 If you want to be an effective Christian, you need to implement these five daily habits. This message is going to challenge you. And this message is going to present habits that you can implement today. Like as soon as you're done hearing this, you can go and implement these practices and they will transform your life. But you have to allow yourself to be challenged. But first, I want you to write in the comment section three simple words, write glory to glory. Because as you begin to implement these five habits, these biblical practices, you'll begin to grow on the spirit and the influence of the Holy Spirit will increase in your life and transform you from glory to glory. So write those three simple words in the comment section, glory to glory. Number one, daily, you have to read the word. And I'm not just talking about the scripture of the day or the Instagram encouragement of the day. I'm talking about devoting yourself to the word to such a degree that you know the Bible front to back. Not skipping around, not just taking little bits and pieces, not just gleaning little half truths, but receiving the scripture as a whole. Really studying it, letting it become a part of you, knowing what the Holy Spirit intended when he inspired every single word. And devoting yourself to the scripture, Colossians chapter three verse 16 says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Let God's truth permeate your being, let it transform who you are. No excuses, no setting aside of this important practice, but total focus and commitment. If you're serious about hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, you'll get serious about reading the word. To know the scripture is to receive revelation from God by the Holy Spirit. The words inspired our spirit and life. And as you begin to devote yourself to the scripture, you'll notice transformation taking place, maybe not immediate transformation, but sinful habits will break. You'll grow in patience. The way you think will be transformed. You'll experience more joy. You'll experience a heightened awareness of the presence of God in your life. If you devote yourself to the word, if you commit yourself to the scripture, Psalm 119, 105 says, thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. The word of God lights your way. As you begin to glean from the wisdom in the word of God, it changes the way that you think and it causes you to walk according to wisdom. So now you're not confused about the path ahead, but you're confident about the direction you're going because you're basing your life on the word. 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. So the word of God was given to us by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. From the scriptures, we get our doctrine, not from our life experiences, but from the scripture. We don't base our doctrine off of our experiences, rather we describe our experiences based on the doctrine that we receive from the word for reproof or correction. So this causes you to make adjustments in your life that need adjusting. And maybe if you have a flaw or an issue that you're not aware of, as you read the scripture, it begins to reveal those things to you for instruction and righteousness. In other words, not just avoiding the mistakes, but meeting that standard of righteousness to which God has called us all, to becoming more and more like Jesus, to conforming our lives to that image. The word of God is the substance with which the Holy Spirit creates the character of Christ in you. I'm gonna say that again. The word of God is the substance with which the Holy Spirit creates the character of Christ in you. Thoroughly furnished unto all good works. You wanna fulfill your calling. You wanna be effective for the kingdom of God. You wanna influence your family and friends around you in a positive way, causing them to draw closer to the Lord. The word of God will do that for you. But you have to be a person of the word. Don't tell me you don't have time for the word if you're caught up on your latest Netflix series. Don't tell me you don't have time for the word if you're scrolling on social media feeds for hours on end. Don't tell me that you don't have time for the word if you get stuck on TikTok and YouTube for hours. Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to receive ministry from social media. In fact, that's what you're doing right now. But I am saying that we cannot replace our personal devotion with social media scrolling. We cannot replace our personal devotion with the preaching that we hear online. We ourselves have to receive the word and make it a habit. And this is the first habit of a highly effective Christian. You wanna be a strong Christian? You wanna be a consistent Christian? You wanna be a Christian who's stable even in the midst of turmoil and trial? You need the word in your life. That's number one, read the word daily. And again, not just little glimpses here and there of truth but pour over the scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Understand the scripture as a whole that you might glean the various truths within. Number two, pray daily. Matthew chapter 26 verses 40 through 41 say this, then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. Of course, we know this right here is a story attached to the crucifixion narrative and this is Jesus preparing to go to the cross. He's praying and his disciples, instead of praying with him, keeping watch with him, are sleeping. Couldn't you men keep watch with me for one hour? He asked Peter. Verse 41 says, watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. This is a key portion of this verse. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. That's very insightful. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Within you, placed there by the Holy spirit is a desire to pray, is a desire to connect with God. But the flesh is weak. The flesh fights your commitment to prayer. Why? Because prayer is the death of the flesh. The flesh seeks distraction. Even now, maybe your flesh is looking for distraction, something entertaining, something different than the spiritual. The flesh seeks distraction. The flesh seeks entertainment for entertainment's sake. But the spirit desires that which is of the Holy spirit. And so within you is this desire to pray and that desire to pray is itself an invitation to prayer. God put that desire in you because he's calling unto you. But it's up to you to act upon which desire you choose. It's up to you to either act upon the desire of the spirit or the desire of the flesh. It's up to you to say, I'm going to choose to pray rather than to go after that which the flesh desires. It's a daily habit of prayer. And not just waking up saying, thank you, Lord, for this day and then moving about your day. That's one form of prayer. That's spontaneous prayer. It's good to pray without ceasing. It's good to pray as you work and as you go to school and as you drive from place to place and as you carry out your daily activities in the home. It's good to pray as you go about your day. But do not forget that place of solitude carving out a section of your day to devote only to prayer. You need both spontaneous and scheduled prayer. Spontaneous prayer is what you do throughout the day. It's conversing with the Lord. It's the practice of the presence of God. It's practicing the awareness of His presence that is with you 24 seven. But scheduled prayer is to carve out a time where you remove all distractions and you are focused on nothing but time with the Lord. It's a daily habit where you consult with God about major decisions, where you fellowship and commune with Him, where you allow Him to work on you and speak to you and then commission you for great works. John chapter five verse 19 says this. So Jesus explained, I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself. He does only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. So there we see Jesus reflecting the will of the Father. Now looking at the life of Jesus, we see that Jesus would pray alone. Matthew 14, 23 says after sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. You need to have solitude and some people will be upset with you for that. Some people will be offended that you'd rather spend time in prayer than time with them. And by no means am I saying that you should neglect your children or neglect your marriage or neglect your friends or family members or neglect your duties as a minister to speak to God's people, the ones He's connected directly with you. Rather what I'm saying is that you have to at least have some portion of the day that's totally dedicated to prayer. And Jesus would do this. He would pray by Himself. So Jesus had this relationship where he was mirroring the will of the Father, not even off by so much as a millisecond. Down to the very last millisecond, Jesus walked in the perfect will of God. How did he do that? He saw what the Father was doing. So Jesus himself had a prayer life and prayer will help to align you with the will of the heavenly Father. Matthew chapter six verses five and six say this, when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father who sees everything will reward you. So in Matthew 14, 23, we see that Jesus prayed alone. And in Matthew chapter six verses five and six, we see that Jesus instructs us to have moments of solitude in prayer. Jesus was disciplined to pray in the morning, that's Mark 135, to pray at night, that's Mark six, 46 and 47, and often Luke 5, 16. So Jesus would pray often, Jesus would pray in the morning and Jesus would pray at night. Prayer, prayer, prayer. His life was saturated by prayer. And you and I likewise must mimic Jesus in this way. We must implement daily prayer, not just spontaneous as in throughout the day, throwing up prayers, acknowledging God, moments of worship. Those are great and you should include those moments in your everyday life as well. But we must add to that spontaneous prayer, scheduled, focused, secluded prayer. You see, if I'm praying spontaneously throughout the day, that brings longevity to my Christian walk. But when I begin to schedule prayer and seclude myself in prayer, that brings depth. You see, believers who have longevity don't all necessarily have the same depth. When you serve the Lord, it's not a matter of how many years you've served him. I've heard often many Christians present their years of serving the Lord as if those years in and of themselves count. Now, of course, we commend believers who are faithful to the gospel. We commend ministers who are in ministry for decades and faithfully so. Of course, we commend that. Don't hear what I'm not saying. What I'm saying though is that the time alone is not what makes you a mature believer. Just being a Christian for a long time doesn't guarantee that you're going to grow during that time. So when you pray spontaneously, yes, that brings longevity because I'm aware of the presence of the Lord. I'm living in the awareness of that presence. But if you want depth, then you must add to that spontaneous prayer, scheduled secluded prayer. So number one, read the word. Number two, pray. And these are all daily habits. And you have to make the decision to implement them. People may ask, David, how do I do that? How do I pray daily? There's no secret formula. To begin to pray, you have to decide to begin to pray. To pray daily, you have to choose to pray daily. There's no secret. There's no formula. There's nothing I can give to you, no trick that can make that easier. You have to determine within yourself that you're going to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit, that you're going to follow after the spiritual desires. You have to make that daily decision to implement these spiritual practices. No one is going to decide to do that for you. Think about the fact that the Holy Spirit gives us one of the fruits, which is self-control. Not Holy Spirit control, but self-control. In other words, he has given you, by his essence, the ability to control yourself. So he's given you self-control. It's up to you whether or not you choose to use that which he has given to you. So you have to make the decision. You have to be the one to say, okay, I'm going to choose today, right now, beginning now, to implement these practices. Number three, renew the mind. Now, to repent is to change the mind. Not everything you think and believe is accurate, myself included. I'm sure that 20 years from now, I'm going to look back and see that throughout those 20 years, I had to correct many different things in my doctrine. Maybe they're not big corrections. Maybe they're just small adjustments. Not just in my doctrine, but in my thinking overall, in my perspective, in my attitude, in my behavior, in my speech, in my thought life. I'm sure there are many more things I still have to correct. But if I throw up my hands and say, well, I'm righteous in Christ, I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, I've been imputed with that righteousness because of faith. Yes, we understand that salvation is by grace through faith, Ephesians 2, 8, and 9. Yes, we understand that Abraham believed God, it was counted in him as righteousness. So that righteousness has been imputed to us. When God sees us, he sees us as holy righteous simply because of the faith that we placed in Christ. We understand that that is true, but two things can be true at the same time. Well, it is true that Christ's righteousness has been imputed to you simply because you believed. It's also true that we can choose to walk in that righteousness and grow in that righteousness. We've been given it, but are we walking in it? Are we allowing it to influence the way that we live? So this idea that I never need to ask for God's forgiveness again, there's just nonsense. It's not even biblical. Romans chapter 12, verse two, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. In other words here, this is something that is ongoing, the renewing, this is a continual state of being. My mind is being renewed. I am being sanctified. I am being perfected. He that begun a good work in me is faithful to complete it, meaning I'm still being worked on. I still have things I need to have perfected in me. None of us have completely arrived. Paul the apostle himself wrote, not that I've achieved this or that I've arrived, but I forget those things which are behind me. I press on to that prize that is ahead. In other words, there still is progress to be made and we have to acknowledge this about ourselves. If we're ever going to grow, then we have to lay aside ego and pride because ego and pride won't allow us to admit that we don't know it all. Ego and pride won't allow us to admit that we haven't arrived. Ego and pride won't allow us to admit that we aren't the most spiritual person in the room. We have to allow ourselves to set aside that ego and pride and say, I can still grow in the word. I can still grow in my thinking. I can still grow in my character. There's still a lot of work that needs to be done, not for the sake of condemnation, but rather for the sake of growth. Not just pointing out what we're not, but pointing out the standard to which we can all aspire to be inspired to reach for that prize, which is Christ himself and being like Christ. To fight for the truth, to renew the mind. Now this is something that's not that often talked about, but it's something I believe that we should implement as believers if we're going to grow and we're going to grow in strength. Philippians four eight says, now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing, fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Lord, help me communicate this. I want you to write in the comments section, right? Lord, help me receive this. I really pray I can communicate this clearly. Lord, help me. You would be amazed at how many believers think they are practicing this, but are not. Why? Because there are many layers to our flesh. There are many layers to our unbiblical thought patterns. There are many layers to our attitudes that we've developed over a period of time due to our experiences or lack of experiences. And though we might think that we are choosing truth, all too often we're actually rejecting truth in the way we think. What we think about God, what we think about ourselves, what we think about our lives, what we think about those around us, what we think about this world, what we think about sin, what we think about God's word, there are subtle forms of deception that are being corrected in all of us. And so we have to do as the scripture says, and this is a command, by the way, it's an instruction, this is an epistle, fix your thoughts on what is true. This goes beyond positive thinking because you can't just think yourself into liberty. Rather, this is truthful, godly, spiritual living, thinking according to what God says, because all too often we say, yes, I believe, but the moment we feel something that contradicts what we believe, we begin to struggle. We say, yes, I believe, but the moment a challenging situation arises that causes us to be swayed even in the slightest, we shift back to our old behavior patterns in our thoughts. We switch back over to old forms of thinking. And so we say things like, yes, I'm thinking according to the truth. Yes, I believe the word of God will say, but I feel this, but this is my experience. But you don't understand my situation. Know my friend, God's word is true all the time and this is why we have to be constantly renewing the mind. And this comes through, yes, reading the word, this comes, yes, through prayer, but it also comes through discipline of thought. Let me tell you something that isn't very popular to say, but I'm gonna tell it to you anyway because I love you. It doesn't matter what culture teaches, it doesn't matter what so-called experts tell you, it doesn't matter what you want to believe and tell yourself. You are in control of your thoughts. You say, what about intrusive thoughts? What about negative thoughts? What about blasphemous thoughts? What about tormenting thoughts? What does the scripture say? You fix your thoughts on what is true. Now it may not feel like you can control your thoughts, but the moment that you grant the premise, the moment that you give the enemy ground by saying, maybe I can't control my thoughts. Maybe there's nothing I can do. The moment you believe that lie, that you cannot control your thoughts, is the moment you've lost most of the battle. Because even though it feels like you can't choose your thoughts, I promise you you can and you get better and better at it with practice. I call this my Philippians filter. In other words, if it's not true, if it's not honorable, if it's not right, if it's not pure, if it's not lovely, if it's not admirable, I'm not letting it in. I'm choosing to take the truth of God's word and hold it like a light against the various streams of thought that flow through my mind and choosing to allow that light to expose that which is not according to the word of God. And I'm rejecting that thought. And I say that thought can't come in or if it comes in, I say that thought cannot stay. And you have the ability to do this. I don't care what your therapist told you. I don't care what your parents told you. I don't care what your teacher told you. I don't care what you told yourself. You have the ability to choose your thoughts. Let God be true and every man a liar. Let God's word be true and our opinions be lies if they should contradict that truth. God has given us instructions and that is to fix our thoughts. So this renewing of the mind is a practice many believers don't implement. They read the word, great. They pray, great, and they should. But because they are not choosing their thoughts and aligning those with the word and aligning those in prayer, they're not experiencing most of the victory that belongs to them in Christ Jesus. What you believe determines how you behave. How you behave determines what you feel and determines what becomes a habit and determines what becomes your lifestyle. And so it's very important that you don't give the enemy any ground. Don't let him lie to you by insisting that you cannot control your thoughts. Rebuke the enemy, resist the enemy, and he will flee instead believe God's word. Choose your thoughts according to God's word. Make adjustments as you go if you have to. You're not gonna get this right the first time. You're gonna make mistakes in this area, but as long as you acknowledge that God's word is true and that you're going to allow that to be true for you, as long as you acknowledge that if you should think something that contradicts God's word, that you're gonna go with God's word, then you're on the right path and this becomes progressive victory and you go from glory to glory. So practice renewing the mind. It's so key and I wish it was talked about more often. Practice, you say, how do I do it? Well, your thoughts are the actions of the mind. You can choose what you think and reject and you can choose what you dwell on. That's a fact of scripture. Number one, read the word. Number two, pray. Number three, renew the mind. Number four, connect. Connect how? Connect with other believers. Connect by serving in church. Connect with non-believers through the act of evangelism. These connection points actually do something for you in the spirit. Hebrews 10, 25 says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. Now, as I said, I am going to challenge you and I do not wish to be insensitive to any hurt you might have experienced in the church. But the fact of the matter is, even though you have experienced hurt, even though you may have reason to be hesitant, even though you may have had bad experiences with other believers, the scripture is clear that you need to be connected with the local body of believers. Now, I can already hear the excuses in my mind because they're typical and by that I don't mean that as an insult, I mean that they're pretty consistent across the board. Most people say things when they're trying to resist this idea of going to church, like, well, I am the church. We shouldn't gather in a building. Well, you do realize that in the New Testament, they would often gather in buildings, not just in houses, but yes, also in buildings. Yes, also in the synagogues. Yes, also in the places of public assembly. This idea that they just stood in church or just stood in homes, isn't even biblical. They gathered everywhere that they could in public. So while we understand that church isn't the building, it's important to realize that you are the body of Christ when you are assembled. You become the body when you are assembled. If you disconnect from the body through refusing to gather, you're not of the body in practice, but now you've become a severed limb. The body requires assembly. I am the church. Yes, you are the church when you gather with others. So biblically speaking, you become the church in your gathering. And yes, we understand it's not about a building. It's not about the place that you gather, but buildings hold people and people are the church. And there's nothing wrong with, people say things like, well, I just don't like organized church. I'm thinking, what do you like? Disorganized church, chaotic church, sporadic church, aimless church. My friend, that's not how God designed it. Name me one thing that God ever made that didn't have a system to it. I know by the spirit I'm hitting a point that really needs to be addressed here. Name me one thing that God ever did that didn't have a system to it. Yes, I understand that when it comes to miracles, the power of the Holy Spirit, demonstrations of the gift, there is no system. And I teach that very clearly that when you're flowing with the Holy Spirit, there is no system. But God is a God of order. Let all things be done decently in an order. Everything that we do ought to be done as unto the Lord. God made an ecosystem that exists in a solar system that contains you and I. And we are physical systems, muscular systems, skeletal system, nervous system, digestive system. It goes on and on and on. Down to the smallest structure you can find, on a molecular level, on a subatomic level, you'll find systems. On a macro level, you'll find systems. Everything God does has a system to it, including the church. And this is why there are leadership positions and discipleship positions and tasks and gifts and assignments because we are under God's system, which is a kingdom and there is always order to a kingdom. God will not bless a mess. And so we have to realize that in our gathering, then we become the body of Christ. People say foolish things all the time, like, well, I don't go to church, I'm the remnant. My friend, if you're not gathering with believers, you're not the remnant, you're the rebellious and you need to get your life in line with the word of God. Now, this may stir some things in you because you've been hurt, but you're going to have to forgive. And that's one of the points I'm bringing up here. You have to practice forgiveness. There is no excuse for not doing what God's word says. And I know that sounds harsh, but I'm saying it to you because I love you. And I'm tired of seeing God's people in isolation because in isolation is where you begin to become susceptible to very strange doctrines and legalism and paranoid ways of living. And if you want to get stuck in that, okay, but I love you too much to let you just do it without at least a warning. We need to get back to the place of gathering. We need to get back to the churches. And again, we are the church when we assemble. Proverbs 27.17 says iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another. In our ministry, we have what's called spirit led structure. When it comes to the power of God, miracles, healing, it's a mystery. We can't explain how he does it. There is no system, but this doesn't mean there is an order to the way that we do things. And part of that order as a ministry is that we've taken great intention to unite as a body of believers also and keep each other accountable and keep each other in fellowship and check up on one another. You come into our ministry team, you will feel a positive atmosphere here at the ministry among the team. Why? Because we know each other because there's actual fellowship because there's actual connection. Do sparks fly? Sometimes you bet they do. But when iron is sharpening iron, that's when the sparks will fly. Iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another. Yes, there is conflict, but conflict shapes character. Yes, there are some issues that will arise that will make you very uncomfortable, but that's what happens when you get close to people. You're gonna have to, look, I'm just gonna be honest with you, you're gonna have to run the risk of being hurt again and you probably will get hurt again. You're gonna have to run the risk of being rejected and you probably will get rejected, but you have to begin to take steps that will cause you to walk with others alongside Christ. God never intended that we live our faith out in isolation. Moments of solitude is one thing. Lifestyles of isolation, that's something else entirely. Moments of solitude, those are good. A lifestyle of isolation, not so good. And so daily connect. Now this doesn't mean you have to go to a church or a public gathering every day, but in some way connect on a daily basis with people who love you, who know you, who keep you accountable. Don't be some mysterious figure that no one can ever correct or know anything about. And some of us are so afraid of getting close to people because we don't want them to see those things in our life that is out of order. And so we have to learn to connect. So you connect through fellowship. You connect through serving in a local church. You connect through serving in a ministry. You connect through evangelizing. Well, think about connecting with the unbeliever through the act of evangelism. Very few things will put a fire in you like winning a soul. You've ever seen us at those services where I give the call to receive Christ as Lord and you see the many come to the front and receive Christ as Lord. I'll tell you, I'm never so alive as in that moment. I'm never so full of joy as in that moment. Even thinking about it right now, I'm overwhelmed by the thought of people experiencing the miracle of salvation. You need to begin to win souls again and watch what that does for your Christianity. You watch what that does with your walk with the Lord because now you become focused on others situations and less focused on your own issues. Not to say that we should ignore our problems or never address them in any way, but rather it helps to keep them in perspective. It helps to keep you focused on the eternal, on the matters of the kingdom that you might continue to grow. If you want your fire to continue to burn, you have to give it something to consume. Connect. So number one, read the word, that's daily. Number two, pray, that's daily. Number three, renew the mind, that is definitely daily. Number four, connect, that's daily. Number five, and now we're really gonna challenge you here. If you're ready for a challenge type, I'm ready. Number five, daily, you have to practice forgiveness. Now it's interesting to me, the internet is a strange place. If you can call it a place, I don't know if a digital space is a literal place, but the internet is a strange place. If I post something about forgiveness on YouTube or on Facebook, it's interesting to me that every time I've posted something on the internet about forgiveness, I'll always get comments from people who took it so personal that they'll write in the comments section, well, you don't know how they hurt me. Or David, you don't know what you're talking about. I'll forgive them when I'm ready. Or David, how dare you? You don't know how vile it is, what they did. I can't forgive them. So you don't know what you're saying, preacher. And I'm thinking to myself, here's a video I made that was just sent out to the general public, but they're so guarded in this area. And I don't say this as a criticism, I say this out of compassion. They're so guarded in this area. They're so defensive in this area. That even just a video that wasn't addressed to them personally, even just a video about forgiveness, will cause them to go on the defensive to where now they think I'm attacking them. That's hurt. That's pain. That's an unhealed wound. Even now, maybe some of you were tempted to type, well, you don't know what I went, how dare you say I need to forgive? You don't know the story. Well, think about the fact that I'm just throwing this out there in the public. You have to ask yourself, why did you take that so personal? And I'm telling you why, it's because that's an area that's unhealed and you're guarding it because you're afraid of being hurt again. And I'm saying this to you as your brother, as your friend in Christ, I know it's scary to open your heart like that, especially after you've been hurt and burned and betrayed. Now, I can't pretend to know what your situation is exactly. I don't know. You're right. I don't know. But God does. And here's what the Bible says, Ephesians 4.32. And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. How did God forgive you? To what degree? In what way? What stipulations did he place on that? In the same way you are to forgive others. Now Christ forgave us, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We receive the benefits of that forgiveness by faith, namely salvation, but he still forgave us. So you and I have not just the opportunity, but the obligation to forgive others just as God has forgiven us. Forgive faster than they can apologize. You may even have heard the cliche. You know, holding unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping it hurts the other person. Forget that. It's not about releasing the other person necessarily. It's not even about releasing you. It's about obeying God, because you grieve the Holy Spirit when you withhold that forgiveness. You grieve the Holy Spirit because he's seeing what he's forgiven you of, yet we withhold. Forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. I don't care what the world says. I don't care what culture says. I don't care what anyone says. I care what the word says. And the word says that as Christians, we have to be really good forgivers. That's one of the distinguishing marks. I should say that should be one of the distinguishing marks about Christians is that we are just incredibly generous with forgiveness to the point that the world can't understand it. To the point that it confounds the skeptics. Why would you forgive? How can you forgive? Nothing so demonstrates the grace of God in your life as your ability to forgive what is seemingly unforgivable. Nothing so demonstrates the grace of God in your life as the ability to forgive that which is seemingly unforgivable. That's what makes you a Christian in part. I didn't say that's what saves you, but that's a big part of being a Christian. That you forgive the seemingly unforgivable. That people look at your forgiveness and go, why, how, to the point where they're almost offended by it. The way we forgive others should offend the world. Like how can you let that go? Very difficult standard, I know. Well, how do I know that? Because it says you're to forgive as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. And the world is quite offended at the idea that certain individuals can be found in heaven. They're angered by that idea. It offends them because they don't understand the grace of God. The way you forgive others should confound people, should astonish people, should make them scratch their head and go, I don't understand that. I know that's not the way the world sees it. I know the world demands revenge, often disguising it as justice, but you are to forgive even as Christ has forgiven you. First Peter four, eight, most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other for love covers a multitude of sins. Give grace, give the benefit of the doubt. Give the benefit of the doubt. You hear something about someone, give them the benefit of the doubt. Someone does something to upset you, give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't mean it that way, or that maybe the look they gave that was possibly an angry look wasn't an angry look, that you just caught them in a bad moment. Give the benefit of the doubt. Matthew chapter 18, verses 20 through 21. Then Peter came to him and asked, Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me seven times? No, not seven times, Jesus replied, but 70 times seven. You see my friend, and many of you will understand this. Sometimes it's not just the sin that you have to forgive or the offense that you have to forgive. Many times it's the memory of the offense that you have to forgive. I can't tell you how many times someone has offended me and I forgive them and then one week later it comes to my mind again and I can feel myself getting angry again and I have to forgive them again, not just for the original offense, but now for the memory of that offense. And maybe that's what you have to do for several years until you're finally conditioned to forgiveness. I know it doesn't sound fair, but was it fair when God forgave you? I know it's not right that you're the one that has to do all the work and get through this, but was it fair that Jesus was crucified for our sins? Forgiveness by the grace of God is not always fair, but it is what he teaches us to do. And this is something we as believers have to do daily, forgive, forgive, forgive. Number one, read the word daily. Two, pray daily. Three, renew the mind daily. Four, connect daily. Five, forgive daily. Holy Spirit, help us do it. Lift your hands and just say, help me, Holy Spirit. Help us, Lord. We need your grace. We need your empowering presence. This is a divine work, Lord. We can't do it without you. Father, we pray that your nature and character would be demonstrated through our lives. As we yield, as we put to death the deeds of the flesh, as we subject and weaken the carnal nature, that the nature of Christ rise within us, let us be more like Jesus every moment of every day. Let us fall more in love with Jesus every moment of every day. Help us to do this, Lord. Let us walk supernaturally in these areas. We commit now to it, Lord. Help us keep that commitment. In Jesus' name we pray, I want you to say it because you believe it, say amen. Well, if you enjoyed the message and you think others need to hear it, make sure you leave a like. Yes, that'll actually help to spread the message. And also, if you haven't done so already, make sure that you're subscribed to our channel so that you can continue to receive content like this and don't forget to click the notification bell when you do subscribe so that you can receive notices whenever we put out new content. Now, let me show you something here in Matthew chapter six. This is Jesus speaking. And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for the wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? A question that Jesus asked. Verse 31, so don't worry about these things, saying, what will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? These things, this is convicting right here. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers. But your heavenly father already knows all your needs. Seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously. He will give you everything you need. Here Jesus is talking about the worry that we often have in regards to our material needs here on earth. And Jesus asks, why do you have so little faith? You can almost hear it in the tone. Don't you trust me? Don't you believe that I'm going to take care of you? Listen, God has never failed us. God has never failed us and he isn't going to start now. Don't worry about your material needs. There's so much going on in the world today, reported in the news, social media feed. You realize that every year there's something to be afraid of. Every year there's reason to believe that everything is going to go downhill. Every year we have an excuse to be fearful. But even in the midst of all of that, the reporting, the projections, the nay saying, the complaining, rising above the noise is a truth to which we should lend our attention. And in that truth we should place our faith that God will provide. God will take care of you. And because we know that, we're free to put the kingdom first. So seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Put the kingdom of God first and all these things shall be added unto you. I want to challenge you to do that right now. By putting the kingdom of God first, we demonstrate faith. Today I'm asking you to help us spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit all around the world through events and media. Your giving makes impact. Your donations matter. You may look at the various different people who watch these streams, who participate in the Holy Spirit School, who consume the content or who attend the events, and you may say, oh, they're gonna take care of it. What could I possibly do? But I promise you you're giving counts. I promise you you're gonna make a difference. Even if you're saying I can't do much, even what little you can do, partnered together with everyone's doing, that's gonna make the impact. So don't be afraid. Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't worry about what you'll wear. Don't worry about what you'll eat. Don't worry about where you'll live. Put the kingdom of God first. Then all those things will be added unto you. Go right now to davidhernandezministries.com slash donate to give a single donation. You can go to davidhernandezministries.com slash partner to become a monthly ministry supporter. And I do want to challenge many of you if you've been blessed by this ministry. You've been receiving from the content. Maybe you go to our events and your life is being transformed. Pay that forward. Become a monthly ministry supporter so that we can continue to expand this reach and reach even more people. Souls are being saved. People are being healed, delivered and empowered. Get involved today. Again, davidhernandezministries.com slash donate for a single gift. davidhernandezministries.com slash partner to become a monthly ministry supporter. Your giving makes a difference and it will help to grow this ministry. We are in a great season of favor and expansion like never before. Get on board, be a part of what God is doing and let's make a difference for the kingdom of God as we see the light of the gospel going forward and the darkness of the kingdom of hell being pushed back. It makes a difference. Give today. If you're giving from an international location and you're wondering if we accept your currency and go to our website, check that out first. If that doesn't work, then you can sew through YouTube or Facebook or other means. And also, yes, as many have been asking, we do accept cryptocurrency. All of that there available on the website. Thank you for your giving. It's very much appreciated. It'll be put to good use. And until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God.