A Snapshot of Heaven on Earth (Part 4) — Jim Cymbala

The Birth of the Church in Acts

We started a month or so ago a study in the book of Acts and we heard in the first chapter how Jesus promised that Power would be poured out on the disciples they should go and wait in Jerusalem, and then we've studied how the Holy Spirit descended on them and the church was born and We studied last week.

We had a sermon on a sermon didn't we it was Peter's first sermon of all people Peter and It was the first Christian sermon the first presentation of the gospel we studied that what what was its content and Anybody remember Acts 2 38?

Repent and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. So we learned a lot of interesting things and now we come to a short passage. Which I want to preach by the grace of God differently than I've preached in the past.

This is a passage that I've talked about a lot in my life. Studied a lot. It's a snapshot of heaven on earth. It's the first picture that we have of how the Christian Church Functioned and what the life of it looked like.

Now this was a problem. We said from the very beginning isn't it when we studied the book of Acts? Because for example all the visitors that we have in the balcony and downstairs That are visiting for the first time if you talk to them probably they all have their own church experience.

They're Nazarene. They're Baptist. They're assembly of God. They're Presbyterian. They're Lutheran they're whatever Salvation Army and Because of the strong impression of our experiences we often define Things not by what God intended them to be or as outlined in the Bible.

We define them by the traditions of our Denomination or how we grew up and because we're all tend to egotism and pride we glorify the way We've been raised. So if we're Puerto Rican and we grew up in a Puerto Rican Pentecostal Church, that's the way church is.

No. No, no, no. No if African American Church of God in Christ, that's what church is supposed to be like. No, we're white Southerners and Southern Baptist Church. No, that's what church is supposed to be like and very few of us have the humility and the faith to go to the Bible and say God.

Change my concepts of what things are. So that I'll think the way you think and I'll see things the way you see things. I don't want to just perpetuate my traditions and how I grew up because that was accidental my mother's here today and She and my dad lugged me to church if I duplicated and try to replicate everything that was practiced in that church.

It would not be nice at all. In that case the church was racist all white with no openness to people who were other. Unfortunately that still goes on today, but that's not what God intended church to be.

Do I get an amen? To God there is no black church white church Baptist Church. No denominations to God. He just looked down he sees his people and we're his people. Can we say amen to that and we root for each other?

Gospel Preaching That Pierces the Heart

So Peter preached the sermon the people were pricked in their hearts his sermon penetrated. Nobody went away saying wow wasn't he clever. What an order that guy is. He's a fisherman dude that dude can preach.

None, no one said anything like that. They were touched by the Word of God, and they said what must we do and that's the sign of gospel preaching. It's supposed to penetrate the heart because out of the heart comes the issues of life if the Word of God Helped by the Holy Spirit doesn't penetrate our hearts and want us to change and be different.

Then we just had a sermon and we just had a service. But we really didn't and an entertainment and noise or real quiet or lightning candles, whatever. We had a tradition. We really didn't have what God intended so then the Bible says 5 ,000 people were baptized because the Peter said here's what you got to do repent and as a sign of your faith be baptized in water in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For the remissions of your sin and then you'll receive the same gift that you've seen us receive this this enduement of power from on high and Now we have that snapshot of heaven on earth. I would have loved to been back there not without problems as we'll find out.

But this is the golden age of the church and let's look at it. Spirits been poured out. Peter preached church starts. What did it look like? Let's look at the snapshot. They devoted the believers all 5120 of them they devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching and To the fellowship that word is koinonia and to the breaking of bread.

That's probably communion. But as we'll find out later, they ate their meals together. They devoted themselves. That means they Persistently were taken up with what the Apostles doctrine to teaching and to the fellowship to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the Apostles. All the believers were together had everything in common. They had like an early communism. Selling their possessions and goods they gave to anyone as he or she had need.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts for a while. It seems that they went at the times of prayer. Then this seems to be done away with later when the persecution arose. But at the beginning they gathered every single day in the temple courts.

Probably praising God, but of course they were praising that the Messiah had come while other people around them were saying We hope the Messiah does come. They broke bread in their homes. That means they had their meals and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.

Not only were they happy they were sincere Praising God full with joy and Enjoying the favor of all the people and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Now that's heaven on earth.

Let's read verse 46 and 47 again every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes. They had meals in their homes and It seems as if just look at here at me everybody.

It seems as if communion in that time was celebrated. We're gonna celebrate communion a couple of weeks here on a Sunday. So a communion was celebrated as part of the meal. They had a regular meal where they ate and then they would celebrate communion at the end.

That's the way it seems to have been done in the early church. But they were eating their meals together with glad and sincere hearts. They were praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people and the Lord the Lord was adding to their number Daily those who were being saved so they were witnessing they were sharing Christ people were getting saved.

They were happy together. They were eating together. They were rejoicing together. Oh somebody just had a real bad time and something happened and they would pool their resources together to try to help that person.

They devoted themselves constantly to the Word of God ie the teaching of the Apostles. They were in the sharing Koinonia they were sharing in they shared Jesus together. They shared music together. They shared meals together.

See the early church was not go to church on Sunday and then disappeared to the next Sunday. That's was If the Apostles came and saw what's going on in America, for example in a lot of churches. They wouldn't know what that is pop in for an hour an hour and a half on Sunday go home and have nothing to do with church the rest of the Week to them that would be like what are you doing?

What are you talking about? That's not the church. No, they continued steadfastly not only in the teaching of the Apostles but in the fellowship they were one. Come on, that's what I'm talking about. We're one.

Like a gang like we said last week Jesus was the head of the gang and the gang kept meeting together and everyone was happy. The initiation was baptism and If you believe the Salvation Army, they even had a gang sign.

Everybody hold up one finger. That's for Jesus. Come on. That's a gang sign. Not all this stuff in here and all that just that they shared together in the fellowship. Before I get to my few little points because they are very few but I think Different than I've ever preached this.

Does that is that the picture of church that you have? See churches that have. They're usually smaller and they have a place for it that have a meal after the you know, the service. That's probably closer to what they had.

Because it wasn't just see each other at the door god bless you. See you next Sunday. No, it was family. This is it because there's such persecution that they were soon gonna have but already they were followers of Someone who had just been killed two months earlier crucified publicly in Jerusalem.

So you lost family fellowship you lost a lot of stuff so God provided another family for you. We're not supposed to be a church. We're supposed to be. You know institutional we're supposed to be a family.

How many say amen. Turn to somebody on your side and say you're part of my family. Come on. Come on, you're part of my family. You're part of my family. Proud you're my sister. You're my brother. You're my brother.

Now we're doing that. It's one thing to do it is another thing to live it. How many say amen. And. They continued breaking bread eating meals together they opened homes to each other. Granted you'll say oh the pace of life was different and all of that, but it just shows they practiced hospitality.

They ate together. They would have gone to restaurants together. They would go to the BT cafe downstairs after the service. Why do you why do you think I pressed the church and the church leadership, please?

Let's have a cafe downstairs. You think why would I care that you eat a meal down there? I'm not. I don't care about the food that you eat. I want you to eat good food. Enjoy. I Know from counseling all these people that there's people right now that are so lonely in this church.

They don't have anybody. They don't have anybody. They have nobody they have no one cares about them. No one who talks to them. No one was interested in their life if they don't find it in the church.

Would you please tell me where they're gonna find it? So that's why the early church was a fellowshipping church eating together church. Sharing as needs came up all selfishness was broken down. They so related to one another that like if One of my wife's sisters or brother was in trouble.

My wife would say how can I help you if there was some disaster? That's how. Because their family and. That's how the whole church was. How can we help you? They continued together in prayers they prayed together.

The Church as a Family of Hospitality and Mutual Care

Notice they studied the Word of God together carefully, even though they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They didn't say wow the spirits come we're filled with the Spirit. We even spoke in tongues in languages.

We didn't know wow, this is awesome. We don't need to study the Word of God. We don't need to listen to the Apostles preaching. We're filled with the Spirit. Not at all people who are filled with the Spirit studied the Bible the most and People who don't study the Bible they have some faulty experience with the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible.

Don't you think if he's controlling my life? He'll lead me to the book. He wrote well, of course he would so. They had this interesting balance of spirit and word and then they continued steadfastly in prayers.

They prayed together they had meetings. It's almost certain like we're trying to have on Tuesday night devoted mainly to prayer. They prayed together. Because the church that prays together. Yeah, there's something about praying with another person that Just binds you to them.

It's humbling, you know, we both need God. So, I don't know what your church experience is and you're not interested in mine. And I wouldn't want to share it with you totally although had some great experiences in church and saw some wonderful things.

But here it is in Acts chapter 2. Here's the portrait of the church like the way God intended it to be. So let's just review it in our mind till I get to a little turn in the road here the church. Devoted themselves not to the things of the world.

The thing that mattered most to them was the Apostles teaching. How can I learn more about Jesus? Remember no Bibles in that day. So everything was learned verbally. No, no scriptures to hand out. So they learned everything verbally.

You talk about fellowship how important it is. There's a woman in the choir that Husband walked out on her violent person. I think often is mind but violent too and She's frightened for her safety and her two children's safety.

You don't think she needs encouragement. If you met her you don't even know you would just hug her and say, oh she's beautiful and she looks great and everything is. Everything but you don't know the ache that stuff that's going on.

That's why the body of Christ is so important. Do I get an amen for that? Because no one knows any of the battles anyone isn't fly fighting including me. You just look up here and see me. You don't know the battles I fight.

Stress. I'm under tax of the enemy. You don't know anything about that. So The church devoted themselves to the word. They devoted themselves. They were like family didn't matter. They were one. They devoted themselves to worship.

They took communion together. Remember the Lord's death till he came again. They ate meals together. They were happy together. They were unselfish they somehow. They were ready to just give things away and and you know only God can do that.

They devoted themselves to prayer to waiting on God. Petitioning God for different needs in that atmosphere the Lord poured out special Supernatural grace upon the Apostles and they were able to do signs and wonders.

Which made people know that this Jesus that this church is worshiping. He is the real deal. So there they were happy together sharing together praying together learning together everything together. And that was the early church.

That's what God must intend church to be. Why would he put that in the Bible? It's amazing to me that as I travel around and talk to ministers and even theologians. That if people they will argue till 3 in the morning that you must only define Jesus by what we find in Scripture.

You can only define doctrine by what's in Scripture and I totally agree with that. But when it comes to what church should look like then suddenly they depart from the Bible. No, that's not the way we do it.

Why would I be interested in how you do it or how I did it? Wouldn't didn't God lay out here what the church should look like. And they were on top of that a witnessing church because daily. Not through mass Crusades daily people were being added to the church because it must be that everybody was sharing Jesus.

With no Bible no New Testament. They were sharing their experience that with other people and God was adding to the church. Those that were being saved and they were witnessing about someone who two months earlier had been crucified and the crowd screamed No release Barabbas crucify Jesus.

That's what the crowd was screaming and Pilate and the Romans went along with it. The religious establishment had plotted it and now they're telling other people about Jesus you talk about guts. So that's the picture.

Applying the Early Church's Pattern Today

Now there's a couple ways to look at that. We could look at it and say wow, wow, wow, we got a ways to go and we do. Or you that are visiting you look at that Prayer meeting. No, our church couldn't have a prayer meeting.

Nobody would come or Fellowship openness to all people sharing. No, no, no, no, no, no, that's not. That's not the church I go to. But be that as it may what I'd like to say to you today is. There's two ways to look at that.

There's one way to look at it and say, you know what gang? Come on, let's pray and Let's start fellowshipping more. Come on Sopranos give it up now share with your other Sopranos a little bit more be interested in the Altos.

Don't have that Soprano spirit that you usually have but share with the Altos. And guys share and come on. Let's start studying the word. You know what? We're gonna run a series, you know on Thursdays or whatever because we got to study the word more because why.

Because the Bible says it. They continue steadfastly they devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching the Word of God. And how many churches today. Did you know that every day in America? I was just told this by the people who published the NIV every day in America 1 ,200 people stop reading the Bible.

1 ,200 just don't read the Bible and in a lot of churches Weird things can happen and preachers can preach really crazy stuff and they get away with it because no one knows the Bible. So, how would they know like no, that's not right?

That's not right and Everything I say or anyone who ever stands behind here. You do not accept it. You judge it by the Word of God. Is he talking? Is that preacher talking smack or is that minister telling the truth as it is in Jesus?

So We could look at that and say, you know what think let's organize something guys pastors. Everybody go to somebody's house for a meal this week. That's it. It's gonna take a look. It's gonna be a logistical nightmare.

But let's do it or like somebody bring salad and somebody bring the main course. Somebody bring the pastries and and let's organize why why are we organizing it up because they eat meals together. Let's replicate the church.

Let's replicate the church. Hey, you know what? We've been weak in prayer. Let's have a prayer meeting or how about this choir? Yeah, how about your own personal prayer life? You know Jesus was the Son of God and he was out there praying before the Sun came up sometimes and Continued all night in prayer before he chose the twelve disciples.

Come on. Now we got if Jesus was praying. Why don't you and I spend more time alone with God? Come on, and you hear a sermon you get all psyched up. Come on. You know what? Let's just take three things and I close.

The Word of God and the Life of Faith

Let's take the Word of God the Bible. How many promises have you made yourself? I'm gonna get into this book. Man, why am I always I'm texting the universe, but I have no time for the Word of God. I got my iPad.

I got every gadget I know everything and now God is talking to me in the word and I don't read it. But I say I love him, but I'm not interested in what he says. That's strange. I'm not interested in the letters.

He sent me but I love him. Oh, I love the Lord. Come on, strike up that praise and worship song. Come on. I want to worship God, but during the week I don't want. I don't have time for what he what he wrote to tell me.

Warnings encouragements promises and we've all been convicted about that. And we do what I just suggested before a lot of us we say that's it. No, no Pastor Hammond no joke now. I'm gonna get in the word.

You know what? It's this translation. I gotta get a different translation. I get to get a Bible with the red Jesus speaking in red because this black stuff is not working here at all. I got to get a yellow underliner.

I got to get some help. I got to get deep in the word. You've never done that. Yes, you have you've never done that. Yes, you have. Come on, how many have ever said I need more word in my life. Come on.

Come on. Be honest don't lie on top of not reading the Bible that much. Yeah, that would be bad. Haven't we done that? Sure, let's take the other thing that stands out there. They were church that prayed together.

They constantly prayed. These apostles had walked with Jesus and yet they were following his example and his words ask and keep on asking. Seek and keep on seeking knock and keep on knocking it will be open to you.

So how many times have we privately and this is for church too, but let's make it individual. You know what? I got to spend some more time with God. This is crazy. Man, I go to every kind of movie. I watch all kinds of stuff.

I read movies. I know everything going on. I followed that trial down in Florida. I know everything about that lady and That baby died. I know every angle. I know what the lawyer said. I know what everyone said Galatians.

No, what is Galatians again? What's Galatians? It's Galatians on trial. Was that one of the witnesses? No, no that Galatians is a book in the Bible. There's no Bobby Galatians that was in that trial. That's a book in the Bible.

We got time for all of that, but the word and prayer and do our lives suffer for it. Yeah, well, of course because faith comes by hearing and hearing by what? So then people struggle and they don't have much faith and because their faith is weak they get discouraged.

So they come early on Tuesday and want you to pray for them that God would increase their faith and you will pray for them. But you want to break it to them gently that unless they start filling themselves with the Word of God.

They'll never have strong faith. They could have the Apostle Paul pray for them. So So that goes for all of us, I hope you that are clapping are deep in the word. I really do. So So we suffer. We have no time for God and his word and then we wonder why we get Irascible and we fly off the hand or we get panic attacks from this and that and and then other people that we've read about and we know about they were full of the word and the Minute a problem came the Word of God just was so strong in them that they said no in a minute.

He just said I will never leave you or not forsake you. I was just reading. I'm reading through the life the two-volume work written by his son the great of J Hudson Taylor the great missionary to China in the 1850s who started China inland mission and the two verses that that he Based his whole life on was Ebenezer.

The word Ebenezer from the scripture, which means to this point. God has helped us. How many can say about your own life Ebenezer up to this point? God has been with you wave your hand at me if God has been faithful and helped you to this point.

See, so that would help him through all these difficulties sleeping upstairs above a tea shop on some little street in a place called fengpo, I think. And The temperature for like two weeks in a row. The lowest that got was 91 during a thunderstorm.

104 was the highest. No air conditioning. No fans. Just how to sleep. No, no nets to protect them. Insects all over him. But fighting it off and enduring because he was full of that verse and then the other verse Jehovah Jireh.

So everywhere he had in his house Ebenezer. Jehovah Jireh this far God has helped us the Lord will provide and He has lived by that that thing got so into his spirit and into his heart then no matter what came at him.

He was somehow able to endure. Amazing man. But amazing man because God's grace was operating him. God's Word was operating in him. So we suffer. We suffer when we don't have the Word of God. We suffer when we don't spend time with God.

When the things of this world become so real that just sitting in God's presence laying in God's presence walking in God's presence. You don't have to talk. Prayer is not talking all the time. Prayer is just recognizing God's presence and waiting.

I'd rather wait and get two sentences that the Holy Spirit prompts with faith and pray those two sentences than it just be jabbering. You ever catch yourself just jabbering in prayer. It sounds hollow, but just time with the Lord.

Corporate Prayer and Spiritual Dependence

They continued notice in corporate prayer. This was they were praying corporately not only by themselves going into a closet. Remember what Jesus said when you pray. Don't do it publicly on a street corner go in some secret place.

So no one can see you pray. Then your father will reward you openly and then corporately they were continually praying. Wouldn't wouldn't part of the reasons for the weakness of the Christian Church witness right now in our country would be that most churches don't pray together.

They don't call out to God together. Worship has replaced prayer and waiting on God and petitioning God and worship is wonderful. You can't worship too much, but oh my goodness. We need to pray too, that's what they devoted themselves to.

Let's say the last one. Have we not all made resolutions about the word or about prayer? I'm gonna spend more time with God. I've made all kinds of resolutions in my life. Haven't you made resolutions?

Let me tell something secret about you. I'm gonna reveal something secret about you all you made resolutions and you kept it for a few days or a week or so and then it broke down and Then you made a fresh resolution.

And then you made a fresher resolution. You're at a fresh wind fresh fire. I'm gonna write another book fresh resolution. Just I'm really gonna do it now and then after you get Beat down and you violate your resolution.

Then you get discouraged and you don't even try anymore. And that can lead to what the Bible calls backsliding because you cut a Christian off from the Word of God, which is his food and Time with the Lord which is his air to breathe.

And you get sickly. How about the third thing? Under intense pressure they were sharing Jesus and talking to people. How many times have we heard people say we all start witnessing go into all the world and preach the gospel.

Let's organize this thing and I'm not. I'm again. I'm not against any organizing of anything. But how many times that we said I'm gonna start witnessing this week. I'm looking to talk to someone about Jesus and then it doesn't happen or you start and you get Intimidated then you don't say what you should have said.

You're not bold. You lose the opportunity. You hear the Holy Spirit actually whispering in your ear talk Aura now and you don't. And then you go home defeated. There's no one here ever been defeated in their spirit.

I'm talking about Christians now. So what do we usually do? Preachers preach this and say come on gang. Here's how the early church. Look they sought the Lord. They were in the word and they witnessed come on what's wrong with you.

So let's let's get this thing together and mean business with God, you know mean business with God. And why even come to church and so on and so forth, but all it leads to is resolutions. Which you're gonna break and I'm gonna break.

Because we're looking at the thing the wrong way. This passage of scripture is not there to tell us these are new laws like Moses had laws. These are new laws now obey them. That's not what this scripture is about.

This scripture is about Look at what God the Holy Spirit does When he's in control. It's not Elisha trying to do anything because Elisha can't do anything. This is not about come on gang. Let's get going.

Come on. Get a good motivational speaker and a good organizational approach to this and we can get going we're gonna replicate the early church. No, you can't because they didn't do it because they were supposed to do it.

They did it because the Spirit was working notice what the last verse says as I close and The Lord was adding to the church daily those who were being saved. But you see the Lord was doing everything.

Only the Lord can give me a desire for the word. Left to myself. I'll never open this again. Pastor symbol you should be ashamed of yourself. It's true in My carnal self. Why would I be interested in the Word of God and you're just as carnal as me.

But when the Holy Spirit starts to work You start to long for this thing. You wake up in the middle of the night and you say just one verse God. Give me just one. I Rather have it than necessary food and then God gives you discipline because the battle with the word is time.

And we all live on tight time schedules, don't we? And we have tried to do get over that we haven't. What God is saying to us in this passage is don't make any resolutions and don't try to study the Bible either.

Because the minute you try you're going to go through that cycle. Try fail be discouraged. Try fail be discouraged. Come on, have some of us not been on that merry-go-round for a long time. You don't have to say amen.

I know that's a sensitive question, but I'll speak to God for all God. All of us have been on that merry-go-round. How much better to come to God today and say God I? Give you my need of spending more time in the word.

You do it. You do it. Wait a minute. Isn't Christianity all about what God does and not what we do? Isn't that strange that everything in the Bible that leads up and accompanies our salvation? We always give God all the glory and all the credit, but then when it comes to certain things, it's okay.

I'm gonna try. I'm gonna show that I mean business. Isn't that strange for all of us that we live that way? In other words who drew you to Jesus Christ who convicted you of your sin. Did you convict yourself of your sin?

Or did God convict you who made Jesus real to you? Did you make Jesus real to you or did God do that? Who washed away all your sins. Did you wash away all your sins or did God wash away all your sins?

Who wrote your name in the Lamb's Book of Life? Did you write your name in the Lamb's Book of Life? Or did God write your name in the Lamb's book of life who sealed you with the Holy Spirit. Did God seal you with the Holy Spirit or did you seal yourself with those prayer?

No, I think for I read somewhere in that book that God sealed you with the Holy Spirit. Who put joy in your heart when they were eating with gladness of heart and joy and sincerity who can only do that?

But God who's the only one that can help us persevere? Who's the only one that can give us love for another human being God isn't that amazing? God gives us the Holy Spirit. God does all of this and then when we come to stuff that we think is really important.

We go vow promise resolution break it. Discouragement new vow back to the altar that and then and it's on. It's like a cycle some of us were reading the Bible more ten years ago than we're reading now.

So what did all your vows do for you? What did all your promises do for you? How much better to say God they were only doing that because great grace was upon the people God was doing things in their lives working in their hearts.

And the next thing, you know, you just start doing it, you know. When I fell in love with my wife, I had a summer job I was in college and I took the whole first paycheck that I got and I spent it on buying clothes for her and jewelry that she didn't like one thing.

I got her Wasted the whole paycheck. But she was gracious. She kind of like half smile. But I knew she was saying this guy wouldn't know nice clothes if his life depended on it. Why did I do that? Do you think someone told me to do that?

You think my parents taught me to do that when you have a girlfriend go take your first page. No, I did it because it was in me to do it. You and I are not gonna do anything unless it's in us to do it.

We're not under the law. We're not under let's struggle to obey. We're under God's Work in us. Make us the people you want us to be. When the Spirit of God starts taking control you and I will start to pray in the most Unusual places and will persevere in prayer and we'll get burdens for prayer.

I Spoke to a young lady who's going through a time of struggle in her life very terrible story and I told her that I was in another country preaching recently and as I was preaching telling the people about the power of God In answer to prayer she came in front of me as clear as my hand is in front of me and I started pouring out my heart for her and Crying as if she was one of my own grandchildren or children and I said to her that must be amazing.

God must want to do something in your life because trust me I wasn't thinking about praying for you, but see when God is working. He'll put burdens on your heart. You won't be able to sleep at night. Come on, can we put our hands together and say amen to that?

Grace That Produces Prayer, Witness, and Holiness

When God's Spirit and his grace are working in our lives we gravitate to the Word of God we Gravitate toward prayer prayer meeting on Tuesday. We can see God do awesome things. Just think we're gonna hand out cards this Tuesday from critical needs all around the world and you're gonna have a chance to be part Of it.

You're gonna pray for someone. It'll make a difference possibly for all eternity. You'll be part of it. See but God has to make that real to you or otherwise it's not American Idol's on I think that night.

I can't be no I can't do that Yankee games on see this was all happening. Because there was a strong current of the Spirit. And there was a strong current of the Spirit so that they were bold and they would talk to people about Jesus not because Peter Said today every fourth person you meet Peter said you got to talk to him about Jesus.

No, it was the Spirit just creating open doors. Boom chance to talk for Jesus. So I want to get some of us off the merry-go-round today, you know, if you have an ungodly habit. Maybe you've learned about this merry-go-round called resolution breaking discouragement.