WEBVTT 00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:02.759 We've been talking about the unifying principles 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:05.660 of our faith, right? And so all of these things 00:00:05.660 --> 00:00:07.960 should all be principles that we all hold to, 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:09.679 we all agree with, they all follow the principles 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:12.660 of course, they all hold to, we all agree with, 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:15.900 and if we all agree, then we are unified by our 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:18.280 very nature. And each time we've been looking 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:20.699 at a problem that prevents us from being unified, 00:00:20.899 --> 00:00:25.839 that decides the unified principle of today's 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:29.219 problem is... Where some folks desire the benefit 00:00:29.219 --> 00:00:32.039 of the principle without being bought into the 00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:35.259 principle. That's the problem. And it's the reality. 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:40.039 It happens a lot. I want to be members of a group, 00:00:40.100 --> 00:00:42.320 but I don't want to pay the dues. Or I don't 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:44.200 want to do the work. I want to be a part of the 00:00:44.200 --> 00:00:46.759 team, but I don't want to bust my butt and grow 00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:50.359 my muscles or become a better player. And so 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:53.380 some would say this is hypocrisy. I would say, 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:55.240 I don't even think about it that deeply. Because 00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:57.579 the person who is involved and wants to have 00:00:57.579 --> 00:00:59.460 a lead part and lead by principle and have a 00:00:59.460 --> 00:01:01.500 lead by principle person, you know, they would 00:01:01.500 --> 00:01:03.780 say, yeah, I believe that. Yeah, I'm for that. 00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:05.680 And they would accept their life and think that 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:08.579 they are basically following the leaders. They're 00:01:08.579 --> 00:01:11.760 basically doing what is not an intentional choice 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:13.959 on their part to be a cracker, not an intentional 00:01:13.959 --> 00:01:17.019 choice to be late or to give up or to fall in, 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:19.840 but rather... It's just that they have assessed 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:22.099 it and looked at it and they thought, man, I 00:01:22.099 --> 00:01:25.200 am there. I'm part of the team. Oh, my God. I'm 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:26.939 part of the church. I'm part of the workforce. 00:01:27.260 --> 00:01:29.060 Whatever it might be. Do a lot of what you're 00:01:29.060 --> 00:01:31.140 doing. If you think it's okay. And they don't 00:01:31.140 --> 00:01:34.379 stop to examine themselves in light of the divine 00:01:34.379 --> 00:01:36.579 principles. So I'm not going to give you the 00:01:36.579 --> 00:01:39.140 divine principles yet. We'll get to that way 00:01:39.140 --> 00:01:42.719 towards the end. But we're going to see an example 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:44.859 of some folks who did exactly what I'm talking 00:01:44.859 --> 00:01:48.510 about. Amazingly enough, they did it over and 00:01:48.510 --> 00:01:50.129 over and over again. Because when you're happy 00:01:50.129 --> 00:01:52.689 with my principle, and you believe it, but you're 00:01:52.689 --> 00:01:54.390 not really bought into it, you're not applying 00:01:54.390 --> 00:01:57.209 yourself to really work with my principle, it's 00:01:57.209 --> 00:01:59.769 easy to find yourself in a third position over 00:01:59.769 --> 00:02:02.349 and over and over again. Where sometimes you're 00:02:02.349 --> 00:02:03.609 good with what you're supposed to do, and the 00:02:03.609 --> 00:02:05.430 rest of the time you're okay and you're not doing 00:02:05.430 --> 00:02:08.889 it, and then you're going to come back. We'll 00:02:08.889 --> 00:02:10.889 see the example, and I will make it more clear. 00:02:11.110 --> 00:02:13.370 So grab your Bible if you would. I hope you brought 00:02:13.370 --> 00:02:14.669 it with you today. I hope you felt a little bit 00:02:14.669 --> 00:02:16.780 excited. The word of God. You might want to say 00:02:16.780 --> 00:02:19.099 all right or amen or just a hoot or a holler. 00:02:19.180 --> 00:02:23.939 Have you heard Judges chapter 2? All right. Unfortunately, 00:02:24.379 --> 00:02:26.379 the story that we find here is not what you would 00:02:26.379 --> 00:02:31.360 call a very uplifting story. So before we begin 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:33.860 to read from Judges chapter 2, I'm going to set 00:02:33.860 --> 00:02:36.699 the scene a little bit for you. And I have to 00:02:36.699 --> 00:02:38.860 say something about salvation. Brother Tony already 00:02:38.860 --> 00:02:40.860 said it well. He made a couple of us say it well. 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:43.879 And that is that if you are saved, you are saved. 00:02:44.360 --> 00:02:46.520 And it's by virtue of God and by virtue of Jesus 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:48.780 Christ who gives that gift. So nothing that you 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:51.159 can do to earn that gift if you didn't already 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:53.680 have it. And now that you have it, if you are 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:56.020 saved, nothing that you can do can earn having 00:02:56.020 --> 00:02:58.639 it. You don't receive a Christmas gift and then 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:01.139 go out and impress your friends with how awesome 00:03:01.139 --> 00:03:02.919 that you are so they'll be glad that they gave 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:04.639 you the Christmas gift. And you don't impress 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:07.020 your friends with how awesome that you are so 00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:08.479 that he will give you a Christmas gift. That's 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:10.000 not the way it works. If he loves you and he 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:11.319 wants to give you a Christmas gift, then you 00:03:11.319 --> 00:03:12.740 give him a Christmas gift by virtue of Jesus 00:03:12.740 --> 00:03:16.110 Christ. and say that it's true with God. God 00:03:16.110 --> 00:03:18.330 gave it by salvation, by his grace, and paid 00:03:18.330 --> 00:03:20.469 for it, through, by the death of his son on the 00:03:20.469 --> 00:03:22.949 cross. He proved that he gave it by the resurrection 00:03:22.949 --> 00:03:25.069 of Jesus after the death of his son on the cross, 00:03:25.069 --> 00:03:27.110 and so on. If you are here today and you are 00:03:27.110 --> 00:03:29.669 saved, you are saved. I say that because now 00:03:29.669 --> 00:03:31.370 we're going to talk about sin. Eventually we're 00:03:31.370 --> 00:03:33.210 going to be talking about our sin. So that's 00:03:33.210 --> 00:03:35.569 going to step on your toes. Step on mine. Be 00:03:35.569 --> 00:03:37.530 happy. So we saw our purpose today. We're going 00:03:37.530 --> 00:03:39.449 to step on yours today. This is your heart. This 00:03:39.449 --> 00:03:42.169 is your life. This is what I have. Now for the 00:03:42.169 --> 00:03:45.560 story. Joshua. Just died. He was God. The Bible 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:49.020 tells us he was God. Right. Right. Back in Moses, 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:53.120 he was the leader of Israel after Moses passed 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:57.620 away, right? God was the leader. So Joshua was 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:00.180 in charge of the people. And what was the big 00:04:00.180 --> 00:04:03.379 thing that Joshua led in his lifetime? He claimed 00:04:03.379 --> 00:04:06.020 the fame. Joshua was awesome. He led the people 00:04:06.020 --> 00:04:08.300 to the promised land, right? He led the people 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:10.159 to the promised land. And the people went in 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:12.949 and their job was to... Wipe out the people that 00:04:12.949 --> 00:04:14.349 were there who were chafed out, because there 00:04:14.349 --> 00:04:15.870 were a lot of people who wanted to do this. Wipe 00:04:15.870 --> 00:04:17.009 out the people who were chafed out, the people 00:04:17.009 --> 00:04:18.810 who were there, the land, the laws, the people's 00:04:18.810 --> 00:04:21.170 lives. God had promised Joshua was seasoned in. 00:04:21.430 --> 00:04:24.629 Joshua was basically a faithful man of God. Verse 00:04:24.629 --> 00:04:27.050 8, it says, Joshua, come new, the servant of 00:04:27.050 --> 00:04:30.430 the Lord, died, being 110 years old. But he was 00:04:30.430 --> 00:04:32.569 a leader, right? He was a leader right up until 00:04:32.569 --> 00:04:35.170 he was 110 years old, and then he died. And it 00:04:35.170 --> 00:04:38.480 buried him in verse 9. Verse 10 says, And also 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:40.319 all that generation was gathered under their 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:42.779 fathers. Because the men who lived under Joshua 00:04:42.779 --> 00:04:45.459 were leaders, who judged him, who worked under 00:04:45.459 --> 00:04:48.019 Joshua, because they had a future for God. The 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:50.339 rulers, etc., who were faithful to God, they 00:04:50.339 --> 00:04:52.699 all died off. They gathered under their fathers. 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:55.300 And there arose another generation about them, 00:04:55.339 --> 00:04:58.100 which knew not the Lord, nor yet the Word, which 00:04:58.100 --> 00:05:01.000 was given to them for Israel. So these leaders 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.399 who grow up now, they don't know God firsthand, 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:05.819 and they don't realize, they don't see firsthand 00:05:05.819 --> 00:05:07.720 the amazing things that God has done. First of 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:09.639 all, I want to say to you, before we were saved, 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:12.459 this was our flight. Your mom or your dad may 00:05:12.459 --> 00:05:15.199 have been following you, but that doesn't mean 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:17.360 that you could see God in them. Even if they 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:18.779 were doing godly things, you could say, well, 00:05:18.860 --> 00:05:22.220 they were just doing that. We went to go to church 00:05:22.220 --> 00:05:25.480 for the first time ever as adults. We felt like 00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:27.699 God was kind of calling us out. We didn't know 00:05:27.699 --> 00:05:28.980 what was going on at the time, but God was kind 00:05:28.980 --> 00:05:32.360 of calling us out. There was only one church 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:35.560 for us. find only one church on the face of the 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:37.540 entire planet. Anybody know how many churches 00:05:37.540 --> 00:05:39.759 are on the face of the planet? I'm going to say 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:42.360 you cannot know, right? Even if they call themselves 00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:44.199 a church, right, that's still up to God to decide 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:45.399 where they are. Now, the first church in the 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:47.040 state calls itself a church. Is that a church? 00:05:47.220 --> 00:05:50.199 No. Because if it's somebody who is in the first 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:51.699 church in the state, who is nonetheless a state, 00:05:51.740 --> 00:05:53.939 because they use the Bible, and they burn it, 00:05:54.019 --> 00:05:56.720 and put it in the masses, you get caught. So 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:58.800 the reality is, there are a lot of churches. 00:05:58.860 --> 00:06:00.339 As far as we know, there are a lot of churches. 00:06:00.379 --> 00:06:01.699 We don't know which ones are churches and which 00:06:01.699 --> 00:06:03.649 ones aren't. Well, we only knew of one church 00:06:03.649 --> 00:06:06.269 where anybody on the face of the planet went 00:06:06.269 --> 00:06:08.790 who was, as far as we could tell, what we thought 00:06:08.790 --> 00:06:11.149 it was going to be. Only one. Anywhere. And I 00:06:11.149 --> 00:06:12.829 haven't easily met the church, but over here 00:06:12.829 --> 00:06:14.970 in East Louisville, I haven't even known Bolton, 00:06:14.990 --> 00:06:17.050 Terry's grandmother. She was the only one on 00:06:17.050 --> 00:06:18.810 the face of the planet, despite some people saying 00:06:18.810 --> 00:06:21.110 there was a star, that we had ever seen a person 00:06:21.110 --> 00:06:23.490 that we thought acted like we thought of Britney 00:06:23.490 --> 00:06:25.990 Spears. So that naturally leads us to the church, 00:06:26.050 --> 00:06:28.149 that's the church we went to. I was 26 years 00:06:28.149 --> 00:06:30.370 old. I was living, believing that there were 00:06:30.370 --> 00:06:32.589 churches out there somewhere. I actually thought 00:06:32.589 --> 00:06:35.509 there was a God, but I realized that I didn't 00:06:35.509 --> 00:06:39.029 know a Christian. And this is the reality. Your 00:06:39.029 --> 00:06:41.730 relationship with Jesus Christ comes out of a 00:06:41.730 --> 00:06:45.550 generation of people that did not know God, and 00:06:45.550 --> 00:06:47.189 they did not first -hand see the works of God. 00:06:47.269 --> 00:06:48.949 Were you there when Jesus was resurrected? Did 00:06:48.949 --> 00:06:51.970 you see Jesus walk the earth after he was resurrected? 00:06:52.269 --> 00:06:54.560 No. Because you had some kind of a vision or 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:57.220 you had some kind of a spiritual meeting with 00:06:57.220 --> 00:06:59.480 God. You didn't physically see Jesus alive with 00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:01.199 your own human eyes. If I saw that, I'd be like, 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:05.620 whoa! I'd be like, James was. James was the brother 00:07:05.620 --> 00:07:07.420 of Jesus. And in his lifetime, he thought Jesus 00:07:07.420 --> 00:07:10.100 was nothing. That was crazy. But then afterwards, 00:07:10.339 --> 00:07:12.600 he became what we call a messianic. He lived 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:15.040 in duty. He also realized that Jesus was the 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:16.800 Christ. And he became a Christian and rose up 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:19.759 like James, a leader in the church. He changed 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:22.889 his life. He turned his life upside down. Because 00:07:22.889 --> 00:07:25.410 he genuinely thought he was alive after he was 00:07:25.410 --> 00:07:28.230 preached by God. I wish I had the opportunity. 00:07:28.329 --> 00:07:29.889 That would be really cool. I would say again, 00:07:29.949 --> 00:07:32.509 of course, as you believe, not having seen that, 00:07:32.629 --> 00:07:34.750 then you're all the more blessed. And that's 00:07:34.750 --> 00:07:37.589 where we are. We are at a place where our fathers 00:07:37.589 --> 00:07:40.170 could not, it was not possible for our fathers 00:07:40.170 --> 00:07:42.230 to keep their hand on God. It's not possible. 00:07:42.350 --> 00:07:44.750 Don't do that. Don't do that. That's up to God. 00:07:44.930 --> 00:07:46.850 If you and I come out of the same place as God, 00:07:47.009 --> 00:07:49.290 I'm going to submit to you that in some sense, 00:07:49.329 --> 00:07:51.870 we went into the same place as God. That's what 00:07:51.870 --> 00:07:55.420 it says. The children of Israel did evil in the 00:07:55.420 --> 00:07:57.899 sight of the Lord and served Phalans. Phalans 00:07:57.899 --> 00:08:00.600 was a god. I don't really have to read too much 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:02.800 about that. But they did evil in the sight of 00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:04.379 the Lord. They didn't know the office that God 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:07.720 had done for them. They didn't see God working 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:09.759 the office in the lives of their parents. They 00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:11.579 had to have a person in charge of them. So they 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:13.879 did evil in the sight of the Lord. And they forsook 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:15.800 the Lord God with their fathers because they 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:18.100 left him behind. Now, before I can really put 00:08:18.100 --> 00:08:20.439 it, I want you to see something. God who led 00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:36.730 them into Christ. Their parents are moving out 00:08:36.730 --> 00:08:38.990 of the country. They're dying off. God has blessed 00:08:38.990 --> 00:08:40.529 them because their parents are crazy. But they 00:08:40.529 --> 00:08:42.049 don't see that. So now they're going to make 00:08:42.049 --> 00:08:44.429 a choice on their own. They've now got to manage 00:08:44.429 --> 00:08:45.830 their own finances. They've got to manage their 00:08:45.830 --> 00:08:47.370 own land. They've got to do their own work. They've 00:08:47.370 --> 00:08:49.149 got to figure out how to keep the house from 00:08:49.149 --> 00:08:51.529 falling down. You can clean, you can function, 00:08:51.629 --> 00:08:53.470 take care of their children. Man, their children 00:08:53.470 --> 00:08:56.090 are high -maintenance. Those little kids, they're 00:08:56.090 --> 00:08:58.690 high -maintenance. They will draw you right into 00:08:58.690 --> 00:09:00.649 their life, and you're about their everything, 00:09:00.870 --> 00:09:02.909 right? Because if you don't, they cry. That's 00:09:02.909 --> 00:09:04.710 annoying. You've got to do everything they want 00:09:04.710 --> 00:09:08.049 you to do. You know what I'm saying? And so this 00:09:08.049 --> 00:09:10.389 is a secret. Let's be a little sympathetic, shall 00:09:10.389 --> 00:09:12.590 we, to these people that are now in a new land, 00:09:12.610 --> 00:09:23.899 in new homes that they now own. And what do they 00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:28.039 do? They begin to serve the God of the land that 00:09:28.039 --> 00:09:30.340 will get them, the people tell them, will get 00:09:30.340 --> 00:09:34.139 them where they need to get to. Except it is, 00:09:34.220 --> 00:09:36.759 because the God of the universe is the only God. 00:09:36.840 --> 00:09:39.919 This is the false God. They left behind the Lord 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:43.679 God of the universe. The Lord God and their fathers, 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:45.340 we brought them out of the land of Egypt. They 00:09:45.340 --> 00:09:47.159 brought their people there. And they followed 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:49.279 other gods and the gods and people that were 00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:51.940 found about them. They followed themselves and 00:09:51.940 --> 00:09:57.799 them. This is exactly the point. We came to the 00:09:57.799 --> 00:09:59.879 point where because we did not know first hand 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:03.820 God, we did provoke and we provoked God to anger. 00:10:04.039 --> 00:10:05.940 They pursued the Lord and they chose Paul and 00:10:05.940 --> 00:10:08.659 Andrew. They did not know God. They were together. 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:14.419 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:16.840 He delivered them into the hands of sinners that 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:19.600 spoiled them. Now, hang on. God is now upset 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:23.379 with people. Just one generation after God's 00:10:23.379 --> 00:10:25.000 people are brought into the promised land, He's 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:27.120 blessing people right after this. One generation 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:29.419 later, and they're struggling. Well, they do 00:10:29.419 --> 00:10:31.179 everything. They get on men. They work their 00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:32.960 butt off. There's a bunch of women here trying 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:35.200 to be taken out, trying to take care of the kids 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:40.000 and the wives and everything. God is angry with 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:42.139 them, and he's sending them over into the hands 00:10:42.139 --> 00:10:44.419 of the spoilers that spoiled them. They sold 00:10:44.419 --> 00:10:46.480 them into the hands of their enemies round about, 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:48.899 so that they could not treat longer the enemy 00:10:48.899 --> 00:10:51.259 for their enemy. Now they're in a situation where 00:10:51.259 --> 00:10:53.720 the stuff doesn't add up. It's not working out. 00:10:53.940 --> 00:10:56.820 I work really hard all day long, and yet I come 00:10:56.820 --> 00:10:58.759 away with nothing. I've made the deepest way, 00:10:58.860 --> 00:11:00.179 but at the end of the month, there's no money 00:11:00.179 --> 00:11:05.080 left. We plant the crop, it grows up, we harvest 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:07.279 the crop, and then by the time we take off what 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:08.610 it's going to be. what it's going to take to 00:11:08.610 --> 00:11:10.750 replant next year. We've got to go to the left. 00:11:10.809 --> 00:11:13.409 There is no E. And then on top of that, now the 00:11:13.409 --> 00:11:16.110 enemies around us, they're raiding our lands, 00:11:16.210 --> 00:11:18.570 they're taking our services, they're taking our 00:11:18.570 --> 00:11:20.809 animals, they're burning our homes down, etc. 00:11:21.250 --> 00:11:24.850 Where is God? Where is Bob? Where is Asherah? 00:11:24.870 --> 00:11:26.809 Where are these people, these beings that we 00:11:26.809 --> 00:11:29.629 devoted ourselves to? So Jesus says, Good so 00:11:29.629 --> 00:11:31.350 ever they went out, and the hand of the Lord 00:11:31.350 --> 00:11:33.649 was against them for evil. It doesn't mean that 00:11:33.649 --> 00:11:35.370 God was doing evil. God's not evil, He was just 00:11:35.370 --> 00:11:38.379 evil. He was against them. The bad things happened 00:11:38.379 --> 00:11:40.360 to them. They didn't work out in their favor. 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:42.919 As the Lord has said, and as the Lord has sworn 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:45.440 unto them, they were greatly distressed. I'm 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:47.019 going to submit to you that when the God of the 00:11:47.019 --> 00:11:49.399 universe is resisting your force of action, you 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:51.500 will be greatly distressed. I'm going to submit 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:53.519 to you that we are sometimes greatly distressed. 00:11:53.620 --> 00:11:55.840 Even though we have been saved, our soul is saved, 00:11:55.879 --> 00:11:58.019 and our life is eternal. It has begun to long 00:11:58.019 --> 00:12:00.019 in salvation. People go to heaven. We are nonetheless 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:02.100 sometimes greatly distressed. It's about time 00:12:02.100 --> 00:12:04.600 that God's people recognize that the people of 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:06.710 the world who don't know Jesus because God is 00:12:06.710 --> 00:12:09.149 kicked off with them. Not at them. He doesn't 00:12:09.149 --> 00:12:11.450 hate them. He's not against them in the sense 00:12:11.450 --> 00:12:13.169 that he would destroy them. He's against them 00:12:13.169 --> 00:12:14.470 in the sense that he would see them as retentive 00:12:14.470 --> 00:12:16.809 and fake. But if he just lets them continue on 00:12:16.809 --> 00:12:18.769 in their form of evil actions, they'll never 00:12:18.769 --> 00:12:21.049 get faith. They'll never figure it out. But if 00:12:21.049 --> 00:12:23.110 he resists them, then they may turn from their 00:12:23.110 --> 00:12:25.129 wicked ways. God is the same truth in the house 00:12:25.129 --> 00:12:27.870 of God. He is their follower of Jesus. We know 00:12:27.870 --> 00:12:30.789 Jesus. We say they are faith. And yet, it doesn't 00:12:30.789 --> 00:12:33.509 add up. Their actions do not line up with the 00:12:33.509 --> 00:12:35.789 unified principle that we're talking about. I'm 00:12:35.789 --> 00:12:37.970 not going to get too close. Verse 16 says this, 00:12:37.970 --> 00:12:41.470 Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges, which 00:12:41.470 --> 00:12:43.549 delivered them out of the hand of those who spoiled 00:12:43.549 --> 00:12:46.509 them. God raises up leaders who will lead them 00:12:46.509 --> 00:12:49.309 to save them from the people that God sent against 00:12:49.309 --> 00:12:51.470 them that God is giving victory to. It sounds 00:12:51.470 --> 00:12:55.830 like God is working against himself. And yet 00:12:55.830 --> 00:12:57.909 they would not hurt me under their judges, but 00:12:57.909 --> 00:13:00.509 they went on whoring after other gods. They followed 00:13:00.509 --> 00:13:02.960 themselves under them. It turned quickly out 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:05.019 of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:07.200 the commandments of the Lord. But they did not 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:09.580 do so. So we have the leaders who rise up out 00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:10.960 of the digital people who are faithful to God. 00:13:11.019 --> 00:13:13.259 They become the leaders of God's people. But 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:14.940 the people of God at the same time, while the 00:13:14.940 --> 00:13:17.159 leaders continue to strive for God and do what's 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:18.919 right for God, they continue to battle against 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:21.759 the forces of God and go on. Those who spoil 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:24.639 God's people. As leaders do that, the people 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:27.539 continue fooling around in their swaps, playing 00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:30.009 with false gods. They go to the temple, and they 00:13:30.009 --> 00:13:31.649 praise the false god, and they come home and 00:13:31.649 --> 00:13:33.490 go, oh, I hope that works out. And the judge 00:13:33.490 --> 00:13:35.210 comes around, and their sons go out to battle, 00:13:35.330 --> 00:13:36.389 and they win, and they come back, and they go, 00:13:36.409 --> 00:13:38.029 oh, I was so glad I went and praised that false 00:13:38.029 --> 00:13:40.250 god. And the people of today are so concerned 00:13:40.250 --> 00:13:43.389 about advances in technology and a faster, better 00:13:43.389 --> 00:13:46.250 -looking, pretty car and a better relationship, 00:13:46.429 --> 00:13:48.289 or, man, she's a little bit better -looking than 00:13:48.289 --> 00:13:50.429 he, than she is, and I'm lusting, somebody's 00:13:50.429 --> 00:13:52.990 lusting after another female. Are they watching 00:13:52.990 --> 00:13:55.750 TV and getting into watching things they shouldn't 00:13:55.750 --> 00:14:08.379 watch? Or do they play around with... And the 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:12.600 leaders of the church, the people who love God, 00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:14.820 try to lead us out. They try to get us to go 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:16.899 and do what it is that God wants us to do. And 00:14:16.899 --> 00:14:19.399 meanwhile, we're a whore after our other things. 00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:20.980 Instead of being after the God of the universe. 00:14:21.700 --> 00:14:24.639 And when the Lord raised them up judges, then 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:26.870 the Lord was with the judges. He delivered them 00:14:26.870 --> 00:14:28.809 out of the hand of their enemies all the days 00:14:28.809 --> 00:14:33.070 with a judge. Listen to this. For it repented 00:14:33.070 --> 00:14:35.690 the Lord because of their groaning by reason 00:14:35.690 --> 00:14:38.509 of them that oppressed them and vexed them. In 00:14:38.509 --> 00:14:40.309 other words, when those people came in and oppressed 00:14:40.309 --> 00:14:42.309 them, when those people came in and made them 00:14:42.309 --> 00:14:46.129 angry with their stuff, they cried out, Oh, woe 00:14:46.129 --> 00:14:48.870 is us. We need help. Who in the universe is there 00:14:48.870 --> 00:14:51.990 to help us? They were so distressed. They were 00:14:51.990 --> 00:14:55.879 so upset. And God loved them. I feel bad because 00:14:55.879 --> 00:14:57.639 they're so distressed. They're so upset and they're 00:14:57.639 --> 00:15:00.059 not right. And so God sent a judge. The judge 00:15:00.059 --> 00:15:02.200 would lead and then God would take his people 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:04.960 out of their hands and God sent them to distress 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:07.620 them. Back and forth goes the God of the universe. 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:09.580 He sends the distress to try to get their attention. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:12.360 It doesn't work. They can see the sin. And then 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:14.659 he has to send someone to stop the distress in 00:15:14.659 --> 00:15:16.259 order that they can survive in such a terrible 00:15:16.259 --> 00:15:19.460 situation. And then they continue in sin. We 00:15:19.460 --> 00:15:22.960 say, oh, praise God. We got that. That we need 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:26.139 it. Oh, praise God, he saved us from that that 00:15:26.139 --> 00:15:28.419 we needed. I submit to you it's entirely possible 00:15:28.419 --> 00:15:30.740 that that salvation that you need from your situation 00:15:30.740 --> 00:15:32.899 in your life, that desperate need of something 00:15:32.899 --> 00:15:35.120 that you needed in your life, it could be because 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:37.139 of your own sin that was there in the first place. 00:15:37.419 --> 00:15:40.539 And God did not send the salvation out of that 00:15:40.539 --> 00:15:43.179 situation in your life because you were doing 00:15:43.179 --> 00:15:46.000 well, because you started to do better, or because 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:48.500 he prayed to him and asked him to do it. He sent 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:50.100 it because he loved you and he wanted you to 00:15:50.100 --> 00:15:51.720 survive that difficult situation in the hope 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:53.639 that you would one day protect. God is not out 00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:56.299 to destroy you. He's not to save you. We often 00:15:56.299 --> 00:15:58.919 praise God for good things that happen. So often 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:01.080 we praise God for bad things. So often we stop 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:03.200 and ask ourselves, the bad things that happened, 00:16:03.259 --> 00:16:05.399 did they happen to us because we made it happen? 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:08.279 God allowed that difficulty into our life. Indeed, 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:10.600 sent that difficulty into our life to get us 00:16:10.600 --> 00:16:12.700 to turn from our sins. But because of the grace 00:16:12.700 --> 00:16:15.240 of God, we're saved. You're saved. So we say, 00:16:15.259 --> 00:16:16.759 well, I'm saved, so it's all settled, right? 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:18.919 But who doesn't want to have a good life serving 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:20.659 the Lord? Who doesn't want to be profitable in 00:16:20.659 --> 00:16:22.639 the kingdom? Who doesn't want to see God moving 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:24.460 in themselves? And what about your children? 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:26.539 Don't you want your children to have a first 00:16:26.539 --> 00:16:29.279 -hand experience of seeing God work in you so 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:31.379 that they won't become this same thing that we 00:16:31.379 --> 00:16:34.100 were? My dad was a Mexican Christian. My dad 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:36.340 was a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. He professed 00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:39.059 Christ. But in my home, after I was six years 00:16:39.059 --> 00:16:41.899 old, we never went to church once, ever. The 00:16:41.899 --> 00:16:44.490 only preaching I had ever heard. It was at one 00:16:44.490 --> 00:16:46.330 of about six or seven weddings that I went to. 00:16:46.409 --> 00:16:49.009 I had a sermon on what it means to be called 00:16:49.009 --> 00:16:52.570 a God and to be a parent. We love it. We love 00:16:52.570 --> 00:16:55.470 it here today. And I'll pronounce you, and I'll 00:16:55.470 --> 00:16:57.289 pass it to you. Because people have forgotten 00:16:57.289 --> 00:16:59.409 our society that God is supposed to be at the 00:16:59.409 --> 00:17:02.350 center of. So what I'm saying is, what God is 00:17:02.350 --> 00:17:04.349 saying, I think, to the Catholic Church is, there 00:17:04.349 --> 00:17:06.650 is a cycle of sin that continues and gets worse 00:17:06.650 --> 00:17:09.829 and worse as God continues to send oppression 00:17:09.829 --> 00:17:11.970 and difficulty in the lives that have turned 00:17:11.970 --> 00:17:14.079 them from their sin. And then they cry out, and 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:16.440 because of his mercy and grace, he sends deliverance. 00:17:16.500 --> 00:17:18.599 Not because they have done better, because they're 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:21.160 still the same kind of person with the same failing, 00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:24.559 if you will. And then they say, oh, see, because 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:26.819 I'm a Christian, God saved me. Oh, see, because 00:17:26.819 --> 00:17:28.960 I'm a Christian, God sent this. Oh, see, because 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:31.339 I'm a follower of God and I'm doing better. God 00:17:31.339 --> 00:17:35.000 bless me. And then they go into the trouble again, 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:36.900 which causes the distress again. And it happens 00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:39.640 because they think, well, that's all right. If 00:17:39.640 --> 00:17:42.690 it gets really bad. God will do something miraculous 00:17:42.690 --> 00:17:45.150 to save you from my trouble, right? And if you've 00:17:45.150 --> 00:17:48.609 got a safety net while you walk the wire, then 00:17:48.609 --> 00:17:50.569 you're willing to try a little bit more risky 00:17:50.569 --> 00:17:52.109 tricks. I'll tell you what, I'm not walking the 00:17:52.109 --> 00:17:56.089 wire without a safety net. And God becomes a 00:17:56.089 --> 00:17:58.450 safety net for those who supposedly love him. 00:17:58.470 --> 00:18:00.750 They profess Christ, profess their living to 00:18:00.750 --> 00:18:02.869 the Lord, and they become a safety net, which 00:18:02.869 --> 00:18:05.789 allows them to be even more risky, even more 00:18:05.789 --> 00:18:08.819 risky in their walk, even more... Outreaching, 00:18:08.819 --> 00:18:10.900 if you will, in their pursuit of these gods that 00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:13.259 are not of God, that are not God of heaven. Repentance 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:15.059 of the Lord, because of their groaning, by reason 00:18:15.059 --> 00:18:17.460 of them, and of Christ, them, and that of them. 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:20.160 And it came to pass, when the judges were dead, 00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:22.900 that they returned and corrupted themselves more 00:18:22.900 --> 00:18:24.960 than their fathers. Even Michael was standing 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:27.359 against Heber and Heber. and following other 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:29.619 gods, to serve them, to bow down unto them. They 00:18:29.619 --> 00:18:33.980 cease not from their own doings, nor from their 00:18:33.980 --> 00:18:35.940 stubborn way. That brings us almost right up 00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:38.140 to Isaiah 33, doesn't it? Where it says, we all 00:18:38.140 --> 00:18:40.380 let Jesus go in prayer. And the anger of the 00:18:40.380 --> 00:18:42.880 Lord was hot against Israel. This is the people 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:45.400 that God chose for himself. And yet the anger 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:47.299 of the Lord was hot against them. And he said, 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:49.900 because that this people has transgressed my 00:18:49.900 --> 00:18:52.410 covenant, which I commanded their father. and 00:18:52.410 --> 00:18:55.490 have not hardened unto my voice, I also will 00:18:55.490 --> 00:18:58.170 not henceforth drive out any from before them 00:18:58.170 --> 00:19:00.829 of the nations which God will let me die. In 00:19:00.829 --> 00:19:02.809 other words, he was not going to give them the 00:19:02.809 --> 00:19:04.849 full promised land that they were originally 00:19:04.849 --> 00:19:08.230 going to be entitled to because of this. He said 00:19:08.230 --> 00:19:13.690 in verse 22, that through them I may prove Israel, 00:19:13.910 --> 00:19:16.569 I may test Israel, I may see. So the people that 00:19:16.569 --> 00:19:20.109 remain, the false gods that remain, the temptations 00:19:20.109 --> 00:19:22.630 that remain, the things that remain in this people's 00:19:22.630 --> 00:19:24.869 life, God left them there so that he could test 00:19:24.869 --> 00:19:27.670 his people whether they would keep the way of 00:19:27.670 --> 00:19:30.109 the Lord to walk therein as their fathers did 00:19:30.109 --> 00:19:32.369 keep it or not. And I submit to you that the 00:19:32.369 --> 00:19:34.069 reason there are things in your life that you 00:19:34.069 --> 00:19:36.269 struggle with, the reason there are things in 00:19:36.269 --> 00:19:38.049 your life that you are tempted by that you need 00:19:38.049 --> 00:19:40.990 to reoccur, is because God has left them there. 00:19:41.049 --> 00:19:43.190 Now, God is not tempting you. God is not tempting 00:19:43.190 --> 00:19:45.690 you, but God has left them there. He's not giving 00:19:45.690 --> 00:19:48.309 you total, complete victory over them, because 00:19:48.309 --> 00:19:51.329 God wants to see, will you follow him? Will you 00:19:51.329 --> 00:19:53.769 follow them? Therefore, the Lord left those nations, 00:19:53.910 --> 00:19:55.750 and stopped driving them out easily, neither 00:19:55.750 --> 00:19:58.250 delivering them to the end of time. And once 00:19:58.250 --> 00:20:01.029 God's people remained those who tempted them, 00:20:01.210 --> 00:20:03.309 practiced them, and bribed them with false gods, 00:20:03.430 --> 00:20:05.710 not with your Bible, but with the right, right, 00:20:05.730 --> 00:20:14.079 and right. under what we know is the old covenant. 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:16.259 We live under what we know is the old situation. 00:20:16.500 --> 00:20:18.359 This is the situation where the Holy Spirit does 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:20.579 not come into our life. This is the situation 00:20:20.579 --> 00:20:24.660 where Jesus Christ does not live and die. But 00:20:24.660 --> 00:20:26.920 the prophets were looking for this. And Jeremiah 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:29.980 spoke of the new covenant now in the book of 00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:33.039 Jeremiah, chapter 31, verse 31. He spoke of the 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:35.119 new covenant. How will some day be given? Because 00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:36.640 I don't know about you, but that situation we 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:40.240 spread is pretty depressing. only be benefiting 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:42.859 us to burn us from our sin, which we refuse to 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:47.039 turn from in any sense, war and stress. So God 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:49.940 decided, as he actually decided when he made 00:20:49.940 --> 00:20:52.640 creation so long ago, to do it a little differently. 00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:55.420 And Jeremiah gets a window into it in 31 -31 00:20:55.420 --> 00:20:57.700 and following, and it says this, Behold, the 00:20:57.700 --> 00:21:00.000 days come, sayeth the Lord, that I will make 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:02.400 a new covenant with the house of Israel and with 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:04.490 the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant 00:21:04.490 --> 00:21:06.309 that I made with their fathers in the day that 00:21:06.309 --> 00:21:08.650 I took them by the hand to bring them out of 00:21:08.650 --> 00:21:10.990 the land of Jesus, with which my covenant takes 00:21:10.990 --> 00:21:13.029 place. In other words, I'm going to give them 00:21:13.029 --> 00:21:14.990 a new covenant, not like the old one that they 00:21:14.990 --> 00:21:17.130 keep breaking up, annihilating, and destroying, 00:21:17.210 --> 00:21:20.289 and the patient is killing false gods. I'm going 00:21:20.289 --> 00:21:22.250 to give them a new covenant. They should be able 00:21:22.250 --> 00:21:24.950 to break it, although I was a husband unto them, 00:21:24.970 --> 00:21:27.269 saith the Lord. In other words, though God was 00:21:27.269 --> 00:21:29.190 taking care of their every need, they could use 00:21:29.190 --> 00:21:32.049 it. But this covenant, the covenant that I will 00:21:32.049 --> 00:21:33.930 make with the house of Israel after those days, 00:21:33.990 --> 00:21:36.930 saith the Lord. I will put my law in their inward 00:21:36.930 --> 00:21:39.410 hearts, and I will write it in their hearts, 00:21:39.450 --> 00:21:41.970 and I will be their God, and they shall be my 00:21:41.970 --> 00:21:44.390 people. Now that is what we are supposed to do. 00:21:44.410 --> 00:21:46.789 That's what it's supposed to be like after Jesus 00:21:46.789 --> 00:21:49.569 comes, lives, dies, and is resurrected. Because 00:21:49.569 --> 00:21:52.130 the Holy Spirit now takes up residence inside 00:21:52.130 --> 00:21:54.210 of Jesus. We're not supposed to be like those 00:21:54.210 --> 00:21:56.589 people who never in their lifetime saw. We have 00:21:56.589 --> 00:22:08.029 to give them some credit. They worked hard. They 00:22:08.029 --> 00:22:09.910 didn't have the Holy Spirit inside them to bring 00:22:09.910 --> 00:22:11.789 them conviction. They didn't have him teaching 00:22:11.789 --> 00:22:14.730 them constantly the law of God. They only had 00:22:14.730 --> 00:22:16.930 the judgment. He didn't put the Holy Spirit on 00:22:16.930 --> 00:22:19.400 them to tell them what was right. So they had 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:22.099 a human being. Any covenant that is wrapped up 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:23.960 in a human being has a problem in and of itself, 00:22:24.180 --> 00:22:25.980 doesn't it? Because if you want to be flawed, 00:22:26.279 --> 00:22:27.539 if you want to be judged wrong, you've got to 00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:29.160 get it right. Just like y 'all look at me a lot 00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:31.619 of times and say, I don't have to do what the 00:22:31.619 --> 00:22:34.000 word says. I don't have to do what the word says. 00:22:34.059 --> 00:22:37.079 You can't teach it correctly. I'm supposed to 00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:39.680 say that, don't I? So Jeremiah says that it will 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:42.680 come this day when God would write the law on 00:22:42.680 --> 00:22:45.240 this inward heart and he would write in their 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:48.200 hearts and he said, and I will be their God. 00:22:48.589 --> 00:22:50.450 And they shall be my people. And that is what 00:22:50.450 --> 00:22:52.710 the church is supposed to be. It's the culmination 00:22:52.710 --> 00:22:54.470 of everything that God was pointing towards. 00:22:54.750 --> 00:22:57.470 And God sent a judge to lead them. That judge 00:22:57.470 --> 00:22:59.849 was representative of the one day eternal King 00:22:59.849 --> 00:23:02.349 Jesus. That Holy Spirit would settle on that 00:23:02.349 --> 00:23:04.750 judge. The same Holy Spirit that settled on the 00:23:04.750 --> 00:23:07.930 Holy King Jesus. That now lives inside. Holy 00:23:07.930 --> 00:23:10.069 believers were following the Holy King Jesus. 00:23:10.269 --> 00:23:12.809 Jeremiah was pointing towards him. So my goodness, 00:23:12.829 --> 00:23:15.190 after the church got started, everything went 00:23:15.190 --> 00:23:38.119 perfectly, right? No. And that cycle of sin comes 00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:41.819 from those who desire the benefits of unifying 00:23:41.819 --> 00:23:45.559 principles. The cycle of sin comes from... who 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:47.740 desire the benefits of the unifying principle, 00:23:47.799 --> 00:23:51.720 but they are not bought in. Do not move according 00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:55.420 to the unifying principle. That's the cycle of 00:23:55.420 --> 00:23:58.539 sin. And the cycle of opposition is a reality 00:23:58.539 --> 00:24:01.859 also, and that is where God resists those who 00:24:01.859 --> 00:24:04.000 desire the benefits of the unifying principle, 00:24:04.099 --> 00:24:06.319 but are not bought in. Now, when they get to 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:09.099 be so bad off that it will likely destroy them, 00:24:09.160 --> 00:24:11.220 and they have not yet repented, then God sends 00:24:11.220 --> 00:24:14.900 them relief. which then empowers them if they 00:24:14.900 --> 00:24:17.519 do not at that time or at some step walk away 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:19.740 repent and then return to the Lord God it empowers 00:24:19.740 --> 00:24:21.779 them to go even deeper into their cycle of sin 00:24:21.779 --> 00:24:23.960 and they do even worse the next time and God 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:26.180 sends them relief. The hope is that they will 00:24:26.180 --> 00:24:28.380 through the cycle of sin and the cycle of opposition 00:24:28.380 --> 00:24:31.400 they will eventually one day repent and come 00:24:31.400 --> 00:24:34.099 to God. And then through the new covenant which 00:24:34.099 --> 00:24:36.200 Jeremiah promised that we now have through Jesus 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:38.579 the idea is that we would repent and come to 00:24:38.579 --> 00:24:41.420 God because the cycle of sin which is the result 00:24:41.420 --> 00:24:44.009 of those I have the benefits of unifying people 00:24:44.009 --> 00:24:47.529 in English, but are not bought into unifying 00:24:47.529 --> 00:24:50.630 people in English. The results are in the cycle 00:24:50.630 --> 00:24:52.990 of sin and the cycle of opposition. Now, I'm 00:24:52.990 --> 00:24:54.750 going to give you a follow -up question. The 00:24:54.750 --> 00:25:00.509 cycle of sin and the cycle of opposition is something 00:25:00.509 --> 00:25:02.509 like what I'm about to show you. If you don't 00:25:02.509 --> 00:25:04.650 see what I'm about to show you reoccurring in 00:25:04.650 --> 00:25:06.690 your life, then you find the principle that we're 00:25:06.690 --> 00:25:09.450 talking about is that. Now, I have here some 00:25:09.450 --> 00:25:12.470 Legos. These labels are going to represent building 00:25:12.470 --> 00:25:15.970 blocks from God. God, I'd like to use this. Building 00:25:15.970 --> 00:25:21.970 blocks from God. They are. The bottom. The bag. 00:25:22.009 --> 00:25:27.509 The bag has a hole. It's not really a bag. It's 00:25:27.509 --> 00:25:32.549 a hole. More like a sweetie, yeah. Here's the 00:25:32.549 --> 00:25:35.609 reality. If you sometimes use. Sometimes. If 00:25:35.609 --> 00:25:37.329 you. I'm just going to say it this way. If you 00:25:37.329 --> 00:25:47.980 ever. The God of the universe. He decided you. 00:25:48.019 --> 00:25:50.019 He decided you'd be able to live in the sky, 00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:52.500 in the sun, in the stars. He set this earth up. 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:54.880 Indeed, it all does in Acts chapter 2. He said 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:57.259 that. He set up the parameters of your very existence. 00:25:57.539 --> 00:25:59.920 God decided in what country you were born. He 00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:02.099 decided in what city you would live. He decided 00:26:02.099 --> 00:26:05.059 what you would look like. He decided all of that. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:07.059 Now, that's not a big effort. It's not like you 00:26:07.059 --> 00:26:08.200 have to check and see. You have to go through 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:10.599 a set of thousands of steps. But it's a good 00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:27.740 part. Ohio, wherever you're at. ... ... ... ... 00:26:27.740 --> 00:26:45.559 ... ... And that should have put an end to the 00:26:45.559 --> 00:26:47.640 cycle. But then in reality, some folks would 00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:49.759 say, okay, now that I'm saved, I know God's going 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:51.799 to take care of it all, so I no longer really 00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:54.299 have to do anything at all. I don't think there's 00:26:54.299 --> 00:26:56.319 anybody in the universe like that. But I would 00:26:56.319 --> 00:26:58.200 say that there are also some folks who are saved 00:26:58.200 --> 00:26:59.819 and say, now I know God is going to take care 00:26:59.819 --> 00:27:02.220 of it all, so now I can do whatever I think is 00:27:02.220 --> 00:27:04.740 right in any given moment. I think there are 00:27:04.740 --> 00:27:07.160 a lot of people like that. Now the problem with 00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:10.079 that is, while we all sit and... stand here and 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:11.559 think that we're doing whatever is right and 00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:14.019 get it wrong. Some of the times, we're getting 00:27:14.019 --> 00:27:18.039 it wrong. Which means, at that moment, at that 00:27:18.039 --> 00:27:19.759 moment, when you make that decision to pinch 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:22.460 yourself, your birth, your strength, your life, 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:25.279 your health, your experiences, everything up 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:27.680 to this point, Jesus' death on the cross, the 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:29.319 pain for you to get out of your own life, you 00:27:29.319 --> 00:27:31.440 take all of that, your finance, the knowledge 00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:33.680 that you have, which probably isn't as much as 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:35.619 the knowledge that you should have, the wisdom 00:27:35.619 --> 00:27:37.299 that you can apply in your life, which probably 00:27:37.299 --> 00:27:39.470 is not as much as you should have. I mean, our 00:27:39.470 --> 00:27:41.690 Bible is what Jesus taught. And so, if you take 00:27:41.690 --> 00:27:44.390 all of that, and you would put that new work 00:27:44.390 --> 00:27:47.109 on some course that does not honor God, that 00:27:47.109 --> 00:27:50.029 is not obedient to God, then when you do that, 00:27:50.130 --> 00:27:53.049 it looks like this. God's wooden building walked 00:27:53.049 --> 00:27:55.609 in your bag. And so, right out the bottom, they 00:27:55.609 --> 00:27:58.750 did not achieve that which God was trying to 00:27:58.750 --> 00:28:01.990 achieve. The reason that happens is because we 00:28:01.990 --> 00:28:03.589 made this logic. We said, well, I'm going to 00:28:03.589 --> 00:28:05.569 be okay. I'm done. I'm no dummy. I'm providing. 00:28:05.930 --> 00:28:08.440 I'm okay. I've got blood, sweat, and tears. behind 00:28:08.440 --> 00:28:11.319 my four cards. I'm trying to pay my bills. We 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:13.500 just say, like, I'm trying to tithe. And some 00:28:13.500 --> 00:28:15.759 people say, I am tithing. We say, I'm trying 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:17.359 to read my Bible. Some people say, well, I am 00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:18.940 reading my Bible. Probably not a bunch of shizzles. 00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:21.859 I'm trying to do that. And so on. And we look 00:28:21.859 --> 00:28:23.579 at ourselves and say, you know what? Day to day, 00:28:23.799 --> 00:28:25.559 we're working pretty hard. We're doing a pretty 00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:28.940 good job. Guess what? So were they. So were they. 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:31.700 They got out of bed every now and then. A lot 00:28:31.700 --> 00:28:34.019 of their devotion was to Paul's God and so on. 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:36.460 But even then, they thought they were doing... 00:28:36.650 --> 00:28:40.329 what was right. Day in, day out, doing what you 00:28:40.329 --> 00:28:42.609 think is right, probably not going to be enough 00:28:42.609 --> 00:28:45.930 to get that result. New Covenant, the promise 00:28:45.930 --> 00:28:47.930 of God is that there would be a part of the moment 00:28:47.930 --> 00:28:55.170 where you could say, that was hard. That's what 00:28:55.170 --> 00:28:57.950 happened when we got saved. The building blocks 00:28:57.950 --> 00:29:02.950 of God could go into us because our existence 00:29:02.950 --> 00:29:14.849 was turned upside down. And so, this is the reality 00:29:14.849 --> 00:29:17.069 that under this new covenant, things are supposed 00:29:17.069 --> 00:29:19.130 to be turned upside down. Let's hear James talk 00:29:19.130 --> 00:29:20.470 about what was going on in the New Testament 00:29:20.470 --> 00:29:23.289 and compare that to some degree to what's going 00:29:23.289 --> 00:29:37.190 on in our family. Why is there strife in our 00:29:37.190 --> 00:29:39.670 church? Why is there disagreement? Why are we 00:29:39.670 --> 00:29:41.710 not in line with unified principles and then 00:29:41.710 --> 00:29:44.490 therefore all unified? Why is it not like that? 00:29:44.690 --> 00:29:46.990 And he says, isn't it because of the loss? Or 00:29:46.990 --> 00:29:48.529 in other words, the desire to things that you 00:29:48.529 --> 00:29:50.170 want and more in your neighborhood. You struggle 00:29:50.170 --> 00:29:53.390 with what you want. And then that struggle shows 00:29:53.390 --> 00:29:55.529 up in the relationship. You don't like it when 00:29:55.529 --> 00:29:57.609 your church does something you don't like. But 00:29:57.609 --> 00:29:59.809 rather than putting their needs first, rather 00:29:59.809 --> 00:30:03.210 than putting them on that. sacrificial line, 00:30:03.289 --> 00:30:04.730 where you're going to sacrifice your preferences 00:30:04.730 --> 00:30:06.509 and let them have their way. Rather than doing 00:30:06.509 --> 00:30:08.130 that, you're going to be here receiving tips. 00:30:09.549 --> 00:30:14.390 I'm not helping. I'm not helping. I'm not helping. 00:30:14.410 --> 00:30:15.990 I'm not helping. I'm not helping. I'm not helping. 00:30:16.609 --> 00:30:32.940 I'm not helping. I'm not helping. who gets their 00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:35.720 way this time, and instead of doing it by, I 00:30:35.720 --> 00:30:37.559 want to be the one who gets my way this time, 00:30:37.619 --> 00:30:39.000 it ought to be, I want to make sure somebody 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:41.140 else gets their way this time. But we've become 00:30:41.140 --> 00:30:43.559 this. We have our desires and our wants that 00:30:43.559 --> 00:30:46.799 come from within us, our fleshly nature, and 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:48.460 that's why we have conflict in the church. You 00:30:48.460 --> 00:30:49.980 can tell me what was going on in James' day. 00:30:50.359 --> 00:30:53.779 You lost and you have not. You killed and desired 00:30:53.779 --> 00:30:56.440 to have, and John changed. I don't think he meant 00:30:56.440 --> 00:30:57.900 that they were virgins in the church. I'm pretty 00:30:57.900 --> 00:31:00.140 sure he meant that you're angry and you're happy. 00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:03.420 And it happens. It happens in our church. It 00:31:03.420 --> 00:31:04.839 happens in Christians. It happens in Christians 00:31:04.839 --> 00:31:06.880 all over the world. Because you love and you 00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:08.960 have not. You kill and desire to have and not 00:31:08.960 --> 00:31:14.240 be. You fight and war. Yeah, you have not. Because 00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:17.160 you have not. We're so busy trying to get what 00:31:17.160 --> 00:31:19.559 we want in our church and in our life and the 00:31:19.559 --> 00:31:21.180 people that are in our church and in our life, 00:31:21.259 --> 00:31:23.359 we forget that it all comes from the one that 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:26.099 we only have to ask Him. And less than six people 00:31:26.099 --> 00:31:28.759 show up to prayer groups every week because instead 00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:32.190 of thinking prayer, asking God for what it is 00:31:32.190 --> 00:31:34.430 that we want, and we come here on worship on 00:31:34.430 --> 00:31:37.130 Sunday, and I'm just guilty of that, I'll point 00:31:37.130 --> 00:31:38.930 to you today, but we come here, and we're lucky 00:31:38.930 --> 00:31:41.970 if we get three prayers in, right? God forbid 00:31:41.970 --> 00:31:43.990 that one of the prayer warriors in the congregation 00:31:43.990 --> 00:31:46.710 call on to Exodus to say the opening prayer, 00:31:46.950 --> 00:31:49.089 and it starts to go on for about four minutes, 00:31:49.109 --> 00:31:51.730 because the little toddlers, they can't tolerate 00:31:51.730 --> 00:31:53.869 that, and the young adults are taking care of 00:31:53.869 --> 00:31:55.309 the little toddlers, they can't tolerate that, 00:31:55.529 --> 00:31:57.369 and people who have the backache to the pain, 00:31:57.410 --> 00:31:59.490 they can't tolerate that, and the worshipers 00:31:59.490 --> 00:32:02.079 are waiting to get on to worship, And Jesus said, 00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:04.339 if you crack the whip and chase them off, my 00:32:04.339 --> 00:32:08.819 house will be a house of prayer. Woe unto God's 00:32:08.819 --> 00:32:13.640 people. God is up there going, I sent my son. 00:32:14.039 --> 00:32:16.460 I started to be covetous. This is supposed to 00:32:16.460 --> 00:32:18.000 be God's people. It's supposed to be turned upside 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:21.420 down. What happened? And we war and we lost and 00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:25.140 we cannot obtain. Then sometimes, I don't know, 00:32:25.299 --> 00:32:28.460 you get in a tough spot. God, I need a job. God. 00:32:47.369 --> 00:32:50.470 Sometimes you don't get what you ask for. He 00:32:50.470 --> 00:33:01.400 says, because you ask amiss. asking God for was 00:33:01.400 --> 00:33:04.279 your bag hanging this side up. God, please give 00:33:04.279 --> 00:33:06.960 me whatever it is you're asking me for. But he 00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:08.920 knows your bag is this side up. He knows you 00:33:08.920 --> 00:33:11.279 put it in. So what you're saying to God is, God, 00:33:11.460 --> 00:33:13.319 God of the universe, God of the heavens, God 00:33:13.319 --> 00:33:15.559 of creator, all that you are, all that you ever 00:33:15.559 --> 00:33:19.099 were, please Lord, pour some more resources into 00:33:19.099 --> 00:33:21.640 my bag that has a hole in the bottom. Oh, and 00:33:21.640 --> 00:33:23.359 then when you pick those up and put them back 00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:25.079 in again, because I certainly can't clean up 00:33:25.079 --> 00:33:27.839 after myself. So about time we started living. 00:33:28.400 --> 00:33:30.519 by this unifying principle that has yet to be 00:33:30.519 --> 00:33:32.759 named. Rather than lusting after the things that 00:33:32.759 --> 00:33:35.099 we want and cannot obtain, having not because 00:33:35.099 --> 00:33:37.579 we don't ask God for them, and when we do ask, 00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:39.680 asking for the wrong reasons. The report says, 00:33:39.819 --> 00:33:42.740 the adulterers and adulteresses, though not the 00:33:42.740 --> 00:33:45.859 friendship of the world, this enmity is not the 00:33:45.859 --> 00:33:49.079 friendship of the world. And it wasn't adulterers 00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:50.740 like they were sitting around with somebody other 00:33:50.740 --> 00:33:52.980 than their husband. It wasn't like that. It was 00:33:52.980 --> 00:33:55.299 adulterers like... They said God was their God, 00:33:55.539 --> 00:33:57.440 and yet they were attracted by the things of 00:33:57.440 --> 00:33:59.079 the world. That's what it says, friends and friends 00:33:59.079 --> 00:34:02.779 of the world. His entity with God. He says, whosoever, 00:34:02.819 --> 00:34:05.259 therefore, will be a friend of the world is the 00:34:05.259 --> 00:34:08.320 enemy of God. Hold on. Follow the Lord Jesus 00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:10.659 Christ. That shouldn't translate, enemy of God. 00:34:10.820 --> 00:34:13.320 Son of God? That shouldn't translate, enemy of 00:34:13.320 --> 00:34:15.780 God. But if you are busily trying to get God 00:34:15.780 --> 00:34:17.920 off the throne of your life, searching after 00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:20.440 war technology, war money, federal relationship, 00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:23.380 more time spent on what you like to do, less 00:34:23.380 --> 00:34:25.699 time spent. on what God wants you to do and so 00:34:25.699 --> 00:34:28.539 on, that's who you've become. And don't think 00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:34.860 that a son can't be an enemy. But don't think 00:34:34.860 --> 00:34:37.639 that God will not send opposition into your life 00:34:37.639 --> 00:34:39.280 if you're going to continue to live that way. 00:34:39.420 --> 00:34:41.719 This is what James says. He thinks that the scripture 00:34:41.719 --> 00:34:44.659 stands in vain. The spirit that dwells in us 00:34:44.659 --> 00:34:47.559 will suspend you. In other words, God forged 00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:50.199 his Holy Spirit in you. That resource remains 00:34:50.199 --> 00:34:52.739 inside you regardless. It'll hover around you. 00:34:52.750 --> 00:34:54.829 right here and not fall off the key, will hover 00:34:54.829 --> 00:34:56.769 right here and not fall off the bottom of the 00:34:56.769 --> 00:34:59.030 bag, you can say he didn't, he's not going anywhere. 00:34:59.309 --> 00:35:02.130 But you so dismiss him and he is not happy about 00:35:02.130 --> 00:35:03.969 it. As you change that through the things of 00:35:03.969 --> 00:35:06.010 the world, as you become a friend of the world's 00:35:06.010 --> 00:35:08.190 system, the things of the scriptures, the things 00:35:08.190 --> 00:35:10.369 of the scriptures, the laws of the world, he 00:35:10.369 --> 00:35:14.289 is not happy. But he gives us more grace. God 00:35:14.289 --> 00:35:18.590 resists this process. In other words, if you 00:35:18.590 --> 00:35:20.929 become proud, you think you know something? You 00:35:20.929 --> 00:35:22.920 think you are well trained? You think you know 00:35:22.920 --> 00:35:25.159 more Bible than somebody else? You think you 00:35:25.159 --> 00:35:27.360 can do a better job than somebody else? You think 00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:29.619 you deserve to do somebody else's job? You've 00:35:29.619 --> 00:35:32.079 got to tell somebody how good you are? Right 00:35:32.079 --> 00:35:35.199 there is the authorization. God resists the crowd, 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:38.340 right? And the cycle of opposition begins. You 00:35:38.340 --> 00:35:39.960 think you're going to be okay because you know 00:35:39.960 --> 00:35:43.059 what's right to do? God resists the crowd. The 00:35:43.059 --> 00:35:44.900 cycle of opposition begins, and you'll be crying 00:35:44.900 --> 00:35:47.260 out before long. You'll be begging God before 00:35:47.260 --> 00:35:49.360 long, and he'll intervene because he loves you. 00:35:49.670 --> 00:35:51.730 And the cycle will continue. And you'll say, 00:35:51.809 --> 00:35:53.130 yeah, I think you did that because I'm good. 00:35:53.349 --> 00:35:55.449 Yeah, I think you did that because I know. Before 00:35:55.449 --> 00:35:57.909 long, you'll be in sin again. And then, like 00:35:57.909 --> 00:36:01.110 he says this, rather than God resisting the problem, 00:36:01.210 --> 00:36:03.250 he gives grace under the humble. He would just 00:36:03.250 --> 00:36:05.670 come to God and realize, you are not that. And 00:36:05.670 --> 00:36:08.630 I'm going to say this. I don't like to come to 00:36:08.630 --> 00:36:11.210 this very much. Nobody in this room knows what. 00:36:11.829 --> 00:36:14.269 And the time we got home before God realized, 00:36:14.610 --> 00:36:17.309 no, I'm not going to go there. This is time. 00:36:17.469 --> 00:36:19.510 This time we realized that God heard us. bag 00:36:19.510 --> 00:36:21.809 upside down. You've got to learn how to walk 00:36:21.809 --> 00:36:24.030 and walk again. You've got to learn how to eat 00:36:24.030 --> 00:36:25.750 again. But wait, if you're going to walk and 00:36:25.750 --> 00:36:27.329 talk and eat in the same way you worked before, 00:36:27.369 --> 00:36:29.010 you've got to say it. You've got to say it. You've 00:36:29.010 --> 00:36:34.949 got to say it. You don't know much. You've got 00:36:34.949 --> 00:36:38.289 to submit ourselves, therefore, verse 7. Submit 00:36:38.289 --> 00:36:40.510 ourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil 00:36:40.510 --> 00:36:42.789 and he will flee from you. Submit ourselves. 00:36:42.989 --> 00:36:45.269 Let God be in charge. Let God say how I'm supposed 00:36:45.269 --> 00:36:47.510 to be done. Resist the devil and he will flee 00:36:47.510 --> 00:36:50.139 from you. to God. Let's draw near to God. Seek 00:36:50.139 --> 00:36:52.519 God out. Search for and work to get close. And 00:36:52.519 --> 00:36:54.840 draw close to every pirate that you seek out. 00:36:55.019 --> 00:36:57.539 And you will draw nigh to you. God with his name. 00:36:57.659 --> 00:37:00.840 I'm sorry. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and 00:37:00.840 --> 00:37:03.739 purify your hearts, ye double -minded people. 00:37:04.539 --> 00:37:07.500 Double -minded? Double -minded? Double -minded 00:37:07.500 --> 00:37:10.300 people are those who desire the benefits of your 00:37:10.300 --> 00:37:22.889 life. He says, be afflicted. In other words, 00:37:22.889 --> 00:37:27.030 be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let your laughter 00:37:27.030 --> 00:37:29.429 be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. 00:37:29.530 --> 00:37:33.010 Out. But look at the pronoun. Let your laughter 00:37:33.010 --> 00:37:36.570 turn to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Whatever 00:37:36.570 --> 00:37:39.289 you rejoice in, if it isn't God, whatever you 00:37:39.289 --> 00:37:40.909 think is cool, you need something that makes 00:37:40.909 --> 00:37:43.070 you get more pleasure inside, or you do a good 00:37:43.070 --> 00:37:44.710 job and get proud of what you did, whatever, 00:37:44.929 --> 00:37:50.239 all of those things are rubbish. I know. You 00:37:50.239 --> 00:37:53.079 get really excited that the wiring worked, right? 00:37:53.280 --> 00:37:56.260 You get really excited that the tape turned out. 00:37:56.400 --> 00:37:58.980 You get really excited that they said, oh, the 00:37:58.980 --> 00:38:04.719 car ran. You get really excited about that. But 00:38:04.719 --> 00:38:08.500 those joyful moments will be gone the next time.