WEBVTT 00:00:04.687 --> 00:00:09.515 Let us turn our Bible to the book the gospel according to Matthew, chapter 5. 00:00:09.515 --> 00:00:15.410 Matthew, chapter 5, we read from verse 1 to 3. 00:00:15.410 --> 00:00:22.053 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain and he sat down. 00:00:22.053 --> 00:00:34.822 His disciples came to him and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:00:34.822 --> 00:00:36.643 Shall we pray, father. 00:00:36.643 --> 00:00:38.506 We thank you that your presence is here. 00:00:38.506 --> 00:00:42.350 We thank you for preserving your word for us. 00:00:42.350 --> 00:00:46.095 Your word is quick, powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. 00:00:46.095 --> 00:00:54.219 Father, we pray that your word will find residence in our heart tonight. 00:00:54.219 --> 00:00:58.557 Help us to receive your word with understanding. 00:00:58.557 --> 00:01:04.819 Lord Jesus, we thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit to be our helper. 00:01:04.819 --> 00:01:07.766 Open our eyes, o Lord, that we may behold wondrous things from your word. 00:01:07.766 --> 00:01:10.397 Bless your name in Jesus' name, amen, amen. 00:01:12.081 --> 00:01:22.043 So in the year 2019, I had a privilege of going to some villages in Ghana, and the assignment was very simple. 00:01:22.043 --> 00:01:32.462 And the assignment was very simple I was supposed to find a village with no church and also a village which lacks clean drinking water. 00:01:32.462 --> 00:02:12.050 So there was one particular village that we went to somewhere in February of 2019, called Song Song, and so this village, since Jesus said it is finished has never heard a gospel before, there's never been a gospel meeting in the village before, and on top of that, they lacked clean drinking water, and so the people had dug a dam, and when it rains it fills up, but during the dry season there's no clean drinking water and they have to walk miles before they can have access to water. 00:02:12.050 --> 00:02:16.447 Now, when we went there during the day, we worked with a team. 00:02:16.447 --> 00:02:18.752 We started drilling for water. 00:02:18.752 --> 00:02:27.493 As a matter of fact, there have been attempts in previous years to drill for water, but they couldn't find any water. 00:02:27.493 --> 00:02:46.054 What they do is that the elders in the community come together and they write to the Muslim community and ask them to help them, and they have Arab funds that they use to build a mosque and try to get water. 00:02:46.054 --> 00:02:50.842 So when we went to the village, there's no electricity, there's no hospital, nothing. 00:02:50.842 --> 00:03:00.527 But they had a very nice mosque and we saw that they tried to build them some borehole, but they couldn't find any water. 00:03:00.740 --> 00:03:15.126 But God being so kind and being so gracious to us, when we started, in the evenings we would meet and we would share the gospel with them and pray for the needs of the people, and during the day we would work on the boho. 00:03:15.126 --> 00:03:23.146 When we started to drill for water, the first attempt there was a gushing of water in abundance. 00:03:23.146 --> 00:03:32.231 So the people were so excited and they were so thankful because they've never seen such abundance of water before. 00:03:32.231 --> 00:03:40.370 By God's grace, in the week that we spent there they were able to get clean drinking water. 00:03:40.370 --> 00:03:46.149 But the best of it is that they had the living water as well. 00:03:46.149 --> 00:03:49.861 The gospel had reached them Before then. 00:03:49.861 --> 00:04:01.635 There were people in the community who had never heard the name of Jesus before, but they heard his name, they got to hear his gospel and they were glad. 00:04:01.635 --> 00:04:18.468 But I saw something in that community In the evenings where we would share the gospel with them, the people, especially the women, would come with water and they said pray over this water for us, because we believe that if we are sick and we drink it, we will be healed. 00:04:18.468 --> 00:04:29.836 We saw that they were very desperate and they had turned their desperation to God, and even though they were poor physically. 00:04:29.836 --> 00:04:39.629 But now I saw that they were getting poor in spirit, and that is what we are going to talk about tonight, what it means to be poor in spirit. 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:42.663 Now, before we delve into it. 00:04:42.663 --> 00:04:51.795 I just want to establish the fact that number one we're going to talk about what the poor in spirit is not Okay. 00:04:51.795 --> 00:04:59.913 So I've asked a number of people since I got to know that I'll be speaking on the subject blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:04:59.913 --> 00:05:01.095 I asked people. 00:05:01.095 --> 00:05:03.800 So what is the poor in spirit? 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:07.271 And I've heard all kinds of explanations. 00:05:07.271 --> 00:05:12.391 And I was with a friend in downtown. 00:05:12.391 --> 00:05:14.764 He said well, these are the points in spirit. 00:05:14.764 --> 00:05:15.867 He pointed at the homeless. 00:05:15.867 --> 00:05:27.531 I said, oh, okay, but as a matter of fact I've been there and I've tried to witness to a homeless person and the person told me young man, if I'm looking for God, I know where to find God. 00:05:27.531 --> 00:05:40.392 They don't want to have anything to do with God and so somebody can be poor physically, but they are not poor in spirit. 00:05:40.392 --> 00:05:47.386 So the first point is the poor in spirit is not about material poverty. 00:05:47.386 --> 00:05:57.706 One person can be physically poor but may not have any desire for God or need for God. 00:05:57.706 --> 00:06:05.403 Likewise, a person may be abundantly blessed, but they still have a need for God. 00:06:06.185 --> 00:06:12.406 And in the Bible I find Job to be a man who was very blessed by God. 00:06:12.406 --> 00:06:15.932 The Bible says he was the richest man in all the East. 00:06:15.932 --> 00:06:20.586 Yet this man had such dependence on God. 00:06:20.586 --> 00:06:24.312 When he was rich, he depended on God. 00:06:24.312 --> 00:06:26.276 When he lost everything. 00:06:26.276 --> 00:06:36.021 He lost all his 10 children in a day and he lost all his resources, all his money, he lost his health, but he was still dependent on God. 00:06:36.021 --> 00:06:44.120 And when you read Job, chapter 23, verse 12, he said I have not gone back from the commandments of his lips. 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:45.502 Behold, I have treasured back from the commandments of his lips. 00:06:45.502 --> 00:06:49.245 Behold, I have treasured his words more than my necessary food. 00:06:49.245 --> 00:06:57.413 And so Job was a man who was very desperate for God and he had the spirit of dependence. 00:06:57.413 --> 00:07:00.057 And that is what the poor in spirit is. 00:07:07.329 --> 00:07:09.658 Number two the poor in spirit is not just being sad or depressed. 00:07:09.658 --> 00:07:21.223 Our feelings or emotional state may not necessarily mean that we are poor in spirit, but if a sad heart turns to God, that can be poor in spirit. 00:07:21.223 --> 00:07:50.225 When you read Isaiah, chapter 57, verse 15, it says that says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in a high and lofty place, but with him, who is of a contrite heart and a humble spirit, to revive the heart of the humble and to revive the spirit of the contrite ones, and so one can be sad. 00:07:50.225 --> 00:08:00.011 But in the sad state or depressed state when we tend to God and we recognize that we need God, in that state it can be poor in spirit. 00:08:00.011 --> 00:08:06.692 But just being sad or depressed doesn't necessarily mean that we are poor in spirit. 00:08:06.692 --> 00:08:13.713 The third thing that I want to mention is that poor in spirit is not a natural trait. 00:08:13.713 --> 00:08:16.565 We are not born with it. 00:08:16.565 --> 00:08:20.610 We don't inherit it from our parents. 00:08:20.610 --> 00:08:30.627 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14 says that the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God and he cannot know them. 00:08:30.627 --> 00:08:32.884 They are foolishness unto him. 00:08:32.884 --> 00:08:44.341 He cannot know them because they are spiritually disincent, and so the poor in spirit is something that the Holy Spirit has to work in us at the new birth. 00:08:44.341 --> 00:08:56.970 When we believe in Jesus Christ and we receive him as our Lord and our personal Savior and we start to walk with him, that is the beginning of being poor in spirit. 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:06.947 Now, from the scripture, we read it says that Jesus, seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain and he sat down. 00:09:06.947 --> 00:09:08.826 His disciples came to him. 00:09:08.826 --> 00:09:19.532 So it wasn't the crowd that came to him on the mountain, it was the disciples, and the message was given on top of the mountain. 00:09:19.532 --> 00:09:29.933 Sometimes the crowd don't make it to the mountain Because there are so many reasons, so many excuses to give not to go up the mountain. 00:09:29.933 --> 00:09:40.975 It takes somebody who is desperate for God and who is hungry for God to make that effort to follow the Lord wherever he goes, whether it's on a mountain or in a valley. 00:09:40.975 --> 00:09:42.903 And so the disciples. 00:09:43.024 --> 00:09:45.350 Disciples are followers of Jesus Christ. 00:09:45.350 --> 00:09:47.746 They are students and learners. 00:09:47.746 --> 00:09:49.466 They had a relationship with Jesus. 00:09:49.466 --> 00:10:02.908 They followed him up on the mountain and the first thing that Jesus, when he looked at the disciples, said to them is blessed are the poor in spirit, for this is the kingdom of heaven. 00:10:02.908 --> 00:10:12.914 Blessed are those who are dependent on God, those who recognize their need for God. 00:10:12.914 --> 00:10:25.034 As a matter of fact, when I read it in my local dialect English is not my first language when I read it in my local dialect, it says blessed are those who know they need God. 00:10:25.034 --> 00:10:26.437 I'm like, really. 00:10:26.437 --> 00:10:31.532 So that is what it means. 00:10:31.532 --> 00:10:38.395 It's talking about the spirit of dependence and recognizing that we need God. 00:10:40.547 --> 00:10:41.852 I want to point some things out. 00:10:41.852 --> 00:10:45.274 Number one what the poor in spirit is. 00:10:45.274 --> 00:10:48.715 I've already said it that the poor in spirit are the children of God. 00:10:48.715 --> 00:10:50.510 They are disciples of God. 00:10:50.510 --> 00:10:57.567 They've been born again, their spirit is regenerated and they have a relationship with the Lord. 00:10:57.567 --> 00:11:12.726 Romans, chapter 8, verse 15 to 16, says for you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry Abba, father. 00:11:12.726 --> 00:11:52.133 It says the Spirit himself bears witness, with our spirit, that we are children of God, and so it is a work that was started by the Holy Spirit at the new birth, and when we come into relationship with Jesus Christ, we become children of God, and as children are dependent on their parents, we begin to cultivate that heart of dependence on God, recognizing that we need him, and it's either God comes through or we don't have any hope, like the people in the village that I talked about. 00:11:52.133 --> 00:12:07.177 There are no hospitals, no school, no electricity, nothing, and so they know that it's either God answers them or they are dead, and so they channel all their attention and all their desire on God. 00:12:07.177 --> 00:12:13.897 Number two the poor in spirit recognize that they are empty without God. 00:12:13.897 --> 00:12:21.245 Poor in spirit recognize that they are empty without God. 00:12:21.245 --> 00:12:25.061 Have you ever felt that without God, you are empty? 00:12:26.985 --> 00:12:30.965 I want to share a story with you about a man I love so much called Jacob. 00:12:30.965 --> 00:12:40.318 Jacob did everything in his own strength and in his own wisdom, but he could not get ahead. 00:12:40.318 --> 00:12:47.787 He used deception and everything, he lied to his dad and took the blessing. 00:12:47.787 --> 00:12:52.032 But he came to a point in his life where he recognized that without God he has come to the end of his life. 00:12:52.032 --> 00:12:57.941 And that was a time where God told him to go back and face Esau. 00:12:57.941 --> 00:13:04.731 I remember Esau had made a covenant that he was going to kill him and he was so afraid. 00:13:04.731 --> 00:13:10.015 Jacob was afraid and he came to a point he let all his possessions go. 00:13:10.015 --> 00:13:15.909 He let his wives and everybody his children go and he was left alone. 00:13:15.909 --> 00:13:24.995 And there was a river called Jabbok, and I looked at the meaning of that river and it means emptying. 00:13:25.917 --> 00:13:38.914 So Jacob came to a place where he had to empty himself and that was when the angel of the Lord encountered him and he wrestled with him and he said unless you bless me, I will not let you go. 00:13:38.914 --> 00:13:42.234 And I thought his father, isaac, had already blessed him. 00:13:42.234 --> 00:13:45.312 So what other blessing is he hungry for? 00:13:45.312 --> 00:13:47.913 What other blessing is he asking for? 00:13:47.913 --> 00:13:50.653 He was asking for the true blessing. 00:13:50.653 --> 00:13:53.272 The angel said what is your name? 00:13:53.272 --> 00:13:54.429 He said I'm Jacob. 00:13:54.429 --> 00:13:58.128 He said well, you shall no longer be called Jacob. 00:13:58.128 --> 00:13:59.451 You are now Israel. 00:13:59.451 --> 00:14:05.909 A praise with God, because you have wrestled with God, you've wrestled with man and you have prevailed. 00:14:05.909 --> 00:14:09.517 And from that day, his life was never the same. 00:14:09.517 --> 00:14:12.408 From that day, he never walked the same way. 00:14:12.408 --> 00:14:19.179 The way he walked changed because the angel touched his body and he changed his ways. 00:14:19.179 --> 00:14:23.735 And when Esau met him, he said no, I'm not seeing Jacob. 00:14:23.735 --> 00:14:25.370 This is not how Jacob walks. 00:14:25.370 --> 00:14:27.471 This is a new person. 00:14:27.471 --> 00:14:30.033 This is a new, completely changed man. 00:14:30.033 --> 00:14:33.734 Even his walk shows this is not Jacob. 00:14:33.734 --> 00:14:34.596 I cannot kill him. 00:14:34.596 --> 00:14:37.653 And we all know the story. 00:14:37.653 --> 00:14:38.950 They reconciled. 00:14:38.950 --> 00:14:42.514 So Jacob recognized that he is empty without God. 00:14:42.514 --> 00:14:45.673 Have we ever felt empty without God? 00:14:45.673 --> 00:14:48.705 Unless God comes in, we are dead. 00:14:48.865 --> 00:15:00.533 I remember when I was in Ghana and I really desired to be with my family, to be with my wife and see my son for the first time, I was in a moment of desperation. 00:15:00.533 --> 00:15:03.013 There was no visa to come to America. 00:15:03.013 --> 00:15:04.532 It's not easy to get to America. 00:15:04.532 --> 00:15:07.008 It's a battle. 00:15:07.008 --> 00:15:11.714 It's a battle and there was no way. 00:15:11.714 --> 00:15:13.591 And my son is growing. 00:15:13.591 --> 00:15:19.344 People are asking me when are you going to see your son, when is your wife coming? 00:15:19.344 --> 00:15:22.320 And my wife was also going through the same thing. 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:24.844 People were asking her when is your husband coming? 00:15:24.844 --> 00:15:26.244 When are you going to Africa? 00:15:26.244 --> 00:15:35.393 It was overwhelming and I recognized that unless God intervenes, I'm stuck. 00:15:37.826 --> 00:15:43.630 And one morning I was just there in prayer waiting on God and a friend of mine, a very good friend of mine. 00:15:43.630 --> 00:15:44.354 He called me. 00:15:44.354 --> 00:15:46.471 He said you know what? 00:15:46.471 --> 00:15:49.129 I'm going to Ghana, I'm going to the US. 00:15:49.129 --> 00:15:52.993 I said, wow, you are going and I'll be with Mark. 00:15:52.993 --> 00:15:55.828 I'm like, wow, so you get to see my son. 00:15:55.828 --> 00:16:01.620 That's great, that's great, that's great. 00:16:01.620 --> 00:16:13.672 As soon as we finished talking, I said God, I'm happy for my friend that he's going to the States and he'll get to see my son, but please, do it for me also. 00:16:13.672 --> 00:16:20.870 And I just was praying and asking God, please, please, do it for me. 00:16:20.870 --> 00:16:37.517 By the grace of God, when my friend came to the States, I was already here and it was a miracle that only God could do. 00:16:40.006 --> 00:16:43.784 Another person that I see was poor in spirit was David. 00:16:43.784 --> 00:16:46.835 I love David so much. 00:16:46.835 --> 00:17:06.942 I named my son David, and David returned to Ziglag and he recognized that wives gone, children gone, the whole village was burned and he was in great distress. 00:17:06.942 --> 00:17:11.893 His men were in distress too and they spoke about stoning him. 00:17:11.893 --> 00:17:17.178 And in the midst of that difficult moment, what did David do? 00:17:17.178 --> 00:17:23.396 The Bible says that David encouraged himself in the Lord, his God. 00:17:23.396 --> 00:17:26.073 He got his strength back in the Lord. 00:17:26.073 --> 00:17:41.255 When all odds were against him, when his own friends were conspiring to get rid of him, he turned to God and he got a strength in the Lord and he said God, shall I pursue them? 00:17:41.255 --> 00:17:44.759 Yeah, of course your family is gone. 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:49.467 Yes, but why is he asking? 00:17:49.467 --> 00:17:57.720 Because he knew that until he depend on God though, he may pursue, but it will come to nothing without God. 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:09.511 So he spent time and quieted himself in the presence of God and asked him Lord, should I pursue them and will you deliver them into my hands? 00:18:09.511 --> 00:18:16.300 God said pursue, and you shall surely overtake and, without fail, recover all. 00:18:16.300 --> 00:18:21.257 And when he got that word from the Lord, he took the step. 00:18:21.257 --> 00:18:22.690 And we all know the story. 00:18:22.690 --> 00:18:25.772 God helped him to recover. 00:18:25.993 --> 00:18:30.674 All the poor in spirit are those who need help from God. 00:18:30.674 --> 00:18:31.666 They go. 00:18:31.666 --> 00:18:32.811 I need your help. 00:18:32.811 --> 00:18:36.270 David said I will bless the Lord at all times. 00:18:36.270 --> 00:18:39.673 His praise will continually be in my mouth. 00:18:39.673 --> 00:18:42.673 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. 00:18:42.673 --> 00:18:45.772 The humble shall hear it and be glad. 00:18:45.772 --> 00:18:48.307 He said O magnify the Lord with me. 00:18:48.307 --> 00:18:51.333 Let us exalt his name together. 00:18:51.333 --> 00:18:55.313 He said I sought the Lord and he heard me, and he delivered me from all my fears. 00:18:55.313 --> 00:18:58.207 He said I sought the Lord and he heard me, and he delivered me from all my fears. 00:18:58.207 --> 00:19:04.307 He said those who seek him, those who look to him, will always be radiant. 00:19:04.307 --> 00:19:06.828 Their faces will not be ashamed. 00:19:06.828 --> 00:19:14.605 Then he said this poor man cried and the Lord heard him and delivered him from all his troubles. 00:19:14.605 --> 00:19:17.751 The poor in spirit are those who cry unto God. 00:19:17.751 --> 00:19:19.816 This poor man cried. 00:19:19.816 --> 00:19:21.398 The Lord heard him. 00:19:21.398 --> 00:19:24.722 Psalm 34, verse 5. 00:19:24.722 --> 00:19:38.520 Another thing I saw is that the poor in spirit hold fast to God and shows great trust in God. 00:19:38.520 --> 00:19:41.634 I've already shared about Jacob. 00:19:41.634 --> 00:19:44.993 I've shared about David and Job. 00:19:46.226 --> 00:19:48.252 I want to talk about Peter for a little bit. 00:19:48.252 --> 00:19:54.692 He was among the disciples who made it to the mountain and he was poor in spirit. 00:19:54.692 --> 00:19:58.773 There was a time in Jesus' life where everybody left him. 00:19:58.773 --> 00:20:07.392 Everybody was leaving, and this was after a great miracle where they had been fed with bread and they wanted to make Jesus king. 00:20:07.392 --> 00:20:14.557 And Jesus spoke about unless you partake in my body and in my blood. 00:20:14.557 --> 00:20:15.778 You have no part in me. 00:20:15.778 --> 00:20:18.871 People were like no, are we cannibals? 00:20:18.871 --> 00:20:22.479 No way, no way. 00:20:22.479 --> 00:20:30.096 So everybody started departing from Jesus and Jesus turned to his disciples and said will you also go? 00:20:30.096 --> 00:20:31.990 Then Peter spoke. 00:20:31.990 --> 00:20:33.631 He said to whom shall we go? 00:20:33.631 --> 00:20:36.392 You have the words of life. 00:20:36.392 --> 00:20:40.255 We have believed that you are the Holy One of God. 00:20:40.255 --> 00:20:46.317 Such is the words of a man who is poor in spirit, peter. 00:20:46.317 --> 00:20:54.069 All that he went through his ups and downs, he still held fast to God. 00:20:56.886 --> 00:20:58.854 Now let's look at the promise. 00:20:58.854 --> 00:21:01.211 He says this is the kingdom of heaven. 00:21:01.211 --> 00:21:04.092 What is the kingdom of heaven? 00:21:04.092 --> 00:21:07.531 And I love this church so much. 00:21:07.531 --> 00:21:13.917 We are so blessed with wonderful teachers that I get so comfortable sitting and just receiving. 00:21:13.917 --> 00:21:17.934 It's so rich the teachings that we receive here. 00:21:17.934 --> 00:21:32.698 You know, last Sunday we got to know that the kingdom of heaven is the reign of God and that is what God desires for all of us that he reigns in our heart and in our minds. 00:21:32.698 --> 00:21:43.115 So the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven, is a realm where the throne of God is and where he reigns and rules as king. 00:21:43.115 --> 00:21:46.772 It is a place where his will is done. 00:21:46.772 --> 00:21:55.964 The poor in spirit inherit the kingdom of heaven Us. 00:21:55.964 --> 00:22:02.520 We are inheritance for being dependent on the Lord. 00:22:02.520 --> 00:22:04.384 We have a kingdom. 00:22:04.384 --> 00:22:11.990 It's already started in our heart, but the full manifestation will come one day, when we see his face. 00:22:11.990 --> 00:22:13.931 We shall be like him. 00:22:13.931 --> 00:22:26.673 It will be the consummation of the kingdom of God, where God will reign completely in our heart and in our lives and his will will be done in absolute perfection. 00:22:26.673 --> 00:22:31.094 That is what we look forward to as citizens of heaven. 00:22:31.094 --> 00:22:33.909 Love the scripture. 00:22:33.909 --> 00:22:43.386 That says our citizenship is in heaven, where we eagerly await a savior from the Lord, jesus Christ, the man. 00:22:43.386 --> 00:22:44.250 Jesus Christ. 00:22:44.250 --> 00:22:52.196 That is where we are going and that is where we are destined for as children of God. 00:22:53.086 --> 00:22:56.770 I want to close with a psalm, psalm 86. 00:22:56.770 --> 00:23:04.457 It's a psalm of David and I want to pray that prayer over us even as we move to our group discussion. 00:23:04.457 --> 00:23:12.738 It's a very beautiful psalm, so just join me in prayer as we pray Psalm 86. 00:23:12.738 --> 00:23:16.510 Thank you, lord. 00:23:16.510 --> 00:23:23.036 Hear me, lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 00:23:23.036 --> 00:23:27.255 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you. 00:23:27.255 --> 00:23:30.289 Save yourself and who trusts in you. 00:23:31.251 --> 00:23:32.253 You are my God. 00:23:32.253 --> 00:23:37.089 Have mercy on me, lord, for I call to you all day long. 00:23:37.089 --> 00:23:42.239 Bring joy to your servant, lord, for I put my trust in you. 00:23:42.239 --> 00:23:49.999 You, lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call on you. 00:23:49.999 --> 00:23:52.131 Hear my prayer, lord. 00:23:52.131 --> 00:23:54.372 Listen to my cry for mercy. 00:23:54.372 --> 00:23:59.676 When I am in distress, I call to you because you answer me. 00:23:59.676 --> 00:24:03.454 Among the gods, there is none like you, lord. 00:24:03.454 --> 00:24:06.573 No deeds can compare with yours. 00:24:06.573 --> 00:24:11.648 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, lord. 00:24:11.648 --> 00:24:17.686 They will bring glory to your name, for you are great and do marvelous deeds. 00:24:18.971 --> 00:24:20.590 You alone are God. 00:24:20.590 --> 00:24:25.768 Teach me your way, lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness. 00:24:25.768 --> 00:24:30.951 Give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name. 00:24:30.951 --> 00:24:34.488 I will praise you, lord, my God, with my heart. 00:24:34.488 --> 00:24:39.878 I will glorify your name forever, for great is your love toward me. 00:24:39.878 --> 00:24:44.292 You have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead. 00:24:44.292 --> 00:24:49.747 Arrogant foes are attacking me, o God, ruthless people are trying to kill me. 00:24:49.747 --> 00:24:59.855 They have no regard for you, but you, lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. 00:24:59.855 --> 00:25:02.659 Turn to me and have mercy on me. 00:25:02.659 --> 00:25:06.541 Show your strength in behalf of your servant. 00:25:06.541 --> 00:25:12.500 Save me, because I serve you, you, just as my mother did. 00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:22.051 Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, lord, have helped me and comforted me. 00:25:22.051 --> 00:25:24.289 We bless your name, lord. 00:25:24.289 --> 00:25:28.330 We give you praise In Jesus' name, amen.