WEBVTT

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Letting go of every single dream. I lay just

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one down without your... Every moment of my wandering

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Never changes what you see I'm trying to win

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So as you might have guessed, that is the sermon

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title from last week. And it's a rough week for

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that to happen because the sermon title from

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this week has a word in it that is very important

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and also not at all common. And so I'm going

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to give you the sermon title. Arden, would you

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want to pop over there and put in the PowerPoint

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the actual sermon title for me? That way they

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can see it later when they need it. The sermon

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title is the... Apothigmatic. Apothigmatic. He'll

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put the word up on the screen in a minute. The

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apothigmatic history of God. And you're going

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to go, I don't know what that word means. And

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guess what? I didn't know it either. I had to

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look it up. So it's okay. We were all in the

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same boat to start with, and we'll all wind up

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in the same boat by the time we're done. So it's

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apothigmatic. And word may even say it's spelled

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incorrectly. And we're looking at Psalm 78. So

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the very first thing we need to do if we're going

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to look at Psalm 78 is read Psalm 78. So maybe

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a little hoot, holler, give me an amen as we

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say Psalm 78. Thank you. From this moment on,

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what I am reading to you will be God's word.

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If you have a slightly different translation,

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that's okay. We're even going to talk about that

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before we're through. But this is what it says

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in the New American Standard Version, at least

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if I read it correctly. Psalm 78. And I'm going

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to kind of just do a little breaking down, because

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if I read the whole thing, I'm not going to do

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a ton of breaking down. So Psalm 78 starts like

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this. It says, Listen, O my people, to my instruction.

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Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I

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will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter

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dark sayings of old, which we have heard and

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known, and our fathers. have told us, we will

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not conceal them from their children, but tell

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to the generation to come the praises of the

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Lord and His strength and His wondrous works

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that He has done. For He established a testimony

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in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which

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He commanded our fathers, that they should teach

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them to their children, that the generation to

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come might know even the children yet to be born,

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that they may arise and tell them to their children.

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that they should put their confidence in God

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and not forget the works of God, but keep his

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commandments and not be like their fathers, a

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stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation

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that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit

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was not faithful to God. The sons of Ephraim

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were archers equipped with bows, yet they turned

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their back in the day of battle. So we'll stop

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there for one second just to make sure we're

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getting the up to 9a really. Basically, all of

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that, I hope you got the idea, is about telling

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the people that you know and the next generation

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the teachings of God. So, of course, the psalmist

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is talking about what had been written by that

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point in time and the complete word of God, so

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we have access to the New Testament that he would

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not have had, but he's basically saying God has

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commanded us to hear the words that he has...

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saying to us, to see the world for what it is,

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and to realize that He is showing us, telling

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us something, and then to deliver that something

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that He is showing us, telling us, to the people

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around us and to the next generation. And even

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in there, you can see some hints already toward

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how people did not do that. Now, let's just be

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kind of simple about this for a moment. I am

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a father of a bunch of kids, praise the Lord,

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and I have some grandkids. And I would say to

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them to follow the Lord better than I have. So

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I think you could say this to your children one

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day. Follow the Lord better than you have. And

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your children will one say to their children,

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follow the Lord better than I have. But it's

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definitely true that we can look at the histories,

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and he's kind of given some very brief synopsis

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here of what that was like, and how God... taught

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them and said, do not conceal these things, teach

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them to your children so that your children can

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teach them to their children and even those who

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have yet to be born in a really long time. Notice

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in verse 2 he said, I will open my mouth in a

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parable and I will utter dark sayings of old.

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So you might recognize that as used about Jesus

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in the New Testament. Jesus opened his mouth

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in parables. He told people stories that would

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help people to understand the deeper teachings

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of God if they were open to it, but also they

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might go, you know, that's no big deal really.

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They could blow it off if they wanted to, right?

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And people did that. And some people then got

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offended by the parables and some people didn't.

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And they were like, well, tell me more. Help

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me understand that. And they learned even more.

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And then this psalm was quoted in talking about

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Jesus. But notice the second half of it says,

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I will utter dark sayings of old. And it's a

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little difficult to translate into the English

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from the original Hebrew. And so in your Bible,

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it might even be a little different. Say if you

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have a King James or something like that, they

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may have translated it slightly differently.

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But basically what it's saying is that Things

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that people never knew back then. So Jesus was

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going to use parables and sayings to teach the

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truth of something that you would not otherwise

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get. So in your day, there is something for you

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that you wouldn't get about how God created the

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universe, about how God set things up, about

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how God responds to the way people act. What

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God is likely to do in our day is contained in

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the scriptures, but you might have to listen

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to God to understand them more deeply. That's

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part of what we do when we say reaching new heights

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in Jesus. We are working together to go beyond

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the outer shell to get to a deeper understanding

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of what is there. That's part of what the church

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is for. So we all work together to do that. It's

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not just me up here preaching. If it wasn't for

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you, I couldn't do what I do. It's not possible.

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So the bottom line is we all work together to

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go deeper. And Jesus would utter the parables

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with his mouth and the teachings of old. And

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you see that. Like he says, well, you know, it

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says, I know you know it says this, but now pay

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attention to this. And the new thing that he

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taught was not new at all. It was already there.

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Like when he talks about adultery, how lusting

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in your heart after a woman is the same as committing

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adultery already, right? So you're sinning against

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God if you lust after a woman in your heart,

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as if you were committing adultery. That was

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already contained in the command. All he did

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was unpack it. He didn't add to it something

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new. Even the love your neighbor as yourself,

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which would actually be called a new command,

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it was new because the Jewish leaders were not

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teaching it. They weren't teaching them, and

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they certainly weren't modeling it, right? And

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so he says, This new command I give you. But

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this really wasn't a new command. It was new

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to them because they weren't getting it from

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any other Jewish teacher at the time. But is

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it contained in God's Word? Because you realize

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the second half of all of the Ten Commandments

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is all about loving your neighbor as yourself.

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Right? And so it was already there. So the psalmist

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is saying here in 78, these teachings, we have

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to go deeper and understand these teachings the

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best we possibly can so we can deliver them to

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people in our generation and to our children

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so they can deliver them to your great, great,

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great grandchildren. After you're gone, you've

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got some work to do to digest and refine and

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deliver this information so that they can deliver

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them. It's great to think, oh, my kids, when

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they grow up, they'll honor God. I hope they

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will. It's even great to think, oh, my grandkids,

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and I've seen some gifting in my kids. that I

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don't have, and that's awesome. And then I've

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seen gifting in my grandkids that I don't have

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and my kids don't have, and that's awesome. But

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what about my grandkids' kids? If they only digest

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the Bible at 17%, then how much can they really

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teach the next generation? Less than 17%. You

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can't teach them anything unless you teach them

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to learn on their own, in which case they will

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learn it, and they might get to 34%, which wouldn't

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that be great? The bottom line is we're called

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by God here in Psalm 78 as the psalmist is really

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recognizing what the Bible says that we are supposed

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to teach. And the end result of that would be

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that the generations that come, hopefully our

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generation and then the ones that come, would

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not be like the generations before who were stubborn

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and rebellious and they did not prepare their

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hearts and their spirits were not faithful to

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God. And then he ends with this thought, the

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sons of Ephraim. Now this is what's called an

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analogy. The sons of Ephraim were not necessarily

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actually like this, but he's saying, understand,

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this is the way it was. They were as archers

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equipped with bows that turned their back in

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the day of battle. And so if you're a follower

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of God, And you do not do what the psalmist is

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teaching us to do. Learn what it is that we need

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to know about God and deliver it to our generation

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and the next generation so they can deliver it

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to the next one and so on. If you don't do that,

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you're as an archer who is armed with a bow but

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does not come into the conflict. They run away

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instead. So the archers are typically back here

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and the battle is typically up there so they

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shouldn't have to worry about running. But if

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they think there's any chance that the main battle

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might be overrun, they have two choices. They

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can fire faster. Shoot more arrows, right? Do

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more work. And if the enemy comes close to them,

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put their bow on their back and draw their dagger

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or their short sword and fight. That's one choice.

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And the other choice is to go, oh, they might

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be overrun. We're going to run away and live

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to fight another day. And God says, if you run

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away and live to fight another day, you are a

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coward. You are useless. You are worthless in

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the kingdom of God. That's basically what he's

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saying. He's saying, you don't want to be like

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that. You don't want to be an archer who turned

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his back in the day of battle. Now we're on verse

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10. They did not keep the covenant of God. This

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sounds bad. They did not keep means they didn't

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retain it. They didn't keep it in its fullness.

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And they refused to walk in His law and they

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forgot His deeds and His miracles that He had

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shown them. He wrought wonders before their fathers

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in the land of Egypt in the field of Zoan. So

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notice that we're up at this point and what did

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He say? We will tell. This is what God's people

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will do. We will digest it and we will deliver

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it. That's what we'll do. And then what did he

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say of those who were like those people from

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Ephraim? He said they forgot their job. They

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didn't do it. They forgot his deeds, his miracles

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that he had shown them. He wrought wonders and

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they forgot all of those things. What did they

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forget? He wrought wonders before their fathers

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in the land of Egypt in the field of Zoan. That's

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the northern capital of Egypt if anyone cares.

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He divided the sea and caused them to pass through

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and he made the water stand up like a heap. Then

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he led them with the cloud by day and all the

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night with a light of fire. He split the rocks

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in the wilderness and gave them abundant drink

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like the ocean depths. He brought forth streams

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also from the rock and caused waters to run down

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like rivers. See, they saw God do those amazing

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things, yet when they came to the promised land,

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does anybody remember how that went? Twelve spies,

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ten of them came back and said, oh, it's a really

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rich land, but these people are just too big,

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we can't handle it. After all that God had done,

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that was their response to God. Instead of saying

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to their children, listen, our God is great,

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our God is powerful, our God is amazing, our

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God has done miracles, let me tell you the miracles.

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As Arianna was growing up, and it's a little

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less so now, she just recently turned ten. a

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little less so, but still to this day, she'll

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ask me, tell me a family story. She says, tell

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me a family story. And you should be telling

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your family stories to your kids or to the younger

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generations, whether they're your family or not.

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The next generation is your responsibility, even

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if it's not your blood, right? And so you should

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be telling those stories. But let's check for

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a second, who is the star? Like, we tell about

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the great feats of our youth, the amazing things

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that we did, right? So we say things like, we

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remember the day when Tony and Michael both hit

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home runs playing softball. But who is the feature

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of the story, right? We've got to tell our kids

00:15:41.629 --> 00:15:45.860
it's all God. God may be able. God made me able

00:15:45.860 --> 00:15:48.419
then. God makes me able now. We've got to talk

00:15:48.419 --> 00:15:50.899
about what God is doing. And yet, we look at

00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:52.759
our superstars on the football field and our

00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:55.399
superstars on the movie and with superstar influencers

00:15:55.399 --> 00:15:58.519
on social media. But the truth is, if they don't

00:15:58.519 --> 00:16:01.059
give glory to God, they have no place in your

00:16:01.059 --> 00:16:04.340
eyesight or in your ears. They have no place.

00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:06.840
Because your job is to receive the miracles,

00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:08.559
the teachings, the understanding of who God is,

00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:10.679
and deliver it to the next generation, to the

00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:12.419
people around you, and to the next generation,

00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:14.799
the kids and grandkids to come. Because otherwise,

00:16:15.139 --> 00:16:18.100
who has delivered what is ours to deliver, and

00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:20.000
then who will deliver it five generations down

00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:22.279
the road? And I can answer that question for

00:16:22.279 --> 00:16:24.340
you before we're through. But if you don't do

00:16:24.340 --> 00:16:27.460
your job, you will be missing out on promoting,

00:16:27.700 --> 00:16:31.559
speaking about, teaching the great miracles of

00:16:31.559 --> 00:16:34.149
God as they did. And you see what they did. Their

00:16:34.149 --> 00:16:36.850
entire generation failed to promote it to the

00:16:36.850 --> 00:16:40.190
next generation. And what happened to them? They

00:16:40.190 --> 00:16:42.710
died in the wilderness. They never went into

00:16:42.710 --> 00:16:45.509
the promised land. They didn't make it in. Every

00:16:45.509 --> 00:16:48.309
one of their faces went down in the sand. That's

00:16:48.309 --> 00:16:50.629
a scary consequence for not being truthful about

00:16:50.629 --> 00:16:53.309
the miracles in the history of God. Verse 17

00:16:53.309 --> 00:16:57.470
says, and we're going on, Yet they still continue

00:16:57.470 --> 00:16:59.840
to sin against Him. So all those miraculous things

00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:01.500
that God did, and still they continue to sin

00:17:01.500 --> 00:17:04.019
against Him. To rebel against the Most High in

00:17:04.019 --> 00:17:06.319
the desert. And in their heart, they put God

00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:08.980
to the test by asking food according to their

00:17:08.980 --> 00:17:11.079
desires. So God was taking care of them in every

00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:12.819
way. And then they started complaining against

00:17:12.819 --> 00:17:14.440
God. They said, oh, it's not good enough. It's

00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:17.380
not good enough. Then they spoke against God.

00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:19.819
They said, can God prepare a table in the wilderness?

00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:22.039
See, He's too weak. He can't prepare a table

00:17:22.039 --> 00:17:23.819
in the wilderness. That was their taunt, if you

00:17:23.819 --> 00:17:26.160
will, toward God. You think there's anybody taunting

00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:28.180
toward God in this world today? You think it's

00:17:28.180 --> 00:17:30.539
because they've forgotten the character of God?

00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:32.640
The things that God has done? Absolutely, that's

00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:35.680
the case. Verse 20. Behold, He struck the rocks

00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.240
so that waters gushed out and streams were overflowing.

00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:41.859
Can He give bread also? Will He provide meat

00:17:41.859 --> 00:17:45.160
for His people? So, taunting God. Thinking about

00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:49.039
what God can't do or won't do rather than what

00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:51.339
God can do and will do. That was their mindset.

00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:55.079
The psalmist is saying they wound up in rebellion.

00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:58.160
They weren't teaching the mysteries to the generation

00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:00.940
and they wound up in rebellion instead. Taunting

00:18:00.940 --> 00:18:04.599
God. Can God do it? Yes, God can do it. 21. Therefore

00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:06.940
the Lord heard and was full of wrath. Let's see

00:18:06.940 --> 00:18:09.119
what God's response is to their taunting God.

00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:12.279
He heard and was full of wrath. Wrath means violent

00:18:12.279 --> 00:18:15.299
opposition. It does not mean anger. In this case.

00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:16.839
There are some cases where it does, but it does

00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:18.819
not in this case. It means violent opposition.

00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:21.339
God was full of violent opposition and a fire

00:18:21.339 --> 00:18:24.619
was kindled against Jacob. Jacob would be renamed

00:18:24.619 --> 00:18:27.599
Israel and Israel would be the founding man of

00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:31.519
the entire nation of Israel to this day. That

00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:34.519
has not stopped. And it says, and a fire was

00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:37.480
kindled against Jacob and anger also mounted

00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:40.339
against Israel. Now there is the anger. Because

00:18:40.339 --> 00:18:43.559
they did not believe in God. and did not trust

00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:46.000
in His salvation. So because they didn't believe

00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:48.680
in God and trust in His salvation, they made

00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:52.140
God wrathful. He would destroy them in the wilderness.

00:18:52.819 --> 00:18:55.819
And because they did not believe in God and trust

00:18:55.819 --> 00:18:58.420
in His salvation, He took His blessings away

00:18:58.420 --> 00:18:59.940
from them. They would not go into the promised

00:18:59.940 --> 00:19:03.039
land. 23, yet He commanded the clouds above.

00:19:04.490 --> 00:19:06.509
So now we're going to talk about God doing amazing

00:19:06.509 --> 00:19:08.690
things despite their rebellion. Yet He commanded

00:19:08.690 --> 00:19:10.970
the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven.

00:19:11.109 --> 00:19:13.890
And He rained down manna upon them to eat and

00:19:13.890 --> 00:19:17.119
gave them food from heaven. Man did eat the bread

00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:18.759
of angels. It doesn't mean that's what angels

00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:20.539
eat. It just means it came from heaven and that's

00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:23.000
where it came from. He sent them food in abundance.

00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:25.900
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens

00:19:25.900 --> 00:19:27.920
and by his power he directed the south wind.

00:19:28.119 --> 00:19:30.680
When he rained meat upon them like dust, he caused

00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:32.980
the wind to blow and the birds fell down, sat

00:19:32.980 --> 00:19:34.579
in the camp and they took them and they ate them.

00:19:35.369 --> 00:19:37.990
When He rained meat upon them like dust, even

00:19:37.990 --> 00:19:41.069
winged fowl like the sand of the seas. Then He

00:19:41.069 --> 00:19:43.349
let them fall in the midst of their camp, round

00:19:43.349 --> 00:19:45.569
about their dwellings. So they ate and were well

00:19:45.569 --> 00:19:50.089
filled, and their desire He gave to them. Before

00:19:50.089 --> 00:19:51.990
they had satisfied their desire, while their

00:19:51.990 --> 00:19:54.970
food was in their mouths, the anger of God rose

00:19:54.970 --> 00:19:57.849
against them and killed some of their stoutest

00:19:57.849 --> 00:20:02.559
ones and subdued the choice men of Israel. So

00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:06.099
God's providing for them despite the fact that

00:20:06.099 --> 00:20:08.319
they're not trusting in Him, not believing like

00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:10.759
they should. He provides for them. So be careful

00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:13.519
because God will provide for you, give you what

00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:16.240
you need, even if you're not faithful and obedient.

00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:18.339
And you might start thinking, well, God's given

00:20:18.339 --> 00:20:20.339
me what I need. I got what I need. I'm fine.

00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:24.740
I'm all good. Only for God to deliver in wrath

00:20:24.740 --> 00:20:29.980
a worse provision, if you will. In 32, it says,

00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:32.319
in spite of all this, they still sinned. In spite

00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:34.359
of what? Again, let's be clear. The fact that

00:20:34.359 --> 00:20:36.559
he provided for them when they were disobedient,

00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:39.819
and then he's punishing them in wrath because

00:20:39.819 --> 00:20:42.160
they were disobedient, didn't believe, and he's

00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:43.740
already provided for them in food and everything

00:20:43.740 --> 00:20:47.180
else. So now punishment comes in. In spite of

00:20:47.180 --> 00:20:49.880
all this, they still sinned and did not believe

00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:52.440
in his wonderful works. So he brought their days

00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:55.619
to an end in futility and their years in sudden

00:20:55.619 --> 00:20:58.400
terror. And the ultimate outcome, as we talked

00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:03.220
about last week, was death. 34. When He kindled

00:21:03.220 --> 00:21:07.380
them, then they sought Him. I'm sorry, when He

00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:09.460
killed them, there you go, when He killed them,

00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:12.299
then they sought Him. And they returned and searched

00:21:12.299 --> 00:21:14.259
diligently for God. So in other words, as some

00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:18.599
decided, went down, they're done. Right? Somebody

00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:21.660
else said, oh, they got what they deserved. But

00:21:21.660 --> 00:21:23.480
I'm not going to get what they deserved. And

00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:25.619
they repented and turned to God. So when He killed

00:21:25.619 --> 00:21:27.880
some of them, Then some of them sought Him, the

00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:29.720
ones that remained. And they returned and they

00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:31.740
searched diligently for God. And they remembered

00:21:31.740 --> 00:21:33.940
that God was their rock and the Most High God

00:21:33.940 --> 00:21:40.819
their Redeemer. So, does God have to kill in

00:21:40.819 --> 00:21:44.900
order for us to repent and follow Him? That's

00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:47.079
what that mathematical equation led us to. The

00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:49.720
final conclusion was somebody around you, somebody

00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:51.940
close to you has to die in their sin in order

00:21:51.940 --> 00:21:53.259
for you to figure out you don't want to go the

00:21:53.259 --> 00:21:55.579
way they go and repent and turn to God. Is that

00:21:55.579 --> 00:21:58.930
true? It's not, but that's how it played out

00:21:58.930 --> 00:22:01.210
in their circumstances. It is possible for no

00:22:01.210 --> 00:22:03.210
one around you to die, for everyone around you

00:22:03.210 --> 00:22:05.609
to repent, because repentance is available to

00:22:05.609 --> 00:22:09.690
everyone. We're in verse 36. But they deceived

00:22:09.690 --> 00:22:11.730
Him with their mouth and lied to Him with their

00:22:11.730 --> 00:22:14.529
tongue. So after they saw people die from it,

00:22:14.549 --> 00:22:16.890
saw people suffer and die from God's wrath, then

00:22:16.890 --> 00:22:18.529
they repented, turned to God, they remembered

00:22:18.529 --> 00:22:20.559
that He was their rock, the most high. high God,

00:22:20.700 --> 00:22:23.259
their Redeemer. But then later, they deceived

00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:24.900
Him with their mouth and lied to Him with their

00:22:24.900 --> 00:22:27.220
tongue, for their heart was not steadfast toward

00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:29.559
Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant.

00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:32.819
So again, they deceived God. And then in 38 it

00:22:32.819 --> 00:22:35.319
says, But He, being compassionate, forgave their

00:22:35.319 --> 00:22:37.819
iniquity and did not destroy them. And often

00:22:37.819 --> 00:22:40.440
He restrained His anger and did not arouse all

00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:42.819
His wrath. Thus He remembered that they were

00:22:42.819 --> 00:22:45.500
but flesh, a wind that passes and does not return.

00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:49.690
So God was gentle to remember. They repented

00:22:49.690 --> 00:22:51.369
and turned to Him. Then they deceived Him with

00:22:51.369 --> 00:22:52.890
their lips and then He was still gentle. And

00:22:52.890 --> 00:22:54.490
I submit to you that the church is in that place

00:22:54.490 --> 00:22:56.450
today. That the church in the United States of

00:22:56.450 --> 00:22:58.630
America and the church the world over is filled,

00:22:58.849 --> 00:23:01.130
not filled to the brim, right? Not everybody,

00:23:01.349 --> 00:23:03.829
but filled with deceivers. Filled with people

00:23:03.829 --> 00:23:06.029
who have repented and turned to God and are yet

00:23:06.029 --> 00:23:08.650
living in sin. So that's the exact place where

00:23:08.650 --> 00:23:11.049
we are. And God in His grace and in His love

00:23:11.049 --> 00:23:13.769
has forgiven their iniquity and does not destroy

00:23:13.769 --> 00:23:16.410
them. He's restraining His anger against the

00:23:16.410 --> 00:23:19.559
church and He does not arouse all of His wrath

00:23:19.559 --> 00:23:23.160
because He remembers that we are but flesh. Then

00:23:23.160 --> 00:23:27.599
we're in verse 40. This is after God realizes

00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:31.039
they are but flesh and He has not poured out

00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:32.980
His full wrath upon them. This is how often they

00:23:32.980 --> 00:23:35.640
rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved

00:23:35.640 --> 00:23:37.799
Him in the desert. And again and again they tempted

00:23:37.799 --> 00:23:40.500
God and pained the Holy One of Israel. They did

00:23:40.500 --> 00:23:43.220
not remember His power. The day when He redeemed

00:23:43.220 --> 00:23:45.740
them from the adversary. That's a really touching

00:23:45.740 --> 00:23:47.220
verse right there if you'll stop and think about

00:23:47.220 --> 00:23:50.240
it for a second. Has the church, has God's people

00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:53.500
forgotten the day that God redeemed us from the

00:23:53.500 --> 00:23:59.640
adversary? Well, when he performed his signs

00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:01.839
in Egypt and his marvels in the field of Zoan,

00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:05.339
has God's people forgotten the signs that God

00:24:05.339 --> 00:24:07.559
performed in Egypt, the ten plagues and so much

00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:11.200
more? He turned their rivers to blood and their

00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:13.160
streams they could not drink. He sent among them

00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:15.059
swarms of flies which devoured them and frogs

00:24:15.059 --> 00:24:17.319
which destroyed them. He gave also their crops

00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:19.240
to the grasshopper and the product of their labor

00:24:19.240 --> 00:24:21.099
to the locust. He destroyed their vines with

00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:23.279
hailstones and their sycamore trees with frost.

00:24:23.500 --> 00:24:25.940
He gave over their cattle also to the hailstones

00:24:25.940 --> 00:24:28.000
and their herds to bolts of lightning. He sent

00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:31.099
upon them his burning anger, fury and indignation

00:24:31.099 --> 00:24:36.059
and trouble, a band of destroying angels. He

00:24:36.059 --> 00:24:38.700
leveled a path for his anger. He did not spare

00:24:38.700 --> 00:24:41.019
their soul from death, but gave over their life

00:24:41.019 --> 00:24:43.660
to the plague and smote all the firstborn in

00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:46.759
Egypt and first issue of their virility in the

00:24:46.759 --> 00:24:50.140
tents of Ham. But he led forth his own people

00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:52.380
like sheep and guided them in the wilderness

00:24:52.380 --> 00:24:55.000
like a flock. And he led them safely so that

00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:57.779
they did not fear. But the sea engulfed their

00:24:57.779 --> 00:25:02.599
enemies. So he brought them to his holy land.

00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:05.900
to this hill country, which His right hand had

00:25:05.900 --> 00:25:08.240
gained. He also drove out the nations before

00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:10.339
them, and He apportioned them for an inheritance

00:25:10.339 --> 00:25:14.779
by measurement, and made the tribes of Israel

00:25:14.779 --> 00:25:18.420
dwell in their tents. So God did all of that

00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:22.299
after God's people were back and forth and back

00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:24.420
and forth in their righteousness, back and forth

00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:26.619
in believing, back and forth in testifying, back

00:25:26.619 --> 00:25:28.519
and forth in delivering the truth of His miracles.

00:25:28.740 --> 00:25:32.849
And yet God did all of that. In verse 56 it says,

00:25:33.029 --> 00:25:35.269
Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most

00:25:35.269 --> 00:25:38.509
High God, and did not keep His testimonies, but

00:25:38.509 --> 00:25:41.769
turned back and acted treacherously like their

00:25:41.769 --> 00:25:44.289
fathers. They turned aside like a treacherous

00:25:44.289 --> 00:25:46.990
bow, for they provoked Him with their high places

00:25:46.990 --> 00:25:49.890
and aroused His jealousy with their graven images.

00:25:50.009 --> 00:25:52.930
When God heard, He was filled with wrath and

00:25:52.930 --> 00:25:57.950
greatly abhorred Israel. So that he abandoned

00:25:57.950 --> 00:25:59.809
the dwelling place at Shiloh, that's where the

00:25:59.809 --> 00:26:01.970
tabernacle was first settled, where the first

00:26:01.970 --> 00:26:03.829
worship of God was taking place in the promised

00:26:03.829 --> 00:26:06.150
land. The tent which he had pitched among men.

00:26:06.289 --> 00:26:09.589
And he gave up his strength to captivity and

00:26:09.589 --> 00:26:12.369
his glory into the hand of the adversary. He

00:26:12.369 --> 00:26:14.769
also delivered his people to the sword and was

00:26:14.769 --> 00:26:17.589
filled with wrath at his inheritance. Fire devoured

00:26:17.589 --> 00:26:19.990
his young men and his virgins had no wedding

00:26:19.990 --> 00:26:23.049
songs. His priests fell by the sword and his

00:26:23.049 --> 00:26:29.630
widows could not weep. So God now allows those

00:26:29.630 --> 00:26:31.809
who go back and forth and back and forth that

00:26:31.809 --> 00:26:35.049
He showed grace beyond measure. He did so much

00:26:35.049 --> 00:26:37.150
for them after they failed to believe in Him,

00:26:37.190 --> 00:26:39.069
trust Him, and deliver His message to the world.

00:26:39.210 --> 00:26:42.210
And now, finally, He allows them to suffer in

00:26:42.210 --> 00:26:45.630
the worst ways. 65. Then the Lord awoke as if

00:26:45.630 --> 00:26:49.170
from sleep, like a warrior overcome by wine.

00:26:49.630 --> 00:26:52.720
Now, has God ever slept? No. Has God ever been

00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:55.099
overcome by wine? No, that's not what it means.

00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:58.099
What it means is after he allowed his people

00:26:58.099 --> 00:27:00.400
to suffer all that wrath because of what they

00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:03.319
didn't do, because of the evils that they perpetrated,

00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:06.079
after he did all of that, now he's coming on

00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:07.700
the scene and he's going to fix everything. And

00:27:07.700 --> 00:27:10.460
it says he drove his adversaries backwards. He

00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:13.099
put on them an everlasting reproach. He also

00:27:13.099 --> 00:27:15.579
rejected the tent of Joseph and did not choose

00:27:15.579 --> 00:27:17.460
the tribe of Ephraim. So those are two really

00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:19.660
big names in Israel and they would no longer

00:27:19.660 --> 00:27:22.259
be on top. They would no longer be recognized

00:27:22.259 --> 00:27:24.660
as powerful. They would no longer be recognized

00:27:24.660 --> 00:27:27.240
as God's chosen people. But He chose the tribe

00:27:27.240 --> 00:27:30.299
of Judah. That's the tribe of David. Mount Zion,

00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:35.019
which He loved. So Judah had Jerusalem, and Jerusalem

00:27:35.019 --> 00:27:40.180
had Jesus, David's descendant. And so God would

00:27:40.180 --> 00:27:42.299
solve all the problems. We're almost there. And

00:27:42.299 --> 00:27:44.839
He built His sanctuary like the heights, like

00:27:44.839 --> 00:27:49.039
the earth which He founded forever. He also chose

00:27:49.039 --> 00:28:02.019
David. So he shepherded them according to the

00:28:02.019 --> 00:28:04.900
integrity of his heart, which was a heart after

00:28:04.900 --> 00:28:07.839
God's own heart. He shepherded them according

00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.799
to the integrity of his heart and guided them

00:28:09.799 --> 00:28:13.039
with his skillful hands. And therefore, you could

00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:15.420
say, David received the promise that he would

00:28:15.420 --> 00:28:17.680
have an heir. who would sit on the throne forever,

00:28:17.900 --> 00:28:23.039
and that heir is Jesus. So, there's kind of like

00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:24.859
three main things I want you to see in here,

00:28:24.940 --> 00:28:29.160
and don't forget the title, the Apothigmatic

00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:32.500
History of God. So first of all, this psalm makes

00:28:32.500 --> 00:28:35.319
it very clear that the psalmist understood that

00:28:35.319 --> 00:28:39.819
the history is to be told for learning God's

00:28:39.819 --> 00:28:44.140
story. If you are a person of God, if you are

00:28:44.140 --> 00:28:48.380
a follower of God, Don't ever again talk about

00:28:48.380 --> 00:28:51.019
how smart you are, how capable you are, how strong

00:28:51.019 --> 00:28:53.980
you are, how fast you are, how you were able,

00:28:54.099 --> 00:28:56.599
how you figured it out, how you got past a hurdle.

00:28:56.940 --> 00:28:59.960
Don't do it unless you bring God into it, because

00:28:59.960 --> 00:29:03.420
you can literally do nothing without God. People

00:29:03.420 --> 00:29:06.039
are looking for people to look up to, and if

00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:09.359
they look up to you, they better see a follower

00:29:09.359 --> 00:29:13.880
of Jesus. Or maybe you aren't one. History is

00:29:13.880 --> 00:29:18.019
to be told for learning God's story. There are

00:29:18.019 --> 00:29:20.359
two famous men, probably a thousand famous men

00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:23.220
who have commented on this topic. And the first

00:29:23.220 --> 00:29:25.400
one is a man named Hengstenberg. You don't need

00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:26.940
to remember his name, just know that he was a

00:29:26.940 --> 00:29:29.400
German theologian back in the early 1800s and

00:29:29.400 --> 00:29:31.160
like he's super red and you go to college and

00:29:31.160 --> 00:29:32.380
you read his stuff and you can barely understand

00:29:32.380 --> 00:29:34.769
it. Well, let's distill one point of it. He said,

00:29:34.829 --> 00:29:38.269
let whoever reads understand, which call upon

00:29:38.269 --> 00:29:40.910
us to penetrate through the shell to the kernel.

00:29:41.109 --> 00:29:43.710
You go to the story of God, the history of God.

00:29:43.789 --> 00:29:46.869
You look at it and you go, yeah, okay. So Samson,

00:29:46.950 --> 00:29:52.369
what brought him down? What really brought Samson

00:29:52.369 --> 00:29:56.710
down? Kind of. Yeah, he was tricked. He was deceived,

00:29:56.890 --> 00:29:59.150
right? But was he really deceived? I mean, she

00:29:59.150 --> 00:30:03.569
cut his hair with his head on her lap. And the

00:30:03.569 --> 00:30:05.690
men rushed in and captured him and he lost his

00:30:05.690 --> 00:30:08.029
strength. But was that the first time they rushed

00:30:08.029 --> 00:30:11.710
in? It was the third time they rushed in. What

00:30:11.710 --> 00:30:14.069
really brought Samson down? Well, lecherousness,

00:30:14.089 --> 00:30:17.170
right? He was after a woman. It was lust. Lust

00:30:17.170 --> 00:30:21.930
and money and pride. And it was the bad things

00:30:21.930 --> 00:30:24.859
about being a man. Right? The bad things of being

00:30:24.859 --> 00:30:26.480
a man brought Samson down. That's what really

00:30:26.480 --> 00:30:28.460
brought him down. Instead of trusting God and

00:30:28.460 --> 00:30:31.019
remaining in his Nazarite vows, one after another

00:30:31.019 --> 00:30:32.759
he put them away. Getting his hair cut was the

00:30:32.759 --> 00:30:34.759
last Nazarite vow. It wasn't even the first one

00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:36.500
that he broke. It was his last one that he broke,

00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:38.220
right? So what really brought Samson down? Well,

00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:40.240
that's what brought Samson down. He forgot who

00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:42.099
he was in the Lord and he went after the things

00:30:42.099 --> 00:30:44.460
of this earth. And so I've got to understand

00:30:44.460 --> 00:30:46.319
when I read that story something more than I

00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:48.940
shouldn't get my hair cut. I've got to understand

00:30:48.940 --> 00:30:50.700
when I read that story something more than I

00:30:50.700 --> 00:30:53.210
should be strong. I've got to understand something

00:30:53.210 --> 00:30:54.890
more when I read that story than I should hook

00:30:54.890 --> 00:30:58.529
up with a harlot. There's more to that story

00:30:58.529 --> 00:31:01.349
than just he hooked up with a harlot, he let

00:31:01.349 --> 00:31:03.730
her deceive him, she cut his hair, but God was

00:31:03.730 --> 00:31:05.109
faithful to give it back to him in the end and

00:31:05.109 --> 00:31:06.630
he killed all the leaders of the Philistines.

00:31:06.829 --> 00:31:09.750
There's more to that story. And so when you read

00:31:09.750 --> 00:31:12.210
the stories of God, you don't stop at reading

00:31:12.210 --> 00:31:14.609
the stories of God. You listen to the Holy Spirit

00:31:14.609 --> 00:31:16.789
of God and you dig deeper. And the next time

00:31:16.789 --> 00:31:18.829
you read the story, if you didn't get it last

00:31:18.829 --> 00:31:20.710
time, you digest it again. And if you did get

00:31:20.710 --> 00:31:23.950
it last time, what do you do? Dig deeper. Read

00:31:23.950 --> 00:31:26.349
it again and go deeper. More. How does this apply

00:31:26.349 --> 00:31:28.009
to my circumstance? What am I supposed to do?

00:31:28.049 --> 00:31:29.990
What do I need to repent of today? How do I need

00:31:29.990 --> 00:31:32.450
to turn to Christ? What do I look like as a human

00:31:32.450 --> 00:31:35.970
being honoring the story of my God as displayed

00:31:35.970 --> 00:31:40.480
in history? This history of God is to be told

00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:45.920
for learning God's story and retold and retold

00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:48.220
and retold. You may fancy yourself like some

00:31:48.220 --> 00:31:51.579
character from the Bible. Aaron stood up and

00:31:51.579 --> 00:31:54.539
shared about Vacation Bible School that he really

00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:56.539
liked that it followed the story of Peter. I

00:31:56.539 --> 00:31:58.289
really liked that too. You know why? Because

00:31:58.289 --> 00:32:00.569
Peter was a butthead and so am I. That's what

00:32:00.569 --> 00:32:02.630
I like. He was a butthead before he came to Christ.

00:32:02.769 --> 00:32:04.730
Before he truly turned his life over to Christ

00:32:04.730 --> 00:32:08.069
and went so far as to be crucified. And on the

00:32:08.069 --> 00:32:09.809
way as they marched to be crucified, they say

00:32:09.809 --> 00:32:11.730
to him, we're going to crucify you like Jesus.

00:32:11.849 --> 00:32:13.190
You want to be like Jesus? We'll give it to you.

00:32:13.230 --> 00:32:14.269
We're going to crucify you like Jesus. And he

00:32:14.269 --> 00:32:16.730
says, oh no, I am not worthy to be crucified

00:32:16.730 --> 00:32:19.130
like my Lord. So they crucified him upside down.

00:32:19.230 --> 00:32:20.730
Now that's not in the Bible, that's church history.

00:32:20.869 --> 00:32:23.589
But the bottom line is, history is the story

00:32:23.589 --> 00:32:25.970
of God. It's not just what's written in the Bible.

00:32:26.130 --> 00:32:29.220
What happened in World War II? What was God doing?

00:32:29.339 --> 00:32:31.660
What happened in Korea? What was God doing? What

00:32:31.660 --> 00:32:33.500
happened when the United States elected Franklin

00:32:33.500 --> 00:32:36.799
Delano Roosevelt? When in our day, no way he

00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:40.640
gets in office. How did our country change from

00:32:40.640 --> 00:32:43.460
then to now? What has God been doing? Literally,

00:32:43.539 --> 00:32:46.799
the history, I didn't say the Bible, although

00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:50.259
that's certainly true, but history is to be told

00:32:50.259 --> 00:32:55.140
for learning God's story. A poetic man once said

00:32:55.140 --> 00:32:59.000
that history is his story. I don't know if that's

00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:00.480
where it originates at. I'm pretty sure it's

00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:02.519
not where it originates at. But the bottom line

00:33:02.519 --> 00:33:05.319
is the history should be told for learning God's

00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:08.160
story. Can you tell the history of how God put

00:33:08.160 --> 00:33:12.279
this church here on this property? How much of

00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:14.339
it can you get? Because if you don't know it,

00:33:14.339 --> 00:33:16.220
you might want to get it because God did miraculous

00:33:16.220 --> 00:33:19.099
things in that that happened time after time

00:33:19.099 --> 00:33:23.079
again. Providing in incredible ways through His

00:33:23.079 --> 00:33:25.619
power that you can't deny. It's like we didn't

00:33:25.619 --> 00:33:26.859
have it, then all of a sudden you got it. It's

00:33:26.859 --> 00:33:29.400
there. What? It doesn't make any sense. Miraculous

00:33:29.400 --> 00:33:32.420
healings. Call the family in. Okay, the church

00:33:32.420 --> 00:33:36.220
starts praying. Okay, she's getting better. She

00:33:36.220 --> 00:33:39.180
may live after all. Time and again, historic

00:33:39.180 --> 00:33:42.759
events of God has intervened. Judy Bolton, who

00:33:42.759 --> 00:33:46.140
died from cancer, was miraculously, miraculously,

00:33:46.140 --> 00:33:48.720
no question about it, miraculously with the doctor

00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:51.279
saying, I can't understand this. This can't possibly

00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:53.720
be true. While we were in there, we took a look

00:33:53.720 --> 00:33:55.500
around to see how much more. There is no more

00:33:55.500 --> 00:33:58.630
cancer. It's all gone. That was one of the two

00:33:58.630 --> 00:34:00.369
times she was miraculously healed from cancer.

00:34:00.450 --> 00:34:02.569
And she would eventually die from cancer and

00:34:02.569 --> 00:34:04.769
not be miraculously healed. But in that, she

00:34:04.769 --> 00:34:06.430
prayed for no pain, die in her sleep, and she

00:34:06.430 --> 00:34:08.469
had no pain. The nurses kept saying, you sure

00:34:08.469 --> 00:34:11.429
you don't need pain medicine? Open sores on her

00:34:11.429 --> 00:34:15.329
feet, like literal holes in her legs. That hurts.

00:34:15.670 --> 00:34:17.030
They're like, you've got to have pain. She's

00:34:17.030 --> 00:34:18.210
like, I don't have any pain. I haven't had any

00:34:18.210 --> 00:34:20.480
pain for days. They kept trying to give her more

00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:22.179
pain pills. She didn't need any because she didn't

00:34:22.179 --> 00:34:24.840
have any pain. And then eventually, the ventilator

00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:26.460
couldn't keep her awake. She went to sleep. They

00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:27.940
took her off the ventilator. She went to be with

00:34:27.940 --> 00:34:30.539
the Lord. That's a miracle. A third one that

00:34:30.539 --> 00:34:32.619
we can count, and she would tell you if she was

00:34:32.619 --> 00:34:34.420
here, the miracles that she saw in her life before

00:34:34.420 --> 00:34:37.920
she ever got saved. The history that is going

00:34:37.920 --> 00:34:41.119
on in our day must be told for learning God's

00:34:41.119 --> 00:34:42.760
story. In order for that to be true, the people

00:34:42.760 --> 00:34:46.119
that are living it must be about Jesus. You've

00:34:46.119 --> 00:34:48.440
got to tell your kids when something goes right,

00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:51.940
Why God made it go right this time. And when

00:34:51.940 --> 00:34:53.360
something goes wrong, you've got to be able to

00:34:53.360 --> 00:34:56.179
tell them why God allowed it to go wrong this

00:34:56.179 --> 00:34:57.820
time. And the only way you're going to be able

00:34:57.820 --> 00:35:00.519
to do that is if you're daily walking with the

00:35:00.519 --> 00:35:02.199
Lord and you can hear His voice. And the only

00:35:02.199 --> 00:35:03.920
way you're going to do that is if you spend more

00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:08.300
time in Jesus than you spend in the world. The

00:35:08.300 --> 00:35:11.639
history must be told for learning God's story.

00:35:12.440 --> 00:35:14.440
The other man that I would quote is a man named

00:35:14.440 --> 00:35:17.460
Novalis. Now Novalis, that's his... kind of nickname

00:35:17.460 --> 00:35:19.039
because he's got this really long name that's

00:35:19.039 --> 00:35:21.039
like 11 syllables that I can't even pronounce.

00:35:21.340 --> 00:35:23.579
But all the writers always put him down as Novalis

00:35:23.579 --> 00:35:25.840
because that was his nickname in that day. And

00:35:25.840 --> 00:35:28.840
he was actually what's called a romantic poet.

00:35:29.900 --> 00:35:32.699
So he saw the world through romantic eyes. Now

00:35:32.699 --> 00:35:34.360
he was a professing Christian. He kind of tended

00:35:34.360 --> 00:35:36.139
toward Catholicism, but I don't hold that against

00:35:36.139 --> 00:35:38.579
him. He was a professing Christian. And he said

00:35:38.579 --> 00:35:40.460
this, he says, the highest view which can be

00:35:40.460 --> 00:35:43.280
taken of history is that in which its events

00:35:43.280 --> 00:35:47.320
are regarded as parables of God. addressed to

00:35:47.320 --> 00:35:50.639
men. The Jewish people believe prophecy is like

00:35:50.639 --> 00:35:53.579
this. Here's a prophecy. Here is the prophecy

00:35:53.579 --> 00:35:55.699
fulfilled. Let's see if it will get fulfilled

00:35:55.699 --> 00:35:57.800
again. Let's see if it gets fulfilled again.

00:35:57.900 --> 00:36:00.659
And they have prophecies that are fulfilled again

00:36:00.659 --> 00:36:03.260
and again and again. What makes you think that

00:36:03.260 --> 00:36:05.179
the events of your life that you're living, and

00:36:05.179 --> 00:36:06.860
I know that your life is not really about you,

00:36:06.980 --> 00:36:08.980
right? You're just the main character physically

00:36:08.980 --> 00:36:11.500
speaking. The real main character is a God, right?

00:36:11.579 --> 00:36:15.190
Is God himself. But what if the... The events

00:36:15.190 --> 00:36:16.690
that you're going through, the actual things

00:36:16.690 --> 00:36:19.429
that are happening in your life are parables

00:36:19.429 --> 00:36:23.130
for you to teach the next generation about the

00:36:23.130 --> 00:36:26.269
God that is at work in you. And you should be

00:36:26.269 --> 00:36:28.369
telling the people around you and children and

00:36:28.369 --> 00:36:30.050
anybody who will listen, the people you work

00:36:30.050 --> 00:36:32.070
with, whatever, you say, well, now this happened.

00:36:32.250 --> 00:36:33.730
What do you think? We have the inspirational

00:36:33.730 --> 00:36:35.530
moment. We talk about, well, I saw this and God

00:36:35.530 --> 00:36:37.269
told me to pay attention to that. And a lot of

00:36:37.269 --> 00:36:38.550
times we'll have like three, four people speak

00:36:38.550 --> 00:36:40.849
up and that's great. But it ought to be, we all

00:36:40.849 --> 00:36:43.329
have seven to ten of those every single week.

00:36:43.570 --> 00:36:45.429
And you should get a book and write them down

00:36:45.429 --> 00:36:46.909
because someday you might have grandchildren

00:36:46.909 --> 00:36:48.809
or your grandchildren might have grandchildren.

00:36:48.849 --> 00:36:50.050
You might still be around. You might have to

00:36:50.050 --> 00:36:51.610
deliver the gospel to somebody who needs to deliver

00:36:51.610 --> 00:36:53.090
the gospel to somebody who needs to deliver the

00:36:53.090 --> 00:36:55.309
gospel. That's the only person there. a racial

00:36:55.309 --> 00:36:57.250
woman to be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

00:36:57.889 --> 00:37:02.230
You might have work to do. And the stories of

00:37:02.230 --> 00:37:05.230
your life are the parables to tell them. You

00:37:05.230 --> 00:37:06.889
say, well, there was a farmer who went out to

00:37:06.889 --> 00:37:09.070
sow seed. Yeah, everybody knows that one. But

00:37:09.070 --> 00:37:10.630
how about when you got out of bed and didn't

00:37:10.630 --> 00:37:12.329
feel like doing what you were supposed to do,

00:37:12.369 --> 00:37:13.809
but God said, let's go. And then you started

00:37:13.809 --> 00:37:15.909
doing it and God empowered it. What does that

00:37:15.909 --> 00:37:18.389
teach you? When you got up on Sunday morning,

00:37:18.429 --> 00:37:19.909
you didn't want to go to worship. You didn't

00:37:19.909 --> 00:37:21.449
feel like it. But after the second song, you're

00:37:21.449 --> 00:37:23.719
going like, oh, that's gone. What does that teach

00:37:23.719 --> 00:37:25.800
you? Where are the parables that come out of

00:37:25.800 --> 00:37:29.579
your life? I'm going to be completely blunt with

00:37:29.579 --> 00:37:33.039
you. I am tired of hearing people say, what do

00:37:33.039 --> 00:37:34.940
you know about God? And all they can do is quote

00:37:34.940 --> 00:37:40.199
the Bible. People who don't even know Jesus can

00:37:40.199 --> 00:37:43.539
know that about God. What do you know about God?

00:37:44.339 --> 00:37:47.059
The story of your life, the history of your life,

00:37:47.119 --> 00:37:49.000
the things that you are doing, the history of

00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:50.480
your life is not something to look back and long

00:37:50.480 --> 00:37:52.460
for. It's not something to look back and regret

00:37:52.460 --> 00:37:55.000
at. It is something to digest, to give you the

00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:57.659
message, to deliver to those who need it. Because

00:37:57.659 --> 00:38:01.719
the history is to be told for learning God's

00:38:01.719 --> 00:38:05.599
story. The truth is, if you can't share the parables

00:38:05.599 --> 00:38:07.139
of your life with a lost and dying generation,

00:38:07.380 --> 00:38:10.460
then you're no more better than Ephraim with

00:38:10.460 --> 00:38:14.460
a bow who runs from battle. I didn't say it.

00:38:15.079 --> 00:38:19.739
The psalmist wrote it. Are you or are you not

00:38:19.739 --> 00:38:22.340
in the fight? You say, ah, sometimes it's so

00:38:22.340 --> 00:38:23.900
hard, man. It's so hard. I'm in the fight. I'm

00:38:23.900 --> 00:38:25.980
fighting. If you're fighting to be in the fight,

00:38:26.039 --> 00:38:29.900
you ain't in the fight. The fight is we are supposed

00:38:29.900 --> 00:38:31.800
to be delivering the message about God to this

00:38:31.800 --> 00:38:33.920
generation and the generation to come. History

00:38:33.920 --> 00:38:39.679
is to be told for learning God's story. So often,

00:38:39.780 --> 00:38:42.099
this is the second point we see in here, that

00:38:42.099 --> 00:38:44.760
people reflect on history as if those who suffered

00:38:44.760 --> 00:38:48.599
God's wrath were due that wrath rather than for

00:38:48.599 --> 00:38:52.900
learning how God delivers. Why did Samson lose?

00:38:53.300 --> 00:38:55.719
Because he was a bad guy. Because he was an idiot.

00:38:56.019 --> 00:38:58.400
Who would be so stupid to lay his head down there

00:38:58.400 --> 00:39:01.940
a third time and give her the real last Nazarite

00:39:01.940 --> 00:39:03.519
vow as the reason that he might lose his strength,

00:39:03.599 --> 00:39:05.360
which is kind of dumb anyway because God gave

00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:06.940
him the strength. He gave him the strength because...

00:39:07.210 --> 00:39:09.090
He was God's man, not because he was a Nazarite

00:39:09.090 --> 00:39:10.969
specifically, but the point is he was willing

00:39:10.969 --> 00:39:13.110
to tempt God, willing to mock God. Who would

00:39:13.110 --> 00:39:15.070
do that? Who's dumb enough to do that a third

00:39:15.070 --> 00:39:18.150
time? And we look at that and we go, I'll never

00:39:18.150 --> 00:39:20.710
be like that. I'll learn my lesson and just not

00:39:20.710 --> 00:39:23.510
be like him. And then the truth is, years later,

00:39:23.530 --> 00:39:26.409
we're exactly like him because we misdiagnosed

00:39:26.409 --> 00:39:30.010
the story. We looked at him and said, we don't

00:39:30.010 --> 00:39:31.650
want to be like that because we don't want that

00:39:31.650 --> 00:39:34.869
result. You ever hear anybody go to the doctor

00:39:34.869 --> 00:39:37.530
and they got cancer? What's the first thing,

00:39:37.590 --> 00:39:38.849
I'll tell you right now, what's the first thing

00:39:38.849 --> 00:39:40.969
that goes through most people's minds other than,

00:39:41.070 --> 00:39:42.590
I'm sorry that's happening, I'll pray for you,

00:39:42.610 --> 00:39:44.769
those basic things, right? What is it? Second

00:39:44.769 --> 00:39:47.449
thing, make sure. Yep, make sure you got, make

00:39:47.449 --> 00:39:50.909
sure it's real, right? And then, did they smoke?

00:39:52.329 --> 00:39:55.469
Did they work with asbestos? Right? Where is

00:39:55.469 --> 00:39:57.469
the carcinogen? Where is the thing that caused

00:39:57.469 --> 00:40:00.369
them to get cancer? Right? Because doctors know

00:40:00.369 --> 00:40:02.369
lots of things that causes people to get cancer,

00:40:02.489 --> 00:40:07.860
right? And so, If they're 60 and they smoke for

00:40:07.860 --> 00:40:09.599
50 years of their life and they have cancer,

00:40:09.760 --> 00:40:14.860
then that's how it works, right? Well, guess

00:40:14.860 --> 00:40:17.659
what? Lots of people who don't smoke get cancer.

00:40:18.559 --> 00:40:20.480
Lots of people who don't work with asbestos get

00:40:20.480 --> 00:40:22.420
cancer. Lots of people who don't work in coal

00:40:22.420 --> 00:40:24.460
mines get cancer. Lots of people who don't work

00:40:24.460 --> 00:40:26.380
in factories get cancer. You can go down the

00:40:26.380 --> 00:40:29.800
list. And you can go, every single reason a person

00:40:29.800 --> 00:40:31.880
might ever get cancer and get to the bottom,

00:40:31.900 --> 00:40:33.219
and there's no reason that person might have

00:40:33.219 --> 00:40:35.480
cancer, and they still have cancer. And you'd

00:40:35.480 --> 00:40:37.139
give that person some mercy, wouldn't you? You'd

00:40:37.139 --> 00:40:38.900
be like, oh, that's really a shame if they have

00:40:38.900 --> 00:40:40.460
cancer. I feel terrible if they have cancer because

00:40:40.460 --> 00:40:41.980
they didn't do anything to deserve it. What?

00:40:42.860 --> 00:40:47.260
Nobody deserves cancer. Not in Christ. Not as

00:40:47.260 --> 00:40:49.500
a believer. Not if you recognize who the Lord

00:40:49.500 --> 00:40:52.480
is. History tells us that people get it if they

00:40:52.480 --> 00:40:54.940
do things to get it, but that does not make us

00:40:54.940 --> 00:40:57.909
not going to get it. That's not how that works.

00:40:59.329 --> 00:41:02.250
So you might get it. And you might go, well,

00:41:02.369 --> 00:41:06.090
I don't deserve it. I don't want it. I feel bad.

00:41:06.289 --> 00:41:08.869
Well, my back's sore every day, and my back shouldn't

00:41:08.869 --> 00:41:10.769
be sore. I didn't do anything to cause my back

00:41:10.769 --> 00:41:15.489
to be sore. Yes, you did. You lived in your body.

00:41:16.130 --> 00:41:18.690
That's your house. And somehow or other, we're

00:41:18.690 --> 00:41:20.510
all not taking care of the body the way that

00:41:20.510 --> 00:41:23.360
we should. We need to recognize, as we reflect

00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:25.500
on history, instead of saying, oh yeah, they

00:41:25.500 --> 00:41:27.659
suffered God's wrath because they were due God's

00:41:27.659 --> 00:41:30.019
wrath, and I'm going to try to avoid that, we

00:41:30.019 --> 00:41:34.260
should learn how God, what? Delivers people from

00:41:34.260 --> 00:41:36.380
His own wrath. That's what we're supposed to

00:41:36.380 --> 00:41:38.820
learn. Time and again they were rebellious, and

00:41:38.820 --> 00:41:42.280
time and again He brought them out. He holds

00:41:42.280 --> 00:41:46.239
the more blessed, the more accountable. If God

00:41:46.239 --> 00:41:48.960
has blessed you and given you greatly, And I'm

00:41:48.960 --> 00:41:50.539
going to say to you that it's probably true that

00:41:50.539 --> 00:41:51.920
if you're here today, God has blessed you and

00:41:51.920 --> 00:41:54.639
given you greatly. But you decide for yourself.

00:41:54.739 --> 00:41:56.460
It's not my place to say, but it feels that way.

00:41:57.300 --> 00:41:58.960
We're living in a country where you can hear

00:41:58.960 --> 00:42:00.559
the gospel preached anytime you want. Now, you

00:42:00.559 --> 00:42:04.619
may not have, but you can. You can own your own

00:42:04.619 --> 00:42:07.099
Bible for a buck and a quarter. You may not own

00:42:07.099 --> 00:42:10.139
a Bible, but you can. The blessings are delivered.

00:42:10.340 --> 00:42:14.380
And so, realize God holds more accountable those

00:42:14.380 --> 00:42:17.420
who are more blessed. Who was the holiest man

00:42:17.420 --> 00:42:21.920
in... Moses today. Who was the guy that nobody

00:42:21.920 --> 00:42:26.260
could hold a candle to? Moses. And coming out

00:42:26.260 --> 00:42:28.019
of Egypt, from the moment he came out of Egypt

00:42:28.019 --> 00:42:30.139
to the moment that he didn't go into the promised

00:42:30.139 --> 00:42:32.400
land, can you count the number of times that

00:42:32.400 --> 00:42:36.460
Moses sinned in the story of Moses? I can. No.

00:42:37.699 --> 00:42:43.199
Once. One time. There's one. One sin listed in

00:42:43.199 --> 00:42:48.019
the entire story of Moses. Yes, it is. He struck

00:42:48.019 --> 00:42:50.840
the rock instead of talking to the rock. And

00:42:50.840 --> 00:42:56.260
he said, must I give you again? Nah, God will

00:42:56.260 --> 00:42:59.400
give you water out of this rock. So his pride,

00:42:59.579 --> 00:43:03.019
his arrogance. But one, how many times have the

00:43:03.019 --> 00:43:06.519
other people sinned? Oh gosh, probably every

00:43:06.519 --> 00:43:10.460
day they were alive. Right? How many times have

00:43:10.460 --> 00:43:12.559
I sinned? Yeah, probably just about every day

00:43:12.559 --> 00:43:15.530
I've been alive. I'm not like Moses. Moses had

00:43:15.530 --> 00:43:17.869
one sin from the time he brought them out of

00:43:17.869 --> 00:43:19.329
Egypt to the time when the promise landed. Because

00:43:19.329 --> 00:43:23.210
of that, God, literally it says in the Hebrew,

00:43:23.389 --> 00:43:27.929
spoke him dead. For those who are more blessed,

00:43:28.150 --> 00:43:30.989
a higher level of accountability is required.

00:43:31.429 --> 00:43:34.190
You can have the Holy Spirit of God in you. You

00:43:34.190 --> 00:43:36.730
can be saved and walk with Christ every waking

00:43:36.730 --> 00:43:38.550
moment and truthfully you can be with him while

00:43:38.550 --> 00:43:40.150
you sleep because he doesn't leave when you sleep.

00:43:41.229 --> 00:43:43.929
You can have something that nobody else ever

00:43:43.929 --> 00:43:46.849
had. That's why Paul said, now, now that it's

00:43:46.849 --> 00:43:49.170
been revealed, it is for every man to repent.

00:43:49.590 --> 00:43:51.289
You think there wasn't anybody who went to heaven

00:43:51.289 --> 00:43:53.090
before that moment, before Jesus was crucified?

00:43:53.170 --> 00:43:55.010
No, they were all like, well, I'm doing the best

00:43:55.010 --> 00:43:56.530
I can. I'm believing in God for whatever way

00:43:56.530 --> 00:43:57.530
he's going to make. I'm just going to do the

00:43:57.530 --> 00:43:59.750
best I can. And they had sin. How many times

00:43:59.750 --> 00:44:01.530
in the Bible can you count sin in Jacob's life?

00:44:01.789 --> 00:44:03.989
Do you know what Jacob means? The word Jacob

00:44:03.989 --> 00:44:06.699
means deceiver. Throughout his story he seemed

00:44:06.699 --> 00:44:09.199
deceiving, deceiving, deceiving, deceiving. And

00:44:09.199 --> 00:44:10.820
then he would be named Israel and become the

00:44:10.820 --> 00:44:14.920
father of all God's people. God is a gracious

00:44:14.920 --> 00:44:17.679
God. He wants to give. He wants to bring you

00:44:17.679 --> 00:44:22.500
out. But once he does that, the expectation is

00:44:22.500 --> 00:44:26.579
raised. God holds accountable more the blessed.

00:44:27.480 --> 00:44:29.860
Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament. For

00:44:29.860 --> 00:44:32.019
all we know, they were saved. They professed

00:44:32.019 --> 00:44:34.329
to be saved. Nobody ever said they weren't. But

00:44:34.329 --> 00:44:36.110
they saw Barnabas sell a property and give all

00:44:36.110 --> 00:44:38.730
the money in, right? And he said, here's all

00:44:38.730 --> 00:44:40.090
the money. Take care of the church. Take care

00:44:40.090 --> 00:44:42.269
of the poor here. And Barnabas kind of got the

00:44:42.269 --> 00:44:43.929
kudos. Oh, that's wonderful. You're a great guy,

00:44:44.030 --> 00:44:46.070
Barnabas. You're the best. Name him the encourager,

00:44:46.170 --> 00:44:48.449
right? And they're like, well, let's sell our

00:44:48.449 --> 00:44:50.050
property. And they sold their property. And they

00:44:50.050 --> 00:44:52.010
kept back some of the money. They didn't give

00:44:52.010 --> 00:44:53.949
it all into the treasury. But they said they

00:44:53.949 --> 00:44:55.929
did. They let everybody believe they gave all

00:44:55.929 --> 00:44:59.610
the money into the treasury. And God struck them

00:44:59.610 --> 00:45:03.079
dead. One at a time, he struck them dead. Because

00:45:03.079 --> 00:45:06.500
once you're saved in Christ, there is a higher

00:45:06.500 --> 00:45:10.000
level of accountability. The blessed are held

00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:12.639
more accountable. So when you look back at history

00:45:12.639 --> 00:45:15.840
and you see people sin, and they kind of make

00:45:15.840 --> 00:45:17.699
it through. God gives them grace and it's okay.

00:45:17.820 --> 00:45:21.380
Don't you ever say, well, he did it. I can do

00:45:21.380 --> 00:45:23.239
it too. God will take care of me. Don't do that.

00:45:23.340 --> 00:45:25.460
Because you are saved in Christ. You have the

00:45:25.460 --> 00:45:27.699
Holy Spirit, if indeed you are. And you have

00:45:27.699 --> 00:45:30.119
a higher level of responsibility to God who cleanses

00:45:30.119 --> 00:45:33.739
your soul, who regenerates you, who seals you

00:45:33.739 --> 00:45:36.940
for the day of His next appearing. God holds

00:45:36.940 --> 00:45:41.639
more accountable those who are more blessed.

00:45:42.159 --> 00:45:45.739
He surrenders the fool to folly and He supplants

00:45:45.739 --> 00:45:48.420
the chosen with another when the chosen looks

00:45:48.420 --> 00:45:52.230
down on His provision. You understand that? So

00:45:52.230 --> 00:45:54.710
if you're stupid enough to anger God, to cause

00:45:54.710 --> 00:45:57.510
the wrath of God to come upon you, after you've

00:45:57.510 --> 00:45:59.730
been called, God will move you out of the way.

00:46:00.550 --> 00:46:05.070
Now, He may kill you, but probably not. There'll

00:46:05.070 --> 00:46:06.590
just be a break in your relationship with Him

00:46:06.590 --> 00:46:09.349
that persists for the rest of your life. You'll

00:46:09.349 --> 00:46:12.090
take your whole family with you, like the jailer

00:46:12.090 --> 00:46:13.730
who repented, and they all brought him in, and

00:46:13.730 --> 00:46:15.769
they all accepted Christ, and they all got back

00:46:15.769 --> 00:46:16.949
to you. You'll take your whole family with you,

00:46:17.030 --> 00:46:20.900
and then you fall, because you're folly. Is that

00:46:20.900 --> 00:46:23.400
you value the things of this life more than you

00:46:23.400 --> 00:46:24.920
value God? It might even be your family that

00:46:24.920 --> 00:46:26.800
you value, right? It could be the money. You'll

00:46:26.800 --> 00:46:28.300
do well. You get promoted, promoted, promoted.

00:46:28.360 --> 00:46:29.619
You're doing so well because you're working.

00:46:29.659 --> 00:46:31.059
You're doing it as if you're doing it unto God.

00:46:31.199 --> 00:46:32.880
And then you start thinking about the money one

00:46:32.880 --> 00:46:35.099
day. Start thinking about retirement. Start thinking

00:46:35.099 --> 00:46:38.639
about a boat or an RV or better things for yourself

00:46:38.639 --> 00:46:40.360
or for your family. Start thinking about it,

00:46:40.380 --> 00:46:41.739
right? Everybody's going to be okay. I'm going

00:46:41.739 --> 00:46:42.719
to make sure everybody's going to be okay. It's

00:46:42.719 --> 00:46:44.159
all going to be good. I need more money. I need

00:46:44.159 --> 00:46:45.340
more money. I need more money. Make sure it's

00:46:45.340 --> 00:46:47.039
all going to be good. And where is God in that?

00:46:47.099 --> 00:46:48.679
He's nowhere. And then the next thing you know,

00:46:48.969 --> 00:46:50.809
this person's drifting, and that person's drifting,

00:46:50.809 --> 00:46:53.309
and you were thinking you were the anchor, and

00:46:53.309 --> 00:46:54.730
frankly, they were thinking you were the anchor,

00:46:54.809 --> 00:46:57.230
and now you're not anymore. And it can fall apart.

00:46:57.730 --> 00:47:01.210
God surrenders the fool to his folly. And He

00:47:01.210 --> 00:47:03.690
supplants the chosen with another when the chosen

00:47:03.690 --> 00:47:09.309
looks down on God's provision. Are you serving

00:47:09.309 --> 00:47:13.900
the living God? Because if you are, And in serving

00:47:13.900 --> 00:47:16.139
the living God, you delve into folly. You let

00:47:16.139 --> 00:47:17.659
other things be more important. Or you start

00:47:17.659 --> 00:47:19.420
thinking about the things of this earth. Like

00:47:19.420 --> 00:47:20.880
they were in the wilderness. They were brought

00:47:20.880 --> 00:47:22.480
out from God with miraculous intervention. They're

00:47:22.480 --> 00:47:24.880
in the wilderness then. And then they start like,

00:47:24.980 --> 00:47:27.320
we don't like this manna that rains down from

00:47:27.320 --> 00:47:29.980
the sky. It's kind of plain. Can't we get some

00:47:29.980 --> 00:47:33.690
meat? So God made a wind blow. The fowl dropped

00:47:33.690 --> 00:47:35.349
in their midst. It's all the psalmist's example,

00:47:35.590 --> 00:47:38.070
right? It's his example. The fowl dropped in

00:47:38.070 --> 00:47:39.809
there. They start eating it. While the meat was

00:47:39.809 --> 00:47:41.630
still in their mouths, the strongest amongst

00:47:41.630 --> 00:47:48.170
them began to die. God surrenders the fool to

00:47:48.170 --> 00:47:50.829
his folly and supplants the chosen. Israel, Jacob

00:47:50.829 --> 00:47:53.809
would be the chosen people of God. Israel's descendants,

00:47:54.070 --> 00:47:56.809
Joseph, Ephraim, the chosen people of God would

00:47:56.809 --> 00:47:58.590
all come out of there. But then there was a man,

00:47:58.750 --> 00:48:02.530
David. And he switched all of that over to David

00:48:02.530 --> 00:48:04.929
and said, a descendant of yours. Did you know

00:48:04.929 --> 00:48:09.670
that there are women in Jesus' ancestry? It's

00:48:09.670 --> 00:48:11.829
not even only a patriarchal ancestry. They can

00:48:11.829 --> 00:48:14.650
trace their lineage back to Abraham. But it won't

00:48:14.650 --> 00:48:17.530
do them squat good. Because Christ is the one

00:48:17.530 --> 00:48:19.690
who saves. Christ is the leader of the people.

00:48:19.809 --> 00:48:21.989
Christ is the head of the church. Christ is the

00:48:21.989 --> 00:48:23.869
one who decides who goes to heaven and who doesn't.

00:48:24.030 --> 00:48:27.230
Christ is the only way. And he came out of the

00:48:27.230 --> 00:48:30.039
descendants of David. And you can find Ruth in

00:48:30.039 --> 00:48:33.679
there, who was a Moabitess, not even a Jew. And

00:48:33.679 --> 00:48:36.840
she was brought in. She supplanted God's chosen

00:48:36.840 --> 00:48:40.840
people. And the church is the same way. We supplant

00:48:40.840 --> 00:48:44.199
the chosen people of God. Now, I understand the

00:48:44.199 --> 00:48:47.000
chosen people of God can be included. I'll come

00:48:47.000 --> 00:48:49.809
back to that. He, after handing out blessings,

00:48:50.030 --> 00:48:52.530
He does not sleep or ignore. God is not just

00:48:52.530 --> 00:48:54.030
letting you do whatever the heck you want, whenever

00:48:54.030 --> 00:48:55.530
you want, letting you suffer, letting you do

00:48:55.530 --> 00:48:58.230
well, whatever. God does not sleep or ignore.

00:48:58.369 --> 00:49:02.289
He is present until and if the blessed show a

00:49:02.289 --> 00:49:05.630
desire more for the things of this earth than

00:49:05.630 --> 00:49:07.929
they do for God. If you're stupid enough to do

00:49:07.929 --> 00:49:09.889
that, then you won't be able to find Him anywhere

00:49:09.889 --> 00:49:13.769
in your life. even if He sealed your heart and

00:49:13.769 --> 00:49:15.949
saved you for eternity, if you choose the things

00:49:15.949 --> 00:49:18.210
of this world over God, you might look for Him

00:49:18.210 --> 00:49:21.010
and never find Him. Because He's not going to

00:49:21.010 --> 00:49:23.710
be part of that. And He calls out every generation.

00:49:23.929 --> 00:49:26.170
Out of every generation, He calls out worshipers

00:49:26.170 --> 00:49:29.090
in spirit and truth. Since Adam and Eve, every

00:49:29.090 --> 00:49:31.230
generation, He calls out worshipers in spirit

00:49:31.230 --> 00:49:33.949
and truth that can stay the course because they

00:49:33.949 --> 00:49:38.389
have tasted and seen and known the supreme value

00:49:38.389 --> 00:49:42.889
of the Lord. People reflect on history as if

00:49:42.889 --> 00:49:45.769
those who suffered God's wrath were due that

00:49:45.769 --> 00:49:48.690
wrath. The reality is we were all due that wrath.

00:49:49.329 --> 00:49:52.210
But we should reflect on history to learn how

00:49:52.210 --> 00:49:56.789
God delivers. That brings us to our conclusion.

00:49:58.429 --> 00:50:02.969
We must not look into the rich history of God's

00:50:02.969 --> 00:50:06.849
people and repeat the mistakes we see happening

00:50:06.849 --> 00:50:10.869
there. God has called the church to be this very

00:50:10.869 --> 00:50:16.030
thing, the replacement people of God. We can

00:50:16.030 --> 00:50:24.809
reasonably expect that He can keep us, that He

00:50:24.809 --> 00:50:27.869
can fill us with His eternal character, or He

00:50:27.869 --> 00:50:30.309
can remove us just the same as He removed the

00:50:30.309 --> 00:50:34.039
chosen fallen people before us. The church is

00:50:34.039 --> 00:50:36.739
the replacement for those from history who failed

00:50:36.739 --> 00:50:40.800
to desire God more, love God more, keep God's

00:50:40.800 --> 00:50:44.039
ways more, while at the same time desiring God's

00:50:44.039 --> 00:50:50.059
provision above all things. But the truth is,

00:50:50.159 --> 00:50:53.280
they got to the point where any provision would

00:50:53.280 --> 00:50:56.300
do, as long as it could be attributed to God,

00:50:56.460 --> 00:50:59.349
and then eventually... They didn't even care

00:50:59.349 --> 00:51:02.530
if it could be attributed to God anymore just

00:51:02.530 --> 00:51:05.670
as long as they were provided for. In case you

00:51:05.670 --> 00:51:07.429
think I'm just pulling this out of left field,

00:51:07.510 --> 00:51:09.369
it's clear that the psalmist didn't quite say

00:51:09.369 --> 00:51:11.710
that last thing that I said. I want to read briefly

00:51:11.710 --> 00:51:14.889
to you from Romans 11. This is our last scripture

00:51:14.889 --> 00:51:19.070
for the day. Some of you are going, oh, I kind

00:51:19.070 --> 00:51:21.070
of know what he's about to read. And others of

00:51:21.070 --> 00:51:22.469
you are going, well, I should read my Bible more

00:51:22.469 --> 00:51:24.929
and I would know what he's about to read. Romans

00:51:24.929 --> 00:51:27.550
11 says this, beginning in verse 15. He says,

00:51:28.429 --> 00:51:31.789
For if their rejection, that's Israel as the

00:51:31.789 --> 00:51:34.409
people of God, if their rejection be the reconciliation

00:51:34.409 --> 00:51:38.409
of the world, what will their acceptance be but

00:51:38.409 --> 00:51:40.849
life from the dead? And if the first piece of

00:51:40.849 --> 00:51:43.489
dough be holy and the lump is also, and if the

00:51:43.489 --> 00:51:47.570
root be holy, the branches are also. But if some

00:51:47.570 --> 00:51:50.030
of the branches were broken off, and you being

00:51:50.030 --> 00:51:52.590
a wild olive were grafted in among them and became

00:51:52.590 --> 00:51:54.949
partaker with them of the rich root of the olive

00:51:54.949 --> 00:51:57.710
tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches.

00:51:58.329 --> 00:52:01.090
But if you are arrogant, remember that it is

00:52:01.090 --> 00:52:03.389
not you who supports the root, but the root supports

00:52:03.389 --> 00:52:05.929
you. You will say then, branches were broken

00:52:05.929 --> 00:52:07.969
off so that I might be grafted in. Quite right.

00:52:08.150 --> 00:52:10.710
They were broken off for their unbelief, but

00:52:10.710 --> 00:52:13.369
you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited,

00:52:13.369 --> 00:52:16.030
but fear, for if God did not spare the natural

00:52:16.030 --> 00:52:19.469
branches, neither will he spare you. Behold then

00:52:19.469 --> 00:52:22.329
the kindness and severity of God to those who

00:52:22.329 --> 00:52:26.400
fell. but to you God's kindness. If you continue

00:52:26.400 --> 00:52:29.219
in His kindness, otherwise you also will be cut

00:52:29.219 --> 00:52:32.699
off. We can stop right there. It says enough,

00:52:32.780 --> 00:52:35.840
doesn't it? The apothigmatic history of God.

00:52:36.019 --> 00:52:42.139
So the word apothigmatic means short, powerful,

00:52:42.480 --> 00:52:47.119
saying, or formulation, like a plan or a book,

00:52:47.300 --> 00:52:51.619
right? So this is the apothigmatic history of

00:52:51.619 --> 00:52:55.400
God. And the truth is, you only know what your

00:52:55.400 --> 00:52:57.940
life is like, what you've witnessed with your

00:52:57.940 --> 00:53:00.880
eyes, and your living testimony, what you can

00:53:00.880 --> 00:53:04.840
talk about that you know is true. That is the

00:53:04.840 --> 00:53:07.940
apothigmatic history of God for you. And you

00:53:07.940 --> 00:53:10.539
say, but that's so much. To know this Bible from

00:53:10.539 --> 00:53:12.119
end to end would be so much. So there's about,

00:53:12.280 --> 00:53:14.619
depending on your translation, there's between

00:53:14.619 --> 00:53:18.800
725 ,000 and 800 ,000 words in this Bible. That

00:53:18.800 --> 00:53:22.030
sounds like a lot. But of those, almost 2 % of

00:53:22.030 --> 00:53:25.610
those words are God or Lord. So that cuts it

00:53:25.610 --> 00:53:29.869
down a little bit. It's not 800 ,000 different

00:53:29.869 --> 00:53:35.389
words. It's not. Nobody has done the statistic

00:53:35.389 --> 00:53:37.070
to know, or at least I couldn't find it to know

00:53:37.070 --> 00:53:39.510
exactly how many different words there are exactly.

00:53:39.769 --> 00:53:42.969
It depends on the translation, obviously. The

00:53:42.969 --> 00:53:45.969
bottom line is, this is definitely an apophagmatic

00:53:45.969 --> 00:53:51.369
presentation of the truth about God. And your

00:53:51.369 --> 00:53:54.010
life is apothigmatic. All you have to remember

00:53:54.010 --> 00:53:56.710
is what happened to you. Now it would be nice

00:53:56.710 --> 00:53:58.190
if you could also remember some of what happened

00:53:58.190 --> 00:54:00.130
to your parents. If your parents have a great

00:54:00.130 --> 00:54:02.809
testimony, remember their story. If they walked

00:54:02.809 --> 00:54:04.769
against God and realized it and turned to God,

00:54:04.849 --> 00:54:09.130
remember their story. If they loved God and He

00:54:09.130 --> 00:54:10.550
loved them back and were taken care of, bless

00:54:10.550 --> 00:54:12.940
you. then remember their story and deliver it

00:54:12.940 --> 00:54:14.900
to your kids and your kids' kids and say, you

00:54:14.900 --> 00:54:16.920
know, when I was younger, I heard these stories

00:54:16.920 --> 00:54:18.960
of what God had amazingly done in my parents'

00:54:19.059 --> 00:54:20.539
life, but I didn't really listen and I didn't

00:54:20.539 --> 00:54:22.300
really follow the way I should. And then I repent

00:54:22.300 --> 00:54:23.760
and I turn back. Don't make the mistake that

00:54:23.760 --> 00:54:26.539
I made. Tell the apothigmatic history. You say,

00:54:26.579 --> 00:54:29.460
no, it's not short. It is short. Pithy means...

00:54:30.089 --> 00:54:32.429
Essential, short, and powerful. The Bible is

00:54:32.429 --> 00:54:35.489
a condensed version of everything. If you actually

00:54:35.489 --> 00:54:37.329
wanted to write down every detail that happened

00:54:37.329 --> 00:54:39.989
in the life of Moses, it would take books upon

00:54:39.989 --> 00:54:42.610
books to write that down. It even says that in

00:54:42.610 --> 00:54:43.869
the New Testament about the life of Jesus. If

00:54:43.869 --> 00:54:45.329
you want to write down everything that was about

00:54:45.329 --> 00:54:47.789
Jesus, it would take books upon books to write

00:54:47.789 --> 00:54:49.530
down everything that he did. If you want to write

00:54:49.530 --> 00:54:51.719
down everything that happened in your life, It

00:54:51.719 --> 00:54:53.139
would take books upon books and then it would

00:54:53.139 --> 00:54:55.960
take me years upon years to pry it out of you.

00:54:56.000 --> 00:54:57.840
And the truth is I probably can't. Why? Because

00:54:57.840 --> 00:55:00.199
we're stuffing ourselves so full of so much crap

00:55:00.199 --> 00:55:03.059
that we can't remember what God is doing in us.

00:55:04.019 --> 00:55:06.659
So that we can deliver it to everybody else as

00:55:06.659 --> 00:55:12.539
they need it. The translation of the Bible doesn't

00:55:12.539 --> 00:55:15.260
matter as long as it's a translation. But what

00:55:15.260 --> 00:55:19.940
does matter is what it means. And we must learn

00:55:19.940 --> 00:55:22.989
it. Share it with our children and our generation.

00:55:23.489 --> 00:55:27.170
Striving to live up to what we learn. Chiefly

00:55:27.170 --> 00:55:31.289
giving God His proper place in sovereignty. His

00:55:31.289 --> 00:55:35.550
ways are the only ways we want. And you learn

00:55:35.550 --> 00:55:41.389
those ways by taking a long look at the apothigmatic

00:55:41.389 --> 00:55:45.869
history of God. What did God deliver us Genesis

00:55:45.869 --> 00:55:48.949
through Revelation? And what do you know of it?

00:55:49.500 --> 00:55:52.780
And how do you apply it? And then what has God

00:55:52.780 --> 00:55:55.539
done in your life? And you say, well, God has

00:55:55.539 --> 00:55:59.179
not been good to me in my life. Life is not good

00:55:59.179 --> 00:56:02.000
to people in general. Suffering is a normal state

00:56:02.000 --> 00:56:05.739
of being. God sent His only Son to die on the

00:56:05.739 --> 00:56:08.119
cross for you. And if you'll have Him as Lord

00:56:08.119 --> 00:56:10.880
and Savior, you'll have abundant life even in

00:56:10.880 --> 00:56:14.280
the midst of that suffering. Miracles do happen.

00:56:14.699 --> 00:56:17.099
I could give you... A long list. We could have

00:56:17.099 --> 00:56:18.699
a sermon of just me standing up here listing

00:56:18.699 --> 00:56:20.719
out miracles that we have seen and there would

00:56:20.719 --> 00:56:22.320
be people in this house go, yep, I saw that one.

00:56:22.340 --> 00:56:25.000
Yep, I saw that one. Yes, I remember that. Right?

00:56:25.380 --> 00:56:26.980
And then we could pass the microphone around

00:56:26.980 --> 00:56:29.360
and you could list off five or seven or ten as

00:56:29.360 --> 00:56:31.480
long as you knew in advance because it's not

00:56:31.480 --> 00:56:32.980
like you're telling them all the time, right?

00:56:33.619 --> 00:56:37.420
And if so, why not? Because that's the apothigmatic

00:56:37.420 --> 00:56:39.780
history of God. You're supposed to be telling

00:56:39.780 --> 00:56:43.219
them all the time. You say, well, I've only got

00:56:43.219 --> 00:56:46.179
one the day I got saved. If that's the only miracle

00:56:46.179 --> 00:56:47.880
you've ever seen, then you should be telling

00:56:47.880 --> 00:56:51.579
that miracle all the time. And if you've never

00:56:51.579 --> 00:56:53.360
seen that miracle, so you can't say that there

00:56:53.360 --> 00:56:56.019
are any, then you need to get saved today. You

00:56:56.019 --> 00:56:58.139
need to recognize that God has orchestrated the

00:56:58.139 --> 00:56:59.820
events of your life and the parameters of your

00:56:59.820 --> 00:57:01.460
life, where you live, where you will be, and

00:57:01.460 --> 00:57:03.199
required you to be in this room at this moment.

00:57:04.280 --> 00:57:05.380
recognize that you have sinned and therefore

00:57:05.380 --> 00:57:07.079
are separated from God so you can believe that

00:57:07.079 --> 00:57:08.679
Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins

00:57:08.679 --> 00:57:11.380
and commit your life to Him and live for Him

00:57:11.380 --> 00:57:14.059
from this day forward being born again instantaneously

00:57:14.059 --> 00:57:16.619
because God promises whosoever call upon the

00:57:16.619 --> 00:57:19.460
name of the Lord will be saved. And there I just

00:57:19.460 --> 00:57:22.079
gave you an apothigmatic history of what it means

00:57:22.079 --> 00:57:24.860
to be saved in 30 seconds. Can you do that? Yes,

00:57:24.860 --> 00:57:27.940
you can. Go do it literally always everywhere

00:57:27.940 --> 00:57:31.719
and win the world to Jesus because you are the

00:57:31.719 --> 00:57:36.840
replacement people of God. Unless you should

00:57:36.840 --> 00:57:39.900
delve into the folly of wanting the comforts

00:57:39.900 --> 00:57:44.039
of this life more than His presence. And then

00:57:44.039 --> 00:57:49.239
He'll replace you too. Asking you today to commit

00:57:49.239 --> 00:57:53.239
yourself to following the Lord. I'm not saying

00:57:53.239 --> 00:57:55.119
that He'll replace you and you'll lose your salvation.

00:57:55.340 --> 00:57:56.699
You know, you could do this. You could say, well,

00:57:56.719 --> 00:57:58.079
I'm saved. I know I'm saved. I'm just going to

00:57:58.079 --> 00:57:59.619
live however I want and I know I'm saved. And

00:57:59.619 --> 00:58:01.000
as long as you keep knowing that you're saved,

00:58:01.099 --> 00:58:02.900
you'll probably still be saved and it's all good

00:58:02.900 --> 00:58:04.820
unless you're just fundamentally wrong. And if

00:58:04.820 --> 00:58:06.360
you feel like doing that and living like that,

00:58:06.400 --> 00:58:08.139
you might be fundamentally wrong. You might not

00:58:08.139 --> 00:58:09.980
be saved and I wouldn't recommend it, but you

00:58:09.980 --> 00:58:12.159
could just do that. All things are permissible.

00:58:13.099 --> 00:58:15.079
But as Paul also pointed out, not all things

00:58:15.079 --> 00:58:19.039
are profitable. I suggest you follow the Lord

00:58:19.039 --> 00:58:23.360
and begin to deliver. the apothematic history

00:58:23.360 --> 00:58:26.820
of God to everyone around you and to your kids

00:58:26.820 --> 00:58:30.300
and to the Sunday school classes and to the church

00:58:30.300 --> 00:58:35.519
and to your spouse. And if your parents aren't

00:58:35.519 --> 00:58:39.260
saved, then give it to your parents. And if a

00:58:39.260 --> 00:58:41.719
new child is born, start brushing up and getting

00:58:41.719 --> 00:58:43.820
ready to deliver all those same stories over

00:58:43.820 --> 00:58:46.079
again. Because if you're waiting for me to do

00:58:46.079 --> 00:58:47.940
it, I'm going to do one a year. I'm going to

00:58:47.940 --> 00:58:50.559
do one a week for a year. I'm going to get 52

00:58:50.559 --> 00:58:53.619
in this year. But you should get in a minimum

00:58:53.619 --> 00:58:59.619
of 365. Because you're you every day. The apothematic

00:58:59.619 --> 00:59:02.980
history of God. That is what it means when it's

00:59:02.980 --> 00:59:05.820
the Great Commission. Go and teach them all things

00:59:05.820 --> 00:59:09.280
I have commanded you. That's what it means when

00:59:09.280 --> 00:59:11.380
it says we proclaim what we have seen and heard

00:59:11.380 --> 00:59:13.579
that you also may have fellowship with us and

00:59:13.579 --> 00:59:15.260
our fellowship is with God the Father and His

00:59:15.260 --> 00:59:18.420
Son Jesus Christ. What do we proclaim? the apocalyptic

00:59:18.420 --> 00:59:22.840
history of God. Lord, help us. I ask the praise

00:59:22.840 --> 00:59:25.000
team to come forward and lead us in a closing

00:59:25.000 --> 00:59:26.860
hymn. If you're here today and either you're

00:59:26.860 --> 00:59:28.619
willing to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and

00:59:28.619 --> 00:59:30.579
Savior for the first time ever, then you come

00:59:30.579 --> 00:59:32.280
and you respond and you make that public and

00:59:32.280 --> 00:59:34.349
say, yes, that's me. I'm doing that today. It

00:59:34.349 --> 00:59:35.909
doesn't matter what people think. Some of you

00:59:35.909 --> 00:59:37.570
already thought you were saved. That doesn't

00:59:37.570 --> 00:59:39.250
matter. You're getting saved for the first time

00:59:39.250 --> 00:59:41.469
ever today. If you made a public profession of

00:59:41.469 --> 00:59:43.510
faith this last seven days and you've not told

00:59:43.510 --> 00:59:45.250
the church yet about the decision you've made,

00:59:45.389 --> 00:59:46.989
this is your opportunity to say, I'm living for

00:59:46.989 --> 00:59:49.349
Jesus starting now. If you say, I'm a follower

00:59:49.349 --> 00:59:51.030
of the Lord Jesus Christ, but I have not been

00:59:51.030 --> 00:59:53.550
sharing the automatic history of God. I haven't

00:59:53.550 --> 00:59:55.289
been telling people what I know about God. I

00:59:55.289 --> 00:59:56.469
haven't been telling people what the Bible says

00:59:56.469 --> 00:59:58.949
about God. I'm not doing that. And you're repenting

00:59:58.949 --> 01:00:00.489
today and saying, no, I'm going to do that going

01:00:00.489 --> 01:00:02.590
forward. Then you make that publicly known and

01:00:02.590 --> 01:00:04.530
say, that's me. You can do that right where you're

01:00:04.530 --> 01:00:07.750
standing and say, yes, I will share. Whatever

01:00:07.750 --> 01:00:09.070
it might be, it's on your heart. This is your

01:00:09.070 --> 01:00:10.909
opportunity to respond as we close our services

01:00:10.909 --> 01:00:13.570
today. We're going offline. Those of you who

01:00:13.570 --> 01:00:15.960
are online. Leave a comment, send a message,

01:00:16.019 --> 01:00:17.420
whatever, if you've made some kind of decision

01:00:17.420 --> 01:00:19.739
today. We're going to do some business here now

01:00:19.739 --> 01:00:22.619
with the Lord. As we sing this song, would you

01:00:22.619 --> 01:00:24.659
stand with us and respond as the Lord is leading

01:00:24.659 --> 01:00:26.760
you to respond. This is our final song. This

01:00:26.760 --> 01:00:28.340
is our opportunity to come and say, yes, that's

01:00:28.340 --> 01:00:30.760
me, I need to live for God starting today. Or

01:00:30.760 --> 01:00:32.619
yes, that's me, I know I need to be sharing my

01:00:32.619 --> 01:00:35.159
life. Whatever else it might be.