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If we're seeking advancement because we want to please God, our heart posture is aligned with Heaven. But, if we are seeking advancement out of selfish ambition and pride, our hearts are turned inward instead of to the Father.

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the negative circumstances and forget how God has been faithful throughout the years. In the moment, I can lose sight of all that God has done for me. But when I pause to remember His goodness, His mercy, and His grace, I find peace, strength, and hope for whatever I am up against - knowing that He has been, is, and will be faithful to see me through it.

Just as often as we read the laments in the Psalms, we read and sing the songs of praise to our God, for He is good - all the time. And even when it seems like He has gone on holiday, He is always with us, for to leave or forsake us would be in violation of His character, for He is a faithful God.

Do you pray for our leaders? Not just the leaders of our country, but state, county, and city. What about the leaders of our church? We’re looking at Psalm 72 today and in it, a king, whom most scholars believe to be David, prays for God to help his son rule the nation justly and wisely.

Would you pray with me that God will send and call Psalm 71 adults to minister to the next generation right in our church? As I got an opportunity to preach to the youth recently, let me tell you, they are ripe for harvest, they are hungry, and the future is bright for them. I really believe they will become the next generation of spiritual leaders to proclaim Jesus to this generation in ways we have never seen.

There are still requests that, in my finite understanding and opinion, SHOULD be answered NOW. And yet I look back on my past answered prayers and the stories of others, and I can trust that God’s timing is better. God’s plan is better. And even if I don’t see it in my lifetime, He is working all things out for the good of those that love Him.

Maybe you’re going through a tough time right now, maybe you are like David, the water is up to your neck. I wanna remind you that, just as real as your problems are right now, so is God. He is real and He is present in your circumstances. Listen, I know the struggle is real right now, but I wanna encourage you today that you serve a God who is present.

The truth is, when you understand the limitless grace that Jesus dispensed from Calvary's cross, you know there's a really really good chance you're going to find yourself standing next to someone in Heaven that you could not stand here on Earth.

Today, I offer a blessing and challenge to all of you: May God bless you and keep you; may He make His face to shine upon you, and may you praise Him today with all of your thoughts, your words, your actions, and your attitudes, for He is worthy of our praise.

If you watch a silversmith, he holds a piece of silver over the middle of the fire and lets it heat up where the flames are the hottest in order to burn away all of the impurities. The silversmith sits in front of the fire the whole time the silver is being refined. If the silver is left a moment too long in the flames, it is destroyed. He knows when the silver is refined because he can see his image in it!