Chapter 53
JESUS, THE AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH
Matthew 14:22-33
Before we begin this study, let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father God, please cause us to understand and accept the teaching we are about to receive. Cause us to not only understand what You are teaching us but also cause us to do it. Please Father God, move us and guide us to the activities You wish to accomplish through us.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
We begin by reading what occurred right after Jesus fed the five thousand men along with the women and children. More specifically, let us read what took place after Jesus told the disciples to get into a boat and cross over the Sea of Galilee towards Capernaum. To do this we go to,
Matthew 14:22-33
[22] Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. [23] And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. [24] But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. [25] Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. [26] And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. [27] But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” [28] And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” [29] So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. [30] But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” [31] And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” [32] And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. [33] Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
Let us notice the following verses,
25 … After Jesus prayed, to catch up with His disciples, He walked on top of the water.
26 … Upon seeing Jesus walking upon the water His disciples thought He was a ghost and became afraid.
27 … Jesus told them to not be afraid for it is I, Jesus.
28-29 … To be sure it was Jesus, Peter asked Him to command him to come to Him on the water. Notice: Peter did not take the initiative nor was he presumptuous. Instead, Peter waited for Jesus’ command.
30 … Unfortunately, upon looking at the violent wind, Peter began to lose faith.
31 … Jesus grabbed Peter and saved him from drowning.
32 … After Jesus and Peter entered the boat, the wind ceased.
33 … Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
As one reflects upon this interaction between Jesus and Peter, we come to realize the following truth:
“Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of our Faith”
(Hebrews 12:2a)
To expand upon this truth the remaining portions of this study is partitioned into the following three topics:
1. God is the initiator or author of our faith.
2. God is also the perfecter of our faith.
3. God expects us to act upon and follow His command.
With this introduction in mind, let us now explore the fact that,
GOD IS THE INITIATOR OR AUTHOR OF OUR FAITH
To see this we will review two examples from the Old Testament and two examples from the New Testament.
We begin with,
TWO OLD TESTAMENT EXAMPLES
The first example from the Old Testament is,
Moses
To see that Moses’ faith was initiated by God let us read what happened when Moses met God on top of Mount Horeb, as recorded in,
Exodus 3:1-11
[1] Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. [2] And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. [3] Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” [4] So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” [5] Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” [6] Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. [7] And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. [8] So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. [9] Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. [10] Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” [11] But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Let us notice the following verses,
1 … Moses was tending his father-in-law’s flock of sheep.
2 … The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses. In other words, God initiated the encounter.
4 … Not only did God appear to Moses but God also spoke to him.
10-11 … God told Moses He was sending him to deliver the Israelites from their slavery to the Egyptians. Note that this was not Moses’ plan nor did he think he was capable of performing the task.
As a result of this encounter, God used Moses for the historic and miraculous deliverance of Israel from their bondage to the Egyptians.
The second example from the Old Testament is that of,
The Prophet Ezekiel
To discover what occurred between God and Ezekiel we go to,
Ezekiel 1:1-3
[1] Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. [2] On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, [3] the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
Let us notice the following verses,
1 … The heavens were opened for Ezekiel to see visions of God.
3 … The Word of God came specifically to Ezekiel.
To read what God said to Ezekiel let us go to,
Ezekiel 2:1-3
[1] And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” [2] Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. [3] And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.
Let us notice the following verses,
1-2 … When God spoke to Ezekiel, the Holy Spirit entered him, stood him up and Ezekiel heard God speaking to him.
3 … God told Ezekiel to go to the children of Israel. Note that as it was with Moses, this also was not Ezekiel’s plan or idea. It was all God’s.
Let us now proceed to,
TWO NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLES
To do this we will read about
Ananias and Saul (also known as Paul)
For this example we begin by reading what happened to Saul, who is also known as Paul, while on his way to arrest the Christians who were living in Damascus. To do this we will read from
Acts 9:1-9
[1] Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest [2] and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. [3] As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. [4] Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” [5] And he said, “Who are You, Lord? Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” [6] So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” [7] And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. [8] Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. [9] And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Let us notice the following verses,
1-2 … Paul was on his way to Damascus to arrest those who became Christians and take them for trial in Jerusalem.
3-5 … While travelling to Damascus a great light shone from Heaven. Jesus then admonished Paul for persecuting His disciples.
6 … In response to Jesus’ admonishment, Paul asked Jesus what He wanted him to do. Jesus told Paul to go into the city and there he would be told what to do.
8-9 … Because of the great light, Paul lost his sight. In addition, Paul was so taken back by the encounter with Jesus that he did not eat or drink for three days.
To read what happened in Damascus, let us now read from,
Acts 9:10-19
[10] Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” [11] So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. [12] And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.” [13] Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. [14] And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” [15] But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. [16] For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” [17] And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” [18] Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. [19] So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.
Let us notice the following verses,
10-11 … It was the Lord who told Ananias to go to Straight Street and find Saul of Tarsus. Note how specific the Lord was in His command.
12 … Jesus also told Ananias that He prepared Paul for his visit.
13-14 … Ananias knew of Paul’s reputation for persecuting the disciples of Jesus and his mission to arrest them. Consequently, Ananias did not want to go and look for Paul.
15-17a … The Lord told Ananias that Paul was one of His chosen people. He also told Ananias that Paul, for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, was going to suffer many things. As a result of our Lord’s conversation with Ananias he now had the faith to go and meet with Paul.
17b-18 … Through the hands of Ananias Saul became a born-again believer of Jesus Christ. In addition, God restored Paul’s sight.
Let us take note that from the time Paul left on his journey to Damascus it was our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who told Paul and Ananias what to do and where to go. None of Paul’s and Ananias’ actions were something they decided to do in and of themselves. It was our Lord who initiated and gave them the faith to accomplish His will.
THE APPLICATION FOR US
This brings us to the question for you and me. “Specifically, how does this relate to our salvation and our Christian walk?”
First of all,
It is God the Father who brought us to Jesus
To see this let us read what Jesus said with respect to this truth in,
John 6:44-45
[44] No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. [45] It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God. Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
Secondly,
The faith we have was given to us by God
This truth is recorded in,
Ephesians 2:8
[8] For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Thus we discovered that not only was God the initiator for us to be saved but it was Him who gave us the faith to receive it.
As we read earlier in this study God.
GOD IS ALSO THE PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH
In other words, before we attempt to do or believe something in His name God wants us to be sure that it is from Him. He does this by perfecting our faith in Him, in His promises and in what He has commanded us to do or believe. To see this we will read the examples of Gideon of the Old Testament and then Thomas of the New Testament.
We begin with,
GIDEON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
The account of Gideon begins with,
God’s call for Gideon to attack the Midianites
To read about the encounter Gideon had with God let us go to,
Judges 6:11-16
[11] Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. [12] And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” [13] Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” [14] Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” [15] So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” [16] And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”
Let us notice the following verses,
11-12 … While Gideon was threshing wheat, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him. The reason Gideon was threshing wheat in a wine press was because periodically the Midianites, Israel’s enemy, would come and either destroy or pillage the Israelite’s crops. It is interesting to note that the Lord called Gideon a man of valor.
13 … Gideon questioned the Lord about His protection over the children of Israel. In fact, Gideon believed God had forsaken them.
14a … The Lord told Gideon to go and deliver the Israelites from the oppression of the Midianites.
14b … God also told Gideon it was He who sent him for this task.
15 … Even though God called Gideon a man of valor, Gideon was still very aware of his limitations. Consequently Gideon questioned God’s command for him to go and save Israel.
16 … The Lord reassured Gideon He would be with him and he would defeat the Midianites.
However, Gideon was not sure about all this
Even though the Lord talked with him, Gideon did not yet have the required faith and belief that he actually heard from the Lord. To see this let us read from,
Judges 6:17-18
[17] Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. [18] Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.” And He said, “I will wait until you come back.”
Let us notice the following verse,
17 … To be sure that He heard from God, Gideon asked for a sign.
As a side note, we may also find ourselves in a similar position. Thus, before we accept and act upon a command we thought we may have heard from God, we must be sure it did not come from the evil one. One of the tests for this is recorded in,
1 John 4:1-4
[1] Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. [2] By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, [3] and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
Unfortunately, this test may not always be possible to make. Thus, we must be sure that the command we heard does not violate God’s Word. To see this we go and read an excerpt from Peter’s defense as to why he went to the non- Jewish house of Cornelius. This is recorded in,
Acts 11:5-9
[5] “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me. [6] When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. [7] And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ [8] But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’ [9] But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’
Let us remember Peter was raised in and devoutly obeyed the strict Jewish laws of what he was and was not permitted to eat. “How did Peter know the vision he saw was from God?” Let us recall, Peter actually heard Jesus’ teaching on this subject. To read it, we go to,
Mark 7:14-19
[14] When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: [15] There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. [16] If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” [17] When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. [18] So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, [19] because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?”
Finally, there may be times, as Gideon did, an honest and a highly improbable fleece may be needed.
To see this we return to Judges and read that,
God reassured Gideon that it really was Him
To read what occurred let us now read from,
Judges 6:19-24
[19] So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. [20] The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. [21] Then the Angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. [22] Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.” [23] Then the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” [24] So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
This time Gideon had enough faith to realize and believe that God had and was speaking to him. To see this let us read from,
Judges 6:25-27
[25] Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it; [26] and build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.” [27] So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the Lord had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.
Let us notice the following verses,
25-26 … God commanded Gideon to tear down the altar of Baal and build an altar to God.
27 … Even though Gideon knew God had commanded him to tear down the altar of Baal, he did not have the faith or courage to do it in daylight. In other words, Gideon’s faith was still not perfected for the task of attacking the Midianites.
After the incident with the altar of Baal,
The Midianites had gathered together
To see this and what happened next let us read from,
Judges 6:33-35
[33] Then all the Midianites and Amalekites, the people of the East, gathered together; and they crossed over and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. [34] But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him. [35] And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
Let us notice the following verses,
34-35 … Empowered by the Holy Spirit Gideon summoned only a portion from the army of Israel.
The moment of truth had come. The Midianites and the Amalekites, Israel’s enemies, had gathered together. Gideon had summoned a portion of Israel’s army. However, Gideon’s faith was still not perfected for the task. To be sure that God would save them in their fight,
Gideon asked God for a sign involving a fleece of wool
To read what occurred let us go to,
Judges 6:36-40
[35] And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. [36] So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— [37] look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” [38] And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. [39] Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” [40] And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.
Now Gideon’s faith was perfected for the task. Now Gideon was placed his faith in God that He would fulfill His promise to him. The seventh chapter of the book of Judges records how God used Gideon to defeat the armies of the Midianites and Amalekites.
For our New Testament we go to,
THE EXAMPLE OF THOMAS
After Jesus rose from the dead, several times He appeared to His disciples. He did this to perfect their faith and belief that He had truly physically risen from the dead and He was truly alive. Jesus’ first appearance to His disciples is recorded in,
John 20:19-25
[19] Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” [20] When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. [21] So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” [22] And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. [23] If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” [24] Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. [24] The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord. So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Let us notice the following verses,
19 … With doors closed, Jesus appeared to His disciples.
20 … This is the time when the disciples saw for themselves that Jesus had physically risen from the dead and is alive. Now they had the faith to fulfill the requirements of Romans 10:9-11 to be born-again of the Holy Spirit. To see this let us read from,
Romans 10:9-11
[9] that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. [11] For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
We now return to chapter 20 of Romans and notice the following verses,
22 … Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into them and they were now born again of the Holy Spirit.
24 … However, Thomas was not present at this time. Thus, he did not see the resurrected Christ.
25 … Even though the disciples told Thomas they had seen Jesus, he still did not believe Jesus physically rose from the dead and was alive.
Wanting to perfect Thomas’ faith, eight days later Jesus appeared to him.
To read what happened let us now read from,
John 20:26-29
[26] And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” [27] Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” [28] And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” [29] Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
This brings us to,
THE APPLICATION FOR US
In reflecting upon all we have covered, one might ask: “How does God perfect my faith?” The Bible clearly teaches us that,
God perfects our faith through His Word
To see this let us read the following Scripture,
Romans 10:17
[17] So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Let us notice the following verses,
17a … Faith comes by hearing. Hearing God’s Word can come through preaching, teaching and sometimes directly from God. However, the most common way to hear God’s Word is by daily reading the Bible.
17b … Our ability to hear God’s Word is granted to us from God. Thus, our ability to hear God’s Word is also a gift from God. This is why the Bible tells that Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
As a side note, even though I could not find an explicit teaching that tells us faith is perfected through answered prayer, I suspect this is also another avenue God uses to strengthen our faith.
After our Lord has given and perfected our faith,
OUR LORD EXPECTS US TO ACT UPON HIS WORD
To see this we return to our examples and see that they all followed or obeyed God’s command.
First there was Peter.
After Jesus told Peter to step out of the boat, Peter did exactly that.
Secondly, there was Moses.
Throughout the first five books of the Old Testament we read that God used Moses, to perform many miracles to deliver the Israelites from their bondage/slavery to the Egyptians.
Our third example was Ezekiel.
For approximately 54 years God used Ezekiel to speak to the Israelites.
Our fourth example was Paul.
Using Paul God, delivered the message of the good news about Jesus Christ to the Gentile nations. In addition, God used Paul to write 14 letters for the New Testament.
Finally, there was Gideon.
With only three hundred Israelites, God used Gideon to defeat the vast army of the Midianites.
THE MESSAGE
The point or message for this portion of our study is summed up in,
James 2:26
[26] For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
CONCLUSION
How shall we close this study? What is the point? What is the message? Besides the obvious, that Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith, perhaps the best way to close is by reading the following parable from,
Luke 6:46-49
[46] “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? [47] Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: [48] He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. [49] But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
Shall we pray?