“Don’t Run Away From the Valley”
Sunday, August 16, 2009

Introduction: When I was a kid growing up, I purchased my first TV when I was about 13 years old. I had a paper route, and saved up enough money to buy a 13” black and white. One of the only channels I got on my TV, since it wasn’t hooked up to my parents’ antenna, and we didn’t have satellite back then, was channel 28. I would love to watch Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Because of this I became a Monty Python fan, and loved their movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” This movie was a satire of the Camelot and King Arthur legend.
At one point the different knights who are following King Arthur go on separate journeys. Knight Sir Robin, who is known as brave knight Sir Robin for his fearlessness, goes on his journey and encounters this large 3-headed person. Sir Robin tells them that he is a knight of the round table, and that he wants to pass. They respond that they are going to have to kill him, and begin to argue who will do it. After a time of arguing, they realize that Sir Robin is gone. As Sir Robin is riding along, his minstrel begins to sing: Brave Sir Robin ran away; Bravely ran away away.
When danger reared its ugly head, He bravely turned his tail and fled.
Yes Brave Sir Robin turned about; And gallantly he chickened out;
Bravely taking to his feet; He beat a very brave retreat;
Bravest of the brave Sir Robin. (All the while Sir Robin is saying: “No I didn’t.”)
This morning I want us to look at how in life we will encounter times in the valley, times of dryness and unfruitfulness and deadness that can cause us some fear. But we must not run away from these times, because God can bring great experiences in our lives from those times!!

I. Full of Bones- (Ezekiel 37:1-2)
a. Encountering bones- In our text this morning from Ezekiel 37, we
see that Ezekiel has a dream, and in this dream he is taken by the Lord to a valley. As he looks at this valley he sees all these bones. There were many bones lying around in this valley; dry bones. It was an eerie sight. I’m sure it made Ezekiel very uncomfortable. I’m sure Ezekiel was wondering why God would bring him to a place like this. I’m sure Ezekiel was wondering what these bones were doing in the valley; what caused them to be there? They must have been there a long time, because they were very dry.
The bones represent the Israelites who are in exile. They have been in exile for 10 years and seem to have no hope of getting out of exile. Because of this their hope is lost, and so they are in a very dry place. They are despondent over their situation and don’t know how to get out of this place of despair. As the prophet of God to the people, Ezekiel was feeling a little lost as well, because he didn’t have any words of hope for them.
As we think about the Israelites, we need to understand that we too have these times of dryness when we feel lost and have no hope. In many ways the whole country is feeling this as well. With the economic crisis upon us, we see many people out of work and struggling financially. We see businesses struggling, the banks struggling, the real estate market struggling. It is like looking at a valley of dry bones. What message of hope is there?
When we are in this place, our tendency is to want to withdraw, or get depressed, or feel like there is no way out. We feel like Ezekiel probably felt, a despondency over a hopeless situation. What could he do with all these dry bones? He probably wanted to just turn and run away.
b. Don’t run away- But the answer is never about running away,
especially when we have God with us. And Ezekiel had God with him. In fact, it was God who brought Ezekiel there. There was a purpose that God brought Ezekiel to the valley. God wanted Ezekiel to get a picture of the state the Israelites were in. Sometimes being able to see an example of a condition heightens our sensitivity to that issue. Ezekiel knew that the people were struggling, but seeing the dry bones, the valley filled with bones, really put it all together for him.
Along with that, Ezekiel realized that the situation before him was bigger than what he could handle. He was at a loss of what to do when he saw the bones. There was not one constructive thing he could do with the bones. That is why he wanted to run away; to get far away from the dead, dry bones. They probably freaked him out. Who wants to be in the presence of dead, dry bones?
You could imagine Ezekiel turning to God and asking, ‘Why did you bring me here? Why would you put me in this uncomfortable situation?’
Not only did God take Ezekiel to the valley, but the scripture says that God “led him all around the valley and the bones.” Not only did God not want Ezekiel to run away, God wanted Ezekiel to take in the situation from all angles. This was because God was going to allow Ezekiel to be a part of the solution for his people. When we choose to not run away, and rely on God to work in and through us, God will indeed use us to help turn the situation around!
So Ezekiel is now ready for the question that God has for him next; the question that will draw Ezekiel into God’s plan; a plan that can only come about if Ezekiel allows God to do the work through him.

II. Putting the Bones together- (Ezekiel 37:3-6)
a. Assembly- If you have ever purchased anything that you have to
put together, you know that assembly can be complicated. Here I have the assembly instructions for a changing table that I put together many years ago. There are 6 steps to this process. At the end of the 6 steps, you hope that you did it right, and that everything fit together well. You don’t want any extra parts. You want it to stand and be sturdy and safe for your child. Following the directions is important, and it is nice that there are good directions on how the table is to go together.
In Ezekiel 37:3, God asks Ezekiel: “Mortal, can these bones live?” In other words, can these bones be assembled to become living people again. Do you think Ezekiel wanted to ask: “Uh, Lord, is there any directions for this?” But what Ezekiel really said was, “O Lord, God, you know.” Safe answer, don’t you think? Surely God knows the answer to His question.
God continues in verses 4-6: “Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
There were directions, and God gives them to Ezekiel. It starts with Ezekiel’s faith of prophesying to the bones that they will be attached by tendons, and then flesh, and then breath for life.
God will do the assembly after Ezekiel faithfully follows God’s directions.
b. New life- These dry bones will have new life. They will go from
being dead, dry bones, to being bodies, put together by God, and given breath for life. So the first step is putting the bones together, doing an assembly of sorts, but that is not enough. New life is not just about assembling the bones, and tendons, and flesh together, and then giving them breath. New life is about a change of heart.
When President Obama took office, he had a stimulus package in mind that he believed would turn around the economy. The packaged included tax cuts for many Americans, to be paid for by the wealthy, a creation of 2.5 million jobs, and reforming the financial system. But even if Obama is able to implement these elements into the economy, it won’t be enough. Why? Because without a change of heart, people will make the same mistakes the made before the problems arose; without a change of heart people will be wasteful in the same ways.
A change of heart is needed because this is what leads us to new behavior; behavior that is more constructive and beneficial. Part of what God will lead Ezekiel to understand here, is that the Israelites cannot continue in the behavior that led them into exile. Every time Israel found herself in exile, it was because they abandoned God and followed other gods. They turned away from living the way God had directed them, and then found themselves in bondage and oppression.
It is not just about bringing life to dead bones, or bringing life to a dead faith, or bringing life to a dead church. It is about changing our hearts to be people who truly love and follow God.

III. Transformation- (Ezekiel 37:7-8; Romans 12:1-2)
a. Transforming people- What is the biggest thing God has ever
asked you to do? To answer that question, we have to have heard God leading us. I think for me it is stepping out in faith and challenging people in their spiritual growth. To do this I have to seek to lead people to change. They have to make decisions to give up some of what they are doing so they can live more for God. This isn’t easy for people to make this change. There is usually a struggle, and sometimes a fight against God in making this change. I have even seen people leave church because they are too tied into their current lifestyle.
God calls Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, and Ezekiel is faithful to this call. After Ezekiel prophesies he hears a noise, a rattling sound, and when he looks to see what is happening, he sees that the bones are coming together. I think it surprised him. It is one thing to hear God’s voice, then to obey it, but I don’t think we always believe it is going to happen. Here Ezekiel sees God causing the bones to come together!! Not only that, but then tendons are connecting them, and then skin begins to cover them.
Here Ezekiel sees a transformation, from dry bones to whole bodies. But the bodies are just lying there with no breath.

b. Being missional- Of course, breath for a body is essential to life.
For a church, and for us as Christians, it is about serving beyond ourselves. The current term for this is “being missional.” What this refers to is to go out into our community. Of course we see this example in Jesus’ life. Jesus didn’t stay at the temple waiting for people come to Him so He could teach them. Jesus went out into the community. This was the crux of Jesus’ ministry. He was constantly on the move.
It doesn’t take much observation to see this in the gospels. Just following along in the titles of the sections of scripture show this for us. Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee, by the sea of Galilee where He called His disciples. Matthew 4:25 says, “And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.” Jesus was on the move, going from place to place, out amongst the people.
When Jesus taught the beatitudes, it was on top of a mountain, when he healed the Centurion’s servant, it was as he was entering Capernaum. He then went to Peter’s house and healed Peter’s mother. And on and on his ministry went, at people’s homes, by the lake, in the entryway of the temple, many places other than the temple itself. Jesus involved Himself with the people where the people were at.
As a faithful church, transformed for God, having new life, we must be willing to be fed, encouraged, and uplifted here, and then go out into the community to the poor, the homeless, and the oppressed. We must have a missional mentality as the Lord did. Otherwise, we are just dry bones with breath.

IV. Getting Over the 3-foot Wall- (Ez. 37:9-14; Ps. 23:4-6; Genesis 2:7)
a. Impala- Illus.- I don’t know if you know much about the African
Impala, but it is quite the animal. Let me tell you a little about it, and what I will tell you, you might have trouble believing. An Impala has the natural ability to jump from a standing position 10-13 feet in the air! To put this in perspective, think about a basketball hoop. The hoop is 10 feet off the ground. So an Impala can be standing still, and from that position jump as high as the rim and maybe even as high as the top of the backboard!! Along with that, an Impala can jump 30 feet forward while on the run. I measured that distance this last week, and 30 feet is from the front of these stairs to the middle of the eighth pew, just past that post.
And yet, with this ability there is an astounding truth for the Impala’s that are in a zoo. If you have ever noticed, the only thing keeping an Impala penned up is a three foot wall. How can that be? If an Impala can jump over 10 feet high, and can jump 30 feet forward, how can a 3-foot wall keep it enclosed? It is because Impala’s are trained when they are young to think that they can’t get out. So they don’t know any differently. When they see the wall, they think that they can’t get out!!
b. 3-foot Wall- The truth is that we all have a 3-foot wall in our lives.
We have been trained to think that there are certain things we cannot do. Maybe we have been taught that we are not athletic, or not intelligent, or that we can’t memorize things. Maybe we have been taught that we aren’t a leader, or we aren’t teachers. Whatever it is, there are certain things that you have been told that you cannot or should not do, and so you allow this 3-foot wall to box you in!!
In the Star Wars movie Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker is being trained to be a Jedi Knight by master Yoda. Now Yoda is a small creature, but he is a Jedi master, trained in the ways of the force. It is an honor for Luke to be trained by Yoda. Yoda is showing Luke how with the force he can move objects with his mind. As Luke is training he begins to lift small rocks, then he hears a noise, which is his plane that is sinking into the mud. Yoda tells Luke that he can lift it out with the force. So Luke begins, closing his eyes and concentration on lifting the plane up. At first it begins to move, then it sinks back down. Luke looks at Yoda and says: “It’s just too big and heavy!” Yoda replies: “Size does not matter.” As Luke starts to walk away, Yoda lifts the plane out of the mud and onto dry ground. Luke is amazed that Yoda was able to accomplish this.
In real life, we have a similar battle. We think there are things too big to be done. Like Ezekiel, God asks us to believe in mighty deeds that God wants to do through us. But too often we don’t accomplish it because our 3-foot wall is the thinking that it can’t be done. God can accomplish it, but often times works through us and the faith we exhibit!
Ezekiel 37:9-10 says: “Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.“ Ezekiel believed, and prophesied, and the bones not only had breath which came upon them much in the same way breath came into Adam in Genesis 2:7, but these new beings stood on their feet ready to serve the Lord.

Conclusion: What valley are you in? You might be in this valley because you have strayed from God as the Israelites did? You might be in this valley because of the complexities of life. You might be in this valley because you have something to learn. And in this valley you feel dry and dead. You feel defeated and hopeless. You feel despondent and in despair. But you do not have to stay in the valley. As we are told in Psalm 23:4, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me.” God is with us in the valley, wanting to give us His breath of life. But are we willing to stand up and serve Him when this breath enters us? Receive the breath of life this day, commit to not run away from the valley, and change your heart to serve the Lord with energy, intelligence, enthusiasm, and creativity. Let us give thanks to God this day. Amen.

“Let God Go Before You”
1 Chronicles 14:2, 8-17
Sunday, August 9, 2009

Introduction: The last few weeks we have been talking about how “advancement comes when you do not settle for the status quo, but believe that God is always making things better.” With this in mind, we must acknowledge that as a church, and as a people of God, God is always wanting us to progress in our faith, our ministry, our outreach, and our love!
So for God to advance us, “to bless us,” we need to understand that we will feel attacked at times, frustrated because things won’t always seem to be going right; we need to have a good spiritual diet where we are feasting on God’s word and loving fellowship; we need to strengthen our hearts with “compassion, patience, God’s power, and wrapped in God’s love;” we need to acknowledge and confess our sins on a regular basis; and we need to have a passionate concern for reaching out to those who are lost and share Jesus with them!
This morning, I want us to understand that the blessing of God is for every person and every church. You don’t have to have a seminary education, or think of yourself as highly gifted to earn God’s favor. In fact, those who are humble and simple people before God will be the ones that connect with God the most, and be blessed the most.

I. God’s Presence- (1 Chronicles 14:2, 8-10; 1 Peter 5:8; John 5:19)

a. Forever foes- Let’s look at an example in the Old Testament of King
David, but before he was king, back when he was a boy. David didn’t start out being the King of Israel, he started out as a simple shepherd boy. But he went from this shepherd boy, to becoming the king. How did this happen? It happened because God was with him. The Bible is clear about this; people are blessed when God is with them.
Key Thought #1- “Although God exists everywhere at the same time, God
is not with everybody in the same way.”
If you have ever asked the question, “Why isn’t God blessing me right now?” you probably need to look at what is going on in your life. There is probably something that is hindering your connection to God, and thus hindering God’s blessings in your life. God isn’t with everybody in the same way! And even when God is with you, sometimes you might not feel it because of the attacks you are under.
After David was chosen to replace Saul as king, David had to survive ten years of being hunted by a jealous King Saul. Once King Saul died, David could then take over as king, and as 1 Chronicles 14:2 tells us, there was excitement in Jerusalem because “the Lord had established (David) as king over Israel, and …. his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.”
But Saul wasn’t David’s only foe. In verse 8 of 1 Chronicles 14, at the high point of David’s popularity, we read: “When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went in full force to search for him….” No matter how wonderfully the Lord has worked on our behalf, there will always be spiritual foes against us!
You see, one of Satan’s best strategies is to attack us right after a spiritual high. For those of you who have gone on the Alpha retreat, or really any retreat for that matter, you know that at the end of the weekend you are on a spiritual high. You have experienced a loving atmosphere, been bathed in praising God and hearing the teaching of God’s word, you have been in good, solid fellowship. But so many times I have heard stories from people ,that right after this powerful spiritual experience, something has occurred in their life which has knocked them down.
Satan is a relentless foe, seeking to discourage us when we relax at the high spiritual moment. That is why we are told in 1 Peter 5:8- “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

b. Inquiring of God- Story: “Don’t Tear Paper,” Amusing Grace, p. 213, #737- There is a story told by Mel Brooks about a man named John who
had an uncontrollable desire to rip up paper into little pieces. His family tried to get him to stop, but this did not help. He had psychoanalysis, but this did not cure it. Finally the family took John to a new psychiatrist in town. After the first visit John was cured! The family kept close watch on him, thinking he would revert back to his old ways, but after a few months they believed he was cured. One day John’s mother went to the psychiatrist to thank him for his success, and asked him what he had done to cure John. The psychiatrist answered, “I simply said….don’t tear paper.”
In life there are many places to get advice. But not all advice is good advice. Obviously, the psychiatrist telling John to not tear paper was good advice. But when you encounter advice from people, you can’t always be sure if it will be good or bad. Like the woman who called her electric company to complain that her electricity was out. What should I do? She asked. The voice on the other end of the line said to her: “Open your freezer and eat all the ice cream.” (Nelson’s Big Book of Laughter, p. 5).
When we inquire from God, we know that it will always be good! We see this as the story of King David continues…. (verses 9-10)- “Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of God: ‘Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?’ The Lord answered him, ‘Go, I will hand them over to you.’”
David chose to not just rush out and attack the Philistines, even though that might seem to be the obvious choice. David, even though he was king, humbled himself before God and requested divine direction. But not just divine direction. David also asked the Lord if He was going to be with him. David did not want to be in the wrong battle at the wrong time.
We too constantly need the Lord’s direction and we need to know we are doing the right thing if we want God to be on our side! Even Jesus Himself practiced this, as we see in John 5:19- “The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing.”
God will honor our desire to seek his will and blessing!
II. God’s Power- (1 Chronicles 14:11-17)
a. Overcoming obstacles- So the story continues even more, as we read in 1
Chronicles 14:11- “So David and his men went up to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. David said, ‘As waters break out, God has broken out against my enemies by my hand.”
David’s careful prayer for God’s direction resulted in a stunning victory over the Philistine army. But did David give himself the glory or think it was his own power? NO! David said “…God has broken out against my enemies by my hand.” David was the vessel used by God to do God’s will.
Key Thought #2- “When we consult the Lord concerning his will for our lives
and when we desire his presence above all else, the result will be “breakout”
power.
This means that there are no obstacles that can’t be overcome by God’s power if it is in God’s will. The place where David defeated the Philistines, “Baal Parazim,” means “the Lord who breaks out.” Why does God use this breakout power on our behalf? Because he wants us to be set free so that we can serve him.
Now, we are all probably in this dilemma today. It could be obstacles in your: marriage, in your living situation, with your kids or grandkids, with your health, with a job situation, and so on. We are always faced with obstacles in our lives. Don’t forget that we have a God with “breakout” power!
But it won’t begin until we slow down, humble ourselves, and pray.
Illus. I was at the Presbytery meeting for our Presbytery a while back, and I heard a story that really hit hard. An elder from one of the churches in Newport Beach was in the mountain in Africa, talking with one of the tribesman there. This tribesman was a Christian, and he was going to have the opportunity to come to California to visit the church of this woman. So she asked him: “What are you going to want to see when you come to California?” Now she was expecting the answer of “Disneyland,” or “the beach,” or something unique to California. But this is what he said…….. “I want to see how people, in the midst of their busy schedules and hectic lives can find the time to hear God’s voice and experience God’s power!”
WOW!!! That is a powerful statement. How can we expect to connect with God’s breakout power if we don’t take the time to humble ourselves, pray, and listen???

b. Overcoming conflicts- But along with obstacles in our lives, we also have
conflicts. It would be nice if we could live without any conflicts, where everything is just smooth going. But this is not the case. We have conflicts with our spouse, our kids, our neighbors, our family, our friends...We have conflicts in our lives, it is a natural part of life that there will be times of conflict.
This is true for King David as well. His conflict was not over.
1 Chronicles 14:13- “Once more the Philistines raided the valley; so David inquired of God again.” We cannot think that seeking God once, or following God’s will once is enough. We must seek out God again and again, every time we face a conflict! The spiritual realm is wrought with conflict.
We again see David not rushing to judgment, but sought the Lord before he made a single move. This time God added some specific instructions:
1 Chronicles 14:14-16- “ ‘Do not go straight up, but circle around them and
attack them in front of the balsam trees. As soon as you hear the sound of
marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to battle, because that
will mean God has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.’”
So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine
Army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.”
God is a wonderful God. He gave King David specific directions of how to be victorious. Now you might want to argue that David got to hear from the Lord and that we don’t hear God in this way. You might think that God doesn’t give you specific directions. But that would not be true, for God speaks to all of His people.

III. God’s Plan- (Psalm 34:4-7)

a. Stay in touch- Ex. Nelson’s Big Book of Laughter, p. 87- There is a story of
a tourist in Tel Aviv who picked up a hotel telephone one night and asked the desk for a 7-Up. The switchboard operator answered: “7-Up? Yes sir.” The man waited and waited but never got his drink. He finally decided to go to sleep. The next morning he was promptly awakened at 7 a.m.
You might feel like God doesn’t speak to you. He does speak, but you just
might not understand. The lessons, the directions, are there, we just might not see them. To see them we have to stay in touch with God; we have to be in close communion with God. We can’t just have reflex responses where we try to react to situations as we think God might want us to. We can’t act in the present as we think God has told us to act in the past. We have to continually seek God for fresh guidance. We have to be sensitive to God’s timing. As we learn to wait before the Lord we will learn to hear the sound of the Holy Spirit’s voice in our hearts.
Ex. I know for all of us that there are certain people that when they call, they don’t have to say more than two words for us to know who it is. We know the sound of their voice. We have to get to this place with the Lord, so that when He speaks to us, we know the sound of his voice right away.
In the Gospel of John 10:14 Jesus tells us, “I am the Good Shepherd. I know
my own, and my own know me.”
If God directed David, against the Philistines thousands of years ago, will he not also guide us in the way we should go? It is amazing to me how people can change jobs, move to another state, start a business, make a big family decision, buy a house, without first inquiring of the Lord, and then, get upset at God when things don’t seem to work out.
The same thing is true for the church. When I plan my sermons, I take a day where I can be alone, and seek God out, and pray for what God wants me to speak to the church as a message from Him! When our Session meets to oversee the work of the church, we start by reading our Mission Statement, then a Bible Study, and we open and close with prayer!
God has not stopped speaking to his people. We just have to learn to listen better.
b. Spiritual hardness- The truth is, it is easy to not be right with God; to
have a spiritual hardness about ourselves. Spiritual hardness can keep us from hearing a message from God, whether it be the sermon here on Sunday morning, or what God is trying to say to us when we read the Bible on our own, or blocking us from hearing “the voice of God” when we are in prayer with God.
The only way to break through spiritual hardness is to pray.
Example- I know that when I spend time during the week bathing my sermon in prayer, and praying over the sanctuary, that after the Sunday service many people will say to me: “That was a really good sermon,” or “that sermon really touched me,” or my favorite is “Pastor, did you write that sermon for me?”
Now when I hear these responses, I don’t pat myself on the back and get all prideful. I quietly thank God for His Holy Spirit being at work, softening the spiritual hardness of our hearts.
Every Sunday an elder signs up to be “the prayer” of the morning. Now we should all be praying on Sunday mornings, but this elder’s job is to pray during the service. So during the praise songs the elder is praying for the song to convict and minister to all of us who are singing. During the sermon they are praying that our hearts would be soft to hear and apply the message. And so on their prayer goes…
In Psalm 34:4-7 we read- “I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.”

Conclusion: Story- A three year-old is with his grandma, and he says to her: “Grandma, you know what you and God have in common?” And the grandma sits up a little straighter, tries to put on her best saintly face as she asks: “What dear?” A the three year-old responds: “You’re both old.”
Leave it to a three year-old to tell it to you straight. My goal here over the last few weeks is to tell it to us straight. We serve a marvelous God, but if we don’t put ourselves in a place where we can be blessed, we won’t be blessed. The blessings of God are not automatic when you become a Christian. We have to open ourselves up to God’s transforming power, and let His characteristics come upon us and let God help us to overcome the obstacles and conflicts that keep us from doing great things for the Lord. And most of all, we have to pray, pray, pray, for God’s Spirit to fill us and use us.
As you think about what I have said this morning, and over the last few weeks, you might feel that you need to recommit yourself to God; take your faith a little more seriously; give yourself over to God with more energy and effort. You might even want extra prayer in this. If this is the case, as I great you at the door, let me know about your decision, and I will promise to pray diligently for you in this. Let the power of God come upon you as you move forward in your relationship with God. Amen.