Election Day: What Now?

Some of the band are going to stay up here because we're going to do something a little bit different tonight. As we were thinking through election day and preparing for an unusual evening, there's a story that I was reminded of from God's Word. It's a story that's found in Joshua, chapter 3.

It's one of those stories that is such a reminder. Joshua and the people of God… I'll explain the context for the book of Joshua. It was one of those moments where they were reminded when things feel out of control and chaotic, remember who your God is. Remember that he is at work when you can't see it and you can't connect the dots.

Remember everything in this world full of brokenness is still in his hands. If you're familiar with the book of Joshua… So the Old Testament is about the nation of Israel and God's relationship with the nation of Israel. God shows up in the book of Genesis to a guy named Abraham. "Father Abraham had many sons."

God shows up and says, "I'm going to make a great nation out of you, the nation of Israel." Abraham has one son. He has a son who has many, many sons. God builds this incredible nation, and he grows this people group. They find themselves in Egypt, and then they're enslaved for 400 years. God had promised, "I'm going to build this great nation. You're going to have this Promised Land that I'm going to give to you," and 400 years go by.

A lot of the Jewish people are going, "Maybe God has forgotten us. I'm looking around, and all I know is slavery. All I know is being oppressed. It doesn't seem like we're the chosen people of God. If we are, I'm not even sure I want to be the chosen people of God." Then a baby boy named Moses is born.

Moses grows up, and God says, "You're going to lead my people out of bondage." You may have seen the movie The Prince of Egypt. Moses goes to Pharaoh and says, "Let me people go." Eventually after a handful of plagues, the people of Israel are free. It's one thing to be free, but they don't have any place to go to. They're a nation of a wandering people group.

They don't have a land. Because of decisions that they made in ways they didn't trust God, they wandered in the desert for 40 years waiting to be brought in to this promised destination. God said, "I have a place for the people of God." Moses is like George Washington to the nation of Israel. He is the guy who set them free. He is the guy who founded the nation. He is the guy who gave them the Law.

They get up to the edge of the Promised Land. They're about to enter in. They've been waiting years and years. Their great-great-great-great-great-grandparents have been waiting for this day. They get up to the Promised Land edge and God says, "Moses, you're not going in. Your time is done." Moses passes away. God says, "Joshua, you are going to lead the people of God."

To us, we're like, "Oh, we get this story. Moses was cool, and Joshua was cool." This would've been huge shoes to fill. You're filling in for the George Washington/Abraham Lincoln combo, the guy who would strike a rock with his staff and water would come out. God, through him, parted the ocean with his staff. I mean, those are big shoes to fill.

If you're filling in for a guy who can tap rocks and make water come out, it's not an easy game. Joshua was told that he is going to lead the people of Israel. The nation is going, "Are we sure? God, we're almost in. Just let Moses take us in." God says, "Joshua is going to take you into the Promised Land." He gives him an order.

He says, "Joshua, I want you to take the people, and I want you to walk up to the edge of this river [that was separating them from going into the Promised Land]." The story that we're about to read reflects those moments of what you do. It's a reminder that Joshua and the people of Israel are about to get that God is always in control. He is always at work. Every little turn in the story has been to point us to him.

So Joshua was told, "Hey, I have to get two million people, and I want you to take them up to this river's edge called Jordan. On the other side of the river is the Promised Land. You guys could march a long, long way around and not have to go through that, but I want you to walk right up to the river's edge and I want you to look at the land that I'm about to give you."

So Joshua goes, and he tells the people, "We're about to go to the river's edge." Then God gives them another command. Here's what he says in Joshua 3, verse 8. "Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant…" Ark of the Covenant_ doesn't mean a lot to us. Ark of the Covenant would've been the visible representation of God's presence to the nation of Israel. It was the most valuable thing they had.

It held the Ten Commandments in there. It was the most valuable thing they had and it represented, "God who exists is on our side. He is with us. His presence is here, the most valuable thing we have." God says, "I want you to tell the priests to take the Ark of the Covenant," which is a big wooden box, if you will. "When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there."

Joshua gives this instruction, and the priests must've thought, "Wait a second. The new guy in charge is telling us to take the most valuable thing that we have and step into (as we're about to see) a rushing river with it? It's a river that we can't possibly swim across or even get across. You want us to begin to walk out into the water? What in the world?"

Joshua gives them the command. This is what God said to do. Verse 14: "So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was the harvest season…" Your translation may say, "It was flood season." "…and the Jordan was overflowing its banks."

Here's a map of the Jordan River just so you can kind of see what's going on. The people of God have been told, "We're going to cross over the Jordan River." At the very bottom of it is the Dead Sea. There's somewhere right near the city of Jericho, and there on this side. God says, "All the land to the left of the Jordan River is going to be yours, and you're going to cross over it."

They come during the worst time of the year to come. God says, "You guys have been wandering for 40 years, and I want you right now to go prepare to cross over the Jordan River." Why do I say it's the worst time? Because it's during harvest season. What does the river look like during harvest season? Here's a picture of today during the flood season or harvest season where it is a rushing water, rushing more than 10 miles an hour.

It swells from 50 feet wide to 150 feet wide. It is impossible to touch the ground because it overflows during this one small window a year. It's not like God needed to go during that time. They've been wandering 40 years and God says, "Right now we need to bring the people and take a few steps into the water. Tell the priests to move into the Jordan river."

Here's what happens. "But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river's edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam…" Side note: we can't find Adam on a map today. The only way we know it is because of the reference to the city it's by, which is near Zarethan. The source of the water was coming from this town called Adam.

As soon as the priests stepped in, it began to be dried up at the source of the water. "And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry." This was not like the dividing water of parting the Red Sea if you're familiar with that. Moses goes up and says, "Divide the water." This was a moment where it'd be similar to letting the water out of a bathtub.

Where in just a moment, the priests step in. They begin to see, "I think some of the water is coming out." In other words, it stopped miles away. Some scholars estimate it would've taken two hours for the priests of the Ark of the Covenant just standing there. It's like they're holding something that would've looked almost like a coffin or people burying a coffin at a funeral.

They're standing there for two hours, and they watch the water. Joshua is sitting there, the newly elected leader, going, "Man, I hope this works. I really hope that was God talking and not the Devil telling me to tell them to take the Ark of the Covenant into the riverbed." Slowly, but surely, the water dissipates. Then all of the people, two million of them, crossed over near the town of Jericho.

"Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the LORD's Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground." So the nation, one by one, walked across and were able to cross the thing that was keeping them out of entering into God's promised destination for them.

The barrier is stopped because the Ark, this wooden box symbolizing the presence of God, allows the barrier to be removed, and one by one they walk over. What happens next, we don't have time to go into, but it's such a beautiful story. In Joshua, chapter 4, they all get over to the other side. They're about to be in the Promised Land.

God says, "I want you to remember what I've done for you this day and what I do in general. So here's what I want you to do. While the riverbed is still dry, I want you to take 12 big, strong guys, the guys you'd put on the football team. Joshua, take those guys and tell them to take 12 big stones out of the riverbed and pick them up. On the side where the Promised Land you're about to enter is, I want you to build a 12-stone monument. Here's why I want you to build it."

It's so fascinating. "I want you to put them and stack them up together so that every time you and your children and your children's children walk by those stones and they go, 'That's kind of funny. Why are there 12 random rocks there?' You tell them of what I did for you this day. That your God provides, your God makes a way, and your God is the one you trust in, not yourself, not your circumstances." They build this memorial.

Then after that, the nation goes and they begin to make camp. They begin to set up campfires and they're putting their tents out. They have millions of people, as far as you can see. There are camels and there are horses and people and they are setting up their kids and they're getting used to, "This is going to be where we're eventually going to live."

Joshua is taking the whole thing in. He is still a little uncertain over what's going to happen next. So he decides, "I'm going to go scout out the land. I just want to go make sure there are no enemies nearby. I want to go see what's around us." We're told that he leaves the camp. In Joshua 5:13, it says,

"When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, 'Are you friend or foe?' 'Neither one,' he replied. 'I am the commander of the LORD's army.' At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. 'I am at your command,' Joshua said. 'What do you want your servant to do?' The commander of the LORD's army replied, 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.' And Joshua did as he was told."

The commander of the Lord's army, scholars have pointed out for years and years, likely is the pre-incarnate Christ. It's basically Jesus before Jesus came and lived on this planet. It is the commander. It is the one, the ruler of the Lord's army in heaven and the ruler of this world. Joshua is looking face to face with the angel of the Lord.

The angel of the Lord says, "Take off your sandals." When you read that, you're like, "That's kind of a funny thing. Why would it be holy ground?" Because he is in the presence of God. The angel, the commander, if you will, begins to explain. "Hey, here's what you're going to do. You're going to go." This is when he basically gives them the marching orders.

"You're going to take down the city of Jericho. This is the land I've promised you. You're going to go march around it." You're familiar with that story. You've heard. They go out, and they bring the marching band. They march around the city of Jericho, and the walls topple down. Joshua was reminded in that moment, out, just him, looking at whatever that commander looked like.

"Joshua, you think you're in control, but there's ultimately one who is higher in authority than you. You may be the commander of things down here, but there is a commander of all things under whom you fall, under whose authority you live. He is the one who is over all authority at all times, in all places everywhere. You can trust him. Ultimately, he is in command of the circumstances and of the people and of the leaders in this world."

Joshua learned the lesson that day. He also learned that God has invited us in every circumstance to trust in him. We are not to put our trust in our ability and what we hope could happen and what we and some other friends think could happen, but to put our trust in him. We are not to put our trust in our giftings or our job or our health, but to put our trust in him.

Why would you tell them to come up to the river bank, to come up to the Jordan River during the worst time possible? At other times you could possibly jump on top of a horse, you could swim across, or you could do something to get the people across. You tell them to come up to the river bank's edge in the midst of the single time during the year where it would be impossible to cross unless you're involved, God.

Because what he wanted to communicate to Joshua and the people of Israel and me and you is he is inviting you to live this life not trusting in your circumstances or yourself. That is a recipe for continually being disappointed, depressed, and finding despair.

"Put your confidence in my ability to provide. Trust what I tell you to do, and you'll experience my provision, my protection, and the path toward the life that you want, but you have to trust and surrender to me. You have to say, 'God, if you say it's what I have to do, I'm going to do it. No matter when things look crazy around me, I'm going to trust in what you say and what you've done and who you are.'"

Joshua learned that day. This is why some people, when they walk through life, the more they grow in their faith and their trust in God, it's like no matter what they face, they have this incredible peace that marks them. They could face the worst layoff of all time and they trust God. They're like, "God is good. I don't like this, but he is in control and I trust him." There are other people facing the exact same thing and they're freaking out.

This past Friday, my wife and I and some long-time close friends of ours went on a double date, and we went to Six Flags. My wife's happy place is Six Flags. She is one of those funny people who is so risk averse in everything in life except for the worst of all times roller-coasters. She is like, "Yes! This is the greatest!" So we went to Six Flags.

It was Hallowfest which, if you're not from Dallas, even if you are from Dallas, it's a trip. So we're there. We're at Six Flags. It's like a fog machine overdose. We're getting ready to go on the roller-coaster rides, and my wife is just freaking out. She is like, "Yes, let's go on the Superman, the crazy one. And then the Batman, the Joker." She loves it.

I'm with one of my close friends who is totally opposite. He is like, "Um, I don't know if we should do that. I'm going to go get a funnel cake or something." He is looking at the ride. He is like, "Look there's a 16-year-old kid switching the button over here. They've been closed six months. Who's done the maintenance on this stuff? Why would I even want to pay to be freaked out right now? I could have a heart attack."

The contrast between the two of them could not be any different. Where I'm like, "Bro, there's a 5-year-old in front of us in line. I think you're going to be okay." He's like, "It's not my thing." The entire time, even on the ride, where my wife is like… It's so funny. Apparently, this is like a thing among people, but certainly among women wired like my wife where they're like, "No risk," but, "Yes!" freaking out, hands up in the air. That was her.

On the same ride, he was like, "Oh, no, no, no!" Freaking out. They were in the same circumstance. They were literally sitting two feet apart, experiencing the exact same rush, the exact same speed, exact same velocity, exact same turns, everything. One of them is totally at peace, and one of them is freaking out. What's the difference?

One of them trusts the roller-coaster. One of them trusts those who are behind and those who put together and those who created the roller-coaster. They trust the ride. The other one doesn't. This is why people can walk through horrific circumstances. Many in this room are represented of people walking through and it's like, "I found out at 34, I have breast cancer."

Somebody who finds out at 27, "I have an autoimmune disease that's going to impact me for the rest of my life." Or, "I just lost my job from COVID. Everything that I've been saving up for is all gone." But in that place, despite the circumstances being terrible, they go, "God has a plan and I trust him. He is going to bring good about from this. I don't like it, and I wouldn't have chosen this, but I trust him. I really believe he exists. He is real. He is at work. I trust him."

Then somebody in that exact same circumstance is walking through, and things aren't going the way they want, and they just collapse. Their faith falls apart. What's the difference between those two people? On the turns and flips of life, one of them trusts the one who is behind all the movements, and one of them doesn't.

Joshua's message that he received could not have been more clear. "Joshua, look at me. I don't want you. I don't want the people. I don't want anyone to trust in you or to trust in Moses or to trust in anything that you can do. I want you to trust in me, not in your leader, not in your abilities, not in how well you can speak, not in how well things are going or how terrible. Look at me, Joshua. Trust in me."

That message rang loudly to the nation that day. We live in a world where we are constantly, even as Christians, being told to put our trust in something else. The message over and over in Scripture is, "No matter what happens, you do not have to fear the terror of the night, as Psalm 91 says. You are to trust in me. Put your confidence in me. I have it.

I'm in control no matter what happens, no matter what you face. Listen to me. I have you. You can trust me. Trust what I've said in my Word. Do these things. I don't let you down. When you live obediently to me, you're going to see it was worth it. It was better. You can trust me." No matter what happens in election day at a local level, at a state level, at a national level, any of those things, God is in control.

No one sits in the White House who ordains or is over all things. That is a role uniquely taken by God. There's a leader for every national leader. That day Joshua looked him eye to eye. Let me be clear. One day, if you're a follower of Christ, you're going to see him eye to eye. You're going to see the ultimate leader, the King of Kings, the leader of leaders whose name is Jesus who with revelation you're going to see him eye to eye.

It says his eyes are like fire. All people will see. There's only one name. There's only one leader. There's only one person worthy of your worship, of living obediently to, and following and trusting with your life. His name is Jesus. Joshua, whose name, oddly enough, means Jesus. Yeshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus. Yeshua is the Hebrew name for Joshua. Joshua saw it that day.

We've been invited, as a people of God, no matter what's going on… I know no matter who wins an election tonight, there's going to be a lot of people upset, a lot of people hurt, and a lot of people confused or sad or any of those things. God has said, "Don't put your confidence in man. Put it in me. You can trust me."

The hope for Christians is ultimately in the one who is over command of every heart. In a second, God could save… If Joe Biden wins, God can save and awaken, if he hasn't had a relationship with Jesus. In a moment, he could make every single senator, every single president, every single mayor, every single governor, all of them radically followers of Jesus.

Shame on me or shame on anyone who doesn't fully believe that and have faith that can happen. In a moment, he could do the same thing with Donald Trump. Take him and in a moment say, "I'm going to radically capture your heart, and you're going to surrender to me. You will not be a ruler of this land who is not ruled by me in your heart." He can do that.

As people of God, we have been reminded we have access to the one who is in command of all things, that we can rest there. I love that he didn't say, "I'm on your side." I mean, he is talking to the nation of Israel. If anybody, Joshua should be like, "Hey, are you on our side or you on their side?" He is like, "Look, I'm not on either side. You need to wonder if you're on my side." That's what he says.

Tony Evans said such a great line as a reflection of this, and this essentially being Jesus in the text, that Jesus didn't come to take sides. He came to take over. He is going to take over. You don't need to worry if he is on your side, if he is on the side of Republicans, or if he is on the side of Democrats. You need to make sure you are on his side.

You think through the lens of, "What is God's side?" as it relates to policies and issues and all that stuff, all of which is important. The question is not… He is not here to take a side. He is here to take over, and we as a people of God need to make sure, "I want to be on his side. What he cares about, I care about."

Ultimately, the story of Joshua and the people crossing over the Jordan River doesn't just point to how God is the leader of leaders in the text. It points to the text of how this story is about something so much bigger and so much more important. This story is about… It's almost like no other story in the Old Testament that I know. In every turn, it points to Jesus. It's shocking. If you read back through and you think about it, almost in every way imaginable you see the fingerprints.

This story of the entire time, it was all pointing to Jesus. It's all pointing to him. What do I mean by that? You have a leader named Yeshua, which is the Hebrew name for Jesus. If Joshua lived when Jesus lived, then the Greek translation would've been Jesus. This man shows up, and God says, "I'm going to have you be the one through whom the people of God are able to enter into the promised destination that I have for them."

It's much like us being promised that through the leader of Jesus, we could enter into eternity. "Joshua, you're going to be the person who allows them to enter, through you, into the Promised Land of God." How are you going to do it? Through a piece of wood. The separation from the people of God and the promised destination of God, the separating barrier, will be overcome by a piece of wood.

That wood is going to stop that barrier all the way back to its source, Adam. It's much like the people of God who, by trusting in Jesus Christ and the work he did on a piece of wood called a cross where he was crucified… He was killed for your sin and my sin. By trusting in that, the barrier or the separation from us and eternal life through that piece of wood is no longer something that keeps or has to keep anyone from having the ability to spend life with God eternally.

He is going to cut it off all the way back to its source, Adam. The Bible says that sin and everything sinful and broken in our world comes from the source of Adam and Eve in the garden. All of that sin has all been tracing. Jesus shows up and, through the work that he did through a piece of wood, stops all of it back all the way to the source.

He pays for every sin everywhere, and he removes the barrier so the people of God don't have to be separated from him. In every turn, it points to Jesus, the one who told Joshua that day, "Take your sandals off. You stand on holy ground." Let me be abundantly clear. All of life points to Jesus. Or, as Jesus has attempted, God has attempted, no matter what you're walking through and as challenging as it is for you to have his attention to look to him.

"No matter what you are walking through, trust in me. Trust in me!" In every page and every turn all throughout the story, it's clear to see. It was always pointing to him. The God who, through a piece of wood and a leader named Yeshua or Jesus, would make a way for the people of God to enter into the rest and ultimately to enter into eternity with him.

Our confidence as Christians has nothing to do with 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, which is where the White House is. Our hope and our confidence have everything to do with the cross and the crucifixion that happened right outside of the Jerusalem walls 2,000 years ago. Then three days later, when the only election that mattered, when Jesus was called out of the grave, conquering death…

I love this country. I love America. I have American socks on right now. I love America, but America is not our hope. Our hope, as Christians, doesn't come from the stars and stripes on the American flag. It comes from the scars on the hands of our Savior and the stripes on his back that, for all of eternity, show us the lengths to which God was willing to go for you and for me.

It's the reason why you can trust him no matter what happens and what's ahead. So what we're going to do right now is take a chance to do something we've rarely done. I just want to invite us to pray. I'm going to ask it. In just a second, if you're comfortable and you're okay doing so, if there's no physical reason why you couldn't, we're going to hit our knees.

We're spread out. We have spaces and you can just turn and hit your knees. We're going to pray specifically for a few things. This is a crazy, crazy time. I want you to pray for both presidential candidates. I want you to pray for Joe Biden to have a deep, abiding relationship with Jesus. If you just left the Trump rally and you're like, "I hate that guy…"

If you don't want Joe Biden to spend eternity with Jesus, there is something deeply wrong with you. If you're on the opposite spectrum, and you're like, "No, I can't believe you would even say, 'Pray for Trump…'" If you don't want President Trump to spend eternity with Jesus, there is something deeply wrong with you. Neither, wherever they sit in this life, matters way less than where they will spend eternity.

So we're going to pray for both of them that, "God, you would save them. You answer prayers all the time." We're going to storm heaven and just say, "Would you save these men? If they have a relationship with you, would you kindle it so that it would be the guiding force in their life? How they tweet, how they pass policy, how they do everything?"

Then I want you to pray for our elected officials across the board: mayors, senators. If you live in Fayetteville, those in Arkansas. If you live in Boise, Idaho, pray for those in Idaho. If you live in Houston, pray for those in Harris county. If you live in Philadelphia, pray for those in Pennsylvania. All the different locations that are tuning in, I just want you to pray for elected officials that God would have rulers who are ruled by him leading in our country.

Then I want you to pray for the church that in the midst of the chaos in this world, that we would be strong. We would be salt and light. There are a lot of hurting people. There are a lot of people who don't have work right now. There are a lot of people who can't afford to pay their mortgage. They can't feed their kids. They're not sure they'll ever have life the way that they thought life was supposed to look back.

The church and our opportunity to care for all people has never been greater. Listen to me very closely. Policies matter. We should talk about the economy. That stuff matters. We should talk about race relations. That stuff matters. Biblically from a race, the most significant thing about a person is whether they're going to spend eternity with Jesus or not.

Economy, both if you are rich and if you're poor, you need Jesus both alike. Policies matter. We should talk about COVID and getting a vaccine, but here's a reality. Vaccine or not, everyone is going to die and spend eternity somewhere. There is no vaccine that can save anyone from the disease of sin, but there is a cure that Jesus has extended.

So we're going to pray as the church of Jesus Christ that God, will the gospel go forward in our land, would revival break out, would you start in our hearts, and would you save people? Would the church be strong? Because there is going to be a huge opportunity to give the world the peace it's looking for, the hope it's looking for, and the fighting for rights it's looking for.

Those things don't just fall out of the sky and come from nowhere, but they're clearly represented in the Bible and the text and the Christian perspective on the world. So we're going to pray that the church, like never before, would spread like wildfire. Then I'm going to close us in prayer. We're going to sing a couple more songs.

Right now, I want to invite you, if you're comfortable, to storm the gates of heaven. A few thousand of us all around this campus, those listening elsewhere, if you would just be comfortable getting on your knees and spending time praying for presidential candidates, other local leaders, and for the church. Then I'll pray, and bring us out of it.

[Song]

Father, thank you that through Jesus, we have been made citizens of heaven, partakers of the divine nature. We are members of a city and a nation whose founder and architect is God and whose walls will never been shaken and will never end. We pray that you would strengthen the church in our land, that you would strengthen all of our love for you, our devotion to you, our faith in you, and our trust in you.

We pray that you would help us to be your hands and feet in the world around us as it literally at times feels like it's burning, as it figuratively is falling apart, that you would help your people to be strong, to be agents of compassion and love and that the fruit of the Spirit, which those who have the Spirit of God can uniquely bring into this world, that it would bear much fruit and a harvest would take place across our country, not for the sake of preserving America, but for the sake of preserving souls.

The most significant thing about a person is not who they vote for, is not the political office; it is where they are in relationship to you. So we repent of ways that we have not believed that. We have not operated with that deep understanding in mind that there are people who spend eternity apart from you, who would live this entire life and maybe win an election, but they're going to go without hope and they're going to go to hell. So would you give us eyes to see as you see?

We pray that you would save President Trump and that he would have a deep, abiding relationship with you and walk with you and be surrendered to you wherever he ends up, whether it's in the White House or some other location. We pray for Joe Biden that he would have a relationship with you that is deep and real and abiding and the Spirit of God would capture his heart that whatever you have for him, he would operate out of an overflow and surrender to that.

Father, we pray for those who are hurting in our nation and in our world. Would you help us, your people? You put us here to be salt, to preserve a world that is dying and decaying, to be light, to be a glimpse to a watching world of what it looks like to know you. Would you help us in the darkness to be brighter?

I pray that the next Billy Graham, the next D.L. Moody, the next revival and awakening would happen through the hands and feet and mouths and lives of someone right now listening in this room. That you would do abundantly more than all we can ever ask, think, or imagine. Thank you that because of what you did on the cross we don't have to fear the terror of the night because we abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

We thank you for Jesus, who has changed us and is changing us. We ask that you would help, not just bring revival in our land but in all the places in our hearts and our lives that need you to take more ground, would you take ground? Would you start with me? We love you. We worship you now in song, amen.