Christian Character - Humility - Part 1

So we're looking this evening in the first of two parts on humility.

So over the next few months, we're going to be looking at different aspects of Christian character.

And we are starting with humility.

And we're starting there for a reason.

And we're going to spend two weeks there for a reason as well.

And that is, I think, because of the central importance of humility

and how it relates to Christian character in general.

There was a guy called Andrew Murray,

not Andy Murray, the tennis player, but Andrew Murray, the theologian.

He was writing at the turn of the 20th century on a little book called Humility.

It's a real gem of a book.

And he says this about humility.

And you kind of have to get your way into thinking the kind of way these guys write.

OK, so it might take a little bit of time, but we've got a few quotes from Andrew Murray this evening.

So you will get into it by the end of the evening.

He says this.

Humility is the only soil in which the grace is root.

The lack of humility is the sufficient explanation of every defect and failure.

Humility is not so much a grace or virtue along with the others.

It is the root of all because it alone takes the right attitude before God and allows him as God to do all.

Now, that might not be the kind of language that we might use.

But his point is that humility is where everything else about Christian character grows out of.

Humility is so central to our Christian lives that it is the grounds on which everything else grows.

And saying as well that everything that we don't do right is coming essentially from pride.

Now, maybe you think he's overstating it, but let me just try and prove it to you briefly just by the sheer weight of the topic in the Bible.

My concordance tells me that the word humble appears in the Bible 2,341 times.

On top of that, you could add all the condemnations of pride and you could add the words like meek or lowly.

And what you find is that humility is a massive theme.

Let me just track through with a few passages.

I'm not going to turn to them, but hopefully they'll ring a bell.

But humility or learning humility is given by God as the reason for the wilderness journey of the people of Israel.

In other words, God thought it so important that it worth 40 years wandering in the desert just to teach it.

In 2 Samuel 22, verse 28, I think it's wrong on your handout.

2 Samuel 22:28

It's actually 28 or 26.

David summarizes his experience of the Lord as being the one who saves the humble and condemns the proud.

In other words, humility is the outstanding marker of the people that God saves.

It is the thing that God is looking for.

It's a constant theme in Kings and Chronicles as kings refuse humbling from the hand of the Lord or less frequently do humble themselves before the Lord, like Hezekiah.

It's the rise and the fall of the nations as they variously recognize and refuse to recognize who they are before God.

Psalms alone speak of humility or better sing of humility regularly.

Psalm 25, verse 9, we're told that God, He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble His way.

Psalms 25:9

Towards the end of the Old Testament, the great intellect Daniel, who has risen to significant power in the nation of Babylon,

is commended not for his status or his influence or even the great achievements of his life, but is commended for his humility.

Micah tells us famously that humility is what God requires from His people.

If you jump into the New Testament, we're told that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was humble in Luke 1, 48.

We're told by Jesus that everyone who exalts himself, they will be humbled.

He says the same thing three times.

Then in Matthew's Gospel, we're told that it is humble, childlike faith which saves.

James 4, verse 6, riffs off the Old Testament and Psalms saying again that God gives grace to the humble but opposes the proud.

James 4:6

And then in 1 Peter 5, you get this great verse,

humble yourselves therefore under God's mighty hand that He may lift you up in due time.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

You know those things go together, don't they?

Humbling yourselves under the mighty hand of God is casting all your anxiety on Him.

It is handing it over to Him humbly before Him.

And on top of all of that, and maybe most significantly of all,

we are told over and over about the humility of Christ,

that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

God the Eternal Son, leaving the glories of heaven,

revealing Himself in what is by definition humility,

stooping even to die on a cross,

not for His own sin but for the sin of others.

Humbling Himself, becoming obedient to death,

even the death on a cross.

Now I'll stop there, but hopefully that's enough to persuade you that humility is important,

that it is the root of the graces,

as Murray puts it at the beginning.

Now given its significance in the Bible,

Murray also has something else important to say.

This is what comes next in his book.

He says,

The call to humility has been too little regarded in the church

because its true nature and importance has been too little apprehended.

That's a better way of saying everyone's too stupid to realize how important humility is, right?

Now I wonder whether you agree with him.

So I want you just with the person next to you to discuss,

do you agree that humility has been little regarded in the church?

Is humility something you've heard about often?

Do you think it's well understood?

Do you think it is preached about much?

Do you read about it much?

That kind of thing.

Talk to the person next to you just for a couple of minutes,

and then we'll bring our answers back together.

Go for it.

Does anyone want to share their answers?

What do we think?

Important topic?

Okay.

Okay.

One that we're familiar with.

We've talked often about this at church.

What do you think?

You're all too humble to offer an answer, aren't you?

This is the truth.

Sorry?

Yeah.

Yes.

Let this mind be yours, which is also in Christ Jesus,

you being in very nature God.

Yeah.

We're often going on about that.

It's kind of so fundamental to Christian life,

how you relate to a child,

how you relate to God,

that you can't overstate it,

and you can't preach it too much.

Yeah.

And so,

as you pointed out,

by the beginning,

it runs through Scripture so much.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You can't preach it too much.

I think the problem we have

is not understanding it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's not the sort of cognitive understanding of it,

it's the putting it into practice.

If I was to ask you

how

justification

is

connects with

sanctification,

what would you say?

So,

justification

is the idea that God

declares us not guilty

through Christ's work on the cross.

Sanctification

is about us being made

holy by God.

Do we understand

how those two things

connect together?

Okay.

Christians often think

that God

saves them

by the blood of Jesus

on their behalf.

We are covered

with the righteousness of Christ.

We're justified by Jesus.

And then think,

but I grow as a Christian

by my works

and by my efforts.

Right?

And so,

therefore,

if I'm growing as a Christian

and doing quite well,

it's because I'm working quite well

and I should be quite proud of that.

And so,

we don't grow in humility.

We sort of grow in self-confidence,

pride.

But actually,

the Bible says

those two things go together.

Okay?

So,

our justification

and our sanctification

go together.

They are distinct

from one another,

but you can't separate them apart

because they come together.

So,

we are declared

righteous in the Lord Jesus

and we are made holy

by the Holy Spirit.

And the growth

in holiness

as a Christian

is becoming

who I already am

in Christ.

It's the

kind of

taking on

who I am

as my identity

in Christ.

It's becoming

who I will be

or who I already

am in Christ.

And so,

both of those things

are rooted

in the work of Christ.

So,

both of them

are humbling,

right?

Because

to be justified

by faith in Jesus

is to declare

I have nothing

of my own

to offer

to my salvation.

I am trusting

and relying

on Christ alone.

To grow in sanctification

is to say

all I can do

is become

the person

that God

has already

made me to be.

And so,

it's humbling,

right?

And so,

because those

things are

linked together,

being humble

is right at the

heart of the

Christian life.

And so,

growing in humility

is growing

as a Christian.

Now,

generalizations

aren't always

helpful,

but I do think

this one is

helpful.

It belongs to

Andrew Murray

anyway,

not me.

He says that

basically,

the Bible

gives you

three reasons

to be humble.

Firstly,

he says that

you should be

humble because

we are creatures

who did not

create ourselves,

so therefore

we owe

everything of

our existence

to God

himself.

And secondly,

we should be

humble because

we are sinners.

We are people

who have rebelled

against God

and we've

gone our own

way.

And thirdly,

we should be

humble because

we are recipients

of the saving

grace of the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

In other

words,

we are made,

we're not our

own,

we're sinners,

we're rebels,

and we're saved

even though we're

undeserving.

And all those

three things

are humbling.

What I want

to try and

do is take

creation tonight

and then take

sin and

salvation next

Sunday evening

if I can.

So here's the

question for us

this evening.

What does it

mean to be

humble as

creatures?

Joe, just get

yourself a chair.

That's fine.

You stacked

all the chairs

this morning,

Joe, so you

can unstack a

chair for

yourself.

That's right.

In other

words, what is

it about just

being created

outside of any

sin or grace

that means

humility is

right for us.

And to

consider that,

I want us

to look at

Revelation 4.

I think, is it

on your handout?

Revelation 4?

Great.

Let me read

it to you.

After this, I

looked, and

there before me

was a door

standing open

in heaven.

And the

voice I had

first heard

speaking to

me, like a

trumpet, said,

come up here

and I will

show you what

must take

place after

this.

At once, I

was in the

spirit.

And there

before me

was a

throne in

heaven with

someone sitting

on it.

And the

one who sat

there had

the appearance

of jasper

and ruby,

a rainbow

that shone

like an

emerald

encircled

the throne.

Surrounding the

throne were

twenty-four

other thrones

and seated

on them

were twenty-four

elders.

They were

dressed in

white and

had crowns

of gold on

their heads.

From the

throne came

flashes of

lightning,

rumblings and

peals of

thunder.

In front of

the throne

seven lamps

were blazing.

These are the

seven spirits

of God.

Also in front

of the throne

there was what

looked like a

sea of glass

clear as

crystal.

In the

centre around

the throne

were four

living creatures

and they were

covered with

eyes in front

and in back.

The first

living creature

was like a

lion, the

second was

like an ox,

the third had

a face like a

man, the

fourth was like

a flying eagle.

Each of the

four living

creatures had

six wings and

was covered

with eyes all

around, even

under its

wings.

Day and

night they

never stopped

saying,

holy, holy,

holy is the

Lord God

Almighty who

was and is

and is to

come.

Whenever the

living creatures

give glory,

honour and

thanks to him

who sits on

the throne and

who lives

forever and

ever, the

twenty-four

elders fall

down before

him who

sits on

the throne

and worship

him who

lives forever

and ever,

they lay

their crowns

before the

throne and

say, you

are worthy,

O Lord and

God, to

receive glory

and honour

and power,

for you

created all

things and

by your

will they

were created

and have

their being.

Now, we're

not going to

go through all

of that in

extreme detail,

but verse

four tells you,

doesn't it,

that there are

twenty-four

elders around

the throne,

telling us

that they're

clothed in

white garments

with golden

crowns on

their head.

Exactly who

they are is

not super

clear.

Theologians

have taken

lots of

different guesses,

twenty-four

heavenly

priests following

the twenty-four

high priests

of the Old

Testament,

or twelve

Old Testament

tribes plus

twelve

apostles,

or something

else relating

to the

significance of

the white

robes in

pagan culture.

I don't think

that's probably

right.

But which

exactly is,

we're not

sure.

But I'm

not actually

thinking that's

the important

point of the

verses,

because for

the purposes

of the

passage,

who the

elders are

is not

significant.

It's because

of not who

they are,

but because

of what

they're doing,

right?

You have a

look at the

passage.

Notice in

verse eight,

the four living

creatures,

the lion,

the ox,

the man,

and the eagle,

representatives

of the creation,

I think the

four corners

of the earth,

are all caught

up in this

perpetual song

about the

holiness of

God.

Holy,

holy,

holy,

holy,

they sing.

Three times

holy,

set apart

special

difference.

And the

song of

the four

living

creatures

is then

the trigger

for the

action of

the 24

elders,

who on

hearing this

song,

fall down

before the

throne of

God,

worshipping

him in

the song

of verse

11,

worthy of

you,

O Lord,

to receive

glory and

honour and

power,

for you

created all

things,

and by

your will

they existed

and were

created.

But notice

what they

do as

they worship.

What are

they doing

as they

worship?

What are

they saying?

They fall

down before

the throne

and they

cast their

crowns

before the

throne.

Do you

see this?

Singing of

the worthiness

of the

creator,

or to put

it in the

language of

our topic

this evening,

recognising

the creatureliness

is accompanied

by the

removal of

the crown.

This is

the word

Stephanos in

the Greek

from which

Stephen

comes,

right?

This is the

crown,

not of

royalty,

it's the

crown of

victory,

Olympic

crowns from

the successes

of their

achievements.

And what's

the significance

of this?

This is not

just an act

of deference,

this is not

like donning

your cap

at someone

on your way

into the

pub or

whatever,

it's more

than that.

It is in

the sense

that the

removal of

any sense

of human

victory in

front of

the one

who created

you and

all things.

It's the

recognition,

isn't it,

that the

crown that

is on

their heads

for the

things that

they have

done,

rightly

belongs to

the creator

and not

to them.

Creatures,

just because

they're creatures

understand that

their creator

is the crown

wearer and

not them.

Here's

Murray again.

Humility is

not something

we bring to

God or he

gives to

us.

It is

simply the

sense of

entire

nothingness,

which comes

when we

see how

truly God

is all

and in

which we

make way

for God

to be

all.

Humility

is simply

acknowledging

the truth

of his

position as

creature and

yielding to

God his

place.

You are

God.

I am

not.

Anything I

have achieved

belongs to

you.

All that I

am is

yours.

I have

nothing that

I have not

been given.

I have

no honor

of my

own except

that which

comes from

you as a

gift as

my creator.

So perfect

creatures, and

that's what we

can say of

these 24

elders before

the throne,

perfect

creatures throw

their crowns

before their

creator.

So don't

you think

you should?

They only

ever had the

crown on

alone.

Now, let

me try and

unpack this in

three different

ways.

how do we

see our

creatureliness

before the

creator God?

And we'll

try and deal

with these

reasonably

quickly.

Consider your

creatureliness

in the

aspect of

your

knowledge.

I don't

know if

you're one

of those

people who

likes to

be in

the know.

Are you

someone who

likes to

be in

the know?

You like

to feel

like you

know

stuff and

that you

understand

stuff?

Maybe

you're the

kid in

class who

likes to

have all

the answers.

Is that

right?

Yeah, I

want to be

the one that

people turn

to and that

they think

has got some

knowledge puts

me in a

special

category.

But as

we meet

the creator

in God's

word, we

realise that

he alone is

the one who

knows.

I know

partially.

I know in

a time-bound

way.

He knows

all things.

He is the

gatherer of

the all-seeing

creatures from

all over the

world.

He is the

one who

knows all

things.

Our

partial and

limited

knowledge is

made up of

stuff that

we have

heard or

been given.

All of

our conclusions

about all

things are

provisional.

We have to

recognise that

we might be

wrong.

We might not

know and we

might never

know.

But God's

knowledge is

ultimate.

We know that

the earth spins

around the sun

but God knows

how it does

and why it

does and

sustains it

even as it

does.

And learning

this brings

humility,

doesn't it?

Think about

how little you

know in

relative terms.

How little you

will ever know.

We don't

even really

know ourselves

in any kind

of deep

way, do we?

We know

parts about

ourselves.

God knows

everything about

us.

We don't

know the

future.

We don't

know everything

about the

past.

We are

largely

ignorant about

everything.

Deuteronomy

29, 29 puts

it like this,

the secret

things that

belong to

the Lord

our God,

but the

things that

are revealed

belong to

us and

our children

forever,

that we

may do

all the

words of

this law.

In other

words,

anything that

you know,

you know

because God

has told

you and

he has

taught you.

Even those

who don't

acknowledge God

as God,

all that they

know, they

know because

God has

taught them

and told

them in

his common

grace to

them.

All the

treasures of

wisdom and

knowledge are

hidden in

the Lord

Jesus

Christ.

Yeah.

And it's

humbling,

isn't it?

It's actually

brilliant, I

think.

You and I

only know

what we

need to

know and

we only

know it

because God

has told

it to

us.

Okay, what

about

presence?

Presence.

So if you

love to be

someone who's

in the

know,

that's what

Anderson's

like at

school,

right?

I was the

guy who

wanted to

be in the

thick of

it at

school,

right?

If there

was a

fight,

I was

there.

I wanted

to know

what was

going down,

right?

If there

was a

kind of

rumbling

that something

was going

to happen,

I would

be there

just because

I wanted

to know

what was

going down.

I did

not want

to miss

out.

I hated

missing

out and

want to

be in

the right

place at

the right

time.

But our

creator is

everywhere

all the

time.

You know

that only

too well

that you

can only be

in one

place at

one time

and we

feel the

frustration

of that,

especially

when we

take on

too much,

we have

too much

going on.

There's a

word for

that frustration

that comes

from taking

on too

much and

wanting to

be in

every place

at every

time.

You know

what the

word is

for that?

Begins

with P,

ends in

ride.

It's

pride,

isn't it?

It's the

desire to

be like

God.

If only

I could

be in

more than

one place

at one

time.

If only

I could

spread

myself out

more broadly

than I

can.

But we

come before

God and

we throw

down,

don't we?

We take

off the

crown of

any sense

of our

own presence,

any sense

that we're

in the

thick of

the action

and we

come before

God and

we lay

it down

knowing you're

the omnipresent

God.

You're the

one who

knows all

things,

who is

in every

place at

every

time.

We have

feet of

clay in

one particular

place at

one particular

time.

power.

Again,

it's an

obvious

point,

isn't it?

But it's

humbling.

Some of

us want

to know

everything,

some of

us want

to be

in the

thick of

the

action.

We all

want to

think that

we can

do stuff,

don't we,

and fix

things and

achieve

things,

make

changes,

push

forward

agendas,

make

plans.

But the

truth is

we are

utterly

helpless.

We are

unable to

achieve

anything in

our own

strength.

We have

absolutely

no idea

what will

happen

tomorrow.

We've

got a

plan that

there's

going to

be a

holiday

club here

tomorrow,

but we

have

absolutely

no idea,

do we,

really,

whether it's

going to

happen,

whether we'll

be able to

achieve it.

But our

creator is

the maker

and sustainer

of all

things.

He's not

just the

watchmaker

creator who

kind of

sets everything

in motion

and then just

kind of

leaves it and

lets it get

on with

itself.

Instead,

it's under

his power

in every

moment of

every day.

And he

holds us

and sustains

us.

It's his

power that

makes our

hearts beat

and puts

breath in

our lungs.

It's his

power that

keeps our

feet stuck

to the

ground,

the roof

on this

building.

The words

coming out

of my

mouth.

I am

just a

creature and

I am

utterly

helpless

before his

power.

Now,

we could

go on,

couldn't we,

but let's

just put

this together

for a

moment.

We are

to be

humble

because we

are only

ever

creatures.

So much

so that the

crowns that

we have are

to be thrown

down before

the God

who really

owns them.

So even

outside of

talking about

the humility

of recognizing

our sin

and our

need of

salvation,

we just

need to

recognize that

actually we

are creatures

before an

all-sufficient

God.

So if we

are maybe

a great

artist or

a fantastic

accountant or

we are a

top business

leader or

a super

bright academic

or a

brilliant

preacher,

whatever it

is,

any of those

things are

only ours

because God

has loaned

them to

us.

They are

his gifts

to us,

snippets of

knowledge,

snippets of

power and

presence that

we have.

They are

Stephanos crowns

of victory if

you like,

but they're

not ours,

they belong

to him.

They're given

to us by

our creator

and worshipping

him involves

taking the

crown off

and laying

it down

before him

and saying

all that I

am is

yours.

All that I

am is

yours.

Everything

that I

have has

come to

us from

you.

We don't

present them

to him

and plead

on them,

do we?

It's not

like we

offer them

to him.

Look at

all these

great things

I've done

Lord.

It's not

like that,

is it?

It's all

this was

yours.

They were

never ours

in the first

place.

They belong

to the one

who gives

all good

things to

us.

us.

I want

to take

an

opportunity

to take

questions

or

comments.

So I'll

give you a

moment to

have a

think and

a ponder

and then

I'll take

your comments

and questions

and then

we'll sing

together.

Anyone got a

comment or

a question?

I'll do my

shoelaces up

while you do

that because

Vanessa got

stressed out

there.

Is that

better?

There you

go.

Right.

I don't

know how

both shoelaces

came undone

at the same

time.

There you

go.

Magical.

Anyone

got a

comment or

a question?

Yes.

Yeah.

Why do some

people find it

easier than

others?

Do you know,

that's a good

question,

France.

I'm not,

I mean,

maybe we should

talk about

this together,

but I'm not

sure that,

I'm not sure

always that what

looks like

humility is

humility.

There's a lot

of frustrated

pride,

isn't there,

in a sort of

self-pitying,

oh, I wish I

was better at

that.

When I say,

oh, it's just,

I really wish I

was better at

that.

It's more,

it's frustrated

pride,

isn't it?

It's not

humility.

And so,

I think

probably some

of us find

it easier to

express pride

in self-confidence

and other

of us feel

we express

our pride in

some kind

of self-pity,

don't we?

Oh, you

know,

I'm rubbish.

Well,

actually,

at the

truth is,

we're all

nothing before

the one who

created us.

That's the

truth of it.

And everything

I have and

all that I

need will

come to me

from him.

And say,

that's humility,

isn't it?

It's not the

sort of self-pitying.

So I think,

yeah,

does that make

sense?

Go on.

Feel free,

go on,

feel free to

keep the

conversation

going if

you want

to come

back to

me if

you like.

You don't

have to.

Someone else?

Someone else?

Help me out.

I think

sometimes

the Lord

teaches us

humility by

taking our

plans away from

us.

So I think

if we want

to grow

in humility,

sometimes we

think it's

going to be

a really

peaceful

journey.

And I

think sometimes

it can be

a really

painful one.

I just

think you

need to

not be

scared of

that.

Yeah.

Because I

think that's

a piece

sometimes you

can be

fearful,

but it's a

loving,

creative

what is your

father who

lies behind.

Yeah.

You understand

him better.

When you

understand

his

creature,

you're in a

much better

place,

although you

feel the

nothing.

Yeah.

Yes.

I'm trying to

summarize that

Vanessa.

Yeah.

So the

process of

learning

humility is

painful and

difficult,

isn't it?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

In his

book,

Invest Your

Suffering,

Paul Mallard

describes it as

if God

gives us a

load of

stuff in

life,

doesn't he?

So he might

give you

certain abilities,

he gives you

certain energy

levels, he

might give you

academic

qualifications,

he may give

you a

husband or

a wife,

he might

give you

children.

And then

life really

is about

giving them

back.

You know,

you suddenly

lose the

energy level

that you

had.

You might

lose a

child,

you might

lose your

health,

you might

lose your

husband or

wife,

you will,

and you

will eventually

lose your

life.

And you're

giving it all

back to

the Lord who

gave you

all things.

And the

more that we

can live our

lives knowing

that that is

what is

happening,

and that all

things are

given to us

by a God

who loves us

and is

generous to

us, but

they're not

ours, the

more we can

enjoy them.

The creature

who enjoys

the gifts

the best is

not the one

who thought

that they

got them

themselves,

but is the

one who is

delighting in

the one who

gave them

to them.

And so

that's

Christian

joy,

isn't it?

Yeah.

So are you

saying the lack

of recognition

that's

of that joy?

Yes, a lack

of recognition

that all that we

have comes from

him robs us

of joy.

Not only just

joy in life

in general,

but joy in

the gift.

So if I

think of the

gift of my

intellect as

being

mine,

I won't

enjoy it

because it

will be

sort of

ultimate to

me and

it will

be

fractured

and broken

and it

will destroy

me.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We have

to run

away from

God

rather than

run into

it.

Yeah.

And in

much distance,

I was talking

to someone

this morning

and they were

asking me a

question and I

said,

the highest

compliment you

can pay to

God is to

be

obedient.

Mm-hmm.

Yes.

So we

we pay

we comment

God by

obeying him.

But as

long as in

that sentence

I'm understanding

obedience as

being something

that I am

actually only

doing in the

strength that

he gives

anyway.

So I'm

living the

life that he

has given

me for his

glory,

recognizing

that it's

given to

me by

him and

empowered

by him.

Yes.

Yeah.

that is actually treating ourselves.

And so the lack of humility is sort of at the root

of a very single thing that goes wrong.

All of that meaning is actually saying,

I'm not a man because I don't want to be a man.

Yes.

I'm not a man.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yes.

Yeah.

That's really helpful.

Thanks, David.

And I think that the truth is that,

that it's possible for churches just to sort of baptize

a kind of Christian pride, isn't it?

That basically we look around and think we're slightly better

than everybody else.

Or even that we think we're slightly worse than everybody else

and feel crushed by that.

That's still pride.

It's just, it's just pride meeting failure, isn't it?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Great.

Okay.

I'm going to call it to an end there because we've got humility

again next week.

And I would like us to sing.

So let me pray and then we'll sing.

Heavenly Father, we owe all things to you.

You are our creator.

Who knows all things.

Who is in all places at all times.

And who powerfully sustains all things by the power of your word.

And Lord, we know very little.

Only what you choose to reveal to us.

We can only be in one place at one time,

one brief moment of history.

We have no power of our own.

We don't even know that we'll be here tomorrow.

And so, Lord, we cast our crowns before you and acknowledge you to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Thank you that you love us.

We thank you that we find great joy in humbly trusting you as the giver of all good gifts.

And we praise your name.

Amen.

Amen.