WEBVTT

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Are you past the point of weary? Is your burden

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weighty? Is it all too much to carry? Let me

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tell you about my Jesus. Do you feel an empty

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feeling? Does shame turn all these feelings?

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You're next with personal healing. Let me tell

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you about my Jesus. He makes a way where there

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ain't no way. God is love from an empty grave.

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Ain't no sinner that he can't save. Let me tell

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you about my Jesus. May the Christ grow in me

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But we can't learn much about me Let me tell

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you about my Jesus So as you know, we've been

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working through the book of Judges, and last

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week we soared right on into chapter 17, and

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we did it without much history or background.

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So we're going to take a moment and look at Judges

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chapter 17, and we're going to look at it from

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a little bit of historical and geographical,

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in case you don't already know. So here is the

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truth. In the very first section, it talks about

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how this was a man who lived in Ephraim. So the

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region of Ephraim would have been well known

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to the people who ever read the text. When we're

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reading the text, we want to think about context.

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What would the people who have first read this,

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that this was first written to, what would they

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have known about what they were reading? So we

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need to know that in order to know what they

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might think about what they were reading. So

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the country of Ephraim, that area there inside

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the promised land, was well known. Right nearby

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there was a place called Shechem. That name might

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sound kind of familiar to you. You've heard it

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some. Maybe if you go back in Bible teaching

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or things like that. And maybe not. And if that's

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okay, if it doesn't, then that's okay. I'm going

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to explain it to you. Does anybody know who was

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buried at Shechem? By this time, when this story

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is taking place, everybody would have been a

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famous person. Everybody would have known he

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was buried at Shechem. Anybody know? Off the

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top of your head. Take a stab at it? No. I don't

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think so. You think so? Tony Tate thinks Abraham

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may also. That's not who I was thinking of, but

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I was thinking somebody in a little bit more

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recent history to this passage of Scripture.

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I'm going to look that up real quick. See how

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this is how easy it is. Somebody else could have

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done this on my trivia question. No, he was not.

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I'm sorry. Abraham was not buried at Shechem,

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according to Google. We've been taught by Google

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in our service today. I didn't think it was,

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but I wasn't sure. Say it again. Was it Joseph

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as well? No, I don't think so. No. OK, so Joseph's

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bones were brought out of Egypt, right? And so

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may have been buried at Shechem. And this guy,

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very famous guy at Shechem, said the following

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words. And since I say it, you're going to know

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who it is. He said, as for me and my house. Joshua,

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right? And then when he died, they buried him

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there. So I was looking for that context because

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the people in the book of Judges that are living

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in Micah's day, this guy is living not that far

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away. So guess what else is not that far away?

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Shiloh. So what's in Shiloh in this day and age?

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The tabernacle. What's the tabernacle? The big

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tent that they built? God gave the specific design

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for it. They worshiped at Shiloh or at the tabernacle

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all throughout the wilderness. And then it settled

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in Shiloh. So in this day, when all this is happening

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in the household of Micah, the tabernacle is

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within walking distance. OK, that's important

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because as people are reading this, they're going

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like, well, why didn't he just go worship in

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Shiloh? It's a famous place. Also, Shechem was

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the place in which Joshua led the Israelites

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to recommitment. So they're all supposed to say,

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and he said these famous words, which was, if

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you will not follow the Lord, if you would go

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and follow some other God, some idolatrous God,

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then go do that. Don't promise to follow God

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and not do it, but just follow God. And he said,

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as for me and my house, we will follow the Lord.

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That's all Shechem. And so they know that. So

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as I was thinking about this passage of Scripture

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myself then, I was challenged by the fact. that

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there within walking distance was Shiloh and

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the tabernacle, and all of the houses in this

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area were slipping into idolatry, Micah being

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no solitary example. Sometimes it happens that

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in the very place that God has gotten great glory,

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and I could mean in the church building possibly,

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right, amongst us, or in church buildings across

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the country, that people slip into whittling

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away at the sovereignty of God. That's the title

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of the sermon today. fall into a little mixed

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synergy where I'm worshiping God, but I'm also

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worshiping false gods, fall into worshiping something

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that's not God at all. And so as we look at the

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sermon today, we're going to look at a few pathways

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by which that happens and make sure it's not

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happening amongst us. Also, there is a geographical

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nature to Ephraim that everybody knows if you're

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reading this text for the first time back in

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the book of Judges. It's a hill country, a lot

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of steep ridges. Valleys, forests, scattered

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villages. No big towns, really, like what we're

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familiar with. Even Jerusalem and like that.

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So this country would have been a lot of little

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places. And these little places were relatively

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isolated. Which means they were not ruled over

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well by kings. Right? And so these people survived

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that era where the Philistines were persecuting

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them. And before that, others we read about as

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we were studying the book of Judges. In part

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because of that reason. They were little towns.

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And by the time the alarm went up, they would

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go run and hide in the hills or the caves or

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whatever, and then they would come back out after

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those who were persecuting them were gone. People

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often lived independently from government oversight.

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So even if the nation had been truly faithful

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and at large a king was there or something, and

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they'd been truly faithful when the judges were

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ruling, they didn't necessarily fall under the

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auspices of that king. So today we've got a situation

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where we say, like, my house, my rules, I'm in

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charge, I'm going to make the decisions the best

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way I know how. And a similar thing was happening

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for them, and that's a perfectly okay thing if

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the rules are submitted to God. But if you're

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making your own rules, or someone else is coming

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up with rules, and you're adopting them for your

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household, and they're not God's rules, then

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it's not okay. But you can see how if you lived

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in a region where there's nobody else around.

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So small churches in small towns may be the only

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church. Or a church in a neighborhood in East

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Toledo where the other churches around us may

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or may not be godly. And I'm not judging any

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church. That's not my role in life in general.

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But the bottom line is, this is where God has

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been glorified in us. And we need to be aware

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that it is possible that even in this place,

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even as we gather, that it would be possible

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that we could have something that does not glorify

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God. a pathway that whittles away instead at

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God's sovereignty and does not expect God to

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be in charge. And then we get this thought. In

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those days, there was no king in Israel, and

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everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

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In the church, it is Jesus. Separation of feelings

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and being free to choose often breeds independence.

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And then spiritually, when people become isolated

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from God's people, so they stop going to church,

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they stop being in a godly church, they stop

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being in Bible studies, stop being under sermons,

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that kind of thing. Or if they get their own

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ideas, maybe they're still coming to church,

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but they got their own ideas of the way things

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are supposed to be done. Then you become isolated

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from God's authority, which is not a good thing.

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They become more likely to create a God of their

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own standards. Not a good thing. Or to think

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God can't quite reach into their life. Not a

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good thing. In the day in question, as I mentioned,

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Shiloh was within walking distance, and Micah

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nonetheless appoints a priest in his household,

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first from his family, and then in the text that

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we're going to read today, we're going to see

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that he appoints someone more qualified, theoretically,

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but we'll look at that. This makes Micah's actions

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even more deliberate. In other words, he's not

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specifically ignoring God. He's putting God in

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a box. He's making God out to be what he wants

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God to be, inventing a version of God. That does

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not fit what God has already told them. So, here's

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a summary for you. The hill country of Ephraim

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was a place of great spiritual heritage. This

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was it. Shiloh was there. God's presence would

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settle on the tabernacle. The country was rugged,

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so the people were independent. They were strong

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and firm and found their own way, so to speak.

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God's true worship in Shiloh was available to

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them, but... Micah's problem wasn't that he couldn't

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find God. It was that he preferred a God he could

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manage. And that's what we're going to see in

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the text today. Not far from there, Shechem was

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the place of Joshua's recommitment of the people.

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And it was where he was eventually buried. All

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right. So now grab your Bibles, if you would.

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And we're going to go back to the book of Judges.

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Go to Judges chapter 17. Thank you very much

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for being with me today. That little hoot, holler,

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amen, reminds us this is God's word. What I read

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from the Bible, I did not write. God inspired

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it, and we're just going to read what he says.

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We're going to begin reading in verse 5. Remember

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that he has already created a graven image against

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Scripture, created a carved image made of pure

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silver against Scripture, and he's going to go

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on from there. He had a shrine. He made an ephod,

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a household idol. So basically he made all the

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kind of same things that would be in the tabernacle

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in Shiloh. And he installed one of his sons to

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be his priest. In those days, there was no king

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in Israel and everyone did whatever seemed right

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to him. There was a young man, a Levite from

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Bethlehem in Judah, who was staying within the

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clan of Judah. The man left the town of Bethlehem

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in Judah. to stay wherever he could find a place.

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So basically, he went sojourning throughout the

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Promised Land, going, I'm going to wind up wherever

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I'm going to wind up. He didn't have an initial

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plan. On his way, he came to Micah's home in

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the hill country of Ephraim, which now we know

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something about if we didn't before. Where do

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you come from? Micah asked him. He answered him,

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I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I'm

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going to stay wherever I can find a place. Micah

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replied, stay with me. and be my father and priest,

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and I will give you four ounces of silver a year,

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along with your clothing and provisions. So the

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Levite went in and agreed to stay with the man,

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and the young man became one of his sons. So

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first he took a priest from his sons, and now

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he's taking another priest who's got a little

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bit better pedigree. Verse 12, Micah consecrated

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the Levite. That word consecrated means to set

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him apart to be holy to God's service. Now Micah

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doesn't necessarily have a right to do that.

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Scripture shows ways that should be done and

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he didn't do it the way scripture says necessarily.

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He consecrated the Levite and the young man became

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his priest and lived in Micah's house. Then Micah

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said, now I know that the Lord will be good to

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me because a Levite has become my priest. So

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I told you we're gonna talk about pathways by

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which in the very place. that God is supposed

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to be glorified and honored, we might wind up

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not doing that. Okay? And I'm calling that, using

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the phrase today, whittling away God's sovereignty.

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So whittling is when you take a block of wood

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or any material and you cut off little pieces

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of it until, in theory, you get a shape. You

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can cut off pieces of it without getting a shape.

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That's pretty much what I do when I whittle because

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I'm not very artistic when it comes to whittling.

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But you take your knife and you cut off a little

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bit, shape it into whatever you shape it into.

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But we're... not supposed to be trying to whittle

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away at the sovereignty of God. We haven't figured

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that out already. And that's what Micah is doing

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in this text. So we're going to look at him as

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our example of kind of what not to do. First

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of all, notice that familiar names can hide false

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worship. You can say words like baptism. You

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can say sanctification. You can say sacerdotalism.

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You can say theology. all kinds of things like

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that. He liked the word Levite because the Bible

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says Levites, priests are supposed to be Levites.

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And so now he's got a priest who's a Levite.

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He liked the word Bethlehem. Bethlehem is an

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important word. It's got a lot of history to

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it. And so he's got a Levite from Bethlehem.

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That's really saying something. He used religious

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language, including talking about blessings.

00:15:14.570 --> 00:15:17.190
He talked about being a holy man, a follower

00:15:17.190 --> 00:15:20.080
of God. And people can talk about being holy

00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:23.000
and followers of God and actually not be that

00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:26.519
at all. So be careful. Just because a guy's got

00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:29.419
a microphone and talks about Jesus or God or

00:15:29.419 --> 00:15:32.000
Scripture or even reads the Bible doesn't actually

00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.639
mean necessarily that he is a godly person or

00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:37.480
that you as godly men or women or young people

00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:40.700
should fall in with the teaching. Everything

00:15:40.700 --> 00:15:44.399
can appear biblical and pieces may even land

00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:46.820
on biblical truth. Like we could say, for example,

00:15:47.670 --> 00:15:49.970
You should get baptized after you get saved.

00:15:50.409 --> 00:15:53.389
And then in the same paragraph or a few paragraphs

00:15:53.389 --> 00:15:55.309
later, we can talk about how it's perfectly fine

00:15:55.309 --> 00:15:58.210
for you to live together outside marriage. And

00:15:58.210 --> 00:16:00.029
because we talk about getting baptized after

00:16:00.029 --> 00:16:02.429
you're getting saved. That adds credence to the

00:16:02.429 --> 00:16:04.090
fact that it might be okay to live together outside

00:16:04.090 --> 00:16:06.149
marriage, but it's not okay to live together

00:16:06.149 --> 00:16:07.889
outside marriage. Scripture is very clear on

00:16:07.889 --> 00:16:11.250
that. So be careful about a person who spouts

00:16:11.250 --> 00:16:13.990
a little bit of what God says and then uses it

00:16:13.990 --> 00:16:16.070
as leverage to prove that they are holy and you

00:16:16.070 --> 00:16:17.629
should listen to something else that they say.

00:16:18.389 --> 00:16:21.649
At its heart, it will always remain contrary

00:16:21.649 --> 00:16:25.409
to God. And, therefore, it will appeal to your

00:16:25.409 --> 00:16:29.129
sinful man, your natural man, instead of your

00:16:29.129 --> 00:16:33.139
faithful godly self. Worse, it begins to whittle

00:16:33.139 --> 00:16:36.840
away at the sovereignty of God. Authenticity

00:16:36.840 --> 00:16:42.259
in your faith is determined by obedience. Will

00:16:42.259 --> 00:16:47.740
you do what God tells you to do or not? If you

00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:50.299
say you believe in God, but you will not do what

00:16:50.299 --> 00:16:54.139
God tells you to do, either you or God are a

00:16:54.139 --> 00:16:58.659
liar, and I'm going to go with you. Do you believe?

00:16:59.500 --> 00:17:01.799
Not just do you believe that God exists. Micah

00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:04.759
believed that. And Micah believed it and began

00:17:04.759 --> 00:17:08.240
to use all the preachy words, even to the point

00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:11.039
that he was putting money on the line. And he

00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:13.660
submitted himself to somebody outside his household.

00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:19.059
But it wasn't godly. Many churches, teachers,

00:17:19.420 --> 00:17:22.500
books, influencers, people sending you emails,

00:17:22.779 --> 00:17:27.319
etc., etc., Facebook, YouTubers, right? All of

00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:31.430
them might appear. Godly might appear biblical.

00:17:32.170 --> 00:17:35.529
Familiar language is not the same as biblical

00:17:35.529 --> 00:17:39.890
truth. Ariana only watches kids YouTube pretty

00:17:39.890 --> 00:17:41.450
much and restricts herself to that because it's

00:17:41.450 --> 00:17:43.910
really easy to drift into other things. And she's

00:17:43.910 --> 00:17:45.529
got a number of YouTubers that she likes to watch

00:17:45.529 --> 00:17:47.230
who are Christians who go to church and they

00:17:47.230 --> 00:17:49.089
talk about church and they talk about doing godly

00:17:49.089 --> 00:17:51.509
things. And we had this conversation, did we

00:17:51.509 --> 00:17:53.369
not? Just because they talk about going to church,

00:17:53.390 --> 00:17:55.990
just because they talk about godly things, that

00:17:55.990 --> 00:17:59.509
does not make them godly people. And so you have

00:17:59.509 --> 00:18:02.529
to be discerning because if they go to teach

00:18:02.529 --> 00:18:04.869
you something that is not godly, you'll be in

00:18:04.869 --> 00:18:07.329
trouble if you suck it up because they appear

00:18:07.329 --> 00:18:10.130
godly. Jesus said it this way in Matthew chapter

00:18:10.130 --> 00:18:12.890
15. He said, this people honors me with their

00:18:12.890 --> 00:18:15.789
lips, but their heart is far away from me. But

00:18:15.789 --> 00:18:18.890
in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines

00:18:18.890 --> 00:18:21.829
the precepts of men. It's about heart condition.

00:18:22.289 --> 00:18:25.900
You're looking for. to be. You want to be a person

00:18:25.900 --> 00:18:28.400
whose heart is in line with the Lord. And if

00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:29.779
you want to be a person whose heart is in line

00:18:29.779 --> 00:18:32.160
with the Lord, then you want to surround yourself

00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:35.259
with people whose heart is in line with the Lord.

00:18:35.859 --> 00:18:38.200
And if they would teach you worldly things or

00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:41.019
buy into worldly, and by the way, just as a little

00:18:41.019 --> 00:18:44.279
side note, by the time you get to the Bible doesn't

00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:46.940
say this is sin, you've probably already gone

00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:49.779
too far. Because if you have to use the Bible

00:18:49.779 --> 00:18:51.660
to verify whether or not it's sin, when you,

00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:54.000
as 2 Corinthians 2 says, are supposed to have

00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:57.420
the mind of Christ, the question is, why did

00:18:57.420 --> 00:18:58.900
you get to the point of looking in the Bible

00:18:58.900 --> 00:19:01.339
to verify that what you were doing was not sin

00:19:01.339 --> 00:19:04.900
before you realized it was sin? These people

00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:07.220
honored God with their lips. They talked about

00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:09.180
God. They preached. They got their whole living.

00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:11.099
They lived in the temple for crying out loud.

00:19:11.380 --> 00:19:14.380
But their heart was far away from him. That can

00:19:14.380 --> 00:19:17.509
happen. 2 Corinthians 11, Paul's writing to the

00:19:17.509 --> 00:19:20.130
Corinthians, and he says, speaking first person

00:19:20.130 --> 00:19:21.930
from his point of view, he says, For I am jealous

00:19:21.930 --> 00:19:25.990
for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed

00:19:25.990 --> 00:19:29.049
you to one husband, so that to Christ I might

00:19:29.049 --> 00:19:32.390
present you a pure virgin. He was saying, church,

00:19:32.710 --> 00:19:35.730
I connected you to Jesus, not to me or anyone

00:19:35.730 --> 00:19:39.269
else, and now I am jealous over you. He says,

00:19:39.329 --> 00:19:41.680
but I am afraid that. As the serpent deceived

00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:44.720
Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led

00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:47.380
astray from simplicity and purity of devotion

00:19:47.380 --> 00:19:50.720
to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another

00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:54.660
Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive

00:19:54.660 --> 00:19:56.900
a different spirit which you have not received,

00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:59.599
or a different gospel which you have not accepted,

00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:02.700
you bear this beautifully. In other words, people

00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:04.680
just keep right on. Somebody comes and talks

00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:06.140
to them about things that are not godly, and

00:20:06.140 --> 00:20:07.859
they're like... It's okay if they do whatever.

00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:09.599
It's okay if they say whatever. I'm perfectly

00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:11.599
fine with it. I'm not going to stand up for what

00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:14.880
Jesus says. That's not godly. That's not what

00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:16.799
God called us to be as the church. We are the

00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:18.440
body of Christ in the world. And when the world

00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:20.140
is going the wrong way, we have a responsibility

00:20:20.140 --> 00:20:21.779
to speak up and say, hey, you're going the wrong

00:20:21.779 --> 00:20:26.000
way. If nothing else, out of love. But that church,

00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:27.859
the church in Corinth, had become a people that

00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:30.240
they were fine with it. They were putting up

00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:32.859
with it. Are you putting up with it? And then

00:20:32.859 --> 00:20:34.980
a little later in that same chapter, he says,

00:20:35.079 --> 00:20:37.990
no wonder. And you could say, no wonder they

00:20:37.990 --> 00:20:40.009
put up with it. No wonder they were deceived.

00:20:40.130 --> 00:20:42.910
For even Satan disguises himself as an angel

00:20:42.910 --> 00:20:45.589
of light. Listen, it is the tactic of the enemy

00:20:45.589 --> 00:20:49.930
to use church words, to use churchiness, to use

00:20:49.930 --> 00:20:53.089
godliness, or to attack the church. I'll never

00:20:53.089 --> 00:20:55.450
forget when a local church became very big and

00:20:55.450 --> 00:20:58.269
they used a certain motto. They said, we're the

00:20:58.269 --> 00:21:01.390
church for people who hate church. You see the

00:21:01.390 --> 00:21:04.390
language? And people flocked. Because why? Because

00:21:04.390 --> 00:21:07.039
people hate church. but they want to go to church

00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:08.400
because they know God wants them to go to church,

00:21:08.460 --> 00:21:11.200
but they hate church, right? So people speak

00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:14.599
the words, but they aren't having the heart that

00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:17.720
God has given them. 2 Timothy 3, Paul is now

00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:19.319
writing to Timothy, and he says, here's what

00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:21.980
you do when this is going on. He says that you

00:21:21.980 --> 00:21:28.279
should hold firm. Avoid such men as these. He

00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:31.609
said, They, these people, were holding a form

00:21:31.609 --> 00:21:34.309
of godliness, although they had denied its power.

00:21:34.470 --> 00:21:36.410
They were not godly. And then he says, avoid

00:21:36.410 --> 00:21:40.670
such men as these. God is God. God alone is God.

00:21:40.809 --> 00:21:42.990
God alone is sovereign. You want to hear what

00:21:42.990 --> 00:21:44.430
I have to say about God? Let me tell you about

00:21:44.430 --> 00:21:47.529
God. He's bigger, more powerful. There's more

00:21:47.529 --> 00:21:49.369
to be known about him than you or I will ever

00:21:49.369 --> 00:21:52.670
know. And yet we can know him intimately through

00:21:52.670 --> 00:21:55.809
Jesus Christ. God will not send you to hell.

00:21:55.869 --> 00:21:57.410
If you choose not to be in a relationship with

00:21:57.410 --> 00:21:59.009
God by the time that time comes, you'll go to

00:21:59.009 --> 00:22:01.750
hell because you chose to go to hell. But he's

00:22:01.750 --> 00:22:04.430
God. And he did set up a place apart from him

00:22:04.430 --> 00:22:06.630
because it wouldn't be right to make everybody

00:22:06.630 --> 00:22:09.490
spend eternity with him, everybody that doesn't

00:22:09.490 --> 00:22:11.809
want to. And so he set up a place that is apart

00:22:11.809 --> 00:22:15.349
from him where you can go if you choose to. You

00:22:15.349 --> 00:22:18.470
won't want to be there once you get there, but

00:22:18.470 --> 00:22:20.960
you can go there if you want. There are people

00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:24.599
who are speaking churchy words, God words, biblical

00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:27.500
words, big words, sometimes small words like

00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:29.880
love other times. And they're redefining what

00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:32.200
those things mean and speaking from a heart that

00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:35.000
does not belong to God. And you don't want anything

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:38.240
to do with it. The second thing in here to see

00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:40.920
is that open doors are not always God's doors.

00:22:40.980 --> 00:22:44.559
Remember that guy, that Levite priest? He left

00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:46.640
Bethlehem and he said, I'm going to go wherever

00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:49.140
I may go. I'm just going to go wherever I may

00:22:49.140 --> 00:22:52.980
go. See, he just opened up the opportunity, and

00:22:52.980 --> 00:22:55.160
then he wandered through Micah's town, and Micah

00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:57.119
said, oh, I get the chance to hire a priest.

00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:00.940
Basically, the Levite simply wants a place, and

00:23:00.940 --> 00:23:03.299
he follows opportunity rather than calling. There

00:23:03.299 --> 00:23:06.440
is a commitment level that involves your calling

00:23:06.440 --> 00:23:08.359
where you're meant to be, and you're going to

00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:10.980
suffer to be there. You're going to lack financially

00:23:10.980 --> 00:23:13.500
to be there. You're going to lack relationally

00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:15.480
to be there. Someone is not going to like that

00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:17.650
you're there. And then God is going to fill you

00:23:17.650 --> 00:23:19.589
up with the kind of power that changes the world.

00:23:19.809 --> 00:23:21.549
Because that's the nature. In our church, we

00:23:21.549 --> 00:23:22.990
have team leaders who are called to lead a team.

00:23:23.289 --> 00:23:25.130
And they suffer. Sometimes they only have one

00:23:25.130 --> 00:23:27.490
or two members. For sometimes months or years

00:23:27.490 --> 00:23:29.089
at a time, they have one or two team members

00:23:29.089 --> 00:23:31.329
and nobody else to help them. Or they have team

00:23:31.329 --> 00:23:33.130
members who come and join their team. And they

00:23:33.130 --> 00:23:34.710
ask them to do stuff. And they're, yeah, I'll

00:23:34.710 --> 00:23:36.029
take care of it. And then they don't. And it

00:23:36.029 --> 00:23:39.250
falls back on them. They suffer to be doing what

00:23:39.250 --> 00:23:42.210
it is that God has called them to be doing. And

00:23:42.210 --> 00:23:44.269
I'm not bemoaning my situation, but I understand

00:23:44.269 --> 00:23:46.900
that I suffer. to be able to be standing before

00:23:46.900 --> 00:23:50.299
you today to preach this message. And I know

00:23:50.299 --> 00:23:51.980
you've suffered to be able to be here to hear

00:23:51.980 --> 00:23:56.140
this message, some of you. Micah follows convenience

00:23:56.140 --> 00:23:59.920
rather than scripture. God's will is revealed

00:23:59.920 --> 00:24:02.740
primarily through the word of God and his presence.

00:24:02.839 --> 00:24:05.500
And I submit to you that it's rarely just one

00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:07.980
without the other. If the Holy Spirit tells you

00:24:07.980 --> 00:24:09.480
to do something that is contrary to scripture,

00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:11.420
that's not the Holy Spirit because he inspired

00:24:11.420 --> 00:24:14.339
this book. And if you read this book and find

00:24:14.339 --> 00:24:15.359
something you're supposed to do and the Holy

00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:16.960
Spirit is saying that's not for you, you better

00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:20.640
listen. Because you'll suffer for nothing. There's

00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:22.259
no reason to suffer and you'll suffer anyway.

00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:25.359
It's never just one or the other. It's not just

00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:27.660
through favorable circumstances. Oh, I see, I

00:24:27.660 --> 00:24:29.579
can go there, our situation will be better, this

00:24:29.579 --> 00:24:32.240
will work better, this will get this done. I

00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:34.059
see how I can finally solve that problem I've

00:24:34.059 --> 00:24:36.019
been dealing with for 20 years. I've got an open

00:24:36.019 --> 00:24:39.900
door there. But if God says no, it's no. God

00:24:39.900 --> 00:24:42.839
does not speak to us. Through favorable circumstances,

00:24:42.940 --> 00:24:45.460
he speaks to us through his word and his presence.

00:24:46.599 --> 00:24:48.839
Look at the book of Jonah. Jonah had become a

00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:52.660
very powerful prophet. He spoke in many prophecies

00:24:52.660 --> 00:24:56.220
on God and never one of them went wrong. And

00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:58.200
God tells him to go to Nineveh and say, go there

00:24:58.200 --> 00:25:00.059
and tell them I'm going to destroy that huge

00:25:00.059 --> 00:25:02.140
city. Huge city. One of the biggest cities in

00:25:02.140 --> 00:25:04.480
existence at that time. Go there and tell them

00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:05.619
I'm going to destroy. He didn't say go there

00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:06.759
and tell them I'm going to destroy their city

00:25:06.759 --> 00:25:08.849
if they don't repent. He just said, go there

00:25:08.849 --> 00:25:10.210
and tell them I'm going to destroy their city

00:25:10.210 --> 00:25:12.529
for all the wicked things they've done. And Jonah

00:25:12.529 --> 00:25:13.930
didn't want to go. He didn't want to go because

00:25:13.930 --> 00:25:15.829
there was an army from that city that was not

00:25:15.829 --> 00:25:17.549
that far from his homeland. And he thought they

00:25:17.549 --> 00:25:19.549
might wipe out the promised land, wipe out the

00:25:19.549 --> 00:25:22.750
Israelites or take them over, rule them. He didn't

00:25:22.750 --> 00:25:24.130
want that. So he didn't want to go to Nineveh.

00:25:24.130 --> 00:25:25.390
So he says to God, I'm not going to go. And he

00:25:25.390 --> 00:25:26.650
jumps on a boat and tries to go to the other

00:25:26.650 --> 00:25:29.289
side of the world. And then there's the fish.

00:25:29.609 --> 00:25:31.069
And then he's on the beach. And then he's in

00:25:31.069 --> 00:25:33.279
the city and he preaches the message. And he

00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:35.880
does not tell them the message of Jonah to the

00:25:35.880 --> 00:25:38.740
Ninevites was not repent or be destroyed. That

00:25:38.740 --> 00:25:40.619
was not the message that God told him to take,

00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:42.700
right? He just went there and said, you're going

00:25:42.700 --> 00:25:45.500
to be destroyed. In three days, God's going to

00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:48.380
destroy this entire city. The reason Jonah didn't

00:25:48.380 --> 00:25:50.359
want to go is because he feared that the Ninevites

00:25:50.359 --> 00:25:52.400
would repent hearing that message and that God

00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:54.859
would forgive them. And that's what happens.

00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:57.779
They repent hearing the message, and God forgives

00:25:57.779 --> 00:25:59.640
them. Now, they do eventually drift back into

00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:02.460
sin 150, 100, 150 years later, and they are destroyed.

00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:06.640
But then, and the army, because of the repentance,

00:26:06.900 --> 00:26:09.019
the army did turn back and not destroy Israel.

00:26:09.099 --> 00:26:10.660
So it all worked out for God's people in the

00:26:10.660 --> 00:26:14.440
end. But the bottom line is, Jonah refused to

00:26:14.440 --> 00:26:16.559
do what God wanted him to do because it didn't

00:26:16.559 --> 00:26:19.940
line up with what he wanted from God. Is that

00:26:19.940 --> 00:26:23.940
what we're doing? In Acts 16, beginning of verse

00:26:23.940 --> 00:26:27.680
6 to 7, it says, They passed through Phrygian

00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:30.740
and Galatian region, having been forbidden by

00:26:30.740 --> 00:26:33.700
the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. The

00:26:33.700 --> 00:26:35.960
Holy Spirit said, no, you can't go there. You

00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:39.440
can't do that. Now, there was no wall. It wasn't

00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:41.920
a flood. The roads didn't wash out and reduce

00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:44.259
the opportunity. It wasn't stormy. So they said,

00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:46.680
we'll wait and go tomorrow. Right. God didn't

00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:48.140
reduce the opportunity. The Holy Spirit just

00:26:48.140 --> 00:26:51.000
said, no, you are not going to go there and speak

00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:53.650
the word in Asia. Then it says after they came

00:26:53.650 --> 00:26:55.650
to Mysia, so they went on and continued the journey,

00:26:55.710 --> 00:26:57.890
but not that way because God told them no. They

00:26:57.890 --> 00:27:00.250
were trying to go into Bithynia and the spirit

00:27:00.250 --> 00:27:04.569
of Jesus did not permit them. No flood, no traffic

00:27:04.569 --> 00:27:07.430
jams, no cars broken down, no health concerns

00:27:07.430 --> 00:27:09.009
or relationship difficulties. You stand up until

00:27:09.009 --> 00:27:10.529
midnight trying to talk out your marriage stuff,

00:27:10.670 --> 00:27:13.730
right? None of that. Just the spirit said no.

00:27:14.569 --> 00:27:17.049
A vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man

00:27:17.049 --> 00:27:18.990
of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him

00:27:18.990 --> 00:27:21.269
and saying, come over to Macedonia and help us.

00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:23.759
When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought

00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:26.240
to go to Macedonia, concluding that God had called

00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:28.460
us to preach the gospel to them. You see, God

00:27:28.460 --> 00:27:30.980
is actively involved in telling the church what

00:27:30.980 --> 00:27:35.579
to do. Still, to this day. And yes, it is through

00:27:35.579 --> 00:27:37.720
his word and through the presence of his Holy

00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:40.240
Spirit. Proverbs 3, of course, maybe just a hint

00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:41.799
familiar once I start to say it, says, Trust

00:27:41.799 --> 00:27:43.880
in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean

00:27:43.880 --> 00:27:45.960
on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge

00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:48.890
him, and he will make your path straight. See,

00:27:48.890 --> 00:27:51.789
I said open doors are not always God's doors.

00:27:52.690 --> 00:27:54.809
We are given the mind of Christ, 2 Corinthians

00:27:54.809 --> 00:27:56.690
chapter 2. It's our responsibility to listen.

00:27:57.269 --> 00:27:59.390
And sometimes God might take you through an open

00:27:59.390 --> 00:28:01.329
door because he's trying to take you somewhere

00:28:01.329 --> 00:28:04.329
completely else. And so if you go through the

00:28:04.329 --> 00:28:06.650
door and go, oh, this was God, and then you get

00:28:06.650 --> 00:28:08.349
there and you're stuck there and you won't go

00:28:08.349 --> 00:28:10.250
to the other place, this is God, but I don't

00:28:10.250 --> 00:28:11.529
want anything to do with God. That doesn't make

00:28:11.529 --> 00:28:15.309
any sense. We have to be willing. We have to

00:28:15.309 --> 00:28:18.880
be willing to go wherever. What if God says,

00:28:18.940 --> 00:28:21.759
go stand at the door and knock and wait and see

00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:24.160
if they open? And he's got you there a day, a

00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:27.700
week, a month, a year, 10 years. Oh, that could

00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:30.059
never happen. Oh, really? Because that's exactly

00:28:30.059 --> 00:28:32.980
what God has Jesus doing. Behold, I stand at

00:28:32.980 --> 00:28:34.539
your heart's door and knock. And he opens the

00:28:34.539 --> 00:28:35.839
door, I'll come in and sup with him and he with

00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:38.519
me, right? And do you believe that there are

00:28:38.519 --> 00:28:42.059
people on whose heart's door Jesus is knocking

00:28:42.059 --> 00:28:45.509
now and they're not letting him in? So could

00:28:45.509 --> 00:28:48.089
God not send you to knock on a door that's not

00:28:48.089 --> 00:28:52.589
yet open for the rest of your life? Because that's

00:28:52.589 --> 00:28:55.190
what he's doing with Jesus. And if you're a Christian,

00:28:55.269 --> 00:28:57.829
I submit to you, it's very possible that the

00:28:57.829 --> 00:28:59.789
door that you see is open, that you think is

00:28:59.789 --> 00:29:03.430
God's door, may not always be God's door. And

00:29:03.430 --> 00:29:05.089
so you are responsible to get your direction

00:29:05.089 --> 00:29:07.789
and your leadership from the Lord, for which

00:29:07.789 --> 00:29:11.180
you will need a fully sovereign God. A God who

00:29:11.180 --> 00:29:14.140
is fully in charge of everything. The God of

00:29:14.140 --> 00:29:16.279
heaven who created everything. A sovereign God.

00:29:17.880 --> 00:29:21.140
We whittle away God's sovereignty until we think

00:29:21.140 --> 00:29:24.700
we can control God. That's what we do. In Judges

00:29:24.700 --> 00:29:27.819
17, Micah isn't trying to reject God. He doesn't

00:29:27.819 --> 00:29:30.359
say there is no God. He doesn't say I will worship

00:29:30.359 --> 00:29:33.599
Baal or Asherah or any of those others. He's

00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:36.859
just rejecting God the way God is. He's trying

00:29:36.859 --> 00:29:41.160
to manage God. He's thinking, Something like

00:29:41.160 --> 00:29:43.720
this. I have an idol. I have a shrine. I have

00:29:43.720 --> 00:29:48.859
a Levite. Therefore, God must bless me. Now I

00:29:48.859 --> 00:29:51.160
know the Lord will prosper me, he says in verse

00:29:51.160 --> 00:29:54.380
13. His confidence is not in God's character.

00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:59.660
It's in his own religious formula and the successful

00:29:59.660 --> 00:30:02.480
application of that formula to get what he wants

00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:05.619
from God. He has reduced the sovereign Lord of

00:30:05.619 --> 00:30:09.319
heaven to someone who must respond. because Micah

00:30:09.319 --> 00:30:12.279
has followed the right ritual. He's not questioning

00:30:12.279 --> 00:30:15.700
whether God exists. Instead, he's working a program

00:30:15.700 --> 00:30:19.420
to achieve what he perceives as a logical outcome.

00:30:20.099 --> 00:30:24.200
That is manipulation. It does not work when you're

00:30:24.200 --> 00:30:26.880
dealing with people, and it works even less when

00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:30.519
you're dealing with God. This, in a lot of ways,

00:30:30.660 --> 00:30:36.259
looks like magic, or sorcery, or voodoo. Biblically,

00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:40.519
prayer to God asks a sovereign God, recognize

00:30:40.519 --> 00:30:43.519
that God alone is in charge, asks a sovereign

00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:47.799
God to accomplish his will. Jesus prayed, your

00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:50.819
will, not my will be done. We pray your will

00:30:50.819 --> 00:30:54.099
be done on earth as it is in heaven. That's what

00:30:54.099 --> 00:30:57.519
we're led to do. Magic says, if I perform the

00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:01.599
right actions, I can guarantee the outcome. Micah

00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:03.779
doesn't want to have a relationship with God.

00:31:03.859 --> 00:31:06.200
And you and I know the only way is to have a

00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:08.720
relationship with God. What he wants is a ritual

00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:11.980
that will get him what he wants from God. He's

00:31:11.980 --> 00:31:15.180
moving from submission to God into control. He's

00:31:15.180 --> 00:31:18.160
not worshiping. He's manipulating. Today, it

00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:20.960
looks like this. Christians say, if I tithe,

00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:24.599
God has to make me wealthy. If I pray this prayer

00:31:24.599 --> 00:31:28.079
enough times, God has to answer. If I attend

00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:30.619
church every week, faithfully serve or give or

00:31:30.619 --> 00:31:35.000
whatever, God owes me protection. If I use the

00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:37.299
right words, the right declaration or enough

00:31:37.299 --> 00:31:41.500
faith, I can guarantee God's response. Even we

00:31:41.500 --> 00:31:44.359
say God is merciful and kind and he wants what's

00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:46.059
best for me. And so I know he'll make it work

00:31:46.059 --> 00:31:49.900
out whatever I do. Those ideas treat God less

00:31:49.900 --> 00:31:52.380
like a loving father and more like a force to

00:31:52.380 --> 00:31:57.859
be manipulated. Those ideas treat God as if he

00:31:57.859 --> 00:32:02.809
has no personality, no character, no depth. Flip

00:32:02.809 --> 00:32:07.750
a button, get what you want. Those ideas say,

00:32:07.890 --> 00:32:09.990
if I put this together and this together, I'll

00:32:09.990 --> 00:32:11.569
get this reaction. We have a little object lesson.

00:32:11.670 --> 00:32:12.789
All right, I'm going to borrow you for a second.

00:32:12.890 --> 00:32:17.049
And I need one more young person. All right,

00:32:19.490 --> 00:32:22.390
you can't see, you might need to be able to see.

00:32:25.250 --> 00:32:27.049
We're going to conduct a little experiment here.

00:32:28.869 --> 00:32:32.710
I will turn this back on when I walk away. All

00:32:32.710 --> 00:32:35.869
right. All right. Climb in the back, back here.

00:32:36.930 --> 00:32:40.950
Hold on. Okay. Take this. Okay. So I want you

00:32:40.950 --> 00:32:43.890
to put that in there. Hold it. I want you to

00:32:43.890 --> 00:32:45.769
pour that in there. Now, when it starts to react,

00:32:45.849 --> 00:32:48.710
you need to pour it. All at once. All at once.

00:32:48.849 --> 00:32:58.990
Pour it. Okay. All right. Raise your hand without

00:32:58.990 --> 00:33:05.500
saying anything out loud if you know. Raise your

00:33:05.500 --> 00:33:08.660
hand if you know what was in those two glass

00:33:08.660 --> 00:33:14.900
jars. One, two, three, four. I think we know

00:33:14.900 --> 00:33:18.000
it's good enough. All right. So we think we know.

00:33:19.099 --> 00:33:22.119
The bottom line is some of us think we know because

00:33:22.119 --> 00:33:23.799
we've seen that experiment before. Now, after

00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:26.539
I tell you, you've all seen it. And then from

00:33:26.539 --> 00:33:28.359
this point forward, you will all know. If you

00:33:28.359 --> 00:33:31.259
mix those two things together. That's the kind

00:33:31.259 --> 00:33:34.319
of reaction that you get. OK, so it's baking

00:33:34.319 --> 00:33:38.359
soda and vinegar. That's all it is. You find

00:33:38.359 --> 00:33:40.539
it in your kitchen or your pantry. Right. Now,

00:33:40.619 --> 00:33:45.019
I also put in a dot of dish soap because that

00:33:45.019 --> 00:33:47.700
helps make it bubbly. Right. But it will react.

00:33:48.220 --> 00:33:51.839
The ratio of exactly what to put in there is

00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:54.500
a half a cup, roughly, of vinegar and a tablespoon,

00:33:54.720 --> 00:33:58.519
roughly, of baking soda to get that kind of reaction.

00:33:59.019 --> 00:34:02.160
If you go more vinegar and the same amount of

00:34:02.160 --> 00:34:04.500
baking soda, the reaction will be different.

00:34:04.640 --> 00:34:07.220
If you go less vinegar and the same amount of

00:34:07.220 --> 00:34:08.699
baking soda, the reaction will be different.

00:34:08.880 --> 00:34:11.019
Neither one of those two ways probably work as

00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:14.280
well. My point is you now know how to combine

00:34:14.280 --> 00:34:17.420
those things to make that kind of reaction. Is

00:34:17.420 --> 00:34:19.760
everybody listening? Caleb, did you get it? What

00:34:19.760 --> 00:34:22.980
two things? Baking soda and vinegar. Caleb knows

00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:26.400
how to make that kind of reaction. In our world

00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:28.789
where we live, That is kind of the way things

00:34:28.789 --> 00:34:31.409
work, right? We put these two things together

00:34:31.409 --> 00:34:35.150
as I've been working on my fast. I've learned

00:34:35.150 --> 00:34:37.170
a lot of like how to make things that are purely

00:34:37.170 --> 00:34:38.530
vegetables. Put this together, this together.

00:34:38.650 --> 00:34:40.329
Oh, it tastes pretty good, right? And I've been

00:34:40.329 --> 00:34:42.010
learning a lot. And so the next time I go to

00:34:42.010 --> 00:34:44.050
do the fast, I've already got a bunch of recipes

00:34:44.050 --> 00:34:47.210
and things that I can use. The point is, while

00:34:47.210 --> 00:34:51.969
we think logically, we put these two things together,

00:34:51.969 --> 00:34:56.070
we get this reaction. That is not how people

00:34:56.070 --> 00:34:59.750
work. Have you ever given somebody a compliment

00:34:59.750 --> 00:35:02.849
and it actually didn't go very well? You try

00:35:02.849 --> 00:35:05.050
to say something nice to them, a compliment.

00:35:05.329 --> 00:35:07.469
Maybe it's because they were already upset. Maybe

00:35:07.469 --> 00:35:09.269
it's because you had already offended them. Maybe

00:35:09.269 --> 00:35:11.090
it's because they thought you were being sarcastic

00:35:11.090 --> 00:35:12.650
or they didn't like the tone of voice that you

00:35:12.650 --> 00:35:15.170
used. Come on. Think about it. Have you ever

00:35:15.170 --> 00:35:17.090
given somebody a compliment? You meant to be

00:35:17.090 --> 00:35:19.349
kind, but they didn't respond very well? That's

00:35:19.349 --> 00:35:22.869
because people are not chemicals. Character is

00:35:22.869 --> 00:35:25.590
much deeper than just if I put this in, put this

00:35:25.590 --> 00:35:27.710
in, I get this result. It's not two plus two

00:35:27.710 --> 00:35:30.670
is four with people, right? It's not that way

00:35:30.670 --> 00:35:33.369
with God either. Even though the Bible says we

00:35:33.369 --> 00:35:36.510
reap what we sow, that does not mean we can sow

00:35:36.510 --> 00:35:40.630
just to control what we reap. Because God is

00:35:40.630 --> 00:35:43.050
looking for your heart condition. He's looking

00:35:43.050 --> 00:35:46.650
for your character to be in line with his character.

00:35:47.789 --> 00:35:52.530
A child cannot manipulate their father into doing

00:35:52.530 --> 00:35:56.269
something by memorizing the right phrase. A husband

00:35:56.269 --> 00:35:58.429
can't preserve their marriage simply by repeating

00:35:58.429 --> 00:36:00.250
the phrase over and over again every morning,

00:36:00.309 --> 00:36:02.769
I love you, if they ignore their wife the rest

00:36:02.769 --> 00:36:06.550
of the day. That's not how that works. Relationships

00:36:06.550 --> 00:36:10.619
flourish through love and trust. not formulas.

00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:14.559
Which is why when you find fault with a loved

00:36:14.559 --> 00:36:17.559
one, you say, well, I want to hear what you have

00:36:17.559 --> 00:36:19.239
to say, but I don't like the way you said it.

00:36:19.840 --> 00:36:22.260
It's a breach on both sides. If it was said incorrectly,

00:36:22.860 --> 00:36:27.019
then that was wrong. But the person who is not

00:36:27.019 --> 00:36:28.539
receiving it, though it was said incorrectly,

00:36:28.800 --> 00:36:32.059
also wrong. Because words are just words. Hearts

00:36:32.059 --> 00:36:34.780
are hearts. And yes, words can make your heart

00:36:34.780 --> 00:36:37.369
dirty. But your heart is your heart, and it can

00:36:37.369 --> 00:36:39.650
drive your language, and it can drive your understanding

00:36:39.650 --> 00:36:41.489
of language. So if somebody compliments you,

00:36:41.590 --> 00:36:43.389
just take it as a compliment. If they meant it

00:36:43.389 --> 00:36:45.429
as snarky, ignore them. Take it as a compliment

00:36:45.429 --> 00:36:49.469
anyway. You win, right? Micah has reduced the

00:36:49.469 --> 00:36:51.869
sovereign Lord of heaven to someone who must

00:36:51.869 --> 00:36:55.090
respond because he followed a certain formula,

00:36:55.250 --> 00:36:59.469
and that's not who God is. God has never invited

00:36:59.469 --> 00:37:02.650
us or the Israelites or anyone since the beginning

00:37:02.650 --> 00:37:05.550
of time. into a system of religious mechanics,

00:37:05.909 --> 00:37:11.489
which means essentially there are no rules. The

00:37:11.489 --> 00:37:14.190
Bible doesn't say rules. There are precepts,

00:37:14.190 --> 00:37:17.650
statements of God that tell you what you can

00:37:17.650 --> 00:37:19.449
do and what you should not, but they are not

00:37:19.449 --> 00:37:21.710
there to be a set of rules to be broken or not

00:37:21.710 --> 00:37:24.030
broken. If you go like, well, I can just sin

00:37:24.030 --> 00:37:26.110
against God. He'll forgive me because I broke

00:37:26.110 --> 00:37:28.210
this one sin. There's a problem with your heart.

00:37:28.610 --> 00:37:31.440
You should be saying. I will not because I love

00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:35.420
him. I can't bear to break God's heart. Not after

00:37:35.420 --> 00:37:38.199
all that he's done for me. God has invited us

00:37:38.199 --> 00:37:41.280
into a covenant relationship. Someone receives

00:37:41.280 --> 00:37:43.719
an email that comes in their email box and it

00:37:43.719 --> 00:37:46.199
appears to come from their bank. The logo is

00:37:46.199 --> 00:37:48.920
right. The colors are right. Better click here.

00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:52.239
There might be a false charge. But if the email

00:37:52.239 --> 00:37:55.360
is counterfeit and you click it, you're in trouble.

00:37:56.239 --> 00:38:01.179
Satan rarely... invents new religions. Actually,

00:38:01.239 --> 00:38:03.380
what he usually does is counterfeits the real

00:38:03.380 --> 00:38:06.199
thing. If they're planting churches all over

00:38:06.199 --> 00:38:08.780
the world that are not following God, why do

00:38:08.780 --> 00:38:10.539
we need to plant a church that has Satan's name

00:38:10.539 --> 00:38:13.960
on the wall? He's already got plenty. Isaiah

00:38:13.960 --> 00:38:16.860
46 says it this way, Remember the former things

00:38:16.860 --> 00:38:20.820
long past? For I am God, and there is no other.

00:38:20.920 --> 00:38:25.739
I am God, and there is no one like me. Declaring

00:38:25.739 --> 00:38:28.480
the end from the beginning. And from ancient

00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:32.320
times, things which have not been done, saying,

00:38:32.440 --> 00:38:35.699
my purpose will be established and I will accomplish

00:38:35.699 --> 00:38:39.139
all my good pleasure. Daniel writes it this way.

00:38:39.300 --> 00:38:41.440
All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted

00:38:41.440 --> 00:38:44.340
as nothing, but he does according to his will,

00:38:44.420 --> 00:38:47.619
that's God, in the host of heaven and among the

00:38:47.619 --> 00:38:50.559
inhabitants of earth. And no one can ward off

00:38:50.559 --> 00:38:53.960
his hand or say to him, what have you done? In

00:38:53.960 --> 00:38:57.210
Romans 9, Paul writes it this way. On the contrary,

00:38:57.289 --> 00:38:59.630
who are you, O man, who answers back to God?

00:38:59.789 --> 00:39:02.050
The thing molded will not say to the molder,

00:39:02.090 --> 00:39:04.829
Why did you make me like this, will it? Or does

00:39:04.829 --> 00:39:06.909
not the potter have a right over the clay to

00:39:06.909 --> 00:39:09.150
make from the same lump one vessel for honorable

00:39:09.150 --> 00:39:11.610
use and another for common use? Paul is saying,

00:39:11.650 --> 00:39:14.050
God can do with you whatever God wants to do.

00:39:14.829 --> 00:39:18.949
Do not whittle the sovereignty of God. Jesus

00:39:18.949 --> 00:39:22.449
prayed and led us to pray, Your kingdom come,

00:39:22.690 --> 00:39:24.929
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

00:39:25.559 --> 00:39:29.039
In 1 Samuel 15, after Saul, they had a great

00:39:29.039 --> 00:39:30.739
victory and then they were supposed to destroy

00:39:30.739 --> 00:39:33.099
everything and they kept some of it back. And

00:39:33.099 --> 00:39:34.679
then Saul lodged it. He said, well, we kept some

00:39:34.679 --> 00:39:36.960
of it back to sacrifice to God. Samuel says this.

00:39:37.019 --> 00:39:39.539
He says, has the Lord as much delight in burnt

00:39:39.539 --> 00:39:42.659
offerings and sacrifice as in obeying the voice

00:39:42.659 --> 00:39:46.400
of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice

00:39:46.400 --> 00:39:49.820
and to heed better than the fat of rams. Listen,

00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:53.650
this is what he's saying. God's sovereignty means

00:39:53.650 --> 00:39:58.730
God says it, you do it. Sovereignty means he's

00:39:58.730 --> 00:40:01.750
in charge, he's sovereign, he's king. And in

00:40:01.750 --> 00:40:03.969
the great blessing today, there is a fourth point

00:40:03.969 --> 00:40:06.929
in the text. And this one is near and dear to

00:40:06.929 --> 00:40:08.769
my heart. So if you're falling asleep right now,

00:40:08.789 --> 00:40:11.949
shake your head. A priest you hire will eventually

00:40:11.949 --> 00:40:14.449
tell you what you want to hear. And you can imagine

00:40:14.449 --> 00:40:17.090
why that's near and dear to my heart. While I

00:40:17.090 --> 00:40:18.469
was writing this sermon, I had a vision about

00:40:18.469 --> 00:40:21.099
a small town restaurant. In a town of about 400

00:40:21.099 --> 00:40:23.579
people, one stoplight in a restaurant is on the

00:40:23.579 --> 00:40:27.519
corner. Young family decided, hey, we want to

00:40:27.519 --> 00:40:29.519
run a restaurant. It's always been our dreams.

00:40:29.559 --> 00:40:31.719
We bought the corner, old corner store. It used

00:40:31.719 --> 00:40:33.320
to be a store, and they turned it into a restaurant.

00:40:33.739 --> 00:40:35.579
They polled all their neighbors and all their

00:40:35.579 --> 00:40:37.199
friends about what kind of food to serve, and

00:40:37.199 --> 00:40:39.440
they served the kind of food that people wanted.

00:40:39.659 --> 00:40:42.460
The restaurant was solid. They had children.

00:40:42.519 --> 00:40:43.820
They raised their children. The children began

00:40:43.820 --> 00:40:46.360
to run the restaurant. While that was still going

00:40:46.360 --> 00:40:47.699
on, a lot of the people who come to the restaurant,

00:40:47.760 --> 00:40:50.869
they got older. change their diets you know happens

00:40:50.869 --> 00:40:52.769
something when you get older and they started

00:40:52.769 --> 00:40:54.690
rumors started circulating they were not satisfied

00:40:54.690 --> 00:40:57.210
with the menu at the restaurant anymore and so

00:40:57.210 --> 00:40:59.409
they changed the menu while the kids were still

00:40:59.409 --> 00:41:01.250
coming up and still taking over they changed

00:41:01.250 --> 00:41:03.750
the menu and it sparked business back up and

00:41:03.750 --> 00:41:06.250
people started coming again and it was good but

00:41:06.250 --> 00:41:08.369
it was mostly older people coming people that

00:41:08.369 --> 00:41:10.190
had requested change them and now the young kids

00:41:10.190 --> 00:41:12.949
come up now the other people that had had kids

00:41:12.949 --> 00:41:15.030
their young kids come it's a whole new town right

00:41:15.030 --> 00:41:17.269
a whole another generations in the town They

00:41:17.269 --> 00:41:18.929
don't want the old people food. They want the

00:41:18.929 --> 00:41:21.050
salt back. You know what I'm saying? They want

00:41:21.050 --> 00:41:22.909
their salt back. And rumor circulates they're

00:41:22.909 --> 00:41:24.469
going to go to the next town or go wherever,

00:41:24.750 --> 00:41:27.469
right? Because the food is not right there. So

00:41:27.469 --> 00:41:29.909
the restaurant changed its food again. And over

00:41:29.909 --> 00:41:32.409
two generations, the restaurant changed all their

00:41:32.409 --> 00:41:36.630
food four times. And they survived. And the restaurant

00:41:36.630 --> 00:41:40.989
kept having customers. And the family kept paying

00:41:40.989 --> 00:41:43.869
bills. And the town kept having a restaurant.

00:41:44.750 --> 00:41:47.409
In this story, Levi becomes Micah's employee.

00:41:48.190 --> 00:41:50.949
Instead of representing God to Micah, he represents

00:41:50.949 --> 00:41:54.449
Micah to himself. He tells Micah what he wants

00:41:54.449 --> 00:41:58.789
to hear. Listen to me. Eventually, the priest

00:41:58.789 --> 00:42:02.150
serves the one paying him. Believe it or not,

00:42:02.309 --> 00:42:05.949
this is not what you want. And I want you to

00:42:05.949 --> 00:42:08.610
hear me right now when I say, I don't work for

00:42:08.610 --> 00:42:14.480
you. I don't work for you. That is to say then

00:42:14.480 --> 00:42:18.239
that the pastor, the preacher, the teacher is

00:42:18.239 --> 00:42:20.300
called to say what God would have. I'm going

00:42:20.300 --> 00:42:22.639
to say it this way. I am called to say what God

00:42:22.639 --> 00:42:24.440
would have me to say and in the way that God

00:42:24.440 --> 00:42:26.500
would have me to say it. And you might want the

00:42:26.500 --> 00:42:28.119
sermon shorter, but I'm here to tell you right

00:42:28.119 --> 00:42:29.639
now there's somebody also in this room who wants

00:42:29.639 --> 00:42:32.000
it longer. You might want the room cooler, but

00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:33.260
there's somebody in this room would be covering

00:42:33.260 --> 00:42:35.539
up a blanket if we did that. You might want the

00:42:35.539 --> 00:42:37.760
music quieter. Somebody else wants it louder

00:42:37.760 --> 00:42:40.880
so they can't hear themselves sing. What you

00:42:40.880 --> 00:42:44.940
want does not matter. What God wants matters.

00:42:45.360 --> 00:42:48.059
Paul wrote to Timothy this way, solemnly I charge

00:42:48.059 --> 00:42:50.400
you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,

00:42:50.539 --> 00:42:52.539
who is to judge the living and the dead, and

00:42:52.539 --> 00:42:54.840
by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the

00:42:54.840 --> 00:42:58.239
word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove,

00:42:58.420 --> 00:43:03.659
rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction,

00:43:03.960 --> 00:43:06.579
for the time will come when they will not endure

00:43:06.579 --> 00:43:09.500
sound doctrine. But wanting to have their ears

00:43:09.500 --> 00:43:11.440
tickled, they will accumulate for themselves

00:43:11.440 --> 00:43:14.260
teachers in accordance to their own desires and

00:43:14.260 --> 00:43:16.780
will turn away their ears from the truth and

00:43:16.780 --> 00:43:20.139
will turn aside to myths. Today, you must decide

00:43:20.139 --> 00:43:24.780
not to be one who will turn aside to myths. Don't

00:43:24.780 --> 00:43:27.420
go after the shorter sermon. Don't go after.

00:43:27.789 --> 00:43:29.650
The person who never stumbles over their words.

00:43:29.829 --> 00:43:32.170
Don't go after the room that's the perfect temperature.

00:43:32.269 --> 00:43:34.469
Don't go after the perfect kind of music. Don't

00:43:34.469 --> 00:43:36.530
go after the church culture that you like, that

00:43:36.530 --> 00:43:38.909
you think you'll fit into best. You go where

00:43:38.909 --> 00:43:41.769
you will hear from the God of heaven and listen

00:43:41.769 --> 00:43:44.869
with all your might. Because God is bending down

00:43:44.869 --> 00:43:47.309
to listen to you. Why are you not bending down

00:43:47.309 --> 00:43:49.630
to listen to him? Paul wrote to the church of

00:43:49.630 --> 00:43:51.449
Galatia, which is really many churches this way.

00:43:51.510 --> 00:43:54.969
He says, am I now seeking the favor of men or

00:43:54.969 --> 00:43:57.809
of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I

00:43:57.809 --> 00:44:02.030
were trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant

00:44:02.030 --> 00:44:05.610
of Christ. Whenever we only seek teachers who

00:44:05.610 --> 00:44:08.170
affirm our preferences rather than confront us

00:44:08.170 --> 00:44:10.750
with God's word, we have begun choosing our own

00:44:10.750 --> 00:44:13.349
priest. And that is a sure road to whittling

00:44:13.349 --> 00:44:16.909
away at God's sovereignty, even in the very place

00:44:16.909 --> 00:44:19.210
where it has been so clearly seen. Do you not

00:44:19.210 --> 00:44:21.750
understand that you are only here today because

00:44:21.750 --> 00:44:25.909
God did miracles to make it happen? Not just

00:44:25.909 --> 00:44:27.849
the miracle of your birth or the miracle of being

00:44:27.849 --> 00:44:30.829
born again, which is a necessary miracle, but

00:44:30.829 --> 00:44:33.170
also the miracle of this building and the miracle

00:44:33.170 --> 00:44:35.670
of these chairs and the miracle of the work and

00:44:35.670 --> 00:44:39.190
the miracle that is my salvation and others who

00:44:39.190 --> 00:44:41.460
serve in this church, their salvation. And the

00:44:41.460 --> 00:44:43.639
money that came together to do the work, miracles.

00:44:44.000 --> 00:44:46.079
You can walk in the basement and see a miracle

00:44:46.079 --> 00:44:47.840
the size of a refrigerator because when this

00:44:47.840 --> 00:44:49.500
building could not have heat and there was no

00:44:49.500 --> 00:44:51.079
way we could get heat in the building, we were

00:44:51.079 --> 00:44:52.880
worried about breaking pipes. The Mississippi

00:44:52.880 --> 00:44:55.500
Baptist Convention found, just by some miracle,

00:44:55.699 --> 00:44:58.099
found a brand new boiler sitting in a warehouse

00:44:58.099 --> 00:45:01.159
that they could buy for $80 ,000, the kind of

00:45:01.159 --> 00:45:03.840
money that we could never pay. And they donated

00:45:03.840 --> 00:45:06.579
it. And then a businessman put together a group

00:45:06.579 --> 00:45:08.840
of guys, a Christian businessman. put together

00:45:08.840 --> 00:45:11.119
a group of guys who came and installed it so

00:45:11.119 --> 00:45:13.760
we could have heat. When all the money we had

00:45:13.760 --> 00:45:15.579
in the bank was probably $10 ,000 to $15 ,000.

00:45:15.880 --> 00:45:18.400
That's all we had. We got an $80 ,000 boiler

00:45:18.400 --> 00:45:22.360
and a $40 ,000 install for free. When it was

00:45:22.360 --> 00:45:24.579
going to be $26 ,000 to get the electric, we

00:45:24.579 --> 00:45:28.179
paid $2 ,600 because God intervened and did a

00:45:28.179 --> 00:45:30.639
miracle. When we couldn't get the water on after

00:45:30.639 --> 00:45:35.539
12 weeks of trying, God moved the former deputy

00:45:35.539 --> 00:45:38.880
mayor into the... being in charge of the water

00:45:38.880 --> 00:45:41.300
division. And when we called him, they came to

00:45:41.300 --> 00:45:43.480
install the water the next day. Well, that same

00:45:43.480 --> 00:45:45.179
deputy mayor was the guy who decided to give

00:45:45.179 --> 00:45:47.400
us this building when he was working under a

00:45:47.400 --> 00:45:50.420
different mayor. It's been going on for a while,

00:45:50.519 --> 00:45:53.960
folks. We are sitting here today, listening today,

00:45:54.079 --> 00:45:56.760
preaching today because of the miracles of God.

00:45:57.019 --> 00:46:00.119
You're alive today, though you may not know it

00:46:00.119 --> 00:46:02.179
because God saved your life from a car accident

00:46:02.179 --> 00:46:05.480
last week, last month or last year. God killed

00:46:05.480 --> 00:46:07.619
your cancer before it could take you out last

00:46:07.619 --> 00:46:10.219
week, last month, or last year. We are the product

00:46:10.219 --> 00:46:12.599
of miracles, and a sovereign God is the kind

00:46:12.599 --> 00:46:14.539
of God that does miracles. And if you want a

00:46:14.539 --> 00:46:16.539
God that's not sovereign over your life, then

00:46:16.539 --> 00:46:18.599
you want a God that does not miraculously intervene.

00:46:18.780 --> 00:46:20.699
And if you'd have had that over the last ten

00:46:20.699 --> 00:46:25.619
years, you'd be gone now. To hell! Whenever we

00:46:25.619 --> 00:46:27.719
only seek teachers that affirm our preferences

00:46:27.719 --> 00:46:30.619
rather than confront us with God's word, we have

00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:32.820
begun choosing our own high priest. That brings

00:46:32.820 --> 00:46:36.389
us to our conclusion. And Judges 17 may seem

00:46:36.389 --> 00:46:39.090
like it's about idolatry. I mean, it's definitely

00:46:39.090 --> 00:46:40.389
the direction they're going in, right? They're

00:46:40.389 --> 00:46:43.269
starting to worship other gods. But Micah is

00:46:43.269 --> 00:46:46.469
not actually worshiping other gods. He created

00:46:46.469 --> 00:46:48.789
idols, so that does make it idolatry, but those

00:46:48.789 --> 00:46:51.150
idols were to be part of his worship of God.

00:46:51.889 --> 00:46:54.610
This chapter is just about him shrinking God.

00:46:55.349 --> 00:46:57.670
He attempted to reduce the creator of heaven

00:46:57.670 --> 00:47:00.190
and earth into someone who could be managed by

00:47:00.190 --> 00:47:04.079
enough religious activity. Every generation on

00:47:04.079 --> 00:47:06.059
the earth will face that temptation. You, me,

00:47:06.239 --> 00:47:08.539
our kids, our grandkids, our great -great -grandkids,

00:47:08.599 --> 00:47:10.159
and the great -great -grandkids of every person

00:47:10.159 --> 00:47:12.519
you will ever meet will face that same temptation.

00:47:13.699 --> 00:47:16.260
Will we worship a God who is truly sovereign

00:47:16.260 --> 00:47:19.420
or one small enough to fit inside our formulas?

00:47:19.820 --> 00:47:22.820
That's the question. The gospel calls us not

00:47:22.820 --> 00:47:26.559
to master God, but to trust God. Faith isn't

00:47:26.559 --> 00:47:28.900
about manipulating the God of the universe. It's

00:47:28.900 --> 00:47:31.579
about placing our lives into his sovereign, wise,

00:47:31.800 --> 00:47:35.159
and loving hands, even when he answers differently

00:47:35.159 --> 00:47:38.079
than we expect. The truth is that you're hearing

00:47:38.079 --> 00:47:40.659
this today. You're probably already in some part

00:47:40.659 --> 00:47:42.780
of this process. You live in the United States

00:47:42.780 --> 00:47:46.019
of America, where the temptation to shrink God,

00:47:46.119 --> 00:47:48.920
to whittle away God's sovereignty, is pushed

00:47:48.920 --> 00:47:52.380
on people every single day. If you will whittle

00:47:52.380 --> 00:47:54.519
away God's sovereignty, you can make more money.

00:47:55.050 --> 00:47:57.929
In the world system. You can have more friends.

00:47:58.389 --> 00:48:00.670
If we would whittle away God's sovereignty, we

00:48:00.670 --> 00:48:03.969
could have more people here on Sundays. If we

00:48:03.969 --> 00:48:06.730
will whittle away God's sovereignty, we can get

00:48:06.730 --> 00:48:11.070
ahead in the fallen system that is rebelling

00:48:11.070 --> 00:48:15.730
against God. Jesus said to Nicodemus, unless

00:48:15.730 --> 00:48:17.610
you be born again, you shall not see the kingdom

00:48:17.610 --> 00:48:20.489
of God. Further, he said, do not marvel, I say

00:48:20.489 --> 00:48:22.389
unto you, you must be born again for anyone.

00:48:23.639 --> 00:48:25.820
Here, who has not been born again, I'm asking

00:48:25.820 --> 00:48:28.400
you today to be born again. You say, well, what

00:48:28.400 --> 00:48:30.139
does that mean? It means you have a fresh start.

00:48:30.360 --> 00:48:32.260
Now, let's look at the definition of a fresh

00:48:32.260 --> 00:48:34.699
start, shall we? It's a moment in time in which

00:48:34.699 --> 00:48:36.780
you decide that from here on out, I am going

00:48:36.780 --> 00:48:40.119
to be willing, I am going to let God be in charge

00:48:40.119 --> 00:48:42.679
of my life. Now, does that sound like whittling

00:48:42.679 --> 00:48:46.059
away the sovereignty of God? It is the opposite.

00:48:46.579 --> 00:48:49.360
You're saying, God, I recognize your supreme

00:48:49.360 --> 00:48:52.869
sovereignty. I submit myself and I allow myself

00:48:52.869 --> 00:48:57.210
to be guided by your supreme sovereignty. And

00:48:57.210 --> 00:48:59.849
then over time, Christians begin to whittle away

00:48:59.849 --> 00:49:02.510
at that sovereignty. Because if God's sovereignty

00:49:02.510 --> 00:49:04.650
determines what my today is going to be like,

00:49:04.730 --> 00:49:06.829
and I want my today to be something other than

00:49:06.829 --> 00:49:09.570
that, then I have to whittle away at his sovereignty

00:49:09.570 --> 00:49:11.909
in order to make that work. And I'm here today

00:49:11.909 --> 00:49:13.809
to say, don't do it. Christian, if you've been

00:49:13.809 --> 00:49:20.010
born again, today, right now, Decide that God

00:49:20.010 --> 00:49:23.550
alone is sovereign. I want you to imagine for

00:49:23.550 --> 00:49:25.349
one split second, just long enough to be aware

00:49:25.349 --> 00:49:27.710
that it exists, the biggest, baddest, chunkiest

00:49:27.710 --> 00:49:29.969
demon you could possibly imagine. It's the size

00:49:29.969 --> 00:49:32.409
of Godzilla. His big toe is the size of Empire

00:49:32.409 --> 00:49:34.909
State Building. He is stomping on anything, and

00:49:34.909 --> 00:49:37.190
God picks him up by his tiny head and squishes

00:49:37.190 --> 00:49:40.070
him like this and drops him out brain dead. Nothing.

00:49:40.110 --> 00:49:42.449
The world is nothing. Demons are nothing. Evil

00:49:42.449 --> 00:49:44.769
spirits are nothing. Money is nothing. Time is

00:49:44.769 --> 00:49:48.539
nothing. Talent. Process, personalities, relationships,

00:49:48.679 --> 00:49:50.739
struggles, it's all nothing. The sovereignty

00:49:50.739 --> 00:49:55.699
of God is everything. Will you submit to it?

00:49:56.940 --> 00:50:01.019
That's the question. God who declares the end

00:50:01.019 --> 00:50:03.000
before the beginning has a better plan for you

00:50:03.000 --> 00:50:05.440
than you can ever assemble, even if you somehow

00:50:05.440 --> 00:50:07.719
became aware of all the parts which I submit

00:50:07.719 --> 00:50:09.900
to you you're not. Even if you somehow became

00:50:09.900 --> 00:50:11.880
aware of all the parts and put them together

00:50:11.880 --> 00:50:14.800
in perfect order to your own standards, you could

00:50:14.800 --> 00:50:19.019
not construct the plan that God has for you.

00:50:19.199 --> 00:50:24.199
His plan is better. This time we'll ask the praise

00:50:24.199 --> 00:50:27.260
team to come and lead us in a final hymn. And

00:50:27.260 --> 00:50:31.179
I'm asking you today to reignite your understanding

00:50:31.179 --> 00:50:35.000
of the sovereignty of God. God alone is in charge.

00:50:35.159 --> 00:50:39.920
His will, not my will. Might it result in something

00:50:39.920 --> 00:50:42.340
that humans would call suffering? Yes, it might.

00:50:42.539 --> 00:50:45.500
Might it leave you without something that you

00:50:45.500 --> 00:50:48.260
wish you could render for yourself? More money,

00:50:48.280 --> 00:50:52.039
more time, more praise, a promotion, something

00:50:52.039 --> 00:50:54.440
like that. Yeah, it might. But if it's in the

00:50:54.440 --> 00:50:56.780
sovereign will of God, then you can guarantee

00:50:56.780 --> 00:50:59.860
that the end plan will be better. You cannot

00:50:59.860 --> 00:51:01.900
construct it. You cannot measure it out. You

00:51:01.900 --> 00:51:03.920
can't even see all the parts that are involved.

00:51:04.750 --> 00:51:06.550
that you can submit to the sovereign will of

00:51:06.550 --> 00:51:07.909
God in the universe for the first time ever,

00:51:07.989 --> 00:51:11.170
you say it now, and secure your place in heaven

00:51:11.170 --> 00:51:13.210
for eternity. I submit to the sovereign will

00:51:13.210 --> 00:51:19.610
of God. Jesus is Lord. Or, again today, if as

00:51:19.610 --> 00:51:21.449
a Christian you realize you've been whittling

00:51:21.449 --> 00:51:24.489
away at the sovereignty of God to make a place

00:51:24.489 --> 00:51:27.510
for your own desires, you can repent and say,

00:51:27.510 --> 00:51:30.369
I will do it no more. It's a lot like getting

00:51:30.369 --> 00:51:33.420
saved again. And he promises that he is going

00:51:33.420 --> 00:51:35.360
to forgive, he's willing to forgive, but also

00:51:35.360 --> 00:51:38.119
confess and cleanse of all unrighteousness. And

00:51:38.119 --> 00:51:40.239
the effect of your whittling away of the solid

00:51:40.239 --> 00:51:42.940
of God can be drawn right now in an instant and

00:51:42.940 --> 00:51:46.360
say, I know God is in charge. Will you stand

00:51:46.360 --> 00:51:48.980
with me and sing this song that the Lord has

00:51:48.980 --> 00:51:50.960
moved you to do so that you respond and let us

00:51:50.960 --> 00:51:59.579
know what's on your heart today. I have decided

00:51:59.579 --> 00:52:10.699
to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus.

00:52:12.559 --> 00:52:17.159
You might be here today and you can't say the

00:52:17.159 --> 00:52:21.920
word Jesus. That's a problem. Say, I have decided

00:52:21.920 --> 00:52:25.139
to follow Jesus. If you can't say the name Jesus,

00:52:25.179 --> 00:52:31.219
you've got a problem. Though none go with me

00:52:31.219 --> 00:52:56.230
I still will follow Though turning back No turning

00:52:56.230 --> 00:53:07.230
back. My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus. My

00:53:07.230 --> 00:53:16.130
cross I'll carry till I see Jesus. My cross I'll

00:53:16.130 --> 00:53:26.699
carry till I see Jesus. No turning back. I'm

00:53:26.699 --> 00:53:56.949
turning back. I see one. Anyone else? You two?

00:53:57.369 --> 00:53:59.550
Anyone else? You three? Just keep them up for

00:53:59.550 --> 00:54:01.090
a second. We're going to pray together. Anyone

00:54:01.090 --> 00:54:03.989
else? One wants? One wants? Father in heaven,

00:54:04.070 --> 00:54:08.429
I commit myself to get out of bed every day and

00:54:08.429 --> 00:54:12.150
recognize your sovereignty. It's foolish of me

00:54:12.150 --> 00:54:14.710
to think that I would even be here if it were

00:54:14.710 --> 00:54:18.190
not for you intervening on my behalf. We beat

00:54:18.190 --> 00:54:23.150
all the statistics. We're so far beyond. where

00:54:23.150 --> 00:54:25.130
we would be if you hadn't intervened, that we

00:54:25.130 --> 00:54:27.630
just have to realize you are that God who loves

00:54:27.630 --> 00:54:30.570
us, who is in charge, who deserves to be in charge.

00:54:31.210 --> 00:54:33.170
For those who have their hands raised, and for

00:54:33.170 --> 00:54:37.469
myself as well, we pray, you be sovereign. Teach

00:54:37.469 --> 00:54:39.369
us about your sovereignty. Help us to remember

00:54:39.369 --> 00:54:41.889
your sovereignty, day in and day out, choice

00:54:41.889 --> 00:54:47.030
by choice. Lord, never ever let us sink into

00:54:47.030 --> 00:54:50.530
trying to make it some kind of chemical reaction

00:54:50.530 --> 00:54:53.570
or steps that we have to follow. We commit to

00:54:53.570 --> 00:54:57.650
you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Now,

00:54:57.789 --> 00:55:00.170
if you're in this room today and you say, regardless

00:55:00.170 --> 00:55:02.230
of what anybody else might think, you say, I

00:55:02.230 --> 00:55:05.449
realize I need to be born again. Before you say

00:55:05.449 --> 00:55:07.849
anything, being born again means a fresh start

00:55:07.849 --> 00:55:10.809
in Jesus, that he starts your life over. It means

00:55:10.809 --> 00:55:13.409
everything that was behind is gone. It's a new

00:55:13.409 --> 00:55:15.869
start. It's meant to be a one -time deal. And

00:55:15.869 --> 00:55:17.269
yes, we make mistakes somewhere along the way.

00:55:17.289 --> 00:55:18.510
Sometimes we've got to repent, turn back to the

00:55:18.510 --> 00:55:20.449
Lord. But if you're here today and you say, I

00:55:20.449 --> 00:55:22.710
need to do that today. I want to give my life

00:55:22.710 --> 00:55:24.769
to the Lord. I'm going to follow him to the best

00:55:24.769 --> 00:55:27.389
of my ability, whatever that looks like. Then

00:55:27.389 --> 00:55:28.630
I want you to raise your hand right now. I'm

00:55:28.630 --> 00:55:30.469
going to pray for you. If you're in the room

00:55:30.469 --> 00:55:31.650
and you're giving your life to the Lord for the

00:55:31.650 --> 00:55:32.829
first time ever, it doesn't matter what anybody

00:55:32.829 --> 00:55:34.989
else thinks. But you know it's the first time

00:55:34.989 --> 00:55:37.809
ever that you raise your hand. Father, I pray

00:55:37.809 --> 00:55:39.389
for the one who's in this room right now who's

00:55:39.389 --> 00:55:41.570
resisting putting their hands up because of appearances.

00:55:42.599 --> 00:55:44.659
I pray for one that might be in this room right

00:55:44.659 --> 00:55:48.019
now who is still searching out the truth of it,

00:55:48.079 --> 00:55:50.139
still figuring it out. I know I did that for

00:55:50.139 --> 00:55:54.400
six months, and I guess I was pretty thorough,

00:55:54.500 --> 00:55:57.679
and yet I sure could have messed it up, and you

00:55:57.679 --> 00:55:59.800
just flat out called me. You were patient with

00:55:59.800 --> 00:56:02.019
me, and you said, please come to me, and I came.

00:56:02.780 --> 00:56:04.400
Maybe that's where they're at. You're saying,

00:56:04.460 --> 00:56:07.380
please come to them. You say, just please come.

00:56:07.559 --> 00:56:10.900
Lord, just keep telling them, please come, and

00:56:10.900 --> 00:56:13.809
be patient, Lord. As we know you can be. And

00:56:13.809 --> 00:56:15.489
merciful and kind toward them. They might figure

00:56:15.489 --> 00:56:19.210
it out. And even as I'm praying right now, their

00:56:19.210 --> 00:56:21.210
heart's turning. And they realize they're hearing

00:56:21.210 --> 00:56:23.590
you. And they need to make some kind of a decision.

00:56:24.230 --> 00:56:27.030
We're going to close out in prayer. And then

00:56:27.030 --> 00:56:28.329
we're coming back together with the children

00:56:28.329 --> 00:56:30.849
for the Lord's Supper. And that's meant to be

00:56:30.849 --> 00:56:33.369
believers. It's meant to be people who recognize

00:56:33.369 --> 00:56:36.349
the sacrifice that you made. And so I just pray,

00:56:36.409 --> 00:56:38.909
Lord, that we'll remedy our situation. There's

00:56:38.909 --> 00:56:40.590
something that's standing between us and you

00:56:40.590 --> 00:56:43.329
that will let you take it out of the way. I pray

00:56:43.329 --> 00:56:46.690
all this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. So

00:56:46.690 --> 00:56:48.369
this is what we have left on our agenda. We're

00:56:48.369 --> 00:56:49.750
going to pray one more time together to close

00:56:49.750 --> 00:56:51.690
out our regular services. And then we'll pray

00:56:51.690 --> 00:56:52.989
a couple more times during the Lord's Supper.

00:56:53.050 --> 00:56:54.309
There's really no problem. You can talk to the

00:56:54.309 --> 00:56:55.710
Lord as much as you want. We'll do that too.

00:56:57.090 --> 00:56:59.889
But we are only going to take just a very, very

00:56:59.889 --> 00:57:01.269
short break, just long enough to marshal the

00:57:01.269 --> 00:57:03.110
kids. So if you need a little bathroom, get in

00:57:03.110 --> 00:57:05.289
there quick and get back in here for the Lord's

00:57:05.289 --> 00:57:06.969
Supper. And then we're done and out of here.

00:57:07.400 --> 00:57:11.119
In probably 15 minutes. So don't freak out about

00:57:11.119 --> 00:57:12.380
it. Your lunch will still be there when you get

00:57:12.380 --> 00:57:15.920
there. He can tell you. Would you close us in

00:57:15.920 --> 00:57:17.960
prayer at this time? We are transitioning to

00:57:17.960 --> 00:57:26.059
Lord's Supper. Thank you for your love. Yes.

00:57:26.800 --> 00:57:30.719
Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for

00:57:30.719 --> 00:57:35.139
watching us. Knowing that we make mistakes. Thank

00:57:35.139 --> 00:58:18.159
you for your forgiveness. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.