Spheres of Christian Fellowship - Revelation 1: 9-11

1:08Let me just go ahead and pray again. Heavenly Father, as we approach the study of this book, Father, we ask that you would truly be present to bless, to illumine, to open our eyes and our ears. Father, there is no book that carries with It such an announcement of blessing, and there is also no book that carries with it such an announcement of a curse for adding to or for taking away. And so, Father, we humbly come before you this morning, acknowledging our dependence upon you and upon your Spirit to give us understanding so that these words would pierce our hearts, shape our thinking, and give us sight and vision for what's coming ahead. For it's in Christ's name, Amen.

2:07Well, so we've come to the book of Revelation. We've spent basically this whole semester doing nothing more than introducing the book. We've spent a number of days just walking through slowly the words and relating and getting a big picture of the book. And we do so and have done so because it's very important that we interact with the words. We spend time meditating upon them, thinking through them, going through them carefully. You know, we also spend a lot of time up here, if you've been up here for any length of time, on the book of Genesis, don't we? We talk a lot about the beginning of human history.

3:02Because if a person doesn't believe the words of Genesis and doesn't correctly interact with him, they're not going to understand foundations, basic foundations of human life, basic foundations of what God expects, what God has done. And if we do not spend the same kind of effort in Revelation dealing with the words of Scripture, we will not know the end of human history. One of the reasons why God has given us the book of Genesis and the book of Revelation is so that we can understand the foundations, the beginning of human history, and its conclusion. And by doing such, we can understand where we are.

3:56You need two points to set a trajectory. If you know the beginning and you know the end, you can understand what you're to be doing and how you are to be relating to God and to each other. So it's just as important to spend equal effort studying Revelation and answering the wayward interpretations of how human history ends. As much so. As we do with the beginning, Revelation isn't preached on a whole lot. It's interesting because some of the two books that God has given us to help us understand who we are, where we come from, and where this whole thing's going are two of the most controversial books.

4:55And because there are so many interpretations of Revelation, it's become one of these books that, well, you just put it aside, you don't really deal with it because there's too much controversy. But if we leave off Revelation and we don't make a serious effort to really understand, then we can only guess at how human history is going to end. Likewise, if we only guess about the beginning and end of human history, we then are left with only a guessing about how we should live our lives in the in-between.

5:44So, just as the words of Genesis are key to understanding human origin, so the words of Revelation are key to understanding human destiny. So, I invite you to commit yourself. To understanding this precious book, pick it up, read it, reread it. We'll be going through it slowly. I intend to offer a class in the spring that is just dealing with the interpretive issues. I don't intend to take time in the sermon to deal with all the interpretive issues, or it'll just sound like one great big old academic exercise, and we'll miss the prophetic importance and the church-strengthening words that John intended, that God intended these to be for his church. But at the same token, we do need to interact with all of these different interpretations.

6:47Revelation is the only one that I really know that has four schools of interpretation, and then a lot of different interpretations within those schools. So, I hope you will not let that frighten you, but on the contrary, Revelation was given to instruct, to inform, to open your eyes, to help you understand what is coming. It is a special book, a unique book, a promised blessing is there for it. It creates a category of believers who read the book. Words the way they are intended to read, be read.

7:35The words of Revelation are in themselves create this table of fellowship whereby we can enjoy and share together fellowship. What is Christian fellowship? Speaking of fellowship, we do it a lot up here. You've heard the word koinonia, fellowship. What is fellowship? Well, the basic idea behind koinonia is something in common, something you stand in close relationship, you share with one another. It's sharing something in common. Whether that be family, maybe you have the same background, same father, maybe the same background of some sort. That might create some sort of a koinonia, a basis for fellowship. Many of you probably spent Thanksgiving with family.

8:40There's also koinonia or fellowship that occurs by shared experiences, by shared tests, by shared experience. Associations. Think about we. I was kind of wondering the other day, if you just tried to count up how many times we have set a table up here at a manual, I don't know if any of some of you are on the decorating team and everything. How many tables do you think we've actually set up for the purpose of sitting down and enjoying some sort of meal, fellowship, tea, coffee, whatever around? I mean, if you could number them, they are a lot. It seems like we're always moving tables back and forth and setting them up in some fashion to share something together.

9:41If you think about fellowship, and let's use this idea of tables, kind of in a metaphoric sense, and we think of a table as a sphere, a sphere of fellowship. What are some of the spheres of Christian fellowship? What are some ways like we share together? What are some of those experiences we share together? What are some of the things that we share together? Well, that's really what I want to talk to you about: the spheres of Christian fellowship this morning. I mean, as Christians, we share something in common about sin.

10:30Sin. We've sinned. We understand. We don't feel the same way about sin as others. We have a common experience about sin and salvation and how to move beyond sin in a right relationship with God through the blood of Christ. So we've had shared experiences of sin and salvation, and that gives us a table of fellowship by which we've all eaten from a shared experience. And that sets us apart, but we also share things in common, like growth in Christ, sharing being identified with Christ, sharing the trials and the temptations that come with being in Christ. These two are koinonia, unique experiences that we as Christians, being in Christ, participate in.

11:32And there are more. In fact, there are several in our text this morning. That's what I want to spend some time thinking about this morning. First, I want you to see three spheres of Christian fellowship, and then I want you to see a fourth so that you will commit yourself to understanding this book of Revelation. Three spheres of Christian fellowship and then a fourth. So, three spheres of Christian fellowship. Look back at verse 9. I, John, your brother, and fellow partaker in the tribulation, and kingdom, and perseverance, which are in Jesus. Let's stop there. You see them? Right there. Three spheres of Christian fellowship: tribulation, kingdom, and perseverance.

12:23You see all those. But notice a few details before we jump into those three. First of all, notice that this is in Jesus. We are in Jesus as believers. That's this expression. We are in Christ. We are in Jesus. So we share in common all that is associated with being in Him. That's the Christian privilege. That's the Christian identity. We are in Him. And all of us share this together. And all that goes with that. Whether it relates to sin, salvation, and fellowship with one another, fellowship with Him.

13:05We're in Jesus. Notice how John refers to Himself. I, John, your brother. He doesn't refer to himself as the elder like He does in the letters. In His letters, 1st, 2, 3rd, John, He speaks as the elder, as an elder to little children. Speaking about maybe his role as one in an authoritative position to teach. But here he speaks as brother, brother. He speaks as not an elder, but as an equal, one who is caught up in the same matters, one who is in need of the same encouragement. Brother, fellow partaker, fellowship, as one who is sharing with you this common experience.

14:08Well, what does John specifically mention? We've talked about several tables of Christian fellowship by which we, by virtue of being in Christ, we share. John has three in mind here: tribulation, kingdom, and perseverance. As part of being in Christ, there goes with it tribulation, kingdom, and perseverance. Let's look at each one of these. First, tribulation. I, John, your brother, and fellow partaker in the tribulation. Tribulation, the oppression, the distress, the pressure, the trouble, the difficult circumstances that come by. Virtue of being identified with Christ.

15:05John is not writing as one on the outside, trying to encourage somebody that's going through some experiences that he knows nothing about. No, he's very much affected by the circumstances of his day. He is feeling the pressure of being a Christian. He's feeling the pressure as much as anyone else. And, friends, there is fellowship in the difficult circumstances and perplexities and trials and the distresses of being in Christ. In fact, Jesus told his disciples that these days would come.

15:49Tribulation is part of being identified with Christ. John 6:33, he says, In the world you will have tribulation. Get ready. It's coming. But take courage, I have overcome the world. So those who are in Christ share. We sit at a table where we will experience in some way, shape, or form a common hostility against us because we are allied with Christ. Second, kingdom. Kingdom. Word for kingdom could be translated as kingship. There is fellowship together under the kingship of Christ.

16:40We'll all sit at the table of tribulation caused by being identified with Christ, but we all also sit at the table of being under his dominion. We are under his royal rule. You remember looking back, verse 6, he has made us to be a kingdom, priest to his God. A kingdom. We are those in whom Jesus rules over. We are also those through whom Jesus rules through. He rules over us. He rules through us. We are a kingdom of worshipers.

17:28And this is a present reality. We understand his royal rule over us. We have embraced it. We have preferred it. And we ask for forgiveness when we break his rule. But it's a present reality. Those in Christ are under his dominion, and there's a common experience that binds us together by having. Him as our king. We experience all that goes with his dominion. We learn his ways. We embrace his morality. And we get to know and appreciate him.

18:16That's a present reality of being under his dominion. We talk about him, we sing about him. That's what we did this morning. Thank you, praised him. And we share a future hope. We celebrate Christmas, and hopefully not in any of the pagan or fantasy senses, but in the reality that God has walked among us. The incarnation. And we celebrate this because it ought to be celebrated. God has taken human form, and there isn't anyone else that can celebrate it except those who believe in him. We know the king has come.

19:06We know who he is. We know his name. We know his personality. He came in humility, and we know, we know he is coming in glory. And so we celebrate. We celebrate the incarnation, not because it's a past event in history. History, but because that past event also speaks forward to a future event when he comes in glory to reign. We know God's King. That's why we can celebrate. That's why our celebration at Christmastime is, should be, and is very different, very distinct, because we celebrate something very profound.

20:01We celebrate tribulation. We fellowship in celebration. Let me get this right. Celebrate in tribulation. Well, I don't know if we're quite, we endure tribulation, right? We have fellowship around the table of tribulation because we're in Christ. We have fellowship under His kingship because He is King. Around the table of His Lordship, there is fellowship, but there's also a third table, a third sphere of fellowship, and that's perseverance. Perseverance. We feel the pressure of the conflict, we feel the spiritual collision all around us.

20:56The word for pressure there or perseverance. It's hupo-monet. Maybe you've heard the story of Big John, the miner, legend, but maybe reflective of some actual events. Big John was a great big man, a miner. And on one occasion, he and his fellow workers were down in a mine, and the shaft began to collapse. Big John, towering man, goes to one of the beams, holding up in the tunnel, gets underneath it, and holds it up, and just straining, just holding it up as each of his fellow workers were able to get out of the mine. Big John holding up the mountain. But under that, just holding up, that's what hupo-monet looks like, just holding up under pressure, bearing it, holding it. That's what perseverance looks like.

22:14John didn't make it out, but he rescued all of, he withstood the pressure for the love of his fellow workers, Big John. Well, there. There is fellowship in that bearing up under that pressure. We experience it. Holding up. There is fellowship in waiting for his return. That's perseverance, waiting, patiently waiting, enduring, patiently waiting. We feel the pressing conflict. And we have this waiting in table. We have this waiting in common. It's like we're sitting around a table where we're waiting, and we all have to wait. We live in a fallen world, and at times the hostility can be great.

23:17And it causes us to all have to bear up under the pressure. We need to make sure that we help others through it. That's what John is doing. That's what Christ is doing by sending this letter to the churches and to us. You see, the temptation during the pressures of tribulation is to peel away, not identify with the body of Christ. Distance yourself from your brothers and sisters instead of standing in there, bearing with them. It's what churches of Asia Minor were facing under Domitian's reign and other emperors.

24:09And the temptation is to distance yourself. I'm not going to be associated with those Christians. They're too far gone on this matter. Or the temptation is to join the fellowship of those who are hostile to Christ. Or develop a form of Christianity that is agreeable to Christ's adversaries. And I think that's largely what happens in the early centuries. When persecution ramps up, it's easy to adopt a form of Christianity that gets you out of the way.

25:03I think many of our young people today are seeing the collision. They're feeling the pressure. And they are being tempted to adopt a form of Christianity that gets them out of the way, that helps them get out of the conflict. Well, God's Word isn't. Getting out of the conflict. It's holding up through it. Those are the instructions. And as leaders, they need to see it in us. When the older generation buckles, what happens to the younger?

25:51Welcome to our times. We all have to wait. We all have to patiently endure. Sometimes we want our circumstances changed. Sometimes we want something different. We want God to do something. And we start getting very impatient. No, God knows where you are, why you are, and we all have to share the difficulties and perplexities and endure hardships as a Christian in the station of life that God has placed us. He knows what He's doing. We have to wait. We share that table. I remember somebody telling me a story one time about a little impatient donkey.

26:42Maybe you've heard it. But I remember the story. It goes something like this. A man was crossing desert, Judean wilderness on his little donkey. They set out in the morning, and after about an hour, the little donkey says, Master, when are we going to get there? The master says, Patience, little donkey, patience. You'll have to endure your burden just a little bit longer. So, about an hour later, little donkey says, Master, how long before we get there?

27:31The master, patience, little donkey, patience, little donkey. About an hour later, the donkey says to the master, How long before we get there? The donkey, I mean, the master says, Patience, little donkey, patience. Along about this time in the story, I said, timeout. Can you just get to the point to where he crosses the desert and then pick the story up again? You know what the story tolder told me? Patience, little donkey. Patience, little donkey. I was the little donkey. I was the little impatient donkey. And sometimes we can get like that, right? We're called to bear up under the pressures and temptations of life in a fallen world, and we feel it. And sometimes we're like, Lord, when is this going to be over?

28:33And we can feel away, we can complain, and he calls us to patiently endure. Endure. This will all be over. Endure. But all is not dark. There can be, if you know how this ends, you know this journey is just a little while. And you can be joyful in the process. We share something very unique together. We share going through a fallen world together. Experience what it's like being in a world full of sin, understanding sin from the inside, feeling it from the outside. We share that together as a body of Christ, and it's given to us to share together.

29:31And we are to stand together. We are to serve one another. We are to celebrate the journey as we patiently wait and endure the hardships. Listen, no one's writing songs about Christ's return except for the church. We have something to celebrate because we have something to mourn over. We mourn, and so that makes all the celebration more glorious. We know what it's like to be bound, and we know what it's like to be free, so we can celebrate with the voice of the true freedom that is in Christ Jesus.

30:22Life can be a joy while we patiently endure and help others patiently endure. So, those are the three spheres of Christian fellowship. We have fellowship around in tribulation, fellowship under the kingship of Christ, and fellowship in the perseverance that is in Christ. John had all these in common with these churches. But there's a fourth sphere of Christian fellowship that I want to bring to your attention this morning, and that is the fellowship that is centered around the words of the book of Revelation. There is a unique fellowship for those who read the words of Revelation in the way that they were intended to be read. Blessed, verse 3, blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of this prophecy. And heed the things which are written in it.

31:35A category of a uniquely blessed sort. And so John, in verses 9 through 11, is very careful and precise in relating how the words of Revelation came into being. He wants you to know that these are the words that God has given him. These aren't words that he just came up with or thought would be good. And so he tells us where he was when he received him, why he was there, when the words came to him, what he heard, and to whom the words were addressed. I want to take a moment and look at each one of these. Notice where he was. Look back at verse 9. I, John, your brother, and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Christ Jesus, was on the island called Patmos. Patmos.

32:34An island for prisoners, political dissidents. The island itself is about 10 miles long, about 6 miles wide. So about half the size of Bryan College Station. Very rocky. Some of the rocks go up to volcanic, go up to about a thousand feet. Labor camp, even some tradition says John, even an old man, 90, was required to work. The big question becomes: when was he on the island of Patmos? This is the first significant, major issue that one has to answer when reading the book of Revelation. I don't intend to go through all the interpretive issues here in the sermon time, but I do intend to devote a class to it, to where you can work through the interpretive issues and come away with an understanding of what is premillennialism, what is all millennialism, what is postmillennialism, what is preterism, what is historicism, what is idealism, what is futurism, and a whole host of others. You need to understand.

34:00But here, when, when was he on the island of Patmos? Was he there in the 60s under Nero? Was he there in the 90s under Dominican? And what does it really matter? Well, it matters because one major school of interpretive thought towards Revelation is that of Preterism. The word comes from Latin meaning that which has gone by, that which has already passed. So the school, and this is largely going to be your Reformed covenantal perspective, preterist, infant baptizing perspective.

34:45And they would see that much of the events, even the second coming in chapter 19, is something that has already occurred. And if it happened in, if these words were written in the 60s, it must happen in the 60s because the events then would be in 70 AD, the destruction of the temple. They see many, most of the events of Revelation already being fulfilled in the destruction of the temple. The other option is in the 90s under Emperor Dominician.

35:28So if the case is settled that the date that John is sometimes writing as an old man in the 90s, sometime in the 90s, then the whole Preterism school of thinking cannot be substantiated at all. So when you're trying to make a decision like this, you usually follow two lines of evidence, the external evidence and the internal evidence. I'll start with the external evidence. And then I'll comment on the internal. External evidence. The external evidence for Revelation being written in the 90s is pretty much unanimous by the early church leaders.

36:17Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John. So think about that. Somebody who understood John. Polycarp, and certainly would have Irenaeus knew Polycarp, who knew John. Let me just read to you what Irenaeus says. He's trying to deal with the issue that he's dealing with: is the name of the Antichrist? Who is the Antichrist? We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of the Antichrist. For if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed at this present time, it would have been announced by him who beheld the apocalyptic vision. For that was seen not very long ago, but almost in our day, toward the end of Dominician's reign. So here's Irenaeus saying, Look, I don't need to talk to you about the name of the Antichrist, because if it was intended to be given to us in this name, the book was not written too long ago. He could have included that. At that time, and he flat out, and he clearly states written at the end of Dominican reigns. Eusebius, same thing. He assigns the banishment of John and the divisions of Revelation to the reign of Dominician. Eusebius, Jerome in the fourth century, again attributes this to, let me just read what he has to say. Dominician, having raised a second persecution, John was banished to the island of Patmos, where he wrote the apocalypse, on which Justin Martyr and Irenaeus afterwards wrote commentaries. And then he goes on to say that he was released for a short time and continued to live till the time of Trajan, and he died a worn-out old man active in the work of Christ. But you can add to this list, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Victorinus. You can go on. It's almost unanimous. In fact, I would say it is unanimous, except for someone like to point out that a comment made by Papias can be interpreted that John died in before 70 A.D. and but I think that's a push, that's a stretch, it's an interpretive issue in and of itself. But other external evidence. John, the best information places John arriving in Asia in the late 60s because of the outbreak of the Jewish revolt.

39:12It's hard to believe that John could have gotten that much quickly in trouble in Asia when you've got this whole Jewish revolt going on all over Judea. Another Antipas. Just look over here at chapter 2 and verse 13. Let me show you. I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. This is Jesus speaking. I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is, and you hold fast my name and did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas, my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you where Satan dwells. Antipas, tradition holds that he is a martyr. He was roasted in the belly of a brass bull during the reign of Dominician. And so think about this. If Jesus is writing this as a past event, it can't possibly be in the 60s. Because, or without contradicting so much church tradition, it would be extremely unusual, if not completely unprecedented, to receive. Reject this much external evidence based upon a debatable internal interpretation. One would pretty much have to throw out church tradition. I mean, if this is the case, if you have to throw out so much of church tradition, then you almost say, why even bother with church tradition? Because there is so much out there that speaks contrary to the idea of 60s. In fact, the whole idea really doesn't emerge until about the 1850s in some of the more scholarly circles.

41:13But if one were to decide the case by external evidence alone, then there would clearly be the 90s. It wouldn't even be a contest. Now let's go to the internal evidence. Why? Well, some interpret 666 as a reference to Nero. And they're so sure of this that you will get a whole school of thought that then wants to make Nero the emperor being spoken of at 666. That puts it in the 60s. And then you launch off from there and start reading into a you start fitting everything under that paradigm. That is. A very debatable internal issue, very debatable. And to set aside so much other information isn't warranted. But the internal evidence also strongly supports the 90s.

42:20The churches of Asia Minor, if you're just reading the book of Revelation, just reading chapter 2 and chapter 3, you understand they are clearly in a state of spiritual decline, which is very different from the books that Paul wrote in the 60s. Very different picture. They're thriving. It's difficult to imagine such a change in just a few years. And I've been at Emmanuel for 15 years now. I mean, this last day. It takes time to get to know people. You often hear me say it takes, life is a thing that happens as you're working through your theology. It takes time, right?

43:08It takes time for people to get it, for us to change our habits. Growing cold also takes time. You think about just the whole Joshua generation. Israel was faithful under Joshua's leadership to do what it, and yet, after Joshua's generation passed, Off the scene, Israel fell into decline. You think about the decline of many of our seminaries and Bible colleges. That takes time, and it doesn't happen in the generation that they started. You could just see this all around. It takes time to sprout, grow, flourish, and decline. It's hard to imagine all that happening in a decade or less. That much. It's just difficult to see such a quick decline, especially among those churches that were just thriving. I mean, Ephesus, wow, they're putting Artemis of the Ephesians out of business. I mean, it's not just some light turning. It's a major change. I mean, you think about it, I've been around for a while and I've seen a lot of boycotts that have been called for for various reasons. Boycotts. And, you know, I haven't seen any boycotts put any of the corporate giants or whatever out of business. I don't know of you.

44:40What happened in Ephesus was putting them all out of business. I mean, this was a deep-seated, dramatic change. And to say that that can just change so quickly is difficult to believe. You keep reading in Revelation and you have the. The whole Nicolaitan errant theological system, it's not even mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. And yet it seems to be alive, thriving, and well spread by the time John writes these things. All that takes time, time, which we're running out of.

45:24So it's best to take the date, certainly not in the 60s, sometimes in the 90s, probably around 95 or something like that. Well, he tells us where he was. He tells us why he was there. He was there because of the, look back at verse 9, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Best interpretation is that John is on the island of Patmos, not because he's going to preach the gospel there, not because, even though that's what he's doing, and not because he just went there to hear a word from the Lord. No, he's on the island of Patmos, serving a prison term under the Roman Emperor Dominician for preaching the gospel in Ephesus and all of Asia and testifying to Jesus' life and ministry. I mean, that's where he writes the Gospel of John. That's being circulated. So, yeah, John is very much part of this whole threat, that's, quote, threat that's coming against Rome, so to speak. And the threats. For many politically, socially, economically, religiously, morally.

46:45Well, when did the words come to him? Look back at verse 10. I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day. I was in the spirit, the Lord's Day. Probably reference to the first day of the week, the day that we are meeting. Look at what he heard. And I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet saying, Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches. I don't know about you, but the voice, think of the trumpet. A voice that sounds like a trumpet. Loud, penetrating, clear.

47:32Right? He hears it, right? What does it say? What you see, write and send. Those are the orders. When you hear something like that, that penetrating, that clear, what do you do? You do exactly what it says, right? Notice to whom these words. Words were addressed to the seven churches, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Tira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, the circuit. We've already seen that circuit. And those circuits served as postal outlets for the whole area of Asia. And that's why you can come to Acts 19 and 10 and read the words that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord.

48:30John was very precise in relating how the words of Revelation came into being. He told us where he was, why he was there, when the words came to him, what he heard, and to whom the words were written. Why? So that we would know these are God's words. And blessed are those who read. Read to you the end of the book about these words. Revelation 22, verse 18. I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this book, of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and the holy city which are written in it.

49:24Wow. There is a blessing and a curse associated with the word. Of Revelation. And they were given to create a category of blessed people who will be blessed for having read them as they were intended to be read. And that is why they were written. God gave them to Jesus. And that's why Jesus gave them to his bondservants through the angel. Verse 1. Because there is a unique fellowship that is centered around the words of Revelation. And I hope that you will join us on the journey, the joyful journey, of fellowshipping around the table of the words of Revelation, that you will pick it up, that you will read it for yourself over and over again, that you will be part of the journey. Because there are three spheres of Christian fellowship: tribulation, kingdom, and perseverance. And then there's the fourth sphere of Christian fellowship, the words of the Revelation, which are given to help us persevere under his kingship, no matter what the spiritual conflict may be.

50:55Let's pray. Heavenly Father, indeed, we recognize. There will be trials associated with living in this fallen world. We recognize there's tribulation because of your name, and we will not be called to endure anything that you have not already endured on a far greater scale, so we can follow you. Father, we do ask for your protection. We ask for your pardon when we buckle under pressure. We ask for your provision that we would not fail before you, but when we do, Father, we pray for your pardon. Father, we pray for your guidance, your protection. And Father, I just thank you for this body of Christ. Help us to grow as being those who can withstand the pressures, and not only that, but help others, help our brothers and sisters withstand the pressures and trials that they are facing. And help us, Father, to joyfully celebrate your great name and the coming age as we wait for you. Of course, in Christ's name, amen.