Silence is Golden - Josh Kasselman

- Good morning, Cornerstone. How are we doing this morning? (audience cheering) Yes, yes. How's everyone's week been? How are we doing on New Year's resolutions? Oh, we have fallen off the train. (laughs) The gym was empty last night, I can testify to that. Hey, welcome in, we are so glad you're here. If you are visiting, I hope I'm not the first one to say welcome, but if I am welcome, we are so glad that you've given us your morning to worship with you, to study God's word together. And if this is your home, welcome back, fam. It is good to see you again, another Sunday morning. Over the past few weeks, actually before we get there, let me, let me just give a shameless plug for CY. (audience cheering) CY is our student ministry. In four weeks, we are going on our winter retreat called R3 Weekend. (audience cheering) If you have a six through 12th grader, we would love for them to go with us. We are going to Oklahoma for a weekend where we are studying really what it looks like to be a biblical Christian, where biblical repentance, biblical prayer, biblical devotion to God can actually have these radical impacts and ripple effects throughout the world. It's gonna be incredible, it's gonna be a lot of fun. And so if you're not going, would you pray for me and the adult team that's going? But if you have students that are interested, we can still register them. And so we would love to take as many students that want to go with us. But over the past few weeks, we have been in the sermon on the Mount as we continue through the book of Matthew where Jesus is delivering really the most earth-shattering world-changing sermon in history. And he starts with the Beatitudes where he focuses really on the character of a believer. And then he moves into this section where Jesus is really correcting the misunderstandings of the law of God so that his followers may rightly understand the laws against murder and divorce about honesty and integrity and loving your enemies and so on and so forth. But now we're entering into a section on this sermon where Jesus is gonna dive deep into the spiritual practices that we as believers should be doing. Specifically, he's gonna talk about three things, he's gonna talk about giving, praying, and fasting. Those sound like fun things to study. And so this morning we're gonna be in Matthew chapter six versus one through four. Before we get there, I am the next gym pastor here. And so I get to just oversee children's ministry and then I'm in CY and I'm in our young adult ministry. And some of you know, some of you don't know. But every January our staff does a 75-day hard challenge. It sucks. I weigh over committed on this thing. But Grant, our new praise director, he is all in it. He is crushing it and there's this diet involved and I don't even remember what his diet that he chose is but it's expensive. And so he's going to the grocery store today. Grant, come on up dude. Can we get up for Grant real quick? (audience cheering) So Grant went to the store the other day and was getting groceries and just talking about how expensive they were. And so I wanted to just kind of be an example to the church and bless Grant. And so this is a reimbursement for your grocery bill. Okay, so love you my dude. Don't spend it all in one place. And so today we're talking about how the righteous should give to the poor and the need. How we should give like Jesus. What this looks like. Hey, he may not be poor and we don't know. Okay, we don't know. And the reality comes down to one simple takeaway that we are to give the way that Jesus gave. It is that simple. But here's the reality. Whenever Grant came up and I just gave him a bunch of money, that felt gross, didn't it? There are some people who are kind of like, oh, I do not like this. This guy's wild. There's probably some questions about why is he doing it? This way, why is he being generous in front of other people? Why is he giving on a platform? This should be done privately. Why is he making a big deal about helping people? And I couldn't agree more. Truth be told, that was all staged. And hopefully, at the end of this, I get my money back. Okay, and Grant's a big boy. He can buy his own groceries. Okay, I need that, okay. I got kids, okay. But what I wanted you to see was just this tension and just kind of like, oh, it's a good thing, but it doesn't feel right. And yeah, that was a really big like extreme demonstration. And most of us won't give to people and help people that way. But we will subtly tell others about our generosity. We will make it known that we are tired from the way we've been helping people. We will make it known that, oh, I can't go do that because I gave money to people. And in some situations, we are even bold enough to post on Facebook and Instagram about the way we help people. Or, I've even seen it gone as far, not from people in this room, but just on social media in general. Hey, here's a video of this person working at In-N-Out or Costco. And they're old, so if you give me money, then I'll go give it to them, we'll make this big video about it. It's going to be amazing. Here's the thing, the money that I gave to Grant was real money. The need that was presented was met. But the heart behind it was grossly misplaced. It was this selfish desire of like, hey, look at me as I help others. Look at me as I'm generous. Look at me as I'm doing these things. The reward for my generosity, as Matthew would say, has shifted really from kingdom worship to human currency. In the moment that my desire is for people to admire my righteousness, the moment that your desire is for people to admire your righteousness, rather than honor the giver of righteousness, your heart has shifted inward. To seek the praise from the world for a gift given to you by the creator of it. And this is what Matthew is addressing in Matthew chapter 6. And so let me pray for us, and then we'll jump in. And if you have your bibles, go ahead and turn to Matthew chapter 6 so we can get going. But let's pray. Lord, thank you for this morning. Lord, thank you for the opportunity to study your word. Lord, thank you for the opportunity to worship you and to be molded and challenged by your word. And so, Lord, I pray that that is true of us this morning. And Lord, as I teach, Lord, anything that has said from me or from my own leaning father, would it fall on deaf ears with Lord, what is from you? What is from your spirit for these people to hear, Father, would it captivate our hearts? Would we not be so quick to forget it as we leave these doors in Lord? Would we be known by the mercy that you've given us that we show to other people? And so, Lord, would you be glorified in this place today? We ask these things in Jesus' name. And everybody said, amen, Matthew chapter 6. Let's turn there together and see what it is we are learning about today. We're going to be in verses 1 through 4. And it says this, be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. So, whenever you give to the poor, don't sound a trumpet. As the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets and be applauded by people truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be done in secret and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Now, I do, before we jump into the message, I think it's important to address what some of you are probably thinking, which is, well, hey, Josh, Matthew chapter 5 verses 16, Jesus tells us to let our light shine before others so that they may see our good works and give glory to the Father. But now in chapter 6, verse 1, he's telling us not to practice our righteousness in front of others. Like, this is a contradiction. That's a found one, like scripture is contradicting itself and while it sounds like one, it isn't. Because Jesus was right in chapter 5 and what he was talking about in chapter 5 is that we should be so in love with the Lord and so changed by his spirit that we can't help but do good works, that we can't help but go the extra mile, that we can't help but do these things so much so that we are known by those things. But in chapter 6, what he is saying is, hey, yes, do good works so often that you are known by them but don't do good work seeking the praise of man. And there's a difference here. In chapter 6, he's saying, hey, don't desecrate the throne of God by seeking the praise of man for what was meant to be done unto the Lord. And then he's also talking about not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing and the Lord has a sense of humor. On Monday morning, I was making breakfast for my daughters, it's what I do. And I decided to slice potatoes with a mandolin and put my finger straight through it, okay? There it is. Well, what's left. And my wife and her infinite wisdom and beauty came home from where she's like, the Lord gave you an illustration and I said, yeah, yeah, that's what he did. My right hand had no idea what it was doing, but that's not what this is talking about, what this is talking about is, hey, giving should be so frequent and generosity should be so frequent that you are unable to keep a record of it. Hey, this is my right hand game, this is what my left hand gave, this is what I've given, this is who I've given to, that it should be so inundated in us to desire to be merciful to others that we can't even keep a record of it. That's what's being talked about. And not some ding dong trying to slice potatoes, but that it should be so frequent of us and so, so generously given and joyfully given that there is no record of it. Which really brings us to our first point and it is our only point that righteous people are generous givers. And we see this really in the text in verse 2 where it says this, so whenever you give to the poor. So the commandment is not to give, the commandment is give with the right heart. Giving was expected, generosity was expected from the believer. And then he says it again in verse 3, but when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, the assumption is that we are generous. The assumption is that we give joyfully and mercifully in all of these things. The assumption is that we are generous righteous people are generous givers. But the purity of our generosity is revealed in secrecy, not in visibility. And this is where a lot of people get it wrong. This is where if the church is not careful, the world and the church begin to look very, very similar until they are almost indistinguishable between the two. And so what we see in this text and really the point righteous people are generous givers, Jesus starts with the motive, not the money. He starts with really the heart behind it, the why behind it. Like yes, you should be giving, I want to address the why are you giving? Why is it that you're doing these things? And if you think about the motive of it, the motive of it is the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we look at the life of Jesus, Jesus gave his life. And yes, it was public, but it was done in humility. If we look at the life of Jesus who was in heaven, in complete sovereignty and in complete holiness, humbling himself to be born as a baby, not at the hilton, not at the palace, in a manger. And the people that were notified were shepherds. It was this quiet humility of the greatest gift ever given. Jesus didn't begin Matthew 6 by saying to give, we are to be generous. He begins by confronting the heart behind it because the righteousness and generosity, they don't just collapse through immorality. They can also collapse through the desire for admiration of others. And so the things that we do that are, yes, good in nature can actually be horribly wrong if our heart behind it is not properly postured before the Lord. You can obey God, but still seek the approval of man. You can give generously, but it can still be driven by ego. That's why the illustration at the beginning, as awkward as it was, shows us the story that the gift was real, the need was met, but the heart was grossly misplaced. And Jesus says that when that happens, when we desire the praise of man, when we desire the applause of man, that that becomes the reward that you're recognition by people replaces the righteousness of God. And then what is talking about in chapter 6 is the giving of alms. And so he's talking about giving to the poor and the needy and the widows and the orphans and all these things. This is completely different from tithing, this is the giving of alms. But I do want to break down the difference for you because I don't want you to misconstrue the two things. And so Leviticus 27 verse 30 says, "Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord, it is holy to the Lord." Malachi 3 verses 8 through 10 say, "Will a mere mortal rob God, yet you rob me, but you ask, how are we robbing you in tiths and offerings?" In the verse 10, "Bring the whole tith into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be enough room to store." And so this is talking about in these two passages the commandment of giving a tithe. And what we're talking about in Matthew 6 is the expectation of the giving of alms. And we see this pivot in Matthew 23 verse 23 to the importance of both things where it says, "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you tithe, mint, and dill, and cumin, and have neglected the way to your provisions of the law, justice, and mercy, and faithfulness. But these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others." And so this is a graphic for us to kind of just look at the difference between the two so we can really understand what's going on. "A tithe means literally one-tenth, and a tithe is given to God through his house, through the church that you call home for the sake of ministry." And this is something that is expected, that is commanded in Scripture to do, and it's systematic, and it's obedient, and it's worshipful. And the tithe acknowledges that God is the source and the owner of all things you have. And it is returning to God what is already his. That is a tithe. But then what alms are, alms is given to people, especially to the poor and the vulnerable to widows and to orphans. It is a compassion-driven, voluntary thing that displays the mercy of God through us to those in need. And then the direction of these things, just to make it really clear, is the next slide that tithe sustains the house of God, alms show the world the mercy of Jesus. And so a tithe that goes upward to God, this is between you and God, what you're giving and how you're giving it, and why you're giving it to sustain the local church. It supports ministries and teaching and missions and missionaries and all those things, and it's an obedient provision for the church and it's the fuel for the work of the ministry. The giving of alms, the giving to the poor and the needy, it goes outward to others. It meets immediate human need, it brings compassion and justice and there's an eternal reward for those who are generous and do these things, not seeking the praise of man. And so in summary, the difference between the two tithing without mercy becomes legalism, alms giving without honoring God, it lacks the design behind it. God desires both obedience and compassion and a tithe reflects our obedience independence and alms giving reflects our compassion to those around us and to those in need. And here's the thing, anyone can tithe faithfully but still be seeking the praise of man for it. But the giving of alms, the giving to the poor and to the needy and the orphans, that really reveals whether our generosity is worship or it is performance based. And here's the thing, like Jesus doesn't condemn giving, in fact, he calls us to giving, he expects giving from us in chapter 6, he condemns making it a big deal. He condemns blowing the trumpets, generosity was never meant to be announced, it was meant to be offered to those who need it with mercy, with grace, with generosity, with compassion, declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so, and then we're going to, if you want to, you can turn their second Corinthians chapter 9 verse 7, what I don't want you to hear me saying is, oh, we're at a church and there's a pastor telling us to give more money and to do all these things, that is not what I'm saying. In fact, second Corinthians chapter 9 verse 7 is really where the church would take a stance on what an offering is and how it's supposed to be given. Each of you should give what you have decided and your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver. And so, what I am not telling you today is, is to give a tithe, what I'm not telling you today is leave and go find the first person in need and give money, I'm not trying to create any type of compulsion in you. And in fact, I would even take it a step further, if you are feeling like you should be giving money today out of compulsion, the Lord does not want that money from you. It should be prayed over, it should be contemplated, it should be joyful, it says, not reluctantly nor under compulsion, God loves a cheerful giver. And so, this is not a call to give more, this is a call to give properly. In worship, in reverence, not seeking the praise of man. And then there's this hidden danger of spiritual maturity that can happen. The longer you are a believer, we can see this begin to take place and this message can hit differently for long time believers because the longer you walk with God, the easier it is to confuse a few things or to make this subtle slide in these things where what began with dependence on God and recognizing that we need him for our daily bread can now shift into this physical discipline, where that may look like, hey, now my tithe is on autodraft and not even think about it, leaves my account, I'm not praying about it, I'm not joyful about it, it's just set him out, leaves my account, I don't even think about it anymore, check that box, good Christian, we're on our way. What started as faithfulness to God and giving to God in this way can shift into this self-confidence of, look at what I do. Like, hey Lord, like I've given you this money, I helped to pour and now because I've done these things, I'm good. What started as a devotion to God can move into this documentation of spiritual acts and building a resume. This devotion of Lord, it is all yours anyways, like I'm devoted to you through the way that I give and through the way that I help people can now begin to look like, hey Lord, like I've been tithing for three years, I've tithed my 10%, I help to pour and I help to need him because I have this resume, this is now what I expect you to do for me. And we see this subtle shift over time, the expectation is to give generously to those around you. And I know Rockwall is a very generous county, you as a church are very generous people, it's not a call to give, it's a call to search your heart and make sure that we are desiring the worship of the Father, not the worship of ourself. Because we pray and we fast and we give, but if we're not cautiously weighing our heart before the Lord and these things, slowly our desire for righteousness shifts from kingdom service to building this resume, it's not intentional and it's not malicious, but subtly over time will begin to start keeping track and keeping record and adding to this resume and the heart behind it is far from the Lord. And I can tell you this with experience, having missed it and giving and being generous many, many times, the kingdom of God is not impressed by your resume, the kingdom of God desires your repentance. And so for us to go to the Lord and say, hey, this is what I've done, look at what I've given and how much I've given and all these things, the Lord is not for that. The Lord is for like Lord, you have been so merciful to me, thank you for allowing me the ability to bless others the way that you have blessed me for mercy, to flow through me, to others for generosity, to flow through me, to others for compassion, to flow through me, to others. And I want to show you this parable in Luke 18, you're welcome to turn over there if you want. Luke 18 verse 9 through 14, verses 9 through 14, it's the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, it says, he also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else, just think about that for a moment. He said in himself that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else, two men went up to the temple to pray, one of Pharisee, the other of tax collector, the Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself, God, I thank you that I'm not like other people, I'm not greedy, unrighteous, adulterous, or even like this tax collector, I fast twice a week and I give a tenth of everything I get, but the tax collector standing far off would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his chest and saying, God, have mercy on me, a sinner, it says this, I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. And so we see these two men, we see a Pharisee who has recognized this holy and set apart an incredible knowledge of the scripture and probably the way that we should be living, let me see this tax collector who's probably one of the most despised people on the face of the earth, both going to the temple to pray and we see the Pharisee stand confidently and praise about himself, listing his fasting and his giving and listing his righteous acts and Lord, thank God that I'm not like these people, thank God that I'm not like this guy right here, but then we see the tax collector humble, bowed down before the Lord, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner, and Jesus says that that man went home justified, why? The Pharisee used his righteous acts to actually distance himself from the Lord, it was all about him, the tax collector recognizes his brokenness and results in dependence on God. What we see in the Pharisee is this arrogance for worldly admiration and what we see from this tax collector's humility and order for right standing with God. That is exactly what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 6, that public righteousness, the desire of having people presume that you are righteous, it can be seductive and it can be enticing and it can even look really good to the believer, man, they've got it. I want what they're doing, I want what they have, but it is so corrosive to the soul. Quiet righteousness is vital to pleasing the heart of God. The posture of the heart is really Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner, and then when you see someone in need, whenever you're able to give alms and help someone in need is, "Hey, the Lord has had mercy on me, a sinner," and because of his mercy and because of his goodness, this is an example of his mercy to you and it is a gospel presentation. It's not about us having the money to give, it's about the Lord's mercy on us. Being able to flow through you to others and you've heard it said on this platform so many times, forgiveness does not stop with you, forgiveness flows through you to others and the love of the Father does not stop with you, the love of the Father flows through you to others. The generosity of the Father does not stop with you if flows through you to others. That is the expectation, the heart behind it is where we can get it wrong and then there's this concern of generosity becoming our identity and here's the danger for us when we miss it. You may not stop giving but you stop seeking the grace of God where we think that we are purchasing God's grace by our righteous acts and so there's no longer this dependence on the grace of God, there's no longer this desire for repentance, there's no longer this desire for forgiveness, it is because of what I've done and what I'm doing I have this and that totally alienates what the gospel is which is for by grace you have been saved through faith, not of your works so that no one may boast. You can do nothing to earn the righteousness of God. It is a gift and you may not stop tithing but you stop giving from a joyful heart and it just becomes this routine that you do and it's no longer worshipful. We view it sometimes as in can be, oh I forgot that was, I forgot I had to tie this month. And what began as worship now becomes just routine and the heart of your generosity, the heart that that flows from quietly shifts from worshiping God to a need of the worship of self and the corrosion begins. The title of the message and I forgot to give it to you at the beginning, silence is golden. That's the title and this is why silence is golden, silence protects generosity from becoming ego, silence keeps obedience from becoming performance, silence guards righteousness from becoming self-declaring, quiet reverence, quiet submission, quiet obedience, not self-declaring for the Lord and for the Lord alone. And so I want to give you really three questions to kind of help diagnose where your heart is. Hey, if I'm giving and we all should be, what's the reason behind it, what's this driving factor behind us? So here's the three questions I would love for you to discuss in your small groups with your families, with the Lord. Would you be generous if no one ever knew? Would you still give if no one ever thanked you for it? Or do we need the gratitude of a thank you to compel us to do so? And would you still obey if it never advanced your worldly status? Would you obey if you never advanced your worldly status? And if your answers are unclear, and I said it before, guys, y'all are incredibly generous. Generosity is not the issue, but if your answers are unclear, it's not the generosity, that's a problem. It's whose glory are you searching for in your generosity? Is it the glory of man or the glory of God because this passage is very clear that those who seek the glory of man, they have their reward in full? That's your reward. But those who give out of a righteous desire and a humble desire to make much of Jesus, they will be rewarded by God, the Father. And so finally, we should give like Jesus. If righteous people are generous givers, and we're like, "Okay, I understand that, but what does that look like?" You've now told us a bunch about what not to do. What does it look like that we just turn our gaze to the life of Jesus who lived a perfect life in a perfect example? We should give like Jesus, Jesus gave perfectly and mostly in secret. There was never a pause for him in Nazareth, there was never any honor for him in Galilee, there was no recognition of the magnitude of the gift of God by the people while he was even on the cross. And so if we just stop and think back to all we know about Scripture, starting in the book of Genesis, the gift of Jesus, let's look at this for a moment. Corinthians tells us that it should not be out of compulsion, that it should be thought about and prayed over. The plan of Jesus was not just to spur the moment, fix it, it's not flex seal for the world. This was a well thought out determined plan before the foundation of the world. It's not like Genesis happened and Adam and Eve ate the fruit and then God's like, "Oh, what am I going to do?" Going through the whole testament and the God is trying to figure out this plan and then Matthew happens to be like, "I got it, Jesus, you're going to go fix this problem." No, this was a well contemplated, joyful gift to the world by God the Father. Not given in compulsion, not given in reluctance, but given joyfully and given in full. When we look at what this gift is, the value of the gift of Jesus, it's incomprehensible what that was that he accomplished on the cross, that we now have eternal life with him for those who believe, that we now have unrelenting access to God the Father through the great high priest who sits in heaven at the right hand of God. That we no longer are waiting in these long lines with our perfect lambs and our perfect God's waiting for sacrifice to take place to it for an atonement of the sins of the weak prior that we're no longer living of the weight of the Levitical Law that we have the ability of freedom and that we are offered the opportunity of eternity with Jesus. That was the gift of Jesus. And so no matter how generous we are, we will never be able to outgive the giver, but we can give like him, in generosity and in compulsion. And if you think about the way he was given being born in a manger, just that the humility of the gift is like God wasn't having it saying, "Hey, I'm about to give you something and it's going to be amazing. Everyone should look and everyone should take notice and this is what's going to happen and this is why you're going to worship me." Now he was sent to a manger where shepherds were notified and then he lives a life of humility and miracle after miracle, after miracle, after miracle, giving and giving and giving and giving, always interruptible, quietly humble. And the result of that gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus. For all who believe, Romans 10, 9 and 10, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised them from the dead, you will be saved. There's this gift of the Father that allows us this confidence of faith that gives us this ability to be an eternity with him. The greatest act of generosity in all of history happened in the presence of public shame, not public praise. And in the midst of that gift being given, the Father was glorified and he was worshipped and he was elevated because of righteousness is not about being seen righteousness is about being known by the Father. So for the believer in this room, this message is not a call to give more money. This message is not a call to go find the first person in need that you can find. This message is a challenge to search your heart before God. Not to display your generosity but to purify it as an offering to the Lord. Not to prove your righteousness but to protect it in the way that you honor the Lord in the way that you help people in the way that you live your life that it is for the Lord only. I could give you just a quick illustration in the temples they would have incense burning that would be rising up to heavens and it was this symbolism of the prayers rising to God. That should be our life mission that our life is this incense that is rising to the Father. Imagine if someone walked into the temple and starts just shaking that smoke sideways. That's what we do when we are greedy. When we long for the praise of man, we take what was meant only for the Lord and start dispersing it, seeking our own glory. For the unbeliever in the room, it's time to receive the gift. The greatest gift ever given in the history of the world that is available to you. Free, paid for by someone else that you may have eternal life. It is time church for us to get out of the way and return to the quiet place. That the desire of our heart would be that God is our only audience whenever we are giving, whenever we are worshiping, whenever we are helping, whenever we are praying, whenever we are fasting, whatever it may be, the practice of the Christian should be that the Lord gets the praise and He is the audience and He is the one that it is for. To let me remind you of second Corinthians, we are not asking for an increase in your giving. We are asking for you to contemplate your heart, to search your heart and to lay your generosity before the Lord to be shaped by His Spirit. Righteous people are generous givers and the purest form of generosity is the kind that only heaven applause. So this morning we are going to respond and we have a team that would love to pray with you and that can be confession, that can be anything you need it to be. If you are an unbeliever and you have questions about Jesus and what this gift is and what it means for you, we would love to pray with you. If you have questions about this message and like, "Hey, I've never understood what tithing is like someone talked to me about the difference I'm confused, we would love to pray for you and talk to you." But it's time to respond to what the Lord has presented with us today and so let me pray for us and then we'll do just that, Father, thank you for this morning. Lord, thank you for the opportunity to teach your word and the gift of getting to teach your word. Lord, thank you for the gift of your word that even these things of giving and generosity Lord, that we can get so wrong, you are so thoughtful to teach us in Scripture how to do it right and honor you. And so Lord, I pray that we would be changed and convicted by the truth of your word if we're wrong. Lord, I pray that this church would be known for the way that we repent, that we would be known for the way that we honor your name or that we would desire to live a life like Matthew 5/16. So Lord, you're up, Lord, you move through this place, you show us where we miss it, you show us where we're wrong, you show us where we're selfish. Lord, would we be so faithful and humble to respond and repent? We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.