The Burden and the Glory

In Numbers chapter 20, the Israelites arrive at the desert of Zin and stay at Kadesh. Miriam dies and there is no water for the community. The people quarrel with Moses and Aaron, complaining about the terrible conditions and lack of water. God instructs Moses to gather the assembly and speak to a rock, which will provide water. However, Moses disobeys and strikes the rock instead. Water still comes out, but God tells Moses and Aaron that they will not enter the promised land because they did not trust and honor Him. Moses sends messengers to the king of Edom asking to pass through their territory, but they refuse. The Israelites defeat the Canaanites and their cities are destroyed. This marks the end of Aaron's life, and the Israelites mourn for him. The chapter ends with the Israelites continuing their journey and encountering more challenges. This text highlights the Israelites' second chance to enter the promised land and the importance of trusting and obey So Numbers chapter 20 is where we'll begin. So if you can turn there with us, we've done this ongoing study. The study is called, Yes, We'll Gather at the River, and it's the study of the Exodus journey of the people of God as they've been walking through the wilderness, as they've been seeking after God and following the plan of God for them to occupy the promised land. And it's been a rough journey, and we've seen that in our study. Even the passages that we've studied, we've seen the rough journey indeed, but God has been faithful. And we see that faithfulness again, even today, even in these difficult days. So Numbers chapter 20, verses 1 through 21, through the end of the chapter, and then chapter 21 as well. So this is God's Word. In the first month, the whole Israelite community arrived at the desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadish. There, Miriam died and was buried. Now, there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, if we only had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord. Why did you bring the Lord's community into this desert that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grape vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink. Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell face down, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord said to Moses, take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron, gather the assembly together, speak to that rock before their eyes, and it will pour out its water. You'll bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink. So Moses took the staff from the Lord's presence just as he commanded them. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock? Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them. These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord, and where he showed himself holy among them. Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying, this is what your brother Israel says. You know about all the hardships that have come upon us. Our forefathers went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers. But when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us up out of Egypt. Now we are here in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory. But Edom answered, you may not pass through here. If you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword. The Israelites replied, we will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot, nothing else. Again they answered, you may not pass through. Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army. Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them. The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. At Mount Hor near the border of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor. Remove Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will die there. Moses did as the Lord commanded. They went up Mount Hor on the side of the whole community. Moses removed Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar, and Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days. When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. Then Israel made this vow to the Lord. If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities. The Lord listened to Israel's plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns. So the place was named Hormah. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Please be seated. Now there's a lot here in this text, little pieces here and there, but they all fit together and we'll see that today as we study this text. We're first in chapter 20, verse 1, the death of Miriam, verses 2 through 13, the disobedience of Moses, verses 14 through 22, denial from the Edomites, verses 23 through 29, the death of Aaron. And then we'll take those first three verses of chapter 21, victory over the Canaanites, and then in the end we'll look a little bit at Jesus in the wilderness. We began this chapter with a little bit of information concerning chronology. Notice the first part of verse 1. It says, In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the desert of Zin. We're given a month but not a year. Later on in the Old Testament we'll read of other accountings of the events we read of today, and those accounts locate the events of Numbers chapter 20 where we're at in the text. Numbers chapter 20, within the 40th year of the wilderness journey. Now what does that tell us? Why is this information important? Well as we read through Numbers, and as you all have noticed we just sampled some of Numbers, as we read through Numbers we aren't given much information concerning chronology. Events occur, but we really don't know from this text when they occur. And the accounting that we have of the wilderness journey is not an exhaustive record. It doesn't tell us the events of every day or even every year. The historical record tells us that some events happened, and it doesn't necessarily tell us when they happened. But now we come to Numbers chapter 20, and as we align the accounts of the events found here, and as we compare the accounts of these events as they appear in other texts, we know that the events of this chapter occurred in the 40th year of the wilderness journey. Now of course we recall that when we recently read in Numbers chapter 14 concerning the extension of the journey. Remember this is chapter 14 verses 33 through 35 in Numbers. God said your children will be shepherds here for 40 years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the deserts. For 40 years, one year for each of the 40 days you explored the land, you will suffer for your sins, and know what it is like to have me against you. I the Lord have spoken, and I will surely do these things. So the Israelites would wander in the desert for 40 years. And now the 40 years have come and gone, and here we are again. The nation of Israel last saw the land of Canaan in their rear-view mirror as they drove away from the region. But now they see it again, not in their rear-view mirror, but in the front windshield. They were close before. They are close again. In fact, they're in the same spot that they were in previously. Notice again verse 1. The text says, Well, recall our previous reading in Numbers chapter 13. When the spies entered Canaan, where were the Israelites encamped? They were encamped at Kadesh. And here they are again. They stayed at Kadesh. Here the Israelites are receiving a second chance. How will they act this time? Will they follow Moses' lead? And that, of course, leads us to the bigger question, to the real question. This time, will they trust God? Will they be obedient to God? Will they receive what God has promised them, what God has prepared for them, and what God will deliver to them? How will they react when this second chance that they've received? Moses has brought the people again to the verge of their entry into the Promised Land. But we notice in our text today that there are even now some bumps in the road. They remain. These bumps will, in fact, be personally painful to Moses. Notice the last line of verse 1. Here's that first bump in the road. There Miriam died and was buried. Recall that Miriam was the older sister of Moses and Aaron. Recall that it was Moses' sister who watched the baby Moses as he floated along the Nile in the basket. And it was found by Pharaoh's daughter. And it was his sister who approached Pharaoh's daughter and offered one of the Hebrew women, who was also Moses' mother, to nurse the baby. She was a little girl yet so brave to protect her baby brother on that day. Recall also that it was Miriam who sang the Song of Moses before the people of Israel after they crossed the Red Sea and they witnessed the destruction of the Egyptian army. Miriam is the one who sung the Song of Moses on that day. Now we also recall that there was a time that Miriam spoke against Moses. And there's a text where it infers that Miriam would have been one of those who would have rejected God by disbelieving the pleas of Caleb and Joshua. And so consequently, Miriam is not included in the list of those who will eventually enter the Promised Land. And yet the Bible does look upon Miriam as playing a contributing role in the deliverance of God's people. Later on in the scriptures, Micah 6, verse 4, God says, I brought you up out of Egypt, and I redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. So Miriam has assisted Moses throughout this journey. In fact, she's assisted Moses throughout his life. But now as Canaan draws near, Miriam dies, and Moses must endure the death of Miriam, the death of his dear sister. Now unfortunately for Moses, there's no time to grieve over the loss of his sister, because again, the people are thirsty. Haven't we heard this before? And here we are again. Notice verse 2, Now there was no water for the community. The people have been thirsty before. After all, they're in a desert. But God has always answered their cry. God has always sustained them. God has always met their need. And yet we read the people complain. And this must have been quite a complaint. Notice verses 2 and 3 do not say, the people gathered and said. That would have been technically correct. The people did gather and they did speak, but let's notice again verses 2 and 3. Notice the whole picture. The people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and then registered their complaint. Moses and Aaron have proven over four decades to be true intercessors. The brothers would lift a concern toward God. They would petition God for mercy and God would demonstrate His faithfulness. And He would extend mercy to the people. In their quarreling with Moses and Aaron, we find that they are actually discounting the wrath of God. Notice the last sentence in verse 3. If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord. Last Sunday we read about Korah and the rebellion that he instigated. And the devastation that fell upon the people. And thousands of people died in that process. We found that Korah and his co-conspirators treated the Lord with contempt. That's what the text says. And now with this, the people are expressing the same attitude. Maybe the ground should have opened up and swallowed us too. The people should be humble before God. But instead they demonstrate their arrogance and their disregard for God and for His plan and for His holiness. And by now they know better. God has certainly made Himself known. Numerous times He has declared Himself and proven Himself to be the holy God. And He doesn't have to do that. He is God and He is holy and He's not obligated to prove anything to anybody. Yet He has proven Himself time and time again to be the holy God. And in their arrogance the people ridicule God and they ridicule His ability. Look at verses 4 and 5. Why did you bring the Lord's community into this desert? That we and our livestock should die here. Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates, and there's no water to drink. God has proven Himself to be faithful and willing and able on behalf of other people. So these complaints are beyond ridiculous. They are indeed downright blasphemous. God can do these things and He's proven it already. But in their arrogance they not only doubt His ability, they ridicule His ability. So we read here that Moses and Aaron went before the Lord again petitioning God for mercy and God offers a solution. Verse 8. Take the staff, you and your brother Aaron, gather the assembly together. Speak to the rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink. So you can see the instructions here. Speak to the rock and the rock will pour forth water. Moses proceeds but he acts in a manner different from what God instructed. Moses speaks and then he acts. Look at verses 10 and 11. Moses says, listen you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock? Then Moses raised his arm and he's holding the staff in his arm and he struck the rock twice with his staff. Now as we've just seen, that wasn't in the instructions. That wasn't in the plan. But that's what Moses did. And the desired result was achieved. Verse 11 says, water gushed out and the community and their livestock drank. God was still faithful to bless His people in this circumstance. Nevertheless, we see that God has examined Moses' heart. He judged his conduct. God has witnessed and He has judged the disobedience of Moses. Look at verse 12. You did not trust in me, Moses, enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites. There was a plan. Moses knew better. He knew he had to follow the plan and yet he did not do so. Trying to take the credit for himself. And look what happens. Now admittedly, Moses has a lot on his plate. His sister has just died. The people are being disobedient again. And let's face it. Forty years has likely taken its toll on this man who is, after all, only human. Can you imagine these people complaining for 40 years, dragging them around in the desert for 40 years… …sticking up for them for God for 40 years, falling on your face and petitioning God for them for 40 years? Would that not take its toll? Absolutely it would. Addressing the rock as God had ordered would have glorified God. But striking the rock with the staff put the focus on Moses. And for just a moment, Moses steps into the place of God. And in this moment, he represented God. He misrepresented God. And thus he dishonored God. And so here Moses is judged. And here's the judgment. You will not bring this community into the land I give them. So in the end, God showed himself as holy even before Moses. And we notice in the text, Moses could not and would not deny. Moses offers no complaint. Moses doesn't ask for a do-over. Moses knows. Moses knows. So we've seen so far Moses has lost his sister. And Moses has been told that he's not going to enter the promised land. Two big things that would take the wind out of anybody's sails. And yet there's more. This could be a difficult chapter for Moses. For the business of leading the people goes on. The journey is in his 40th year. Canaan is close by. Moses sends a petition to the king of Edom. And he requests passage through their land. Look at verse 14. Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. Now we recall that Edom is the nation of the descendants of Esau, who was the brother of Jacob. And Jacob and Esau, of course, were grandsons of Abraham. And notice what Moses writes next. He says, Hello, guys. This is what your brother Israel says. He's trying to make that connection in order to get a favorable answer. Edom and Israel are, in fact, related. And Moses is leaning on that kinship in an attempt to win Edom's favor. And with that, let's look at Moses' petition. This is verses 14 through 17. Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom saying, This is what your brother Israel says. You know about all the hardships that have come upon us. Our forefathers went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers. When we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry, and he sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard or drink water from any well. We'll travel along the king's highway. We'll not turn right or to the left until we have passed through your territory. Now Moses is making what seems to be a simple and honorable request. He says, We'll stay on the highway. We won't draw your wells dry. We won't trample your farms. We're just cutting through. We won't trash the place, and we'll be gone before you know it. Now this is kind of crazy because, of course, the people of Israel number some two million people. So how many days on one highway, not going to the right or left, are they going to be able to get this thing through? I don't know how they're going to make this happen. But, you know, the details, the numbers get lost, kind of fuzzy after a while, do they not? But this is the promise that he has made. But as we see, Edom's not having any of this. Verse 18, But Edom answered, You may not pass through here. And if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword. So Moses sends a follow-up message, a second request. He's being a good diplomat here, working some diplomatic skills. Verse 19, The Israelites replied, We will go along the main road. And if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we'll pay for it. We only want to pass you on foot, nothing else. Edom refused again. And to make sure that Israel got the message, verse 20 says that Edom came out against them with a large and a powerful army. Denial from the Edomites. So another detour to the south. Israel will go around instead of cut through. We might imagine Moses further rejected. Why does God not move the hearts of unbelieving Edom on behalf of the believing Israel? That's a question we all ask, do we not? You see the object in your path and you ask God to remove the object. And God doesn't remove the object. And now you find yourself having to go around the object. Now, is anyone here familiar with such a situation? I don't know. Maybe. I don't know. And, of course, the object might really be an object. But the object might also be a situation, or a circumstance, or a challenge, or a burden, or a disappointment, or a diagnosis, or an anxiety, or a fear, or a real tragedy. Sometimes God moves the object and sometimes He doesn't. But in these moments, we hold fast to the promise of God's Word. Recall Psalm 142, David writes these words. David writes, So sometimes God moves the object and sometimes God doesn't move the object. And it is then we realize, and this is important, it is then we realize that our trust is not in the object which we hope and pray would be absent, but our trust is in the God who is present. So we come to verses 23 through 29. Moses has lost his sister. Moses has been told he'll not enter the Promised Land. And now Moses has been informed by the Edomites that the Israelites cannot cut through their nation. On their way to Canaan, they're going to have to go around. And we've all heard the phrase, And here it is in Moses' case. The difficulties of life here compound for Moses. Moses gets the Word. If nothing else, here it is. Moses gets the Word that his brother Aaron will soon die. Verses 23 and 24, What did Aaron do? It was Moses who struck the rock. What did Aaron do? Well, at the very event which Moses rebelled against God and was judged by God, Aaron's being judged also. The staff used by Moses to draw water from the rock belonged to Aaron. And Aaron was the priest. So this is Aaron's responsibility. And the staff was used improperly. And that falls upon Aaron. And further, Aaron was the priest serving God's people. So there's a little ceremony here in the text. Verse 28, Now we know that Aaron and his line, his boys, are going to be the priests. And so this is already something that God has declared would be so. But here at the end, here in these last moments of Aaron's life, there's a little ceremony where the garment, the priestly garment that Aaron wears, will be taken off of his shoulders. Now at first this seems a little harsh, that he's getting stripped of his official clothing. But priests and pastors have to understand that the serving in the office is like the wearing of a garment. And we serve the king, and the king calls the shots. And when the king determines that the pastor or the priest is done serving, then the office of the king is to take away. This is the truth. This is the reality. And there is grace, though, for here as well. Psalm 115, verses 12 and 13, the psalmist wrote, The Lord remembers us and will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the Lord, small and great alike. So even though the garment is being removed from Aaron's shoulders, God's being gracious to him because he's letting Aaron know, Aaron, you don't have to do this anymore. It's okay. Your son's going to take over. And so in this last little act, this last little ceremony, the garment is removed from Aaron and is placed on Eleazar. Notice the middle phrase of verse 26, Aaron will be gathered to his people. Aaron will find rest and glory. Aaron will forever reside with the family of God. And with this, Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Towards the end of the book of Numbers, we find these words, Numbers chapter 33. It says, At the Lord's command, Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor, where he died on the first day of the fifth month of the 40th year, after the Israelites came out of Egypt. Aaron was 123 years old when he died. And as Numbers chapter 20 concludes, notice the text, the entire house of Israel mourned for him 30 days. The entire house of Israel, that includes Moses, who certainly grieved deeply over the death of Aaron. His brother, his fellow servant. These guys have been through a lot in 40 years. And I'm sure they've had their share of little arguments. We've seen some of those. We've seen some of the little brotherly discontent between these two from time to time. It's appeared in some places in the text. But they've been through a lot, and they've worked together, and they've led God's people through the wilderness. Moses, we see throughout Numbers, especially in this chapter, of course is very human, fraught with failures and disappointments. And in this part of the story, the events of life come at Moses very hard and very fast. This has been a lot to take in in a short period of time. But God is nevertheless sustaining Moses, sustaining him for the days to come. Now we then come to the beginning of Numbers chapter 21. And we find this short little story, just three little verses. The Canaanites attacked the Israelites, and they captured some of the people. And in response, before they do anything else, notice what the people of Israel do. And this is important, and you might not have noticed it. But what did the people of Israel do when the Canaanites attack and when they capture some of the people? Look at verse 2. Israel made a vow to the Lord. They didn't complain. And they didn't criticize Moses. And they didn't throw around that line of, let's go back to Egypt again. No, none of that. Instead, what did God's people do? They prayed. They prayed. Finally, after 40 years of arguing and rebelling and denying God, they prayed. The Scripture says, Israel, the people of God, made a vow to the Lord. They finally, finally. Can you imagine Moses saying, yes, 40 years, it only took you 40 years. And you finally got it. What do they do? They make a vow to the Lord. And how did God respond to his people? Listen to verse 3. The Lord listened to Israel's plea. He heard their prayer, and he answered their prayer. Shock! Amazement! Upon the people. The people made a vow to the Lord, and the Lord listened to their plea, and he answered their prayer. This is what we said when we said that there was a 40-year period of time in the wilderness. In that 40 years' time, God is working on his people and readying them for Canaan. And all through this time, whenever there was some sort of difficulty or trial that came about, the first thing they did is cried and complained. And they always threw in the line about going back to Egypt. And they just hated Moses, and they grumbled about Moses. But this time, this time, finally, when something comes up, they pray. Finally. Forty years later. And not only did God listen to their request, but he answered it. Look what it says. The text says that God gave the Canaanites over to them. God, of course, is going to use the Israelites to judge the Canaanites for their abhorrent worship practices. The Canaanites occupied the land. God is sending the Israelites into that land. And part of the reason he's doing so is he's going to judge the Canaanites for their abhorrent worship practices, which included, of course, child sacrifice. As we know, God is judging the Canaanites by giving the land over to Israel. So the victory over the Canaanites. And this victory is the first successful attempt by the Israelites to occupy the promised land. So Moses in this text has endured many difficulties. Moses has suffered personal loss. And he has seen the nation suffer loss. And he himself has sinned, and he was judged for it. But he has also seen the people of God respond in a new way, and in the right way. Moses has carried a lot of weight. Moses has felt the weight of the burden. And here, Moses has also tasted the glory of God as it rested upon the people. So now there's truly hope that God's people will one day reside and rest in the land of the promise. They can see it. They can taste it. It's close. And now the people of God are operating like the people of God are supposed to operate. So yes, the burden is heavy. Yes, it rests heavy upon Moses' shoulders. But also the glory of God is evident amongst the people of Israel. So in consideration of today's text, how might we here see Jesus in the wilderness? Well, let's go back to something we considered earlier. We noted that the text tells us that the Israelites were camped again at Kadesh. We pointed that out. And from Kadesh, God was giving them a second chance, a second opportunity to occupy Canaan. And we know and we recall that this theme of second chance appears in other places throughout Scripture. This is not the only time we've encountered this. It's available in other places in Scripture. Remember, of course, the story of Jonah, who refused the command of God to go to Nineveh. He was swallowed by a great fish and spit upon the dry land. And Jonah chapter 3 verse 1 says, Jonah got a second chance, a second opportunity to serve God. So this idea, this notion of a second chance runs throughout Scripture. And here the people of God are camped in Kadesh. And they're receiving – before them they've received a second chance. Now, if you've ever had the opportunity to hear the late Reverend Dr. Billy Graham, you would have likely heard him say on a number of occasions, he says this. He says God is the God of the second chance. I've heard many recordings of Graham say that over the years, sermons, his evangelistic crusades. And he liked to point that out, that God is the God of the second chance. And Dr. Graham would go on to explain. He would say, That's why we say that the journey through the wilderness is very much like our spiritual journey. Here's a second chance for the people of God. And for some of us today, we need to hear this message. Here you go. It's not quite 11 o'clock in the morning, but here's our second chance. Place your faith in Christ and in the grace and mercy he gives. Maybe for you, you needed this second chance, and here it is. Here's your second opportunity laid before you. Here's your second chance. Place your faith and trust in Christ. It doesn't matter how many sins. It doesn't matter how far you've strayed. It doesn't matter if you were one who was born and raised in the church, but you got away, and now you're coming back, and now you're hearing the gospel again, and now you're responding, and now you're interested, and now you're seeking, and now you hear and you feel the pull and the tug of the Holy Spirit upon your life. Place your faith and trust in Christ now. Trust in Jesus now. Proclaim your faith in Christ now. Here's your second chance. This is you. See me after worship today because we need to talk. Allow me the privilege of further introducing you to our Savior. His name is Jesus. Let's pray, shall we? Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner. I thank you that you would pour out grace and mercy. You have shown it to the people of Israel, even in the desert, even as they approached again the land of Canaan, and you've shown it to us, sinful and vile as we may be, yet you say to us, here's your second chance. You grant us grace and mercy, and you call us to receive it. And so we thank you, Father, that we have this second chance. And we thank you, Father, that for those of us who have professed and called in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you continue to do so, Father, and that your grace and mercy abounds and it never fails. And we thank you, Father, for this truth. Heavenly Father, we pray that in the days and weeks to come, as we have felt the burden of this life and of this world, just like Moses, Moses felt this really heavy burden. There was a time when it seemed like everything was going wrong for Moses. Nothing was going his way. Nothing was working out. He lost both his sister and his brother, and he couldn't go into the Promised Land, and his nation wasn't seeing any favor. All seemed dark and all seemed lost. But you were always present. And Moses could always trust in you. And Moses could always lean on you. And you always proved yourself faithful, faithful to your people, faithful to keep your promise. And so this morning, Father, your people call out to you. Father, be faithful to keep your promise. Pour out your love and your compassion upon us this day, we pray. Father, would you lift the burden from our shoulders? Father, would you pour out your grace and mercy upon us? Father, give us rest. Father, give us a refuge today from the wiles of the enemy and from the darkness of this world. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for your love for us. We praise you. We give you glory. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.