 Okay, welcome back to our next class. Hope you had a good break, had a coffee, freshened yourself. Okay, we'll continue on. So what we've been looking up until now is, you know, we've been looking up. Yes, Anita, you have a question? Yes, no. I wanted to ask, like in the Old Testament, God has told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. So from where the marriage institution came. And now, like how it is said, that if anybody has kingdom calling, and if they want to devote all of their time to the service, then they should not get married. But as we see nowadays, like all the pastors and leaders, they are all married. Like what is upheld high? Is it singleness or is that marriage is honored that way? Like I wanted to see their perspective like that. Okay, so as we read in that scripture, Anita, it's not that either of this are held high. I think it was in that scripture. I'm just trying to look to where that scripture is. Yeah, it's in 1 Corinthians 7 verse 38, right? It says marriage is spiritually and morally right and not inferior to singleness in any way. So there isn't a state that is higher than the other. If you marriage or singleness, needn't be looked at as inferior. These are choices that one can make. Okay, so when you look at Paul, it is the choice that he made. So he says that in verse 32, that he's telling you, you can be free of these further complications. And when if you are unmarried, you have your complete concentration on the Lord. But marriage does involve certain responsibilities. So he's just giving you a comparison of what happens in both states or both lifestyles. But he does say that at the end, it is not inferior. So it is a choice that you make, whether you want to do so. You can pursue kingdom calling even when you're married. But if you'd want to do that without these additional responsibilities, that is also a choice that is given to you. So there's nothing that one is higher than the other. Both have its own challenges and people have their own preferences or choices in making that decision. That's what Paul says here. Right, ma'am. The only thing is, I was thinking that in Old Testament, as God had told Adam and Eve to multiply and be fruitful. So I was thinking, this option of singleness, is it come only in New Testament? Because as a mankind, God had commanded. So it's a commission. By default, that is a commission. So I'm trying to think about in the Old Testament, we're not given accounts of maybe some of the prophets about whether they're married or not. We don't have a count of it. So I don't know if it is easy to assume that. However, that's something I will also do. I shall also check to find if there is any other insight on that, Anita. There are actually many prophets, not just Jeremiah. If you look at Elisha, there aren't accounts, if I remember right. I'm not 100% sure. I will need to look at Old Testament prophets or those who've been working for the Lord, whether they've been married or not. So I will check that. But like I said, scripture may not bring about those accounts. So it may be hard to assume that this is only a New Testament teaching. So what we've been doing up until now is building certain foundations of what marriage and family is. So we looked at understanding marriage, finding biblical perspectives in marriage. We looked at preparation. We've looked at making a choice. There are two more areas that we are going to be looking at when we are looking at foundational truths in marriage. And we're going to be skipping one chapter and maybe we are going to be going into the chapter on attitudes, temperament and behavior. And you can find that on page 56. We're going to be looking at very important foundation of preparing for marriage. So when we're looking at, I think this is one of the, this is a chapter that you can look in, not just in relation to marriage, but in relation to your personal transformation, your personal growth, as well as the way that you relate to anyone for that matter. You know, people in your families, people at your workplace, people in ministry, just learning about and understanding, even in respecting and examining these three specific core words. So every relationship, whatever relationship you may be in is determined by certain traits that you exhibit. Okay. And these traits are certain characteristics, not traits, certain characteristics that you exhibit. One is your attitude. The second is your temperament. And the third is your behavior. So let's just quickly look at what these words mean before we dive into how this applies in a relationship and especially in marriage. So when, what do we mean by attitude? Attitude is the way of thinking of feeling about something. Okay. It can be anything. What are your attitudes or what are your ways of thinking and feeling about something? So I could bring up any, any subject matter to you and ask you, what is your attitude towards it? Okay. So I can bring about maybe a word like junk food. What is your attitude towards junk food? Or it can be what is your attitude towards marriage? What is your attitude towards hard work? So we all develop certain ways of thinking about everything around. And these attitudes generally come by because of what we have experienced because of maybe some of our backgrounds, what we have seen happen in our lives, or what we've heard, what we've read, what we've experienced. So these attitudes have a lot of backing to it. The way that you think or feel about things have a lot of backing to it. Okay. So that's what we mean by attitudes. What do we mean by the word temperament? Now temperament is the nature of a person. It is how we are, the inclination that you have towards life and towards anything that we are talking about. So your inclination towards doing something. So what are you driven to? So that's what a temperament is, the nature of a person, how you are as a person. You may have heard of words, similar words like personality. This is the kind of person I am. This is the type of person I am. I am introverted. I'm extroverted. There are many, many words that we use to explain the kind of people or the nature that is there within us. So that's what temperament is. And behavior, of course, it is an action or something that we do. So attitude is the way that we think or feel about things. Temperament is the nature or our general inclination towards life. And behavior is the action or things that we do. So when two people do get married and they live together, what is it that comes out in the forefront is their specific attitudes and temperament. So we are like a structural house that has a lot of attitudes and traits or characteristics. That is what gets thrown out in a relationship. And these attitudes, this temperament is very important or it plays a very significant role when we relate with each other. So what you are meeting when you meet with a person or when you are in marriage is not just their physical bodies, but it is a lot of the way they think, the way they feel, certain characteristics that they are and the way that they behave. So that is what is expressed in a relationship in different situations. So we may have come across very many people who have very good skills, especially if you look in the medical community. I hope none of you are doctors. I have nothing against doctors or nurses or anything. They are God-given people. But in my experience I have seen there may be all certain professionals who are very good at their work. They are very skilled. They may be exemplary intellectually or in their knowledge of things or in their capacities, but they have their attitudes or their personalities or their temperament. It immediately makes you, you must have had experiences like that saying, the doctor is a great doctor, but he has a terrible attitude. Or for example, there may be people with great achievements, a lot of achievements or great appearance or maybe a lot of money or something that makes them look good or makes them feel as if they are well-versed or they've achieved a lot. But inside of them is packaged these attitudes or their characteristics. So what we are referring to when we say attitudes and temperament is the way that we think, the way that we perceive and the way that we behave or react. So what we are essentially dealing with is these traits, these emotional and mental traits is what we are interacting with when we are dealing with a person. So when we look at these attitudes, there are specifically two important issues that we need that this brings up. So number one is the personal one where we need to be aware and ensure that the way that we are thinking or the way that we are behaving or reacting is healthy and is contributing to the good environment or the well-being of my marriage and my family. So I need to ensure that I have a good attitude and a good temperament and the way that I behave is in a way that is in line to build and encourage the family and the home. The second challenge we find is the need to understand your spouse's capacity to think, to react, to behave, to act or even to communicate in a way so that you can understand your partner well. So it's just not a self-awareness but it is also an awareness of your spouse in the way that they think they behave, their personality is so that they can be again an agreement and oneness. So in marriage or in any relationships, we are ultimately facing these attitudes and these behaviors and these character traits. So if we house or if we have negative emotions or attitudes or behaviors, it definitely causes a strain in the relationship. It can be challenging. It can be detrimental to the marriage in itself. And as individuals and as believers, we need to develop those attitudes which are Christ-like, have a temperament or personality that is controlled by the Holy Spirit and have behavior that is in alignment with the Word of God. So this is a lesson for each one of us for us to keep looking in so that in our relationships, because these things, the attitude, our temperament and our behavior is what really exposes us, we need to look back and examine whether our attitudes are negative, whether our behavior is difficult and whether our personalities or our temperaments are also negative and change them, transform them in accordance to God's Word. So in our initial chapter, we've stressed this need of growing in emotional health and this is closely related to that. And we're going to be looking at specific attitudes that we may see in ourselves as a result of our carnal nature that may come about. Now as believers, what are we called to do? We are called to be Christ-like. If you look at Ephesians 4.13, it says we are to come to the stature of the fullness of Christ. We are to come into the stature of the fullness of Christ. And also our attitudes begin to change only when we abide in God. When we abide in Him, we will walk as He walked, as Christ walked, 1 John 2.6 says. When we abide in Him, we will walk as Christ walks. So this applies to all our relationships and so much more for our marriage. And for the people we deal with on a regular basis, our spouses, our children, our family members. So this, it teaches us how we must be Christ-like. So we are called to have that attitude as Christ. So if we look at scripture, scripture has, you know, in very many places has spoken about what our hearts or what our attitudes need to be like. In several places in scripture, we are called to maintain this Christ-like attitude. And some of the examples, you know, I'm going to maybe just quickly go through a few. On page 57 and 58, you will, you know, the rest of the scripture will be there. But I'm just going to quickly go through a few and you can take time to read through the rest to really define and see what kind of attitude God, you know, is being highlighted. These Christ-like attitudes which are being shown out in this, in these verses. So in Philippians 2, 3 and 5, it says, don't do anything from selfish ambition. So it's talking about, you know, be selfless, be selfless. Then it says, if you go further down, it says, but be humble towards one another, always considering others better than yourself. So it's talking about humility. It talks about sacrifice and being able to give your preference to others. It says in verse 6, look for another's interest. So a sacrifice where you are giving preference to another. Verse 7 says, instead of this, he's talking about Jesus, how he took the nature of a servant, right? So taking that nature, having an attitude of humility where you are able to serve. So here we are called to these attitudes of selflessness. There's humility. There's sacrifice. There is giving preference to others, not being focused, self-focused, but holding on to what is there in others. Other scriptures that come about, I'll take Philippians chapter 2 verse 14 and 15. It says, do everything without complaining or arguing. So there it's not complaining, not arguing, be innocent of evil. Be prudent about evil. Looking at Philippians 4, 4 to 8, show a gentle attitude towards everyone. Don't worry about everything. So it is about having, being patient in affliction, having faith. And God's peace, that is enjoying God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus. If you look at verse 8, it talks about things that you need to think of, to fill your mind with good things, fill your mind with that which is true, which is noble, which is right, which is pure, which is lovely, which is honorable. So if you look at this entire, these very many verses in Ephesians, Philippians and James, it all talks about attitudes that we need, which are Christ-like. And if you look at page 58 in the first paragraph after the verses, it actually gives you, sorry, the second paragraph, it gives you a list of negative attitudes. So some of them being anger, arrogance, argumentative, being cynical, being demanding. There's an entire list over there. So I think it's a good practice for us to look into this list to see what are some of the negative attitudes that we may be harboring. So what these scripture teaches us is that what we must maintain as believers is what is given in scripture. And these attitudes is something that we even take on into our relationships in our marriage. So getting a list, just understanding what does God expect of us when we build our attitudes, when we grow in some of our attitudes. So what happens when you have a bad attitude? So like for example, let's say we don't like somebody. We feel negative about somebody. When we have a bad attitude towards somebody, it affects the way that we view them. We see them in the worst possible light. There is negativity in everything that the person may say, the person may do, the person may behave. And this just leads us into a very wrong kind of an interaction and relationship with that person. So it does not just make that person unhappy, breaks the relationship, but it also affects you and makes you unhappy every time you are around that person. So having a bad attitude affects everything, especially in the way that we relate to one another. A bad attitude can also influence three things. It can influence your expectation, it can influence your experience, it can influence your exit. Like for example, let's say you want to, maybe there is a new course you want to take. And you begin with, let's say if there is a negative attitude to that, you set off with the wrong expectation. You're probably expecting something bad and you're expecting something wrong. You're expecting the teacher is not going to be good or it's going to be a class that's going to be so boring. There isn't going to be this elements of it. So your attitude is definitely going to affect your expectation. Your attitude is also going to affect your experience, the way that you may be sitting in the class because you have a negative attitude to it, there is no motivation. There may be nothing to really encourage you to do those challenging assignments. Or it's almost like you're there just for the sake of it, you're pulling yourself along and dragging yourself along there. And making the experience a very, very miserable one. So it not just affects your expectation, it affects your experience, it also affects your exit. When you leave, what are you taking out of it? If you come in with a negative attitude, you can be sure you're not going to take anything out from there. You're going to be holding on to the negatives of it and maybe complaining and grumbling and saying, I shouldn't have wasted my time, that was a waste of my money, that was a waste. So you find that it can impact the entire phase of your experience of a certain situation. So these negative attitudes, behaviors do not help us at all. We also need to understand that these attitudes are learned. That sometimes it is something that it's because of certain, maybe certain situations that have happened in the past that makes you believe that things are going to be that way. So if there is, for example, any kind of a negative emotion that you are harboring inside, it releases a negative attitude. So it can either be learned, you learn this attitude from someone or it can be because of those negative feelings that may be there with it. We need to know that our attitude is a choice. You and I have a choice. There are things in life that will come. But the way we decide to progress into it is something that you and I have a hold and a command over. We decide and say, in a situation like this, I can naturally look at it negatively or I can look into the word, ask the power of the Holy Spirit to change me in some of these attitudes. It may not be easy. It's not something that may change overnight. But the more that you keep yourself in the Word of God knowing that these are Christ-like attitudes, the way Christ dealt with people is the way that you want to imbibe those same attitudes. So when you do that with the power of the Holy Spirit, you know the change will come about. So if we are, how do we change this? Number one, being open to the Lord, being vulnerable and open to the Lord, saying, Lord, I struggle with this, whatever it may be anger, it may be discontentment, it may be jealousy, it may be negativity. Lord, I come to you with this. I struggle with this. I need you to do your work in me and help me to change these attitudes and behaviors. So what does the Spirit do? He just does not deal with the presentation of it but also with the roots, with why in the first place did those attitudes come about. So it may be because of some form of unforgiveness towards something or somebody that there is a sense of anger that keeps coming out. So the Lord helps us to deal with the root of those attitudes and brings about the change that can be lasting. So if you look at scripture, scripture shows that God transforms us into his image. He transforms us into the image of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, that is in 2 Corinthians 3, 18, or that he makes us will and to do according to his good pleasure. So bringing it to God, asking God to deal with those negative behaviors and attitudes and change them so that we can have those Christ-like attitudes and behaviors. So I want to challenge each of you. If you can get back to that page 58 into the third paragraph and look at that entire list, the opposite of these positive Christ-like attitudes is what we call negative attitudes. And there's an entire list of things and it may really surprise you how many of it you actually show or you actually qualify for. But coming to that place of just examining yourself, asking God to reveal areas that is hidden to you. Another good exercise is, especially for those of us who are married, ask your spouse. They will probably have a much better judgment on what are some of those attitudes. So asking and really bringing it up to the Lord and working on those attitudes. Because having these negative attitudes can be very detrimental to any relationship, especially the one in marriage. For example, let's say you have, there is this attitude of being critical of just finding fault in anything. Even if your spouse brings something, there's always, you never see the good side of it. Say, okay, it's okay, but I liked something else or this tastes better, but I think it needed a bit more salt. Or you look okay, but maybe a black shirt would have looked better. So being cynical or being critical, we need to look into the depth of ourselves to find out where is the source of it. Why is it that I find looking at everything negative come from? So asking the Lord to open that part up for you and help you through that. The next that we'll go into is temperament. I'll complete this and maybe we'll take the last 10 minutes for any specific questions. When we look at temperament, like I said, it's the inclination of the nature of us as people. And that's what really expresses who we are, right? The way we think, the way we react, the way we speak. There is a specific personality in us. So you would have, like I said, there are many terms that are given to this word temperament. It can be and you will have it being thrown all around. So you will have words like personality. I am a talkative person. I'm an outgoing person. I'm an ambivert. I'm an introvert. And you will see that there are many kinds of personality types that are being spoken of. And theoretically, if you actually read it up, there are so many personality studies. And you have type A personality, the type B personality. You have the old Hippocrates personality types of the sanguine, the choleric, the melancholic, the phlegmatic. I mean, there are so many theories that come about. So, you know, some of them may not be scientific in itself and are generally not taken. It is good to understand, you know, yourself and know what are some traits or some strengths or some weaknesses that you have. And we do find that very often we may not be, we may not exactly fit into a personality type, but we may be a good blend of many things. And to know what it is. Now, regardless of what our personalities may be, we need to recognize that when we look at ourselves, we must again see, you know, I often hear this statement, you know, this is the way that I am. I can't change myself. But I don't completely take on that because it's a choice. It is a choice if I decide, you know, maybe when there are people walking into my house, whether I will walk in, not talk to anybody, or I will stay out and maybe say a few words and try and make some kind of a communication or a conversation, right? So, it's a choice, no matter what our temperaments, the way that we react, the way that we are, is a choice. And we are not bound or trapped in our natures or anything that we may be doing or we may be thinking. But if we decide or if we choose, we can unlearn some of these patterns that have been wrong and develop that which is good and positive. So, as believers, we are all called, when we are in Christ, we are also called to be filled with the Holy Spirit. That which, what does this mean? So, this means that in spite or whatever we may be as individuals, whatever personalities we may have, we need to give of ourselves to the Holy Spirit so that his influence begins to manifest in our nature and our character. So, I'll bring that up again. So, no matter how we are as people or as personalities, we need to be filled or impacted or influenced by the Holy Spirit in ways that we can show out the nature and the character of God. So, does that mean we lose ourselves? No. We are, we continue to be ourselves but we choose to yield to the Spirit of God so that it is his nature, his power, his strength that can go out of us in order to bless others as well as to glorify God. So, when we consistently do this, this is what we say we are walking in the Spirit. So, what does that specifically mean? It's like you may be going about your day regularly and you meet many people and the constant asking, saying, Holy Spirit, fill me at this time so that however I respond to this person in this situation, it will reflect who you are. It will reflect your nature. Maybe you are in an argument with somebody and a quick prayer, Holy Spirit, may I be filled by you so that I can show your nature rather than my temperament or my personality. And that's what we do see as the fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5, 22, 23, it talks about nine fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. So, when we yield, when we attach, when we willingly offer ourselves to be influenced, this is what we see. It becomes Spirit filled. It becomes controlled by the power of the Holy Spirit. And that's when the fruit begins to show. The fruit, as we know, is these nine fruit of the Spirit, love, where we are able to express acceptance and love to others. Joy, where there is a sense of rejoicing in everything about life. Where we have peace, where there is shalom in things. Where there is patience, where we are willing to endure with so much. Where there is kindness, where we show a sense of compassion to others. Where there is goodness, there's faithfulness, where we committed, we stay loyal. Where there's humility, where there's self-control. So, when the Spirit of the Lord is in us, we will experience freedom in the way that we express ourselves. As it says in 2 Corinthians 3, 17, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there there is freedom. When there is freedom in the Spirit, He brings all of that joy and that freedom, that peace, that joy, the fruit of the Spirit that just comes out of us. So, when these fill our lives, what we are doing is keeping away those attitudes or those that temperament and taking on the character, the attitudes of Christ and the control of the Spirit in our lives so that in our relationship with others, we are exhibiting who Christ is. We are exhibiting what the Holy Spirit shows us to be. So, next time, we will look a little more in detail about the behavior, about word-government behavior and what is it, how can we personally transform ourselves? Because all of us, when we, like I said, when we examine ourselves, we know that there are very many attitudes or personality traits that we are not very proud of and we keep that quite hidden and the people who see that most are those in our families. So, we are going to be looking at our behaviors as well as how can we be personally transformed in these specific areas. We have 10 minutes more and I would like to open this up for any specific question. Any questions? Yes, sir. Go ahead. Thank you, Professor. Several, but I'm trying to align my questions. So, one is around personalities. Like you mentioned, there are so many tools and researchers that go out there. That is out there. I think one that I have used is Myers-Briggs, who is a 16th personality. So, I mean, I see some value in a personality test or an exercise because you kind of get to, you know what types are there and where do you, like, how are you aligned? What are your own strengths? Some little bit of insight into why you are the way you are. So, that's, but I'm again, this is such a worldly knowledge, right? I mean, it's a combination of stereotyping versus some statistical data that's gone into me through these personalities. And I don't know, in a lot of ways, I think even if it contradicts the Bible, I think, in a lot of ways because my personality test might just define some other way, but God has defined me in a different way. So, I think question one is how do we engage in at least the ones that are popular personality tests, the one that you mentioned, the hippo, and that's something new that I haven't, or even the Myers-Briggs. Like, do you see in people doing, especially in believers doing that, more so to get a sense of how you are? I mean, yes, there is a biblical truth of who you are in Christ, but apart from that, do you engage it or do you say? Like, for example, a horoscope, then we clearly stay away from horoscope. We don't subscribe to that at all. But personality is like, what would you say is the answer? So, that's one. And after that, so that's probably our last, my second question, which is around change. Okay, yeah. So, I think Sam's question was of all the personality tests that are running around and that seems to be so prevalent. There are standardized tests, all of that. Is it right for a believer to engage in taking one of those tests? Okay. So, now, what these tests do, it gives you, it highlights certain things about you in the natural of how you operate in the natural. Okay. And if you are a person who's very keen and aware of who you are, you probably know most of it yourself and you really don't need one to assess that. Okay. And again, let me tell you, not all personality tests are foolproof. Okay. There are very many times you will have things that aren't accurate at all. And that in itself tells you that there are very many factors that show your temperament. Like, for example, let's say you've had a bad day and you're going and doing that personality test, your responses are so colored by what you are going through. And these are certain limitations of these personality tests, which is well recorded and written as well. Okay. So, it's not something that will give you a complete significant understanding of yourself. So, to mention that, it is only the Holy Spirit that can really reveal what is within your heart. Okay. Now, is it okay to do this? Is it not okay to do it? It's fine. I don't see anything wrong in doing a personality test as long as, like we said, that we take what we have or what we see or what has been evaluated as something going to be etched in stone. This is what it says. This is how I am. There's no way that I'm going to change. I think that's where the fallout happens. If you are able to see a little bit about yourself and that you may even be able to do it in a conversation with other people, you know, you may have people who say, Hey, you know, this is what I think you are. Or, you know, this is what I've noticed you to be. Right. So they're giving you a feedback and this is, you know, you're just writing a test of, of trying to, you know, making sense of the way that you react and doing that. And that's just a feedback that's given to you. I think the process in itself is okay. There isn't a harm on that. But the results that you get, if it, if it comes as if an understanding that this is what it is and there's no more change that happens. That's where it, that's where we are out of, out of scripture because we are called to become Christ like we are called to change our ways of living. You know, everywhere in scripture, it is, it is a progressive sanctification. How can we become more and more like Christ? So if there are pointers that helps you in your personality to see, okay, there are maybe these areas that aren't in line with scripture. And maybe I feel that in my spirit. I also feel that that is true. That's when we are looking at, you know, changing and coming to a place of change and transforming the way we are as people. I think these personalities gives you an insight and that's as much as you can take from it. I mean, don't, don't pay too much of attention or seek too much of wisdom from it. Just that it gives you an insight and it helps you to move into something that is more Christ like Samuel. Yeah, I got all of that. And thank you. I think I really liked the progressive sanctification. How, you know, the Bible causes to living the life of progressive sanctification. And I think that the result in identifying that whatever results that the book and it says show, it's not the final verdict. It's some indication of who I am, but that can always change. I think I really liked that part. The other thing I wanted to ask was and probably, you know, some of it maybe will capture in the next session, which is around change. So I think especially in the context of marriage and family. So there's, I'm thinking change is at two levels. Change is a self change. Like I am conscious. I'm consciously changing or trying to change my behavior, my adaptability, my temperament, my attitudes and, you know, developing. And then there is influencing your spouse to change. Like let's say, I mean, as one is you wish your wife to change or you wish your husband to change, but just wishing is enough. So how do you help, you know, someone to change? And so these are the two things. And both of them, I like every time I think of the way of change and how does change happen, it baffles me. Sometimes I feel it's almost wishful thinking like how a person, and I know change happens. A person who is very short tempered can change and become a calm and a patient person and nothing sort of a miracle. But the process of how that happens and yes, a lot of it is the work of the Holy Spirit. But what are the steps that we can consciously put in? I see the value of putting in a process, a system in place. Like let's say I have problems with gratitude and if I just put in a system of writing a thank you note every day. Even if I enforce myself like 9 to 10, I just sit down every morning and even if I can do one thank you note out of me. So that I think some kind of going into the nuts and bolts of how does change happen both of themselves and how can you influence the process. Anything on that. Thank you. Okay, so you spoke about two things. One is personal change and the change that you would desire for your spouse. So one, I think marriage teaches you one thing that more than you focusing on the change of your spouse, focus on the change that you can bring by. Okay, and that's a principle a lot of us have learned after years of marriage. Our initial years of marriage goes in changing the partner. And the next few years, then you know you begin to dawn on yourself and said, you know, where, you know, which school did I go to? And then you say, okay, this has to start from me. So that I think if you're looking at an order, that's the order for those of you who aren't married, that's the order. First, it's a personal, attitudinal, temperamental change. Then it is even attempting or, you know, getting the other your spouse to change. How does this, how does this change for in transformation happen with the spouse? We're going to be dealing with that briefly in the next chapter. And it is, I think, easier said than it is done. You know, let's say you have a nagging spouse. Okay, you could probably open scripture and say, you know, this is what scripture says and you know, they may nag you a little bit more. But it is a process. It requires that patience. It requires that that endurance, all of that, right? So we will be dealing with that a lot more. But I think change, couple of ways change happens. One is immersing yourself in the word. There is this, there is the scripture that talks about how the kingdom of God is like a seed. I'm just trying to get that scripture out to just help us understand that. It talks about how the kingdom of God is like a seed that is being planted and it grows. But it is not, you're not even aware of what, how the change or the transformation happens in the heart of the person. So when we are saying for transformation, very often, can we give it a step by step process and see when does it happen that that attitude begins to change? I think the process is more important, being able to immerse ourselves in God's word. Being able to continue renewing our minds, helping our minds to understand this is not God's way or this is not God's methods. This is what he desires of me. So the more and more that we regurgitate the word of God, it brings about its juices and the power of the Holy Spirit is what brings about that change that you see. And like you rightly said, Sam, that is a miracle that cannot be done by human means, human methods. Of course, it requires your will, your choice of being disciplined in doing what we are called to do, renewing our minds, putting off the old self and taking on the new. These are all by immersing ourselves in the word of God, declaring in faith what he sees in us. Even just praying, God has called me to have the mind of Christ, God has called me to thrive in the fruit of the Spirit. Praying and continuing to in situations when you are really faced with those conditions, being able to respond through that. Making those quick prayers, like I said, Holy Spirit, work inside me. May my Spirit yield to you, may my character yield to you so that only what you want comes in. And you will begin to see the grace and the power of God working without you maybe doing much, but just having had said the prayer of faith. So the way that it works, it's like a dead seed. If you put it into the right conditions, it grows. That's how the Kingdom of God works in the heart of man, it grows. Similarly, when we put our dry selves, our dead attitudes, our dead temperaments, our personalities into a conducive place in God's environment, his word, in his spirit, it will grow. So it's a supernatural work. It is something that we may not really be able to see with our eyes, but we will experience with our hearts and our spirits at the way God has worked through. I hope I answered that to the best, I think I answered it to the best of what I could. Thank you so much. I could imagine sharing with my wife later on about how I asked you about influencing changing the spouse a lot so that you could see her imagining everything. And agreeing with you completely that you need to change faith. Yeah. I think that's good, but yes, in terms of in terms of the biblical approach or a believer's approach to, I think, bringing change in one's life is just a few steps that you give. Right. Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you, Sam. Thank you so much for coming today. Let's just close with a word of prayer and we could dismiss this. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, Lord, God that illuminates reveals so much within us that is hidden. That is away from our understanding. Lord, we pray that you will give us hearts of examination. Lord, maybe, maybe take this time to examine our ways, our thoughts, our attitudes, our feelings, our behavior, the way that we have been in nature. Father, maybe take this time by your spirit. Holy Spirit, thank you that you are that counselor. You're the one who guides us, and you're the one who reveals and convicts us of our sin, and we can trust that you will do that for us. Lord, we desire to be Christ-like. Father, we pray that the work of the Holy Spirit will be made complete in us, Lord, in our lifetime, Father, that we will begin to see those areas that are wicked, those areas that are negative, those areas that bring no fruit to you, Lord. And Father, maybe, be challenged to bring these things to you, and Lord, be transformed into your likeness, into your image, to be able to walk like you walked, to be the new man as you desire us to be. I pray that each one of us on this call would take time to really introspect and search out and find, Lord, what is in us, God. Even there may be things that may be open to us that we aren't proud of, Father. Maybe have the humility to bring it before you because you're a God who sees everything. You're a God who knows us from inside out, Lord, right into the depths of our heart, and we pray, God, that even as you reveal this to us, that we will have, Lord, the humility to bring it to you, and we pray that we will yield our emotions, our feelings, our thoughts to you, and have it be transformed, thereby bringing you glory and building our relationships. Thank you for honoring our prayer and for doing this for us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much. God bless, and we will meet in our next class. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am.