Christ is With Us

ME: Intro

There is this show on Netflix that my wife Stephanie and I enjoy called The Mole.

It was a reality show originally from the early 2000s.

They just made a new season on a Netflix reboot.

It was alright,

But as usual, not as good as the original.

The basic premise is a group of players complete challenges to earn money.

But one player is secretly the mole.

The other players don’t know who the mole is,

While earning money,

Their goal was to also try and figure out who the mole was.

While the mole’s goal was to basically cause the team to fail at the challenges to prevent them from earning money,

While surviving to keep their identity secret.

In every challenge they would have to break up into smaller groups,

With each group being responsible for a different part of the challenge.

The mole had to keep their identity secret.

So, instead of obviously failing in the challenges,

They would find ways to turn the different groups against each other,

Cause them to fail by distracting them from the mole,

And turning on one another when they fail.

It is an interesting study on human behavior when in conflict.

And perhaps it is just fresh in my mind because I watched some of it this past week.

But I couldn’t help but see some similarities with the way the Apostle Paul survived challenge after challenge in our passage this week.

I mean this in a complimentary way,

But it was very mole-like the way he even managed to turn two groups that were working against him,

To distract them from him by turning on one another.

Our passage picks up right in the middle of the action.

Last week we looked at the end of ch. 21 and the start of ch. 22,

Where Paul finally arrived in Jerusalem.

Initially he was greeted warmly by his fellow believers in Jerusalem.

He got to share with them about all the work God had been doing through him to the Gentiles over the past decade.

And they celebrated!

They rejoiced, praising and glorifying God!

But it was very short-lived.

Quickly the celebration turned to a word of caution.

The believers warned Paul about the thousands of Jewish Christians who were still zealous for the OT law.

These brothers and sisters were justifiably concerned about what the zealous Jews would do to Paul when they find out he is in Jerusalem.

So, they concocted a plan.

Paul would participate in an OT purification ritual.

Paul agreed to forfeit his Christian liberty and live as one under the law,

That he might reach those who are under the law.

But just as he was about to finish the 7th and final day of the purification ritual,

Some Jews from Ephesus spot him,

And stir up a mob of Jews to grab him and try to beat him to death.

The only thing that stops them from killing him is the Roman authorities.

They showed up to the disturbance to escort Paul out of the mob and to prison.

As Paul is getting carried out,

He stops the Roman commander and begs him to be able to speak to this crowd that just tried to beat him to death.

When the commander agreed,

Paul stood before this mob of Jews,

Where he shared with them the reason for the hope that is in him,

Telling them his personal testimony.

He connects with them in their heart language,

And as a fellow Jew who grew up in Jerusalem and strictly followed the law just like them.

He told them about how he persecuted and killed Christians himself,

How he arrested both men and women,

And how he was there at Stephen’s murder,

Approving of his death,

And watching the cloaks of Stephen’s murderers.

So, he is just like them in almost every way,

Except for the fact that he encountered Jesus and trusted in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Then as he continued to tell his story,

He told them that the God of their fathers,

The God of the OT,

The God of Israel,

Their God,

Sent him to the Gentiles.

So, he was essentially saying that the things they are accusing him of was what their God told him to do.

And that is where the narrative picks up in our passage this morning.

Slide

Our outline for this passage is that Christ is...

With Us in Suffering (Acts 22:22-29)

With Us in Contrition (Acts 22:30-23:5)

With Us in Conflict (Acts 23:6-10)

With Us Always (Acts 23:11)

Christ is with us wherever He sends us.

Time and time again,

Acts has shown that Christ is with Paul as he tells others about Christ.

And this truth is put on display once again.

As Paul is in Jerusalem to tell the Jews about Christ,

Christ is not only with him as he speaks the gospel,

Christ is with him in every aspect,

In his beating,

In his imprisonment,

And in his interrogation.

No matter where Christ sends Paul,

Christ is with him as he makes disciples.

Just as Christ is with us as we make disciples.

Slide

This is what Jesus promised when He gave the great commission in Matthew 28:19-20,

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

A few minutes ago, Rebecca read what Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 4:7-12.

In Acts, Paul is obeying this commission from Jesus in Matthew 28.

Along the way, we see Paul afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down.

But we also see that he is not crushed,

He is not driven to despair,

He is not abandoned,

Nor is he destroyed.

Because Christ is with him, and he knows it.

We see in our passage this morning how Christ is with him in some unexpected ways.

WE: Citizen (Acts 22:22-29)

Slide

So, first, let us look at 22:22-29 to see how Christ is with us in suffering.

Look at how vs. 22 starts,

“Up to this word they listened to him.”

Paul’s defense to the Jews that began at the start of this ch. reached a breaking point in vs. 21.

It is sad that the breaking point was not when Paul talked about arresting or killing people.

It was not when he said that he lost his sight when having a conversation with Jesus.

It was not when he talked about getting baptized in the name of Jesus.

No, the word they could no longer listen to,

Was when Paul said that their God sent him to the Gentiles.

His commission from God to the Gentiles struck at the heart of their Jewish nationalism.

It was more than they could bear.

Think about it,

At this point,

They had already managed to settle down as Paul began speaking to them in Hebrew.

But the thought that their God would send one of their own to the Gentiles reignited the mob mentality.

Slide

So, their reaction is an example of how we humans can misuse citizenship.

Because their Jewish nationalism created a hatred for the Gentiles.

They used citizenship as an obstacle rather than a tool for good.

Which did not even reflect the Mosaic law.

Exodus 12, Leviticus 24, Numbers 15 and 35, and Deut. 10, 14, 16, and 24 all teach about how non-Israelites can be admitted to the privileges of citizenship among the Jews.

But the Jews here had a hatred so fierce for the Gentiles that they were shouting for Paul to be wiped off the face of the earth.

Their verdict was that Paul must die.

Because he said that God would send him to the Gentiles.

Fortunately, God uses citizenship as a tool for good,

As we see with Paul in just a few verses.

Slide

But first here in vs. 23, the Jews work themselves into a frenzy,

Whipping their cloaks off stirring up dust in the process.

Which seems like a strange detail to include.

But the point is to communicate a mixture of lament, condemnation, and anger.

Then in vs. 24, we are reintroduced to the tribune,

The Roman commander who arrested Paul when he heard about the disturbance outside the temple.

After arresting Paul,

He began an investigation into the cause of the disturbance.

So, first, he asked the mob who Paul was.

Not surprisingly, he was not able to get any answers from a mob.

He asked Paul if he was this Egyptian revolutionary that Rome dealt with in the past,

But Paul tells him no,

He is a Jew,

And that he is from Tarsus.

So, this is still all this commander really knows about Paul.

But now that Paul got the crowd all worked up again,

And the dust is starting to fly,

The commander decides he is done playing games.

He wants to defuse the crowd, yes,

But his primary goal is to still get to truth out of Paul.

Because he cannot seem to get any answers about this guy.

However, since he knows Paul is a Jew,

He assumes it is legal to use any means necessary to get some answers.

So, he decides he is going to subject Paul to an official interrogation.

But this was not a peaceful interrogation where they just talk back and forth.

The commander decides that he is going to beat the answers out of Paul by way of flogging.

Slide

Flogging is like whipping but even worse.

Flogging uses a flagrum,

Or what is more commonly known as a Roman scourge,

Which is a whip made out of leather with hard bits weaved into the end of it.

Sometimes they would use pieces of bone,

Other times they would use balls of metal.

And sometimes, they would use both as you may be able to see in the picture on the slide here.

Very often flogging would leave a person maimed,

Or worse, a person would not survive a flogging.

You may be familiar with this from when Jesus was crucified.

He was flogged before nailed to the cross.

Prior to this, Paul had experienced beatings and other forms of punishment.

He says in 2 Cor. 11,

That he was whipped by the Jews on five different occasions,

He was beaten with rods on three different times,

He was stoned once,

Shipwrecked three times,

And adrift at sea for over 24 hours.

So, Paul has had his share of pain and suffering but it seems this would be the first time he was about to be flogged.

And it would be perhaps the most brutal suffering yet.

Now, when a person was flogged they would either have their hands wrapped around a large beam,

Or they would have both hands tied to a hoist of some sort,

To stretch their back out as much as possible.

Slide

Vs. 25, says this is how close Paul got to being flogged.

He literally could not have gotten any closer.

He was at the final step when he asks,

“Is it lawful to flog an uncondemned Roman citizen?”

Paul knew the answer to what he was asking,

He knew it was illegal to flog an uncondemned Roman citizen.

This question completely alters the trajectory of his punishment.

His near certain flogging is instantly halted at the mention of his citizenship.

It is here where we see God use citizenship as a tool for good through Paul.

Slide

We are still at the peak of the Roman empire at this time in history.

Therefore, having Roman citizenship anywhere in the Roman empire was a big deal!

Now, citizenship in the ancient world was similar to citizenship in our modern world.

In a general sense,

Citizenship came with many rights and privileges that distinguished them from foreigners.

Generally, a persons ethnic identity tied them to a specific nation or state.

But it could often be imparted to an outsider in certain circumstances.

Much like people born outside the US can still become a US citizen.

What is amazing to think about,

Is how this concept of citizenship began thousands of years prior to the Roman Empire,

And continues thousands of years later into our modern world.

Because this ultimately comes from God.

The Bible refers to His people as citizens of heaven.

So, citizenship is something we humans do as a result of being made in the image of God.

For Rome specifically,

Citizenship in the Roman Empire was seen as freedom.

Even when a citizen was accused of a crime,

They could not be bound or imprisoned or punished without a formal trial.

It is essentially the equivalent of our country’s concept of innocent until proven guilty.

But even better,

Roman citizens had the right to appeal to Caesar.

It was a more or less, a direct form of our appeals process that might grant a trial before the Supreme Court.

So, these rights are what is keeping Paul from being punished here.

Yes, they already bound him,

But that was because they did not realize he was a citizen.

So, he spoke up just before they began flogging him.

Because no trial means no flogging.

This is not the first time Paul’s Roman citizenship was used to keep him from unjust premature punishment.

Back in Acts 16, Paul did the same thing when he was unjustly thrown into prison in Philippi.

He made the people who threw him into prison come and personally escort him out when they found out he was a Roman citizen.

So, although we only have a couple examples from Paul in Acts,

It is clear by his example,

That it was in fact a high prize to be a Roman citizen.

Generally, it was only given to those who were in some sort of privileged position.

Or to those who performed some significant service to Rome.

Or like many other things in our world,

It could be bought by paying an expensive bribe to the right official.

Either way, once citizenship was granted to a family,

It stayed in that family.

Many believe that is what Paul is saying was the case for him here.

At some point, an ancestor of his gained citizenship,

Some believe that since Paul was a tentmaker,

His ancestors made tents for the Roman army,

But this is an educated guess at best.

Whatever the exact origin of his family’s citizenship is,

It is not as important,

As the fact that Paul was born with citizenship.

And now, one of the centurions tasked with flogging Paul learned of his citizenship,

Making them all unsure of what to do next.

Because they understand the consequences of unlawfully beating a Roman citizen.

Slide

So, in vs. 27-28,

The commander follows up with Paul directly to find out for sure if Paul is actually a Roman citizen.

When Paul confirms that he is,

You can almost feel this sense of disbelief from the commander,

As he tells Paul how he had to buy his citizenship with a large sum of money.

To which Paul responds that he was a citizen by birth.

So, once again, this leaves the commander unable to get any answers about Paul.

Slide

Once everyone who was about to flog Paul learned he was a Roman citizen,

Vs. 29 says, they immediately left.

Why?

It says, because they were afraid.

They had already prematurely bound him,

They had him literally stretched out to be flogged.

And as a Roman citizen, he was never tried.

So, clearly, they knew they could receive some stiff penalties for mistreating a Roman citizen this way.

Slide

This passage demonstrates how God is with us in suffering.

Paul has suffered much throughout his travels.

And he was about to suffer quite possibly the worst torture yet,

But God was with Him and used Paul’s citizenship for good.

When we take a step back,

We can see how God has been sovereign over every detail in Paul’s life.

Paul was mobbed by a crowd of fellow Jews.

But God had him bound up and thrown in the barracks by a Roman commander.

Then, as Paul was about to be flogged,

God used his citizenship as a tool.

Because at some point in Paul’s family line,

God ordained an ancestor to gain citizenship that was granted to Paul at birth.

This goes back to my earlier point.

God used citizenship as a tool for good,

In the context of Jews using citizenship as an obstacle for Gentiles.

Paul encouraged Gentiles to know God through Christ,

Using very intentional language in Eph. 2:19-20, where he said,

Ephesians 2:19–20 ESV

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

Ultimately, our citizenship in this world is a tool God can use for good.

We must not use it as an obstacle to the gospel.

Because all who trust in Jesus Christ are citizens of heaven.

And Paul’s citizenship is one example of how Christ is with us in suffering.

GOD: Contrition (Acts 22:30-23:5)

But Christ is also with us in our contrition,

Slide

As we see in vs. 22:30-23:5.

This passage is difficult to fully understand because it only reports Paul’s actions,

With no assessment of them.

It is tempting to treat Paul as if everything he does is right.

But his response in this passage should make us question that treatment.

At the very least,

It is enough to show us that Paul was a human,

Just like us.

And He needed God’s grace,

Just like us.

And Christ was with Him,

Even in his contrition.

Just like us.

So, looking at vs. 30,

Once it got out that Paul was a Roman citizen,

All the planned flogging and interrogating was put on hold.

This extended into the next day.

It is easy to imagine the still unsatisfied commander tossing and turning all night,

Not able to sleep,

Because he still has gotten no real answers about who Paul is,

And why the Jews were accusing him.

So, he comes up with a new approach.

He will let the religious council examine Paul while he just listens in.

So, he unbinds Paul,

Brings the highest Jewish council together,

And sets Paul before them,

While the Roman troops remained present,

Because Paul had to remain under their protection.

And Let’s not pretend he is doing this with Paul’s best interest in mind,

No, he is acting out of his own self interest.

He was this close to flogging a Roman citizen,

And if he did,

He would have been punished without a doubt.

But his job demands that he still finds a way to get answers,

While keeping Paul safe.

Slide

So, as we turn to ch. 23,

Paul seems to be more than willing to kick off this investigation with his defense.

It says, he looks directly at the Jewish council,

Connecting with his fellow Israelites by calling them brothers.

Then essentially tells them he is innocent of whatever charges they bring up,

Because he has done what God has called him to do.

He is not saying that he is perfect.

But he is speaking with a confidence specifically related to his calling from God and his faithfulness to carry out that calling.

Slide

But the high priest, Ananias, thought Paul was simply lying about having a good conscience.

He did not believe him.

He saw Paul as a traitor,

A blasphemer,

A former Jew who now defiles the law and the temple.

And since he is a brutal and violent man,

In vs. 2, he ordered his followers to punch Paul in the mouth for lying.

Slide

Now, Paul did not realize he was the high priest.

From Paul’s perspective,

This guy is supposed to be judging Paul according to the law.

And when he says to punch Paul in the mouth,

He is violating the very law he is supposed to be upholding.

So, in vs. 3, Paul retaliates.

While we do not know for certain,

It does seem to be a retaliation out of anger.

He tells this guy that God is going to strike him down,

Then calls him a whitewashed wall.

This is very similar to what Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 when he called them whitewashed tombs.

Jesus’ point was that they looked good on the outside but were dead on the inside.

It was a way to denounce the faithless and corrupt nature of God’s supposed leaders.

But Jesus did not say this when He was standing before His accusers.

No, when Jesus was being flogged and crucified,

He said nothing,

He allowed Himself to be humiliated, abused, and mistreated.

Therefore, this is the reason I say it seems Paul wrongly lashed out in anger.

Also, whitewash wall is different from whitewash tomb.

Slide

Paul seems to be referring to Ezekiel 13:10-14,

Which says,

Ezekiel 13:10–14 ESV

Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

Walls are often used metaphorically for strength, security, and safety.

So, essentially Paul is not talking about the corruption of this official,

As Jesus did.

Rather, he seems to be essentially cursing him.

Saying that he is building himself up with his outward deeds,

Like whitewash on a wall,

But he will fall because he is a hypocrite who does not uphold the law.

And no amount of whitewash,

No amount of good deeds can prevent his fall.

Slide

Immediately, the council asks Paul how he would dare to talk to God’s high priest like that.

And at finding out that he was talking to the high priest,

Paul immediately checks himself.

Paul says he did not recognize the high priest.

Some argue that Paul was being sarcastic to make a point,

Because the high priest was not acting like a high priest so Paul could not recognize him as one.

That he was not actually angry,

But was giving a strong word of judgment and condemnation.

It was his way of taking a bold stand against the hypocrisy of the high priest.

But if that were the case,

It does not make sense for Paul to quote Exodus 22:8 immediately after,

Acknowledging that he was guilty of disobeying this part of the law.

So, what seems to more likely,

Is that Paul genuinely did not know that Ananias was the high priest.

He has been out of Jerusalem for close to a decade.

So, he may truly be unaware of the Jewish leadership at this point.

And when Paul found out that this was not just some guy,

But it was the high priest,

He displays contrition.

He acknowledges that he had committed a sin against God’s Word.

And he confesses that he did not know this man was the high priest,

Even calling these men brothers to show himself as an equal with them.

He does not say these things as an excuse or justification.

He shows genuine contrition for what he said.

Which reveals he likely was speaking from a place of just plain and simple anger.

This is the simplest and most natural way to read this passage.

Slide

So, Paul’s example is one of contrition.

He confesses his guilt.

And Christ is with him in his contrition.

This is vitally important for us to understand.

Because when we experience guilt or contrition,

The devil wants to use it to drown us in condemnation.

But the truth is that Christ is with us in contrition.

He moves towards us when we are guilty.

That is the gospel.

So, when you sin,

When you feel that guilt or contrition,

Recognize that Christ is with you,

Confess it to Him,

And His grace forgives, restores, and redeems you.

This is what King David said after his sin with Bathseba.

Psalm 51:17 says,

Psalm 51:17 ESV

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

YOU: Dissension (Acts 23:6-10)

So, Paul was human.

He disobeyed God’s Word,

And he repented of it.

He was dependent on God’s grace.

And Paul was able to move on from his contrition.

Slide

In vs. 6-10, we see how Christ is with us in conflict.

We cannot forget that Paul was both perceptive and clever.

In fact, what he does to this religious council is a stroke of genius.

As a former Pharisee,

He is well aware of the political situations Pharisees get involved in.

So, he is keen to realize that this council that seems to be putting on a united front,

Are actually only working together out of their shared disdain for Paul and Christianity.

So, when he learns that the council was made up of both Pharisees and Sadducees,

He knows he will be able to deflect attention from him,

By turning them against each other.

Because the Sadducees and Pharisees really do not get along.

Both groups formed between the Old and New Testament.

Pharisees were conservative traditionalists,

They wanted to follow the Torah and their own traditions.

Sadducees had been influenced by the Greeks.

They were wealthy and a much more secular Jewish sect in charge of the priesthood.

Meaning Ananias was a Sadducee.

They enjoyed the political power granted to them by the Romans.

So, by reaching these heights of wealth and privilege,

The Sadducees set aside many of the beliefs considered orthodox.

Many of the beliefs the Pharisees held dearly.

So, Paul seized the opportunity to draw their attention to those beliefs.

First, in vs. 6, he outwardly identifies himself as a Pharisee,

Aligning himself with the Pharisees,

Causing the Sadducees to see Paul and the Pharisees in one light.

Then, Paul goes right for the issue he knows drives a wedge between the Pharisees and Sadducees,

The resurrection of the dead.

We already got an idea of how confrontational Ananias the Sadducee could be.

So, unsurprisingly, in vs. 7-8,

A conflict arose between these two groups.

Slide

The dispute escalated quickly in vs. 9,

With the shouting just growing louder.

So, it says, the scribes of the Pharisees’ stood up to argue.

The scribes are the teachers,

The expert interpreters of the law.

And they stand up to now contend against the Sadducees that they can find nothing wrong with Paul,

Not likely because they actually agree with Paul or think that he is right,

But because they are now more concerned with their dislike of the Sadducees,

And with proving the resurrection as true.

Ironically, the Pharisees become unwitting instruments for protecting the gospel.

Slide

Then, once again, an argument turned violent in vs. 10.

As this happened,

The commander became concerned that this conflict would cause Paul to get torn into pieces.

So, the Roman authorities continue to protect Paul,

And take him back to the barracks,

Using whatever force was necessary.

So, it seems that the Romans are saving Paul’s life.

But it is God using the Romans,

Showing that Christ is with him in conflict.

Why?

Well, God uses the Romans to save Paul,

Because He is going to use Paul as the messenger to save countless Romans.

WE: Communion (Acts 23:11)

Slide

After all the turmoil that Paul has had to go through in Jerusalem,

While he is alone in the barracks in vs. 11,

Jesus appeared to Paul to encourage him,

Just like He did back in Acts 18:9.

Christ is with Paul always.

He then recommissions Paul,

Commanding Paul to testify of Him in Rome,

Just as he has done here in Jerusalem.

This is a clear example of God’s sovereign guidance of Paul’s mission.

So, when Paul received well-intended warnings about not going to certain places,

When brothers and sisters would plead with Paul not to go somewhere,

When plots or schemes from Jews,

Or Roman forces,

Or even storms created obstacles,

Nothing would stop Paul from faithfully following this mission,

Just as he said to the religious council at the start of ch. 23.

But this was not because of Paul’s resolve necessarily.

It is because God gave Paul this mission,

And it is certain to be fulfilled.

Because Christ is with Paul wherever He sends Paul.

Just as Christ is with us wherever He sends us.

Slide

You see, when Jesus died on the cross,

He stood for Paul.

As we have seen this morning,

Paul continues to find strength to keep making disciples.

Not only because Jesus has stood for Paul on the cross,

But because He stood with Paul.

This is what strengthened and encouraged Paul.

We need this same strength and encouragement today.

So, praise God that what was true for Paul is also true for us.

Jesus stood for us on the cross,

And now as we go and make disciples, He stands with us.

Jesus gives us the strength and encouragement we need.

Which started with Him standing for us on the cross.

And the night He was betrayed,

He gathered His friends together for dinner.

And at this dinner He instituted what we today call communion.

It is where He taught us about His broken body and shed blood for us.

And because we are forgetful,

He told us to regularly do this in remembrance of Him.

Communion is a visceral reminder of Christ being for us,

And Christ being with us.

But it is only for those who trust in Christ as their Lord and Savior.

If you are not sure if that is you.

The Bible says that can change immediately.

If you acknowledge that you have not perfectly obeyed God in every way,

And you believe in your heart that Christ stood for you on the cross,

And confess that with your mouth.

The Bible says you are saved,

And you are invited to the table to remember Christ’s broken body and shed blood for you.

In just a moment,

Deb will play some music for us.

As she does, the table will be open,

You can come forward,

Take the bread and the cup,

Return to your seat and just hold onto it for a moment.

Take an opportunity to remember Christ’s broken body and shed blood for you.

Praise Him that He is always with you,

Confess any contrition or guilt that is in your heart.

Then, I will come back up and we will take the bread and the cup together.

1 Cor. 11:23-24 says,

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

So, together, we eat.

1 Cor. 11:25 continues,

1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

So, together, we drink.

Please stand as the music team leads us in a closing song of worship.