WEBVTT

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We're supposed to be preparing a little each

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week, ask you to read your Bibles, to pray, to

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talk to the Lord as you're walking along, to

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listen to what God might have to say to you,

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ask you to relate that to Scripture if you're

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able, and either way, whatever the Lord has said

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to you, bring it to share with us collectively

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on Sunday. This is not only a place where we

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in fellowship can talk about what it is that

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we've seen in the last seven days that God's

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been doing, how we've experienced the Lord and

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His Word, but on top of that, it's an opportunity.

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for us to kind of refine each other. And so you

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hear how others are hearing or seeing what God

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is doing. And then you think, well, I can listen

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that way. I can see that way as well. Or if someone

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would bring something we know is not quite biblical,

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not quite on the mark, then we can kind of help

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redirect that, help refine each other so that

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we can understand what it is that God is saying

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or doing in our midst. And so that is a form

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of fellowship. And I think in a way, If I could

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say this, and I feel kind of led in the spirit

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to do so, that this moment, which we have done

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for many years, is probably the sincerest form

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of fellowship in a very simple period of time

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that we have. We do a lot together. We work together.

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We eat together. We play together. We spend time

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with one another. We run ministries together.

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We have ministry meetings together. We talk and

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plan and pray. All of those things are all good.

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And when we're praying together, that is a very

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simple and very powerful and poignant form of

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fellowship, as long as everyone is actually praying.

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I think a lot of times someone leads the prayer,

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and everybody just kind of waits for it to be

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over. And so that's why we say, remember, we're

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praying along with that person to get that. So

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right now, we're in this together. Whatever somebody

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brings, we're thinking together and learning

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together on how the Lord is speaking to us. And

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so I would ask you today, what have you seen?

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What have you heard? In this last seven days,

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how has the Lord been speaking? Start with our

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day. So, since we brought up the whole vision

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casting with the church, it's got me thinking

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about more places where that same thing can apply.

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Like, for instance, just your own vision, where

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you plan on seeing yourself. And on Friday, I

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was talking to a youth group about why it's important

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to have a vision and to make sure that vision

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lines up with what God wants. Because if your

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vision lines up with... your own values and your

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own heart without God in it, it's possible you

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might achieve that, but it's also very likely

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that it's not going to be what you thought. Right.

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Like one of the examples I used is Keyshawn.

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He likes, one of his dreams is he wants to be

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an NBA. He wants to be a professional basketball

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player. And I told him if that's what God wants,

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then that's good. But I was like, now if you

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get there and it's not what God wants, it's not

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going to be what you think. So I'm like, and

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this is what we talked about on Friday, and how

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we have to make sure our values line up with

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God's values. Because if our values line up with

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our own wants, our own desires, we might achieve

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everything we want to achieve, but it's not going

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to be... satisfying. It's not going to be what

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you were expecting and it could very possibly

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be a lot worse than what you were expecting.

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You could be in a worse spot than you were from

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the beginning if you never went down that road.

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So one of the things that I brought up to him

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was that's something I feel that as a family,

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me and my wife, we need to try to do it with

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all of our kids. We need to try to have a family

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vision plan of where we want to see us and how

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we want our walk to go because let's be real

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we're all humans and we all have struggled we

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all have issues but we need to be united and

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not just as a family but we need to be united

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as an entire church so and i think that's why

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it's important that and one of the things i was

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telling them on friday is that questionnaire

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thing is something that it has to be taken seriously

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because if you just you just pencil whip through

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it you're not going to get anything out of it

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all right not going to get the godly inspiration

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if you just then this is nothing i don't need

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to worry about it you have to actually take it

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seriously put some thought into it because god

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might show you something incredible yeah many

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a quiz or chapter has been taken over the years

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that nobody really cared and it's like well just

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get the grade get on with the next thing great

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way to lose the educational experience out of

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it. Also, I go back to when I was a kid, this

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happened to something you said, when I was a

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kid, my parents used to tell me I could be anything

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I wanted to be. My dad told me at least a dozen

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times when I was growing up, I could be president

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of the United States if I wanted to. He said,

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I could be a lawyer, I could be a doctor, you

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can be anything that you want to be. And on the

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surface, I think, I always thought that was kind

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of cool. It was an encouragement. He was telling

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me, you know, you're an awesome kid, you can

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do whatever you want. But he always tailed on

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the end of that and said, you can be anything

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you want to be if you just put your mind to it.

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And I realized later that what he was saying

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was that there were a lot of things that I didn't

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put my mind to. And so he was saying that I was

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kind of flawed in a way. I was failing to be

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whatever it was that I wanted to be. And so it

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became almost like a little bit of a curse. And

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that's what happened to me when I became an adult

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for the first, until I was 25 years old. I quit

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everything. I wanted to be a French horn player,

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and I got pretty good at the French horn private

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lessons, and as soon as the teacher said, okay,

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now you're ready, you need to be in a bigger

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band, and I was playing full songs, I play all

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the scales and everything on French horn, as

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soon as he said, okay, now you're ready to be

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in a bigger band without a private lessons, I

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quit. Like the very same day, I quit. And it

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was because I knew I could be great, or at least

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according to what my dad said, I could be great,

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if I would just apply myself, but the pressure

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was too much. So I quit so many things. And so

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I think it's important as... is to catch a vision

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for what God has. I also know, and this will

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be really realistic with this, we're probably

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only going to get a picture of the vision. We're

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going to get an idea, not the exact. I was not

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going to give an outline. There's no tenfold

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laws of Christianity. The Ten Commandments are

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not the rules we follow to be saved. We are with

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a person, Jesus Christ. We have a relationship

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with him. And so it's not as easy as we cast

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this vision and then we say, we're going to hit

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that perfectly, that's who we're going to be,

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because we may only get a picture of the vision.

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We see now, as in a mirror, dimly. But then,

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face to face, I know everything. So we don't

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know, we're not going to know it all, but we

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can be led by the Lord, as you said, to get a

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picture of the vision that God wants for us.

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And it comes back to the old illustration where

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there's a man, and God told him to move this

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giant boulder out of his front yard. And he said,

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how am I going to ever move this boulder? It's

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huge. I'm telling you how to do it. Just do it.

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So he went out and he pushed against the boulder

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and it wouldn't move. And he got his shovel and

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he dug it out and dug really deep and it still

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wouldn't move. And it just seemed to be really

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bigger than he thought. It was so much bigger.

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And he pushed on the boulder and pushed on the

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boulder and pushed every day pushing on the boulder.

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And he kept complaining to God and asking God

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to let him quit. And at the end of that, he said,

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God, I've done this for years pushing on this

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boulder and I've never been able to move it.

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I've dug it up the best I can but it's just too

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heavy and I cannot move it. And God said, but

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look at what you've become. And he looked at

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himself and he was healthy and he was muscled

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and he was strong and lean and intelligent and

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all of those things that he had become in the

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process of trying to move older. And so the vision

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is better in understanding who God is making

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us out to be. It is not necessarily an understanding

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of what we will accomplish, but it is an understanding

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of what we'll be trying to do. And that's the

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goal. And so, yeah, I'm excited about it too.

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And I think, I would encourage you, for your

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family, think about the vision that God has for

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your family. And look at what's in it and what

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maybe could, maybe doesn't fit. Yes, sir. So

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I would say, and I respond on everything, my

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vision is more sporadic. And so the reason I

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say that is because it's just at work. Not everybody

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is supposed to do the same thing. If we did,

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job wouldn't get done. We need people that are

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super focused, you know, like to put a material

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in a... Press, we've got people that just work

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on the press. We've got people that just do 50%.

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But the idea is when we all come together, we

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do what we do. And there's a reason for that.

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God has instilled us with all different goals

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and maybe more focus than others and more talents

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and more strengths. But it's so the job gets

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done. And so the reason I say that is because,

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you know, my vision for me is it's always been

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sporadically. All right, God, what are we doing?

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What are we doing? What are we doing? It's never

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been like. I do this, I do this. For instance,

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I recently reached out to a brother for almost

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six months now. We have Bible study. I call him

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on the phone and we'll read the Bible. And so,

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one, it helps me read the Bible for myself, read

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with another. And two, this is a brother that's

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burned out. This is a person that is constantly

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in his thoughts, can't get out of his thoughts.

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He deals with kind of like what I kind of deal

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with, like autism, where there's something wrong

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with us that doesn't click. So we can't, I'm

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not saying move forward, but it's just like it

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stops us where people are already. Two steps

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ahead, we're half a step ahead, but we still

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can keep going. And so the reason I say that

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is, one, I've grown in what I used to thought

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I was a good listener, who said, man, I could

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really listen good, because what I used to do

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back in the day is I used to be quiet and listen

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to the person. And then, you know, they would

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get their stuff out, but that would be it. Or

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I thought back in the day, well, I know so much,

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I could expound on my knowledge, and they could

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listen to it, and they could learn from it. One

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of the reasons none of those work is because

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what they need is not me to critique them, tell

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them what to think, just listen to them. I just

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need to be there for them. And so on the phone,

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when I'm a great listener, and by the grace of

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God, I'm a great listener now, I carry this conversation.

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For instance, my friend was trying to say something.

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I was like, no, man, I want to hear what you

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got to say. And I was like, everything we're

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saying, I guarantee you, God will speak to us

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through it. And so he said this one little line.

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It might not mean nothing, but it does. He goes,

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man, it's crazy that it's said like that. And

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I started to think about that. And then, boom,

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this is where this inspirational moment comes

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from that moment. Something sparks in me. I'm

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like, you're right. This is a crazy moment. We're

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in James chapter 4. And we pretty much remember

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it says, come near to God. God will come near

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to you. Wash your hands clean, you sinners. Like

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serious stuff. And I'm like, but if you look

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in 1 Peter, it doesn't say that. If you look

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in 2 Peter, it doesn't say that. If you look

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in Isaiah and Jeremiah, you'll get some kind

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of comparison. The authenticity of the Bible

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is that's how cool it is. No verse expounds the

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other verse. It's like James is really serious,

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and Peter's really serious too, but in his own

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way he's serious. And so Peter will not say what

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James says. James will not say what Peter says.

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I think you all understand. If we all had something

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to say today, everybody would have something

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different to say. It could be the same topic,

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but in their own words. And so one thing I thank

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God for is the authenticity, the originality

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of every book being different. I can go into

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James chapter 4 and go, well, that's not 1 Peter

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chapter 1. Because I love this part about 1 Peter

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or this about Colossians 1. And so the reason

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I shared it is, one, to be a great listener.

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I'm talking to myself, too. It's not just to

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listen to people, but to help people get to where

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they're at. Help people slowly, fast, whatever

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it looks like. Because the thing is, one thing

00:14:46.740 --> 00:14:49.200
that he understands now is I'm genuine. And I

00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:50.940
thank God for that because we're brothers. And

00:14:50.940 --> 00:14:54.279
he knows my brothership is genuine. And when

00:14:54.279 --> 00:14:56.620
I call, he'll be like, you say sorry all the

00:14:56.620 --> 00:14:58.419
time, like 5 ,000 times. And I didn't say it

00:14:58.419 --> 00:15:00.080
as much. Because he realizes he doesn't have

00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:02.740
to be sorry all the time. That he does make mistakes.

00:15:03.139 --> 00:15:05.320
And that God is the one that is the author of

00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:07.500
a perfect of our faith. And these little steps.

00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:10.379
And I thank God. I thank God for anybody that

00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:14.039
helps someone grow. Because it's not us. I mean,

00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:16.720
we are being obedient. But it's by God's strength

00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:19.159
in us. Amen. That's a good word. That's a very

00:15:19.159 --> 00:15:23.019
good word. And I hear you saying. In the church,

00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:25.000
we have these different voices, and we are involved

00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:26.919
in that conversation. We have never been on the

00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:29.039
phone with somebody to talk with that guy, but

00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:31.799
we are, all of us, speaking into that conversation.

00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:34.500
And that's what it means to be a church. And

00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:36.059
when you're witnessing out there, you realize

00:15:36.059 --> 00:15:38.679
you're not witnessing just with your own authority.

00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:40.419
Obviously, you're witnessing with the authority

00:15:40.419 --> 00:15:42.899
of the Lord. But then with that, you have God's

00:15:42.899 --> 00:15:46.080
people around you. You are the church, and the

00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:49.820
church is something. The church is the being,

00:15:49.940 --> 00:15:53.990
if you will. the bride of Christ, for whom God

00:15:53.990 --> 00:15:57.149
has given the keys to the kingdom. And we are

00:15:57.149 --> 00:16:00.590
able where individually we would not be. And

00:16:00.590 --> 00:16:03.070
we can stay the course. And yes, I heard you

00:16:03.070 --> 00:16:05.570
say, we do different things. We each have a different

00:16:05.570 --> 00:16:08.450
piece that we do. But also, I would add this,

00:16:08.450 --> 00:16:11.190
realize that once you have your piece, you do

00:16:11.190 --> 00:16:13.710
that thing, and you don't bounce around and find

00:16:13.710 --> 00:16:16.090
everybody else's piece all the time. You do your

00:16:16.090 --> 00:16:18.429
thing. and you do it for God, and you do it in

00:16:18.429 --> 00:16:20.029
God's strength, and you allow other people to

00:16:20.029 --> 00:16:22.409
come alongside you to do it, and practice your

00:16:22.409 --> 00:16:25.250
way of being in Christ's fellowship. Alright,

00:16:25.250 --> 00:16:27.590
we're going to pray together at this time, and

00:16:27.590 --> 00:16:29.090
then tithes and offerings, and a little more

00:16:29.090 --> 00:16:32.210
worship. So I realize you have done the vision

00:16:32.210 --> 00:16:36.850
casting survey already. There's a question on

00:16:36.850 --> 00:16:40.870
there that says something to the effect of how

00:16:40.870 --> 00:16:44.330
often do you worship with your heart? Do you

00:16:44.330 --> 00:16:47.330
offer your heart during worship? And I read that

00:16:47.330 --> 00:16:49.929
question and I was like, oh, sometimes my heart's

00:16:49.929 --> 00:16:53.309
not all the way in it. So I just want to encourage

00:16:53.309 --> 00:16:56.909
everyone to make sure you're present and putting

00:16:56.909 --> 00:16:58.690
your heart in your worship. It's about more than

00:16:58.690 --> 00:17:01.429
just the words on a screen. It's about what's

00:17:01.429 --> 00:17:05.509
in our hearts during that time of worship. Tommy,

00:17:05.650 --> 00:17:07.009
would you lead us in prayer and we'll pray along

00:17:07.009 --> 00:17:16.640
with you as we transition. We pray for everyone

00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:20.359
here that we just redirect our minds towards

00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:23.059
you, direct the service in, just through everyday

00:17:23.059 --> 00:17:25.619
life in general. Just keep focused on you and

00:17:25.619 --> 00:17:27.680
walking down the straight and narrow path. We

00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:29.920
pray for the offering, that you would bless it,

00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:32.559
and we bless all the hands that contribute to

00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:35.519
it as well. We pray for those around here who

00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:37.619
are sick or whatever is going on within you.

00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:52.240
I speak the name of Jesus over you. In your hurting,

00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:58.559
in your sorrow, I will ask my God to move. I

00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:02.380
speak the name because it's all that I can do.

00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:10.160
In desperation, I'll seek heaven and bring us

00:18:10.160 --> 00:19:48.190
forth. That's very cute. The tears go away Then

00:19:48.190 --> 00:21:44.279
I remember The pledge you made to me Thank you.

00:24:54.349 --> 00:24:57.170
I want you to think for a moment about a time

00:24:57.170 --> 00:24:59.269
in your past, whenever it might have been. It

00:24:59.269 --> 00:25:00.930
may have been your salvation. You might say that's

00:25:00.930 --> 00:25:04.609
the only time. When you were in a difficult spot.

00:25:05.809 --> 00:25:08.190
Could be with your health, finances, relationship,

00:25:08.529 --> 00:25:11.910
whatever. And you just cried out to God. And

00:25:11.910 --> 00:25:17.230
you said, God help me. I can name several in

00:25:17.230 --> 00:25:20.130
my life. One of the most poignant times I'll

00:25:20.130 --> 00:25:23.200
never forget. And I remember like it was yesterday,

00:25:23.299 --> 00:25:25.000
even though it was a sad thing and it's one of

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:26.559
those things that you might like to maybe forget,

00:25:26.680 --> 00:25:30.759
was when Stuart passed away, Sherry's grandfather.

00:25:31.539 --> 00:25:33.500
Sherry's grandfather was very much the patriarch

00:25:33.500 --> 00:25:36.519
of his family. He was a very dynamic personality.

00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:40.380
He wasn't saved until very late in life by his

00:25:40.380 --> 00:25:42.339
profession, about six months, eight months before

00:25:42.339 --> 00:25:46.099
he passed away. He was looking for a miracle

00:25:46.099 --> 00:25:48.660
from God and had cried out a number of times

00:25:48.660 --> 00:25:51.569
to ask God to heal him from his cancer. But at

00:25:51.569 --> 00:25:53.690
the same time, he was saying, but I am ready

00:25:53.690 --> 00:25:56.809
for whatever. I've lived a long life and I'm

00:25:56.809 --> 00:25:59.410
ready to go home to be with the Lord. We had

00:25:59.410 --> 00:26:02.490
a softball game down in Walbridge. I don't know

00:26:02.490 --> 00:26:04.029
if it was a doubleheader or just a single game.

00:26:04.089 --> 00:26:05.910
I think it was probably just a single game. And

00:26:05.910 --> 00:26:08.369
we were headed out immediately after the softball

00:26:08.369 --> 00:26:11.470
game to go visit him in the nursing home in hospice

00:26:11.470 --> 00:26:16.089
where he'd been down in Maumee there and got

00:26:16.089 --> 00:26:18.690
the phone call. that he had passed away. We'd

00:26:18.690 --> 00:26:20.490
already been called in, the family had been called

00:26:20.490 --> 00:26:22.750
in, and they knew he could pass away at any time.

00:26:23.390 --> 00:26:28.130
And we'd been out many times to see him, spent

00:26:28.130 --> 00:26:31.470
hours there sitting in the room with him, talking

00:26:31.470 --> 00:26:33.529
with the family in the little side room that

00:26:33.529 --> 00:26:35.329
they had and so on. So we'd been there quite

00:26:35.329 --> 00:26:39.569
a bit, and there was nothing imminent any more

00:26:39.569 --> 00:26:41.150
than that, that he would pass away at any time.

00:26:41.170 --> 00:26:42.450
So we thought we were going to go see him again,

00:26:42.509 --> 00:26:43.930
and we got the phone call that he had passed

00:26:43.930 --> 00:26:46.980
away. And we said, well, you know, can you still

00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:49.440
go see him, visit the body, pray, whatever like

00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:51.420
that. And they said no, that the body was being

00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:54.059
taken care of by that time. And so there was

00:26:54.059 --> 00:26:55.559
no sense in trying to drive out there because

00:26:55.559 --> 00:26:56.819
you wouldn't be able to see him. You could just

00:26:56.819 --> 00:26:58.759
go in the room where he had been, but it was

00:26:58.759 --> 00:27:02.680
empty. And so we went home. And that night we

00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:04.660
lay in bed, Sherry and I, and we just kind of

00:27:04.660 --> 00:27:08.559
clung to each other and we prayed. And our hearts

00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:14.019
were heavy, not just for... The fact that he

00:27:14.019 --> 00:27:16.180
passed away, not really for that, because he'd

00:27:16.180 --> 00:27:17.619
gone to be with the Lord. We were almost certain

00:27:17.619 --> 00:27:19.019
that by his profession he'd gone with the Lord.

00:27:19.140 --> 00:27:22.700
But for the family and for our kids, whose hearts

00:27:22.700 --> 00:27:28.359
were surely breaking, and it was just a moment

00:27:28.359 --> 00:27:30.279
where we were just crying out in pain to God.

00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:32.740
You probably have a similar story or multiple

00:27:32.740 --> 00:27:35.980
stories. And the result of your crying out to

00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:39.480
God may be different. So we received comfort

00:27:39.480 --> 00:27:42.220
from the Lord, and then we proceeded on, and

00:27:42.220 --> 00:27:44.420
we have tried. sent from that day forward to

00:27:44.420 --> 00:27:48.200
live the best we knew how, taking into account

00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:50.619
what God had done in his life, taking into account

00:27:50.619 --> 00:27:53.740
the kind of man that he was. To this day, when

00:27:53.740 --> 00:27:56.579
I'm hanging drywall, I am extra careful to hang

00:27:56.579 --> 00:27:59.240
it as well as I possibly can in honor of Stuart,

00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:02.539
because one time I hung drywall, drywalled a

00:28:02.539 --> 00:28:06.240
whole wall, and Alicia and Amalia, when they

00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:07.740
were little, and we stayed there and drywalled

00:28:07.740 --> 00:28:09.779
until about 3 o 'clock in the morning on a...

00:28:10.700 --> 00:28:12.299
New Year's Eve, actually. Instead of going and

00:28:12.299 --> 00:28:13.500
doing something New Year's Eve, we went there

00:28:13.500 --> 00:28:15.000
and drywalled until 3 o 'clock in the morning.

00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:17.279
The next day, he went there and saw what we had

00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:21.619
done. He told his wife it wasn't right. He took

00:28:21.619 --> 00:28:24.519
the whole thing down by himself and redid it.

00:28:24.819 --> 00:28:27.319
The only thing he changed was there was a seam

00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:31.839
at the top that was about 12 inches tall. I had

00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:35.400
not gotten it on the stud. It was off the stud.

00:28:37.289 --> 00:28:39.509
He took all the drywall, the entire wall down,

00:28:39.569 --> 00:28:42.369
put it all back up to get that one seam on the

00:28:42.369 --> 00:28:45.769
stud. And I stubbornly refused to go and help

00:28:45.769 --> 00:28:47.210
him when I found out that he was doing it. I'm

00:28:47.210 --> 00:28:49.529
like, it's fine. It's fine. It really wasn't

00:28:49.529 --> 00:28:50.930
fine, but it wouldn't have taken much to fix

00:28:50.930 --> 00:28:52.289
that one little spot without tearing down the

00:28:52.289 --> 00:28:55.289
whole wall. But that was the care that he had

00:28:55.289 --> 00:28:57.509
for making things right. And so every time I

00:28:57.509 --> 00:28:59.130
drywall, I remember that. So the point is now

00:28:59.130 --> 00:29:02.049
we live in honor of what God did in those circumstances.

00:29:02.250 --> 00:29:04.250
You may have cried out for healing and didn't

00:29:04.250 --> 00:29:06.559
get it. I've seen people do that. You may have

00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:10.039
cried out for help in your finances and didn't

00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:11.640
get it or didn't get it the way you wanted it.

00:29:11.819 --> 00:29:13.759
You may have cried out for help in your job situation,

00:29:14.039 --> 00:29:15.859
make my job better, make that person go away,

00:29:15.859 --> 00:29:17.779
leave me alone, stop me from being persecuted,

00:29:18.180 --> 00:29:20.359
stop me from trials and struggles, whatever it

00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:23.059
might be, the condition of my body. It could

00:29:23.059 --> 00:29:24.720
be anything. And you may have cried out to God

00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:26.759
and you may not have gotten the answer that you

00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:29.400
expected, but you realize that after having cried

00:29:29.400 --> 00:29:34.700
out to the Lord, you have to live. with what

00:29:34.700 --> 00:29:37.759
happened in that moment in mind. You're a new

00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:40.079
person now. Either you cried out and didn't get

00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:41.740
it, which means now you realize sometime in the

00:29:41.740 --> 00:29:44.140
future you may cry out and not get the exact

00:29:44.140 --> 00:29:46.579
aid the way you want it, and you have to take

00:29:46.579 --> 00:29:50.519
that into account. Or you may say, well, I cried

00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:52.660
out and I received it one time and I didn't another.

00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:54.200
That's probably most of our experience. Like

00:29:54.200 --> 00:29:55.759
one time you receive what you think is a miraculous

00:29:55.759 --> 00:29:57.299
intervention, another time it doesn't seem that

00:29:57.299 --> 00:29:59.000
God really intervenes other than to provide you

00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:00.759
with some comfort for what you're going through,

00:30:00.900 --> 00:30:03.359
and you have to live in light of that. When I

00:30:03.359 --> 00:30:05.980
was in Bible college, and we're going to go into

00:30:05.980 --> 00:30:07.220
the text right after this, when I was in Bible

00:30:07.220 --> 00:30:09.779
college, I had to write a paper about why God

00:30:09.779 --> 00:30:13.759
doesn't do miracles anymore. And I was in a class

00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:16.279
of 45 people, and we all had to write a paper

00:30:16.279 --> 00:30:19.839
about why God doesn't do miracles anymore. And

00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:22.140
I took the risk. I knew that there was a substantial

00:30:22.140 --> 00:30:23.460
possibility I would get a poor grade because

00:30:23.460 --> 00:30:26.759
the paper I wrote was that the question is wrong.

00:30:26.859 --> 00:30:29.599
God does still do miracles. And out of 45 people,

00:30:29.720 --> 00:30:31.809
and the professor later would tell me, It was

00:30:31.809 --> 00:30:34.849
a sophomore level theology class that I was writing

00:30:34.849 --> 00:30:37.869
it in. And he said out of about 150 sophomores

00:30:37.869 --> 00:30:39.609
taking that class every year for the last 10

00:30:39.609 --> 00:30:41.289
years that he had taught it, nobody had ever

00:30:41.289 --> 00:30:44.410
written a thesis saying God still does miracles.

00:30:45.410 --> 00:30:49.190
And that was more heartbreaking than had I handled

00:30:49.190 --> 00:30:50.730
it some other way because I'm like, well, I know

00:30:50.730 --> 00:30:53.670
God does miracles. And then in my essay, I was

00:30:53.670 --> 00:30:55.069
able to write some of the miracles that I had

00:30:55.069 --> 00:30:58.650
seen that God had done. and also support it biblically,

00:30:58.730 --> 00:31:00.569
that there's no reason. There's really only one

00:31:00.569 --> 00:31:02.769
text that you can use to support that God doesn't

00:31:02.769 --> 00:31:04.710
do miracles anymore, and it's misinterpreted

00:31:04.710 --> 00:31:06.829
to do that. The Bible clearly teaches that God

00:31:06.829 --> 00:31:09.190
still does miracles. And I thought, so you're

00:31:09.190 --> 00:31:11.329
trying to tell me that out of the, whatever,

00:31:11.569 --> 00:31:13.869
1 ,400 students, they all accepted that? And

00:31:13.869 --> 00:31:16.170
we know that's not true, right? Really what happened

00:31:16.170 --> 00:31:18.029
was they just wrote the assignment. They did

00:31:18.029 --> 00:31:20.509
what they were told. They probably believed that

00:31:20.509 --> 00:31:22.920
God does still do miracles. But they just wrote

00:31:22.920 --> 00:31:24.259
the assignment because the assignment was why

00:31:24.259 --> 00:31:26.380
doesn't God do miracles? So they wrote why God

00:31:26.380 --> 00:31:28.119
doesn't do miracles anymore. And maybe they came

00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:29.940
away from that experience saying, well, God doesn't

00:31:29.940 --> 00:31:31.700
do miracles anymore. And I submit to you that

00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:33.579
when you cry out to God and ask for his help

00:31:33.579 --> 00:31:35.640
and he doesn't answer or he answers in a way

00:31:35.640 --> 00:31:38.619
that doesn't show up in power and change the

00:31:38.619 --> 00:31:40.099
circumstances to be everything you want it to

00:31:40.099 --> 00:31:43.039
be, it's easy to say, well, God doesn't do miracles

00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:45.319
anymore. Because the alternative is you have

00:31:45.319 --> 00:31:47.420
to look at how do you live in light of the fact

00:31:47.420 --> 00:31:49.839
that God does miracles but didn't do a miracle

00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:53.230
for you right then. So we're going to look at

00:31:53.230 --> 00:31:57.289
a text today where God's people are in a very

00:31:57.289 --> 00:31:59.150
unique situation. We'll look at what that unique

00:31:59.150 --> 00:32:01.910
situation is, and then the situation that they're

00:32:01.910 --> 00:32:04.950
in is going to inform us about how we need to

00:32:04.950 --> 00:32:07.970
think about when we're crying out to God for

00:32:07.970 --> 00:32:11.509
help. But we're going to see that the very unique

00:32:11.509 --> 00:32:14.730
situation that they were in matched up with the

00:32:14.730 --> 00:32:17.950
fact that God is a God who provides help for

00:32:17.950 --> 00:32:20.690
his people, that he is a stronghold for his people.

00:32:21.230 --> 00:32:24.089
God exactly tells us why. Sometimes, not necessarily

00:32:24.089 --> 00:32:26.490
always. This is not a big, broad brush that paints

00:32:26.490 --> 00:32:28.049
every time you would ever cry out to the Lord,

00:32:28.150 --> 00:32:30.390
right? But sometimes why God doesn't answer.

00:32:31.170 --> 00:32:33.829
Okay? So grab your Bibles if you would, and maybe

00:32:33.829 --> 00:32:35.549
give me a little who to holler amen as we go

00:32:35.549 --> 00:32:39.490
to Judges chapter 6. Amen. This is God's Word,

00:32:39.650 --> 00:32:41.750
Judges chapter 6. We have been going through

00:32:41.750 --> 00:32:43.789
the book, and basically what we've had so far

00:32:43.789 --> 00:32:46.170
is three other instances where the Israelites

00:32:46.170 --> 00:32:49.549
have strayed into sin. And in every case, they

00:32:49.549 --> 00:32:51.410
cry out to God in the suffering that arises.

00:32:51.630 --> 00:32:55.170
And in every case, God has answered. And he did

00:32:55.170 --> 00:32:57.769
so by sending judges, or what we are calling

00:32:57.769 --> 00:33:00.289
deliverers, because we think maybe the book would

00:33:00.289 --> 00:33:02.069
be better called the book of deliverers than

00:33:02.069 --> 00:33:03.849
the book of judges, because not even all of them

00:33:03.849 --> 00:33:06.759
are judges, for example. One of them starts out

00:33:06.759 --> 00:33:08.720
as a judge and then the rest of them kind of

00:33:08.720 --> 00:33:11.539
gain that status. But none of them, it shows

00:33:11.539 --> 00:33:13.720
really that they become statuses, judges of the

00:33:13.720 --> 00:33:16.559
whole of Israel. OK, so it could be called the

00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:18.160
deliverers, but it's always been called the book

00:33:18.160 --> 00:33:22.000
of judges. And it is the period where if they

00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:24.420
had rulers leading them, they were judges. They

00:33:24.420 --> 00:33:26.279
didn't have kings. And so that's why it's called

00:33:26.279 --> 00:33:28.799
the book of judges. Right. So here we go. Judges

00:33:28.799 --> 00:33:32.119
6 -1. Then the sons of Israel did what was evil

00:33:32.119 --> 00:33:34.519
in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them

00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:38.700
into the hands of Midian seven years. Now, what

00:33:38.700 --> 00:33:40.420
we're going to see in just a second is it's not

00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:43.140
just Midian that's the problem, but Midian gets

00:33:43.140 --> 00:33:47.039
the capital emphasis here. Now, just briefly

00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:48.920
for a second, if you go back into the history

00:33:48.920 --> 00:33:50.519
of Midian, like if you go back into the book

00:33:50.519 --> 00:33:53.480
of Exodus, for example, Midian has a great reputation

00:33:53.480 --> 00:33:57.329
overall. So they accepted Moses when he was in

00:33:57.329 --> 00:33:59.609
flight from Egypt, and he married his wife there.

00:33:59.769 --> 00:34:02.630
His father -in -law even had an early role in

00:34:02.630 --> 00:34:04.670
the structure of the country of Israel because

00:34:04.670 --> 00:34:06.910
he gave Moses an encouragement and said, look,

00:34:06.970 --> 00:34:08.889
you can't do all the judging yourself. You can't

00:34:08.889 --> 00:34:10.610
make all the rules and set everything yourself.

00:34:10.690 --> 00:34:13.409
You're wearing yourself out. So set some good

00:34:13.409 --> 00:34:17.210
men and some judges over the rest of the story,

00:34:17.429 --> 00:34:19.010
basically over the rest of the questions that

00:34:19.010 --> 00:34:20.690
are arising, and don't try to handle everything

00:34:20.690 --> 00:34:22.590
yourself, but set some others to do those things.

00:34:22.670 --> 00:34:25.690
So that's Jethro, and he had a Big impact in

00:34:25.690 --> 00:34:29.329
that. And then, so it was good for a while. Now,

00:34:29.429 --> 00:34:32.389
there's also some downside, like Joseph was sold

00:34:32.389 --> 00:34:34.969
into slavery and the Midianites facilitated his

00:34:34.969 --> 00:34:37.210
sale into slavery. Now, they didn't know necessarily

00:34:37.210 --> 00:34:39.010
that he was the chosen one of God or anything

00:34:39.010 --> 00:34:41.469
like that, right? But his brothers sold him to

00:34:41.469 --> 00:34:43.230
Midianite traders who took him into Egypt and

00:34:43.230 --> 00:34:44.909
sold him. That's not so great, but they were

00:34:44.909 --> 00:34:46.409
just making a living and they didn't really know.

00:34:46.530 --> 00:34:48.750
And slavery was a thing. And so if he was told,

00:34:48.789 --> 00:34:50.369
he said that he was a slave, he didn't have rights

00:34:50.369 --> 00:34:52.530
to himself, then they could sell him. That makes

00:34:52.530 --> 00:34:56.920
legal sense. And then also the Midianites, by

00:34:56.920 --> 00:35:00.619
now, they've been targeted as a people that stand

00:35:00.619 --> 00:35:03.840
opposite God's people. And even before this,

00:35:03.900 --> 00:35:05.940
we see that they had said, hey, we're going to

00:35:05.940 --> 00:35:08.320
stand against the Midianites because of the way

00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:10.920
they treated us when we came out of Egypt. So

00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:14.260
the Midianites become the enemy in this story.

00:35:14.380 --> 00:35:17.039
But notice that maybe even in the verse, we can

00:35:17.039 --> 00:35:18.460
see that it's really not the Midianites who are

00:35:18.460 --> 00:35:28.800
the enemy. It says, So you're almost kind of

00:35:28.800 --> 00:35:31.239
like, it's God who's the enemy, right? God is

00:35:31.239 --> 00:35:33.219
the one who gave them into the hands of the Midianites.

00:35:33.980 --> 00:35:36.780
And we know that when God stood with them during

00:35:36.780 --> 00:35:40.119
the book of Joshua, for example, that one Israelite

00:35:40.119 --> 00:35:43.000
soldier was worth over 20 enemy soldiers, and

00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:46.300
now they cannot stop Midian. But it's not just

00:35:46.300 --> 00:35:50.570
Midian, as we'll see. It says, The power of Midian

00:35:50.570 --> 00:35:55.570
prevailed against Israel because of Midian, the

00:35:55.570 --> 00:35:58.030
sons of Israel made for themselves the dens which

00:35:58.030 --> 00:36:01.989
were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.

00:36:01.989 --> 00:36:04.550
Now, it's interesting right there. In that text,

00:36:04.690 --> 00:36:06.789
there are three separate Hebrew words. You'll

00:36:06.789 --> 00:36:09.010
remember that we're kind of in an area of the

00:36:09.010 --> 00:36:12.349
Bible. It's very, very old Hebrew, okay? And

00:36:12.349 --> 00:36:14.730
there are three separate Hebrew words that are

00:36:14.730 --> 00:36:18.260
used here, and I'll slaughter them. to the best

00:36:18.260 --> 00:36:23.900
of my ability. It's minharot, metorot, and mesadot.

00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:26.079
So you can see they kind of have very similar

00:36:26.079 --> 00:36:28.619
sounding words. That's the only reason I'm reading

00:36:28.619 --> 00:36:29.699
the Hebrew to you, is you can see that they're

00:36:29.699 --> 00:36:32.699
kind of very similar sounding words. And they

00:36:32.699 --> 00:36:36.039
are mountain clefts. You can picture in your

00:36:36.039 --> 00:36:38.539
mind what a mountain cleft is. It's like a hole

00:36:38.539 --> 00:36:40.760
in the rock. You go back in there, maybe like

00:36:40.760 --> 00:36:43.119
a little box canyon or valley or something. You

00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:46.480
go in there, and you're guarded on sides. A mountain

00:36:46.480 --> 00:36:49.010
cleft. And then there's caves. Well, we know

00:36:49.010 --> 00:36:51.969
what a cave is. A cave is something you go back

00:36:51.969 --> 00:36:53.969
into and you get out of view and you might have

00:36:53.969 --> 00:36:56.630
some windings back in there, that kind of thing.

00:36:56.690 --> 00:37:00.070
We know what a cave is. And then there's the

00:37:00.070 --> 00:37:03.369
strongholds. And so these are more like constructed

00:37:03.369 --> 00:37:07.269
places that are easily defensible, right? And

00:37:07.269 --> 00:37:13.710
so the bottom line is they were... living or

00:37:13.710 --> 00:37:16.389
retreating back into these areas and making them

00:37:16.389 --> 00:37:19.210
defensible, the dens, the caves, and the strongholds.

00:37:19.630 --> 00:37:22.789
Then it says in verse 3, For it was when Israel

00:37:22.789 --> 00:37:25.369
had sown, that means they put the seed in the

00:37:25.369 --> 00:37:27.989
ground, that the Midianites would come up with

00:37:27.989 --> 00:37:30.650
the Amalekites, we've already seen them as enemies,

00:37:30.949 --> 00:37:34.929
and the sons of the east, and that word right

00:37:34.929 --> 00:37:37.010
there is not well translated. It was called the

00:37:37.010 --> 00:37:38.530
sons of the east, but the truth is they don't

00:37:38.530 --> 00:37:41.880
really know what people group. was being given

00:37:41.880 --> 00:37:45.380
that third place right there. And so it was probably

00:37:45.380 --> 00:37:48.880
a mess of people from various places, the sons

00:37:48.880 --> 00:37:51.000
of the east, and it would go up against them.

00:37:51.239 --> 00:37:53.480
So this is when the Israelites had sown the seed,

00:37:53.500 --> 00:37:54.900
the crops are growing in the field. Now this

00:37:54.900 --> 00:37:57.440
mass of people moves into their country. Verse

00:37:57.440 --> 00:37:59.760
four, almost done with the text. So they would

00:37:59.760 --> 00:38:02.599
camp against them and destroy the produce of

00:38:02.599 --> 00:38:05.199
the earth as far as Gaza. And Gaza was that.

00:38:05.690 --> 00:38:07.110
We're not looking at a map right now, but it

00:38:07.110 --> 00:38:09.610
was that kind of border town. We know, we studied

00:38:09.610 --> 00:38:11.969
this back, especially on Tuesday nights a couple

00:38:11.969 --> 00:38:13.829
months back, as far as Gaza, which means they

00:38:13.829 --> 00:38:15.690
went from the east, they went all the way to

00:38:15.690 --> 00:38:17.550
the west, because Gaza's on the west border.

00:38:17.809 --> 00:38:19.969
And it says, and they would leave no sustenance

00:38:19.969 --> 00:38:24.289
in Israel, as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey.

00:38:24.690 --> 00:38:28.829
Did you get that? So no crops, no sustenance,

00:38:28.829 --> 00:38:30.769
nothing for them to live off of, as well as no

00:38:30.769 --> 00:38:33.989
sheep, ox, or donkey. They were taking everything.

00:38:34.269 --> 00:38:37.570
They were cleaning them out. For they would come

00:38:37.570 --> 00:38:40.289
up with their livestock and their tents, and

00:38:40.289 --> 00:38:43.670
they would come in like locusts for number. Both

00:38:43.670 --> 00:38:47.670
they and their camels were innumerable. That

00:38:47.670 --> 00:38:48.969
means there was no way you could count them.

00:38:49.130 --> 00:38:51.829
And they came into the land to devastate it.

00:38:52.469 --> 00:38:54.530
They had a particular thing in mind. They were

00:38:54.530 --> 00:38:56.630
going to reap everything they could. They were

00:38:56.630 --> 00:38:58.329
going to take everything that was left that they

00:38:58.329 --> 00:39:02.070
could get access to. Verse 6. So Israel was brought

00:39:02.070 --> 00:39:05.130
very low, and there's a very interesting word

00:39:05.130 --> 00:39:07.690
there in the original language for very low.

00:39:07.829 --> 00:39:11.190
I'll get back to it in a second. Because of Midian,

00:39:11.329 --> 00:39:14.829
and the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.

00:39:15.090 --> 00:39:16.969
And so it brings them to that moment in time

00:39:16.969 --> 00:39:21.250
where they cry out to the Lord. Okay? And that's

00:39:21.250 --> 00:39:23.070
what we're talking about today. Now that word

00:39:23.070 --> 00:39:24.469
that I mentioned to you in there where it says

00:39:24.469 --> 00:39:27.150
it brought them low is a Hebrew word. Again,

00:39:27.230 --> 00:39:29.449
you don't have to remember this, but it's essentially...

00:39:31.470 --> 00:39:36.789
And it means to become small. It means to become

00:39:36.789 --> 00:39:40.889
insignificant. Right? That's what it means. So

00:39:40.889 --> 00:39:43.750
what we have going on here is there is a victorious

00:39:43.750 --> 00:39:46.050
people. Let's be straightforward about who we're

00:39:46.050 --> 00:39:48.030
talking about. The Israelites are a victorious

00:39:48.030 --> 00:39:51.550
people. They took this land with God's help and

00:39:51.550 --> 00:39:53.730
there were crops already growing and towns already

00:39:53.730 --> 00:39:55.750
built. And they moved into other people's houses

00:39:55.750 --> 00:39:58.889
and they themselves harvested other... crops

00:39:58.889 --> 00:40:00.550
that had been grown there that were not theirs

00:40:00.550 --> 00:40:03.130
they didn't plant them right and since then they

00:40:03.130 --> 00:40:05.650
have been a victorious people and they now have

00:40:05.650 --> 00:40:09.329
been brought low by a series of compromising

00:40:09.329 --> 00:40:13.260
value decisions they have slid further and further

00:40:13.260 --> 00:40:15.800
into doing what God would not want them to do.

00:40:15.900 --> 00:40:17.300
And they didn't do it overnight. They didn't

00:40:17.300 --> 00:40:18.579
do it instantly. They didn't say, well, we're

00:40:18.579 --> 00:40:19.639
just going to walk away from the Lord. In fact,

00:40:19.659 --> 00:40:21.880
they had the opportunity at the end of the book

00:40:21.880 --> 00:40:24.000
of Joshua where Joshua said, if it seems too

00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:25.739
difficult for you to follow God the way I'm talking

00:40:25.739 --> 00:40:27.860
about doing that, then pick one of these other

00:40:27.860 --> 00:40:29.619
gods, the gods from the land that you came from

00:40:29.619 --> 00:40:31.320
or the gods from the land across the river. Pick

00:40:31.320 --> 00:40:33.519
one of them and make them your God because if

00:40:33.519 --> 00:40:36.239
this is too hard for you, you're just going to

00:40:36.239 --> 00:40:39.590
make an enemy of God. And they said, no, no,

00:40:39.630 --> 00:40:41.909
we will stay for him. So they did not one day

00:40:41.909 --> 00:40:43.670
just switch it off like a light switch and say,

00:40:43.710 --> 00:40:45.110
we're walking away from the Lord, we're not going

00:40:45.110 --> 00:40:47.309
to live for Jesus anymore. Rather, through a

00:40:47.309 --> 00:40:50.449
series of compromising value decisions, they

00:40:50.449 --> 00:40:54.130
did evil in his sight. And we don't know for

00:40:54.130 --> 00:40:56.090
sure what evil in his sight they were doing during

00:40:56.090 --> 00:40:58.630
this time. The specifics are not laid out. They

00:40:58.630 --> 00:41:01.769
might not have specifically gone back to following

00:41:01.769 --> 00:41:05.289
false gods. At this point in the story, we don't

00:41:05.289 --> 00:41:07.650
actually know for sure what the evil was they

00:41:07.650 --> 00:41:11.050
were doing, but we can see one part of it for

00:41:11.050 --> 00:41:13.030
sure. Clearly in the text, you should have already

00:41:13.030 --> 00:41:15.550
seen it by now. There is an evil that Israel

00:41:15.550 --> 00:41:19.789
is doing that is very clear in the text and it's

00:41:19.789 --> 00:41:23.750
made to sound like it's a good thing. And in

00:41:23.750 --> 00:41:25.869
their minds, it probably was. Remember that the

00:41:25.869 --> 00:41:27.849
greatest problem in the book of Judges is that

00:41:27.849 --> 00:41:30.269
the people do what they think they should do

00:41:30.269 --> 00:41:32.670
rather than doing what God would have them to

00:41:32.670 --> 00:41:36.500
do. by his direction. So what we have then is

00:41:36.500 --> 00:41:40.619
a victorious people brought low by a series of

00:41:40.619 --> 00:41:45.099
compromising value decisions. They did evil in

00:41:45.099 --> 00:41:49.940
his sight. Notice also that there is here a people

00:41:49.940 --> 00:41:53.159
that exercise their ability to adjust. Things

00:41:53.159 --> 00:41:55.719
have gotten difficult. I'm hurting right now.

00:41:55.980 --> 00:41:59.300
I need this to deal with my stress. My triggers

00:41:59.300 --> 00:42:02.019
are being stomped on, so now I know that that's

00:42:02.019 --> 00:42:03.539
what triggers me, so I have to take certain steps,

00:42:03.619 --> 00:42:06.139
coping mechanisms, whatever. I have to take medicines

00:42:06.139 --> 00:42:10.280
for my ailments. I have to run away and get some

00:42:10.280 --> 00:42:12.059
rest, some quiet. I have to count to ten and

00:42:12.059 --> 00:42:14.400
walk away because this is making me mad. So we

00:42:14.400 --> 00:42:17.300
have a people adjusting, and they're using what

00:42:17.300 --> 00:42:19.260
would basically be considered worldly wisdom.

00:42:19.320 --> 00:42:21.079
What are you going to do if somebody invades

00:42:21.079 --> 00:42:23.599
your land and there is a safe place in the hills?

00:42:23.780 --> 00:42:26.800
What do you do? Well, you run to the hills. That's

00:42:26.800 --> 00:42:30.190
very logical. They're just adjusting to the day.

00:42:30.289 --> 00:42:34.010
In fact, even Ecclesiastes says there is a time

00:42:34.010 --> 00:42:36.750
for everything. So by all rights, they could

00:42:36.750 --> 00:42:40.230
argue this is the time to run. This is the time

00:42:40.230 --> 00:42:41.590
to hide in the mountains. We've just got to survive

00:42:41.590 --> 00:42:44.070
the day. And then we'll come back later and do

00:42:44.070 --> 00:42:46.800
something different. Right? So we flee into the

00:42:46.800 --> 00:42:48.599
strongholds. That just makes sense. We're going

00:42:48.599 --> 00:42:50.480
to exercise our ability to adjust. But it's more

00:42:50.480 --> 00:42:53.260
than that. They were creating. They turned those

00:42:53.260 --> 00:42:56.079
caves and those clefts and the strongholds that

00:42:56.079 --> 00:42:58.800
already existed into a society. They became a

00:42:58.800 --> 00:43:02.900
people hiding out in the mountains for a generation.

00:43:04.159 --> 00:43:07.380
They became a people for which that was the new

00:43:07.380 --> 00:43:10.760
normal, to just get by and to do the best they

00:43:10.760 --> 00:43:13.119
could with what they had. Again, doesn't that

00:43:13.119 --> 00:43:16.630
sound pretty good? They were creating in the

00:43:16.630 --> 00:43:21.269
mountains. And they persisted to survive. Oh,

00:43:21.289 --> 00:43:23.809
now wait a second. So they did wickedly. They

00:43:23.809 --> 00:43:26.449
didn't do what God wanted them to do. God allows

00:43:26.449 --> 00:43:28.610
the Midianites to get up over on top of them.

00:43:29.130 --> 00:43:31.269
And then they say, well, we're going to do what

00:43:31.269 --> 00:43:33.869
we have to do to survive. See, what they actually

00:43:33.869 --> 00:43:37.510
did was they doubled down. They doubled down

00:43:37.510 --> 00:43:39.989
on not doing what God would have them to do.

00:43:40.030 --> 00:43:42.619
There are some things. Let's be very clear and

00:43:42.619 --> 00:43:44.980
very simple about this. There are some things

00:43:44.980 --> 00:43:49.820
that God requires of you now as a believer. And

00:43:49.820 --> 00:43:51.420
if we go out in the world and we look at people

00:43:51.420 --> 00:43:53.480
who claim to be Christians, what you will find

00:43:53.480 --> 00:43:56.000
is that many of them are not doing some of the

00:43:56.000 --> 00:43:58.780
things that God is requiring of them as a believer.

00:43:59.019 --> 00:44:01.079
You can say, well, I'm not 100 % sure the Bible

00:44:01.079 --> 00:44:03.059
teaches certain things. If you want to do that,

00:44:03.059 --> 00:44:04.820
you can start to debate those things and you

00:44:04.820 --> 00:44:08.099
can adapt. Adjust, bless you. You can adapt and

00:44:08.099 --> 00:44:11.079
adjust and even create out of that, right? I

00:44:11.079 --> 00:44:13.800
know, for example, on university campuses, they

00:44:13.800 --> 00:44:16.780
teach a certain lifestyle is acceptable. And

00:44:16.780 --> 00:44:18.340
there's a group that will go in there, thousands

00:44:18.340 --> 00:44:20.179
of them, and they will teach anyone who will

00:44:20.179 --> 00:44:22.199
listen. They know that that's a very formative

00:44:22.199 --> 00:44:24.179
time and they will teach them that these things

00:44:24.179 --> 00:44:25.920
are acceptable to do things that they are not

00:44:25.920 --> 00:44:29.079
really supposed to do, according to God. And

00:44:29.079 --> 00:44:30.960
they teach them that they don't have to do what

00:44:30.960 --> 00:44:33.019
it is that they're supposed to do. And the same

00:44:33.019 --> 00:44:34.820
thing is happening to you and the same thing

00:44:34.820 --> 00:44:36.639
is happening to me. But if you know what it is

00:44:36.639 --> 00:44:39.960
that God is calling you to do, then you can stop

00:44:39.960 --> 00:44:42.619
using, exercising your ability to adjust and

00:44:42.619 --> 00:44:44.420
not doing the thing that God was calling you

00:44:44.420 --> 00:44:45.579
to do. And you can say, well, I'm going to do

00:44:45.579 --> 00:44:47.480
it. If it kills me, I'm going to do it. If I

00:44:47.480 --> 00:44:49.219
spend my blood, sweat and tears and I have nothing

00:44:49.219 --> 00:44:50.940
left at the end of the day, I'm going to do what

00:44:50.940 --> 00:44:52.300
it is that I know I'm supposed to do for the

00:44:52.300 --> 00:44:54.980
Lord. You can do that. Or you can, like this

00:44:54.980 --> 00:44:57.900
people, exercise your ability to adjust, create,

00:44:58.059 --> 00:45:00.739
and even persist to survive the ramifications

00:45:00.739 --> 00:45:04.340
or the results of your own decisions. The truth

00:45:04.340 --> 00:45:07.280
is, they held up pretty well. All things considered,

00:45:07.460 --> 00:45:10.059
they retreated to the mountains and they survived

00:45:10.059 --> 00:45:13.260
as a society when, by all rights, faced with

00:45:13.260 --> 00:45:18.019
an overwhelming foe, innumerable camels, and

00:45:18.019 --> 00:45:21.659
warriors attached. They would take in everything.

00:45:21.780 --> 00:45:24.119
And you figure the first time they came in, everybody's

00:45:24.119 --> 00:45:26.019
like, whoa, holy cow, here comes an army. It's

00:45:26.019 --> 00:45:27.699
more than we are. They're obviously ready. Whatever,

00:45:27.840 --> 00:45:31.639
let's retreat to the hills. Then they left. Whew.

00:45:32.639 --> 00:45:35.920
Escaped that one. Made it through. Plant the

00:45:35.920 --> 00:45:37.559
next year. Man, we're hungry. This is tough.

00:45:37.780 --> 00:45:39.559
We have enough seed to plant, but that's really

00:45:39.559 --> 00:45:42.440
all we have. So let's plant. We need to survive.

00:45:42.820 --> 00:45:45.820
So they planted. Then when it comes time to get

00:45:45.820 --> 00:45:47.380
close to the harvest, the plants are growing.

00:45:47.519 --> 00:45:48.739
They don't have to be ready to harvest, but the

00:45:48.739 --> 00:45:50.880
plants are growing. Here they come again, these

00:45:50.880 --> 00:45:53.139
armies from the east, and they move in and they

00:45:53.139 --> 00:45:56.659
take everything. The Israelites retreat to the

00:45:56.659 --> 00:45:59.900
hills. Pretty soon, the only people that are

00:45:59.900 --> 00:46:03.579
surviving are the people that are capable of

00:46:03.579 --> 00:46:06.820
retreating to the hills, into the fortified strongholds,

00:46:06.820 --> 00:46:08.480
into the clefts, into the caves. You see what's

00:46:08.480 --> 00:46:12.449
happening? So now we have this image. of a people

00:46:12.449 --> 00:46:15.250
that exercise their great ability to adjust,

00:46:15.530 --> 00:46:18.469
to create, and to persist, to survive the ramifications

00:46:18.469 --> 00:46:21.329
of their decisions, but the pathway that they

00:46:21.329 --> 00:46:23.610
have into the mountains is not a pathway that

00:46:23.610 --> 00:46:27.210
everyone can walk. So to relate this to spiritual

00:46:27.210 --> 00:46:32.289
warfare, we come to church. We serve God. We

00:46:32.289 --> 00:46:36.150
tithe. We exercise control of our money and our

00:46:36.150 --> 00:46:39.170
health the best we can in the situation that

00:46:39.170 --> 00:46:41.599
we're in. But the truth is, are we not? Living

00:46:41.599 --> 00:46:43.639
out the ramifications of the decisions that we

00:46:43.639 --> 00:46:45.699
made before. If you're not happy with the condition

00:46:45.699 --> 00:46:47.719
of your body, that's probably true. If you're

00:46:47.719 --> 00:46:49.260
not happy with the condition of the relationships,

00:46:49.639 --> 00:46:51.940
that's probably true. Oh, you expected God to

00:46:51.940 --> 00:46:53.679
run your body, your relationships, your job,

00:46:53.699 --> 00:46:56.679
your finances, your mouth for you. Since you

00:46:56.679 --> 00:46:58.239
became a Christian, God was going to do all that,

00:46:58.280 --> 00:47:01.059
run all of that for you so that you could have

00:47:01.059 --> 00:47:02.760
the perfect life for the rest of your life. That's

00:47:02.760 --> 00:47:04.960
not even the gospel that we teach. That's not

00:47:04.960 --> 00:47:07.500
what the Bible says. You have responsibilities

00:47:07.500 --> 00:47:10.949
in the Lord. And if you do not. work those responsibilities,

00:47:11.130 --> 00:47:12.250
you know, do the things that God would have you

00:47:12.250 --> 00:47:15.750
to do, then the results are you wind up creating

00:47:15.750 --> 00:47:18.489
for yourself a space, a vision, if you will,

00:47:18.590 --> 00:47:22.590
an idea of who you are that can persist. And

00:47:22.590 --> 00:47:25.090
you see lots and lots of Christians. So we have

00:47:25.090 --> 00:47:29.030
churches that have, we have it right here, 25,

00:47:29.150 --> 00:47:31.750
30 people, 40 people meeting on a Sunday or whatever,

00:47:31.909 --> 00:47:35.219
and then there's no new people coming. And nobody's

00:47:35.219 --> 00:47:37.599
inviting anybody, and nobody's sharing the gospel

00:47:37.599 --> 00:47:40.400
out in the trenches or wherever you work or play

00:47:40.400 --> 00:47:43.860
or eat, whatever, because you're faithful. You're

00:47:43.860 --> 00:47:46.380
strong. You're able. When Sherry and I were young

00:47:46.380 --> 00:47:48.019
Christians, very young Christians, they asked

00:47:48.019 --> 00:47:50.219
us to teach a Sunday school class at East Little

00:47:50.219 --> 00:47:52.539
Baptist Church. And we didn't share the gospel,

00:47:52.559 --> 00:47:54.159
not early on. We taught while I was in the lesson,

00:47:54.179 --> 00:47:55.820
and so if it was specifically included, we would

00:47:55.820 --> 00:47:57.900
include that. But, you know, for two years we

00:47:57.900 --> 00:47:59.980
taught that Sunday school class, and I never

00:47:59.980 --> 00:48:02.280
talked to anybody at my work about the fact that

00:48:02.280 --> 00:48:04.869
I was a Christian. I never shared the gospel

00:48:04.869 --> 00:48:07.349
with a person I worked with or I went to Owens.

00:48:07.389 --> 00:48:09.510
I never talked. I went in study groups to study

00:48:09.510 --> 00:48:11.369
for my accounting class. I never talked to them

00:48:11.369 --> 00:48:13.190
about the fact that I was a Christian. Oh, but

00:48:13.190 --> 00:48:15.309
I faithfully shared whatever was in the Sunday

00:48:15.309 --> 00:48:16.989
school lesson the best I could because I wasn't

00:48:16.989 --> 00:48:19.190
preparing in advance most of the time on Sunday

00:48:19.190 --> 00:48:22.750
mornings. I sang the songs boldly in worship.

00:48:23.519 --> 00:48:25.840
Or for those of you, and the truth is probably

00:48:25.840 --> 00:48:27.659
that early on, I really wasn't singing them boldly

00:48:27.659 --> 00:48:28.980
because I was afraid of what the sound of my

00:48:28.980 --> 00:48:31.260
voice was like. For those of you who don't sing

00:48:31.260 --> 00:48:33.099
in worship, you understand the command is to

00:48:33.099 --> 00:48:36.559
sing, right? But then for those of us who did

00:48:36.559 --> 00:48:38.360
sing in worship, it's like, well, I can sing,

00:48:38.420 --> 00:48:40.500
but these other people, they can't sing. They

00:48:40.500 --> 00:48:42.639
can't bring themselves to sing. So I tolerate

00:48:42.639 --> 00:48:44.420
that because I understand that they are where

00:48:44.420 --> 00:48:46.679
they are, but the command is to sing, right?

00:48:46.820 --> 00:48:48.860
Well, I serve, and there's people that live in

00:48:48.860 --> 00:48:51.159
my block. My neighborhood down the street from

00:48:51.159 --> 00:48:53.119
me that I'm talking to at work or whatever, and

00:48:53.119 --> 00:48:55.679
they don't serve, well, they can't stomach the

00:48:55.679 --> 00:48:58.440
course. I'm going the hard road. I'm serving.

00:48:58.460 --> 00:49:01.179
I'm singing. I'm giving. But the other people,

00:49:01.280 --> 00:49:04.320
they can't walk the walk with me. They can't

00:49:04.320 --> 00:49:07.219
make the safe place with me. So you have a safe

00:49:07.219 --> 00:49:10.780
place in God because you can do the things again.

00:49:10.840 --> 00:49:13.039
Listen, if you're in this room and you're under

00:49:13.039 --> 00:49:14.920
the age of 40, you need to understand, you have

00:49:14.920 --> 00:49:17.619
energy right now that eventually you will never

00:49:17.619 --> 00:49:21.300
have again. in the sense that you have it, you

00:49:21.300 --> 00:49:23.659
have growth and renewal of cells that you'll

00:49:23.659 --> 00:49:25.340
never have again. Once you're past a certain

00:49:25.340 --> 00:49:27.800
age, whatever that looks like, 40, 50, 45 for

00:49:27.800 --> 00:49:29.679
some people, whatever, whatever that looks like,

00:49:29.679 --> 00:49:31.380
that energy is going to go away. And if you're

00:49:31.380 --> 00:49:33.380
spending that energy on your entertainment, on

00:49:33.380 --> 00:49:36.059
your recreation, on whatever, or if you're dividing

00:49:36.059 --> 00:49:38.099
your time between serving the Lord and doing

00:49:38.099 --> 00:49:40.619
these other things, eventually you're going to

00:49:40.619 --> 00:49:42.280
have less energy and you're going to have to

00:49:42.280 --> 00:49:43.880
decide, am I going to do these other things or

00:49:43.880 --> 00:49:47.639
am I going to serve the Lord? And so those are

00:49:47.639 --> 00:49:49.840
on the backside of that. They're 60 years old,

00:49:49.880 --> 00:49:51.820
for example. They have less energy for serving

00:49:51.820 --> 00:49:53.659
the Lord than they've ever had. And yet they're

00:49:53.659 --> 00:49:55.559
doing more serving the Lord than they've ever

00:49:55.559 --> 00:49:58.519
had, than they've ever done. Why does it make

00:49:58.519 --> 00:50:01.579
sense? Because as they walked with the Lord,

00:50:01.659 --> 00:50:04.639
the Lord led them to let certain things go that

00:50:04.639 --> 00:50:06.280
they could no longer spend energy on so they

00:50:06.280 --> 00:50:07.719
could put their energy where it really belonged.

00:50:07.820 --> 00:50:10.119
You see, with the people in this story, they

00:50:10.119 --> 00:50:15.679
were giving up their society. They're elderly.

00:50:17.179 --> 00:50:18.559
Occasionally they could maybe take them into

00:50:18.559 --> 00:50:19.760
the clefts of the mountains, but most likely

00:50:19.760 --> 00:50:22.000
they couldn't take them. They couldn't stomach

00:50:22.000 --> 00:50:27.340
it, right? That can't be us. We cannot be a people

00:50:27.340 --> 00:50:30.019
who just exercise our ability to adjust, who

00:50:30.019 --> 00:50:32.440
just create and persist to survive the ramifications

00:50:32.440 --> 00:50:35.679
of our decisions. We can't just hold up pretty

00:50:35.679 --> 00:50:38.300
well all things considered. That is not Christianity.

00:50:38.699 --> 00:50:41.340
Christians don't just hold up pretty well all

00:50:41.340 --> 00:50:44.210
things considered. Yes, you might call that perseverance,

00:50:44.469 --> 00:50:46.949
but it's only perseverance over persecution,

00:50:47.150 --> 00:50:49.429
overcoming as Jesus describes it in Revelation

00:50:49.429 --> 00:50:52.829
3. It's only overcoming when it's not all things

00:50:52.829 --> 00:50:55.469
considered. It is we are doing what it is that

00:50:55.469 --> 00:50:59.429
God would have us to do. The next thing to notice

00:50:59.429 --> 00:51:01.909
in this text then is that their rock bottom,

00:51:02.010 --> 00:51:04.349
when they got to the bottom and they theoretically,

00:51:04.469 --> 00:51:06.190
they had lost everything. They lost all their

00:51:06.190 --> 00:51:08.090
donkeys. They lost all their sheep. They lost

00:51:08.090 --> 00:51:09.750
all their ox. They lost all their crops. They

00:51:09.750 --> 00:51:11.630
lost all their safety. They couldn't use the

00:51:11.630 --> 00:51:13.809
highways. You remember before when Deborah and

00:51:13.809 --> 00:51:15.409
Barack were called out, the big thing was that

00:51:15.409 --> 00:51:16.909
they couldn't use the highways because if you're

00:51:16.909 --> 00:51:18.210
up on the highways, you could get picked off

00:51:18.210 --> 00:51:20.489
by brigands, right? Now they've lost the highways

00:51:20.489 --> 00:51:23.150
completely. They can't even walk in the low spaces.

00:51:23.289 --> 00:51:25.420
They have to hide in the mountains. So it's gotten

00:51:25.420 --> 00:51:27.940
worse. What they did was worse because they received

00:51:27.940 --> 00:51:30.000
the salvation from the Lord and then went back

00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:31.659
to doing the things that they shouldn't do. And

00:51:31.659 --> 00:51:34.139
now the punishment is worse. They've lost even

00:51:34.139 --> 00:51:37.360
more. They are at rock bottom. But notice that

00:51:37.360 --> 00:51:40.820
their rock bottom is a place with strongholds.

00:51:42.300 --> 00:51:45.659
Their rock bottom is a place of safety. You may

00:51:45.659 --> 00:51:47.599
have heard the old adage. You've heard the old

00:51:47.599 --> 00:51:49.719
adage which says, when I get to the end of your

00:51:49.719 --> 00:51:50.960
rope, when you get to the end of your rope, what

00:51:50.960 --> 00:51:52.619
do you do? Most of us have heard it, right? When

00:51:52.619 --> 00:51:53.639
you get to the end of the rope, what do you do?

00:51:54.849 --> 00:51:58.150
Tie a knot and hold on. Right? This is what they

00:51:58.150 --> 00:51:59.909
had done. They got to the end of their rope.

00:52:00.010 --> 00:52:02.190
They tied a knot and held on. They're like, we're

00:52:02.190 --> 00:52:03.670
going to make it. We're going to survive. We're

00:52:03.670 --> 00:52:05.170
God's people. Somehow or other, we're going to

00:52:05.170 --> 00:52:07.570
survive this. Yes, we're in iniquity. Yes, we're

00:52:07.570 --> 00:52:08.809
in sin against the Lord. We're not doing what

00:52:08.809 --> 00:52:10.409
God wants us to do. We're not going to stop that.

00:52:10.550 --> 00:52:12.809
But we're still going to survive, create, persist,

00:52:13.050 --> 00:52:18.570
overcome the ramifications of our actions. But

00:52:18.570 --> 00:52:21.300
here's the truth. The enemy is not interested

00:52:21.300 --> 00:52:23.420
in killing you. Yes, I understand he's a thief

00:52:23.420 --> 00:52:25.800
who comes to kill, steal, and destroy, right?

00:52:27.179 --> 00:52:30.059
But he's not interested in taking you out. If

00:52:30.059 --> 00:52:31.619
he was interested in taking you out, he's got

00:52:31.619 --> 00:52:34.920
agents that could do that, theoretically, right?

00:52:35.800 --> 00:52:38.440
He's not interested in taking you out. In the

00:52:38.440 --> 00:52:41.199
traditional sense, what he wants to do is trap

00:52:41.199 --> 00:52:45.659
you away from the kingdom advance. See, if he

00:52:45.659 --> 00:52:50.199
kills me, I go straight to heaven. What does

00:52:50.199 --> 00:52:54.079
he gain? What's he going to gain from that? Right?

00:52:54.139 --> 00:52:56.480
He makes a vacancy in my family. Those Christians

00:52:56.480 --> 00:52:58.280
who were in my family, I can tell you what they're

00:52:58.280 --> 00:53:00.639
going to do. They're going to be upset. They

00:53:00.639 --> 00:53:02.760
may cry. They may weep. They're going to draw

00:53:02.760 --> 00:53:06.739
close to the Lord because in their end of the

00:53:06.739 --> 00:53:08.400
rope scenario, right, they're going to tie it

00:53:08.400 --> 00:53:10.519
out. Hold on. In our version of what I've taught

00:53:10.519 --> 00:53:12.920
them, what I hope is true, what I hope the people

00:53:12.920 --> 00:53:14.340
in our church, the people in my family know,

00:53:14.480 --> 00:53:16.559
is when you tie a rope, that means you cry out

00:53:16.559 --> 00:53:18.849
to the Lord. You cry out to the Lord. They draw

00:53:18.849 --> 00:53:22.110
close to God. God draws close to them. So then

00:53:22.110 --> 00:53:26.150
that makes my family stronger because the Lord

00:53:26.150 --> 00:53:28.170
is working in them. That makes my church stronger

00:53:28.170 --> 00:53:31.489
because the Lord is working in them. So the enemy

00:53:31.489 --> 00:53:33.530
is not interested in killing you in the traditional

00:53:33.530 --> 00:53:36.210
sense, but rather trapping you away from the

00:53:36.210 --> 00:53:38.809
kingdom of advance. He wants what he wants, and

00:53:38.809 --> 00:53:41.489
frankly, he's getting it if believers isolate

00:53:41.489 --> 00:53:44.409
and fortify instead of standing in the day of

00:53:44.409 --> 00:53:47.550
evil as God has called us to do. Why do you think

00:53:47.550 --> 00:53:50.630
it is when your mental issues rear up that the

00:53:50.630 --> 00:53:53.190
first thing that happens is you want to withdraw?

00:53:53.570 --> 00:53:56.090
I need time. I got to get it alone. I got to

00:53:56.090 --> 00:53:58.829
go process this. I can't deal with them right

00:53:58.829 --> 00:54:01.230
now. How many times have you said, I can't deal

00:54:01.230 --> 00:54:04.550
with this right now? I want you to understand

00:54:04.550 --> 00:54:07.530
that every time you say, I can't deal with this

00:54:07.530 --> 00:54:10.519
right now. That is an enemy of you, probably

00:54:10.519 --> 00:54:13.099
you, probably you as your worst enemy, saying

00:54:13.099 --> 00:54:15.900
you can't deal with it because Jesus said, here

00:54:15.900 --> 00:54:17.559
are the keys to the kingdom, and whatever you

00:54:17.559 --> 00:54:18.980
loose shall be loosed, and whatever you bind

00:54:18.980 --> 00:54:21.800
shall be bound. In fact, whatever you loose shall

00:54:21.800 --> 00:54:24.639
have already been loosed in heaven by the forces

00:54:24.639 --> 00:54:27.280
of God and angels and God the Son and the Holy

00:54:27.280 --> 00:54:30.059
Spirit loosed. And whatever you bind shall have

00:54:30.059 --> 00:54:32.179
already been bound in heaven by the forces of

00:54:32.179 --> 00:54:34.769
God, God himself. God the Son, God the Holy Spirit,

00:54:34.809 --> 00:54:36.690
and the angels will have already bound that which

00:54:36.690 --> 00:54:38.610
you bind. And you say, I can't deal with this

00:54:38.610 --> 00:54:43.849
right now. So it's either you and your flesh

00:54:43.849 --> 00:54:46.469
or your psychology or someone brainwashed you

00:54:46.469 --> 00:54:48.650
to think that the way you handle the difficulty

00:54:48.650 --> 00:54:52.269
is to step away. That is not God's way of handling

00:54:52.269 --> 00:54:55.550
difficulty. Yes, God will withdraw his presence

00:54:55.550 --> 00:54:58.409
and his voice gets quieter and quieter. But his

00:54:58.409 --> 00:55:02.530
intention is for you to lean in and listen. not

00:55:02.530 --> 00:55:05.269
for you to be dismissed and lost. God doesn't

00:55:05.269 --> 00:55:07.530
want to trap you away from him. No, he's drawing

00:55:07.530 --> 00:55:11.329
you unto himself. And no one comes unto the Father

00:55:11.329 --> 00:55:13.429
unless he be called. And so if you've come to

00:55:13.429 --> 00:55:15.230
God, you've been called. And if you're called,

00:55:15.289 --> 00:55:18.230
you are one of the spiritual generations of Israel,

00:55:18.309 --> 00:55:23.329
essentially. Abraham is now our father. And we

00:55:23.329 --> 00:55:26.489
mustn't give in to isolate and fortify instead

00:55:26.489 --> 00:55:28.530
of standing in the day of evil as God has called

00:55:28.530 --> 00:55:33.480
us to do. What they needed was a David or a Noah

00:55:33.480 --> 00:55:37.019
or a Moses. What they needed was a man who would

00:55:37.019 --> 00:55:40.800
step up and say, I will stand for God. Guess

00:55:40.800 --> 00:55:42.820
what they're going to get? Beginning in verse

00:55:42.820 --> 00:55:45.440
7 and following. That's exactly what they're

00:55:45.440 --> 00:55:46.679
going to get. They're going to get somebody who

00:55:46.679 --> 00:55:50.579
will say, no, in my life, I have seen God do

00:55:50.579 --> 00:55:53.460
miracles. Yes, God will sometimes do miracles

00:55:53.460 --> 00:55:55.559
and sometimes not. A Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,

00:55:55.679 --> 00:55:57.539
right? You throw us in the fiery furnace, our

00:55:57.539 --> 00:55:59.500
God is able to save us, but even if he doesn't,

00:55:59.519 --> 00:56:01.539
we still will not do what you're commanding us

00:56:01.539 --> 00:56:04.480
to do. We will not bow down. So we need somebody

00:56:04.480 --> 00:56:07.420
like that. But understand that a rock -bottom

00:56:07.420 --> 00:56:09.500
place is also a place with strongholds. It's

00:56:09.500 --> 00:56:11.139
a stronghold that you can paint, you can decorate,

00:56:11.260 --> 00:56:13.119
you can build walls, you can put up a rampart,

00:56:13.179 --> 00:56:18.239
you can stockpile weapons. It's a stronghold

00:56:18.239 --> 00:56:21.239
that probably looks a lot like your house, your

00:56:21.239 --> 00:56:26.030
bedroom, in front of your TV. Some place where

00:56:26.030 --> 00:56:28.269
you can just say, nothing's bothering me right

00:56:28.269 --> 00:56:32.230
now. And you can set it up real nice and to be

00:56:32.230 --> 00:56:34.329
just right for you, and you can retreat there

00:56:34.329 --> 00:56:37.789
when things go wrong on the battlefield. So there

00:56:37.789 --> 00:56:39.570
are three highlighted things in there. The first

00:56:39.570 --> 00:56:41.750
one is that they were a victorious people brought

00:56:41.750 --> 00:56:44.250
low by a series of compromising value decisions.

00:56:44.650 --> 00:56:47.929
They did evil in God's sight. The second is that

00:56:47.929 --> 00:56:50.610
they were people exercising their ability to

00:56:50.610 --> 00:56:53.210
adjust, create, and persist to survive the ramifications

00:56:53.210 --> 00:56:56.099
of their decisions. And they held up pretty well,

00:56:56.159 --> 00:56:59.480
all things considered. The third was that that

00:56:59.480 --> 00:57:02.519
rock bottom place is a place with strongholds.

00:57:03.519 --> 00:57:07.039
As the Hebrew words for mountain clefts and caves

00:57:07.039 --> 00:57:09.840
and strongholds reminds us. And then that brings

00:57:09.840 --> 00:57:14.059
us to our conclusion. And it is this. We were

00:57:14.059 --> 00:57:19.440
made for better. Don't go this way. Don't follow

00:57:19.440 --> 00:57:24.440
this example. The text is saying that we were,

00:57:25.059 --> 00:57:28.099
owned by God. We were chosen as a people of God

00:57:28.099 --> 00:57:32.639
to apply the keys to loose and to bind in the

00:57:32.639 --> 00:57:40.179
land that God has given us. Fortify? If you're

00:57:40.179 --> 00:57:43.199
going to hide, then you would have to close down

00:57:43.199 --> 00:57:46.340
enemy ingress. But I want you to think about

00:57:46.340 --> 00:57:50.679
how possible that actually is. If you say, things

00:57:50.679 --> 00:57:52.300
are not going right in the church, things are

00:57:52.300 --> 00:57:54.139
not going right in my house, Things are not going

00:57:54.139 --> 00:57:55.679
right at my job. And you say, well, I'm just

00:57:55.679 --> 00:57:59.360
going to go home. At home, I am the master. I

00:57:59.360 --> 00:58:03.059
control what goes on, right? And so there I am

00:58:03.059 --> 00:58:07.800
safe. In my yard, in my shop, in my house. Or

00:58:07.800 --> 00:58:10.380
if you're just retreating on a vacation or something

00:58:10.380 --> 00:58:13.960
there, I am the master. I am safe. No one can

00:58:13.960 --> 00:58:16.559
get to me, right? I don't have to deal with what

00:58:16.559 --> 00:58:18.840
he says, what they do, the things that are happening.

00:58:19.099 --> 00:58:22.679
I'm going to retreat, isolate, and fortify. If

00:58:22.679 --> 00:58:24.980
that's the tactic that you use, then you would

00:58:24.980 --> 00:58:27.960
have to close down enemy ingress in every way.

00:58:28.039 --> 00:58:29.940
And they were doing it. They were building ramparts.

00:58:30.000 --> 00:58:31.420
They were building walls. They were stockpiling

00:58:31.420 --> 00:58:33.400
weapons. They were trying to hide away supplies,

00:58:33.719 --> 00:58:35.519
which they had very little to hide away. They

00:58:35.519 --> 00:58:37.639
were trying to isolate themselves from the massive

00:58:37.639 --> 00:58:39.739
forces of the enemy, which we already know God

00:58:39.739 --> 00:58:42.380
was unleashing or allowing them to have their

00:58:42.380 --> 00:58:45.599
reign because Israel was in wickedness. So they

00:58:45.599 --> 00:58:47.280
go in there thinking they're going to close off

00:58:47.280 --> 00:58:49.539
ingress. I want you to think about that in spiritual

00:58:49.539 --> 00:58:53.119
terms. In the middle of your living room, there

00:58:53.119 --> 00:58:57.079
is a window. It lights up. You can control it

00:58:57.079 --> 00:59:01.480
from your couch. Now you tell me which channel

00:59:01.480 --> 00:59:06.219
that you can watch on your TV that does not allow

00:59:06.219 --> 00:59:09.860
for the ministry of the devil to have been involved.

00:59:11.159 --> 00:59:13.119
Now you'd like to say right now media, right?

00:59:13.679 --> 00:59:15.739
That's it. I'm just going to watch Bible studies.

00:59:16.480 --> 00:59:20.480
Except every one of those Bible studies It's

00:59:20.480 --> 00:59:26.179
being taught by a human. Which channel does that

00:59:26.179 --> 00:59:30.159
human watch that isolates every one of those

00:59:30.159 --> 00:59:31.960
possible ingress? That there's no way they can

00:59:31.960 --> 00:59:34.219
be affected by evil spirits. How do you know

00:59:34.219 --> 00:59:36.659
that Bible study number three is even biblical?

00:59:37.599 --> 00:59:39.579
How do you know that there isn't a teaching that's

00:59:39.579 --> 00:59:43.159
off or wrong? So you say, well, I'm not going

00:59:43.159 --> 00:59:46.239
to watch my TV at all. What about the internet?

00:59:46.800 --> 00:59:49.760
What about your cell phone? Are there books on

00:59:49.760 --> 00:59:52.960
your shelf? Your family members that live in

00:59:52.960 --> 00:59:55.579
your house with you? Or that are in your life

00:59:55.579 --> 00:59:59.239
that call you? What do you have to do to isolate

00:59:59.239 --> 01:00:02.659
and fortify versus all possible intrusions of

01:00:02.659 --> 01:00:06.139
the enemy? You're like, oh, well, from what I'm

01:00:06.139 --> 01:00:08.119
hearing, there is nothing. There literally is

01:00:08.119 --> 01:00:10.239
nothing that I can do to isolate and fortify

01:00:10.239 --> 01:00:12.780
against all possible intrusions of the enemy.

01:00:13.809 --> 01:00:15.849
Right? That's the math of it, isn't it? There's

01:00:15.849 --> 01:00:17.530
always an ingress. There's always going to be

01:00:17.530 --> 01:00:19.690
a way. You can go in your prayer closet and just

01:00:19.690 --> 01:00:21.710
sit there. And when you're listening in your

01:00:21.710 --> 01:00:24.210
thoughts, what percentage of what goes on in

01:00:24.210 --> 01:00:26.349
your head will be attributed to evil spirits

01:00:26.349 --> 01:00:30.190
or your flesh? So it's just you in a small two

01:00:30.190 --> 01:00:33.469
foot by five foot box with a Bible. And what

01:00:33.469 --> 01:00:37.230
percentage would one percent be good enough?

01:00:37.510 --> 01:00:40.369
No. Because if it's one percent, after you think

01:00:40.369 --> 01:00:46.769
for ten minutes, A portion of that will be incorrect,

01:00:47.110 --> 01:00:50.769
ungodly, and your heart is literally on the line.

01:00:51.710 --> 01:00:55.190
Is there, I ask you, a method by which you can

01:00:55.190 --> 01:01:00.010
isolate and fortify to block out all possible

01:01:00.010 --> 01:01:04.010
intrusions of evil spirits, of false teachings

01:01:04.010 --> 01:01:05.610
and temptation? What if I told you there is?

01:01:06.809 --> 01:01:09.329
What if I told you that there is a method by

01:01:09.329 --> 01:01:12.510
which you could isolate and fortify? and block

01:01:12.510 --> 01:01:15.710
out all possible intrusions of evil spirits,

01:01:15.949 --> 01:01:22.869
and be with God alone. If you're going to hide,

01:01:23.010 --> 01:01:25.610
then you would have to close down enemy ingress,

01:01:25.630 --> 01:01:33.309
but it's impossible. Enduring well results in

01:01:33.309 --> 01:01:36.530
the same thing every time. Retreating to just

01:01:36.530 --> 01:01:38.699
your prayer closet, which would be probably the

01:01:38.699 --> 01:01:41.260
best chance you have in your own strength. I'm

01:01:41.260 --> 01:01:42.639
just going to prayer class with just my Bible.

01:01:42.980 --> 01:01:44.800
I'm not going to answer if anybody knocks. I'm

01:01:44.800 --> 01:01:46.860
not taking my phone in there, right? It's just

01:01:46.860 --> 01:01:49.480
going to be me and God alone, except that there

01:01:49.480 --> 01:01:51.079
will be intrusions of evil spirits. So you're

01:01:51.079 --> 01:01:52.760
not really going to be alone. So you're going

01:01:52.760 --> 01:01:56.159
to have to fight. Why do you think it's set up

01:01:56.159 --> 01:01:59.519
that way? Because God is pointing to the one

01:01:59.519 --> 01:02:02.760
place where you actually can isolate and fortify

01:02:02.760 --> 01:02:10.920
and be free. As we try to do that, we always

01:02:10.920 --> 01:02:13.199
will receive the same result. If we try to isolate

01:02:13.199 --> 01:02:15.039
and fortify by the other than the one means that

01:02:15.039 --> 01:02:17.800
God has given us to do so, we'll always receive

01:02:17.800 --> 01:02:20.860
the results that they received. And it's that

01:02:20.860 --> 01:02:23.780
other Hebrew word that I mentioned to you. It's

01:02:23.780 --> 01:02:31.289
the Y -A -I. Or the E. We become small. When

01:02:31.289 --> 01:02:33.690
you isolate and fortify in your own strength,

01:02:33.750 --> 01:02:35.369
by your own methods, by your best knowledge,

01:02:35.489 --> 01:02:37.710
even with just your Bible, just in times of prayer

01:02:37.710 --> 01:02:39.570
with the Lord or whatever, you do that all on

01:02:39.570 --> 01:02:42.570
your own and choose God over everything in your

01:02:42.570 --> 01:02:45.630
own strength and just isolate and fortify, withdrawing

01:02:45.630 --> 01:02:46.969
from the world, withdrawing from relationships,

01:02:47.190 --> 01:02:48.650
withdrawing from what's supposed to be right,

01:02:48.730 --> 01:02:53.130
you just become small. That is what the enemy

01:02:53.130 --> 01:02:58.300
wants. He wants you to become small. It makes

01:02:58.300 --> 01:03:03.679
a strong picture spiritually, doesn't it? I want

01:03:03.679 --> 01:03:05.360
to give you three quick illustrations. The first

01:03:05.360 --> 01:03:08.559
one is regards to Alexander the Great. You may

01:03:08.559 --> 01:03:10.119
have heard of him. He's a pretty famous military

01:03:10.119 --> 01:03:14.199
guy, ruled a vast part of the known world. He

01:03:14.199 --> 01:03:19.420
was at Tyre in 332 BC. And Alexander the Great

01:03:19.420 --> 01:03:25.199
set up a siege. He sieged the island fortress

01:03:25.199 --> 01:03:28.369
of Tyre. He knew a direct assault would be costly.

01:03:28.510 --> 01:03:31.989
Instead, he built a massive causeway and cut

01:03:31.989 --> 01:03:35.030
off their harbor access. So he blockaded the

01:03:35.030 --> 01:03:37.750
harbor with essentially a wall across the water

01:03:37.750 --> 01:03:39.750
so ships could not get in under any circumstances.

01:03:40.969 --> 01:03:45.369
And he destroyed their supply ships. And without

01:03:45.369 --> 01:03:51.989
resupply, Tyre eventually fell. The enemy may

01:03:51.989 --> 01:03:54.559
look fortified. So we look out there and we say,

01:03:54.599 --> 01:03:56.280
man, he's at work, he's got it going on, don't

01:03:56.280 --> 01:03:57.460
want to face persecution, we're going to face

01:03:57.460 --> 01:04:00.019
trials and struggles and like that. But if we

01:04:00.019 --> 01:04:02.980
cut off sin's supply line, that is to say temptation,

01:04:03.260 --> 01:04:08.539
bitterness, lies, etc., it will eventually fall

01:04:08.539 --> 01:04:13.159
in our lives and then we achieve the true isolation

01:04:13.159 --> 01:04:15.699
and fortification that we're looking for. That's

01:04:15.699 --> 01:04:18.159
how you get there. You have to cut off his supply.

01:04:18.730 --> 01:04:20.610
You don't do that by hiding in your prayer closet.

01:04:20.650 --> 01:04:22.309
You don't do that by going home. You don't do

01:04:22.309 --> 01:04:25.369
it by withdrawing from a relationship. Ulysses

01:04:25.369 --> 01:04:28.610
S. Grant at Vicksburg's, 1863, in American Civil

01:04:28.610 --> 01:04:31.610
War. Grant didn't just batter Vicksburg with

01:04:31.610 --> 01:04:34.889
cannons. He strategically cut off all Confederate

01:04:34.889 --> 01:04:38.690
supply routes along the Mississippi River. By

01:04:38.690 --> 01:04:42.449
controlling the river, God be with him, by controlling

01:04:42.449 --> 01:04:45.289
the river and surrounding the city, he starved

01:04:45.289 --> 01:04:48.210
the Confederate army into surrender. Victory

01:04:48.210 --> 01:04:51.730
often comes not from one big battle, but from

01:04:51.730 --> 01:04:54.510
patiently choking off the enemy's supply lines.

01:04:54.769 --> 01:04:57.630
If the devil can't keep us supplied with excuses,

01:04:58.010 --> 01:05:01.750
bad influences, or secret sins, his strongholds

01:05:01.750 --> 01:05:08.050
will crumble. Ours will become unnecessary. Napoleon's

01:05:08.050 --> 01:05:10.869
invasion of Russia in 1812. Napoleon marched

01:05:10.869 --> 01:05:13.190
into Russia with one of the largest armies in

01:05:13.190 --> 01:05:17.239
history. Did you hear that again? Russia that's

01:05:17.239 --> 01:05:21.400
never been conquered. Napoleon marched into Russia

01:05:21.400 --> 01:05:23.980
with one of the largest armies in history, but

01:05:23.980 --> 01:05:26.980
the Russians burned their own crops and villages.

01:05:27.300 --> 01:05:30.599
It was called the Scorched Earth Strategy, and

01:05:30.599 --> 01:05:33.699
it's been used in other cases. Denying Napoleon's

01:05:33.699 --> 01:05:37.380
army food and shelter, Winter finished what the

01:05:37.380 --> 01:05:41.059
Russian army started. Napoleon's supply lines

01:05:41.059 --> 01:05:44.940
collapsed, and his invasion failed. Sometimes

01:05:44.940 --> 01:05:47.920
the best way to defeat the enemy is by not giving

01:05:47.920 --> 01:05:52.239
him ground to feed on. If we refuse to feed anger,

01:05:52.400 --> 01:05:55.420
lust, pride, or doubt, the enemy's attacks lose

01:05:55.420 --> 01:05:58.559
their strength and wither away. And thus it may

01:05:58.559 --> 01:06:01.940
even feel at times like distancing yourself from

01:06:01.940 --> 01:06:05.079
the battlefield, from the harvest, is the safest

01:06:05.079 --> 01:06:07.199
way to go. We say, well, I don't want to be out

01:06:07.199 --> 01:06:08.760
there and be tempted. I'm fleeing temptation.

01:06:09.159 --> 01:06:10.619
There you're using a Bible verse for an excuse

01:06:10.619 --> 01:06:13.340
of why not to be involved in the fight. I'm getting

01:06:13.340 --> 01:06:15.619
angry. I've got to back away. There you're using

01:06:15.619 --> 01:06:19.420
a misconstrued Bible verse. That's not even what

01:06:19.420 --> 01:06:21.340
it says. The Bible verse says, be angry, but

01:06:21.340 --> 01:06:23.599
don't sin in your anger. But you take the one

01:06:23.599 --> 01:06:25.480
where it says, put anger away from me. You say,

01:06:25.519 --> 01:06:27.079
that's my excuse. I'm getting angry, so I'm not

01:06:27.079 --> 01:06:28.960
going to be involved. I'm going to withdraw.

01:06:31.159 --> 01:06:37.320
Spreading the good news is dangerous and often

01:06:37.320 --> 01:06:42.599
seems unwelcomed. helping others be better, calling

01:06:42.599 --> 01:06:45.579
church members to repentance through Matthew

01:06:45.579 --> 01:06:47.659
18 accountability or just one -on -one discussion,

01:06:48.000 --> 01:06:52.099
going again to the harvest after the last time

01:06:52.099 --> 01:06:54.760
resulted in you being persecuted, these things

01:06:54.760 --> 01:06:57.900
seem challenging. But what did we sign up for?

01:06:59.719 --> 01:07:03.039
As Christians, what do we say we are? What did

01:07:03.039 --> 01:07:06.880
Jesus recruit us to? We are now ambassadors for

01:07:06.880 --> 01:07:10.559
the truth. We are living now not for ourselves,

01:07:10.639 --> 01:07:16.400
but for him who died for us. In many movies,

01:07:16.679 --> 01:07:19.659
most movies run between about an hour and a half

01:07:19.659 --> 01:07:22.420
and two and a half hours. There are a few that

01:07:22.420 --> 01:07:24.920
are much longer, but most run in that time frame.

01:07:25.420 --> 01:07:27.199
When I was going to the movies when I was a teenager,

01:07:27.280 --> 01:07:30.320
quite frequently, most movies were 90 minutes.

01:07:30.739 --> 01:07:33.360
And then sometime around about 2 ,000 movies

01:07:33.360 --> 01:07:36.480
kind of crept up to be like 205, 210. Part of

01:07:36.480 --> 01:07:38.300
that was because the movie quality increased

01:07:38.300 --> 01:07:40.239
so much they could do things so quickly that

01:07:40.239 --> 01:07:41.800
they could cover a lot more material in that

01:07:41.800 --> 01:07:43.760
period of time, and so your mind doesn't grow

01:07:43.760 --> 01:07:46.179
bored in a two -hour, five -minute movie where

01:07:46.179 --> 01:07:48.380
it used to grow bored in an hour and 35 -minute

01:07:48.380 --> 01:07:51.239
movie. Now they can do that. Better quality and

01:07:51.239 --> 01:07:54.559
so on. But in most movies that tell a lengthy

01:07:54.559 --> 01:07:57.780
story, there's a thing called a montage. A montage

01:07:57.780 --> 01:08:00.280
is when you're transitioning from one part of

01:08:00.280 --> 01:08:01.940
the story to another part of the story, and you

01:08:01.940 --> 01:08:04.800
just show images to indicate. So in Pride and

01:08:04.800 --> 01:08:06.579
Prejudice, which is one of Sherry and I's favorite

01:08:06.579 --> 01:08:09.639
movies, there's a montage and one of the main

01:08:09.639 --> 01:08:12.000
characters and she sits on the swing. She sits

01:08:12.000 --> 01:08:14.539
on the swing and she twists it up and then she

01:08:14.539 --> 01:08:17.020
lets it unfurl. And as she unfurls, it shows

01:08:17.020 --> 01:08:18.960
from her point of view, the camera goes around

01:08:18.960 --> 01:08:22.000
like this. And as it goes around, it goes around

01:08:22.000 --> 01:08:24.609
like five or six times and it goes through. It's

01:08:24.609 --> 01:08:26.329
spring. You can tell it's spring. There's water

01:08:26.329 --> 01:08:28.109
on the ground. It's summer. Everything's in bloom.

01:08:28.449 --> 01:08:31.510
Then it's fall. Then it's winter. Then it's spring.

01:08:31.630 --> 01:08:34.090
It's summer. It's fall. And three years passes

01:08:34.090 --> 01:08:38.069
in the time that it takes for the swing to unravel,

01:08:38.289 --> 01:08:42.329
right? That's a montage. And there's a montage

01:08:42.329 --> 01:08:44.649
in most big, lengthy stories because you're not

01:08:44.649 --> 01:08:46.829
going to do that, right? How else are you going

01:08:46.829 --> 01:08:49.569
to show that three years passed? So you need

01:08:49.569 --> 01:08:52.109
some creative way to show. So this is what people

01:08:52.109 --> 01:08:54.649
have determined. We are living like we are living

01:08:54.649 --> 01:08:57.550
in the montage. We're living like we're living

01:08:57.550 --> 01:09:00.050
in the building, training, preparing montage.

01:09:00.569 --> 01:09:03.229
That moment, Rocky, right? He decides he's going

01:09:03.229 --> 01:09:05.109
to go back into the fight. He's going to do it.

01:09:05.149 --> 01:09:06.449
He was going to quit, but he got talked into,

01:09:06.510 --> 01:09:07.949
you know, he shouldn't be a quitter. He should

01:09:07.949 --> 01:09:10.270
do it. And so now you see him. Punching the meat

01:09:10.270 --> 01:09:12.710
in the ice cooler. Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow,

01:09:12.710 --> 01:09:15.189
pow. And in one scene, he's punching the meat

01:09:15.189 --> 01:09:16.949
in the ice cooler. In the next scene, he's jogging

01:09:16.949 --> 01:09:18.569
in the street at night. But it's like three seconds

01:09:18.569 --> 01:09:20.489
of each, right? And then he's up the steps and

01:09:20.489 --> 01:09:21.989
he's down the steps and he's back punching the

01:09:21.989 --> 01:09:23.949
meat in the ice cooler, right? And with every

01:09:23.949 --> 01:09:26.029
scene, he looks, he's glistening a little bit

01:09:26.029 --> 01:09:27.750
more. His muscles are bulging a little bit more.

01:09:27.890 --> 01:09:30.170
He's in the building and preparing Montage to

01:09:30.170 --> 01:09:32.949
go back into the big fight. And we think that's

01:09:32.949 --> 01:09:36.220
where we're living. But it isn't. Because the

01:09:36.220 --> 01:09:38.819
big fight is already over. It's already won.

01:09:38.920 --> 01:09:40.819
You're not in the preparing, building montage.

01:09:41.239 --> 01:09:44.279
You're in the battle. This is it. This is the

01:09:44.279 --> 01:09:49.369
time at which souls can be saved. We live in

01:09:49.369 --> 01:09:51.909
the middle of the fight every day, facing the

01:09:51.909 --> 01:09:54.149
invader in our midst and successfully wearing

01:09:54.149 --> 01:09:55.869
the armor of God and wielding the sword of the

01:09:55.869 --> 01:09:58.069
Spirit, which is the word of God, because the

01:09:58.069 --> 01:10:01.989
enemy is spiritual in nature. And when we isolate

01:10:01.989 --> 01:10:05.630
and fortify, we ensure our downfall and our shrinking

01:10:05.630 --> 01:10:08.630
because we have exposed the very avenues by which

01:10:08.630 --> 01:10:13.819
we will prosper to his ministrations. Essentially,

01:10:13.840 --> 01:10:16.779
we have surrendered to the enemy. We are acting,

01:10:16.800 --> 01:10:18.699
when we do not share the gospel, when we do not

01:10:18.699 --> 01:10:20.659
continue the fight, when we isolate and fortify

01:10:20.659 --> 01:10:22.300
and stay away from the things that we are supposed

01:10:22.300 --> 01:10:25.359
to do, when we do that, we are acting like Satan

01:10:25.359 --> 01:10:29.659
is the boss. When we accuse others and look at

01:10:29.659 --> 01:10:30.920
them and say, you didn't do what you were supposed

01:10:30.920 --> 01:10:32.739
to do, and we get angry with them, but then we

01:10:32.739 --> 01:10:34.279
get over it and we forgive them, but we didn't

01:10:34.279 --> 01:10:35.979
do anything to hold them to accountability if

01:10:35.979 --> 01:10:38.000
what they actually did was sin, and we didn't

01:10:38.000 --> 01:10:40.739
repent of our anger if what they actually did

01:10:40.739 --> 01:10:45.079
was not sin. So nothing happens. We just isolate

01:10:45.079 --> 01:10:47.479
and fortify again. We retreat. We stay home from

01:10:47.479 --> 01:10:49.239
worship. We don't go to serve. We don't show

01:10:49.239 --> 01:10:51.699
up on Tuesday night for Bible study. We're isolated

01:10:51.699 --> 01:10:53.520
and fortified because it got a little harder

01:10:53.520 --> 01:10:55.779
or because somebody said things that we didn't

01:10:55.779 --> 01:10:59.140
like or we took a deep hit to our core and now

01:10:59.140 --> 01:11:02.039
our core is so sore that we wouldn't dare do

01:11:02.039 --> 01:11:04.380
sit -ups. Listen, you were made to do spiritual

01:11:04.380 --> 01:11:07.939
sit -ups every day, not just when you're not

01:11:07.939 --> 01:11:11.609
sore. You do not live in a preparing building

01:11:11.609 --> 01:11:15.010
montage. You live in the day of the war for souls.

01:11:16.010 --> 01:11:19.369
And we have a responsibility to go where we are

01:11:19.369 --> 01:11:22.689
safe in the Lord. And there is only one place

01:11:22.689 --> 01:11:25.189
that we are safe in the Lord, and that is when

01:11:25.189 --> 01:11:30.189
we are in the fight. Fully armored. Do you remember

01:11:30.189 --> 01:11:32.829
what some of the pieces are? You got the belt

01:11:32.829 --> 01:11:34.390
of truth. You got the shoes of the gospel of

01:11:34.390 --> 01:11:38.779
peace. We're going. So some of us aren't going.

01:11:38.880 --> 01:11:40.439
So when's the last time you shared the gospel

01:11:40.439 --> 01:11:42.979
with somebody? Listen to me. I'm going to tell

01:11:42.979 --> 01:11:44.220
you very plainly. It comes straight from the

01:11:44.220 --> 01:11:45.420
Holy Spirit. It's coming out of my mouth right

01:11:45.420 --> 01:11:46.640
now. I feel like God is saying this. It's not

01:11:46.640 --> 01:11:48.640
on the nose. I'm telling you right now, if you

01:11:48.640 --> 01:11:51.279
have not shared the gospel with someone, if you

01:11:51.279 --> 01:11:53.899
have not told someone about the saving grace

01:11:53.899 --> 01:11:59.060
of Jesus in the last seven days, then at best,

01:11:59.079 --> 01:12:02.300
you are in a shrinking position, isolating and

01:12:02.300 --> 01:12:05.539
fortifying in your own strength away from the

01:12:05.539 --> 01:12:08.689
fight. And if you refuse to tell people about

01:12:08.689 --> 01:12:10.810
Jesus whenever you possibly can and share the

01:12:10.810 --> 01:12:13.510
good news, you will wind up isolated and fortified,

01:12:13.510 --> 01:12:15.810
shrinking. You will spend your entire life, the

01:12:15.810 --> 01:12:18.390
rest of it, shrinking, getting smaller and smaller

01:12:18.390 --> 01:12:20.649
and smaller. And that's basically what actually

01:12:20.649 --> 01:12:22.430
happens physically too, right? I'm a half an

01:12:22.430 --> 01:12:25.470
inch smaller than I was 10 years ago. But you'll

01:12:25.470 --> 01:12:27.869
shrink a lot more than that until your significance

01:12:27.869 --> 01:12:31.479
in the earth will just not be significant. People

01:12:31.479 --> 01:12:34.000
say, yeah, he's a Christian. He faithfully served

01:12:34.000 --> 01:12:36.399
in the church for 10, 20, 40, he's a pillar of

01:12:36.399 --> 01:12:38.800
our church. And then you'll show up and Jesus

01:12:38.800 --> 01:12:42.039
will say, let's have a rally, a one, two, three

01:12:42.039 --> 01:12:44.699
hurrah for everybody that Dan shared the gospel

01:12:44.699 --> 01:12:46.100
with. And there'll be like three guys there going,

01:12:46.199 --> 01:12:50.500
hurrah, he told me about Jesus. Or you can get

01:12:50.500 --> 01:12:52.640
in the fight where you're actually safe, get

01:12:52.640 --> 01:12:54.840
armored up, draw the sword, which is the spirit

01:12:54.840 --> 01:12:57.899
of God, begin to use God's word daily in your

01:12:57.899 --> 01:13:01.770
life and be safe. And actually be fortified,

01:13:01.770 --> 01:13:07.250
not by yourself, but by God. And protected. Jesus

01:13:07.250 --> 01:13:12.090
summoned his 12 disciples in Matthew 9. He says,

01:13:12.170 --> 01:13:14.250
seeing the people, he felt compassion for them

01:13:14.250 --> 01:13:16.609
because they were distressed and dispirited like

01:13:16.609 --> 01:13:18.930
sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples,

01:13:19.130 --> 01:13:21.510
the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are

01:13:21.510 --> 01:13:25.180
few. He asked them to pray. He said, pray. that

01:13:25.180 --> 01:13:26.659
God would send workers into his harvest. And

01:13:26.659 --> 01:13:28.239
then when you get right into chapter 10, immediately

01:13:28.239 --> 01:13:30.539
following, Jesus summoned his 12 disciples, gave

01:13:30.539 --> 01:13:32.760
them authority over unclean spirits to cast them

01:13:32.760 --> 01:13:34.880
out and to heal every kind of disease and every

01:13:34.880 --> 01:13:37.239
kind of sickness. And then down in verse 5 it

01:13:37.239 --> 01:13:40.600
says, These 12 Jesus sent out after instructing

01:13:40.600 --> 01:13:43.420
them, do not go in the way of the Gentiles. Verse

01:13:43.420 --> 01:13:46.560
7 says, And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom

01:13:46.560 --> 01:13:52.210
of heaven is at hand. And they were safe. I submit

01:13:52.210 --> 01:13:54.289
to you that when challenged with that to go into

01:13:54.289 --> 01:13:55.649
the harvest and become workers in the harvest,

01:13:55.729 --> 01:13:58.069
if they had instead isolated and fortified, if

01:13:58.069 --> 01:14:00.130
they instead refused to speak about the things

01:14:00.130 --> 01:14:02.329
that are most important, if they instead refused

01:14:02.329 --> 01:14:04.470
to use the kingdom of the kingdoms, keys of the

01:14:04.470 --> 01:14:06.869
kingdom to loose and bind, if they had refused

01:14:06.869 --> 01:14:10.149
to cast out evil spirits, if they had refused

01:14:10.149 --> 01:14:11.850
to pray for healing because they say, well, sometimes

01:14:11.850 --> 01:14:13.949
God heals, but sometimes he doesn't, and they

01:14:13.949 --> 01:14:15.970
had refused to pray for healing, then the times

01:14:15.970 --> 01:14:18.310
that God was going to miraculously heal would

01:14:18.310 --> 01:14:20.539
have been in jeopardy, at least for them. They

01:14:20.539 --> 01:14:22.100
would have been isolated and fortified until

01:14:22.100 --> 01:14:24.239
they were small. And instead of the 12 disciples,

01:14:24.359 --> 01:14:26.060
which would have become 11 and then 12 again,

01:14:26.199 --> 01:14:28.199
instead of the 12 disciples starting the church

01:14:28.199 --> 01:14:29.619
was spread to the world, which eventually brought

01:14:29.619 --> 01:14:32.159
the gospel to you and me, they would have just

01:14:32.159 --> 01:14:34.000
faded away like some other movement in history

01:14:34.000 --> 01:14:36.119
and nothing would have happened. But that wasn't

01:14:36.119 --> 01:14:38.159
going to happen because they were chosen by God,

01:14:38.220 --> 01:14:41.539
just like you or I are, and they went into the

01:14:41.539 --> 01:14:47.840
harvest. And so must you. So must I. The devil

01:14:47.840 --> 01:14:50.750
is trying to cut off our supply. Because we are

01:14:50.750 --> 01:14:52.829
not in the harvest. When we get in the harvest,

01:14:52.989 --> 01:14:55.369
he won't be able to cut off our supply because

01:14:55.369 --> 01:14:58.449
God will be fighting on our side. We are failing

01:14:58.449 --> 01:15:01.430
to cut off his supply for the same reason. As

01:15:01.430 --> 01:15:03.930
long as the state of affairs remains, the enemy

01:15:03.930 --> 01:15:07.029
will grow and we will shrink. Put on the armor

01:15:07.029 --> 01:15:09.369
of God and get out there and share the good news

01:15:09.369 --> 01:15:11.850
unashamedly because in the good news, in the

01:15:11.850 --> 01:15:15.569
gospel, is the power unto salvation. Stop isolating

01:15:15.569 --> 01:15:17.989
and fortifying when you're in difficulty because...

01:15:18.300 --> 01:15:20.539
All you are doing is guaranteeing that you will

01:15:20.539 --> 01:15:23.760
eventually lose. If you hide in the hills, you

01:15:23.760 --> 01:15:25.920
guarantee you eventually lose. If you go home

01:15:25.920 --> 01:15:28.039
to your house and stay there, you guarantee that

01:15:28.039 --> 01:15:30.560
you eventually lose. If someone's yelling at

01:15:30.560 --> 01:15:32.359
you, cussing you out or whatever, you would be

01:15:32.359 --> 01:15:34.340
better off to put your hands down to your side

01:15:34.340 --> 01:15:37.539
and just start praying and talking to God and

01:15:37.539 --> 01:15:40.020
let them do their worst. They can't actually

01:15:40.020 --> 01:15:42.619
hurt you unless they actually physically hurt

01:15:42.619 --> 01:15:45.199
you. And if they actually physically hurt you,

01:15:45.239 --> 01:15:48.399
then you'll be in pain. But pain can't actually

01:15:48.399 --> 01:15:51.560
hurt you. You see, we're a living soul. We are

01:15:51.560 --> 01:15:56.439
part of an eternal family. It says, store up

01:15:56.439 --> 01:15:58.039
treasures for yourself in heaven, and there is

01:15:58.039 --> 01:16:00.420
how you do it. Stop isolating and fortifying.

01:16:00.600 --> 01:16:04.869
Instead, become on mission for the Lord. In this

01:16:04.869 --> 01:16:07.369
analogy, the strongholds that they fortified,

01:16:07.430 --> 01:16:09.630
which were providing them safety temporarily,

01:16:10.029 --> 01:16:14.350
had become the very thing that had to be removed.

01:16:14.729 --> 01:16:16.829
Remember I told you, you could see their sin.

01:16:16.869 --> 01:16:18.170
It was making it sound like they were doing a

01:16:18.170 --> 01:16:21.050
good thing. And the next time you see somebody

01:16:21.050 --> 01:16:22.909
who's losing their temper, and they count to

01:16:22.909 --> 01:16:25.810
ten and walk away, or they retreat back into

01:16:25.810 --> 01:16:27.289
their house, and they aren't seen for a little

01:16:27.289 --> 01:16:28.390
while, and they come out again, and they're all

01:16:28.390 --> 01:16:31.539
peaceful and calm. They're going to realize that

01:16:31.539 --> 01:16:33.680
the very strongholds that they are embracing,

01:16:33.800 --> 01:16:36.359
the very things that they are using to continue

01:16:36.359 --> 01:16:40.279
to be who they are, are the very things that

01:16:40.279 --> 01:16:42.720
must be either removed or repurposed in their

01:16:42.720 --> 01:16:45.819
lives in order for them to actually be safe.

01:16:47.460 --> 01:16:50.939
And that's what we need to do. David understood

01:16:50.939 --> 01:16:55.279
it in the song of hope that David penned and

01:16:55.279 --> 01:16:58.619
then later was recorded in 2 Samuel. chapter

01:16:58.619 --> 01:17:02.340
22, and in verse 3 it says, God is my stronghold

01:17:02.340 --> 01:17:05.699
and my refuge. You going home to your house?

01:17:06.319 --> 01:17:08.119
You backing out of your troubles or conflicts?

01:17:08.680 --> 01:17:11.359
God is your stronghold and your refuge. And God

01:17:11.359 --> 01:17:14.000
is not backing out. God is not backing down.

01:17:14.079 --> 01:17:16.770
Jesus said, Since that day, talking about the

01:17:16.770 --> 01:17:19.069
day of rest after creation, since that day, God

01:17:19.069 --> 01:17:21.649
has never stopped working. So every time you

01:17:21.649 --> 01:17:24.109
stop working in the kingdom, every time you stop

01:17:24.109 --> 01:17:25.630
doing what it is that God would have you do,

01:17:25.729 --> 01:17:28.329
every time you stop sticking your neck out and

01:17:28.329 --> 01:17:30.689
trusting in the Lord, every time you shut your

01:17:30.689 --> 01:17:32.670
mouth and don't say the thing that God wants

01:17:32.670 --> 01:17:34.170
you to say, because maybe you're not qualified,

01:17:34.270 --> 01:17:35.670
because you don't have the answer. What if they

01:17:35.670 --> 01:17:37.430
ask me a tough question? They might get mad at

01:17:37.430 --> 01:17:39.569
me. Do people even need to be saved these days?

01:17:39.909 --> 01:17:42.430
98 % of Christians testify, blah, blah, blah.

01:17:43.020 --> 01:17:44.800
Make all the excuses that you want, but every

01:17:44.800 --> 01:17:50.260
time you shut your mouth, you leave God. Every

01:17:50.260 --> 01:17:52.720
time you stop serving in the fight, in whatever

01:17:52.720 --> 01:17:56.199
capacity God has called you to, you walk away

01:17:56.199 --> 01:18:00.060
from the Lord. And you can create, and you can

01:18:00.060 --> 01:18:01.680
persist, and people will say, well, he did pretty

01:18:01.680 --> 01:18:03.140
good under the circumstances. You know, we live

01:18:03.140 --> 01:18:04.500
in a day when there's a lot of wickedness, and

01:18:04.500 --> 01:18:06.340
nobody really wanted to hear it, and he did win

01:18:06.340 --> 01:18:08.560
a few. There were a few people that got saved.

01:18:11.510 --> 01:18:14.409
God is our strength and our refuge. If you want

01:18:14.409 --> 01:18:18.270
to be safe, retreat from yourself into the Lord,

01:18:18.329 --> 01:18:24.710
not from the Lord into yourself. And then David

01:18:24.710 --> 01:18:29.449
would pen later in Psalm 59 and Psalm 62, God

01:18:29.449 --> 01:18:33.930
is my stronghold. He is my salvation and my stronghold.

01:18:35.149 --> 01:18:37.670
And then in Proverbs 10 .29, the last verse,

01:18:37.750 --> 01:18:40.689
and we're closing out our thought with this.

01:18:41.220 --> 01:18:43.720
Proverbs 10 .29. I didn't mark my Bible for Proverbs.

01:18:45.060 --> 01:18:50.260
Actually, maybe I did. Proverbs 10 .29, it says

01:18:50.260 --> 01:18:56.260
this. The way of the Lord is a stronghold to

01:18:56.260 --> 01:19:00.119
the upright. Did you get that? Not the house

01:19:00.119 --> 01:19:02.760
of the Lord. Not the house that the Lord has

01:19:02.760 --> 01:19:05.659
given you. Not the ground that the Lord has given

01:19:05.659 --> 01:19:09.449
you. Not the place that he's given you. a place

01:19:09.449 --> 01:19:12.829
of peace, a place of solace, but the way, the

01:19:12.829 --> 01:19:17.850
way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright,

01:19:18.029 --> 01:19:23.989
but ruin to the workers of iniquity. When we

01:19:23.989 --> 01:19:26.890
walk in Christ and do what God has called us

01:19:26.890 --> 01:19:32.470
to do, we will be safe. And those who come against

01:19:32.470 --> 01:19:39.810
us will not. It's time we stop. isolating and

01:19:39.810 --> 01:19:43.489
fortifying. I think there's been a really powerful

01:19:43.489 --> 01:19:47.430
effort, a really good scheme that made people

01:19:47.430 --> 01:19:49.189
think that if you just get away for a moment,

01:19:49.350 --> 01:19:53.310
no. When you're called to just get away for a

01:19:53.310 --> 01:19:56.250
moment by something, you can be sure that you're

01:19:56.250 --> 01:19:58.529
called to be a Christian, be a follower of the

01:19:58.529 --> 01:20:04.189
Lord, and do the right thing by God. Now, there

01:20:04.189 --> 01:20:08.579
is a time for everything under heaven. But notice,

01:20:08.720 --> 01:20:14.600
that includes there is a time to die. I'm asking

01:20:14.600 --> 01:20:20.060
you today to ask yourself. We need to ask ourselves

01:20:20.060 --> 01:20:24.039
collectively. I need to ask myself. Have we been

01:20:24.039 --> 01:20:26.659
isolating and fortifying away from the work of

01:20:26.659 --> 01:20:31.880
the Lord? Do you feel safe when you are not sharing

01:20:31.880 --> 01:20:36.229
the gospel? Do you feel safe? when you are not

01:20:36.229 --> 01:20:39.630
going out with the sword of the Spirit in hand

01:20:39.630 --> 01:20:45.550
to change lives in your own household, on your

01:20:45.550 --> 01:20:53.470
job, with your clients, with your friends. There

01:20:53.470 --> 01:20:57.810
was a long time in my life that I felt like afraid

01:20:57.810 --> 01:21:01.529
to not try to bring up Jesus in some way, like

01:21:01.529 --> 01:21:04.210
it was not who I am. I don't know where that

01:21:04.210 --> 01:21:09.550
went. But I know it's not biblical for it to

01:21:09.550 --> 01:21:15.010
be gone. We are ambassadors. We must speak up.

01:21:16.569 --> 01:21:18.550
I'm not talking about becoming politically active.

01:21:18.930 --> 01:21:20.989
I'm not talking about picketing abortion centers.

01:21:21.270 --> 01:21:23.310
I'm talking about loving people and sharing the

01:21:23.310 --> 01:21:26.270
gospel. You'll not change your friend, your family

01:21:26.270 --> 01:21:28.409
member, your grandparent. You can go, well, man,

01:21:28.470 --> 01:21:29.989
they stress me out. I can't be around them too

01:21:29.989 --> 01:21:32.710
much because they stress me out. Every time they

01:21:32.710 --> 01:21:34.729
stress you out, that's a call for you to share

01:21:34.729 --> 01:21:37.029
the gospel. That's a call for you to go back

01:21:37.029 --> 01:21:38.569
to teaching the one thing that you know for sure.

01:21:38.630 --> 01:21:41.329
Jesus died on the cross for sins, rose again

01:21:41.329 --> 01:21:43.609
on the third day, and he's saving souls even

01:21:43.609 --> 01:21:47.590
still today. And doing miracles. And answering

01:21:47.590 --> 01:21:51.310
cries. Teach them that they can cry out to the

01:21:51.310 --> 01:21:54.350
Lord. And the one miracle he'll always do if

01:21:54.350 --> 01:21:56.189
somebody cries out, if he's calling them to and

01:21:56.189 --> 01:21:59.369
they cry out, is he'll save their soul. Stop

01:21:59.369 --> 01:22:01.350
retreating from the harvest. Stop retreating

01:22:01.350 --> 01:22:04.010
from the service. And instead, invest yourself

01:22:04.010 --> 01:22:06.340
so heavily. That one of two things will happen.

01:22:06.659 --> 01:22:09.279
God will get the glory or you'll die trying.

01:22:11.779 --> 01:22:13.279
That's what it means to be a follower of the

01:22:13.279 --> 01:22:15.819
Lord Jesus Christ. I ask the praise team to come

01:22:15.819 --> 01:22:18.079
forward at this time and lead us in our final

01:22:18.079 --> 01:22:20.279
song. As we sing this song, if you're in this

01:22:20.279 --> 01:22:21.840
room and you realize that I've been isolating

01:22:21.840 --> 01:22:24.840
and fortifying. I've been building my fortress.

01:22:25.039 --> 01:22:27.760
I have a place at home or away from people or

01:22:27.760 --> 01:22:29.520
whatever where I feel safe. I feel comfortable.

01:22:29.600 --> 01:22:32.779
I feel like I've got it under control. Maybe

01:22:32.779 --> 01:22:34.800
it's just outside this room. Maybe it's in here.

01:22:34.899 --> 01:22:36.600
Some people feel safe inside the church building,

01:22:36.659 --> 01:22:38.619
but they don't feel safe to do anything about

01:22:38.619 --> 01:22:41.779
God elsewhere. We have that place, and I'm asking

01:22:41.779 --> 01:22:44.340
you to repent of that place today. I'm asking

01:22:44.340 --> 01:22:47.279
you to turn your life over to Jesus in earnest.

01:22:47.760 --> 01:22:50.119
Would you sing this song with me? Stand up, sing

01:22:50.119 --> 01:22:52.560
the song, and then if the Lord is speaking to

01:22:52.560 --> 01:22:54.220
your heart, you can come forward and respond.

01:22:54.300 --> 01:22:57.079
We're offline now, so it's just us in the room

01:22:57.079 --> 01:23:00.420
with God. Would you submit your life to the Lord?

01:23:02.260 --> 01:23:08.380
Repent of your isolating and fortifying. Don't

01:23:08.380 --> 01:23:41.260
let the enemy make you any smaller. You're on

01:23:41.260 --> 01:23:46.239
the battlefield swinging your sword. You just

01:23:46.239 --> 01:23:48.359
want to hear God in your ears saying, I got you.

01:23:49.260 --> 01:23:54.159
I'm with you. I'll carry you through. Many a

01:23:54.159 --> 01:23:56.340
soldier has given his life over to the Lord because

01:23:56.340 --> 01:23:58.500
he knew he was in a desperate situation and he

01:23:58.500 --> 01:24:00.930
just cried out to God. And God showed up and

01:24:00.930 --> 01:24:03.590
saved him spiritually. Some of them then went

01:24:03.590 --> 01:24:06.869
on to die in battle. Others persisted and stayed

01:24:06.869 --> 01:24:09.649
and served the people of God for decades or 50

01:24:09.649 --> 01:24:13.729
or 100 years sometimes. Hundreds of years and

01:24:13.729 --> 01:24:14.329
they go back in time.