Hello, this is Pastor Darrell Bailey. We wanna invite you to come and be with us at People's Valley Baptist Church. We're located at 68 Ledford Lane. Come and join us and worship with us as we get into the word of God. And now, let's go into the wonderful word of God. Thank you for tuning us in as we get into our message out of Matthew chapter 5 verses 1 through 5. We look at the Sermon on the Mount. When we look at this message, we call it power that's under control because one of the things that we'll be talking about is meekness. And when you begin to look at what meekness is, meekness Tells us how that we're to be Meekness is not weakness. It's a power that's under control. And so I call this message power That is under control I thank God as you turn with us over to Matthew chapter 5 verses 1 through 5 the Bible talks to us Christ begins his sermon on the mountain and he says and seeing the multitudes and He went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples came unto him, and he opened his mouth, and he taught them, saying, he declared who was blessed. He said, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. he goes on several more verses talking about what's and declaring who is blessed but i'm going to stop at verse five because that's where my message goes to and uh... i want to open with a word of prayer a serenity prayer that many of you uh... if you've ever been to uh... any kind of uh... a program or any kind of uh... uh... recovery uh... ministry the serenity prayer is one of those that is prayed and i'd like to ask you if you would the pray uh... this prayer with me grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Amen. I thank God each and every one of us, as we look at power that's under control, each and every one of us as we look and realize that of the Sermon on the Mount, We realize that it's one of the most misunderstood messages that Jesus ever gave. You say, what? Yes, because some people looks at it as God's plan of salvation, that if we ever hope to go to heaven, we must obey these rules of the Beatitudes. But this sermon does not tell us how to be saved. It tells saved people how to live. It's a sermon for Christians today, tomorrow, and for the future. It teaches us how to behave day by day. And so the message of this sermon is very important to us because every one of us, as we look at the standards of life today, all of us as we go through life, we begin to realize that the demands that men not only do that which is right, but that they be right. And so, I'm glad that the believer's highest reason for following Jesus' teaching is it pleases God. But, you know, we look back over time how things have changed. In the late 1860s, the science of bacteriology was still in its infancy. Sir Joseph Lister was a pioneer British surgeon that campaigned for sanitary operating room procedures. They thought he was crazy that he would want to be clean and everything would be clean with perfect hygiene to go into surgery. They thought he was crazy. You see, the medical hygiene of surgeons in that time was terrible. It was filthy. Hands were not scrubbed. Street clothes were worn during surgeries that were attended by spectators that gathered around the operating table to watch the surgery. Surgical dressings were made from pressed sawdust pads made from the floors of log mills. Instruments were washed in soapy water, but they were not sterilized. In some hospitals, as many as 90% of all the patients died right after their surgery from the infections. Why not? Look at all the nasty, filthy things that were happening. And yet the majority of doctors thought Lister was a nut because he wanted the surgical things to be clean and the area to have better hygiene. The majority of the doctors, they thought that he was crazy for the idea of cleanliness, which was known by his name as Listerism, because his last name was Lister. And so the doctors implemented Lister's ideas and procedures, and they reported fewer post-operative infections and higher survival rates. It was obvious that Dr. Lister was on the target, even though he was greatly opposed by so many. And so to honor Dr. Lister, a Missouri physician, Joseph Lawrence invented a mouthwash that kills germs and bad breath on contact, and he named it Listerine. And millions purchased the mouthwash, and they continue to do so even today. 125 years later, Lister's message of life was cleanliness, and such is the message on the Sermon on the Mount. Every one of us, we realize that seldom in history have so few words been spoken with so much meaning. The Beatitudes of our Lord are powerful, holding before the world a descriptive picture of a true disciple of God. The Beatitudes cover the glorious hope and the reward that the believer can expect as well as in eternity. And so, The issue with God is the issue of righteousness or clean, godly living when we look at the Beatitudes. Righteousness sets us apart. It means right living and living in obedience to God's Word. And the profession of faith in Christ means nothing without obedience, nothing without holiness, nothing without departing from sin. Some claim, even today, they come to Jesus as you are and you don't have to change anything. I beg your pardon? You see, the Bible speaks of a transformation when we're saved. We're a new creature in Christ. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. That's 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. You know, if we come away and don't realize that there needs to be a change in our lives, you know, then there's something wrong. Jesus described as he began to come into the Beatitudes, The Pharisees were concerned about the minute details of conduct, but they neglected the major matter of character. And I'm going to tell you, when a person is born again, there's a change in their character. There's a change in the behavior of that person. And if there's no change, and if there is not a hatred for sin in your life, perhaps you've never been born again. We've got to realize that When we do not live like Christians, we create confusion in the minds of others that watch our lives. Oh my goodness, I thought brother so-and-so was a Christian. I see him over there drinking liquor and beer. I see him cussing. What's the difference between them? You see? The same confusion started at the beginning of the Civil War. There was a lot of confusion created on the battlefield by the uniforms of the soldiers. The gray uniforms known as the rebel color, they were not only worn by soldiers of the South. Oh, no, no. They were also units from the 1st Wisconsin. First Iowa, the 5th Maine, the 21st New York, and the 12th Illinois Infantry, all Union Yankees that drilled in gray uniforms. And you know what? That wasn't received very well. At the first Battle of Manassas, The uniforms created confusion and they had a catastrophe as men accidentally fired at their own troops. It was difficult for them to tell who was on what side. Because of a shortage of cloth, the 2nd Texas Infantry went into battle with pure white uniforms which also invited shots from both sides. And a Southern unit known as the Orleans Guard had a stylish blue uniform, which caused them to be mistaken for Yankees. They were fired upon by their own army. All of these problems were created by a failure to clearly identify the side that the soldiers represented. The lack of a clear cut message in their outward appearance created confusion. And you see the same thing is happening across this land today. When we claim to be Christians but we live like the devils from hell, people are confused and they wonder, hmm, wow, they're just a Sunday Christian, huh? Oh. where we really stand, what we really believe, and whose side are we really on? What side are you on? And can people tell what side are you on? Are you a new born again Christian? Or have you been through a transformation that you're born again and you hate sin and you're no longer the same person that you used to be? You see, Jesus being a master teacher, he didn't begin this important sermon with a negative criticism on the scribes and the Pharisees. He began with a positive emphasis on the righteous character and the blessings that it brings to the life of a Christian. The Pharisees taught that righteousness was an external thing, a matter of obeying the rules. Why, man, they had a lot of them. They believe righteousness could be measured by praying, righteousness could be measured by giving, righteousness could be measured by fasting, et cetera. Christ, however, focused on our attitude and our inward life. And we call the sermon the Beatitudes because there were nine Beatitudes. And the first seven deal with principles of godly conduct. But the last two deal with persecution for godly living. In the Beatitudes, Jesus described Christian character that flowed from within. These Beatitudes call for a thorough, frequent self-examination of our lives, progressive steps in spiritual growth. And each attitude leads to the next attitude, our level of growth in the logical succession, and they're not in some kind of random, haphazard order. We start out with the adventure, because Here we read that seeing the crowds, they went up on the mountain. When he sat down, his disciples came to him. This mountain or hill was somewhere in the vicinity of Capernaum, but where precisely it's not mentioned, not precisely. I know that when I was in Israel in 2008, there was a place that they suggested that that's where that Jesus would go up and he would deliver the message. But I'm going to tell you, it was a convenient message of a multitude from being in an elevated position that if he were on the same level with them, the Zerber had a view of the Sea of Galilee. which has a tendency to change in appearance hourly because of the weather conditions. And the most pleasant feature of the landscape in this area is the diversified appearance of the fields. The different plots of the land exhibit various colors according to the condition of the cultivation. Some of the fields are red. where the land had been newly plowed up. Red was the natural appearance of the soil. Other plots were yellow or white, where the harvest is beginning to ripen or is already ripe. And some of the acreage was green, being covered with grass or springing grain. The different plots that connected each other, that were intermixed, these multicolored plots, present at some distance an appearance of joyful checkered work. which is absolutely beautiful, the setting for this event. The multitudes gathered to hear the Lord, and it must have been quite a place, an inspiring thing that Jesus does not preach a fiery sermon. Instead, he sits down and he teaches them like a father that mentors his family in the home. And so, I'm glad that one of the requirements of a pastor is the ability to teach. Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount addressing the issues of happiness and joy in the life of the Christian. Perhaps it's what he wants us to have in our lives. John told us, these things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. Every one of us, listen, all of us as we go through life, the happiness that we look for in our lives today, And so in the Beatitudes, the word for blessed is a much deeper, richer word than happiness, because the New Testament has rescued the word from the mistaken application, and he filled it with a high, holy meaning, and he short-sighted, and he unwise. The people call me happy when life goes well with me, when we're prosperous, when we're cheerful, when we're loved by our relations, amen. But I'm gonna tell you, each and every one of you that are listening, as we look at the word blessed. I'm gonna tell you, this is people with the kinds of circumstances, it implies those that have heavenly affections, a deep inward abiding joy. Outward prosperity cannot give it, nor can adversity, affliction, suffering, pain, trials, trouble, even the death of loved ones that can take it away. Because it is like the depths of the ocean where the surface is changing all the time. Sometimes it's calm, sometimes it's waveless. At other times it's tossed back and forth by the restless winds, while the far deep below there's a continual, consistent, changeless rest of peace and silence. Happiness gives its own case away. because the root word of hat means chance. Human happiness is something that which is dependent on the chances and the changes of life, something which life may give and also destroy. Good fortune is not blessedness. Blessedness is a gift of God. Boy, I'm glad I received that in September the 17th, 1972. You see, I passed it up that morning, but that Sunday night, Hallelujah. Boy, I tell you, I couldn't stay back no further. I have made my way down to that old-fashioned altar on the right side of that altar, and I begin to cry my heart out with a convicting power that was hitting me, and I begin to confess my sins, and I ask the Lord to save my lost soul and to come into my heart and life and be the keeper of my soul and forgive me of my sins. Boy, I thank God. It becomes clear at the very beginning of the Sermon of the Mount for every one of us that happiness is not about a chance. It's something that every one of us, when we have a heavenly affection that's deep in abiding joy, boy, thank God, that's what it's all about. When we come into that type of thankfulness, Here, as we look and realize that each and every one of us, our world worships power and notoriety. Bookstores are filled with all of the quick guides to success. And you know, Our society tends to reject any evidence of weakness from a losing sports team to an elderly in poor health. In fact, many in our society consider Christians as weak people who need a crutch to lean on. But God blesses meekness in the lives of his people. And meekness is not weakness, it is power under control. Will you say it with me? Listen, meekness is not weakness, it's power under control. And so, what am I talking about? Power that is under control. I'm glad Paul said in the book of Philippians, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and been found in fashion as a man. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Boy, you know what? Every one of us, the Greek word for meekness was often used to describe a farmer breaking in a colt. The horse was a power that was under control. Amen? You see the examples of meekness from scripture. Abraham, in the book of Genesis. He tells us in Genesis 13 verses 7, 8, 9, he says, and there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. And the Cainite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land, and Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen. For we be brethren, Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, and I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right. Or, if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. Note the power postured between the herdsmen. Abraham has power to take all the land, but rather he offers a portion to Lot. You go to the left, I go to the right. I go to the right, you go to the left. Amen? Paul said, Be kindly affection one to another with brotherly love and honor, preferring one another. When we are surrendered to God, We're not afraid to surrender to one another. And so we see the example of Abraham. But secondly, Joseph, the example of Joseph in Genesis 38, chapter 38 and chapter 39, he was sold into slavery, lied about by his master's wife. He did not start a better riding campaign or a fight back organization. No, no, no. He didn't have any choice but to depend on God and to go forward with his life after he was betrayed by his own brothers and kinsmen and lied to by his own master's wife. One day he was placed into authority and his brothers came for help and he had power that he could have sought revenge. But listen, meekness reveals itself when we're right and have the power to hurt someone who is wrong. And so I thank God, every one of us. Meekness is not weakness, it's power under control. Hallelujah. Boy, I thank God each and every one of us when we realize that David as well, Abraham was an example of power. Joseph was an example of power. But David, that third example of power in 1 Samuel chapter 24, being persuaded by Paul could have taken his life, only cut a portion of his garment. That was power under control. What did I say power under control was? Meekness. Meekness because we've been transformed. And we're no longer the same person. We don't seek revenge. We're not out to get our brothers and our sisters. We're trying to do good to our neighbors and even our enemies and anybody that we come in contact with. Believe me, it's very trying sometimes. Because there's people out there that all they want is to be greedy and they don't care about nobody but themselves. but it's different. And so we see the examples of meekness from scripture, but secondly, we see the examination for meekness because Psalms 37, in the word of God tells us, fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and barely thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. And ye shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil, for evildoers shall be cut off. But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. for yet a little while and the wicked shall not be yea thou shall diligently consider his place and it shall not be but the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace every one of us when we look and realize that the lord we see the examples of meekness from scripture, from Abraham, from Joseph, from David, amen. I thank God the psalmist of Psalms 37 that I just read, it tells us not to become angry or fretful easily in verses 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. The meek man focuses his attention on Christ. Not only does it tell us not to become angry or fretful easily in Psalms 37, but it also tells us not to accept. Other words, do I accept God's word easily? Because in James chapter one, verse 21, the Bible says, wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word. Oh, that's powerful. which is able to save your souls. There was a little boy at church and he's talking. He said, I'm sitting on the outside, but I'm, but I'm standing on the outside. You know, every one of us, when we go through life, we've got to be able to do the right thing. And when we go through life today, as we begin to examine ourselves, we examine ourselves for the meekness. And just as this little boy was at church, he tells the truth. He says, I'm sitting on the outside, but I'm standing on the outside. You know, our attitude towards sinning toward a brother, that was one of the things that we need to try to do the best that we can. Because without the Lord, we've got to put our whole trust in Him. If a man has realized his own utter helplessness, and has put his whole trust in God, they'll be able to enter into life two things which are opposite sides of the same thing. He will either become completely detached from things, for he'll know that things have nothing in them that will bring happiness or security. And he will also become completely attached to God, for he will know that God alone can bring him the help, the hope, and the strength that he needs. Every one of us, when we go through life, we've gotta be able to go forward and ask the Lord to give us the grace, and may we receive it gracefully. You know, being poor in spirit is to realize that we utterly destitute apart from God. It realizes that we have nothing and we're nothing and can do nothing without the Lord and we all have need of all things. It means a complete absence of pride and self-reliance and it's a consciousness that we're nothing in the presence of God. The poverty which is blessed is the poverty of spirit. When a man or woman realizes their own utter lack of resources to meet life, they find help and strengthen God. Because every one of us, when we go through life today, Paul said, brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, Ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness. Consider thyself, lest thou also be tempted. And so, restore means to set a broken bone. So do we seek unity? Paul tells us, he says in Ephesians four, verses one, two, and three. I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you are worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. with all lowliness and meekness, with all suffering, forbearing one another in love, enduring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. You know, you can't, J. Vernon McGee always said something like this, he said, you can't believe half of what you hear, but you can repeat it, unquote. How is our attitude towards someone who disagrees with us? Paul tells us in 2 Timothy, and the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient. You know, we see all of the examples of meekness from scripture and the examination for meekness, but thirdly, in closing, we see the exercise of meekness in Galatians chapter 5, verse 23. Because each and every one of us, when we go through life, all of us, as I take my Bible over to Galatians chapter five. Galatians chapter five, verse 23. Give me just a minute, I was at turn there already. But I'll be there in just a few. Galatians chapter five. verse 23 Galatians chapter 5 verse 23 this is something that we ought to know but it says meekness temperance against such there is no law it's talking about the fruits of the spirit exercise of meekness you see fruit is cultivated it's not manufactured you know One of the most powerful things of meekness is meekness is cultivated through difficult experiences. Difficulties in life will either cultivate meekness or rebellion. And so Colossians 3.12 says, put on meekness, because when we exercise, the meekness, we begin to inherit the earth because meekness is what? It's not weakness. It is power under control. And so I'm glad that each and every one of us, when we go through life, the greatest example of meekness that the world has ever known is Jesus Christ. And I'm glad Jesus saw the multitudes in verses one and two. He talked about the poor in spirit shall be given the kingdom of heaven in verse three. And I'm glad to acknowledge spiritual poverty. Being poor in spirit does not mean that a man must be poverty-stricken or financially poor. Hunger, nakedness, or slums are not pleasing to God, especially in a world of plenty. Christ is not talking about material poverty. He means what he says, poor in spirit. Being poor in spirit means several things. To acknowledge our honor, helplessness before God, and our spiritual poverty, our spiritual need, that we're solely dependent upon God to meet our needs. Amen. And to acknowledge our utter lack in facing life and eternity apart from God. To acknowledge the real blessings of life and eternity come only from a right relationship with our Heavenly Father. To acknowledge our utter lack of superiority before all others and our spiritual deadness before God is to acknowledge that we are no better, no richer, no more superior than the next person. No matter what we have achieved in this world of fame, fortune, power, our attitude toward others is not proud and halting, nor superior or overbearing. Because to be poor in spirit means acknowledging that every human being is a real person just like everyone else. A person who has significant contribution to make to society and to the world. The person that is poor in spirit approaches life in humility and appreciation. And so Every one of us when we look and realize that how truly blessed the two critical steps that are taken by a person who truly acknowledges his spiritual poverty is that he or she turns primarily all of their attention away from the things of this world and They know things can never make them rich in spirit and he or she turns their primarily attention to God and his kingdom because everyone or to know that God alone can make him or her rich in the spirit. The poor in spirit are the weary and burdened for the world, and they know the truth of this world and of eternity, and they set their face to do their part for both. And so I thank God, each and every one of us. He talks about in verse four to have a broken heart. And so, those who mourn shall be comforted is what he's telling us about in verse four. And so it's the strongest word possible for mourning. It's like the deep mourning and the wailing that occurs over the death of a loved one. It's sorrow, desperate, helpless sorrow. Sorrowful sin, a broken heart over evil and suffering. It's brokenness of self that comes from seeing Christ on the cross and realizing that our sins put Him there. And so who is it that mourns? Who is it that's full of grief that they cry and weep and they groan deep from within? There are three persons who mourn and utter such groanings in our lives today. each and every one of us, of those three people, the person who desperately is sorry for his sins and unworthiness before God, I'm glad that that's one person that has a sense of sin that his heart is just broken. The second one is a person who really feels the desperate plight and terrible suffering of others, the tragedies, the problems, the sinful behavior, the state of the condition, the lostness of the world, and all of the weight ever so heavily upon the heart of the mourner. And the third person is the one that experiences personal tragedy and intense trauma. Boy, I'm gonna tell you, each and every one of us, as we go through life and begin to realize that God is doing some great things in all of our lives. Men, as we mourn over our sins, that leads to confession and humility before God, resulting in being lifted up. The person who mourns is comforted by Christ himself. And so Christ was called the man of sorrows. There was a godly sorrow, but there's also a worldly sorrow out there today. There's that self-centered sorrow that people have. But lastly, we see verse five of power that's under control, talking about meekness, and that is, the meek shall inherit the earth. to have a strong but tender and humble life. It is a strong yet teachable spirit. It's not being weak, bowing, or spineless. It's a man or woman who is strong, very strong, and yet they're humble and tender. It's a man or woman with all the emotions and ability to take and to conquer, but they're able to control themselves. It's discipline. A man or woman that's disciplined because they're God-controlled. The opposite of meekness is arrogance and pride. And too many people, their superiority and self-sufficiency, but a meek person knows that they have needs and they don't have all of the answers. And so each and every one of us, as we humble ourselves before the Lord and begin to realize that we know that without the Lord, we're nothing. The person that's gentle, not easily provoked, that's always in control, dealing with people, cool, even-tempered, able to show displeasure without reacting impulsively, able to answer softly. I'm glad that many of us, as we go through life, begin to realize that You know, those are the things that each and every one of us, you know, being poor in spirit yields future awards in heaven, but also great and wonderful blessings in the present. Are you poor in spirit? Do you accept God's plan for your life? Do you recognize your weaknesses and limitations, but also your strength? Do you comprehend the truth that Paul shared with the Philippians, that I can do all things to Christ which strengthen me? Every one of us, when we look in real life, when a person is dependent upon the Lord, they're dependent upon Him for everything, but most of all, His salvation. And when we put our faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we're able to do the most astonishing thing that no one else can ever do, praise God, because as we get ready to go and as we talk about mourning, as we talk about those, in verse five, that have the meekness, power that's under control, each and every one of us, as we go through life and begin to realize that God wants to bless us tremendously. God wants to give us a power that's under His control, amen. When we begin to deal with grief, oh, I tell you, I've had so much death recently in having to deal with this that it's been very, very trying. But I want to tell you this, that when we look and realize that how to get the greatest inheritance is that third beatitude which deals with the issue of meekness. As we look at meekness, it's difficult to find, but I'm going to tell you, as I said, meekness with just one word, it's like a rainbow with many colors, as I say. And as it goes out and has all of those different colors of it, the meekness that's demonstrated in conflict over possessions. Greed that destroys meekness, that distorts common sense and pollutes our priorities. Meekness that demonstrates when the call of God was challenged. Each and every one of us as we go through life, we look at David, we looked at Abraham, we looked at Joseph, amen, and we begin to realize of all the different things that they begin to share with us. In Jesus' time, a meek Messiah was not in the mindset of the Jewish people who wanted to break the shackles of the Roman rule. All the Jews hoped for deliverance from some sort. By some means, many were expecting deliverance to come through their Messiah. And the Pharisees, the religious conservatives, expected the Messiah to come with a great fanfare and a mighty show of supernatural power, that he would be a miraculous Messiah. The Pharisees assumed that he would be miraculously throw off the yoke of the Roman and establish a Jewish state and revive theocracy and a holy commonwealth that would rule the world. But I'm going to tell you, as we realize that As things begin to progress, Jesus was not that one. He came with a meekness. Meekness needs to be sought because we tend to not have it in our lives. And it is a trait that we need to pursue because it tends to not come naturally to every one of us. There's an ancient tale from India about a young man who was seeking God and he went to a wise old sage for help. How can I find God? He asked the old man, and the old man took him to a nearby river. And out they waded into the deep water. Soon, the water was just under his chin. Barely, barely. keeping his head up. Suddenly the old man seized the young man by the neck and he pushed him under the water. He held the young man down until the young man was flaying his arms in desperation and another minute and he would have well drowned. Up out of the water the two of them came and the young man was coughing water from the very depths of his lungs, still gasping for air, reaching the bank He asked the old man, why did you have to do that? Why did you have to do that? And the old man said quietly, while you were under the water, what did you want more than anything else? And the young man thought for a minute and then he answered, I wanted air. I wanted air more than anything else. And the old man replied, when you want God as much as you wanted air, you will find him. You know, every one of us, Meekness involves a good deal of humility and recognizing that we too could fall into temptation and sin if we're not careful. And if we approach the waywardness with a proud attitude, then we'll react to our pride and respond with indifference. Each and every one of us, as we go through life, arrogance and pride and a cocky spirit are traits that should not characterize the servants of the Lord. And so, as we look at the effects of weakness, as we close out, each and every one of us, as we get ready to go our separate ways, God is pleased by our meek spirit, and when we have this attitude, we end up bringing glory to Him. And so, each and every one of us, as we get ready to close out, I hope and pray that you would want God as much as you want to breathe air. January the 31st 2006 the issue of USA Today record the story of a priest that was being sued by an atheist because the priests said Jesus existed. The lifelong atheist sued the priest because he stated in the church newsletter that Jesus was born in Bethlehem to a couple named Mary and Joseph and that he lived in Nazareth. And the atheist stated this was an abuse of popular belief. He was suing the priest because he was profiting from the fable of Christ and that the church was guilty of impersonation by confusing the person of Jesus with another man named John. Gamala who lived in Israel around the time of Christ and the atheists claim that Jesus never existed at all we all of course know this is a bunch of of of falseness Christ existed and he was born of a virgin God was his father He not only existed, but he also came back in Overcome death hell in the grave. I want to ask you Are you ready? Are you ready for what the Lord has in mind for you? Each and every one of us, as we close out power that's under control, every one of us can receive the greatest blessings if we'll just trust the Lord. Father, may we be still and know that you're God. May we exalt you among the heathen. May we exalt you throughout all of the earth. As we commune with you in our own heart, may we be still and realize the power that you have for us. Help us, Lord, as Paul said, to not avenge ourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. Vengeance is not mine. And Lord, I pray God that As we do so, we shall heap coals of fire upon their heads. Give us the meekness, which is a power that is under control. May God bless you is our prayer.