Overcoming Selfish Ambition
Very Narrow Path To Life
John 7:18 He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.
When we speak or act for God, what is the intention of our heart? It matters to God and whether it is true service or dead works . Are we truly serving God or are we seeking gain from the world? If we are seeking gain or the approval of men anything we call worship is vanity to God as has been written about often on this blog.
The original me, the one that was born of the flesh is a self-centered human. From this innate selfishness I have sought and lusted after things that bring pleasure to me or promote my standing in the world among my fellow man. This is the very nature we must repent or turn away from if we choose to follow Jesus. By His grace the Lord called me to repentance which means I turn away from my selfishness and turn to serve Him, the living God. As I mature I am putting to death the desires of my flesh which at the core is my selfishness and this is how “we” the Bride of Christ, prepare ourselves for the wedding.
Revelation 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready
Selfish Ambition is the nature of Satan. Because of Adam’s fall, all men inherited this selfish sinful nature. Putting selfishness to death and walking in true humility and love is the call of a Christian walk of holiness. This is the war that is waged between the powers of darkness and our flesh. We cannot win unless we put our full trust and faith with the Lord Jesus Christ. The devil will get us to glorify ourselves, build an earthly kingdom for us, and entice us with fame, fortune, popularity, possessions having us seek the approval of man ahead of seeking the approval of God. Anything we do out of selfish ambition will lead us away from the real Jesus and the devil has been quite crafty at putting religious wrappings on many things and then getting us to pursue them out of selfishness. Our ambition must only be to seek Christ and His approval alone.
2 Cor 5:9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.
Denying ourselves, the opposite of selfishness or self-love is what Jesus demands from all who desire to enter His Kingdom. Jesus tells us we must give it ALL up for Him if we want to gain eternal life. Seeking after things of this world destroys us. Read the words of Jesus on this.
Luke 9:23-25 If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
The opposite of denying ourselves is pursuing the lusts of our sinful nature (heart) — the one we are born with and must get rid of by repentance. If we do not give this up, we are saying Jesus is not our Lord with our hearts. Not denying ourselves tells Jesus we love our sin and the lusts of our heart more than Him. We must purify ourselves of these idols and repent and turn fully to God. That is the only way we overcome selfishness and put on the divine nature of Christ. To live otherwise we are just the double minded man who James tells us about. Double-minded people should expect nothing from the Lord!
James 4:8 Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
If we love the world or the things in the world we are not pursuing lusts and not the Lord. We get to make these choices every day. That is the cross we must carry.
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. These were the three temptations of Jesus and the very same tests that all of us must overcome to prove ourselves worthy of Him. The boastful pride of life is the least obvious to most Christians.
Puffing ourselves up and seeking the approval of man is an acceptable sin but not to God. Anything we put in front of Him or love more than Him is an idol. It is not enough to avoid the immoral vices like sexual sin, criminal behavior, greed, addictions and thoughts that even the pagans know are wrong. We must have a pure heart before God. An awful lot of “religion” is to make ourselves look good to our fellow man. We do things in the name of God but the real motive is to call attention to ourselves and make us the object of esteem. Anything we do tied back to pride will not lead us to love our neighbor as ourself.
Pursuit of selfish ambition is behind the carnal love that has been passed off as Godly love. Wishing not to offend anyone, we tell people what they want to hear instead of speaking truth to them. Having them like us or esteem us is put ahead of rebuking sin or providing them life correcting feedback that can snatch their souls from the fire. This is how false teachers build large earthly kingdoms and are creating many fake Christians all in the name of God. While not the place for a diatribe on that topic know that the Scriptures of full of warnings about false teachers that will come and tickle our ears, especially in the end times. All Christians that strive to serve God are promised they will be persecuted. We must preach the Word in truth and be aware of those that tickle ears out of selfish ambition.
2 Tim 4:2-4 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
If we walk in true faith, we cannot fear or truly care what other people think. We must only fear God and what He thinks. As soon as we fear men or anything besides God, we will not act in true faith, we will change or alter God’s truth to be pleasing to men. The gospels shows this happening during Jesus’ ministry on earth. The revelation of Christ and His implanted Word will not bear fruit if it is made subservient to the approval of men.
John 12:42-43 Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
We must be careful and not deny our Lord. When we fear men and seek their approval, we deny God by failing to trust in Him. If we are not willing to risk rejection and persecution by man, we are not walking in true faith. Don’t you see this?
If our practice of religion or ministry to others elevates winning the approval of our brothers/sisters above the truth, we are not serving Christ, instead we are serving ourselves. Paul bore much criticism from the early churches that were mesmerized by false teachers that came after Paul left and tickled their ears with a watered down gospel that said sin was okay. Paul taught a much harder message of true repentance and walking in holiness by the grace of God and did not hesitate to rebuke those that erred or practiced sin.
Galatians 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
By no means should we seek to make enemies or upset people but if we are to serve God, shouldn’t we be speaking the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Even if our words upset people and makes them not like us? Of course we should. Jesus walked around preaching the truth out of love and people wanted to push him off cliffs, stone him and plot to kill him.
This is a tough truth to get a grasp on. On one hand, I see myself pushing people away by the truth I now speak out on. I am not trying to push them away but I am no longer seeking their approval as my ambition. I have been critical of many modern-day churches for they do not teach sound doctrine that agrees with my Bible. I have struggled finding the right heartfelt attitude about what I see as clear apostasy yet not becoming an evil judge.
The Quandary of False Teaching
Far too much pastoring or teaching today is designed to please men, to tickle the flesh and build reputation, names or even make money. Be Alert!
1 Thess 2:4-5 We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.
In Paul’s time, many came preaching Christ to win the approval of men and build their reputations and earthly kingdoms. Paul’s reference in Scriptures about false teachers contain severe condemnation to those that would mislead the brethren and put them on a path to destruction. The warnings against false teaching relate to the truth being taught and not the motivation of the teacher. The motivation of a teacher is less important than the truth of the message being taught. Consider the following words of Paul on this matter.
Philippians 1:15-18 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
I have come to this realization myself recently. We need to let God do the judging of hearts and speak His truth and not engage in chest beating exercises on who has the most knowledge about God. None of us know it all, we are all just mere men. It is not about us, it is about Him!
This passage seems to indicate that selfish ambition as the motivator behind religion is okay so long as Christ is preached. It is hard to argue since this is what the Scripture seems to say. But we need to be wary of selfish ambition and how the devil uses pride to derail and deceive us.
James 3:14-16 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
James makes it clear that selfish ambition is from the devil and leads to disorder and all kinds of evil. That is where a lot of religion has gone today, it is evil at the core and comes from peoples hearts that are pursuing the boastful pride of life.
All mature Christians will need to develop very thick skin. When the rejection and persecution of the God’s truth is thrown back at us, which is a must to confirm ourselves as true followers, we have a choice to make. We either put God first and stand firm on His truth or we give in to selfish ambition and place winning the approval of man above pleasing God.
Are you seeking to please God or to please your fellow man? We should indeed examine ourselves to ensure we are of the true faith. We must indeed do ALL things for the glory of the Lord. God shares His glory with no one we are told and even if we do “good” things, if we are doing them even partially for selfish gain, they are dead works in the eyes of God.
May God Bless You Richly!!!
TO HIM THAT OVERCOMES
Starting at Genesis 37th chapter
Asking God for wisdom, understanding and Christ’s fullness, comes with a price, the cost is “dying to self”. You can expect growing pains to the point of challenging friendships, becoming humble, swallowing pride, forsaking the spirit of religion ( having “your” belief system go forward) pride, and realizing as Jesus did what true separation is all about. This birthing forth is described all through the scriptures, but in Revelation, chapter 12, we can see a vivid internal application of this process that is likened to labor pains. The goal of the overcomer is to leave this earth spiritually, to be seated with Christ in our own kingdom within, allowing his WORD to set upon the thrones of our hearts as Lord and ruler. By doing this, we remove self will / self exaltation; Gods WORD removes / destroys the son of perdition from ruler ship inside of our internal kingdom within. When this process has been successfully completed Christ, “The WORD” is then seated upon the throne of our hearts. Through this process the old nature is destroyed through the brightness of Christ, The WORD, coming inwardly as the Lord of our lives. We must fire the drunken captain of self rule / self exaltation from our vessel, and allow Christ, The WORD to assume full control of our earthen ship. This can be illustrated when a “sleeping” Christ was awakened to assume control during the storm. When he assumes control of our vessel, we immediately get to the “other side” to the “Promised Land”. We must ask ourselves; do we have the creator of the universe asleep within us to just be “arisen” when the going gets tough, and when a “sense” of desperation / urgency occurs? Do we just want to displace the old nature / son of perdition from the throne of our hearts when things can’t be solved naturally? Is he fully awake within us in oneness, so that we can sail the high seas of adversity prepared for whatever may arise? God wants us to walk as overcomers upon the sea of glass (faith in his WORD) mingled with fire (adversity) by having faith in his WORD ruling and reigning within. Peter sank upon this sea of adversity because he took his eyes off of the WORD because he was on the outside and not the inside in total control and ruler ship; we must gain the victory by always staying focused on him. The overcomer described in the book of Revelation is someone “God chooses”, by revealing Christ’s fullness through him. He is marked for separation by God from earthly brothers who do not have the desire to seek, please and serve only him. In the book of Hosea 2; 6-7 we see God has built a hedge around the overcomer or future bride, so that she cannot reconnect with her former lover’s. Oh how I have tried to love the harlot of self by trying to connect/ fellowship and be instructed by those uncommitted outer court brethren who do not have Christ’s loving presence dwelling within them. For me, there has always been conflict and arguments with those who are locked up in the churches of men, or those individuals who cannot give up their personal doctrines of self will, who cannot examine Gods truths because of the traditions of men within them. Deeper understandings of Gods WORD cannot be considered by them, because of their belief systems that are established on pride, control, literal eyesight, material gain, etc., which amounts to nothing more than self rule, Babylon. The prideful need to” listen” we are not just talking about those of organized religion, we are talking about the spirit of Babylon, self will, going forward to rule upon the hearts of individuals who displace Gods will in preference for their own. Overcomers do not wish to separate themselves from these brothers of self will / self exaltation, but God does: he is doing it through the brightness of Christ’s coming within the spiritual kingdom of men, who only want his loving presence as Lord of their lives. All things of self rule, self exaltation, that earthly brothers are controlled by; the overcomers have also been subjected to, but have now come to the realization that it has been deception from the ruler of this world. This previous self rule / self exaltation of the overcomers has been realized and discarded because the day of the Lord has come within their kingdom within, and the internal son of perdition has been revealed by the brightness of his coming. Christ’s appearing within has become desired above all things in every facet of their lives, because this arrival and complete formation means entering into his rest / inheritance. These overcoming witnesses are rising in these last days and simply feel privileged to spread Gods truth and not theirs. The man of self, the man of perdition, is being exposed in these last days so that he can then be defeated, because once he is recognized within, he can then be destroyed. The son of perdition in these last days is decreasing into non existence, and Christ is increasing, the final outcome cannot be any other way. The election of God wanting to consume the internal kingdom within man will not be stopped; we must realize that this is his goal so that we can help him in unison to break down the walls of self will / self exaltation within us. God alone will light this spiritual Kingdom called New Jerusalem (born again spirit) with his presence, and no other darkness pretending to be light will be allowed in by him. The man of perdition services are no longer going to be required, as ruler upon the throne of the overcomers heart: self rule, self exaltation in these last days is being unmasked in preference for Gods will ruling / reigning in the kingdom or heart of those that “overcome”. This son of perdition, like all adversaries has caused much pain and suffering, but, he has also brought about spiritual “growth” ,development, as a much needed adversary to develop a mature bride for Christ and mature well pleasing sons / daughters for God the Father. Kingdom restoration and development through acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice as a sacrifice for sin and the brightness of his WORD (his formed presence within) as Lord is Gods goal within man.
Those who are separated from their earthly brothers and sisters in Christ because of God’s higher calling and revelation of himself, are being formed as witnesses in these last days. The example of Joseph and his brothers can be used to help overcomers realize why they are not accepted by those who are using “their” own self made approach to the Father. The individual self made doctrinal beliefs and organized religious approaches of man to God are rejected as always by the Father just like a natural Father rejects a self made, unpleasing approach to him by one of his children. Lets look at Genesis 37; 1-3 to illustrate a few spiritual facts from the shadows of this old testament story of Jacob , the Father, Joseph the son and his uncommitted wayward brethren of self will / self exaltation. We see in these verses that Joseph brought the evil report of his brothers to their father Jacob. We are not sure what evil the sons had done, but we can probably guess it was about promoting their own self will / self exaltation (spirit of Babylon) over the “Father” will. Joseph could have stood with his “earthly” brothers, but he chooses to be faithful to “The father”. For those who choose to do service to God and not earthly brethren, they will be much loved by the Father just like Joseph, but will be separated from self seeking, self promoting “earthly “( outer court) brethren. The overcomers in today’s world can also expect rejection and hatred from earthly brothers, causing much pain /adversity. This rejection by the outer court earthly brethren because of loyalty to the Father will “Always” cause separation, but their dedication will result in eternal life by allowing spiritual mastery and Lordship of the kingdom within by Gods WORD. It is a spiritual oneness with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that is sought by the overcomer, his mission is crystal clear. This is what the story of Joseph is all about, it is a shadow of a dedicated SON in spiritual oneness with his Father ruling and reigning spiritually just as Joseph ruled Egypt, which is this sin stained lustful body of FLESH that we are confined to at present. Looking at Genesis 37; 4-11 we see hatred towards Joseph from his brothers because of their Fathers special love or election of Joseph because of his commitment, oneness with him. Can we see in verse four that because of the overcomers election to serve his “Father” (Jacob is a shadow of God) that hatred will be directed towards those who are in a different relationship and understanding with God? We see in the following verses Joseph having dreams/visions sent from God of his authority over his brothers in regards to the sheaf’s, sun, moon and eleven stars submitting to his authority : these literal heavenly bodies are an internal representation of subduing our own Promised Land or KINGDOM WITHIN! Can we not see from these verses how God reveals truths to very few brethren revealing their election by God to a higher calling / understanding, or fullness in him? When these truths are revealed and shared with “earthly” brethren like Joseph did, it interferes with their man of perditions plans of self rule, self exaltation, and personal doctrinal belief system that causes envy, strife, and rejection of the overcomer. Much pain comes with this higher calling because what God is constructing within the overcomers “Kingdom within”, will cause a straight and narrow walk that requires defeating all enemies in the Promised Land (spiritual kingdom within) that very few undertake or “enter” into. Godly men like Jeremiah, Isaiah, “Joshua” and Paul etc. are examples of “dying to self,” they did this by abiding in Gods WORD and denying their own self will to rule upon the thrones of their hearts. The visions / revelations given by the Father to the overcomers in these last days, just like Joseph, will initially cause separation and hatred from earthly, outer court brethren, but guess what, when a famine for the truth hits (and it’s already here) “The Father” will send these earthly brothers in search of the ones that have the purity of Gods WORD, the living waters of Life. The natural worldly doctrines of men will be forsaken by those that God is calling out of Babylon, which is a spirit of self rule, self approach to the Father. He is rising up “today” a spiritually strong people representing “HIS” truth and not theirs to say “come out of her my people”. These malnutrition sons of Babylon will now be able to eat from the table of Christ food that “they did not know of”. This eternal food ( Christ loving presence within, the WORD, from the Lords table is now being spread before the staving brethren and the overcomers are going to be privileged to “dish it out” in a spirit of” Love”. This food is only for those people who are willing to give up their self ruled/ self exalted lives’ in preference for the “truth” of Gods WORD.
The overcomers will not be recognized at first, just as Josephs brothers did not recognize who he was at first as they stood before him.
Doesn’t it hurt overcomer, just like when Joseph cried in the “house” of pharaoh, when earthly brethren cannot recognize the true Christ in you, because of their own traditions, and self will/ self exaltation obscuring their vision? You can see who they are spiritually, but they can’t recognize Christ in you, because they have not truly known his appearance or coming? When Joseph’s brothers saw him “coming” to them afar off, they did not recognize Christ in him, and wanted to kill him because of his standing with the Father. Hasn’t this rejection and hatred today of the overcomers happened because of them wanting to represent “THE FATHERS WORD”? Read this account of Joseph and his brethren starting in Genesis 37, see for your self by asking the Father if this Old Testament shadow is not a spiritual reality of today!
The overcomer of today wants to reveal himself to the point of deep sorrow to his outer court earthly brethren just as Joseph did , turning away in heart wrenching pain: but the Holy Ghost says wait, all in God’s time, the season of understanding is not yet here.
God must administer his will through the overcomer to inflict, fear, doubt, and adversity to perform a work in their heart that will drive them to the Fathers loving arms. There was a time period of refinement for the brothers of Joseph from when they first meet Joseph in Egypt because refinement within the heart had to come before the revealing to place. You see friends, people of today wouldn’t know Jesus if he was their next door neighbor, that simply cannot recognize him because they do not know who he is spiritually. In the book of Revelation chapter 1 verse1 it says “THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST”: we must ask ourselves, where Christ wants to reveal himself, isn’t the answer within the internal / eternal kingdom or spirit of man for which he gave his life! Much suffering and pain must first take place for rebellious brethren before the revealing takes place. Just as Joseph was a shadow of Christ so are the overcomers of today. Again, read Genesis chapter 37 onward in this light, it applies to what is going on in these end times, but please ask the Father, he is to be believed and not me. Remember Joseph putting “his” cup in the grain sacks of his wayward brethren, causing them great anguish and fear of death (eternal death for today’s wayward brethren). These brethren tried to spiritually remove Joseph’s cup of inheritance from the Fathers house by removing him from Father Jacobs (Shadow of God) household so this natural illustration of stealing this silver cup was given. Haven’t the overcomers been told that since they don’t go to “church” pay tithes etc. that they have no inheritance in the kingdom of heaven? And not just those of organized religion, isn’t it those people of individual doctrinal beliefs who only have literal eyesight and cannot see who Christ really is like Joseph brothers could not recognize him. We better know what Gold looks like before we start looking for it, you may possess a cheap counterfeit of Christ and not his loving presence formed in you.
Before these outer court brethren can truly be feed, they must become desperate and dependant upon the Father: they must look for Christ presence in area’s that they would not otherwise look in. Jacob ( Shadow of God the Father) sending his sons to Egypt is the example of finding life saving nutrition in Joseph ( shadow of Christ).The Holy Spirit of God the Father will guide starving , once rebellious children to the rivers of life ( Christ , THE WORD) if they submit to him by faith. The earthly brethren must develop a tremendous hunger, and see the authority, power and truth that God has given to the overcomer, who is a representative of Christ’s true body of believers on this literal earth. This last day, Joseph Company of overcomers, are the witnesses that are rising to speak “HIS” truth in Revelation the 11th Chapter. They represent his truth rising again that is tormenting the interior son of perdition because he knows his “time is short”. The men and woman of self rule, self exaltation in these last days who will not allow Christ to dwell, reside and become Lord of their “kingdom within” will rejoice for a very short period of time (Rev. 11: 10). When these truth telling, life spreading, loving overcoming witnesses are removed, it will signify that every son of God from the foundation of the world has been gathered into the sheep fold and sealed. Referring back to Joseph the overcomer must always be motivated by love in their dealings with the earthly brethren. Those who can see the spiritual state of earthly brothers and sisters must administer in love, the medicine of Gods WORD: just like a literal doctor prescribes medication for sick patients. Those who can see the spiritually sick condition of earth bound, self ruled brethren, must become physicians of Gods WORD, led by the Holy Spirit.. Joseph, through his love of his earthly brethren, administered spiritual medicine in the form of his words, which initially created anguish, fear, and adversity, before he revealed himself to them. The true Christ, will eventually be revealed in Gods time, it is happening today for those who are turning to the Father in dependency with an all seeking faithful heart to him. Christ, The WORD, for those who are turning and seeking him only, will reveal himself spiritually just like Joseph revealed himself to his brethren: Christ will reveal himself to those who are seeking him with their whole heart , and are willing to give up their own self will / self exaltation. Come out of her is the cry in these last days for those who are coming out of spiritual Babylon (self will, self exaltation). God is rising up a people in these last days to speak the truth of his WORD, so that the captives of self will can be released. Not all will have this desire to seek him, but the overcomers stand ready to administer his truths to those who “come out”. The story of Joseph is a shadow of what can happen when God gains full control of the overcomers life: Joseph represents the born again spirit within man, when he went into Egypt which is a representation of this sin stained lustful body of flesh that we are housed in. Egypt, most definitely, represents this ravaged, temporal, sin stained body which is a prison house of our spiritual selves; pharaoh represents the carnal mind that guides and directs the person of man that must be displaced.
When Christ formation within the spirit starts taking place, the son of perdition, which pharaoh represents in this story, has to remove himself from Lordship / ruler ship within our kingdom within. A fully developed Joseph or Christ is now ready to establish kingdom ruler ship and has displaced this godless flesh man (son of perdition) just like Joshua gained victory in the “Promised Land”. The brightness of Christ’s coming within our spirits chasing away this son of perdition or old nature is as simple as the sun coming up in the morning: he is the bright morning star of our deliverance .Gods WORD says Heaven and earth shall pass away, but Gods WORD will never pass away. It is time to bring his loving presence in as ruler of our kingdom within, there will be no second chances to do so after we have left this earth. When Christ’s ruler ship is established within your heart, and you are truly born again, a correct order of submission internally will occur. The born again spirit (Christ presence within) tells the once carnal mind what to do which is then transformed into the mind of Christ: at that point of the fullness of Christ within you, then there will be corresponding action of the body in obedience to the born again spirit and renewed mind. This process reestablishes the correct order of submission within the person of man just like in the “garden” before sin came into the picture. This is the internal spiritual application of Joseph coming to Egypt and establishing himself as Lord and ruler, if we have eyes to see this Old Testament illustration. We wait upon Christ in all his fullness in us, and look to the day, to be fully transformed into his image, finally shedding this prison house of Egyptian rule and exchanging it for an eternal glorified body in his likeness. We must gain possession of our “prison house” through our born again spirits filled with his WORD, and the renewed mind of Christ. Joseph and his earthly life are all about this internal spiritual reality that is taking place within the kingdom within. Let Christ, Gods WORD be Lord of your Kingdom Within so that eternal life can permeate our internal / eternal kingdom by seating him upon the throne of your heart.
God bless us to see this true internal battleground through complete submission to him.
Jer. 33:3
Pete , thanks for sharing your knowledge and wisdom on this subject. Not many people want to address this issue , because it exposes the internal son of perdition within our own kingdom . This darkened old man of self dosen’t like being exposed , because when he is , then he can be destroyed. Thank you for writting about and bringing “his” light of exposure to this dark internal spiritual force within. God bless Charles.