(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) Amen. All right, 1 Chronicles chapter 22, look down at verse number seven. It says, and David said to Solomon, "'My son, as for me, it is in my mind "'to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God.'" And I want you to focus on that phrase there where David says, it was in my mind. It was in my mind. The title of my sermon this morning is Mind Games. Mind Games. You say, what in the world are you talking about here, Mind Games? Well, you know, we're living in a perfect scenario. Right now, put on by our government that produces fear, right? Produces fear, produces uncertainty, and there's a tendency for people to start playing mind games, to start second-guessing their lives, start second-guessing the things that they may have thought or were gonna plan on doing in the future. People start thinking, well, what if this 21 days turns into 41 days or 51 days or 61 days? Then what, what's gonna happen, right? You know, all that does is trap you and put you into bondage. Right, it's all that stuff does. And so, not only that though, but this is just a tendency that we all have in our lives is to play mind games. And so the sermon's designed to help you build a strong mind, to have a sound mind, believing sound words and using sound words, and you know the story from there. Turn to Romans chapter number seven, and keep your place there in 1 Chronicles because we're gonna come back. So what we're gonna do is we're basically gonna build off of David's mindset. David was a very strong character in the Bible physically, displayed that through excellent leadership, but he also had an astounding mindset, very strong-minded, and we can learn a lot about having a sound mind through David. Now, I had you turn to Romans chapter seven because I want you to see the reason why the believer plays mind games with themselves. You know, did I choose the right career? Did I do this? You know, what about my husband? What about my wife? You know, are they still gonna love me after this? Or, you know, there's all kinds of, you wanna see people play mind games? Take a look at any young couple in a church, right? And they'll start to play mind games with themselves. You know, am I making the right decision? Am I doing this right? Am I doing that right? It's just something natural that we all do. You know, people today are, you know, maybe I didn't pick the right career because of this whole thing that is going on right now. Look, you know, you don't need to be worrying about stuff like that, right? Because all that does is cause more uncertainty, and it's just gonna handle the work of Christ, you know? So what if this does turn into 31 days or 41 days? You know what? We're just gonna keep preaching the gospel. The mission goes on. We're not gonna let anybody stop us. Right now, we're just doing some adjustments and trying to see how this thing plays out. But Romans chapter seven, look down at verse number 19. It says, for the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now, this is a big slap in the face to those people out there that would say, hey, you know, Paul never sinned anymore. You know, he actually repented of his sins. He actually turned from all of his sins. You know, the Paul Washer doctrine, right? You know, if you don't have works, you're going to hell. There's no such thing as a carnal Christian. Well, that's kind of funny because Paul's talking in the present tense in this verse. Look at verse 20. He says, now if I do that, I would not. It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me, present tense. So we have to understand that. Sin dwells in us. We still have the old man, right? It's not that you get saved and the old man completely goes away, right? But even sometimes a seemingly strong Christian can forget that. Trust me, watch what happens at the end of this thing. You know, it's going to affect people in churches. It's going to affect saved people. You know who it's going to affect the most? Those who did not prepare their minds and their hearts to get right and to continue on with the mission here. Look at verse 21. He says, I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me for I delight in the law of God after the inward man. And there you have it, right? You have the new man inside of you and the Bible saying very clearly, hey, we delight in the law. We like the things of God. We like the spiritual things. We like the spiritual talk after the inward man. But look at verse 23. But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. So we have this dual nature as Bible believing Christians that war against each other. And this is where the mind games come from, right? And guess who's going to win? Whichever one you spend more time investing in. You want to invest more in the flesh? You want to invest more in the old man? Then guess what? When the catastrophes come, when pestilence comes, when wars come, when rumors of war comes, when tribulation and trials come, guess what? That old man is going to be the one that wins out. You know, it's no coincidence that it's written in Daniel that people would do great exploits in the last days. You know, that means those people had to endure the pestilence. They had to endure the rumors and the wars and all the things that we see coming. The new world order, right? You know, somebody's going to continue on with this mission. Who's it going to be? I'll tell you what, it's not going to be the person that decides to invest their time and their energy and their heart and soul and their mind after the things of this world, right? Because if you've done that and something like this happens, where's your mind go to? Oh, what about this thing I was going to buy? Oh, what about all this stuff? What about my race? What about this? What about that, right? Well, what about it? It's all going to burn up anyways. It's all going to perish. Verse 24, oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind, I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. And just understanding that, that this is a mind game. You're literally playing a game every single day between your old man and your new man. And like I keep saying, you know, the only way to win this thing is to keep a strong mind. And I'm going to show you how to do that this morning. Go to Matthew chapter six, Matthew chapter number six. So we see Romans chapter seven, the reason why we play mind games with ourselves. And it's because we have a dual nature. We have the old man and that old man likes to follow us everywhere. And the Bible also refers to it as a conversation. Perfect example is when your alarm clock may go off in the morning, you know, what's your first thought? Especially if you didn't go to bed in time, you know, let me get five more minutes. Let me get that snooze button, right? You know, that's a conversation. Now I wanted to go over Matthew chapter six. I know you guys are familiar with this, but we're going to start reading here. Let's see, let's go to verse 25, verse 25. Great chapter to point to if you're feeling anxious, you're feeling emotions of anxiety, you're going through a child's tribulation stress, family troubles, anything like that. You need to read this passage here and you need to study it and you need to consider these things in great detail. Look at verse 25, this is what Jesus says. He says, therefore, I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body what you shall put on is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment. So what's the idea here? What is he doing? He's saying, hey, look, you need to quit thinking about this stuff. This doesn't need to be your priority, right? You don't need to worry about the latest fashion trend. Oh, what about that new suit I was going to buy? What about these new clothes? What about this, right? And the reason why he's saying that, actually back up to verse 24, he says that no man can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and man. And that's why he says there at the beginning of verse 25, therefore, so for that reason, because you can't serve both, right? Because you cannot do that, you're going to wind up going to one side or the other. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which side is going to feed the old man. He says, take no thought for your life what you shall eat. So take no thought for these 21 days, take no thought for the 41 days they may come, take no thought for whatever's going to come next, right? Of course the government's going to take away some of our rights. That's just, that's going to happen. It's clear by reading the Bible, we're going to lose some rights. Things will never be the same again. That's just a fact of life. But does that mean that we can't get people saved? Does that mean you're not going to have clothing? Does that mean you're not going to have food? You see, we've lived deliciously in this country and you know what? We're still going to live deliciously after this because this is Babylon and we haven't been destroyed yet. There's a lot of things that must go on. And obviously a sermon for another day, but look at verse 26. He says, behold, the fowls of the air. So what is he doing now? He's saying, hey, don't forget, you know, creation is not just for you to look at and be like, oh wow, that's pretty cool. We're supposed to consider these things. There's a reason why Paul brings this up in Romans chapter one and says, hey, it's the creation that can condemn a person, right? You're supposed to consider. And what does Jesus say? Behold, the fowls of the air, look at them. Well, what's so special about them? He says, behold, the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly father feedeth them, are ye not much better than they? It would do God's people a great service to actually know this passage here and think about it. Look at the animals out there, look at the birds. You know, are they stressed out about the quarantine? No, they're going to keep doing what they were programmed to do, right? And that's what Jesus is saying. You can look to creation and consider these things and get peace. Verse 27, which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to a stature? Look, you can't just will yourself to be taller or bigger. This is no chance. So why worry about it? Why add more stress to yourself than is already there? Verse 28, and why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin. So again, he points us to creation. Hey, look at the lilies, look at the flowers. Are they stressed out? Are they worried? No, but he says what? Consider them, right? Behold the birds, consider the creation, consider the flowers, and just realize, hey, you're more valuable than all of that stuff and God still takes care of them, but you somehow think, oh, you know, the governor of Chicken Little quarantined us so now we can't go anywhere and life's over. I'm not going to be able to get toilet paper. I'm not going to be able to get my clothes and my pajamas and all this stuff. Look, who cares about that? If God's going to feed the birds, if he's going to clothe the lilies of the field, why wouldn't he do the same for his own people who are of much more value? Verse 29, yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. This is why I opened up this sermon with the passage in 1 Chronicles, because we're about to witness the preparation and the mindset that went into building the house of the Lord in the Old Testament. And Jesus is saying, hey, look, all that preparation, all that beauty, all that glory is nothing compared to what God did for the flowers, but yet you're going to stress out and worry because somebody said you can't go to the mall? Verse 30, wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, oh ye of little faith? And there you have it, mind games. Worrying about tomorrow means you have little faith. That's what it is. And where does that stem from? It stems from the battle of the two natures that we just read about in Romans chapter seven. Right, mind games. We all play them, but I'll tell you what, the difference between the person who seems strong through a crisis and the person who's just crying and just flipping out and just unstable really boils down to faith. What are you willing to do? What is your mindset like? Are you willing, are you ready, are you able to increase your mind strength? Because look, people are gonna look up to us. It's true. You know, when the world's falling apart around it and you go to work and you're like, whatever man, I don't care, I'm gonna keep doing what I do. You know, I'm gonna take some precautions, but this isn't bothering me. I'm not worried about losing my flesh. I'm not worried about losing this. You know what, they see that. Now they may pretend that they don't. They might pretend that they're, oh, you know, I think you're just playing a game. I think you're just scared yourself. No, they know. You know there's a difference there. And that speaks volumes to people. Verse 31, therefore take no thought saying, what shall we eat? What shall we drink? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knoweth that you have need of all these things. Look, you don't think God realizes that we have needs? But the problem is today in America, we have a lot of wants because our needs come so easily. Take all the toilet paper out of the stores and people start freaking out. And you know, I was thinking about this last night as I was studying for this, and I was considering all the church buildings that are around here. I don't know how many churches are in the area, but there's hundreds. I would maybe go as far to say a thousand. I don't know. But there's more than I feel comfortable counting with. And all of those people, just about by and large, all of these so-called Christians are fearing. Are they not, social distancing. And look, okay, we'll social distance. I get it. Nobody wants to get sick. I don't wanna play games. I'm mocking people that are, you know, for that. Look, we don't wanna get sick, but why are they so fearful? Why are they so fearful? Well, the answer is in this chapter. It's because in verse 24, they decided they wanna put their trust on mammon. And you can't serve both. And so it's very clear. When the crisis came, what happened? Their faith was lacking and they're scared out of their minds. Literally scared of their minds. I can't believe you're going door to door. I can't believe you're out here trying to tell me that. Don't you know there's a crisis going on? Well, I'd rather get sick of the coronavirus than see somebody die and go to hell. You know, what about that? How come your church doesn't have that mentality? But it's very clear here. Look at verse 31 again. Therefore, take no thought saying what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. This is what the unsaved go after. So he's saying, hey, we don't want to mimic that. We don't want to be like them, right? We want to be God's people and realize that God has all of our needs in his mind. He knows what we need. Verse 33, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Now that doesn't mean they'll come to you in an instant. That doesn't mean you're going to get all your wants added unto you, but your needs will be met. Read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and show me a time where somebody followed this and God did not meet their needs. You won't be able to do it. It's impossible. Verse 34, take therefore no thought for the moral for the moral shall take care. I'm sorry, for the moral shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. There's already enough hurt in this world on any given day. So why do we need to heap onto ourselves more of that by playing mind games with ourselves and by worrying and by stressing and by considering the things that don't even matter? It's stupid. You know why we're out of toilet paper in the Treasure Valley? It's because these super duper commando Christians that go to Stonehill and the Pursuit and the Summit and all these other bogus churches aren't really Christians. Because if they were, they'd have the attitude that we have. But they don't. They are running scared. Look, and I'm not saying that this thing's a hoax. Let's say it gets worse. Let's say there's a different pandemic, right? Let's say a different one comes along and there's bodies dropping everywhere. Are you going to be fearful? Are you going to be cautious? Take the precautions you need to do and still carry on with the mission and get people saved and edify one another. Look, we're in this thing till you drop dead. So you might as well just go for the offenses, right? That's the way I see it. That's the way that Jesus sees it here, obviously, right? Because what did he say? Hey, don't worry about today. Don't worry about the evil and don't heap onto yourselves more than is necessary. So turn back to 1 Chronicles chapter 22. Actually, I'm sorry, go to 1 Chronicles 28. And so we started the verse here in 1 Chronicles 22, seven, which says, and David said to Solomon, my son, as for me, it was in my mind to build and house unto the name of the Lord my God. And what we want to do is we want to understand why was David so strong in his mind? What made him different from other people? Was he born that way? Is this a Calvinist thing? No, the Bible's very clear that he was a man after God's own heart, right? That's what he did. He was a man after God's own heart, right? That's the idea here. And so I've got four points for you this morning. Point number one is this. We need to have a willing mind. You say, okay, how do I get a sound mind? How do I get a strong mind? Number one, you need to have a willing mind. You need to have a willing mind. You see, there's a lot of people out there that are good at talking. They're good at playing games. They're good at saying, well, I will do this. I will do that. If this happens, I'll do this. And then when this happens, they don't do this. They run and hide. That's what really goes on here. Now you're there in 1 Chronicles 28. Look down at verse number nine. And we're gonna continue on here with David's charge to Solomon. He says this, And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind. That willing mind is a mindset that says, I will make preparation. I will do what I say. I will march forward. I will do this. It's not the pretending mindset that says, I'm gonna make myself look good. I really just care about my image. You see what I'm saying? That's the mindset that fails when the you know what hits the fan. So he says, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind for the Lord searches all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts. Imaginations of the thoughts. God knows that when we're just imagining things, when we're just playing a game with ourselves, when we're just trying to establish ourselves to be somebody who we really aren't. What does that say about you? That says that you're full of pride because your idea, your motive is to just look good in the sight of other people. I mean, where are those people when the war breaks out? Where are those people when the pandemic comes out? They're gone. They're scared. Because their trust was really in the things of this world. And pride is a thing of this world. It's a spirit that comes from the world. It's a spirit that comes from the devil. And it says very clearly, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts. If thou seek him, he will be found of thee, but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. And you know what? You can see the reprobate doctrine in this because Paul said, I'm sorry, not Paul, but Solomon or David saying here, he's saying, this doesn't just apply to you, Solomon, but to everybody. Look at the verse again. He says, for the Lord searcheth all hearts. He's saying, Solomon, you know this. God searches all the hearts of people. And what does he say here? He says, if you forsake him, right, he will cast thee off forever. Now, I don't believe that Solomon got cast off forever. I believe he was saved. Verse 10, he says, take heed now for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it. Well, what did he say up here in verse nine? That you have to have a perfect heart and a willing mind. A willing mind is a mindset that causes you to be strong and to actually put forth work, to actually do what you say you're going to do. So he says, be strong and do it there at the end of verse 10. Verse 11, then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch and of the houses thereof and of the treasuries thereof and of the upper chambers thereof and of the inner parlors thereof and of the palace of the mercy seat. And so, like I said, there's two types of people in the world. There's the people that have a talking mind and people that have a willing mind. There's people that say, I'll get all this stuff done, boss. Don't even worry about it. And then they don't do it or they'll manipulate somebody else to do it because they don't have a willing mind. They have a talking mind. They have a mindset that says, I just want to look good in front of the eyes of other people, right? Those are the types of people that don't become like David. Those types of people don't become like the apostle Paul. Those types of people don't go out to the community and get people saved and establish righteous doctrine. Why? Because they're all talk. That's what they are. Now go to 2 Corinthians 8. 2 Corinthians 8. So I said, point number one, if you want to have a strong mindset, you need to develop habits. You need to develop a willing mindset. And you know what? The Bible says, he that is faithful in the least, you know, why would you trust somebody with a lot of stuff? Right? If somebody is not faithful with just the little details of life, as a person who's not faithful in running his family, running his household, God says, hey, you can't be a pastor, right? If you're not going to be faithful in just your own isolated family, why would somebody be faithful with a whole church? You know, if an employee can't be faithful with whatever his daily tasks are at work, why would the CEO make him a supervisor? It makes no sense. David was faithful from the time he was a youth. He learned, I believe this, I believe that he learned to do the right things and to be a willing, hardworking person from his youth. You know, when you say, well, I'm older now, I can't, maybe I can't do that. Yeah, you can. You need to start with that which is least. You know, you need to get stuff done every single day. And you know, when you develop these habits and you develop that pattern, you're gonna strengthen your mind. You know, it's not just reading the Bible, that's important. You need to have a willing mind to do that. You need to force yourself to do it every single day. Read, study, meditate, pray, right? And then from there, I mean, that's when the windows are gonna open. That's when the doors are gonna open for you. Because then God looks down and says, okay, you're faithful in that when nobody's looking. Now I'm gonna take that talking mindset that you're privy to and change your heart and change your mind to actually follow and understand me. Now you're there in 2 Corinthians 8. I'm just gonna read for you a couple of verses here. Matthew 12, 30 says this. This is what Jesus said. He said, and thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. So we do need to understand that it is a commandment from God that we love him with all of our might, all of our soul, all of our heart, all of our strength. But it starts with a mindset. And again, you can find people everywhere. They grow on trees out here that say, oh, we love God. Oh, I love God so much. I worked with a guy one time and he found out I was a Christian. And this is about two years ago down in California. And he says, he's like, you're a Christian. He says, let me tell you something, man. I love Jesus. He didn't believe a Bible verse that came out of my mouth. Like hardly any of them. And I'm thinking to myself, you don't love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. And that's a commandment. You want to talk to me about following the commandments to be saved. You can't even follow that. How does that make sense? And furthermore, there's an interesting verse here. I'm gonna read it for you in Isaiah chapter one. You know, God is telling Isaiah, you know, you need to, he's basically rebuking Judah before they go into captivity. But he makes a statement here in verse 19. It says, if you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. And so God has that philosophy. And he teaches that to the prophets. And he's trying to get the children of Israel to understand that all the way back in Exodus. Hey, if you just have a willing mind and be obedient, then you're gonna eat of the good of the land. You know what, but that concept can be found all throughout the Bible. That concept applies to us. When we are willing and obedient, we have that willing mindset. You know what, God's gonna reward that. How many people do we have saved this month? 29, right? I think we were at 29. You know what, that as a result of a church that is by and large taking it upon themselves to have this willing mind. Obviously, you guys are doing stuff right when nobody's looking. Otherwise, God wouldn't have opened up those doors. I mean, think about that. This time last year, we didn't get 30 people saved. I mean, that's almost 60 people in two months. That's unheard of for us. And that's an amazing thing. And that's why we need servants like this so that we can continue on with that. Because obviously, there's a big monkey wrench thrown into our plans now with this whole it's essential that you stay indoors thing. But you know what, we might have less numbers next month, but we're just gonna have to keep on going. And it's gonna be the mindset that determines the rest of the year. Are we gonna let this destroy us? Are we gonna let this play games with us? Oh, what if, what if? No, there's no more what ifs. It's what we're gonna do. It's what are we willing to do? What are we actually going to set forth to do here? Now, I had you turn to 2 Corinthians 8 because I think this is applicable to a willing mindset here. I just want you to see this. Look at verse number one. This is what Paul's telling the Corinthians. He says, Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, how that in great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. So what is he saying here? He's telling the Corinthians, hey, look, don't forget about the Macedonians. Don't forget about these churches who had poverty. But you know what? God took care of them and they got restored. And they didn't do it by people saying, hey, be warm and filled. Stay warm, stay dry, don't get sick, stay healthy. No, they actually took action, a willing mindset. You're gonna see that here. And I would say that Paul, the apostle Paul was much like David. Absolutely a powerhouse mindset that this guy has here. Look at verse three. He says, For to their power I bear record, gay, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves, praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord and unto us by the will of God. What do you see here? Action, right? Action, that's what you see here. He's saying, hey, not as we hoped, but he said this they did. There's people that hope vaguely. There's people that hope vainly. And then there's people that say, you know what? I'm gonna do this. I have this vision. I have this intention and I'm going to go for it. Verse five. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord and unto us by the will of God in so much that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. You see, there's hard, you know, when you do work like this and you're, you know, you're gonna get exhausted. And when you get exhausted, look, when you go on a run and you're really pushing yourself, your mind starts playing games with you, doesn't it? Like, do you really need to go a little bit more, right? Just look, just tell yourself, I'm not gonna eat this extra cheeseburger later or these extra cookies. Your mind will start doing stuff like that. You're really thirsty. You're your body's sore. You're overdoing it. Now my agent might be true. Not all you guys, okay? But you get what I'm saying here, right? The mind game is always going to be present with you. It's not this simple thing. Oh, I get saved and my new man's just automatically gonna take over and always prevail. It don't work like that. Verse seven, therefore, as ye abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all diligence and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also, all diligence. That means doing your very best with a vigilant attitude. Right? Paying attention to details would be another way to put it. Right? All diligence, it takes work. Verse number eight, I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others and to prove the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. So he's saying, hey, you need to remember how Jesus lived. Remember what he went through. He wasn't a person that just talked, but he also did and he fulfilled. So for sake of time here, go down to, where is it here? Verse number, jump to verse number 13. He says, for I mean not that other men be eased and ye burdened, but by an equality that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want. That their abundance may be a supply for your want, that there may be equality as it is written, he that had gathered much had nothing over and he that had gathered little had no lack. And so again, I just wanted to show you that there, that this concept of talking and just everything's gonna be okay, that doesn't do it. You actually have to have a willing mind. You have to put forth the work. You have to put forth the work in your new man in order to have a strong mindset. That's why I said point number one is you have to have a willing mind. You see, well teach me how to be strong-minded like David, like Paul, like these other Christians in the Bible. You're gonna do it by becoming a person that is willing. Have you ever tried to give the gospel to somebody who's not willing? What happens, do they get saved? No, they don't. Have you ever tried to give advice to somebody who's willing or not willing to listen? Yes, what happens? They don't listen. They hear the words coming out of your mouth. Okay, I get it, yep. Oh, I know you're right, amen, yep, yep. Okay, I'll stop doing that, okay, yep. Next day, yep, next day, my life is in terrors, just everything sucks, my life's horrible. Because all you do is run your mouth. You don't apply anything. You don't have a willing mindset. And there's nothing more frustrating than having the answer to somebody's problem and they're just like, okay, I believe you, yes, you're right, and then the next day, did you do anything I said? No, because my life sucks, and then all of a sudden, all the excuses come out. It's just ridiculous. Go back to First Chronicles chapter 22. First Chronicles chapter 22. We gotta get moving here, First Chronicles chapter 22. So like I said, point number one is we need to have a willing mind. Point number two is that we need to have a patient mind. We need to have a patient mind. This is a hard one, especially for men. This can be, patience is not easy for all people, all right? First Chronicles 22, look at verse seven. So we need to have a patient mind. Verse seven, and David said to Solomon, my son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house into the name of the Lord my God. Now look at this here in verse eight. But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, thou has shed blood abundantly and has made great wars. Thou shalt not build an house into my name, because thou has shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. Now verse nine, so I mean, think about this here. David has a willing mind, right? He wants to do something that he thinks is great, even though God didn't tell him to build his house in the first place. But God says, okay, I see what's in your heart. I understand you wanna do something great. Now God tells him, he breaks the news to him. Hey, you know, you've sought a lot of people in half, and I never told you to do that. You know, you shed a lot of blood. And so you're not gonna be the guy to do this. Verse nine, look at what's going on here. God says this, behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about, for this, I'm sorry, for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. So now what I hope you notice here is that David inquires of God. He says, I wanna build this house. God says, no, because you shed too much blood, but you're gonna have a son born unto you, right? Don't miss that, but you're gonna have a son born unto you. What happened, what are we reading now? David's telling the story. David's telling the story now to a fully grown Solomon. That means all those years from when David originally had this conversation with the Lord to the time Solomon was ready to take over, he never lost the goal. He never lost the intention. He said, okay, Lord, I can't build the house, but I'll make preparation. I will still make sure it gets done. That's patience. How is that not patience? That's the mindset that we also have to have. Not only do you have to have a willing mindset, say, yes, I will do this, but you've got to have patience. Why? Because monkey wrenches and things get thrown into your plans, right? Just like the coronavirus, just like Chicken Little's 21-day go and stay inside order. I just like saying that. You know? And you know, if you sign some of these stupid bills I hear about, we're gonna preach this arm against them, but I'm getting sidetracked here, all right? So the point here is, I wanted you to see this here, how David was patient. Yes, he was a warrior. Yes, he was hardcore. Yes, he was willing, but he also had a patient mindset. Now turn to Mark chapter four. Mark chapter four. I just think it's interesting that he never lost that mindset the entire time that Solomon was growing up. And think about all the events that transpired as Solomon was growing. Absalom, right? You remember the story with Tamar. I mean, these are horrible things. You know, he almost lost the kingdom to Absalom because people turned on him. You know, Ahithophel, right? His great counselor turned on him. People that he thought that he could trust wound up stabbing him in the back, but he said, you know what, I'm not gonna blame God for this, right? I'm gonna keep the main thing, the main thing, and I'm gonna keep pushing forward here with patience. Now, Mark chapter four, look at verse 16. You guys know the story, the parable of the sower. What I want you to see here is patience. Look at verse 16, he says, and these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground, who when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness. We've all seen people like that. Verse 17, and have no root in themselves, and so endure, but for a time. Right, but for a time. So there's people, they hear the word of God, they get saved, they get fired up, they become this Roman-candled Christian, though, and all of a sudden, after that last ball of, you know, explosives comes out of the tube, they just, just do this, it's just like those inflatable things that people have in their yards during Christmas, the inflatable Snoopy or whatever. You know, once December 26 comes on, they pull the plug, and that guy just fizzles right out. That's how some Christians are, right? There's no patience, there's no patient mindset there. There's no willingness. I mean, there is willingness for a short time, but there's no endurance, right? And as God's people, we've gotta develop some endurance, and that's why things like this happen to us. God is trying to teach us patience. So it says, and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. Why? Because they had no root. Why? Because they didn't understand that there's a mind game going on. There's a battle for your mind, it's true. And your old man's not doing you any favors. The world's not doing you any favors. So the more time you spend investing in the world, the more time you're wasting that God has given you. And the more, you know what, you're just gonna lose. That's it, done deal. Case closed. You will not survive an attack. When your family says, you know what, I don't like what you say. I don't like what you believe. Jesus can't possibly be the only way. You're a cult. Those, you know what, oftentimes people just say, I can't handle it. This is too much for me. And why is that? Verse 17, the beginning there, and have no root in themselves. They heard the word, they received it with gladness, they believed, but then they were just like, okay, well, I'm just gonna go straight for the throw here. I'm just gonna go straight into doing all the works. They didn't take the time when no one was looking to actually willingly read the Bible, to actually willingly study the Bible, to get that root deep down into their soul, right? So that when people start cutting them down a little bit, it grows back. And so immediately they are offended. Verse 18, and these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word and it become unfruitful. Now, some people look at that, see, well, you don't have the word, maybe you're not saved. No, you're just not producing any fruit. Look, does every single apple tree produce apples? No, that's ridiculous. Do you have to, does an apple tree have to produce apples in order to be a fruit tree? No, it's still an apple tree. Look, there's some people that are barren, there's some women that are barren, they cannot have children. Does that mean they're not human? That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life. But that's how people think today. Oh, well, if you don't produce fruits, you're not really saved. I think I hear this just about every week out here. You gotta have fruits, you gotta follow the Bible, you gotta produce fruits, you gotta go out doing what you guys are doing, right? People say that all the time. You gotta go out and do what you guys are doing when you go out. Well, we're working on it. Now watch what it's gonna be now. Well, it's Chicken Little's fault. He stopped us, right? He quarantined us, shut your mouth. All right, let's move on here. So point number one, let's see, why don't you guys turn to Acts 17? So point number one, we need to have a willing mind. Point number two is we need to have a patient mind, right? You wanna have a mindset of the people that are in the Bible? Study what they did, study what they thought, study what happened in their lives and you will get it. Point number three is we need to have an active and ready mind. We need to have an active and ready mind. While you're turning to Acts 17, I'll read for you 1 Peter 5, 2. This is what Peter tells the elders. Hey, he says this, feed the flock of God, which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. So he's saying, hey, the elders need to have a ready mind. But I would submit to you that we all in here also need to have a ready mind. Because look, the qualifications of a bishop that you read about in 1 Timothy 3, that you read about in Titus, you know what? That's not just for the elders. That's God's desire for everybody, every believer, right? Because God wants the ladies to preach the gospel. God wants the young men to preach the gospel. God wants the teens and the kids to preach the gospel. Everybody. How do you do that? A ready mind. That's it. You need to have a ready mind. You need to be ready to do the things that you're willing to do and to exercise that patience when the time is right. Acts 17, look at verse number 10. It says this, and the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea, who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. Verse 11, these were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so. Look, that statement says everything I've already told you. There's a readiness of mind. That's point number three, right? They're searching the scriptures. That's the willingness, right? And they have patience because they do this all the time. This was their reputation, right? We need to have an active and ready mind. Now go back to First Chronicles chapter 22. First Chronicles chapter 22. There's a great temptation to backslide throughout periods of a believer's life, right? And I'm not talking about like just completely, you know, getting out of church just on a whim. It doesn't typically happen like that. It starts with one little thing. Like I'm not gonna read my Bible for this week. I think it'll be okay because I've got these, you know, super duper powerhouse exams or, you know, something to that nature, right? And then it starts with that. And then once your body, the old man, develops that conversation and that habit, and then it turns into soul-willing, and then it turns into prayer, and then it turns into, you know, not going to church, not praying, and next thing you know, you're at a church. That's what it starts with. And this is why we tell new people, hey, don't overwhelm yourself with all the activities that we have here. You know, some people, they have a tendency to come to a church like this. I'm going soul-willing every single time. You know, I'm gonna be doing all this stuff. And then you start to talk to them and realize, wait a minute, you're not actually reading your Bible on your own time. I can tell by some of the things that you're saying right now. And then what happens? That last ball of explosive comes out of that Roman candlestick and they're done, right? And it happens all the time. Look at verse number one here, though. First Chronicles 22, one. It says, then David said, this is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel. Look at verse two. And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel, and he set masons to hew rot stones to build the house of God. Verse three, and David prepared, right? What is this? This is activity. This is being ready. Remember, God said, you shed too much blood. You can't build the house. He says, okay, but I'm gonna make the preparations, and I'm not just talking about it. I'm gonna develop the patience. He said, I'm gonna do this, right? So he's constantly chipping away at this thing and working and getting everyone around him on board with this plan. And it says, and David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates and for the joinings and brass in abundance without weight. Also, cedar trees in abundance for the Zydonians and they of Tyree brought much cedar wood to David. So think about the logistical planning that is going into this preparation here. I mean, David really has, I mean, foresight for this. He's thinking about it. His mind is actively contemplating, okay, what do I need to do? Who do I need to solicit to get on my side? What do we need to procure? How do we go forward with this thing? And he does it. He's ready to do it, right? When the Zydonians say, hey, we have all of these trees here, would you like them? He makes it happen. Verse five, and David said, Solomon, my son, is young and tender. Solomon's young and tender here and he says, and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifico of fame and of glory throughout all countries. I will therefore now make preparation for it so David prepared abundantly before his death. So he sees, hey, time is running out here. So what I'm going to do is I'm gonna make these preparations. I'm gonna be active in it. I'm not just gonna do it one time. No, he says, I am ready to work this until I die. How do I have a sound mind? You gotta have a willing mind. You've got to have a patient mind and you have to have an active and ready mind. You have to be ready to go when the light turns green. Turn to Proverbs chapter six, Proverbs chapter six. So Proverbs chapter six, look at verse number four. Proverbs chapter six, verse four says this, give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. And no, he's not saying it's a sin to ever sleep. That'd be ridiculous, right? What's he talking about here? Don't be lazy. Don't love sleep, right? Get what is sufficient for you and then get your butt up and get to work. Verse five, deliver thyself as a row from the hand of the hunter and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. Verse six, go to the ant, go to the ant, go to the ant thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise. Now doesn't that sound like Matthew chapter six? Again, look at creation, look at what they do, right? This is kind of funny here because the Bible's saying, hey, we're not always as smart as the ants. The birds have it more put together than we do. The lilies of the field have it put together more than we do. Verse six, go to the ant thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise. So are ants wise? Well, obviously so. Verse seven, which having no guide, overseer or ruler. Now isn't that interesting? So the ant does what they know needs to be done. They're active, they're ready, their mindset is of work without an image, without worrying about what other people are saying, without the boss telling them. Provideth her meat in the summer and gathereth her food in the harvest. The ants are always looking for food. They don't wait until the 21 day lockdown and say, oh, we better go to the store and hoard all the toilet paper. They already have it. They've already got it, right? The ants are smarter than most people in this world and in this country. Definitely in the Chaget Valley. That's a fact. I went to Costco yesterday and there was no toilet paper. Now I don't need it because Jessica's like an ant and already prepared a way for us to get some, by ordering it a long time ago. So, thank God for her. Go to First Chronicles chapter 28. But you can see that here, right? Again, if you want some relief from your anguish, it helps to consider the ways of creation. It does. Look at the ant. They don't worry about what they're gonna do because they have an active and ready mind. So if we can consider that and be like that and make preparations, like I talked about a couple of weeks ago, right? There's nothing wrong with preparing. But when you trust in your 14 cans of stew and your two ARs that you have, that's when you're gonna have a problem, okay? Because look, if the UN decides to parachute on the Treasure Valley, your 14 cans of stew and your AR is not gonna save you, right? But if you have the preparation, you know maybe where to go, how to forage for food, you consider those types of things, you're gonna be safe, right? There's nothing wrong with being a prepper, but there is something wrong with trusting in that over common sense and then worrying about all these things. So last point here, point number four is this, we need to have a sound mind. So that's what this whole thing's been leading up to. We need to have a sound mind. And so what we're gonna do here is we're gonna build and just conclude on how to have a sound mind. You're there in 1 Chronicles 28, look at verse number 10. He says, take heed now, for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary. Now look at these next words. Be strong and do it. Be strong and do it. Don't talk, don't just talk, don't just run the mouth. He says, be strong and do it. There's no magic pill. You're not gonna take growth hormone and D-ball and DACA and all these other steroids and get a bunch of work done. If you don't have a willing mind and you're not patient, you know, you don't have all these things. He's saying, hey, just be strong. Gird up the ones in your mind and just get your stuff done. Get your work done. Turn to 2 Timothy chapter one. That was David's mindset. Just get it done. Just do it. Be strong and do it. That's what you tell Solomon. And you know, obviously Solomon fell and you know, he wound up heaping into himself, multiple wives that didn't believe on the Lord and they turned his heart. But for the most part, he was a pretty good king. I mean, before he actually made that, I mean, he did a lot of good. You know, he was a king in a time where there was rest, but the people did love him. They really did. And he took care of people and did a lot of good stuff. You're there in 2 Timothy chapter one, look at verse six. 2 Timothy chapter one, look at verse six. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hand. So here's what Paul is telling Timothy. He's like, hey, I ordained you. You have a gift inside you. And you know what? We all have a gift. We all have gifts from God, right? And we need to stir those up from time to time. And you're not gonna do it by being weak. You're not gonna do it by just imagining these things. You need to turn those imaginations into willingness, into activity, into actually getting stuff done. So verse seven, he says, for God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. We're gonna break that down here momentarily, but look at verse eight. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God. We are to suffer for the cause of Christ. That's just the way it is. And you know, what is the main thing that Paul's communicating to Timothy here? Hey, the only way you're gonna get through this is with a sound mind. The only way we will survive as a church after this is with a sound mind. You don't have to turn there, I'm just gonna read for you 1 Peter 1.13. Wherefore girt up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. I think it's interesting here that Peter has the same attitude that David had, be strong and do it. He said, hey, girt up the loins of your mind, just get it done, do it. Don't talk, just do it. I'm gonna read for you a passage here in Isaiah chapter 26. You don't have to turn there for sake of time, I'm just gonna read it for you. Isaiah 26 one, it says this. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city, salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Verse three says this, that will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed in the land of Judah. Perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. Again, this isn't some new doctrine that I'm teaching you this morning. God has taught this doctrine throughout the entire Bible, be strong and do it. The only way the believer survives anything is because he puts his trust on the Lord. Verse four, trust ye in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. For he bringeth down them that dwell on high, the lofty city he layeth it low, he layeth it low even to the ground, he bringeth it even to the dust. And you know what? Again, no matter what anybody thinks about the virus, your bars are closed right now. Your clubs are closed right now. You know, there's a lot of, your sports, your idolatry is gone right now. You know, the gods of basketball and baseball. You know, where are they right now? Peradventure, they sleepeth. Or they went on a long journey, right? Now it's time to mock, what's up now? Look, the gods of Hollywood, the gods of the sports industry can't save America right now. They're done. And we're laughing now. And rightfully so. Because people have trusted in that stuff too long. And you know what, I just think it's interesting. Where's all the strong people that were running their mouths? All these, you know, oh, I'm super Christian. I'm on board with everything. Yeah, but you wanted to watch football every Sunday. That became your God. And look at you now. Look at you now. So go back to, you're there in 2 Timothy, chapter one, look at verse seven again. We're gonna break this down here. Real quick, we'll be done. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear. You need to understand that. Fear is a spirit. The Bible says that the devil is the prince of the power of the air, right? Where does the spirit of fear come from? It comes from him. It comes from the world. It comes from their consideration of the things of the world, right? The world's worried about itself. Doesn't want anything to do with Christ. And when you put your trust on what the world puts their trust on, it produces the spirit of fear, which is what? It's a snare unto man. He says, for God hath not given us the spirit of fear. Look, we're commanded to try the spirits, the Bible says. Right, and we need to try the spirit of fear. We need to see whether or not these things are of God. He says, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. So the first thing that I would tell you, number one, is if you wanna have that sound mind also, you need to get power. Jesus said this in Matthew 28, 18. And Jesus came and speaking to them saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. And yes, that would include Bible preservation, a doctrine that many people hate us for. I can't believe you said that God's, you know, the King James Bible's the word of God. Do you worship the ink in the paper on there? No, but the words in here are God's word. Look, if I had a Spanish Bible up here that's translated right, that'd be God's word too. Amen. An Arabic Bible, I've got an Arabic Bible at home. I'm told it's the right one. I've yet to give it to anybody, but you know, that's God's word, right? We're not saying that, you know, it's just this version. If you don't speak English, you're going to hell. That's ridiculous. Jesus said all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. It's not hard to understand unless you're unsaved, unless you've got an agenda, unless you're a devil, unless you're somebody who is trying to play mind games with other people. So he says this, get power, right? The spirit of fear is wrong, but he says, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. So if you don't tap into that power, which comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, because he said all power is given unto him, then you will never be able to rebuke and get rid of the spirit of fear. You will never be able to go to the next step. Turn to 1 John chapter four, 1 John chapter number four. The next one he says is love, right? But of power and of love and of a sound mind. If you don't have that power, you don't have the word of God, you don't have that belief, you don't have that assurance, well, then you're never going to have real love. 1 John 4 18 says this, there is no fear in love. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear because fear hath torment. That's why it says also in the Bible that fear is a snare. Look, there's people that are tormented right now. They are living in absolute torment. I mean, they turn on that news and they're just like, their eyes are just going, you know, one's going clockwise, the other one's going counterclockwise I mean, it's just, you know, it's just like those old cartoons, you know, with a little colored circle wheel, just going around and they're just like, and they don't, they don't, they don't even speak clearly. I had like, I was telling you guys before the service, I had a lady that was like, just saying all sorts of stupid stuff. Like we need to lock this country down and you know, and, but I'm glad you came to my house. What? You know, and talking about, you know, how, you know, people that, that are tradesmen, she's also saying that basically tradesmen should have gone to college so they can get degrees to work from home so we wouldn't have so many people out. What? I'm still trying to think about that. Well, what does that mean? Somebody who's living in torment, right? Her voice was quivering when I talked to her on the phone. Oh, I'm going to wipe everything down. Well, all right, cool, thanks. You know, that's what you're supposed to do anyways, but that's not just her. That seems to be the mindset of a lot of people. Honestly, they hate God. Yeah. Yeah. And she's one of them. She knows, you know, this person knows that I'm a pastor and she's just, I think she would, maybe she was trying to take some digs at me, just didn't work. You know, I'm not going out there to play games, but she doesn't have love, right? Saying that tradesmen are basically knuckle draggers and should have gone to college and should have got a degree so you can just work from home. And again, those are the same people that probably you're going to see before this 21 days are over. Oh, you know, they're going to start saying, oh, it's not that bad now. We should have, you know, we should be out of here. They should just let us go. I miss going to the lounge and the club and the bars. Where's my Maserati? I was going to go buy a Lexus, you know, now I can't. What about my kids' sports teams? What about the soccer? What about the baseball? What about the basketball? What about the Final Four? You know, what about the Olympics? You know, right, you know it's true. Oh, they're real quick. Lock us down, lock us down. And then when they get locked down, they're just like, this actually sucks. Uh-oh, well, you know, this isn't good. Why? There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love, okay? Now, so you can go, turn to Philippians chapter two. Philippians chapter two. I'm going to read for you 1 Corinthians two while you're going there. Verse 15 says this, but he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. And we've talked about this in great detail in the past. If you are spiritual, you will judge all things. You will test those spirits that cause fear inside of you and realize that it's not of God and you'll stick to the power and the love. And as a result, have a sound mind. Verse 16 says this, for who hath known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ. And this is why you can have a sound mind in the midst of trials, tribulations, and all sorts of troubles. Philippians chapter two, verse one will be done. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfill you my joy that you be like-minded, having the same love being of one accord of one mind. Now, as I was studying this out, I mean, there's tons of verses about the importance and the necessity of God's people being of one mind, believing the same doctrines, right? Being on the same page, not about every little interpretation about the verse, but look, we should all have salvation down, right? We should all have this doctrine down. I mean, we should have the fundamentals down, like God's word and all these things. Verse three says, let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. When we do the opposite of this and we start to esteem ourselves better than others, the crisis comes. What does God say in Isaiah? I'm gonna start knocking down the lofty. I'll start cutting you down at the legs. Every single time, God will bring you low. Verse four, look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Why? Because this teaches you willingness. This teaches you patience. This teaches you activity and a readiness of mind, which produces a sound mind. That's what you're gonna get here, verse five. And then he says this, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. How did you come up with these four points? It seemed kind of basic. I got them from here. You can read these points in every chapter, literally in the Bible. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. And then he backs that up by saying, hey, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Now, if you've got an NIV or an ESV or an NASB, you can't have the mind of Christ. You cannot, because in those verses, they change verse six, which says that he did not consider equality to be equal with God, or he did not consider it a thing to be equal with God or something like that. You know what? All right, all right. I don't have these false versions memorized, so you know what? I'm just gonna go ahead and read it. So Philippians 2, I used to have this one bookmarked in here, and I think I do. It's one of the first ones I learned as a new believer here. Let's see here. You guys keep looking down at Philippians chapter two, and let's see what the retarded, amplified version says. Let's see here. Philippians chapter two, verse six. Is it even in here? Yeah. You gotta, with these things, man, you never know. Okay, let's see here. You know what? It might not be in the amplified. Oh, wait, yeah. Okay, here's what the Amplified Bible says. Who, although being essentially one with God, and in the form of God, possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God, did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained. What? Yeah, so different Jesus, right? Yeah, that's the worst one. Different Jesus, yeah. But he's, oh, I'm just gonna read for you verse seven, because I got old highlights in here. Let me see what I was thinking here. But stripped himself of all privileges and rightful dignity so as to assume the guise of a slave servant, and then he became like men. Okay, yeah, so they, servant slave, okay. Let's see here. New American Standard, who although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. NIV, who being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. Again, the King James says, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God. That, I understand that. I think everybody understands that. And you know what? The mindset, having a sound mind, I mean, look, you can't read Philippians chapter two, verse one, and meditate all the way to verse four, and have this mind in us, which was also in Christ Jesus, if you have the Jesus of the NIV. Yeah, that's right. It's completely different, you know? Thank God for his word, and thank God for the King James Bible, and if that causes people to accuse us of being in a cult, or whatever they're saying, you know what? Go to hell. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, for this church. Let's pray you keep us strong, Lord, and have a sound mind as we go through these next coming weeks, Lord, and let's pray that you continue to use this in the community to preach your word and get people saved. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.