Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

In Due Time Pt.2

Ah, glory! Aren't you thankful for that refuge in the storm? Amen? Let's turn to 1 Peter; we want to continue with our study. Then, following the time we have in study, we're going to be taking a few minutes to dedicate Samara Ann Reich. Thank God for the work taking place in that little body! We believe she's going to be completely whole. Amen? It's already far better than we were told it could be and the Lord isn't through yet, praise God! We just want to continue believing for that miracle, that grace of God, to manifest.

First Peter, Chapter 5: we were dealing Wednesday with Peter's admonition to the shepherds, and the spirit they were to oversee the flock of God in, and the need to, if we're ever going to represent the kingdom properly, imbibe the spirit Jesus manifested as the Chief Shepherd: that's the spirit of humility, the spirit of the servant, the emptying of self so we can properly represent Father. That's what Jesus' whole expression was in the incarnation. God became flesh and dwelt among us, the Scripture says, and Jesus in the flesh showed what God's original intention for man was: one of reflecting the glory of God and not taking it to ourselves in any way. Everything we're being called to do is to bring us back to that place of absolute childlike faith and reliance upon Father. Humility is just total reliance and trust in God's care for us. That's what Peter goes on to say in this passage. In the fifth chapter, verse 6: "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." We see, then, that God's going to put pressures on us in our life: trials. How many of you are in a trial right now, and you're counting it all joy? How many of you are in a trial right now, and you'd like to count it all joy? How many of you are in a trial right now, and you don't want anything about joy, you just want out? We're all faced with the same desires; we don't like the pressures God puts on us to make us like Himself. We want to be like Him, but not through His process.

We saw the need to buy gold that was tried in the fire. Nothing in your life is going to come that's good that doesn't cost you something, that doesn't put pressure on you, that isn't through a refining process because the fact is there is no good in us. All that is self, all that is man, has to be purged, that the Christlikeness can begin to emerge. That which is in the inner man: the hidden man of the heart. It can be revealed only through the humbling process God's calling us to. He's going to put pressure on you; then, in due time, He will exalt you. We seem to think that exaltation is one that says, "Now, praise God, I get to drive my Rolls Royce; my name gets to go up in lights; and everybody will know who I am; and I'll be able to have everything I want." That's not what God's talking about. The exalting is: In due time, God will free you from yourself. That's exaltation. God will make you a representation of Himself: that is exaltation. He'll give you the highest place: servant of all. That's what we need so desperately in our lives. There's nothing, nothing we can do but come to that place of death to self, of emptying self, that will allow us to be able to bring glory to God. You can't build great buildings in His name; you can't become a great humanitarian; you can't build religious empires. "To be nothing in God's presence is the glory of man." To be nothing in God's presence is the glory of man. That's what we're to pursue. I just want to come to the place where I can be nothing in the presence of God. There is no higher calling; there is no higher glory you can attain than being able to walk up to Him empty of self because of what His grace has done in our lives. That's our ambition. It's vital, and we need to attain that. God's service is your greatest liberty. To be a slave for God is your greatest liberty. To be involved in representing Him by Him is your glory and your liberty from sin, self and everything that's destructive. How do we do this? Verse 7 says, "...casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." The reason most of us have trouble with humbling ourselves or becoming totally reliant upon God and not self is: we just don't trust God. We're not willing to cast the care on Him. We don't believe He cares for us, really. Can you say you're at the place in your life where you are one hundred percent, absolutely, totally, reliant upon God for everything, and at the place where you know what He's doing in your life right now is good: it's good for you; it's good for the kingdom; and you delight in it and you joy in it and you're completely at peace with yourself?

As I look at myself, and I know how much God needs to deal with me, the reason I know humility is so needed in my life is that I'm not happy with myself, which tells me I still have ambition for self. A lot of my ambition is to be like the Lord, but I want to do it my way. The path God has chosen for me, to bring me to the place of being like Himself, I'm not real crazy about. Does anybody identify with what I'm talking about? That's pride; and it's not casting the care upon Him. I desire to be like Him in my way, in my time. I really want to be humble, and I want to be a servant, when I want to be humble and I want to be a servant. I would really like to do it all the time if it doesn't cost me too much. Can anybody say, "Oh, me"?

Here's what we're dealing with: How are we going to come to that place where we know the presence of God in our lives? There's really only one way to know for sure whether God's present in your life or not, that's when you can recognize the absence of self. The only way to know for sure that God is present in your life is when you recognize the absence of self. "Where'd self go? Whoa!" Have you realized that, as you come to holiness, and God's purifying your life, that's how things happen? All of a sudden you realize: "That thing's gone! That thing that used to dominate me, that thing that used to haunt me: it's not there anymore!" Those little things begin to fall off. We're looking to see that happen in toto as self is absent, because where God is all, self is nothing. Where God is all, self is nothing. Until self is nothing, God is not all. Do you still have self that you can recognize? Then God is not all: there's still something for us to attain; there's work that needs to be done; there's a refining process; there need to be more trials; there needs to be more pressure; there needs to be more discipline. We need to count it all joy because it's working in us the peaceable fruit of righteousness. It's working in us the virtue of patience. Patience is the fruit of humility. I can endure long when I don't think I'm too good to have to endure it. I can endure long when I don't think I have a better idea and time schedule than God. Patience is the fruit of humility. Many of us are working for patience when we need to look at humility in our lives.

We're going to look at the teaching of Jesus this morning on humility, and see His instruction to us. In humility we're able to be thankful in all things; and we don't think we deserve more and we don't have to have more. Let's look at the teachings of Jesus, and come to see what He requires of us. Then we're going to see not only what His requirements are and recognize some things in our lives that are lacking, but we're going to talk about how to get there. How can we cast our care upon Him with the assurance that He does care for us? What is keeping that from happening in our lives? The next verse says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Everything Satan is doing is trying to rob us of this virtue called humility. Satan is constantly feeding you with the spirit of pride and selfness: the original sin we're all very aware of that took place in the garden with Eve. Your eyes will be open; you'll become as gods; you'll become independent; you'll be able to make your own decisions; you'll understand. We've talked so much about that need to understand: "Why, God?"

There's a fellow we ran into on the racing circuit. He'd become born again, but the guy's bitter right now. He was at one of the meetings not too long ago, but he's very bitter right now. The man who had just led him to the Lord [This guy was a heathen, and this fellow got born again, and led this other fellow to the Lord; so, this guy was excited.] Finally, his best friend marries his bride, and they're going off to live happily ever after. As they're going on their honeymoon, they're both killed in an automobile accident. This man is now bitter against God saying, "Don't tell me there's a god when such a good man, on the happiest day of his of life, gets killed!" God's not answering to your little peanut brain! Who do you think you are to demand that God answer to you and to be just in your perception of justice? What is it that would cause that man to turn against God? The fact is: he was not regenerated. He was not born again. I don't know what he got that day but it wasn't new birth, because at new birth you stop ascending above the throne of God. "I will ascend above the [throne]. I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:14). "Your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5). When you are regenerated, you recognize who's on the throne. There's a process of sanctification, but you are no longer God. That's the fruit of regeneration and re-creation. God will take a whole lifetime of refining us and purging us and humbling us, and the process is enhanced by the grace God has given you, to see His glory and His goodness. It draws us to Him, and we want to be like Him: "More of You and less of me," as the little chorus goes. It's the ability to put the proper value on ourselves.

Jesus teaches this, so let's start in Matthew 20. I want us to look at the life of Jesus because there is no better example of humility or teaching on humility than that which the Lord gives us. The Scripture says that He learned obedience by the things He suffered, but He humbled Himself and became a man and dwelt among us (Hebrews 5:8, Philippians 2:7-8). Chapter 20 of Matthew, verse 27: in the context, and we're going to look at this spirit, one of the most dangerous things you and I are going to face is what Jesus is addressing here in this twentieth chapter. It's what Satan infused into Adam and Eve in the garden: it's the spirit of ambition. How ambitious are you? You say, "Not very. I prefer a hammock." How ambitious are you to get into the hammock? What are you willing to endure to be in the hammock? You see, a person who lies in the hammock and doesn't do anything is a very ambitious person. Their ambition is different from others, but it requires a real commitment. You have to listen to your wife gripe; it takes a lot of ambition to put up with that. There's the criticism of others; there's the work of having to push your way through the lawn to get out to the hammock. When I talk about ambition, I'm talking about self-serving, self-gratification. Whatever it is that causes you to be pleased with your circumstances. The problem with ambition is that it becomes ruthless in its pursuit. It is totally self-serving. In verse 20 of this twentieth chapter it says, "There came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him." I think this is interesting. Listen to the contrast: "...worshipping him, and desiring [something from] Him." Those two things don't go together. You can't worship Jesus purely with an ulterior motive, looking for something because of it. "Lord I worship You. I love You; and because of that, here's what I'd like." Now, old Mrs. Zebedee: you've got to give her credit. For one thing, at least she verbalized what most of us think, or, at least she verbalized and acted upon what most of us would act upon. The tragic thing is: most of us think that since we don't act upon it, we're not proud, we're actually working in humility, but many of us don't act upon it because we're too proud to be rejected. Did you get it? Mrs. Zebedee comes to Jesus and she says this: "I have something I'd like from You." He said, "What is it?" "['Would you grant that my two fine boys, Jimmy and Johnny, would be able to sit each one at Your side,] the one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left, in Thy kingdom.' But Jesus answered and said, 'Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?' They say unto him, [We need to be careful when we answer, don't we? 'Well, of course] we are able. [Whatever it takes.']" Jesus said, "You don't have a clue what it takes to rise to that position. Can you be baptized with the same baptism"--"Yes"--"of absolute absence of self, ambition, pride?" God became flesh: He condescended to become a man. He humbled Himself, and drank of the cup of your sins and mine for one reason: He had nothing to gain, just to give and to liberate us. That's the spirit He moved in. How close are you to that? I've talked numerous times about how humbled I was by the spirit of Janet, even in her death, in this same vein: someone who'd been with Jesus and imbibed that spirit, a servant not needing to be put forth, not needing a title.

You know when it was the big fad, and still is, about co-pastors. There's something that just drives me nuts. There's this phrase they use about a pastor's wives (meeting): they call it the First Lady Conference. They're not first ladies: they're the pastor's wives! The pastor's not president: he's servant. First lady! Now, don't mistake what I'm saying: there's honor to whom honor is due. The position doesn't give you honor; character does, Christlikeness, the servant's heart. Many of those pastors' wives married out of ambition. They wanted to marry the big shot. Many of them started out humbly and have worked and attained different things through faith and grace, and thank God for it. I'm talking about this natural spirit to where there's a desire for preeminence, how it's crept over into the church. Jesus' spirit was that of totally emptying Himself. He said, "Can you drink of the cup and be baptized with the baptism?" They responded so flippantly: "Yes, we can." "No, you can't! But you will," He goes on to say. "Ye shall drink indeed of My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with." "And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren." Why? They wanted the positions, but their moms weren't willing to go out on the limb for them. Jesus goes on and says, "Listen! It's the Gentiles, the pagans, it's Adam's children who exercise dominion and look for positions of authority and want preeminence." Verse 26: "But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;" that's the word for servant. Jesus begins to set the standard for authority and for character that will most glorify God.

His original teaching--turn back a couple of chapters in Matthew, to Chapter 11, and see what His initial statement is concerning our relationship to Him and how important it is to imbibe that spirit. Chapter 11, verse 27: "All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Here are a couple of very interesting things. "Take My yoke upon you": A yoke, we all know, is emblematic of work. The yoke for the oxen, when it was put upon them, was for a purpose: to produce energy and force. Whether it was to plow, whether it was to grind at the mill, the yoke is on for the purpose of serving and producing: productivity. Jesus is basically saying: "You can't produce anything of yourself. Your methodology isn't sufficient; you cannot do anything that'll please God. You must yoke up with Me; you've got to do it My way; you've got to do it in My strength. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. Divest yourself of all ambition, self-reliance, and self-righteousness, take up your cross, die to yourself daily, and have one identity: to be identified with Me." "For me to live," Paul said, "is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). My ambition is to be free from self-will. Jesus, in His teaching, is telling them that if we're going to serve in the kingdom, if we're going to produce in the kingdom, then it has to be in a spirit of meekness and humility. It's vitally important!

In Matthew 5, verses 3 and 5, the sermon on the Mount, He says we need to be a people who are poor in spirit; we need to become meek, for then we'll inherit the Earth. When He talks about the poor in spirit He's talking about people who don't try to strengthen themselves in the arena of the world, in the spirit of humanism with its methods, its ambitions, or its goals. The poor in spirit is someone who doesn't rely on self. The problem we have--and people go to extremes; we've dealt with it many times. We talk about education and the deifying of education: God's not against education. I'm surely not against education; I'm against trusting in it. There's nothing wrong with going to MIT or Stanford--is in trusting in that. "That's what's going to put me over. If I can identify with them, if I can become one of the alumni, they have the best professors in this area," whatever it is, "the doors will be open for my goals to be obtained." What we've always tried to promote in our lives is this: Is that what God's calling you to do? Are you going to trust in that? The Scripture says we can't trust in the uncertain riches, whether it's monetary, academic, whatever it is; we can't trust in the world. It's the broken reed of Egypt. We need to realize that God's wisdom makes us ten times wiser than anything the world can produce, as Daniel showed in that passage (Daniel 1:20). Humility is doing things God's way for God's glory: that's humility.

When we talk about the meek spirit, we're not talking about some mealy-mouthed person who's afraid to stand up for what's right. We're not talking about someone who apologizes for existing: we're talking about somebody who will boldly stand up. Moses was the meekest man in his generation. He stood before the king and defied him in the name of the Lord: "How dare you exalt yourself against the mighty hand of God? You let my people go!" You see the difference, and the thing that made Moses meek, was that Moses tried to deliver initially in the arm of the flesh. He had been to all of the military schools of Egypt. He knew all of their political, economic--he was being groomed to be Pharaoh. He had been through their system. Then, he saw the injustice against his people and said: "I'm going to do something about it! I believe that--Here's how we get ourselves into trouble--God allowed me to go to these schools for this very purpose. Now my education and my position, my prominence, will allow me to be used of God." So he used everything in the natural for God, and it failed. Then he became a meek man; then he was humbled out in the desert; then he encountered God and the burning bush, and stood before Him as a man who realized he now had nothing. God said, "What is that you have?" He said, "I've got one thing. I've just got this staff right here." He said, "That'll be sufficient. Now, just go and speak My Words." He walked into that throne room not as a prince, but as a shepherd, and with absolutely no trust in any of the natural abilities he had learned in Egypt, but with absolute trust in that voice he had heard in the burning bush when he encountered I AM that I AM. He cast his care upon Him, and he went contrary to all of the methods, of flattering the king, of impressing the king, but in meekness he recognized a new King, superior to both Pharaoh and self and said, "Here's whom I'm representing, and here's whom I'm living for. You answer me this: Is it better to obey God or man?" That's meekness; that's humility.

Jesus says, "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me." Jesus' meekness and His humility was [shown in] that He fulfilled the eternal purposes of God, and was willing to condescend for the glory of God. The thing really blows my mind in all of this, in Jesus becoming that example for us: He was [worthy]! He deserved it and didn't demand it. We don't deserve it and demand it. We think we deserve it and we don't. He did, and denied it to free us, to give us a glimpse of Himself, to deliver us from ourselves.

Listen to what these guys do. It says the rest of the disciples, the other ten, were indignant. That's interesting. We're back in the twentieth chapter. The greatest among you shall become the servant, poor in spirit, meek; but it's not natural to us. Look in Luke's gospel. These guys: aren't you glad these guys weren't perfect, that we can identify with them? I love the setting of this: The kid's demonized; they're all trying to bring him to the place of deliverance; they absolutely fail. Jesus comes and says to his disciples in Chapter 9, verse 41, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither." Jesus rebukes the spirit, heals the child, and delivers him to his father, "and they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples, Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. But they understood not this saying, [and because of pride, they didn't ask.]" I love this in context: Having just totally fallen on their faces, failed, reproved of the Lord, rebuked with language like this, "O faithless and perverse generation," they now have a great discussion going on among themselves of who's the greatest. We're a mess, aren't we? Right in the midst of all of our failure, we want to talk about how great we are, what we deserve, and how to come to preeminence. Verse 46: "Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by Him, and said unto them, 'Whosoever shall receive this child in My name receiveth Me: and whosoever shall receive Me receiveth Him that sent Me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.'" Mohammed Ali: "I am the greatest!" Matthew 18 [verse 4] says it this way: "Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child..." Look at that passage; I want you to see it. It's basically a parallel, but I want you to look at this statement in Matthew 18 [verse 3], which is very important: "Except ye be converted, and become as little children..." You might be regenerated this morning, but you need to be converted. There's a constant repentance, or changing course, in our lives that's necessary in dealing with self, in dealing with daily crucifixion, and the ability to walk in humility. "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." What are we talking about here? We're not talking about childishness; we're talking about an innocence and a dependence. It's amazing how naturally little children just depend upon their parents. It's a given: "Mom and Dad are going to take care of me." Even though Mom and Dad have never failed us, there's that compulsion to protect ourselves and defend ourselves and provide for ourselves and take care of ourselves. Even if we're not physically taking care of ourselves, Mom and Dad are still footing the bill (they're still buying the clothes; they're still buying the food), there begins to be a fear, a questioning, a judging, a despising of how it's being provided and when it's being provided. "Now that I'm becoming older, and my eyes are opened, and I'm realizing what's available to me, I don't like the food Dad and Mom buy; I don't like the clothing they're providing; I don't like the way my room is decorated; I don't like the fact that I don't have a plasma TV screen; I don't..." The "I" factor begins: the same child, having been provided for and cared for all his life, "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you" (1 Peter 5:7), all of the provisions met for a lifetime, having never been denied, never been without, yet a despising of the provider now because it's not the way he wants it. God has always provided for us, and we stand in judgment of Him because He's not giving us what we want, how we want it, when we want it. We'll articulate the words, "Oh, I'm thankful for my parents; I'm thankful for the Lord; I'm thankful for all that God gave me." Then why is this discontentment inside? Why this judging and comparing others and what they have to what you don't? Why the need for more and better and greater? Who are you in your eyes? It's very important that we judge ourselves properly, to where God is all and self is nothing.

When we talk about the child-like faith, we're talking about, not only the dependence on God, but the innocence of not knowing better. As little kids, a lot of the time, we don't even know there's anything better. We're just happy with what we have. When we were little kids growing up, isn't it amazing, you didn't know you were poor. I didn't know I was poor! Having food and raiment, we weren't Christians, but having food and raiment we were content, and we lived. Somebody gave me a little thing off the internet the other day. Some of you probably read it. It said, "A note to those who were born in the forties and fifties" and whatever. It was one of those things about society today. It said:

Isn't it amazing! Congratulations on the fact that you're still alive, and your mom didn't have some seventy million dollars worth of prenatal care? She smoked, she drank, she took aspirins, and you're still alive. After you were born, you were put in a crib that had lead-based paint and you drank from hoses and not bottled water, and four of you shared pop from the same bottle. At ten years old you were given a BB gun and, despite all of the admonitions, very few really lost an eye. You rode bicycles without helmets and rode in cars without seat belts and air bags, and on a nice summer day you rode in the back of a pickup with the tailgate down.

It went on and on about those different things, and here we are! It's part of the spirit of the age, because now man knows better: man now knows how to protect his child. Before, most of us were just protected by God. It's a miracle we're alive! It's gone on for thousands of years, but now man knows better. Pride!

Here we are, and we're looking at this spirit of childlike faith, just innocent, not knowing there's more, not knowing there's better. We're just happy to be with dad, playing with our brothers and cousins. Then, all of sudden, it happens: you're driving down the road in your forty-nine Chevy; the springs and shocks are gone. You hit a bump; you go up and hit your head on the ceiling. No car seats: The kids all stood up in the back seats: human projectiles waiting to happen. I have no clue as to why, when mom used to slam on the brakes, she'd put her hand out--like that's going to do anything? Here you are, and it happens: you're in your forty-nine Chevy, and somebody pulls up in a brand new fifty-nine Corvette, and you see it. The lust of flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life: that's me. It's in every one of us. If you think you'll ever be content by what you possess, then you're deceived. Contentment is a decision to believe that God is right and just. Pride truly believes I deserve, I have a right to, and it exists for me. As we begin to look at some of these aspects of true humility and becoming a servant, a servant in the kingdom is a position of subservience by choice. God doesn't force it upon us. We choose to serve; we choose to humble ourselves. God will give us opportunity, and God will set circumstances to purge, to discipline, to teach us humility, but the only way it can be embraced is, finally, by choice. We have to choose it. You can resist all the chastisement; you can resist all the refining. Humility can be resisted; it doesn't have to happen in you, regardless of the amount of pressure God puts on you. It can be chosen with little pressure or much pressure. Why not choose it at the first opportunity? Why have to go through a whole life of pressure and purging and refining and testing and brokenness and pain, and then finally humble yourself? Why not do it today? Amen? I'm going to give you a two-for-one special: just do it today, praise God! It's a choice of devaluing yourself. It's hard, isn't it?

Last weekend, we had a good weekend racing: I came within six thousandths of a second of winning our first national event; I went red by six thousandths of a second. I got a lot of points, made a good position, ought to be thankful, but I'm really bummed out. Second is like kissing your sister. There's just nothing to it! There's a lot of good, but it just doesn't do it unless you're moving in true humility. But if you're moving in pride, then you can't enjoy the benefits and blessings of life to its fullness because it's always about the improper value you place on achievements instead of on service. If I had attained that, would I then be satisfied? I thought, at one time, I would be satisfied with ever winning a round. We went half a year and never even won one round, then finally won a round and it was like "Whoa! That's cool. I'd like to win another one. I'd like to win a whole bunch in a row. I'd like to win an event. I'd be satisfied with just winning a points meet." We did that. The next thing on the line is to win a national. We haven't done that. We skipped over that and won a championship. That's cool, but it wasn't the world championship. I want the world championship. I know that, when I win that world championship, I'm going to be satisfied--with two. I'm a mess! I've got this problem: Star Scott. That guy drives me crazy. If I can ever get my hands on him...but he's a slippery dude. I've had him down a couple of times, but he squirts out. He's resilient: I've killed him, but he comes back to life. Any of you know anybody else like that? I know; some of you are thinking: "Yes, my husband." No, I'm talking to you.

Here we are, all of us in the same boat. We're never going to be content with anything natural life can provide. We're haunted by this Adamic nature. We're told there must be a daily cross to remedy this situation: "Take up your cross daily. Die to self daily." What we're studying right now and in these next few sessions is this: we've talked about the cross, and we know the need of it, but why is it that we can't habitually apply the daily cross to ourselves? It's because we lack humility. It has to really be desired; the glory of God has to be desired more than the glory of self. It's a very simple statement; we all know it's true, but until we can glimpse the goodness of God and be awed by His presence and His worth, God cannot be all. God cannot be all until self is nothing. We still must work at placing the proper value on self. We'll talk about more of the practical side of it tonight.

Father, we do thank You for Your Word this morning. We ask for that childlike faith to be able to trust in Your care for us. You "resist the proud, but you give grace to the humble" (James 4:6). "Humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God," the Scripture says, "casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you" (1 Peter 5:6-7). But watch out! There's an adversary who goes around, constantly telling you what you deserve, how good you are, what your rights are: "Everybody else has this; you should have it." "God's not fair; they're not fair; parents aren't fair; the pastors aren't fair; your deacons not fair; nobody's fair. You're the only one who's not getting the good deal in life; everybody else is getting blessed, but you never get what you deserve." May I remind you this morning: You don't want what you deserve! You deserve a devil's hell, and God's given you eternal life. Humility is a choice to not squander your life on yourself, but to lay up in heaven treasures of serving others and preferring others, primarily God: preferring God and His children and His kingdom. It's the choice to become great in the eyes of God instead of the eyes of men. Make it real for us, Father, we ask in Jesus' name, amen.

As we stand, if the Reichs will come also and bring the baby with them, we're going to thank the Lord for His working in our lives and the ministry that's ahead. We're conscious of the obligation to be servants, but do we have the desire to be servants? With the desire to be a servant is the desire to glorify God and to fulfill a life of faith and obedience, or is it a desire to be able to check off on your self-accomplishment list? "Ok, I'm now humble: I pray twelve hours a day; I give my body to be burned; I tithe; I purposely discipline myself to serve others." Like the older brother, instead of the younger, we serve Father: "All these years I've served you, and you've never killed a fatted calf for me!" (Luke 15:27). It's not about just serving; it's about being a servant. Unprofitable servant, I'm only doing what I'm blessed to do; God's given me the privilege. Give us that grace, Father, in Jesus' name.

If the pastors will come, we're going to pray with the Reichs and Samara Ann. What a great miracle, amen? Let's believe God to finish this work. The baby is a gift of God in our midst, someone whom we can now be able to serve and minister to, the same way we've been able to love and serve and open our hearts for Mom and Grandpa. A family [for which] it hasn't been easy, but God's grace is sufficient. The privilege of serving, and being patient, and enduring, and standing on righteousness, and not compromising, we believe, ultimately, [is] for lives that'll enter eternally into the presence of God. That's what we're committing ourselves to as a fellowship right now. We're going to continue to keep the standard. We're going to serve, and love as we've been loved, and believe for God to be glorified in our midst. So pray with us, and let's believe God to minister His grace. Praise God, amen. Hallelujah!

Father, we thank You for this life, and we ask for wholeness, Father, to manifest: spirit, soul and body. Make this child whole, Father. We ask You for this soul for the kingdom of God, this life for Your glory, Father. For the household we do speak peace, Father, and we ask for wisdom in each member of the household, that they would be examples of the believer in word and in deed, Father, and in all manner of their living. I ask You, Father, for grace to continue to manifest in each one of these lives, so You would be all in all. For that we give You the glory and the honor, Father, in Jesus' name, amen. Amen.

Thank You, Father. You're just so good to us. We thank You for Your glory. If we could become like this, we'd see a lot of great things done in our midst. Amen? Become as a little child; we'll know His glory. Praise God; Father's so good to us. Turn to somebody next to you and say, "You need to become as a little child." Amen. Go in peace. Come and greet the family. May God's grace go with you.

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