1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:22,000 The night's going out all around me One last candle to keep out the night 2 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:37,000 And then the darkness tore off me I know I'm a liar but I feel like I'll die 3 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:50,000 And all that's left to accept that it's over My dreams ran like sand through the face of May 4 00:00:50,000 --> 00:01:05,000 I try to keep warm but I just grow colder I feel like I'm slipping away 5 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:20,000 After all this has passed I still will remain After I've cried my heart, there'll be beauty from the end 6 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:32,000 Though it won't be today, someday I'll hope again And there'll be beauty from me 7 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:52,000 Your world will bring beauty from my veins My whole world is the pain inside me 8 00:01:52,000 --> 00:02:06,000 The best I can do is just get through the day The life before is only a memory 9 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:20,000 I wonder why God lets me walk through this pain And though I can't understand why this happened 10 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:34,000 I know that I will when I look back someday And see how He brought beauty from passion 11 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:43,000 And made me as gold purified through these flames 12 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:57,000 After all this has passed I still will remain After I've cried my heart, there'll be beauty from the end 13 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:10,000 Though it won't be today, someday I'll hope again And there'll be beauty from me 14 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:24,000 You will bring beauty from my veins Here I am at the end of me 15 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:38,000 Trying to hold to what I can't see I forgot how to hope this night felt so long 16 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:53,000 I cling to your promise that we'll be together After all this has passed I still will remain 17 00:03:53,000 --> 00:04:00,000 After I've cried my heart, there'll be beauty from the end 18 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:13,000 Though it won't be today, someday I'll hope again And there'll be beauty from my veins 19 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:31,000 You will bring beauty from my veins 20 00:04:43,000 --> 00:05:00,000 I know that I will when I look back someday And see how God lets me walk through this pain 21 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:05,960 Fire is a very real thing that happens in the military, less so thank God today, 22 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:10,560 and the more advanced militaries become, the less that happens, but it still 23 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:15,600 happens, especially in less advanced militaries. And so if you are conducting a 24 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:20,360 surgical strike, the idea is to hit a specific target without hitting anything 25 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:25,620 around it. Okay, I want you to remember those thoughts then as we look at the 26 00:05:25,620 --> 00:05:30,800 text for today. We do tend to say amen or hallelujah, hoot hollers, our Yahtzee guy 27 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:37,080 is not present, as we go today to Psalm chapter 21. Thank you. That marks the 28 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,880 time at which we stop thinking about what we think and we start thinking about 29 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:45,180 what God thinks. So we're going to read this text that the psalmist wrote. The 30 00:05:45,180 --> 00:05:51,040 psalmist as far as we know is David. David, you'll recall, was a man after God's 31 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:57,680 own heart according to God's Word, and a king of Israel, and a king in Jerusalem, 32 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:03,480 and then on one particular occasion sinned very heavily against the Lord, 33 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:09,160 was called out by the prophet, and then later was repentant and ended his life 34 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,980 and God says he is a man after God's own heart. And so that being said, then we 35 00:06:12,980 --> 00:06:17,020 understand David would write in Psalm 51, for example, that God is looking for a 36 00:06:17,020 --> 00:06:21,240 contrite heart. So God wants you to put your heart in his hands and as we talked 37 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:24,560 about on Tuesday night, we talked about one of the locks. In fact the psalmist 38 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:29,160 writes elsewhere that if you cherish sin in your heart or willingly allow sin to 39 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:34,720 remain in your heart, God will not hear your prayers. So the psalmist said. And so 40 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:39,000 that is David and this is a psalm that he wrote about the thing that we are 41 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,280 talking about today. We're reading the second half essentially of the psalm 42 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:48,200 beginning in verse 8 and it says this, your hands, talking about God's hand, your 43 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:53,960 hand will find out all your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate 44 00:06:53,960 --> 00:07:00,040 you. So this is being said of God and so you know God is omniscient, which means 45 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,600 God knows everything, right? So God is fully knowledgeable of everything that 46 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,080 he has created, the hearts of men. He can read our minds, he can hear your thoughts, 47 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:12,720 he can count the hairs on your head, he can see the veins and the leaves of the 48 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:15,800 millions of billions and trillions of trees that exist on the earth and so on. 49 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:22,280 So what does it say then that God will find out all his enemies and his right 50 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:26,880 hand will find out those who hate him? Well this doesn't mean to find out like 51 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:29,600 I go look in the cupboard and find out whether or not I still have tuna fish 52 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:34,280 and if so if I don't I put it on the grocery list because I am not able to 53 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,720 remember how many cans of tuna fish I last bought and how many I have now 54 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:41,520 eaten even though I'm the only one that eats them and so I have to go and my 55 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:45,520 right hand opens the cupboard and I look. It doesn't mean that, right? So to find 56 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:51,080 out in this case is to make known or to show, right? So it'll be obvious. To find 57 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:56,840 out is to eliminate that which clutters the issue and make it come forth, right? 58 00:07:56,840 --> 00:07:59,920 So if you have a pretty flower growing in your flower garden but it's surrounded by 59 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:04,640 weeds you go and you cut out the weeds and now you can see the flower and so 60 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:10,440 God is saying, David is saying through God about God, your hand will find out 61 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:13,280 all your enemies your right hand will find out those who hate you and he's 62 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:17,120 gonna take that thought a little further. In verse 9 he says, you will make them as 63 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:22,280 a fiery oven in the time of your anger the Lord will swallow them up in his 64 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:26,560 wrath. And so a fiery oven obviously burns and you might want to I might want to 65 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:31,720 find poetic imagery there about hell but I submit to you it isn't there it may be 66 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:37,160 loosely connected at best but a fiery oven is a thing that consumes and so 67 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:42,520 people who will be found out to hate God it says that he will make them as a fiery 68 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:47,320 oven in the time of his anger and you can just imagine that as God is coming 69 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,960 against those who are his enemies they're gonna have something to say or 70 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:54,840 something to do and if they've gotten ahead by craftiness if they've gotten 71 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,520 ahead by money if they've gotten ahead by manipulating if they've gotten ahead 72 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:02,560 by violence they're gonna use whatever they've gotten ahead by that much more 73 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:06,400 in that moment when God has come against them and his wrath has become obvious 74 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:09,800 and they will be taking it out on their friends and family and even themselves 75 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:15,520 in an effort to overcome what is coming against them which we know is God that 76 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:19,960 says the Lord will then swallow them up in his wrath in fact you could say that 77 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:26,680 God's wrath likes spicy food if you will they will be hot on fire trying to 78 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:30,320 resist they will be doing everything in their power but when God's anger burns 79 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:35,880 against them they will not resist rather his wrath will swallow them up now 80 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:42,160 notice in 9 he says in the time of your anger and in 9b or the second half of 81 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:45,280 9 he says you will swallow them up in your wrath and you might have to go like 82 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:52,000 what is the difference between anger and wrath so anger is emotive energy in the 83 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,000 Greek which the Septuagint uses this word here but this was actually probably 84 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,680 written in Hebrew originally and the Greek the word is orgy and it means 85 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:03,040 packed with emotion or powerful with emotions it's where you might get the 86 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:06,480 old saying orgy where men and women get together and do unsightly things with 87 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:12,280 each other right and it's that same word is is coming from and so it's packed 88 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:16,800 pardon me packed with energy packed with energy packed with power there's 89 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:21,800 something's got to happen out of that emotion flowing out God's emotion let 90 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:27,480 me say this way when God is ticked off and it becomes evident those who have 91 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:33,680 been resisting him will respond as fiery ovens and the Lord will swallow them up 92 00:10:33,680 --> 00:10:38,760 in his wrath and wrath is not emotions it's opposition there's a difference I 93 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:43,320 can be mad at someone I might want to see them dead I shouldn't by the way the 94 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:47,240 Bible says you shouldn't have anger in your heart like that if you can not I 95 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:52,760 would highly advise it but I might be mad at someone and not be opposing them 96 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:58,040 or I might be opposing someone and not be mad at them in fact if you find that 97 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:00,440 you have to oppose someone the best thing to do would be to oppose them 98 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:04,120 without being mad at them but here it says God will be both in fact it says 99 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:08,200 God will be angry at his enemies and that day there's a reason for that and 100 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:12,880 it says his wrath or his opposition will swallow them up so you could say that 101 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:17,800 God's wrath likes spicy food and you would well remember Psalm 21 9 verse 10 102 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:22,000 they are offspring so this is what they have generated now the literal word 103 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:26,640 there is their seed and oftentimes it does mean their children right but it 104 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,760 doesn't only mean their children you can imagine that it's also what they have 105 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:34,800 produced or what continues their process so just as Christians and lead people to 106 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:38,000 Jesus and those Christians lead other people to Jesus and those Christians 107 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:43,480 lead other people to Jesus just as that happens so too people in other political 108 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:48,400 movements or in false religion do the same in fact the word proselyting was 109 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:51,440 invented from the Jewish religion and it continues to this day and people are 110 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:55,880 led to become Jewish but being Jewish won't save you right being a follower of 111 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:59,200 Jesus whether you're a Jew or not would save you and so when a person is a 112 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:03,400 Gentile converts to Judaism they have no salvation in that there is no salvation 113 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:06,640 in that but still those who are in Judaism would still love to see people 114 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:10,640 convert to Judaism just as Muslims would love to see people convert to Islam and 115 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:14,640 so on right and Christians recognize that we have a job to do and I'm gonna 116 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:19,480 get ahead of myself but the bottom line is they have offspring both of their 117 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:24,080 bodies and also of their teaching and it says God will destroy from the earth 118 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:28,560 their offspring that will destroy from the earth and it says their descendants 119 00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:32,600 from among the sons of men and the descendants there again the word there 120 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:38,320 is seed and so it's like it could be of their teaching or of their flesh verse 121 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:44,760 11 though they intend evil against thee and devise a plot they will not succeed 122 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:50,840 so now we see a new relationship between those that God is is angry at slash 123 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:55,920 wrathful towards and they have a plan and they've been acting a plan I submit 124 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:59,920 to you that those who respond in violence often do not have a plan those 125 00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:05,600 who trust in their money often do not have a plan right there's a lot of got 126 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:07,960 false gods in this world that people trust in and they don't necessarily 127 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:12,040 have a plan but those who have a false religion of a sort have begun to think 128 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:15,800 about some steps that they may follow you know here's the tenfold steps and 129 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:20,880 the and the four pillars and and things like that of various false religions and 130 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:25,560 a various teachings that are out there and they say well these are our core 131 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:31,200 values these are our commands these are our rules for how we're going to be 132 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:35,440 saved or how we're going to be effective in this thing that we're trying to 133 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:39,680 accomplish and so they have a plan and God basically says though they have a 134 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:43,960 plan he says this through David though they have a plan they devise a plot they 135 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:49,280 have a plan but they will not succeed verse 12 then says because or for thou 136 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:53,520 will make them turn their back now this is interesting when you think about it 137 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:57,920 wasn't mean to turn their back now the word here is like a military routing and 138 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:01,640 if you're the army and you come against another army and then you turn your backs 139 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,040 and you're in the middle of combat what's gonna happen you're gonna be 140 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:11,200 demolished right in fact in the also in military sense and also in gaming sense 141 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,040 if you turn your back and run from an any that you're fighting there's a thing 142 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:19,280 called a free hack they get to hit you once for free right and oftentimes when 143 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:22,920 you're talking about military weapons guns and knives and bayonets and swords 144 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:27,800 and like that a lot of people do not survive the free hack and so this is a 145 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:32,280 people that they will come against God with a plot a plan and their plot will 146 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:38,080 not succeed because God will make them turn their back he will their plan will 147 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,480 obviously not gonna hold up against God they say well we'll run to fight another 148 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:45,560 day and God will overtake them in his wrath as it said back there at the end 149 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:52,280 of verse 9 says thou wilt aim with thy bowstrings at their faces and I thought 150 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:56,280 okay now this almost is getting a little bit kind of specific here and that's 151 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:59,560 pretty nasty right you're aiming right at their face well there's the called 152 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:04,440 shot that we're talking about there's a surgical strike because if they come 153 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:09,360 with their plot or they are their plan and God turns them away or God aims his 154 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:14,240 bow right at their face and realize that he is targeting specifically his anger 155 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:19,400 is directed specifically at those who are standing up against him so I have a 156 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:24,360 mock bow and arrow here okay I'll come be my volunteer I've all told you come 157 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:31,840 on okay so this is just a toy but anyone does anyone like this it probably will 158 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:36,880 hurt all right got some good stretch okay we just fire a little sample shot 159 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:41,000 okay I'm gonna get you out together on track this is a sample shot so as you can 160 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:46,280 imagine that might smart a little bit right here's another arrow just stand 161 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:57,200 there you don't have to do nothing but stand there okay ready okay you ready 162 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:01,920 how about now are you ready now no no definitely not ready now you're sure 163 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:08,040 okay I'm not gonna shoot you all right this is bad enough to take a shot in the 164 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:13,520 chest but when it's a shot in the head that's enough to make you want to turn 165 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:18,840 away you understand the concept of what God is saying do you not the picture is 166 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:24,080 imminent God will strike them in their face now I think it's interesting 167 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:30,080 because have you ever heard maybe that we were created in the image of God now 168 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:34,680 I doesn't mean that God has a beard like you have or God has wrinkles in his 169 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:38,560 forehead like you had or his skin is the color of you ever that is has skin at 170 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:44,480 all right because he's spirit the Bible says he's spirit but we were created in 171 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:49,640 the image of God and in the simplest sense the image of our God is contained 172 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:57,680 in our faces it's in our faces if they were gonna make a craftsmanship of the 173 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:06,640 false god Jupiter back in the day or Mars or Athena right the faces were 174 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:12,040 always made the same the equipment might change the clothes might change but the 175 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:17,080 image of the false god that they were created always looked the same and if 176 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:22,200 you look at people you will see even though people are different ever from 177 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,960 person to person everyone's different but everybody's basically got a nose 178 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:28,240 everybody's basically got an eye unless and if we see somebody doesn't have a 179 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:33,360 nose or an eye we look for tragedy we look for trouble right if you see 180 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:36,880 somebody's got a scar on their face you assume that the image of their face has 181 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:45,320 been marred and God is saying through David that he will aim his bowstring at 182 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:51,640 their faces that's a cold shot last verse we're gonna read today be thou 183 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:59,560 exalted oh Lord in thy strength we will sing and praise thy power now I should 184 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,920 say we are going to use a couple of reinforcing verses but that's the last 185 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,960 of our text for the day okay so the first thing I want you to see in here 186 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:11,440 that's painfully evident to me I hope it is to you is that in the long run 187 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,240 whatever it may look like now and I submit to you that even now it's true 188 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:21,280 but it may not necessarily look so but in the long run God will win God will 189 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:25,240 win the ultimate victory if there is any kind of a challenge I submit to you that 190 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:30,000 he pretty much already has he's already winning now right but some days it 191 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:34,120 doesn't necessarily look like God is winning on the days when we can't quite 192 00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:39,720 see whether somebody is a friend of God or an enemy of God when your brother 193 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,960 your sister your mother your friend claims the name of Jesus but lives a 194 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:47,840 certain kind of way and they seem to be doing okay and you think to yourself 195 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:54,080 well you know if they can live that way and still prosper when you look at the 196 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:57,920 wealthy people of the world and they're clearly living at the best 197 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:04,320 hypocritically they're not practicing honor not being honest not having 198 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:09,080 integrity and yet they seem to be doing okay then you might start to think well 199 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:14,720 I'm not sure God is winning but but whether God appears to be winning today 200 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:19,640 or not God will ultimately win and the psalmist recognizes that God will make 201 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,880 it clear and evidence who the enemies of God are and who the friends and I could 202 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:27,440 go all over the New Testament we could talk about burning up the chaff we could 203 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:32,320 talk about the pitchfork already laid at the bottom of the stalks or the 204 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,440 axe already laid at the base of the tree we talked about the angels coming for 205 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:39,200 the harvest you don't need any of that this is what the psalmist knew and it 206 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,560 was all before Jesus spoke it was all before the parables this is what the 207 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:46,960 psalmist knew God will find out his enemies and he means he will make it 208 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:51,560 clear and obvious so sitting in this room sad to say there are those who are 209 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:55,800 truly on fire for God truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and then there 210 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:58,640 are those who are claiming the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who kind of don't 211 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:01,960 understand the concept of that and I don't know which is which and it's not 212 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:05,480 my job that's not my job to know which is which but it does say in the scripture 213 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:09,400 that you can kind of know a person by his fruit and I submit to you that it'll 214 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:13,880 become evident if you live with somebody now you know them you talked to them you 215 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,400 worked alongside of them and then one day he says well I pay a lot of rent and 216 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,360 he says well I pay a lot of rent let's get together we live together and after 217 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:24,080 you live together for a while you begin to know them a little bit more but even 218 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:26,560 then you don't know what they've been through you don't know how they're wired 219 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:30,080 you don't know their personality their emotions all the things they're facing 220 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,120 why they behave in the way that they are and you're trying to process it all you're 221 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:37,200 trying to assess it all and you hate to put a tag on somebody and judge them but 222 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:41,120 at the same time you kind of know them by their fruit and once you moved in 223 00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:47,040 with them for a while you kind of find out who they really are and it's like 224 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:52,160 that the more that people claim the name of Jesus and live according to what they 225 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:57,200 say the more evident it becomes as to whether what they say is true or not but 226 00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:02,600 even if it does not God will win he will eventually find out with absolute 227 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:06,760 certainty he will make known with clarity who the enemies are those who 228 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:11,720 bow their knee and confess that he is Lord on the day willingly leaping in 229 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,440 there let me I'll go first I want to get I want to go I want to praise God I want 230 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:19,280 to put my knee down those who willingly seeing the praises of God now when you 231 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:22,920 kind of wonder sometimes whether God is winning we'll clearly sing it then when 232 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:27,160 it's pained lap this is what I've been waiting for I've been so excited about 233 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:31,080 20 years ago I saw a video of a man he was sitting in a church much like we 234 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:34,080 were doing now listening to the preacher preach and all of a sudden there was a 235 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:39,560 sound like a Trump blue outside it shook the whole building and all the building 236 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:42,640 all the people were gone it was all empty except for him and he went oh 237 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:48,000 crud oh no and he felt didn't say a word he fell to his knees and he realized he 238 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,680 had just missed it and I'm not sure if that's exactly how it's gonna happen I'm 239 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:56,280 not saying that's biblical but what I am saying is that it is our job now to 240 00:21:56,280 --> 00:22:01,240 realize that God is going to win and you want to be on the winning side if you're 241 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:05,320 playing games with God he is going to find you out and he already knows and 242 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:10,880 he's going to find you out so that is painfully obvious to one and all Isaiah 243 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:15,760 10 10 says it this way the prophet Isaiah as my hand has reached to the 244 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:20,600 kingdom of the idols whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and 245 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:27,160 Samaria so I shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images just as I have done to 246 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:30,620 Samaria and her idols don't you understand looking back at the 247 00:22:30,620 --> 00:22:34,440 historical times of God this is the nice thing about prophecy and promises of God 248 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:39,880 as you can see them repeat over and over again God has exposed people who are 249 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:43,680 playing the game when David sinned by taking Bathsheba and arranging for Eriah 250 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,960 the Hittites to be dead we talked about that this last week when David did that 251 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:52,720 God sent Nathan to confront him Nathan told him a story so what should be done 252 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,920 this man David pronounced judgment on himself not knowing was talking about 253 00:22:55,920 --> 00:23:01,200 himself pronounced judgment on himself he said that man should be killed and the 254 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:08,240 prophet said well you're that man and God found out not that he discovered 255 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:11,640 Davidson he already knew Davidson but he used the prophet to find out and make 256 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:15,000 it obvious and for David to pronounce his own judgment what judgment would you 257 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,400 pronounce on yourself not that you should but the truth is do you know if 258 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:23,200 you're playing games with God when God wins the day you'll be so ready to be 259 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:26,360 part of the winning team on that day and if you're not part of the winning team 260 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:29,680 between now and then you will not be part of the winning team on that day 261 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:35,880 because now is the day of salvation now is the time to make a decision notice 262 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:40,480 that he says here in this text that they will be as a fiery oven swallowed up by 263 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:46,400 God's wrath God doesn't even need to eat at piecemeal just swallowed up 264 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:50,800 completely consumed they'll be busy consuming themselves and others around 265 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:54,360 them thinking that they're they're finding their way they're getting what 266 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:57,880 they want they're prospering in the system that God created even they may 267 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,440 even think that God started the world and left it run and now they can do 268 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,400 whatever they want or that God started the world sent his son Jesus who died on 269 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:05,800 the cross for sins and now they can do whatever they want because they are 270 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:10,880 saved by grace not by works so I think now I can do whatever I want but the 271 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:17,600 truth is God's people need to respond to God you belong to the Lord and if you 272 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:23,120 continue to be his enemy after having done so you will pay a very dear price 273 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:31,320 swallowed up in his wrath the prophet Malachi on this kind of same topic in 274 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:37,960 chapter 3 the end of chapter 3 and going into chapter 4 writes as follows 275 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:44,640 beginning in verse 16 he says then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another 276 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:48,800 and the Lord gave attention and heard it and a book of remembrance was written 277 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,880 before him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem his name and they will be 278 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:59,120 mine says the Lord of hosts on that day on the day that I prepare my own 279 00:24:59,120 --> 00:25:04,240 possession and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him so 280 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:08,000 you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked between one who 281 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:12,560 serves God and one who does not serve him for behold the day is coming burning 282 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:17,320 like a furnace and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff and the day 283 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:21,400 that is coming will set them ablaze says the Lord of hosts so that it will leave 284 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:25,760 them neither root nor branch 285 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:30,520 Malachi foresaw again this is before Jesus comes to the earth before the 286 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:34,240 death barrel in the resurrection while in the period of time as Paul says where 287 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:38,040 God still kind of scoffed or laughed at men's behavior and how foolish they were 288 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:41,840 but we're past that now Paul says now we're in the day where all men are 289 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:45,520 supposed to repent and turn to God because it's painfully evident what God 290 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:56,320 has done enemies of God will be defeated they will be crushed in their best 291 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:01,000 efforts and all the things that they're trying to do to resist God in this 292 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:08,160 lifetime will come to naught notice however that humans in their nature are 293 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:14,240 conniving a lot we're a dreaming lot we're a wise and crafty lot sometimes 294 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,640 people are taken in their own craftiness and I think that's what God's picture is 295 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:27,960 here the plans of those who resist God will be undone men's plans Psalm 2 the 296 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:33,680 psalmist writes it this way he says and this is then later quoted in the New 297 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:39,200 Testament Psalm 2 the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take 298 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:43,560 their counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed let us tear 299 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:51,560 their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us the world recognizes that 300 00:26:51,560 --> 00:27:00,360 God is God and they just don't want to be controlled they just don't want to be 301 00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:08,920 in submission they just don't want to be healed fixed changed made better all 302 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:16,720 the plans that men have all that they have done and yet God says I have a plan 303 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:22,040 it is a cold shot it is a surgical strike I will solve this problem 304 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:27,360 Psalm chapter 10 or Psalm 10 not chapter 10 it's on 10 verse 2 says in pride the 305 00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:32,040 wicked hotly pursue the afflicted let them be caught in the plots which they 306 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:36,920 devise see this is God's plan that people who think that they're winning the day 307 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:40,040 will get away with whatever they think they're getting away with well meanwhile 308 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,680 they're consigning themselves to burn for an eternity well meanwhile they're 309 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,240 avoiding following Jesus's Lord and Savior and they are condemned already 310 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,360 by what they have done with the Son of God Jesus did not come to condemn he 311 00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:54,180 didn't have to God Jesus did not come to sort and say you be a Christian you not 312 00:27:54,180 --> 00:27:56,720 be a Christian you have to do that because there were those who were going 313 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:59,200 to accept what Jesus was doing there were those who were going to accept the 314 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:02,640 salvation that Jesus was providing and there were those who were not there were 315 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:06,880 those who were going to recognize him and there were those who were not the 316 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:16,240 plans of men will be undone and lastly thirdly I should say it says that the 317 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:21,880 enemies of God will be routed and face a surgical strike or a cold shot was 318 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:32,160 pretty clear and evident in Psalm 21 this is what it actually said though 319 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:35,840 they intended evil against thee and devised a plot they will not succeed for 320 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:40,200 thou wilt make them turn their back thou wilt aim with thy bowstrings at 321 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:47,560 their faces God will deal with his own enemies in his own time guess what that 322 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:58,440 means we do not need to it is not our job to come against men who are enemies 323 00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:04,580 of God we do not have enemies that are flesh our enemies are spiritual in 324 00:29:04,580 --> 00:29:10,120 nature evil spirits demons the world system political powers the things of 325 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:17,000 the world that stand against God God will deal with them in time as well but 326 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:24,640 God is already targeting them now with a surgical strike and a cold shot he has 327 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:29,720 said so and whether a man runs and goes down under a free hack or takes a shot 328 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:34,540 to the face either way he goes down but that's not our job God will be 329 00:29:34,540 --> 00:29:41,880 responding with a surgical strike or a cold shot to his enemies in time then we 330 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:49,480 come to verse 13 and already our conclusion today for verse 13 says be 331 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:53,520 thou exalted you know something is when it's exalted right I think when it's 332 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:59,360 exalted is lifted up is recognized for what it is it is honored and glorified 333 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:06,120 as as far as sticks go this is a great one I have exalted the stick as far as 334 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:12,960 books go this is the best one I've exalted the Bible as far as God's go he 335 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:19,680 is the only one I've exalted God and so he says be thou exalted oh Lord and thy 336 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:25,160 strength I submit to you that here is the command of God that we could follow 337 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:32,120 and if you did this every day you would get enough right be exalted oh Lord in 338 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:38,680 thy strength God's power and ability how did Abraham get saved he trusted in a 339 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:44,520 way that God would make how did David get saved he trusted in a way that God 340 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:49,640 would make he exalted God and God's strength he trusted God's promises they 341 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:53,600 didn't know the name of Jesus most of the people who got saved before Jesus 342 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:57,920 was born didn't even know the phrase Emmanuel God with us they didn't 343 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:01,840 understand necessarily what a Savior would look like and if they did fuse 344 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:09,640 maybe Isaiah Micah maybe Jeremiah a few prophets began to get an inkling of it 345 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:15,240 it would be a suffering servant would be a man God a god man who would die for 346 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:19,000 sin they were beginning to get just an inkling of it but most of them trusted 347 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,680 in God's strength in a way if you were sitting here today and you say you know 348 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:25,960 that thing he's talking about about Jesus God that thing he's talking about 349 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:29,000 about Jesus I want to understand that I want to believe that I want to follow 350 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:34,340 Jesus I don't think I really know how but God I trust you the God of heaven you 351 00:31:34,340 --> 00:31:38,520 alone I trust you this is the way show me the way if Jesus is the way show me 352 00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:42,440 the way I'll follow Jesus if he's the way whatever that looks like that's how I 353 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:49,360 got saved Sherry asked me the previous Sunday before I went down to the office 354 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:53,080 she said she said well what does that mean you're gonna get saved you're 355 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:57,680 gonna follow Jesus gonna be saved I said I don't know but this much I know it's 356 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:04,400 gonna change everything and it did that's how I got saved I don't know you 357 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:06,640 don't know you don't know what tomorrow is gonna bring you can say I'm gonna 358 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:11,840 accept Jesus today and God forbid in ten years get diagnosed with cancer and as 359 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:16,880 you go through that process you're gonna have to use that cancer and your 360 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,640 circumstances and everything else to glorify God somehow how you gonna do 361 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:26,520 that people usually struggle with anger denial bitterness they pull back away 362 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,440 from family because they know they're gonna die and leave them they do all 363 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:33,040 kinds of stupid things when they struggle with real hardship like cancer 364 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:36,160 and I'm dying from it I've got a diagnosis I'll be dead in six months okay 365 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:40,000 well how do you handle that how do you glorify God and I have been at the bed 366 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:43,920 side of people who died from one illness and we're glorifying God all the way to 367 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:47,320 their very last breath or at least all the way to their very last breath 368 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:51,400 conscious and I have been at the bedside of people who did not know Jesus and 369 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:56,640 could not glorify God and most of what they were saying was oh forgive me and 370 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:00,440 I'm so sorry and call brother Sam because I really hurt him or call Tom 371 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:04,800 and ask him to come here or call that pastor I used to listen to and ask him 372 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:09,000 to come pray for me and they've got all these last-minute wants to take care of 373 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,800 regrets and things they didn't do what and they're trying to weave a plot or a 374 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:16,120 plan by which they're gonna leave this life with some kind of conclusion that 375 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:19,040 they can accept do you ever read a book and you get the last chapter you go I 376 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:21,480 know this is how this is gonna end and I don't like it I don't think I'm just 377 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:24,000 not gonna read it or okay I'm gonna read if I'm gonna hope for the best 378 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,960 because it doesn't look like it's gonna go good it's not what I want well that's 379 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:30,320 how they are they're at the last chapter of life they're going I don't get this I 380 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:34,520 don't want this I don't want to be here right now and yet they are and if you 381 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:38,040 accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today or if you have already done 382 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,960 so you are committing to endure that time to persevere through that time to 383 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:47,920 stand up for God why because God wins in the end he is strong and he will not 384 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:52,120 fail he does not fail to keep his promises and so whatever you go through 385 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:56,080 and you have a loved one that that turns their back on you walks away and you're 386 00:33:56,080 --> 00:34:00,800 so hurt by that still using that to glorify God you lose a job that you've 387 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:05,720 been at for forever you thought oh it's gonna be I'm perfectly happier and all 388 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:10,480 of a sudden it's gone you've got to use that to glorify God you got out of bed 389 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:14,280 one morning you got a pain in your knee and you just won't go away day after day 390 00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:18,240 week after week month after month you're in pain you've got to use that to 391 00:34:18,240 --> 00:34:23,720 glorify God why because even when it doesn't look like it he's winning he 392 00:34:23,720 --> 00:34:27,980 wins in the end and his enemies those who do not stand with him are his 393 00:34:27,980 --> 00:34:34,360 enemies they will be consumed in his wrath they will face his anger even as 394 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:41,640 he targets their face their plans to to fix it all will be undone whatever God 395 00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:46,560 puts you through that's what you're gonna go through and if you're choosing 396 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:50,640 to be an enemy you'll realize that you will be routed your plan will fail and 397 00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:58,640 you will be stricken that brings us to our conclusion commanded to celebrate 398 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:07,520 God's strength we sing and praise him forever we start now start now as soon 399 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:14,600 as you know it's true but we sing and praise him and exalt him forever in the 400 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:19,820 book of Romans chapter 1 our first actual New Testament reference for the 401 00:35:19,820 --> 00:35:28,340 day the book of Romans chapter 1 it says this beginning in verse 1 Paul a 402 00:35:28,340 --> 00:35:33,640 bondservant of Christ Jesus called as an apostle set apart for the gospel of God 403 00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:37,560 so this is who's writing the book he's an apostle means he's a sent one and he 404 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:41,440 set apart which means he's made holy for the gospel of God that's the truth about 405 00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:46,520 Jesus and the truth that is Jesus which he promised beforehand through his 406 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:50,680 prophets God had already explained that this was coming Paul says in the Holy 407 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:55,360 Scriptures concerning his son who was born of a descendant of David according 408 00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:59,040 to the flesh so he says the the truth that God had already told us is that it 409 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:04,320 would be a descendant of David who would come as a human for who was declared the 410 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:09,080 Son of God so that descendant of David Jesus was declared the Son of God with 411 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:15,720 power what power God's power God's strength with power by the resurrection 412 00:36:15,720 --> 00:36:22,000 from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness Jesus Christ our Lord that's 413 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:25,440 who Paul was writing on behalf of that's who Paul is writing about that's who 414 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:29,520 Paul is living for that's who Paul wants to glorify that's who he exalts the 415 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:37,600 power of is our God he says according to the Spirit of holiness Jesus Christ our 416 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:44,240 Lord skip down then to verse 15 the same he says thus for my part I am eager to 417 00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:49,720 preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome for I am not ashamed of the gospel 418 00:36:49,720 --> 00:36:57,240 I am not ashamed of the gospel there is only one way to heaven and it is through 419 00:36:57,240 --> 00:37:03,280 Jesus Christ our Lord no man cometh unto the Father even in prayer no man cometh 420 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:07,520 unto the Father except through Jesus Christ our Lord you can pray to God but 421 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:11,000 there is no guarantee he will answer any prayer except one of salvation from 422 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:16,280 anybody except the follower of Jesus if you can find a promise in the Bible I 423 00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:20,480 would be amazed there is no promise that he will answer any prayer except the 424 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:25,760 salvation prayer of salvation for anybody except the follower of Jesus no 425 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:29,720 man cometh unto the Father except he come through me Jesus Christ speaking 426 00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:35,080 John 14 six he says I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God 427 00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:41,320 what what it what it's all 21 say exalt exalt the strength or the power of our 428 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:46,800 Lord be thou exalted or Lord in thy strength I will sing and praise thy 429 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:52,240 power for I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for 430 00:37:52,240 --> 00:37:58,040 salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek for 431 00:37:58,040 --> 00:38:03,400 in it is the righteousness I'm sorry in it the righteousness of God is revealed 432 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:10,080 from faith to faith as it is written but the righteous man shall live by faith I 433 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:16,920 submit to you that we are now seeing the surgical strike the cold shot of our God 434 00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:24,080 exactly how skilled is our God I think you may be getting be beginning to get 435 00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:31,920 an inkling Isaiah 51 verses 7 to 8 so this is pre Jesus but I submit to you 436 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:36,040 that Jesus was a that Isaiah was a prophet who could kind of foresee what 437 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:39,880 was going to go on in Jesus's day Isaiah 53 for example talks a lot about the 438 00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:46,760 crucifixion before crucifixion was ever invented right and in Isaiah 51 7 to 8 439 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:51,760 says as follows listen to me you who know righteousness a people in whose 440 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:56,800 heart is my law do not fear the reproach of men and that was it means 441 00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:59,960 don't worry about it when people come against you don't fear it when people 442 00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:05,040 come against you neither be dismayed at their revilings so in other words it 443 00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:09,080 doesn't matter if they mock God mock you doesn't matter what dirty things come 444 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:12,160 out of their mouth or the way they behave how much of a slight to God is 445 00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:19,480 don't worry about that he says do not fear that verse 8 says for the mouth for 446 00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:23,760 the moth will eat them like a garment for the moth will eat them like a 447 00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:28,880 garment and the grub will eat them like wool but my righteousness shall be 448 00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:35,160 forever and my salvation to all generations here is God's surgical 449 00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:41,200 stripe here is God's called shot the power of our God has singled out you has 450 00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:47,680 singled out me has singled out us to be saved Jesus Christ was sent from all 451 00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:55,680 eternity into mankind to go to the cross and die for Caleb show for Dan 452 00:39:55,680 --> 00:40:03,080 Stevenson for Tim Mitchell it is a pointed arrow through all history you 453 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:08,040 are hearing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ because the power of our God is 454 00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:13,600 such that he could target you amongst a billion humans amongst seven billion 455 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:19,480 humans that he could target the gospel at you specifically now that is a power 456 00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:26,560 of God that is to be exalted if you're walking in your squad in the military 457 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:30,560 and there's a sniper out there and he puts his crosshairs on your head and he 458 00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:36,200 pulls the trigger and blows your head off you're dead you're out if God puts 459 00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:41,120 his crosshairs on you and he targets you with the gospel of Jesus Christ you're 460 00:40:41,120 --> 00:40:46,720 in you're saved while the entire squad around you does not know Jesus while 461 00:40:46,720 --> 00:40:50,800 your family while your friends while your co-workers while other citizens of 462 00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:55,240 the United States claim some other version of Christianity here is the 463 00:40:55,240 --> 00:40:58,120 version of Christianity that will get you where you're trying to get to it is 464 00:40:58,120 --> 00:41:03,880 the gospel of Jesus and it is a surgical strike to save those who will be saved 465 00:41:03,880 --> 00:41:08,440 why is it so important because if the God of heaven came into the earth now 466 00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:11,600 and if there are let's say I don't remember what the number is now let's 467 00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:15,120 say eight billion people alive on the earth or whatever and say there's eight 468 00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:19,640 billion people if eight million people the God of heaven holy God came down 469 00:41:19,640 --> 00:41:23,800 those eight billion people if they didn't know Jesus if there was no 470 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:27,760 salvation if there was no surgical strike of the gospel to save souls from 471 00:41:27,760 --> 00:41:31,640 amongst them then those eight million people would face the wrath of a holy 472 00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:36,520 God and they would go to hell for an eternity all of them every single one of 473 00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:41,920 them except there is a surgical strike presented by God where he says will you 474 00:41:41,920 --> 00:41:47,680 and if you say yes if you call upon the name of the Lord and you choose to 475 00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:52,040 follow God through his son Jesus Christ amongst your family who may all go to 476 00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:55,520 hell amongst your friends who may all go to hell against Toledo once who may all 477 00:41:55,520 --> 00:42:00,080 go to hell against great political movements who may gather 12 or 15 or 20 478 00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:03,800 million people all to follow their set of rules or great false religions who 479 00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:07,240 may have the tenfold and have all these people go like I get about 90% of it 480 00:42:07,240 --> 00:42:10,360 right and they're thinking they're going to heaven or those who blow themselves 481 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:14,080 up with a bomb thinking they're gonna get their virgins in heaven whatever all 482 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:21,160 of that they'll all go to hell because our God is able to surgically strike 483 00:42:21,160 --> 00:42:28,760 those who will receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and what do you have to 484 00:42:28,760 --> 00:42:39,480 do believe in the strength of our God Ephesians 2 by grace God will surgically 485 00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:47,360 strike you and save your soul if you will believe in his strength to do so 486 00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:52,280 the channel of faith opens wide by grace through faith the channel of faith opens 487 00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:55,680 wide when you believe that God can do it when you believe that God will win when 488 00:42:55,680 --> 00:43:01,440 you believe that God will overcome when you believe that God will make a way for 489 00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:05,640 you to be saved and that he has done so through Jesus Christ his son who died on 490 00:43:05,640 --> 00:43:09,680 the cross for your sins was resurrected on the third day stands at the right hand 491 00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:12,960 of the father right now making intercession for those whom God has 492 00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:18,840 surgically struck with the gospel you will meet all kinds of intelligent 493 00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:23,680 people you'll meet all kinds of crafty people you'll meet strong people you'll 494 00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:31,800 meet warriors and you'll meet Winklings but your walk of life your skin color 495 00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:36,800 your level of prosperity your ability to solve problems do math or even your 496 00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:42,760 ability to read not one of those things is a calculation and whether or not you 497 00:43:42,760 --> 00:43:49,280 can be saved when God surgically strikes you when God calls to you all that 498 00:43:49,280 --> 00:43:54,200 determines whether or not you will be saved is when he chooses you will you 499 00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:59,960 allow it and don't kid yourself if you do not allow it you become in that 500 00:43:59,960 --> 00:44:04,120 instant an enemy of God I remember when God called me forward to the altar as 501 00:44:04,120 --> 00:44:07,280 the East little Baptist Church and I was supposed to walk down the aisle at first 502 00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:12,000 Sunday I had gone alone first time I ever been in church alone in my whole 503 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:15,520 life I went until I was for just about like five months I was about five and 504 00:44:15,520 --> 00:44:19,360 a half years old and there was a tragedy in my family and we never went again I 505 00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:23,200 never went again to church until I was almost 25 and I've been going to church 506 00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:27,920 for about almost six months I'm sitting in the back queue there and that morning 507 00:44:27,920 --> 00:44:31,480 Sherry had worked until like 6 a.m. at her job she was supposed to be closing 508 00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:33,960 the night for me that had been something going on and they didn't get out until 509 00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:37,680 like 530 she got home to like 6 o'clock in the morning and she was just too 510 00:44:37,680 --> 00:44:43,000 tired she couldn't get up and Alicia was the only child we had at that time we 511 00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:46,680 had her out of wedlock we lived together before a marriage this time we're 512 00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:52,880 legally married but our marriage was a mess and I got up and Alicia wasn't 513 00:44:52,880 --> 00:44:56,840 going so I think she wasn't home she spent the night at a friend's house was 514 00:44:56,840 --> 00:44:59,640 going to church with her friend I think but anyway pointed so I'm going by 515 00:44:59,640 --> 00:45:04,360 myself so I go and I sit in the back to you there and God called me God said Dan 516 00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:09,720 if you come follow me for the rest of your day I'll give you abundant life and 517 00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:15,320 eternity I'll give you something to do something to do that matters more than 518 00:45:15,320 --> 00:45:21,680 your writing lawnmower or your lawn or your house your loans or your cars he 519 00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:26,680 said I'll fix everything about you if you let me and I said well God I 520 00:45:26,680 --> 00:45:31,040 got to tell you you know I'm married and I ain't talked to my wife about this and 521 00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:34,440 this is a pretty big decision so I'm gonna do that first and I declined and 522 00:45:34,440 --> 00:45:41,960 the song ended and I was still standing in my pew from that moment in time I 523 00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:48,440 became truly an enemy of God fact is I probably already was I certainly was an 524 00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:51,760 object of his wrath according to Ephesians 2 because I was lost in my 525 00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:55,440 trespasses and sins I was doing things that I should not do that's one of the 526 00:45:55,440 --> 00:46:01,720 reasons why my marriage was such a mess because I was not a good man seven days 527 00:46:01,720 --> 00:46:05,760 went by and I stood in the pew the next Sunday Alicia was there that Sunday but 528 00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:11,520 she was in the little CC's because she was just a tot and the Lord called me to 529 00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:15,720 come forward and he said Dan I'll do this all this for you save your soul 530 00:46:15,720 --> 00:46:20,200 clean you up fix you up put you to work give you abundant life and eternity you 531 00:46:20,200 --> 00:46:27,400 come serve me for the rest of your days I said darn it forgot to talk to my wife 532 00:46:27,400 --> 00:46:33,560 said God you know I didn't talk to my wife the song ended I was still standing 533 00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:40,880 in my pew and I walked out the door and by that time even I knew I was an enemy 534 00:46:40,880 --> 00:46:45,960 of God let's not kid ourselves you know when God's aiming at your face you can 535 00:46:45,960 --> 00:46:52,000 feel it if you can't see it so that Sunday afternoon I I got in the car we 536 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:55,960 were driving down to our favorite pizza restaurant Peglias or Polly eyes we 537 00:46:55,960 --> 00:46:58,200 always call it pegs we as I was a kid is technically supposed to be Polly eyes 538 00:46:58,200 --> 00:47:02,160 and we're driving down and I just decided to drive along the Portage River 539 00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:06,080 instead of driving down 75 and get there both ways Port River slower and it's 540 00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:09,640 windy and we had my dad had taken that way a lot when we were kids and so I 541 00:47:09,640 --> 00:47:12,720 decided I'd do that we hit the first curve on the Portage River where the 542 00:47:12,720 --> 00:47:16,960 road kind of curves around and used to be a big old barn there and I recognized 543 00:47:16,960 --> 00:47:21,560 the curve and I I was driving our Toyota Corolla the car that I bought that I 544 00:47:21,560 --> 00:47:25,120 never wanted to buy but my wife talked me into it 545 00:47:25,120 --> 00:47:30,560 cause a lot of strife between us at the time and I looked at her and I said I 546 00:47:30,560 --> 00:47:34,880 got to talk to you about something and my heart shook and my mind was frayed and 547 00:47:34,880 --> 00:47:39,600 my palms were sweaty we had that Toyota Corolla had one of those plastic 548 00:47:39,600 --> 00:47:44,760 steering wheels remember those plastic steering wheels no cover on it and I 549 00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:50,240 said dear I think I'm gonna give my life to the Lord and she said she kind of 550 00:47:50,240 --> 00:47:56,760 went what does that even mean and I said I don't know but I know it's gonna 551 00:47:56,760 --> 00:48:00,560 change everything everything about me is gonna change see that's the thing 552 00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:03,960 everybody wants to come to Jesus but they don't they aren't willing to let God 553 00:48:03,960 --> 00:48:08,320 be in charge you got to exalt God's strength okay so I said well everything's 554 00:48:08,320 --> 00:48:12,600 gonna change so then in in true fashion of our friction marriage she said back 555 00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:16,840 to me she said well you do whatever you got to do and I'll do what I got to do 556 00:48:16,840 --> 00:48:20,320 and I already knew that there was a good chance we were gonna get divorced 557 00:48:20,320 --> 00:48:23,040 because we didn't have a good relationship and I thought well if 558 00:48:23,040 --> 00:48:25,720 everything changed everything about me she liked who I was before I couldn't 559 00:48:25,720 --> 00:48:28,560 imagine she liked who I was then but except she liked who I was when she 560 00:48:28,560 --> 00:48:32,760 married me and she wanted me she wanted me before I wanted her marriage anyway 561 00:48:32,760 --> 00:48:38,260 and I said if she liked me before and now everything's gonna change she's 562 00:48:38,260 --> 00:48:42,600 probably gonna want me no more and so I thought but so I actually that following 563 00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:45,560 Sunday I'm sitting in the back pew and I'm alone again she didn't come to 564 00:48:45,560 --> 00:48:49,560 church I'm alone again even great-grandma wasn't there that Sunday and she was 565 00:48:49,560 --> 00:48:53,380 the only other person in the church that I knew and God said Dan I'll save your 566 00:48:53,380 --> 00:48:58,560 soul I'll clean you up I'll fix you up I'll make you able I'll give you an 567 00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:03,360 abundant life and an eternity it's all prepared it's all paid for already if 568 00:49:03,360 --> 00:49:09,320 you just trust me if you just believe in me open up I'll do it and here's my 569 00:49:09,320 --> 00:49:12,180 thought I'm thinking to myself well if I do this my wife is probably gonna 570 00:49:12,180 --> 00:49:21,760 divorce me and I wanted Jesus so bad I wanted Jesus so bad in that moment that 571 00:49:21,760 --> 00:49:26,480 if if I had done that if I could have never breathed again I'd have gone 572 00:49:26,480 --> 00:49:31,960 forward except there was one huge barrier and that was that I as a non 573 00:49:31,960 --> 00:49:36,720 Christian I'm super intimidated I could never preach never teach I missed 38 574 00:49:36,720 --> 00:49:41,080 days of my junior year high school to miss every report in front of the 575 00:49:41,080 --> 00:49:44,800 classroom that I would ever have to give and only got caught once one time I went 576 00:49:44,800 --> 00:49:48,160 back and they made me give the report but other than that I gave one new junior 577 00:49:48,160 --> 00:49:50,920 year's lot of talking in front of the class or at least it used to be back 578 00:49:50,920 --> 00:49:55,640 then and I gave one I missed 38 days the truant officer used to go stand in the 579 00:49:55,640 --> 00:49:58,760 doorway of my school trying to catch me coming in late because I was always 580 00:49:58,760 --> 00:50:02,280 late and if I wasn't late I was never wasn't there and he'd been at my house a 581 00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:05,320 couple of times this back in the day when they cared now you got to drive to 582 00:50:05,320 --> 00:50:09,280 Columbus if you're missing too much school the point is he would go looking 583 00:50:09,280 --> 00:50:12,040 for me he was looking for Dan Stevenson why Dan seems not in school why is he 584 00:50:12,040 --> 00:50:17,400 showing a plate whatever and I I knew I had to walk forward in front of that 585 00:50:17,400 --> 00:50:23,560 church but I wanted abundant life I wanted eternity I knew I needed to be 586 00:50:23,560 --> 00:50:29,280 forgiven I knew I was an enemy of God and believe it or not in my foolish place 587 00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:34,840 that I was at I knew that God wins and so I exalted God's strength and I said 588 00:50:34,840 --> 00:50:39,640 God I can't do it but if you'll do it for me I'll do it and standing in the 589 00:50:39,640 --> 00:50:42,960 back of that pew my feet were side by side like this and my knees were 590 00:50:42,960 --> 00:50:46,200 probably shaking and my hands are sweating my mouth full of cotton and I 591 00:50:46,200 --> 00:50:49,480 turned my foot out about three inches like that and the next thing I know I 592 00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:54,320 swear to God I did not take those 50 steps I was nose to nose with the 593 00:50:54,320 --> 00:50:57,440 pastor and he said you want to become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and 594 00:50:57,440 --> 00:51:00,760 serve him for the rest of your days and I said yes I do and he said you want to 595 00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:04,640 come and be baptized name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit just as 596 00:51:04,640 --> 00:51:07,680 Jesus commanded and I said yes I do even though I knew that man I was gonna have 597 00:51:07,680 --> 00:51:10,360 to get up in front of the church again and he said and you want to come and 598 00:51:10,360 --> 00:51:13,240 join this church and be part of this church and serve God for the rest of 599 00:51:13,240 --> 00:51:18,960 your days and I said yes I do and every time I said yes I my my body my desires 600 00:51:18,960 --> 00:51:26,880 my flesh screamed don't do that don't do that don't do that but now my body is 601 00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:31,280 on board baby my body loves this life that I'm living for Jesus even though I 602 00:51:31,280 --> 00:51:35,920 mess it up a lot of different ways it's so glad because if it wasn't for that 603 00:51:35,920 --> 00:51:41,080 day I'd have been gone a long time ago I'm here to tell you today this simple 604 00:51:41,080 --> 00:51:47,360 fact or this set of facts one God will win the enemies of God will be defeated 605 00:51:47,360 --> 00:51:54,680 the plans of men who stand against God will be undone that'll look like the 606 00:51:54,680 --> 00:52:01,080 wrath of God completely swallowing burning hot ovens as people try 607 00:52:01,080 --> 00:52:07,400 everything in their power and there is no other solution and God consumes them 608 00:52:07,400 --> 00:52:18,120 for an eternity unfortunately his wrath will consume them for an eternity