WHAT IS CHURCH?
THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP
DR. JIM DIXON
AUGUST 26, 2007
LUKE 14:25-33
Diedrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian and pastor. He was a member of the Lutheran clergy and one of the few clergymen in Germany to stand against the evil that was Adolf Hitler. When Bonhoeffer was still very young, at the age of 28, when he was handsome and his ministry was all ahead of him, he helped—even at that young age, in 1934—to establish the confessing church in Germany. He signed the Barmen Declaration and he took that stance against Nazim. In 1937, when Bonhoeffer was only 31, he wrote the devotional classic called The Cost of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer understood the cost of discipleship, and in that book he wrote that, “When Jesus calls a man, Jesus bids him come and die.”
In 1939, Bonhoeffer fled Germany and came here to the United States to avoid conscription into the Nazi armies, but he was only here for one month. After one month, Bonhoeffer was convicted by the Holy Spirit that he must return to Germany—that if he was a true Christian, a true follower of Jesus, then in the name of Jesus he had to stand against the evil of Hitler. And so, Bonhoeffer went back to Germany and it wasn’t long before he was arrested as a political criminal and he was incarcerated in Buchenwald, one of the concentration camps in Germany.
Ultimately, he was transferred to the extermination camp at Flossenberg. And there, on April the ninth, 1945, Diedrich Bonhoeffer was executed by hanging by order of Adolf Hitler. For him, it was the cost of discipleship. Now, this morning we look at the cost of discipleship.
I think that in the 21st century church we have a pretty good understanding of the perks of discipleship. We have a pretty good understanding of the blessings of the gospel and we understand that through the gospel comes eternal life and the promise of heaven. We understand that through the gospel comes forgiveness of sins, the joy of being washed whiter than snow. We understand that through the gospel comes the church; through the gospel comes a family of brothers and sisters worldwide. We understand that through the gospel we find a purpose in living and hope in dying. We understand this, but I think the 21st century church struggles and fails with regard to the cost of discipleship. So, what I’d like to do this morning’s take a look at the early church. I want to take a look at the church of Jesus Christ in the first, second, and third centuries and how they understood the gospel and how they understood the cost of discipleship.
What I want us to do is focus on the early church in Rome. I want us to take a look at the church of Jesus Christ in the city of Rome in the first, second, and third centuries. And really, to understand the early church, we have to go back before Christ and we have to look at Jewish communities, because the early church was a Jewish movement. When the gospel went forth, it was not originally a Gentile movement; it was originally a Jewish movement. So we look at the church in Rome, and we must begin in the second century before Christ.
Historical records demonstrate and prove that in the second century before Christ, Jews moved from Judea to Rome. There were Jewish communities in the city of Rome in the second century BC and they began to build synagogues in the city of Rome as a matter of historical record.
In the year 63 BC, Pompeii, the Roman general who was part of the first Triumvirate, brought his legions into Judea and the Romans conquered Jerusalem. In the aftermath of that, as the Jewish people were now part of the Roman Empire, Jews began to move en masse to the city of Rome. The Jewish community in the city of Rome grew so that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, there was already a large community of Jews in the city of Rome. Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the year three or four BC. Perhaps you’re thinking, well wait a minute. Doesn’t our calendar date from the birth of Jesus Christ? The answer’s yes, but you see, there was a miscalculation with regard to the years. Today most scholars believe Jesus was actually born in the year three or four BC.
Now, in 17 AD, when Jesus was about 20 years old, the Roman emperor Tiberius issued his edict that all the Jews had to leave the city of Rome. Tiberius had just ascended the throne of the Roman Empire. He was emperor and he issued this edict: all the Jews must leave. We don’t know why. The historical records don’t tell us why, but we do know this: five years later, 22 AD, when Jesus would’ve been about 25 years old, the Jews began to return to Rome. They were permitted to come back and they came back in greater number, so that in 27 AD when Jesus was 30 years old and He began His public ministry, there was already a large community of Jews again in the city of Rome in 30 AD (when Jesus was about 33 years old, Jesus was crucified on Golgotha).
He died for the sin of the world in 30 AD, and He rose from the dead. Death could not hold Him. He was resurrected and alive, and in the aftermath of that, in that same year, 30 AD, Peter the apostle in the city of Jerusalem preached. It was the festival of Passover, as recorded in the Book of Acts, chapter two. Peter is in Jerusalem in 30 AD at the Passover Festival, and we’re told that Jews came from throughout the Roman world for the Passover Festival—blood Jews, proselyte Jews, they all came from throughout the Roman world. We’re told specifically in Acts chapter two that in the crowds there were Jews from the city of Rome. Roman Jews come for the Passover Festival and Peter preached about Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord, resurrected. 3,000 people that day accepted Christ, we’re told in Acts chapter two.
While we do not know how the numbers were representative of different groups, most scholars believe some of those new Christians must have been Jews from Rome. So, when did the church of Jesus Christ begin in Rome? About the same time it began in Jerusalem, or just shortly thereafter. Roman Jews returned to their city of Rome as Christians in 30 AD. The church of Jesus Christ is birthed at Rome through the preaching of Peter in Jerusalem. And in 33 AD the Apostle Paul encounters the resurrected Christ on the Damascus road.
These dates are speculative, but they do represent the consensus of the scholarly community. So, in 33 AD the Apostle Paul sees the resurrected Christ on the Damascus road. And what a wonder that must have been. Paul hated Christians. He viewed Christianity as a cult. He viewed Jesus Christ as a heretic and Paul hated Christ and he hated Christians. He had been given authority by Rome and by Jerusalem—by the Empire and by the Jews—to bind Christians, apprehend them in chains, and bring them to Jerusalem for judgment, incarceration, and death. He delighted in it. He was the great persecutor of the church of Christ. And here Christ appears to him on the Damascus Road, radiating light in His heavenly glory. And Paul didn’t have a choice. I mean, it wasn’t like he chose to believe. He was overpowered that day.
And Jesus said to Paul, “I will show you what you must suffer for My namesake.” Now, Jesus could not have made a more brilliant choice. I mean, Jesus just plucked Paul out of the Jewish and Roman world, because Paul was a Jew by blood—He was born of the tribe of Benjamin; he was a Pharisee, so he was amongst the religious elite of Pharisee and he may have been a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews. He was prominent and he’d been educated at the feet of Gamaliel himself, the greatest theologian in the Jewish world. Paul was prominent in Israel, but Paul was also a Roman citizen.
Saint Jerome writes that Paul’s grandparents in 63 BC left Galilee for Asia Minor for Cilicia and for the city of Tarsus because the Roman armies were invading. Some of the Jews fled, and this was, according to St. Jerome, true of Paul’s grandparents. They went to Tarsus. They were in the tent-making business, part of the Skinopoio, and they made sails out of cilicium which were used by the Roman fleets. And they used it to make tents, which were used by the Roman armies. And so, according to St. Jerome, Paul’s grandparents were granted Roman citizenship. And of course, only a Roman general had the power of the imperium. Only a Roman general could make a citizen of a Jew. So it had to have been either Pompeii or Antony—those were the generals who ruled throughout the region of Asia Minor—that gave citizenship to Paul’s ancestors. Paul’s parents were born Roman citizens and Paul himself was born a Roman citizen. What a perfect choice by Jesus to take the gospel to the nations.
Paul spoke Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin. He was a scholar and he was perfect for this task. “I will show you what you must suffer from My namesake.” In 49 AD, just 19 years after Peter preached at Pentecost in Jerusalem and 16 years after the Damascus Road, Claudius is on the throne of the Roman Empire. He issues in that year the edict of Claudius that once again all the Jews must flee Rome. They all must flee Rome. They ordered out of the city. And this time we know why, because of Suetonius. Suetonius wrote a book called The Life of Claudius, and in that book he tells us that the Roman Emperor Claudius issued his edict in 49 AD because the Jews in the city of Rome were becoming followers of the radical named Chrestus.
Now, perhaps in 49 AD there was a Jewish rebel radical named Chrestus. But today many scholars believe these Jews had become Christians and they were followers of Christ. The normal Latin word for Christ is Christus, but now scholars recognize that the word Chrestus was also used in Latin as a title for Christ. And so it appears the Christian Jewish community in the city of Rome had so grown and were so influential that Claudius felt the need to banish them.
One year later, 50 AD—Acts chapter 18m verse two—Paul arrived in the city of Corinth. And who does Paul see? He sees Priscilla and Aquilla. They had come to Corinth—Acts chapter 18 tells this—because they had been banished from Rome by the edict of Claudius and they were probably Christians and part of that Christian community. So we’re told in Acts 18 that Paul goes to live with them, partly because Aquilla is in the same trade, the tent making business, but also it would’ve been because they were already Christians come from Rome. And so Paul went to live with them in 50 AD. Now, you come to 57 AD and the Apostle Paul writes the book of Romans. Paul writes the book of Romans in 57 AD. Paul’s never been to Rome; Peter’s never been to Rome; but there’s a thriving Christian church in the city of Rome. And so Paul, as an apostle, sends a letter called Romans in 57 AD.
You come to chapter 16 in the book of Romans and Paul sends greetings to all of these people. In that listing of people, he includes Priscilla and Aquilla. And scholars say, well how can that be? They lived in Corinth and then they went to Ephesus. But you see, most scholars now believe they must have returned by 57 AD back to Rome, as many Christians did throughout Asia Minor. They went to Rome and the church at Rome was strong. So in 60 AD, when Paul goes to Rome for the first time, there are already many Christians there.
So, Paul goes to Rome for the first time in 60 AD. And why did he go? Well, it wasn’t his choice. He’d been apprehended by the Roman authorities, and he appealed the Lex Valeria—civis Romanus sum, “I’m a Roman citizen.” So he appealed to Caesar, as found in Acts chapter 26, and he had made three missionary journeys to much of the world. But now he was taking this fourth journey, for the very first time going to Rome. There were many Christian brothers and sisters in Rome. And the book of Acts ends and were not told what happens to the Apostle Paul, but most historians believe Paul was ultimately exonerated and set free nd that he then began to minister in the city of Rome alongside the Apostle Peter. Eusebius and Dionysius tell us that Peter and Paul co-labored, and that they were in a cooperative work in the city of Rome.
This seems logical, but ultimately historians tell us somewhere between 65 and 67 AD Paul was apprehended again by the Roman authorities, this time by Nero, and Paul was executed. He was beheaded on the Ostian Way, the road just outside of the city of Rome which leads to the harbor of Ostia. And today you can go to Rome, as we just did, and you can see the church of St. Paul outside the walls on the old Ostian Way. Archeologists just this year have unearthed deep, deep, deep beneath that ancient church what they believe to be the remains of the Apostle Paul. He gave his life. “I will show you what you must suffer for My name’s sake.” That is the cost of discipleship. You come to 2 Corinthians chapter 11, and what does Paul write? “Is anyone a servant of Jesus Christ? Well, I serve Him more, though I’m speaking like a fool. But I’ve had far greater labors, far more imprisonments with countless beatings and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the 40 lashes less one; three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times shipwrecked; a day and a night adrift at sea; on frequent journeys; in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from my own people, danger from the Gentiles, danger from false brethren; in toil and hardship through many a sleepless night, in cold and exposure and hunger and thirst, oftentimes without food. In addition to all of this, I have my daily anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak and I do not feel their weakness? Who is made to fall and I am not enraged?” That is the cost of discipleship.
Of course, in the church at Rome, in that same timeframe, 65 to 67 AD, by a similar order of the Roman emperor Nero, Peter died. He was crucified near the obelisk which now stands in the courtyard in front of the Basilica of St. Peter’s.
And of course, Jesus once called Peter by the sea of Galilee from his fishing business. And by that same sea, as Jesus was resurrected and alive, in the year 30 AD, He had appeared to Peter and said to Peter that Peter would indeed drink the cup and Peter would die a martyr’s death and he would be carried where he did not wish to go. He prophesied that Peter would die by crucifixion. That is the cost of discipleship.
So you come to 2 Peter, chapter one, and Peter writes to Christian brothers and sisters in Asia Minor—in Cappadocia and in Galatia. And Peter says, “Make every effort,” (strain is the Greek word), “to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with steadfastness, steadfastness with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. If these things are yours, they will keep you from being ineffective. Whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his sins.” He has forgotten the cost of discipleship.
This battle for sanctification, for holiness, is part of the cost of discipleship. And so then Peter goes on to say, “I intend always to remind you of these things, though you know them and are firmly established in the truth which you have. But I think it right, as long as I’m in this body, to rouse you by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ once showed me. And I will see to it that at any time you are able to recall these things. For we did not follow cleverly devise myths when we made known to you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, for when He received glory and honor from the majestic glory and the voice was born to Him, we heard that voice born from heaven. For we were with Him on the holy mountain, and we have the prophetic word made more sure. Therefore, you do well to pay attention to this until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” It was all part of the cost of discipleship.
So now Peter and Paul and the church at Rome are martyred and the persecution begins waves of persecution that covers decades and centuries. And you know, we can sit here and we can debate whether Christians were fed to lions in the Flavian Amphitheater (the Coliseum) or whether they were fed to lions in the Circus Maximus (that huge hippodrome in the city of Rome). We could debate whether Christians for decades and centuries fled into the catacombs to escape the wrath of Rome; whether they lived down there or whether they just worship down there. But you see, we know this: we know Christians were persecuted. Life was cheap. They suffered for Christ in hippodromes and amphitheaters all over the Roman world.
We know from historical records that the Emperor Nero loved to kill Christians. Historical records tell us that by day he wrapped Christians in animal flesh and fed them to packs of wild dogs and watched as they were killed before eyes and devoured. And he delighted. We know from historical records that Nero at night had Christians dipped in tar and pitch and then lit on fire. And he watched from balconies as they just flamed out, as their lives were snuffed out. Jesus said, “I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. You’ll be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” That is the cost of discipleship. Until the edict of Milan in the fourth century, the persecution continued. As Tertullian wrote, “The foundations of the church were poured in the blood of the martyrs.”
The early church understood the call of Christ, the gospel. They understood. So here we are, the 21st century church. Here we are, and how do we understand the gospel? Just this last week in Christian Century Magazine, the cover story is about the prosperity gospel, which is just being preached all over America and even all over the world. The prosperity gospel says, “Jesus wants you rich. Health and wealth! Come to Jesus.” The 21st century church has a kind of “name it and claim it” gospel. If you just have enough faith, you can control God and get Him to do anything you want Him to do. God’s kind of like this cosmic genie. Just rub the lamp with your faith and you have Him under your control. Name it and claim it.
Sadly, even within the evangelical world many Christians really have kind of separated the cross from the crown. And you know, a Christian is someone who has asked Jesus to save them from sin and has come to the cross. But the gospel in the 21st century doesn’t seem to include the Lordship of Christ. He is Lord; “kyrios;” owner. When you come to Christ, He becomes your owner. That’s the gospel. So in this culture of materialism and hedonism—so much stuff, so much pleasure and ascension, so much self—the gospel is shortchanged and tainted and watered down.
So we come to our passage of scripture for today, this tough passage, Luke chapter 14, verse 25. We’re told great multitudes accompanied Him. Masses of people were following Him; He was heading for Jerusalem. He was going to die, but everybody loves a parade. So Jesus turns and He says to them (how shocking this must have been), “If any of you come to Me and you do not hate your father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters and yes, even your own life, you cannot be My disciple.”
Wow. Of course, you have to understand Luke 14 in light of Matthew 10 where Jesus said, “Whoever loves mother or father or brother or sister or son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” And what Jesus is using here is Semitic hyperbole, which was a common rabbinical technique. Jesus is simply saying, “You can’t come to Me unless you give everything to Me. You can’t come to Me unless you renounce everything else. You can’t come to Me unless you give Me your supreme devotion.”
And of course, that would be tested in the early church. Did you know in the Jewish communities when someone came to Christ, oftentimes they were ostracized? They were condemned, they were excommunicated, they were banished. You could not love mother or father more than Jesus. You could not love brother or sister more than Jesus. You couldn’t love your kids more than Jesus, or you’d never come to Jesus.
It’s that way today. In the Muslim world, 50 nations are predominantly Muslim and 22 nations are constitutionally Muslim. And in those nations, in that part of the world, when someone comes to Jesus, it’s a scary thing. You can lose your family and you can lose your life. You cannot love mother or father more than Jesus or brother or sister or son or daughter. That’s the cost of discipleship. Of course, that’s verse 27: “Whoever does not take up his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” This is also inLuke 14, Luke nine, Matthew 10, Matthew 16, and Mark eight. Jesus said this again and again and again. Take up your own cross.
There’s a cost to discipleship. In the early church throughout the Roman world, Christians were brought before authorities and told to renounce Christ. They were brought before authorities and told to say, “Caesar is Lord.” And Christians by the thousands said, “Jesus is Lord.” Some were incarcerated; some paid with their life. That’s why Paul says, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord,’ but by the Holy Spirit.” The cost of discipleship is not easy.
In verses 28 through 30 in Luke 14, Jesus tells this little parable about the tower and the building of a tower. He says to count the cost. No one builds a tower without first sitting down and counting the cost, whether or not he can complete it. “Count the cost before becoming My disciple.” Then in verses 30 to 32, He the little parable of the kings at war. A king going to encounter another king in war sits down first takes counsel as to whether he is able with his 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20,000. And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy asking for terms of peace. Jesus Christ is King of Kings. He is the Lord of Lords. If you stand against Him, if you make that choice, count the cost. If not, what are the terms of peace?
In verse 33, these are the terms of peace: “Whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.” That’s it. That’s the gospel. “Whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.” You see this message consistently through the gospels on the lips of Jesus. “He who would find his life will lose it. He who would lose his life for My sake and the sake of the gospel will find it.” Have you renounced all that you have? Have I renounced all that I have? You see, the “come to Jesus” thing is pretty radical. You basically say to Jesus, “I renounce everything. It’s all Yours. My relationships are Yours, my family, my time, my days, my hours, my talent. It’s Yours now. My own life is yours—my money, my wallet, my bank account, my stocks, my investments, it’s all yours. Now I relinquish it all.”
That’s why when you come to Matthew chapter 19, you understand it in light of the gospel. The rich young ruler comes to Jesus and says, “What must I do to an inherit eternal life?” Jesus looks at him and says, “You know the commandments. What does it say?” “All of these I’ve kept from my youth.” And Jesus looks at this rich young ruler and the Bible says Jesus loves him. Jesus loved him and Jesus invited him to come and join the disciples. But then Jesus said, “One thing you lack first. Go, renounce everything you have, and give it away to the poor, all of your riches. And then come follow Me. You’ll have treasure in heaven.”
The man went away, head down, for he was very rich. You only understand that in light of the true gospel. You see, the come to Jesus moment is when you give it all up and you just say, “It’s yours, Lord.” And what happens in that moment normally is that Jesus then makes you a steward. He makes me a steward. You’ve acknowledged now His ownership of everything. You’ve renounced it all. It all belongs to Him. Your very life, it’s all his. And now He tells us we’re stewards. He’s the owner—Lord, “kyrios”—and we’re stewards and we’re to use everything now in accordance with His will.
Don’t you have to every day ask yourself whether you’ve renounced it all and don’t you every day have to ask yourself, “Did I use my time today as Jesus wanted? Did I offer my abilities and my gifts today as Jesus wanted? Did I use my money today as Jesus wanted?”
I would not be honest with scripture if I said that anything less than this is not the gospel. Here we are, the 21st century church, and we’re not shaking the foundations of the world. We’re not bringing empires to their knees. We’re almost impotent and we’re so comfortable. But Christ is coming, and will He find faith on the earth?
Last week Trent preached to you. I listened to the tape. I thought Trent gave a wonderful, powerful message and he called us in the name of Jesus to reach out to the poor in the midst of our wealth, to reach out to the hurting and to those out there. That is good. And of course, we’re also called right here. This is our Jerusalem. This is where it begins for us. It’s not either or, but it’s both. And we’re called there and we’re called here, and here there’s a poverty of the soul. And here there’s emotional bankruptcy. Mother Theresa spoke of the American poverty of soul. We’ve been placed here, called to minister here, but we’ve not understood the gospel.
Sheila came up to me this week (she’s in charge of Grace Place and all of our children that we’re blessed to serve) and says, “We don’t have enough Sunday school teachers. You know, we’re approaching the fall, and we have all of these kids and we don’t have enough teachers.” But how can that be if we understand the cost of discipleship or even the word of God? I mean, look at the Shema in Deuteronomy six, the call of God to nurture our children in the Lord. Every child is precious. Jesus held them in His arms. “Forbid them not.” How can we need Sunday school teachers? If our time is His, if our talent is His, how could we need Sunday school teachers?
Mark talked to me this week and said, “As we approach the fall series on relationships, we want everyone to go through the curriculum and do the 40 days of purpose deal. And we have all this curriculum we’ve written for the small groups, but we need hosts for our small groups.” And boy, you know, there’s this sense of a little bit of panic. Are we going to be able to find the people? It’s a good question, because we’re the 21st century church. Maybe we don’t understand the cost of discipleship.
And of course, our budget. You know, we have our elder meetings and staff meetings, department head meetings. Dutch and I sit down and try to figure things out. And you know, this year’s budget’s $1,500,000 more than last year’s, because the needs of the ministry are great. And it costs more to live. In the church and in the home, it costs more. And we’re worried, because it’s the 21st century church and we haven’t relinquished all. We give our piddling 2% to the cause of Christ when He owns it all. We think 10% is radical, as though we own 90%.
He owns it all. If we don’t renounce all we have, we cannot be His disciples. How can we be short of money for the needs overseas or the needs here? How can that happen? And you know, in the sanctuary we’re putting in sound systems. This is not extravagant waste. We didn’t have a choice. Do you understand? Our amplifiers are burning out. We’ve been in panic some weeks whether we’re even going to be able to hold a service. I know you think, “Well that can’t be. This church was built in 1995.” We put in systems, many of which were designed to last 10 years. It’s been 12. Stuff is shutting down and a lot of stuff is antiquated anyway.
The cost of discipleship. We have had to go ahead, but we haven’t raised the money. It wouldn’t matter at all if we understood the gospel, would it? We’d never have to ask. I mean, the church of Jesus Christ would shake the foundations of this nation, this culture, and the earth. So today when you leave, you can make some changes. There are some tables out there. One table is for Grace Place. We need Sunday school teachers. Jesus owns your time and your talent and you’re just a steward. So pray about it. There’s another table out there if you are willing to be a host, not even a teacher, of a small group. If you’d be willing to give some time for the cause of Christ this fall, the table is out there.
There’s a Good Sense table out there. You can sign up for Good Sense Seminars. Maybe you don’t get this gospel deal. Maybe you don’t get this cost of discipleship. Maybe you’re struggling with how to just make it week to week, and you’re having a hard time with your finances and you’ve got credit problems and debt and you just need to sit down and you need to receive some instruction on what it means to have a life that reflects proper stewardship. For the Good Sense Ministries, you can sign up today. It might change your life and help you understand the call of Christ and the gospel itself.
You know, everything that’s kind of great has a cost. Is that not true? I mean, marriage has a cost. Tuesday, Barb and I celebrated our 36th anniversary Sunday night, just two days earlier, we had a big fight. We kind of fought a little bit about money and then we begin to branch out into all kinds of stuff. But we love each other a lot. There’s a cost to marriage. I married my nephew Saturday night in San Diego. He’s beginning this new adventure. I’m happy for him. But there’s going to be a cost. To raising children there’s a cost. And I don’t hear a lot of people saying, you know, we’re not going to have kids because we don’t want to pay the price.
Everything has a cost. But understand this: Jesus demands everything. He’s King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You cannot be His disciple unless you give it all up. What you do in your marriage, what you do with your kids, what you do with your health, what you do with every day and every moment of every day, you’re just a steward and have to give account to Him. That’s the gospel. So let’s live for Christ. Let’s make a difference and let’s do it together. Let’s close with word of prayer.