Giving God His Due

is meant to make me look impressive
where I have to change glasses because of my inability to see through these
over there. Well, it is indeed a privilege
to be up here this morning. Two men, two men in 20 years
have come and filled the pulpit for Mr. Frasco because of his
sickness, and I indeed am one of them. Apparently it happened
in Iowa months before, and this must have really driven Ron nuts.
I think he was feeling okay, he just lost his voice completely.
Can you imagine Pastor Frasco feeling fine, but with no sound
coming out of his mouth there? That must have been extremely
frustrating for him. Back in September, I started this sermon. It was part of our 10th anniversary
celebration. A number of us were getting up
to preach that month. In my text, Ephesians 3, verses
20 and 21, my intention was to preach that entire passage. Time
got away and I did not finish Back then, the sermon was more
specific to Providence Bible. Where we’ve come in ten years.
The blessings that God has bestowed upon us. So as we looked at verse
20, with now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly,
we can ask or think, we brought that to Providence Bible. Today, I’m going to finish Verse
21. But I can’t do 21 unless we look
back and review. Because verses 20 and 21 are
a doxology that completes a long section that began at the beginning
of the book. Ephesians 1. That was the start
of the section. Ephesians 3.20.21 is the doxology
that ends that section. And it’s an amazing section of Scripture. And so,
as we look this morning at verse 21, let me review and set that
up for us once again. As I said, it’s a doxology that
finishes a section. chapters 1-3, and it encompasses
a great amount of theology. It links together a new section
which starts in chapter 4 which is basically the application
of the previous section. It’s a section in which Paul
has laid out the blessings that believers have in him. If you recall chapter 1 of Ephesians,
in him, you have this. In him. In Him. In Him. Paul lays out all the spiritual
blessings that we have in Him. He’s talked about the great love
with which He loves us, which manifested itself in the grace
and mercy of God in making alive sinners who were dead. That’s
in chapter 2. But God, being rich in mercy,
made you alive. Paul also expounded on the great
mystery which was undoubtedly difficult for the Ephesians to
grasp. These are Gentiles that Paul
is talking to. And here he’s talking to the
Gentiles about the oneness of the Jew and the Gentile in Christ. Therefore, he encouraged the
Ephesians and all believers down the line not to lose heart. But although tribulations come,
Through them come God’s goodness and glory. Chapters 1-3 encompass
two prayers. The first one is found in chapter
1, verses 15-23. Paul has in that section a long
run-on sentence that we know so much about. He’s listed all
the spiritual blessings we have. And as I mentioned earlier, It
is a deep section. Again, one the Ephesians might
not be able to understand or grasp right away. And so his
prayer is one in which he asks God would give the Ephesians
and everyone else a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him. That is God. He wants us to have
wisdom and revelation and a knowledge of God. He wants us to know God. Really know God. He doesn’t want us to know about
God. He wants us to know God. The second prayer comes in chapter
3. Verse 14. It’s similar to the first. Paul is asking that God would
help us understand some things. that through the power of the
Holy Spirit, He would strengthen us and allow us, as we exercise
more faith, to have Christ gain more control of our lives. This
will cause us to be rooted in love. Not just love for Christ,
but for each other. In this process, we will continue
to grow. and gain more knowledge of the
fullness of God. That’s a quick summary of chapters
1-3. There’s so much to this prayer,
even for us, to whom the mystery is not new. Paul is asking for
a lot. But can you imagine Paul’s elation? We’ve been studying Paul’s writings
for months. And we all have a pretty good
idea of Paul’s passion for bringing the Gospel. Can you imagine his
elation as he is sharing with the Gentiles the news that they
are included in the promise? And they’re probably hearing
this quite possibly for the first time. That those who were objects
at one time of his wrath Those who are enemies of Christ. Read
in Romans 5. Those of us who are unrighteous.
Romans 3. Those who love darkness. John
3. Whose heart is deceitful above
all things and desperately sick. Jeremiah 17. And slaves to sin. Separated from God are now because
of God who, being rich in mercy, and because of His great love
with which He loved us, through the work of His Son, Jesus Christ,
are now the called, the chosen, justified, being sanctified,
declared righteous, heirs with Christ, and beloved of God.”
What a transformation. And it’s all because of what
God has done. Paul, being so elated, as we
should be every day with this knowledge As one described, Paul
was overcome with wonder, love, and praise as he utters this
incredible doxology that we find in verses 20 and 21. Let’s turn
there and read that. Now to him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we could ask or think
according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory
in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and
ever.” Along with being a fitting conclusion
to that section, it’s also an expression of gratitude for all
He has done. I’ve mentioned before, Paul’s
prayer is a hefty one. It asks for a lot. But as William
Hendrickson wrote, it is Paul’s way of making known his firm
conviction that in his prayer, he has asked much, but knowing
God is able to grant far more. Whatever we may ask or think,
God can still do and do more, but exceedingly abundantly more.
I talk about how amazing it is to know that He is able to do
far more than we can ever ask or think. I’m sure we can all
come up with grandiose plans, ideas, but they will pale in comparison
to what God can do. I looked at some examples last
September. Great biblical examples. And wondered, when Abraham was
told that he would be great, that his descendants would be
as numerous as the stars in the sky. Did he have a clue what
that would look like? Did Joseph, while sitting in
a pit, while his brothers talked about what they would do with
him, when he was sold to the Ishmaelites, then again he was
put in jail because of a false charge, the one Joseph, who later
would say to his brothers, what you meant for evil, God has meant
for good. Could he ever have imagined what
was in store for him? Did Peter imagine that 3,000
people would be saved on the day of Pentecost? His preaching
in Acts 2. And the disciples, when God tells
them to bring Five loaves and two fish. Okay, what are you
gonna do with it? Because there’s 5,000 men, okay? And that does not include children
and women. So there was a lot more than
5,000. Yeah, we can say, maybe Peter
had an inkling. Maybe he believed that 3,000
would be saved, but that was Peter. He’s a Bible superstar,
okay? He’s famous. Disciples might
not have known, but Jesus was right there with them. And that is what Paul means when
he prays that we would be strengthened with power by the Holy Spirit
in the inner man and that Christ would dwell in our hearts through
faith and that we would know the power that is within us. It’s the same power that performed
all those miracles. is the same power that is within
us today. Maybe we believe that God can
do more than we can ever ask or think. Sometimes, and maybe you’ve heard
me mention it, I can pray confidently for other people. But when it
comes to myself, yeah, God will do that for Marlene. He’ll do it for me. So if it isn’t that we don’t
believe that He will do things, could it be a lack of faith?
Uh-huh. I can’t imagine or believe anyone doubts here that God can
do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or think. We
can look at countless examples in Scripture and see how God
has done this. He is able to do exceedingly
abundantly more than we can ask or think according to the power
that is within us. That same power that raised Christ
from the dead. That same power that sustained
the nation of Israel while in the wilderness for 40 years.
That same power that gave victory to an army of 300 men over the
Midian army. God has unlimited power. Supply
does not run out and He gives lavishly. The One who spoke the
world into existence, the One who is not subject to the laws
of nature, the One who is timeless and unchanging, the One who was
and is and forever shall be, that power dwells within you
and me today. Back in September, as I said,
took a look at some of the things God has done at Providence. One
of the things we looked at was the Olive Tree program that has
come out of this church. And when that first group of
people gathered together, did they know how that would expand? From a very small group of kids,
now starting a high school program. It continues to expand year after
year. One of the things I know that
was on many of your minds and in your thoughts was a church
building. We share this with Cornerstone
who graciously allows us to be in here. But I know many of you
would like to see us with a church building of our own. Have you stopped praying for
that? Or is that a continual prayer of yours? One other thing
that I have added since September, and I shared this with somebody
last week, Ron has booklet after booklet after booklet. He’s got
diagramming of Bible passages, diligent Bible study. He’s got
the one another’s booklet. So much work that he has put
into instruments that will build up the people. Wouldn’t it be
great if we were able to publish some of that? I know he has gone
to other publishers and there has been some interest, but wouldn’t
it be great if we could do that? As we pray to God in faith, believing
that He can do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or think,
we also need to remember that although God is able, He is not So we pray in faith. And until
God should close a door, we continue to pray, not being discouraged,
knowing that He has the power. But if He should close a door,
He has greater things in store. And that brings us to verse 21. An amazing section of Scripture.
First chapter of Ephesians. And then it culminates, “…now
to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could
ever ask or think.” Verse 21, “…to Him be the glory in the
church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” I’ve entitled this sermon,
Giving God His Due. I see that this passage, it sets
forth clearly that God is due glory. It’s not an if, but God
is due glory. So as we look at verse 21, I
want to set forth four fundamental principles of God receiving glory. Again, now to Him be the glory. in the church. So your first fill in there is
God’s glory is received from His people. To Him be the glory. Him being God the Father. Since
Christ is mentioned separately later in the verse, we’re speaking
here of God the Father. Now, the Bible speaks of the
glory of God in two ways. First, His intrinsic glory. Who
He is. His attributes. All that is that
make up who God is. God is who He is. It’s His glory. So it’s His intrinsic
glory. The second is about the glory
that is ascribed to Him. And that is what we have here.
Now, to Him be the glory. Glory given. Steve Lawson said,
giving glory to God is tantamount to praise and adoration. So who
else, who better to do that than His people? John MacArthur wrote
that the greatest theme in the Bible is the glory of God. The
Westminster Shorter Catechism in answer to what is the chief
end of man says, chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy
Him forever. Psalm 19 starts out, the heavens
declare the glory of God. Isaiah declares that the whole
earth is full of his glory. We know that one day every knee
shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Christ. Jesus Christ
is Lord to the glory of God the Father. First Chronicles 1628,
David exhorts the Israelites on the occasion of placing the
ark into the tent which he had provided for the ark. Ascribe
to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord
glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory
due His name. God deserves glory. And we are
the ones to give it to Him. First and foremost, those who
have been called by Him should honor and glorify Him. It makes
sense. The world will not do it. The
world is hostile to God. When it says here, glory in the
church, it’s the universal church. Who makes up the church? Believers
make up the church. So we can look at it. Primarily,
I think we’re referring to is each believer giving glory to
God and each believer as they make up the church. But also,
I want to take a look in a little bit about the church as a whole,
the body of believers. All we need to do is go back
to the beginning of Ephesians, which I’ve been talking about
a lot, so I want to take you there. Go to Ephesians 1. First verse. All we need to do is go back
here to the first verse of Ephesians and we immediately find reasons
why we should give glory to God. An apostle of Christ Jesus by
the will of God. Okay, I’m going to stop right
there. And you may say, I mean, and I’m saying there’s reason,
because by the will of God, we are redeemed. Now it says Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. Okay, by the
will of God, Paul was called to do what He’s done. He’s called to bring the Gospel
to the Gentiles. Does anything happen outside
of the will of God? No. We were called by the will of
God. It was God’s will that He called
us. Maybe it’s just me, but as I
dwelt on that, that was an amazing fact. It’s an amazing statement. It’s
an amazing reality that the only sovereign, holy God would, before
time began, choose me, choose us to be part of the redeemed. Why? I don’t deserve that. It’s certainly not based on anything
I’ve done. Go farther down. Verses 3-6 Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined
us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according
to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory
of His grace which He freely bestowed on us.” Verses 11-12,
also, we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according
to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His
will. To the end, that we who were
the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. That is what we
are to do. That is what we are called to
do, is give glory to God. We were redeemed, bought at a
very high price. Declared righteous when we deserved
hell. How do we not give glory to God? First and foremost, it mentions
that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places in Christ. In light of this, how do we take
credit for anything? We sang earlier, How Deep the
Father’s Love. And we talk about I will not
boast in anything, but I will boast in Jesus Christ. Jeremiah
9.23-24, thus says the Lord, let not a wise man boast of his
wisdom. Let not the mighty man boast
of his might. Let not the rich man boast of
his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands
and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness,
justice and righteousness on the earth. For I delight in these
things. We are to glorify God in all
that we do. Nothing that we have, nothing
that we have done is because of us. It’s because of
what God has done. In all situations, we are called
to glorify God. Again, we sing a song, Blessed
Be Your Name. And the words in there is whatever
season, The theme is whatever season we are in, we are called
to bless God. When the world is all that it
should be, or when the sun’s shining down on me, blessed be
the name of the Lord. Or in times of suffering, when
there’s pain in the offering, can we be a people who say, blessed
be the name of the Lord. Paul in writing these words,
as we know, is an example who blesses God and glorifies God
in all circumstances. His life was not easy. When I read that he was constantly
going to one town and then he’s got to be where because he’s
going to be thrown in jail. He’s beaten how many times. He spent
a night in the deep. I get exhausted. I’m just sitting
there. I’m so tired listening to this.
But in all situations, Paul glorified God. Colossians 3.17, whatever
you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks through Him to God the Father. And that also. We glorify God as we share what
God has done in our lives. As we share the Gospel with others. We testify to what God has done
in our life through Jesus Christ. As we praise and honor Christ,
God is also glorified. So we, God’s people, those who
make up the church, we ascribe glory to God in all that we do. That is what we are to do. And
I want to take a brief moment. It’s going to be really brief
because the worst thing for me to do would not be able to get
through this again. The church as a whole is made
up of body of believers, so the church, as a Providence Bible
Church or whatever, should be giving glory to God. How is that
done? I think one of the first and
foremost ways a church can bring glory to God is have a high view
of Scripture. Paul admonished Timothy to guard
what was entrusted to you. Guard that truth. The entrusting, the guarding
is kind of a banking term too. It’s guard the deposit that you
have. When you have something valuable,
you take care of it. You make sure that nothing happens
to it. Unfortunately, I don’t think the church is doing a great
job of that. Scripture is many times, way too often, being
set aside. Man’s sin is now lower to a mistake. Scripture is used basically to
make a point that the person up front wants to make. Without a high view of Scripture,
there is only a scant knowledge of God. Without a proper understanding
of God, there is no insight to hatred. that God has of sin and
its consequences. Without an awareness of the seriousness
of sin, there is no conviction of sin. Without conviction of
sin, people do not see their need of repentance or their need
for a Savior. When the truth of salvation moves
from it is all God’s doing to it is the choice of the individual,
pragmatism breaks in and God’s Word is set aside. God is acknowledged
for providing a way for salvation to occur, but it is the individual
who is responsible for choosing salvation, robbing God of his
glory. The church robs God of his glory
by not guarding what has been entrusted to them. And unfortunately,
as I said, I think that is far too many. There are far too many
occurrences of that in our world today. So not only is God glory received
from His people, but God’s glory is received in His Son. To Him be the glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus. God is glorified in His Son,
Jesus Christ, which makes it even more important that we do
our job in ascribing glory to God. If Jesus Christ, who is
our example, who we are to become more and more like, Jesus Christ,
who Himself is God, gives glory to God. How much more should
we who have a lot more reasons to offer Him glory and praise?
John 17, if you would turn there quickly. John 17 shows that Jesus Christ’s
aim was to glorify the Father. Let me read to you John 17 1-6. These things Jesus spoke. And
lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, Father, the hour has
come. Glorify Thy Son that the Son
may glorify Thee. Even as Thou gavest Him authority
over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He
may give eternal life. And this is eternal life. that
they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
Thou hast sent. I glorify Thee on earth, having
accomplished the work which Thou hast given me to do. And now
glorify Thou me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory
which I had with Thee before the world was. We’ll stop there. God is glorified in His Son,
Jesus Christ. This prayer that Jesus prays
comes as Jesus enters into the final days of His earthly life.
We celebrate Palm Sunday today. This prayer was probably around
this time as He sees what is coming. It’s basically the final
stage of His obedience. It’s the culmination. He has
been perfectly obedient to the Father. And now here comes the
pinnacle of what he was to do. Suffer and die for the sins of those who God has sent him.
Again, William Henderson writes, this hour was the moment of crisis. It was the hour in which the
Son of Man would terminate his labors by rendering the one and
only atoning sacrifice for the sin of mankind. The hour of fulfilling
prophecies, the hour of triumph over the prince of the world,
his death and all that it accomplished, that event was now imminent.
The unfair trial, the beatings that would cause, as Isaiah to
write, that his visage was marred beyond comprehension. He was
totally unrecognizable. The scoffing, the drinking of
the full cup of God’s wrath was not of God’s wrath was upon him. However, this prayer shows his
true desire. Glorify the Son, that the Son
may glorify thee. Jesus had accomplished what he
had come to do and he knew that as he was glorified, the Father
would be glorified through Him. By doing what was necessary to
secure our salvation, the glorious plan of the Father would be accomplished
in glory given to the Father. Christ was obedient to the Father’s
plan. He knew no sin. He who knew no
sin became sin on our behalf that we would become the righteousness
of God in Him. Romans 5 says, but God demonstrates
his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. Much more than having now been
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God
through him. And not only this, but we exult
in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have
now received the reconciliation. First Peter. Chapter 1, verses
3 and 4, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who, according to His great mercy, has caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled
and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. What was the
outcome of Christ’s work in salvation? We now have forgiveness. We are
justified, declared righteousness, and reconciled to the Father
all through Jesus Christ. We are now fellow heirs of Christ.
We are sealed. Our salvation is guaranteed.
To God be the glory. Not only is God’s glory received
from His people, not only is God’s glory received in His Son,
But God’s glory should be received continually. To Him be the glory
in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and
ever. The translation to this is the
ages upon the ages. There can’t be any more. God
is to be glorified forever. There shall be no end to it. There can’t be. When our days
on earth are done, we shall continue for eternity up in Heaven. We
do not reach a point where we have praised God enough. Does
God’s grace ever stop? Do His mercies ever come to an
end? We have the seal of the Holy
Spirit upon us. Our salvation is secure. So why
would there be an end to our praising God? If we lose all
that we have, if our health is taken away, if our health deteriorates,
does that give us cause to stop glorifying God? Do circumstances
dictate our worship and glorification of God? I think we should say,
as Paul says in Romans, may it never be. Does God owe us anything? In addition, as we progress in
our walk as believers, we will never exhaust our knowledge of
God. The more we know, the greater
our knowledge of God, which is Paul’s prayer earlier in Ephesians,
the greater we know, the more knowledge we have of God, the
more reasons we will find to glorify Him. When we reach heaven, our praise
will reach a new level and will continue through all eternity.
Many of you have heard me speak of our friends, two of our friends
that have passed on suddenly since we moved here from California.
One was Mike Butel, who we ministered with in California, who was separated
from his wife because of training for work. They had moved to Texas
and he was starting a new job, but he needed to be in California
for training. He was there for six months. Towards the end of
his training, he dropped dead of a heart attack while studying
for a test. Mike was one who ran the sound
system at Simi Valley, where we ministered. And I remember
constantly being up front and seeing Mike And you have to understand
part of being up front with a group of people, there’s a lot of things
that can go wrong. So you need a sound man who’s
really on things. And not that Mike wasn’t, but
when worship was happening, Mike was worshiping. He was away from
the soundboard. He was enraptured in the praise
of God. And it was a beautiful sight. And all I can think of is, He’s there. He sees it fully
now. Hendrickson again wrote, “…forever
and ever the members of God’s family, ascribed praise and honor
to their Maker, Redeemer, arrived in glory, their minds unobscured
by sin, advanced from one pinnacle of spiritual discovery to the
next in an ever ascending series.” Ligon Duncan wrote, “…all we
are are the suburbs of glory, the outposts of heaven, When
you enter into those gates, mind cannot comprehend, word cannot
tell of the glory that you will experience. But you’re to praise
God for that now in anticipation of it. And join in just a little
foretaste of it as you gather each Lord’s Day. One thing I
know that Mary and Mike… I didn’t tell you about Mary,
but Mary and Mike would tell me right now that it’s more incredible
than you could ever have imagined. And although they loved their
friends and family on earth, they wouldn’t want to come back.
They would tell you that any trial or tribulation you go through
here doesn’t compare to the glory that you will find in heaven. They will tell you that it’s
worth it all. That salvation alone is worth praising God for all
the days of your life. I think there’s a hymn that closes
when we’ve been there 10,000 years. Bright shining as the
sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first
begun. It will be something that we cannot even begin to fathom
now. Not only God’s glory received
from his people, God’s glory received in the Son, God’s glory
should be received continually, and God’s glory should be received
wholeheartedly. And this, as I looked at this
passage and studied it, I want to thank Steve Lawson for pointing
this out to me. to Him be the glory in the church
and in Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, to all generations forever and
ever. Amen. In preparing for this sermon,
I was directed to this little word, which I, and I would say
we probably take for granted, I’ll say me. It’s a word, just
take for granted. Paul is concluding this tremendous
section of Scripture in which he undoubtedly has reached New
Heights. He’s been writing and he just
can’t help it anymore. Now to Him be the glory. He can’t contain himself in writing
about the spiritual blessings and power of God that is at work
within us. And he concludes the prayer as
most of us conclude a prayer. He says, Amen. So many times I conclude a prayer
with an unenthusiastic or ritual Amen. It’s as if I have just
hit the send button on an email. It’s as if the prayer is not
complete. It doesn’t reach the recipient
until I say Amen. Okay? Your message has been sent. But
what is Amen? So be it. I heartily agree. When Paul concludes with Amen,
he means Amen. To Him who is able, Amen. Able to do exceedingly, abundantly,
beyond all that we can ask or think, Amen. According to the
power that is at work within us, Amen. To Him be the glory,
Amen. To all generations forever and
ever, Amen. Why does this strike me? Paul
is on a roll, obviously. And Paul’s one, he is so excited. He can’t contain himself. So very badly wanting God to
reveal Himself to us. Give us wisdom and revelation
of the knowledge of Him. Praying that our eyes would be
opened to the hope of His calling. And what are the riches of the
glorious inheritance in the saints. And the surpassing greatness
of His power to us who believe. He writes about the abilities
of God through His power to do exceeding abundantly more than
we can ask or think. He writes them from the comforts
of His four-bedroom, three-bath house. No. I forget this. Paul is in prison. Paul is in prison, chained. And
he is in this height. He’s in this enraptured love
of Christ. He is not down. His eyes are
fixed on the Author and Perfecter of our faith. His mind is fixed
on things above. How quickly you get knocked down
and disappointed. For me, it doesn’t take much. How long does it take us to start
whining about our circumstances? Things take a turn for the worst. And when they get better, is
glorifying God the first thing we do? Unfortunately, maybe not all
the time. We need to remember that God is the I Am Who I Am. When Moses was trying to get
out of being the leader of Israel, God, in just a beautiful response
to him, said, surely, I will go with you. that power that was with Moses
and the Israelites, that power that split the Red Sea, that
power that caused the walls of Jericho to fall, that power that
raised Christ from the dead, and that God who before time
began chose us before the foundation of the world is the same God
who has the same power that is at work within us today. To God be the glory. Let’s pray. O Father, forgive us. Forgive us for our lack of faith. Forgive us in not giving You
what is due You. Help us not to be a people who
praise You for our close to you or worship you, help that not
be dependent upon our circumstances. For if all we have in heaven
is you, if all we have is you, that should be enough for us.
For what you have saved us from and for what you are doing in
our lives, help our eyes to be open not only to the hope That
is within us the calling that You have for us. Just the things
that You do in and around us. The everyday things. Help us
to be cognizant of those things. And in all things give glory
to You, for You are worthy of honor and praise. Let us never
hold back the glory that is due You, our Almighty God. It is in your name we pray and
ask these things. Amen.