Amen, amen, thank you, brother God be the praise they've been All right, all right brother pat has already asked me a question here. Just a little bit ago He was asking me about that idea of y'all turn the second corinthians second corinthians Let's look at this for a minute 2 Corinthians. And look, if you would, about verse number seven. He asked me on that thought process about, he said, tell me a little bit more about what you mentioned last night about the fixing thing. fixing thing you know about fixing the problem or fixing me for the problem and that was a that's a great question to ask and These things are based on these passages here out of 2nd Corinthians 12 beginning in verse number 7 2nd Corinthians 12 in verse number 7 The apostle says, and least I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given, given to me, a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan. That messenger was given to buffet me. Least I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it, whatever it is, might depart from me. And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I would rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest me and all God's people said notice who was the giver in this this was not the initiation of Satan himself but this was a gift as God considered it a gift that he gave to Paul and Paul recognized it as a gift in the after thought of it, and what I mean by the afterthought, Brother Pat, it was saying this. I went to the Lord. I had an issue. I had a problem. Now, what was the problem that Paul had? Anybody know? Not sure what that problem was. Meaning, was it something to do with the workload that he had? Could have been. Could have been a compiling type thing. Could it have been something Paul was dealing with in the natural, in the flesh side of him that he was struggling with in his thought life? Could it have been? How many of y'all have a struggle with the thought life? Does anybody escape that in this world, even though they walk intimately and closely with Jesus? Are you still gonna have issues with your thought life? What in my mind has not been redeemed, amen? Therefore, our mind has to be what? Renewed, refreshed on a daily, consistent, and when I say daily, I'm saying on a regular basis in a day. Continually, as we walk with the Lord. Our mind has to be every hour, every minute, every second, let's just say it's always gotta be refreshed and renewed by the Lord. That's where that transformation takes place. Continued to come to the Lord with this issue that he had at the time We are not aware that he was aware that this was a gift that God gave him and that this gift actually was a messenger of Satan Until this time spent with the Lord and when God he kept asking God to get rid of it God revealed to him Exactly what he was doing in this trouble that he was keeping Paul where? In a weak place so that he would depend on him and in his weakness, God would be exalted and elevated in his life. And what he told him, because Paul brought it to him what? Three times. And in essence, what did God tell him? I'm not going to fix it. That's what he said. I'm not fixing it, Paul. I'm not fixing this issue. This issue will not be fixed. I'm not fixing it. You're better off having it than me fixing it. And if you want to continue to walk with me, you will trust that I know what's best for you and that my grace is sufficient for you to bear it through. So what we see in this is that we don't necessarily need God to fix it, whatever the problems that we're facing. But we do need God to fix us. whatever it is we face. We needn't fix it. Now can God fix it? Oh yes, and there are times that he will, that he will. But we don't need it fixed to keep walking with him. But I need to be fixed to continue to walk with him, amen? Because that's where that renewing comes in, and that's where God's grace comes in in our life. So there are times, without question, And on a consistent basis in all of our lives, we have issues that are just not gonna be fixed by God right away if they are ever to be fixed by him. But what we see is we need him to fix us for whatever those things we need fixing. And eventually we get to a place as we see Paul, he quit asking after that third time because God gave him revelation on it that he wasn't fixing it, he quit asking. He knew that this was something that he was going to carry with him the rest of his life. It wasn't going away Whatever it was. I don't know. I think it could have been a couple different things I mean it does give us in the idea of something specific that he doesn't reveal to us because whatever it is is not important That's what that's not important That's not important what it is What's significant what he started the first let this letter out second Corinthians member that God puts us in trouble? that we can help other people in any kind of trouble they're going through. But he never highlights any kind of, Brother Jim, he doesn't highlight any particular trouble, does he? No trouble's ever mentioned other than any kind of trouble. But he doesn't specifically say one trouble or the other, which is a revelation to us that many other passages help us with. For an example, let me give you just a couple passages that go along with this principle that we see here. Paul's life in Corinthians Romans 828 y'all help me with that. What does it say? Romans 28 says for we We what? Key we know we have this knowledge we have this understanding we know this and Knowing this makes all the difference in the world not just because I know this but because I know the one who gave me this and Because he's faithful and trustworthy. I know that he is doing something in this in my life for we know that all Things not some things Not the good things Not just the bad things, but what? all things all things are not good and God's people said and I mean, we deal with a lot of stuff that ain't good. Dealing with a boss that ain't good. Dealing with a coworker that may not be good. But we have a promise. We know that God works all things good and bad, beautiful and ugly, harsh and God-fearing. He uses it all together for what? for the good. For the good of those that, what, are the called according to his purpose, and those that, what, love him. To those that love him and are the called according to his purpose. What is the good, then? We have to go back and just ask, is the good just the fact that if I'm going through trouble, God's gonna bless me with a new vehicle? Is that the good? Man, if that was the good, I'd be rolling around in a bunch of new cars, amen? That ain't the good. Does it mean that he is going to put me around good people? Does it mean that he's gonna keep me from bad situations? That would be good, wouldn't it? But does it mean that? It doesn't mean that. Does it mean that he's going to keep your pockets full of cash? You're going to have diamonds on your fingers. You're going to get to buy jet planes and fly all over the world. There's a lot of preachers out there that tell you that's what that means, but that ain't what that means, right? Would the Bible answer for us what that means? It does. What does the Bible answer, what is the good? What does the scripture say? What's verse 29 of Romans 8, 29 through 32 tell us. Let's look at it. Go to Romans 8. Romans 8, 29. And look, I think he describes the good that he's referring to. I'm gonna just read verse number 28 again, and we know that some things work together. Is that what it says? Well, why in the world are not practical application? That's how we apply it. Are you with me? We believe this word is inherent, but in our application, we believe there's fantasies in there because we don't apply it to other things. We just apply it to things that feel good to us. Are you with me? which we shouldn't. The word, the idea of all things is what? All things. That would include everything. Everything. Y'all can say with me in here tonight, God doesn't waste nothing, amen. Isn't that a wonderful thought? There's nothing wasted with him. For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. And verse 29 is gonna tell us, for whom he did foreknow, he also did well. He predestinated to be conformed to what? To the image of His Son. So, you know what I teach, what I believe, I believe the good that He's referring to is that He's going to use everything in our life to make us look more like Jesus. That's really what it boils down to. He's going to use it, He's going to use everything to make us look more like Jesus. That's what we've been predestined Those that are called, those that love the Lord, have been predestined prior to their understanding of His calling and understanding that they know Him, that God was gonna make them conform to the image of His Son, and therefore we would never do it on our own, so God takes over and uses everything in our life, the good and the bad, to help us look more and more like His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, amen? Before I came here tonight, I had to look in Joyce's laundry room and find her iron. I had this shirt that I was going to wear and this shirt was all wrinkled up, Brother Jimmy. And I didn't want to come in here all wrinkled up, so what I did was I plugged in Joyce's and let it sit on that washing machine for a little bit and I went back in the room and got a couple other things and let it get piping hot. And I took our ironing board and pulled it down and I laid my shirt across it and I started on the collar up top and then up on the shoulders and on the sleeves and on the front side and it's amazing how that heat and that steam inside that iron Started freeing this shirt of those wrinkles that was in it you see every one of us in here have wrinkles in our life and The only thing that gets out of wrinkle is heat You got to put the heat to it, and I want to tell you God knows how to put the heat on us amen and to get those wrinkles out of us so he knows how to get it out so he puts us through things. He allows us to go through things. He tests us in things. He puts the iron on us to get those wrinkles out of us and sometimes it's a co-worker. Sometimes it's a boss. Sometimes it's a society. Sometimes it's a pandemic. It's a financial crisis. Sometimes it's this. Sometimes it's that. Sometimes it's a sickness. Sometimes it's this. But God allows all of that. He works it all together to do what? Press us out. To get those wrinkles out of our life. So we look more and more like Jesus. Amen? And boy, He knows exactly what He's doing with it. And to Him be the glory. And in the midst of it, you know what God keeps doing? He keeps doing things that just don't make sense to us. He just keeps doing things that just don't make sense and turn around. Brother Jimmy said he'd done a little reading there in 2 Kings, and there's a lot that happens in 2 Kings that just don't make sense. It don't make sense. But when God gets in it now, God don't ever consider the odds, does He? And there's nothing wasted with Him. But when I put myself in position to be used by him, I don't have to have everything fixed for me, but boy I sure need him to get the wrinkles out of me and fix me for whatever it is that I'm going to have to face in this old life that he's given me to live. So that people see who? Jesus. They see Jesus. There was a time when Elisha and them were going to build a school, a house for all these prophets and they went down to the river and they was cutting those logs. And one of those boys, what did he do? He chopped and what he did is, oh, our axe head went off into the Jordan River. And boy, he turned around and said, Elisha, man, I just lost my axe and it wasn't mine. It belongs to somebody else. And what did he ask him? He said what? He said, where did it fall at? And the scripture says that he took a twig, he took a stick, and all he did was toss that stick where that axe head fell in the river. And the scripture says something that don't make sense, something that goes against the natural, that piece of iron floated up to the top of that water and that old boy reached down there and picked it up and brought it ashore. It just don't make sense. But you see, God was in it, just like to me and you, brother Pat, or whoever it is, the people that sometimes God puts us in life with, we may have not have done it that way. We would have gone to surround ourself with a certain type of person, a certain type of people. If we had a choosing, we would do it the way we think would be best and cultivate the best out of us. But sometimes God puts the people in our life that's gonna be like sandpaper. Why do we use sandpaper? Brother Jeremy's a contractor. I seen you grinding and sanding on something the other day. You had dust flying everywhere out of that shed. You was working on a tabletop, if I ain't mistaken, smoothing it out, and dust was going everywhere. Why was you sanding in that thing? It had some what? It had some what? Imperfections. It had some, That had to be smoothed out. I watched him with that grinder. He was on some Angle on some items that he was working on that he'd been Working and he was cleaning it up on there. Why because there was boners on it, and it would get you and hurt you well, we Own us and God uses people in our life like sandpaper. It don't make sense I wouldn't put them in my life, but you know what God knows better not do amen So he's gonna use that person and this person and this situation, he's gonna use it all together to make us look more like Jesus. To make us more like Jesus. And he does that again and again. So I need God to fix who? I need him to fix me, amen? Constantly be fixing me so that I can walk through the things that He has given me to walk in and to bring glory to Him. To Him be the praise. He uses it all. Let's keep reading. Let's keep reading. Watch how this unfolds. Romans 8. 29 says, for whom he did foreknow, he also predestinated to be what? Conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Verse 30, moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Brother Jimmy went over some of these things on Sunday morning. Let's go down to verse number 31. What shall we say then to these things? What shall we say to it? If God be for us, who can be? Man, that's a good way to start answering the issues you gotta face in life. Man, when you get the news that you have something, what do you, what you ought to say to it? You could say, it is well or all is well, or you can turn around and say, hey, if God be for us, God be for me, what in the world can be against me, amen? The next time somebody says something about or gives you a praise report. You can turn around and just say that, hey look, if God be for me, what in the world can be against me? And just keep reminding yourself again and again and again, if God be for me, who can be against me? If God be for us, what can be against us? And just keep reminding yourself. You see, God is for us, amen? He's proven that already. And because he is for us, there's nothing in this world can be against us. So when somebody has a prayer need and they lift it up, just remind them, hey, if God be for us, what can be against us? And because God is for us and God was with us, and God lives in us, and he lives in us so he can live through us, and therefore he wants to live his life out of our life, even in this place tonight, amen. And that's what we see in these things. But let's take it just a step further on that. Look in verse number 32. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things. Oh, man, you know what's included in that? Oh, without a doubt, you couldn't enter in none of that without His grace, and if grace ain't in it, God ain't in it, amen? That thorn that Paul had. That thorn was right here. Let's read it that-a-way. Verse 32. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not give me a messenger of Satan? What have I come to? How shall he not allow my wife cancer? How shall he not allow my wife, my wife, my wife, which is a good thing. He who finds a wife, finds what? A good thing. He who finds a wife finds favor from who? The Lord. You see, what we see here is dealing with this thing that we often would shun and push away, but how much the more will he not give us these things? As a matter of fact, let me go take you to an Older Testament passage that says identical to what this just said. Look in Psalm 84. Psalm 84. Psalm 84. How many's got some wrinkles? You get it out of this old world, and you live a little bit, you know what gets dirty? Your mind's already dirty. It's gotta be renewed, right? What else gets dirty? Your feet get dirty, right? Remember when Jesus was going to wash Peter's feet, and Peter said, hey, you ain't got to wash my feet. No, let me turn around and wash yours. And Peter said, if I don't wash your feet, you can't have any what? Pardon me, you can't have any fellowship with me. He said, you're clean because you done bathed, but you traveled from where you were cleaned at to this supper, and while you walked with those old sandals in this world, those old feet got dirty. And when you walk through this world, when you go to that campus, or you go on that job, or you walk through this life in any kind of way, you're going to get tainted by this old world we live in, and we constantly need to be served by the Lord that our feet get washed. And I want to tell you, that happens by us gathering together with one another. We are the body of Christ. So when we gather together like this tonight, this is like a foot washing in the sense that we're taking the living word of God and washing your feet so that you can have fellowship and be right and continue to walk rightly with the Lord. That's the picture of why we take the washing of the water of the word together. And remember, the spirit is manifested for the profit of what? All in the body. So when God's in it, the Spirit's in it. And when the Spirit's in it, grace is in it. And that grace is always gonna have the measure of the word of God. Because God doesn't do anything apart from what he's revealed to us in his truth. So all those things are elements that he used. But Psalm 84, look in verse number 11. For the Lord God is a son. For this world we live in, this old world would rot and die away if they didn't have the light of the sun. Didn't have the light. The Lord God is our light. He's our life. He's also our love and shield. Our protector and our provision. Notice what we see here. The Lord will give grace and beauty, glory, a purpose, and no good thing will he withhold from them but what? walk upright. Y'all know what was in that? That no good thing? Paul's thorn, right? Listen to me. Sometimes the good thing is a hard thing. It's kingdom life. He will withhold no good thing from them that walk in faith with him. And sometimes the good thing from God is a hard thing. a difficult thing, an actual unbearable type of thing that you have to depend on Him to get you through the situation. That's a good thing from God. Amen? Let's just look. No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. Oh, Lord of hosts, is the man that, what, trusteth in thee. You see, to walk uprightly, you trust him, you walk with him. And when you walk with him, we have to get it out of our head that when you walk with God, you only see easy things. No, no, that's been a lie that people believe way too long. Sometimes, a lot of times, That good thing is a real hard thing. It really is. It's difficult. It's hard. Unbearable at times. To the point where we're talking about this idea of this thorn in the flesh. There was other times that Paul made reference in the first part of 2 Corinthians. He said, look, brethren, we don't want you to be unaware, ignorant of what we went through. For it was bad, he said. I mean, we were so heavily troubled and persecuted and under such great weight that we were beyond measure, beyond strength. We couldn't bear it. It was way beyond our capability. And he said, we had to have a sentence of death in ourselves. For what reason? That we wouldn't trust in ourselves. But that we would trust in Him who what? Raises the dead. You see, there is no resurrection, there's no resurrection power unless there's a death. And that's the whole purpose of this good from the perspective of the Lord that can be weighty and hard from our angle is to produce death in us so that we don't trust in ourselves to get us through this and we've got to trust to him because when we die to self, he raises the dead. And the life he lived, he's now living in us. The life that he lived, he's now living that life out of us. And that's the essence of what it is to be crucified with Christ. To no longer live for ourselves but for him who died and rose for us. We would not put ourself in that position. So he puts us there. And oftentimes it's with the heat. It's with heat. He's got to put you through the tests, not to hurt you, but to what? Refine you so that you die. Now, the sooner we learn it, the sooner we die to ourself without having to be under pressure. That's the blessing. The sooner we learn that, he doesn't have to put us through the heavy, strenuous things like we would if we just have a stubborn heart toward it. We just go through more and more difficulty. It's kind of like this. I want you to think about it from a perspective. How many of y'all know anything or a little bit or ever watch football before? Anybody ever watch football? Y'all know a little bit about football? Think about it from this perspective. What does Let's just use from a high school level. Let's take Franklinton, let's take Covington, let's take Ameet, Varnadoe, whatever it may be. Let's pull these guys together. They start, usually these coaches want these guys conditioned and prepared year round. Let's take Bowling Green, whether it be football, basketball, baseball, whatever it is. They want them constantly to be thinking and considering about becoming a better athlete. But let's say you have a coach who says, we're going to bypass spring practice. We're going to bypass a summer conditioning program. And when all teams are legally allowed to gather back together and start fall practice for a fall season, we're not gonna practice, but the first game we're gonna put a team out there and let them play against a team that's been practicing and conditioning. What do you think's gonna happen? It's gonna be a one-sided game. This team that has not prepared for the group is gonna get slaughtered. They're not going to be prepared emotionally, mentally, nor physically. They're just not going to be ready. They're not going to know the plays. They're not going to know what to do. It's going to turn into a fist fight before it turns into a good football game because the boys that are getting slaughtered are going to get defensive from the perspective, we can't whoop them in the game. We're going to have to fight out here. You lose all your discipline in the ball game because that coach didn't adequately prepare his team for that gridiron, where that other coach put the team through spring training when they had to go out there when it's been a while from the fall to the spring, and they have to put those helmets on again for the first time. Any of y'all ever play football? Y'all remember what it was like in spring football when you had to put your helmet back on for the first time, and you went out there the first day, and you hit how bad your neck hurt, and how bad everything hurt, and you was in some serious pain until you got conditioned with it and fought. but that's what they were doing, and they put you head to head. Y'all remember playing like old Bull in the Ring and that kind of stuff? They'd put a ball on that, about where that back wall is, and they would put two linemen right here, and they would hand one the ball, and he would have to run, and this one could tackle the guy, but usually, he wasn't, he was fighting with this lineman, but that defensive guy in the background was just waiting. He was wanting to take that running back's head off. And that running back was coming in and he was going to drop his shot because he wanted to run over him. I mean it was like two bubbles colliding and that's what you wanted. You wanted them to pull everything they had into it. You wanted that defensive man to knock that running back's head off. And you wanted that running back to run over him. for that defensive man. And I mean, you come off with banged up, bruised up, hurt, you done been through it all, people leave with broken fingers, broken arms, broken legs, you name it all happens. But see, it all has to happen to get him out on that football field with another team that's well prepared. You see, that coach would be liable for the well-being and the safety of his ballplayers if he didn't adequately prepare them for a whole nother team to meet on that field. Now, if you think a coach who's competing for a temporary earthly crown would prepare his player to win, do you not think God would put his people through some hurtful things, some difficult things, some things where you lose a little bit, where you lose a little bit of flesh, and you lose a little bit here, and you lose a little bit there? I mean, we got this idea that God does so much for me, he ain't gonna put me through nothing and let me go around like a sissy out there with no trouble in my life, going through everything. No, God put us into some things to make us those vessels that reveal the Lord Jesus Christ, amen? And you see, that's what? The good thing that he does not withhold from those that walk uprightly with him. To him be the glory, amen? What is God doing in all that, Brother Pat? He's fixin' us. He's fixin' us for it. Not fixin' it, but what? Fixin' us. You can't, let's use that same analogy with a football team, you can't fix it on the field without fixin' the players for the field. There ain't no fixin' what happens on the field. You fix the player for the field, and then the player is gonna either win or lose, but you fix gettin' him ready for it. And that's what God does us. He fixes us for it. So that, this is the key, this is what happens. This is the result. This is when Jesus gets out of us, these things happen. What God is doing, he's changing how we, how we smell. How we smell. He's changing how we taste and how we smell. What do I mean by that? Doesn't Paul say that in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 about verse 14? That we are under Christ, under God, the aroma of Christ, that he diffuses the fragrance of our aroma in every place. Y'all look at it, look at it real quick. 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians. If you think about it later tonight, I would write down in your Bible under that passage in Psalm 84 11 and Romans 8 32 just put beside it sometimes the good thing is a hard thing Just remember that a hard thing you don't want to forget that 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 Look in verse 14 Now thanks be unto God Which always? Causes us to do what? So he causes that means he's got to do something. He's doing something with us, right? When he leads he always leads in Triumph he always leads us through triumph Always leads us to try this triumph always looked like triumph Not necessarily did it look like Jesus was triumphal it sure didn't But was he oh? Lord praise God But no would have claimed. He was victorious and what he did and how he lived Nobody would have claimed He was walking in triumph, but he walked in triumph every step of the way because he let his father lead him He was led by His Father. And everything He did, even when it looked like it all failed, it was all a triumph. And there's going to be times in your life that doesn't look like triumph, but because Christ is shepherding you and leading you, He always leads us in triumph when He leads. No matter how it looks this side of heaven, You could know that when he's leading you, wherever it is, in whatever it is, for whatever reason it is, he's always leading you in the triumph. And what he's doing in that triumph is this. He says, Leek comes up with the triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by which he is in every place. That's the idea that he diffuses A fragrance, an aroma. And that aroma is the knowledge of Jesus. That aroma causes other people to remember Jesus, to see Jesus. Just like you, when you walk into a certain place, you ever walked in somewhere and you smelt something and it took you back to somewhere else? You walked in and smelt an apple pie and you thought about mama's apple pie, or your honey's apple pie, or your grandma's apple pie. You smell things and smell will make you transcend time. You can go back to a whole different place. You can remember how you felt, what you was thinking when you went into a room when you smell certain things. You see, well what God's doing with us when we are going through the good and the bad, and he's working everything together for the good, therefore he's shepherding me, he's leading me, what he's doing in that is that he is diffusing an aroma out of our life. And that aroma is the knowledge of God, the knowledge of Christ. And that smell is not something that you physically smell, it causes you to remember. Causes you to remember what he came to do. What he does, how he works, and why he works the way that he works. So everywhere we go, as he's leading us, he is diffusing that aroma. Now notice what I mean about this triumph. Verse 15. We the brethren to the disciples the car a sweet Savor of Christ and them that are saved and in them that perish it happens on both sides verse 16 to the one we save of death unto death and to the other an aroma of life unto life And who in the world is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many which have corrupted or peddling the word of God, but of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, speak we in Christ. Basically, this is what he said. There are going to be times that Christ is leading you, or me, or us, And his aroma is going to be coming off our life. And that aroma is going to be a sweet smell to the brethren that are walking in that life and being led by him. But there are other times, at the same time, those that it produces life in, it's going to be a stench of death. And they don't want no part of it. They don't want nothing to do with it. They just want that death smell to get away from them and get out of their life. So we see that on both sides. See, the one, though, looks like you're not having trouble. You're not accomplishing anything. But that's not the case. Paul tells us over in the book of Philippians, when they do that, it is a sign of their perdition, that they are perishing in their sin. We don't leave them there. We pray for that person. We want them to be rescued, amen. But still, when people don't like to smell a stench, they're going to do everything they can to get that stench out of their life. And they push at us and push it away. And what God does in that is that he's what? Refining us to change, continue to change how we smell so that we don't get in the flesh. Because if we get in the flesh, we're really going to stink then. Are you with me? And not only are we going to stink to them, but we're going to stink to everybody. and we no longer diffuse in that aroma. And as long as he's leading and he's shepherding that aroma, it's gonna come out. Now that has to happen through a transformation process. God's just gotta keep transforming us. Ain't that right, brother Jimmy? Sometimes you're gonna smell good to people, sometimes you're gonna stink to them. That's part of the journey. And that is a good thing, even though it's a what? A hard thing. We don't wanna stink in people's eyes, are you with me? No, who wants to really stink before people? in the way that they look at you and think about you. None of us do. The flesh wants to be what? Approved and accepted and praised and welcomed. That's just a natural thing. How many of y'all like when people like you? You'd be fooled to not want people to like you, but we have to look at it from the perspective of, I'm not doing anything for them to not like you. Matter of fact, I'm doing everything to be likeable, approachable to them, but there's something in them and there's something in me that just can't come together, and that is Jesus, amen? He's the one who's in me that they don't want nothing to do with. They don't see that, they just see me. And they don't like me. Because they think I think that I'm better than them. That I look down on them. I cast condemnation on them. They have that mentality. And I don't want to give them that mentality outside of giving them the Spirit of God and what God's doing in me and His truth. Amen? I don't want to act in the flesh and hurt and harm them. But if that's going on in their life, that's a triumph in Christ. That may not look like one, but I'm just going to keep following Him. Because why? He works everything together, doesn't He? For who's good? for our good. Tomorrow night, Lord willing, we'll close out looking at Psalm 37. And 37 starts out, fret not, fret not over evildoers. Be not envious over the workers of iniquity. Trust in the Lord. Do good. Dwell in the land. Commit yourself to him, trust in him, wait upon him, rest in him. Because I want to tell you, we're going to look at, well, what do we do when we stumble in all these things? Because how many of y'all stumble in this stuff? How many of y'all trip up on the race, disqualify yourself from the race God's given you to run? Well, we've got to have some solutions to help us get back in the race again, amen? So tomorrow night, we're going to look at some of those and some perspectives on how God restores us back so that people can smell us. smell Him through our life, amen, and watch Him at work. So Him be the glory and the praise. Anybody have any questions, anything? Psalm 37, Psalm 37, great word. We definitely won't be able to cover the entire chapter because it's a long chapter, but every word in it, just like all the word is worth reading, and you'll see a lot in it that's gonna kind of build on one another, but we'll spend some time in those first probably few chapters. We may start somewhere else, but make our way to that, Lord willing. I've been trying to preach it the last two nights, but it ain't happened, so Lord willing it will come together tomorrow night. that and Not that I would say I was trying that's why I had intentions to go there But I wanted to be sensitive to what God would work with us in here tonight And just let him lead in that and that was obvious not where we were Are going to use we could we could stay here for a while, but brother Jeremy might leave me you with me Yeah, he's my ride home, so But we just we just want to keep walking with the Lord amen keep walking with the Lord who needs fixing I need fixing. This is a revelation that's helped me out a lot. Fix me for it. Fix me for it. But boy, because some things are just going to come in your life and they're going to be with you forever. Just cling to what God gives you. He's going to help you out. He's going to bring you through. Amen? You might not understand it. You might not understand it. It's something that you didn't ask for, something you didn't want. That's a lot that we do. I wasn't asking for salvation. He came and interrupted me. I wasn't asking to be called. He put a mandate on me. And now all I can say is woe is me if I don't. If I don't preach the gospel. Amen? So just keep, keep walking with Him. Now if you wrestle with these things, because you do, you will. A lot of times we wrestle with stuff and the reason we wrestle with stuff is just simply because We either have been told a mistruth, a lie, that God doesn't do this. We've heard that, and we've clung to it, and then God does it, and you're thinking, God, you can't do this. But we know God is what? Sovereign. And because He's sovereign, God can do what He wants, when He wants, how He wants, with whomever He wants, however He wants, whenever He wants. We may not understand it, but we don't want to fight. We might wrestle with those thoughts, but when you wrestle with the Lord, the Lord's not intimidating you wrestling with it. Remember, nothing gets him. His wisdom's already got a solution for it, amen? You're not gonna intimidate him, I don't intimidate him, none of us together will. He's already got the solution and the answer for it all. But if you wrestle with some of these things, just wrestle wisely. Go to him. Go to him, ask him to help you, ask him to see it. And ensure, commit to yourself that if I wrestle with these things and I want to wrestle wisely, I want to walk away from the wrestling worshiping. I want to give him glory in whatever it is. A great book, Bible book that we see that pattern in is the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk wrestled with what was coming. He said, God, you can't do it. And God says, not only can I do it, it's going to be worse than you anticipated it being. He said, you can't. I've been told you can't do it. He said, but I'm going to wait. I'm going to go up on the ramparts and I'm going to wait to hear a word from you. And God came. God gave him a word. And you know what he did? By doing that, waiting upon the Lord, wrestling wisely, he wrote some of the most beautiful words ever penned in scripture in the closing of the book of Habakkuk in chapter 3 when he says, you know what, if it all falls apart, if it all collapses, if the economy comes to an end, if the fig tree doesn't blossom, if it all falls apart, my eyes are fixed upon you and I love you. You can do whatever you want, amen, and I'm going to trust you and keep walking. Boy, what a beautiful picture, the book of Habakkuk, of what he did. He struggled, he struggled, but he struggled in the right direction. And it set him free. It set him free. Father, we thank you tonight. We bless you. Thank you for these things. Help us with this revelation that the good thing is often the hard thing. That you will not withhold any good thing from us. And none of us in here are foolish enough to say that we we want the thorns, that's not what we're saying. What we are saying is, is that we know that you know what is best for us. So therefore, we want to submit ourselves to you, to your solution, for what you've called us to walk in and be and do. And we thank you right now for your grace, and we know that it is ever sufficient for us. you are more interested in working on me to be a blessing to your people, to your kingdom, a vessel of your mercy that will praise you in the midst of the hard thing and give you glory in the midst of the beautiful thing. That the beautiful things of life won't pull us away and the hard things of life won't allow us to pine away. but that we will keep our eyes fixed upon you and run this race with joy that you set before us. And we give you the praise in Jesus' name, amen.