1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:03,000 This morning I want to do something that I've never done 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:05,920 before in the 31 years that we've been together and we'll 3 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:10,560 probably more than likely never, ever do again. 4 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,320 This morning I want to. I want to give glory to the Lord 5 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:21,120 for how God has used one man in my life to shape and mold my 6 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:26,400 ministry, our church, my marriage, my life. 7 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:32,360 He's more than just a a magnificent man. 8 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:38,200 He's more than just a magnanimous man. 9 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:41,560 He's more than just a magnetic man. 10 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,120 He's more than just a marvelous man. 11 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,760 He's even more than just a monumental man. 12 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:59,280 He is and was the masters man and that man is is John 13 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,160 MacArthur. He went home to be with the Lord 14 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,920 this past Monday evening. It was my wife's birthday. 15 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:11,280 We were out together and we received the the news on our way 16 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,840 back home. And we thank the Lord for his 17 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:18,680 ministry, for his life, for his testimony. 18 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:25,240 And a lot has been said already in the last six days about John 19 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:31,400 and his ministry and whether whether you love him or you 20 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:38,080 loathe him, there is no one like him, and everybody would attest 21 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,960 to that. Even the New York Times called 22 00:01:41,960 --> 00:01:49,360 him a fiery preacher and a culture warrior, which he was. 23 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,320 And many people will say things about John and they'll give 24 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,800 credit to him. And well, so with the, the the 25 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:59,320 ministry that he had, all the books that he wrote, he wrote 26 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:01,840 hundreds of them. The sermons that he preached, he 27 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:04,960 preached thousands of them. They went around the world 28 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:09,160 literally. And the seminary that was 29 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,080 started under his leadership as well as the college under his 30 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:18,160 leadership, as well as the Masters Institute or the the 31 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:22,200 missions outreach of Masters University, as well as grace to 32 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:26,480 you. And people would be right in 33 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,800 giving honor to him for the things that he has done, all of 34 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,240 his accomplishments. But that's not what made him the 35 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:37,920 Masters man. Those are great things, but it 36 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:42,080 goes way beyond that. And I'm afraid that most people 37 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:47,840 will miss this. And that is for for 56 years, 38 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:53,800 there was never one hint of a scandal or stain upon the man's 39 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:58,800 ministry or life. That is the master's man. 40 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,960 That's what makes his ministry so unique. 41 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:07,360 And think about this. Grace Community Church has 42 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:12,480 gathered together for the first time in 56 years without their 43 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:15,680 shepherd. Think about that. 44 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:22,120 He's been there a long time. He died on Monday, so they 45 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,360 gathered together on Sunday for the first time and John is in 46 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,920 glory. Things are different for for 47 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:31,680 Grace Community. They will be different into the 48 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,760 future and we will pray for them in a moment. 49 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:42,960 But John had a unique and powerful impact on my life. 50 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:46,920 The things I've said to you, you probably already know. 51 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:51,360 But what you don't know is that that in 1979 was the first time 52 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,720 I ever met John. He was speaking at Sandy Cove 53 00:03:55,720 --> 00:04:00,200 Bible Conference on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and my father 54 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,440 invited me to come. I was a junior in in college. 55 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,440 It was summertime. He invited me to come and and be 56 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,240 a part of a meeting that my father was going to have along 57 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,120 with the elders from our church in Delaware to meet with John to 58 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:13,840 discuss issues concerning the church. 59 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,920 And my dad invited me to come and be a part of that meeting. 60 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:22,600 So I thought that that would be a good thing to do. 61 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,760 Because you see, I grew up through junior high and high 62 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:31,280 school listening to John on the radio every day in my house. 63 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,720 My, my, my parents would, would turn it up very loud. 64 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:40,280 We had a two-story house and they wanted to make sure they 65 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:43,160 they would hear John whether they were in the basement, the 66 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,320 bathroom, the bedroom, no matter where they were, they wanted to 67 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:52,640 hear his voice. And so by virtue of that, I 68 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:54,840 couldn't help but hear John's voice. 69 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:00,040 In fact, I was reminded by one of my college roommates this 70 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:05,240 past week that we used to listen to to John all the time in 71 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:09,080 college. We would get cassette tapes and 72 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:11,840 we would listen to John and plug them in. 73 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:14,280 And a lot of it dealt with this question and answers. 74 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:17,480 I, I still have this in my possession. 75 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:22,400 This is how they used to come out in cassette tapes and they, 76 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,000 they listed all the questions in there for you and which tape 77 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,600 they were on so that you would know where they were. 78 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:32,960 And so we would sit as college students listening to John and 79 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:38,000 then pause it to see if we could answer the question before John 80 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,400 answered the question. That was one of the ways we 81 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:45,160 learned in college. I have a numerous amount of 82 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,240 tapes in my office. I, I don't even have a cassette 83 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:50,760 player anymore. But anyway, that's, that's what 84 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:54,600 we used to do. And John came to, to preach on 85 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:59,840 the fulfilled family in 1979. And I still have the, the study 86 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:02,480 guide from what he, what he preached on, He used to send 87 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:07,000 these out in the mail for free to all those radio listeners who 88 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:09,320 requested them. And they were called study 89 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:12,000 guides. And this was the one on the 90 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:13,960 fulfilled family. I have hundreds of these in my 91 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,160 office as well that I've kept over the years simply because 92 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,400 this is the way it used to be. Now he's written his commentary, 93 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:25,520 so it's a lot different. But I kept those simply because 94 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,640 of of the impact they made in my life. 95 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:35,520 And so my father invited me to meet with John and his elders. 96 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:37,240 And so we sat down and I listened. 97 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,680 And what struck me most about the conversation, I didn't say a 98 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,760 word, was that whenever John was asked a question by my father or 99 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:49,120 by the elders of our church, John always responded by saying 100 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:53,280 what the Bible says, or God commands us to do this, or the 101 00:06:53,280 --> 00:06:55,480 Scriptures are very clear about this. 102 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:57,000 Everything was about the Word of God. 103 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,800 That was the authority, and so when I listened to him, I 104 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,200 realized he spoke with not only great authority but great 105 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,360 clarity concerning the Scriptures because he backed up 106 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,840 everything he said with the word of the living God. 107 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:16,440 That made a great impact on me as a junior in college. 108 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:20,320 I would continue to listen to his tapes. 109 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:24,520 In fact, Laurie and I, we lived in in Tarrytown, NY when we were 110 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:29,320 married, and I used to jump rope for an hour consecutively 111 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:33,480 listening to the tapes of John MacArthur because each tape was 112 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:37,200 just about an hour long. And so I would time my jump 113 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:41,320 roping according to his sermon on that day. 114 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,840 I don't do that anymore because I don't jump rope anymore. 115 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:50,160 That's something in the past. But anyway, that's what I used 116 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:51,800 to do. We used to mark up the floor 117 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:53,920 with the jump rope that used to go around and around and around 118 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:55,720 and around. And that's what I used to do. 119 00:07:55,720 --> 00:08:02,360 Listen to John move forward 15 years later to 1994. 120 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:05,920 I just begun the pastor of church the Open Door. 121 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:13,000 And having been there, I encountered much conflict 122 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:18,040 theologically as well as morally, simply because theology 123 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:19,880 always determines your morality, right? 124 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:28,200 And so while I was there, I was engaged in, in much conflict. 125 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:32,640 And so I thought that it would be good for me to, to call John. 126 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,559 So I did. And it was different than it is 127 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,600 today. In those days, you could call 128 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:44,440 the church and someone would actually answer the phone and 129 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,120 they would direct you to the, to the that person you were 130 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:48,840 calling. Today, you don't do that 131 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,000 anymore. You call and you get some kind 132 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,680 of machine that tells you this or or that we've we've gotten so 133 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:57,200 technical. But back then everything was was 134 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:01,760 personal lot different back in the early 90s. 135 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:07,960 And so I called and, and, and spoke with the secretary and she 136 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:11,000 said something really unique. She said, hold on Lance and let 137 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,360 me get him for you. I was perplexed that she would 138 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,240 call me Lance. Not that I don't want to be 139 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:18,600 called Lance. It's just that she didn't call 140 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:22,320 me Pastor or Mr. Sparks. She said Lance. 141 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:26,600 And so I was kind of taken back by that, but I soon realized why 142 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:29,640 she did. And she connected me with John 143 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,400 and and John got on and said, hello, Lance, how are you today? 144 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:34,480 I understand you're going through a rough time at church. 145 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,520 The open door. I said, yes, I am. 146 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:40,560 But how did you know? He said, well, we've been 147 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:42,120 following your ministry very closely. 148 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:46,560 Well, we knew you came from Calvary Church of Santa Ana and 149 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:49,680 we knew that theologically there was a difference in terms of 150 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:53,280 what you believed and what church the Open Door believed 151 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:55,880 concerning repentance in the Lordship of Christ. 152 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,680 And so we knew that there would be some discrepancy there. 153 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:01,640 We just didn't know how long it would take for the conflict to 154 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:03,360 erupt. So we've been praying for you 155 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:08,400 over this time. So explain to me, he says, what 156 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,480 is happening. So I did, I went through the 157 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,240 details of what had taken place since I arrived at the church 158 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:17,440 and I'll never forget what he said as we as we hung up the 159 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,320 phone. He says always stand strong on 160 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:23,560 the scriptures and God will bless your ministry. 161 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:28,360 Just stand strong, don't compromise, stand strong. 162 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:34,280 And 31 years later, God has blessed immensely the ministry 163 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:36,800 of Christ Community Church and the opportunity that's been 164 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,640 before us. And I praise the Lord. 165 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:45,000 So over the next several months, I was only at church open door 166 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,480 for 14 months. And over the next once I called 167 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:49,760 him and talked with him and brought up the speed as to what 168 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:51,880 was happening. He would give me counsel. 169 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,840 He would give me encouragement. He would talk to me about what 170 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,680 the Bible says. And so that was a unique 171 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:04,640 opportunity. Well, jump ahead to 2010. 172 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:07,480 We invited John to come and speak at the church. 173 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:12,440 He come, he came on a Wednesday evening and he had just written 174 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:16,320 the book slave. And so he was going to speak on 175 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,320 on that. When he arrived at the church, 176 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,720 I, I took him up to my office and the first thing he said to 177 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,600 me was why are the Christmas trees? 178 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,880 And I said, well, John, it's simply this because I believe a 179 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:32,960 lot about Christmas. I'm a big Christmas guy. 180 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:36,520 And my whole belief is that if there's no birth, there's no 181 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:38,720 death, there's no death, there's no life. 182 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:43,600 He said well put, so that's why the Christmas trees are here to 183 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:46,320 all remind me of that. I asked him. 184 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:48,000 I said, John, I I want you to do me a favor. 185 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:50,840 I I would be so honored if you would write the the forward to 186 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:55,000 my book God sold for your home. He responded by saying I'm 187 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,560 honored that you even asked for me to do so. 188 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:04,320 To the transcript home wrote the forward to the book and I was 189 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:08,840 grateful. Few years after that I decided 190 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:13,960 to take John out to lunch. So I called them up and we we 191 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:18,600 set up a time to meet together And where does the world's 192 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:27,960 greatest preacher go to lunch? Carl's junior, where else? 193 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:32,840 And there we sat eating burgers and fries and sipping our Cokes, 194 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:36,200 talking about theology and philosophy as a ministry. 195 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,680 And I told him, I said, John, I just want to thank you for the 196 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:42,320 impact that you made in my life. I said, I don't know how much 197 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:46,040 longer you have to live or I to live, but I thought, you know 198 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:47,960 what? It's best for me to personally 199 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:51,400 thank you for the impact that you've made in my life. 200 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,720 And I went back and rehearsed from the time we met in 1979 to 201 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,640 where we were on that day, so he would know the impact he made in 202 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,960 me and the church in which I was pastoring. 203 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,840 When you think about that, when you think about his life and you 204 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:17,200 think about his his ministry, he was simply the master's man. 205 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:23,840 He shared the same birth date as Charles Spurgeon. 206 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:28,800 They were both born on June 19th, 105 years apart, but they 207 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:35,120 were both born on June the 19th, and Spurgeon was his favorite 208 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:40,480 preacher. 100 years after Spurgeon's death, he went to 209 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:44,280 London and visited the grave of Charles Spurgeon because he was 210 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:49,640 writing the book called Ashamed of the Gospel, And that book is 211 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:52,320 probably my favorite of all the books that he's written. 212 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:57,640 Talks about the downgrade of the gospel in Spurgeon's day. 213 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:06,640 And he was addressing that in our day, how the church has 214 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:11,080 become like the world and the church has begun to dilute the 215 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:14,040 gospel. And so in that book, he quotes 216 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:21,400 Spurgeon voluminously throughout it because Spurgeon 100 years 217 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:24,680 earlier had faced the same issues that the church was 218 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:30,240 facing even today when Spurgeon died. 219 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:36,200 The one who preached his memorial service had a text. 220 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:43,720 The text was Revelation 7, Revelation 7, verses 9 and 10. 221 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:52,640 And what was said about Spurgeon in that day could be said about 222 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:59,040 John in our day. My wife found this quote. 223 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:00,880 She gave it to me this past week. 224 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:08,120 It says this now he, Spurgeon, has left the pulpit forever. 225 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:12,840 He stands amongst the great multitude who are before the 226 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:17,000 throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and 227 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:22,200 palms in their hands. He is not in strange company 228 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:28,040 there, for the song of those who waved the palm branch was ever 229 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,000 his theme as he stood at the pulpit. 230 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:35,160 Salvation to our God, who sitteth up on the throne and and 231 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:40,760 into the Lamb from the pulpit to the palm branch, has been for 232 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:47,160 him a very natural transition. He preached Christ here, He 233 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:52,640 praises him Yonder. Think about that. 234 00:15:54,040 --> 00:16:04,840 To stand behind the pulpit speaking about the Lord, to 235 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:13,520 standing with a palm branch singing to the land. 236 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:19,600 It doesn't get any greater than that. 237 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:31,640 Solomon was right when he said a good name is better than a good 238 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:37,280 ointment. In the day of 1's death is 239 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:38,800 better than the day of 1's birth. 240 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:44,600 He would go on to say in verse 8 of Chapter 7, the end of a 241 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:48,320 matter is better than its beginning. 242 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,920 In 1969 when John became the pastor Grace Community Church, 243 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:59,000 that was the beginning. On July 14th, 2025, that was the 244 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:08,920 end and the end was better than the beginning because in the end 245 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:13,560 he entered the presence of the living God. 246 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:22,680 Think about this, in the 1700s the Masters man was Jonathan 247 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:27,560 Edwards. He led the Great Awakening, the 248 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:29,880 great revival in American history. 249 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:37,440 In the 1800's the Masters man was Charles Haddon Spurgeon. 250 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:46,320 In the 1900's the Masters man was John MacArthur. 251 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:58,920 Every 100 years God raises up a man, a particular man, the 252 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:05,320 Masters man. I wonder over the next 100 years 253 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:11,000 who the next Master's man will be. 254 00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:17,960 I want to pray with you for Grace Community Church from 255 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:24,200 Patricia, John's wife, his family, that God would do a a 256 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,840 great and mighty work now that he's taking John home. 257 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,000 So let's bow together for a word of prayer. 258 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:36,160 Father, we thank you, Lord, for today, and we thank you that 259 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:38,920 you've taken John into your presence. 260 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,760 All of us to some degree will miss him, some more so than 261 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,760 others. Family, especially his wife 262 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:54,640 Patricia, the elders and staff at Grace Community, the church 263 00:18:56,360 --> 00:19:01,480 that you allowed him to pastor for 56 years, they will miss 264 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:06,400 him. They will miss him terribly, and 265 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:09,800 rightly so. That's because of the impact 266 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,760 that he has made in so many people's lives. 267 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,800 And yet, Lord, we realize that that nobody lives forever. 268 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:27,040 And then your time in your way, you take them home to be with 269 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:31,840 you. And we know that Lord, Lord, 270 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:37,600 that John is in your presence. And we know, Lord, that he 271 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:43,040 stands before the Lamb, waving a palm branch and singing praises 272 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:51,840 to the Lamb that was slain to receive glory and honor and 273 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:55,720 praise. We pray for Grace Community 274 00:19:55,720 --> 00:20:01,240 Church, we pray for their future, pray for their pastors, 275 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:06,280 their elders, their leaders. Do you give them supreme wisdom 276 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:14,160 as they begin to search for your will and finding the next 277 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:24,040 shepherd for Grace Community? It won't be easy, but you're in 278 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:27,640 charge of all that. So we leave that in your hands 279 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:33,280 Lord, and trust that whole church to your hands. 280 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:38,320 They have been LED well for 50-6 years. 281 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:44,520 They know. They know what you want them to 282 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:49,160 do. Help them to enact it in a way 283 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,840 that honors your name. So Lord, we stand before you 284 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:57,800 today thanking you for the impact that John has made, not 285 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:02,560 just on my life, our church, but many of the people's lives that 286 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:04,960 are here. Many were saved through his 287 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:12,560 ministry and we are grateful. And so, Lord, our our prayer is 288 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:18,640 that we would continue to be faithful to you until you come 289 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:25,800 again, as you most surely will, in Jesus name, Amen.