The Blessed, The Cursed, and The Near Cursed

Hebrews chapter 6. As you're turning there, ask yourself this question. What else does God need to do in order for me to completely trust in Him? What more does God need to do so that I would yield my life completely to Him? Oh, that God would give us hearts to believe what has already been done, that our hearts would not be slow in understanding and slow to grasp all that God's Word says about Christ and what He has done.

Hebrews chapter 6, verses 7 and 8 for ground that drinks. The rain, which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God. But if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed.

And it ends up being burned. Now, the title of this morning's message is the blessed, the cursed, and the near-cursed. Now, if I was creative, I could have done something like this: the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good, oops, I don't know what I just did.

The good are the blessed in our text. The bad are the cursed in the text. And the ugly are the near-cursed. So it would have been a perfect opportunity to be creative and the good, the bad, and the ugly. In fact, I could have had some Western music.

But I'm not that creative. I like for there to be a connection between the language in the text and to the outline. Because in our text, there really are this morning the blessed. The cursed and the near-cursed. And yes, one of them is good, one of them's bad, and the other is just plain ugly.

But let's talk through this text in the language that the scripture gives us. So that's what I want to do this morning. We have a simple analogy that's set before us in these two verses. I call it a little parable of the soils, a many parable of the soils.

There's two soils in view, and it's a summary of what has just been said previously in chapter 6. I like analogies because we're able to bring spiritual truths alongside physical realities and make sense out of them. So we have two plots of land. Look back at verse 1.

For ground that drinks in the rain. Two plots of land, ground, earth, two plots. Both drink in the same rain that falls from the heavens. So there's a simple analogy happening here that we all get: rain falling on two plots of land. And rain itself in the scriptures often refers to the goodness of God.

Both are tilled. Both soils are tilled. In fact, Paul in Acts chapter 4, as he's preaching to the Galatians, he says this in verse 16: In the generations gone by, God permitted all the nations to go their own ways, and yet he did not leave himself without a witness, in that he did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.

There's a physical blessing that comes from rain. He's also speaking about spiritual rain. That is the parallel that he's making there. Rain. In the context here, what is rain? Rain is, generally speaking, the goodness of God. In the big picture, it's the goodness of God. Something from heaven.

Rain is something that comes down from heaven. It's not something that comes up. Rain comes down from heaven. That's what physical rain does. Spiritual rain, goodness of God, really manifests itself more specifically as the good word of God. It's what he calls it here in verse 5, and have tasted the good word of God.

The good word, something from God, something coming from him to us. The good word of God is not Something that comes from man, it is something from heaven, truth, heavenly truth coming to us. And it was in the proclamation of the gospel that the Hebrews were awakened, that they were enlightened.

There's a lot of things happening, a lot of good things happening because the good word of God was proclaimed among them. And all those associated ministries with that apostolic era of the gospel making its way to the Hebrews. In fact, this is what happens. Verse 4, look back.

For in the case of those who have once been enlightened, that was happening. There was real enlightenment. There was those who tasted of the heavenly gift. There were those who had been made partakers of the Holy Spirit. They had tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come.

All of that was present with the proclamation of the gospel. And there were those who, for a while, were part of what God was doing. They were party to it, close to it. And yet they turned away. There's another point of contact in this parable, this little mini parable, and that's the ground.

The ground. What is the ground? So the rain is God's good word, the goodness of God showered all around, and more. Specifically, in his word, general revelation, specific revelation in his word. And then there's the ground. What is the ground? Well, that's the audience on which this good word came down from heaven.

It was these Hebrews, and they were a mixture of soil types. Both had experienced the same rain and yielded very different results. And then there's another point of connection with this analogy: the crops. Crops. So we can think of the people as soil, God's Word as rain, and then the crops that they yield as what they did with God's Word.

So you have the rain, you have God's Word coming down, you have soils, people that take in God's Word, and then you have the crops that they produce. Rain is a blessed thing. Many of us were disappointed that that tropical storm went to the east of us last week.

We're going, yes, it's rain. Boy, their land's thirsty. Well, dry soil needs rain in order to see. Sprout and vegetation. And throughout Scripture, we see it in a number of places where God's word is used as a metaphor, or rain is used as a metaphor as God's word.

You remember Moses in Deuteronomy 3:21, he says, Let the earth hear the words of my mouth, let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, as the droplets on the fresh grass, and showers upon the herb. He's saying, Let the earth hear my words.

That's what Moses said. Let the peoples hear my words, and as a result, this is what Moses is saying, ascribe greatness to God. That's the purpose of heavenly truth: to come down to be brought in, drunk in by us, and then cause about greatness, magnification of God in our hearts, and the works and produces and produce that comes from that.

Isaiah, I read Isaiah 55 earlier. Remember what Isaiah says in Isaiah 55:10, for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return without watering the earth and making it bare and sprout. Rain comes down, that's what makes the earth bare and sprout. So, Isaiah continues in 55, 11, so will my word be which goes forth from my mouth.

It will not return to me empty without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the manner for which I sent it. So, rain comes down, lands upon the earth, and it produces vegetation from the earth. Some good, some bad. So, in this context, the rain is what causes the soil to be revealed.

It's the rain, that good word of God, that causes the soil to be revealed for what it is. If you look around our property, there's one place where we've planted a tree that some of you all may know, it keeps dying there. I don't know why it is, but there's one place.

All the other trees seem to grow, but then there's one place, this tree, each time we plant it, it dies, it dies, it dies. I plant a garden, planted a lot of seeds this year, had a bunch of spaghetti squash going. Some of them all came up, and I don't know why.

I treated them all the same, and some of them, it didn't matter what happened, they just died. Some of them. Went on. I don't know what's going on in the soil, but they got the same treatment, all of them, and yet very different results. So there's the picture.

You've got the rain, you have the ground, and then you have the crops. And this is a summary of what he has just said. And so that's generally those points of contact. Now, I want to look specifically at these three people types, these three kinds of people that the author has just described in the preceding verses leading up to this chapter.

And so we want to do all this so that we will heed the warning that's here. We're in the middle of a warning section. And like good soil, we need to heed the warnings. We need to hear the warnings, understand the warnings, and take heed. That's what the faithful do, they observe the warning signs.

The unbelievers do not. And so there's an exhortation here to observe the warning signs. So, first we'll start looking at the blessed. Look at verse 7: the blessed. For ground that drinks the rain, which often falls on it, and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also.

Tilled receives a blessing from God. So, what is the soil? Well, we know that they are those who are pressing on to maturity. Look back at verse 1 of this chapter. Therefore, leaving the elementary teachings about the Christ, let us press on to maturity. Let us press on to maturity.

There are those among the Hebrews who were pressing on to maturity. There are those in this congregation who are pressing on to maturity in Christ's likeness, going forth, taking hold of that which God has taken hold of you, pressing forward to maturity. Notice how they're described. They're described as useful, useful vegetation.

They are useful. Vegetation of the beneficial kind. Notice what the blessed do. For the ground that drinks in the rain, they're the people who take in that good word, that goodness of God. Like thirsty ground takes in heavenly rain. And so the blessed are these thirsty souls, souls who long for the word of God.

And hear it, they take it in, and not only do they take it in, they take it to heart. They believe the Word of God. They appropriate it in their life. They bring their life and their thinking in line with the Word of God. And they go on to mature in the way of God and therefore produce useful deeds.

Notice the word often, for the ground that drinks in the rain, which often falls on it. Often. They frequently hear the word of God. They are frequently near the God, near God's word. And that's what God's Word is, He's a God who is constantly speaking. Now, don't get me wrong.

He speaks in natural revelation through what's created. Speaks through His Word, but He also speaks through His Word. And He continues to be the God who speaks through what He has spoken. How many times does He have to say, Do not kill, do not murder? Well, one time.

And He forever speaks. He speaks to humanity. How many times does he have to say, Come unto me? He is speaking to us, He is the speaking. God who speaks through that good word which has been spoken to us. There is a God who is revealed in Scripture, and there is a God who is speaking through the words of Scripture.

There is a Christ who is revealed in Scripture. And it is to Him we are to listen. And He is often. And so you notice something about the blessed. They are often taking in the Word of God. It's one of the things that's wrong with my garden. I don't put enough water on it.

I don't put enough on it. It doesn't grow. I don't think that your spiritual condition is going to be any better. It's going to grow. You need truth of God's word. Notice what it's doing. The blessed, they are bringing forth something. The ground that drinks in the rain, which often falls on it, and bringing forth.

They're the ones bringing forth, giving rise, giving birth, producing. Something is coming out of their lives. Vegetation. Useful. It's where we get botany. Beneficial. Beneficial to who? To those for whose sake it is tilled. You know, the farmer, the whole farming enterprise, the farmer wants the benefit. From his cultivating labors, he's cultivating the ground.

He's wanting the fruits of those labors. The same is true with God. God desires God-glorifying fruitfulness in humanity, and he will have it. He wants from you God-glorifying fruits, thoughts that lead to actions. That's what he desires. Look at this useful vegetation, useful for the purposes, for God's purposes.

It receives a blessing from God. Think of a farmer. Wow. Did you see what that field produced all of this good stuff? It's the word we get eulogy from: blessing. The one who is producing God-glorifying fruits or a crop that is producing the kinds of crops that the farmer wants is spoken well of, the farmer is excited about.

Same is true with people. God is excited about, and it's really they are being blessed. It is receiving a blessing. You want to see who is being blessed. You'll see it in the kinds of things. That are coming out of their lives. It's not a message of go do this and you will be blessed.

It is because they are blessed, they go and do these things because they're taking in the Word of God. They're taking it to heart, it's resonating in them, and it's producing in them a life kind of vibrancy, which is going on to maturity. You see, the blessed are dependent upon God, the blessed are dependent for His blessing, and God is the one who causes the growth.

Look at verse 3, and this we will do. What is He talking about? Going on to maturity, and this we will do if God permits. God is the one causing the growth. In fact, 1 Corinthians 3:7, Paul says this: Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything but God who causes the growth.

And so, in the context of Hebrews 6, God is the one permitting and causing maturity. And that's what the author is confident. And this we will do. We know we were going to go on to maturity. Because God is a God who causes it. It is God who causes us to occupy our inheritance.

You can have an inheritance, but it is God who causes us to occupy it. It is God who causes you to possess your possessions. Possess your possessions. It is God who causes us to be fruitful by maturing us in his likeness. All of that is God's doing. So the blessed are receiving God's blessing, and therefore they are going on to maturity.

That's the bless. Pressing on to maturity, and therefore producing useful fruits for God. Well, then there's the cursed in our text this morning. The cursed. Look back at verse 8. But if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed. And it ends up being burned.

I want to look at the second part of that. Look at this crop that is. Being cursed and ends up being burned at the end of verse 8. Notice who the cursed are in context. Well, he's just said who they are. Verse 6, 6, they are those who are recrucifying Jesus.

They are those blessed who are pressing on to maturity. They are useful. And then they are the cursed, those who are recrucifying Jesus. In verse 6, notice, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify to themselves the Son of God and put him to open shame.

They are recrucifying Jesus. The cursed are beyond remedy. So you have the blessed who are useful, and then you have the cursed who are beyond remedy. Just going straight with what the text says, pay attention to the details of the text. You never will get your mind around what's happening in the Bible unless you pay attention to its words and the metaphors and what's happening in context.

We're just going down, paying attention to what's being said. They're beyond remedy. It's impossible to renew them again to repentance. Just like it's impossible for God to lie. Impossible for the blood of goats, bulls to take away sin. So it is impossible for those who are recrucifying Jesus to be renewed again to repentance.

But notice what happens to them. What's their end? Ends up being burned. The land, this is the land whose end is a consuming fire. It's destined for burning. This is what happens to a land that doesn't produce useful vegetation. Keep doing it, keep doing it. Okay, let it alone.

Burn it up. Those who re-crucify Jesus take their position with the crucifiers. The difference with them is that these words of Jesus will never be spoken over them. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. Those who crucify Jesus, recrucify Jesus, let me say this: those who crucify Jesus the first time, many of them didn't know what they were doing.

But those who re-crucify Jesus, having heard in context of Hebrews, they're the ones who had heard. They had witnessed. Much like that Exodus generation. That came out. They saw the miracles. They saw the deliverance. And they got to the edge of the land and they said, We're going back to Egypt.

Their rejection of God at that point was high-handed. It was well-informed and it was permanent. And that's what is happening. Those who are cursed have high-handedly and in a well-informed manner permanently rejected God. That's the cursed. It's the opposite of eulogy. The opposite. It's contempt. Instead of land that's being spoken well of or that God is excited about, it's the opposite.

It's land that God holds in everlasting contempt. It's a frightening thought. It's so frightening that many theologians want to make this text say anything except what it really is saying. Cursed. But this should take us our mind back to the early part of Genesis, doesn't it? Cursed. And a careful reading of Genesis reveals that two items were specifically mentioned as cursed there, expressed language.

Who was it? The serpent and the ground. It's interesting that man wasn't specifically, in the early chapters of Genesis, called out as cursed. Not like Satan was. He had to live under the curse. Genesis 3, 14, God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, that is, you have enticed Adam and Eve to sin, because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle.

Likewise, he turns to Adam in Genesis 3:17. Then to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat from it, cursed is the ground because of you. In toil you will eat it all the days of your life.

It does not say that man was directly cursed, not in that kind of language. The cursed one in Genesis 3 is Satan. Now we do know that there were going to be those who were going to be accursed along with Satan. Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 25, verse 41.

Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you accursed. Cursed ones into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. But man received mercy. God didn't curse man. He actually made a covering for him. He protected him. He sent him out.

But one thing, as you keep reading through Scripture, you get all the way to the end of Revelation, what do we learn about Satan? One thing you can say about Satan is he does not repent. Even after being locked up in a thousand years in the abyss, given time to rethink everything, he comes out and he does it all again.

He deceives again. Evil does not cease being evil. It's a point of Scripture. And what is evil? I'll tell you what evil is. Evil is that spirit of unremorseful non-conformity to God. Unremorseful non-conformity to God. I don't conform to God and I'm not ashamed of it and I don't feel bad about not conforming to him.

That's the spirit of evil. I don't conform to God and I am completely unremorseful about it. And those who will not repent will be confirmed in a state. In a state of everlasting contempt. Same outcome as Satan. Revelation 20:15, anyone's name not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

The good word of God teaches us that Satan is cursed. It also teaches us that there are going to be those who are eternally cursed with him. But Scripture also holds out a beautiful hope because God is not desiring that any of us should perish that way. Listen to what 2 Peter 3:9 says: The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all of these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you be in holy conduct and godliness, looking forward and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat.

You see, God doesn't want any to rep any to Perish, be accursed along with Satan. And neither does the author of Hebrews. That brings us to the third soil. There's the blessed, there's the cursed, and then there's the near-accursed. And that's the one being emphasized here. Look back at verse 8.

But if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed. So who are those in context? Soil number three. They are those turning away from Jesus. They're the ones that are turning away from the Christ revealed in Scripture. They're wanting to redefine Him. They're letting the world tell them who Jesus is rather than letting God's Word tell them who Jesus is.

So a lot of persecution happening. There's a lot of pressure to turn back. And that's what's happening. Look back at chapter 3 and verse 12. One of the major exhortations. This book is in verse 12. Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.

Falls away, turns away. It's an active verb. See to it that you do not have a Heart like this in you that is turning away. Let God define God. Let God define His Son. Let His good word tell you who the Christ is. And don't let the world tell you who He is.

The near cursed. The author's warning is directed at those who are exhibiting characteristics or are on a trajectory in the way of the cursed ones. But notice the word close. But if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed. Not yet cursed. Do you see that?

Near. Close. It's imminent. Your cursing is imminent. It can happen at any moment. Think about yourself driving down a dark road at night and you see this sign that says bridge out. And you're already speeding. You're going really fast. You see this bridge out sign. Well, guess what's coming next?

The bridge out. But there may yet be time to slam on the brakes and keep you from going off into ruin. That's what the idea of imminent, the next thing that's happening. Is you going off a cliff? But close is not actual. Close to being cursed is not the same as actually being cursed.

But you must quickly heed the warning. And that's what the author is getting to. Some of you, because you're not going on to maturity, you're not listening, you've become dull of hearing, you've been sluggish in your Christianity, you're kind of taking this in as if it quasi-matters. And okay, I'll give it some thought.

He's saying, get out of that kind of thinking. You need to slam the brakes on. You need to turn from your ways, turn to God. Now, that's the message. That's the warning. Near cursed. And no one knows when that's going to happen. We can't see it. But this is what he's saying.

It's imminent. Let's look at this land that is described as near-cursed a little more closely. Number one, I want you to see what it yields. Notice what it produces. Notice what it produces, verse 8. But if it yields thorns and thistles, yields. But this soil is producing. It's giving birth to, it's giving rise to.

Really, some ugly things. It's bringing forth thorns and thistles. I don't know about you, but I don't really want that in my garden. Thorny plants, prickly plants, briars, burrs. Remember what God said in Genesis 7:13? Cursed is the ground because of you, Adam. And with the very same words, he says, Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you.

But in this context, the author's not talking about plants, he's talking about people. In Genesis, the literal produce of a cursed ground was thorns and thistles. And he's using that to look at what a cursed humanity or a near-cursed humanity produces. Thorns and thistles. Deeds that come out of the fallen human nature.

Listen, you cannot please God unless you believe in God. That's one of the things that's impossible in Hebrews. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. You can't please him unless you're believing in him. You can't produce the kind of heavenly fruit unless you're believing. God is, and that he's a rewarder of those who seek him.

Elementary. You remember Jesus when he told his parable of the soils, that great long one in Mark chapter 4. He talks about this third kind of soil which produces only thorns. Same language. Mark 4, 18. He's saying that, you know, the sower sows the word. Verse 18, and others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns.

These are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and desires for other things enter and choke the word and it becomes unfruitful. Notice three elements. That's that thorny soil. They are those who are preoccupied with the worries of the world.

All things very worryful, things going around. They are deceived by the riches of the world and they are captivated by the desires of the world. Those individuals do not go on to maturity and therefore do not produce the fruit that God wants. But notice also how this land is designated.

We looked at what it's yielded. Thorns. And thistles, but now notice how it's designated worthless. This land is worthless. Worthless land. Useless. Rejected. Speaks of people who are disqualified in 1 Corinthians 9:27. It also speaks in Romans 1:28 of those with a depraved mind, a worthless mind. They have a worthless mind in Romans 1.28, and then God gives them over to that worthless mind.

And then they produce the fruits of a worthless mind, depraved mind. That's the idea. Titus 1:16 uses this word to speak of one who is unfit. Listen to words of Titus 1, verse 16. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.

Those who are turning away from Jesus, those are unfit for what God has in mind for planet earth and those who are going to occupy it eternally, the new heavens and the new earth. Being worthless is strong contrast to being useful. Here's the bottom line. It is Jesus Christ who is useful to God and those who are becoming like him.

Satan and all those like him are worthless for God's purpose for humanity. So those who are re-crucifying Jesus, they're not going to be like him. And those who are turning away from Jesus, from the Christ revealed in Scripture, are on a dangerous trajectory. And that's the message coming to us today.

Don't be on that trajectory of minimizing who Christ is, of giving him little or littler space. Be giving him more and more space and more attention in your life. That's the one going on to maturity. Do you see? You're on a trajectory, one or the other, and what the author is trying to do is to warn us against going down the accursed path and encourage us to go on the blessed path.

You know what happened to land that was close to being cursed? Unproductive land was left, okay, I'm done cultivating. It. It's giving over, land given over, let the crops run their course, and then we'll burn it up and maybe get something useful out of it later. But with people, same thing.

Soil being burned up. So let's just recap. You have the blessed, those who are pressing on to maturity, they are useful. You have the cursed, those who are recrucifying Jesus, and they're beyond remedy. And then you have the near-cursed, those turning away from Jesus, they are worthless. That's how the text is describing them.

And here's one more thing to add about the near-cursed. They're about to be given over to worthlessness. Just like the land that's left to let it go its course, much like the depraved mind that God gives them over to, a worthless mind. The near-cursed are those who are being tempted to turn away from Jesus.

They're producing useless things or worthless things in their life, thorns and thistles. But there's still hope, but there's grave warning. You're about to be given over to that which is worthless. And then go ahead, produce all the worthlessness you need. But know the judgment is coming. Well, which are you?

The good, the bad, or the ugly? Well, this message is not written to the cursed. I can assure you, God didn't put out the ink, waste the time, because the cursed aren't listening. You're either among the blessed, I can assure you, or you're among the near-cursed. But you need to, if you're not a believer in Christ, you need to heed the warning quickly.

If you are a believer in Christ, you need to go on to maturity. Get out of the sluggishness. Get out of your Christian dullness and go on to maturity. A lot more to say on this. But it's like we can hear the voices of Caleb and Joshua exhorting the Exodus generation here.

Go in. They were saying, possess the possession. Inherit the inheritance that God has given. Remember, they go all the way to the land and then... They go into the land and the bulk of them want to go back. Back to Egypt. Numbers 13:30, Caleb is telling them, We should by all means go up and take possession of the land.

We will overcome it. But then the people said, No, we're going back to Egypt. And they made that decision. And then Joshua and Caleb, they tear their clothes. And they spoke to the whole congregation. Look, they're saying, Look, the land is exceedingly good. He will bring us into the land and give it to us.

Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land. The Lord is with us. Those are the cries of Joshua and Caleb. But the congregation said, Let's stone them with stones. What else could have been done for the Exodus generation to go in and possess the possession that God had set before them?

See, just like rain reveals what's in the ground, so the good word of God revealed the unbelieving hearts of that generation, even after all that God had done. They still had an unbelieving heart. You see, we need a greater deliverance than just political and social changes, don't we?

They had that, that Exodus generation, but they still didn't. Trust God. What about you? What more proof can there possibly be? What about us? I asked you to ask the question: what more can God do to cause us to completely trust in Him and trust in His Word?

What more should He do? More miracles? Another crucifixion? Another resurrection? Somebody else smarter than Jesus? What else can be done? What else has to be, does God need to do for you to take hold of the possession? For you to go into the land, to apprehend that, take hold of that which He has taken hold of you.

What else does He have to do to get you to completely trust in Him and yield your life up completely to Him? Well, there's nothing. We just need to believe what's been done. There's not a better teacher. There's not another resurrection. This message, and I hope you'll come back next week.

We're stepping into that place where. We see how you possess the possession, occupy your inheritance. Let us be believing and let us be pressing on to maturity. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we bow our hearts to you, thanking you, Father, for your good word that speaks to us difficult things, and yet we see, even in the midst of one of the stoutest warnings and some of the most frightening words in all of Scripture, we see the hope.

Father, it is not your desire that any should perish. It is your desire that we all turn to you, that we all go on to fruitfulness, maturity. And Father, that's why you give your word and give your instruction. That's why you revealed who Christ was. He is Savior, He is King, He is Lord, and where our author is going, He is our high priest who is causing our growth and who will bring about fruitfulness, in whom we have a great hope, Father.

And so I thank you for what you're doing. Help us, Father, to take the warning. Father, let us have believing hearts and not get near, not test your word, but to move away from that which is evil and that which is evil. Is useless. Forgive us for the worthless things that we have occupied ourselves with.

Forgive us for the worthless thoughts that we so fill our minds with. Forgive us of all of these, Father, and we thank you for your convicting work. Now, Father, we pray that you would give us new life. Help us to believe more fully in you and choose to believe and to walk in your way more completely.

Help us to press on to maturity. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.