Well, good morning once again. Let's take our Bibles and turn to Philippians chapter 2 and as you're turning thank you to our praise team this morning leading us in worship. Thank you to Katie and for Sue as well as they encouraged us this morning with their with their testimonies. I'm always encouraged when we have our folks come and give testimony as to what the Lord is doing in their life or has done in their life and so thank you again ladies for sharing this morning. We're gonna begin in Philippians chapter 2 I counted up the number of passages that are in our message for this morning and it's somewhere between 25 and 30 different Passages that were referred to so I know it's maddening when you're taking notes I just say the scripture passage and then I move on and read it or whatever it may be I'll try to slow down just a little bit on some of those today but we want to look at the subject of our disposition and We've been going through a series in the book of Proverbs for the last month and a half or so, and it's wisdom for everyday living. And today we want to speak of our disposition, and I'll explain more about that as we move along. We've had a number of testimonies this morning, and Bruce mentioned it as well, about this past week being Thanksgiving week. And I just love Thanksgiving. I just love Thanksgiving. I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, and I think I like it so much because it's still the simplest and probably the least commercialized of all the major holidays. This past month, I wrote an article for our Grace Life Gazette entitled, What's In It For Me? And if you read that article, I quoted from Daniel Yankelevich's book, New Rules, Searching for Fulfillment in a World Turned Upside Down. And in his book, Yankelevich, who at the time that he wrote the book was a professor at New York University, tells of this major shift in social values that began in the 1970s. And here's what he said. He said the old rules stressed duty to others, particularly to one's family and church. If someone was selfish and got caught, it was embarrassing and it looked ugly. But somewhere in the 1970s, he said the culture adopted a new rule, which he called the duty to self-ethic. Somewhere, he says, things got turned around and the culture began to accept as normative the pursuit of one's own needs and interests at the exclusion of others. All other relationships, he said, and values now come second to one's own pursuits. Of course, this duty to self-ethic is antithetical to scripture. In fact, it's really of the devil. At the heart of true biblical Christianity is a selflessness, not a selfishness. Our ethic is not to self, but our ethic is to our Savior and to others. So if you've turned with me to Philippians chapter 2, verses 3 and 4 help us to understand this. Verse 3 of Philippians 2, do nothing for selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, which we have no problem doing, right? But also look out for the interests of others. And I think that's why I like Thanksgiving so much, because Thanksgiving is built around two selfless words, thanks and giving. In the Bible, there are three Hebrew words, there's one Aramaic word, six Greek words that translate thank, thanks, thankful, thankfulness, and or thanksgiving. And those words combined are used 139 times in the Bible. And although there are different nuances of the idea of the word thanks, it generally means what we think it means. It means a heartfelt expression of gratefulness. Last month on Halloween Eve, or on Halloween night, we only had about 25 trick-or-treaters come to our house. And I'm not sure if trick-or-treating is just becoming less popular than when I was a kid, or we just don't get a lot of kids in our neighborhood because we're sort of off the beaten path. But it brought me back to thinking about when I was a kid. When me and my brothers and sister were little, my mom would take us out trick-or-treating. The neighborhoods were full of kids going house to house to house, getting candy from those in their neighborhoods. And when we were really little, my mom would walk up to the door with us, embarrassing, to make sure that we would have good manners and that we would say, thank you. Well, I remember a few times when we'd go to someone's door and they dropped something really weird in our bags. This would be a good discussion topic sometime. What's the weirdest thing you ever had dropped in your Halloween bag? Well, the weirdest thing that we ever had dropped in our Halloween bag was a carrot. And so we went to this lady's house, and she affectionately became known as the carrot lady. But we went to her house, and at that time, we had little buckets, and we were just little guys, but we stuck our bucket out, we said trick or treat, and she dropped a carrot, an unshaved carrot, boink, right into our bucket. So each of us got a carrot from the carrot lady. Well, my mom, who's standing there, she says, now what do you say? And so in unison, we all say, thank you. And then we move on. But you know, we didn't mean it. We didn't mean it. I mean, who puts a carrot in a kid's Halloween bucket? But it was a lesson for me. It was so odd. It was one that I've remembered over all of these years, that it's one thing to say thank you, but it's quite another to actually mean it. One of my biggest concerns for myself and for you all is that we be very careful about just going through the motions. You know, that night as we were going house to house and we got the carrot in the bag, We just went through the motions of saying what our mom expected for us to say. But as I mentioned, we obviously didn't mean it. It was an odd thing that that happened. But when we think about life, and we think about just taking things for granted, going through the motions in life, how many of us do that? How many of us are here today because it's a routine? It's just something we do. We haven't really thought about what we want to accomplish today by coming to church. We just go through the motions. It's something we do. We give to the church because it's something that we do. We serve in certain capacities in the church because it's just something we do. We sort of just go through the motions in life. And there's times where the light bulb will go on and our hearts will be challenged and we'll think, why am I doing the things that I am doing? They're good things. And we do a lot of good things. We go through life and we help others. We're kind. We do a lot of different things. But this morning I want to challenge us a little bit to think beyond going through the motions of doing those things and really checking our heart. As we begin, I'd like for us to consider genuine thankfulness. Not just politely saying it, but meaning it. The biblical idea of thankfulness carries a heartfelt expression, as I mentioned. Scripture tells us that being thankful is a result of something. It's an expression of genuine gratitude. And as we think about being thankful, there are a number of New Testament passages of Scripture that come to mind. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 18 says, In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. There are those who are searching for God's will. They're looking for the needle in the haystack. They want to know what it is that is God's will for their life. And here Paul tells the church at Thessalonica that here's what's God's will for your life, that you in everything give thanks. His will for our life is that we be thankful. And he says it's in everything, in every circumstance of life, we're to express a heart of thankfulness. Even when life gives us a carrot in our bag. And Sue mentioned it this morning, and many of us have gone through experiences in this past year. We're winding down this year. It's been a fantastic year in many, many ways, but there have been challenges, there have been concerns that have come your way and come my way in different ways. So life sometimes does give us a carrot in our bag. It's interesting, isn't it, that Paul says that in everything, give thanks. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. And I think that tag on at the end, that prepositional phrase, in Christ Jesus, makes all the difference in the world, doesn't it? Because we recognize as his children that he is working all things together for our good so that something good, something positive, something is going to come out of what we have gone through or what we are going through that is going to honor and glorify Him. Because ultimately, and if you read the article last month, it's not about us, is it? It's all about Him. It's all about others. It's all about glorifying Him. Paul says something very similar to the church at Ephesus. In Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 20, he says, always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. And so for the Christian, we find the ultimate object of our thankfulness. We thank God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. We have access to God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. I was at a restaurant this past week, and there weren't many folks there. It was in the afternoon, and it was a buffet, and I went in to eat green beans and lettuce. No, I didn't go in to eat that, but I did eat some of that, but I also ate other things. But I was talking to the lady that owns the place, and she was filling the buffet line up, and so I asked her, I said, so are you gonna celebrate Thanksgiving this week? And she said, Yeah, yeah. Well, her kids were off school, and they help with the business, they help with the restaurant, and the oldest boy must have heard what I asked, and he said from the back of the restaurant, he said, no, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving, Mom. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving. It was kind of an awkward moment. I think she was trying to be nice and just to say, yes, yeah, certainly, we celebrate Thanksgiving. And then when he said that, I began to think about this family. Isn't it a shame that... Even those who may have a different religion, maybe they're atheists. I don't know, but sad to me. Because our whole life, as Paul has shared with the church at Thessalonica, he shared with the church at Ephesus, is to be a thankful people for what God has done for us. And maybe they have no one to thank. I ran across a quote that's very interesting. Someone once said, an atheist is a person who, when he feels grateful, has no one to thank. And that's sad. We recognize that God is the giver of all good things. And so he is to be the ultimate recipient of our gratitude. We are thankful because of what God has done for us. Colossians 3, 17, Paul said to the church at Colossae, whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. And so, in other words, Paul says to the Church of Colossae that the way we live our lives should be an expression of our thankfulness to him. Philippians 4, 6 and 7 says, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So in this letter to the Philippians, we see that thanksgiving and peace are very close companions. As we're thankful to God and we recognize His sovereignty, we can rest in Him. We can have peace in this life. As we are thankful, His peace replaces our anxiousness. Christians should be the most thankful people that there are. Thankfulness should just ooze out of the true Christian, because we have so much to be thankful for. So appreciative of the lady sharing this morning of what Christ has done on the cross of Calvary for us. And because of what He has done for us, our life perspective should be radically affected by that. As we recognize His sovereignty, it should produce a peace and a calm and a genuine thankfulness. There's nothing that takes Him by surprise. Everything and anything that you go through in life is not something that has taken our sovereign God by surprise But he promises to use those things in our lives. He's in control of every Detail of our lives and that should that should cause us to rejoice There's not just random things happening to you in your life tomorrow when you get up and you go to work or you go to wherever you're gonna go tomorrow and someone hits you in the rear of your car and you're on the side of the road, you're late to work, you're gonna miss a day of work, you may have to go to the hospital or whatever these sort of things may happen in your life. None of this stuff happens randomly. When you burn the turkey at Thanksgiving and there's no meat to eat, Even these sort of things are not outside of the control of God. He is sovereign in all things. It's hard for us sometimes to grasp that, I think. God is not just a God who started the universe and stepped back from everything and just lets it go the way that it's gonna go. That's not God. God is a micromanager. Some of you have micromanagers as supervisors at work, and you're like, oh my goodness, he micromanages everything I do. God is like that. God is in control of all things. There's no one like God, and we should be so thankful that he's got it. He is in control of every detail of our lives. And then when we consider the second aspect, or the second component of thanksgiving, it's the giving part. Our thankfulness to the Lord and to others should produce something. It should produce in us a heart of giving. So when we dwell upon the blessings that God has bestowed upon us, it should naturally produce something in our hearts. It should produce a heart of giving. And if you remember from a couple of weeks back, we looked at Proverbs chapter three and verse nine, which says that we are to honor the Lord from our wealth and from the first of all of our produce. We're to honor God with what he has given to us. And so Thanksgiving is a special reminder for us as Christians. It's a time for us to thank the Lord for all that he has done for us, all that he's entrusted to us, but it's also a time for us to think about the gratitude that we have for others. All those people that God has placed into our lives, the unique people that God has placed into our lives, who build into us, who encourage us, who help us along the way. It would do us good to wake up each and every day and thank the Lord for another day to live for him, but also all of the things that God has done for us. And so Thanksgiving is a special reminder for the Christian. as we consider today our new disposition as followers of the one true living God, we find that there's this new direction now that we've come to faith in Christ. There's this new path, there's this new way that we are to live through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Proverbs 8 and verse 20, Solomon calls that way walking in the way of righteousness. Walking in the way of righteousness. So we're on this new path now. We were separated from God. We were sinners that despised the things of God. We were separate from Him. We were not holy as He is holy. We had not been justified, nor had we been sanctified. We were enemies of God. We were going our own way, going our own direction. But when God got a hold of our lives, He changed who we are. Now we have a new direction, a new path. as followers of Christ, we're to walk in His ways, we're to walk righteously and rightly, and we talked about that last week. Today we want to consider our disposition. So I want to give you three ways that we can walk in the way of righteousness. And Solomon really emphasizes three virtues in the book of Proverbs. And so we want to look at those three virtues today. And I trust you'll be encouraged by this. I was so encouraged to consider these things in my own life. Not that I'm perfect in them, certainly that was all part of the deal when I looked at this this week. But it was so challenging to me to consider these three virtues. How can I, how can you walk in the way of righteousness to please God with our life? We're on this new path. He's done all this for us through Christ. And so what should our life look like? How then shall we walk? And so the first way that we can walk in the way of righteousness is that we are to walk in humility. We're to walk in humility. Biblical humility is defined as a meekness, a selflessness, a lowliness of self. Colossians 3.12 tells us that humility is not an outward appearance, but it's a heart attitude. And so just because someone is quiet and reserved doesn't make them humble. Just as someone who's outgoing and talkative isn't necessarily proud. Humility is a matter of the heart. And Paul instructed the church at Colossae in chapter three and verse 12. He said, put on then as God's chosen ones. So this is something we have to do as God's chosen ones. We've talked about the sovereignty of God today in salvation. We are God's chosen ones and we are to put on, he says, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Jesus said, if you want to be one of my disciples, you first must deny yourself to take up your cross and follow me. John Newton said, I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ and the brightest evidences that he is indeed our master. Not to embarrass our daughter, Allison, but she brought home a very good report card this last time. She had all As. which is sort of regular for her, but 1B. And so I acted like I was upset about this. And so she gives me the card, and I said, Allison, you're grounded for two weeks. I can't believe you brought home a B+. And so she knows me well enough to know, Dad, OK. She missed it by one point. She missed the superior honor roll by one point in one class. Think about Newton's quote. That's the first thing that popped into my head. I'm persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ. The superior honor roll in the school of Christ starts with love and humility. How are we scoring in those things? How are we scoring in love and humility? Are we so busy in the Christian life that we have forgotten that the supreme virtue that God has instilled in us and manifested in us as his people is love and compassion and humility that matters. It drives us in the Christian life. Mark 10.45, this verse should blow you away. the holy, righteous God of the universe, the one who created it all, Jesus. Jesus did not come to the earth to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. Jesus was the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He didn't come, however, for people to serve Him. He came so that He may serve others. This is an amazing thing. And so when we think about what Christ has done for us, we think about how we should be serving him and serving others. James 4, 6 says that God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. The 17th century Puritan pastor John Flaywell said this, he said, they that know God will be humble and they that know themselves cannot be proud. And that hit me between the eyes this week as well, because I think all of us have a little bit of pride in us, don't we? we think that we're just a little bit better than other people we're just a cut above in many ways we try not to show it because it doesn't really look good for us to to show that but you know God is you know gifted us he's given us a good job or he's given us a a beautiful this or a beautiful that and we have all these different things if we really think about what Christ did and who we really are as sinners, how can we be proud? We ought to be the most humble people there are. And that should show in our relationships with one another. And we'll talk a little bit more about that in a moment. So what does humility look like? This is one of the great virtues that Solomon speaks about. What does humility look like? He says there's honor in having a humble heart. Proverbs 29 and verse 23 says, a man's pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor. Proverbs 18, 12 says, before destruction, the heart of man is haughty, but humility goes before honor. And so I'm scouring through the Proverbs this week, thinking about what are some of the indicators of a humble person that Solomon shares with us in this great book? And I came across two that really stood out to me, two indicators of a humble person. First, a humble person doesn't seek their own glory. A humble person's not looking for attaboys, pats on the back, acknowledgement, reward, recognition. Those things are nice. but it's not something that we should be looking for. It's not something that should motivate us. It's not something that should drive us. Proverbs 25 and verse 27, it is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glory to search out one's own glory. You see, the life of the Christian is a selfless life. And I've talked about this the last two weeks. It's not about us. If we can get that perspective in life, it's not about us. The Christian life is not seeking honor for ourselves, but it's seeking honor for Christ. It's seeking honor for others. And so the first indicator is that a humble person doesn't seek their own glory. The second indicator is that a humble person doesn't sing their own praises. And my grandfather used to say, this is called tooting your horn, tooting your own horn. Solomon actually addresses this in Proverbs. He says, let others do that. Don't do it for yourself, but let others do it. Proverbs 27 verses 1 and 2 says, do not boast about tomorrow for you do not know what a day may bring. Let another praise you and not your own mouth, a stranger, and not your own lips. Augustine said this he said if you plan to build a tall house of virtues you must first lay down deep foundations of humility We went out the other day to see some of the work that Aaron and his company has done at the Ziegler Farm. And I don't know a lot about construction, but Aaron was sharing with us some of the things that they had to do first before they completed the project. But one of the things that you have to have if you're going to do a project, a construction project, is you have to have a proper foundation. Augustine, who lived centuries ago, said, if you plan to build a tall house of virtues, virtue upon virtue upon virtue upon virtue, a big tall house of virtues, you must first lay down deep the foundation of humility. It's the rock bed of it all. It's what everything else stacks up upon. So the first way that we're to walk in righteousness is by walking in humility. The second is that we are to walk in integrity. Integrity. Proverbs 10, 9 and 10 says, he who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out. Scripture says, be sure that your sins will find you out, right? Eventually, it'll all come out in the wash. But we're to walk in integrity. The Hebrew word for integrity is tome. It means to be completely upright and blameless. This is what God calls for us as his people, that we walk in integrity. And so like humility, our integrity is manifested by the integrity of our heart. And in other words, we tell the truth because the truth is in us. We're dependable. We conduct ourselves in a fair and honest way because that's the desire of our heart. In our work, we're to have integrity. In our relationships, we're to have integrity. In our business dealings, we are to have integrity. When I worked in state government years ago, one of the things that people would do often is that they would take home with them office supplies. We had this huge room that was just filled with office supplies. I mean thousands of things. So if you needed supplies for your office, you go into the supply room and you get whatever you need. It didn't take me long after I was there to realize that everybody's taking these things home. We had a staff of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, painters, and so on on the Illinois State Fairgrounds. And I served as an auditor my first few years in state government. And so one of the things that I had to do was I had to go and audit the supplies and the commodities over on the other side of the fairgrounds. And so I went over and I noticed that there were 50 hammers, 50 hammers that were used in a one-year period by four carpenters. Copper wire screws all these different things Well, obviously we didn't know who had taken those things and so we just made note that these things were gone and Told them that you can't take things home with you. This is not a supply for your home This is a supply for those who work in the office and those who work on the fairgrounds but it was something that I thought about and I thought I There were a lot of people when I worked in government, there were a lot of extra people. And so I would walk down the executive hallway where I worked and I would see guys sitting at their desk reading the newspaper, for instance. And I just purposed it in my heart that I said, I'm never gonna do that while I work here. There were days when I had a lot of stuff to do, and there were days where I didn't have a whole lot to do. But I just purposed it in my heart, I'm not going to, I'm gonna try to work in integrity. And I'm not gonna go to the supply room, and I'm not gonna take supplies in a bag home for my wife. And so it's the little things in life that our integrity is challenged. And so it's challenged in our workplace. It's challenged in our relationships. Are you trustworthy with others? Are you honest in your dealings in business? And so on. How about when you do your taxes at the end of the year? Are we exuding Christian integrity when we do those things? Dr. Kent Hughes, who will be with us at our Grace Life Getaway in April of 2017, here's what he said. He said, integrity characterizes the entire person, not just part of him. He is righteous and honest through and through. He is not only that inside, but also in outer action. And so again, we live from the inside out, right? What's in our hearts eventually comes out. And so we want to live a life of humility. We want to live a life of integrity. And then Solomon shares three things about integrity that I think are important for us to consider. First, he says that integrity authenticates that a person truly fears the Lord. Integrity authenticates that a person truly fears the Lord. Proverbs 14 and verse 2 says, he who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is devious in his ways despises Him. Proverbs 11, 3, the integrity of the upright will guide them, but the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them. And so first, integrity authenticates that a person truly fears the Lord, He reveres the Lord. He's in awe of the Lord. His view of God is what drives him to live the Christian life. Second, Solomon says that integrity is better than riches. Integrity is better than riches. Proverbs 19.1 says, Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool. Proverbs 28.6 says, better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked, though he be rich. And then finally, a man who walks in integrity leaves behind a legacy for his family. First, integrity authenticates that a person truly fears the Lord. Second, Solomon says that integrity is better than riches. And third, a man who walks in integrity leaves behind a legacy for his family. Proverbs chapter 20, verses six and seven says, many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man? A righteous man who walks in his integrity, how blessed are his sons after him. Didn't you enjoy the testimony that Katie shared this morning about her grandfather? The impact that her grandfather had on her life. And this is what Solomon is calling for in all of our lives. To live a life that someone can stand up later, after we're long gone perhaps, and share a testimony about the integrity that we lived our lives with. Before God, before other people. So the first way we walk in the way of righteousness is by walking in humility. The second way is by walking in integrity. And then the third way is by walking in benevolence, by walking in benevolence. John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim's Progress, said this. You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you. You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you. So how do we walk in benevolence? And this is a living out a love for others, helping, assisting others in life. Solomon gives us three ways as we close down our service this morning. Solomon says that we are to be kind to one another. Proverbs 3.3 says, do not let kindness and truth leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Kindness. and truth. Secondly, we're to be gracious and forgiving with others. Proverbs 17, 9 says, He who conceals a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends. Scripture is clear that we don't have to go to the mat on every little thing with another, with our spouse, with our kids, with those in our life, with our family members, with those in the church. We don't have to go to the mat on every little thing. There's actually virtue in covering these things, some of these things, in love and in grace. I want to be a gracious person. I want to be a loving person. I don't want to be a person that is constantly picking at others. We're to be gracious, forgiving. Think about how gracious Christ is with us, how forgiving he is with us. And so that should manifest itself in the way that we live. And so we seek love when we conceal a transgression. And then thirdly and finally, we are to be generous to others. This is the height of benevolence. And we have in our church, by the way, a team of deacons that work on some of these issues, more higher profile issues, people that have needs in our body. And they work to try to help to meet these needs. And so we try to do that through our grace groups. We try to do that through other means and other methods. Some things fall through the cracks, but our heart should be that we want to be generous to others. Proverbs 22, 9 says, he who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor. Proverbs 28 and verse 27 says, he who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses. I'm reminded of what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians chapter five and verse 16, 17. We've looked at this verse. We've dissected this verse. But I think it's a good verse to lead us into our close this morning. Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of our time because the days are evil. We need to be careful how we walk. As we consider how we can walk in the way of righteousness, we need to be careful as to how we approach life. Ephesians 4.1 says, walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. Is the way we walk worthy of the calling which we have been called? Colossians 1.10 says, walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. And by the way, I think both of those things go together. increasing in the knowledge of God, as we learn more about Him, as we learn more about His ways, as we learn more about Christ, as we learn more about what He did for us, as we know more of the Word of God, we increase in the knowledge of God, and that helps for us to bring fruit, bear fruit in every good work. The more we know of Christ, the more we learn of Christ, the more we study His life, It helps us to live our life in a way that would be pleasing to Him. And then 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 12, One day we'll be forever with Christ. We'll see Him as He is. we will stand or fall to our knees before the one who died in our place, the one that really died in our place, the one that went to the cross of Calvary, carried his own cross to Golgotha and the cross, they laid him down, they laid him on the cross, they tipped him up, he suffered and bled and eventually died. in our place. Why? So we didn't have to do that. So that we wouldn't be punished for what we have done. He didn't do anything wrong. He didn't have a sinful thought or a sinful action. He didn't do anything wrong. He loved us so much that he left the glories and the comforts of heaven to come and to live among people like us. People that sin, people that are inconsistent in our lives, people that do these things that He died for. I was talking to a friend of mine the other day, and he was working with a fellow in his church, and this is not a super profound statement, but it's one that he reminded me of. Never entertain yourself with the things that Christ died for. Never entertain yourselves with the things that Christ died for. This guy had some problems in his life and he was sharing with me how he was working with this guy. I don't know him, don't know his name. Never entertain yourselves with the things that Christ died for. And I think we can go a step farther with that. Don't be involved in things, even if they're not entertainment for us, don't be involved in things that Christ died for. But it matters, doesn't it? That's why I had Mark read for you that passage this morning out of Ephesians 1. Christ came as the ultimate act of love for us. As we think about our disposition in this life, we think about how we are to be, how we are to act, how are we to live our lives. We certainly want to live in righteousness, as Solomon said. We want to walk in the way of righteousness. But we want to walk in a manner worthy of God, worthy of what He has done for us through Christ. And so a spirit-filled life, Ephesians 5, 18, a spirit-filled life produces a heart of thanksgiving. It produces a desire to walk in the way of righteousness. It produces a life of humility and integrity and benevolence. I love this time of the year. It's a hard time to lose weight, but I love this time of the year. It really takes the focus off of us, doesn't it? We think about thanks and giving, and then we move from Thanksgiving into this season of time where we're all out trying to do things for others, right? We're all out there trying to say, you know what, I wonder what little Johnny would like for Christmas. And we sacrificially spend our time and our money to go out and try to do something special for little Johnny and little Susie and a whole lot of people, most of us. And so I love this time of the year. So it's a time for us to serve. It's a time for us to show humility, integrity, benevolence, but it's a time as well. It's the one time of the year where the focus is on the things of Christ. And so I want to challenge you as we move into the final month and then into the new year, I want to challenge you to take as many opportunities as you can, not to just be humble, not to just live in integrity, and not just to be benevolent, but to tell people of the glories of Christ. to use opportunities that come your way. Try just one this week, or try just two this week. Try to see how a conversation that you have with somebody can turn into a conversation about Christ. You gotta work at it. And once you begin to work at that, it becomes very natural for you to begin to talk to others about Jesus. And so let's point them. to our Savior. Let's point them to the one who came down from the glories of heaven, who was born in a manger, who lived a perfect life for over three decades, went to the cross, and died in the place of sinners, all who had placed their faith and trust in Him. Let's concentrate as best we can, as God's people, as Christians, this holiday season, to point people to the salvation that only Jesus can offer. Can we do that? Try to do that once or twice this week. And each week, as we move along through December, you'll have a myriad of opportunities. You'll see them before they even get there. These are opportunities for us to share about our Savior. So let's do that this morning. And let's walk in humility. Let's walk in integrity. Let's walk in benevolence as we seek to honor our Lord. Let's pray.