The Wisdom of an Excellent Spirit | Proverbs 17:27-28 | Pastor Matt Nettesheim

Sister Duckie, take your Bibles, turn with me

to the book of Proverbs chapter number 17. Proverbs

chapter number 17, oh, this is gonna be helpful

tonight. Very, very, very, very, very helpful.

helpful to me. I know it's going to be helpful

to many of you. We went on the Minute Boys camping

trip and I got up there and I was encouraging

the men, a proverb a day, a proverb a day will

help you in a great way. And I explained my process,

you know, on the 17th you read Proverbs chapter

Proverbs 17 · chapter mention

17. On the 16th of the month you read Proverbs

chapter number 16. And one thing I have recently

done is before I read the proverb a day, I asked

the Lord, I said, Lord, Give me something in

here that I can use today. I need something.

I know I'm gonna go through life. I'm gonna go

through difficulties today. I need wisdom today.

I need wisdom, oh, but I need wisdom today. Yesterday,

oh my, I was reading the Proverbs today, Proverbs

Proverbs 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16, and I got to Proverbs 16 verse 32.

Proverbs 16:32

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty.

and he that ruleth his spirit, then he that taketh

the city, ruleth spirit. So that was my verse

for yesterday. Yesterday I had a verse, and I

knew that probably the Lord's gonna do something

for me, but yesterday afternoon, I got a phone

call, and I answered the phone. This is Pastor

Matt Nettis. I'm Chesapeake Baptist Church. And

it was a man from India, a pastor from India.

And if you ever have phone calls from India or

across the world, it comes in and go. It's like

it's there and then it's not there. And it's

there and it's not there. And it's there. And

the conversation, I'm trying my best to listen

to this pastor from India. He's Indian. It's

broken English. I'm trying to understand. But

as the conversation went, I struggled very mildly

and I kept saying, I'm sorry, I didn't understand

what you said. And the guy was very excited that

he actually was talking to me. And so, you know,

15 minutes into there, it was just, I felt bad

because I kept saying, I can't understand you.

You cut off. And eventually I said, could you

send me an email? I'll give you my email. You

send me what you're talking about. And he broke

and said, okay. And so I spelled my last name,

N -E -T -T -E -S -H, but it cut in and out. And

so he came back and he started spelling it S

-H -I -N. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no.

And I'm going through, I think I told him 10

times my email and he still had it wrong. So

finally I said, can I just have your email address?

And it was like 15 minutes. Now, I don't know

about you, but the situation was frustrating.

You ever been through a frustrating situation?

Anybody else okay? And during that conversation,

I know God wanted me to be Christ -like, treat

this man from India with respect, with kindness,

not to get flustered right there, but I was struggling.

But the proverb they, he that ruleeth his spirit,

then he that taketh a city right there. And I

remember that proverb today, and I was able to

rule and really be able to control my spirit

as I talked to him. That proverb helped me in

a great way. Okay, okay. So you get to today.

Today is Proverbs chapter 17. I began to read

Proverbs 17 · chapter mention

the proverb and before I read it I said, God.

Give me something here today that I can use.

And I got to Proverbs chapter number 17, verse

27. And as you're there, if you'll stand with

me for the reading of God's word. Proverbs chapter

Proverbs 17:27

17, verse 27. And we'll read verses 27 and 28

together. Ready? Let's read them together. He

that hath knowledge spareth his words. and a

man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.

Stop right there real quick. He that hath knowledge

spareth his words. I know some of you said, praise

God, that means it's a short sermon today. I

could see it in your eyes. No, that's not the

phrase. That's not the phrase. That's not the

phrase. But we'll read it again. Let's read that

verse again. He that hath knowledge spareth his

words and a man of understanding is of an excellent

spirit. Verse 28. even a fool when he holdeth

this peace is counted wise, and he that shutteth

his lips is esteemed a man of understanding."

And that last little bit, an excellent spirit,

an excellent spirit. And I said, okay, that's

the verse for today. Today, I wanna make sure

that I have an excellent spirit. So early in

the morning, and I got up at a little bit after

five this morning, read that, started studying

that and thinking, I said, man, that's not only

good for me, that's really good for the church.

The wisdom of an excellent spirit, the wisdom

of an excellent, I need it. Trust me, we all

need it. Before we go any further, let's go to

the Lord in prayer. Dear Father in heaven, we

love you. And it's a good truth, I needed this

today. And boy, I know without a doubt, many

of the people here, are in need of this, Lord.

I pray that you help us to think about that word

excellent. We work at that and think about that

word spirit. We put them together and Lord, then

we make some decisions in our life. I pray that

you help me, help us all to decrease, help us

all to have years to hear and please guide us

and direct us in Jesus' name, amen. You may be

seated. An excellent spirit, say that with me.

An excellent spirit. Now, an excellent spirit,

what is the word? excellent means. What does

the word excellent mean? Excellent is above common,

better than ordinary, and you could say of great

worth. So the word excellent means better than

common. It describes something that stands out

because of a quality or worth. It's above common,

better than ordinary. Okay, amen? Better than

ordinary, excellent, went to the store. week

and a half ago two weeks ago and went in there

and I found these wagyu hamburgers they were

just hamburgers and they were discounted they

were it was great and I said wagyu hamburger

this is great and fried my wife fried them up

and I don't know if you ever had a wagyu burger

but a wagyu it's a special breed of cow Some

would say that that cow has been massaged. I

think it's a myth. But that wagyu has a higher

quality of beef known for its rich flavoring,

marbling. And I wouldn't know, but man alive.

I ate that wagyu burger. Glory be to God. Hallelujah.

Another word for that would be excellent. It

was above ordinary, better than ordinary, above

common wagyu burger. Glory be to God. Hallelujah.

Somebody say amen. I'll move on. Okay, good,

good. Excellent, above common. Now, we get to

think about this, an excellent spirit. And think

about that word spirit. Say spirit with me. Spirit.

The word spirit has to do with your inner attitude.

Okay, your inner attitude. We might say somebody

when you're around them, he has a good spirit.

And what we're saying is he has a good inner

attitude. By the way, she said the right thing.

but she did it in the wrong spirit. You ever

heard that? She said the right thing. Sometimes

you can say the right thing, but you have a bad

inner spirit or bad attitude about it, bad spirit

about it. You ever heard this? This home has

a sweet spirit in that home, or the church, Chesapeake

Baptist, has a good spirit about it. What we're

saying is that the word spirit has to do with

your inner attitude. And it's not just about

what we do outwardly. Boy, it's about what's

going on inwardly. The spirit is something that

happens inward. An excellent spirit. Spirit is

the inward attitude that shapes how a person

thinks, how he speaks, how he reacts, how he

carries himself or she carries himself. And the

inner condition, by the way, the inner condition

of you eventually comes out. and it shows in

how we speak and the way we act and the way we

respond. So you put those two together, an excellent

spirit, it's an above common, better than ordinary

inner attitude that shapes how we think, speak,

react, and respond. So an excellent spirit, think

about it, an excellent spirit is above common,

it's better than ordinary, it's wagoo. Why goo?

Inward attitude that shapes how we think, speak,

act. Notice in that, look at Proverbs chapter

Proverbs 17:27

17 verse 27, he that hath knowledge spareth his

words. And a man of understanding is of an excellent

spirit. A man of understanding, even a fool when

he holdeth his peace is counted wise, and he

that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

So right away, the Bible connects an excellent

spirit with understanding, with restraint and

wisdom. So the wisdom of an excellent spirit.

We're not talking about somebody who is naturally

outgoing. So when we say excellent spirit, it's

not talking about, well, he has a big personality

or somebody who's impressive or somebody who's

polished, educated, or talented. It's not talking

about it. It's talking the inward person. No

matter your personality, you have an or an extraordinary,

not an ordinary, above ordinary attitude. The

husband, a husband ought to have an excellent

spirit. A wife should have an excellent spirit.

A pastor should have an excellent spirit. A teenager

should have an excellent spirit. A Sunday school

teacher ought to have an excellent spirit. A

servant of God, a Christian ought to have an

excellent spirit. Now, I remember reading an

autobiography of a preacher from really the 1960s

and 70s, 80s. And I remember his autobiography.

He read the Bible through every month, like cover

to cover. And you read about this man. He had

a church in Florida. and very knowledgeable.

But if you ever read any of the books that he

wrote, he wrote a lot of books, but you read

the books, he was known for being a Bible knowledge,

but he had a conference. And the conference was

called the Bad Attitude Baptist Conference. And

so he had truth, but he didn't have an excellent

spirit. And what would show from that is his

two divorces. got divorced from his wife, first

wife, his second wife right there, and had problem

with his people skills. He may have had truth,

but he did not have an excellent spirit. So what

kind of spirit do we have? What kind of spirit

do you have? Think about this church. What kind

of spirit does this church have? Out in public,

what type of spirit do we have? Do we have a

spirit that is, you begin to think about it like

I said, above common, better in order, an inward

attitude that shapes how we think, speak, act,

and respond? Now, go with me to the book of Daniel,

if you will. Daniel chapter number five. Daniel

chapter number five. Okay, as you're turning

to Daniel chapter five. All church, I want to

have an excellent spirit. I want to have wisdom

and understanding where my attitude, yes, I have

the truth. I have the truth. I want to have a

good attitude. I want to have a good spirit inside

of me with the way I say things. how I respond

to things, and my everyday interpersonal relationships

right there. Daniel chapter number five. Oh,

this is absolutely an amazing truth. Look at

verse number one. Belshazzar the king made a

great feast to a thousand of his lords and drank

wine before the thousand. Okay, remember this

is the Babylonian captivity. Daniel was carried

off into captivity and he's serving King Belshazzar.

Verse three. then brought the golden vessels

that were taken out of the temple of the house

of God, which was at Jerusalem. So they take

the golden vessels that they had robbed from

the temple in Jerusalem that they brought to

Babylon. Look at verse number four. They drank

wine and praised the gods of gold. That's wicked.

We say that, amen, that's wicked. You understand,

that's not good. Look at verse number five. in

the same hour came forth fingers, fingers of

a man's hand and wrote over against the candlestick

above upon the plaster of the wall of the king's

palace. Okay, verse six. Then the king's countenance

was changed and his thoughts troubled him. Now

watch this, verse six. So that the joints of

his loins were loosed and his knees smote one

against another. I can't do it, but I just imagine

Belshazzar, ah! I just wish I could do that.

Some of you will show me how to do that after

the service right there, but he was scared half

to death. This hand came out. Look at verse number

eight. Then came in all the king's wise men,

but they could not read the writing. Okay, verse

nine. Then was King Belshazzar greatly troubled.

Okay, verse 10. Now the queen by reason of the

words of the king and his lords came into the

banquet house and the king spake. And look at

verse 12, for as much as an excellent spirit,

verse 12, for as much as an excellent spirit,

for as much as on what? And knowledge and understanding,

interpreting. She's talking about Daniel. She

says, I know somebody can help you. It's just

Daniel. He has an excellent spirit. He has knowledge

and understanding right there. Daniel. had above

common, better than ordinary, inward attitude

that shaped how he thought, how he spoke, how

he reacted, how he responded. This is vitally

important. He wasn't in a good situation. He

was in a faraway land, in captivity, in a pagan

land with wickedness all around him, yet he had

an excellent spirit. Next chapter, look at chapter

number six. This is a little bit later, Daniel

the lion's den. I'll just, verse number three,

just go to three. Then this Daniel was preferred

above the presidents and princes. Why? Because

on what? An excellent spirit was in him. And

so Daniel, once again, he carried on with that

above. Common better than ordinary inward attitude

that shaped how he thought how he spoke how he

reacted how he responded He wasn't he wasn't

merely promoted because he was gifted and talented

He was preferred because he had an excellence

or something about Daniel that was different.

What was different an excellent spirit? It wasn't

that he was I believe he was gifted but it was

an excellent spirit. How he reacted, how he responded.

This is the story of the Daniel and the lion's

den. You remember a little bit later you'll see

that he gets rejected, you might say. What does

he do? He goes to the Lord in prayer. It's an

amazing thing. Daniel had something better than

Taled. He had an excellent spirit. And what I

want to say, young folks. young teenagers, young

ladies, young married couples. Oh, one thing

that'll help you in a great way is to learn to

have an excellent spirit. Your circumstance,

we worry so much about our circumstances, but

a excellent spirit will help you in any circumstances

you go through. And so, I wanna go through this.

Go to Daniel chapter one, real quick. Daniel

chapter one. Wanna show you a couple of things.

Daniel shows what an excellent spirit looks like

in real life. So I want to just go through a

little bit about the life of Daniel and show

you what an excellent spirit looks like. Look

at verse number eight. But Daniel purposed in

his heart that he would not defile himself with

a portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine

which he drank. Okay. Ah, yowzers. This is challenging.

One thing that he did, he purposed in his heart

He had an excellent spirit. He was told to do

something that was against his Bible -believing

Christianity, his convictions, okay? But God

tells us that the excellent spirit, he had these

Bible -believing convictions, but the way he

handled himself with people was wise. It wasn't

with a bad attitude. You understand the difference?

I have my convictions. And by the way, convictions

are good. Bible -believing convictions are great.

but so often Bible -believing Christians have

a bad attitude with their convictions. And so

we have to have the balance of Bible -believing

Christianity convictions, but we have to have

it with the right spirit, an excellent spirit.

Convictions are not wrong. Bible -believing Christianity

is right, but sometimes we have such a bad attitude

in our Bible -believing convictions, and it's

wrong. So keep the convictions. Don't change

the conviction. Never change the Bible belief.

By the way, just quick reference, I'm not gonna

lie. Christianity is changing a whole lot. A

lot, a lot. Just say amen. But the Bible hasn't.

So we're Bible believers. So the world may change.

Worldly Christianity is constantly changing,

but we Bible believers, and really in our church,

there's probably a couple areas that people get

out of whack about. First of all, the King James

Bible. Well, the King James Bible's the word

of God, and I'm not changing away from that.

Now, I'm gonna have a good attitude, I'm gonna

understand, but I just believe the King James

Bible's the word of God. Music, music, wow, wow,

wow, music is very influential. I wrote a book.

two years ago, and I never published it, but

a book on the history of music, biblical Christianity,

and I don't need to work on it, but why we use

the type of music we use here at the church,

and wow, so few people even understand that issue

today. Now, people come in every Sunday and they're

like, whoa, where did this church come from?

And they're speaking typically of the music that

we use in the church, psalms, hymns, spiritual

songs. Now, we're gonna keep those. It's a biblical

conviction. but I'm going to have a good attitude

and excellent spirit with that. Modesty and dress,

holy meckles. You wanna get people wound up and

you start talking about gender distinction and

people really get out of whack. Now I'm not changing

from that. I believe that God made a woman a

woman and a man a man. I believe that with all

my heart. I understand the world is different

today. But the world, man alive, they accept

homosexuality, transgenderism, they accept a

whole lot of things. I'm gonna stick to the Bible

beliefs that men ought to be men and women ought

to be women. but I'm also gonna have an excellent

spirit about that. And so there's the balance.

Don't kick out the convictions, but have an excellent

spirit inside of those convictions. Now, go on,

if you will, with me to Daniel chapter number

two. Look with me at verse number 30. I'm gonna

go to fourth gear. That means I'm speeding up.

But as for me, the secret. Now, he interpreted

a dream. But as for me, Daniel says, but as for

me, this secret. is not revealed to me for any

wisdom that I have, more than any living, but

for their sakes. That shall make known the interpretation

of the King, and that thou mightest know the

thoughts of thy heart. Now, if you follow along

with me right there, Daniel was humble. What

an excellent spirit in his response right there.

Had nothing to, he didn't have pride. He wasn't

haughty right there. When God revealed Nebuchadnezzar's

dream to Daniel, Daniel didn't strut around and

act like he was something special. He gave God

the glory. And an excellent spirit is not living

for himself. He's living for the glory of God.

In other words, an excellent spirit, we have

to realize our flesh desires the credit. Our

flesh wants recognition. Our flesh wants applause.

And the flesh wants people to know how much we

know and how much I did. but an excellent spirit,

hey listen to God, be the glory. You understand

that that's important? Okay, go to this next

one if you will. Go to Daniel chapter six again.

Daniel chapter six, and remember it talks about

an excellent spirit in verse number three, but

verse number four is chapter six, verse four.

Then the presidents and princes sought to find

occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom,

but they could find none occasion nor fault for

as much as he was faithful. He was what? Neither

was there any error or fault found in him. And

what is that? That's a testimony. The enemies

looked for, you might say dirt, but they couldn't

find anything. Why? He was faithfully at a testimony.

An excellent spirit is not looking to be lazy

or dishonest or inconsistent, but an excellent

spirit, whether somebody's watching or somebody's

not watching, they know the Lord's watching and

they're gonna have an excellent spirit because

it's the right thing. And I wanna encourage us.

not just have a public persona of an excellent

spirit, but let's go home and have an excellent

spirit. Let's have an excellent spirit when we

wake up. Let's have an excellent spirit when

we get that phone call from the man in India.

That's a hard one, but let's try our best to

have an excellent spirit. Oh, boy, let's move

on. Verse number 10, chapter six, verse number

10. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was

signed, He went into his house and his windows

being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he

kneeled upon his knees three times a day and

prayed. And you know, this is important. He's

in a predicament. You pray, you die. Basically

what it was. We're gonna throw you in the lion's

den. But his life was based on just doing right,

an excellent spirit. And he didn't rely on his

circumstances. He relied on the Lord, and that's

what prayer is. God, you're gonna have to do

something. Lord, you're my only hope, and he

prayed to the Lord. An excellent spirit in Daniel

came from a consistent walk with God. Okay, go

back to chapter number 17, Proverbs chapter 17.

Proverbs 17 · chapter mention

I'm going to fifth gear now, and wow. Remember,

an excellent spirit. It's above common, better

than ordinary, inward attitude, an inward attitude

that comes out. It shapes how we think, how we

speak, how we react, how we respond. You ever

been there? I've had trouble with an excellent

spirit in my life. Anybody else ever struggle

with that? I play basketball. And it's, I don't

know, it's something about basketball. And I've

really worked on it. I think I've done good overall

since last Thanksgiving. Now, that's good for

me. It's been a life -long struggle, but I've

been really working on my attitude. I've been

working on my excellent spirit, but it's a struggle.

And boy, it gets lonely up here. It gets very

lonely up here. It gets lonely right here. Okay,

here we go. Proverbs 17, he that hath knowledge

spareth his words. Verse 28, even a fool, when

he holdeth his peace, is counted wise. and he

that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

So, he that hath knowledge spareth his word.

Doesn't mean a knowledgeable man, okay, think

about it like this. A knowledgeable man, somebody

who has knowledge, that's what it says, he that

hath knowledge, somebody who has knowledge, knowledge,

okay? Sometimes people have knowledge, but does

not mean you have to say everything you know.

Okay, you have knowledge, but sometimes you don't

have to say it. You don't always have to give

your opinion. You don't always have to win the

argument. You don't always have to correct every

detail. You don't always have to have the lost

word. And an excellent spirit has the wisdom

to be very careful with his words. And so holdeth

his peace, verse 28. He that shutteth his lips.

Sometimes the wisest thing you can say is nothing.

Okay, sometimes silence, you think silence is

not weakness. Silence is often wisdom. And there

are times when speaking's right, yes. Correction

is needed, truth needs to be declared. But there's

a time an excellent spirit knows that not every

thought needs to be, you could say, a sentence.

Now, I'm gonna go through there as you mark these

down. Proverbs 29 verse 10 says, a fool uttereth

Proverbs 29:10

all his mind, but a wise man keepeth it in till

afterwards. A fool just lays it out, well, it's

on my mind. Whatever comes out of my mind, I'm

just gonna say it out is. But a wise man puts

the brakes on. He has rule over himself. He knows

how to wait. He knows how to pray. He knows how

to be patient. He knows how to think before he

speaks. And that's part of an excellent spirit,

okay? Let's work on this. Before I speak, think

about this, before I speak, I gotta say, is it

true? Is this necessary? Is this the right time?

Is this the right spirit? Is this what God would

have me to say? And so sometimes an excellent

spirit is being careful with your words. And

am I speaking because God wants me to or because

my flesh wants me to? Now this is a very, I don't

even like using the word real sermon for me because

it is something I have to work on. Anybody else?

Okay, please, I mean, this is getting lonely

up here. I need some help right here. Okay, an

excellent spirit. An excellent spirit is different.

Just don't turn there. Ecclesiastes chapter seven,

verse nine. There's the word, be not hasty in

thy spirit to be angry. Don't be hasty in the

inward spirit, the inward attitude to have an

angry spirit. The Bible shows us that people

have the wrong spirit in them sometimes. A hasty

spirit, you might say. Some people are quick

to anger. And they don't take much to set them

off. You know, it's a look or a comment. And

recently, my family, we watched, I think, 30

minutes of road, not rage necessarily, but road

accidents. And you watch some of those accidents

with this one guy on the highway. And it's got

the dash cam. And this person comes up. and just

rams the person right in front of him on purpose.

And he's like drives by and he's shaking, he's

angry. And I think that was brother, who was

that? Hey brother Frank, you shouldn't have done

that. You shouldn't have done that. You shouldn't

have done that, I think it was wrong. But it

doesn't take much. So hasty in spirit, but an

excellent spirit is not easily stirred. Okay,

Proverbs 16 verse 18. Pride goeth before destruction,

Proverbs 16:18

and a haughty spirit, haughty spirit, say haughty.

Haughty. Haughty is sort of prideful. And you

look at pride. Pride says, I deserve better.

I should have been recognized. Nobody's gonna

tell me what to do. I'm always right. They do

not appreciate me. But an excellent spirit, an

excellent spirit's different. An excellent spirit

can serve without being seen. An excellent spirit

can be corrected without falling apart. An excellent

spirit can rejoice when somebody else is blessed.

And an excellent spirit can give God the glory

he deserves. So Proverbs 25 verse 28, he that

Proverbs 25:28

hath no rule over his own. Spirit, he that hath

no rule, he that hath no rule over his own spirit,

his inward self, his inward out, is like a city

that is broken down without walls. Back in the

day, a city without walls, woo, man alive. They

could be attacked and plundered by the enemy,

but with no rule over your own spirit. Well,

that's just the way I am. I fly off the handle.

Well, okay, you can do that, but you don't have

an excellent spirit. You have no rule over your

own spirit. And so it's a powerful picture. And

God says that somebody who does not rule his

own spirit is like that city. You know, don't

allow, okay, look at this. Hebrews chapter 12

Hebrews 12:15

verse 15 says like this, looking diligently,

lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any

root of bitterness. And there's a bitter spirit.

You ever have somebody that's inside their inward

spirit is not excellent, but they're bitter.

and somebody poisoned them, or they were poisoned

at one time, their spirit, and everything that

comes out, they have a hard time with trust,

and they have a hard time with attitude, and

they have a hard time with this. There's a bitter

spirit about them, and it's not a great way to

live. Bitterness, by the way, I don't wanna skip

over this, but bitterness, if you get bitter,

bitter, it changes how you hear preaching. It

changes how you view people. Bitterness changes

how you respond to leadership. Bitterness changes

how you treat your family. Bitterness changes

the spirit of your home. By the way, pastors

get bitter. They get angry and all of a sudden

all these people are preaching at you. They get

angry at the people that are out there and he

begins to think everybody out there hates the

preacher. And boy, have you ever met a bitter

pastor? It's a miserable, bitter wife or a bitter

husband, and it's death. It's death. But have

an excellent spirit, amen. Okay, this is the

end of it. How can I have an excellent spirit?

Ask that. Okay, this is really quick. This is

seventh gear, okay? Walk with God. Walk with

God. Daniel prayed as he did a four time. He

had to walk with God. So one thing that'll help

you have an extra spirit, make sure you walk

with God. Have a walk with God. Go to God. But

one thing that'll help your bitterness, the Lord's

Prayer, forgive us our debts. Forgive us, Lord,

forgive me. Forgive us our debts and we forgive

our debtors. A day doesn't go by without forgiving

people who've wronged you. The answer is not

to get rid of people that wrong you. The answer

is us forgiving them. Not allowing that bitterness

inside of us. Okay, rule your mouth. He that

hath knowledge spareth his word. So walk with

God. Learn to rule your mouth. Stay humble, only

by pride cometh contention. Number four, be faithful

in the little things. Daniel's enemies couldn't

find a fault with him. So be faithful to the

little things. Be on time. Keep your word. Just

do your job. Serve without drama. Be kind at

home. Be honest in business. Be faithful in church.

Do right, even if nobody claps. God sees little

things. Then number five, respond right when

you're under pressure. When you're under pressure,

you ever get under pressure? Okay, how many of

you ever get pressured? Okay, I hope so. I get

pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure. You're

a councilman for the wonderful city of Chesapeake.

No pressure. None whatsoever. But inside the

pressure, if you're controlled by God, you can

have an excellent spirit. You should have an

excellent spirit. You represent the king. Mom,

mom, have an excellent spirit. Dad, have an excellent

spirit. Now here's the thought. What are you

gonna choose? There are some here this evening

that you have an excellent spirit. Praise God.

I believe probably, in that section, 90 % of

you. This section right here, 92%. Let me see

right here, 99%. Ugh. Okay, there's hope, though.

There's hope. There's hope, bro. But we'll get

it right. But if you have an excellent, keep

going. But if you struggle with that, I wanna

beg you, go to God in prayer and think about

it. Say, God, help me to have an excellent, above

-ordinary inner attitude. that affects how I

respond, how I talk, how I interact with people,

help me to have an excellent spirit. And by the

way, seek and ye shall find. God wants you to

have it and boy, you can have an excellent spirit.

Dear Father in heaven, we love you. It's hot

in here tonight. I thank you for the attentiveness

of your people. And I pray, I have no doubt,

I needed the reminder, Lord. And I pray that

you help me to be a father that has an excellent

spirit, a husband that has an excellent spirit,

a pastor that has an excellent spirit, just a

Christian, an everyday Christian that has an

excellent spirit. And I pray that you help somebody

here without a doubt, there are some that have

been struggling and have even struggled today.

Help them to not live that way, help them to

learn to walk with you. helping to learn to give

you the glory, helping to learn that they can

have an excellent spirit where they can control

what they say and give them wisdom in doing so.

We love you. Thank you for today. In Jesus' name,

amen. Stand with me if you will.