Faith Tried and True

The text of Scripture we're going to be looking at tonight and the story that we will unfold. The testing of Abraham, you know the Bible does talk about our testing and our trials in terms of fire that does consume the dross and purify the metal and leave it completely pure. First Peter chapter 1 verses 6 and 7 describe those kinds of tests in this way. And I think we have those verses actually for you on the screen this evening or do we? They're not there. Let me so that I don't misquote them, read them for you. First Peter chapter 1 verses 6 and 7. In this you greatly rejoice though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. You know the trials that come our way, the difficulties of life that inevitably come to all of us are used by God to refine us. They're used as a fire to purify us and to separate the dross and the uncleanness and impurity away from the pureness and metal that God wants us to develop in Christ's likeness. Certainly fire does that to nature. We every seems like every summer, every fall witness devastating fires in the western part of our country and certainly any loss of property or life is tragic. But quite often what those fires do to our natural resources is a good thing because God has so built our natural resources so that fire will actually destroy underbrush and things that may hinder proper growth of trees and so forth and they will then recover very well. For instance the Jack Pine Tree grows very tall and is found in many of the western states in our country and so the pine cones are way off the ground. They will sometimes remain in a tree for 25 years until a very serious fire which has very high flames will sear those pine cones causing them to pop and release thousands of seeds which will replenish and sometimes grow a whole new forest of pine trees. So God has a way of replenishing nature and certainly has a way of testing and replenishing and purifying his children through trials as well that are like fire, trying our faith like gold. Probably the best Old Testament example of that concept is the story we are going to read tonight in Genesis chapter 22 where Abraham is tested by God when God asks him to sacrifice his son. It is probably the incident that Abraham himself is best known for in the Bible and one of the best known if not the best known trial of faith in the Bible as well. So if you have your Bible open to Genesis 22 let's see what this passage has to say about faith that is tried and true. But before we jump into the verses I think a word must be said about the idea of God commanding a human sacrifice. That seems contrary to God's nature, it seems contrary to his own word. It was a common cultural practice in pagan religions even in Abraham's time but especially later on with Bale worship and other forms of idolatrous worship. But God would prohibit human sacrifice in the Mosaic law later on and he would certainly judge Israel for that kind of idolatry later in their history. And so we might ask how could God command that Abraham would actually offer his son as a sacrifice. And there have been some in grappling with this whole concept who have said that well maybe God only meant for Abraham to dedicate his son completely to him and Abraham misunderstood the command. But it's clear as we will read in verse 2 that God told Abraham to sacrifice him as a burnt offering. That's very clear. There's no question about what that means. And so how can we see God demanding that of Abraham? I think the only way to really see this passage in context of God's moral character and his later commands to Israel is that it was never God's intent for Abraham to actually sacrifice his son. This was presented to Abraham as a test to determine Abraham's faith and commitment. God actually prevented it before it ever took place. It was never God's intent for Isaac to actually be sacrificed as a burnt offering but it was God's intent to test Abraham's faith and commitment to him. So I want us tonight to look at that test and the results of that test and see what we can see that will help us in our lives. First of all I want us to see the trial of faith in verses 1 and 2. Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, Abraham, here I am. He replied, then God said, take your son, your only son Isaac whom you love and go to the region of Mariah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about. There are three features that I think stand out about this test that describe the trial of Abraham's faith and really describe the trials that we experience as well as a testing of faith. The first thing about this test of faith was that it was providential. Verse 1 says, God tested Abraham. This is a test that comes from God Himself. Now we know that God never tempts us. So if you have a version that uses the word tempt, it's probably necessary to understand. God never tempts us to do evil but he does test us. The Bible makes it very clear in the book of James chapter 1 and verses 13 and 14. When tempted, the Bible says no one should say God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires. He is dragged away and enticed. So temptation comes from within our own sin nature. It is sometimes offered to us or presented to us by Satan himself or we are allured by the world's system around us. But God is never the source of temptation. He however does test us through trials. And there are many reasons for testing. Sometimes God uses testing to chasten us because we have been disobedient to Him. We're not walking with Him in the way that we should. God sometimes chastens us through testing. Sometimes God uses testing to purify us. Like gold does a precious metal to purify us and make us more like Christ. Sometimes God uses testing to develop character and trust on our part in the Lord. Sometimes God uses testing to enable us to be of greater usefulness to Him because we understand more deeply what others go through when they are tested. We're able to be able to be used of God as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1 that we comfort others with the comfort by which we have been comforted of God. There's something about going through a test that softens us, that makes us more malleable clay in the hands of the potter that can then be used to be of an instrument of God to be used in others' lives. And so sometimes it's greater usefulness that God has for us. Sometimes the purpose of testing is simply to demonstrate Him to others by our response to demonstrate through the response that we give in obedience and faith to demonstrate more of God's character to someone else and to encourage them to strengthen them in the test they have. And we'll see a little bit later what the reason for Abraham's test was, but God always has a purpose, always has a purpose. He never sins or allows anything into our lives without some purpose. Many of those purposes that we've talked about or others in the Word of God may be true, but God never allows or sends anything without some purpose. God is always in control. He is always the potter. The clay is always in His hands. And even as Jeremiah 18 says, if God must mash the clay down to its original lump and with divine pressure squeezes our lives, presses in on our lives, He is always in control. He's always the potter. And so this testing of Abraham, like the testing in our lives, is providential. It is sent by God. It is allowed by God. But this test in Abraham's life is particularly severe. And you can see it in these verses, the Word for tested in verse 1. Some time later, God tested Abraham. This is in a particular form in the Hebrew, which is called an intensive form. Every Hebrew verbal form can be made more intensive by the way it's described and the way it actually has an ending on it. And so in this particular form, this is an intensive verb. This is not just a test. This is a severe test. This is Abraham being passionately tested, severely tested. And then we can also see it in the way the test is worded in verse 2, where God says, take your son, your only son, Isaac whom you love. And it is as though with each of those words or phrases, there is a pounding on the anvil of God testing us. Take your son, that hurts bad enough. Your only son, your only son, the son through whom all the promises of God to Abraham would come, your only son, Isaac, meaning the laughter, the son that has brought you such joy into your home and family. But not only your son, your only son, Isaac, the son you love, and Abraham is reminded by God's words himself, how much he loves his son. And it is as though with those very words, God is striking at that which is dearest to his heart, and the test becomes particularly severe in Abraham's heart and mind. You know, there are some trials that we experience that are more severe than others. There are some trials that are particularly severe in our lives. When a fire or a flood or a tornado consumes a lifetime of possessions, and sure a home can be rebuilt and other furniture can be bought, but it is the special memories, the things that were given you, the pictures that you had over the years or things that cannot be replaced. When those things happen, that is a particularly severe trial. When a business reversal or a loss of employment wipes out a lifetime of work and investment, or maybe a very serious illness toward the end of life wipes out everything you have accumulated. That is a particularly severe trial to go through when personal dreams are dashed. When you are on the verge of the end of your education and it doesn't happen, when you lose a job, when your marriage is decimated by an affair, when your ministry is gone and cannot be reclaimed, when children for whom you had such high hopes make a failure of their lives. Those kinds of dashing of dreams on human suffering and frailt in failure, particularly severe kinds of trials. When you must say goodbye to a lifelong friend or a loved one or when a loved one dies and you stand beside a grave side struggling to let go, there are some trials in life that are particularly severe. God sends them, God allows them, just like He did with Abraham. But this trial, providential as it was, particularly severe as it was, is unusually perplexing. This is a perplexing trial. This one defies all explanation. Verse 2, here is the trial. Sacrifice Him there as a bird offering on one of the mountains. I will tell you about. This defies all explanation. The Bible does not tell what went through Abraham's mind when He heard those words. But Abraham, like all Bible characters, is a person of like passions as we are, as the book of James says about Elijah. And so there is no question, but what there must have been questions in Abraham's mind. He doesn't express them. He doesn't say anything about them. But Abraham must have thought, is this consistent with God's nature? How could God ask something like this? Doesn't this contradict the promise of God? Certainly Abraham had to realize this is the Son through whom all the promises that God has been promising Him for 30 years or so. We'll come and there is no other Son. This was a miraculous Son. He's just had Ishmael taken away from Him. This is the Son of promise. Doesn't this contradict God's promise? How can God be asking this? I'm sure Abraham must have thought, how will I explain this to the Canaanites? We just saw in our last message on Abraham back in chapter 21 that he had developed a great testimony with the Philistines and a Bimolec. It took four years to rebound from a failure and build that testimony. And even though some of these Canaanite people's practice child sacrifice, Abraham's testimony for God is so clean and pure. Now, how is he ever going to explain this to the Canaanites? And pray tell, how will he ever explain this to Sarah? There's no indication that he tells Sarah what God has told him to do. But how will he explain this when he returns to Sarah? I'm sure that initially some of those questions must have passed through his mind. Because there are trials, Abraham faced one. Certainly we face them as well. Trials that come into our lives by God's design that simply defy any explanation. We can't reason why God would allow that, why God would send that, why this would be happening, how in the world we're going to make it through it. There are trials like that. But that is exactly where faith comes in. Because trials are trials of our faith. And if we do not respond in faith, then we are no better off than the world who is devastated by all of those things. So this is where faith comes in. This is where our response must be a response of faith. And so Abraham's trial, sent by God, particularly severe, perplexing as it was, Abraham responds in faith. And I want us to observe his response of faith. This is a wonderful example of faith. Maybe the most splendid example of faith in all the Old Testament. He responds with genuine faith and you can tell it. Because in verses 3 and 4, the response of faith, genuine faith, responds with unhesitating submission. Look at verse 3. Early the next morning, Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. This is an unhesitating submission. And although being as human as any of us, Abraham must have had some questions in his mind. This doesn't seem to make sense. He does not hesitate and he submits himself completely to God. Notice the very next morning, early the next morning. Abraham does not wait a week to see if God will change his mind. Or maybe he misunderstood the instructions of God. When God said this is what I'm requiring of you. Early the next morning, there's no plea bargaining. There's no arguing. There's no resisting. There's no doubting. Even if there were some of the questions in his mind that he had, he does not verbalize them. He does not resist God or doubt God. Early the next morning. He prepares and notice, step by step, very calmly, very deliberately. He gets his donkey ready. He prepares two of his servants. No doubt had to explain to them what was going to be happening. They would be called away from their duties in the household for a few days. He has to rouse his son Isaac and explain, we're going on a trip. So all of this is taking a little bit of time. And then at the end of verse three, when he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, all of this takes some time. But he is deliberately moving toward obedience and submission to the Lord. He does what is necessary to accomplish what God told him to do. And then he sets off for the journey, the end of verse three. And traveled for three days, three days. Can you imagine what those three days would have been like? Can you imagine what he would have been thinking? What heroic faith! There is no wavering evidence in the text in Abraham's heart. He simply responds with an unhesitating heroic submission to God. I would suggest to you that that shows deep faith in God even though he may not understand what God is requiring of him. He will submit to God unhesitatingly. Here is a Chinese proverb that goes something like this. The bird does not sing because he has an answer. The bird sings because he has a song. And you know my friend, when we face these kinds of trials in life that we cannot explain, we cannot understand we are not sure we can bear. Faith submits to God not because it has answers, not because it has explanations. Faith submits unhesitatingly to God because we have a song of faith in Him. And we back up against the strong wall and support of God's sovereignty knowing that God has a purpose in whatever He expects of us, whatever He sends us through. And so when God says this is the course of your life for right now, this is the path you must walk and go through. We unhesitatingly submit to that. It may hurt, it may not be pleasant, there may be questions, but unhesitatingly submitting is what faith in God does because faith in God does not question Him even if we question why He's doing what He's doing. Faith, genuine faith responds with unhesitating submission. Secondly, Abraham responded with unwavering confidence. Unwavering confidence. Verse 5, He said to His servants, stay here with the donkey. Why and the boy go over there? We will worship and then we will come back to you. Now note what He says. This is unwavering confidence in God's power. Did you see what He said? He said to the servants, now you stay here when they got to the mountain that God had showed Him. This is the place you're to sacrifice Isaac. He says to the servants, you stay here. We plural, meaning Isaac and I will worship and then we will come back to you. We will go up on that mountain and worship and we will come back to you. How is it that Abraham can have that kind of unwavering confidence in the power of God? Well thankfully we have a divine commentary on this very thing in Hebrews chapter 11. Look at these verses, verse 17 says, by faith, Abraham when God tested him offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises, notice the emphasis on the promise through Isaac. He who had received the promises was about the sacrifice is one and only son. And though God had said to him, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. Again, it makes no sense. But here's the unwavering confidence. Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from the dead. You know what Abraham was thinking? Is they went up that hill? Abraham was thinking, I don't understand how all this fits together. All the promises God made to me about a great nation coming from me and a land that nation would inhabit and all peoples of the earth being blessed through my seed. All of those promises rest in this boy, Isaac. And now God's telling me to go up on this mountain and burn him as a sacrifice to him. The only way I can put those two things in my mind is that God will raise him from the dead and we will walk back down this mountain together. Now the amazing thing about this kind of unwavering confidence in God's power is that Abraham has no previous example to base this on. You know it might be, I'm not saying it would be, but it might be potentially could be a little easier for us to have that kind of confidence because there are some evidences in Scripture. Now that Scripture is complete, that God does raise the dead. We could point back to Lazarus. We could point back to Jairus' daughter. We could point back to the widow of Nain in Luke 17 and her son being raised from the dead. And we could say Jesus has done that before. Abraham has no historical record that God's ever done that before. There's no record in the book of Genesis. God's ever raised anybody from the dead. And yet Abraham simply believes that if God wants me to sacrifice the very one through whom his promises will come to me, the only way that will happen is that we will go up that mountain. I will obey God and do what God tells me to do. And then he will raise him from the dead and we'll walk back down the mountain. I don't think Abraham is bluffing his servants here. I think this is an unwavering confidence in God's power. But there is also an unwavering confidence in God's provision. Look at verse 6. Abraham took the wood and just think through this step by step. What Abraham must be thinking is he does. Abraham took the wood for the burn offering and placed it on his son Isaac. And he himself carried the fire and the knife. Obviously evidently as would be done in that day carrying some coals in a pan, coals from the fire to light a fire under the sacrifice. He's got the knife in the verse 6. As the two of them went on together Isaac spoke up and said to his father, Abraham, father. Yes my son, Abraham replied. The fire and wood are here Isaac said, but where is the lamb for the burn offering? Abraham answered, God himself will provide the lamb for the burn offering my son and the two of them went on together. An unwavering confidence in God's provision. What a penetrating question. It must have struck a dagger through Abraham's heart as he heard his son ask. Dad seems like we're forgetting something here. We've got the wood. We've got the coals. We've got the knife. Here's the sacrifice. And Abraham's answer I believe again in confidence and faith in God not in just trying to bluff his son, but in confidence in God. Abraham says with unwavering confidence in God's power, God himself will provide a burn offering my son. All he knows is that God is commanding in the do this. He will be obedient to God and he must leave the matter with God beyond that. I don't know how it's going to happen. I don't know exactly what God is going to do. I believe that God himself will provide a sacrifice. Now as we know from Hebrews 11, Abraham must have been thinking the sacrifice Isaac is you, but God will raise you from the dead and will walk back down the hill together. He probably could not explain that to Isaac, but he knew that God would provide in whatever way God would provide. I will leave that matter with you, God. You will provide. There are some tests, some trials in life that we cannot see our way through and we must come to the conclusion as we submit to God and His providential purpose in our lives, whatever that may be, that we must come to the conclusion. God, I'm just going to trust you. I don't understand how this is going to work. I don't understand exactly what you expect of me, but I'm going to obey you and I trust you to work out the details. I'm just trusting you with an unwavering confidence in your ability to do the miraculous if need be to accomplish whatever you want to do, an unwavering confidence. That's how genuine faith responds. Thirdly, genuine faith responds with undeniable action, undeniable action, verse 9. When they reached the place God had told him about Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it and noticed what happens next. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. Abraham really intends to carry this to its conclusion. He builds the altar. He binds his son on that altar as a sacrifice. He takes the knife to actually take his son's life. Abraham is truly going to be obedient to God and carry this out to its conclusion. Faith is always demonstrated undeniable in action. The Bible says that over and over and over again. In fact, the Bible uses this very incident as an example that faith is always seen in action. It's always evidenced by action. The Bible uses this as an example in James chapter 2. Listen to these words, verse 14. What good is it my brothers if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is at close and daily food. If one of you says, go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed. But does nothing about his physical needs? What good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accomplished by action, is dead. But someone will say, you have faith, I have deeds. This is what James says about that. Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do. Here's the principle, faith, even saving faith is always seen. It is always evidenced in action. You see, this is the flip side, doctrinally, this is the flip side of eternal security. We talked about eternal security this morning. You know what the flip side of that is? The perseverance of the saints. Now that's a doctrinal term that many use to describe the kind of the other side of the coin of eternal security. And that is this, that if you are genuinely saved, there is genuine faith, it will be evidenced in your life in some way. There will be some evidence, some turning away from the old life, some appetite for the things of God, some desire for other people to know Christ, some pursuit of Christ's likeness. There will be some evidence. Jesus Himself said, the seed that falls on good ground springs up and does what? Bears fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, some hundredfold. There are different levels of fruit and different people grow at different rates. But every good seed or seed that falls on good ground does bear fruit. There's some evidence, there's something you can see in the life that's different. And that's what James says. So he goes on to say this, you believe that there is one God? Good, even the demons believe that. And shudder, you foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Here's the example. Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous? Considered by other people. In other words, they saw it worked out in his life. That he really was righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. You see that his faith and his actions were working together and his faith was made complete by what he did. That's not that what we do makes our faith complete in God's eyes. But what we do makes our faith evident to other people's eyes. It is the evidence that our faith is genuine. Verse 23, the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. And he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. Or in other words, by a faith, that shows itself in works. So you see Abraham being tested here shows his faith in undeniable action. Faith is always seen in our deeds, in our actions. So the response of faith, Abraham, genuine faith, always is seen in unhesitating submission, unwavering confidence, undeniable action. But before we leave this part of the story, I cannot help but point out that in this story, especially in verse 9, we have an unequaled example in the Word of God of the sacrifice of Christ. There is no better example, Old Testament illustration in the Bible than this. Abraham built the altar, arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Isaac himself demonstrates faith and unquestioned unhesitating submission. Isaac was in his late teens at this time. Why did Abraham put the wood on him for him to carry it up the hill? Because he's a young, strong man. Abraham's over a hundred years old. Good bit over a hundred by now. Here is a young, strong, hardworking, young man. And yet he has complete confidence in his father. And when his father binds him to that author, he has such deep confidence and love that he does not resist. He does not question. I believe Isaac's faith is as marvelous as Abraham's faith. What a beautiful picture of the sacrifice of Christ. It's almost impossible to escape the likeness to God's provision for our salvation. Here is a loving father offering his son as a sacrifice. And here is a loving son willingly giving his life as a sacrifice. What a beautiful picture of Jesus. Of the father giving him in love for us. The father who loved his son but willing to give him as a sacrifice for us. And the beauty of a son who willingly submits himself to the father's plan. An unequaled example of the sacrifice of Christ. So once Abraham's faith is tested, it's tried and it is found to be true. Abraham experiences the blessed rewards of faith. And let me just mention them in verses 11 through 19. The first one, God's purpose is revealed. God's purpose revealed in verses 11 and 12. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven. Abraham. Abraham. Here I am, he replied, do not lay a hand on the boy. He said, do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son. God's purpose now is revealed. Why did God ask him to do this? Not so that Abraham would have to give up his son. Not so that Isaac would be sacrificed or killed. God did this to prove the depth of his faith, his commitment and his obedience to God. God's purpose that was demonstrated as much for Abraham's strengthening and growth as anything. Once that was demonstrated, God says, my purpose is revealed. There's no longer any need to take Isaac's life. And so God's purpose is revealed. In verses 13 and 14, God's provision is received. Verse 13, Abraham looked up and saw there in a thicket. And there in a thicket, he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burn offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place, the Lord will provide. And to this day it is said, on the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided. God's provision is received. He found the ram, a ram that was caught in a thicket, that either because of Abraham's preoccupation with obedience and all that his heart was involved in doing that he never saw or maybe because the ram itself was too weak from fighting to get out of that thicket. But now God shows him here is my provision for the sacrifice. God will always provide for us when we trust Him. And unquestioningly submit to Him, unwaveringly have confidence in Him and undeniably act upon that faith. Whenever we do that, God will always provide a way through the trial. So God's provision is received and then God's promise is renewed. In verse 15, the angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, I swear by myself declares the Lord that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me. What does that sound like? That's the Abrahamic covenant once again repeated to Abraham. It's been repeated three or four times in this series of chapters that we've read on the life of Abraham. Once again, it is repeated. God's promise is renewed. Infatically, the covenant that God had made with Abraham is renewed. It's repeated once again. God really does mean what He says. And whenever we obey God in times of trial and willingly submit to Him, His promises are more deeply embedded on our hearts than we've ever experienced them before. So God's promise is renewed and then God's possession is returned in verse 19. Then Abraham returned to his servants and they set off together for Bersheba and Abraham stayed in Bersheba. God's possession is returned. What He was willing to give up to God? God gave back to Him. Didn't Jesus say something like that? Matthew chapter 16 and verse 25, for whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for me will find it. You can spend your whole life trying to make something of your life, trying to grasp everything you can and you will ultimately lose it. If you give your life away to Him, if you are willing to obey Him, no matter what He says, if you're willing to unhesitatingly trust Him, no matter what trial you go through, you will receive back with a different outlook, with a deeper appreciation, with a better capacity to enjoy whatever God asked from you. Whenever He takes something from us, He replaces it with something better. And some things may be taken from us, but God always replaces it when we trust Him with that which He wants for us to have. Great good came from a great trial as it always does in God's purpose and plan. I wonder, is your faith being tried right now? Is it being tried severely? The real question beyond that is, will you be found to be faithful and true and genuine? Depends on how you respond. Does it depend on how you respond to that trial? Will you submit to the Lord unhesitatingly? Will you have confidence in Him that does not waver? And will you act on that faith in obedience to Him in an unhesitating undeniable way? So then God will bring good and the fire that is trying you right now will simply purify you and make you a better instrument for His use. Faith tried and true. It's true in Abraham's life. It can be true in yours too. Let's pray together. We are grateful that we can rest in you and trust in you. We are so thankful, Father, that no matter what comes our way and we cannot imagine anything is devastating or as unexplainable as what happened to Abraham, no matter what comes our way, we can respond in the way He did. So help us as we leave tonight to really meditate on how Abraham's faith and response to this trial, how it impacts our lives, what it means for what we're facing right now. And so Lord, I pray for that dear brother or sister here tonight who may be facing an awful trial, regardless of what it may be, Lord, by Your Spirit take these principles from Your Word and specifically apply them to that brother's heart, to that sister's heart in a way that will encourage them and lift them up and strengthen them in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.