Make Way for the Lord - John 1:19-34

0:51The purpose of a true gospel ministry is to witness to the light. You've heard me tell the story before, but I had a client several years ago that loved to go bird hunting. I'm not really much of a hunter, but he loved to go to these fields and forests in the south in the cool autumn days and take a team of dogs out and work a field and have the dogs point out the birds. It was one of my, I guess it was probably One of the best memories I have of my corporate experience was being out there, not so much I like hunting, but I love watching the dogs and the dogs just going back and forth through the field, finding the birds, and each one had their own unique little point.

1:50And I remember there was this one dog who just stays in my mind as the best one of them all. Just gracefully, this was the one they always put the amateur dogs in with this dog so that this dog would show them how to point. And I remember this one, the owner was especially happy with. And as you'd watch him just work a field, it was very graceful. It was very beautiful. And then that dog would come to that point. Here's what I'm looking for right here. And in many ways, as I look at the ministry of John the Baptist, that is what he was. That is what he did. He pointed. And he was very graceful. He was right spot on. And his master was very, very pleased with him. So we come now to verses 19 through 34. And what John the Apostle does is he picks up this theme that he's already started with John the Baptist. He is going to be. He has already said John the Baptist is going to testify to the light. And now in verses 19 through 34, he gets more specific. This is his testimony to the light. This is so in verses 6 through 8, there's a general testimony that he's going to be a witness. And in verses 19 through 34, John's specific testimony is given. And so I want to look at these this morning. I want you to see John's specific, the specifics of his testimony this morning. But before I do that, I want to set the stage for the setting of John's testimony. I want to set the stage for the setting. First of all, we can think of this as a basically two questions. That there's a delegation that is sent from Jerusalem to find out who John the Baptist is and to find out what he is doing. It kind of, this narrative unfolds somewhat like a drama. We can think of it as the first scene of this drama as this huddle of the religious elite in some sort of candle-lit chamber of the temple in Jerusalem. They had heard about the ministry of John the Baptist. He is not. Notorious.

4:32He was making waves all through their society. Everyone had heard about him. Even the political establishment had heard about him. And so the religious and civil authorities there in Jerusalem meet and they convene and they say, we need to find out more about this John the Baptist. And so they dispatch this delegation, this delegation of priests and Levites to go over, as verse 28 will say, Bethany beyond the Jordan, where Jesus was, or where John was baptizing. And this, you can kind of get this picture. There are these higher-up priestly figures sending these underling priestly and Levite figures to go find out about John, find out who he is and what he is doing, and then come back and give us a report. And so what you have here in this first scene, if you will call it that, is this huddle, this delegation being dispatched. And this is an official delegation. Go officially find out for us and explain to us what the ministry of John the Baptist is all about.

5:51And so what we are going to read this morning is going to be John the Baptist's official witness to Jerusalem. And then we can see this narrative unfold into a second scene. And we can see this second scene of this drama as this impromptu interrogation of this dispatched delegation as they come out to the Jordan where John is baptizing and they start interrogating him. It's a public scene. And who knows? You can just imagine that, okay, John has just baptized somebody. Maybe he's coming out of the water. Maybe he is about to go into the water. Maybe he is still wet from baptizing somebody. But there's somewhere at that time when John is baptizing, this delegation comes out and they interrogate him. They start peppering him with all of these questions. And though their questions are many, they boil down to two categories. Who are you? And what are you doing? Pretty simple. Who are you? And what are you doing? So let's first look at this first round of questions aimed at finding out who he is. Look at verse 19. This is the testimony of John when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ.

7:30In other words, I am not God's anointed king over Israel and the nations. I am not, that's not who I am. Okay, round two question: They asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? Obviously, there were Malachi 4:5 says that, Behold, I'm going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. So, if you're not the Christ, maybe you're Elijah. We're expecting Elijah, and he said, I am not. They said, Are you the prophet? Deuteronomy 8:15 says that the Lord your God is going to raise up for you a prophet like me from among you. You shall listen to him, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. So, if you're not the Christ, and if you're not Elijah, maybe you're the prophet that Moses spoke about.

8:24And he answered, No. His answers are kind of brief. You ever been in a conversation where somebody were trying to draw out conversation and get some information? Yes, no, I'm not. Okay, so then they're okay. Then they go on. Then they said to him, Who are you? Who are you? That we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself, son? What do you say about yourself then? I mean, we're these men. We've been sent out here. We've got to go back. We've got to give an answer to those who sent us. Tell us who you are so that we may have something. To say. And here's his answer. I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said. So, what he's doing, he's making a reference to Isaiah chapter 40, and he is saying, I am a voice reminding you of Isaiah's words of prophecy and comfort to Israel. That's who I am. I am a voice crying out, calling out, so that your mind will remember the words of Isaiah and heed his words.

9:42Saying basically, it's not who I am that's all that important, it's my message that is what is important. I'll turn and I'm going to read to you a portion of Isaiah 40 just to get you a sense. And I would love to just stop right here and give you an overview of Isaiah and just how profound this moment, this passage in Isaiah is. Up until now, through verses one, chapter one and verse and through chapter 39 of Isaiah, he is speaking about judgment, the judgment that is going to come upon Israel. He's already announced the Babylonian captivity. And then in chapter 40, he begins a whole new section of Isaiah. And it starts with these words. Comfort. O comfort my people, says your God. Speak kindly to Jerusalem and call out to her and say, Her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed. It's a chapter of great hope. In verse 3, a voice is calling, clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness. Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed.

11:04Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, of bearer of good news. Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news. Lift it up. Do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, Here is your God. And he will shepherd, like a shepherd, he will tend his flock. And he goes on in this incredible passage of comfort. He says to Israel, Israel, behold your God. And this is the sense that John is picking up. And he's saying, who are you? I am a voice saying, turn to God. Your warfare is ended. Your king is coming. Behold your God.

11:58His imperative command is. As John the Apostle records it, make straight the way of the Lord. Make way for the Lord. Get ready for his coming. Welcome him. The illustration there in Isaiah chapter 40 is that of removing obstacles from the coming Messiah's path. Your Messiah is coming to you, so remove the obstacles in your life. Your sin is an obstacle in your life before your God. So much of John's ministry is characterized in the other Gospels as one of repentance, that is preparing the way.

12:40That's exactly what John's message was. But it's important. I think we sometimes get a character of John that's a little different than John the Baptist and what he really is. He is speaking from comfort. Yes, he was a man who thundered the truth of God, but I believe there was a lot of smiles on his face. I believe he spoke of the grace. I think he spoke comfort. This was a man who spoke to the conscience of his nation.

13:11This is a man whose words thundered and rattled the consciences of his hearers. And he had to be dealt with. What are you doing? Who are you? Are you? This is who I am. A man with a message of grace and truth to Israel and to the world. So the first series of questions of this delegation was to find out who are you? Then the second round of questions is aimed at, well, what are you doing? What are you doing?

13:53Boy, what are you doing then? Look at verse 34, or 24. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, said, okay, why then are you baptizing? If you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet, why are you baptizing? What authority? What are you operating under? I mean, if you're not doing this, and baptism here speaks of this ceremonial washing, this spiritual cleansing. And here, of course, being from a baptistic persuasion, it's an immersion, as I see it, an immersion of the entire people. It was of the entire person. He was immersing people.

14:38Probably a picture of the proselytite baptism. If you were coming into Israel as one who was outside the covenant, it was seen you were outside and you needed to be thoroughly washed, purified, so that you could be now in the covenant community. Kind of a picture of it. Mark chapter 7 speaks about the. How the Jews would wash. It's the same word, baptisma, how they would dip and wash utensils. And personally, I don't see how it could be sprinkling because if my kids ever sprinkled the dishes to get them clean, they'd be in a lot of trouble. We don't do it. We wash, and that's the idea. It's a picture, it's a symbol of ceremonial washing, a spiritual cleansing.

15:28And usually, this was done by one to oneself. And this is what is new here that John is doing. You are washing. You are, these people aren't just going through a mikveh full of water and sitting in there and purifying or going through some kind of washing routine of personal cleansing. John is doing this, John the Baptist is doing this. So, why are you baptizing? And John answered and said to them in verse 26, I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you do not know. It is he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.

16:22What am I doing? I am baptizing with water. That's what I'm doing. I'm out here with water. I'm dipping. People in water. But the authority for what I am doing is standing in your midst right now. And you have no idea who he is. However, you need to know who he is, for he is greater than me. In fact, I am nothing in comparison to who he is. And this is his official testimony to this delegation. It's not me you need to be interested in, it's the one coming after me.

17:10That's my authority. It's not, I'm not the Christ, I'm not Elijah, I'm not the prophet. My authority for doing these things is standing in your midst, and you don't even know who he is. I almost forget the picture. If you can always look for those places where Jesus is smiling in the text, I believe Jesus is standing there. And when he says he is in your midst, I think Jesus is smiling. There he is. Well done.

17:54Just like that man was all excited about the dog that could point things out. Here's Jesus. Jesus very much aware of John the Baptist's ministry and smiling. You got it. A man who totally, as his Nazarite, vows, display, he was faithful, faithful to the end. And this blessed the heart of our Lord. But the natural question left in the minds of his Jewish inquisitors, this delegation, was: okay, then who is this one? Who is he? Who is he?

18:38Would that not make sense to be the question? It is purposely left in their mind. Look at verse 28. These things took place in Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. So you get this first couple of scenes in this narrative. The first scene happening in this temple quarters in Jerusalem, sending out this delegation. This second scene somewhere on the shores over there where John is baptizing, an interrogation scene. And then this third scene. This third scene is where we pick up the specifics of John's testimonies, or the specifics of John the Baptist's testimony. And it's this scene. It's just this incredible. Scene of Jesus that takes place the very next day. We'll just pick it up in the text. Look at verse 29. The next day. This is day two of a very incredible and memorable week in the life of John the Apostle. He's now somewhere approaching 90 years old, looking back.

19:52This week, this first week, has still etched in his mind and he writes about it. The next day, this would be the day after this interrogation. John the Baptist saw Jesus coming towards him. And this is probably after Jesus has spent 40 days out in the wilderness. John baptized Jesus probably somewhere around six weeks before this. Jesus isn't coming to John to be baptized at this time. That has already taken place, as the text will bear out as we keep going. But he is perhaps coming back from this wilderness encounter, from this emerging victorious over Satan in the wilderness. And he sees, John sees Jesus coming towards him, toward him, and he made four public declarations, four public declarations about the person of Jesus. And these are the specifics of John the Baptist's testimony. And this is what I want you to get this morning. The four specifics of John the Baptist. Testimony. They speak to who Jesus is and the heart of what's happening in our passage this morning. So, John has already said, make way for the Lord. His message was specific to his generation, and yet it is timeless. You and I need to make way for the Lord. Remove those, your king is coming, he is coming in glory, and he is here now by virtue of his spirit. Make way, remove those obstacles in your life so that you will give him a grand reception. Four declarations of John the Baptist that I want you to want to call to your attention so that you will make way for him in your own life and so that you will know what the message that we are to proclaim today. First, we need to relate to him, understand how we are to make way, and then how to announce to others how they are to make way for the Lord in their life. So, the first, first, look back at verse 29.

22:12The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. I mean, this is that third scene. If I could stop and just take a photograph in time, I'd like to. You to just see this picture that John is painting with words. It's a vivid picture. It's a glorious living snapshot. It's the closest thing we have to video. Okay, we didn't have video back then, but this, he uses present tense verbs throughout this whole sentence. The next day, seeing Jesus, he was seeing, or next day, seeing Jesus coming forward. Jesus was coming forward, but it's not a what, it's a seeing Jesus coming forward to him. John saying, the words came out of his mouth: Behold, look, see this, look at this: the Lamb of God, the one currently taking up the sin of the world. That's the sense.

23:23Seeing him, seeing, coming forward, saying, the one, the lamb, taking away the sin of the world. I mean, the idea of the lamb has a rich history. It is an emblem throughout Scripture of innocence and sacrifice. The lamb. You remember Isaac when he asked, Where's the sacrifice, Dad? In Genesis 22, 8, Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. Exodus 12, 21. Moses told the Israelites, Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families and slay the Passover lamb. You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin and apply some of it, some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and to the two doorposts, for the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians. And when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you. Even back in the Exodus, it was the blood of an innocent lamb that made the distinction between Israel and the Egyptians. It was not national heritage. It was the blood of the innocent lamb that made the distinction. And every Passover after that, every Passover lamb afterwards pointed to the true lamb. Every morning and evening sacrifice pointed to the true lamb.

25:05And as Isaiah makes it clear that that lamb had to be a person, a spotless person, just like a spotless lamb without blemish, so the perfect sacrifice could not be an animal. It had to be a person, a person who had a moral, perfect record with God without. Blemish, without a spot. Isaiah picks him up. He was oppressed. 57, 53, 7. He was oppressed. He was afflicted, this suffering servant. Yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that is silent before his shears. So he did not open his mouth.

25:52Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who takes away, it's that it's the verb literally means to pick up and to carry off, like taking a big weight off that's keeping one down. It's used in Acts 27, 13 to speak about an anchor that weighs the ship down, and you have to weigh anchor so that the ship can sail. That's the idea. Or in John chapter 11, 39, it's remove the stone, take away the stone of Lazarus' tomb. That's what keeps him in the grave. That's the picture. It's the sin of the world is what keeps the world down, that keeps it under the curse. It's the sin of the world that keeps it enslaved.

26:49And the picture here is this infinite innocence, this infinite purity, infinite preciousness, infinite righteousness of the Lamb of God far out. Weighs and overwhelms the collective sin of the entire human race. His sacrifice silences the outcry of justice against every wrong that has ever happened on planet Earth in human history. He has satisfied, he has taken away the sin at the cross. And this is the one who has taken away the sin. And he does. He takes away the sin. He'll take it away either at the cross or he'll take it away in justice or in judgment. But he is the one who takes away the sin of the world, and there will not be a future of the world under the oppression of sin because of this one that John is pointing out. He will take away the sin of the world. And he takes away the sin at the cross or he takes it away in judgment. But either way, what I love about this, this beautiful picture here, is this present. He is currently taking away. And this speaks of his ongoing priestly ministry. He is a perpetual savior, daily removing and purging sin and sanctifying his people.

28:20And so let us approach him and proclaim him first and foremost as our sacrificial lamb. Let us begin our understanding. Of Jesus with John's testimony. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Yes, he is master. But before you can even go to him being master, he is master and he should be served. He is our king and he should be obeyed. Yes, and delight in those things. He is our teacher and he is to be followed and he is our coming redeemer. And we are to look forward to his coming with everything in us. But let us love and prize this truth about him before we go to any of the others. That he is the lamb of God who takes away the sin, our sin makes a relationship even possible.

29:19Morning and evening. This is the delight of my heart as I can wake up and I have the perfect sacrifice. I can go to him. I do not have to run from him. You do not have to run like Adam did because of your sin. You don't have to run from him. This is John's testimony. You don't have to run from him. You can run to him because he is the Lamb. And we can rest our whole foundation, our whole trust is on his death alone for our atonement.

29:55And that is where we are to glory. He is the Lamb of God who takes away. Away the sin of the world. It's John's first declaration. Jesus is the Lamb of God. Second declaration, Jesus is the preeminent one. Verse 30, it's just verse 30. This is he on behalf of whom I said, after me comes a man who has a higher rank than I, for he existed before me. This one. And this is what he is saying. This one. He is to be preferred. The one coming after me is preferred in front of me. What are he saying? He is of a higher rank, a higher, he is preeminent over me.

30:41In all the things, what John is saying, John's settled conviction and settled confession is, I am here for his purposes. He is preeminent. He is the preeminent one. As Colossians would say 1:18, that he is the head of the body, the church, and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself will come to have first place in everything. He is to have first place. He is the preeminent one. And this is what's going to set the stage for John's later confession in chapter 3 and verse 30. He must increase, and I must decrease, because he is preeminent. A third declaration. Third declaration is Jesus is the true baptizer. Look at verse 31. I think I've got my numbers off a little bit up there. I'm sorry on the overhead. But verse 31, he is the true baptizer. It's 31 through 33. I did not recognize him, but so that he might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.

31:57This is an interesting statement. Look carefully at verse 31. I did not recognize him. What does John mean by saying he did not recognize him? I did not know him. I did not comprehend him for who he is. I mean, it's clear that he must have known Jesus, right? Because Mary and Elizabeth had such a close relationship. It's hard to imagine that he wouldn't have known who Jesus was or had met him. No, but what John is saying here is that he did not recognize Jesus as the Lamb of God, as the preeminent one, as the true baptizer, as the Son of God, until God revealed that to him. So the question is, but look back at verse 33 before we leave that. Why was John baptizing? Why was John baptizing? So that he might be manifested to Israel. That's why I came baptizing. Why am I baptizing water? He's given the answer to their question. Why am I baptizing? It's so that the true baptizer. Baptizer will be revealed to Israel. What are you doing? I'm baptizing so that the true baptizer would be revealed. And how did God reveal Jesus to John the Baptist? Look at back at verse 32 and 33. John testified, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him, and he remained on him. I did not recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on, this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Literally, what John is saying, I saw the Spirit of God descend. That's the word, disembark upon, disembark from heaven upon Jesus. This is John's testimony. It's kind of like a missionary disembarking from a ship or a plane, going into a country never to come out again. That's the picture here. I saw the Spirit of God disembarking, coming down, descending upon him as a dove, and remained on him.

34:10I mean, John saw something very dynamic as a dove, is what the text says. Maybe there was a real dove. I don't think he went around Israel with a dove on his shoulder. But in some way, John saw something. As a dove, descending and remaining. There was something living and something dynamic, something continual, something continually descending and remaining upon him. That's the picture. This anointing that you saw in the, that you'd be very familiar with in the Old Testament, especially if you were a Daspora Jew, you understood the difference between Saul and David because the anointing did not stay upon Saul, but it did stay upon David. And that that anointing came upon David prior to the great conflict with Goliath. And David could do the things that he could do because the Spirit of God was upon him. And what John the Apostle is saying is that, I mean, John the Baptist is saying here, is that I saw that anointing upon him and it remained. And Jesus went through doing what he did because the Spirit of God was upon him and remained upon him.

35:28But the picture here goes beyond. The reason he is the one who baptizes is because the Spirit of God is descending, is remaining, and he is commissioning the Spirit of God. He is the true baptizer. John's saying, I'm baptizing you with water, but the true baptizer is the one who sends the Holy Spirit to cleanse and to wash the foul, darkened souls of mankind and to install God. Grace in their heart to install a right spirit and to install light in their souls. That is the work of the true baptizer. And this is he.

36:12It's John's message. It's a picture of the Spirit in Genesis 1 hovering over the darkness and the words, let there be light. And John is saying, This is the one in whom the Spirit of God rests, descends, and rests, and he baptizes. And he says, Let there be light in the souls of darkened men. J.C. Ryle comment on this. I think it's appropriate. The baptism here is not the baptism of water. It does not consist of either dipping or sprinkling. It does not belong exclusively to infants or to grown-up people. It is not a baptism which any man can give, Episcopalian or Presbyterian, Independent or Methodist, layman or minister. It is a baptism which the great head of the church keeps exclusively in his own hands. It consists of the implanting of grace into the inward man. It is the same thing as the new birth. It is the baptism, not of the body, but of the heart. It is a baptism which the penitent thief received, though neither dipped nor sprinkled by the hand of man. It is a baptism which Ananias and Sapphira did not receive, though admitted into the church communion by apostolic men. The person who dies with his heart not baptized by Christ can never be saved.

37:46But Jesus is the true baptizer. John's testimony. Number four, fourth declaration. Not only is Jesus the Lamb of God, not only is Jesus the preeminent one, not only is Jesus the true baptizer, but he is the Son of God. And this verse 34 brings John the Baptist's solemn testimony to this climactic conclusion. And he's saying, I personally, I myself have seen, I have this settled conviction, and this is my settled testimony. This one, this one right here, this one, he is the Son of God. You ask me what I'm doing? I'm pointing out the Son of God. That's what John is doing. And he uses this expression, the Son of God. This is the most exalted title and used in the most exalted sense. Jesus is the one who has truly embodied God, and therefore he is the one who has truly explained him.

38:56This is why John, obviously, the The Son of God would have struck a chord with the daspora Jews that John is trying to reach with his gospel. Psalm 2, we read it earlier: O king, show discernment, worship the Lord, rejoice with trembling, do homage to the Son, that he may not become angry, and you perish in the way. For his wrath may soon be kindled. He is going to take away sin from the earth. How blessed are all those who take refuge in him.

39:38Well, as God does in every generation, he raises up people to speak to his generation and to announce the coming arrival of God. John was raised. He could not be ignored. The way he looked, the clothes he wore, the food he ate, the way he spoke, and everything spoke about Elijah, speaking about the coming of the Lord. And as Luke 1 says, his ministry was to turn the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous. And his words shook his society and rattled the souls of the entire nation. The hypocritical religious establishment was no match for him, and neither was the licentious political establishment. Even Herod took note of him. And he was afraid of him.

40:33The same is true today. God has commissioned us with the truth. And the same Son of God who predated John the Baptist and was coming after him is the same Son of God who predates us and is coming after us. It's the same Son of God. You want to know what the spirit and power of Elijah is? This is it. Proclaiming these four truths. Jesus is the Lamb of God. And as such, his blood cleanses. And without such cleansing, you will never meet God except in judgment. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away your sin.

41:18Jesus is the preeminent one. As such, he must come to have first place in everything in your life. You will die a million deaths while you're following Christ, and you will come to find out that his ways are the best ways. And you will glory in his ways. Jesus is the true baptizer, and as such, he must baptize you into his church. There is no heaven without such baptism. That's our message. That's how we are to prepare the way.

41:53And that is what we are to proclaim. Jesus is the Son, the Son of God. And as such, He is the Son of God. Must set God's favor upon you. You want to know how God's blessing comes to you? It's through the Son. Therefore, kiss the Son. Do homage to the Son. O nations, O kings, do wisely and kiss the Son. I want to leave you with the thought. The Spirit and power of Elijah. This is our life. This is our message.

42:30Make way for the Lord and the image. The difference between us now and John the Baptist ministry is John the Baptist preached at a time when, if I could use this analogy, that Jesus, before Jesus' first Advent, that first Advent could be very well pictured by the tabernacle. We talked about this, that tabernacle of humility, where the glory was all seen on the inside. But his second advent isn't going to be like that. It's going to be more a picture of the temple, which was glorious for everyone to see from the outside.

43:14And we are proclaiming the message, the same message, the same apostolic message, the same message that has been handed on to us. Jesus is the Lamb. He is the preeminent one. He is a true baptizer. He is the Son of God. Of God, and we proclaim that same one, that same message. But when he comes again, it's in glory. It's in glory. Our message is the same. Our exhortation is the same. Let us make way in our own hearts for the Lord to have his way. And then let's make him known. Heavenly Father, I just thank you for the ministry of your faithful servant, John the Baptist, pointing out to those around him, to the Apostle John, and to those early disciples. He clearly pointed you out. He showed he was faithful in his generation to do the task that you called him to do. Father, let us be like him. Let us be faithful to do the things that you have called us to do so that others may see you, so that we may point to your son. In Jesus' name, amen.