Michael Koulianos emphasizes the significance of meekness in the Christian life, drawing parallels between biblical figures like Moses and David to illustrate how a soft heart is essential for receiving God's promises. He warns against untethered ambition, which can lead to spiritual destruction, and highlights that true leadership in the kingdom of God is characterized by humility and a willingness to serve others. Koulianos encourages believers to embrace trials as opportunities for character development, ultimately leading to a deeper relationship with God and the fulfillment of His promises. He concludes with a prayer for the Holy Spirit to cultivate meekness within the hearts of the congregation.

Holy Spirit, burn your word into the depths of our hearts this morning and renew our minds and lead us to Jesus. I pray for full-blown encounters with you while I preach your word. Oh Lord, we give you full permission to touch us even during the teaching. You define what teaching looks like, not us. So light us on fire as your word goes forth in power. In Jesus' name. So last week I discussed with you in Matthew 5 that this is the Lord declaring, remember he goes up the mountain and declares a higher law, the law of the kingdom. And the, oh it's, it is like the fulfillment of the allegory of Moses going up Mount Sinai. Remember Moshe means drawn from the water as a type and shadow or allegorical figure of the one who would be drawn from the water in baptism and the only one who releases the water of the word and the spirit upon us. Moses was obviously a picture of the Lord Jesus who delivers us from our Egypt, who leads us through the Red Sea, that's baptism. Notice it's in the Red Sea that the enemies of Israel are drowned and destroyed. And that's why we see so often when we baptize people in water, those leviathans in life are slain and destroyed. The early church used to say it's in the waters of baptism that dragons die. And this is all foreseen, or I should say foreshadowed, in the Israelites going through the Red Sea following the cloud and then the cloud hits reverse and goes through them. That speaks of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And they walk on dry land, speaking of the Lord's capability and desire to fully deliver us. Fully, not even our feet are muddy. We walk through on dry land. The Lord's deliverance is thorough. Say amen. And it's always in pride that the devil comes, he attacks us and nips at our heels. It's in pride that he does that because he always wants more. When people are given over to the enemy's schemes, even Christians, when people are given over to the enemy's schemes and they consistently dishonor boundaries, dishonor basic Christian ethics, it is satanic to the core. And what drives it is a hunger to have more, a hunger. It's an insatiable hunger that exposes the lack of their satisfaction in their heart. And that's how people go too far. You go too far by wanting more that God never called you to have. And it's Luciferian by nature. It's who he is. I will ascend. I will have. I will take the hill of the north. And you have to resist that. You have to contradict that. It's one thing to preach it. It's an entirely different thing to live it and lead that way. If I were not leading as a pastor at this church, my name would be nowhere on it, like in a video or anything. But I realized, which isn't something I asked for, God gave me this mandate. And my team would tell you that. Sometimes they'll put me in a picture of a video and I'll go, no, I don't want to get that off. Give me some wild-eyed little person on the fairgrounds with a flag wrapped around their head, like Amy. Put them in there. But that's how you lead away from you. That's how you should lead and live in the Christian life, is to constantly say, not unto us, O Lord, but unto you. It's a heart posture. Even when Jesus did amazing things, he said, it's my father doing the work. Well, how many of you know Jesus was very involved? Nothing happens outside of the Lord's administration. He's the second person of the Godhead. And within Trinitarian culture, there is nothing that takes place without Jesus administrating it. Nothing. In everything the Lord does, he does as Trinity. Because he is Trinity. He is three in one. But nonetheless, you see, the culture of the heart of the Trinity, which should be our own culture, which is to take attention away from the individual and point to the other. And that's what it looks like to prefer somebody else above yourself. Amen? So here you see Pharaoh going, you know what? I just lost my firstborn. I've just been judged by God. But I am a slave to my own ambition. And I want to say this to you guys. And I want you students to hear me as well. Untethered ambition is a death sentence. Unyielded, untethered, untethered. This isn't a word, but we'll make it up. Michelle will approve it. Unlorded ambition is a death sentence. And it will shroud itself in ministry endeavor. The devil is the master at using good things to send people to hell. And by the way, it's not good. Only God is good, Jesus said. If it's not birthed of God, possessed by God, unto God, and about God, it is not good. I got quiet there. Y'all got quiet. I didn't get quiet. Y'all got quiet. This can shroud itself in church planting. This can shroud itself in a kingdom business initiative. That you craft up, and that God is not speaking, and you're a little shady behind the scenes, and you come into church wanting to make more business contacts. Oh, yeah. Oh, man, I'm going to throw the meekness teaching out of the way and just slap some people around this morning in meekness. But that stuff happens. People come to churches to hand out business cards. People attend conferences to actually network. Good luck at our events, because everybody's on the floor. God sees through all that. Then it's the pastor's job to go, you're not doing that here. I would personally thank my pastor for saying, you can't do that stuff here. And that's not control. That's called protection. Yeah, of course you protect the sheep, but you're protecting the glory. And the glory talks. The glory speaks. The glory speaks loudly. It's one thing to have a gathering where gifts operate. But if Jesus fills a room, when you gather, that speaks. That speaks. It speaks more loudly than any discussion. That speaks. And so that is the Christian heart. The Christian heart is to turn away from ourselves, away from our own glory, and give it to the Lord Jesus. But ambition can destroy that. The Christian generates nothing. There are really no founders of churches. Christ, the foundation. Let there be no other foundation laid, but Jesus Christ. Let no man lay another foundation. Christ Jesus is the founder of a true church. Is this making sense to you? You can do this with church planting. You can do this with kingdom business. Oh my God, can you do this on social media? It amazes me. You have people who've read a few books, have no theological training whatsoever, don't have a people that God has entrusted them to. I mean, an actual flock that God goes, here's a flock, and they're not covered by a company of fathers and mothers. So the whole thing is out of bound and out of balance from a kingdom perspective. It is absolutely not Christian leadership. You need all of those to be deemed as a trusted Christian leader. You need to be under authority. You need to be trusted with a people. Remember what happened to Peter when the Lord restored him? He said, feed my sheep. And feeding my sheep looks much different than debating online. So what you do is you have self-established, self-commissioned, self-anointed people who have a following. Well, what's the root of that? Untethered ambition. The lack of the revelation of the cross. Have you ever wondered? Think about this for a moment. Have you ever wondered why the Bible says, do not rebuke an elder? That means you're going to have the opportunity. Hold on. And it means that the opportunity may be technically correct in that the elder may have messed up, but the scripture says, don't rebuke an elder. It doesn't mean you can't have a conversation, but it's clear. Do not rebuke an elder, right? Why? It's because there's something more holy than being right. There's something higher. It's called bleeding in the heart, meekness, softness. A supple heart. I kind of wish social media didn't even exist. I mean, we use it for the sake of the gospel, but I kind of wish people couldn't hide behind it. You know what I mean? Kind of wish you couldn't text people. Because when I grew up, like Amy, class of 96, right here. She's actually class of 99, but I just do that to bother her. Every day at school, class of 96, Amy, she goes, I'm not that old. When I grew up, you actually talked to people and honor was just so prevalent in our culture. And that's a beautiful thing. But I'm telling you right now, this ambition that Pharaoh operated in is a temptation for everyone today. To put your hand to what God is not calling you to put your hand to, it'll hurt you. Don't do it. Do you understand? See, that's where Absalom lives. Absalom lives in untethered ambition. And he gathers people around him who have the same heart. And it becomes that which they unite around. What was Absalom's ultimate goal? I want the throne. What was David's? I didn't ask for the throne. Come get it if you want. I'm leaving. And if God gave me the throne, we'll see who's anointed. You see the difference in the heart? It doesn't make David perfect. It just means that David has a true heart. Having a true heart doesn't mean you'll be sinless. It just means God will restore you. So here we see Pharaoh chasing the children of Israel through the Red Sea because of his hatred, his pride, his untethered ambition, his vengeance. You would think if you watched God plunder a nation through 10... I mean, Egypt was done. They had no water source. By the end of it, they were so freaked out. Imagine this. They were so freaked out by the Israelites that they just gave them all their money. Y'all are still praying, the wealth of the wicked is laid up. It could happen just like that. Who knows? That actually happened in Israel where such a fear of God came upon Egypt that the Egyptians just said, take our money, get out of here. And Pharaoh loses his firstborn because Pharaoh wouldn't give away God's firstborn Israel to go worship. Whatsoever you sow, that shall you reap. So if you hold on, by the way, to that which is first in any area of life, God will take it, your money included. The worst thing you can do in this hour is be cheap with God. Before I got here, I got dressed. I slept in for a little bit and did my vocal warm-ups. Thank you for letting me come a little late. And I brought my tithe, put it in my pocket. I'm not exempt from God's word. I said, I'm not exempt from God's word. It's the principle of firsts. And so Pharaoh will not release God's firstborn. And the Lord says, I got something for you at the end of this whole thing. I'm going to put a period on the end of this plague sentence, and I'm taking yours. If you won't let my firstborn go, I will redeem them by taking yours. Remember, that's the Levitical code. That animal is either given over or redeemed, right? That's what happens, and that's what God does. So they go through the Red Sea. They're plundered and destroyed. They come to the other side, and the first thing the Lord does in the book of Exodus is introduce himself to the children of Israel as Jehovah, your healer, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Rapha. And that's the first revelation after they are baptized in water and in the cloud, which speaks of the baptism of the spirit. The next revelation is, I'm the Lord who heals you. Not the Lord who healed you. That's true. But I'm the Lord who heals you. I need you to know me as healer. Isn't that wonderful? All right. So all that to say, that's the introduction for Matthew 5, in that the Lord Jesus is saying, I am greater than Moses. I'm the one drawn from water. His name means the one drawn from water, and now I'm about to institute a higher law, the law of the kingdom, and I am the king teaching the law. Thank you, Jesus. All right. Now let's look at verse 5. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. We touched on this last week. I want you to think about this for a moment. Why do the meek inherit the earth? Think about that. I want you to think about the magnitude of this phrase, inherit the earth, and then ask yourself this question. Why do the meek and the meek alone possess that promise? Because it's only for them. I guess another question could be said like this. Why don't the brave inherit the earth? Why don't the best preachers inherit the earth? We're going to be really shocked in the age to come as to who has authority and who doesn't. I mean, there could be preachers being led by janitors in the age to come. Actually, there will be. There will be. There will be founders or should say planters of churches and movements who will be led by no names in the age to come. Why is meekness the thing? Well, what does the word mean? Pliable, supple, lowly, humble, teachable. It's because God can only entrust the soft hearted with great things. And he defines what a great thing is. If they inherit the earth, it means they rule and reign with Jesus. And this reveals the kind of leader that Jesus wants to lead alongside him, the soft hearted, the correctable, the teachable, the gentle. I have discovered over the years that when I'm in my deepest pain in the natural, I step into the most heavy glory when I minister. I was actually just texting my father-in-law that a while ago. About this beautiful mystery. What is it about taking a broken heart, not lying about it and not covering it up in his presence, right? What's that song? We sing that one verse. We welcome you with praise. Nothing here is hidden to you. Our hearts are open. It amazes me that the Lord can look at David and say, he's a man after my own heart. Let's think of David's stat sheet for a moment. What a horrible friend of Uriah. Slightly, that's an understatement. Takes his wife, right? Gets her pregnant, stays home when he should have been fighting. And because he's out of his calling, listen to me right now. Don't you let a single voice pull you out of your assignment. I don't care if it's wrapped in care, gentleness, I love you, and shrouded criticism that sounds gentle and kind. You listen to me right now. The devil can uproot you from your assignment with this sweetest tone. Don't you do it. Do you think Peter screamed at Jesus when he said, we will not let you go to the cross? Do you think it was Peter's tone that caused Jesus to call him Satan? No, Jesus will rebuke you if you say something nicely. If it's off, he will rebuke it. Divisive people come with a beautiful tone. And even with tears running down their cheeks. And a supposed care for you. I don't care if a lady offers me a million dollars and tells me she's there for me. She could be old, she could have a great bun, she could look like Mrs. Pentecost. I'm not joking. If God told me to be at Jesus' image and lead this house, I don't care if an angel said you should get up and go. I'm calling it the devil. Are you tracking with me? Where the rubber really hits the road is how teachable somebody is. Not how sweet they sound. How yielded to the word is someone. So David takes a day off. He's out of the will of God. He takes a season of fighting off. And that's not to say we shouldn't go away and rest. This is not that teaching. It's just to say David isn't where he was supposed to be. And the devil comes with a temptation. So much of our walk with Jesus depends on hearing his voice and being in the right place at the right time. David's not at the right place at the right time. He sees Bathsheba bathing. That's what opened the door to sexual sin. It wasn't that he got up and just said, I'm going to go sleep with her today. It's he had habitually been out of the will of God. It was the season, the scripture says, where kings were at war, and David wasn't at war. He was home relaxing. He steals his wife, gets her pregnant, calls Uriah back, gets him drunk. Uriah's more acting more righteously than the king. Won't go sleep with his wife because his men are out to war. That's called loyalty. I said that's called loyalty. What David did was disloyal. See what David, the reason that was disloyal is because David took what God gave him and used it to damage a life. He took what wasn't his. He took favor that wasn't his. To be honest with you, David owed the Lord and Samuel. Samuel paid a price to be trusted with the word of the Lord and to carry the oil. David took that and misappropriated it. Used his authority to bring pain. That's called disloyalty. And bloodshed never left his house because of it. That's the Bible. I said that's the Bible. He takes Uriah and Uriah shows a higher caliber of character than his own king. Yet Uriah refuses to rebuke the king. There's something better than rebuking your elders. Uriah goes. David comes up with this horrible scheme. He tells the company when the fighting gets tough, pull back. And that's what they do. They don't run a spear through Uriah. They just back off of him when the battle heats up. Don't ever be that kind of friend. When the battle heats up in somebody's life, that's where you come running in. Now, if it's unhealthy, if they're not following the word, if they're refusing to listen, then you need to back off. But true friends don't leave others. I've heard people say, what would you do if one of your team members sinned? I'm like, well, they do every day. Number one. But number two, if they had a major breakdown or failure, as long as they're teachable, we are running in and pulling them into this Holy Spirit hospital and opening the plethora of resources we have to see a fallen friend be restored. That's what the church does. That's what the church does. Uriah dies. David takes Bathsheba. The Lord restores the whole situation, which only he can do. Solomon comes forth from that line. The Davidic line goes on because of his promise to David's dynasty regarding the Messiah to come. The heart of David is still seen as a heart that's after God. Why? Why? Because of his ability to repent and his motive. David never asked to be king. David never asked to be king. He asked to know the Lord. He never said, take not thy kingdom from me. He said, take not thy Holy Spirit from me. That was David's heart. Do you see? That's a Davidic heart. That's a meek heart. And when Nathan comes in and with the word of the Lord rebukes David for what he did, David reacts completely opposite of Saul when Saul is exposed by Samuel. Listen to what happens. Saul is not content with being king. He also wants to be priest. That too is satanic. That's what happened in Korah's clan. With Korah, Moses finally had to say, wait, isn't it enough that you're part of this tribe, that the Lord is your inheritance? Now you want the priesthood? You want our job? You want Aaron's job? It's just proof that you don't drink of the Lord in private. If you're coveting something spiritually, like for instance, think about this. If I see oil on Jo and that oil thickens on her and that's on her for a few weeks, I have to honor that as a leader. If I see the spirit of prayer fall on Mary and something fresh is happening in her, I'm going to honor that. If there's a fresh anointing on Ryan or Amy to preach the gospel, I'm going to honor that. And I have to honor that whether that upsets others or not. Does that make sense? What most leaders do is they go, if I honor that, they're going to get mad. You have to die to that. What we actually need to be is a people who are content so that we don't act like children. And the contentment doesn't come through a decision. Contentment comes through spending time with Jesus. No, really. There have been times, let's just say, on the worship team where certain people had to take a break. They felt it was time, we felt it was time, they took a little break. And they stayed with the call of God and stayed with their family, with their people because of contentment. Doesn't mean you're not tested in the process. But if somebody's stepping into a moment of favor where God uses them publicly, upsets us, that's a revelation to us about us. Huh? So when the Bible says, were you not content, the Lord's your inheritance, how does that apply to today? Can we not all walk into the house of God and receive the same Jesus as everyone else? Listen, we don't come to church to be used by God. He will use you, but that's not why you come in. Church is not the place where you get launched. Now, if you come in with the right heart, He will eventually blow your mind with favor and use you. But that's not the reason you walk in. You walk in to worship the Lord, to receive the word, to receive the body and blood of Jesus, to be there for the Lord and minister to His heart and feelings. This is a high honor. So this is the difference here. So David gets caught. Nathan rebukes him. He says, restore me in the eyes of the Lord. Saul gets caught by Samuel because Saul now wants to offer the sacrifice rather than being conquering king. He tried to take Samuel's job through insecurity. And insecurity comes from the lack of secrecy, the life of secrecy, and the lack of abiding. So he steps into an office that's not his. Samuel rebukes him. He reaches out to Samuel, tears Samuel's robe, and Samuel gives him a word. Now the kingdom will be torn from you. Why? And I should say, what was Saul's response? Restore me in the eyes of the people. David said, restore me in the eyes of the Lord. Saul says, restore me in the eyes of the people. One is meek. One is filled with self. At the end of the day, God knows you. And your trusted family and church knows you. This is where you find strength to trust yourself to the Lord. You don't need to go on a campaign making yourself look a certain way. Just trust yourself to the Lord. And trust yourself to the Lord. As long as the Lord is good with you and those in authority are good with you, be at rest. Don't be that insecure. That's not meekness. Amen? So why do the meek inherit the earth? Okay, write this down. God is looking for tender hearts to steward mighty things. And here's why. God knows everyone messes up. That's a given. Nobody here bats a thousand in the assignment. We always say David just nailed it in his assignment with Saul. He did cut his robe once. We can't say David nailed it in every area of life every day. No. In fact, quite the opposite. But what he had was gentleness, a soft heart. And a soft heart says something like this, who am I? And who is my father's house? A meek heart is shocked when they inherit the earth. A hard heart is convinced that they deserve it. I got on the plane yesterday, got a text from my father-in-law. He said, I'm so proud of you. So proud of the team to see how the Lord moved in the Northwest. And I was sending him a text back. I said, it's the Lord who's doing it. And when I said that, I just started weeping. I think the lady next to me was like, are you okay, sweetie? And I'm sending a text crying because when it's a revelation to you that God is doing it, when it actually is real in your heart, not just empty words, when it's a revelation that you're doing it, Lord, you realize you've been invited into something that you yourself wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole. I think three weeks ago, I was standing right about there. The team was worshiping. I think Miss Kathy was leading. Was that two weeks ago? That was extraterrestrial, by the way, when she led from the keys and then the mic and then started singing. That was wild. That was like watching Michael Jordan. I think it was that week or right before it, and I heard the Lord right over here. I heard him say, don't you touch this. And my heart set back. I added a little Michaelism in there. I go, Lord, I won't touch it with a 10-foot pole. We need to be convinced it's the Lord's doing, not just here, in anything He invites us into. It's the Lord's doing. I'm going to just share a little more with you, then we're going to receive communion. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. That word blessed there is actually connected to the presence of God. It's connected to, yes, the favor of God, the joy of the Lord. Yes, but all of that is wrapped up in this capsule of the presence of God. Does that make sense to you? Now, if I'm not meek or not meek enough, what can I do? This is a big deal. How many of you know that's a big deal to inherit the earth? How do I gain a meekness? And all of us need to gain it. How do I grow in meekness, I should say? Take your Bible to Psalm 105. I want you to look at verse 16. The Bible, speaking of Joseph here, says, When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters, or like, you know, iron on the feet. His neck was put in a collar of iron. Think of Joseph's testing. Listen to this. Until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him, Joseph. I want to read you another translation. This time, I'm going to read it out of the New Living. Is this helping anyone this morning? I'm going to read verses 18 and 19 right now in the New Living. I don't often read from this translation, but I think this has beautiful clarity. They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar. Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph's character. All right. This is how it works economically in God. I'm not talking about money. I'm talking about the economy of God, the way he does it, the order he does it in. Listen carefully. Don't miss this. I feel the anointing right now. God sees you in an ash heap. He sees you in brokenness. He sees you in you're dead. We were dead in trespasses. You can't do a whole lot when you're dead. I heard someone say, I don't even know who said this. If they said it, I still honor them. I heard someone say, I just remember this saying when I grew up. The gospel is like a life preserver. You throw it into a storm-tossed sea, and people who are drowning can grab the life preserver. Gosh, I wish I remembered. I'm sure a bunch of people said it. That's really not what the scriptures teach. It makes sense. It makes for a good altar call. But if you're dead, you can't reach out for a life preserver. The gospel is more like you're dead. You're sinking to the bottom. Jesus, the holy and divine lifeguard, jumps off the boat, swims to the depths of your death. You're toast on the ground. Crabs are eating you. He reaches down for you, and then swims you up out of the grave, breathes into you the breath of life for no reason other than he loves you. That's what it looks like to be dead in trespass. He sees something in you you don't see in yourself. He doesn't go, man, I think I can use this guy or girl because they have these natural capabilities. He can do that, but that's really not the biblical narrative. The biblical narrative is Moses is a stutterer. I'm going to make him the greatest preacher on earth. Jacob is a deceiver. I'm going to make him the father of covenant and change his name to Israel, prince. Huh? Yes or no? David isn't even allowed in the house when Jesse presents Samuel with his finest sons. In fact, Jesse's even shocked that Samuel is interested in walking out to the sheepfold to see this dirty little shepherd boy, and God raises him up as the greatest king Israel ever knew. That's the biblical narrative. So God sees something in you you don't see in yourself, and he says, I'm going to touch you and confound the wise by turning your weaknesses into my windows of strength so that nobody will be able to say that anyone did it but God. All right. Once he sees that in you, he's got something to say to you. He's going to talk to you. You get to that burning bush consistently enough. Sooner or later, a voice will come out of it, and he will give you a promise. That promise excites you in the beginning. You're going to go here and do this. Oh, yes. Finally, you figured out about me, Lord, what I've always known about myself. Who prayed for you, Lord, and opened your eyes? We get all excited, and then oftentimes in the excitement he puts up with us, but sometimes mixed with that excitement is a zealousness to start it on our own. And it's in that starting that the Lord reveals to us, hmm, maybe I'm not ready to carry what you just told me I would. And in case you're not convinced of it, because we always think we're more ready than we are, I promise you, in case you're not convinced of it, God goes, let me help you understand it. And Joseph is imprisoned, fettered hands, feet, and neck. Here is this child of God whose father is a full-blown friend of God, and now he's forgotten about in the dungeon, and God calls this the school of the Holy Spirit. Now, here's what happens. The word is released, and now God begins to test the character and forge it. That's the progression. The word is released, but now he's got something to do in you so that his word doesn't crush you. The assignment will crush you if you're not careful. When I'm discouraged, it's always because of one thing, I stop looking at him. Even if it sounds right, I need a rest. We all need rest, don't get me wrong, I'm gonna take a long one this year. But that's not the point. When I discourage myself, I lose courage, and it always comes back to I took my eyes off of Jesus. And God knows I can't take you any further unless I build something in you. If the promise ahead is going to happen, your character development in God must happen. How does this play into our church as a family? That building is a dream from God. It is a promise from God. This is how this word applies to us now. It is a promise from God that the nations will come and find a well of his presence here. That's a promise from God. In the meantime, our character will be developed and tested. How do you grow in meekness? This is what you do. In those seasons, you take challenge, trial, pain, you take it like this. You'll have to understand what I'm saying. By faith, you take your heart and say, Lord, do your work in me, no matter the pain. Do you? I don't want to go around this mountain again. It's not worth forfeiting your word over my life. Do your work in me. And instead of becoming your own leader. You take what the devil meant for harm. And you use it as an opportunity for Jesus to mold you into his image. That's what you do. The devil has no remedy for that. He can't beat that one. What he can beat is your fight. Because he already won if you engage the fight. It's already a mission accomplished. Because our eyes are off of the Lord. Does that make sense? So don't be shocked, especially our staff, our team. Those of you who've been here for a long time, if God is molding you right now, and the potter's hands are strong. They're gentle at times, but they're strong. If God's putting you into the fire, there's a promise ahead. The bill used to say all the time, if you had an anointing that could see every cancer patient healed when you prayed for them, do you have the character to sustain that? Could you be kind to the thousands of people that would come to you? Would you weep when they're weeping? Would you rejoice when they're rejoicing? Are you like Jesus to that degree? If not, God has a process at work. Yield to it. Yield to it. When you do that, the Lord steps in. If you don't do that, you step in. If you step in, God will not step in. 10 years ago, I went through a challenge where someone I loved was going through a rough season, and it was a very volatile exchange from their direction towards me, and it crushed my heart. They were wrong, and Joy Dawson called me, and she said, this is your test. She said, you can dodge a spear, and what most do is they dodge a spear, pull it out of the wall, and throw it back. She said, why don't you dodge a spear and run into the caves of prayer like David did? She said, the day will come where God will entrust you with the Word over your life. This is your test to get there. Does this make sense? Is this good? Let's pray. Would you help me, Joel? Holy Spirit. Come on, let's say this out loud. Holy Spirit, make us meek. Do in us whatever you need to do. Make us meek. Make us kind, lowly, soft-hearted, gentle, pure at heart. We want to be found faithful in the age to come, and so help us live for that day now. Lord, we don't really know what we're praying for, but we ask you, have mercy on us. Teach us along the way, and be patient with us. Make us meek, no matter the price. You have destined us, say this, you have destined us to be conformed into the image of the Holy Son of God, Jesus. Our hands are lifted. Our hearts are open. Make us like Jesus, Heavenly Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.