Can God Trust You - Tim Timberlake

Can God trust you with influence, resources, opportunities, and spiritual gifts?

In this powerful message from Acts 8, we examine the story of Simon the Sorcerer and discover the difference between pursuing God's power and pursuing God's presence. Through Simon's desire to purchase what only God can give, we are challenged to examine our motives, surrender our entitlement, and pursue genuine intimacy with Jesus.

Transcript

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Hey, I'm Tim Timmerlake, and I want to thank you so much for listening to the Celebration Church podcast. I hope this message encouraged you, strengthened your faith, and gave you something you can carry into your week. If you'd like to stay connected, I encourage you to join us live every Sunday at 9 a.m. or eleven A.M. on YouTube. We would love to have you there. And if you're ever in the Jacksonville, Florida area, come see us in person. We have a seat saved for you. Thanks again for being with us. We're so grateful for you. And see you next time. Acts chapter 8, verse 19, we see Simon telling Peter and John, give me this power also. So that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive of the Holy Spirit. I want you to notice the language that Simon uses. He says, give me instead of make me. We live in a society and a culture that demands things be given to us. And our prayers sound like a bunch of give me's, give me's, give me's instead of God make me. God mold me. God shape me. And for some of us, God shake me. I want you to notice Simon does not ask for the Holy Spirit. He asks for what the Holy Spirit has. He's more consumed with having ability than he is with having intimacy. He sees the move of God, but instead of desiring God's presence, he desires God's platform. And some of us are there today. We don't desire intimacy with God. We don't desire God's presence. We desire what God produces. We desire the platforms that God has planned for his people. We desire the influence that comes as the byproduct of us making the sacrifice. And so often we want the fruit without setting roots. And Simon, he sees something that intrigues him. He sees power that intrigues him. He sees influence that intrigues him, but he he does not make the necessary sacrifice, nor is he submitted or surrendered to receive these gifts. And so he starts to manufacture a plan to get what only God can give. He wants manifestation without the master. A lot of us want manifestation. We even say it. I manifested that. I thought it and it happened. I manifested that. And you can't manifest anything without the master except for a demon. If you're manifesting stuff without the master, it is a prophecy that it will not be in your future. And Simon is trying to manipulate, trying to manufacture, trying to barter and buy what only the Holy Spirit can give. And in the ancient world, magicians and sorcerers often purchase secret formulas and spiritual knowledge. And Simon treats the Holy Spirit like another mystical technique to acquire. And the language that he uses is the language of a businessman and not a son. I want you to think about your own relationship with Jesus for a second. Do you talk to him like a businessman? Or a businesswoman? A boss lady? Or do you talk to him like a son and a daughter? Because there's a difference between wanting what's in his hand and desiring what's in his heart. Simon did not want the Holy Spirit. He wanted what the Holy Spirit could produce. Because he associated the Holy Spirit with power, and he thought to himself, if I'm have power, I'm going to have influence. And if I have influence, I'm going to have power. And with more power, I'm going to get more influence. And with more influence, I get more power. And some of us think the same exact way. And we don't want to be used by God. We want to use God for his power so that we could get influence, and that influence would bring us more power. But what we fail to realize is any spirit we try to use is a spirit of the devil. Point number one is this. Some people don't want Jesus to be Lord, they want him to be useful. Simon wanted Jesus to be useful. He wanted to use Jesus for his agenda, for his plan, for his calendar and scheduled events. He wanted to use the power of Jesus Christ for the things that he desired in his mind to utilize his power for, but what he did not understand is that you cannot buy the power of the Holy Spirit. People who want God's power more than God's presence eventually turn ministry into merchandise. We have all the cliches. We have all the apparel. We have the cliches on the apparel. Jesus saves, Jesus is Lord, and you wear it, but you don't live it. And at some point, I'm probably going to say something that offends you. And I don't care. Because everything I'm going to tell you today, you can find it in the Word of God. And if you're offended by the Word of God, good, that means you're changing. And you can call it ministry while secretly building your own kingdom if you don't desire your intimacy with Jesus. When influence becomes your goal, listen to me, look at me for a second. When influence becomes your goal, you lay intimacy on the altar and sacrifice it. Jesus desires intimacy with you before he gives influence to you. The only reason he desires for you to have any kind of influence in this life is so that you could turn people towards him and people be spared because they see Jesus in you and they hear Jesus through you and they see the life that you live that is a reflection and a model of the life that they have heard that Jesus has lived. But if you utilize influence for your selfish gain, you are leading people away from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and he will have no part in it. So here we see Simon desiring power, desiring influence, desiring to have the power of the Holy Spirit without the presence of the Holy Spirit. And oftentimes people seek anointing because they love attention more than they love obedience. The reason we love attention is because we are entitled. Oh yeah, we entitled. You want to know how I know we entitled? Because we pick and choose when we go to work. We pick and choose when we get in the word. We pick and choose when we pray. We pick and choose when we go to church and how long we go actually stay this Sunday. So how do you know that? Because I see 30% of y'all get up and leave every Sunday early when we say, okay, get ready to receive offering. It's like God's voice turns off. Your car starts before you get out there. You grab your kids from Sea Kids and you go so that you could avoid traffic. But you fail to realize there's gonna be traffic in heaven. Do you not think you go be in line behind somebody else? And I would hate for you to get to the front. And there's a line of people behind you, and you up there with your Sunday's best on, thinking with your good self, you go get in. And he stopped you at the gate. Because everybody, everybody is going to have to account for the decisions they made here. And if you don't honor God with your time here, do you think God is going to honor you with his time there? And we we try to manipulate our relationship with Jesus Christ and we try to pay him off. God, I give this to you if you give this to me. God, I'll treat this for this. And we are more like Simon than we realize. You may no longer practice witchcraft and sorcery, but you practice manipulation on a daily basis. And manipulation is one of the strongest forms of witchcraft. See, some of y'all think abracadabra is the strongest form of witchcraft. No, no, let me tell you what some of the strongest forms of witchcraft is. Oh, really? No, no, I ain't gonna tell nobody. You got my word. I promise to God. I ain't gonna say nothing to nobody. Alright, I'll talk to you later. Man, let me tell you what I just found out. Woo! Bruh. Bruh. A girl, let me tell you what just happened. You don't need a wand. You don't need a sorcery book for the enemy to have a hole of your tongue. And we look down on other people because their sin is visible. And we gossip and think we okay. More like Simon than you realize. Some people don't want Jesus to be Lord. They want him to be useful. I want you to see this because Simon believed. Simon was baptized. Simon followed. Simon watched miracles. Simon followed the apostles. Simon was around and in proximity of the power and the presence of God, and he still chose to manipulate what he saw for personal gain, which teaches us a valuable lesson. You can be in the same room and still be distant from God. You can hear the same word and still try to manipulate it and change it for your personal gain. You could hear a message like this, like the one you're hearing right now, and think to yourself, man, I hope the person sitting beside me listening to this message right here. They need this word. No, no, you need this word. You need this word. Because we are entitled. Entitlement says, I deserve access. Intimacy says, I'm grateful for grace. When you know you can't change you, how many ever tried to change yourself? Just you tried. I mean, you tried your hardest. You really tried. Oh, today I'm gonna do better than I did yesterday. And five minutes later, you're doing what you did yesterday. Y'all know I'm telling you the truth, and I ain't the only one. So you can't change you. You need a savior to save you, even if it means you are saved from yourself. Because you oftentimes are your greatest enemy. You oftentimes are your greatest threat. You oftentimes are the closed door to the open door God desires for you to walk through. It is you, not the enemy. Because oftentimes you only think about you and no one else. Think about this for a second. When you pray, you're thinking about you while you're praying. It's quiet, but it's okay. I preach to myself. When you worship and you're thinking about how you look while you worship. When you cry and you're thinking about you crying while you cry. Y'all know I'm telling you the truth. And instead of thinking about him, you are stuck thinking about you because we are entitled people. Entitlement wants what's in God's hand. Intimacy wants what's in God's heart. Simon wanted what God could do. The apostles wanted God Himself. People who only want God's power will eventually grow bored with God's presence. That's why we can be in an environment like this and not lift our hands and worship because we have made it about us instead of about Him. Entitlement seeks influence, intimacy seeks transformation. Simon's request was public, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit. He was thinking about what people would see. Jesus is concerned about what you are becoming. Entitlement asked the question, how can this make me look? Intimacy asked the question, how can this make me holy? Entitlement wants position without process. Intimacy embraces process before promotion. Peter and John had walked with Jesus, failed, repented, and been formed. Simon wanted in immediately before any transformation took place. And he walked in entitlement. Entitlement believes gifts are earned. Intimacy knows gifts are received. Simon, he was gifted. We know that he was gifted because in prior verses it tells us he had the entire city of Samaria in his hand. People were amazed by his gifting. People were wooed by his gifting. People were awed by his gifting, which lets us know a valuable lesson. Just because a pastor and a preacher can woo and awe does not mean that they are anointed. It just simply means that they are gifted. And I will go on record to say most of the people you enjoy listening to have no oil. Only a gift. And you sit here worried about how you feel. Oh, that made me feel good. Woo, I feel the hair rays on the back of my neck. You ain't been delivered from nothing. As a matter of fact, the demons that they enjoy playing with are now on you. Because anything that comes across this podium and pulpit is projected onto the people that listen. And you wonder why you listen to certain people and you have lust. And you wonder why you listen to certain people and you feel greed rise up. And you wonder why you listen to certain songs and all of a sudden you're thinking about that person you ain't thought about in 13 years, because whatever comes across that podium and pulpit and those speakers, it carries a spirit. And if it is not the Holy Spirit, you're opening yourself up to be manipulated, to be torn, to be divided in your thinking. And the word of God says that a house divided cannot stand. You cannot purchase what only surrender can produce. Entitlement focuses on external ministry. Intimacy, it focuses on internal purity. If the desire of your heart is not to be pure in private and in public, then there should be no desire to be used moderally by God. Acts chapter 8, verse 20 says, But Peter said to him, May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money. He did not say, It's okay. Your sin is okay, it's not that bad. He does not give him soft language. He does not stroke his ego. He does not provide an environment of entertainment to get him comfortable enough to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. He does not use soft language, he does not use gradual correction. Peter understands something happening that is very dangerous, and it is this anything that can be purchased can be controlled, and grace can never be controlled. And although salvation is free, it cost Jesus everything. Therefore, it can never be for sale. And this is why it is dangerous to listen to people that make you promises of prophecy if you give them a certain amount. I've heard people say, I'm not gonna preach and I'm not gonna prophesy until you lay an offering at my feet. Demonic. A whole demon. A whole one. Back in the day, I was calling them hotlines. $77 for holy oil. You give your best offering. I'm gonna sign a handkerchief and send it to you. Y'all sitting here putting these handkerchiefs on, wondering why you feel worse. Those people ain't connected to the Holy Spirit, they're connected to the spirit of greed. You dousing that water on you, skin breaking out, you're getting rashes, itching, ashy. Because it costs them nothing. But it's costing you something. Because we're not discerning as followers of Jesus. We have to be discerning in order to see and hear and receive what it is that Jesus has for us. Point number two is this you cannot impress God with sacrifices he gave you the strength to make. The moment you think God owes you, because of what you've given him, you've stopped worshiping and started negotiating. Religion says, look at what I've done. Grace says, look at what he did for me. Religion says, look at how well I can sing, look at how well I can shout, look at how much money I have given to the church. And intimacy says, Thank you, God, for all you've entrusted to me. Manipulation says, I can buy my Way into heaven. Intimacy says, Lord, if it had not been for your grace and your mercy, I would be bound for Hill. But your grace and your mercy cut me off. And rerouted my life and rerouted my plans and rerouted my destiny. And so now I have a life worth living. You cannot impress God with sacrifices He gave you the strength to make. And some of you really think that when you're worshiping, you look good while you worship. Who cares? You know what the purpose of worship is? Is that you die. The purpose of worship means that you have created an altar to make sacrifice. And when you leave that altar, you will leave differently than how you approached it. So every single week, this altar should be flooded with people making significant sacrifices because they understood this week I was alive too much. Y'all too quiet. This week I was alive too much. I did too much. I was outside too much. I gave people too much of my mind. I was alive too much. I was not dead enough this week. Therefore, I need to worship, to make sacrifice for the things that I have not yet killed and the things that the Holy Spirit has not removed out of me because I have not laid it at his feet. We come in and we hold the back of the seat like the seat is gonna move. Instead of dropping to our knees and saying, God, without you, I'm nothing. God, without you, my life is pointless. Without your presence, what am I? Moses said it like this: God, you could give us the promised land, but if your presence is not there, I don't desire to be there. And that has to be your heart's cry. That has to be your desire, that has to be your prayer. That if God's presence does not go with you, you ain't going. If God does not move, you're not moving. If God does not speak, you're not speaking. If God does not touch your body, then your body is not going to recover it. And if it is not Him, then it will not happen. God is not moved by your resume. He is moved by your repentance. The reality for some of you is that you're trying to bribe heaven with earth's currency. Because you got a little bit of money, you think to yourself, I can live however I want to, and I can give God on Sundays. And God understands. You can have the bag and not have repentance and go to hell with your bag. So to the big tippers, let me talk to you for a second. You can't purchase your way into heaven. Obedience is better than sacrifice. So whatever God tells you to give, you give that. Nothing more, nothing less. For those that leave early during offering times, let me talk to you too because you know where your heart is. And you can't be hearing from God. You can't be following the Holy Spirit because He would never tell you to leave His presence abruptly before He gets finished talking to you. And so I want to challenge you today. When your flesh tells you to get up, let's sleep early, you crucify that flesh. You tell your flesh, we need this. You remind your flesh that your flesh is not your God. Your spirit is led and following the spirit of God. You tell your flesh to shut up and sit down. We can wait five more minutes for brunch. I know that's a trend. The only people that clap are the people that stay. Now somebody lying because all y'all don't be staying. But you know the difference between a consumer and a contributor? A contributor understands intimacy. A consumer understands manipulation. And so they'll stay as long as they need to to get what they think they need. And then they'll grab this stuff and they'll leave. A contributor understands beyond what I need, what do you need from me, Lord? Beyond my money, do you need something else from me? Do you need my time? Do you need my ideas? Do you need my relationships? Whatever it is that you have need of, I will stay until I hear from you so that you can speak to me and require of me what it is that your hearts desire. But we don't even hear from God because we're so much in a rush to get to where we want to be, so that our flesh can be satisfied and fulfilled and all these different things so that we could feel like we are happy, when in fact, God don't care if you're happy if you are missing joy. Because when you're missing joy, it's an indication that you have not been in his presence, because the word of God clearly says, in his presence, there is fullness of joy and pleasures at his right hand forevermore, which teaches us a valuable lesson. All that I need is found in his presence, but we don't even know that because we rush God. Acts chapter 8, verse 21 says, You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Peter does not attack Simon's talent. Peter does not attack Simon's issues. Peter addresses his heart. The issue wasn't just what he said, the issue is why he said it. The issue wasn't how he asked, the issue is why he asked it in the first place. Peter does not address Simon's talent. He addresses Simon's motive and he utilizes this language, part nor lot, which was language connected to inheritance and participation amongst God's people. And Peter is essentially telling Simon, you are physically present, but you are spiritually disconnected. That's where some of us are today. We are here in this room today, and we're hearing the word of God, but our mind is somewhere else. We were leaning into this moment online via celebration everywhere, but we got so many different things going on in our life right now that we're not really where our feet are. And although our bodies are here and we're hearing the word of God, our minds are thinking about what happened last week and the week before then, and what's going to happen the week after next, and all these different things, and you fail to realize when you think about yesterday, you're thinking about yesterday right now, and when you think about tomorrow, you're thinking about tomorrow right now. So why not be where your feet are planted and enjoy the process of what God is allowing you to walk through? The word of God says, Yedo, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil. You won't stay where you are as long as the good shepherd is leading you. But if he is not leading you, you will stay stuck longer than you intended to, and you will pay more than you have to pay. What Peter's telling Simon. You're physically present, but you're spiritually disconnected. Point number three is this. A gifted person without surrender can mistake effectiveness for intimacy. A gifted person without surrender can mistake effectiveness for intimacy. Maybe it is possible that you are not getting the things that you've been praying for because you're praying for the wrong things. Instead of praying for a new car, just look at me for a second. Instead of praying for the big body bins, why don't you why don't you pray, God, form character on the inside of me so that I can steward the car I have now well? We don't want to hear that though, because we want to flex. And we want people to see how God has blessed us. But what if God want to bless you and nobody can see it? What if the thing that God is waiting on you to pray for is more godly character, it's more integrity, it's more intimacy. And so instead of praying for a bigger house, why don't you say, God, can I have joy in the studio apartment I have now? And while you're in the studio apartment, can you lift your hands and say, God, thank you for my studio apartment? Thank you for my couch, thank you for this dresser, thank you for my lamp, thank you for my cylindric, thank you for air conditioning, because there is someone on the street right now praying for a studio apartment and a couch and a dresser and a lamp and a silicon, and they don't got two pennies to run together, but here you are complaining and asking God for more. And the reality is, is you don't have more because God can't trust you. You don't know me like that. How do you know he can't trust me because the word of God says he or she that is fateful over a few things? I will make ruler over much. And so if you're in a season right now where there are no open doors and you have your mind made up, I'm gonna lift my hands and praise God in the hallway until the door opens. And if God doesn't do anything else for me, he's already done enough. And if God doesn't give me a new car, I'm gonna celebrate the car that I have. And if you don't get a car, I'm gonna celebrate the bicycle like I got never. And if you don't got a bicycle, I'm gonna celebrate pushing this skateboard like I'm not in front of me. But I am not gonna be funny in a season when I'm not operating in gratitude and thanksgiving, the fact that I'm here, still breathing, still alive, still wearing or still clothing my right mind. It's enough for me to lift my hands and say, God, you are good and your mercy endures forever. God, you can trust me. Look at your neighbor and ask your neighbor, can God trust you? Can he trust you? Can he trust you? Can he trust you? Can can he trust you to pray for integrity? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can he trust you to pray for more godly character? Some of y'all praying, God, I want a good wife. I just want a good man, God. Just send me a good man. And you've been married 13 years. And you you staring and looking at somebody else's husband, at somebody else's wife, and you praying that God would send you a faithful, good wife, and a faithful and good husband, and you're not good and you're not faithful yourself. No, no, God has attached to you what you deserve at the level of integrity and godly character you've been stewarding your life by. And if you turn your heart over to God and you start believing that God can change and transform you, then He will in fact change and transform who you're married to. But we don't want to hear that. We want to hear, I'm blessed him, I ain't going, bless him, I'm going, I'm blessed. How you doing? I'm highly favored. And guess what? When I tithe today, God goes, give me more personal sinking together, running over. I'm gonna get the new car because I tithe and I give an offering. And girl, let me tell you about what the Lord has done for me because I gave. But what if God doesn't give you more possessions? What if he gives you more integrity? What if he allows you to wake up tomorrow clothing your right mind? Can he trust you with your right mind? Can he trust you with the right relationships? Can he trust you with the air he put in your lungs to give back to him and praise and worship? Can God trust you? Can he trust you? I want you to notice something about this passage. Simon believed. Simon was baptized, Simon was a follower of the apostles. Simon saw miracles, signs, wonders. He saw people receive the Holy Spirit because hands were laid on them, and he tried to manipulate what he saw and use the Holy Spirit instead of be used by the Holy Spirit, which teaches us a valuable lesson. You can be in proximity of the presence of God and still miss the presence of God. You can be in the same room as God moving and still miss God moving. You can see miracles, signs, wonders, and still be angry and envious because they didn't happen for you. As you would if you received what it was that you have been believing God for. See, nobody stands and shouts for that. Because you you you know what you want. And you you think the person beside you don't deserve what it is that you want. But can you thank God if they got what it was that you have been leaving God for? Or would you stop talking to them? Or would you think he did you dirty? God did me wrong. And the reality is, is you didn't receive it because God can't trust you yet. He can't trust that he could give you the things that you desire, and your relationship with him won't fall apart. Gifted person without surrender can mistake effectiveness for intimacy. And God can use your gifts publicly while exposing your motives privately. Aren't you glad that God doesn't expose your mess publicly? Now, for some of us, that there's been some moments in our life where we did not listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and he gave us warning after warning after warning after warning after warning, and you did something stupid and it ended up getting posted on social media because you involved somebody else in it. And I understand that. But for the most part, aren't you glad on this big LED screen behind me, all of your sins aren't broadcasted? Can you imagine that? Every time you sin, it comes across that big screen. Oh, there's Roger again, ladies and gentlemen. Every time you have a thought, it just right across that screen. Aren't you glad that his grace is sufficient for you and it covers you? And the word of God says that when you return and you repent, it washes you white as snow. He wipes the memory clean off of every single spiritual device you stew it so that no one else can go back through those spiritual text messages and see what you wrote to somebody else. That is the goodness of God. And the reality is that crowds can celebrate what God is confronting. Just because people like you, because people they celebrate, they cheer for you, doesn't mean that God supports what you're doing. Just because a church is big does not mean God's presence is there. Just because you're successful does not mean that success has come from God. What we fail to realize is that success, it is a terrible substitute for holiness. Just because God is using you doesn't mean he's finished dealing with you. You hear what I said? Just because God is using you does not mean that God is finished with dealing with you, dealing with your mess, dealing with your sin, dealing with your issues, dealing with the mud that's in your life, that's tracking footprints through your soul. Just because God is using you does not mean that he is finished dealing with you. And as long as you are still alive, as long as you have breath in your lungs, you are a work under construction. Still in progress. No one amongst us is perfect except for Jesus. Many people confuse fruit on the branch with health at the root. You can be in the room and still not be in the right place with God. How do we know this? Simon saw revival, Simon believed, Simon was baptized, Simon followed the apostles, yet Peter says, your heart isn't right. So according to this text, proximity to God is not the same as surrender to God. And Simon was successful. Simon had resources. How do we know he had resources? Because he offered money to buy what only the Holy Spirit can give. So success may fool people, but only surrender can satisfy God. Crowds may applaud your gift, but God will always examine your motives. As for me, I can't speak for you. As for me, you can strip away everything, but as long as I have Jesus, I have more than enough. As long as I have Jesus, I have all that I have need of. As long as I have Jesus, I have everything I need. Just give me Jesus. Just give me Jesus. Sure, the things are nice. But they don't make you the possessions, they're nice, but they don't. Finding you. What you need and who you need is Jesus. If life chooses to deal me a hand that I was not anticipating or expecting, and I have Jesus, I still win. If things don't go the way I planned and had scheduled, as long as I got Jesus, things are going to be just fine. And even if this flesh gives up on me, as long as Jesus is leading me and guiding me, I'll never die. I'll live eternally with him, resting in his presence, experiencing and knowing a joy that this world can never know. And so all that I have need of can be found in Jesus. When you find yourself stressed, you just ask Jesus to come. When you find yourself worried, just remind yourself all I need is Jesus. When you find yourself fearful, just remind yourself all I need is Jesus. When you find yourself anxious, just remind yourself all I need is Jesus. When you find yourself weighed and burdened down by life and life circumstances, remind yourself all I need is Jesus because as long as you have Jesus, everything is going to be all right. Just give me Jesus. Then trust you. When you want his word more than you want the blessings, then God can trust you. When you want the fruit of the Spirit of God more than you want the productivity of what your hands can produce, then God can trust you. When you want his presence more than you want performance, then God can trust you. When you want secret prayer life and not public notoriety, then God can trust you. My prayer is to be known more in private than I ever will be known in public. And then God can trust you. Can God trust you? Can He trust you? Want you to bow your heads, close your eyes. Some of you are listening to me right now and you know you're in a season where God cannot trust you. He's giving you the ability to get wealth. But you're not trustworthy with it. You say, Well, Pastor, why am I not trustworthy with it? Because you don't return a tithe to him. You're not generous, you're not operating in the nature of the person you say you serve. And money has become your God. There's some of you who understand that you are your own master. You've tried to save yourself and you have failed every single time. There is only one that can save you. His name is Jesus. And you say, God, you can trust me, but your motives and your actions say otherwise. Today, if you need to repent and you need his blood to redeem and renew you, I want you to lift both hands right now. Lift them high. I want everybody to repeat this prayer after me. Lord Jesus, come into my heart, cleanse me, wash me white as snow. I repent from my sins, and I acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of grace. So I confess that you and you alone are my Lord, my master, and my savior. And I thank you that with the fullness of my heart, I believe you are resurrected with me on your mind. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. How many of you are glad for his grace and his mercy?