1 00:00:00,435 --> 00:00:03,922 Well, it's a joy to be back here with you. 2 00:00:03,922 --> 00:00:12,648 And I ask you to turn to Psalm 131. 3 00:00:12,648 --> 00:00:14,859 I want to speak on something this morning 4 00:00:14,859 --> 00:00:19,025 that if this is real in our life 5 00:00:19,025 --> 00:00:22,064 and in the lives of our churches, 6 00:00:22,064 --> 00:00:25,209 we will never go wrong. 7 00:00:25,209 --> 00:00:28,106 We will not fall into deception. 8 00:00:28,106 --> 00:00:35,369 We will not go astray and apostatize. 9 00:00:35,369 --> 00:00:38,334 But this is one of the deepest realities 10 00:00:38,334 --> 00:00:40,302 that can ever be produced 11 00:00:40,302 --> 00:00:42,054 in a Christian's life 12 00:00:42,054 --> 00:00:46,009 and in a church's life. 13 00:00:46,009 --> 00:00:50,330 Cultivating and attaining humility. 14 00:00:50,330 --> 00:00:55,432 Cultivating it and attaining it. 15 00:00:55,432 --> 00:00:57,373 And you say, well, that sounds strange. 16 00:00:57,373 --> 00:01:00,324 Can you attain humility? 17 00:01:00,324 --> 00:01:01,734 Well, apparently so, 18 00:01:01,734 --> 00:01:05,210 because this psalm says that it's true. 19 00:01:05,210 --> 00:01:07,129 It doesn't mean you perfect it, 20 00:01:07,129 --> 00:01:11,159 but the difference is 21 00:01:11,159 --> 00:01:14,404 if you're living your life as a pattern, 22 00:01:14,404 --> 00:01:17,496 and you're proud, arrogant, unteachable, 23 00:01:17,496 --> 00:01:18,775 and then once in a while 24 00:01:18,775 --> 00:01:20,701 you humble yourself and you have 25 00:01:20,701 --> 00:01:22,775 a moment of humility 26 00:01:22,775 --> 00:01:24,999 and then you start again, 27 00:01:24,999 --> 00:01:27,326 that's not what's in view here. 28 00:01:27,326 --> 00:01:29,590 The opposite is what's in view here. 29 00:01:29,590 --> 00:01:36,670 Living a life that's marked by humility. 30 00:01:36,670 --> 00:01:39,759 And then when you stumble 31 00:01:39,759 --> 00:01:41,456 and you're proud, you're arrogant, 32 00:01:41,456 --> 00:01:44,928 you repent and humility is engaged again. 33 00:01:44,928 --> 00:01:51,690 A lifestyle of cultivating true humility. 34 00:01:51,690 --> 00:01:53,632 I wrote beside this psalm 35 00:01:53,632 --> 00:01:58,219 in my morning Bible that I normally read from, 36 00:01:58,219 --> 00:02:01,031 I wrote beside this psalm not long ago 37 00:02:01,031 --> 00:02:02,423 these words: 38 00:02:02,423 --> 00:02:07,876 "It takes great grace to have this." 39 00:02:07,876 --> 00:02:09,735 So let's read the psalm. 40 00:02:09,735 --> 00:02:14,701 And let's let the implications of it sink in. 41 00:02:14,701 --> 00:02:20,402 Because, brethren, every Christian here 42 00:02:20,402 --> 00:02:25,005 can have a life of humility. 43 00:02:25,005 --> 00:02:27,887 It's attainable. 44 00:02:27,887 --> 00:02:32,421 It's doable by the work of God in our hearts. 45 00:02:32,421 --> 00:02:34,417 Psalm 131. 46 00:02:34,417 --> 00:02:37,965 "Lord, my heart is not haughty..." 47 00:02:37,965 --> 00:02:40,822 It means pride. Proud. 48 00:02:40,822 --> 00:02:43,877 "My heart is not proud, 49 00:02:43,877 --> 00:02:46,834 nor are my eyes lofty. 50 00:02:46,834 --> 00:02:50,270 Neither do I exercise myself..." 51 00:02:50,270 --> 00:02:56,267 That is, pursue; try to regularly do. 52 00:02:56,267 --> 00:02:59,813 "Neither do I exercise myself in great matters 53 00:02:59,813 --> 00:03:04,251 or in things too high or lofty for me. 54 00:03:04,251 --> 00:03:06,736 Surely, I have behaved..." 55 00:03:06,736 --> 00:03:10,350 I have taken control of myself, 56 00:03:10,350 --> 00:03:11,647 in other words. 57 00:03:11,647 --> 00:03:14,387 "And quieted myself..." 58 00:03:14,387 --> 00:03:20,337 The word is: I've hushed myself. 59 00:03:20,337 --> 00:03:23,989 Self, just be quiet. 60 00:03:23,989 --> 00:03:25,857 Just be quiet. 61 00:03:25,857 --> 00:03:28,126 "I have quieted myself 62 00:03:28,126 --> 00:03:32,893 as a child that is weaned of its mother. 63 00:03:32,893 --> 00:03:38,058 My soul is even as a weaned child. 64 00:03:38,058 --> 00:03:42,155 Let Israel hope in the Lord 65 00:03:42,155 --> 00:03:47,416 from henceforth and forever." 66 00:03:47,416 --> 00:03:49,111 Let's pray. 67 00:03:49,111 --> 00:03:51,973 Father, this is Your Word. 68 00:03:51,973 --> 00:03:55,063 We ask for Your speaking voice 69 00:03:55,063 --> 00:03:58,027 to make it a living Word. 70 00:03:58,027 --> 00:04:00,442 We give ourselves to You. 71 00:04:00,442 --> 00:04:02,389 Give us Your Holy Spirit now to speak 72 00:04:02,389 --> 00:04:04,067 and to hear and to receive 73 00:04:04,067 --> 00:04:05,671 and to be changed 74 00:04:05,671 --> 00:04:08,618 for the glory of the Lord Jesus, 75 00:04:08,618 --> 00:04:10,040 Amen. 76 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,767 Cultivating and attaining humility. 77 00:04:12,767 --> 00:04:15,928 Another title might be: 78 00:04:15,928 --> 00:04:19,034 "The Truly Humble Man." 79 00:04:19,034 --> 00:04:21,766 Or, another way you could say it is: 80 00:04:21,766 --> 00:04:25,805 "Overcoming the Proud Heart." 81 00:04:25,805 --> 00:04:28,881 Overcoming the proud heart. 82 00:04:28,881 --> 00:04:31,098 James Montgomery Boice said this, 83 00:04:31,098 --> 00:04:34,379 "It is hard to imagine anyone 84 00:04:34,379 --> 00:04:38,448 living with Jesus for a full three years 85 00:04:38,448 --> 00:04:41,614 and still wanting to be important himself 86 00:04:41,614 --> 00:04:47,129 instead of just letting Jesus be important." 87 00:04:47,129 --> 00:04:50,186 But the disciples even at the last, 88 00:04:50,186 --> 00:04:51,667 they hadn't gotten it. 89 00:04:51,667 --> 00:04:53,540 He's on His way to Jerusalem, 90 00:04:53,540 --> 00:04:56,121 and they're arguing about what? 91 00:04:56,121 --> 00:04:59,779 Who's going to be the greatest. 92 00:04:59,779 --> 00:05:02,025 "Being self-important, 93 00:05:02,025 --> 00:05:04,875 or being someone significant 94 00:05:04,875 --> 00:05:10,943 is of zero importance. 95 00:05:10,943 --> 00:05:15,143 But Jesus Christ being supremely important 96 00:05:15,143 --> 00:05:19,880 is of infinite importance." 97 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:21,722 That's what this psalm is about. 98 00:05:21,722 --> 00:05:23,695 Three verses. 99 00:05:23,695 --> 00:05:26,061 Sixty-one words. 100 00:05:26,061 --> 00:05:28,901 The second shortest psalm. 101 00:05:28,901 --> 00:05:33,143 Which is the shortest? 102 00:05:33,143 --> 00:05:36,054 Psalm 117. Two verses. 103 00:05:36,054 --> 00:05:40,204 Psalm 131 - three verses. 104 00:05:40,204 --> 00:05:42,893 Spurgeon said, "Psalm 131 105 00:05:42,893 --> 00:05:47,181 is a short letter that reaches great heights." 106 00:05:47,181 --> 00:05:48,889 And it really does. 107 00:05:48,889 --> 00:05:51,418 It's a short, easy psalm to read, 108 00:05:51,418 --> 00:05:55,587 but it's a very hard lesson to learn. 109 00:05:55,587 --> 00:05:58,154 Going from having a proud heart 110 00:05:58,154 --> 00:06:00,207 by nature and by practice 111 00:06:00,207 --> 00:06:02,682 and by culture, influence, 112 00:06:02,682 --> 00:06:05,623 and being shaped with human pride, 113 00:06:05,623 --> 00:06:06,865 success, 114 00:06:06,865 --> 00:06:08,944 be all that you can be, 115 00:06:08,944 --> 00:06:10,066 dream your dreams, 116 00:06:10,066 --> 00:06:11,599 nothing's impossible 117 00:06:11,599 --> 00:06:15,158 for whoever will work hard - 118 00:06:15,158 --> 00:06:22,842 the culture drips with self-driven pride. 119 00:06:22,842 --> 00:06:26,076 This psalm is one of the greatest gems in all the psalms. 120 00:06:26,076 --> 00:06:28,651 And the irony is it's so small, 121 00:06:28,651 --> 00:06:30,802 it's so seemingly insignificant, 122 00:06:30,802 --> 00:06:33,110 it's easy to read through the Psalms 123 00:06:33,110 --> 00:06:35,263 and you quickly read it and you finish it 124 00:06:35,263 --> 00:06:37,505 and as I said earlier this morning, 125 00:06:37,505 --> 00:06:42,475 you don't let it be a wake-up call. 126 00:06:42,475 --> 00:06:46,445 Who among us can say today, 127 00:06:46,445 --> 00:06:52,395 "Lord, my heart is not proud"? 128 00:06:52,395 --> 00:06:56,624 The fact is, many of us can't say that, 129 00:06:56,624 --> 00:06:59,075 should not say that. 130 00:06:59,075 --> 00:07:03,156 But here's the real amazing thing: 131 00:07:03,156 --> 00:07:06,153 Some of you could say it 132 00:07:06,153 --> 00:07:07,962 and it would be true. 133 00:07:07,962 --> 00:07:09,961 But you'd never say it. 134 00:07:09,961 --> 00:07:12,515 But David says it. 135 00:07:12,515 --> 00:07:14,287 Like Moses writing 136 00:07:14,287 --> 00:07:17,600 that Moses was the meekest man in the earth. 137 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,333 That's a hard one, isn't it? 138 00:07:20,333 --> 00:07:23,964 It's a brief personal testimony 139 00:07:23,964 --> 00:07:26,437 about something so deep, 140 00:07:26,437 --> 00:07:28,776 so transforming, 141 00:07:28,776 --> 00:07:33,138 in the depth of what it's teaching. 142 00:07:33,138 --> 00:07:35,780 No psalm is more personal than this one. 143 00:07:35,780 --> 00:07:38,238 It's a little autobiographical picture 144 00:07:38,238 --> 00:07:40,837 of David's heart. 145 00:07:40,837 --> 00:07:42,535 Now, if it is David, 146 00:07:42,535 --> 00:07:44,815 and some Old Testament scholars 147 00:07:44,815 --> 00:07:49,587 question whether David is actually the author, 148 00:07:49,587 --> 00:07:52,294 the best commentators really think 149 00:07:52,294 --> 00:07:53,606 that it was him, 150 00:07:53,606 --> 00:07:56,264 and certainly when you peruse his whole life, 151 00:07:56,264 --> 00:07:57,796 and you look at David's life, 152 00:07:57,796 --> 00:08:00,271 and you look at what faults he had - 153 00:08:00,271 --> 00:08:02,247 think about this - 154 00:08:02,247 --> 00:08:05,350 was pride as a pattern one of them? 155 00:08:05,350 --> 00:08:08,923 I would say no. It wasn't. 156 00:08:08,923 --> 00:08:13,633 Pride did not mark David's life continually 157 00:08:13,633 --> 00:08:16,496 where his pride was a besetting sin. 158 00:08:16,496 --> 00:08:18,148 No, he didn't. 159 00:08:18,148 --> 00:08:21,366 We'll talk more about that in a minute. 160 00:08:21,366 --> 00:08:23,553 But this psalm gives us a glimpse 161 00:08:23,553 --> 00:08:27,378 into David's soul of deep experience 162 00:08:27,378 --> 00:08:30,774 and genuine freedom 163 00:08:30,774 --> 00:08:33,462 from pride and arrogance. 164 00:08:33,462 --> 00:08:36,673 If you have had a problem with pride 165 00:08:36,673 --> 00:08:39,281 all your life and it's a problem today, 166 00:08:39,281 --> 00:08:41,419 this psalm gives you hope 167 00:08:41,419 --> 00:08:42,793 that you can be changed 168 00:08:42,793 --> 00:08:44,727 from a proud person 169 00:08:44,727 --> 00:08:46,886 to a humble saint. 170 00:08:46,886 --> 00:08:50,154 Now, how I wish every preacher and pastor 171 00:08:50,154 --> 00:08:52,512 could say what David says here, 172 00:08:52,512 --> 00:08:57,161 because many of them are the worst bunch about this. 173 00:08:57,161 --> 00:08:59,387 What if every elder, every deacon, 174 00:08:59,387 --> 00:09:00,741 every church leader, 175 00:09:00,741 --> 00:09:04,694 every Christian lady and Christian man, 176 00:09:04,694 --> 00:09:09,319 every young Christian in every church 177 00:09:09,319 --> 00:09:13,091 had the reality of what Psalm 131 says? 178 00:09:13,091 --> 00:09:15,154 Not proud, not haughty, 179 00:09:15,154 --> 00:09:17,265 not lofty eyes, 180 00:09:17,265 --> 00:09:20,462 not trying to be what I'm not; 181 00:09:20,462 --> 00:09:23,443 being what I am, 182 00:09:23,443 --> 00:09:26,602 being a weaned child before the Lord 183 00:09:26,602 --> 00:09:27,673 and hoping in Him. 184 00:09:27,673 --> 00:09:30,425 What if we all lived that reality? 185 00:09:30,425 --> 00:09:32,815 How amazing it would be! 186 00:09:32,815 --> 00:09:34,875 Psalm 130, the one before, 187 00:09:34,875 --> 00:09:36,453 is a psalm of forgiveness. 188 00:09:36,453 --> 00:09:41,076 Psalm 131 is a psalm of humility. 189 00:09:41,076 --> 00:09:45,943 Humility. How rare that often is! 190 00:09:45,943 --> 00:09:49,166 How important it is! How essential it is! 191 00:09:49,166 --> 00:09:50,934 How beautiful it is! 192 00:09:50,934 --> 00:09:53,736 How attractive and how fragrant it is! 193 00:09:53,736 --> 00:09:57,976 Pride stinks. 194 00:09:57,976 --> 00:10:01,026 But humility smells beautiful. 195 00:10:01,026 --> 00:10:02,841 And if the first one's on you, 196 00:10:02,841 --> 00:10:04,984 others smell it. 197 00:10:04,984 --> 00:10:07,192 And if the second one's on you, 198 00:10:07,192 --> 00:10:08,996 they smell that too. 199 00:10:08,996 --> 00:10:10,863 And it's pleasant. 200 00:10:10,863 --> 00:10:13,662 These three verses reveal 201 00:10:13,662 --> 00:10:15,742 the blessedness of a man 202 00:10:15,742 --> 00:10:17,656 with a meek and a quiet spirit. 203 00:10:17,656 --> 00:10:21,021 And actually, this psalm is an Old Testament commentary 204 00:10:21,021 --> 00:10:22,734 on Jesus' words: 205 00:10:22,734 --> 00:10:26,488 "Blessed are the..." who? The meek. 206 00:10:26,488 --> 00:10:29,600 Blessed are the meek. 207 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:34,123 It's marked by a tone of childlike simplicity. 208 00:10:34,123 --> 00:10:35,452 David's just saying 209 00:10:35,452 --> 00:10:37,214 my heart's not like this, 210 00:10:37,214 --> 00:10:38,588 it's not like this. 211 00:10:38,588 --> 00:10:40,720 Here's what I've experienced, 212 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:43,319 and I'm like this now. 213 00:10:43,319 --> 00:10:44,701 Israel, hope in the Lord. 214 00:10:44,701 --> 00:10:47,988 Childlike simplicity. 215 00:10:47,988 --> 00:10:50,482 But the depth of the reality 216 00:10:50,482 --> 00:10:55,958 of the experience is profound. 217 00:10:55,958 --> 00:10:58,522 Answer this question: 218 00:10:58,522 --> 00:11:00,488 When did you last say 219 00:11:00,488 --> 00:11:03,921 about your Christian life, 220 00:11:03,921 --> 00:11:11,517 "I have become more like a child"? 221 00:11:11,517 --> 00:11:14,622 We don't talk like that. We don't even think like that. 222 00:11:14,622 --> 00:11:18,677 But didn't Jesus use that picture about greatness? 223 00:11:18,677 --> 00:11:22,382 Unless you become like a child 224 00:11:22,382 --> 00:11:25,282 you won't even get in the kingdom. 225 00:11:25,282 --> 00:11:28,151 But He went on and said true greatness - 226 00:11:28,151 --> 00:11:30,725 He took up a child. 227 00:11:30,725 --> 00:11:33,534 And here, David the king, 228 00:11:33,534 --> 00:11:37,240 the greatest in Israel, 229 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:40,611 says I have become like a weaned child. 230 00:11:40,611 --> 00:11:43,067 This is a testimony by David 231 00:11:43,067 --> 00:11:44,744 that God has worked in him 232 00:11:44,744 --> 00:11:47,315 a consistent, humble heart 233 00:11:47,315 --> 00:11:50,462 that is not dominated by pride. 234 00:11:50,462 --> 00:11:53,969 Eyes that are not lofty or haughty 235 00:11:53,969 --> 00:11:56,527 or ego-driven. 236 00:11:56,527 --> 00:12:00,962 He's not pursuing intellectual arrogance 237 00:12:00,962 --> 00:12:05,891 about things that he is not to meddle into; 238 00:12:05,891 --> 00:12:08,158 things that are not to be pursued, 239 00:12:08,158 --> 00:12:10,354 that are beyond him, that he's not called to. 240 00:12:10,354 --> 00:12:13,439 He's not pursuing them anymore. 241 00:12:13,439 --> 00:12:15,172 A humble man consistently, 242 00:12:15,172 --> 00:12:18,287 contented to be who he truly is. 243 00:12:18,287 --> 00:12:20,978 Would to God every one of us 244 00:12:20,978 --> 00:12:23,983 would be given the grace 245 00:12:23,983 --> 00:12:26,791 to be contented with who God made us 246 00:12:26,791 --> 00:12:30,207 and not try to be like anybody else. 247 00:12:30,207 --> 00:12:32,865 You talk about getting free. 248 00:12:32,865 --> 00:12:34,913 You talk about coming into usefulness 249 00:12:34,913 --> 00:12:36,988 and fruitfulness, 250 00:12:36,988 --> 00:12:38,764 when you become content 251 00:12:38,764 --> 00:12:40,176 with who God made you 252 00:12:40,176 --> 00:12:44,447 and you don't try to be like anybody else. 253 00:12:44,447 --> 00:12:47,061 Genuine consistent humility. 254 00:12:47,061 --> 00:12:51,388 Has this psalm ever become real to you 255 00:12:51,388 --> 00:12:52,875 and really gripped you? 256 00:12:52,875 --> 00:12:54,033 Have you ever read it 257 00:12:54,033 --> 00:12:56,390 and suddenly, were stopped and gripped 258 00:12:56,390 --> 00:13:00,409 with the power of what David actually says here? 259 00:13:00,409 --> 00:13:01,878 It's amazing. 260 00:13:01,878 --> 00:13:06,047 David was truly changed, 261 00:13:06,047 --> 00:13:12,161 and he was not what verse 1 says about pride. 262 00:13:12,161 --> 00:13:14,755 He had come to the place where pride 263 00:13:14,755 --> 00:13:16,963 was not ruling his heart. 264 00:13:16,963 --> 00:13:22,705 But he was truly stating what is true of him now. 265 00:13:22,705 --> 00:13:24,901 When we really see what he's saying, 266 00:13:24,901 --> 00:13:27,870 it's remarkable and it's radical. 267 00:13:27,870 --> 00:13:30,909 Because this psalm says there's three things 268 00:13:30,909 --> 00:13:33,146 that were not representative of David's life 269 00:13:33,146 --> 00:13:34,774 as a general rule. 270 00:13:34,774 --> 00:13:36,526 Now was he ever proud? 271 00:13:36,526 --> 00:13:41,489 Yeah, it tried to get him and he would overcome it at times. 272 00:13:41,489 --> 00:13:43,166 But there are three things 273 00:13:43,166 --> 00:13:45,010 that were not representative 274 00:13:45,010 --> 00:13:47,917 of David's life as a general rule. 275 00:13:47,917 --> 00:13:50,939 In other words, whatever he was, 276 00:13:50,939 --> 00:13:54,387 he was not like this normally. 277 00:13:54,387 --> 00:13:56,376 Number one: A proud man. 278 00:13:56,376 --> 00:13:58,791 Number two: An ambitious man. 279 00:13:58,791 --> 00:14:02,507 Number three: An intellectually arrogant 280 00:14:02,507 --> 00:14:05,850 high-minded man. 281 00:14:05,850 --> 00:14:07,022 He wasn't those things. 282 00:14:07,022 --> 00:14:12,574 Meaning, he didn't try to be like a "brainiac," 283 00:14:12,574 --> 00:14:15,859 or a big shot. 284 00:14:15,859 --> 00:14:19,407 That motive was eliminated from his heart. 285 00:14:19,407 --> 00:14:22,130 So there's three things to see in verse 1. 286 00:14:22,130 --> 00:14:24,705 There's one thing to see in verse 2. 287 00:14:24,705 --> 00:14:27,913 And there's one exhortation in verse 3. 288 00:14:27,913 --> 00:14:30,555 So let's just work our way through this psalm. 289 00:14:30,555 --> 00:14:32,497 You apply it. 290 00:14:32,497 --> 00:14:35,372 And may God shape our lives with it 291 00:14:35,372 --> 00:14:36,478 by His Spirit. 292 00:14:36,478 --> 00:14:40,751 Number one: What David was inwardly. 293 00:14:40,751 --> 00:14:43,283 Humble. Humility. 294 00:14:43,283 --> 00:14:45,492 My heart is not proud. 295 00:14:45,492 --> 00:14:48,597 My heart is not lifted up. 296 00:14:48,597 --> 00:14:51,916 My eyes are not raised too high. 297 00:14:51,916 --> 00:14:55,957 This is completely something of the inner heart. 298 00:14:55,957 --> 00:14:57,400 Something inward. 299 00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:59,045 And Psalm 51 says, 300 00:14:59,045 --> 00:15:03,144 "...wisdom in the secret heart." 301 00:15:03,144 --> 00:15:07,844 Where no one sees but God. 302 00:15:07,844 --> 00:15:09,701 An inner heart change. 303 00:15:09,701 --> 00:15:13,520 What David actually claims here and affirms 304 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,987 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 305 00:15:16,987 --> 00:15:24,145 is that I am now not a proud man 306 00:15:24,145 --> 00:15:28,859 in normally living out my life. 307 00:15:28,859 --> 00:15:32,358 Now, if he says that, is he instantly proud? 308 00:15:32,358 --> 00:15:34,224 Has he lost his humility? 309 00:15:34,224 --> 00:15:38,330 In claiming humility, do you lose it? 310 00:15:38,330 --> 00:15:40,025 Apparently not here. 311 00:15:40,025 --> 00:15:41,625 Or this wouldn't be in the Bible. 312 00:15:41,625 --> 00:15:45,640 And we know that could be the case. 313 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,775 It's normal and it's popular to think, 314 00:15:48,775 --> 00:15:53,645 if you think you're humble, you're not. 315 00:15:53,645 --> 00:15:57,018 And if you say it out loud, that's really proud. 316 00:15:57,018 --> 00:15:59,530 And if you write in the Bible forever, 317 00:15:59,530 --> 00:16:01,025 you're really prideful. 318 00:16:01,025 --> 00:16:05,497 Like the guy who wrote a two-volume autobiography. 319 00:16:05,497 --> 00:16:08,832 Number one: "Humility and How I Attained it." 320 00:16:08,832 --> 00:16:10,707 And the second volume was: 321 00:16:10,707 --> 00:16:12,687 "The Ten Most Humble People in the World 322 00:16:12,687 --> 00:16:14,783 and How I Trained the Other Nine." 323 00:16:14,783 --> 00:16:18,535 Well, you know that guy's probably proud. 324 00:16:18,535 --> 00:16:22,261 Flaunting his humility. 325 00:16:22,261 --> 00:16:26,148 But if a man is truly humble, 326 00:16:26,148 --> 00:16:27,959 and God has worked that in him, 327 00:16:27,959 --> 00:16:31,599 can a Christian see God has humbled him 328 00:16:31,599 --> 00:16:35,781 and produced humble dependence in his heart 329 00:16:35,781 --> 00:16:37,548 where he's honest with himself, 330 00:16:37,548 --> 00:16:42,365 and they see themselves accurately, 331 00:16:42,365 --> 00:16:47,304 and thank God for humility that He's worked in them? 332 00:16:47,304 --> 00:16:49,671 Yes. 333 00:16:49,671 --> 00:16:51,975 You can. 334 00:16:51,975 --> 00:16:55,446 Can we acknowledge it in our lives? 335 00:16:55,446 --> 00:16:57,161 Well, David did. 336 00:16:57,161 --> 00:16:59,780 We think to claim humility is to forfeit it, 337 00:16:59,780 --> 00:17:01,813 but David with a humble heart says, 338 00:17:01,813 --> 00:17:05,111 "my heart is not proud." 339 00:17:05,111 --> 00:17:07,536 In other words, if pride has been 340 00:17:07,536 --> 00:17:10,460 dominant in my past, in my life, 341 00:17:10,460 --> 00:17:13,503 it's not now dominant. 342 00:17:13,503 --> 00:17:15,810 A change has been brought. 343 00:17:15,810 --> 00:17:19,423 That's not in my heart anymore. 344 00:17:19,423 --> 00:17:22,717 If it has filled my heart and my eyes 345 00:17:22,717 --> 00:17:24,398 and ambitions in the past, 346 00:17:24,398 --> 00:17:26,297 it's not doing that now. 347 00:17:26,297 --> 00:17:29,318 Humility was cultivated 348 00:17:29,318 --> 00:17:33,034 and became a mark of David's life. 349 00:17:33,034 --> 00:17:34,522 This means this: 350 00:17:34,522 --> 00:17:36,398 We're to cultivate it. 351 00:17:36,398 --> 00:17:38,115 And we'll talk more about that. 352 00:17:38,115 --> 00:17:43,317 It's not something we don't have responsibility in. 353 00:17:43,317 --> 00:17:46,304 It was a reality that David possessed. 354 00:17:46,304 --> 00:17:49,638 He was unpretentious. 355 00:17:49,638 --> 00:17:50,839 What does that mean? 356 00:17:50,839 --> 00:17:52,965 What does it mean to be pretentious? 357 00:17:52,965 --> 00:17:54,991 Or unpretentious? 358 00:17:54,991 --> 00:17:56,422 Here's a good definition: 359 00:17:56,422 --> 00:17:58,382 Unpretentious means 360 00:17:58,382 --> 00:18:02,451 you're not attempting to impress others anymore 361 00:18:02,451 --> 00:18:05,555 with an appearance of importance, 362 00:18:05,555 --> 00:18:08,848 talent, knowledge, or spirituality. 363 00:18:08,848 --> 00:18:11,917 You're not attempting to impress others 364 00:18:11,917 --> 00:18:13,246 with your greatness. 365 00:18:13,246 --> 00:18:15,491 You're unpretentious. 366 00:18:15,491 --> 00:18:18,843 You're not trying to portray an image that you're not. 367 00:18:18,843 --> 00:18:21,155 You're not trying to make people 368 00:18:21,155 --> 00:18:23,403 think more highly of you 369 00:18:23,403 --> 00:18:26,011 than they really should. 370 00:18:26,011 --> 00:18:29,031 Being free of motives and desires to impress, 371 00:18:29,031 --> 00:18:32,336 to be great, or to be known. 372 00:18:32,336 --> 00:18:36,596 In 1996, the British author and preacher 373 00:18:36,596 --> 00:18:38,407 Iain Murray came to Texas 374 00:18:38,407 --> 00:18:40,061 and he came to my church 375 00:18:40,061 --> 00:18:43,678 for five days to do a conference. 376 00:18:43,678 --> 00:18:45,137 And they stayed in our home 377 00:18:45,137 --> 00:18:49,047 and our children were - I don't remember - 378 00:18:49,047 --> 00:18:53,629 10, 8, 6, and two of them were two? 379 00:18:53,629 --> 00:18:55,288 I don't remember their age. 380 00:18:55,288 --> 00:18:56,884 But anyway, he was there. 381 00:18:56,884 --> 00:19:02,169 The first thing he did when he came in our house, 382 00:19:02,169 --> 00:19:03,475 he went out in the backyard 383 00:19:03,475 --> 00:19:05,952 and he was playing soccer with all of them. 384 00:19:05,952 --> 00:19:07,861 Running around, kicking the ball, 385 00:19:07,861 --> 00:19:11,788 playing soccer. 386 00:19:11,788 --> 00:19:14,921 And I thought that's reality; 387 00:19:14,921 --> 00:19:19,767 that's humility. 388 00:19:19,767 --> 00:19:22,852 It was an example to me. 389 00:19:22,852 --> 00:19:27,522 Free of motives and desires to impress anyone. 390 00:19:27,522 --> 00:19:29,238 Now think about it, when you 391 00:19:29,238 --> 00:19:30,420 read the Old Testament, 392 00:19:30,420 --> 00:19:33,682 a close reading of David's life 393 00:19:33,682 --> 00:19:37,760 shows that his life was not dominated 394 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,170 by self-importance and pride. 395 00:19:41,170 --> 00:19:43,638 Yes, passions at times. 396 00:19:43,638 --> 00:19:47,525 Anger, impulsiveness at times. 397 00:19:47,525 --> 00:19:49,955 But not arrogance and self-importance. 398 00:19:49,955 --> 00:19:54,207 It did not dominate his life. 399 00:19:54,207 --> 00:19:57,175 Pride blinds us 400 00:19:57,175 --> 00:19:59,493 and then it binds us 401 00:19:59,493 --> 00:20:01,387 and puts us in bondage. 402 00:20:01,387 --> 00:20:02,711 A proud heart is a heart 403 00:20:02,711 --> 00:20:04,192 that was in bondage, 404 00:20:04,192 --> 00:20:07,795 that won't let you function in humility 405 00:20:07,795 --> 00:20:09,978 and even respond rightly. 406 00:20:09,978 --> 00:20:11,389 And remember this: 407 00:20:11,389 --> 00:20:13,532 it's amazing when you read through 408 00:20:13,532 --> 00:20:14,940 the Old Testament, 409 00:20:14,940 --> 00:20:18,236 every single time, whether it was Ahab, 410 00:20:18,236 --> 00:20:21,755 or wicked kings - every time 411 00:20:21,755 --> 00:20:25,553 someone humbled themselves before God, 412 00:20:25,553 --> 00:20:28,437 God had mercy on them. 413 00:20:28,437 --> 00:20:31,018 He showed them mercy. 414 00:20:31,018 --> 00:20:34,741 And every time someone who was proud 415 00:20:34,741 --> 00:20:37,323 hardened their heart and wouldn't humble themselves, 416 00:20:37,323 --> 00:20:39,871 God judged them - every single time. 417 00:20:39,871 --> 00:20:43,175 Because He always resists pride, 418 00:20:43,175 --> 00:20:45,420 and He always gives grace to who? 419 00:20:45,420 --> 00:20:48,913 To the humble. 420 00:20:48,913 --> 00:20:51,383 The evidence of David's active humility - 421 00:20:51,383 --> 00:20:53,562 just stay with me and think about this - 422 00:20:53,562 --> 00:20:54,939 you read his life. 423 00:20:54,939 --> 00:20:57,197 There was constant evidence 424 00:20:57,197 --> 00:20:59,542 that David walked in humility. 425 00:20:59,542 --> 00:21:01,186 Remember he was a warring king. 426 00:21:01,186 --> 00:21:02,914 In fact, he was told, 427 00:21:02,914 --> 00:21:06,882 you can't build Me a temple 428 00:21:06,882 --> 00:21:09,957 because you're a bloody king. 429 00:21:09,957 --> 00:21:12,302 So, God didn't let him do that. 430 00:21:12,302 --> 00:21:15,757 But he did not greedily aspire 431 00:21:15,757 --> 00:21:17,875 to attack nations 432 00:21:17,875 --> 00:21:20,377 and pick fights with other kings. 433 00:21:20,377 --> 00:21:23,513 His warring was always defensive. 434 00:21:23,513 --> 00:21:24,842 Every time. 435 00:21:24,842 --> 00:21:28,551 Every time, he was protecting Israel. 436 00:21:28,551 --> 00:21:31,424 And that shows that he was not 437 00:21:31,424 --> 00:21:34,054 just in pursuit in his arrogance 438 00:21:34,054 --> 00:21:36,677 to try to unnecessarily conquer. 439 00:21:36,677 --> 00:21:38,655 He didn't kill Saul when he could have 440 00:21:38,655 --> 00:21:40,146 and seize the throne. 441 00:21:40,146 --> 00:21:42,324 Even after Samuel anointed him, 442 00:21:42,324 --> 00:21:45,078 David waited for God to fulfill His promise 443 00:21:45,078 --> 00:21:46,696 to make him king. 444 00:21:46,696 --> 00:21:50,036 He didn't scheme or manipulate like Jacob did. 445 00:21:50,036 --> 00:21:53,142 And for ten years, he had to run from Saul 446 00:21:53,142 --> 00:21:56,497 and did not once raise his hand against him. 447 00:21:56,497 --> 00:21:58,501 That is self-control. 448 00:21:58,501 --> 00:22:01,274 That's humility to wait before God. 449 00:22:01,274 --> 00:22:03,236 That's being spiritually minded 450 00:22:03,236 --> 00:22:04,777 to wait on the Lord 451 00:22:04,777 --> 00:22:09,590 and to not take matters into your own hands carnally. 452 00:22:09,590 --> 00:22:11,742 When Shemaiah came out cursing David, 453 00:22:11,742 --> 00:22:13,697 remember when David was coming out 454 00:22:13,697 --> 00:22:15,706 with his men? 455 00:22:15,706 --> 00:22:18,135 Shemaiah comes throwing dust at him 456 00:22:18,135 --> 00:22:19,678 and cursing him. 457 00:22:19,678 --> 00:22:21,345 One of David's right hand men said 458 00:22:21,345 --> 00:22:23,125 I'm going to go take his head off. 459 00:22:23,125 --> 00:22:25,328 David said no, God's letting him curse me. 460 00:22:25,328 --> 00:22:27,289 Let him do it. 461 00:22:27,289 --> 00:22:29,698 Self-control. 462 00:22:29,698 --> 00:22:32,621 Self-control. 463 00:22:32,621 --> 00:22:34,287 When David's bringing the ark 464 00:22:34,287 --> 00:22:35,528 back into Jerusalem, 465 00:22:35,528 --> 00:22:39,677 and Saul's daughter, his wife Michal 466 00:22:39,677 --> 00:22:44,435 sees him dancing, she gets embarrassed. 467 00:22:44,435 --> 00:22:46,626 What does David say? 468 00:22:46,626 --> 00:22:49,974 Well, I'll be yet more vile. 469 00:22:49,974 --> 00:22:52,484 I'll keep doing it. 470 00:22:52,484 --> 00:22:54,304 He was rejoicing before God 471 00:22:54,304 --> 00:22:57,030 and he didn't care if people saw him 472 00:22:57,030 --> 00:22:58,936 in his royal dignity 473 00:22:58,936 --> 00:23:02,713 dancing before the Lord with all his might. 474 00:23:02,713 --> 00:23:05,407 He would rather rejoice. 475 00:23:05,407 --> 00:23:07,364 He would have quenched the Holy Spirit 476 00:23:07,364 --> 00:23:09,215 if he had listened to her 477 00:23:09,215 --> 00:23:14,422 to save his royal face and his dignity. 478 00:23:14,422 --> 00:23:17,170 He maintained humility. 479 00:23:17,170 --> 00:23:18,916 When David in his anger was coming 480 00:23:18,916 --> 00:23:21,552 to wipe out wicked Nabal, 481 00:23:21,552 --> 00:23:23,022 he gained self-control 482 00:23:23,022 --> 00:23:25,848 through Abigail's intercession, 483 00:23:25,848 --> 00:23:28,865 and he humbled himself to not do 484 00:23:28,865 --> 00:23:31,940 what his flesh would have done. 485 00:23:31,940 --> 00:23:32,969 That's humility. 486 00:23:32,969 --> 00:23:36,345 I'm not going to do it. 487 00:23:36,345 --> 00:23:42,234 In summary, David showed a nobility of humility. 488 00:23:42,234 --> 00:23:47,027 A willingness to wait on God and not exalt himself. 489 00:23:47,027 --> 00:23:48,536 Now he had his faults, 490 00:23:48,536 --> 00:23:51,431 but those were not self-centeredness 491 00:23:51,431 --> 00:23:55,463 and egotism and ambition. 492 00:23:55,463 --> 00:23:59,283 H.C. Leupold -the best commentator 493 00:23:59,283 --> 00:24:00,860 in my opinion on all the Psalms. 494 00:24:00,860 --> 00:24:03,074 If you can get his book on the Psalms, 495 00:24:03,074 --> 00:24:05,329 it's incredible how good it is. 496 00:24:05,329 --> 00:24:06,918 Leupold said this about David: 497 00:24:06,918 --> 00:24:08,648 "There may have been a time 498 00:24:08,648 --> 00:24:11,699 when great plans and ambitions 499 00:24:11,699 --> 00:24:14,277 surged through David's heart 500 00:24:14,277 --> 00:24:17,100 and drove him down the road of ambition, 501 00:24:17,100 --> 00:24:19,229 but he exited that road 502 00:24:19,229 --> 00:24:22,277 and he never got on it again." 503 00:24:22,277 --> 00:24:24,045 Some of us need to exit the road 504 00:24:24,045 --> 00:24:27,075 of self-ambition, and start driving 505 00:24:27,075 --> 00:24:33,881 on Humility Boulevard. 506 00:24:33,881 --> 00:24:39,512 Who can say, "Lord, my heart is not proud"? 507 00:24:39,512 --> 00:24:42,111 David could and it was true. 508 00:24:42,111 --> 00:24:44,050 Now secondly, he says this: 509 00:24:44,050 --> 00:24:45,544 Read on - verse 1. 510 00:24:45,544 --> 00:24:48,190 "My eyes are not lofty 511 00:24:48,190 --> 00:24:52,156 and I do not exercise myself in great matters 512 00:24:52,156 --> 00:24:54,655 or things too high for me." 513 00:24:54,655 --> 00:25:05,527 How many of you think I should run for president? 514 00:25:05,527 --> 00:25:08,371 Think how people exercise themselves 515 00:25:08,371 --> 00:25:10,921 in things too high for them. 516 00:25:10,921 --> 00:25:14,669 Try to get on with some blogger 517 00:25:14,669 --> 00:25:17,018 in some long discussion, 518 00:25:17,018 --> 00:25:23,004 and you're going to straighten them all out. 519 00:25:23,004 --> 00:25:25,941 David said first, I don't have a proud heart. 520 00:25:25,941 --> 00:25:28,276 Secondly, I don't have lofty eyes 521 00:25:28,276 --> 00:25:29,915 or carnal ambition. 522 00:25:29,915 --> 00:25:33,655 That has to do with high-minded conceit 523 00:25:33,655 --> 00:25:36,660 to pursue big self-goals and big plans 524 00:25:36,660 --> 00:25:39,388 for self-exaltation. 525 00:25:39,388 --> 00:25:43,629 I'm going to be somebody for Jesus. 526 00:25:43,629 --> 00:25:46,681 Seekest thou great things for thyself? 527 00:25:46,681 --> 00:25:48,991 Seek them not Scripture says. 528 00:25:48,991 --> 00:25:53,471 But see, that's the current view in this world. 529 00:25:53,471 --> 00:25:56,167 Let no one tell you that you can't accomplish 530 00:25:56,167 --> 00:25:58,388 whatever you can dream. 531 00:25:58,388 --> 00:25:59,740 The sky's the limit. 532 00:25:59,740 --> 00:26:04,867 You should try to be the next Paul Washer, 533 00:26:04,867 --> 00:26:06,270 the next Lebron James, 534 00:26:06,270 --> 00:26:08,246 the next Texas governor, 535 00:26:08,246 --> 00:26:10,031 the president. 536 00:26:10,031 --> 00:26:11,432 Envision it. Pursue it. 537 00:26:11,432 --> 00:26:16,219 Let nothing stop you from your dream that you have. 538 00:26:16,219 --> 00:26:18,894 You can live your dream. You can be your dream. 539 00:26:18,894 --> 00:26:20,310 You can have your dream. 540 00:26:20,310 --> 00:26:23,657 So says schools and higher education 541 00:26:23,657 --> 00:26:27,007 and the media and famous people. 542 00:26:27,007 --> 00:26:29,164 Lofty eyes. 543 00:26:29,164 --> 00:26:32,516 David says I don't have them anymore. 544 00:26:32,516 --> 00:26:35,976 My eyes - what I envision, 545 00:26:35,976 --> 00:26:39,866 what I want and what I want to pursue 546 00:26:39,866 --> 00:26:42,421 has been mortified, 547 00:26:42,421 --> 00:26:44,669 has been changed, has been sanctified. 548 00:26:44,669 --> 00:26:48,406 I'm not trying to be someone important anymore. 549 00:26:48,406 --> 00:26:50,519 I'm not trying to accomplish something 550 00:26:50,519 --> 00:26:54,506 that God really is not calling me to do. 551 00:26:54,506 --> 00:26:56,679 I'm going to be who I am 552 00:26:56,679 --> 00:26:59,078 and I'm going to do what He's called me to do. 553 00:26:59,078 --> 00:27:02,274 That's all that's important. 554 00:27:02,274 --> 00:27:04,317 Human high-minded intellectual 555 00:27:04,317 --> 00:27:06,168 self-ambition. 556 00:27:06,168 --> 00:27:08,123 Be something great. 557 00:27:08,123 --> 00:27:10,571 Accomplish something big. 558 00:27:10,571 --> 00:27:17,825 Be famous. Be known. Be respected. 559 00:27:17,825 --> 00:27:23,371 David would no longer aim for fame. 560 00:27:23,371 --> 00:27:25,870 But how often in even a Christian's heart 561 00:27:25,870 --> 00:27:28,818 is there an aim for fame? 562 00:27:28,818 --> 00:27:33,574 I'd like to be in a real position. 563 00:27:33,574 --> 00:27:35,327 I'd like to have a ministry. 564 00:27:35,327 --> 00:27:38,088 I'd like to be this or do that. 565 00:27:38,088 --> 00:27:41,542 And you want to do things 566 00:27:41,542 --> 00:27:43,028 out of love for Christ, 567 00:27:43,028 --> 00:27:44,618 and you want to be more fruitful, 568 00:27:44,618 --> 00:27:46,097 but you see, the fine line 569 00:27:46,097 --> 00:27:49,718 can become in what the true motives are. 570 00:27:49,718 --> 00:27:53,059 Is it really because God is shaping your life 571 00:27:53,059 --> 00:27:55,701 and you see that He's calling you to something 572 00:27:55,701 --> 00:27:58,723 and others in the church 573 00:27:58,723 --> 00:28:00,005 or in the body of Christ 574 00:28:00,005 --> 00:28:02,137 see that and they recognize it? 575 00:28:02,137 --> 00:28:04,422 If any man desires the office of an elder, 576 00:28:04,422 --> 00:28:06,473 he desires a good thing, but then, 577 00:28:06,473 --> 00:28:09,858 look out among you 578 00:28:09,858 --> 00:28:13,506 and recognize those that God's hand is on. 579 00:28:13,506 --> 00:28:15,905 You see the balance there. 580 00:28:15,905 --> 00:28:19,153 David did not position himself, 581 00:28:19,153 --> 00:28:23,148 thrust himself forward for self-greatness. 582 00:28:23,148 --> 00:28:26,154 Rather, great position and leadership 583 00:28:26,154 --> 00:28:30,310 was thrust upon him by God 584 00:28:30,310 --> 00:28:32,437 in the purpose of God. 585 00:28:32,437 --> 00:28:33,676 David's here saying 586 00:28:33,676 --> 00:28:39,034 let high ambitions be abandoned. 587 00:28:39,034 --> 00:28:41,521 Let them be gone from our hearts. 588 00:28:41,521 --> 00:28:45,413 You and I don't have to be someone that God hasn't made us. 589 00:28:45,413 --> 00:28:47,105 And David came to the place 590 00:28:47,105 --> 00:28:49,103 he's saying I don't want to be somebody 591 00:28:49,103 --> 00:28:50,566 that God hasn't made me. 592 00:28:50,566 --> 00:28:52,244 I don't want to pursue things 593 00:28:52,244 --> 00:28:58,586 even that are too lofty and too high for me. 594 00:28:58,586 --> 00:29:01,986 Consider the second half of verse 1. 595 00:29:01,986 --> 00:29:07,180 "I do not exercise myself in great matters 596 00:29:07,180 --> 00:29:10,689 or things too high and beyond me." 597 00:29:10,689 --> 00:29:13,695 Now just picture this. 598 00:29:13,695 --> 00:29:18,737 A professor from the University of North Texas - 599 00:29:18,737 --> 00:29:23,683 I took a class in graduate history of philosophy 600 00:29:23,683 --> 00:29:27,016 there at the University of North Texas. 601 00:29:27,016 --> 00:29:29,932 And the class started out with 80, 602 00:29:29,932 --> 00:29:34,010 and in about two weeks, there were about 10. 603 00:29:34,010 --> 00:29:36,331 And I said I've got to stick with it. 604 00:29:36,331 --> 00:29:38,313 I'm going to learn something. 605 00:29:38,313 --> 00:29:41,652 So, it was advanced philosophy - 606 00:29:41,652 --> 00:29:43,978 history of philosophy. 607 00:29:43,978 --> 00:29:46,530 What if the professor had come to me, 608 00:29:46,530 --> 00:29:48,424 and he said, "Mr. Tomlinson, 609 00:29:48,424 --> 00:29:51,260 I see you're a lot older than some of these students. 610 00:29:51,260 --> 00:29:53,157 So, I've got to be gone tomorrow. 611 00:29:53,157 --> 00:29:56,764 Would you do the lecture tomorrow 612 00:29:56,764 --> 00:30:00,461 on the philosophy of Spinoza?" 613 00:30:00,461 --> 00:30:03,694 What do you think I should choose to do? 614 00:30:03,694 --> 00:30:06,063 What an opportunity! 615 00:30:06,063 --> 00:30:09,251 No, what a fool I would be if I did it! 616 00:30:09,251 --> 00:30:11,918 I'd be taking on something too high for me, 617 00:30:11,918 --> 00:30:14,443 too lofty, that I'm not equipped for, 618 00:30:14,443 --> 00:30:15,822 that I couldn't do. 619 00:30:15,822 --> 00:30:16,925 You have to say no. 620 00:30:16,925 --> 00:30:19,412 I had a friend two weeks ago call me. 621 00:30:19,412 --> 00:30:22,232 He's in another church in Denton County. 622 00:30:22,232 --> 00:30:24,511 And he said brother, can I come by? 623 00:30:24,511 --> 00:30:26,933 I need you to teach me Revelation 8 624 00:30:26,933 --> 00:30:29,039 because the pastor is sick 625 00:30:29,039 --> 00:30:32,728 and they've asked me to teach the class. 626 00:30:32,728 --> 00:30:35,052 I said, no, I won't do that, brother. 627 00:30:35,052 --> 00:30:37,340 Don't do it. 628 00:30:37,340 --> 00:30:40,045 Do not do that. 629 00:30:40,045 --> 00:30:41,561 You're not ready. 630 00:30:41,561 --> 00:30:42,761 You're not equipped. 631 00:30:42,761 --> 00:30:43,904 You're not a teacher. 632 00:30:43,904 --> 00:30:45,349 You don't have what it takes. 633 00:30:45,349 --> 00:30:47,642 They shouldn't have put that on you. 634 00:30:47,642 --> 00:30:51,496 You would be trying to do what's beyond you, 635 00:30:51,496 --> 00:30:52,708 beyond your experience, 636 00:30:52,708 --> 00:30:55,096 your ability, your calling, and your giftedness. 637 00:30:55,096 --> 00:30:57,152 Don't do it. 638 00:30:57,152 --> 00:30:59,008 And he listened to me. 639 00:30:59,008 --> 00:31:00,947 If he had done that, 640 00:31:00,947 --> 00:31:04,042 too high, too lofty, beyond him, 641 00:31:04,042 --> 00:31:06,356 he would have probably been embarrassed 642 00:31:06,356 --> 00:31:09,990 and discouraged a long time in the future. 643 00:31:09,990 --> 00:31:12,647 Exercising myself in great matters 644 00:31:12,647 --> 00:31:14,127 or things too high for me. 645 00:31:14,127 --> 00:31:17,932 Causing myself to choose to not pursue 646 00:31:17,932 --> 00:31:23,496 and go after things that I don't have the goods for 647 00:31:23,496 --> 00:31:24,912 intellectually, 648 00:31:24,912 --> 00:31:26,570 domestically, 649 00:31:26,570 --> 00:31:29,412 business-wise. 650 00:31:29,412 --> 00:31:34,015 Living in the armor that God's given me 651 00:31:34,015 --> 00:31:35,974 and not trying to put on Saul's armor. 652 00:31:35,974 --> 00:31:37,987 David said it won't work. 653 00:31:37,987 --> 00:31:40,269 Give me my sling and my stones 654 00:31:40,269 --> 00:31:45,322 and the power of God. 655 00:31:45,322 --> 00:31:50,041 Here's how some have translated this phrase: 656 00:31:50,041 --> 00:31:52,320 "I do not seek out and try to walk 657 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:55,079 in matters that are too high for me." 658 00:31:55,079 --> 00:31:58,008 "I do not let proud thoughts 659 00:31:58,008 --> 00:32:00,075 and lofty views cause me 660 00:32:00,075 --> 00:32:04,289 to try to be or do what's truly beyond me." 661 00:32:04,289 --> 00:32:05,989 Matthew Poole - the commentator - 662 00:32:05,989 --> 00:32:07,573 said it this way: 663 00:32:07,573 --> 00:32:10,024 "It has not been my course to attempt 664 00:32:10,024 --> 00:32:12,799 to take on things beyond my capacity, 665 00:32:12,799 --> 00:32:14,247 beyond my abilities 666 00:32:14,247 --> 00:32:17,633 because of ambition for selfish accomplishment." 667 00:32:17,633 --> 00:32:20,028 Edwards said it this way: 668 00:32:20,028 --> 00:32:22,845 "I do not have an ambitious heart 669 00:32:22,845 --> 00:32:26,847 to try to converse in or function in things 670 00:32:26,847 --> 00:32:29,553 where I should not go." 671 00:32:29,553 --> 00:32:31,938 Now we must realize it's not sinful 672 00:32:31,938 --> 00:32:34,726 to hold an honored position 673 00:32:34,726 --> 00:32:37,336 in ministry or public service. 674 00:32:37,336 --> 00:32:39,754 But God should put a person there, 675 00:32:39,754 --> 00:32:42,098 and a person should not seek it. 676 00:32:42,098 --> 00:32:46,614 Let each of us be aware of ambition. 677 00:32:46,614 --> 00:32:49,304 It's foolish to meddle in matters 678 00:32:49,304 --> 00:32:51,237 and intellectual discussion 679 00:32:51,237 --> 00:32:54,622 beyond our capacity and beyond our growth. 680 00:32:54,622 --> 00:32:57,674 Self-control, self-discipline, 681 00:32:57,674 --> 00:33:01,231 self-humbling are great attainments 682 00:33:01,231 --> 00:33:04,172 and must be sought diligently and earnestly. 683 00:33:04,172 --> 00:33:09,660 Blessed is the one who is a weaned child. 684 00:33:09,660 --> 00:33:12,627 Someone said, "Great men never think they're great, 685 00:33:12,627 --> 00:33:18,360 and small men never think they're small." 686 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:22,791 Elisha Cole said, "It is one of the hardest matters under the sun 687 00:33:22,791 --> 00:33:27,147 to become nothing in ourselves." 688 00:33:27,147 --> 00:33:30,381 I wasn't ready for preach for 20 years 689 00:33:30,381 --> 00:33:31,963 when I started preaching. 690 00:33:31,963 --> 00:33:33,491 And half the time now, 691 00:33:33,491 --> 00:33:36,788 I don't even think I'm ready. 692 00:33:36,788 --> 00:33:38,930 If one wants to please the devil, 693 00:33:38,930 --> 00:33:42,195 let him begin to admire himself. 694 00:33:42,195 --> 00:33:44,216 Well, I've got gifts that they don't have. 695 00:33:44,216 --> 00:33:47,282 Why do they get to do that? 696 00:33:47,282 --> 00:33:48,775 Admiring ourselves. 697 00:33:48,775 --> 00:33:51,796 Let anyone, if he thinks more highly of himself 698 00:33:51,796 --> 00:33:54,428 than he ought to think... 699 00:33:54,428 --> 00:33:56,727 Now how did this process happen in David? 700 00:33:56,727 --> 00:34:00,015 If verse 1 is true, 701 00:34:00,015 --> 00:34:01,760 that he doesn't have a proud heart; 702 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:03,042 doesn't have lofty eyes, 703 00:34:03,042 --> 00:34:05,128 and he's not trying to exercise himself 704 00:34:05,128 --> 00:34:06,497 in things beyond him, 705 00:34:06,497 --> 00:34:08,921 how did this happen? 706 00:34:08,921 --> 00:34:10,414 How did he get from A to B? 707 00:34:10,414 --> 00:34:13,157 How did he go from pride not being an issue 708 00:34:13,157 --> 00:34:16,839 to humility being real in his heart? 709 00:34:16,839 --> 00:34:20,836 The process is verse 2. 710 00:34:20,836 --> 00:34:26,457 "Surely I have behaved and quieted myself." 711 00:34:26,457 --> 00:34:30,503 What does he mean? 712 00:34:30,503 --> 00:34:33,064 He means he took control 713 00:34:33,064 --> 00:34:35,373 of his heart and his thoughts and his mind 714 00:34:35,373 --> 00:34:38,948 and he says, "Calm down, boy. 715 00:34:38,948 --> 00:34:41,909 You're not great. Don't try to be great." 716 00:34:41,909 --> 00:34:43,941 He told himself. 717 00:34:43,941 --> 00:34:46,565 He hushed himself. 718 00:34:46,565 --> 00:34:48,418 Thoughts would come. Desires come. 719 00:34:48,418 --> 00:34:54,086 "Shhh... shhh... no, that's not right. 720 00:34:54,086 --> 00:34:55,263 That's not godly. 721 00:34:55,263 --> 00:34:56,875 I'm not going there. 722 00:34:56,875 --> 00:34:58,586 I'm not going to pursue that. 723 00:34:58,586 --> 00:35:00,398 I'm not going to put myself forward. 724 00:35:00,398 --> 00:35:03,709 I'm going to take the back seat, and let them call me up to the front. 725 00:35:03,709 --> 00:35:06,671 I'm not going to take the front seat and asked to move back." 726 00:35:06,671 --> 00:35:08,313 He calmed himself. 727 00:35:08,313 --> 00:35:13,848 He told himself, "Shut up." 728 00:35:13,848 --> 00:35:16,324 It's okay to tell yourself to shut up. 729 00:35:16,324 --> 00:35:19,112 You don't use that word in my house 730 00:35:19,112 --> 00:35:20,852 when my wife's around. 731 00:35:20,852 --> 00:35:25,341 The grandchildren never say that to one another. 732 00:35:25,341 --> 00:35:27,803 Well, it's okay to tell yourself that. 733 00:35:27,803 --> 00:35:29,323 David did that. 734 00:35:29,323 --> 00:35:31,070 He calmed himself. 735 00:35:31,070 --> 00:35:33,303 He settled himself down. 736 00:35:33,303 --> 00:35:36,487 He evaluated the situation. 737 00:35:36,487 --> 00:35:38,894 (Incomplete thought) 738 00:35:38,894 --> 00:35:40,441 This was a battle. 739 00:35:40,441 --> 00:35:42,249 This was picturing a real battle 740 00:35:42,249 --> 00:35:45,855 and a real process. 741 00:35:45,855 --> 00:35:47,591 It was a possible long conflict 742 00:35:47,591 --> 00:35:49,734 where he reduced the temptation 743 00:35:49,734 --> 00:35:52,068 of self-exaltation - 744 00:35:52,068 --> 00:35:54,799 thinking more highly of himself than he should - 745 00:35:54,799 --> 00:35:59,967 and he mortified his thoughts of self-greatness. 746 00:35:59,967 --> 00:36:02,388 He stilled his soul. 747 00:36:02,388 --> 00:36:07,617 He took himself by the collar of his heart 748 00:36:07,617 --> 00:36:10,131 and he said, "no, I won't go there." 749 00:36:10,131 --> 00:36:12,873 "I refuse to put myself forward 750 00:36:12,873 --> 00:36:15,549 or engage myself in things I shouldn't." 751 00:36:15,549 --> 00:36:18,604 It was a weaning process. 752 00:36:18,604 --> 00:36:21,077 I guess some babies are harder 753 00:36:21,077 --> 00:36:24,687 to wean off the breast than others. 754 00:36:24,687 --> 00:36:27,306 And so, it's a fight. 755 00:36:27,306 --> 00:36:30,229 And it's hard. 756 00:36:30,229 --> 00:36:32,813 Once a baby truly gets weaned, 757 00:36:32,813 --> 00:36:38,748 there's contentment to sit in mom's lap 758 00:36:38,748 --> 00:36:40,565 and not have to demand it. 759 00:36:40,565 --> 00:36:45,094 David said I am like a weaned child. 760 00:36:45,094 --> 00:36:47,019 Contented. 761 00:36:47,019 --> 00:36:49,005 I have no desire to be great. 762 00:36:49,005 --> 00:36:51,376 I have no desire to traffic in things 763 00:36:51,376 --> 00:36:52,781 I'm not called to. 764 00:36:52,781 --> 00:36:55,477 I'll be me and I'll do what God wants me to do. 765 00:36:55,477 --> 00:36:59,044 A contented heart is a blessed thing. 766 00:36:59,044 --> 00:37:07,140 Oh, the blessedness of a weaned child of God. 767 00:37:07,140 --> 00:37:10,334 Brethren, we've got to learn to wean our hearts 768 00:37:10,334 --> 00:37:12,404 from carnal ambition, 769 00:37:12,404 --> 00:37:15,216 from pride that tries to get us. 770 00:37:15,216 --> 00:37:19,640 We have to learn to desire 771 00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:21,247 only the Lord Jesus 772 00:37:21,247 --> 00:37:25,410 and not something great for ourselves. 773 00:37:25,410 --> 00:37:31,442 God can entrust great opportunity 774 00:37:31,442 --> 00:37:35,886 to those He can trust with those opportunities. 775 00:37:35,886 --> 00:37:39,913 So, he weaned himself. 776 00:37:39,913 --> 00:37:42,743 And then, he says, 777 00:37:42,743 --> 00:37:45,356 my soul, right now, 778 00:37:45,356 --> 00:37:47,945 is a weaned, contented heart. 779 00:37:47,945 --> 00:37:50,472 Where these things that were issues 780 00:37:50,472 --> 00:37:53,743 aren't in my life anymore. 781 00:37:53,743 --> 00:37:55,542 And then he exhorts us. 782 00:37:55,542 --> 00:37:56,885 Look at verse three. 783 00:37:56,885 --> 00:38:00,927 The humble man's exhortation... to us. 784 00:38:00,927 --> 00:38:03,294 He takes it to the church. 785 00:38:03,294 --> 00:38:05,276 He takes his autobiographical, 786 00:38:05,276 --> 00:38:07,143 personal, intimate experience 787 00:38:07,143 --> 00:38:08,950 and he applies it pastorally 788 00:38:08,950 --> 00:38:10,446 to all of God's people. 789 00:38:10,446 --> 00:38:11,733 You know what he says? 790 00:38:11,733 --> 00:38:14,345 "Hope in the Lord." 791 00:38:14,345 --> 00:38:16,456 Just hope in Him. 792 00:38:16,456 --> 00:38:18,784 Hope in the Lord your God. 793 00:38:18,784 --> 00:38:22,482 This is an all-inclusive exhortation. 794 00:38:22,482 --> 00:38:28,572 Pride? Not before God, church. 795 00:38:28,572 --> 00:38:31,961 Let all your glory be in Him. 796 00:38:31,961 --> 00:38:34,465 Let all your glory be in the cross. 797 00:38:34,465 --> 00:38:38,105 Let all your glory be in what He's done. 798 00:38:38,105 --> 00:38:39,825 He gets the credit for everything. 799 00:38:39,825 --> 00:38:42,358 Without Him, we can do nothing. 800 00:38:42,358 --> 00:38:44,891 Lofty, selfish ambitions, 801 00:38:44,891 --> 00:38:48,171 your goals, your gifts, your ministry, 802 00:38:48,171 --> 00:38:52,781 your future, your longings - 803 00:38:52,781 --> 00:38:56,626 hope in the Lord. 804 00:38:56,626 --> 00:39:00,747 A man's gift makes room for him. 805 00:39:00,747 --> 00:39:03,046 It doesn't say a man makes room for his gifts. 806 00:39:03,046 --> 00:39:04,763 A man's gift makes room for him 807 00:39:04,763 --> 00:39:06,790 and brings him before kings. 808 00:39:06,790 --> 00:39:08,879 Promotion is from who? 809 00:39:08,879 --> 00:39:10,412 The Lord. 810 00:39:10,412 --> 00:39:13,417 He brings up one. He puts down another. 811 00:39:13,417 --> 00:39:15,211 Hope in the Lord. 812 00:39:15,211 --> 00:39:18,622 Everything in the Christian life 813 00:39:18,622 --> 00:39:21,196 and in ministry and in fruitfulness 814 00:39:21,196 --> 00:39:23,410 and in usefulness and in service 815 00:39:23,410 --> 00:39:25,427 and in a life pleasing God - 816 00:39:25,427 --> 00:39:28,636 everything is from Him 817 00:39:28,636 --> 00:39:31,531 and of Him and through Him 818 00:39:31,531 --> 00:39:35,117 and for Him and by Him, 819 00:39:35,117 --> 00:39:38,979 so hope in the Lord alone. 820 00:39:38,979 --> 00:39:40,971 I love that old chorus they used to sing: 821 00:39:40,971 --> 00:39:43,376 "In the Lord; the Lord alone 822 00:39:43,376 --> 00:39:47,366 is righteousness and peace." 823 00:39:47,366 --> 00:39:51,486 Well, let me apply this a little bit. 824 00:39:51,486 --> 00:39:52,708 Number one, 825 00:39:52,708 --> 00:39:56,216 how does this really fit us? 826 00:39:56,216 --> 00:39:58,002 What are we to do? 827 00:39:58,002 --> 00:40:00,442 Number one: humility must be 828 00:40:00,442 --> 00:40:03,747 cultivated by daily choices. 829 00:40:03,747 --> 00:40:05,956 Paul said, "I die daily." 830 00:40:05,956 --> 00:40:11,040 Humility must be cultivated by daily choices. 831 00:40:11,040 --> 00:40:15,975 Regularly, quietly, with wisdom 832 00:40:15,975 --> 00:40:18,578 down in the secret recesses of our heart 833 00:40:18,578 --> 00:40:22,062 saying no to prideful thoughts. 834 00:40:22,062 --> 00:40:25,499 Giving no place. 835 00:40:25,499 --> 00:40:29,161 Cutting out lofty eyes. 836 00:40:29,161 --> 00:40:30,914 Killing high ambitions, 837 00:40:30,914 --> 00:40:32,684 self-exalting goals. 838 00:40:32,684 --> 00:40:37,659 Learning to hush your heart regularly. 839 00:40:37,659 --> 00:40:41,810 That's mortifying the flesh. 840 00:40:41,810 --> 00:40:45,025 Self-important stinks, 841 00:40:45,025 --> 00:40:47,912 so don't be smelly to other people. 842 00:40:47,912 --> 00:40:51,649 Because they'll smell it. 843 00:40:51,649 --> 00:40:55,297 Humility - think of this - 844 00:40:55,297 --> 00:41:00,504 humility is not to be a momentary victory 845 00:41:00,504 --> 00:41:05,115 in the midst of a pattern of a prideful life. 846 00:41:05,115 --> 00:41:09,078 Humility is the life that we're normally 847 00:41:09,078 --> 00:41:11,578 to be governed by 848 00:41:11,578 --> 00:41:15,828 and pride and ambition ought to be 849 00:41:15,828 --> 00:41:20,777 the little speed bumps (incomplete thought), 850 00:41:20,777 --> 00:41:22,373 and then we repent 851 00:41:22,373 --> 00:41:25,430 and then we return to a lifestyle 852 00:41:25,430 --> 00:41:27,556 of humility. 853 00:41:27,556 --> 00:41:30,550 Humility is not to be a once in a while occurrence. 854 00:41:30,550 --> 00:41:33,976 But it's to rule in our hearts continually 855 00:41:33,976 --> 00:41:37,759 as a reality in the Holy Spirit. 856 00:41:37,759 --> 00:41:40,300 So, we must cultivate this. 857 00:41:40,300 --> 00:41:44,788 Let ambitions be abandoned. 858 00:41:44,788 --> 00:41:49,236 Let lofty eyes be put out and blinded. 859 00:41:49,236 --> 00:41:52,663 Let high thoughts die. 860 00:41:52,663 --> 00:41:59,607 Be a weaned child because David was. 861 00:41:59,607 --> 00:42:02,545 Number two: we must continually 862 00:42:02,545 --> 00:42:05,805 cultivate within our church 863 00:42:05,805 --> 00:42:08,041 an atmosphere and a culture 864 00:42:08,041 --> 00:42:13,012 of church humility. 865 00:42:13,012 --> 00:42:15,474 I often think about this, 866 00:42:15,474 --> 00:42:18,014 about our church in Denton. 867 00:42:18,014 --> 00:42:21,630 Does our church have any appearance 868 00:42:21,630 --> 00:42:24,233 to the community, to others, 869 00:42:24,233 --> 00:42:25,539 to those who visit - 870 00:42:25,539 --> 00:42:27,815 does our church have any appearance 871 00:42:27,815 --> 00:42:33,570 of superiority or pride? 872 00:42:33,570 --> 00:42:37,265 Do we give off any aroma of arrogance? 873 00:42:37,265 --> 00:42:39,934 Do we relate to the lost 874 00:42:39,934 --> 00:42:43,956 in our evangelism with kindness, 875 00:42:43,956 --> 00:42:47,500 humility, listening and caring, 876 00:42:47,500 --> 00:42:51,298 or, harshly, judgmentally, 877 00:42:51,298 --> 00:42:55,221 argumentatively? 878 00:42:55,221 --> 00:42:58,831 We are a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. 879 00:42:58,831 --> 00:43:01,129 So what's being seen and heard? 880 00:43:01,129 --> 00:43:02,919 What's sounding forth from us? 881 00:43:02,919 --> 00:43:06,415 Humility or superiority? 882 00:43:06,415 --> 00:43:08,252 What shines forth? 883 00:43:08,252 --> 00:43:10,548 How is our church known? 884 00:43:10,548 --> 00:43:14,212 What are we known for among the world around us? 885 00:43:14,212 --> 00:43:16,318 And when you think about this, beloved, 886 00:43:16,318 --> 00:43:17,302 think about this - 887 00:43:17,302 --> 00:43:21,172 the Lord Jesus, He is the supreme example 888 00:43:21,172 --> 00:43:24,048 of Psalm 131. 889 00:43:24,048 --> 00:43:27,820 As a man, He was not proud. 890 00:43:27,820 --> 00:43:31,489 He didn't have lofty eyes. 891 00:43:31,489 --> 00:43:38,164 He could have cured hunger and poverty 892 00:43:38,164 --> 00:43:40,082 in the country totally. 893 00:43:40,082 --> 00:43:43,543 He could have healed everybody 894 00:43:43,543 --> 00:43:45,807 with a word. 895 00:43:45,807 --> 00:43:49,155 But He didn't exercise Himself 896 00:43:49,155 --> 00:43:53,027 in things the Father had not called Him to. 897 00:43:53,027 --> 00:43:54,790 He was on a mission - 898 00:43:54,790 --> 00:43:56,593 a singular mission - 899 00:43:56,593 --> 00:43:59,314 to do what the Father had called Him to do 900 00:43:59,314 --> 00:44:01,831 and to accomplish His work. 901 00:44:01,831 --> 00:44:03,726 And think about this: 902 00:44:03,726 --> 00:44:06,847 He was willing to be ignorant 903 00:44:06,847 --> 00:44:08,607 in His humanity. 904 00:44:08,607 --> 00:44:12,696 Was the Lord Jesus ignorant in His humanity? 905 00:44:12,696 --> 00:44:14,456 Yes, He was. 906 00:44:14,456 --> 00:44:17,635 Self-imposed choice of being ignorant 907 00:44:17,635 --> 00:44:19,245 about things in His humanity. 908 00:44:19,245 --> 00:44:24,168 He said I don't know the day or the hour of My coming. 909 00:44:24,168 --> 00:44:26,130 And you know what governed that? 910 00:44:26,130 --> 00:44:27,674 One consideration: 911 00:44:27,674 --> 00:44:31,667 "Even so, Father, it seemed good in Your sight." 912 00:44:31,667 --> 00:44:37,540 So the Lord Jesus Christ emulates for us 913 00:44:37,540 --> 00:44:39,900 in His life and death and His example, 914 00:44:39,900 --> 00:44:43,344 and in His headship of the church, 915 00:44:43,344 --> 00:44:46,855 His being our Great High Priest, 916 00:44:46,855 --> 00:44:50,548 He evidences Psalm 131 to us. 917 00:44:50,548 --> 00:44:52,079 And He calls us and says, 918 00:44:52,079 --> 00:44:56,245 hey, I want you to have no pride in your heart. 919 00:44:56,245 --> 00:44:58,590 I don't want you to have lofty eyes. 920 00:44:58,590 --> 00:45:00,422 I don't want you to be about 921 00:45:00,422 --> 00:45:02,420 what you're not supposed to be about. 922 00:45:02,420 --> 00:45:06,222 I want you to be a weaned child on My breast. 923 00:45:06,222 --> 00:45:08,199 Hope in Me. 924 00:45:08,199 --> 00:45:10,805 Israel, hope in Me. 925 00:45:10,805 --> 00:45:12,320 Hope in Me. 926 00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:18,888 Cultivate and attain true humility. 927 00:45:18,888 --> 00:45:20,555 Go for it. 928 00:45:20,555 --> 00:45:21,649 You can do it. 929 00:45:21,649 --> 00:45:23,465 It's life in the Spirit. 930 00:45:23,465 --> 00:45:26,653 It's our inheritance. 931 00:45:26,653 --> 00:45:29,030 What a blessedness if someone 932 00:45:29,030 --> 00:45:32,394 can look at your life or mine in the future 933 00:45:32,394 --> 00:45:34,873 and they can read Psalm 131 934 00:45:34,873 --> 00:45:37,586 and they can say, hey, that's not just David, 935 00:45:37,586 --> 00:45:40,510 that's her; that's him. 936 00:45:40,510 --> 00:45:42,769 Do you want that? 937 00:45:42,769 --> 00:45:44,895 Blessed be God, the reality, 938 00:45:44,895 --> 00:45:47,356 God can work it in our hearts. 939 00:45:47,356 --> 00:45:51,810 Never again read quickly past Psalm 131 940 00:45:51,810 --> 00:45:53,186 without stopping and saying, 941 00:45:53,186 --> 00:45:58,034 "Lord, am I more this way than I was last week?" 942 00:45:58,034 --> 00:46:00,190 My heart is not proud. 943 00:46:00,190 --> 00:46:03,649 My eyes aren't lofty. 944 00:46:03,649 --> 00:46:06,216 Make me a weaned child. 945 00:46:06,216 --> 00:46:17,088 Let's pray. 946 00:46:17,088 --> 00:46:20,753 Father, work in us a heart that is not proud. 947 00:46:20,753 --> 00:46:24,165 Remove from us lofty eyes. 948 00:46:24,165 --> 00:46:26,899 Remove from us the tendency 949 00:46:26,899 --> 00:46:32,054 and temptation to exercise ourselves 950 00:46:32,054 --> 00:46:35,509 in matters that are too high for us. 951 00:46:35,509 --> 00:46:38,586 Help us to quiet ourselves 952 00:46:38,586 --> 00:46:42,104 as a child that is weaned from its mother. 953 00:46:42,104 --> 00:46:44,165 Cause our soul and our life, Lord, 954 00:46:44,165 --> 00:46:45,910 to be a weaned child, 955 00:46:45,910 --> 00:46:49,293 and cause us increasingly 956 00:46:49,293 --> 00:46:51,772 to just hope in the Lord. 957 00:46:51,772 --> 00:46:56,341 Oh God, work these realities in us 958 00:46:56,341 --> 00:47:00,030 that we would be more and more like our Savior. 959 00:47:00,030 --> 00:47:04,550 Hear us, we ask. 960 00:47:04,550 --> 00:47:07,886 And work in us to will and to do 961 00:47:07,886 --> 00:47:11,204 of Your good pleasure. 962 00:47:11,204 --> 00:47:15,135 In Jesus' name we pray, 963 00:47:15,135 --> 00:47:16,492 Amen.