Sunday Morning Service 10:30AM- Care for a Slice of Humble Pie - James 4:1-17 -Pastor Jarrod Doyal

ahead and go ahead and open them up to James chapter 3 or excuse me 4 James chapter 4 James chapter 4 when we last left last left off in James sorry we primarily talked about the evidence that comes from having from from faith in Jesus Paul rightly says that it's that it is grace that we are saying that we are saved in Ephesians chapter 2 it's not faith and works it's not faith and anything it's faith alone that we are saved you know but the question is always how do we know that we are saved you know I've had I've had a lot of youth come up to me through the years and say Jared how do I know that I am saved well won't there be some evidence of it absolutely and that's what we're going to be talking about in this

reading now is the next day of the coming of Jesus and the day of the resurrection and that's where the works come in that's where the works come in too many times people think that becoming a believer a follower of Jesus is just a simple prayer of asking Jesus into your life and that's it you can go back to live in life how you were not for the Lord and that's that's completely not true you know and Paul is so much against this train of thought I didn't his letter to the church in Rome he says now that we are no longer under on sinning? And he says, by no means. If we're going to claim to be followers of Jesus, then there needs to be some evidence. So where's your evidence? Where's your fruit? James then closes

out chapter three by talking about earthly wisdom versus godly wisdom. Earthly wisdom is envious. It's full of selfish ambition. And he goes on to say that when earthly wisdom is present, typically there's also disorder and strife. And that's where we're going to pick up this morning in chapter four, verse one. And it says this, what is the source of wars and fights among

you? Don't they come from your passions that wage war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don't receive because you ask with war. You have wrong motives so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Just a fair warning. James is going to really nail us to the wall here. So just buckle up. In these first three verses, James is addressing something that I think is all too common among our culture and even within the church today. And that's greed and prideful envy. That's greed and prideful envy. You know, if you really think about it, it's like greed is what drives our entire economy.

I mean, think about this. From like, probably even before Halloween, really, like you'll start seeing, you'll start seeing Christmas stuff out. You'll start seeing ads for Black Friday sales. You know, every commercial from Halloween until Christmas is, or until Black Friday is nothing but Black Friday stuff. Every car commercial from Halloween until Christmas is, step into a new F-150 this

holiday season, you know? And it's all playing into this carnal, prideful envy that we all deal with. You know, I actually used to watch the news growing up on Black Friday just to see who got in fights at Walmart, you know? It was kind of funny. There would always be somebody that gets in a fight over the last 60-inch TV. And, you know, for me, though, I, me personally, I like looking at houses. I like looking at people's houses on

Zillow. It's kind of fun. You know, I would get on there. I used to get on there like every day and just see what houses are for sale. And then I would sit there and think like, oh, man, this is a nice house. And then I was sitting there thinking about my house. I'm sitting there going like, man, compared to this house, my house is a dump. You know, I'm living in a shanty over here.

But, and then I would just think, Lord, if you would just bless me with this new house here, I'd be perfectly happy. I'd be perfectly happy. Did you catch that last part? I'd be perfectly happy. Where's the focus here? It's not on God. It's not in anybody else, but it's squarely on me. The focus is on me and what I want and what would make me happy. And it's that prideful, selfish envy that's at the root of all

of it. I would ask the Lord, but I would ask with the wrong motives. I would ask the Lord, Lord, would you please bless me with this house or bless me with you name it, you know? But I would ask with the wrong motives. I would ask because I want me to be happy. You know, I want, I want to build my kingdom, not his, but mine. You know, so, so many times I've asked the Lord, but I would ask with the wrong motives. I would ask

with the wrong motives. I would ask with the wrong motives. I would ask with the wrong motives. You know, so many fights and divisions within our culture and even within the church are rooted in this prideful envy, this selfish desire to further our kingdom, to further our glory and not God's. And what it really, when you really boil it all down, it comes down to, it's a war between the flesh and the Holy Spirit within us. Notice verse four

here. James says, you adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God. Or do you think it's without reason that the scripture says, the spirit he made to dwell in us envies intensely? God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. James really nails

us to the wall right there, doesn't he? He says, you adulterous people, pretty harsh words, if you think about it. But truly, truly, if you think about this, many of us have made anything and everything and everyone God of our lives, except God. A lot of people make the American dream their God. They want that nice house. They want those brand new cars, two and a half kids, tan beauty on their arm, you know what I'm saying?

But think about this. We as believers are called the bride of Christ. We are the bride of Christ. And if we love anything and anyone more than Jesus, then it's considered adultery. Israel constantly chased other gods. You read through the Old Testament, you'll find out they constantly chased other gods. They chased anything but God and they committed spiritual

adultery. And to me, it doesn't seem all that different today. Our gods just look a little bit different. They don't look the same. They don't look the same. They don't look the same. They don't look the same. They don't look the same. They don't look the same. They don't look the same. You know, we're obsessed with building our own kingdom. We're obsessed with the American dream,

having, again, that perfect house, those brand new cars, two and a half kids, and so on. And we'll work in an insane amount of hours, you know, and take on insane amounts of debt in order to be able to build our kingdom. All that we can think about, seems to me, is how we can accumulate more. more stuff more money more cars more houses more land more this more that you name it we want more we want more of the world but look at what james says here in verse four he says don't you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward god the more that we want of the world that means the less that we want of god the more that we are friendly with the world the more that we are enemies of god no wonder he calls us an adulterous people

again if you read through the old testament you'll see that israel constantly seeking to be more like the world you know they wanted a king just like the rest of the world so god gave him a king he gave him king saul and it didn't turn out very good for them they didn't turn out very good for them they didn't turn out very good for them they wanted to worship just like the rest of the world so they did they would practice child sacrifice and these other grotesque idol worship practices they exchanged the one true god for a false god and again honestly it's not really that different today we still practice child sacrifice we just dress it up differently and call it choice we still worship false idols today they just look different they have different

names they look like sports money status possessions convenience any of those things and i think james is absolutely right in calling us an adulterous people because more often than not i find myself chasing after anything and everything but god and we want everything out of a selfish desire again to build our own kingdom and for our own pleasures and therefore we're constantly in this war with our flesh notice verse five it says or do you think it's without reason that the scripture says the spirit he made to dwell in us envies intensely you see when we become believers we become followers of jesus christ the holy spirit is placed inside of us and that's where he dwells he dwells within us

but the problem that we see from the moment we become a believer uh till the day that we die is that we are constantly in a war with our flesh the flesh seeks its own place and we are constantly forced to live lives that do not belong to us even if we will does not belong to us this people have already been enslaved we all have been stung by that sin this is theowo that's the way that our flesh to see is a sin可以 rheumatism as for we might 异変的 섞阂 with our flesh as circle aeticina this is the зав天します something that non-human and there is nothing more un checking let's go see jesus you so Предастин Holy Spirit within us that seeks to glorify God and build His kingdom. So the question becomes,

the question becomes, how do we overcome the flesh? How do we see victory over that in our lives? Excuse me, I apologize. How do we see victory over that in our lives, over those prideful, envious, selfish desires? The answer is, it's by God's grace. It's by God's grace. Look at verse six here. But He gives greater grace. Therefore, He said, God, He says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. That word resists there in the Greek is entitaso, which means to take up a battle position against. God gives grace to the humble, but resists the proud. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Those are two contrasting statements there. David Guzik's commentary puts it like this. Grace and pride are eternal enemies. I think too many of us come before God all the time,

demanding things of God, treating Him like He's Santa Claus. And guess what? God's going to force feed us a slice of humble pie if we're not careful. Okay? I've been around some awful prideful people in my life, and they act like they're the best thing since sliced bread. They act like their mere existence on earth makes my life a thousand times better. And I've seen some awful things happen in the

name of pride. We have an entire month dedicated to it. You know, we have entire leagues of pro athletes whose pride makes them think that just because they can dribble a ball or throw a football that they are completely invincible. Excuse me. I told this story to first service, but I actually went to high school with a guy who was really, really good at football. He played wide receiver, and he got a full ride

to Oklahoma State, and he did very, very well. So much so that he actually got drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he played two years for them. Did well. He started out very, very well. When he started in the NFL, he was one of the top receivers in the entire NFL. However, his pride became a really, really big problem in his life. In his mind, he thought

because he could catch a football and run faster than the guy chasing him, and because he made stupid money, he could do whatever he wanted. You know, he thought he could have whoever he wanted and whatever he wanted. He thought he could party constantly and still be able to do what he did. And then all of a sudden, the drugs and alcohol finally caught up with him. He landed himself in

lots of trouble with the law, and it all went away. The Jags cut him mid-season, and the root of it all was his pride. His pride told him that he was the best and not God.

His pride told him that his mere existence on earth made my life better, not God's. His pride told him that he could have anything he wanted and do anything he wanted, and he could do anything he wanted. His pride told him that nothing was off-limits. Strangely enough, when I knew him in high school, I knew him to be a believer, and I knew him to be a believer, and therefore God had to essentially force-feed him a slice of humble pie. God took up a battle position against him because

of his pride, but the opposite is also true here. Those who humble themselves before God, God gives grace. He gives his unmerited favor. Now, please don't misunderstand me here. There's nothing that you can do to earn his grace, to earn his unmerited favor. It's unearned favor. You can't do anything to earn it. So what does he mean here?

What it really means is if we were to humble ourselves, it puts us in a position to receive his grace. It's like if you're praying for rain, aren't you going to go out and get the ground ready for it, to get the ground ready to receive it? You're going to put that ground in a position to actually receive the rain and grow what you're trying to grow. We humble ourselves before God, and we realize that we are great sinners, and Christ is a great Savior, and that apart from Christ, we are nothing, and we deserve nothing, and we come to this realization of our great need of Christ in our lives. And when we do that,

we put ourselves in a position to receive that grace. Paul said it well when he said, we are no longer under the law, but under grace. You know, I've been around some of y'all long enough to know, pride is a problem in some of y'all's lives. And just know, God won't put up with it. He won't put up with your pride. So may I suggest, if pride is an issue that you are

dealing with, maybe it's time to humble yourself. Because if you don't, God will do it for you, and it won't be pretty. Verse 7 here, moving on, says, Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable, and mourn, and weep.

Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. The question becomes now, is what is the cure for pride? What's the cure for pride? Look at verse 7 here. James tells us the answer there in verse 7. Submit to God. Submit to God, step one, and resist the devil, step two. But the question becomes,

are you so prideful that you can't submit? Are you so prideful and worried about your own image and what others will think of you that you cannot submit or surrender your pride to God? Because that is the cure for it. The cure for pride is surrender. Will you finally set your pride aside and come before God humbly and say, God, I can't do it no more. I can't do it. I know that I will

never be good enough without you. I know that no amount of possessions will ever make me happy. I know that apart from you, I am not good enough. No amount of talent or good deeds is ever going to be good enough to satisfy your righteous standards. I need you. Will you finally set your pride aside and say those things? Step one, the cure for pride, surrender. Submit,

step two, resist the devil. And when we come to faith in Christ, you know, we're coming to this realization that not only are we in desperate need of a savior, we're also coming to this realization that no amount of worldliness, no amount of possessions, no amount of money, no amount of pride, no amount of anything, none of that can fulfill us. Therefore, when the devil comes against us, with these worldly temptations, we are to resist him. It says we are, when we submit ourselves to him, we then resist the devil and he will flee. We are to resist or stand against, to stand in

opposition. Now, I'm not saying that you need to go and sell everything that you own and become a homeless person. That's not exactly what I'm saying here, okay? But what I am saying is that maybe it's time to come into submission to God's will for you. Maybe it's time to surrender these things that are taking the place in your heart that only God is meant to dwell. Maybe it's time, as James says here, to draw near to God and he will draw near

to you, to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts. You know, as you submit yourself to God and his will, draw near to him. Draw near to him. Spend time in his word. Spend time in prayer. You know, I have youth kids come up to me all the time and they say, Jared, I feel really, really distant from God and I don't know why. And I'll ask him, when's the last time you spent time in the word? When's the last time you

spent time in prayer? He can't tell me. I will direct them to God's word. I'll direct them to spend time in prayer. I'll direct them to God's word. I'll direct them to spend time in prayer. Draw near to him because then he's, guess what? He's going to draw near to you. If you're feeling distant, that's the best way to get close to him. Spend time in his word. Spend time in prayer.

Get on your knees and talk to him because your creator wants to hear from you. Sit the iPhone down, dust the Bible off the shelf, and draw close to God. Because maybe it's time, maybe it's time to humble ourselves and surrender. Whatever it is that's holding us back from following him. And as James says here in verse nine, he says, be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your

joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. Understand, God doesn't necessarily want us moping around and walking around in depression all the time. That's not what this means here, okay? What he wants is for us to be able to humble ourselves and surrender. What this does mean is what he wants to know and see is that we are truly sorry.

We are truly broken for our sin and rebellion. Jesus said in Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount, he says, blessed are the poor in spirit for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. And then pay attention. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Blessed are those who are poor in spirit. Those who know that without Jesus, they are spiritually bankrupt.

And blessed are those who mourn over their sin and their spiritual bankruptcy. Believer, are you broken over your sin? Have you come to this place of realizing that your pride is what may be keeping you from following Jesus with all of your heart? And if not, it's time to surrender that pride, to lay it down and repent. It's time to come to this place of brokenness over your sin because blessed are those who mourn for they will be

comforted. And in laying down your pride and humbling yourself before God, you put yourself in this position to receive that grace. And as verse 10 says, he says, he will exalt you. He will exalt you. Not you. He will. I've seen some of y'all try to exalt yourself sometimes and it's not pretty. Stop it. Let him do it. Okay. Verse 11. It says, don't criticize one another, brothers and sisters.

Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. Pay attention here. There is one lawgiver and one judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? In laying down our pride and humbling ourselves before God, it also means that we are to humble

ourselves. Before others and to change how we talk, how we act, and how we treat others.

You know, one of my, one of my, not my favorite, but one of my favorite Christmas movies is the Muppet Christmas Carol. And, and we've all seen, we've all seen the, the Christmas Carol movies, you know, the main character Scrooge. And in the beginning, you know, Scrooge is, well, Scrooge, you know, he's, he's a horrible human being. He's horrible. He tells, he,

he treats people with, with contempt and he's awful to them. He's mean to them. He talks poorly of others. But after, after he's humbled by these three ghosts, he has a change of heart. Notice there's a noticeable change in him. Yes, he still has all his, all his money, but guess what? He's kind. He's generous with it. He changes how he talks to people. He blesses people instead of

curses them. Okay. Now, excuse me, apologies. I'm going to be transparent with, with, with you guys. I'm growing up. I told this story to first service as well. Growing up, I grew up in Newkirk until about 1997 or so, but you know, we didn't have a lot of homeless people in town. I'd never seen one before. And, you know, my whole thought on, on homeless people was that, you know, if they

want, they, if they want my grace, they want my grace. They want my grace. They want my grace. And love, they need to get off their butts and go get a job. That was truly, that was truly my thoughts on that. And after, after 97, we moved to, we moved to Ardmore, Oklahoma. And about my junior year of high school, our youth group took a missions trip to Houston. And while we were

there, we went to inner city Houston and we, we served the homeless community. We helped them out. We gave them food, gave them, medicine and all, all the, all the things, you know, sat there and talked with them for a little while. And it was a, certainly an eyeopening experience, but in all honesty, it didn't really change. It didn't really change. It didn't really change my thoughts or my heart on,

on the whole subject. Fast forward to June of 2008, I was in college. I took an independent study where we spent two weeks in Kolkata, India. Let's see, about, I think it was about 18 million then, somewhere between 50 and 50 million. And I was in college. I was in college. I was in college. I was 15 and 20 million, I think. But, um, from the time I walked out the front door of the

airport in Kolkata to the time I walked back through it, going home two weeks later, I had dozens and dozens and dozens of homeless people approach me begging me for money. I'd never happened to, that has never happened to me before. You know, they were, they were asking a broke college kid from Oklahoma for money. Guys, I was there on somebody else's dime. They're asking a

broke college kid from Oklahoma for money. This is weird. It, something I figured out that just really, that really just shocked me is that people will rent out babies for the purposes of begging there. I mean, I've never experienced that before in my entire life. Never seen it. Never even heard of it. I mean, how can people do that? But yet that's what happens there all the time. One day

we took a trip to the, farther side of the city to, uh, along the Ganges river, there was a homeless community and all you can see for miles is just scrap pieces of metal, cardboard and tarps slapped together to make shelters. There's no electricity. There's no water. There's, there's open sewers. I mean, it's disgusting, but that's how people live there. And then I think the one thing that, that really,

that really changed my heart on this whole, this whole issue was we took a trip over to one of the, uh, mother Teresa's missions. And, uh, they were giving us a tour through this place and I'll never forget, you know, we were walking through there, there's sick people everywhere and they're caring for them and they're doing wonderful things. They took us upstairs and they were opening up some of these rooms. And in one of those rooms, there was a guy sitting in the corner. He had nothing but strips of cloth all over his body.

This man had leprosy. Guys, I didn't, I didn't think that actually still existed. I was just that young, dumb, naive college kid. I thought that stuff only existed in the Bible, but it still exists. This guy had leprosy and I'm going to want to get too graphic, but I mean, it was taking its toll on his body. You know what I'm saying? It, I could clearly see that

where this leprosy had, had taken its toll on his body. And again, like I said, up until I, up until I was a kid, I was a kid. I was a kid. I was a kid. I was a kid. I was a kid. I was a kid. I was a kid. I thought leprosy was something that only existed in biblical times. But from that point on, my whole view, my whole view of, of, of people changed. I've just people in general. It changed

forever. You know, every time I see a homeless person now, my, my thought, my thought is no longer, they need to go get a job. You know, they need to, they need to pull themselves up. That's not, that's not it. Every time I see one now, my thought is, is that Jesus loves them too. He loves them just as much, just as much as he loves you and me. You know, every time I go up

here to, to Casey's on the corner, there's usually somebody sitting out there begging for food. And I just have to think, God loves him too. He loves the unlovable. And I can stand there and judge and criticize others, but I myself, I'm then the judge. I'm putting myself in a place that only God is meant to be. You don't believe me. Look at verse 12. It says that there is one lawgiver

and judge who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? Who are you to judge your neighbor? You know, when I judge another, when I judge other people, I'm trying to find fault with them. And guess what? I will. I will find, I will find fault with people. And guess what? You'll find fault with me too. There's no one that I won't find fault with. And if you were to examine my life closely, I guess,

again, you'll find plenty of fault with me. Therefore, who am I to judge my neighbor and humbling myself and walking closely with the Lord? There's going to be a change, maybe not an immediate change, but there will be a change in how we, in how we act. How we talk, how we treat others. There will be a noticeable change. You know, I won't be so critical of others, although I do admittedly still struggle with this from time to time.

But the longer I walk humbly with the Lord, the more I see people of the way he does. A sinner's in need of a savior. Now, understand that this doesn't mean that we shouldn't ever judge. Okay. Understand that, there is a time and place for using what the Bible calls discernment. Okay. I do want to, I do want to offer this one caveat here. Okay. Jesus himself used the parable of a tree and its

fruit. Excuse me. He says, he says, you will know a tree, what kind of tree it is by its fruit. You'll be able to judge what kind of tree it is by its fruit. You know, I can talk with most everyone in here. Within about five or 10 minutes, I could tell that most everyone in here is a believer and a Christian. Okay. I can judge or discern that most everyone in here is a believer by the way you talk,

by what you talk about, by the joy that I see in your life because of Jesus. And in life, we are going to be called to use discernment. But when it, when it comes to judging others for the purpose of finding fault with people, I'll leave that to God. If you're looking for fault in me, don't worry, you'll find it. Okay. Plenty of it. But remember, God can certainly find fault in every one of us, but guess what? There's good news.

And walking humbly before God, there is grace because God gives grace to the humble. Okay. Moving on. Verse 13. Come now, you who say today or tomorrow, we will travel to such and such a city. And spend a year there and do business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring, what your life will be for you are like a vapor that appears for a little while and then

vanishes. Instead, you should say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. But as it is, you boast in your arrogance and all such boasting is evil. So it is then to know the good and yet not do it. In this last section, James continues on with this. And he talks about those who in their pride will say, look, you know, I'm going to get a new job

and I'm going to move away because then maybe my, my life will be better there. Maybe I'll be happy there. You know, I've known folks like this who in their pride, they'll, they'll call me up and say, Jared, guess what? What? I got a new job. Okay. That's awesome. What is it? And they'll tell me what it is. And they'll say, well, I'm moving. I'm moving away. I'm like, okay,

well, I hope everything works out for you. Best of luck. Then three months later, they'll call me again. So Jared, I got a new job and I'm moving. And I'll go, what happened to the last one? I wasn't happy there. They're, they're holding out for a management position, but, but they have it in their head that, that everything with this new job is going to work out. They're going to get a

promotion after a month, you know, and they're going to make tons of money. And then maybe, just maybe they'll, they'll be happy. And it never works out that way. They're constantly searching for the, searching the world for something better only to find that there is nothing better. They go out and they try to find something better in the world again and again and again, only to be disappointed again and again and again. They never stopped to think,

is this what God really wants for me? They never stopped to ask God, is this, is this where you want me to be? Am I doing what you want me to do? Sometimes that's us. Sometimes it's me. Sometimes I never stopped to think and all the plans that I make, I never stopped to think, Lord, is this what you want? Is this what you want me to do? Is this what you want me to say?

Am I doing what you want me to do? Am I going where you want me to go?

Sometimes walking humbly before the Lord involves laying down our pride, and asking those hard questions. And friends, if you begin to ask those questions of the Lord, be prepared. He may want you to make some drastic changes in your life. Okay? A little more than a year ago, I was working, I had one of those sweet work at home gigs. And, and I truly, I mean, I did like the job. I had great boss who was a believer,

my co-workers were believers. I mean, it was awesome. But somehow I became dissatisfied. You know, and so I just began to seek the Lord. I began to seek the Lord. Is this what you really want for me? Am I where you want me to be? Am I doing what you want me to do? And right around that same time, the need came up for a full-time associate pastor here. And to make a long story short,

over the course of about two or three months, somebody threw my name out as a potential candidate. And after seeking the Lord, I asked God, I said, Lord, if you want this for me, I need you to make it happen. I need you to make it happen because I want no part of this if you're not gonna be in it. And he did. He made it happen. He provided everything. He did everything.

He opened every door. And I could have stayed in that other job and I probably could have gone on to make a bunch of money. But in walking with the Lord, I have a question that I have to ask myself each and every time. Lord, is this what you want for me? Is this what you want for my family? Am I doing what you want me to do?

Is this what God wants? I can make all kinds of plans, guys. But if God's not in it, then guess what? I don't want it. I don't want to do it. James says in verse 15, he says, instead, you should say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. But as it is, you boast in your arrogance and all such boasting is evil. So it is sin to know, to know the good and yet not do it.

Guys, we're here on earth for a very short period of time. The question becomes, will you spend your time that is given to you seeking to build your own kingdom? Seeking your own selfish, prideful desires and envies?

Or will you spend your time building God's kingdom and seeking his glory? Will you follow your own prideful, envious desires or will you submit? Will you surrender to him and his will for your life? You know, the new year's here. It's upon us. You know, it's time for everybody to make those resolutions. Time to renew those gym memberships. And the question becomes,

how are you going to spend this next year? Will you seek to build your kingdom or his? Okay, with that, I'll go ahead and close. And I'll go ahead and ask the worship team to come on up. Father, we come before you this morning. Thank you. Thank you for your word. Lord, help us to surrender. Lord, whatever it is that is keeping us from following you, Lord God,

if that is our pride, help us to surrender that to you, Lord. Help us to resist the enemy, the worldly desires. Help us to follow you. Help us to seek you out each and every day and to build your kingdom and glorify you, Father. We love you, Lord, and we praise you. And in Jesus' name, amen.

Would welcome me I was lost, but he brought me in Oh, his love for me Oh, his love for me Through the sun sets free Oh, is free indeed I'm a child of God Yes, I am He has ransomed me His grace runs deep While I was a slave to sin Jesus died for me Yes, he died for me Through the sun Oh, a child There's a place A child Not forsaken For me Not against me I am who you say I am chosen Not forsaken I am who you are for me Not against me I am Yes, I am who There's a child There's a place Yes, I am Father, we just thank you for another day and thank you for your word. It is sharp and powerful, Lord. And it's able to discern right from wrong. And it's able to divide down to the marrow.

Lord, I just pray that your word would have its mighty effect in our lives, Lord God. Cut away everything that doesn't need to be there. And Lord, help us to glorify you, Father. I ask you blessing upon each and every one of us as we leave here today. I ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Guys, have a wonderful week and happy New Year's to you. Love you guys.