WEBVTT 00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:13.880 In the book of Esther, in chapter 4, we see an 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:17.620 incredible event. Are you familiar with it? Does 00:00:17.620 --> 00:00:19.920 anybody know what happens in the book of Esther 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:25.339 in chapter 4? So, Mordecai sends a message. Who's 00:00:25.339 --> 00:00:29.940 Mordecai? Mordecai sends a message to Esther 00:00:29.940 --> 00:00:38.420 and asks her to go and approach the king. That 00:00:38.420 --> 00:00:42.460 sets the stage for the greatest moment of fasting 00:00:42.460 --> 00:00:46.679 in the Bible. I mean, every moment of fasting. 00:00:47.140 --> 00:00:50.719 When Esther learned that Haman had plotted to 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:55.640 destroy the Jewish people, she understood that 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:58.240 there was really nothing that she could do. No 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:01.140 amount of political skill, personal influence 00:01:01.140 --> 00:01:03.259 over the king, none of that was going to help 00:01:03.259 --> 00:01:07.040 him. So what she did instead was she asked Mordecai 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:11.680 to ask all of his people in his circle, and also 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:15.140 she asked all of her ladies in her circle. And 00:01:15.140 --> 00:01:17.959 she said, go gather together all the Jews and 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:21.359 fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:24.459 days, night or day. That's actually chapter 4, 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:29.030 verse 16. Now, you might think that they were 00:01:29.030 --> 00:01:33.010 fasting to change the king's mind. And in the 00:01:33.010 --> 00:01:34.890 world, that might be what people think, right? 00:01:35.049 --> 00:01:38.030 I can do this. For example, if you're a child 00:01:38.030 --> 00:01:39.629 or a teenager and your parents don't give you 00:01:39.629 --> 00:01:42.930 one, like go to your room, stalking mad, mope, 00:01:43.090 --> 00:01:44.590 tell them you're not going to talk to them for 00:01:44.590 --> 00:01:46.150 a couple of days, give them the silent treatment, 00:01:46.290 --> 00:01:48.609 and then finally they might change your mind. 00:01:48.629 --> 00:01:50.409 You might think that the way that you behaved 00:01:50.409 --> 00:01:54.290 is how you elicited the change. That was not 00:01:54.290 --> 00:01:56.840 their goal at all. This fasting was not about 00:01:56.840 --> 00:02:00.519 changing the king's mind. As I said, Esther already 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:02.319 realized that there was nothing that she could 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:06.780 do to change his mind. What fasting did instead 00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:11.180 was prepared Esther's heart. And then just a 00:02:11.180 --> 00:02:13.419 second later in that same chapter, she says, 00:02:13.580 --> 00:02:17.379 so then after that time, I will go to the king. 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:21.939 And if I perish, I perish. See, she knew that 00:02:21.939 --> 00:02:24.259 the fasting might not change the king's mind. 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:27.159 The fasting was not for the purpose of entreating 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:29.919 the king to receive her positively. It was for 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:32.479 preparing her heart that if she should die in 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:34.780 the service of the Lord, she would be right with 00:02:34.780 --> 00:02:39.020 God. That's different. Jesus then reinforced 00:02:39.020 --> 00:02:41.939 the same principle in the New Testament, in Matthew 00:02:41.939 --> 00:02:46.759 6. Jesus says, when you fast, it's an assumption, 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:50.800 not if you fast, but when you fast. And he taught 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:53.259 them that they don't do it for public recognition. 00:02:53.319 --> 00:02:55.139 Don't do it out there so everybody can see you. 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:57.800 Don't look all lopey and sad that you're going 00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:01.639 without this or that. But as an act of sincere 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:06.900 devotion before the Father. Biblical fasting, 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:09.319 which is our spiritual discipline emphasis for 00:03:09.319 --> 00:03:13.680 this sixth month, is not about forcing God's 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:16.000 hand or entreating somebody else to change their 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:20.169 mind. It's about drawing near to God. with humility 00:03:20.169 --> 00:03:22.370 and dependence. You are saying, essentially, 00:03:22.610 --> 00:03:26.169 Lord, you are more necessary to me than, insert, 00:03:26.229 --> 00:03:29.069 whatever you're fasting from. Right? And classic 00:03:29.069 --> 00:03:32.689 fasting is food. So, we know that we need food 00:03:32.689 --> 00:03:35.650 to survive. We have to eat, or at least take 00:03:35.650 --> 00:03:38.150 in nutrients by some means, and if you, God forbid, 00:03:38.210 --> 00:03:39.650 you can't eat for some reason, they'll probably 00:03:39.650 --> 00:03:41.770 give you a stomach to you, if it ever came to 00:03:41.770 --> 00:03:43.889 that. But, bottom line is, you have to take in 00:03:43.889 --> 00:03:46.830 nutrients. But you're saying to God, that God, 00:03:46.870 --> 00:03:49.949 you are more important to me, than my comfort, 00:03:50.169 --> 00:03:56.689 than my sustenance. I need your strength more 00:03:56.689 --> 00:04:01.310 than my own strength. And when we receive the 00:04:01.310 --> 00:04:04.490 idea of fasting that way, then we, like Esther, 00:04:04.650 --> 00:04:07.650 come to the place where we can say, and if I 00:04:07.650 --> 00:04:11.969 perish, I perish. Now we may live in a nation 00:04:11.969 --> 00:04:15.189 where that may not be required of us in living 00:04:15.189 --> 00:04:17.389 for Christ, because in Syria you have religious 00:04:17.389 --> 00:04:21.540 freedoms. But there could come a time, situationally 00:04:21.540 --> 00:04:24.240 in one person's life, or governmentally, there 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:26.360 may be laws or rules made at some point in time 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:30.060 in our nation. And I wonder, will we wait to 00:04:30.060 --> 00:04:32.800 fast and come to the moment of saying, and if 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:35.639 I perish, I perish, until such a time arises? 00:04:36.339 --> 00:04:38.519 Or will we remember this spiritual discipline? 00:04:38.660 --> 00:04:41.000 I submit to you that as our church, as New Heights 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:44.180 Fellowship, we know that we do not fast to manipulate 00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:47.860 God. We fast because we recognize how desperately 00:04:47.860 --> 00:04:52.980 we need God. You can do this, and probably should, 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:55.459 before major decisions, difficult conversations, 00:04:55.720 --> 00:04:58.600 ministry opportunities, or anticipated spiritual 00:04:58.600 --> 00:05:03.240 battles. Fasting reminds us that victory belongs 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:06.920 to the Lord. So I'll ask you today these questions. 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:08.540 I'm going to mull them over in your minds for 00:05:08.540 --> 00:05:10.060 a second. In a moment, we're going to pray and 00:05:10.060 --> 00:05:12.199 move on, and we'll worship the Lord with our 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:13.860 tithes and offerings and sing a little more. 00:05:14.410 --> 00:05:17.029 But don't let this time pass you without dealing 00:05:17.029 --> 00:05:19.129 with a few of these things. First, is there a 00:05:19.129 --> 00:05:22.189 burden that you have been carrying without first 00:05:22.189 --> 00:05:28.990 seeking the Lord in prayer and fasting? I hear 00:05:28.990 --> 00:05:30.290 a lot of times people say, well, I prayed about 00:05:30.290 --> 00:05:34.470 it. Jesus didn't say if you fast, he said when 00:05:34.470 --> 00:05:38.750 you fast. Is there a burden that you have been 00:05:38.750 --> 00:05:41.730 dealing with without first seeking the Lord? 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:43.920 first seeking God in prayer and fasting? Is there 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:46.839 a decision that requires more dependence on God 00:05:46.839 --> 00:05:49.100 than confidence in yourself? You know, there 00:05:49.100 --> 00:05:51.180 really is nothing that's put before you that 00:05:51.180 --> 00:05:54.259 you can't just make a decision about. You're 00:05:54.259 --> 00:05:57.399 a human being created with free will, a creator 00:05:57.399 --> 00:05:59.819 and a destroyer created in the image of God. 00:05:59.899 --> 00:06:02.259 You can speak things into existence, create them 00:06:02.259 --> 00:06:03.800 with your hands, envision them with your mind, 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:06.620 dream, imagine a future that does not yet exist. 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:10.980 So you can... With any decision that is presented, 00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:12.839 you can say, well, this could result in this, 00:06:12.860 --> 00:06:15.519 this, or this. You could be a master chess player 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:17.379 who's working on it every single day, and they 00:06:17.379 --> 00:06:21.980 think 10, 11 moves ahead for 64 pieces. Did I 00:06:21.980 --> 00:06:24.779 get that right? It's not right. How many is it? 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:30.459 32. Anyway, you can do it. The question is, will 00:06:30.459 --> 00:06:33.720 you require dependence on God to do it or not? 00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:37.939 And the Bible says we are meant to require dependence 00:06:37.939 --> 00:06:42.050 on God. Consider then setting aside a meal or 00:06:42.050 --> 00:06:45.529 a day to seek the Lord with a focused heart. 00:06:45.670 --> 00:06:48.129 Or maybe you look at your life and say, I realize 00:06:48.129 --> 00:06:51.810 I have become attached to this thing. I'm spending 00:06:51.810 --> 00:06:56.290 a lot of time and effort maintaining my TV series 00:06:56.290 --> 00:06:59.949 or my books I'm reading or my recreation, whatever 00:06:59.949 --> 00:07:02.649 it might be. And you can say, I'm going to fast 00:07:02.649 --> 00:07:06.209 from that for self -discipline purposes and to 00:07:06.209 --> 00:07:11.230 focus on the Lord. Ask God then to prepare you 00:07:11.230 --> 00:07:16.149 to obey whatever he calls you to do. As I pray 00:07:16.149 --> 00:07:18.189 in this moment, I'm going to lead us in a prayer. 00:07:18.290 --> 00:07:21.449 A little bit about fasting. A little bit about 00:07:21.449 --> 00:07:24.949 fasting. A little bit about worshiping and recognizing 00:07:24.949 --> 00:07:27.470 the Lord for who he is. And I ask you to join 00:07:27.470 --> 00:07:31.310 me. Would you join me now? Father in heaven, 00:07:31.389 --> 00:07:33.689 we pray today that you would teach us to believe 00:07:33.689 --> 00:07:42.579 on you. Day in and day out. When we rise and 00:07:42.579 --> 00:07:47.500 when we settle for the night. When we sit to 00:07:47.500 --> 00:07:49.980 eat or sometimes rush to eat and can't even sit. 00:07:51.980 --> 00:07:55.699 When we do the work of the kingdom and when we 00:07:55.699 --> 00:07:58.240 enjoy our recreation, hopefully in the way that 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:01.980 we're doing it for you. Lord, we ask you to show 00:08:01.980 --> 00:08:03.860 us what dependence looks like. We realize that 00:08:03.860 --> 00:08:07.500 dependence does not look like being weak. And 00:08:07.500 --> 00:08:10.269 I think that's a lesson of fasting as well. It 00:08:10.269 --> 00:08:13.990 takes some effort. It's an intentional choice. 00:08:14.870 --> 00:08:16.870 That's why it's called a spiritual discipline. 00:08:18.050 --> 00:08:21.149 Because it's a choice. And a choice that then 00:08:21.149 --> 00:08:26.170 must be enforced. Lord, I see how when we don't 00:08:26.170 --> 00:08:30.410 apply ourselves in the spiritual disciplines, 00:08:30.430 --> 00:08:38.830 we kind of languish. We don't grow. We don't 00:08:38.830 --> 00:08:41.330 reach for what you would have for us, and when 00:08:41.330 --> 00:08:42.769 we're not reaching for what you would have for 00:08:42.769 --> 00:08:47.549 us, maybe other things fall in our lap, or we 00:08:47.549 --> 00:08:51.889 reach for something else that's proper. No, Lord. 00:08:52.789 --> 00:08:55.269 Help us to be dependent on you. I don't think 00:08:55.269 --> 00:08:59.190 the world talks about independence. That if you 00:08:59.190 --> 00:09:02.049 make enough money, influence enough people, bless 00:09:02.049 --> 00:09:07.289 you, that you'll be okay, that you'll do well. 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:12.419 Kind of like the American dream. Here we see 00:09:12.419 --> 00:09:15.340 pictured the dream of the kingdom that we belong 00:09:15.340 --> 00:09:18.960 to. The dream of the kingdom of God is a man 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:22.120 or a woman dedicated to God, depending on God. 00:09:22.139 --> 00:09:24.000 We were made to be in right relationship with 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:27.379 you, and for that we depend upon you. That you 00:09:27.379 --> 00:09:29.820 would put us in, that you would keep us in, that 00:09:29.820 --> 00:09:32.440 you would walk us through it all, that you would 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:34.120 stay with us through it all, that you would fulfill 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:35.960 all the promises that you have made, and you 00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:39.929 are a God who fulfills his promises. Even as 00:09:39.929 --> 00:09:41.730 we go to tithes and offerings right now, Lord, 00:09:41.870 --> 00:09:46.409 think about that widow who gave her the last 00:09:46.409 --> 00:09:49.570 two mites. And it was said that she gave more 00:09:49.570 --> 00:09:52.549 than all those who piled in their coins and rang 00:09:52.549 --> 00:09:56.289 the horns that day because she gave out of her 00:09:56.289 --> 00:09:58.129 need. She gave out of her want. She gave out 00:09:58.129 --> 00:10:00.669 of her sacrifice. But we know that that's the 00:10:00.669 --> 00:10:03.389 kind of giving that the Bible calls us to now. 00:10:03.470 --> 00:10:05.529 We talk a lot about tithing because, of course, 00:10:05.529 --> 00:10:09.429 that's still a biblical thing too. But really, 00:10:09.509 --> 00:10:11.990 sacrificial giving is the giving of the New Testament. 00:10:12.950 --> 00:10:16.529 So that, Lord, today, as we give of our tithes 00:10:16.529 --> 00:10:20.490 and offerings, as we say, our 10 % and our whatever 00:10:20.490 --> 00:10:25.750 mores, I pray that you'll take that money as 00:10:25.750 --> 00:10:28.570 a testimony, as a statement, as an act of worship, 00:10:28.730 --> 00:10:32.009 and use it for whatever you would. That the church 00:10:32.009 --> 00:10:36.899 would, united, understand your will for us. We 00:10:36.899 --> 00:10:39.179 know that in the renewing of our mind is the 00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:41.580 ability to understand your good and perfect will. 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:45.059 So as we do that today, Lord, we pray that you'll 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:48.480 take it all and make it all, bless you, whatever 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:53.120 it needs to be. Bless us as we continue to worship 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:58.000 you. Set this people not on a pedestal. Lord, 00:10:58.039 --> 00:10:59.740 we don't even pray to be a light on a hill, although 00:10:59.740 --> 00:11:01.620 we know that we don't have a choice in that matter. 00:11:01.620 --> 00:11:05.080 We already are. We don't pray to be better than 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:09.299 anyone else. We don't pray knowing that we are 00:11:09.299 --> 00:11:11.980 better than anyone else. We simply come to you 00:11:11.980 --> 00:11:14.779 in dependence today and ask you through the blood 00:11:14.779 --> 00:11:18.879 of Jesus, your son, that you take care of us, 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:22.860 provide for us as you promised, protect us as 00:11:22.860 --> 00:11:25.379 you promised, purpose us as you promised, and 00:11:25.379 --> 00:11:28.500 empower us as you promised. And therefore, we 00:11:28.500 --> 00:11:31.460 pray, your will be done here on earth as it is 00:11:31.460 --> 00:11:37.759 in heaven. In Jesus' name, amen. I like sports. 00:11:37.899 --> 00:11:40.340 I like watching football, but I used to be a 00:11:40.340 --> 00:11:42.799 young guy. I used to like playing football, and 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:45.500 then now not so much anymore. And so I don't 00:11:45.500 --> 00:11:47.179 watch as much football as I used to watch either. 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:50.240 I like to watch baseball, but I prefer to play 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:52.500 baseball. And so I play softball, so I don't 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:55.700 watch very much baseball anymore. But I remember 00:11:55.700 --> 00:11:58.259 a number of times watching the Super Bowl, and 00:11:58.259 --> 00:12:00.039 you're familiar with that, or even the Rose Bowl. 00:12:00.500 --> 00:12:03.379 And at the Super Bowl and the Rose Bowl, ultimately 00:12:03.379 --> 00:12:08.200 there is a victor, a person who wins. The coach, 00:12:08.360 --> 00:12:11.559 the quarterback, the team wins the game. And 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:13.559 a lot of times the team will say, well, it was 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:16.279 my line, or the quarterback says, it was my line 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:17.740 that protected me and did a great job, that did 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:19.399 the team do a great job. This was a whole team 00:12:19.399 --> 00:12:22.639 effort. And I kind of like doing that. So right 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:25.019 after the game, the announcers do a lot of analyzing 00:12:25.019 --> 00:12:28.179 the game. They did it by ball control. They kept 00:12:28.179 --> 00:12:29.519 the ball for a long period of time, and that 00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:34.100 really did it. Or he really made this work. was 00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:36.440 the one who scored 200 yards today. He's the 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:39.299 one who made the victory possible. A lot of analyzing 00:12:39.299 --> 00:12:41.340 that. And then right after they get to talking 00:12:41.340 --> 00:12:43.379 about what it was about the winning team that 00:12:43.379 --> 00:12:45.539 made them win, and maybe a little bit about what 00:12:45.539 --> 00:12:47.600 it was about the losing team that made them lose, 00:12:47.820 --> 00:12:50.480 right after that, they start talking about the 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:53.460 winning team in another way. Think about it for 00:12:53.460 --> 00:12:54.960 a second for the sports people that are in the 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:57.320 room. They start looking at that Super Bowl team 00:12:57.320 --> 00:13:00.059 or that Rose Bowl college team, and they start 00:13:00.059 --> 00:13:02.120 asking a certain question. You know what question 00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:07.669 I'm thinking of? Say it again. I'll talk about 00:13:07.669 --> 00:13:09.590 after what could they have done better. What's 00:13:09.590 --> 00:13:16.490 the next topic? Yep. Can they do it again? That's 00:13:16.490 --> 00:13:19.269 the next topic, right? So in the college, a lot 00:13:19.269 --> 00:13:20.590 of that has to do with, well, they've got 13 00:13:20.590 --> 00:13:22.909 seniors rotating off this year, including the 00:13:22.909 --> 00:13:25.009 quarterback, the running back, and three linemen, 00:13:25.049 --> 00:13:27.529 right? And so they've got some good up -and -comers, 00:13:27.549 --> 00:13:31.059 but... Maybe not. In the pro team, they're stacked 00:13:31.059 --> 00:13:32.940 to do it again. These guys are all young and 00:13:32.940 --> 00:13:34.799 strong, and they're blowing away. They'll do 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:37.899 it again for sure. They'll be a contender next 00:13:37.899 --> 00:13:40.740 year for sure. And that becomes the topic. Can 00:13:40.740 --> 00:13:43.480 they do it again? I submit to you that victories 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:47.620 carry with them a certain impetus, a desire to 00:13:47.620 --> 00:13:50.539 have more victories. And that, as well as some 00:13:50.539 --> 00:13:53.779 other things that we're going to see today, creates 00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:58.840 a certain result. And so be careful. Be careful 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:02.100 in your victories to ensure that they are godly 00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:03.759 victories. What we're going to see in the book 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:08.059 of Judges today is a victory that is not godly 00:14:08.059 --> 00:14:12.639 and a result that is very sad. And so grab your 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:15.519 Bibles, if you would, and turn with me to Judges 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:18.940 chapter 18. Okay, Mark, come on. Is there anybody 00:14:18.940 --> 00:14:21.779 out there? All right, we'll try it again. Turn 00:14:21.779 --> 00:14:25.110 with me to Judges chapter 18. Thank you. This 00:14:25.110 --> 00:14:27.149 is God's Word. Whatever I get right or wrong 00:14:27.149 --> 00:14:29.710 in what I have written about it, God's Word will 00:14:29.710 --> 00:14:33.149 never fail you. So if a whole other sermon comes 00:14:33.149 --> 00:14:35.250 into your heart and into your head because the 00:14:35.250 --> 00:14:37.690 Holy Spirit is putting it there today, I suggest 00:14:37.690 --> 00:14:41.350 you listen and respond accordingly. So we're 00:14:41.350 --> 00:14:42.769 going to do it a little differently today than 00:14:42.769 --> 00:14:44.929 we usually do it. Instead of reading all of Judges 00:14:44.929 --> 00:14:47.429 18 and then going back and breaking down each 00:14:47.429 --> 00:14:50.250 part, which I love doing it that way, we're going 00:14:50.250 --> 00:14:53.490 to read the parts as we go. That will be in the 00:14:53.490 --> 00:14:57.809 interest of time. So before we go into 18, consider 00:14:57.809 --> 00:15:02.049 this, that it is true in the world in general 00:15:02.049 --> 00:15:07.289 that culture measures everything by results. 00:15:08.789 --> 00:15:12.870 How well you succeeded determines whether or 00:15:12.870 --> 00:15:14.929 not what you did was the right thing. If the 00:15:14.929 --> 00:15:17.149 business grows, it must have been right. If the 00:15:17.149 --> 00:15:19.990 church gets bigger, God must be blessing it. 00:15:20.029 --> 00:15:22.909 If the plan succeeds, it must have been God's 00:15:22.909 --> 00:15:26.600 will. But scripture repeatedly teaches from beginning 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:29.620 to end something completely different from that. 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:33.580 Proverbs 14, 12, which we're a little familiar 00:15:33.580 --> 00:15:36.019 with, I hope, because we used it last week as 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:38.419 part of the sermon. There is a way which seemeth 00:15:38.419 --> 00:15:41.519 right unto a man, but the end thereof are the 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:43.440 ways of death. So you can look at a way and say 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:46.899 this way looks right, but the end of it is death. 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:48.720 And that death is talking about could be death 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:50.639 of your body, but also could be referring to, 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:53.179 and probably is, that spiritually we're separated 00:15:53.179 --> 00:15:55.440 from God, and we don't have that oneness or that 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:57.779 unity with God that we would like to have or 00:15:57.779 --> 00:16:01.500 should have. We see many times in Scripture where 00:16:01.500 --> 00:16:04.379 people didn't really do anything wrong, and everything 00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:08.299 goes wrong. And so it is not as simple as looking 00:16:08.299 --> 00:16:12.080 at whether or not things went right to determine 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:16.740 whether or not right choices were made. Job did 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:19.360 not do anything to have all of his children killed, 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:23.269 to have his house destroyed, Everything lost, 00:16:23.529 --> 00:16:27.070 right? That was not because of punishment. It 00:16:27.070 --> 00:16:30.049 was because the devil wanted to test it. And 00:16:30.049 --> 00:16:32.070 the Lord gave him permission to do so, probably 00:16:32.070 --> 00:16:36.289 knowing what no one would do. That story repeats 00:16:36.289 --> 00:16:38.490 itself. There are a lot of times when people 00:16:38.490 --> 00:16:40.730 face suffering, and their suffering is not a 00:16:40.730 --> 00:16:42.610 direct response to the choices that they've made. 00:16:42.850 --> 00:16:45.169 Now, are we all worthy of suffering? Do we all 00:16:45.169 --> 00:16:47.350 have sin and therefore possibly the ways of death? 00:16:47.429 --> 00:16:49.809 Yes. For the grace of God, it is possible for 00:16:49.809 --> 00:16:52.009 us to also enjoy great blessings of the Lord. 00:16:52.149 --> 00:16:55.789 The bottom line is, it's never so clear as success 00:16:55.789 --> 00:16:59.350 means it was done right. So Judges 18, then, 00:16:59.490 --> 00:17:02.970 looks at a tremendous military success. You may 00:17:02.970 --> 00:17:04.750 or may not know some of the history. I'm pulling 00:17:04.750 --> 00:17:06.769 it in a little bit as we go. The tribe of Dan, 00:17:07.009 --> 00:17:09.609 at the time of the book of Judges, has not settled 00:17:09.609 --> 00:17:12.150 into the lands that they were said that they 00:17:12.150 --> 00:17:15.109 would take. Okay, so they're supposed to take 00:17:15.109 --> 00:17:17.410 over all the lands, kick out all the people that 00:17:17.410 --> 00:17:19.650 were there before, and kill as necessary everyone 00:17:19.650 --> 00:17:22.230 who would not retreat. And Dan has not done that. 00:17:22.410 --> 00:17:24.809 And in this story, they will finally receive 00:17:24.809 --> 00:17:27.890 a territory and mark out the area that they're 00:17:27.890 --> 00:17:30.529 supposed to be in. They will win a huge battle. 00:17:30.630 --> 00:17:33.210 They will gain a city. They will establish worship. 00:17:33.490 --> 00:17:35.549 By human standards, it looks like everything 00:17:35.549 --> 00:17:39.089 is going according to God's promises being fulfilled. 00:17:39.990 --> 00:17:42.410 And at the end of the chapter, we will see... 00:17:42.589 --> 00:17:45.410 one of the greatest, darkest spiritual tragedies 00:17:45.410 --> 00:17:51.470 in Israel's history. Something, the greatest 00:17:51.470 --> 00:17:54.829 danger sometimes arises out of these successes 00:17:54.829 --> 00:17:57.150 and victories. So first of all, look with me 00:17:57.150 --> 00:17:59.029 then at Judges chapter 18. We're going to read 00:17:59.029 --> 00:18:03.130 verses 1 to 6, and it says in 18, 1. In those 00:18:03.130 --> 00:18:05.950 days, there was no king of Israel. And in those 00:18:05.950 --> 00:18:08.670 days, the tribe of the Danites was seeking an 00:18:08.670 --> 00:18:11.450 inheritance for themselves to live in. For until 00:18:11.450 --> 00:18:13.980 that day, and inheritance had not been allotted 00:18:13.980 --> 00:18:16.880 to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel. 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:18.640 So they hadn't figured out where they were supposed 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:20.660 to settle yet, even though it's been generations. 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:24.180 So the sons of Dan sent from their family five 00:18:24.180 --> 00:18:28.559 men, out of their whole number, valiant men from 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:32.299 Zorah and Eshto, to spy out the land and to explore 00:18:32.299 --> 00:18:34.680 it. And they said to them, go explore the land. 00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:36.500 And they came to the hill country of Ephraim. 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:38.690 Now you know that's where... The guy that we've 00:18:38.690 --> 00:18:40.490 been reading about lives, right? You remember 00:18:40.490 --> 00:18:42.309 he's there, that guy Micah. First he had his 00:18:42.309 --> 00:18:44.329 son be his priest, and then later he hired a 00:18:44.329 --> 00:18:46.250 guy. So that's the guy that we've been reading 00:18:46.250 --> 00:18:49.170 about. So he said, go explore the land. And they 00:18:49.170 --> 00:18:51.089 came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house 00:18:51.089 --> 00:18:54.069 of Micah and stayed overnight there. When they 00:18:54.069 --> 00:18:55.849 were near the house of Micah, they recognized 00:18:55.849 --> 00:18:58.369 the voice of the young man, the Levite. And they 00:18:58.369 --> 00:19:01.490 turned aside. They turned aside there and said 00:19:01.490 --> 00:19:04.430 to him, who brought you here? And what are you 00:19:04.430 --> 00:19:06.910 doing in this place? And what do you have here? 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:10.420 He said to them, Micah has done this and that 00:19:10.420 --> 00:19:12.700 for me, and he has hired me, and I have become 00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:15.779 his priest. Then they said to him, inquire of 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:18.759 God, please, that we may know whether our way 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:22.680 on which we are going will be successful. And 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:25.960 the priest said to them, go in peace. Your way 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:28.740 in which you are going has the Lord's approval. 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:31.680 That takes us through verse 6. Notice that they 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:36.359 said to him, ask counsel, we pray thee of God. 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:40.539 They arrive at Micah's house, but notice what 00:19:40.539 --> 00:19:43.799 they don't do. There's not a question about the 00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:47.079 stolen idols. There's not a question about a 00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:49.259 graven image. There's not a question about a 00:19:49.259 --> 00:19:51.940 molten image that's carved out. That's all against 00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:56.299 God's commands. These are valiant, honorable 00:19:56.299 --> 00:19:58.720 men amongst the tribe of Dan. So we can reasonably 00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:01.339 expect that those people represent the faith 00:20:01.339 --> 00:20:05.089 beliefs of the tribe of Dan. And they don't question 00:20:05.089 --> 00:20:07.049 the fact that this guy is a priest and he's not 00:20:07.049 --> 00:20:08.730 supposed to be. This is a temple that's set up 00:20:08.730 --> 00:20:10.029 there where it's not supposed to be. This has 00:20:10.029 --> 00:20:11.970 idols in it and it's not supposed to be. They 00:20:11.970 --> 00:20:13.130 don't even ask. They don't even think about it. 00:20:13.930 --> 00:20:17.769 Rather, this homemade priesthood seems perfectly 00:20:17.769 --> 00:20:20.930 acceptable. That makes sense to us. They don't 00:20:20.930 --> 00:20:22.650 take the high ground of speaking out against 00:20:22.650 --> 00:20:26.289 graven images. They don't question why worship 00:20:26.289 --> 00:20:28.390 is taking place outside the place that God has 00:20:28.390 --> 00:20:33.380 appointed. They simply just join right in. Idolatry, 00:20:33.380 --> 00:20:37.039 introduced in Judges 17, has already become ordinary 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:43.220 in all the tribe of Dan. This is one of Satan's 00:20:43.220 --> 00:20:47.279 greatest strategies. Satan rarely begins by convincing 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:49.759 people that sin is a good thing, because that's 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:51.720 kind of black and white. We kind of feel it. 00:20:51.740 --> 00:20:55.619 We kind of know it. Rather, he convinces them 00:20:55.619 --> 00:21:00.160 that it's normal. That it's what everybody does. 00:21:00.829 --> 00:21:04.430 Even saying, I'll take care of it. You hear things 00:21:04.430 --> 00:21:09.269 like, everyone will lie, right? Or, trust me, 00:21:09.369 --> 00:21:11.769 my reasons for not being there, even though I 00:21:11.769 --> 00:21:14.690 said I would be there, are sufficient. I made 00:21:14.690 --> 00:21:16.710 a commitment, and I can't come now because X 00:21:16.710 --> 00:21:21.930 interfered. And that's acceptable, right? No. 00:21:22.529 --> 00:21:25.869 Actually, it's not acceptable. You say, I know 00:21:25.869 --> 00:21:27.829 what I'm doing, and we expect everybody to believe 00:21:27.829 --> 00:21:30.349 us, even though... They know, and we know, and 00:21:30.349 --> 00:21:31.990 everyone knows that we've made mistakes before, 00:21:32.210 --> 00:21:34.009 and this one could be just as much a mistake 00:21:34.009 --> 00:21:36.650 as the last, or it could be right, but how are 00:21:36.650 --> 00:21:37.890 they supposed to know that? They're just supposed 00:21:37.890 --> 00:21:42.089 to take our workflow. Or even things like, I 00:21:42.089 --> 00:21:45.490 said so. Think then on these scriptures, and 00:21:45.490 --> 00:21:47.410 I'll just, I'm going to read them to you. If 00:21:47.410 --> 00:21:49.130 you're a note taker, write down the references. 00:21:49.410 --> 00:21:51.309 If you're a fast Bible flipper, you can go there, 00:21:51.349 --> 00:21:53.089 but I'm not going to take time for us to turn 00:21:53.089 --> 00:21:56.589 notes. Romans 12, 2, for example, which says, 00:21:56.910 --> 00:21:59.029 and be not conformed to this world. Don't be 00:21:59.029 --> 00:22:01.750 like what's normal, but be transformed by the 00:22:01.750 --> 00:22:04.069 renewing of your mind, so that you may what? 00:22:04.490 --> 00:22:07.130 Prove, or you may test, what the will of God 00:22:07.130 --> 00:22:09.549 is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 00:22:09.609 --> 00:22:12.250 So there is a way for you to, by participating 00:22:12.250 --> 00:22:15.109 in the renewing of your mind, seek knowing what 00:22:15.109 --> 00:22:16.829 is good and acceptable and perfect according 00:22:16.829 --> 00:22:20.420 to God. Isaiah 5 .20 says this, Woe to those 00:22:20.420 --> 00:22:23.039 who call evil good and good evil, who substitute 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:25.519 darkness for light and light for darkness, who 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:27.619 substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:29.539 You see, we're living in a world where words 00:22:29.539 --> 00:22:31.180 are getting redefined and people are saying, 00:22:31.220 --> 00:22:35.140 this is okay. And God says, it's not okay. And 00:22:35.140 --> 00:22:37.359 then people are joining. And do you know that 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:40.400 in one of the greatest proponents of Adolf Hitler 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:43.400 at the beginning of World War II, you know who 00:22:43.400 --> 00:22:45.380 one of the greatest proponents of Adolf Hitler 00:22:45.380 --> 00:22:48.119 in? Germany at the beginning of World War II 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:53.200 was? The Christian church. They had him in their 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:56.339 pulpits. They talked about him every Sunday and 00:22:56.339 --> 00:22:59.140 how he was turning the nation in the right direction. 00:22:59.420 --> 00:23:02.059 The Christian church. Do you think knowing the 00:23:02.059 --> 00:23:03.740 mind of Christ they should have been endorsing 00:23:03.740 --> 00:23:05.720 a man who would do what he was already doing, 00:23:05.799 --> 00:23:07.140 even though it wasn't public everything that 00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:09.619 he was doing yet and what he would do? Or should 00:23:09.619 --> 00:23:11.119 they have been saying by the renewing of their 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:14.019 mind, there's something wrong here. Be careful 00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:16.839 about jumping on the bandwagon. of this individual, 00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:20.640 we can already feel by the leadership of the 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:23.599 Lord that something's not right. Exodus 20, verses 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:26.940 3 to 5 says, You shall have no other gods before 00:23:26.940 --> 00:23:30.279 me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or 00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:32.420 any likeness of what is in heaven, above, or 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:34.660 on the earth, beneath, in the water, under the 00:23:34.660 --> 00:23:37.220 earth. You shall not worship them or serve them, 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:42.220 for I, the Lord, I am the Lord your God. I'm 00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:44.180 sorry, I, the Lord, your God, am the jealous 00:23:44.180 --> 00:23:47.500 God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers, hang 00:23:47.500 --> 00:23:51.759 on, on the children, on the third and fourth 00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:54.279 generations of those who hate me, but showing 00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:57.859 loving kindness to those who love me and keep 00:23:57.859 --> 00:24:00.240 my commandments. And that's really a significant 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:03.500 statement, directly contrary to everything that's 00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:05.859 going on in our text today. But listen to Deuteronomy 00:24:05.859 --> 00:24:08.359 12. And this one will touch your heart a little 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:10.799 bit. It says, but you shall seek the Lord at 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:13.900 the place. Remember, Shiloh is in Ephraim within 00:24:13.900 --> 00:24:17.880 walking distance. Micah's house is within walking 00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:20.180 distance of the temple dedicated to the Lord. 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:22.279 Not easy walking distance, but they walk long 00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:25.460 ways, right? So you shall seek the Lord at the 00:24:25.460 --> 00:24:27.380 place with the Lord your God will choose from 00:24:27.380 --> 00:24:30.079 all your tribes. To establish his name, therefore, 00:24:30.119 --> 00:24:49.500 his dwelling, and there you shall come. Let's 00:24:49.500 --> 00:24:52.660 lay it out really clearly. He says, You shall 00:24:52.660 --> 00:24:57.680 not do at all what we are doing here today. every 00:24:57.680 --> 00:25:00.099 man doing whatever is right in his own eyes. 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:01.819 Do you hear that? That's everything that they're 00:25:01.819 --> 00:25:03.839 doing in the book of Judges. That phrase has 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:06.059 repeated a bunch of times, every man doing what 00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:08.779 was right in his own eyes. And he was saying, 00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:11.640 don't do that. Don't do what's right in your 00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:15.359 own eyes. He says, for you have not as yet come 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:17.220 to the resting place and the inheritance which 00:25:17.220 --> 00:25:19.640 the Lord your God is giving you. When you cross 00:25:19.640 --> 00:25:21.460 the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord 00:25:21.460 --> 00:25:23.400 your God is giving you to inherit, and he gives 00:25:23.400 --> 00:25:26.039 you rest from all your enemies, around you so 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:28.180 that you live in security, then it shall come 00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:31.319 about that place in which the Lord your God will 00:25:31.319 --> 00:25:33.539 choose for his name to dwell. There you shall 00:25:33.539 --> 00:25:36.160 bring all that I command you, your burnt offerings, 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:38.380 your sacrifice, your tithes, and the contribution 00:25:38.380 --> 00:25:41.119 of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings, 00:25:41.380 --> 00:25:43.720 which you will bow to the Lord. And you shall 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:46.180 rejoice before the Lord your God, and you and 00:25:46.180 --> 00:25:47.599 your sons and daughters, your male and female 00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:49.539 servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, 00:25:49.740 --> 00:25:52.480 since he has no portion of inheritance with you. 00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:55.920 Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:59.539 in every cultic place you see, but in the place 00:25:59.539 --> 00:26:03.019 where the Lord chooses in one of your tribes. 00:26:03.079 --> 00:26:05.740 There you shall offer your burnt offerings, and 00:26:05.740 --> 00:26:08.579 there you shall do all that I command you. So 00:26:08.579 --> 00:26:13.240 it's worth noting that societal position, arrival 00:26:13.240 --> 00:26:15.579 being an expert in the eyes of others to accept 00:26:15.579 --> 00:26:21.319 the ungodly way, your godly life. You know, they 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:22.880 look at you and say, hey, that's a Christian. 00:26:23.079 --> 00:26:24.880 And you're living a certain way. And they look 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:26.799 to you, and now you have authority. They're seeing 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:29.480 how you're living. So it's worthwhile noting 00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:31.940 that if you want to be a Christian and live out 00:26:31.940 --> 00:26:33.920 in society, you can go out there and tell them 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:37.720 all kinds of things. And that's not where they're 00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:39.900 supposed to get it from. They're not supposed 00:26:39.900 --> 00:26:42.180 to get it from you. Or if they're getting it 00:26:42.180 --> 00:26:44.140 from you, then I'm sure that whatever they're 00:26:44.140 --> 00:26:46.700 getting from you is coming from them. It's not 00:26:46.700 --> 00:26:49.640 your story to make up. It's not my story when 00:26:49.640 --> 00:26:51.400 I'm out walking the streets to make up. We are 00:26:51.400 --> 00:26:53.920 the church. The church answers to God. We are 00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:56.380 the body of Christ, and we answer to our head, 00:26:56.500 --> 00:26:59.099 Christ. If people want the answers to the dilemmas 00:26:59.099 --> 00:27:00.740 of the universe, they should come to the church, 00:27:00.799 --> 00:27:02.779 because the church is the one whom God has made 00:27:02.779 --> 00:27:08.180 his agent on earth in our day. The Danites actually 00:27:08.180 --> 00:27:11.319 asked this false priest. This guy has no authority 00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:14.920 whatsoever. He is a sinner against God, worshiping 00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:18.319 idols. outside the temple that God has destructed. 00:27:18.619 --> 00:27:20.759 And he has no authority whatsoever. And the Danites 00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:22.259 come to him and ask, you know how many times 00:27:22.259 --> 00:27:24.019 I've had people come to me and say, I kind of 00:27:24.019 --> 00:27:25.500 like you, you look good, you've got a tie on. 00:27:25.579 --> 00:27:27.079 What about this? How do you prefer to live my 00:27:27.079 --> 00:27:30.420 life? And if my answers are not from the God 00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:33.680 of the universe, then my answers are worthless. 00:27:34.039 --> 00:27:37.119 They're worse than worthless. They wanted God's 00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:39.779 blessings without God's authority. And this guy 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:43.539 was their best chance. Which you can be for people. 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:49.700 Just the same as he was. But religion without 00:27:49.700 --> 00:27:52.859 obedience always creates counterfeit comfort. 00:27:53.799 --> 00:27:56.039 If you're not following God, if that is not your 00:27:56.039 --> 00:27:57.480 choice, if you're not doing what it is that God 00:27:57.480 --> 00:28:00.279 wants you to do, you will find yourself at peace, 00:28:00.339 --> 00:28:01.740 as long as you don't think about it very much. 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:06.559 Like that line from popular TV a while back that 00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:08.539 says, it makes perfect sense if you don't think 00:28:08.539 --> 00:28:11.119 about it. And that's how the world is living. 00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:14.630 And they will look to you as an expert. in counterfeit 00:28:14.630 --> 00:28:18.930 comfort. I want you to think for a moment about 00:28:18.930 --> 00:28:21.990 a bank where everybody in the bank is using counterfeit 00:28:21.990 --> 00:28:25.710 money. All the tellers have counterfeit money, 00:28:25.769 --> 00:28:27.849 all the deposits, everybody has counterfeit money. 00:28:29.190 --> 00:28:31.730 No one questions it because everyone else is 00:28:31.730 --> 00:28:33.670 accepting it. They don't look to see whether 00:28:33.670 --> 00:28:34.970 the money is counterfeit because they assume 00:28:34.970 --> 00:28:36.970 someone else has checked to see if it's counterfeit. 00:28:37.730 --> 00:28:41.029 Being the fastest counter or holding the greatest 00:28:41.029 --> 00:28:44.069 quantity of that worthless money would still 00:28:44.069 --> 00:28:47.630 be a position of great honor. And it's like that 00:28:47.630 --> 00:28:50.349 in fake churches in the world. Now, I'm not judging 00:28:50.349 --> 00:28:52.029 any one church, but I will tell you, there are 00:28:52.029 --> 00:28:53.509 things and people out there who call themselves 00:28:53.509 --> 00:28:55.650 churches that definitely are not. The government 00:28:55.650 --> 00:28:58.230 recognizes churches in the United States of America, 00:28:58.269 --> 00:29:00.609 calls them religious or faith bodies, that are 00:29:00.609 --> 00:29:05.069 clearly not churches as Christ commanded. They 00:29:05.069 --> 00:29:07.789 don't even pretend to be. And yet they are recognized 00:29:07.789 --> 00:29:11.950 in that way. Employee of the Month in our fake... 00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:16.859 Money bank might well be best at dealing with 00:29:16.859 --> 00:29:21.180 concerns of those who start to wonder about the 00:29:21.180 --> 00:29:24.119 counterfeit nature of the money. Somebody comes 00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:26.480 in their bank and says, yeah, this doesn't look 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:28.599 quite right. Is this real? And they deal with 00:29:28.599 --> 00:29:30.799 it. They're like, oh, it is. It's no problem. 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:32.740 Let me convince you. Here's the arguments for 00:29:32.740 --> 00:29:34.619 it. The money is definitely good. You're fine. 00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:37.920 Just take it and go. And because they're able 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:41.019 to. or stall concerns about people who think 00:29:41.019 --> 00:29:43.140 the money might be counterfeit, they now win 00:29:43.140 --> 00:29:45.619 the day. They get their picture up on the wall, 00:29:45.700 --> 00:29:47.299 and they get the trophy every couple of months, 00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:50.500 and they get the raises, etc. You and I cannot 00:29:50.500 --> 00:29:56.319 be that. We can't. We have to be true. We have 00:29:56.319 --> 00:30:00.059 to follow the Lord of the universe and his promises 00:30:00.059 --> 00:30:03.579 of fulfillment. God's truth never changes when 00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:07.319 public opinion changes. The right direction is 00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:10.019 almost always different from what is everyone 00:30:10.019 --> 00:30:14.859 else doing. The only place that you might find 00:30:14.859 --> 00:30:16.279 that that's the right direction is when you're 00:30:16.279 --> 00:30:18.299 surrounded by a loyal people of God. I suggest 00:30:18.299 --> 00:30:20.799 you find one of those. In fact, I suggest you 00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:24.019 may have found one of those. And then you can 00:30:24.019 --> 00:30:25.619 look around and see what other people are doing. 00:30:25.839 --> 00:30:28.359 And if you see them not doing what's right, then 00:30:28.359 --> 00:30:30.400 you can Matthew 18 accountability, hold them 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:32.480 accountable so that we can be a people that are 00:30:32.480 --> 00:30:35.240 doing what's right. But you can know that the 00:30:35.240 --> 00:30:38.299 right direction is rarely what everyone else 00:30:38.299 --> 00:30:41.440 is doing. The question, rather, is what has God 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:45.700 said? Back to his word. Back to the spirit. Back 00:30:45.700 --> 00:30:49.319 to his presence. When you feel him pushing you 00:30:49.319 --> 00:30:52.660 in a certain direction, you cross -check it with 00:30:52.660 --> 00:30:54.400 the word of God. You listen to the sermon. You 00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:57.059 study the Bible. And you say, yes, between what 00:30:57.059 --> 00:30:58.740 God's word says and what the spirit is saying 00:30:58.740 --> 00:31:01.359 to me, I know this is the right thing. That brings 00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:05.099 us to the second point, then. Which is that success 00:31:05.099 --> 00:31:09.259 is never God's standard for truth. Success is 00:31:09.259 --> 00:31:11.000 never God's standard for truth. Notice then, 00:31:11.019 --> 00:31:13.680 beginning in verse 7, it says this. So the five 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:17.119 men departed and came to Laish. And they saw 00:31:17.119 --> 00:31:19.500 the people who were in it living in security, 00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:23.640 in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. 00:31:24.039 --> 00:31:27.200 For there was no oppressive ruler humiliating 00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:29.680 them for anything in the land. And they were 00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:32.609 far from the Sidonians. and had no dealings with 00:31:32.609 --> 00:31:35.210 anyone. So this is a cut -off society that's 00:31:35.210 --> 00:31:37.470 not connected. Notice it's not an Israelite society, 00:31:37.690 --> 00:31:41.789 and Dan has the commission to push out people 00:31:41.789 --> 00:31:44.390 who live in this land. So if they push them out, 00:31:44.549 --> 00:31:48.509 then they are doing what God said that they could 00:31:48.509 --> 00:31:52.369 do. So this looks like maybe a good deal. Verse 00:31:52.369 --> 00:31:55.309 8. When they came back to their brothers at Zorah 00:31:55.309 --> 00:31:57.430 and Eshdeel, their brothers said to them, What 00:31:57.430 --> 00:32:00.009 do you say? And they said, Arise, and let us 00:32:00.009 --> 00:32:02.549 go up against them. But we have seen the land, 00:32:02.609 --> 00:32:05.390 and behold, it is very good. And will you sit 00:32:05.390 --> 00:32:08.529 still? Do not hesitate to go, to enter, to take 00:32:08.529 --> 00:32:12.250 possession of the land. When you enter, you will 00:32:12.250 --> 00:32:14.630 come to an unsuspecting people with a spacious 00:32:14.630 --> 00:32:17.809 land, for God has handed it over to you, a place 00:32:17.809 --> 00:32:20.829 where there is no lack of anything that is on 00:32:20.829 --> 00:32:47.900 the earth. Then, Okay, so they set out. Where 00:32:47.900 --> 00:32:51.359 are they going? They're going up to that city 00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:54.019 that they found that was Iceland, Laís. isolated 00:32:54.019 --> 00:32:56.059 from everybody else. It doesn't have easy reinforcements, 00:32:56.059 --> 00:32:57.740 but it's a beautiful land with lots of stuff 00:32:57.740 --> 00:32:59.880 in it. It's a great place for Dan to settle. 00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:01.119 That's what they're thinking. And they've been 00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:04.319 told by this fake priest that their plan would 00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:06.660 go well. And they did go up and spy out. That 00:33:06.660 --> 00:33:10.859 was their plan. So they've had success. But they 00:33:10.859 --> 00:33:13.140 come first to the house of Michael. Then the 00:33:13.140 --> 00:33:15.119 five men who went to spy out the country of Laish 00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:17.339 said to their kinsmen, do you know that there 00:33:17.339 --> 00:33:21.240 are in these houses an ephod, and household idols, 00:33:21.500 --> 00:33:27.339 and a carved image, and a cast So they turned 00:33:27.339 --> 00:33:29.079 aside there, came to the house of the young man, 00:33:29.160 --> 00:33:31.180 the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked 00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:33.940 him how he was doing. Meanwhile, the 600 men 00:33:33.940 --> 00:33:36.079 armed with their weapons of war, who were of 00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:38.440 the sons of Dan, were positioned at the entrance 00:33:38.440 --> 00:33:41.299 of the gate. That's got to be intimidating. Now 00:33:41.299 --> 00:33:43.359 the five men who went to spy out the land went 00:33:43.359 --> 00:33:45.640 up and entered there. They took the carved image, 00:33:45.799 --> 00:33:47.980 the ephod, the household idols, and the cast 00:33:47.980 --> 00:33:50.599 metal image. While the priest was standing at 00:33:50.599 --> 00:33:52.519 the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed 00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:56.420 with weapons in war, when these men entered Micah's 00:33:56.420 --> 00:33:58.859 house and took the carved image, the ephod, the 00:33:58.859 --> 00:34:00.960 household idols, and the cast metal image, the 00:34:00.960 --> 00:34:03.240 priest said to them, What are you doing? And 00:34:03.240 --> 00:34:05.859 they said to him, Be silent. Put your hand over 00:34:05.859 --> 00:34:08.980 your mouth and go with us and be to us a father 00:34:08.980 --> 00:34:12.219 and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest 00:34:12.219 --> 00:34:14.840 to the house of one man or to be a priest to 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:17.880 a tribe and a family in Israel? The priest's 00:34:17.880 --> 00:34:20.880 heart was glad. And he took the ephod, the household 00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:23.340 idols, and the carved image, and went among the 00:34:23.340 --> 00:34:31.079 people. So the priest says, go in peace before 00:34:31.079 --> 00:34:35.860 the Lord is your way wherein you go. He sends 00:34:35.860 --> 00:34:37.900 them off. Then they go spy out the land. They 00:34:37.900 --> 00:34:39.800 come back. They get all their brothers, all their 00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:41.260 weapons. They come up here to Micah's house. 00:34:41.360 --> 00:34:44.559 Now the priest is enlisted to come and be their 00:34:44.559 --> 00:34:47.780 priest. Everything appears to happen exactly 00:34:47.780 --> 00:34:51.039 as predicted. They find an unsuspecting city. 00:34:51.159 --> 00:34:54.500 The attack succeeds. Their army is going to win. 00:34:54.900 --> 00:34:57.480 They are going to do something amazing. They 00:34:57.480 --> 00:35:00.780 can see that already right now. Everything seems 00:35:00.780 --> 00:35:04.000 to be working. But this is where countless believers 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:08.440 become confused. We're assuming that it's working 00:35:08.440 --> 00:35:11.619 because it's right. It's working because it's 00:35:11.619 --> 00:35:14.480 what God wants. We say, it must have been God. 00:35:15.469 --> 00:35:18.269 But God's approval is never measured by immediate 00:35:18.269 --> 00:35:21.530 success. The enemy will argue for it. Demons 00:35:21.530 --> 00:35:23.610 and evil spirits will shriek how they were right. 00:35:23.650 --> 00:35:25.710 See, we were right. We took you in the right 00:35:25.710 --> 00:35:28.590 direction because you agreed with them. And your 00:35:28.590 --> 00:35:31.210 flesh nature will want to agree with them again 00:35:31.210 --> 00:35:34.710 because it worked last time. So they came, they 00:35:34.710 --> 00:35:36.769 consulted the priest, and they went up and they 00:35:36.769 --> 00:35:38.369 spied out the land and everything went perfectly. 00:35:38.389 --> 00:35:40.829 Now they've rallied this huge army to go up there 00:35:40.829 --> 00:35:47.150 and take the city. Even your mind. By liberal 00:35:47.150 --> 00:35:49.369 application of your reasoning, you'll figure 00:35:49.369 --> 00:35:54.710 this out and say, hmm, the road that led to victory 00:35:54.710 --> 00:35:57.809 must have been endorsed by God. It just makes 00:35:57.809 --> 00:36:01.829 sense. But Jesus said it this way in Matthew 00:36:01.829 --> 00:36:04.650 7, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will 00:36:04.650 --> 00:36:06.530 enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does 00:36:06.530 --> 00:36:09.349 the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. 00:36:09.409 --> 00:36:10.989 Now before we go any further, let me just ask 00:36:10.989 --> 00:36:14.460 you, did Micah do the will of God? Did the priest 00:36:14.460 --> 00:36:17.900 do the will of God? Did the spies do the will 00:36:17.900 --> 00:36:21.699 of God? Is the army doing the will of God? As 00:36:21.699 --> 00:36:24.000 a people, they have accepted idolatrous worship 00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:26.639 and leadership of a false priest as the reason 00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:28.059 for doing what they're doing. They're not doing 00:36:28.059 --> 00:36:31.039 the will of God. And yet they are expecting great 00:36:31.039 --> 00:36:33.239 blessings and then attributing those blessings 00:36:33.239 --> 00:36:36.980 to God. Hear me now to say to you simply, if 00:36:36.980 --> 00:36:40.539 your life is blessed and you are not doing the 00:36:40.539 --> 00:36:44.179 will of God, Those blessings are not coming from 00:36:44.179 --> 00:36:49.000 God. You can become rich. You can become at peace. 00:36:49.579 --> 00:36:52.159 You can praise yourself and stop arguing with 00:36:52.159 --> 00:36:54.539 yourself and feel perfectly calm in your current 00:36:54.539 --> 00:36:57.019 course of action. But if you are not following 00:36:57.019 --> 00:36:59.380 God and doing as what God would have you to do, 00:36:59.539 --> 00:37:03.340 then you can safely trust this one fact, that 00:37:03.340 --> 00:37:05.320 the blessings you're receiving were not sent 00:37:05.320 --> 00:37:09.099 by the Lord. Every good thing comes from God 00:37:09.099 --> 00:37:13.300 in heaven. But a blessing... that supports your 00:37:13.300 --> 00:37:17.880 wicked way, is not actually a good thing. And 00:37:17.880 --> 00:37:21.440 did not come from the Lord. Rather, Jesus says, 00:37:21.599 --> 00:37:24.039 many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, 00:37:24.039 --> 00:37:26.340 did we not prophecy in your name? I submit to 00:37:26.340 --> 00:37:29.000 you, did not that priest prophecy to those men 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:32.760 in the name of the Lord? He did. But was he actually 00:37:32.760 --> 00:37:36.920 speaking for God? No, because he wasn't living 00:37:36.920 --> 00:37:39.019 for God. He wasn't connected to the commands 00:37:39.019 --> 00:37:42.030 of the Lord. Many will say to me on that day, 00:37:42.110 --> 00:37:44.030 Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, 00:37:44.030 --> 00:37:46.090 and in your name cast out demons, and in your 00:37:46.090 --> 00:37:48.769 name we were winning miracles? And then I will 00:37:48.769 --> 00:37:51.170 declare to them, I never knew you, depart from 00:37:51.170 --> 00:37:53.730 me, you who practice lawlessness. Deuteronomy 00:37:53.730 --> 00:37:55.949 13 says it this way, and this will blow your 00:37:55.949 --> 00:37:57.590 mind if you just make the connection with the 00:37:57.590 --> 00:38:00.789 story of Micah. It says, if a prophet or a dreamer 00:38:00.789 --> 00:38:04.469 of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign 00:38:04.469 --> 00:38:06.829 or a wonder, in other words, if he can do something 00:38:06.829 --> 00:38:09.929 miraculous, let's say he heals a lame man, Or 00:38:09.929 --> 00:38:13.090 he wakes the dead. The dead person brings them 00:38:13.090 --> 00:38:15.210 back to life or whatever. It doesn't matter what 00:38:15.210 --> 00:38:18.869 the sign or wonder might be. It says, and the 00:38:18.869 --> 00:38:21.550 sign of the wonder comes true concerning which 00:38:21.550 --> 00:38:23.670 he spoke to you, saying, let us go after other 00:38:23.670 --> 00:38:26.269 gods whom you have not known and let us serve 00:38:26.269 --> 00:38:28.250 them. So in other words, we have this guy who 00:38:28.250 --> 00:38:31.289 can do these miraculous things, yet his life 00:38:31.289 --> 00:38:34.969 says, let's follow false gods. Let's be into 00:38:34.969 --> 00:38:37.429 this thing that the world's into. Let's collect 00:38:37.429 --> 00:38:40.320 these things that the world collects. Let's find 00:38:40.320 --> 00:38:42.500 our success in these successes that the world 00:38:42.500 --> 00:38:46.780 says are successes. If he would do that, it says, 00:38:47.019 --> 00:38:50.480 verse 3, You shall not listen to the words of 00:38:50.480 --> 00:38:53.579 that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the 00:38:53.579 --> 00:38:56.699 Lord your God is testing you to find out if you 00:38:56.699 --> 00:38:58.920 love the Lord your God with all your heart and 00:38:58.920 --> 00:39:01.159 with all your soul. See, they were warm as a 00:39:01.159 --> 00:39:03.139 people. Moses warned them before they went to 00:39:03.139 --> 00:39:04.619 the promised land that there would be these people 00:39:04.619 --> 00:39:07.380 who could seemingly do amazing things. Why did 00:39:07.480 --> 00:39:08.920 didn't they go back to that priest? They went 00:39:08.920 --> 00:39:11.980 back because he told the five spies that they 00:39:11.980 --> 00:39:14.280 would have success in going up there. And they 00:39:14.280 --> 00:39:15.960 did. They said, well, this guy's the real deal. 00:39:16.300 --> 00:39:18.460 And here we have Moses saying, when you think 00:39:18.460 --> 00:39:21.320 he's the real deal, be careful. The real deal 00:39:21.320 --> 00:39:26.280 listens to God, follows to God. The last of that, 00:39:26.320 --> 00:39:30.139 verse five says, so you shall purge the evil 00:39:30.139 --> 00:39:37.079 from among you. which comes right before 1 -9, 00:39:37.199 --> 00:39:39.000 which is the one that says, be strong and courageous. 00:39:39.579 --> 00:39:41.880 The book of the law shall not depart from your 00:39:41.880 --> 00:39:44.059 mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, 00:39:44.139 --> 00:39:47.320 so that you may be careful to do according to 00:39:47.320 --> 00:39:49.500 all that is written in it, for then you will 00:39:49.500 --> 00:39:52.039 make your way prosperous, and then you will have 00:39:52.039 --> 00:39:54.920 success. You can see where the problem arises, 00:39:55.260 --> 00:39:58.159 because the word says, if you will do all that 00:39:58.159 --> 00:40:00.920 God has said to you, then you will have prosperity 00:40:00.920 --> 00:40:03.440 and success. So then when we see somebody who 00:40:03.440 --> 00:40:06.500 has prosperity and success, It's kind of natural 00:40:06.500 --> 00:40:08.820 to assume that maybe they did what God wanted 00:40:08.820 --> 00:40:11.840 them to do. Except that's not the order of things. 00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:13.699 If you have the prosperity and success without 00:40:13.699 --> 00:40:16.239 doing what God wanted you to do, then that prosperity 00:40:16.239 --> 00:40:20.880 and success did not come from the Lord. In the 00:40:20.880 --> 00:40:24.780 early days of teen and young adult ministry, 00:40:26.049 --> 00:40:27.690 pastor, youth director, really, they didn't call 00:40:27.690 --> 00:40:29.530 me pastor there, youth director at East Toledo, 00:40:29.590 --> 00:40:30.989 and then came to New Heights, and I was leading 00:40:30.989 --> 00:40:32.769 the youth group for a while, and then Chris Mitchell 00:40:32.769 --> 00:40:33.969 did it for a while, and I was helping her, and 00:40:33.969 --> 00:40:35.809 then I was doing it again for a while. And all 00:40:35.809 --> 00:40:37.570 that time, I learned something about young people. 00:40:37.809 --> 00:40:41.030 Young people, listen, this is huge. And if you've 00:40:41.030 --> 00:40:42.369 got a young person who's ready to come up in 00:40:42.369 --> 00:40:43.969 your midst, pay attention, because this is huge. 00:40:44.489 --> 00:40:48.150 Young people want what old people have. They 00:40:48.150 --> 00:40:52.150 want houses, cars, successful careers. They want 00:40:52.150 --> 00:40:56.090 families, etc. But here's what young people don't 00:40:56.090 --> 00:40:59.530 want. They don't want to endure the work that 00:40:59.530 --> 00:41:02.630 old people went through to get there. And I get 00:41:02.630 --> 00:41:04.809 it. Because I was a young person and I was in 00:41:04.809 --> 00:41:07.110 the exact same way. When I was at Radio Shack 00:41:07.110 --> 00:41:09.349 back in the day, 19 years old, computers were 00:41:09.349 --> 00:41:11.150 just becoming a thing. I was a salesman at Radio 00:41:11.150 --> 00:41:12.949 Shack. And I was very successful in selling at 00:41:12.949 --> 00:41:14.869 Radio Shack. But I was spending every penny I 00:41:14.869 --> 00:41:16.690 made. I had a girlfriend who liked to eat out 00:41:16.690 --> 00:41:18.670 and go see the point and stuff. And so I was 00:41:18.670 --> 00:41:19.969 spending the money. As fast as it could have 00:41:19.969 --> 00:41:21.349 been, I was spending it. As fast as it could 00:41:21.349 --> 00:41:24.889 have been. And then they came out with a 286 00:41:24.889 --> 00:41:27.769 megahertz computer. Can't even call it a PC because 00:41:27.769 --> 00:41:30.409 that term was kind of coined later. Computer 00:41:30.409 --> 00:41:33.230 that could fly at 286 megahertz. The computer 00:41:33.230 --> 00:41:35.550 boss was going, what? That's not fast. It's not 00:41:35.550 --> 00:41:38.969 fast, right? And I wanted that bad boy. I'm like, 00:41:39.090 --> 00:41:41.829 how much is it? $1 ,200. That's a lot of money. 00:41:41.889 --> 00:41:43.690 That's like three, four paychecks. And I don't 00:41:43.690 --> 00:41:45.349 have it because I spent everything that I got. 00:41:45.469 --> 00:41:48.130 So I got a RadioShack credit card with a $500 00:41:48.130 --> 00:41:49.909 limit on it. That's not near enough to buy a 00:41:49.909 --> 00:41:52.230 $1 ,200 computer. So then I went out and got 00:41:52.230 --> 00:41:55.329 a Citibank credit card with like a $700 limit 00:41:55.329 --> 00:41:56.949 on it. And between the two, and then I paid a 00:41:56.949 --> 00:41:58.710 little bit of extra cash, I bought that computer, 00:41:58.789 --> 00:42:01.369 maxed out both of those credit cards. Why? Because 00:42:01.369 --> 00:42:03.690 I wasn't willing to wait another month and not 00:42:03.690 --> 00:42:06.949 spend my money during that month to have the 00:42:06.949 --> 00:42:08.829 money to buy the computer that I could afford 00:42:08.829 --> 00:42:11.210 because I was making good money. But I wasn't 00:42:11.210 --> 00:42:12.670 willing to do that because I wanted it right 00:42:12.670 --> 00:42:14.989 then. So I maxed out both credit cards. Now I 00:42:14.989 --> 00:42:18.000 not only had to pay off. the balance of the computer. 00:42:18.219 --> 00:42:20.219 But on top of that, interest rates were high. 00:42:20.400 --> 00:42:23.139 So I paid off like another 20 % accumulating 00:42:23.139 --> 00:42:25.460 every month. And instead of paying it off in 00:42:25.460 --> 00:42:26.940 a month, which I could have done if I had just 00:42:26.940 --> 00:42:28.480 worked my butt off and stopped spending all that 00:42:28.480 --> 00:42:32.039 money. Instead, I paid it off in a year and a 00:42:32.039 --> 00:42:34.380 half. And that $1 ,200 computer cost me about 00:42:34.380 --> 00:42:38.079 two grand. I get it. We all get it. Every person 00:42:38.079 --> 00:42:40.559 that's over the hill in this room has been there 00:42:40.559 --> 00:42:42.840 and done that. Young people, listen to me. There 00:42:42.840 --> 00:42:46.179 is work to get where you're going. It is work. 00:42:46.480 --> 00:42:48.340 to do the things that God has asked you to do. 00:42:48.440 --> 00:42:50.960 But it is a yoke that God will help you carry 00:42:50.960 --> 00:42:53.960 and you can build a life that will honor the 00:42:53.960 --> 00:42:56.360 Lord. If you go another route, you might get 00:42:56.360 --> 00:43:03.159 there faster. The dark side is faster. But you'll 00:43:03.159 --> 00:43:05.760 not be where you want to be. You'll not be walking 00:43:05.760 --> 00:43:08.460 with the Lord. You'll not be spiritually alive 00:43:08.460 --> 00:43:13.800 inside. Psalm 1, verse 1 to 3 says this. How 00:43:13.800 --> 00:43:16.599 blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel 00:43:16.599 --> 00:43:18.300 of the wicked. Watch out. There are a lot of 00:43:18.300 --> 00:43:20.019 people who will tell you. And some of them will 00:43:20.019 --> 00:43:23.360 wear a collar or a tie. Some of them will bring 00:43:23.360 --> 00:43:25.840 money. They'll bring a word that's charming, 00:43:26.019 --> 00:43:27.960 better than me. I don't speak that way. I get 00:43:27.960 --> 00:43:31.139 that. Right? But this is from God, not from me. 00:43:31.340 --> 00:43:33.820 The book of the law shall not depart from your 00:43:33.820 --> 00:43:37.840 mouth. How blessed is the man who does not walk 00:43:37.840 --> 00:43:40.079 in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the 00:43:40.079 --> 00:43:41.400 path of the sinner. Do you see the difference? 00:43:42.519 --> 00:43:45.539 Nor sit in the seat of scoffers. But his delight, 00:43:45.679 --> 00:43:48.079 that would be your delight, young man, young 00:43:48.079 --> 00:43:51.099 woman, my delight, is in the law of the Lord. 00:43:51.280 --> 00:43:55.320 And in his law, he meditates day and night. He 00:43:55.320 --> 00:43:57.920 will be like a tree firmly planted by streams 00:43:57.920 --> 00:44:01.239 of water, which yields its fruit in its season, 00:44:01.340 --> 00:44:04.420 and its leaf does not wither. And whatever he 00:44:04.420 --> 00:44:07.280 does, he prospers. But it's really easy, then, 00:44:07.300 --> 00:44:09.119 to look at somebody who seems to be planted by 00:44:09.119 --> 00:44:11.320 a stream of water, who seems to be getting money 00:44:11.320 --> 00:44:13.360 coming in on a consistent basis, who seems to 00:44:13.360 --> 00:44:15.420 be dressed nice, who seems to be able to talk 00:44:15.420 --> 00:44:17.000 nice, or maybe they have a bigger vocabulary, 00:44:17.300 --> 00:44:18.980 or they have a high reading level, or they have 00:44:18.980 --> 00:44:21.059 a better education, and to think that, well, 00:44:21.099 --> 00:44:22.960 those are the things that I need, and to look 00:44:22.960 --> 00:44:25.840 at how they got to where they are, and to try 00:44:25.840 --> 00:44:28.719 to follow the same path by which they went, not 00:44:28.719 --> 00:44:32.980 realizing that it's not godly. The order is different. 00:44:33.369 --> 00:44:35.730 First, make sure that you are following God. 00:44:35.949 --> 00:44:38.289 First, make sure that your counsel is coming 00:44:38.289 --> 00:44:40.769 from somebody who respects the Lord. First, make 00:44:40.769 --> 00:44:43.469 sure that your choices are submitted to what 00:44:43.469 --> 00:44:47.030 the Word of God sends. Then, God will add in 00:44:47.030 --> 00:44:49.090 prosperity. Out of that, he'll make you as if 00:44:49.090 --> 00:44:52.190 you are planted by a stream, forever watered 00:44:52.190 --> 00:44:54.409 from underneath. And so when you might be ruffled 00:44:54.409 --> 00:44:56.349 on the surface and struggling and trying to get 00:44:56.349 --> 00:44:58.989 by, inside you'll be filled up with a power. 00:44:59.360 --> 00:45:01.739 and a glory and a grace and a mercy and a kindness 00:45:01.739 --> 00:45:03.960 and fruit of the Spirit that will see you through 00:45:03.960 --> 00:45:07.719 difficult times. You wonder why people are scratching 00:45:07.719 --> 00:45:10.280 and clawing and trying to get forward? Because 00:45:10.280 --> 00:45:11.900 people don't understand that the goal is not 00:45:11.900 --> 00:45:14.480 to try to get forward. The goal is to get deep, 00:45:14.599 --> 00:45:17.119 is to reside in the Lord and the rest. You're 00:45:17.119 --> 00:45:19.960 better off to be broke and depending on God than 00:45:19.960 --> 00:45:22.440 to be rich and not be able to find Him anywhere. 00:45:24.639 --> 00:45:28.139 1 Samuel 15, 22, To obey is better than sacrifice. 00:45:28.880 --> 00:45:30.880 Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings 00:45:30.880 --> 00:45:33.699 and sacrifice as in obeying the voice of the 00:45:33.699 --> 00:45:36.440 Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, 00:45:36.559 --> 00:45:40.320 and to heed is better than the fat of rams. The 00:45:40.320 --> 00:45:42.400 Danites wanted reassurance more than they wanted 00:45:42.400 --> 00:45:44.940 revelation. The priests became their spiritual 00:45:44.940 --> 00:45:48.579 mascot. FYI, I am not applying to be your spiritual 00:45:48.579 --> 00:45:52.579 mascot, nor is anyone else in this church. You 00:45:52.579 --> 00:45:55.840 want to learn about Jesus? Look to Jesus. Can 00:45:55.840 --> 00:45:58.900 Jesus use people to do that? Yes. but at any 00:45:58.900 --> 00:46:01.099 point in time that any person or thing interferes 00:46:01.099 --> 00:46:03.199 with him doing that, you don't look to them, 00:46:03.219 --> 00:46:07.219 you look to him. The priest became their spiritual 00:46:07.219 --> 00:46:10.019 mascot. It becomes comforting to honor the one 00:46:10.019 --> 00:46:12.480 who takes on the name of a godly one, and it's 00:46:12.480 --> 00:46:15.679 more comfortable because honoring an actual godly 00:46:15.679 --> 00:46:19.699 one would have meant repentance. I've gone out 00:46:19.699 --> 00:46:21.980 visiting people's houses who are in the church, 00:46:22.019 --> 00:46:23.659 and I've gone out visiting people's houses who 00:46:23.659 --> 00:46:25.780 are in the world, and I'm just... generalizing 00:46:25.780 --> 00:46:28.139 when I say that. I visited people in their homes 00:46:28.139 --> 00:46:31.639 who maybe knew Jesus, maybe didn't. By their 00:46:31.639 --> 00:46:34.280 profession, they did. But they don't go to church 00:46:34.280 --> 00:46:36.239 anywhere. They're not learning from the Bible. 00:46:36.360 --> 00:46:38.699 They don't have a pastor. Right? I knock on the 00:46:38.699 --> 00:46:42.159 door. Who's there? Pastor Dan from New Heights. 00:46:42.280 --> 00:46:45.800 Oh, come in! Come in! I've gone and stood with 00:46:45.800 --> 00:46:47.159 them in their kitchens while they were cooking 00:46:47.159 --> 00:46:48.719 their dinner and they begged me to stay and eat 00:46:48.719 --> 00:46:50.500 with them. I've gone and sat in their living 00:46:50.500 --> 00:46:52.159 room where they brought me ice cold water and 00:46:52.159 --> 00:46:55.960 snacks and almost like honored me as being a 00:46:55.960 --> 00:46:57.380 pastor of New Heights Fellowship Baptist Church 00:46:57.380 --> 00:46:59.039 and the positive things that comes out of that 00:46:59.039 --> 00:47:01.039 name. You don't know this necessarily, but New 00:47:01.039 --> 00:47:02.619 Heights Fellowship Baptist Church is well looked 00:47:02.619 --> 00:47:05.639 upon in the entire city because they hear my 00:47:05.639 --> 00:47:07.280 own personal calls, because they hear our podcast, 00:47:07.440 --> 00:47:09.530 because they get delivered. groceries from the 00:47:09.530 --> 00:47:11.309 life station, because they've been to our block 00:47:11.309 --> 00:47:13.829 parties, right? We are affecting people all over 00:47:13.829 --> 00:47:15.369 the place because they talk to Holly and Chris 00:47:15.369 --> 00:47:16.909 and constantly hand them the church information 00:47:16.909 --> 00:47:19.250 at the front door at the life station. It's constant, 00:47:19.369 --> 00:47:21.530 right? So thousands and thousands of people. 00:47:21.610 --> 00:47:23.230 So I'll go, Pastor Dan from New York, oh, come 00:47:23.230 --> 00:47:24.630 in. And I've stood with them while they cooked 00:47:24.630 --> 00:47:25.949 their dinner, and I've sat in their chair, and 00:47:25.949 --> 00:47:27.690 they brought me ice -cold water. And at the same 00:47:27.690 --> 00:47:30.329 time, I've gone to Christians' homes in this 00:47:30.329 --> 00:47:32.449 church, and I'm not scolding anybody, where they 00:47:32.449 --> 00:47:36.969 were too busy to receive me. Or they said, hey, 00:47:37.130 --> 00:47:38.900 you know, We're kind of busy right now, could 00:47:38.900 --> 00:47:41.460 you come back another day? Or come on in, come 00:47:41.460 --> 00:47:43.980 on in, but I'm working on this car, or I'm working 00:47:43.980 --> 00:47:45.659 on this project, or I'm doing something, I'm 00:47:45.659 --> 00:47:47.079 too busy to talk to you right now, but you're 00:47:47.079 --> 00:47:51.039 welcome to come on and hang out. See, the ungodly 00:47:51.039 --> 00:47:53.280 of the world want to latch on to the godly. You 00:47:53.280 --> 00:47:56.079 will find favor by walking with the Lord amongst 00:47:56.079 --> 00:47:58.219 the ungodly because it's easier to latch on to 00:47:58.219 --> 00:48:01.940 you than it is to latch on to Jesus. In fact, 00:48:01.940 --> 00:48:04.260 a person cannot latch on to Jesus in their own 00:48:04.260 --> 00:48:08.840 strength. Jesus latches on to them. And so in 00:48:08.840 --> 00:48:11.360 this case, they chose a priest who was not godly 00:48:11.360 --> 00:48:12.920 because it was easier to latch on to a priest 00:48:12.920 --> 00:48:15.219 that was godly. And if they had gone to Shiloh, 00:48:15.360 --> 00:48:17.260 there might have been great shame in the fact 00:48:17.260 --> 00:48:19.860 of how their people had accepted so readily idolatry 00:48:19.860 --> 00:48:22.920 and listened to false prophets. His prediction 00:48:22.920 --> 00:48:25.559 gave them emotional confidence. Everyone found 00:48:25.559 --> 00:48:29.599 in themselves a desire for everything to just 00:48:29.599 --> 00:48:33.019 be okay. They wanted victory. They were told 00:48:33.019 --> 00:48:34.719 they would have it. That sounds good to them. 00:48:36.039 --> 00:48:38.280 This priest's office gave religious credibility. 00:48:38.659 --> 00:48:42.159 His robe, his idols, his titles, his endorsements. 00:48:42.300 --> 00:48:45.400 None of these things could actually give divine 00:48:45.400 --> 00:48:48.000 approval because that man was not divinely approved. 00:48:48.599 --> 00:48:51.239 People often look for someone who will bless 00:48:51.239 --> 00:48:53.559 the direction that they've already chosen. I 00:48:53.559 --> 00:48:55.099 remember when we bought that house up in Michigan, 00:48:55.260 --> 00:48:56.900 a loan officer said, you can do it, you can afford 00:48:56.900 --> 00:48:58.980 the boat. We were never supposed to buy that 00:48:58.980 --> 00:49:01.360 house for young Christians at the time. And ran 00:49:01.360 --> 00:49:02.920 on ahead of God. He told us where we were supposed 00:49:02.920 --> 00:49:05.320 to live, we were not supposed to buy it. God 00:49:05.320 --> 00:49:10.900 calls us to seek his will before, all caps, before 00:49:10.900 --> 00:49:16.260 choosing our direction. By now, everybody has 00:49:16.260 --> 00:49:19.019 some form of GPS, usually, at their accessibility. 00:49:19.380 --> 00:49:20.980 I've seen that yesterday that 90 % of Americans 00:49:20.980 --> 00:49:24.300 own a car, and that 90 -some percent of the people 00:49:24.300 --> 00:49:28.340 who own a car use GPS in some fashion. Did you 00:49:28.340 --> 00:49:32.860 know that GPS can take you the wrong way to get 00:49:32.860 --> 00:49:35.880 where you're going? Now, you've probably noticed 00:49:35.880 --> 00:49:39.320 on your GPS, on your phone, iPhone, Android, 00:49:39.480 --> 00:49:42.079 whatever, that it'll say this route has a similar 00:49:42.079 --> 00:49:45.340 arrival time. And you might pick three or four 00:49:45.340 --> 00:49:48.119 routes that have a similar arrival time, right? 00:49:49.320 --> 00:49:52.500 But one of those routes, the road might be rougher. 00:49:53.320 --> 00:49:57.800 It might require more turns. Traffic could be 00:49:57.800 --> 00:49:59.659 developing right then and that moment, and the 00:49:59.659 --> 00:50:02.190 satellite hasn't caught up yet. A road could 00:50:02.190 --> 00:50:04.809 be closed, and the programming might not be in 00:50:04.809 --> 00:50:07.269 there yet to tell you that the road is closed. 00:50:08.010 --> 00:50:11.349 The GPS can take you down a route that is not 00:50:11.349 --> 00:50:13.230 the right route. But people always say, well, 00:50:13.329 --> 00:50:15.849 I got here. It said it would take me 11 minutes, 00:50:16.010 --> 00:50:18.429 and I got here in 11 minutes. So that must have 00:50:18.429 --> 00:50:24.150 been the right route, right? Maybe not. What 00:50:24.150 --> 00:50:26.090 if it's not? What if the other route, you've 00:50:26.090 --> 00:50:27.769 been driving on past a gas station, you go, oh, 00:50:27.809 --> 00:50:30.489 there's a gas station there. I need gas. I'm 00:50:30.489 --> 00:50:32.969 at like three -eighths of a tank. I may as well 00:50:32.969 --> 00:50:34.349 get it now so I don't have to get it the next 00:50:34.349 --> 00:50:36.170 day. You stop and you get it. Then the next day, 00:50:36.210 --> 00:50:38.449 you don't have to stop at a time when you really 00:50:38.449 --> 00:50:40.489 needed to not stop. While you're at the gas station, 00:50:40.510 --> 00:50:42.570 maybe the person behind the counter needs a little 00:50:42.570 --> 00:50:44.369 witness, a little encouragement, a God bless 00:50:44.369 --> 00:50:46.789 you, something like that. And the GPS route that 00:50:46.789 --> 00:50:48.489 took you the other way didn't take you past the 00:50:48.489 --> 00:50:50.389 gas station at all. So there's nobody to win 00:50:50.389 --> 00:50:52.869 to Christ. You arrive in 11 minutes, you assume 00:50:52.869 --> 00:50:55.010 it's the right way. Why not get in your car before 00:50:55.010 --> 00:50:57.809 you press... on the directions to pray and see 00:50:57.809 --> 00:50:59.650 if it's the way that God wants you to go. Oh, 00:50:59.730 --> 00:51:02.409 but yes, the GPS is easy. And it does always 00:51:02.409 --> 00:51:04.570 get me there. This is exactly what I'm talking 00:51:04.570 --> 00:51:07.130 about. It's the human mentality to assume that 00:51:07.130 --> 00:51:10.150 if we arrive at the destination, the directions 00:51:10.150 --> 00:51:11.829 that we took to get there must have been right. 00:51:13.230 --> 00:51:16.929 A church can grow through entertainment. A business 00:51:16.929 --> 00:51:20.670 can prosper dishonestly. A family can accumulate 00:51:20.670 --> 00:51:24.170 wealth, stability, education, physical health. 00:51:24.489 --> 00:51:28.909 All while drifting spiritually. Success proves 00:51:28.909 --> 00:51:35.610 ability. Only scripture proves obedience. The 00:51:35.610 --> 00:51:39.829 standard is not, did it work? The standard is, 00:51:39.929 --> 00:51:45.710 did God command it? Is my path holy and righteous? 00:51:48.389 --> 00:51:50.949 There is a moment in time you can get too far. 00:51:51.400 --> 00:51:53.480 And that is exactly what the tribe of Dan does. 00:51:53.519 --> 00:51:56.480 This victory becomes the most dangerous victory 00:51:56.480 --> 00:51:59.579 of Dan, bringing us to our third point. Look 00:51:59.579 --> 00:52:03.360 at verse 21, and we'll finish the chapter. 21. 00:52:05.139 --> 00:52:09.559 Then they turned and left. And they put the children 00:52:09.559 --> 00:52:14.960 and the livestock and the valuables in front 00:52:14.960 --> 00:52:18.159 of them. And when they had distanced themselves 00:52:18.159 --> 00:52:21.340 from Micah's house, The men who were in the houses 00:52:21.340 --> 00:52:24.219 near Micah's house assembled by command and overtook 00:52:24.219 --> 00:52:31.960 the sons of Dan. When they called out to the 00:52:31.960 --> 00:52:33.940 sons of Dan who turned around and said to Micah, 00:52:34.000 --> 00:52:35.980 what's the matter with you that you have assembled 00:52:35.980 --> 00:52:38.920 together? So the people from the house of Micah, 00:52:38.940 --> 00:52:40.760 they don't want the priest to be taken. They 00:52:40.760 --> 00:52:41.699 don't want the stuff to be taken. They're going 00:52:41.699 --> 00:52:44.039 after the tribe of Dan to try to stop it. Verse 00:52:44.039 --> 00:52:46.940 24, he said, you've taken my gods, which I made, 00:52:47.059 --> 00:52:49.550 and the priest. and have gone away, what more 00:52:49.550 --> 00:52:52.369 do I have? So how can you say, notice he said, 00:52:52.449 --> 00:52:54.090 what more do I have? And that's a place that 00:52:54.090 --> 00:52:56.170 you can get to when you're in false worship. 00:52:56.269 --> 00:52:58.269 You can think that you don't need God, you have 00:52:58.269 --> 00:52:59.909 this, and now that's taken away, and you wind 00:52:59.909 --> 00:53:02.829 up with nothing. So how can you say to me, what 00:53:02.829 --> 00:53:04.429 is the matter with you? Then the sons of Dan 00:53:04.429 --> 00:53:06.929 said to him, do not let your voice be heard among 00:53:06.929 --> 00:53:09.449 us, or else fierce men will attack you, and you 00:53:09.449 --> 00:53:11.690 will lose your life and the lives of your household. 00:53:11.929 --> 00:53:14.469 So the sons of Dan went on their way. And when 00:53:14.469 --> 00:53:16.269 Micah saw that they were too strong for him, 00:53:16.309 --> 00:53:17.989 he returned and went back to his house. By the 00:53:17.989 --> 00:53:20.170 way, that's pretty much the end of his story 00:53:20.170 --> 00:53:22.969 there. They took what Micah had made, and the 00:53:22.969 --> 00:53:25.409 priest who had belonged to him, and came to Laish, 00:53:25.449 --> 00:53:28.849 to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck 00:53:28.849 --> 00:53:30.809 them with the edge of the sword, and they burned 00:53:30.809 --> 00:53:34.150 the city with fire. And there was no one to save 00:53:34.150 --> 00:53:36.389 them, because it was far from Sidon, and they 00:53:36.389 --> 00:53:38.929 had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the 00:53:38.929 --> 00:53:42.679 valley, which is near Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt 00:53:42.679 --> 00:53:44.820 the city, and they lived in it, and they named 00:53:44.820 --> 00:53:49.019 the city Dan, after the name of Dan, their father, 00:53:49.139 --> 00:53:52.099 who was born to Israel. However, the name of 00:53:52.099 --> 00:53:55.440 the city was previously Laish. The sons of Dan 00:53:55.440 --> 00:53:58.639 set up for themselves the carved image, Jonathan 00:53:58.639 --> 00:54:01.539 the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh. He and 00:54:01.539 --> 00:54:03.639 his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites 00:54:03.639 --> 00:54:06.440 until the day of the captivity of the land. So 00:54:06.440 --> 00:54:08.539 they set up for themselves Micah's carved image, 00:54:08.699 --> 00:54:11.269 which he had made. All the time that the house 00:54:11.269 --> 00:54:14.989 of God was in Shiloh. That last part was poetic. 00:54:15.710 --> 00:54:18.289 They set up a temple within walking distance 00:54:18.289 --> 00:54:23.250 of the temple. Everything that God had promised 00:54:23.250 --> 00:54:24.949 the tribe seems to be happening. So they were 00:54:24.949 --> 00:54:26.469 told that they would go and take the people out 00:54:26.469 --> 00:54:28.070 of the land and take it over. And it was a prosperous 00:54:28.070 --> 00:54:30.949 land and they would be great. They got land now. 00:54:31.070 --> 00:54:32.710 They got security. They got inheritance. They 00:54:32.710 --> 00:54:36.940 got victory. But notice the tragic ending. And 00:54:36.940 --> 00:54:40.199 they set them up Micah's raven image. Instead 00:54:40.199 --> 00:54:42.860 of establishing worship centered on God, they 00:54:42.860 --> 00:54:48.719 institutionalized, permanentized idolatry. Now 00:54:48.719 --> 00:54:52.659 they will false worship all the way until the 00:54:52.659 --> 00:54:56.219 people of God go into captivity. In a second 00:54:56.219 --> 00:54:57.940 you'll see it's even a little worse than that. 00:54:59.519 --> 00:55:01.920 One writer commented that they may have done 00:55:01.920 --> 00:55:05.059 this by way of an apology to God for not having 00:55:05.059 --> 00:55:07.579 honored Shiloh. So they set the temple up, dedicated 00:55:07.579 --> 00:55:09.760 a lot of money to it, a lot of effort to it, 00:55:09.820 --> 00:55:11.780 to kind of say to God, God, we're sorry that 00:55:11.780 --> 00:55:13.579 we're not going to Shiloh. We want to worship 00:55:13.579 --> 00:55:15.599 you. Look at all that we've dedicated to your 00:55:15.599 --> 00:55:20.239 service. Let me tell you that an apology with 00:55:20.239 --> 00:55:24.420 a reason sounds a lot like not an apology. Somebody 00:55:24.420 --> 00:55:26.920 says to you, I'm sorry, but blah, blah, blah. 00:55:27.119 --> 00:55:29.840 It doesn't really seem like an apology, right? 00:55:30.199 --> 00:55:33.360 An apology that gives a reason that persists 00:55:33.360 --> 00:55:36.639 is actually no apology at all. If the reason 00:55:36.639 --> 00:55:40.159 for the bad behavior is good, then that reason 00:55:40.159 --> 00:55:42.440 or another reason would be sufficient to repeat 00:55:42.440 --> 00:55:45.159 the same bad behavior in the future. For example, 00:55:45.300 --> 00:55:48.239 if I say to you, well, I'm sorry, but you said 00:55:48.239 --> 00:55:50.139 the wrong thing and it upset me and that's why 00:55:50.139 --> 00:55:53.659 I did what I did. Then that's no apology, because 00:55:53.659 --> 00:55:55.780 if you say the wrong thing in the future, I'm 00:55:55.780 --> 00:55:58.320 going to do it again. Right? And that's the problem. 00:55:58.400 --> 00:55:59.739 That's why a lot of times you talk to me and 00:55:59.739 --> 00:56:02.269 you say, I'm sorry, but... it doesn't feel like 00:56:02.269 --> 00:56:04.010 an apology to them because you're basically giving 00:56:04.010 --> 00:56:07.329 your excuse to be bad again. And that's what 00:56:07.329 --> 00:56:09.050 they were doing. They might have been apologizing 00:56:09.050 --> 00:56:10.849 to God, but if they were, they were doing it 00:56:10.849 --> 00:56:12.909 by way of saying, we're going to keep doing this 00:56:12.909 --> 00:56:15.829 bad that we're doing. In this case, the victory 00:56:15.829 --> 00:56:19.150 becomes the birthplace of generations of false 00:56:19.150 --> 00:56:21.630 worship. They lock their children and their grandchildren 00:56:21.630 --> 00:56:24.590 and every person that will come to live in the 00:56:24.590 --> 00:56:29.119 city of Dan into false worship. What looked like 00:56:29.119 --> 00:56:32.460 freedom becomes spiritual slavery. God had always 00:56:32.460 --> 00:56:35.980 intended for Dan to possess an inheritance. He 00:56:35.980 --> 00:56:37.780 was always going to give them a place if they'd 00:56:37.780 --> 00:56:40.699 just be faithful. And now they have it, it's 00:56:40.699 --> 00:56:43.360 true, but God never intended them to gain it 00:56:43.360 --> 00:56:46.900 by stealing idols, by recruiting an illegitimate 00:56:46.900 --> 00:56:50.900 priest, and by ignoring his commands. God's promises 00:56:50.900 --> 00:56:54.360 are inseparable from God's character. You understand? 00:56:55.070 --> 00:56:57.409 If you say, God told me to do this, but the thing 00:56:57.409 --> 00:56:59.510 that God is telling you to do does not match 00:56:59.510 --> 00:57:02.469 up with God's character, then one thing or the 00:57:02.469 --> 00:57:04.909 other is true. Either the thing that you're saying 00:57:04.909 --> 00:57:09.369 is true is a lie, or we misunderstand God's character. 00:57:09.750 --> 00:57:11.889 And according to being a Christian and what it 00:57:11.889 --> 00:57:13.969 means to have God in your life, we don't misunderstand 00:57:13.969 --> 00:57:18.369 God's character. That creates a problem. God's 00:57:18.369 --> 00:57:20.630 promises are inseparable from his character. 00:57:20.849 --> 00:57:24.960 His blessings are designed to produce... Holiness. 00:57:25.659 --> 00:57:28.519 Whenever we pursue God's gifts without God's 00:57:28.519 --> 00:57:34.039 ways, the gift itself becomes, wait for it, bondage. 00:57:34.139 --> 00:57:37.579 Now you're trapped. You see, you have to repeat. 00:57:37.960 --> 00:57:40.780 You have to again say, I got great victory by 00:57:40.780 --> 00:57:44.239 not following God. I'm not going to repent and 00:57:44.239 --> 00:57:45.880 turn to God because I don't want to admit that 00:57:45.880 --> 00:57:48.280 I did all these things not following God. But 00:57:48.280 --> 00:57:51.670 now I need victory again. In order to keep proving 00:57:51.670 --> 00:57:53.289 that you're not walking away from God, you have 00:57:53.289 --> 00:57:55.349 to keep finding bigger and better victories. 00:57:55.369 --> 00:57:57.969 It becomes like an addiction, and you're in bondage 00:57:57.969 --> 00:58:02.809 to your own success. And people do that until 00:58:02.809 --> 00:58:08.969 it is their whole life. Galatians 6 says, Do 00:58:08.969 --> 00:58:12.369 not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever 00:58:12.369 --> 00:58:15.809 a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one 00:58:15.809 --> 00:58:17.969 who sowed to his own flesh will from the flesh 00:58:17.969 --> 00:58:19.929 reap corruption, but the one who sowed to the 00:58:19.929 --> 00:58:22.170 Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 00:58:22.329 --> 00:58:25.230 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due 00:58:25.230 --> 00:58:28.369 time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Do 00:58:28.369 --> 00:58:34.389 it right. Do the right thing, and in time you 00:58:34.389 --> 00:58:37.030 will be blessed. Farmers go off, put the seed 00:58:37.030 --> 00:58:38.349 in the ground. They don't go the next day to 00:58:38.349 --> 00:58:41.730 harvest. They harvest when the seed grows to 00:58:41.730 --> 00:58:45.969 a crop. So do the work of the Lord and let the 00:58:45.969 --> 00:58:48.750 Lord bless you in the Lord's time. That's what 00:58:48.750 --> 00:58:52.690 it says. James 3 .17 says this, But the wisdom 00:58:52.690 --> 00:58:56.489 from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, 00:58:56.750 --> 00:59:00.389 reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering 00:59:00.389 --> 00:59:04.750 without hypocrisy. Psalms 37 says this, I have 00:59:04.750 --> 00:59:07.449 seen a wicked, violent man spreading himself 00:59:07.449 --> 00:59:11.110 like a luxuriant tree in its native soil. See, 00:59:11.210 --> 00:59:13.380 I've seen a wicked guy. That man is doing awesome. 00:59:13.420 --> 00:59:17.440 He's doing great. Then he passed away, and lo, 00:59:17.739 --> 00:59:20.960 he was no more. I sought for him, but he could 00:59:20.960 --> 00:59:23.780 not be found. Mark the blameless man, and behold 00:59:23.780 --> 00:59:27.000 the upright. For the man of peace will have a 00:59:27.000 --> 00:59:29.960 posterity. A posterity means you'll go on, and 00:59:29.960 --> 00:59:32.199 the effects of you being in the world will last 00:59:32.199 --> 00:59:35.260 beyond your lifetime. But transgressors will 00:59:35.260 --> 00:59:38.800 be altogether destroyed. The posterity of the 00:59:38.800 --> 00:59:41.960 wicked will be cut off. but the salvation of 00:59:41.960 --> 00:59:45.480 the righteous is from the Lord. He is their strength 00:59:45.480 --> 00:59:48.780 in time of trouble. And then the prophet Micah, 00:59:48.840 --> 00:59:52.000 he has told you, O man, what is good, and what 00:59:52.000 --> 00:59:54.519 does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, 00:59:54.739 --> 00:59:57.219 to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your 00:59:57.219 --> 01:00:00.159 God. And then Jesus said, if you love me, you 01:00:00.159 --> 01:00:04.139 will keep my commandments. God never separates 01:00:04.139 --> 01:00:07.119 destination from discipleship. If you cannot 01:00:07.119 --> 01:00:10.000 grow as a Christian in the process of getting 01:00:10.000 --> 01:00:12.880 where you are going, then you are going to the 01:00:12.880 --> 01:00:16.760 wrong place. If you cannot grow as a Christian 01:00:16.760 --> 01:00:20.719 while reaching the destination that you've plotted 01:00:20.719 --> 01:00:23.340 the course to, then the course you have plotted 01:00:23.340 --> 01:00:25.940 and by very good likelihood the destination you 01:00:25.940 --> 01:00:31.219 are headed for are both flat out wrong. A builder 01:00:31.219 --> 01:00:35.320 may finish a beautiful house without a foundation. 01:00:36.300 --> 01:00:38.260 My parents' house in Tennessee was built during 01:00:38.260 --> 01:00:40.159 World War II. We had to turn in ration certificates 01:00:40.159 --> 01:00:42.780 to get bricks. We had an extremely limited supply 01:00:42.780 --> 01:00:45.320 of bricks. So they built the house without a 01:00:45.320 --> 01:00:48.219 foundation. Now you can set a matchbox car at 01:00:48.219 --> 01:00:49.900 one end of the kitchen and it will roll to the 01:00:49.900 --> 01:00:52.739 other end by itself. You can trip getting up 01:00:52.739 --> 01:00:54.880 in the middle of the night to walk to the bathroom 01:00:54.880 --> 01:00:57.840 over the floor because the bathroom floor is 01:00:57.840 --> 01:00:59.860 two feet higher than the bedroom floor because 01:00:59.860 --> 01:01:01.679 there was no foundation. But you know, when he 01:01:01.679 --> 01:01:05.000 built that house, it looked good. It looked perfect. 01:01:05.500 --> 01:01:07.900 It was sitting on piles of block, the little 01:01:07.900 --> 01:01:10.139 bit that they could get. But over time, the ground 01:01:10.139 --> 01:01:12.380 settled in various places. And then over top 01:01:12.380 --> 01:01:14.440 of that, they would put in trims. My parents 01:01:14.440 --> 01:01:17.000 paid a guy $30 ,000 to put a foundation under 01:01:17.000 --> 01:01:18.940 the house. And he told them that when he put 01:01:18.940 --> 01:01:20.380 that foundation under and leveled the house, 01:01:20.460 --> 01:01:22.199 that it would all kind of level back out. The 01:01:22.199 --> 01:01:24.139 floors would go back to being horizontal and 01:01:24.139 --> 01:01:26.159 everything would be good. Except that somebody 01:01:26.159 --> 01:01:28.300 had built in trim and cabinets and everything 01:01:28.300 --> 01:01:30.579 else while the floor was already tipped. So there 01:01:30.579 --> 01:01:33.280 were so many nails resisting. That no matter 01:01:33.280 --> 01:01:34.800 how much they jack the house, all they could 01:01:34.800 --> 01:01:36.599 do was bust the cabinets off the walls and break 01:01:36.599 --> 01:01:38.699 up the trim and the floor and never level. You 01:01:38.699 --> 01:01:42.239 need a foundation. And you may look pretty for 01:01:42.239 --> 01:01:44.460 a while not having one. And everybody would think 01:01:44.460 --> 01:01:46.340 about how smart he is, how fast he is, how capable 01:01:46.340 --> 01:01:48.019 he is, how well he pays his bills, whatever. 01:01:48.340 --> 01:01:50.840 And if you don't build your life on Christ, you 01:01:50.840 --> 01:01:55.050 will crash down when the storm comes. Dan gained 01:01:55.050 --> 01:01:57.630 the city, but they lost generations. Their children 01:01:57.630 --> 01:01:59.530 and their children's children and their children's 01:01:59.530 --> 01:02:01.750 children's children would follow false gods instead 01:02:01.750 --> 01:02:03.929 of the God of the universe because of what they 01:02:03.929 --> 01:02:07.809 did that day. Parents can provide financially 01:02:07.809 --> 01:02:09.670 while neglecting spiritual leadership. Do you 01:02:09.670 --> 01:02:12.530 understand that if you put food in their mouths, 01:02:12.610 --> 01:02:14.730 if you put clothes on their backs and a roof 01:02:14.730 --> 01:02:17.010 over their head, but do not make the single, 01:02:17.150 --> 01:02:19.929 number one, most important thing in your life 01:02:19.929 --> 01:02:21.989 and in your house, Jesus Christ, the Lord of 01:02:21.989 --> 01:02:25.239 the universe? that you may well be clothing them, 01:02:25.380 --> 01:02:27.780 feeding them, and sheltering them on their way 01:02:27.780 --> 01:02:30.860 to hell, and securing it for their lifetime and 01:02:30.860 --> 01:02:33.380 the lifetime of their children to come. Jesus 01:02:33.380 --> 01:02:37.440 must be first! And if he's not, we'll be surprised 01:02:37.440 --> 01:02:39.820 when they start to build their houses without 01:02:39.820 --> 01:02:43.800 foundations. Churches can become larger while 01:02:43.800 --> 01:02:46.420 becoming weaker spiritually. In fact, that is 01:02:46.420 --> 01:02:49.260 the normal way that things go, because lost people 01:02:49.260 --> 01:02:51.320 want to attach themselves not to a godly church, 01:02:51.320 --> 01:02:53.920 present but to an ungodly presence because attaching 01:02:53.920 --> 01:02:56.539 to a godly presence is more difficult. And so 01:02:56.539 --> 01:02:59.400 if tomorrow we make a motion as a church to start 01:02:59.400 --> 01:03:01.400 preaching a health and wealth gospel or become 01:03:01.400 --> 01:03:03.460 an open and affirming church, we'll probably 01:03:03.460 --> 01:03:06.980 get more people pretty quickly. But will we be 01:03:06.980 --> 01:03:10.199 more godly? No. In fact, we will not be godly 01:03:10.199 --> 01:03:13.360 at all. Christians can achieve impressive accomplishments 01:03:13.360 --> 01:03:16.539 while drifting from fellowship with Christ. Never 01:03:16.539 --> 01:03:21.110 sacrifice God's character. To obtain God's promises. 01:03:21.889 --> 01:03:26.409 That's what they did. Because eventually, what 01:03:26.409 --> 01:03:30.449 you gain becomes that which enslaves you. That 01:03:30.449 --> 01:03:33.309 brings us to our conclusion. Judges 18 is not 01:03:33.309 --> 01:03:38.050 merely about one try. This text is a warning 01:03:38.050 --> 01:03:42.349 to every generation that will ever live on the 01:03:42.349 --> 01:03:47.429 earth. Dan accepted idolatry because everyone 01:03:47.429 --> 01:03:51.559 else was accepting it. Dan confused success with 01:03:51.559 --> 01:03:53.980 God's approval. They took matters in their own 01:03:53.980 --> 01:03:56.320 hand and took for themselves what God would have 01:03:56.320 --> 01:03:58.539 eventually given them had they just been faithful. 01:03:59.519 --> 01:04:02.800 Dan obtained victory, but planted seeds of future 01:04:02.800 --> 01:04:05.679 bondage for themselves and for generations to 01:04:05.679 --> 01:04:07.960 come. Years later, this is the thing that will 01:04:07.960 --> 01:04:09.519 blow your mind. Years later, you might have heard 01:04:09.519 --> 01:04:10.960 this story, and I'm going to tell it to you briefly. 01:04:11.219 --> 01:04:14.039 There comes a king, and he has to rule the northern 01:04:14.039 --> 01:04:16.949 kingdom after the two kingdoms split. The southern 01:04:16.949 --> 01:04:18.710 kingdom becomes the tribe of Judah and Benjamin. 01:04:18.969 --> 01:04:21.829 The other ten are in the north. And he's ruling 01:04:21.829 --> 01:04:24.650 the northern kingdom. And he says, well, we've 01:04:24.650 --> 01:04:27.469 got a problem. There's a temple built in Jerusalem. 01:04:27.969 --> 01:04:29.789 And every time they have a big festival down 01:04:29.789 --> 01:04:32.429 there, everybody in my kingdom is walking down 01:04:32.429 --> 01:04:35.130 there. And it's investing a ton of money in their 01:04:35.130 --> 01:04:37.889 economy. And they're giving. They're doing offerings. 01:04:38.110 --> 01:04:39.190 And they're worshiping. And they're listening 01:04:39.190 --> 01:04:41.239 to the priests there. Talk about how that's the 01:04:41.239 --> 01:04:42.800 only place that you can worship and there's only 01:04:42.800 --> 01:04:44.260 one way that you can worship God and all that. 01:04:44.519 --> 01:04:46.440 And he said, Jeroboam said, I got to do something. 01:04:46.820 --> 01:04:49.619 So what he decided to do was to set up two beautiful, 01:04:49.780 --> 01:04:56.719 molten, made, precious calves that people could 01:04:56.719 --> 01:04:59.400 come and worship. And he says, I got to have 01:04:59.400 --> 01:05:01.340 two places that I can set up these beautiful 01:05:01.340 --> 01:05:03.460 calves so that people can come and worship and 01:05:03.460 --> 01:05:06.699 not always go down to Jerusalem where all that 01:05:06.699 --> 01:05:08.340 money, all those people, and some of them stay 01:05:08.340 --> 01:05:10.610 there. They don't ever come back. I've got to 01:05:10.610 --> 01:05:12.429 get some solid area in my kingdom. So I'm going 01:05:12.429 --> 01:05:15.070 to put one of those calves at Bethel. That's 01:05:15.070 --> 01:05:16.750 in this part of my kingdom. And then a clean 01:05:16.750 --> 01:05:18.630 opposite side of my kingdom. I need a good place 01:05:18.630 --> 01:05:20.610 to put another one. And guess where he put it? 01:05:22.889 --> 01:05:29.590 Yes, go ahead. Where? Dan. He put it in Dan. 01:05:30.170 --> 01:05:33.090 He put one in Bethel and one in Dan. And now 01:05:33.090 --> 01:05:37.969 Jeroboam's people, the entire nation of Israel, 01:05:38.030 --> 01:05:44.110 ten tribes. will worship falsely. Not worship 01:05:44.110 --> 01:05:48.329 God anymore. And they'll go into captivity because 01:05:48.329 --> 01:05:53.869 of it. And it started here with Micah taking 01:05:53.869 --> 01:05:56.829 first his son and then a guy from Bethlehem with 01:05:56.829 --> 01:06:01.829 a fancy name to be their priest. And then that 01:06:01.829 --> 01:06:04.570 priest prophecies to five spies and those spies 01:06:04.570 --> 01:06:07.639 go and they seemed to get good success by listening 01:06:07.639 --> 01:06:09.480 to that false priest. And then they go back to 01:06:09.480 --> 01:06:11.599 the people of Dan and said, we can do it. We 01:06:11.599 --> 01:06:14.119 can finally make happen what God said he would 01:06:14.119 --> 01:06:17.619 make happen for us. And they went and they stole 01:06:17.619 --> 01:06:19.380 the idols. They stole the priest. They stole 01:06:19.380 --> 01:06:22.019 the ephod. They went up and they took Laish and 01:06:22.019 --> 01:06:25.599 they turned it into Dan. And they started generations 01:06:25.599 --> 01:06:28.559 of idolatrous worship, just the same as you or 01:06:28.559 --> 01:06:36.539 I could do today. And then Jeroboam needed a 01:06:36.539 --> 01:06:38.639 place to put that cabin and put it there. And 01:06:38.639 --> 01:06:40.480 you can guarantee that those two streets became 01:06:40.480 --> 01:06:43.380 stumbling blocks for the entire nation of Israel 01:06:43.380 --> 01:06:46.079 from then until Israel would no longer exist. 01:06:47.280 --> 01:06:52.579 The seeds planted here produced a harvest like 01:06:52.579 --> 01:06:56.739 that generations later. Our culture still asks 01:06:56.739 --> 01:06:59.420 the question, does it work? Does your Christianity 01:06:59.420 --> 01:07:04.059 work? Is God prospering you? God still asks the 01:07:04.059 --> 01:07:09.969 question. Is it holy? I'm calling myself a holy 01:07:09.969 --> 01:07:13.010 people. The cross reminds us, and you should 01:07:13.010 --> 01:07:14.789 never forget every time we take the Lord's Supper, 01:07:14.809 --> 01:07:18.550 that reminds us that God's greatest victory did 01:07:18.550 --> 01:07:25.409 not look successful. Jesus appeared defeated, 01:07:25.730 --> 01:07:28.530 rejected, crucified, buried, yet through apparent 01:07:28.530 --> 01:07:32.199 failure came eternal triumph. God has never measured 01:07:32.199 --> 01:07:35.039 success the way people do. He measures faithfulness. 01:07:35.860 --> 01:07:38.800 I'm asking you today, where have you allowed 01:07:38.800 --> 01:07:42.760 results to become your standard instead of Scripture? 01:07:48.719 --> 01:07:51.719 I'm asking you today, where have you pursued 01:07:51.719 --> 01:07:54.940 God's blessings while neglecting God's character? 01:07:57.900 --> 01:08:01.579 Today, God calls us back. Not merely to successful 01:08:01.579 --> 01:08:04.519 living, that's in his hands, but to faithful. 01:08:05.159 --> 01:08:08.280 Because in the kingdom of God, faithfulness is 01:08:08.280 --> 01:08:12.320 always a greater victory than success. Indeed, 01:08:12.599 --> 01:08:15.539 God has a great plan for you. No doubt about 01:08:15.539 --> 01:08:18.619 it. God's great plan for you must prioritize 01:08:18.619 --> 01:08:21.260 what he is trying to build in you. Otherwise, 01:08:21.380 --> 01:08:24.699 it's not his plan. And the result will be something 01:08:24.699 --> 01:08:28.460 decidedly ungodly. And when we choose ungodliness, 01:08:28.600 --> 01:08:33.869 even by mistake, We fulfill that need in us for 01:08:33.869 --> 01:08:40.069 God for a time at first by a pattern that is 01:08:40.069 --> 01:08:42.390 in our own strength repeatable. We can do it 01:08:42.390 --> 01:08:44.449 again and again. We say, for a little while, 01:08:44.609 --> 01:08:46.989 I can make it like God is in my life every day. 01:08:50.010 --> 01:08:52.250 And the victory, those victories, those successes 01:08:52.250 --> 01:08:54.170 that we begin to have, people leave addictions, 01:08:54.210 --> 01:08:57.229 people leave bad habits behind, people become 01:08:57.229 --> 01:09:01.750 dependable. Those victories become all we need 01:09:01.750 --> 01:09:04.850 to stay that course, that course that's not godly, 01:09:04.869 --> 01:09:07.850 that's not dependent on him, trapped, attached, 01:09:08.289 --> 01:09:11.710 separated from his fellowship until the end. 01:09:13.029 --> 01:09:15.449 I get it. It's a lot to come to church on a Sunday 01:09:15.449 --> 01:09:19.350 and to talk about the end of your life or the 01:09:19.350 --> 01:09:23.170 end of your journey or the successes beyond your 01:09:23.170 --> 01:09:27.210 successes. That's not what being here is exactly 01:09:27.210 --> 01:09:31.319 about. But it's absolutely the right thing to 01:09:31.319 --> 01:09:34.619 come and talk about our journey. Absolutely the 01:09:34.619 --> 01:09:37.300 right thing to come and talk about are we accepting 01:09:37.300 --> 01:09:41.520 into our lives things that we begin to worship 01:09:41.520 --> 01:09:47.000 then. Things that may bring us success. I'll 01:09:47.000 --> 01:09:48.760 give you a few just kind of commonplace examples 01:09:48.760 --> 01:09:54.960 and I'm done. I know people who profess to love 01:09:54.960 --> 01:09:58.880 the Lord. And if you ask them, they'll be... 01:09:58.920 --> 01:10:01.979 transparent. And they'll tell you that they haven't 01:10:01.979 --> 01:10:04.560 opened their Bible since last Sunday. Now this 01:10:04.560 --> 01:10:06.300 is the Word of God. It has everything in it that 01:10:06.300 --> 01:10:08.020 God really wants you to know in a written form 01:10:08.020 --> 01:10:12.279 inspired by the Holy Spirit. I know people who 01:10:12.279 --> 01:10:14.619 have been pastors for 30 years, and they'll tell 01:10:14.619 --> 01:10:17.460 me that they have never heard or experienced 01:10:17.460 --> 01:10:21.239 God's direct leading on their life. That doesn't 01:10:21.239 --> 01:10:24.000 make no sense to me. Whenever I feel like I'm 01:10:24.000 --> 01:10:26.640 not hearing from the Lord, and it starts to be 01:10:26.640 --> 01:10:29.810 a while, a day or two, or I feel like God is 01:10:29.810 --> 01:10:31.310 not leading my life specifically. I'm going, 01:10:31.409 --> 01:10:33.989 what's wrong? And I'm seeking the Lord. And I 01:10:33.989 --> 01:10:36.850 think sometimes God talks quietly to us so that 01:10:36.850 --> 01:10:39.010 we'll lean in to demonstrate that we want to 01:10:39.010 --> 01:10:42.670 hear what he has to say. And I'm told by people 01:10:42.670 --> 01:10:44.670 who have been pastors for 30 years that they've 01:10:44.670 --> 01:10:49.750 never heard from the Lord or his guidance. There's 01:10:49.750 --> 01:10:51.409 a very real part of Christianity that says that 01:10:51.409 --> 01:10:52.949 the only way you can hear anything from God is 01:10:52.949 --> 01:10:57.350 just to read from this book. That's it. That 01:10:57.350 --> 01:11:01.689 makes my Christianity something. Because quite 01:11:01.689 --> 01:11:03.970 frequently, God will say, don't do that. Do that. 01:11:04.449 --> 01:11:06.789 Now, I know that that's informed by my experiences, 01:11:06.810 --> 01:11:08.529 so a lot of times it's a verse that pops in my 01:11:08.529 --> 01:11:10.010 head. So I read my Bible, and the verse pops 01:11:10.010 --> 01:11:13.909 up in my head. So I submit to you, it's time 01:11:13.909 --> 01:11:17.090 you began to do the work. The work to get to 01:11:17.090 --> 01:11:19.649 where God is taking you is work that is attached 01:11:19.649 --> 01:11:21.149 to God's character. And there's nothing wrong 01:11:21.149 --> 01:11:23.590 with you working, but you can work so hard until 01:11:23.590 --> 01:11:26.329 you bleed or sweat or pass out from exhaustion. 01:11:26.970 --> 01:11:29.369 As long as the work that you are doing is work 01:11:29.369 --> 01:11:32.670 in God's character, that would be fine. But for 01:11:32.670 --> 01:11:34.890 those that work the 100 -hour work weeks to put 01:11:34.890 --> 01:11:37.649 more money in the bank, to retire, to stay away 01:11:37.649 --> 01:11:40.949 from, isolate from the work of God, that's not 01:11:40.949 --> 01:11:43.510 Godly. That's something altogether different. 01:11:44.310 --> 01:11:46.109 But I feel for them, because it's not like I 01:11:46.109 --> 01:11:48.109 necessarily willfully make the choice anymore. 01:11:48.189 --> 01:11:50.409 What we just read is it's not that they're trapped. 01:11:51.310 --> 01:11:55.069 Let me ask you, are you trapped? Well, guess 01:11:55.069 --> 01:11:59.350 what? He's a chain breaker. He can make you free. 01:12:00.710 --> 01:12:03.869 There was in John 8 an example. There were a 01:12:03.869 --> 01:12:06.470 bunch of Jews who came to believe in Jesus. The 01:12:06.470 --> 01:12:08.810 Jewish men had their history traced all the way 01:12:08.810 --> 01:12:10.850 back to Abraham, but they came to believe in 01:12:10.850 --> 01:12:15.750 Jesus. And Jesus looked at them that believed 01:12:15.750 --> 01:12:20.510 in him, and he said, You come, follow me. Come 01:12:20.510 --> 01:12:22.989 follow me, and then you will know the truth. 01:12:23.310 --> 01:12:29.350 And Jesus said, the chain breaker, you're still 01:12:29.350 --> 01:12:33.130 free today. If you've bought into that model, 01:12:33.449 --> 01:12:36.090 repent and turn to the Lord. If you're here today 01:12:36.090 --> 01:12:37.689 and you say, I don't like Jesus, Lord. I don't 01:12:37.689 --> 01:12:39.310 think he's saving my life, but I want him to 01:12:39.310 --> 01:12:41.050 save me. All you got to do right now, I'm not 01:12:41.050 --> 01:12:42.310 waiting for music or anything. I'll just say, 01:12:42.329 --> 01:12:44.529 okay, right now, I'm ready. I'm going to follow 01:12:44.529 --> 01:12:47.270 Jesus beginning today. He'll make you new. He'll 01:12:47.270 --> 01:12:49.729 make you new right now. And then you can just 01:12:49.729 --> 01:12:51.470 follow him for the rest of your life. And yeah, 01:12:51.510 --> 01:12:53.149 you may get it right or wrong some days. Just 01:12:53.149 --> 01:12:55.229 remember that your decisions are meant to align 01:12:55.229 --> 01:12:57.810 with his character. And that's how you live for 01:12:57.810 --> 01:13:56.050 Jesus. I'm not sure. And do you promise to help 01:13:56.050 --> 01:13:57.710 them make that decision? Do that in courage with 01:13:57.710 --> 01:14:00.329 somebody else. Make some decisions. Make them 01:14:00.329 --> 01:14:03.029 look as if that was you. Can you stand with me 01:14:03.029 --> 01:14:05.310 and sing a song? We'll sing together. If the 01:14:05.310 --> 01:14:06.829 Lord is in your heart, we're going to respond. 01:14:28.460 --> 01:15:36.329 So, lifestyle? Nothing at all.