How Christianity Transformed the World

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Sharon James: Our Father, God, we worship you, our great Creator. We want your name to be hallowed, your kingdom to come, your will to be done in all of the earth. And we thank You, Lord God, that your eternal plan is to bring blessing to all nations through Christ. So we pray that You would open our hearts and our minds now, as we consider your works and your ways in this world and we pray in Jesus name amen, well, I’ve been asked to introduce myself. My name is Sharon James, and I’ve come over to this conference from London, England, and it’s a great delight to be with you all, I’ve been asked to speak this afternoon about how Christianity transformed the world. So I want to begin really with just an introduction about why I’m passionate about this subject. From a very early age, I knew that God wants to bless all nations. God kindly from an early age, gave me a deep awareness of His power and His beauty and His mercy and His love and the glory of the way that he calls people from every nation to glorify Him. I studied history at Cambridge University, went on to teach history in different schools and colleges, including two very happy years teaching in Malawi in Africa, and I now work for an organization called the Christian Institute, which seeks to equip churches in the United Kingdom and beyond to engage biblically in the public square. You can check out our website if you want to. It’s very easy one, www.christian.org.uk pretty easy that for nearly 40 years now, my husband and I have had the joy of serving the Lord together. Many of those years in pastoral ministry in the local church, which we love very dearly. We’ve traveled in many different countries, seeing God at work. The promises of Scripture are that God will bless all nations, and we can be inspired to pray more fervently for that end as we remember what God has already done. So let’s begin how Christianity transformed the world. I want to take you back in time to the year 1810, and over to a fishing port on the east coast of England called Great Yarmouth one Sunday morning, back in 1810 a poor teenage girl named Sarah Martin felt compelled to go into chapel. She never normally went to chapel. She had been orphaned at a very early age. Fortunately, her grandmother had ensured that she got education at a village school, so she learned to read and became an avid reader. But from the age of 14, she had to go out to work full time to support herself, and she worked long hours as a dressmaker. But that Sunday morning, Sarah heard the good news of God’s welcome and forgiveness for the very first time, and she was overjoyed to hear about the saving work of Jesus Christ, and that very day, she prayed, Oh God, please give me the privilege of serving others from now On, may I point them to you, the fountain and source of all my joy. That was the day of her conversion. She prayed that prayer. So she continued to work long hours as a dressmaker, but she remember she was just a teenager, she devoted every other waking hour to serving other people. She soon became a Sunday school teacher. She then started taking Bible lessons to poor children in a nearby work house. She then started visiting prisoners in the prison in great jamas, where conditions were among the very worst in the country, men and women indiscriminately crammed into two vile underground dungeons. At first, she simply read the Bible to prisons. Then she organized Sunday services, then she began literacy classes, and then introduced schemes for paid work. And remembered working as a seamstress to support herself all this time, and eventually, the town councils were so impressed at the improved conditions in the prison, not to speak of the declining reoffending rates in the town that they offered for her to work full time with the prisoners and offered to pay her to do that. Her health broke down as a result of all of her labors, and she died in 1852 at the very early age, in her 50s. Now you’ve probably never, ever heard of Sarah Martin. She was very poor. No portrait was ever painted of her. We don’t know what she looked like, but her life was poured out in service to others. The God of mercy had heard her prayer, please give me the privilege of serving others. Why do I mention her? She was one of 10s of 1000s of Christians during the 19th century in all of those countries that had been impacted by evangelical awakening. These Christians expected to devote large amounts of voluntary time to those more needy than themselves. It was the expectation that real Christians, genuine Christians, would be engaged in active benevolence. Now today, of course, many people will tell you that Christianity is oppressive and bigoted. Discussions around identity politics tend to portray Christianity as a Western religion wielding power and privilege and being altogether bad for the world. Evils such as slavery are placed at Christianity’s door. Evangelists, and particularly cross cultural mission is regarded as they call it abusive, proselytizing, absolute moral beliefs. They’re denounced as bigoted and toxic. But what does the evidence really show? When you look at the historical record, you will find that from the inception of the Christian Church, the true followers of Jesus Christ have sought to love their neighbor, and this has had a transformative impact on every area of life in 2021 I wrote a book called how Christianity transformed the world. Christian focus. Published it, and I’d take 10 themes, 10 chapters in that book, and this afternoon, we don’t have time for all 10. I’m going to pick out six of those themes and just give you the highlights. And if you want, later on to look at the headings, because I’ll be covering a lot of ground. The conference app has got a list of breakout sessions, and the PDF of my outline is on that if you want to look at it later, along with some further resources. But the first theme we will look at together this afternoon is the theme of freedom, because the real origin of the idea of human rights goes right back to the biblical truth that we are all created in the image of God. And when we see any fellow human being, we see someone who represents God Himself, someone crowned with glory and honor. And when we neglect or despise a fellow human being, whoever they are, we despise their maker, as the book of Proverbs says, Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God, supremely. Christians affirm the dignity of all human life, because God Himself, in Christ, became flesh from the moment of conception. Every human life, from conception through to natural death, should be protected, and God, the giver of life, will judge the shedding of all innocent blood. Wind back to the first century. That conviction that every human being is made in God’s image stood in complete contrast to the culture of the ancient world, the apostolic witness that in Christ, we are all one, whether slave or free, Galatians. 328, was revolutionary for slaves and free people to sit down together and take the Lord’s Supper and eat together was scandalous. No other associations or pagan cults allowed slave owners and slaves to share a meal like that. The great early church father, christosten, Archbishop of Constantinople, instructed the rich people in his congregation. Yes, you can buy slaves, but then that is in order to teach them a trade and then set them free. That’s how you should use your wealth. The fourth century church leader Gregory of nicer attacked slavery for its sheer violation of the free nature of human beings. How can you own someone made in the image of God? He said, It’s outrageous. It’s impossible. Yes, it took time to root out slavery in areas where Christianity spread, but Christian teaching and practice paved the way for arguing that as slaves and free were part of the body of Christ together, slaves should be liberated. And by the 11th century, slavery in all the areas where Christianity had spread was effectively eradicated. The transatlantic slave trade brought back the horror on a yet more shocking scale, but Christian campaign has worked tirelessly for its abolition, supported by vast numbers of evangelical Christians to grassroots level.

Sharon James
What many people forget is that today, shockingly in. There are more slaves in the world than ever before, but areas of the world today where slavery is allowed are those areas where Christianity has had least impact, and today, Christians lead the way in opposing slavery and people trafficking. For example, the International Justice Mission is just one Christian Network fighting abuse, but there are many, many, many others and countless Christians devote their lives to rescuing and rehabilitating the victims of this appalling trade. An example, little Samira was born in the red light district of the economic hub of India, Mumbai, where countless women are entrapped in prostitution. Little samira’s Mum died of HIV, but Samira was rescued by a Christian rehab center that helps women and girls leave prostitution and break that cycle of sex Slavery and Trafficking. By the age of 15, she was top of her class at school and has every hope of a meaningful future far away from the red light district. Her life has been transformed for the better by the Christian gospel, and her story is just one example of how Christians today lead the way in opposing slavery and people trafficking. Back in 2016 a research project of many years duration, published by Cambridge University Press, showed that the greater the impact of Christian mission, the more likely a government is to respect human rights and the rule of law, and the less prone they are to tyranny across the world, Christian missions initiated the development and spread of mass education, printing, newspapers, voluntary associations, social reforms and all of that paved the way for democracy. Christians, Christian missionaries, campaigned against abuses of indigenous people, and today, worldwide, individual freedom and rights are most prevalent where Christianity has had the greatest effect. So that’s freedom. What about justice? Well, true justice is defined by God, our Creator. It’s seen, of course, it is perfect moral character. God is just. It’s expressed in the eternal and perpetu Moral Law, which is encapsulated, of course, in the 10 Commandments. And God places awareness of his moral law on every human heart. Everyone made in this image has a conscience. Ruler and ruled alike, will give answer to our Creator, we will answer to our Creator at the final judgment, and that conviction lies behind the rule of law. The ruler is not above the law. God, the law giver and creator of all, will call rulers and rule to account, and he hates injustice. That biblical truth has been the foundation of our regard for human dignity and freedom and its inspired resistance to tyranny, and it offers the only sure defense against totalitarianism that is the overweening claims of an all powerful state. More than 800 years ago, back in 1215 that biblical principle that the ruler is not above the law was enshrined in Magna Carta, which formed the basis of all English common law. And of course, the founding fathers the United States were inspired by those principles of Magna Carta. As Christians, we insist that Jesus is Lord. Yes, we should render to Caesar. What is Caesar’s but ultimate obedience belongs to God who stands above all earthly powers. And if any earthly rulers command us to disobey God, we are to obey God rather than men. Martin niemoller was a Lutheran pastor in Germany, and he was imprisoned by Hitler between 1938 and 1945 for his opposition to the Nazi regime, and on one occasion, he was being interrogated by Hitler himself, animo, responded to Hitler, you can imprison me, you can torture me, you can kill me, but one day, you will give an account to the one who is King of Kings and Lord of lords. Justice may not always be done in this life, but justice will be done. There will be a judgment. Thirdly, what about the protection of life? Back in spring 2018 a Christian from the so called Dalit caste in Andhra Pradesh, India married his childhood sweetheart and. Ruther, six months later, after the wedding, six months after that wedding, they were delighted to find that she was expecting their first child. But on the way out of a hospital appointment, paramallah, the husband, was hacked to death by contract killers. He was killed because some in his wife’s family regarded him and the cast he belonged to as possessing no dignity. Think back with me for a moment the early chaps of Genesis, after the fall into sin of our first parents, their first born son, Cain murdered his younger brother, Abel, first murder. But God told Cain, the blood of your brothers, the voice of your brother’s blood, calls out to me from the ground. Cain was to be held account for what he had done. And paramallus blood also called out to God, God will hold the killers and the one who hard them accountable, because God is the creator and giver of all life, and the followers of Christ know that we are called to care for and defend fellow human beings made in God’s image. And in India, it’s Christians who are at the forefront of offering those in the so called Dalit, or so called untouchable class, the dignity of knowing that they, along with all people, are made in the image of God, and every human life begins at conception, and that’s why Christians historically have defended unborn human life as made in God’s image too. Going back again to the first century, many pagan philosophers approved of infanticide, the killing of newborn infants or their exposure and abandonment. It was commonly practiced in Greco Roman society, particularly if infants were weak, disabled or female. The early Christians opposed this, and they rescued abandoned infants and cared for them whenever they could. And eventually, Christian influence prompted the Emperor Valentinian to outlaw infanticide and child abandonment in AD 374 or consider the violence and cruelty of the Roman gladiatorial shows is still remembered the Colosseum in Rome could seat 70,000 spectators, and that huge venue, and others like it around the Empire, saw the deaths of 1000s upon 1000s upon 1000s of gladiators and others. But the last gladiatorial show took place in Rome in 404 ad gladiators fought furiously and each one was wounded, the audience would signal whether they were to live or die, and especially privileged people could go right down into the arena to witness the dying agonies of the victims. But on this occasion, someone else forced his way down into the arena. A Christian called Telemachus had been moved to the depths of his soul when he saw 1000s flocking to view the slaughter, and he had entered the event not to enjoy the spectacle, but to bear witness against it in the name of Christ, stop. He shouted, while attempting physically to separate two of the fighters. The crowd was enraged at this interruption to their entertainment. Telenakus died almost instantly amid a hail of missiles, but his work accomplished at the moment he was struck down because his death turned the hearts of the spectators on that day and the heart of the Emperor, and from that time on, no other gladiatorial conquest was ever held. One Voice raised against 70,000 in the name of Christ’s stop. It seemed so pathetic and so ridiculous, but when Telemark has heard the roars of that crowd and knew that people were being killed for entertainment, he was cut to the heart, and he just wants to speak out, and Christian believers like him across the centuries have spoken out in the defense of the dignity of human life as made in God’s image. Fourthly, what about the relief of human need? Well, consider Christians all over the world often recite the Nicene Creed, affirming that our Lord Jesus Christ is both true God and true man.

Sharon James
The Council of Nicea, back in 325, ad formulated that creed, but we don’t so often remember that the Council of Nicaea also instructed that a hospital should be built in every town where there was a large Christian church. Our Lord. Jesus Christ had compassion on the sick, so his followers should also show mercy. The parable of the Good Samaritan has been described as the parable that changed the world. And Christians through history and today have been and are at the forefront of providing health care and other humanitarian help wherever they see human need. Again, when we look back to the early centuries of the church, the great cities of the Roman Empire were often devastated by deadly plagues. During one particularly terrible plague, the North African city of Alexandria was almost emptied as multitudes fled, leaving even their nearest and dearest to die. The Christians were different. One contemporary wrote, quote, heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them. In Christ, those believers cared not only for their own but for neighbors and strangers, and many of them contracted the disease and died a lingering and horrible death, and their heroic service won widespread praise. And many pagans turned to Christ. Those Christians were true followers of the Lord Jesus, Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for others. Christians are often accused of being blind to suffering and injustice in this life because they fixate on happiness in the next. But you know what, those who are most certain of heaven are often most willing to risk death in the service of others. So through history and across the world, Christians have led the way in philanthropy, health care and efforts to relieve poverty, and they’ve often risked their lives to help others. Now, why would they do that? Well, Jesus Christ promises whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. Luke, 1733, we’re not just living for the here and now. Death is not the end. We have the certain hope of resurrection and an eternity of enjoying God, an eternity of enjoying community with his people. We can afford to give our lives in service of others, and so from the earliest years, Christians pioneered the establishment of hospitals, orphanages, lectures, hospices for the dying. During the Middle Ages, both clergy and laity served in a wide range of ministries to the poor and sick, although monastic networks offering care for the sick and needy were closed down in areas impacted by the Reformation, Protestant clergy and laity continued to demonstrate that Christian ethic of care, and as I’ve already said, the evangelical awakenings of the 18th century impacted whole nations. Evangelical Christians were responsible for a remarkable range of social advances, including prison reform, care of the mentally ill, factory reform, rescuing women and children from sexual abuse. And on a local level, as the example of Sarah Martin showed on a local level, Mercy ministries and voluntary charitable societies flourished. Christianity created a tradition of philanthropy and a culture of giving and sharing that is unmatched by any other civilization in history. And this life transforming message, which equips people to live sacrificially for others, is not just something for the West. Back in 1972 a picture was emblazoned across the front page of newspapers worldwide, and it’s been described as the photograph that changed history. It was a searing image, a shocking image of five screaming children fleeing a napalm attack in Vietnam today, Kim Fook, one of the children in that photograph, recalls that horrific event when aged nine, she suffered life changing burns all over her body, and she was left with physical and psychological scars, but she was also left with a heavy burden of anger and bitterness and hate. But later, when Kim became a Christian, she experienced liberation from hatred. And today, despite severe, ongoing physical pain, Kim has been freed to love and to serve, and she now devotes herself to providing medical and psychological support to child victims of warfare worldwide. She knows that without Christ, she would still be consumed with bitterness. Instead, she has the joy. Story of serving others, as she contested by napalm, is very powerful, but faith, forgiveness and love are so much more powerful. Fifthly, what about education? Well, Christians want everyone, whatever their race, sex or status, to have access to education. From the inception of Christianity, education was seen as a priority. All human beings, made in the image of God, should learn of God’s works and God’s ways, and all should be able to read God’s word. And all should be equipped to use their skills to serve others for God’s glory. Jesus Christ told His followers to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all he had commanded. And the early church took that very seriously. Converts were carefully instructed in doctrine, often over two to three years before baptism, they would be instructed using manuals and catechisms and new converts, both men and women were often taught both the Scripture and a useful trade instructing women as well as men, was revolutionary. Such teaching often continued after baptism. Soon catechetical schools were established which taught Christian doctrine, but increasingly mathematics and medicine as well. So by the fourth century, Augustine of Hippo, the great early church father, said that Christian women were better informed in divine matters than pagan male philosophers. The earliest universities were all Christian foundations. And in the centuries after the collapse of the Roman Empire, and subsequently, the Church provided schooling for many. The reformer young Comenius, who lived from 1592 to 1670 has been described as the father of modern education. He believed that God’s world is the greatest textbook of all. We learn of God as we learn of his ways and his world. And Comenius was passionate about providing excellent education to every child, both rich and poor, male or female, because each is made in God’s image. Moving on to the 20th century, the Indian scholar Vishal mangawadi, born in 1949 converted to Christianity after he discovered that the holy book of the Christians said that God’s desire is to bless all nations, he then decided to investigate whether or not that had been the case, and he found It was. He came to believe that quote the Bible created the modern world of science and learning because it gave us the creator’s vision of what reality is all about. And mangawadi explains Christian mission birthed, financed and nurtured hundreds of universities, 1000s of colleges, 10s of 1000s of schools. They educated millions and transformed nations. Globally, we find that education has been one of the great, great blessings of Christian mission. Wherever Christian missionaries have gone, literacy for all boys and girls has been a priority, and provision of education is usually the best marker for liberation of women from being treated as second class citizens. So Sixthly, Christianity and the dignity of women radical feminists accuse Christianity of toxic patriarchy and blame it for oppressing women through the centuries. Nothing could be further from the truth. The early Christians lived in a culture where a small, privileged elite of males had sexual access to the rest of the population, and this culture of abuse created a vast ocean of exploitation and suffering when God’s norms for sexual morality and family life break down. It’s often women and children who suffer most

Sharon James
during that first century, vile abuse surrounded the sex trade. The sexual services of youth and women were sold for pathetically low sums. Fathers routinely gave away their daughters as child brides. Men could force their wives to have abortions, which was hugely risky for the women at that time, or they forced their wives to abandon poor, sick, disabled or female infants, and there was no expectation that husbands should be faithful to their wives. Now, in that cultural context, the divine insistence on a single standard of sexual morality for men and women, one, Corinthians, seven, and the call for husbands to love and care for their wives is. Ephesians five was utterly revolutionary. The Christian sexual ethics forbade the buying and selling of sex. The strict demands for chastity outside of marriage and fidelity within it were just as outrageous and counter cultural then as now, but they were life giving and liberating compared with the exploitation and abuse suffered by so many at that time, the Christian insistence on marital fidelity served to protect women, as did the prohibition of arbitrary divorce, and Christians opposed the practice of marrying off young girls. And when Constantine became emperor, Christian influence meant that he initiated significant legal protections for women, and when significant numbers of people in any community live according to Christian ethics, it has a positive impact on the lives of women over the centuries, as Christian missionaries travel to proclaim the gospel, many challenged the oppression and lack of opportunity suffered by women and girls. Many of you will know very well that the first female missionary to the far east from America was Anne Judson, who left all she knew in America to sail for Burma in 1813 with her husband, she pioneered Christian mission in Burma, but she especially focused on educating girls. Anne believed that Christian education for women was the means by which Asian women could be liberated from what was then all too often, a degraded and miserable life. In 1822 she published a powerful and widely read address to the women of America, in which she challenged them to support female education in Asia. And her appeal had a huge impact in terms of both funds and volunteers. And when Anne died prematurely in Burma in 1826 her death inspired many, many women to volunteer in the cause. During the 20th century, as Christianity spread rapidly in Latin America, Asian Africa, it had a hugely positive impact on women, and research shows that in many of those nations, if women are converted and join evangelical churches, they join communities which have a high view of the family, which is always good news for women, yes, when you look worldwide, tragically, many women still do suffer oppression. But which are those countries where women are held back, forbidden an education, married off as children, and subjected to systemic abuses, such as so called honor killings, genital cutting and so forth. They’re countries where Christianity is disallowed. Most of them are Muslim majority countries, but actually the country in the world today, named as most dangerous for women is India, a Hindu majority nation with maybe 1 billion Hindus, but there is a strong Christian minority. There. Some estimate around 71 million Christians could be more, and it’s often Christians who are changing things for the better for women, for example, in depth interviews have been conducted with women of all faiths in one particular slum area in the Indian city of Bangalore, the interviews showed clearly that becoming a Christian leads to liberation from fatalism and hopelessness. Women of other faiths commented that the Christian husbands were less abusive and more loving. Women of other faiths noted that Christian women were transformed in terms of attitude towards themselves with a new concept of value and dignity. Is Christianity really bad news for women? The evidence proves the opposite. So how should we respond to the current challenges? Many today claim that Christianity is oppressive and exploitative. If people are hostile and threaten you or challenge you on that, just relax for a moment and think the very fact that they are outraged by abuse is proof of the fact that they themselves have been given a conscience by their Creator, and internally give thanks for that. We’re not biological or chemical accidents. Biological and chemical accidents just don’t care about injustice, but human beings do, and remember, the atheistic regimes of the 20th century proved decisively that societies from which Christian influence is eliminated, are utterly wretched and miserable places to live, and we’re now discovering that societies which turn away from Christian morality are increasingly abusive and dangerous, especially women and children. A recent best selling. Book by a feminist called Louise Perry, not herself, a Christian entitled The case against the sexual revolution actually makes that point very powerfully. So we can be confident the biblical worldview provides the only solid foundation for human dignity. We have all been created in the image of God. It provides the only firm defense of human unity, because we have all been descended from the same first parents. It’s the only solid foundation for real freedom, because no government has the authority to tell us what to think we will each answer to our Creator. It provides the only solid foundation for absolute morality, because the perfectly just and righteous God has given us all a conscience and awareness of his moral law, the biblical world, who actually provides the only sure way to human flourishing, family, work, civil authorities, yes, they’ve been impacted by sin, but they are God’s provision for our good, and the biblical worldview provides the only solid foundation for future hope. Death is not the end. We will all be raised to new life. There will be a judgment when justice will be done. God’s people will then enjoy and serve him forever in the new heavens and the new earth. And right now, that line between good and evil runs through every human heart. We all go against our God given conscience, but Jesus Christ extends the offer of forgiveness to everyone, without exception, Whoever comes to me, I will never cast out, he says. And the glory of the biblical message is that however messed up our lives may be, forgiveness is offered as a gift of grace. Every other religion, including false Christianity, tells us to be good in order to get to heaven.

Sharon James
In closing, let me just tell you about a man called Bhaskar Rao. He grew up in a high class, devout Hindu family in India, and his granddad was a holy man who knew the Hindu scriptures off by heart and performed all the correct rituals. And Bhaskar loved his granddad dearly, but when his granddad fell ill, the old man had no peace and died in terror of what was coming next. And Bhaskar concluded that his religion had nothing to offer. It had no hope, and Bhaskar decided to commit suicide, but before he could do that, in the mercy of God, he heard someone preaching, and he was stunned by the promise. I think he just overheard some preaching walking by a church, but he heard someone say, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. And he was stunned, because he had never, ever heard such certainty. He was converted, baptized, and then went on to share the gospel with others, and Baskar found, as so many others have, that when the Holy Spirit works in someone’s life to break chains of sin and herself, we are empowered to live for God’s glory and for the good of neighbor, and that’s why Christ’s followers through the centuries have willingly served others, and they have also proclaimed the gospel even when it’s cost them their lives. Countless individuals have found their lives transformed for the better as a result, across the globe, across the centuries, wherever living Christianity has spread, we find lives changed, communities transformed. It really is good news for the whole world, and if you have understood and embraced that liberating, glorious message, you will want to pour out your life in willing service to the Savior, and you will find that the Holy Spirit gives you a passionate desire to love your neighbor and do them good. And you’ll want to share the message of salvation. And you will long for people everywhere to worship and serve the God who alone is worthy of all praise. And whatever our situation, all of us come from different situations, but whatever our situation, we’re called on to show our love for our Savior by reaching out to show love and care to our neighbors. We can’t all do everything. Don’t guilt trick yourselves. We can’t all do everything, but we can all do something, even if it’s something as humble as reaching out to show kindness to lonely seniors in our community, or extending hospitality to those in need, or offering help with a local pro life ministry. Do something. Let’s all be encouraged to pray and to work for our own communities, our own communities, to be transformed for God’s glory. Let’s pray together our Father God. We thank you so much for the glorious example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a rants of the many and we thank you for the inspiring. Example of so many believers through history who have sacrificed themselves to share the gospel and extend kindness to others, whatever the cost. And we thank you for the example of believers today in so many parts of the world who, despite severe persecution, seek to love their neighbors and do them good. And we thank you for those involved in a multitude of different ministries who seek to bring relief to human suffering and freedom for the oppressed. Please give us confidence, oh God, that as our Creator, you know best what works for our freedom, flourishing and fulfillment. Please give us confidence in your word and your works. And Father God, please take us back to our communities energized by this conference, to show your love in action to others. May our communities be transformed for your glory, and may the whole earth be filled with the knowledge of your glory as the waters cover the sea in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Thank you, ladies.