An Expedition to Glory

the passages in the bulletin
along with space for notes. We just concluded the century
with perhaps the greatest number and the greatest extent of exploration
in human history. begin to think of all the places
that man and his travels have taken him with the pure desire
to discover. It is easy to conclude that the
century past is without a doubt the greatest. An expedition defined
specifically is a journey undertaken for a specific purpose. A journey
undertaken for a specific purpose. In other words, there is an intent
in mind, a quest, something to discover, something that is being
sought. When in Europe, those forefathers
of this country heard that there was a place called the New World,
they set out in quest of a country and they discovered America in
our own country. Those two adventurers, Lewis
and Clark. My wife knows this and some of
you. I am. I am practically addicted to
a good documentary. And the one on Lewis and Clark
is one of my all time favorites. I mean, they took a ragtag band
of men, hand selected no less, and literally carved a trail
through previously unwalked territory, an incredible expedition of epic
proportions. There were expeditions to the
North Pole and expeditions to the South Pole. One of my favorites
is of a man named Ernest Shackleton. He was in competition with several
other teams trying to be the first, and that usually is the
motivating cause, the first to get to the South Pole and to
therefore post a flag. The problem is that Shackleton
didn’t make it. That’s not what he’s famous for.
His expedition came apart at the seams. They didn’t make it
out of the bay in time and their boat got frozen in. They were
frozen in for nine months. The famous part of Shackleton’s
story is that so many men made it out alive and almost the entire
adventure. is based on that very thing,
trying to make it off first the South Pole and then off of an
uninhabited island. There have been expeditions to
Everest still are on a regular basis, expeditions to the ocean
floor, expeditions to the moon. Now, at least a proposed expedition
to Venus and parts beyond. But, you know, of all the expeditions
that I read, none comes close to the one about which I read. from God’s Word, the passage
that we want to look to this morning, none even comes close
because those expeditions were all without certainty. They were
all seeking for something about which they weren’t quite sure.
A lot of questions woven into those expeditions and a lot of
failures, a lot of failures. In fact, one, it’s almost legendary
that the ad read something like this, men wanted for hazardous
journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete
darkness, constant danger, safe return, doubtful, honor and recognition
in case of success. Now, what kind of a promise,
what kind of hope is that? The truth is, The expedition
about which we read this morning is promised success, guaranteed
success. It’s a promised discovery. It’s
a promised expedition of a most fruitful kind. The passage I
want to take us to falls again in this context in Luke chapter
12, which, as we saw, really began back in Luke chapter 11.
Jesus had been invited into the Pharisees house. He went into
the Pharisees house. And during the course of conversation,
there arose a dispute between he and the Pharisee. The lawyers
wanted to have their fair shot at Jesus and took umbrage to
some of the things that he was saying, and they ended up in
a dispute with Jesus. And in the midst of Jesus, encouraging
his disciples following this very uncomfortable time. A man blurts out a question.
Lord, tell my brother to cut me in on the fair share of the
family inheritance. He felt like he’d been gypped.
And instead of taking his appeal privately to perhaps another
more appropriate source, he blurts out to the Lord to have him mediate
his situation. And it’s from that that Jesus
launched into that great story about the parable of the rich
fool. For context sake, pick it up with me as Jesus concludes
that parable in verse 21. So is the man, just like this
rich fool who was poor towards the things of God, even though
he was rich in earthly things. So is the man who lays up treasure
for himself and is not rich toward God. And he said to his disciples,
for this reason, I say to you, do not worry about your life
as to what you will eat nor for your body as to what you will
put on. For life is more than food in the body, more than clothing.
Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap. They have
no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them. How much more
valuable you are than the birds. And which of you, by worrying,
can add a single hour to his life span? If they knew cannot
do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other
matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither toil
nor spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon
in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God
so close the grass of the field which is alive today and tomorrow
is thrown into the furnace, how much more will he clothe you?
You men of little faith and do not seek what you will eat, what
you will drink and do not keep worrying for all these things,
the nations of the world eagerly seek. But your father knows that
you need these things. But seek his kingdom and these
things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock,
for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” It’s
an expedition that we’re called to. It’s a journey. It’s a quest.
But it’s a quest with a promise. It’s a quest with a positive
end to it. Positive, guaranteed success.
If you seek, you will find and you will be blessed and God will
give you the kingdom. It’s a beautiful passage and
a rich passage. What I’ve done this morning is
chop it up somewhat differently. Six hopefully bite sized chunks
called it an expedition to glory. What I want to present to you
this morning is six focusing elements, because as it were,
we are on an expedition. But perhaps we’re not focused.
We’re not zeroed in on the end goal. We’re not even zeroed in
on the purpose of the expedition itself. So I want to give you
six focusing elements in the Christian’s quest for heaven.
Six focusing elements on the Christian’s quest for heaven.
First of all, this quest is a quest not to
be distracted even by the basics of life. It’s not to be distracted
even by the basics of life. We’ve seen this point even in
the last few weeks. Food and clothing are not to
be our focus. Look at again, verse 29, do not
seek what you will eat and what you will drink. Do we not think
that God knows that we need those things? That’s exactly the point
that he made in telling us about the ravens, the crows. the bottom
rung of the bird family and God feeds them. As for clothing,
do we not think that God cares for our clothing when he tells
us about the flowers of the field, which he grows with far more
efficiency than any of us? He isn’t saying that preparation
is wrong. Each of these expeditions that
I read about, they took tons and tons of supplies and provisions
for all kinds of contingencies. Preparation isn’t a sin. Preparation
for all life, preparation for the future isn’t a sin per se. But it’s making that the expedition,
making our preparation, the expedition, making our preparation, the quest.
Making that our life’s work. That’s what God wants to guard
against, and that’s what Jesus wanted to admonish his apostles
about. Remember, as we said a few weeks ago, these were men who
had already left all. Perhaps now they were beginning
to doubt, wondering if perhaps their needs were going to be
met. I had a friend, a neighbor lady
in our hometown lived on our street. She had gone through
the depression and she was just bound and determined never to
be in that predicament again. I know some of you may have gone
through the depression. I missed it by a few years. Thank you for the courteous Snickers. I’ve read all about it. I mean,
it was legendary in my family. Go on for hours on the stories.
You know, you were allowed one hour of radio. Everything was
rationed. They had to make butter, of course, out of lard by adding
salt and food coloring, which isn’t that much different than
butter. But here was this woman who had
gone through the Depression, absolutely determined never to
be in any kind of need again. And we happened one time to visit
her basement. And the basement looked like
a grocery store. Every wall had shelves and every
shelf had food. Cans of all kinds and size. Jesus says that is making preparation
your life’s work. That is worry. That’s the kind
of worry that he warns against. One Puritan warned this way,
said half of our miseries are caused by worrying about things
that are not coming upon us at all. Most of the things that
we expect never, ever come. They never come. And that’s where
we spend most of our life. Most of our energy is spent on
that kind of worry and care. No wonder Jesus reiterates by
saying, do not keep worrying. He doesn’t warn them against
the possibility of worry. He knows their hearts that they’ve
already been engaged in this hopeless practice. Do not keep
worrying. It really is a reiteration of
verse 22. Do not worry about your life.
Do not worry about your body. Don’t worry about food and clothing.
Don’t worry. Stop your worry. It’s an interesting
word this time that he uses. It primarily means to raise to
a height, almost like you would snap a bedsheet. To unsettle,
to excite. And in that sense, it was often
used of boats that were tossed about in the sea. Says, don’t
be tossed about, don’t be consumed with worry and preparation and
what the future may or may not bring. Food and clothing are
provided you. God guarantees that. It’s not
that thinking about those things is a sin, it’s the mulling about
it, it’s the constant worry and dread about those things. A.W. Pink encouraged with these words
when he said, a consciousness of our powerlessness. It’s a
beautiful thing when you get to that point, when you realize
you can do nothing about it. That was Jesus’ point last week.
Who can add a single moment to their life? Then why worry about
these things? Pink said a consciousness of
our powerlessness should cast us upon Him who has all power. Here, then, is where a vision
and view of God’s sovereignty helps, for it reveals His sufficiency
and shows our insufficiency. It’s good to be dependent upon
God. It’s good to acknowledge that. It’s great when you get
to that place where you realize that you can’t provide for your
future. Only God. Why shouldn’t we worry? The reason that Jesus gives here
is somewhat arresting. It’s different than what we might
expect. Don’t worry. Worry is a sin. That’s not what
he says. Look at what he says in verse 30. Don’t worry about
food and clothing. Why? For all these things the
nations of the world eagerly seek. They make it their life’s
ambition to lay their hands on these things. But your Father
knows that you need these things. See, the bottom line here is
that the heathen live like heathen. They live as if there is no God
who is caring for them. Certainly not as a God who is
a loving Heavenly Father, eager to provide their needs. They
don’t live like that. They live in a constant state
of anxiety. They live in a constant state
of competition with others, seeking to get what is rightfully theirs. What Jesus stresses here is that
Christian people, God’s children, shouldn’t live like the world.
That’s how they live, Jesus says. In fact, Paul, in writing the
Corinthians, remember that passage in chapter 15? Jesus is talking
about the resurrection. He’s talking about the hope of
the resurrection. And he says, if there is no resurrection,
let’s eat and drink for tomorrow we die. You know what? The heathen are only living that
way because that’s what makes sense. This is all there is to
them. No wonder they want it all. But we’re different, and since
we’re different, we need to pursue different course. We need to
live differently. This world that lives in constant
anxiety, how can we live like them? We know the God of Providence. The God who in the pages of Scripture,
time after time, has provided for His children. Even in our
own lives, we know that God has provided time after time. The
God who feeds the ravens. The God who plants the wildflowers.
The God who sends the rain and thereby, as we saw last week,
feeds every living thing. Every living thing. The God who
provided food, remember, before He even created mankind. That’s the God that we trust.
That’s the God that we serve. That’s the God that gives us
confidence unlike what the world possesses. Given that, we can’t
reasonably be anxious because deep down we know that God knows
our needs and we know that as a loving Heavenly Father, He
will provide. You see those preparing for a
trip sometimes. packing in everything humanly
possible that they can even conceive of. Every contingency is met.
What if it rains? What if there’s a fire? What
if we have a flat? What if it doesn’t rain? What if it’s hot?
What if it’s cold? Every possible contingency is
covered. Everything is shoved into the
car. You know what? Sooner or later, you
need to step out in faith and trust the Lord. Sooner or later,
we need to trust that God will provide. Can you honestly say
this morning that you are ready for the expedition to glory just
based on that one little point? Can you honestly say that you’re
trusting in God or are you distracted, so distracted that you’re not
even ready to leave? So distracted about earthly provisions,
even good things. That the goal of the journey
and perhaps even the purpose of the journey itself is lost. There’s a second consideration.
This expedition to glory is a quest not only not to be distracted
by the basics of life, but it is a quest of utmost priority. This I want to dip in, as we
often have through our study of Luke, into the other Gospels.
Specifically, the Gospel of Matthew, because Matthew has nearly the
identical words here, but that nearly underscores that there
are some key differences. And this is one in Matthew 633. It says, seek first his kingdom
and his righteousness. That little word first proton
numero uno in another translation. It doesn’t mean first in time.
It means first in importance. Top priority. A number one. The seeking of those things is
to be the supreme object of everything that we do. The seeking of God’s
kingdom and righteousness is A number one. Everything else
cleared for that pursuit. The seeking of those things should
be first among all others. One pastor said it this way,
whatever your enjoyments, pardon me, whatever be your engagements
in life, remember that you have a prior engagement in whatever
relation you stand the man. Never forget that you have a
higher relation. Keep your eye on the eternal. Remember that
there is a kingdom within in which the spiritual is to run
over the physical. Remember, there is a kingdom
around you, which is God’s, which is your form foremost. number one. It’s our number one
focus. See the fair, this is that way.
This is what started this whole whole incident of first self
first, then perhaps someone else, the slighted brother. He didn’t
live that way. He lived for self-first. He wanted
what was rightfully his. And he was even willing to interrupt
the Lord in the midst of a sermon to get it accomplished, to get
a settlement. The rich fool didn’t live that
way. He was hedonistic to the core, totally self-centered. The world, Jesus says, doesn’t
live that way. It’s self-first. Self-first. But not for the Christian. Christian
doesn’t think about self first. The first thought in the Christian’s
life is God and his glory and his kingdom. Thomas Watson, one
of my Puritan heroes, said it this way, secure your interest
in Christ. See, that’s the problem. Too
many people make it a priority, not the priority. Thomas Watson,
the way he says it here, that is the only priority. Secure
your interest in Christ. Make it your great business,
your work, your heaven to secure your interest in Christ. This
is not an age, an hour for a man to be between fears and hopes,
between doubting and believing. Take not up a name to live when
you are dead, Godward and Christward. Take not up an outward form,
an outward privilege. Follow God. Leave no means unattempted,
whereby your blessed interests may be cleared up. You get a
man there who you see understands what it means to seek first,
first and foremost. We are to live principled obedience,
a life that is gauged on principle, that is following that morning
star of principle guided in God’s Word. The question I would put to you
here is, can you honestly say now that you’re ready for the
expedition to glory? Is the pursuit of spiritual things
your top priority? Is your relationship with Christ
your top priority? Did you pray to Him? Did you spend time in His Word? Did you spend time with God’s
people? And then we can ask, are you
ready for that expedition? This expedition is not only a
quest of utmost priority. Thirdly, it is a quest for another’s
kingdom. And therein lies the difficulty
for money for most people. It’s a quest for another’s kingdom,
look at verse thirty one, but seek his kingdom. You see, the
problem isn’t that we’re seeking a kingdom in most people’s case,
everybody’s trying to basically establish their own kingdom.
They’re trying to set themselves up. They’re trying to be their
own little sovereigns in their own little world and leave God
completely out of the equation. Both Matthew and Luke make it
absolutely clear whose kingdom is in view. It’s His kingdom.
It’s God’s kingdom that’s in view. That’s our goal. That’s
the expedition. That’s the project. God doesn’t tell us here Just
avoid worldly anxiety. Just hang on. Trust God. He doesn’t just say it that way.
But He gives us something positive to do instead. He says, seek first His Kingdom.
And after that, there won’t be any need for seeking anything
else. It’s an amazing equation. The world craves food and drink,
but Christ’s followers We’re supposed to crave God’s kingdom.
God’s ways. Psalm 37 for echoes this same
thought in different language, it says, delight yourself in
the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. There’s
that same promise. But first things first and first,
it’s the kingdom, God’s kingdom. And then these things will be
added to you. God will provide. God will take care. God will
minister to you in his way and in his time. See to it that the
rule of God, as one said, is being established more and more
in your own life and in the lives of those around you. That’s the
kingdom of God. Another one of my heroes said
it this way, let your principal care and study be how to get
to heaven. How many of us, if we were being
tested on a class, would pass that class based on our last
week of living? How many would pass that class?
The pursuit of heaven, the preparation thereof, he says, let your principal
care and study be how to get to heaven and how to promote
the kingdom of God in the world. To bring your hearts into subjection
to the will of God so that the kingdom of God may be within
you and how to bring others to the obedience of faith, to the
will of God. How many of us would pass that
class? We saw this before this thought before earlier in Luke’s
gospel and the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus prayed that
prayer, thy kingdom come. That’s our focus, your kingdom,
not mine. Let the divine rule come. May
God’s ways win out over the world. May God’s ways win out over my
own heart. First and foremost, may I be
obedient to his commands. J.C. Ryle said it this way, we
seek the kingdom of God when we make it the chief business
of our lives to secure a place in the number of saved people.
You think we’ve talked about this so many times that it almost
becomes redundant, but so many people hinge their hope on having
prayed a prayer umpteen years ago. And that’s their hope, not
their life now, not their growth in Christ, not their perception
of godliness at work in their lives. A prayer that they prayed
around a campfire 20 years ago. Ryle said, make it the chief
business of our lives to secure a place in the number of saved
people, to have our sins pardoned, to have our hearts renewed and
ourselves made ready for the inheritance of the saints. We
do so also when we give primary place in our minds to the interest
of God’s kingdom. When we labor to increase the
number of his subjects, when we strive to maintain his cause
and advance his glory in the world, that’s what it means to
seek his kingdom. Now, after all that, can you
also say that you’re ready for the expedition to glory? Is it
his kingdom, really, that you’re seeking to build? Or are you
trying to carve out a plot of land next to his so that you
can have a complementary kingdom to his own? Do you have your
own stakes in mind, your own thoughts, your own agenda? focusing elements in our quest
for heaven. This quest for heaven is not
only a quest for another’s kingdom, but number four, and again from
Matthew chapter six, it is a quest that is to be attended with righteousness. With righteousness. Matthew 6.33
adds what Luke doesn’t. Seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness. Matthew chapter 22 has an interesting
parable. And for many times, so often
throughout the years, it’s been allegorized to where you can’t
even understand what Jesus’ point really was to begin with. Matthew
chapter 22, if you’re familiar with it, pictures a wedding feast.
And in it, the king is in full preparation for his son’s wedding.
And he sends out invitations to the wedding feast. And you
know what? Nobody comes. Nobody responds to the invitations.
It’s the it’s a it’s an illustration of the gospel going forth. And
the Jews of the kingdom did not respond to the wedding invitation.
They didn’t want what Christ had to offer. So if you know
the parable. The king says, go out into the
highways and byways and plead with people to come. And in so
doing, what he would do is what the king would do is make sure
that they were dressed and he would provide them with the robe
and provide them with shoes that they were lacking. He wanted
an ornate, fancy affair. This was his only son’s wedding.
The biggest celebration in any of them. And if you’re familiar with that,
you remember. At the one, there’s one that came in and He didn’t
want the robe. He wanted to come in and wear
his own attire. What it pictures is those that want to come in
in their own righteousness. They want to come in on their
own terms. They want to set the agenda. They want to map out
their own way to heaven. God says, no, they threw him
out. This expedition that we’re on
is not on our own terms. I was fascinated to read the
rules That I mean, they ran Lewis and Clark specifically ran a
very tight ship. Whether it was being carried
across land or not, they ran a very tight ship, exceedingly
strict rules and strict punishments for disobedience. And these are
all men that had signed up for this deal. You know what? We don’t go to heaven on our
own terms. We go to heaven on God’s terms and his terms are
Christ’s righteousness and Christ’s alone. It’s the only way. And
not only that, not only having received Christ’s righteousness
by faith, but it says that we are to grow in godliness, we
are to grow into those things. We are to become more and more
and more like Christ. What he’s speaking of here is
not only that imputed righteousness, but practical righteousness day
in and day out, right living. The personal righteousness that
our heavenly father requires to see the Pharisees had all
the world’s goods. And all the world’s goods, but
they lacked practical righteousness, they lacked that true godliness
of heart. Because they were trying on their
own righteousness to succeed and not leaning upon Christ and
Christ alone. Righteousness has been identified
as the characteristic of a life met and transformed by the purifying
grace of God, that’s it. That’s the only way that we’re
going on this expedition, that’s the only way we’re getting on
the boat. Righteousness is that quality that has begun in a believer,
but not yet perfected. It ever is growing. It’s supposed
to be. Paul, writing to Timothy, gave
him a matter of first importance. He said, flee these things, you
man of God, and pursue, yearn after, make it your chief business
to lay hold of righteousness. the uprightness of heart and
mind that is in harmony with God’s Word and God’s way. Now,
may I ask, can you honestly say that you’re ready for the expedition
to glory? And there is a sense where not one of us is. Not one
of us is perfected. Not one of us is truly ready
to waltz into God’s kingdom except by our Lord Jesus Christ. We stand perfect before God because
of Christ’s righteousness that every day Every day becomes a
greater opportunity for us to examine ourselves before his
holy word and to be perfected in righteousness. You place your
faith in Christ alone. Have you placed your your hope
of heaven in his righteousness? Is every day a self-examination
for you, a growth in Christ’s likeness? There’s a fifth, a fifth element
here. This expedition to glory is a
quest not to be distracted by the basics of life. It’s a quest
of utmost priority. It’s a quest for another’s kingdom.
It’s a quest that is to be attended with righteousness. And it’s
a quest that is to be rewarded now and then. And that’s amazing. It’s a quest
that is going to be rewarded now and then. I think I’ve told
you some of you before about a friend of mine sitting in a
Bible study one night. We were studying about the things
of heaven. And then we were studying about the blessings that God
gives on earth. And he he just chimed in the most simple term,
all this in heaven to that’s right. All this in heaven to
look at verse thirty one, but seek his kingdom and these things
will be added to you. There’s the promise of success.
There’s the expedition without questions, with uncertainty. Guaranteed results, guaranteed
glory at the other end of this quest. One put it this way, the reward
of grace is this, that while they were concentrating all their
attention. on establishing God’s kingdom
everywhere, their Heavenly Father sees to it that they do not only
have an abundance of spiritual blessings, but also, in addition,
food and clothing. The necessities of daily living
will not be lacking. Do you know that to be true in
your hearts and lives? Mark 10.29 records Jesus as saying
these strong words. an enduring promise. Truly, I
say to you, there is not one who has left house or brothers
or sisters or mother or father or children or farms for my sake
and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred
times as much now and in the present age. You know what? Serving
the Lord Jesus Christ pays a premium A huge dividend. We don’t always
see it in earthly terms, but it is a huge return, spiritually
speaking. Jesus says here that it’s even
practical. It pays to serve Christ. Clement of Alexandria wrote in
the first century, one of our early church fathers, he said
this simply ask great things and great things. Pardon me.
Ask great things and little things will be added to you. Ask heavenly
things and earthly things will be added to you. That’s exactly
a paraphrase of what Jesus is saying here. Put the spiritual
things first and God will take care of the temporal things,
the mundane, earthly, daily things. He doesn’t forbid us from desiring
and for asking and for seeking and preparation. Those things
are always secondary, always secondary. Now, may I ask you,
are you honestly, can you honestly say that you’re ready for the
expedition to glory? Are you trusting God for future provisions? Have you really put all of your
energy into building his kingdom, pursuing his righteousness? Do
you really trust him enough to believe that he will care for
you? Or do you doubt him? Finally. The final focusing element
in this quest. Number six, it is a quest to
be executed with confidence. It is a quest to be executed
with confidence. Jesus says it this way in summarizing
in verse 32, do not be afraid, little flock. What comforting
words those must have been to these apostles and what comforting
words they should be to us. Do not be afraid. Fear is sin. We don’t look at it that way
anymore, do we? We look at worry, as we said two weeks ago, our
national pastime. Creative, time filling. Jesus assures his little flock
The anxious seeking that the world engages in is vain, but
that their seeking after God’s kingdom will not be in vain. Several months ago, we were told
to seek the kingdom. Now we’re told, at the end of
verse 32, that the Father has chosen gladly to give you the
kingdom. You say, well, which one is it? Should we seek after
it? Or is it already given? If it’s already given, why seek?
Some have said that there’s a contradiction. There’s no there’s no contradiction
here. We receive the kingdom as a gift,
and yet even after it’s been received, we become energetic
and active. We begin to pursue new things.
We work hard, but even that isn’t by ourselves. We’re energized
and motivated by a new power, the power of the Holy Spirit. This isn’t a thought unique to
Luke’s gospel, Philippians 2.12. So then, my beloved, just as
you’ve always obeyed, not as in my presence also, but now
much more in my absence, work out your salvation. I thought
it was a free gift. It is. Work out your salvation
with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work within
you. Well, to will and to work for his good pleasure. We’re told to be energetic. We’re
told to pursue Christ with everything that’s in us. And now may I ask,
can you honestly say that you’re ready for the expedition to glory?
Are you confident, absolutely confident in a loving father
in whose flock you reside as serving one who will care for
your every need? Henry Law, a Scottish preacher
in the mid 1800s, urged in these closing words. Earth is afflictions
home. A troop of sorrows compass us
about, tears stream, the bosom sighs, the brow is furrowed by
the lines of care and worry. Death tears away the much loved
friend, sickness invades the frame, the home is desolate,
the table is destitute. We look to the right hand and
there is trouble. On the left, and still fresh troubles frown.
The heaven is a wide sea of happiness without a ripple. All tears are
wiped away. All faces beam with one enraptured
smile. All lips confess the cup of happiness
overflows. We bathe in the oceans of delight. In heaven, sin is shut out. Temptations
are banished. Fears are buried in an unfathomable
grave. Sorrow and unbelief have fled
away. Knowledge is perfect. Our souls are purity. Our bodies
are imperishable. We completely share the glory
of our all glorious Lord. That’s the expedition. It’s the
expedition to glory itself. Are you ready? Let’s pray. Our kind and our merciful father.
We acknowledge that these words were not only for the apostles.
Because our heart testifies. Your spirit says amen to these
things in our own lives. Father, help us. Grant us faith
where faith is lacking. Prepare us indeed for this expedition. An expedition to an eternal glory
with Christ forever. We pray these things in Jesus
name.