 Alright, good morning everyone. Welcome to a new week. Hope you had a great weekend. Let's begin this time with a word of prayer. Maybe one of us can please lead the prayer. Jessie, now, Divya, anyone can be. Sure, Master. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful time. You've given us together, together. Once again, in your presence, Sapa, we thank you. For your goodness, your mercies, your kindness, your faithfulness in our lives. Throughout the week, you have preserved us, you have sustained us. You have provided for us, Sapa. We thank you, Father. Thank you, Father, for all that we learned. Thank you, Lord, all the principles that you want us to learn. We pray, Father, you speak through Pastor Paul, Lord, empower him to speak the truth, to speak encouragement and inspiration into each one of our lives. Sapa, and bless him as well. Father, as his family, we pray for wisdom, grace and strength upon him. I pray for each and every student here. I pray, Father, for your grace upon us, Lord. Give us a receptive heart, a sensitive heart. Sapa, to submit a lot to the working of the Holy Spirit. Let your word produce fruit in our lives, Father. All these things, we pray in the name of the Lord and say, which is Christ. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much, Sivya. All right, so we completed chapter eight last week, and we've covered quite a lot of content. So we get into chapter nine. Now, what I noticed was we still have quite a lot to cover. So I may not explain every point, right? So the only reason I may be going a little faster is so that we can complete the potions on time for your final semester, right? So we've gone to chapter nine, but feel free to stop me anytime. Ask me questions. You can ask questions. You can also raise your hands. Ask questions, right? So don't stop yourself from asking questions. But if I'm going a little faster, just so that we can cover the potions quickly. Right. Chapter nine, workplace relationships. Now, you know, if we are in the workplace, we are spending about 40, 50 hours every week in the workplace, more than what we normally spend at home. And again, in the workplace, it's people. You're dealing with people. There are relationships. People have different levels of intellectual, different levels intellectually, emotionally, physically. Everyone are different. And we talked about how, you know, business or ministry, it's all about people. So you can never say that. Okay. Of course, now there's a time when we come and there's this work from home stuff. But again, it is still, you would be still having a team communicating with people. Now, when it comes to workplace relationships, especially, you know, we must understand that relationship itself is God given. Right. When you look at family, husband, wife, children, friends, these are given by God. Right. And God wants our relationships, earthly relationships to be fruitful, to be good, to be meaningful. Right. Now, look at a few scriptural parts or scriptural truths to help us to navigate this whole aspect of workplace relationships. Because, you know, the fact is there will be conflicts. There will be misunderstandings. And there will be people who we may feel are, you know, partial or they don't, you know, they don't work effectively, whatever the reason may be. But what does the Bible say about relationships, workplace relationships? Right. Let's look at these points. Right. First one. Maintain love, which is the basics of human relationship. Now, first quarantine study and we all know it, love is patient, love is kind. So at the workplace, sometimes we tend to forget the human side of things. Right. We get so focused on tasks. These are things that need to be done. But we forget that, hey, they are people and maybe they are going through different problems and we need to walk in love. Our personal needs are real life challenges. Everything is there. Right. It doesn't mean that if we go to the workplace, those challenges, you know, just fade away. No, it's there. Right. Every now and then the reality of our challenges may come, we are working at home. So people sit all around you at the workplace and each one of us or each one of them have a story. Each one of them have a personality. So don't forget to walk in love. We talked about this, right? We talked about how the Lord Jesus did his ministry. It was not, it was not to become famous. It was not that he wanted to, you know, stir up a whole rebellion or he wanted to just, you know, do these wonderful miracles and get known and people should just follow him. No, he says the reason he did his ministry because he loved, because of love. And so very important, be kind, be loving. Show the God kind of love. Right. And be conceited or proud because of our knowledge, even if we are doing well, even of our positions and the Lord may, you know, take us to higher positions. That's wonderful. Right. But never be conceited or proud about it. Just be able to relate to people and love. Don't keep a record of people's mistakes. Forgive and forget. Don't be easily offended. But don't applaud or don't support wrongdoing in any way. Right. Be supportive to your colleagues. Basically, the point is walking in love. Right. Now this calls for an additional grace upon our lives because it's not going to be easy. It's not like, you know, I can just say, okay, I'm going to walk in love. There are many people who have offended you, people who have said things behind your back and you've got to know about it. How do I love them? We cannot love them in the natural. Right. The natural, it's not possible. But with the God kind of love, the agape love, that's what God's calling us to walk in. Right. So even as we do our tasks of working hard, doing the things that we have to do, don't forget to walk in love. Two, when you have the opportunity to bless somebody, do it. I like this verse, Proverbs 3, 27 and 28. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, go and come back tomorrow and I will give you, give it when you have it with you. Right. So in the workplace, there will be opportunities in the workplace where you can be a blessing to somebody. Right. Now it may be a simple thing. Right. It may be just picking up somebody from work. Right. It may be, you know, just helping out somebody to, you know, to get their lunch for a day. Right. If that's an opportunity you can do, you can do it. Right. You know, even as I teach this, I get these thoughts of, you know, the time when I was in the corporate sector, I spent a lot of years there and very young. So, you know, it's not like I remember these as I'm preparing, but just suddenly I remember it. So I just think I share that. Right. I remember there used to be this security guy. Right. So his job was to be at the lift, at the escalators, and I saw the elevators and he would stand there. And that's all he had to do. He had to be there. And, you know, nobody really bothered about him because that's all he had to do. And, you know, every now and then he had to clear the dustbins, tell people, you know, the workers, okay, just be around that area. Right. And it's a small area and he would sit there and have his lunch. And, you know, I used to always speak to him. And, you know, we had a good relationship. Right. So every time when we reach offers, I would spend at least three, four minutes just talking to him and not just a high and walk off, whatever, talk to him. And, you know, I got to know about his family, about the things that have happened in this family and the challenges that he's going through. And I remember, you know, just trying to be a blessing whenever I could. If not always, but whenever I could. There were times when he would, you know, I noticed that he would carry his lunch bag, but sometimes he wouldn't carry a bag. So I would ask him, hey, you didn't bring your lunch bag? Oh, yeah, I got it today at home. So maybe I'd go somewhere and eat. So I remember telling him, hey, I have coupons. During those days, there was these Sodexo coupons or something. So you would give it to him and he would go have his lunch. And it's a small thing for us. It's a small thing, but for them, it's a big thing. Right. So look for ways to be a blessing to people. It's not that you have to look out only for people who are working in a security or working with cleaners or helpers. You can also be a blessing to your colleagues. Right. So bless them when it's in your hands. And remember that when we bless, it'll always come back manifold, double, you know, God will begin to bless us. Be sensitive to people's feelings. Your emotional intelligence matters. Matthew 712. Here is a simple rule of thumb guide for behavior. Ask yourself what you want to do, what you want people to do for you. Then grab the initiative and do it for them. Right. EQ, emotional intelligence. It is to what does it mean? It includes how to recognize and manage your own emotions and respond correctly to the emotions of others. Right. Okay. I'm going to repeat that EQ. Emotional intelligence is knowing how to recognize and manage your emotions, your own emotions, also how to respond correctly to other people's emotions. Now picture this. You've got a, you know, on a Monday morning and, you know, this week you're excited. Now you happily go to office. Yeah. No, you're just joyful. You're happy. Things are going well. Suddenly a boss comes and says, Hey, I told you to send me that email. It's been two weeks. And he starts getting upset and shouts at you. Now you've come into the office in a good mood. It's a Monday morning and you got a word and your verse is shouting. Now how do we respond to that emotional? That is called EQ. And how do we control our emotions? Right. These are things that we learn. It's very easy to say, Hey, it was my leave. Why do you want me to send it? We may get upset and, you know, the entire week gets, you know, becomes negative and you just start clipping the entire week. Work performance goes low. But EQ is the ability to manage your emotions and the emotions of others. How do you, how do you take it? How do you react to it? Right. Be sensitive to people. So one of the things that we can do with the same and the same scenario is think maybe he had a rough week. Maybe he, you know, didn't get enough sleep and he's upset. Maybe he got, you know, a strong email from his boss. So that's why he's reacting to it. Normally he wouldn't do that. Normally he would smile and say good morning and begin the week. But today he's like that. So maybe there's something that happened in his personal life or even in the workplace. Maybe something happened. Maybe he didn't get a car parking spot. He had to go all around the whole office to find a spot. It could be anything. So that's how we react to it. And over time, you know, even as we work, even as we grow in the Lord, this is something that we must have a control over our EQ to be sensitive to people's feelings. And you put yourself in the issues. Right. So that's EQ. Next one. Cheer somebody up. What he weighs us down. A cheerful word picks us up. Cheer people up with an encouraging word. When someone does good, tell them they did good. Go that extra mile. Be there for them. Appreciate them. When somebody has contributed to an idea or a suggestion and people used it, appreciate them in public so that people will know. And what will happen is it cheers them up. It encourages them. Words that we use make a lot of difference. So there are people in your team. And they feel that you feel that they have given a lot. They have given certain good ideas or plans or propositions on how to do a certain task. And after applying it, you see that it's been effective. It's been fruitful. Cheer them up. This person did this. And the sad reality is sometimes even in ministry, people don't do that. They don't cheer others up. We must do it. Ministry, workplace, everywhere. Cheer one another. Now you may say, hey, but I'm just a colleague just in the entry level working with somebody. That's okay. Cheer the other person up. I remember this. I had joined the corporate sector, a very big company. And they said it's a process related job. So it was more of, you know, data and numbers and all of these things. And I said, oh man, I can't sit in front of the laptop and do all these things. You tell me to talk, I'll talk. You want me to train people? I'll train people. But the shop was that way. And then I remember we began the work and I tell my colleague, this is not me. This is not what I want to do. But this guy, he was new. So he always kept telling me, hey, why don't you look at it in a way that it's a training for you so that even if you get into a trainer's position, you'll know how to use these tools and you'll know how to work on these tools and you can be effective. I thought to myself, yeah, maybe it's a training for me. So I worked there in this whole, you know, across all numbers, Excel sheets, word docs, all these kind of things, these new things that were there during those times. And I can say that that one year really helped me because, you know, when I was, I got another position as an analyst, quality analyst. When I got into that, I had to use all of this. So they said, hey, we'll train you on all these things. And I remember telling them, hey, I already know how to use them. They were very happy. Okay, so since you already know, you become a quality analyst trainer. You train the new people who come in. So in a year, what happened was I joined as an entry level, but I became a trainer in a year. Now, how did this happen? Because of a cheerful word of one colleague, which I don't even know. He joined with me. We were probably one month in the process. But you see what a cheerful word can do. And I'm so grateful to him because I told him if he wasn't there, I may have quit my job and would have gone somewhere else. But a cheerful word can really build each other, build a person up. So look for ways to cheer people up. Don't forget your please thank you and sorry, which is Colossians 4-6. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not to put them down and not to cut them out. So as much as possible, use your please, your sorry is your thank you. And remember, we talked about it last class as well. The last chapter 8, we talked about how kind words turns away a lot. It just calms down a situation. So all it takes is a few additional words. All it takes is what you're writing an email. It's an additional thank you. It's an additional please. If there's something that should have been done, not done apologizing for it and saying that hey, I'll get it done. These will add grace to your character, to your conversations, to your relationships with people. In the organization, right? Any questions? Should we go ahead? Okay. Be an encourager, even of those who don't like you. This is hard. First Thessalonians 515. See that no one pays back wrong for long, but at all times make it your aim to do good to one another and to all people. Some versions say make it your ambition to do good to one another. Now, to support, inspire, instill confidence in a colleague at a workplace is really the most encouraging thing that you can do. Step out. Encourage people. If there are gifts and grace in your calling, encourage them. When we do that, by just saying great work, keep it up, you've done well, these simple statements can really inspire somebody. I remember, I always think of this many years back. I had joined the worship team when I was in Bible college and then joined the worship team. I always thought to myself, I'm not a good guitarist or that I'm not good enough and I may have no certain cause and I always thought I'm not good enough. So I remember auditioning. I auditioned in 2011 that I auditioned. 2012 I began to, late 2011, 2012 I began to be rostered in the worship team. And during those days, leading for one hour was a big deal. Now it's easy. Things have changed in terms of worship. There's more of prophetic worship and you can just have three songs and do it in an hour. But during those days, maybe it was there, but I was not too good at it. And there were times we would have these five days of fasting and prayer and they'd say, okay, Paul, you lead. But one hour, how to lead one hour? I used to choose six, seven songs, eight songs. And I remember many times, I didn't go off note and all of that. It's not like it sounded bad. But the many times I felt like I was not happy after finishing the worship session. I'm not happy, God. Whatever I planned, I started this song, I saw the complications say this, whatever I planned, nothing worked out. Many times I wanted to just speak to a worship pastor and say, hey, I don't want to be rostered. I want to take a break. But every time I thought of it, every time there was an encouragement from him saying, you did well. And then I remember there were these couple of times when I got these messages from wonderful men and women of God, those who are part of church, those who are from different ministries. And they said, hey, thank you for leading us in worship. Just a simple thank you. It really encouraged me. And even from the church members, they say, hey, Paul, thank you for leading. Do you know this song ministered to me? I was really encouraged. It really pushes you. It really steps you up and you say, God, thank you. And it gives us something to be inspired about and to press on. So imagine to us if it does that. I'm sure it'll do the same to others. It could even be to children. It could be to your spouse, to your family, to your relatives, to your workplace, to anybody, anybody. You just tell them, you know, I remember there were times when I would cook initially after marriage. And I don't know what I was cooking, but something looked on up. And then, you know, my family members say, hey, this is really good. You've done it so well. I was very serious. I thought it should be something, but it's ended up in some other way. Say, no, no, no, it's good. You try to do it this way. Man, I'm always saying, you know, it was just an encouragement. Now, it's not Paul's hope, but it was some kind of an encouragement and it keeps us looking forward. So we must do that. We must do that. But also remember that there is a place for correction. It's not like somebody does wrong and you keep encouraging them. There's a place for correction and we also looked at that, right? So as much as possible, try to be an encourager, even to people that you don't like. Even to people you may feel that, you know, they don't like you or even you feel that you don't like them. Go overboard and be an encourager. Remember, even enemies can be turned around. Powerful. Proverbs 16, 17, When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes his enemies to be at peace with him. What a wonderful verse. When a man's ways please the Lord. So for example, you can put your name there. When I ways please the Lord, he even makes my enemies to be at peace with me. My enemies are looking for a way to bring this guy to bring me down. There's no way. So even my enemies are going to be at peace with me. Now, will there be friction in the workplace? Definitely yes. Will there be people who are hostile? Yes. People who see a threat to your professional growth, they see that, hey, until this fellow is there, I'm not going to, you know, get a promotion. So I want to make sure that this guy goes away. That's what happened in Daniel. He was so jealous of Daniel. They're going to get rid of him. Why does the king always talk to Daniel? Why is it that he's always saying Daniel is good, Daniel is good? And what are we doing here? So they said, okay, make a decree to him in the lines then. When our ways please the Lord, even our enemies will be at peace with us. Do what pleases the Lord and he will move on your behalf in terms of the people that you are working with, in terms of your workplace relationships, in terms of any other relationship. Do what pleases God. Other things will come into place. Those enemies who try to throw arrows at you, those arrows either will not come near you, or even if it comes, it's going to just return back. It's not going to affect you. Why? Because you're doing what pleases the Lord. Be careful of who influences you. Proverbs 12 and 26. The righteous should choose his friends wisely for the way of the wicked leads them astray. Now, if you read the book of Proverbs, there are plenty of verses. I think the most number of explanation on knowledge, wisdom and friends. And it's interesting, right? Friends and he also used the word neighbor. It's interesting that Solomon, full of wisdom, some of our knowledge, wisdom and friends and people who are around us. Proverbs 13 and 20. He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. Proverbs 27 and 17. As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friends. This is so true. As iron sharpens iron. Be careful who influences you. In the workplace, there will be people who will, again, different kinds of people. I have the choice, choose who you want to be with. Right? It is our choice. If we want to spend time with people who are gossiping, always backbiting, always grumbling. Remember, iron sharpens iron. Next thing you know, we will be grumbling. We will be backbiting, gossiping. And then you say, hey, I was never like this. Why am I grumbling always? I was never grumbling before. Maybe it's the friends. Because iron sharpens iron. Right? But if you have good friends, and you say, hey, over this last year, since I've made friends with these people, I've seen that my work productivity has got better. I've been able to make decisions wisely. I've been able to spend time with family. And it's nice. I feel good about it. Why? Because maybe it's your friends who have been speaking to you. Iron sharpens iron. And especially when nowadays I talk to college folks and our teams and church, friends are everything. Friends are more than anything else in their life. That's all they want. It's okay. Parents are there. Not all of them, but most of them. Most of them, most of them, it's friends. I'm going out with my friends. Can my friends come home? My friend has these shoes. My friend has this bag. My friend has these phone. So even I won't. And it's been there for many years. But friends, people that we are with, remember iron sharpens iron. We must allow certain things to influence us. We must allow certain things not to influence us. Why do people get into bad habits? You know, drinking, smoking or drugs. Why did they do it? It's not like they like to do it. Most of the times it's because of their friends. Friends wouldn't have pressurized them. Hey, all my friends are doing it, so I want to do it. Take time to be with people who can challenge you. In the sense, make you a better person. Make you better professionally and make you better as a person. I've shared this before. There were two of us who were top performers in the workplace and we were very good friends. But wherever we would go, we were like one, two and three on the floor, meaning the best performers, three of us. But we three were always together and there were other guys also. People would ask us, what are you all talking about? Are you all talking about who's going to win? Or who's going to do better? I'm talking about 400, 500 people in the team on the floor in that process of calling and talking to people. So that team of 350 or people we were, we were the top three. But we three were always together. And they would ask us, hey, what are you all talking about? What do you all do? Don't you have other friends? We say, yeah, we have other friends. But what happens is we all three push each other. So I used to tell these guys, hey, April is coming. I'm going to be first this month. They'll say, no ways. I'm going to do it. I've got an idea. They say, tell me the idea. So they will share. So this is another way where you can, we never hid anything from us. We never did that, even though our competition was very healthy. So there were months that one month, this other person would win one month. I would win one month. The other person would win. So it was always that. It was always three of us. It was a heavenly relationship. And it was so good that when we all three moved out from that company, we still are in touch with each other. We still remember those times. And we just knew that it rubbed off on each other, that appreciation, that hard work, that skill, that determination to do well. It just rubbed off on each other. And it's true. It does. Now imagine I'm chosen people to who are, it's not like I was not friends with others. We were friends with other people, people who would, you know, this put the call on old and spend 20 minutes, waste time. There were people who did all of that. And they were my friends as well. But I chose not to let that influence me. Could I have done it? I could have done it, but it is wrong. But if I do it, how can I become, you know, the performer of the month? I can't. So the mindset was to do, you know, to be the best for the month. So when iron sharpens iron, you choose what you want to do, right? Even there's so many examples. Okay, I won't give you any. Let's go to the next one. Know your boundaries in corporate socializing, right? Proverbs 5, 18 to 22. So be happy with your wife and find your joy with the woman you are married or with a man. Like what I said, let her charm keep you happy that will surround you with her love. Son, why should you give to another, give your love to another woman? Why should you prefer the charms of another man's wife? The Lord sees everything you do. Wherever you go, he is watching. The sins of the wicked are a trap. They get caught in the net of their own sin. Now, we are called to build relationships with each other in the workplace, but know your boundaries in corporate socializing, right? Now, this is again a call of integrity and character. This nobody can give it to you. Nobody can say here, take integrity, take your character. It is something that we build on our own, right? Now, it's very good when we have family picnics, other celebrations. But remember, know your boundaries, stand your priorities and hold on to Godly standards. You don't have to do anything to please people. Stay on your guard, guard your life, stay away from drinking and alcohol abuse and womanizing and men also just spending a lot of time with colleagues, men colleagues. Flirting, all these are a true mark of a true character and strength. Now, in the workplace, whether you're married, whether you're not married, all of this will be there. You and I have the choice to make boundaries and to stand by those boundaries. In the corporate sector, it's okay for after the work, men, women go out, they have a drink, they have a coffee. And again, they're spending 40, 50 hours in a week always seeing each other and it's a very vulnerable place. It could be relationships could be built and they could go overboard. Now, God is not saying man and male and female and workplace should not have relationships. They should, they need to talk to each other. There's work that needs to be to get done. We can build friendships. All that is good, but know your boundaries. Now, for example, there's a team outing and a team outing on the team campus for two days. And you know that there are other women and you know that, you know, it's a vulnerable place. It's not the office anymore. Right. So we're going for this camp or whatever from the workplace. The entire team is going now before you go sit down, write down what are things that you will do? Boundaries. When I was in the corporate sector, I remember, after I became a believer, we used to go to these, you know, two days retreats and two retreats. But these camps, they would have these resorts. So it would be a resort and maybe 30, 40 of us would go. And they would carry all kinds of, you know, by alcohol and all these things. Nobody knew about my past. But I remember I would go for these camps and so I decided to myself some things I will not do one. I will not stand, I will not be alone with a girl in any place in that resort. I will not be alone. I was not married. I will not be alone with a girl. Two, I will not drink alcohol and I will not partake in all that. I'll be away. Three, when there's too much of gossip happening, I'm just going to move on. Now I told these to my friends and the team and they said, then what is the use of coming? I said, it's okay if I don't have to come. But these are the three things. Don't call me for all your gossip sessions after you're drinking one. Don't ask me to do certain things very clearly. Now, was it something where people happy? No. They mocked, some of them made fun, some of them said, hey, don't be a saint. None of that. I said, I am a saint, the official is one. But know your boundaries. Now, there are boundaries that you will have to set and you set them right in the workplace. Now, I'm not saying only corporate, ministry also. Ministry also, know your boundaries. If you're a leader, know how to behave with the other sex. Know how to talk. We know that we are in this generation where everything is free and open, but the enemy does not change. He still has the same tactic. So know your boundaries in every way. Set them right. Honor your boss. If you care for your awkward, you will enjoy your food. If you honor your boss, you will be honored. To honor and to respect your boss is the greatest thing that we can do. And it's what God wants us to do. We must honor our boss. Even the boss who is harsh because remember that God has placed them above you. So in everything, whether they are, you know, they may not recognize you. They may not appreciate you. Whatever it is, you say, hey, I will honor him because God has placed me above her. Now, if there are things that he asks us to do, which is not in line with God's word, that is something that is not, you know, that is asking you to, you know, bend the rules of the word of God or bend or just do something that is not in line with God's word. You can deny it. But otherwise, honor your boss. Even the one who is harsh, you're called to honor. Develop workplace etiquette and cultural sensitivity. Problems 23, 1-3. When you sit down to eat with someone important, keep in mind who he is. If you have a big appetite, restrain yourself. Don't be greedy for the fine food he serves. He may be trying to trick you. Problems, I think, does not miss out on anything. When you sit down to eat with someone important, keep in mind who he is. If you have a big appetite, restrain yourself. Remember, there you are. Workplace etiquettes. Being culturally sensitive. Now workplace etiquette is so important because, you know, as a person who is in learning and development, I spent years in the workplace there and my job was to train people to learn skills, develop them both in character, develop them in their speech and, you know, this is the way that they are to encourage, to build etiquette, to help them to have a good corporate life. Workplace etiquette is very, very important. Please thank yous when you sit for food, how you sit and eat, or when you're asking for a request, how do you do it. Just simple things. Just workplace etiquettes. It could even be, you know, wearing good clothes. That's a workplace etiquette. Honourable clothes. So be sensitive, culturally sensitive. Build etiquette in everything that you do. Okay, next one. I'm not sure we can finish this. Okay, when the heat is on, behave wisely. Okay, let's look at this, right? Okay, first Samuel 1813 to 15 and was 30. Therefore Saul removed him from his presence and made him his captain over a thousand and he went out and came in before the people and David behaved wisely in all his ways and the Lord was with him. Therefore when Saul saw that he had behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him and the princes of the Philistines went out to war and so it was whenever they went out that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul so that his name became highly esteemed. King Saul became jealous of David's accomplishment and how did David accomplish all this through wisdom? Now King Saul himself put David in the military. David was a shepherd born, but he put him in the military hoping that David would be destroyed. Okay, come, be in the military because if you see what happened was after David and Goliath, everyone started singing. Saul killed thousands, David killed tens of thousands, jealousy came immediately that day. He said, how do I get rid of this guy? So you see the enemy, how he thinks. So Saul thought to himself, okay, one way is put him in the military, send him to war. Somehow if he dies, it's good. Then I can continue to be the king. But what happened? David act more or behaved more wisely in every situation. The word behave more wisely simply means he acted prudently. He acted circumspectly. Paul writes that, right? Circumstantly, to be prosperous, to be successful. He was very wise. David didn't go to Saul and say, hey Saul, even I've got an army now. If we won't go ahead on, I think we can, I can defeat you. So it's better you just forfeit your throne and give it to me. And I'll be the next king of Israel. But he didn't do that. He learned, he was wise, he learned, he understood. Even when he got the chance to kill King Saul, he cut off the edge of his robe. And he says to King Saul, see, even though it was in my hand to kill you, I did not see the end of your robe is with me. And when Saul saw that, he said, oh David, you know, you truly, you are God's anointed and all of that. But he acted wisely. Now David was in a pressure. There was pressure on him all across every time wherever he runs Saul and his army is coming. So it was not like David was just relaxing. He was going through a difficult time. The heat was on. His life was on the line. He was not yet the king. But even in that situation, he acted wisely. Overcoming the current situation or not looking at the situation and making your decisions. What if David killed Saul? His problems are over. Really, his problems will just be over. He would have killed Saul and the army would have said, hey, okay, now he's no more the king since you are the king, we will join you. End of story. But he behaved wisely. Even to the point that when Saul and they came back with the news that Saul had, you know, killed himself because he didn't want to be killed by the enemy sword. What did David do? Did he start worship that day? No. He put on sackcloth and ashes. And he was the death of Saul. Why would he want for the death of Saul? Okay, finally, I didn't kill Saul. Somebody killed Saul or he killed himself. So now I can become the king peacefully. He moved the death of an anointed leader whom God had chosen. That is acting wisely. Of course, after that, what had to happen happened. He became the king of Israel. But he behaved wisely. Probably the army would have seen that he saw his mourning. Sorry, David is mourning the death of Saul. What a man. Even though he was, King Saul was trying to kill him. He's still mourning his, maybe some of them would have thought, what a man of integrity. I want to join his army. So we see that when we walk wisely, when we walk circumspectly, we will prosper. And this is most importantly at times when the heat is on, when there is trouble, when there is challenges ahead. Behave wisely. In these moments of, you know, heat, I would say, like moments of pressure that is bogging us down. During those moments, try not to make decisions. Wait for a while. Let your, you know, just rest a while. Be calm. Then make sure you pray fully. Act circumspectly. And when we do that, God will prosper us. Right. So we couldn't finish this chapter, but we can finish it next week. Any questions before we close? I've been talking a lot. Any questions? And I hope, you know, you've been able to understand and grasp what we're learning together. All right. Let's quickly close in prayer. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for what we have studied today. We thank you, Lord, for your word of God. We thank you for relationships. And I pray God that you will enable each one of us, Lord, whether in ministry, whether in the workplace, that Lord, we will just have honorable relationships who will walk in integrity and a lot to please you, Lord, in everything that we do. We thank you, Lord. I pray for each and every student that you will bless them and help them to understand and grow in your word of God. We thank you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right. Thank you so much, everyone. Have a great week ahead. I'll see you on Wednesday. God bless. Yeah. Thank you, Pastor.