Rethink Happiness - Beatitude 4

Great to see everybody in church today, turn to your neighbor and wave at him. Let him know that you're real happy, that they're here as well. We are in secret number for today. As we're looking at the eight secrets to a happy life, the Beatitudes of Jesus, which we three think happiness. Everybody's got a definition for happiness. But what does Jesus say about it? He gives us the definitive word Sorento. Look at secret number for here in just a moment. If you have missed any of the messages, I encourage you to check them out on our podcast or go to our website and you can get right back up to speed. We have small groups, rethink groups going there, study guides all sorts of helps, to really kind of advanced are our faith as over these. Next 60 days of spiritual growth. We really want to focus on what Jesus is saying to us about the kind of people. Do you want us to be? We want to live like Jesus? Love Like Jesus and Lead like Jesus. And that's really the core value of our allies and our church. Now, last week, I had you fill in this sentence and I'm going to I'd do it myself here today. Happiness. Is... If you were going to Define what happened to Susan, your life, how would you answer that? Well, I'm going to share just a couple of things. Happiness, is where able to do a vision night in person. You heard Adam talking about it and I really want to encourage you to come. There's extraordinary things happening in our community as we show God's love and practical ways to people in need right here around the walls of our church. Will you please come on Sunday night November 7th 5 1 hour or less presentation as you hear all the things that have been happening and where we want to go this next year. We really would like you to be a part of that. And then also a happiness is where able to travel around the world. Next year, to our short-term outdoor wreath missions trips, and we have four trips planned at 2 to Albania, when the sumba Indonesia and other 12, East, y Tini. And we're really looking forward to that. If you have ever had a notion, you would like to go on the short-term, Outreach missions trip. Check it out. Upstairs. After the service here today, would love for you to be aware of it. And one more thing happiness, is having a great perspective, my good friend. Bob Goff with was there, two weeks ago. Nice, a good friend. I've met him once. So weather is that. But he's a prolific author and a real funny man. And he has he said something at our Pregnancy Resource Center, gala event, that we hosted here at BCA that, I think I'm going to use in the future. You said, people ask me all the time. How old I am? And I just tell them. I just turned 58. 5 years ago. And I think that's a great perspective. It's kind of like the gentleman in our lobby here last week. I was talking to him, and we're talking about work and I said, well, how's it going to stay at home? And I'm a full-time stay-at-home dad full-time, Dad. I said, I also work 40 hours a week for Microsoft and I saw, you know, that's a great priority and I thought that was pretty funny. Well, as we think about happiness, it's interesting to study, What happiness means to other people. You may not know this, but there is a study that's done every year about the happiest country in the world. Can you guess what? The happiest country in the world is Will give you the top 10. Let's kind of work our way about Austria. New Zealand Luxembourg Sweden. Norway the Netherlands Iceland. Switzerland. Denmark. Those are two through 10. But you know what? The happiest country in the world, the country that all of you are going to want to move to next week. Are you ready? Drum roll, please? Everybody said on the count of three one, two, three. You're right. It's Finland. Who would have guessed, only those of you that knew it. I had no idea. People go through great. Great afternoon. Trying to figure out what the happiest places are the world are they have certain criteria. Finland is a winter this past year. So there you have it. That's pretty exciting. Socrates said, the secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more but in developing the capacity to enjoy less. And when I read that, I thought to myself, you know, that really kind of fits into what we're talkin about over these 60 days because Jesus would say, focus on two things. Love, God, love other people. That's what the Beatitudes. When you boil them down to their simplest form are all talking about, love God. Love people. Like the Ten Commandments, love, love other people. That's what it's all about. How can we do that? Most effectively and Jesus teases that out. If you will in eight different Beatitudes, and we're looking at those intern, Hey, I came across the website. Www. 10%. Calm. And it features this book. 10% happier in on the website. It says it's possible to increase your capacity for Joy. Gratitude and love. No magical thinking required. Our meditations will help you enjoy life more and it's really a website about meditating and death. You know, I believe in meditation on God's word. That's what it says. In Psalm, 1 blessed is the man who meditates on God's word and night. I think they're recommending a few other things, but but I was intrigued by the title of that book. What if we all can be 10% happier? I don't know how you measure that. I don't even know if that's possible. What if you could practice the eight Beatitudes 10% better. I'm not sure we can really measure that, I'm not sure that's even possible. But the, the big question that really kind of keeps going through my mind is, how are we going to be happier people? And Jesus says, rob, you were going to be happy. He called you by name, you were going to be happy. If you practice these eight Secrets, the eight Beatitudes of Jesus. Because internal Joy is found in an eternal God. The god of the mountain and the people gathered around and he began to share the quintessential teachings of everything. He ever taught. VIP attitudes, and we want to talk about those here again. Today. Number one, accurately assess yourself. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who know they are. Nothing without God. PNC. Number to blessed. Are those who mourn? Blessed are those who are devastated by sin and know the devastation sin causes. We admit our mistakes. We admit sin freely. We recognize our centers. Secret number 3. Blessed are the meek for the humble? Blessed are those who respect other people? Who understand? It's God first. Other second self third. They are going to be the happiest in life in their relationships in their involvement with people all around him. And then he attitude number for do the right thing. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst, after righteousness, for they will be filled. You want to talk about the attitude number for today? If? So, let me ask you, what is righteousness. What does righteousness mean? Well, in its simplest simplest form, righteousness is godliness. It's christlikeness. It's doing the right thing. It's doing the right thing, which closed out of being the right, kind of person. It's pleasing God, honoring God obeying God. That's what righteousness is all about. That's what righteousness means. It. It's faith and practice. Its belief and behavior. It's not just believing the right thing. It's doing the right thing. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, that are so many scriptures that talk about righteousness in the Bible, you know, that as well as I do and I've chosen one in particular. That's first John three 7. It says Dear children. Do not let anyone Lead You astray. He who does what is right is righteous. Do the right thing, be righteous and then later on. He says anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother. So you're right. Just if you do the right thing, you're unrighteous. If you do not do the right thing or you do the wrong thing, do the right thing. James says, enforced 417 anyone then? Who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it sends. We need to do the right thing. It's not just thinking or believing it's behaving and acting and practicing. So, the question for me, and for all of us is what do the people closest to me. See and think. About my righteousness. Do I just kind of believe and have a certain Faith or do? I actually live it out to actually flush it out? And we need to train ourselves to be Godly. That's one of my favorite verses in 1st. Timothy 4:17, you know, we train ourselves in a physically through resistance training and engagement training will in faith is very much the same way. I need to resist evil. And then I need to engage in what is good and right and practice, the things that God has called me to practice. You know, I was thinking about a lot of the verses I was studying. And one of the things that I noticed is that one of the ways that we grow in righteousness, is by practicing our faith during difficult difficult time. It builds spiritual muscle. For example, when suffering 1st, Peter. 3:14, says, even when you suffer for what is, right, you are blessed. So when we go through suffering and we do the right thing, it's going to build our faith muscle. We build our faith muscle, and our righteousness muscle, if you will, when we do good during times of weariness and fatigue. Let us not become weary in doing good, doing the right thing, doing the righteous thing, the good thing for at the proper time will reap a harvest. When were tempted do not overcome evil by evil but overcome evil with good, do the good thing do The Godly thing do the righteous thing? Even when you're tempted when busy whatever you do. Weathering where do they do it? All in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God, no matter what's going on, how busy, how chaotic, how stressed, how exhausted you are.

Do the right thing and when conflicted Proverbs 21:3 says, to do what is right? And just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. So when you're conflicted and you can go this way or this way, do the right thing, do The Godly thing, do the obedient thing? That's one of the key words in the fourth. Secret blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, but what does hunger and thirst really mean, let's talk about that for just a couple minutes in Jesus days. His first year, as would have really, really understood with hunger and thirst men. There was been a woman in the crowd who would have heard him talk about hunger and said, I understand exactly what you're saying, Jesus. She and her family lived on subsistence memes hardly any money coming in and if lucky one meal a day and she would pass up that meal often to make sure her kids had enough. Hunger, she knew hunger pains. She was hungry, most of the time. Would you use says blessed are you if you hunger and thirst after righteousness, she got it. She understood it today. We don't get it. We don't understand it. We can call a doordash. We can run to a restaurant, we can dial up and have groceries. Delivered food is accessible all the time. All the time, food is everywhere, even posted a very hungry in our community if they if they work got it. Nowhere to go. There are people like us that want to help people with food. But not in Jesus day. And there would have been a man in the crowd who would have understood what it meant to be. Absolutely thirsty, but ready to die. I'm so thirsty. You just come across the desert. To use his headdress to keep the sand out of his nose and his mouth and his face. We almost died on the trip, because he was so thirsty. It's his, his throat was parched. He could hardly hardly make it and Jesus saying your desire to be righteous needs to be as great as a person wanting food, who is dying of hunger and a person wanting water who is dying of thirst? That's how much you need to desire, righteousness. So, I asked you Are you hungry and thirsty after righteousness in that way? Blessed are those a secret? The fourth secret to a happy life is to hunger and thirst after righteousness. It's interesting that when you study this scripture in in the Greek language in their our reference books and helps that can guide us in this and you understand in the Greek language. This is a continuous action present since word and what that means is its ongoing it's not want it done its ongoing so you're always hungry and you're always thirsting, for righteousness, it goes on and on and on so you're always pursuing you are driven driven by righteousness. What drives you? She says are you driven by righteousness? Where are you? Not? William Barclay, and his commentary from The Book of Matthew says, ask yourself. How much do I want? Goodness? How much do I want righteousness? How much do I want, christlikeness? Do you want good in this righteousness godliness? As much as a starting man wants food. And as much as a man dying of thirst wants water, how intense is your desire for God and godliness. So, what are you running after? That's a question wants to think about, but just a quick minute here. What am I? What are you running after people choose to do, right and wrong all the time. I'm listening to a podcast about pastors and religious leaders, and how some have fallen because they haven't chosen to do the right thing. It's very sad, very tragic. You know, the the Wake they leave behind them of of Carnage. We see in the Sports World people rise, and they fall sometimes in a weekend because of misdeeds in business World, stories of malfeasance, Espionage treason and more from just this past week and then in people's personal lives in Fidelity dishonesty theft deception and greed. The people somehow rationalize? It's okay to go down the wrong road. Because somehow still, it will be right.

That's conflict. That's conflicted. There's s incongruent. And so we need to continually ask ourselves you and me, like, am I doing the right thing? Am I thinking the right thoughts and am I doing the right right thing? I talked to a man some years ago. And this story came to my mind, as I was writing the sermon. Lisa Rob, I'm going to divorce my wife. I'm not happy and I believe God wants me to be happy and so I've been divorced my wife and you know 20 years from now. I don't want to look back in and be unhappy. So God is a god of Grace. He'll forgive me. I want to be happy until this. What I'm going to do. And, you know, people talk to me like that and tell me things and that's not a good idea because I'm not going to encourage it at all. You know, that's why I said, listen, there's another option.

Don't want to be unhappy.

And so, you're going to get a divorce. But there's a third option, you can become happy and Christ, and bring that happiness, into your present marriage, and believe God, to do a miracle. There's a third option. Well, he didn't like my idea which is often the case. And we worked through that, we talked through that and and in the end he went with his approach and and and didn't didn't listen. Sometimes people think they can get to the right to the right place by going in the wrong direction. And listen, it's less about the man. I just referred to it's more about you and me right now. What are we dealing with? What are we wrestling with? Are the store the other day of a man who just made a terrible. Terrible choice? And I was just trying to my wife. I mean just consider all the steps a person has to go through to get to where they do that. Agree. Just act. There's a lot of steps, you know, I no longer am going to follow God. I hurt my family. I'm going to throw my finances out the window. I'm going to do this on that. And so I'm going to I'm going to sin against God and then and then they get to the act of sinning. But there's all these steps beforehand and that's why I asked, what are we running? After? What are you running after? What am I running after? If we're running after righteousness, if we hunger and thirst after righteousness, it's going to bend us away. From Temptation and yielding to send.

We can make our choices, but we can't select the consequences. The consequences. Go with the choices. And there are truckload of bad consequences that go with wrong choices. Doing wrong, never turns out right doing wrong chips away at our character, in our moral fiber, in a few minutes that we have left. I want us to look at three characteristics of what it looks like to be a righteous person and let's look at it. And as we do I want you to filter your life through it and I want you just to kind of ask yourself. How am I doing in these areas?

One characteristic of living, a righteous life is having a right attitude. And then that leaves to write actions. Let me illustrate with a few scriptures here. Nice is Micah 6:8 says, he's shown you a man. What is good and what the lord requires of you to act, justly, love mercy and walk, humbly act, justly love Mercy walk humbly. How will my Doing those three things acting just lie, loving mercy, and walking humbly and then a very similar version. Isaiah 1 17, Isaiah says, learn to do, right? Do the right thing learn to do, right? What what's the right thing to him seek? Justice, encourage the oppressed defend the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the Widow for things, Justice encourage, other people care for the far, the list care for the Widow. And then change to eight says, if you really keep the Royal law found in scripture, love your neighbor as yourself you are doing right? You're doing the right thing. When you love your neighbor as you love yourself. What is the principal from these verses to me? The principle is this Rob, the proof of my righteousness will be seen in my Godly actions and christ-like attitudes. Godly actions and christ-like at its attitudes. And so I go a step further and I speak to myself, and I asked the question. What am I doing for the poor? What am I doing for the fatherless? What am I doing for the Widow? What am I doing? For the helpless? In other words, we don't just read the scriptures and let it go in one ear and out the other. We we stopped and we just too personal inventory Mesa God. How can I be more faithful in having right attitude? And right actions in these particular areas, and these are specifics. And that's why we are so involved as a church with the Compassion Center here in our city. You can actually be a part of all those things that Isaiah and might talk about by just being involved in serving at the Vets and compassion that reaching out to the poor caring for the Widow eldercare, you know, caring for the innocent and helpless being involved in. Not just saying I'm against abortion, but getting involved with the Pregnancy Resource Center in coming, alongside women who are in a crisis situation and need to know, someone will care. We hosted the gala, the other night is I referred to a moment ago. And at the last minute, the person who supposed to ask for the offering couldn't do it. And so they said Rob would you do it? I said sure anything I can do to help you happy too. And that's when they told me. I was following Bob Goff and then I thought that was probably a bad move on my part. But we are hopeless. Teresa, $150,000 and over $200,000 has come in already and I had nothing to do with me but everything to do with the cause. And there was a, a young lady who was on the video and said I was going through a crisis. I didn't know where to turn. I had an unplanned pregnancy and there was nobody in my life, no finances in my life and no insurance. I was helpless. I didn't see any alternative and then somehow someone introduced me to the good people to PRC. And I found out that there were people that care, there were people that love me, there was support. That's why I that's why we are very involved with organizations like that. Just to provide people. Whole Jesus says, what are you doing to provide a hope for the Hopeless? It's cold, right attitudes. And right actions. It's called being righteous. God, help us not just talk a righteous talk, but do righteous things. And if we all pray that for ourselves, imagine as we become more and more righteous in the things, we do, what that does for our entire church family, maybe see a be a place where people say that's a group of righteous folks down there. They are doing good in our community because they care. I had a few people talk to me about a refugee work. They say, you know what? We're not sure about the politics of helping Afghan refugees were not too sure about this that and the other thing I said, listen, politics and procedures and all that has its place and there are things that have to be figured out. But just let me tell you this. Jesus told a story. It's called the story of the Good Samaritan. We're Samaritan was walking along the road and he saw some guy that had been beaten and left for dead. And that guy was a Jew, despise. They despised each other. They hated each other. And what did the Samaritan do in Jesus story? What was the point of Jesus story?

The Good Samaritan of a completely different ethnicity reached out to someone else based on their ethnicity know, based on their finances know based on their need. Someone was hurting and needed someone to help. It's a Jesus then asked the fellow who asked the question. What does it mean to be a good neighbor? He said this is what it means to be a good neighbor. No, you go and do just like this, Good Samaritan. Did There are a lot of things to figure out in this world. There are a lot of questions. We got to try to get answered. But the one thing we've got to land on very, very quickly. Is how can we help human need? How can we love our brother? How can we love all of God's children? What can I do? Practice a rod? I can't do everything. I can't do. What one thing. Can you do? Who's that one person in your life that God wants you to reach out to? What's that one thing you can do? What's that one thing I can do? We need to find Hertz and heal them. We need to see. Helplessness, and provide hope. the second thing is, Right relationships in the right kind of heart toward other people kind of goes along with what we just talked about. Let's dive into this a little bit more. 1st Corinthians. 13 says love is patient. It's Kind. It's not envious. It doesn't boast. Not proud. It doesn't dishonor other people's not self-seeking. It's not easily. Angered keeps no record of wrongs on and on. And on it goes, you've read 1st Corinthians 13, we all have maybe you've memorized. It is beautiful. It's put into poetry in the music is beautiful. Beautiful! Beautiful. But what are we doing about it? What are we doing? About? Jesus says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Do the right thing be vigilant. Be driven by righteousness. That's what the principal is. The proof of my righteousness, will be seen in the health of my relationships and in the sincerity of my heart for other people. It's so how are you toward people that are not as easy to love? How are you towards people? You don't even know. How are all of us. Any of us. How am I toured? People that are difficult to love. That is really crucial question. If you look at just any of your relationships and if there were people that we brought up here in this chair right here would be kind of fun. Bring someone in your life up here and then ask them questions about you. How would that go is sewing? So patient or do they have a short fuse? That would be, you know, we like to do that someday any volunteers to be putting, all we want to do that.

When people say you're kind and compassionate or kind of sending a disrespectful. Envious boastful or humble? Selfless. Do you honor or dishonor? Are you fast or slow to forgive?

To protect care for others. Cultivate, strong relationships. I read the story here this week that just really caught me by surprise and maybe came across the two, but a boy was on his bike. And he went flying down a hill, and his bike was old had no breaks, and he slammed into another guy's part car, put a huge scratch, all the way down it and a big dent in the side of it. And how many of you would be really happy about that, you know, just make your day. So, the guy came out, he looked at it and course. He was really upset. So, you know what? He did the next day. He went to that boy's house and he delivered that boy a brand new bike with brakes. That worked. I think I read that, I wasn't expecting that conclusion to the story. I thought to myself that's rethinking happiness, that's rethinking relationships. That's turning everything upside down or right side up. Here's a guy that has a right heart towards other people. I don't know anything about the guy's face, but I was kind of Blown Away by the specific specificity of the example of what he did for that kid. I thought that was pretty pretty amazing. the third third thing, that shows,

A righteous characteristic, besides, right actions, right? Attitudes, right relationships. Is asking the right questions and having the right motives. Jesus was encountered accosted and he encountered multiple people who had different kinds of questions for him. And there were three particular cases that jumped out to me this this week cuz I prepared for this message. One of them is Matthew, 22, verse 37 to 40. There was an expert in the law that asked Jesus to question teacher. What is the greatest commandment in? This is where Jesus, shared the great commandment love, the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Love God love people. Love God. Love people. A mantra theme a mission that jesus carried forth in his life. I mean, it's a good question. But the guy was testing Jesus, he was, he's trying to manipulate Jesus. His question was fine. But his motives were a bit tainted. Reminds me of the story. Matthew 19, verses 16, 2:30, you know, teacher, this is the Rich Young Ruler teacher. What, what good thing must I do to get eternal life. I mean, that's not a bad question. It's a good question. But but he was really your kind of trying to vindicate himself and put himself in a good light. Because Jesus said to him, you've kept the law. You've honor God. You kept the 10 commandments. It sounds like from what you're saying. Now, I have just one more thing for you to do. Go sell everything you have and give it to the poor. The guy said, no can do. His question was okay, but his motives were convoluted. And then, there was a story, Luke chapter, 10 teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life. You another you no expert in the law came up to Jesus. And Jesus said well, what's written? He says well love the Lord your God with all your mind heart and love your neighbor as yourself. You just said, you're right. You're right, but then the guy wanted to the scripture says he wanted to justify himself and he says who is my neighbor. He wanted to put himself in a good life. He wanted somehow vindicate himself. He wanted in some way set himself up as a guy that had it all together. And that is the occasion where Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Who's my neighbor? The guy ass won't. Let me tell you who your neighbor is. Anybody who has a need now? Go and do like this. Samaritan did. She having the right questions is really important. But also having the right motive in. This is the principal I pull from this for my own life proof of my righteousness or the lack thereof, will be seen in the questions. I asked in the motives that drive me. The questions these guys asked, weren't terrible questions, but the motives connected to him, We're suspect. So, here's the statement that I want to give us. What is our motive and what is a right motive. Righteousness is about doing the loving thing and living the loving life, out of Devotion to Christ. And other people, that is the right motive. So if I'm in a relationship, a conflict, a situation. I need to ask myself. Okay, I'm pushing for this. But who does this benefit most me, or them? Is this all about me? This all about manipulation and I just trying to kind of push people around and get my own way, or am I truly wanting to be a loving Godly kind person. And the right question. The most important question to always ask in our dealings, especially with other people is what does love compel me to do in this situation, in this relationship in this moment, just love compel me to do. And the love were talking about is not Eros or filetto, the two Greek words, but Agape, which is Calvary, love Jesus on the cross, kind of love. That's the kind of love. We have been called to when Jesus do the right thing. He saying, do the loving thing, which means do the calvary. Love thing.

And I don't think I'm out of place to speak for all of us, but I say, we got some growing to do. to get to the agape love status, but if we're on that trajectory, that's a good thing. If we're growing, if we're moving closer to Christ.

The fourth beatitude impacts all of our relationships. Every marriage, every parent-child relationship, every relationship at work and relationship in church. Every relation to can imagine. Hungering and thirsting. After righteousness, puts us in a position to do the right thing because we are running after godliness in Christ likeness and Jesus's. If you want a happy life, you want a happy marriage, you want a happy relationship, happy family. If you want happiness across-the-board run hard after Christ. There's no substitute. So I want to close by asking you to evaluate yourself. Give yourself a grade. Scale 1 to 10, 10 being you are just as good as Jesus. Okay, how many consider yourself at 10? Let me see your hand out there. Okay, good. We don't have to redo the message on humility.

How much these are questions? I ask myself as well. We're all in the same boat. How much do you desire righteousness? Godliness goodness at someone as much as someone dying. Of hunger desires food. Someone dying of thirst desires water. Or is it? Optional? Be honest, be honest with yourself. I did a Facebook devotional post. If you don't follow me on Facebook, I invite you to do. So, I do a devotional every day. One was on honest truth. Be honest with yourself. Be honest with yourself. The way to happiness. Is the hunger and thirst after righteousness, it must be, friends are all consuming desire. God. What would you have me? Do God, I want to follow, you got I want to pursue you as the deer pants after water. So my soul pants after you woke up. So, I'm 40 to 1. Second question to ask, yourself are my attitudes and actions congruent. Do I say one thing and do another? Are there things that I'm supposed to do? I don't do be compassionate. The empathetic be loving, be kind and I just not doing that. Am I running from center after it? Am I running from responsibility or toward it?

Number three. Are your relationships healthy. Is your heart Brothers, true? Where are you? Sexually self-centered and unmoved, unmoved unmoved by the needs hurts of other people with other sea view. You're unkind, you lack empathy. You're mean. You're disrespectful your D meaning. What's the weather say about you? Do you have a blind spot? Be honest, brutally honest with yourself. If there's a place where you're out of line, asked Christ to forgive you. He will ask him to give you strength. He will ask him to help you repair broken relationship. He will be there for you. Can I hear a big? Amen to that? But we got to start by confessing and asking God to help us number for what do the inner motivations of your heart? Say about your righteousness? What's going on at the core of who you really are? Ask yourself. What does love compel me to do in this situation in the relationship in this moment, you know, moments are meaningful because moments can provide opportunities for Ministry or moments. Can be missed opportunities of being a blessing. Moments are important. What does God want me to do in this moment? What is God saying to you? Proverbs 21:2 says a person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.

That's our hearts and heads in prayer and let's just talk to Jesus for a moment. All of us. Let's just talk to Jesus.

How to train to share the fourth, the attitude, the best that I can hear today in a way that kind of promise and provokes all of us to ask questions of ourselves. Am I on track to my growing might be coming in and Friends it all begins? With committing our life to Christ. In today. I want to invite you to have not committed your life to Jesus to do. So today to say, Lord come into my life or give me my sense. I want to become a Christian, a follower of Christ. When that happens, Christ will come into your life and give you the strength to not only experience. These eight secrets of happiness, but then also to live them out, maybe today you're here and you've committed your life to Christ in the past. But today, you are recommitting, recommitting your life to Christ. You want to recommit your life to Christ. Would you pray that for a lawyer today? I am recommitting my life to you. Just talk to him. I'm coming to you for the first time where we can hang my life to you. I want to get squared away in my faith with Christ. I want to do the right thing. I want to follow Christ. I want to put him first in my life. And if you commit a recommit, your life to Christ today, tell me about it by filling out that connection card. We referred to earlier it. Just hate today. I prayed the prayer to commit, a reconnect, my life to Christ. You can do that online. Use the app on the website. There's a connection card right there. Please, please, we want to pray for you and encouraging your next next steps. The key question is, how can I grow and become more like price? How can I become more righteous? More Godly more good in that sense. How can I become more obedient? And so what is God saying to you personally about beatitude number for, is there a secret sin in your life is there? An area of your life. That's hardened to the word of God and you just you don't want to change is our relationship. That's out of whack. Are there other issues really are kind of Warring against your soul? I should courage you to give those over to the Lord. Say Lord come in and help me. Change and fix and improve and grow. In this area over that area whenever God is speaking to your heart. And then finally, what is the mean that you come to church with today? The few moments were going to dismiss and our protein will be here at the front. We like to pray with you. We believe in a powerful God and we believe in the power of Prayer. You came to this service with a problem. A challenge. Hardacre concern. We want to pray with you. But I pray your blessing on every single person that you today. You know my needs, you know, the needs of everybody here, you know where I am in your my walk with you, you know where all of us are in our walk with you God help us grow help us pursue righteousness as much as a person dying of hunger, desires, food, and someone dying. If there's desires water, may we desire? And passionate Pursuit, right? Living doing the right thing, being Godly being obedient. And we pray all these things in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Let's stand together as we do. I'm in invite or protein to come forward. I'm going to sing a closing song and then we'll be dismissed that as our protein counts for time. You to step out from where you are. If you pray to commit a recommit, your life to Christ today come and tell somebody about it. We want to pray with you. If you have a special prayer need or an area of growth that you'd like prayer over. Please come, we're going to sing and then will be dismissed. God bless you.