Well, would you take your Bible and turn to chapter three. I understand that we're not going to have the verses on the screens today. So you will need to get out your Bibles or your little devices, whatever you use to open up the Word of God. We are actually in the sixth part of our study of Jesus appointing the 12. We will look at three more of these today and finish. Starting in verse 13, "And Jesus went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted and they came to Him. And He appointed 12 so that they would be with Him. And that he could send them out to preach and to have authority to cast out the demons. And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter) and James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James, (to them, he gave the name Boanerges, which means ," Sons of Thunder"); and Andrew and Philip and Bartholomew, and Matthew and Thomas and James, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Zealot. and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him." As we have studied these men, they have been a encouragement to our hearts because in them we see ourselves and this is as we see ours, their besetting sin. But what I find really fascinating is that scripture really doesn't highlight anything about their lives, their accomplishments, rather, it focuses primarily on their weaknesses and power, his humility, his compassion, His mercy. Jesus said that He would send the Holy Spirit and John says righteousness and judgment, He is the one who will guide us into all truth. He is the one that puts the glory of Christ on display. Here's the one that transforms believers. So Scripture makes much of Christ, not of them. It's interesting, isn't it? Their lives. Their accomplishments, for the most part are never documented. They're always in the background, and rightfully so; Christ is in the forefront. They are supporting actors to God's grand and glorious stage here of redemption. And he is center stage, not them. So it's much about their weaknesses, their stubbornness, sometimes their stupidity. And then then we can all see ourselves. But what is also interesting, if you think about it, they all lived and they died in obscurity, yet they were the divinely chosen emissaries of God, the apostles of Christ, the men that laid the foundation stones of the church, of which Christ is the cornerstone. And this is contrary to the world's mindset, isn't it? I mean, considering their prestige, his position as apostles, the world would have written scripture very differently. The world would have pointed to their incredible successes in establishing churches, their noble accomplishments. And you would think that somewhere we would read about these massive numbers of especially after penance, sure, of their heroic sacrifices, necessarily, just bits and pieces here and there. Oh, and I might add, there's no place in scripture where we read about some kind of Dove Awards for the musicians. No, God alone deserves the glory. These men were servants of the Most High, the King of glory. I'm reminded of First Peter five, Peter understood this. And there we read what he said, "Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud but he gives grace to the humble." He went on to say, "humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you at the proper time." And make no mistake, He is exalted these men in glory as he has so many others, down through redemptive history as they are clothed in the robes of righteousness. Well, today, I want to elaborate upon the need for humility in Christian service. And we see this as we look at the lives of the men that we're going to examine today. And this humility manifests itself primarily in three ways in their service to the Lord. They are people that serve in obscurity, in love and in faith. And we're going to see this as we look at the men that are before us in the text. First, we're going to look at James, the son of Alphaeus. A very obscure character, right? Most of you are probably thinking, Yeah, I think I heard that name, but I don't really know who that is. He was one of the apostles. Well, let's, let's see what Scripture tells us. And from there, we can extrapolate some things that at least would be a tentative hypothesis about who he really was. He is listed, interestingly enough with Simon the Zealot, and Judas, the son of James also called Thaddeus, and we will look at all three of these men today, but we know nothing really, of his father Alpheus, it could be the Alpheus as was Matthew's Father, that we would read about in Mark two 14, making him the brother of Matthew, but we really don't know that for sure. We can't say that. We do know that his mother's name was Mary. We read about that in Matthew 27 verse 56. She was a follower of Christ and eyewitness of the crucifixion, She assisted in preparing Jesus's body for burial. And we know according to Mark 15:40 that he is called "James the Less," "Lakobos ho mikros" in Greek. "Mikros" we get micro, and it literally means little one. "Mikros," little James is what he was, reminds me of Little Joe Cartwright on Bonanza, right? So little in this context could mean small in stature, we're not real sure, meaning that he was a little man. Or it could denote someone who is young and age perhaps distinguishing him from James the son of Zebedee. Or it could be a reference to his position, even though that's stretching it a little bit. Certainly he was a man of little influence, a man of small prominence among the other apostles. And he was not a prominent member of, shall we say, the inner circle of the Lord. And that's no indictment against the Lord. The Lord can only disciple closely, so many. And he did that primarily with Peter, James and John. But positionally, they were all equally even though functionally, there was a hierarchy among the apostles, Peter was the leader, Peter, James and John were, as I say, part of the Lord's inner circle, and the other seem to be of lesser rank. So here we hear he is James the son of Alphaeus, or little James, a man, lesser in size, perhaps in influence, but there's no hint of him trying to be superior or demand respect. This, I think about it, this is another one of those unsung heroes of the faith, right? Someone that served the Lord faithfully and obscurity, in many ways. He's just a footnote to human history on the page of human history, and yet he was a valiant warrior of Christ, that was used mightily for the sake of the kingdom and he will be remembered in heaven throughout eternity. You know, this is hard for many people in the body of Christ today, because the emphasis so much in our culture is on bigger and better right? Focusing on some grandiose, you know, church ministry or church empire. I mean, can you imagine Jesus hosting the Dove Awards? For example? I'm very familiar with that because years ago, I counseled with lots of celebrities and artists and lots of the people that were in part of the music industry, and so I know that intimately. Praising musicians who have achieved star status so that they can boost the profits of the record labels; heaping praise upon people who for the most part, want to praise of men. But contrast that to the unsung heroes of the faith. Like James the Less, or like the apostle Paul, who we read about, for example, in Second Corinthians four when he spoke of this glorious treasure of the gospel contained in earthen vessels, clay pots. And why was that, so that the surpassing greatness of the power may be from God and not not of ourselves. We're mere clay pots, which is a reference to those parts that were used for garbage even for human waste; lowly, common, unattractive, expendable. You see, it is the content of the message that is to be exalted, not the container. So there will never be in a pastor awards, nor should there be righ?. Imagine how all of this now has been distorted in our culture. Sermon of the Year goes to... female preacher of the Year goes to, or I don't know, entertaining pastor of the Year goes to... you see how silly it is. And yet this is kind of where we've come. And certainly there is no clay pot awards. Ridiculous right? By the way, only the proud crave rewards for men. Paul tells us in second Corinthians 10, beginning of verse 17, "But he who boasts, let him boast," in what? "In the Lord. For not he who commendss himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends." I want to camp on this just for a minute before we look more into these characters, because this idea of seeking the praise of men is really disastrous in the church today. And it manifests itself in a variety of ways, but certainly one of the most powerful ways. And one that is so subtle that many people tend to ignore is in the preaching of a man centered gospel, to receive the praise of men. I can imagine Satan instructing his demonic commanders to carry out his deceptive schemes. And he would probably say something like this to them. And here I'm quoting from something that I have written. "He would tell them mislead pastors into believing man's only problem is His will. Therefore, a sinner can be induced into making a decision for Christ by argumentation, delude him into believing that regeneration can be proven by physical effects, like approaching an imaginary altar and repeating a sinners prayer. Make him believe that the Spirits work and regeneration is to merely persuade the sinner to resolve to become a Christian. Make him skilled in manipulative techniques to get unbelievers to make a decision to accept Jesus into their heart. But to do this, you must make him reject the biblical doctrine of total depravity. That man's nature is so corrupt that God must first renew a sinner's mind in nature before he can even respond to the gospel in repentant faith. Convince him that fallen man is not spiritually dead, but only sick, and he is therefore able on his own to cooperate with God and salvation. Fool him into thinking regeneration is not the sole work of the Spirit that raises a sinner from spiritual death to life, but a combined effort of the sinner and the Spirit, he must be convinced that God's will to save is ultimately subject to man's will to believe. Therefore, man, not God, is sovereign over salvation. This will prevent God from being accurately depicted as the omnipotent sovereign, actively drawing unto himself sinners, he is elected by His grace to worship Him forever. Instead, God will be portrayed as a frustrated and helpless deity, pacing the throne room of heaven, biting his nails hoping sinners will hear him knocking on the door of their heart and let him in. Through decisionism, he will trivialize heartfelt repentance and replace the Spirits work of regeneration. This will then widen the narrow gate and broaden the narrow road with an easy believeism gospel that bears no resemblance to genuine repentance and saving faith. Moreover, by confusing emotionalism and mere professions of faith as works of God, false professions will be the norm. And without genuine saving faith, churches will be populated with people who are Christian in name only incapable of truly understanding the Word of God or living for His glory. Better yet, they will perish in their sin. For this reason, Paul said this in Galatians, one beginning in verse nine, "If any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed. For am I now seeking the favor of men or of God? Or am I striving to please men, if I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond servant of Christ." Dear friends, may I remind you that the Gospel must begin with an accurate view of God, that he is infinitely holy, beyond anything that we could imagine. And in contrast, all that we are and all that we do is fundamentally offensive to God. Because of our sinful nature, we have an innate inability to conform to the moral character and desires of God. And unless God does something, we will never be reconciled to Him in saving faith. And so what we have to present is the good news, in the context of the bad news. We have to help people understand how God can justify the ungodly. What a dilemma that is, all sin must be punished. He can't just say, well, you're forgiven, and let's forget about it. He had to do something. And what is that something? Well, he had to provide a sacrifice, to pay for the penalty of sin. And that sacrifice, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ, who was our substitute, the propitiation, the one that satisfied the righteous demands of God. This is the gospel, no gimmicks, no manipulation, just unleash the truth of the gospel. For it is the Spirit that gives life right? John 6:63. Dear professing Christian, examine yourself, test yourself, to see if you be in the faith. Second Peter one, beginning of verse 10. Peter addresses this issue, he says, "Be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you. For as long as you practice these things you will never stumble for in this way, the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ will be abundantly applied to you." So what does that mean "for as long as you practice these things?" In other words, what are these some of these tasks of genuine saving faith? Well he addressed that in the verses just before that, in verses four through eight he talks about how, "We become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now, for this reason, also," he says, "applying all diligence, in your faith supply, moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge and in your knowledge, self control, and in your self control, perseverance and in your perseverance godliness, and in your godliness brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours, and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." Beloved, this is the stuff of genuine saving faith. You say you're a Christian, and these things aren't manifested in your life, you deceive yourself. And I warn you as a minister of the gospel, unless you get serious about your heart attitude before the living God, you will someday stand before Him and He will be your judge, not your Savior. So people can preach a distorted gospel to seek the praise of men. Certainly the apostles didn't do this. There's of course, the sins of spiritual elitism. It's so rampant in the body of Christ today, elevating personal preferences to the status of divine fiat, pretending to have miraculous sign gifts like speaking in tongues or healing or some special word from God that you're supposed to share with other people. Ways of elevating yourself is something more spiritual than you are, seeking some spiritual spotlight, like the Pharisees, whom Jesus said in John 12, verse 43, "love the praise of men more than the praise of God." So, beloved, ask yourself, Am I willing to serve the Lord in obscurity? As James the Less? Are you satisfied with your station and Christian service? Even though it may be insignificant in the eyes of the world, it's not in the eyes of God. I fear too often we long for bigger and better, right. And when we become consumed with the breadth of our ministry, we will inevitably neglect its depth. Jesus went deep with a few, not shallow with the many. Think of the unnamed heroes who have gone on before us. Think of those Sunday school teachers that you had when you were a child that ministered to you and presented to you the great truths of scripture. You may not remember what they said but you will remember their character, their love for Christ and it impacted you. Remember godly parents, godly pastors, choir directors, musicians, nursery workers, even, right? Janitors, whatever it was, I can think of a whole host of these people that God put in my life. Think of all the unsung heroes that have gone on before us, I think of what we read in Hebrews 11, beginning in verse 35, where the writer describes, quote, "Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection and others experience markings and scourging. Yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn and two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword. They went about and sheep skins in goat skins being destitute, afflicted ill treated men of whom the world is not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these having gained approval through their faith did not receive what was promised. Because God provided something better for us. So that apart from us, they would not be made perfect." And certainly they're experiencing the reward now, as we all will, but such was James the less, little James. It's believed that he took the gospel to Syria, and to Persia and accounts vary about how he died. Some say he was stoned. Others say he was beaten to death. Others say he was crucified. But we can be assured that he was empowered by the Spirit of God to accomplish all that he was called to do. Even though he served in obscurity, and now he's receiving his reward, and one day we will talk with him. Beloved, remember, all servants of Christ will be rewarded. Paul reminds us of this in Colossians three, verse 24, "Knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ." Well, Jesus also called another man, a very different man. His name was Simon the Zealot, also called Simon the Canaanite. It's from the Hebrew word "qinah", which means to be zealous. And apparently, he was a member of a Jewish sect known as the zealots. And this was a political group, basically, Jewish terrorists that absolutely hated the Romans, and hated all Jews that sided with them. So Jesus calls a terrorist to be one of his apostles. Very interesting. This man, of course, was like so many, he was waiting for the appearance of the Messiah, for the Messiah to come and to somehow do away with Rome and return the kingdom to Solomonic glory; soften up the enemy a little bit, was his role. He thought, you know, I need to kind of help the Lord out here. The zealots were also called "sicarii", which means dagger men. They were secret assassins. They carried concealed daggers and they would, they were very skilled at slipping up behind a Roman soldier and sticking the knife up in the ribcage and cutting out the heart and then moving away very quickly. And it is said that they had a reputation for being willing to suffer any torture, suffer any amount of pain they were impervious to at all, even when their families were tortured in front of them. They would attack and then they would go hide in the Galilee in the northern part of Israel. Simon probably followed Christ for the wrong reasons at first, until the Lord softened his heart. I find it fascinating that God chooses a terrorist here to be his servant, a man who was filled with hate and rage and violence. And here we see another great, great virtue in Christian ministry. And that's the virtue of love, that we have to serve and love. Not only to serve in obscurity, but in love, especially love for those we once hated and those who hate us. And again, I think it's interesting that Simon the Zealot is mentioned and he's kind of thrown in with Matthew, the tax collector. Isn't that interesting? A public con, a Jewish Roman tax collector, that to the Jews, remember, Matthew was considered a traitor, a liar, a thief, a murderer. They were barred from the synagogue, he, they were unclean. You weren't able to even touch them as like touching swine. They were forbidden to give testimony in the court. But this is just the kind of man Simon the Zealot would love to meet in a dark alley, right. And the Lord puts them together. I'm reminded of a dog I once had, his name was Otis, he was a boxer weighed about 100 pounds, His neck was 24 inches around, he was a massive beast. But Otis absolutely hated cats. That may be why I love that dog so much, I'm not sure. But if he saw a cat, he would lose his mind. I could tell you stories of taking him to the vet nad they had some cats that they would let run around until the first time Otis came there. And they never let the cats out again when we came to the vet. But imagine taking Otis and a cat and putting them in a room and locking the door. So think about it, it would be catastrophic, right? Well, my point is simply this. Simon the Zealot was Otis and Matthew was the cat. And God had to do a mighty work of grace to get those two, to love each other and serve Him. And isn't that exactly what he has done with us? One, an amazing picture of the love of God and His people and by great by god's grace they serve side by side. Another lesson we would do well to learn here is that it's tragic when there are brothers and sisters in Christ even in a church that can't live in harmony with one another. I mean, we should all love one another. We know that but we've got to remember that we're committed to the same common goal and of course pride is always the culprit in that and it can lead to slander, malicious gossip and jealousy and strife. The Lord hates according to Proverbs 6:19, "a false witness who utters lies and one who spreads strife among brethren." And I want to remind you of one such person who would have been the opposite, you might say, of what happened with Simon the Zealot. This man's name was Diotrephes. If you want to turn to Third John, you read about him. This was a guy that refused to live in obscurity he refused to serve in love and humility, he refused to serve the brethren. And third John nine we read that Diotrephes is the one who "loves to be first among the brethren does not accept what we say" and so on. The New King James says, "he loves to have the preeminence among them." In Greek, the preeminence means to be fond of the first position to be the first person, the most prominent person, the leader of everyone else, and it's a term that really underscored selfish ambition, pride, to be first place and everything. And you know, the apostle struggled with this, right? Remember, they were always fighting about who's going to be first in the kingdom. And so they struggled with these things, and the grammar and the text there inthird, John indicates that Diotrephes did this habitually. He hated obscurity, demand and preeminence. And in verses 10 and 11, we read for this reason, John says, "If I come I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church." So this guy was the keeper of the gate, right? By the way, wouldn't you have loved to been there when the church read this letter and Diotrephes is sitting there, that would have been interesting. He goes on to say, "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good, the one who does good is of God, the one who does evil has not seen God." So again, this was some pathological antagonist, he found fault with everybody. And this type of thing is so destructive in the body of Christ and yet it happens routinely. Contrast that to what Paul tells us in Ephesians. And certainly this would have been the heart of the apostles, even Simon the Zealot. There, Paul says in Ephesians, four beginning in verse one, that we, "are to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit, and the bond of peace." Well, obviously, Simon the Zealot learned to love, he learned to set aside his foolish pursuit of politics and all of the things that he was doing and to serve Christ instead. And we want to make sure that we model that in our lives. Remember, Paul was even concerned about the saints at Galatia remember, he said that they were bickering with one another, and so forth in Galatians, five, and he reminded them to control their, their flesh in verse 13. He said, "But but through love, serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word in the statement, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another." So we want to guard ourselves against becoming a Diotrephes. And certainly, if we see them in the church, we confront them and deal with them, because it is so contrary to the way we should conduct ourselves. Instead, we have to become like Simon the Zealot. Well, I probably owe him a great debt of gratitude, because he went to the British Isles took the gospel up there, that would have been the place of my ancestry. And the gospel went forth in the British Isles and through his ministry, we don't know what happened, there's no real reliable record, but if you look at the different records, it's obvious that he was killed for his testimony for Christ. One more man that we'll look at here this morning, as we learn to serve in obscurity and love, and that is Judas, the son of James and here we see how we need to learn to serve also in faith. Here we look at John 14. It's the only source in the New Testament that gives us any inkling about him. This was Judas, not Iscariot, and he really had three names. In Matthew 10 three he is called Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddeus Lebbaeus is from a Hebrew root word meaning heart. So Lebbaeus literally means heart child. Lebbaeus, is one name. But he had another one, Thaddeus, which interestingly enough means breast child, which evokes the imagery of of a nursing baby, and perhaps communicates even a ridicule, derisive idea of being a mama's boy, but we can't say that for sure. Perhaps he was the cherished baby of the family, as some are, we don't know. But all of this gives us the idea that this was probably a very innocent, quiet, soft, spoken, warm hearted sort of a fellow, which is the opposite of the sons of thunder, right? But Judas was the name given to him at birth. Judas means "Jehovah leads." And again, I'm intrigued at how the Lord puts people together, of all things, he puts him in with, with these thunderous fishermen, a former tax collector and a terrorist. Well, it's a great group to go on a missionary trip with right. But isn't that a microcosm of the Body of Christ. I mean, when we look at the body of Christ, I mean, it's a kaleidoscope of personalities, a mixed bag of preferences and backgrounds. And we've got people in this worship center from all over the world with all different kinds of backgrounds. And yet we have a common calling. And we must love to each other and serve Christ, but in John 14, we learn a little bit more about Judas, Lebbaeus and Thaddaeus. The context there is Jesus just is describing the events in the upper room. And in verse 21, and following, he says, "He who has My commandments and keeps them as the one who loves Me, and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father. And I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." Then it says, "Judas, (not Iscariot), said to Him, 'Lord, what then has happened, that you are going to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. And my Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.'" So here we see something about this dear man. Here, Judas reveals real tenderness and real humility of heart. Isn't it interesting, he's struck with the reality that Jesus and God His Father would love them and disclose himself to them. I mean, Judas knew his own heart. He knew what the rest of the guys were like. He was aware of all the bickering to be first. He was aware of all of the pride and the prejudices, all the jealousies, the brashness, the cowardness. The weak faith. The idea is, Lord, with all of that, with who we really are, you still love us, and you're willing to reveal yourself to usT? his is inconceivable. We are so undeserving. And isn't this the stuff of genuine saving faith? To be very aware of our own sin, our own depravity, to be aware of our own wretchedness and the undeserved love that is ours because of Christ. And with that in mind, he struggles with this issue of fairness, you know, it seems unfair to disclose or to manifest or to reveal yourself to us given who we are, and not the rest of the world. But Jesus doesn't rebuke him. There is no hostility here, Jesus knows thiw, it's just a humble question from a humble heart. And we know that all of the apostles were struggling with their eschatology. You know, they, they thought that he was here to establish the kingdom, to reveal himself to the whole world to be the Promised Messiah, the deliverer of Israel. Remember Matthew 24, when he's leaving, Jesus is leaving the temple with the disciples, and he said in verse two, Jesus said, "Do you not see all these things? Truly, I say to you, not one stone here shall be left upon another, which will not be torn down." And of course, that happened in AD 70, when the Romans came in, but all of this was so confusing to them. You know, Jesus, what's going on here? Verse three of Matthew 24. We read, "As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?'" Coming is the "Parousia" the revealing of your presence as Messiah and King? When is this going to happen? We're waiting. That was the mentality. They didn't realize that the parousia will be at the Second Coming. So back to Judas, he is humbled, he's confused. And he tenderly asks Jesus and John 14:22, "Lord, what then has happened, that you are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus answered in verses 23 and 24 is basically we were to paraphrase it, it basically goes like this. He says, Trust me, Judas. I will disclose Myself to all those that I have drawn unto myself and saving faith. All of those who habitually love Me and keep My word. You see, that's always the hallmark of real Christianity. Loving obedience is what validates genuine saving faith, not some mere profession of faith. Jesus is saying to him, Look, I know you don't fully understand all of this But you will, in the Holy Spirit enters you at Pentecost, he will reveal these things. So trust me, there is nothing unfair in my redemptive purposes or plans. Trust me, all who love me will be saved, those who don't, won't. But for those who do love me, demonstrated by their faithful obedience, we, the triune godhead, will make our abode with them in them. Literally, it's the idea of the parousia first taking place in the hearts of men and women who love me. And then the physical parousia, the appearance of the Messiah will come when he comes back, to establish His kingdom at the second coming, trust me, serve me in faith. Peter understood this, First Peter four 19, we read, "Those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator, in doing what is right." Beloved, the real key to effective and joyful ministry is to place your faith solely in the Word of God, to believe what he has said, even though there are things you cannot understand that none of us can understand, but to trust him, The just shall live by what? By faith, and someday faith will become sight. We will rejoice when that happens. We look forward to it now. Well, it's well documented Judas, the son of James, spread the gospel into the northern regions of, of what is now Turkey, even into Edessa, which was a royal city of Mesopotamia, there's numerous accounts that he even led Agbar of Edessa, the king, that he healed him. Later, we learned that he was clubbed to death, because of his boldness in proclaiming the gospel, the truth of the gospel. In fact, the traditional apostolic symbol, Judas Lebbaeus Thaddeus in that part of the world, to this very day, is a club, reminding us of all of the potential sacrifice that we might pay for the cause of Christ. So I close this morning by encouraging all of you to examine your heart, to not only make sure that you truly know and love the Lord, and therefore he's at work in you, but that you are serving Him, even if it's in obscurity, doing it in love and in faith. And to know that God is always at work in us, right? He's always at work in us, even though we can always see it. I think of a mighty oak tree, you look at the oak tree, and you can't tell what's happening, but it's still growing right? Even in the storms. Paul said, "For I'm confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." And one other challenge here. Be willing to find ways to serve Christ, even in the context of your family, don't necessarily look for something in the church. I mean, that's great, and there's places where you can do that. But there are a myriad of opportunities to serve Christ all around you. And if you're having a hard time finding them, make it a matter of prayer. And I will assure you, that the Lord will make it very clear where you can serve Him in your sphere of influence. We serve a wonderful, good and glorious God, don't we? Let's pray together. Father, thank you, for these men and for what we can learn from what little we know about their lives. But certainly, we know from your word, what you would have us to do as your People Living out our lives, even in obscurity, loving one another, loving those that would even hate us, loving them for the sake of the gospel. And trusting you come what may so we thank you, we give you praise in Jesus name. Amen.