WEBVTT

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We pray. We're going to continue today in our

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series in the book of Judges. Before we go there,

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we have a couple of illustrations, a couple of

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things I want to share with you to make sure

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that we're kind of thinking along the same lines

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as we read the text. It's not a very long text

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today. In fact, in my practice, in my preparations

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of being here, it's really not a very long sermon

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overall. I hope that remains true for you and

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it remains still the power of God to work in

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our lives. So that is what the gospel contains

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and I pray that this sermon will be in line with

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it. So the word dynamic. has a noun. And the

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noun means a force or system of forces that causes

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change or movement or the ways in which people

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or things interact. So a dynamic is a thing that

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impacts other things or people. It changes the

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way we interconnect with each other. It causes

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change or movement in our environment. And so,

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for example, if I say... A dynamic might be I'm

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walking down off the stage and I push the chair

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back toward Caitlin. Caitlin touches the chair.

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So the dynamic is every time probably I walk

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down off the stage and push the chair toward

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Caitlin, she's going to respond in a certain

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way. So the dynamic would be the fact that my

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pushing the chair toward her causes her to respond

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in a certain way. That's the dynamic. So as we

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look at the text today, That's what we're going

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to look for. We're going to look for some dynamics,

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some things that exist in the text that change

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our understanding or that affect the way we relate

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to other people and the way we respond to life

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in general. It impacts us toward a certain movement.

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Let me give you a couple of illustrations. So

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Ariana, who is 11 years old and has been able

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to tell time for probably about eight years,

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picked up Zoe's watch this morning, which Zoe

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had forgot to look at and left at our house.

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And she picked it up and she said, there's something

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wrong with this watch. She said, I don't think

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it's set correctly. It says the time is 9501.

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There's no way. I mean, there's no such thing

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as 9501, she said. And she was really struggling.

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She had a look on her face like she was absolutely

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baffled and amazed that any watch actually could

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show the time 9501. So Sherry's like, what are

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you talking about? She walked up and she grabbed

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the watch and she held it upright. And she said,

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it's 1056. You're looking at it upside down.

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And it was indeed 1056, and that's what Time

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the Watch said, but Ariana was looking at it

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upside down. So as we look at the text today,

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it would be possible to come through to the text

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with your own perceptions, thinking of it the

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way you might like to think of it because of

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your current situation, thinking of it the way

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you might like to think of it because of things

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that have happened to you in the past. Thinking

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of it the way you might like to think of it in

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light of the fact the person sitting next to

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you is distracting you, the person sitting next

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to you is tempted, or the person sitting next

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to you thinks differently than you do and you're

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wondering what they'll think. Thinking of it

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in a way, I wish so -and -so were here because

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they really need to hear this today. All of those

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kinds of things. And I submit to you that all

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of those kinds of things will not allow you then

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to see the dynamics that we're going to point

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out in the text. So I need you to commit to come

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to it. Open bare. Open your heart and just say,

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okay, God, work in me however you want to today.

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I know I may or may not have the best understanding

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of the universe, the best understanding of who

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you are. Even if I'm saved, even if I have Christ

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in me, I am willing today to be influenced by

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this text and by God's working in me. Also, another

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illustration of the dynamic, if you will, that

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can happen is I have a dear friend of mine who

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is a chemical engineer. I didn't ask him if I

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could share this illustration, but I have shared

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it in the past, and we joked about it, and so

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it's not really a problem. His name is James.

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Some of you know him, James Lynch. He's been

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around. He served as the judge for Grand Prix

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a couple of years. He's involved in the Christian

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Games Ministry through New Heights and like that.

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James is an extremely intelligent individual.

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He's been a chemical engineer for... over 20

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years, approaching 30 years. I don't actually

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know how long it's been now. He was going to

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retire about five years ago and just decided

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not to because that seemed boring and he wasn't

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really ready to live on what he could make in

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retirement or whatever, so he decided to stick

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with it. James went to the University of Toledo

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in the chemical engineering program. He completed

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his degree in five and a half years, which is

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about how long it takes to complete a chemical

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engineering degree, so that was actually pretty

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impressive. went into chemical engineering, has

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been there for a long time. So he was sitting

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in my house, we were playing a game, and he picked

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up a calculator and he wanted to calculate, divide

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a large number by a smaller number to figure

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out what it was, and it was a little too big

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of numbers for him to do it in his head. And

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so he picked the calculator up and he put in

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the numbers, about seven digits long, and he

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pushed a button, and then he tried to put in

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the second number, and he said, something's wrong

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with this calculator. And he did it like five

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times. He put in the number, and he pushed a

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button, and he put in the next number. He said,

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every time I push the divide key, It gives me

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an answer. You can't do that. You can't have

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a divide. You can't say it was like 95 ,750 or

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something. You can't push the divide key and

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get an answer. I haven't told it what to divide

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it by yet. And he goes, oh, wait, that's not

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the divide key. That's the square root button.

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So he was pushing the divide key. It looks a

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little bit like a long division sign. For those

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of us who remember what a long division sign

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looks like, kids don't even use that anymore,

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really. But it looks a little bit like it. And

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he was pushing the square root button, not the

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divide key. Now, he would have thought that he

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could never make that mistake. James had done,

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by that point in time in his life, more math

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than probably you or I will ever do, unless you

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also go into a career like accounting or chemical

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engineering, and then even then, more and complex

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trigonometry and so on, many variables, all kinds

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of complicated things. But it took him five times

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to realize that he was pushing the square root

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button. So what I'm saying to you with regards

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to this text is, as much as you think you know,

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as educated as you have become, whatever your

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IQ may be. We could have somebody in this room

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whose IQ is over 160. Whatever it may be, I'm

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asking you to come simply. Come to the text that

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we're going to look at simply today. Look for

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the things that are in the text that, specifically,

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this is the nature of our sermon, that are designed

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to change the way we interact with other people

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and the way we respond to God. All right, here

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we go. Beginning in Judges chapter 5, we're beginning

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in verse 24. Could you give me an amen? Somebody

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say amen. Somebody say hallelujah. All right,

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Judges chapter 5. This is the word of God. Whatever

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I get wrong or right from here on out, God will

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change your heart and your life if you allow

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him to. Judges chapter 5 verse 24 says, Most

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blessed of women is Jael, the wife of Heber,

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the Kenite. Most blessed is she of women in the

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tent. And so we know who Jael is. For those of

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us who have been looking at this past for a while,

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for the rest of us, I'm going to fill it in.

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Jael was a Kenite, a woman who was a nomadic

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woman. They moved their tents around and lived

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in different places. And it so happened that

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they had set up their little community near the

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battle. And they were in the vicinity. And when

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Sisera, the general who was in charge of the

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enemy forces, fled the battle, he left his chariots

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behind and he was on his own, he fled to the

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tent of Jael. Long story short, Jael... kind

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of lulled him into a sense of false security,

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and then killed him with the tent peg. And now

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she's said to be most blessed. If you remember

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last week, we talked about the word blessed and

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how it kind of has two meanings in the Hebrew.

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And the first is that a person blesses God, right?

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So we do the things that will honor the Lord.

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We praise him. So the worship that we just sang,

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when you praised God, I hope you did. in your

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heart, in your mind, with your mouth out loud,

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that kind of thing, you're focused on God, that

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blesses the Lord. That is giving the things that

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the Lord would have us to give to him if your

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heart is in the right place. When God blesses

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us, it is that we receive either resources, status,

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whatever. So our great blessing, we receive the

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Holy Spirit, his presence, his promise of eternal

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redemption. But you can be blessed financially,

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you can be blessed in your health, you can be

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blessed relationally, you can be blessed in your

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situation, you can be blessed with courage, and

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so on. So now we have Jael, who is this woman

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living in a tent. I want to say to you that she

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felt cursed, not blessed, when Sisera showed

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up on her doorstep. But now she is most blessed

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of women who live in the tent. That's a pretty

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awesome thing to say. But notice that it's not

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all women. The Israelites were not nomadic anymore.

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They predominantly lived in the promised land.

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They lived in houses that were blessed to them

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by God. They weren't built by them. The crops

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weren't initially grown by them. The seed is

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not theirs. It was the Canaanites, and they were

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all taken from them. They were blessed with their

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houses. But Jael is a woman who lives in a tent,

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and now it is said that she is most blessed of

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women who live in tents. Verse 25. He asked for

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water. Talking about Sisera the general, he asked

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for water. She gave him milk in a magnificent

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bowl. She brought him curds, excuse me. The magnificent

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bull, that word magnificent there means fit for

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a king. It's a Hebrew word that means fit for

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a king. So she brought him milk that was fit

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for a king. I think that's interesting because

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that means that Sisera was getting something

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that was bigger, better, fancier than what he

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was worthy of. Even though Sisera was an awesome

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dude, he was a general over an army that could

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have, should, by all rights, should have ruled

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that region for decades more to come, as long

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as he lived at least. But he received his milk

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in a bowl fit for a king, not fit for a general.

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And that happens to people sometimes. It is the

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kind of thing that people want sometimes. They

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want to be elevated. They want to be lifted up

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beyond what they are capable of. They want to

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be praised beyond what they are worthy of. He

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received milk in a bowl fit for a king. She reached

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out her hand for the tent peg and her right hand

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for the workman's hammer. Then she struck Sisera.

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She smashed his head, and she shattered and pierced

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his temple. And so this is all about how blessed

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Jael is. And I submit to you, there is a conflict

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taking place between two types of people. We

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talked about that a little bit last week. We're

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not going to go heavily into it, but you'll see

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it a little bit when we talk about the dynamics

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that are occurring in the text. She shattered

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and pierced his temple, verse 27. Between her

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feet he bowed, he fell, he lay. Between her feet

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he bowed, he fell. Where he bowed, there he fell,

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dead. Now this is poetic. It's not the telling

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of the history exactly the way it went. But you

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can see, in fact, this is actually one of the

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greatest Old Testament examples of parallelism,

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or what we call step -up parallelism. So in other

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words, when it says, between her feet he bowed,

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he fell, he lay, that's a statement. And then

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you see it repeated, essentially. Between her

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feet he bowed, he fell. Between, or where he

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bowed, there he fell, dead. And so it is escalated

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to the point he fell, and now he fell not just

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down, but out. And then 28. Out of the window

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she looked and lamented. Now this is a different

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person, because tents don't have windows. In

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that day, anyway, they didn't have windows. Out

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of the window she looked and lamented. To lament

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is to be sad. Oh, woe is me, woe is us. This

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is a difficult situation. The mother of Sisera

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threw the lattice. And so now we see that she

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is in the fine. building somewhere, probably

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where he would be coming home to or near where

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he lived, looking out, lamenting. She is sorrowful.

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She's looking through the lattice in her fine

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palace. Now, she's got more initially than anything

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that Dale has, right? She's got a big, beautiful

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house. She's got windows to look out. She's got

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a lattice. She has a son who is a general. Dale

00:20:38.059 --> 00:20:40.619
did not have that. They are wealthy from all

00:20:40.619 --> 00:20:42.880
the spoil that they've taken for decades. Dale

00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:46.059
did not have that. But now today, even though

00:20:46.059 --> 00:20:48.640
she has everything she has, she is sorrowful.

00:20:48.740 --> 00:20:53.339
She is lamenting. She is weeping visibly. Why,

00:20:53.619 --> 00:20:56.779
she says, why does his chariot delay in coming?

00:20:57.240 --> 00:21:00.759
Why do the hoofbeats of his chariots tarry? In

00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:02.539
other words, she's begun to realize something

00:21:02.539 --> 00:21:05.119
terrible has happened to Sisera even before any

00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:08.180
news has reached her. And she is lamenting, why?

00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:11.460
Why is his chariot not coming? Why? Why are the

00:21:11.460 --> 00:21:15.289
hoofbeats not heard? Her wise princesses would

00:21:15.289 --> 00:21:18.210
answer her. Indeed, she repeats her words to

00:21:18.210 --> 00:21:22.670
herself. Are they not finding? Are they not dividing

00:21:22.670 --> 00:21:25.069
the spoil? In other words, so good is the spoil,

00:21:25.130 --> 00:21:27.490
so good is the riches that they've taken. That's

00:21:27.490 --> 00:21:29.150
why he's delayed because they're still dividing

00:21:29.150 --> 00:21:31.589
out how awesome all the riches that they've stolen.

00:21:31.910 --> 00:21:35.049
That's their suggestion is why it's true. Are

00:21:35.049 --> 00:21:37.609
they not finding? Are they not dividing the spoil?

00:21:38.250 --> 00:21:42.049
A maiden, two maidens for every warrior. So they're

00:21:42.049 --> 00:21:44.130
going to take women. From the fallen Israelites,

00:21:44.250 --> 00:21:45.730
they're going to take their wives, their young

00:21:45.730 --> 00:21:47.529
women, right? And men are going to bring home

00:21:47.529 --> 00:21:50.730
one, maybe two even, maybe two women, a maiden,

00:21:50.769 --> 00:21:54.250
two maidens for every warrior. To Sisera, a spoil

00:21:54.250 --> 00:21:58.869
of dyed work. So in other words, cloth that's

00:21:58.869 --> 00:22:02.250
been made very fine, that's going to go to Sisera

00:22:02.250 --> 00:22:05.529
the general. Dyed work of double embroidery on

00:22:05.529 --> 00:22:07.829
the neck of the spoiler. So the idea is that

00:22:07.829 --> 00:22:09.569
he'll take it on his neck. He'll be decorated

00:22:09.569 --> 00:22:11.990
by the great things that he has taken. Verse

00:22:11.990 --> 00:22:16.500
31. Thus let all thine enemies perish, O Lord.

00:22:16.779 --> 00:22:19.059
And I submit to you that that's a big statement,

00:22:19.140 --> 00:22:22.299
let all the enemies of the Lord perish. But the

00:22:22.299 --> 00:22:25.059
thus packs a lot of power in that statement.

00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:30.339
Thus is saying in this way, just like this, let

00:22:30.339 --> 00:22:34.480
all thine enemies perish, O Lord. But let those

00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:36.759
who love him, the him is capitalized because

00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:39.720
it's God, but let those who love him be like

00:22:39.720 --> 00:22:43.980
the rising of the sun in its might. And the land

00:22:43.980 --> 00:22:48.000
was undisturbed for 40 years. And so the end

00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:50.920
of the chapter is the great success that the

00:22:50.920 --> 00:22:53.960
Israelites needed. A land undisturbed so that

00:22:53.960 --> 00:22:57.779
they could prosper themselves for 40 years. That's

00:22:57.779 --> 00:22:59.640
longer than any period of peace they have thus

00:22:59.640 --> 00:23:04.680
far had in the book of Judges. Thus let all thine

00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:07.279
enemies perish, O Lord, but let those who love

00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:10.400
him be like the rising of the sun in its might.

00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:12.240
Okay, there's a couple of things I want you to

00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:14.279
see in here. Remember, we're looking for dynamics

00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:16.940
that will change the way we interact with other

00:23:16.940 --> 00:23:21.740
people and the way we respond as a people. The

00:23:21.740 --> 00:23:24.940
first one that I see in the text is when the

00:23:24.940 --> 00:23:29.039
author says, let all the enemies perish thus.

00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:33.000
In this way, just like this. Not just to perish,

00:23:33.180 --> 00:23:38.619
but to perish in a certain way. To his mom, Sisera's

00:23:38.619 --> 00:23:42.339
mom, And their country, Sisera, just faded away.

00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:44.599
They weren't there in the tent. They weren't

00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:46.319
there at the moment of his destruction. They

00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:49.200
don't know about the spike or the hammer or Jael

00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:51.819
at all. They don't know about his flight. They

00:23:51.819 --> 00:23:53.799
don't know about him leaving behind the chariots.

00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:56.599
They don't know about the God -empowered destruction

00:23:56.599 --> 00:23:59.500
of the army. They don't know about any of that.

00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:03.500
They just know that Sisera no longer comes. Sisera

00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:07.339
has come so many times before with much spoil.

00:24:07.789 --> 00:24:11.710
He has taken many men's wives. He has taken many

00:24:11.710 --> 00:24:17.089
women from the people that he has defeated and

00:24:17.089 --> 00:24:20.069
dyed cloth and riches and paid for many more

00:24:20.069 --> 00:24:26.289
chariots, perhaps. Their question is, why this

00:24:26.289 --> 00:24:29.910
great loss after so many victories? The people

00:24:29.910 --> 00:24:35.299
in his kingdom in his realm, that have prospered

00:24:35.299 --> 00:24:37.900
by his previous victories, are asking themselves,

00:24:38.099 --> 00:24:41.920
why, how could he lose? Why has he lost after

00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:44.740
so much time? They thought Sisera was not able

00:24:44.740 --> 00:24:49.700
to be defeated. To God's people, we know what

00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:52.759
caused it. We look now back historically after

00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:58.779
thousands of years, and we see that he is destroyed,

00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:06.500
he is defeated. By God's intervention. It's akin

00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:11.119
to asking God to forever be clear. To forever

00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:15.470
divide clearly. Those who have gone into destruction.

00:25:15.569 --> 00:25:18.849
Those who are refusing to receive God's grace.

00:25:18.950 --> 00:25:20.690
Those who are refusing to receive God's love.

00:25:20.849 --> 00:25:22.869
Those who refuse to love Him back, though He

00:25:22.869 --> 00:25:25.049
loves them immensely. Those who seek for other

00:25:25.049 --> 00:25:27.750
definitions of what it means to be a good person.

00:25:27.849 --> 00:25:30.230
What it means to love. What it means to be kind.

00:25:30.390 --> 00:25:33.589
What it means to be gracious. And rather, define

00:25:33.589 --> 00:25:36.650
for themselves a method by which they will live.

00:25:39.589 --> 00:25:42.779
And the writer of this song, calls out that God

00:25:42.779 --> 00:25:47.039
would always be very clear. He can do so because

00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:54.220
God is clear. He can do so because God is making

00:25:54.220 --> 00:25:57.779
it clear that God will side with His people and

00:25:57.779 --> 00:26:01.000
ultimately He will stand against those who are

00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:05.470
against Him. We too were once objects of wrath.

00:26:05.750 --> 00:26:07.369
Which means if you're here today and you are

00:26:07.369 --> 00:26:09.750
a saved believer, if you know Christ personally,

00:26:09.829 --> 00:26:12.230
if you know God personally, then you recall what

00:26:12.230 --> 00:26:14.849
it was like when the things of your life were

00:26:14.849 --> 00:26:16.849
sort of working against you because they were

00:26:16.849 --> 00:26:19.450
under the auspices of God. You recall how you

00:26:19.450 --> 00:26:22.490
had to get out of bed each day and ramp up your

00:26:22.490 --> 00:26:26.170
decisions. Think more clearly or profoundly.

00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:29.480
Think more intentionally about certain things

00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:32.019
in your life. Redefining certain words in your

00:26:32.019 --> 00:26:35.319
life in order to resist the wrath of God. In

00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:37.920
order to resist the teachings of the Lord. In

00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:40.420
order to resist God's definitions of certain

00:26:40.420 --> 00:26:43.140
words. God's definitions of certain actions.

00:26:43.460 --> 00:26:46.160
In order to resist God's declarations of certain

00:26:46.160 --> 00:26:49.819
sin. You had to have a process by which you continually

00:26:49.819 --> 00:26:56.579
redefined in order to make God unclear. But the

00:26:56.579 --> 00:26:59.559
writer of this song is saying, let all the enemies

00:26:59.559 --> 00:27:03.380
perish thus. Clearly for God's people, clearly

00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:06.779
that we might see it. Why is this necessary?

00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:09.559
Because God's people have a tendency to look

00:27:09.559 --> 00:27:11.059
at the things that they're going through and

00:27:11.059 --> 00:27:13.920
say, well, if God is clearly putting it into

00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:16.200
his enemies and he's clearly blessing his people,

00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:18.880
where are the blessings of God? How is it that

00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:21.299
my situation is what it is and I have a hard

00:27:21.299 --> 00:27:23.890
time? fathoming how I got here. I don't understand

00:27:23.890 --> 00:27:25.869
why exactly things are going the way they are

00:27:25.869 --> 00:27:30.609
if God is so clearly putting an end, putting

00:27:30.609 --> 00:27:35.789
an end thusly to his enemies. God's people even

00:27:35.789 --> 00:27:41.710
start to ask, have I been found faithful? Have

00:27:41.710 --> 00:27:44.650
I been given access to this success that God

00:27:44.650 --> 00:27:48.930
says will be available to his people? Am I in

00:27:48.930 --> 00:27:51.650
competition? with the Lord for the throne of

00:27:51.650 --> 00:27:56.150
my life. See, but godly sorrow then brings about

00:27:56.150 --> 00:27:58.250
repentance. So when you discover that indeed

00:27:58.250 --> 00:28:01.410
you are in competition with God, when you discover

00:28:01.410 --> 00:28:04.130
that indeed you are trying to mar the image,

00:28:04.190 --> 00:28:06.890
you are trying to make it unclear that God has

00:28:06.890 --> 00:28:10.269
proposed and will bring about a victory for His

00:28:10.269 --> 00:28:12.430
people and an ultimate defeat for those who stand

00:28:12.430 --> 00:28:15.269
against Him, then you indeed are in competition

00:28:15.269 --> 00:28:17.250
with the Lord and you will repent. And you will

00:28:17.250 --> 00:28:20.680
say, no. I will not run my life the way the world

00:28:20.680 --> 00:28:23.519
runs their life. I will instead submit my whole

00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:26.539
life to God and allow God to run it the way God

00:28:26.539 --> 00:28:29.960
wants to run it. God allows a certain economy

00:28:29.960 --> 00:28:35.460
to persist where his unfaithful are punished

00:28:35.460 --> 00:28:40.160
by outsiders. Now ultimately, they will be defeated

00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:44.539
just thus. They will fade away. In my lifetime,

00:28:44.660 --> 00:28:49.059
I have been attacked verbally. in relationships,

00:28:49.180 --> 00:28:52.099
a number of times by people that I was helping.

00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:55.079
I have been physically injured, but I've also

00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:58.140
been psychologically, emotionally attacked verbally.

00:28:58.779 --> 00:29:00.700
There was a man that we helped in the church

00:29:00.700 --> 00:29:03.720
who we were helping him, and basically he was

00:29:03.720 --> 00:29:05.900
a recovering addict, and we were holding some

00:29:05.900 --> 00:29:08.900
money for him so that he wouldn't spend it on

00:29:08.900 --> 00:29:11.119
drugs. And then when his bills would come due,

00:29:11.180 --> 00:29:12.839
we would make sure that the money made it to

00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:15.279
his bills. And he would come and he would put

00:29:15.279 --> 00:29:17.950
more money there. and his wife, and she would

00:29:17.950 --> 00:29:19.670
put more money there when they needed to, and

00:29:19.670 --> 00:29:21.569
we kept track of how much money was there, and

00:29:21.569 --> 00:29:24.150
then we would dole out from that money. So at

00:29:24.150 --> 00:29:26.049
one point in time, they visited our house. We

00:29:26.049 --> 00:29:27.869
had them over for a number of meals. We don't

00:29:27.869 --> 00:29:31.309
refuse to fellowship with addicts or with folks

00:29:31.309 --> 00:29:33.089
that are living lifestyles that we don't approve

00:29:33.089 --> 00:29:35.130
of or whatever. We love them nonetheless. So

00:29:35.130 --> 00:29:36.309
we had them over to our house on a number of

00:29:36.309 --> 00:29:37.829
occasions, and one of the times they were there,

00:29:37.910 --> 00:29:40.009
they found out where we were storing the money

00:29:40.009 --> 00:29:44.230
and stole it. Then they proceeded to go to all

00:29:44.230 --> 00:29:48.509
of our family and friends, In the church, some

00:29:48.509 --> 00:29:50.470
of you know because you were there and they told

00:29:50.470 --> 00:29:53.349
you. And tell you, tell all of our family and

00:29:53.349 --> 00:29:57.390
friends that we stole the money. They told all

00:29:57.390 --> 00:29:59.690
their family and friends. People that I have

00:29:59.690 --> 00:30:02.970
known only just a little bit. And they said that

00:30:02.970 --> 00:30:05.170
we had stolen the money. And so my character

00:30:05.170 --> 00:30:08.029
was assassinated across the spectrum. Probably

00:30:08.029 --> 00:30:12.349
a thousand people. Social media. Wherever they

00:30:12.349 --> 00:30:13.630
could. Wherever they could find an audience.

00:30:13.730 --> 00:30:17.140
Now we replaced the money. Not because it was

00:30:17.140 --> 00:30:21.700
true that we had stolen it, but because they

00:30:21.700 --> 00:30:24.619
needed it. We also then said, well, we'll not

00:30:24.619 --> 00:30:26.160
hold money for you anymore. You're going to be

00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:30.480
on your own. Now, some months later, they were

00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:33.019
scrapping, earned a bunch of money, scrapping

00:30:33.019 --> 00:30:36.079
about $450. And they were in their truck, and

00:30:36.079 --> 00:30:38.000
they drove to their old neighborhood and spent

00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:40.539
that $450 and all of their savings, and they

00:30:40.539 --> 00:30:44.220
went right back into drugs. In the space of about

00:30:44.220 --> 00:30:46.359
three months, they spent about probably $4 ,000

00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:49.539
in drugs. Then they got evicted. Started sleeping

00:30:49.539 --> 00:30:51.480
on couches and not in the same place anymore.

00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:56.140
And they asked themselves, how is it that I was

00:30:56.140 --> 00:30:57.920
living for the Lord, or seemed to be, and I was

00:30:57.920 --> 00:30:59.160
doing the things I was supposed to be doing,

00:30:59.220 --> 00:31:01.559
as far as anybody could know, and now all of

00:31:01.559 --> 00:31:03.440
a sudden my life is a shambles. I have no place

00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:06.420
to live. I have nothing. And they realized it

00:31:06.420 --> 00:31:08.519
was because that they had taken over the throne

00:31:08.519 --> 00:31:10.619
of their own life. They had begun to do the things

00:31:10.619 --> 00:31:12.420
that they wanted to do. And they had marred the

00:31:12.420 --> 00:31:16.579
clear definition of what was right by God. So

00:31:16.579 --> 00:31:19.680
they repented. He called me up and he said, I'm

00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:23.440
so sorry. And I said, that's fine. He said, I'm

00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:25.940
hurt because it hurt my reputation. It hurt people

00:31:25.940 --> 00:31:27.740
that I love to hear that about me, even if they

00:31:27.740 --> 00:31:31.019
didn't believe it and so on. And he said, I know.

00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:35.089
And he was crying and tears. And I prayed, God,

00:31:35.190 --> 00:31:37.589
forgive him. And God, forgive any wrongdoing

00:31:37.589 --> 00:31:40.009
that we might, either one of us had. And he came

00:31:40.009 --> 00:31:42.349
back to the Lord by his own profession. And they

00:31:42.349 --> 00:31:45.049
got away from drugs again. And they, ultimately,

00:31:45.069 --> 00:31:47.430
he stood in front of the church several months

00:31:47.430 --> 00:31:49.250
later. I didn't prompt him to do so. But he stood

00:31:49.250 --> 00:31:50.730
in front of the church in our worship time. He

00:31:50.730 --> 00:31:52.410
responded to the invitation. And he stood up

00:31:52.410 --> 00:31:54.230
there and he told the tale, essentially, as I

00:31:54.230 --> 00:31:56.390
have just told it to you. Tears streaming down

00:31:56.390 --> 00:31:59.230
his face, begging God for forgiveness. I submit

00:31:59.230 --> 00:32:02.170
to you that it happens that in that period of

00:32:02.170 --> 00:32:05.210
time, people will come into your life and you

00:32:05.210 --> 00:32:07.130
will face suffering. You will face difficulty.

00:32:07.190 --> 00:32:09.630
You will wonder, how is this person doing this

00:32:09.630 --> 00:32:12.349
to me? How is it that they are prospering? For

00:32:12.349 --> 00:32:16.309
two decades and more, Sisera punished Israel.

00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:18.500
They took their wives, they took their riches,

00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:20.240
they took their wealth, and they thought, how

00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:22.619
is it that we are God's people? But they were

00:32:22.619 --> 00:32:24.819
refusing to repent of their falseness. They were

00:32:24.819 --> 00:32:26.819
refusing to repent of their idol worship. They

00:32:26.819 --> 00:32:28.799
were involved with Baal while all that was going

00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:31.140
on. They continued to sacrifice their sons in

00:32:31.140 --> 00:32:33.400
the fire to Molech, and their daughters, firstborns,

00:32:33.400 --> 00:32:35.859
in the fire to Molech, burning their babies alive.

00:32:36.259 --> 00:32:40.279
They continued to mar what was right, to redefine

00:32:40.279 --> 00:32:44.559
what was right. But we have to understand that

00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:48.680
it is true. that God's enemies will thusly perish.

00:32:49.700 --> 00:32:51.960
They will go away from you and they will fade

00:32:51.960 --> 00:32:54.099
into their own wrongdoing and they will suffer

00:32:54.099 --> 00:32:56.799
in their own wrongdoing and they will pay a price

00:32:56.799 --> 00:32:59.700
that they are not willing to pay. And ultimately,

00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:01.900
if they do not accept Christ before they die,

00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:04.680
they will spend eternity away from God by their

00:33:04.680 --> 00:33:07.299
own choice because they have redefined God and

00:33:07.299 --> 00:33:08.980
they have said, I want nothing to do with God

00:33:08.980 --> 00:33:13.869
the way God actually is, the real God. This is

00:33:13.869 --> 00:33:17.509
part of why good things which come to people

00:33:17.509 --> 00:33:20.809
cannot automatically be assumed to be an answer

00:33:20.809 --> 00:33:23.589
to righteousness. This is part of what's wrong

00:33:23.589 --> 00:33:26.490
with the prosperity gospel. Because it doesn't

00:33:26.490 --> 00:33:30.630
always work out perfectly. Sometimes crashes

00:33:30.630 --> 00:33:32.829
happen. It says the righteous man falls seven

00:33:32.829 --> 00:33:35.150
times but gets up seven times, which means the

00:33:35.150 --> 00:33:37.970
righteous man falls seven times. And does he

00:33:37.970 --> 00:33:41.910
want that he would never fall? Sure. But he falls.

00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:44.259
Bad things happen. Suffering's come to people.

00:33:44.720 --> 00:33:46.559
And then we say, well, that person over there

00:33:46.559 --> 00:33:48.140
is doing real good. Their bills are all paid

00:33:48.140 --> 00:33:49.559
up. Their money's in good shape. Their relations

00:33:49.559 --> 00:33:51.319
are in good shape. They're intelligent. Their

00:33:51.319 --> 00:33:53.779
eyes are bright and wide. And they're not down

00:33:53.779 --> 00:33:55.859
in the dumps with addiction or whatever. But

00:33:55.859 --> 00:33:58.619
the reality is, those good things do not come

00:33:58.619 --> 00:34:01.680
to people because they are righteous. Now, Malachi

00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:04.920
says that the sun, S -U -N, of righteousness

00:34:04.920 --> 00:34:08.739
rises with healing. In its wings, which means

00:34:08.739 --> 00:34:10.980
when you live in righteousness, you will get

00:34:10.980 --> 00:34:13.039
good things, right? If you are a person of integrity,

00:34:13.179 --> 00:34:14.800
people will recognize that and they will want

00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:16.639
to pay for that. They'll want to reward you for

00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:19.079
your integrity. If you're hardworking, they want

00:34:19.079 --> 00:34:21.619
to reward you for your hardworking nature. But

00:34:21.619 --> 00:34:24.619
the dynamic that's in this text is we must now

00:34:24.619 --> 00:34:27.059
respond to one another and we must now respond

00:34:27.059 --> 00:34:29.800
to the God of the universe and we must find this

00:34:29.800 --> 00:34:36.920
truth in ourselves that how we live Make us either

00:34:36.920 --> 00:34:40.400
a friend or an enemy to God. And God's enemies

00:34:40.400 --> 00:34:43.880
will perish thusly. They will just fade away.

00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:50.280
The second thing to see in the text then is that

00:34:50.280 --> 00:34:56.500
we are part of the whole. We're part of the mass,

00:34:56.820 --> 00:35:00.639
if you will, of humanity. Every person has to

00:35:00.639 --> 00:35:04.239
make his or her own decision inside his or her

00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:08.190
own tent. inside his or her own household, etc.

00:35:08.710 --> 00:35:12.289
But the decisions made there inside their own

00:35:12.289 --> 00:35:16.969
tent will then cumulatively determine the outcome

00:35:16.969 --> 00:35:23.230
for all. Others are affected in the short term,

00:35:23.349 --> 00:35:26.849
in the long term, and the decisions that they

00:35:26.849 --> 00:35:34.190
make there inside their own tent create an impact

00:35:34.190 --> 00:35:37.230
in the lives of everyone around them. Now maybe

00:35:37.230 --> 00:35:38.969
if you don't know them very well or know them

00:35:38.969 --> 00:35:41.030
at all, that the impact on you may be small.

00:35:44.210 --> 00:35:46.969
If it's your brother or your sister or your mother,

00:35:47.010 --> 00:35:48.769
your father, your husband or your wife, then

00:35:48.769 --> 00:35:50.969
the impact on you will be greater because you're

00:35:50.969 --> 00:35:54.889
closer to them. I submit to you that no addict

00:35:54.889 --> 00:35:59.769
overdosed ever that someone who was close to

00:35:59.769 --> 00:36:04.730
them did not receive a broken heart. That no

00:36:04.730 --> 00:36:10.449
person strayed into immorality and stayed there

00:36:10.449 --> 00:36:15.309
and faded away without someone who loved them

00:36:15.309 --> 00:36:17.690
receiving a broken heart. Now I think a lot of

00:36:17.690 --> 00:36:19.630
times we think that we're in those situations

00:36:19.630 --> 00:36:23.530
and we're doing that. Nobody loves us. Nobody

00:36:23.530 --> 00:36:26.670
cares. Nobody's going to be impacted. But the

00:36:26.670 --> 00:36:29.070
fact is that sin spreads. It doesn't just spread.

00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:32.719
I do something, like if I would lie, then that

00:36:32.719 --> 00:36:34.980
lie impacts the people that I lied to. It's far

00:36:34.980 --> 00:36:40.019
worse than that. Because sin makes a person unclean,

00:36:40.019 --> 00:36:43.599
makes them unusable by God. And then an unclean

00:36:43.599 --> 00:36:46.460
thing makes other things that it touches unclean.

00:36:46.480 --> 00:36:49.460
If you try to wash your face with a dirty old

00:36:49.460 --> 00:36:52.260
dish rag that's been used for 40 sinks of dishes

00:36:52.260 --> 00:36:54.980
and now is full of grease and growing mold, your

00:36:54.980 --> 00:36:58.539
face is not going to get clean. There is no way.

00:36:59.210 --> 00:37:02.349
And it's not that we have to sin a whole bunch

00:37:02.349 --> 00:37:04.869
of times in order to be made unclean. It's just

00:37:04.869 --> 00:37:08.050
once. And you can make a dishrag very dirty by

00:37:08.050 --> 00:37:11.530
cleaning just once. Clean the road grime off

00:37:11.530 --> 00:37:13.869
of your car with a dishrag and you'll no longer

00:37:13.869 --> 00:37:15.949
want to clean your dishes with it until it is

00:37:15.949 --> 00:37:17.650
at least properly laundered. In fact, I've thrown

00:37:17.650 --> 00:37:21.969
several away. It just takes one act of sin, one

00:37:21.969 --> 00:37:24.789
thing that is not right in God's eyes, to make

00:37:24.789 --> 00:37:28.489
us unclean. And God will not use you while you

00:37:28.489 --> 00:37:31.150
are doing that for a positive thing, for a godly

00:37:31.150 --> 00:37:34.570
work. And so therefore, that uncleanness spreads

00:37:34.570 --> 00:37:36.670
to those who are close to us, and it spreads

00:37:36.670 --> 00:37:38.710
in lesser dimension to those who are further

00:37:38.710 --> 00:37:41.050
away. So we have to realize that we are part

00:37:41.050 --> 00:37:43.909
of a whole. And yes, you have every right to

00:37:43.909 --> 00:37:46.070
make the decision that you're making. You have

00:37:46.070 --> 00:37:49.250
freedom. You can choose to lie, to cheat, to

00:37:49.250 --> 00:37:51.349
steal, to be immoral. You can choose to murder

00:37:51.349 --> 00:37:53.110
or be angry in your heart at others. You can

00:37:53.110 --> 00:37:55.849
choose to lust in an ungodly way toward a member

00:37:55.849 --> 00:38:00.510
of the unmarried or toward somebody who is married.

00:38:01.210 --> 00:38:04.349
You can look at models online and people who

00:38:04.349 --> 00:38:06.690
have shrunk themselves down to earn their millions

00:38:06.690 --> 00:38:10.250
and shrunk their clothes all the more. And in

00:38:10.250 --> 00:38:12.909
doing that, nobody is there with you. It's just

00:38:12.909 --> 00:38:16.079
your mind. It's just your heart. Right? And you're

00:38:16.079 --> 00:38:17.980
the one that's making that decision, and you

00:38:17.980 --> 00:38:22.179
have the freedom to make that decision. Until

00:38:22.179 --> 00:38:24.539
you don't have the freedom to not make that decision.

00:38:25.440 --> 00:38:28.960
Because the Bible says, the one who sins is slave

00:38:28.960 --> 00:38:33.940
to sin, Jesus speaking. But the fact that you

00:38:33.940 --> 00:38:37.340
become slave to sin, you might go, that's fine,

00:38:37.559 --> 00:38:40.119
that's me, I get to do that, right? I can choose

00:38:40.119 --> 00:38:41.980
to do that, I can choose to be whoever I want,

00:38:42.019 --> 00:38:46.619
you can't tell me who I can be. And that's a

00:38:46.619 --> 00:38:50.159
reality. That is exactly right. Because you were

00:38:50.159 --> 00:38:52.320
made in the image of the God of the universe

00:38:52.320 --> 00:38:55.920
who created everything. And you can willfully

00:38:55.920 --> 00:38:58.860
choose to be whatever you choose to be. Now,

00:38:58.940 --> 00:39:02.380
once you get started, the effects on it are going

00:39:02.380 --> 00:39:08.400
to be... I apologize. That's me. The effects

00:39:08.400 --> 00:39:11.659
on you are going to be transmitted to others

00:39:11.659 --> 00:39:21.670
whether you like it or not. So if you are doing

00:39:21.670 --> 00:39:30.369
things that do not honor what you were created

00:39:30.369 --> 00:39:33.710
to be, then the impact of those things will change

00:39:33.710 --> 00:39:38.750
people around you. Dads who lie to get ahead

00:39:38.750 --> 00:39:41.570
at work, and then they go home and raise their

00:39:41.570 --> 00:39:43.150
children, and they would never lie to their child.

00:39:43.480 --> 00:39:46.039
Never lie to their wife, or so they say. But

00:39:46.039 --> 00:39:48.360
they lie to get ahead at work. And they bring

00:39:48.360 --> 00:39:51.519
their uncleanness home to their household. And

00:39:51.519 --> 00:39:53.760
that child will never know. They'll never know

00:39:53.760 --> 00:39:58.760
what it is that dad does at work that's causing

00:39:58.760 --> 00:40:03.159
something to be wrong in the house. It doesn't

00:40:03.159 --> 00:40:05.719
line up. They just know that when dad comes home

00:40:05.719 --> 00:40:08.349
from work, sometimes... he feels a little different.

00:40:08.409 --> 00:40:10.409
He seems a little different. It doesn't quite

00:40:10.409 --> 00:40:12.369
work. So what I'm saying to you is there is a

00:40:12.369 --> 00:40:14.449
dynamic in this passage of Scripture that reminds

00:40:14.449 --> 00:40:18.309
us that we are part of a whole. That the enemy

00:40:18.309 --> 00:40:23.510
will come knocking. Many a household has suffered

00:40:23.510 --> 00:40:26.230
for the choices of one man or woman or child.

00:40:26.909 --> 00:40:32.070
A man who does something in secret that he'll

00:40:32.070 --> 00:40:34.070
never tell his wife about or his kids about.

00:40:35.559 --> 00:40:39.760
But they suffer nonetheless. A man who won't

00:40:39.760 --> 00:40:42.780
step up and be the man for his wife that he is

00:40:42.780 --> 00:40:45.099
supposed to be, to submit to the Lord, to be

00:40:45.099 --> 00:40:48.280
that example, to govern, to guide, to lead religiously,

00:40:48.280 --> 00:40:53.059
faithfully forward. And she's left languishing.

00:40:53.880 --> 00:40:56.900
Not fertilized, not nurtured, not cared for,

00:40:57.019 --> 00:41:00.079
not watered, not given the opportunity to be

00:41:00.079 --> 00:41:01.960
everything that she could be for the Lord because

00:41:01.960 --> 00:41:04.400
he refuses to be who. He's supposed to be Lord.

00:41:04.460 --> 00:41:07.159
A woman who refuses to submit to her husband

00:41:07.159 --> 00:41:10.000
or she just can't lift him up. He's too much

00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:12.699
for her to bear. And so she gives up on him until

00:41:12.699 --> 00:41:16.280
God can do something more. And she fails him

00:41:16.280 --> 00:41:19.679
and her children from the moment that she gave

00:41:19.679 --> 00:41:22.659
up in trying to lift him up to the Lord. A child

00:41:22.659 --> 00:41:25.159
who is in rebellion. A child who is malty. A

00:41:25.159 --> 00:41:28.019
child who refuses to accept the truth once they've

00:41:28.019 --> 00:41:29.900
heard it and old enough to understand. A child

00:41:29.900 --> 00:41:31.679
who walks a certain road that they've chosen

00:41:31.679 --> 00:41:33.519
for themselves, thinking, well, it's my right.

00:41:33.659 --> 00:41:39.480
I'm allowed. And they're right. Except they have

00:41:39.480 --> 00:41:41.219
not realized that it will put them in slavery

00:41:41.219 --> 00:41:45.059
and affect everyone in their life. And the family

00:41:45.059 --> 00:41:47.760
goes through needless turmoil and the enemies

00:41:47.760 --> 00:41:52.400
keep telling you that The time in which you did

00:41:52.400 --> 00:41:55.019
your secret thing that was your right to choose

00:41:55.019 --> 00:41:57.000
in your tent, in your house, away from everybody

00:41:57.000 --> 00:41:58.519
else, it's not theoretically going to impact

00:41:58.519 --> 00:42:02.579
anybody else. And the struggles that you're having

00:42:02.579 --> 00:42:04.039
in your relationships, the struggles that you're

00:42:04.039 --> 00:42:05.619
having in your ministry, the struggles that you're

00:42:05.619 --> 00:42:07.039
having in serving, the struggles that you're

00:42:07.039 --> 00:42:09.280
having in choosing, that those are unrelated.

00:42:10.920 --> 00:42:13.280
When I was a young Christian, and even as really

00:42:13.280 --> 00:42:16.219
hasn't been all that long ago, that I was tempted

00:42:16.219 --> 00:42:17.980
to do something that was wrong, and I knew it

00:42:17.980 --> 00:42:20.409
was wrong. And I actually heard a voice in my

00:42:20.409 --> 00:42:25.190
head say, if you do this, it's not going to have

00:42:25.190 --> 00:42:28.070
any impact on this, this, and this. It's not

00:42:28.070 --> 00:42:29.070
going to affect your wife. It's not going to

00:42:29.070 --> 00:42:30.050
affect your children. It's not going to affect

00:42:30.050 --> 00:42:31.369
your finances. It's not going to affect your

00:42:31.369 --> 00:42:34.710
home. Nothing will be affected. And you want

00:42:34.710 --> 00:42:38.130
to do it. So why not just do it? I submit to

00:42:38.130 --> 00:42:41.809
you that that voice was lying to me. Because

00:42:41.809 --> 00:42:47.820
we are part of a whole. And God will let. his

00:42:47.820 --> 00:42:52.280
enemies perish thusly. They will fade away. And

00:42:52.280 --> 00:42:54.880
so we must choose to be part of the whole that

00:42:54.880 --> 00:42:58.739
chooses to do things God's way so that that uncleanness

00:42:58.739 --> 00:43:01.019
does not settle on us and then by extension on

00:43:01.019 --> 00:43:04.260
others whom we love or care about. Or even that

00:43:04.260 --> 00:43:08.340
you may never meet. This is the thing. The uncleanness

00:43:08.340 --> 00:43:10.059
that you put on somebody, then they go and they

00:43:10.059 --> 00:43:11.699
meet a perfect stranger. You have no idea who

00:43:11.699 --> 00:43:13.380
they are. They go to the store, they go to work,

00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:16.019
they work alongside them. Whatever. And that

00:43:16.019 --> 00:43:18.579
person receives the effect of your uncleanness

00:43:18.579 --> 00:43:20.659
because you put it on. If you don't think it'll

00:43:20.659 --> 00:43:25.900
work, just watch when you sin, how it impacts

00:43:25.900 --> 00:43:27.699
the people around you and wonder to yourself,

00:43:27.780 --> 00:43:30.000
doesn't that then go on impact the people that

00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:32.480
they impact? Well, sure it does. We are part

00:43:32.480 --> 00:43:36.039
of a whole. Notice then there is another dynamic

00:43:36.039 --> 00:43:38.480
in the text that is that some are waiting and

00:43:38.480 --> 00:43:41.159
some of those who are waiting are waiting in

00:43:41.159 --> 00:43:44.139
vain. The question is, will they be waiting for

00:43:44.139 --> 00:43:50.260
you? Will you fade off, burn out, and they'll

00:43:50.260 --> 00:43:51.760
be waiting for you to return? They'll say, well,

00:43:51.800 --> 00:43:53.780
he did so well for so long, I thought everything

00:43:53.780 --> 00:43:55.900
was fine. Yeah, he made some choices, she made

00:43:55.900 --> 00:43:57.900
some choices that didn't seem to be right by

00:43:57.900 --> 00:43:59.719
me, but they were doing great. They were healthy,

00:43:59.800 --> 00:44:02.280
they were strong, they were having success. Got

00:44:02.280 --> 00:44:07.300
plunder, got finances, got education, got relationships,

00:44:07.320 --> 00:44:10.179
everything seemed fine. And now they're just...

00:44:10.559 --> 00:44:13.199
Fell out. They're gone. Will they be waiting

00:44:13.199 --> 00:44:15.400
for you? Longing for you? Trying to think the

00:44:15.400 --> 00:44:18.139
best of you? As long as your track record speaks

00:44:18.139 --> 00:44:21.059
or they have hope beyond hope, then yes, they'll

00:44:21.059 --> 00:44:23.000
be waiting. The people who love you will be waiting

00:44:23.000 --> 00:44:25.860
for you to turn into something that will last.

00:44:26.539 --> 00:44:30.059
But if and when you fade to black, their hopes

00:44:30.059 --> 00:44:33.780
will be dashed down and out. The righteous man

00:44:33.780 --> 00:44:36.920
falls seven times and gets up seven times, but

00:44:36.920 --> 00:44:40.050
the less than righteous man falls. and does not

00:44:40.050 --> 00:44:47.989
rise eventually. An aside, if you will, if you'll

00:44:47.989 --> 00:44:50.670
give me this liberty. If you were born to be

00:44:50.670 --> 00:44:55.469
strong, if you're born to be decisive, then your

00:44:55.469 --> 00:44:58.550
task is even greater. If you were born into a

00:44:58.550 --> 00:45:01.909
wealthy family, your task is even greater. If

00:45:01.909 --> 00:45:04.010
you were born into a family that by nature loves

00:45:04.010 --> 00:45:08.409
God or is very intelligent, for example, and

00:45:08.409 --> 00:45:10.710
they trained you to love God, to be a discerning

00:45:10.710 --> 00:45:13.949
thinker, to be intelligent, then your task is

00:45:13.949 --> 00:45:16.929
even greater. The task becomes not simply to

00:45:16.929 --> 00:45:19.869
prosper, because you were literally made for

00:45:19.869 --> 00:45:22.329
that. You come from a background of that, right?

00:45:22.469 --> 00:45:26.170
Could be old family money, or a spiritual background,

00:45:26.349 --> 00:45:31.110
or whatever. But you must know that that prosperity

00:45:31.110 --> 00:45:35.769
comes not from your own strength. You must continually

00:45:35.769 --> 00:45:38.550
attribute it to the God of heaven denying yourself.

00:45:38.750 --> 00:45:40.750
Jesus said, deny yourself, take up your cross

00:45:40.750 --> 00:45:42.949
daily and follow after me. He also said that

00:45:42.949 --> 00:45:44.670
it is harder for a rich man to come into the

00:45:44.670 --> 00:45:46.409
kingdom of God than for a camel to go through

00:45:46.409 --> 00:45:48.050
the eye of a needle. And they said, well, then

00:45:48.050 --> 00:45:50.309
how can come into the kingdom of God? And he

00:45:50.309 --> 00:45:52.869
said, with God, all things are possible. You

00:45:52.869 --> 00:45:54.769
see, so if you're that intelligent or that rich

00:45:54.769 --> 00:45:56.869
or that capable or that decisive or that creative,

00:45:56.969 --> 00:45:59.309
you have a greater responsibility. If you're

00:45:59.309 --> 00:46:03.349
that strong, that healthy, that fast, then you

00:46:03.349 --> 00:46:05.510
have a greater responsibility to submit because

00:46:05.510 --> 00:46:07.889
denying yourself means looking at how awesome

00:46:07.889 --> 00:46:10.530
you are and realizing that no matter how awesome

00:46:10.530 --> 00:46:13.710
you are, God is more awesome than that. In fact,

00:46:13.710 --> 00:46:15.329
God is the one who instilled the awesomeness

00:46:15.329 --> 00:46:22.190
in you. The text kind of wraps up or ends out

00:46:22.190 --> 00:46:26.489
with the final dynamic. And it says, let those

00:46:26.489 --> 00:46:29.639
who love him. be like the rising of the sun in

00:46:29.639 --> 00:46:31.340
its might. And I thought, and I kind of meditated

00:46:31.340 --> 00:46:33.519
on, prayed about what that means to rise like

00:46:33.519 --> 00:46:38.179
that, to be faithful. See, the sun keeps coming

00:46:38.179 --> 00:46:40.599
up every day, right? So it's to be faithful,

00:46:40.639 --> 00:46:43.280
so we stay the course. We are indeed unstoppable

00:46:43.280 --> 00:46:46.519
in its course. Nothing that mankind has ever

00:46:46.519 --> 00:46:49.159
been able to create would touch the sun. We have

00:46:49.159 --> 00:46:51.219
enough nuclear weapons to destroy the earth,

00:46:51.300 --> 00:46:53.500
but if we launched all of our nuclear weapons

00:46:53.500 --> 00:46:56.179
into one exact pinpoint on the sun, it wouldn't

00:46:56.179 --> 00:46:58.480
make a blip. There wouldn't be a bit of static,

00:46:58.619 --> 00:47:01.579
no electromagnetic wave that would someday reach

00:47:01.579 --> 00:47:06.340
Earth. Because if you take the Earth and make

00:47:06.340 --> 00:47:08.380
it as big as you possibly can, think about how

00:47:08.380 --> 00:47:11.480
large it is, and then you compare it in reference

00:47:11.480 --> 00:47:14.780
to the sun, the Earth would be like that tiny

00:47:14.780 --> 00:47:19.460
pinprick, that tiny little dot, and the sun would

00:47:19.460 --> 00:47:23.039
be a thousand times bigger than the Earth. It's

00:47:23.039 --> 00:47:26.300
so big. And so it's unstoppable in its course

00:47:26.300 --> 00:47:28.980
by anything that man has ever done. And that's

00:47:28.980 --> 00:47:30.579
what we're said to be. That's what we're supposed

00:47:30.579 --> 00:47:33.139
to be, unstoppable in our course. Continuing

00:47:33.139 --> 00:47:37.099
this day as God made it, we are supposed to continue

00:47:37.099 --> 00:47:41.099
as God made us. The sun is life -giving. In fact,

00:47:41.179 --> 00:47:43.780
if you think about it just so, and that's what

00:47:43.780 --> 00:47:46.920
I've asked you to do today, all life on the earth

00:47:46.920 --> 00:47:49.860
is empowered and impacted by the sun. We eat

00:47:49.860 --> 00:47:53.460
animals. Animals eat trees. Trees grow because

00:47:53.460 --> 00:47:57.599
the sun shines. Coal. Coal is packed full of

00:47:57.599 --> 00:48:00.039
energy that initially came from where? Ultimately,

00:48:00.199 --> 00:48:03.840
the sun. The sun to animals, animals to the ground,

00:48:03.880 --> 00:48:08.619
the ground to coal, and so on. Life -giving.

00:48:10.019 --> 00:48:12.500
That's what we're supposed to be. Life -giving.

00:48:13.059 --> 00:48:18.739
And if this dynamic is ignored, then it is ignored

00:48:18.739 --> 00:48:23.139
at the peril of the ignorant. We are supposed

00:48:23.139 --> 00:48:26.280
to be like that. We think a lot of times about

00:48:26.280 --> 00:48:28.079
being light. Jesus says, you are the light of

00:48:28.079 --> 00:48:30.780
the world. We sang, we're the light on a hill,

00:48:30.920 --> 00:48:35.199
right? Just, we think how it shines and dazzles

00:48:35.199 --> 00:48:38.960
when focused on. If you take a potted plant and

00:48:38.960 --> 00:48:41.699
put it in the closet and shine a spotlight so

00:48:41.699 --> 00:48:44.699
bright, that you can't see, it blinds you, you

00:48:44.699 --> 00:48:47.039
don't dare look at it, and you shine that spotlight

00:48:47.039 --> 00:48:51.380
at that plant, it'll not grow. Because spotlights

00:48:51.380 --> 00:48:56.539
don't produce what the sun produces. If that

00:48:56.539 --> 00:48:59.860
plant gets sunlight from the sun, it'll grow.

00:49:00.340 --> 00:49:03.300
We think about light that shines or dazzles when

00:49:03.300 --> 00:49:06.699
focused on, but this is more than that. This

00:49:06.699 --> 00:49:09.619
is sunlight. This is people, family, friends,

00:49:09.900 --> 00:49:12.699
coworkers, followers. They should all prosper

00:49:12.699 --> 00:49:15.659
under your shining. If you're not going around

00:49:15.659 --> 00:49:18.599
making people's lives better, then you've missed

00:49:18.599 --> 00:49:22.900
this dynamic. If something in your life needs

00:49:22.900 --> 00:49:25.400
to be dealt with in order that anyone that you

00:49:25.400 --> 00:49:28.019
would bump into, you could make their lives better,

00:49:28.179 --> 00:49:33.119
then you need to learn to deny yourself and get

00:49:33.119 --> 00:49:37.199
to making people's lives better. Jesus literally

00:49:37.199 --> 00:49:41.139
begged God and cried the night before. He wept

00:49:41.139 --> 00:49:44.880
tears and sweat blood over the fact that he had

00:49:44.880 --> 00:49:47.920
to go to the cross. But he knew for the joy set

00:49:47.920 --> 00:49:50.599
before him, he must submit to a death, even death

00:49:50.599 --> 00:49:55.159
on a cross. So shall we be. Your people in your

00:49:55.159 --> 00:49:57.280
life, whomever God has brought you into contact,

00:49:57.380 --> 00:49:58.980
your family, your friends, your co -workers,

00:49:59.119 --> 00:50:01.340
your followers, whoever they might be, they should

00:50:01.340 --> 00:50:06.650
prosper under our shining. You should say daily,

00:50:06.769 --> 00:50:09.989
I'm going to get up. I'm going to be a blessing

00:50:09.989 --> 00:50:14.969
to others. I am unstoppable. I am life -bringing.

00:50:15.329 --> 00:50:18.369
For those who stand against me, God has made

00:50:18.369 --> 00:50:22.929
me victorious in His time. To stand against me

00:50:22.929 --> 00:50:25.809
is to stand against God as long as I stand with

00:50:25.809 --> 00:50:28.389
God. To stand against me is to stand against

00:50:28.389 --> 00:50:31.650
God as long as I stand with God, and I will leave

00:50:31.650 --> 00:50:36.619
the outcome to Him. In the morning, I will still

00:50:36.619 --> 00:50:41.139
be rising. When God once and for all drives the

00:50:41.139 --> 00:50:44.420
enemy to his knees at my feet, the enemy shall

00:50:44.420 --> 00:50:48.360
never rise again. I will not forget that man

00:50:48.360 --> 00:50:51.739
shall never be my real enemy. Knowing the outcome

00:50:51.739 --> 00:50:54.860
means I don't have to increase my efforts to

00:50:54.860 --> 00:50:57.039
bring about the outcome. Are you hearing me now?

00:50:58.539 --> 00:51:01.280
If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ

00:51:01.280 --> 00:51:04.409
and God has promised you heaven, If the God of

00:51:04.409 --> 00:51:06.989
heaven has installed in you the Holy Spirit,

00:51:07.110 --> 00:51:10.429
and if you hear Him in you now saying, you belong

00:51:10.429 --> 00:51:13.570
to me and I'm taking you where you cannot possibly

00:51:13.570 --> 00:51:17.789
imagine how good it will be. I'm taking you to

00:51:17.789 --> 00:51:22.269
a place where I want you to be. And if you hear

00:51:22.269 --> 00:51:25.809
that promise of the Holy Spirit in you now, then

00:51:25.809 --> 00:51:28.769
you need to understand there is nothing that

00:51:28.769 --> 00:51:33.090
you can do to make that outcome more likely.

00:51:35.030 --> 00:51:37.869
Knowing the outcome means I don't have to increase

00:51:37.869 --> 00:51:40.750
my efforts to bring about the outcome, but rather

00:51:40.750 --> 00:51:44.070
I repulse the enemy by knowing this end and proceeding

00:51:44.070 --> 00:51:46.269
in faithfulness until the end is forthcoming.

00:51:46.389 --> 00:51:49.030
This is the exact opposite of the dynamic for

00:51:49.030 --> 00:51:52.110
those who will fade away, because in their hearts

00:51:52.110 --> 00:51:54.210
they know. That they do not have a relationship

00:51:54.210 --> 00:51:55.469
with God. In fact, they don't want it. They probably

00:51:55.469 --> 00:51:57.550
hate God. It's ironic how many people who believe

00:51:57.550 --> 00:51:59.809
that God does not exist actually hate God. That's

00:51:59.809 --> 00:52:04.130
pretty ironic. And then they will redouble and

00:52:04.130 --> 00:52:06.849
triple and quadruple and even a hundredfold their

00:52:06.849 --> 00:52:09.489
efforts to get good outcomes. And in many cases,

00:52:09.510 --> 00:52:12.050
they will get good outcomes until they eventually

00:52:12.050 --> 00:52:14.329
fade away and they will go away from us and we

00:52:14.329 --> 00:52:18.570
will never see them again. For all our wanting,

00:52:18.730 --> 00:52:21.469
we cannot make the outcome different. Those who

00:52:21.469 --> 00:52:23.690
love the Lord should be rising with strength

00:52:23.690 --> 00:52:26.309
like the sun now. That brings us to our conclusion.

00:52:27.750 --> 00:52:32.750
Those who have their thirst satiated now, outside

00:52:32.750 --> 00:52:35.610
loving the Lord, will eventually experience a

00:52:35.610 --> 00:52:38.429
moment in time when they will pay back many fold

00:52:38.429 --> 00:52:42.210
what they have stewarded poorly. We have a tendency

00:52:42.210 --> 00:52:44.570
to believe that things will go on just as they

00:52:44.570 --> 00:52:46.849
are. Like, it's okay I'm doing what I'm doing

00:52:46.849 --> 00:52:49.269
because it's still working. In fact, I like it

00:52:49.269 --> 00:52:51.840
better. I like it better the way I feel. I like

00:52:51.840 --> 00:52:53.840
it better the way it's working out for me. So

00:52:53.840 --> 00:52:55.280
it's okay that I continue to do these things

00:52:55.280 --> 00:52:58.360
even though God has said it is not okay. We think

00:52:58.360 --> 00:53:00.360
that the results that others have achieved by

00:53:00.360 --> 00:53:02.199
their track record of choices are available to

00:53:02.199 --> 00:53:03.940
us as well. We say, well, it seems like it's

00:53:03.940 --> 00:53:05.920
working for them. So we go after it. This is

00:53:05.920 --> 00:53:08.739
what's super ironic. We go after the way other

00:53:08.739 --> 00:53:10.559
people are behaving because it seems like they're

00:53:10.559 --> 00:53:13.320
working for them. Then they fade away and they're

00:53:13.320 --> 00:53:15.320
out of the picture now and we're still following

00:53:15.320 --> 00:53:17.159
that method thinking that's going to be good

00:53:17.159 --> 00:53:19.920
for us in the long run. That doesn't make any

00:53:19.920 --> 00:53:22.539
sense. Because they faded away. The method for

00:53:22.539 --> 00:53:23.860
them, how did it work? Well, they fell away.

00:53:25.860 --> 00:53:30.360
And maybe you can have it if you want it, but

00:53:30.360 --> 00:53:33.099
I'd suggest you be very certain in your understanding

00:53:33.099 --> 00:53:36.400
of where the road of destruction that you're

00:53:36.400 --> 00:53:40.599
on, that is actually littered with low -hanging

00:53:40.599 --> 00:53:43.360
fruit, stuff that you can enjoy all the while,

00:53:43.500 --> 00:53:47.019
leads. The low -hanging fruit will begin to make

00:53:47.019 --> 00:53:49.199
you think that you are on a different sort of

00:53:49.199 --> 00:53:51.460
road. See, I'm prospering. See, God is rewarding

00:53:51.460 --> 00:53:53.880
my righteousness. See, God is being good to me.

00:53:53.940 --> 00:53:55.619
Or you take God out of the picture of completeness.

00:53:55.659 --> 00:53:58.659
See, I'm doing well. This is what I want. But

00:53:58.659 --> 00:54:02.320
the Lord determines how long that road runs and

00:54:02.320 --> 00:54:06.280
its destination has already been set. Your only

00:54:06.280 --> 00:54:09.699
choice is to get off that road and get onto one

00:54:09.699 --> 00:54:12.719
that goes where you actually want to go. The

00:54:12.719 --> 00:54:16.000
road that goes where we want to go. is also plagued

00:54:16.000 --> 00:54:18.659
with landmines of suffering as it was for Jesus.

00:54:19.019 --> 00:54:21.739
In fact, the word says if we will suffer as he

00:54:21.739 --> 00:54:24.219
suffered and suffer with him as he suffered,

00:54:24.260 --> 00:54:27.840
that we will ultimately receive a crown. And

00:54:27.840 --> 00:54:30.980
it's also filled with new occurrences of his

00:54:30.980 --> 00:54:33.860
mercies morning by morning rather than low -hanging

00:54:33.860 --> 00:54:35.699
fruit or the trappings of this life. You may

00:54:35.699 --> 00:54:38.280
not get everything that your flesh wants. You

00:54:38.280 --> 00:54:40.000
may not get all the money or all the desserts

00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:43.639
or all the relationships. But the road that you

00:54:43.639 --> 00:54:45.699
will be on that is not littered with those low

00:54:45.699 --> 00:54:47.900
-hanging fruits will take you to where you want

00:54:47.900 --> 00:54:52.219
to go. Perhaps this is why it's a wide road accommodating

00:54:52.219 --> 00:54:55.219
many people. The correct road is a narrow road,

00:54:55.340 --> 00:54:58.420
refusing the trappings of this life, even the

00:54:58.420 --> 00:55:00.079
ones that you're completely allowed to have.

00:55:01.579 --> 00:55:03.980
So I'm on the road following Jesus, and something

00:55:03.980 --> 00:55:06.960
comes along, and I can take it or not. It's easy,

00:55:07.079 --> 00:55:10.190
and it's not even sin for me to take it. But

00:55:10.190 --> 00:55:12.369
the word says deny yourself, take up your cross

00:55:12.369 --> 00:55:14.769
daily and follow after him. So you deny yourself

00:55:14.769 --> 00:55:17.949
and you do it to honor the Lord and you receive

00:55:17.949 --> 00:55:20.949
the blessings that God really desires for you.

00:55:21.210 --> 00:55:24.110
The correct road is a narrow road, refusing the

00:55:24.110 --> 00:55:27.250
trappings of this life, disciplining oneself

00:55:27.250 --> 00:55:31.150
in submission to the Lord, being willing to suffer

00:55:31.150 --> 00:55:34.550
as opportunity permits and following a true king

00:55:34.550 --> 00:55:37.590
into eternity. In this effort, the Lord will

00:55:37.590 --> 00:55:42.570
make us. The might of the rising sun. I want

00:55:42.570 --> 00:55:44.309
you to hear the prayers of the righteous. Understand,

00:55:44.409 --> 00:55:47.210
this was a prayer. Thus let all thine enemies

00:55:47.210 --> 00:55:50.010
perish, O Lord, but let those who love him be

00:55:50.010 --> 00:55:52.730
like the rising of the sun in its might. That's

00:55:52.730 --> 00:55:55.690
a prayer to God, that it would be so. This is

00:55:55.690 --> 00:55:57.630
praying the will of the Lord, and we pray every

00:55:57.630 --> 00:55:59.789
day, do we not? Or at least prayers like this.

00:56:00.349 --> 00:56:05.269
Thy will be done. It's how God set it up. It's

00:56:05.269 --> 00:56:07.630
how creation works. It's how the kingdoms work.

00:56:08.839 --> 00:56:10.639
Thy will be done. This is the will of the Lord.

00:56:11.000 --> 00:56:14.280
This is the economy of the kingdom. I'm not here

00:56:14.280 --> 00:56:17.099
to argue today that we can choose a different

00:56:17.099 --> 00:56:20.900
result. A false gospel often says, if you'll

00:56:20.900 --> 00:56:23.239
choose Jesus today, you can be saved. And I'm

00:56:23.239 --> 00:56:24.880
here to tell you that that's not really true.

00:56:28.199 --> 00:56:32.300
Did you hear that? That's not really true. You

00:56:32.300 --> 00:56:38.360
don't get saved by choosing Jesus. So if you're

00:56:38.360 --> 00:56:42.219
cynical, if you're skeptical, if you're debating,

00:56:42.440 --> 00:56:45.559
if you have questions, if you're in doubt, self

00:56:45.559 --> 00:56:47.900
-doubt, God -doubt, path -doubt, faith -doubt,

00:56:47.960 --> 00:56:54.500
doubt, realize that choosing Jesus is not enough.

00:56:55.179 --> 00:56:59.099
Jesus said, you have not chosen me. I chose you.

00:57:01.659 --> 00:57:03.980
If, on the other hand, you realize that he has

00:57:03.980 --> 00:57:06.320
chosen you and desires to put you on a road that

00:57:06.320 --> 00:57:08.280
honors him and use you for something greater

00:57:08.280 --> 00:57:11.199
than you can ever imagine, ultimately, including

00:57:11.199 --> 00:57:14.519
an eternity with him in heaven. If you realize

00:57:14.519 --> 00:57:18.820
that's true, if you believe it, then he will

00:57:18.820 --> 00:57:21.659
do what he has promised to do. We are saved by

00:57:21.659 --> 00:57:24.699
grace and that through faith. We believe and

00:57:24.699 --> 00:57:26.840
God shows up and he chooses us. He does what

00:57:26.840 --> 00:57:28.840
he wants to do and then we are saved. It's not

00:57:28.840 --> 00:57:34.079
by works. You can't get there by works. So I'm

00:57:34.079 --> 00:57:36.519
not here today to argue that we can choose a

00:57:36.519 --> 00:57:40.360
different result. Rather, having a certain result,

00:57:40.460 --> 00:57:48.800
we can choose to rise with the might of the sun.

00:57:50.519 --> 00:57:53.440
A loyal soldier is prepared to follow an order

00:57:53.440 --> 00:57:56.119
that leads to his apparent death, even one that

00:57:56.119 --> 00:58:00.090
he doesn't understand. In Luke chapter 5 and

00:58:00.090 --> 00:58:03.469
verse 1, they've been out fishing all night long

00:58:03.469 --> 00:58:07.150
and caught nothing. A boat full of ten professional

00:58:07.150 --> 00:58:09.909
fishermen. They've been out fishing all night

00:58:09.909 --> 00:58:12.150
long and caught nothing. They start to come back

00:58:12.150 --> 00:58:15.150
into shore and Jesus sees them and he's standing

00:58:15.150 --> 00:58:17.269
on the shore and he says, put out into the deep

00:58:17.269 --> 00:58:19.650
water and cast your net one more time. Now it's

00:58:19.650 --> 00:58:22.769
the heat of the day. Fish don't come to the surface

00:58:22.769 --> 00:58:24.150
in the heat of the day. You don't net fish in

00:58:24.150 --> 00:58:25.550
the heat of the day. These are professional fishermen.

00:58:25.630 --> 00:58:30.780
They know that. All they had to do was decide

00:58:30.780 --> 00:58:34.780
to do what they were told. And the great blessing

00:58:34.780 --> 00:58:38.579
was in store for them. And there are two men

00:58:38.579 --> 00:58:41.719
in that boat. Really, there are how many ever

00:58:41.719 --> 00:58:46.079
men? Two men in each body in that boat. Two types

00:58:46.079 --> 00:58:49.179
of men. One is to say, no, we've already tried

00:58:49.179 --> 00:58:51.400
all night long. We're professional fishermen.

00:58:51.760 --> 00:58:54.300
We know what we're doing. All logic, all reason,

00:58:54.440 --> 00:58:57.440
all decision making says, we're done. We're coming

00:58:57.440 --> 00:59:00.119
in. We'll try again tomorrow. How many times

00:59:00.119 --> 00:59:02.880
in the past have they said, we're done. We're

00:59:02.880 --> 00:59:04.800
coming in. We'll try again tomorrow. I don't

00:59:04.800 --> 00:59:08.099
know. It doesn't say. But there's another man

00:59:08.099 --> 00:59:10.300
in the boat. A man who understands the dynamics

00:59:10.300 --> 00:59:14.159
that we've been talking about. Men, two men in

00:59:14.159 --> 00:59:18.260
each body. One of them, Peter embraces. He says,

00:59:18.280 --> 00:59:21.139
I understand the dynamic. And he says, okay.

00:59:21.699 --> 00:59:23.380
And they put the boat back out into the deep

00:59:23.380 --> 00:59:25.860
water and they drop the net one time. One more

00:59:25.860 --> 00:59:29.630
time. As commanded. And the net is filled to

00:59:29.630 --> 00:59:32.550
bursting. And they get a greater haul than they've

00:59:32.550 --> 00:59:36.369
ever gotten. Do you know that the rebel against

00:59:36.369 --> 00:59:40.829
God lives in you? The lust of the flesh, the

00:59:40.829 --> 00:59:42.170
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life doesn't

00:59:42.170 --> 00:59:44.750
go away even if you get saved. It's still your

00:59:44.750 --> 00:59:47.989
human condition. You're going to have to get

00:59:47.989 --> 00:59:52.030
close to God and realize that God wants to be

00:59:52.030 --> 00:59:58.239
close to you. And then in so doing, follow the

00:59:58.239 --> 00:59:59.920
commands even when they don't seem to make sense,

01:00:00.079 --> 01:00:03.579
even when they're hard. You can do whatever you

01:00:03.579 --> 01:00:04.920
want in your own tent. There's nobody there.

01:00:05.000 --> 01:00:06.519
Now, in the church building, if you do it, others

01:00:06.519 --> 01:00:07.840
or believers around, somebody might hold you

01:00:07.840 --> 01:00:09.059
accountable and say, hey, why are you doing that?

01:00:09.079 --> 01:00:11.119
That's sin against God. Somebody might do that.

01:00:11.820 --> 01:00:16.159
But on your own, all alone, it's just you. You're

01:00:16.159 --> 01:00:18.880
going to have to decide to rise in the might

01:00:18.880 --> 01:00:22.159
of the Lord and do what it is that you're supposed

01:00:22.159 --> 01:00:26.739
to do. In the book of Genesis in chapter 50,

01:00:26.800 --> 01:00:29.119
we see the story of Joseph, boiling it down to

01:00:29.119 --> 01:00:31.960
one point when Joseph has now met his brothers

01:00:31.960 --> 01:00:33.860
again. They're the ones who threw him in a pit,

01:00:33.940 --> 01:00:36.860
sold him into slavery, lied to his father and

01:00:36.860 --> 01:00:40.340
told him he was dead. Now he's been exposed to

01:00:40.340 --> 01:00:41.619
them again and they think, oh, he's probably

01:00:41.619 --> 01:00:43.039
going to kill us, he's going to hurt us, whatever.

01:00:43.340 --> 01:00:45.920
And Joseph says, you meant evil against me, but

01:00:45.920 --> 01:00:48.099
God meant it for good in order to bring about

01:00:48.099 --> 01:00:52.079
this present result to preserve many people alive.

01:00:53.259 --> 01:00:55.079
See, in the moment when he could have exacted

01:00:55.079 --> 01:00:57.559
his revenge, he realized, no, God was doing something.

01:01:00.300 --> 01:01:04.860
He rose with the might of the Son. I submit to

01:01:04.860 --> 01:01:06.440
you, he'd been kind of doing that all the time.

01:01:06.440 --> 01:01:07.820
If you look back at his history, he had quite

01:01:07.820 --> 01:01:09.400
a few opportunities, and he did it over and over

01:01:09.400 --> 01:01:14.539
again. Now hear me. This is your key with the

01:01:14.539 --> 01:01:18.179
dynamics. As long as your might, as long as your

01:01:18.179 --> 01:01:25.469
might, as long as your might, Might. It also

01:01:25.469 --> 01:01:30.949
might not. You understand? As long as your might

01:01:30.949 --> 01:01:34.230
might, it might carry the day. I might do what

01:01:34.230 --> 01:01:36.349
I'm supposed to. I might make a change in my

01:01:36.349 --> 01:01:38.510
life. I might show up for church. I might show

01:01:38.510 --> 01:01:41.829
up for Bible study. I might schedule God in 168

01:01:41.829 --> 01:01:43.710
hours a week and schedule everything else out.

01:01:44.230 --> 01:01:46.769
I might find time to read my Bible. I might find

01:01:46.769 --> 01:01:49.420
time to pray. I might find time to serve. I might

01:01:49.420 --> 01:01:51.539
encourage, I might walk around with the actual

01:01:51.539 --> 01:01:54.199
intent of bringing life and happiness to anyone

01:01:54.199 --> 01:01:56.420
and everyone that I possibly can. I might share

01:01:56.420 --> 01:01:59.679
the gospel. As long as your might might, it also

01:01:59.679 --> 01:02:04.480
might not. And if it might not, then it is not

01:02:04.480 --> 01:02:09.559
the might of the Lord. I'm asking you to be decisive,

01:02:09.760 --> 01:02:15.079
creative, intelligent, faithful. Whatever it

01:02:15.079 --> 01:02:17.179
is that God has made in you to understand that

01:02:17.179 --> 01:02:19.989
as long as your might might, It also might not.

01:02:20.170 --> 01:02:22.949
And if it might not, then it is not the might

01:02:22.949 --> 01:02:25.429
of the Lord. If you want to read your Bibles,

01:02:25.449 --> 01:02:27.449
go through every single story and look for this

01:02:27.449 --> 01:02:30.070
dynamic. When God is the one who determines the

01:02:30.070 --> 01:02:33.190
outcome, what happens? God always gets the glory.

01:02:33.349 --> 01:02:35.969
The kingdom always advances. Souls get saved.

01:02:36.070 --> 01:02:39.630
People get healed. Evil gets overcome and fades

01:02:39.630 --> 01:02:43.610
away. That is the end of the story. Jesus is

01:02:43.610 --> 01:02:46.449
going to come again. And every single person

01:02:46.449 --> 01:02:49.650
is going to answer. For how they use. Now, Jesus

01:02:49.650 --> 01:02:51.369
didn't come to judge people. He didn't come to

01:02:51.369 --> 01:02:54.210
condemn you. Neither do I. But we are condemned

01:02:54.210 --> 01:02:57.929
already by what we do with the Son of God. Who

01:02:57.929 --> 01:03:00.170
died on a cross for us. Who lived a sinless life.

01:03:00.250 --> 01:03:02.909
Died, buried, rose again. And he can save your

01:03:02.909 --> 01:03:06.889
soul. The question is, have you been too endeared?

01:03:06.929 --> 01:03:09.110
Have you become too entrapped by the things that

01:03:09.110 --> 01:03:11.309
you believe in? The things that you want in this

01:03:11.309 --> 01:03:12.969
lifetime? By the teachings that someone else

01:03:12.969 --> 01:03:15.690
gave you? Your education, your wealth, your personality,

01:03:16.010 --> 01:03:17.909
your culture, your background, your track record.

01:03:18.670 --> 01:03:22.030
But just remember, we don't live alone. There

01:03:22.030 --> 01:03:25.110
is a greater investment. I had a woman that I

01:03:25.110 --> 01:03:26.829
was witnessing to, and I'd been witnessing to

01:03:26.829 --> 01:03:29.389
her for a long time. She was a professing Christian,

01:03:29.570 --> 01:03:32.590
and she kind of didn't want to live in it, but

01:03:32.590 --> 01:03:34.190
I don't judge people's salvation. That's not

01:03:34.190 --> 01:03:36.809
my job. That's God's job. But I continued to

01:03:36.809 --> 01:03:38.630
witness to her because her lifestyle was such

01:03:38.630 --> 01:03:41.429
that it didn't line up with what Jesus was teaching.

01:03:43.119 --> 01:03:46.599
And so I said to her one day, I said, you do

01:03:46.599 --> 01:03:48.179
realize that these choices that you're making

01:03:48.179 --> 01:03:50.460
do not line up with what Jesus is teaching, what

01:03:50.460 --> 01:03:53.260
the Bible teaches. And she said, yeah, she said,

01:03:53.300 --> 01:03:57.059
I figure ultimately God will just kill me. I

01:03:57.059 --> 01:04:00.400
was like, whoa. She said, he'll probably just

01:04:00.400 --> 01:04:02.679
take my life. Ultimately, he'll just take me

01:04:02.679 --> 01:04:05.099
out. I do believe in him. I also believe the

01:04:05.099 --> 01:04:06.659
Bible says there is a sin unto death. That's

01:04:06.659 --> 01:04:09.780
a sermon for a different day. And she said, I

01:04:09.780 --> 01:04:12.469
think God will just take me out. And I said,

01:04:12.489 --> 01:04:15.530
I hear you. I understand what you're saying.

01:04:16.210 --> 01:04:18.449
You want what you want. You're going to do what

01:04:18.449 --> 01:04:20.289
you're going to do. You have every right to do

01:04:20.289 --> 01:04:24.690
that. And you say you'd be okay if God just taken

01:04:24.690 --> 01:04:28.110
you out. And then I asked her a question and

01:04:28.110 --> 01:04:31.670
it stopped her in her tracks. I asked her a question

01:04:31.670 --> 01:04:33.449
and she had a look on her face like she'd seen

01:04:33.449 --> 01:04:39.829
death himself. I said, what if he doesn't? What

01:04:39.829 --> 01:04:42.190
if he doesn't take you out? What if he allows

01:04:42.190 --> 01:04:45.170
you to walk this road that you're on for as long

01:04:45.170 --> 01:04:47.550
as you want, picking that low -hanging fruit,

01:04:47.690 --> 01:04:49.369
always thinking in ignorance that you're getting

01:04:49.369 --> 01:04:53.269
away with it? Always continuing, always staying

01:04:53.269 --> 01:04:55.489
in the course, thinking you're getting away with

01:04:55.489 --> 01:04:59.010
it, with no realization of how awesome it could

01:04:59.010 --> 01:05:03.469
be if you were walking with him instead. What

01:05:03.469 --> 01:05:06.190
if he puts you in a wheelchair? Or puts you on

01:05:06.190 --> 01:05:10.750
dialysis? What if he takes away... Family members.

01:05:12.889 --> 01:05:17.670
Relationships. What if he doesn't kill you? And

01:05:17.670 --> 01:05:22.110
she said, I hadn't thought about that. About

01:05:22.110 --> 01:05:24.150
a year later, that woman called me up and she

01:05:24.150 --> 01:05:27.269
was in an absolute dark. She was in an ignorant,

01:05:27.409 --> 01:05:29.750
hurting place. And she said, I need to accept

01:05:29.750 --> 01:05:31.630
Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I know I

01:05:31.630 --> 01:05:34.969
do. I can no longer stand against God. So she

01:05:34.969 --> 01:05:36.489
was professing that she had never been saved.

01:05:36.570 --> 01:05:37.969
I said, how can it be that you've never been

01:05:37.969 --> 01:05:39.750
saved? I've shared it so many times. I've talked

01:05:39.750 --> 01:05:41.369
to you. I know people, you were a church member,

01:05:41.570 --> 01:05:44.449
all these kinds of things. And she said, you

01:05:44.449 --> 01:05:47.489
know, nobody really ever asked me. And I said,

01:05:47.510 --> 01:05:50.630
I asked you during every sermon. I submit to

01:05:50.630 --> 01:05:53.929
you, she was pushing the square root button thinking

01:05:53.929 --> 01:05:57.809
she was pushing the divide sign. I submit to

01:05:57.809 --> 01:06:01.750
you, she was holding the watch upside down. I've

01:06:01.750 --> 01:06:05.110
asked you not to do that. I've asked you not

01:06:05.110 --> 01:06:09.070
to do that. I've asked you not to do that today.

01:06:11.530 --> 01:06:15.369
I've asked you not to do that. Have you heard

01:06:15.369 --> 01:06:18.750
the dynamics of the Lord in this message? You're

01:06:18.750 --> 01:06:23.250
not alone. You're part of a whole. You're meant

01:06:23.250 --> 01:06:26.150
to rise with the might of the sun and change

01:06:26.150 --> 01:06:30.119
everyone's life around you for the good. Refusing

01:06:30.119 --> 01:06:32.559
to do so, you will at least create a vacuum of

01:06:32.559 --> 01:06:35.019
your presence if not spread uncleanness to everyone

01:06:35.019 --> 01:06:39.139
around you. Repent, turn to the Lord, and let

01:06:39.139 --> 01:06:43.420
Jesus lead your life. Let him sit on the throne.

01:06:45.139 --> 01:06:48.199
And let it change how you interact with other

01:06:48.199 --> 01:06:51.699
people and how you respond to God. I ask the

01:06:51.699 --> 01:06:53.199
praise team to come forward at this time and

01:06:53.199 --> 01:06:56.360
lead us in our closing song. As we do that, If

01:06:56.360 --> 01:06:57.800
the Lord has touched your heart and you want

01:06:57.800 --> 01:06:59.519
to give your life to the Lord in earnest today,

01:06:59.659 --> 01:07:01.980
that would mean you're going to repent from your

01:07:01.980 --> 01:07:04.079
sin. It means I'm turning away from the things

01:07:04.079 --> 01:07:06.900
that I'm doing that I should not do. I'm turning

01:07:06.900 --> 01:07:09.800
to God. I realize that he's chosen me to be saved.

01:07:10.380 --> 01:07:13.360
And if that's you, then as we sing this song,

01:07:13.460 --> 01:07:15.539
you walk forward, take my hand, we'll pray together.

01:07:16.559 --> 01:07:18.320
We'll share with the rest of the group what it

01:07:18.320 --> 01:07:22.619
is that decision that you're making today. Whatever

01:07:22.619 --> 01:07:25.050
it might be. Maybe God's calling you to a very

01:07:25.050 --> 01:07:26.929
specific thing. Say, I think I'm already saved,

01:07:26.969 --> 01:07:28.630
but God's calling me to do something specific.

01:07:29.210 --> 01:07:30.730
And you're willing to say, okay, I'm going to

01:07:30.730 --> 01:07:33.510
do what God's calling me to do today. Maybe God

01:07:33.510 --> 01:07:35.670
opened your eyes. This is something you haven't

01:07:35.670 --> 01:07:39.050
seen before. And you say, I just want to dwell

01:07:39.050 --> 01:07:40.889
on that. I want to think on that. I want to grow

01:07:40.889 --> 01:07:42.869
from that thing I learned today that I didn't

01:07:42.869 --> 01:07:44.710
previously know. Whatever it might be. And as

01:07:44.710 --> 01:07:45.070
we sing.