Well good morning, it's a summer of growing in wisdom and we are learning this summer and being challenged to read a chapter of the Proverbs every day and grow in wisdom. I hope you're taking the challenge and I hope you're growing in wisdom. How many of you, just look around, is there somebody here that you think needs to grow in wisdom? Do you see someone that needs to grow in wisdom? Okay very good I'm glad that you're there, because hey I don't think there's anybody in this whole room that doesn't need to grow in wisdom is there? We all need to grow in wisdom and so I hope you're taking that challenge to read a chapter of the Proverbs every day for the months of June, July, August and we're part way through the summer and I hope you're growing in wisdom and with that in mind we're trying to read a proverb every Sunday to start our worship time together and I'm going to read Proverbs chapter 15 and verse 33 Proverbs 15 33 and listen to what the scriptures tell us The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility. Isn't that wonderful? Strong, powerful. Well today when we open the word, I'm going to open the scriptures to a very short song, Psalm 131, but that very short song talks about something very important, the most important character quality. What do you think of all the character qualities that God honors, what is the most important character quality? Think about that and we'll talk about it when we open the word together. So I want you to know about that. And then as we sing today, We'll begin worshiping the Lord, a song of worship. We're gonna come to a place and we'll end our time with the faithfulness of God. We'll sing about that only the Lord can satisfy, that only Jesus Christ can do things in your heart. And what he does, and I hope that you've come with a desire for God to do a great work in your heart today. Now tonight at Stanley Heights, we close out this Lord's Day by our taking of the Lord's table. and fellowship with the Lord and with one another around the Lord's table, and I hope if you are able that you will be here and will partake of the Lord's Supper. Some other things I want to mention, today is Lily King's last Sunday with us. She has been doing an internship with us, and We're partnering with IBJM, who's really put all this together, and with Stanley Heights, and with the Chattanooga Rescue Mission, and given her, I trust, a very productive summer of experience and growth in her life through it. And this week she will go to Missions Camp, Camp Bimmy. And so this is her last Lord's Day with us. Make sure you tell her hello. and thank her for sharing herself with us while she has been here. And if you didn't see it on the slides before the church, today happens to be Pastor Alexander's birthday. So make sure you tell him happy birthday when you, on your way out today, if you've not done so already. Let's remember our mission is to glorify God by developing and deploying disciples in this generation for the next, for the power or through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well let's give our God praise and song stand as Pastor Alexander comes and leads us in singing. Let's sing of our God, of who He is, and this morning He truly is worthy of worship. worthy of worthy of worship and praise, worthy of reverence, worthy of fear, worthy of love and devotion, worthy of bowing You are worthy, Father, Creator, You are worthy. Savior, Sustainer, You are worthy, worthy of praise. Almighty Father, Master and Lord King of all kings and Redeemer Wonderful comes the work of heart and breath Savior and source of all life and of death You have heard me Father, Creator, You are worthy! Savior, Sustainer, You are worthy! Worthy and wonderful, worthy of worship and praise! Let's go to our Lord in prayer, and after that you can be seated before I pray. I just want to say again, of course, for Pastor Alexander, happy birthday, but didn't he do a great job while I was away with the Navy for this training? Did a fantastic job. I want to thank him for really doing a great job in serving the Lord and all of us well, and so grateful for that. Well, let's go to our God in prayer, and then after that you can be seated. Lord, we come to you. and we having just sung that you are worthy of worship and praise and it reminds us that you are such a great God and we come because you are worthy of all that we are and we ask God for you to deal with us in a very personal way today. We've come not in our own merits, but we come in claiming the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. We come realizing our weakness, but your strength and we come with expectation because you are God who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think according to the power that work within us. And so we pray Lord for these moments that we gather that you would speak to us and do for us what we cannot do in ourselves. Only you can satisfy the longings of the heart. Only you can save our souls from the judgment to come. Only you can give peace beyond things that we understand. And so, Lord, we're asking for you to do that for us today. We come with this expectation and faith, and yet we're coming humbly, asking for you to meet with us. And we pray that, Holy Spirit, you would do this, for we ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. Thank you. Be seated. Oh, I'd love to read the book you wrote for me. You loved the world so much you gave your son. Written there in crimson, you told me I'm forgiven. It is done, it is done So if you never speak another word of blessing And the silence leaves me with a sense of loss I'll remember when my heart begins to question Any doubt that you loved me was settled at the cross. I would be the first to admit I don't deserve the kind of favor you have always shown. But you don't have to tell me. You proved how much you loved me. And I know, I still know, that if you never speak another word of blessing, and the silence leaves me with a sense of loss, I'll remember when my heart begins Any doubt that you loved me was settled at the cross. Every word was mercy, every breath forgave, every drop of blood testifies a prayer. I'll remember when my heart begins to question any doubt that you loved me, was settled at the cross. Any doubt that you loved me was settled at the cross. Isn't that just absolutely beautiful? And I love that song. I think the choir did a beautiful job on a beautiful song. And thank you so much. Well, if you are a guest for the very first time at Stanley Heights, we are delighted that you're with us. And we have for you what we call the Connection Point booklet. It'll tell you about us and be a guide for our time together. It's yours to keep. And what I'll ask you to do is, in a moment, I'll have you raise your hand. and our ushers will just hand it to you and there's really nothing else. Just want you to have this. I will say there is one other thing. There's a card that you'll see with it and if you'll complete that card with the street address or an email address and drop it in an offering box, you'll see one behind you or behind you or beside you when you leave. Just drop that in and you can expect we'll say thank you and give you a thank you note for being with us, and we're very grateful that you're here today. So raise your hand as the ushers pass by and they'll give you your copy. And then I also want to mention that what we're learning this year is an answer to a great question, who am I? And in your bulletin of course there's an extended study that you'll see, but we're learning each month an answer to the question, who am I? There's such confusion in our world about identity, and we are learning the power that comes when individuals see themselves the way God sees that in you as an individual. and what that does in your life and just the liberating power that God gives in your life and so here's what we're learning this month who am I in Jesus Christ I am a servant of Jesus Christ when you came to Jesus Christ you need to see yourself the way he sees you as now you're a servant of Jesus Christ I'm a servant of Jesus Christ not myself however Jesus Christ directs me my service to him is my special calling as Christ's servant I have been set apart for a high purpose proclaiming the gospel of Christ the scripture we're learning is what Jesus said of himself Mark chapter 10 verse 44 and 45 let's lift our voices as we say the scriptures together as a congregation lifting our voices and whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be the servant of all for even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life ransom for many well it is time for children's worship and I thought I saw the box somewhere so yes I see the box so kids come on down here to the front and let's see what's in the box today oh let's see what's in you got a good one you know what I better turn okay I want to make sure I turn the microphone on today All right, let's see what we have in the box today. This is gonna be exciting. Oh man, I love this. I love this. Look at that, a police car, huh? Man, how many of y'all like to play with cars? Who likes to play with cars? You like to play with cars. You like to play with cars. These boys like to play with cars. How about, what's more fun, trucks or cars? Cars. Cars, you like cars better? What about you? You like trucks, okay. All right, and how about police? You like police cars? You do? Okay. You do. You know, I had recently an interesting conversation with a guy who is in law enforcement. He is a particularly, I know for you kids, it doesn't mean anything to you, but it will to everyone else, to the adults here. He's a border patrol agent. And so he, what's that? Yes. He takes care of people when they're going fast. So, uh, yes. So, but he was talking and we're talking about the policemen and law enforcement people. So how many of you, when you're, when you see a policeman, how many of your parents get a little scared because they're driving too fast? You get real scared? Yeah, I know who must drive you around, okay. So it's sort of funny, but is the policeman, did you know that God made policemen? It's God's design? Yeah, walkie-talkies. I guess in one sense he made walkie-talkies. We'll talk about that after church, we'll talk about walkie-talkies, okay? Come see me, we'll talk about walkie-talkies. That'd be cool? Okay, good, good. All right, so the Bible talks about policemen. God made government for the benefit of mankind. Not all governments are just and right. So God made government for mankind. In fact, the Bible tells us in the book of Romans chapter 13, that God made the government authorities, the powers that be to protect people who are doing right and to protect people who are doing right and to punish people that are doing wrong. protect people that are doing right, and punish people that are doing wrong. And that's why a nation needs a set of just laws. That is laws that are fair, and laws that are applied to everybody so that everybody lives by the same law, and laws that do what God says to do. They punish people that are doing wrong and harm to others, and they protect people that are doing right. Now, when you see that policeman, I hope that you say to a policeman, thank you. Oh, okay. Oh, you got to tell me about your, about that after church too. Oh, we have a lot to talk about, don't we? We have a lot to talk about. It's going to be a good conversation. So, um, so I hope you are thankful for our policemen. And if that policeman has a hard job to do, he has a really hard job to do. He's dealing with people that are in really hard times or maybe sometimes the worst times of their lives. And he's there to help them and to protect you and me. But he also has a great responsibility to be fair. and to be just and to uphold the laws that have been justly written. Okay? So I hope you're thankful for that police car and that policeman and I hope you express thankfulness to the policeman. Okay? All right. Is this yours? Are you going to take that home? Okay. And after church, make sure you come talk to me. I want to talk about all these things. Okay? All right, good, thank you. I'm gonna give this box away to someone else who's gonna take this box. You're gonna take that box? I saw that firsthand. All right, thank you. You can go back to your seats at this time. We're gonna continue to sing of our God this morning. We've sung that he is worthy of our worship. We're gonna sing of his faithfulness, number 43. Great is thy faithfulness. I Rain is thy faithfulness, rain is thy faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above. Joined with all nature in planning from greatness to thy greatness, Oh to cheer morning Lord God. So thankful we can think of and reminded of the faithfulness of our God. We'll sing one more time together this morning. When we do, in just a moment, we'll stand together and our young people ages three, four, and five, then first, second, and third grade will be dismissed to Children's Church up on the second floor. Let's sing of our God that he is the only one who can satisfy. Would you stand please? Standing we'll sing Only You Can Satisfy. Anxious thoughts and deep despair, Frayed by hope and sad despair, Helpless, wandering, trapped and weak, Jesus, your Only you can satisfy On your promises I can rely When I come to you, you will drive away Only you can satisfy Fleeting joys have captured me Guilt and script, relentlessly, I repent, O hear my cry, Lavish be your peace of mind! Only you can satisfy And your promise says I can't rely When I come to you, you will deny Only you can satisfy Humbly at your feet I find, Grace to yield my will and mind, Wash me, clean me, pour my mind, Bloom and reign in every mind. Only you can satisfy, And your promises I can't reply When I come to you with your own heart Only you can satisfy On the cross you made a way To be free and not enslaved Through Your blood once shed for me I can live victoriously Only You can satisfy All your promises I can reply. When I come to you, you will draw nigh. Only you can satisfy. Thank you. Please be seated. This is the time of the service when we lift up two of our missionary families that we partner with throughout the world and bring them to the Lord for prayer and just give the Lord thanks for all that he's doing in and through their ministries. And our first family today are Clifton and Tiffany Booth, they're BIMI missionaries to Chile. And they are praising the Lord for praises that their furlough has been a time of great refreshing and blessing. They've been having wonderful times of visiting many of their supporting churches and getting rekindled many friendships with those that they have not seen in years. And so they're really thanking the Lord that he has provided for them and all the miles that they've traveled with safety. They're also able to partner with their, or actually participate with, through video meetings, their church there in Chile. And they're giving thanks to the Lord that so many of the church members have stepped forward there in Chile to take up the gap, to fill that gap as they take up the lead there in Chile. And just thanking the Lord for the video partnering there that they're able to still stay in good contact and to help even from a distance. And lastly, they're also thanking the Lord that he's been working through the youth at a recent youth camp and that the youth have been asked, they were asking very thought-provoking questions, not just the standard type questions, and they know that the Lord is at work with the youth there in Chile. Our second family are Alan and Elena Sutphen, and they are BIMI missionaries to Uganda, Africa. And they are praising the Lord for a young lady named Sharon, and she has accepted Christ after many times of witnessing to her over a period of time, and also by many different members. And he wanted me to mention, don't lose heart when you're witnessing to people, and you don't know if the Lord is working in their lives or not, he says to keep on keeping on. And I'm going to read part of his letter, and it's a really neat letter. He gives quite a lengthy paragraph about Sharon and how many times she was witnessed to by so many different people, and they really didn't know what was going on in Sharon's heart. But he says here, my point is this, in this testimony, we do not give up in reaching the lost. Many people initially reject the gift of salvation by faith alone, but we must not lose heart and not give up. We may do the sowing and the watering, but God is the one who opens the heart and saves the soul." And then he mentions Acts 16, 14, 1 Corinthians 3, 6, and 7, and the word says, I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. so that neither is he that planteth anything, nor he that watereth, but God gives the increase." So when you're witnessing Don't give up. Don't lose heart. Keep witnessing. And that is our ministry wherever we are as missionaries in the local area as well. So I just wanted to bring that up. But let's go ahead and, oh, actually, two other things. I forgot. So Alan just says that the Lord is using their Sorati Orphan Project. They also call that SOTE. Three orphans that have come four months ago are doing very well and getting settled in. And he's also giving thanks to the Lord for three building projects that are going on with a soap dorm, a children's building at their church, and then a church plant in a local community near them. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. We just thank you so much, Lord, for being able to partner with the Booths and the Suftons. And we just thank you that you are doing mighty, wonderful works in and through their ministry. Not that we or they would receive the glory, but you and you alone would, Lord. We thank you for your faithfulness. We thank you for your provision, for your protection. We thank you for the members that you're bringing into their fold, Lord. And we thank you, Lord, for especially those that you are saving. We think of Sharon and many others that they have reached out to in both ministries and how you're working in people's hearts even when we don't realize it. We just ask, Lord, that you would help them and us to keep on keeping on, Lord, sharing the gospel, giving our testimony, and letting people know that it is all about you, for you, through you, and Lord, that we just need to give you the glory. We just ask, Lord, that you would use the tithes and offerings that are given today for the furtherance of the gospel and that you would receive the glory through it as well. We just thank you and praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. For my waking breast For my daily bread I depend on you I depend on you the sun to rise for my sleep at night I depend on you I depend on you You're the way, the truth and the life You're the well that never runs dry I'm the branch and you are the vine Draw me close and teach me to abide Where the spirit leads As I'm following I depend on you I depend on you For the victory's Still in front of me Yes, I depend on you. Yes, I depend on you. You're the way, the truth, and the life. You're the well that never runs dry. Draw me close and teach me to abide Be my strength, my song in the night Be my all, my treasure, my prize I am yours, forever you're mine Draw me close and teach me to abide When I pass through death, as I enter rest, I depend on You, I depend on You. For eternal life, to be raised with Christ I depend on you, I depend on you You're the way, the truth and the life Draw me close and teach me to abide Be my strength, my song in the night Be my all, my treasure, my prize I am yours, forever you're mine Draw me close and teach me to abide Draw me close and teach me to abide. Well, tell me, what is the greatest character quality? Now, there are a lot of great character qualities that are God's standard. God's expectation brings God's blessing. What is the greatest of all the character qualities, maybe the most important of all the character qualities? Hmm, what would it be? What comes to your mind? You probably have two or three that are in your mind. Is it courage? Oh, courage is important. Is it diligence? Is it honesty? Personal integrity? What would you say is the most important of all the character qualities that a person could possess? Well, there's a Psalm that I believe answers that question for us. And I'm gonna invite you to turn with me to that Psalm. It's Psalm 131. Psalm 131. I'll invite you to turn there with me and we're going to read the entirety of this Psalm. Now, the good news is it's only three verses. Psalm 131. Follow along as I read. This is Psalm 131, a song of degrees. The psalmist sings this song. It's a psalm of David. My heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty. Neither do I exercise myself in great matters or in things too high for me. For I have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother. My soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and forever. Now here's my question. What is the most important character quality? You'll notice this about the psalm. This is a psalm written by David, and of course if you're familiar with David, he was a shepherd boy that became Israel's greatest king But then you'll notice this is called a song of degrees. This is one of, I think, about 12. I think it may be the first or the second in the early parts of about 12 songs. They're called songs of degrees. Sometimes they're called songs of ascents. These are songs that were collected in this Hebrew hymn book. And the people, when they would go to Jerusalem a few times a year, they were called to go to Jerusalem and to worship the Lord at special feasts. And these are songs that people would sing as they ascend from the, around Jerusalem to the mountain at the top. Remember, Jerusalem sits on top of a mountain. It's called Mount Zion. And if you've had the honor of visiting Israel, you know what it is to drive up to the city of Jerusalem. And so as the people would come and worship, they would sing these songs of degrees as they ascended and go up degree by degree by degree to the city of Jerusalem. They sing these songs in preparation of their hearts to meet with the Lord and to worship the Lord in the city of Jerusalem. And so it is that in anticipation of worshiping the Lord, this is a song that was penned and God included in his word to remind individuals of the most important quality because this psalm, as often as the case in the psalms, the theme of the psalm is introduced at the very beginning. And then what'll happen is then after the theme is introduced or the subject is introduced, then the rest of the song says more about the subject. And you'll see what the theme of this song is in verse one. Lord, my heart is not haughty. The term here translated haughty, it sometimes is translated prideful, sometimes it's translated arrogant. So what is the most important character quality? The most important character quality is humility. I'm going to tell you what God is asking for you today. God is asking for you to choose humility. Humility is not an emotion. Maybe humiliation is very emotional, certainly, but humility is not an emotion. Humility is a choice. And today, God is asking you to choose humility. Let's read the entirety of this psalm on humility. I already read the entirety of the psalm. Let's do this, let's pray. And ask the true and eternal God who loves you and gave himself for you to speak to you about humility. So Lord, we ask for you to help us and to deal with us. You know the tendency of each of our hearts And with that in mind, we ask for you to, in your mercy, speak to us. It is my prayer that you would help us to see what we cannot see. We're so blinded at times by ourselves. Help us to see what we cannot see. Help us to be honest with ourselves and with you. And we ask Holy Spirit that you would enable and deal with us with a supernatural work as you speak to individuals through the preaching of your word. So as a preacher, I come asking for help yielded to the Holy Spirit for all of us to receive from you in this most important quality. We pray God for your spirit to do a work. And then what it means for each individual in our congregation to choose humility. I pray that we would do it in faith. And so we ask for this to be done, yielded to the name or to the Holy Spirit, asking it in the name of Jesus. Amen. Well, let's begin with the way the psalmist begins. And the psalmist tells us about a heart for humility. Of course, he opens up these words as we read, the Lord, Lord, my heart is not haughty. And isn't it an ironic thing that David writes a song about humility? And it really says something about a truly humble man that he writes about his own humility, but he does it in such a way that, or as he does, the Holy Spirit of God leads him. And David, whether he knew it or not at the writing, this was a book or a song that God would include in his word, his eternal word, as a testament to a man who, authentically was a humble man. So this song is not only a testimony of David's humility, it's really a prayer as he speaks to the Lord and speaks to the Lord about humility and his desire for humility and his heart for humility. Now, do you think this was intended for publication? I don't think so. I think it's a song that he wrote, remember, David, oh, of all the things David did, shepherd, a warrior, a king, person of power and influence, but he was also a musician, a singer-songwriter, and I wonder if when he wrote this, did he realize he was writing A song that was guided by the Holy Spirit that was part of the eternal word of God? I don't know. And I wonder when he wrote it, when he turned it over to the leaders of the Lord's worship who would prepare songs, and I don't know if he gave it to them with the intent that people would sing about it. It doesn't seem that he would. It seems to me that he wrote it and would give it over and say, here's a song that I wrote. I hope it speaks to somebody's heart. I can't imagine that David said, I wrote this song about humility, and I want people forever to sing about my humility. It's like the... the old preacher who wrote a book on humility. And he wrote the book at the time when pages were typeset with individual typesettings, each page one at a time. And he couldn't get his book published because he used the letter I so much, uppercase I so much in his book on humility, they didn't have enough Is to print out even a single page. I'm not sure if that went so well. So in this song on humility, I want you to notice a series of descriptive statements in verse 1. Each of them is a negative statement, but each makes a positive point. And it becomes, I guess for us, maybe a checklist of our own humility and to evaluate our own humility before the Lord. You'll notice first that where there is a heart of humility, there is an absence of condescension. I'll say that again. Where there's a heart of humility, there's an absence of condescension. He begins by introducing the theme for us in verse 1. Lord, My heart is not haughty, and here's the first statement, nor mine eyes lofty. You can picture this, if you will. Here's somebody, we would describe it in a different way, but here's somebody who looks out at other people and they look at them in a condescending way. Their eyes are not lofty. We would say they look down upon people is how it would be our expression of the same thing in the psalmist's day. And here's David. He's a man of great accomplishment, a man of great power. And yet, what was his approach to people? Condescending? Absolutely not. His testimony is that in my life I don't want to be that kind of a person that looks down upon other people as though other people are inferior to me and I am superior. How many of you know somebody that is a condescending person? How many of you like to be around people that are condescending? No, you don't either, do you? No. You know, David, he didn't start as a king. He didn't start with royal birth. He started in a very humble home in a very small village. He was a shepherd. But in a matter of hours, this young man, a teenage boy, who was completely unknown became, or went from being a zero to a hero in a number of hours. Here's how David was introduced to the national stage of Israel. You remember the story about David and Goliath, maybe, and here's David and, or here's the people of Israel. They're on one side of the Valley of Israel. The armies of Israel are on one side. Their sworn enemy, the Philistines, are on the other side. And they're both on the top of the mountains or the hills over this valley and every day for 40 days a champion of the Philistines would come down to the valley and he would defy the armies of the living God and he would say, give me a man that would fight for me or fight against me. Whoever wins takes it all, winner takes all. That's not what the Bible says, that's what I would say. For 40 days, and for 40 days, nobody moved. Everything was a stalemate. Well, David was the younger brother, the kid brother. He wasn't old enough to go to war. His brothers had gone to war. And so dad says, hey, David, I want you to go take these provisions, take a care package to your brothers and see how the battle's going. So here comes David, and he comes to see his brothers. And while he's there seeing his brothers, he watches this Philistine giant, Goliath, come out. I defy the armies of the living God. And he watches this, and David is incensed. How could anyone stand here and watch this man speak of our God this way? And his brothers, you know, Oh, come on, David says, somebody's got to do something. I'm going to fight him. Oh, come on, little brother. Come on, little brother. You got to know your place, boy. The word gets through to the king, Saul. There's this guy that wants to fight. Nobody else wanted to for 40 days. And it ends up being this young kid. And Saul says, well, come on, let's put some armor on you. Saul was a big man, bigger than everybody else. Let me put my armor on you, and boy, it didn't fit. David said, no, no, no, sir, I can't do that. You know, God's helped me. I had a lion and a bear, and I watched my father's sheep, and the Lord helped me, and with his strength, I was able to overcome those. I know that God can help me again. So David goes out, skinny kid, he goes out and he's mocked by this giant Goliath, but God powerfully works. And you know this story, he takes his sling and we used to have for children's worship a backup sling, you know, not backup sling, but you know, we have on the pulpit, we have all kinds of things hidden under here, right? And we have things for children's worship in case One of the kids forgets the box. You always have something back here. And somebody brought a sling one time. And that was great fun to play with. I think I gave that away. And I'm glad. It's dangerous. And I'm not worried about the kids. I'm worried about the adults that want to play with the toys. And I'm really the worst of them probably, so I admit it, just admit it. So they have this sling, you know, and the stone went in his forehead. There's a great victory, and the Israelis rout the Philistines. It was a great day. And this boy, in a matter of hours, goes from obscurity to now he's a national figure. And with all that his life entailed, the ups and the downs and the victories and the failures and the power that he eventually amassed, the great king of Israel, with all of it, I think that as David is writing this psalm, it seems that he never forgets how that God took him from being a nobody. And in his grace and mercy, God did something in his life And now here he is in a place of power and influence, but he didn't forget the humility of his beginnings. I don't want to be one of those people, he says, that has lofty eyes that looks down on other people. If you find yourself to be an individual that looks down on other people and treats other people as if they're all idiots and everybody else is inferior to you, my friend, you really need to stop and ask God to speak to you about your heart of humility. So the psalmist tells us that Where there's a heart of humility, there's an absence of condescension. But then the psalmist says something else to us. He reminds us that where there is a heart of humility, there is an absence of self-assertion. an absence of self-assertion. And I want you to notice the next phrase that the psalmist sings about, Lord my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty. And then the next statement, neither do I exercise myself in great matters. Now David is a member of the royal court. He's a king, an important national hero. a dealer in national politics, and yet he understood his place. And he says, I want you to know, Lord, I want to make sure that even in the place of responsibility that you give me, that I don't want to exercise myself in great matters. I don't want to become so arrogant. that I think I'm the beginning and ending of wisdom, that I think that I know it all. And life doesn't become about me asserting myself. Did you ever meet somebody that no matter what conversation you have is about that person, it always becomes about that individual? Do you know someone like that? If you do, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't, I hope you don't have someone like that in your life, because you're doing just as well. But really, even a person as important as David realized that life is not about me. And maybe that's a great area of humility that God is dealing with you about. The stories told about a group of British tourists were touring and their tour group went to the house where Beethoven died. And the tour guide was taking them through the house and explaining things about the home and about the life of Beethoven and just what you would expect as a tour. And finally, they come into this room and in the room, is Beethoven's piano, just as it had been when he died. And the tour guide was explaining about this piano and a younger girl pushes through the crowd and right past the tour guide and interrupts the tour guide and sits down at the piano and starts to play a Beethoven sonata. And when she finishes, she asks the tour guide. She said, I'll bet a lot of people want to sit down at this piano and play. He didn't really know what to say. He said, well, last summer I had a tour group, and in my tour group was the great Paderewski. In his day, Paderewski was one of the greatest pianists in all the world. He said, the people in our group asked Paderewski to sit down to the piano and play. But Paderewski said, I am not great enough. Maybe something that in your own life God is speaking to you about. Maybe you and I think far more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. Well, the psalmist says more. He reminds us something else in verse 1. Not only does he not exercise himself in great matters, but then he says, in things too high for me. And David? reminds us of this, that where there is a heart of humility, there is an accurate self-estimation. Now where there's a heart of humility, remember there is an absence of condescension, there is an absence of self-assertion, there is an accurate self-estimation. It doesn't mean that David limited himself and understood. He knew what it was now to be in the halls of power. But even in the halls of power and all that he had accomplished in his life, he realized there are some things that are too high for me. How many of you have ever been in a situation where you know you've been in way over your head? You know what I mean? You've been put in a role at your work and you realize, I'm way over my head. You have a challenge in your life, a difficulty, and you realize, this is way above me, I'm way over my head. It's summertime, and unless you're in summer school, I know you're glad that you don't have to be in school, but did you ever take a class and you're in the middle of that class and you've realized when you go into that class, you're way in over your head? Man, it's way too much for me. Such was David's attitude. He, even with all that he accomplished in his life, was still aware that there are some things that I'm weighing over my head and I need the Lord God. When I say the reference Romans 12 1 and 2 how many of you that just brings it comes to your mind It's a significant reference. All right now if I Started to say it you might even because sometimes you may not know where the reference is, but you know a scripture, right? How many of you find that you know a lot more scripture than you know the references, you know what I mean? And then pull them out of your hat. Oh my and But Romans 12 1 2 is such a powerful scripture. I'm going to turn to it in my Bible. You're welcome to go with me there and when we when I read it if you It will speak to you. I know in a powerful way and will probably come to your many of us who come to our remembrance Romans chapter 12 verses 1 & 2 If I can find it my goodness I Romans 12. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." How many of you in your life have found that this scripture has been very meaningful? Anyone found that very meaningful? I found it very meaningful in my life. If this is one with which you're not familiar, I would encourage you to become familiar with it. And Romans 12, one and two is such a meaningful verse, but Romans 12, three is also meaningful and significant. And I want you to notice what God tells us there. For I say through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Now in your summer ministry fellowships, you'll eventually get to this portion of scripture, but notice the word soberly. It means a person that thinks accurately and clear headed about themselves. So that means that you as an individual have to ask God to help you to see yourself the way you really are and the way he sees you. You are a unique individual, created by God with a unique design and he has given you strengths, he's given you abilities, he has given you things that are very admirable for you, but on the other hand, All of us has fallen and all of us have limitations. All of us have weaknesses. And the apostle Paul here reminds us that when you think of yourself, you need to be honest enough to be accurate with yourself and be honest with yourself and honest with God about the person you are. And this is exactly what the psalmist was saying. There are things that are too high for me. I'm honest with God. Boy, David, you talk about a man who's gifted, a warrior, an inspirational figure, a singer-songwriter, a great ruler. Tremendous kingdom and he's running this kingdom in such a powerful way a man who is a after God's own heart a godly man and with all that he was he realizes There are some things that are too high for me and he was honest with himself You may be that individual that needs to come to a place of an accurate self-estimation And he looks back and he says, you know, Lord, I would imagine he's thinking you brought me from a field to a palace. And boy, when he, remember what happened when he became the, when he defeated Goliath? There were these women were singing songs about him. Saul has slain his thousands. Saul's the king. And David, the second verse of the song, and David is ten thousands. Oh my, he had a fan club. Along the way he realized, wait a minute, I need to not listen to the fan club, I need to really be honest with myself. Self-awareness. So the psalmist makes these positive statements, or positive points with these negative statements, but then in verse 2 the psalmist paints a picture that gives us really the fourth evidence of a heart of humility. And he paints an interesting picture, and I want you to notice with me now, Psalm 131 verse 2. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself. And he tells what it's like. As a child that is weaned of his mother, my soul is even as a weaned child. Now you say, wait a minute, what? What does a weaned child have to do with humility? He paints this really picturesque idea. Here's a little baby. This baby is completely dependent upon mama for nourishment. But this baby eventually grows up and eventually the baby is gonna be weaned from a nursing mom to be able to have real food, I guess we'd call it, right? But what happens is, as the child grows up, eventually there's a time for that child to be weaned from nursing and now to eat food. But wait a minute, when it's time for that child to be weaned from nursing, is that child able to be independent, functioning on his or her own, getting their own meals, getting their own food? Of course not. They're still, that child is still completely dependent upon mom to take care of those needs. But here's an individual that David says, it's like this, it's like, I'm growing up, I'm getting more mature, I'm moving along in my life, but I realized that I'm not ready ever to be independent of my God. So I realized that I still must be dependent upon my God. And you watch David's life, as long as he was dependent upon God, how God blessed him and how his life was a fragrance of the grace of God in his life. But the very few times when David decided, I don't need to listen to God, I'm going to do it my way. You know, those times in David's life, because every time was disaster. And a person that is a humble person is a person that is characterized, notice this, with an evidence of maturity. Mature enough to know that I can't do this on my own. I must choose humility and depend on the Lord. Sometimes we get a, we get, It just happens, we may not realize what's happening, sometimes we do, but we get away from the Lord, and we get the idea, I'm gonna do this on my own, and God becomes irrelevant to me because I'm handling this. And if you find yourself in that place, then today's the day that God in mercy is drawing you back to humility, for there, there, You learn and you experience the enabling power of God. So as you look at your life, I wonder, do you find that there is an absence of condescension, an absence of self-assertion, an accurate self-estimation? Does your humility give an evidence of maturity? It's the evidence of true humility. So let's ask God to speak to us about our pride and bring us each to humility. Well, the psalmist then begins his song with a heart of humility, but then humility leads to hope, and I'm so glad there's hope, because whenever you're really honest with God about humility, I find it to be a real challenge. So God takes us from humility, and he brings us into hope, and I want you to notice the hope of humility as the song ends with the final verse. Humility brings hope. This is so different from the thinking of the flesh, the self-driven man, the person that lives for themselves and lets their own selfish nature control them. They think humility brings me down, but in reality, humility brings hope into my life. Because when we come before God humbly, then you bring God into the picture. And when you bring God into the picture, the eternal, omnipotent, all-powerful God, when He steps into your life, then all that He is begins to work on your behalf. And so the psalmist ends with this one brief statement, but oh how much is said, let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and forever, in verse 3. Understanding there's only one hope, and that is the Lord God. Is there hope for the haughty? Well, I'm going to invite you to go with me from the Psalm, Psalm 131, to a wonderful New Testament scripture on this subject. 1 Peter chapter 5, verses 5 and 6. 1st Peter chapter 5 verses 5 and 6. Let's read it. Follow along as I read aloud. Likewise you younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility. For God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Do you need hope? Do you want the omnipotent God, the God with all power to work on your behalf? to step into your life and your situation and show himself strong, to give you power that you don't have, to give you help that you need, to do for you what you can't do for yourself, then you must come to the most important quality. God resists the proud. And what does God give to a person who chooses humility? What's the Bible say there, church? Grace. enabling power. That's why it's the most important quality, because when you choose humility, God steps in. It's grace that saves. How can somebody have their sins once and for all forgiven, the promise of a heavenly home? Is it that this individual is so good that God says, oh my, you are so good, I'm glad to welcome you into my heaven. You have met every holy requirement. No, none of us could do that. We've all sinned and come short of the glory of God. But God in grace sent His Son to do what I could not do, to pay for my sin's penalty when He died on a cross, to do what I could not do. He came out of the grave alive with power. And it's by God's grace when a person comes to the end of themselves and turns from their own way and by faith asks Jesus Christ to save them that God's grace steps in and saves a person forever once and for all. It's grace that saves. It's grace that sustains. And I'm at the end of myself. I can't go another step. I don't know the next answer. God in His grace, when we come humbly, God helps us and works on our behalf. It's grace that changes us. Changed by the grace of God. Now friend, I'm asking you today, and really not I'm asking you, God's gonna ask you this, is asking you this, will you choose humility? Now whatever that means for you, Today, you can choose humility, and when you choose humility, it brings hope because now you know that God will step in and do for you in your life what you cannot do on your own. I'm going to ask you to bow your head for just a moment. And in a few minutes, I'll pray and we'll give you an opportunity to respond as God is speaking to your heart. Before we go any further, I want you to stop and ask God to speak to you about humility. And for you, it may be so encouraging, God, I'm not all I should be. In fact, you say, thank you, Lord, that I'm not all I should be, but you've helped me so much, and I want to be that person. I want to grow in humility. I want to die to self. It may be that you're an individual that God is speaking to you because God in His grace wants to step in and save you from your sin when you cannot do it on your own. You need Jesus who died and rose again for you. Today's your day to say, I've been trying to do this on my own and I can't do it. You're right, you can't. That's why God's grace steps in. You're finally humble enough to receive His grace and you can receive Christ. There are areas of your life, even as a child of God, God is dealing with you. This is the time that I turn from my pride and I choose humility. And you can expect the hope that comes when you choose humility. Would you stand with me as I pray? Now, Lord God, we come with such expectation because you always bring hope when there's humility. And I pray that you would wonderfully and powerfully and personally speak to the young men and women, the saints of all ages, the people, whatever their station in our congregation today, of the power of humility. And so we ask you to do this, praying it in Jesus' name. Amen, your head is bowed and the instrumentalists are playing. Would you like to talk to somebody and seek the Lord? It may be that you say, I need someone to lead me to Jesus Christ. We have people available to lead you to Christ. You can be saved when you come to Christ. It may be that you have other areas of your life, and God is speaking to you, and this is your opportunity, these front steps, these front chairs, a place to pray. If you want someone to pray with you, just tell the attendant in these They will direct you and have someone pray with you. Whatever the need is for you, this is your time. Come on. Let's sing the song that's being played. The words are rejected. It's called Speak, O Lord. It's a prayer, and let's sing it as a prayer. Speak, O Lord, as we come to you to receive the food of your holy word. Take your truth, plant it deep in us, shape and fashion us in your likeness, that the light of Christ may be seen today. in our acts of love and our deeds of faith. Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all your purposes for your glory. very good just a couple announcements for you this morning if you are a guest we'd love to meet you on the way out love to have a record of your visit thank you so much for being our guest here today if this is your first time with us things you'll want to see there in your bulletin tonight at five o'clock we'll be observing the Lord's Supper as part of our worship so come back tonight at five o'clock looking forward to celebrating the Lord's Supper together. This morning after the service, the seniors will be having a fellowship lunch in the fellowship hall. You can read about that there. Next Sunday morning in the 9.30 hour in pastor's office, there'll be a starting point class. This is for those considering membership here at Stanley Heights, so I want to tell you about that. You can read there about pastor's prayer partners and how you can get on the pastor's prayer partner update. We're continuing our summer ministry fellowships. These are weeks three and four remaining still of four weeks of Wednesday night meetings here at church and then in homes. If you need to get connected with one of those, please talk to us. And then you can read there about other things. Good News Club in the fall, our Proverbs, continuing to read through the Proverbs. And then right on the banner, pick up one of those guides if you haven't yet. And then Deacons Meeting, you can read about that and other things there in your bulletin. Let's go ahead and close our service this morning by singing 255, Greater is He that is in Me. Greater is He that is in me, Greater is He that is in me, Greater is He that is in me, Than he that is in the world. Thank you for joining us. Jesus said to those who believed on him in John chapter 8, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. We join our God in desiring that you will know the liberating power of the truth of God's word as you apply it to your life. We would love to hear from you and find out what God is doing in your life. You can go to our website, stanleyheights.org. There you can contact us with your prayer requests. You can ask a question. You can find a free resource to study the Bible as a guide in your journey. You can get other sermons and other free resources that are available for you. While we're talking, may I ask you this question? Have you made the most important decision of your life to turn to Jesus Christ and receive Him by faith to be your personal Savior? Oh, if you haven't, would you do so right now? And if you would like some more guidance in that decision, you can go to our website, stanleyheights.org forward slash eternity, and you'll find some help that will guide you in that decision. Again, thank you for joining us. I'll look forward to hearing from you soon.