WEBVTT

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Alright, could you stand with us if you're willing

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and able for the next couple songs? With songs

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of deliverance Whenever I am afraid I will trust

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in you I will trust in you Let the weak stand

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screen. Just a quick word, if you could, just

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right now, lift up a prayer in your heart and

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your minds for Michael Brister. They just left.

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Michael tore his stomach muscle across the middle

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of his stomach, I guess a little over two weeks

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ago while on the job. And they are working toward

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getting that mended. And he was here overcoming.

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And the pain is very great right now at this

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moment. And so we left. So we'll pray briefly

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for him and then we'll go to the word. Let's

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do that. Father in heaven, we just ask you to

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be with Michael and his family right now. Lord,

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we could use a miraculous healing. He definitely

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needs to be able to overcome and do the things

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that he wants to do and believes he should do

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for you. Bless them and strengthen them. Heal

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him from his pain. In Jesus' name, amen. So we

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have begun a series working through the book

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of Judges. I'm going to give you the story up

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to this point so that we make sure we understand

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the individuals involved. And basically we are

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looking at the story of Deborah and Barak. And

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then today, Sisera and Jael. Okay, those are

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all names that may or may not mean anything to

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you at this point in time. I'm going to give

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you the background. Deborah was a sort of a prophet

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for God and she was judging Israel. She sat under

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the tree. People brought her legal cases and

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they would say, well, this person did this against

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me. This person stole that and so on. And she

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would decide them. And then she called out, God

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told her to call out Barak. Barak became a general

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for God's people. She told him to summon up 10

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,000 men, which he did, and to go up against

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a much superior force, which was the force of

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Sisera, who was the general of the enemy army.

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Sisera had 900 iron chariots. In their day, that

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was like a tank. And so we're talking infantry

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versus a tank, and not nearly enough infantry.

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He went up onto the mountain, where in theory

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they were safe from the army of chariots, because

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chariots don't do mountains real well. And then

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Deborah told him she went with him to the mountain,

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as he requested. She told him to go down and

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face them in the lowlands, which would be much

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more dangerous for them. Infantry would be destroyed

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terribly in the lowlands versus chariots. And

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yet he did. And then God miraculously intervened

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on their behalf, as she said he would. And they

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destroyed that army of Sisera, all 900 chariots.

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And we left off in the story last week where

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they had essentially destroyed the entire army.

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And that's where we're picking it up today. There's

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just two points that I want to point out that

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we covered before, so make sure that you see.

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The first one is in verse 11 of chapter 4 of

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the book of Judges. So if you go with me now,

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maybe give me a little who to holler amen as

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we go to Judges chapter 4. Amen. Thank you. This

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is the word of God. Whether I get whatever I'm

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about to say to you correct, I hope I will, but

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whether I get it perfectly right or not, if you

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listen to God's word and let it affect you today,

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you will be changed. You will walk away from

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it with a new perspective on something, I guarantee

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it. Judges chapter 4 verse 11 said this, Now

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Heber the Kenite, had separated himself from

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the Kenites, from the son of Hobab, the father

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-in -law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as

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far away as the oak in Zananim, which is near

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Kadesh. Now, Kadesh is the lowland where the

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battle is going to take place that we're going

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to look at, or really that we did look at already.

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We're going to get the results of today, okay?

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What's important, this was... back setting the

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stage. Verse 11 was setting the stage for what's

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going on because those people were allies to

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the king and to Sisera the general. King Jabin

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who had been persecuting God's people for 20

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years and Sisera the general and their camp now

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right on the edge of where the battle would take

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place. Now they're not involved in the battle.

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but they're camped there on the edge. So that

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was set up. Then we see they told Sisera that

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Barak had gone into the lowland, first to Mount

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Tabor, and then to the lowland. Sisera goes out

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after him. The big battle takes place. They put

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the entire army to the edge of the sword, and

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now we're down into verse 17. It says, Now Sisera,

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remember he's the general who led the mighty

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army that was just defeated by God. He fled away

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on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber

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the Kenite. Remember, that's the ally that was

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camped near where the battle was taking place.

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So he flees to her tent. Now, it's a little awkward

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that he flees to her tent because, well, she's

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a woman. He's a man. She's married. Her husband

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is not there. So socially speaking, it's a little

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odd that that happens, but it does. So he flees

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there. And desiring to escape the massacre of

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military force that's going on, all of his men

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being destroyed, he takes the war to a place

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of peace, into her tent. And immediately I want

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you to see that he feels like he's between a

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rock and a hard place. If he stays out there,

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then they're going to kill him. They're killing

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the entire army, right? The Israelites are destroying

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the entire army, and he's going to go down if

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he stays out there. If he goes in and hides there

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with her, it besmirches his honor. It looks bad

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for him because he's dependent upon her to survive.

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Still a chance that he might get turned over.

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He brings war to his ally, who is by no means

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able to resist Israel at this point. So basically,

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they're risking destruction of their entire people,

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which is really just that one man's extended

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family. that's moved away from the Kenites. So

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it's not the entire people, but it's his entire

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family could be destroyed. And so he's kind of

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between a rock and a hard place himself. But

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notice that Jael right away is between a rock

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and a hard place. Here comes a wealthy, strong

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man, well -known everywhere, leader of armies

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to her tent seeking refuge. And so what happens

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sometimes is that people from the battle take

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the battle to a place of peace where the battle

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really doesn't belong. Now they're just seeking

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a port, seeking a place of safety themselves

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perhaps, but all of a sudden now Jael is between

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a rock and a hard place. Jael went out to meet

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Sisera and said to him, this is verse 18, turn

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aside my master, that's a term of respect, turn

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aside to me, do not be afraid. And he turned

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aside to her into the tent and she covered him

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with a rug. Now we have a heavy blanket, probably

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a rug, whatever, and she's going to hide him

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there. Now this is not an unheard of thing to

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hide under a rug or under a blanket in the tent,

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especially if they're piled up there. It's pretty

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common. We see that in a couple of other biblical

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stories. But he's exhausted. It's said that in

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the previous verse he's exhausted. And so now

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he's going to hide under there. And so we can

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imagine he's resting and he could possibly fall

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asleep. So she's putting him to bed, if you will.

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But notice that something has already begun to

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happen. Jael is beginning a process to deal with

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herself being between a rock and a hard place.

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She said to him, come, I'll keep you safe, right?

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And then she puts him under a rug in the back

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of her tent. Now, so if she gets found with him,

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she's in trouble. If he gets found, he's in trouble.

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If she refuses to hide him, she's in trouble,

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right? So no matter what, she's in trouble. She

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offers them a situation that looks safe. Now,

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I want to say to you that not every situation

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that looks safe is safe. Hiding there under the

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rug, she could just go tell them, here he is,

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and turn him over, right? Or something worse.

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Bottom line is a person can offer safety with

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no intention of actually providing safety. We

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see that, unfortunately, in society somewhat

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frequently today. We see it especially in the

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case of people who molest children. They will

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prepare the child and the child's caretakers,

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offering a place of safety, showing them that

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everything is okay, making them trust them. And

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then everyone, after the fact, after they are

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bad to the children, everyone will say, oh, we

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never thought that person would do that. We thought

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they were safe. We thought they were kind and

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so on. This is what Jael is doing here. I'm giving

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you a little forward insight. She's offering

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him safety, but she's not really offering him

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safety. In verse 19, he says to her, please give

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me a little water to drink for I am thirsty.

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So she opened a bottle of milk. and gave him

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a drink, and then she covered him. So he asked

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for water. but she gave him milk. Now, everybody

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that's studied this passage says that's kind

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of bizarre. Water would have been cheaper, easier,

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right? It was what he asked for, but she doesn't.

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She gives him milk. Now, he doesn't refuse the

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milk. It's to drink. It makes him not thirsty.

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He thinks he's getting safety, but you can see

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that she's begun to enact a plan leading toward

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her own getting out from between a rock and a

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hard place. When a person has no intention of

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providing safety, oftentimes there is a process

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for pulling people deeper into their trap. Now,

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he's exhausted laying under a rock. rug and he's

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just drunk what was probably goat milk which

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is well known in science that goat milk usually

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most goat milk provides drowsiness so you can

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imagine what's about to happen he said to her

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stand in the doorway of the tent and it shall

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be if anyone comes and inquires of you and says

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is there anyone here that you shall say no So,

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Sisera's asking her to lie for him. Now, he's

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accepting her comfort and asking her to lie for

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him. And if she does that, again, she's stuck

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between a rock and a hard place. Because if he

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is found, she is destroyed. And if he is not

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found, she is enslaved to him indefinitely, right?

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She is now going to be Sisera's servant, ongoing.

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Notice that he was setting her up just as she

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was setting him up. He was putting her in a position

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where she was going to basically she could never

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admit that she hid sisera on the day of the battle

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she would be forever in his debt forever enslaved

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he gave her directions to cover his presence

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he was pretty specific, and he was used to people

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following his orders. She was the lie for him

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while he rested for his benefit. She was to take

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a risk. She wasn't going to get any reward. An

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enemy will entreat you to do the wrong thing.

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Now, they may look like a friend or even a loved

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one, but they will entreat you to do the wrong

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thing. They'll ask you to follow certain direction.

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An enemy will betray you whenever it's convenient

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for them, but as long as they can continue to

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have that relationship with you and move you

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forward in the direction that they want, they'll

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continue to look for your service. The wise move

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here for her would be to eliminate one potential

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enemy. Does that make sense? If she could get

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out of this, either get the army of Israel off

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her doorstep or get Sisera out of her house one

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way or another permanently, that would be the

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wise move. People think that she was setting

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herself up to do that. She gave him the rug.

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She hid it in the back of the tent. She gave

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him the goat's milk. In theory, people should

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be able to be seen, they should be able to see

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when they are between a rock and a hard place.

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You can look at, if I do this, this is a possible

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outcome, and this is a possible outcome. And

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one of these really sucks, and the other one

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is pretty bad too. And so you know when you're

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stuck. Anybody know where the saying between

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a rock and a hard place comes from? We use it

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pretty frequently. Originally, it comes from

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Greek mythology, okay? In Greek mythology, there

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were two individuals, one called, really not

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an individual, I guess, but it was sort of an

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animate giant whirlpool called Charybdis. And

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Charybdis would swallow whole ships. If you went

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near, it would suck your ship in and destroy

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the ship and everybody on board. And then Skyla

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was a six -headed... Hydra -like dragon with

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big stalk legs and long necks, and it would pluck

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sailors off the ship. And in Homer's Odyssey,

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which is an ancient Greek story, if you've never

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read it, I'd recommend you do so or at least

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watch the movie, a hero named Odysseus has to

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take his ship, as many had to do, between those

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two places, between a rock and a hard place.

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Or they didn't call it that. They said between...

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Charybdis and Skyla. That saying lasts today

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in Greece, but around 1900 or so, the concept

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invaded the United States of America, especially

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the West, and miners were known to be between

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a rock and a hard place. So the rock was their

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mine. So they would be in the mine and they'd

00:20:14.579 --> 00:20:17.170
be toiling away. And they'd come out, and they

00:20:17.170 --> 00:20:19.309
were in danger of someone jumping their claim,

00:20:19.509 --> 00:20:23.009
stealing their gold, killing them, a lot of other

00:20:23.009 --> 00:20:25.269
problems, right? And so they were between a rock

00:20:25.269 --> 00:20:27.109
and a hard place. If they fled into the mine,

00:20:27.269 --> 00:20:29.130
they were pretty safe, but they couldn't stay

00:20:29.130 --> 00:20:31.190
there forever. They had to have food. They had

00:20:31.190 --> 00:20:33.710
to have water, sustenance, safety, whatever.

00:20:33.789 --> 00:20:35.069
They had to come out of the mine. So they were

00:20:35.069 --> 00:20:37.769
stuck between a rock and a hard place. That's

00:20:37.769 --> 00:20:40.670
where the saying comes from. It means neither...

00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:45.299
outcome looks good. But Jael, being not only

00:20:45.299 --> 00:20:49.140
prophesied, but also kind of understanding what

00:20:49.140 --> 00:20:50.980
was happening, sees that she's between a rock

00:20:50.980 --> 00:20:52.640
and a hard place, and she has already enacted

00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:55.339
a plan to deal with it. In verse 21, it says,

00:20:55.420 --> 00:20:58.299
but Jael... Heber's wife took a tent peg, and

00:20:58.299 --> 00:21:00.480
she seized a hammer in her hand, and she went

00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:03.460
secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple.

00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:06.099
And it went through into the ground, for he was

00:21:06.099 --> 00:21:09.220
sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. Now,

00:21:09.220 --> 00:21:10.799
interestingly enough, as I was preparing the

00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:13.240
sermon, I had it over half done. Ariana and I

00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:16.059
listen to Bible stories every night when she

00:21:16.059 --> 00:21:17.819
goes to sleep, and then she continues to listen

00:21:17.819 --> 00:21:20.099
while she's falling asleep. And this story came

00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:22.250
up. And she said to me, she didn't know I was

00:21:22.250 --> 00:21:23.569
preparing the sermon for this Sunday. She said

00:21:23.569 --> 00:21:26.789
to me, Dad, do you think God forgave Jael for

00:21:26.789 --> 00:21:29.390
murdering Sisera? And she mispronounced both

00:21:29.390 --> 00:21:31.509
names, by the way, but that's okay. She's 11.

00:21:32.069 --> 00:21:35.069
And I said, what makes you think that Jael murdered

00:21:35.069 --> 00:21:37.910
Sisera? And she said, he said, well, he wasn't

00:21:37.910 --> 00:21:40.190
doing anything to her, and she killed him. And

00:21:40.190 --> 00:21:43.049
I said, he wasn't doing anything to her? No.

00:21:43.230 --> 00:21:45.130
And I said, well, what do you think happens if

00:21:45.130 --> 00:21:46.849
he's found in her tent? What do you think happens

00:21:46.849 --> 00:21:49.089
after if he's not found in her tent? And we talked

00:21:49.089 --> 00:21:52.539
through it. This was not murder. The Bible describes

00:21:52.539 --> 00:21:54.299
murder as when you kill somebody with anger in

00:21:54.299 --> 00:21:56.420
your heart. When a soldier fights for his country

00:21:56.420 --> 00:21:59.140
and is required to kill enemy soldiers, that's

00:21:59.140 --> 00:22:02.309
not murder. That's killing. And she was in a

00:22:02.309 --> 00:22:05.170
place where she was stuck. Her life ended the

00:22:05.170 --> 00:22:07.849
moment that Sisera approached her tent and asked

00:22:07.849 --> 00:22:10.549
her for safety. Not only hers, but her kids,

00:22:10.710 --> 00:22:13.269
her husband, everybody in the tent complex, their

00:22:13.269 --> 00:22:15.670
lives ended the moment that he came there and

00:22:15.670 --> 00:22:17.329
asked her for safety because they had two options

00:22:17.329 --> 00:22:19.670
at that point in time. They would forever be

00:22:19.670 --> 00:22:22.839
under Sisera's reign, which was ending. by the

00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:25.339
way, the thousands in the army were all being

00:22:25.339 --> 00:22:27.759
destroyed. And later, just not long after this,

00:22:27.779 --> 00:22:30.579
we'll read that Jabin's whole nation is destroyed

00:22:30.579 --> 00:22:34.039
after 20 years of persecuting the Israelites.

00:22:34.339 --> 00:22:37.700
And so if they wind up part of his group, part

00:22:37.700 --> 00:22:40.059
of Sisera's group, they wind up destroyed. And

00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:43.859
if she sides with the Israelites and she says

00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:46.980
no, then either he kills her right then, right?

00:22:47.099 --> 00:22:50.299
Or she is in danger of any surviving members

00:22:50.299 --> 00:22:52.940
of his army, et cetera. So the bottom line is,

00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:55.640
her life ended, as she knew it, the moment he

00:22:55.640 --> 00:22:58.359
came to her tent. There he lay, asleep, exhausted,

00:22:58.619 --> 00:23:01.200
and there he died. She killed him with a familiar

00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:04.279
tool, something that she knew well, a spike and

00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:08.319
a hammer. Now, this group of Kenites were nomadic.

00:23:08.420 --> 00:23:10.019
Know what that means? They moved around. They

00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:11.960
found their sustenance in various places. So

00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:14.519
they raised their animals off land here, and

00:23:14.519 --> 00:23:15.759
then they would move here and raise their animals

00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:17.160
off land here, and then they'd move here and

00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:19.009
raise their animals off land here. They weren't

00:23:19.009 --> 00:23:21.470
farmers. If they planted crops, they were short

00:23:21.470 --> 00:23:23.410
growth crops. They planted them, harvested them

00:23:23.410 --> 00:23:25.930
very shortly thereafter. They were nomadic. So

00:23:25.930 --> 00:23:29.190
she had set up a lot of tents. And so she used

00:23:29.190 --> 00:23:31.509
a familiar tool, her experience. It was something

00:23:31.509 --> 00:23:33.690
that she was good at. She had aptitude. Apparently,

00:23:33.789 --> 00:23:35.609
she had quite a bit of aptitude because with

00:23:35.609 --> 00:23:37.650
pretty clean precision, she was able to drive

00:23:37.650 --> 00:23:39.690
the stripe with the hammer and put the spike

00:23:39.690 --> 00:23:41.650
through his temple, probably into the other,

00:23:41.710 --> 00:23:44.920
but in any case, into the ground. She found the

00:23:44.920 --> 00:23:47.819
one potential way out of the trap that she was

00:23:47.819 --> 00:23:50.980
in. That's heart. That's not giving up when you're

00:23:50.980 --> 00:23:53.200
between a rock and a hard place. That's figuring

00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:55.759
out the way to go. She did it well. She did it

00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:58.279
completely. She didn't stop until it was for

00:23:58.279 --> 00:24:00.259
sure done. Now, she could have drove it into

00:24:00.259 --> 00:24:01.960
the side of his head, and that probably would

00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:03.920
have killed him, but she didn't. She drove it

00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:06.869
all the way into the ground, right? So here's

00:24:06.869 --> 00:24:09.569
a sure way to get in the kingdom history books.

00:24:09.829 --> 00:24:11.329
This is that. That's what we're reading, right?

00:24:11.390 --> 00:24:12.789
We're reading the history of the kingdom of God.

00:24:12.890 --> 00:24:17.289
Get stuck. Enemies of God as your allies is stuck

00:24:17.289 --> 00:24:18.990
because God's going to put them down eventually.

00:24:19.130 --> 00:24:22.029
So get stuck. She was stuck. Then get unstuck.

00:24:22.029 --> 00:24:25.210
Choose God's side. Be invited onto God's side

00:24:25.210 --> 00:24:28.130
and then go for it. Choose that and then kill

00:24:28.130 --> 00:24:31.349
the enemy. Put it away once and for all. Be done

00:24:31.349 --> 00:24:33.450
with it once and for all. The Bible calls that.

00:24:33.819 --> 00:24:36.220
in Christianity being born again. Don't just

00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:38.099
put him to sleep. She could have just put him

00:24:38.099 --> 00:24:39.680
to sleep, right? And then she could have maybe

00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:41.779
turned him over and said whatever. And I submit

00:24:41.779 --> 00:24:43.180
to you, if she put him to sleep in the back of

00:24:43.180 --> 00:24:45.700
the tent, went to the Israelites and said, he's

00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:47.039
asleep in the back of my tent, they would have

00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:48.880
taken him. But she couldn't know that they would

00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:50.700
kill him. And she couldn't know what the outcome

00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:53.019
of that road is. Odds are she was still going

00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:54.700
to have problems. They were going to say, why

00:24:54.700 --> 00:24:56.259
did you provide him with comfort? Were you planning

00:24:56.259 --> 00:24:58.559
on hiding him? Let's say that they didn't. They

00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:00.299
didn't question that. They took him into captivity

00:25:00.299 --> 00:25:02.799
and then later traded him back to King Jabin

00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:06.420
for prisoners or whatever. Now she has an eternal

00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:09.039
enemy in Sisera who will always be coming for

00:25:09.039 --> 00:25:11.000
her or his men always coming for her because

00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:13.240
she did not provide him the safety on the day

00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:15.210
that he asked for it. So no matter what, She's

00:25:15.210 --> 00:25:17.509
toast. Don't just put him to sleep and turn him

00:25:17.509 --> 00:25:19.809
over and say, it's up to God how it turns out.

00:25:19.869 --> 00:25:23.250
Rather, she acted decisively, ensuring that he

00:25:23.250 --> 00:25:25.849
would never be back. Then, use a familiar tool,

00:25:25.910 --> 00:25:29.410
but don't stop until the enemy is dead. In Christianity,

00:25:29.490 --> 00:25:31.529
we call that spiritual discipline. Just a couple

00:25:31.529 --> 00:25:35.369
verses left. Verse 22. And behold, as Barak pursued

00:25:35.369 --> 00:25:39.640
Sisera, JL, Barak, remember, was the... God -ordained

00:25:39.640 --> 00:25:42.180
leader of the Israelite army, the one that Deborah

00:25:42.180 --> 00:25:44.680
sent, and they are hunting down every last member

00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:46.859
of Sisera's army, and they're pursuing Sisera.

00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:49.119
And Jael came out to meet him and said to him,

00:25:49.220 --> 00:25:51.579
Come, and I will show you the man whom you are

00:25:51.579 --> 00:25:54.059
seeking. And he entered in with her, and behold,

00:25:54.259 --> 00:25:56.619
Sisera was laying dead with the tent peg through

00:25:56.619 --> 00:26:00.279
his temple. So now she informed his pursuers

00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:02.240
of the location of the enemy. He wasn't asleep.

00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:05.240
He was clearly dead. Barak had a sword. Barack

00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:07.740
was killing people, but maybe he couldn't honorably

00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:12.000
do that to a captive king, a captive general.

00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:13.440
So in other words, if he'd have gone in there

00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:14.720
and if he was hiding under the rug, she turned

00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:16.640
him over, maybe he couldn't just kill him laying

00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:18.460
there. There would be a question of honor for

00:26:18.460 --> 00:26:20.420
him to kill this man asleep on the floor or wake

00:26:20.420 --> 00:26:22.480
him up and kill him, right? So basically she

00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:24.640
said, come get this dead man out of my tent.

00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:27.440
Get him out of here. Doubtful she could readily

00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:30.119
move him herself. A big man in heavy armor with

00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:32.259
his head spiked to the ground. So then she had

00:26:32.259 --> 00:26:36.559
to let God's people, let Barak do what she couldn't

00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:40.500
do. All right, verse 23. So God subdued on that

00:26:40.500 --> 00:26:43.299
day Jabin, the king of Canaan, before the sons

00:26:43.299 --> 00:26:46.059
of Israel. Here, God gets the credit for destroying

00:26:46.059 --> 00:26:49.839
Sisera and eventually King Jabin. This is not

00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:53.059
the general, but it's the king and everyone under

00:26:53.059 --> 00:26:55.720
the general. That's over now, and God has put

00:26:55.720 --> 00:26:58.619
it to an end. God freezes people because they

00:26:58.619 --> 00:27:00.440
cried out to him. Not because they turned to

00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:02.339
righteousness, but because they cried out to

00:27:02.339 --> 00:27:04.630
him. That's a part of his character. This is

00:27:04.630 --> 00:27:07.390
grace and compassion, and he bestows it, displays

00:27:07.390 --> 00:27:10.450
it time and again. Verse 24, our last verse for

00:27:10.450 --> 00:27:12.750
the day. The hand of the sons of Israel pressed

00:27:12.750 --> 00:27:15.250
heavier and heavier upon Jabin the king of Canaan

00:27:15.250 --> 00:27:18.170
until they had destroyed Jabin the king of Canaan,

00:27:18.210 --> 00:27:20.490
which shows us that it was a progressive cleanup,

00:27:20.710 --> 00:27:23.930
a progressive overall victory. It wasn't suddenly

00:27:23.930 --> 00:27:27.509
done. It was decided when she destroyed Sisera.

00:27:27.880 --> 00:27:29.960
when they destroyed the army and all the iron

00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:32.680
chariots. But it was a progressive victory from

00:27:32.680 --> 00:27:35.299
then on. This may be where people begin to get

00:27:35.299 --> 00:27:38.019
the idea that the victory over the enemy is one

00:27:38.019 --> 00:27:40.680
of a long, drawn -out fight with much suffering

00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:43.059
along the way. But that's not accurate. Certainly

00:27:43.059 --> 00:27:45.549
not in the case of Sisera and Jael. All right,

00:27:45.549 --> 00:27:46.930
there's three things I want you to see in this

00:27:46.930 --> 00:27:48.869
text and then a conclusion. The first one is

00:27:48.869 --> 00:27:51.430
this, the state of the enemy. If you are a follower

00:27:51.430 --> 00:27:53.130
of the Lord Jesus Christ and you are here, you

00:27:53.130 --> 00:27:55.470
need to understand the state of the enemy. If

00:27:55.470 --> 00:27:57.170
I could share it with you in kind of a joking

00:27:57.170 --> 00:28:00.109
manner for a second. There is an old movie, been

00:28:00.109 --> 00:28:02.349
around for a long time. It's called Monty Python's

00:28:02.349 --> 00:28:04.109
Search for the Holy Grail. There are some parts

00:28:04.109 --> 00:28:06.450
in it that are a hint of risqueity, right? Kind

00:28:06.450 --> 00:28:08.549
of weird, kind of maybe over the edge, but it's

00:28:08.549 --> 00:28:10.890
nothing too terrible. And there is a scene where

00:28:10.890 --> 00:28:13.269
one of the knights is traveling and he runs into

00:28:13.269 --> 00:28:15.230
the black knight. And the black... knight challenges

00:28:15.230 --> 00:28:17.309
him to a battle now if you know the story of

00:28:17.309 --> 00:28:19.730
king arthur the actual arthurian tales the arthurian

00:28:19.730 --> 00:28:22.009
knight was undefeatable he could no one could

00:28:22.009 --> 00:28:24.329
defeat him right but then arthur defeats him

00:28:24.329 --> 00:28:27.890
with um excalibur okay and so the point is the

00:28:27.890 --> 00:28:30.130
in the monty python search for holy grail he

00:28:30.130 --> 00:28:31.809
fights him he cuts his arm off and he says i'm

00:28:31.809 --> 00:28:33.769
not done yet and then he cuts his other arm off

00:28:33.769 --> 00:28:35.890
you think he's done i'm not done yet and then

00:28:35.890 --> 00:28:38.740
he cuts one leg off and he's like oh I'll still

00:28:38.740 --> 00:28:41.180
kick you. I'll still kick you. Now he's both

00:28:41.180 --> 00:28:42.859
arms and both legs are gone, and he's sitting

00:28:42.859 --> 00:28:44.400
on the ground, but he's still alive. The Black

00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:46.319
Knight is still alive. He says, I'll bite you.

00:28:46.420 --> 00:28:48.980
I'll bite you. Right? Say it again. I'll bite

00:28:48.980 --> 00:28:50.819
your legs off. Yes, I'll bite your legs off.

00:28:50.920 --> 00:28:54.700
Yes. Okay? And so... That is a good picture of

00:28:54.700 --> 00:28:57.099
the enemy that we're dealing with. Let's be realistic.

00:28:57.380 --> 00:29:00.240
The state of the enemy is also pictured herein.

00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:03.000
The enemy is weak from his struggle with God.

00:29:03.160 --> 00:29:05.220
People think Satan has power. He has nothing.

00:29:05.319 --> 00:29:08.740
He is virtually nothing, okay? The enemy is weak

00:29:08.740 --> 00:29:11.900
from his struggle with God. He comes to you or

00:29:11.900 --> 00:29:14.519
me for comfort. He comes looking for a hiding

00:29:14.519 --> 00:29:17.839
place. He needs you more than you need him. In

00:29:17.839 --> 00:29:20.529
fact, His presence, his very presence there is

00:29:20.529 --> 00:29:23.009
a danger. Right now he'll sleep and he just wants

00:29:23.009 --> 00:29:25.269
you to lie for him, but later he'll want more.

00:29:25.769 --> 00:29:27.849
Friendship with the world, the Bible says, is

00:29:27.849 --> 00:29:30.309
enmity with God. If you are giving the enemy

00:29:30.309 --> 00:29:32.509
shelter as a non -believer or as a believer,

00:29:32.589 --> 00:29:35.230
the path to finishing him is simple. Repent.

00:29:35.230 --> 00:29:38.099
Turn to God and God alone. Now, I understand

00:29:38.099 --> 00:29:40.240
that that feels like that puts you between a

00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:42.640
rock and a hard place because we live still in

00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:44.799
the world. I was talking with Ariana another

00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:47.079
night this week, a different night. We did a

00:29:47.079 --> 00:29:48.759
devotional together. We always do a devotional

00:29:48.759 --> 00:29:50.400
first and then the Bible stories. And she was

00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:52.200
telling me about how there were some kids in

00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:54.519
her class at school last year, some kids that

00:29:54.519 --> 00:29:56.339
just would not let her talk to them about God

00:29:56.339 --> 00:29:58.220
or Jesus. Or if she brought up God or Jesus at

00:29:58.220 --> 00:29:59.839
all, then they just didn't want to hear it. And

00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:01.039
they would just say, I don't want to hear it.

00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:03.380
And she said, and that hurt a little, but...

00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:05.059
I kind of figured, that's their right. If they

00:30:05.059 --> 00:30:05.880
don't want to hear it, they don't have to hear

00:30:05.880 --> 00:30:07.859
it. But then there were other kids that would,

00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:09.960
she didn't use this term, but it's the truth,

00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:12.460
bait her into talking about God or Jesus and

00:30:12.460 --> 00:30:15.000
then persecute her for doing so. They mock her,

00:30:15.059 --> 00:30:17.539
say nasty things, cuss at her, take the Lord's

00:30:17.539 --> 00:30:19.680
name in vain on purpose in her presence because

00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:22.339
they knew that she felt uncomfortable about it.

00:30:22.400 --> 00:30:24.539
And that saddened my heart. And because we live

00:30:24.539 --> 00:30:26.579
in the world, we think we live somewhere between

00:30:26.579 --> 00:30:29.599
a God who is powerful and the enemy who is powerful.

00:30:29.779 --> 00:30:32.460
But the reality is, that's not true. The enemy

00:30:32.460 --> 00:30:34.900
is exhausted and weak from fighting with God

00:30:34.900 --> 00:30:37.619
all the time. People in the world who do not

00:30:37.619 --> 00:30:39.759
know God, care about God, don't know anything

00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:42.339
about Jesus, also are exhausted and weak. I cannot

00:30:42.339 --> 00:30:44.319
tell you the number of times I've shared a simple

00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:47.200
gospel presentation with people and their response

00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:49.920
was, I needed this so badly. I get this. This

00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:52.420
is the answer or whatever, right? I went to visit

00:30:52.420 --> 00:30:55.140
one lady one night and she said, We've been waiting

00:30:55.140 --> 00:30:56.339
for you to come. And I said, what do you mean?

00:30:56.420 --> 00:30:57.640
I didn't call ahead and make an appointment.

00:30:57.700 --> 00:30:59.099
She said, we were sitting here for two hours

00:30:59.099 --> 00:31:00.859
in silence because we were fighting. We were

00:31:00.859 --> 00:31:03.240
desperate. We have no idea what to do. Our family

00:31:03.240 --> 00:31:07.039
is a wreck. We all hate each other. And that's

00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:08.559
not the way a family is supposed to be. Will

00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:10.579
you tell us what to do? Three minutes, I'm in

00:31:10.579 --> 00:31:11.859
the door. She says, will you tell us what to

00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:13.519
do? And I said, well, the first thing you do.

00:31:13.960 --> 00:31:17.200
is turn your house over to Jesus. Turn yourselves

00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:20.000
over to Jesus. And if everybody is willing to

00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:21.740
do that, then we will have peace. Not because

00:31:21.740 --> 00:31:23.220
we have peace with each other, because the reality

00:31:23.220 --> 00:31:25.700
is, we always have friction, right? Personalities

00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:27.700
always clash. We always struggle with the way

00:31:27.700 --> 00:31:29.740
we think, the way we act, our culture, our background.

00:31:29.799 --> 00:31:30.859
You're doing things, you don't even know why.

00:31:31.160 --> 00:31:33.240
Nobody knows why we do certain things, right?

00:31:33.980 --> 00:31:35.039
Psychologists will try to say, well, you have

00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:36.819
a trigger in your past, and counselors will say,

00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:38.339
we need to defeat that trigger, and you won't

00:31:38.339 --> 00:31:39.980
do it anymore, or at least be aware of it so

00:31:39.980 --> 00:31:41.660
you don't do it anymore. But the reality is,

00:31:42.059 --> 00:31:44.180
you could be looking at the wrong trigger. A

00:31:44.180 --> 00:31:46.359
lot of things we don't even know why we do them.

00:31:46.420 --> 00:31:48.460
So people cause frustrations with each other,

00:31:48.539 --> 00:31:50.940
but people who come to peace with God have peace

00:31:50.940 --> 00:31:52.880
with each other because we all have peace with

00:31:52.880 --> 00:31:55.339
God through Jesus Christ. And so what I'm saying

00:31:55.339 --> 00:31:58.039
is, you have an enemy, he looks like he has some

00:31:58.039 --> 00:32:00.119
power, but the truth is, it's all illusion. It's

00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:02.559
all smoke and mirrors. He's exhausted from his

00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:05.900
fight with God. Decisively deny him and his sinful

00:32:05.900 --> 00:32:08.900
requests and his presence and risk his wrath

00:32:08.900 --> 00:32:12.730
if necessary. who has something great, I'm sorry,

00:32:12.809 --> 00:32:14.970
he who was something great has become nothing.

00:32:15.170 --> 00:32:17.150
If you believe the legends that say that he was

00:32:17.150 --> 00:32:19.349
the greatest of all angels and the leader of

00:32:19.349 --> 00:32:21.390
the choir in heaven and fell from all of that,

00:32:21.470 --> 00:32:23.089
and there is some biblical support for that,

00:32:23.150 --> 00:32:24.710
but it's not real strong. But if you believe

00:32:24.710 --> 00:32:27.849
that is the way it unfolded exactly, then you

00:32:27.849 --> 00:32:30.009
realize he was great in heaven. We know that

00:32:30.009 --> 00:32:32.650
he walked in God's presence. That's pretty great

00:32:32.650 --> 00:32:36.190
and challenged Job. That's pretty arrogant, right?

00:32:36.390 --> 00:32:38.990
And so we know he was something, really something.

00:32:39.170 --> 00:32:41.670
And now he's nothing. He's lost everything. He's

00:32:41.670 --> 00:32:43.269
exhausted. He's coming. He wants to sleep in

00:32:43.269 --> 00:32:45.369
your tent for a while and let you lie for him

00:32:45.369 --> 00:32:48.210
so that he can have a respite. Don't do it. That's

00:32:48.210 --> 00:32:50.529
the state of the enemy. Secondly, a rock in a

00:32:50.529 --> 00:32:53.029
hard place. I submit to you, it's often just

00:32:53.029 --> 00:32:55.250
impending. We're talking about decisions or things

00:32:55.250 --> 00:32:58.210
that we make that we go like, well, this is going

00:32:58.210 --> 00:33:00.130
to be bad and this is going to be bad also, right?

00:33:00.230 --> 00:33:02.509
We get caught in the middle. like it or not.

00:33:02.829 --> 00:33:04.970
Adam and Eve and the serpent were like that.

00:33:04.990 --> 00:33:08.170
The moment that they sinned against God, right?

00:33:08.309 --> 00:33:10.809
And Eve was kind of caught in her own mind between

00:33:10.809 --> 00:33:12.109
a rock and a hard place. She could have just

00:33:12.109 --> 00:33:14.430
waited for God and asked, but she saw something

00:33:14.430 --> 00:33:16.750
that was good. We might even argue that she said,

00:33:16.809 --> 00:33:18.910
well, this looks good and I want it. And God's

00:33:18.910 --> 00:33:20.390
not going to deny it to me. He's a good God.

00:33:20.490 --> 00:33:21.609
He loves me. He's going to give me everything

00:33:21.609 --> 00:33:23.890
I want so I can just take it, right? Even though

00:33:23.890 --> 00:33:25.710
she had the command that told her she couldn't

00:33:25.710 --> 00:33:29.160
and so on. Pick God's side every time because

00:33:29.160 --> 00:33:31.240
he is the one who's going to last. If the enemy

00:33:31.240 --> 00:33:33.819
finds some ounces of strength, some good scheme,

00:33:33.960 --> 00:33:35.220
and I think there's some pretty good ones going

00:33:35.220 --> 00:33:37.299
in the world today, frankly, and he gets something

00:33:37.299 --> 00:33:39.700
going like that, understand God is still going

00:33:39.700 --> 00:33:41.839
to bring it to an end eventually. He's going

00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:45.519
to put it all away. There will be no child molestation.

00:33:45.539 --> 00:33:47.240
There will be no rape. There will be no lying.

00:33:47.380 --> 00:33:49.099
There will be no pornography. There will be no

00:33:49.099 --> 00:33:51.680
stealing. There will be no ducking service or

00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:54.410
pretending that you don't know. In heaven, none

00:33:54.410 --> 00:33:56.849
of that will be there. Pick the enemy of God.

00:33:56.930 --> 00:33:58.869
Remember I said that she used her experience,

00:33:58.950 --> 00:34:01.769
her aptitude, her passion, her heart, all of

00:34:01.769 --> 00:34:04.269
that. And she used it decisively and thoroughly.

00:34:04.490 --> 00:34:06.789
And every one of us is bestowed with those things.

00:34:06.849 --> 00:34:09.210
You have something you're good at. You have things

00:34:09.210 --> 00:34:11.550
that you've done. You've seen things that maybe

00:34:11.550 --> 00:34:13.769
nobody else saw, right? Or you've seen things

00:34:13.769 --> 00:34:15.230
that only 3 % of the people in the world have

00:34:15.230 --> 00:34:16.989
ever seen. Because you were present. You were

00:34:16.989 --> 00:34:19.630
there. You had experiences. And yet... Combined

00:34:19.630 --> 00:34:22.250
all told, you and I are pretty ordinary people.

00:34:22.449 --> 00:34:24.769
We all have aptitude, passion, experience, and

00:34:24.769 --> 00:34:27.070
heart. All of us have that. And we should act

00:34:27.070 --> 00:34:29.269
in that decisively and thoroughly. That's why

00:34:29.269 --> 00:34:31.889
Psalm 8 says that from the womb we have the power

00:34:31.889 --> 00:34:34.429
to put down the enemy. To make the enemy cease

00:34:34.429 --> 00:34:36.250
is what it actually says. Because he's tired.

00:34:36.429 --> 00:34:38.989
And he's weak. And we can do it. Even without

00:34:38.989 --> 00:34:41.670
Jesus. Even without God. We had that inherent

00:34:41.670 --> 00:34:43.949
in us. That aptitude, that passion, experience,

00:34:44.170 --> 00:34:47.289
and heart. And decisively and thoroughly we can

00:34:47.289 --> 00:34:50.949
use that. But notice then that God bestows spirit.

00:34:51.110 --> 00:34:53.289
And we don't take... the enemy out in our hate,

00:34:53.429 --> 00:34:55.230
heart, aptitude, passion, and experience. We

00:34:55.230 --> 00:34:58.409
take enemy out in our shape, spirit, heart, aptitude,

00:34:58.510 --> 00:35:01.090
passion, and experience. God bestows the Holy

00:35:01.090 --> 00:35:03.670
Spirit on us and his presence in us is what then

00:35:03.670 --> 00:35:06.909
makes us mightily the victor. That's what makes

00:35:06.909 --> 00:35:09.150
us able to overcome everything and ultimately

00:35:09.150 --> 00:35:11.389
to go to heaven when we die and ultimately to

00:35:11.389 --> 00:35:13.130
come into the throne room of God, to lift our

00:35:13.130 --> 00:35:15.250
prayers up to God personally and to be heard

00:35:15.250 --> 00:35:17.650
because the Holy Spirit is in us because of the

00:35:17.650 --> 00:35:19.829
sacrifice of Jesus. That brings us to our third

00:35:19.829 --> 00:35:22.300
point. Having received spiritual gifting proceed

00:35:22.300 --> 00:35:25.920
to destroy him the enemy from the land and free

00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:28.380
God's people the kingdom effort continues and

00:35:28.380 --> 00:35:31.719
God will use your choices to empower others as

00:35:31.719 --> 00:35:34.079
word spread you know how many people heard about

00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:37.480
JL and your tent spike and hammer all the way

00:35:37.480 --> 00:35:39.559
to thousands of years later because we heard

00:35:39.559 --> 00:35:41.880
about it today. And your testimony of being able

00:35:41.880 --> 00:35:44.400
to share how you got through dark times, of being

00:35:44.400 --> 00:35:46.139
able to speak up in our inspirational moment

00:35:46.139 --> 00:35:48.139
in church and say, and those things make it to

00:35:48.139 --> 00:35:50.079
our podcast eventually, and your testimony goes

00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:52.539
out potentially across the world because God

00:35:52.539 --> 00:35:55.420
can use the ordinary, the weak, those who are

00:35:55.420 --> 00:35:58.119
ignorant and don't know. He can use all of that.

00:35:58.409 --> 00:36:00.809
to bring the world into recognition of himself.

00:36:01.030 --> 00:36:03.489
The kingdom effort continues, and God will use

00:36:03.489 --> 00:36:06.710
your choices to empower others as his word spreads.

00:36:06.889 --> 00:36:08.989
That brings us to our conclusion already. He's

00:36:08.989 --> 00:36:11.190
going to come when you're alone. Now, there were

00:36:11.190 --> 00:36:14.110
some social things that happened here. Jael should

00:36:14.110 --> 00:36:16.610
never have invited a man into her tent when her

00:36:16.610 --> 00:36:18.449
husband wasn't home. That was socially unacceptable.

00:36:19.050 --> 00:36:21.190
nor served him, gave him milk or even water.

00:36:21.409 --> 00:36:24.429
She was a married woman. She was overcoming social

00:36:24.429 --> 00:36:26.510
barriers that she should not have even been participating

00:36:26.510 --> 00:36:28.110
in. Now, they're not necessarily things that

00:36:28.110 --> 00:36:29.389
are in the Bible. It doesn't say that, right?

00:36:29.449 --> 00:36:31.050
It doesn't say a married woman cannot give hospitality

00:36:31.050 --> 00:36:33.449
to a man, right? It doesn't say that anywhere

00:36:33.449 --> 00:36:36.519
in the Bible. But she had to overcome those social

00:36:36.519 --> 00:36:39.119
barriers. And when you're alone in your bedroom,

00:36:39.219 --> 00:36:41.440
in your car, when you're the only one watching

00:36:41.440 --> 00:36:43.099
what you're watching on your phone or on your

00:36:43.099 --> 00:36:44.880
computer, when you're alone with your thoughts

00:36:44.880 --> 00:36:47.260
thinking about what somebody said to you or how

00:36:47.260 --> 00:36:49.920
they said it or the way things went, the enemy's

00:36:49.920 --> 00:36:52.099
going to come. He's going to ask you to do things

00:36:52.099 --> 00:36:54.260
that do not honor God or serve God's people.

00:36:54.650 --> 00:36:56.489
He's going to ask you to be mad at the person

00:36:56.489 --> 00:36:58.389
who said what you didn't like, which we don't

00:36:58.389 --> 00:37:00.110
do that. The Bible says when you're mad at somebody,

00:37:00.329 --> 00:37:02.929
angry at them, that's basically murder. That's

00:37:02.929 --> 00:37:04.590
what Jesus said. He's going to ask you to have

00:37:04.590 --> 00:37:06.949
feelings of covetous nature, to want what the

00:37:06.949 --> 00:37:08.750
world wants. You watch a few too many commercials

00:37:08.750 --> 00:37:10.010
that tell you if you can have this, you can be

00:37:10.010 --> 00:37:11.389
strong. You can have this, you can be thin. You

00:37:11.389 --> 00:37:12.949
can have this, you can be pretty. You have this,

00:37:12.949 --> 00:37:14.730
it'll prove you're wealthy. You'll be in more

00:37:14.730 --> 00:37:16.469
comfort in your car if you buy this particular

00:37:16.469 --> 00:37:18.510
version, right? The truth is that most of the

00:37:18.510 --> 00:37:20.409
things that we're told that we need are, we're

00:37:20.409 --> 00:37:22.670
told that we need them to lead us to covetousness

00:37:22.670 --> 00:37:24.570
and lust. He's going to ask. ask you to do things

00:37:24.570 --> 00:37:26.929
that do not honor God or serve God's people,

00:37:27.030 --> 00:37:29.530
suddenly, softly, he's on your doorstep. He wants

00:37:29.530 --> 00:37:31.789
to traffic on your prior allegiance. You used

00:37:31.789 --> 00:37:34.349
to have a friendship with him and the people

00:37:34.349 --> 00:37:36.500
of his kingdom. I had a young man who was in

00:37:36.500 --> 00:37:38.800
my high school. He knew me back then pretty well.

00:37:38.920 --> 00:37:40.539
We used to game together and we played two, three

00:37:40.539 --> 00:37:42.420
days a week. And I used to go to his house. In

00:37:42.420 --> 00:37:44.400
fact, we just drove by his old house. They don't

00:37:44.400 --> 00:37:46.139
own it anymore. He passed on. He's gone to be

00:37:46.139 --> 00:37:47.860
with the Lord now, but his family doesn't own

00:37:47.860 --> 00:37:50.400
it either. And we drove by there and I told Arianna,

00:37:50.460 --> 00:37:52.019
I said, we used to play games in that house right

00:37:52.019 --> 00:37:53.460
there, right there in that front room. I said,

00:37:53.500 --> 00:37:56.980
we were so poor. We were poor. They were even

00:37:56.980 --> 00:37:59.260
more poor. We played games. So one night in the

00:37:59.260 --> 00:38:01.039
middle of the night, 3 a .m., we all got up with

00:38:01.039 --> 00:38:03.159
towels and snapped and killed the flies off the

00:38:03.159 --> 00:38:04.519
ceiling because there were tens of thousands.

00:38:04.679 --> 00:38:06.760
of lies on the ceiling because the garbage had

00:38:06.760 --> 00:38:08.840
festered. And that's what life was like back

00:38:08.840 --> 00:38:12.619
then. He came to know me back then. We spent

00:38:12.619 --> 00:38:14.480
a lot of time together. And then when he heard

00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:16.280
that I was a Christian, that I had given my life

00:38:16.280 --> 00:38:18.000
to the Lord, he said, I had to come seek myself

00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:22.010
because I was like, no. Dan? Never. No way he

00:38:22.010 --> 00:38:24.050
ever came to be a Christian. Because he knew

00:38:24.050 --> 00:38:26.630
who I was. First of all, I was a pretty bad guy

00:38:26.630 --> 00:38:28.570
as far as doing a lot of things. It wasn't terrible.

00:38:28.730 --> 00:38:31.929
I got drunk a few times, but I didn't do that

00:38:31.929 --> 00:38:33.610
really long term or anything like that. And I

00:38:33.610 --> 00:38:35.710
didn't get involved with marijuana or any other

00:38:35.710 --> 00:38:38.110
drugs. Alcohol was my drug of choice. I fought

00:38:38.110 --> 00:38:41.530
a lot. Mostly lost. I paid the price for that

00:38:41.530 --> 00:38:44.309
in my hands up until I was probably about 40,

00:38:44.309 --> 00:38:47.550
45. And it finally went away. I was very skeptical

00:38:47.550 --> 00:38:49.150
about everything. Wouldn't believe anybody. had

00:38:49.150 --> 00:38:50.909
told me anything. And he knew I was that. And

00:38:50.909 --> 00:38:53.130
we used to argue, logical arguments, philosophical

00:38:53.130 --> 00:38:55.469
arguments, and we'd argue to the end. I'm telling

00:38:55.469 --> 00:38:57.130
you right now, if you can think of a reason not

00:38:57.130 --> 00:38:58.829
to come to Jesus, I've already thought of it

00:38:58.829 --> 00:39:01.230
and used it. And after months and months and

00:39:01.230 --> 00:39:03.510
months of doing that, I realized that these teachings

00:39:03.510 --> 00:39:06.469
about Jesus, they are real. He died for our sins.

00:39:06.710 --> 00:39:09.809
He came for us. No other God can even claim that.

00:39:09.869 --> 00:39:12.119
And even if they could, He rose again on the

00:39:12.119 --> 00:39:14.860
third day. A historical event recorded not only

00:39:14.860 --> 00:39:16.980
by Christians, but by people who hated Jesus.

00:39:17.300 --> 00:39:19.679
They said, yeah, they crucified him. There came

00:39:19.679 --> 00:39:21.440
a prophet talking, preaching, healing, doing

00:39:21.440 --> 00:39:23.420
things. They crucified him, and three days later,

00:39:23.519 --> 00:39:26.099
he came back to life. They saw him again. They

00:39:26.099 --> 00:39:27.239
didn't say he came back to life. They said they

00:39:27.239 --> 00:39:29.380
saw him again teaching after they crucified him.

00:39:29.400 --> 00:39:31.420
Three days later, they saw him again. That's

00:39:31.420 --> 00:39:33.380
what historians recorded. The truth is true.

00:39:33.739 --> 00:39:37.050
Jesus is real. And whatever skepticism you have

00:39:37.050 --> 00:39:39.309
or questions, I already had it. And he knew that.

00:39:39.309 --> 00:39:40.829
And he came and he said, I couldn't believe it.

00:39:40.869 --> 00:39:42.769
And he came and he stayed in our church. In fact,

00:39:42.789 --> 00:39:44.829
he was still coming to our church when he passed

00:39:44.829 --> 00:39:46.989
away and went to be with the Lord. As far as

00:39:46.989 --> 00:39:48.610
I understand, I don't judge anybody's salvation.

00:39:48.909 --> 00:39:51.590
What I'm saying to you is. The enemy wants your

00:39:51.590 --> 00:39:53.630
hospitality, your shelter, your protection for

00:39:53.630 --> 00:39:56.269
a time. He wants to traffic on your prior allegiance

00:39:56.269 --> 00:39:59.550
with him, your cynical character, your sinful

00:39:59.550 --> 00:40:03.809
nature, your desires, etc. Many who have a hate

00:40:03.809 --> 00:40:06.489
have made their own way. They have heart, attitude,

00:40:06.769 --> 00:40:09.110
passion, experience, and they've made their own

00:40:09.110 --> 00:40:12.250
way. They are capable of siding with him and

00:40:12.250 --> 00:40:14.250
making the wrong decision, winding up in a long

00:40:14.250 --> 00:40:16.409
-term detrimental relationship with the enemy.

00:40:16.550 --> 00:40:18.949
And let's be serious, it's... Satan, demons,

00:40:19.170 --> 00:40:21.090
evil spirits, and the world system. That's the

00:40:21.090 --> 00:40:23.769
enemy that we're talking about. And so they've

00:40:23.769 --> 00:40:25.789
done that. Long -term detrimental relationship.

00:40:26.289 --> 00:40:29.409
Still more emphasize their hate and reconnect

00:40:29.409 --> 00:40:33.309
with one enemy or another time and again. Widely

00:40:33.309 --> 00:40:35.449
ignorant of what these compromises are costing

00:40:35.449 --> 00:40:38.789
them. His people possess not just a hate, but

00:40:38.789 --> 00:40:41.449
a shape. And they have seen and cannot deny that

00:40:41.449 --> 00:40:44.489
God will have the victory. So they should destroy

00:40:44.489 --> 00:40:46.550
the enemy of God who comes into their tent looking

00:40:46.550 --> 00:40:48.710
for solace, hospitality, and sinful protection.

00:40:49.050 --> 00:40:50.530
There are a lot of people that think they're

00:40:50.530 --> 00:40:52.989
doing pretty well. We think we can add to our

00:40:52.989 --> 00:40:55.409
lives. So now I'm a professing Christian, so

00:40:55.409 --> 00:40:58.150
now I can sample the things of the world. I can

00:40:58.150 --> 00:40:59.929
get involved. I can do the things that the world

00:40:59.929 --> 00:41:02.090
does. But then there comes a time where you're

00:41:02.090 --> 00:41:03.309
between a rock and a hard place and you have

00:41:03.309 --> 00:41:05.309
to choose between truly faithfully following

00:41:05.309 --> 00:41:07.510
the Lord and the sampling that you've been doing.

00:41:07.630 --> 00:41:09.409
Well, based on what we just saw in JL's life,

00:41:09.449 --> 00:41:11.010
we now know what we're supposed to do with that,

00:41:11.030 --> 00:41:13.949
right? You either got to kill God. or kill the

00:41:13.949 --> 00:41:15.510
sampling. Those are your options. It's going

00:41:15.510 --> 00:41:17.670
to come down to a time where you can't play sports

00:41:17.670 --> 00:41:19.489
anymore, can't play games anymore, can't spend

00:41:19.489 --> 00:41:21.710
your money anymore. You're laying on your deathbed

00:41:21.710 --> 00:41:24.429
and all you can do is breathe. You're on an IV

00:41:24.429 --> 00:41:26.750
or a ventilator or whatever. When it comes down

00:41:26.750 --> 00:41:29.570
to that, will it be you'll kill God or you'll

00:41:29.570 --> 00:41:32.369
kill the enemy? And we know what to do. We should

00:41:32.369 --> 00:41:34.329
choose God and we should do it before we get

00:41:34.329 --> 00:41:36.190
to the point where it's all we have left to do.

00:41:36.309 --> 00:41:39.230
Having a hard time saying no? We try to do both,

00:41:39.250 --> 00:41:41.309
and we wind up slighting our devotion to God.

00:41:41.389 --> 00:41:43.650
We choose our own entertainment over making money

00:41:43.650 --> 00:41:46.570
or hoarding money, but are unwilling to choose

00:41:46.570 --> 00:41:49.530
devotion to God over money. So we take vacations

00:41:49.530 --> 00:41:52.190
to get off work, and we make less money that

00:41:52.190 --> 00:41:54.329
week, or we take a day off with no pay, for example,

00:41:54.329 --> 00:41:56.769
to go do what we want to do. But instead of doing

00:41:56.769 --> 00:41:58.809
that, walking away from money to truly follow

00:41:58.809 --> 00:42:01.750
God, we follow the money. Let's be careful. Let's

00:42:01.750 --> 00:42:03.710
be realistic. Are we between a rock and a hard

00:42:03.710 --> 00:42:06.309
place? We teach devotion to God and then even

00:42:06.309 --> 00:42:08.409
say it's one of the most important things to

00:42:08.409 --> 00:42:10.690
us, but when we have an opportunity to partake

00:42:10.690 --> 00:42:12.469
of a blessing in this lifetime that will short

00:42:12.469 --> 00:42:15.050
our devotion to God, we say, God knows we are

00:42:15.050 --> 00:42:17.650
devoted, and that's enough. We do godly things

00:42:17.650 --> 00:42:19.730
in worldly ways and think that's sufficient.

00:42:19.949 --> 00:42:22.170
We try to do worldly things in godly ways and

00:42:22.170 --> 00:42:24.829
think that's sufficient. We embrace our house

00:42:24.829 --> 00:42:27.030
guest who is an evil spirit or an antichrist

00:42:27.030 --> 00:42:29.010
teaching or a scheme of the devil and we leave

00:42:29.010 --> 00:42:31.289
them at home while we come to worship because

00:42:31.289 --> 00:42:33.730
we don't want people to know that we are in an

00:42:33.730 --> 00:42:35.769
allegiance with him. So you come in here all

00:42:35.769 --> 00:42:37.750
cleaned up or go to church wherever all cleaned

00:42:37.750 --> 00:42:39.969
up and tell the truth and honor and sing praises

00:42:39.969 --> 00:42:42.190
or think about the words of the song or play

00:42:42.190 --> 00:42:44.369
the instruments or preach the sermons all the

00:42:44.369 --> 00:42:46.880
world over. While waiting for you at home is

00:42:46.880 --> 00:42:49.320
that exhausted enemy who needs your comfort.

00:42:49.500 --> 00:42:50.760
And as soon as you get back home, that's what

00:42:50.760 --> 00:42:52.420
you'll be doing, comforting them. So you'll be

00:42:52.420 --> 00:42:53.940
watching the shows that you shouldn't watch and

00:42:53.940 --> 00:42:55.760
doing the things you shouldn't do and thinking

00:42:55.760 --> 00:42:57.599
about how you can get away with not serving the

00:42:57.599 --> 00:42:59.679
way you should. We'll all be deciding to avoid

00:42:59.679 --> 00:43:02.179
martyrdom. And we don't really want a tough teaching

00:43:02.179 --> 00:43:04.619
from the word when what we're actually called

00:43:04.619 --> 00:43:06.559
to is martyrdom and a tough teaching from the

00:43:06.559 --> 00:43:09.500
word. We think, how will anybody know? You know

00:43:09.500 --> 00:43:11.539
how I know this is what some Christians are doing

00:43:11.539 --> 00:43:13.280
or some professing Christians are doing? Because

00:43:13.280 --> 00:43:15.420
the Bible says so. And it says it will get that

00:43:15.420 --> 00:43:17.559
much more common as we get closer to Jesus coming.

00:43:17.719 --> 00:43:19.679
And I'm telling you, we're getting closer. Every

00:43:19.679 --> 00:43:21.519
minute, whether he comes in our lifetime or not,

00:43:21.579 --> 00:43:23.960
we're getting closer. We think, I'm saved and

00:43:23.960 --> 00:43:27.039
so I should. Do this one. I'm a Christian. I'm

00:43:27.039 --> 00:43:29.280
a follower of Jesus and so I should. I should

00:43:29.280 --> 00:43:31.280
go to church, I should give, I should serve,

00:43:31.440 --> 00:43:33.519
I should be kind, whatever. If you're living

00:43:33.519 --> 00:43:36.159
the I shoulds of life, you are not living for

00:43:36.159 --> 00:43:38.960
Jesus. The moment you say, I'm saved and so I

00:43:38.960 --> 00:43:40.780
should, you've already missed the boat. Because

00:43:40.780 --> 00:43:43.179
Jesus came to make you new so that it becomes

00:43:43.179 --> 00:43:45.619
part of your personality, part of your shape.

00:43:45.739 --> 00:43:48.099
The Spirit is in your heart, cleansing your heart,

00:43:48.159 --> 00:43:49.800
and guiding you to do, and you shouldn't have

00:43:49.800 --> 00:43:51.960
to say, I should be nice to them, I should ask

00:43:51.960 --> 00:43:54.059
for forgiveness, I should do better, I should

00:43:54.059 --> 00:43:56.679
try harder. You shouldn't have to say that, because

00:43:56.679 --> 00:43:59.230
this is who you are now. But the reason we do

00:43:59.230 --> 00:44:01.349
that is because we have not killed the enemy

00:44:01.349 --> 00:44:04.269
that's in our life that is ours to kill. Instead

00:44:04.269 --> 00:44:07.090
of, we should say, I love God, and I want to

00:44:07.090 --> 00:44:09.849
show how much I love God by exercising my shape,

00:44:10.050 --> 00:44:11.869
my whole shape, not just my heart, attitude,

00:44:11.989 --> 00:44:14.269
passion, and experience, but my spiritual gifting

00:44:14.269 --> 00:44:17.110
in the kingdom of God. You can deal with the

00:44:17.110 --> 00:44:19.550
evil with your hate. You don't even need the

00:44:19.550 --> 00:44:21.829
S to do that. You don't need the Spirit of God.

00:44:21.909 --> 00:44:24.489
You were built to do that. And that's why people

00:44:24.489 --> 00:44:27.760
can go get in the 12 Steps program. and pick

00:44:27.760 --> 00:44:29.840
some other higher power other than God and still

00:44:29.840 --> 00:44:31.599
have great victory and actually get away from

00:44:31.599 --> 00:44:34.699
alcohol for a long time or whatever else because

00:44:34.699 --> 00:44:37.099
your hate can do it, but your shape can do it

00:44:37.099 --> 00:44:40.400
and make it eternal. You can only kill him permanently

00:44:40.400 --> 00:44:43.360
with your shape. Greater is he that is in me,

00:44:43.519 --> 00:44:45.579
it says in the Bible, greater is he that is in

00:44:45.579 --> 00:44:48.079
me than he that is in the world. It means if

00:44:48.079 --> 00:44:50.460
I am between a rock and a hard place, I choose

00:44:50.460 --> 00:44:52.900
the rock and we destroy the hard place. That's

00:44:52.900 --> 00:44:55.300
what it means. God deserves and demands your

00:44:55.300 --> 00:44:58.679
undying allegiance. He calls you out of any past

00:44:58.679 --> 00:45:01.500
allegiance and he commands you to choose him

00:45:01.500 --> 00:45:05.000
over any other future allegiance. Commit to do

00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:07.099
that today. A couple of quick illustrations and

00:45:07.099 --> 00:45:09.139
we're done. There are a few passages in the Bible

00:45:09.139 --> 00:45:11.960
that I just kind of like get chills when I think

00:45:11.960 --> 00:45:13.420
of the story and the events that are happening.

00:45:13.500 --> 00:45:16.039
One of those is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

00:45:16.039 --> 00:45:19.000
in front of the fiery furnace. So there's a story

00:45:19.000 --> 00:45:20.940
about these three guys. They're captured. They're

00:45:20.940 --> 00:45:23.500
taken into an enemy kingdom. And then while they're

00:45:23.500 --> 00:45:26.099
there, they're told that whenever the music should

00:45:26.099 --> 00:45:28.039
play, they have to worship. They have to worship

00:45:28.039 --> 00:45:29.940
this false god. They have to bow down to the

00:45:29.940 --> 00:45:33.139
king, to the false gods of this kingdom. And

00:45:33.139 --> 00:45:35.159
they won't do it. They know they're between a

00:45:35.159 --> 00:45:37.460
rock and a hard place. Like J .L., for example,

00:45:37.579 --> 00:45:41.079
if they choose to bow down, they offend God and

00:45:41.079 --> 00:45:43.420
God's people and God's law and the spiritual

00:45:43.420 --> 00:45:46.239
strength that God offers, etc. And if they choose

00:45:46.239 --> 00:45:48.780
not to bow down, they can be put to death. Sure

00:45:48.780 --> 00:45:51.159
enough, they get arrested. They're drugged before

00:45:51.159 --> 00:45:53.099
the fiery furnace. Not quite there yet, but they're

00:45:53.099 --> 00:45:54.840
getting there. And the king says, you didn't

00:45:54.840 --> 00:45:56.800
do it. You didn't bow down. You seem like a good

00:45:56.800 --> 00:45:58.639
man. You're trying hard. What's your problem?

00:45:58.780 --> 00:46:01.059
And they said, you know what? If you cast us

00:46:01.059 --> 00:46:02.739
into the fiery furnace, this is where I always

00:46:02.739 --> 00:46:04.260
get the chills. If you cast us into the fiery

00:46:04.260 --> 00:46:07.099
furnace, our God is mighty enough to save us.

00:46:07.260 --> 00:46:08.920
See, they could see the rock and they could see

00:46:08.920 --> 00:46:11.099
the hard place. The rock was God and the hard

00:46:11.099 --> 00:46:12.679
place was the fiery furnace. And they said, if

00:46:12.679 --> 00:46:15.920
you cast us into the fiery furnace, our God is

00:46:15.920 --> 00:46:19.260
mighty enough to save us. But hear us now, even

00:46:19.260 --> 00:46:22.739
if he does not save us, we will not bow down

00:46:22.739 --> 00:46:26.460
to your false gods. In the book of Job, the devil

00:46:26.460 --> 00:46:28.659
who's coming for God is accusing Job, and ultimately

00:46:28.659 --> 00:46:30.800
God gives the devil permission to strike Job's

00:46:30.800 --> 00:46:33.019
life, destroy all of his property, all of his

00:46:33.019 --> 00:46:35.159
kids are gone, they're all dead, all of his in

00:46:35.159 --> 00:46:37.579
-laws are dead. Only one left is his wife. And

00:46:37.579 --> 00:46:40.179
Job is sitting in a pile of ashes, which is a

00:46:40.179 --> 00:46:42.679
way of mourning. He was mourning as deeply as

00:46:42.679 --> 00:46:44.860
anybody can mourn. And as he sat in the pile

00:46:44.860 --> 00:46:48.019
of ashes, he had sores all over his skin because

00:46:48.019 --> 00:46:50.340
the devil was allowed to strike his skin. And

00:46:50.340 --> 00:46:52.539
God had allowed him to do that because the devil

00:46:52.539 --> 00:46:54.599
had said he wouldn't stay faithful. And Job is

00:46:54.599 --> 00:46:57.139
sitting there and he's scraping the sores on

00:46:57.139 --> 00:47:00.280
his skin with broken pieces of clay pot because

00:47:00.280 --> 00:47:02.239
it's the only way he can get just a little bit

00:47:02.239 --> 00:47:05.309
of... relief from the itching. And so he's scraping

00:47:05.309 --> 00:47:07.050
the sores and trying to get the infection out

00:47:07.050 --> 00:47:09.630
and trying to just survive. He was mourning so

00:47:09.630 --> 00:47:11.650
deeply and just trying to survive. That's all

00:47:11.650 --> 00:47:13.469
he was trying to do. And his wife comes to him

00:47:13.469 --> 00:47:16.170
and he says, Job, why don't you just curse God

00:47:16.170 --> 00:47:18.530
and die? So that's why the devil didn't take

00:47:18.530 --> 00:47:20.389
her away so that right there in that moment she

00:47:20.389 --> 00:47:22.590
could come and make his campaign pitch. See,

00:47:22.630 --> 00:47:24.989
Job was between a rock and a hard place. And

00:47:24.989 --> 00:47:29.239
he said, no, no. God gives everything. If God

00:47:29.239 --> 00:47:31.780
giveth, then God has the right to take it away.

00:47:31.980 --> 00:47:33.820
So he gave me everything, and he has the right

00:47:33.820 --> 00:47:36.039
to take everything away. Who am I to curse God?

00:47:36.239 --> 00:47:38.059
And he would not do it. Between a rock and a

00:47:38.059 --> 00:47:42.920
hard place, he chose God, and God and Job destroyed

00:47:42.920 --> 00:47:45.679
the hard place. And very shortly, you see, he's

00:47:45.679 --> 00:47:48.159
out of the pile of ashes. The sores are all healed

00:47:48.159 --> 00:47:51.280
up. He's got a bunch more family, a bunch more

00:47:51.280 --> 00:47:54.079
houses, a bunch more wealth. And then God himself

00:47:54.079 --> 00:47:56.800
comes to talk to Job. And he corrects Job because

00:47:56.800 --> 00:47:58.639
Job was a little prideful throughout it. But

00:47:58.639 --> 00:48:00.659
he never truly sinned against him. But he did

00:48:00.659 --> 00:48:02.360
kind of challenge God and say, I want to make

00:48:02.360 --> 00:48:04.820
my case. He asked God if he could make his case.

00:48:05.019 --> 00:48:07.199
But the men who had been plaguing God that had

00:48:07.199 --> 00:48:09.579
come into Job's house and said, you need to understand

00:48:09.579 --> 00:48:12.039
that you must have sinned against God. You're

00:48:12.039 --> 00:48:13.860
getting all this because you're wrong. You sinned

00:48:13.860 --> 00:48:15.420
somehow. And Job said, no, it's not because I

00:48:15.420 --> 00:48:16.619
sinned. I don't know why it's happening, but

00:48:16.619 --> 00:48:19.320
it's not because I sinned. God told them if they

00:48:19.320 --> 00:48:21.619
wanted to be forgiven, they could go and ask

00:48:21.619 --> 00:48:24.340
Job, and Job would pray for them, and they would

00:48:24.340 --> 00:48:26.539
be forgiven. You see, when he was between a rock

00:48:26.539 --> 00:48:29.820
and a hard place, he chose God the rock, God

00:48:29.820 --> 00:48:32.340
empowered him spiritually, and he overcame and

00:48:32.340 --> 00:48:35.789
destroyed the hard place. Jesus is on the earth.

00:48:35.989 --> 00:48:38.329
You might have heard John 3 .16, for God so loved

00:48:38.329 --> 00:48:40.650
the world. John 3 .17 is a little less well -known.

00:48:40.710 --> 00:48:43.469
He says, the Son of Man did not come to condemn

00:48:43.469 --> 00:48:45.610
the world, but the world is condemned already

00:48:45.610 --> 00:48:47.429
by what they have done with the Son of Man. So

00:48:47.429 --> 00:48:49.650
Jesus said, I didn't come to condemn. I'm not

00:48:49.650 --> 00:48:51.190
here to tell anybody they've got to go to hell.

00:48:51.349 --> 00:48:53.250
I'm not here to tell anybody they're wrong or

00:48:53.250 --> 00:48:55.550
bad or anything. That's not who Jesus is. Now

00:48:55.550 --> 00:48:57.150
the reality is, if you compare yourself to what

00:48:57.150 --> 00:48:58.750
Jesus said you have to be in order to get into

00:48:58.750 --> 00:49:00.659
heaven, you've got a problem. But Jesus knew

00:49:00.659 --> 00:49:02.719
that problem existed and he came to make that

00:49:02.719 --> 00:49:05.699
problem no longer a problem. The rock came to

00:49:05.699 --> 00:49:08.739
destroy the hard place and to make people into

00:49:08.739 --> 00:49:11.000
the shape that they have so that when the rock

00:49:11.000 --> 00:49:13.519
moved to destroy the hard place, they are molded

00:49:13.519 --> 00:49:15.539
into the rock. They become part of the rock and

00:49:15.539 --> 00:49:18.539
the hard place is destroyed. Destroyed. whisked

00:49:18.539 --> 00:49:20.679
away like it never existed. And that's what heaven

00:49:20.679 --> 00:49:22.440
will one day be like. The new heaven and the

00:49:22.440 --> 00:49:25.039
new earth will be like that, like hell never

00:49:25.039 --> 00:49:28.239
existed. Earth never existed. Yes, we'll answer

00:49:28.239 --> 00:49:29.599
for everything we've done in this lifetime, but

00:49:29.599 --> 00:49:31.840
all sorrow, all sadness, all pain, all death,

00:49:31.960 --> 00:49:34.639
all disease. And are those things all not a common

00:49:34.639 --> 00:49:36.940
existence in almost every day of life? Is there

00:49:36.940 --> 00:49:39.739
anybody in here who hasn't been sick or had a

00:49:39.739 --> 00:49:41.099
loved one who was sick? I've got a loved one

00:49:41.099 --> 00:49:43.039
who's sick right now. We had Michael, I had to

00:49:43.039 --> 00:49:44.920
leave here because he was in so much pain. They're

00:49:44.920 --> 00:49:47.139
suffering every single day. But if there's suffering

00:49:47.139 --> 00:49:49.420
like that every single day and there's nothing

00:49:49.420 --> 00:49:52.440
like that in heaven, you need to choose the rock.

00:49:52.699 --> 00:49:56.110
One last one. Jesus said to a bunch of people

00:49:56.110 --> 00:49:57.929
that were following him, probably thousands,

00:49:58.230 --> 00:50:00.090
he said, unless you eat of my flesh and drink

00:50:00.090 --> 00:50:02.409
of my blood, you have no part with me. Now that's

00:50:02.409 --> 00:50:04.349
a tough teaching because there were people who

00:50:04.349 --> 00:50:06.789
ate people like cannibals, that's bad, or cultists

00:50:06.789 --> 00:50:08.349
who drank each other's blood and stuff. That's

00:50:08.349 --> 00:50:10.110
gross. That's never what he was talking about.

00:50:10.289 --> 00:50:11.469
We know what he was talking about. He was talking

00:50:11.469 --> 00:50:13.530
about the Lord's Supper, right? He had enacted

00:50:13.530 --> 00:50:16.489
a process, a covenant with them for the Lord's

00:50:16.489 --> 00:50:17.849
Supper so they would never forget his sacrifice

00:50:17.849 --> 00:50:19.889
until he came again. Well, when he said that,

00:50:20.239 --> 00:50:21.860
Hundreds, maybe thousands of people left him.

00:50:21.920 --> 00:50:23.679
Later that day, the disciples are sitting around

00:50:23.679 --> 00:50:25.599
with him and they said, we need to talk to you.

00:50:25.699 --> 00:50:28.420
And he said, yeah, so what is it? Are you going

00:50:28.420 --> 00:50:30.340
to leave me too? Jesus said, are you going to

00:50:30.340 --> 00:50:32.380
leave me too? To his disciples. And Peter said

00:50:32.380 --> 00:50:34.840
back, he said, no, Lord, you have the words of

00:50:34.840 --> 00:50:37.159
life. Where would we go? You see, Jesus Christ

00:50:37.159 --> 00:50:39.480
is the rock and he's going to deal with the hard

00:50:39.480 --> 00:50:41.619
place. And yes, you are caught in between. You

00:50:41.619 --> 00:50:45.780
live on the earth between God's heaven and the

00:50:45.780 --> 00:50:48.420
earth system. But we are not part of that system.

00:50:48.519 --> 00:50:52.510
We choose the rock. He destroys the hard place.

00:50:53.329 --> 00:50:56.409
But notice, it was Jael that destroyed Sisera.

00:50:56.530 --> 00:50:59.030
You see, he fills us up with his spirit and our

00:50:59.030 --> 00:51:01.889
shape, our hape of which, H -A -P -E, heart,

00:51:02.070 --> 00:51:04.050
absolute passion, experience, are already capable

00:51:04.050 --> 00:51:06.630
of dealing with, become spirit empowered. And

00:51:06.630 --> 00:51:09.340
now... We're fighting not just to survive, not

00:51:09.340 --> 00:51:10.920
just to make ends meet, not just to overcome,

00:51:11.159 --> 00:51:13.619
but our victories are in the spiritual realm.

00:51:13.739 --> 00:51:15.960
And demons and evil spirits can no longer stand

00:51:15.960 --> 00:51:18.280
against you. And if Satan himself came and you

00:51:18.280 --> 00:51:20.260
said, get out of here in the name of Jesus, he

00:51:20.260 --> 00:51:22.739
would be forced to flee. So it's up to you. Do

00:51:22.739 --> 00:51:25.440
you want to choose to embrace that weak, kind

00:51:25.440 --> 00:51:29.280
of sickly, sorry for himself, enemy of God? who's

00:51:29.280 --> 00:51:31.300
barely hanging on with a thin thread and knows

00:51:31.300 --> 00:51:34.420
that one day he'll be destroyed eternally away

00:51:34.420 --> 00:51:36.840
from God, not eliminated, not like not existing,

00:51:36.940 --> 00:51:39.079
but in eternal damnation away from God forever?

00:51:39.239 --> 00:51:40.880
Do you want to choose that? Or do you want to

00:51:40.880 --> 00:51:42.760
choose God now? Now I'm going to tell you the

00:51:42.760 --> 00:51:44.760
bad side. If you choose God now, you could die.

00:51:44.880 --> 00:51:47.340
If you choose God now. If you choose God now,

00:51:47.480 --> 00:51:49.239
someday your heart's going to stop beating, your

00:51:49.239 --> 00:51:50.760
brain's going to stop waving, somebody may put

00:51:50.760 --> 00:51:52.579
a bullet in you, you might even be crucified,

00:51:52.940 --> 00:51:55.019
you might be flayed, drawn and cornered, you

00:51:55.019 --> 00:51:56.679
might be hit by a car, you might be persecuted.

00:51:56.800 --> 00:51:59.239
Bad things happen to good people. It can happen.

00:51:59.659 --> 00:52:01.599
But if it happens to you, if you choose the rock,

00:52:01.800 --> 00:52:03.760
the next moment after it happens to you, the

00:52:03.760 --> 00:52:06.079
next instant, you'll be in heaven for an eternity.

00:52:06.199 --> 00:52:08.579
We're absent from this life present with the

00:52:08.579 --> 00:52:12.159
Lord. I'm asking you today to do either A, repent

00:52:12.159 --> 00:52:13.679
and turn to the Lord for the first time ever

00:52:13.679 --> 00:52:15.599
and accept Jesus Christ who was the one who paid

00:52:15.599 --> 00:52:17.860
for your sins as leader of your life. And he'll

00:52:17.860 --> 00:52:19.519
see you through. Whatever comes, he'll see you

00:52:19.519 --> 00:52:21.559
through. Or if you're already a Christian, you

00:52:21.559 --> 00:52:23.219
already are, and you know that you've been kind

00:52:23.219 --> 00:52:24.659
of dallying, you've been playing, you've been

00:52:24.659 --> 00:52:29.039
allowing hospitality toward enemies of God. Or

00:52:29.039 --> 00:52:30.900
maybe you've even, you know, it's been so long

00:52:30.900 --> 00:52:32.599
that you've let certain things kind of like bleed

00:52:32.599 --> 00:52:34.920
into your life and take up a place that belongs

00:52:34.920 --> 00:52:37.599
only to God. Then you repent today. Pick up your

00:52:37.599 --> 00:52:40.820
tent stake and your hammer. Use the heart, skill,

00:52:41.179 --> 00:52:43.440
aptitude, experience that you have and drive

00:52:43.440 --> 00:52:45.880
that stake home and say, no more. I'm not going

00:52:45.880 --> 00:52:48.039
to lie for you anymore. I'm not going to protect

00:52:48.039 --> 00:52:51.260
you anymore. I'm going to live for God the way

00:52:51.260 --> 00:52:54.300
God made me able, through His Holy Spirit, by

00:52:54.300 --> 00:52:56.539
virtue of the sacrifice of His Son. Jesus didn't

00:52:56.539 --> 00:52:58.079
come to condemn, and I'm not coming to condemn

00:52:58.079 --> 00:53:00.559
you either. But we all were condemned already

00:53:00.559 --> 00:53:02.619
by what we did with the Son of God. Caught between

00:53:02.619 --> 00:53:05.099
a rock and a hard place. We were okay with facing

00:53:05.099 --> 00:53:07.199
the hard place for as long as it lasted. Remember

00:53:07.199 --> 00:53:10.519
the Odyssey? You know what he chose? He sailed

00:53:10.519 --> 00:53:12.460
between and he sailed closer to the monster.

00:53:12.719 --> 00:53:14.780
And six of his soldiers were plucked off the

00:53:14.780 --> 00:53:16.760
deck and destroyed. But he made it through. He

00:53:16.760 --> 00:53:19.260
made sacrifices to make it through the rock and

00:53:19.260 --> 00:53:20.679
the hard place. That's how most people are doing

00:53:20.679 --> 00:53:22.860
it. They're making sacrifices to make it through.

00:53:22.980 --> 00:53:25.519
That's not the way. Choose a rock. Choose Jesus

00:53:25.519 --> 00:53:28.630
Christ. And stand firm to the end. Think about

00:53:28.630 --> 00:53:30.309
what's in your life that's trying to lure you

00:53:30.309 --> 00:53:33.050
away and cut it out and be victorious. From the

00:53:33.050 --> 00:53:35.510
moment the enemy came to your house, you were

00:53:35.510 --> 00:53:37.269
in trouble. It's time to defeat him. It's time

00:53:37.269 --> 00:53:39.389
to destroy him in the name of Jesus Christ. It's

00:53:39.389 --> 00:53:41.289
not a person. It's a temptation. It's an evil

00:53:41.289 --> 00:53:43.610
spirit. It's a distraction. It's a demon. It

00:53:43.610 --> 00:53:45.949
could be a personality trait. It's time. I ask

00:53:45.949 --> 00:53:47.369
the praise team to come forward at this time

00:53:47.369 --> 00:53:50.510
and lead us in our closing hymn. As we sing together

00:53:50.510 --> 00:53:52.530
or as you focus on the words, I ask you if the

00:53:52.530 --> 00:53:53.909
Lord is speaking to your heart today and you

00:53:53.909 --> 00:53:55.530
need to repent in some way or give your life

00:53:55.530 --> 00:53:56.610
over to the Lord first time ever.