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Then 1 Samuel 11, I just want to look down for a minute at one verse, 1 Samuel 11 and verse number 6, 1 Samuel 11 which reads, And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. And the title of my sermon today is Nothing with Righteous Anger. Nothing wrong with righteous anger. Let's go to the Lord in another word of prayer if you don't mind quickly. Father I thank you, I thank you that we're here, that we've got your word in front of us, that people here are just ready to listen, hopefully ready to hear what you've got to say. Please help me to just expand your word clearly, boldly, help me to preach accurately as well. Fill me with your spirit Lord, just help all these things to be done in Jesus Christ's holy name. Amen. So what's going on here, what's going on in this story here, 1 Samuel 11. Well go back to chapter 10 where Saul is chosen as the first king of Israel. Now up until this point they've been getting led by various judges but the people want a king, so the people are basically demanding a king and 1 Samuel 10 and verse 17 it reads, And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord to Mizpah and said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, out of the hand of all kingdoms and of them that oppressed you. And you have this day rejected your God who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations. And you have said unto him, Nay, but said a king over us, now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands. And when Samuel calls all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken and when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they inquired of the Lord further if the man should yet yet come thither. And the Lord answered, behold he hath hid himself among the stuff. So Saul doesn't seem too eager for the job at this point, does he? Saul's just been basically selected as king. Verse 23 says, and they ran and fetched him thence. And when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. Samuel said to all the people, see ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people. And the people shout and said, God save the king. Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. Now Samuel tells him how things are going to run and then they're all sent home, yeah? Look at verse 26. And Saul also went home to Gibeah and they went with him a band of men whose hearts God had touched. So he's got some loyal godly men with him, but as always there's the devil's children there too. Verse 27 says, and but the children of Belial said, how shall this man save us? And they despised him and brought him no presents, but he held his peace. So the wicked ones oppose him, in fact they hate him. Now what's this about presents? Why did or didn't they bring them, well you know, why should they have brought him presents? Well we see with future kings the people bringing gifts, think with Solomon when they're bringing gifts from afar to him and we see that with a few different kings, it's a sign of respect, a sign of submission to the king. But these guys want him to know that they hate him and he lets it go, yeah? Notice how he held his peace, he let it go. Why? Was it because he was just so holy, he rose above it, he's so serene, nothing fazed him because he's so spiritual. Well look at verses 21 and 22 again where it says, when he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come nearby their families a family of Matri was taken and Saul the son of Kish was taken and when they sought him he could not be found. Therefore they inquired of the Lord, further if the man should yet come then the Lord answered behold he had hid himself among the staff. So Saul was hiding in fear, he was hardly full of the Holy Ghost was he? Yeah you wouldn't say ah he was in God's will at this point, he's hiding, he's in fear, he doesn't have the comfort and boldness that comes from the Lord, that comes from being in the things of God, that comes from being filled with the Holy Ghost. But that's in contrast to chapter 11, well I just read a verse in chapter 11 where we see a different Saul but let's have a look from verse 1. Chapter 11 and verse 1 where it says then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash make a covenant with us and we will serve thee. So the Ammonites or children of Ammon are alongside the Moabites, they're spawned by Lot and his two daughters in the cave. Okay we're not going to go into the story for now but you know this is a pretty wicked bunch all right. In Judges there are regular battles with them and here this king Nahash has laid siege to Jabesh Gilead. Now what's interesting is that Jabesh Gilead, if you know the story at all in Judges, Jabesh Gilead is a town that was basically near destroyed by the rest of Israel because they hadn't come and joined in when they went to destroy what was a wicked bunch of Benjaminites and they'd gone to basically wipe them out after you know the wickedness that happened you know with the Levite that went to sojourn there etc. Now if you're wondering what I'm on about just read the book of Judges, got some great stuff in it as well but basically they were nearly wiped out, Jabesh Gilead, for not getting involved and then what they did do is they saved 400 I think it is you know young virgin women to then not wipe out the Benjaminites because they had a kind of remnant of them left over so they use this kind of remnant of women from Jabesh Gilead and they were kind of merged together in a way to then keep going this this tribe of Benjamin. So 400 unmarried women are kept and this is only 100 odd years earlier approximately so we're not that far on from there and of course Saul's a Benjaminite isn't here as well okay so just some interesting stuff there might maybe explain some of how Saul felt about this. Now 100 years on later the Ammonites are laying siege to Jabesh Gilead and look like I said maybe it's due to the previous events that the Jabesh Gileadites are waving the white flag remember they nearly got wiped out before maybe they're just thinking we don't want to get you know we're at the point of just being wiped out completely this town but you know they don't seem to be up for a fight here do they they're just you know we've seen here that they said make a covenant with us and we will serve them so straight away they're just saying look we'll serve you we'll make is that how God wants his people does God want his people to be making covenants and serving especially here that's going to be that's going to be you know God's people in the land of Israel in the in the places he's given them saying no no we'll serve the heathen we'll serve the outsiders that's not what he wants so they're basically just saying okay we surrender straight away they're not even appealing for help at this point it seems they're just going yeah we'll make a covenant well and Nahash, the Ammonite answered them this is verse two on this condition will I make a covenant with you that I may thrust out all your right eyes and lay it for reproach upon all Israel so something tells that Nahash doesn't like God's people yeah Nahash I would say probably hates God God's people and look they would have made a covenant but now he's saying yeah I'll make a covenant but first I'm going to thrust out all of your right eyes pretty mean isn't it okay so the elders of Jabesh said unto him in verse three give us seven days respite that we may send messengers unto all the coast of Israel then if there be no man to save us we will come out to thee now it seems a bit strange that he's happy for them to appeal for help don't you think so they say let us get some help but he's like all right I'll give you seven days yeah but really maybe he doesn't want the siege because you know you've got to understand as well that a lot of these towns and cities look it's not that you just stroll in and just start hacking people up okay they're going to at least be able to defend the city and you're going to lose a lot of men trying to invade what is a smaller area because it's all set up to defend isn't it so he probably doesn't fancy the siege he knows he can win the siege but he's going to probably lose a lot of men in the siege so he's just saying they're saying okay we'll come out to you in seven days but maybe maybe he doesn't think they'll even get the help because we see by the reaction of Israel in a minute that maybe that was based on on on you know some some well at least he had probably a wise understanding of them at this point because he's just happy he's going yeah try and get your help then you're going to come out then I'm going to then they're basically saying we're going to come out and you can thrust out our right eyes and we're going to make a covenant with you okay so verse four maybe as well maybe they're confident that they could beat Israel in the open maybe there's that as well he's thinking well yeah bring out Israel I'll take out the whole lot of them because it's different to them laying siege to to an area so it's much harder to attack you know closed in city towns that have defenses than it is to just have open warfare if you outnumber them which I'd imagine they probably do now verse four says then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul and told the tidings in the ears of the people and all the people lifted up their voices and wept they're crying yeah they're crying you get the feeling that Nahash is probably quite a mean guy yeah they're probably thinking what they actually Ammonite they're in fear aren't they they're crying they're not saying come on let's go and help them they're sobbing okay verse five says and behold Saul came after the herd out of the field so at this point he's not like in a in a you know kind of in his kingly keep you know on his throne somewhere anything else he's gone back to his homeland at this point even though he's been selected as king there's been some delays we see later he eventually kind of gets a formal ordination later on so at this point he's he's with the herd in the field and Saul said what aleth the people that they weep and they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh so he's seeing these people look they're definitely crying okay so oh well they wept sort of just a euphemism for being upset no he's watching them weeping they're crying about this situation look at verse six and the spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings and his anger was kindled greatly so unlike when Saul had just been hiding from God where he held his peace and didn't deal with that situation and there was probably a good way he could have dealt with that situation here now the spirit of God the Holy Spirit the Holy Ghost has come upon him he's filled with the spirit yeah we've just seen that he's you know the Holy Ghost has come upon him it's saying the spirit of God came upon Saul so does he then say I'm full of the spirit I've got so much love for the Ammonites is that what he says I'm the spirit has come upon me now it's time to just you know to just tell everyone how much I love everyone and peace guys peace everyone he does it does he did he say did the spirit come upon him and he said now Nahash needs to hear the gospel no did he say did he say the spirit came upon him now it's time to calmly meditate upon God's word and we'll come up with a peaceful solution to this situation did he say any of that did he just do you think when the spirit came upon him he just did this big beaming smile you know the old smile you know the smile without the eyes that's right you get that don't you get up for those wicked sort of vicar priest types don't you they're like hello like this because they're so spiritual aren't they they're so holy yeah didn't do any of that did he well why not because his anger was kindled greatly wasn't it that means he was fuming yeah he was livid yeah they're words we would use wouldn't we yeah he was absolute he was livid his anger was kindled greatly the spirit of God came upon him why was he so angry maybe it was the front of Nahash to encamp around Jabesh Gilead maybe it was maybe it was a covenant based on thrusting out their eyes yeah it's gonna that's gonna upset you a bit like I said there there's a close tie there maybe maybe it would maybe he was angry that the inhabitants were willing for that to happen we're just going to come out and just go okay you could thrust out our right eyes if no one comes in seven days maybe that made him out maybe it was a whole lot of it maybe it was a fact like I said that that he was a Benjaminite Benjaminite sorry maybe he had you know some sort of he felt some sort of close connection to Jabesh Gilead as well okay but all of that's okay isn't it all of those reasons are still a reason to be angry aren't they yeah nothing wrong with that is there anything wrong with him being angry there because they're all justification because they're all righteous anger every single one of those is righteous anger this Nahash is wicked isn't he yeah he's surrounded God's people he's laying siege to God's people and saying the only way I'm going to make a deal with you is if I if I basically pluck out your eyes yeah or one of your eyes well normal people would be angry about this wouldn't they amen yeah anyone here think well they're too holy to be angry about this yeah if people came to maybe your hometown maybe your neighboring town whatever it is and started threatening to pluck out you because you're too spiritual for that too holy for that because you're a man of God you're a woman of God you don't get angry do you no because righteous anger righteous anger is okay isn't it yeah righteous anger is normal and the reason I say that because apparently it's not according to the standards of fake Christianity so according to the the fake Christianity standards out there accord not according to the stalkers not according to the critics of churches like ours where as soon as as soon as they decide it's time to attack suddenly we're fuming angry with this with that and everything else all the pastors are just you know it's like there's not enough love where's the love well Saul here so here had the spirit of God come upon him and he was his anger was kindled greatly okay his anger was kindled greatly so you know so according to these people should never get angry should he yeah isn't according to a lot of people out there a lot of so-called christians anger's a sin they claim have you heard that before I've heard that before anger's a sin he should never react yeah just never react just just complete calm exterior never react to anything shouldn't show any emotion in fact a lot of the time it kind of it's not just the anger they try not to show any real emotion these people don't they poke a face everything that happens just sort of like this I'm so holy you know and with a little smile with it you gotta and I know I'm picking on the dog collar type people but you see that a lot on the dog collar type people don't you but you see it a lot see it a lot in in all sorts of false Christianity don't you all these for all the full skill all the full salvation work salvation types which is basically all religions in one way or another they they they have this sort of fake their so-called version of spirituality of what and and but it doesn't line up with the bible what did Saul do next so remember the spirit of God is upon him we've just read that and the spirit of God came upon Saul okay then jump forward to verse seven and he took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces and sent them throughout all the coast of Israel by the hand of messengers saying whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel so shall it be done unto his oxen and the fear of the lord fell on the people and they came out with one consent so Saul takes two male cows steers bulls whatever you want to call them sends them he cuts them up yeah hews them in pieces cuts them up sends them all over Israel and says I'm going to do the same to your oxen if you don't come and fight remember that the people at least where he was were all in tears yeah so he's got saying I'm going to come and hack up your oxen if you're thinking well okay well he's you know so what he's going to hack the ox he's not saying he's going to hack them up like oxen I'd imagine are worth quite a lot of money yeah that's you know they're like the workhorse I know they're not the workhorse they're the work cow but they're good work cows yeah and they do a lot and that he's basically saying I'm going to come and hack up probably your livelihood yeah I'm going to come and do that if you don't come come and help so he's threatening his people he's saying follow the man of god or the oxen are getting it yeah that's quite a cool threat isn't it yeah he's going for follow the leader of Israel or your oxen are going to get it yeah it's like your cars are going to get it or your your your bank accounts getting it there's some cults like that aren't there if you don't do as you're told they're cutting you off yeah okay but obviously he's not a cult he's but I'll tell you what he's angry the spirit of god's on him and he's just saying you need to come and support you need to come and get involved I'm going to hack up your oxen okay he's angry at sin he's hacking up animals he's threatening the people oh he's so carnal isn't he isn't he so carnal oh carnal old soul there he even started hacking up oxen but he's not the spirit of god came upon him yeah he's he's he's acting with the spirit of god upon him the spirit of god came upon him yeah the spirit of god we believe in the trinity here don't we it's oh well the spirit's a bit of an angry one you know but jesus is a bit calmer yeah just the spirit gets a bit carried away you know because he's kind of you know not grounded enough because he's kind of everywhere you know I'm joking obviously all right someone's going to cut this heresy right no we don't believe that do we yeah the spirit of god came upon him the spirit of god god whose wrath is kindled multiple times in the bible yeah multiple times god's wrath is kindled isn't it that means he's getting angry god's anger is kindled god's wrath we see it time and time again multiple times in scripture and often against his people against his own people he's getting angry oh that's the old testament god oh no no that's the old testament god isn't it you know that old testament one that mean old testament god well turn to john chapter two because god doesn't change does he god doesn't change and god can get angry and look at god in the flesh in john chapter two and verse 13 the lord jesus christ here we're going to talk about in verse 13 john chapter 2 the gospel of john that is chapter 2 and verse 13 says and the jews pass over was at hand and jesus went up to jerusalem and found in a temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the changers of money sitting and when he had made a scourge of small cords he drove them all out of the temple and the sheep and the oxen and poured out the changers money and overthrew the tables and said unto them that sold doves take these things hence make not my father's house and house of merchandise and his disciples remembered that it was written as ill of thine house had eaten me up jesus christ with a whip driving people out of the temple flipping tables over i haven't seen that at any uh i haven't seen much of that going on with any preaching i've seen before you guys seen that it'd be good to have a whip here wouldn't it that would be fun anyone falling asleep but we don't do that but look maybe if people were trying to trade in here whispering and trading something you know in the background you know trading in the church trying to you know get people in on some sort of you know money enterprise i think i'd be within my rights to at least crack the whip behind them at the church wouldn't they yeah well that's what jesus christ did aren't we all trying to be more christ like yeah don't start buying whips all right okay if anyone's sitting here thinking yeah you get so he gets a good whips can't you i don't know anyone's looked at whips before and lied so that's a rabbit hole okay so i'm joking i'm joking okay so so yeah but that was jesus christ wasn't it the son of god god manifest in the flesh whipping people out of the temple turn to revelation chapter 19 where we see jesus christ before the battle of armageddon revelation chapter 19 and we're going to look from verse 11 revelation 19 verse 11 says and i saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he doth judge and make war his eyes was a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself and he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood and his name is called the word of god and the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses clothed in fine linen white and clean and out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should smite the nations that he shall rule them with a rod of iron and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty god and he has on his vesture and on his name a name written king of kings and lord of lords who's that the lord jesus christ the lord jesus christ not the hippie jesus christ from the catholic paintings the lord jesus christ who treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty god okay and look there are men of god throughout the bible you know people like moses spring to mind the meekest man that ever inhabited the earth that's smashing the ten commandments into pieces strawing golden calves on the water and making them drink it yeah look people get some righteous anger in the bible okay they get some righteous anger go back to first samuel 11 where saul had some righteous anger it said in first samuel 11 and from verse 6 first samuel 11 6 and the spirit of god came upon saul when he heard those tidings and his anger was kindled greatly and he took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces and sent them throughout all the coast of israel by the hands of messengers saying whosoever cometh not forth after saul and after samuel so shall it be done unto his oxen and the fear of the lord the fear of the lord fell on the people and they came out with one consent because there's a place of righteous anger but before you start butchering next door's chihuahua before you find next door's cat and start hacking it to pieces we need to differentiate between righteous and unrighteous anger don't we yeah and we also need to understand what is and isn't okay as new testament christians look it's the same god and the same holy spirit but it's a different battle it's the same god it's the same holy spirit but it's now a different battle that we're in the title is there's nothing wrong with righteous anger and point number one is righteous anger isn't uncontrolled anger okay righteous anger isn't uncontrolled anger sauls just hewed the cattle in pieces isn't he he threatened all the people with the same does he then just go on some hacking and slashing rampage does he threaten them hack up the animals threaten their animals and then just charge and then just run on his own and whosoever's with me and just starts hacking through oh look at verse 8 and when he numbered them in besic the children of israel were 300 000 and the men of judah 30 000 who numbered them so now look i doubt he was doing the head count himself 300 000 that'd be tough you know i'd be like 299 i was it all right back to the beginning okay no okay i'm sure i'm sure saul wasn't doing that but but you know what he organized the numbering of them yeah it was saul which basically organized the numbering of them he's calm enough to get the numbering of the people started and to get that going yeah to basically number the people that are with him and he's not he's not foaming at the mouth tracking down oxen is he yeah he's not just like where the who hasn't got give me some more oxen no he's made his point he's got it out there but he's look i'm sure he still watched the angry angry at this point yeah because the rest of them were in tears weren't they okay he's yeah it calls for action but there's some planning here isn't there look he he's he's numbered the men and by the way the oxen was a pretty good call because 300 000 old people are turning up here whether it's 300 000 and 30 000 or the 30 000 part of 300 000 either way that's a lot of people that turned up yeah who previously all the people it seemed at least the ones that knew about it were in tears okay verse nine and they said unto the messengers that came thus shall you say unto the men of Jabesh Gilead tomorrow by that time the sun be hot you shall have help and the messengers came and showed it to the men of Jabesh and they were glad so like i said he didn't start a one-man charge into the Ammonites they said tomorrow didn't they they said tomorrow see that verse 10 therefore the men of Jabesh said tomorrow we will come out unto you and you shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you they're lulling the Ammonites into a full sense of security and verse 11 says and it was so on the morrow that Saul put the people in three companies and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day and it came to pass that they which remained were scattered so that two of them were not left together okay there's thought there isn't there there's planning they didn't just all charge like a horde of barbarians into the middle of them without any thought or plan or tactics no he put to them Saul Saul who's righteously angry at this point has put them into three companies hasn't he yeah he's made so he's counted he's numbered them he's put them into three companies probably you know check out my maths here 100 000 each i reckon maybe even 110 okay so he's he's he's done some organization here he's come out with some with a good plan here turn to proverbs chapter 25 because it's one thing getting angry yeah look we're all going to get angry you're not a bad christian if you get angry okay don't let these people con you into thinking if you get some righteous anger if you're righteously angry you're some sort of failure you're some sort of bad christian okay but there has to be thought and control with the anger okay it's one thing getting angry it's another thing just flying off the handle and doing crazy stuff yeah proverbs 25 and verse 28 proverbs 25 verse 28 says he that has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls okay and that's a good point is it because we just talked about what a lot of these cities how they were designed to be able to defend against attack but if you don't have any ruling over your spirit you're like a city broken down and without walls oh but it's righteous anger these sodomites are making me furious yeah it's righteous they made me so angry i'm just going to go out and just start cussing them all out i'm going to go out and start shouting at people and say is that what we're called to do though yeah is that what's that going to achieve is that going to achieve anything doesn't achieve anything might make you feel good for a minute until the police start turning up then you can get even more righteously angry that you're getting arrested for calling a dog a dog and that's going to wind you up even more isn't it and then when you get wound up with that you're going to get even more annoyed then you've got some queer judge who's probably one of them then sensing you some ridiculous whatever it is punishment for calling a dog a dog and look because we can all get worked up can't we we can all get wound up and it's righteous anger but it's what you do afterwards yeah you've got to have control with it you can't just charge you can't just charge so didn't just charge yeah you have to rule your spirit you have to still have rule over your spirit self-control yeah otherwise that siege will be over before the backup comes yeah otherwise look if you you don't have rule over your spirit that's it and there is sometimes you have a siege guys yeah okay you're you're doing the things of god you're going out you're going to have a siege sometimes you have people from other different angles wanting to have you wanting to take you down wanting to find something on you trying to find something yeah you've got to have control over your spirit they lie about you anyway but if you don't they're going to have something on you okay and that will that goes for everyone here who's living for god okay people want to bring you down they want to find fault in you now the anger the anger is justified right you don't have to feel ashamed about being angry over wickedness like i said just to make that clear you don't have to feel ashamed about that okay and i would go the i would go the other way and i would say look if you're not angry the wickedness in this world if you're not angry when you see the wickedness just walking down there if you're not angry if ever you put on some sort of news channel or whatever else you see or in your workplace sometimes or wherever it is driving around seeing the filth being pushy seeing the way that people dress that it's disgusting the way they dress their children the way the way men behave seeing all these freaks and weirdos and everything and just the wickedness that we talked about last week murdering babies in wombs hundreds of facts if you're not angry about that there's something wrong with you there's something wrong with you and you're not right with god because we're aren't we aspiring to be more christ-like you show me i'll tell you what a christian that's standing there just going oh it doesn't really phase me oh no no oh well live and let live and everything else he ain't right with god he's not christ-like is he because god hates that stuff and look and let's be honest i mean i'll hold my hand up yeah when i was first saved a lot of that stuff didn't really phase me that much and the more i grew and the more i read my bible the more it started to vex me yeah and the more it vexed me and the more i started to get righteous no i'm not walking around fuming okay it's not that you know i'm just kind of the poor cat's getting kicked around i don't have a cat okay really okay but it's not the proverbial cat's just getting booted all the way down the stairs every morning okay no it's not but we should get some righteous anger from time to time shouldn't we because if you don't for me you're not in the spirit you're not you're not look again we're going to talk about what what you should do with that anger in a second okay because it is it's one thing having the spirit come upon you yeah getting angry at sin at wickedness unrighteousness but then it's another to be known as angry and furious okay it's another thing to then be known as angry and furious that's not a good thing okay that's not a good thing uh did you turn to proverbs 22 turn to proverbs 22 well i read proverbs 21 proverbs 21 says who so keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles hear that again who so keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles because your mouth and your tongue can get you in a lot of trouble yeah and look just oh well we're not called yeah we know we're not called to a physical battle but that means i'm just gonna let it go let it go at everyone and everything that winds me up and just cuss them out and call them things and you know and start shouting out the window every time i see some weirdo down the street and everything else that's not okay is it okay you're not you're just gonna get yourself in trouble like that because your trouble your mouth does get you into trouble doesn't it yeah yeah look some people your mouth gets you in a lot of trouble yeah some people it's not so much but it will get you into trouble and some people have more control over that than others and maybe it's at work maybe it's at home maybe it's at church wherever it is we need to learn to control it don't we we need to learn to control our mouth and and not just blurt out whatever comes into our mind just because we're maybe righteously angry yeah we have to have control over it even though sometimes it does feel justified doesn't it it does feel justified okay so you're in proverbs 22 yeah because it's one thing having the spirit come upon you getting angry at sin at wickedness unrighteousness like i said it's another to be known by that it's another to be recognized by that proverbs 22 and verse 24 says make no friendship with an angry man and with a furious man thou shalt not go lest thou learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul all right so they shouldn't have been friends with saul is that what that verse is saying is that verse saying that anyone who gets angry cut them off no it's talking about someone who's known as a furious or an angry man with a furious man thou shalt not go because why because you will learn their ways lest thou learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul have you noticed how when you're around angry people you quickly get angry don't you you notice that when you're spending a lot of time with angry people and look i i remember some of my old friends in the past you know i had some friends who were just fuming at absolutely everything you know living about this living about and it just rubs off doesn't it and the next thing you know you're just angry at everything as well and then you're just constantly moaning and complaining and and getting angry and we don't we don't want to be around people like that which means we don't want to be those people because people according to the word of god should then start distancing from you yeah okay so it's one thing to have righteous anger it's another to be known as angry and furious it's another for it to be just uncontrollable just constant anger etc okay don't be that person but the title is nothing wrong with righteous anger number one righteous anger is an uncontrolled anger and point number two is righteous anger isn't constant anger so it's not uncontrolled where you're just doing things your mouth's going maybe even your fists are going maybe whatever it is is going you're just constantly just just you know resorting to to giving people slang you know a verbal verbal tongue lashing you you're getting out you're threatening look that's not okay yeah that's not what we're called to do righteous anger is one thing but you should be measured with your response to it but it shouldn't also be constant anger number two right saying anger isn't constant anger look back at uh first samuel 11 saul's hewed the oxen isn't he he's threatened the people he's killed the ammonites does saul just continue with with his greatly kindled anger now is he just carrying on is it right onto the next lot who's to kill next well look at verse 12 and the people said unto samuel who is he that said shall saul reign over us bring the men that we may put them to death now these men are sons of belial remember yeah yeah we just read that ultimately they do deserve death yeah ultimately they do deserve death okay but we don't know whether saul knows their sons of belial okay we the the narrator of the bible said that their sons of belial okay we don't know what they've done at this point barring they've said shall saul reign over us now this is a wicked bunch yeah yeah maybe they should be at least cast away but is is what they does what they did warrant the death penalty at this point no and look he said it says in verse 13 and saul said there shall not a man be put to death this day for today the lord has wrought salvation in israel then said samuel to the people come and let us go to gilgal and renew the kingdom there so saul said that it's a time to celebrate now not execution time and like i said would it have been justified well we can look at it from a bird's eye view and go men men of belial cut their heads off they're reprobates they're god haters are the enemies of the lord yeah the bible makes that very clear doesn't it who these sons of belial these children of belial these children of the devil these sons of the devil reprobates etc who they are but they hadn't done something at this point not that i could see i'm sure they had but not that was being brought to saul's attention that justified being put to death but saul in his righteous anger probably could have been tempted to just go yeah let's take him out maybe he didn't know there were sons of belial but maybe he could have just been like how dare they but he didn't did he and like i said saying shall saul reign over us specifically we read how shall this man save us is that a death penalty crime no now there has to be due process doesn't there okay and something we have to remember there has to be due process why does it have to be due process because god's people do things god's way okay we do things god's way we play by the rules we have integrity we hold our heads high all right that's what we do as god's people because it can be tempting can't it can be tempting to want to just let out your own you know your own anger on people to just kind of bring them to task but we have to do things god's way and just because those people are saying you know kill them the people are saying kill them yeah look he's got the support of the nation what could be the problem well does that mean that the others won't then say maybe the the maybe the women back back at you know back at home maybe the people that weren't there come to war maybe they'll be saying ye have killed the people of the lord like in number 16 maybe they'll be the ones going look what you've done these poor people maybe they all know they're they're they're reprobate maybe like like like cora dayton and abiram it was so what it should have been so obvious but it still won't stop then going but look what you've done yeah but you've done this that's why we have to play by the rules okay so it also shows though doesn't it that not only was it controlled anger but it wasn't constant anger right so it was controlled but it was wasn't constant he's not because he could have just carried on he could have at least been dragging them right what did you say and everything else but he's just saying look it the anger is done now it's all saying now it's time to celebrate look everyone here you have to know when it's time to celebrate as well you have to know when it's time to celebrate you can't just be constantly angry at this wicked world so like i said if you're never angry at this wicked world there's something up with you you're not in line with the lord there but if you're constantly angry at this wicked world that ain't a good place to be okay that's not a good place you're not going to be happy you're going to have a hard time of life and god gives us times to celebrate doesn't he there's some great things aren't there some great blessings in life aren't there some great things how about just salvation itself how about being saved knowing you're saved knowing you're going to heaven isn't that a thing to celebrate is that a great thing to enjoy every time you go out and you preach the gospel and you get something every time someone from this church gets someone saved anytime anyone gets someone saved isn't that a cause to celebrate isn't that a great thing isn't there are so many other great blessings in the world aren't there and we have to be careful that we're not just completely consumed with the wickedness that we see everywhere because there's a lot of wickedness and it would be easy to be consumed by it and if you're constantly angry turn to ecclesiastes by the way if you're if you're spending your days just constantly focusing on the wickedness just shaking your fist just can't take it anymore look you know i i think you're not going to be effective for god and i think then you're getting to the point now when you're out of the spirit as well because there's a lot more to god than just god's not just up there we're just fuming at everything there's a lot more emotion from god isn't there yeah okay we have to remember that as well ecclesiastes chapter 3 now there is a time for it but there's a time for other things as well because ecclesiastes chapter 3 and verse 1 says to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven a time to be born and a time to die a time to plant at a time to pluck up that which is planted a time to kill and a time to heal a time to break down and a time to build up a time to weep and a time to laugh a time to mourn and a time to dance a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away, a time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time of war and a time of peace. Yes there's a time to hate, fancy that, there is a time to hate but there's a time of peace too, yeah? It's not just hatred all day every day, it's not just anger all day every day, there's a time of peace as well, it's not healthy to be walking around growling and grumbling and shaking your fist and you know and just complaining about everything, we need to focus on the blessings and positives too. So turn over to chapter 7 of Ecclesiastes while you're in Ecclesiastes, turn over to chapter 7 and verse 9, Ecclesiastes 7.9 reads, be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. Did it say it's foolish to be angry at all? No, it said don't be hasty in thy spirit to be angry and it said that anger resteth in the bosom of fools, there are people that are basically brimming over just angry at the drop of a hat. Anything that just, it's just constant, constant anger and like I said there's enough things in this world to be constantly angry about aren't there? But that's not how we want to live is it? That's not how we want to live. We don't want to be quick to anger, hasty is too quick on a hair trigger and like I said if it's resting in your bosom then it's basically constantly waiting to brim over you, just ready to just kick off the whole time and we get this example by the way of not being like that from God. Turn to Psalm 103 Well I read Proverbs 14 29 which says, he that is slow to wrath is of great understanding, but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. So he that is slow to wrath is of great understanding, we don't want to be quick to wrath, slow to wrath. Wrath is extreme anger, he that is slow to wrath is of great understanding, but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. It's foolish to just be hasty of spirit, to rush into things, to be quick with our emotions. Psalm 103 and verse 8 says the Lord is merciful and gracious. Psalm 103 verse 8, the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. God is slow to anger. He will not always chide, chide is to scold, neither will he keep his anger forever. He will not keep his anger forever. He's not just up there fuming. Now a little just in case you're wondering, wait a second, because yes Psalm 7 11 says God judges the righteous and God is angry with the wicked every day, okay. Yes he does, yes he does get angry with the wicked every day, but that's because Proverbs 15 3 says the eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good, yeah. But when it comes to us, when it comes to his people as well, God is happy to forgive. See God, there are a range of emotions with God. His eyes might be everywhere and yeah he's going to be seeing wickedness every minute of every day, but at the same time his eyes are everywhere and he also sees good things and he also sees his people sometimes, hopefully, trying to do things for him, trying to serve him. He hears the singing to him, yeah that's a joyful noise unto the Lord. The worship, the way we're trying to live, going out and trying to live for the Lord, all those things also make him pleased, they make him happy don't they. So it's not that he's just up there just, you know, smoke coming out of his nostrils just living, but yes he is angry with the wicked every day, yes he is angry with the wicked every day. It says in verse 10 here, he has not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities, for as the heaven is high above the earth so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. For as far as the east is from the west, so far have he removed our transgressions from us. Removed, yeah, not so far is he removing, removed, they're gone, our transgressions are gone, okay, they've been moved as far as the east is from the west, okay, if you're saved you're saved forever. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him, for he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust. There's mercy for us, pity, and a range of other emotions that God shows, especially the love that's been shed on all of us, yeah, by sending his only begotten son, yeah, that whosoever believed in him should not perish but have everlasting love. There's a range of emotions from God, it's not just anger, and we want to make sure if you want to live in the image of God, you don't want to just be walking around just fuming all day every day, okay, because you're not going to be happy, you're not going to do the other things of God then. The title is nothing wrong with righteous anger. Number one, righteous anger isn't uncontrolled anger. Number two, righteous anger isn't constant anger. And number three, righteous anger isn't an excuse to sin. Righteous anger is not an excuse to sin. Look back at 1 Samuel 11 where we started. So Saul's hewed the oxen, threat of the people, killed the Ammonites, and then he's resisted the temptation to execute the reprobates, and I bet that was tempting. Now look at verse 12. 1 Samuel 11 verse 12, and the people said unto Samuel, this is where we were, who is he that said shall Saul reign over us bring the men that we may put them to death? And Saul said there shall not a man be put to death this day, for today the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel. So like I said, instead of continuing in some fleshly rampage, instead of whilst he's wound up, you know, tell some people some home truths and everything else, yeah, because I'm angry now, it's time to get it off my chest. I remember just this made me think, yeah, I remember my brother, yeah, my brother used to go, he used to say the morning time is the best time to ring up people that he's annoyed with, because my brother was a bad morning person, okay, he was a nightmare to live with in the morning, he would wake up and then he'd be like, right, that person really mugged me off the other day, I'm ringing them up now, and his mornings were spent dealing with all his issues, because that's when he was most likely to confront them, you know, come the evening he's calmed down by now, yeah, so he actually there was some planning in letting his anger out of people in the morning, well I'll deal with him in the morning, that's when I'm most angry, especially before breakfast, okay, but Saul didn't do that, did he? Okay, verse 14 says, Then said Samuel to the people, come and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there, and all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal, and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly, so instead of going out and going, right, now it's time to sin, now it's time to let people have it, now it's time to execute people, now it's time to go off and do something else, take on any of my enemies, no, he's offering sacrifice to God and rejoicing together, rejoicing with the men of Israel, because there are some people like, you know, like with my brother there, once the anger starts, whether righteous or not, then it's kind of flesh time, isn't it? Then it's indulge time, then it's time to really get some home truths off your chest, then it's time to let whoever, and a lot of the time, sadly, it's those closest to us, isn't it? Whoever's closest to you, now it's time for them to have it, right, now I'm angry, I'm gonna let, I'm gonna let them know what they did, you know, 10 years ago, or maybe not, maybe what they did five minutes ago, but look, some, some people do do that, and we want to avoid doing that, and you could say that that's a good test of how righteous the anger is, couldn't you? Because, look, or at least how righteous the anger continues, because if now you're, you're sinning, if you're going into sin, if you're pulling away from the things of God, and it could be that, yeah, you're, you're insulting people, it could be that you're just being mean, it could be that you're just trying to make people feel rubbish, to let out your anger, to make yourself feel better, or it could be, at that point, at that point, are you just, you don't want anything to do with the Bible, yeah? Is that anger, that righteous anger, that you're telling yourself it's righteous anger, has that now resulted in you not wanting to open the word of God? Has that resulted in you not going to the Lord in prayer? Has that resulted in you missing skipping church? Has that result, I'm not going soul winning because I'm so angry? Was that righteous anger, do you think? Was that in the spirit? Was that the spirit of God coming upon you? I don't think so, yeah, righteous anger results in you still doing the things of God. The righteous anger here resulted in them sacrificing sacrifice of peace offerings before the Lord and they're rejoicing greatly at this point now as well. So are you then, with your anger, swerving the word? Are you swerving the things of God or are you in the things of God? Now Saul, like I said, he did the opposite, he resisted the executions and then worshiped God. Turn to Ephesians 4, which again, in case you're still wondering, oh this is Old Testament brother Ian, the New Testament says not to be angry, yeah? It says put away from you anger and things like that, as a people, as a church, yes, but what does it say in Ephesians chapter 4 where it makes it clear that there's a difference between being angry and sinning? So Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 26, Ephesians 4 26 says, be ye angry and sin not, let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil. So according to verse 26 it's okay to be angry if you don't then sin, yeah? And look, it should go without saying, shouldn't it? Like you should, you would hope that God's people could just sit there and go, yes of course, of course it's okay to be angry sometimes, but how many, I've heard it, angers are sin. I've heard people try and say that, being angry is sinful. You shouldn't get angry, you shouldn't be angry. People criticize proper Bible preaching, because I don't want to say like our type of preaching, we're like, sadly it's getting to that point where aren't many churches preaching like, you know, preaching the word of God and getting angry at sin and preaching hard on sin and hating the sin, and we should hate sin, shouldn't we? Yeah, but it has got to that point where there's not many people doing it, and we then start to say our type of preaching, but it is just biblical preaching, isn't it? A biblical preacher should be angry at sin. A biblical preacher should be angry at transgressions, whether it's amongst the people, whether it's in the world, whether it's in the church, whether it's out, you know, it's things going on in the church. They should get angry at that stuff. They should get angry at injustice. They should get angry at all the wickedness that we see in the word of God, we see in the world, and sadly we see amongst God's people. Yeah, a righteous person should. They should get angry, but they shouldn't sin. Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. So what's that about letting the sun go down upon your wrath? Well, you notice if you still go to bed angry, yeah, if you go to bed and you're angry still, well, you could see point two about constant anger, okay, there's a problem there anyway, but secondly you're more likely to wake up angry, and when you wake up angry it's more likely to be a flesh thing because when you wake up angry you're less likely to be in prayer, you're less likely to be in the word of God, you're less likely to be, you know, speak to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, you're less likely to be doing any of the things of God, and you're more likely to now continue this anger, okay, and look, again, we've probably heard this preach a lot, but it's so important, isn't it? We have to not let the sun go down upon our wrath because then it becomes complete, it becomes fleshly, doesn't it? It's fleshly because you're basically, you're disobeying the command of God, so as righteous as you might feel, as righteously angry as you might feel, whether it is a spouse with another spouse, whether it's with your kids, whether it's with your workmate, your colleague, the person at church, you know, that mean preacher, whatever it is, if you let the sun go down upon your wrath, you're now disobeying a command of God, so clearly it's no longer righteous anger, yeah, doesn't that go without saying, because you're now, you're out of the will of God, yeah, you're not, you haven't got the Holy Spirit upon you, if you're going to bed fuming, yeah, that it's got to night time, you're still angry, you're going to bed, you're waking up angry, you're out of line now, yeah, pretty simple, isn't it? Be angry and sin not, okay, let not the sun go down upon your wrath, because that's when the sin starts coming then, that's when you get into sin then, that's when you start then, when you're still thinking about it, and it's then you start to want to get your vengeance, then you start to want to try and make, you know, get something from it, let not the sun go down upon your wrath, okay, because then it says, I believe it's linked there, because, or definitely linked, we've got a colon, neither give place to the devil, because once you're sinning, once the sun's going down upon your wrath, once you're waking up and it's all you can think about, and you're still angry, now you're giving the devil a foothold, okay, now you're outside the will of God, now it's no longer righteous anger, now you're giving the devil a foothold, and then you start to become more of a plaything, and then little things will just start to annoy you, and little things which maybe were, you know, which wouldn't have annoyed you before, start to anger you as well, and then it just gets, it starts to spiral, okay, that's not righteous anger, is it? Yeah, that's not righteous anger, clearly, because the word of God says, be angry in sin, not let not the sun go down upon your wrath, and then that's when the nasty things are said, that's when you start to do things that you shouldn't have done, that's when you do and say things that you then look back when you're calmer and go, I shouldn't have done that, that wasn't righteous anger. Turn to James chapter 1, while you're turning, I'm going to read Proverbs 29, 22, which says, an angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression, an angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression. If you're described as a furious person, if that's what people know you as, you're bound to be in transgression or sin, okay, if that's who you are, that's, oh well, it's righteous, it's all right, because I'm staring at the news every day, it's okay, because, you know, I'm watching just all these like YouTube exposes on wicked people all day every day, it's righteous anger, no it's not, and you're going to abound in transgression, okay, you're going to end up then going overboard, you're going to do things wrong. James chapter 1 and verse 19 says, wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. See, the wrath of man is generally unrighteousness, isn't it? Okay, this isn't anger, this is extreme anger, this is when you get to the point of wrath. We're not God, just remember that, yeah, we want to be Christ like, we're not God, and when it comes to wrath, the extreme anger, we are then bound to sin, because we don't have control over our spirits, we get in the flesh then, it all generally goes wrong. If you ever, any of you here, when you're full of wrath, are you just thinking, right, I'm so angry, it might be righteous, I'm so furious, I'm just going to read my Bible, I'm just going to, no, usually when you feel like that, things start wanting to get broken, people a lot of the time, you feel like you want to start breaking people, whoever it is, that's the truth, isn't it? When you're full of wrath, suddenly these ideas start going on your head, what you'd love to do, you know, that's not where we want to be, is it? Okay, you don't, I'm so wrathful, you're furious, you're angry, and it's like, praise the Lord, you know, into the Bible, it doesn't happen, does it? We don't deal with wrath too well, anger I think we can deal with, wrath maybe not so well. Okay, so, right, we're nearly done, maybe you get all that, okay, maybe, look, maybe you're sitting here going, yeah, I've got a bit of a problem with this, yeah, some of that spoke to me today, brother Ian, yeah, that helped me a little bit today, but I'm still going to find it hard, yeah, I still see wickedness at every turn, yes, it really winds, and look, it winds us all up, doesn't it, yeah, yeah, I still, I see this filth, I see the unrighteousness in the world, I see the lack of justice, I see the wicked just seeming to just prosper, I see people just getting completely just, you know, their lives being ruined by false prophets, false churches, I see, I see just all sorts of weirdos and perverts, I can't deal with it anymore, I see the effect it's having on children, I see the effect it's having on families, I hate it, I'm angry, yeah, you'd be probably well within your rights, wouldn't you, yeah, anyone here thinking, no, no, you're so unspiritual, I hope you're still not thinking that, if you ever did, I hope no one did there, okay, maybe, maybe it's not just out on the street, maybe dealing with it at work, maybe you, maybe you have to work with just some flaming sodomites, and you're just seeing all the filth that goes with it, and suddenly it's not will and grace anymore, suddenly, no, they are as the Bible says they are, and you're starting to see that first hand, and you're like, I've got to work with this sort of filth, with this sort of perversion, with this sort of just absolute out of bounds sin, maybe, maybe it's not just, maybe it's, it's some family or friend member who's just persecuted you, doing all sorts of wickedness, maybe again it's the worst types of people like that as well, what you do, because it's easier said than done, isn't it, well, you know, don't, don't be constant, don't look, it's easier said than done sometimes, well turn to Psalm 37, because ultimately it comes down to trusting God, okay, it comes down to trusting God, Psalm 37 and verse one, Psalm 37 and verse one, it's a Psalm of David, and it starts Psalm 37, one, fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the works of iniquity, so don't fret or stress, yeah, don't be envious either, because some people do get envious at the wicked, it's all right for them, why do they have this, why do they have all the money, or why do they have all, all the fun or whatever else, no, fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against works of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as a green herb, okay, either way, either way their end is coming, yeah, and that's a man of God there, looking forward to that, yeah, okay, and obviously he's talking about the most wicked, the workers of iniquity, again another word for sons of the devil, children of Belial, reprobates, trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land and verily thou shalt be fed, okay, so keep doing the things of God, yeah, delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart, so focus on the good things, commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass, so we've got to keep serving him, don't we, you're feeling like that, keep serving him, and he shall bring forth thy righteousness as a light and thy judgment as a noonday, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him, fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in the way, in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass, so be patient, don't fret, cease from anger and forsake wrath, fret not thyself in any wise to do evil, okay, so no continuous anger, yeah, don't get to the wrath level, so cease from anger, don't just keep being angry, forsake wrath, don't get to that point where you're just out of control, just it's gone to wrath level, fret not thyself in any wise to do evil, don't try to take it into your own hands, okay, don't try and take it into your own hands, how you're going to do, I'm going to punish this person, I'm going to do that, don't do that, vengeance is mine, I'll repay saith the Lord, right, first nice list, for evildoers shall be cut off, but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth, they're going to get it in the end and we're going to inherit the earth, aren't we, yeah, remember that, verse 10 says, for yet a little while and the wicked shall not be, yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place and it shall not be, that's coming, that's coming soon, don't forget that, verse 11, but the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace, and what a day that will be, yeah, and that's something sometimes I think it just helps to focus on, doesn't it, focus on that and look, we've got a time coming and if you die, you're going to heaven, okay, if somehow things speed up and we end up going through a tribulation, look, you're going to end up getting raptured and then it's not going to be long, you can get front row tickets of some whipping and then you can get involved with the millennial lane and after that it's a new heaven and a new earth, yeah, look, it's coming, remind yourself, look, it's not just, oh well, just vague stories, oh well, they're kind of analogies, no, that's what the word of God says, doesn't it, yeah, the word of God makes that clear, do you believe the word of God, because if you believed it with salvation, I hope you didn't just take that bit and forget the rest of it, look, it is coming, things are going to be all right, we need to focus on that as well and not just focus constantly on the wickedness, on the things which will and do and should make you angry, until then, no, there's nothing wrong with righteous anger, but number one, righteous anger isn't uncontrolled anger, number two, righteous anger isn't constant anger and number three, righteous anger isn't an excuse to sin and on that, let's pray. Father, I thank you for your word, I thank you for just the many lessons you give us out of it, the many clear scriptures that, you know, once we compare them together, we can understand the difference between righteous anger and just being angry all the time and the types of anger and the way we should deal with our righteous anger as well and knowing that it's not an excuse to sin, that we're called to a spiritual battle, not a physical one, but, you know, in that spiritual battle, there's not a reason to just be constantly going around fuming and livid and full of anger and also wrath too at the end of that and help us to help us to control our spirits, help us to have control over our spirits, but help us also to not feel bad, feel guilty about getting anger, getting angry about so much of the wickedness in the world, we know that you get angry and we're justified in being angry, just help us to control that, help us to do it in the right way, help us to also, you know, not just focus on anger but focus on the love, especially for the lost, Lord, we pray that you help us today to want to go out, to go out and just go and preach the gospel, put the effort into preaching the gospel on what is a hot day, but it might be a day where people might have smiles on their faces, might be happier to open that door, happier to listen to us preach the gospel to them, help us to show your love for them, you know, that love that you've shown by sending your son to die on the cross and we pray that you'll help lead us to those that want to hear that, want to hear the good news of salvation, lead us to receptive doors today please and help us to all discern safely and soundly for this evening's service, in Jesus' name we pray all of this, amen.