens look at me just like third graders right and let's say it he who began a good work and will complete it now I don't know about you but I'm good at starting stuff not nearly as good at finishing stuff so let me give you a little list as some of you may resonate with a few of these you ever start a book and never finish it now I'm I'm kind of like OCD on that if I start a book I want to finish it as bad as it may be I I I want to get it done but occasionally have you ever had the experience you start a book maybe you put it on the nightstand H you read a little bit it's terrible right you leave it there for a while couple other book books kind of go on top of it eventually it migrates from the nightstand to your bookcase still haven't read it and it then gets put with all the other books on your book house that you started and never read either right you never finished that um how about this one join a gym you began a good work and you will complete it now here's what I've discovered and this is free advice right it's not the gym membership you have to show up like for the membership to actually work it's not paying the fee that get you in shape it's actually paying the fee and then going to the gym maybe it's not the gym membership how about a piece of exercise equipment in your home pelaton bike it's become a place to hold laundry waiting for it to be ironed right or moving from this place to that place yeah funny kind of how that works or maybe it's uh a little more serious working on a degree you ever started degree and never quite finished it how about music lessons now for Diane's benefit and Bob's how many of you ever took music lessons in your life raise your hand all right now keep your hand up right I did too I did too keep your hands up how many of you stayed with the music lessons well enough that you will join Diane and Bob starting tomorrow night yeah we have like four hands left right yeah F right we start right out of the shoot we're great at music lessons um I played French horn for like two weeks guitar for a week and a half um camp play any of it now how about this one you start volunteering at something you know you become passionate you hear of this need maybe it's a church maybe it's at a nonprofit maybe it's at a food bank somewhere and you yes I'm going to get involved in that and uh it's challenging after a while right it's infringing with your golf game the other things you want to do and so you get rid of that or maybe it's a job all of a sudden you start this new job and the boss has like objectives you're supposed to accomplish right we have metrics to measure what you're doing who wanted this or how about this when you started a budget you know the answer to that is don't start it it does nothing but cause you frustration from there on there yes starting a budget is one thing getting all the numbers in line actually living it is different friendship start a friendship until all of a sudden it becomes more than an inconvenient they call you at inconvenient times like when you're trying to sleep you're doing something important these people bug you here's one I know some of you have started Home Improvements no lie I was having dinner with with a group of guys a couple of weeks ago this is almost word for word the conversation the one guy said hey just sold our house this week um and they moving into a 55 and older community said just sold her house I got a great price for it and then he starts laughing here's what he said as I was cleaning out the junk at the house to move he had been there like 10 years clean out I found my to-do list I wrote the day I moved in of all the punch list items he wanted done he said I sat down I had not done a single item on the to-do list from when he moved 10 years he lived there never accomplished a single item on the to-do list he drew up the list he just never did him right um when the going gets tough we quit right aren't you glad God does it he who began a good work in you will complete it he finishes everything he starts so let me just uh mention a couple things um just in case you God starts stuff you ever realize that God starts a lot of stuff um Bob already mentioned tonight God started creation right everything did exist um so I I love coming to Harvey Cedars I like the shore I like the ocean I like the bay I I like the warm weather I'm glad to see all of most of you um right and do you ever think about how creation is a demonstration of God's power right he speaks he didn't work up a sweat he didn't have to put work gloves on and he he spoke um he's not only powerful though he's creative realize everything could have been in Grays and Browns like I'm I'm not a fall color guy right I don't like Earth Tones at all um but it it it's be it's beautiful it's amazing right and not just that it's beautiful powerful beautiful demonstrating God's creativity he spoke everything into being he started stuff oh not just that um if you've ever read the first few chapters of the Bible you realize things go south pretty quickly you only have like two chapters before we're in the gutter right we ran off the rails and so in um in Chapter 3 of Genesis because the first project was a failure in a sense of the Fall God starts something else not just creation Genesis chapter 3 he starts Redemption he won't let sin be the end of the story and so two chapters of creation and all its beauty and all of its Majesty chapter 3 we Rebel right human beings run off the rails God starts a new project he starts again Redemption and um I'm not sure you've ever thought about this but I always uh I'm amazed at a couple of things in Genesis 3 the first thing I'm amazed at and sometimes I have to pause um to realize the the grace of God do you realize right in the middle of Genesis chapter 3 it could have said the end God created don't eat from the tree in the middle of the garden they ate the end from the middle of Genesis 3 through the end of revelation 22 is God's grace God brings he starts Redemption and at the second thing I'm amazed at because God Is omnicient Right knows everything you realized when he showed up in the garden in Genesis 3 and he says Adam ad it's not because he lost track of Adam it's not that Hees know where go Adam are you hiding I can't find he knew where Adam was he asked the question so Adam realizes what has happened right Adam but here's the amazing thing when he stepped into the garden he knew where that road of redemption was going to lead and he took the first step anyway he knew that that step Adam was going to lead to the Cross where his son would be crucified where he would turn his back on him and the res all that but he knew where it was going to go and he took the first step anyway you ever say to yourself if I would have known I would never have done this right God knew and he did it anyway he starts Redemption now here's another thing that we need to remind ourselves from Philippians God started the church in Philippi right and remember you started a good work and you will complete it he started the church in Philippi and if you've never realized this the book of Acts is really good background context for most of the Epistles most of the letters fit into the context of Acts just like first and second Kings and Chronicles um many of the prophets fit into the chronology of kings and Chronicles and so you can read a little bit of the background and know what's going on on in at the beginning of the Church of Philippi if you read acts 16 and we've got this great exposition of what happens when Paul shows up and the church in Philippi begins with Paul's trip being um derailed Paul's headed to um to the place where and God says no can't go there he turns this way can't go there he brings them all the way over and eventually God leads him to Philippi he shows up in Philippi and we have this great description of of three people who become Christians in Philippi they are like the founding members of the Philippian church and so when Paul says in chapter one there I have F favorite memories fond memories of all of you from the first he's remembering what happened there now I don't think we can fight later if you want I don't think that in Acts 16 we have the only church members early church members of Philippi I think we have have a sampling of the church members first church members of Philippi the first person Paul meets right and Paul says he began a good work here's the good work he began the Church of Philippi he started he meets Lydia Lydia is in a little bible study out along the river did not a synagogue in Philippi there weren't 10 men so he couldn't have a synagogue so Paul goes outside the city finds a little bible study Lydia's in the Bible study now here's what we know about Lydia Lydia owns her own business Lydia is a CEO we also know Lydia is wealthy because when you come to the end of Acts chapter 16 the church is meeting in her house and Paul and the team are staying with Lydia so Lydia doesn't have some you know little Bungalow some little sh Lydia has a nice house Lydia is the CEO of a company that sells purple fabric now that that may not mean a lot but let me ask a couple questions in the ancient world and even today I guess to some extent who wears purple royalty Kings very wealthy people you know why because the purple dye was made from things in shells of shellfish and you needed a lot it was really expensive to make purple so no one could afford purple except kings that had you know the nation's treasury at his disposal or very wealthy people Lydia is wealthy she owns her own business and she's kind of sensitive to the things of God she's in a Bible study and she's well networked she knows the rich and famous people Lydia's got the World by its tail Lydia is like a superstar right that's the first person he meets Lydia trusts Christ now the second person Paul meets a little different the second person Paul meets is a slave girl um in case you didn't realize this I believe Paul is giving us a Continuum on the one end you have the wealthy in control well networked business owner on the other end of the continue we have a dirt poor person who doesn't even own herself she's not real religious she's demonized in fact she's following Paul around and you know imagine doing listen these men are here to Proclaim to you the message of the most high god listen to him I mean that's driving point nuts after a few days right so he exercises the demon now Paul's painting a Continuum right we got the really wealthy religious moral business owner and you got the slave girl oppressed by people and oppressed by the evil one to opposite ends of the Continuum who's the next person Paul meets while he's thrown into prison and he meets the Jailer Jailer would be pretty much in the middle of the continue right he's a blue collar guy he works for the government he's an ex Soldier and back then veterans were hired to do you know governmental service kind of work he's a blue collar guy and he's guarding in the prison you know kind of a government welfare kind of job right guarding the prison lots of people died at the end of his sword so he's not going to be uh well moved he's not going to be very empathetic to Paul's thrown in prison we have a Continuum well by the end of the chapter the jailer sees a demonstration of the Gospel where Paul and Silas eventually here here's what they're saying we're still here if they escaped the Jailer would be executed for the prisoners escaping Paul says our life for you we live we we we're willing to die so you can live they that that's gospel right he feels that the slave girl has a power encounter Lydia studying the Bible now do you think Paul just that I don't think they were the first three people that came to Christ in Philippi I think Paul's saying here's what the community of the church in Philippi looks like wealthy well- networked CEOs dirt poor slave girls who are transformed by the gospel and even blue cower middle-aged guys you know living uh in in the middle of the socioeconomic IC scale oh yeah Paul was raised as a Pharisee and uh the Pharisees the phes were taught to pray a prayer every day now that prayer I think is in the back of Paul's mind when he paints that Continuum remember Lydia slave girl Gentile here's what he says here's what the prayer was Lord I Thank you that I not a woman a slave or a gentile and Paul says but that's exactly the kind of people that make up the community of Jesus right that's the Continuum and so when Paul remembers what H that's what he's remembering when he's writing this letter he's remembering Lydia he's remembering a slave girl he's remembering the jail he's remembering the worship services that they had right in Lydia's house and that's what he's remembering and he says he who began a good work in you will complete it he started this work of creation he started this work of redemption he started this work in Philippi and he's going to complete it it's not done yet but he's going to complete it um earlier today as I was thinking about that God start stuff right God started this work at Harvey Cedars if you've never done this you you need to do it today or maybe tomorrow go to the Harvey Cedar Bible Conference website click on the history Tab and you read through that history how God took a a little fishing shack for the wealthy people to come and go fishing and duck hunting and turn it into a place where Christ finds people and changes lives and literally thousands and thousands of people have rearranged and God has captured their hearts and Minds by coming here and it's not done as I was reading through the history I'm thinking um Jack Mary Al oldum John oldum I don't think I'm this old I know I knew those three guys and God's not done at Harvey Cedars what good what good work God started he's going to complete it he did it in creation he's doing it in Redemption he's doing it at Harvey Cedars and we're part of that story we get the partner would not just participate we get the partner in that God starts stuff well God also finishes everything he starts right so he doesn't start stuff and not finish it the way we do um I started another list because I'm so bad at finishing stuff so let me uh tell you some of these uh you ever quit a diet um I was going to say I I can see but I won't you ever quit a hobby H always look so easy right I'm going to pick up goth right and you know I'm figuring I'll be low 70s by the end of summer yeah you ever quit a friendship ever quit on kids ever quit on parents ever quit on a spouse easy right God finishes everything he starts so when it comes to Creation read the last couple chapters of the book if you've never read Genesis 1 and 2 and then immediately read Revelation 21 and 22 you need to do that it's almost like you're reading the two book heads God starts everything and in the last two chapters he concludes everything his original intention is perfectly fulfilled the original intention becomes the ultimate destination Point by point we got the tree of life we got everything's there right except evil and sin right God finishes what he's start how about Redemption read earlier chapters in Revelation they receive Redemption finished right where people from every nation tribe and tongue gather around the throne because of what the lamb has accomplished and they come in worship the lamb in unity together experiencing all the benefits that come through the gospel not through what they've done Church in Philippi and here's where it's important for us to remember um the church met in Lydia's house the church was not Lydia's house right that that's kind of a an English way to use Church the community in Philippi God is in the process of completing the community and here's the amazing thing we tonight and this week are the beneficiaries of that community and God working still still through the community of the church in Philippi when we read the letter that Paul wrote to them and the work of Harvey Cedars um we don't know where that'll go but we know that God finishes everything he starts well before we uh move to the last Point let me just say he who began a good work in you will complete it creation Redemption Philippi Harvey Cedars and you God began a good work in you right and he will complete it sometimes it feels like uh we hit dry patch right sometimes we feel like yeah not as passionate as I really want to be or maybe you just check out for a little while uh make no mistake God hasn't lost one yet um he completes everything you started he started a work in you and he's going to finish it um our responsibility is to cooperate with what he's doing we can't make it happen just like you can't make fruit grow uh you can do something to cultivate the process right and cooperate with what God's doing we can do that but we can't make this transformation happen that's God's work but he promises you can take it to the bank he who began a good work in in you he'll complete it he'll complete it well two um implications that come from that were done I don't know about you but but but I need these implications uh here's my first implication we are in process okay I'm looking around none of you are finished yet right now you're saying well we know you're not and I'm not we're all in process now he here's why we need to be reminded of that have you ever driven by or walk through a construction site it's a mess right and it's dangerous so for example I totally forgot right at Five Points near where I live I so I'm going through Five Points because I'm thinking I should stop and get my glasses adjusted so I leave a little early and I get stuck for like an hour at Five Points cuz they're doing this construction so here's what the construction is they're ripping out the median I guess so they got all these trucks four people are working 25 people standing around I guess a union job they're all looking at this we got cranes we got trucks we got signs cop cars directing traffic people are honking bad words are being yelled that was in my car bad words are being yelled right it's a mess it's dirty it's dangerous um it's in process and so are you and so am I which means uh we're dirty and dangerous right people get close to us they get hurt you get close to people sometimes they get hurt and you get hurt we're in process we're under construction well when you're under construction it's a dangerous situation when you're under construction it's it's dirty I look at it it's a muddy mess right it's a pit I oh yeah but the architect or the engineers they can look at that mess at Five Points and know what it's going to look like I I can't do that I just get ticked off right waiting in traffic but the architect and the engineer can oh yeah we're I don't know what they're doing we're putting in an extra turning lane we're going to do this we're going to make the intersection safer we're building this great building right now it's a muddy pit but soon it's going to be this awesome building where people can stand and look at the beauty for surrounding for you know for thousands of yards I can't see that but the architect can and the engineers can oh yeah and the architect and the engineer knows the final product too when you look at other other people and you look sometimes at yourself you look like a dirty dangerous mess right we're in process now that's no excuse right kind of fluff off and but we're we're dangerous and we're a mess but the architect knows the engineer knows and he's weaving all the details all the pieces all the situations all of our disappointments all of our joy weaving it together to make us exactly what he wants us to be we're in process um Kim and I uh had the family the grandkid mainly we took the grant because we we were in Disney World a few weeks ago and um it happens every time you may have heard me say it happens every time I'm there um when you walk under the train station you're walking down Main Street for the first time so to boys are little boys I have a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old now right Jeffrey and Carter walking down Main Street and is that right when you go around the circle and now the castle is right up in front of you you're walking every time I'm there for the first time I always remember I remember reading years ago the first day Disney World opened Walt had already died so he uh he never saw it so walking down Main Street Roy was there Walt's wife and a bunch of family in key Executives and uh somebody said uh it really makes me sad makes me angry that Walt never saw this and then one guy said he did see it that's why it's here he could see when it was a dirty mess what the others couldn't see well if Walt Disney can do that don't you think God does that perfect he can see the final Pro we see the mess we're in process oh yeah and one other piece with that the destination is a good one you know is he who began a good work in you it's a good work and that good destination is guaranteed we're in process you can go to the next slide and the outcome is a good one progress is guaranteed the only part in question is our cooperation between here and there um every once in a while I uh picture it kind of like this For Better or Worse the minute you trust Christ right you you have to do make it real simple you do a few things and God does a few things right they're real simple you've do a few things now what what do you do well you have to um repent and that's not really a religious right it just means you turn right so you're walking this way away from God you got to repent you turn around well you repent the opposite side of the repent coin is Faith you turn from your sin you turn to Jesus right that's what you do what does God do well you repent and and have faith God forgives your sin God gives you eternal life and God plants the seed of the holy spirit in you that guarantees the good outcome you know what that picture looks like when you and I trusted Christ God showed up at your life with work gloves and a tool belt and you and I are his project our part is to cooperate with the architect the engineer and the general contractor um but make no mistake if you don't he's got a lot of tools in the belt if you don't the project will be completed this is an IQ test cooperate with the builder if you resist the Builder the project will still be complete a little more pain in the journey though we're in process the destination's guaranteed cooperate with the architect the Builder the GC you don't know what the end product's going to do or what it's going to look like but between here and there we have the guarantee the destination is absolutely secure he who started a good work in you will complete it I don't know about you I need that reminder fairly regularly maybe you do too let's pray father thanks for the promise that you love us enough to start this work while we were your enemies running from you you chased us and you brought us to our senses Lord I pray that we would cooperate from here to home the destination is not in doubt the cooperation in the process is the question we get to answer today tomorrow next week or however how much time we have left thanks Lord for your love and for the promise he who began a good work in you will complete it we pray in Jesus name amen amen thank you Charles we look forward to some