You can be seated. The children are going to go out to the Children's Church. You have your Bibles. We're going to look at two different passages of Scripture today. One is going to be in the book of Galatians. That's where you can turn first. Do you have your copy of God's Word or do you want to look along with somebody? There's also some extra Bibles out there under the seats if anybody needs a Bible to look for yourself in the Scripture. Galatians 5 is where I want to study today. I'm going to have a word of prayer with you. We don't have as big of a crowd today for Sunday morning. I know many of the moms are doing things with their families, and I want to say how much it means to me that you are here today. But as I get ready to go to prayer, and I may do it before the end of the service, I don't know, the Lord is just really impressing on my heart that those of you who are here right now I could go around probably to each of your lives, and I could probably lay hands on each of you and realize that there are circumstances that you feel like are beyond your control. How many of you would amen that statement? Raise your hand if you amen that statement. There are circumstances that you're dealing with, problems that you're dealing with. I know for myself, there are even some emotions that I'm dealing with. My mom went to be with the Lord a couple of years ago, and so there's emotions that come with this holiday, Lots of good and there's lots of maybe sometimes negative emotions that are put into holidays that the culture celebrates. But as I begin in a moment to have prayer with you, I just want you to recognize that no matter what any person in this world calls you by title, every single one of you, male, female, young or old, every life is precious. in the eyes of God. And I want every single person that's here to realize and to recognize that your value does not come from what people say. Not even what people call you by your title. That value comes and is entrusted to you by Almighty God, your creator. People will value you one day and maybe devalue you the next. Can I hear an amen to that? But God never devalues his children. He has a value placed upon each of your lives. And if you can't hear anything else as I begin my comments today, please hear this. You say, well, you're a preacher. You're supposed to say that. Kind of like we used to say to our mom, well, you're my mom, you're supposed to say nice things, you know. Well, you're a preacher, you're supposed to say those kinds of things. No, I want you to know that the word of God proves those things to me. And I want you to know also that you say, well, how is it that I could ever determine that the God of this universe, the God who spoke the world into existence, we believe by faith. How is it pastor that you can tell me that I have value out of all the billions and billions of people that have ever existed on this earth? How could you ever tell me that I'm worth anything to God? And the thing I want you to know is that you're valuable to God because your soul matters to God. And your soul is so valuable to God that even I believe, even if you were the only soul with a physical body on this planet earth needing salvation, God would have still sent his only begotten son just for you. You say, how do I know that I'm worth anything to God? Look at the cross. Look at this savior, the suffering savior, Jesus Christ. Look at the cross of Calvary and see that even if you were the only soul that needed the payment of his life for your sin, so that you might be redeemed to an eternity with God forever, that he would have still sent his son to die just for you. That means that your soul is of infinite value, that your soul is worth dying for, that your soul is worth God giving his only begotten son on the cross of Calvary for you. That means you have great worth in the economy of heaven. I don't want anybody to ever come and be in the sanctuary of the Lord with me and not have me express to you that God loves you with an everlasting love and that God has a purpose and a plan for every single one of us. and that nobody in the economy of heaven is insignificant to God. You and I look at the limitations of the flesh. You and I look at the aging on the face. We look at the circumstances in people's lives and we diminish value and add value based on what people can do for us or what we're supposed to do for others. But that is not so in the economy of heaven. God valued you from the very onset of your existence. The Bible says before you were in your mother's womb, God knew you and God had a plan and purpose for you. That is not a preacher talk. That is God's word talking through this preacher to your heart today. I want you to know you matter to the heavenly father. You are of value and worth to God. And every time you look in that mirror and you begin to do that negative self-talk, or you begin to feel less about yourself, or you begin to feel like your circumstances are dividing your life, please take a step back. And instead of looking into that mirror, open up the window of heaven and ask God himself, what do you say I am? Who do you say I am? What value do you place on my life? Because anybody looking in the mirror can see something less, but God always sees something more. Thank God. I haven't even started preaching yet, but I really believe in my soul and my heart that somebody needed to hear those words today. You need to know that no matter what your physical body does to you, even though sometimes it feels like the body betrays you, I want you to know that God will never betray you, that God will never turn his back on you. He loves you with an everlasting love. People will turn their backs on you. People will betray you. People will break confidence with you. People will do all kinds of things to one another, but that is not the identity of our heavenly father. He loves you with an everlasting love. And it's in that spirit that I want to pray with you. Heavenly Father, we love you. Not because we have the ability to love like you do, but God, we express our love to you because God, we know in the scripture that you first loved us. And Heavenly Father, that is what creates emotion in our hearts and minds. That's what makes us aware of your presence. That's what makes us aware that you, God, are real. The world wants to take you out of our minds and out of our hearts. And the world wants to diminish the reality of a heavenly father that loves us with all of your heart. And the fact that you were willing to give your only begotten son to die on a cross so that we could be forgiven and redeemed into an eternal life with you. God, this world is trying to diminish all of that and rob us from all of that. But God, you were the same yesterday, today and forever. And we believe. by your word, that if you claim us to yourself as children of yours, then Heavenly Father, one day we will be absent from these bodies, but God, based upon your promise, we will be present with you in that glorious day where there's no aches and there's no pains and there's no more tears. Oh, Heavenly Father, I long for that reality. I thank about that reality. I thank you, God. for that reality. And God, if there's a single soul in the sound of my voice that has not yet come to that belief or that commitment of their life to you, I preach that God, they might yet have one more chance to make you the Lord of their life. Heavenly Father, we pray in agreement together as the touching the needs of Ms. Patty Kessler today, Lord, for health concerns. For the Bassett and the Birch families, for health concerns that they have and emotional concerns in their family dynamics. God, that your presence would be felt and sensed in their families. We pray for Bob and Felicia, Father, as we lift Brother Bob continually before your throne, and we ask God that you would move in a mighty way and continue to demonstrate grace and favor in his life. For Brother Jim Polk, who's here with us in person, I lift him up to you, Father, for strength, healing, and the spirit of his mind, heart, soul, body. God, deliver him as you see fit. We pray for Steve and Amy McCarty, My heart is heavy in concern for their dynamics, their family dynamics, and their needs emotionally. Father, I lift them up to you. And I ask you, God, to envelop the brother Steve with the strength of almighty God as he deals with things in the family situations. I pray for Steve and Betty Zolzer, God. And I pray a special blessing for Ricky and Joyce today. God, in the name of Jesus, I pray that their faith would remain strong and their focus would remain on you and through all of the things that they face. For Rick Carver and Teresa Wright, for Brother Mark Burris and Bruce Basie, we lift up all of those names to you for healing and strength. And pray for the Yeager family. We pray for Robin Phelps who has cancer, we pray for Miss Betty Faye for health concerns and Connie for health concerns. I pray for little baby Lexi as she has some things cosmetically to deal with in the coming days. I pray for wisdom and strength for us to care for her according to your will. Pray for Rachel as she recovers from a heart attack and Uncle Bones who has health concerns. We pray for all of these needs, Lord, that God you would be evident in every answer. that you bring. God, there's not a single name that I've just mentioned that I mentioned in vain. Even though we pray for these names and some often, God, we pray for them because we've seen evidence of your sustaining power and strength and grace. And Lord, that's what causes us to continue to lift them up to you in prayer. Now, Father, hide this preacher behind the cross of Calvary. and hold your sacred word from your sacred desk to the hearts of the hearers today. And may we all be a little bit more conformed to the image of your son as a result of our time together. To your glory and honor we pray in Jesus' name, amen. What are the characteristics of a holy life? What are the characteristics of a righteous life? What are the characteristics of a man or a woman, young man, young woman who says, I love God. What are the characteristics? Well, the first chapter I want you to look with me today in is Galatians chapter five. And there's a couple of passages here that lay the groundwork for where I'm going to take you in a few moments. 522, if you found it, say, I found it. All right, 522. Most of you are gonna be familiar with these two verses, but they're gonna, again, set the groundwork for what I wanna share with you today, what God has laid on my heart. And that verse 22 says, but the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the spirit. Now very quickly so that all of us are on the same page. The moment you come by faith to a holy God and say, God, there's something missing in my life. There's a hole in my life. There's a vacuum in my life. Nothing and nobody can fill. There's an ache within me. God, I've been told that the only way to get that part of me filled is by coming to you. So Lord, I'm coming to you. And I'm asking you to forgive me I'm asking you to cleanse my heart and I'm asking you, I'm inviting you to now be the Lord of my life. If you've prayed that prayer and it has meant something to you and it has changed your life, say amen. You know him as your Lord and Savior. The capacity for God was instilled in you from the very onset of your life. When God created you with it on purpose, he created you with a already made vacuum on the inside of you, a hole that only God can fill. And so you come to God and say, God, there's this thing in me, I need you, I surrender. At that moment, what, listen, what God does is he takes what we surrender, what we repent from, in our life, what we change our mind about in our life. When we turn toward God, he takes what we've brought to the foot of the cross. He says, lay that down. And now, because you've made room for the presence of God, I'm going to fill your life with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the essence of God that comes to dwell on the inside of every true born again believer. And what the Spirit of God does on the inside of you is he begins to work in your spirit of your mind. He begins to work in the spirit of your conversation. He begins to work with you in the spirit of your activity and the things that you do and why you do them. He begins to manifest himself in so many different ways in your life and mine, but it is the work of the Holy Spirit. And you say, preacher, Why are you starting out with us? Because here's the list. And I could base the whole sermon on this list today. I've got more to cover, but I could cover the whole thing. Listen, you say, what is the evidence that I contain the presence of God on the inside of me? What is the evidence? What is the fingerprint of God on my life that God is with me? Well, you see the list. Here it is. The fruit of the spirit is love. Love. Love that is not a love like you look at somebody and say, well, I love pizza, I love my dog, and I love you. That's a whole different kind of love. This is a spiritual love. This is a spirit of love. And this is manifested because of the presence of God working in your life. Now, somebody might look at me and say, well, preacher, it's hard for me to love. Then what you're saying is I need more of the strength of the spirit in my life to show me how to love. Does that make sense? Now you go a little bit further. The fruit of the spirit is also joy. Joy is not about circumstance, it's about a Savior. Joy is not about what's happening, it's about who has given his life for you. And joy is not something that gives you just a moment of fleeting, I'm happy about my certain. No, I don't know about you, but some of my circumstances don't make me happy. So I need joy that passes all understanding. Where do I find that? In the relationship with God. Is anybody still tracking with me here? Now it goes a little bit further, and I'm gonna show you why I'm saying all this. He goes on and he says, peace. Peace that passes all understanding. The whole wide world's gone crazy. Culturally, politically, spiritually, the whole world is all messed up. And so you look at a believer and you say, if I am filled with the Holy Spirit of God, the manifestation of that filling of the Holy Spirit is, I've got love, I've got joy, and I've got peace that passes all understanding. Where's all that rooted? It's rooted in Christ. It's rooted in a relationship with almighty God, made possible through his son, Jesus, in the aid of the Holy Spirit. You say that spirit of God that dwells on the inside of you, wants you to have the experience of those facets, those fruit, if you will, of the spirit. I gotta go a little faster. He goes on and he says, long suffering. That means putting up with people. That's what it means. And you say, oh, I'm doing really good in that department. No, I don't know. Gentleness. Gentleness, you know what that means? Hospitality, a sense of giving, even when it seems inconvenient, gentleness has a lot tied to it. He goes on and he says, goodness, that's giving to the needs of others. That's just demonstrating a good heart and a good spirit. By the way, the last word in verse 22 is what? Faith. Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Faith speaks what is not as if it is. Faith, when I am filled with the Holy Spirit of God, faith looks at my cancer and says, I know I have cancer, but in the name of Jesus Christ, I am not going to walk by sight toward the cancer. I'm going to elevate my eyes to you, Heavenly Father, because you're the great physician and in you I do trust. And so, Lord, I'm going to, by faith, proclaim that while I may be dealing with this in my reality, I'm going to speak what is not as if it is. That is the pattern of following God. God says, what does that mean? That means I begin to look at the characteristics of these things that God has instilled in me, and I set my sights on these characteristics rather than the circumstance that I'm dealing with. I thank you, God. I may have this disease, I may have this problem, I may have this physical infirmity, but God, in the name of Jesus Christ, while I may claim that I know that I have this, I'm going to believe, Father God, that you have a plan that is greater than what I can see, touch, and think. I'm going to believe that there's a plan beyond this. How do I do that? By faith. Faith is stating not to deny the reality, but to literally look beyond the reality and see the purposes of God in what you're dealing with in your day-to-day life. That's what faith is. And some of us need to start giving more of a voice to our faith instead of more of a voice to our pains and our problems. Oh, I'm really getting to the point of meddling now. We give lots of strength to the things that ail us. I have a headache. How bad is it? Well, on a scale of one to 10, it's a hundred. I have a headache. You know what you've just done? You've given a voice to that headache. Doesn't mean you don't have a headache, but here's what God wants you to do. He wants you to look beyond the headache and say, but God, I have this headache, that's a reality. But in the name and by the power of God, you tell me in your word that you're my great healer and my physician. So Lord, I'm going to ask for and seek out the peace that passes all understanding rather than letting this headache destroy my entire day. Is anybody still listening? I'm not going to let this thing control my day. I'm going to be under the control of the Holy Spirit. I don't know. I don't know. I'm still trying to put all this into the nuts and bolts before I get to the main passage. But you look at verse 23. It says you are also given by the Spirit of God meekness and temperance against such there is no law and they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the afflictions and lusts. You know what he's saying right there? I've crucified that which is my reality. I have claimed what is God's purpose in my life. And I'm watching to see what God is going to do that goes beyond my physical limitations and my physical problems. Is that making sense to anybody today? Give your faith a voice in your life. Give your faith. We deal with foster children and children of all kinds of backgrounds, teenagers, we deal with them. And they come to us and they've been wounded and they've been broken, they've been hurt by circumstances. And one of the first things we have to work with, with most of the kids that come to us is, hey, don't get angry. Talk to me. Don't become so easily frustrated. Put your feelings to what? Words. What are we trying to teach them? Find words to express that which is holding on to your spirit of your mind right now, or that which is affecting you, that which is infecting your life. Give it a voice and let it out. You say, well preacher, how does that tie into this lesson? Well, of course it ties in because I'm trying to teach you and to tell you and to remind you that God wants us to have a voice for our faith to be expressed. Most of us spend so much time in the negative, so much time in the conflicts and the and the circumstances of our life, and we'll give everybody a full rendition. There are some people you could say, how are you? And they'll sit there and tell you, they're not so all right. And that's okay, right? I don't mind listening to those aches and pains and problems, but I always walk away with an interest to know, but where is your faith? Put faith in there. I know you're dealing with this and that, and it breaks my heart, and I don't know exactly how to help you, and I don't know exactly what to do to fix what you're dealing with, but I know a God who is greater than all the circumstances of our life. I know a God that has a plan and purpose. And the word of God says that he's gonna work all things together for our good and his glory, as long as we're the ones who have been called out and brought to a relationship with God, made possible through his son. So I believe by faith that God's going to work out my circumstance to do something greater in my life than what I can see. Give your faith a voice. Let your faith be, let it come out of your life. I know I have this. Now listen, I've said it a hundred times. I'll say it a hundred more. You're not watching a pastor turn to a name, a claim, a theology. This is not denying reality. It is simply asking God to give me an expression of my faith that overcomes my reality. I want something that causes me to see beyond the things. that I'm dealing with in my day-to-day life. Why do you think a preacher that stands in front of you constantly tries to remind you of one day in glorious heaven? We won't have any more tears. We won't have any more aches and pains. We won't have any more glasses to wear. We won't have all the conflict and all the chaos and confusion that hurts people's hearts. No, it is perfect peace that passes all understanding in the presence of God in heaven someday. Why do you think a preacher talks about that? Just to make people feel good? No, I'm trying to put to words what the Word of God says that we have to look forward to. And we do that by what? By faith. Faith is constantly looking at, I have to deal with this while I'm here. I have to deal with this while I'm here. I gotta be long-suffering. I gotta be patient. I gotta be kind. I gotta be nice. I gotta be loving. I've got to do all of this stuff while I'm here. Preacher tells me, the Word of God tells me I've got to do all, I've got to be nice to people. I have to love people. What do you mean I've got to do all this list of stuff? No, what you have to do is believe that with God all things are possible and believe that what God has said he wants to produce through your life is now being produced in your life because you can't give fruit away if you don't have any in your life. So he develops you on the inside so that he can produce us on the branches of your life so that other people have something to draw from in your life and mine, not because we're living in our circumstance, but because we're living by faith. Faith puts words to what we say we believe about God. That's what faith is. Well, my sermon's already almost over. but I wanna get you to the bestest part. Go back in the Bible to the book of Proverbs. I know, bestest is my key word for everybody around here. All the school teachers love it when the preacher says that. They say, wow, that preacher, he needs some help in his grammar, that's for sure. Go to Proverbs chapter 31. You're gonna understand, I've only got about 10 minutes to get it all out. I didn't drink enough coffee for this, but I hope you did, all right? But here's what it says in Proverbs 31. I want you to pay very, very close attention. See, on Mother's Day, we talk about the value of a woman and we talk about this list that is given to us in the book of Proverbs. But what I have come to the conclusion to understand is this whole entire chapter is a precursor to the list that I just gave you a few moments ago that are produced through the fruit of the Holy Spirit on the inside of us. And when I look at this list and I see this high standard of God in Proverbs 31, what I'm seeing is really there's a conversation that takes place between a mama and her son. Now what mama isn't going to set her son down and say, now son, I want you to have the bestest wife in the whole wide world. I want you to have the most wonderful person to come alongside you in life. And here is how I would describe her. That is exactly what chapter 31 of Proverbs is about. Most people go right to verse, I think it is verse, let me see, verse, ah, let me get back. Verse 10, everybody goes to verse 10, but they don't set the context of the first nine verses in this. And what you need to understand, everybody that's listening to me, what you need to understand is this is both for male and female. This chapter is not just about the woman and her role. This also is about the man and his responsibility. And that's why I try to use this every Mother's Day chance I get, because I want us to understand the context of this. Everything that I'm about to share with you in the few moments I've got left, lines up with the passage of scripture in Galatians chapter five that I just read to you. If you go back and study it, you'll see the same characteristics that come to the surface based on this chapter and based on Galatians chapter five. Let me show you something. Go with me very quickly to verse one, chapter 31 of Proverbs. The words of King Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him, So we have something that is recorded from a mother's heart to her son. Now we do not have any biblical proof who this person is, Lemuel, I think I'm pronouncing his name correctly. We don't have any physical evidence in the Bible as to who this person is, but it is believed that this is a conversation between Solomon and his mother Bathsheba. Now that's just something that some commentators and some teachers of the theologians believe, but it would make sense. And you'll see why it makes sense in a moment. It very possibly could be King Solomon. Anybody know anything about Solomon? Solomon had everything in the world you could imagine. He had all the money and all of the wealth and all of the accolades of his culture and his world in front of him and behind him. He had all the women he could want. He had all the riches a person could even imagine and then some. He couldn't spend what he had in 10 lifetimes. He was the one that was responsible for the building of the temple for God's glory. I mean, there was so much around Solomon. It's also said that Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived. And in his wisdom, listen, in his wisdom, in Ecclesiastes, for instance, he said, you know what? I would give up every single physical thing there is in this world to just know the plans and purposes of God in my life. He says, money is gonna fail you and fade away. Relationships are gonna fail you and fade away. But the glory of God is what I seek more than anything else. The wisest man on earth ever has been and ever will be outside the person Jesus himself. The wisest man that ever lived realized the futility of seeking and pursuing the things of this life. Oh, we got to pursue when we're young, don't we? Money. fame, accolades, accomplishments. Give me a little pat on the back once in a while. By the way, a few moments ago I gave you a chance to pat yourself on the back. Just remember that. The bottom line is we look for all of those things when we're young, don't we? We pursue those things, but most of us have probably come to the point of understanding, like Solomon, you get to a certain point in life and you look at all that we put the pursuits of stuff in this world and relationships in this world ahead of God. What matters more is the relationship with him. And he goes in, this conversation goes on in verse two. What, my son? And what, the son of my womb? And what, the son of my vows? Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways unto that which destroys kings. Now he's not against, she's not against a relationship with a woman. She's against somebody that takes the place of God in his life. That's what she is most concerned about. And moms and grandmas, aren't we also concerned about that for those that we give encouragement to in our lives? Don't leave God out. It goes a little bit further. It says, verse four, it is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink. In other words, you need to leave strong drink and strong women away from you. Hello? That's what it says. That's what she says. Then it goes and says, lest they drink and they forget the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted, give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish and wine unto those to be of heavy hearts. Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his misery no more. Open thy mouth. Look at this in verse eight. Open thy mouth for the dumb and the cause. It means a person that cannot speak for themselves. You, Lemuel, you speak on their behalf. Of all such are they appointed to destruction. Verse nine. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. What is she teaching her son? Be long-suffering, show love, give mercy and grace. Do those things that will create the image of your character. that you love God more than anybody or anything else. Let's keep going. He goes on and she goes on and says in verse 10, who can find a virtuous woman? The word virtuous means of great value for her price is far above rubies. She's hard to find. This kind of a woman that I'm going to describe, she's speaking here, this mom is speaking to her son. And what she's really teaching him is be very, very careful who you align your life with, son, because that person, that person can easily throw you off your spiritual balance. And that is a truth, listen, for every single one of us today, isn't it? Find somebody that is going to carry the load beside you, not somebody that's going to run ahead of you or stay behind you, but find that person that is going to share in common a love for God, a devotion for God, and that is going to understand that the Spirit of God works in both of your lives to manifest those different characteristics, but make sure you don't become unevenly yoked. By the way, that doesn't just apply to marriage. It also applies to church families. It also is a part of the unit of the family. Be very, very careful that you share things in common that glorify and that manifest the presence and the grace of God, even in your home and even in your church house. Don't be unevenly yoked because the one that is most, listen, out of sorts with God is usually the one that brings down the spirit of the other. Be very, very careful who you align. The old saying would be, be very careful who you hitch your horse to. I'll let you think about that later, all right? But he teaches us, look at your life. Now, the interesting thing, and I know all of you are interested in this list, but an interesting thing is, ladies and gentlemen, if you were to go back and study the original Hebrew language of this chapter of the Bible, what there is for each one of these principles, I'm gonna highlight, for each one, there was a letter of their alphabet. So in other words, what the mother was doing is saying, here's the ABCs of a relationship. Here's the ABCs of who to look for in your life. It was the Hebrew alphabet that would outline each of these. The second reason she did it that way was because she didn't want him to forget what she was teaching him. How many of your mamas and grandmamas have sang A, B, C, D, E, F, G? How many of you have done that? How many of you have taught another generation or a child those? Oh, you all are having so much fun with me. Look at what it says. She says, who can find a virtuous woman? Her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband does safely trust in her. She's trustworthy. A woman that is going to align herself with you can be trusted in all manners of the heart, in all manners of the home. She can be trusted. She's trustworthy. The husband can trust her. She has no need of spoil, or he has no need of spoil. Verse 12, she will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. You want somebody in your life, the mule that will walk alongside you and who only wants what's best for you. This person that you align your life with is somebody that should bring out the greatest characteristics of the values of heaven and God. Go on. She seeks wool and flax. She works willingly with her hands. There's another principle of the lady in his life that she wants for him is somebody that is not lazy, somebody that is industrious, somebody who simply has a desire to be productive, in her life. Find somebody like that, Lemuel. She goes on and says, she is like the merchant ships. She brings her food from afar. In other words, she's so industrious, she has something to give to other people and share in those blessings. Verse 15, she rises also while it is yet night and gives meat to her household. You know what that is? She's hospitable. She has a heart of hospitality. She has a desire to help other people and to meet the needs of other people. Women have a capacity for that, like most of us guys don't have a capacity for that. But the bottom line is, Lemuel, you need to find somebody like that. Somebody who is hospitable, who doesn't know what it looks like to see a stranger. Everybody is going to walk away from her hold with something in their hands. It goes on and says she considers a field and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard. She girds her loins with strength and has strengthened her arms. Again, it's a phrase of not being lazy. She isn't waiting for somebody else to meet her needs. She is constantly aware of what needs there are and she puts her heart toward those things and she's constantly being diligent to be a person who is a value within herself that she has a desire to be productive. No confusion, no chaos, no room for those things in her life. She is strengthened in the inner part of her life. Her beauty is not what's on the outside necessarily. Her beauty is what's on the inside. Her relationship with God and the character of grit and integrity of the holiness of God. It goes on and says, she perceives that her merchandise is good. Her candle goes not out by night, She's diligent, she's active, she's not lazy. She's participating in life. She works alongside the husband and meets the needs of her family. Verse 19, she lays her hands to the spindle and her hands hold the staff. She stretches out her hand to the poor. Y'all see that ladies and gentlemen? She has room for many in her life. She reaches out her hands to the poor. Yes, she reaches forth her hands to the needy. In other words, she has a heart to give and to meet needs in people's lives. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know how this is resonating, if it's resonating with anybody listening to me right now, but let me just tell you where I'm going with this. I want you to know that none of us are so perfect as to be able to meet this standard. Neither can we all meet the standard of Galatians 5 that I read to you at the beginning of the service. The question is not what we can't do. The question is, what are we doing with what we can do? And the woman's attitude is that of, here's what I can do with God helping me, with God's help, with God's strength, with God's spirit. Here's what I can do. And this woman has all of these virtues in her life. And she has a desire to help people that cannot help themselves. Now, by the way, a side note, because some of you are still listening so carefully to my words. Let me just tell you something. And this is probably a no brainer for you, but I just need to speak this. A woman's capacity is very, very different than a man's capacity. I figured all the ladies would raise up and shout hallelujah to that. But the truth is, a woman's capacity is very, very different than a man's capacity in these areas. Men are very compartmentalized and they think in very structured forms and formats, and women are Their mind is thinking, their mind is always going ahead, their mind is always moving forward, their mind is always thinking about what happened yesterday. My wife had things going on this weekend, and I wondered all week long, why are you so distracted? What's going on in your mind? And she said, well, nothing, nothing, nothing. And then I come to realize when we really had a heart-to-heart conversation, it wasn't nothing, it was everything. She was wondering how the grandchildren were going to do. And she had a class to take and she online and she had the baby to help take care of. And she had me to try to put up with. And boy, that's a full-time job by itself. And she had all of these different things going on in the spirit of her mind. And guess what? That is what you see in the spirit of this woman that loves God. And you say, how do I manage it all? Please hear me. You can't. You can't manage it all. That's why you need help. That's why you need the aid of the Holy Spirit. And that's why, ladies, I would challenge you, when those nights are so restless and your thoughts are so all over the place, I would challenge every lady, but also for us guys too, but for the ladies today, I would challenge you, when those minds are running every which way, that you simply go to the Prince of Peace, who is your peace, and say, God, I need peace right now. I can rely on your spirit. My closing remarks are right here. Let me finish. It goes on. She's not afraid of the snow for her household, for her household are clothed with scarlet. She makes herself coverings of tapestry. Her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. Ladies and gentlemen, she makes her husband, she makes her husband look good in the sight of other people. That's what that means. And honestly, if we can be so sincere about my thoughts today, what that means is a woman that is married to a husband understands she doesn't try to run ahead of her husband. She doesn't try to fall behind her husband, but she walks in step with her husband. And by doing the things that she does, she allows him to look his very best in the eyes and the sight of all of the society. He goes on and says, she makes the fine linen, sells it, and delivers girdles to the merchants. Strength, verse 25, everybody knows these verses as you've studied and looked at scriptures around Mother's Day. Strength and honor are her clothing. It isn't what's on the outside, it's what's on the inside. What makes her a value is that what she has is character and grit and integrity in her relationship with the Lord. She opens her mouth with wisdom and her tongue is a law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household and eats not the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also, and he praises her. Husbands, we would do well to do that more often. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favor is deceitful, beauty is vain, but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates. May the Lord add the blessing to the scriptures that I've read today. I hope and I pray to God above that if nothing else is accomplished, you will go home and you'll reread this chapter. And you'll ask yourself, are those the characteristics that are on display in my life? Male or female, do I have the spirit on display in my life? Do I have the characteristics of God's Holy Spirit working on the inside of me so that it comes out when I speak? Do I have the fruit of the spirit operating in my life? I dare say many of us have room for improvement. I dare say that all of us And I want you to know that the word of God always preaches to the preacher before the preacher preaches to you. All of us have to go to the heavenly father and say, Lord, give me a spiritual checkup. Is my life displaying your love? Is my life displaying peace? Is my life displaying long suffering? Is my life displaying patience and kindness? Is my life displaying the characteristics of not being idle, not being simply willing to sit back and sulk and sour in my circumstance? Or do I display a desire, God, to be more conformed to the image of your son? Do I display in my life a desire to be a better person, not just on the outside? Because it doesn't matter what I change on the outside. If I change it in my own strength, Sooner or later, I'm going to give up the charade. Is anybody still listening? But real, true, heartfelt change and genuine relationship with God all centers itself in the spirit of your life. Ladies and gentlemen, do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? If you know him as your Lord and Savior, then the question for every one of us to ask is, how am I doing in the character of your spirit? How am I doing displaying your character to my family? If we're married, husband, how are you treating your wife? If you're married, how are you treating your husband? If you're not married, how are you treating your parents? The Bible makes a promise that says, if we honor our father and mother, our lives will be blessed. But if we refuse to honor our father and mother, then there's a consequence on us. How are you doing in those areas of your life? You say, preacher, what am I supposed to do? Live perfectly? No, you're supposed to live righteously. How do I live righteously? Because where I am weak, God is always strong. God, if I'm seeing a weakness in my life or there's evidence of that weakness, Lord, put me on my knees before you. Make me aware of your power, your presence, your authority. Make me aware of how you, God, can change me. I want to be a man that always honors my wife. Teach me how to have words that praise her on the good and not constantly pointing out the bad. Help me, God, to look at my children and not look at always the bad in their life, but help me to acknowledge what is good and help me, God, to monopolize on that which is good in the characters of those that you've given me to love. Help me to love them with the way you love me. God, I thank you that you're not constantly pointing out my faults, but God, you tell me that I'm worth loving in spite of my faults, and we should be displaying that to the lives of our wives, our husbands, our children, our family. We should be displaying that same mindset to those that God has entrusted for us to love. You say, preacher, I don't have any of that. I just live alone. Well, then the greatest responsibility you have is to your relationship with Almighty God. And looking at your life and saying, am I living a life that is pleasing to my Heavenly Father? And maybe I shouldn't be spending so much time isolated in loneliness. Maybe I should find some way to engage in the lives of other people and help them see the reflection of the Holy Spirit on the inside of me as I go into places of business and commerce and activities of my life. I hope this message has had something for all of us to think about. How are you doing in the spirit of your life? How's the Holy Spirit manifesting himself in your life? Would you bow your heads with me as we go to the Lord in prayer? If the message has had any kind of an impact on you today, would you glorify the Lord by lifting your hand and putting it down? If there's something I've received, something that encouraged you, something that challenged you, something that made you think a moment. Heavenly Father, I love you. And I thank you for every life that is here. If there's a single life in this place that has not yet surrendered their life to you, I pray that before they leave today, they would surrender their hearts and claim you to be their Lord and Savior. I pray Heavenly Father for every hurting heart in this place, that each of us would come to the foot of the cross. And instead of carrying our burden to the cross and carrying our burden away from the cross, I pray, Father God, that you'd help us to come to the cross and lay all of it down at your feet. I pray, Heavenly Father, for victory in somebody's life. I pray for salvation. I pray for marriages to be healed and people to be helped. I pray, God, for your deliverance in this place. It's my prayer in Jesus' name, amen.