Well, in the summer of 1988, I was living in South Korea. Also known as the Good Korea. And that year, several life changing events happened. First thing being that my father had passed away in a tragic accident. And second, my mother made the decision to immigrate our family to the United States. And we made several trips that year and the following year to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. And we were going to get our visas, our green cards to come to America. Now, in order to become a legal U.S. citizen, there is a proper order. Most of you are born here in America, so you are automatically a citizen by birth. But some of us, like myself, are naturally citizens, and we had to go through a citizenship process. So what does that entail? Well, first, you have to declare your intent or your desire to become an American citizen. Then there is an interview process to see if you qualify based on their requirements at that time. They only let in certain people of certain professions and X amount of people. And so if you meet that requirement, then you sit through several interviews. Then if you're accepted into the country, then they grant you what's called a permanent resident status by issuing you a visa. At that point, you can live in the U.S., but you're still not an official citizen enjoying the benefits of a citizen, like voting and going into jury duty. Now, only after you meet these requirements to become a citizen like you have to live in the U.S. for three years. Then you can apply for your citizenship and get tested on your U.S. history knowledge. And then you pass. Then you take what's called an oath of allegiance. The oath of allegiance is a sworn declared mission that you will support and defend the Constitution of the U.S. and that every naturalized citizen must take this oath. And this is what makes one citizenship official. This is the proper order of becoming a citizen here in the U.S.. And once you're a citizen, then you have to fulfill your duties. Did you know that you have duties as American citizens? Yes, you do. You must support and defend the Constitution. If you're a male over the age of 18, you must sign up for Selective Service to be drafted in case there is a major war. You must vote if you're 18 or older. You must obey the law. You must pay your taxes. And you must serve on jury duty when you're called. This isn't a comprehensive list. There's far more. Now, for some of you, as you heard that short list, some of those duties didn't sound too exciting for you. But you have to remember that there are also benefits and there are privileges that come with being a citizen here in the U.S. And I would argue that in America, the benefits far outweigh the burdens of citizenship, especially compared to other countries. Yes, some of these duties will require a lot of you, but every citizen and every kingdom throughout history has their list of duties, and the kingdom of God is no different. There is a proper order of becoming a kingdom citizen. There is an oath of allegiance that makes you an official citizen. And there are wonderful benefits of being a citizen of the heavenly kingdom. And there are duties which are required of these people. So this morning, we're going to take a short break in our study of Mark, and we're going to do a topical study on the authority of the local church, specifically relating to how the ordinances that we obey are related to the church authority. And the next week, Pastor Todd Will preaches last sermon on a passage of his choice. Now, when we hear the word ordinance, we associated with the word law. Right. Like a noise ordinance in your neighborhood that you have to obey so you can't drive around your neighborhood with the windows down blasting your favorite Justin Bieber song at midnight. The ordinances are laws which are clearly given for citizens to obey the term sacraments. You may have heard that term is a it's a synonymous term, but due to a certain theological meaning that is associated with that term, in the Protestant circles, we prefer the term ordinances. The two clear ordinances our Lord Jesus gave that He commanded his disciples to carry out our baptism and the Lord's Supper. He says, Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. And he says, This is my body. This is my blood which is given to you. Do this in remembrance of me. Baptism and communion are the means by which the church expresses and exercises God's authority. And we are given his authority. And we're given this not to brag about our, you know, our nation over another. We're not given this to brag about our salvation, but we're given this authority to build his kingdom. Maybe there are some of you, like me, who are raised in the Roman Catholic tradition where you are baptized as an infant but never fully understood the significance behind baptism and communion. Or maybe you're ministering to someone who is seeking clarity on these things. Or maybe you're a parent or grandparent and you're trying to figure out what to teach your kids about baptism and communion and when to get ready for communion. And you wonder, Will, should I tell them to wait? Should I tell them to take this now? Well, if this is you, I pray that the Holy Spirit will give us clarity and will give us understanding regarding these ordinances. We're going to see through the analogy of kingdom citizenship what these ordinances mean. Why Kingdom citizenship? The two commonly used analogies throughout the Bible that describe our relationship with God and with one another is first, is marriage and family. And then second is kingdom. How does Jesus be in a lot of his parables? He says A kingdom of God is like such and such. Right. But recognize that when we use earthly analogies to compare these heavenly concepts, somewhere down the road the analogy is going to break down. It's not it's not completely comparable because our earthly institutions are mere shadows that point us to the reality, the ultimate reality of our eternal state. So this morning, we're going to see three aspects of the kingdom citizenship. We're going to explore first, the Kingdom citizenship oath, which is carried out through baptism. Second Kingdom Citizenship privilege, which is experienced through communion. And finally, kingdom citizenship removal or revocation, which is conducted through church discipline. So let's explore the truth of God's kingdom. The first question we have to tackle is, Well, who can possibly become a citizen in the kingdom of God? Who can possibly become a disciple of the King most high? The answer is given to us. In Peter's first sermon in Acts chapter two. If you like to turn with me to Acts chapter two, you can ask chapter two. We're going to be in Acts a little bit. So Acts chapter two, verse 38. And here's what it says, Acts 238, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to anyone who is willing to turn from their sin and trust in Jesus to obey. All His commands can become a disciple of Christ. Faith and repentance goes hand in hand. Yes, they are distinct, but they work together in our salvation. The moment a person hears the Gospel and if the Holy Spirit is working in their heart to reach generate their dead spirit to life, they respond with faith and obedience. And whether that be at age four or age 70, or in their deathbed, at that instantaneous moment, they are saved in Christ. They are what we call justified. It is an instantaneous moment of salvation, in a sense. They instantaneously become a permanent resident in the Kingdom of God. Their heaven bound because of God's mercy. Think about the thief on the cross. He was never baptized, right? He never took communion. And when you see him in heaven, if you were to ask him, did you know about the doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture or the doctrine of justification, he would said, I don't know. Okay, I'm here because of the one man, the middle man at the cross. It is because of Jesus. Jesus is the one who saves. So then, is baptism really necessary? If our salvation is found in Christ alone, then is baptism really necessary for salvation? The act of baptism is not necessary for your salvation. And anyone who tells you that you can point them to the thief on the cross. But the thief salvation is not the norm for Christian discipleship. His salvation highlights the mercy of God. But baptism is necessary for lifelong discipleship as a follower of Christ. And this is how Jesus commands his people to live. He calls us to live as official citizens of the kingdom here on Earth, and not just as resident green card holders of the state of the kingdom. So here's the first point in your outline. Baptism is the oath of allegiance for kingdom citizenship. Baptism is the oath of allegiance for kingdom citizenship. Baptism is what marks you as a lifelong disciple of Christ, a kingdom citizen. And this is why Peter said in his sermon, Repent and be baptized so that you can officially represent Jesus. The rest of your life. So why should you be baptized if you already believe in Jesus and know that you're going to heaven? To be a disciple of Christ requires your total obedience in His commands. And Jesus made it clear in the Great Commission that His disciples will be marked by baptism. Being baptized is the official commitment you make publicly before God and His people that you are giving your life to the service of the kingdom. So the real question is, if you are a follower of Christ who has not been baptized and you're willing to trust him and obey all his commands, why not obey the one command to display your total commitment to Christ? One of the more common trends we see today, sadly, is that unmarried couples are living together before marriage. They shack up. They enjoy the benefits, the physical benefits of marriage without the commitment of marriage. It is a non-committal way of the two people saying that I want to be able to leave you at any point because if somebody else comes along the way that maybe better than you, then I can leave. I have known many couples who have done this, and most of the ones that I've known have not ended well. If they do get married, there's some sort of a a commitment or a long term issue that does show up in marriage later down the road. You see, the world's way is not the best way for Christian couples living together before marriage is living in sexual sin. If you're living together or even considering it, I urge you to stop and seek forgiveness from God and from one another and seek the wisdom of your church on how to best move forward. Whether that's moving towards marriage or moving towards a breakup. But in a marriage commitment, what we are saying is this We're going to make this work no matter what happens, even if, you know, we're going to make that commitment not just in the back of a limousine, but we're going to make that commitment publicly before God and his people, and we're going to make it work until one of us croaks. That is a marriage commitment. Well, this is the same idea in baptism. It's not that we're going to try a little bit of Jesus. We're going to try a little bit of Buddha, a little bit of Allah and see which one filters out in the end. But we're proclaiming through baptism that I'm going to fully commit myself to Jesus and I'm going to serve him until the day I die, no matter how hard life may get. And when I die, I'm going to rise with him to live with him forever. The act of immersion baptism then display several purposes. According to Tertullian, who was a second century church father. These were the things that a baptism declares. There is list of things. You don't have to write this down before, but stay with me on this. Declares the forgiveness of sins, the deliverance from death, the new birth or regeneration? The gift of the Holy Spirit, the renunciation of Satan in the world. And finally, our identification with Jesus in baptism. The the baptismal candidate is publicly saying no to the world and is publicly saying yes to Jesus. Then the local church members in that baptism ceremony are affirming that yes, their testimony is credible. Yes, they belong to us. This is why we do not have baptism in our bathtubs at home, because this momentous declaration is to be celebrated publicly and affirmed by the people of God. So then at what age? What age should you be baptized? Should be baptized are infants. I believe the first century Church gave us a helpful model for baptism.So turn with me to chapter ten. Asks Chapter ten, starting in verse 24 with Cornelius, who was a Roman army officer also called a centurion. There were different ranks, and he was kind of a middle officer. And we read of those who were in his household in verse 24. We read that the following day he that as Peter arrived in Cicero, Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. Now jump down to 44 with me, extend for verse 44. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, Surely no one can stand in the way of being they're being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then he asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. Here we see Cornelius, this household being baptized, and we see in verse 44 that all who excuse me. We see that in verse four, that all who heard the Gospel receive the Holy Spirit. And then they were baptized. Now turn to Acts chapter 16, verse 14. Bring a little sword drill here this morning, Act 16, verse 14. Here in these verses, we also see other households being baptized. We have Lydia and the Philippians. The Philippians jailer verse 14 says, One of those listening was a woman from the city of Tire Tierra in Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message when she and the members of her household were baptized. She invited us to her home. Now jump to verse 29. The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell, trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household. Then they spoke the Word of the Lord to Him and to all the others in his house at that hour of the night. The jailer took them and washed their wounds. Then immediately he and all his household were baptized. Now, those who practice infant baptism also called Pato Baptism, will often argue using these passages and claim that there were several infants and children, certainly in these households, and they were present in these baptisms. So were there infants and kids in these baptisms? We don't know. The text doesn't definitively tell us. It is certainly possible, but it's an argument from silence to argue that babies and young children were part of these household baptisms would be based on an indefinite on sumption. But what we do know about those who were baptized in these households was that they first heard the gospel to turn to Jesus, and three were baptized, as Peter instructed in Acts chapter two. So at what age? What age should be baptized? Believers. Children and parents and grandparents. Let me speak to you for a moment. If you're a child learning about Jesus in the church, as you know, even you're sitting here and as your parents are raising you to know Christ, here are some principles to consider whether or not your child may be ready for baptism. It's impossible to set an age for every child because every child's cognitive and their spiritual development is different. But you can ask yourself these three questions. First, is there convincing evidence of the Holy Spirit bearing fruit in their life? The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. Second, do you understand what Jesus did and what it means to trust in Jesus forever with your life? And third, can you give a credible testimony before the local church of how Jesus saved you? Now, the underlying assumption here is for those who cognitively understand the preaching of the gospel and there are those with special needs, were this not all of this may apply in those cases. We must pray for wisdom and discernment to carefully and prayerfully move forward on how we baptize them and know that they are precious in the sight of God and that God has a special purpose for them. But if you can answer yes to these questions for the majority and are ready to fully give your life to Christ and to live and die for the Gospel, then baptism is appropriate. I have baptized people as young as 11 years old to people in their sixties and seventies even. So if you're interested in being baptized and or are ready to commit your life and take the oath of allegiance to make your citizenship and the kingdom official, then I or one of the pastors or elders would love to talk to you and have a conversation with you. Now, if you are a baptized believer and you are a lifelong disciple of Christ, as a citizen of this kingdom, there are benefits you experience. One of these benefits is belonging to the family of Christ and regularly being nourished through what we call the Lord's Supper. One of the greatest benefits of growing up with parents. My parents are here this morning was that they provided free room and board. If you're living under your parent's roof, you enjoy the benefits of eating their food and most of the time, boy, they make really good food. If you grew up in the Bergen household, you know about the chicken curry and if you grew up in the golden household or you know about some good beef steak. Likewise Jesus. He sustains his children through his supper table. And we, his children get to enjoy his means of grace through a regular spiritual nourishment. And here's your second point in your outline, and that is the Lord's Supper is a kingdom citizenship privilege. The Lord's Supper is a kingdom citizenship privilege. And First Corinthians 1124 Paul quotes Jesus in the night of the upper room. He says, This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And this cup is a new covenant in my blood. Do this in remembrance of me. If baptism is the initial entry into the body of Christ, then the Lord's Supper is the ongoing affirmation of your membership in that family of God. Most churches throughout history have affirmed the stance that the Lord's Supper is to be taken only by baptize believers. The Didache, which is a document which means teachings. It is a document that was used by the early church that describes the practice of the Apostles. Now we must recognize that any Bible extra biblical document that is not in the Bible, which is what extra biblical means, is not authoritative for Christian living, living. But some of these documents, like the did of the Apostles, they give us a glimpse into the history of the church and how things were done back then. According to the teachings and the practice of the apostles of the first century. Reread this about who can partake in the Lord's Supper says, But let no one eat or drink of the Eucharist except those who have been baptized into the name of the Lord. For the Lord has also spoken concerning this. Do not give what is holy to dogs the privilege of the kingdom citizen of taking communion, which is the body and the blood of Christ, is reserved for those who have expressed their commitment to Christ in the Kingdom of God. Hear the Apostle Paul's warning in First Corinthians 1127. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. The Lord's Supper is the sustaining nourishment reserved for believers as we enjoy His presence and are reminded that we belong to another kingdom. Now different Christian traditions have understood how Christ is present through the the bread and the wine in different ways. The Roman Catholic tradition, their understanding is known as transubstantiation, where the bread and the wine literally becomes the blood and the body of Christ. Only after the priest blesses it in Latin. As a result, they've had to devise ways to religious safely and properly dispose of the unused elements. And only certain people can handle these elements according to their tradition. I remember one morning in in Baseball chapel, we were holding our chapel service that followed right after the Roman Catholic tradition, the Roman Catholic Chapel, and that was there held the chapel for a lot of the staff that were part of the security and part of the stadium. And right after that, we were using the same room. And I had the players and some of the coaches in the presence with me. And I remember the the Roman Catholic chaplain had to sit off on the side to properly dispose of the unused elements. And I don't know what he was doing over there, but it was super distracting. And I could just see the players as I was watching them giving my sermon, that they were making strange faces like, What are you doing? What is this guy doing? But they have to do this. They have to of come up with these religious rituals to dispose of it, because for them, this is the literal body and the blood of Christ after it has been blessed. And if you think that's a little crazy, I'm with you now. If you come from a Lutheran tradition, they hold to what is called con substantiation. I don't want to get too much into it, but here the physical body and the blood of Christ is present inside the appearance of the bread and the wine, and he views it as Christ being present in with and under the elements. So think of a sponge, a sponge that is filled with water and the water being the presence of the presence of Christ. You can see the sponge, you can't see the water, but it is there. Well, that's the same idea in Luther's view of how crises present with us. Now, believe it or not, there are are other views, which I'm not going to get into. But most of the Protestant traditions they have believe that the elements in the elements of the Lord's Supper crisis present symbolically and spiritually, though there are various views. What the church has affirmed throughout history about the Lord's Supper is the following. First, through the Lord's Supper, we proclaim the Lord's Death until He comes. Second, the elements nourish the believer spiritually. And third, Christ is present when we partake in the Lord's Supper. And finally, Communion is is reserved for believers who have been marked by baptism in the Holy Communion. It strengthens us to live a life of holiness as we declare, according to First Peter to chap of verse nine, that we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. So what if you're a believer who has not been baptized and has been taking communion? A case can be made to allow this because it is God ultimately who calls us to join Him by faith in Christ. And he alone knows who is truly part of his body. So if you are in on baptize believer, we're not going to jump across the Lord's table to stop you and and enforce you to not take communion with us. But my encouragement to you is to be baptized and obey the commands of the Lord. Remember, there is an element of self assessment given to us in the Scripture. And before you take the elements. So if you if the Lord is stirring in your hearts before that and you have this conviction to be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit, I urge you to obey. Jesus calls you into a lifelong, lifelong discipleship, to obey all His commands, much like our privilege to vote as an American citizen. Partaking in the Lord's Supper is a great privilege for kingdom citizens. It is a way that the Lord sustains us and nourishes us in the presence of Christ. Jesus is with us to the end of the age. He is with us in our work of making disciples and marking them through baptism. Jesus is with us through the elements of the Lord's Supper, which sustains us for lifelong discipleship. And Jesus is also with us when we need to exercise sanctions in the church. We call this church discipline, just like the duties of our nations that I mentioned earlier, there are duties that are required of his citizens. So let's take a look. Join me in verse Matthew, chapter 18, and we're going to look at starting in verse 15, Matthew chapter 18. It is the first of the gospels, Matthew 18 starting in 15. If your brother or sister sins go and point out their fault just between the two of you, if they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen. Take one or two others along so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church. And if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. Through this passage about church discipline, we're going to tie all the concepts of the ordinances together. And here's our final point. And that is church discipline is kingdom citizenship removal. Church discipline is kingdom citizenship removal or revocation. Here in this passage, we have a process of church discipline outlined by Jesus himself. But to whom does this apply? Well, look at the first phrase. He says, If you're brother or sister, since Jesus is talking about those who belong to the body of Christ, which is the local church. But how do we know who belongs and who doesn't belong in a local church? Well, how do we know that? For those who have Professor Faith and swore their allegiance to Christ, they are the ones who are marked by baptism? As we saw earlier, the apostles were adamant about marking believers who received the Holy Spirit through baptism. The brothers and sisters Jesus referred to here are the baptized believers who are regularly taking communion. And one of the duties as a member in a local church is to remove sin from your midst. If one of our church members here at Grace is living in sin, let's say he or she is committing adultery or living a life of homosexuality, or even spreading gossip or constantly stealing or is abusing his wife, we would follow the steps outlined right here in this passage. And we would seek their repentance. This is a duty that is required of all kingdom citizens. And it's not just for the elders and pastors or deacons or servants, but down to every single member of the local church. The purpose of church discipline is the restoration of the sinning believer and the honoring of the holiness of God. A local church that exercises church discipline in a biblical way is a church that is living out first. Peter 115 where it says, But just as he called you, he who called you is holy. So be holy in all you do for it is written. Be holy because I am holy. Most times sin issues are resolved at the personal level. When one or more church members are involved in and are confronting the believer about that particular sin. But there are times when they will not turn from it. One of the saddest church discipline issues that I had to be a part of was dealing with a married man who was being abusive and was being unfaithful to his wife. And when the elders of the church confronted this man, he refused to turn from his sin and we could no longer affirm him as a believer of Christ. The situation ended in a messy divorce, and it caused a lot of pain in the church. But when there is sin in the church body like this, what authority does the church really have? This act of removing and unwrapped sinner, this unrepentant church member living in sin throughout history has been known as excommunication. It is the act of no longer being able to affirm a professing believer as a Christian. And this process, sadly, has been abused throughout history, as people have. Churches have wrongly used their powers. But what I want to show you is what this really means and what this would look like in a local church, according to the Scripture. Join me in Matthew 18, starting in verse 18. This is what Jesus said. Truly, I tell you, whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in heaven. And whatever you lose on Earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly, I tell you that if two of you on Earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. Four Where two or three gather and they in my name. Their am I with them? Notice here that it is not here in this passage. It is not God who is doing the work, but it is His people. It is us. It is the church. Jesus has confirmed his kingdom authority to the disciples here on Earth when he's talking about binding and loosing. What he's really saying is this. What he's saying is I got your back. Hey, whatever you do, I got your back. Now, why is this was significant? Why is that so significant that Jesus has her back? See, there is a common thread that ties all three of these aspects together. Remember, Jesus has promised that He is with us in baptism, in communion. And here in church discipline. What this means is that Christ's authority has been given to the church to build his kingdom. That his authority has been conferred and given to us, build his kingdom. In other words, you and I, as citizens of heaven, have the authority on behalf of the King of the Universe to claim who is in and who is out. That is a big deal. That is the authority that we have the highest authority on heaven and earth is not given to famous athletes and YouTube stars or Hollywood stars, but is given to ordinary people like you and me who are barred by the blood of Christ. God uses the ordinary means of the local church to accomplish his extraordinary work. The authority to mark his citizens through baptism, to sustain these people through communion and exercise church discipline is given to the local church when a believer is unwilling to repent of their sin. When the church is, then the church is to treat them as we would a pagan or a tax collector. What this means for the church is that we withhold serving them communion because no one do. Because we can no longer claim that they are believers. If they're unwilling to turn from their sins, then the church must say that we can no longer recognize their Christian testimony to be credible. Did you know that even as a U.S. citizen, that your citizenship can be revoked if a person acquired it wrongfully or just went through the motions to meet certain requirements, but in reality are spies of another country? Their citizenship can be revoked and that person can be deported. This is true of our heavenly citizenship. It's not about salvation that I'm talking about here. The one requirement for our citizenship is faith in Christ, which requires turning from sin and turning to Jesus and a person who wrongfully acquired his kingdom citizenship by by tricking the church who later is unwilling to repent of his sins. His citizenship status was never valid from the beginning. It must be revoked by a local embassy, which is the local church. Depending on the circumstance, they're certainly welcome to come and hear the gospel that they may repent and be restored. But the way a local church expresses a removal from membership is by excluding them from the Lord's table. Our God is a holy God, and the life that he calls his people to live is a life of holiness. A Christian life is a life filled with purpose of representing our loving king who loved us by sacrificing himself for us on the Roman Cross that we may attain the greatest citizenship known to man, and that is our kingdom. Citizenship through Jesus Christ. We're a light on a hill in these dark times when the world that is deceived by the evil one is being drawn away from God's goodness and the truth. So may we never forget that no matter how quickly our culture may decline morally, or how great our standing may be nationally, that we are citizens of another kingdom. And this morning, if you do not know the Lord, the King of the Universe, who is Christ, then I want you to know that Jesus calls you and me to a life of long term discipleship, and He has given his authority to the local church to build his kingdom. If you do not know him personally, the call to become a citizen of his kingdom is given to all who are weary and heavy laden and Jesus promise is that he will give you rest. He says, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For my burden is easy and my yoke is light. Turn to Jesus and begin walking with Him by becoming a part of a gospel preaching local church. Become an official citizen of his kingdom by taking the oath of allegiance to Christ through baptism. And enjoy your privilege as a as a citizen through the sustenance of the Lord's Supper. Then fulfill your citizenship duties as you represent Christ through holy living and expunging sin in the body of Christ. These are the means our King has given us to build his kingdom. May we obey them wholeheartedly. And may we carry out his work with confidence and joy because he is with us to the end of the age. Let's pray the Lord, You have given us your heavenly authority that we may exercise them on your behalf to display your love in this broken world. And Lord, we do this as we build your kingdom for your glory. We pray that you will do a powerful work in our land, in our nation, that we will be able to see lost souls, saved we made strong and the strong humbled in repentance as we, your church, proclaim the Gospel of Jesus. May we see authentic growth here at grace? First, as we display humility in our repentance and a renewed passion to serve, you help us to be more like you as you increase in us our love for you, and our desire to reach the lost. We pray for your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus name, we pray.

Amen.