WEBVTT 00:00:10.460 --> 00:00:36.539 Maybe you can do that. I'm bringing out a hallelujah 00:00:36.539 --> 00:00:45.700 sometimes. We pour out our miseries. God just 00:00:45.700 --> 00:00:51.619 hears the melody. Beautiful the mess we are. 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:59.479 The honest tries are breaking us down. Better 00:00:59.479 --> 00:02:21.689 than a hallelujah. Excited about this word, okay? 00:02:21.770 --> 00:02:23.650 I want you to know it changed me, so I'm going 00:02:23.650 --> 00:02:25.789 to do the best I can to deliver it to you, so 00:02:25.789 --> 00:02:27.689 hopefully you can make good use out of it today. 00:02:28.030 --> 00:02:30.310 The title of the sermon is The Second Bully. 00:02:30.349 --> 00:02:31.750 You see it up on the screen. There's a lot of 00:02:31.750 --> 00:02:33.810 detail there. If you want to break that down 00:02:33.810 --> 00:02:35.909 and study it some later, you can take a picture 00:02:35.909 --> 00:02:38.330 of it with your phone if you want. Most of what's 00:02:38.330 --> 00:02:41.229 up there you will get in what I'm about to say, 00:02:41.409 --> 00:02:43.210 okay? So we've been working through the book 00:02:43.210 --> 00:02:44.990 of Judges. Maybe give me a little who to holler 00:02:44.990 --> 00:02:49.090 amen as we go to Judges chapter 12. Thank you. 00:02:49.110 --> 00:02:51.610 This is the Word of the Lord. What I read to 00:02:51.610 --> 00:02:54.169 you now from Judges 12, beginning in verse 1 00:02:54.169 --> 00:02:56.509 through verse 6. It's been around a lot longer 00:02:56.509 --> 00:02:59.039 than I have. And it understands us probably better 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:01.400 than we understand it. And so if you listen to 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:03.479 what God has to say, whether I get it right or 00:03:03.479 --> 00:03:05.620 not, you'll get something from God today. And 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:08.300 that's my hope for you. Also, if I get something 00:03:08.300 --> 00:03:10.840 wrong, then that's your responsibility, which 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:12.699 is why you study your Bible. It's why you pray. 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:14.120 It's why you listen to the Holy Spirit. It's 00:03:14.120 --> 00:03:16.139 why you live your life for the Lord, so that 00:03:16.139 --> 00:03:17.620 when something comes in that doesn't belong, 00:03:17.780 --> 00:03:20.000 you would be ready. Now, I hope that doesn't 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:22.000 happen. I hope I get it right. So here we go. 00:03:22.580 --> 00:03:24.500 Judges chapter 12, beginning of verse 1, says 00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:27.620 as follows. Then the men of Ephraim, so that's 00:03:27.620 --> 00:03:31.819 a tribe of Israel, were summoned. And they crossed 00:03:31.819 --> 00:03:34.919 to Zaphon and said to Jephthah. Now Jephthah 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:38.800 is the judge who's currently leading the, I wouldn't 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:40.840 say the Israelite armies, but the armies from 00:03:40.840 --> 00:03:42.500 the area of Gilead, which is really about three 00:03:42.500 --> 00:03:44.900 or four tribes. And they're fighting back against 00:03:44.900 --> 00:03:47.199 oppression from the Ammonites. And they've done 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:48.900 a really good job. They've essentially won the 00:03:48.900 --> 00:03:50.500 battle to come home. We know that Jephthah had 00:03:50.500 --> 00:03:53.400 a serious failing in judgment and tried to kind 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:55.810 of run on ahead of God. and it cost his daughter 00:03:55.810 --> 00:03:57.650 his life. That's at the end of chapter 11. We 00:03:57.650 --> 00:03:59.389 talked about that last week. You can look at 00:03:59.389 --> 00:04:02.590 that again if you want. But now the men of Ephraim 00:04:02.590 --> 00:04:04.830 have gathered together, and they come to Jephthah, 00:04:04.849 --> 00:04:07.270 and they say, Why did you cross over to fight 00:04:07.270 --> 00:04:09.830 against the sons of Ammon without calling us 00:04:09.830 --> 00:04:12.530 to go with you? Now, if you've been with us, 00:04:12.550 --> 00:04:14.310 and we took a break for Easter, but if you've 00:04:14.310 --> 00:04:15.770 been with the study in the book of Judges before, 00:04:15.909 --> 00:04:17.930 if you read a little bit of it before, this sounds 00:04:17.930 --> 00:04:20.420 a little familiar. The people of Ephraim... Ephraim 00:04:20.420 --> 00:04:22.459 came, and they did the same thing, essentially, 00:04:22.459 --> 00:04:24.800 back in the day of Gideon. They said, why didn't 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:27.199 you call us out to go with you? Now, Gideon answered 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:28.860 with kind of a peaceful answer, and he played 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:30.540 it down, and he said, look, you are a great people 00:04:30.540 --> 00:04:32.920 of God. You have an amazing army. You have an 00:04:32.920 --> 00:04:35.120 amazing crop. You're just a great people of God, 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:37.579 and we need you. You can join us now. We'll do 00:04:37.579 --> 00:04:40.639 the mopping up together, and don't fret. You 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:43.180 haven't missed out. And everything kind of dulled 00:04:43.180 --> 00:04:45.399 down, and all the conflict went away. That is 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:48.079 not how Jephthah handles the situation. So it 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:50.410 says, why did you? cross over to fight against 00:04:50.410 --> 00:04:52.790 the sons of Ammon without calling us to go with 00:04:52.790 --> 00:04:56.529 you. We will burn your house down on you, they 00:04:56.529 --> 00:05:00.009 say. Verse 2. And Jephthah said to them, I and 00:05:00.009 --> 00:05:02.769 my people were at great strife with the sons 00:05:02.769 --> 00:05:05.750 of Ammon. When I called you, you did not deliver 00:05:05.750 --> 00:05:07.509 me from their hand. In other words, his people 00:05:07.509 --> 00:05:09.209 were suffering. They were being attacked. They 00:05:09.209 --> 00:05:12.230 were being pillaged over and over. And Ephraim 00:05:12.230 --> 00:05:14.290 just kind of stayed silent. They didn't come 00:05:14.290 --> 00:05:17.230 to their aid despite pleas for help. That's what... 00:05:17.420 --> 00:05:19.579 Jephthah says, and when I saw that you would 00:05:19.579 --> 00:05:22.500 not deliver me, I took my life in my hands and 00:05:22.500 --> 00:05:25.120 crossed over against the sons of Ammon, and the 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:27.420 Lord gave them into my hand. So he's saying, 00:05:27.459 --> 00:05:30.060 we went out, we fought them, and God gave us 00:05:30.060 --> 00:05:32.459 the victory. Why then have you come up to me 00:05:32.459 --> 00:05:35.079 this day to fight against me? So if I have defeated 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:38.040 the enemies of God's people at great risk to 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:41.759 myself, but submitting to the Lord's will, then 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:43.319 why would you now come against me and threaten 00:05:43.319 --> 00:05:45.730 to burn down my house on my head? Verse 4 says, 00:05:45.810 --> 00:05:48.110 then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead 00:05:48.110 --> 00:05:50.589 and fought Ephraim. And so now we have a sort 00:05:50.589 --> 00:05:53.089 of a civil war, if you will. And the men of Gilead 00:05:53.089 --> 00:05:56.930 defeated Ephraim because they said, you are fugitives 00:05:56.930 --> 00:06:00.129 of Ephraim, O Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim 00:06:00.129 --> 00:06:02.110 and in the midst of Manasseh. So basically, you 00:06:02.110 --> 00:06:03.449 don't have to dig into all those tribe names 00:06:03.449 --> 00:06:06.550 right this second. The bottom line is, the Ephraimites 00:06:06.550 --> 00:06:09.350 were attacking the Gileadites. And the Gileadites 00:06:09.350 --> 00:06:12.970 were defending themselves, but now God is causing 00:06:12.970 --> 00:06:14.930 the Gileadites to win out, and all these people 00:06:14.930 --> 00:06:17.230 are being defeated. We're going to see in a moment 00:06:17.230 --> 00:06:19.870 that the defeat is an incredible one. They were 00:06:19.870 --> 00:06:21.790 calling them rebels, essentially. They were calling 00:06:21.790 --> 00:06:24.920 them... They were saying that they were standing 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:27.399 against the tribe of Ephraim, and that's why 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:29.240 they were attacking them. Verse 5 says, And the 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:31.660 Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan. 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:33.899 That's the river that kind of divides the two 00:06:33.899 --> 00:06:36.160 regions between Gilead and Ephraim. So for them 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:38.040 to go home, they have to cross the river. For 00:06:38.040 --> 00:06:39.600 them to cross the river, you need a shallow place. 00:06:39.980 --> 00:06:41.819 A ford is a shallow place, and there's only so 00:06:41.819 --> 00:06:43.560 many places you can cross the river. And they 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:45.579 grabbed the fords, and the Ephraimites are trying 00:06:45.579 --> 00:06:47.759 to get home. The Gileadites captured the fords 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:50.410 of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened 00:06:50.410 --> 00:06:53.689 when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, let 00:06:53.689 --> 00:06:56.410 me cross over, the men of Gilead would say to 00:06:56.410 --> 00:06:59.089 him, are you an Ephraimite? And if he said no, 00:06:59.370 --> 00:07:02.069 then they would say to him, say now Shibboleth. 00:07:02.250 --> 00:07:05.230 But he said Sibboleth, for he could not pronounce 00:07:05.230 --> 00:07:08.209 it correctly. Then they seized him and slew him 00:07:08.209 --> 00:07:10.470 at the fords of the Jordan. So they were using 00:07:10.470 --> 00:07:12.629 the change in dialect that had happened, the 00:07:12.629 --> 00:07:14.069 change in the way the language was pronounced, 00:07:14.209 --> 00:07:17.149 that had happened between Ephraim and Gilead. 00:07:17.420 --> 00:07:19.420 to determine who was an Ephraimite, and then 00:07:19.420 --> 00:07:21.019 they would kill them. So if they lied and said 00:07:21.019 --> 00:07:22.560 they were not, they didn't just let them go. 00:07:22.620 --> 00:07:24.620 They made them say Shibboleth, but they couldn't. 00:07:24.620 --> 00:07:26.759 So they'd say Sibboleth, and then they would 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:29.060 kill them. Thus there fell at this time, get 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:33.199 this number, 42 ,000 of Ephraim. Now historians 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:35.519 look at that word there and say it could be 42 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:37.740 ,000 or it could be 42 companies, but either 00:07:37.740 --> 00:07:41.399 way, it is a massive amount of people. So you 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:42.680 don't have to really worry about whether exactly 00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:46.319 42 ,000, 42 companies. Either way, it's a ton. 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:49.040 of Ephraimites. It probably represents their 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:50.899 entire army. I'll come back to that later in 00:07:50.899 --> 00:07:54.199 the points. So the bottom line is they slew everybody 00:07:54.199 --> 00:07:56.459 who came up. Notice that in order for them to 00:07:56.459 --> 00:07:59.620 slay 42 ,000 Ephraimites who are trying to get 00:07:59.620 --> 00:08:04.060 home, that means 42 ,000 Ephraimites came across 00:08:04.060 --> 00:08:07.879 the river to threaten Jephthah. Understand? Now 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:09.879 that's not like somebody came to deliver a message. 00:08:10.509 --> 00:08:14.189 They brought 42 ,000 men across the river. And 00:08:14.189 --> 00:08:15.990 we can rightly assume probably some of them escaped 00:08:15.990 --> 00:08:18.410 and got home, right? Maybe before the Fords were 00:08:18.410 --> 00:08:20.730 captured or by other means. Or they went into 00:08:20.730 --> 00:08:22.889 a foreign land so as not to face the Fords, that 00:08:22.889 --> 00:08:26.149 kind of thing. But 42 ,000 or 42 companies of 00:08:26.149 --> 00:08:28.689 Ephraimites slain. There's an old saying that 00:08:28.689 --> 00:08:33.090 says, essentially, anybody can talk tough when 00:08:33.090 --> 00:08:35.799 they're up. And actually, it was re -quoted. 00:08:35.820 --> 00:08:38.779 I don't use a lot of sports quotes or analogy 00:08:38.779 --> 00:08:40.299 for those of you who have seen my preaching for 00:08:40.299 --> 00:08:42.419 a while. I just don't do that. I'm not a huge 00:08:42.419 --> 00:08:45.259 sports guy. I think God can teach a lot through 00:08:45.259 --> 00:08:47.100 that. Don't get me wrong. God really does use 00:08:47.100 --> 00:08:54.200 that. There was a guy named Luke Adonik. And 00:08:54.200 --> 00:09:00.360 he works for, tell me who he plays for. Yeah, 00:09:00.419 --> 00:09:02.279 I know who he plays for. You tell me. He plays 00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:04.299 for the Lakers, right? And he did back in 22 00:09:04.299 --> 00:09:08.340 as well. And in 22, in the semifinals, they faced 00:09:08.340 --> 00:09:12.659 the, Tony Tate? Who did they face in the semifinals 00:09:12.659 --> 00:09:14.840 in 22? See, these guys know sports. I don't know 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:20.299 sports. That was the Suns, right? And so in game 00:09:20.299 --> 00:09:24.840 five, they lost 110 to 80. That's a pretty big 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:26.399 defeat. I mean, first of all, it's a big score. 00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:29.559 but not terribly unheard for the NBA, but they 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:32.440 lost 110 -80. And, of course, the Suns were talking 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:34.539 it up. They were in the lead now in the series, 00:09:34.659 --> 00:09:36.139 and it looked like they were going to win in 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:38.899 the semifinals after beating them 110 -80. And 00:09:38.899 --> 00:09:42.179 he said, anybody can talk tough when they're 00:09:42.179 --> 00:09:44.879 up. And then they went on in Game 6 to beat them 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:47.179 soundly, and then again in Game 7 to win the 00:09:47.179 --> 00:09:49.419 semifinals and go on to the finals. Now, the 00:09:49.419 --> 00:09:53.360 point is this. When you're winning, you have 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:56.669 space. You have the ability to emphasize one 00:09:56.669 --> 00:10:00.289 thing over another. There's also a guy, a friend 00:10:00.289 --> 00:10:01.730 of mine, I'll call him a friend. I've met him 00:10:01.730 --> 00:10:04.009 a number of times. We talked and we shared our 00:10:04.009 --> 00:10:05.950 books with each other and things like that, who 00:10:05.950 --> 00:10:08.309 speaks at Life Change Camp. And at Camp, you 00:10:08.309 --> 00:10:10.909 can. He's a professional NBA. In fact, he played 00:10:10.909 --> 00:10:13.049 professional basketball literally all over the 00:10:13.049 --> 00:10:17.750 world. And he once stuffed Shaq. You know who 00:10:17.750 --> 00:10:19.789 Shaq is, right? Shaq O 'Neal. He's a pretty famous 00:10:19.789 --> 00:10:22.090 basketball player. He once stuffed him on the 00:10:22.090 --> 00:10:24.330 court. And he went back and away from Shaq and 00:10:24.330 --> 00:10:26.990 said, yeah, you try to shoot on me. And then 00:10:26.990 --> 00:10:29.610 Shaq proceeded to score like another 20 points 00:10:29.610 --> 00:10:31.370 on him and just made him look like an idiot. 00:10:31.549 --> 00:10:34.610 So then there he is on TV, you know, professional 00:10:34.610 --> 00:10:36.309 game, and every game that Shaq probably played 00:10:36.309 --> 00:10:38.710 on him probably was on TV, talking smack because 00:10:38.710 --> 00:10:40.769 he stuffed him once and then just getting walked 00:10:40.769 --> 00:10:43.389 over. So here's what happens. Sometimes you think 00:10:43.389 --> 00:10:45.649 you've got your army with you, you've got your 00:10:45.649 --> 00:10:47.649 situation right, and things are going pretty 00:10:47.649 --> 00:10:50.570 well, and you let something kind of creep in. 00:10:50.909 --> 00:10:52.490 Like you think you're all that in a bag of chips? 00:10:52.649 --> 00:10:55.090 And pretty soon you realize maybe you don't. 00:10:55.110 --> 00:10:59.409 So Jephthah and the men of Gilead had just come 00:10:59.409 --> 00:11:01.789 through war. They had already faced the Ammonites. 00:11:01.850 --> 00:11:03.870 They had already bled. They had already prayed. 00:11:04.190 --> 00:11:06.350 They had mourned their dead, which were probably 00:11:06.350 --> 00:11:08.970 many. They had already trusted God for victory. 00:11:09.070 --> 00:11:13.090 And then comes Ephraim with a 42 ,000 -man army. 00:11:13.250 --> 00:11:16.029 Why didn't you call us out to help? Notice this 00:11:16.029 --> 00:11:18.549 is not a foreign army. This is a people of God. 00:11:18.909 --> 00:11:21.289 These are God's people just the same as the Gileadites, 00:11:21.309 --> 00:11:23.850 which was several tribes, but all of them were 00:11:23.850 --> 00:11:26.570 God's people. This is not a pagan king. This 00:11:26.570 --> 00:11:29.970 is not idol worshipers, at least not obviously 00:11:29.970 --> 00:11:32.389 so. We talked about how they were sort of syncretizing 00:11:32.389 --> 00:11:35.549 the two. The second bully has now shown up. Sometimes 00:11:35.549 --> 00:11:38.370 that second bully is harder to recognize because 00:11:38.370 --> 00:11:41.909 he looks familiar. These guys were long allies. 00:11:42.190 --> 00:11:43.990 They were Israelites. They were descendants from 00:11:43.990 --> 00:11:47.820 the same family of Jacob. He talks like you, 00:11:47.980 --> 00:11:51.179 he stands near you, he claims connection to you, 00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:56.279 yet he is still working intimidation, manipulation, 00:11:56.860 --> 00:12:01.240 division, pride. The devil himself could be called 00:12:01.240 --> 00:12:04.340 another bully, but be sure of this, he likes 00:12:04.340 --> 00:12:06.659 to work through the second bully. He wants to 00:12:06.659 --> 00:12:09.559 come through the guy who comes after the problem 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:12.440 that you're actually facing. Judges 12, 1 through 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:15.549 6. The men of Ephraim gathered themselves together 00:12:15.549 --> 00:12:18.389 to confront Jephthah and their army and said, 00:12:18.490 --> 00:12:21.769 we'll drop your house on you. That's not correction. 00:12:22.090 --> 00:12:23.450 They weren't saying you did something wrong. 00:12:23.509 --> 00:12:25.610 We want you to apologize. We want you to make 00:12:25.610 --> 00:12:28.250 amends in some way. It's not fellowship. We're 00:12:28.250 --> 00:12:30.230 so glad that you were successful that God used 00:12:30.230 --> 00:12:32.990 you to defeat this army. It's not brotherhood. 00:12:33.009 --> 00:12:35.769 We are here in support to help you clean up, 00:12:35.809 --> 00:12:38.710 fix up, heal the wounded, you know, take care 00:12:38.710 --> 00:12:42.649 of the widow. This is flesh empowered by pride. 00:12:43.129 --> 00:12:45.529 And church, we had better understand a few things 00:12:45.529 --> 00:12:48.529 out of this text. The first one is this. The 00:12:48.529 --> 00:12:52.350 enemy that you see is not the last enemy. Once 00:12:52.350 --> 00:12:54.190 you have determined that someone or something 00:12:54.190 --> 00:12:56.309 is against you and the situation is not going 00:12:56.309 --> 00:12:57.889 the way you'd like it to go, something is beating 00:12:57.889 --> 00:13:00.190 you up, something is taking your money or taking 00:13:00.190 --> 00:13:03.009 your time or breaking your heart, that's not 00:13:03.009 --> 00:13:05.269 the last enemy. It's not the last time you're 00:13:05.269 --> 00:13:07.269 going to face difficulty. There are all kinds 00:13:07.269 --> 00:13:10.080 of bullies, all kinds of enemies. And they're 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:11.980 going to keep coming until Jesus comes again. 00:13:12.059 --> 00:13:14.200 This is like their battlefield. It's their playground. 00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:16.840 It's happening. Some bullies use fists, some 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:19.480 words, some money, some guilt, some social pressure, 00:13:19.639 --> 00:13:22.840 some manipulation. All of it is soaked in fear, 00:13:23.019 --> 00:13:26.440 which is an enemy all by itself, soaked in intimidation 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:29.700 and flesh -defined relationships. The bullies 00:13:29.700 --> 00:13:32.559 on the playground, they bully the kids. They 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:35.679 won't stand up. They won't fight back. And maybe 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:38.309 that's not a life or death matter. But spiritually, 00:13:38.570 --> 00:13:40.690 it certainly can be. Emotionally, it certainly 00:13:40.690 --> 00:13:43.870 can be. Bullies point to uneven capability. They 00:13:43.870 --> 00:13:46.450 say, see, I'm big. I'm strong. Or I'm wise. Or 00:13:46.450 --> 00:13:48.070 I'm smart. I've got better words. I've got better 00:13:48.070 --> 00:13:50.990 education than you. I see this problem that you 00:13:50.990 --> 00:13:53.710 don't see. Whatever. And they use that uneven 00:13:53.710 --> 00:13:57.289 capability then to prove to you, to make you 00:13:57.289 --> 00:13:59.429 think that the outcome is already decided. See, 00:13:59.470 --> 00:14:01.529 you have to give me your lunch money because 00:14:01.529 --> 00:14:04.450 I'm bigger than you. You have to back down and 00:14:04.450 --> 00:14:07.509 hide because you'll look bad. You'll feel bad. 00:14:07.730 --> 00:14:09.309 Someone will say something that will get under 00:14:09.309 --> 00:14:11.669 your skin. You know that really bothers you when 00:14:11.669 --> 00:14:13.049 people do that. And they're just going to keep 00:14:13.049 --> 00:14:15.570 doing it. So now you've got to go and do this 00:14:15.570 --> 00:14:18.669 instead. They say you can't win. They say you're 00:14:18.669 --> 00:14:20.690 too weak. You'll never recover. You'll never 00:14:20.690 --> 00:14:23.370 change. You'll never escape your past. But the 00:14:23.370 --> 00:14:26.269 devil has lied before. You know that about him 00:14:26.269 --> 00:14:29.409 and about the enemies of God. They lie. It's 00:14:29.409 --> 00:14:32.299 deception. The cross, which may have been one 00:14:32.299 --> 00:14:35.220 of the most tragic moments of mankind's history, 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:38.759 looks like defeat. And there were those who lied 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:41.000 about the cross and said that it was a defeat, 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:43.639 when in truth it was the greatest victory for 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:47.639 mankind that ever has happened. The tomb looked 00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:51.279 final. This teacher, this traveler, the one who 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:52.759 healed, who brought people back to life, who 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:55.279 could do so much, who thought he would revolutionize 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:57.480 our religion and cast off the yoke of government 00:14:57.480 --> 00:15:00.470 so that men could be free. is now defeated and 00:15:00.470 --> 00:15:03.370 dead and gone. You see, it was always going to 00:15:03.370 --> 00:15:07.110 be that way. But no, the grave is not the place 00:15:07.110 --> 00:15:10.330 of a terrible defeat. In fact, it is the place 00:15:10.330 --> 00:15:12.990 of the single most important victory where death 00:15:12.990 --> 00:15:15.529 is destroyed once and for all, taken from the 00:15:15.529 --> 00:15:19.070 grip of Satan as a weapon and cast aside as a 00:15:19.070 --> 00:15:21.570 thing we need not worry about. On the third day, 00:15:21.629 --> 00:15:25.830 Jesus Christ rose victorious. The enemy is not 00:15:25.830 --> 00:15:29.059 nearly as powerful as he pretends to be. In fact, 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:31.919 Jesus said in the Gospel, and you shall know 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:34.879 the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:37.299 Notice, truth makes you free. Free from fear, 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:39.899 free from intimidation, free from fists or words 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:42.059 or money or guilt or social pressure or manipulation, 00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:43.879 or you could probably do the whole alphabet. 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:46.980 Possibly a little struggle on Z of the things 00:15:46.980 --> 00:15:49.919 that people will try to use against you, to mold 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:54.029 you, to force you into some conformity. But the 00:15:54.029 --> 00:15:56.549 truth brings victory over all of those things. 00:15:56.690 --> 00:16:00.590 It says you are free. I understand it also means 00:16:00.590 --> 00:16:02.429 that you are free to hate, free to manipulate, 00:16:02.549 --> 00:16:04.789 free to intimidate, or free to live however you 00:16:04.789 --> 00:16:07.710 want. But understand that those are not freedoms. 00:16:08.090 --> 00:16:12.149 They are actually chains designed to be hidden, 00:16:12.230 --> 00:16:14.929 designed to be covered, camouflaged, to trap 00:16:14.929 --> 00:16:18.419 you. Sometimes once and for all. Sin always advertises 00:16:18.419 --> 00:16:23.059 liberty. I can drink. I can eat more. I can spend 00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:28.600 more. I can collect. I can hold back. I can joke. 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:32.500 I can laugh it off. Sin always advertises liberty. 00:16:33.049 --> 00:16:36.350 but delivers bondage. Galatians 6, 7 says, and 00:16:36.350 --> 00:16:38.009 I'm just paraphrasing a teeny little bit of it, 00:16:38.070 --> 00:16:40.450 it says, God is not deceived. I'm sorry, be not 00:16:40.450 --> 00:16:43.269 deceived. God is not mocked. Be not deceived. 00:16:43.450 --> 00:16:44.889 God is not. So notice this, be not deceived. 00:16:44.990 --> 00:16:47.110 What would you be deceived about if you were 00:16:47.110 --> 00:16:48.909 deceived? It says, be not deceived. God is not 00:16:48.909 --> 00:16:50.950 mocked. Oh, we would be deceived thinking God 00:16:50.950 --> 00:16:53.460 is somehow mocked. that we can do what we are 00:16:53.460 --> 00:16:55.720 free to do, whatever we have decided to do, that 00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:57.700 God does not want us to do, and that God will 00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:00.039 somehow then, because he's locked in, because 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:02.500 he sacrificed his own son, so now he must forgive, 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:05.259 right? He's required to let us do whatever we 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:07.259 want to do, to suffer in any way that we want, 00:17:07.380 --> 00:17:10.579 and still be God, and still be giving, and still 00:17:10.579 --> 00:17:12.400 be kind, and still be gracious, and still forgive, 00:17:12.500 --> 00:17:15.480 and watch as we ruin our lives and the lives 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:18.119 of others, exercising our supposed freedoms, 00:17:18.460 --> 00:17:21.309 and do nothing. Oh no, be not deceived. Though 00:17:21.309 --> 00:17:23.970 the enemy may try, all the enemies may try, don't 00:17:23.970 --> 00:17:26.210 be deceived. God is not mocked. The bully thinks 00:17:26.210 --> 00:17:28.829 that he can sow fear and never reap judgment. 00:17:29.029 --> 00:17:30.829 The manipulator thinks that he can sow division 00:17:30.829 --> 00:17:34.089 and never reap destruction. The proud think that 00:17:34.089 --> 00:17:36.910 they can sow arrogance and never reap humiliation. 00:17:37.230 --> 00:17:41.890 But God is not mocked. You will reap what you 00:17:41.890 --> 00:17:45.470 sow. I remember growing up. watching boys who 00:17:45.470 --> 00:17:47.990 acted invincible on the playground and everyone 00:17:47.990 --> 00:17:50.569 was on like pins and needles around them not 00:17:50.569 --> 00:17:52.170 knowing what they were going to do for sure. 00:17:52.369 --> 00:17:55.029 But then when somebody bigger shows up or a teacher 00:17:55.029 --> 00:17:58.150 is there or a parent or somebody just refuses 00:17:58.150 --> 00:18:02.549 to back down, suddenly, suddenly, authority trumps 00:18:02.549 --> 00:18:05.769 being a bully and the bully realizes that he 00:18:05.769 --> 00:18:08.170 doesn't have a place. That's exactly how Satan 00:18:08.170 --> 00:18:11.930 operates. Exactly. He roars while he thinks nobody 00:18:11.930 --> 00:18:14.670 is calling on God. But the moment that the authority 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:17.470 of Christ enters the situation, the enemy's confidence 00:18:17.470 --> 00:18:21.809 collapses. Do not mistake his noise for power. 00:18:22.089 --> 00:18:25.289 In this text, then, we see the fords. Remember 00:18:25.289 --> 00:18:27.029 those? Those are the places where you cross the 00:18:27.029 --> 00:18:28.849 river. It's not the first time. In fact, in the 00:18:28.849 --> 00:18:30.930 book of Judges, we saw it back in Judges 3 and 00:18:30.930 --> 00:18:33.250 also in Judges 7. We saw two other stories in 00:18:33.250 --> 00:18:35.329 which the fords were captured and that as people 00:18:35.329 --> 00:18:37.529 were trying to cross, they were sorted, defeated, 00:18:37.769 --> 00:18:40.869 whatever. God uses those strategic places to 00:18:40.869 --> 00:18:43.450 stop his enemy. There are strategic places like 00:18:43.450 --> 00:18:46.269 that in your life and in my life. In Judges 12, 00:18:46.529 --> 00:18:49.230 the same tactic then is used against Ephraim. 00:18:49.369 --> 00:18:52.569 Why? To remind us that tactics that worked once 00:18:52.569 --> 00:18:56.990 against the enemy will also work against us if 00:18:56.990 --> 00:18:59.970 we should become the enemy. The Bible says in 00:18:59.970 --> 00:19:03.890 2 Peter 2 .4, For if God spared not the angels 00:19:03.890 --> 00:19:06.880 that sinned, In other words, if God judged rebellious 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:09.859 angels, what makes man think that our rebellion 00:19:09.859 --> 00:19:12.740 is somehow safe? If you rebel against God, he 00:19:12.740 --> 00:19:15.839 is able to keep you unto that day in which you 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:17.740 will suffer the ultimate destruction. All the 00:19:17.740 --> 00:19:20.059 while deluded into thinking that you can keep 00:19:20.059 --> 00:19:21.859 right on doing the things that you're not supposed 00:19:21.859 --> 00:19:24.140 to be doing, keep right on failing to do the 00:19:24.140 --> 00:19:25.900 things that you are supposed to be doing, living 00:19:25.900 --> 00:19:28.700 in unrighteousness as a bully in your own midst, 00:19:28.779 --> 00:19:31.000 or succumbing to bullies that have come to you 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:33.319 to force you to do what it is they want you to 00:19:33.319 --> 00:19:36.119 do. Romans 11 .22 says it this way, Behold, therefore, 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:39.640 the goodness and severity of God. See, we all 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:42.640 like the goodness of God. God is good. We even 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:44.799 say that, right? God is good all the time, all 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:47.059 the time. God is good. They made another song 00:19:47.059 --> 00:19:49.730 about it fairly recently. God is good. There's 00:19:49.730 --> 00:19:51.269 no doubt about that. We like to talk about how 00:19:51.269 --> 00:19:54.150 good God is when we're in the midst of our troubles, 00:19:54.250 --> 00:19:56.089 when we're facing our worries, when we're running 00:19:56.089 --> 00:19:58.549 out of resources, when we're struggling. God 00:19:58.549 --> 00:20:00.410 is good. We want to talk about that because we 00:20:00.410 --> 00:20:02.450 are expecting God to do something amazing. But 00:20:02.450 --> 00:20:04.869 Paul wrote to the Romans to remember, therefore, 00:20:05.029 --> 00:20:08.829 the goodness and severity of God. God takes very 00:20:08.829 --> 00:20:12.069 serious man's rebellion. God takes very serious 00:20:12.069 --> 00:20:14.750 our willful choices that go against what he does. 00:20:14.829 --> 00:20:19.140 You do not want to simply Think about God's goodness 00:20:19.140 --> 00:20:22.220 and forget God's severity. The author of Hebrews 00:20:22.220 --> 00:20:24.819 says it this way, it is a fearful thing to fall 00:20:24.819 --> 00:20:27.400 into the hands of a vengeful God. That's the 00:20:27.400 --> 00:20:29.299 world that we're living in. Out there right now, 00:20:29.339 --> 00:20:30.940 across the United States and possibly across 00:20:30.940 --> 00:20:33.799 the world, there are churches that are pushing 00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:36.099 an agenda. They call themselves churches anyway, 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:37.539 I'm not sure they are, but they have the name 00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:39.420 church on the wall. They are pushing an agenda 00:20:39.420 --> 00:20:40.960 that will tell you that you can live a certain 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:42.779 way that is completely contrary to scripture 00:20:42.779 --> 00:20:45.559 and that the old ideas of what it means to live 00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:47.700 according to what the Bible says are no longer. 00:20:48.109 --> 00:20:50.369 applicable in today's world. But God has not 00:20:50.369 --> 00:20:53.329 changed. God is not mocked. We must remember 00:20:53.329 --> 00:20:56.369 both the goodness and the severity of God. And 00:20:56.369 --> 00:20:58.829 it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands 00:20:58.829 --> 00:21:01.789 of a vengeful God. The God of heaven has ordered. 00:21:02.170 --> 00:21:04.349 He didn't ask. Just as he said, let there be 00:21:04.349 --> 00:21:05.970 light, and light said, oh, here's my opportunity, 00:21:06.089 --> 00:21:09.130 and leapt into being, so too he has ordered us 00:21:09.130 --> 00:21:12.890 to stand up for what is right, to be good. And 00:21:12.890 --> 00:21:15.329 if you are a Christian, and you are not acknowledging 00:21:15.329 --> 00:21:19.059 the fact that God who is Father, who is Creator, 00:21:19.339 --> 00:21:26.099 who is Savior, deserves your loyal faithfulness. 00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:28.559 And day by day, you doing what it is that God 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:30.779 has called you to do. In service and in giving 00:21:30.779 --> 00:21:33.240 and love and kindness and fruits expanding through 00:21:33.240 --> 00:21:34.880 the Holy Spirit presence in your life. If you 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:37.619 are not doing that, it's very probable that you 00:21:37.619 --> 00:21:40.200 are subject to chastisement. For he chastises 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:42.519 those whom he loves. To wrath, for we were once 00:21:42.519 --> 00:21:45.029 objects of wrath. Wrath is not anger, not like 00:21:45.029 --> 00:21:47.509 God's ticked off at you. It is opposition. And 00:21:47.509 --> 00:21:49.809 he's opposing your course of action because you 00:21:49.809 --> 00:21:52.809 have forgotten the severity of God. Notice also 00:21:52.809 --> 00:21:55.369 in this text that there's a lesson to be retrieved 00:21:55.369 --> 00:21:58.809 from the idea of failed tactics. Ephraim comes 00:21:58.809 --> 00:22:01.529 complaining to Jephthah that they were not involved 00:22:01.529 --> 00:22:03.410 in the fighting. And see, here's what happens. 00:22:03.569 --> 00:22:06.410 When you go out and you win, you get the spoils, 00:22:06.410 --> 00:22:09.990 right? So even though my brother died, my cousin 00:22:09.990 --> 00:22:12.569 died, my uncle died, whatever. Those of us who 00:22:12.569 --> 00:22:15.690 came home from the war, we now have generational 00:22:15.690 --> 00:22:18.930 wealth. We brought home enough spoils, extra 00:22:18.930 --> 00:22:21.509 shields and armor and pouches and money that 00:22:21.509 --> 00:22:23.470 people carried and whatever, that we will be 00:22:23.470 --> 00:22:25.410 wealthy. We'll take care of all of our family 00:22:25.410 --> 00:22:27.710 expenses. It's like a savings account for generations 00:22:27.710 --> 00:22:30.289 to come because of the success that we've had 00:22:30.289 --> 00:22:34.349 today fighting against the Ammonites. That's 00:22:34.349 --> 00:22:36.730 what the Ephraimites were left out of. And when 00:22:36.730 --> 00:22:38.250 they came and they said, we'll drop your house 00:22:38.250 --> 00:22:40.240 on you. They thought, well, we're going to take 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:42.119 all the spoils that you just took from them. 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:44.319 And they came strong. And it probably wasn't 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:46.000 even hard to get people to get their armor on 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:47.200 because they all thought we're going to come 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:50.779 back rich. So they came complaining. But it had 00:22:50.779 --> 00:22:53.400 worked before. Remember back in Judges 8, the 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:55.759 Ephraimites confronted Gideon with similar complaints, 00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:00.220 same tactics. And Gideon calmed them down gently. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:02.599 And that tactic worked then. But notice, it does 00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:04.900 not work now. So they came complaining then, 00:23:05.059 --> 00:23:07.539 and it worked. They got involved in the mop -up 00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:10.220 operations. They got wealthy. They were successful. 00:23:11.900 --> 00:23:14.200 Relationships were mended. But now they're complaining, 00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:17.359 and it doesn't work. Why? Because when God is 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:20.680 intervening in judgment, old manipulations stop 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:23.740 functioning. A few months ago, you get up in 00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:25.680 the morning, I stayed up too late, watching too 00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:27.299 much TV, reading a little too much, whatever, 00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:30.779 maybe writing in my case, and now it's 8 a .m., 00:23:30.779 --> 00:23:33.519 and there is a crisis. And I'm tired because 00:23:33.519 --> 00:23:35.359 I stayed up too late. A few months ago, staying 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:38.440 up too late would have been fine. But now, today, 00:23:38.779 --> 00:23:41.140 God is doing a thing. He's not fine anymore. 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:43.779 So we talk about going to bed at a reasonable 00:23:43.779 --> 00:23:45.759 time on Saturday night. Spend a little time in 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:47.019 the Word and prayer before you go to bed. And 00:23:47.019 --> 00:23:48.579 get up at a decent time on Sunday morning. Spend 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:51.160 a little time in Word and prayer before you come 00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:53.539 to church. Coming ready for God to do something. 00:23:54.039 --> 00:23:56.119 Someone in this room right now is facing the 00:23:56.119 --> 00:23:58.420 wrath of God because they misspent last night 00:23:58.420 --> 00:24:00.539 and this morning, not preparing themselves for 00:24:00.539 --> 00:24:02.380 that moment at which God was going to do a powerful 00:24:02.380 --> 00:24:04.299 thing in them. Someone in this room is being 00:24:04.299 --> 00:24:07.119 called by God right now to preach or teach or 00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:10.099 go as a missionary, as a servant, as a leader. 00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:13.099 And they won't answer the call because they misspent 00:24:13.099 --> 00:24:14.960 last night and this morning in preparation for 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:17.180 the time that God would call them. When I was 00:24:17.180 --> 00:24:19.380 about to be saved, and I didn't know I was about 00:24:19.380 --> 00:24:21.740 to be saved, I was staying up late on Saturday 00:24:21.740 --> 00:24:23.319 night. I was getting up anywhere on Sunday morning. 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:25.099 I was going to church. And I went, and I was 00:24:25.099 --> 00:24:26.660 sitting in the pew, and God's calling me. And 00:24:26.660 --> 00:24:28.519 He said, I want you to be mine. I want you to 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:30.039 come into the kingdom of God. I want you to accept 00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:32.440 me as Lord, and I will lead you. And I'm like, 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:33.680 well, what's that going to look like? And He 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:35.519 didn't tell me. He said, well, what am I going 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:37.099 to have to do? And He didn't tell me. He said, 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:39.099 well, I won't have to do anything really uncomfortable. 00:24:39.299 --> 00:24:41.200 And He didn't say. He said, but I want you to 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:43.779 come. And I wasn't ready. And so I went home 00:24:43.779 --> 00:24:46.569 making excuses. And I did not accept Christ. 00:24:46.769 --> 00:24:48.769 And someone here will probably do that today. 00:24:49.210 --> 00:24:51.930 Because the tactics that used to work for you, 00:24:52.049 --> 00:24:54.430 the things that you used to do, when God is about 00:24:54.430 --> 00:24:56.369 to do a powerful and mighty thing, they don't 00:24:56.369 --> 00:24:58.670 work anymore. God's going to call your bluff. 00:24:59.329 --> 00:25:00.750 Christian, you're sitting in this room saying, 00:25:00.789 --> 00:25:02.710 I love the Lord and I want to do what God wants 00:25:02.710 --> 00:25:05.430 me to do. I'm a saved Christian. I'm a follower 00:25:05.430 --> 00:25:07.630 of the Lord Jesus Christ. Indwelt by the Spirit. 00:25:07.710 --> 00:25:09.470 I feel the testimony of the Holy Spirit in my 00:25:09.470 --> 00:25:11.829 heart. And I know I'm saved. So I'm good. I'm 00:25:11.829 --> 00:25:13.369 going to heaven when I die. I'm walking with 00:25:13.369 --> 00:25:16.720 Him now. And in your strength, and in your prosperity, 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:20.119 emotionally, physically, spiritually, relationships, 00:25:20.440 --> 00:25:25.279 finances, whatever. You found ways, things. You're 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:28.099 spending those resources on. And then God's going 00:25:28.099 --> 00:25:31.019 to go to do something incredible. And those manipulations, 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:32.759 those tactics, those things that you were doing, 00:25:32.839 --> 00:25:34.940 they're not going to work anymore. God's going 00:25:34.940 --> 00:25:37.299 to say, but you said you're a Lord. I was in 00:25:37.299 --> 00:25:40.940 a Seneca Lake Baptist Camp worship meeting. And 00:25:40.940 --> 00:25:43.440 we were singing, Made to Worship. It's basically 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:45.240 a song that says, this is what I was made for, 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:46.859 to worship the God of the universe. And that 00:25:46.859 --> 00:25:49.160 is in some way exactly true. We were all made 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:50.819 for that. And I'm saying to God, I'm saying, 00:25:50.920 --> 00:25:53.019 I'll do whatever you tell me to do, Lord. Just 00:25:53.019 --> 00:25:54.819 tell me what it is and I'll do it. And I had 00:25:54.819 --> 00:25:57.740 said that, I don't know, at least 20 times before 00:25:57.740 --> 00:25:59.920 in worship. Every time the Spirit was there, 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:01.779 I'm just like, oh, it feels so good to be telling 00:26:01.779 --> 00:26:03.799 the God of the universe who loves me, who is 00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:07.299 good, right? The good God. And I'm telling him, 00:26:07.319 --> 00:26:09.319 I'll do whatever you want me to do. And God said 00:26:09.319 --> 00:26:11.359 to me, you say that. You say you'll do whatever 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:13.700 I tell you to do, but you don't do it. And I'm 00:26:13.700 --> 00:26:17.019 like, what? Of course I do. He said, you say 00:26:17.019 --> 00:26:19.279 that you'll do whatever I tell you to do, but 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:21.980 you don't do it. And then images began to flash 00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:24.519 in my head of things that I had failed to do, 00:26:24.579 --> 00:26:26.160 things that God had prompted me to do. You know, 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:27.740 those little promptings that you get. I don't 00:26:27.740 --> 00:26:29.980 know, is that God or not? Listen, when God prompts 00:26:29.980 --> 00:26:31.799 you in your heart and you don't know whether 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:34.019 it's him or not, that's on you, not on him. He's 00:26:34.019 --> 00:26:36.240 not wearing a disguise. He doesn't have a mask. 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:38.839 He's not like got the thing to make his voice 00:26:38.839 --> 00:26:41.220 sound funny. He's God. And when he speaks, you 00:26:41.220 --> 00:26:44.200 should know who he is. My sheep hear my voice 00:26:44.200 --> 00:26:47.000 and they follow. It's your responsibility to 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:48.980 know who God is. So you spend time in his word. 00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:50.440 You spend time with him. I don't want to get 00:26:50.440 --> 00:26:51.619 ahead of myself because I'm getting a conclusion 00:26:51.619 --> 00:26:54.039 already. Got one more point yet. The bottom line 00:26:54.039 --> 00:26:57.480 is you have a responsibility to be diligent and 00:26:57.480 --> 00:26:59.619 therefore not ashamed. When the voice comes in 00:26:59.619 --> 00:27:00.740 and you go like, I don't know, that could just 00:27:00.740 --> 00:27:02.559 be the voice of Satan. If you don't know the 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:04.259 voice of Satan, you've got a problem with knowing 00:27:04.259 --> 00:27:06.180 the voice of God. And you're going to solve that 00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:10.420 problem by actually letting go of the tactics 00:27:10.420 --> 00:27:12.460 and the manipulations that in the moment of your 00:27:12.460 --> 00:27:14.940 confrontation with God, they will not work anyway. 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:17.440 And instead clinging to the things that God has 00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:20.240 called us to. Tactics that worked in your flesh 00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:22.940 yesterday, I wrote may in my notes, but I'm going 00:27:22.940 --> 00:27:25.900 to tell you it's not may, it's will. Tactics 00:27:25.900 --> 00:27:29.980 that worked in your flesh yesterday will fail 00:27:29.980 --> 00:27:33.259 completely when God decides to confront you. 00:27:33.700 --> 00:27:36.160 Some people manipulate with anger. They get angry 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:37.819 and the people around them start doing the things 00:27:37.819 --> 00:27:39.859 that they want them to do. And so then the anger 00:27:39.859 --> 00:27:41.900 becomes a coping mechanism. It's not godly. It's 00:27:41.900 --> 00:27:44.259 not what God wants them to do. But anger is how 00:27:44.259 --> 00:27:47.019 they get it done. We go out on the softball field 00:27:47.019 --> 00:27:48.980 and someone will say, when you go to swing the 00:27:48.980 --> 00:27:51.140 bat, just envision so -and -so's face on the 00:27:51.140 --> 00:27:53.259 ball. Because we all know. Or you're on the football 00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:54.859 field and you're like, when you go through the 00:27:54.859 --> 00:27:57.400 line, think about the guy who did this to you. 00:27:57.480 --> 00:28:00.279 Or whatever it is that you hate. Get angry. Because 00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:02.619 if you get angry, you can get things done. If 00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:03.880 you get things done, you don't have to get angry. 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:05.660 But if you get angry, you can get things done. 00:28:05.720 --> 00:28:07.740 That's a fact, right? And some people use anger 00:28:07.740 --> 00:28:09.480 that way. But I'm here to tell you that when 00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:12.259 you face God and recognize that you've not been 00:28:12.259 --> 00:28:14.000 doing what it is that God wants you to do, getting 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:16.559 it angry will not get it done. You're going to 00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:19.160 be like, God, I'm so ticked off at myself that 00:28:19.160 --> 00:28:21.559 I wasn't faithful, that I didn't serve you, that 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:23.259 I didn't witness, that I didn't share the gospel, 00:28:23.400 --> 00:28:25.079 that I didn't give the way I should. And God's 00:28:25.079 --> 00:28:27.640 going to say, you think you're upset? I died 00:28:27.640 --> 00:28:31.900 for you. I bled for you. When there was no one 00:28:31.900 --> 00:28:33.599 else. You think you're upset about it? It's too 00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:36.019 late. Be angry if you want to be angry. You can 00:28:36.019 --> 00:28:38.599 weep and gnash teeth for an eternity. Because 00:28:38.599 --> 00:28:41.660 I never knew you. Some people manipulate with 00:28:41.660 --> 00:28:45.180 silence. I was talking to a married woman. She 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:46.579 wasn't young. I guess she had been married for 00:28:46.579 --> 00:28:48.359 almost 20 years. They got married young. And 00:28:48.359 --> 00:28:50.180 she said, I haven't talked to my husband in three 00:28:50.180 --> 00:28:52.740 days. And I said, well, why not? And she began 00:28:52.740 --> 00:28:55.460 to rattle off his list of offenses. She was communicating 00:28:55.460 --> 00:28:58.579 with him through silence. I found out that she 00:28:58.579 --> 00:29:01.410 had done it many times before. The blackout was 00:29:01.410 --> 00:29:04.910 not new. She was using silence to force him to 00:29:04.910 --> 00:29:07.089 come to her and say, Honey, what did I do wrong? 00:29:07.329 --> 00:29:11.210 Three days. I want to say that's great self -discipline 00:29:11.210 --> 00:29:13.549 on her part, except it's completely ungodly. 00:29:13.750 --> 00:29:16.670 Some manipulate with guilt. If you loved me, 00:29:16.730 --> 00:29:19.730 you'd do this. All I hear you saying is how bad 00:29:19.730 --> 00:29:22.690 I am. All I hear you doing, all I see you doing 00:29:22.690 --> 00:29:27.880 is not appreciating me. looking down on me or 00:29:27.880 --> 00:29:30.119 whatever. And the other person's like, we were 00:29:30.119 --> 00:29:31.299 just watching, Sharon and I were just watching 00:29:31.299 --> 00:29:33.140 a TV show last night. And the lady's like, all 00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:35.700 you ever see in me is the bad things. And so 00:29:35.700 --> 00:29:37.740 I've come to expect it. And then as she walked 00:29:37.740 --> 00:29:39.720 away, the other character in the show looked 00:29:39.720 --> 00:29:41.299 all kind of downcast. She realized that that 00:29:41.299 --> 00:29:43.359 was true. So they were doing it to each other. 00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:45.039 Neither one is a professing Christian in the 00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:46.559 show. They were doing it to each other. One was 00:29:46.559 --> 00:29:49.019 using guilt, looking down on the one to force 00:29:49.019 --> 00:29:50.240 her to do what she wanted to do. And the other 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:52.259 one was recognizing that now using guilt to make 00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:53.680 her feel bad about what she was doing. They were 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:56.200 both doing it. Some do it with a variety of different 00:29:56.200 --> 00:29:58.660 kinds of emotional pressure. And they say, this 00:29:58.660 --> 00:30:02.900 always works. Until one day, God says, no more. 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:05.359 And you realize that you're in a trap. You can't 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:07.119 do it right. Because you've had so much success 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:08.819 doing it wrong, you don't know how to do it right 00:30:08.819 --> 00:30:11.519 anymore. But God knows how. And God shows how. 00:30:11.700 --> 00:30:13.680 God teaches us in his word, in the preaching, 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:15.759 in the church, in the brotherhood, in the sisterhood 00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:17.559 that's required of us as part of the church. 00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:20.680 And I'll just be frank, it's hard at times. Because 00:30:20.680 --> 00:30:22.809 people like me, They'll rub you the wrong way. 00:30:22.930 --> 00:30:25.250 Not because they intend to. I love you. I don't 00:30:25.250 --> 00:30:28.589 mean to, but I'm sloppy. I screw up. I make mistakes. 00:30:28.930 --> 00:30:31.150 Last time I checked, we all do that. So you think 00:30:31.150 --> 00:30:32.950 you're better than everybody else? You think 00:30:32.950 --> 00:30:34.450 you don't make any mistakes or upset anybody 00:30:34.450 --> 00:30:36.809 else? What methods are you using to cope with 00:30:36.809 --> 00:30:38.450 the people that live in your life? Are you loving 00:30:38.450 --> 00:30:41.430 them, encouraging them, teaching them, giving 00:30:41.430 --> 00:30:43.410 to them, serving them? Because those are the 00:30:43.410 --> 00:30:45.490 methods that God used. I guess we ought to do 00:30:45.490 --> 00:30:48.150 it that way. A man may ignore warning signs on 00:30:48.150 --> 00:30:51.250 his truck. Or his car for months. I do it. I 00:30:51.250 --> 00:30:53.630 got one right now. Had one for years. He keeps 00:30:53.630 --> 00:30:55.730 driving. That's the way it's always been. It's 00:30:55.730 --> 00:30:57.730 probably just an oxygen sensor. And then one 00:30:57.730 --> 00:30:59.930 day he's driving down the highway and the engine 00:30:59.930 --> 00:31:02.690 blows. The warning was mercy. The breakdown was 00:31:02.690 --> 00:31:05.769 judgment. Do not mistake God's patience with 00:31:05.769 --> 00:31:09.490 you for approval of your using those same bad 00:31:09.490 --> 00:31:11.950 tactics. Because one time he's going to come. 00:31:12.170 --> 00:31:14.359 He's going to ask you. Who do you serve? And 00:31:14.359 --> 00:31:16.059 you better be able to truthfully say, I serve 00:31:16.059 --> 00:31:17.799 the God of the universe through Jesus Christ, 00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:20.240 His Son. Or otherwise, He'll let you go where 00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:21.799 you're going. He'll let you go where you chose 00:31:21.799 --> 00:31:24.259 to go. Notice this. The men of Ephraim crossed 00:31:24.259 --> 00:31:28.259 the Jordan fully armed with 42 ,000 or 42 companies 00:31:28.259 --> 00:31:31.500 of men just to express their complaints. Once 00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:34.119 the whole army crossed over, negotiation was 00:31:34.119 --> 00:31:36.990 basically over. There are people who become so 00:31:36.990 --> 00:31:42.089 invested in pride or anxiety or anger or whatever 00:31:42.089 --> 00:31:46.329 that repentance becomes harder every step forward 00:31:46.329 --> 00:31:48.869 that they take. My encouragement to you would 00:31:48.869 --> 00:31:52.849 be to be careful with what spirit you march across 00:31:52.849 --> 00:31:55.369 the river. There's also lessons from the dialect 00:31:55.369 --> 00:31:57.269 change. You remember Shibboleth and Sibboleth? 00:31:57.710 --> 00:31:59.690 It's funny because I'm sure when they tell this 00:31:59.690 --> 00:32:01.430 story orally and they're people, they kind of 00:32:01.430 --> 00:32:03.119 laugh about it. that they were able to sort them 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:04.799 out by whether or not they could properly say 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:07.299 a word. This famous test came at the river. They'd 00:32:07.299 --> 00:32:09.839 say, now say Shibboleth. And the Ephraimites 00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:13.029 would say, Sibboleth. What had happened was the 00:32:13.029 --> 00:32:15.230 dialect, the language over time had grown apart. 00:32:15.369 --> 00:32:17.089 They were no longer intermixing with the other 00:32:17.089 --> 00:32:19.369 tribes. And so the two tribes were talking differently. 00:32:19.529 --> 00:32:21.730 And somebody realized that the different talk, 00:32:21.789 --> 00:32:23.349 the different actions of the other tribe made 00:32:23.349 --> 00:32:25.250 them stand out enough that they could be singled 00:32:25.250 --> 00:32:27.769 out. They could be known to be part of Ephraim, 00:32:27.829 --> 00:32:30.490 not part of the Gileadites. Even though the Gileadites 00:32:30.490 --> 00:32:32.809 were from three and four different tribes. Sometimes 00:32:32.809 --> 00:32:35.990 compromise happens one word at a time. You grow 00:32:35.990 --> 00:32:38.970 a little bit. Sometimes it happens one habit 00:32:38.970 --> 00:32:42.319 at a time. One. neglected prayer at a time, one 00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:45.640 missed church service at a time, one tolerated 00:32:45.640 --> 00:32:48.859 sin at a time. Eventually, what once sounded 00:32:48.859 --> 00:32:51.440 right no longer sounds right. The New Testament 00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:54.059 says, you shall know them by their fruits. And 00:32:54.059 --> 00:32:55.539 I'm not saying we're going to judge anybody's 00:32:55.539 --> 00:32:57.740 salvation. I am not encouraging anybody should 00:32:57.740 --> 00:33:00.440 judge. I would encourage you this much, this 00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:03.460 strongly. If you know somebody who is absolutely 00:33:03.460 --> 00:33:05.819 beyond a shadow of a doubt not living for Christ. 00:33:06.019 --> 00:33:08.839 They're a drunkard or a beater of their spouse 00:33:08.839 --> 00:33:11.680 or they've raped small children or something 00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:13.680 so horrible that there's no way that that could 00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:15.559 be a follower of Jesus. I would suggest that 00:33:15.559 --> 00:33:17.859 you leave doubt that it's possible in some small 00:33:17.859 --> 00:33:20.680 way that Jesus actually saved their soul and 00:33:20.680 --> 00:33:22.819 in their stupidity after that that they're wallowing 00:33:22.819 --> 00:33:25.230 in the mud, that they actually are saved. And 00:33:25.230 --> 00:33:27.430 if you see somebody who is so totally and completely 00:33:27.430 --> 00:33:30.049 living for Jesus, that guy's got to be a Christian. 00:33:30.250 --> 00:33:32.690 Absolutely. He's so excited about the Lord. He's 00:33:32.690 --> 00:33:34.089 serving all the time. He's got to be. I would 00:33:34.089 --> 00:33:36.569 leave doubt that it's possible that they're not. 00:33:36.769 --> 00:33:39.210 Because what the enemy is really good at, where 00:33:39.210 --> 00:33:41.910 do we start? Deception. And people who join the 00:33:41.910 --> 00:33:44.509 enemy become good at deception. And so people 00:33:44.509 --> 00:33:46.569 who are saved but using the tactics of the enemy 00:33:46.569 --> 00:33:48.470 will look unsaved, and people who are not saved 00:33:48.470 --> 00:33:50.390 and using the tactics of the enemy will look 00:33:50.390 --> 00:33:52.769 saved. It confuses the issue. That way, you can't 00:33:52.769 --> 00:33:54.970 know for sure who your brothers and sisters are. 00:33:55.170 --> 00:33:57.809 It's like guerrilla warfare, like in Vietnam, 00:33:58.109 --> 00:34:01.609 or it's hard to tell who's who, right? Or Iraq. 00:34:02.289 --> 00:34:05.009 Eventually, what once sounded right no longer 00:34:05.009 --> 00:34:07.650 sounds right. Your speech reveals your direction. 00:34:07.750 --> 00:34:09.809 Your habits reveal your allegiance. Your fruit 00:34:09.809 --> 00:34:12.809 reveals your root. Years ago, if you heard somebody 00:34:12.809 --> 00:34:16.829 from deep Appalachia, which is a mountain range 00:34:16.829 --> 00:34:19.690 and down by Louisiana and like that, speak, you 00:34:19.690 --> 00:34:21.869 could tell where they came from immediately. 00:34:22.150 --> 00:34:26.210 The world thinks that London has a dialect, has 00:34:26.210 --> 00:34:28.949 a way that they talk. But truly, it's only just 00:34:28.949 --> 00:34:31.440 one small part. in South London that actually 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:32.960 talks that way, and most people are normal. In 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:34.659 fact, when we went to London, we couldn't hardly 00:34:34.659 --> 00:34:37.059 find people that spoke without like an Arabic 00:34:37.059 --> 00:34:39.559 accent or French or whatever, because everybody 00:34:39.559 --> 00:34:41.780 we saw was from all over the world. It's truly 00:34:41.780 --> 00:34:45.579 a melting pot. Spiritually, time shapes us, just 00:34:45.579 --> 00:34:47.760 as time shapes language. We walk with Christ 00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:50.559 long enough, and grace just starts to show up 00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:52.960 in the way you talk and the way you act and in 00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:55.800 who you are, or at least it should. Bitterness 00:34:55.800 --> 00:34:58.559 starts leaving your tongue. You would start to 00:34:58.559 --> 00:35:00.280 go like, well, I'm going to say something harsher 00:35:00.280 --> 00:35:02.199 because this person really just hurt me or offended 00:35:02.199 --> 00:35:03.960 me. And you'd be like, but that doesn't sound 00:35:03.960 --> 00:35:07.039 like something I would say. Mercy starts shaping 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:10.420 your actions. You pray so often to God for forgiving 00:35:10.420 --> 00:35:12.400 the stupid thing that you did today, earlier 00:35:12.400 --> 00:35:15.239 today, yesterday, all week, still doing, Lord, 00:35:15.320 --> 00:35:17.159 help me with discipline. Then when somebody else 00:35:17.159 --> 00:35:20.079 screws up, instead of an accusatory position, 00:35:20.179 --> 00:35:22.480 which is the position of the devil, Satan is 00:35:22.480 --> 00:35:24.840 the Greek word, satan, it means accuser. Instead 00:35:24.840 --> 00:35:27.039 of being like him, we find mercy immediately. 00:35:27.610 --> 00:35:30.789 Yeah, I had a girl who she blew up on the softball 00:35:30.789 --> 00:35:33.150 field. cussed a couple of times, ran off the 00:35:33.150 --> 00:35:35.070 softball field and punched a tree because things 00:35:35.070 --> 00:35:37.150 were not going the way that she wanted. Immediately 00:35:37.150 --> 00:35:39.070 afterwards, I was coaching the team and I went 00:35:39.070 --> 00:35:41.530 over to confront her and she said, oh, forgive 00:35:41.530 --> 00:35:43.130 me. I'm so, so sorry. I said, well, first of 00:35:43.130 --> 00:35:44.969 all, I want to say to you, before you ever asked 00:35:44.969 --> 00:35:46.429 me to forgive you, I forgave you. When's the 00:35:46.429 --> 00:35:47.849 last time somebody asked you for forgiveness 00:35:47.849 --> 00:35:49.570 and you were able to say, I had already forgiven 00:35:49.570 --> 00:35:51.769 you before you asked me. And if you're already 00:35:51.769 --> 00:35:53.090 going to forgive them before they ask you, why 00:35:53.090 --> 00:35:54.929 do they need to ask again? Where's the mercy 00:35:54.929 --> 00:35:57.789 in God's people? Truth starts affecting your 00:35:57.789 --> 00:35:59.610 decisions. You don't say, well, I know the Bible 00:35:59.610 --> 00:36:02.179 says this, but you know, It's kind of strict, 00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:05.179 right? Pastor Dan preaches about this, but he's 00:36:05.179 --> 00:36:07.099 over the top. You know, I don't really have to 00:36:07.099 --> 00:36:09.340 be so restrictive that I have to disallow that 00:36:09.340 --> 00:36:11.739 from my life, even though it's clearly not something 00:36:11.739 --> 00:36:13.619 God would want. But it's not literally named 00:36:13.619 --> 00:36:16.039 in the Bible, right? So that particular streaming 00:36:16.039 --> 00:36:18.119 service is not named in the Bible. So even though 00:36:18.119 --> 00:36:20.059 that particular company is spending billions 00:36:20.059 --> 00:36:23.699 of dollars a year on satanic worship and antichrist 00:36:23.699 --> 00:36:26.380 teachings, black occult magic and everything 00:36:26.380 --> 00:36:29.820 else, I can still pay them. It's only 10 bucks 00:36:29.820 --> 00:36:31.639 a month. I mean, they can't win any souls to 00:36:31.639 --> 00:36:33.920 Satan with that, can they? If Christianity would 00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:36.480 start to make decisions about the truth and live 00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:38.960 for the truth, then truth would start affecting 00:36:38.960 --> 00:36:41.159 your decisions. But if you walk with the world 00:36:41.159 --> 00:36:44.119 long enough, the dialect changes just the same. 00:36:44.219 --> 00:36:45.960 You hang out with enough people who are cussing 00:36:45.960 --> 00:36:47.340 and you'll find yourself cussing even though 00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:50.929 you gave it up years ago. That brings us to our 00:36:50.929 --> 00:36:54.190 conclusion then. After seeing these various lessons 00:36:54.190 --> 00:36:55.769 in this text, I could have written three different 00:36:55.769 --> 00:36:58.849 sermons, maybe four, maybe six. But I want to 00:36:58.849 --> 00:37:01.670 say this to you. Sometimes there's nothing left 00:37:01.670 --> 00:37:03.929 to do but fight and win. Look at where Jephthah 00:37:03.929 --> 00:37:06.889 is at. He was mourning the loss of his daughter, 00:37:06.969 --> 00:37:09.030 which was really out of his own stupidity. They've 00:37:09.030 --> 00:37:10.829 already taken so many losses. Their armies are 00:37:10.829 --> 00:37:14.130 not gathered. The big army of the Gileadites 00:37:14.130 --> 00:37:16.980 is not sitting on his lawn when... The Ephraimites 00:37:16.980 --> 00:37:18.679 show up in force and they're camped all over, 00:37:18.699 --> 00:37:20.780 all around the valleys in the area. There are 00:37:20.780 --> 00:37:22.679 moments in spiritual warfare where compromise 00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:24.920 is no longer possible. You've got to grab that 00:37:24.920 --> 00:37:27.460 demon by the throat, put his face in the dirt, 00:37:27.579 --> 00:37:30.119 and stomp his proverbial head until he's a mush. 00:37:30.710 --> 00:37:32.670 Now that sounds kind of gruesome, but fortunately 00:37:32.670 --> 00:37:34.750 we're not really talking about physical violence. 00:37:35.030 --> 00:37:38.269 But I am calling you to spiritual violence. There 00:37:38.269 --> 00:37:40.469 are moments in spiritual warfare where compromise 00:37:40.469 --> 00:37:43.449 is no longer possible. You cannot negotiate with 00:37:43.449 --> 00:37:46.369 sin. You cannot make peace with the flesh. You 00:37:46.369 --> 00:37:49.349 cannot disciple the devil. Sometimes there is 00:37:49.349 --> 00:37:52.630 nothing left to do but stand faithful and fight 00:37:52.630 --> 00:37:55.369 through. Ephesians 6, when it talks about the 00:37:55.369 --> 00:37:58.219 armor of God, has this goal in mind. Having done 00:37:58.219 --> 00:38:01.559 all to stand. What is the all? You've got a sword 00:38:01.559 --> 00:38:03.960 of truth, a sword that belongs to the Holy Spirit. 00:38:04.159 --> 00:38:07.380 You're given the ability to use it in mighty 00:38:07.380 --> 00:38:10.179 combat, spiritual warfare. What is the all? We 00:38:10.179 --> 00:38:12.539 don't armor up, put on a shield, and draw a sword 00:38:12.539 --> 00:38:16.460 to tickle people. We don't stand dressed like 00:38:16.460 --> 00:38:18.699 that with a sword in hand that will be very marrow 00:38:18.699 --> 00:38:22.519 of spirit that will splice a soul open wide in 00:38:22.519 --> 00:38:25.519 order to be able to go, well, I see your point. 00:38:26.059 --> 00:38:30.340 No. We are called to a violent version of Christianity. 00:38:30.780 --> 00:38:34.360 Not that it takes bombs or any violent action 00:38:34.360 --> 00:38:37.179 against people because they are not our enemies. 00:38:37.559 --> 00:38:40.800 But why does he clarify that our enemies are 00:38:40.800 --> 00:38:44.119 not flesh and blood? Because they are spiritual. 00:38:44.380 --> 00:38:47.380 And we must put our armor on, take up our shield, 00:38:47.579 --> 00:38:50.119 slap that helmet in place, grab that sword, and 00:38:50.119 --> 00:38:53.000 kick their living tail until they're destroyed. 00:38:53.820 --> 00:38:56.969 Which will happen when Jesus comes again. completes 00:38:56.969 --> 00:38:59.570 the victory. And so if you are now befriending 00:38:59.570 --> 00:39:02.730 them or dancing around them or hoping they will 00:39:02.730 --> 00:39:06.510 not visit your household, you are being the supremest 00:39:06.510 --> 00:39:09.469 form of what I can politely say is an idiot. 00:39:09.949 --> 00:39:13.010 They do not want good for you. And if they give 00:39:13.010 --> 00:39:16.070 you any form of good, if any benefit arises out 00:39:16.070 --> 00:39:18.670 of your explosive anger, out of your excessive 00:39:18.670 --> 00:39:21.929 worry, out of your hoarding, out of your whatever 00:39:21.929 --> 00:39:23.969 you're using to manipulate your environment or 00:39:23.969 --> 00:39:26.480 just kind of like... saddling up next to them 00:39:26.480 --> 00:39:30.340 so you associate in some positive way. If that's 00:39:30.340 --> 00:39:33.199 the tactics you choose, you're choosing to lose. 00:39:33.360 --> 00:39:35.139 You're choosing to be chained when you were meant 00:39:35.139 --> 00:39:36.980 to be free. You're sticking your head in a bear 00:39:36.980 --> 00:39:39.480 trap and then triggering it yourself. Oh, that's 00:39:39.480 --> 00:39:41.380 what they'd love you to do. Consider the enemy. 00:39:41.880 --> 00:39:44.780 Don't join his tactics. Don't become manipulative. 00:39:44.900 --> 00:39:48.000 Don't become cruel. Don't become bitter. Don't 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:51.000 adapt sinful habits just because sinful people 00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:54.760 use them on you. Don't expect excuses for your 00:39:54.760 --> 00:39:59.079 lack of devotion. You must say, today I know 00:39:59.079 --> 00:40:01.659 to whom I belong. I actually know exactly how 00:40:01.659 --> 00:40:04.599 I got here and I know exactly where I'm going. 00:40:04.780 --> 00:40:07.360 And when I know where I'm going, I know the way 00:40:07.360 --> 00:40:10.639 the road will go between here and there. I will 00:40:10.639 --> 00:40:12.940 be merciful. I will be kind. I will be good. 00:40:13.099 --> 00:40:15.260 I will be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:40:15.400 --> 00:40:17.880 I will be a servant like the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:40:17.980 --> 00:40:21.780 Have this mind in you which was in him. Don't 00:40:21.780 --> 00:40:24.619 find other things to do with your time. You think 00:40:24.619 --> 00:40:26.320 you're doing pretty good? You got a little excess 00:40:26.320 --> 00:40:28.719 time? What can I fill that with? What will I 00:40:28.719 --> 00:40:30.719 enjoy? What tastes good that isn't also sin? 00:40:30.820 --> 00:40:33.920 What looks good that isn't also sin? What is 00:40:33.920 --> 00:40:37.280 it exactly? Don't. Don't waste your effort thinking, 00:40:37.480 --> 00:40:40.719 how will I use my prosperity to better myself 00:40:40.719 --> 00:40:44.159 or my situation? Rather, use your prosperity... 00:40:44.510 --> 00:40:46.389 for the Lord, whom you said would be in charge 00:40:46.389 --> 00:40:49.210 of everything you have. The devil loves making 00:40:49.210 --> 00:40:52.489 wounded people become weapons for his side. Consider 00:40:52.489 --> 00:40:55.269 the victory. The enemy's great tactic is this, 00:40:55.429 --> 00:40:58.269 to make faithful people think victories are actually 00:40:58.269 --> 00:41:00.510 losses. That's what Ephraim was trying to do. 00:41:00.570 --> 00:41:02.110 They're trying to make Jephthah think, look, 00:41:02.150 --> 00:41:05.409 we've got you now. He whispers, the enemy whispers, 00:41:05.570 --> 00:41:08.409 holiness costs too much. Faithfulness isn't worth 00:41:08.409 --> 00:41:10.730 it. Church doesn't matter. Prayer doesn't help. 00:41:10.869 --> 00:41:13.530 You're losing. You're okay just the way you are. 00:41:13.880 --> 00:41:16.559 But the devil is a liar. Every prayer matters. 00:41:16.659 --> 00:41:19.380 Every act of obedience matters. Every moment 00:41:19.380 --> 00:41:22.199 of faithfulness matters. Sometimes Satan comes 00:41:22.199 --> 00:41:24.739 sideways because he knows he cannot win directly. 00:41:25.019 --> 00:41:27.400 If he attacked openly, the church would pray. 00:41:27.579 --> 00:41:29.699 If he attacked openly, believers would resist. 00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:33.239 So instead, he sends distraction, laziness, compromise, 00:41:33.639 --> 00:41:36.699 offense, and discouragement. The answer is the 00:41:36.699 --> 00:41:39.340 same now as it has always been. It's not going 00:41:39.340 --> 00:41:41.199 to change. There's only one plan A and there 00:41:41.199 --> 00:41:43.800 is no plan B. It is faithfulness, diligence, 00:41:43.920 --> 00:41:46.579 steadfastness. The difference between a counterfeit 00:41:46.579 --> 00:41:50.380 $50 bill and a real $50 bill from about three 00:41:50.380 --> 00:41:53.079 feet away, nothing. You can't really tell. You 00:41:53.079 --> 00:41:54.780 can look at them from a few inches and most people 00:41:54.780 --> 00:41:56.159 wouldn't be able to tell the difference. They 00:41:56.159 --> 00:41:59.219 don't circulate them unless it has a counterfeit. 00:41:59.260 --> 00:42:01.300 They're so close. And you go to the bank and 00:42:01.300 --> 00:42:03.659 bankers, tellers, people who handle cash all 00:42:03.659 --> 00:42:06.219 the time, they could tell you immediately. That 00:42:06.219 --> 00:42:08.440 is a real $50 bill. That is a fake one. They 00:42:08.440 --> 00:42:09.900 don't need the marker. They'll still use it because 00:42:09.900 --> 00:42:11.219 that's a policy, but they don't need it. They 00:42:11.219 --> 00:42:13.739 can tell you, right? They can say, mm -hmm, this 00:42:13.739 --> 00:42:15.519 one's fake. This one's real. You look at it and 00:42:15.519 --> 00:42:18.360 go, like, how can you tell? You know how a person 00:42:18.360 --> 00:42:20.500 who handles money all the time can tell the difference 00:42:20.500 --> 00:42:23.500 between a real $50 bill and a fake one? Because 00:42:23.500 --> 00:42:27.820 they handle real money all the time. Get close 00:42:27.820 --> 00:42:32.280 to Jesus. Spend more time in the Word and in 00:42:32.280 --> 00:42:35.059 worship. and in service, and in giving, and you 00:42:35.059 --> 00:42:37.039 will know the difference between the voice of 00:42:37.039 --> 00:42:39.460 God and the voice of the enemy. Because they 00:42:39.460 --> 00:42:41.900 spend time handling the real thing, they can 00:42:41.900 --> 00:42:43.900 know what is the real thing and what is the fake. 00:42:44.039 --> 00:42:47.340 And I say to you that you can recognize the second 00:42:47.340 --> 00:42:50.320 bully. You can recognize the false spirit, the 00:42:50.320 --> 00:42:52.199 manipulator, the counterfeit freedom of sin. 00:42:52.840 --> 00:42:55.719 And you can do that by staying close to the genuine 00:42:55.719 --> 00:42:58.539 Christ. The closer you stay to Jesus, the easier 00:42:58.539 --> 00:43:01.079 deception becomes to recognize, the easier compromise 00:43:01.079 --> 00:43:03.780 becomes to reject, the easier spiritual warfare 00:43:03.780 --> 00:43:06.679 becomes to endure. Because when you know the 00:43:06.679 --> 00:43:09.460 shepherd's voice, the counterfeit voices become 00:43:09.460 --> 00:43:12.280 obvious. Maybe today you've been listening to 00:43:12.280 --> 00:43:14.679 the second bully or you've even become the second 00:43:14.679 --> 00:43:17.139 bully. Maybe pride has crossed the river in your 00:43:17.139 --> 00:43:20.079 heart. Maybe your spiritual dialect has started 00:43:20.079 --> 00:43:22.480 changing and instead of talking mercy and forgiveness 00:43:22.480 --> 00:43:25.019 and kindness and love and peace and patience, 00:43:25.159 --> 00:43:28.480 we're talking about something else. Two men meet 00:43:28.480 --> 00:43:30.940 who haven't seen each other for a year. One man 00:43:30.940 --> 00:43:32.860 says, hey, did you see the Super Bowl last week? 00:43:33.000 --> 00:43:35.880 The other man says, do you know Jesus? Which 00:43:35.880 --> 00:43:38.519 one do you think might be saved? But which one 00:43:38.519 --> 00:43:40.800 are you? I'm not saying that you should judge 00:43:40.800 --> 00:43:42.760 them. They might both be saved. What I'm saying 00:43:42.760 --> 00:43:45.539 is that someday, hey, did you see the Super Bowl 00:43:45.539 --> 00:43:49.019 last week? Ain't going to cut it anymore. Because 00:43:49.019 --> 00:43:50.760 there will be a day at which every knee will 00:43:50.760 --> 00:43:52.860 bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ 00:43:52.860 --> 00:43:54.960 is Lord. And I'm going to say to you that there's 00:43:54.960 --> 00:43:57.159 a great big part of my heart that wishes that 00:43:57.159 --> 00:44:00.059 day was today. And if you love Jesus, you can 00:44:00.059 --> 00:44:02.519 probably resonate with that thought. Jesus Christ 00:44:02.519 --> 00:44:06.000 still saves, still restores, still forgives, 00:44:06.059 --> 00:44:08.940 still strengthens his people and the truth. We'll 00:44:08.940 --> 00:44:11.199 still make you free. I ask the praise team to 00:44:11.199 --> 00:44:13.659 come forward at this time. Lead us in our closing 00:44:13.659 --> 00:44:17.260 song. But as they do that, I'm going to ask you, 00:44:17.280 --> 00:44:18.760 if the Lord's been speaking to your heart today, 00:44:18.860 --> 00:44:22.179 if either A, you said, I realize I have not given 00:44:22.179 --> 00:44:23.960 God proper place in my life. I don't think I'm 00:44:23.960 --> 00:44:27.239 saved. I don't think Jesus is my Lord. I don't 00:44:27.239 --> 00:44:29.760 think I'm one of his followers. Then right now, 00:44:29.800 --> 00:44:31.559 before we ever start to sing in your seat, you 00:44:31.559 --> 00:44:33.679 deal with that. You say, God, here I am. I submit 00:44:33.679 --> 00:44:36.460 myself to you. Forgive my sins. Lead me forever. 00:44:36.699 --> 00:44:38.639 And he'll do it. And let's say you're here today 00:44:38.639 --> 00:44:40.380 already. You say, I'm a Christian. I know I'm 00:44:40.380 --> 00:44:41.800 not doing something that God is calling me to. 00:44:41.920 --> 00:44:43.260 Or I am doing something that God doesn't want 00:44:43.260 --> 00:44:45.780 me to do. I play games. I listen to deception. 00:44:46.219 --> 00:44:48.460 I've allowed my prosperity to spread in ways 00:44:48.460 --> 00:44:50.659 that I'm doing certain things that are not godly, 00:44:50.679 --> 00:44:52.820 not kingdom. Then you repent. You turn back to 00:44:52.820 --> 00:44:54.840 the Lord. Your first love has got to be Jesus 00:44:54.840 --> 00:44:57.079 Christ every day. If there's something else on 00:44:57.079 --> 00:44:59.340 your heart, I need to... Home church, or I need 00:44:59.340 --> 00:45:01.400 to be baptized, or I need to start serving in 00:45:01.400 --> 00:45:03.579 this ministry. We've got a commission, a calling. 00:45:03.619 --> 00:45:05.139 Somebody here said, yeah, that's me. I've called 00:45:05.139 --> 00:45:06.500 to preach, and I need to find out. I need to 00:45:06.500 --> 00:45:07.820 figure out what that looks like. Or I'm called 00:45:07.820 --> 00:45:08.940 to serve as a missionary, and I need to figure 00:45:08.940 --> 00:45:10.480 out what that looks like. Whatever it might be, 00:45:10.539 --> 00:45:11.739 if the Lord is speaking to your heart, you say 00:45:11.739 --> 00:45:14.159 yes to Him. And you come tell us that you said 00:45:14.159 --> 00:45:17.199 yes to Him. So we can praise Him, and so we can 00:45:17.199 --> 00:45:18.920 encourage you. Would you stand with me then and 00:45:18.920 --> 00:45:20.400 sing this song? And if the Lord is working in 00:45:20.400 --> 00:45:22.039 your heart today, you can respond. I'll meet 00:45:22.039 --> 00:45:23.480 you up front. We'll pray together, and we'll 00:45:23.480 --> 00:46:12.230 share. Thank you. Thank you.